According to the records, on the first day of class there were 14 boys from the Ponca tribe along with 3 boys and 5 girls from the Ottawa tribe. A few days later 21 Pawnee, 42 Cheyenne, and 36 Arapahoe children were in attendance. By January 1885, 280 children were at the school, 219 boys and 61 girls. These children came from many states and a variety of Indian tribes. In the beginning, the Indian children were elementary age ranging from six to eleven years of age. Within ten years Haskell Institute expanded the age to include Indian youth through the eighth grade. Within two decades, over 600 Indian children were enrolled in the school. The 20th Century saw even greater changes, which we will get to shortly.

February 26, 1971 Early Saturday morning the 13th of February, a fire gutted and destroyed a part of Haskell Indian Junior College’s history and present educational system, Sacagawea Hall. Sacagawea was originally constructed in 18591 and the second floor was added in 1929. The building was total loss.

07-2007 - Starting point of the Santa Fe Trail

Enterprising individuals always seem to attract considerable attention, not so much because of the wealth they acquire, but because their business ventures are usually quite gutsy. In our opinion, William Becknell is one of those enterprising, gutsy individuals.

You may be asking who is Becknell and what did he do? In the early 1820’s Becknell had the intestinal fortitude to take a risk that involved a 1000 mile journey through unsettle regions. Because of his risk, Becknell secured for many future Americans a lucrative trade with Mexico. Becknell turned the Santa Fe Trail into a heavily traveled commercial highway.

No, Becknell did not lay out the famous Santa Fe Trail; it existed long before Becknell’s business endeavors. Actually, even before Becknell established trading relation in Santa Fe, there had been numerous attempts to deal with the Spanish who first controlled Santa Fe. But bartering with the Spanish had rarely been successful; Spain preferred to keep Americans out of the area.

All of this would change in the summer of 1821 when Becknell heard rumors that the Mexicans were planning to revolt against Spain to gain their independence. Quickly responding to this news, Becknell loaded up pack mules with trade items, and on September 1, 1821 Becknell and three companions headed for Santa Fe. Upon their arrival, Becknell, his men, and the pack mules received a warm welcome from the Mexicans, thus securing trade between the two countries for decades to come.

The Immenschuh’s did a great job covering the Santa Fe Trail as it snaked its way through Kansas. We, however, decided to add one more chapter and focus on the origin of the famous Trail, which by most accounts was in Old Franklin, Missouri. Old Franklin, located about 100 miles east of Kansas City, was a key port town on the Missouri River.

Even before statehood, Franklin, Missouri was an active port hosting steamboats and barges traveling up and down the Missouri River. As a key river port, Franklin provided the logical starting place to begin the one thousand miles journey to Santa Fe, Mexico. But, Old Franklin’s glory was somewhat short lived as the town had the misfortune of being washed away in a flood in 1828.

Marie and I traveled over to Old Franklin to check out the site –believe us it’s gone. There is New Franklin, which is a thriving little community of about 2000. But today, neither New or Old Franklin, if it still existed, would be river towns. The Missouri River has meandered so much that both are now considerable distance from the River. It is really amazing how much a River can wander and change it course.

Arrow Rock, located a dozen miles west of Old Franklin, also played an active role in the early stages of commercial travels to Santa Fe. Arrow Rock was also a River town, but its proximity to Franklin and positioning on the River caused it to have a slightly different role. Old Franklin was situated on the north bank of the Missouri River, at Franklin the River makes a slight curve to the north. Because of this curving to the North, Arrow Rock developed on the west bank of the River.

For traders it was both convenient and faster, after loading up with trade items at Old Franklin, to travel over land the short distance to Arrow Rock: they would cross the River on a ferry boat. Once on the other side of the River they would continue their journey West down the Santa Fe Trail. As early as 1815, Arrow Rock had a ferry crossing, so the washing away of Old Franklin did not stop the commercial travel to Mexico via the Santa Fe Trail.

Having a place to cross the River became extremely important within the first year of trade started by Becknell. Using pack mules to carry goods to Santa Fe ended quickly when traders realized using freight wagons would be more profitable-obviously, so much more could be carried both to and from Santa Fe in the wagons. But wagons need a dependable place for crossing the Missouri; a role the Arrow Rock ferry could easily accommodate.

After checking out the nothingness of Old Franklin, we headed down the road to Arrow Rock. The little town of Arrow Rock more than makes up for the loss of Old Franklin. If you like historical sites, you’ll love Arrow Rock. Virtually, the entire town has been restored to the former days when it was a famous and popular place to cross the Missouri. A good portion of the buildings that served the town when it was a river crossing are still standing today. A trip to Arrow Rock is like a journey back to the early 1800s.

In addition to the restoration of the town of Arrow Rock, the state of Missouri has put up an outstanding visitor center there which gives an excellent history of the area. Plus, the area has both an extensive and well kept park/camp ground.

In the park one can drive up to the top of a bluff over-looking the Missouri River. On the bluff one has a panoramic view! The museum curator told us that the ferry crossing was somewhere in the vicinity of the bluff look out over the River. But, again the River has meandered a considerable distance from Arrow Rock, so it no longer is a River front town.

Records show that a trader leaving Arrow Rock with $30,000 worth of trading goods could expect a return of $200,000. That is quite a profit for the early 1800s! Otto and I would not sneeze at that sum even today. American traders primarily exchanged cotton fabrics, cutlery, hardware-especially nails-and other odds and ends such as brushes, razors, mirrors, needles, scissors, Mexican furs, gold and silver.

O6-2007 - Tornados

The devastation of the recent tornado in Greensburg caused us to think about how powerful Mother Nature can be, how unexpectedly everything in life can change, and how fame can come through the most unlikely circumstances. We only saw pictures of the aftermath of the tornado’s damage—but the pictures made it clear that a phenomenal force passed through Greensburg—it was incredible. The tornado that swept down on Greensburg lasted a matter of minutes, yet the destruction was total. The news report said ninety-five percent of the city was gone—to us that is total destruction. No doubt when the citizens heard the warning—they had about twenty minutes to take cover—they never imagined how transformed the landscape would be when they emerged from their places of refuge. Most likely, none of the residents expected to find how drastically everything would be changed: no homes, no vehicles, no businesses, no schools, no personal belongings, no Greensburg. The small southwestern town has now gained national fame, but not in the way anyone really wishes for celebrity.

The tornado that blew apart the town was the strongest tornado nature produces a F5. The destructive nature of a tornado is due to high winds that are produced in a violently twisting funnel cloud. A cloud we are told by weather scientists that results when cold and warm moist air mix rapidly together. The velocity of the wind in the funnel cloud as it drags along the ground causes the objects in its path to be torn apart—maybe a better description is blown apart. Not only does the funnel cloud explode objects, but also it throws objects with such force that more destruction occurs from the flying debris.

While researching the subject of tornados, we came across some interesting definition of six types of wind. A gale wind is roughly between 40-72 mph and can cause light damage like blowing down chimneys, breaking branches, and damage to signs. The next wind after gale was called moderate; it blows between 73-115 mph. Moderate wind can damage roofs, push mobile homes off foundation, and other forms of "moderate" damage. Significant wind, the next category, is a wind blowing between 113-157 mph. Significant winds can cause considerable damage such as ripping the entire roofs from houses, demolishing mobile homes, pushing boxcars over, and uprooting or snapping large trees in half. Although quite damaging, significant winds are not the most forceful—there are still three more wind classifications.

The sever winds blows between 158-206 mph. Sever winds can overturn trains, destroy walls of brick homes and buildings, throw vehicles through the air, and create a wide spread path of destruction in a forest. The next winds were called devastating—they whistle by at 207-260 mph. They literately can send sailing through the air buildings, vehicles, trees, virtually remove everything from its foundation. Once uprooted from the foundation the object is hurled great distances with tremendous force. Still, there is one more level of destructive wind—the incredible, which blows between 261-318 mph. Such a forceful wind just sweeps a clean path of anything in its path. It can pickup anything, hurl it a great distance with unbelievable force, leaving in its wake a path of nothingness.

We read that the wind that passed through Greensburg was of the devastating speed—205 mph—but somehow the descriptive term incredible seems a more definable term. Looking at pictures of the aftermath left us with that incredible "can’t believe what I see" sensation. Our hearts go out to the people of Greensburg. A town that we had been to—yes the largest hand dug well drew us there—on more then one occasion.

We understand that the residents of Greensburg had about twenty minutes to take cover. Twenty minutes is certainly not long, but twenty-five years ago people would not have even had that much warning. As most of you know, meteorologists first issue a "tornado watch," which means the potential for a tornado to develop exist. "Tornado warnings" come only after it is clear that a tornado has formed. Thanks to the modernization of weather service, forecasters have a much more comprehensive picture of what is developing and know much sooner that a violent rotating funnel has formed. Modern storm radar shows a true picture of the tornado giving more warning time—precious time to take cover.

While tornados come in all shapes and sizes and can occur in any season in the US, there is a general tendency for the height of the tornado season in the northern states to occur in the summer, and the height of the tornado season in the southern states is in spring. But, like just about all rules there is an exception. The devastation in Greensburg was in the spring.

Here is a litany of trivia information on US tornadoes. The first recorded tornado in the US occurred in 1671 hitting Rehobeth, Massachusetts. On May 7, 1840 the center of Natchez, Mississippi was hit by a tornado killing 317 and injuring over 1,000. A good portion of the city was blown away. On June 12, 1899 New Richmond, Wisconsin was hit in the afternoon. Many of the citizens were attending an outdoor circus. The tornado took the lives of 114. One advantage the people had—they were out door and saw it coming—so many made it to shelter.

The Tri-State Tornado, which occurred on March 18, 1925, is considered the most deadly. It formed near Ellington Missouri crossed into southern Illinois and southern Indiana; the duration of the twister was 3.5 hours, killing 695 people and destroyed an unbelievable amount of property.

On May 11, 1953 a tornado hit downtown Waco, Texas killing 114 people and demolishing 200 businesses. Bricks from the demolished buildings were piled to a depth of over five feet in places. April 11-12, 1965 is called the Palm Sunday outbreak with fifty tornadoes in the Great Lakes region including parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio, leaving 256 dead and 3,402 injured. May 3, 1999 the strongest tornado on record occurred in suburb of Oklahoma City. Wind speeds of 318 mph were recorded. The storm cell spewing this tornado caused 69 more tornadoes in the area. Loss of live was low 38, but property damage was $1.1 billion. Clearly modern storm detection was a factor lowering death, but Mother Nature still rules in terms of property destroyed.

Closer to home is the April 21, 2001 tornado in Hoisington. That tornado was a powerful twister classified as a F4; the one in Greensburg was an F5. Classification is based on wind speed. The one in Hoisington killed only one person, injuring twenty-eight, but over $43 million in property damage.

Some of you may recall the May 1-11, 2003 period. During this period more tornadoes formed in roughly a ten day period than typical—over 412 tornadoes were confirmed in eight states. The ratings of these tornadoes were F3 and F4. At least 38 died as the result of all the tornado activity; the cost of Mother Nature joy ride was $3.2 billion.

Here are a few more interesting facts about tornadoes. The US has more tornadoes then any other nation, averaging over 1,000 a year. And most of these occur in "Tornado Alley," which included the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. In tornado alley most of the twister occur in the spring to early summer. The unstable weather condition caused by the cool air flowing down from Canada collides with the warmer moist air coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. Often when these two air pattern meet supercell thunderstorms form in turn these supercells spawn the tornadoes.

We’re closing with some myth regarding tornadoes—we think these are worth sharing. Myth # 1—if you are traveling on the interstate and near an overpass, quickly get to the underpass and take cover. Seeking shelter in an underpass is one of the worst things one can do—winds in underpasses are stronger then in the surrounding area. Myth # 2—the southwest corner of a basement is the safest place to go. Any corner is unsafe. Stay near the basement stairs, if a tornado takes your home all kinds of debris is likely to end up in the corners. Think about how dusts and fuzz bunnies end up in the corner of a room. Myth # 3—tornados do not cross water or rivers—so get to the other side quickly. Tornados when they are moving through know no boundaries—they can cross over or through water as easy as Moses.

The bottom line is keep alert when a storm is in the area. Have a plan for taking shelter if a tornado has been sighted near you. Last, give Mother Nature the respect due her, never under estimate her.

05-2007

The Harvey Houses certainly added grace and elegance to the Plains of Western Kansas.

Goods are constantly being moved across the nation from east to west and north to south. The trucking industry in the US is big business. When driving on the major interstate highways one sees just about as many semi-trucks as one sees automobiles. Prior to the semi-trailer trucks, goods traveled throughout the nation via the railroad. Today, railroads are still active in hauling freight. But neither the trucks nor railroads provide the starting point in the story of hauling goods. This month we are going back to a time before either trucks or railroads hauled the goods—we are going back to the days of the mule and ox drawn freight trains.

The history of animal drawn freight trains is quite fascinating. We believe part of the fascination is connected to the hardships faced by the wagon drivers. All industries have there share of difficulties, but in the bygone era of the freight wagons the hardships seemed to be more intense and life threatening. For example, snows storms or torrential rains proved quite brutal on both man and animal caught without shelter on the plains, which all too often was the case. Certainly after a long day in the elements there were no comfy hotel or truckers’ rest stops to relax in. Another conflict the wagon freight caravans faced were clashes with the Native Americans and roaming herd of buffalos. When you think about what the wagon drivers faced in hauling the goods, you wonder why anyone chose such a job.

Like most high risk jobs, money proves to be a powerful motivating factor. In decades past, the demand for goods in remote areas west of the "established civilization" made the hazardous trips profitable. At least it was profitable if the wagons, teams and drivers made it to the destination without loss of goods, beasts, or men. We have also decided that along with profit the drivers of these wagons liked adventure. We feel the desire for adventure was just as motivating to the wagon haulers as making money. We came to that conclusion after reading the account of one freight hauler that moved freight on the plains between 1860 and 1868.

Charles Raber at the age of nineteen started driving a wagon on freight trains. His first job was with the Ellsbach & Ransehof Company. The company engaged in hauling freight between Westport, Missouri and Salt Lake City, Utah. The company liked to get an early start in spring, starting before the larger freight trains headed out West.

Ellsbach & Ransehof used smaller wagons, which meant smaller loads. These smaller wagons were pulled by mules. Their reason for starting before the big freight trains is obvious, but the smaller wagons and mule teams provided added incentive. The Salt Lake area Mormon farmers that bought the goods would also buy the wagons, mules, and team harnesses. Ellsbach & Ransehof made sure the mules arrived in Salt Lake City strong and healthy. In order to insure healthy, strong mules extra food was carried for the animals because the trip to Salt Lake City passed through areas of sparse vegetation. But if all went well, by journey’s end the company reaped a good profit margin selling everything—except the drivers of course.

Charles admits to being quite green at the start of his wagon driving career. On the first trip, he started a stampede of all the mule teams —it could have been a serious mistake, but luckily the wagon master and a few other drivers were experienced enough to prevent a total disaster. The trip started out on a typical windy spring day; Charles’ wagon was bringing up the rear of the freight train. Suddenly a gust of wind sent his hat sailing. Now a good wagon driver knows crossing the plains without proper headgear is not wise. So, Charles pulled his wagon to a stop, jumped down hoping to quickly retrieve the hat, without slowing down the six wagons ahead. This seemingly simple action proved a big mistake.

Apparently, the wind blew the slack unattended lines under of his mule team hitting the animals’ legs causing them to spook. A spooked animal has the tendency to run, which is exactly what his team did—the team started running at top speed in the direction of the other teams. Charles’ unattended runaway mule team veered around each of the other teams. The runaway team, running past the other teams, caused them to spook and they started running. In a matter of minutes all seven teams were running wildly across the plains. Luckily, the wagon master riding his horse at the front of the wagon train immediately realized the problem and headed for the runaway team, catching it before the wagon had tipped over. Soon the other drivers started slowing down and halting their teams—peace was restored.

Charles was quite worried about the tongue lashing he would get from the wagon master. But, the wagon master knowing Charles was a green driver didn’t tear into him—instead he just reminded Charles of the basic freight train rule—that whenever a problem arise you holler out hold on. That simple command lets the other drivers know that everyone needs to stop—a lesson that Charles never forgot. While the wagon master wasn’t hard on him, his follow team drivers enjoyed reminding him of his folly for the rest of the trip.

Charles also tells about a snow storm that they had on that first trip—it happened on May 8th. We’re going to use Charles own words in sharing that story: Our first real unpleasant experience occurred on the 8th of May. The weather was mild when we went into camp, but during the night a regular blizzard came up from the northwest. The snow and sleet cut like a razor, and being in the open country with no shelter whatever it, became almost impossible for the herder to hold the mules. About midnight the boss routed us all out, and we had to hitch up in the dark.

The storm keep up until about noon, when the sun began to break through, but the boss kept on going until about two o’clock before he went into camp. We were cold and hungry, and thought he was the meanest man on earth for not stopping sooner, but he knew his business better than we did; he had to make a certain point before he could find a good camping place. But we were the most discouraged lot of "mule whackers" you ever heard tell of, and declared up and down that if the good Lord would ever forgive us for making the trip we would never be caught o the plains again.

Also on that first trip the men thought they had found gold in a small creek that had its source from the Wind River high in the mountains. The wagon train boss said nothing, just watched silently as the men wrapped-up clumps of mud that they were certain contained specks of gold. Once the mud was dry, the specks proved to be only mica. The men quickly forgot the "get-rich-quick" dream they were certain they would find once they reached Salt Lake City and had the gold assayed. The twenty-five dollars a month wages looked pretty dang good—better then mud balls with mica flakes. That first trip to Salt Lake City took fifty days—returning back to Westport only took forty days.

Charles mentioned an unpleasant experience he had with the Native Americans on a later trip. We have written on the plight of the Native Americans—how they were forced on reservations and then forced off the same reservation by land hungry settlers. The Native Americans had great difficulty in finding enough food—especially as the white man settling down to farm found the great herd of buffalos a nuisance and begin to wantonly slaughter them. The Native Americans became beggars, often approaching the freight trains asking for handout. In most cases, the freighters would share some food.

Charles, however, described a situation where trouble arose. No longer just a driver, Charles now owned and operated his own freighting line. One morning, prior to heading out after an evening of camping on the Arkansas, a number of Native American families approached the wagon train and asked for food. Charles obliged the families. After sharing the food, he took stock and felt he could give no more food away, fearing if he did he would jeopardize the wagon drivers. They still had many days of travel and needed the remainder of food for their own consumption.

As they commenced traveling, a Cheyenne party arrived on the scene wanting food. Charles explained that he had already given food to Indian families earlier in the day and felt what was left was what the wagon train would need. The Cheyenne party was not satisfied. The Natives drew their bows and arrows at Charles, making it clear that unless given food—Charles would be killed. Charles complied and gave the Indians some sugar, coffee, and flour. The Cheyenne were pleased and moved on. Charles was glad his life had been spared—but quite angry over the incident.

Charles related some interesting incidents involving the buffalo herds the trains often encountered. Once they found themselves in the direct line of an oncoming stampeding herd of the big woolly creatures. They had often heard that a stampeding herd of buffalos neither stopped nor swerved for anything. The wagon train could not begin to move out of the way for the oncoming herd. So, they begin embracing for the worst—being run over by the herd. To their delightful surprise the herd veered around the wagons, neither hitting nor hurting any man, animal or wagon.

Another problem with buffalo herds occurred when oxen were the draft animals. At night the oxen were allowed to graze and rest mostly unfettered while a herdsman watched. If a buffalo herd passed by during the night, the oxen tended to follow after the herd. Of course the herdsman would quickly rally some men and hurry to round up the roaring oxen, but on some occasions the men could not round up the oxen. Those oxen actually became a permanent part of the buffalo herd. That must have been an interesting sight seeing a herd of buffalos with a few oxen mixed in the bunch.

Charles, after forming his own freighting company with some other partners, did more and more trading in the southwest, making numerous trips to the Santa Fe area. In his article he gave a good description of hardships encountered with hauling in the Southwest. Charles wrote: New Mexico was a hard country to freight in on account of scarcity of water and grass and bad roads. Near all the settlements the grass was nibbled off by the cattle and goats of the natives. I could cover more ground in two weeks on the plains than I could in a month in New Mexico. In looking over my old account books I find that I had to pay as high as eighteen dollars for a sack of flour, one dollar a pound for coffee, fifty cents a pound for sugar and bacon, the same for rosin and tallow to make axle grease. Trading in the southwest was more difficult on the livestock and the profit margin lower because goods cost more.

Nonetheless, it appears that Charles did quite well during the eight years that he was in the freighting business. But business in the final years certainly started slowing down. Toward the end, he was hauling freight mostly to army forts. Hauling supplies to Forts Larned and Harker were the last two jobs he mentioned. He and his partners knew the growing railroad industry would soon put the freight wagon trains completely out of business. In the final days he and his partner sold the livestock and wagons and used the money gained to invest in Kansas City real estate. Farmers and merchants were constantly moving west looking for new land, new business, and new futures—so selling real estate was the next means of making a living.

Like all things in life there always seems to be an end—and the "bull trains" as they were often called gave way to the faster railroad trains. But while the animal freight lines were active a rich history was developing and interesting tales were being spun. No doubt about it—Charles was a part of a rich period in US history, Charles Rader’s article is entitled Life on the Plains, 1860 to 1868. It is printed in volume sixteen of the Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society, 1923-1925.

03-2007 The Pony Express

History is usually written in a "cause and effect" manner. An historian, when describing an event, always includes the reason(s) the event happened. Nothing just happens in history—there is always a chain of happenings leading up to a major historical event. For example, a major war is the result of many smaller disputes—many little causes lead to major effects.

Somewhat similar to "cause and effect" is the theory of "necessity precedes possibility." In this case, there first must be a great need for a thing before something happens. For example, the need for being cool on a hot summer day existed before someone invented the AC. If we still have a few readers following along, those few readers are most likely wondering if this article is about something.

Yes, we are heading in a direction. In fact, we are laying the groundwork for an article on the Pony Express. Quite a number of years ago, we wrote about the Pony Express. Recently, something rekindled our interest in the Pony Express, so we’re writing again about the subject.

Even though the Pony Express was in existence for a very short time—only about nineteen months from April 1860 through October 1861—it was one of those historical events that remains popular and stimulates the imagination. In 1860-1861 the accomplishment of the Pony Express was just as exciting to hear about as watching the first moon landing was some hundred years later. Delivering mail across the nation in a little over a week—was exciting "stuff."

There were a number of causes behind the creation of the Pony Express. Most of these causes are either directly or indirectly related to the brewing issue over slavery. The statehood of California was one obvious cause; it had entered the Union in 1850. The entrance of California had upset the delicate balance of slave versus non-slave states—now there was one more non-slave state. Almost every major historical event in the decade between 1850 and 1860 edged the nation towards civil war. The entrance of California added fuel to the fire partly because of the Compromise of 1850, which laid out the plan for California’s admission to the Union. Under this Compromise, California entered in as a free state. To counteract the fact that there were now more free states than slave states, the Fugitive Slave Act was included as part of the Compromise of 1850—a law hated by those opposing slavery and loved by those involved in slavery.

The Fugitive Slave law made all citizens obligated to help capture and return run away slaves. You might be a staunch abolitionist, but according to the law if you knew of a fugitive slave you must help in the capture of the person. It also denied legal right to fugitive slaves—they were not allowed a trial by a jury. Instead they faced trial by a commission. Interestingly, the commissioners were paid $10 if they found the person to be a fugitive slave and only $5 if they decided the person was not a fugitive—wonder what that led too? Because the law allowed little legal recourse for the blacks, often free blacks accused of being a fugitive could do nothing to prove otherwise and were sent back into slavery. Plus the law made it very convenient for slave owners to file a claim—and many claims were filed.

As mentioned just about every event in the years between 1850 and 1860 added fuel to the fire that erupted into civil war. As a result, the government became increasing concerned about keeping in touch with the western states—California in particular, so the plan hatching the Pony Express was born. A major cause for the creation of the Pony Express was this need for better communication between the extreme eastern and the western regions of the US. The necessity or the need for faster communication between the east and west created the possibility for the Pony Express. Three men are credited with providing the possibility: William H. Russell, William B. Waddell, and Alexander Majors.

Prior to the Pony Express, these three men had created one of the most successful freight lines carrying goods west to new settlements and army forts. In the history of early ox-cart freight trains, the operation and size of the Russell, Waddell, and Majors freight business is phenomenal—we just may tackle that story next month. Sadly, the venture of hauling mail across the nation was not the economic success that the three men had hoped it would be. They took up the enterprise of hauling the mail to California in hopes of making money to recover from a serious loss they experienced in 1857.

A good portion of the freight company’s business was from government contracts involving supplying goods to army forts scattered throughout the West. In 1857 because of conflicts between the Mormon militia and the US government over the Utah territory the Russell, Waddell, and Majors freight company had fifty-four wagons destroyed. Since the army would not reimburse the men for the loss of the wagons—they begin to seek out other means of making money. They were hoping acquiring a contract to haul mail to California would prove profitable.

A worker for the Russell, Waddell, and Majors’ company suggested a different route for the mail. Even though, the route was farther north than some existing routes the employee insisted it would be an excellent mail route. The route started in the NW corner of Missouri in St Joseph, passed through a tiny strip of the NE corner of Kansas, a southern portion of Nebraska, up into and passing through Wyoming, crossing the upper portion of Utah, then down across Nevada, and finally ending in Sacramento California. [See map] Once the route was mapped out, the next step involved determining the number of stations, riders, and horses that would be needed to complete the 1,966 mile trip between St Joseph Missouri and Sacramento California.

If you are wondering why St Joseph became the starting point for the Pony Express, two words best answer the question: telegraph and train. They had both reached St Joseph MO by 1860. Since the mail and news reached St Joseph relatively quick, it was logical to make the town the starting point for the Pony Express.

The Pony Express horses would be running at a steady speed of about ten miles per hour, so the stations were placed about ten miles apart. Consequently, there were 150 to 190 stations along the route. Each station was kept stocked with fresh mounts. Approximately 400 horses were needed for the entire route. Of course the stations supplied not only for food for the horses but also essentials for the riders and those employed to tend the stations.

While the horse only made a ten mile run, the rider would ride for 75 to 100 miles. Over 100 riders would be involved in the Pony Express. The rider’s age range was eleven to the mid forties—supposedly the youngest rider was an eleven year old boy. The riders could weight no more than 125 lb. Their weight, plus the weight of the mail bag, and supplies the rider needed would total up to about 165 lb, which was enough weight for the horse. The riders’ pay was one hundred dollars a month.

Typically, horses and riders would travel over two hundred miles a day. The average run between the start and finish points was ten days, but one run was only seven days and seventeen hours—that run was carrying President Lincoln’s inaugural address. A special leather mailbag was designed for carrying the mail; it hung across the saddle. The bag was called a mochila and had four compartment for the mail. The original price for sending a letter was five dollars for ½ ounce—later that was dropped to one dollar. Quite obviously the mail carried on the route was of a very important nature—most people could not afford to send friendly letters at $5 or even $1 per ½ ounce.

The Pony Express came to an end when the telegraph line reached California, which was on October 24, 1861. Since the telegraph could quickly relay essential, news breaking information the ponies and rides were no longer needed. By 1869 the transcontinental railroad was completed. For many decades to come the iron horse would be the mover of the mail across the nation.

In some way, Russell, Waddell, and Majors may have been glad when the Pony Express ended. They had invested some $700,000 into the venture. At the end of the venture they were $200,000 in the red. As mentioned earlier the Pony Express was not a positive economic investment—partly because they could never secure a government contract for the hauling of the mail. It seems the Pony Express was one of the investments that looks better on paper than in real life.

02-2007 Westport's Harris-Kearney House

Recently, Otto and I toured an interesting Kansas City historical home, the Harris-Kearney Home. We always find historical homes interesting for two reasons: they provide a glimpse into past history as well as providing some interesting architectural structure and style for that period in time. This particular home was built in 1855. Any 150 year old home always begs for the fulfillment of the phrase "if walls could only talk." But even if the walls do not talk, the Westport Historical Society has done an excellent job in preserving and presenting the history of the home and the impact of the owners during their life on Westport. After touring the home, we came away knowing a great deal about both the history of the home and area plus the architectural structure that was quite an outstanding style for the period. We want to share these new discoveries with our readers. Our enjoyable tour of the Harris-Kearney home is credited to Curator Betty Ergovich.

The home was built for John and Henrietta Harris in 1855. The couple had settled in the Kansas City/Westport area over two decades earlier, coming from Kentucky in 1832. The Harris family, no doubt, came to the Kansas City area to get in on the lucrative trade market that was booming in KC at that time.

We have written past articles on the Santa Fe Trail, so we’ll just briefly refresh your memory about Kansas City’s connection to the famous Trail. Independence, Missouri was founded in the late 1820s and quickly became the official headquarters for the start of the Santa Fe Trail and other trails carrying eager pioneers west. Westport was born shortly after Independence. John Calvin McCoy opened a trading post in 1833 and plotted a town, which eventually became West Port (original spelling). McCoy hauled freight from a landing on the Missouri River some three miles north of his trading post. Three miles doesn’t sound like a great distance—unless the year is 1833 and it’s in the eastern most part of Missouri. Trees, rocks, hilly terrain made moving freight wagons loaded with goods a slow process until the path became well-worn. McCoy’s trading post at first primarily served the Native Americans, but it soon started outfitting the countless settlers that were heading west for the opportunity of land and wealth, or simply someone wanting to fulfill a dream of adventure.

For a time both Independence and Westport attracted merchants that were willing to work hard setting up shops supplying pioneers heading west on one of the three trails that passed through the KC area. Once in Westport, Harris was eager to get involved in making money either by trade or land development. It appears that buying and selling land was one of his first interests, but in 1846 he purchased an inn. The original inn burned down, which Harris replace in 1852 with a three story brick structure—it was called the Harris House Hotel. The Hotel played a famous part in both the pre-civil and Civil War periods.

As a southerner, Harris catered to those supporting the South. In the pre-Civil War period of the Kansas Territorial Days, Missourians were determined to see Kansas become a slave state. No doubt, Harris treated the guests from Missouri much better than any "freesoiler" that might be heading to Kansas.

The Harris House Hotel survived the Civil War, we’re told, not because of the good food and excellent accommodations, but because the Federal troops used it for headquarters and as a hospital for those wounded in the Battle of Westport. General Curtis, who was in charge of the federal troops, used the hotel roof as a lookout as he searched for the rebels in the area. The Harris House Hotel was in existence until 1922; it was demolished at that time.

By 1854 John Harris was quite wealthy by the standards of that day—no doubt he would be considered wealthy by today’s standards. John and Henrietta Harris had eight children, seven girls and one boy. The boy was actually the second child born, but somewhere along the line John Harris disinherited his son because his son had gone through a divorce. The old man in his will would remember his daughters but not his son. His son’s portion of the inheritance went to the divorced wife.

We saw a couple portraits of John Harris. He looked quite fierce; he looked like someone that you would not want to provoke. John was also not pleased with his eldest daughter’s choice of husband—an Irish Catholic. Probably his dislike for that daughter’s husband was more because that son-in-law did not have much money. Another daughter, Josephine, who eventually becomes the mistress of the historical house, had also married an Irishman—but this Irishman had education, money, and a successful military career to his name. We will return to Josephine and husband a little later in our account.

At any rate, in 1855 with most of the family gone from the nest and pockets full of money—John Harris decided to build a "fancy" home for his wife and two daughters still living at home. One daughter had returned home after becoming a widow. It is this 1855 home that is the focus of our article this month.

Harris owned quite a lot of property in the area, so selecting a good site was most likely not a problem for him. The original site of the Harris home was at the corner of Westport Road and Main Street, which was a very active intersection for the period. Come to think of it—it is still quite an active intersection for those living in mid-town. When the house was built at this location it was actually the east edge of town. Now this location is in the middle of KC or near the middle.

Harris built his home from scratch so to speak. The red bricks used in construction were made and fired on the location. The wood used in the dwelling was cut from the walnut and oak trees on Harris property. And of course the labor was from Harris’ slaves. Upon entering the house, one first sees a beautiful carved, curved staircase leading to the second story. The stairway is made of black walnut cut from Harris’ trees; the staircase is ornately beautiful.

What contributes so much to the enjoyment of viewing the home are the exquisite decorations of the home. While none of the original furnishings exists, the main part of the home has been re-decorated with antique furniture and accessories of late 1800s. There are two rooms on the main floor, a dining room and a parlor. The parlor was decorated by the Woman’s City Club of Kansas City. The dining room was furnished by members of the Westport Historical Society. On the second floor are two bedrooms; the south bedroom was furnished by The Colonial Dames of America; the other room’s furnishings were provided by Society members.

We did learn from the Society’s 1st Vice President, Alana Smith, that the Westport Historical Society is in the process of refurbishing the entire home. They want to furnish it with items only from the 1850-1870s. This change of furnishings will make the home an exact replica of the period when it was originally constructed. As we mentioned previously, the home currently is exquisitely decorated—but we’re sure it will be even better with items dating from the time the home was built. All we can say is one literally enters a world of the past when touring the house.

The walls of the home are thirteen inches thick and the ceilings are high—at least eighteen feet. The original home consisted of only four rooms: the dining room and parlor downstairs and two bedrooms on the second floor. The kitchen was in a separate building off to the back of the house. Kitchens were often not a part of the house because of the heat a kitchen produced—which was especially oppressive in the warmer month, plus for wealthy families the kitchen duties were always attended to by the servants or in this case most likely slaves.

This gracious house served John and Henrietta for about twenty years. John died in 1874. Upon his death, his daughter Josephine and her husband Colonel Charles Kearney moved in the home. The Kearney family moved in so that Josephine could take care of her aging mother, Henrietta, who died in 1881.

The Kearneys added a two story addition to the back of the house. The upper floor was reserved for the elderly matriarch and the bottom floor added some more space for the Kearney family. Both levels opened onto long porches. These porches were on the south side, which certainly added some coolness in long summer evenings. The Kearney family was in the home for a nearly three decades. There are no records of the house during the first couple decades of the 20th century after the Kearneys were gone. But in 1922 it was decided to move the home off of Main Street.

The house was moved about a block south and half a block west—no a great distance, but still a challenge. The original house and the added brick addition were moved as two separate sections. We saw pictures of how the two sections were raised off their foundations about four feet onto wooden planks. Mules were used to pull—maybe drag is a better description—the house to the new location.

We’re not sure if the house served as a residence at the new location, but we do know that it was at one time a doctor’s office. Finally, in 1976 the Westport Historical Society acquired the home. The Society was determined to return the home back to the original beautiful dwelling. And, they have done an outstanding job of renovation and furnishing it with items of the era. The home is in excellent condition. We were very impressed. The home is on the National Register of Historic Homes.

Marie and I found it interesting to muse about what secrets the old walls of the stately home might be keeping. The Harris’ as Southern sympathizers and slave holders most likely held meetings in the parlor where John Harris and other Southern supporters discussed the impending war that most knew would soon occur. They probably discussed the plan of action they would take when the Civil War broke out. Anyone that knows the history of Kansas knows about the Border Wars between Missouri and Kansas before the Civil War erupted. Kansas and Missouri had their own mini civil war six years before the "great war" dividing the nation exploded.

01-2007 - Kansas City Toy & Miniature Museum

Marie and I have tried to give you a visual imagine of a few of the antique toys and miniatures housed in the museum. Yet, the written word in this case lends a very limited picture of all that can be found in the Toy and Miniature Museum. One thing we know for sure as we write this article, the museum is a place that must be viewed because words fall short of what the eyes will experience.

12-2006 Orphan Trains

Marie and I are always profoundly affected by sad stories involving children. We find it difficult to understand why innocent children are abused or neglected, yet that happens too often. Our story this month involves suffering children; actually, it is a story that has both happy and sad elements. The story also makes an interesting connection between the mid-west and the east coast.

Some of our readers may have heard of the Orphan Trains; a term applied to trains that carried thousands of New York children to new homes in rural American. These were not just any children, but a special group of children that clearly were underdogs in society. They were mostly children of first generation immigrant families—often being in American only a brief time before disaster hit.

Immigrant families coming to the US—the land of opportunity—headed for the big cities looking for jobs. New York was a prime destination for many immigrants. Life in big unfamiliar cities held trials for these immigrants. Trying to provide the essentials for humble survival proved extremely difficult for the newly planted immigrants. Immigrant families arrived poor, virtually penniless, as a result shelter, food, clothing, and medicine was almost non-existing or in short supply for them. Death lingered near the doorstep at all times; often both parent died from disease, exhaustion, or occupational accidents—factories in the 1800s had no safety regulations. The loss of both parent left children to fend for themselves. Most families immigrating to the US came as single families, so there were no extended families available that could take care of the children. As a result these orphaned children were on their own trying to manage in whatever way they could, usually staying one step ahead of starvation.

Not all the immigrant children that were suffering were orphans; many of these children experienced abuse, neglect, or abandonment at the hands of parents that were overwhelmed from trying to cope with such impoverished conditions. As we all know, poverty often breeds family violence and abandonment.

For a wide variety of reasons thousands of urchins roamed the city streets of New York looking for food, shelter, and work. The ages of these orphaned, abandoned, run-away, abused, homeless children could be as young tiny infants to teenagers. Often big brothers or sisters were left in charge of young siblings. Living in such conditions threatened the lives of these destitute children. Many died, turned to a life of crime, became prostitutes, or ran in gang, all of which only added to their state of misery. We think our readers can quickly visualize what life was like for a homeless child on the streets of New York.

Charles Loren Brace became the crusader and savior of many of these homeless waifs. While a student at the Yale Divinity School and Union Theological Seminary, he became concerned about the thousands of children scavenging for survival on the streets of New York. He became so concerned that it became his life mission to do something to help these unfortunate children.

In 1853, Brace and like minded supporters formed the New York Children’s Aid Society. The philosophical belief of the Society was that perpetual misery was the only possibility for homeless children living in the big city under such adverse conditions. The members of the Society believed these children needed to be removed from the streets of New York and placed in the homes of caring, loving Christian farm families throughout the mid-west. And so, in 1854 the first train load of children left New York for the rural mid-west and a new life. From 1854 to 1929 these trains—eventually dubbed "orphan trains" transported thousands of children. It is estimated that over 100,000 children were removed from the streets of New York and transported to what is now forty-seven different states.

We do not think anyone would find Rev. Brace at fault for wanting to improve the lives of such unfortunate children. And certainly, many of them did find good homes and a chance for a happy successful life that they never would have had if left on their own in New York. But the story of the children of the Orphan Trains is not without some sadness. Otto and I will share both the positive and negative of the story.

The homeless children came to the attention of the Society via various avenues. Often children that were orphaned or abandoned, especially young children, ended up in orphanages. New York had quite a few orphanages where unwanted, homeless children were placed. Some of the older children—middle school or teenagers—ended up in prisons with hardened adult criminals. The Society searched the orphanages and prisons seeking out children that would qualify for the program. The Society also went to improvised families trying to convince the parents or parent that the child would have a better chance for happiness and success if placed with loving farm families. Many parents agreed that a life of poverty was not what they wanted for their children, and they would sign papers giving up their rights to the child. Parents giving up their children signed papers promising never to try to make contact with the child again. It is hard to imagine what these poor parents felt as they gave up their own flesh and blood, or the bewilderment the child must have felt to learn mama and papa where giving him/her away.

When it came time for traveling West, the children were told the night before that in the morning they would board a train that would take them to a new home, which might be in Kansas, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois, etc. In the morning the children were dressed in new clothes and given an extra set of clothing all of which was put in small suitcase and marked with the child’s name.

If there were just a few children heading West, the children along with adult care givers would share the train car with other passengers. Some times a large number of children were sent; in this case, the railroad provided a separate car carrying just the children and the care givers. Whatever the travel accommodations, the children were not allowed to leave the train car until they reached the destination of their future home. The length of train travel depended on the destination, but the children could expect to spend at least two to four days in route.

The agents accompanying the children were very concerned and cared about the children. Still one cannot help but wonder about what must have run through the minds of these little ones as they left New York. These young children were traveling to places totally unfamiliar to live with total strangers. It must have been plenty frightening to the children.

Prior to sending the children to new homes, the Children’s Aid Society made arrangement with the community receiving the children. Notices ran in the local newspaper days before the train load of children arrived. Here is an example of an ad that ran in the local paper: A company of orphans ages 2 to 16 will be arriving on August 19th in Countryville. The Children’s Aid Society of New York is asking the citizens of the community to help in finding homes for these children. The children are to be properly trained and educated so that they may become useful citizens. The conditions are that all shall be properly clothed and treated as members of the family, those under 15 are to be sent to school and to remain until they are 18; those over 15 to remain until they are 17, while those over 16 remain for one year. The society reserves the right to remove a child at any time for just cause.

The Society’s agents in attempting to prepare the community for accepting children requested that a committee of leading, honest, trustworthily citizens be formed.

The committee usually consisted of local ministers, bankers, wealthy, successful farmers and merchants. The job of the committee was to review applications of those seeking homeless children. The committee was to determine if the child would be treated properly if placed in the home of the applicant. Once the child was placed in a home, Society agents were to make annual follow up visits checking on the well being of the child. The yearly follow-ups were often neglected simply because there were never enough agents to check on the thousands of children placed in homes throughout the mid-west. We feel that the society certainly made ever efforts to ensure the child went to a good home, but without annual visits some children did fall into terrible cracks.

The train ride, no doubt, was grueling for these children, but we think what they experienced once they reached the community was also a harsh, frightening experience. The children, prior to the train pulling in the station, were again cleaned up and dressed in fresh clothes. They were made to look their best. Once the train pulled into the station the children were taken to a church or some hall large enough to accommodate all the children, the care givers, and the prospective foster families that would take the children.

Once everyone was inside, the proceedings began. The children were literally put on display. Those interested in taken one of the children would walk around eyeing the child up and down, looking into the child’s mouth and often feeling the teeth. One Orphan Train woman recalls that it was all she could do to keep from biting the man because he had terrible dirty hands. The muscles of the children were felt to determine if they would be good helpers on the farm. The families would pick out the child they wanted, sign a few papers, and the family would head back home with the new, albeit frightened, addition to the family.

There were regulations followed in the selection procedure: if the child flatly refused to go with the family, the child was not forced to go. All placements with the families were considered trial basis. If after a period of adjustment the child was unhappy with the family, the child could request to be removed and the request was granted. Likewise, if the family was dissatisfied with the child, the family could return the child. The family was required to feed, clothes, board, and see the child received an education, but the family was not required to legally adopt; however, legal adoption did occur. The children placed with a family were expected to work and share in the responsibilities as if in a "real" family.

Many children did find good homes, but some children did not. There is no record of how many were placed successfully or poorly. There were families that just wanted a child for the work they could get—these children faired little better than the slaves. There are records of children running away never to be found. "Run-aways" tended to be older teenage boys. Keep in mind, most of the children were not farm children; instead they were children of immigrant families that left an overcrowded European city for an overcrowded American city. No doubt, for the older teenage boy farm life was bewildering.

The Society did keep some records of where the children were placed—but the records are somewhat incomplete. Certainly, no statistics were taken to determine how many ended in good homes or how many children ended up in abusive situation. To some extent, the Society did keep track and stayed in contact with the children. Records of the Society have been found—the records contain list of names, journal entries of placements, and letters from the children. In recent years there has been effort to track down some background information on these children. Children of the Orphan Trains often ran into difficulty because they could not document their background. For example, if you cannot prove who you are or where you came from applying for driver license, social security, and even some jobs, it can be very tough.

In addition to the possibility of being placed with an abusive family, the children also experienced ostracizing by others in the community. The mid-west has a reputation of being suspicious of outsiders and these children were clearly outsiders. While most spoke English, it was broken English; after all these were poor immigrant children that had little education before coming to America. The worst experience many of these children experienced was being labeled bastards. Often members of the farm communities viewed these orphans as off-springs of drunks and prostitutes; the prostitute having dumped the child on the doorstep of an orphanage. Many of the Orphan Train children told of being rejected by the community. One woman said, "I would look in the mirror and try to figure out why no one wanted me around—I couldn’t understand how I looked different." One Orphan Train child said—we were considered as those having "bad blood" because our background was unknown.

Marie and I have concluded that the intentions of Rev Brace certainly were aimed at helping these desperate children to a better life. Many of the Orphan Train children themselves acknowledge that if they had not been removed from the streets they would have surely experience only misery and death. Yet, taking children and sending then out West to live with total strangers had to be traumatic and probably left some scaring that lasted a life time.

Perhaps the children taken from their parents suffered the most. One man reported that his father was at the train station when he and his brothers were shipped off. He remembers his father crying. The father gave the boy a paper with his address and asked the son to write him. No doubt, one of the attendants saw the father giving the child the paper. During the night the paper disappeared, and the child was never able to contact his broken hearted father. The man said that his father may have been a drunk, but he obviously loved us, or he would have not been at the station crying and making an effort to keep contact with us. Also for the siblings, it must have been hard when they were separated from each other. There does seem to be some indication that if a family could not take brothers and sisters, the Society at least tried to place the siblings in the same communities, so they could stay in contact with each other.

Assessing the success or even determinating the right or wrongness of the Orphan Trains is hard. We feel the best assessment is that it helped thousands of children who might have never had a chance otherwise, but like all institutions that seek to help children, there are always a few children that fall through the crack and are seriously harmed. Today foster care has replaced the Orphan Trains that operated seventy-five years. We all know that the current foster care system with all it wonderful care givers has an occasional abuser that harms the child permanently. Obviously, no child care system is without flaws—but hopefully the success of trying to help children caught in sad conditions far outweighs the failures.

 11-2006 Gordon Parks - Genius

This month we have selected another personality that has Kansas roots. Again, we face a giant task in trying to reduce to a few words the story of a man who went through so much yet has reached such distinguished levels of accomplishments.

Gordon Parks entered into a life filled with poverty and racism in 1912 Fort Scott Kansas. For many blacks an impoverished life overshadowed by bigotry proves destructive, but for Gordon Parks, the dual evils harden and shaped his life in ways that allowed him to reach unbelievable levels of creativity. Parks has excelled in a multitude of careers: photographer, film director, novelist and composer of music.

In the early 1900s, Fort Scott exhibited the typical American racism of the time. Restaurants barred blacks; special sections – the poorest sections – were selected as "proper seating" for blacks in theatres; blacks could not participate in school sports or social events; and black youths were discouraged from getting a higher education. Educational systems were based on the "separate but equal" concept which, in reality, meant segregate the blacks and put them in inferior schools. Most blacks found only menial, low paying jobs. In short, fifty years after the Civil War, blacks were still socially, economically and politically subordinate to whites. We point this out simply to give a little background on what conditions were like at the time.

Parks does not deny the effect such unjust treatment had on him. As an innocent child, Parks wondered why blacks were considered inferior to whites. Eventually, the innocent questioning turned to rage towards the white world. Parks believes the early nurturing of his parents saved him from unleashing his anger upon the white society.

Sarah and Andrew, Parks’ parents, were loving, hard working and religious people. Even through poverty encompassed the family, the parents worked hard to insure that the large family had the essentials for life, albeit the necessities were sparse at times. Parks attributes much to his mother’s influence in preparing him to meet the struggles and hardships of life. His mother embodied love and justice in all her actions. She told Parks that racists are the ones with the problems and that at some point, in this or the next life, they will be the ones who pay. She also instilled in him the belief that there was nothing that one could not accomplish if one truly wanted it and tried hard. Through his mother’s influence, Parks avoided letting anger consume him, thus allowing him to reach elevated levels of creativity.

The love, warmth and support he found in his family gave him a sense of security, even in the face of the twin evils, poverty and bigotry. But that security ended when, at the age of fifteen, his mother died. After her death, Parks was sent to live with an older sister in St. Paul. This move proved disastrous for Parks, as his sister’s husband, for some reason, rejected the teenager and kicked him out of the house. Consequently, at a very vulnerable and tender age, Parks was thrown into the cruel world on his own. The remaining teen years were nightmares filed with hatred, violence and poverty. There were few job opportunities for young black men, which meant little chance of escaping from a life filled with hell.

Parks describes on horror filled job in a flophouse in Chicago. His job consisted of cleaning the place; a cleaning job few could handle. The men staying there were violent, filthy, hopeless drunks and drug addicts; men who usually passed out in their own vomit, urine and feces. Throughout that period of employment, his life was filled with terror, but he saved money and eventually returned to St. Paul. But, before escaping that place, Parks almost committed a crime that would have cost him his freedom and most likely his life.

Parks, with a natural music talent, taught himself to play the piano. This talent enabled him to find work as a piano player, mostly in brothels. Nonetheless, this job was better than work most blacks found. He also worked for a period in the Civilian Conservation Corp during the Great Depression. A porter’s job on the North Coast Limited helped pave the way for his future as a photographer.

On one of the runs he found a portfolio of photographs left behind by a passenger. The photos, depicting the Depression, included shots of displaced workers, shanty villages, dust storms and crop failure… the general despair that characterized the 1930s. These pictures left a deep impression on Parks, not just because of the subjects they depicted, but because the photos hauntingly brought to life the ugly realities of impoverished people. A couple more incidents involving the powerful effects of photography convinced Parks that he wanted to be a photographer. He wrote: I was determined to become a photographer… I bought my first camera at a pawnshop for $7.50. It was a Voightlander Brilliant. Not much of a camera, but a great name to toss around. I had bought what was to become my weapon against poverty and racism.

One of his early photography jobs involved taking fashion photos, a job he landed through shear guts. Having no experience in fashion photography, did not stop Parks from walking to a fashionable clothing store in St. Paul one spring day and asking the owner if he could photograph fashions for the store. The owner was ready to walk by and ignore Parks’ request, but his wife seized upon the opportunity. While taking pictures was considerably more enjoyable than most work Parks found, his early years as a cameraman continued to be lean, making it difficult for Parks to support a wife and growing family.

He decided to move his family back to Chicago and look for photography work in the big city. The family continued to struggle financially until Parks became to the first photographer to win the Julius Rosenwald Fund … an award given to someone with promising creative talent. The photos that won Parks recognition were those of impoverished blacks in Chicago.

As a result of the award, he received a fellowship with the Farm Security Administration doing photographic documentation of the plight of farmers. This job took the Parks family to the nation’s capital for the next two years. Parks quickly discovered that Washington, D.C. was a city filled with racial hatred. The nation’s capital became a place where Parks could certainly utilize the power of the camera lens through which the ugliness of racism in DC was depicted for everyone to see.

Following those years he went to New York to resume a career in fashion photography, working for Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and Glamour magazines. But Parks had his sights set on an even greater prize… he wanted to be a photographer for Life, a job he landed and held for twenty years.

As a Life photographer, his assignments took him all over the world. Some assignments were glamorous, allowing him to take photos of movie stars, heroes, record breaking events, etc. For some assignments, however, his camera focused on ugliness: poverty, crime, prison oppression, etc. Parks was a key photographer during the Civil Rights movement of the sixties.

In addition to photography, Parks also became an accomplished writer. One novel, The Learning Tree, was made into a movie which he directed. He has gone on to direct a number of Hollywood movies: Shaft, The Super Cops and Shaft’s Big Score. In all these endeavors he has proven to be a creative genius.

Marie and I have just barely touched on a few accomplishments of Gordon Parks, but it’s obvious from even this short list that Kansas can take deep pride in its native son. As we read Parks’ book, Voices in the Mirror, an Autobiography, Marie and I begin to wonder if Parks could take pride in Kansas after all the racial indiscretions he faced. We were happy to discover in one of the final chapters that Kansas has acknowledged and shown Parks the recognition he deserves. And while Parks is not a bitter man, he knows racism is not over.

Reading Parks’ autobiography was a great reminder for us. We realized the really great, creative talents that Parks possesses, but we were also reminded again of the ugliness of bigotry. Hatred is such a powerfully destructive force. Sadly, bigots of any kind end up not only destroying the innocent for which their hate is aimed, but also they destroy themselves through their own hate, and there can be no meaningful creativity in hatred.

Osa Johnson - I Married Adventure

This month, we have chosen once again to talk about a famous Kansan who was a woman way ahead of her time, Osa Leighty Johnson, 1894- 1953. Osa’s marriage to Martin Johnson, when she was only sixteen, started her on a life that was anything but typical for a housewife of the early 1900s. While most homemakers of that era were busy cooking, cleaning, washing, gardening, canning, sewing, and raising kids, Osa was busy traveling and helping her husband photograph wild animals in primitive areas of the world. For our main source of information regarding Osa’s life we relied on her autobiography, I Married Adventure. The title aptly describes her life.

Osa was born in 1894 in Chanute. She met Martin for the first time when she was only seven; he was seventeen at that first encounter. This first meeting did not leave a positive impression on Osa. As a matter-of-fact, Martin really irritated her. It would be nine years before they met again, and the second meeting was also a source of irritation to her.

Martin’s love for photography set the stage for the first chance encounter. At the age of seventeen, Martin decided to make his fortune traveling from town to town as a portrait photographer; thus, one day he arrived in Chanute. Upon hearing that a photographer was in town, seven-year-old Osa decided that her little three-year-old brother, Vaughn, should have his picture taken. She convinced her father to give her a dime, a considerable sum in those days, so she could take young Vaughn to the traveling photographer. The dime would buy ten pictures. She dressed and groomed her little brother for the picture wanting him to look perfect. The walk that hot September day to the photographer’s studio caused little Vaughn to loose a good portion of his freshness.

Osa recounted the first encounter with Martin. Upon entering the studio, Osa with three-year-old Vaughn, who now was howling with protest [was told by a] tall thin young man with a black cloth over his head and a gray rubber apron covering him from knees to chin [standing] behind a camera . . . ‘Sit down, you kids, and be quiet.’ Martin was busy photographing a baby girl, so while waiting for Vaughn’s turn, Osa attempted to wipe off some of the tear streaked smudges of dirt from Vaughn face and restore him to some of his shining cleanness that had been his when we left home.

When Vaughn’s turn came, the trouble really began. She writes, Well, nothing that has happened to me before or since has equaled the humiliation, struggle and pure anger of that next fifteen minutes. The young photographer had his ideas of how the picture should be taken, I had mine and Vaughn wanted none of any of it. And then something happened that was quite beyond my experience and to this day has me puzzled whenever I encounter it. They looked at each other, these two, and then effortlessly and without a word reached some sort of pact that completely excluded me. Off came the broad white embroidered collar; the hair which I had smoothed at regular intervals from the moment we left home was tousled deliberately and just as the picture was snapped, Vaughn grinned.

The photographer laughed and said, ‘That’s fine, young fellow, this’ll be good.’ Then to me something about, ‘Ten cents, please, little girl, and you’ll have to come back for the pictures this afternoon; I’m leaving Chanute in the morning.’

I looked at him and picked up the discarded white collar; I looked at Vaughn, now a perfect angel of sweetness and good intention; then paid the ten cents in a voiceless rage and left.

Before describing the next encounter between Osa and Martin, we will give some brief information on Martin’s activities between their first and second meetings. Martin’s activities set the stage for the joint adventure that he and Osa shared for twenty seven years.

After a short spell as a traveling photographer, Martin realized he would never make a living at that job; he just barely broke even. As a result, he decided he would have to resign himself to the fact that he would have to enter into business with his father, which is what the senior Johnson always wanted. John Johnson had established a very successful jewelry in Independence, and he had always dreamed that someday his son would join him in the jewelry store. Consequently, for a number of years Martin tried being contented with the jewelry business, but he was always restless.

One day, Martin happened upon an article written by Jack London. The article described a seven-years-around-the world voyage that London was planning. The vessel that would carry the London’s, Jack and his wife plus four-crew member, would be a specially designed forty-four foot boat. The article went on to say—they still needed one crewmember. Martin lost no time in applying for the position, and, to his great surprise, he was accepted. To his even greater surprise he was to be the ships cook. Martin took a quick crash course in cooking, but he never mastered the art. As a rule his meals were lousy.

The seven-year trip was shortened to only a little over two years because Jack and other crewmembers suffered from scurvy. Nonetheless, those two years at sea set the stage for the remainder of Martin’s life. During the voyage, he developed an unquenchable thirst for adventure and a desire to photograph the untamed areas of the world.

After returning from the trip, an Independence drug store owner, Charlie Kerr, became Martin’s business associate and friend. Charlie convinced Martin that he should share his pictures and experiences with audiences.

This suggestion opened up the movie business for Martin. In a short time Charlie and Martin were operating two movie houses in Independence. In addition to showing movies, Martin shared his adventures with the audience.

The typical movie theater of the early 1900s had singers who performed between shows. In Martin’s movie house Gail Page sang; Gail was Osa’s closest friend. It was through Gail that Osa once again came into contact with Martin. As previously mentioned, the second meeting proved to be just as irritating for Osa as the first experience she had when Martin photographed her little brother.

Osa had gone to hear Gail sing at the theater. Osa thoroughly enjoyed hearing her friend sing, but when Martin began showing his pictures of cannibals and such, Osa could take none of it and left. Gail wanted Osa to meet Martin after the show, but Osa replied I never want to meet him as long as I live.

A couple weeks later Osa returned to spend the weekend with Gail and her new husband. The newly weds planned a double date with Osa and Martin. That date turned out to be a disaster and Osa could not get back to Chanute fast enough.

Nonetheless, once back home Osa could not shake the thought of Martin. Later that week, she was on cloud nine when she received a letter from Martin asking if he might call on her the coming Sunday. Martin called on her the next two Sundays. Both times Osa was convinced she never wanted to see him again; she was ready to give up on the man. She wondered how it was possible for anyone to make me as mad as this man always did.

It might have ended after those two times of Martin courting her, but the following week Martin called and asked her if she would fill in for Gail and sing at the theater; Gail was ill. Osa agreed, but it was because she loved her friend; she was not doing it to please Martin. Osa’s father gave her strict orders that after she was finished performing, she was to catch the 5 o’clock train back to Chanute.

By the time the performance was over Osa had had more than enough of the arrogant Martin. She decided to head for the train depot early to get away from "that man." Martin offered to take her to the station. While on the way, he asked if she would mind if he made a quick stop at the theater. While at the theater it started to rain, and while they were waiting for the rain to stop, Martin impulsively asked Osa to marry him that day! She impulsively said yes! And by 9 o’clock that evening, they were married!

Both families were shocked about the hurried marriage, but the deed was done, so they accepted the marriage. And despite the chaotic courtship, if a few unpleasant dates can be called courtship, Osa and Martin adjusted well to married life. Osa was a happy bride, and she was quite proud of her husband.

The couple had been living in an apartment over a store for about six months when Osa suggested that they buy a lot and start building a home. Osa was not prepared for Martin’s reaction. He told her he could not do that—he just could not be anchored to a home. Furthermore, he feared the worst. Their hasty marriage had been a terrible mistake especially since he realized how much she wanted a home and family. In desperation, he exclaimed, I’d go crazy if I thought I had to stay here all the rest of my life. . . . We are going around the world, Osa!"

Osa was quite taken back and not a little bit confused by he remarks. All she could say was "Well, all right, dear." But she seriously wondered how they could afford such a trip. Martin suggested that first they sell all their possessions, including the wedding gifts; then they would go touring around the country lecturing and showing his adventure pictures. He needed to broaden his audience beyond Independence.

From that point on Osa wrote, I began to grasp the fact that not only was I married to a very unusual man, but to a man with an obsession besides. I grasped the additional fact that we probably never would live the way other people did, and it seemed to me suddenly that under the circumstances I had an excessive amount of pride of the wrong sort. Acquiring a fine home, nice clothes, having a successful husband, all the substantial things, had been very important to me; but now, as I looked at Martin, I began in a fumbling way to shape a different sort of pride.

It took the couple over two years touring about the country before they were able to collect enough money to begin their adventure. Their lecture tour took them as far away as Canada. Finally they acquired enough money, $400,000, and their adventure began. On their first trip they crossed the Pacific, touching base at Honolulu, Samoa, Pago-Pago and Australia.

Martin learned of some fierce cannibalistic tribes in the Solomon Islands and was determined to find and to photograph them. Someone suggested that maybe Osa should not accompany him on that picture taking adventure. Osa became quite indignant replying, If you go I’m going with you Martin Johnson. That’s what I came for and that’s how it’s going to be—the whole way. The whole way! And that is the way the Johnsons traveled, always as a couple, regardless of the danger. By the way, they had quite an experience with the cannibals on that first trip; it was extremely intense for a while.

In their twenty-five years of travel they had many exciting filming adventures. Once while filming in Africa, they discovered a pride of over a dozen lions at leisure. The Johnson’s were literally just a few feet away from the "kings of the jungle" as they rolled the film.

Every time they returned to the States, their films and lectures were in great demand by all ages.

Sadly, Martin was killed in a plane crash in 1937. In that crash Osa was also seriously injured, but after recovering she went on touring and sharing the adventures she had shared with Martin. In addition to helping Martin with the photographing and filming of wild untamed areas, Osa became an expert marksman and she also took up flying. They each had their own planes that they flew during their adventures, the Spirit of Africa and Osa’s Ark.

The Johnson’s had a unique partnership.

Underground At Park University

We want to share an unusual growth story with you this month. It concerns how a small college that ran out of building space not only solved that problem, adding thousands of square feet to its campus, but also adding two unique sources of revenue in the process. The college is Park University in Parkville Missouri. Although the college received university status in 2000, the institution is quite old—one hundred and twenty-one years, opening its door in 1875.

Two men are given credit for founding the college: Colonel George S. Park and Dr. John A. McAfee. Park was the founder of the city of Parkville, and he wanted his town to have a college. Dr. McAfee is the educator that laid the academic foundation for Park College. Colonel Park donated the land for the school and the first building for the school—a hotel in Parkville. A side note—Park received the commission of Colonel when he served one year in Sam Houston’s army in Texas’ battle for independence.

If our readers are familiar with Western Missouri or Eastern Kansas, they know the area is covered with trees and hills. The land Colonel Park gave for Park College was no exception. The college is literally on a bluff over looking the Missouri River; the trees and hills with a look toward the River makes Park University is a very picturesque campus. The main campus buildings are on about 100 of the 800 acres the University owns; the remaining acres are held in endowment.

The main buildings at Park University include McKay, a beautiful old building built in 1899 and includes a clock tower; the humanities building; science hall; the old library now serving as admission office are also some of the early building on the campus. Newer buildings are the alumni hall that houses the performing arts; the dorms; and the student union. Also on campus are the President’s home and a couple older buildings. Parts of these building are near or on top of the bluff; the other buildings are a various levels of the hilly bluff. If you’re at a building at the bottom of the hill, you have about 60 steps to climb to reach the upper part of the campus. Of course, there is road, so you can drive to the highest part of the campus. But no matter where you are, you most likely will climb a few steps.

The hilliness of the area must have added to the challenges of building the campus—nothing is on flat ground. The hills, however, did add some help in the building process. Most of the older buildings are built of limestone, which was quarried out of the hills. Two types of limestone are quarried from the area: Argentina and Bethany Falls. The fact the college could provide a portion of its building material certainly helped defray cost. And labor in the early days was done by students. Dr. McAfee brought a unique educational philosophy to Park. He believed that all capable students should have the opportunity for an education regardless of their economic circumstances. As a result the college set up a "Family Work Program." The students in the program attended morning classes and worked for the college in the afternoon. Work included building, planting and harvesting crops, cooking, etc—whatever needed to be done. The student worked for the college and in returned received a first class education.

The unique work program attracted many students seeking a liberal arts education. And the college provided an excellent liberal arts education to students through highly qualified and gifted instructors. Growth of the college was steady, and as was bound to happen, Park College began to run out of space. One of the first noticeable shortages of space problem was the library.

The original library was a two story Carnegie building built in 1908. In 1923 an addition was added; the library could comfortable hold 40,000 volumes. By the mid 1900s it had over twice that many volumes. Something had to be done to provide more space in the library—but what, since ground space was limited. In the 1960s it was suggested that a different approach be applied to the college rock quarry. Why not do more then just remove rock for building? Why not carve out an underground facility for the library. A plus to the plan included the potential to sell the quarried limestone.

Underground facilities are not uncommon in hilly regions. The controlled, even climates, in underground facilities are great for storages—but certainly the caverns can be used for much more than storage. So, Park College excitedly launched in an investigation into creating an underground library. The actual work on the underground library did not start until 1981; the construction of the underground facilities would take almost fifteen years. Why so long, you may be asking. It was because there was a considerable amount of pre-preparation. We will list nine steps that had to be complete before the actually library could be laid out.

First, there had to be core drilling into the hill. This core drilling provided the information for the next step. The second step was engineering studies of the core drilling and surveys to make sure craving out a large amount of the hill would be safe above and below ground. The third step was the removal of 82,000 tons of limestone rock. Fourth, after each blasting and removal of the blasted away rock, the roof of the underground area needed to be secured with roof bolts. This bolting is done on every 4 square foot of the ceiling. The construction used in the creation of Park’s underground is "room and pillars." This method entails carving out rooms 25 ft wide with ceilings 12 to 14 ft high. The actual blasting of rock took place between the pillars, which are evenly spaced at 15 ft intervals. The pillars are about 25 sq ft in circumference and they are the main support for the underground facilities. Fifth, it was decided in the planning stage that three entrances to the underground facilities would be needed. The main entry tunnel to the underground is 1,025 feet long. Another important consideration was getting the heavy equipment into the underground to do the work—trunks were needed to haul away the limestone rock. So sixth, a special Bernold arch 65 ft high had to be created at the entrance for entering and exiting the underground. Seventh, after removal of the rock, the walls and pillars of the underground were sprayed with liquid concrete. Eighth, basic lighting and plumbing lines were put in place. Finally, the nineth step would be the pouring of concrete flooring.

Now the actual building of the underground library facilities could begin. Designated areas were walled off for rooms, floors were finished, additional lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation was installed, woodwork added, and finally decorating the various rooms and supplying necessary equipments. The underground space at Park has a wide variety of uses. In addition to the 48,000 sp ft library, the underground is home to the main computer center, the mail room, the campus bookstore, a board room, large seminar rooms, computer lab, offices, and "smart" classrooms. More recently beautiful facilities for the College of Distant Learning were added to the underground facilities. Park University has 42 campuses on military bases in 21 states offering a wide variety of degrees.

Solving Park’s need for more space was just one phase of the underground—there is much more to the underground facilities. So far 700,000 sq ft has been mined and finished. About a third of this area is leased commercially. A local school district is one of the residents using spaces for offices, storage, and a Resource Instruction Center. Neighboring Johnson Country also is a big renter. Other renters include a light manufacturer, an engineering firm, wine wholesaler, an enzyme distributor, food manufacturers, an electronic manufacturer, medical record providers, and data warehousing to name a few. As previously mentioned, underground provides a climate controlled environment, year round even temperature and controlled moisture. These two points alone lower operating cost. There is no shortage of renters. While the commercial underground is busy, there is still available space for new renters and more space is still being created. Park University projects that within the coming twenty-five years the amount excavated for space will be more than double the size of the currently available underground space.

In addition to the income from renting space, the University also makes money through the selling of limestone. Large portions of limestone is sold for road construction. It becomes crushed aggregate used in asphalt paving. And Redi-Mix concrete is a major buyer of the limestone. The leasing of space and selling of rock generates about $600,000 of income yearly for the University.

Hopefully, through the pictures provided you’ll get some idea of the massive size of the underground world at Park University. It is truly amazing!

Marie and I are going to deviate from our norm of writing about Kansas history this month; we hope our readers will not mind. Rest assured that our column will still be historical in nature, just beyond the borders of Kansas.

We toured an old military fort that was as intriguing as it was huge. The fortress, Fort Jefferson, lies off the coast of Miami, Florida. This military fort is built on a rather small island, which is a part of a group of seven islands known as the Dry Tortugas.

These islands were first discovered by Ponce De Leon in 1513. He claimed them for Spain at that time. De Leon named them the Tortugas because of the vast number of turtles that populated the islands. You may have figured out that Tortugas is Spanish for turtles.

The United States acquired Florida in 1821 and this acquisition included the Dry Tortugas, located seventy miles west of Key West, Florida. There are a considerable number of coral reefs in this area of the gulf, so a lighthouse was constructed in 1825 on the island known as the Garden Key. Another of the Dry Tortugas islands is called the Bird Key. James Audubon visited the area in 1832 and made numerous bird drawings.

In 1846 the United States decided to establish a fort on one of the Dry Tortugas. The decision for a fort was based upon three reasons. One, a fort in the Gulf would help protect the US shipping interest not only into ports in Florida but also into New Orleans where many goods headed up and down the Mississippi River. Reason two, since piracy was still a problem in the Gulf, it was hoped that a fort in the region would curb some of this criminal activity. Finally, a fort in this region would provide a protected harbor for ships to pull into and to do necessary repair work.

So, in 1846 the project of building a massive fort on a tiny island that had a foundation of coral was started. While coral is a hard substance, it is not quite like building a structure on a firm flat surface like solid earth; the action of the ocean on coral has an erosive effect. There were two other problems facing construction of a fort on the Dry Tortugas: the islands provided no materials for building and no fresh water for drinking. The term dry had been added to the name Tortugas to indicate that the islands were void of fresh water. But dogged determination can usually overcome most obstacles, and in the case of building in the Tortugas these obstacles were met and conquered.

First, a foundation two feet thick and fourteen foot wide was built on the coral shelf. This endeavor alone was challenging since it had to be constructed ten feet below sea level. Temporary water tight dams (cofferdams) were built where the foundation would be constructed. Once the cofferdams were in place, the sea water was pumped out of the dammed up areas. After the foundation has been put down the actual construction of the Fort began; the Fort walls were made of brick. All of the bricks were hauled in by ships, and we are talking about a "bunch of bricks" - 40,000,000. The final height of the fortress was forty-five feet and the width was about half the height.

The shape of the Fort is an irregular hexagon with a circumference of over one half mile. The walls of the Fort enclosed fifteen acres of land. In this enclosed area the barracks for the enlisted men were built-each one was three stories. Between 1,000 to 1,500 were to be stationed at the Fort. The officer quarters, kitchen, bakery, gunrooms, and a hot shot oven (oven that makes cannon balls) were built within the walls of the fortress. A large central magazine was also constructed in the compound; it was especially designed to keep the powder dry. There were also smaller arsenal storage rooms throughout the Fort; these smaller rooms were located nearer to the cannons. The inner court of the Fort also served as the parade ground.

We want to go back and describe a little more about the structure of the Fort. French engineers were called upon to help with designing the fortress walls. The French architects are partly responsible for the 2,000 arches found throughout the edifice. In addition to the impressive appearances of the arches, they actually add considerable strength to the walls.

Like we all know, one picture is worth a thousand words, so we have included pictures of the interior walls, showing the long archways. The walls were built in three tiers. The bottom and middle tiers had cannons mounted in such a manner that the guns could easily be pivoted to any position within a 180 degrees radius, allowing the Fort to be protected from all directions.

A moat was built around the Fort, which might cause one to ask, "why a moat around the fort that is surrounded by water?" The answer is threefold. First, the moat did offer some additional protection if enemy advances were made onto the island. There was but one gate into the Fort, and this gate could only be reached via a draw bridge. If the enemy did try to make entry, the bridge was drawn shut leaving the foe facing substantial difficulty in scaling a forty-five foot walls.

Second, the moat served as a break water around the Fort. The walls of the moat received the continual pounding of the waves, not the walls of the Fort. And finally, the moat was part of the latrine system. Daily the refuse was flushed into the moat. There were breaks in the walls of the moat allowing seawater to flow in and out, which meant the waste would be washed out to sea.

As we mentioned early, the Tortugas did not have fresh water, so rain water had to be caught and stored. This was accomplished by a somewhat elaborate cistern assemblage. Into the foundation were built 109 cisterns, which gave the Fort 1,500,000 gallons capacity for fresh water. On the roofs were troughs that caught the rain and pipes were built into the walls to carry the rain water to the cisterns below. But this means of collecting fresh water failed in about ten years. Recall we said the foundation was built on a coral reef, and although the coral reef was "rock hard," it commenced to settle and to break; soon cracks began appearing in the foundation and trough these cracks salt water seeped into the cistern. Consequently, the Fort abandoned the cistern and began distilling the salt water for consumption. The Fort stayed In Union hands during the Civil War even though the Tortugas were part of the Confederate State of Florida. During the War the Fort served as a military prison for Union servicemen. A soldier might be sent there for desertion, for committing a military crime like sleeping on guard duty, or for any acts of insubordination. The men involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln also ended up imprisoned in Fort Jefferson. About 800 men were incarcerated at the Fort.

At the beginning of 1874 the military garrison was removed from the Fort, and the following year construction on the Fort ended. For the next twenty-three years the Fort was all but abandoned. The 1898 Spanish American War peaked interest in the Fort once again. The Navy began dredging the waters around the Fort to allow heavier and larger ships to use the island for a coaling station. A small garrison of Marines was placed at the Fort.

The Fort served as the coaling station until 1918 when that project was deserted. During its history as a coaling station little of the actual Fort was used, and the great Fort continued the decaying process that had in fact started in 1875 at the first abandonment. After 1918 the Fort was ignored and would have been left to further rot, decay, dismemberment, and vandalized had not President Roosevelt declared it part of the National Park System in 1935.

It is interesting to note that construction started on Fort Jefferson in 1846 and continued for the next thirty years, but the Fort was never completed. Likewise, with all the potential cannon power, a shot was never fired in battle from the great fortress.

We have just skimmed over a few of the highlights of the old Fort’s history. All we can add is that if you are ever in the Key West, Florida, and you feel up to a 2 hour boat ride each way out to the Dry Tortugas, you will discover a delightful and impressive artifact, Fort Jefferson - the Gibraltar of the Gulf."

July 2006 - The Bloody Benders... (A repeat)

Mankind, as a whole, has a deeply rooted and instinctive fear of murder. The shedding of innocent blood, the ghastly setting and the sinister act, the dark deed of violence—these all alarm and repel. To deliberately summon guilt and evil from their dark pit, and gaze unshrinkingly, gloatingly, on their gruesome faces, is unnatural. It is a sin against the great creed that nature has furnished men for them to live by.

But into the ceaseless flow of the generations of men nature at intervals drops that monstrosity—the killer. And in whatever age or country the killer is environed he remains always the same—emotionless, a person without conscience, who slays deliberately, passionlessly. Sometimes he kills for gain, for added power, for robbery, for jealousy or revenge. But whatever the surface motive, the deep, underlying provocation is always the pleasure he derives from inflicting and contemplating death. He kills in obedience to an inner voice that whispers constantly, urging the excitement, the delight to be derived from bloodshed.

The opening two paragraphs are from an account written by Edith Connelley Ross describing the activities of "the bloody Benders." Ross’s article appeared in Kansas State Historical Society, Vol. XVII. No doubt, some readers are familiar with the crimes of the Bender family, but if you’re not—be warned, you are about to read a true tale of horror.

The Bender family settled in the southeast Kansas county of Labette in spring of 1871; seemingly, their purpose was to homestead land near the town of Cherryvale. They selected a piece of land that lay some one hundred yards off of a well-traveled road. The Benders had a particular reason for selecting a site so close to a busy road—the site would greatly aid in supplementing their income.

Upon arrival, they quickly erected a one-room house, measuring sixteen by twenty-four feet. They divided the one large room into two rooms by hanging the wagon cover and a ragged quilt from the ceiling joists. One side of the partitioned room served as a small general store and a place were passing travelers could also purchase a meal. The other side of the curtain served as the skimpily furnished family’s living quarters; this side contained two beds, a table, a couple of chairs, an iron stove, and under the stove was a trap door which lead into a crude pit about six feet deep and five feet wide.

The pit also had a door that lead into the yard. The design of the pit is crucial to the tale of the Benders. Ross gives a good description of the pit’s purpose, the pit…was the high light, the most important thing in this house of horrors, for it was into this ghastly hole that the Benders threw the bodies of their victims until they could safely be disposed of. The lintel was stained and discolored with the blood of foully murdered men.

Often the passerby was killed during the daytime—perhaps when some other traveler was approaching, or when some neighbor was about to enter the store to make a purchase. The Benders had to be able to hastily dispose of a freshly murdered corpse, and the pit beneath the cook stove was prefect.

Ross goes on to say, Still limp and warm, the blood-stained body was dragged to the trap door of the pit, the was pit was thrown up, and the poor, mutilated thing that had so lately been a living, breathing man was pushed and kicked into it by the fiendish crew. The trap was swung shut.

The body was kept in the pit until the ghoulish family, by cover of night, could secretly remove the corpse. The body was drug to a spot in the garden where it was hurriedly buried in a shallow grave.

Outwardly, the Bender family appeared to be the typical homesteaders—they had a house, a barn, domestic animals as well as a cultivated garden and an orchard. But their real source of income was from robbing the travelers they had murdered. A weary traveler would stop by the house for nourishment, and at some point the unsuspecting guest would have his head bashed in by a blow from a hammer wielded by the elderly Bender. The corpse would be robbed and buried in the back yard.

What kind of people would commit this monstrous crime? Ross’ description of the four Benders provides the answer: The old woman was apparently between fifty-five and sixty. She was heavy, with a sickening, white, unhealthy fat—stooped—stolid of demeanor. She had dark, heavy-lidded eyes, and her black hair was streaked with white. Her expression was so sullen and savage that it repelled even her unimaginative neighbors, and so she was regarded with much disfavor long before any suspicion became attached to the Benders.

The old man seemed to be about the same age. He had the frame of a giant—was broad-shouldered and large boned. He had a heavy jaw, high cheekbones, and a low forehead. His eyes were black and piercing, set deeply under huge bushy brows. Through age had bowed his shoulders, he could straighten up to a couple inches over six feet. He was possessed of enormous gorilla-like strength.

John Bender, the son, was then about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. He was erect and tall, florid, auburn-hair, very good looking in an awkward, country-boy style. His shallow eyes were set very close together, and so wide-opened as to give the effect of a stare. Men who met and talked with him commented on his habit of accompanying every remark with an aimless laugh. It was a distracting, disconcerting mannerism.

Kate was the daughter of the Benders. She was the inspiration of the crimes—the tireless one, the leader of the rest—the killer. She was about five feet five or six inches in height and her weight was aroung one hundred and twenty-five or thirty pounds. She held herself proudly erect, head high; alert hazel eyes, wide and very bright. Her lips were red and pouting. It was a mouth to disturb the dreams of the young men who saw her.

Her hair was most literally a crowning glory. It was a deep auburn, coppery in the shadows, flashing red-gold…the men of her time, chary of description, and cautious of praise, called her "mighty good looking." She laughed a great deal, moved vivaciously, and courted the attention of those whom she met.

Of the four Benders, Kate was the most sociable; the brother could be if it was necessary, but the elder Benders were anti-social. As a rule, Pa and Ma Bender had the look and mannerism, which made most people want to avoid the old couple. Kate was the brain of the family. Most feel she was the one who devised the scheme to kill unsuspecting travelers.

Kate apparently had a number of talents. Upon first moving in the Cherryvale area, while Pa, Ma, and John were building the home place, Kate worked in a hotel. Since she was very much into spiritualism, she often held séances for those wanting to contact deceased relatives. She also claimed to have the ability to cure various diseases: blindness, fits, deafness, and dumbness.

The Benders were in the area about two years; it is believed that it was in the second year that they begin their crimes. A total of nine people were killed—eight men and one man’s five year old daughter. All had their heads bashed in with a hammer and their throats cuts with the exception of the small child; she was strangled or quite possibly drowned in the well. Some have speculated that as the guest sat with his back to the curtain he was clubbed from behind; others believe the Benders murdered the guest whenever the opportunity presented itself.

The Benders were very shrewd when choosing their victims. They made sure the person that they planned to kill and to rob did not live nearby. One man that had recently moved to the area recalled being asked several times where he lived. He remembered the old man coming in carrying a hammer such as a blacksmith used and asking abruptly, "Where did you came from?" The man added, the old man left the room whens he was certain that I was a new resident in the area. It was not until after the diabolical crimes of the Benders were uncovered that the man realized how near death he was on that particular day.

Another story is told of a priest traveling through the area, Father Ponziglione. The weather was somewhat foreboding, so the Father decided to stop at the Bender’s for food and logging until the storm passed. During the course of the evening, he begin to grow quite apprehensive and anxious; something about the Bender family just did not feel right to the priest. At one point, Father Ponziglione caught a glimpse of the old man placing an iron hammer behind the curtain. Finally, fear mounting, the Father could take no more and fled out the door muttering something about the pending storm and his horse. No doubt, the priest added years to his life by responding to his feeling of panic.

Maybe you’re asking, whatever happened to the Benders? The last victim was Dr. York; York’s brother, Colonel York, relentlessly began looking for his missing brother. Colonel York traced his brother as far as the Bender place; he traveled to the Benders and began asking questions about his brother. Kate promised to help find the missing brother the next day through a séance. The Benders were never seen again.

The neighbors, upon finding the abandoned horse and wagon of the Benders, thought that the family had suffered the same fate as others that had disappeared. Some eighteen days later, the community found out that four Germans had bought train tickets to Humboldt—the four were the Benders. The Benders had slyly slipped away and had plenty of time to get far away.

The people decided it was time to investigate. A number of neighboring men, including Colonel York, arrived at the farm to carry out the search. Upon entering the house, it was obvious that the Benders had fled in a hurry. Ross writes, Rags and dirty dishes were strewn about, the beds disordered, the furniture upset and kicked aside. Very little had been carried away. The trap door, with its leather hinges and its bloody lintel, was found. It was nailed shut and had to be pried open. When at last thrown back, a most horrible and stifling stench arose for the pit. No man was willing to enter it. So the searchers were compelled to wait until the house could be lifted away on wooden rollers before they could risk the putrid atmosphere of the pit.

Of course no bodies were found in the pit, but the now unattended garden and orchard presented an eerie sight. The elder Benders spent hours working the soil in both the garden and orchard—they did so to make the graves less noticeable. By keeping the soil loose and harrowed there was less chance of passerby detecting gravesites. But now over two weeks had lapsed since the soil had been tilled and the ground had started to crack into rectangular shapes.

The men begin digging into one of the strange oblong indention—soon they discovered the body of Dr. York in a shallow grave. Eventually, all the graves were uncovered—all the victims had been robbed and partially disrobed. The bodies were thrown into the shallow graves unceremoniously. Since the men had meet there their fate within the last nine months identification was possible. All except two bodies were identified by relatives and removed for proper reburial. The two unidentified men were given interment in the local cemetery.

Nope, the Benders were never captured—at least there is no record of their arrest. They may have relocated and continued their life of hideous crime. Some people in the area have suggested that the Benders did receive vigilante justice at the hands of Colonel York and his men. It is told that the Colonel after visiting the Benders was convinced they had killed his brother and that he returned the next morning and killed the Benders, as one would clean out a den of copperheads. The vast expansion of unsettled prairie would have made it easy for Colonel York to dispose of the bodies.

Like so many things in life—the finally story of the Bloody Benders will remain a mystery.

June 2006 - Five Famous Kansans

We are presenting five more famous, but not so well known Kansans this month. We think you’ll be a little more familiar with this group of Kansas men and women since they displayed their talents in the 20th century.

The first person on our list is James Naismith, 1861-1939. Naismith was born and educated in Canada, graduating from McGill University and Presbyterian College in Montreal. From 1887 to 1890, he taught physical education at McGill University and from 1890 to 1895 at the Young Men’s Christian Association Training School (YMCA) in Springfield, Massachusetts. The winter climate of Massachusetts stimulated Naismith to create an indoor sport with a limited number of players. So In 1891 Naismith invented the indoor game of basketball that required only eighteen players. The game became instantly popular.

After teaching a number of years in Springfield, Naismith left and headed to a teaching job at the YMCA in Denver. During this period, Naismith added a medical degree to his education. The combined medical and theological degrees landed him a job at Kansas University in 1898; Naismith became a Professor of Physical Education and campus chaplain. Of course, he brought along the game of basketball.

Even though basketball quickly became a popular game, Naismith did not think of it as a major sport. Naismith was quite taken back when one of his former KU students excitedly told Naismith that he had been hired by Baker University as the basketball coach. Naismith replied, "Why, basketball is just a game to play. It doesn’t need a coach."

Perhaps in 1936 James Naismith finally realized how important the game of basketball had become. In 1936 basketball was added to the Olympic Games, so friends and supporters of Naismith raised the money to send him to Berlin to watch the games. Upon returning, Naismith expressed that seeing the game played in competition against nations was a most rewarding experience.

When Naismith first wrote down the rules—there were only thirteen, and they could be neatly summarized on one page of paper. We have included the original rules of Naismith’s basketball.

1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.

2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands.

3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowances to be made for a man who catches the ball when running if he tries to stop.

4. The ball must be held by the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it.

5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping or striking in any way the person of an opponent shall be allowed; the first infringement of this rule by any player shall come as a foul, the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made, or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game, no substitute allowed.

6. A foul is striking the ball with the fist, violation of Rules 3, 4, and such as described in Rule 5.

7. If either side makes three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul).

8. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do no touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edges, and the opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal.

9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field of play by the person touching it. He has a right to hold it unmolested for five seconds. In case of a dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds; if he holds it longer it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game the umpire shall call a foul on that side.

10. The umpire shall be the judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.

11. The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals, with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.

12. The time shall be two fifteen-minute halves, with five minutes rest between.

13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner. In the case of a draw the game may, by agreement of the captains, be continued until another goal is made.

Naismith’s rules comprise less then 500 words—today the rules applying to basketball constitute over 30,000 words. Basketball has come a long way from a game that was just invented to provide indoor physical activity in cold climates. Today, it is a popular professional and college sport that captivates thousands of viewers and generates millions of dollars.

The next Kansan on our list is someone that we think many of our readers will have heard of—it is Clyde Tombaugh from Burdett, Kansas. He is the astronomer that discovered at the far ends of our solar system the little planet Pluto.

Tombaugh was born in Streator, Illinois in 1906. When he was sixteen years old his family moved to Burdett. As a youngster Tombaugh developed an interested in astronomy from his father who was also an amateur astronomer. Tombaugh first began exploring the skies with a 2-¼ inch Sears Roebuck telescope.

Tombaugh decided that he wanted a more powerful telescope; so he built one himself. His homemade model was made from mirrors he had ground, parts from discarded farm machinery, and a shaft from his father’s 1910 Buick; it was a nine-inch telescope. Long after his retirement, the Smithsonian Institute asked if they might have his homemade telescope. Tombaugh replied that he was still using it—they would have to wait.

Using the 9-inch telescope, Tombaugh began mapping the night sky, making detailed the sketches of Mars and Jupiter. Tombaugh decided to send his sketches to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. He hoped that he might receive some advice from the professional astronomers that would aid him in doing a better job of mapping the night sky. He received more that advice; in 1929, he received a job offer. Tombaugh was twenty-three when he headed for Lowell Observatory. We believe it would be helpful to inject a little background information about the job Tombaugh was offered.

After the 1781 discovery of the planet Uranus, astronomers began searching for additional planets because the discovery of Uranus upset Newton’s laws of planetary motion. Astronomers concluded that there must be yet another planet out there; they reasoned that the discovery of the mysterious missing planet would correct the error in Newton’s law. A diligent search for the missing planet was underway for over sixty years. Finally, in 1846 Johann Galle at the Berlin Observatory discovered Neptune; however, the problem was still not solved—there still was an error in Newtonian law. Thus enters Percival Lowell.

Percival Lowell, a wealthy Bostonian and graduate of Harvard, was determined to find the elusive planet that was messing up Newton’s law. He built the Lowell Observatory at Flagstaff in 1894 and began the search for Planet X. Sadly, Lowell died of a massive heart attack in 1916 not having found the Planet X. His successor, Vesto Slipher continued the search. It was Slipher that hired Tombaugh. The astronomers at the Observatory decided to hire a competent amateur astronomer to search the night sky—Clyde Tombaugh was the choice.

In January 1929 Tombaugh started searching the night sky in the cold, unheated observatory dome that Percival had built. Tombaugh’s job involved taking exposures of portions of the star filled night sky at intervals of two to six days. These exposures were carefully scrutinized with a Blink-Comparator, which is a device that allows one to observe minuscule changes in the exposures. Looking though hundreds of exposures, Tombaugh finally detected on one exposure a small flash of light. On March 13, 1930, a year after beginning the search, it was confirmed that the faint, starlike point was the mysterious Planet X.

The planets are all named after the Roman gods or goddesses—except for one planet. There was a suggestion that Tombaugh’s planet be called Pluto, which is the god of the underworld—the dead. The reason given was that Pluto as the god of the underworld would be in a place far from the living. The belief that the land of the dead was a long way off—no doubt comes from the belief that it is a long journey to the land of the dead. Not only is Pluto the farthest from our Sun, but also it is the smallest planet.

The discovery of Pluto did not make Newton’s law of planetary motion go back in sync. For a while it was believed that there still was another undiscovered planet somewhere out there. But the theory of a missing planet has been dropped. Astronomers have concluded that other objects out there account for the small discrepancies in Newton’s law.

Tombaugh was at Lowell Observatory for 13 years. During that time he completed his degrees at KU and Arizona State College and in 1932 he married Patricia Edson of Kansas City. He taught at both Arizona State College and University of California at Los Angeles. In 1946 he became the chief of Optical Measurements Branch in the Ballistics Research Laboratory at White Sands Missile Range. In 1955 Tombaugh went to New Mexico State University and started an astronomy research group. He died in January of 1997 age 90, still very active in astronomy.

We have not seen the marker, but it is our understanding that at a roadside park in Burdett is a historical marker honoring Clyde Tombaugh. The marker includes the following interesting information about the discoverer of Pluto: During his planet search, Tombaugh photographed 65 percent of the sky and spent 7,000 hours examining about 90 million star images. Besides Pluto, his discoveries included six star clusters, one cloud of galaxies, one comet and about 775 asteroids. Few astronomers have seen so much of the universe in such minute detail.

The next famous Kansan we want to discuss is a person that overcame some large obstacles. First, the person launched a successful art career at the age of sixty-eight. Launching an art career is never easy—but to start late in life is even more remarkable. Second, the person also over came a mental disorder that is rarely if ever overcome. Becoming an artist cured the person of bi-polar—a serious the mental disorder formerly known as manic-depressive. Most bi-polar patients can bring the disorder under control with medication but never cure it—yet this person did! This miraculous cure was the result of the venture into the visual arts.

The person we are describing is Elizabeth Layton, 1909-1993 Wellsville, KS. In 1977 Layton started down a new path—she enrolled in an art class at Ottawa. She was in a sever state of depression, a depression that started thirty-five years early. In her youth she had married a man that turned out to be an abusive alcoholic. After thirteen years of marriage and four children she left the man, returned to her hometown and managed her father’s newspaper. She held together until her children were all grown, at that point she lost it. Electric shock treatments, anti-depressants, and even marriage to a wonderful, kind man could not lessen the depression.

The depression reached a serious level when her alcoholic son died. She was at her lowest. It was her sister that suggested Layton take an art class. Her sister was taking an art class for senior citizens and really enjoying it. So, Layton took her sister’s advice and enrolled in a college beginning art course. Layton said she must have been a sight for the young students: a fearful, overweight, depressed, elderly, frizzy-gray haired housewife. The students greeted her with "Welcome to class, grandma."

The first day the instructor assigned the class to do "blind, contour drawing," which is really a very simple art technique. All the students needed to do was look at an object and draw the outline of the object. It is called blind because the students look only at what they are drawing not what they are putting on the paper. The students are not to erase any lines; instead, they must make use of whatever they have drawn. The instructor suggested the students’ practice the skill at home, even draw their own portrait by looking in a mirror. Layton took the instructor very serious. She decided to do a self-portrait in the privacy of her home—all alone in an upstairs’ bedroom.

That first attempt at doing her self-portrait using the blind contour method was interesting. She sat staring at herself in the mirror—not happy with the old, haggard, angry face staring out at her. But there certainly were lines to draw, lines everywhere on her face. So she started drawing her face and one self-portrait led to more and more. Once she completed a sketched portrait, she would examine it trying to understand the feeling that the picture was expressing to her. The technique worked; within six month, Layton was completely cured once and for all of manic-depression.

Layton’s art expresses both the humorous and serious side of life—life that at times makes one burst into song and life that reduces one to tears. Her portraits included both men and women. Through her art she expressed social concerns. Her drawings speak about social injustice and other ills of society: racism, war, drugs, physical and sexually abuse—far ranging topics on humanism always with a very strong feminist touch. We encourage you to go online and do a search for Elizabeth Layton, or check out a book from you local library. We feel you will find it very rewarding and enjoyable.

Our next famous Kansan is an artist of a different note—an outstanding jazz musician—Charlie Parker, 1920-1955. Using the term outstanding is limiting when describing Parker. He was more than outstanding—he developed a complete new style of jazz—bebop. And since he’s from Kansas City—he is claimed by both Missouri and Kansas

Parker was born in 1920 in Kansas City, Missouri. His mother raised him, as his father exited the scene early. In elementary school Parker was interested in band, but when the band teacher assigned him to play the tuba Parker lost interest. His mother, however, managed to buy Parker a used alto saxophone and launched her son into a life long music career. Parker taught himself to play the sax and at a very early age was drawn to the jazz jam sessions at the Kansas City nightspots.

Parker dropped out of high school and married at age 15—a marriage that did not last. While most people his age were in school, Parker was making a living playing in Kansas City clubs. It was also during this period that, sadly, Parker became addicted to drugs. Parker, hospitalized from an auto accident, became addicted to morphine given him for pain. After leaving the hospital, his morphine addiction led to heroin—a drug he struggled with throughout his life and one that contributed to his death.

From 1935 to 1939 Parker played in the Kansas City area; in 1939, he decided to move to New York, a main jazz center. When he first moved to NY, Parker held down a variety of jobs until he became an established musician. As with all musicians, a good portion of musician’s time is spent in jam sessions. In was in one of those jam sessions that his new style emerged. Parker said he could always hear a special sound of music in his head, but just couldn’t bring it out; nonetheless, by 1940 Parker’s name was beginning to appear in the music news.

In 1940 he started touring with well-known bands, Jay McShann’s for a couple years, then Earl Hines. Dizzy Gillespie was the trumpeter in the Hines band. Gillespie and Parker would be the main players in the Billy Eckstine’s band in 1944. In was in this period 1940-1944 that the new sound of Parker’s emerged from his head and became a full-blown sound. Parker began to inject improvisational solos of a new style. He found by using higher intervals of chords that harmonized with the melody along with adding related note changes he created a whole new level of jazz sounds. This new sounds were described as "soaring, fast, rhythmically asymmetrical." It was new, it was innovative, jazz lovers loved it, and it was the beginning of bebop.

In the 1950s jazz musicians throughout the US were copying Parker’s new style. It is said that Parker and Louis Armstrong both set standards that jazz instrumentalists copied for decades—few jazz artists escape the influence of either or both men. Sadly, this great musician’s life ended too soon. In 1955, suffering with pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer, both acerbated by drug and alcohol abuse, Charlie Parker died at the age of 34 while watching Tommy Dorsey on television. But for all jazz lovers, Parker’s bebop jazz will live forever.

The last famous Kansan on our list is connected with basketball. We think it’s fitting that we started and ended this article with basketball. This last person is still living and contributing to the greatness of Kansas—she is Lynette Woodward a native of Wichita born in 1959.

Woodward loved basketball. A sport she learned to play at a very early age, learning the sport from her brother. When Woodard first started practicing shooting she used a stuffed sock. By the time she was ten years old, she was in demand by the neighborhood teams, often chosen to be the captain even if those the players were boys.

Woodward started playing varsity basketball in her junior year, although the coach wanted her to start the varsity team in her sophomore year. Young Woodward was five feet and eleven inches tall when she started playing varsity basketball. That first year on the varsity team, she led the team to win the 5A state championship. Her senior year she won the national honor of being on the all-American high school team. Her basketball prowess led to more fame at KU. The Lady Jayhawks won three Big Eight Championships with Woodward on the team. Her winning record was 108-32. In her four years at KU she scored a total of 3,649 points. Woodward still holds some unbroken records at KU.

Woodward was selected to play on the Olympic women’s basketball team in 1980. She was not allowed to play in that Olympic because the US, for political reasons, boycotted the games. However, four years later she again was on the Olympic team. This time the team brought home the gold.

Woodward holds the records for many firsts: first woman to play on the Globetrotters, in 1985. On the Globetrotters she played around the world. From 1987 to 1993 she played on Italian and Japanese teams. In 1997 Woodward was signed to play for the Cleveland Rockets a team of the newly formed Woman’s National Basketball Association. She later played for the Detroit Shock.

In 1999 she retired from playing, returning to KU as the Assistant Coach for the woman’s basketball team. In 2004 she filled in as Interim Head Coach for the Marian Washington team. She also was the Athletics Director for the Kansas City Missouri School District for two years.

Woodard has been inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame, the Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. When it comes to basketball, we don’t think there are many honors Lynette Woodard had not received. Today Woodard is fulfilling another career—she is a financial consultant in her hometown of Wichita.

As we wrote about famous Kansans these past two month, we were struck by two realizations. First, if one is truly dedicated to one’s goal, one will successfully reach that goal. Secondly, we also came to realize that Kansas has had it share of talented people that have made contributions to the world in many diverse ways.

May 2006 - Famous Unknown Kansans

Kansas has been the home of many famous, nationally known people: Dwight Eisenhower 1890-1969; Amelia Earhart 1897-1937; Milburn Stone 1904-1980; Clyde Cessna 1879-1954; Arthur Capper 1865-1951; Fred Harvey 1835-1901; Susan B Anthony 1820-1906; and of course Carry Nation 1846-1911 to name a few. Kansas also has many famous people that are not so well-known and these lesser known people also accomplished much and made a name for themselves: Lucy Hobbs Taylor 1833-1910; Lutie Lytle 1875-1910; Henry Brown 1864-1884; Margaret McCarlin 1860-1879; and Charlie Angell 1881-1927. Does anyone on this list of the not-so-famous look familiar to you? Maybe a few? Rest assured, after reading this month’s article and next month’s you’ll know something about lesser-known contributors to Kansas’ greatness.

Lucy Hobbs Taylor

Going in chronological order starting with the oldest first, we begin with Lucy Hobbs Taylor. Lucy was born in 1833, in New York. At a very early age, Lucy and an older brother both had an unquenchable desire to obtain an education. Even with many obstacles in their way, they both succeeded in reaching their goal. Once educated, Lucy, age sixteen entered the only profession open to women—teaching. It was during her teaching career that Lucy, exposed to another profession, decided to embark on a new career.

Like most teachers, Lucy needed room and board. She was fortunate to house with a doctor—a doctor who was more than happy to let her read his medical books. After ten years as a public school educator, Lucy was ready for a career change; she wanted to become a doctor. Sadly at that time, there were no women doctors and no medical school willing to open their doors to women. Over and over again the doors of medical school were slammed in her face—all with the same reason—the medical profession was not for woman. Finding no medical school doors open to her—she turned her attention to becoming a dentist. Again, she found the school of dentistry door barred shut to her. Being resourceful she turned to the next best thing; she found a dentist willing to train her. This method of apprenticeship before entering dental school was common practice. But even after a male dentist trained her, the doors to dental school were still barred—with the same words—women are not suitable for dentistry.

This setback did not stop Lucy—she opened her own dental office in Ohio in 1861. The raging Civil War hurt her business, so Lucy decided to move her office to a new locale. The move took her to Bellvue, Iowa and to a very lucrative dental practice. Her patients viewed her as a much gentler and compassionate dentist than many male dentists. While in practice in Iowa, her reputation increased. She won respect, recognition, and eventually was accepted into the Iowa school of dentistry. Lucy was the first woman admitted to dental school. She received the dental degree within a year because she was so capable in all facets of the profession.

In 1867, Lucy and her new husband moved to Lawrence Kansas. Her husband, James Taylor, also became a dentist, and the two practiced dentistry in Lawrence. James died in 1876, but Lucy continued practicing dentistry serving the Lawrence community for forty years, passing away in 1910.

Lutie Lytle

Another "woman first" was Lutie Lytle—she was the first African-America to receive a law degree. Lutie was born in 1875 in Murfreesboro TN. Seven years later, her family moved to Topeka Kansas. Her father was active in the Populist Party which stimulated Lutie’s interest in law and politics. These combined interests led her to seek employment in a black Topeka newspaper office. It was while working for the newspaper that Lutie decided to study for law. As a lawyer, she believed she could best help her people.

She moved to Chattanooga TN and attended college at Central Tennessee College, supporting her self by teaching. After successfully passing the oral exam, she was admitted to the Criminal Court in Memphis. A local newspaper pointed out that Lutie was the first African American woman to be licensed to practice law in Tennessee. In 1897, she returned to Topeka and was admitted to the Kansas Bar.

Lutie’s main interest lay in helping African Americans gain their rights. She was especially interested in Constitutional law. Explaining her interest in constitutional law she said: I like constitutional law because the anchor of my race is grounded on the constitution. It is the certificate of our liberty and our equality before the law. Our citizenship is based on it, and hence I love it.

In addition to practicing law, Lutie was a popular speaker at organizations, groups, and on college campuses. She often spoke on laws dealing with domestic issues. In 1898 Lutie was asked to join the faculty at Central Tennessee College—so she returned to Tennessee, but held the faculty position for only one year. Eventually Lutie and her husband set up a law practice in New York.

The date of her death has been lost—but it was recorded that the in 1925, Lutie lectured a large group at the St John’s AME church in Topeka—the church she had attended in her youth. The topic of her lecture was on the progress of African Americans in New York. No doubt progress had been made in terms of black rights—but we all know that in 1925 freedom for the blacks still had a long way to go. Yet, it seems possible to conclude that a young girl’s dream had come full circle. She had devoted her life to helping African Americans receive the rights and freedom guaranteed in the Constitution and towards the end of her life, she was beginning to see change.

Henry Brown

The next person on our list is Henry Brown. Now Henry Brown certainly is a common name. If you do a search online for Henry Brown, you’ll pull up quite a few famous Henry Brown both past and present. The Kansas Henry Brown of the late 1800s is famous but not exactly for a positive reason. While the birth date of Henry is not know, it most likely was in the 1850s. His death occurred on April 30, 1884.

In the 1880s, Henry decided to become a lawman. He started his career in Texas, serving as deputy sheriff in Oldham County. It was not unusual for lawmen to drift from location to location ever so often—that is if they survived. Being a law enforcement officer is never easy—but in the days of the Wild West—it often was a very brief career consisting of a handful of years—usually ending in death. His second law enforcement job was in Caldwell, Kansas. In July of 1882 Brown started protecting the citizens of Caldwell, Kansas.

As it was a city on the Chisholm Trail, Caldwell has an interesting history. The town was a part of the short-lived but exciting cattle drive/cowboy days in Kansas. Most small towns playing host to the cattle drovers needed good law enforcement men. The cowboys herding the cattle up the long drive from Texas were a rowdy bunch. When they reached a town along the trail—they were ready for a little rest and relaxation—actually it was more like over zealous celebration. As a result, the towns along the path of the cattle drives needed a strong law man—one that could keep the cowboys in line.

Henry Brown was apparently one of those strong lawmen. Caldwell was quite proud when Brown pinned the badge of police officer of Caldwell onto his shirt. The Caldwell newspaper, The Post, noted that Brown a little bit of fine shooting was one of the quickest men on the trigger in the Southwest. The citizens of Caldwell knew Officer Brown would keep the peace. And Brown was serious about keeping the law; he was a quiet, professional enforcer of the law.

The town of Caldwell was so impressed that within six months Brown was made town marshal. In addition to the promotion, on New Year’s Day 1883 Brown was honored with a Winchester rifle. Not just any old Winchester rifle but one with gold and silver inlay and ornately engraved. Attached to the butt of the rifle was a plate inscribed with Presented to City Marshall H. N. Brown for valuable services rendered in behalf of the Citizens of Caldwell, Kas. A. N. Colson, Mayor Dec. 1882.

It would seem that young Marshal Brown in 1883 had everything, prestige, respect of the town, fancy new gun, and in the spring of 1884 a new young wife. But, like most situation in life there is always a fly in the ointment. In this case, Brown was missing just one thing to make his life complete—enough money. He was living beyond his material means. While honor and popularity are nice, they don’t necessarily pay the bills or pave the way for any additional luxuries one might want. It was at this point that popular Marshall Brown started to show other side to his law enforcement interest. Prior to entering law enforcement—Brown was an outlaw. He rode with Billy Kid. No wonder he was an expert marksman and knew how to deal with law breakers—having practice on the wrong side of the law he knew first hand how to deal with law breakers.

Marshal Brown asked his boss—the mayor—for permission to go south into Indian Territory to pursuit of a murderer that has a price of $1,200 on his head. The mayor knowing Brown needed money gave the permission. So Brown, assistant deputy Wheeler, and two local cowboys headed out of town—but they did not go south into Indian Territory—instead they went east toward Medicine Lodge.

On the rainy morning of April 30, 1884 they entered the bank at Medicine Lodge intent on robbing the bank; they entered just as the bank opened. The bank president quickly reached for his gun, but even quicker was shot and killed by sharpshooter Marshall Brown. A bank clerk was also shot and killed during the robbery. Outside the bank a sense of alarm went up—no doubt some passerby heard the shots. The four robbers fled; following closely behind was a posse. Within a couple hours the four had been captured and checked into the Medicine Lodge jail. During the night a lynching mob broke into the jail—the prisoners made one last attempt to freedom. Brown was killed in the attempt—the other three were hung that same evening. Lynch mob justice prevailed.

Prior to the attempted prison escape and his subsequent death, Brown had been writing a letter to his wife of six weeks. He professed he loved her, claimed not to have shot anyone, and said she should sell all his property except for the Winchester. Well, his wife did not exactly follow instructions—she gave the Winchester to a relative. It seemed at that point the prized Winchester was lost forever. But, in 1977 the gun surfaced and was given to the Kansas Museum of History. Today visitors to the museum can see the Winchester the citizens of Caldwell proudly gave to their favorite lawman Marshall Brown—a lawman that in blazing gunfire lost both his life and the trust of the citizens of Caldwell.

Margaret Hill McCarte

Margaret Hill McCarter was an outstanding Kansas author. She was not only a prolific writer but also a financially successful author. To write fiction and to make money at writing does not always go hand-in-hand—but in McCarter’s case it did.

McCarter was born on May 2, 1860 in Carthage, Indiana. Her parents were Quakers. The family can trace its linage back to William Penn’s Pennsylvania Quakers. McCarter, like so many women with limited career choices, was educated in the Indiana State Normal School in 1884—a college that prepared students to teach. She taught for a while in the Indiana public schools, but in 1888 migrated to Topeka and started teaching English at the high school—a job she held for six years.

In Topeka, she met and married Dr. William McCarter. The couple had three children, two daughters and a son. In her writing career, her son would function as her literary critic. Even though she gained famed as an author, McCarter always described herself first as a wife and mother, then a Kansan, and last an author. Obviously, she was successful in all three careers

McCarter’s career as a writer did not start until after leaving the teaching profession. She loved literature and reasoned if she could use the writings of other authors in teaching in the classroom, why couldn’t she write stories that would also be teaching tools? A common theme of many of her stories was pioneer life. She wanted to write novels for entertainment, but also she wanted the stories to be truthfully factual. Her writing goal was to create fiction that would educate the reader and provide reading pleasure. In her fictional accounts, McCarter paid meticulous care to detail and description; she sought to depict the true life of the pioneers. While all of her books were well received some of the more popular titles of her book are The Price of the Prairies, The Peace of Solomon Valley, and The Wall of Men. The later title became standard reading in many Kansas Schools.

In addition to writing fiction, McCarter wrote articles for newspapers and magazines. She was an active civic leader working for organizations and clubs in her community; she served twice as president of the Topeka Federation Women’s Clubs. She was also politically active in the Republican Party. McCarter was given honorary degrees from three colleges: Baker University, Washburn University and Emporia. She died in 1938 leaving a legacy of literary works that gave joy and knowledge to many.

Charlie Angell

Next on our list of the-not-so-famous-contributing-Kansans is Charlie Angell, 1881-1927. Angell was raised in the Plains, Kansas area. He grew up on a family farm and became a farmer—but Angell was a farmer that produced more than just crops. As a child, Angell had an inquisitive nature; he was always busy taking things apart in order to figure out how they worked. His parents were not always happy with his curiosity—especially if the dismantled item did not go back together correctly. But, taking things apart proved a great learning tool for young Charlie—in the long run his curious nature paid off. Angell’s inquisitive nature led to a second career that of inventor.

When Charlie began farming in the Plains’ community, he came to believe that a special plow was needed for the soil of western Kansas. The farming conditions in western Kansas were significantly different than those found in eastern Kansas. The ground in the west was subject to hard blowing winds and very limited rainfall, thus the need for a special plow for Western Kansas.

After harvesting crops some form of stubble remains in the field. Most farmers considered the remaining stubble a nuisance. Something that must be removed before new crops could be planted. In Angell’s day, the usual method for removal of the stubble was either to burn it off or bury it deep in the soil. Burning or burying the stubble certainly cleared the ground making it easier to plant the next crop, but both methods had drawbacks. Removing the stubble by burning made the topsoil more susceptible to blowing. The implement used to bury the stubble, a moldboard disk plow, did turn the soil so that the stubble was completely buried, but the process caused moisture to be zapped out of the soil. What a dilemma—to burn caused wind erosion, while to bury caused moisture loss.

Angell came to an entirely different view regarding residue stubble; for him the stubble was not a nuisance but a benefit. Keeping the stubble on the field after removal of the crop could clearly curb soil erosion caused by hard blowing winds. Yet, some kind of implement had to be run through the field to kill previous crop roots, grass, and other weeds that follow harvested crop. Angell believed he could make a plow that would help prevent the soil from blowing and help seal in moisture; he set out to accomplish those two objectives.

Angell’s invented the one-way disc plow. The plow disks were all mounted at the angle, thus the plow moved the soil "one-way." The plow basically up-rooted the stubble, but did not bury the stubble. Instead part of the stubble continued to be exposed on the surface. This residue of stubble on the surface of the field prevented the gusty winds from blowing the soil. And by turning the soil only enough to cut the roots of the previous crop and kill surface weed the lost of moisture was greatly reduced. His one-way plow accomplished the two goals: reduce blowing soil and prevent loss of moisture.

Angell’s one-way plow is equivalent to minimum tillage. The remaining stubble now served as mulch helping to keep moisture in and the topsoil from blowing. Plus the up rooted stubble rots and adds nutriments to the soil. Angell’s plow was quickly adopted in Western Kansas—it became a very popular implement.

Eventually one negative complaint about Angell’s plow emerged. The one-way plow was blamed for contributing to the dust bowl because the soil after continued plowing was pulverized. All plows have a pulverizing affect on the soil—the more the ground is worked the more the soil is pulverized. But two other factors were at work that contributed to the Dust Bowl era. First, extreme dry/drought like conditions existed. Also, during the 1920s cultivation of virgin soil in western Kansas was a constant—more and more ground was turned into farm ground. Combine the drought-like conditions of the 1930s with the over cultivation of ground during the 1920s and conditions were ripe for the blowing dust of the Dust Bowl era. During the Dust Bowl with so little available moisture, even cultivating with a simple garden hoe could lead to blowing dirt. So, we will not discredit the value of Angell’s one-way plow.

Next month we’ll look at five more of the not so well known famous Kansans.

April 2006 - Shawnee Mission Part II

Rev Thomas Johnson was laid to rest in the Shawnee Methodist Indian School cemetery, which is located just a few blocks from the Mission. In the little cemetery Johnson is surrounded by graves of former family, staff, and students. Even though the little cemetery is surrounded by metropolitan Kansas City, we felt a spirit of serenity as we entered the small graveyard to take pictures.

February 2006 - Shawnee Mission

Otto and I recently toured the Shawnee Methodist Mission and Indian Manual Labor School; a special school started for the Shawnee Indian children. The Mission School, originally located in Wyandotte County, was started in 1830. The goal of the school was the "civilization and Christianization" of the Shawnee Indians. A number of historical events and philosophies led to the formation of the Shawnee Mission. We’ll start with this background information.

Almost from the moment the European first set foot in the Americas, conflict arose between the "white and red" cultures. As cold, hard, and greedy as it may sound, the basic cause of the conflict was whites coveting the Native American lands. The justification for robbing the Indians of their land was simple; the Native Americans were not fulfilling their God given duty. According to Genesis 1:28 God blessed his human creation and said to them, be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. While the Native Americans had increased in number, the whites did not feel they were fruitful. The white culture asked, where are the Native Americans’ productive farms, businesses, and industries? According to the white culture, as far as subdue the earth, the Native Americans did virtually nothing to tame the earth—their lands remained wild and untamed as when the lands were first created. Clearly, the Indians were failing their God given duty and should be removed. This belief that the Indians should be removed was already intact when the US was formed.

In 1776, the new nation was a bright beacon of opportunity for thousands wanting a chance for a better life. The vast number of immigrants rushing to the new nation soon filled the available eastern coastal lands. So, attention was quickly turned to the interior lands west of coast. The immigrants desire to own a piece of land ultimately meant disaster for the Native Americans. Westward expansion resulted in legislation that sealed the sad fate of the American Indians forever.

In 1828, just three decades after the nation had been formed, under the guidance of President Andy Jackson, the Indian Removal Act was passed. A law that said all Native Americans living east of the Mississippi must be moved west of the Mississippi into Indian Territory—there was to be no exception. Even the Eastern tribes that had adopted the white man’s ways, dress, language and Christianity were to be removed. For many Native Americans the removal from their homes in the east to Indian Territory in the west was a hard "trail of tears."

Two opposite groups sponsored the Indian Removal Act. One group saw the Native Americans as savages—sub humans—who did not deserve the rich fertile land. For this group, the removal of the Native Americans was a blessing. The other group had a very benevolent view of the Native Americans. They saw the Indians as childlike, and believed that the Indians needed to be protected from the whites. For this group, the best way to protect the Native Americans was removal to Indian Territory where they would be out of reach of the white man. In Indian Territory, the Native Americans could be safely assimilated into western culture—learn farming, homemaking, and Christianity. While, this second group certainly had good intentions—it still meant the destruction of the Indian culture. These benevolent Christians, in essence, were telling the Native Americans that everything about the Indian way of life was wrong and needed to be replaced with the white man’s culture. Through hindsight we are able to look back and see the colossal cultural clash that existed between the white and red cultures. In reality neither culture understood the other.

There were many wise chieftains that realized the good intention of the benevolent white Christians would mean taking the Indian out of the Indian. Yet, they were wise enough to realize assimilation into the white culture was the only choice they had for survival. Consequently, many of the elderly tribesmen did support the mission movement. The elders of the Shawnee Indians were one example—they accepted the proposal of the Methodist missionaries to establish a mission school.

The Shawnee Indian Mission and Manual Labor School was just one of many mission/schools started in Eastern Kansas during Indian Territory days. All the missions in Kansas operated under the direction of some Christian denomination: Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Catholic. The federal government supported the efforts of the churches, as the government knew these misplaced Native Americans would need help once moved into Indian Territory.

It is our opinion that the Shawnee Indian Mission was the most successful of the missions. The success of the mission can be attributed to the leadership of Rev. Thomas Johnson, who oversaw the Shawnee Mission for the bulk of its thirty operational years. By the way, Johnson county Kansas is named for Rev Thomas Johnson.

Rev Johnson was in charge of the Mission when it first started in Wyandotte County in 1830. From 1830 to 1838 the primary goals of the Shawnee Indian Mission were education and Christianizing of the Indians. During this period the Mission had not taken up the role of teaching manual labor to the Indian children. Rev Johnson was one of the first that saw a need to make the school focus on manual labor. Johnson believed in educating and Christianizing, but he also believe the Indian children must be taught a white man’s trade.

In mid 1838 Johnson approached the Methodist missionary board in New Year regarding adding manual arts instruction to the Indian children. Johnson’s proposal was accepted, and the school officially became the Shawnee Methodist Mission and Indian Manual Labor School.

A new site was chosen for the school in an area that later became part of Johnson County Kansas. 2,240 acres of ground was given to the Methodist church for the establishment of the school. This new locations was just a few miles west of Westport, Missouri. Westport was one of the last points of civilization for the pioneers heading down the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails.

At the new location, the school expanded to include more than just Shawnee Indian children. Also, taught at the school were the children of the Pawnee, Cheyenne, Sioux, and Wyandotte. The school even opened its door to white children in the area.

No time was lost in starting on a major building project at the new site. By 1839 the first of three main brick buildings had been constructed. The first building, known as the West Building, was a residential building. It served as a residence for the teachers and Superintendent Johnson’s family, plus some classroom space. In the original construction of the West Building two brick homes were built—they were joined together by a seventy foot dinning area, serving as the eating hall for the faculty, staff, and students.

The second brick building completed by 1841, known as the East Building, contained rooms serving as the chapel, classrooms, boys’ dormitory and dinning hall. This second building eliminated the need for the large dinning area in the residents’ house, so a year later some twenty feet of the West Building was razed.

A third large brick building was completed in 1845, known as the North Building. This building provided additional classrooms and dormitories for the Indian girls. These three main brick buildings comprise what is left of the Shawnee Indian mission. The Kansas State Historical Society maintains these buildings. If you’re in the Kansas City area—take some time to go view the site. The KSHS always does an excellent job maintaining and restoring historical sites under their guardianship. Site administrator at the Shawnee Indian Mission, Alisha Cole, is most knowledgeable and helpful in explaining the history of the Shawnee Methodist Indian Mission.

The three main brick buildings were impressive, but they were only a part of the structures forming the Shawnee Mission, another thirteen wood frame building made up the remainder of the facilities: washhouse, smokehouse, carpenter shop, flour mill, blacksmith shop, wagon shop and shed, stable, carriage house, woodhouse, bee house, springhouse, storeroom, and log cabin. The Shawnee Indian Mission was basically self-sufficient; any item that could not be made at the school was purchased at Westport.

While the building project is impressive—the livestock and crop production on the site is equally impressive. Here are a few of the first year statistics directly from the Annals of Shawnee Methodist Mission and Indian Manual Labor School compiled by Martha B Caldwell first published by The Kansas State Historical Society in 1939: Stock on hand: three work horses; ninety-five cattle, including thirteen work oxen; seventy-five hogs; two wagons, thirteen ploughs; two harrows; one small mill "Smith Patent."

Farm divided as follows: 100 acres in wheat, 100 in timothy, 88 in blue grass, 12 in orchard, 100 for oats, and 100 for corn. In addition there were 40 acres of raw prairie fenced for pasture, making in all 540 acres under good fence, nearly all staked and ridered.

The crops produced and increase in livestock in the first year of operation is equally impressive—2,000 bushels of wheat, 4,000 bushels of oats, 3,500 bushels of corn, 500 bushels of potatoes, besides other vegetables. The stock consisted of 130 cattle, 100 hogs, and 5 horses.

A typical day at the mission began at 4 am and ended with everyone in bed by 8 pm. Three meals a day were served in the dinning hall of the East Building. The dinning hall could accommodate 200 people. The children, teachers, and staff sat at two long tables. The Indian children were always separated by gender when eating and sleeping as well as in the classroom. Usually six hours were spent educating the children to read, write, and other subjects deemed helpful for "civilization" of the youth. Another six hours were devoted to the manual arts.

For the boys the manual arts consisted of teaching them how to plant, cultivate, and harvest field, garden, and orchard crops. The male children were also taught to tend the livestock: milking, feeding, and pasturing. There was also the opportunity for males to learn carpentry, blacksmithing, and masonry. The manual arts training for the girls included learning cooking, preserving foods, cleaning, and sewing. The female sewed clothing for the pupils, they did the laundry, cleaning, and a portion of the cooking for the school.

Enrollment in the school averaged around 100 students, but there were years when that number increased to 150 pupils. During the peak years about 200 lived and worked at the mission. This numbers take into account the children, teachers, staff, along with the wives and children of the teachers and staff.

The children were always well supervised by a staff of twenty some teachers and trainers. There seemed to be a genuine desire on the part of everyone connected to the mission to help the children adjust and prepare them for all the changes the Native Americans would experience as the white society encroached.

Next month we will deal with the encroaching white society and the impact on the Shawnee Mission. Kansas’s identity in 1854 was changed from that of Indian Territory to Kansas Territory. The territorial days in Kansas became a bloody crossfire between the free soilers and pro-slavery elements and this crossfire spilled over on the Shawnee Methodist Mission, creating some hard times for the school.

When the weather turns cold and icy, we all enjoy our warm snug homes. Despite the warning this season that heating bills keeping our homes warm and cozy are going to sky rocket no one wants to spend a cold winter without heat. With the cold of winter and the warmth of the furnace in mind — did you ever think what life was like for the Plains Indians in the 1700 and 1800s — in particular those that lived in a tipi?

It might come as a surprise, but life in the coldest, harshest winter really was not that bad for tipi dwellers—actually it was quite cozy. A tipi consisted of two basic materials — buffalo hides and wood poles — yet a tipi proved to be very energy efficient. The Native American tipis were insulated, ventilated, and utilized heat to the maximum for those inside the home. And we might add, it was the female that built and maintained the home.

The Plains Indians were semi-nomadic, which meant that a permanent location was never of interest or an option for them. The Plains Indians literally traveled around following the great herds of buffalos. They would occasionally gather plants, berries, herbs, or trade for corn, or other crops, but they never relied on planting and harvesting crops. Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, and Comanche were the dominating Plains tribes in western Kansas. An entirely different type of Native American lived in Eastern Kansas.

The Native American tribes in eastern Kansas were the Pawnee, Kansa, and Osage. These tribes were labeled semi-sedentary, meaning they settled permanently. They lived in the same location for years and developed an agricultural based society. Their main crops were corn, pumpkins, and other types of squash. Their homes were of the more permanent nature, usually a combination of wood, soil, and grass and often fairly large. Most of the dwellings in eastern Kansas were large enough to accommodate more than one family — or we might call it the extended family. The eastern tribes traveled to Western Kansas a couple times a year to hunt the buffalo. While on the hunt, the buffalo meat was made into jerky and the hides were cured. On these hunting excursions into Western Kansas, the eastern Indians would stay in tipis. But these hunting party tipis were small compared to the dwelling of the Plains Indians.

Tipis were standard housing for Plains Indians before the horses were brought over from Europe. In the 1500s, when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, they brought horses. Some of these horses, for various reasons, ended up as wild horses, which eventually made their way to North America. The North American Indians quickly realized the advantage of good horses and began capturing and taming the wild horses. In the Indian culture horses were very valuable. So valuable that the goal of most warring parties was to steal the horses of the other tribes. The horse made transportation much easier. Before the horse, dogs or humans pulled the travois — but the load a person or dog pulled was nothing like what a horse could pull. This addition of horses to the Native American culture also had impact on tipi construction.

Prior to the horse, the tipis were quite small simply because it was difficult to haul long poles from campground to campground—keep in the mind the Plain Indians were very mobile, moving often. But horses suddenly made moving easier — now with little effort the tipi could be pulled down, rolled up, and loaded on the horse drawn travois. The tipi poles actually served as the frame of the travois. Best of all, the horse allowed the Plains people to transport many more poles and much longer poles. Longer poles meant larger tipis.

The typical tipi had between twenty to twenty-eight poles—the latter number was preferred. The height was approximately twenty feet; the inside living area was thirty feet across — a nice size room. A tipi of this size would use around fifty buffalo hides sewn together to form the half circle shaped covering. Most of the tipi coverings were highly decorated with pictures of successful hunts or battles.

The assembly of the tipi started with latching four of the poles together at one end. Once these four poles were securely fastened together they were uprighted and became the main frame for the tipi. The four poles were evenly spaced apart with the remaining poles placed between the spaces forming a circle of poles. When the framing was complete the buffalo hide covering would be hoisted onto the frame and laced together leaving an opening at the lower end, which served as the door. The opening of the tipi always faced east toward the rising sun. An opening was also left at the top of the tipi — more on that opening later.

The lower edge of the tipi was fastened down with pegs. The tipi had to be firmly latched down so it could withstand blizzard conditions in the winter and high winds in the summer months. Of course, the Native Americans carefully selected the location for their community. They chose places that provided water and afforded some protection from the wind, sun, rain and snow — still the tipi had to be secure enough to withstand all kinds of storms.

In the winter additional skins were hung around on the inside of the tipi. This additional layer of hides extended to the ground thus reducing draughts around the bottom of the tipi. In the summer this inner layer of skins was removed and the lower portion of the tipi rolled up allowing a breeze to flow through. In the winter the floor was lined with buffalo robes, while in the summer the floor was left bare. The difference between buffalo robes and hide is simply that on the hide the fur is removed and on the robe the fur is left intact.

A fire was built in the center of the tipi directly below the opening at the top of the tipi. The opening at the top allowed the smoke to rise up and out of the tipi. To insure that the smoke would always rise up through the opening even if the wind changed directions two flaps were left at the top opening of the tipi. Poles were attached to these flaps. If the wind changed the flaps could be easily adjusted to accommodate the change and keep pulling the smoke up and out.

During the cold winter the family slept quite warm lying on buffalo robes and covered with additional buffalo robes. The fire was never allowed to go out — but it died down during the night. Some tipis were equipped with low benches that served as bed. The only other piece of furniture might be the backrests. Cooking, hunting, or ceremonial items were often hung on the walls.

Even though the material possessions of the Plains Indians were simple and few, they still had everything that they needed. Often it was the buffalo that served as the essential super mart for the Native Americans. The great creature supplied a bulk of their food, material for clothing and blankets, the cover for their home while the bones were tools — and the stomach lining served as a cooking pot. Very little of the buffalo was not used. When one realizes the importance of the buffalo to the Native Americans living on the Great Plains one can understand how the wanton killing of these great herds in the late 1800s was a death sentence to the Plains Indians.

While we have focused this month on the excellent home the tipi made for the Plains Indian there certainly were other style of dwelling just as comfortable and accommodating as the tipi. What made the Native Americans so unique was their ability to acclimatize to any and all climates, terrains, and to the available food in the area. This adaptability is one aspect that makes studying the Indian cultures so interesting. Long before the white man arrived, the Native Americans developed successful thriving communities on the flat wind swept plains, in the mountains, perched on rocky cliffs, coastal regions, forests, swamps, and arid deserts. No matter where they settled they made use of the materials common to the area for building their homes. And they adjusted their diets to the natural foods found in the area. On top of everything they has a deep reverence and respect for mother earth and what she provided — using only what they needed to sustain life. The Native Americans were never wasteful with what Mother Nature supplied. Sadly, wastefulness is a too common characteristic of the white culture.

There have always been parasites around. We mean the people kind; charlatans who offer innocent victims some fantastic product that will solve all problems. The "fantastic product" always comes with a hefty price tag.

Kansas was blessed, actually cursed, with an interesting charlatan between 1917 and 1932. The person was John R. Brinkley, better known as the Goat Gland Doctor.

Doc Brinkley’s medical training has always been somewhat debatable. He did attend, but only briefly, a reputable medical school in Chicago. Supposedly, he graduated from a medical school in Kansas City. But this Kansas City school was not recognized by licensing boards in 40 states, thus, making his training questionable. Nonetheless, he did obtain a license to practice medicine in Arkansas.

Brinkley eventually did receive a medical certificate from the Kansas City College of Medicine and Surgery, which allowed him to practice in Kansas. A short time later, however, this college was under investigation for being known as a "diploma mill." The best one can say, regarding his medical training, was that he had some but how good of a training no one knows for sure.

The following are Brinkley’s own words as to why he settled in Milford, Kansas in 1917. I came to Milford because I was broke and needed a job. Milford needed a doctor. I arrived in Milford with $23 in my pocket and a medical bag. I did general practice for several years, barely making a living. And then one day I hit upon the idea of my famous goat gland operation.

The basic purpose of the goat gland operation was to rejuvenate older men. Men who, due to age, were beginning to experience some sexual impotency. Brinkley had given serious thought to the operation. He believed that if he could perfect such a surgery, hundreds of men would rush to his door…money in hand…for the surgery. And he was not wrong!

To launch his new operation, Brinkley took advantage of advertising. He flooded the mail with a pamphlet giving information on the operation. The following excerpts are from his first pamphlet: The compound operation stands out as a marvel of surgical technique. It is new in conception, embodies sound principles, and is an epochal contribution to the grand science of surgery. This unique operation, conceived, attempted, perfected, worked out in it last detail, is the crowning achievement for its originator. If he should do no more, he has rendered a service to humanity that will live for centuries to come. (It seems Doc Brinkley was quite impressed with himself.) Now this operation, which I call ‘Compound Operation’ consists of adding a new artery and nerve to the patient’s own sex glands. This artery and nerve give added nerve and blood supply. In addition to this, I add some pure, fresh, healthy, animal gland tissues that act as a ‘charger’ (battery charger or fertilizer) to your glands. This animal gland tissue gives a "kick" and with the nerve and artery added, the ‘Compound’ combination causes your own glands to begin functioning again. Regardless how old you may be, there is good for you in this combination. The Compound Operation is the best thing known for impotence, high blood pressure, enlarged prostate, sterility, some forms of diabetes, epilepsy, and dementia praecox. The latter is schizophrenia. The cost of the surgery was $750.

Brinkley’s advertising paid off. In a short time, Brinkley needed to add more doctors and nurses to his staff. Before long the Goat Doctor had constructed a clinic, a small hospital, numerous homes, and apartments for his staff. In addition, Brinkley’s doctoring enhanced the economy of Milford. The city experienced many perks: increased population, added hotels, business, more streets, etc. Realizing how advertising had paid off Brinkley built a radio station, KFKB. Via the radio, Brinkley found a new market to tap into; this new market involved prescription drugs.

Brinkley had a daily program called "The Medical Question Box." On the program Brinkley answered letters that listeners had sent in. Here are a few sample letters and Brinkley’s response to the letters: You are listening to Dr. John R. Brinkley speaking from his office over station KFKB. We must dig into our question box this morning. The first code is DES from somewhere in Missouri. She states her case briefly as follows. She had an operation with her appendix, ovaries, and tubes removed a couple of years ago. She is very nervous and has dizzy spells. She says the salt solution and constipation and liver medicines have already benefited her. In answer to your question, I am more or less of the opinion that your symptoms are to a great extent those of premature menopause. In my practice in such cases as this I have for many years used prescription No. 61 for women. I think also you should use special prescription No. 50, and I think if you would go on a vegetable diet, a salt free diet, for a while and use prescription Nos. 64, 50, and 61 you will be surprised at the benefits you will obtain.

Here is another poor soul seeking relief from the "savior" goat. Here’s one from Tillie. She says she had an operation for some trouble ten years ago. I think the operation was unnecessary. My advice to you is to use women’s tonic Nos. 50, 67 and 61. This combination will do for you what you desire, if any combination will, after three months persistent use.

The people after hearing his suggestions would write in to his pharmacy for the prescription. Eventually local pharmacies demanded to be allowed to sell the prescription at their drug stores. Brinkley would give into their demands for a cut. Brinkley’s cut from the surrounding pharmacies was about $7,000 a month.

It seems charlatans are always actively thinking of ways to dupe people, and Brinkley found yet another way to add to his income. The goat gland operations were in great demand. Notice, we said demand not success. Sadly, most men were too embarrassed to admit that the operation had failed; these men just chalked it up as a $750 lesson in the game of life.

But Brinkley continued to tap in on the market for men. Brinkley’s new publication had the following heading: WHY BE HALF HUMAN AND HALF GOAT? Brinkley now said he could implant tissue from "genuine human testicles." The goat gland surgery was $750; the human gland surgery was $5,000. Yep! He continued to make a fortune.

You might ask, was he really using human tissue? No the tissue came from the goats on his goat farm in Arkansas. At the height of his career, he was using the testicles of about 50 goats a month. Well, like most things that go up, they must come down, and Brinkley’s career eventually came down. But it would not hit bottom until after he had made millions and had surrounded himself with expensive cars, yachts, diamonds, and homes.

His decline started with some dissatisfied customers who were not afraid to speak out. One complaint against the doctor led to more and more grumbling. Finally, in 1929, the Kansas Medical Society began to go after Brinkley. But the fall of Brinkley was not easy; he did have numerous loyal followers.

The first serious action against Brinkley came from the federal government in May of 1930. The FCC revoked his radio license on the grounds he was "not performing a public service." Brinkley attempted to get around this by broadcasting from across the border. Brinkley phoned his program across the border, then a Mexican station did the broadcasting. The FCC again went after him. The commission declared that using telephone wires to carry material outside the US for the purpose of broadcasting the same material back into the states via a foreign radio station was illegal too.

Later, in 1930, the Kansas Medical Board did revoke Doc Brinkley’s medical license. So Brinkley was washed up as a doctor. Nonetheless, Brinkley was not down for long. If he could not be a doctor, he would be a politician.

Brinkley decided to run for the governorship of Kansas. One thing Brinkley had was plenty of was money, and lots of money was important in running a successful campaign then as it is now. It proved to be a rather wild gubernatorial race. The vote was not only close but also strange as he polled 20,000 votes in Oklahoma. He lost the election but still did not give up.

In 1932 he tried one more attempt at the governor’s chair, but he lost to Alf Landon. Brinkley, now washed up in Kansas, headed for Texas. In Texas the story of Brinkley’s doctoring follows the same scenario. He eventually was run out Texas, so he headed for Arkansas. But his medical career never really got into full swing in Arkansas. Mounting law suits brought against him caused him to file for bankruptcy.

From 1941 on, legal problems and ill health plagued the doctor. In 1941 he was arrested by the federal government; this time the charge was mail fraud. These charges stemmed from the last batch of medical literature he had circulated in Arkansas. He would never stand trail. Shortly before the trail was scheduled to start, Doc Brinkley died of a heart attack; he was 56.

Obviously, John Brinkley had above average mental ability. In addition, he had a charming personality and considerable talent, all of which he used in the making of big bucks by hoodwinking innocent people. One wonders what he could have done had he chose to employ his capability honestly. Well, if nothing else, he made a name for himself—The Goat Gland Doctor.

November 2005 - Dog Racing At Cheyenne Bottoms

For the past few months, Otto and I have been writing articles on state history; this month we will focus on some local history. We are going to tell you about an exciting form of entertainment in Barton Country during the late 1880s and early 1890s. We are assuming that we maybe writing about a form of entertainment that many of our readers are unaware ever existed in Barton County. No doubt, there are some local history buffs who will not be surprised. For that group we just hope to jog your memories.

Long before Wichita became the site of greyhound racing, Barton country held that distinct honor. An article in Biographical History of Barton County, Kansas, describes the American Coursing Club that was located in the Great Bend area in 1886. According to the article, "This club was the first of its kind to be organized in America and had for its purposes the racing of grey-hounds and by these tests bring out the good points, and by eliminating the bad ones improve the breed of these fleet footed animals."

The organizational meeting that began the whole venture took place in Topeka. Five men attend this meeting, one of them being a citizen of Great Bend, D.C. Luse. At this initial meeting the group had not decided on where the course for the races would be located. After searching a good portion of western Kansas, Cheyenne Bottoms was selected as the best site for the course.

The first race took place in October of 1886. This newly organized American Coursing Club was certainly no secret. The article points out that at the first meet, "people and dogs from all parts of the country [attended] and the entries included some

of the fastest dogs in the world."

There were two main "stakes." We assume this means there were two main events. One was for "dogs of all ages." The second one was called the "Puppy Stake," and as the name implies was for inexperienced greyhounds, those having never competed. Otto and I certainly lack knowledge regarding greyhounds, but we have been told these dogs start running from day one. Running is their one passion. If that is true, maybe there really is no such thing as an inexperienced greyhound.

The owners had to pay a ten dollar entry fee. The money from the fees was divided up into prize money given to the owners of the winning dogs. The article does not mention how many places were awarded. In addition to money, the winning dogs received other prizes.

In the "all ages event" a cup was given to the top winner and an additional hundred dollars. This prize was given by none other than the American Field sports magazine. The National Greyhound Club of New York City also contributed a silver metal to the winning dog of the "all ages race." Obviously, the sources of the last two prizes indicate how will known the event became; the races were definitely a "big deal"! The article mentioned that the "puppies" also received special prizes and recognitions beyond the money awards.

For the kennel owners these races must have meant a lot. Not only could they show off their "fleet of foot" greyhounds, but it was a chance for the owners of the winning dogs to make a few sales.

The greyhound races must have had quite an impact on the local economy, the article points out that, "These meets brought thousands of people to Great Bend and during the coursing at the Cheyenne Bottoms the country was literally alive with men and women on horseback and in buggies." The article does back up this declaration by including names and places of many in attendance. Many were from within the state, but it mentions names from Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Denver, Missouri, etc.

Cheyenne Bottoms was fortunate to be host of the event for seven consecutive years. After that the event was move from city to city. "The town or city that offering the best financial inducements being given the preference." We were not able to find out if it ever returned to the Bottoms.

We have enclosed a couple pictures that were printed along with the original article. One is a drawing of the course. The other is one of the famous winners, Lady Barton. This dog belonged to the organizer from Great Bend, D.C. Luse.

Lady Barton won three years in a row, 1889-91, winning money totaling over $1000. Remember that was before the turn of the century, when a $1000 went a long way!

If by chance you are wondering if betting occurred, yes it did. We are told the meets provided many "exciting times," and the bets that "were made on the outcome of the different races" added greatly to the excitement.

Marie and I had no way of checking out if there is any indication of where at the Bottoms the course was laid out. So, if any of our readers has some additional information on the location of the track or anything else about the dog races in Barton county, we would appreciate hearing from you. We can be reached by writing: Marie and Otto, % The Pelican Press, RR1, Box 49B, Larned, KS 67550.

One can’t help but wonder if there are dog descendants of the dogs that once ran at the Bottoms. Who knows maybe Lady Barton’s great, great, great, great, grand daughter—we’re not sure how many doggie generations that would be—is still around. If so, we are sure she’ll do her name sake proud.

October 2005 - Prohibition in Kansas

The history of prohibition in Kansas has always been an interesting topic. Many people wonder "How could Kansans ever pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting the sale of alcohol?" Kansas even gets the distinction of being the first state making it illegal to make, to sell, or to drink intoxicating beverages, and this legality was accomplished less than twenty years after Kansas reached statehood. Marie and I came across an article written circa 1915 by Clara Francis. The article, The Coming of Prohibition to Kansas, explains the underlying reason why prohibition came relatively quick to Kansas. The foundation for prohibition was actually put in place during the Kansas Territorial Days. The first reason stirring a desire for prohibition might surprise a number of you because it stemmed from the Native American population.

When Kansas became a territory in 1854, the area still supported a huge Native American population. Back in 1828 the areas that eventually becoming Kansas and Oklahoma had been designated Indian Territory. Kansas and Oklahoma were given this honor mainly because of comments made by explorers to the Louisiana Purchase. These early explorers concluded that the areas making up Kansas and Oklahoma was basically desert and not good for agriculture. Pike was one of the explorers that made such a comment. Consequently, both Kansas and Oklahoma were set aside as Indian Territory. Sadly, the attitude prevailed that since the ground was worthless for farming, it might as well be given to the Native Americans. The Indians living east of the Mississippi were moved into Indian Territory and settled on various reservations in 1828.

This Indian Territory arrangement would not last long. Settlers traveling the various westward trails traversing Kansas decided Kansas was not a desert and proceeded to have the Native Americans pushed out of Kansas. The Native Americans were not moved out over night, so there was a period when quite a few whites and Native Americans inhabited the Kansas together. The first territorial governor, George Reeder, made the following observation in 1854 regarding the Native American population: The presence in our territory of so large a number of Indians, interspersed as they are with the white population, adds a feature to the indiscriminate sale of intoxicating liquors which does not exist in other communities. A portion of them indulge upon almost every opportunity in the excessive use of ardent spirits, and the friends and enemies of prohibition who are acquainted with the Indian character and its frenzied developments under the influence of intoxication will probably all unite in the admission that special precautions in the respect are necessary, as well for the protection of the Indian against degradation, as of the whites against violence. The more estimable members of most of the tribes are using their influence to check this evil, and we should second their efforts, as well for our sake as their own.

The desire to prevent the sale of alcohol to Native Americans resulted in the 1855 "dramshop" law. The law provided some strict restriction on the sale of liquor. We summarized the key points of the "dramshop" law.

1. A special election must be held every two years on the first Monday in October starting in 1855. The election is to decide if the township or any existing incorporated town within the township will allow dramshops or tavern to be licensed for operation. If the voting age citizens vote against allowing an establishment that serves alcohol no such establishment can open. Every two years the citizens will vote on the issue.

2. If the residents of a township vote to allow an establishment selling alcohol, before it can open the proprietor must first present to the governing body of the township or town a petition signed by a majority of the citizens attesting that the person seeking a license to operate a dramshop, tavern, or grocer is of fit moral character.

3. Any person operating a drinking establishment without a properly signed petition stating the "fitness" of the person and paying the license fee shall be fined a sum of not less than one hundred dollars for each violations and subjected to confinement in jail.

4. Everyone permitted a license will be subjected to a yearly tax of not less than ten dollars or more than five hundred dollars. The money for the licenses is to be used for county purposes.

5. The owners of businesses selling alcohol could not sell to the Native American, nor could they sell to slaves.

6. Establishments selling alcohol must be closed on Sundays.

7. Finally, dramshop, tavern, or grocer owners selling alcohol must be bondable for at least two thousand dollars and put up two securities before being granted a license.

With all these restrictions, opening a drinking establishment was not an easy undertaking. The anti-drinking atmosphere was strongly backed by the temperance movement in Kansas from the beginning of Kansas’ history. We are going to share a portion of a memorial presented to the territorial legislature in 1856. Fifty-six women, all members of the Topeka Temperance lodge, signed this memorial. The wording is quite interesting: The undersigned . . . the wives and daughters of your constituents beg leave respectfully to present to your honorable body that suitable laws be immediately passed to prevent the manufacture and importation for sale or use as a beverage within the state of Kansas of any distilled or malt liquors.

It is not necessary for us . . . to enter into a minute discussion of the evils resulting to all classes of society from the use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage. [Certainly] You [would] not attempt to pass . . . laws of the sale of lottery tickets, the selling of unwholesome food, the adulterating of flour, etc. How then can you fail to give attention to a subject which impoverishes a whole nation, brings wretchedness and misery in its train, fills the land with mourning, and sends the widow’s wail and orphan’s sob to heaven for relief.

The women pointed out that often the abusers of intoxicating drinks declare that if the drinks were not available they could over come the addition. Therefore, the ladies implored the legislature to enact laws that would prevent once and for all the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol in Kansas. The ladies wanted Kansas to be the leading state of the nation ending the evils of alcohol. Keep in mind there were many men and churches involved in the temperance movement—the movement had wide spread support. If men had not supported temperance, little progress in the temperance movement could have been made—remember woman had no voice in government—no vote.

With such strong anti-liquor sentiments in the early territorial days—it should come as no surprise that once Kansas was a state—these same sentiments would continue. The anti-liquor movement had a strong support in the figure of Senator John P. St John. By 1874 some strong, serious demands for prohibition were appearing—and liquor dealers were beginning to worry. At the 1874 Republican state convention the following plank was included in the platform: Resolved, that drunkenness is one of the greatest curses of modern society, demoralizing everything it touches, imposing fearful burdens of taxation upon the people, a fruitful breeder of pauperism and crime, and a worker of evil continually. Hence we are in favor of such legislation, both general and local as experience will show to be the most effectual in destroying this evil.

Those advocating prohibition were really strengthened when John St. John was elected governor in 1878. His first inaugural address on January 16, 1879 was quite powerful. We have included a portion of that first address:

The subject of temperance, in its relation to the use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, has occupied the attention of the people of Kansas to such an extent, that I feel it my duty to call your attention to some of its evils, and suggest if possible, a remedy therefore. Much has been said of late years about hard times and extravagant and useless expenditures of money; and in the connection I desire to call your attention to the fact that here in Kansas, where our people are at least as sober and temperate as are found in any of the states in the West, the money spent annually for intoxicating liquors would defray the entire expenses of the state government, including the care and maintenance of all its charitable institutions, Agricultural College, Normal School, State University, and Penitentiary. [Money spent on intoxicating liquors] instead of making mankind nobler, purer and better, leaves its dark trail of misery, poverty, and crime. Its direct effects, as shown by the official report, have supplied our state prison with 105 of its inmates. Could we but dry up this great evil that consumes annually so much wealth and destroys the physical, moral and mental usefulness of its victims, we would hardly need prisons, poorhouses or police.

I fully realize it is easier to talk about the evils flowing from the use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage than it is to provide a remedy for them. If it could be fully accomplished, I am clearly of the opinion that no greater blessing could be conferred by you upon the people of this state than to absolutely and forever prohibit the manufacture, importation and sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage. But many people insist that a prohibitory law could not, or at least would not, be enforced, and that any law that cannot be or is not enforced is worse than no law at all.

I have too much faith in the people of Kansas to believe that any law intended to, and the effect of which would be to promote the moral, physical and mental condition of mankind would not be rightly enforced.

Like we said—Governor St. John speech must have had quite an impact. The Kansas legislature acted and later that same year a prohibition amendment was created and sent to the people of Kansas for a final vote. The amendment was ratified by 92,302 votes for with 84,304 voters casting votes against prohibition. In 1880 Kansas, to the joy of many and the gnashing of teeth to others, became the first state with an amendment prohibiting the making, selling, and drinking of intoxicating beverages.

How much influence Kansas’ prohibition action had on other states is not known, but it must have had some impact. The US went dry in 1919 with the passage of the 18th amendment, which was repealed in 1933. Kansas, however, continued with prohibition—except the ban on beer consumption was lifted. Finally in 1948 Kansas repealed the prohibition amendment and the once again "the evil liquor did flow." We might add that even though the liquor amendment was repealed, Kansas still kept some strong restrictions on alcohol—but that is another story.

- Harold Wilson

August 2005 Zebulon Pike

Last year marked the bicentennial celebration of the famous Lewis & Clark Corp of Discovery. The Lewis and Clark journey, which lasted over two years, was not the only exploration of the Louisiana Purchase taking place in the nation at that time. Actually before Lewis and Clark returned, Lt Zebulon Montgomery Pike had been sent on an expedition into the central plains and the Rockies. Pike’s exploration took place in 1806 with next year marking the bicentennial celebration of Lt. Pike’s courage journey.

Pike had made an exploratory trip up the Mississippi Valley in 1805. When Pike returned from that very difficult journey, he was expecting a rest, which should have occurred. Instead, Gen. James Wilkinson, governor of the Louisiana Territory, immediately give him orders for the second exploration of the plains and Rockies. The interesting point about this second assigned exploration of Pike’s was that it was made without the approval of President Jefferson. Although later, after the expedition was completed, Jefferson gave his approval.

Gen. Wilkinson had a variety of reasons for wanting to rush Pike into the next assignment. First, Pike was to return fifty-one Osage Indians to western Missouri; the Pottawatamies had captured these Native Americans. Second, he was to negotiate peace between the Kansa and Pawnee Indians. Third, he was to make contact with the Comanche living on the high plains. Fourth, Pike was to explore the headwaters of the Arkansas River. Fifth, he was to locate the headwaters of the Red River. And last, and most likely the most important of Wilkinson’s objectives, Pike was to spy on the Spanish in the area south of the Louisiana Purchase. As regards spying on the Spanish, it is interesting to note that Gen. Wilkinson was a double agent—working for both the US and Spain.

Pike’s fact gathering expedition into the high plains and Rockies, unlike Lewis & Clark’s, was not well equipped. Pike, believing the weather would be mild, made no provision for bringing heavy clothing. During the exploration, they also ran short on mounts, and they had little scientific equipments. No doubt Wilkinson’s haste to get Pike quickly started on the trip precipitated the lack of proper preparation. Pike had returned from the journey up the Mississippi Valley on April 30; two and a half month later he left on this second arduous exploration. On July 15, 1806 Pike headed for the high plains and Rocky Mountains. Pike’s exploration group consisted of Pike, his second-in-command Lt. James Wilkinson, who was Gen Wilkinson’s nephew, 19 enlisted men, a volunteer physician, and an interpreter.

Like the start of the Louis and Clark’s journey, Pike and his men headed west on the Missouri river. The Osage village where they were to return the Osage Indians was on the Kansas/Missouri border. Pike and his men stayed briefly in the Osage village before heading north to a Pawnee Indian village on the Republican River.

Pike made some interesting discoveries at the Pawnee village. A Spanish military force of some 300 men had recently been to the village looking for Pike. While in the village, the Spanish convinced the Pawnee to fly the Spanish flag. Pike was somewhat proud to think that a Spanish force of that size would be searching for him. He also convinced the Pawnees to lower the Spanish flag and fly the Stars and Stripes. Pike’s party left the Pawnee village following the hoof prints of the Spanish cavalry.

They followed the path of the Spanish, which led down to the great bend of the Arkansas River. When they reached this point on the Arkansas, the expedition divided into two parties. Lt. Wilkinson took six men and traveled by canoe down the Arkansas flowing through the current states of Oklahoma and Arkansas. At the point where the Arkansas empties into the Mississippi River, Wilkinson and his men then floated up the Mississippi to St Louis. Lt Wilkinson upon reaching St. Louis had completed his part of the exploration—Pike’s journey was far from over.

While Wilkinson headed down the Arkansas River, Pike and the rest of the men traveled up the Arkansas River. Pike was still following the Arkansas by mid-November. Normally, explorers would turn and head home, or at least settle in for the winter before resuming the journey in the springtime. Pike would do neither; he decided to continue following the river on to the Rockies. Such a journey was very dangerous, for the men had neither the needed supplies nor clothing for winter condition that were starting to set in. Most historians have concluded the main reason for Pike taking such a dangerous course was his desire to encounter the Spanish. Whatever the reason, Pike was putting he and his men in a serious situation, which they soon discovered once in the Rockies.

Crossing the plains, the small expedition encountered a party of Pawnee on their annual fall buffalo hunt. A couple times a year, the Pawnee went on buffalo hunting trips to the plains since the huge herds of buffalos were more numerous on the plains than further east. Pike, upon encountering the Pawnee, was not alarmed even though his party was out numbered two to one by the Pawnees. There were no hostile intentions on the part of the Pawnee, but they did want more "presents" in the form of supplies from Pike’s group. Supplies were already starting to run low, and Pike knew he needed every precious item for the upcoming leg of the journey.

Pike grew increasing upset as he watched the Pawnee start forcibly to take more and more supplies. He had to take immediate action to arrest the plunder of supplies by the Pawnee. Pike made it clear if one more Pawnee took one more item that Pawnee would be shot dead in his tracks. The situation became quite tense. Luckily, the Pawnee backed down and left to continue their buffalo hunt; Pike and his men, breathing a deep sigh, of relief continued west.

By November 23, Pike and his men had reached the site of present day Pueblo, Colorado. In the distance they caught sight of a towering blue peak high in the Rocky Mountains. Pike, two soldiers, and the doctor decided to head for the summit while the rest of the men stayed at camp at the base of the mountain. After climbing a number of days and reaching about 9,000 feet, Pike realized the goal of reaching the peak was next to impossible. Keep in mind, they had not prepared for cold weather. All the men had only light summer uniforms… no match for the winter condition they now were facing. Standing waist deep in snow with below zero temps, Pike abandoned the climb and returned to base camp. Pike never climbed nor named the summit, Pike’s Peak. Stephen Long first referred it to as Pike’s Peak in his 1820 journey. In 1844 John Fremont made the name official.

Even though the cold winter conditions had set in, Pike was not ready to return or to give up the exploration. He decided to explore the Arkansas River looking for the source in the Rockies. High in the mountains, the Arkansas River splits into two channels. At this juncture the expedition decided to follow the north fork, eventually crossing the South Platte River; it was now mid December. Pike mistakenly thought the source of the Red River was also in the Rockies and he was determined to find its head waters. After circling around and returning to almost the same point on the Arkansas that they started at, Pike realized they were not going to find the source of the Red River in the Rockies. The Red River lay beyond the Rockies, which meant they must cross the mountains on foot.

By now the men had no blankets having cut them up to make socks, trying to stave off frost bit. During the night warmth was maintained by huddling around a huge bon fires. Life was barely sustained by shooting an occasional buffalo. The men began working their way back down the Arkansas River, luckily this high in the Rockies the river was frozen solid allowing the horses to walk on the ice. Still it was a very desperate situation.

Once back a the base the party was again divided, the interpreter and one man would stay with the horses in a crudely built stockade—the rest would head out to find the source of the Red River on foot crossing the mountains; it was now the 14th of January 1807.

Frostbite quickly took toll on the feet of the men. Suffering cold and exhaustion made aiming the gun with accuracy almost impossible, so starvation was always close at hand. Finally three men with the most serious frostbite had to be left behind. The rest strained onward. On February 1 they reached another river, which Pike believed was the Red River. It wasn’t the Red River; instead it was the headwaters of the Rio Grande. Nonetheless, the men would dig in here building a stockade of cottonwood logs. Now they were at a place near modern day Alamosa, Colorado.

After completion of the fort, Pike sent some men back to bring the two left guarding the horses and the three with frostbitten feet to the stockade. Only one of the three men suffering serious frostbite made it back. The doctor had requested and received permission to go to Spanish held Santa Fe on business. No doubt the doctor’s presence in Santa Fe created some suspicion, especially when he said he had left a party of hunters. On February 26, 1807 the Spanish authorities, acting on a hunch that the doctor had been a member of Pike’s exploration party, sent out 100 Spanish soldiers in search of Pike’s group.

The Spanish succeed in locating Pike and after some effort entered the fort. The fort had no gate, so the Spanish had to enter by crawling through a small hole sunk under one wall. The hole could not be reached without first crossing a water filled moat. Once in the fort, the Spaniards accused Pike of being on Spanish territory. Pike held his ground saying no, he wasn’t in Spanish territory since he was on the Red River. The Spanish quickly informed him that he was in error—he wasn’t on the Red River; he was on the Rio Grande River. However due to the deplorable conditions of Pike and his men—no warm clothing or supplies—the Spanish were more rescuers than enemies. There is strong indication that Pike wanted to be captured by the Spanish. As a Spanish prisoner, Pike could spy on them. And Pike had the opportunity to spy—all the way to Santa Fe.

As they march south, Pike made mental notes of Spanish forts, garrisons, officers, and communities. He was also allowed to talk with the priests he met along the way. As a result Pike gathered a considerable amount of valuable information for the US regarding the Spanish. The Spanish in no way mistreated Pike or his men. As a matter of fact as they marched to Santa Fe they were often treated to barbecues and dances. Pike commented that the Spanish possessed "heaven-like qualities of hospitality and kindness."

The Spanish did confiscate Pike’s journals in which he recorded his findings in exploring the central plains and Rockies. These journals were not returned, so when they were finally released, Pike had to rely on his memory regarding the rivers, geography, fauna, etc of the plains and Rockies. Some of his papers were discovered early in the 20th Century; these have been archived in Washington.

The Spanish were somewhat fearful that there might be an attempt to free Pike and his men, so during the early weeks of captivity, the Spanish carefully patrolled the border watching for US troops bent on rescuing Pike. No attempt was made to rescue Pike and his men. The Spanish, after having Pike’s paper translated, were certain he was on a espionage mission, but there was little they could do since they did not want to antagonize the Americans. In July 1807 Zebulon Pike and his men were freed and escorted to the US border.

Pike made a very significant observation regarding Santa Fe. He encouraged the establishment of a trade route to Santa Fe—expounding on the great commercial economic advantages of such an enterprise. In a short time the Santa Fe Trail was heavily traveled and proved to a very lucrative commercial venture. Pike made another equally important observation about the central plains, an observation that was not disputed for decades. Pike was not very impressed with the central plains. He said, On the rivers Kansas, La Platte, and Arkansas, and the various branches, it appears to me to be only possible to introduce a limited population on their banks. The inhabitants would find it most to their advantage to pay attention to the multiplication of cattle, horses, sheep, and goats, all of which they can raise in abundance, the earth producing spontaneously sufficient for their support…but the woods now in the country would not be sufficient for a moderate share of population more than 15 years, and then it would be out of the question to think of using any of it in manufactories.

In the vast country of which I speak, we find the soil generally dry and sandy, with gravel, and discover that the moment we approach a stream the land becomes more humid, with small timber. I therefore conclude that this country never was timbered. . . . These vast plains of the western hemisphere may become in time as celebrated as the sandy deserts of Africa.

Pike concluded that the central plains were basically desert land—not capable of producing agricultural crops. The best use for this desert would be to leave it for the "wandering and uncivilized" Indians. Pike was really on target regarding the commercial value of travel to and from Santa Fe, but about the lack of productivity regarding the central plain and he could not have been more off the target. But for a long time settlers traveled through the plains not settling because of Pike observation. And at one time the entire area of Kansas was set-aside for the Native Americans.

We would like to add a final footnote about Zebulon Pike. He was born on April 27, 1779 in Lamberton New Jersey. The Revolutionary War was still raging. Pike’s father was fighting in the war and continued after the war as a professional soldier, so Pike followed in the footsteps of his dad. Pike was killed in the War of 1812, sometimes referred to as the second war for independence from England. He died from a cannon blast hurled by the British on Lake Ontario on April 25 1813 just 2 days shy of his 34th birthday. It was a final thrust of the British as the Royal Troops were on the point of surrender. The blast killed over 200 men; shortly after that battle the British surrendered to the US forces. Pike clung to life on a navy vessel in the harbor. The battle involved both US navy and army forces. Moments before he died, the conquered British flag was placed beneath his head as a pillow. He had written a letter to his parents the day before. In the letter he wrote, "Should I be the happy mortal destined to turn the scale of war, would you not rejoice, oh! My father? May Heaven be propitious and smile on the cause of my country; but if I am destined to fall may my fall be like Wolfe’s—to sleep in the arms of victory." In a sad and good way both of Pike’s requests in the letter were fulfilled.

The Cold War Continued... Part 2

One final comment—to live in fear is not to live at all—don’t ever be afraid to seek the truth.

June 2005 - The Cold War: Was the Fear Exaggerated?

Recently, we came across two pamphlets put out by the Federal Civil Defense Administration in the late 1950s. One is entitled Rural Family Defense and the other is Facts About Fallout. Both pamphlets were quite daunting for the times. The first pamphlet stresses the danger rural families face. Here a taste of the text: The grim facts on what modern weapons could do to America read like a spaceman’s nightmare. Whole cities can be destroyed as the result of a millisecond flash. The dangerous, often deadly, radioactive debris from atomic weapons can fall on rural homes, lands, and communitie. Causalities would be counted in millions. The second pamphlet also stresses the harm from radioactive materials—scary stuff. These pamphlets add to a growing theory Otto and I have regarding the aftermath of 9/11. We have come to the conclusion that the increasing talk about terrorism and heightening of homeland security parallels closely the red scare and nuclear war propaganda of the post WWII decades.

Recent re-assessment of the Cold War decades has led to the conclusion that the alarming concern of communism spreading and taking over the world was little more than fearful fantasy—a myth lacking creditability. This lack of credibility is reinforced when one review some simple questions and answers about the Cold War. Questions like why did Cold War start? What was the Cold War really all about? When did Cold War end?

While the answers to these questions are no brainers for a portion of the populace, there is a whole generation and the start of other generation that hasn’t a clue as to what the Cold War was all about. Ask anyone between the ages of six to thirty-five years of age about the Cold War and you’ll either receive blank stares or vague answers. A vague answer like—Oh, it was a time of tension when nations around the world felt at any moment a nuclear holocaust could be started by either of the two world powers, the US or the USSR. These blank stares and vague answers seem strange for the three generations of adults caught up in fear during the Cold War.

The fear connected with the Cold War remains mostly a mystery to anyone born after mid-point of the 20th Century. There might be a few born in the 1960s that would have some understanding of the Cold War—but it’s doubtful they would be familiar with "the fear" that permeated the Cold War—only those that lived during the 1950s would really understand "the fear." Actually, anyone from the age of fifty and upwards will have a whole set of different answers regarding the Cold War—for those in that age group, the Cold War was very scary. Yet, on November 9, 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down that fear was proven totally groundless. A question arises, what caused the older generations to be in a heighten state of fear during the Cold War—a war that eventually fizzled out. This first question led us to a second question, are Americans over reacting again to 9/11 like they did to the Cold War?

We have a couple objectives in mind as we write this article: first, we will cover a brief history of what generated the Cold War and the fear associated with the War; and second, we will explain how the hype about terrorism and homeland security parallel or mimic the hullabaloo of the Cold War. We will present the first part this month and the second part the following month.

When did the Cold War started is a good starting point. Most historians conclude that the Cold War started before WWII was over; it resulted from the growing tension during the War between the allied powers: Britain, France, the US and the Soviet Union. There certainly is truth in that conclusion. But, we want to cite two fearful situations that quickly emerged after the war. One situation was apparent right at the end of the war in Asia—the other situation occurred about four years later. The first fearful situation sprang up in the aftermath of dropping H-bombs on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Most atomic scientists knew about the horrors dropping the bomb would have on the civilian population, which is exactly where the US planned and did drop the bomb—it was dropped on innocent civilians. While most of the science world may have known the serious consequences, most people, including President Truman, Congress, and the average American were unaware of the devastation the bomb would create. Seeing the devastation created a sobering, frightening realization in the mind and hearts of Americans. The initial reaction of the leaders and public after we dropped the bombs was—we certainly do not what that to happen here in the United States! The realization that we don’t want the bomb dropped on us really was reinforced four years later in 1949 when the Soviets had successfully created "the bomb." At that point, a new question emerged, if the Russians now have the H-bomb, what will keep them from dropping it on the US? The first fearful situation—the realization of what an atomic bomb could do to civilization—was now reinforced even more that the Soviet Union had the capacity to create a weapon of mass destruction. Knowing the Soviets now had the "bomb" led to the second fearful situation—the "red scare." US leaders, the military, citizens—everyone—feared an unavoidable attack by the Soviets. Furthermore, the red scare really was heightened through the actions of Joseph Eugene McCarthy.

For those who have forgotten the particulars of Senator McCarthy’s reckless action, or those who never knew of his contribution to history, we’ll give you a brief summation. It all started in February of 1950. Joseph McCarthy, then a first term Republican senator from Wisconsin, gained instant fame from a speech he made in Wheeling, WV to a ladies group. During his speech, McCarthy waved a paper that he claimed listed over 205 known communists working in the State Department—a paper that was never shown to anyone. He later reduced the number to 57. Nonetheless, for the next four years McCarthy and his aides carried out the witch-hunt for communists that had infiltrated the state department and elsewhere.

Here is an example of a McCarthy’s accusation speech: In my opinion the State Department, which is one of the most important government departments, is thoroughly infested with Communists. I have in my hand 57 cases of individuals who would appear to be either card carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist Party, but who nevertheless are still helping to shape our foreign policy. I know that you are saying to yourself, "Well, why doesn’t the Congress do something about it?" Actually, ladies and gentlemen, one of the important reasons for the graft, the corruption, the dishonesty, the disloyalty, the treason in high Government positions is one of the most important reasons why this continues is a lack of moral uprising on the part of the 140,000,000 American people.

In the light of history, however, this is not hard to explain. It is the result of an emotional hang-over and a temporary moral lapse, which follows every war. It is the apathy to evil which people who have been subjected to the tremendous evils of war feel. As the people of the world see mass murder, the destruction of defenseless and innocent people, and all of the crime and lack of morals, which go with war, they become numb and apathetic. It has always been thus after war.

However, the morals of our people have not been destroyed. They still exist. This cloak of numbness and apathy has only needed a spark to rekindle them. Happily, this spark has finally been supplied." McCarthy saw himself as the spark—or the knight on the white horse out to uncover and save American from the communists and a return to morals.

Between 1950 and 1954 McCarthy and his aides made wild accusations, intimidated witnesses, threw all kinds of mud at well-known people—literary terrorized Americans, with exaggerated claims of communist infiltration throughout society. At one point McCarthy even accused President Eisenhower of harboring communists; Eisenhower was none too happy. The movie industry, a favored target of McCarthy, was heavily hit by McCarthyism. McCarthy believed movies capable of influencing Americans, and he believed movies were influencing in the wrong way. Some people involved with the movie industry left the states to avoid McCarthy. As a result of McCarthyism, it became common requirement when taking a new job to take an oath affirming that you were not a communist. Marie remembers signing such an oath when she started her first teaching job.

Finally in August of 1954, the Senate could take no more of the lunatic accusations of McCarthy and begin censure investigation. In September the committee released a unanimous report labeling the communist hunting McCarthy’s behavior as "inexcusable," "reprehensible," "vulgar and insulting."  In December, the Senate in a vote of 67-22 to censure him—McCarthy’s reign of terror was over. Soon after the censure, McCarthy’s health problems increased and his heavy drinking became heavier. On May 2, 1957 his candle went out; he died of acute hepatitis.

While the diatribe of McCarthy over communist infiltration was relatively short lived, the fear of communism continued to linger long after McCarthy was gone. Throughout the 50s all sorts of actions were taken to help prepare America for the inevitable Soviet attack. Small rural towns even put up watchtowers that were manned by volunteers throughout the day, scouring the skies intently looking for sightings of enemy planes. People were encourage to construct bomb shelters, told what to stock in the shelter, how long they should plan to be "en-caved" before the level of radiation went down to a safe level. Movies had the theme of nuclear destruction. The US jumped rapidly into a defense mode. There was a crazy frenzy of preparation for the "bomb" that the Soviets would send our way soon.

By the 60s the adrenal rush had died down some, the watchtowers were standing unattended weathering in the wind or torn down, and bomb shelters remained empty—yet the fear continued. The constant confrontations between the two super powers—the US and the USSR during the 1960s and 70s kept the fear factor going. Everywhere that communism appeared—Korea, China, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin American—the US started to shake with fear. The Cuban missile crisis in 1962 really sent a resurgence of adrenal flowing—not just in the US and the Soviet Union—but also around the world. Many people around the world thought the Cuban missile crisis would bring the two superpowers to blows, resulting in annihilate of themselves and most of the world.

Luckily for everyone, Kennedy and Khrushchev worked through the crisis without war, but from that point forward, the arms race was on. More and more weapons were produced. Both super powers believed you couldn’t have enough bombs, missiles, or nuclear weapons in the arsenal. The arms race of the Cold War is one indication that logic was being replaced by folly. A common Cold War joke regarded the number of times that the US and the USSR could destroy the world, six, seven, or more times with all the weapons they have stockpiled. The sober truth, however, was once is all it would take—did we really need to be in the arms race? That question was never answered. The arms race really took off at a ridiculous pace during the Reagan administration. The whole arms races connected with the Cold War was nuts! And, the arms race has left some deadly consequences—serious deficit spending along with convincing other nations that they needed nuclear weapons to protect themselves from the nutty super powers. If one honestly reflects on the present situation the old issues of "weapons of mass destruction" started with the US and our determination to have on hand plenty of "weapons of mass destruction."

Marie and I are not suggesting that all of the fear was prefabricated. Stalin had clearly said some things and did numerous things to make the Western world apprehensive. As early as 1927, Stalin had said that the USSR still lives in antagonistic "capitalist encirclement" with which in the long run there can be no permanent peaceful coexistence. [That] In course of further development of international revolution there will emerge two centers of world significance: a socialist center, drawing to itself the countries which tend toward socialism, and a capitalist center, drawing to itself the countries that incline toward capitalism. Battle between these two centers for command of world economy will decide fate of capitalism and of communism in entire world. Stalin showed no signs of getting along with the Western powers—he had his own agenda, which became obvious after the war when Germany was divided into four zones, with each of the Allied Powers in charge of a zone. In a short time it was obvious that the Soviet Union had no reunification plans for Germany—the Russian portion of Germany was to become a Soviet satellite.

Nonetheless, there is evidence to suggest that the fear of communism taking over the world and destroying democracy… the dominating theme of the Cold War… was over exaggerated.

Before we draw conclusion about our theory "that the increasing talk about terrorism and heightening of homeland security parallels closely the red scare and nuclear war propaganda of the post WWII decade," we want to share some thought on the Cold War from two authorities on the subjects. We will let that be the starting point next month.

May 2005 - Gordon Parks, A Genius

This month we have selected another personality that has Kansas roots. Again, we face a giant task in trying to reduce to a few words the story of a man who went through so much yet has reached such distinguished levels of accomplishments.

Gordon Parks entered into a life filled with poverty and racism in 1912 Fort Scott Kansas. For many blacks an impoverished life overshadowed by bigotry proves destructive, but for Gordon Parks, the dual evils harden and shaped his life in ways that allowed him to reach unbelievable levels of creativity. Parks has excelled in a multitude of careers: photographer, film director, novelist and composer of music.

In the early 1900s, Fort Scott exhibited the typical American racism of the time. Restaurants barred blacks; special sections – the poorest sections – were selected as "proper seating" for blacks in theatres; blacks could not participate in school sports or social events; and black youths were discouraged from getting a higher education. Educational systems were based on the "separate but equal" concept which, in reality, meant segregate the blacks and put them in inferior schools. Most blacks found only menial, low paying jobs. In short, fifty years after the Civil War, blacks were still socially, economically and politically subordinate to whites. We point this out simply to give a little background on what conditions were like at the time.

Parks does not deny the effect such unjust treatment had on him. As an innocent child, Parks wondered why blacks were considered inferior to whites. Eventually, the innocent questioning turned to rage towards the white world. Parks believes the early nurturing of his parents saved him from unleashing his anger upon the white society.

Sarah and Andrew, Parks’ parents, were loving, hard working and religious people. Even through poverty encompassed the family, the parents worked hard to insure that the large family had the essentials for life, albeit the necessities were sparse at times. Parks attributes much to his mother’s influence in preparing him to meet the struggles and hardships of life. His mother embodied love and justice in all her actions. She told Parks that racists are the ones with the problems and that at some point, in this or the next life, they will be the ones who pay. She also instilled in him the belief that there was nothing that one could not accomplish if one truly wanted it and tried hard. Through his mother’s influence, Parks avoided letting anger consume him, thus allowing him to reach elevated levels of creativity.

The love, warmth and support he found in his family gave him a sense of security, even in the face of the twin evils, poverty and bigotry. But that security ended when, at the age of fifteen, his mother died. After her death, Parks was sent to live with an older sister in St. Paul. This move proved disastrous for Parks, as his sister’s husband, for some reason, rejected the teenager and kicked him out of the house. Consequently, at a very vulnerable and tender age, Parks was thrown into the cruel world on his own. The remaining teen years were nightmares filed with hatred, violence and poverty. There were few job opportunities for young black men, which meant little chance of escaping from a life filled with hell.

Parks describes on horror filled job in a flophouse in Chicago. His job consisted of cleaning the place; a cleaning job few could handle. The men staying there were violent, filthy, hopeless drunks and drug addicts; men who usually passed out in their own vomit, urine and feces. Throughout that period of employment, his life was filled with terror, but he saved money and eventually returned to St. Paul. But, before escaping that place, Parks almost committed a crime that would have cost him his freedom and most likely his life.

Parks, with a natural music talent, taught himself to play the piano. This talent enabled him to find work as a piano player, mostly in brothels. Nonetheles, this job was better than work most blacks found. He also worked for a period in the Civilian Conservation Corp during the Great Depression. A porter’s job on the North Coast Limited helped pave the way for his future as a photographer.

On one of the runs he found a portfolio of photographs left behind by a passenger. The photos, depicting the Depression, included shots of displaced workers, shanty villages, dust storms and crop failure… the general despair that characterized the 1930s. These pictures left a deep impression on Parks, not just because of the subjects they depicted, but because the photos hauntingly brought to life the ugly realities of impoverished people. A couple more incidents involving the powerful effects of photography convinced Parks that he wanted to be a photographer. He wrote: I was determined to become a photographer… I bought my first camera at a pawnshop for $7.50. It was a Voightlander Brilliant. Not much of a camera, but a great name to toss around. I had bought what was to become my weapon against poverty and racism.

One of his early photography jobs involved taking fashion photos, a job he landed through shear guts. Having no experience in fashion photography, did not stop Parks from walking to a fashionable clothing store in St. Paul one spring day and asking the owner if he could photograph fashions for the store. The owner was ready to walk by and ignore Parks’ request, but his wife seized upon the opportunity. While taking pictures was considerably more enjoyable than most work Parks found, his early years as a cameraman continued to be lean, making it difficult for Parks to support a wife and growing family.

He decided to move his family back to Chicago and look for photography work in the big city. The family continued to struggle financially until Parks became the first photographer to win the Julius Rosenwald Fund … an award given to someone with promising creative talent. The photos that won Parks recognition were those of impoverished blacks in Chicago.

As a result of the award, he received a fellowship with the Farm Security Administration doing photographic documentation of the plight of farmers. This job took the Parks family to the nation’s capital for the next two years. Parks quickly discovered that Washington, D.C. was a city filled with racial hatred. The nation’s capital became a place where Parks could certainly utilize the power of the camera lens through which the ugliness of racism in DC was depicted for everyone to see.

Following those years he went to New York to resume a career in fashion photography, working for Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and Glamour magazines. But Parks had his sights set on an even greater prize… he wanted to be a photographer for Life, a job he landed and held for twenty years.

As a Life photographer, his assignments took him all over the world. Some assignments were glamorous, allowing him to take photos of movie stars, heroes, record breaking events, etc. For some assignments, however, his camera focused on ugliness: poverty, crime, prison oppression, etc. Parks was a key photographer during the Civil Rights movement of the sixties.

In addition to photography, Parks also became an accomplished writer. One novel, The Learning Tree, was made into a movie which he directed. He has gone on to direct a number of Hollywood movies: Shaft, The Super Cops and Shaft’s Big Score. In all these endeavors he has proven to be a creative genius.

Marie and I have just barely touched on a few accomplishments of Gordon Parks, but it’s obvious from even this short list that Kansas can take deep pride in its native son. As we read Parks’ book, Voices in the Mirror, an Autobiography, Marie and I begin to wonder if Parks could take pride in Kansas after all the racial indiscretions he faced. We were happy to discover in one of the final chapters that Kansas has acknowledged and shown Parks the recognition he deserves. And while Parks is not a bitter man, he knows racism is not over.

Reading Parks’ autobiography was a great reminder for us. We realized the really great, creative talents that Parks possesses, but we were also reminded again of the ugliness of bigotry. Hatred is such a powerfully destructive force. Sadly, bigots of any kind end up not only destroying the innocent for which their hate is aimed, but also they destroy themselves through their own hate, and there can be no meaningful creativity in hatred.

April 2005 - Diamond Springs

Water, the matter that sustains all life! In the 1800s, the value of water proved even more crucial as the US expanded farther and farther west into the dry lands in the West. Water became a priceless commodity for both "man and beast." There was a particular "watering hole" in Kansas that gained immense fame in providing this priceless commodity to the many travelers on the Santa Fe Trail. This month we’re taking a brief look at that watering hole—Diamond Springs or as it was also called The Diamond of the Plains.

The importance of Diamond Springs was mentioned in an 1825 army survey of the Santa Fe Trail. The purpose of the army survey of the trail in 1825 was to determine the exact mileage of the trail and denote good stopping places on the trail starting from the Missouri River and ending in Santa Fe. The survey identified Diamond Springs not only an idea resting place, but also as a needed stopping point. Diamond Springs could provide those heading west with a good supply of water, which was extremely important since few of the watering spots after Diamond Springs were of the quality or quantity as The Diamond of the Plains.

Of course long before the 1825 governmental survey Diamond Springs was well known. The Native Americans knew and used the springs as well as the abundant wild life in the area. Diamond Springs, located near Council Grove, was the headwaters for Otter Creek in southwest Morris County. The name came from the description applied by weary, thirsty travelers as they came upon the ever flowing springs. They described the springs as an "enormous flow of cold, clear, sparkling water"—the water was like a brilliant diamond.

Major George Sibley who led the 1825 survey party had this to say about Diamond Springs. The spring gushes out from the head of a hollow in the prairie, and runs boldly among the stones into Otter creek, a short distance. It is very large, perfectly accessible, and furnishes the greatest abundance of most excellent, clear, cold water—enough to supply an army.

The abundance of water along with excellent camping grounds, which included wood for camp fires and grass for livestock made Diamond Springs a favorite stopping place for freight trains heading to Santa Fe and pioneers seeking new homes. As a result of the popularity of the springs many interesting adventures are connected to Diamond Springs.

For example, by 1849 a very elaborate relief station had been built near the springs, accommodating those traveling west. George Morehouse in an article in The Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society gives a good description of this relief station: In the course of time, as the traffic along the great trail increased, Diamond Springs became a well known stage and relief station. Several large two-story stone buildings and a large stone corral were constructed. The large corral was capable of holding several hundred head of stock, with sheds and other improvements to shelter man and beast. [The relief station at Diamond Springs became] the most pretentious of its kind between Council Grove and the Santa Fe region. One of the stone buildings was a sort of a ranch hotel or stage station, where meals were served, horses changed, and the thirsty traveler regaled with ardent liquid refreshments, if not satisfied with the cooling draughts from the Diamond Spring. The other large building was a storehouse of supplies, where the plain, primitive provisions of plains days could be purchased. Then there was the useful blacksmith shop, where horses and oxen could be shod and the wagons and stages could be repaired . During those frontier days along the Old Santa Fe Trail, Diamond Springs was often the scene of tragedies and disasters, and the spot is rich in its abundance of historic events and the interesting traditions and legendary lore concerning the Indians, plainsmen, freighters, cowboys and early settlers of these strenuous times.

As most of you know, the army maintained a number of forts along the Santa Fe Trail. These forts were to protect travelers from the Native Americans. In reality, we think it was the Native Americans that needed protection from the white settlers—but that’s another subject. From time to time military expeditions were sent out from the forts to patrol the area, checking on the whereabouts and activities of the Indians. In the fall of 1854 one such expedition, camping near Diamond Springs, had quite an experience with the Kaw Indians.

While the army patrol traveled throughout the day, they noticed from time to time a band of Kaw Indians watching them. Even though the Indians kept a distance of mile or more, they were keeping a close watch on the movement of the troops. Late in the afternoon, the army began camping preparations near Diamond Springs, knowing it was an excellent place for men and mounts to relax for the night.

It had been a dry summer; as a result, the tall grass native to the area showed severe signs of dryness. The army, because of the dry grass, was especially careful with the campfires. When the horses had been brushed and tethered for the night and the evening meal had been consumed, the soldiers looked forward for a few quiet hours of rest. But this evening proved to be anything but restful. About 2 hours before sunset, the men suddenly realized that they were the center of a ring of fire—a blazing inferno was rapidly moving in and surrounding them. Colonial Lowe, a member of the expedition, gives a vivid description of the incident. A stiff gale was blowing from the south, and when we noticed it, the fire in the tall grass was roaring furiously and the flames leaping twenty feet high. Quickly we commenced firing the grass outside out camp, whipping out the fire, thereby burning a circle around camp. Every man used a gunnysack or saddle blanket and worked with desperate energy. The utter destruction of the camp was imminent, and we faced the fire like men who had everything at stake. Success was ours, but the battle left scares on nearly all. I have never seen fifteen minutes of such desperate work followed by such exhaustion. Scarcely a man could speak. Blinded by smoke, heat and ashes, intuitively we found our way to the creek and bathed out hands and faces. Many of us were terribly blistered. Fortunately we had quite a quantity of antelope tallow, which was warmed and applied gently to our sores. Undoubtedly the Kaw had set the fire to burn us out. The troops were notified at retreat role call that we would start at daylight. The guards were doubled and we rested as best we could

Another interesting story about Diamond Springs involves a mystery surrounding a nearby ravine. It would take a number or years before the mystery was unraveled. The mystery focused on why the deep ravine was filled with large bovine bones. In question were what kind of bovine bones were they and why were there thousands of them in the ravine. Slowly the truth came to light.

Huge freight trains transversed the Santa Fe Trail taking goods to and from Santa Fe. One freight train making the journey had over 1500 oxen pulling the many wagons. This particular train was traveling during the snowy season. The train apparently had just reached Diamond Spring and began settling in for the night. The wagon masters had unhitched the oxen and were proceeding to corral them for the night when suddenly a blinding winter blizzard descended on the area. The poor scared oxen broke into a stampede—there was little luck in stopping the 1500 large frighten animals. The oxen ran blindly in the storm. All 1500 oxen ran unknowingly straight for the ravine—each one went crashing headlong into the ravine—piling up on top of each other—killing all.

These are just a few of the stories connected to the famous Diamond Springs on the Santa Fe Trail. While doing research over Diamond Spring, we learned that the land occupying the springs was eventually purchased and became a part of a cattle-grazing ranch.

We decided to check out the status of the springs today—we wanted to know if it still existed and was it still flowing. It continues to be part of private property—so yes, it still exists. We also learned that a few years ago Diamond Springs was capped. The person sharing this information thought it was to prevent some flooding on the land. So, apparently if it were not for the plug—Diamond Springs would still be sending crystal/diamond clear water to those in need.

We are continuing the story of Memories of Frontier Days written by Mrs. Roach. As you may recall the family was one of the early pioneers to settle in Barber County moving there in 1874 from Paige County Iowa. We will share some of the hardships encountered by the Ferguson family in those early years working to established their new home. Again we are going to rely on Roach’s own words.

Roach often writes of the hardships connected with just making enough money to buy the necessities of life—food and clothing. One means of income was from gathering buffalo bones. Roach writes, "In those days the prairies were strewn with buffalo bones. The settlers gathered these by wagon loads and hauled them to Wichita, Hutchinson, and Dodge City—over a hundred miles—to market. There they were exchanged for the necessities of life. They brought about ten dollars per load. By this means many a poor family kept the wolf from the door. Father [also] sold wood cut into stove lengths. He would take a wagonload into town, often did not getting more that $1.25 for all his work.

Most of the food the family ate was either raised in their garden or killed. For these early pioneer families the variety of food was not great—nothing like we have today with an unending source of choices as close as the nearby supermarket. Roach, however, recalls two stories that brought the occasional wonderful change in the variety of food they consumed.

I recall an experience with a wild turkey. A drove of them was crossing our claim, when my father secured his gun and shot into the bunch, wounding one. He said to me, "Dotty, take this one to the house," so I gathered Mr. Turkey into my arms, holding him tight lest he get away. When I let go my hold I found he had torn my dress to pieces, but I did not regret the loss, knowing what a wonderful dinner we would have.

It was while living on Elm creek that we were often surprised by deer that had come to drink. Many herds of antelope grazed on the hills near by. My Father would stop his team, raise a flag of truce, and try to get them to circle around him so he might be able to kill one for our use.

There was much suffering in Medicine Lodge at this time because we all lacked proper food, clothing and medicine. Had it not been for food and clothing sent us by Eastern people, the suffering would have been even greater. This, I remember, was called aid. And, believe me, everyone was ready for his share of the aid. It is nice to know the benevolence nature of mankind had always been around.

In addition to food and clothing, shelter was always a major concern. For the most part once settlers reach their destination, a temporary shelter was put up. But as soon as possible, a more substantial lodging was constructed. You may recall from last month’s story that their first home was a dirt floor shack. Roach describes the second home of the family.

Our second home built on this claim consisted of a dugout in the side of a hill. It was eight by ten feet, and by making use of our covered wagon, we managed to live in it until timber was cut, hauled, and sawed into lumber to build a house for us.

It was while living in our little dugout home that another great disaster befell us. One day while eating dinner we noticed a brownish gray cloud rolling toward us. This proved to be an immense prairie fire, rushing down the hillside toward us. It leaped and cracked and roared as it gathered within its red folds the tall blue stem and bunch grass with which the hills were covered. Closer and closer it came—great tongues of fire licking at us from out of the smoke clouds that obscured the heavens! What to do for safety, that was the question! A sod strip had been plowed. There we all huddled for safety until the flames passed around and beyond us. This was the very spot where the big snake had bitten my little brother.

Soon followed other disasters of the frontier settlers. One was the grasshopper pest. Shortly after our crops were growing nicely, these insects came in clouds, sweeping down upon the vegetation, eating all crops, and even stripping the leaves from the trees.

It was about this time that Bellamy brought his sawmill into this neighborhood to saw the big cottonwood trees. Such trees I have never seen before or since, except at the Exposition at San Francisco.

I will tell about the house my father built of lumber sawed from the large cottonwood trees. This heavy lumber was concreted to the eaves between the joists, making a solid heavy wall from foundation to roof. My father also built a very large brick fireplace. I mention these facts for in the year 1885 these heavy walls and this fireplace saved us from a great flood that descended upon us in the dead of the night. Looking northwest one quiet evening in April 1885, a huge cloud was seen gathering in the heaven. But we retired as usual with no thought of what the night would bring forth. About two o’clock we were awakened by lightning and great peals of thunder. These mingled with gurgling of water, rushing up through the floor of the house. From my bed on the floor I jumped up screaming to my parents, "The water is coming into the house!" They leaped from their beds. But the water came too quickly for us to get out to a higher elevation of ground, though it was only a few feet away from the house. My father opened the doors of our house to let the water pass through. We climbed to the loft as quickly as we could, snatching a few quilts to take up with us as we climbed. By this time there was four feet of water in the house, and every loose thing there was sailing about, and out, through the doors and windows.

The roaring and rushing of the storm and water was a terror to all of us. As we gazed down from the attic we could see the little clock on the fireplace mantel calmly ticking away. It marked the hours of two a.m. A few minutes more and the water ceased to rise.

We all settled down nervously to wait for morning and for the rushing waters to recede. This latter happened about eight o’clock. We waded out of our home never more to live in it again. For it was almost a wreck, although it had been strong enough to withstand the flood. As we came forth we heard our neighbors’ voices calling to us from the banks above the trees.

My father had already gone to investigate the fate of our aunt and uncle and their children—the Paddock family. He came back grief-stricken, saying, "They are gone, house and all." There was nothing left of the log house that my uncle had built a few years before but a portion of the floor flung up against an elm tree near the site.

A searching party was stared, and we found all the bodies of the Paddock family but one, quite near the home. They had lodged against the trees and in the bushes. We pick them up and carried them into a grove—the only available place for them to be buried. There were Aunt Lottie, Tommy, her oldest son, Charlie, her next, then little Joe, and the baby Clare. But at first my uncle could not be found. All the neighbors came and joined in the search. After several days they did find him. He was buried in the sand at the roots of a tree, with only a hand uncovered. A wrist band was all that he had on his body. There was no one to tell the story of what had really happened. I suppose they were washed from their beds asleep, or, if awake, they were caught in the whirl. Many home seekers—something like twenty-four people in all—were drowned in the same creek bottom where we had first camped ten years before. Each family had a story of its own.

For those who are familiar with the town of Medicine Lodge the name Carrie Nation often comes to mind. Roach was one of the many that became acquainted with Mrs. Nation; she includes and encounter with Nation in her article. Carrie Nation always showed up at social events seizing the opportunity to speak about the evils of alcohol. It is at one of these events that Roach writes about.

[Carrie] was skirting the crowd and snatching cigars and pipes from the mouths of those who might have enjoyed the smoke. But we who know her personally could understand. She was very persistent in her one great thought of prohibition. At a home-coming in the grove at Medicine Lodge, she came and sat down beside me, with her little bag of hatchets. Taking one form the bag she said to me, "Twenty-five cents." I have regretted not taking the little souvenir, because as a child I played around her home, then the Swank home. She use to tie her old black Dobbin to our hitching post and make friendly calls. She was always kind to the poor and needy. The old phaeton, with Dobbin and Carrie Nation, is still a picture of my memory of the eighties.

In conclusion I will say that my father was a real pioneer. There was never any task too big or too hard for him to attempt. And while my mother was not a rugged woman, she was uncomplaining, and this is what it really took to live in the frontier.

In our conclusion we agree with Roach’s final comments—determination and resolve at times were the only thing that could have carried these hardy pioneering souls onward as they faced endless toil and hardships.

We’ll end this month’s article of Roach’s account of early pioneering day. But be sure to return next month when we share a little more of the Ferguson families’ struggling pioneer years as they began life anew north of Medicine Lodge in the late 1800s.

January is the birth month of Kansas. Hard labor preceded the birth of Kansas—hard labor growing out of the turbulent territorial days prior to statehood. From 1854 to 1861, Kansas Territorial Days, a mini civil war raged between Missouri and Kansas. These tumultuous years are referred to as the Border Wars or Bleeding Kansas. The conflict between Kansas and Missouri was a miniature reflection of the conflict throughout the nation over slavery.

In 1860 a number of the southern states made it clear that if two events happened, they would "pick up their marbles and leave the game" so to speak.

The South had come to depend so heavily on slavery that any threat to ending the institution of slavery made the Southern states willing to resort to drastic measures.

The Southern states declared that if Lincoln won the November 1860 presidential election and if Kansas enters the Union early in 1861 free of slavery, the South would secede. When both of the ifs occurred, the South walked out, or tried to walk out of the Union. Lincoln had also taken a strong stand. Lincoln declared the Southern states could not secede from the Union. Hence, the war to bring the Southern rebels into compliance erupted in April of 1861. War fever ran high in all the states on both sides of the secession/slavery issue. Northern and Southern states immediately began recruiting armies.

This month, we are sharing an account of one of the first Civil War skirmishes between Kansas and Missouri occurring in June of 1861. The following information is from "Capture of the Iatan Flag," written by Colonel Frank M. Tracy in 1880—the story appeared in Volumes I & II of the Kansas State Historical Society Journal.

Colonel Tracy sets the stage nicely with the following opening remarks:

One of the earliest incidents of war of the Rebellion was the capture of a Rebel flag at Iatan in [Missouri], by a party of twelve volunteers of the old First Kansas Regiment (infantry); and in behalf of the survivors of that expedition, of whom I happen to be one, I have the honor of presenting to you the said trophy . . . It will no doubt be of some interest to you and to many people in Kansas to have a correct account of the expedition, including the circumstances connected with the flag . . . The First Kansas Regiment was recruited under President Lincoln’s first call for troops to put down the Rebellion. It was mustered into the service of [Fort] Leavenworth, on May 30, 1861 . . .

Col Tracy stressed that Kansas was among the states that quickly responded to Lincoln call for troops. The Kansas troops were committed to bringing the rebellious South back to the Union. Tracy added, we sprang into action upon learning that just a few miles east of us across the border in Missouri a Rebel flag was flying and a Rebel cavalry had been organized. We were resolved to remove the seditious flag and the nest of rebellious varmints from Iatan. Expedition plans to capture the flag were quickly made.

The capture of the flag was going to be somewhat frightening since the First Kansas Regiment had only received a few rifles and a small quantity of ammunition by June 3rd. Regardless of the limited amount of weaponry, a secret expedition of seventeen men set out to capture the rebel flag in Iatan. Col Tracy writes in the evening of June 3rd, "We stole out of camp, one by one, for we thought that our mission would justify such course, besides we were entire strangers to the discipline of army life, and were we not going out to fight rebels—the very thing for which we had enlisted?

The men reached Kickapoo crossing, the best spot to ford the Missouri River, around midnight; they begin searching for a means of crossing the river. They found a couple small skiffs (boats). Each small vessel would accommodate four to five men, so the process of transporting the seventeen solders across the Missouri River begin. For some reason five of the seventeen men backed out at this point refusing to cross. Maybe the boats or crossing did not look very safe; however, the other twelve men were determined to proceed fording the river. By early morning the twelve were poised about a quarter of mile from the town of Iatan.

They decided to send a spy—one of the twelve—into the town and check things out. The spy, William Smart, actually had been to Iatan earlier. Smart had been the one that first informed the men of the Rebel flag in Iatan. On the morning of June 4th, Smart was sent to check if the Rebel flag was flying. Otto and I have concluded that these men did not have the official Union solder uniforms yet, or it’s unlikely they could have gotten so close to the town.

At any rate, Smart returns and says he did see the flag lying on a counter in the general store. Smart had also learned from two men in the store that the flag might not be hoisted up today because it was raining. The Union solders decided that even if they would not have the joy of tearing the flag from the flagpole, they were still going after the flag—after all that had been the purpose of the expedition.

Just as the group of twelve crossed the bridge leading into Iatan they spied the ill-fated Rebel flag being hoisted up the flagpole. In a few second the men had surround the flagpole demanding the lowering of the flag. The man raising the stars and bars (the name given the Rebel flag) asked by what authority were they making such a demand. The man was given a quick reply; "in the name of Abraham Lincoln, the Congress of the United States, and the American Union."

Col Tracy said at the point: The command was given, ‘Cut the rope?’ [a solder] with his butcher-knife, sprang to the pole, severed the cord at one stroke, and the rag was at our feet in a jiffy. The solder gathered up it up quickly, and the order was given to fall back. Just at that moment, as we turned to retreat, fire was opened on us from the store door, at a distance of less than a hundred feet.

The twelve did make it back to cover in the thick woods surrounding Iatan, but not without injury. Three men had been wounded; two had severe leg wounds. The group reasoned that the Rebel forces would soon be in pursuit of them, seeking to get to Kickapoo crossing before they would. Naturally, since the Rebel forces had horses and a road to travel, they would reach the crossing first. The twelve decided on a different plan. Instead of going to the crossing, they would find some means of going up the river back to Leavenworth.

They did find a couple more small boats—abandoned no doubt because they were full of holes. Nonetheless, the leaky crafts were the only choice and chance of getting back to the Fort. They made the journey up steam mainly thanks to their hats. As some of the men used the butts of their guns for paddles, the rest used their hats for bailing out the water that was flowing in at rapid rate.

Just as predicted, once they were in sight of Kickapoo crossing they spied the mounted Rebels waiting for them on the Missouri side. But the little group of twelve volunteer merely waved the captured flag at the Rebels as they pull the leaky crafts up the banks on the Kansas side of the Missouri River—they had made it safely back.

The group had planned to keep the unauthorized expedition a secret, but word had leaked out. The next morning the Leavenworth Conservative had a glowing report of the daring capture of the Iatan flag. Editor Wilder asked for the capture Rebel flag, which he was given. Wilder promptly hung the ill-fated banner on a flagpole in front of the newspaper office. The flag hung upside down—the customary manner indicating defeat.

We close with Col Tracy final remark, "It may be proper to say that the incident created much excitement, and attracted a great deal of interest at the time, being about the first daring adventure of the war."

Serving the Heart of Kansas 12-2004

"Serving the heart of Kansas" is the motto of The Pelican Press. So we thought we would keep in line with the motto and describe an element of the heart of Kansas, the "early" heart of Kansas.

Central Kansas was settled during the second decade of statehood, in the 1870s. During this era, Western Kansas was still quite "primitive" by many standards. To help our readers get a better understanding of the conditions of the area in the 1870s we are going to share bits and pieces of an article written by Henry Fruit.

Fruit recounts his early experiences in and around Great Bend. Marie and I hope as you read along, you will begin to get a more vivid picture of the early days in Barton County. Our information comes from the Biographical History of Barton County, Kansas, first published in 1912.

Henry Fruit arrived in Great Bend in March of 1872. Along with his brother-in-law, W.W. Hartshorn, his first business was to find and stake out a land claim. Fruit writes, "We had no trouble in finding a good location, and after I had made the necessary improvements to hold it, [the land] I began to look for a job and let it be known that if anybody wanted a carpenter I was their huckleberry."

Fruit did not have to wait long; a Harry Lovett living in Zarah needed a carpenter to provide a frame for his "big wall tent." The article goes on to point out that Fruit had some reservations about working for Lovett as a result of his rough reputation. Lovett apparently had a short fuse, and "had pumped a cowboy full of lead and then finished him by beating his brains out with a revolver." (Bet you didn’t realize how really wild the area of Barton County was in its early days!)

Even though Fruit needed work, he had some serious concerns about pleasing a person of Lovett’s temperament. Nonetheless, Fruit went to work for the man. No doubt two things helped Fruit decide to take the job. First, Lovett made it clear to Fruit that "d—n it, I want the work done!" Second, the dead cowboy left a vivid image in Fruit’s mind.

Fruit was relieved to be finished in two days with the job and the "desperado." Apparently the desperado was pleased also, as Fruit headed back to Great Bend with seventy five in the pocket. Sorry we are not told if that is 75 cents or 75 dollars.

Fruit remarked that by May of 1872 "the cattle trade began to blossom, buildings began to loom up houses, stores, barns, saloons, and dance halls were to be seen at frequent intervals and carpenters were in good demand, so I had plenty of work . . . until about the middle of August. The word soon went out that Great Bend was a haven for carpenters and . . . [soon] there were more carpenters here than there are fiddlers in Helena or anywhere else."

With an overabundance of carpenters, Fruit decided to try his hand at another occupation which was still proving quite profitable, buffalo hunting. Fruit, a man by the name of Frost, and another man named Qunicy, also known as "Tough" set out in August of 1872 for buffalo country at that time near Dodge City.

Fruit’s recounts some interesting happening on this buffalo hunt. The first occurred as they stopped for noon lunch. Frost noted that a flock of buffalo birds had lighted in some bushes near the three men. Sorry folks, but we do not know what buffalo birds are; we assume they must not be birds of great size. The remainder of the story will give you a clue why we think they were small.

Frost bragged to the other two that if given Fruit’s shotgun he was sure that with one shot he could kill at least fifty birds. Fruit writes, "Frost fired into the bunch and such a slaughter I never saw. He picked up and counted 136 and was not through when . . . something . . . caused us to pause and our hair to stand up."

What the three men saw in the distance was 150 men on horseback riding in their direction. Since the men had heard there were some hostile Indians in the area, their first response was that the Indians were on the warpath. The men knew they could not make it back to Fort Dodge, so they headed to a nearby hill, hoping to find enough loose stones to build some kind of fortification.

Though greatly out numbered, Fruits recalled that they planned to "sell our lives as dearly as possible." But fighting to the death was not the case because as the horsemen drew closer it was obvious two of the horsemen were carrying Old Glory. The party turned out to be the US Calvary from Fort Dodge.

The commander at the post had sent out two companies of calvary to capture horse thieves—white men—who had been giving the railroad construction workers problems. The companies were returning to Fort Dodge after a successful mission of recapturing the stolen railroad livestock and rounding up the thieves.

As the three men continued to search for buffaloes they ran into a famous buffalo hunter originally from Ellsworth, Bob Robinson. The four men proceeded to hunt for the buffalo; they were lucky.

Of course, I guess that depends on how you view the slaughter of the American Bison. Otto and I have some difficulty with the excessive waste that occurred as the great herds were gunned down.

Nonetheless, at the head of the Mulberry and Indian Creeks they spotted "the buffalo by the thousands." In ten days they had killed about 200. Like most buffalo hunters, they merely took the hides and left the rest to rot on the plains. It was the machine age in America, and buffalo hides made better, stronger belts to run the machines than cow hides. As a result, the demand for buffalo hides was high.

But the adventures of the four is not over yet. They traded the "green" hides in Dodge for cured hides. Hides needed to be scraped, stretched, and dried before they could be sold. For those reasons traveling with green hides was not practical, creating the need to trade for cured hides.

After making the trade they headed towards Great Bend. But since sundown was catching up with them, they camped a short distance east of Dodge. During the dead of the night two men on horseback rode up and attempted to make off with the hides.

Frost hollowed out "Halt, hold on there, what do you want?" At the same time Frost whispered to Robinson, "they have your horses." Robinson quickly hollered, "shoot the son-of-a-gun"—I wonder if that’s what he really yelled.

Anyway Frost’s rifle broke the stillness and in a few seconds the two thieves "begin to think it was getting mighty hot, for they mounted their ponies, and ran for their lives." The valuable cargo of buffalo hides was saved.

Fruit concludes, "We got to Great Bend without anymore adventures and sold our hides for $1.15 each and that was the end of my first buffalo hunt, but not the last one."

What makes this story so interesting is the variety of events Fruit experienced. Great Bend had been organized not quite a year when Henry Fruit’s arrived. And in just a few months, Fruit had started homesteading. He had dealt with a desperado, who apparently murdered in cold blood and got away with it. He was involved in the early construction of the city. He faced the real possibility of an Indian attack. He had a successful buffalo hunt. And, he faced and withstood marauding bandits. What a tale of adventures—and it’s true!

Well, there may have been some slight embellishment here and there. Still, Barton County in the early 1870s sounds like quite an exciting place—maybe a little more exciting then we could handle.

            In our opinion, President Jefferson has always proven to be a paradox.   He was a strong supporter of state’s rights, yet as President, when he wanted a something done—he was quick to enforce the power of the federal government.  One enterprise he carried out as Chief executive was the exploration of the vast area known as the Louisiana Territory.  One of Jefferson’s motives for exploration of this region was to discover the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean.  It was long believed that a river, most likely the upper Missouri River, connected to a river beyond the continental divide.  In turn, this new river, because it flowed westerly, would provide easy access to the Pacific Ocean.

The French and the British had for centuries searched for this mysterious river passage to the west coast. 

            In 1783, even before he was President, Jefferson had proposed exploration of this vast unsettled region.  Again in 1793, as Secretary of State under President Washington, Jefferson tried to get an expedition organized for the purpose of exploring the higher Missouri River.  Finally, as President of the United States in January of 1803, Jefferson convinced Congress of the value of such an exploration.  The following is part of the confidential message President Jefferson sent to the Senate and House that final gained their support to explore the Louisiana region.   An intelligent officer with ten or twelve chosen men  . . . might explore the whole line, even to the Western ocean. . . . The appropriation of two thousand five hundred dollars  . .  . would cover the undertaking. 

            Jefferson emphasized that such an expedition would result in both scientific and commercial gains for the Nation.  Keep in mind that in January 1803, when President Jefferson finally secured permission to launch such an expedition, the region was not a part of the US.  Portions of it were in the possession of the Spanish, French, and British.  Jefferson did gain permission from the French and British to explore the region, but not from the Spanish government.

            Once given Congressional approval, Jefferson lost no time in starting the formation of the Corp of Discovery—the official name of the expedition.  Jefferson chose his young personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis to head the expedition; Lewis was only 28 at the time. 

            Jefferson believed that Lewis possessed the qualities that would make him a good leader for the Corp of Discovery.  Lewis, like Jefferson, exhibited a deep interest in the unsettled regions of the West.   Lewis was meticulous with details, and there were many details involved in planning for the trip, and during the many months that the expedition lasted.  Lewis also possessed the communication skills needed to record accurately all the information that Jefferson wanted brought back from the exploration.  Finally, as a captain in the regular army, Lewis has proven his ability to lead men.   

            Lewis did have one flaw—he was given to serious bouts of depression.   No doubt today, Lewis would be labeled a manic-depressive.  But as one historian pointed out, Lewis was able to pull himself together and keep going even when confronted with depression.  And there is strong evidence indicating that Lewis struggled with depression during the long expedition.   There are lengthy gaps in his journal entries.   Most have concluded that when Lewis was overcome with depression his journaling stopped, and the journaling resumed when he had conquered his depression.

            Lewis knew he needed a co-commander.  Without hesitation, he knew exactly the man he wanted, William Clark.  The following is an excerpt from the letter Lewis wrote Clark asking him to join him.  We have left it as it was originally penned.   My friend . . . If there is anything in this enterprise, which would induce you to participate with in it’s fatiegues, it’s dangers and it’s honors, believe me there is no man on earth with whom I should feel equal pleasure in sharing them as with yourself.  Clark’s reply to Lewis was This is an undertaking fraited with many difeculties, but My friend I do assure you that no man lives whith whome I would perfur to undertake Such a Trip. 

            William Clark was quite a contrast to Lewis.  Clark, 32 at the time of the expedition, is described as out going and confident.  While he had less formal education than Lewis, Clark appeared to have more practical knowledge and experience.   The successful leadership of these two men appears to have rested on their deep friendship and the manner in which their contrasting personalities complemented each other.            

            Captain Lewis wanted Clark’s rank raised from second lieutenant to captain.  If they were both captains, they could serve in a dual/equal command.  Alas, even with President Jefferson supported raising Clark’s rank to captain, the War Department refused.  Totally ignoring this refusal, Lewis, in secrecy, told Clark that throughout the expedition he would be treated and addressed as Captain Clark.  Lewis firmly believed such a measure was necessary to preserve and maintain the morale and unity of the men on the expedition. 

            Lewis must have been correct because the strong sense of team ship that developed between all the men in the early stages of the journey was remarkable.  For such a grueling expedition to succeed there had to be unity.   In the initial months there were some military trials held for infraction among the enlisted men: drunkenness, insubordination, and laying down while on guard duties.  The punishment for breaking military law was usually lashes.  But, after the first few months, these breaches in military conduct were replace with a strong sense of solidarity.  The men knew surviving the arduous exploration meant being able to depend on each man carrying out his job with complete understanding that to do so was to support the entire the team.  

            During the planning stage, Lewis was primarily in charge of gathering supplies and gaining the knowledge and skills needed to properly collect information on the expedition.  In Philadelphia, Lewis received training from scientists on how to accurately describe and preserve botanical and animal specimens, on how to look for and recognize fossils and other signs of prehistoric life, and on how to make precise determinations of latitude and longitude—Lewis was drilled in the art of a scientific research and survival.  A part of that drilling included spending time with a leading medical doctor, Benjamin Rush.  Lewis learned the practice of bloodletting, which was used for almost every aliment.  Lewis also took along a huge supply of Dr. Rush’s Thunder Bolt medicine, which was the medicine of choice for every illness.  The medication was a strong laxative—the name best describe its strength and action. 

            Besides the scientific and medical training, Lewis assembled the supplies for the long expeditions.  We have included partial lists of items Lewis collected.  Scientific equipment: compasses, quadrants, a telescope, a chronometer; camping supplies: 150 yards of cloth to be oiled and sewn into tents and sheets, pliers, chisels, handsaws, hatchets, corn mills, mosquito curtains, fishing hooks and lines, 12 pounds of soap, flannel shirts, coats, shoes woolen pants, blankets, powder horns, knives, rifles flints, lead for bullets, gunpowder, journals; food items: two tons of flour and salt pork each, fifty pounds of coffee, one hundred gallons of whiskey, and a “portable soup” a thick paste consisting of boiled down beef, eggs and vegetable that could be used if no other food existed and.  Supplies also included gifts to give the Indians: mirrors, sewing needles, ribbons, combs, handkerchiefs, bright-colored cloth, tobacco, kettles, beads, and Jefferson’s hand written greeting to be given to the tribes along with a medal with Jefferson’s image engraved on one side of the medal.  Everything for the expedition was transported up the river on a huge keelboat built specifically for the exploration. 

            While Lewis was being trained and gathering supplies for the Corp of Discovery, Clark spent time training the men who would make up the rest of exploration party.   The official expedition party consisted of 22 army privates, 3 sergeants, the 2 captains, and a part Shawnee Indian, George Drouillard who served as hunter for the party, as well as interpreter to the Indians.  Also included as permanent members of the group was Lewis’ Newfoundland dog, Seaman and Clark’s slave, York. 

            York was quite a curiosity to the Indians that had never seen a black man before.  The Indians thought York’s coloring was paint, and in vain tried rubbing the color off York’s body. York seemed to enjoy being a novelty.  He often told the Indians, he was a wild animal that Clark had caught and tamed, but that occasionally his wild nature would return and then he enjoyed eating human flesh.

            Some additional men accompanied the expedition on the first leg.  These men were hired to travel only as far as the first winter camp, which that first winter was near the Mandan Indians in North Dakota.  When the member of the expedition began to erect dwellings to wait out the winter, these men were sent back down the Missouri River.  Their job was to return to White House and Jefferson taking back what had been collected those first few months; the preserved plant and animal specimens and the first of the journals and maps.

            They also headed back east with five live animals; one of the live animals was a prairie dog.  Catching that prairie dog had been quite a challenge, costing the men an entire morning of work.   The prairie dog was just one of the many animals never before seen by the men or most people living east of the Mississippi.  Other animals new to those on the expedition were the coyote, wolf, antelope, and jackrabbit.  They also would experience for the first time the Grizzly Bear.  The Indians warned them in advance of this great powerful bear.  Despite what the Indians told them, the members of the expedition believed they could with little difficulty kill this “giant bear.”  After a few encounters with the Grizzly, they realized the Indian had not exaggerated; their weapons were no better then the weapons of the Indians when it came to bringing down a Grizzly bear. 

            While preparations for the expedition were being made, a major political/diplomatic event occurred—President Jefferson made the famous Louisiana Purchase.  Napoleon needing money agreed to sell the entire area to the US for $15 million dollars, or roughly 3 cents an acre.   So, when the Corp of Discovery headed their big heavy leaden keelboat up the Missouri River on May 14, 1804 they were now venturing on new virgin US soil. 

            During most of the travel on the Missouri, Captain Clark was in charge of directing and managing the keelboat at it traveled up the Missouri.  Lewis spent most of his time walking on shore gathering data.   The following quote is from Stephen E. Ambrose’s book Lewis and Clark: Voyage of Discovery.  The remarks   depict Lewis in his job of collecting information about the region.  Ambrose writes, Most days, Lewis walked on shore.  He wore broadcloth pants, a fringed deerskin jacket, and a three-cornered leather hat.  He carried in his knapsack paper, pen and ink, some dried provisions, his telescope, compass, some fishing hooks and line just in case and extra balls.  He had his powder horn hanging from his shoulder.  On his hips, tucked into his belt, he carried a pistol on one side, a knife on the other.  He carried his rifle, always loaded, in his right hand, his espontoon—a six-foot pike that served as walking stick and gun rest (thanks to a crosspiece)—in his left.  He was a great hiker, often doing 30 miles and more in a day.  As he strode along, his eyes never rested.  He had the most remarkable ability to see and distinguish fruit-bearing bushes, other plants, trees, grasses, and animals.  He would name them in his mind, always hoping for something new.

            Because the Missouri River is fast moving, moving up the River against the current made travel slower than they had expected.  It took them over a month to travel the 400 miles of river winding through the present state of Missouri.  On June 28, 1804 Lewis and Clark stood on the bluffs over looking the point where the Kansas River empties into the Missouri.  At this point the Missouri turns north flowing between Nebraska and Iowa.  Along this stretch of the journey the Corp of Discovery experienced their first tragedy. 

            Sgt. Charles Floyd became desperately ill on August 19; he died the following day.  Clark’s journal entry for that sad occurrence reads as follows: August 2oth. Sergeant Floyd much weaker and no better . . . [N]o pulse & nothing will stay a moment on his Stomach . . . Passed two Islands, and at the first Bluff on the starboard side, Sgt. Floyd Died with a great deal of composure; before his death he Said to me, “I am going away. I want you to write me a letter.

            Lewis described Floyd’s death as the result of bilious colic.  But modern medical experts surmise it was a burst appendix.   Had Floyd been back East, he would have died.   In the early 1800s nothing could be done about ruptured appendix.  Floyd was buried with military honors on top a rounded bluff over looking the Missouri near present day Sioux City, Iowa.  In 1900 the site was marked with a concrete obelisk, a miniature of the Washington Monument.

             As the expedition began traveling north up the Missouri, the men soon realized that the landscape was transforming into something they had never before experienced—they were on the prairies of the Great Plains.  The treeless grasslands were an awesome sight to the men; they had never seen anything like it east of the Mississippi.  Another spectacular sight was the millions of buffalos roaming the grasslands.  True, they had buffalos back east, but civilization in the east had long ago thinned the herds. 

            Late in October, the expedition had reached the present site of Bismarck, North Dakota, which at that time was the area of the Mandan Indian villages.  Winter was in the air.  Ice was already beginning to form on the River, so the captains were ready to establish their headquarters for living out the winter.    The Mandan had always been friendly to the British and French traders, and they continued to extend their hospitality to the Corp of Discovery.  Without the help of the Mandan Indians survival that first winter would have been difficult, for it was a mighty cold winter!

            On December 8, 1804 the temperature was 12 below; on the 11^th it was 21 below.  On the December 17^th the men woke to a freezing reading of 45 below.  But winter loosened its icy grip in the next few days, and on Christmas Day the men woke to a balmy temperature of zero.  The following is an account of the Corp of Discovery’s first Christmas.   December 25^th, 1804.  We ushred [in] the morning with a discharge of the Swivvel [gun], and one round of Small arms of all the party.  Then another from the Swivel.  Then Capt. Clark presented a glass of brandy to each man of the party.  We hoisted the American flag, and each man had another Glass of brandy.   The men prepared one of the   rooms and commenced dancing.  At 10 o’c[lock] we had another Glass of brandy, at one a gun was fired as a Signal for diner.  Half past two another gun was fired to assemble at the dance, and So we kept it up in a jov[ia] l manner until eight o’c [lock] at night, all without the company of the female Seck [sex].

            During the first winter encampment, while waiting on the arrival of spring, Lewis and Clark begin plans for what would no doubt be the most difficult part of the expedition—the travel over the Bitterroot Mountains.  The captains had learned that they would need horses to cross the mountains and that they could get horses from the Shoshone Indians living in Rockies.  They discovered to their luck that living amongst the Mandan Indians that winter was a Frenchman named Charbonneau who had two Shoshone wives.    Neither Lewis nor Clark really liked Charbonneau, but they realized the value of having him and his wives along as interpreters when it came time to bargain for horses.

            Lewis and Clark asked Charbonneau and one of the wives, Sacagawea, to go with them when they left the camp in the spring to continue on to the Pacific.  Charbonneau at first was rather difficult, demanding that he would go if he did not have to follow orders like the other men, and that he could turn back whenever he so chose.  Of course, Lewis and Clark denied Charbonneau his requests, and it appeared they would go without an interpreter.  But, later Charbonneau apologized and agreed to follow orders and stay the duration of the journey. 

            Before the party left the winter headquarters on April 7, 1805, there would be another member added to the party.  Sacagawea give birth to a baby boy on February 11, 1805, a delivery proving extremely difficult for the young woman.  Someone suggested giving her a small portion of rattlesnake rattle.  Lewis had some rattlesnake rattles, and it was administered the Sacagawea.  Within ten minutes, the baby was born.  Lewis continued to be skeptical of the value of the rattlesnake rattle.  In his journal entry he suggested that further testing was needed before it was proven that administering rattlesnake rattle aided in difficult childbirths. 

            It is hard to image a young mother and a two-month-old baby leaving on a journey that would include harsh travel conditions.  Yet, we are sure little baby Jean Baptiste added pleasure to the journey.   A new life always seems to add signs of hope.   Clark nicknamed the baby “Pomp,” after the Roman Emperor Pompey.   

             Sacagawea proved valuable as an interpreter to the Shoshones when the time came for bargaining, plus her knowledge of finding edible roots and plants added greatly to the daily diet of the party.   At one point of the journey, she showed her courage when the pirogue she was riding in was almost capsized by the wind.  Charbonneau panic and was virtually no help, but Sacagawea, with little baby Pomp strapped on her back, remained calm and begin retrieving one by one the items that had fallen out.  Her efforts saved valuable cargo and journals.  

            This second part of the journey, which started in the spring of 1805, meant the men where heading into uncharted territory.  There existed some maps of travel up the Missouri to the Mandan Indians made mostly by the French, but there were no maps or records of the territory beyond that point.   As they traveled this area of virgin territory, they gave names to sites, formations, creeks, etc., using the names of members of the party or people they knew or had known.  Clark named the Judith River in in honor of his fiancée; the girl he would marry when he returned.  Since daily they encountered so much new, they begin to run low on names.

            In the state of Montana, the upper Missouri has a series of falls.  The expedition reckoned travel around these falls would take about half a day.  Instead it took them a month, and a very difficult month at that.  The group, under a scorching sun, transverse rocky and broken ground often covered with prickly pear cactuses.  Making travel even more difficult was the fact they had to haul all the equipment in crudely builds carts.   Summer storms containing torrential rains, high winds, and hail, could quickly form, leaving the party out in the open.  One member suffered a rattlesnake bite, many were overcome with heat prostration, and Sacagawea became extremely ill.  But after a hard fifty-three days they were around the falls and could resume travel on the Missouri.  They learned later from the Shoshones that there was a way around the falls that took only four days. 

            In August Lewis and some of the men, leaving Clark and the others on the River, begin journeying inward on land in search of the Shoshones.   On August 13^th, the men came upon some Shoshone Indian women gathering food.  The woman fearing for their lives [held] their heads down as if reconciled to die, which they expected no doubt would be their fate.”  Lewis offered the women gifts trying to assure them they would not hurt them.  Just then sixty mounted warriors galloped up, Lewis, unarmed, stepped forward to greet the braves.  The war party did not hurt the men and did take them to the village chieftain, Cameahwait.  But the Indians were filled with trepidation and doubt about the intent of the white men. 

            Once in camp Lewis begin trying negotiations with Chief Cameahwait.  Lewis observed the huge herd of horses the Shoshone had, over seven hundred. 

In the course of their discuss, Chief Cameahwait expressed the desire for more guns.  Lewis assured the Chief the expedition that they were there in peace, and in years to come the US government would provide them with guns and other items. 

            Lewis asked the chief and some of his braves to travel with him to where they would join up with Clark.  Once back with Clark and the others Sacagawea could help with negotiations for horses.

            The chief agreed, but there was great reluctance on the part of the Indians; they expected a trap was being set for them.  As the party left the village to find Clark, many of the Indian women started singing death chants thinking they would never see their husbands again. Difficulties in meeting up with Clark, where Lewis had said they would, heighten tension between the two groups.  But, they finally found Clark and the rest of the party.

            When the Indians saw an Indian woman with a child amongst the party, they knew they were safe—no one would travel with a woman and child if they had intensions of war.  Once again Sacagawea saved them.  The expedition was even more fortunate when Sacagawea recognized Chief Cameahwait as her brother.    After that discovery, the men had no difficulty in trading for all the horses they needed.  Lewis and Clark named the spot where the deal took place, Camp Fortunate.

            On August 31 the Lewis and Clark expedition started through the Bitterroot Mountains.  They had secured from the Shoshones twenty-nine horses and 1 mule, plus an elderly Indian guide.  But securing the horses and guide did not prevent traveling through the mountains from becoming a terrible, grueling passage.  Even through, it was the beginning of September, winter was already setting-in, and they encountered sever snowstorms. 

            They hoped to complete the journey through the mountains in a couple days, but here again it proved much more difficult.  The 165 miles involved in crossing the mountains was not completed until September 21.   The blizzard conditions made it impossible to find game for food, at one point to avoid starving to death, they were forced to kill one of the colts for food.  Still the entire party emerged the treacherous mountain passage safely albeit weak.

            Once through the mountains the expedition encountered another group of Indians, the Nez Perce.  This encounter with white men was the first for the Nez Perce.  The Indians were not sure what to do with the group.  Chief Twisted Hair finally decided to kill the entire party and take their goods.   The Nez Perce would have carried out these plans if it had not been for an elderly Nez Perce woman called Watkuwes.  When Watkuwes was young, a neighboring Indian tribe had captured her and taken her to Canada.  In Canada, she had been befriended by whites that helped her get back to her own people.  She told the Chief the party should be well treated, thus she saved the lives of the entire Corp.

            The expedition party spend two week with the Nez Perce.  During that time, they gained their strength back after nearly starving to death, and they prepared canoes for completing their trek to the Pacific.   On October 7, 1805, well rested with newly hollowed out canoes, they were ready to resume their journey by water.  The remainder of the trip involved traveling down portions of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, which took them to Columbia River.  The Columbia River would bring them to the end of their journey—the Pacific Oceans.  For the first time during their river travel, would be heading down rivers with the flow, so travel was much faster and easier.

            On October 16 they reached the Columbia River.  The following is Clark remarks regarding the Columbia: This river is remarkably clear and crouded [sic] with salmon in maney [sic] places. . . . Salmon many be seen at the depth of 15 or 20 feet. . . . The number . . . is incrediable [sic] to say.   Even though the River was teaming with salmon, the expedition members chose not to eat the fish.  Instead they bought dogs from the Indians.  Clark explains the preference of dog over fish in the following manner:  The fish being out of season and dying in great numbers in the river, we did not think proper to use them . . . . We purchased forty dogs for which we gave articles of little value.  Thus started the favorite among Americans—the hot dog.

            On November 7, the members of the exploration erroneously thought they had reached the Pacific, but at it turned out it was only the Gray Bay of the Columbia.  But eleven days later, they would at last see the Pacific.   The Corp of Discovery had traveled a total of 4,162 miles since leaving the Mississippi River at St. Louis and heading up the Missouri.  

            Travel down the Columbia has been another grueling time; it was the rainy season in the Northwest.   A decision had to be made regarding where they would spend the winter—numerous projects had to be completed before spring and the journey back to starting point.  The Captains felt there were four choices for winter housing:   they could stay on the North side of the Columbia, but the Chinook Indians charge outlandish prices for supplies and there was not much game on the north side; they could cross over to the south side and trade with the Clapsop Indians and also find more game; they could travel back to the Nez Perce at the foot of the Bitterroot Mountains; or they could stay there by the Ocean. 

            The method for making that important decision as to where they would spend the winter of 1805 is quite a remarkable method—pure democracy.  Everyone in the party was to cast a vote—everyone including the York, the slave and Sacagawea, the Indian woman voted.  After the votes were tallied it was clear the winter would be spend on the south side near the Clapsop Indians.

            The lodging for that winter was called Fort Clapsop, so named for the Clapsop Indians.  The Fort was about fifty square feet consisting of two buildings that faced each other and were joined together at one end by a palisade wall.  It was a long, miserable winter.  The expedition party spent about four months at Fort Clapsop out those approximately 120 days there were only 12 days when it did not rain.  There main diet consisted of elk and water, elk and more water.  But they did accomplish the needed tasks, so they were prepared to head east come spring.  

            The men were kept busy making candles, extracting salt from ocean water, and smoking meat—138 elk and 20 deer.  Clothes and moccasins were made from the hides.  One man recorded in his journal that 338 pairs of moccasins had been sewn in preparation for the trip home.   Captain Clark was kept busy at the job of map-making, while Captain Lewis composed page after page in his journals describing animals and plants they had discovered.  Lewis described some 122 animals and 178 plants, all-new to the Corp of Discovery. 

            There was much to be done before heading home, which is probably good since the long wet winter of little change in diet would have been unbearable if they had not kept busy.  It is interesting to note that the Corp ran out of virtually everything except lead, powder, rifles, paper, and ink.   Shortly, before heading back, Lewis and Clark took stock of the gifts they had that could be used as barter with the Indians on the journey east.  What they had left to barter was easily held in two handkerchiefs.

            They begin the journey back home on March 23, 1806.  Early in May they were back at the Nez Perce camp at the foot of the Bitterroot Mountains.  The trip through the mountains would again prove difficulty because of late snows.  But by the end of June, they were out of the Bitterroot.  Lewis and Clark decided to do some additional exploring of the area.   They divided into two groups, and at some places the two groups divided into additional groups.   It was agreed that in about a month they would met up where the Yellowstone River and the Missouri River join and continue the journey to St. Louis.  Lewis and his party explored the upper regions, while Clark and his men when southerly along the Yellowstone River. 

            Captain Clark has left behind a most interesting artifact.  On July 25 Clark’s party while traveling along the Yellowstone River came across an interesting outcropping of sandstone.  Clark climbed to the top, and there, amongst the Indian pictographic, Clark carved the following Wm Clark, July 25^th, 1806.  It can still be seen today—true evidence that the Corp of Discovery had been there.  The outcropping was named Pompy’s Tower after Sacagawea little son, who was by then eighteen months old.

            Captain Lewis encountered some difficulties on his portion of the exploration.  He and his men had a somewhat close encounter with Blackfeet Indians.  The Indians were trying to steal the horses.  In a fight, George Drouillard, the expedition’s hunter, had stabbed one Indian.  Lewis told two another Blackfeet who were trying to make off with the horses to stop or he would shoot.  One of the warriors hide behind a rock, while the other turned toward Lewis. 

            The following is Lewis own account of the experience:  At the distance of 30 steps . . . I shot him through the belly. He fell to his knees and on his wright [sic] elbows, from which position he partly raised himself up, and fired at me, and turning himself about crawled in behind a rock. . . . He overshot me, [but] being bareheaded I felt the wind of his bullet very distinctly.  

            The expedition knew they needed to get out of the area fast before a large party of Blackfeet warriors would be there to retaliate for the killing of  two braves.  And hurry they did!  But before meeting up with Clark, Lewis had another mishap.  While hunting for food, he was accidentally shot in the buttock by one of his men.  Clark was terrible upset to discover his friend and co-worker injured.  Lucky no bones were shattered, and Lewis recovered completely.

            On September 23, 1806 the Corp of Discovery finally were back in St. Louis, and experience a warm welcome by 5,000 residents.  On October 26 President Jefferson declared Lewis and Clark heroes.  Truly everyone on the expedition was a hero.  Forty people had left on May 14, 1804 and only one person was lost, Sergeant Charles Floyd dying from most likely ruptured appendix.

            What happened to the heroes of this most remarkable journey?  Some of the men married and settled down back east; some returned to the wild west.  One man went to law school and eventually entered politics.  One man became a government blacksmith at different Indian agencies.  Many of the men wrote of the experience, some selling their stories.  Most of the men seemed to have died fairly young; however, Patrick Gass outlived everyone making it just short of his ninety-ninth birthday.   York eventually after years of pleading received his freedom from Clark.  Sacagawea and her husband had agreed with little Pompey was old enough he would live with Clark.  Clark would also raise a daughter born to Sacagawea in 1812.  Sacagawea became quite ill during the winter following the birth of the girl and died.

            William Clark, immediately following the expedition, married his fiancée, Judith.  They settled in St. Louis, and Clark became the agent for the Indians in the West.  Clark was will liked by the Indians and did a great job.  When Missouri reached statehood, he ran for governor, but lost the election, mainly because of his compassion for the Indians.  None-the-less, he was quite successful and respected throughout his life.   Clark died on September 1, 1838 at the age of sixty-nine.

            Meriwether Lewis seemed to not fair as well as many of those after the expedition.  He never wrote one word down for publication of the Corp of Discovery.  He courted several women, but none would marry him.  He was appointed governor of the Louisiana Territory, but proved ill suited for the job.  Money debts and heavy drinking added to his misery.  Lewis began to sink into heavy depression. On October 11, 1809 in a small inn in Nashville, Tennessee, Meriwether Lewis took his own life.  Loading two pistols, Lewis shot himself once in the forehead and chest. 

            Lewis’ life may have ended tragically, but the legacy he and Clark left helped to erase that sad event.   The Corp of Discovery left behind a world of knowledge that proved beneficial America for generations.  Jefferson believed that it would take about one hundred generations of Americans before the territories explored by Lewis and Clark would be settled, but within five generation, Americans had filled the new lands.  This accomplishment is largely due to the courageous men and woman who willing give twenty-eight months of their lives to unknown, uncharted territory.

            Our sources for information for the past three months were from three books Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns, Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery by Stephen E. Ambrose and Sam Abell, and Sacagawea of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, by Ella Clark and Margo Edmonds.  They are all excellent sources, and we recommend them to anyone who would like to know more about the Corp of Discovery.

The Rise of Political Partys - Part 1 & 2 & 3

After the Presidential primaries end and the decision regarding who will run against the incumbent President is made—the mud slinging begins. Currently, the Democrats and Republicans are busy throwing mud pies at each other—guess you could say the pre-election funnies have begun. In view of the mud-slinging activities leading up to November Election Day, Otto and I thought an article on political parties might be of interest.

Technically, the US is characterized as a two party system—meaning there are two main political parties that dominate politics. There have been other political parties that from time to time have had great impact, but as a rule since the mid 1800s the Democrats and Republicans have politically dominated. It is rather interesting to consider how much power political parties wield. What is even more interesting is to read the words of a man that greatly distrusted political parties, George Washington.

In his farewell address, Washington said, I have already intimated to you the danger of [political] parties in the [nation]. . . . Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally. . . . Washington believed that political parties desiring to dominate the political scene, created a spirit of revenge between the political parties, which ultimately took away individual liberties. He believed that not only do political parties curtail individual freedoms but also political parties harm other areas of society. Washington commented that, parties serve always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. [Parties] agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another; foments occasional riot and insurrection. Washington clearly saw a destructive nature about political parties. He also disagreed with those claiming that political parties are useful checks upon the administration of the government, and serve to keep live the spirit of liberty. He clearly believed that the dangers of political parties far out weighed any good they might have in society. Washington stressed in his farewell address that the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. . . . A fire [a political party] not to be quenched, demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame.

Well, we all know Washington warning against political parties was not heeded. And we all know political parties are here to stay—we’ll let you decide the value of political parties—our job is just to provide some information.

Allegiance to a party existed in the early colonial period. As tension begin mounting in the colonies towards the Mother country, two parties emerged. Those who began to think it was time to break from tyrannical King George were known as the Whigs; those wanting to remain as loyal English colonies were known as Tories. These two groups were active prior to and during the American Revolution. These were not political parties in the sense that they had impact on elections since there were no elections until the new nation emerged, but these early parties share the definition of a political party. A political party is defined as a collective body of individuals sharing the same opinions and beliefs regarding the operation of the government. After the war for independence, the Whigs and Tories disappeared. However, once the new nation was established and started settling down to business a new controversy arose creating two new political parties.

The founding fathers rather quickly realized that the Articles of Confederation—the first governing document—was not working. So in 1787, they met in Philadelphia to re-work the Articles of Confederation. Re-working was impossible, so they threw out that document and created the US Constitution. All of these changes took place in secrecy at the Philadelphia Convention. The delegates kept the proceeding secret for fear that if news leaked out before they finished writing the new constitution there would be uproar from the citizens.

Following the Constitutional Convention, the delegates headed home with the daunting task of convincing their respective states to ratify the new document. Ratification of the new Constitution created a new note of discord. Some states were leery about ratifying because they feared the new document gave the federal government too much power—this group consisted of those supporting state’s rights over the federal government. Consequently, this division over whether to have a strong or a weak federal government created two new parties: the Federalist favoring a strong central government and loose interpretation of the Constitution and the Democrat-Republicans that wanted strong state governments with a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

The Federalists won that round more or less. The US Constitution, creating a strong federal government, was ratified by the 13 states, but only after guaranteeing the states that a Bill of Rights would be added. The Bill of Rights was to protect states and individuals from the central government if it became too powerful. Having completed the job of seeing that the US Constitution was put into place—the Federalist Party dissolved, and not a great deal was heard from the Democrat-Republicans for a couple decades. Actually, during the first two decades of the 1800s there was little party politics. Belonging to a political party was not as easy as it is now, there were restriction on who could actually belong to political parties—party membership was generally restricted to the wealthy. Also in the first few decades only free males that owned property were allowed to vote.

In 1820 the Democrat-Republicans split into the Democrats and National Republicans. This split signified the beginning of the Democratic Party. In 1820, the Democrats stood for strong state rights, while the National Republicans leaned towards a strong central governments and internal improvements. The National Republicans, however, did not last long—by 1834 they had metamorphosed into the Whig Party. The Whig party remained a strong party until the 1856 election. After that election the Whig went into demise largely because of the slavery issue. But, we’ll cover more about that issue later.

We would like to share an interesting side note regarding the resurrection of the name Whig. The new party chose the name Whig because of their great opposition to President Jackson, or His Majesty Jackson as Old Hickory was so often called. If you will recall the Whigs of the colonial era were opposed to King George. The new Whigs were also opposed to a King. They accused President Jackson of acting like a tyrannical King. Certainly, President Andrew Jackson brought a new dimension to the presidency; he was the first really strong president. Jackson believed he could decide what was best for the nation without the interference of Congress. Jackson’s strong presence and personality changed forever the role of the president.

The split in the Democrat-Republican party in 1820, the emergence of the Whigs in 1834, and the Presidency of Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) all are connected to what is described as modern politics. Modern in the sense, it is more like politics today: strong political parties that campaign vigorously during election, voice of the common man heard, and strong presidency. Up until the election of President Jackson these traits were not common in American politics.

A growing tension in the US at the time also helped set the stage for modern politics. The North and South were becoming polarized over westward expansion, slavery, industrialization, and internal improvement. These issues led to the formation of new political parties. Many of these new parties had short lives, but while living and breathing they had impact.

One such party was the Liberty Party formed in 1840 and expiring in 1848. The Liberty Party was a creation of a handful of abolitionists. The abolitionists were not a formal political party, but they were a very powerful group. They had been demanding the abolishment of slavery since the inception of slavery in colonial times. By 1830 the abolitionists had really become vocal. The abolitionists had one goal: slavery is a moral evil that should be terminated immediately.

William Lloyd Garrison was one of the most vocal of abolitionists. Garrison did not believe in political parties—he believed if one waited on legislative action, slavery would never end. But there were some in the abolitionist movement that believed a political party could put pressure on Congress to end slavery. It was this group that formed the Liberty Party. As the slavery issues heated up, however, the abolitionists became divided amongst themselves on the methods and means of ending slavery. This division is apparent in the emergence of another anti-slavery party—the Free Soil Party.

The Free Soil Party was organized at a convention in New York in 1848. Its members consisted of the members from the disbanded Liberty Party, some anti-slavery Whigs, and Barnburners, which were Democrats that opposed slavery. The main plank in the platform of the Free Soil Party was no further

extension of slavery. The Free Soilers were anti-slavery only in the sense of not extending slavery into any other new states. The Free Soilers were ready to allow slavery to stay in the existing slave states, but slavery could not go beyond those borders. An important point to note here is the Free Soilers were not necessary abolitionists. They wanted "free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men," meaning free white men. The Free Soilers for the most part did not want either slaves or free blacks in new territories and states.

The Free Soilers became especially strong in Kansas during the territorial days. They were at constant war with pro-slavery forces from Missouri during the period known as Bleeding Kansas. By the time of the Civil War, the Free Soilers has been absorbed into the newly formed Republican Party.

Another interesting, somewhat curious pre-Civil War party was the Know Nothing Party. In the 1840s the eastern states were developing industry while the western states were expanding farming. The increase of industrial jobs in the East and more available farmland in the West stimulated emigration. European immigrants migrated to the states seeking jobs in the east and land in the west. This influx of immigrants caused some native born white Protestant Americans to react in bigoted fashion.

In New York a groups of American born citizens formed the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner. Soon Star-Spangled Banner groups were springing up throughout the nation. These groups had strong anti-immigrant and anti-Roman Catholic feelings. When asked about their negative attitude towards foreign born and Catholics, they replied they knew nothing—hence they were dubbed Know Nothings. In the early 1850s the Know Nothings had quite a strong following.

Know Nothing members supported neither the pro-slavery Democrats nor the anti-slavery Whigs—they were basically ultra conservatives that wanted US land and jobs for Americans only. The official name of the party was the American Party. The party’s ideology included restricting the number of immigrants allow to enter the US, excluded foreign born Americans from voting and holding office, and a 21 year residency requirement before granting US citizenship. After 1856 the Know-Nothing Party fell apart; most of the members were absorbed into the Whig Party.

The Liberty Party, Free Soil Party, and Know Nothing Party all had different agendas, yet they all were directly or indirectly connected to the growing tension between the North and the South during the 1840s and 1850s. The North and the South had major differences over slavery, expansionism, and immigrants. Both sides begin to fear that a civil war was unavoidable. The fear of an encroaching civil war spawned another new party in 1859, the Constitutional Union Party whose members included conservative elements of the Whigs and the disbanded Know Nothings. The main goal of the Constitutional Union Party was the preservation of the Union. Constitutional Union members believed that only Constitutional law should be adhered to, and that constitutional laws should be strictly enforced to maintain peace. The party was tired of Congressional bickering and the acts that Congress had passed: The 1820 Missouri Compromise, The 1850 Compromise, etc. They felt Congress was doing bandage first aid to an ever growing cancer of discord between the North and the South. But by 1859 it was really too late for peace. Two years later, the United States was at war with itself.

While the Liberty Party, Free Soil Party, Know Nothing Party, and Constitutional Union Party did have impact on politics, the Democrats and Whigs were the two parties that dominated politics during the 1830s into the mid 1850s. Both parties were constantly embroiled in heated debated over slavery, westward expansion, internal improvements, and federalism verses state’s rights. Perhaps a summary of where each party stood on these issues is helpful at this point.

The Democrats were dominantly Southern, and they certainly wanted slavery to be left alone. The South was an agricultural based society, and there was little motivation to industrialize. The Southern elite believed they needed slave labor to work the large plantations. The Whigs viewed slavery as immoral and counter-productive. Westward expansion was crucial to both parties—the call of Manifest Destiny was strong during the mid-1800s. The conflict between the two regarding expansion involved whether or not slavery would be expanded into the new territories. The Democrats said yes, slavery must be allowed to expand—the Whigs said no—slavery can exist only where it currently exit. The Whigs were supporters of internal improvements to advance industrialization, which meant federal funding for more national roads, canals, and the future of railroads. Most of the Democrats were opposed to internal improvements. Representing an agriculturally based society, they did not see the need for internal improvements. Finally, the Whigs were supporters of a strong federal government; they believed the federal government should promote, regulate, and reform socio-economic elements of society. The Democrats favored a weak federal government over strong state rights. The Democrats believed the national government should do nothing that the states could do, and the states should do nothing that the local governments could do. The growing conflict between the Whigs and Democrats led to the formation of a new political party in 1854—the Republicans.

The Republican Party emerging in 1854 was not aimed at solving conflict. In fact, the Republicans wanted to create a more united front against the Democrats. Because of internal party conflict, the Whigs could not stand united against the Democrats. On most issues there was little difference between the Whigs and newly formed Republican Party; however, there were a couple elements in the Whig party that encouraged members to leave and join the Republican Party. Lincoln was one of the many Whigs to join the Republicans.

The Know-Nothing Party’s attachment to the Whigs actually hurt the party. Many members wanted to leave the Whigs because they did not want to be considered anti-immigrant or anti-Catholic. The anti-slavery issue was another reason many Whigs joined the Republicans. The Whigs like the former Free Soilers were basically anti-slavery, but they were willing to leave slavery intact in the Southern states. The Republicans, on the other hand, took a strong stand and said slavery must go—it should exist nowhere in the nation. The exodus from the Whig party was so great that by 1856 the Whig party was dead. In 1856, the new Republican Party ran its first presidential candidate, John Fremont; he lost. However, four years later, the Republicans’ second presidential candidate—Abraham Lincoln—won the election. Since the 1860 election, which voted Lincoln into the White House, the Democrats and Republicans have dominated politics.

Last month we ended our discussion of political parties with the rise of the new Republican Party and Lincoln being the Party’s candidate to win the 1860 election.    From 1860 on the Democrats and Republicans have been the two leading political parties; however, from time to time other parties have appeared causing ripples in the two party system.  Most of the new political parties that sprang up post Civil War were connected to social-economic issues.  And society was full of social and economic changes after the Civil War.

Following the Civil War the North really began to experience a boom period.   Industry that had been in the birthing stage during the 1830s and 40s was up and running wild in the post-Civil War days.  Also, the northern railroad industry was busy connecting the nation together in the post-Civil War period.  Finally, the Homestead Act of 1864 encouraging the rush for farmland in the West added to economic growth in the North.  Because of this economic activity immigrants were flocking to the US seeking jobs and farm ground.  This entire beehive of economic activity, however, came to a crashing halt in the 1873 Panic.  The main cause of the panic was over extension of credit. In 1873 banks begin shutting their doors—and bankruptcy was occurring on a daily basis.  Everyone was affected by the 1873 Panic, but farmers that had bought farm ground after the war were especially hard hit. 

The Homestead Act had encouraged small struggling farmers and newly transplanted immigrants to head out West and stake claims for land.  Even though the land was cheap, $1.25 an acre, it was still a financial struggle that plunged these small farmers heavy into debt.  When the 1873 Panic hit, the debt ridden farmers believed more money in circulation would solve the problem—they demanded that the paper money (greenbacks) of the Civil War days be put back into circulation.  This desire for the return of the paper money/greenbacks led to the formation of the Greenback Party.

Before discussing the post-Civil War Greenback Party, a little review on the role of greenbacks in the Civil War would be helpful.  During the Civil War, to help cover war expense, the federal government issued paper money known as greenbacks.  This extra money that was put into circulation was not backed one hundred percent by gold. (It was more of a promissory note from the U.S. government) After the war, the government removed greenbacks from circulation and returned to the gold standard, requiring that all money be backed by gold. During the Civil War, circulation of greenbacks actually created an inflationary situation. An inflationary economy, if not extreme, makes paying off debt easier. Thus, in 1876, debt-ridden farmers formed the Greenback Party with a single plank in the platform: put greenbacks back in circulation. 

In 1878 laborers would joined the Greenback Party, thus changing the party’s name to the Greenback Labor Party.  It makes sense that laborers and farmers would join forces since both groups fell into the same struggles of the lower economic levels.   But the wealthy industrialists and moneylenders back east were not in favor of cheap money—they wanted to maintain the gold standard, which created more wealth for them. Laborers, in addition to wanting cheap money, also wanted laws protecting them from bad practices of management. But it would be a number of decades before factory workers would see improvements in labor conditions.

The Greenback Party was not successful in eliminating or even reducing the problems of small farmers and industrial laborers. But the Greenback Party opened the door for a party that had tremendous impact on American politics—the Populist. Although the Populist never won a major election, their platform became so popular that the two main parties absorbed the key planks of the party. The powerful impact of the Populist movement on party politics is a topic we’ll cover next month—you all come back.