|v ^^^ 'm0m°^ ^^ :MM V/;;- %. ..*■* '•^'- U .-.^ :'M£'. ^^s-.J^ :'M m;. v\ .V A ^ .•^ :» Hq^ •m\ ■• -# •^ V "^-^ •* . . 5 \ "^ ,0v o . . - G '?'_ .^V ^^^-;^ .^^" /_v;<; > V \^ a'^ '. -n^ r.^ ^ .V^^lv^r. v>* <"^ <^^ O c ° " " •»• o h""-^^ '^ -^^0^ 4 o 'iMiJ-: Old Settlers' History OF BATES COUNTY, MISSOURI. FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY. 1900. PUBLISHED HY TATHWELL Ia /AAXEY, AMSTERDAM. MO. CopvKU.iiT. 1S!I7. P.v S. L. TATIIWl':!,!. 3 o o / c "^ Pr 1 Died by TflTHWELL & MOO«E, R rnsterda rp, Mo. Pubii^her^t" i^finouiicemen4. To Tlir OhI SfHlcrfi of Jiairs Coiinlij, iiutl 'llic I'nhlic in Geiirvdl . It is the intention of the pubUshers to jDresent un accurate and brief account of the settlement, growth and advance- ment of our county. Statistics are dry reading for the aver- age person, and may be found in carefully prepared public documents. We only use such as are necessary to verify specitic statements. Beliexing that a work compiled from the luirratives of those of tlie early settlers who yet remain with us. l)Ut wliose ranks are becoming broken and wavering, and will pi-ove most interesting reading to tiie thousands who are today enjoying the fruits of tlieir early toil, and having the greatest respect for the memories of the past, as well as for the participants in the various processes and stirring events which have wrought such wondrous changes in this beautiful and fertile county of ours, manifest by a compari- son of the conditions existing a half century ago with the immediate present; and believing that it is only by awaken- ing an interest in, and encoui'aging in\(\stigation of the nu- merous striking incidents of real life yet stored in the minds of the few remaining ones of the pioneer period, that tho.se valuable memento(»s of the past may be preser\'(Hl from ol>- livion we have compiled this work and herel^y wish to ac- knowledge our indebtedness and in some degree express oui- appreciation of the kindness of Hon. J. B. Newberiy, Clark Wix, S. C. Sturtevant, Judge C. I. Robords, Judge Bartlett, C. C. Blankenbecker. Prof. L. B. Allison, Judge C. P. Box- ley, John Divinny. Ed. S. Austin and others wiio have great- ly assisted us in our work by submitting invaluable articles, reminiscences, etc. And further desiring to cultivate more friendly and fraternal relations among those wlio have en- dured the trials and enjoyed the pleasures incident to pioneer life and early citizenship in our beloved county: We do most respectfully dedicate this work to The Old Settlers' Society of Bates County. S. L. Tathwell, / ri 1 1- 1 H. O. Maxey! I P^^^l'-^li'-rs. PREFACE.. The compilers, in preparing tliis work, have sought to ob- tain only authentic narratives, and have diligently searched the obtainable records for all such facts as in their judge- ment are germane to a i^rief and reliable history of our county. Believing that the county is the nucleus of our govern- ment, and that at least in some degree a knowledge of its history is imperative to the highest concepticm of citizenship: we have prepared a history wliich we believe will be inter- esting as to fact, and which will be made entertaining by a recital of the experiences of its pioneers. The history of Bates County commences with the estab- lishment of Harmony Mission, and may be divided into four periods, viz: — I Period, Settlement: 1H21 to IHOO. II Period, War: 1H60 to 1865. III Period, Recuperation: l^s()^) to 1S70. IV Period, Development: 1H70 to 1900. Periods I to III are proper subjects for the attention of the historian; the IV period is but begun. First Pe- riod embraces thirty-nine of the seventy-eight years which have elapsed since the founding of the first settlement, and to it belong the interesting stori<>s of pioneer life, its priva- tions and its joys; its hardships, its excitements and its bliss: its labors and its pleasures. And great were the changes its years brought to pass. Broad prairies, whose limits the eye could not trace, one great mass of luxurient vegetation which grew in wild and tangled profusion: gloomy forests whose somber shades were scarce dispelled by the noon-day sun, the ideal home of beasts of prey: within thirty-nine years from the time of the founding of the tirst white settlement, both wood and prairie acknowledged the power of the con- queror. The first settlements were made along the many water- courses, as we find it to be the case in all countries. There the hardy pioneer found material to build his rude, but serv- iciible and substantial (hvcHiii.i;' and fence his fields. The forests also offered protection frc^m the storms which swept aci'oss the unbi'oken expanse of ])rairies. The first settlers were from Viri>'iiiia, Kentucky. Tennes- see and oth(M- soutluM'n staters, many of wlioni had before set- tled in older portions of tiie state and were attracted to this st'ction by the story of its rich soil and equable climate. The develo])ment of tlie setthMiieuts was not rapid, owing to file li'reat distance from mai'l^et and the slow and tedious l)rocess of freiii'litin^' in sujjplies. l)ut the pioneer is not a man to be easily discoura.u'ed and l.e went sturdily on with ills work, and his wants were few outside of what the re- sources of tlu' country alTordt'd liim. It is a matter of con- Jii'at nhition that he was hut little troubled by the Indian, who.se huutinu' .urouiids lu' nsur])ed. But few acts of depre- dation were committed by th(» red num. and not a single at- tack was mad^ on a white settlement. The woods also, ap- peal' to iiave been especially free from ferocious or really dangerous aniuuils, althougii Ihey abounded in game and af- forded rare sport for the hunter. While the white man first came to this county in isill, the tid(^ of emigration did not turn in this direction until nearly twenty years later. From tliat time until tlie breaking out of the Civil War was tlu' real colonial ])eriod. The story of ])eriod I is a story of trials and hardships, but also one of ])rog]"ess. P(>riod II is a tale of sorrow, of terror and of re- trogression. The tidal wave - black andijrrim on every side. The close of the war stopped actual hostilities, but left many bitter feuds, some of which lasted for years. When the militia was withdrawn, the disorg-anized civil .govern- ment was almost overpowered in its struggle with this tur- bulent element, and it was not until l^i^fS that any consider- able number of the refugees returned to their ruined home- steads. Many ne\'er returned, and their lands reverted to the government. Slowly the rough places were smoothed over; houses were built and fields reclaimed. Law and or- der triumphed, and progress once more took up its onward march. Then came the rush of immigration, largely fi"om the east and north, and new life was infused into both business and social affairs. Dui-ing the latter half of this period phe- nominal progress was made. Period IV finds our county fully settled, ready to enter on a long period of development. The hirge tracts of cojumons. which had heretofore furnished i)asturage and hay for the community adjacent, passed under prix-ate ownership, and our prairies lost their identity. Cities and towns filled up and new ones were established. This was an era of railroad building, (on paper) and some of these projects have left un- pleasant memories. In the seventies, goods were freighted from Appleton City and Pleasant Hill, Missouri, antl La Cygne, Kansas. With the exception of the Missouri, Kan- sas & Texas wdiich touched the south-east corner, the countj^ was without railroad facilities until her great coal fields wcn-e developed in 1880. Since that time a great industry lias been carried on. As to the thoroughness with which we have covered the ground thus briefly sketched, we leave the generous reader to judge. OK J5 VTK8 COL'NTY. ' l'> Al I S 8 C) U R I . Sk-rlrit of Sidle UlsIuii/ lo IS.JI, W'lirii Colin I ij llisloiij Dc- gl IIS. Ill order tliat we, us Historiuns — M we be permitted, to use the title — may faithfully portray the wonderful and unex- ampled development of Bates County, and satisfy the con- ditions imposed by ourselves, it is necessary to brietiy sketcli the history of that part of the territory west of tlie Mississip- pi Kivei', wliicli now cotis'titutes the great State of Missouri, and of wiiich Bates County — ^our particular care — has as va- lied. thrilliiiii' and interest) ne," a story as any part thereof. Long', long years before the sound of the ax was heard in the forests, or the waters of the lakes and rivers were dis- turVjed by the white man's canoe, the Indian roamed over the prairies, pitched his rude camp in the forests, and tish- ed in the waters — undisturbed by traders, "fire water," or homeseekers; living his primitive life with few wants, and tliose wants easily supplied by the bountiful products of Na- ture, ever ready to be gatliered, and without money or price. This condition of things remained entirely unbroken until \'^\\, when Hernando deSoto, that Prince of Spanish explor- ers and adventurers, (In his vain and fatal search for gold, was incited to penetrate further and further into the un- known wilderness, by the stories of iiiexhaustable supplies of gold to be found, told iiim by the Indians.) reached, with a part of his followers, the banks of the Mississippi, and crossed over into Missouri near what is now New Madrid count3% and continuing his search traveled westwardly across the southern part of the state and then south into what is now Arkansas. His explorations in tliis part of tln^ country, however, amounted to nothing more than furnishing Spain with a claim to the territory which it was never able to make good, because the Spaniards did not follow De Soto's work by any effort to colonize, until the countrv here was settled bv tlie 11 OLD SF.T'l I.KIJs' lllSToia' subjects of another power. Not until more than one liundred years after DeSoto was here, have we any record of tliis country having- been visited by another white man. A French nobleman, James Marquette, part soldier, part priest, inspired by a lofty desire to carry Christianity to the red man; in 1673, accompanied by Louis Joliet and some few others, was the second white man to set foot on what is now Missouri soil. He and his companions floated, in canoes, down the Mississippi as far as the mouth of the Arkansas, and returning to the French settlements in the north, gave such a glowing account of the country they had visited: its mighty rivers, abundance^ of game and docib^ Indians, tiiat Robert De La Salle was tired with a desire to exjjlore this country fui'ther and take possession of so promising a terri- tory for his master, Louis XIV of France. Accordingly, in 1()SL> he orgaiiized an expedition for this purpose and, reacliing the Mississippi, descended it to its mouth and formally took possession of all the territory d»'ain- ed by it and its tributaries and named tlio entire country Louisiana. Therefore the French were the first to take pos- session of this territor3\ and tJie lirst to tiiorouglily explore it. In ITi).') ant)thor paily of French ascended the Missouri to the vicinity of what is now Jackson county, and in ITIU the country was crossed by them from the Osage to the north- west part of the pi'esent state; and from this time exploring and trading expeditions were numerous throughout the en- tir(^ country. But the country was still claimed by Spain and in 171*0 the Spaniards made one futile effort to wrest it from the French, by sending out an expedition which was betrayed by its guides to hostile Indians, but it served to arouse the Frencli who now sent troops into the country and built a fort some- where on the Missouri near the mouth of Grand River, but these people were soon after killed by the Indians and this settlement abandoned The fur trade and iiunti ng were vigorously continued, but no effort to S(»ttle or hold tlie country was again made until about 1785 to 4") when a settlement was made at St. Gene- vieve, in the ea^stern part of th(> state on the Mississi]>])i R\\- OF 14. \ IKS (OlNI'V. 12 (']•. near the site of the town at ])i'os('nt Ix'arinii' tliat naino. Tliis settleuieut was made by a party of Ffeiich miners un- der the direction of a wealtliy French mine operatoi-. Ue- nault, vs'ho came across the river in a vain search for u'old and silver, but in their searcJi they did tind valuable lead de- l)osits, and proceeded to erect smelters, and mine and smelt the ore. France furnished them a ready market for all the lead they could ])roduce. and the -'Father of Waters" was tlie great highway oji which their boats might carry it down to New Orleans to be there shipped to France. Tiie import- ance of this industi'y caused numbers of settlers to tlo:-k here and 8t. Genevieve soon became a place of no mean im])or- lance. But in 17N.'t tiie original town was destroyed Vjy an oNerflow of the Mississippi and tlie new t(twn was l)uilt up wiiere it now is. The next important settieuH'nt was made at Ht. Louis in 1H()4. Pierre Laclede, a French fur trader, selected this si>ot, foi- the establishment of his trading post, because of its excellent facilities for communication with the Indians of the West ai\d North-west and also because it was a convenient place from which to ship his furs to New Orleans to market. About the time Laclede was founding St. Louis, Blan- chette was erecting rude buildings and trading with the In- dians at the si)ot on which 8t. CUiarles now stands. It was first called Village of the Hills, and at this place and in the territory tributary to it occuri'ed most of the Indian troubles and massacres wliich were attendant uijon the settlement of this state. But just at this time came the decisive battle of Quebec Aviiich forced Fi'aiu-e to dispose of practically all of lier terri- tory in North America and in the I'e-arrangeujent of bounda I'ies all the country w<\st of the Mississippi that had 'oeen claimed by Fi-ance was given to Spain and tht()i'i;iii in talciii.u' upon lilmsclf the taslc of «iiviii<4- aiiythin^ii' like a complete accoiuit of any pai"t of the earth wishes, of course, to l)e<.;fin at the be,ii'inniii,^'. But up- on goin.n' back to find the point at which to coamience, he in- variably finds himself beyond the time of authentic record and in the midst of traditions, theories and suppositions, whicli. pei'haps, have a foundation in fact, but which are dif- ferently interpreted and lead investigators to different con- clusions, so that the ordinary reader is utterly unable to set- tle in his own mind what is the truth. We find it utterly im- I)OSsibIe to fix dates or gi\e any connected account of the jieople of pi'ehistoi'ic times, yet w^e have evidence to estab- lish beyond a d(jubt. that ])oi)ulous. powerful and wealthy nations existed thousands of years preceeding the period of which we have any recorded history. In is,).") a t(M"rit)rial govern uKMit was organized l>y Congress for the territory emi^i'aced in the L:)uisiana l^nrchase. The settled pai'ts of Missouri were divided into four districts. l)ut as no white men lived in w^iiat is now F^ates County, it was not included in either, but ]"(Mnained unorganized until Jan- uary I'o. ISK), wdien the Territorial Legislature i)assed an act organizing Howard county. It included all tluit j)art of Missouri north of the Osage and west of ('edar Creek and the dividing ridge between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. It comprised what is now ninteen counties north of the river, twelve south of the river and part of nine others. The county seat was fixed at Cole's Port, where the fir-^t court was held .luly '^. INK). In ls|7 the countv seat 'Was removed to Frank- 15 OLD SKTTLKlCs" HISTORY lin, on the Missouri River. Tiie spot on which it stood has been entirely washed away by the ever-fehiiting carrent of the Missouri. Saline county was organized from territory south of the river, in l!S20 and 1821, by the first State Legis- lature, Missouri having been just admitted as a state. The next session, 1821-22, Jaclsson county was organized from territory between tiie Marais des Cygnes and Missouri rivers. Harmon}^ Mission was established in 1821, and was the only settlement in what is now Bates. In 1833 a new county was organized out of that part of Jackson now comprised in the counties of Bates, Cass and Vernon, and was named Van Buren in honor of Martin VanBuren, then Vice President under Jackson. Afterwards, during Van Buren's adminis- tration, he became very unpopular in this locality and Gen- eral Lewis Cass, being tlien a j^opular statesman and the member of the State Legislature from the county, secured the passage of a bill changing the name from Van Buren to Cass county, but not making any change in the boundry lines. Thus it remained till 1811, when Cass was divided on the line dividing townships 40 and 41, the territory south of that line to the present south line of Vernon being the new cjunty and it was called Bates. It will be observed that the north line of Bates was then only three miles north of where Butler now stands. The tirst court was held in the church al Harmony Mis- sion, with Hon. Foster P. Wright as Presiding Judge. The courts were held at this place three or four 3^ears, then the county seat was located on the north bank of the river, where Papinsville now stands, the town being named in hon- or of Milicourt Papin, a French trader who donated tlie land for the town. William Gil breath of Hudson township, was one of the commissioners to select the site for the county seat. Being at the head of navigation on the Osage it soon besame quite a trading point, and a considerable village grew up. The unsurpassed facilities for stock raising in this lo- cality soon attracted many settlers, and as the population in- creased various projects were devised for new^ counties. Harrison ville was the county seat of Cass and situated 20 miles north of the south line, as the boundaries of the county were at that time. The people of that town and vicinity furnished the majority of voters in the county and they fear- OF iiVTES COl NTV. I <> ed that when the territoi-y sh(nikl all becoLue settled up the county seat would be removed to Austin, or some other lo- (!ation near the center of the county. They were, therefore, anxious to o'ive off that part of the county south of Grand Kiver, that tliey might be sure of holding the county seat at Harrisonville. Accordingly, their Representative, in con- nection with the Representative of Bates. Major McHenry, made an effort to organize a new county, but failed to carry it through. R. B. Fisher was the next Representative from Bates, and in connection with tlie Cass county man, he got a bill through, forming a new county, comprised of tlie same territory as is now included in the b;)undaiies of Bates, ex- cept that the south line extended e^tst fi-om the Kansas line, as now, until it reached the Osage, wliere, instead of follow- ing the river channel as at present, it crossed and continued due east, thus leaving Papinsville in the old county Avhich retained tlie name of Bates, and the new county was called Vernon. The citizens of Papinsville were latterly opposed to the new^ county and claimed that the act establishing it was un- constitutional. The old County Court proceeded to i^uild a brick court house at Papinsville and a line bridge across the river at tiiat place, hoping by these measures to retain the county seat, which they would, by reason of their location, be sure to lose if the new arrangement became permanent. Edmund Bartlett, T. B. Arnett and Wm. Lakey were ap- pointed County Court judges of the new county andproceed- (d to organize townships, establish precincts, appoint town- ship otticers and exercise all the duties of the County Court. It being in no judicial circuit there was no Circuit Court held in the county. The commissioners appointed to locate the county seat, fixed on the present site of Butler, but there was no building t lereon and the County Court met at the house of Charles Adams. At the next election. Rogers, Clem and Peely were elected County Court judges: J. E. Morgan, clerk; Samuel Scott, sherilf; John Cummins, treasurer; and M. D. Osborn, Public Administrator, and they proceeded to ]jut the affairs of the new county, Vernon, into proper shape. Meanwhile the enemies of the arrangement were planning to defeat it. A suit was brought, in the Circuit Court at Papinsville, against Sam Scott for attempting to perform 17 OLD SlOT'lI.KUs" JIlsToliV duties of sheriff within tlie county of Bates, iKjt haviuij- Ix'cu legally elected to that office. This was for the purpose of testing' the constitutionality of the act establishing tiie new county. A change of venue was taken to Henry county. The act in question was claimed to be void for a variety of reasons, but the only one decided by tJie court to be valid was that it reduced the old county of Bates Ijelow the ratio of population required for a representati ve district. A judge- ment was given setting aside the act as unconstitutional. An appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of the state, and the judgement of the lower court was aitirmed. Sam Scott was lined one cent. The population incre.iS3J so rapidly that the p.)iiit m:u] ' in the above suit could never again be sustained. In 185"), J. E. Morgan, now of Warsaw. Mo., was electyd to the Legis- lature and succeeded in putting through a i)ill attaching that part of Cass south of Grand River and the line between town- ships 41' and 4;] to Bates County, and then striking off the soutli part of Bates to form a new county to be called Ver- non, and removing the county seat of Bates County 1o Bu'Jyr. As that act established the county lines of Bates and Vernon, they still remain. J. E. Morgan built the first house in Butler, virhile the laml was still vacant. He aftei'wards entered the land and donat- ed a part of it for the county seat. Tlu^ County Court was composed of John D. Myers, Edmund Bartlett and J. O. Pearson. They made a new plat for the town and R. L. Duncan laid it out in October, IKM\. The records of the county were removed to Butler, and the first session of the Circuit Court was held in an old school houtie, by Judge R. B. Hicks. The attorneys in attendance were Thomas H. Sterns of Bates, W. P. Johnson of St. Clair, R. G. Pay ton of Cass, and Thomas Freeman of Polk. William Jennings was one of the Grand Jurors. They held tlieii- sessions on a dry knoll in the high prairie grass, but as no complaints were laid before them lliey were soon disclnirged. At this time two-thirds of the land in the county belonged to the Government, but in the next three years it was nearly all entered, and in ISO] tlie county contained a population of 6,765, and Butler was a well Iniilt town of l()!)i) j^eople. •■•• •-• '• S. C. Sti'ktevant. . 5CH0OIV TOWNSHIP LIHti 'iec , iON LINE5— RAIL ROADS— RIVtRi Ml T0WNb6VILLA&^ - — COUNTRy HOADi W. W. GRAVES. Judge W. W. Graves, the subject of this sketch, was born in Lafayette County, Mo., December 17, 1IS60; was educated in the public schools and State University. He was appointed School Commissioner of Bates County by Governor Marmaduke and was elected for a full term. The only other public office he has held was city attorney for the city of Butler. He was nom- inated for Circuit Judge by the Democratic convention in 1898, after a protracted struggle, and was triumphantly elected at the following election. Judge Graves has now been on the bench about one year, and he has established a reputation for judicial acumen and fairness, and is undoubtedly one of the ablest circuit judges in Missouri, as well as one of the youngest. He has had a phenomenal career at the bar since he abandoned the teacher's birch and the editorial tripod in a country village. Hard work and close application has earned for him deserved success in the profession, and a bright future is before him. OK BATKS COUNTY. 20 BATES COUNTY. PERIOD I— FROM 1821 TO LsOO. SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY. In comparison with other sections of the state the settle- ment of tlie territory now incladed in Bates Countj' was slow. We find much older settlements to the south, north and east of us, and even in the eastern part of Kansas many settle- ments, befoi'c this section was in any considerable measure l)rou,ii;"ht under the dominion of tlie white man. The reason for this is found in the fact that this territory was set apart by the ii'overnment as a reservation for the Indians, and the land was not open to liomestead. So no title could be secur- ed to the land uatil after the Indians were removed (about 1837) and it was then some time before the surveys could be completed and the land opened for the homeseeker. Pre- vious to this time people came and built cabins, cultivated small tracts of land along- the streams, and hunted and trap- ped in the forests. Many of these people were of that roving class of adventurers Vvdio never remain in one place for any lengtii of time, and when they heard of a more promising* field, or grew tired of the spot where they were staying, all they had to do was to "pull up stakes" and travel. These conditions make it jieculiarly difficult to attempt to give any definite record of "First Settlements," or "First Settlers." As thei-c are no land entries to be consulted, or records of any kind to exauiine, itisouly a matter of recollection or tra- dition as to the very first settlements. The oldest settlers now living have recollections of older settlers, and many re- membar abandoned settlements which had been the home, fen- a time at least, of some adventurous person, long since 21 OLD SIOTTLIOICS llIsroKY removed, unci no trace left but a ruined cabin, and tields which were, in souie instances, covered with a heavy growth of timber. There are ver^- good theories advanced to support tlie claim that some of these old settlements i', but uo town was founded until 1815. JOHNSTOWN. The tii'st store was opened in J()hn.stt)\vn by Dan and Jim Johnson. They were not able to secure a post-office until about 1819, until which tim3 they had to go to Deep water City, in Henry county, for their mail, but aftur the establish- ment of a post-office Johnstown made rapid strides toward becoming a town of no mean importance for those days. Being surrounded by a fertile and productive country, it af- forded a place for the Indian trader to exchange his furs for more trinkets to barter to the Indians, and, being a consid- erable distance from any other settlement of importance, it soon was doing more business than any other place in the county, at one time having two wholesale houses, handling- general merchandise, four or live general stores, tw^o saloons, three blacksmith shops, cabinet siiop, mill and harness shop. This condition of prosperity continued until the breaking out of the border trouijles between Missouri and Kansas, and during this time and the Civil War Johstown was almost ruined, and then just after the war the building of the Mis- souri, Kansas & Texas Railway so near to it, rendered it impossible that it siiould ever again attain its old time prom- inence. OF BATES COUNTY. •J'i OTHER SETTLEMENTS. Prom 1830 to 1840 settlements were being rapidly made in various other parts of the county, a post-office being es- tablished at Pleasant Gap perhaps as early as 1842, and set- tlements made in Lone Oak, Hudson, Deer Creek, New Home, Walnut and Charlotte townships about this time also. It appears that no settlements were made in other parts of the county prior to 1810, but during the forties numerous settlements sprang up with great rapidity in all parts of the county, there being a great influx of liomeseekers from the eastern states and tliis caused the founding of a number of towns in various parts of tlie county, only a few of which, however, reached any importance before the war. Two of these have V)een briefly mentioned, and we will now try to record something of the history of the others. WEST POINT. West Point — founded in 1850. Situated in the north-west part of Bates County, is in West Point township, about one mile from the state line. The first store was opened by Ar- nett & Adams, and as they had located on the old cattle trail from Texas and the Southwest, over which thousands of head of cattle were driven annually to the market at Kansas City, it soon became an important trading point, and a place for "outfitting" by parties going into the Southwest — which rapidly pushed it forward to the position of metrojjolis of Bates County. And another thing which was of material benefit in its development, aside from the local business, was that the Pottowatomie Indians here received their periodical allowance of rations, etc., from the government agents, and made this, as a matter of course, their trading point. ^9 o\A) .sUttLkus" uistouv In those days the great, clumsy, creaking freighting wag- on, drawn by 8 to 10 yoke of oxen, crept slowly over the winding prairie trail, bearing its heavy load of freight from the river landing at Kansas City. The "Noble Red Man." dressed in his wolf-skin vest, traded his government rations for "fire-water" or "baccy." The picturesque squaw, in her abreviated gown of many colors, peddled her liand-woven baskets and bead- work trinkets, while the pappojse, dressed in "most any old thing" — and not much of that — turned his big, inquiring eyes on the many wonderful works of tlie "pale face" but was as dumb as was the ox which pulled the groaning wagon. The trapper and hunter brought in their furs and traded them for provisions, powder, etc. And the homesteaders f r mi many miles arounJ b:)ught their oUppUes here. In 1845 the post-office was estaljlished and mails were secur- ed two or tiiree times per week. A sc'.iool house was erect- ed, by public subscription, in '52, and the first teacher was a Mr. Kirkpatrick. The tow^n had a large hotel and several well stocked stores. In '56 the West Point Banner was es- tablished, with T. H. Sterens editor. This was a weekly pa- per, w^ell filled witli advertisements and gained a circulation over a large scope of territory. West Point was a typical border town, and experienced some lively scenes and incidents. A crowd made up of the average freighter, trapper and reservation Indian, made a combination that was hard to beat in raising tlie crop which Mrs. Lease advised the Kansas farmers to pay more attention to. Government troops were, at a number of times, stationed there to preserve order on tlie frontier. The town was at its heiglit when the border troubles, over the Slavery question, broke out, and from its position, just over on tlie Missouri side of the line, w\as made a gathering place, or sort of head-quarters for the pro-slavery men. There were turbulent times in West Point those days, but the town continued to grow until the breaking out of the war although several times raided by the Free State men, from over the Kansas line, and its citizens were kept in con- stant fear of the "torch," a mode of retaliation which be- came very popular a short time thereafter. The West Point of history existed only from 1850 to 1860, W. O. ATKESON. The subject of this sketch was born in Putnam County, West Virginia, in the valley of the Great Kanawha river, and was reared to manhood there. He is the son of a farmer and had the usual experiences and passed through the ordinary vicissitudes of farm life in that country. He attended the country schools and quit the public schools a pupil of the Buffalo Academy. At the beginning of the college year of i873-'74 he entered the Kentucky University at Lexington, matriculating in the Agricultural and Mechanical College and pursued a special course in mathematics, literature, history, book keeping and military training, with recitations in chemistry. He remained in the university only about 7 months, and on account of sickness returned home, and went to work on the farm. The following winter he taught school in Mason County, W. Va., and with the money so earned he matriculated in the West Virginia State Normal School at Fairmont, and graduated from the same in June, 1875. The following winter he was principal of the New Haven graded schools, and in the spring of 1876 he became one of the editors and proprietors of the West Virginia Monitor, published at Point Pleasant, W. Va. After a few months he disposed of his interest in the paper and returned to the farm and began the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in Winfield, W. Va. , in 1877. In 1878 he removed to Council Grove, Kansas, where he resided and practiced his profession imtil he came to Rich Hill in 1882. He was elected justice of the peace in Council Grove, Kansas, and served out a term of two years. In October, 18S9, he removed with his family to Butler, where he has since resided. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Bates Countv in 1890 and served a term of two years successfully. In 1892 he was a candidate for circuit judge on the People's Party ticket and was also nominated by electors, and carried three counties out of the four composing the 29th judicial circuit, but was defeated. The election of his opponent was contested, the opinion of the Supreme Court being recorded in 115 Mo. Repts. He became the editor of the Butler Free Press in 1894 and has been with the paper ever since, and is regarded by friend and foe as a clear, decisive writer, a fair and honorable editor, and a good citizen. He lives. in a comfortable cottage home with a family of five children, having recently lost his wife whom he married in Barton County, Mo,, in 18S4. He was a member of the first national committee of the People's Party and is now a member of the state committee. In 1894 the Kentucky Central Normal School confered on him the honorary degree of A. M. He is a man of varied culture, firm convictions and great tenacity of purpose; and his home has always been an open door to all who wish to come and share its modest and cordial hospitality. OF UATKS COUKTY. ?>(■) but we leave it at the close of Period I, a flourishing frontier town. BUTLER. The first settler on the site now occupied by Butler was one John C. Kennett, who came there probably about 1845, at any rate, he was well established there in 1849, and he was the first man to establish any kind of mercantile busi- ness at the place, he having put in a stock, principally whiskey and tobacco, for which he found a ready and profit- able sale, to the "forty-niners" who were about this time rUshing in every conceivable manner, to the far West for the purpose of acquiring possession of their share of the "root of all evil," the glittering gold of California. He seems to have prospered here for a time but finally falling a victim to the "gold fever" himself he sold his busine.ss to John W. Montgomery, the second settler, and went to California in search of greater wealth in 1853. J. S. Wilkins and John E. Morgan next came and settled here in 1854, and the Leg- islature having passed an act in 1851, which ordered the County Court to remove the county seat from Papins^dlle to such other place as the people of the county should desig- nate by a petition bearing the names of three-fifths of the qualified voters of Bates County, and this question of remov- al now being agitated, Morgan and some others conceiving the idea that the land on which they were living being near the center of the county and well suited by nature for a town- site would stand a good chance of securing the county seat, proceded, in 1854, to lay out a town, which they named But- ler, and as an additional inducement to secure the county seat, Morgan, Wilkins and Montgomery offered to donate to the county a tract or tracts of land which agregated 55 acres, which otfer was soon accepted. But notwithstanding their laying out a town and making this offer, it seems no other business was attracted to Butler until after the location of the county seat had been fixed here in 1856 by commission- ers, W. S. Sutherland and Achilles Easley, who were ap- 31 OLD «ETTLEUS" HKSTOKY pointed by the Legislature for this jmrjiose in accordance with the petition of the people. The tirst business house, devoted to business, was erected by Couch & Smith in the spring of 1856, in which they conducted a general merchandising business. They came here from Platte county, Missouri, but were originally from Kentucky. The next business house was put up by McComb & Robison in the fall of 1856, their business being general merchandise also. McComb previously lived in Deepwater township, this county, and Robison in Platte county, this state. Dr. Joseph S. Hamsbrough was the first physician to locate here for the practice of medicine. The first school was taught in a building erected for both scliool and church purposes in 1856. The teacher was Mrs. Martha Morgan, wife of Jolm E. Morgan. This building was used by all denominations for their services, people coming for fifteen or twenty miles to attend church, as the church houses were very scarce at that time. The first hotel or tavern was kept by John E. Morgan, who was succeeded by Thomas Rice. This hotel was a log house, and the management were able to supply man and beast with the plain fare of the time, but without those lux- uries and emoellishments which our modern education lead us to expect and demand, and which our pioneer progenitors tell us is the cause of the physical and moral degeneration of the race and which will ultimately be tJie sure cause of our complete undoing. When the county seat was removed from Papinsville to Butler, the latter place had no court house or other suitable place for the sessions of the courts to be held in and the first Grand Jury was compelled, for want of a i^etter place, to meet out in the prairie on a knoll, at which place they re- mained in session one day, but no business coming before them, they then adjourned. These conditions rendered it necessary to build a court house, and tiiey decided that it should be a brick building two stories high. The contract for building was let to William Hurt and a Mr. Fritzpatrick. The brick used in the building were burned at Butler, where the Lake Park now is, and the building begun in 1857, and completed in 1858, but was destroyed by fire during the war. The building cost about $9,000, and was a credit to the pro- LEWIS W. nOORE. The subject of this sketch enjoys the distinction of being the youngest and most successful editor of a country paper in Missouri, having commenced his career as proprietor and editor oi the Hume Telephone at the age of i6 years. Mr. Moore is a native Missourian. From the extreme tenderness of his youth he bears the euphonious title of "The Kid," but his sober and intelligent editorials make the appellation respectable. The motto at the head of his paper, viz: "A live, independent journal devoted to spreading the news and earning a few dollars in cash," embodies the warp and woof of his life's effort. Through manly foresight, judicious advertising and a ready pen, his paper has been rescued from the quicksands of disaster, while in other hands, and placed among the sub- stantial newspapers of the state. His quaint aphorisms, unique questions, scientific deduc- tions, sarcastic and cutting paragraphs are now being copied by leading papers everywhere. In addition to the business of his own ofifice he does special or detail work for several well known eastern publishing houses. In a social way Mr. Moore is something of a curiosity. Sedate as a preacher and comical as a clown, never forgetting the maxim that evil communications corrupt good manners. He is widely known and pleasantly spoken of by a respectable number of the fraternity, and nothing but a misfortune will prevent him from reaching the peaks longed for by the journal- istic world. Dictated: Steno. No. 499. OF 15. \ IKS COL'NTY. o'J .ss and enterprise of tli(> people of Bates County at that time. luiviui()iieer peried in our county's history, and a short description of tlie general find social con- ditions prevalent at that time may not be out of place. The earliest settlers, being widely separated, there was very little in their lives except the daily contact wiUi nature in its pure and unadulterated forms, and while this life may have been solitary and monotonous, it was not without its compensations, as is shown by the testimony' of the few re- maining pioneers. They grew to love their somber- forests, and their gorgeously beautiful prairies, and they yet mourn their desecration by the ever increasing influx of busy, bustling humanity. Later on as more and moi'e homeseek- ers were drawn here, the people naturally gathered in settle- ments, and enjoyed the blessings of social intercourse. The first settlements were confined exclusively to the vicinity of the numerous water courses, where they secured the mater- ial for their homes from the forests which lined, the streams. The houses were uniformly built of logs, and the majority were small and rude, but some of the more pretentious were made from nicely hewn timbers, which w'ere neatly and care- fully put together, forming substantial and comely struct- ures. Each house had one or more large chimneys, and op- en fire-places which were, in the winter season, piled high with huge sticks, or logs of w^ood, and the whole building was heated and lighted by the cheerful blaze. The fields, consisting for the greater part of clearings in the timber land, were fenced by means of rails split from the timber which grew on the land. The crops consisted prin- cipally of corn, wheat and oats, and the common garden produce. They also raised cotton and hemp, and each fam- ily kept a few sheep, and from these various sources the loom, which supplied the family with wearing aj^parel, Was fed. They made but little attempt to raise more than was sufficient for their needs, as they w^ere too distant from market, and transportation too laborious and costly to dis- SILAS WRIGHT DOOLEY was born in Washington City, D. C, on the 31st of December, 1843. ^^'^ father, M. T. DooIey,came to this country from Ireland when quite a young man and mairied Miss E. Hannali a native of Wasliington. The subject of this sketch received his early education in the public scliools of that City, then attended Gonzaga College, a branch of Georgetown College, finisiiing his education at V^illa Nova College just west of Phila., Pa. At the age of eighteen he began work as clerk in a retail drug store and after the war be- came a clerk in the Quartermasters Dept. Seeing no other future for him in his native place than clerkship in retail stores or clerking for the govern- ment and being am.bitious for something higher, he concluded to come west and landed in St. Louis on the 3rd of May, 1S68, a complete stranger with only a tew dollars in his pocket. .Situations were few and applicants very numerous at that time, but after repeated efforts he succeeded in get- ting a position as clerk in a Title Abstract ofiice, in which occupation he continued until he graduated from the St Louis Law School in 1871, work- ing during the day and studying at night, although he had passed the examination before the Circuit Court and been admitted to the bar after his first year at tlie Law School. After graduating he hung out his shingle as a lawyer, doing work as abstracting until he had built up practice suf- ficient to give him a living and continued in the practice of his profession in St. Louis until he came to Bates County in 1883; it was in St. Louis that he met and married Miss Germaine E. Duclos, six children now living and three dead being the result of that imion. About the time of his arrival in St. Louis the movement for the enfranchisment of the Southern sympathiz- ers was assuming proportions and being a democrat he entered into it with his usual energy and enthusiasm, contributing as far as lay in his power to removal of the test oath and other iniquities of the Drake Constitution and at all times while there assisted in the success of his part}', giving to it his means, time and abilities. Having quite a large and growing family he concluded to seek a smaller place in order to give them more of his person- al care and attention. Rich Hill had been spoken of very favorable by his neighbor, who was the engineer in constructing the Waterworks at that place and he concUided to move, arriving at that city on August 3rd, 18S3, with his family, residing there untill December, 1S9S, when lie removed to Butler, Mo, where he is now engaged in the practice of his profession. As a lawyer Mr. Dooley is well up to the front, having no superior at this Bar in forensic ability, being a ready, forceful speaker and has a knack of presenting his case in it's best light to the Court or Jury ; he is enthusiastic in his profession atid never so well pleased as when looking up some knotty problem. In politics he is an ardent democrat and in that, as in everything else, he is intense and enthusiastic. A man of strong convictions he is at all time fearless and outspoken. There are better lawyers than Mr. Dooley but none more honorable and courteous in its practice or more loyal to his friends, his cli- ents or party. He is a devoted husband and father, his wife a loving and estimable lady and his children an honor to any communit3', all being Christians in every sense of the word. As a man and citizen he enjoys the confidence and respect of all who know him. Of a kindly, generous nature, he makes friends and no enemies. Still in the prime of life, the future is full of promise to him and his excellent family. OF HATKS COUNTY. 80 pose of any surplus to advjuitage. They raised many liod. Tins was in the last days of December, 1801. The town does not appear to have suffered greatly, but all the county records were taken and carried away to Ft. Leavenworth. Affairs were now in a chaotic condition, such civil officers as remained were entirely powerless to cope with the con- ditions and enforce any sort of order. Property rights were disregarded, and the general rule with many was to take what they could get. Tiie raiding back and forth over the line between Kansas and Missouri was started afresh when the war brolv3 oat, and the territory on each side of the line was strippi'd of ex'erything movable. In fact, stories of houses being bodily moved from one state into another, are often told. West Point fell an early victim to the Kansas raiders, and the town was almost wiped out of existence. Its stores were looted and houses burned. The office of the West Point Bannei'. which had incurred the enmity of the Kansas men, was looted and type and machinery scattered and destroyed. Tlie other towns of the county suffered, but to a less extent. Lane's troops burnt the greater part of Pai)insville in the fall of '61, and the Osage River bridge was destroyed by the state troops in order to prevent Price from entering the county witli his army. In the spring of 18611 a troop of the 1st Iowa Calvary, com- manded by Col. Warren, was stationed at Butler and remain- ed through the summer. They preserved order in the town, but theii- presence had little effect on the bushwhacking ele- ment which continued its operations throughout the county. The troops would occasionally raid a camj^, but the men would scatter, only to return as soon as the soldiers left. At one time, while a detachment of Warren's troops was foraging, on the Miami, it was way-laid and fired on by bushwhackers, and several were killed. When General Price made his raid through Ilenrj- and ad- joining counties, Col. Warren was ordered to join in pursuit of the Southern army. About this time a state militia — Home Guards, they were called — was organized. Captain J. B. Newberry was in command of one of those companies 4:1 OLD t^KTTLKUs" lllSTOUV which first had its headquarters at Chiiton, tlien German - town. This company was ordered to Butler in the fall of 18(3^, and remained until the county was depopulated. In December 1862, a man by name of Slater, was executed at iiutler, by command of Major White. Slater was not a Bates county man, but had been broug-ht here ijy White's troops and sentenced by court-martial. While this section was nominally under the control of the Union forces, it was entirely be^^ond the power of the few troops to preserve order outside of such places as garrisons could be maintained. The border counties, in both Missouri and Kansas, liad ac- quired a reputation for lawlessness that was far from en- couraging to the military authorities, and heroic measures were decided upon. Brig. Gen. Ewing, commanding tliis military division, with headquarters at Kansas C^ty, issued the following order: EWING ORDER. Kansas City, Mo., Aug. 25, 1863. General Order, No. 11. First: All persons being in Cass, Jackson and Bates coun- ties, Missouri, and in that pai't of Vernon included in this district, except those living within one mile of the limits of Independence. Hickman's Mill, Pleasant Hill, and Harrison- ville, and except those in that part of Kaw township, Jack- son county, nortii of Brush Creek and west of Big Blue, embracing Kansas City and Westport, are hereby ordered to remove from their present places of residence within lo days from the date thereof. Those who, within that time, establisli their loyalty to the satisfaction of the commanding officer of the military station nearest their present places of residence, will receive from him certificates stating the fact of their loyalty, and the names of the witnesses by whom it can be shown. All who receive such certificates will be permitted to remove to any OF HATKS COUNTY. 42 military station in this district, or to any part of the state of Kansas, except the counties on the eastern borders of the state, all others shall remove out of this district. Officers commanding companies and detachments serving in the counties named, will see that this paragraph is promptly" obeyed. Second: All grain and hay in the field, or under shelter, in the district from which the inhabitants are required to remove, within reach of military stations, after the 9th day of September next, will be taken to such stations and turned over to the proper officer there, and report of the amount so turned over made to district headquarters, specifing the names of all loyal owners, and the amount of such produce taken from them. All grain and hay found in such districts after the 9th day of September next, not convenient to sucii stations will be destroyed. By order of Brig. Gen. Ewing. H. Hannahs, Adjutant. As will be noticed from its M'ordJng, this order included Bates County entire, not even a military station being reserv- ed. Bates wiis the only county which was entirely depopu- lated. Those who had braved the many dangei's in their at- tempts to preserve their homes from total rui7i, were now compelled to leave all and seek homes among strangers. The order appeared harsh and unjust to many, but it was enacted as a military necessity, and undoubtedly saved many lives, as robbery and murder would iiave continued uncheck- ed until the close of the war. Therefore, there was no disputing the order as the Military was the supreme authority and there was no appeai from its decree. T'he people hastily gathered up what few personal effects they had V)een able to save from the raiders, pressed into service every conceivable sort of conveyance, many of them hardly knowing which way to turn. Some w^ent into nearby counties where they made some sort of temporary homes. Some went to Kansas, and not all of them were ■i3 OLD SKil'LlOlls' lll,sT;)liV able to get as far ai the order decreed tliat they should go. Sotne sought iuid found new homes, and never returned to Bates County. As a result of tlie Ewing Order Bates County once again became a tenantless wilderness. Fires raged, unchecked, through prairie, wood and overgrown tieid. Fences, build- ings, improvements of all kinds were swept away. Where, only three years previous, had been a nourishing common- wealth, composed of six thousand people, now roamed the savage wolf and half starved dog, and perchance, theJiunted outlaw, who sougiit refuge in the forbidden territory. But the iiistory of the county, from tihs time until the close of the war, is a blank. A few of her offiL'ials aiid citizens attempted to keep up a show of county govei'nment, and Germantown, just over the Henry county line, was. made a sort of temporary headquarters. In the fall of 1864, a few Bates County citizens, under protection of troops stationed at Germantown, came over into Bates, met at Johnstown, and went through the form of electing county oliticials. The County Court endeavored to preserve its organization, but as a matter of fact, could transact n'o business. There w^as no court sessions, no real estate transfers, no records, and no taxes could be assessed or collected. As far as records or legal proceedings are concerned, there Vx^as no such or- ganization of Bates County from September, 1863 to the close of the war. J. C. CLARK. J. C. Clark was born in Christian county, Kentucky, February 28th, 1843. He comes of that hardy pioneer stock whose rugged honesty, men- tal stamina and strength of character has made firm the foundation of the matchless citizenship'of the West. His fatiier, Dr. J. H. Clark, a physi- cian of the old school and one of the most respected and influential citizens of his state, early moved with his family to the West, and became one of the first settlers of Southern Illinois, building his log house in Christian county, then an uninhabited wilderness. There and in Texas the subject ot this sketch spent his boyhood upon the farm, enduring the hardships and encountering the difficulties common to his time and situation. He came to Missouri in his early twenties, and in 186S was married to Miss Mallissa Myers of Otterville, in Cooper county, where he was then living. Early in the winter of 1869 he came to Bates county and settled at Butler, then a mere hamlet. With no capital save scrupulous honesty, industry, sincerity and integrity which have characterized his whole life, he cast his lot here, and soon won that esteem and popularity which he has retained to this day. In 1876 he was elected Sheriff of the county by a sweeping majority. His administration was a popular one, and at the end of his first term he was re-elected for a second term by an increased majority. While serving his second term he was appointed collector. At the close of his term in that office he was tendered the cashiership of the Bates County ^:ational. (now the Bates County) Bank, which position he is still filling. This will be his twentieth year in this important position of trust and responsibility, and the steady growth an J increasing strength and patronage of that insti- tution with which he has been so long identified, is a monument to his integrity, character and financial ability. He has two sons, Harvey C. , pres- ent Prosecuting Attorney of the county, and Claud L., assistant Attorney General of thestate. who lives in Jefferson City. In politics, like his father and grandfather before him, he is a democrat, and has always been prominent in party affairs. His universal popularity among the masses of the people has always been great. Perhaps no man who has ever lived in the county has known so many of its people by name, and withal has had the friendship and esteem of all of them as has the subject of this sketch. OK 1{atp:s county. 44 PERIOD III— PROM 1865 TO 1870. RECUPERATION. At the close of the war hi 1865, Bates County presented to the chance traveler who was forced by circumstances to pass through the barren and deserted country, once populous and nourishing", now all but utterly ruined and tenantless, a pic- ture of the most utter desolation. Perhaps no other part of tlie United States was so entirely and completely stripped of all improvements and material necessary for the subsistence of man or beast as Bates Count}', not even excepting the Shen- andoah valley in Virginia, for tiie crow had long since de- parted from Bates" borders in disgust at not being able to find sufficient pro\'isions to carry witli him in his journey across the country. Nothing to disturb the vast solitudes except an occasional body of troops wlio might for some rea- son be compelled to pass through here, or an outlaw seek- ing to hide himself where there were no officers and no civil laws to fear. The recuperative powers of Bates County's j^eople togeth- er with tiie unlimited variety of lier natural resources could not have been more grandly or conclusively demonstrated than by the rapidity with which the county recovered from tliis terrible and almost fatal blow to her development. At tlie close of hostilities the county could boast only about three school houses in its territory and tliey were in a badly dilapidated condition. Along the eastern border tiiere were some houses left standing and a few families living in tliem, but the only signs of past habitation in a large portion of the county was an occasional lonely ciiimney found standing to mark the spot where once had been a liappy liome, Vjut now deserted and desolate. In Butler, which before tlie war was a beautiful little vil- lage, there was now left tliree or four cabins, the remainder having been destroyed by lire. One of these belonged to William Smith, father to Joe Smith. There were no busi- 4o OLD .SKTTLKU.s' HISTOUV ness houses, no court house and no money to buiLl with, as there had been no taxes collected for four years. In 1HH6 people began to return to the county and re-estab- liah their homes a-mid the ruins of former ones, and at the same time the civil authorities, for so long a time helpless, b?,gan again to assume control and bent all tiieir enei'gies to o.';ng ordej' out of chaos, Vmt just nn the outset found them- ,-olves confronted by a condition, not a theory, said condition ijilng a county with no court house nor office buildings, antl no building whatever that could be used for these purposes, >^rst of all, no money witli which to erect suitable ones. ■ , iilemma they were forced to make temporary a.rra;nge- LkMvi •; '>y erecting in the nortii-east corner of the public ■e a irume building about -4x40 feet, to be used as a ),iit house, and in the south-east corner one JGxlH for the use of the county clerk as his office. These buildings were erected by Jno. Divinny. Benj. White was tlie tirst man to engage in the mercantile business in Butler after the war. But others came in rapid- ly and the town soon began to grow in reality, but for a year or so the outl(.)ok for the county was not very briglit, for many of those who were land owners had cast their lot with the lost cause, and thereby lost everything. They returned to find their homes ruined and the money in which the)' liad been paid being worth nothing tliey were absolutely without means to make the necessary improvements, and tlie result was tliat much of the land was never reclaimed by the orig- inal owners and returned to the government, or was sold for taxes. There were as yet, 180(5, no railroads in the county, but numerous enterprises for the securing of roads through all parts of the county, and the flattering promises made by the promoters acted as a stimulus to immigration and the ac- tual building of some to within a short distance of the county kept this interest alive. Of the towns that flourished before the war, Butler, the county seat, was the only one which regained its prestige. Old Papinsville was partially rebuilt, but the river trade was gone, and soon the M. K. & T. li. K. passed througii the south-east corner of the county, and new towns spi'ang up on the line of the railway. Papinsville remained only a local trading point, and not a business center as it was in its early OF UATKS COLNIY. 4<; (lays. Johnstown beini>- near the border of the depopiJalc d tenitory, was one of the tirst towns in the county to recover a part of its old-time activity, and for the first few years fol- lowint;' the war. was f[uite an important town. But the rail- roads also brought its rivals which prevented it from attain- ing .its place in the category of leading, towns of the county. The border troubles and the war completely wiped West Point off the mai3 and left not a sign of civilization or im- ju'ovements in the west part of the county, but at the close of the war it was rebuilt and, like Johnstown, did a vei'y con- siderable business until the building of railways brought it rivals which left it merely a relic of by-gone days. But soon new tovns began to appear in different parts of the county. In the east, Hudson was located in '67, on the strength of railway surveys, and quite a colony of immi- grants from New York state located here. But tlie railway •■passed Ijy on tlie other side." and Hudson never attained more than local jirommence. In the southern part of the county Old Rich Hill was estab- lished south of the river, also in 1867 and for a number of years remained the local trading point. In the same year, Mulberry, in the west part of the county was started, and being on the mail route from Butler and LaCygne, Kansas, and the center of a good agricultural district, grew to be a lively little town. New Home, also south of the river was located in 1^09, and assumed its place as a local trading point. Besides these were a number of points wiiere post- otfices had been establislied, some of them before the war, and where there was usually to be found a store or two and probably a Vjlacksmith shop. Among these we might men- tioi^ Prairie City, Lone Oak and Pleasant Gap, in the south- east; Maysburg, Union Town and Burdette, in the north. Meanwhile a great change was taking place throughout the rural portions of the county. At the beginning of this period the great prairies stretched in almost unbroken ex- panse for miles in evei-y direction. A settler living in the outskirts of the county, when making a visit to the county seat would cut across the nearest way, and was seldom de- llected from his course by fence or furrow. The country was still wild enough to give the Easterner a touch of fron- tier lih\ D'M'r were yet ccmiparatively plentiful. Wild tur- 47 OLD SKTTLKKs" HISTOUY keys were still found in tlie timbers, and in tlie spring and fall of the year the streams were covered over with wild ducks and geese. They also abounded in tish, and a lialf- hour with hook and line Avould supply the table. The water in the streams was much clearer and the supply seemed to be much more constant, than it has been since the county has been settled and most of the timber cut oft'. Prairie chickens'in almost countless numbers gathered in their feed- ing grounds in the winter time, and were easily approaclied by the sportsman. Squirrels were so plentiful and tame that they were hardly noticed by the hunter, but the farmers, provoked by their raids on the corn fields, carried on a wa»- fare of extermination against the mischevious little pests. The fields also suffered from the ravages of the raccoon, and a trained '"coon dog" was accorded a plac3 of honor in every old settler's hoine. The excitement? of the 'coon hunt was a fascinating attraction for the new comer, and tiie older inhab- itants took pride in exploiting the feats of their favorite 'coon dogs. Opossums, rabbits, etc., were too numerous to excite comment. During the war, when the fields were overgrown with weeds, bushes and briers, reptiles of all kinds became very numerous. Snakes, especially the di'eaded rattler, were too plentiful for the comfort of the field worker. But one treatment was recognized for snake bite. I'hat was to fill the victim with the very worst grade of whisky obtainable and, if the whisky did not kill him, the milder prison from the rattler gave up the job in disgust. 'A favorite place for these reptiles was under the swathes of grain in the harvest field, and not infrequently the binder gathered them up and bound them with the grain. Familiarity, they say, breeds contempt, but few ever became callous enough not to exper- ience "'that tired feeling" when brought into sudden contact with a healthy rattler. It is a great wonder, considering the number of these reptiles, that there were so few serious cas- ualties from snake bites. The close of the war also left a number of desperadoes who had become so accustomed to plunder and rapine tliat they sought to continue to ply their vocation after the close of hostilities. The new comers were considered as legitimate prey by these outlaws, and if one had a particularly fine hors(\ or was suspected of keeping money handy, he rarely OF r.Al'KS COLISTV. -is missed an early call from these most unwelcome neighbors. The chiefs of these robbers were the four Younger brothers. Cole, Jim, Joim and Bob, wJio made their headquarters in St. Clair county, and were always surrounded by a band of followers. Tiiey operated from Texas to Minnesota where they made their last raid. It is probable tliat most of the petty crimes laid at their doors were committed by mere im- itators of those noted outlaw chiefs, but they frequently I'ode through the country as late as the early Seventies, and never hesitated to appropriate anything they stood in need of or took a fancy to, but it was seldom tliat they committed aLiy serious depredations ijear their home, as they endeavor- ed to keep as many friends as possible. It was seldom that anyone interfered witli tliem, or attempted to follow or re- gain their property. One time some eight or ten men follow- ed the ti'ail of stolen horses into the hills of St. Clair county. They found the band and demanded tJieir surrender. This was met by a counter challenge and the posse wilted. It was always very difficult to get any reliable knowledge of what passed, as those interested would never freely express themselves. At all events the friends of the members of the posse became alarmed at their absence, and a lai"ge party was raised to go to their rescue. Before tiiey had proceed- ed far into the enemy's country they met the party headed homeward. They had been disarmed and detained over night, but hosi)itably treated. John Younger was killed in a light with detectives, in wiiich se\'eral men lost their lives. Cole, Jim and Bdb were captured in Minnesota. The latter died in prison, the oth- ers remain under life sentence. Their feeble imitators were soon either captured or scattered, and Bates County became once again a quiet, law abiding communit}'. In the days before the war, and also for a short time after- wards, the settlers paid little attention to the raising of grain. Their cattle gained their living from the range almost the year round, and the fall of the nuts in the timber was de- pended on to fatten tlie hogs. There were no railroads to haul olf the grain, and the home demand was limited. This allowed more time for sports, hunting, fishing, etc. Soon, ho\ve\^er, tlie railroad and improved machinery changed all this. Where befoi-e no one had cared to own, fence and pay -l!l OlA) SKTTI-i:Us" IIISTOUY taxes on large farms, tlie scrambl*.' iur land bog-an, the green sod was ruthlessly tuiaied down/and the rumbluig of machin- ery drowned the lowing of herds. Soon the hunter, trappei- and lislier found his oceupatiori gone, and lie must either join the l)usy throng in tlie harvest fields, or move on again to the outposts of civilization. Boot- less task to sit and lam(>nt tlie passing of the good old days, they were gone, never to return to liim or his posterity wlio remained in the industrial kingdom of Bates. Then came the blow to the old order of farming and stock raising, and which was bitterly oppt)sed loy the old settlers. The great ])rairies of the county wliic!i were looked upon as the mutual possessions and feeding grounds of the peo- ple in general, rapidly passed under private ownership, and the hated barbed wire established a barrier to the herds of the settler. This innovation was bitterly opposed, and the wire was repeatedly cut. but, unwelcome guest though it was, it had come to stay, and quite a numbei- of the old residents were so disgusted by this tuiai of affairs tliat they took the first opportunity to sell out and remove to localities where the range still belonged exclusively to the people. Even then prairies were used almost exclusively as pas- tures, it still being the general opinion that they were not adapted to grain raising. This notion, however, rapidly dis- appeared, and soon thousands of acres of rich farm lands added their products to swell the output of Bates C/Ounty farms. At this time coal, although it was known to exist in many Tocalities, in fact, often cropping out of the hillsides, was hardly thought of as an important article for fuel, and not at all as an article of commerce. As long as the settle- ments were confined to the borders of the timber, firewood was too abundant and easily obtained to admit of any rival in that field. With the inflow of homeseekers and capital from the older states the conditions described above began to pass away. The change was gradual at first and the pioneer settler was the one who first noticed the change, the full meaning of which was not realized until later years. Bates County was to develop from a self supporting and self sustaining com- munity to a great and busy producing and exporting common- wealth. Its fertile soil and abundance of mineral deposits OK r.ATES COUNTY. T.O could not always bo reserved for the exclusive use ol" those who were fortunate enough to become her citizens. Her products were destined to go out to all parts of the country and build up a commercial interest of great magnitude and importance. But to accomplish this she must have the means of transijorting tliese products to the markets of the world. Althougli there hiul been one spasmodic and apparently short lived effort to secure a railroad through the county be- fore the war it amounted to nothing more than a survey and perhaps served to arouse some conjecture as to the probabil- ity of tliere sometime being a road built that would furnish an outlet for the products of Bates County, but the war came and for the time being destroyed all interest in such peaceful topics as possible railroads and for that matter destroyed ev- erything that might have been an inducement for the build- ing of a road. And after the passing away of these unfavor- able conditions and with the resultant return of peace cai'pe the desire for internal improvements and the promot- ers of numberless railroad projects began to air their schemes before the people. 'J"'he rlrst of these and also the oup which resulted finally in securing the first- railroad ever operated in the county was a proposal from the Tebo & Neoslio R. R., this resulted in the calling of a meeting in Butler September 10, 1806, which met, adjourned, and did nothing more; unless to this meeting we ascribe the cause of an effort made soon after to secure funds to induce this road to enter the south- east part of the county. This effort ^jroving futile nothing more was done until 1867 when propositions to build roads, provided they received a stipulated amount of financial aid from the people, were received, but all rejected. This con- dition of things continued, until 1869 before anything defi- nite was accomplished. During this time, 1867 to 1869, some- wiiere near ten or twelve different proposed roads had been discussed and efforts made to secure appropriations to aid in their building, but all had failed. In March 1869 Prairie City township submitted a proposition to appropriate $25. OOL) to the Tebo & Neosho roads, bonds to be issued when cars were running through said township. This proposition carried almost unanimously", and the road was constructed 51 OlA> SKrTI.KU.> IllSTOUV tiiroii<>-li the extreme south-east corner of tJie townsbip, and the bonds demanded and beuig refused, suit was broug-ntand judgement rendered against the townsliip. They took an appeal, but immediately after tlie decision of the lower court the road's representative repaired to Butler and demanded the bonds of the court, and they were given him. 'I'here has considerable litigation grown out of this action of the court. Some ten or twelve more meetings, each held for the pur- pose of promoting some prospective railroad, were held dur- ing this year, but nothing of permanent benefit in this direc- tion was accomplished until the following year, 1.S70, of which we will speak further in another place. At this time the county had recovered from the effects of the war. The old farms were redeemed from their wild state and new ones settled all over the county. Homes re- biiilt, school hou.ses and churches being erected, nourishing towns springing up in various places, and all kinds of pub- lic enterprises for the development of the county receiving the support of the people; an ideal condition for the opening of that era of unexampled development in all the lint.'S of human progress which has, in a marked degree, blessed Bates County since that time to the present and gives prom- ise of un-numbered tields .yet t j be won. DAVID A. DeARMOND, who is fairly represented by the above cut, was born in Blair county, Pa., March i8, 1844. He was educated in the common and high schools of his county, and at Dickinson Seminary at Williamsport. He worl