The Hays Daily News from Hays, Kansas • Page 27

MAtS DAILY NBW8, TtttmaDAY, Hays Had Its Beginning In 1867 With Founding Of Rome Jte following story of the found ot the toXvri.ROrn*, the colorfu predecessor of Hays, was written By a man who lived in Rome, th Jate Slmdft first mayor Mays In 1898. It was published Booklet form entitled "Hlstorica Btftgraphfeai Sketches." There to have beeti two volumes ie first the history Rome find the second- to tell thi iftofy of Mays from then until thi (fate of writing, 1898. However rthly the first volume wan com jfleled, The sketch was written foi tihe Old Settlers' 'Association Sills County, The officers of the organization then were H. D. Shaf ftr, president; Henry Recmsynder Vjice-presldent; P.

BJ. McLnin, sec tfetary; M. J. Treat, treasurer and Simon Motz, historian. The dlrec tjbrs were P.

W. Smith, H. W. Joy and D. C.

Bnmiitt, The story xfrhieh is the only complete story of Rome, follows; i "The invention of man speeds civilization In Its onward move. No enterprise by the American people sjnnds more conspicuous as an nb solute illustration of the effect am Influences qf progressive civilization than the construction of the "irans-Atlantic line of railroad im rtcdiately following the Civil War The historian says the colonization of the land of the savage by the Anglo-Saxon resutled in the civilization of the country from the Indian was forced to retreat. This conclusion was undoubt founded upon the conduct of William Penn in treating with the Ipdians and must stand as the rule tinder which colonization was push eft westward. The founding of new settlements persistently ignored the right of ownership by the that the successive step of advancing civilization has multiplied the cherished wrong that had its fina culmination in the battle of Little Rose Bud, where Gen. Custer anc hJs command paid the penalty of the long contemplated revenge for the method of Anglo-Saxon, civilization.

iThe first settlement of Ellis county differed essentially from the old custom of shooing the Indian further west. That fearless a.nd intrepid element that worked in advance of the actual settler and delighted in holding a position for a period of time between the retreating Indian and the emigrant, was at no time a factor in the settlement of Ellis county. It was the pick and shovel, followed closely the whistle of the engine and not the rifle of the frontiersman that Invited the emigrant to move forward. To the sava.ge this was a complete innovation, an epoch in the life of the Indian more potent than the craft of the followers of Daniel Boone in persuading the Indian of the futility of resistance against this formidable and irrestlble civilizing influence; Reluctantly the in- vitable was accepted and after a farewell requiem was chanted over the graves of the loved ones, the aborigines under the of things separated moving north-nnd south, instead of toward the evening sun us had been-the custom since the first settlement of the man. Dull must be the soul that feels not the touch of mournful sympathy for those disposed to gratify the ambition of progressive, civilization.

If there is no God, might is right; if there is a God retribution is as inevitable and dire as the fate of those wrongfully dispossessed of the country they loved. How County Got Name The county was named in honor of. Lt. George-Ellis of the 12th Kansas Infantry, who was killed in the battle of Jenkins' Ferry, April 30, 1864. Prior to 1867 Ellis cpunty was embraced in the unorganized territory of the western portion of the state.

The legislature ojf 1868 defined the boundaries and named the county in conformity vfrth a petition presented to the governor by the citizens in the fall of 1867, asking for organization J. E. Walker, Wm. Rose and Dennis Ryan as commissioners; Jphn W. Conner, county clerk and M.

E. Joyce, Justice of the Peace. the time of the organization all of the officers lived in Hays City; in fact, the entire population of the county was located within the city limits, except those employed by the government, who temporarily resided upon the military reservation. Some time in JJme, 1867, prior to the application for organization, the governor appointed M. E.

Joyce, justice of the jfeace, residing at the time in Borne, Ellis county. By virtue of this appointment Mr. Joyce became the only legally constituted civil tribunal of the west half of the state of Kansas. That he appreciated the importance of his posi- tjon was fully revealed by his oft W. F.

(BUFFALO BILL) CODY, who expected to reap a fortune at Rome, a town which he thought he owned. The town meandered away one night and Cody was forced to make a livjng shooting buffalo and furnishing the meat'to the Kansas Pacific railroad which had reached Hays City. was no higher court than his." One incident alone, will suffice to delineate the peculiar characteristic) of the judge and dispel all appre hension as to his own conviction the authority invested in him by reason of his appointment to the position of justice of the peace Some time during the early part of the fall the judge was invited to perform the first marriage cere mony in the history of the county The contracting parties met for the first time in Hays City a few days before their engagement. The bride could be coiled handsome owing to her single-handed contention in the battle life, for .60 years The groom had a single eye to devotion of his loved one, with the shady side of life obscuring-the sun of youth. "For better'or worse" the judge united them as man and wife the small sum''Of fifteen dollars.

Immediately following the ceremony, the court and contract- ng couple engaged in celebrating happy event. Before the festivities had been completed, that green eyed monster and destroyer of happiness "Jealousy," inspired the groom to remonstrate with the judge against his lavish and affectionate attentions to the bride This 'was by the judge as an unpardonable insult of his official character. He immediately convened court and granted the of- 'ended. bride a decree of divorce on account of insults offered to court by the groom. The groom employed an attorney and brought suit to recover the marriage fee.

The court duly rendered judgment favor of the plaintiff for $15 and offset the judgment with the costs the divorce case. The judge was one of the many attractions that abounded among the heterogeneous aggregations of population in the fall of 1867. First County Settlement The first location or settlement Ellis county was made on the west side of Big Creek, north of grade, by Lull of Salina. This was in the latter part of May, 1867. Before the middle of the following month quite a town was built on the neck of land be- the grade and creek, on the lorth.

Later In the month of June, judge W. C. Webb and Phinney Moore, members of the Big Creek Land Company, surveyed and staked the tovvnsitc of Hays City. Quite an animated contention resulted for supremacy between representatives of town companies. Unfor- unate for the Romanites the Big 2reek Land Company was heartily supported by the Railroad Construction Company, who after re- jeated efforts to compromise be- the rival town companies, deemed it advisable, in order to 'ully protect the bridge spanning Big Creek against high water, to the grade 3J feet.

This deter- nined the fate of the original town site in Ellis county and made Hays City the metropolis for the traffic coming from the southern, western and some of' the northern terri- time. Fort Fletcher was established in the autumn of 1866. During the summer of 3867 it was considerec advisable by the military authorities, owing, in part, to the destructive overflow earlier in the season of Big Creek, together with the change of location of the railroad to select another and more eligible site for the fort. The present location of the now abandoned Fort Hays Military Reservation was selected by Brevet Major General Gibbs, United State." Army, June 22, 1867, by order of Major General Hancock of Missouri, Fort Fletcher named in honor of ex-Gov. Fletcher of Missouri.

Some time during the winter of 66-67 the name was changed to Fort Hays, in honor of Major General Alexander G. was killed af the Battle of the Wilderness. The reservation is Irregularly triangular. Elxtreme length six miles; extreme breadth three and a half miles; contain? seven thousand five hundred acres. This tract of land and country in the immediate vicinity is situated in a shal- basin partially surrounded by a low magnesia limestone ridge.

The surface of the reservation gently, undulating in general and is drained to Big Creek, which traverses the reservation almost the entire length, with a belt of timber on either side that in places form's groves extending over the first bottom, varying from a fringe along the creek to 100 feat wide. The elm predominated in number and beauty in this, the only considerable body of natural timber between Salina and the Mountains. This body of land has recently been ceded by the United States government to' the state of Kansas for specific educational purposes with a proviso to. maintain and protect this original body of timber. Buffaloes Denuded Land Many of the early settlers contend that a climatic change has taken place by reason of increase in rainfall.

Others insist that whatever change is apparent can only be attributed to nature's process of precipitation, stimulated by the vanquishment of the vast buffalo herds. Precipitation alluded to has no reference to rainfall but is the process by which the small limestone pebbles scattered over the surface had disappeared by the operation of frost, rain and snowfall. The hills west of Fort Hays and north of Hays City were spoken of as White Caps, by the early settlers, being denuded of vegetation by the buffalo, who resorted to these high points during the heat of the day to escape from flies. With the disappearance of the buffalo, the grass gradually covered the hills under the operation of the process mentioned. The theory of ncreased rainfall will give way to the real conditions, the same as the repeated declaration, "That there tones for a considerable period of yond efficiency under al Instructions.

The disappointment of adventurers In not finding fabulous mineral deposits or the spring that Imparted perpetual youth was atoned for In denunciation of aborigines and their country. All sought after by the early seeker has since been discovered. The wealth is annually gathered by thousands of Industrious tillers of the soil, reported to be a vast belt of arid Band, without water and Incapable of sustaining more than nomadic life. The actual spring of perpetual youth welling up through the golden sand, has hot been discovered. But the health Imparting Invigorating qzone of the reported paradise for the savage has materially Increased longevity among the' people, occupying the land described, a yeritable Sahara.

The reaping follows that Insured reward for labor expended equal to any portion of the country, not relying upon artificial means. While the desert has not been made to bloom as a. rose, since passed the period of doubt as Is fully evidenced by his Improvements and expenditures to ornament and beautify the home, The geological formations include, a of groups, constltut-j ing the secondary mountain forma- 1 lions of the cretaceous system which extends over the entire area of the county. Overlaying this strata of the bottom lands, a dark sandy loam exists. The comparative level upland is covered with dark loam, containing less sand, of a heavier nature and generally considered to be more sure of production of winter cereal that is not excelled In any section of the United States.

The county embraces a territory 30 miles square. Three streams flowing from west to the east, through the county the Saline River through the northern part, Big Creek through the center and the Smoky Hill through the southern portion. These streams make two topographical divisions of the county. These divisions are drained respectively by ravines that empty Into the streahns north and south. The general slope of the county Is from west to east will) slight dip tending toward the south.

The section between Big Creek and the Saline river Is rough, broken and in places bluffy in the west, but gradually diminishes until It merges Into a slightly rolling and undulating plane toward the east line of the county, the northern fronting the Saline river on sides, continues broken and bluffy with strips of rich bottom land along the riverside. The southern plateau or division between Big Creek and the Smoky Hill river Is similar In formation BLOCKHOUSE AT OLD FORT MAYS; This la the way the blockhouse appeared when Hays wps settled. desert idea was exploded by accur ate investigations and reports explorers, who had no ambition be- 4T FORT H4YS: There were a good many of these frame houses at the old fort which from the west to nearly the central part of the county, where It abruptly terminates in the formation of a level plal nthat extends eastward for a number of miles, where" the formation again assumes a broken and bluffy character to the east line of the county. This descriptive historical Introduction to the real object contemplated by the Old Settlers 1 Association of presenting a reministic history of the early seemed requisite, In order to better present incidents of historical Interest growing out of the early settlement. Rail coal Building Relayed As already stated, Lull the first location in the county.

The railroad was completed to the town of Ellsworth in Ells- Worth county," 65 miles east oi Rome. 'Contracts were awarder during the winter of 1866 and 1867 to build the grade as far west as Park's Fort in Trego county. This renewal of actual work after a delay of considerable duration inspired the venturesome to seek locations along the line of the established grade. On the evening of June 4, 1867 I made my first camp on Ellis county soil, near the now prosperous town of Victoria on the North Fork of Big Creek. I had three teams loaded with merchandise, expecting to locate at Malvern and Shaw's Camp, who had a contract to grade five miles of the road bed, Early in the morning on June 5 we broke camp and moved west along the staked line of the road.

I walked in advance of the teams some distance. As I reached the high point of elevation dividing Creek and Norfolk a full view of Big Creek valley was afforded. Im mediately south and extending westward, the scene was one of absorbing attractiveness. While standing, listlessly" admiring this panorama of nature, my eyes chaned to fall upon a scene the landscape artist woud devote years of time in transferring to canvas. It was a picture in and of reality.

Not a living picture but a picture with living, moving features. Down the gradual decline, approaching the level land toward the southwest, the spring blossoms glittered with the morning dew, forming a sheen of silver brightness to the edge of a glittering, vibrating mirage, the buffalo were moving and feeding. The si'ene was almost completely framed by the rich, dark green foliage of the timber along the bank of the creek Which described a full semicircle in its meander toward the southeast. It was Invested with enchanting beauty of a sublime nature. It was devoid of grandeur or stateliness.

Jt was beautiful in perfection and perfect in handiwork alone of the God of Nature. The impression of the scene is as clear and distinct in every feature as upon the morning it was photographed upon my mind, While stood enchanted over the rich, rare, beautiful and bewitching scene, unconsciously I was com- miming with the bride of my des-j tiny. Her coquettish captivation' has excluded the power of hesita-i lion from the adopted process af, The ceremony ended before; was fully inaugurated. I moved forward from where I had been standing wedded to the; vicissitudes of life in Ellis county. We crossed Big Creek a short distance north of where! the railroad crosses.

Captain Dun-! can, president of the town com- OTERO AND SELLERS warehouse which stood on the railroad right of way near Main Street did a big freighting business out of Hays employing all Mexican labor. Supplies were taken by wagon train from this warehouse to all points in this area. line In hand to welcome us and locate us In the city of Rome. Before the evening of the second day our canvas covered house was ready for occupancy. The limited stock of general merchandise brought from the end of the track was that same evening transferred Into the hastily constructed place of business and the teams started back for more goods.

On the morning of the third day we opened for business under the firm name of Bloomfield, Moses Co. General Supply Store. It was the third merchandise establishment in the city. Brewery Ready Early Joe Perry was engaged in bulld- ng'a two-story frame hotel, which was later moved to Hays City and known as the Gibson House. Scotty had nearly completed a neat four room, one story, stone residence.

Rose and Cody had commenced work upon the first stone business house. The brewing company had Announced the readiness and ability to quench the thirst of all the following Sunday. With one-half dozen other places of business and industries in operation depicts Rome as she was on June 7, 1867. Each succeeding day brought new Before the the town company announced a population of five hundred. The camp of the 18th Kansas Infantry (colored) was about the same distance southeast of the town on.the creek, furnished a dally quota sufficient to swell the population and impress new arrivals with apparent activity in business that did not exist.

The actual business transacted at the time was very limited considering the number of people constantly upon the streets. Another element that contributed to the busy street scene was the arrival and departure, after a brief rest, of men engaged to work on thfe grade by agents at. Kansas City and other towns along the Missouri river, under direction of the different contractors. The population proper, however, was increased daily. At the end of the second Week Front street, the principal street of the town extended from tHe bank of the creek west to the narrow neck of land between the creek and roadbed, where now the water tank and pumping station are located.

It was a city almost entirely built out of canvas. About this time a report was circulated that Fort Hays was" to be removed and located somewhere near the immediate vicinity of Rome, flto inspiring information was deemed of so much IWpertAncs that It required immediate lion by the Rdftfinltea, without waiting confirmation. Some days later the arival of ft foVerfiment ambulance with Major Olbba jpf the tlh CsLvalry, Captain Loffer, quartermaster and several other confirmed the previous report. Excitement was soon at fever heat over the good flews, which in the minds of all assured a permanent future for Rome. W.

C. Webb and Phinney Moore arrived about the time the first report was circulated concerning the removal of the fort and located Hays City. The contest between the rival town communities was sharp, but good natured with apparent advantage in favor of Rome, the lonely tent of Messrs. Webb Moore was only visible indication of the rival town, Captain Duncan addressed a letter to the lonely denizens of Haya City, offering to bring them and their effects to Rome and present them each with a valuable lot ag a'recognition of their pluck to fight the then considered hopeless task undertaken. If they declined 'the proffered generosity of the Rome Coniparty, they still were inclined I to assist them and.

would upon application furnish a guard to protect the stakes of their city against vandalism of the camper. A reply was received in due time informing the Romanites that when the time came which was fast approaching, for Rome to'fall, every courtesy, would be extended toward the unfortunate victims of the Rome Town Company. Rome continued on in her whirl of prosperity, all fully believeing in her future greatness and sway of Influence along the line of the road. It was the town talked about and extensively advertised through the daily papers of the country by correspondents. But Rome was doomed.

The end was near. The excitement of her last days were as distressing and painful as her career of prosperity was inviting and promising. Indians Become Hostile The Indians with advancing spring commenced to manifest hostile intentions toward the men engaged in the Work of grading and small parties doing- station work under sub-contracts, isolated from the main camp of the contractor were compelled to quit work, owing to the menacing demonstration of the Dog Soldiers. The Indian Dog 1 Soldier was an organization of young buck Indians composed in part of the Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Comanche, and Kiowa nations. head chiefs of the nations disclaimed any and all responsibility for the action of these apparent outlaws.

The first intrusion of a serious character of this marauding element occurred on 6, 1867 early in the morning at the cut immediately east of the railroad crossing at North Fork, resulting in the killing of six men and wounding of several others of FOUNDING OF HAYS (Turn to Page 4) pany of Rome, was standing on the 'west bonk of the creek with a tape YESTER YEARS TRANSPORTATION This Covered Wagon needed very few parts and most of these could be improvised with materials at hand they TODAY'S Modern Automobile consists of thousands of parts precision built for a complex function! OLDHAM SALES COMPANY Wholesale 10th Allen Ph, MA.