Quivira Chapter, SFTA Quivira Notes · 2012-11-08 · QUIVIRA NOTES PAGE 2 The Ranch at Little...

Quivira Notes

Quivira Chapter , SFTA

Brian Stucky to Present Research to

Pinpoint Location of Stone Corral

November 2012 Don’t

Forget!

Next meeting

Saturday

November 17th

Lunch: 12:00 pm

Program: 1:00pm

Windom Senior

Center

Windom, KS

For Lunch Reser-

vations, Contact

Linda

by November

15th

620-241-8719

Or email:

[email protected]

$6/person

The Quivira Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association will meet on November

17th at 1:00pm. Following a short business meeting, Brian Stucky will present

the results of his research on the Little Arkansas Crossing including pinpoint-

ing the location of the Stone Corral. The meeting will be held at the Windom

Senior Center in Windom Kansas. The meeting is free and open to anyone. Af-

ter the meeting, weather permitting, the group will move to the Little Arkansas

Crossing area to review the sites with anyone who is interested.

Lunch will precede the meeting at 12:00pm for anyone wishing to join us.

The cost is $6.00. Call or email Linda Colle at 620-241-8719 or

[email protected] by Thursday November 15th so we can get a headcount

for lunch.

Brian Stucky, The TRAILFINDER, specializes in pinpointing the location

of historic pioneer trails, foundations or outlines of buildings, graves, In-

dian trails and Indian sites or other long-lost traces of civilization. Using a

combination of the ancient art of Dowsing (water-witching) and modern

technology, he has pinpointed spots on several trails, including the Santa

Fe Trail, where he has located the exact sites of the Stone Corral, Fuller’s

Ranch, French Frank’s Trading Post, and Lost Springs Station on the

Santa Fe Trail, and many other lesser known sites.

In addition, he has located and identified sites on the Chisholm Trail, Ore-

gon Trail, and the Cherokee Trail, and confirmed surveyed locations of In-

dian trails such as the Kaw Indian Trail and Osage Trail. He is currently

researching and mapping Pioneer and Indian Trails in Central Kansas for

a possible future book.

BRIAN D. STUCKY was raised on a farm in western Harvey County, KS, on the

Little Arkansas River, an area rich with Indian sites. He is a graduate of

Moundridge High School and Bethel College (1975.) He has taught Art and Pho-

tography for over 30 years, most of those at Goessel High School. He has a wide

variety of interests, including church, writing, and historical interests. He is the

author of “Hallowed Hardwood, the Vintage Basketball Gyms of Kansas” first

published 2003 and distributed statewide. In August 2012, he was a speaker at

the National Convention of the Oregon-California Trails Association.

Membership Information

Annual Membership in the

Quivira Chapter:

Individual or Family: $10 /yr

Annual Membership in the

SFTA:

Individual: $25/yr

Family: $30 /yr

For more information:

Call 620-241-8719 or

Email [email protected]

Join us on Facebook!

Quivira Chapter of the Santa Fe

Trail Association

QUIVIRA NOTES PAGE 2

The Ranch at Little Arkansas Crossing

Louise Barry, Kansas Historical Quarterly, Autumn, 1972 (Vol. XXXVIII, No. 3), pages 287 to 294 NOTE: The numbers in brackets are links to footnotes for this text.

NINETY miles west of Council Grove, near the eastern boundary of present Rice county, Santa Fe trail

travelers forded the Little Arkansas river. Joseph C. Brown, the trail's surveyor, 1825-1827, in his re-

port, stated: "It is important that the ford on the Little Arkansas be found, as it is generally impassible

on account of high banks and unsound bed. The ford is perhaps half a mile below the mouth of a small

creek [North branch, or North fork], which runs into it on the east side. At the crossing . . . there is

wood for fuel and the water and grass are tolerably good." [1]

It appears that William Mathewson (the original "Buffalo Bill") spent some months in 1857 and 1858

at Little Arkansas Crossing, trading with the Indians, and hunting buffalo. If so, no doubt he was the

first white "settler" there. [2] In February, 1858, the territorial legislature granted E. F. Gregory and

associates the privilege of building a bridge across the Little Arkansas "where the Santa Fe road

crosses the same." Perhaps Gregory got gold fever later in the year, for there is no further mention of

him. But the "associates" probably included William D. Wheeler (who soon became the dominant figure

at Little Arkansas ranch), as well as Asahel Beach and son Abijah (who, in the late fall of 1858, sepa-

rated from the group and established themselves at Cow creek, 18 miles to the west). [3]

Augustus Voorhees, en route to Pike's Peak with the "Lawrence party" of gold-seekers in 1858, re-

corded in his diary on June 7: "Drove twenty-one miles to the Little Arkansas. Saw several herd of buf-

falo, one was killed, got but little meat, it was to far from the road. But little timber on the river and

but little watter. The banks are quite high. They are building a bridge here. The timber is cotton wood

and box elder." The same day cotraveler William B. Parsons wrote: "Camped on the Little Arkansas.

There is a trading post at this place, and a bridge in process of erection. The crossing is abominable."

[4] continued on page 3

Jim Gray Will Speak to Quivira Chapter on Kansas Day

Jim Gray will present “A Bullwhacker’s Life Freighting Supplies over the Plains’ at the Quivira Chap-

ter meeting on Kansas Day, January 29, 2013. The meeting will be held 7:00pm at the Lyons State

Bank Community Room, 104 E. Ave North in Lyons, KS. The program is sponsored by the Kansas Hu-

manities Council.

Bullwhackers traveled the Kansas frontier over and over again, freighting supplies and shaping a pro-

fession now enjoyed by today’s long-haul truck drivers. Traveling the Santa Fe, California-Oregon, and

Smoky Hill Trails, commercial and independent bullwhackers walked beside their ox-drawn wagons,

courting danger with every trip. This presentation examines how fortunes could be won or lost and

how bullwhackers tested their skills at peaceful negotiation as they passed through lands controlled by

prairie bands of Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, and Comanche peoples. Only through tribal bless-

ing were the bullwhackers allowed safe passage.

http://www.kshs.org/publicat/khq/1972/72_3_barry.htm#Note1




QUIVIRA NOTES PAGE 3

The Ranch at Little Arkansas Crossing, continued

On July 12 H. B. Möllhausen and party, eastbound, reached the crossing and "camped on the right

bank [west side of the stream] near a little log cabin which several adventurers had erected for the

purpose of trading with the Kaw Indians," who were camped "farther above at a distance of about four

miles." Two days earlier, Indian agent Robert C. Miller, westbound, had arrived at the Little Arkan-

sas, overtaking there trader William Bent and the wagon train carrying annuity goods for the Plains

tribes. Miller's subsequent report to the Commissioner of Indian affairs particularly mentioned the

presence of the Kansa "returning home from the upper Arkansas," who had been in the vicinity sev-

eral days, "attracted to the spot by the loadstone of whiskey, dealt out to them by a creature bearing

the face and form of man, who receives, in return for his vile stuff, the few ponies and robes they had

obtained from the Indians of the Arkansas." [5]

An unidentified gold-seeker, on his way to Pike's Peak with some 20 companions, arrived at Little Ar-

kansas Crossing on October 22, 1858, and camped for a day on the west side. In his journal he wrote:

"This is a fine place . . . We here once more find the residence of a white man, who hunts, trades, etc.

He is building a bridge across the river." [6] The odds are that William D. Wheeler was the log cabin's

occupant. But no traveler in 1858 mentioned a name.

A November issue of the Western Journal of Commerce, Kansas City, Mo., contained a "Table of Dis-

tances from Kansas City to the Gold Regions of Pike's Peak." For "Little Arkansas," 212 miles from

Kansas City, the "Remarks" column read: "Mail station, store, water, grass, bridge and Buffalo."

About this time, but not known to the table-of-distances compiler, Asahel and Abijah Beach and oth-

ers were establishing themselves at Cow Creek Crossing (Beach Valley), 18 miles west of the Little

Arkansas. It was at Beach Valley that a post office subsequently was established, early in 1859. So

the mail station at the Little Arkansas was short-lived. [7]

This photograph was identified only as

"GREENWAY" who owned an early-day

ferry near Wichita, and was brother-in-

law to Pioneer Wichitan William Greiff-

enstein. Presumably it is a portrait of A.

J. GREENWAY who was at Little Ar-

kansas ranch in the mid-1860's and at

Wichita in 1869. Greiffenstein and

Greenway married daughters of Pot-

tawatomie chief Abram Burnett.




PAGE 4 QUIVIRA NOTES




The territorial legislature in February, 1859, authorized William T. Williamson, Columbus Hornsby, Thomas Lounds, and

James C. Horton to "establish a bridge across Little Arkansas river where Santa Fe road crosses it." There is no evidence

these men made use of their charter, though they may have operated a ferry, briefly. When William W. Salisbury, on his way

to the gold fields, arrived at the "little Arcasas" at 11 o'clock on May 18, 1859, he recorded in his journal: ". . . toll bridge here

25 cts. toll. but little timber Poore water saw a man that had been shot acidentely in the hip." Another gold-seeker, Charles

C. Post, crossing there late in May, wrote in his diary: "The bridge was built last season by Gains & Wheeler, the owners of it

and the ranch, twenty-five cent toll and ten gallons of water or twenty-five cents for ten gallons and cross at ferry." These

travelers used the ferry and filled their water kegs "at a spring above one-fourth mile." Post made an examination of the

stone used in the bridge piers. "It is a kind of lime granite very heavy," he wrote. [8] (At a later time J. W. Bean recollected:

"The bridge across the river had been washed away before my day but the piers were standing five or six feet high. . . ." And

George Hoffman remembered that there were three stone piers, and a solidly constructed flooring of

logs and lumber.)

For 1860 little is to be found concerning Little Arkansas Crossing. A list of "Arrivals at the Gilkey

House," Council Grove, for the week ending August 23, included the name "Wm. Wade, Little Arkan-

sas." Presumably he was employed at Wheeler's ranch. In the November 6, 1860, election, held at

Beach Valley, Peketon county voters -- 12 in number -- unanimously elected W. D. Wheeler to the of-

fice of probate judge. [9]

A. I. Baker, Council Grove Press editor, in his March 16, 1861, issue noted that Dr. A. I. Beach, of

Beach Valley (Cow Creek Crossing) and William Wheeler of the Little Arkansas had "been in town for

several days," and commented: "These gentlemen are pioneers in the true sense of the word; living far

out upon the Western frontier. . . . The March 23d issue of the Press contained this advertisement:

Little Arkansas Ranche The Traveling Public are respectfully informed, that the under-

signed is located on the Little Arkansas, where the great Santa Fe road crosses the

same. I keep always on hand, Provisions, groceries and Liquors, also are prepared to

accommodate travelers. I have several large [stone] corrals [10] for penning stock, Also,

have built a strong and substantial bridge across the Little Arkansas, for the accommo-

dation of the traveling public.

W. D. Wheeler

In the Council Grove Press of May 26, 1861, editor A. I. Baker wrote: "Our esteemed friend Wm.

Wheeler of Wheeler's Ranche, Little Arkansas, reports all quiet on the plains. This Ranche is about

100 [i. e., 90] miles west of Council Grove. The proprietor keeps always on hand, ponies, horses, cattle,

mules, & other live stock to sell; besides the weary traveler can be entertained to heart's content. Mr.

Wheeler has erected a splendid toll-bridge across the Little Arkansas at that place."

There is an information-gap from mid-1861 to mid-1863. (During this interval the Council Grove

newspaper was suspended.) In his July 6, 1863, issue the Press editor wrote: "We learn that W. D.

Wheeler and all his hands at Little Arkansas where he has a Ranche and store have been very sick.

Supposed to be poison thrown into his well."






Colorado troops had a fight with Southern Cheyennes on May 16, 1864, near Big creek, on the Smoky

Hill river (present Ellis county). Next day, small bands of Cheyennes made retaliatory stock-stealing

forays on the stage stations and trading posts in central Kansas. (One stage-line employee was killed

on upper Cow creek.) The Council Grove Press of May 28, 1864, noted that the frontiersmen not yet

scared out by Indians included "Wheeler at Little Arkansas." William Wheeler made no claim for losses

on May 17, as did other area ranchers. It would appear his place was not attacked, or that he success-

fully defended his stock. [11]

In July, 1864, Kiowas, Comanches, and Arapahoes joined the Cheyennes in depredations along the

Santa Fe trail. On the 17th, at Fort Larned, the stock was run off by Kiowas. just west of Camp

Dunlap (Fort Zarah), on the 18th, Kiowas and Arapahoes killed 10 men of the Crow and Barret freight-

ing outfits, and scalped two others (who survived). As word of trouble ahead reached other westbound

trains, freighters corralled their wagons at strategic locations and prepared to fight or withstand siege.

[12]

G. W. Ridge wrote a letter dated "Little Arkansas River, Kan., [Sunday] July 24, 1864," which stated,

in part: "On Wednesday last [the 20th] they [the Indians] came upon three young men (herding) here,

killing one and wounding the other two. They killed 30 head of cattle and then left. . . . Every train

from here to Fort Larned are in camp afraid to move. There are several hundred wagons camped here

prepared for battle; we expect the fiends hourly. . . ." [13] (The wounded men, of whom there is no other

information, perhaps were attacked in the vicinity of Little Arkansas Crossing, but the body of the

youth killed on June 20 -- Edgar Miller, of Marion -- was found near present Canton, in McPherson

county.)

As it turned out, the Kiowas, Comanches, and Arapahoes concentrated their attack on Cow Creek

ranch, 18 miles to the west, and besieged wagon trains corralled in that vicinity. When Peter Kelly,

Santa Fe mail conductor, arrived at Kansas City, Mo., on July 28, his account of events out in central

Kansas included comment that "At Wheeler's Ranch some forty head of cattle were lost." It may be

that all the 30 or 40 head of cattle lost at, or in the area of, Little Arkansas Crossing (Stone Corral) be-

longed to freighters. Wheeler himself made no claim against the Indians. There is also the possibility

that he had sold out in midyear, or simply packed up and departed before the July troubles. No men-

tion of William Wheeler later than May, 1864, has been found. How many years his toll bridge contin-

ued in use is another question that remains unanswered. No contemporary reference to it later than

May, 1861, has been located. However, years later a Rice county pioneer -- George Hoffman, of Little

River -- recollected that the bridge toll was 75 cents when he traveled the trail in the late 1860's. He

remembered seeing soldiers in tents and small huts at the crossing. [14]

And who was keeping the Little Arkansas stage station in April, 1865, when unidentified Indians stole

stage stock from Cow Creek ranch (on the 24th) and put the stock at Little Arkansas ranch in jeop-

ardy? Bvt. Brig. Gen. James H. Ford (then at Fort Zarah) dispatched a company of troops to each place.

"Station Little Arkansas, Kansas" was established, before April 29, by Cpt. Theodore Conkey and Com-

pany G, Third Wisconsin cavalry. On May 8 Cpt. Carter Berkeley, 2d U. S. volunteer infantry, relieved







Conkey (who went to Fort Larned). On May 21 Berkeley's Company K, 2d U. S. volunteer infantry, re-

lieved the Wisconsin troops. Reinforcements from the 13th Missouri cavalry arrived in June -- Com-

pany B on the 19th; Company D on the 20th; and Cpt. Joel H. Shelly, of the 13th Missouri, took com-

mand at "Station Little Arkansas." [15]

On the last day in June, 1865, Indians killed, scalped, and otherwise mutilated three of Captain

Shelly's cavalrymen, and a corporal of the Second Colorado cavalry, in two separate attacks in the vi-

cinity of Little Arkansas Crossing. Maj. John E. Mayo (at Cow creek) reported to Maj. James M. Turley

(at Fort Zarah):

Captain Shelly dispatched me to-day that the Indians have killed and scalped four more

of his command, and captured the dispatches that you forwarded the other night. The

band of red-skins numbered about twenty-five or thirty and crossed the Santa Fe road

about seven miles east of Little Arkansas. Killed two of the dispatch bearers. Passed

down and crossed the Little Arkansas about eight or ten miles below Captain Shelly's

camp, where they found four men of Capt. Shelly's command killing buffalo, two of whom

they killed. I have sent a force to intercept them, if possible, before they cross the Arkan-

sas river. [16]

One of the victims was dispatch-carrier Cpl. (James?) Douglass, of Company D, Second Colorado cav-

alry. The three murdered 13th Missouri men were: Pvt. H. Hogan, Pvt. James Jones, and (Pvt?) G. W.

Norris, all of whom were buried at Little Arkansas Crossing (Stone Corral); and at a later time rein-

terred at Fort Leavenworth. The Junction City Union's account states that men of Alex. Thompson's

train, on July 1, 18 miles east of Cow creek, picked up the bodies of five soldiers killed on June 30th

while carrying dispatches. (Another account also says five men were killed.) But the military report

must be assumed correct both as to location, and number of Victims. [17]

No further information is available on "Station Little Arkansas." It appears the troops were withdrawn

in July. Peace talks with the Comanches, Kiowas, Arapahoes, and Plains Apaches, held at the mouth

of the Little Arkansas in August, 1865, resulted in a preliminary agreement on the 15th to cease hos-

tilities. Peace treaties with these Plains tribes, and Cheyennes, were made in mid-October, 1865, after

treaty councils held in the same area. From then, till the middle of 1867, Indian depredations on the

Santa Fe trail were few in number.

"H. J. [i. e., A. J.] Greenway" wrote a letter dated "Little Arkansas Ranch, May 28, 1867," which the

Junction City Union of June 8, published. It concerned six soldiers from Custer's (Fort Hays) command

"scouting on Cow Creek, (or rather running buffalo). . . ." About May 25 these soldiers (deserters, in

fact) had "encountered twenty odd Kiowas and Cheyennes," who, in a running fight, had killed all but

one of them. The survivor, with "scalp cut around, but not taken," had been brought to the Little Ar-

kansas ranch by an eastbound wagon train. There is some reason to suppose that A. J. Greenway may

have been at Little Arkansas Crossing since 1864 (or earlier). If not there, he was in the vicinity, for he

filed a claim of $1,050 against the Kiowas who had taken seven horses from him in a July 22, 1864,

raid. [18]







During the summer of 1867 soldiers again were stationed at Little Arkansas Crossing. Cpt. Edward

Byrne and Company C, 10th U. S. cavalry established Camp Grierson there, probably in June; and re-

mained till November 10. They had no problem with Indians. But during the months of July and Au-

gust there were 17 cases of cholera, and eight deaths, among these black troops. [19]

Theodore Sternberg -- as recollected by his brother C. H. Sternberg, in 1928 -- took over the ranch at

Little Arkansas Crossing in 1867. The Sternberg family lived in Ellsworth county, where another son,

George M., was Fort Harker's medical officer. Theodore (as C. H. recalled) rented a team and buggy

from an Ellsworth livery stable and went down to visit the ranch. On the journey homeward he hap-

pened to look back and discovered six Indians in pursuit. To outdistance them he cut the harness, and

rode one horse bareback, reaching home safely, but worn out and sore. Later he returned to get the

buggy, but found the harness had been cut to pieces. [20]

On July 19, 1870, Z. Jackson, assistant marshal, with an escort of six soldiers from Fort Harker, took

the census in Rice county. Up in the northeast corner he found five homestead settlers whom he enu-

merated as the only residents. Jackson wrote this note on the census sheet: "Farther south on the east

side of Rice County [at Little Arkansas Crossing] I found Mr. Theodore Sternberg building a stone

house and had up a large stone corrall for the protection of his stock from Indians but as it was ex-

tremely dangerous for him to stay here unprotected he spends most of his time at his father's in family

No. 40 in Ellsworth county where I have him enumerated therefore his name is not entered as one of

the inhabitants of Rice County." [21]

The stone corrals originally built by William Wheeler in 1859(?), and remodeled by Theodore Sternberg

in 1870, presented a landmark of some prominence to the settlers who began arriving in Rice county in

1871. One of the later pioneers -- J. W. Bean -- ,who saw the ranch area about 1880, recollected that

the corrals totaled 300 to 400 feet in length, and about 200 feet in width. The north wall, still standing

then, was "about eight feet high and perhaps 30 inches thick . . . with many stones extending through

the wall, binding it together." There were "one or two openings about 10 inches up and down, and two

feet long on the inside, tapering to about 10 inches square on the outside" -- reportedly made in this

way so as to get a wide range to shoot at the Indians. He also recalled that the "walls were laid per-

fectly with the slabs fitted so close together that little or no light showed through," and that a "small

room or enclosure had been fitted into one end.

From December 6, 1872, till August 4, 1880, there was a post office named Stone Corral. George W.

Hodgson, a pioneer of 1871, was the first postmaster. It may be that his residence was near, but not on,

the site. The 1874 State Board of Agriculture map of Rice county shows Stone Corral P. O. on the NE

1/4 of Sec. 14, T. 20, R. 6 W. The legal description of the ranch location is SW 1/4 of Sec. 13, T. 20, R. 6

W. [22]

Louise Barry is a member of the staff of the Kansas Historical Society. She is author of

many articles on Kansas and Western history and of the recently published The Beginning

of the West (Topeka, Kansas Historical Society, 1972).







1. Eighteenth Biennial Report, Kansas Historical Society, p. 119.

2. The earliest (and most reliable) account of William Mathewson's life is in the United States Biographical Dictionary. Kan-

sas Volume (Chicago and Kansas City, 1879), pp. 192-195. It does not (perhaps by printer's error) account for Mathewson's

activities in the period between spring, 1857 (when he and Horace Green came east to Independence, Mo., from the moun-

tains, to sell pelts), and the "summer of 1856 [1858 intended], . . ." when he associated himself with the Beaches at Cow creek.

Almost certainly Mathewson, was at Little Arkansas Crossing in 1857 and 1858. The Portrait and Biographical Album of

Sedgwick County, Kan. (Chicago, 1888), p. 171, in its sketch of him says that he "built" a post on the Little Arkansas. Years

later, reminiscing of his lost diaries, covering 15 years of life in the West, Mathewson was quoted as stating that he had

traded with Indians "at the great bend in the Arkansas River, at Cow Creek, and at the post on the Little Arkansas, on the

old Santa Fe Trail." See "Kansas Scrapbook," M, v. 10 (in KH library). An article in The Kansas Historical Quarterly, Winter,

1972, on Cow Creek ranch will have more about William Mathewson. His diaries were destroyed in a fire.

3. Private Laws of Kansas Territory, 1858, p. 35; The Kansas News, Emporia, December 4, 1858.

4. Colorado Magazine, Denver, v. 12, pp. 42-50 (Voorhees diary); Lawrence Republican, October 28, 1858, or, L. R. Hafen, ed.,

Pike's Peak Gold Rush Guidebooks of 1859 (Glendale, Cal., 1941), p. 324 (for Parsons).

5. Kansas Historical Quarterly (KHQ), v. 16, p. 369 (for Möllhausen); Commissioner of Indian affairs, Report, 1858, pp. 96-100

(Miller's report).

6. The Border Star, Westport, Mo., December 31, 1858.

7. Western Journal of Commerce, Kansas City, Mo., November 6, 1858, or see KHQ, v. 37, between pp. 136-137.

8. Private Laws of Kansas Territory, 1859, pp. 15, 16; KHQ, v. 22, p. 328 (for Salisbury); L. R. Hafen, editor, Overland Routes

to the Gold Fields, 1859 (Glendale, Cal., 1942), pp. 37-38 (for Post). "Gains" is not elsewhere mentioned.

9. Council Grove Press, August 25, 1860 (for Wade); Peketon County election returns, 1860 (in KH archives division).

10. The stone for stock corrals and bridge piers came from an outcropping of rock about a mile north of the ranch. -- J. W.

Bean's recollections, in Horace Jones's Up From the Sod (Lyons, Kan., c1968), pp. 45-46.

11. War of the Rebellion . . ., Series I, v. 34, Pt. 1, pp. 934-935; ibid., Pt. 4, pp. 38-39, 101, 207, 403; KHQ, v. 37, pp. 143-144.

12. Ibid , p. 145; Leavenworth Daily Conservative, July 30, 1864.

13. Leavenworth Daily Conservative, July 30, 1864; or, Kansas City (Mo.) Daily Journal of Commerce, July 28, 1864; KHQ, v.

19, pp. 25-26.

14. Leavenworth Daily Times, July 30, 1864; or, Kansas City (Mo.) Daily Journal of Commerce, July 29, 1864. Horace Jones,

The Story of Early Rice County (1928), p. 58.

15. War of the Rebellion, Series I, v. 48, Pt. 2, p. 245; Station Little Arkansas post returns, May and June, 1865 (National Ar-

chives Microcopy 617, Roll 1520, in KH). The 2d U. S. volunteer infantry troops were captured Confederates -- some of the

"galvanized Yankees."

16. War of the Rebellion, Series I, v. 48, Pt. 2, p. 1039.

17. Junction City Union, July 8, 1865; or, Leavenworth Daily Times, July 13, 1865; History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado

(Chicago, 1881), p. 88; Colorado Magazine, v. 3 (May, 1926), pp. 53-54; letter of Maj. C. L. Hyssong, Fort Leavenworth, August

29, 1939, giving information on Stone Corral burials (copy in KH ms. division).

18. While there is a record of Greenway's having filed the claim, unfortunately the papers relating to it cannot, presently, be

located in the National Archives. A. J. Greenway was probate judge of Marion county in 1867 and 1868, or perhaps only in the

latter year. He also was associated with the early history of Wichita. The first issue of the Wichita Vidette, August 13, 1870,

says: "In 1852 [1862?] Judge Greenway came to this valley on a hunting and trading expedition with the Osage Indians," and

was "with them long enough to become acquainted with their language." "In 1869 Judge Greenway came back again and oper-

ated a general stock of supply goods for the Texas cattle trade. . . ." Another item in the same issue notes the death of the in-

fant son of A. J. and Lucy Greenway at Wichita, July 27, 1870. For Greenway as probate judge see P. H. Green Indian depre-

dation claim papers (microfilm from National Archives) in KH.

19. The camp was named for the 10th U. S. cavalry regiment's commander, Col. B. H. Grierson, The mean troop strength for

the two months was 78 men. -- Camp Grierson, Kan., Post return, November, 1867 (on microfilm, in ms. Box 680, KH); War

Department. Surgeon General's Office, Report on Epidemic Cholera and Yellow Fever in the, Army of the United States During

the Year 1867, Circular No. 1 (1868), p. 50.

20. Lyons Daily News, August 17, 1946; or, "Rice County Clippings," v. 2, p. 92 (in KH library); Horace Jones, The Story of

Early Rice County (1928), p. 60. The question arises whether C. H. Sternberg's date of 1867 could be wrong. Perhaps it was

not till 1869 that his brother Theodore took the Little Arkansas ranch? Theodore Sternberg was a Civil War veteran, having

served as a first lieutenant in the New York infantry, August 23, 1862, to June 25, 1865. -- Francis B. Heitman, Historical

Register and Dictionary of the United States Army . . . (1903), v. 1, p. 921.

21. U. S. census, 1870, Rice county, Kansas, in KH.

22. Horace Jones, Up From the Sod, pp. 45-46 (for J. W. Bean), or see Lyons Daily News, August 17, 1946; Robert W.

Baughman, Kansas Post Offices (Topeka, c1961), pp. 123, 221; A. T. Andreas and W. G. Cutler, History of the State of Kansas

(1883), p. 760. Robert S. Gray, McPherson, who has located the Santa Fe trail crossing of the Little Arkansas, supplied the

legal description.


The Quivira Chapter has been notified that Kern’s Santa Fe Trail Ruts are under consideration for the

National Register of Historic Places and the Register of Historic Kansas places. The Kern Ruts in Rice

County were reviewed at the Board of Review meeting on November 3, 2012. No word has yet be re-

ceived on the outcome of the meeting . The Kern Ruts are across the road to the west from Ralph's

Ruts. If accepted, the original register for Rice County Segment 1 for Ralph's Ruts will be amended to

include the Kern Ruts.

The National Register of Historic Places is the federal government’s official list of historic properties

worthy of preservation. Listing of this property would provide recognitions of the area’s historic impor-

tance and assure protective review of federal projects that might adversely affect the character of the

historic property. Listing in the National Register provides recognition and assists in preserving our

nation’s heritage.

Kern Ruts Under Consideration for Historic Status

Britt and Linda Colle attended a draft horse plow day at the Maynard Krehbiel farm southeast of

McPherson on November 3rd. Maynard hosts the event the first Saturday in November every year.

Many teams were present demonstrating the plowing techniques of the past. The demonstration

really gave a view of the hard work the horses (and the farmers) faced in the early years of farming

this tough land. Winston Sommerfeld of Newton even gave Linda the opportunity to drive his team

(after he unhitched the plow). KAKE News did a great segment on Maynard and the event on the No-

vember 3, 2012 late news. Go to: http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/McPherson-County-Farmer-

Specializes-In-Hands-On-History-177136961.html

Draft Horse Plow Day

Above Left: Teams plow the field

Above Right: The plow pulled by

the Sommerfeld team

Left: Winston Sommerfeld ex-

plains the harness to Britt Colle


Update on Boy Scout Eagle Scout Projects

Joseph Jumonville completed his Eagle Scout project in Sep-

tember to install the signs from McPherson east to the

county line. Britt Colle assisted the project team on Septem-

ber 22nd. The ground was so hard that it was difficult to

drive the posts down to the required depth. It took all of the

team members working together to install the signs on that

day. Thankfully, it rained during the next week, which made

the task slightly easier during the next work day. Joseph's

brother Jaxon Jumonville will replace approximately 14

signs west of McPherson which have been damaged due to

road construction and farming activities as his project. A

workday is planned for November 10th to install the signs.

McPherson Museum SFTA Kiosk Project Progressing

Work on the McPherson Kiosk is progressing, probably faster then the construction on the new mu-

seum! The Quivira Chapter and the Cottonwood Chapters are in the process of selecting the sites that

will go on the panels. The information on the panels needs to correlate with the kiosks to the east and

west of McPherson. The sites need to be publicly accessible and there should be something to see once

visitors arrive at the spot.

Also, we need to identify "INFORMATION CENTERS" for the "in this area" panel -- places that can

provide auto tour routes, further information, contact information, etc. and again should be accessible

to the public and open consistently. If you have an idea for an information location, please contact

Linda Colle, 620-241-8719 or [email protected].

Kaw Nation Presentation at Smoky Hill Museum

SFTA Manager Joanne VanCoevern and Quivira Chapter President Linda

Colle attended a presentation on the Kaw Indians at the Smoky Hill Mu-

seum in Salina on November 1st. Representatives of the Kaw Nation were

on hand to present the culture and history of the “People of the South

Wind.” The majority of the presentation was presented of Erin Pouppirt.

Erin is a descendant of Chief White Plume. Erin dressed in native cos-

tume and had a large amount of information to share about her family

tree. After Erin’s talk, Crystal Douglas, archeologist and director of the

Kanza Museum in Kaw City Oklahoma, related additional historical facts

on the Kaw Nation and also answered questions from the audience. Crys-

tal brought several door prizes for the audience and Joanne won a game

related to the Kaw language. Linda and Joanne passed out the Quivira

Chapter Kaw Indian Peace Treaty brochure and the National Park Service

Santa Fe Trail brochure to the audience. Also in attendance was Pauline

Sharp who is the great granddaughter of Chief Washunga. Chief

Washunga was the principal chief in the 1880s. He led 516 Kaw Indians

from Council Grove to Indian Territory, approximately 190 miles.

President Linda Colle

724 Penn Drive

McPherson, KS 67460

QUIVIRA CHAPTER, SFTA

Next meeting

Saturday, November 17th

Lunch: 12:00pm

Program: 1:00pm

Windom Senior Center

Main Street

Windom, KS Look for the SFT Sign

Please call or email for Lunch

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