KANSAS INDIAN RAIDS In Lincoln County, Kansas, 1864 and 1869 Story of Those Killed, With a History of the Monument Erected to Their Memory in Lincoln Court House Square, May 30, 1909 BY C. BERNHARDT LINCOLN, KANSAS THE LINCOLN SENTINEL PRINT 1910 PREFACE In preparing- this little book, I have had in view one purpose: the correction of former errors in the names of victims, and in the location of the events for which the Pioneer Monument stands. The public records have been my main guide, supplemented by such information as can now be had from the pioneers and scouts. It has necessarily required a good deal of work and research to find out what happened here forty-six years ago, but I have good proof that my version is in every respect correct. I am under obligations to Hon. Thomas Anderson of Salina, for most of the information of 1864, and to Probate Judge Supple, ,also of Salina, for courtesies extended in giving me an opportunity to copy the Moffitt brothers administration records; to the Clerk of the Court of Junction City for aiding me in getting facts from records there; also to J. J. Peate and Waldo Hancock of Beverly; to Ferdinand Erhardt, Martin Hendrickson and A. Roenigk of Lincoln Center, and to Christian Christiansen of Denmark, and to a few others. To all of you I extend my thanks. Very respectfully, C. BERNHARDT. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE Massacre of the First Settlers, 1864 6 Extract from Letter of John L. Moffitt 6 Letter from Thomas Moffitt 6 Troops on Kansas Frontier in 1864 8 Report of Moffitt Massacre by Capt. Henry Booth 9 Defence of Moffitt House 11 Houston and Tyler Identified 12 Burial of the Murdered Men 12 Number of Indians in the Battle 13 Skulls in Bullfoot Cave 14 Removal of the Bodies of the Moffitt Brothers 15 Letter of Robert N. Moffit to His Mother 16 Admiministration of the Moffitt Estate 17 Early Probate Records of Saline County 22 Character of the Moffitts 23 Preservation of the Battlefield of 1864 24 CHAPTER II   Indian Massacre of 1869 25 The Coming of Settlers to Denmark 25 First Accident 26 Additions to the Settlement 27 Raid of May 30, 1869 28 Death of Lauritzen and Wife, and of Otto Petersen 28 Death of Weichell & Meigherhoff, & Mrs. Weichell made Prisoner 29 Mrs. Alderdice made Prisoner, Her Children Shot or Killed 29 Mrs. Kine's Statement of the Alderdice Affair 31 Captivity of Mrs. Alderdice and Mrs. Weichell 32 Shooting of John H. Strange and Arthur Schmutz 32 Burial of the Dead in 1869 33 Return of Settlers to their Claims 34 Eli Ziegler's Account of the Spillman Creek Raid 34 The Schermerhorn Ranch 41 Railroad Construction Gang Attacked 41 Indian Outrages of 1868 42 Lack of Military Protection in 1864 and 1869 43 Scouts of the Saline Valley 44 Character of the Murdered Settlers of 1864 and 1869 45 Watermelons in Cold Storage 47 Other Hardships of Pioneering 47 Making a Home of a Homestead 48 Note 49 CHAPTER III   The Pioneer Monument and Pictures 51 Monument Selected 52 Selection of Monument Site 53 Inscription on Monument 53 Subscriptions to Monument Fund 54 Laying the Corner Stone 55 Unveiling of the Monument 56 Search of Biographical Data for Monument 57 Henry Sahlmann the Builder of the Monument 61 Financial Statement 61 Death of James R. Mead 61 Erratum 62   back to Index Page    Copyright © 2011 to Kansas Genealogy Trails' host & all Contributors   All rights reserved