Newspaper Articles for Rooks County, Kansas

ROOKS COUNTY, KANSAS

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

FOUR HORSE - THIEVES LYNCHED

Rooks County, Kansas, the Scene of the Hanging

Max Alwens, the traveling salesman for the well known grocery house of Julius Kuhn, brings the information of a quadruple execution of horse-thieves by a vigilance committee of Rooks County. For notorious desperadoes named Cos, Hutchinson and Ed and Jack Connaughty are the men who were thus summarily disposed of, and they have made a reputation and name for themselves that will at least prevent any great expenditure for mourning purposes. For a long time they held supreme sway in Southwestern Kansas and were a terror to all the surrounding country. Horse-thieving, burglary and robbery was their forte, and they carried on their depredations everywhere. Eventually they were driven from the country and they took refuge in Rooks County, in the Northwestern part of the State, pre-empting a quarter section of land, and building them a cabin. From this time commenced a series of thieving and robbery such as Rooks County had never before suffered from and suspicion naturally fell on these newcomers. A vigilance committee was organized among the farmers and citizens of the village, and a minor committee traced two of the thieves into Nebraska with a wagon load of goods and several head of stock. The Committee returned to Stockton and preparations were begun to arrest the entire gang upon the return of the other two. One night, about two years ago the cabin in which the thieves lodged was surrounded by about twenty excited and enraged men, and the gang taken therefrom as they sat by the fireside. A court was organized, a short trial had, and the verdict of guilty of horsestealing and other crimes was found and the sentence of death pronounced upon the four men. Thereupon a rude scaffold was erected and amid the shrieks and groans and bitter imprecations, curses and oaths, mingled at times with prayer and beggings for mercy that sounded upon the midnight air, the men, one by one were hurled into fearful eternity. There ended the career of four desperate characters, who depended solely on their success in thieving to make a living. While we always deprecate mob law, the sudden demise of these men can certainly prove of no disaster to the county, and it may do great good. (Inter Ocean, February 4, 1876, Page 2)

A MOTHER CRAZED BY THE LOSS OF HER CHILD

Kansas City, March 12, The Star's Atchison special says last Sunday the 2-year-old child of Jno. Blout, a farmer near Stockton, Rooks County, found a bottle of laudanum and drank a quantity of it. The child died in a short time, and the next day, Mrs. Blunt, crazed by the death of her child drank the rest of the remaining in the bottle. She cannot recover. Mr. Blunt is prostracted and his friends are watching him lest he too may commit suicide. (Weekly Times Herald, March 15, 1890, page 1)

A WHOLE FAMILY STARVED

Terrible Story of Destitution from Rooks County, Kansas

Stockton, Kas., Jan. 5 - From Farmington, Rooks County, comes a fearful tifle of destitution. Four years ago John Clifton died and left a widow with five children. Year after year the crops failed and the poor woman was obliged to sell off her stock until at last there was none left. This year finished the fight, and when the recent blizzard came it found the house with neither food nor fuel. The house was located in the Blue Hills, four miles from the nearest neighbor. Saturday some persons passed the house and seeing no signs of life entered the house, where they found the dead bodies of Mrs. Clifton and three of her children, while the other two were in the last agonies of death. They had starved to death. Prompt attention was given to the living, but there is little hope for their recovery. (St. Louis Republic, January 6, 1891, page 5)