|
WICHITA COUNTY, KANSAS NEWS ARTICLES
SEVEN MEN SHOT Abilene, Kan., Feb. 28 - From a Leoti man just in from that town it was learned today that a bloody affair took place in Coronado yesterday afternoon. A party of seven men, Frank Jennson, A. N. Borey, George Watkins, Emmet Donning, Charles Coulter, Bill Rains, and Johnston, all residents of Leoti, left that place at 4 p.m. for Coronado. On entering the town they noticed some suspicious movements and Cuolter, Rains and Johnston sprang out of the hack. They had no sooner touched the ground than they were shot down, their bodies being riddled with balls. The men on the hack were fired upon at the same moment, and Jenneson, Borey and Watkins were badly wounded. It is thought the last two will die. Jenneson is the son of the president of the Leoti town company and was formerly sheriff of Franklin county. Coulter was a cowboy, but at present owns a drug store in Leoti. It is claimed that the attack was unprovoked and uncalled for. The trouble is a part of the county seat fight in Wichita county. (Kansas City Times, March 1, 1887) JESSIE HICKMEYER BODY RECOVERED FROM WELL TUBE LYNCHERS THWARTED DESPERATE FIGHT YESTERDAY WITH "WINCHESTERS" AND REVOLVERS AT THE JAIL AT LEOTI KANSAS Concordia, Kan., Dec. 11 - This morning about 8 o'clock an armed mob surrounded the jail at Leoti, in this (Wichita) county, and made a desperate attempt to lynch Thomas Allen, who is confined in said jail on the charge of having been implicated in the killing of Coulter and Ramson February 27 last. John H. Edwards, Sheriff of the county with Dick Wade, his Under Sheriff, were in the jail at the time guarding their prisoner. The mob broke in the jail door and demanded the prisoner. Their demands being refused by the officers the mob opened a heavy fire with Winchesters and "44" revolvers on the occupants of the jail. The officers, returned the fire, fighting bravely for their man, and after a fierce fight succeeded in repulsing the mob, severely wounding several of them and saving the life of their prisoner. The names of the wounded men cannot be ascertained, as they are secreted by their friends. None of the occupants of the jail were injured. Allen was arrested on the 9th instant and was taken to the Leoti jail yesterday. He filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. All of the men who had been arrested prior to this date on the same charge had been released on bail by the Supreme Court and the news that Allen was attempting to obtain his release on bail enraged the Leotians with the above result. (Philadelphia Inquirer, December 12, 1887, page 1) WICHITA COUNTY, KANSAS MAKES GREAT STRIDES IN TWO YEARS Hon. C. W. Garland, ex-probate judge of Wichita county, Kansas arrived in the city yesterday after a brief visit at his former home in Wichita. Leoti, the county seat of Wichita county is about twenty-four miles from the Colorado line, and has recently been tapped by the A. T. & S. F. and the Chicago, Kansas and western roads. "I tell you," said Judge Garland to the Times yesterday, "that we have a fine counry not only in Wichita county but all abuot there and clear through to Pueblo, and it has been settled up wonderfully the past fall and winter, especially along the Missouri Pacific. In 1886 there were only about a dozen inhabitants in Wichita county all cowboys. Now the county has a population of 6,000 of which Leoti has 1,000. It was settled quicker than any county in Kansas. "And by good people?" "We have as good a class of people as you can find anywhere who are especially pushing the farming interests with great vigor. It is a level country with a very rich soil and well watered, Beaver river running through it from west to east. At a depth of from forty to sixty feet excellent water comes from a bed of gravel. It is one of the finest farming sections I ever saw." "And how about the wild reports of suffering in western Kansas, especially the southwest?" "They were unfounded, as The Times said. There were five or six snow storms during the winter, but no suffering. The reports hurt us, of course, to some extent." The bitter county seat fight of a year ago in which several persons were killed, has all been settled, says Judge Garland, and a more peaceable or better community is not to be found anywhere than in Wichita County, Kansas. (Kansas City Times, February 28, 1888, page 2) RAILWAY CONDUCTOR FATALLY STABBED Leoti, Oct. 27 - A stabbing affray occurred between
two Missouri Pacific employees at Horace, Kansas, which resulted several hours later in the death of Ambrose O'Donnell,
conductor. O'Donnell's cousin, Brakeman Perry day who did the cutting is now in the jail at Tribune, charged with
murder in the first degree. (State Ledger, October 29, 1898, page 1) At Leoti, Kansas, there is only one doctor, and
he has no opposstion(sic) within 250 miles. (The Ohio Democrat, New Philadelphia, Ohio, submitted by Shauna Williams) The body of Robert J. Traver, who accidentally shot and killed himself at Leoti, Kan., in a most strange manner, was taken to Clinton for burial. Traver was president of the First State bank of Leoti, and was a wealthy man, prominent in business and social circles. His parents reside near Clinton. Twenty years ago Traver went to Kansas and prospered in the Sunflower state. He attended a social given by the Royal Neighbors. He lifted an overcoat from a chair. The coat was the property of a deputy sheriff. in the pocket was a 44 caliber Colt's revolver, which in some manner was discharged, resulting in almost instant death. The deceased was forty years old. (The Iowa Recorder, Greene Iowa, Submitted by Shauna Williams) BOY DESPERADOES At Leoti, a little Kansas town, the citizens who had for some months been in a state of fear because of the lotting of dwelling houses and stores and assaults and robberies in the streets, formed, recently a vigilance committee in order to put an end to the reign of lawlessness. Squards of men kept guard secretly at night in different parts of the village, and finally captures the thieves, a gang of 12 boys whose ages ranged from 10 to 15 years. The youngsters belonged to respectable families and had no plea of proverty or ignorance to offer in excuse for their behavior. It was found that they had a secret organization, the object of which was to plunder, and that an abandoned dugout in the outskirts of the town formed the rendezvous and treasure house. The gang had in view the robbery of a bank and the holdup of a railway train. It is not related what sort of books these precocious urchins had been reading. One might perhaps guess with considerable assurance. The man who recently defended the cheap juvenile novel on the ground that it was stimulating, should investigate the Leoti episode. The stimulant that inspires such conduct on the part of boys is worth studying. (Worcester Daily Spy, March 8, 1902, page 6) KANSAS SNAKES ARE BUSY One Wound Itself Around a Farmer's Neck and Another Attacked a Peaceful Horse The Leoti (Kan) Standard says that the other day Nick Schwindt unharnessed his horse at the barn and hung the harness on a peg. The harness was equipped with fly nets, and the evening being quite dark Nick supposed the nets to have fallen back across his shoulder. After several futile attempts to shake the something off, it circled his neck and Nick backed out into the light and began to tussle with a real live snake. He finally shook the reptile off, but in doing so he received a painful bite on one of his fingers. As the snake was one of the common bull variety no bad results followed. (Daily Herald, November 2, 1904, page 6) POSSIBILITIES OF OIL FOR FUEL Confessing in the first place that we know but very little about this subject, to forestall any charges of conceit in discussing it, it is our humble opinion that the possibilities of crude oil for fuel, especially under steam boilers, and in manufacturing enterprises, has not yet been sufficiently nor thoroughly exploited. Some time ago W. D. Finley shipped a barrel of crude oil from the Binns lease to a relative at Leoti, Kansas, and it was not long following until other parties at that place got onto its cheapness and utility, which resulted in quite a number of orders for oil from that place. One party who has not been using the fuel oil product turned out by refineries tried some of this crude and pronounces it equal in every respect to the refinery product, although he has some difficulty with pipes clogging up when using the crude. At Gotebo, Oklahoma, where Mr. Finley has oil property and the coutnry is not blessed with natural gas, most all of the production is sold locally for fuel and is used for domestic purposes. While it would not be possible to introduce oil
for fuel with natural gas a competitor, still it looks like the western part of the state would be glad to adopt
this product which can not be any more prolific of dirt than the poor quality of soft coal used and would be more
convenient, cheaper and easier to transport and secure, once ample arrangements were made to handle it. (Sedan
Lance, November 1, 1907, page 1) John Rice of Leoti, Kan., is visiting his father,
Joseph Rice. (Colorado Spring Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 24, 1909, submitted by S. Williams) Only One Building Undamaged After Visit of Twister 3 Seriously Hurt Leoti, Kansas Almost Demolished by Midnight Storm Scott City, Kan., Aug 5-Thirty-five persons were injured, three severely and thousands of dollars damage was done by a tornado that almost wiped out Leoti, a town of 400 inhabitants, 35 miles west of here, ??? Saturday. Only one building, a bank, was left standing undamaged in the business district of the city, and nearly all the residences were destroyed or damaged to some extent. The severely injured: Miss Grace Oldham, 26, dislocated shoulder, numerous severe cuts and internal injuries; George Shart, 35, confectionery store proprietor, several ribs fractured; Richard Cook, 73, severe cuts about the head. A four inch rain which followed the tornado and the destruction of the Leoti light plant, made the work of rescue of the storm victims difficult. The three persons most seriously injured were brought to the Scott City Hospital, where it was said late Sunday all would recover. Hail preceded the tornado and destroyed thousands of acres of growing crops in Scott and Wichita Counties, farmers reported. The tornado did not touch this county, but the hail and the heavy rain, which assumed almost the proportions of a cloudburst, caused the heavy damage to farms in the southern part of this county. Telephone and telegraphic communication with the outside world was cut off for hours and only makeshift telephone lines reached into that section Sunday. Buildings destroyed include the Methodist Episcopal
Church, a two story brick store, post office, garage, confectionary store, barber shop and several other business
buildings and nearly a dozen residences. The Wichita County Courthouse was badly damaged. (San Antonio Express,
San Antonio, Texas, August 6, 1923, Submitted by S. Williams) Former Resident Dies Information Received Here of Death of John Goerlitz at Home of Son at Leoti, Kan. Information has been received of the death of John Goerlitz, a former resident of Oshkosh. Mr. Goerlitz passed away Friday shortly afternoon at the home of his son. Alex Goerlitz, at Leoti, Kan. He had left this city about a year ago to reside with his son. The survivors are four daughters, Mrs. Henry Schlegel, Mrs. R.W. Hyde, Mrs. Alvin Weber and Mrs. Chester Finan, all of Oshkosh; and four sons, William and David Goerlitz, of this city, and Alex and Henry Goerlitz, of Leoti, Kan. Funeral services are to be held at Leoti. David Goerlitz has gone to that city for the services. (The Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh Wisconsin, April 6,1 929 submitted by S. Williams) L. L. WILSON VISITING BROTHER HARRY L.L. Wilson of Leoti, Kansas, is visiting with
his brother, Harry Wilson, and family. (Deming Headlight, Deming New Mexico, November 25, 1932 Submitted by S.
Williams) It has three eyes, two noses, four nostrils, two tongues and an extra big mouth. The third eye is between the two in the usual places. The oversized mouth is used to good advantage, as the calf takes a milk ration far above normal. (The Charleston daily Mail, Charleston West Virginia, August 9, 1933, submitted by S. Williams)
|
