Anna E. Arnold

“ Life of the Early Settlers. In order that this great result might be accomplished, that the Kansas of to-day might be, a generation of men and women had to conquer these vast prairies that were swept by blizzards, parched by drouths, scorched by hot winds, and scourged by grasshoppers. A few of the pioneers gave up and returned to their old homes, but most of them were of the sturdy type and remained, always believing that the day of better things was to come. ”

“ For us, it means that the quality of Kansas government depends upon the quality of Kansas citizenship. While the task of the pioneers was a heavy one, ours to-day is no less great, though it is different. Their struggle was to get the soil under cultivation, ours to see that it does not become worn out; theirs to get public utilities, ours to use and regulate them; theirs to develop new industries, ours to see that they are carried on with justice to all; theirs to establish schools, ours to make them more efficient; in general, theirs to build up, ours to use wisely. ”

“ Shortly after the admission of Kansas to the Union the people selected Topeka as the seat of government. As soon as the Civil War was over and they had time to think about public improvements they began to lay plans for building a capitol. Every state has a capitol, or state house as it is often called, in which there are offices for the Governor and other state officers as well as large rooms for the meetings of the Legislature. It is for the state what a courthouse is for a county. It should, of course, be a fine building, of which the people can be proud. ”

“ When, at noon, April 22, the cavalrymen who patroled the borders fired their carbines as a signal that the settlers could move across the line, a great shout went up, and the race for claims began. Hundreds crowded the trains, thousands rode on fleet horses, many rode in buggies and buckboards, others in heavy farm wagons, and some even made the race on foot. In the morning Oklahoma was an uninhabited prairie, at midday it was a surging mass of earnest, excited humanity, in the evening it was a land of many people. ”

“ In this fact lies the greatest reason for teaching Kansas History in the schools. A knowledge of the difficulties that have been met and conquered in building the State will create in the minds of the boys and girls a greater respect for the sturdy qualities of the pioneers; it will give them a wholesome sense of the great cost at which the ease and comfort of to-day have been purchased; it will stimulate in them a desire to live up to the past. ”

“ The deep interest of the Kansas settlers in matters of education is nowhere more apparent than in their early establishment of institutions of higher learning. In the first Constitution, made in 1855, one reads, “The General Assembly may take measures for the establishment of a university”; and again, “Provisions may be made by law for the support of normal schools.” These matters were not lost sight of, and almost immediately after the admission of Kansas as a state this ambition found expression in the establishment of the Normal School, the Agricultural College, and the University. ”

“ The Oregon settlers, the Mormons, and the gold seekers entered Kansas at or near Atchison, Leavenworth, St. Joseph, or Westport, and moved toward the northwest, crossed the border into Nebraska, and went on across the mountains. The road worn by this westward-moving stream of emigrants was known as the Oregon Trail, though it was sometimes called the Mormon Trail, and more often the California Road. For two thousand miles the Oregon Trail stretched away through an utter wilderness, and every mile of it came to be the scene of hardship and suffering, of battle, or of death. ”

“ For a number of years much more zinc than lead has been produced. A large amount of ore from the Missouri mines is shipped to the Kansas smelters, and the smelting of lead and zinc, but particularly of zinc, has come to be one of the most important of our mineral industries. The development of the gas field furnished a cheaper and more abundant fuel than coal, and much of the smelting was soon being done where gas could be used. In later years gas is less abundant and there is a tendency to return to the use of coal. ”

“ When Kansas Territory was organized little was known of it, but, because it was wanted by both the North and the South, knowledge of Kansas spread rapidly. The 70 South had the support of every branch of the National Government and the added advantage that the only State touching Kansas was proslavery. The advantage of the North lay in the fact that it had a much larger number of people who were free to move to a new country. The proslavery Missourians came in at once and took claims. A few free-state people came within a month, and in two months the emigrant aid parties began to arrive. ”

“ While the floods caused much loss and suffering, the State’s resources had become so great that the condition of general prosperity was not seriously affected. Each year has added to the prosperity and progress of the State until now Kansas is one of the great states of the Union. We have only to look about us to see how marvelously conditions have changed since pioneer days. Great fields and orchards are spread over what was once the Indians’ hunting ground, and cattle have taken the place of the roving herds of buffaloes. ”

“ Not only did the early building of railroads do much to bring about the rapid settlement of Kansas, but it hastened the development of practically all of the State’s industries. For instance, the railroads have made it possible for the farmer to market his live stock and his crops. Out of these better market facilities have grown the great meat-packing centers and the flouring mills. On the other hand, the growth of settlements and industries has brought prosperity to the railroads and they have increased in wealth, equipment, and mileage. ”

“ Other pioneers have had the great task of making a state out of a wilderness, but Kansas pioneers had a second great task, that of making a free state in the face of the most determined opposition. They came to Kansas as the Puritans came to America, in the name of liberty. They were stern, unyielding, purposeful men and women, sure of the presence of divine leadership, and their character 220 has deeply influenced the Kansas people. This influence has made them hate oppression; it has made them demand justice and fair play; it has made them value people for their personal worth ”

“ The fighting and political strife of the Territorial period left the people little opportunity for building up the country. Statehood found frontier life but little improved. The early settlers came to secure homes and to make Kansas a free state, and were not easily discouraged. The drouth of 1859-’60 caused nearly a third of the 100,000 Kansas settlers to leave the Territory, and another third had to be given aid from the East. Immigration to Kansas was greatly decreased for a time. A good crop year followed, but Kansas had yet to pass through the Civil War before it could enjoy peace. ”

“ Kansas Wheat. Kansas is now one of the leading agricultural states of the Union. It produces a greater variety of crops than does almost any other state, but the principal ones are now, as they have been from the earliest days, corn and wheat. In recent years alfalfa has come to be a close third. Wheat is our most noted crop. Kansas is unsurpassed in the production of this grain. Wheat is grown in every county in the State, but by far the greatest 156 quantity comes from the “wheat belt,” which extends across the middle of the State, from north to south. ”

“ Kansas has been one of the most liberal of the states in its laws concerning the rights of women, but it is only in recent years that Kansas women have had full political rights. In 1861 women were given the right to vote in district school elections, and in 1887 in city elections. The question of complete woman suffrage was voted upon and defeated in 1867, and again in 1894, but in 1912 it carried by a large majority. Only six states, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Washington, and California, preceded Kansas in granting to women the right of suffrage. ”

“ The poverty in the Kansas homes made it especially hard for families to be left unprovided for, and as much honor is due the women who stayed at home to work as is due the men who marched away to fight. The Kansas soldiers did duty on many battle-fields, and so conducted themselves as to bring much credit to their State. During the war Kansas was exposed to three lines of danger; invasions by the regular Confederate army, attacks by the unorganized border troops, and Indian raids on the frontier. ”

“ Part Taken by Kansas in the Civil War. A state that had just passed through nearly seven years of Territorial struggle closing with a famine would hardly be expected to take an active part in a great war, but the Kansas people had been battling over the slavery question, and, being deeply interested in the outcome, were ready to take up arms in defense of the principle of freedom. Every call for soldiers to defend the Union was liberally responded to in Kansas. This State furnished more soldiers in proportion to its population than did any other State. ”

“ Comforts of Life Receive Little Attention. The seven Territorial years had brought freedom to Kansas, but the struggle had left the pioneers little time or strength for building better homes, improving their farms, or establishing public institutions. The energy that might have accomplished these things had been given to fighting and to politics. When Kansas became a State, the people had almost as few of the comforts of life as when they first came to the Territory. ”

“ The development of roads in this State has been going forward since the earliest days. Time, money, and effort are required to build roads in a new country, and during the years that Kansas has been engaged in this great task many different plans have been tried out and many road laws have been passed from time to time, but it was not until after Congress passed an act providing federal aid in road making that a unified plan for the whole State became a fact. This act was passed in 1916, and Kansas accepted its provisions in 1917. ”

“ The year following the drouth brought a good crop, but it also brought the beginning of the Civil War which absorbed the energies of the settlers for four years more. It was not until the close of the war, in 1865, that agriculture can be said to have had a real beginning in Kansas. But, in spite of the poverty and hardships of the war years, two things of especial significance were done that showed the interest of the pioneers in agriculture. During this period the Agricultural College at Manhattan was established, and the State Agricultural Society was formed. ”

“ Our industries are constantly growing in number and importance, and it takes all of them to make a well-rounded state, but it is the agricultural industries that form the basis of our prosperity. On these we must depend, and the history of agriculture in Kansas is, largely, the history of our material progress.
SUMMARY
The principal agricultural industries of the State are farming, stock raising and horticulture. The principal mineral industries are concerned with coal, lead, zinc, oil, gas, salt, building stone, and gypsum. ”

“ After a few more days of travel, during which nothing more serious happened than a few false alarms of Indians, they reached the Arkansas River. Another day’s travel over a level plain brought them in 37 sight of Pawnee Rock, a great rock standing on the plains near the Big Bend of the Arkansas, and a landmark known from one end of the Trail to the other. The surrounding country was not occupied by any tribe of Indians, but was claimed by all of them as a hunting ground, for it was a fine pasture for buffaloes. For many years it had been the scene of bloody battles between different tribes. ”

“ When Kansas was made an Indian country the National Government agreed in the treaties to supply the Indians with cattle, hogs, and farming implements, and to employ persons to teach them agriculture. In accordance with this agreement several government farms were established, and both the government farmers and the missionaries taught agriculture to the Indians. By the time Kansas was organized as a Territory, in 1854, there were a number of farms in the different reservations and at the missions, and the produce was such as to show that the soil of Kansas is remarkably fertile. ”

“ Within the next few years coal was found in Osage and Leavenworth counties and in the vicinity of Fort Scott. These places produced large amounts, but Crawford and Cherokee counties soon came to be the leading coal districts of the State. At the present time about nine-tenths of the Kansas output is mined in these two counties. The importance of the coal fields of Kansas lies not only in the value of the coal, but in the stimulation of the growth of manufactures. Many industries can be carried on only by means of large amounts of fuel to supply power. ”