The History of the Early Settlement of Norton County, Kansas

Page 126

Wm. F. Cody, (Buffalo Bill) who was also with the duke's party, says they did not do any hunting in Kansas.

The following letter from Colonel James W. Forsythe would seem to contradict the statement of Jordan. It is here given in full.
"Fort Riley, Kansas,
December 15, 1893.
Respectfully returned to Mr. F. M. Lockard, Norton, Kansas

The Grand Duke Alexis made no tour overland in the state of Kansas, He entered the state via a special Pullman train from Denver, stopping over at a station in Colorado, called Kit Carson. Prior to the arrival of his train an escort of troops from the 5 U.S. cavalry had been assembled at that point and all the hunting done outside of Nebraska by the Grand Duke and party was from aforesaid station, where the train was sidetracked and held for them. I think the party stoped (sic) at Kit Carson twenty-four or thirty-six hours.
JAMES W. FORSYTHE,
Colonel 7 U.S. Cavalry."

We think it barely possible that the Duke's party may have drifted out of Nebraska and hunted along the Prairie Dog without knowing they were in Kansas; but the preponderance of authority is against Jordan.

The two Jordan boys were massacred by the Sioux Indians on Walnut creek south-west of Ellis, Kansas, in the fall of 1873. Dick was married and had his wife with him at the time and as her body was never found, it was supposed the Indians carried her off in captivity.

Her name was Smith before she married Jordan and her people lived in Ellis at the time.

Several important events occurred during the year 1873. Immigration flocked in and all seemed hopeful. Some produce was raised, but the land being new and the season dry, the quantity produced was not sufficient to meet the wants of the people. The Sappa and the Solomon, as well as the Prairie Dog, were daily receiving settlers and some were even pushing westward to the unorganized county beyond. On April 13, of this year, occurred the fearful snow storm, known as Easter storm.

Much of the frontier life is spent on the road and in the camp and consequently many were caught in this storm far from the rude but comfortable "dug-out" of the settler. Many suffered during the prevalence of this storm, but no citizen of Norton suffered so much as Sol Marsh. Caught on the divide between Sappa and Prairie Dog, alone with an ox team, to travel an impossibility, he was forced to remain without fire or food during the entire continuance of the storm. That he did not perish is due alone to his robust constitution. He lived in his wagon for three days without food and would have doubtless frozen to death had it not been for the fact that he had a roll of blankets that belonged to Charlie Stowell which he was hauling home from Sappa. Sol had been up to Hackberry grove, on the head of south Sappa, after some abandoned government wagons which he had seen there the fall before, while on a bufflo (sic) hunt.

John Kelly and his two eldest sons, Zan and Frank, and Jim and Fred Vance were camped during the same storm on the Prairie Dog near where the town of Jackson [Decatur County] now stands. John describes the day preceding the storm as a beautiful warm day; they had been out on the south divide and killed five buffalo but before they got them skinned the storm struck them. They had scarcely any clothing with them and would have doubtless frozen before they got to camp had it not been that they wrapped up in the green buffalo hides which were yet warm. They were only about four miles from camp when the storm struck them, yet; he thinks the fact that they ever got to the timber at

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