Webster Township in Wilson County

[Gypsy Heart]

After the opening of the Civil War, the homes of the
Kansas frontiersmen were in a precarious situation, endangered at any
time by invasion of rebel leaders and subjected to possible attacks
of Indians, whose friendship could not be depended upon to
certainly. Because of these threatening circumstances, Mr. Daniel’s
father, as well as other of the settlement, joined the Home Guards,
an organization similar to the present-day state militia. The men received
their training at the old town of Belmont and the government issued
uniforms, guns and necessary ammunition for their organization. Belmont in
those days was a thriving, bustling little town with a population estimated
as between five and six hundred inhabitants. It boasted a post office and
was the main stop between Humboldt and Eureka on the old stage line. The
town, however, was not destined to exist long, becoming the prey of
Quantrel and his men who sacked and burned it and so completely destroyed
it that it was never rebuilt. Foundations of some of the buildings and
ruins of the old town destroyed during Civil War days are said to be yet
standing. The Daniel home, which was also in the path of this raider
and his guerrillas, was unmolested, however.

Indians Die By The Hundreds of Smallpox in 1864

In the summer of 1864, while the Daniel family was farming in the
valley of Big Sandy, smallpox broke out in the Indian encampment and the
Red men perished by the hundreds from the terrible disease. John Daniel,
as a boy, remembers seeing the crude burial–scaffolds of the victims
scattered over the bottoms and so deeply was it impressed in his memory
that one knows he yet sees the gruesome sight as he describes it today,
nearly 70 years later. According to him, the pens were made to
fit the body, out of wooden poles and then keeping with the with the
savage custom, the corpse, together with the late owner’s bow
and arrow and all personal belongings, was wrapped in a blanket and
placed in the enclosure, after which a covering, also of poles, was
then fitted over the top.

He recalls also a huge scaffold that was built from poles
and used by the Indians as a burial place, the blanket-clad dead having
the appearance of being tossed upon the structure and left in whatever
position the bodies chanced to fall. He likewise remembers that any of the
Indian survivors, who showed the slightest symptom of grief for a
departed one, suffered split heads evidence that this cruel practice
was actually carried on, is certain from the fact that a number of skulls
bearing such marks, have been found in the locality.

Another event of that year which fixed an indelible imprint of Mr.
Daniel’s mind, was the fact that he, with other members of the family,
contracted the disease from their Indian neighbors. However, all of the
early settler’s memories of the Red men are not ill ones for the Indians
conducted themselves peacefully and gave little trouble to the white
people.

The Indian "stomp dances" put on at various seasons of the year
were of never ending interest to John as a boy and those standing
out in his memory from his boyhood days are three:
The "Green Corn Dance" given by the Red men in thankfulness for this food
when it reached the roasting ear stage. The "scalp dance" which dated back
to their savage days of battle when they indulged in scalping, and which
called for the display of the horrible trophies and lastly, the
"hunting dance" which was given in September with the opening of
the hunting season.

The government agency for these Indians of the Osage and
Creek tribes was located at Belmont and with the destruction of the town,
the government removed them to Indian territory in what is now the state of
Oklahoma.

In the spring of 1866, J. E. Daniel and his parents moved permanently
to the present home on Big Sandy and in the fall of that year, the log house
in which Mr. and Mrs. Daniel now dwell, was built. The house remains the
same as the father built it sixty-seven years ago with the exception of an
additional room later added to the rear.

(Note: This story was related and recorded in 1933. Since that time the
log cabin has long been abandoned and removed to its present site in Yates C
enter to serve as a reminder of the pioneer days and the hardships they
faced. In addition to the Daniels Indian stories, it has also been
learned from the historians that the great leader of the Creek Indian Nation,
Opothleyoholo, with his daughter, perished during these trying times.
Both are buried in unmarked graves, with that of the chiefs trusty
mount, west of Fort Belmont. Thomas Yahola and numerous other
grandchildren, have joined the ancestors of these pioneers, to
pay homage to those who endeared so much to establish our county and
the freedoms we enjoy.")


Daniel Log Schoolhouse Noted Landmark in Wilson County
The first schoolhouse in Big Sandy locality, which was
constructed of logs, was built on the Daniel land and forever fixed
itself as a memorable landmark in Wilson Co. history because of the
fact that three men were tried in it by the old Vigilantes, an early
day organization which spread terror up and down the Verdigris river
with its horrible lynching and arbitrary judgements and punishments of
offenders found guilty by the tribunals.

The trial of the three men, who were charged with cattle
stealing, lasted three weeks and terminated with the conviction of the
men, two of whom were brought to the Daniel home for their dinner on the
fatal day of their hanging. The third man was taken to a neighboring
farm house for his last meal and the three prisoners were then
immediately conducted to their places of execution by the Vigilante
committee.

Two of the men were hanged just a mile north of the Daniel
homestead on two large oak trees beside the road, one on either side.
The stump of one of the trees is yet standing on the Wallace
Williamson place in Woodson County. The third man was hanged on a black
jack, thirty yards from the other two men.

Mr. Daniel states that it was the belief of many of the early
day settlers who were acquainted with the facts of the case, that the
three young men who were hanged were innocent men and that they were put
to death by members of the Vigilante committee because the
victims knew too much concerning their executors, and their own
illicit activities.

In the autumn after the triple hanging, the log schoolhouse was
moved to a location two and a half miles north of its first site and
there it was that Mr. Daniel, his brothers, and other children of that
locality, received their schooling. Mr. Daniel, smiles as he adds that
the seats in those days were split logs.

[ruffneck]

Great story G.R. I live in woodson county, less than 10 miles from the Belmont settlement. RebelT was here last week to MD with me. I took him to the area of the fort, and the old settlement. I don't know the exact location of the fort, but i have a friend who knows where it is, and the people who own the property.. Whenever we get to check out the site, i'll write ya a note to let you know if there is anything left to see. I truly enjoy your stories about the history of Kansas, and the long forgotten towns.. Keep up the good work!!! Ruffneck