Indian Troubles on the Frontier. As the white-topped wagons of the immigrants became more numerous the Indian and the buffalo were pushed farther on. But the red man did not give up his hunting ground without a struggle. The encroachments of the settlers had long been resented. Even before the close of the Civil War, while the soldiers were needed elsewhere, the Indians had begun their depredations on the frontier. In 1865 and 1866 settlements were attacked in Republic and Cloud counties, stock was driven away, much property was destroyed, and a number of people were killed. The few settlers on their scattered claims were poorly armed, and, with no soldiers near to protect them, they were in constant fear of wandering tribes of hostile Indians.
It has long been customary for each nation to have a great seal. The United States has one, as has also each of the states. A seal is used to make an impression on a document as a sign of its genuineness. The design for the Great Seal of Kansas was adopted by the first State Legislature. The thirty-four stars represent the thirty-four states comprising the Union at that time. The scene is supposed to typify the settlement and growth of the State. The motto “_Ad astra per aspera_,” meaning “To the stars through difficulties,” is peculiarly descriptive of the state’s history.
Open War with the Indians. The next year United States troops were sent to protect the frontier. They drove the Indians back and destroyed one of their villages. This only made the red men eager for revenge, and they began an open war on all settlers, immigrant trains, traders, and travelers. Robberies and murders were committed along the whole frontier, particularly in the Republican, Solomon, and Smoky Hill valleys, and in Marion, Butler and Greenwood counties. Travel over the Santa Fe and other westward trails almost ceased and the line of settlement was pushed eastward many miles. Many tribes engaged in these attacks. They dashed into the State from north or south or west, committed their cruelties, and were gone.
The Broken Treaty. At one time the Government made a treaty with several tribes by which they were removed to a reservation in the Indian Territory, but were to have the privilege of hunting in Kansas as far north as the Arkansas River, and were also to be provided with arms. They kept their promise of peace only until they could get ready for another attack, and while part of them were being supplied with arms at one of the forts the rest were engaged in a most heartless and bloody raid on the northwestern settlements.
The Indians Subdued. This led Governor Crawford to organize several companies of Kansas volunteers and to ask for more United States soldiers. Later a regiment of Kansas volunteer cavalry was called for, and on November 4, 1868, Governor Crawford resigned his office to take command of this, the Nineteenth Regiment. After considerable fighting the Indians were finally subdued, and by 1870 the trouble was practically ended. There were a few outbreaks from time to time, but none of them was very serious. During this contest, which had lasted from 1864 to 1869, the lives of more than a thousand Kansas settlers had been lost, a great deal of property had been destroyed, and the westward movement of settlement had been greatly retarded.
A Prairie Stream, Common in the Western Part of the State.
The Homestead Law, 1862. Shortly after the admission of Kansas to the Union, Congress passed a measure that had a wonderful effect on the growth of the State. This measure was the Homestead Law, passed in 1862. This law provides that any person who is the head of a family, or who is twenty-one years of age, and who is a citizen of the United States or has declared his intention to become such, may acquire a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of public land on condition of settlement, cultivation, and occupancy as a home for a period of five years, and on payment of certain moderate fees. It also provides that the time that any settler has served in the army or navy may be deducted from the five years. Previous to 1862 settlers bought their claims of the Government. The liberal provisions of the Homestead Law attracted thousands of settlers to Kansas. Many of the newcomers were young men who had been in the army.[16] Many of them were foreigners newly arrived in America, while thousands of others came from the eastern or central states. Nearly all of them were poor. Many had scarcely enough to provide for themselves until the harvesting of their first crop. But they were full of hope and ambition, and were willing to undertake the toil and privations of pioneer life for the chance to make real their dreams of a home on the Kansas prairies.
