Newspaper Articles or Decatur County, Kansas Genealogy Trails

CHILD MURDER AND SUICIDE

An Unhappy Kansan Kills Daughter and Himself

Wilsonville, Neb., Sept. 12---John Sorrick and wife, farm people, living near Lyle, Kan., tired of their connubial relations, the husband being jealous of his wife and with apparent foundation. Accordingly the two agreed to separate and the woman was given the custody of their 7-year-old daughter.

Sorrick grew despondent and finally desperate. Thursday he went to a neighbor's, where his wife was stopping and a bitter quarrel ensued, ending in Sorrick fatally shooting his daughter and sending a bullet into his own brain. The girl is now dead.
(September 13, 1891)

A TALE OF HORROR

Most of the facts connected with the massacre of the Laing family on the south fork of the Sappa, Decatur county, Kansas, at the time of the Cheyenne raid, last September, have already been published. A few days ago the remnant of the unfortunate family arrived in this city, being brought hither by the brothers of the murdered man, the Rev. Robert Laing and Mr. Charles Laing. From the former a reporter of the Republican obtained a detailed narrative of the horrifying occurrences. The arrival of the mother and the three little girls adds a fresh interest to the story, and it is thought interesting enough to publish, even at the risk of repeating something already known.

On the morning of September 30, Mr. Wm. Laing, accompanied by his son Freeman, a boy about 15 years of age, started for Kirwin, Philips county, to pay for land Mr. L. pre-empted. Two young ladies were in the wagon with them at the time of the tragedy to follow. The four had proceeded on the journey in the covered wagon about eight miles, when they were met by a band of 12 Indians, who rode up to them at a gallop. Part of the warriors were in their war paint, and the remainder were not. They were not discovered by the party in the wagon until within gunshot. They immediately surrounded the wagon, and began to salute Mr. Laing, who was driving, with the usual greeing of the red man, "How?" Two of the Indians, with seeming cordiality, grasped the hands of father and son, and two others fired from behind, killing both instantly, the father falling backward into the lap of one of the young ladies, and the boy sinking upon his knees in the wagon.

Provisions had been prepared for the long journey, and were in the wagon. These the Indians took out, and while they devoured these the young ladies were compelled to hold the horses. After which the horses were cut loose, the wagon cover torn off, andn the trembling females taken to the creek, not far distant, where the band was encamped. Here they were ravished in the hearless manner of these fiendih devils, as many as a dozen accomplishing the hellish deed upon the persons of the two helpless girls. They then took shawls and aprons, jewels, bonnets and necklaces from them, and ordered them to go to a house about half a mile distant, the house of Mr. Jacob Keiffer. They feared to go, les when they turned their backs their treacherous ravishers should kill them. After some little expostulation on the part of the savages, they went to the house. These events occurred between 6 and 11 o'clock in the morning. The corpses of the father and son were left in the wagon without mutilation. This band did not scalping. It is said their chief, Dull Knife, never permits this custom, almost universal among the Indians.

In the evening of the same day about sundown, just as William and John Laing, two elder sons of the murdered man, were leaving their work to return to the house they saw what they supposed to be some Texans trying to catch wild horses. Frequently droves of these animals are brought across the country here. But were not alarmed even when they came close enough to be distinguished, as they supposed they were friendly Indians. They were trying to catch the horses they had stolen. Shortly, two of the red renegades rode up to the wagon with the characteristic greeting. The three little girls, their sisters, aged twelve, nine and seven years, named Mary, Elizabeth, and Julia, were in the wagon with them, having gone out as children are wont to do to ride home in the wagon with their brothers. In Indians shook hands and were invited to go to the house with them. They started as if to accept the invitation and after riding alongside a short distance one Indian said "Look there".

As their victims turned their heads, the murderous savages shot both boys, and they died instantly, one falling from the wagon to the ground. The little girls were ordered to get out of the wagon and sent to the house, the Indians mean while yelling and making threatening gestures at them, as if to frighten them into obedience.

The eldest girl upon arriving at the house told the poor mother what had befallen her two brothers. She had scarcely uttered these words before the savages were again upon them, surrounding the house.

The dwelling was a cabin, partly under ground, with sod walls, but comfortable and well furnished within, as Mr. Laing was a man in moderate circumstances. They compelled the frightened and anxious mother to give them everything there was in the house which struck their savage fancy, and demanded and received all the money in the house, amounting to several hundred dollars. Five of the party then ravished the mother, four the oldest girl, and three the second one. The screams of the poor children and entreaties of the already heart broken mother had no effect upon the hell hounds. The sufferings of the three helpless ones can better be imagined than described.

Having satisfied their beastly lust they placed the three little girls between the feather ticks of the bed, kindled fire in different parts of the room, throwing into the flames what they did not want to take away, and had begun to take the bed cord from the bed to tie the poor little ones between the ticks. The mother almost despairingly stood by wringing her hands and entreating for the lives of her little ones. As if Providence had interfered, the savages took fright, probably at the rapidly advancing flames, and left their victims, riding at a rapid rate from the scene of their crimes.

The mother and her three children succeeded in escaping from the burning house, and in the dead of night walked eight miles, momentarily expecting the red dogs would pursue and kill them. They got to Jacob Keiffer's house, about a quarter of a mile from the spot where the husband and son met their death, at 2 o'clock in the morning.

About two weeks after, the Rev. Robert Laing, of this city, accompanied by his brother Charles, who resides in the country, a few miles from the town, went to the scenes of these terrible occurrences, and brought the remaining members of the family, the mother and her three daughters, to this city. They arrived a few days since. The mother is with her brother-in-law in the country, and the little girls are with their uncle in the city. Another brother came here a short time since from Canada, thinking the two brothers who went to Kansas after Mrs. William Laing and her children had also been murdered. He will take the youngest child with him and give the unfortunate little one a home in his family.

The Rev. Mr. Laing says this is only one of several families in that immediate neighborhood who met with similar treatment from the Cheyennes. Twenty-eight persons lost their lives in that vicinity. He saw fourteen graves of murdered persons.

It is the intention of the relatives to present a claim to congress for assistance for the destitute remnant of a once happy family. In the event of congress failing to afford the relief, justly claimed, the matter will be taken to the courts and a case of damanges established.

The estimable brothers, the Rev. Robert and Mr. Charles Laing, together with all the rest of the relatives, and especially the widow and her little girls, have the sincere sympathy of the entire community in their terrible affliction, and it is hoped the government will not be slow in affording them the necessary financial relief.
(Indianapolis Sentinel ~ November 28, 1878)

SETTLERS HAD THEIR PROBLEMS GETTING READY FOR WINTER 100 YEARS AGO WITH INDIAN RAIDS A THREAT

(Editor's Note: The following article dealing with Indian raids and massacre near Oberlin in Decatur County, Kan., was reported in The Telescope October 17, 1878, just 100 years ago. It shows the problems of the settlers to this area of Kansas as they faced a bleak winter ahead and the threat of more Indian raids.)

INDIAN RAID IN NORTHWESTERN KANSAS

Horrible Murders and Outrages
(From The Telescope October 17, 1878)

Oberlin, Decatur Co., Kansas
October 3rd, 1878

Thinking you might consider anything in the way of news from this stricken valley of some value, I have taken the liberty sending you a statement of the recent events in this section , connected with the Indian raid.

For the past ten or twelve days our little town has been regaled daily with news coming up from the Kansas Pacific railroad-the report stating that the Indians were gathering in force near Buffalo Station with the intention of going north and joining Sitting Bull's body of Sioux.

The men engaged in hauling goods from Buffalo to this place would bring reports that no Indians were in the vicinity of the above place and none had been seen or heard of, and soon the cry of Indians, like that of wolf, became unheeded.

On Monday morning, the 30th, a man came from the Prairie Dog Cree, about twelve miles south of this for a physician to go over and see aman who had been shot by Indians on the North Fork of the Solomon, ten miles south of the Prairie Dog.

On arriving at the Prairie Dog he found the settlers had deserted their homes and had taken their families to the house where the wounded man was lying.

The Indians had made their appearance about sunrise at Prairie Dog, but did no damage beyong destroying the effects of Mr. Peck, who keeps a small store and is the postmaster of the locality.

They left for the north, and a party of thirty men started in pursuit. They struck the Sappa creek about six miles above this place, and then their hellish and brutal instincts began to develop themselves.

They remained between the north and the south forks of the Sappa and on the divide north of the former, and during the day they killed eighteen, a list of which is appended.

On Monday night all the settlers who were able to do so from the forks of the Sappa, gathered here and organized a company of about twenty-five men who joined the company from Prairie Dog, making a force of fifty-five determined men, tolerably well armed, and eager to avenge the murder of their neighbors and comrades.

They camped at night in the vicinity of the Indians and the next morning followed the red devils to the vicinity of Beaver creek, where about noon they were joined by three companies of cavalry and one of infantry, when the main body of the settlers returned.

Two of the Indians were killed by the settlers; one was taken away by his friends, and the scalp of the other adorns the belt of the leader of the settlers' party.

The Indians did not seem to be a regular war party, as they were not in war paint, and did not scalp their victims, and only seemed disposed to kill when a man stood in their way, when he had horses or other property that they wanted, and two boys that they had captured and taken to camp, they, after keeping them a few hours, released.

Mr. Laing and his son, of about twelver years of age, and two young ladies who was coming to town with him, were met by three Indians who shook hands with the whole party, and, while doing so, shot Mr. L. and his son, killing them instantly.

They then took the girls from the wagon, stripped their clothing off, took them to the creek, and kept them from 9 o'clock in the morning until 4 o'clock in the afternoon when they were released, and their experience during the interval is too horrible for recital.

The physician who went to Prairie Dog Creek on Monday had a very narrow escape, as he passed between two bodies of Indians who were not over a quarter of a mile on either side of him, but fortunately for his scalp-lock they did not see him, they coming on the uplands while he went through ravines leading from the creek to the divide.

Mr. Smith, one of the killed, was shot four times by arrows, and twice by bullets before he fell. He was left for dead, and afterwards crawled half a mith with one arm shattered and faint from loss of blood, to some bushes, where he was found still living, twenty-eight hours from the time he was shot, and lived ten hours after that before he died.

His son with him at the time was shot at seven times with a Winchester rifle, at distances ranging from six to forty feet, and, strange to say, never received a scratch, he in the meantime pushing the Indian from his pony twice with a pitchfork.

This is one of the most horrible massacres that this section of the State of Kansas has ever experienced, and will long be remembered by the survivors.

All the settlers left their household goods and provisions in order to save their lives, and the red devils destroyed everything they could not carry away, and the government would only be doing its duty by supplying the settlers with arms and ammunition and provisions for the coming winter, as there will be much suffering if it is not done.

Our little town has escaped thus far, but the blow is likely to descent at any time.

Oberlin is situated near the center of Decatur county, fifty-five miles north of Buffalo Station on the K. P. railroad, on the north side of Sappa creek, and is the point of trade for a large scope of country.

Following is a list of the killed and wounded that have been brought in and heard of thus far: Killed---William Laing and John, William and Freeman, his sons; J. C. Huston; Mr. Messkelly, from Buffalo Station; Ferdinand Westphalen and his son, Mr. Lull, Mr. Erwin, Marcellus Felt, H. P. Humphrey, James G. Smith and Moses F. Abernthey. Wounded---John Humphrey, shoulder, dangerous; D. Steadman, dangerous; D. Steadman, bullet in the arm; Mrs. Ferdinand Westphalen, arrow in left side.

SIXELA

P.S. A report has just come in that ten more dead bodies have been found on the north fork of the Sappa and that the Beaver Creek settlement has been horribly butchered, the details of which are much worse than that of the Sappa. If anything new occurs will let you know if I have an opportunity to send out a letter.
(Belleville Telescope ~ October 19, 1978 ~ Submitted by Lori DeWinkler)

DEATH OF AN INDIAN FIGHTER

W. D. Street Brought News of Last Massacre in Kansas

W. D. Street, a pioneer plainsman, scout and Indian fighter, died recently at Oberlin, Kan. He was attached as scout and guide to General Custer's force on several occasions. He was commissioned by Major Mauck of the Fourth cavalry, who was pursuing Chief Dull Knife and his band after the raid and massacre of September, 1878, to carry dispatches from the Holstein and McCoy ranch, where the town of Atwood, Kan., now stands, to Ogallala, Neb., 135 miles, thus giving the world the first news of the last Indian massacre on the Kansas plains. He succeeded in evading the Indians and delivered his message to the United States troops in time for them to find and intercept the Indians.

Street served Decatur county in the Kansas legislature several terms and was once speaker of the Kansas house of representatives.
(Idaho Register ~ December 12, 1911 ~ Submitted by Lori DeWinkler)