Hays, Kansas - History and Information

Hays, Kansas - Page 2

Not the least of those transactions which darken the pages of this city’s history was an event which occurred in 1869. That year, the government had accumulated more military supplies at Fort Hays than could be stored in the room provided, and a large quantity were piled alongside the track, covered with a tarpaulin. To prevent the goods from being stolen, two watchmen looked over them, relieving each other at midnight. The name of one of the watchmen was John Hays. One night while Hays was on duty, he stepped across the street to Tommy Drumm's saloon to see what time it was at about midnight. Just as he was about to open the door, three black soldiers came along, one of whom shot Hays dead. These soldiers belonged to the Thirty-eighth Infantry, at that time stationed at Fort Hays, and had come to town that evening and became intoxicated. While in this condition they undertook to enter a brothel but were refused admission and began raise a ruckus. They then went to a barber's shop, where they began to smash things up and caused the black barber to flee for safety.

Hays was a violent place in its early days as evidenced by these

two dead soldiers, Privates George H. Sumner and Peter Welsh,

in front of a saloon in 1873.

They then resolved to go out and kill the first man they met, and Hays was unfortunately the first man they saw -- unceremoniously shooting and killing him. Next morning the barber related to the sheriff how the three soldiers had acted in his shop and what he had heard them say, whereupon the sheriff, taking the barber with him to identify the soldiers, went to the fort to arrest the men. The troops were drawn up in line, the three soldiers identified and arrested.

The murderers were then locked in a cellar in Hays City to await further examination the following morning. However, that evening, they were taken from the cellar by vigilantes, who took them to the trestle-work that crosses a ravine about 400 yards west of the depot, where ropes were adjusted to their necks. They were then lifted up and dropped down between the ties where they hung until morning. Railroad men found their lifeless bodies the next day and cut them down. Their remains were then taken back to the fort, where they were buried.

While many of the worst characters left and followed the railroad to Sheridan, Kansas, the majority of the brothels and saloons remained, and in these took place many a bloody encounter. In the spring of 1872, a dispute occurred one evening in front of Kelly's Saloon on North Main Street. At that time, Peter Lanahan was the County Sheriff, and upon hearing of what was going on, went down to quell the disturbance. Pistols were being freely used and when the sheriff tried to interfere, a man named Charles Harris, who at that time, was working as a bartender for a man named Thomas Dunn, fired at him, hitting the lawman in the abdomen. With the sheriff shot and wounded, a woman named Em Bowen, the proprietress of a noted brothel, ran out with two revolvers which she gave to Sheriff Lanahan. The lawman then immediately commenced firing, killing Harris instantly. Though mortally wounded Lanahan then went into the Kelly’s Saloon where the guns were blazing.

Another man named Kelly, who kept a saloon in another part of the town, was a participant and when the sheriff commenced firing, this younger Kelly crept under a table, and while there Lanahan reached over and fired four shots at him. However, the lawman was becoming weak and unsteady from his wound, his aim was uncertain and Kelly escaped unhurt. Lanahan, becoming exhausted, then sank to the floor and was carried into Em Bowen’s brothel, where several people rendered him the best assistance they could. While there, the younger Kelly, who had escaped from Kelly's Saloon, returned with a rifle, and placing himself in front of the brothel where Lanahan lay dying, commenced firing into the house, wounding a man named May in the knee. The sheriff was then carried to the courthouse where he died the following day.

Hays City Boot Hill, Kathy Weiser, September, 2006.

In Hays City there is a patch of ground known as "Boot Hill," and why it was thus named will sufficiently indicate what kind of place Hays City was during its early days. This particular piece of ground was the burial place for those who died violent deaths – in gunfights or other aggressive manners. These parties were buried without ceremony, with their boots on, and from the fact that 45 of these rough characters were buried there, it received the name of "Boot Hill."

Five years after the murder of John Hays and the hangings of the three black soldiers, an outbreak among the black soldiers stationed at Fort Hays occurred in 1874. At that time, the fort was garrisoned by the Ninth Regiment of Colored Cavalry, who sought to revenge the hangings of the three soldiers who had killed John Hays.

One night a party of the Ninth went to town prepared to "clean it out," as they expressed it. The people hearing of this, armed themselves and determined to resist the premeditated "cleaning out" process. The black cavalry came into Hays City armed and a fight immediately began between the soldiers and the citizens. In the end, the citizens were victorious and six of the soldiers were killed – there bodies afterwards thrown into a dry well. From that time, on the residents of Hays City were determined that law and order should rule.

In the meantime, the law abiding residents of the town were making progress on establishing a civilized city. The first school was a private one, established in 1869 and the following year, a public school was opened. The following year, Hays became the permanent county seat.

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