WILBUR EMERY CAMPBELL was born on a farm near Brownsville, Pa., January 26, 1847. While still a small child, his parents moved to a farm in Iowa.

     On December 12, 1863, at the age of sixteen, he joined the Third Iowa cavalry with which he served until mustered out at Atlanta, Ga., August 9, 1865. While serving in the army he received three minor wounds and was captured twice, but escaped each time and was soon back with his regiment. One of the officers of the third Iowa cavalry at the time Mr. Campbell enlisted was the brilliant and highly educated Maj. John w. Noble, then 32 years of age, who joined the Union army in 1861, served through the war, and retired in 1865 with the brevet rank of brigadier general. Despite the difference in age and rank of the two men, a close friendship developed which remained steadfast the remainder of their lives. Several years after the end of the Civil War, General Noble, then a leading lawyer of St. Louis, and Mr. Campbell, a leading livestockman of the Southwest, formed a partnership and developed a lead and zinc mining project in southwest Missouri, but the panic during the second Cleveland administration spelled finis to this venture. General Noble served as secretary of the interior under Pres. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893). [1]

     Mr. Campbell came out of the army only a boy in years, but a mature man in poise and self reliance. His first love was farming and livestock production, but being without capital he sought and found employment on the Union Pacific building westward from Omaha. [2] It was his crew that laid the rails into Cheyenne, Wyo., November 18, 1867, and it was here that he heard a new market was being developed at Abilene, which would provide an outlet for hundreds of thousands of Texas cattle. It was also here that he heard glowing accounts of the possibilities that southern and south-western Kansas offered as cattle-producing areas. These reports interested him greatly, and early in 1868 he and a young friend arrived in the then railroadless trading post of Wichita. They found lodging with Henry Vigus, an early hotel proprietor in Wichita. [3]

     Later in 1868, Mr. Campbell settled on the SW1/4 sec. 24, T. 28 S., R. 1 W., on Cowskin creek nine miles south of Wichita and two miles southeast of the present village of Oatville. This was still a part of the Osage Indian trust lands and Mr. Campbell did not get legal possession until after it was ceded to the federal government in 1870, but he retained possession from the first. [4]

     The Chisholm Trail, famous in fact and fiction, lay only a short distance from the land on which Mr. Campbell settled, and soon he was a trail driver as well as a Kansas Farmer. He was one of the first, if not the first, to trail cattle from Texas and feed them corn and hay before going on to Abilene, Newton and other early-day cow-town markets. The best information available indicates that the first drove of cattle trailed from Texas by Mr. Campbell and fed corn and hay before continuing on t market arrived at the Campbell farm south of Wichita in the fall of 1869 and was trailed to Abilene early in 1870, where they were shipped by train to Kansas City.

     While crossing Indian Territory, trail drivers frequently turned aside from the trail to rest and graze their cattle for a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months. Mr. Campbell followed this practice and became impressed with the value of certain portions of the Indian Territory as cattle grazing and producing areas, and established camps (ranch headquarters) near the present site of Chickasha, Okla., and on Campbell creek in what is now Kingfisher county, Oklahoma. In a few years he was handling several thousand cattle on these ranches. The exact dates these ranches were started have not been determined, but other authenticated events indicate that Mr. Campbell was ranching in that area as early as 1872. These events also indicate that in a few years all his ranching activities in the Indian territory were concentrated at the Campbell creek ranch. Campbell creek, located in the southeast portion of Kingfisher county, was named for Mr. Campbell.

     These ranches were located on Indian lands, and Mr. Campbell saw that sooner or later difficulties would arise over their use by ranchmen. Not long after he started ranching in the Indian Territory he also began the development of a ranch in the southern portions of Barber and Harper counties in Kansas. In the beginning this ranch was on a free range basis, but as time went on it was operated on a leased and finally on an actual ownership basis. Reports indicate that at its peak, the Campbell ranch consisted of 48,000 acres.

     The largest single purchase made in developing the Kiowa ranch was a portion of the so-called "Three-Mile-Strip." The land included in this purchase extended some 15 miles east from the west boundary of the present town of Kiowa.

     This "three-mile-strip" resulted from the overlapping of surveys, and the story, in brief, is this:

     The area commonly known as the Cherokee strip became the property of the Cherokee Indians by provisions of treaties relocating the Cherokees on land included in what is now Kansas and Oklahoma. This new Cherokee land was surveyed in 1837. Since the area was immediately south of the previously surveyed Osage Indian lands in what is now Kansas, the surveyor naturally started at the southeast corner of the Osage lands and ran his line straight west to the 100th meridian. That line was designated the north boundary of the Cherokee nation.

     The Kansas-Nebraska bill of 1854 fixed the south boundary of Kansas as the 37th parallel north latitude. Lt. Col. Joseph E. Johnston, later a Confederate general, headed the surveying party which established this boundary in 1857. The new line ran about 2.46 miles south of the north boundary of the Cherokee land previously established.

     Both Kansas and the Cherokees claimed this strip, which extended approximately from where the Neosho river crosses the south line of Kansas to the present town of Englewood, a distance of about 276 miles. It contained approximately 435,096.59 acres.

     The controversy was finally settled in 1866 when a treaty paved the way for the sale of the strip for the benefit of the Cherokees. [5] An act of congress may 11, 1872 , provided for the sale -- the portion east of the Arkansas river to sell at $2 per acre, and that west of the river at 1.50 per acre. A later act provided for the sale of unsold portions of the strip at not less than $1 per acre.

     Dr. John Hardtner of Illinois purchased a considerable portion of this strip centering along the southern border of the present Barber county. The Campbell purchase just mentioned was made from the Doctor Hardtner in 1884, but Mr. Campbell had been ranching on this land several years before he purchased it. [6] While developing his holdings in Kansas he maintained ranch headquarters on Little Sandy creek in Harper county just a short distance north of the Kansas-Oklahoma line and about 40 miles west of Caldwell. When the Cherokee Strip Livestock Association decided in 1883 to fence their respective holdings in the Indian territory, Mr. Campbell discontinued his ranching activities in that area and concentrated all his efforts on the management of his Kansas ranch.

     A notice indicating that Mr. Campbell was well established in this area previous to 1883 appeared in the February 23, 1882, issue of the Caldwell Commercial:

POOL MEETING.

A meeting of the Medicine River and Sand Creek Pool will be held in the Opera House, at Caldwell, Kansas, on the third of March, 1882. A full attendance is desired, as business of importance will come before the meeting.

Ben. Miller, Secretary
W. E. Campbell, President

Caldwell, Kas., Feb. 22, 1882.

     Correspondence, records of business transactions and newspaper references indicate definitely that Wichita was Mr. Campbell's post-office address from 1868 to 1879, but just where the Campbells made their home from October 28, 1871, when the farm south of Wichita was sold, to 1879 when he moved his family to the farm near Caldwell has not been determined. But, in view of the fact that he was away from home much of the time during this period operating ranches in the Indian territory, developing a ranch in the southern part of Barber and Harper counties, and trailing cattle from Texas, it is possible that Mrs. Campbell and the children spent the winters with her father or brothers who lived in or near Wichita, and the summers at one of he ranch headquarters, until the Campbells established the home near Caldwell in 1879.

     As soon as the town of New Kiowa became a reality, Mr. Campbell began the development of a ranch headquarters a mile east of this new town. This headquarters when fully developed included a fine residence, beautifully landscaped lawns, a large acreage of trees both fruit and forest, and probably the largest and most up-to-date barn in Kansas. R. B. Campbell, a son of W. E. Campbell, now (1947) retired and living in Colorado Springs, describes these improvements as follows:

Buildings on the Kiowa place were east of the section line and road, but the house faced north. The drive passed the house on the north side and the barn on the south -- a straight drive -- but a quarter circle drive branched from it, curved around be house and rejoined the straight drive near the barn. A yard fence enclosed the house, which was two stories high and had seven rooms and three porches. There were fruit trees to the east and south and forest trees to the west outside the yard. There were forty acres in the orchard, which consisted of apples, peaches, pears, plums, apricots, and nectarines, walnuts, and almonds. There were eighty acres of forest trees -- catalpas planted four feet each way for fence posts. Roses lined the drive and other flowers and shrubs were to be found in abundance within the quarter circle and yard. North of the drives and west of the barn was a five-acre plot of pines and cedars planted twenty-five feet each way.

     The main barn was 106 feet long, forty feet wide and had a forty by forty foot extension on the west. There was also an extension to the east 200 feet long and 24 feet wide for work stock and cow horses. This extension had a hay loft its entire length. All upper floors were of three-inch tongued and grooved flooring. The extension to the west was three stories high, with feed mills and hoppers on the third floor. The hoppers and granaries were constructed with sloping floors converging to the grain chutes. Grain was dumped or shoveled into a pit below the ground floor and carried to the third floor by elevators, ground, and returned to the mixing box on the ground floor by gravity. A double header windmill with two power wheels twenty-two feet in diameter seventy-two feet from the fond furnished the power for elevating and grinding.

     There were only three open stalls in the main barn. All others were box stalls. There was a sixteen-foot drive through the center, an office at the entrance, a harness and saddle room in the center, and an eight hundred barrel rainwater cistern in the north end. The heavier beams were twelve by twelve inches and ten by ten inches, with all angles braced by four by fours. The outer walls were six-inch drop siding, and the stalls and driveway were lined throughout from floor to ceiling with one by twelve dressed lumber. All doors were double strength and all lumber was Georgia hard pine which father contracted at the mills and shipped himself. [7]

     A letter written by Mr. Campbell to his mother in Iowa under the date of Febuary 10, 1885, states that

I am going to make a nice and permanent home at New Kiowa, still I do not know when we will get out there. New Kiowa is a pretty fast place just now, and I would prefer to have it quiet down a little before taking my family there to live but I want to have everything in readiness when we get ready to go.

     Mr. Campbell had planted a border of hardy roses along the driveways, and when the headquarters was completed he named it "Rosewood Park," the name under which it became well known throughout the Southwest. [8]

     The development of the headquarters had progressed sufficiently to enable Mr. Campbell to move his family temporarily to the new home in 1885 [9] and the home near Caldwell, established in 1879, was sold in 1887. [10]

     A formal dedication took place Thanksgiving Day, November 29, 1888. An announcement of this dedication stated that "Good speakers from abroad will be present, and a grand musical, intellectual and social event will be the order of eh day. At night a grand ball will be given. ...The social, ball and banquet will be given in Mr. Campbell's elegant new barn which is fit for a queen's entertainment." [11] This proved to be one of the grandest early-day social affairs of the Southwest.

     There were several speeches, but space will permit only one excerpt from the last one on the program made by J. Y. Leming, as follows:

...he [Mr. Campbell] emigrated to Kansas twenty-one years ago, without a dollar capital. And here, young men, is a splendid lesson for us. He waded through difficulties and embarrassments and grasshoppers, surmounting obstacles, until he conquered poverty, and has gained a fame he deserves and is now the possessor of Rosewood Park... [12]

     In most instances, children would not be given much consideration in planning an occasion of this nature, but not so in the case of Mr. Campbell. In order that all the children of that area might realize fully that they were invited, a notice appeared in the local paper that read:

Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Campbell want to see every little girl and boy in Barber county at "Rosewood Park" during the dedication on the afternoon of Thanksgiving day. Mr. Campbell is going to give all the little folks ... a free ride out to the park and back. Now children, remember that you are all invited, and Mr. and Mrs. Campbell expect you to come and have a good time. Watch for the big wagons and flags and you will not be left. [13]

     In welcoming his visitors on this occasion, Mr. Campbell referred to his youthful guests in these words: "Especially do I most sincerely welcome all these little children. My heart o'erflows with a double welcome to all these young people and [I] earnestly hope [they] will all thoroughly enjoy this beautiful Thanksgiving day." [14]

     Much of the Campbell ranch was splendid agricultural land, and the demand had been so great for this land for farming purposes that by the time the ranch headquarters was dedicated in 1888, a considerable portion of the original acreage had been sold. A description of the ranch in 1888 appeared in the Kiowa Herald and read in part as follows:

Rosewood proper ... embraces 3,600 acres of rich, alluvial lands, all under fence and subdivided into convenient fields, pastures and meadows. Mr. Campbell's stock ranch ... is merely a continuance of the former [Rosewood Park]. The ranch embraces 14,000 acres of magnificent land, stretching forth in undulating prairie, sweet, pastoral valleys, clear, winding streams, silvery lakes, picturesque glens and delightful groves ... The ranch was formerly much larger, and supported cattle by the thousands, but the continuous sale of small tracts to eastern parties who are seeking homes among us, has reduced it to its present size... [15]

     The article also stated that there were 2,000 cattle on the ranch at the time (1888). [16] A news item of 1882, six years previous, states that at that time there were 6,000 head of stock on the Campbell ranch. [17]

     By 1898, the ranch had been reduced to 1,600 acres, but Mr. Campbell had come into possession of another ranch of several thousand acres just across the Kansas border near present Winchester, Okla. He continued his residence and main headquarters at Rosewood Park, however. The same demand developed for the ranch land near Winchester, Okla., for farming purposes that had developed for the land of Rosewood Park, and Mr. Campbell disposed of what remained of the Oklahoma ranch in 1903, retired from ranching, and established the Campbell land and Oil Company at Tulsa, Okla. He played an important part in the early development of the oil industry in that area and his untimely death, October 29, 1907, [18] is probably all that prevented him from achieving in the oil industry the same outstanding success he had achieved in the livestock industry.

     In his earliest days as a ranchman, Mr. Campbell was known as "Shorthorn" Campbell to distinguish him from several other Campbells in that area. Later, he became known as "White-face" Campbell. He explained the change in an address given before a livestock convention and published in the Kiowa Review, February 23, 1898. [19]

Such marvelous results are especially gratifying to me, and vividly [do I] recall many an article that I wrote for the agricultural press, urging the benefits to be gained by the use of pure bred bulls upon our southern herds almost a third of [a] century ago. At that time, our cruel war with all its devastation was barely over and our southern friends were slow to take hold of new methods. Finding it better to demonstrate that to advocate, and that none of my neighbors cared to join in the so-called experiment, I procured some of the best Short Horn bulls then attainable and proceeded to demonstrate that the backs of our southern cattle could be broadened and their horns shortened by the use of Short Horn bulls. While I was as busy as a nailer in this missionary work, the boys of the old guard put their heads together and proceeded to re-christen me in a unique and chivalrous manner and form that day ... I was known as "Short Horn Campbell"

     Having been identified with Short Horn cattle from my early childhood, it was but natural that I should believe them to be superior to all others for beef-making purposes. But this belief did not prevent me from seeking for and reading everything obtainable regarding the merits of other beef breeds, and although up to that time I had never seen a Hereford, I determined to procure some of the best specimens of hat breed and to thoroughly test them, not only on the range but in the feed lot as well ... Prior to this I had made annual purchases of Short Horns from prominent breeders in Kentucky, Missouri and Iowa ... On one occasion after buying a car load of Short Horn cattle from that veteran breeder, Hon., Plinny Nichols of West Liberty, Iowa, I learned that Mr. G. S. Burleigh of Mechanicsville [Iowa] some 30 or 40 miles distant, was breeding some high class Herefords. I went over and bought two excellent bulls [Prince Royal 1794 and Battle Ax 2801] from this gentleman and he assisted me in picking up enough grade Hereford cows and heifers to make out another car load. Both these car loads of cattle were shipped to Wichita, Kan., which was then [1879] the terminus of the Santa Fe railroad and the great Texas cattle shipping point of the southwest.

     The arrival of such a shipment of blooded cattle in those days was something extra ordinary and drew a crowd of cattlemen about them almost equal to a circus. The Short Horns were almost universally admired by my Texas friends, but the Herefords were a new departure and ... they were not only closely scrutinized but severely criticized on all sides...

     With such criticisms from my friends and a deep seated prejudice of my own in favor of the Short Horns, ... it was not without grave doubts and misgivings, that I proceeded to test the merits of Hereford bulls, as a cross on my range cattle, side by side with their aristocratic Short Horn rivals in the great battle for supremacy. For this, my second offense against the old methods prevailing throughout the southwest, I was more severely criticized than ever, and while I joined in many a laugh at my own expense, I considered it no laughing matter when the boys again re-christened me, dropping the "Short Horn" and substituting "White Face" as the first half of my autograph...

     Under range conditions of that day cattle, including the bulls, were compelled to live on the more or less succulent grass of summer and the dry cured grass of winter. Before the arrival of Herefords in the range-cattle country, ranchmen expected a goodly percentage of their purebred bulls to succumb to the rigors of winter and the type of feed available, and those surviving to come through the winter in a more or less emaciated condition. Mr. Campbell's experience had been the same as that of the other ranchmen. He was therefore much surprised when the two Hereford bulls purchased in 1879 came through the winter of 1879-1880 in a strong thrifty condition, whereas the Shorthorn bulls that survived came through the winter emaciated and weak. This contrast was more than a surprise; it was something of a shock to Mr. Campbell's faith in the superiority of shorthorns over all other breeds of cattle. He, always alert and progressive, wondered if Herefords as a breed were really as hardy and as well adapted to range conditions as his experience with the two Hereford bulls purchased in 1879 seemed to indicate. Being a man of action, he immediately decided to make a practical large-scale comparison of Hereford bulls and Shorthorn bulls under range conditions, and early in 1880 went East where he purchased a carload (26 head) of good Shorthorn bulls and a carload (25 head) of equally good Hereford bulls, brought them home, and turned them loose on the range together. Mr. Campbell later commented as follows on this comparison:

When the heat of summer came, the Shorthorns could be seen standing along the streams or in the shade, while the Herefords were busy grazing. ... Both breeds were allowed to remain on the open range the entire winter, without any artificial food or shelter of any kind, and were compelled to rustle for a living or die. The winter proved to be one of unusual severity, and before spring came almost fifty per cent of my beloved Shorthorns had died, and the remainder were but reeling skeletons. With the Herefords, the test was perfectly satisfactory, and every one of the twenty-five showed up in good shape... [20]

     Mr. Campbell's experience with his first two Hereford bulls during the winter of 1879-1880 and with the carload of Hereford bulls during the winter of 1880-1881, together with the quality of the calves dropped in 1880 sired by the two Hereford bulls purchased in 1879, so completely convinced him of the superiority of Herefords as range cattle that he decided to establish a herd of purebred Herefords at once, primarily for the purpose of producing purebred Hereford bulls for use in his own commercial herd. However, his purebred herd eventually became so large that he was able to offer for sale each year a considerable number of both bulls and females. It might be mentioned at this point that for several years there was also a heavy demand for Campbell-raised grade Hereford bulls for use on the range farther south and west. Mr. Campbell's first purchase of purebred Hereford cows was made in 1881. This purchase consisted of Duchess of Somerset 2nd 2954, Young Baroness 5872, Empress 5873, Ella 3rd 2107, Lady Maud 2nd 2110, Lady Maud 3rd 2111, Mermaid 2204, and Jessamine 2209. The first three were bred by D. K. and J. W. Wentworth of Maine, the next three by J. S. Hawes of Maine (later of Kansas), and the last two by T. E. Miller of Illinois. These were leading breeders of their day. Available records do not show from whom Mr. Campbell actually purchased these first eight Hereford females, but it is quite probable that he purchased the first six listed above from F. H. Jackson of Maple Hill because they were in calf by a bull (Emperor 2076) that Mr. Jackson was using at that time. Service records indicate that the remaining two were purchased directly from T. E. Miller who bred them.

     In 1881, Mr. Campbell also came into possession of the Hereford bull The Equinox 2758 calved September 23, 1879. This bull was bred by J. Merryman, Cockeysville, Md., but purchased from T. E. Miller, Beecher, Ill. [21] The Equinox developed into one of the great show bulls of his day and proved to be and excellent sire.

     For the next few years the herd was enlarged rapidly, but all purchases were made on the basis of quality. A story in the November 15, 1883, issue of the Kansas City (Mo.) Live-Stock Indicator reports the kind of females Mr. Campbell purchased. It states that:

Mr. Campbell is an energetic and enterprising breeder, and at Mr. Adams Earl's sale on Thursday he purchased imported Empress E. [7540], 4 years old, a prize winner in England, and said to be one of the best breeding young cows on the American continent. He also bought [imported] Blush [6970], a 4-year old, by [imported] De Cote [2563], the sire of the celebrated cow, Leonora. ... Both of these cows are in calf to [imported] sir Bartle Frere [6419], the highest-priced Hereford ever sold and a Royal [England] winner. Another of his purchases is [imported] Myrtle 5th [7537], a 2-year-old by the renowned [imported] Prince Horace [7413], and bred to [imported] Garfield [7015], a Royal [England] prize winner, and said to be the best Hereford bull in America. ...

     Sanders' book, The Story of the Herefords, states that Mr. Campbell purchased the imported cow, Miss Archibald 11119, for $1,230 at a public sale in Kansas City in September, 1884. [22] This was one of the highest prices ever paid for a Hereford female in the United States up to that date, but she proved to be a splendid producer and an excellent investment. The records of the American Hereford Association show that Mr. Campbell imported seven head of Herefords previous to 1884.

     Mr. Campbell selected herd sires for his purebred Hereford herd with the same care and discrimination that he selected females.

     That the quality of the Campbell herd of purebred Herefords was appreciated is indicated by a reference to Campbell Herefords in The Story of the Herefords (p. 698), which states: "W. E. Campbell ... and J. S. Hawes ... established large and excellent herds ... which were drawn upon heavily, not only by those founding new purebred herds in the Missouri River region, but also by ranchmen further west."

     He showed purebred Hereford cattle for the first time in the fall of 1881, and this first show herd consisted of a group of purebred Herefords selected form those purchased early that year. He showed these cattle at both the district fair at Wichita, and the state fair at Topeka.

     The Wichita Eagle of October 6, 1881, refers to Mr. Campbell's Hereford winnings of 1881 as follows:

The thoroughbred herd of Hereford cattle exhibited by W. E. Campbell of Caldwell, Kansas, was one of the principal attractions. This herd was headed by the magnificent young bull, "Equinox" [2758]. He does credit to his noted ancestors and will be the "Prince of Bovines" wherever he goes. At the State Fair he took the first premium in his class and then carried off the special sweepstake offered for the best Hereford of any age or sex on exhibition. Two of the heifers belonging to this herd were also shown at the State Fair and carried off the prizes. At our Fair this herd carried off twelve prizes including the three highest sweepstakes prizes and diplomas: "The Equinox" 2758 being adjudged the best bull of any age or breed, "Ella 3d" 2107 being adjudged the best cow of any age or breed, and Mr. Campbell's Hereford herd being adjudged the best thoroughbred herd on exhibition. These awards certainly speak well for the Herefords as there was strong competition and a number of excellent Short-horn herds on the ground. Mr. Campbell is also an extensive breeder of Short-horn cattle, but is now breeding all his Short-horn cows to Hereford bulls. He uses about 100 ... bulls on his ranches south west of Caldwell...

     Mr. Campbell again showed Herefords at the district fair at Wichita in 1882 and won all the first prizes in the Hereford classes; but when the sweepstakes classes, which included all breeds, were judged, Mr. Campbell's Herefords were deliberately ignored. When asked for an explanation, the chairman of the judging committee replied that Herefords had no business showing against Shorthorns. The protests of the spectators were so emphatic that the judging committee was dismissed, a new committee selected, and the sweepstakes classes ordered rejudged. The first committee consisted of men who had been, or were, Shorthorn breeders. The second committee consisted of a city butcher, and Englishman who had had extended experience in England, New Zealand and this country and a feeder and shipper. Under the second committee, Campbell Herefords won all three of the sweepstakes classes -- The Equinox winning the bull class; Ella 3rd, the cow class; and the herd headed by the Equinox, the herd class. [23] This incident is more or less typical of the resentment of Shorthorn breeders toward Hereford breeders during those early years of the Hereford "invasion".

     The Campbell herd was also shown at Topeka in 1882, but detailed winnings seem not to have been published. However, in a letter written by Mr. Campbell in the fall of 1882, he states that, "My herd of Herefords, headed by the young bull The Equinox 2758, have proved themselves invincible at the fairs this fall, and have carried of the lion's share of sweepstake prizes against some noted adversaries in the Short-horn ranks." [24]

     Mr. Campbell showed his cattle more extensively in 1883 and more successfully than previously. In those days, two of the leading fairs and livestock shows of the Middlewest were held in Kansas -- one known as the National Western Fair, sponsored by the Union Pacific railroad, was held at Bismarck Grove near Lawrence; the other, known as the state fair, sponsored by the Santa Fe railroad, was held at Topeka. Mr. Campbell showed at both these fairs. The Kansas Farmer, Topeka, of September 12, 1883, commenting on the Campbell showing at the National Western Fair stated: "...W. E. Campbell, Caldwell, Kas., ... made a remarkably fine showing. ..." His winnings in competition with herds from Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois included second on three-year-old bull; first on bull under one year; second on cow three years and over; second on cow under two years, and second on bull and five of his calves. The next week practically the same herds met at the state fair at Topeka. T. L. Miller in his History of Hereford Cattle refers to the Campbell show herd at this fair in these words:

     Mr. W. E. Campbell, an extensive ranchman and cattle raiser of Caldwell, Kans., exhibited at the Kansas State Fair a fine herd of Hereford cattle. ... The Equinox 2758 standing at the head of this herd had proven an excellent stock getter as well as invincible show bull. He won first prize in the grand sweepstakes ring open to bulls of any age or breed, in a strong field of eighteen show bulls, representing the best Shorthorn, Hereford, Polled Angus and Galloway herds of Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. He also carried off the first prize in his class, and his bull calf Jumbo and his heifer calf Lady Maud 4th each won first honors in their respective classes. In the sweepstakes ring for the best bull and five of his calves, open to all breeds, The Equinox again came to the front and won second honors, though his calves were very young and showed to bad advantage on that account. Queen of the Lillies [4367], out of Jessamine by Winter de Cote, that was first at Bismarck, was assigned a second place here after much hesitation. The winnings of this herd are unprecedented.

     The merits of any thoroughbred race are best demonstrated by the quality of their progeny, and to practically demonstrate the superiority and potency of the Herefords over other breeds, Mr. Campbell exhibited the yearling heifer Texas Jane. This heifer was sired by a thoroughbred Hereford, and was out of a little scrub Texas cow. She [Texas Jane] weighed about 900 pounds [off grass], and had all the character and markings of a thoroughbred Hereford. She was universally admired and attracted much attention and comment from the public, to whom she gave the following account of her birth and breeding, through a placard conspicuously posted over her stall:

     Mr. Campbell had been one of the principal boosters for a fat-stock show to be held at Kansas City, and the first of such shows was held in November, 1883. It was here that Mr. Campbell's cattle received their most favorable publicity and it was also at this show that Mr. Campbell gave Herefords the most effective advertising as range cattle that they have ever received. In 1881, six little south Texas cows that had cost Mr. Campbell eighteen dollars a head including calves at foot, got away from the common herd and joined the good grade herd some ten miles away where Hereford bulls were being used. The next year (1882) these six cows produced one heifer and five bull calves.

     The bull calves were steered and from the six the heifer and three steers were selected to feed for exhibition at the fairs the following season. One of the steers was killed when about a year old. The heifer and two remaining steers were named Texas Jane, Texas Bill and Texas Jack. These three Hereford-South Texas yearlings and three of the same breeding but a year younger constituted Mr. Campbell's "demonstration" exhibit at the Fat-Stock Show at Kansas City in 1883. One writer stated that there were more "Cattle Kings" of the West present at this show than at any other time or place, and that Mr. Campbell's "demonstration" exhibit made a profound impression upon them. Another writer stated with great emphasis that this exhibit really sold Hereford cattle to range men. The Breeder's Gazette of November 15, 1883, commenting on this exhibit stated that:

     W. E. Campbell's exhibit of calves, the get of Hereford bulls, out of Texas cows, was one of the most interesting sights of the show. The remarkable animal known as Texas Jane is, to all appearances, a model Hereford heifer, finely marked; a slight show of black on one of her hind legs being the only apparent trace of alien blood. Mr. Van Natta has taken one of the best heifers to Indiana, we believe, for the purpose of trying the effect of another Hereford cross.

     This "demonstration" exhibit won the $100 special prize offered by F. W. Smith for the best six half-blood Hereford and Texas steers or heifers bred on the range by the exhibitor and not to exceed eighteen months of age. It also won the $200 special prize offered by Underwood, Clark and Company for the most valuable display of stock in the show.

     The Kansas City (Mo.) Live-Stock Indicator of November 15, 1883, states that Mr. Campbell showed 90 head of cattle at this first Kansas City Fat-Stock Show. His winnings other than those already mentioned included second on carload (15 head) of three-year-old range cattle (Shorthorn); first and second on carload (18 head) of two-year-old range cattle (Herefords); first and second on carload (20 head) of yearling cattle (Herefords); special premium for the best grass-fed steer or cow, and second on thoroughbred yearling steer.

     At the close of this show Mr. Campbell sold to A. A. Crane & Son of Osco, Ill., the Hereford bull calf, Jumbo, by the Equinox 2758, that had won first at the state fair two months previously. The price was $500 and a report of this sale stated that he was seven months old and weighed 770 pounds. [26] Texas Jane weighed 1,260 pounds and after the Chicago Fat-Stock Show was sold for $150 to Crane & Son, who kept her on exhibition at the Kansas City stock yards for the next three years. [27]

     One of the two Hereford-Texas cross steers mentioned above -- Texas Bill -- weighed 1,682 pounds as a two-year-old in 1884 and was sold on a special order at eight cents a pound to be served on the banquet table during the ice carnival of the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul. [28] The other of these two steers, Texas Jack, was carried over until 1885 and shown in the carcass contest of the Kansas City Fat-Stock Show of that year. He weighed 1,720 pounds and won first in the class for three-year-old steers in competition with a group of phenomenal steers that had been winners on foot at several shows. A large percentage were Shorthorns and most of them came from Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri. One came from Scotland. [29]

     The demand for Campbell Herefords became so great that he did not deem it necessary to show breeding cattle after 1883, and his only appearance in the show ring after that date was when he featured Texas Jack in the carcass contest sponsored by the Kansas City Fat-Stock Show of 1885.

     Several articles implying that Shorthorn cattle were superior to all other breeds appeared in The Breeder's Gazette in 1883 and 1884. These articles were written by George W. Rust, a member of the Gazette staff and an ardent Shorthorn admirer. Rust's claims made for the Shorthorns did not seem to Mr. Campbell to be justified, and Campbell's comments, published in the September 4, 1884, issue of the Gazette, end with this prophetic statement: "The Hereford bull is 'king of the range,' and Mr. Rust will live to hear him bellow triumphantly over every grazing region from the snow-capped peaks of Mexico on the south to the British Possessions on the north."

     This led to a debate over the relative merits of Shorthorns and Herefords in the columns of the Gazette by Mr. Rust, the theorist, and Mr. Campbell, the man of experience. Mr. Rust's next letter appeared on October 2, and was answered by Mr. Campbell on October 23. Again on November 6, Mr. Rust defended the Shorthorns and in the issue of November 20 Mr. Campbell tells more of his experiences with the two breeds.

     By this time Mr. Campbell had left Mr. Rust little or no ground upon which to stand in this debate, and in his article which appeared in the December 4 issue, Mr. Rust resorted to an attempt to belittle Mr. Campbell's style of writing and experience as a cattleman. Mr. Campbell's reply appeared on December 18. He summarized from the beginning his experiences with both Shorthorns and Herefords as range cattle; gave concise reasons for his conclusions and convictions; and ended with these words:

Mr. Rust ... evades the principal question at issue, and ... pitches into me personally, and virtually says my literary attainments are inferior to his, ... which is certainly very strong argument in favor of Short-horns as range cattle. ... He is not even satisfied with this, but accuses me of studying the cattle business by lamplight. A grave charge indeed, but nevertheless true. I confess even more. I have studied it by the glimmering light of tallow candles in lonely and isolated dugouts far beyond the reach of civilization; by silvery starlight while making my tedious nightly rounds guarding slumbering herds, when the country was infested by hostile savages; by brilliant sunlight, when my herds were slowly wending their way northward through the burning sands of a southern clime.

     Yes, I have studied the cattle business by the light of as fierce and vivid, death-dealing lightning as ever flashed from an angry sky, and at a time too, when comrades were laid low in death by the fury of the storm. When the artillery of heaven made the very earth tremble by the force of her cannonading and peals of thunder, that scattered my herds in the wildest and most terrific stampedes. Yes, my lessons in the cattle business were all learned in the stern school of experience, and of course cannot be compared with Mr. Rust's theories or "book larnen."

     The final article by Mr. Rust appeared in the issue of January 1, 1885, and Mr. Campbell's last argument was published on January 22. Thus ended the Rust-Campbell debate, which consisted of five articles by each that appeared in The Breeder's Gazette from August, 1884, to January, 1885.

     Mr. Campbell's experience with Hereford cattle resulted in his becoming an ardent crusader for this breed as an improver of range cattle. As has been indicated, he conducted his crusade on the range, in the feed lot, in the show ring, and in the press. He, probably more than any other one individual, is responsible for the present popularity of Hereford cattle on the ranges of America.

     Mr. Campbell loved horses, handled them with consummate skill, and made a notable contribution to the improvement of the horses, as well as the cattle, of his day. About 1880 he decided to attempt the production of better cow horses than were then generally available. His first move was to purchase several hundred Indian ponies, from which 50 of the best mares were selected for use as a basis in this improvement program. His next move was a trip to Kentucky where he purchased the Thoroughbred stallion Legal Tender to mate with these mares.

     Some high-class cow horses were secured from this mating but most of them were a bit too high-strung to meet Mr. Campbell's exacting standard for a good cow-horse. Some of the latter developed into very fast short distance running horses; others into horses that possessed great endurance coupled with considerable speed, and still others proved later to have been and excellent foundation for the production of good driving horses when mated with Standard-bred stallions.

     In those days, buggies, carriages, buck-boards and spring wagons provided the major means of human transportation locally and to a considerable extent over some distance. Experience had proved that the Standard-bred (trotter or pacer) was the best adapted of all breeds for driving purposes. It was also being used to a considerable extent for farm and other work. The demand for this breed for utility purposes was greater than the supply. Furthermore, there was a strong demand for fancy driving horses, and many men of wealth had turned to harness horse racing as a sport and were willing to pay very high prices for racing prospects as ell as for horses of proved racing ability.

     This opportunity for profit and pleasure greatly appealed to Mr. Campbell, and in the middle 1880's he decided to engage in the production of high class driving horses. The plan he had in mind called for the purchase of registered Standard-bred sires of the best quality and breeding obtainable and a select group of well bred registered Standard-bred mares. These mares and the Indian pony-Thoroughbred cross mares on hand were to serve as the foundation upon which a large scale breeding program would be built. This program got underway in 1887 when he went to Kentucky and purchased three young stallions and several young mares. The stallions were Acolyte 7849, a yearling by Onward 1411 for which he paid $1,500; Lorenzo 7844, a three-year-old by Onward; and Redmore 8243, a yearling by Red Wilkes by George Wilkes. Three of the fillies -- Symbol, Lady Onward, and Gaity -- were also by Onward. [30] The filly, Symbol, later became famous as the dam of the sensational Symboleer 19869 that made a world's two-year-old pacing race record of 2:11 in 1894.

     Mr. Campbell's next problem was the selection of a sire to which daughters and granddaughters of Onward could be bred. After giving the situation thoughtful consideration he decided to secure a son of Electioneer 125 owned by Leland Stanford of Palo Alto, Cal., so in the late summer of 1888 he went to California and finally was able to purchase a two-year-old son of Electioneer which was later registered as Campbell's Electioneer 11671. This colt cost $9,500. [31]

     Mr. Campbell put Campbell's Electioneer into training soon after his arrival at Kiowa in September, 1888, and in less than 60 days he lowered the then existing Kansas 2-year-old record 21 seconds by trotting a mile in 2:34 over a poor track and in the rain. He won every heat in which he started as a two-year-old. [32]

     In 1889 as a three-year-old Campbell's Electioneer was campaigned from Kansas to Kentucky after a light breeding season and won every race in which he started except one. This race, trotted at Lexington, Ky., October 14, 1889, was won by Nancy Hanks who later became the world's champion trotter. Campbell's Electioneer ended his three-year-old campaign with a record of 2:22-1/2. [33] In 1890 as a four-year-old he made a heavy stud season at Kansas City at a service fee of $200. A bad case of distemper following the breeding season made a racing campaign impossible that year. In 1891 as a five-year-old he again made a heavy stud season at Kansas City standing at $200 and earned $11,000 in service fees. At the end of the breeding season he was put into training and made another extensive and successful racing campaign. On September 18 he lowered his record to 2:221/4, on September 23, to 2:19 [34] and on October 28 to 2:173/4. [35]

     The breeding and speed shown by Campbell's Electioneer as a three-year-old attracted wide-spread attention and resulted in many offers for him, including one of $33,000 from an Austrian syndicate. All were declined, but in 1892 Mr. Campbell sold Campbell's Electioneer at public auction in Lexington, Ky. The depression of the 1890's was already being felt and he brought only $15,100. [36]

     Symboleer 19869 foaled in 1892 was the best of the many good Standard-bred horses bred by Mr. Campbell, and the fastest horse sired by Campbell's Electioneer. Carmine by Symboleer, a gelding foaled in 1896, was the fastest horse bred by Mr. Campbell. Carmine made a race record of 2:071/4 at Columbus, Ohio, July 31, 1901. [37]

     On November 3, 1894, Symboleer made a new world's pacing race record for two-year-olds of 2:11 at Dallas, Tex. [38] This sensational performance was considered of sufficient importance as a news item to find its way into the daily press throughout the country. An enthusiastic homecoming reception was tendered this remarkable colt upon his return to Kiowa. [39]

     Mr. Campbell sold Symboleer at public auction in New York in 1895 for $1,310. He also sold Symboleer's dam, Symbol, for $1,500 in the same auction. Symboleer lowered his race record to 2:091/2 at Readville, Mass., September 5, 1898. Although he did not reach the heights as a racehorse that his two-year-old form promised, it has been established that this failure was not the fault of Symboleer. He did prove to be one of the three greatest Standard-bred sires ever produced in Kansas and he climbed to these heights the hard way, having been mated with very few high class Standard-bred mares, until the last years of his life.

     When Campbell's Electioneer passed to another owner in 1892, Alcolyte 7849 by Onward, purchased in Kentucky as a yearling and then six years of age, was promoted to the position of head sire. He proved to be a very successful sire, perhaps a greater sire than Campbell's Electioneer. There was, however, this difference in the get of these two stallions. The get of Alcolyte did not develop as much speed at an early age as did the get of Campbell's Electioneer; however, statistics show that the final records of all the standard performers sired by Alcolyte average five seconds faster than the final records of all the standard performers sired by Campbell's Electioneer.

     A worthy contemporary of Campbell's Electioneer and Alcolyte at the Campbell ranch was Breastplate 11392, foaled in 1884, and purchased from L. U. Shippel of Stockton, Cal., in 1888 at the time Campbell's Electioneer was purchased.

     Alcolyte was followed as head herd sire by the splendidly bred Huro 37351 foaled in 1898. He in turn was followed by Marvin Bell 36229 foaled in 1900, a grandson of Electioneer out of a granddaughter of George Wilkes.

     W. E. Campbell bred many fast and courageous race horses, a large portion of which were sold as prospects and made their records for their new owners. The success of Campbell-bred race horses proved to be excellent advertising for all Campbell-bred horses and helped materially to secure good prices for the horses sold at home as well as those sold annually at auction in St. Louis, Chicago, or New York. One shipment to New York averaged $720 a head. Mules were also produced on the Campbell ranch in considerable numbers and usually found a ready market at profitable prices.

     When the Campbell horse-breeding activities reached their peak the horse inventory showed some 400 mares, eight Standard-bred stallions, one Thoroughbred stallion, two draft stallions and three jacks in service. This was the most extensive horse-breeding establishment in Kansas devoted to the production of well bred horses.

     When portions of Oklahoma were opened for settlement in 1889 and in 1893, W. E. Campbell outfitted groups of friends and relatives and acted as their guide in making both runs for claims. These groups had a better chance for success than most other participants because Mr. Campbell owned the best horses in that section of the country and was thoroughly familiar with both areas. All members of both groups secured good claims -- those making the run in 1889 on land over which Mr. Campbell ranched in the early 1870's.

     A considerable portion of the Kiowa ranch was devoted to crop production, and while the acreage and activities of this ranch were at their peak 33,000 bushels of wheat and 15,000 bushels of oats besides a considerable amount of corn were produced in a single year.

     When Mr. Campbell started ranching in the Indian territory it was the rendezvous of outlaws from every section of the United States. Many lived by rustling cattle and horses, robbing individuals, banks and trains, and gambling. A goodly number were ruthless cold-blooded killers. Someone has said that "These outlaws were even more savage than the red man in their dealings with ranchmen and other white persons." Mr. Campbell had his share of experiences with outlaws, but only a couple will be related.

     On one occasion he found, upon arrival at his Indian territory ranch with a trail herd from Texas, that outlaws had stolen all the horses at the ranch. He immediately started on the trail of the thieves and followed them into Mexico where their trail was lost and he had to return empty handed. He, however, had the satisfaction of knowing that he had done his best to meet the requirements of the unwritten law of the range in dealing with such cases.

     A few years later he had an experience in dealing with outlaws that has been reported in several books and other publications under the title of "The Jim Talbot Raid" at Caldwell. Jim Talbot, an outlaw who had formerly operated in western Texas and eastern New Mexico, drifted into Caldwell in the fall of 1881. On the morning of December 17 of that year he and his pals started "shooting up" the town. Apparently the motive behind this action was to get Mike Meagher, a former chief of police at Wichita, into the fight and kill him. When the shooting started, the city marshal of Caldwell called upon Meagher for help and the latter was soon in the thick of the fight. Talbot outmaneuvered Meagher, got the drop on him and killed him. The outlaws then hurriedly left town and upon reaching "Bovine Park" -- the Campbell headquarters a short distance from Caldwell -- they rode into the yard and at the point of a Winchester commandeered a saddle horse from a group of men who were digging a well near the Campbell house. Mr. Campbell saw the incident from a window of his home, but was persuaded by Mrs. Campbell not to become involved. When the outlaws left, Mr. Campbell, well-armed, started for Caldwell to mail some letters and papers. On the way he met a posse starting on the trail of the outlaws. He joined the posse an apparently by common consent became its leader.

     The many stories of the Talbot raid written in recent years all differ considerably as to details. T. W. Walton, editor of the Caldwell Post at that time, who had been threatened with death by Jim Talbot the previous evening, was a member of the posse that pursued the outlaws and engaged them in a running fight for several miles. It is quite probable that the story he wrote and published in his paper five days later -- December 22, 1881 -- is more nearly accurate than any other that has been printed or relayed to the present time by word of mouth. Excerpts that relate to Mr. Campbell's part in the pursuit and fight follow:

The outlaws headed for Deutcher Bros.' Horse ranch on Deer creek [and] ... passed on to the bluff and creek about six hundred feet south of the ranch [headquarters], dismounted and took to the brush and rocks, firing all the time at the citizens. The citizens finally drove them over the bluff and into a canyon, where there had been a stone dugout. Into this three of the outlaws went, threw up breast-works of stone, got behind them and would bang away at any one who showed an inch of his person to their view.

     The citizens surrounded the gulch and kept up a constant firing at the fort, but without effect. One of the outlaws took refuge up in a small gulch leading to the west, and was not seen until he fired at W. E. Campbell, who was sliding down the hill on his face to get a commanding point above the fort. The outlaw's ball took effect in Campbell's wrist. ... Had the fourth man been anywhere else in the gulch the citizens could have taken them in; but his position covered every point that the others were exposed from. ... Thirty minutes more daylight would have told the tale for the outlaws; or had Campbell escaped the fire of the villain that shot him, he could have killed the other three in as many minutes, as his position commanded the fort in every corner.

     The outlaws escaped in the dark and Mr. Campbell was taken to his home. The shot in the wrist proved to be quite serious and he nearly died from loss of blood. Mr. Campbell also received two other less serious wounds.

     In the same issue of the Caldwell Post -- December 22, 1881 -- the editor commented that:

W. E. Campbell is doing splendidly under the care of Dr. Noble, and will in a few days be able to be up and around. Campbell showed himself to be up to the business of hunting outlaws while on that chase, and at the round up his brand would have appeared on three persons ... if they had not shot him just when they did. Twenty-seven [bullet] holes appeared in his clothing. ...

     A post card written by Mrs. Campbell to Mr. Campbell's mother under date of December 21, 1881, states:

I find by examining his clothes closely there are 27 bullet holes instead of 16. We had no idea there were so many at first. ... This is a card that was in his right vest pocket enclosed in a small day book. You can see where the bullet passed through the end. There were quite a bunch of cards in the book. The bullet passed through the book then through a large roll of newspapers he had hoped to mail. I have no doubt this saved his life.

     This book and bullet are treasured reminders of other days, now in the possession of a son.

     Ridings, discussing "The Talbot raid" in his book, The Chisholm Trail, identifies the Campbell involved as "Barbeque" Campbell, the name under which B. H. Campbell, another prominent cattleman of that area, was known. He was locally known as "Barbeque" Campbell because of the brand his cattle carried which was -BQ (bar B-Q). [40] W. E. Campbell, as Editor Walton indicated, was the Campbell involved.

     Indians frequently went on the warpath, dealing death and destruction until quelled by the army. At other times groups of renegade Indians plundered and killed wantonly, and always Indians were attempting to exact tribute from ranchmen as well as trail drivers of beef or money or both. An incident typifying this constant hazard was reported in the Medicine Lodge Cresset, December 22, 1881. It reads:

The report reaches us that Big Horse's band of Cheyennes rounded up a couple of Billie Quinlin's men a short time ago and made them give up their six-shooters while they (the Indians) helped themselves to a beef. As Big Horse has about sixty young warriors with him, he has his own way in these matters to a considerable extent.

     The Breeder's Gazette of November 8, 1883, quoting the Medicine Lodge Cresset, states even at that late date that "We understand that the Indians are giving some trouble to parties holding cattle in the Oklahoma country, and a short time since undertook to burn the range. The heavy rains balked their plans at that time, but it is feared they may cause trouble in the future." The possibility of Indians carrying out their vengeful practice of starting prairie fires was a most serious hazard because grass was the only winter feed available, and if one's winter range was destroyed he had to move or liquidate.

     The Campbells had their share of trouble with Indians, but only a few of their many unpleasant experience which have been preserved in the memory of members of the Campbell family can be included in the brief sketch.

     In 1874 while Mr. Campbell was following the horse thieves mentioned above, word reached the Campbell headquarters in the Indian territory that a group of Indians had gone on the warpath and would probably pass through the Campbell range. Mrs. Campbell's brother, John Duncan, foreman on the Campbell ranch, hastily improvised a two-wheeled cart by inserting a wagon tongue into the rear portion of the running gears of a wagon upon which he built a box large enough to accommodate Mrs. Campbell with a babe in arms, a two-year-old son, and Mr. Duncan. Since all the horses had been stolen, oxen were hitched to the cart and the trip to Wichita was begun. Fortunately they reached their destination in safety.

     On another occasion five young bucks demanded a beef of Mr. Campbell. He pointed to one they could have, but they were not satisfied. They wanted the best. An altercation ensued and the Indians retreated without a beef, but not without hope of revenge. A few days later they found Mr. Campbell alone on the range and sought to get even. Mr. Campbell dropped from his horse into a buffalo wallow with his Winchester and signaled them to stop. This they did but began maneuvering to surround him. However, when one would leave the others Mr. Campbell would motion him back, and if the Indian did not respond promptly the Winchester would come to the shoulder ready for action. After several attempts to surround him failed they rode away, and the incident was closed.

     At another time, after a long day hunting horses that had strayed away, Mr. Campbell and John Duncan were attacked by a band of 23 Indians. They were first seen some distance to the rear following at full speed. The white men knew their horses were to tire from the long day's ride to enable them to escape by flight, so they figured their only chance was to out-maneuver and confuse the Indians and hope for a lucky break. The white men turned in their saddles and waved with their hats to the Indians to come on and continued at a slow trot. Two young bucks rode much faster horses than the others and soon were well ahead of the main group. At the opportune time Mr. Campbell and Mr. Duncan reversed their course, spurred their horses to full speed up the slope, and with their Winchesters in action met the two leaders near the top of a hill. Thee leaders were so surprised by this action they wheeled their horses and ran into their companions that were following. This threw all the Indians into confusion and allowed the white men to leave the trail and pass down a draw at right angles. This draw led to a creek running parallel to the trail. The white men followed the creek under cover of a high bank on the tail side, going in the direction from which the Indians came. They escaped detection and reached some small timber on higher ground from which they could see the Indians in the valley below searching for them in all directions. The white men made good their escape but did not reach camp until the next day.

     Not long after the above experience a couple of Indians stopped at the Campbell camp when Mrs. Campbell was alone and asked for food. She fed them, but they became troublesome before leaving. However, when Mrs. Campbell reached for the Winchester they beat a hasty retreat. This incident emphasizes the fact that under conditions existing in those days women as well as men had to be courageous and resourceful.

     When Mr. Campbell first saw typical longhorn Texas cattle he was greatly impressed with their lack of the type and quality necessary for the production of good beef, and soon after he started ranching it became one of his major ambitions to help improve these cattle. He appreciated their ability to survive hardships and to travel far, but he also realized that sooner or later conditions would demand cattle of better quality. So he went East, purchased several purebred Shorthorn bulls, and turned them loose on his range. This experiment proved to be disastrous in one important respect -- all of these bulls succumbed to Texas fever -- but not until they had sired a crop of calves. This cross made a most favorable impression upon ranchmen who saw them, and after selecting the best bull calves from this crop for his own use he sold the remainder to Drumm and Snyder, large cattle operators in the Cherokee Strip, for $50 a head at weaning time. This was when Longhorn cows with calf at side sired by Longhorn bulls were selling at $20 a head. This experience convinced Mr. Campbell of two things in particular: The possibility of greatly improving longhorn cattle, and the need of eradicating Texas fever from the herds of the West. From that day on he did yeoman service in both causes.

     Trail herds were usually infested with Texas fever ticks -- the carriers of the Texas fever germ -- and the utmost in precautions had to be exercised to keep tick-infested cattle off the ranges of native cattle, which were highly susceptible to this disease. Protecting his improved cattle from ticks proved to be one of Mr. Campbell's most difficult problems. On more than one occasion tick-infested cattle got onto his range despite constant vigilance on his part and caused death losses amounting to thousands of dollars. On at least one occasion tick-infested cattle, en route to Dodge City across Mr. Campbell's range, then carrying mostly improved cattle highly susceptible to Texas fever, were stopped despite threats and attempted intimidation. This incident happened soon after he had concentrated most of his ranching activities in the vicinity of Kiowa.

     Mr. Campbell learned about this herd and the plan to pass through his range while in Caldwell. He immediately started west on horseback and overtook the herd some ten miles east of his range. He told the men in charge about the deaths it would cause in his native cattle and tried to reason with them, but the sum total of the results of his efforts was a statement that the owners "would go through if they had to wade blood up to their chins." Mr. Campbell hurried on, reaching his headquarters on Little Sand creek at dusk. He immediately sent for C. W. Clifford, a neighboring ranchman. After a conference they sent all riders from both ranches to neighboring ranchmen with the news of the approaching herd and the request that they and their ranch hands meet in front of the herd at sunrise. Mr. Campbell and Mr. Clifford met the herd at daybreak and were received with abuse and threats, but, as the light grew stronger, riders were seen coming from the distant hills and ridges. The herdsmen continued obstinate and abusive but by sunrise there were so many determined ranchmen, cowboys, and "forty-fours" blocking their path they left the bed ground in reverse and later shipped their cattle from Caldwell by train. That was the last "ticky" herd to attempt a drive through that section of the range country.

     It seems fitting to present in this sketch more about the part Mr. Campbell played in the founding of the present town of Kiowa. In 1884 he purchased a stretch of the so-called "three-mile-strip" extending eastward some 15 miles from what is now the west boundary of Kiowa. Soon thereafter he heard rumors to the effect that plans were on foot to build a railroad through the town of "Old" Kiowa, which was located approximately five miles northwest of his ranch. He went up to "Old" Kiowa, spent the night there and learned a great deal about the plans to bring in a railroad. The next morning he saddled his horse, rode to Harper, and boarded a train for Topeka. There he saw the right people and made a deal for the Southern Kansas railroad to pass through a town to be located on the west end of his ranch. [41] The information he had gained while working for the Union Pacific some years previously relative to the methods employed by railroads in selecting routes and in dealing with townsite companies aided greatly in handling this deal. Upon his return from Topeka several substantial citizens of that area met with him at Harper, August 2, 1884, and organized the Kiowa Town Company. The directors elected were Andrew Drumm, A. W. Rumsey, F. H. Shelley, O. P. Y. Ewell, and W. E. Campbell. The incorporation papers for the town of New Kiowa were filed with the secretary of state on August 4, 1884. [42]

     The Kiowa Town Company purchased approximately 5,000 acres off the west end of Mr. Campbell's portion of the "Three-Mile-Strip" at 48 per acre and located the town at the extreme west edge of this purchase, but Mr. Campbell retained 320 acres approximately one mile from town for a new home and headquarters.

     The men behind this project were capable, fast workers and within a year had developed an active thriving frontier town of 1,000 inhabitants. The first train came in over the new track on August 6, 1885, and the first trainload of cattle was shipped from Kiowa on August 9. [43]

     The town company felt the need of a newspaper to promote the new town. A brilliant young man had recently started a newspaper at "Old" Kiowa. Mr. Campbell visited the new editor and publisher and finally persuaded him to move his equipment to "New" Kiowa. The deciding inducement was a nice townsite advertising contract and about 300 subscriptions. [44] This young man was Dennis T. Flynn, editor of the Kiowa Herald, who later became a political leader in Oklahoma and served as delegate in congress from the territory of Oklahoma for most of the periods from 1893 to 1903. Mr. Campbell and Mr. Flynn remained lifelong friends. Mr. Campbell's only venture in politics was stumping Oklahoma for Flynn in one of his campaigns for congress.

     A few years later Mr. Campbell had a hand in bringing another newspaper man to Kiowa -- a man who later became one of the well-known newsmen of Kansas -- David D. Leahy. In an article written in 1935 Mr. Leahy said, "Forty-eight years ago at the solicitation of two old ... friends -- W. E. Campbell and James W. Dobson -- I went to Kiowa to edit the Herald." [45] This incident occurred in 1887. Mr. Campbell and Mr. Leahy had become close friends while the Campbell headquarters was located only a short distance out of Caldwell (1879-1886) and these two men also remained close lifelong friends.

     Mr. Campbell's formal education was limited to that offered by a pioneer Iowa country school but he became a well-educated man -- a self-educated person. He wrote well and was a frequent contributor to the leading agricultural publications of his day. He was a forceful and convincing speaker, and his name appeared on the programs of many early-day livestock meetings and conventions throughout the Southwest.

     Mr. Campbell was plain-spoken and aggressive, but at heart he was generous, kind and sympathetic. He could not tolerate incompetence or dishonesty, and abhorred liquor and gambling, neither of which was ever permitted on any of his properties. He was a leader in the betterment of economic and social conditions of the communities in which he lived.

     The many local improvements and developments in which he participated include: Petitioning for the incorporation of Wichita as a town; the organization of the New Kiowa Town Company and the founding of the town of Kiowa; establishing the first bank, the first newspaper, the first school (private), the first hotel and the cemetery at Kiowa, and bringing both railroads to that town. He also built the first brick store building and opera house in Kiowa.

     W. E. Campbell married Emily Duncan of Wichita, January 21, 1871. They reared six children: Wilbur Denton Campbell, Robert Boyers Campbell, Charles Duncan Campbell, Roy Hamilton Campbell, Frank Lee Campbell and Gladys E. Campbell. All are living at this time -- 1947 -- and all are useful and highly respected citizens of the communities in which they reside.

     Through the years one finds many published statements attesting the fine character and ability of W. E. Campbell. A few, published at rather wide intervals of time, follow. In 1888 the Medicine Lodge Cresset carried an exchange item, which read:

Mr. Campbell is a born stockman and clearly one of the most honorable, painstaking and successful breeders in the country. He ... came to southern Kansas in '68 without a dollar. He came before a furrow was turned south of the Arkansas river, and with many another brave, self-helpful boy, contested with the red-handed savages for the mastery of this beautiful region. His trusty Winchester, steady nerve and ready tact have more than once been called into service for the protection of his home, his friends and herds, from the scarcely less savage white marauders of the early day. He has seen the dissipation of countless herds of buffalo; turned the green sward on many a virgin prairie; shared in the trials and triumphs of pioneer life, never forgetting his own fight with poverty, he has been from first to last the friend of the poor. [46]

     In 1898 T. L. Miller stated in his History of Hereford Cattle that, "Few men have had the long and varied experience of Mr. Campbell, and at this writing he is still ranching and breeding Herefords in the vicinity of his early range experience. ... He was and is a master of the range business." [47]

     In 1935 David D. Leahy in a story in the Wichita Eagle referred to Mr. Campbell as "... my old friend W. E. Campbell, ... a brave and enterprising citizen," [48] and the same year in a story published in the 50th anniversary edition of the Kiowa News-Review, Mr. Leahy headed a list of Kiowa citizens noted for their solidarity with the name of W. E. Campbell. [49]

     Early in October, 1907, Mr. Campbell spent a few days in Wichita with Mrs. Campbell who was ill in a hospital. The editor of the Wichita Eagle, learning of his presence in the city which he helped to incorporate nearly 40 years previously, sent a member of the Eagle staff to interview him. The result of this interview was an interesting resume of the high lights of Mr. Campbell's eventful life, and it seems fitting to close this sketch with a few lines from that story:

William E. Campbell has left deep footprints in Kansas. ... Mr. Campbell was a town builder, a country builder, ... a public spirited man, a public benefactor, a fighter and always a good citizen. ... He improved the horses and cattle and the grains and grasses and the fruit and vegetables of his country. He ... was never afraid of risking either his life or his right for progress or upbuilding. [50]

Dr. Charles Wilbur McCampbell, a native of Marshall county, is professor of animal husbandry at Kansas State College, Manhattan.

     1. Dictionary of American Biography (New York, 1934), v. 13, pp.539, 540.

     2. Wichita Eagle, October 6, 1907, p. 19.

     3. Ibid..

     4. Congress on July 15, 1870 provided for the removal of the Osages from Kansas, leaving the lands open for white settlement. -- U.S. Statutes at Large, v. 16, ch. 296, sec. 12, p. 362.

     5. When congress designated the 37º parallel as the southern boundary of Kansas, it was believed by the committee on territories that the boundary was being made to coincide with the northern boundary of the territory of the Cherokees. A survey was made in 1857 of the southern boundary of Kansas, and the Cherokees complained that the boundary established by the survey was not the true northern boundary of their territory. Their lands extended about two and one-half miles over into Kansas. By law (U. S. Statutes at Large, v. 10, p. 284). Indian territory could not be included within the territory of Kansas without the consent of the tribes concerned. In 1861, the act admitting Kansas to the Union (U.S. Statutes at Large, v. 12, p. 126) set the southern boundary at the 37º parallel of north latitude but expressly excepted from the state the lands of the Indian tribes that were within the borders, until the tribes should signify their consent. By the treaty of July 19, 1866, the Cherokees ceded their Kansas land in trust to the United States and gave their consent for the land to be included within the state of Kansas. -- "The Northern Boundary of Oklahoma," by J. Stanley Clark, in Chronicles of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, v. 15, pp. 271-290; "The Boundary Lines of Kansas," by George W. Martin, in Kansas Historical Collections, v.11, pp. 55, 56; Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties (Washington, 1904), v. 2, p. 947; George Rainey, The Cherokee Strip (Guthrie, Okla., 1933), pp. 30-42.

     6. Wichita Sunday Eagle, April 14, 1935.

     7. Other descriptions can be found in the Kiowa Herald, June 4, 1885, December 30, 1886, and in the Kiowa Review, July 17, 1895.

     8. The ranch was first referred to as "Palo Alto." -- Kiowa Herald, September 4, 1884.

     9. Ibid., June 4, 1885.

     10. Kiowa Herald-Ear, March 3, 1887.

     11. Kiowa Herald, November 15, 1888.

     12. Ibid., December 6, 1888.

     13. Ibid., November 22, 1888.

     14. Ibid., December 6, 1888.

     15. This description was reprinted in the Kiowa Herald, June 14, 1888, from the Medicine Lodge Cresset, April 5, 1888.

     16. Ibid.

     17. Kansas City (Mo.) Live-Stock Indicator, September 21, 1882.

     18. Kiowa Journal, October 31, November 7, 1907.

     19. Apparently a special edition was issued, for the address does not appear in the regular file copy for that date in the newspaper collections of the Kansas State Historical Society.

     20. The Breeder's Gazette, Chicago, v. 6 (September 4, 1884), pp. 333, 334.

     21. Caldwell Post, July 7, 1881.

     22. Alvin H. Sanders, The Story of the Herefords (Chicago, 1914), p. 531.

     23. Wichita Eagle, September 14, 1882; T. L. Miller, History of Hereford Cattle (Chillicothe, Mo., 1902), pp. 476-480.

     24. The Breeder's Gazette, Chicago, v. 2 (September 28, 1882), p. 416.

     25. Miller, op. cit., pp. 437, 438.

     26. Kansas Farmer, Topeka, November 14, 1883; Kansas City (Mo.) Live-Stock Indicator, November 15, 1883.

     27. Kiowa Review, February 23, 1898. The sale price was reported at $100 in the Caldwell Journal, December 13, 1883, and the Kansas City Live-Stock Indicator, December 6, 1883.

     28. Kiowa Review, February 23, 1898.

     29. Ibid.; Kansas City Live-Stock Indicator, November 12, 1885.

     30. Kiowa Herald, December 29, 1887.

     31. Kiowa Journal, August 16, 1888. The Journal of September 6, 1888, quoting the Wichita Eagle, reported the purchase price as $12,000.

     32. A comment in The Breeder's Gazette, v. 14 (November 7, 1888), p. 476, said that Campbell's Electioneer was the fastest two-year-old stallion in America except one; Kiowa Herald, November 15, 1888.

     33. Ibid., November 14, 1889.

     34. Kiowa Journal, October 1, 1891.

     35. Ibid., November 12, 1891.

     36. The Breeder's Gazette, v. 21 (March 23, 1892), p. 232.

     37. The Horse Review, Chicago, August 6, 1901, pp. 861, 862.

     38. Kiowa Review, November 7, December 12, 1894.

     39. Ibid., December 12, 1894.

     40. Sam P. Ridings, The Chisholm Trail (Guthrie, Okla., 1936), pp. 478, 479.

     41. Wichita Eagle, October 6, 1907

     42. Kiowa Herald, August 14, 1884; "Corporations (official charter copybooks from the office of the secretary of state, in archives division of Kansas State Historical Society)," v. 17, pp. 507-509.

     43. Kiowa Herald, August 6, 13, 1885.

     44. Wichita Eagle, October 6, 1907.

     45. Kiowa News-Review, April 8, 1935.

     46. April 5, 1888, in the Medicine Lodge Cresset; reprinted in the Kiowa Herald, June 14.

     47. Miller, op. cit., p. 524.

     48. Wichita Sunday Eagle, April 14, 1935.

     49. Kiowa News-Review, April 8, 1935.

     50. Wichita Eagle, October 6, 1907.