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 </figure>“Did You Know This About Geary County History?”By Dr. Ferrell MillerGeary County Historical Society Board Member“A Mystery In 1868” – Part 3 of 3	In Part 2 of this mystery, we learned that John Sanderson had been charged with the murder of Thomas Reynolds and a warrant issued for Sanderson’s arrest. A gun battle took place and Sanderson escaped into the bush.	When news of this reached Junction City, citizens were soon mounted and headed in pursuit. The posse soon found the trail of Sanderson’s brother, Jonathan, who was following his brother John with a horse and supplies. The next morning the posse found their man hiding in a small stone house north of Solomon City.	News of the capture preceded the posse back to town and by the time the train arrived carrying the fugitives an angry mob of 300 or so men had gathered at the depot. John Sanderson was, however, safely taken to the courthouse and kept there until the next day.	The next morning the prisoner was taken to the residence of Judge Wallace for arraignment. However, the magistrate was gone and not expected to return until later that day. During the wait, groups of armed and angry citizens gathered and when the attorneys and a group of officers emerged from the house, the crowd rushed upon Sanderson. 	John’s two brothers, Jonathan and George, ran to aid him. Jonathan begged John to make a confession in order that John’s life might be saved. John ran and 50 or 60 shots were fired. John Sanderson was killed. The mob then turned on the brothers. However, they were spared on the condition they would leave the state. 	In 1995, local resident, Earl Brown, recalled when he “was a boy riding along Highway 57 with his grandfather, whose family had homesteaded on Humboldt Creek. Brown‘s grandfather pointed out a heavy stand of timber down in the bottoms near the creek. He said that in the early days of Davis County (Geary County) this was where a gang of horse thieves hid the horses until they could move them to Fort Riley and sell them to the Army.”	Earl’s grandfather told him that “nobody ever went into that area without first calling out and identifying who they were and why they were coming through or they were likely to get shot. Brown’s grandfather also said most people who lived out there knew what was going on, but some prominent citizens were part of the ring. They would steal horses from farms and ranches all over the area and then alter or disguise the brands or markings and sell them in herds to the government. Thomas Reynolds apparently knew of these activities and was lynched to keep him quiet or to throw authorities off their trail. Earl Brown’s grandfather also speculated that Samuel Orr could have easily been a part of this group.” 	Was Thomas Reynolds killed because of his political views? Was he robbed then killed or did he know too much about the illegal activity going on in the area? We may never know!“Business Relationships With Fort Riley in 1903“	There were 6-8,000 visitors who were entertained during the Fort Riley Army and National Guard maneuvers in 1903. This was almost twice as many as had come the previous year. Most of the people who were attracted to the maneuvers planned to stay a day or two at Fort Riley. However, they were disappointed because there were no accommodations for them. 	Several weeks before the maneuvers, a Mr. Tyler, who was the President of the electric railway, sent out over a hundred advertisements to as many newspapers in the state as he could. His ploy was to be sure that those who were coming for the maneuvers knew that Junction City was the closest town near to the fort and was the only place in the vicinity of the big camp that had accommodations. Besides advertising in the newspapers, Mr. Tyler had thousands of posters printed and sent them to all the towns in central Kansas. He spent his own money for the printing of the posters and newspaper ads, which benefitted his electric streetcar company in the end. Those who visited or stayed in town rode Mr. Tyler’s cars back and forth to the post. Junction City businesses also profited from his investment. 	Many farmers in Geary County leased their land to the government in 1903 for use during the big military maneuvers. Landowners were said to be pleased with the way the Army made settlements with them for damages resulting from the troops going over their land. One farmer said he had just finished planting wheat over 20 acres and when the Army crossed the field, they destroyed practically all the planting. 	When the officers came around to settle for the damage, the farmer was allowed 25 bushels of wheat to the acre and was paid a rate of 60 cents a bushel. He could not have wished for a better settlement. The gentleman did not have to cut or thrash the wheat and did not even have to worry about the failure of the crop. Another farmer from the northern part of the county reported that he had sold $105.00 worth of apples and honey at the camp and was getting 15 cents a pound for his chickens. He said that no one could tell him that the maneuvers were not a good thing for the farmers in our area. Indeed, the Army was a good friend to farmers and businesses in 1903 and still is.

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