Robert P. Fann

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Chapters Growing Up Santa Fe Trail, Part I Santa Fe Trail, Part II Quantrell Minnie Oldhorse Julia Fann Tyson	Scouting along the Santa Fe Trail; an escape from Quantrell; giant catfish pulled out of the Missouri River. Stories from the old MidWest - true, false and greatly exaggerated. Hear the words of a pioneer as remembered by his granddaughter. Pioneering the Midwest
Growing Up on the "Big Muddy" "He once caught a cat fish weighed 163 lbs."	These things my grandpa, Robert P. Fann, told me about his youth. He was born in Clay Co., MO, north of the river (in 1837). When he was a kid, he used to fish in the Big Muddy, as he called the river. He once caught a cat fish weighed 163 lbs. He used a rope tied to a tree with a large empty jug for a cork and a rabbit's hind leg for bait. He had to have help to land the big fish. I forget how long it took them. There were no bridges across the river then, so in winter they would cross on the ice, drive their wagons to Independence for shopping and visiting. Once grandpa was riding his horse across on the ice when it broke though with him, but the horse managed to swim to shore with grampa hanging onto the halter rope.
Santa Fe Trail, Part I "In 1909 the DAR marked the route of the original Santa Fe trail through Missouri with a series of markers. The markers in Jackson County, MO were located at Levasy, Buckner, Six Mile Church, Salem Church, Court House Yard in Independence, Aunt Sophia's Kitchen Log Cabin on Blue Ridge, Cave Spring, 120^th and State Line. One was also placed on top of the river bluff at the Fort Osage Cemetery. A group was formed of those who followed the trail. The "Old Plains- men's Association" issued certificates in 1909 which contained name, when crossed the plains, current age and address." Click here to read the article in full.	Santa Fe Trail, Part II If you want to learn more about the Santa Fe Trail, follow this link for a detailed description (Kansas State Historical Society document reprint, 1911-1912.) As a young man grandpa and his brother John were drivers and scouts for wagon trains going from Independence, MO to Santa Fe NM. They often had trouble with Indians. On one trip when grandpa was on scout duty they were to camp for the night. Grandpa and two other boys were out away from the camp looking for signs of Indians but didn't see anything like Indian's signs but when they returned to camp the Indians had been there and burned the wagons and carried off all they could, drove off livestock and destroyed every thing. Killed all the people, every one. Grandpa and the other boys were left without any thing. They decided (after giving such burial as they could to the dead) they would start walking back along the trail. They knew where an old sod buster had a claim along the trail about 4 days march from where the wagon train was destroyed. They didn't have any thing to carry water in, so just hoped they could walk all the way in the hot sun without water. When they finally arrived at the nesters cabin the Indians had been there before them, burned every thing, drove off all the livestock and killed the family and left them scattered around their yard. Grandpa said he and the boys were mad with thirst and rushed to the well for water, but the Indians had killed all the farmer's chickens and threw them down into the well. But they were so mad for a drink of water that they drank the water off of those dead chickens. They buried the family as best they could, then started on and after several days they met another wagon train and were saved. Grandpa said mirages were a big bother out on the hot plains. Cows would run themselves to death trying to get to those imagined lakes, but horses paid no attention to a mirage, whether the horse could not see it or just knew it wasn't really water, but he could not ask his horse and never found what the answer was. One time grandpa said they saw another wagon train traveling along parallel with their wagon train. It looked about five mile away. So when they stopped for lunch the other wagon train halted also. So grandpa rode over to see who they were and where they were headed, but when he rode out that way they all disappeared, it was only a reflection of their own wagon train on the hot plains.
Quantrell "... as he was going home he rode up over a little hill and came face to face with Quantrell and his gang."	One day in August 1863 grandpa had rode his horse to Independence to pay his taxes for some business and as he was going home he rode up over a little hill and came face to face with Quantrell and his gang. There were about 50 men, so of course they ganged up on grandpa and Quantrell asked him why he was not with the army and as MO was a neutral state grandpa said he was neutral. But Quantrell said any man that would not fight was no good to any body. The men wanted to shoot gramps but Quantrell wouldn't let them. He said they needed every bullet they had. (You see, they were on their way to Lawrence, Kansas to kill the people who lived there and burn the town.) So Quantrell said they would just hang gramps to the first tree they came to. He met them about where Ruskin Heights are now and they rode west but about the time they got as far as the Kansas line gramps horse got lame and as they hadn't found a tree high enough, Quantrell said he was sorry for the horse, so he told gramps to ride for home and not look back. But gramps said he sure expected a shot in the back as he rode away. He was late getting home and when he told grandma what had happened, she said Quantrell, the Bush Whacker, was the best man that ever lived. She was expecting her first child and said if it was a boy he was named Charley Quantrell Fann. (Note: she did, indeed, name her first child Charles Quantrell Fann).
Minnie Oldhorse	I remember when I was about 4 years old, my dad's oldest sister married a teacher and they went to Oklahoma Territory to teach among the Indians. Grandpa was real put out that his daughter would mingle with the red skins. After they had been there teaching about three months it came Christmas holiday so they came home to grandpa's for Christmas and brought an Indian girl with them. Her name was Minnie Oldhorse. She was about 15 years old and I thought she was beautiful and her clothes were all covered with beads of all colors, her hair hung down in two braids to below her waist. Grandpa was so bitter against Indians, he said to me, "I never thought my own daughter would treat me this way, actually bring that old squaw into my house. I'll not sleep a wink while she is here. She is sure to scalp us all in our sleep some night." I remember thinking how funny grandpa was to say that, for a kid like I was really charmed with Miss Oldhorse. That was the last time any of us ever saw Julia (dad's sister). She and her husband were both drowned not long after that.
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