to Ottawa in December 1874, about Christmas time."

"My master's name was Simms and I was known as Simms Bill, just like
horses. When I came out here I just changed my name from Simms Bill, to
Bill Simms."

"Ottawa was very small at the time I came here, and there were several
Indians close by that used to come to town. The Indians held their war
dance on what is now the courthouse grounds. I planted the trees that
are now standing on the courthouse grounds. I still planted trees until
three or four years ago. There were few farms fenced and what were, were
on the streams. The prairie land was all open. This is what North Ottawa
was, nothing but prairie north of Logan Street, and a few houses between
Logan Street and the river. Ottawa didn't have many business houses.
There was also an oil mill where they bought castor beans, and made
castor oil on the north side of the Marais des Cygnes River one block
west of Main Street. There was one hotel, which was called Leafton House
and it stood on what is now the southwest corner of Main and Second
Streets."

"I knew Peter Kaiser, when I came here, and A.P. Elder was just a boy
then."

"The people lived pretty primitive. We didn't have kerosene. Our only
lights were tallow candles, mostly grease lamps, they were just a pan
with grease in it, and one end of the rag dragging out over the side
which we would light. There were no sewers at that time."

"I had no chance to go to school when a boy, but after I came to Kansas
I was too old to go to school, and I had to work, but I attended night