page_205 < previous page page_205 next page > Page 205 County, adjoining the Missouri border.555 In August556 and again in the first week of September557 guerrillas under Quantrill,558 crossed over the line and raided the Black Bob lands, robbing the Indians of practically everything they possessed, their clothing, their household goods, their saddles, their ponies, their provisions, and driving the original owners quite away. They fired upon them as they fled and committed atrocities upon the helpless ones who lagged behind. They then raided Olathe.559 Somewhat earlier, guerrillas had similarly devastated the Kansas Agency, although not to the same extent.560 The Black Bob Shawness found a refuge in the western part of the tribal reserve.561 555 This group of Shawnee refugees must be distinguished from the so-called Absentee Shawnees, who also became refugees. The Shawnees had been very much molested and disturbed during the period of border strife following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Black Bob's Band was then exceedingly desirous of going south of dwell with the Seneca-Shawnees [Rector to Greenwood, January 6, 1860, enclosing Dorn to Greenwood, December 30, 1859, Indian Office General Files, Neosho, R 463 of 1860]. The Absentee Shawnees had taken refuge in Indian Territory prior to the war, but were expelled immediately after it began. They obtained supplies for a time from the Wichita Agent and lived as refugees on Walnut Creek [Paschal Fish and other Shawnee delegates to Cooley, December 5, 1865, Indian Office Land Files, Shawnee, 1860-1865]. Later on, they seem, at least some of them, to have gone up to the Shawnee Reserve [Dole to Coffin, July 27, 1863, Indian Office Letter Book, no. 71, 195; Dole to Usher, July 27, 1863, ibid., Report Book, no. 13, 208-209]. 556 H. B. Branch to Dole, June 19, 1863, enclosing various letters from Agent Abbott, Indian Office General Files, Shawnee, 1863-1875, B 343. 557 Branch to Dole, October 3, 1862, transmitting letter from Abbott to Branch, September 25, 1862, ibid., Shawnee, 1855-1862, B 1583. 558 Connelley, Quantrill and the Border Wars, 269, says that, from August 15, 1862, the Confederate government was directly responsible for the work of Quantrill. From that day, the guerrillas were regular Confederate soldiers. They were not generally regarded as such, however; for, in November, 1863, Price was trying to prevail upon Quantrill and his men to come into the regular army [Official Records, vol. liii, supplement, 907-908]. 559 Governor Robinson issued a proclamation, on the occasion of this emergency for volunteers against guerrillas. 560 Farnsworth to Dole, July 23, 1862 [Indian Office General Files, Kansas, 1855-1862, F386]. 561 Letter of Agent Abbott, June 5, 1863, ibid., Shawnee, 1863-1875, B 343. Â < previous page page_205 next page >