67
Cavalry Corkscrew
Letters from the March, 1972 issue of the
Barbed Wire Gazette
(
Courtesy of Carroll Johnson
). They were in response to the
―
Screwy
Post
‖
picture posted in a previous issue.
From Goodland, Kansas -
―
My first sight of these posts was in late
1951 after the Arkansas River had gone on a rampage. During the
summer, the stream bed had changed and scoured out old channel
beds long forgotten. These posts in Hamilton County, Kansas, were
set with military precision and an approximate square of silent posts
was all that remained of a once-lively horse corral near Fort Aubrey.
The use was obvious. The screw posts could be set firmly in any soil
and removed quickly when necessary. Ropes were strung through
the upper loops of the posts to fashion a corral. It was a simple
matter to unscrew the posts, load them in a wagon, coil the ropes
and move out. Why they were left is unknown. Maybe another flood
covered the area with debris or in their hurry to leave the fort
supplies were left behind. At least this has been standard military
procedure ever since.
My second experience was very similar only closer to home. The
second biennial report issued by the State Board of Agriculture for
the years 1879 and 1880 shows the western tiers of Kansas counties
as 'Unorganized Counties' and the largest city being Eagle Tail and
some 800 Army camp followers. Eagle Tail was located west of
historic Fort Wallace outside of the reservation limits. The present
town of Wallace, the historical museum and the miliary cemetery,
are interesting sidelights of the early days.
In the summer of 1968 while looking for wire in the creek beds and
rubbish piles, it was my good fortune to again see the 'screwy' posts
just as they had stood untouched for years.
According to my references, Fort Aubrey was active from September
1865 through April, 1866. Fort Wallace was established in September,
1865, and officially closed as a military fort on July 22, 1884.
―
A letter from Hays, Kansas -
―
Regarding the 'screwy' fence post on
page 28 in your Gazette, I have 3 of them, one around 6 ft., one
around 2 ft. and one around 18
‖
long.
