feet tall and weighed almost 300 pounds. When he became president of the town company he was a resident of Weston, Mo., and lived there until a year after Atchison had been surveyed. Subsequently, Senator Atchison assigned his interests in the town company to his nephew, James Headley, who afterwards became one of the leading lawyers of the town. Jesse Morris also became a member. The town company, having been regularly organized, the townsite was divided into 100 shares. Each of its members retained five shares; the balance of thirty being held for general distribution. Abell, B. F. Stringfellow and all of the Burnes brothers were received as two parties. Henry Kuhn, a surveyor, surveyed 480 acres, which comprised the original townsite. Mr. Kuhn and his son returned to Atchison forty-five years later, and for a short time ran the _Atchison Champion_. On September 21, the first sale of town lots was held, amidst great excitement and general interest. It was a gathering which had both political and business significance. Senator Atchison, from Missouri, with a large number of his constituents, was there, and Atchison made a speech, in which one reporter quotes him as having said: “People of every quarter should be welcome to the Territory, and treated with civility as long as they showed themselves peaceable men.” [Illustration: A View in Commercial Street. Looking East, Atchison, Kansas ] Someone in the crowd called out, “What shall we do with those who run off with our negroes?” “Hang ’em,” cried a voice in the crowd. To this Mr. Atchison replied, “No, I would not hang them, but I would get them out of the Territory, get rid of them.” One version of the speech was to the effect that Senator Atchison answered his questioners by saying, “By G—d, sir, hang every abolitionist you find in the Territory.” But the best account of the meeting was printed in a Parkville, Mo., newspaper, and was reported by an eye witness, who said: