=Getting Ready for the First Winter.= The people lived in tents and houses of thatch through the summer and fall, but in the meantime all were busy getting log cabins ready for the winter. By the time winter had come a number of things had been accomplished: a sawmill was running, churches had been organized, two newspapers had been established, and Lawrence had been granted a post office with mail from Kansas City three times a week. The population was about four hundred. Many of the cabins still had cloth doors and were without floors, and altogether the people had all they could do to take care of themselves through the winter. When two more parties of emigrants arrived at the beginning of winter the task became much more difficult.
=The Actual Settlers’ Association.= Besides the work of building homes and developing the town, there was much to occupy the minds of the pioneers. Missourians had taken claims over much of the eastern part of the Territory. While some proslavery settlers had come to make homes, just as the free-state settlers had, most of those who had taken claims were really living in Missouri. When the first party came to Lawrence, the members bought out the claims where they located their town; later other claimants appeared, and there was much trouble over the title to the land. The same kind of trouble arose in regard to the land taken by many free-state settlers outside of Lawrence. It became a common occurrence for a Missourian to come over and lay claim to some free-state man’s land and warn him to leave the Territory. This caused the formation of the Actual Settlers’ Association, which helped to adjust such difficulties.
[Illustration: THE FIRST HOUSE IN TOPEKA.]
=Other Towns.= Lawrence was not the only place in the Territory that was settled before the close of the first winter. People were coming in from north, east, and south, settling on claims and starting other towns. The principal proslavery towns were Leavenworth, Atchison, and Lecompton. Free-state towns were Lawrence, Topeka, Osawatomie, and Manhattan. Leavenworth and Atchison were both founded by people from Missouri, and, since they were on the Missouri River, came to be outfitting points for travelers over the California and Salt Lake Trails. Lecompton, on the Kansas River, not far from Lawrence, soon became the headquarters of the proslavery people, and for several years was the Territorial capital. Topeka was founded with the hope of its becoming the capital of Kansas. Osawatomie soon became an important free-state center. Manhattan, on the Kansas River at the mouth of the Big Blue, was for the first few months called Boston. On the arrival of a party of seventy-five people from Cincinnati, Ohio, the name was changed to Manhattan. This party made the entire trip from Cincinnati to Manhattan by boat.