John B Turley

John Dade Turley (b. December 3, 1829; d. August 22, 1917) is buried in the Old LaMine Cemetery, Cooper County. An article in the August 4, 1910 issue of the "Kansas City Star" provides a fascinating glimpse into the long-faded days of Arrow Rock and the old Trail. Jesse's son, John D., stated: "We bought whiskey from the distillers in Missouri at 16 to 40 cents a gallon and sold it in Taos for $3 a gallon. It was terrible stuff too. We diluted it with water, making 2 gallons out of every gallon, but even then it was terrible. The ox teams had 6 yoke of oxen and the ordinary load for a wagon was 7,200 pounds...We had 45 wagons in our caravan with about 60 men...We sold our teams to Kit Carson...We took general merchandise, opened a regular store and would sell out our entire stock in 2 or 3 months. The remnants of our stock my father traded for Mexican sheep at $1 a head, took the sheep to California and sold them at $10 a head...I would like to go again if the railroad had not spoiled the trade and the fun...We traveled about 24 miles a day. Our last trip took 49 days. We met on that trip Rose, said to be the handsomest Indian woman in the West. My father made his first trip in 1829...I sold sassafras root at $4.50 a pound at Taos. We went to Taos, 45 miles from Santa Fe, because the market was better. Did you know there was no sassafras grown west of Saline County? The girls at the fandangos were treated to ice cream and whiskey. It is a devilish combination".