Dan Tolles

Winfield Courier, July 29, 1875.
Crazy Man. Tolles was his name, Dan Tolles, he said, and he was from Beaver creek, in the southeast corner of the county.  He had run all the way from the state line—on a hair line.  The Osage Indians had killed his brother, Sam Tolles, and he, Dan Tolles, had killed as many of them as they had of him and the remainder of them pursued, fired at, and tried to kill him again, but he had out winded 'em and give them the slip, and now he wanted to raise a company of men (Capt. Shenneman and his militia company would do if he couldn't get boys and private citizens enough) to go down and massacre these cruel savages, recover the body of his brother, and stop them in their murderous work.
The above we caught from the hurried and excited conversa­tion of a travel-soiled, hair-disheveled, badly frightened, crazy looking individual who suddenly appeared on our streets last Thursday.
We thought at the time the man was crazy and our surmises have since been proved to be correct.  From Mr. Wm. Bartlow, of town, we learn that last Thursday morning while coming home from his mill on Grouse creek, he was overtaken by this same man, who was at the time terribly excited.  He said the Indians were just behind him and were trying to kill him.  He wanted Mr. Bartlow to hide him.  Mr. Bartlow thinking there might be some truth in the statement, hurriedly helped him into his wagon, covered him up with some blankets, and drove on.  Soon, however, he came to a place where the road was new, being in doubt, got out and went ahead to reconnoiter.  Returning in a few moments to his team, he saw this strange man jump from the wagon, and on seeing him, started off down the hill ab breakneck speed, screaming at every jump, and he only stopped, as we suppose, when he reached our city as above described.
From parties living in the neighborhood we learn that there have been no Indians except a few begging Kaws down there since the Indian war and that this man Tolles must actually be crazy.  He left town Friday and we have heard nothing of him since.