“Hell is full of such angels!”

I could think of no better place to start this blog than with a short piece on the notorious Kansas Jayhawker Marshall Cleveland. While many of his more iniquitous exploits have been recounted many times, there remain three principal ambiguities concerning the “Phantom Horseman of the Prairie.” The first mystery concerns his name. While some have claimed it was in fact Charles Metz, no conclusive evidence exists to support this. Thus far, no one has been able to provide reliable evidence as to Cleveland’s actual name. The second puzzlement surrounding Cleveland involves his female companion, a woman described by one newspaper as “the most daring” of his gang. The newspaper portrayed her as “a small delicate woman, who left Leavenworth in company with Cleveland. She rides with them, heavily armed, and is always first in every enterprise, whether for plunder or fighting.” In my next post I will shed some light on the woman, Cleveland’s “supposed wife” who after his death swore revenge on the Union soldiers who killed him. The third mystery surrounding Cleveland involves his tombstone and the location of his interment. It’s a remarkable story and I will cover it in detail soon on this blog.