Skip to main content

Full text of "History of western Nebraska and its people. General history. Cheyenne, Box Butte, Deuel, Garden, Sioux, Kimball, Morrill, Sheridan, Scotts Bluff, Banner, and Dawes counties. A group often called the panhandle of Nebraska"

See other formats 


M.U 

Gc 

978.2 
Sh9h 
v. 2 
1192386 


GENEALOGY   COLLECTION 


1833  01065  1435 


History  of  Western  Nebraska 
and  its  People 


: —   (T 


History  of 

Western  Nebraska 

*. — — 

and  its  People 


GENERAL  HISTORY.     CHEYENNE,   BOX  BUTTE,  DEUEL,  GARDEN, 

SIOUX,  KIMBALL,  MORRILL,  SHERIDAN,  SCOTTS  BLUFF, 

BANNER,  AND  DAWES    COUNTIES.     A  GROUP 

OFTEN  CALLED  THE  PANHANDLE 

OF  NEBRASKA 


GRANT  L.  SHUMWAY,   SCOTTSBLUFF,  NEBRASKA 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 


ISSUED  IN  THREE  ROYAL  OCTAVO  VOLUMES 
VOLUME  II. 

ILLUSTRATED 


THE  WESTERN  PUBLISHING  &  ENGRAVING  COMPANY 

LINCOLN,  NEBRASKA 

19  2  1 


COPYRIGHTED  1921 

BY 

WESTERN  PUBLISHING  Sc  ENGRAVING  COMPANY 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


CONTENTS 


PART    I 


11S2386 


CHAPTER  I  1 

Nebraska   Came   From  the  Sea 

CHAPTER  II 4 

Old  Trails 

CHAPTER  III        ...  6 

The  Flag  of  France  in  the  Wilderness 

CHAPTER  IV 8 

The  Fur-Traders 

CHAPTER  V 10 

Robert   Stuart's   Winter   Camp 

CHAPTER  VI  12 

Jacques  Laramie's  Caravans  and  Fleets 

CHAPTER  VII 14 

General    William   H.   Ashley's   Trappers  —  Death  of  Hiram   Scott 

CHAPTER  VIII  IS 

Joshua   Pilcher  and   Forty-Five  Trappers 

^CHAPTER  IX 17 

First  Wagons  on  Overland  Trails 

CHAPTER  X 19 

Wyeth,  of  "Cape   Bay,"  and   His  "Down   Easters" 

CHAPTER  XI 21 

Nez  Perce  and  Crow  Indians  —  Crow  Creek  Named 

CHAPTER  XII      ....        - 22 

Little  Moon  Lake  —  Famous  Missionaries 

CHAPTER  XIII 24 

Forts  at  the  Laramie 

CHAPTER  XIV 26 

Robideaux  of  St.  Genevieve  —  Kiowa  Raid  by  Red  Cloud 

CHAPTER  XV 28 

The  Steamboat  El   Paso  Here  —  Reuleau,  the  Trapper 

CHAPTER  XVI 30 

Government   Buys   Fort   Laramie  —  Ft.    Fontenelle  is  Built 

CHAPTER  XVII  32 

Brady  Island  Tragedy  —  French  Boat  Song  — Jim  Bridger  Meets  Sir  George  Gore 
PART  II 

CHAPTER  I 34 

Indian   Migration  across  the  Platte 

CHAPTER  II 36 

Indian  War  and  Legend  —  The  Story  Teller 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  III 39 

The  Pawnee  Pilgrimage  —  The  Spotted  Robe  —  Ti-wa-ra,  the  God  of  Court  House  Rock 
—  Battle  of  Ash  Hollow 

CHAPTER  IV 42 

The  Legend  of  the  White  Hawk— Old  Bull   Tail's  Daughter 

CHAPTER  V ....  44 

Belden,    Bridger   and   Baker   Episodes  —  Early   Conferences  With  Indians 

CHAPTER  VI 47 

Songs  of  Parker  and  Minto 

CHAPTER  VII 49 

Red  Cloud  and  Spotted  Tail  —  Massacre  of  Cottonwood  Canyon 

CHAPTER  VIII  51 

Sunset  on  the  Platte  —  The  C.ibralter  of  Nebraska  —  Cheyenne  S  on  Bellechugwater 

CHAPTER  IX 53 

In   the  Shadows  — The  Fire  Fly  Song— Cached    Furs  —  Old    Land    Marks  — Trapper's 
Rock 

CHAPTER  X 55 

Stage   Drivers  — Road   Agents  —  Pony   Express  Riders  — Chas.  Cliff's  Adventures  —  Jules 
and  Slade  Feud  —  Creighton's  Quick  Fortune 

CHAPTER  XI 57 

Sacrifice   of   Frontier    Women  —  Indian    Execution  at  Ft.  Laramie 

CHAPTER  XII 59 

The  Grattan   Massacre  —  Spotted   Tail's   Dramatic  Deed 

CHAPTER  XIV 62 

Butler's    Storv    of    the    Cow    War—     Harnev  the  Squaw  Killer  —  Another  Ash  Hollow 
Battle 

CHAPTER  XV 65 

Murder   of   Spotted   Tail  —  Cow   Dog's   Puni  shment  —  Battle  in  Scottsbluff  Mountain  Pass 

CHAPTER  XVI 67 

A  Buffalo  Bill  Episode  — More  Indian  Troubles 

CHAPTER  XVII  69 

The  Battle  of  Horse  Creek  — Colonel   Moonlight's  Mistake  —  President  Lincoln's  Message 
to  the  West 

CHAPTER  XVIII 72 

Julesburg    Burned  —  Mud    Springs   Attacked  —  Battle  on  Cedar  Creek 

I'll  \ITEK  XIX  75 

Coad's    Battle   on    Lawrence   Fork  —  "Shorter"  Countv  Organized  —  Tank  Fighting  on  the 
Platter— Buffalo  Bill  Kills  Tall  Bull 

CHAPTER  XX 77 

Indian    Vgencies    Adjusted— Sitting  Bull's  Determination  —  Battle  of  War  Bonnet   Creek 

CHAPTER  XX] 79 

Sand   Hills   Station  Robbery  — Big  Bear,  or   Crazy    Woman  — The    Sod    Cabin  — Priva- 
tions "t   Early  5  ears 

CHAPTER  XX 11  82 

Revolt  of   Dull    Knife  — Winter   Fighting   in   the  Pine  Ridge  —  End  of  Indian  Wars  —  Sign 
Language 

CHAPTER   XXII I 84 

'I'lu    Winding  Story  — Sages   Tale  of  Orgies  — The   Xew   Dawn 

PART  111 

en  VPTER  I  S7 

When  Cattle  Mm  Wen-  Kings 


CONTENTS  vii 

CHAPTER  II 90 

Stage  Station  Ranches  —  Naming  Fort  Mitchell —  First  Ranches  on  the  North  Platte 
River 

CHAPTER  IV 92 

The  Battle  of  Sixty-Six  Mountain 

CHAPTER  V 95 

The  Ride  of  Dan  Dillon  and  Others  — The    Start  of  the  Texas  Trail 

CHAPTER  VI 97 

Cowboy  Escapades  —  Death  of  Jimmy  Tate  —  Red  Path  Bill  —  Fraternal  and  Class  Senti- 
ment 

CHAPTER  VII 100 

Coad's  Ranch  at  Scottsbluff  Station  —  Sheedy's  Seven-U  Ranch  —  Anecdotes  About 
Them 

CHAPTER  VIII  102 

Surveyor  Schleigel's  Teamster  Hung  at  Sidney  — The  Bosler  Range  —  The  VB  Brand  — 
Minnie  Montgomery  Honeymoon  —  The  House  of  La  Grange 

CHAPTER  IX 104 

Creighton's  — The  First  Ranch  of  All  — Death  of  Creel  in  Bull  Canyon  —  Tom  Kane's 
Adventure  —  A  Cowboy  Wedding 

CHAPTER  X 106 

First  Ranch  in  Nebraska  West  of  North  Platte,  Keith  &  Barton  —  H.  V.  Redington's 
Ranch  —  Nerud's  Corner — Later  Snake  Creek  Ranches 

CHAPTER  XI  109 

Colonel  Charles  Coffee  of  Creighton's.  Box    Elder,  Rock  Ranch,  Hat  Creek  and  Chadron 

—  Emmet  &  Brewster  —  Arrest  of  Fly  Speck   Bill  —  First  Gardens  in  Sioux  County 

CHAPTER  XII Ill 

John  Adams  Joins  Redington  in  First  Ranch  of  the  Panhandle  —  The  Rustlers  —  Origin 
of  Ranches  on  Cedar  Creek  —  Smith's  Fork    or   Rush   Creek  —  Vantassel's   Tie   Contract 

CHAPTER  XIII 113 

Jim  Kidd's  Training  Ground  —  V-Cross  and  Cherry  Creek  Ranches  —  Henry  County 
Hughes  — Little   Moon   Postoffice  —  Oelrich's  Wild  Escapades 

CHAPTER  XIV 116 

Around  Camp  Wagons  — A  Horse  Trade  With  Doc  Middleton  —  Arbuckle's  Break  Post — 
Scotchmen  Buy  Big  Ranches  — John  Clay  and  the  Two-Bar 

CHAPTER  XV 118 

Frewen's  Ranch  Experience  —  Hanging  of  Billy  Nurse  by  Vigilantes  —  Holding  up  Doc. 
Middleton  —  Death  of  the  Famous  Character 

CHAPTER  XVI 121 

Perry  Yeast's  Success —  Judge  Gaslin,  Who  Wrote  "The  Law  of  the  West"  — Tom  Ryan's 
Defiance 

CHAPTER  XVII  123 

Newman's  Ranch  on  the  Running  Water — Bartlett  Richards  &  Company  —  The  Scourge 
of  the  Land  Inquisition  —  Cattle  Rustlers  —  Hall  &  Evans  — Evan's  Battle  For  Right  — 
First  Dairy  Herd 

CHAPTER  XVIII 125 

Big  Ranches  Round  About  —  First  Dry  Farming  at  Big  Springs  —  Other  Ranches  on 
Lodgepole  —  Newman  Leads  the  Turks  Through  "Jerusalem"  —  Walrath.  from  Ox  Team 
to  Aeroplane 

CHAPTER  XIX  .127 

Creighton  Expands  —  Snodgrass  and  McShane — Mcintosh  Founds  "The  Circle  Arrow"  — 
Simpson  Organizes  the  Bay  State  Companj 

CHAPTER  XX 129 

Earlv  Sub-Irrigation  —  Bav  State  Buvs  Coad's  North  River  Ranch  —  J.  S.  Robb,  Foreman 

—  Mary  Rose's  Grave  —  The  Grout  House  —  J.  11.  D.  Ranch  —  Round-up  at  Circle  Arrow 

—  Death  of  "Skv  Pilot"  at  Pine  Bluffs 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXI  

Paxton's    Ogallala    Company— Hall'?    Famous  Drive  to  Pine  Ridge— Dick  Bean's  Death 

—  Gun  .Men  and  Frantz's  Comical  Episode 

CHAPTER  XXII  

I      \.   Hall  and  Robert  Graham's  Old  Time  Ranch  —  Ogallala  Men  and  Events— Indians 
Get   Southers  —  Bargain  Sales  of  Ranch  Locations  —  Harper's  Deal 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

An   Indian  Wagon  Race — Building  Camp  Clarke  Bridge — Round-up  —  Wild  West  Shows 

—  Tom  Horn's  Outlaw  Horse  — Six  Thousand  Cattle  Milling  in  the  River 

I'll  M'TKK    XXIV  ..." .'         , 

The  Farquerers  and  Cross  Country  Riding  —  Hunting  Geese  on   Hughes  Island  —  Fun  of 
the  Frontier  —  Jimmy  Moore's  Long  Walk 

CHAPTER  XXV 

The  First  Grangers— Murder  of  Collins  at    Camp   Clarke  —  Sheriff   Campbell   Gets    Doc. 
Romine  —  Beginning  of  Minatare 

CHAPTER  XXVI  

Perry  Braziel  Arrives  on  the  Texas  Trail  —  Trailing     Cattle   to   Judith     Basin  —  Sunder- 
ling's  Elkskin  Trousers  —  The  Drive  to  Pine  Ridge  —  Two  Girls  of  the  Prairie 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

Laing's  Ranch  —  The  Water  Holes  — Death  of  Wheeler  —  First  Hogs  on  North  River  — 
First  Hogs  on  Pumpkin  Creek  —  Killing  Rattlesnakes 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

The  Virginian  — Arbuckle's  Ranch  —  Romance  of  Parents  of  Madeline  Force  —  Lingle  of 
Valley  View  —  Connoly's  of  the  "PF"  —  New  Ranches  — Hank  Inghram's  Narrow  Escape 

CHAPTER  XXIX  

The  Shifting  Sands  — The  Storm  of  78— First   Settlers  on   Pumpkin   Creek  —  First   Cow 
in   Western   Nebraska— Mental  Giants  of  the  Big  Cow  Days 

CHAPTER  XXX  

Vigilantes  Hang  Reed  at  Sidney— The  Great  Bullion  Robbery  —  Whispering  Smith  Gets 

CHAPTER  XXXI  

Oberfelders  Demonstrate  Hog  and  Alfalfa  Combination  —  Later  Ranchers  Near  Oshkosh 

—  Poor's  Ranch.  Where  Sheldon  Hit  the  We  st  —  Cowbovs    Marking    Graves  —  The    Mid- 
night Ride  of  Wild  Horse  Harris 

CHAPTER  XXXII 

McDonald  Hung  by  Vigilantes  at  Sidney  —  Sheriff  Trognitz's  Joke— Practical  Jokes  of 
Old  Timers 

CM  M'TKk   XXXIII 

Gordon's  and  Whitehead's  Ranches  —  Voder's  Beginning  and  Expansion  —  New  Develop- 
ment in  Goshen  Holes  —  Beginning  of  Alfalfa  and  Sugar  Beets 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 

Sand  Hill  Ranches  of  Todav  —  Dangers  of  the  Stampede  —  Origin  of  Some  Western  Ex- 
pressions—Pranks  of   Early   Days 

CHAPTER  XXXV 

First  Ranch  in  Dawes  County  —  Graham  and   Snvder  on  Niobrara  River  — Other  Ranches 
War  Fort  Robinson  —  Stampedin'  on  the  Old  Trail 

CHEYENNE    COUNTY 

CHAPTER  I 

Historj  of  ilu-  Count) 

('II  M'TKk    M 

Wihh-t  Days 

<ll  M'l'Kk   HI 

nization  of  Cheyenne  County 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  IV 182 

Ivodgepole 

CHAPTER  V 188 

State  Officials 

CHAPTER  VI 191 

The    Press 

CHAPTER  VII 192 

Fraternal  Orders  and  Clubs 

CHAPTER  VIII .         .         .    '     .         .         •         -         194 

The  Church  — The  Bar  —  The  Medical   Profession 

CHAPTER  IX 197 

The  World  War 

BOX  BUTTE  COUNTY 
CHAPTER  I     199 

Organization  of  the  County 

CHAPTER  II 207 

Churches —  The  Press  —  The  Bar  —  Professions  and  Businesses 

CHAPTER  III 210 

Military  History 

CHAPTER  IV 214 

Civil  War  Veterans 

DEUEL    COUNTY 

CHAPTER  I  220 

Organizations  of  Deuel  County 

CHAPTER  II 221 

First  Settlers 

CHAPTER  III 222 

County  Organization  and  Development 

CHAPTER  IV 224 

Irrigation  in  Deuel  County 

CHAPTER  V 226 

County  Officers 

CHAPTER  VI 228 

Towns 

CHAPTER  VII 233 

Schools  in  Deuel  County 

CHAPTER  VIII 235 

The  Churches  in  Deuel  County 

CHAPTER  IX 237 

The   Press— Banks  and  Finance  —  Bench  and  Bar  —  Medical  Profession  —  Fraternal  Or- 
ganizations 

CHAPTER  X 242 

Deuel  County's  War  Record  —  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 

CHAPTER  XI 244 

Climate  and  Products  of  Deuel  County 


x  CONTEXTS 

GARDEN  COUNTY 

CHAPTER  I     246 

Early  History 

CHAPTER  II 252 

Boundary  Disputes  —  As  Between  Individuals 

CHAPTER  HI ■ 254 

Agricultural    and    Live    Stock     Industries 

CHAPTER  IV        ....    ' 256 

Towns  in  the  County 

CHAPTER  V 264 

Railroads  —  Schools  —  Churches  —  The    Press  —  Bench   and   Bar — Banking  and   Finance 

CHAPTER  VI 271 

The  County's  Part  in  the  World  War 

CHAPTER  VII 274 

Social  and  Fraternal  Organization 

CHAPTER  VIII  276 

The   Medical   Profession 

SIOUX    COUNTY 
CHAPTER  I  .  277 

Description  and  Early  History 

CHAPTER  II 280 

First  Settlers  and  Early  Town  Histories 

CHAPTER  III 284 

Medical   Fraternity —  The  Bar  —  Story  of  the   Schools  — The   Churches 

CHAPTER  IV 288 

Banking  and  Finance — Fraternal  Organizations  —  Industries 

CHAPTER  V ' 292 

Organization  of  Sioux  County  —  County  Officials 

CHAPTER  VI 296 

Sioux  County  in  the  World  War  —  Early  Schools  — Wild  Life 

KIMBALL    COUNTY 

CHAPTER  I  302 

The   History  of  Kimball  County 

CHAPTER  II 313 

Soil,  Climate  and  Possibilities 

CHAPTER  [II 321 

Transportation  —  I  [ighwaj  s 

CI  I  \ITKR   IV 325 

The  Community  of  Kimball 

CHAPTER  V 337 

Kimball  County  in  the  World  War 

MORRILL    COUNTY 
CHAPTER]  348 

Morrill   Count} 

CHAPTER  H 360 

1  ransportation  I  levelopment 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  III 363 

How  the  Land  Changed 

CHAPTER  IV  371 

Government  Irrigation 

CHAPTER  V 380 

Bridgeport  Business  Directory  —  The  World  War — Other  Activities 

CHAPTER  VI 397 

Bayard 

CHAPTER  VII 405 

Morrill  County  in  the  World  War 

SHEHIDAN    COUNTY 
CHAPTER  I  417 

How  We  Began 

CHAPTER  II 422 

Creation  of  Sheridan  County 

CHAPTER  III 428 

Banking  and  Finance 

CHAPTER  IV .434 

The  Story  of  the  Schools 

CHAPTER  V 440 

Sheridan  County  and  the  World  War 

SCOTTS  BLUFF  COUNTY 

CHAPTER  I  444 

When  Part  of  Cheyenne  —  Early  Experiences 

CHAPTER  II 449 

Gering  —  First  of  Many  Things 

CHAPTER  III 454 

City  of  Scottsbluff 

CHAPTER  IV        ...... ' 463 

The  Newspapers  —  Early  Days  in  the  County 

CHAPTER  V 469 

Incidents  and   Personalities 

CHAPTER  VI        . 476 

The  Story  of  Irrigation 

CHAPTER  VII 480 

More  of  the  Irrigation  Storv 

CHAPTER  VIII  487 

Scotts  Bluff  County  Schools 

CHAPTER  IX  +90 

Officials  Scotts  Bluff  County 

CHAPTER  X  494 

The  Farmers  Revolution 

CHAPTER  XI 498 

The  Church  —  Its  Accomplishments  —  First   Religious  Services 

CHAPTER  XII 502 

Scenic  Beauty  —  Manufacturing  and  Other  Industries 

CHAPTER  XIII 50S 

The   County   Military  Record— Honor  Roll  —  Fraternal  Orders 


xn  CONTENTS 

BANNER  COUNTY 
CHAPTER  I     

Following  Horace  Greeley's  Advice  —  Early   Experiences 

CHAPTER  II 

Beautiful    Scenery  — Tragedies  — Ranches  'and  Schools 

CHAPTER  III 

How  the  County  Began  —  Early  Officers 

CHAPTER   IV 

Once  a   Part  of  Lyons  County  -  Banks  -  The  Press -Industries 

CHAPTER  V 

Irrigation  — Early  Postoffices  — Early  Experiences 


DAWES  COUNTY 
CHAPTER  I 

The  Earliest  Years 

CHAPTER  II  .... 

Chmate  — Agriculture  and  Soils 

CHAPTER  III 

'  Settlement  and  Indian  Days  in  Dawes  County 

CHAPTER  IV        ...        . 

Early  Days  — And   Crawford  —  Many  Fir 

CHAPTER  V 

County  Organization  and  Government 
CHAPTER  VI        .... 

Town  of  Chadron 

CHAPTER  VII      ... 

Businesses  and  Professions 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Churches  and  Schools  -  Banks  —  In  the  World  War 


Things 


511 
515 
520 
523 
526 

530 
534 
540 
547 
550 
553 
568 
571 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

"Came  From  the;  Sea" 3 

Robert  Stuart's  Winter  Camp,  1812-13 11 

Death  oe  Hiram  Scott 14 

Grave  of  Red  Cloud's  Daughter,  Fort  Laramie,  Wyoming 49 

Camping  Ground  of  the  Hostiles 64 

HostilEs  Coming  in  From  the  Bad  Lands  to  Surrender 66 

Indians  "Home  Life" 68 

On  the  Range  Near  "Signal  Buttes" 87 

"Branding  Calves" 88 

Cowboys  Resting  and  Playing  MumblEpeg 88 

Sidney  R.  Probst,  Sr.      , 89 

Four  Old  Time  Cowpunchers 98 

John  Bratt              119 

Long  Horn's  Fagin  Ranch,  Alliance 123 

Hanging  Reed  by  Vigilantes  Committee 152 

First  Cemetery,  Sidney 167 

Fine  Residence  of  Sidney              167 

Sidney  Short  Route  to  Black  Hills 168 

Sidney  in  1877 169 

Interior  of  Oberfelders  Outfitting  Store,  1877 170 

Overland  Trail  on  the  "Old  Trails"  Route  For  San  Francisco      .        .        .        .  170 

Pony  Express  and  Overland  Mail  Office,  Fort  Kearney 170 

An  Old  Prairie  Schooner 172 

Old  Court,  Sheriff's  Residence 177 

Cheyenne  County  Court  House,  Sidney 178 

New  High  School,  Sidney 180 

Catholic  Square,  Sidney 180 

Birdseye  View,  Sidney 181 

Carnegie  Library,  Sidney 181 

North  Side  of  ShElden  Street,  Lodgepole 183 

High  School,  Lodgepole 184 

Blind  Cannon  Near  Point  of  Rocks 186 

■Methodist  Church,  Sidney 194 

"Samie  Girls" 197 

How  the  Court  House  Was  Moved  to  Hemingford 200 

Box  Butte  County  Court  House,  Alliance •       .  201 

Street  Scene,  Alliance 204 

High  School,  Alliance 205 

St.  Agnes  Parochial  School,  Alliance 206 

Oscar  O'Bannon  and  S.  Avery 211 

Deuel  County  Court  House,  Chappell 225 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Chappell  in  1886  .... 

Business  House,  Chappell 

Street  View,  Chappell 

Western  Lumber  &  Hardware  Co.,  Chappell 

Farmers  Elevator,  Chappele 

Street  Corner,  Chappell 

High  School,  Chappell 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Chappell 

Catholic  Church,  Chappell 

Christ  Lake  

Farm  Home,  at  Ash  Hollow 

Rock  at  Ash  Hollow.  Near  Spring 

Rush  Creek  Ranch.  Rocky  Point 

Pulling  Dead  Cattle  Out  of  Swan  Lake  After  Bli 

Old  Hartman  Store  and  Postoffice,  1892 

First  Schooehouse,  Oshkosh,  1898 

First  Store,  Oshkosh 

First  Dwelling,  Oshkosh 

Street  Scene,  Oshkosh 

Main  Street,  Lewellen 

First  National  Bank,  Lewellen 

Street  View,  Lisco        .... 

Residence  of  Mr.  Myers.  Lisco 

Schoolhouse,  Lewellen 

Old  Stone  Schoolhouse,  Oshkosh 

Grade  School,  Oshkosh 

State  Bank  Building,  Oshkosh 

"Feeding  Time,"  Nicholson  Bros.  Ranch 

"Some  Winter/"  April  17,  1920,  Harrison 

First  House  Erected  in  1886 

Sioux  County  Court  House,  Harrison 

Public  School,  Harrison        .... 

Methodist  Church  and  Parsonage,  Harrison 

Catholic  Church,  Harrison 

Drilling  For  Oil  At  Agate 

New  Road,  Monroe  Canyon.  Near  Harrison 

"When    iiie  Boys  Were  Leaving" 

"Haunted  House,"  Near  Harrison 

Coliseum  Rocks,  Near  Harrison 

Street  View,  Bushnell         .... 

High  School,  Bushnele       .... 

i  1  i  Residence  of  Isaac  Roush  (2)  Residence  of  John  I, 
Settlers  of  Kimball  (4)  Right.  Residence  of  He 
Cambele  

Mrs.  \,\  N(  H.  First  Settler,  Born  June  24,  1832 

KiMiiAi.L  County  Court  House,  Kimball 

Win:  \r  Seeding  on  the  Ranch  of  T.  L.  Bogle 

Branding  Scene  Near  Kimball 

Ranch  RESIDENCE  OF  WiHTCOMB  BROTHERS,  North  of  Dix 


Marc 


Filer 


h,  1913 


(3)   Some: 
ogler;  Left, 


arlv 
John 


LIST  <  )F  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Birdseye  View  of  Kimball  in  1900        . 
Street  Scene,  Kimball    *  .        .        . 

Residence  of  Robert  Garrard,  Near  Kimball 
Kimball  County  High  School,  Kimball 
Modern  School  Near  Kimball  Known  as  "Pedrett 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  Sunday  School 
Residence  of  John  Ewbank.  Near  Kimball 
Residence  of  Chas.  E.  Jacoby,  Photographer,  Ki 

High  School,  Dix 

Residence  of  Petrus  Peterson,  Dix 

Residence  of  E.  E.  Goding,  Dix 

Rural  School,  North  of  Dix 

Soldier  Boys  in  World  War 

Court  Hou^se  Rock,  South  of  Bridgeport 

Morrill  County  Court  House,  Bridgeport 

Public  School,  Bridgeport 

Sheridan  County  Court  House,  Rusiiyille 

Western  Potash  Company,  Antioch 

Street  View  of  Antioch        .... 

Second  Street,  Rushville      .... 

Rusiiyille  School 

National  Potash  Company 
East  Ward  Si 
"Where  Pltrd 


Antioch 
rooL,  Scottsbluff 
Primed  the  Pump  With  Milk' 


First  Cabin,  Gering,  1886 

Gering  Courier,  1887  .... 

Street  Scene.  Gering 

Public  School,  Gering  .... 

Site  of  Roubidoux's  First  Blacksmith  Shop 

Site  of  Roubidoux's  Second  Blacksmith  Shop 

Homestead  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  McClenahan,     1889 

Primitiye  Soddy,  Scottsbluff 

First  Church,  Scottsblltff 

Residence  of  T.  C.  Hally,  Scottsbluff 

View  From  DEroT,  Scottsbluff 

Broadway,  Scottsbluff 

A.  T.  Crawford's  Garage,  Scottsbluff 

Old  Home  Place  of  Jesse  Pickering  Near  Mix  at.- 

Farm  Ranch  of  J.  A.  Jones 

Spillway  Pathfinder  Dam,  Nebraska's  Niagar. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Currens 

Scotts  Bluff  Mountain 

Sugar  Factory,  Scottsbluff 

Lover's  Leap 

"Twix   Sisters"   Ruck 

Smoke  Stack  Rock 

Early  Schoolhouse 

Wheat  Seeding 

Marketing  Potatoes 


School 


xvi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Hampton's  Golden  Wedding 528 

First  House  in  Dawes  County,  Built  in  1879       .........  531 

One  Hill  of  Dawes  County  Suds 535 

Dawes  County  Trout  Stream 536 

Superior  Domino,  557924,  Owned  by  Mrs.  Wm.  Braddock 538 

Braddock  and  Deffenbargh,  Breeders  of  Registered  Cattle 539 

Bordeau  Ranch,  Owned  by  P.  B.  Nelson,  Chadron 540 

Dawks  County  Court  House,  Chadron 548 

Cram  ford  in  1886 550 

An  Early  Day  Home.  Chadron .  554 

Street  View,  Chadron 559 

Second  Street,  Chadron        .         .         .         .         .         ...         .         .              ■    .         .  560 

Jack  Rabbit  Roundup,  Chadron 561 

First  Schoolhouse,  Ten  Miles  South  of  Chadron 562 

Public  Library,  Chadron 566 

Federal  Building,  Chadron            .                          567 

C.  T.  Coffee.  Chadron,  on  Tract  in  1871 570 

Methodist  Church 573 

State  Normal  School,  Chadron 574 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 
AND  ITS  PEOPLE 


CHAPTER  I 
NEBRASKA  CAME  FROM  THE  SEA 


We  will  begin  at  the  beginning,  and  add  a 
chapter  to  the  geology  of  the  state,  a  geology 
heretofore  treated  by  Barbour,  and  Condra, 
and  Schramm,  and  to  which  research  and  ex- 
ploration has  added  much  of  valuable  infor- 
mation. We  will  tell  of  the  far-off  ,  misty 
past,  when  White  river,  and  the  Niobrara, 
Snake  creek,  Bluewater,  the  Lodgepole,  and 
the  twin  merging  valleys  of  the  Platte,  or 
Flatwater,  and  Gonneville,  or  Pumpkin  creek 
were  yet  to  be.  When  the  surface  of  the  earth 
was  of  hot  rocks  in  the  forming,  and  the  sky 
above  was  hidden  in  the  mists  which  enveloped 
our  celestial  baby  world. 

At  first  the  sun  could  hardly  penetrate  the 
humid  atmosphere,  and  the  dull  haze  was  il- 
lumined by  lurid  igneous  fires,  but  by  and 
by  sunlight  broke  through  and  startled  the 
concentrating  elements  to  pulsating  life  —  life 
that  came  from  the  hot  ooze  of  primeval 
oceans,  and  which  has  developed  through  long 
laborious  years,  to  busy  brain-driven  entities. 

History  is  moving  rapidly  in  these  later 
days ;  there  have  been  sordid  things  like  war  to 
take  time  and  attention,  but  at  intervals,  in 
silences  and  solitudes,  the  mind  finds  re- 
laxation. The  intellect  finds  restful  exercise  in 
contemplation  of  origin  and  destiny,  or  in 
translation  of  the  silent  language  of  the  ages, 
from  the  rocks  of  the  pre-historic  world. 

Clumsily,  I  have  sought  to  assist,  and  in 
reading  the  rocks,  I  find  the  story  of  the  an- 
cient sea,  the  islands  and  the  antecedent 
streams  of  our  own  state,  and  this  particular 
part  thereof,  written  legibly  upon  the  cliffs, 
and  in  the  hills  and  valleys.  So  while  the 
floor  of  the  world  is  granite,  we  find  above 
that  floor,  Nebraska,  even  as  it  stood  in  the 
midst  of  the  first  landed  area  of  the  earth, 
while  the  waves  of  the  Cambrian  sea  beat 
upon  shores  in  Wyoming,  Ohio  and  Oklahoma. 


And  here,  the  first  live  creatures  of  the  world 
crawled  from  the  primal  slime,  upon  the 
shore  of  the  primeval  sea.  But  later,  when 
the-  entire  Mississippi  valley  was  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  Silurian  ocean,  Nebraska  also  took 
the  plunge. 

Again  nearly  all  of  the  North  American  con- 
tinent emerged  in  the  lower  Devonian,  and 
was  connected  to  Asia  by  way  of  the  Behring 
straits.  At  that  time  the  Omaha,  Lincoln, 
Witchita  mountain  range  was  a  particular 
scenic  attraction  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas.  Its 
axis  was  a  little  east  of  the  present  site  of 
Lincoln,  and  could  you  sweep  away  the  cov- 
erings, you  would  still  find  its  rugged  peaks 
and  canyon  beauty. 

During  the  Carboniferous  period  this  gran- 
ite range  was  there.  Around  it  is  spread  the 
sedimentaries  of  the  Mississippian,  and  over 
it  the  Pennsylvanian  formations,  for  the  great- 
er part  of  Nebraska  took  another  plunge 
into  the  sea.  Eastern  Nebraska  came  up  from 
the  ocean,  with  almost  all  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can continent  at  a  little  later  date.  But  an 
estuary  from  the  Pacific  covered  that  part  of 
the  state  west  of  the  one  hundredth  meridian, 
and  it  also  covered  western  Kansas,  Oklahoma, 
through  the  varying  ages,  came  down  to  a 
time  comparatively  and  geologically  modern. 

The  course  massive  buff  and  grey  Dakota 
sands,  some  places  five  hundred  feet  thick, 
were  spread  over  Nebraska,  indicating  a  mov- 
ing body  of  water  with  currents  sufficient  to 
carry  away  the  silts,  and  also  indicating  that 
eastern  Nebraska  was  also  again  under  the 
water  surface. 

At  the  close  of  the  carboniferous  age,  inter- 
nal forces  again  disturbed  the  Omaha.  Lincoln, 
Wichita  range,  but  it  never  reached  full  pro- 
portions, owing  to  the  weight  of  covering  de- 
positions.    Buried  under  the  sedimentaries  of 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


eastern  Nebraska  and  central  Kansas,  it  still 
exists,  a  twin  of  the  Ozarks,  lower  in  altitude, 
and  covering  a  much  larger  area. 

When  the  more  violent  disturbances  shook 
the  fractured  region,  great  slabs  of  granite  one 
hundred  feet  thick  and  miles  in  area,  were  in 
places  thrust  out  almost  horizontally  through 
the  comparatively  newer  rocks  and  shales,  and 
these  granitic  intrusions  have  puzzled  geolo- 
gists, and  turned  aside  the  tides  of  oil  pros- 
pectors from  time  to  time.  Granite  and  Red 
Beds  have  been  discouraging  features  to  oil 
geologists :  yet  daring  prospectors  have  drilled 
through  these  granite  barriers  into  the  shales 
below,. and  others  have  found  best  qualities  of 
petroleum  in  Red  Bed  anticlines. 

West  and  east  of  these  sunken  mountains 
are  faults  and  folds,  synclines  and  anticlines. 
In  Kansas  and  Oklahoma  are  battery  after 
battery  of  perforations,  where  the  oil  drill 
has  penetrated  the  upper  sediments  and  cover- 
ing caps,  and  from  these  pour  steady  streams 
of  oil,  and  gas  wells  bring  forth  elements  for 
the  service  of  mankind.  And  so  Nebraska 
may  some  soon  day  yield  from  her  interior 
store,  rich  contributions  for  her  people. 

West  of  this  mountain  range  rolled  the 
waves  of  the  last  Cretaceous  sea  —  the  vast 
marine  water  which  divided  the  American 
continent.  Perhaps  a  low  coastal  range  separ- 
ated it  from  the  Gulf,  and  it  probably  extend- 
ed, widening,  to  the  arctic  circle. 

Between  the  Nebraska-Kansas  range  and 
the  Ozarks  there  was  an  estuary,  which  might 
be  called  Topeka  bay,  and  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  sea  were  others,  and  into  these  the 
ebb  and  flow  of  tide  and  current  carried  sponge- 
like woods,  where  water-logged  and  slime- 
burdened  they  settled  down,  and  after  ages 
they  became  coal  beds. 

Out  in  the  expanse  of  the  Central  Ocean, 
there  was  an  island,  a  hundred  miles  or  more 
in  length,  along  about  the  eastern  border  of 
the  present  Laramie  plains.  This  Hartville 
island  as  we  shall  call  it,  was  of  igneous 
rocks,  thrust  edgewise  up  above  the  sea.  Its 
western  shore  was  of  rugged  wave-washed 
granite  cliffs,  and  its  eastern  border  was  of 
crumbling  Benton  shales  and  greenhorn  lime. 

Tin-  Benton  series  was  fractured  when  this 
island  was  funned,  it  was  the  newest  of  the 
rock  so  broken.  And  the  Niobrara  chalk  rock- 
was  the  first  laid  after  the  faulting  of  the 
world's  crustal  shell.  In  the  rapidly  shallow- 
'  ing  sea  that  covered  most  of  Nebraska's  cen- 
tral plains,  the  Niobrara,  the  Pierre,  and 
other  shales  were  laid.  Much  of  this  part 
of  the  ocean  for  long  year.-,,  probably  ranged 
in  depth   from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred 


fathoms.  There  the  little  grains  of  glaucon- 
ite  occurred  from  decomposition  of  organic 
matter  contained  in  tiny  foraminiferal  shells. 
This  hydrous  silicate  of  potassium  and  iron  is 
seventeen  percent  potash.  The  soil  of  Ne- 
braska is  fertile  as  a  result. 

There  came  a  time  when  the  ocean  floor 
was  bared,  except  for  pools,  lagoons  and 
marshes,  and  long  lakes  of  slowly  moving, 
brakish  water ;  and  the  antecedents  of  the 
Niobrara,  White  river  and  the  Platte  ran  west- 
ward from  the  mountains  to  an  inland  sea.  It 
was  at  this  time,  after  the  Pierre  shales  were 
laid,  that  Hartville  island  sank,  and  Nebras- 
ka's sea  was  shallowed.  Islands  and  banks  of 
mud,  sand  and  rock  arose  dripping  from  a 
dismal  swamp,  and  miles  and  miles  of  marsh 
appeared.  The  Laramie,  or  Fox  Hills,  mas- 
sive sands  and  varigated  shales,  and  thin 
silicious  lime  rocks  were  laid  about  the  base  of 
the  sinking  Hartville  island.  Cross  currents 
made  mixed  bedding,  and  slightly  moving 
water  left  sandstones  marked  with  ripples. 
Paleo-zoologists  say  the  Laramie  period  was 
the  last  of  the  Cretaceous,  and  paleo-botanists 
say  that  it  was  the  first  of  the  Tertiary. 
Marine  animal  life  lingered  over  into  the  new 
and  marshy  conditions,  while  plants  changed 
quickly,  and  the  old  varieties  passed  away. 

Quite  likely,  the  Cretaceous  was  before  and 
the  Tertiary  after,  and  the  Laramie  during  the 
Rocky  Mountain  revolution.  It  was  the  per- 
iod of  transition.  Benton  oysters  found  new 
expansion,  then  changed  into  large  fresh  wat- 
er clams,  ten  inches  long.  Soft  woods  of 
prodigious  growth,  that  made  ligniteous  coal, 
passed  away,  and  hard  woods  took  possession 
of  the  plains.  The  Hartville  Island  sank  still 
more,  and  over  the  west  the  great  pleistocene 
lake  was  spread. 

Bones  of  the  Eocene  were  caught  and  swept 
along  by  the  rushing  waters,  and  are  to  be 
found  in  these  later  days  of  science,  in  rifts 
and  drifts  at  Agate,  and  in  the  Goshen 
Holes.  The  country  east  and  west  of  the  sink- 
ing island  warped  and  cracked.  Great  fis- 
sures paralleling  the  island  opened  up.  to  be 
quickly  filled  with  ooze  and  slime,  now  hard- 
ened into  Brule  clay.  At  the  base  of  the 
Scotts  Bluff  mountain  (there  was  no  mountain 
then)  and  in  the  Ardmore  country,  the  clay 
was  warped  and  twisted  and  tilted,  and  caught 
mammoth  turtles,  and  winged  water  bats  in 
its  toils,  to  hold  them  there  forever. 

The  original  horse,  a  dozen  varieties  of  the 
hippos  family,  from  tree  climbing  horses  and 
five  toed  ponies  eighteen  inches  high,  to  the 
almost  modern  horse,  left  skeletons  in  the  Agate 
fields.      And   there  are  bones   of   giant  hogs, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


that  once  wallowed  in  the  marshes  of  White 
river,  and  duck-billed  dinosaurs  that  crawled 
awkwardly  through  the  water  and  mud. 
Croaking  amphibious  monsters,  sprawled  in 
mud  and  sand,  or  coiled  under  dripping  trees, 
or  splashed  in  shallow  waters,  in  search  of 
food,  and  wrote  dumb  tales  of  the  Pliocene  on 
the  rocks. 

Through  the  rifts  in  the  clouds  that  envel- 
oped the  earth,  the  eternal  sun  was  breaking. 
The  brain  cases  of  the  higher  forms  of  animal 
life  were  growing,  and  yet  there  is  lacking  evi- 
dence of  the  existence  of  primitive  man.  His 
bones  are  not  found  in  White  river  stones, 
along  with  his  presumed  contemporaries,  but 


"Came  From  The  Sea" 

the  evidence  does  exist  that  the  Day  of  the 
Brain  was  dawning  in  the  Younger  World. 

Over  the  marshes  swept  the  untrammelled 
wind.  Over  stretches  of  water  and  sand  is- 
lands, aeolion  agitation  bore  volcanic  ash  and 
dust  and  sand,  which  found  lodgement  in  deep 
lagoons  and  moist  places.  When  the  later 
igneous  activity  stirred  the  western  mountains, 
air  currents  carried  the  ashes  high  and  far, 
and  then  for  days  and  days  they  sifted  down 
into  the  wastes  of  water  on  Nebraska.  Thou- 
sands of  acres  in  the  Holdrege-Orleans  dis- 
trict, and  in  the  Scotts  Bluff-Wildcat  moun- 
tains, and  in  the  Pineridge,  contain  beds  of 
volcanic  ash,  of  fine  commercial  quality. 

Aerial  combinations  of  ashes,  dust  and  sand, 
and  glauconite  came  over  the  wastes.  Into 
the  shallow  waters  they  sank,  and  interstrati- 
fied  with  sub-aerial  and  lacustrine  substances, 
and  formed  the  rich  Loess  soil. 

When  the  last  terrestial  convulsion  came,  the 
Omaha-Lincoln-Wichita  range  growled  and 
rumbled  in  its  subterranean  depths,  the  Ozarks 
hesitated  and  finally  thrust  their  ragged  sum- 
mits higher,  the  Sierras  came  up  out  of  the 
sea,  and  lava  beds  spread  over  Idaho ;  the 
Black  Hills  rose  towering,  and  Hartville  is- 
land came  up  again  to  the  sun.   Nebraska  hesi- 


tated for  a  time,  deciding  whether  to  become 
an  agricultural  state  or  break  up  into  tumbled 
mountains.  Ah,  what  a  time  that  would  have 
been  to  have  lived,  and  seen  old  Nature  build 
the  heart  of  the  American  continent. 

A  nearly  mountain  range,  "that  died  a  born- 
in'  "  ran  from  Furnas  county  to  Dawes  and 
Sioux  counties.  Nearly  volcanoes  sprung 
the  earth  in  a  dozen  counties  of  Nebraska.  The 
Goshen  Holes,  east  as  far  as  Broadwater,  Ne- 
braska, swelled  like  a  poisoned  carcass,  and 
there  today  are  rounded  domes  and  anticlines, 
of  older  rocks  surrounded  by  the  new,  and 
geology  points  prophetic  fingers  to  the  de- 
formations. 

Depositions  of  the  Gering  river  and  the 
Hartville  sea  tell  vividly  the  story.  Out  of 
the  range  of  mountains  in  eastern  Nebraska, 
from  much  of  Nebraska's  area,  the  waters 
cumulated  in  great,  slow-moving  streams,  that 
meandered  westward  until  they  encountered 
the  lifted  ridge  of  the  nearly  mountains.  One 
broke  these  hills  somewhere  in  Sheridan  coun- 
ty, and  another  near  Curtis,  and  they  moved 
westerly  with  increasing  velocity.  The  finer 
silts  were  carried  on  in  the  currents  and  the 
coarser  sands  filled  the  river  beds.  We  have 
traced  the  course  of  the  Gering  river;  we  find 
it  between  the  forks  of  the  Platte,  and  in  the 
Scotts  Bluff- Wildcat  mountains.  Partly  broken 
and  gone,  partly  eroded  away,  yet  sufficient  re- 
mains to  trace  the  majestic  current,  that  left 
coarse  grey  and  brown  sandrocks,  flecked  with 
rectangular  specks  of  black.  The  turreted  fa- 
cades in  the  castellated  hills,  from  Courthouse 
rock  to  Eaglenest,  are  the  sands  of  the  Gering 
river.  At  Chimney  rock  the  sands  of  the  spire 
indicate  one  hundred  forty  feet  of  deposited 
sand. 

The  sands  grow  finer  from  Scotts  Bluff 
mountain  as  the  current  slowed  down.  Then 
step  by  step  the  finer  silts  appear,  and  over  all 
the  once  bottom  of  the  Hartville  sea,  from 
Rawhide  buttes  to  Pawnee  buttes,  the  wind- 
perforated  rocks  and  soft  sandstones  are 
formed  in  wierd  fantastic  shapes.  They  give 
identity  to  the  hills  along  the  Red  Cloud  trail, 
they  are  as  monuments  for  a  long  dead  sea. 
The  sun  shines  on  the  whitened  lifted  rocks, 
'and  the  pale  moon  on  ghostly  forms  that  rose 
out  of  the  ancient  waters,  while  places  disturb- 
ed by  the  last  upheaval,  have  been  worn  away 
by  wind,  and  storm  and  stream.  And  glaucon- 
ite has  been  wafted  from  the  ancient  ocean 
floor,  along  with  other  sand,  and  it  covers  the 
Dawes  and  Furnas  ridge  for  miles  and  miles 
and  miles.  Hence  the  Great  Sand  Hills  of  Ne- 
braska. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  II 


OLD  TRAILS 


There  is  a  woof  and  warp  to  every  garment. 
And  the  garment  of  frontier  history  is  made 
over  and  upon  old  trails  that  twist  and  wind 
through  canyons  and  woods,  over  mountains, 
and  in  the  valley.  These  trails  were  old  when 
the  trapper  came,  when  the  first  Latin  ad- 
venturers penetrated  the  wilderness,  which  is 
now  so  alive  and  teeming  with  inspiration,  with 
human  action,  and  human  thrills  of  ecstacy 
and  tragedy.  They  wound  along  the  banks  of 
the  rivers  and  their  tributaries,  finding  the  most 
passable  fords  and  accessible  passes,  the  drink- 
ing places  and  the  meadows. 

From  the  Bluewater  (Snake  creek),  and 
L'eau  qui  court  (pronounced  lo-ke-cort  and 
now  called  the  Running  water  or  Niobrara), 
from  the  Lodgepole,  Gonneville  (or  Pumpkin) 
creek,  Lorrens'  (Lawrence)  fork,  and  from 
White  river;  and  to  and  from  the  springs  in 
the  hills,  criss-crossing  the  valleys,  in  the  sand 
hills,  or  on  the  high  divides,  they  made  a  verit- 
able net  work  of  trails — -trails  which  were 
made  long  before  the  time  of  the  Indian. 

Before  the  periods  of  those  industrious 
peoples  —  the  mound-builders  of  the  Missis- 
sippi valley,  and  the  cliff-dwellers  of  the  sad 
southwest,  and  the  earth-dwellers  of  Nebraska 
—  this  land  about  us,  newly  risen  from  prim- 
eval sea,  this  mystical  sunland  of  the  younger 
world,  became  a  land  of  trails.  At  the  foot 
of  Scotts  Bluff  mountain,  in  the  bad  lands 
north  of  Harrison,  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Run- 
ning water,  are  found  fossils,  telling  an  un- 
recorded story.  Pterodactylus,  the  flying  lizard 
of  long  ago,  turtles,  and  the  bones  of  the 
Mastodon  are  here.  We  may  yet  find  trails  of 
Irish  Elk  and  Cave  Bear,  which  the  first  men 
slew  for  food  and  for  adventure. 

First  men  were  strong  —  grotesque  and 
powerful  —  huge  hairy  frames  and  knotted 
twisted  knees,  with  muscles  which  could  tear 
limbs  from  the  trees.  The  battle  of  the  world 
was  for  the  physically  endowed.  They  cared 
nut  for  the  un-named  stars;  nor  that  the  sec- 
cond  sign  of  the  Zodiac  had  appeared,  and 
smiling  on  the  world,  was  yielding  a  new  in- 
flux and  order  of  intelligence.  They  knew  not 
thai  man's  mentality  had  begun  to  grow,  and 
would  continue  until  the  world  was  swept  free 
of  the  cumbersome,  useless  creatures  of  Plio- 
cene, and  their  old  trails  would  be  no  more. 

These  trails  are  buried  now,  under  the 
drill  of  glaciers  and  the  wash  and  ashes  of  the 
ages.    And  the  trails  of  glaciers,  the  ice-grind 


of  centuries  are  strewn  with  stranger  rocks  and 
stones,  torn  from  the  breast  of  their  mother 
mountains,  and  carried  on  long  journeys,  and 
each  peculiar  kind,  and  its  worn  face,  tells  the 
story  of  its  pilgrimage. 

The  glaciers  melting,  poured  released  floods 
in  natural  channels,  and  new  rivers  began 
the  first  hilarious  journey  to  the  sea.  Pos- 
sibly the  same  liquids  have  made  the  same 
journey  many  times  —  coming  back  in  vapors 
and  falling  in  rain  or  snow  —  and  then  follow- 
ing the  water  trails  made  by  the  melting  gla- 
ciers, centuries  ago. 

Deer,  buffalo  and  elk,  kindred  and  hostile 
beasts  of  early  America,  made  the  trails  of  the 
later  "Overland."  They  crossed  the  gaps  in 
the  Pineridge,  and  in  the  Scotts  Bluff- Wildcat 
range;  they  meandered  up  and  down  the  val- 
leys, and  made  worn  thoroughfares  over  the 
South  Pass,  long  before  the  American  Indian 
found  the  heart  of  the  new  world. 

We  can  go  back  only  a  relatively  short  per- 
iod in  our  stories  of  events  along  the  old  trails, 
for  only  the  smooth  surfaces  of  stones,  only 
silent  fossils  of  giant  things,  only  echoes  from 
a  disintegrating  atmosphere,  and  the  dumb  si- 
lent zodiac,  furnish  the  meagre  information 
as  to  what  happened  here,  before  the  half- 
savage  French  or  Spanish  trapper  and  adven- 
turer penetrated  the  vast  wilderness  of  the  new 
continent. 

It  has  been  a  delight  to  find  a  bit  of  un- 
usual or  remote  history  that  has  a  local  signifi- 
cance, and  any  motive  behind  human  action  is 
always  interesting.  There  are  but  vague  ref- 
erences to  the  first  trails  of  Europeans  in  this 
land,  and  they  are  so  conflicting  that  it  leaves 
a  question  mark  in  the  mind.  Fortunately,  I 
have  found  in  my  rambles,  stories  that  I  shall 
give  here,  and  leave  the  reader  to  determine 
their  historic  value.  They  may  find  incredu- 
lous minds,  but  to  me  they  have  become  fixed 
as  signal  fires  along  the  horizon  of  the  past,  in- 
dicating the  mark  of  the  first  white.man's  foot 
in  all  of  Nebraska.  The  opening  trail  of  civ- 
ilization in  the  mighty  west. 

The  first  story  dates  back  to  about  the 
time  of  Coronado's  search  for  Quivera,  the 
wonderful  city  of  gold,  which  brought  about 
the  discovery  of  the  great  plains  and  the  buffa- 
lo. It  was  following  Coronado's  futile  attempt 
that  the  Padres  were  inspired  to  attempt  to 
plant  religion  among  the  Indians  of  the  great 
plains. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Spain  had  established  a  foothold  in  New 
Mexico,  and  the  Padres  were  advancing  into 
the  plain  and  mountain  tribes,  to  plant  the  seed 
of  the  church.  The  southwest  had  been  par- 
ticularly susceptible  to  their  teachings,  and 
vast  missions  of  adobe  were  in  the  building 
stage  of  development. 

Some  years  ago,  I  was  in  the  San  Juan 
valley,  and  there  met  Jay  Turley  who  is  as  full 
of  romance  and  constructive  genius  as  the 
sand-hills  of  Nebraska  are  full  of  lakes.  To- 
gether we  traveled  several  days,  through  the 
valley  which  is  rich  in  resource  and  tradition, 
and  there  we  met,  feasted  with  the  ancient 
families,  Jaques  and  Archileto.  Over  fri- 
joles  (beans)  and  stewed  lamb,  hot  with  pep- 
pers, we  chatted  w,ith  "Le  Vent,"  (the  wind) 
who  was  a  French-Spanish-American.  At 
Farmington  I  met  Stapleton  and  his  charming 
Celtic  bride,  whose  father  had  for  years  lived 
under  the  shadow  of  the  pueblos  at  Taos 
(pronounced  Tous).  There  were  stories  and 
stories,  and  legends  and  legends,  and  I  deter- 
mined to  learn  more  of  them.  To  familiarize 
myself,  I  went  to  the  Indian  country.  At  a 
trading  post  I  met  an  old  Navajo,  who  direct- 
ed some  remark  to  the  ladies  of  our  party 
which  the  trader  interpreted  as  "pretty  wom- 
en." For  us,  he  asked  the  weather  beaten  man 
if  he  could  tell  where  we  were  from,  and  he 
made  a  comprehensive  gesture  to  the  north 
and  said  the  one  word  "Cheyenne."  As  an 
indication  of  how  he  knew,  he  touched  a  fur 
worn  by  one  of  the  party,  which  was  of  beaver 
trapped  at  the  base  of  Laramie  peak,  which 
was  once  the  land  of  the  Cheyennes. 

My  investigations  later  led  me  to  old  Santa 
Fe,  and  I  stood  at  the  corner  of  the  Plaza, 
which  was  once  the  end  of  the  Santa  Fe  trail. 
I  stood  with  uncovered  head  in  the  shadow  of 
the  mission  —  centuries  old  —  that  was  near 
this  spot.  About  a  half  a  block  from  the 
Plaza,  which,  had  it  articulation,  could  tell 
such  wonderful  stories,  through  one  of  the 
many  doors  in  the  white  Wall  that  faces  the 
street,  is  the  home  of  Ex-Governor  L.  Brad- 
ford Prince,  the  historian  of  New  Mexico. 
And  facing  the  Plaza  itself,  is  an  ancient  adobe 
building,  the  home  of  the  state  historical  so- 
ciety. In  this  I  loitered  by  day  pouring  over 
old  scraps  of  history,  and  at  night  I  would 
leave  the  hotel  to  stand  in  the  Plaza,  listening 
to  the  whispering  winds  and  voices  out  of  the 
past. 

It  was  at  Santa  Fe  that  I  learned  of  Dacom- 
bo,  who,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  was  the  first 
white  man  to  visit  America's  valley  of  the 
Nile.  With  an  introductory  note  from  Don 
Juan  Jaquez  I  met  Don  Sol  Luna,  then  republi- 


can national  committeeman,  but  who  is  now 
passed,  and  asked  him  if  he  knew  any  stories  of 
the  first  Spanish  invasion  of  the  north.  I  asked 
him  about  the  Padres  and  Dacombo.  He  knew 
little  of  them  in  an  historical  way,  but  he  re- 
membered one  person  of  that  name  residing 
along  the  trail  from  Raton  to  Taos,  of  which 
I  made  note.  Then  I  visited  Taos,  going  in 
over  the  Cimmaron  desert. 

About  twenty-five  miles  east  of  Taos,  near 
the  summit  of  the  continental  divide,  is  a  lone- 
ly hut  and  when  I  went  to  Taos,  I  paused  there 
for  refreshments,  and  also  because  Senor  Sol 
Luna  had  given  me  a  token  of  introduction  to 
Miguel  Dacombo;  and  here  it  was  that  he, 
knowing  of  my  desire,  sat  squat  upon  the 
ground,  and  with  a  stick  sketched  crudely  in 
the  sand,  after  the  manner  of  story  tellers  and 
tradition  men  of  the  southwest.  And  this  is 
the  story  imperfectly  told  in  broken  English, 
as  it  had  come  to  him  through  fourteen  genera- 
tions of  ancestry: 

"I,  Miguel  Dacombo  (the  camper),  being  of 
the  ancient  family,  will  tell  you  now  the  story 
of  'The  Nine  Years.'  Fra  Juan  de  Padilla, 
and  Fra  Juan  de  La  Cruz,  and  Dacombo,  the 
soldier  with  two  boys,  Lucas  and  Sabastian, 
went  into  the  far  land  of  Quivera,  to  teach 
the  desert  men,  the  Christ.  They  crossed 
leagues  of  waste,  perhaps  three  hundred  and 
perhaps  rive  hundred.  They  forded  rivers,  and 
after  a  time,  Padre  Padilla  said,  'We  have 
reached  the  land.'  It  was  late  in  the  summer, 
and  they  had  come  upon  a  bluff  overlooking  a 
wide  glade.  A  river  there  was  in  the  glade, 
which  they  afterwards  found  to  be  very  shal- 
low and  full  of  dangerous  quick-sands.  Many 
islands  there  wrere,  and  trees  and  grass.  Here 
were  the  people  they  had  come  to  teach. 

"The  desert  men  came  running,  whereupon 
Padre  Padillo  told  all  to  hide  and  he  would 
meet  them  alone.  He  knelt  down  to  pray,  and 
the  desert  men  fell  upon  and  killed  him,  while 
kneeling.  Fra  de  La  Cruz,  some  days  later, 
saw  a  small  band,  and  being  in  sore  need  of 
food,  he  tried  to  reconcile  them,  but  they  also 
killed  him.  Then  it  was  that  the  Soldier  spoke : 
'They  are  God-less, —  they  are  devils, —  let  us 
go  away.' 

"They  went  not  back  over  the  desert,  but  fol- 
lowed the  river  toward  the  mountains.  They 
traveled  slowly  and  crossed  the  river  many 
times.  They  followed  other  rivers  that  ran  in- 
to it,  and  became  lost  in  great  mountains  of 
sand.  Winter  came  and  they  made  a  cave. 
There  were  winds  that  almost  buried  them 
in  the  sand,  and  there  were  snows.  They  had 
good  water  and  plenty  of  fish ;  and  Sebastian, 
who  hunted,  occasionally  smothered  a  deer  in 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  snow-drifts.  They  had  no  weapons  but 
knives. 

•'Summer  came,  but  they  found  not  their  way 
out  of  the  sand  mountains,  for  the  mountains 
shifted  in  the  mighty  winds,  and  the  mirage 
lured  them  many  a  league,  and  arroyas  be- 
wildered and  confused  them.  Another  winter 
was  spenl  like  the  first.  They  had  plenty  of 
meal  and  wood,  and  clothing  made  of  skins. 

"Another  summer,  and  the  great  river  again. 
They  blessed  the  Holy  Virgin  that  they  were 
out  of  the  sand  mountains.  One  day,  as  in  a 
vision,  great  cities  shone  in  the  sunset;  and 
they  travelled  towards  them  many  days.  At 
last  they  saw  they  were  mountains,  almost 
like  great  pueblos.  Mountains,  many  miles 
of  them,  that  stood  up,  like  ruins  of  castles. 
The  Soldier  said  to  Lucas  and  Sebastian,  'This 
is  like  dear  old  Spain.'  There  were  giant 
castles,  churches,  long  walls,  steeples,  all  won- 
derful ;  but  there  were  no  desert  men.  No 
people  were  there. 

"The  'crooked-backed  oxen  of  the  plains,'  in 
mighty  herds,  moved  over  the  hills  and  val- 
leys to  the  south.  Where  can  they  go  ?  They 
travelled  by  for  days  and  days,  and  the  sol- 
dier said,  'We  must  be  far  from  home,  for  the 
oxen  never  get  as  far  as  Piguex.'  They  spent 
a  winter  in  this  land.  The  boys  dreamed  of 
the  giants  that  had  builded  these  great  castles, 
but  the  soldier  was  tired,  and  his  body  had 
many  sores.  He  was  sick,  but  he  dreamed  and 
dreamed  and  dreamed. 

"Summer   came    and    the    wild    cattle   went 


north.  Sometimes  they  ran.  and  a  few  are 
killed,  which  they  found  were  good  for  food, 
and  with  the  coming  of  summer,  the  soldier 
and  his  boys  travelled  south  for  many  a  league, 
where  they  found  another  river.  Many  times 
they  left  it,  and  wandered  into  the  desert  trying 
to  get  home,  but  they  were  driven  back  fam- 
ished. Finally,  captured  by  a  tribe  of  desert 
men,  they  were  taken  toward  the  sunset  until 
they  reached  mountains  that  shone  red  at 
sundown  like  the  Blood  of  Christ.  Here  there 
was  water,  and  wood,  and  game  and  berries. 
How  far  did  they  go?  Once  Sebastian  had 
fever,  and  once  Lucas  had  sores  on  his  body, 
and  oh,  how  they  all  wanted  to  go  home.  But 
with  the  wild  people,  and  the  impassable  moun- 
tains, where  trails  in  the  canyons  ended  abrupt- 
ly, and  the  swift  and  ever  swifter  passing  of 
seasons,  it  seemed  like  they  never  could  reach 
their  people. 

"Nine  years  passed  before  they  found  the  In- 
dian village  Piguex.  The  boys  were  bearded 
men.  Few  were  there  who  knew  them,  but 
their  hearts  were  glad  to  be  once  more  among 
their  own  people.  The  mark  of  the  desert  is 
upon  us.  Here  am  I.  still  in  the  desert,  at- 
tending goats ;  and  telling  you  this  story,  as  it 
has  come  to  me,  from  father  to  son,  and  fath- 
er to  son,  since  it  was  first  told  by  Dacombo. 
the  soldier,  and  his  sons,  fourteen  men  ago." 

The  Padres  Padilla  and  Le  Cruz  were  killed, 
probably  near  Columbus,  and  the  river  of 
castles  is  quite  likelv  the  North  Platte  river, 
and  the  time  about  1540-1550. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  FLAG  OF  FRANCE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 


'flic  nexl  old  trail,  the  mxt  white  man's  foot 
dial  made  iis  mark  upon  the  soil  of  Nebras- 
ka, was  in  1739,  when  Mallei  brothers  made 
their  journey  into  the  wilderness,  and  research 
of  historians  regarding  this  enterprise  is  of  a 
very  meagre  and  indefinite  order. 

The  Spaniard  had  taken  Mexico,  and  estab- 
lished himself  as  Ear  north  as  Santa  Fe  and 
England  was  having  its  historic  strug- 
gle Hi'  colonizing  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  the 
ith  splendid  enterprise,  were  reach- 
ing far  into  the  interior  of  the   western  world, 

and,  amalgamating  with  the  native  tribes,  were 


laying  firm  foundations   for  grasping  an  em- 
pire. 

From  Montreal  and  Canadian  possessions 
the  call  of  the  wild  had  attracted  French  ad- 
venturers into  the  mighty  forests  west  of  the 
great  lakes,  and  now,  in  1739.  from  New  Or- 
leans, then  a  frontier  city,  Mallet  brothers 
began  a  noteworthy  journey  into  the  new  and 
wild  country.  They  were  to  ascend  the  Missis- 
sippi river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  then 
to  follow  that  stream  for  a  distance,  then  strike 
west  into  the  unknown  land,  descend  upon 
Santa  Fe  from  the  north,  and  to  lav  claim  to 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


everything  north  of  the  Spanish  city  in  the 
name  of  France. 

Some  history  makers  say  that  they  ascend- 
ed the  Missouri  river  to  the  Arikarie  villages, 
then  turned  south  and  crossed  the  Platte  and 
Arkansas  rivers.  Watkins  says  their  journey 
is  somewhat  shadowy,  and  Chittendon  tells 
us  that  they  left  the  Missouri  river  at  or  near 
the  present  site  of  Sioux  City,  on  May  29th, 
and  reached  the  Platte  July  2d  (a  physical  im- 
possibility in  those  days  of  slow  travel,  and 
that  they  ascended  the  Platte  to  the  forks,  and 
the  south  fork  to  the  mountains,  arriving  at 
Santa  Fe,  July  22d.  The  distance  would  be  a 
thousand  miles,  and  the  time  fifty  days,  or 
an  average  of  twenty  miles  per  day.  which 
deduction  makes  it  questionable,  although  pos- 
sible. 

But  the  story  I  have  to  tell,  as  I  said,  will 
fall  upon  some  incredulous  ears.  It  bridges 
in  such  a  remarkable  manner,  the  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  from  the  time  the  trip  was 
made,  to  the  date  the  story  came  to  me,  that 
I  would  hardly  venture  to  include  it  in  his- 
tory, except  that  I  found  some  translations 
from  Duiderot  and  De  Margry,  that  fix  the 
dates  as  stated,  and  lend  confirmation  to  the 
balance  of  the  story. 

Old-timers,  over  on  Gonneville,  or  Pumpkin 
creek,  will  remember  Francois  Jourdain,  and 
around  Sixty-Six  mountain  the  pioneers  will 
remember  "Tommy"  Chaunavierre.  (The 
cowboys  called  him  "Shunover.") 

In  the  old  days,  thirty  or  more  years  ago,  I 
frequently  visited  "Frenchy"  Jourdain's  cabin, 
which  was  about  three  miles  east  of  Wildcat 
mountain,  and  I  enjoyed  his  stories.  He  was 
not  a  voluble  man,  but  if  you  started  him  upon 
reminiscence,  tradition  or  history,  he  would 
wax  eloquent  in  gesticulation  and  expression  of 
countenance,  even  if  not  very  articulate. 

On  more  than  one  occasion,  I  found  "Old 
Tommy"  visiting  him,  and  at  such  times  I 
could  be  little  more  than  a  listener.  Their 
volatile  conversation  rattled  on,  half  in  French, 
and  occasionally  Tommy  would  refer  to  some 
ancient  manuscript.  Frenchy  had  a  coverless 
book  to  which  he  occasionally  referred,  and 
this  was  printed  in  the  French  language. 

The  words  "Mallet"  (Mawley)  and  "De 
Margry"  (Demarjory)  soon  fixed  themselves 
in  my  mind,  and  after  a  time  I  got  the  story. 
Tommy  claimed  that  a  distant  relative  —  a  far 
off  ancestor  —  once  had  the  wonderful  distinc- 
tion of  being  selected  by  the  Crown  of  France, 
as  one  of  the  party  of  eight,  who  under  Mallet, 
was  on  a  tour  of  investigation  and  exploration, 
and  that  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
before,  they  had  passed  through  this  very  part 


of  the  country.  Their  route,  as  outlined  by 
Chaunavierre,  left  the  Missouri  river  near  the 
present  site  of  Pierre  (Pe-air),  and  up  the  lit- 
tle Missouri  or  Teton  river,  then  across  to 
White  river,  entering  Nebraska  at  a  point  a 
little  west  of  the  present  site  of  Chadron.  They 
crossed  the  Pineridge  near  the  Belmont  sta- 
tion and  the  Running  Water  at  Bell,  where 
Charles  H.  Irion  once  was  in  the  mercantile 
business.  Then  up  Whistle  creek  and  Coyote 
canyon,  crossing  the  Snake  creek  valley,  a  few 
miles  west  of  the  present  site  of  Curley,  then 
near  Spottedtail  springs  and  down  the  west 
Sportedtail  to  the  Platte  river,  then  up  Horse 
creek  to  a  point  some  distance  above  the  old  Y- 
cross  ranch,  then  turning  southward,  keeping 
close  to  the  foot-hills,  they  arrived  at  Santa 
Fe  in  due  time  and  completed  their  mission. 

De  Margry  says  that  they  reached  the  Platte 
river  on  June  2.  1739,  and  that  they  called  it 
"Flatwater."  This  is  the  first  time  in  all  rec- 
ord, that  I  have  seen  the  Platte  river  designat- 
ed by  a  name,  and  it  is  the  second  story  of 
white  people  in  western  Nebraska. 

Since  taking  up  this  work  the  old  story  came 
back  to  me,  and  I  have  sought  for  its  confirma- 
tion in  contempory  history.  A  story  of  start- 
ling interest  has  been  uncovered. 

One  would  hardly  think  that,  during  the 
reign  of  Louis  XV,  the  Crown  of  France 
would  take  much  interest  in  the  development 
of  foreign  empire ;  but  some  years  before,  an 
adventurer  named  John  Law  had  wrecked  the 
finances  of  the  French  government  in  a  Mis- 
sissippi speculation,  and  the  succeeding  prime 
minister.  Cardinal  Fleury.  was  engaged  in  the 
desperate  task  of  reconstruction.  There  was 
only  one  way  by  which  this  could  be  accom- 
plished, and  that  was  by  keeping  the  youthful 
king  busy  with  frivolous  pastime,  while  the 
master-hand  performed  the  labor.  And  in 
this  matter,  the  careless  act  of  a  nurse  material- 
ly assisted.  She  was  an  attendant  of  Louis 
XV,  when  he  was  a  child,  and  permitted  him 
to  play  with  the  daughter  of  a  blacksmith,  for 
whom  he  formed  a  childish  attachment. 

At  the  ripe  age  of  fifteen  years,  the  minis- 
try selected  a  Polish  princess  as  the  bride  for 
the  king.  They  reasoned  that  this  plaything 
would  keep  him  out  of  public  affairs.  After  a 
time  he  began  to  think  of  the  playmate  of  his 
childhood,  and  to  keep  him  amused,  the  min- 
istry made  search,  and  found  her,  then  grown 
into  a  beautiful  woman.  The  king  was  might- 
ily pleased,  and  he  bestowed  upon  the  black- 
smith's daughter  the  title  of  Marchioness  le 
Pompadour,  and  for  twenty  years  she  was  the 
virtual  ruler  of  France. 

Spain  had  been  anticipating  an  alliance  of 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  French  King  with  some  one  of  Castillian 
nobility,  and  it  is  not  the  character  of  the 
Spaniard  to  take  kindly  to  the  shattering  of 
hopes  because  of  a  blacksmith's  daughter.  The 
conditions  had  reached  such  a  stage  that  they 
involved  the  territory  of  the  new  world.  Span- 
iards had  been  endeavoring  to  get  a  foothold 
in  the  valleys  of  the  Arkansas  and  the  Platte, 
and  it  was  under  the  direction  of  the  French 
ministry  that  Mallet  brothers  traversed  the 
wilderness  in   1739. 

It  may  be  noted  that  during  the  latter  part  of 
Lady  Pompadour's  sway  over  King  Louis,  that 
the  French  people  were  seized  with  a  spasm  of 
interest  in  literature.  This  was  indeed  one  of 
the  great  epochs  of  France,  and  was  likely 
brought  about  by  the  skeptic,  Voltaire,  who 
jarred  upon  the  super-sensitive  religious  in- 
clinations of  the  time,  and  so  suited  the  French 
temperament  of  that  period,  that  it  provoked 
their    sluggish    intellects,    drugged    with    long 


years  of  excesses  and  vices,  into  some  sort  of 
natural  action.  In  passing  it  may  be  well  to 
add  that  after  the  death  of  Pompadour,  when 
Madame  Du  Barry  became  the  favorite  of  the 
degenerate  king,  the  French  government  prac- 
tically collapsed. 

Mallet  brothers,  carrying  the  French  flag 
into  the  wilderness,  was  the  wise  work  of . 
Cardinal  Fleury,  and  it  was  the  same  force  that 
prompted  the  expedition  of  Verendrye  into 
northern  Wyoming  in  1740. 

Whatever  feeble  collateral  history  there  is 
available  at  this  time,  was  probably  inspired  by 
Lady  Pompadour.  And  from  Duiderot,  one 
of  the  famous  scriveners  of  the  time,  and  from 
De  Margry,  are  the  only  references  to  the  jour- 
ney, that  I  have  been  able  to  find.  I  would 
give  much  for  the  manuscript  of  Tommy 
Chaunavierre,  but  he  is  passed;  and  the  family 
long  scattered  to  other  lands. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  FUR-TRADERS 


The  fur  trade  began  in  the  territory  about 
us,  a  little  over  one  hundred  years  ago,  and  it 
continued  until  the  passing  of  the  buffalo. 
The  active  period  was  for  about  fifty  years, 
and  the  romance  of  that  wild,  hard  life  is  now 
only  a  memory. 

The  dangers  attendant  during  the  Indian 
wars,  the  thrilling  experiences  of  emigrants 
and  pony  express  riders,  and  the  overland 
stage,  and  the  later  inspiration  of  the  cowmen, 
each  have  important  parts  ;  and  in  the  evolution 
of  the  past,  the  homesteaders  of  twenty-five  to 
thirty-five  years  ago,  and  the  people  of  the 
later  periods,  each  have  been  history  makers. 
The  slow  process  of  irrigation,  has  been  an- 
other epoch  in  our  little  world,  and  the  full- 
ness of  its  glory  is  not  yet  nearly  reached.  But 
fur  trailers  and  trappers  came  into  this  primi- 
tive wilderness,  largely  for  the  love  of  ad- 
venture, and  they  built  campfires  that  burned 
so  brightly  for  a  time  which  now  have  faded 
and  smoldered,  and  are  lost  into  the  receding 
past. 

The   Latin  races  have  always  been  pioneers 

ration  and  enterprise.     The  Cross  of 

Christ,  and   the   Sword   of   the   Spanish  Con- 


querer,  have  gone  hand  in  hand  over  the  great 
southwest,  and  it  was  in  the  early  centuries  that 
Spanish  pilgrims  wandered  into  the  northwest, 
and  many  of  them  never  returned. 

Foremost  among  the  fur-traders,  came  Man- 
uel Lisa.  He  organized  the  Missouri  Fur 
Company  about  1807,  and  sent  out  trappers 
and  pushed  boats  up  the  Missouri  and  the 
Yellowstone.  The  fierce  competition  waged  by 
the  Hudson  Bay  company,  on  the  upper  Mis- 
souri river  and  its  tributaries,  effected  a  change 
of  base.  We  find  no  record  of  Lisa  visiting 
this  section  of  the  state,  but  his  mark  is 
stamped  indelibly  on  this  land.  A  number  of 
writers  seem  to  think  he  was  here  about  1809, 
but  no  real  record  has  been  found.  Manuel 
Lisa  and  his  wife  were  the  first  white  people  to 
set  up  housekeeping  in  Nebraska,  they  estab- 
lishing a  home  near  the  mouth  of  the  Platte 
about  1809. 

Jacques  Laramie,  was  at  or  near  that  time, 
associating  himself  with  free  trappers  and  es- 
tablishing a  rendezvous  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Platte  and  Laramie  rivers,  and  there  are 
evidences  that  white  men  had  preceded  him. 
Someone  in  earlier  years  had  left  the  mark  on 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  Hartville  hills.  Roi  and  Dornin  were  met 
by  the  returning  Astorians,  at  the  eastern  end 
of  Grand  Island,  in  the  spring  of  1813,  and 
they  were  on  their  way  up  the  Platte.  For 
how  many  years  they  had  been  coming  there 
is  no  record,  but  that  they  might  have  been 
associated  with  Manuel  Lisa,  seems  quite  prob- 
able. They  appeared  as  free  trappers  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Laramie  in  the  later  years. 

When  Robert  Stuart  and  party  met  them  at 
Grand  Island,  they  had  come  up  the  river  in 
a  boat,  and  they  disposed  of  the  elkskin  craft 
to  the  Stuart  party.  Rio  and  Dornin  them  mov- 
ed on  up  the  Platte  through  the  Sand  Hills, 
and  must  have  traversed  the  Old  Trail  some- 
time during  the  same  year. 

The  fur  hunters  of  that  day  left  their  mark 
upon  the  country  and  some  of  the  names  linger 
over  to  this  time.  Among  those  who  met  in  the 
annual  rendezvous  on  the  Laramie,  were 
Jaques  Laramie,  and  M.  Goshe,  and  Gonne- 
ville.  Each  left  his  bones  in  the  western  land, 
and  each  brought  lingering  names  to  the  geog- 
raphy of  the  west :  Laramie  peak,  Laramie 
mountains,  Laramie  plains,  Laramie  river  and 
the  Little  Laramie,  Laramie  city  and  old  Fort 
Laramie.  Goshe  frequented  the  land  south- 
east of  the  annual  rendezvous,  and  had  built 
him  a  cabin  on  Cherry  creek,  and  here  he  was 
found  dead,  apparently  murdered  by  Arapa- 
hoes,  which  were  never  to  be  trusted,  and  then 
the  numerous  basins  and  flats  on  the  eastern 
border  of  Wyoming,  south  of  the  Platte,  be- 
came known  as  Goshe's  Holes. 

Probably  the  change  in  the  name  was  due  to 
the  Mormons,  who  probably  misunderstood  it 
in  the  first  place.  The  notes  of  many  para- 
graphers  call  it  "Goshen  Hole"  after  the  Mor- 
mons' pilgrimage  to  the  valley  of  Great  Salt 
Lake.  John  Henry  Smith,  a  once  prominent 
Mormon,  now  passed,  told  me  that  there  was 
something  about  this  country  that  appealed  to 
those  of  his  faith,  when  journeying  into  the 
mountains,  and  many  of  them  wished  that  this 
could  be  made  the  Mecca  of  their  journey. 

Among  the  meagre  personal  effects  of   M. 


Goshe,  at  the  time  of  his  demise,  were  found 
crude  sketches  which  indicated  that  he  trap- 
ped on  Cherry  creek,  Horse  creek,  Bear  creek, 
Lodgepole  creek,  Lawrence  fork,  and  Gon- 
neville  or  Pumpkin  creek,  all  of  which  were 
then  unnamed. 

Gonneville  was  like  Goshe,  a  French  Creole, 
and  after  the  annual  meet  at  the  Laramie  ren- 
dezvous, he  would  disappear  into  the  southeast 
wilderness,  where  he  trapped  for  beaver  as 
far  east  probably  as  Ash  Hollow.  His  period 
of  activity  extended  from  1820  to  1830.  He 
was  with  Bissonette  at  the  time  the  bones  of 
immortal  Scott  were  found  near  the  spring  on 
Scotts  Bluff  mountain,  and  he  was  killed  by 
Indians  in  1830,  near  the  point  where  Lor- 
ren's  fork  joins  Pumpkin  creek.  The  latter  then 
became  known  as  Gonneville  creek,  until  the 
coming  of  the  cowmen. 

It  seems  natural  for  successive  classes  of 
people  in  any  territory,  to  unconsciously  en- 
deavor to  obliterate  the  names  and  the  glory 
of  the  departing  peoples.  Thus  the  reckless 
and  contemptuous  cowmen  changed  much  of 
our  geographical  nomenclature.  Lodgepole 
creek  became  commonly  known  as  Pole  creek, 
and  Gonneville  creek  lost  its  historic  signifi- 
cance in  the  prosiac  Pumpkinseed.  Lorren's 
fork  became  Lawrence  fork,  and  the  beautiful 
Bluewater  now  bears  a  disagreeable  name,  the 
Snake. 

There  is  a  justification  for  new  people,  who 
accomplish  new  things,  to  stamp  indelibly  the 
fact  upon  some  physical  attraction,  but  if  it 
must  be  done  by  tearing  down  an  identity  that 
was  here  long  before,  it  becomes  a  travesty, 
and  an  act  little  short  of  vandalism. 

Take  for  instance,  Mud  Springs,  so  full  of 
history  that  a  volume  could  be  written  concern- 
ing it  but  the  railroad  has  named  the  station 
"Simla."  What  does  Simla  indicate?  Pos- 
sibly the  name  of  some  railroad  official,  and 
possibly  not  so  much  as  that.  But  it  does  mean 
the  obliteration  of  an  historical  identity  and 
association,  and  a  sentiment  that  the  genera- 
tions of  men  would  appreciate. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  V 


ROBERT  STUART'S  WINTER  CAMP 


On  June  20th,  1812,  Robert  Stuart,  with  a 
party  of  six  others,  left  Astoria,  Oregon,  car- 
rying dispatches  to  John  Jacob  Astor,  of  New 
York.  The  personnel  of  this  party  were  hard- 
ened mountaineers  and  each  is  worthy  of  a 
volume  of  history,  but  as  the  achievements  ap- 
pear from  time  to  time,  it  will  not  be  neces- 
sary to  give  them  further  introduction  now. 

\\  Inn  near  the  present  site  of  Walla  Walla, 
Washington,  John  Day,  who  was  one  of  the 
party,  was  taken  ill,  and  attempted  suicide. 
Friendly  Indians  were  prevailed  upon  to  take 
him  back  to  Astoria,  where  one  report  says 
he  died.  Another  says  that  he  recovered, 
which  is  quite  likely  true,  for  mention  of  his 
deeds  can  be  found  in  the  records  as  late  as 
1819. 

Upon  the  upper  Mad  river,  now  called 
Snake,  they  met  with  a  party  of  four  trappers, 
which  the  Astorians  had  left  in  the  moun- 
tains the  year  previous.  These  consisted  of 
Edward  Robinson,  a  Kentuckian  who  in  a 
brush  with  the  Indians  at  an  earlier  date  had 
lost  his  scalp,  and  John  Hoback,  Jacob  Rizner 
and  Jacob  Miller.  The  Blackfeet  had  strip- 
ped them  completely,  and  the  first  three  named 
returned  to  the  mountains  to  recoup  their  lost 
fortunes,  while  Miller  joined  Stuart's  party, 
which  made  it  again  seven  in  number.  Robin- 
son. Hoback  and  Rizner  all  perished  in  the 
wilderness. 

Stuart's  party  proceeded  onward,  and  met 
with  many  hardships.  When  near  the  conti- 
nental divide,  which  they  crossed  on  October 
20th;  when  for  several  days  they  had  been 
without  food,  LeClerc,  a  French-Canadian, 
came  to  the  leader  with  the  startling  proposi- 
tion that  they  cast  lots  to  see  who  should  die 
to  furnish  food  for  the  others.  To  obtain  the 
consent  of  Stuart,  he  proposed  that  the  leader 
should  not  take  the  hazard.  Unable  to  prevail 
upon  the  man  to  desist  from  his  horrible  sug- 
gestion in  any  other  way.  Stuart  told  him  that 
if  In-  heard  another  word  of  it.  the  man  who 
made  the  suggestion  would  be  the  one  to  die. 
The  Canadian  subsided,  and  fortunately  they 
soon  thereafter  killed  a  run-down  buffalo  bull. 

With  lives  sustained,  the  party  was  enabled 
to  continue  proceed  as  tin-  discoverers  of 
1  Iverland  Trail,  which  from  the  east 
as  far  west  as  western  Wyoming,  has  been 
used  with  only  slight  variation-,  by  (  Iregon 
emigrants,  California  gold  seekers,  ami  Mor- 
mons. 


This  adventurous  party  went  into  winter 
quarters  early  in  November,  1812,  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  river,  which  they  afterwards  iden- 
tified as  the  Platte,  at  the  point  where  Poison 
Spider  creek  comes  out  of  the  north.  Game 
was  abundant,  and  while  four  of  the  party 
worked  at  making  a  suitable  winter  habitation, 
the  other  three  were  out  in  the  adjoining 
mountains  shooting  buffalo,  deer,  bighorns, 
and  other  big  game  with  which  the  country 
abounded. 

Here  they  reveled  and  feasted  after  their 
days  of  famine  and  meat  boiled,  broiled  and 
roasted  made  the  variety  of  the  daily  fare. 
But  they  were  not  destined  to  remain  undis- 
turbed in  their  comfortable  quarters.  Early  in 
December  they  \vere  visited  by  a  score  or  more 
of  hungry  Indians,  professing  friendship  af- 
ter the  manner  of  the  early  redmen  when  des- 
titute and  hungry.  They  were  fed  from  the 
abundant  stores  of  the  Stuart  party  and  sent 
upon  their  way  with  several  days  rations. 

This  visit,  the  travelers  knew,  would  be  only 
a  beginning,  so  they  reluctantly  broke  camp  on 
the  13th  of  December  and  proceeded  down  the 
river. 

It  was  late  in  the  month  when  the  party 
reached  the  prairies  of  Nebraska.  They  trav- 
eled on  until  about  the  line  between  the  pres- 
ent counties  of  Morrill  and  Garden,  where  the 
white  dreary  solitude  looked  so  destitute  of 
subsistence  that  they  retraced  their  steps  for 
three  days  before  finding  a  suitable  location 
for  their  camp. 

On  New  Year's  day,  1813,  they  were  in  a 
Cottonwood  grove  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
river  at  a  point  about  four  miles  west  of  the 
present  city  of  Scottsbluff.  Here  there  were 
trees  large  enough  to  make  canoes,  and  the 
Platte,  though  frozen  over  had  an  appearance 
of  being  navigable  for  small  boats. 

In  the  years  that  have  passed  since  then, 
the  river  has  changed  its  course,  and  has  cut 
into  the  lower  end  of  Spring  creek,  leaving 
the  location  of  the  old  camp  upon  what  is 
know  n  as  Big  Island  just  at  its  lower  extrem- 
ity. 

At  this  place  some  of  the  older  dwellers  of 
the  valley  —  Theo.  D.  Deutsch  and  others  — 
can  recollect  the  very  old  cottonwood  stumps, 
possibly  the  very  trees  cut  by  this  party  and 
made  into  canoes.  And  Mr.  Deutsch  is  the 
owner  of  a  hand  forged  ax,  found  on  this  is- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


land  which  might  have  been  once  used  by  the 
Stuart  party  100  years  ago. 

I  wonder  if  the  resolute  Stuart  ever  had 
visions  of  the  future — if  he  ever  dreamed 
that  he  and  his  party  were  blazing  the  trail 
for  the  mighty  shifting  of  population  that 
later  crossed  the  continent.  Children  not  then 
born,  were  the  heads  of  families  with  Marcus 
Whitman,  who  piloted  emigrants  to  Oregon  in 
1842-43  and  44.  And  there  are  great  grand- 
parents now  living  that  were  not  born  when 
Whitman  made  his  journey. 

This  camp  on  Big  Island  was  in  the  long 
ago.    It  was  fifteen  years  before  Hiram  Scott 


Robert  Stuart's  Winter  Camp,  1812-13 
Drawn   from  description  and  survey  of   Big  Island. 

perished  on  the  bluff  that  bears  his  name,  and 
was  twenty  years  earlier  than  the  time  that 
Captain  Bonneville  visited  the  Scottsbluff 
county  and  made  mention  of  the  famous 
mountain. 

The  hut  builded  by  these  adventurers  con- 
sisted of  cottonwood  posts,  over  which  were 
fastened  buffalo  robes,  making  a  wall  that 
kept  out  the  sweeping  blasts  that  came  down 
through  Platte  canyon,  and  roared  over  the 
bleak,  bare  prairies.  In  true  wild  fashion,  the 
hole  through  which  the  smoke  from  the  fires 
escaped  was  in  the  center  of  their  winter 
home.  Buffalo  robes  were  piled  upon  the 
ground  for  the  beds.  The  old  horse  that  had 
done  them  such  service  in  packing  over  the 
mountains  was  turned  loose  to  find  food  and 
shelter  in  the  primitive  way. 

There  were  two  Canadians  in  the  party,  Val- 
ler  and  LeClerc,  who  were  relied  upon  to  do 
much  of  the  hunting.  And  Robert  McLellan, 
who  was  with  Wayne  in  the  Indian  wars  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  was  not  of  a  temperament 
for  the  confinement  of  a  camp.  The  river  was 
frozen  over,  and  the  hunters  went  at  will 
among  the  south  hills,  or  hunted  sheep  on  the 
mountain. 


It  is  quite  generally  known  these  peculiar 
creatures  of  the  wild  used  to  frequent  the 
most  inaccessible  cliffs  of  old  Scotts  Bluff,  and 
they  could  be  seen  standing  out  in  bold  relief 
on  the  outermost  pinnacles,  surveying  the  bad 
lands  and  the  valley  with  proprietary  dignity. 
They  would  bound  along  the  ledges  that  no 
hunter  would  dare  to  follow,  or  would  leap 
over  precipices  when  hard  pressed  striking 
upon  their  horns  fifty  or  one  hundred  feet  be- 
low, and  recovering  their  feet,  Would  run 
away  unharmed. 

The  last  of  these  animals  in  the  Scotts 
Bluff  country  were  killed  by  Hardy  Farns- 
Worth  and  George  Slonecker  about  1888,  and 
the  head  and  horns  of  that  killed  by  Slonecker 
weighed  forty-seven  pounds. 

McLellan  would  often  be  out  for  several 
days,  and  the  worse  the  weather  the  better  it 
suited  his  wild  nature.  Like  the  stormy  petrol, 
he  glorified  in  defying  the  tempests.  Frequent- 
ly his  campfire  beacons  gleamed  above  the  hills 
in  the  direction  of  the  landmarks  of  what 
in  after  years  became  known  as  the  "Hogback" 
and  "Wildcat  Mountain." 

Beaver  were  found  along  the  river  and  the 
hunters  added  a  number  of  their  pelts  to  their 
store. 

There  was  but  little  game  upon  the  prairie, 
the  buffalo  having  retired  to  the  mountains 
or  migrated  southward.  But  occasionally  great 
droves  of  antelope  could  be  seen  in  the  open 
or  passing  over  some  distant  ridge.  The  tim- 
bered hills  to  the  southward  afforded  plenty 
of  blacktail  deer,  and  when  the  hunters  first 
appeared  among  them  they  were  too  wild  to  be 
scared.  Upon  the  approach  of  the  white  man 
they  would  bound  out  of  the  thicket  only  a 
few  feet  away,  and  turn  and  stand  looking 
at  one,  with  wide  and  wondering  eyes. 

Early  in  March,  the  ice  went  out  of  the 
river,  and  on  the  eighth  of  the  month,  the 
party  embarked  in  their  canoes,  and  proceed- 
ed d.-iwn  the  turbulent  stream.  Only  a  few 
miles  below  they  encountered  snags  and  sand 
bars,  obliging  them  to  abandon  their  canoe 
and  continue  their  journey  on  foot.  Near 
the  eastern  extremity  of  Grand  Island,  they 
met  an  Otte  (Otoe)  Indian,  who  directed 
them  to  the  camp  of  two  white  traders,  who 
were  on  their  way  into  the  wilderness.  From 
them  they  procured  an  elkhide  boat  and  con- 
tinued their  journey  to  St.  Louis  by  water. 

These  arc  the  men  who  made  the'  wonderful 
and  hazardous  trip,  without  the  loss  of  a  man, 
in  the  worst  part  of  the  year,  who  discovered 
and  traversed  the  most  practical  route  across 
the  continental  divide,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion for  a  great  national,  ocean  to  ocean  high- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


wey,  and  to  whom  a  stone  shall  be  raised  that 
will  fittingly  commemorate  their  achievements : 
Robert  Stuart,  Ramsey  Crooks,  Robert  Mc- 


Clellan,  Ben  Jones,  Joseph  Miller,  Francis  Le- 
Clerc  and  Andri  Valler. 


CHAPTER  VI 


JACQUES  LARAMIE'S  CARAVANS  AND  FLEETS 


The  romance  of  the  hunter  and  trapper  has 
always  appealed  to  boys.  We  have  all  had  our 
;siins^  and  there  are  few  of  us  who  have  not, 
at  some  time  in  our  career,  set  steel  traps  in 
the  creeks  and  ponds  around  home,  or  impro- 
vised a  snare  for  wild  game. 

Many  of  the  hunters  and  trappers  of  one 
hundred  years  ago,  took  to  the  wilderness  for 
the  love  of  the  tiling,  but  there  were  some  who 
went  into  it  for  gain.  Of  such,  not  all  were 
destined  to  receive  the  profit  which  they  hoped 
would  be  theirs. 

Of  the  former  class  John  Day,  with  his  six 
feet  two,  and  his  manly  upright  bearing  was  a 
type.  It  is  true  that  like  many  another  of  his 
kind,  he  died  far  away  from  civilization,  and 
wild  animals  gnawed  at,  and  fought  over  his 
bones.  Too  many  of  them  shared  this  melan- 
choly fate ;  and  too  many  of  them  shared  the 
fate  of  Manuel  Lisa  who  put  so  much  spirit 
end  energy  into  the  fur  enterprise.  He  was  of 
more  than  average  intelligence  and  had  much 
practical  knowledge  of  the  business,  but  it  did 
not  avail.  The  hazards  were  too  great,  and 
he  died  absolutely  insolvent. 

Robert  Stuart  and  Ramsey  Crooks  were 
among  the  fortunate.  They  early  became  the 
western  lieutenants  of  the  fur  king,  John 
Jacob  A  si  or.  and  in  that  capacity  made  money 
not  only  for  him  but  for  themselves. 

Early  in  the  year  1814  word  found  way  in- 
to the  mountains  that  the  party  of  Astorians 
had  reached  St.  Louis  by  a  much  shorter  route 
than  that  usually  taken,  and  devoid  of  many 
of  the  dangers  along  the  Missouri  river  route. 
This  fact  naturally  led  to  a  shifting  of  free 
trappers  from  tin  more  frequented  fields  into 
tin-  new  and  fresher  territory  along  the  Platte 
and  Sweetwater. 

About  1815,  tin  competition  among  the  big 
companies  operating  in  the  mountain-  reach- 
ed such  a  stage  that  some  of  the  partisans 
seemed  to  think  that  robbery  and  murder  were 
duties  oi    faithful  employees.     This 


caused  peace  loving  men  like  Jacques  Laramie 
to  leave  the  partisans  of  the  trade,  and  engage 
in  free  trapping.  He  held  that  the  world  was 
large  enough  for  all.  The  result  was  that  a 
large  number  who  believed  as  he  did,  had 
decided  to  let  the  partisans  fight  it  out ;  and 
they  had  taken  to  the  newer  fields  of  enter- 
prise, and  had  made  a  rendezvous  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Laramie  Fork  and  the  North  Platte. 
And  from  this  point  they  loaded  their  packs  of 
beaver  for  St.  Louis. 

After  the  first  year's  experience,  the  his- 
toric spot  became  an  annual  rendezvous  —  the 
place  of  meeting  to  journey  to  civilization, 
and  point  of   dispersing  into  the  wilderness. 

History  is  somewhat  of  a  desert  as  to  the 
free  trapping  fraternity.  Their  independence, 
and  for  the  most  part  illiteracy,  combined  to 
condemn  them  to  obscurity. 

It  was  the  manner  of  many  of  the  half  wild 
people  of  the  mountains  to  go  with  their  pel- 
tries into  the  city,  and  after  disposing  of  them, 
to  spend  the  money  royally,  after  which  they 
would  repair  to  the  wilderness  for  more.  The 
wild  was  a  part  of  their  lives. 

The  stormy  petrol,  —  Robert  McLellan  — 
who  returned  with  Stuart  to  St.  Louis  through 
the  valley  of  the  "Flat  Water,"  in  1812-13, 
never  again  returned  to  the  mountains.  But 
civilization  was  not  of  his  kind,  and  he  died 
less  than  two  years  thereafter. 

Jacques  Laramie  was  an  unusual  character 
among  the  people  of  long  ago.  Too  many  of 
the  wilderness  men  were  inclined  to  forget 
their  obligation.  Expediency  and  the  needs 
of  the  moment  were  of  vastly  greater  concern 
to  them  than  the  vague  uncomprehensive  con- 
tract signed  with  "his  x  mark"  made  to  some 
partisans  of  the  fur    trade. 

Yet  for  the  purpose  of  disposing  of  their 
peltries,  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  rely 
upon  some  one  to  do  the  mathematical  work, 
and  one  who  would  not  let  the  "wise  ones"  of 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


13 


civilized  trade,  take  their  hides  along  with 
the  pelts  of  animals. 

Laramie  became  a  leader  of  free  trappers  — 
the  man  whom  all  trusted — -and  from  year  to 
year  the  rendezvous  at  "Laramie's  fork"  grew, 
as  new  men  heard  of  the  newer  and  safer 
route  to  and  from  the  base  of  supplies. 

For  five  years  after  1S15  the  trappers  met 
in  May  of  each  year,  and  when  conditions 
were  favorable,  the  peltries  were  loaded  on  the 
bullboats,  and  Laramie  with  a  party  would 
convey  them  down  the  river.  Another  party 
would  take  horses  to  a  point  about  four  hun- 
dred miles  below  to  assist  their  return.  Keel- 
boats  plying  on  the  Missouri  river,  would  take 
Laramie  "and  his  cargo  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Platte  to  St.  Louis  and  return,  and  occasionally 
keelboats  could  ascend  the  Platte  as  far  as 
Grand  Island  —  then  an  unnamed  island. 

Ordinarily,  however,  the  party  were  com- 
pelled to  use  its  bullboats  up  the  Platte  to  the 
meeting  place.  Sometimes  traders  would  be 
found  at  the  island  rendezvous,  who  would 
take  all  their  pelts,  furnish  them  with  supplies 
and  permit  them  to  return.  Pack  horses  were 
invariably  used  on  this  return  through  western 
Nebraska. 

Here  the  supplies  were  distributed  by  the 
just  hand  of  Laramie,  as  had  been  ordered  and 
was  required  by  each  trapper  or  company  of 
trappers  and  all  would  then  take  to  the  prairies 
or  mountains,  each  announcing  the  portion  of 
the  wild  in  which  he  proposed  to  operate  for 
the  coming  year. 

Thus  it  transpired  that  from  1815  onward, 
there  were  troops  of  horse,  and  fleets  of  bat- 
teaux  frequently  traversing  the  great  valley  of 
the  North  Platte. 

There  was  always  plenty  of  driftwood  for 
their  small  needs,  as  the  trips  were  made 
quickly.  The  boats  traveled  about  seventy- 
five  miles  per  day,  and  the  horses  about  thirty, 
so  that  five  or  six  days  would  take  the  boat  to 
the  island  rendezvous,  and  twelve  or  fifteen 
would  bring  the  horses  back  to  Laramie's  fork. 

At  this  time  of  the  year  the  Indians  south 
of  the  Platte,  particularly  the  Arapahoes,  were 
following  buffalo  herds  northward  The  Ogal- 
lalas  and  Tetons  who  claimed  the  territory 
north  of  the  Platte  always  resisted  the  prog- 
ress of  the  southern  tribes  into  their  hunting 


grounds,  and  the  river  was  the  halting  line. 
Above  the  fork  of  the  Laramie,  that  river 
was  the  line  of  resistance. 

Arapahoes  were  always  distrustful  of  the 
white  people,  and  continued  hostile  until  1832, 
when  Captain  Gant  established  a  post  on  the 
Arkansas,  and  won  their  friendship.  The 
Cheyennes,  also  south  of  the  river,  were  of 
the  same  unreliable  nature,  and  about  1815, 
they  joined  the  Arapahoes,  and  operated  with 
them  for  several  years. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Tetons  and  Ogal- 
lalas  were  always  friendly  up  to  this  period. 
Even  in  the  later  wars,  Spotted  Tail,  the  fam- 
ous chief  of  the  Ogallalas,  was  a  peace  loving 
Indian,  and  regretted  the  necessity  of  fighting 
the  whites,  but  he  could  not  do  otherwise  than 
"throw  in  with  his  people,"  when  the  eloquence 
of  Red  Cloud  won  them  over  to  war. 

So  marked  was  this  condition,  that  the  trap- 
pers who  made  the  annual  trips  up  and  down 
the  Platte,  found  it  better  to  keep  on  the 
north  side  of  the  stream,  particularly  on  the 
return  trip  which  was  made  in  June.  The 
river  made  a  natural  barrier  against  their  pre- 
datory foes,  and  afforded  comparative  safety 
to  those  of  the  caravans  moving  along  the 
valley  during  the  high  water  period. 

The  greater  number  of  the  trappers  went 
north  and  west  from  the  rendezvous  for  the 
same  reason.  Those  who  took  to  the  streams 
on  the  south  to  gather  beaver  usually  met  with 
disaster.  Goshe  was  found  dead  in  his  cabin, 
and  Gonneville  was  killed  on  the  creek  that 
bore  his  name  for  so  many  years,  and  even 
that  friend  of  the  Indian,  the  gentle  Jacques 
Laramie,  was  not  immune  from  the  vicious 
Arapahoes. 

In  1820,  he  announced  that  he  would  trap 
on  Laramie  fork  the  coming  season,  and  when 
the  other  trappers  pointed  out  the  dangers, 
he  said  he  would  go  alone.  He  did  —  and  he 
died  alone,  at  the  base  of  the  great  mountain 
that  bears  his  name.  His  body  was  found  in 
his  cabin  in  1821  by  a  party  of  trappers  who 
had  gone  in  search  of  him. 

He  had  failed  to  meet  at  the  rendezvous  as 
agreed,  but  he  had  gone  the  way  of  brave 
John  Day,  and  of  Hoback,  Robinson,  Rezner 
and  McLellan.  into  a  stranger  land  —  to  a 
Final  Rendezvous  in  the  Wilderness  of  Stars. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  VII 


GENERAL  WILLIAM   H.  ASHLEY'S  TRAPPERS  —  DEATH  OF  HIRAM   SCOTT 


In  1823,  General  Ashley  started  with  a  pow- 
erful party  up  the  Missouri,  but  at  the  Ankara 
villages  they  met  with  such  hostilities  that  a 
number  of  men  were  killed  and  others  utterly 
discouraged.  Following  the  talk  of  mutiny,  he 
released  all,  and  called  for  volunteers.  Forty 
men,  most  of  them  hardy  mountaineers  from 
Kentucky,  responded ;  the  others  returning  to 
St.  Louis.  Among  the  forty  was  Hiram  Scott, 
a  man  of  considerable  education  and  romance. 

With  these  men  General  Ashley  returned  to 
the  Platte  and  ascended  the  river  to  the  moun- 
tains. At  the  forks,  he  sent  a  small  detach- 
ment up  the  south  river  with  instructions  to 
meet  the  main  party  on  the  Seeds-keedee,  or 
prairie-hen  river,  which  had  been  called  the 
Spanish  river  for  some  time,  and  soon  after 
it  was  changed  to  Green  river.  With  about 
thirty  men  he  crossed  the  south  fork  of  the 
Platte  at  the  point  where  the  city  of  North 
Platte  now  lies,  and  the  north  fork  at  or  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Birdwood. 

Closely  crowding  the  river  on  the  north  side 
were  the  sand  hills,  of  which  it  was  said: 
"This  remarkable  region  is  composed  of  round- 
ed hillrocks  of  sand,  and  blowouts,  so  similar 
that  one  better  be  lost  in  the  trackless  forest 
than  to  become  confused  in  his  bearings." 

When  opposite  "the  Needle,"  no  doubt  Chim- 
ney Rock,  they  were  halted  three  hours  to  allow 
the  buffalo  to  pass.  Thousands  of  them  were 
coming  out  of  the  mountains,  crossing  the  river, 
and  disappearing  into  the  hills  of  the  north. 

General  Ashley's  party  camped  that  night 
at  "an  island  of  considerable  proportions 
which,  seemed  to  be  a  rendezvous  for  wild 
fowl."  The  description  given  tallies  with  Long 
Island,  occasionally  designated  as  Hughes  Is- 
land, where  wild  geese  nested  in  earlier  days. 

There  was  an  old  saying  among  the  Indians 
thai  "  Vbove  the  forks  of  the  Platte,  the  grass 
does  not  burn."  In  the  shadowy  first  years 
then-  was  very  little  grass  in  this  country,  and 
the  little  that  did  spring  up  in  the  early  season, 
and  much  of  the  prairie  was  absolute- 
ly ban-  by  the  middle  of  July.  Thus  it  occur- 
red that  when  General  Ashley  reached  "the 
meadows,"  he  rested  for  a  few  day.  to  let 
his  horses  recup 

"A  mountain  of  considerable  proportions 
was  nearly  Opposite  the  camp,"  and  one  wild 
soul  remarked  that  when  he  died  he  hoped  that 
his  body  would  be  buried  upon  the  top 

minence  as  that.    I  have  wondered  if 


the  man  who  thus  remarked  was  Hiram  Scott, 
and  if,  five  years  later,  it  was  the  memory  of 
this  mountain  that  had  inspired  him  onward 
to  die  at  its  feet. 

Somewhere  in  the  mountains  Mr.  Scott  met 
Narcisse  LeClerc.  Francis  LeClerc,  who  was 
with  Stuart  in  1812,  was  a  kinsman  of  Nar- 
cisse, and  had  told  him  of  the  wonderful  fur 
resources  in  the  mountains,  and  the  former 
was  not  long  in  finding  his  way  into  the 
wilds. 

General  Ashlev  had  returned  to   St.   Louis 


Death  of  Hiriam  Scott 

in  the  autumn  of  1823,  and  Scott  had  become 
a  free  trapper,  when  he  met  LeClerc.  (Fer- 
ris says  that  Scott  was  clerk  of  the  American 
Fur  Company,  and  that  may  have  been  true 
at  one  time,  but  not  in  1828.) 

The  competition  among  the  companies  had 
driven  the  most  enterprising  men  into  the  free 
trapper  fraternity,  and  the  exactions  of  free 
trappers  drove  the  companies  to  consolidation. 
The  Northwest  had  become  a  part  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay,  and  in  July,  1827,  the  American  Fur 
Company  absorbed  the  Columbia.  Free  trap- 
pers would  undoubtedly  receive  less  for  their 
peltries,  and  LeClerc  and  Scott  determined  to 
organize  a  new  company. 

MrKenzie,  manager  of  the  post  of  the  Am- 
erican, was  a  special  object  of  dislike.  LeClerc 
told  Papin,  a  confrere,  at  a  later  date,  that  he 
"would  like  nothing  better,  than  puffing  a 
good  cigar  along  side  of  McKenzie." 

Now  while  the  Northwest  had  been  ab- 
sorbed by  the  Hudson  Bay,  the  name  had  a 
traditional  and  commercial  value,  and  LeClerc 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


15 


and  Scott  decided  upon  "Northwest  Fur  Com- 
pany," as  the  name  for  their  new  concern. 
Thus  it  transpired  that  a  considerable  number 
of  free  trappers  were  assembled  under  the 
leadership  of  LeClerc,  with  Hiram  Scott  as 
clerk  and  bookkeeper.  And  they  were  enroute 
for  St.  Louis  in  1828,  to  dispose  of  their  first 
collection  of  peltries,  and  formally  launch 
their  company. 

Chittendon  says  that  this  new  company  was 
outfitted  by  Henry  Shaw,  but  that  was  later 
and  after  the  death  of  Scott. 

Just  above  Platte  canyon,  at  the  rock  bot- 
tom ford,  Scott  was  taken  ill,  and  left  behind 
with  Roi  and  Bissonette,  to  be  taken  by  a  bull- 
boat  through  the  Platte  canyon,  and  to  over- 
take the  party  at  "the  big  bluff  one  hundred 
miles  down  the  river,"  where  they  would  tar- 
ry and  trap.  (People  coming  to  Scotts  Bluff 
from  the  plain  refer  to  it  as  a  mountain,  but 
people  from  the  mountains  regularly  called 
it  a  bluff.) 

The  story  of  the  naming  of  Scotts  Bluff,  as 
told  by  Washington  Irving  in  "Captain  Bonne- 
ville," needs  only  these  few  alterations  and 
embellishments,  which  I  have  garnered  from 
the  notes  of  other  brave  men  of  the  mountains, 
to  make  it  complete. 

After  a  few  days  the  boat  was  launched,  but 
was  upset  in  the  canyon,  and  all  provisions 
and  ammunition  were  lost.  The  three  men 
reached  the  shore,  however,  and  after  some 
difficulty  reached  Laramie's  fork.  While 
searching  for  food,  Roi  and  Bissonette  came 
upon  the  fresh  trail  of  LeClerc  and  party,  and 
abandoned  Scott  in  the  wilderness.    On  reach- 


ing the  big  bluff,  they  found  that  the  others 
had  not  waited  as  agreed,  so  they  pushed  on- 
ward. When  overtaking  the  party,  they  im- 
provised the  story  that  Scott  had  died  from 
exposure  and  fever. 

The  following  year  Bissonette,  Gonneville 
and  Roubideaux  were  returning  from  civiliza- 
tion, and  they  found  a  skeleton  at  the  spring,  on 
the  mountain,  which  the  former  declared  was 
that  of  Hiram  Scott.  He  had  walked  or  crawl- 
ed seventy  miles,  before  his  resolute  spirit  took 
its  flight.  The  Bissonette  here  mentioned  was 
a  son  of  Antoine  Bissonette  and  one  of  his 
many  Indian  wives.  Antoine  was  with  Man- 
uel Lisa  in  1807,  and  deserted.  With  Lisa's 
order  to  retake  him  dead  or  alive,  Drouillard 
shot  and  mortally  wounded  him.  The  mongrel 
son,  who  inherited  his  father's  penchant  for 
deserting  a  companion,  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age, 
and  is  mentioned  by  Francis  Parkman,  who 
visited  this  village  on  Horse  Creek  in  1846. 
He  had  married  a  squaw  —  several  of  them 
in  fact  —  and  was  the  chief  of  a  small  band 
when  visited  by  Parkman.  They  were  camp- 
ed near  the  present  site  of  La  Grange,  and  were 
miserably  poor.  Their  principal  food  consisted 
of  choke  berries  crushed  with  stones  and  dried 
on  buffalo  robes  in  the  sun.  They  had  journey- 
ed in  from  the  south,  and  on  the  trip  had  lived 
for  the  most  part  on  huge  wingless  grass- 
hoppers, which  clumsily  fell  about  their  moc- 
casins as  they  walked. 

History  is  singularly  destitute  relating  to  the 
future  movements  of  Roi,  but  Narcisse  Le- 
Clerc was  a  live  wire  for  several  years  that 
followed. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


TOSHUA  PILCHER  AND  FORTY-FIVE  TRAPPERS 


When  Manuel  Lisa  died,  in  August,  1820, 
Joshua  Pilcher  succeeded  him  as  manager  of 
the  Missouri  Fur  Company.  Pilcher  followed 
the  much  used  route  up  the  Missouri  river  for 
several  years. 

He  was  with  Leavenworth  and  Ashley  in  the 
Arikara  fight  which  was  participated  in  by 
Hiram  Scott  and  others  familiar  in  Scotts  Bluff 
history.  This  little  event  on  the  Missouri  and 
subsequent  bitterness  between  him  and  Colonel 
Leavenworth,  and  the  increased  hostility  of 
the   Arikaras    after   the    Leavenworth    fiasco, 


caused  the  Platte  river  to  lie  selected  for 
Pilcher's  operations. 

For  a  while  he  confined  himself  to  short 
journeys  up  the  river  as  far  as  Grand  Island 
where  he  met  trappers  coming  from  the  moun- 
tains, and  up  the  Loup  and  other  tributaries 
trading  with  the  Pawnees. 

In  September,  1827,  he  started  from  Coun- 
cil Bluffs,  where  he  had  a  trading  station,  with 
a  party  of  forty-five  trappers  for  Salt  Lake 
Valley.  This  was  the  first  recorded  time  of 
his  journeying  above  "the  coast  of  the  Platte," 


16 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


as  the  bluffs  on  either  side  of  the  river  from 
Kearney  west  were  afterwards  named. 

The  original  Council  Bluffs  were  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Missouri,  and  some  twenty-five 
miles  up  the  river  from  the  present  site  of  the 
modern  city  of  that  name.  They  were  so 
named  because  of  a  famous  council  held  there 
between  the  Indian  tribes  and  Lewis  and 
Clarke.  About  twenty  trading  posts  had  been 
established  between  these  bluffs  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Platte. 

Pilcher  followed  the  usual  method  and  di- 
vided his  party  at  the  forks  of  the  Platte,  a 
small  detachment  crossing  both  forks  of  the 
river  near  that  point,  and  going  up  the  south 
side  of  the  "South  River."  with  instructions 
to  join  the  main  party  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
"Southern  Pass." 

With  thirty  men  he  proceeded  up  the  north 
side  of  the  "North  river,"  leaving  the  forks  of 
the  river  on  September  25th. 

On  the  27th  he  passed  the  Birdwood,  and 
October  4th  found  them  "opposite  the  low  ly- 
ing, fantastic  bluffs,  resembling  citadels,  castles, 
towers,  and  other  works  of  man." 

"The  Chimney"  was  passed  the  following 
day.  and  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  find,  this 
is  the  first  time  it  was  called  "chimney,"  by 
early  travelers.  Two  days  after  they  crossed 
the  meadows,  and  camped  opposite  the  "first 
real  mountain  on  the  journey."  At  this  time 
Scotts  Bluff  had  not  received  its  name. 

Buffalo  herds  were  drifting  southward,  and 
there  were  thousands  of  them.  They  were 
being  chased  into  the  valley  by  friendly  In- 
dians from  the  north,  who  were  laying  in  their 
winter  supply  of  meat.  And  the  southern 
tribes,  hungry  and  hostile,  were  meeting  them 
a)  tin-  river,  and  chasing  them  over  the  hills  to 
the  south.  On  the  morning  of  October  Sth,  a 
large  herd  was  espied  in  the  valley  to  the 
westward,  and  the  hunters  experienced  no  dif- 
ficult) in  crossing  the  river,  as  it  was  at  low 
water  stage.  Several  fat  buffalo  were  slaugh- 
tered in  what  later  became  known  as  Mitchell 
valley.  The  robes  and  choicest  cuts  of  the 
meat,  and  the  tallow  were  saved,  and  the  bal- 
ance left  to  the  wolves. 

The  hard  life  of  the  trapper  would  indeed 
have  been  mure  serious  had  it  not  been  for 
the  buffalo,  They  furnished  much  of  the  sub- 
sistence required,  and  thereby  the  long  jour- 
neys  through  the  prairie  country  to  the  moun- 
tain- was  quite  as  profitable  to  the  trapping 
fraternity  as  the  time  spent  in  the  shadows 
of   the  mountains. 

Two  days  later  the  party  passed  the  point 
of  rocks  west  of  Morrill.'  and  on  the  13th 
crossed  the   Platte  river  above  the  mouth  of 


the  Laramie.  By  October  15th  the  party  was 
well  out  of  the  part  of  the  country  of  which 
our  story  tells. 

On  reaching  the  Sweetwater,  Pilcher  had 
his  horses  stolen.  He  cached  his  supplies  and 
went  through  the  South  Pass  light.  A  num- 
ber of  his  men,  having  arrived  in  the  moun- 
tains, deserted,  and  no  doubt  some  of  them 
were  with  LeClerc  the  following  year,  when 
Hiram  Scott  was  left  to  die. 

Pilcher  had  one  of  the  most  wonderful  trips 
ever  made  in  the  mountains,  going  with  only 
one  companion  for  many  hundreds  of  miles.  He 
returned  to  St.  Louis  in  June,  1830,  and  after 
the  death  of  General  Clarke  in  1838,  he  became 
Superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  for  nine  years.  It  was  under  his 
regime  that  Andrew  Drips  became  Indian 
Agent  at  Fort  Laramie  at  a  later  date,  much  to 
the  advantage  of  the  American  Fur  Company, 
then  operating  a  trading  post  at  that  point. 

In  1826,  three  of  the  "enterprising  young 
men,"  who  accompanied  General  Ashley  in 
1823,  organized  a  company  and  Ashley  wishing 
to  retire  from  the  fur  trade,  sold  out  to  them. 
Ashley  was  about  $200,000  in  debt  at  the  time 
he  began  operations,  but  he  retired  in  1826  with 
a  fortune  of  over  $300,000. 

The  style  of  the  new  firm  was  Smith,  Jack- 
son &  Sublette.  The  senior  member,  Jebediah 
Smith,  was  a  great,  great  uncle  of  Mrs.  C.  P. 
Calhoun,  who  lived  near  the  signal  point  seven 
miles  northeast  of  Scottsbluff,  a  few  years  ago. 

One  of  the  prettiest  valleys  in  the  mountains 
and  one  of  the  most  charming  nature  spots  of 
the  west  were  named  after  Jackson — the  Jack- 
son holes  and  Jackson  lake. 

William  Sublette  was  one  of  the  characters 
in  history  building  in  the  western  country  for 
several  years,  and  it  is  right  that  more  than 
passing  mention  be  made  of  him  and  his 
achievements.  He  was  born  in  1799  and  at 
the  age  of  nineteen  started  in  business  for  him- 
self by  ope/iing  a  billiard  hall  at  Saint  Charles, 
Missouri.  He  was  a  Kentuckian,  and  his  fath- 
er was  said  to  be  the  man  who  killed  Chief  Te- 
cumseh. 

His  first  visit  into  this  country  was  on  the 
trip  up  the  valley  with  General  Ashley  in 
1823,  when  Scott  was  one  of  the  party. 

Sublette  had  several  brothers  in  the  wilder- 
ness, one  of  whom,  Milton,  died  at  Fort  Lara- 
mie in  1836.  William  was  a  thorough  moun- 
taineer, a  man  with  a  frank  and  open  counte- 
nance, very  expressive ;  was  light  complection- 
ed  and  had  blue  eyes.  He  stood  six  feet  two 
in  his  moccasins. 

In  the  years  1827-1828  and  1829,  Sublette 
was  the  member  of  the  firm  that  conveyed  pel- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


17 


tries  to  market  and  provisions  and  merchandise 
into  the  mountains.  He  used  pack  horses  and 
mules  for  the  most  part,  and  followed  the 
trail  of  Jacques  Laramie. 

This  partnership  with  Smith  and  Jackson 
ended  in  1831  upon  the  death  of  Smith.  And 
immediately  thereafter  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Robert  Campbell,  another  of  General 
Ashley's  "enterprising  young  men." 

Going  a  little  ahead  of  my  story,  Campbell, 
in  June,  1835,  with  thirteen  men,  began  the 
erection  of  a  trading  post  about  a  mile  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Laramie  river,  and  in  honor 
of  William  Sublette  he  named  it  Fort  William. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  Fort  Laramie. 

The  partnership  was  dissolved  in  1842,  when 
Sublette  retired  from  mountain  trade,  and  in 
July,  1845,  while  on  his  way  to  Washington 
he  was  taken  ill  and  died.  The  Sublette  fam- 
ily is  now  extinct. 


William  Sublette  died  independently  weal- 
thy, being  one  of  the  few  fur  traders  who 
made  money,  and  kept  any  of  it.  He  was  mar- 
ried March  21,  1844,  to  an  Alabama  lady  nam- 
ed Miss  Frances  Hereford,  and  Chittendon 
tells  this  little  romance  which  is  not  without  its 
human  interest. 

Miss  Hereford  had  a  prior  attachment  for 
a  younger  brother,  Solomon,  but  William  had 
the  greater  fortune,  and  it  turned  the  scale  in 
his  favor.  Soon  after  his  marriage  he  made 
a  will  giving  his  fortune  to  her  at  his  death 
in  case  she  did  not  change  her  name.  He  died 
on  the  2d  of  July,  1845,  and  the  lady  later 
married  her  first  love,  Solomon,  that  probably 
being  the  intention  of  William  when  he  put 
the  provision  in  his  will. 


CHAPTER  IX 
FIRST  WAGONS  ON  OVERLAND  TRAILS 


The  valley  of  the  "Flat  Wrater"  had  become 
well  known  as  a  highway  for  trappers.  While 
data  of  special  trips  are  a  little  difficult  to  ob- 
tain, yet  mention  is  made  frequently  of  the 
movement  of  some  voyageur,  or  pack  caravan, 
and  it  is  stated  that  "they  took  the  usual  Platte 
and  Sweetwater  route." 

This  valley  is  still  relatively  new  as  a  thor- 
oughfare. Some  day  in  the  not  far  distant  fu- 
ture there  will  be  streaming  east  and  west,  long 
strings  of  Pullmans  as  the  Overland  pants  its 
way  from  sea  to  sea ;  and  Transcontinental 
tourists  motoring  east  and  west  will  be  as 
common  as  emigrants  were  on  Oregon  trail. 

Away  back  yonder  the  trapper  found  it,  and 
it  was  new  to  him,  but  for  generations  the 
aborigines  had  traveled  up  and  down  the  val- 
ley, and  before  their  time  wild  animals  trailed 
along  the  banks  of  the  Platte,  ever  looking  for 
that  greener  pasture  a  little  farther  on. 

Wherever  the  foot  of  man  goeth,  there  have 
been  others  before.  It  seems  a  part  of  destiny. 
The  old  world  whirls  on,  blazing  a  trail  across 
the  wilderness  of  space,  yet  probably  the  path 
it  moves  along  has  been  worn  smooth  by  va- 
grant worlds  still  moving  on  before. 

Having  traversed  this  part  of  the  wilderness 


with  a  pack  horse  several  times,  it  was  quite 
natural  that  one  should  look  for  easier  modes 
of  conveyance.  Thus  it  was  that  in  the  early 
spring  of  1830  two  years  before  Captain  Bon- 
neville made  his  journey  up  the  Platte,  Will- 
iam Sublette  set  out  with  a  party  of  trappers 
from  St.  Louis. 

He  had  ten  wagons,  each  laden  with  about 
a  ton  of  merchandise  and  drawn  by  five  mules, 
two  light  vehicles  drawn  by  one  mule  each,  and 
eighty  men  mounted  on  mules.  With  the  cara- 
van were  twelve  cattle,  and  one  milch  cow.  The 
cattle  were  for  food  until  they  should  reach 
the  buffalo  country. 

They  moved  up  the  Missouri  river  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Platte,  and  followed  the  north 
bank  of  the  Platte  into  the  mountains. 

It  was  in  June  that  the  first  wagons  on  the 
Overland  Trail  passed  through  the  Scotts 
Bluff  country.  They  traveled  at  the  rate  of 
about  fifteen  miles  a  day  through  the  prairie 
country,  slowing  down  when  reaching  the 
mountains. 

About  the  middle  of  August  the  wagons 
laden  with  peltries,  returned  through  the  val- 
ley, and  arrived  at  St.  Louis  early  in  October. 

Speaking  of  this  trip,   Smith,  Jackson  and 


18 


I  IIS  TORN'  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Sublette  wrote  a  letter  in  October,  1830,  to 
Chouteau,  which  found  its  way  into  the  Cong- 
gressional  Record.  It  covers  a  wide  variety  of 
subjects.  The  feasibility  of  carrying  on  traffic 
by  wagon  trains  to  the  Columbia  river  country 
comes  in  for  a  liberal  share. 

(  Ine  quotation  of  interest  to  the  North  "Platte 
river  is:  "We  began  to  fall  in  with  the  buf- 
faloes on  the  Platte,  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  the  white  settlements;  and 
from  that  time  on,  lived  on  buffaloes,  the 
quantity  being  infinitely  beyond  what  we 
needed." 

This  directly  refers  to  the  country  from  Gar- 
den county  to  the  mountains.  This  letter  is 
found  in  Sen.  Doc.  39,  21st  Cong.  2d  Ses. 

The  following  spring  another  caravan  was 
made  up,  and  proceeded  along  the  identical 
route,  but  on  the  return  trip  stopped  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Platte.  And  from  this  time  for  a 
few  years,  the  plan  was  to  bring  merchandise 
by  water  up  the  Missouri  to  the  Platte,  then 
by  wagons  into  the  mountains.  Returning 
parties  brought  wagons  to  the  Missouri  and 
transferred  the  beaver  to  boats,  letting  the 
mules  rest  while  the  journey  was  made  to  St. 
Louis  and  return. 

Thomas  Forsyth  in  a  letter  to  the  Secretary 
of  War  in  October,  1831,  called  the  river  "The 
Little  Platte,"  and  also  outlined  the  route  as 
above  given. 

The  rendezvous  agreed  upon  in  1830  was 
on  what  was  then  called  "Wind  river,"  but 
which  is  now  the  "Popo  Agie."  for  Sublette 
speaks  of  the  "Southern  Pass,"  (no  doubt 
South  Pass)  and  he  said  that  wagons  could 
easily  be  taken  this  route  through  the  moun- 
tains. The  average  time  of  the  1300  mile 
trip  was  thirteen  miles  per  day.  And  between 
June  5th  and  June  25th  they  made  the  trip 
from  the  foiks  of  the  Platte  to  "Laramie's 
Rendezvous." 

The  death  of  Hiram  Scott  on  the  mountains 
"i-  bluff,  bad  at  last  given  it  a  name,  and 
"Scott's  Bluff"  smm  became  known  as  a  land- 
mark by  practically  every  trapper  in  the  wild- 
and  H  brought  about  a  change  in  the 
habits  (if  the  fraternity  in  journeys  up  and 
down  the  valley. 

If  there  is  one  sentimenl  in  which  the  whole 
human  race  is  in  accord,  that  sentiment  is  the 
desire  to  \  isil  a  graveyard. 

There    is    an    indescribable    thrill    that    stirs 
'    Of   a    soldier   win.  takes   off  his   hat 
at  the  grave  of  a  comrade  who  has  sh; 
him  the  perils  of  war. 

'I  lure  is  an  emotion  that  moves  the  slates- 
man    when    he    stands   uncovered    Inf., re    the 


mausoleum  of  another  who  has  shared  with 
him  the  inspirations  of  nation  building. 

We,  of  the  humbler  walks  of  life,  have  ours, 
beside  the  little  mound  where  rests  a  brother 
of  toil  with  whom  we  have  labored  shoulder 
to  shoulder.  The  Indian  passes  the  burial  tree 
as  often  as  he  conveniently  can.  So,  with  old 
trappers.  Could  they  conveniently  pass  the 
grave  of  a  comrade  who  had  shared  the  joys 
and  tribulations  of  the  wilderness,  they  would 
have  taken  some  additional  hazard  for  the 
privilege. 

What  old  cowman  of  this  country  has  not 
yisited  "Boot's  Graveyard,"  at  Sidney,  where 
sleep  many  of  the  comrades  of  the  days  of 
Creighton,  Snodgrass,  Coad,  Sheedy  and  Rob- 
inson—  cowboys  who  died  with  their  boots 
on,  and  were  buried  booted  and  spurred  ready 
for  the  long  ride  to  the  "Home  Ranch?" 

Trappers  began  to  take  the  southside  route 
through  Mitchell  Pass  by  the  Scottsbluff 
spring,  that  they  might  do  homage  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Scott.  Before  buffalo  and  Arapahoes 
reached  the  river  in  the  annual  movement  to 
the  north,  the  route  was  comparatively  free 
from  danger. 

It  was  but  a  few  years  after  the  death 
of  Scott  that  Captain  Gant  won  the  friendship 
of  the  Arapahoes,  and  their  hostility  to  the 
whites  for  the  time  ceased.  About  the  same 
time  the  hostile  spirit  of  the  Indians  on  the 
Missouri  river  in  Dakota  began  to  percolate 
through  the  tribes  to  the  north.  The  Ogallalas 
and  Tetons  became  suspicious  of  white  people 
when  they  discovered  them  on  friendly  terms 
with  the  Arapahoes,  and  the  result  was  preda- 
tory raids  upon  the  Overland. 

In  April,  1831,  seventy  men  under  Zenas 
Leonard  for  Gant  &  Blackwell,  left  St.  Louis, 
and  on  the  first  of  August,  arrived  at  the 
forks  of  the  Platte.  The  next  month  was 
spent  in  the  North  river  country  between  the 
forks  and  the  Laramie  river.  The  slow  prog- 
ress was  made  because  of  side  trips  hunting 
and  trapping,  on  Gonneville  creek,  and  over 
on  Blue  Water,  and  to  L'Eau  qui  court,  and 
in  the  chalk  mountains  from  the  present  Court 
House  Rock  to  Signal  Buttes. 

At  the  Laramie,  the  party  divided  for  the 
fall  trapping  campaign.  Many  of  them  were 
never  heard  from  again,  some  found  their  way 
to  Santa  Fe,  and  others  to  Gant  &  Blackwell's 
fort  on  the  Arkansas.  Twenty-one  men  un- 
der A.  K.  Stevens,  a  grandson  of  Daniel 
Roone.  worked  up  towards  the  Laramie  moun- 
tains. During  the  winter  they  lost  all  their 
horses,  and  after  an  ineffectual  attempt  to 
reach  Santa  Fe,  returned  to  the  Laramie  ren- 
dezvous   in    April,    1832.    stripped    of    nearlv 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


19 


everything  of  value,  as  they  were  on  the  line 
of  clashes  between  the  northern  and  southern 
tribes. 

In    the    early    summer    of    1832,    a    general 


i  rendezvous  of  all  the  fur  companies  and  trap- 
pers had  been  arranged  for  at  Pierre's  Hole, 
some  six  hundred  miles  to  the  northwest. 

Fitzpatrick  and  Bridger  were  to  be  there 
with  supplies  which  William  Sublette  was  to 
bring  from  St.  Louis.  To  hurry  him  along 
Fitzpatrick  took  two  of  their  fleetest  horses 
and  went  to  meet  him. 

This  was  Sublette's  third  wagon  caravan 
and  as  usual  he  had  the  wagons  loaded  with 
about  a  ton  each  and  five  mules  to  the  wagon, 
besides  a  number  of  mounts. 

On  the  seventh  of  June,  Fitzpatrick  crossed 
the  Laramie  river  and  started  for  Scotts  Bluff 
mountains.     When  opposite,  and  a  little  above 


Signal  Buttes,  he  espied  the  caravan  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  near  the  present  site 
of  Morrill. 

On  the  tenth  of  June,  he  crossed  the  river, 
by  swimming  his  horses,  as  the  water  was 
high.  The  meeting  of  these  two  hardened 
hunters  —  one  from  the  mountains  and  the 
other  fresh  from  the  white  man's  world,  was 
an  event  that  called  for  liberal  libations,  and 
much  genialty. 

Being  admonished  of  the  urgent  need  of 
haste,  Sublette  left  his  famous  old  cow  and 
she  was  never  seen  again.  Spurred  onward, 
he  made  the  six  hundred  miles  to  Pierre's 
Hole  in  thirty-two  days. 

The  party  picked  up  the  remnant  of  Gant  & 
Blackwell's  trappers  at  the  Laramie,  fording 
the  Platte  at  that  point. 


CHAPTER  X 
WYETH,  OF  "CAPE  COD  BAY,"   AND     HIS    "DOWN    EASTERS' 


When  William  Sublette  was  coming  up  the 
Missouri  river  in  the  spring  of  ;1832,  the 
boat  stopped  at  Independence  and  took  on  a 
party  of  New  Englanders.  This  party  had 
little  to  commend  it  to  the  mountains  except 
its  purpose  and  the  indomitable  will  of  its 
members.  Otherwise  they  were  wholly  un- 
fitted for  mountain,  adventure,  by  liack  of 
experience,  equipment,  knowledge  of  Indians, 
habits  of  wild  game,  or  even  the  use  of  fire- 
arms. 

This  was  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  of  Boston 
and  his  "down  easters."  Wyeth  learned  where 
Sublette  and  party  were  bound,  and  with  the 
directness  and  frankness  of  the  New  England- 
er  character  he  told  him  his  purpose  and  di- 
lemma. Sublette  readily  agreed  that  the  two 
parties  travel  together.  On  the  way  across  the 
prairies.  Sublette's  experienced  hunters  had 
taught  the  New  Englanders  how  to  hunt,  and 
much  other  necessary  information  of  the  wild- 
erness, and  by  this  time  they  were  much  bet- 
ter equipped  for  the  emergencies  of  the  moun- 
tains. Horses  had  been  acquired  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Platte,  and  the  party  were  all  well 
mounted  and  had  plenty  to  pack  their  mer- 
chandise. 

Wyeth's   definite   purpose   was   to   establish 


posts  on  the  Columbia,  and  supply  them  from 
ships  around  "the  Horn,"  using  the  ships  to 
convey  the  peltries  back  to  market.  The 
plan  was  not  successful.  He  always  felt  out 
of  his  element  in  the  mountains,  and  the  full 
force  of  the  hardships  fell  heavily  upon  him. 
He  frequently  wrote  in  a  discouraging  vein. 
"I  am  sitting  on  a  rock  with  plain  dried  buf- 
falo as  my  entire  meal."  "I  gave  the  boys 
some  alcohol,  more  than  was  good  for  the 
peace  of  the  party,  and  went  on  a  good  sized 
spree  myself,"  etc. 

Wyeth  raised  the  American  flag  over  the 
wilderness  of  Idaho,  when  he  built  Fort  Hall, 
and  on  the  Columbia  over  the  lost  Astoria. 
But  in  the  end  he  sold  his  fort  on  Wappatoo 
island  to  the  Hudson  Bay,  and  Fort  Hall  was 
burned  in  a  Blackfeet  Indian  raid,  in  which 
the  hardy  mountaineers,  Rezner  and  Robin- 
son lost  their  lives. 

In  the  later  vigorous  years  of  the  formation 
of  Oregon  territory  when  Senator  Benton  of 
Missouri,  was  hammer  and  tongs  after  Ore- 
gon recognition.  New  England  was  reluctant 
to  sustain  the  spirit  of  enterprise  exemplified 
by  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth. 

Now  at  the  time  Fitzpatrick  met  Su'olette 
and  Wyeth  near  Morrill,  another  wagon  train 


20 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


was  nearing  the  forks  of  the  Platte  river.  The 
party  had  left  Fort  Osage,  on  the  first  day  of 
May,  with  twenty  wagons  drawn  by  oxen,  and 
further  consisted  of  a  large  number  of  horses 
with  one  hundred  and  ten  men  under  the 
leadership  of  Captain  B.  L.  E.  Bonneville,  and 
his  able  lieutenants,  M.  S.  Cerre  and  I.  R. 
Walker. 

They  had  followed  the  Sante  Fe  trail  to 
White  riume's  agency,  then  blazed  a  new  trail 
in  a  northwesterly  course,  which  has  since 
been  followed  by  many  thousands  of  emigrants 
striking  the  Platte  near  Grand  Island,  then 
called  "Great  Island." 

Had  they  reached  this  point  some  ten  days 
earlier,  they  might  have  observed  upon  the 
north  side  of  the  river  the  wagon  train  of  Will- 
iam Sublette,  and  the  caravan  of  horses  used 
by  Wyeth's  party. 

On  arriving  at  the  forks  of  the  Platte,  they 
found  the  South  fork  impassible  for  fording 
and  proceeded  two  day's  journey  up  the  river 
before  affecting  a  crossing. 

They  then  removed  the  wheels  from  their 
wagons,  and  improvised  boats  by  stretching 
buffalo  hides  under  the  wagon  boxes  and 
smearing  them  with  a  compound  of  ashes  and 
buffalo  tallow.  And  on  this  identical  day,  June 
13,  1832,  William  Sublette  and  Nathaniel  J. 
Wyeth  were  fording  the  North  fork  at  the 
point  just  above  its  junction  with  the  "Lara- 
mie." 

It  would  be  utterly  impossible  to  improve 
upon  the  language  of  Washington  Irving  in 
describing  this  trip.  And  I  would  not  vary 
from  it  in  the  least,  except  that  I  want  to 
identify  spots  of  interest  by  modern  land- 
marks, and  include  events  connected  with 
Bonneville's  experiences,  which  I  have  ob- 
tained from  other  sources  than  Irving's  nar- 
rative. 

Irving  and  Bonneville  were  less  familiar 
with  the  North  Platte  valley  than  are  many  of 
our  readers,  or  the  trappers  who  for  twenty 
years  had  used  the  natural  highway.  Irving 
says  "Of  the  other  [meaning  the  North  River] 
branch  he  knew  nothing.  Its  sources  might 
lie  among  inaccessible  cliffs,  and  tumble  and 
foam  down  rugged  defiles  and  over  craggy 
precipices.  But  its  direction  was  the  true 
course,  and  up  this  stream  he  determined  to 
prosecute  his  route." 

The  crossing  of  the  South  fork  was  effected 

near   the   | siti     of    Sutherland,   and   "a 

march  of  nine  miles  took  them  over  the  high 
rolling  prairie  to  tin-  North   fork." 

"Skirting  the  North  fork  for  a  day  or  two, 
I)  annoyed  by  the  misquitos,  and  buf- 
falo gnats,  they  reached,  on  the  evening  of 
June   17th,  a  -mall  but  beautiful  grove,   from 


which  issued  the  confused  notes  of  singing 
birds,  the  first  they  had  heard  since  crossing  the 
boundary  of  Missouri."  This  is  the  ravine 
that  became  historical  as  Ash  Hollow. 

"It  was  a  beautiful  sunset,  and  the  sight  of 
the  glowing  rays,  mantling  the  tree  tops  and 
rustling  of  branches,  gladdened  every  heart. 
They  pitched  their  camp  in  the  grove,  kindled 
their  fires,  partook  merrily  of  their  rude  fare, 
and  resigned  themselves  to  the  sweetest  sleep 
they  had  enjoyed  since  their  outset  upon  the 
prairies." 

The  country  now  became  more  rugged  and 
broken.  High  bluffs  advanced  upon  the  river 
and  forced  the  travelers  to  occasionally  leave 
its  banks  and  wind  their  course  into  the  in- 
terior. 

Captain  Bonneville  ascended  the  high  cliffs 
back  of  Chimney  rock,  and  looked  over  the 
valley.  "As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  the 
country  seemed  absolutely  blackened  with  in- 
numerable herds"  of  buffalo.  "No  language 
could  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  vast  liv- 
ing mass  thus  presented  to  the  eye.  He  re- 
marked that  the  bulls  and  the  cows  generally 
congregated  in  separate  herds." 

Here  they  began  to  see  blacktail  deer,  which 
abounded  in  the  hills,  and  were  larger  than  the 
"prairie  species,"  or  antelope. 

In  the  gap  back  of  Castle  rock  they  discov- 
ered the  trail  of  four  or  five  pedestrians,  which 
later  proved  to  be  Crow  spies,  who  had  dogged 
the  train  in  secret  for  several  days,  astonished 
at  wagons  and  oxen,  and  especially  a  cow  and 
a  calf  which  were  sedately  following  the  cara- 
van. 

Crow  Indians  were  not  habitually  along  this 
part  of  the  Platte,  their  habitat  being  in  the  Big 
Horn  mountains  and  Basin.  Had  they  been 
familiar  with;  the  valley,  they  might  have 
observed  in  the  last  two  years,  the  wagons 
in  Sublette's  several  caravans. 

The  discovery  of  these  moccasin  tracks  put 
the  party  upon  its  guard,  for  "when  you  can 
see  no  Indians  is  just  the  time  to  look  out  for 
them."  is  a  part  of  Jim  Bridger's  philosophy. 
Inasmuch  as  Bridger  came  to  the  mountains 
with  General  Ashley  in  1823,  and  was  guide 
during  the  Indian  wars  as  late  as  1865,  it  may 
be  accepted  that  he  ought  to  know. 

"On  the  21st,"  Bonneville's  party  "camped 
amid  the  high  and  beetling  cliffs  of  indurated 
clay  and  sandstone,  bearing  the  semblance  of 
towers,  castles,  churches,  and  fortified  cities. 
At  a  distance  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  persuade 
one's  self  that  the  works  of  art  were  not 
mingled  with  these  fantastic  freaks  of  nature." 

Five  years  earlier  Joshua  Pilcher  lias  sim- 
ilarlv  remarked  their  formation. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XI 
NEZ    PERCE   AND  CROW    INDIANS —  CROW  CREEK  NAMED 


After  arriving  at  the  famous  mountain, 
Bonneville  gives  an  abbreviated  story  of  the 
naming  of  "Scotts,  Bluff"  which  has  been 
heretofore  given  in  detail.  The  story  then  con- 
tinues : 

"Amid  the  wild  and  striking  scenery,  Cap- 
tain Bonneville  for  the  first  time  beheld  flocks 
of  ahsahta  or  bighorn,  an  animal  which  fre- 
quents the  cliffs  in  great  numbers.  They  ac- 
cord with  the  nature  of  the  scenery,  and  add 
much  to  its  romantic  effect;  bounding  like 
goats  from  crag  to  crag,  often  trooping  along 
the  lofty  shelves  of  the  mountain  under  the 
guide  of  some  venerable  patriarch,  with  horns 
twisted  lower  than  his  muzzle,  and  sometimes 
peering  over  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  so  high 
that  they  appear  scarce  bigger  than  crows.  In- 
deed, it  seems  to  be  a  pleasure  to  them  to  seek 
the  most  rugged  and  frightful  situations, 
doubtless  from  the  feeling  of  security." 

On  the  22nd  of  June,  Captain  Bonneville 
negotiated  the  passage  of  the  big  gap  in  the 
mountain,  experiencing  considerable  difficulty. 
Thus  were  wagons  taken  over  this  road  for  the 
first  time  in  history,  and  the  gateway  between 
the  mountains  and  the  plain  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river  opened  —  a  gateway  through  which 
has  since  poured  enough  people  to  populate 
an  empire. 

Before  evening  of  this  eventful  day  they 
had  reached  the  upper  part  of  Mitchell  valley, 
and  the  following  day  crossed  Horse  creek 
about  the  hour  of  noon. 

In  the  evening  of  the  23rd  they  went  into 
camp  on  a  small,  but  pretty  meadow  near  the 
present  state  line.  As  they  were  lighting  their 
campfires  for  preparation  for  their  evening 
meal,  they  were  startled  by  seeing  an  elkskin 
craft  bearing  four  Indians  shoot  silently  into 
the  stream  from  the  overhanging  cottonwoods 
upon  the  north  shore,  and  rapidly  approach  the 
camp. 

They  proved  to  be  the  deputation  of  Nez 
Perce  Indians  (meaning  pierced  nosed  In- 
dians) which  had  been  sent  from  their  nation 
over  on  the  Columbia  to  the  White  Fathers  of 
the  east,  to  learn  of  the  White  Man's  Book 
and  the  Great  Spirit  of  the  White  People. 

Bonneville  remarked  they  were  far  from 
their  native  habitat,  and  while  they  had  pre- 
viously met  the  wagons  of  Sublette  they  were 
greatly  impressed  with  "wigwams  on  wheels," 
and  the  "long  horned  buffalo." 

On  the  24th,  as  the  caravan  was  slowly  trav- 


ersing the  Hunting  Meadows,  the  scouts  which 
Captain  Bonneville  always  kept  on  ahead,  came 
galloping  back  with  the  cry  of  "Indians." 

Preparations  were  made  for  an  attack,  as 
the  Indians  were  reported  to  be  Crows,  and 
believed  to  be  warlike  and  crafty.  Suddenly 
out  of  the  adjoining  hills  there  burst,  with  all 
the  wildness  and  suddenness  of  a  mountain 
storm,  sixty  warriors  in  battle  array,  painted 
and  bedecked  in  all  the  colors  and  trappings 
of  aborigines,  and  they  thundered  down  upon 
the  party,  with  many  a  wild  and  dexterous 
evolution. 

"Their  mode  of  approach,  to  one  not  ac- 
quainted with  the  tactics  and  ceremonies  of 
the  rude  chivalry  of  the  wilderness,  had  an 
air  of  direct  hostility.  They  came  galloping 
forward  in  a  body,  as  if  about  to  make  a  fur- 
ious charge,  and  when  close  at  hand  opened  to 
the  right  and  left  and  wheeled  in  wide  circles 
around  the  travelers,  whooping  and  yelling  like 
maniacs. 

"This  done  their  mock  fury  settled  into  a 
calm,  and  the  chief,  approaching  the  captain, 
who  had  remained  warily  drawn  up,  though 
informed  of  the  pacific  nature  of  the  maneuv- 
er, extended  to  him  the  hand  of  friendship. 
The  pipe  of  peace  was  smoked  and  now  all  was 
good  fellowship. 

"The  Crows  were  in  pursuit  of  a  band  of 
Cheyennes,  who  had  attacked  their  village  in 
the  night,  and  killed  one  of  their  people.  They 
had  been  five  and  twenty  days  on  the  track  of 
the  marauders,  and  were  determined  not  to 
return  home  until  they  had  sated  their  re- 
venge." 

This  was  accomplished,  some  fifty  or  sixty 
miles  to  the  southward,  where  they  surprised 
their  enemies.  The  maurauders  believed  that 
they  had  passed  out  of  the  danger  zone  of  pur- 
suit, and  had  in  a  measure  relaxed  their  vigi- 
lance. 

They  lost  three  scalps  in  the  engagement  that 
followed,  which  satisfied  their  pursuers.  War 
signs  were  left  by  the  Crows,  as  a  warning  for- 
ever to  the  Cheyennes ;  and  from  this  circum- 
stance, Indians  and  whites  who  since  have 
visited  the  ravine  south  of  Pine  Bluffs,  refer- 
red to  it  as  "Crow  Creek,"  which  name  it  bears 
today.  The  cow  and  calf  with  Bonneville's 
party  came  in  for  a  full  share  of  attention. 
The  Indians  remarked  their  extreme  docility, 
and  thought  the  calf  must  be  "great  Medicine," 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


but  their  ideas  were  dashed  when  the  men  of- 
fered to  trade  it  for  a  pony. 

The  extreme  friendliness  of  the  Indians  was 
considerable  of  a  nuisance  to  the  members  of 
the  party,  but  was  endured,  and  after  they  had 
gone  upon  their  journey,  they  found  many  of 
them  had  lost  their  hunting  knives,  which  ex- 
plained the  motive  of  the  Indian's  caresses. 

Some  days  later  the  war  party  returned  to 
the  Platte,  and  followed  Bonneville's  trail  until 
overtaking  the  caravan,  in  order  to  exhibit 
the  scalps  of  their  adversaries.  They  then  pro- 
ceeded toward  the  northwest  "to  appease  the 
manes  of  their  comrades  by  proofs  that  his 
death  had  been  avenged,  and  they  intended  to 
have  scalp  dances  and  other  triumphal  re- 
joicings." 

On  the  26th,  Bonneville's  party  camped  at 
Laramie's  fork  "a  clear  and  beautiful  stream 
rising  in  the  southwest,  maintaing  an  average 
width  of  twenty  yards,  and  winding  through 
broad  meadows,  abounding  in  currants  and 
gooseberries,  and  adorned  with  groves  and 
clumps  of  trees. 

Here  Bonneville  tells  of  his  observations, 
and  Irving  includes  the  story  of  the  building 
of  Fort  William.  He  tells  also  that  in  1835, 
Robert  Campbell  descended  the  river  in  boats, 
thus  proving  what  had  always  been  in  doubt, 
that  the  river  was  navigable.  Of  course  this 
was  Irving's  opinion,  but  the  facts  have  been 
related  that  fleets  of  boats  had  for  years  been 
descending  the  river,  laden  with  peltries. 

The  boniface  captain,  the  "bald  chief."  as 
the  Indians  called  him,  is  now  passing  out  of 
Scotts  Bluff  country,  so  wre  will  not  follow  his 
rambles  in  the  wilderness. 

In  the  spirit  of   fairness,  one  would   think 


that  mention  would  have  been  made  of  wagons 
on  the  trail  before  Bonneville's  party,  for 
there  must  have  been  abundant  evidences  of 
the  existence  of  Sublette's  caravan,  which  had 
preceded  them  at  the  Laramie  river  only 
thirteen  days. 

But  Bonneville  was  of  French  extraction, 
and  the  national  characteristic  is  exaggeration 
and  boast  fulness.  He  was  likely  to  omit  any- 
thing that  detracted  from  his  glory.  Bancroft 
is  exceedingly  severe  in  his  criticism  of  Bonne- 
ville. Irving,  who  was  Bonneville's  chronicler 
of  events,  was  a  novelist.  And  one  who  has 
read  Irving  much  is  frequently  amused  at  his 
exaggerations  of  the  character  of  his  heroes. 
Should  his  principal  character,  together  with 
others,  go  on  a  spree,  his  would  always  "main- 
tain the  dignity  of  a  gentleman,  although  in- 
toxicated," while  the  other  would  be  "beastly 
drunk." 

Farther  in  the  wilderness,  over  on  the  Green 
river.  Captain  Bonneville  accused  Fontenelle 
of  taking  from  him  some  of  his  Delaware  In- 
dian guides,  with  promise  of  better  wages.  As 
Fontenelle  has  much  to  do  with  Nebraska  his- 
tory in  subsequent  years,  readers  will  become 
acquainted  with  him,  and  they  will  find  it  hard 
to  believe  that  he  ever  took  unfair  advantage 
of  any  one.  In  fact  the  Delawares  were  form- 
erly of  Fontenelle's  party,  and  only  attached 
themselves  to  Bonneville  to  make  their  way 
into  the  wilderness  again,  of  which  purpose 
the  captain  was  probably  unaware. 

Some  two  and  a  half  years  later,  the  rem- 
nant of  Bonneville's  party  came  back  over  the 
trail  which  he  had  traversed,  and  which  later 
became  one  of  the  most  remarkable  highways 
in  the  history  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  Xll 


.ITTI.K    MOON    LAKE  — FAMOUS   MISSIONARIES 


June  22.  1X.i2,  an  elkskin  boat  bearing  four 
Indians  came  plunging  out  of  the  rapids  at  the 
lower  end  of  Platte  canyon  and  pulled  in  upon 
the  shore,  making  camp  at  about  the  present 
site  of  Guernsey.  <  >n  the  following  day  they 
■  1  down  the  river  to  a  grove  upon  what 
to  be  .hi  island.  To  the  right  of  it. 
the  waters  rushed  with  increasing  velocity,  but 
on  the  left  were  invitingly  quiet, 


They  pulled  in  for  their  regular  night's  rest 
upon  a  pretty  lagoon,  and  found  that  its  lower 
extremity  was  banked  by  a  beaver  dam.  These 
animals  had  cut  the  trees  and  built  a  substan- 
tial structure  across  what  had  been  a  channel 
of  the  Platte.  This  lagoon  is  now  known  as 
Little  Moon  Lake. 

It  was  nearly  nightfall,  when  they  discov- 
ered,   upon    the    opposite    bank    of    the    river, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


something  that  filled  them  with  wonder  and 
amazement.  Long  horned  buffalo  were  trail- 
ing wigwams  into  a  grass  plot,  where  Captain 
Bonneville  and  party  were  about  to  make 
camp. 

About  noon  the  following  day,  the  swift  cur- 
rent of  the  river  carried  the  four  strangers 
"near  the  breast  of  a  mountain  on  which  they 
could  plainly  see  bighorns,"  and  at  night  they 
passed  "the  wigwam,"  no  doubt  referring  to 
Chimney  rock. 

Then  there  was  the  long  journey  through 
prairies  the  like  of  which  they  had  never 
dreamed,  and  at  the  river  mouth  they  were 
taken  on  a  keel-boat  coming  down  the  Mis- 
souri. 

General  Clarke,  a  brother  of  the  explorer, 
was  then  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  at 
St.  Louis,  and  when  these  Indians  met  him  and 
told  him  their  mission,  he  was  dumbfounded. 

It  seemed  that  Lewis  and  Clarke  had  left 
some  fragmentary  knowledge  of  religion  with 
the  tribe  when  they  visited  it  in  1804,  and  this, 
with  rude  fragments  of  Christianity  that  came 
to  them  from  French,  had  left  the  tribe  with  a 
thirst  for  more  knowledge  of  the  Book  of  Life. 

And  these  four  "savages"  had  braved  the 
terrors  of  an  unknown  and  perilous  wilderness, 
on  a  three  thousand  mile  journey  in  search  of 
the  Christ.  They  had  "seen  his  Star  in  the 
East." 

General  Clarke  entertained  and  fed  them 
royally  after  the  manner  of  white  people,  but 
it  was  too  much  for  their  uneducated  systems, 
and  the  two  elder  members  of  the  party  died 
from  excesses.  The  others  remained  for  some 
time,  being  taken  from  one  manner  of  white 
man's  amusements  to  another,  and  finally  on 
the  announcement  of  their  intention  to  return 
to  their  people,  they  were  given  a  farewell 
banquet. 

At  this  affair  one  of  the  guests  of  honor 
arose  at  the  request  of  General  Clarke,  and 
this  is  the  literal  translation  of  the  redman's 
address : 

"I  come  to  you  over  a  trail  of  many  moons 
from  the  setting  sun.  You  were  the  friends 
of  my  Fathers  who  have  all  gone  the  long 
way.  I  came  with  an  eye  partly  open  for  my 
people,  who  sit  in  darkness.  I  go  back  with 
both  eyes  closed.  How  can  I  go  back  to  my 
blind  people?  I  made  my  way  to  you  with 
strong  arms,  through  many  enemies  and 
strange  lands,  that  I  might  carry  much  back 
to  them.  I  go  back  with  both  arms  broken 
and  empty. 

"Two  fathers  came  with  us,  and  they  were 
the  braves  of  many  Winters  and  wars.  We 
leave  them  asleep  by  your  great  waters  and 


wigwams.  They  were  tired  in  many  moons 
and  the  moccasins  wore  out.  My  people  sent 
me  to  get  the  white  man's  Book  of  Heaven. 
You  took  me  where  they  worship  the  Great 
Spirit  with  candles,  and  the  Book  was  not 
there.  You  showed  me  images  of  the  good 
spirits,  and  the  picture  of  the  good  land  be- 
yond, but  the  Book  was  not  among  them  to 
tell  us  the  way. 

"I  am  going  back  the  long  and  sad  trail 
to  my  people  in  the  dark  land.  You  make 
my  feet  heavy  with  gifts,  and  my  moccasins 
will  grow  old  carrying  them,  yet  the  Book  is 
not  among  them.  When  I  tell  my  poor  blind 
people,  after  one  more  snow,  in  the  big  council, 
that  I  did  not  bring  the  Book,  no  word  will  be 
spoken  by  our  old  men  or  our  young  braves. 
One  by  one  they  will  rise  up  in  silence  and 
go  out.  My  people  will  die  in  darkness,  and 
they  will  go  the  long  way  to  other  hunting 
grounds.  No  white  man  will  go  with  them, 
and  no  white  man's  Book  will  be  there  to  make 
the  way  plain.     I  have  no  more  words." 

This  Macedonian  cry,  "come  over  and  help 
us,"  given  by  this  brave  upon  his  departure  on 
the  long  journey  home,  was  published  in  the 
Christian  Advocate,  in  March,  1833,  and  made 
a  profound  sensation.  It  started  missionaries 
all  over  the  west. 

The  two  Lees,  Jason  and  Daniel,  were  the 
first  to  respond,  and  they  went  for  the  Metho- 
dist church,  in  1834.  While  their  trip  through 
this  country  was  without  any  startling  inci- 
dent, they  became  powers  in  the  great  north- 
west, and  founded  the  Methodist  faith  upon  a 
most  enduring  basis  in  the  Puget  Sound  coun- 
try, and  on  the  Williamette  river. 

The  Presbyterians,  in  1835,  sent  Whitman 
and  Parker  into  Oregon.  And  what  man  with 
one  spark  of  patriot  blood,  does  not  know  Mar- 
cus Whitman?  Whitman  and  his  bride  made 
their  wedding  journey  through  the  valley  of 
the  "Flat  Water."  and  perished  as  martyrs  at 
the  hands  of  the  people  they  went  to  save. 

In  1840,  Father  Peter  De  Smet,  went  out 
for  the  Catholics  into  the  great  inter-moun- 
tain region.  Some  two  hundred  miles  to  the 
northwest  of  Scottsbluff  is  an  extinct  crater 
of  a  volcano,  and  the  basin  has  filled  with  the 
clear  sweet  water  of  the  Big  Horn  mountains. 
The  lake,  fed  by  everlasting  springs,  is  named 
Lake  De  Smet.  ~ 

There  were  many  other  heroic  bearers  of 
the  Cross  in  the  wilderness,  but  forever  will 
the  names  of  Jason  and  Daniel  Lee.  Marcus 
Whitman,  Samuel  Parker  and  Peter  De  Smet 
be  heard,  for  the  dangers  which  they  braved 
and  the  foundations  they  laid  for  Christian  re- 
ligion in  the  mighty  wilderness  of  the  west. 


24 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


About  the  first  of  June,  1833,  two  braves 
of  the  Nez  Perce  tribe,  carried  their  burdens 
with  meloncholy  tread  along  the  valley  of 
the  "Flat  Water,"  then  beautiful  in  the  ver- 
dure of  early  summer.  They  reached  the  top 
of  a  slight  eminence  beyond  the  thicket  of 
mountain  ash.  later  described  as  "Ash  Hollow." 
and  they  heard  the  whistling  of  song  birds, 
and  paused.  The  grove  gave  forth  a  multitude 
of  sounds.  In  the  thrilling  silence  of  the  at- 
mosphere, they  heard  the  call  of  nature  to  their 
souls.  Their  sagging  spirits  were  being  reno- 
vated by  the  Great  Spirit  of  the  universe.  In 
the  shimmering  mirage  of  the  west  they  saw 
the  silhouettes  of  mountains — the  wigwam,  and 
far  away  the  dim  trembling  outline  of  Scotts- 
bluff. 


And  glad  to  see  the  beginning  of  their  na- 
tive element  —  the  mountains  —  they  sent  rev- 
erberating up  to  the  silent  sky,  the  shrill  and 
plaintive  cry  of  the  coast  tribe  Indians.  They 
broke  into  a  run  —  down  into  and  out  past  the 
shadows  of  the  grove,  and  on,  until  their 
bronzed  figures  danced  and  shivered  and  shim- 
mered in  the  glare  of  the  setting  sun. 

A  few  days  later  Reuleau,  a  trapper,  saw 
one  of  them  at  the  mouth  of  the  Laramie,  and 
saw  him  depart  onward  into  the  west.  What 
happened  to  the  other  no  one  knows,  and  no 
white  man  knows  if  this  one  ever  reached  his 
people. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


FORTS  AT  THE  LARAMIE 


We  should  remark  more  fully  of  Jebediah 
Smith,  the  great,  great  uncle  of  Airs.  C.  P.  Cal- 
houn, as  he  passed  through  the  Scotts  Bluff 
country  in  1823,  with  General  Ashley,  in  that 
he  and  his  party  of  wilderness  men  were  the 
first  white  men  over  the  link  of  the  Overland 
Trail  from  Salt  Lake  valley  to  California.  This 
was  accomplished  in  1826. 

While  on  the  Santa  Fe  Trail  in  1831,  he  was 
killed  by  Comanches,  and  the  firm  of  Smith 
Jackson  &  Sublette  was  dissolved.  It  was  then 
that  William  Sublette  and  Robert  Campbell 
became  partners  in  transportaion  and  fur  en- 
terprise. 

In  1834.  Mr.  Campbell  accompanied  Sublette 
to  the  mountains.  The  route  taken  was  the 
cut  off  from  Fort  Osage  to  "Great  Island," 
which  had  become  considerable  in  use  in  the 
two  years  previous. 

They  determined  upon  building  a  trading 
post  at  the  junction  of  the  Laramie  and  North 
Platte  rivers,  for  from  this  point  there  were 
now  two  well  established  routes  to  St.  Louis. 

The  trail  opened  by  Robert  Stuart  was  first 
in  use,  but  from  the  date  of  Bonneville's  trip, 
until  the  great  Mormon  pilgrimage,  in  1847, 
the  southern  route  was  mosl  in  use.  After  that 
time  for  two  or  three  years,  "the  Council  Bluffs 
route"  held  the  big  travel. 

The  first  fort  at  the  Laramie  was  begun  in 


June,  1834,  and  was  built  stockade  plan,  logs 
about  forteen  feet  long  set  on  end,  enclosing  the 
building  of  logs.  This  was  after  the  pattern  of 
so  many  early  structures,  which  served  the 
purpose  of  the  wilderness  men. 

Previously  to  this  date,  the  Indians  had 
learned  to  come  to  the  rendezvous  of  free 
trappers,  and  many  hundred  of  them  journeyed 
annually  to  trade  their  peltries  for  the  bright 
shining  trinkets  and  tinsel  so  dear  to  their 
nature. 

After  naming  the  place  "Fort  William,"  it 
occurred  to  Campbell  that  there  were  other 
Fort  Williams  in  the  west,  and  to  prevent  con- 
fusion in  shipments,  goods  addressed  to  this 
point  were  marked  "Fort  William  on  the  Lara- 
mie." 

In  1836,  Adams  and  Sabylle  built  another 
stockade  and  trading  post  about  a  half-mile  be- 
low Fort  William  on  the  Laramie,  which  they 
named  "Fort  John."  after  John  P.  Sarpy,  who 
is  a  well  known  character  in  the  history  of 
Nebraska. 

Jacques  Laramie,  whom  we  have  had  occa- 
sion to  mention  heretofore,  and  who  had  by 
his  life  and  death  given  the  river  and  the  moun- 
tains a  name,  was  only  incidentally  responsible 
for  the  rechristening  of  Fort  William.  How 
"Fort  Laramie"  became  a  name  in  history  was 
told  by  Antoine  Ladeau,  an  interpreter  of  half 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


25 


a  century  ago,  who  accompanied  General  Con- 
nor on  his  Powder  river  expedition. 

Ladeau's  father  was  a  French-Creole  and  his 
mother  a  Pawnee  squaw.  When  a  small  boy  he 
was  captured  by  the  Sioux,  by  whom  he  was 
brought  up.  He  was  born  on  the  Platte  river, 
was  an  old  timer  at  the  Fort,  and  died  about 
thirty  years  ago.  This  is  the  story  handed 
down  by  John  Hunton,  now  living  at  the  old 
fort  and  who  located  there  in  the  sixties. 

A  mullet-headed  shipping  clerk  in  Campbell's 
store  at  St.  Louis  had  difficulty  in  remembering 
names  of  the  forts  on  the  Laramie,  and  it 
seemed  hopelessly  mixed  regarding  the  identi- 
ty of  Fort  William  and  Fort  John. 

(Later  Chittendon  was  about  as  badly  con- 
fused, for  he  says  Fort  William  was  re-chris- 
tened Fort  John  when  it  was  rebuilt.  The  date 
of  the  building  of  Fort  John  being  identical 
with  that  of  the  rebuilding  of  Fort  William  no 
doubt  led  to  this  confusion.) 

One  day,  there  being  no  one  handy  of  whom 
this  shipping  clerk  might  inquire,  he  marked  a 
number  of  bales  and  boxes  destined  for  "Fort 
William  on  the  Laramie,"  simply  for  "Fort 
Laramie,"  remembering  only  the  river  on  which 
the  fort  was  situated.  Campbell,  observing 
this,  liked  the  idea  and  he  changed  the  name  as 
it  would  prevent  confusion  in  future.  This 
incident  occurred  some  time  after  Sublette  and 
Campbell  had  sold  the  fort,  and  while  it  was 
the  property  of  the  American  Fur  Company, 
who  were  extensive  dealers  at  the  Campbell 
commissar}'. 

It  was  in  1835  that  Sublette  and  Campbell 
sold  Fort  William  to  a  syndicate  of  famous 
trappers  headed  by  Jim  Bridger.  And  about 
the  same  time  Lucien  Fontenelle,  with  a  large 
force  of  trappers  for  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany dropped  down  from  the  Big  Horn  coun- 
try, into  the  rich  fields  for  beaver  along  the 
North  Platte  and  its  tributaries. 

Both  he  and  Bridger  had  been  too  long  in 
the  mountains  not  to  know  the  ruinous  effect 
of  stiff  competition,  and  after  some  prelimin- 
aries the  fort  became  a  part  of  the  American 
Fur  Company,  and  Bridger  and  his  associates 
became  members  thereof.  Fontenelle  was 
made  general  manager,  and  after  that  date 
they  had  practically  all  the  fur  trade  of  Wy- 
oming and  western  Nebraska. 

In  later  years  there  were  many  smaller  es- 
tablishments that  ran  for  a  time,  but  the  bulk 
of  the  business  went  to  the  well  established 
American  Fur  Company. 

Among  these  smaller  concerns  was  Adams 
and  Sabylle  who  built  Fort  John  in  1836,  and 
who  later  built  another  fort  on  what  finally  be- 
came known  as  Sabylle  creek.    The  latter  fort 


was  burned  by  Indians  in  about  1863.  Fort 
Platte  was  built  in  1842  by  Pratt,  Cabanne  & 
Company  on  the  narrow  tongue  of  land  at  the 
point  where  the  Platte  and  Laramie  rivers 
unite. 

In  1836.  the  green  stockade  posts  of  Fort 
Laramie,  showing  signs  of  decay,  it  was  rebuilt. 
There  were  at  that  time  some  Mexicans  so- 
journing in  this  part  of  the  wilderness,  and  they 
were  employed  to  build  it  of  adobe  bricks.  A 
solid  wall  enclosed  all  the  buildings,  and  at 
the  corners  and  over  the  gate  were  block,  houses 
for  defense. 

Under  and  around  these  walls  for  years 
thereafter,  camped  the  nomadic  and  migratory 
thousands.  Here  the  Indians  came  and  loiter- 
ed, and  then  wandered  away  into  the  wilder- 
ness. Hundreds  of  trappers  periodically  ap- 
peared, and  from  here  some  journeyed  to  civ- 
ilization while  others  returned  to  the  wilds. 
Thousands  and  thousands  came  from  the  east, 
and  went  on  into  the  west ;  some  for  homes 
on  the  Williamette  and  the  Columbia,  others  to 
follow  the  trail  of  Jedediah  Smith  into  the  gold- 
en mecca  of  California.  Adventurers  going 
and  coming  across  the  continental  divide  drift- 
ed with  the  moving  tide  ;  and  later  came,  unfet- 
tered and  free,  the  dauntless  and  undaunted 
cowmen. 

For  the  greater  part  of  the  year  both  rivers 
were  fordable  at  this  point,  and  here  the  two 
great  trails  from  the  east  merged  into  one. 

Even  so  early  as  the  operations  of  Manuel 
Lisa  and  Jacques  Laramie  the  demoralizing 
effect  of  fire  water  upon  savages  required  fed- 
eral intervention.  Yet  it  was  many  years  be- 
fore control  over  the  traffic  was  anything  like 
complete.  Much  liquor  was  smuggled  in  from 
the  Spanish  possessions  at  Santa  Fe  and  Taos. 

Attaches  of  Fort  John  were  extremely  reck- 
less in  the  use  of  liquor.  Fontenelle  had  early 
seen  its  demoralizing  effect,  changing  good 
beaver  hunters  to  fanatics  after  drink,  and  he 
determined  to  rid  the  North  Platte  valley  of 
the  lawlessness  if  possible. 

So  when  Joshua  Pilcher  became  commission- 
er of  Indian  affairs  after  the  death  of  Gen- 
eral Clarke,  the  influence  of  the  American  Fur 
Company  was  such  that  they  were  able  to 
secure  the  appointment  of  Andrew  Drips,  an 
employee  of  the  company  at  Fort  Laramie,  as 
resident  agent.  It  raised  quite  a  storm  of 
protest  from  the  other  traders,  but  the  depart- 
ment soon  became  fully  advised  that  it  was  only 
because  he  enforced  on  other  traders  the  same 
strict  observances  of  liquor  laws,  that  the 
American  Fur  Company  had  observed  for 
years. 

Renegades  from  the  Spanish  domain  found 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  hazards  too  great  to  be  inviting,  but  con- 
tinued intermittent  attempts  to  get  liquor 
through  to  the  North  Platte  valley. 

Finding  the  caches  and  destroying  the  liq- 
uors in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort  were  so  frequent 
that  the  traffic  was  soon  practically  abandoned. 

One  outlaw,  a  squawman  by  name  of  Rich- 
ards, continued,  however,  and  built  a  small 
stockade  about  six  miles  east  of  the  fort  on 


the  south  side  of  the  river.  He  is  mentioned 
by  Francis  Parkman,  who  visited  him  in  1847. 
This  man  Richards  gave  the  federal  authorities 
no  little  trouble,  but  in  resisting  a  detachment 
from  Fort  Laramie,  which  had  been  seent  out 
to  destroy  the  quantity  of  liquor  which  he 
had  brought  in  from  the  south,  he  was  killed 
about  1850. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


ROBIDEAUX  OF  ST.  GENEVIEVE  — KIOWA  RAID  BY  RED  CLOUD 


Sources  of  information  in  matters  of  his- 
tory are  often  widely  scattered,  and  the  stories 
themselves  are  made  from  putting  together  lit- 
tle fragments  gathered  here  and  there ;  some 
from  records,  and  others  from  ptrsonal  en- 
counters with  people  having  fragmentary 
knowledge  of  the  events  which  one  is  trying 
to  assemble. 

The  stories  herein  contained,  of  Count  Ger- 
main, of  Basil  Robideaux,  and  of  Kiowa  creek 
come  to  us  through  many  sources.  D'Adel- 
bert,  Diderot,  Chittendon,  Bancroft,  Parkman, 
Coutant,  and  other  chroniclers  of  the  past 
have  each  yielded  up  a  portion,  but  perhaps 
the  most  valuable  information  we  have  in  this 
connection  comes  from  old  timers  living  and 
dead  who  were  of  later  generations  here. 

There  was  Frank  Vallet,  a  Frenchman; 
Hank  Wise,  the  cross-eyed  cowpuncher, 
both  from  old  St.  Genevieve ;  and  there  was 
Nick  Genice,  a  well  known  squawman  living 
at  the  old  Spotted  Tail  Agency  which  used  to 
be  upon  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  upper 
PF  ranch. 

(For  those  who  care  to  know,  the  exact  lo- 
cation was  where  the  spring  house  is  now 
situated,  just  southeast  of  the  big  spring.) 

Last,  but  not  least,  there  was  old  "Buck- 
skin Charley"  White,  the  intrepid  government 
scout. 

From  these,  and  partly  through  the  kindly 
offices  of  Perry  Braziel,  Runey  Campbell  and 
John  Peters,  I  am  able  to  patch  together  an 
interesting  tale,  which  otherwise  would  likely 
have  remained  in  obscurity,  and  forever  lost. 
The  story  I  feel  is  so  nearly  correct,  that  it 
can  be  vouched  for  as  to  accuracy,  comparable 
with  most  history. 


"When  wilderness  was  king"  hereabout,  the 
great  center  of  commerce  for  mountain  and 
plain  was  St.  Louis. 

When  Mallet  Brothers  penetrated  the  Scotts- 
bluff  country,  this  was  claimed  as  French 
territory.  Cardinal  Fluery,  who  was  respon- 
sible for  the  Mallet  expedition,  died  in  1742, 
and  the  prime  minister  of  France  who  succeed- 
ed him,  had  less  conception,  or  inspiration 
perhaps  it  should  be  called,  of  the  coming  em- 
pire. 

In  1748,  Count  Germain,  one  of  the  mys- 
terious characters  of  French  history  appeared. 
Who  he  was,  where  he  came  from,  and  how  he 
obtained  admittance  to  the  exclusive  French 
Court  of  the  time,  no  history  reveals.  He 
claimed  to  be  an  alchemist,  avowing  to  have 
discovered  formulas  for  defying  the  ravages 
of  time  and  age,  and  also  of  turning  baser 
metals  to  gold.  He  said  he  was  born  300  B. 
C.  and  expected  to  live  forever.  He  was  not 
an  adventurer,  for  he  had  independent  means, 
although  the  sources  thereof  were  unknown. 
He  was  wonderfully  informed,  and  talked  in- 
telligently of  conversations  he  claimed  to  have 
had  with  Christ,  the  Apostles,  Pliny,  Nero,  and 
other  people  of  the  past. 

He  became  a  favorite  with  Marchioness  Le 
Pompadour,  and  was  consulted  upon  many 
matters  of  state.  Among  other  things  he  said 
that  destiny  required  the  disposition  of  French 
American  territory  to  Spain. 

In  1762,  the  degenerate  king  made  a  secret 
sale  of  Louisiana  territory  to  the  Spanish 
Crown.  And  the  sale  has  proven  of  especial 
significance  to  western  Nebraska,  for  upon 
Spanish  sovereignty,  where  the  doctrine  of 
appropriation   of    water    for   useful    purposes 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


had  been  in  force  for  centuries,  is  based  a 
court  decision  in  Nebraska,  which  is  the  foun- 
dation of  all  our  irrigation  appropriations. 
Francis  G.  Hamer,  now  upon  the  Supreme 
bench,  is  the  man  who  contested  for  this  de- 
cision, and  won  against  the  old  English  com- 
mon law  of  riparian  rights. 

While  the  Spanish  flag  floated  over  the  city 
of  St.  Louis,  until  Napoleon,  with  his  tre- 
mendous energy  appeared  to  change  the  maps 
of  the  world,  the  population  of  the  city  was 
largely  French,  and  the  voyageurs  who  allied 
with  trapping,  hunting  and  exploring  expe- 
ditions, were  largely  of  French  extraction. 
Readers  will  note  the  preponderance  of  French 
names  appearing  in  these  stories.  St.  Gene- 
vieve, near  St.  Louis,  was  formerly  one  of 
the  points  much  connected  with  this  particu- 
lar territory.  Many  of  these  buoyant,  laugh- 
ing, singing,  industrious  people,  had  to  do 
with  the  taming  of  the  wilderness  about  us. 

Partizans,  as  the  leaders  of  trapping  ex- 
peditions were  called,  found  that  French-Cre- 
oles were  much  better  men  for  the  routine 
camp  work,  and  for  knowing  the  habits  of 
wild  game.  But  when  it  came  to  time  of  pri- 
vation, stress,  or  danger,  one  Kentucky  rifle- 
man was  worth  several  of  them.  Under  such 
conditions  almost  invariably,  the  French  voy- 
ager would  revert  quickly  to  animal  type,  with 
sly  and  brutish  instincts.  Trappers  had  rea- 
son to  believe  that  in  many  cases  of  hunger, 
they  had  resorted  to  cannibalism,  perhaps  cast- 
ing lots  to  see  who  should  be  the  victim. 

Among  the  people  from  St.  Genevieve,  in 
1836,  came  one  by  the  name  of  Basil  Robi- 
deaux.  This  was  not  the  Robideaux  who 
formed  a  partnership  with  Papin,  Chouteau 
and  Berthold  in  1819,  or  who  built  the  posts 
at  Rattlesnake  Bluffs  (now  St.  Joseph,  Mis- 
souri) or  on  the  Gunnison,  or  on  the  Unitah, 
but  a  humble  kinsman,  of  a  later  generation. 

For  a  number  of  years,  Basil  Robideaux  led 
a  hard  life  in  the  wilderness.  He  had  the 
smallpox  in  1838  which  swept  with  such  viru- 
lence over  the  plains,  and  depopulated  Indian 
tribes.  And  at  this  time,  the  instinct  of  self 
preservation  caused  his  compaions  to  desert 
him,  as  they  thought,  to  die.  This  was  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  river,  a  few  miles  east  of 
Scotts  Bluff  mountain. 

Alone  in  the  wilderness,  sick  unto  death, 
and  among  hostile  tribes,  Robideaux  looked  up 
into  the  blue  vault,  thickly  studded  with 
eternal  stars  and  counted  the  hours  away.  In 
the  morning  a  Sioux  medicine  man  found  him, 
and  treated  him  in  the  crude  fashion  of  In- 
dians and  he  recovered.  After  that,  he  lived 
among  the  Sioux,  and  whenever  he  met  one  of 


the  men  who  had  left  him,  in  his  hour  of  sick- 
ness, he  gave  him  an  unmerciful  drubbing. 

But  with  him  the  years  went  by  with  a  suc- 
cession of  disasters,  and  he  suffered  incredible 
hardships.  His  life  tides  ebbed  low  in  melan- 
choly and  misery.  He  became  sullen  and 
morose.  After  days  of  hunger  he  would  fall 
in  with  the  fortune  to  kill  a  deer,  wolf  or 
buffalo.  All  indifferent  to  its  kind,  indis- 
criminate as  to  its  quality,  he  would  greedily 
fill  of  its  carcass  bloodraw ;  and  striking  a  fire 
to  keep  away  creatures  that  were  a  little  more 
wild  than  he,  he  would  lie  down  by  the  rem- 
nants of  the  half  eaten  carcass  to  sleep  the 
fitful  sleep  of  the  jungle  man ;  while  around 
him  from  the  wilderness  dark,  two  by  two, 
burned  luminous  eyes  of  firewild  hungry 
beasts. 

When  the  great  tides  of  humankind  started 
on  the  overland  trail,  in  the  early  forties,  Robi- 
deaux remembered  his  old  trade  as  a  black- 
smith, and  took  up  his  abode  at  Ft.  Laramie, 
where  he  served  the  travelers  by  fixing  their 
wagons,  for  enormous  compensations,  and  by 
shoeing  horses,  mules  and  oxen,  with  hand 
forged  shoes  at  the  mild  figure  of  three  dol- 
lars per  shoe. 

By  the  spring  of  1848,  he  had  accumulated 
enough  to  lay  in  a  supply  of  traders  goods, 
and  removed  to  "Scotts  Bluff  Hills."  Scotts 
Bluffs  were  originally  designated  in  the  plural, 
and  extended  along  the  range,  intersecting  with 
the  main  Chalk  mountains  to  the  south  and 
southwest. 

Robideaux  built  a  small  trading  station  near 
the  springs  near  the  head  of  a  canyon,  and 
put  up  a  blacksmith  shop  to  continue  his 
trade.  John  Evans  Brown  mentions  him  as 
"Rebedere,"  and  says,  "it  was  at  that  well 
known  springs  in  the  Scotts  Bluffs."  The 
springs  referred  to  are  those  just  above  Wool- 
ridge's  place.  Brown  was  a  forty-niner.  Lat- 
er he  moved  farther  from  the  hills  apparently 
to  avoid  danger  from  Arapahoe  raids. 

Some  years  later,  Robideaux  returned  to  his 
native  city,  St.  Genevieve,  old,  browned  and 
hardened,  but  with  abundant  means  to  put 
in  the  rest  of  his  life  without  fear  of  poverty. 

History  connects  the  naming  of  Kiowa  creek 
with  Robideaux,  in  that  the  same  raiders  from 
the  souih  who  burned  the  trading  post  were 
the  following  morning  completely  wiped  out 
on  the  creek. 

The  regular  hunting  ground  of  the  Kiowas 
is  south  of  the  Arkansas,  and  east  of  the  Pur- 
gatory. As  a  tribe  they  are  more  often  men- 
tioned as  Comanches,  by  early  writers.  They 
wen-  very  warlike  and  treacherous,  ami  often 
engaged    in    raids   upon   emigrants   along   the 


28 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Santa  Fe  trail.  On  occasions,  bands  would 
reach  the  Platte,  but  not  very  frequently  were 
they  as  far  as  the  North  river. 

About  1852  one  of  the  predatory  raids  to 
the  north  was  made,  and  a  band  of  some  fifty 
warriors  and  their  families  reached  Indian 
Springs  in  the  hills  south  of  Gonneville  or 
Pumpkin  creek. 

Here  they  loitered  for  a  short  time,  and 
then  decided  to  move  to  the  valley  of  the  Flat 
Water.  They  followed  the  well  known  trail 
obliquely  across  the  Gonneville  valley,  and  up 
into  the  "V"  north  of  Wildcat  mountain. 
Emerging  from  the  hills  through  Cedar  can- 
yon, they  struck  west  and  destroyed  the  aban- 
doned Robideaux  post. 

Crossing  the  hills,  they  stopped  at  a  spring 
leading  down  to  the  northwest.  Here  they 
rested  after  their  pillaging  of  the  old  post. 


At  this  time  a  dashing  young  Sioux  warrior, 
with  a  small  band  of  young  braves,  came 
down  from  the  north,  thinking  perhaps  to 
meet  some  of  their  ancient  enemies,  the  Ara- 
pahoes.  His  spies  discovering  the  camp  of 
Kiowas,  and  being  somewhat  indiscriminate 
as  to  who  should  be  his  victims,  he  attacked 
the  Kiowa  camp. 

The  attack  was  well  planned,  being  made  at 
dawn,  and  although  a  much  smaller  number, 
they  made  up  for  it  in  fire  and  youth.  The 
Kiowas  were  utterly  annihilated.  In  the  ex- 
ultation of  victory,  the  Sioux  scoured  the  hills 
for  refugees.  A  young  squaw  was  found 
stolidly  beside  her  dead  brave,  and  was  quick- 
ly sent  to  the  shades  to  join  her  companion, 
after  the  manner  of  Indians.  The  leader  of 
this  band  was  Red  Cloud. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  STEAMBOAT  EL  PASO  HERE  —  REULEAU,  THE  TRAPPER 


Several  persons  have  mentioned  of  having 
seen  in  Morton's  History  of  Nebraska,  and 
elsewhere,  references  to  ruins  of  old  adobe, 
where  formerly  stood  a  city  or  station  of  con- 
siderable proportions,  including  a  blacksmith 
shop,  as  being  upon  "the  east  slope  of  Scotts 
Bluff,"  along  the  old  Overland  Trail.  This 
reference  is  no  doubt  to  old  Robideaux,  as  no 
other  such  ruins  exist,  or  is  there  any  memory 
of  them  among  old  timers.  And  there  are 
none  on  the  line  of  the  trail  that  leads  through 
Mitchell  Gap. 

The  naming  of  several  gaps  in  the  bluffs  is 
clear.  Robideaux  station  doubtless  led  to  the 
naming  of  the  pass  of  that  name,  and  the  pas- 
sage through  the  hills  to  the  north  of  the  old 
post,  toward  Fort  Mitchell  (the  pass  south 
of  A.  C.  Morrison's  place)  was  formerly  call- 
id  Scotts  Bluff  Pass.  After  the  passing  of 
old  Robideaux,  the  old  Mitchell  Pass  fell  into 
disuse,  and  in  fact  it  was  never  much  in  use. 
and  except  for  horses  and  footmen,  is  now 
entirely  abandoned.  Then  the  big  gap  in 
Scotts  Bluff,  through  which  the  daily  travel 
had  reached  hundreds,  came  into  general  con- 
versation and  knowledge  at  Mitchell  Gap,  or 
Mitchell  1'ass,  be.  ,ni  r  hi    Kurt   Mitchell.     .And 


through  this  pass  the  streams  of  humankind 
poured  in  the  years  which  followed. 

Early  in  June,  1852,  an  event  of  more  than 
passing  moment  came  to  the  existence  of  Fort 
Mitchell.  The  wilderness  about  it,  and  the 
people  at  the  fort,  were  startled  by  the  scream 
of  a  steam  whistle,  and  so  far,  as  was  within 
the  knowledge  of  man  here,  there  was  no 
such  thing  nearer  than  the  Missouri  river. 

The  winter  previous  had  'been  one  of  con- 
siderable severity  and  much  snow  had  fallen  in 
the  mountains.  The  spring  had  turned  off 
bright  and  warm,  and  the  river  presented 
much  the  same  aspect  as  it  did  in  June,  1908, 
when  it  will  be  remembered,  it  was  full  from 
bank  to  bank. 

From  the  lookout  of  the  fort,  the  first  and 
only  steamboat  that  was  ever  in  the  Scotts  Bluff 
country,  could  be  seen  ascending  the  river. 
The  El  Paso,  as  it  proved  to  be  pulled  into 
the  bank  below  the  fort,  where  now  R.  S. 
Hunt's  stock  go  down  to  water,  and  made 
fast  for  the  night.  The  next  day  the  El  Paso 
continued  its  journey  up  the  Platte,  and  con- 
tinued to  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  canyon, 
where  the  current  proved  too  strong  for  it  to 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


29 


proceed  farther,  and  the  return  journey  was 
commenced. 

The  advance  up  the  river  was  made  at  the 
rate  of  about  thirty-five  miles  per  day,  below 
the  junction  of  the  rivers,  and  from  that 
point  to  Platte  canyon  the  average  was  about 
twenty-five  miles.  On  the  return  the  boat  trav- 
elled from  seventy-five  to  ninety  miles  per 
day. 

On  the  trip  both  ways  it  was  also  found  ne- 
cessary at  times  to  use  green  cottonwood  and 
ash  for  fuel,  and  to  keep  the  fires  burning  re- 
quired liberal  quantities  of  rosin  and  tar. 

The  profound  student,  Edward  Everett 
Hale,  published  a  book  in  1854,  on  Kansas  and 
Nebraska,  and  refers  to  navigation  of  the 
Platte.  He  speaks  of  the  El  Paso  in  ascend- 
ing the  Platte  for  five  hundred  miles,  as  an 
achievement  which  was  never  surpassed  by 
a  boat  of  its  class.  And  that  in  early  days, 
boats  distinguishing  themselves  as  did  this 
craft,  were  entitled  to  wear  a  pair  of  elk's  ant- 
lers, until  another  surpassed  it.  There  has  been 
none  to  surpass  the  El  Paso  and  she  still 
"wears  the  horns." 

Hale's  book  states  that  trappers  occasional- 
ly descended  the  Platte  in  canoes  and  batteaux, 
but  that  it  was  exceedingly  intricate  and  dan- 
gerous. The  boats  frequently  run  aground, 
and  it  was  generally  considered  as  a  last  re- 
sort for  the  transfer  of  goods.  Boats  of  elk- 
hide  and  buffalo  skin  proved  the  most  service- 
able, for  they  yielded  when  striking  the  sand 
bars,  and  slid  over  them  with  less  difficulty, 
than  boats  of  wood. 

Among  the  few  passengers  alighting  at  Fort 
Mitchell  from  the  El  Paso  was  Reuleau,  the 
trapper,  who  has  a  history.  He  is  first  men- 
tioned in  1833,  when  he  met  the  lone  Nez  Perce 
brave  on  his  journey  into  the  west,  after  the 
futile  visit  to  St.  Louis.  Francis  Parkman 
mentions  him  at  Fort  Laramie  in  1847.  Pre- 
vious to  the  latter  date,  he  had  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  freeze  off  the  fore  part  of  both 
feet,  leaving  but  stubs.  Yet  he  was  the  same 
blithe,  lithe  spirit  as  before. 

Reuleau  had  then  told  lightly  of  "two  more 
gone.  One  murdered  in  his  cabin,  and  the 
other  shot  with  his  own  gun."  "Next  time  it 
will  be  one  of  us.  I  tell  you  it  is  getting  too 
hot  for  me.  I  am  going  one  more  season," 
said  he,  "My  squaw  wants  a  red  dress  with 
the  bright  buttons,  and  a  pacing  pony,  and 
then  she  will  be  satisfied  for  me  to  settle  down 
and  farm." 

Poor  Reuleau !  This  was  six  years  after, 
and  he  was  still  at  it.  But  for  him  the  trail 
was  near  its  end.     This  was  the  last  time  he 


ever  came  to  light.  He  sleeps  somewhere  in 
the  wilderness  about  us,  but  where,  no  one 
knows. 

I  am  glad  that  my  own  father  met  him  once 
at  Fort  Mitchell  in  1850,  when  he  made  his 
first  journey  to  California.  For  it  was  from 
Reuleau  that  father  learned  much  that  was  of 
value  regarding  Indian  strategy,  and  the  dan- 
gers of  the  trail  and  mountains. 

One  bright  moonlight  night  at  old  Fort 
Mitchell,  when  my  father  and  party  were 
camped  outside  the  Palisades,  Reuleau  and  my 
father  fell  to  conversation,  and  Reuleau  asked 
if  he  had  ever  seen  the  beaver  and  otter  play. 
Father  replied  in  the  negative  and  Reuleau 
volunteered  to  pilot  him  to  a  spot  where  he 
could  "watch  them  slide." 

He  took  him  north  about  two  and  a  half 
miles,  where  the  beaver  had  built  a  dam  be- 
tween the  shore  and  an  island.  This  place  is 
now  off  the  shore  between  the  Johnny  Boyle 
ranch  and  Chris  Kronberg's.  Approaching 
warily  they  hid  in  the  brush  and  timber  near 
at  hand.  After  a  time,  they  saw  beaver  come 
out  upon  the  bank,  and  slide  down  in  a  manner 
similar  to  boys  at  the  old  swimming  hole. 

Their  number  grew  until  there  were  a  half 
dozen  or  more  at  play,  chasing  each  other 
down  the  slide,  and  swimming  away  sput- 
tering, and  slapping  as  they  went  about  it. 

Then  an  otter  appeared,  and  he  quietly 
ascended  the  bank,  to  the  top  of  the  slide.  He 
would  take  the  slide  in  the  manner  that  the 
beaver  did,  but  upon  striking  the  water,  would 
go  under  and  remain  for  a  distance  of  forty 
or  fifty  feet,  before  the  ripples  would  show  his 
rising  to  the  surface. 

There  are  two  of  these  slides  that  are  known 
by  location  to  the  writer.  The  one  described, 
and  another  mentioned  by  Eugene  Ware,  at  a 
point  a  little  east  of  the  North  Platte. 

Ware  described  the  habits  of  the  beaver  and 
otter  in  the  identical  manner,  but  he  adds  one 
of  the  stories  of  the  wild,  handed  down  from 
the  red  man,  who  was  then  his  companion.  It 
appears  that  of  a  sudden  the  animals  quit 
their  playing,  and  the  Indian  saw  or  claimed 
he  could  see  the  outline  of  an  elk  in  the  bushes 
upon  the  other  bank  of  the  improvised  lagoon. 
He  said  the  elk  had  given  the  water  animals 
some  warning  of  the  near  approach  of  men. 
He  claimed  that  there  was  a  language  of  the 
animal  kingdom,  which  all  animals  understood 
—  the  language  of  danger,  by  which  one  speci- 
men could  signal  others.  Ware  said  he  wanted 
to  wait  until  the  animals  came  out  to  play 
again,  but  the  guide  said  "no,  they  will  play 
no  more  tonight." 


30 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XVI 
GOVERNMENT    BUYS  FORT  LARAMIE  — FT.  FONTENELLE  IS  BUILT 


The  ramifications  of  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany include  many  subordinate  institutions. 
Each  was  an  entity  unto  itself,  like  the  company 
organized  to  take  over  Fort  Laramie,  which  in- 
cluded Bridger  and  others  not  interested  in  oth- 
er parts  of  the  main  institution.  "Vanderburg 
and  Dripps"  was  the  immediate  branch  that 
connected  up  at  the  old  fort.  In  1845,  when  a 
number  of  posts  had  been  built  around  Fort 
Laramie,  cutting  off  the  travelers  before  they 
reached  the  central  and  larger  institution,  they 
builded  two  other  subsidiary  posts.  One  was 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  Platte  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Laramie  river,  that  remained 
there  until  after  the  gold  excitement  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  the  other  was  a  little  north  of  the 
present  site  of  Wheatland,  which  was  placed 
in  charge  of  Bordeaux,  of  whom  we  will  later 
speak. 

In  the  winter  of  1843-44,  Marcus  Whitman, 
in  behalf  of  the  people  of  Oregon,  made  a  trip 
through  the  rigorous  winter  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  appeared  in  Washington.  His 
feet  were  frozen  in  this  terrible  journey,  but 
he  appeared  in  the  national  capital  and  plead 
for  Oregon. 

Upon  request,  he  presented  a  written  state- 
ment in  which  he  said  he  himself  had  piloted 
more  than  two  hundred  families,  consisting  of 
one  thousand  people,  with  120  wagons,  694 
oxen,  and  773  loose  cattle,  across  the  moun- 
tains to  homes  in  Oregon,  in  the  previous  two 
years. 

He  also  recommended  the  establishment  of 
government  posts  along  the  route.  One  sug- 
gested was  where  Fort  Sedgewick  was  later 
established  (near  Big  Springs),  and  another 
"on  Horseshoe  creek,  about  forty  miles  west 
of  Fort  Laramie  in  the  Black  Hills."  At  this 
time  the  mountains  around  Hartville  and  ex- 
tending southwest,  including  Laramie  Peak, 
were  called  the  Black  Hills. 

Horseshoe  creek  was  not  Horse  creek,  as 
will  be  seen  from  the  designated  location,  al- 
though from  the  numerous  diaries  published 
from  time  to  time,  many  of  the  travelers  must 
have  had  the  two  confused. 

John  C.  Fremont,  who  under  the  auspices  of 
the  government,  visited  Fort  Laramie,  to  treat 
with  the  Indians,  and  to  continue  on  a  voyage 
uf  exploration,  recommended  that  the  govern- 
ment purchase  Fort  Laramie,  as  he  had  been 
lead  to  think  that  the  American  Fur  Company 
wished  to  retire  and  would  sell  at  a  reasonable 
figure. 


Negotiations  followed,  and,  in  1846,  Congress 
appropriated  $3,000,  the  agreed  price  for  the 
purchase.  Bruce  Husband,  then  in  charge  of 
Fort  Laramie,  surprised  the  government  offi- 
cials by  the  announcement  that  he  selected  an- 
other site,  and  he  would  build  another  fort  at 
Scotts  Bluff. 

This  post  was  commenced  at  once,  and  its 
location  was  upon  the  west  bank  of  the  Platte 
just  south  of  the  west  end  of  the  bridge  be- 
tween the  city  of  Scottsbluff  and  Mitchell  val- 
ley. Anyone  who  has  visited  this  historic  spot, 
can  see  the  advantage  of  location.  It  com- 
mands an  excellent  view  of  the  valley  in  all 
directions,  yet  is  far  enough  away  from  the 
bluff  to  be  out  of  range  of  any  fire  from  that 
eminence. 

The  fort  was  made  on  the  usual  stockade 
plan,  about  three  hundred  feet  square,  with  all 
the  buildings  in  the  enclosure. 

When  completed,  Husband  named  it  Fort 
Fontenelle,  after  Lucien  Fontenelle,  one  of  his 
partners.  The  old  members  of  the  company 
were  frequently  complimenting  some  other 
member  by  naming  a  trading  post  in  his  honor. 
Thus  it  happens  there  are  several  Fort  Will- 
iams named  after  William  Sublette.  And  there 
were  no  less  than  two  Fort  Mitchells  at  one 
time  within  the  confines  of  Nebraska,  and  both 
were  named  after  David  D.  Mitchell. 

Soon  after  the  establishment  of  Fort  Fon- 
tenelle, Bruce  Husband  retired,  and  Lucien 
Fontenelle  was  placed  in  charge.  This  seems 
strange,  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  sev- 
eral historians  had  Fontenelle  commit  suicide 
at  Fort  Laramie  some  dozen  years  before  this 
fort  was  built. 

The  report  referred  to  did  not  have  the 
element  of  fact,  for  it  is  certain  that  Fontenelle 
was  alive  as  late  as  1852,  when  my  father  met 
him  at  Fort  Mitchell. 

Lucien  Fontenelle  had  a  remarkable  history. 
He  was  of  direct  royal  lineage,  and  his  par- 
ents, Francois  and  Moreonise  Fontenelle.  came 
from  Marseilles.  France,  and  Lucien  and  his 
sister  were  born  in  the  early  part  of  the  cen- 
tury at  New  Orleans.  His  parents  perished  in 
a  storm,  and  the  children  were  made  orphans 
about  1820.  They  lived  with  relatives  and  at 
the  age  of  fifteen,  Lucien  ran  away. 

Some  six  or  seven  years  after  he  was  sup- 
posed to  have  committed  suicide,  or  in  1842, 
lie  returned  to  his  old  home.  His  sister  had 
married  well,  (or  wealthy),  and  she  refused 
to   own    the    weather-beaten    mountaineer,    al- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


31 


though  he  was  recognized  by  an  old  nurse,  who 
also  identified  him  by  a  birthmark. 

He  returned  to  the  wilderness  life  and  was 
married  by  Father  Peter  DeSmet  to  a  woman 
of  the  Omaha  tribe.  Logan  Fontenelle  and 
others  of  the  name  in  Nebraska  history  are 
among  the  descendants  of  the  famous  trapper. 

Thus  it  transpired  that  Lucien  Fontenelle, 
having  for  so  many  years  braved  the  dangers 
of  the  wilderness,  being  a  veteran  of  the  moun- 
tains, now  that  he  had  attained  the  age  of 
about  forty-five  years,  should  be  relieved  of 
some  of  the  activities  and -stress  of  a  hunter, 
the  new  fort  at  Scotts  Bluff  offered  the  retreat. 

For  a  time  it  was  called  Fort  Fontenelle,  but 
the  partizan's  native  modesty,  and  his  friend- 
ship for  David  D.  Mitchell,  caused  him  to 
change  its  name. 

Fontenelle,  having  an  Indian  wife,  and  being 
well  known  among  the  Indians  as  a  fair  man, 
and  a  man  who  would  fight  if  need  be,  was 
of  great  value  in  preventing  depredations  along 
the  trail  and  commanders  at  Fort  Laramie 
found  that  he  prevented  friction  almost  entire- 
ly in  the  country  east  of  one  hundred  miles. 

For  a  number  of  years  after  the  establish- 
ment of  this  fort,  during  the  months  of  May, 
June  and  July,  there  was  a  ceaseless  caravan 
moving  westward  through  the  North  Platte  val- 
ley. It  can  be  stated  with  comparative  cer- 
tainty of  truth  that  during  those  months  of  the 
first  five  or  six  years  of  the  existence  of  Fort 
Fontenelle,  or  Mitchell,  there  were  emigrants 
within  sight  at  all  times.  In  fact,  during  day- 
light hours  an  average  of  one  emigrant  wagon 
passed  each  five  minutes,  for  one  hundred  days 
of  each  year.  An  almost  continuous  stream  of 
wagons  stretched  for  five  hundred  miles,  along 
the  great  highways  over  the  mountains. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  Indians  who  came 
down  to  Fort  Laramie  with  Peter  DeSmet  in 
1852,  when  they  looked  upon  the  great  wide 
bare  trail,  should  imagine  that  there  must  be  a 
great  void  in  the  east,  and  could  not  compre- 
hend that  this  was  only  a  small  fragment  of 
the  white   race?     Is   it  any   wonder  that  the 


Sioux  bands  that  came  for  the  first  time  to 
Fort  Mitchell  should  ask  if  the  whole  white 
village  was  moving  to  the  west?  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  they  contemplated  taking  the  back 
trail  of  the  Great  White  Medicine  Road,  with 
a  view  of  locating  in  the  valley  that  they 
thought  must  be  deserted  in  the  east?  And 
this  travel  continued  and  grew.  It  gave  rise 
to  the  pony  express  and  the  overland  stage, 
which  modes  of  travel  and  transportation  con- 
tinued until  the  Union  Pacific  builded  up  the 
Lodgepole  valley  and  became  the  rapid  tran- 
sit across  the  mountains. 

And  now  Fort  Mitchell  had  become  the  ren- 
dezvous for  trappers,  as  well  as  a  halting  place 
for  overland  travelers.  It  was  here  that  trap- 
ping parties  disbanded  and  went  their  several 
ways,  and  it  was  here  they  met  to  journey  to 
the  white  settlements. 

When  a  number  had  made  ready  for  the 
trip  eastward  they  would  take  boats  or  horses, 
and  with  the  voice  of  the  wilderness,  and  with 
the  yodling  calls  of  the  mountains,  they  would 
make  the  rocks  and  cliffs  of  old  Scotts  Bluff 
reverberate,  and  then,  they  were  away. 

Upon  arrival  at  their  destination,  they  would 
vanish  from  sight  for  two  or  three  hours  ;  then 
shaved,  bathed,  and  clad  in  garments  of  civ- 
ilization, they  would  appear  in  the  marts  of 
trade. 

The  mystery  of  the  wilderness  was  about 
them,  the  brown  of  the  western  winds  upon 
their  brows,  and  wherever  they  went  they  were 
objects  of  consideration  and  interest.  After  a 
time  the  sameness  of  the  city  grew  tiresome, 
and  when  another  trapper  outfit  was  preparing 
for  the  west,  the  most  of  them  would  be  ready 
to  come  back  to  the  life  that  was  life  to  them. 
The  joy  of  returning  to  the  haunts  of  the 
mountains  was  theirs,  and  happiness  beamed 
from  the  countenances,  as  they  danced,  capered 
and  sang  about  the  camp  getting  ready  for 
the  journey.  And  here  at  old  Fort  Mitchell, 
they  were  ready  once  more  for  the  perils  and 
pleasures  of  the  profession. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XVII 


BRADY  ISLAND  TRAGEDY  — FRENCH  BOAT  SONG— TIM  BRIDGER  MEETS 
SIR  GEORGE  GORE 


The  men  who  manned  the  boats  that  navi- 
gated the  shallow  and  dangerous  western  wat- 
ers were,  like  the  campers,  almost  invariably 
French-Creoles,  and  emotional,  romantic  char- 
acters added  to  the  picturesqueness  of  events, 
making  trapper  history  distinctive.  It  was  an 
epoch  in  the  taming  of  the  wilderness. 

In  the  spring  high  waters,  occasionally  a 
fleet  of  boats  were  made  ready  at  old  Fort 
Mitchell,  as  formerly  at  Ft.  Laramie  for  the 
journey  to  the  white  settlements.  The  boats 
were  loaded  with  two  or  three  packs  of  beaver 
each,  and  usually  manned  by  two  men  each. 

French  language  was  much  in  use  by  the 
Americans,  who  in  the  main  disdained  the  hap- 
py-go-lucky French  camp  attaches.  They  were 
frequently  referred  to  as  "Le  Foux"  or  the 
fools,  but  laughter  and  song  were  unyield- 
ing to  the  shafts  of  ridicule,  and  whenever  a 
fleet  of  boats  cast  off  from  the  old  fort,  the 
splash  of  paddle,  or  the  movement  of  poles 
were  to  the  rhythm  of  French  boat  songs  with 
which  the  air  was  filled.  The  following  is  giv- 
en by  Chittendon  as  one  of  the  favorites : 

"Dans  mon  cherin    J'ai  rencontre' 
Trois  cavalieres  bien  monte'es 
L'on  ton  laridon  dan'e 
L'on  ton  laridon  dai. 

Trois  cavalieres  bein  monte'es 
L'une  a  chevel  l'autre  a  pi  ed 
L'on  ton  laridon  dan'e 
L'on  ton  laridon  dai. 

And  thus  the  buoyant,  singing  people  would 
away  to  civilization.  One  could  not  tell,  how- 
ever, which  of  them  would  reach  the  white 
settlement,  for  if  occasion  or  expediency  re- 
quired one  of  the  two  boatsmen  would  be  "acci- 
dentally" killed  en  route. 

It  was  in  1833,  so  says  Rufus  Sage,  that  a 
party  were  descending  the  river,  and  they  stop- 
ped upon  an  island  some  distance  below  the 
junction  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Platte. 
A  man  named  Brady  and  his  French  compan- 
ion bad  quarrelled. 

Tin-  others  of  the  party  had  gone  out  to 
hunt,  and.  upon  returning  they  found  Brady 
dead.  1  lis  companion  said  it  was  by  accidental 
discharge  of  his  own  weapon.  Although  the 
others  did  not  believe  the  story,  they  had  no 
evidence  to  the  contrary. 


Shallow  water  made  the  travelers  abandon 
their  boats  a  short  distance  below.  They  di- 
vided their  packs,  but  our  Frenchman  held  to 
the  portion  that  formerly  belonged  to  Brady. 

The  night  after,  he  was  trying  to  light  a 
fire  by  the  discharge  of  his  pistol,  the  story 
goes,  and  shot  himself  in  the  thigh.  He  laid 
their  six  days  and  was  picked  up  by  the  Paw- 
nees, but  he  died  a  few  days  later,  and  before 
he  died,  he  confessed  the  murder  of  Brady. 

No  one  has  ever  confessed  the  murder  pf 
the  Frenchman,  but  it  seemed  that  providence 
had  a  way  in  dealing  with  murderers  in  the 
wilderness.  It  is  generally  believed  that  provi- 
dence used  in  most  cases,  the  hand  of  some 
friend  of  the  murdered  man. 

The  death  of  Brady  gave  name  to  Brady 
Island,  which  name  time  has  never  effaced. 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  caravans  to 
visit  the  famous  station  of  Fort  Mitchell,  ar- 
rived in  June,  1854,  when  the  Sir  George  Gore, 
a  real  lord  from  Sligo,  Ireland,  appeared. 

Henry  Chattillon,  already  famous  as  a  guide, 
had  been  pressed  into  service  and  had  piloted 
the  party  from  St.  Louis. 

The  outfit  consisted  of  several  wagons  and 
many  carts,  a  number  of  yoke  of  oxen,  and  a 
hundred  horses,  a  large  retinue  of  servants,  a 
lot  of  thoroughbred  dogs,  and  was  also  equip- 
ped with  firearms,  accessories,  and  provisions 
for  a  two  year's  trip. 

Chattillon  was  to  guide  the  party  to  Fort 
Laramie  where  his  service  was  to  end.  At  Fort 
Mitchell  Gore  made  inquiries  as  to  the  best 
country  for  big  game,  and  was  making  a  pre- 
liminary quest  for  a  mountain  guide.  All  in- 
quiries of  the  latter  nature  led  him  to  Jim 
Bridger,  who  was  at  Fort  Laramie  at  that  time. 

The  meeting  was  mutually  interesting  to  the 
principals,  and  to  the  spectators.  Gore  was  ac- 
customed to  command,  and  he  had  all  the  im- 
perial instincts  of  his  nativity.  On  the  other 
hand,  Bridger  cared  absolutely  nothing  for  rank 
or  station.  In  the  mountains  all  men  were  to 
him  the  same.  If  they  could  be  relied  upon 
"they  were  square."  and  if  not  to  be  reljed 
upon,  "they  were  Blackfeet,"  (an  unreliable 
Indian). 

Negotiations  entered  upon  with  diplomacy  by 
the  Irish  lord,  were  cut  short  by  the  moun- 
taineer, who  named  his  price,  terms  and  con- 
ditions, and  wages  to  commence  at  once.  This 
unusual  abruptness  made  a  hit  with  the  Irish- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


33 


man,  and  in  the  two  years  that  followed  Sir 
Geo.  Gore  and  Jim  Bridger  were  companions 
inseparable. 

During  these  years  Sir  George  held  to  his 
traditions.  He  would  not  rise  until  ten  in 
the  morning,  and  then  with  deliberation  he 
had  his  bath  and  made  his  toilet.  After  break- 
fast "at  noon"  he  would  hunt  or  travel  as  he 
then  decided.  Along  about  ten  o'clock  at 
night,  his  "dinner"  must  be  served,  and  it  was 
full  dinner  dress  for  him. 

At  the  evening  function,  he  usually  had 
Bridger  join,  but  no  evening  costume  for  Jim. 
After  dinner,  he  would  read  to  Bridger  from 
Shakespeare  or  Munchausen.  Of  the  former 
Bridger  "lowed  it  was  too  highfalutin  fer 
him,  and  he  did  not  like  that  Pullstuff  any- 
way ;  he  thought  too  much  of  lager  beer." 
Munchausen's  stories  struck  him  as  "a  leetle 
too  big,"  but  when  his  own  stories  were  re- 
peated to  him,  he  said,  "well,  maybe  they  air 
too  big  too,"  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye.  These 
and  similar  discussions  continued  while  the 
two  remained  in  the  mountains,  and  after  the 
two  years  the  only  genuine  affection  by  the 
lord  at  parting  from  his  hunting  companions, 
was  shown  as  he  bade  farewell  to  old  Jim 
Bridger. 

The  period  of  the  trapper  was  passing  fast. 
The  beaver  had  lost  his  prestige  in  the  world 


of  fashion  and  silk  had  taken  its  place,  the 
prices  of  ermine  and  otter  had  fallen.  The 
big  migration  which  at  this  time  was  pouring 
through  the  valley  of  the  Flat  Water,  changed 
the  habit  but  not  the  vocation  of  the  class. 

Thousands  of  buffalo  fell  before  the  trapper 
and  thousands  of  hides  were  shipped  annually 
to  St.  Louis.  In  one  year,  1847,  the  American 
Fur  Company  shipped  from  Fort  Mitchell, 
then  just  being  established  as  Fort  Fontenelle, 
and  from  Fort  Laramie,  then  soon  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  government,  forty-seven  thousand 
buffalo  robes. 

Fort  Mitchell  was  the  last  trading  post  of 
the  American  Fur  Company,  and  remained 
their  property  until  1864,  when  it  was  sold  to 
the  Northwest  Fur  Company,  of  St.  Paul. 
This  company  was  organized  by  J.  B.  Hubbell 
and  associates. 

There  seems  to  be  no  record  in  the  war  de- 
partment showing  any  establishment  or  occu- 
pation of  Fort  Mitchell  by  the  government  or 
any  date  of  its  abandonment,  but  it  was  used 
by  the  government  from  1865  to  1869  as  a 
sub-station  of  Fort  Laramie;  I  have  this  from 
the  Adjutant  General's  office. 

And  with  the  abandonment  of  Fort  Mitchell 
the  "Commerce  of  the  Plains,"  in  the  old  sense 
passed  away. 


PART  II 


INDIAN  WARS  AND  LEGENDS 


CHAPTER  I 


INDIAN    MIGRATION  ACROSS  THE  PLATTE 


Hyde  tells  us  that  from  his  best  information 
the  Comanches  or  "Paducas"  were  on  the 
north  side  of  the  North  Platte  river  up  to 
about  the  year  1800.  Perrin  de  lac  in  his  book, 
1802.  puts  on  his  map  "Ancient  Village  of 
the  Paducas,"  on  the  upper  Niobrara  near 
Rawhide  Buttes.  Robert  Harvey,  when  doing 
some  surveying  in  Sioux  county,  about  forty 
years  ago,  came  upon  "old  ruins"  northwest  of 
Agate.  An  early  map  of  Nebraska  indicates 
"ancient  ruins"  across  the  river  and  some  dis- 
tance north  of  the  present  site  of  Bridgeport. 
These  were  likely  the  former  establishments 
of  "Paducas,"  and  date  back  to  about  the  be- 
ginning of  the  last  century. 

Major  Long,  in  1820,  says  that  during  the 
life  of  Chief  Blackbird,  about  1780  or  1790, 
the  Paducas  came  and  attacked  an  Omaha  vil- 
lage on  the  Missouri  river  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Niobrara. 

Tradition  has  it  among  the  Indians  that  the 
Cheyennes  came  and  drove  the  Comanches 
from  the  Rawhide  Butte  region,  and  that  later 
the  Sioux  came  and  drove  out  the  Cheyennes. 
Major  Long  also  stated  that  in  1820  the 
Cheyennes,  "on  the  Cheyenne  river"  secured 
goods  from  the  British  -traders  through  the 
Sioux  and  they  would  bring  them  to  the  Platte 
where  at  "distant  periods"  evidently  meaning 
long  intervals,  a  sort  of  an  Indian  trading  fair 
is  held,  usually  on  "Grand  Camp  creek,"  by  the 
Cheyennes.  Arapahoes,  Kiowas,  and  Coman- 
ches. Tin's  may  have  been  as  far  up  the  river 
as  tin-  present  Grand  Encampment,  but  I  doubt 
if  any  of  ihe  creeks  had  their  present  names  so 
early  as  that  date.  The  Arapahoes  carried  on 
this  sort  of  trade  before  the  Cheyennes  took  it 
up,  but  the  Arapahoes  seem  to  have  been  pre- 
vented by  the  Sioux  from  securing  goods  from 
the  Missouri,  and  the  Cheyennes  took  up  the 


trade.  The  intertribal  trade  between  the  Indians 
appears  to  have  been  of  a  very  early  origin,  and 
Hyde  thinks  that  it  was  started  by  the  Co- 
manches when  they  were  north  of  the  Platte. 
When  they  were  driven  south  of  the  river,  the 
Kiowas  took  it  up,  and  when  they  were 
driven  south  the  Arapahoes  assumed  charge  of 
the  trade,  and  they  in  turn  were  compelled  to 
move  south  and  it  then  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Cheyennes.  The  Sioux  would  have  un- 
doubtedly followed  the  business  had  it  not 
been  for  the  interference  of  the  white  trader, 
who  took  it  over  entirely. 

In  1814-15  the  Sioux  and  Kiowas  were  at 
war,  and  a  decisive  battle  was  fought  on  Kiowa 
creek  in  the  west  part  of  the  present  Scotts 
Bluff  county.  Here  the  Kiowas  wrere  beaten 
and  retired  into  the  mountains.  They  later 
went  south  and  joined  the  Comanches  and 
have  thoroughly  amalgamated  therewith.  Their 
last  raid  into  the  "North  River"  country  was 
when  they  burned  the  trading  post  in  Robi- 
deaux  Gap. 

A  story  going  back  to  1730,  tells  of  the 
Cheyennes.  Originally  they  were  far  away, 
west  of  the  great  lakes.  In  the  course  of  their 
migrations,  driven  ahead  of  the  Sioux,  they 
built  a  village  on  the  banks  of  the  Cheyenne 
river.  This  river  rises  in  Wyoming  and  runs 
eastward,  skirting  the  south  border  of  Black 
Hills  from  Edgemont  to  the  Missouri. 

At  this  time  the  Cheyennes  had  built  mud 
huts  and  their  habitations  had  a  sense  of  per- 
manency. Possibly  they  seized  and  occupied 
the  "Paduca"  villages.  One  day,  the  entire 
village,  with  the  exception  of  one  old  woman 
who  was  too  old  to  travel,  went  on  a  buffalo 
hunt.  These  hunts  often  extended  for  several 
days,  and  it  was  during  their  absence  that  their 
old  enemies,  the  Assinaboines,  whose  habitat  is 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


35 


now  in  northern  Montana,  raided  their  village. 
They  attacked  at  night,  and  at  their  sudden 
approach  the  old  woman,  who  was  grinding 
bones  in  an  improvised  mortar,  and  had  a  torch 
of  pitch  pine  stuck  down  her  back,  with  the 
upper  end  alight,  started  to  run  toward  the 
river.  The  village  was  situated  upon  a  bluff. 
As  she  approached  its  precipitous  shore  with 
the  Assinaboines  in  close  pursuit,  she  took  the 
torch  from  her  back  and  threw  it  far  out  over 
the  cliff,  and  she  herself  hid  by  the  pathway 
that  led  down  to  the  water.  In  the  darkness, 
the  Assinaboines,  thinking  that  she  had  run  on, 
followed  the  flight  of  the  torch  over  the  cliff, 
and  all  perished.  The  Cheyennes,  the  story 
goes,  then  used  dogs  for  pack  animals,  hitch- 
ing them  between  thills,  and  having  them  drag 
the  packs  after  the  manner  later  adopted  in 
connection  with  ponies  and  mustangs. 

In  1840-1841  the  Sioux  made  peace  with  the 
Cheyennes,  probably  the  Southern  tribes,  for 
they  were  at  peace  with  the  Northern  Chey- 
ennes long  before  1840.  The  Southern  tribe 
whose  habitat  was  on  the  Platte  and  Laramie, 
had  among  them  a  very  old  man  by  the  name 
of  Red  Cloud.  He  was  a  cousin  of  the  Sioux 
Red  Cloud  of  history.  Sioux  Red  Cloud's 
father  had  a  brother  who  married  a  Northern 
Cheyenne  woman  about  1820,  and  the  Cheyenne 
Red  Cloud  was  their  son.  This  indicates  that 
the  Northern  Cheyennes  and  Ogallala  Sioux 
were  at  peace  and  intermarrying  at  that  time. 
This  Red  Cloud,  half  Sioux  and  half  Northern 
Cheyenne,  married  a  Southern  Cheyenne  wo- 
man, and  lived  with  the  Southern  tribe.  This 
would  indicate  peaceful  and  intermarrying  re- 
lations between  the  north  and  south  branches 
existed  about  1840  or  a  little  later.  It  might 
have  been  after  the  peace  of  1840-1841. 

This  peace  was  brought  about  by  Red  Arm 
for  the  Cheyennes  and  Lone  Horn  for  the 
Min-ne-con-jou  Sioux  (or  the  tribe  of  "shoot- 
ers in  the  mist").  The  Sioux  and  Arapahoes 
remained  hostile  for  some  time  thereafter. 

Among  the  oldest  of  the  Cheyennes  now  liv- 
ing there  are  found  those  who  say  that  Lone 
Horn  was  the  first  of  all  the  Sioux  to  bring 
his  band  to  the  Platte  river,  and  he  did  not  live 
here.  He  came  down  to  hunt,  and  to  run  the 
mustangs,  for  wild  horses  abounded  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  North  Platte  river  and  adjoining  ter- 
ritory. 

Volume  I  of  Wyoming  historical  publica- 
tions, in  an  article  on  Fort  Laramie  says  in 
1835  two  men  were  sent  to  the  Black  Hills  to 
induce  Bull  Bear's  Ogallalas  to  come  to  the 
Platte  to  live,  and  that  this  was  the  first  Sioux 
band  to  come  near  Fort  Laramie  to  trade. 

There  was  no  Fort  Laramie  then,  and  the 


Fort  William  that  was  the  antecedent  of  the 
historic  fort  was  builded  1835.  Lone  Horn's 
hunting  trips  must  have  antedated  that  event 
by  at  least  a  score  of  years.  The  Sioux  were 
here  in  numbers  as  early  as  1815,  for  the  battle 
of  Kiowa  with  the  Kiowas,  and  the  Battle 
of  Round  House  Rock,  with  the  Pawnees,  were 
about  1815.  If  Lone  Horn  was  the  first  of  the 
Sioux  to  reach  the  Platte  river,  he  must  have 
been  quite  young  at  the  time,  or  else  he  was 
quite  old  at  the  time  of  the  conclusion  of  peace 
between  his  people  and  the  Cheyennes. 

The  migrations  of  the  several  tribes  across 
the  Platte  must  have  been  in  rapid  succession, 
the  Comanches  were  presumed  to  be  north  of 
the  river  about  1800,  and  ten  or  fifteen  years 
thereafter  the  Sioux  were  here.  In  the  mean- 
time, came  and  passed,  the  Kiowas,  the  Arapa-. 
hoes  imd  the  Cheyennes.  The  North  Platte 
river  was  the  dividing  line,  in  the  days  of  the 
trappers,  although  the  Sioux  were  sometimes 
found  south  of  the  line.  _i3/2386 

In  1850  the  scourge  of  cholera  swept  along 
the  trail,  and  spread  among  the  Indians  east 
of  and  around  Scotts  Bluff,  and  its  vital  effect 
drove  all  else  out  of  mind  for  a  time.  Stans- 
bury  found  five  lodges  full  of  Sioux,  all  dead 
of  cholera,  at  Ash  Hollow,  and  cholera  was 
raging  in  a  village  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
lodges  farther  up  the  Platte. 

The  Sioux  at  that  time  seemed  to  have  prac- 
tically the  undisputed  possession  of  the  Platte 
except  the  challenge  of  authority  thereover 
made  by  white  people  along  the  Great  White 
Medicine  Road.  The  river  for  a  time  had  been 
the  dividing  line  between  the  Sioux  and  the 
southern  tribes,  but  the  southern  resistance  to 
the  northern  pressure  was  gradually  giving 
way,  and  soon  after  the  Sioux  took  possession 
of  the  land  south  to  the  "South  River"  and 
some  distance  beyond. 

Samuel  Parker,  the  missionary,  when  pass- 
ing through  the  North  River  land  in  the  early 
thirties,  tells  of  a  thousand  Pawnees  in  a  vil- 
lage in  Mitchell  valley,  and  from  1845  to  1855 
the  Indians  held  their  pow-wows  in  Horse 
creek  where  Crows  and  Snakes  met  the  Arap- 
ahoes, Cheyennes  and  Sioux,  and  presents  were 
distributed  among  them.  This  was  in  line  with 
the  promises  of  Colonel  Kearney  at  Fort  Lar- 
amie in  1845,  where  he  warned  twelve  hundred 
Sioux  that  they  must  not  try  to  close  the  Great 
White  Medicine  Road,  "for  it  was  used  by  the 
people  who  with  their  wives  and  their  children 
and  the  cattle,  were  moving  to  the  other  side 
of  the  mountains,  to  bury  their  bones  there, 
and  to  never  return."  Colonel  Kearney  said 
in  address :  "Sioux,  you  have  enemies  about 
you.  but  the  greatest  of  them  all  is  whiskey.    I 


36 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


learn  that  some  bad  men  from  Taos  bring  it 
here  and  sell  it  to  you.  Open  your  ears  and 
listen  to  me.  It  is  contrary  to  the  wishes  of 
the  Great  Father  that .  whiskey  should  be 
brought  here,  and  I  advise  you,  whenever  you 
find  it  in  your  country,  no  matter  in  whose  pos- 
session, to  spill  it  all  on  the  ground.  The 
ground  may  drink  it  without  injury,  but  you 
cannot." 

Tall  Bull  and  another  Sioux  spoke  very  cor- 
dially, and  then  presents  were  distributed.  Tall 
Bull  was  the  principal  chief  present  for  the 
Sioux. 

About  1870  Tall  Bull  was  killed  by  Buffalo 
Bill  in  the  Battle  of  Summit  Springs.  The  kill- 
ing took  place  in  a  dry  run  leading  down  to 
the  Platte,  and  the  widowed  squaw  seemed 
.quite  proud  of  the  fact  that  it  took  so  dis- 
tinguished a  man  as  Colonel  W.  F.  Cody  to 
kill  her  man  and  chief. 

Captain  Clark,  who  later  figured  conspicu- 


ously in  western  Nebraska  history,  says  that 
Whirlwind  told  him  that  the  dates  of  the  Horse 
Creek  Councils  marked  the  division  of  the 
Cheyenne  and  the  Sioux,  but  there  had  been 
earlier  troubles  of  which  he  perhaps  was  un- 
aware. 

The  number  four  seems  to  run  to  the 
Cheyennes,  which  perhaps  some  mystic  may  be 
able  to  explain.  They  had  four  chiefs,  four 
halts  before  they  charged  into  the  preliminary 
march  of  the  Sun  dance,  four  times  is  the 
covering  of  the  medicine  sweat  house  raised, 
four  winters  they  starved,  etc. 

After  the  Laramie  conference,  Colonel 
Kearney  visited  a  village  of  about  thirty  lodges 
on  the  Chugwater,  and  went  on  south  to  the 
Arkansas.  Dunn  says  that  he  sought  to  give 
the  Indians  an  impression  of  power  or  author- 
ity, or  to  scare  them,  by  sending  up  rockets, 
but  there  seems  to  have  been  no  foundation 
for  the  story,  in  the  official  reports. 


CHAPTER  II 


INDIAN  WAR  AND  LEGEND  — THE    STORY  TELLER 


Years  ago,  on  the  banks  of  the  White  river, 
an  old  Indian  story  teller  sat  by  the  fire,  tell- 
ing his  midnight  tales.  And  he  said:  "My 
story  winds  as  winds  a  river,  sometimes  on 
one  side  of  the  valley,  and  sometimes  on  the 
other  side,  and  sometimes  turning  backward 
for  a  distance,  then  turning  again  to  continue 
its  journey  onward  to  the  Big  Water."  So, 
while  these  events,  and  the  chronicles  thereof, 
move  steadily  forward  with  the  years,  they  will 
occasionally  hark  back  to  earlier  dates. 

No  matter  what  the  hour  of  the  night,  a 
story  teller  always  has  his  audience  huddled 
around  the  fire ;  and  his  stories  range  from  ad- 
venture full  of  action,  to  the  wierd  mythology 
of  the  tribe.  Night  is  the  time  when  all  man- 
kind is  stirred  by  vagaries  of  the  dark,  and 
receptive  brains  absorb  the  stories  heard  or 
read. 

This  story  teller  assured  us,  there  in  the 
shadow  of  the  pines,  the  glow  of  the  campfire 
illumining  his  face,  and  not  so  brilliantly  the 
faces  of  his  listeners,  that,  when  the  moon  was 
full,  the  evil  spirits  began  to  eat  it,  and  they 
never  ceased  until  it  was  entirely  devoured. 
Then  the  Great  Spirit  knowing  it  was  not  well 


to  let  evil  spirits  run  about  at  all  times  of  the 
night,  and  that  they  shunned  the  light  as  much 
as  possible,  began  making  a  new  moon.  This 
he  worked  upon  night  after  night  until  he  had 
it  complete.  Hanging  it  in  the  sky,  he  went 
about  his  business,  and  then  it  would  be  again 
attacked  and  devoured  by  the  evil  ones. 

Part  of  the  stories  of  Indians  are  supposed 
to  be  Indian  history  and  tradition,  but  they  are 
all  about  as  full  of  child-like  vagaries  as  the 
above  conception  of  the  changing  moon.  There 
are  many  Indian  stories,  of  which  I  shall  re- 
produce a  few  that  may  relate  to  this  particu- 
lar part  of  the  country,  and  shall  give  some 
extracts  of  their  translated  songs. 

An  inside  knowledge  of  Indian  life  yields 
the  information  that  their  sentiments,  their  ro- 
mance, their  poetry,  their  natural  human  in- 
clinations are  not  far  different  from  those  of 
their  white  brothers.  The  "Indian  in  a  man" 
has  been  referred  to  in  many  ways — wild  na- 
ture, vindictiveness,  treachery,  and  is  more  fre- 
quently used  to  indicate  cruel  or  evil  charac- 
teristics. 

That  is  because  the  side  of  Indian  life  that 
has  been  most  dwelt  upon  by  writers,  and  that 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


37 


has  come  in  contact  with  the  advance  of  civili- 
zation, has  been  the  cruel  and  savage  side.  We 
seldom  heard  of  the  great  peace  advocates  of 
the  red  race,  because  the  more  virulent  advo- 
cates of  war  kept  them  and  us  busy.  The  same 
inspirations  that  provoked  the  flower  of  knight- 
hood in  the  middle  ages,  were  in  the  Indian 
tribes.  The  young  men  were  taught  valor  and 
inspiration,  and  that  honor  came  through  the 
slaughter  of  hereditary  or  other  foes. 

Even  in  peace,  war  songs  kept  alive  the  mili- 
tant tendencies  of  mind  and  heart.  Here  is  a 
fragment  of  one  song  often  sung  to  inspire 
young  braves  to  deeds  of  war  and  blood: 

"The  Eagles. 
The  eagles  scream  on  high 

They  whet  their  forked  beaks. 
Raise  —  raise  the  battle  cry, 

'Tis  fame  your  leader  seeks." 

This  song  of  the  Sioux  stirs  the  red  blood 
just  as  did  the  recent  songs  on  the  battle  fields 
of  the  old  world. 

Fatalism  is  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  moun- 
tain and  plain,  and  the  greater  frontier,  as  we 
well  know,  and  we  presume  it  is  the  same  of 
war.  The  belief  that  "a  man  who  is  born  to 
be  hung  will  never  be  drowned,"  is  old  as  the 
hills.  In  the  remote  periods  of  ancient  India, 
Sanjoya  sang  the  battle  song  of  fatalism.  But 
old  chief  Wau-bo-jeg,  who  once  loved  and 
roamed  over  the  land  of  western  Nebraska, 
sang  his  songs  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  When 
the  dark  shadows  fell  over  Wildcat  and  Sixty- 
six  mountains,  over  Crow  Butttes  and  the 
Pine  ridge,  he  would  sit  by  his  fire,  and  tell 
stories,  and  listen  to  others.  When  some  story 
of  battle  prowess  stirred  those  about  the  fire, 
he  would  sing,  and  this  was  one  of  his  songs : 

''On  that  day  when  our  heroes  lay 

low  —  lay  low, 
On  that  day  when  our  heroes  lay  low  ; 
I  fought  by  their  side. 
And  I  thought  'ere  I  died, 
Just  for  vengeance  I'd  take  one  more 
foe." 

There  are  several  verses  that  tell  of  defeat 
and  death,  and  then  a  verse  on  preparedness, 
that  ran  thus : 

"Five  winters  in  hunting  we'll  spend 

—  we'll  spend 
Five  winters  in  hunting  we'll  spend. 

When  youths  grown  to  men, 

We'll  to  war  lead  again, 
And  our  davs  like  our  fathers'  will  end." 


The  last  line  indicates  the  fatalistic  resigna- 
tion. 

Thus  the  teachings  went  on  from  one  gen- 
eration to  another,  and  the  glories  of  war  were 
forever  dangled  before  the  eyes  of  the  young 
braves.  He  who  cautiously  dared  to  plead  for 
peace  was  contemptuously  dubbed  a  squaw. 

Woman  life  among  the  nomads  of  the  plains 
has  another  side.  Conflict  was  forced  upon 
her  and  not  of  her  nature.  Subdued  by  long 
years  of  motherhood  and  slaughtered  children, 
her  ambitions  were  for  the  more  humble  do- 
mesticity. Like  her  white  sister,  she  admired 
the  brave,  but  feared  the  dread  consequences 
of  conflict.  Whenever  her  man  left  home,  she 
knew  not  that  he  would  ever  return. 

Captain  Hobbs  tells  the  pathetic  story  of  his 
Indian  wife,  "The  Spotted  Fawn." 

When  he  bade  her  and  their  half-breed  son 
"good-by,"  to  return  to  the  settlements,  he 
promised  to  come  back,  but  she  feared  he 
would  never  do  so.  She  tried  every  wile 
known  to  a  woman's  heart  to  get  him  to  give 
up  his  intended  journey,  she  held  their  little 
brown  baby  up  to  be  kissed,  and  then  clung  to 
him  pleading  with  him.  But  when  she  knew 
that  it  was  useless  to  plead  longer,  she  hugged 
her  child  to  her  bosom  and  ran  shrieking  into 
the  night.  Their  second  son,  soon  to  be,  was 
prematurely  born,  as  the  result  of  the  intensity 
of  her  emotion. 

Two  years  later  Captain  Hobbs  did  come 
back,  and  her  joy  was  wonderfully  manifest. 
The  boy  was  as  wild  as  a  deer,  and  it  was  a 
long  time  before  he  would  come  near  his 
father. 

Yet  with  all  the  wealth  of  affection  which 
many  a  squaw  bestowed  upon  her  husband,  she 
had  nothing  to  say  in  the  matter  of  selection  of 
a  mate.  All  these  details  were  arranged  by  the 
sire,  who  usually  traded  his  promising  young 
girls  for  ponies.  Occasionally  there  were  at- 
tachments, which  were  stronger  than  filial  man- 
dates. 

Along  the  old  stage  road,  south  of  Harris- 
burg,  and  over  on  the  White  river,  there  are 
two  rocks,  similarly  named,  and  which  obtained 
the  name  from  similar  circumstances.  In  each 
case  a  Sioux  father  had  sold  his  daughter  to 
a  young  Ogallala  brave,  but  in  each  case  that 
Indian  maiden  had  a  sweetheart  of  her  own. 
The  story  of  the  Banner  county  episode  is  this : 

The  village  was  situated  on  the  little  table- 
land where  in  1885  Vance  Cross  homesteaded, 
just  south  of  Long  Springs  branch,  then  un- 
named, and  the  Ogallala  had  brought  his 
ponies.  On  the  morrow  he  was  to  claim  his 
bride.  She  secretly  left  her  lodge  and  found 
her  sweetheart  and   they  were  making  away 


38 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


when  discovered.  Her  irate  father,  the  chief, 
had  her  whipped  and  her  lover  was  put  to 
death. 

The  next  morning  in  the  bright  sunrise,  she 
donned  her  finery  and  went  humming  a  song 
through  the  village,  wending  her  way  to  the 
south.  Young  braves  looked  admiringly  upon 
her  as  she  passed  and  wished  that  they  were 
so  fortunate  as  the  Ogallala.  He,  too,  looked 
in  fond  admiration  and  anticipation.  She  was 
observed  to  ascend  the  slope  of  Table  mount- 
tain,  and  she  paused  on  its  eastmost  extremity, 
where  the  countless  ages  of  wind-erosion  have 
made  a  perpendicular  cliff. 

Here  she  raised  her  arms  towards  the  sun 
and  commenced  to  sing.  The  music,  as  it 
came  to  the  village,  all  the  inhabitants  of  which 
were  now  watching  her,  sounded  weird  and 
sweet,  but  was  instantly  recognized  as  the  song 
of  death.  A  dozen  braves  ran  to  save  her,  but 
in  vain. 

They  had  almost  reached  her  when  she 
threw  aside  her  blanket  and  as  a  statue  of 
bronze  stood  for  a  moment  in  the  morning  sun, 
then  with  a  cry  that  she  would  meet  her  lover 
in  the  Shades,  she  went  over  the  cliff,  and  was 
crushed  to  death  at  the  feet  of  "Lover's  Leap." 

Hers  was  the  song  of  death,  but  there  are 
other  songs,  songs  of  life  and  of  seasons. 

Among  the  tribes,  each  season  has  its  song, 
and  each  great  event  is  immortalized  in  poetry, 
and  folklore  tales.  We  all  know  the  habits  of 
the  frog,  and  how  it  makes  its  presence  known 
in  the  first  wet  spells  of  spring,  yet  it  remained 
for  an  Indian  to  give  the  harbinger  of  season, 
a  place  in  the  songs  of  the  world.  "O-ka-gis," 
or  the  "Frog  Song,"  or  the  "Frog  in  the 
Spring,"  as  it  is  generally  called,  runs  thus : 

"O-ka-gis" 

"Then  we  shall  cheerfully,  praisingly  sing, 
O-ka-gis,  (the  frogs)  the  heralds  of  Spring, 
First  to  renounce  the  Winter  bound  ball ; 
Hail   sunshine  and  verdure  and  gladness   for 
all." 

And  they  have  a  "Winter  Song,"  a  song  of 
pleasing  defiance  to  Par-kab-il-on-ac-ca,  the 
god  of  winter.  This  thing  with  such  a  dread- 
ful  name,  had  decided  to  drive  all  the  people 
south  wiili  the  buffalo,  so  he  himself  could 
rule  the  north.  But  he  met  a  Tartar,  who 
turned  the  tide,  anil  maintained  his  right  and 
his  tnlic's  privilege  to  remain  in  the  north. 

So  when  old  Par-K.  shook  the  kinks  out 
"I  boreas,  and  ripped  and  tore  in  mad  and 
Stormy  glee,  he  found  (he  red  people  sitting 
by  their  meagre  fires  on  tin-  Niobrara  and  the 
Blue  Water,  and  under  the  beetling  crags  of 


Scottsbluff,   Wildcat  and  Bighorn  mountains, 
cheerfuly  singing  "The  Song  of  Singabiss." 

"Windy  god,  I  know  your  plan, 
You  are  but  my  fellowman, 
Blow,  you  may,  your  coldest  breeze, 
Sing-a-biss  you  cannot  freeze. 

"Sweep  the  strongest  breeze  you  can, 
Sing-a-biss  is  still  your  man ; 
Heigh  for  life,  and  ho  for  bliss, 
Who  so  free  as  Sing-a-biss." 

The  Indian  language  and  poetry,  when  trans- 
lated, seems  to  grip  one.  Their  expression 
seems  to  get  at  the  very  essence  of  things. 
They  touch  the  heart  of  that  which  they  seek  to 
express,  in  simple  language,  while  we  stumble 
through  the  phraseology  of  mythology  and  ages 
and  leave  a  sentiment  so  buried  in  verbiage 
that  it  is  all  but  lost.  It  must  be  the  com- 
munion and  mutual  understanding  which  is 
given  by  living  close  to  nature.  The  common 
language  of  the  birds  and  beasts  and  redmen, 
where  all  are  attuned.  A  little  extract  from 
the  "Song  of  the  Falcon,"  will  serve  to  illus- 
trate : 

"Birds,  ye  wild  birds,  whom  the  high  gods 
made, 

And  gifted  with  powers  of  wonderous 
kind, 

Why  turn  ye  so  fearfully  shy  and  dis- 
mayed, 

To  gaze  on  the  heavens  you're  leaving  be- 
hind?" 

Have  you  ever  stood  in  the  old  orchard  or 
leafy  grove,  and  seen  the  wild  scurry  and  flut- 
ter of  birds  to  hide  in  the  grass  or  the  leafy 
bower?  The  sun  may  be  shining,  and  no  sign 
of  tumult  or  danger  anywhere,  except  a  stam- 
pede among  the  little  feathered  families.  Yet, 
far  up  in  the  azure  blue  floats  in  tranquil  cir- 
cles, one,  and  perhaps  two,  of  the  keen  eyed 
enemies  of  the  little  birds.  No  word  picture 
in  the  classics  has  so  vividly  described  this  com- 
mon incident  in  nature. 

Indians  educated  at  Carlisle  return  to  their 
tribes  and  the  education  gives  them  no  better 
expression.  Neither  are  they  improved  in  arts, 
their  work  on  the  canvass  with  the  single  ex- 
ception of  landscape  work  is  as  crude  as  that 
of  native  ochre  painted  on  the  mountain  sides. 
Their  minds  for  the  most  part  are  as  imma- 
ture as  children,  and  the  love  of  the  recondite 
runs  through  all  their  lives. 

It  is  said  that  civilization  touches  barbarism, 
and  barbarism  recoils  like  a  burnt  child  from 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


39 


the  fire.  So  back  from  the  schools  to  the  blan- 
ket and  the  tepee,  spoiled  as  Indians,  but  not 
capable  of  competing  and  combatting  with  the 
whites  in  the  busy  marts  of  the  world. 

I  saw  some  Pine  Ridge  boys  going  through 
Washington,  some  time  ago,  and  in  their 
rounds  they  were  conducted  through  the  som- 
ber grandeur  of  the  National  Capitol  building, 
and  the  wonderful  glory  of  the  National  Li- 
brary. On  each  occasion  the  Babylonian  splen- 
dors struck  them  and  they  cried  out:  "Wash- 
tay,  lela-wash-tay,  lela-wash-tay  te-pee,"  (fine, 
very  fine,  very  fine  houses)  which  was  the 
limit  of  their  expression;  but,  back  in  their 
wigwams,  if  unspoiled  by  education,  they  can 
tell  the  folklore  stories  of  their  people,  as  won- 
derful as  Arabian  Nights,  yet  in  words  and 
symbols  of  simple  comprehension. 

The  younger  years  of  the  mountains  and 
plains  people  were  not  devoid  of  their  amuse- 
ments, and  primitive  joys.  Young  squaws  fes- 
tooned their  hair  with  wild  flowers,  and  bucks 
adorned  themselves  with  gay  feathers. 

The  ceremonies  among  the  corn  raisers  are 
similar  to  the  Arcadian  joys  of  country  lads 
and  lassies  in  ye  olden  time.  You  will  recog- 
nize resemblance  to  the  old  husking  bees. 

When  a  brave  found  a  perfect  red  ear  he 
carried  it  in  due  form  to  his  favorite  squaw, 
and  left  it  as  a  tribute  of  his  affection,  and 
when  a  squaw  found  one,  she  hid  it  until  op- 


portunity permitted  her  to  yield  it  to  her  fav- 
orite brave.  If  discovered,  any  brave  might 
claim  her  as  his  own.  Sometimes  the  popular 
belle  would  pretend  to  find  one,  for  the  joy  of 
the  simultaneous  rush  towards  her  by  her  many 
admirers. 

But  if  one  found  a  red  ear  that  was  not  well 
filled,  or  was  crooked  or  tapering,  all  would 
shout  with  glee  and  sing  the  song  "Wa-ge-nim," 

"Wa-ge-nim. 
Wa-ge-nim,  crooked  ear, 

Walker  of  night, 
Stop,  little  old  man. 

And  take  not  to  flight. 
Crooked  ear,  crooked  ear, 

Stand  up  strong, 
Little  crooked  old  man, 

I'll  give  you  a  song." 

The  crooked  and  tapering  ears  were  consid- 
ered the  image  of  "Old  Man  Thief."  And  here 
is  another  of  the  simple  symbolic  expressions. 
This  crooked,  incomplete,  unfinished  ear  of 
corn  is  like  "Old  Man  Thief,"  because  it  has 
taken  the  toil  in  raising,  and  raised  the  expec- 
tations of  the  grower,  and  yet  but  partially  ful- 
filled them. 

There  is  much  other  Indian  matter,  tradi- 
tions and  the  like,  that  come  in  their  turn,  but 
now  the  "river  winds"  to  other  scenes. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  PAWNEE  PILGRIMAGE  — THE  SPOTTED    ROBE  —  TI-WA-RA,    THE    GOD 
OF  COURT  HOUSE  ROCK  — BATTLE  OF  ASH  HOLLOW 


Many,  many  moons  ago;  many  moons  and 
many  winters,  the  Pawnees  came  up  the  river 
from  the  ruins  of  Quivera. 

The  underground  people  of  pre-historic  Ne- 
braska, and  the  corn  raisers  of  hundreds  of 
years  ago,  had  left  their  "wallows."  in  the 
sands  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  state,  and  had 
joined  "the  innumerable  caravan  that  moves 
to  the  pale  realm  of  shade,"  and  the  Pawnees, 
naturally  nomadic,  had  for  a  time  tarried,  and 
were  growing  corn  and  "pompons"  on  the 
ruins  of  the  past. 

The  introduction  of  "pompon"  among  the 
Indians  dates  back  more  than  a  century,  for 
there  are  letters  of  Manuel  Lisa,  over  a  hun- 


dred years  old,  which  tell  of  his  way  of  win- 
ning and  retaining  the  friendship  of  the  In- 
dians, and  thereby  turning  into  the  markets 
so  much  rich  fur. 

I  will  digress  sufficiently  to  tell  a  little  of 
Lisa,  as  it  was  my  privilege  to  examine  some 
of  these  old  letters  recently.  It  was  Lisa's 
boat  which  Roi  and  Dornin  traded  to  Robert 
Stuart  and  party,  at  Great  Island  in  the  spring 
of  1813.  This  boat  had  a  skeleton  fn.me  made 
of  wood  four  feet  wide,  twenty  feet  long,  and 
eighteen  inches  deep,  and  it  took  five  elk  hides 
to  cover  it. 

As  Lisa  says :  he  put  great  activity  into  his 
operations,  and  went  long  distances  alone  into 


40 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  wilderness,  and  for  long  periods  he  was 
buried  in  the  forest,  or  wandered  about  upon 
the  plains.  He  introduced  the  "mammoth  pom- 
pon," "the  large  bean."  "the  potato,"  and  "the 
turnip."  He  loaned  traps  to  the  Indians,  and 
tools,  and  made  his  habitations  the  refuge  of 
those  too  old  to  follow  the  tribe. 

"The  Pompon,"  which  he  introduced  flour- 
ished in  the  wilderness,  and  sometimes  grew  to 
the  enormous  size  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
pounds,  but  in  these  higher  and  drier  alti- 
tudes its  size  was  much  less.  The  Pawnees 
planted  it  in  the  valley  of  Gonneville  creek  a 
hundred  years  ago,  and  the  run  out  species  are 
now  called  "wild  pumpkins."  The  cowmen 
found  them  there  and  named  the  creek 
"Pumpkinseed  creek,"  which  they  afterward 
shortened  to  the  "Pumpkin  creek,  of  song 
and  story. 

One  large  Pawnee  village  had  heard  of  the 
fine  buffalo  ranges  of  western  Nebraska,  and 
after  much  "fuss  and  feathers"  it  was  deter- 
mined to  move  westward  into  the  land  of  the 
Sioux.  They  knew  that  such  a  movement 
would  entail  conflicts  with  their  hereditary  en- 
emy, hence  no  village  of  small  proportions 
would  hazard  the  undertaking. 

In  the  village  was  one  very  old  and  neglect- 
ed squaw,  who,  by  silent  consent  and  the  cus- 
tom of  the  tribe,  was  to  be  left  behind.  What 
cruel  purpose  or  tradition  originated  this  cus- 
tom, I  know  not,  but  frequently  the  old  and 
infirm,  particularly  squaws,  were  left  behind, 
when  villages  moved,  and  when  the  meagre 
supply  of  food  left  them  was  exhausted,  they 
generally  died  of  starvation. 

In  this  case,  the  withered  and  crippled  Paw- 
nee squaw  had  a  grandson  who  was  one  of 
the  promising  young  braves  of  the  tribe. 
Heeding  not  the  names  and  jibes  of  his  fellow 
braves  and  refusing  to  revere  the  ancient  and 
wicked  custom,  he  returned  to  the  fragile  lodge 
of  his  maternal  ancestor,  and  assisted  her  to 
pack  and  follow.  They  plodded  along  behind 
the  main  caravan,  frequently  living  on  the  re- 
fuse left  by  the  well-provisioned  people,  and 
one  day  they  came  upon  a  horse.  It,  too,  was 
crippled  and  stiff  and  old,  was  dun  of  color  and 
its  back  was  sore,  and  it  was  very  poor. 
Partly  because  of  compassion  and  not  washing 
to  leave  the  old  horse  to  the  mercy  of  prowl- 
ing, camp-following  beasts,  and  partly  because 
Ik-  wanted  oik-  horse,  however  poor,  the  young 
brave  took  the  half-starved  animal  along,  and 
found    it    of    much    service    in   carrying   their 

After  many  days  they  reached  the  base  of 
the  eminence  now  known  as  Court  House 
Rock,  and  just  east  and  north  thereof  a  little 


south  of  the  present  site  of  Bridgeport,  the 
Pawnee  village  settled  down,  for  in  the  land 
about  them  there  were  many  signs  of  buffalo, 
and  into  the  village  came  out-runners  who  re- 
ported a  large  herd  of  buffalo  only  four  miles 
south,  and  in  the  herd  was  a  spotted  calf. 

A  Spotted  Robe  was  Big  Medicine  among 
the  Pawnees,  and  the  chief  sent  a  crier  through 
the  village  announcing  that  a  charge  should 
be  made  from  the  village,  and  the  brave  who 
brought  back  the  spotted  robe  might  marry 
his  beautiful  daughter. 

And  the  young  brave  mounted  his  old  dun 
horse  to  take  part  in  the  race,  but  the  others 
laughed  at  him  and  he  drew  aside.  Then  to 
his  surprise  the  horse  turned  his  head  and 
spoke:  "Take  me  to  the  stream  and  plaster 
me  with  mud  ;  my  legs,  my  head  and  my  back," 
and  to  the  creek  that  flowed  hard  by  he  went 
and  did  as  he  was  directed. 

At  the  cry  "Loo-ah"  (go)  they  were  away. 
The  old  dun  horse  covered  with  mud  seemed 
rejuvenated.  He  sped  away  so  fast  that  to 
some  of  the  others  he  seemed  to  fly,  and  when 
the  advanced  portion  of  the  charge  reached 
the  scene  where  the  herd  had  been  they 
found  the  young  brave  skinning  the  spotted 
calf,  and  he  had  also  killed  a  fine  fat  cow. 

One  by  one  the  other  braves  came  back  to 
the  village,  and  as  they  came,  they  rode  by 
the  lodge  of  the  boy's  grandmother  to  tell  her 
of  his  good  fortune,  but  she  thought  they 
were  jesting  and  answered  them  angrily.  When 
the  young  brave  came  up  with  the  old  dun 
horse  snorting  and  prancing,  laden  with  buf- 
falo meat  and  a  great  robe,  for  her,  and  the 
spotted  robe  which  he  retained  for  himself, 
she  could  hardly  believe  her  senses.  But  in  the 
frail  tepee  there  was  joy  that  night. 

The  rejuvenated  horse  again  spoke  to  the 
young  brave.  "The  Sioux  war  parties  are 
coming;  they  are  now  near  the  wigwam,"  in- 
dicating Chimney  rock ;  "Tomorrow  they  will 
come,  and  our  people  will  meet  them  about 
half  way.  When  we  meet,  ride  me  among 
them  and  kill  their  chief,  and  return.  Then 
again,  ride  me  among  them  and  kill  another 
chief  and  return.  Do  this  again,  and  again, 
four  times  only,  for  if  you  go  the  fifth  time, 
some  disaster  will  befall  you  or  me." 

So  the  next  day  was  a  great  battle  between 
the  Pawnees  and  Sioux  at  a  point  nearly  op- 
posite the  opening  in  the  hills  now  known  as 
Round  House  or  Reddington  Gap. 

The  young  brave  and  the  old  horse  were 
there,  and  they  charged  into  the  thick  of  the 
conflict.  As  he  rode  in  among  the  Sioux,  the 
air  was  thick  with  arrows,  but  he  found  the 
chief  and  slew  him,  and  returned  untouched. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


41 


Twice,  thrice,  four  times  he  rode,  and  four 
chiefs  he  killed,  and  each  time  they  came 
back  unharmed. 

Still  the  battle  raged,  and  the  impetuous 
youth  disregarded  his  instructions,  and  for 
the  fifth  time  plunged  into  the  fray.  His  horse 
was  shot  from  under  him,  and  cut  to  pieces, 
for  the  Sioux  declared  that  he  had  more  than 
horse  endowments,  which  if  the  Pawnee  folk- 
lore tales  are  true,  cannot  be  denied. 

The  brave,  with  great  valor,  fought  his  way 
free  of  his  adversaries,  and  returned  to  his 
own  people  unharmed.  The  battle  was  soon 
over  and  the  Sioux  were  routed.  Across  the 
river  with  great  tumult  and  splashing,  they 
were  driven,  and  up  one  of  the  arroyos  to  the 
north,  and  because  of  the  many  relics  of  the 
battle  found  in  this  vicinity,  that  arroyo  and 
the  water  that  flows  down  therefrom  is  known 
today  as  Indian  Creek. 

The  young  brave  mourned  the  loss  of  his 
now  famous  dun  horse,  and  after  the  battle,  he 
went  out  on  the  field  and  gathered  up  the 
pieces  and  piled  them  together.  Then  he  went 
up  on  the  rim  of  the  overhanging  rock  to 
mourn,  nor  would  he  return  to  the  village  to 
celebrate  with  the  others  over  their  triumph. 
Night  came  and  still  he  sat  and  looked  down 
on  his  Armageddon. 

There  came  a  storm,  a  roaring  mountain 
storm,  the  lightning  flashed,  and  there  was 
thunder  and  a  deluge  of  rain.  Two  black  arms 
reached  down  from  the  overhanging  clouds  to 
the  field  of  battle.  Then  the  storm  passed  and 
the  young  brave  saw  something  had  taken 
shape  upon  the  battle  field.  Then  came  an- 
other storm  alike  but  fiercer  than  the  first,  and 
when  it  passed  he  saw  the  form  of  a  horse. 
Then  came  a  third  storm,  more  terrible  than 
the  others,  and  when  it  passed  he  went  down 
upon  the  field  of  battle  and  there  he  found 
his  old  dun  horse,  sore  of  back,  and  crippled 
and  poor  as  when  he  had  first  found  him.  And 
the  brave  was  sad  for  he  knew  that  it  Was  his 
disobedience  and  impetuosity  that  had  brought 
about  the  disaster. 

The  horse  did  not  upbraid  him,  but  said, 
"Ti-wa-ra  (the  god  of  Court  House  Rock)  has 
let  me  return,  and  for  your  filial  devotion  to 
your  grandmother,  and  for  your  kind  treat- 
ment of  a  crippled  and  worn-out  horse,  and 
because  of  your  sorrow,  I  am  here ;  but  here- 
after, do  just  that  which  I  tell  you,  no  more, 
no  less. 

"Now  lead  me  away  through  yonder  gap 
to  the  other  valley  and  leave  me  there.  Re- 
turn alone  tomorrow,  and  tomorrow,  and  for 
ten  tomorrows." 

He  followed  the  directions,  and  on  the  mor- 


row he  returned,  and  found  his  old  dun  horse 
and  a  beautiful  white  gelding.  This  he  took 
to  the  village  and  it  was  better  than  the  horses 
ridden  by  other  Pawnee  braves.  The  next  to- 
morrow, he  rode  home  a  coal  black  steed,  and 
so  each  succeeding  day  he  rode  another  horse 
of  another  color  into  the  village,  grey,  roan, 
pinto,  bay,  etc.,  and  each  was  finer  than  the 
ponies  ridden  by  other  braves. 

Now,  he  was  rich,  and  the  chief,  reminded 
of  his  pledge  gave  him  his  beautiful  daughter, 
and  the  young  brave  spread  out  before  her,  as 
a  tribute  to  his  affection,  the  Spotted  Robe. 

The  old  dun  horse  was  then  brought  to  the 
village,  and  well  taken  care  of  for  the  rest  of 
his  days.  And  for  many  years  the  Pawnees 
claimed  the  beautiful  land. 

It  was  about  the  time  of  the  building  of  the 
first  stockades  at  Fort  Laramie,  that  the  Sioux 
began  again  to  crowd  down  upon  the  Pawnees 
in  the  valley  of  the  North  Platte.  And  at  the 
same  time  our  young  brave  met  with  the  great 
common  sorrow  of  the  world.  Death  entered 
his  domestic  household  and  took  therefrom  his 
little  son,  and  when  he  laid  him  away,  swing- 
ing on  the  limb  of  a  cottonwood  tree,  they 
rolled  his  body  in  the  Spotted  Robe.  Then 
the  old  dun  horse  died,  and  disasters  fell  thick 
and  fast  upon  the  Pawnees. 

The  Sioux  made  it  so  uncomfortable  that 
the  Pawnees  decided  to  retire  some  distance 
down  the  river,  having  no  particular  objective, 
and  to  cover  their  retreat,  they  left  a  number 
of  the  braves  to  keep  the  Sioux  engaged  while 
the  main  village  was  moving.  And  these  were 
attacked  by  the  Sioux  with  such  fierceness 
of  purpose  that  they  were  driven  to  the  top  of 
Court  House  Rock  for  refuge. 

About  the  base  of  the  rock  camped  a  number 
of  the  Sioux,  w,ith  the  evident  intention  of 
starving  them  to  come  down,  or  to  their  death. 

Meanwhile  the  main  Sioux  bodies  hurried 
on  after  the  retreating  village.  This  they 
overtook,  and  engaged  in  the  final  struggle 
for  possession  of  the  upper  Platte  river,  at 
Ash  Hollow,  in  about  the  year  1835.  It  was 
the  fiercest  of  all  their  engagements. 

The  battle  raged  all  day,  beginning  with  the 
dawn.  In  the  early  part  of  the  conflict,  the 
air  was  filled  with  arrows.  Then  after  all  their 
ammunition  was  gone,  they  fought  on  hand  to 
hand,  with  battle  axes  and  tomahawks  until 
darkness  settled  over  the  land.  The  Sioux 
were  victorious  in  the  end,  but  at  such  cost, 
such  frightful  loss,  that  they  were  willing  to 
let  their  hereditary  enemy  depart  without  fur- 
ther engagement. 

Under  the  stars  and  moon  forty-six  Sioux 
and  sixty  Pawnees  were  cold  in  death,  and 


42 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


many  another  nursed  his  wounds.  The  Paw- 
nees were  so  humiliated  and  discouraged,  that 
they  retired  three  hundred  miles  farther  down 
the  river,  and  gave  up  their  claim  to  the  North 
Platte  valley.  In  the  new  land  they  have  work- 
ed out  the  fulfillment  of  their  destiny,  and  their 
merging  into  the  races  of  civilized  mankind 
takes  place  through  the  medium  of  the  school  at 
Genoa. 

This  is  the  only  "Battle  of  Ash  Hollow" 
known  in  history,  that  really  took  place  on  the 
geographical  location. 

Meanwhile  the  young  chief  left  with  the 
braves  to  the  defense  of  the  rear  were  maroon- 
ed on  the  top  of  Court  House  Rock  and  the 
situation  was  very  desperate.  He  went  out 
alone  at  night  and  plead  with  the  god  Ti-wa-ra 
to  show  him  some  avenue  of  escape,  and  the 
answer  came.  He  went  near  the  edge  of  the 
rock  and  found  one  of  the  perforations  that 
extended  downward  into  darkness.  He  tied 
his  lariat  and  the  lariats  of  others  together, 
and  fastened  the  upper  end  to  a  jutting  rock 


point,  and  let  himself  down  into  the  hole  or 
"well"  as  it  is  called.  At  its  bottom  he  found 
an  opening  large  enough  for  a  man  to  crawl 
through,  and  it  was  unguarded.  He  climbed 
back  up  the  rope  to  await  the  following  night. 

When  the  darkness  came  over  the  land  he 
called  his  men  together,  and  told  them  of  his 
plan  for  escape,  and  they  all  crawled  to  the 
edge  where  the  perforation  in  the  brule  rocks 
made  the  well.  One  by  one  they  went  down 
the  rope,  and  crawled  out  through  the  hole  at 
the  bottom  and  away  in  the  darkness.  And  the 
last  to  go  was  the  young  chief. 

If  you  will  go  to  the  top  of  Court  House 
Rock  any  night,  even  to  this  time,  you  can  feel 
the  presence  of  Ti-wa-ra,  and  if  you  will  listen 
after  the  shadows  of  night  have  fallen,  you 
can  hear  the  Sioux  watchers  moving  about  at 
the  base,  waiting  for  the  Pawnees  to  come 
down,  and  you  can  hear  them  as  they  pass 
one  another  in  the  darkness,  whispering-whis- 
pering-whispering. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  WHITE  HAWK  — OLD    BULL    TAIL'S    DAUGHTER 


Some  years  ago  I  met  Col.  W.  F.  Cody, 
"Buffalo  Bill,"  at  Washington.  We  were 
talking  of  Indian  mythology  and  he  told  me 
this  story  which  he  said  was  sometimes  told  of 
the  Chadron  Plains,  sometimes  of  the  valley 
north  and  east  of  Scotts  Bluff  mountain,  and 
sometimes  of  the  high  divide  known  as  the 
Flowerfield  Swell. 

Algon,  a  Sioux  hunter,  had  chased  a  deer 
out  upon  the  prairie,  until  its  trail  led  to  a 
circle  where  all  the  grass  was  trodden  down, 
but  from  the  circle  never  a  trail  led  on. 

While  marvelling,  he  heard  strange  music, 
and  it  seemed  to  come  from  above.  Looking 
up.  he  could  see  far  into  the  sky  a  very  small 
speck,  and  as  he  looked,  it  seemed  to  grow 
larger  and  larger  until  he  made  out  that  it 
was  something  descending  to  the  earth.  He 
fell  hack  from  the  circle  and  concealed  him- 
Self  in  the  .ura-s. 

Larger  and  larger  it  grew,  and  louder  and 
more  distinct  became  tin-  music.  Finally  it 
settled  down  in  the  center  of  the  circle,  and 
hi    pi  rceived  that   it   was  a  basket  and  in  the 


basket  were  twelve  maidens,  and  as  the  basket 
came  down  the  maidens  sang.  After  it  had 
alighted  they  all  jumped  out  and  began  to 
dance  in  the  circle  and  sing  as  they  danced. 

One  of  them  was  very  beautiful,  and  it 
seemed  to  the  young  brave  that  he  must  have 
her  for  his  very  own.  Watching  as  she  came 
to  the  side  of  the  circle  where  he  was  conceal- 
ed, he  leapt  out  and  tried  to  catch  her,  but 
quick  as  he  was,  they  were  the  quicker,  and 
all  leapt  into  the  basket  singing  and  the  basket 
went  up  into  the  sky. 

The  young  brave  reached  up,  and  shouted 
his  love  until  long  after  he  knew  that  they 
were  out  of  hearing,  and  prehaps  it  was  im- 
agination, but  he  thought  he  saw  the  one  head 
leaning  over  and  looking  down,  until  it  passed 
from  the  range  of  his  vision. 

The  next  day  he  came  and  the  next  day, 
and  each  day  the  basket  came  down  and  the 
maidens  danced,  and  each  day  he  tried  to 
catch  the  one  of  his  attachment,  but  in  vain. 
Finally  he  made  him  a  covering  of  deer  hide 
with  head  and  all,  and  he  ran  into  the  circle, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


43 


and  leaped  into  the  basket.  Immediately  all 
the  maidens  vanished  and  twelve  deer  bound- 
ed over  the  prairie  toward  the  pine  clad  hills. 

After  a  time  he  left  the  basket,  and  the  cir- 
cle ;  and  the  deer  came  running  back,  and  they 
disappeared,  and  twelve  maidens  jumped  out 
of  the  grass  and  into  the  basket  and  were  gone. 

The  next  day,  disguised  as  a  deer,  he  ran 
into  the  circle,  and  throwing  off  the  disguise, 
he  seized  the  maiden  of  his  choice,  and  the 
others  sprang  into  the  basket  and  only  eleven 
were  wafted  to  the  skies. 

He  carried  his  captive  tenderly  to  his  lodge, 
and  while  she  mourned  and  wanted  to  return  to 
the  stars,  she  appreciated  his  great  tenderness 
and  consideration. 

By  and  by,  there  came  a  little  brown  boy  to 
add  to  their  happiness  and  she  seemed  to  have 
forgotten  about  her  home  in  the  skies.  Seem- 
ed, I  say,  for  all  unknown  to  Algon,  she  worked 
upon  and  made  a  wicker  basket.  And  one 
day  he  returned  from  the  hunt  and  found  she 
and  the  baby  were  gone.  Someone  had  seen 
her  going  to  the  Magic  Circle,  on  the  prairie. 
He  hurried  out,  but  was  too  late,  for  as  he 
neared  the  spot  he  heard  her  sing,  and  saw  the 
wicker  basket  going  up.  Her  song  was  of 
her  happiness,  but  it  was  a  dirge  of  his  hopes. 

Par-kab-il-on-ac-ca,  the  god  of  winter  came, 
and  the  young  chief  and  his  tribe  sat  sing- 
ing the  Song  of  Sing-a-biss,  until  the  time  for 
"O-ka-gis,  the  Frogs,"  and  then  a  summer 
passed.  And  still  there  was  no  joy  for  him 
in  the  chase. 

And  meantime  his  wife,  in  her  starry  home, 
had  almost  forgotten  him  in  the  blissful  en- 
joyment of  her  environment.  But  her  son, 
true  to  his  race,  had  a  memory  of  a  very  brave 
and  fine  looking  father,  and  with  these  mem- 
ories he  told  his  great  sire  and  asked  if  he 
would  ever  see  him  again. 

His  entreaties  won  the  heart  of  the  grand- 
father, who  told  his  daughter  to  take  her 
young  son,  and  return  to  the  tepee  of  his  fath- 
er, and  ask  him  to  come,  and  to  bring  with 
him  a  specimen  of  every  bird  and  animal  he 
had  ever  killed  in  the  chase. 

Algon,  who  ever  hovered  near  the  enchanted 
spot,  heard  her  song  before  he  could  even  see 
a  speck  in  the  far  blue.  She  seemed  to  come 
so  slow,  but  at  last  he  had  her  in  his  arms. 
And  that  night,  while  the  boy  slept,  she  gave 
him  the  message  from  the  stars. 

Now  he  hunted  with  great  activity,  and  of 
the  things  he  killed  he  kept  a  token,  if  only 
a  foot,  a  claw,  a  wing,  or  a  tail,  and  finally 
with  all  he  had  collected,  with  his  wife  and 
his  boy,  he  was  taken  to  the  starry  realm,  by 


the  magic  and  power  of  the  voice  of  his  sing- 
ing wife. 

Then  the  great  chief  there  called  his  people 
together  for  a  feast.  After  the  feast,  he  gave 
to  each  a  trophy  of  Algon's  chase.  A  scene  of 
strange  confusion  followed.  One  chose  a  wing, 
another  a  foot,  another  a  tail  and  another  a 
claw,  until  all  the  guests  had  chosen  something. 
And  those  who  chose  a  foot  or  tail  became  ani- 
mals and  ran  off,  those  who  chose  a  wing  or 
claw  became  birds  and  flew  away.  Algon  him- 
self had  chosen  a  white  hawk's  feather,  and  his 
wife  and  boy  had  done  the  same.  Immediately 
they  became  white  hawks,  and  flew  down  upon 
the  earth,  and  from  that  day,  the  white  hawk 
became  the  boldest  of  birds. 

After  the  advent  of  unscrupulous  white 
traders,  who  poisoned  the  Indian  imagination 
with  liquor,  there  were  no  more  strange  and 
mysterious  folk-lore  tales,  invented  or  conceiv- 
ed. Before  the  Taos  traders  came  into  the 
North  Platte  valley,  each  new  or  startling  event 
was  crowned  with  mystery,  and  some  Indian 
mystic  would  weave  into  the  mythology  of  the 
tribe.  A  new  bird  appearing,  or  a  stranger  in 
the  animal  kingdom,  in  unfrequented  localities, 
called  for  an  explanation,  like  that  of  the  Leg- 
end, The  White  Hawk. 

Liquor  created  havoc  in  other  ways : 

In  November,  1855,  there  was  located  on  the 
Chugwater  an  Indian  village  of  considerable 
proportions  and  the  band  had  been  quite  suc- 
cessful in  gathering  fur,  which  was  being  held 
for  better  trades. 

The  Chugwater  came  by  its  name  because 
of  a  rock  along  its  course,  which  stands  ab- 
ruptly out  of  the  level  valley  and  resembles  a 
chimney,  and  "chug"  is  an  Indian  name  for 
chimney.  Hence  Chimney  creek,  or  Chug- 
water. 

The  traders  at  Fort  Laramie  became  impa- 
tient for  the  fur  of  the  Indians  and  sent  over 
with  the  complaint  a  "hollow  wood"  (keg)  of 
firewater.  In  the  succeeding  debauch  a  drunk- 
en fight  occurred,  and  Bull  Bear,  Yellow  Lodge, 
and  six  of  their  personal  friends  were  killed. 

The  traders  of  the  American  Fur  Company 
became  known  all  over  the  west  as  Long 
Knives,  because  the  ramifications  of  their  busi- 
ness extended  over  such  an  extent  of  country. 
At  the  station  of  this  company  that  once  stood 
near  the  mouth  of  Mollie's' Fork,  Old  Bull 
Tail  appeared  with  his  beautiful  daughter, 
Chintzille.  She  was  indeed  an  attractive  Indian 
maiden,  but  the  trader  observed  that  she  had 
been  weeping. 

Long   Knife,  the   trader,   quickly   discerned 


44 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


what  was  the  matter,  for  Old  Bull  Tail  com- 
menced with  a  diplomatic  suggestion  that  it 
was  not  well  for  Long  Knife  to  live  alone. 

For  several  days  previously  the  old  scoundrel 
had  been  a  visitor  at  the  post,  offering  furs 
and  ponies  and  the  beads  and  blankets  off  his 
back  for  a  hollow  wood  of  firewater.  This  in- 
timation that  single  blessedness  was  not  well 
for  him,  and  Chintzille's  nervousness  had  seen 
what  was  coming. 

After  some  sparring  for  an  opening,  which 
was  cleverly  avoided,  the  old  villain  came  out 
plainly  and  wanted  to  trade  his  beautiful 
daughter  for  a  keg  of  whiskey. 

"But,"  says  Long  Knife,  "while  Chintzille  is 
very  beautiful,  she  does  not  want  me."  Old 
Bull  tail  argued  that  such  a  condition  was  not 
infrequent,  and  that  Chintzille  was  a  dutiful 
daughter  of  her  race,  and  would  learn  to 
shower  the  wealth  of  her  affection  upon  Long 
Knife,  and  he  would  be  proud  of  her. 

The  diplomacy  of  refusing  the  daughter  of  a 
chief  is  a  very  difficult  matter,  but  Long  Knife 
succeeded  in  impressing  the  old  fellow  that  the 
alliance  Was  impossible,  and  that  he  could  un- 


der no  circumstances  let  him  have  the  hollow 
wood  of  firewater. 

He  left  in  high  dudgeon. 

In  one  of  these  affairs,  where  a  trader  of 
less  principle  than  Long  Knife,  sold  some  liq- 
uor to  the  Indians  about  the  fort,  there  fol- 
lowed a  drunken  brawl  and  Susa-chiecha  was 
killed,  and  around  the  body  of  their  chief  that 
night  the  Indians  revelled  in  their  frightful 
orgies. 

LTntil  Captain  Bonneville  went  into  the  moun- 
tains, and  for  some  time  afterward,  the  Chey- 
ennes  were  totally  averse  to  drinking,  but,  says 
the  Missionary  Merrill  in  his  diary,  April  14, 
1837:  "A  trader  named  Gant  sweetened  the 
liquor  and  made  them  fond  of  it,  and  now 
they  are  a  nation  of  drunkards." 

This  reference  was  made  no  doubt  to  the 
band  of  Cheyennes,  that  traded  at  Fort  Lara- 
mie, and  mingled  with  a  similar  band  of  Ogal- 
lalas,  known  as  the  "Laramie  Loafers." 

Gant  was  one  of  the  unprincipled  traders 
from  New  Mexico  and  he  had  a  trading  post 
in  the  Arkansas  Valley,  coming  into  the  north 
only  on  occasional  trips. 


CHAPTER  V 


BELDEN,  BRIDGER  AND  BAKER  EPISODES 

INDIANS 


EARLY    CONFERENCES    WITH 


One  of  the  more  famous  of  western  char- 
acters, was  James  P.  Belden,  because  he  volun- 
tarily went  among  the  Indians  and  married  a 
squaw,  two  of  them  in  fact,  and  lived  with  the 
savages  for  a  great  many  years.  Yet  in  the 
struggles  that  later  took  place  between  the 
people  of  his  tribe,  and  the  people  of  his  race, 
he  sometimes  was  on  one  side  and  sometimes 
on  the  other.  More  often,  his  blood  asserted 
itself,  and  on  many  occasions  where  he  fought 
hard  in  a  losing  battle,  where  all  his  compan- 
ions were  killed.  The  Indians  would  single 
him  out  and  spare  him,  and  they  seemed  to 
understand  and  respect  his  position. 

Belden  was  well  educated,  but  of  course  lost 
considerable  of  his  polish  in  his  long  years  on 
the  plains.  About  the  first  book  of  adventure 
that  I  remember  was  "Belden,  The  White 
Chief,"  and  it  I  read  and  re-read. 

i  in  one  occasion,  when  Belden  "met  up"  with 
a  missionary,  Jim  Bridger  told  the  gentleman 
that  the  frontiersman  was  a  poet,  which  state- 


ment was  received  with  some  doubt.  Bridger 
told  Belden  of  the  doubting  Thomas  and  that 
gentleman  returned  within  his  tent. 

After  a  time  he  came  out  with  verses  he  had 
just  written,  and  while  long  and  somewhat 
crude,  we  repeat  the  production  here  because 
of  its  local  color,  and  the  references  to  dis- 
tinguished characters  of  the  west,  none  of 
which,  I  think,  is  now  living. 

Ben  Harding  was  a  scout  and  was  the  sub- 
ject, and  his  many  narrow  escapes,  had  given 
him  the  sobriquet  "Slippery  Ben  :" 

Slippen,'  Ben 

Shake !    Darn  my  buttons,  I'm  mighty  glad, 

To  meet  so  many  old  chums. 
Dick  and  I  have  been  lyin'  round  here 

'Till  we're  gettin'  tired  of  whiskey  and  beer, 
And  we've  made  up  our  minds  to  go  trappin' 
this  year, 

So  we  don't  get  on  'the  hard  bums.' 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


45 


Bless  my  eyes,  if  there  aint  Jack  Grey, 

You  darned,  infernal  old  cuss. 
I  smelled  you,  I  did,  though  I  didn't  see 

You're  tarnal  old  carcass  behind  that  tree, 
I'll  bet  ye  a  tenner  you  can't  hide  from  me, 

You  darned  old  polecat,  or  wuss. 

Where's  your  hoss?  right  there;  yes,   you're 
right, 
Tied  up  to  a  cottonwood  tree. 
Well,  you're  going  along  with  us  on  this  tramp, 

None  of  your  lyin'  you  bully  old  scamp, 
You  are.    How  that's   said.    Suppose   we   all 
damp 
To  success  to  Jack  Grey's  company. 

Why,  dang  it,  it's  more  than  a  year  since  we 
met 
At  the  foot  of  old  Court  House  Rock, 
And  if  memory  don't  fail,  I  reckon  that  then 

Another  was  with  us  to  make  up  ten 
That  tall  gawky  cuss  —  you  know  —  Slippery 
Ben, 
W7ho  wore  the  long  fringe  on  his  frock. 

Does  anyone  know  what  became  of  the  boy? 

You  do,  well  let  us  all  know. 
For  he  gave  us  his  word  on  this  very  day, 

He'd  meet  us  all  here,  by  the  Old  Moun- 
tain Way, 
If  nothing  should  happen  to  cause  his  delay, 

Such  as  lightning,  or  Injuns,  or  snow. 

Dead !  died  in  your  house  ?  the  devil  you  say  ! 

You  can't  shove  down  any  such  chaff. 
Now,  tell  us  the  truth  —  let  up  on  the  lies  — 

Why,  what  the  blazes  got  into  my  eyes  ? 
It  stings  so  darn  bad ;  it  almost  makes  me  cry, 

When  I  said  at  that  joke  take  a  laugh. 

Well,  no  more  of  this,  you're  blubberin',  Grey, 

A  pretty  frontiersman  you  are. 
Not  a  man  in  this  crowd  but  has  his  day, 

Wrapped  up  in  his  blanket  and  laid  away 
Some  long  tried  friend,  and  no  one  to  say 

A  scriptural  verse  or  a  prayer. 

But  Slippery  Ben,  I  can  hardly  believe 

Has  give  life  the  slip  in  this  way. 
For  everyone  knows  he  was  confounded  tough, 

With  a  great  kind  heart,  though  his  manner 
was  rough, 
Well,  well,  now,  I  do  fell  queer,  sure  enough, 

But  death,  you  see,  must  have  his  way. 

Jack,  please  call   the   roll;   see  if  any  more's  The  ten  names  are  among  the  characters  ot 

gone  the  old  west,  and  Buffalo  Bill.  I  believe,  was 

The  way  Slippery  Ben  has  done.  the  last  to  pass  over  to  the  rendezvous  of  an- 

Then  we'll  mount  and  away  for  another  year,  other  Court  House  Rock. 


On  the  prairies  green,  in  the  mountains  drear, 
To  trap  the  beaver,,  and  hunt  the  deer, 
From  Arkansas  to  Yellowstone. 

Jim  Bridger  is  one,  John  Nelson's  another, 

And  Gilman,  he's  two  by  himself, 
And  we'll  count  him  the  third ;  then  Dick,  and 

me, 
Jack  Jones,  Jack  Morrow,  Jack  Grey  — 

Jacks  three, 
A  good  poker  hand,  but  by  yonder  tree, 
Is  a  flush  —  Bill  Cody  —  himself. 

Nine  in  all  — ■  only  nine.    Oh,  how  I  do  wish, 
Slippery  Ben  could  have  bluffed  death  a  year. 

But  what's  done  is  did,  we  can't  bring  him  back, 
So  catch  us  your  horses,  and  hurry  and  pack, 

And  we'll  push  on  ahead  in  the  same  old  track 
We  have  followed  so  oft  without  fear. 

You  are  ready  I  see,  Well,  move  on  ahead, 

While  Dick  and  I  stop  awhile. 
For  something  is  raising  a  dust  back  behind, 

And  if  it  is  Indians,  we  will  soon  make  them 
find 
They  have  no  business  here,  when  we  go  it 

blind, 

And  must  take  tother  road,  or  strike  ile. 

Why  there's  only  one  —  a  horseman  at  that, 

Dick,  us  two  can  get  off  with  him, 
Easy  enough,  can't  we,  be  he  friend  or  foe, 
For  there's  no  two  men  have  better  rifles, 
you  know. 
Don't  appear  to  you  though,  that  he's  comin' 
darned  slow; 
That  horse  and  his  rider  so  slim. 

Gimme  your  coat  tail  to  wipe  out  my  eyes, 

For  I  swear  I  can't  make  out  a  thing; 
There  now,  I  see  better ;  Hello !  I  say,  men, 
Come  back  here,  for  dang  it,  here's  Slippery 
Ben, 
Or  his  ghost  and  his  horse ;  I  knew  them  sure, 
when 
I  saw  those  long,  gawky  legs  swing. 

Welcome,   old   boy,   by   your  absence,   you've 
made 
Many  old  chums'  hearts  to  bleed. 
But  ghost  or  flesh,  'tis  the  same  to  the  men, 
Who  have  rode  side  by  side  through  forest 
and  glen. 
So  again,  we  are  ten,  countin'  Slippery  Ben, 
Ghost  Ben  and  his  shadowy  steed. 


46 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


One  day  Jim  Bridger  and  Jim  Baker  were 
hunting  together  in  the  wilds  a  little  west  of 
here,  when  they  came  upon  a  mother  grizzly 
bear  and  two  half  grown  cubs.  A  lucky  shot 
finished  the  old  one  and  Baker  proposed  that 
they  waste  no  more  ammunition.  That  each 
take  one  of  the  cubs,  and  "kill  and  sculp  them 
with  our  butcher  knives,"  which  proposition  no 
real  mountaineer  would  reject. 

After  a  goodly  fight.  Baker  succeeded  in 
getting  the  better  of  his  bear,  but  the  bear 
that  Bridger  attacked  seemed  to  be  worsting 
him.  Bridger  called  for  help,  but  Baker  an- 
swered that  he  "didn't  want  ter  interfere  in 
another  man's  ba'r  fight,"  but  he  finally  "lit 
into  it,"  and  Bridger  immediately  retired, 
leaving  him  to  fight  alone.  Baker  was  again 
victorious,  but  angry  at  Bridger  and  demand- 
ed an  explanation.    Bridger  explained  thus  : 

"Ye  tarnal  fool,  Jim,  ye  got  me  into  this 
scrape,  and  I  got  myself  out.  I  wanted  to 
shoot  mine,  but  you  wanted  to  kill  and  sculp 
'em  with  butcher  knives.  So  as  the  ba'r  fight 
were  yourn,  I  thought  I  wouldn't  interfere,  and 
let  ye  have  it  plenty." 

After  some  reflection.  Baker  answered : 

"Dod  rot  it,  Jim,  if  ye  aint  right,  but  I'll 
never  fight  nary  another  grizzly,  without  a 
good  shootin'  iron  in  my  paws." 

These  old,  rough  characters  had  their  phil- 
osophy and  ideas  of  humor. 

It  would  seem  that  before  the  time  of  Mar- 
cus Whitman,  and  even  before  the  trappers 
built  the  first  fort  at  the  junction  of  the  Lara- 
mie and  Platte,  Col.  Dodge  had  conferences 
with  the  Indians  with  the  hope  when  the 
whites  came  on  into  the  west,  conflicts  would 
be  avoided.  But  the  Indians,  even  so  early 
as  that,  had  doubt  in  the  white  man's  pre- 
tentions. 

These  councils  occurred  during  the  years 
1832  to  1835.  On  June  23,  1832,  there  was  a 
Grand  Council  of  the  Chiefs  of  the  lodge  of 
Angry  Man.  On  July  5.  1835,  Col.  Dodge 
held  a  council  at  a  point  about  twenty  miles 
above  the  forks  of  the  Platte,  which  was  at- 
tended by  Angry  Man,  Two  Axe,  Little  Chief; 


Mole  in  the  Face,  Bloddy  Hand,  Two  Bulls, 
Big  Head  or  Star.  Mole  in  the  Face  was 
chief  spokeman,  and  the  years  of  wandering 
had  been  lean  ones,  so  that  these  Indians  want- 
ed land  to  settle  upon  "like  the  Pawnees." 

A  treaty  in  1833  provided  for  a  Pawnee 
reserve  in  the  Loup  river  country. 

In  one  of  these  conferences,  Little  Moon 
spoke  so  self-deprecatory,  that  it  was  tinged 
with  irony. 

"The  white  people  are  all  good,  there  is 
nothing  bad  about  them." 

Little  Moon  was  a  chieftain  of  much  im- 
portance, and  his  habitat  was  near  the  state 
line,  at  the  west  border  of  Scotts  Bluff  coun- 
ty. People  of  the  present  generation  are  fa- 
miliar with  Little  Moon  Lake  which  is  a 
pleasant  place  to  spend  a  few  days  camping. 
And  the  people  of  a  generation  ago  knew  of 
Little  Moon  Post-office,  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Pony  Express  on  Horse  Creek,  which  site  is 
now  ( 1919)  owned  by  L.  J.  Wyman. 

In  his  reports  of  1835,  Col.  Dodge  makes 
no  mention  of  travel  on  the  trail,  but  ten 
years  later  Col.  Kearney  tells  a  different  story. 
The  latter  also  tells  of  a  thousand  Indians 
at  Fort  Laramie,  and  he  also  advised  the  gov- 
ernment against  the  puchase  of  the  post. 

The  treaty  of  Fort  Laramie,  September  17, 
1851,  gave  the  whites  the  territory  from  the 
forks  of  the  Platte  to  Red  Buttes.  The  In- 
dians never  ratified  the  treaty,  but  the  white 
people  have  the  land. 

In  1846,  the  Sioux  were  run  down  and  dis- 
couraged, and  they  had  assembled  at  Fort 
Laramie  and  were  making  great  demonstra- 
tions. These  were  doubtless  the  Indians  re- 
ferred to  by  Col.  Kearney.  The  Whirlwind 
had  assembled  them  for  war  against  the 
Snakes.  Before  they  departed  upon  their  pro- 
posed conquest  and  slaughter,  the  buffalo 
came  north,  and  the  whole  expedition  turned 
into  a  buffalo  hunt.  With  full  stomachs  the 
Indians  relented  their  purpose,  and  settled 
upon  the  land.  The  following  year  Fort  Lara- 
mie was  sold  to  the  government,  and  shortly 
thereafter  Fort  Fontenelle  was  built  at  Scotts 
Bluff  by  the  fur  traders. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 

CHAPTER  VI 
SONGS  OF  PARKER  AND  MINTO 


About  the  time  the  conferences  were  be- 
ing held  by  Colonel  Dodge,  the  Presbyterian 
Church  sent  out  Samuel  Parker  and  his  bride, 
in  answer  to  the  call  of  the  Nez  Perce  Indians, 
and  they  made  their  "honeymoon  journey"  in- 
to the  west,  which  journey  ended  in  their  death 
at  the  hands  of  "praying  Indians."  Their 
melancholy  fate  has  been  laid  to  the  door  of 
commercialism,  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
was  accused  of  instigating  the  massacre  on 
the  far  shores  of  the  Columbia. 

But  while  traversing  the  wilderness  of  west- 
ern Nebraska,  their  hearts  sang  with  the  joys 
of  early  married  life,  and  they  sang  hymns  and 
read  and  talked  to  the  Indians,  telling  of  the 
Promised  Land  "where  the  trail  ends." 

The  Indians  of  this  vicinity  were  very  much 
interested  in  the  Parkers,  and  especially  their 
singing.  It  w,as  so  different  from  the  wild 
cries  which  they  had  learned  from  the  coyote 
and  the  eagle,  and  they  came  again  and  again, 
and  asked  them  to  sing. 

Parker's  map,  made  in  1838,  included  every- 
thing from  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  as  Oregon. 
The  law  of  the  early  forties,  that  gave  to 
each  emigrant,  who  found  his  way  to  Oregon, 
a  section  of  land,  might  have  been  legally  ap- 
plicable to  the  sand  hills  of  Nebraska,  sixty 
years  before  the  achievement  of  Wm.  Neville 
and  M.  P.  Kinkaid  was  upon  the  statutes.  The 
territory  of  Nebraska  was  unorganized  for 
many  years  after  the  passage  of  the  Oregon 
homestead  act,  and  in  Idaho  the  Oregon 
statute  was  made  to  apply  after  Idaho  became 
a  state,  because  the  act  had  not  been  repealed. 

Parker  speaks  of  the  large  quantities  of 
game,  and  says  the  prairies  abound  with  "badg- 
ers," probably  prairie  dogs.  It  was  on  the 
21st  of  July  that  they  arrived  "opposite  Court 
House  Rock,"  which  he  describes  thus : 

"It  has  at  the  distance  the  appearance  of  an 
old  enormous  building,  somewhat  dilapidated ; 
but  still  you  see  the  standing  walls,  the  roof, 
turrets  and  embrasures,  the  dome  and  almost 
the  very  windows  —  and  a  large  guard  house 
standing  some  distance  in  front  of  the  main 
building.  You  unconsciously  look  around  for 
the  enclosures  —  but  they  are  all  swept  away 
by  the  lapse  of  time  —  for  the  inhabitants  they 
have  all  disappeared.  All  is  silent  and  soli- 
tary. You  are  excited  to  know  who  has  built 
this  fabric  —  what  has  become  of  the  bygone 
generations  ?" 

The  following  day  they  camped  "opposite" 


another  of  nature's  wonders,  called  "The 
Chimney,  but  I  should  say  it  ought  to  be 
called  Beacon  Hill  from  its  resemblance  to 
that  famous  land  mark  of  Boston."  "I  crossed 
the  river  to  get  a  nearer  view  with  one  assist- 
ant. When  some  distance  from  the  river,  we 
heard  and  then  saw  the  stampeding  of  buffalo. 
We  rode  for  the  river  to  get  out  of  their 
line  of  progress.  They  probably  would  have 
failed  had  not  some  horseman  rounded  their 
left  flank  and  slightly  altered  their  course." 

These  parties  proved  to  be  Lucien  Fon- 
tenelle  and  a  number  of  his  hunters,  and  two 
herds  of  buffalo,  each  numbering  six  hundred 
to  eight  hundred  were  charging  down  the  river, 
when  Mr.  Fontenelle  alarmed  for  their  safe- 
ty at  first,  now  remained  to  chat  with  them, 
as  they  were  fresh  from  the  settlements. 

From  descriptions  only  do  we  obtain  that 
the  Parker  party  all  crossed  to  the  south  side 
of  the  river  at  this  point,  for  the  following 
day,  they  undoubtedly  passed  through  the  gap 
in  Scotts  Bluff  mountain. 

In  Mitchell  valley  Parker  found  two  thou- 
sand Pawnees,  of  which  he  said :  "Their  lodges 
were  comfortable  and  easily  transportable,  and 
they  moved  from  place  to  place  as  occasion 
dictated.  They  were  constructed  of  eight  or 
ten  poles  about  eighteen  feet  long,  set  circu- 
lar and  the  small  ends  fastened  together  and 
the  large  ends  about  twenty  feet  apart.  This 
frame  was  covered  with  skins  of  elk  and  buf- 
falo. Fire  is  made  in  the  center  with  the 
hole  at  the  top  for  smoke.  The  men  were  tall 
and  well  proportioned,  the  women  well  formed 
— ■  less  pendulous  than  usual,  well  dressed  and 
cleanly." 

On  Sunday,  July  26,  1835,  they  remained 
on  the  Banks  of  the  Laramie,  where  the  "In- 
dians came  in  numbers"  to  meet  them,  and 
hear  them  read  and  sing.  It  was  hot,  very 
hot,  but  they  held  almost  constant  service  from 
the  forenoon  until  late  into  the  night. 

Then  the  next  day,  they  went  on  towards 
the  end  of  the  trail,  riding  in  their  "tepees  on 
wheels." 

Marcus  Whitman  was  the  pilot  of  all  to 
Oregon  and  about  1844  was  at  the  zenith  of 
his  living  glory.  Whitman's  glory  will  never 
fade,  even  though  the  "praying  Indians,"  cut 
his  living  usefulness  short  in  its  splendid  ca- 
reer. On  the  journeys  to  Oregon  he  preached, 
he  exhorted,  he  enthused.  He  officiated  at 
births,   weddings  and  deaths.    A  wagon  would 


48 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


drop  out  of  line,  and  a  fire  would  be  hastily  kin- 
dled, and  at  night  the  wagon  would  come  along 
and  join  the  caravan,  and  the  cheerful  face  of 
the  doctor  would  tell  to  all  the  anxious  matrons 
who  might  expect  a  similar  event  before  the 
journey's  end.  that  all  was  well,  and  that  the 
mother  and  child  were  both  doing  nicely.  He 
ministered  to  the  failing,  and  said  the  last  sad 
rites  over  the  improvised  caskets,  or  the  graves 
of  the  departed  that  were  left  along  the  Over- 
land. 

Sometimes  there  were  courting  on  the 
prairies,  the  same  as  now  —  the  same  old  moon 
shown  for  the  young  then  as  it  does  now,  and 
a  young  Oregonian  and  his  chosen  one  would 
seek  out  the  same  fine  old  doctor,  and  Mar- 
cus Whitman  would  say  the  words  that  made 
them  man  and  wife.  These  weddings  on  the 
prairie  were  close  to  nature's  heart,  and  yet, 
the  pranks  of  the  young  were  not  different 
from  those  prevailing  in  the  settlements.  At 
night  when  the  newly-weds  would  retire  to 
their  own  wagon,  the  golden  chariot  that  would 
be  forever  theirs,  not  infrequently  did  the 
youngsters  serenade,  or  oftener  still,  run  the 
wagon  in  the  ditch,  or  creek  or  river. 

Among  the  chroniclers  of  events  along  the 
old  trail,  occasionally  one  indulged  in  classical 
poetic  expression.  It  was  John  Minto,  I  think, 
who  tells  of  the  prosaic  activities  of  a  cow- 
caravan,  in  a  way  to  hold  interest,  and  it 
was  he  who  therein  contributed  the  following 
stanzas  to  the  plodding  oxen,  which  for  the 
moment  felt  the  exultant  thrill  of  their  fore- 
bears in  the  years  when  the  world  was 
young. 

"And  now,  your  western  course  is  led 
Where  grassy  pampas  spread  and  spread  — 

The  pastures  of  the  buffalo. 
And  like  a  sudden  lash  of  spray, 
When  tropic  tempest  hits  the  sea. 

The  masts  are  stript  to  ward  the  blow. 

"A  ragged  whirl  of  dust,  descried 
Upon  the  prairie's  sloping  side, 

Protends,  as  swift  and  free,  a  storm. 

And  lo !  the  herds,  they  come,  they  come, 
A  sweeping  thunder-cloud  of  life, 
Loud  as  Niagara,  and  grand 
As  they  who  rode  with  plume  and  brand 
On  Waterloo's  red  slope  of  strife, 

Wild  as  the  rush  of  tidal  waves 


That  roar  among  the  crags  and  caves, 
The  trampling  besom  hurls  along; 
A  black  and  bounding  fiery  mass 
That  withers  as  with  flame  the  grass, 
Oh,  terrible !  ten  thousand  strong. 

Meanwhile,  the  dusty  teams  are  stopt 
The  wagon  tongues  are  deftly  dropt, 

The  drivers,  by  their  oxen  stand 

To  sooth  them  with  soft  speech  and  hand. 
And  yet  with  horns  tossed  free,  and  eyes 
Ablaze  with  purple  depths  of  ire, 
A  thousand  servile  years  expire, 
And  flashes  of  old  nature  rise, 

As  if  a  sudden  spirit  woke 

That  would  not  brook  the  chain  and  yoke. 

"And  then,  the  stormy  pageant  past, 
They  bow  their  callow  necks  at  last, 
And  with  a  heavy  stride,  and  slow, 
The  dreams  of  liberty  forego." 

There  Were  thousands  of  buffalo  and  much 
other  game  on  the  meadows  where  the  city  of 
North  Platte  now  stands,  and  it  was  remarked 
that  this  was  the  best  game  park  in  the  world. 

One  can  well  believe  the  hail  storms  are 
nothing  new  to  western  Nebraska,  but  the  first 
record  that  we  have  seen  was  on  July  21,  1844, 
the,  Minto  party  were  on  the  high  divide  be- 
tween the  Plattes,  near  Ash  Hollow,  when 
there  came  a  sudden  storm,  and  the  people  and 
the  stock  suffered  from  a  severe  pelting  by 
hail,  "some  of  the  hailstones  being  as  large  as 
hen's  eggs."  In  the  storm  the  cattle  drifted 
and  according  to  "Black  Harris"  the  guide,  the 
party  came  down  into  the  valley  about  twelve 
miles  west  of  Ash  Hollow. 

But  you  and  I,  and  Minto  and  others  by  the 
millions  have  each  felt  that  call  of  the  wilder- 
ness, the  storms  of  the  highlands,  that  for  the 
moment  invaded  the  storm  tossed  sprrit  of  the 
plodding  oxen.  Out  in  the  altitudes  where 
the  horizon  is  the  sky,  we  have  each  felt  as 
St.  George  Cooke  felt  when  he  reached  the 
summit  of  Robideaux  Pass,  when  he  saw 
stretched  out  before  him  the  wide  meadows  or 
Horse  Creek  bottom,  the  billowy  hills  beyond, 
the  treeless  plains  for  miles  on  miles,  then  the 
mountains,  "and  Laramie  mountain  towering, 
at  eighty  miles."  This  is  what  he  said:  "Let 
the  wide  arch  of  the  ranged  empires  fall.  This 
is  my  space." 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


49 


CHAPTER  VII 
RED  CLOUD  AND  SPOTTED  TAIL  — MASSACRE  OF  COTTONWOOD  CANYON 


In  the  account  of  the  burning  of  old  Fort 
Robideaux  mention  was  made  of  the  Sioux 
triumph  over  the  Kiowas  the  following  day, 
Red  Cloud  was  called  the  young  chief,  which 
was  true  only  by  comparison. 

Red  Cloud  (  Marpiya  Luta)  was  born  on  the 
Blue  Water,  in  what  is  now  Garden  county, 
in  May  1821,  which  made  him  about  thirty 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  Kiowa  raid. 

You  were  also  told  that  the  conflict  then 
named  Kiowa  creek,  but  I  find  a  reference 
made  to  another  battle,  about  1815,  in  some 
notes  from  Geo.  S.  Hyde,  of  Omaha,  in  which 


with  Bull  Bear,  a  Sioux  chief,  which  resulted 
in  the  latter  moving  to  the  Happy  Hunting 
Ground.  Red  Cloud's  distinction  as  a  leader 
had  already  been  increased  by  encounters  with 
and  victories  over  Pawnees,  Crows,  Shoshones 
and  Kiowas  from  time  to  time.  He  now 
became  the  fighting  chief  of  the  Ogallala 
Sioux,  and  was  the  main  leader  in  the  wars  of 
1864  to  1869.  It  was  he  who  planned  and  exe- 
cuted the  Fetterman  massacre,  in  which  Cap- 
tain Fetterman  and  ninety-six  of  his  command 
were  ambushed  and  left  dead  on  the  stark  and 
barren  Massacre  Hill,  near  Old  Piney. 


Jed   Cloud's   Daughter,   Fort   Laramie,   Wyoming 


he  states  the  Sioux  worsted  their  ancient  en- 
emies the  Kiowas.  This  battle,  he  asserts, 
gave  the  creek  its  name.  No  details  of  the 
battle  have  I  ever  been  able  to  obtain. 

At  sixteen  years  of  age,  the  young  brave 
who  was  born  on  the  banks  of  the  Blue  Water, 
went  out  with  a  war  party,  and  because  of  his 
achievements  in  a  fight  where  the  sun  shone 
red  upon  him,  he  was  named  Red  Cloud. 

One  can  imagine  the  impetuous  youth  of  six- 
teen, with  the  love  of  color  and  action,  and 
indifference  to  consequence,  riding  like  a 
whirlwind,  silhouetted  against  the  golden  red 
of  the  sunset  sky,  and  his  sire  seeing  in  him 
the  Red  Cloud  of  Destiny,  prophetically  cried 
out,  "Marpiya  Luta,  Marpiya  Luta."  Ah! 
that  was  a  name  for  an  Indian. 

At  twenty-five  Red  Cloud  had  a   difficulty 


Red  Cloud  was  war  chief,  but  Spotted  Tail 
was  his  opposite  by  nature. 

Spotted  Tail,  whose  Indian  name  was  Sin-ta- 
ga-las-ca,  spelled  variously  from  Sentegaleska 
to  Shantagolisk,  came  up  from  the  ranks,  and 
attained  the  greatest  distinction  recorded  in  the 
annals  of  red  men.  He  was  born  near  Fort 
Laramie  in  1833,  or  a  year  or  so  before  the 
first  rude  stockade  was  built. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  engaged  a 
sub-chief  in  mortal  combat,  but  he  is  said  to 
have  no  reputation  for  provoking  conflicts. 
While  nominally  the  head  of  all  the  Sioux  dur- 
ing the  great  wars  along  the  Trail,  the  ac- 
tivities were  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  war 
loving  members  of  the  tribe,  who  with  their 
independent  bands  moved  without  orders  from 
the  supreme  head. 


50 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  experience  of  the  United  States  at  the 
close  of  the  Black  Hawk  wars  in  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi,  was  so  successful,  that  the 
same  plan  was  followed  with  Spotted  Tail.  In 
1872,  he  was  taken  to  Washington  by  our  mili- 
tary, and  there  he  met  General  Grant,  who  was 
then  President  of  the  United  States. 

He  was  convinced  of  the  uselessness  of  com- 
batting the  white  people,  and  he  told  his  people 
that  they  were  as  numerous  as  the  sands  of  the 
prairie,  and  to  emphasize  the  comparative 
strength  of  his  people  with  the  whites,  he  cast 
a  handful  of  sand  into  the  original  bank  from 
which  it  came. 

In  1876,  General  Crook  crowned  him  "King 
of  All  the  Sioux,"  which  title  he  maintained 
with  dignity  until  1881,  when  he  was  killed  at 
the  Rosebud  Agency,  by  Crow  Dog,  one  of  his 
sub-chiefs. 

Names  in  Indian  life  are  certainly  an  indi- 
cation of  character,  for  one  naturally  expects 
the  assassin  of  a  truly  great  Indian,  to  bear 
some  such  cognomen  as  "Crow  Dog." 

While  Spotted  Tail  was  inclined  to  peace, 
while  he  would  rather  take  his  people  to  the 
hunting  grounds  at  the  head  of  Spotted  Tail 
creek,  or  over  on  the  Blue  Water  ( Snake 
creek)  and  there  lay  in  a  winter's  supply  of 
jerked  buffalo  meat,  he  participated  in  many 
conflicts  and  personally  led  in  the  massacre  of 
Cottonwood  canyon,  just  a  few  miles  east  of 
North  Platte. 

Cottonwood  Camp  has  been  built  by 
Eugene  Ware  in  1864,  at  the  mouth  of  this 
canyon  of  the  same  name,  and  here  a  com- 
pany of  soldiers  were  kept.  Smallpox  had 
been  on  one  of  its  periodical  raids  more  deadly 
than  Indians  along  The  Trail.  Captain  Mitch- 
ell, and  parties  of  the  military  named  Bentz, 
Anderson  and  Cramer,  and  a  number  of  con- 
valescent soldiers  went  up  the  canyon,  in  the 
autumn  of  1865  to  gather  wild  plums.  There 
had  been  no  signs  of  hostiles  for  sometime  and 
they  felt  secure.  Mitchell  and  Anderson  wTere 
the  only  two  to  carry  arms. 

As  they  started  to  return  on  that  beautiful 
autumn  afternoon,  the  Indians  were  observed 
pouring  into  the  canyon  to  head  them  off.  Mr. 
Bentz,  who  was  mounted  on  a  fine  black 
horse,  rode  ahead  with  such  surprising  rapidi- 
ty and  suddenness,  that  he  passed  the  closing 
gap  of  Indians,  and  escaped  unharmed  amid 
a  fusilade  of  bullets  and  flying  arrows. 

Captain  Mitchell  saw  that  the  slower  moving 
ambulance  could  not  hope  to  escape  in  this 
manner,  and  be  ordered  the  driver  to  turn 
sharply  up  the  sloping  bank  of  the  canyon, 
hoping  to  reach  the  tableland  over  its  rim.  and 


then  it  would  be  a  running  fight  in  the  open  to- 
wards the  camp. 

The  horses  had  nearly  reached  the  top,  when 
the  nigh  wheeler  balked,  and  for  the  moment 
they  seemed  at  the  mercy  of  the  savages.  Then 
a  yell  from  the  Indians  so  frightened  the  horses 
that  they  went  flying  up  over  the  ridge,  and 
were  headed  for  camp  at  the  rate  of  ten  or 
twelve  miles  an  hour. 

The  Indians  pursued,  and  the  driver  was 
shot  from  his  seat.  Anderson  seized  the  reins 
and  held  them  until  Cramer  could  come  for- 
ward, then  he  returned  to  the  use  of  his  rifle. 
The  horses  with  the  heavy  ambulance  could 
not  keep  pace  with  the  light-footed  Indian  mus- 
tangs, and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  In- 
dians would  close  around  them.  Captain 
Mitchell  and  Anderson  Were  shooting,  but  the 
roughness  of  the  prairie,  and  the  shaking  of  the 
ambulance,  made  the  aim  uncertain.  The  Cap- 
tain finally  determined  to  stop  upon  an  emi- 
nence ahead  and  fight  it  out,  or  stand  off  the 
Indians  until  Bentz  could  return  with  assist- 
ance. 

Cramer,  the  driver,  had  lost  his  head  ;  he  dis- 
obeyed, and  kept  on  lashing  the  horses  past 
the  strategic  point.  Anderson  sprang  forward 
to  jam  his  foot  upon  the  brake,  but  a  sudden 
lurch  sent  him  rolling  upon  the  prairie.  Then 
Captain  Mitchell  assayed  to  reach  the  driver's 
seat,  but  another  jolt  sent  him  to  the  ground 
and  the  undefended  ambulance,  with  its  wild 
driver  and  sick  soldier  went  lumbering  on. 

Mitchell  rolled  into  a  gully  near  where  he 
fell,  and  as  he  did  so,  saw  Anderson  hide  in  a 
clump  of  scrub  brush.  The  Indians  im- 
mediately following  came  to  the  ridge  and 
stopped,  for  it  was  plain  that  those  ahead  were 
closing  in  on  the  luckless  ambulance,  and  its 
occupants. 

One  Indian  dismounted  and  looked  long  and 
intently  on  the  ground.  He  wore  a  spotted 
head  dress  of  wild  turkey  feathers  gayly  col- 
ored, and  reaching  nearly  to  the  ground.  Cap- 
tain Mitchell  knew  him  to  be  none  other  than 
the  famous  Spotted  Tail,  and  there  he  stood  a 
good  mark,  not  more  than  thirty  yards  distant. 

The  death  of  this  chief  would  have  a  de- 
moralizing effect  upon  the  Indians,  and  the 
Captain  later  asserted  that  he  thought  would 
more  than  compensate  for  the  loss  of  twenty 
captains.  He.  was  directing  his  pistols  in  the 
direction  of  the  breast  of  the  famous  warrior, 
when  a  shout  arose,  and  the  chief  disappeared 
behind  the  breast  of  jutting  rock.  One  of 
the  tribesmen  had  detected  a  movement  in  the 
brush  where  Anderson  was  hidden,  and  all 
had  found  shelter. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


51 


A  general  movement  toward  Anderson  was 
begun,  and  his  rifle  cracked.  One  Indian  quit 
moving.  Another  shot  and  another  Indian 
stopped,  but  there  were  now  returning  shots. 
A  sudden  rush  was  made  by  a  dozen  or  more 
of  the  Indians,  but  three  shots  in  quick  suc- 
cession sent  them  back  dragging  with  them 
three  companions.  That  deadly  aim  was  dis- 
concerting. 

Captain  Mitchell  says  he  determined  it  was 
time  for  him  to  take  a  part,  as  he  saw  some 
thirty  Indians  preparing  to  make  a  rush.  It 
was  then  he  heard  the  voice  of  Anderson. 

"My  arm  is  broken.  Keep  quiet.  Can't 
work  the  Spencer  any  more." 

From  this  it  would  appear  that  Anderson 
thought  it  would  be  useless  to  bring  Mitchell 
into  the  fight,  but  I  have  never  given  Mitchell 
credit  for  sufficient  courage  to  enter  the  fray. 
When  I  first  heard  the  story,  as  it  was  told  by 
Belden,  the  White  Chief,  the  thought  occur- 
red to  me  that  a  few  shots  fired  from  another 
point,  just  as  these  thirty  warriors  were  pre- 
paring to  rush,  would  have  turned  the  tide  of 


the  battle  and  saved  brave  Anderson's  life.  The 
Indians  could  not  have  known  how  many  might 
be  concealed  about  them,  and  the  delay  and  in- 
certainty  would  have  given  time  and  the  pos- 
sibility of  Bentz  returning  with  assistance. 

But  Mitchell  remained  quiet  and  the  Indians 
made  the  rush.  Notwithstanding  his  disabled 
condition,  Anderson  did  work  the  Spencer  to 
the  effect  that  four  more  Indians  bit  the  dust 
before  they  dragged  him  from  the  brush  and 
killed  him.  He  was  laid  upon  his  back,  and 
nine  slashes  made  across  his  breast,  one  for 
each  of  the  nine  Indians  he  had  killed. 

Captain  Mitchell  lived  and  told  the  story  to 
Bentz  and  his  party  that  soon  arrived,  but  the 
dead  Indians  told  it  better,  and  we  have  never 
heard  that  the  valor  of  the  captain  ever  ad- 
vanced him  in  rank  among  his  brothers  mili- 
tary. If  one  soldier,  especially  an  officer,  could 
lay  quietly  and  see  another  who  was  making 
a  heroic  fight,  dragged  out,  killed,  and  mangled, 
it  is  no  surprise  that  the  old  time  frontiersman 
held  the  soldiers  in  contempt. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


SUNSET  ON  THE  PLATTE  — THE  GIBRALTER   OF   NEBRASKA - 
SON  BELLECHUG WATER 


CHEYENNE 


There  are  incidents  occasionally  that  con- 
nect the  past  with  the  present,  and  ties  one  gen- 
eration to  another  in  mysterious  manner,  other 
than  by  the  usual  laws  of  consanguinity.  Simi- 
lar circumstances  and  environment  will  awaken 
in  one  the  same  line  of  thought  that  may  have 
once  been  alive,  but  has  been  buried  for  gener- 
ations. 

It  was  back  in  1889  that  the  writer,  then  a 
budding  young  poet  (as  he  thought),  visited 
Gering,  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  The  party 
consisted  of  Miss  Ida  Eckerson,  now  Mrs.  A. 
E.  Scott  of  this  city,  Miss  Minnie  Shumway, 
now  Mae  Shumway  Enderly  of  Los  Angeles, 
William  Wallace  White  of  Gering,  and  the 
writer.  We  crossed  the  old  bridge  that  had 
then  but  recently  been  built,  and  as  we  crossed 
the  sun  went  down.  Miss  Eckerson,  knowing 
of  my  poetical  ambitions,  said  to  me:  "If  I 
was  a  poet,  I  would  now  write  something  to 
The  Sunset  on  Scottsbluff." 

I  looked,  and  as  I  looked  I  saw  the  glory  of 


the  scene,  and  asked  Mr.  White  to  drive  slowly. 
With  an  envelope  and  scrap  paper  in  the  mov- 
ing vehicle,  I  labored  with  the  following  result : 

SUNSET  ON  THE  PLATTE 

Upon  the  bridge,  above  the  flowing  river, 
There  we  admitted  the  fast  declining  day ; 

Like  those  dark  waters,  moving  on  forever, 
Each  heart  was  borne  in  ecstacy,  away. 

The  sun  sank  low  behind  the  horizon. 
It  lighted  upon  the  fleecy  western  sky ; 

A  symbol  of  the  great,  now  dead  and  gone, 
Who  leave  a  brilliant  lustre  when  they  die. 

The  sky  back  of  the  stream,  reflecting,  cast 
Resplendent  lights  of  purple  and  of  gold, 

And  all  the  rainbow  colors,  changing  fast, 
From  lurid  red,  'till  fading  grey  turns  cold. 

But  here  and  there,  the  shimmering  surface 
mars, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Its  glossy  face  by  interceding  bars, 
And  where  the  elements  each  other  wars 

The   foamed-flecked  sand  shone  like  bright 
glittering  stars. 

A  pine  root  clinging  to  some  shoal  here 

Reached  forth  its  various  prongs  and  sep- 
arate, 

Resembling  the  antlers  of  a  deer 

With  form  beneath  the  stream,  inanimate. 

Far  to  the  southwest  rears  a  silent  tower, 
A  temple  wherein  man  has  never  trod ; 

Erected  by  an  Omniptent  Power, 

To  man  was  given,  a  symbol  of  his  God. 

An  intervening  gap,  and  then  another, 

Great  edifice,  its  head  to  Heaven  doth  rear, 

In  silent  memory'  of  an  earlier  brother, 
Who  used  it  in  defense  of  country  dear. 

Time's  traces  on  its  crest  are  visible, 

The  walls  are  slowly  crumbling  to  decay, 

Yet,  grim  and  earlier  relic,  doth  it  tell 
Its  history  in  its  own  inspiring  way. 

But  from  the  crag  of  noble  grandeur  leaping 
Our  vision  falls  upon  the  level  plain, 

Swift  over  it,  the  evening  shadows  creeping 
Leaves  a  dull  dreary  waste  upon  the  main. 

Beneath  the  plain  a  wall  of  dingy  brown, 
Obscured  the  last  faint  rays  of  waning  light. 

The  lark's  last  note  sounds  through  the  twilight 
gloom 
As  monitory  of  the  coming  night. 

Along  the  surface  of  the  shining  river, 

A  sleepy  swallow  skims  the  water's  brim, 
So    close    it    makes    the    shimmering    surface 
shiver, 
The  light,  translucent,  flashing  through  the 
dim. 
One  lovely  islet,  decked  with  foliage  green, 
Breaks    this    bright    scene    stretching    from 
shore  to  shore ; 
Tranquil  she  reigns,  an  Oriental  queen, 
In  majesty  and  silence  wields  her  power. 

We  gaze  upon  the  fine  artistic  work 

By  nature  drawn,  and  painted  on  the  sky, 

On  island,  and  on  shore  that's  growing  dark, 
And  on  the  turbid  waters  flowing  by. 

It  fades !  The  picture  was  too  rare  a  kind, 
To  linger  long,  and  gladden  mortal  sight. 

Like  every  earthly  pleasure,  leaves  behind 
Dark  shadows,  creeping  on  to  darker  night. 


Now  here,  new  scenes  on  the  then  new 
bridge,  and  we  were  the  new  people.  Ah ! 
surely  here  was  an  original  poem,  something 
of  a  descriptive  nature  that  people  would  like, 
and  the  like  of  which  I  felt  had  never  before 
been  written. 

And  for  over  twenty  years  I  lived  in  the 
thought  that  I  was  the  only  "poet"  who  had 
dedicated  Scottsbluff  in  "immortal  rhyme." 

A  few  years  ago,  I  was  "looking  up  the 
trail"  of  an  interesting  event  in  this  country, 
and  I  found  the  name  of  "Cooke."  Who  was 
Cooke  ?  Into  the  index  of  the  National  Library 
I  went  and  found  that  St.  George  P.  Cooke 
had  written  a  book  of  the  west,  and  I  went 
after  it.     Now  here  is  a  story. 

On  June  9th.  1845,  he  met  Rufus  Sage,  with 
a  fleet  of  boats  descending  the  Platte  river 
from  Fort  Laramie,  and  the  meeting  was  a 
little  below  Court  House  Rock.  Tremendous 
rains  had  deluged  the  party  at  Chimney  Rock. 
The  hills  were  like  the  palisades  of  the  Hud- 
son, with  here  and  there  a  pilaster  of  silvery 
white.  Ascending  the  hills  to  the  east  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Gering,  he  saw  Scottsbluff,  "lifting 
her  awful  form,  above  the  clouds,  and  midway 
leaves  the  storm,"  and  some  one  in  the  party 
shouted :     "The  Gibraltar  of  Nebraska." 

A  heavy  storm  was  approaching  from  the 
west,  and  the  party  went  into  camp  on  the 
summit  of  the  hill.  "A  thousand  Sioux  were 
in  the  vast  amphitheatre  just  east  of  Scotts- 
bluff." They  were  breaking  camp  in  great 
excitement,  having  determined  to  cross  the 
river  before  the  storm  came  upon  them.  The 
braves  were  galloping  about,  the  dogs  and  chil- 
dren were  scurrying  to  and  fro,  and  the  wo- 
men with  hurried  system  were  packing  their 
belongings  on  the  poles  dragged  by  ponies ; 
and  away  they  went,  crossing  the  river  with 
great  shouting  and  splashing.  Cooke  says,  as 
he  sits  at  the  door  of  his  tent : 

"This  Scott's  Bluff  is  a  wonderful  mountain. 
We  are  miles  off,  yet  to  the  last  moment  of 
light  there  was  some  chamaleon  change  of 
color,  and  the  sentinels  are  still  standing." 

The  storm  had  passed,  and  Castle  Rock  was 
described  as  the  "Pillar  of  Pale  Rock,"  and 
Scottsbluff  "resembled  Sterling  Castle."  Cooke 
looked  back  over  the  trail  he  had  come,  and 
saw  the  black  wreck  of  the  receding  storm 
passing  on  to  the  east,  and  "lo !  Chimney  Rock 
stood  alone  like  a  pillar  of  fire  struck  by  the 
setting  sun." 

Then  my  eye  fell  upon  these  words : 
"The  sun  set  in  the  clouds ;  but  the  glorious 
day, 
Parts  not  in  gloom ;  the  thick  veil  is  riven  — 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


53 


The  river  and  the  sky  in  lovely  array 

Are  radiant  now,  with  the  light  of  Heaven. 

"Like  an  aurora,  or  the  flashing  trace, 
Of  Angel's  flight  to  the  utmost  north, 

The  glory  shines  ;  unwilling  to  deface 

The  beautiful,  Night  hovers  o'er  the  earth. 

"Gently,  the  chameleon  colors  fade,  — 
Slowly  ascending  to  the  zenith's  height, 

'Till  lingering  darkness  buries  all  in  shade, 
And  Light  and  Beauty  bid  the  world,  'good 
night.'  " 

Thus  my  beautiful  dream  of  being  the  only 
and  original  poet  of  the  Scotts  Bluff  country 
disappeared,  for  out  of  the  past,  some  twenty 
years  before  I  was  born,  and  forty-four  years 
before  the  old  Gering  bridge  was  built,  one  had 
seen  it  all  and  said  it  better  than  I.  But  the 
poet  Cooke  offers  beautiful  philosophy  to  us 
of  the  middle  age,  so  that  my  disappointment  is 
not  so  keen.  I  really  wonder  if  this  voice  of 
eighteen  forty-five  was  not  reechoed  from 
mountain  and  sky,  while  we  were  driving  over 
the  bridge  in  eighteen  eighty-nine.  At  any 
rate,  Cooke's  advice  to  on  peevish  couple  on 
this  occasion  will  bear  repeating  now,  as  a 
solace  to  any  regrets  that  one  may  have. 


"Now,    for  the   love   of    Love,   and   her   soft 
bowers, 
Let's  not  confound    the  time  with  confer- 
ence harsh. 
There's  not  a  minute  of  our  lives  should  stretch 
Without  some  pleasure,  now." 


Up  on  the  Chugwater,  Cooke's  party  met  a 
party  of  Cheyennes  and  a  number  of  the  belles 
of  the  Indian  village  came  out  to  meet  the 
white  people,  for  by  this  time  nearly  all  the 
more  ambitious  of  the  young  Indian  maidens 
decked  themselves  up  in  wild  flowers  and  tin- 
sel to  attract  some  white  beau  brummel.  To 
marry  a  white  renegade  was  considered  higher 
social  caste  than  to  win  the  better  of  the  Indian 
braves. 

When  the  Cheyenne  belles  came  among  them 
they  beheld  a  captain  who  wore  glasses,  and 
they  screamed  and  rushed  wildly  to  their  vil- 
lage tents,  nor  could  they  be  induced  to  come 
out  so  long  as  the  captain  was  in  sight.  It  was 
very  embarrassing  to  him,  for  how  could  he 
know  that  they  had  been  told  that  with  glasses 
one  could  see  through  opaque  substances  and 
their  gayly  colored  calico  gowns  were  no  pro- 
tection against  the  vision  of  "four  eyes." 


CHAPTER  IX 


IN    THE    SHADOWS- 


THE    FIRE    FLYSONG  — CACHED     FURS  —  OLD     LAND 
MARKS  —  TRAPPER'S  ROCK 


Not  death,  but  darkness.  What  is  there 
about  shadows  and  darkness  that  thrills  and 
terrifies  the  young.  I  do  not  recall  that  any- 
one ever  frightened  me  with  stories  of  Things 
out  in  the  dark,  yet  I  always  felt  that  they  were 
there.  What,  I  did  not  know,  but  surely  it  was 
some  fearful  menace.  Coming  in  from  the 
night,  I  could  maintain  control  of  myself  until 
I  opened  the  door,  and  the  candle  light  shone 
in  my  eyes.  Then,  behind  me  the  darkness  be- 
came a  black  abyss  filled  with  horrible  Things. 
The  point  of  a  terrible  blade,  the  fangs  of  some 
frightful  beast  was  ever  close — so  close  that  I 
would  leap  into  the  circle  of  candle  light,  bang 
the  door,  and  shiver  with  relief  and  safety. 

Then  at  night  in  the  low-ceilinged  room  with 


its  sloping  sides,  close  under  the  shingles  where 
my  mother  put  me  to  bed.  How  I  did  dread 
to  see  her  carry  out  the  candle.  How  I  hoped 
she  would  leave  the  "middle  room"  ajar,  for 
the  few  moments  respite  from  the  dark.  What 
a  comfort  to  hear  her  moving  about,  and  to 
know  that  as  long  as  she  was  there  the  gob- 
lins of  the  dark  would  not  come  out.  But  when 
she  had  gone  downstairs,  the  invisible,  menac- 
ing creatures  were  about  me.  What  a  thrill 
when  a  mouse  rattled  in  the  wall,  or  a  branch 
from  a  maple  tree  would  touch  the  roof. 

You  have  had  these  experiences,  and  you, 
and  you,  with  slight  variations. 

And  the  little  red  children  of  the  prairie  had 
their  similar  fears,  and  the  maidens  would  sing 


54 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


songs  at  night,  expressing  their  fear  of  the  un- 
known Dwellers  of  the  Darkness.  Their  Fire 
Fly  Song,  is  one  of  this  character: 

"Fire  fly — fire  fly — bright  little  thing, 
Light  me  to  bed  while  my  songs  I  sing. 
Give  me  your  light  as  you  fly  o'er  my  head 
That  I  may  merrily  go  to  bed. 
Give  me  your  light  o'er  the  grass  as  you  creep 
That  I  may  joyfully  go  to  my  sleep." 

They  could  merrily  go  to  bed,  and  joyfully 
go  to  sleep  if  the  little  fire  fly  would  only  give 
the  safety  of  its  feeble  light. 

The  young  trappers  and  boy  scouts,  if  they 
look,  may  find  some  evidences  of  the  cache  of 
furs  that  the  American  Fur  Company  once  had 
in  the  bad  lands  at  the  foot  of  Scotts  Bluff 
mountain.  It  was  during  the  spring  freshet  of 
June,  1842,  that  fourteen  trappers  from  Fort 
Laramie  left  with  boats  laden  with  furs  for 
St.  Louis. 

When  they  reached  Scotts  Bluff,  which  they 
accomplished  very  easily,  the  river  spread  out, 
and  they  were  compelled  to  unload  a  number  of 
their  packs  from  each  boat.  They  made  a 
cave  of  a  blowout  in  the  bad  lands,  and  there- 
in hid  the  furs  they  could  no  longer  carry ;  they 
left  some  men  to  guard  the  cave,  but  these 
soon  wearied,  and  being  anxious  for  civil- 
ization they  went  on  foot  toward  the  land  of 
the  rising  sun. 

John  C.  Fremont,  then  on  his  way  to  the 
mountains,  met  both  the  boat  party  and  the 
footmen,  and  reported  back  to  Fort  Laramie, 
the  fact  that  the  furs  had  been  left  at  Scotts- 
bluff.  He  met  them  about  two  weeks  after 
the  unloading,  and  the  men  were  in  consider- 
able distress  as  their  tobacco  had  given  out.  A 
limited  supply  was  given  them,  to  last  until 
they  should  reach  the  settlements. 

Next  to  Scotts  Bluff  mountain  Court  House 
Rock  and  Chimney  Rock  were  the  more  fam- 
ous land  marks  of  the  Trail  in  western  Ne- 
braska. And  every  chronicler  had  a  different 
name  or  suggestion  as  to  the  proper  name  for 
each. 

Samuel  Parker  said  Chimney  Rock  looked 
like  Beacon  Hill  of  Boston,  and  Kelly,  the 
Englishman  says  it  "looks  like  a  Wellington 
Testimonial  on  a  Danish  fort."  He  adds  that 
"it  is  fast  chipping  away,  and  no  doubt  would 
be  gone  in  another  fifty  years."  After  this  lapse 
of  seventy  years  he  would  no  doubt  be  sur- 
prised to  learn  thai  it  looks  fair  for  another 
century  or  two,  although  fragments  have  re- 
cently fallen  away  (  1919). 


Kelly  was  on  his  way  to  California  in  forty- 
nine,  and  wrote  as  he  sat  "at  the  country  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Robideaux,"  May  25th,  that  he 
Would  not  be  surprised  if  they  were  traveling 
over  gold  here.  He  little  dreamed  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  soil  and  the  sunshine  and  the 
vagrant  river  would  be  by  the  later  genius  of 
man  converted  into  the  acres  of  diamonds,  or 
transmuted  into  untold  riches. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Chimney  Rock  there  came 
up  one  of  the  heavy  rains,  for  which  that  spot 
seemed  famous,  and  for  three  days  the  down- 
pour continued  and  thoroughly  soaked  the  par- 
ty. On  the  third  day  as  they  were  slowly  mov- 
ing to  the  west,  they  ascended  the  hill  to  the 
west  of  Creighton  valley,  Scotts  Bluff  mountain 
suddenly  loomed  distinct  and  clear  above  the 
fog  that  enveloped  its  base,  and  the  excited  pil- 
grims cried  :  "Mount  Araratt,  Mount  Araratt." 

The  "Nut  brown  Sioux  girls"  greatly  in- 
fatuated the  langorous  Englishman,  and  to  one 
he  gave  a  small  hand  looking  glass,  which  so 
pleased  her  that  she  fastened  a  bracelet  on  his 
wrist,  and  he  said  the  touch  of  her  hands  was 
very  pleasing  to  the  senses. 

Of  bidding  farewell  to  her,  Kelly  writes: 

"Maid  of  Athens,  'ere  we  part, 
Give,  oh,  give  me  back  my  heart." 

West  of  the  Robideaux  Pass  they  met  a  lone 
French  trapper,  who  was  out  of  tobacco.  This 
want  supplied,  he  went  away  again  toward  the 
head  of  Gonneville  creek. 

Kelly's  "vision"  had  pictured  Fort  Laramie 
as  a  fortress,  but  in  realization  it  proved  "a 
cracked,  dilapidated  adobe  quadrangular  en- 
closure." "No  wonder  it  was  sold  to  the  gov- 
ernment." Bruce  Husband  was  then  in  charge, 
and  Fort  Fontenelle  Was  in  course  of  construc- 
tion or  almost  completed. 

A  short  distance  above  Julesburg,  at  a  point 
off  to  Mud  Springs  there  stands  a  solitary 
rock  which  bears  the  name  of  Trapper's  Rock 
because  of  the  awful  tragedies  of  the  plains. 

Two  men,  and  the  sister  of  one  of  them,  had 
come  together  into  the  west,  and  after  a  year 
one  of  them  wanted  to  return.  The  other  who 
was  the  brother  of  the  girl  had  not  yet  his 
fill  of  the  wilderness,  although  the  sister  wished 
to  return  to  the  settlements.  The  men  were 
boyhood  chums  and  each  had  absolute  confi- 
dence in  the  other.  Therefore  the  brother  took 
the  vow  of  the  other  that  he  would  see  the  sis- 
ter safely  into  the  hands  of  the  white  people, 
and  let  them  depart.  Later  the  companion  re- 
turned, and  the  two  partners  went  on  as  before. 

One  day  they  met  another  who  knew  them, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


55 


and  when  he  had  an  opportunity,  he  told  of 
the  sad  fate  of  his  sister.  The  vow  of  his  part- 
ner had  been  broken,  and  the  condition  of 
the  girl  was  such  that  she  could  not  return 
to  the  same  circle  of  friends  she  had  left.  A 
short  time  after  she  had  died. 

The  brother  said  nothing  of  his  horrible  dis- 
covery, and  together  they  made  their  way 
working  toward  the  east.  At  the  point  indi- 
cated, the  brother  set  upon  and  tied  the  other 
fast.  He  took  him  in  this  condition  to  the 
rock,  and  bound  him  fast  thereon.  Then  he 
coolly  built  a  fire,  cooked  his  supper  and  ate  it. 
Then  laid  by  the  fire  and  slept.  In  the  morning 
he  prepared  his  breakfast  and  ate  it  in  the 
same  manner,  and  never  offered  a  morsel  to  the 
man  upon  the  rock.    For  nine  days  he  camped 


there,  cooking,  eating,  and  sleeping,  and  high 
overhead,  up  in  the  blue  sky  the  buzzards  sail- 
ed round  and  round  and  round  and  looked 
down  and  at  night  the  wolves  howled  from  the 
hillsides.  On  the  ninth  day  the  man  on  the 
rock  died  of  starvation  and  was  left  for  the 
vultures  or  the  wolves.  The  brother  of  the 
girl  moved  on  into  the  east,  satisfied  with  his 
fiendish  revenge. 

When  he  reached  St.  Louis  he  found  that 
his  brother  had  tried  to  make  all  amends,  that 
he  had  sought  and  plead  with  the  girl  to  marry 
him,  but  an  old  aunt  had  persuaded  her  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  him.  Failing  in  that,  he 
made  a  will  giving  her  all  his  property,  which 
was  considerable,  at  the  time  of  his  death. 


CHAPTER  X 

STAGE  DRIVERS  — ROAD  AGENTS  —  PONY  EXPRESS  RIDERS— CHAS.  CLIFF'S 

ADVENTURES  — JULES  AND  SLADE  FEUD  — CREIGHTON'S 

QUICK  FORTUNE 


Following  the  discovery  of  gold,  and  insti- 
tution of  stage  service  to  the  golden  coast,  the 
country  filled  up  with  road  agents  and  white 
renegades,  who  preyed  upon  the  pilgrims,  and 
robbed  the  stages  with  great  regularity.  In  this 
country  there  are  said  to  be  several  caches  of 
gold  hidden  by  gangs  that  either  were  later 
exterminated,  or  never  came  back  to  find  them. 
One  of  these  is  supposed  to  be  on  Kiowa  creek, 
a  certain  distance  from  a  certain  cedar  tree 
of  great  dimensions.  And  another  is  on  the 
east  side  of  Wildcat  mountains.  Much  soil 
has  been  worked  over  with  the  hope  of  finding 
something,  but  the  direction  and  the  distance 
from  the  landmarks  are  indefinite. 

The  operations  of  the  road  agents  became  so 
bad  that  the  Overland  stage  traffic  came  near 
being  abandoned,  soon  after  its  institution. 

The  first  Overland  stage  to  California  was 
put  in  service  in  1859.  and  shortly  after  the 
pony  express  was  inaugurated.  The  time  for 
mail  from  New  York  to  Sacramento,  by  the 
"Butterfield  Stage  Route,"  was  twenty-one 
days,  and  the  pony  express  shortened  it  to  ten 
days.  As  early  as  1851  a  monthly  service  by 
stage  was  put  on  to  Salt  Lake  City.  Letters 
were  written  on  the  thinnest  of  paper,  for  it 
cost  five  dollars  for  a  half  ounce  communica- 


tion to  be  delivered  at  the  Golden  Gate  by  Pony 
Express. 

Old  Stage  and  Pony  Express  stations,  be- 
tween Julesburg  and  Fort  Laramie,  were  Mud 
Springs,  Chimney  Rock,  Scotts  Bluff,  Horse 
Creek,  Sand  Hills,  Bordeaux.  Sometimes  they 
crossed  the  river  at  Horse  Creek  and  back  at 
Fort  Laramie.  These  were  north  side  stations 
used.  One  at  Rock  Bottom  Ford,  and  another 
was  near  the  old  Wyncote  station.  Sub-sta- 
tions at  intervals  of  about  ten  miles  were  made. 

President  Lincoln's  inaugural  address  was 
started  from  the  Missouri  river,  March  4,  1861, 
and  in  just  seven  days  and  seventeen  hours  it 
was  delivered  at  Sacramento.  It  then  became 
a  regular  schedule  of  eight  days  to  travel  the 
two  thousand  miles,  or  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  each  twentv-four  hours. 

On  April  3,  1860,  the  first  start  of  the  Pony 
Express  was  made,  and  on  the  eleventh  there 
was  a  crowd  waiting  at  each  end  that  broke  in- 
to wild  cheers  as  the  rider  hove  in  sight. 

The  first  rider  from  Julesburg  west,  was  Jim 
Moore,  and  he  rode  to  Scottsbluff  station, 
which  is  the  old  soddy  later  used  as  a  ranch 
by  Mark  M.  Coad. 

Jim  Moore  made  one  of  the  most  famous 
rides  in  the  history  of  the  Pony  Express,  on 


56 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


June  eighth,  of  1860,  when  he  rode  from  Mid- 
why  to  Julesburg  and  return,  a  distance  of  two 
hundred  and  forty  miles,  in  fourteen  hours  and 
forty-six  minutes.  He  stopped  only  seven 
minutes  for  lunch. 

Colonel  W.  F.  Cody  rode  the  Pony  Express, 
and  he  was  first  hired  by  Jules  Reni  and  put  in 
'"Bill  Trotter's  division."  He  was  the  youngest 
rider  on  the  entire  two  thousand  miles  of  the 
road.  He  quit  the  prairie  and  went  to  the 
mountains  in  the  summer,  and  met  Joe  Slade 
at  Horseshoe  station,  where  he  offered  his 
services,  but  Joe  Slade  said  he  was  too  young. 
Cody  then  gave  him  a  letter  from  Trotter,  and 
he  was  immediately  employed.  Slade  always 
told  Cody  when  he  started  on  a  trip  to  "look- 
out for  your  scalp." 

One  of  the  dare-devils  of  the  road  was 
Chas.  Cliff,  who  rode  a  division  from  Scotts- 
bluff  station  west  through  to  Sand  Hill  sta- 
tion. On  his  return  trip  once  he  was  attacked 
by  the  Indians  in  Mitchell  Gap,  and  when  he 
arrived  at  Scottsbluff  station  and  was  taken 
from  his  horse,  he  had  three  bullets  in  his  body 
and  twenty-seven  through  his  clothes. 

Joseph  A.  Slade  was  something  of  a  green 
but  vicious  looking  fellow  when  he  applied  for 
service  with  the  Overland  stage  people.  Mark 
Twain  tells  that  few  were  asked  for  references 
or  credentials  in  the  west  for  this  employment, 
but  they  did  ask  Slade  if  he  had  ever  been  at 
St.  Louis  or  New  Orleans,  and  Slade  replied : 
"No,  I  haint  never  been  at  Horleans,  but 
I'll  tell  you  where  I  have  been.  I've  been 
mighty  nigh  all  over  three  counties  in  Illinois." 
Slade's  seemed  to  have  been  a  wonderful 
nerve,  for  he  drove  stage  through  the  wildest 
part  of  the  road  and  shot  down  the  road  agents 
on  sight.  It  was  something  different.  Here- 
tofore at  the  sight  of  desperadoes,  the  drivers 
would  whip  their  horses  into  a  fury  of  getting 
away,  but  now  Slade  would  simply  slow  down 
and  the  first  man  within  range  would  "get  his." 
When  H.  M.  Inghram  was  hired  by  Slade, 
he  was  asked  if  he  could  drive,  which  of  course 
"I  tank"  could  do,  and  Slade  said:  "Well,  damn 
ye.  drive  then,  and  if  you  don't,  I'll  kill  ye." 
and  [nghram  drove  on  the  route  between  North 
Platte  and  Denver. 

Apparently  he  was  satisfied  with  Inghram 
for  after  a  few  trips  he  gave  him  a  sawed  off 
double  barrelled  shotgun  loaded  with  buck- 
shot, and  a  position  as  guard,  with  instructions 
to  "shoot  to  get  'em." 

Slide  would  always  take  any  advantage  that 
cunning  quick  action  or  a  quick  wit  would 
give,  and  on  one  occasion  when  the  gentleman 
with  whom  he  had  had  a  dispute  appeared  to 
he  the  nimblest  artist,  Slade  quickly  said  that 


it  was  useless  for  life  to  be  wasted  over  such 
a  small  matter,  and  proposed  that  they  throw 
their  guns  on  the  ground  and  fight  it  out  with 
their  fists.  The  other  party  agreed  and  threw 
his  gun  down,  whereupon  Slade  laughed  at  his 
simplicity,  and  shot  him  on  the  spot. 

Such  conduct  made  him  both  hated  and 
feared. 

I  am  not  in  possession  of  the  facts  that  orig- 
inated the  Jules-Slade  feud,  but  it  was  no  doubt 
some  trivial  affair,  and  the  enemies  of  each  as- 
sisted in  keeping  it  alive,  with  the  hope  that 
one  or  the  other  or  both  would  be  wiped  off 
the  earth. 

It  was  at  the  Rock  Ranch  station  that  Jules 
finally  got  the  drop  on  Slade.  Jules  was  told 
that  Slade  was  out  back  and  he  fired  thirteen 
buckshot  into  him.  Slade  dropped  and  Jules 
satisfied  that  he  was  as  good  as  dead,  told  some 
of  the  fellows  to  put  him  in  a  dry-goods  box 
and  bur>'  him.  Slade  retorted  that  he  would 
live  long  enough  to  wear  one  of  Jules'  ears  on 
his  watch  guard. 

Just  at  that  time  the  stage  came  along,  and 
the  superintendent  happened  to  be  on  board. 
He  ordered  Jules'  arrest,  and  they  proceeded 
to  hang  him.  He  was  strangled  until  black  in 
the  face,  and  then  was  let  go  on  the  promise 
that  he  would  forever  leave  this  part  of  the 
country.     This  promise  was  kept — for  a  time. 

Slade  was  taken  to  St.  Louis  where  seven  of 
the  buckshot  were  cut  out  of  him  and  the 
other  six  remained  in  his  body  until  his  death. 

After  a  time,  they  were  both  back  in  the 
Scotts  Bluff  country,  and  each  with  the  threat 
to  kill  the  other  on  sight.  Slade  laid  the  mat- 
ter before  the  officers  at  Fort  Laramie,  and 
promised  to  take  their  advice.  They  decided 
that  Jules  must  be  captured  or  killed,  and  Slade 
had  four  men  sent  to  Bordeaux,  then  on 
Chausen's  ranch,  the  first  station  east  of  the 
fort,  where  Jules  was  said  to  be  located. 

They  captured  him  with  little  opposition 
says  Coutant,  and  bound  him  hand  and  foot. 
When  Slade  reached  Bordeaux,  this  was  the 
condition  in  which  he  found  him.  He  went  up 
to  the  helpless  man,  deliberately  shot  him  twice, 
killing  him  instantly.  He  then  returned  to  Fort 
Laramie,  and  went  through  the  farce  of  giving 
himself  up,  and  was  discharged.  This  was  in 
1862.  It  is  believed  that  there  was  no  mutila- 
tion, and  that  this  was  just  an  exaggeration  of 
partisans  growing  out  of  the  threat  of  some 
time  before. 

In  1860,  the  United  States  government 
granted  a  subsidy  of  forty  thousand  dollars  to 
the  first  company  that  would  build  a  telegraph 
line  across  the  continent.     Ed.  Creighton,  for 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


57 


the  Western  Union  Company  had  eleven  hun- 
dred miles  to  build,  and  the  California  tele- 
graph company  was  to  build  from  the  west  and 
the  twb  were  to  meet  and  join  at  Salt  Lake 
City.  A  special  prize  was  given  to  the  one  that 
first  reached  Salt  Lake  City. 

Creighton  built  his  line  up  the  Platte  to 
Julesburg,  then  across  to  Mud  Springs  and 
through  Mitchell  Gap  on  into  the  west.  He  had 
the  line  completed  to  Salt  Lake  City  on  the 
17th  of  October  and  on  the  24th  of  the  same 
month    the    California    company    reached    the 


City  on  the  Lake.  Creighton  had  bought  dur- 
ing the  summer  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
of  Western  Union  stock  for  $18,000.00  and 
when  the  project  was  completed,  he  was  given 
three  shares  for  one.  And  shortly  afterwards 
he  sold  his  one-third  of  his  holdings  for 
$85,000.00.  It  took  a  little  less  than  six 
months  to  build  the  line,  that  made  Creighton 
over  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars. 

Creighton  became  one  of  the  great  figures  of 
this  section  and  of  Nebraska,  and  he  died  in 
1874,  at  Omaha. 


CHAPTER  XI 
SACRIFICE  OF  FRONTIER  WOMEN  —  INDIAN  EXECUTION  AT  FT.  LARAMIE 


Woman  on  the  frontier  has  always  had  a 
hard  time  of  it,  but  like  woman  always,  when 
a  crisis  arises,  she  arises  and  meets  it  half  way. 
The  experiences  of  some  of  the  frontier  wo- 
men was  such  that  it  left  a  saddened  or  changed 
person  after  the  crisis,  and  others  met  heroic- 
ally the  test.  In  some  cases  it  left  no  hope 
and  they  became  derelicts  that  lived  about  in 
the  sod  shanties  on  the  outskirts  of  army  posts, 
or  ranches,  like  "Dirty  Woman's  Ranch,"  near 
old  Wellsville  and  Camp  Clarke.  Calamity  Jane 
became  a  combination  of  courage  and  vice. 

Virginia  Dale,  attached  to  the  notorious 
character  Slade,  had  a  certain  strength  of  per- 
sonality that  forced  a  degree  of  respect.  Jos- 
eph A.  Slade  never  had  a  friend  that  staid 
true  to  colors  like  Virginia  Dale  Slade,  his  wife. 

Virginia  City,  Montana,  was  named  for  the 
daring  and  pretty  Mrs.  Slade,  and  she  was 
the  regal  queen  for  the  period  of  its  greatest 
importance.  When  the  "Vigilantes,"  (and 
what  atrocious  deeds  their  activities  cover) 
hung  Slade  in  Montana,  the  yellow  in  him 
came  to  the  surface.  He  wlas  not  the  cool, 
daring  assassin  of  his  reputation,  but  a  coward 
in  the  face  of  death.  He  begged  and  bel- 
lowed, but  to  no  avail.  They  hung  him  just  as 
they  did  those  of  better  nerve. 

Mrs.  Slade  had  been  sent  for  by  friends,  but 
she  arrived  too  late,  and  he  was  dead.  It 
broke  her  heart,  and  she  heaped  curses  upon 
the  perpetrators  of  the  deed,  and  she  cursed 
the  silent  friends  of  Slade,  many  of  whom  had 
witnessed  the  tragedy,  demanding  to  know  why 
one  of  them  had  not  shot  her  husband,  and 


saved  him  from  the  "dog's  death."  She  told 
the  leaders  of  the  vigilantes  to  beware,  that 
death  was  upon  their  trail,  and  that  everyone 
of  them  was  marked.  In  the  main,  this  proph- 
esy came  true,  and  the  assassins  of  Slade  were 
met  with  assassination  until  practically  extermr 
inated.     Slade  was  hung  in  1863. 

Hugo  Koch,  who  whacked  bulls  through  the 
old  Mitchell  Pass  many  a  time,  and  who  now 
(1919)  lives  at  Lander,  Wyoming,  came  to 
this  country  in  1858,  and  he  tells  us  that  Slade 
was  about  thirty  years  old  at  that  time,  and 
was  "under  medium  size,"  and  of  dark  com- 
plexion. He  weighed  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds,  and  his  wife  was  good  looking 
and  was  about  the  same  size,  age  and  com- 
plexion, and  often  interfered  in  his  business, 
and  was  generally  a  trouble  maker. 

Virginia  Dale,  one  of  the  stage  stations  west 
of  here,  was  named  for  her. 

Much  is  said  of  the  noted  characters  like 
Jules  and  Slade,  but  not  as  much  of  their 
wives. 

A  short  time  ago  there  lived  in  Nebraska 
City,  an  elderly  lady  of  French  descent,  by  the 
name  of  Ellen  Bcckstead.  Possibly  she  yet 
lives  there.  She  was  once  one  of  the  woman 
characters  of  the  western  Nebraska. 

Along  about  1858,  when  only  thirteen  years 
of  age,  she  and  her  husband  Jules  Beni  ar- 
rived at  his  ranch  at  Cottonwood,  near  the 
forks  of  the  Platte,  and  being  young,  and  full 
of  the  French  fire  of  adventure,  the  wild  life 
of   "Jules,"   appealed  to   her   fancy.      But  her 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


story  of  the  death  of  Jules  is  entirely  different 
from  that  of  the  record  of  history. 

She  says  that  Slade  shot  Jules  while  the 
latter  was  kneeling  at  the  "Cold  Spring"  near 
the  old  Jack  Morrow  ranch,  a  little  west  of  the 
present  site  of  North  Platte.  Jules  was  getting 
a  drink,  when  the  treacherous  Slade  shot  him. 
Aiter  wounding  him  he  tied  him  to  a  post  and 
shot  off  his  ears. 

All  stories  of  history,  and  of  one  of  Slade's 
old  drivers,  H.  M.  Inghram,  now  living  at 
Scottsbluff,  indicate  that  Jules'  demise  was  at 
Bordeaux,  (near  Cold  Springs)  fifteen  miles 
east  of  Fort  Laramie.  It  would  seem  when 
Jules  was  killed  that  his  friends  did  not  cor- 
rectly relate  to  the  widow  all  the  details  of  the 
tragedy;  they  probably  thought  to  temper  the 
grief  and  colored  the  story,  or  possibly,  in  the 
years  that  have  followed,  she  has  lost  track  of 
it,  and  her  memory  is  not  good.  I  believe 
Beckstead  was  the  fourth  husband  of  the  little 
French  bride  of  Jules  Beni,  and  that  would 
indicate  her  grief  was  not  deep-seated,  and  that 
the  buoyant  blood  of  her  race  asserted  itself 
in  quick  revival  of  spirits. 

In  the  Mormon  Hand  Cart  expedition  was 
perhaps  as  tragic  and  heroic  a  case  of  fidelity 
to  the  religious  fervor,  as  ever  struck  home  to 
any  part  of  the  human  race,  and  the  women 
were  no  small  part  of  it.  From  the  Missouri 
river  to  Great  Salt  Lake,  pushing  all  their  per- 
sonal effects  and  smaller  children  in  hand  carts, 
is  something  of  an  undertaking.  Often  one 
hears  people,  men  and  women,  complaining  of 
the  dreariness  and  monotony  of  the  trip  in 
the  Pullmans,  and  they  chafe  under  the  delay 
of  a  few  hours  because  of  a  wreck,  or  heavy 
railroading.  They  suffer  from  the  heat  of  the. 
summer  or  the  cold  of  winter.  If  they  could 
reconstruct  that  other  expedition,  where 
mothers  put  their  babies  into  carts,  with  their 
meagre  personal  belongings,  and  pushed  them 
on  and  on,  over  the  hundreds  and  hundreds  of 
miles  of  prairie,  of  sand,  of  sagebrush,  up  hill 
and  down,  fording  streams  and  traveling  long 
stretches  without  water  under  a  superheated 
sun  and  burnished  sky.  they  might  have  a  con- 
ception of  what  sacrifice  and  suffering  in  travel 
really  entailed.  This  expedition  was  in  1856, 
and  just  seventy-five  per  cent  of  those  who 
started,  reached  the  Mecca,  and  one-fourth  died 
of  the  hardships  and  privations  enroute. 

In  1916  T.  1).  Deutsch  found  a  skull  of  a 
woman,  in  excavating  for  Tub  Springs  drain- 
age canal.  That  it  was  of  one  of  the  Hand 
Cart  Expedition,  is  probable. 

Tlllv  SKULL 

This  ruin  once  was  the  retreat 

Of  thought,  and  the  mysterious  seat 


Of  mind  and  soul  of  other  age. 
Her  generation  now  is  dead, 
But  one  can  read  the  silent  head 

Like  printed  page. 

Within  the  cavern,  once  brain  teemed 
With  lucid  light  of  the  redeemed. 

And  with  the  profoundest  self  respect, 
Her  natural  impulses  inclined 
Toward  the  lord  of  humankind  — 

Toward  her  own  elect. 

Mysterious  motherhood  is  there, 
And  love  of  children  chastened  her, 

And  made  her  life  calm  and  serene. 
For  they,  and  not  for  wanderlust, 
Part  of  "the  Overland,"  she  crossed 

Before  the  "closing  scene." 

Within  these  caverns  two,  her  eyes 
Looked  up  toward  her  Paradise, 

Or  burned  with  earth's  eternal  flame. 
And  in  the  ivory  cavern  hung, 
The  marvel  of  a  human  tongue 

That  whispered  low  one  name. 

With  lips  of  earth's  celestial  fire. 
With  voice  and  glances  that  inspire, 

She  strove,  but  fell  beside  the  way.  — 
A  shallow  grave  in  shifting  sand, 
Along  the  tragic  "Overland," 

A  spirit  gone  away. 

Another  tragedy  involved  the  Brown  girls. 
They  were  happy  in  the  wilderness  on  a  ranch, 
and  one  day  the  scourges  of  the  South  came. 
The  Comanches  killed  their  parents,  and  took 
them  away.  They  were  recaptured,  or  rather 
purchased  by  Bent  in  1839.  They  were  then 
eighteen  and  twenty-one  years  of  age  respec- 
tively, and  the  older  was  widowed.  Each  had 
become  the  enforced  wife  of  an  Indian.  The 
younger,  whose  brave  still  lived,  said  a  few 
days  later  that  she  was  going  to  return  to  the 
tent,  because  she  was  no  longer  fit  to  live  with 
white  people.  Perhaps  some  mother  can  tell 
us  whether  that  was  the  real  reason  she  went 
back  to  the  tribe.  For  back  there  in  the  wig- 
wam of  its  father  was  a  tiny  little  half-breed 
son,  whose  mute  arms  stretched  through  the 
desert  night  and  whose  wail  and  murmur  in  its 
sleep  was  of  its  mother. 

There  is  still  another  tragedy  that  came  to 
our  very  doors.  When  the  Indian  raids,  in 
August,  1865,  struck  terror  among  the  Over- 
land and  Denver  trails.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eubanks, 
their  four  children,  a  visiting  lady  named  Miss 
Laura  Roper,  and  a  hired  domestic  were  living 
happily  in  a  rude  log  domicile  on  the  Little 
Blue.  It  was  always  scrupulously  clean,  and 
Mrs.  Eubanks  sang  happily  at  her  labor. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


59 


The  Indians  came,  and  when  they  passed, 
Eubanks  was  dead  and  horribly  mutilated. 
Three  of  the  children  lay  where  the  savages 
had  thrown  them,  after  having  first  taken  them 
by  the  heels  and  battering  their  heads  against 
the  logs.  The  hired  girl  was  stripped  naked 
and  left  dead,  tied  standing  to  a  post  and  shot 
with  a  dozen  arrows.  The  cabin  was  in  ruins 
and  Mrs.  Eubanks  and  one  child  and  her  friend 
Miss  Roper  were  carried  away  prisoners. 

The  following  January  Two  Face,  with  Mrs. 
Eubanks  and  child  were  captured  near  the 
present  site  of  the  Rawhide  ranch,  and  Black- 
foot  with  Miss  Roper  on  Snake  Creek,  nearly 
due  north  of  Scottsbluff.  The  prisoners  were 
in  terrible  condition. 

Their  freshness  and  lustre  had  faded,  and 
the  women's  hair  was  streaked  with  grey,  and 
their  backs  were  masses  of  sores  from  the 
beatings  they  had  received.  Every  indignity  of 
horrible  consequence  was  theirs,  and  they 
were  nearly  lunatics.  A  few  hundred  dollars 
in  greenbacks  was  found  on  their  captors.  This 
was  turned  over  to  the  women,  and  they  were 
given  safe  conduct  as  far  as  Kearney.  Mrs. 
Eubanks  and  the  child  faded  into  the  obscurity 
of  the  east,  and  Miss  Roper  to  her  people  at 
Beatrice,  where  she  was  later  married. 

Colonel  Moonlight  was  at  Fort  Laramie  at 
the  time,  and  when  Two  Face,  Black  Foot  and 
Black  Crow  boasted  of  their  brutility,  and 
dared  him  to  punish  them,  he  gave  orders  to 
have  "their  necks  tied  to  cross  beams,  with 
nothing  to  support  their  feet,  and  left  sus- 
pended for  the  crows  to  eat." 

This  summary  execution  brought  much  criti- 


cism, and  the  easterners  whose  sob  squad  had 
been  after  the  scalp  of  Colonel  Moonlight  and 
others  of  his  strong  kind,  sent  up  a  howl  that 
was  heard  as  far  as  Washington,  and  one 
mountaineer  and  trader  said  it  would  center  the 
Indians  at  Fort  Laramie  for  revenge,  and  "we 
will  all  be  masscred,"  he  declared.  Colonel 
Moonlight's  answer  was  that  perhaps  such 
would  be  the  case,  but  if  so,  there  would  be 
three  mighty  bad  Indians  that  would  not  be 
there  to  participate  in  the  massacre. 

The  sentimentalists  finally  secured  Colonel 
Moonlight's  scalp,  but  there  are  those  who  still 
approve  of  him  and  his  way  of  fighting  Indians. 
The  methods  employed  by  the  people  of  the 
west  were  ofttimes  severe,  and  really  shocking 
to  the  senses,  but  the  lessons  were  measurably 
necessary  to  bring  home  a  realization  to  the 
savages.  While  the  boasting  of  an  Indian,  as 
to  what  he  intends  to  do,  is  not  meet  offense 
for  a  severe  penalty,  these  three  who  boasted 
to  Colonel  Moonlight,  had  a  record,  and  it  was 
a  record  of  taking  children  by  the  heels  and 
beating  their  brains  out  against  logs  and  stones, 
and  it  was  a  record  of  horrible  torture  to  west- 
ern women,  and  they  boasted  of  this  and  said 
they  would  do  more,  and  dared  the  penalty. 

I  am  not  surprised  that  General  Harney  ob- 
tained the  name  "squaw  killer,"  at  the  battle  of 
Blue  Water,  for  at  that  time  it  seemed  that  the 
extermination  of  the  Indian  race  was  the  best 
solution  of  a  bad  problem.  And  it  is  no  won- 
der that  Qister  said,  when  they  accused  him  of 
throwing  papooses  into  the  South  Platte  river. 
after  he  had  destroyed  an  Indian  village,  "if 
you  kill  the  nits  there  will  be  no  lice." 


CHAPTER  Nil 
THE  GRATTAN  MASSACRE— SPOTTED  TAIL'S  DRAMATIC  DEED 


In  1851  there  was  a  grand  council  of  the 
Ogallalas  and  Brules  on  Horse  Creek  in  the 
west  part  of  Scotts  Bluff  county  and  across 
the  state  line.  Here  all  the  tribes  agreed  to 
a  division  of  the  land,  and  all  the  hunting 
grounds  between  the  Missouri  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains  were  divided  among  them.  In  the 
treaty  the  United  States  confirmed  to  each 
tribe  the  land  it  was  to  occupy. 

Surveying  parties,  which  always  were  viewed 
with  suspicion  by  Indians,  were  taken  off  for 
the  time. 


All  the  Indians  agreed  that  "the  great  Road" 
along  the  Platte,  and  across  the  mountains 
should  be  free  and  open  for  white  people,  and 
the  United  States  agreed  to  pay  the  Indians 
fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year  in  goods,  for 
the  use  of  the  road  through  their  country.  The 
Indians  agreed  not  to  rob  or  attack  the  white 
people  on  this  road,  and  the  United  States 
agreed  to  keep  the  white  people  from  going 
elsewhere  into  the  Indian  country. 

When  the  treaty  was  sent  to  Washington 
the   United   States  senate  changed   the   period 


60 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


of  the  contract  from  fifty  years  to  ten  years. 
The  Indians  never  agreed  to  this  change,  but 
one  can  always  expect  the  dear  old  conserva- 
tive United  States  senate  to  "ball  things  up." 

Neither  Red  Cloud  nor  Spotted  Tail  were 
then  chiefs  of  importance  and  their  names  are 
not  upon  this  treaty.  The  United  States  con- 
tinued to  use  the  great  road,  and  to  send  an- 
nually the  fifty  thosuand  dollars  in  goods  to 
the  Indians.  And  it  was  for  the  first  annual 
distribution  that  they  were  assembled  near 
Fort  Laramie  at  the  time  of  the  Grattan  Mas- 
sacre. 

The  event  that  led  to  it  was  a  trifling  affair, 
but  dull  life  about  the  fort  and  idleness  of  the 
men  there  and  perhaps  ambitions  that  could 
not  find  outlet  in  the  common  routine  of  mili- 
tary duty  each  contributed  a  part  to  the  fright- 
ful carnage  of  succeeding  years. 

The  grave  of  Rebecca  Winters,  on  the  Bur- 
lington right-of-way  in  the  east  part  of  Scotts- 
bluff  City,  is  one  of  the  land  marks  on  the 
Old  Overland  Trails.  The  original  mark  was 
only  a  wagon  tire  set  half  in  the  ground  with 
her  name,  and  a  few  important  facts  chiseled 
thereon.  The  buffalo  and  then  the  range  cat- 
tle found  it  a  convenient  rubbing  place,  and 
it  was  always  kept  bright  and  shining  by  their 
constant  wear. 

Many  Mormon  parties  followed  during  the 
succeeding  years.  According  to  Coutant  on 
the  19th  of  August,  1S54,  one  of  the  almost 
destitute  parties  went  into  camp  ten  or  twelve 
miles  from  the  Fort.  They  complained  that 
the  day  before  some  Indians  under  Chief  Met- 
-to-i-o-way,  ( Startling  Bear)  had  driven  off 
and  killed  a  cow  belonging  to  them. 

At  that  time  the  soldiers  at  the  fort  had 
little  to  do,  and  as  a  result  had  tried  to  liven 
things  up  a  bit  by  liberal  quantities  of  liquor. 
Commander  Fleming  was  in  charge  of  the 
post,  and  dispatched  Lieutenant  Grattan  with 
thirty  men  and  two  mountain  howitzers  to 
bring  in  the  guilty  men. 

Grattan  was  a  new  arrival  from  West  Point, 
and  was  utterly  unfamiliar  with  Indian  war- 
fare and  character.  But  flushed  with  ambition 
and  perhaps  firewater,  he  felt  equal  to  any 
task. 

<  Mi  arrival  at  the  Indian  lodges,  he  demanded 
of  a  sub-chief  "Bear,"  the  guilty  parties.  Bear 
informed  him  that  the  chief  had  already  gone 
to  the  fort  to  apologize  and  make  amends.  Such 
a  tame  conclusion  would  reflect  but  little  glory 
>"1  a  Wesl  Pointer,  and  Grattan  determined 
thai  the  guilty  man  must  be  produced.  Bear 
again  told  him  that  he  did  not  consider  the 
matter  very  serious.  The  cow  was  dead  be- 
fore   the   chief   had   knowledge  of   it.  and    that 


many  had  partaken  of  the  meat.  Several  mules 
had  been  offered  the  Mormons  to  repay  them, 
and  he  would  not  submit  to  arrest.  But  as 
they  were  journeying  towards  the  fort,  they 
would  continue  in  that  direction  with  the  de- 
tachment of  soldiers.  They  wanted  to  "bury" 
the  matter. 

The  lieutenant  advanced,  determined  to 
make  a  demonstration,  and  as  the  Indians 
gathered  around  him,  he  ordered  the  soldiers 
to  fire,  which  they  did,  killing  three  Indians 
and  the  chief.  Battiste  Good  says  the  chief's 
name  was  Mato-Wahyui,  "Mato"  signifying 
"Bear"  and  "Wahyui"  means  to  "arouse  or 
startle."  Spotted  Tail,  the  young  warrior,  then 
took  a  prominent  part,  and  the  Indians,  infuri- 
ated, turned  in  with  clubs  and  tomahawks,  and 
destroyed  the  entire  detachment,  save  one,  who, 
though  wounded,  reached  the  fort.  Richards, 
a  squaw  man,  is  said  to  have  aided  in  the 
escape  of  this  one,  although  Hugo  Koch  says 
it  was  "Old  Joe,"  a  big  Sioux  Indian.  In  the 
melee,  the  mountain  howitzers  were  discharg- 
ed, but  the  missies  of  death  went  over  the 
heads  of  the  Indians. 

For  the  first  time  in  its  history,  the  stability 
of  Fort  Laramie  was  threatened.  The  Indians 
began  attacking  and  destroying  the  trading 
stations  thereabout,  including  those  of  Bor- 
deaux and  Choteau  &  Company,  which  were 
under  the  very  doors  of  the  fort. 

A  messenger  was  sent  on  the  dangerous 
journey  to  Fort  Kearney,  and  a  part  of  the 
detachment  was  sent  to  the  relief.  Fleming, 
in  the  meantime,  martialed  all  the  available 
men  about  the  fort,  which  were  maintained 
strictly  on  the  defense  of  the  station  without 
any  journeys  or  sallies  out  to  assist  the  emi- 
grants. 

A  mail  stage  was  stopped  a  little  west  of 
the  Horse  creek  station  and  the  driver  and  all 
the  guards  murdered.  This  was  done  under 
the  supposed  leadership  of  Spotted  Tail.  And 
it  was  for  "the  murder  of  the  mail  party," 
that  General  Harney  demanded  the  surrender 
of  the  murderers. 

The  Indians  had  boldly  declared  they  would 
kill  every  white  person  they  could,  and  would 
destroy  the  trains  of  emigrants  going  into  the 
west. 

This  was  the  condition  of  ferment  when  my 
father  and  uncle  arrived  at  Fort  Laramie  with 
five  wagons  and  one  hundred  head  of  cattle. 
By  some  miracle  it  seems  they  had  been  un- 
molested, although  at  a  point  about  fifty  miles 
down  the  river,  which  my  father  has  identified 
as  the  hill  northeast  of  Bald  Knob,  they  saw 
a  lone  footman  run  out  of  the  breaks  toward 
the  river.     He  was  pursued  by  Indians,  and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


61 


killed  in  plain  view  of  the  caravan,  but  the 
river  separated  them,  and  they  were  powerless 
to  aid  him.  After  the  murder,  and  some 
threatening  demonstrations  toward  my  father's 
party,  the  Indians  retired  in  the  direction  of 
Sixty-six  mountain.  The  event  made  a  power- 
ful impression  upon  the  party,  especially  the 
women,  who  for  the  first  time  had  witnessed 
a  tragedy  of  this  sort. 

I  have  never  been  able  to  ascertain  the  iden- 
tity of  this  unfortunate  party,  but  it  was  prob- 
ably a  lone  trapper. 

On  arrival  at  the  fort,  they  found  that  it 
was  impossible  to  secure  an  escort,  such  as 
they  had  expected  to  go  with  them  through 
"the  Black  Hills"  to  the  next  garrison  west. 
They  waited  several  days  on  the  meadows 
north  of  the  river,  and  then  as  no  further  emi- 
grants arrived,  and  they  had  seen  few  Indians 
about,  they  determined  to  undertake  the  jour- 
ney without  escort. 

The  morning  of  the  second  day  out  they  as- 
cended a  slight  ridge  and  were  about  to  de- 
scend into  the  valley  of  Mollie's  Fork  when 
immediately  before  them  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill  lay  about  two  (hundred  Indian  lodges, 
scattered  through  the  cottonwoods  on  the  bank 
of  the  spring  branch. 

It  was  crucial  and  an  excruciating  moment, 
but  after  a  brief  consultation  it  was  decided 
that  the  only  plan  of  action  was  one  of  cour- 
age, of  assurance,  without  evident  fear,  and 
not  in  the  least  offensive.  The  event  of  the 
Bald  Knob  tragedy  being  of  so  recent  date, 
the  women  became  hysterical,  and  began  to  cry 
and  sob,  but  retreat  meant  certain  disaster  be- 
fore they  could  possibly  reach  the  fort.  The 
party  proceeded  without  undue  haste  or  hesi- 
tation down  the  hill  and  through  the  smoky 
city  of  tepees,  and  as  slowly  and  unconcerned- 
ly climbed  the  hill  farther  on.  The  Indians 
made  some  demonstrations  of  hostility,  but 
never  fired  a  gun,  or  shot  an  arrow.  The  dis- 
play of  courage  may  have  made  them  think 
that  it  was  a  trap  into  which  they  were  ex- 
pected to  be  inveigled,  and  they  were  not  to  be 
thus  caught.  Whether  they  followed  with 
spies  or  not  was  never  known,  but  it  is  assured 


that  the  party  was  not  molested,  which,  con- 
sidering the  state  of  hostilities  then  existing,  is 
a  matter  of  sincere  congratulation. 

The  Grattan  Massacre  was  the  beginning  of 
a  series  of  bloody  affairs,  which  with  seldom  a 
brief  respite,  continued  for  a  period  of  fifteen 
years,  with  tremendous  loss  of  property,  and 
probably  more  than  a  thousand  lives. 

The  victims  were  buried  where  they  fell,  in 
a  shallow  trench  and  covered  with  earth  and 
a  pile  of  loose  stones.  This  pile  was  about 
eight  miles  east  of  the  fort,  and  unless  it  has 
been  obliterated,  is  still  there,  the  only  monu- 
ment that  marks  the  spot  of  this,  the  really 
first  military  tragedy  in  the  North  Platte  val- 
ley. 

When  General  Harney  demanded  the  sur- 
render of  the  murderers  of  the  Horse  Creek 
mail  party,  Spotted  Tail  with  a  number  of  the 
other  so-called  murderers  marched  into  the 
fort  in  full  war  dress,  singing  their  death  songs, 
and  gave  themselves  up.  It  was  supposed  that 
they  would  be  put  to  death,  and  they  were  sac- 
rificing themselves  for  their  tribe. 

But  General  Harney  had  them  sent  to  Fort 
Kearney,  where  they  lived  under  guard  until 
1858.  On  rejoining  the  Brules  soon  after, 
Spotted  Tail  became  a  popular  hero,  and  some- 
time after  that  he  was  exalted  to  the  position 
of  chief  of  the  Brules.  This  date  is  a  little 
indefinite,  but  Geo.  S.  Hyde  tells  me  that  one 
authority  dates  it  at  the  death  of  the  old  chief 
Little  Thunder.  As  Little  Thunder  died  in 
1865,  perhaps  Spotted  Tail's  ascendancy  to  the 
chief-ship  dates  from  that  year. 

Ware  says  that  he  attended  two  of  the  coun- 
cils at  Camp  Cottonwood  in  1865,  or  the  year 
following  the  date  of  Spotted  Tail's  leading 
in  the  Massacre  of  Cottonwood  Canyon. 

After  these  councils,  he  moved  with  his  band 
to  the  head  of  Spotted  Tail  creek,  and  rambled 
the  country  over  for  miles  thereabout.  He 
wanted  peace,  but  he  could  not  hold  the  young 
men,  and  when  a  peaceful  man  goes  to  war  he 
is  about  the  worst  (or  best)  warrior  of  them 
all.  His  activities  covered  a  wide  range  as 
will  be  seen  later. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XIV 


BUTLER'S  STORY  OF  THE  COW  WAR  — HARNEY  THE  SQUAW  KIELER— AN- 
OTHER ASH  HOLLOW    BATTLE 


A  letter  from  D.  W.  Butler,  of  Washington, 
gives  a  version  of  the  Grattan  Massacre,  or  the 
beginning  of  the  "Cow  War"  different  from 
most  of  the  stories  of  history. 

"The  Grattan  affair"  was  an  unfortunate 
one.  A  small  matter  at  the  beginning,  it  was 
treated  seriously  by  the  officer  in  command  at 
Fort  Laramie,  who  was  without  experience. 
The  attempt  at  arrest  was  made  by  a  man  who 
had  contempt  for  Indians  as  fighters,  and  knew 
nothing  of  the  characteristics  of  the  race. 
Every  effort  seemed  to  have  been  made  by  the 
chief  of  the  Brules  to  effect  a  peaceful  settle- 
ment of  the  affair.  He  offered  a  mule  to  Grat- 
tan, as  a  recompense  for  the  loss  of  the  cow, 
but  Grattan  effected  to  think  that  it  was  offered 
to  him  personally  as  a  bribe. 

Man-afraid-of-his-horse,  the  chief  of  the 
Ogallala  band,  was  earnest  in  his  efforts  to  set- 
tle the  matter  peacefully. 

The  Indians  were  strung  out  along  the  banks 
of  the  Platte  for  a  distance  of  six  miles  from 
Fort  Laramie,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  In- 
dian agent  for  the  distribution  of  government 
annuities,  stored  at  Chouteau's  American  Fur 
Company's  store.  The  band  of  Ogallalas  were 
nearest  the  fort  and  the  Brules  were  just  be- 
yond. One  letter  ventures  to  give  the  number 
of  lodges  in  the  camp  at  600,  which  I  think  is 
too  high.  A  Mormon  emigrant  train  passed 
the  camp  headed  for  the  fort.  A  Mormon 
brought  up  the  rear  driving  a  lame  cow.  The 
Mormon,  terribly  afraid  of  the  Indians,  headed 
for  the  fort,  when  the  cow,  frightened,  ran  to- 
ward the  Indian  camp.  He  reported  himself 
fired  upon  and  the  cow  captured. 

A  Minneconjou,  "shooters  of  the  mist,"  a 
stranger  camped  among  the  Brules,  killed  the 
cow,  and  it  was  eaten. 

On  the  19th,  Grattan  with  his  twenty-nine 
men  and  an  interpreter,  (a  hanger  on  around 
forts  and  camps,  a  hard  drinker,  and  very 
boastful)  with  two  cannon,  a  twelve  pound 
howitzer,  and  a  mountain  howitzer,  arrived 
aboul  three  I'.  M.  to  arrest  the  Minneconjou. 
Grattan  took  a  position  in  the  Brule  camp 
about  CO  yards  from  the  lodge  of  the  Minne- 
conjou, and  demanded  his  surrender. 

The  braves,  estimated  at  one  thousand  fight- 
ing men,  crowded  around  between  the  whites 
and  the  lodge  of  the  Indian  wanted.  Tile  chief 
of  the  Brules  asked  him  to  surrender,  but  he 
refused,  saying  he  was  ready  In  die  and  would 


die  in  camp  (very  natural  for  one  who  under- 
stood the  Indian  character  and  his  views  on 
arrest). 

The  Brule  chief  renewed  his  offer  to  pay  for 
the  cow  if  the  officer  would  retire.  Man-afraid- 
of-his-horse  went  twice  from  the  lodge  of  the 
Minneconjou  to  Grattan,  and  begged  the  officer 
to  retire  and  the  cow  would  be  paid  for.  From 
Bordeaux's  testimony,  Grattan  felt  his  posi- 
tion would  be  ridiculous  if  he  left  camp  with- 
out the  prisoner.  So  he  ordered  his  men  to 
fire  on  the  lodge.  One  Indian  was  wounded. 
The  Indians  started  to  rush  him  then,  and  he 
fired  his  cannon  and  muskets  in  a  volley.  The 
Bear  and  a  few  Indians  fell,  the  Bear  mortally 
wounded. 

Grattan  and  five  men  were  killed  around  the 
cannon,  and  the  rest  were  all  cut  down  within 
a  mile  of  camp.  One  soldier,  terribly  wounded, 
was  picked  up  by  one  of  the  sub-chiefs  and 
kept  in  his  lodge  over  night,  and  the  next  day 
taken  to  Bordeaux's  trading  store  and  later  to 
the  fort,  where  he  died  in  three  or  four  days. 

The  Indians  then  looted  Bordeaux's  store, 
and  went  to  Choteau,  Jr.'s  American  Fur  Com- 
pany's store  and  took  the  annuity  goods.  Then 
they  threatened  to  attack  the  fort.  Soldiers 
were  rushed  to  reinforce  Fort  Laramie. 

For  the  rash  lieutenant  the  affair  was  at  an 
end,  but  for  the  unfortunate  Brules  it  had  just 
commenced. 

Mato-i-o-way  signifies,  "Bear  who  hunts 
alone,"  according  to  some  authorities.  He  was 
at  the  time  recognized  by  the  government,  as 
the  head  of  the  Brules.  Father  DeSmet  knew 
him  well,  and  spoke  of  him  as  a  man  of  in- 
telligence and  courage. 

After  the  looting  of  Bordeaux  and  Chouteau 
trading  posts,  the  Indians  took  the  body  of 
their  dead  chief,  and  went  over  on  the  Nio- 
brara, where  he  was  wrapped  in  rich  robes  and 
put  in  a  burial  tree. 

Activities  of  Spotted  Tail  .and  Little  Thun- 
der, after  the  Grattan  Massacre,  brought  Gen- 
eral Harney  to  Fort  Laramie  with  re-inforce- 
ments  from  Fort  Kearney. 

Little  Thunder  became  the  nominal  chief 
after  the  death  of  Mato-i-o-way,  with  Spotted 
Tail  second  in  command.  Harney  heard  that 
the  Indians  under  Little  Thunder  were  com- 
mitting depreciations  along  the  river,  and  while 
there  was  some  foundation  for  the  reports,  it 
was  also  an  opportunity  for  him  to  distinguish 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


63 


himself.  He  therefore  proceeded  to  Ash  Hol- 
low to  settle  the  score. 

Details  of  battles,  of  which  generally  only  a 
brief  sketch  is  given,  make  them  the  more  in- 
teresting. In  the  battle  of  Ash  Hollow,  which 
really  occurred  on  the  Blue,  in  Garden  county, 
there  were  Philip  St.  George  Cooke,  the  inter- 
esting chronicler,  and  Alexander  Schlegel,  the 
surveyor,  who  later  served  in  the  interior  de- 
partment at  Washington,  and  who  but  recently 
returned  to  Lincoln  where  he  resides  (1919). 
From  Cooke's  writings  and  from  Schlegel  per- 
sonally I  was  told  the  story  of  the  battle.  D. 
W.  Butler  of  Washington,  D.  C,  has  also  writ- 
ten an  extensive  letter  concerning  it. 

Little  Thunder  was  in  charge  at  the  time 
General  Harney  with  his  powerful  force,  came 
into  the  North  River  country.  Little  Thunder 
was  not  anxious  to  fight,  and  wished  to  parley. 
He  had  with  him  on  the  Blue,  forty-one  lodges 
of  Brules  (or  Burnt  Thighs),  and  eleven  lodges 
of  Ogallalas,  (or  Dust  Throwers).  According 
to  regular  count  this  would  indicate  326  Brules, 
of  which  65  were  braves,  and  88  Ogallalas,  of 
which  seventeen  would  be  braves.  Harney  had 
1200  troops,  infantry,  cavalry  and  some  artil- 
lery. 

General  Harney  stationed  his  main  force 
under  Major  Cady  in  the  low,  sandy  hills 
near  the  lower  end  of  the  Blue  Water  valley, 
and  engaged  the  Indians  in  a  sort  of  parley, 
while  the  cavalry  under  St.  George  Cooke, 
were  to  go  up  the  valley  and  behind  the  In- 
dians in  the  darkness.  The  parleying  did  not 
close  until  after  night  fall,  and  was  to  be  re- 
sumed the  following  day.  The  cavalry  pro- 
ceeded up  the  east  side  of  the  Blue,  across  some 
marshes,  that  are  now  a  part  of  the  hay 
meadow  of  S.  P.  DeLatour,  and  crossing  the 
river  two  or  three  miles  farther  up,  proceeded 
some  distance  too  far  to  the  west.  It  was  not 
intended  that  the  Indians  should  be  allowed  to 
escape,  and  he  was  returning  to  the  proper 
position  when  a  squaw,  who  was  out  picketing 
a  pony  for  her  brave  who  was  belated  in  arriv- 
ing in  camp  that  night,  heard  the  sound  of  the 
creaking  saddles  in  the  darkness  and  gave  the 
alarm.  The  Ogalallas  rushed  out  of  their  tents 
and  the  cavalary  charged.  The  Indians  fought 
desperately,  and  reached  the  top  of  the  flat  top 
butte  that  stands  on  the  west  side  of  the  val- 
ley. Here  they  made  a  stand  until  dawn,  but 
being  driven  therefrom  they  retreated  across 
the  small  tributary  of  Blue  Water,  then  called 
Beaver  creek.  Down  the  valley  the  cry  of 
alarm  had  gone,  and  through  the  camp  of  the 
Brules  there  arose  the  tumult  of  war.  The 
soldiers  at  the  lower  end  of  the  valley  heard 
it,  and  the  battle  was  on.  The  retreating  Brules 


and  Ogallalas  met  and  joined  in  an  effort  to 
escape  across  the  stream  to  the  northeast.  Part 
of  the  Indians  had  taken  refuge  in  the  rocks 
on  the  east  side  of  the  valley,  a  mile  or  more 
south  of  DeLatour's  ranch.  Into  the  rocks  Gen- 
eral Drum  directed  their  fire.  A  scream  arose 
out  of  the  rocks  and  it  was  the  scream  of  a 
woman. 

An  order  was  issued  to  cease  firing,  and  the 
Indian  braves,  taking  advantage  of  the  re- 
spite, dodged  out  of  the  rocks  and  ran  away 
into  the  hills.  Then  to  the  rocks  the  soldiers 
went,  and  they  found  that  a  bullet  had  struck 
a  woman  sitting  upon  a  rock.  She  had  been 
holding  a  papoose,  with  its  little  feet  between 
her  legs.  The  bullet  had  passed  through  both 
her  thighs  and  shattered  both  ankles  of  her 
baby. 

They  took  her  into  camp,  and  it  was  found 
necessary  to  amputate  the  feet  of  the  child, 
which  died  before  the  rising  of  another  sun. 
The  mother  lost  consciousness  while  carrying 
her  to  the  valley,  an  unusual  affair  for  a 
«quaw,  and  someone  remarked  her  regular 
feaures  and  lack  of  resemblance  to  any  Indian. 
One  suggested  that  she  might  be  a  half-breed 
or  quarter-blood,  and  General  Drum  said  if 
she  were  of  amalgamated  blood  it  would  show 
on  her  back  bone.  This  did  not  show  the  ex- 
pected darker  color,  even  after  washing  the 
spine. 

She  was  taken  to  Denver  and  carefully  cared 
for  and  recovered.  The  story  came  out  that 
she  was  not  Indian,  but  was  a  white  girl  cap- 
tured by  the  Indians  at  the  age  of  four  years, 
and  had  always  been  as  one  of  them.  Know- 
ing no  other  life,  she  returned  to  the  tribe  after 
her  recovery  and  liberation. 

On  the  battle  field  of  the  dead  a  cavalry- 
man was  riding  across  it  when  he  saw  an  In- 
dian move,  and  turned  his  horse  that  way. 
The  battle  was  over,  and  he  no  doubt  intended 
to  see  what  could  be  done  for  the  wounded 
man.  But  the  Indian  raised  his  arm,  and 
with  his  pistol  shot  the  cavalryman  from  his 
horse.  Another  rushed  up  to  sabre  the  In- 
dian, but  broke  his  sabre,  both  parts  of  which 
fell  near  the  prostrate  Indian.  A  third  horse- 
man rushed,  and  succeeded  in  ending  the  red- 
man,  but  not  until  he  had  taken  a  broken  por- 
tion of  the  sabre  beside  him,  and  severed  a  foot 
from  the  horse  and  damaged  the  man. 

On  the  succeeding  days  the  army  crossed 
the  river  to  Ash  Hollow.  On  the  bank  of  the 
river,  was  built  a  large  sod  house,  which  was 
named  "Fort  Grattan."  This  structure  will 
be  remembered  by  a  few  of  the  older  people 
of  the  valley,  but  at  the  time  I  saw  it,  the 
roof  had  been  removed,  and  the  sod  walls  with 


64 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  square  port  holes  were  all  that  remained.  It 
was  about  twenty  feet  north  and  south  by 
forty  east  and  west. 

After  this  battle,  and  Harney  had  passed  on 
to  Fort  Laramie  and  Fort  Pierre,  he  under- 
took to  show  the  Indians  what  a  superior  man 
he  was,  by  chloroforming  a  dog.  He  told  them 
that  he  could  kill  a  dog,  and  then  bring  it 
back  to  life.  Accordingly  he  administered  the 
chloroform,  and  the  dog  went  to  sleep.  Then 
he  undertook  to  revive  it,  but  the  dog  was 
too  dead  for  that  and  the  Indians  had  the  laugh 


Be  that  as  it  may,  Harney  obtained  from  the 
affair  the  title  of  "squaw  killer,"  which  was 
never  effaced. 

Among  the  prisoners  taken  were  five  Ogal- 
lalas,  the  wife  and  four  children  of  Chau-te- 
pe-tan-ya  (pronounced  Changta-Petang)  or 
"Fire-Heart."  There  is  little  said  of  Fire- 
Heart,  as  to  just  who  he  was,  but  the  name 
certainly  sounds  like  a  good  Indian  cognomen. 
Butler  says,  it  was  after  Harney  left  Fort 
Laramie,  and  had  gone  to  Pierre  for  a  grand 
council,  a  number  of  Indians  obtained  permis- 


Camping  Ground  op 


Hostiles.  over  4000  Teepies,  Dec,  1890. 


on  him,  declaring  "white  man's  medicine  too 
strong." 

Doane  Robinson,  historian  of  South  Da- 
kota, says  "though  hailed  as  a  great  victory, 
and  an  additional  plume  in  Harney's  crest  of 
fame,  Ash  Hollow  was  a  shameful  affair, 
unworthy  of  American  arms,  and  a  disgrace 
to  the  officer  who  planned  and  executed  it.  It 
was  a  massacre  as  heedless  and  as  barbarous 
as  any  which  the  Dakotas  have  at  any  time 
visited  upon  the  white  people."  I  am  led  to 
believe,  however,  that  the  battle  was  precipi- 
tated by  the  alarm  of  the  squaw,  and  the  hys- 
teria of  the  Indians  who  imagined  they  were 
about  to  be  attacked,  when  in  fact  the  pur- 
pose may  have  been  only  to  prevent  escape. 


sion  to  camp  near  the  fort.  One  morning  Red 
Leaf  and  Long  Chin,  two  brothers  of  Ma-to-i- 
o-wa,  together  with  Spotted  Tail  rode  into  the 
fort  in  full  war  paint,  and  surrendered  them- 
selves as  hostages  for  the  killing  of  the  Grat- 
tan  party,  and  the  murder  of  the  mail  party. 
Red-Plume  and  Spotted  Elk  soon  followed  the 
example.  All  with  their  squaws  were  sent 
to  Kearney,  and  then  to  Leavenworth,  but 
how  long  they  were  kept  is  not  known,  or  given 
out. 

Butler  says  that  Spotted  Tail  was  not  a  chief 
until  made  so  by  the  whites,  but  if  not,  he  was 
a  leader  of  great  influence,  and  functioned  the 
same  as  a  chief,  so  wherein  is  the  difference? 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XV 


MURDER   OF   SPOTTED   TAIL  — CROW    DOG'S    PUNISHMENT 
SCOTTSBLUFF  MOUNTAIN  PASS 


BATTLE    IN 


Eastman,  in  the  Outlook,  says  that  Spotted 
Tail  was  killed  because  he  betrayed  the  Brules 
to  the  whites,  and  Crow  Dog's  killing  him  was 
the  result  of  a  pact  made  thirty  years  before 
by  the  Brules,  that  Spotted  Tail  should  die  if 
it  were  ever  proved  that  he  had  played  false 
to  his  tribe.  This  sounds  like  an  apology  for 
the  murder  of  the  great  Indian,  and  the  thought 
has  probably  been  fostered  by  the  friends  of 
"the  old  man  with  a  withered  arm."  No 
doubt  there  are  those  among  the  Indians  who 
hated  "the  King  of  all  the  Sioux,"  through 
all  the  years,  and  were  glad  when  he  was  final- 
ly assassinated. 

After  Spotted  Tail  was  taken  to  Washing- 
ton, he  lost  control  of  a  good  many  of  the 
young  men  of  the  tribe  who  wanted  war.  Big 
Mouth  was  the  leader  of  the  war  party.  One 
day  in  1873,  Spotted  Tail  called  him  out  of 
his  lodge.  As  he  came  out  two  of  Spotted 
Tail's  friends  grabbed  his  arms,  and  Spotted 
Tail  walked  up  to  him  and  shot  him  dead. 

It  was  eight  years  later  that  Crow  Dog 
started  trouble  among  the  young  braves,  and 
some  say  that  Spotted  Tail  was  arranging  to 
shoot  him  as  he  had  shot  Big  Mouth.  Crow 
Dog  did  not  wait.  In  the  terse  language  of 
the  West  he  "beat  him  to  it,"  and  Spotted  Tail 
was  the  one  to  die. 

Father  DeSmet  speaks  of  Crow  Dog  as  a 
man  of  courage  and  with  a  withered  arm. 
This  was  forty  years  before  Spotted  Tail's 
death,  and  disagrees  with  the  statement  of 
Hyde  that  Crow  Dog  was  "a  young  leader." 

Mrs.  A.  R.  Honnold,  wife  of  the  attorney 
at  Scottsbluff,  tells  an  interesting  story,  that 
came  to  her  from  her  mother,  Mrs.  E.  Van 
Horn,  who  was  an  almost  first  citizen  of  Belle 
Fourche.  Crow  Dog  had  been  tried  at  Sidney 
and  sentenced  to  imprisonment  at  Deadwood. 
Mrs.  Van  Horn,  then  a  girl  of  sixteen  years, 
was  on  the  stage  from  Sidney  to  Deadwood, 
in  which  the  prisoner,  in  charge  of  two  officers, 
was  being  conveyed.  Crow  Dog  was  held  at 
Deadwood  for  years ;  first  imprisoned,  then 
as  a  trusty.  In  the  latter  capacity  he  carried 
slops  and  garbage  to  a  few  hogs  that  were 
owned  by  the  civil  authorities.  He  did  the 
work  uncomplainingly,  and  with  not  a  murmur 
of  discontent,  for  many  years. 

One  day  they  missed  him  from  the  work, 
and  they  never  made  a  search.  They  knew  that 
the  wilderness  had  beckoned  to  him,  that  he 


had  heard  the  call  of  the  wild  solitudes,  and 
had  gone.  They  let  him  go,  to  spend  his  few 
remaining  years  in  the  old  familiar  fastnesses, 
where  his  rapidly  dimming  eyes  would  soon 
close  forever  to  the  changeful  coloring  of 
the  sky  and  land. 

Leach,  in  his  historical  stories,  says  that 
Harney  had  twelve  hundred  troops  in  the  Bat- 
tle of  Min-ne-to-wap-pa,  or  Bluewater,  which 
was  more  than  half  of  all  the  soldiers  along 
the  Overland. 

In  1855,  which  was  the  year  following  the 
Grattan  Massacre,  there  were  only  2,000  of 
the  military  guarding  the  entire  line  of  the 
Overland,  but  this  was  gradually  increased, 
for  rebel  spies  and  agitators  were  among  the 
Indians  during  the  trying  times  of  the  early 
sixties,  and  hostilities  increased  amazingly.  At 
the  close  of  the  war,  many  men  re-enlisted  for 
service  in  the  west,  and  they  were  among  the 
best,  for  their  experience  in  guerilla  warfare 
well  fitted  them  for  the  character  of  Indian 
fighting. 

Al.  Wiker,  of  Alliance,  with  five  others  of 
his  original  company  were  with  the  Harney 
convoy  that  had  a  battle  in  Scottsbluff  Moun- 
tain Pass. 

This  convoy  was  in  August,  1866,  in  charge 
of  freight  outfits  for  Fort  Laramie  and  be- 
yond as  far  as  Salt  Lake  City.  From  Wiker 
I  obtained  the  story. 

They  were  camped  at  the  springs  some  dis- 
tance east  of  the  mountain,  likely  on  the  Sow- 
erwine  place,  and  in  the  morning  the  wagons 
started  out  a  short  distance  ahead  of  the  sol- 
diers. With  the  wagons  were  a  number  of 
camp  tenders,  and  other  wagons  that  were. 
owned  by  travellers  who  took  advantage  of 
the  presumed  safety  of  being  close  to  the  sol- 
diers, and  they  were  traveling  along  with  them. 

These  wagons  were  moving  through  the 
big  gap  when  attacked.  The  sound  of  battle 
reached  the  soldiers  who  were  just  mounting, 
and  they  started  forward  at  a  gallop.  Instead 
of  heading  straight  for  the  gap  they  rode  to- 
ward the  point  of  rocks,  known  as  Eagle  Crag, 
just  north  of  the  present  pathway  that  leads 
up  to  the  mountain  top  from  the  east.  At  its 
base  the  cavalry  parted,  and  one-half  swung 
around  to  the  south,  skirting  Engine  Rock,  and 
the  others  essayed  to  negotiate  the  Bad  Lands 
north  of  the  mountain. 

Those  coming  upon  the  rear  of  the  wagon 


66 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


train  engaged  the  Indians  who  were  hidden 
just  over  the  summit  of  the  gap.  While  the 
others,  after  riding  as  far  as  they  could  ad- 
vance with  their  horses,  proceeded  on  foot. 
This  gave  them  a  good  advantage,  for  the  In- 
dians were  lying  on  the  west  slopes  of  the  rocks 
that  guard  the  gap,  and  in  hidden  ravines 
busily  engaged  with  the  enemy  to  the  east  of 
them,  and  did  not  notice  the  approach  of  the 
other  soldiers. 


Of  the  causualties  on  the  part  of  the  whites, 
five  were  soldiers,  one  a  colored  cook,  and  the 
others  emigrants.  Three  wagons  were  burn- 
ed. Owing  to  having  left  their  horses  in  the 
Bad  Lands,  pursuit  of  the  Indians  was  im- 
possible, but  the  soldiers  ran  down  across  the 
Pass  and  climbed  the  hill  that  guards  it  on 
the  south,  and  snipped  off  several  of  the  In- 
dians while  they  were  mounting,  still  within 
range. 


The  Hostii.es  Coming  in  From  the  Bad  Lands  to  Surrender. 


Their  first  intimation  of  the  existence  of  this 
force  was  when  the  soldiers  opened  a  deadly 
fire  upon  them  in  their  exposed  positions. 
Then  they  fled  towards  the  southwest,  while 
out  of  one  of  the  gulches  on  the  prairie  in 
that  direction  came  an  Indian  having  a  number 
of  horses.  These  the  others  mounted  and 
rode  away  towards  Robideaux. 

The  outfit  consisted  of  about  seventy-five 
wagons  and  had  about  one  hundred  head  of 
cattle.  Part  of  the  wagons  were  loaded  with 
governmenl  supplies,  and  some  belonged  to 
emigrants. 

Tin  (.nil.  were  being  taken  along  the  river- 
side through  the  Bad  Lands,  but  before  they 
reached  there,  the  noise  of  the  battle  was 
heard.  Of  the  thirty-live  men  in  charge,  thirty 
joined  in  the  ride  towards  Eagle  Crag,  leav- 
ing but  five  t<>  take  can-  of  the  cattle. 


The  thirty-eight  dead  were  buried  a  few 
rods  west  of  the  west  end  of  the  gap,  but  a 
few  days  later,  the  bodies  of  the  whites  were 
exhumed  and  taken  to  Fort  Mitchell  for  in- 
terment. The  remains  of  the  Indians  are  yet 
in  obliterated  graves  a  little  west  of  Mitchell 
Gap. 

Of  the  five  veterans  of  the  rebellion  that 
participated  in  this  battle  there  is  only  one 
survivor.  Two  were  later  killed  at  Fort  Kear- 
ney, and  the  other  two  died,  leaving  Al  Wiker 
the  sole  living  member  of  the  five. 

Mr.  Wiker  lives  at  Alliance,  and  is  modest, 
and  does  not  want  his  name  mentioned,  but 
he  was  over  here  some  years  ago,  and  with 
Frank  Sands  and  some  others,  went  over  the 
ground,  recalling  all  the  stirring  details  of  the 
battle. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XVI 


A  BUFFALO  BILL  EPISODE  —  MORE  INDIAN  TROUBLES 


There  seems  to  have  been  little  systematic 
endeavor  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  following 
the  Grattan  trouble.  Bands  of  hostiles,  in- 
dependent of  others,  committed  depredations 
here  and  there  at  widely  scattered  intervals. 

The  Plum  Creek  affair,  the  Massacre  of  Eu- 
banks,  the  surveying  party  of  the  Republican 
and  attacks  on  the  Overland :  always  there 
were  surprise  attacks  on  the  route  from  civili- 
zation's advance  guard  to  the  mountains. 

This  condition  required  guards  convoying 
emigrants  or  freight  wagons,  and  while  for 
days  they  might  pass  unmolested,  any  moment 
might  bring  startling  denouement. 

Col.  W.  F.  Cody  related  to  me  one  incident, 
when  I  asked  him  a  few  years  ago  to  tell  me 
one  of  his  adventures  along  the  "North  River," 
that  I  might  have  a  close  at  home  event  to 
chronicle. 

Buffalo  Bill  and  two  companions  had  this 
experience  in  June,  1858,  just  over  the  hill 
east  of  Ash  Hollow. 

He  and  Simpson  and  Woods  were  detailed 
as  guards  in  connection  with  others  for  the 
convoying  of  a  train  of  freight  wagons  from 
Fort  Laramie  to  Fort  Kearney,  and  they  had 
camped  at  Ash  Hollow.  The  following  day 
one  part  of  the  wagon  train  had  departed  with 
a  part  of  the  guard,  and  Cody  Simpson  and 
Woods  were  to  follow  up.  The  other  detach- 
ment of  wagon  were  to  follow  a  day  later. 

The  three  were  some  distance  in  the  rear 
of  the  first  wagons,  after  they  had  passed 
over  the  big  hill  east  of  Ash  Hollow,  which, 
having  been  gone  several  hours,  were  out  of 
sight.  The  guards  were  riding  mules,  and  the 
J  Indians  were  of  such  superior  numbers,  they 
concluded  their  only  means  of  defense  was 
continued  resistance  until  the  following  day, 
when  the  second  detachment  would  overtake 
them.     Even  this  seemed  hopeless. 

Cody  said  they  shot  their  mules  and  drag- 
ged them  into  the  form  of  a  triangle,  and  be- 
hind this  barricade  kept  the  Indians  at  bay 
for  the  entire  day  and  night  and  a  part  of  the 
next  day.  With  the  butcher  knives  they  dug 
in  the  soil  and  made  a  pit  deep  enough  for 
them  to  rest  comfortably  and  the  dirt  was  piled 
between  the  dead  mules  and  over  their  dead 
bodies. 

At  noon  the  following  day,  the  Indians  were 
observed  moving  away  to  the  south  over  the 
hills  from  which  they  had  come,  and  soon  the 
blessed  sight  of  the  coming  wagons   relieved 


them  from  the  tension  that  for  over  forty 
hours  had  deprived  them  of  rest  and  with 
but  little  food. 

The  war  of  the  Rebellion  had  a  bad  effect 
upon  the  Indians,  for  in  1864  at  a  council  at 
Camp  Cottonwood,  one  of  the  Indian  orators 
asked  the  embarrassing  question,  how  the 
Great  Father  expected  the  Indians  to  keep 
peace,  when  he  was  unable  to  keep  his  own 
children  from  quarreling.  It  showed  they  had 
a  pretty  clear  understanding  of  the  situation. 

General  Mitchell  was  there,  and  it  was  hard 
to  give  a  satisfactory  answer.  But  the  gen- 
eral knew  what  frightful  results  would  fol- 
low the  active  hostilities  if  all  the  Sioux  were 
to  break  loose.  The  Cheyenne  and  the  Arapa- 
hoes  were  then  in  the  terrible  work  of  endeav- 
oring to  exterminate  the  white  people.  There 
were  also  predatory  Sioux  bands  at  work. 
There  was  a  great  and  diplomatic  effort  on  the 
part  of  General  Mitchell  to  come  to  an  un- 
derstanding, so  it  was  in  May  of  1864  that  he 
called  a  council  of  the  different  Sioux  chiefs 
at  Camp  Cottonwood,  to  make  a  treaty  of 
peace. 

They  smoked  and  talked,  but  came  to  no  un- 
derstanding and  adjourned  for  fifty  days.  At 
the  second  conference  General  Mitchell  opened 
with  an  address,  in  substance  as  follows : 

"This  meeting  is  to  come  to  an  understand- 
ing and  make  a  treaty  so  that  each  of  us  will 
know  what  to  do.  The  government  will  give 
the  Indians  blankets,  flour,  bacon  and  other 
supplies  so  that  they  will  have  plenty.  That 
they  should  live  in  houses  and  the  government 
will  furnish  them  with  carpenters  and  black- 
smiths, and  they  should  live  like  white  people. 
But  they  must  stay  out  of  the  valley  of  the 
Platte  because  it  scares  the  women  and  children 
who  are  travelling  over  the  trail.  If  the  In- 
dians wished  to  cross  the  trail  they  should  ask 
permission  of  the  white  people,  and  they  would 
furnish  an  escort  from  the  hills  on  one  side 
of  the  valley,  to  the  hills  on  the  other  side. 
And  that  they  must  keep  out  spies,  and  beggars 
and  bad  Indians.  If  it  takes  more  blankets 
and  corn  and  bacon,  these  things  would  be 
furnished,  but  the  Indians  must  be  kept  out 
of  the  Platte  valley." 

This  did  not  appear  to  please  the  Indians, 
and  Spotted  Tail  spoke  at  some  length. 

"The  Sioux  is  a  great  people,  but  we  do  not 
want  to  be  dictated  to  by  the  whites.  We  do 
not  care  about  the  Platte  valley,  there   is  no 


(,S 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


game  there,  our  young  men,  and  your  people 
have  scared  it  all  away.  But  we  want  to  come 
to  the  Platte  valley  to  trade  and  we  will  not 
give  it  away.  We  have  let  the  white  man 
pass  over  it,  and  he  has  gone  over  it  so  often 
that  he  now  thinks  he  owns  it.  But  it  is  ours, 
and  it  always  has  been  ours.  It  belonged  to 
our  fathers  and  their  graves  are  along  the 
hills  overlooking  the  valley  from  the  Missouri 
river  to  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  we  will  not 
give  it  up.  We  are  not  afraid  of  the  white 
man.  Of  late  years  we  have  had  no  serious 
difficulty  with  him,  but  we  are  not  afraid  to 
fight  him.  Our  troubles  have  been  brought  on 
by  drunk-water.  Bad  whites  give  it  to  bad 
Indians,  and  it  makes  trouble.    The  things  the 


chief  of  the  Brule  Sioux,  while  O-wa-see-cha, 
or  Bad  Wound  was  a  chief  of  considerable  re- 
pute among  the  Ogallalas,  and  both  were  in- 
clined to  be  friendly  to  the  whites. 

Some  have  said  that  Spotted  Tail's  daughter 
was  one  of  the  potent  factors  that  made  him 
incline  to  peace,  but  that  is  open  to  question. 
One  time  for  instance,  the  great  chief  was  so 
incensed  with  his  daughter,  because  she  wanted 
him  to  get  her  a  white  general  or  officer  for  a 
husband,  that  he  upbraided  her  for  her  fool- 
ishness and  ambition,  and  knocked  her  down. 

After  the  conferences,  while  there  was  no 
treaty  signed,  Spotted  Tail  and  Bad  Wound, 
and  their  band  drew  away  from  the  bad  in- 
fluence of  the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes. 


white  father  has  given  us  is  not  enough,  and 
the  agents  cheat  us.  The  army  officers  treat 
us  well,  but  the  agents  cheat  us,  and  we  do 
not  want  to  treat  with  anyone  but  army  officers. 
We  will  not  give  up  the  Platte  valley  until  there 
is  a  treaty,  and  we  have  all  agreed  to  it.  If  we 
give  you  this,  then  you  will  want  another  and 
another.  Before  we  agree  to  anything,  you 
must  stop  the  surveyors  who  now,  at  this  very 
time,  are  going  west  on  the  Niobrara." 

While  we  all  know  that  the  traders  were  of 
a  class  that  took  advantage  of  the  untutored 
savage,  we  wonder  if  the  soldiers  were  any 
better,  and  we  also  wonder  if  this  interpreta- 
tion was  not  construed  to  mean  something  that 
was  not  really  said,  with  the  view  of  centering 
in  the  military  the  power  and  profit  which  the 
government  had  given  to  civil  authority.  If 
so.  it  fell  short  of  its  purpose. 

This  second  conference  broke  up  as  did  the 
first,  with  a  call  for  another,  fifty  days  later, 
but  General  Mitchell  did  agree  to  stop  the 
Niobrara  survey. 

Spotted   Tail   was  then  the  most  powerful 


Spotted  Tail  said  at  these  conferences  that 
if  the  Sioux  went  to  war,  they  had  over  25,- 
000  warriors  with  which  to  fight.  Bad  Wound 
is  said  to  have  punished  severely  some  of  the 
young  men  who  broke  away  and  committed 
depredations. 

These  councils  of  1864,  were  the  sequel  of 
similar  events  that  occurred  a  great  many  years 
before.  Colonel  Kearney  had  nearly  twenty 
years  earlier  addressed  the  Indians  at  Fort 
Laramie  in  the  number  of  1200  braves,  telling 
them  that  he  was  opening  a  road  for  the  white 
people  that  were  going  to  bury  their  bones 
where  the  waters  flow  toward  the  setting  sun. 
Of  course  this  road  was  already  opened,  but 
like  Fremont,  the  Pathfinder,  he  found  paths 
that  had  been  trod  for  a  generation  of  white 
people  and  many  generations  by  aborigines. 

Colonel  Kearney  told  the  Indians  that  there 
were  many  enemies  about  them,  but  that  the 
greatest  of  them  was  whiskey.  He  warned 
them  against  its  use,  and  advised  them  to  con- 
fiscate all  that  was  offered  them  for  sale,  and 
pour  it  into  the  ground.     He  told  them  that 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


(■<} 


the  great  father  would  give  them  blankets  and 
flour  and  bacon,  and  he  did  distribute  some 
presents  among  them. 

Tall  Bull  chanced  to  be  the  principal  chief 
present,  and  he  made  a  few  remarks. 

"If  my  people  will  be  good  to  the  whites, 
they  will  find  that  the  presents  they  are  about 
to  receive  will  often  come.  Father,  this  does 
very  well  and  pleases  me.  What  you  have  told 
me,  I  am  glad  of  from  my  heart.  All  you  have 
told  me  is  very  good.  I  have  found  a  father. 
We  will  no  longer  think  of  dying,  but  will  live. 
I  remember  the  words  you  have  this  day  spok- 
en to  us.     My  people  will  do  as  I  say." 

The  struggle  to  maintain  peace  had  continued 


for  twenty  years,  but  at  intervals  white  rene- 
gades, bad  Indians,  ambitious  army  men,  or 
hot-headed  young  Indians,  would  stir  up  fric- 
tion. Steadily  it  seemed  the  causes  were  piling 
up,  and  the  break  appeared  to  be  inevitable  at 
some  future  time. 

All  the  time  the  Sioux  seemed  to  be  getting 
a  better  organization.  There  was  better  func- 
tioning between  the  several  tribes  as  the  storm 
came  nearer. 

In  this  the  great  genius  of  Spotted  Tail  and 
Red  Cloud  was  affiliated.  They  amalgamated 
the  Sioux  into  a  powerful  fighting  army,  with 
systematic  attacks  scattered  for  hundreds  of 
miles  along  the  Overland  Trail. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


THE  BATTLE  OF  HORSE  CREEK  —  COLONEL  MOONLIGHT'S  MISTAKE— PRES- 
IDENT LINCOLN'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEST 


While  these  episodes  of  adventure,  and  the 
causes  of  war  were  accumulating,  there  were, 
during  the  winter  of  1864-1865,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Fort  Laramie  about  two  thousand 
Indians  who  professed  to  be  friendly.  They 
said  that  the  war  tribes  had  made  it  dangerous 
for  them  to  pursue  their  usual  vocation  of 
hunting,  and  under  orders  from  Washington, 
they  were  fed  and  sustained  through  the  cold 
weather.  The  officials  at  the  fort  had  good  rea- 
son to  believe  that  a  number  of  them  at  least 
were  carrying  word,  and  perhaps  provisions, 
to  the  war  braves.  Every  movement  of  the 
soldiers  seemed  almost  instantly  known  by  the 
enemy  Indians. 

It  was  deemed  advisable  to  remove  the 
friendlies  from  the  central  scene  of  hostilities, 
and  consequently,  on  June  eleventh,  a  company 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  soldiers,  under 
Captain  Fouts,  were  directed  to  act  as  an  escort 
for  about  fifteen  hundred  Indians,  including 
squaws  and  papooses,  who  agreed  to  be  remov- 
ed to  Fort  Kearney.  Charles  Elston  had  charge 
of  a  number  of  professed  friendly  Indians, 
which  he  was  trying  to  make  useful  to  the 
government  as  scouts.  While  they  appeared  to 
be  doing  his  bidding,  he  was  confident  that 
some  of  them  were  better  scouts  for  their  na- 
tive tribes.  The  element  of  integrity  did  not 
seem  at  first  to  be  requisite,  according  to  In- 
dian  standards.     One  time,  a  chief   of  some 


note  among  the  Sioux  had  offered  his  son  as 
a  candidate  for  position  in  a  place  requiring  in- 
tegrity, and  one  of  the  recommendations  given 
was  that  the  son  had  single-handed  stolen 
twenty  ponies  from  the  Pawnees. 

Captain  Fouts  proceeded  down  the  south 
side  of  the  Platte  river  with  caution,  looking 
out  for  surprise  attack.  There  was  nothing  of 
suspicious  note,  except  signal  fires  on  the  hills 
on  both  sides  of  the  Raw  Hide,  and  on  the 
west  side  of  Sheep  creek  and  on  Signal  Buttes. 

"On  the  afternoon  of  the  thirteenth  of 
June,"  says  C.  G.  Coutant,  in  his  history  of 
Wyoming,  "the  party  went  into  camp  on  Horse 
creek,  and  the  indians  proceeded  to  give  a  dog 
feast.  In  the  evening,  three  hundred  and 
eighty-two  of  the  warriors  congregated  in  se- 
cret council.  The  officers  were  seriously  anxi- 
ous to  know  just  what  was  going  on,  yet  their 
best  efforts  failed  of  finding  out." 

Through  Butler  and  Hyde,  comes  a  story, 
evidently  of  Indian  origin,  that  the  Indians 
were  furious  at  certain  white  officers  and  sol- 
diers, for  taking  young  Indian  girls  into  their 
tents,  and  keeping  them  there  all  night.  It 
seems  doubtful  that  there  was  any  truth  to 
the  story,  for  the  reason  that  there  were  a 
number  of  white  women  in  the  party,  that  were 
being  taken  out  of  the  danger  zone  and  among 
them  were  the  wives  and  families  of  Captain 
Fouts,  and  Lieutenant  Triggs.    It  is  not  prob- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


able  that  they  would  permit  such  conduct  as 
that  alleged. 

Furthermore,  there  had  been  a  recent  exe- 
cution of  some  bad  Indians  at  Fort  Laramie, 
for  their  criminal  treatment  of  women ;  and 
among  those  martyr  women  being  escorted  to 
safety,  were  Mrs.  Eubanks  and  daughter  and 
Miss  Roper.  Under  these  conditions  it  is 
not  likely  that  any  soldiers,  no  matter  how  evil 
might  have  been  his  reputation,  would  be 
guilty  of  the  alleged  disreputable  deeds. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourteenth,  the  ad- 
vance guard  started  at  five  o'clock,  the  idea 
being  to  cover  the  eighteen  miles  to  the  mea- 
dows near  Fort  Mitchell  for  the  next  camping 
place.  The  wagons  were  strung  out  for  a  mile 
or  more,  when  rapid  firing  was  begun  by  the 
Indians  upon  the  rear  guard.  Captain  Fouts 
had  ordered  that  no  ammunition  be  distributed, 
fearing  that  some  hair-trigger  individual 
among  the  soldiers  might  become  excited  and 
shoot,  and  thus  set  off  an  unpremediated  bat- 
tle. 

The  rear  guard  started  for  the  front,  and 
the  front  guard  started  for  the  rear,  with  am- 
munition. They  met  about  half  way,  and  turn- 
ed about  to  fight.  Captain  Fouts  had  crossed 
Horse  creek  to  hurry  up  the  Indians,  and  had 
been  killed,  stripped  and  mutilated.  The  In- 
dians then  turned  and  fled  two  or  three  miles 
towards  the  river,  and  were  making  warlike 
demonstrations  while  the  squaws  and  papooses 
were  crossing  the  river  on  ponies. 

Captain  Wilcox  assumed  charge,  and  the 
guards  charged  after  the  Indians.  When  near 
at  hand,  he  sent  Elston  forward  to  offer  im- 
munity to  those  who  would  return  peacefully. 
The  Indians  shrieked  defiance,  and  charged 
viciously. 

The  Indians  numbered  more  than  five  hun- 
dred warriors,  and  when  at  a  distance  of  about 
three  hundred  yards,  firing  was  begun  by  them, 
and  answered  with  telling  effect  by  the  military 
forces.  While  Indians  advancing  from  the 
front  were  checked  by  the  fire  from  the  Galla- 
gher rifles,  both  flanks  advanced  as  if  to  hedge 
in  and  surround  them.  Over  the  hills  from  the 
west  side  of  Horse  creek  poured  dozens  and 
hundreds  of  the  shrieking  demons,  and  an  or- 
derly retreat  was  taken  to  the  wagons  which  in 
the  meantime  had  been  drawn  up  in  a  circle, 
and  hastily  constructed  rifle  pits  made. 

Here  the  Indians  ceased  and  withdrew.  Ob- 
serving that  they  were  indisposed  to  press  the 
attack  while  the  soldiers  were  behind  defenses, 
and  wishing  to  keep  them  engaged  and  at  hand 
until  reinforcements  came,  the  officer  in  charge 
took  fifty  of  the  best  mounted  men  and  sallied 
out.     When  out  about  three  miles  they  saw  a 


large  force  of  Indians  coming  around  the  hills 
on  the  west  side  of  Horse  creek  with  the  evi- 
dent intention  of  cutting  them  off.  Again  the 
military  retired  to  the  entrenchments. 

About  nine  o'clock,  Captain  Shuman  arrived 
with  forces  from  Fort  Mitchell,  and  thus  re- 
inforced another  attack  was  made  upon  the 
Indians,  but  it  was  a  little  late.  The  squaws 
and  papooses  had  by  this  time  all  succeeded  in 
crossing  the  river,  and  the  warriors  were  fol- 
lowing. The  military  could  not  follow,  for  it 
would  be  impracticable,  and  quite  likely  impos- 
sible to  cross  the  river  in  the  face  of  the  su- 
perior number  of  Indians,  at  a  time  when  the 
river  was  high.  The  loss  was  four  killed,  in- 
cluding Captain  Fouts,  and  four  wounded. 

A  messenger  had  been  sent  to  Fort  Laramie, 
and  Colonel  Moonlight  had  also  received  ad- 
vice by  telegraph  from  Fort  Mitchell  telling  of 
the  revolt  of  the  Indians.  He  had  started  with 
a  cavalry  force  numbering  about  240  well 
mounted  men,  for  the  battleground. 

About  ten  miles  east  of  the  fort  he  met  the 
messenger  who  advised  him  of  the  Indians  ac- 
tion iri  crossing  the  river.  Owing  to  its  swollen 
condition  it  was  considered  unsafe  to  cross  at 
this  point  and,  returning  to  Fort  Laramie,  they 
crossed  and  hastened  rapidly  down  the  north 
side. 

They  pursued  the  Indians  for  two  days  and 
on  the  night  of  the  second  day  camped  near 
Dead  Man's  Gulch,  which  is  now  in  the  vicinity 
of  Broadwater,  it  being  the  ravine  where 
George  Hacksby  now  lives  (1919).  At  that 
time  there  was  a  bend  in  the  river  with  steep 
banks  on  three  sides  and  the  camp  was  at  the 
outer  neck  of  the  Horseshoe,  with  horses  in  the 
rich  grass  of  the  peninsula.  Contrary  to  the 
advice  of  many  of  the  old  timers,  Colonel 
Moonlight  considered  the  horses  safe  without 
hobbles. 

During  the  night — at  about  ten  o'clock — the 
Indians  swam  the  river,  and  got  upon  the  pen- 
insula. Indians  to  the  number  of  200  engaged 
the  soldiers  from  the  front,  while  others  ran 
amid  the  thoroughly  frightened  horses,  yelling, 
shooting,  and  swinging  their  blankets. 

The  horses  stampeded  straight  through  the 
camp  and  out  toward  the  battling  Indians,  who, 
for  a  moment,  seemed  to  think  the  soldiers  were 
charging,  but  discovering  their  mistake,  they 
opened  up  and  closed  in  behind  the  stampeding 
steeds  and  ran  them  off  into  the  hills. 

After  losing  the  horses  there  was  nothing  to 
do  but  to  destroy  the  saddles  and  other  heavy 
materials  and  walk  back  to  Fort  Laramie.  The 
distance  was  120  miles  and  the  way  was  not 
pleasant,  especially  with  cavalry  boots,  and  it 
was  this  walk  as  the  culminating  event,  that 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


71 


caused  Colonel  Moonlight  to  retire  from  mili- 
tary service.  An  investigation  by  General  Con- 
nor found  much  to  blame  in  Moonlight,  but 
for  the  most  part  it  was  his  stubbornness  that 
caused  what  General  Dodge  succinctly  de- 
scribed as  follows :  "His  administration  was  a 
series  of  blunders." 

Colonel  Moonlight  did  not  wish  to  resign, 
but  his  mistakes  were  seized  upon  by  the 
eternal  meddlers  who  were  far  from  danger, 
and  knew  little  and  cared  less  for  the  atrocities 
of  Indians.  In  civil  life  and  Wyoming  history 
the  Colonel  lived,  however.  He  was  Governor 
of  the  state  under  Grover  Cleveland's  national 
administration. 

The  battle  of  Horse  creek  is  one  of  the  many 
bloody  encounters  on  the  Platte,  and  this  being 
a  sequel  of  former  events,  I  shall  use  the  words 
of  Colonel  Moonlight  in  his  report  to  the  de- 
partment. 

"About  the  18th  (of  May,  1865),  instant 
some  Indians  were  discovered  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Platte  river,  near  the  Indian  village,  en- 
camped ten  miles  east  of  Laramie.  Mr.  Elston, 
in  charge  of  the  Indian  village,  took  a  party  of 
Indian  soldiers  and  captured  what  was  found 
to  be  Two  Face,  and  having  a  white  woman 
prisoner  (Mrs.  Eubanks)  and  her  daughter, 
whom  he  purchased  from  the  Cheyennes.  Dur- 
ing the  same  evening  and  the  next  morning 
early  the  other  Indians  who  were  with  Two 
Face,  and  who  had  fled  on  the  approach  of  the 
Elston  party,  were  also  captured  and  lodged 
in  the  guard  house  here.  Mrs.  Eubanks  gave 
information  of  the  whereabout  of  Black  Foot 
and  the  Indian  village,  and  a  party  of  soldiers 
started  to  bring  them  in  dead  or  alive. 

"The  village  was  found  about  one  hundred 
miles  northeast  of  here,  on  Snake  Fork,  and 
compelled  to  surrender  without  any  fight. 
Black  Foot  and  his  companions  were  placed 
in  the  guard  house  with  the  others,  making  six 
men  in  confinement.  Both  of  the  chiefs  open- 
ly boasted  that  they  had  killed  white  men,  and 
that  they  would  do  it  again  if  turned  loose,  so 
I  concluded  it  best  to  tie  them  up,  by  the  neck 
with  a  trace  chain  suspended  from  a  beam  of 
wood,  and  leave  them  there  without  any  foot- 
hold." 

The  point  on  "Snake  Fork,"  referred  to  in 
the  above  report,  is  two  or  three  miles  south 
of  the  present  site  of  Canton,  in  Sioux  County, 
on  "Snake  Creek"  as  we  now  call  it. 

Mrs.  Eubanks,  who  was  with  Two  Face, 
was  in  terrible  condition.  She  had  been  cap- 
tured by  the  Cheyennes  on  the  Little  Blue,  and 
after  Black  Foot  and  Two  Face  had  purchased 
her  the  autumn  before,  she  was  compelled  to 
such  treatment  that  it  was  a  wonder  that  she 


had  survived.  Her  husband  had  been  killed 
with  several  others.  The  woman  had  been 
compelled  to  do  the  work  of  an  ordinary  squaw, 
and  had  been  dragged  across  the  Platte  river 
with  a  rope,  and  she  told  tales  of  awful  har- 
barities. 

There  was  some  concern  about  the  execu- 
tion of  these  renegades,  and  several  of  the  of- 
ficers and  men  around  the  fort  feared  a  general 
massacre  and  so  expressed  themselves  to 
Colonel  Moonlight.  But  his  answer  was  that 
if  such  an  event  was  to  take  place,  there  would 
be  two  less  very  bad  Indians  to  take  part  in  it. 

Many  of  us  remember  in  our  young  days  of 
reading  a  book  entitled,  "Beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi." It  was  by  A.  D.  Richardson,  of  the 
New  York  Tribune.  It  was  in  the  spring  of 
1865  that  the  author  of  this  book  and  several 
other  noteable  people  visited  Fort  Laramie, 
coming  by  way  of  "The  Leavenworth  and  Fort 
Laramie  Military  Road,"  as  the  Overland  Trail 
was  then  called.  This  line  was  along  the  south 
side  of  the  Platte  to  the  Fort  Sedgwick  Cross- 
ing (near  Julesburg),  thence  via  Wind  Springs 
and  the  south  side  of  the  North  Platte  to  the 
mouth  of  Horse  Creek  where  it  crossed  to  the 
north  side  and  continued  to  a  point  opposite 
the  fort. 

In  this  distinguished  party  was  Schuyler  Col- 
fax, then  speaker  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, and  in  the  west,  wherever  he  met  a  body 
of  people,  hunters,  trappers,  miners,  or  mili- 
tary forces,  he  would  deliver  to  them  a  mes- 
sage from  Abraham  Lincoln,  who,  a  few  days 
before  his  death,  had  held  a  conference  with 
Colfax,  whom  he  had  heard  was  about  to  take 
a  journey  into  the  west.  The  words  of  the 
martyred  president  seem  prophetic  in  the  light 
of  years.  "I  have  been  thinking  of  a  speech  I 
want  you  to  make  for  me.  I  have  very  large 
ideas  of.  the  mineral  wealth  of  our  nation.  I 
believe  it  is  practically  inexhaustible.  It  abounds 
all  over  the  western  country,  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  the  Pacific,  and  its  development 
has  scarcely  commenced.  During  the  war, 
when  we  were  adding  a  couple  of  million  dol- 
lars to  our  national  debt  every  day,  I  did  not 
care  about  encouraging  the  increase  in  the  vol- 
ume of  the  precious  metals.  We  had  the  coun- 
try to  save  first.  But  now.  that  the  rebellion  is 
overthrown  and  we  know  pretty  nearly  the 
amount  of  our  national  debt,  the  more  gold  and 
silver  we  mine,  makes  the  paymenl  of  that  debl 
so  much  easier.  Now,  I  am  going  to  encourage 
that  in  every  possible  way.  We  shall  have  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  disbanded  soldiers,  and 
many  have  feared  their  return  home  in  such 
great  numbers  may  paralyze  industry  by  fur- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


nishing  suddenly  a  greater  supply  of  labor  than 
there  will  be  a  demand  for.  I  am  going  to 
try  to  attract  them  to  the  hidden  wealth  of  the 
mountain  ranges,  where  there  is  room  for  all. 
Tell  the  miners  for  me  that  I  shall  promote 
their  interests  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability,  be- 
cause their  prosperity  is  the  prosperity  of  the 
nation,  and  we  shall  prove  in  a  very  few  years 
that  we  are  the  treasury  of  the  world." 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  state  here  that  Lin- 
coln's idea,  big  as  it  was,  was  only  a  part  of 
the  greatness  of  the  west.  He  did  not  know 
then  as  we  do  now,  that  the  agricultural  prod- 
ucts of  the  territory  would  at  some  future  time 
prove  of  far  greater  value  than  her  minerals. 
While  millions  have  been  torn  from  the  ribs  of 
the  rock  bound  mountains,  in  the  form  of  min- 
eral wealth,  there  is  within  the  radius  of  five 
hundred  miles  of  where  I  am  sitting,  vastly 
more  millions  taken  from  the  soil  in  the  form 
of  farm  products. 

The  Dreamers  of  national  greatness,  the 
Dreamers  of  yellow  gold,  the  Dreamers  of  re- 
ligious fervor,  who  streamed  through  western 
Nebraska,  knew  not  of  the  untold  wealth  be- 
neath their  feet.  Most  of  them  were  ignorant 
of  the  magic  of  irrigation,  or  the  tremendous 
fertility  of  the  soil  on  which  they  daily  tread. 

It  is  probable  that  the  definite  purpose  of  the 
people  who  passed  up  along  the  "broad  flat 


water"  impoverished  many,  that,  had  they 
paused  here  on  their  journey,  would  have  been 
lords  of  the  land. 

I  remember  one  story  told  that  probably  has 
its  prototype  with  slight  variations  by  half  a 
million  or  a  million  people.  Robert  Weller,  a 
few  years  ago  (1916)  was  living  at  Thermopo- 
lis,  and  his  experience  in  1847  seems  incredible. 
He  lived  at  Macomb,  Illinois,  and  became  im- 
bued with  the  spirit  of  Oregon.  Having  little 
means,  he  obtained  a  second  hand  light  wagon 
and  harness  and  a  pair  of  dilapidated  mules. 
With  this  outfit  he  began  a  journey  of  three 
thousand  miles  through  an  Indian  infested  and 
mountainous  region.  One  of  the  mules  had  in 
its  young  days  injured  one  front  leg,  and  it 
lacked  about  three  inches  of  being  the  length 
of  the  other.  To  overcome  this,  he  invented 
a  raised  shoe  —  a  shoe  which  made  up  the 
height  necessary  that  the  mule  might  walk  on 
an  even  keel,  so  to  speak.  When  near  the  state 
line  of  Nebraska  and  Wyoming,  Mr.  Weller's 
mule  died.  In  1900  while  grading  for  the 
Burlington  railroad,  Hugh  Johnson  and  Perry 
Hayes  excavated  the  old  raised  shoe  still  at- 
tached to  the  hoof. 

This  event  testified  to  two  things :  one,  that 
men  would  take  almost  incredible  chances  in 
those  days ;  and  second,  that  this  Oregon  emi- 
grant trailed  along  the  north  side  of  the  river. 


CHAPTR  XVIII 
JULESBURG  BURNED— MUD  SPRINGS  ATTACKED— BATTLE  ON  CEDAR  CREEK 


Considerable  trouble  during  the  winter  of 
1864-1865  seemed  to  break  in  from  the  south, 
particularly  along  the  route  frorq  Cottonwood 
to  Denver,  and  was  believed  to  be  largely  the 
work  of  prompting  of  Arapahoes  and  Chey- 
ennes,  but  there  were  some  Sioux  mixed  up  in 
the  affairs.  It  was  determined  to  burn  the 
prairie  south  of  the  "South  River,"  and  thus 
drive  the  Indians  to  the  Arkansas  for  food  for 
their  horses,  as  well  as  for  game. 

So,  one  night  when  there  was  a  strong  north 
wind  blowing,  tires  were  set  out,  and  for  two 
hundred  miles  a  sheet  of  flame  swept  the  coun- 
try from  the  South  Platte  river,  for  a  long  dis- 
tance to  the  southward.  It  was  a  magnificent 
pyrotechnic  display,  but  as  war  strategy,  it 
failed  of  the  puqjose.  It  served  to  incense  the 
Indians  and  bring  about  the  crises.    Instead  of 


retiring  southward,  the  Indians  moved  north- 
ward across  the  "South  River,"  and  directly 
into  territory  where  they  were  the  least  de- 
sired. 

Spotted  Tail  was  evidently  south  of  the 
Platte  at  the  time,  and  it  is  believed  that  his 
Indians  gave  out  the  information  that  there 
were  great  stores  of  supplies  at  Julesburg,  and 
that  a  raid  on  that  point  if  successful,  would 
supply  the  Indians  with  rations  for  months. 

The  great  chief  successfuly  directed  the  at- 
tack and  Julesburg  was  burned  on  February 
second.  After  taking  such  supplies  as  they 
could,  the  war  party  destroyed  the  balance,  and 
crossed  the  river  south  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Lodgepole.  They  then  went  up  the  Lodgepole 
valley  to  the  point  near  the  present  city  of 
Chappell,  "twenty-four  miles  from  the  mouth 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


73 


of  the  creek,"  and  from  there  crossed  to  Mud 
Springs  (now  Simla)  which  they  attacked  on 
February  4th,  driving  off  some  horses  and 
mules  and  a  lot  of  Ed  Creighton's  work  cattle. 
Creighton  had  the  cattle  on  what  was  known  as 
"Rankin's  Fork."  The  Indians  made  a  rich 
haul,  there  were  twenty  horses,  a  number  of 
mules,  and  several  hundred  cattle. 

News  of  the  attack  was  sent  by  wire  to 
Fort  Mitchell  and  Fort  Laramie.  Lieutenant 
Ellsworth,  with  re-inforcements  from  Fort 
Mitchell  made  a  trip  to  the  scene  at  a  swift 
gallop,  and  the  next  day  Colonel  Caspar  Col- 
lins arrived  from  Fort  Laramie  with  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  men.  The  Indians  re- 
turned the  following  day  also,  with  the  evident 
intention  of  taking  and  destroying  the  station, 
but  were  surprised  to  see  the.  increased  num- 
bers of  soldiers  about  it.  They  contented  them- 
selves by  cutting  the  telegraph  wires.  There 
were  only  about  ten  men  at  the  station  when  it 
was  first  attacked. 

Around  Fort  Laramie,  Young-Man-Afraid- 
of-His-Horse,  had  already  started  activities, 
and  had  opened  1865  with  a  bang.  On  Janu- 
ary seventh  he  attacked  a  stage  arriving  at 
Fort  Laramie  from  the  east,  and  escaped  with 
the  loss  of  only  one  man  and  one  horse. 

The  impudence  of  coming  practically  under 
the  walls  of  the  fort,  caused  decisive  and 
prompt  action  on  the  part  of  the  military.  Cap- 
tain O'Brien,  with  thirty-seven  intrepid  and 
mounted  men,  rode  out  and  charged  a  very 
superior  number  of  Indians.  There  was  a 
frightful  carnage,  and  hand  to  hand  encounters. 
The  soldiers  lost  half  their  number,  and  made 
a  fighting  retreat.  Fourteen  of  the  thirty-seven 
were  killed.  Exultantly,  and  maddened  by 
their  victory,  the  Indians  now  attempted  to 
take  the  fort,  but  were  driven  back  by  the 
artillery. 

There  was  an  insufficient  force  defending 
Fort  Laramie,  so  that  an  impression  of  num- 
bers was  made  by  the  women  dressing  in 
men's  clothing  and  appearing  upon  the  wall  of 
the  fort,  and  in  the  morning  it  was  found  that 
the  Indians  had  retired.  They  had  lost  over 
seventy  killed. 

On  February  second  following,  there  was  a 
sudden  and  successful  attack  upon  the  stage 
station  below  the  fort  (the  ruins  of  which  are 
near  the  present  Burns  school  house)  and  the 
station  was  burned  to  the  ground.  Captain 
O'Brien  and  an  escort  were  bringing  the  stage 
from  the  east,  when  they  discovered  the  In- 
dians and  the  smoking  ruins  of  the  station. 

There  were  four  men  and  one  woman  in 
the  stage  and  five  of  the  escort,  and  they  had 
just  overtaken  two  teamsters.  The  small  caval- 


cade made  a  show  of  bravery,  and  moved 
steadily  along.  Captain  O'Brien  rode  to  an 
eminence,  gave  signals,  which  the  Indians  quite 
likely  understood  was  for  some  invisible  and 
stronger  party. 

The  redmen  fled  across  the  ice  of  the  frozen 
river,  and  as  soon  as  they  thought  that  they 
could  make  it,  the  stage  and  wagon  drivers 
and  escort  put  the  whip  to  their  horses,  and 
arrived  safely  within  the  walls  of  the  fort. 

Colonel  Moonlight  declared  martial  law  in 
all  of  the  North  River  country,  (as  the  In- 
dians had  grown  so  bold)  with  the  intention, 
no  doubt,  of  augmenting  his  military  forces 
with  trappers  and  emigrants,  and  pressing  in- 
to service  such  horses  and  equipment  as  they 
might  have. 

The  force  at  Fort  Laramie  had  been  in- 
creased by  the  time  that  Spotted  Tail  and  his 
warriors  from  south  of  the  Platte  destroyed 
Julesburg  and  attacked  Mud  Springs.  Follow- 
ing this  attack,  Colonel  Collins  determined  that 
it  was  time  to  strike  a  decisive  blow  at  the 
savages.  They  were  flushed  with  victory,  and 
well  fed  with  the  cattle  they  had  killed,  and 
the  provisions  stolen  from  Fort  Sedgwick. 
They  were  apparently  well  satisfied  for  the 
time  to  revel  in  their  plunder.  They  were  in 
such  numbers,  being  several  thousand,  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  them  to  subsist  except 
for  such  raids.  This  large  band  was  made  up 
of  several  tribes,  but  for  the  most  part,  were 
Sioux,  Arapahoes  and  Ogallalas.  Great  quan- 
tities of  supplies  were  being  forwarded  with 
the  intention  of  feeding  the  friendly  Indians, 
and  some  of  these  were  seized  by  the  hostiles. 

Colonel  Collins  sent  out  scouts,  who  returned 
with  the  information  that  the  Indians  were 
feasting  on  "Rush  Creek"  a  distance  of  about 
ten  miles  east,  and  he  immediately  prepared  to 
attack  them. 

Old  maps  show  no  less  than  three  "Rush 
Creeks"  flowing  into  the  Platte  within  a  dis- 
tance of  about  forty  miles,  and  this  particular 
"Rush  Creek"  is  now  (1919)  called  Cedar 
Creek.  At  that  time  it  was  the  one  generally 
referred  to  as  Rush  Creek,  while  the  present 
Rush  Creek  that  discharges  into  the  Platte 
some  thirty-five  or  forty  miles  farther  east,  was 
then  called  "Rankin's  Fork." 

On  proceeding  to  Cedar  Creek  it  was  found 
that  the  Indians  had  crossed  the  river.  In 
pushing  forward  they  discovered  a  large  war 
party  on  the  opposite  bank,  and  were  prepar- 
ing to  cross  when  they  discovered  that  the 
Indians  were  crossing  to  the  south  side,  with 
the  apparent  purpose  of  engaging  the  military. 
A  position  was  taken  and  rifle  pits  dug,  the 
howitzer   that   had    been    brought    from    Fort 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Laramie  was  placed  in  position  to  be  of  ser- 
vice. 

While  outnumbered  thirty  to  one,  the  sold- 
iers behaved  with  splendid  courage,  and  the 
experienced  sharp  shooters  of  the  plains,  took 
advanced  stations  and  opened  deadly  fire  upon 
the  boldly  approaching  Indians.  Finding  that 
to  approach  in  the  open  meant  almost  certain 
death,  the  usual  Indian  tactics  of  advancing 
under  the  cover  of  hillocks  and  ridges  was  re- 
sorted to.  But  in  this  manner  only  a  few 
could  come  forward  at  a  time,  and  as  fast  as 
they  showed  a  tufted  knot  of  feathers  above 
the  plain,  they  were  picked  off  with  accurate 
precision  by  expert  riflemen. 

A  dozen  braves  had  congregated  behind  a 
particular  eminence  some  four  or  five  hundred 
yards  from  the  improvised  fort,  and  at  a  point 
of  advantage  for  dropping  bullets  into  the 
camp.  Sixteen  men  under  Lieutenant  Patton 
mounted  and  made  a  quick  and  ferocious 
charge.  The  Indians  were  utterly  annihilated. 
Some  two  hundred  others  started  after  the 
daring  little  band  of  soldiers,  which  fought  its 
way  back  with  a  loss  of  two  men.  The  In- 
dians then  gave  up  the  attack  for  the  day.  The 
following  morning  they  renewed  the  fight,  but 
not  with  the  same  heart  as  the  day  before,  and 
soon  gave  it  up  and  retired  into  the  hills  on 
the  north  side  of  the-  river.  The  whole  caval- 
cade of  the  savage  hordes,  containing  about 
1,000  lodges,  went  towards  the  Powder  river. 

Collins  then  distributed  his  soldiers  along 
the  route  to  protect  it  from  further  molestation, 
the  larger  detachments  being  at  Camp  Mitchell 
and  Fort  Laramie. 

This  successful  battle  against  an  overwhelm^ 
ing  foe,  which  was  well  armed  and  with  plenty 
of  horses,  seems  almost  as  miraculous  as  the 
famous  battle  on  the  big  Piney  in  1867,  in 
which  twenty-two  plainsmen  armed  with 
Henry  rifles,  behind  a  barricade  of  iron  arm- 
ored wagon  boxes,  whipped  Red  Cloud  and 
three  thousand  braves  to  a  standstill,  killing 
or  disabling  over  1,100  Indians  with  their  "bad 
medicine  guns." 

One  of  the  disheartening  things  about  Indian 
fighting  was  the  lack  of  knowledge  displayed 
by  those  in  charge  higher  up.  For  instance, 
long  after  hostilities  were  commenced  and  the 
Indians  were  congregating  to  resist  establish- 
ment of  posts  along  the  Bozeman  road  in  the 
Powder  river  country.  General  Dodge  wired  to 
General  Mitchell,  who  was  about  to  leave 
i  imaha  fur  Fort  Laramie,  to  keep  him  posted 
as  he  progressed  up  the  Platte.  In  his  tele- 
gram was  the  query,  "Where  is  Powder  river? 

The  "Rush  Creek"  battle  ground  is  three  or 
four  miles  south  of    the  river,  at    the   forks, 


where  a  spring  branch  comes  in  from  the  west. 

The  improvised  fort  was  on  the  nose  of  land 
between  the  two  branches  of  what  is  now 
"Cedar  Creek." 

An  Indian  telling  of  the  battle  of  Cedar 
Creek,  says  they  crossed  the  river  at  its  mouth, 
and  camped  at  the  foot  of  a  bluff  about  five 
miles  north  of  the  river,  "on  a  small  stream,  the 
name  of  which  I  do  not  remember."  The  story 
also  is  that  Creighton's  herders  were  at  Mud 
Springs  when  the  attack  occurred,  which  was 
fortunate  for  them.  After  the  battle,  the  hos- 
tiles  moved  to  Bear  Butte  in  the  Black  Hills, 
and  early  in  March,  the  bands  separated,  Spot- 
ted Tail  and  his  Brules  moving  east  of  the 
Hills,  while  the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes, 
joined  the  Northern  Cheyennes  under  Red 
Cloud,  on  Powder  river. 

In  April,  Spotted  Tail,  Little  Thunder,  and 
sixty  lodges  of  Brules,  came  in  to  Fort  Laramie 
and  voluntarily  surrendered,  and  according  to 
Hyde,  he  should  have  been  with  the  Indians 
that  were  being  taken  to  Julesburg,  and 
Kearney,  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  on  Horse 
Creek.  I  do  not  find  any  part  that  he  took  in 
the  battle,  and  perhaps  he  was  opposed  to  the 
action,  as  many  Indians  were.  Hyde  also  says 
the  Indians  at  first  concealed  their  women  and 
children  in  a  willow  thicket  back  of  their  lodges. 
I  have  been  unable  to  locate  the  thicket.  After 
the  last  charge,  says  Hyde:  "The  soldiers  gath- 
ered up  the  mutilated  bodies  of  Fouts  and  his 
men,  and  pulled  out  for  Camp  Shuman"  (Fort 
Mitchell). 

After  over  fifty  years,  George  L.  Wilcox,  no 
relation,  that  I  can  find,  of  the  captain,  was 
employed  by  the  government  to  disinter  the 
bodies  and  remove  them  to  the  government 
cemetery  at  Cottonwood.  He  quite  easily  lo- 
cated the  grave  of  Captain  Fouts  and  a  soldier 
at  Fort  Mitchell,  and  after  an  extended  search 
he  found  the  two  other  soldiers,  who  had  been 
buried  on  the  battlefield.  Later,-  two  other 
soldiers  were  disinterred  at  Fort  Mitchell.  All 
now  rest  at  the  beautiful  cemetery  a  few  miles 
east  of  the  city  of  North  Platte. 

The  date  of  the  battle  of  Horse  Creek  as 
here  given  has  been  disputed  by  Erastus  Wil- 
son, Bugler  Company  B,  7th  Iowa  Cavalary, 
(now  1919),  at  the  Soldier's  Home  at  Grand 
Island,  who  was  in  the  battle;  he  stating  that 
it  took  place  upon  the  11th  day  of  July,  but  I 
have  it  from  John  Hunton,  and  from  the  gov- 
ernment records,  and  at  least  it  is  officially  giv- 
en as  occurring  on  the  13th  day  of  June,  1865. 
Wilson  stoutly  adheres  to  his  date,  and  he  de- 
clares the  three  soldiers  were  buried  upon  the 
battleground,  their  names  being  Phillip  Alder, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


75 


Dick  Crozier  and  McMann,  although  only  two 
were  found  there. 

General  Conner,  in  the  Spring  of  1865, 
moved  his  headquarters  from  Denver  to  Fort 
Sedgwick,  which  was  built  not  far  from  the 
site  of  the  burned  Julesburg,  for  from  this 
point  he  could  better  direct  operations. 

Mooney  says  that  Red  Cloud  was  "the  most 
famous  and  powerful  chief  in  the  history  of 
the  tribe,  and  rose  to  distinction  by  his  own 
force  of  character."  "He  was  not  a  hereditary 
chief,  but  a  member  of  the  band  of  which  the 
chieftainship  lay  with  the  family  of  Young- 
Man-Afraid,  the  latter  more  conservative  and 
friendly  to  civilization." 

Red  Cloud's  chief  lieutenants  in  the  Powder 
River  campaign  were  "Young-Man"  and 
"Crazy  Horse."  The  feat  of  keeping  the  In- 
dians together  for  the  two  years  1866-1868, 
provisioning  them,  and  a  determined  united 
front  to  the  government  stamps  him  as  a  re- 
markable organizer,  and  with  great  power.  The 
government  finally  gave  up  the  attempt  to  open 
the  Bozeman  Road,  and  this  must  have  added 
greatly  to  the  prestige  of  Red  Cloud. 

Crazy-Horse  was  not  an  hereditary  chief, 
and  never  addressed  in  person  any  council,  but 
always  spoke  through  his  uncle,  Little  Hawk. 

"Which  leads  me  to  inquire,"  says     D.  W. 


Butler,  "the  nature  of  the  system  that  prevailed 
among  the  Sioux  and  Cheyennes  as  to  the 
authority  and  position  of  the  acknowledged 
chiefs,  and  the  war  chiefs  or  leaders  like  Red 
Cloud  and  Crazy  Horse  and  Roman  Nose.  One 
might  imagine  there  would  be  much  conflict 
of  authority.     But  evidently  not." 

Crazy  Horse  was  not  much  known  until 
after  1865,  when  he  had  a  brother  killed  by  the 
whites  near  Fort  Laramie,  after  which  he  went 
on  the  war  path  with  vengeance. 

I  am  not  sure  as  to  the  exact  date  of  the  lo- 
cation of  Red  Cloud's  Agency  on  the  Platte, 
but  it  occurred  about  1870.  It  was  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river  near  the  Nebraska-Wy- 
oming line.  By  the  year  1875,  the  new  Red 
Cloud  Agency  was  established  on  White  river, 
west  of  Fort  Robinson.  The  agency  on  the 
Platte  was  not  abandoned  until  two  or  three 
years  later,  although  it  may  have  been  offi- 
cially thrown  into  the  discard. 

Sheldon  has  a  photo  of  the  ruins  of  a  sod 
house  on  the  site  of  the  Platte  River  Red  Cloud 
Agency,  that  is  believed  to  be  what  was  left 
of  one  of  the  original  structures  of  the  early 
seventies.  The  photo  was  taken  1918,  and 
from  the  best  information  from  the  oldest  in- 
habitant, it  is  all  that  remains  of  one  of  the 
first  buildings  erected. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


COAD'S  BATTLE  ON  LAWRENCE  FORK  — "SHORTER"  COUNTY  ORGANIZED 
TANK  FIGHTING  ON  THE  PLATTE  —  BUFFALO  BILL  KILLS  TALL  BULL 


Affairs  like  the  Harney  battle  on  Blue 
Water,  or  worse  still,  that  of  Col.  J.  M.  Chiv- 
ington,  at  Fort  Lyons,  on  the  South  Platte, 
drove  the  peace  loving  Indians  into  the  more 
desperate  of  the  savages.  The  latter  was  an 
unprovoked  attack  upon  a  large  village  of 
inoffensive  Indians.  Over  the  lodge  of  the 
chief  there  floated  the  stars  and  stripes,  yet  an 
hysterical,  or  a  deliberately  brutal,  commander 
brought  about  wholesale  murder,  with  the  re- 
sult that  many  hundreds  of  lives  were  lost  in 
the  years  of  hostilities  that  followed. 

Following  the  disturbances  of  1865,  the 
early  part  of  1866  was  ushered  in  by  an  at- 
tack upon  Julesburg  (Fort  Sedgwick).  About 
one  thousand  Indians  participated  in  the  at- 
tack, and  the  place  was  defended  by  Captain 
O'Brien  and  thirty-seven  men,  with  two  moun- 


tain howitzers.  The  Indians  lost  sixty  or  sev- 
enty men,  while  Captain  O'Brien  lost  fourteen. 
But  after  one  day  of  hot  fighting  the  Indians 
gave  it  up  and  moved  on  to  the  North  River 
country. 

In  1865  J.  F.  Coad  took  the  contract  to  fur- 
nish the  garrisons  at  Julesburg  and  Laramie 
with  wood.  He  was  furnished  an  escort  from 
Julesburg  to  the  "wood  reserve"  on  "Lorron's 
"fork,  and  there  erected  a  small  log  house,  called 
by  him  the  "ranch."  The  day  following  its 
completion,  he  and  three  others  were  at  work 
loading  some  wood  about  three  miles  from  the 
"ranch."  The  thermometer  was  about  twenty- 
five  degrees  below  zero.  His  party  was  at- 
tacked by  Indians,  which  rode  clown  into  the 
valley  between  them  and  the  cabin.  They  fled 
into  the  rocks,  and  the  Indians  pursued  as  far 


76 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


as  they  could  with  their  horses,  then  dis- 
mounted and  came  on  foot. 

Soon  the  men  found  that  they  must  discard 
their  heavy  clothing,  and  in  the  chase  they  be- 
came separated.  One  man  found  a  crevasse 
underneath  a  rock  and  crawled  into  it,  obliter- 
ating his  tracks  by  covering  them  with  dirt  and 
sand.  The  Indians  went  directly  past  the 
mouth  of  his  hiding  place,  then  came  back  and 
took  counsel  in  front  of  it.  Then  they  returned 
to  their  horses  and  rode  away.  Coad  and  the 
other  two  found  a  hiding  place,  and  after  the 
Indians  had  gone  built  a  small  fire  to  keep  from 
freezing,  and  remained  hidden  until  nightfall. 

When  the  men  returned  to  the  "ranch"  in 
the  night,  they  found  that  the  men  there  had 
been  attacked,  and  stood  the  Indians  off  for 
four  hours.  The  savages  then  drove  away  their 
horses  and  mules  and  some  of  their  cattle,  but 
the  latter  could  not  travel  sufficiently  rapid  to 
suit  them.  The  next  day  it  was  decided  to 
return  to  Julesburg,  and  ask  that  the  govern- 
ment furnish  guards  to  protect  them  from  fu- 
ture similar  experience.  They  took  the  oxen 
and  went  to  the  tableland  in  the  direction  of 
the  old  Water  Holes,  but  were  caught  in  a 
frightful  blizzard.  It  raged  all  night  and  the 
thermometer  was  thirty  below  zero.  A  man  of 
experience  has  written,  a  western  storm  will 
sometimes  seem  to  abate,  to  lure  one  away 
from  fire  and  shelter,  just  to  catch  him  in  the 
open  with  full  force.  A  messenger  had  been 
sent  on  ahead,  to  tell  the  soldiers  to  come  out 
and  meet  them,  but  the  storm  made  it  doubtful 
if  he  would  reach  Julesburg.  In  consequence, 
the  next  morning,  Coad  told  the  others  to  re- 
turn to  the  "ranch"  and  he  would  try  to  go  on 
to  the  fort  alone.  About  ten  miles  north  of  the 
present  site  of  Sidney,  he  came  upon  a  de- 
tachment that  had  already  been  sent  out.  They 
said  that  the  day  before,  they  had  had  an  en- 
gagement with  some  Indians  near  there,  and 
had  taken  from  them  a  number  of  horses, 
which  proved  to  be  Goad's,  and  the  Indians 
had  fled  in  the  storm  towards  the  south.  A 
few  days  later  thirty-six  men  arrived  at  a 
"ranch"  on  the  Lodgepole,  about  twenty-five 
miles  west  of  Julesburg,  and  thirty  of  them 
were  pretty  badly  frozen. 

Nearly  all  the  cattle  drifted  into  the  fort  in 
the  next  week  or  so,  and  the  fact  of  their 
weathering  this  severe  storm,  and  seemed  little 
the  worse  for  it,  brought  to  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Coad  the  idea  that  the  prairie  grasses  must  be 
very  nutritious  and  sustaining,  even  though 
browned  by  the  autumn  suns  and  beaten  by 
the  wintry  winds;  and  from  that  thought  in 
his  mind  and  the  minds  of  Creighton,  and  of 
others,  were  born  the  big  ranches  of  the  Pan- 


handle, and  followed  the  years  "when  cattle- 
men were  kings." 

The  "ranch"  on  the  Lodgepole  where  these 
storm-beaten  fugitives  found  shelter,  was  one 
of  the  early  structures  used  for  housing  and 
protection  along  the  line  of  the  Union  Pacific, 
then  being  projected  up  the  Platte  and  Lodge- 
pole. 

In  November,  1866,  the  construction  of  the 
railroad  was  completed  as  far  west  as  North 
Platte,  and  on  the  31st  day  of  January,  1867, 
the  plat  of  the  original  town  was  filed.  A  mili- 
tary post  was  established,  and  soldiers  were 
garrisoned  there.  "Shorter"  county,  the  ante- 
cedent of  Lincoln  county,  had  tried  to  organize 
five  or  six  years  earlier,  but  the  only  officer 
who  had  qualified  was  Charles  McDonald, 
judge,  who  did  so  in  order  to  perform  marriage 
ceremonies.  The  county  seat  had  been  desig- 
nated as  Cottonwood  Springs,  but  the  county 
was  re-organized  as  Lincoln  County,  and  the 
county  seat  moved  to  North  Platte,  by  a  total 
of  twenty-one  votes  cast,  on  October  8,  1867. 
The  officers  were  B.  I.  Hinman,  representative ; 
W.  M.  Hinman,  County  Judge;  Charles  Mc- 
Donald, County  Clerk ;  O.  O.  Austin,  Sheriff ; 
Hugh  Morgan,  Treasurer;  and  A.  J.  Miller, 
Commissioner.  Charles  McDonald  resided  at 
North  Platte  until  1919  and  was  in  the  bank- 
ing business,  until  his  death. 

In  the  Indian  troubles  that  followed,  the  few 
settlers  in  that  vicinity  used  to  gather  at  North 
Platte,  and  take  refuge  in  the  railroad  round 
house.  On  one  occasion,  the  Indians  captured 
a  freight  train  and  after  killing  the  crew,  they 
pillaged  the  cars,  and  found  some  bolts  of  cal- 
ico. With  this  they  made  merry,  tying  one  end 
of  a  bolt  to  a  pony's  tail,  one  would  ride  out 
across  the  prairie  with  a  hundred  yards  of 
brilliant  calico  streamers  trailing  in  the  wind. 

At  another  time  "Dutch  Frank"  saw  the  In- 
dians on  the  track  ahead  of  him,  and  feeling 
sure  that  it  meant  death  to  stop,  he  opened  the 
throttle,  plowing  through  them  throwing  them 
into  the  air  and  killing  many.  He  arrived  safely 
into  town.  This,  we  believe  was  the  origin  of 
"tank  fighting." 

The  Union  Pacific,  during  the  year  1867, 
built  on  through  Sidney  and  Cheyenne,  and 
Mr.  Tracy,  who  later  became  another  of  the 
cattle  kings,  was  at  Pine  Bluffs,  took  a  contract 
for  getting  out  wood  and  ties  for  the  railroad. 
At  this  point  he  received  his  inspiration  for 
ranching,  and  was  long  known  in  that  business 
by  the  early  settlers. 

The  Fifth  United  States  Cavalry  under  Gen- 
eral Carr  arrived  in  the  spring  of  1S69,  and 
eight  companies  were  left  at  North  Platte  and 
McPherson,  while  four  were  sent  to  Sidney  and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


four  to  Cheyenne.  Their  orders  were  to  "clear 
the  country  of  Indians  from  the  Union  Pacific 
to  the  Kansas  Line." 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Tall  Bull,  one  of 
the  most  bestial  and  brutal,  although  brave  In- 
dians, obtained  the  title  of  the  "scourge  of  Kan- 
sas," because  of  his  numerous  raids,  culminat- 
ing in  the  massacre  of  the  "German  Settle- 
ment," and  taking  away  two  of  the  young  wo- 
men. General  Carr  had  at  hand  the  strategy, 
of  maneuvering  of  the  best  known  of  all  the 
old  scouts  on  the  pursuit  of  this  band,  none 
other  than  Colonel  W.  F.  Cody.  The  final  bat- 
tle occurred  "at  the  springs  in  the  sand  hills,"  a 
few  miles  south  of  the  old  Valley  station  on  the 
South  Platte.     Here  it  was  that  Buffalo  Bill 


killed  Tall  Bull,  by  shooting  him  from  his 
horse.  One  of  the  young  women  captives  was 
killed  by  the  Indians,  while  the  battle  was  on, 
and  two  braves  were  about  to  tomahawk  the 
other,  when  the  unerring  markmanship  of  the 
old  plainsman  ended  their  career.  Tall  Bull's 
band  was  headed  for  the  Niobrara  and  White 
river  country,  where  they  could  brag  about 
their  achievements  to  other  Indians,  but  it  was 
utterly  destroyed  at  this  battle. 

The  fifteen  years  war  following  the  killing 
of  the  Mormon  cow  was  drawing  to  a  close. 
Spotted  Tail  had  been  taken  to  Washington, 
and  Red  Cloud  was  losing  prestige,  for  the 
peaceful  Indians  were  being  fed  regularly  by 
the  whites. 


CHAPTER  XX 

INDIAN  AGENCIES  ADJUSTED  —  SITTING    BULL'S    DETERMINATION  —  BAT- 
TLE OF  WAR  BONNET  CREEK 


Then  for  a  few  years,  the  work  of  estab- 
lishing agencies  and  locating  the  Indians  in 
places  where  each  might  better  work  out  his 
destiny,  without  the  interference  or  trouble 
making  of  another  tribe  was  the  duty  of  the 
war  department.  Early  in  the  seventies  the  old 
Red  Cloud  agency  was  built  at  the  Wyoming 
state  line,  on  the  Platte  river  and  in  a  few 
years  the  new  agency  was  established  on  White 
river.  Spotted  Trail  was  located  on  the  Da- 
kota state  line  about  north  of  Rushville. 

In  1874,  Chauncey  Wiltse  at  the  head  of 
twenty-five  men,  was  sent  out  to  survey  the 
state  line  between  Nebraska  and  Dakota.  If 
there  is  anything  that  made  an  Indian  un- 
easy it  is  a  surveying  party.  Either  they  did 
not  understand  the  mystery  of  the  instrument 
and  they  thought  there  was  something  uncanny 
about  it,  or  they  knew  that  the  surveying  in- 
strument presaged  the  coming  of  settlement, 
and  the  end  of  the  wilderness.  One  surveying 
party,  on  the  Republican,  entirely  disappeared. 
None  of  the  equipment  nor  any  trace  of  them 
was  ever  found. 

Nothwithstanding  Spotted  Tail's  avowed 
friendship  for  the  whites,  and  his  expressed 
opinion  of  the  uselessness  of  struggling  against 
the  white  race,  when  Wiltse's  surveying  party 
reached  the  vicinity  of  White  Earth  Creek, 
one  hundred  and  sixty-two  miles  west  of 
Keya  Paha  river,  a  number  of  Indian  scouts 


armed  with  Winchester  rifles  came  to  meet 
them,  and  for  a  pow-wow.  They  said  that 
Spotted  Tail  did  not  want  the  line  run. 

Wiltse  told  them  that  he  cared  not  for  what 
the  Indian  tribes  wanted,  he  used  stronger 
language  than  that,  for  the  great  father  had 
told  him  to  run  it,  and  run  it  he  would.  And 
run  it  he  did. 

The  trail,  or  road,  from  Ft.  Laramie  to 
Spotted  Tail's  agency,  came  farther  down  the 
river  than  that  to  the  Red  Cloud  agency.  The 
eastmost  of  the  Red  Cloud  roads  ran  through 
the  vicinity  of  Agate,  while  that  to  Spotted 
Tail  crossed  near  Spotted  Tail  Springs,  Wind 
Springs,  and  over  the  Box  Butte  table.  It  will 
be  observed  that  the  relays  between  watering 
places,  from  starting  point  to  destination,  are 
the  shortest  distance  possible,  and  yet  it  is  al- 
most a  direct  route. 

The  establishing  of  Fort  Robinson,  in  1876, 
was  practically  contemporaneous  with  the  ad- 
justment of  the  Indians  in  their  different 
agencies.  It  was  nearer  to  Red  Cloud  because 
the  Red  Cloud  Indians  needed  watching  more 
than  those  under  Spotted  Tail.  In  1876,  Red 
Cloud  was  deposed  by  the  whites,  and  he  no 
longer  ruled  as  chief.  The  "great  red  cloud" — 
his  warriors  wore  red  blankets,  and  moved  as 
a  cloud — ceased  to  be  a  menace  of  the  prairie, 
and  his  descendants  now  live  pursuing  the  arts 
of  peace. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  trails  leading  from  Fort  Robinson  to 
the  Union  Pacific  made  a  veritable  network  at 
the  time,  and  all  converged  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fort  Robinson,  following  one  principal  high- 
way north  to  Deadwood. 

From  Cheyenne  the  mail  road  ran  almost 
straight  to  Laramie,  and  was  a  stiff  bad  road, 
hard  on  oxen  feet  and  lined  with  "poison 
weed."  It  ran  via  Chugwater  creek.  The 
part  north  of  the  Platte  cut  across  the  country 
west  of  the  Raw  Hide  and  finally  dropped  into 
that  valley.  The  soil  on  this  part  of  the  road 
was  too  light  for  heavy  freighting,  and  in 
places  quite  sandy,  but  it  was  used  to  some 
extent. 

The  Freighter's  road  ran  direct  from  Chey- 
enne to  Old  Red  Cloud  on  the  Platte  through 
the  Goshen  Holes.  If  having  business  at  Lar- 
amie they  would  go  up  the  river  to  Laramie 
ferry  or  bridge,  then  by  the  mail  route  to 
White  river. 

Freighters  frequently  forded  the  Platte  at 
Old  Red  Cloud,  and  then  struck  down  the 
Platte  a  number  of  miles,  to  avoid  the  sand 
ridges  that  lay  directly  north  of  the  agency. 
From  the  old  agency  to  the  new,  there  seems 
to  have  been  several  roads,  and  they  were  all 
called  the  Freighter's  road.  There  was  a  canoe 
at  Old  Red  Cloud,  which  was  used  in  crossing 
when  the  water  was  high. 

The  Sidney  road  was  all  right  for  horses  and 
mules  but  was  not  much  in  use  by  'bull 
teams"  for  there  were  two  places  along  the 
route,  where  the  distance  between  water  holes 
caused  suffering  and  death  among  the  cattle. 
This  road  was  satisfactory  during  part  of  the 
season,  but  in  the  hot  dry  summer  months,  two 
of  the  watering  places  dried  up. 

The  Sioux  Trail  from  White  river  to  the 
Republican  ran  parallel  with  this  route,  and  it 
was  used  as  late  as  1876  by  Brules  and  Ogal- 
lalas.  Fort  Robinson  and  the  New  Red  Cloud 
agency  on  White  river  was  where  all  the  trails 
merged  into  one. 

The  fall  of  Red  Cloud,  and  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  the  Black  Hills  brought  forth  another 
leader  of  the  war  division  of  the  Sioux.  Sitting 
Bull  came  into  the  public  eye  ;  and  the  depreda- 
tions, and  lawlessness  of  his  bands  grew  more 
pronounced  as  the  whites  poured  into  the  Black 
Hills  after  gold. 

Sitting  Bull  obtained  his  name,  by  shooting  a 
buffalo  bull,  that  fell  and  was  attempting  to 
arise,  when  the  daring  young  Indian  leaped 
from  his  mustang's  back,  squarely  upon  the 
back  of  the  buffalo.  It  struggled  to  rise,  but 
settled  back  upon  its  haunches. 

The  new  leader  was  determined  that  he 
would  drive  the  white  man  out  of    the  Black 


Hills,  and  was  doing  effective  work  along  the 
line  of  his  endeavor,  when  General  Crook  de- 
cided to  put  an  end  to  it.  Reno  and  Custer 
were  chasing  the  wise  old  redskin  over  the 
wilds  of  Wyoming,  and  Custer,  who  was  in 
advance,  fell  into  an  ambuscade,  and  his  entire 
force  was  destroyed.  I  have  walked  over  the 
battle  ground  and  observed  the  location  of  the 
graves,  as  shown  by  the  little  white  stones,  for 
each  was  buried  where  he  fell,  and  it  tells  the 
story  of  a  struggle  better  than  all  else.  All  who 
are  making  a  trip  into  the  northwest,  should,  if 
possible,  stop  over  one  day  at  Crow  agency, 
Montana,  just  over  the  Wyoming  line,  and 
spend  that  day  at  the  battle  ground,  and  in  the 
woods  on  the  Powder,  where  Sitting  Bull  pre- 
tended to  be  unprepared  although  keenly  upon 
the  alert. 

Reno  was  some  distance  away,  but  within 
sound  of  the  battle,  and  has  been  criticised  for 
not  making  an  attempt  to  rescue  Custer.  One 
of  the  graves  of  a  fallen  soldier,  was  about  two 
miles  in  the  direction  of  Reno's  camp,  he  evi- 
dently having  broken  through  the  red  line  of 
battle,  and  made  a  great  run  for  life. 

At  the  Red  Cloud  agency  there  were  five 
thousand  or  more  Indians,  for  the  most  part 
friendly ;  but  about  eight  hundred  of  them,  fired 
by  the  news  of  Sitting  Bull's  achievements,  left 
the  agency  to  join  him  in  the  work  of  driving 
the  whites  cut  of  the  hills. 

General  Sheridan  ordered  General  Merritt, 
with  four  hundred  men  of  the  Fifth  Cavalry, 
to  proceed  post-haste  to  re-enforce  General 
Crook  on  Big  Goose  creek.  He  heard  of  the 
movement  of  the  Indians  at  the  agency,  and 
disobeyed  the  order  of  his  superior,  to  inter- 
cept them.  Events  justified  his  disobedience, 
as  it  often  did  in  the  kaleidoscope  changes  in 
fighting  Indians.  Colonel  Cody,  who  at  that 
time  was  in  the  midst  of  a  Wildwest  exhibition, 
at  the  Centennial  Fair,  abruptly  closed  his  show 
at  tremendous  loss,  and  volunteered  his  serv- 
ices. He  was  made  chief  of  scouts  with  Gen- 
eral Merritt.  To  intercept  the  movements  of 
the  Indians  the  cavalry  moved  as  directed  by 
Buffalo  Bill,  seventy-five  miles  in  twenty-four 
hours,  and  placed  themselves  directly  in  the 
path  of  the  Indians. 

The  advanced  portion  of  the  Indians  was 
surprised,  and  drew  up  in  battle  line,  to  await 
these  that  were  coming  from  the  rear.  The 
cavalry  also  were  prepared.  At  this  dramatic 
moment,  Yellow  Hand,  issued  his  famous  chal- 
lenge to  "Long  Hair"  (Buffalo  Bill),  and  with- 
out waiting  for  orders  from  his  superior, 
Colonel  Cody  rode  out  to  meet  him. 

Little  Bat,  the  interpreter,  conveyed  to  Gen- 
eral Merritt,  the  nature  of  the  challenge,  and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


all  eyes  on  both  sides  were  centered  on  the  duel. 
It  was  with  such  sudden  rush  and  denouement, 
that  it  was  over  and  the  battle  of  War  Bonnet 
Creek  was  on  before  it  was  hardly  time  to 
realize  it. 

Buffalo  Bill  and  Yellow  Hand  spurred  their 
horses  straight  for  one  another  at  full  speed, 
and  when  near  to  each  other,  a  bullet  from 
Cody's  rifle  struck  the  Indian's  horse  squarely 
in  the  forehead.  It  fell  with  a  forward  mo- 
mentum, and  the  horse  Cody  was  riding  fell 
over  it.  Yellow  Hand  and  the  veteran  of  the 
plains  were  both  afoot,  and  went  at  each  other 
without  a  moment's  delay,  one  with  his  toma- 
hawk, and  the  other  with  his  knife.  With  his 
left  hand  Cody  caught  the  blow  of  the  toma- 
hawk, and  plunged  the  knife  into  the  heart  of 
the  Indian.  Falling  upon  him  as  he  went  down, 
Buffalo  Bill  lifted  his  war  bonnet,  and  seized 
his  scalp-lock. 

The  Indians  waited  no  longer,  but  plunged 
forward  to  avenge  the  death  of  their  chief. 
Cody  shook  in  the  faces  his  bloody  scalp,  and 
shouted :  "the  first  scalp  for  Custer."  With 
war  bonnets  streaming,  and  brilliantly  painted 
they  were  almost  upon  him,  when  the  veteran 


Fifth  Cavalry  in  action,  swept  by.  with  their 
carbines  cracking.  The  nerve  of  the  Chey- 
ennes  broke  and  they  fled.  Time  after  time, 
they  tried  to  recover,  and  make  a  stand ;  but 
before  there  was  any  organization,  the  soldiers 
were  again  upon  them,  and  finally  they  broke 
and  ran,  pell  mell  for  the  agency. 

There  was  some  apprehension  that  when 
they  got  among  the  five  thousand  friendlies 
they  would  excite  them  to  violence.  It  was 
determined  to  make  a  show  of  courage,  and 
the  troops,  in  solid  formation,  ready  for  any 
emergency,  rode  straight  through  the  agency, 
to  Fort  Robinson. 

That  ended  the  insurrection  at  the  agency, 
and  Sitting  Bull,  whom  Custer  was  trying  to 
prevent  from  going  north,  when  the  massacre 
occurred,  got  away  after  wiping  out  that  por- 
tion of  the  advance.  He  was  pursued,  but 
reached  the  Canadian  line  in  safety. 

War  Bonnet  creek  is  a  branch  of  Hat  creek, 
coming  in  from  the  east.  The  point  of  con- 
vergence is  in,  or  near  the  twenty-two  thous- 
and acre  ranch  of  Colonel  Charles  Coffee,  in 
northern  Sioux  County. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


SAND  HILLS  STATION  ROBBERY  — BIG    BEAR,    OR    CRAZY    WOMAN  —  THE 
SOD  CABIN  — PRIVATIONS  OF  EARLY  YEARS 


Hugo  Koch,  was  one  of  the  old  freighters 
of  the  late  fifties  and  early  sixties.  He  is  still 
living  at  Lander,  Wyoming,  and  is  an  intimate 
friend  of  Charles  Andrews  of  Scottsbluff,  who 
had  charge  of  the  feeding  business  at  the 
Scottsbluff  Sugar  Factory  for  many  years.  I 
have  a  letter  from  Koch  in  which  he  speaks 
of  his  connection  with  the  Sand  Hills  station, 
which  is  located  a  few  miles  over  the  line  in 
Wyoming,  and  he  says :  "eighteen  miles  west 
of  Scottsbluff."  This  would  indicate  Robi- 
deaux  Gap,  far  eighteen  miles  west  of  Mitchell 
Gap  would  not  reach  the  state  line. 

It  was  shortly  after  the  Grattan  Massacre 
that  Spotted  Tail  and  a  band  of  Sioux  are 
credited  with  attacking  this  station  as  a  stage 
from  Salt  Lake  City  was  enroute  east.  They 
killed  all  the  employes  and  the  driver,  and  car- 
ried off  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  gold,  in 
twenty  dollar  gold  pieces,  belonging  to  the  Liv- 


ingston Kinkaides  Company  of  Salt  Lake  City. 
General  Harney  made  a  demand  for  the  per- 
petrators of  the  deed,  and  Spotted  Tail  and  the 
party  made  their  spectacular  entry  into  Fort 
Laramie  singing  their  death  songs. 

Another  point  of  interest  is  just  over  the 
Wyoming  line,  near  the  northwest  corner  of 
Sioux  county.  It  is  one  of  the  many  branches 
of  the  Cheyenne  river,  not  much  more  than  a 
creek  or  canyon,  occasionally  widening  to 
small  hay  valleys.  In  the  early  days  it  bore 
the  Indian  name  "Big  Beard."  the  same  obtain- 
ing from  the  character  of  the  grass  that  grew 
along  the  bank  of  the  stream.  But  for  the  last 
generation  it  has  held  the  name  of  "Crazy 
Woman,"  because  of  incidents  and  adventures 
I  have  heretofore  written  in  a  crude  story  of 
verse  under  the  title  of  "The  Sod  Cabin." 

The  beginning  of  the  adventure  was  in  Lake 
Canyon,  about  thirty  or  forty  miles  south  of 


80 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


North  Platte.  Here  a  family  of  easterners, 
from  the  Buckeye  state,  had  settled  down  and 
left  for  a  time  their  happy,  yet  unhappy,  sur- 
roundings for  the  primitive  life  and  restfulness 
of  the  semi-mountain  home. 

But  their  persecutor,  "Scar  Face  Ben,"  had 
followed  and  in  the  disguise  of  an  Indian  with 
a  party  of  Indians,  the  home  was  invaded,  and 
an  attempt  made  to  kidnap  a  young  lady.  Her 
mother,  who  had  seen  an  Indian  raise  his  toma- 
hawk as  she  thought,  to  strike  her  daughter, 
had  interposed,  the  blow  fell  upon  her  head 
and  left  a  long  ugly  cut,  with  the  temporary 
loss  of  consciousness. 

This  unexpected  denouement,  for  there  had 
been  no  intention  of  murder,  for  a  moment  dis- 
concerted the  outlaw,  and  in  the  moment  the 
father  and  the  girl  escaped,  but  were  separated 
in  the  night.  The  story  tells  of  their  wandering 
up  through  the  valley  of  the  Nortn  Platte,  and 
to  the  Horse  creek  caves.  Then  on  through  the 
Rocky  Gap,  where  their  persecutor  chased 
the  "Prairie  Rose,"  as  the  heroine  was  called, 
until  she  fell  over  a  cliff  and  made  a  footprint 
in  the  soft  clay,  that  "after  hardened  into 
stone  and  left  distinct  the  footprint  there." 

During  the  building  of  the  Cheyenne  and 
Northern.  I  was  working  in  one  of  the  camps, 
near  the  head  of  Chugwater,  and  one  Sunday 
two  of  us  boys  scaled  some  very  difficult  rocks 
in  the  Rocky  Gap,  and  we  found  the  footprint 
which  is  part  of  the  foundation  of  the  story. 
The  track  was  that  of  about  number  four 
size  woman's  or  child's  bare  foot,  and  it  was 
impressed  fully  an  inch  in  what  had  become 
soft  rock,  during  the  lapse  of  years. 

The  girl's  sweetheart  was  temporarily  away 
from  the  lodge  on  the  Medicine,  and  when  he 
returned  he  found  the  cabin  in  ruins,  and  all 
had  departed,  including  the  woman.  Of 
course  he  knew  nothing  of  their  fate,  nor  that 
the  woman  had  been  hit  by  a  tomahawk,  and 
had  wandered  away  "a  crazy  woman." 

Some  instinct  sent  him  on  into  the  west, 
and  there  is  quite  a  long  story  of  it,  and  of 
how  he  witnessed  from  a  distance  the  Custer 
Massacre. 

The  mad  mother  in  the  course  of  her  wan- 
derings came  to  the  valley  of  the  Big  Beard, 
and  here  she  lived  for  a  year  or  more,  sub- 
sisting on  roots  and  berries  and  bark.  Mere 
the  father  found  her.  and  while  she  several 
times  rushed  away  and  hid  at  his  approach  as 
she  did  when  strangers  appeared,  he  at  last 
caught  her,  and  her  reason  returned. 

The  woman's  living  in  this  section  changed 
ili<  name  of  Big  Beard  to  Crazy  Woman. 

As  is  the  way  with  stories,  this  ended  well, 
and    the    daughter    was    found,    and    then    the 


sweetheart,  and  also  came  the  knowledge  that 
their  persecutor  was  dead.  They  then  lived 
for  a  time  in  a  huge  sod  cabin,  some  distance 
west  of  the  Big  Horn  range  in  Wyoming,  but 
later  left  their  happy  mountain  domicile  for  the 
old  home  in  Ohio. 

"Sometimes  when  Lillie  musing  sits, 
A  dreamy  mist  before  her  flits, 
And  to  her  waking  memories  come 
Fair  visions  of  a  mountain  home. 
And  all  her  gilded  marble  halls 
Become  transformed  to  sodded  walls, 
Her  frescoed  ceilings  fade  away 
To  rough  hewn  poles  and  boughs  and  hay. 

"The  mists  they  break  before  her  eyes, 
'Twas  but  a  dream  of  Paradise. 

"Since  then  the  mountain  fires  swept  o'er 
And  burned  the  ivy  round  the  door. 
The  rotting  door  frame  stands  alone, 
Save  idly  swinging  door,  with  moan, 
Its  hinges  coated  o'er  with  rust. 
The  walls  have  crumbled  into  dust." 

There  are  not  a  great  many  of  the  old  guard 
of  pioneers  surviving,  but  those  that  are  still 
with  us  in  their  travels  over  western  Nebraska, 
occasionally  see  the  ruins  of  a  sod  cabin,  and 
to  each  there  come  a  sadness,  for  each  sees 
therein  the  home  shrine  of  a  once  hopeful 
family  that  came  into  the  west. 

We  all  had  the  same  ambitions,  and  all  did 
our  level  best  to  make  those  humble  places  of 
abode,  real  homes.  We  had  no  wild  or  ex- 
travagant ideas  or  desires,  but  we  wanted  that 
farm  for  ours  and  our  children.  A  few,  like 
the  dwellers  in  the  cabin  west  of  the  Big 
Horns,  went  back  to  better  things  (perhaps)  in 
the  east.  The  most  of  us  that  have  survived 
are  still  here,  where  our  lives  are  woven  into 
the  woof  and  warp  of  the  fabric  of  western 
Nebraska. 

Together,  we  suffered  the  hardships  of  the 
lean  years,  and  we  hustled  out  for  grub-stakes, 
singly  or  in  pairs,  leaving  wives  and  families 
in  the  old  soddies,  dugouts,  and  log  houses, 
looking  after  home  affairs  while  we  went  after 
the  few  scattered  dollars  that  we  could  pick 
up  at  work  wherever  we  could  find  it.  Up 
on  the  Cheyenne  &  Northern  I  met  Harry 
Watson,  John  Frazier,  and  others  from  the 
Box  Butt'e  table.  In  the  South  Platte  Vailey 
there  were  Theo.  Harshman,  Theo.  Deutsch, 
William  P.  Young,  Antoine  and  Wenzel 
Hiersche,  and  I  know  not  how  many  others, 
picking  spuds,  herding  sheep,  or  working  at 
railroad  construction.    The  Cheyenne  &  North- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


81 


era  and  the  Sterling  &  Cheyenne  branches  of 
the  Burlington  drew  heavily  from  the  granges 
of  western  Nebraska  for  the  help  needed  to 
build  them.  Young  and  Hiersche  brought  in 
from  Colorado  the  few  sheep  that  was  the 
nucleus  of  their  later  large  herds. 

Irrigation  in  the  North  Platte  valley  was  in 
its  infancy.  A  few  of  the  smaller  ditches  were 
in  operation,  and  others  had  been  crudely  sur- 
veyed. There  was  plenty  of  man  power,  and 
there  were  harness  broken  bronchos  for  horse 
power,  but  there  was  no  equipment,  and  no 
money  with  which  to  buy  it.  Men  would  take 
their  payment  in  stocks  and  bonds,  but  these 
had  no  fixed  value.  They  were  hocked  about, 
and  traded  and  exchanged  for  provisions  at 
low  figures,  or  swapped  for  anything  else  of 
value.  I  furnished  some  tile  for  culverts  and 
outlets  for  the  Gering  canal,  and  had  to  take 
my  pay  in  bonds,  at  about  two-thirds  par. 
The  bonds  were  sometimes  as  low  as  fifty  cents 
on  the  dollar,  in  exchanges. 

When  the  spud  pickers  were  over  on  the 
South  Platte  and  the  Cache  le  Poudre,  they  no- 
ticed occasionally  abandoned  "slushers,"  or 
road  scrapers,  of  the  wooden  back  and  Mor- 
mon tongued  variety,  lying  by  the  road  side, 
and  inquiry  failed  to  locate  the  owners. 

On  returning  to  the  North  Platte  valley, 
they  hooked  up  their  grass-fed  broncs,  and  re- 
turned to  the  location  of  the  find.  We  are 
told  that  they  again  sought  for  but  could  not 
find  the  owners,  and  as  they  had  apparently 
been  abandoned  for  a  long  time,  no  doubt  for 
better  equipment,  the  old  ones  were  loaded  in 
the  wagons  and  brought  into  western  Nebraska. 
It  is  yet  an  open  question  if  they  sought  very 
diligently  for  the  owners,  and  also  what  they 
would  have  done  had  they  not  found  them  for 
they  had  no  money  to  buy  the  scrapers.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  these  scrapers  were  used  to 
good  service  in  the  North  Platte  irrigation 
building. 

Lars  Olson,  of  Banner  county,  and  James 
Nighswonger   were    among   the   spud   pickers 


that  went  to  Greeley,  and  there  were  many 
others. 

Over  on  the  Chadron  plains  and  Box  Butte 
table,  the  hardships  seemed  fully  as  acute.  Of- 
ten I  wonder  what  mental  processes  worked 
out  those  years,  and  how  those  who  stayed, 
survived,  and  how  they  managed  to  keep  the 
wolf  from  the  door. 

A  few  miles  east  of  Chadron  there  lived  a 
German  and  his  family.  One  day  he  was  ob- 
served sitting  in  a  disconsolate  mood  on  the 
sidewalk,  and  a  passing  acquaintance  stopped 
and  asked  his  what  was  the  matter.  He  said 
that  there  was  no  flour  in  the  house,  no  food, 
that  the  children  cried  because  they  were  so 
hungry,  that  he  had  brought  a  load  of  wood 
to  town  to  try  to  trade  for  something.  No 
one  wanted  to  trade;  the  merchants  needed 
money  and  not  fire  wood,  and  no  one  else 
would  buy  it.  He  only  wanted  a  few  dollars, 
and  he  could  not  borrow  at  the  banks,  or  get 
credit  at  the  stores.  "I  think  I  get  a  gun, 
and  end  it  all,"  he  said.  "But  that  will  not  stop 
the  hunger  cries  of  the  children,"  said  his  phil- 
osophic friend.  "Yes,  but  I  cannot  stand  it 
to  hear  them,  and  that  will  end  my  hearing 
them,  and  maybe  someone  can  feed  them,"  was 
the  answer. 

"Listen,"  said  the  friend,  "you  take  that 
wood  up  to  my  house  and  unload  it.  You  go 
home  and  buck  up,  and  do  your  best  to  take 
care  of  that  wife,  and  your  children,"  and  he 
handed  him  three  silver  dollars.  The  German 
took  courage,  and  weathered  the  gale,  some- 
how, and  lived  and  prospered  in  the  land. 

But  the  friend,  what  of  him?  Those  three 
dollars  were  the  last  three  dollars  that  he  had 
in  the  world.  What  was  he  to  do  ?  He  man- 
aged it  some  way,  just  as  many  another  man- 
aged it,  and  to  this  day,  they  can  look  back 
and  say :  "I  do  not  see  how  it  was  done,  or 
where  it  came  from,  or  what  kept  the  wolf 
away.  Elijah  was  fed  by  the  ravens,  and  I 
guess  the  ravens  must  have  looked  after  us." 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XXII 


REVOLT  OF  DULL  KNIFE  — WINTER  FIGHTING  IN   THE   PINE  RIDGE  — END 
OF  INDIAN  WARS  — SIGN  LANGUAGE 


After  the  departure  of  Sitting  Bull  for  the 
Canadas,  it  was  decided  to  separate  the  disturb- 
ing element  of  the  Indians  and  to  remove  those 
who  most  strenuously  objected  to  the  advance- 
ment of  settlement  in  western  Nebraska,  to 
places  remote.  In  consequence  the  Northern 
Cheyennes  were  taken  to  Indian  Territory. 

Dull  Knife,  Little  Wolf,  Wild  Hog,  and  oth- 
er chiefs  with  a  large  part  of  the  tribe  refused 
to  be  satisfied  with  the  new  location,  and  insist- 
ed on  being  returned  to  the  north.  They  were 
accustomed  to  the  cool  climate  and  the  pure 
water,  and  the  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  was  in- 
tensified by  an  epidemic  of  malaria,  which  be- 
came so  prevalent  that  two  thousand  were 
prostrated  at  one  time.  The  supply  of  medicine 
was  exhausted  and  it  was  necessary  to  dis- 
continue its  use. 

On  the  night  of  September  9,  1878,  eighty- 
nine  men  and  two  hundred  and  forty-six 
women  and  children,  vanished  in  the  darkness, 
leaving  their  tepees  standing  to  deceive  the  sol- 
diers. As  soon  as  the  departure  was  discov- 
ered, hundred  of  troops  from  a  half  dozen 
posts,  were  detailed  to  overtake  or  intercept 
them.  Guards  were  placed  along  the  Kansas 
Pacific  and  the  Union  Pacific  railroads  to  pre- 
vent their  crossing  and  engines  with  steam  up 
and  ready  to  go,  were  held  in  waiting  to  be  in- 
stantly away,  when  the  wires  would  flash  the 
news  that  they  had  been  discovered. 

In  spite  of  all  this,  the  desperate  little  band 
of  fugitives  swept  across  Oklahoma  and  Kan- 
sas, killing  more  than  forty  settlers,  and  burn- 
ing houses,  and  committing  other  outrages.  Re- 
mounting on  two  hundred  and  fifty  freshly 
captured  horses,  they  crossed  the  Kansas  Pa- 
cific between  the  patrols,  and  a  few  hours 
ahead  of  the  pursuing  party.  On  October 
tenth,  after  they  had  reached  the  Sand  Hills  of 
Nebraska,  the  troops  temporarily  abandoned 
the  chase. 

In  their  flight  of  five  hundred  miles,  they  had, 
besides  the  damage  inflicted  on  the  settlements, 
fought  three  engagements,  each  time  with  more 
than  twice  their  number,  and  with  a  total  loss 
of  only  fifteen  Indians  killed. 

From  prisoners  taken  later,  it  was  learned 
that  they  were  trying  to  reach  their  kinsmen 
in  Montana,  where  they  intended  to  surrender 
if  they  would  he  allowed  to  remain  in  the 
north.  <  Itherwise  they  were  intending  to  push 
on,  and  join  Sitting  Bull  in  Canada. 


In  the  meantime,  their  kinsmen  were  on  their 
way  south  in  charge  of  the  noted  scout  '"Ben" 
Clark,  and  he,  with  rare  tact,  diplomacy  and 
courage,  avoided  the  track  of  the  raiders,  and 
kept  his  own  people  in  ignorance  of  what  was 
going  on,  until  he  had  them  safely  landed  at 
Fort  Reno,  Oklahoma. 

Clark,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  had  ac- 
companied General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston 
to  Salt  Lake  City,  to  impress  the  Mormons  into 
a  state  of  mind  acknowledging  that  the  domin- 
ion of  the  United  States  meant  Utah,  as  well 
as  other  states.  He  was  at  Ash  Hollow  in  the 
summer  of  1857,  when  the  Cheyennes  attacked 
the  wagon  train  and  killed  three  of  the  party. 
This  was  Clark's  first  experience  with  Indians, 
but  he  later  became  a  scout  of  great  renown. 

When  Dull  Knife's  band  reached  the  sand 
hills  of  Nebraska,  they  scattered  into  small 
bands,  and  the  pursuit  of  any  single  band  re- 
sulted in  that  band  breaking  into  fragments, 
and  if  a  capture  was  effected,  it  was  only  a 
single  Indian.  The  soldiers,  weary  of  the  long 
chase,  and  the  baffling  tactics  of  the  Indians, 
went  to  Fort  Robinson ;  and  after  a  brief  re- 
spite, together  with  re-enforcements  of  sol- 
diers, and  friendly  Sioux,  the  pursuit  was  re- 
sumed 

On  October  23d,  one  hundred  and  forty-nine, 
which  included  Dull  Knife's  fragment  of  the 
band,  together  with  Wild  Hog,  were  captured 
by  Captain  Johnson.  The  remainder  of  the 
fugitives,  under  Little  Wolf,  escaped  in  a 
snow  storm.  These  captured  were  taken,  still 
protesting  to  Fort  Robinson,  and  were  confined 
in  an  empty  barrack  room.  They  declared  that 
they  would  die,  rather  than  be  taken  back  to 
Indian  Territory. 

Red  Cloud  requested  of  the  army  officers 
that  the  knives  be  taken  away  from  the  Indians, 
for  in  event  that  the  government  should  order 
that  they  be  taken  again  south,  they  would, 
rather  than  yield  to  the  order,  take  their  own 
lives.  This  request  was  ignored  by  the  mili- 
tary. In.  the  time  that  elapsed  in  getting  orders 
from  Washington  there  was  apparently  some 
laxity  in  vigilence,  and  the  Indians  had  gotten 
possession  of  about  fifteen  guns  and  some  pis- 
tols. 

On  the  3d  day  of  January.  1879,  the  order 
came  to  return  them  to  Indian  Territory,  and 
the  next  day  Wild  Hog  gave  an  unequivocal 
negative  to  the  proposition,  saying  that  the  fol- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


83 


lowing  would  prefer  to  die.  There  were  forty- 
nine  men,  fifty-one  women,  and  forty-eight 
children  prisoners  at  the  time,  and  it  was  un- 
dertaken to  starve  and  freeze  them  into  sub- 
mission. Water  was  denied  them  three  days, 
and  fuel  and  food  five  days,  but  it  was  ineffec- 
ual.  Dull  Knife  was  wary,  and  Wild  Hog.  af- 
ter being  induced  to  come  out,  was  put  in 
irons,  after  stabbing  a  soldier. 

At  this,  the  others  barricaded  the  doors,  and 
covered  the  windows  to  conceal  their  move- 
ments. They  then  tore  up  the  floors  and  con- 
structed rifle  pits  in  the  enclosure,  to  command 
all  the  windows.  About  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
on  the  night  of  January  9th,  they  killed  two 
sentinels,  took  their  guns  and  made  good  their 
escape.  As  they  fled  over  the  snow  in  the  val- 
ley of  Soldier  creek,  the  alarm  was  given  and 
hundreds  of  shots  were  exchanged  with  not 
many  casualties,  after  which  a  tense  quietness 
settled  on  the  Pine  Ridge  hills. 

There  was  a  ranchman,  named  Bronson,  who 
had  located  about  five  miles  south  of  the  fort, 
the  first  actual  settler  in  the  present  limits  of 
Dawes  county,  and  he  and  his  man  heard  the 
noise  of  battle.  Knowing  the  danger  if  the 
Indians  had  broken  out,  and  especially  if  they 
should  happen  to  make  their  break  to  the 
southward.  Bronson  and  man  mounted  their 
horses  and  rode  toward  the  fort,  keeping  a 
sharp  lookout.  As  they  topped  the  Pine  Ridges 
south  of  the  valley,  they  could  see  it  laying 
white  with  snow  under  the  full  moon,  and  not 
a  sign  of  life.  The  fort  was  absolutely  dark, 
save  for  one  feeble  needle  of  light.  In  the  si- 
lence, they  moved  forward,  and  came  upon 
tracks  in  the  snow,  indicating,  the  route  taken 
by  the  fugitives.  There  was  a  dark  spot  upon 
the  snow,  that  as  they  approached  proved  to  be 
Buffalo  Hump,  a  relative  of  Dull  Knife,  and  he 
was  near  unto  death.  So  near,  that  his  only 
movement  thereafter  was  a  futile  attempt  to 
kill  Bronson,  which  effort  took  his  last  ounce 
of  vitality,  and  he  fell  back  in  the  snow,  dead. 

There  were  a  number  of  engagements  in  the 
Pine  Ridges  the  following  several  days,  and  of 
the  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  that  escaped, 
there  were  killed  a  total  of  thirty-two,  and  sev- 
enty-one were  re-captured.  Of  the  forty-six 
still  at  large,  nineteen  were  warriors.  After 
several  skirmishes  and  escapes  these  were  in- 
tercepted January  22,  by  Captain  Wessells,  and 
twenty-three  were  killed  and  nine  re-captured. 
The  other  fourteen  joined  Little  Wolf's  band, 
and  on  March  25th,  Lieutenant  Clark  captured 
Little  Wolf  on  the  Box  Elder,  and  with  him, 
thirty-three  warriors  and  eighty-one  women 
and  children. 

Officially  Dull  Knife  was  reported  killed  in 


some  of  the  skirmishes  in  the  Pine  Ridges,  or 
bad  lands,  although  all  information,  except  the 
official  records,  is  to  the  effect  that  he  lived 
for  many  years  after.  Bronson  says  that  Dull 
Knife  was  with  the  Ogallalas,  and  that  his 
later  years  were  full  of  moroseness,  and  he 
was  a  sour  and  surly  old  Indian. 

Of  the  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  that  left 
Indian  Territory,  seventy-two  were  the  total 
number  killed.  Two  hundred  and  six  were  re- 
captured, and  sixty  finally  made  good  their  es- 
cape. They  won  their  fight,  however,  for  in- 
stead of  sending  them  south,  the  others  were 
brought  north  from  the  territory.  The  tribe 
was  given  a  reservation  in  Montana,  to  which 
many  of  them  were  taken,  but  a  large  number 
remained  with  the  Sioux,  and  some  of  them 
still  live  on  the  Pine  Ridge  reservation. 

That  was  practically  the  end  of  Indian  fight- 
ing in  western  Nebraska.  It  is  true  that  about 
1890,  there  was  a  scare  that  went  over  the 
homestead  territory,  and  the  Medicine  man, 
Sitting  Bull,  the  incorrigible,  worked  a  few 
of  the  tribe  into  a  frenzy.  "Ghost  Dancing" 
was  initiated,  and  some  of  the  younger  In- 
dians had  a  slight  reversion  to  the  blood  lust 
of  early  years.  Sitting  Bull  was  killed,  and 
the  Battle  of  Wounded  Knee,  nearly  north  of 
Rushville.  was  only  a  small  affair  compared 
with  early  Indian  fights,  and  that  was  the  last 
flare  of  the  dying  fire. 

W.  P.  Clark,  captain  of  the  Second  Cavalry, 
followed  the  work  of  Major  North  in  training 
Indians  for  scouting  and  police  work.  North 
had  a  number  of  Pawnees  at  Summit  Springs 
when  Tall  Bull's  band  was  annihilated ;  and  as 
they  were  preparing  to  go  into  battle,  they  dis- 
carded Uncle  Sam's  uniforms,  and  wore  only 
breachclouts.  They  painted  the  bodies  thick 
with  vermillion,  red  and  black.  That  was  their 
idea  of  how  to  dress  for  a  fight. 

In  1876,  when  gold  was  discovered  in  the 
Black  Hills,  it  made  a  big  rush,  and  with  con- 
sequent irritation  to  the  Indians.  Captain 
Clark  was  established  at  Red  Cloud  Agency  on 
White  River  with  three  hundred  Indian  scouts 
— •  Pawnee,  Shoshone,  Arapahoe,  Cheyenne, 
Crow  and  Sioux.  There  were  six  tribes  having 
six  different  vocal  languages,  yet  thev  managed 
to  converse  fluently  and  with  ease.  It  was  by 
the  common  sign  language,  and  under  such 
conditions  it  could  not  otherwise  than  impress 
one  with  its  value  and  beauty. 

On  the  march,  by  the  camp  fires,  at  early 
dawn,  or  just  before  the  battle,  one  could  see 
the  signs,  the  recognition,  and  the  perfect  un- 
derstanding. The  sign  language  extended  to 
the  Assinoboines,  Gros  Ventres  of  the  Prairie. 


84 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  Bannocks,  the  Mandans  and  the  Arikaries. 
It  was  the  universal  language  of  the  race. 

So  impressed  was  General  Sheridan  with 
its  importance  that  he  detailed  Captain  Clark 
to  prepare  and  submit  to  him  a  work  on  the 
silent  language.  This  was  not  completed  until 
1881 ;  too  late  to  be  of  value  in  the  wars,  but 
of  great  interest  and  merit.  Old  Indian  fight- 
ers and  frontiersmen  had,  however,  absorbed 
much  of  it  in  the  earlier  years,  and  it  was  of 
much  use  to  them  from  time  to  time. 

Its  value  lay  in  not  only  being  able  to  com- 
municate and  receive  impressions,  but  it  check- 
ed unreliable  interpreters.  Sometimes,  after  a 
crooked  interpreter  would  convey  one  impres- 
sion, a  silent  sign  from  a  friendly  would  tell 
the  observer  the  truth. 


Indians  can  sit  for  hours  with  only  an  oc- 
casional grunt,  yet  their  hands  are  unweaving  a 
tale,  or  they  are  exchanging  opinions.  There 
was  a  child  among  the  Sioux,  that  was  dumb, 
but  she  could  talk  fluently  with  her  hands. 
Even  the  Zodiac  was  crudely  exemplified  in 
the  silent  language  of  the  Indians.  The  Trail 
to  the  Happy  Hunting  Grounds  was  indicated 
by  "the  sign  of  the  milky  way,"  for  the  starry 
pathway  across  the  sky  was  believed  by  the 
Indians  to  be  the  "Long,  long  trail."  Arapa- 
hoes  who  fainted,  and  came  to,  said  they  had 
been  along  the  Milky  Way,  and  had  seen  the 
tepees  and  game. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE  WINDING  STORY— SAGES  TALE  OF  ORGIES  — THE  NEW  DAWN 


"The  story  winds  as  winds  the  river,"  and 
memory  and  history  goes  back  along  the  Red 
Cloud  Trail,  when  it  did  not  bear  the  distinc- 
tion of  the  common  translation  of  the  name, 
"Marpiya  Luta."  It  was  used,  however,  by 
the  trapper  and  the  trader,  and  the  country  of 
North  Sioux  county,  then  unorganized,  was 
alive  with  dangers  similar  to  those  that  marked 
the  close  of  Indian  wars.  The  benevolent  as- 
similation of  all  that  the  Indian  possessed  was 
in  progress.  The  red  man  was  drugged  with 
the  sweetened  fire-water,  and  fought  and  rob- 
bed and  murdered  to  get  more. 

When  the  Indian  fought  the  emigrants  and 
stages  and  pony  express  along  the  Great  White 
Medicine  Road,  they  were  fighting  for  their 
own  as  they  viewed  it.  The  signal  fires  that 
burned  at  night  on  the  hills  the  length  of  the 
North  Platte  Valley,  the  signal  smokes  that 
curled  upward  from  the  hills  by  day,  the  fire- 
arrows  that  marked  lurid  streaks  across  the 
dark  skies  of  the  terrible  wilderness,  the  silence 
of  the  night,  the  sudden  pandemonium-  of 
sound,  the  whirlwind  of  activity,  leaving  death 
in  its  wake,  the  disappearing  shadows,  and 
then  again  the  silence.  That  was  the  part  of 
the  Indian  life  that  homeseekers,  goldseekers, 
and  early  patriots  of  the  west  found. 

But  brutal  commercialism  found  another 
side.      Life,    morality,    soul,    all    the   finer   In- 


stincts of  man,  were  subordinated  and  sub- 
merged in  the  one  great  purpose  of  greed.  The 
stories  of  Sage  in  Rock  Mountain  Travels,  in- 
clude events  in  the  history  of  the  Panhandle 
of  Nebraska.  Sage  went  out  over  the  route 
later  designated  as  the  Red  Cloud  Trail,  with 
a  party  of  the  traders,  and  his  is  a  harrowing 
recital  of  the  drama  of  life  on  the  Running 
Water  and  White  River  in  1845. 

"Soon  after  arrival  at  White  River,  a  man 
was  sent  to  a  nearby  Indian  village,  with  a 
keg  of  diluted  rum  for  the  purpose  of  trade. 
The  Indians  wanted  it  "as  a  gift  on  the 
prairie,"  which  the  trader  refused.  A  fight 
ensued,  and  the  trader  and  two  protecting  sol- 
diers were  beaten  off,  the  former  after  having 
been  dragged  through  the  lodge  fire  three  or 
four  times,  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life. 

"The  Indians  then  attacked  and  took  the 
trading  post  of  the  American  Fur  Company, 
and  robbed  it  of  both  liquor  and  goods." 

About  the  same  time  two  traders  from  an- 
other fur  company  appeared  and  one  had  liq- 
uor and  the  other  goods  to  trade.  The  Indians 
were  treated,  and  as  usual,  commenced  to  fight. 
In  the  end  they  attacked  the  other  trader.  He 
was  compelled  to  flee,  and  through  the  friend- 
ly assistance  of  squaws,  he  managed  to  escape 
with  his  life.  His  goods  were  taken,  and  one 
of   the   Indians  who  had   defended   him,  was 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


85 


murdered,  while  several  others  suffered 
wounds. 

Not  long  after,  Choteau's  man  was  shot  at 
three  or  four  times,  and  one  of  his  guards 
wounded.  Another,  while  serving  liquor  was 
stabbed,  and  but  for  timely  assistance  would 
have  been  murdered.  And  still  another  was 
compelled  to  stand  over  a  hot  fire,  nearly 
roasting  alive,  while  Indians  helped  themselves 
to  his  stock.  Two  warriors  entered  a  trader's 
post  for  a  blanket.  They  were  intoxicated 
and  one  of  them  was  in  the  act  of  stabbing  an 
unsuspecting  clerk,  when  Sage  caught  his 
wrist.  This  trader  was  later,  when  sur- 
rounded by  all  his  men.  shot  at  and  narrowly 
escaped  death.  And  then,  one  night  a  party 
of  Indians  tried  to  burn  his  store,  but  the  logs 
were  too  green  to  burn. 

Sage  was  a  partisan  of  the  American  Fur 
Company,  and  sought  to  enlist  the  interest  of 
an  old  chief,  by  giving  him  a  "soldier  suit" 
to  wear.  Bull  Eagle,  another  chief,  was  in- 
toxicated and  laughed  at  him.  Inflamed  he 
rushed  to  Sage's  quarters,  intending  to  kill 
"Yellow  Hair,"  as  Sage  was  called.  He  was 
tall,  well  made,  and  wild-eyed.  Bull  Eagle, 
in  sudden  anger  appeared,  and  made  a  thrust 
at  him  with  his  knife,  but  the  old  chief  caught 
the  blade  and  nearly  severed  two  of  his  fingers. 
His  wife  then  interfered,  but  twenty  of  the 
partisans  fought  it  out,  while  the  white  people 
stood  around  observing  neutrality.  Two  were 
killed  and  others  hurt.  Two  hours  later  the 
chief  re-appeared  and  apologized  and  he  and 
Sage  became  famous  friends. 

Sage  also  tells  of  a  grand  jollification  at 
Fort  Laramie,  that  "rivalled  Bedlam  and  the 
Council  Chamber  beyond  the  Styx.  Yelling, 
screeching,  firing,  shouting,  fighting,  swearing 
and  such  interesting  performances  were  kept 
up  without  intermission,  and  there  was  no  re- 
pose." Liquor  sold  for  four  dollars  a  pint. 
Men  and  women  ran  from  lodge  to  lodge  with 
vessels  containing  liquor.  Susa-ceicha  fell 
from  his  horse,  while  riding  between  Fort 
Platte  and  Fort  John,  and  broke  his  neck. 
Low  Bow,  his  son.  preached  a  sermon,  calling 
on  "Wakan-tunga"  the  Great  Spirit  for  help. 
All  the  Indians"  cried  like  children,  and  the 
whites  helped  prepare  a  burial  scaffold. 

After  all  the  chaos  of  early  years,  we  won- 
der that  there  is  anything  left  of  the  red  men ; 
but  time  and  another  generation  accomplish 
marvelous  changes.  There  was  a  change  in 
the  few  years  that  followed  the  visit  of  Sage. 
It  was  effervescing  at  that  time. 

When  he  and  his  friends  built  their  cabin 
by  the  curiously  shaped  rocks  on  White  river, 
then  called  "the  Devil's  Teapot,"  they  encoun- 


tered a  nest  of  thirty-six  torpid  rattlesnakes. 
They  heated  water  and  scalded  them  to  death 
in  the  presence  of  several  Indians.  This  un- 
usual proceeding  struck  the  Indians  with  ap- 
prehension, as  they  had  a  sort  of  reverence  for 
the  serpent.  For  Standing  Bear,  the  chief,  it 
was  the  slaying  of  the  dragons.  It  broke  the 
chains  of  a  mentality,  theretofore  bound  down 
by  custom  and  precedent. 

Sometime  later,  an  Indian  stole  Sage's  bed, 
and  while  he  was  looking  for  it,  the  noble  red 
man  was  trading  it  for  liquor.  Standing  Bear 
apprehended  the  culprit,  took  his  bows  and 
arrows.  He  broke  and  shot  away  the  arrows 
and  broke  and  burned  the  bows,  and  then  he 
sent  the  victim,  dubbed  a  squaw,  t>  his  tent, 
bellowing  like  a  calf. 

In  the  soul  of  Standing  Bear,  the  "new 
day"  was  breaking.  And  the  highly  intelli- 
gent Indian,  the  farmer  and  the  cattle  raiser 
of  the  Pine  Ridge,  may  some  day  know  that 
the  destruction  of  the  serpents  in  White  river, 
started  the  new  thought,  which,  when  the  fires 
of  the  fourteen  years  of  war  burned  out,  left 
his  race  a  new  people,  and  his  tribe  with  new 
ideals,  and  a  destiny  in  common  with  the  prog- 
ress of  the  years. 

There  was  another  Indian  born  in  the  years 
too  soon.  That  little  brown  maiden  who  in 
the  early  years  dabbled  her  feet  in  the  cool 
waters  of  Spotted  Tail  springs,  and  played  in 
the  nearby  sands ;  who  looked  up  roguishly  at 
the  first  white  men.  and  who  wiggled  her 
shapely  toes  under  the  edge  of  her  brightly 
colored  calico  gown,  when  white  folks  stop- 
ped to  look  at  her. 

Ah-ho-ap-pa  (White  Flower),  the  daughter 
of  the  chief  Spotted  Tail,  in  her  first  vision 
of  budding  womanhood,  wanted  to  marry  a 
particular  white  man,  and  finding  this  was  im- 
possible she  was  content  to  be  nearby.  Then 
she  wanted  her  people  to  settle  down,  and  live 
in  houses  like  white  people.  She  did  not 
want  them  to  be  at  war  with  the  white  race, 
and  through  all  the  years  of  the  last  great  con- 
flagration she  suffered,  and  plead  for  the  cause 
of  peace. 

To  cure  her  infatuation  for  an  officer  at 
Fort  Laramie,  Spotted  Tail  took  her  over  to 
the  far  Powder  river.  Here  she  pined  away 
and  died,  the  doctors  said  of  tuberculosis,  but 
the  soul  of  White  Flower  has  never  died.  "The 
dawn"  for  the  new  Indian  race  was  breaking. 
and  had  she  lived,  she  could  have  seen  her 
daughters  graduating  at  Carlisle,  and  teaching 
the  younger  Indians  on  (he  Pine  Ridge  hills. 
But  how  "could  she  know  what  the  generations 
would  bring  forth?  She  who  stood  almost 
alone  in  the  vears  of  awful  strife.     Could  her 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


fancy  paint  the  daughters  of  her  tribe,  in  mod- 
ish garments  of  silk  and  hig-heeled  shoes,  as 
now  we  see  them  occasionally  walking  in  the 
thoroughfares  of  Alliance,  Chadron,  Crawford, 
Gordon  and  Rushville? 

She  had  asked  to  be  buried  at  Fort  Laramie, 
where  she  would  always  be  near  the  white 
people,  whom  she  idolized,  and  they  swung  her 
body  between  two  ponies,  and  carried  it  thus 
two  hundred  miles  to  the  river.  They  wrapped 
her  body  in  beautifully  dressed  deer  skins,  and 
out  north  of  the  present  ruin  that  was  once  the 
post  hospital,  they  erected  a  scaffold,  for  her 
burying  place.  The  soldiers  helped  to  erect 
the  scaffold,  they  went  out  to  meet  the  burial 


pageant,  and  over  her  resting  place  they  fired 
the  burial  salute.  .  Her  favorite  white  horse 
was  killed  and  its  head  and  tail  fastened  to  the 
scaffold,  that  she  might  ride  to  the  Happy 
Hunting  Grounds. 

Not  only  in  the  Mists  of  the  Hereafter  does 
White  Flower  live.  The  new  Indian  girls  see 
the  embodiment  of  her  far-off  vision  in  the 
present  progress  of  her  people.  While  In- 
dian boys  of  the  second  and  third  generations 
after  the  intellectual  liberation  of  Standing 
Bear,  accept  the  standard  of  our  civilization, 
and  join  in  the  universal  sentiment  of  'Am- 
erica, advance." 


PART  III 


WHEN  CATTLE  MEN   WERE  KINGS 


CHAPTER  I 


WHEN  CATTLE  MEN  WERE  KINGS 


The  passing  of  the  Indian  menace  in  west- 
ern Nebraska,  brought  into  prominence  its 
capacity  as  a  range.  True,  before  that,  it  had 
been  brought  to  the  attention  of  freighters,  and 
"the  builders"  who  had  their  herds  of  oxen, 
commonly  called  "bull  herds,"  in  the  land  about 
us. 

From  every  source  available  we  have  thought 
to  make  this  part  of  the  story  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  high  plains,  complete,  there  being 
no  authentic  record.  Only  fragmentary  inci- 
dents here  and  there,  that  have  fiction  and  in- 
accuracy as  a  basis  or  for  filling,  it  gives  but 
little  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  business. 
Naturally  from  the  broken  stories  —  the  ma- 
terial at  hand  —  this  part  will  be  broken  and 
rambling,  like  the  life  of  the  nomadic  cow- 
boys—  here  today  and  there  tomorrow. 

Some  writers  have  said,  that  sometimes, 
these  plains  and  these  times  will  furnish  the 
basis  for  a  novel  that  will  sweep  popular  fic- 
tion like  a  prairie  fire.  A  few  have  under- 
taken to  fulfill  the  prophecy. 

Mrs.  E.  Joy  Johnson,  in  "The  Foreman  of 
J-A-Six"  has  brought  out  some  of  the  proper 
coloring,  and  has  taken  for  her  characters 
real  persons.  Very  naturally,  those  whom  she 
admired  occupied  the  prominent  place  in  her 
story  and  the  novelist  idea  creeps  in,  regard- 
less of  the  best  efforts  to  keep  it  out. 

William  R.  Lighten  in  his  "Billy  Fortune" 
series,  has  delineated  the  character  of  many 
of  the  range  people  correctly,  although  his 
stories  were  not  pretended  to  be  history.  There 
are  others  who  have  attempted  to  portray  the 
cowboy  character,  which  have  brought  out  the 
grosser  of  exaggerated  types. 

I  find  particular  objection  to  the  stories  that 
picture  the  man  of  the  range,  on  a  dance  floor 
with  his  "chaps"  on,  or  wearing  a  hat  or  spurs 


or  gun.  When  such  are  given,  it  shows  the 
ignorance  of  the  writer.  He  never  saw  a  cow- 
boy dance,  but  has  been  at  some  low  joint  call- 
ed a  "dance  hall"  where  "four-flushers"  and 
tinhorn  gamblers  congregate ;  a  place  that 
would  not  exist  if  the  cowboys  were  the  only 
patrons. 

The  history,  the  incidents  here  related,  come 
to  me  from  years  of  association  with  old  set- 


\r  "Signal  Buttes" 


tiers,  cowmen  particularly  and  from  the  most 
authentic  sources  available.  They  will  come 
as  near  to  a  chronicle  of  the  facts  as  will  prob- 
ably ever  be  written,  for  I  have  made  consider- 
able effort  that  it  be  true  to  the  epoch  that 
followed  the  Indian  wars. 

Among  those  who  have  contributed  by  let- 
ter, story,  word  or  book,  to  that  which  I  in- 
clude, are  William  A.  Paxton,  John  A.  Creigh- 
ton,  John  A.  McShane,  Tohn  Bratt,  Major 
Walker,  W.  F.  Cody.  A.  B.  Hall.  I  I.  Mc- 
intosh, Colin  Hunter,  Colonel  Pratt.  Mark  M. 
Coad,  Bartlett  Richards.  W.  I.  Kelly,  Henry 
T.  Clarke,  S.  J.  Robb.  John  'Wright'.  Charles 
H.  McDonald,  and  a  score  of  others  now  that 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


have   taken   the   "long,   long  trail,"    to   Other 
Ranges. 

And  from  those  living,  (1919),  Frank  and 
Jess  Yoder,  H.  V.  Redington,  R.  U.  Vantassel, 
John  Adams,  Charles  F.  Coffee,  John  Hunton, 
Granville  Tinnen,  Joe  Wilde,  Eugene  A.  Hall, 
Perry  Braziel,  Robert  Graham,  Charles  Nel- 
son, Runey  C.  Campbell,  Robert  Harvey, 
Colonel  Joe  Atkins,  L.  J.  Wyman,  Morrill  Wy- 


We  drove  our  car  to  his  very  door,  and  as 
the  rain  had  begun  to  fall  it  was  suggested  that 
we  drive  it  upon  his  porch,  which  is  a  prodig- 
ious affair.  It  extends  three  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  in  length  and  sixteen  feet  wide  along 
the  length  of  his  "residence,"  and  the  bal- 
cony floor  forms  the  roof  of  the  lower  porch 
and  is  itself  covered,  and  extends  the  full 
length  and  breadth  of  the  lower  porch. 


'Branding   Calves" 


man.  Ark  (Henry  county)  Hughes,  W.  F. 
Connoly,  Tom  Snow,  Dan  McUlvane,  Tom 
Powers,  W.  L.  Wallace,  Charlie  Foster,  Cap- 
tain Cook,  S.  P.  DeLatour,  J.  W.  Harper,  A. 
S.  Neuman,  W.  F.  Gumaer,  Billy  King,  Harry 
Hynds,  John  Evans,  Tom  Hughes,  and  doz- 
ens of  other  of  the  old  guard  have  come  the 
stories  of  the  time  when  the  Panhandle  of  Ne- 
braska was  one  vast  pasture  where  roamed  the 
long  horns,  and  where  wild  horses  and  the 
bronchos  ran  free  in  the  western  wind. 

In  the  new  mode  of  travel,  the  motor  car, 
I  have  gone  many  miles  to  find  the  man  or  the 
setting. 

Some  time  ago  we  (Mrs.  Shumway  and  I) 
were  at  Fort  Laramie  to  see  John  Hunton  and 
Joe  Wilde,  who  were  the  early  settlers.  First 
we  called  on  Wilde. 


We  were  hospitably  entertained  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wilde,  who  for  over  forty  years  lived  at 
Fort  Laramie,  and  this,  their  dwelling,  is  a 
purchase  from  the  United  States,  it  being  for- 
merly the  soldiers'  quarters.  Wilde  had  it 
worked  over  a  little  and  has  about  half  of  the 
lower  story  for  his  dwelling  and  office  and 
for  feeding  the  travellers  and  others  who  may 
be  journeying  thence  and  onward.  In  the  up- 
per story  about  fifty  rooms  have  been  fitted  out 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  public,  and  the 
other  half  of  the  upper  story  is  one  immense 
hall  with  oak  floors  used  by  the  people  of  the 
country  wide  as  a  meeting  and  dance  hall.  It 
is  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  long  and 
twenty-four  in  width. 

Around  about  this  building  the  barren  sever- 
ity of  soldier's  quarters  has  been  changed  into 


fs  Resting  and  Playing  Mumblebeg. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


89 


a  wilderness  of  green,  and  a  bower  of  trees,  all 
planted  by  the  busy  hands  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wilde,  since  the  departure  of  the  soldiers,  and 
in  the  foreground  stood  the  host,  his  irrigation 
shovel  in  his  hand,  and  his  wife,  whose  sturdy 
German  intelligence  complemented  that  of  her 
husband  in  the  building  of  this  part  of  the 
west. 

Back  of  the  home,  upon  a  hill,  there  stood 
a  ruin  of  apparently  medieval  architecture. 
Once  it  was  the  hospital,  where  soldier  and  civ- 
ilian went,  or  were  taken,  in  the  days  when 
roughing  it  meant  occasionally  broken  limbs 
and  bullet  wounds.  It  was  not  uncommon  in 
those  early  days  of  rough  men  for  quick  retort 
and  challenge  and  resort  to  arms.  And  many  a 
man  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  with  "boots 
on"  to  lie  in  unmarked  graves. 

To  the  west  and  south  of  an  oblong  square 
formerly  used  for  parade  grounds,  stands  what 
is  left  of  the  officers  quarters,  which  were  ex- 
cellent, well-built  domiciles,  and  in  the  midst 
of  them  is  "Bedlam."  This  interesting  struc- 
ture obtained  its  name  from  the  scenes  en- 
acted therein  by  the  rough  soldiery  of  early 
years. 

Two  doors  north  of  "Bedlam"  now  (1919) 
lives  John  Hunton,  whose  word  is  accepted  as 
final  in  things  pertaining  to  early  history. 
From  him  I  obtained  some  interesting  facts 
concerning  the  beginning  of  the  cow  business 
in  western  Nebraska  and  eastern  Wyoming. 

In  the  early  sixties  a  freighter  lost  some  of 
his  oxen,  and  he  did  not  find  them  until  the  fol- 
lowing spring.  In  some  miraculous  manner 
•  they  had  escaped  the  Indians,  and  their  ex- 
cellent condition  awoke  in  the  mind  of  many 
the  same  thought,  that  cattle  could  be  wintered 
without  care,  and  that  the  grasses  must  be 
very  nutritious.  Then  and  thereafter  the 
freighters  decided  to  take  a  chance.  The  larg- 
er outfits,  the  Creightons,  the  Coads,  and  a  few 
others,  established  "ranches"  or  a  headquart- 
ers for  a  few  caretakers,  who  were  to  look  af- 
ter the  "bull  herds,"  during  the  winter  months. 

Bull  canyon,  in  western  Banner  county,  is 


one  of  these  wintering  places.  Another  point 
was  on  Cedar  creek  and  Smith's  lurk,  near 
Mud  Springs.  In  Carter  canyon  is  the  ruins 
of  another  of  the  old  camps,  and  there  were 
many  others.  The  hazards  were  considerable, 
but  if  they  escaped  the  Indian  raids,  they 
came  through  the  winter  in  fine  shape. 


R.  Proust,   Sr. 


As  much  of  the  work  at  that  time  was  gov- 
ernment freighting,  the  government  eventually 
made  good  the  losses  occasioned  by  the  Indians. 

Old  Bordeaux,  who  in  1847,  looked  after 
the  business  of  the  American  Fur  Company  at 
Fort  Laramie,  had  accumulated  a  few  old  cows, 
maybe  a  dozen  or  so,  by  1866,  and  they  were 
kept  about  eight  miles  down  the  river  at  Bor- 
deaux place.  Nick  Genice  had  a  similar 
bunch  on  Deer  creek  about  four  miles  south 
of  the  fort. 


90 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  II 


STAGE  STATION  RANCHES  —  NAMING   FORT   MITCHELL 
ON  THE  NORTH  PLATTE  RIVER 


FIRST    RANCHES 


Jules  Beni,  of  early  fame,  once  had  a 
"ranch,"  on  the  south  side  of  the  South  Platte 
about  a  mile  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lodgepole 
creek,  and  as  early  as  sixty-four  this  ranch, 
which  was  nothing  but  a  trading  post,  where 
occasionally  a  lame  ox  was  left  to  recuperate, 
had  (like  other  similar  places)  been  abandoned. 

Jock  Morrow  had  such  a  place  near  North 
Platte,  and  there  were  a  number  of  trader  sta- 
tions called  ranches,  where  the  foot  worn  oxen 
were  left,  and  those  that  had  rested  were  taken 
by  travellers  at  a  good  increase  of  price  over 
the  amounts  paid  for  them. 

Ben  Holliday,  the  big  man  of  the  Overland 
Stage,  appropriated  the  site  of  "Jules  Ranch," 
and  had  built  extensive  barns.  He  called  it 
"Julesburg  Station."  It  was  several  miles  up 
the  river  and  on  the  other  side,  from  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Julesburg.  As  was  common,  he 
had  the  place  fortified.  He,  Holliday,  obtain- 
ed his  wood  supply  from  Jack  Morrow's  can- 
yon. 

Ware  tells  us  that  there  were  two  crossings 
of  the  Platte  at  Old  Julesburg,  one  almost  op- 
posite the  station  and  curving  up  the  stream  to 
a  point  about  a  half  mile  above  the  entrance, 
and  the  other  several  miles  farther  west.  Af- 
ter crossing  the  Platte,  these  two  routes  con- 
tinued up  the  Lodgepole  on  opposite  sides  for 
a  number  of  miles.  The  lower  was  called  the 
"California  crossing,"  and  the  upper  the 
"Mormon  crossing." 

In  the  autumn  of  1864,  sod  structures  were 
built  one  mile  west  of  "old  Julesburg"  and  in 
the  spring  of  1865,  Fort  Sedgwick  came  into 
being,  a  military  post  of  the  United  States  hav- 
ing been  established  there. 

General  Mitchell,  for  whom  Fort  Mitchell 
came  to  be  named,  Camp  Shuman  being  chang- 
ed to  that  name,  was  in  charge  of  the  western 
military  forces  at  the  time,  and  the  prairies 
were  unusually  good  for  pasturage.  The  In- 
dians took  advantage  of  the  fact  and  did  not 
go  to  the  south  as  usual  in  the  winter.  Con- 
sequently, General  Mitchell  determined  to  drive 
them  south  so  that  they  would  cease  their  mur- 
dering and  depredations  along  the  Overland 
and  Denver  trails.  On  the  evening  of  January 
27,  1865,  he  set  out  prairie  fires,  simultaneous- 
ly all  the  way  from  Fort  Kearney  to  Denver. 
There  was  a  brisk  north  wind  blowing,  and  it 
"sure"  was  one  sight  to  see  the  sheet  of  flame 
three  hundred  miles  long,  sweeping  over  the 


table  lands  to  the  south,  leaving  blackness  and 
desolation  in  its  wake. 

The  effect  of  this  was  to  drive  the  Indians 
north  of  the  Platte,  and  the  Indians  from  the 
south  were  soon  joining  them,  and  making  life 
a  hazard  of  great  interest  to  the  people  of 
this  section. 

Early  in  February,  they  drove  off  some  of 
Creightoirs  fat  work  cattle  from  the  head  of 
Rush  creek,  and  feasted  upon  them. 

J.  F.  Coad  had  the  contract  for  hauling  wood 
for  Fort  Sedgwick  from  the  wood  reserve  on 
Lawrence  fork,  and  had  difficulty  with  them 
also. 

These  adventures  with  the  oldest  of  our  cat- 
tlemen are  related  elsewhere,  but  it  had  the 
effect  of  the  establishment  of  the  very  first  of 
all  the  permanent  ranches  in  this  part  of  the 
west ;  namely,  the  Creighton  ranch  on  the 
Laramie  Plains. 

One  of  the  oldest  of  the  ranches  to  actually 
engage  in  raising  cattle  as  a  business  is  the 
Tracy  ranch  at  Pine  Bluffs.  Mr.  Tracy  came 
to  the  country  as  early  as  1867,  and  he  cut  cord- 
wood  in  the  Pine  Bluff  hills  which  he  sold  to 
the  Union  Pacific.  This  railroad  was  just  then 
penetrating  into  the  western  part  of  Nebraska 
and  they  used,  handled  and  sold  large  quan- 
tities of  wood.  Tracy  had  one  pile  of  a  hun- 
dred cords  or  more,  cut  in  the  winter  of 
1867,  or  the  spring  of  1868,  waiting  for  the* 
acceptance  of  the  company.  In  this  the  gov- 
ernment had  an  interest,  and  it  was  cut  from 
government  land.  The  Indians  came  upon  it 
one  day,  and  burned  it  completely.  The  gov- 
ernment court  of  claims  paid  the  loss  in  full 
to  Mr.  Tracy. 

Tracy  graduated  from  wood  cutting  into 
ranching  in  the  late  sixties,  and  put  in  a  small 
herd  of  cows  and  heifers,  and  from  that  de- 
veloped into  reasonably  large  proportions.  He 
was  not  so  important  as  to  size,  however,  as 
were  the  Texas  herds  that  began  to  arrive 
about  that  time,  or  the  bonanza  cattle  outfits 
that  later  took  over  his  ranch  with  the  others. 

During  his  life  at  Pine  Bluffs  he  had  many 
interesting  experiences  and  Indian  troubles, 
and  it  was  one  of  his  "herdsman"  referred  to 
by  Captain  Charles  King  in  his  story  of 
"Trumpeter  Fred'." 

John  Hunton  is  authority  for  the  statement 
that  the  first  real  cow  business  in  the  vicinity 
of  Fort  Laramie  was  when  Benjamin  Buckley 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


91 


Mills  (  Buck  Mills),  a  Kentuckian,  brought  two 
hundred  and  fifty  short  horn  cows  from 
southern  Iowa  and  northern  Missouri  in  Oc- 
tober, 186S.  These  he  located  on  the  Laramie 
river  about  three  miles  up  that  stream  from 
the  position  occupied  by  the  old  fort.  This 
initiation  stirred  others  to  activity. 

Colonel  Bullock,  who  had  been  a  post  trad- 
er at  the  fort  was  early  to  see  and  follow  tht 
lead  of  Mr.  Mills.  He  went  to  eastern  Kansas 
and  western  Missouri,  and  accumulated  two 
hundred  and  fifty  good  shorthorn  grades  in 
cows,  and  drove  them  through,  arriving  at 
Fort  Laramie  late  in  the  Spring  of  1869.  He 
picked  out  for  his  ranch  location,  Bordeaux 
place,  about  ten  miles  down  the  Platte  river 
from  Fort  Laramie,  and  purchased  the  embryo 
herd  that  Bordeaux  already  had  upon  the 
ground. 

John  Hunton  is  a  veteran  of  Fort  Laramie, 
the  Dean  is  perhaps  the  right  word,  for  he 
is  a  man  of  wide  knowledge  and  information. 
In  1867,  he  came  to  the  fort  and  went  to  work 
for  the  Post-trader  Seth  E.  Ward.  Ward  was 
succeeded  by  G.  H.  and  J.  Collins,  who  retain- 
ed Hunton  for  several  years. 

J,  F.  Coad,  the  government  wood  contract- 
or" up  to  1872,  yielded  to  Hunton,  the  contract 
for  Fort  Laramie,  which  Hunton  held  for  ten 
years. 

Hunton  began  to  see  something  in  ranch- 
ing when  the  larger  herds  commenced  to  ar- 
rive, and  he  located  a  ranch  about  four  miles 
up  the  river,  and  began  to  accumulate  cattle. 
This  he  continued  during  the  period  he  was 
supplying  wood  for  the  fort.  His  ranch  is  a 
short  distance  above  the  fort,  being  about  two 
miles  up  the  Laramie  from  the  crossing  of 
the  new  government  canal. 

The  contract  for  wood  supply  was  very 
profitable.  Dan  McUlvane  with  five  outfits 
was  employed  by  Hunton  to  assist.  He  re- 
ceived five  dollars  per  cord  and  could  haul 
twenty  cords  per  day,  making  twenty  dollars 
per  day  for  each  man  and  wagon.     Dan  told 


me  a  short  time  ago,  even  at  the  price,  he 
failed  to  lay  up  very  much,  until  he  went  into 
the  cow1  business,  and  the  cows  and  increase 
grew  into  money. 

In  the  year  1871,  Dan  McUlvane,  now 
(1919)  living  in  Cheyenne,  and  until  recently 
interested  in  the  big  "Hereford  Ranch,"  at 
that  place,  went  to  western  Missouri  and  east- 
ern Kansas  and  secured  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  young  shorthorn  cows,  which  he 
drove  through  and  established  his  ranch,  on 
the  Chugwater,  about  twenty  miles  southwest 
of  Fort  Laramie.  He  crossed  the  Kaw  river 
on  pontoon  bridges  and  drove  his  herd  through 
the  streets  of  Topeka,  when  it  was  but  a  vil- 
lage. 

These  were  among  the  first  of  the  ranchers 
west  of  the  junction  of  the  Platte  rivers.  This 
magnificent  cow  country  which  lies  west  of  the 
forks  of  the  Platte,  and  east  of  Fort  Laramie, 
soon  was  filled  with  great  herds.  The  first 
herds  were  gathered  about  the  places  protected 
by  forts,  no  doubt  for  that  very  reason. 

Phil  and  Jim  Dater,  who  helped  to  blaze  the 
Texas  trail  brought  their  cattle  up  from  the 
south  in  1872,  and  established  the  66  brand  on 
the  north  side  of  Sixty-six  mountain.  This 
brand,  and  the  location  of  the  Sixty-six  ranch, 
has  given  rise  to  many  mistakes  in  early  tra- 
dition. Some  have  said  that  the  brand  indi- 
cated the  year  of  the  starting  of  the  business 
there,  and  others  tell  us  that  the  brand  is  what 
named  the  mountain.  John  Hunton  would 
not  be  sure  about  that,  but  he  thought  the 
mountain  was  unnamed  pior  to  the  locating 
of  the  66  brand.  However,  a  number  of  old 
timers,  namely:  D.  McUlvane,  Colin  Hunter, 
H.  M.  Ingraham,  and  others  have  said  that 
the  mountain  was  named  before  the  Daters 
appeared  in  this  country.  The  thrilling  events 
that  led  to  the  naming  of  mountain  forms  an- 
other chapter  in  the  history  of  the  west.  It 
was  one  of  the  strangest  mysteries,  and  un- 
written events  in  all  the  chronology  of  western 
Nebraska. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  CATTLE  OF  SIXTY-SIX  .MOUNTAIN 


The  death  of  M.  Goshe  in  his  cabin  on 
Cherry  creek,  of  Jacques  Laramie  on  the  Lara- 
mie river,  of  Gonneville  on  Pumpkin  creek,  of 
Hiram  Scott  on  Scotts  Bluff  (mountain),  of 
Ruleau  in  the  Wild  Cat  range,  of  Creel  in  his 
famous  Bull  canyon,  are  tragedies  that  mark- 
ed the  territory  around  about  Sixty-six  moun- 
tain, as  one  of  danger  and  death,  long  before 
the  mountain  was  named.  A  spot  upon  the 
map  of  the  world  when  conflict  and  homicide 
seemed  inevitable  and  frequent.  It  was  shun- 
ned by  the  trappers  of  old,  except  the  most 
ventursome,  and  such  as  dared  its  reputation, 
almost  invariably  perished  in  the  wilderness. 

The  fame  of  the  mountain  does  not  extend 
far  across  the  wide  reaches  of  western  prairie, 
except  along  the  Texas  trail,  where  from  the 
Panhandle  of  the  Lone  Star  state  to  Assinna- 
boine,  the  cow-punchers  knew  of  the  Daters 
and  the  famous  Sixty-six  brand. 

Only  a  few  have  heard  of  the  battle  of 
Sixty-six  mountain,  and  most  of  the  early 
ranchmen  assume  that  the  cattle  brand  brought 
into  use  the  name.  Phil  and  Jim  Dater,  how- 
ever, who  came  up  the  trail  in  1872,  and  es- 
tablished the  ranch,  adopted  the  brand  because 
the  mountain  already  bore  the  name.  There  is 
as  much  confusion  of  opinions  as  to  the  origin 
of  the  name,  as  there  is  mystery  connected  with 
the  events  that  are  here  related. 

Several  years  befor  Ed.  Stemler  came  into 
the  west,  Eugene  Ware  made  the  discovery  of 
an  abandoned  wagon  train,  near  Trapper's 
rock,  a  score  or  more  of  miles  up  the  Lodge- 
pole,  west  from  old  Fort  Sedgwick.  Yet,  it 
remained  for  Ed.  Stemler  to  clear  up  the  mys- 
tery of  the  wagon  train,  and  to  provide  the 
only  story  of  the  battle  of  Sixty-six  mountain, 
and  which  also  gives  an  index  to  the  naming  of 
the  mountain.  The  mystery  of  it  is  that  Ed. 
connected  up  with  these  people,  and  that  he 
lived  and  experienced  events  that  transpired 
many  years  before  he  had  come  into  the  west. 
About  the  silence  of  the  wagons,  and  about 
the  solitude  of  Sixty-Six  mountain,  there  is 
wrapped  one  of  the  great  tragedies  of  the  west ; 
and  one  person  only  can  tell  that  story  in  all 
its  graphic  details.  It  forms  one  of  the  most 
interesting  unwritten  chapters  of  adventure, 
and  frightful  consequence,  that  has  ever  paint- 
ed red  spots  on  the  frontier. 

The  story  begins  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 
where  lived  an  orphan  boy,  a  little  fellow  whose 
father  and  mother  were  gone.     He  ran  about 


and  played,  and  made  boon  companions  of 
trees  and  flowers,  of  dogs  and  cats,  of  bees 
and  butterfles.  Children  who  have  not  the 
things  that  other  children  have,  things  that 
are  necessary  to  childlife,  will  conjure  them 
from  the  elements  at  hand : — "make  believe 
people,"  identities  created  from  the  animate 
and  inanimate  creatures  about  them. 

The  woods,  the  brook,  the  river  bank  with 
its  myriad  life,  became  his  friends.  But,  one 
day  they  missed  him  from  the  familiar  haunts, 
and  for  many  days  thereafter.  The  lady  slip- 
per, that  rare  wild  flower,  grew  unplucked  be- 
side the  trails  that  he  had  made.  The  people 
interested  in  him,  his  relatives,  had  many 
children  of  their  own ;  he  was  as  a  fifth  wheel 
to  a  wagon,  and  they  thought  that  he  might 
make  a  place  for  himself  in  the  west.  So,  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  years,  they  sent 
him  out  to  the  far  wilderness  of  Cheyenne, 
"to  find  work  upon  a  ranch." 

By  way  of  Denver,  he  reached  Cheyenne  in 
the  middle  of  a  dark  and  stormy  night.  He 
had  no  money,  and  his  sole  possession  aside 
from  the  clothes  he  wore,  was  an  old  horse 
pistol  which  his  uncle  had  given  him,  and 
who  said  at  the  time  that  he  "might  need  it 
to  fight  Indians." 

He  crawled  underneath  the  wooden  platform 
that  then  served  at  the  Union  Pacific  depot, 
and  indulged  in  fitful  slunlber  until  dawn. 
Then  he  sought  for  a  pawn  shop,  that  he  might 
get  rid  of  his  antiquated  gun  to  furnish  money 
for  food.  He  also  sought  at  the  restaurants, 
and  offered  to  leave  the  gun  as  security  for 
his  breakfast.  One  of  the  old  night  women  of 
Cheyenne,  straggling  along  in  the  grey  dawn 
of  morning,  saw  him,  and  bought  him  his 
breakfast.  Her  motherly  intuition  had  sensed 
his  needs,  and  her  ragged  heart  had  pulsed  for 
the  moment  with  the  eternal  sensibility  of 
charity.  Thus  even  in  the  lowly  and  the  sin- 
ful, the  spark  of  eternity  ever  shines. 

A  Black  Hills  freighter  hired  the  tenderfoot, 
being  in  need  of  a  man  to  drive  a  trail  wagon. 
So,  that  freighting,  and  untangling  a  string 
of  obstinate  miles,  was  his  initiation  into  the 
west ;  from  which  interesting  and  engaging 
pastime,  he  graduated  into  his  original  pur- 
pose of  "working  upon  a  ranch." 

That  was  more  than  two  score  years  ago, 
and  the  prairies  north  of  Cheyenne,  was  where 
he  kept  lonely  vigils,  caring  for,  and  moving 
the  cattle  from  place  to  place.    It  was  monoton- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


93 


ous  labor,  and  he  longed  for  the  woods,  and 
the  woodland  companions  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio.  The  bees  and  the  butterflies  were  calling 
him. 

The  lone  environment,  the  solitude  of  the 
prairies,  are  enough  to  try  the  intellects  of 
mature  people,  and  there  is  graver  danger  for 
the  young.  Out  of  the  high  tablelands,  the 
mirage  makes  everything  seem  so  unreal. 
Lakes  where  lakes  are  not,  trees  where  the 
trees  have  never  grown,  inverted  cities  on 
the  sky,  mountains  lifting  themselves  suddenly 
from  the  plain,  to  sink  back  again  at  one's 
approach. 

No  wonder  lone  herdsmen  and  lonely  set- 
tlers became  insane ;  no  wonder  they  build 
small  habitations  on  the  summits  of  hills  or 
mountains  where  the  "desert  devils"  find  it 
difficult  to  reach ;  no  wonder  that  many  of 
the  herdsmen  on  reaching  frontier-towns  stand 
about  and  count  the  people,  the  vehicles,  the 
trees,  and  watch  the  wheels  go  around ;  or  else 
take  to  drink,  for  the  queer  things  of  drunk- 
enness are  more  substantial  than  desert  things. 

A  "touch  of  the  prairie,"  is  madness  incipi- 
ent, and  unless  relief  comes  in  some  exciting  di- 
version, or  in  the  rush  of  tears,  the  victim  will 
perish  in  the  wilderness,  or  come  wandering 
into  the  edges  of  civilization  in  a  sort  of  driv- 
iling  lunacy  that  may  be  permanent. 

The  writer  remembers  well  his  own  experi- 
ences in  Goshe's  Holes,  now  called  Goshen 
Park,  where  the  goblins  of  the  desert  led  him 
from  place  to  place,  without  food  or  water, 
until  he  felt  almost  as  etherial  and  wisplike 
as  the  most  immaterial  of  them.  Whether  it 
was  by  accident  or  otherwise,  Joe  Wilde,  the 
well  known  veteran  of  Fort  Laramie,  found 
me,  and  piloted  me. to  the  safety  of  his  home. 

And  I  can  sympathize  with  Ed  Stemler,  the 
Buckeye  boy,  who,  when  alone  in  the  wilder- 
ness, would  seek  the  highest  points  of  land, 
and  look  as  far  back  east  as  his  eyes  could 
reach,  and  where  he  would  bawl  his  heart  out 
with  a  terrible,  terrifying  grief,  with  no  wit- 
nesses save  the  brassy,  unresponsive  sky.  Ex- 
cept for  the  clinging  clay,  he  would  tear  away 
through  the  miles  of  intervening  space  to  the 
hills  that  nourished  him.  When  the  tempest  of 
his  homesickness  passed  and  the  frame  shook 
spasmodically  with  subsiding  sobs,  he  would 
return  to  the  duties  of  the  range. 

By  and  by,  the  prairies  began  to  look  differ- 
ent, he  began  to  make  friends  with  the  cattle 
he  tended,  the  horses  he  rode,  and  other  life 
of  the  plains. 

Nomadic  red  men  drifted  by  at  intervals 
and  he  had  no  fear  of  them.  Like  Fiddler 
Campbell,  he  found  heartease  in  the  music  of 


his  violin.  Astride  his  horse,  without  instruc- 
tion, he  learned  to  ply  the  bow  with  his  left 
hand,  while  with  his  right  he  held  the  instru- 
ment upside  down,  its  drum  upon  the  saddle 
horn,  and  its  neck  extending  upwards.  In  the 
later  days,  at  the  round-up  and  granger  dances, 
he  held  the  inverted  fiddle  upon  his  knees  and 
the  music  was  good. 

A  Mrs.  Stickney,  a  writer  of  some  note,  once 
visited  La  Grange,  and  later  published  an  ac- 
curate descriptive  story  of  a  round-up  dance. 
The  stories  of  Emerson  Hough,  in  which  he 
describes  cowboys  dancing  in  chaps  and  with 
spurs  jingling,  is  purely  fiction,  and  Mrs. 
Stickney  did  not  yield  to  such  impulses  to 
ranmble  and  exaggerate.  But  she  did  describe 
the  violinist  as  a  "bow-legged,  left-handed, 
red-headed  and  freckle-faced  fiddler,  who  play- 
ed with  the  violin  standing  on  its  head." 

If  one  recognizes  anyone  from  this  descrip- 
tion, perhaps  one  best  be  as  circumspect  as 
was  Mrs.  Stickney,  and  mention  no  name,  for 
though  now  a  grizzled  veteran  of  the  prairies, 
the  described  can  clip  the  ears  of  a  coyote 
at  a  distance  of  one  hundred  yards  with  his 
old  forty-five,  or  a  much  greater  distance  with 
his  new  forty-thirty. 

Ed.  Stemler,  in  his  long  years  on  the 
prairies,  has  had  his  little  fights  and  his  one 
great  battle.  In  1888,  I  "met  up"  with  him  at 
a  roundup  dance,  and  although  intimately  ac- 
quainted, I  have  never  heard  him  relate  of  his 
adventures,  nor  whisper  of  the  great  battle 
of   Sixty-six  mountain. 

Only  recently  did  this  story  come  to  me, 
in  the  quiet  undertone  of  an  old  plainsman, 
who  sat  in  my  office  and  related  it,  in  the  sub- 
dued tone  of  conversation  that  comes  of  long 
hours  alone,  when  one  talks  much  to  one's 
self,  for  the  companionship  of  a  human  voice, 
or  in  speaking  soothingly  to  cattle  when  night 
riding  about  a  herd  —  'so  not  to  startle  them 
—  for  wild  cattle  always  seem  ready  to  stam- 
pede. I  had  heard  of  it  before,  but  had  never 
heard  the  story  in  its  entirety  until  the  side 
partner  of  "Shanghai"  Pierce,  dropped  a  few 
words  that  put  me  on  the  trail. 

It  was  after  the  Union  Pacific  was  builded, 
and  the  old  Overland  trails  were  falling  into 
disuse,  that  Ed.  Stemler  came  into  the  west, 
and  the  summit  of  Sixty-six  mountain  knew 
his  homesick  .grief  and  loneliness.  Likewise 
the  summits  of  Wild  Cat  mountain,  of  Big 
Horn  and  Bear  mountains,  and  the  High  Di- 
vide of  Flowerfield,  or  the  Lone  Pine  emi- 
nence near  the  head  of  Lawrence  fork. 

One  day  he  left  his  herds  on  the  Flowerfield 
Swell  and  started  for  Ohio.  He  was  riding 
down  the  Lodgepole  when  he  came  upon  the 


94 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


deserted  wagons.  The  mystery  of  them  ap- 
pealed to  him,  and  for  the  balance  of  the  day, 
he  rummaged  in  the  chests  found  in  the  wag- 
ons. He  handled  the  harnesses  and  rattled  the 
chains.  Night  came  on  and  after  dark,  the 
Shadows.  The  People  came  back  to  the  wag- 
ons. 

He  walked  among  them,  glad  to  companion- 
ship, and  he  heard  their  story : 

They  were  a  party  of  emigrants,  and  had 
left  Julesburg  several  days  previously;  the 
grasses  of  the  Lodgepole  valley  were  so  allur- 
ing to  them  and  their  worn  stock,  that  when 
they  reached  the  point  where  the  Jules  Cut- 
off left  the  valley  for  the  table-lands,  they 
were  reluctant  to  follow  the  continental  thor- 
oughfare. 

So,  up  the  Lodgepole  valley  they  contin- 
ued for  several  miles.  Here  amidst  luxurious 
grasses  they  formed  the  regular  corral  of 
their  wagons  by  drawing  them  to  a  circle,  and 
the  stock  was  turned  loose  to  graze. 

Early  in  the  evening  the  wolves  appeared 
howling  about  them  in  great  numbers,  and 
they  wished  their  horses  were  safely  within 
the  enclosure.  The  campers  were  unable  to 
determine  certainly  whether  the  cries  were  ac- 
tually those  of  marauding  wild  beasts  or  In- 
dians imitating  them.  If  beasts,  they  should 
stay  to  their  fires,  if  Indians,  they  should  take 
to  the  shadows.  A  clatter  of  hoofs  told  that 
the  horses  had  stampeded  to  the  west.  The 
howling  continued  about  the  camp,  but  in  di- 
minished volume  until  nearly  dawn. 

In  the  morning  the  emigrants  on  foot  start- 
ed upon  the  trail.  The  women  and  children, 
hardy  and  strong,  joined,  rather  than  be  left 
behind,  at  the  mercy  of  any  nomadic  band  that 
might  come  prowling  about. 

The  trail  of  the  runaway  horses  took  the 
emigrants  to  the  head  of  "Lorren's  Fork,"  then 
to  the  springs  in  the  hills  bordering  Gonneville 
or  Pumpkin  creek.  Now  they  had  come  back, 
but  were  going  again.  Abandoning  his  pur- 
pose of  going  to  Ohio,  the  lone  herdsman 
hereafter  journeyed  with  them,  showing  them 
the  way  to  Fort  Laramie.  He  knew  the  route, 
the  watering  places,  and  the  passes  in  the 
hills.     They  left  the  wagons  where  they  stood. 

At  the  head  of  Pumpkin  creek  valley,  on 
the  west  line  of  the  state,  a  part  in  Nebraska, 
and  a  larger  part  in  Wyoming,  stands  an  emi- 
nence. Its  summit  is  six  miles  long  east  and 
west.  It  is  five  hundred  feet  above  surround- 
ing plains,  and  five  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea.  Its  rugged  slopes  and  base  cover  fifteen 
or  twenty  sections  of  land. 

When  the  granger  came,  it  was  called  Sixty- 
six  mountain. 


There  were  sixty-six  emigrants,  moving 
along  the  base  of  this  mountain,  one  fatal  day, 
when  they  were  beset  with  Cheyenne  Indians. 
They  took  refuge  in  the  hills  and  fought  long 
and  hard.  It  was  days  before  the  remnant  of 
the  sixty-six  were  overcome  near  a  spring  on 
the  north  side  of  the  mountain,  and  here  it 
was  that  Ed.  Stemler  fell,  as  the  others  had 
fallen,  fighting  stubbornly. 

There  is  a  superstition  among  the  Indians 
about  red  hair,  atid  it  is  said  this  fact  is  all 
that  saved  him  from  the  shocking  fate,  and 
the  scalping  meted  out  to  the  others. 

How  long  it  was  after  the  massacre  that 
Ed.  revived,  he  had  no  means  of  knowing, 
and  why  he  set  about  and  buried  the  dead,  and 
why  he  went  back  to  the  herds  north  of  Pine 
Bluffs,  and  why  no  report  was  ever  made,  are 
things  which  will  give  rise  to  lively  speculation 
forever.  My  life  and  experiences  on  the  range 
enable  me  to  speculate  more  clearly,  perhaps, 
than  others. 

After  a  few  weeks  of  solitude,  an  adven- 
ture like  this,  and  its  miraculous  finale  for 
the  one  that  lived,  and  who  knew  no  reason 
why  he  had  been  spared,  will  make  it  all  seem 
like  a  vagrant  dream.  A  nightmare  of  the 
prairie,  a  figment  that  never  had  real  sub- 
stance. 

Why  had  he  left  his  herds?  What  directed 
him  to  these  people,  and  how  came  they  there  ? 
Why  had  the  Indians  singled  him  out,  and 
avoided  dealing  him  the  fatal  injury?  Surely, 
it  must  have  been  a  dream,  like,  so  many  of 
the  wild  things  he  had  dreamed  before,  out 
there  in  the  solitude. 

So  he  said  nothing  of  it.  And  years  later 
he  built  his  ranch  house  on  the  mountain  side, 
by  the  spring  where  the  last  stand  had  been 
taken. 

A  long  time  after,  he  told  a  few,  only  a  few, 
and  they  with  admonitions  of  secrecy.  Secrecy 
because  the  story  of  the  battle  of  Sixty-six 
mountain,  if  generally  bandied  about,  would 
lead  someone  to  doubt  his  integrity  or  his 
sanity.  But  Ed.  Stemler  is  both  sane  and 
honest,  and  the  story  will  not  harm  him  now. 
For  over  forty  years  he  has  lived  on  the 
66,  sometime  on  one  slope  of  the  mountain  and 
sometimes  on  the  other,  but  always  with  the 
wraiths  of  the  66  emigrants  that  faded  out  of 
the  world  over  a  half  century  ago. 

He  has  his  thousands  of  acres,  and  his  thou- 
sand cattle,  but  sometimes  at  night,  the  moon- 
light calls  out  images  from  the  rocks  —  images 
of  the  long  ago  —  and  the  shadows  flee  and  flit 
from  shelter  to  shelter,  spectrals  fighting  a 
battle  in  silence,  a  battle  which  years  ago  in- 
volved tumult  and  noise.     The  "nieht  herd  is 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


95 


running,"  and  Ed.  knows  every  detail  in  ad- 
vance, and  he  is  sure  now  of  what  he  did  not 
know  —  that  the  color  of  his  hair  rendered  him 
immunity  from  the  scalping  knife,  and  spared 
him   for  the  years  of  usefulness  to  come. 

(This  narrative  is  given,  not  as  history,  al- 
though many  believe  it  a  true  account  of  the 
battle,  but  for  what  it  is  worth,  and  as  one  of 
the  shadowy  affairs  of  the  unwritten  long 
ago.  Eugene  Ware  found  the  wagons  in  per- 
fect order,  and  and  where  the  wheels  rested 
upon  the  ground,  the  sand  and  dust  had  drifted 


over  the  felloes,  and  grass  was  growing  in 
the  newly  made  ground.  The  harnesses  were 
rotting  on  the  wagon  tongues.  That  Stemler 
knew  of  these  wagons,  that  in  the  solitudes 
and  the  isolation  he  came  in  touch  with  People 
already  gone,  that  in  some  way  he  connected 
up  with  Them,  and  Intelligence  went  through 
Experiences  and  in  Companionship  of  pos- 
sibly ten  years  before,  is  an  explanation  satis- 
factory to  many  old  plainsmen,  who  have  heard 
Voices  out  of  the  past,  when  alone  in  the  si- 
lence of  the  prairie.) 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  RIDE  OF  DAN  DILLON  AND  OTHERS— THE  START  OF  THE  TENAS  TRAIL 


A  few  years  ago  (1916)  I  met  Dan  Mc- 
Ulvane  and  Colin  Hunter  in  Cheyenne  and 
had  a  long  talk  with  them  of  early  ranch  life. 
McUlvane  was  pretty  nearly  an  old  timer 
when  he  went  into  the  cow  business  in  1870. 
Six  years  before,  or  in  1864,  he  had  whacked 
bulls  from  Leavenworth  to  Fort  Laramie,  un- 
der the  government  wagon  boss,  Merin  Car- 
lisle. 

Colin  Hunter,  who  since  1872  had  a  ranch  at 
the  confluence  of  Little  Horse  creek  with 
Horse  creek  proper,  recently  died  in  Chey- 
enne. He  owned  the  old  ranch  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  and  his  son.  Tom  Hunter,  still  owns 
it.  Tom  has  an  office  in  Cheyenne.  Colin 
Hunter  was  coming  with  a  wagon  train  to  Fort 
Laramie  in  1867,  when,  on  July  4th,  the  sound 
of  guns  attracted  their  attention.  The  sight 
of  the  blue  coats  gave  them  some  apprehen- 
sion. When  the  shooting  subsided,  they  found 
the  soldiers  and  a  civilian  or  two,  with  one 
dead  white  man  in  their  midst. 

Just  what  the  difficulty  was  they  could  not 
learn,  nor  did  he  ever  learn,  but  the  dead  man 
was  killed  by  a  white  man's  bullet,  and  the 
shot  was  fired  from  behind  the  bank  of  the 
river.  This  happened  near  Bordeaux's  place. 
The  dead  man  was  George  Riptoe,  whose  ex- 
periences along  with  others  followed  the  mas- 
sacre at  Fort  Phil  Kearney  up  on  the  Piney, 
and  the  rescue  of  that  beleagured  garrison. 

Coutant  tells  a  pretty  story  of  the  famous 
ride  of  John  Phillips  on  Colonel  Carrington's 
fine  thoroughbred,  all  the  way  alone  through 


the  bitter  cold  Christmas  weather,  from  the 
Piney  to  Horseshoe  station.  There  is  another 
story  which  many  old  timers  tell  concern- 
ing that  message  and  how  it  was  transmitted,. 
that  I  am  led  to  believe,  after  much  inquiry. 

Many  of  the  older  people  will  remember 
Jim  Bellamy,  and  his  Nine  Mile  station,  or 
ranch  nine  miles  up  the  Platte  river  from  Fort 
Laramie. 

On  the  night  of  December  24,  1866,  late  in 
the  night,  Bellamy  and  Daniel  McUlvane,  and 
several  others  were  sitting  by  a  roaring  fire 
at  Nine  Mile  station,  when  out  of  the  bitter 
cold  and  darkness  appeared  four  horsemen, 
whose  names  should  go  down  in  history.  They 
were  Dan  Dillon,  big  diffident  Dan,  Sam 
Gregory,  George  Riptoe  and  John  Phillips. 
They  had  all  ridden  all  the  way  from  Fort  Phil 
Kearney. 

Dillon  was  the  bearer  of  dispatches,  and 
asked  if  they  could  get  a  wire  to  the  Fort  at 
Laramie.  They  had  previously  tried  to  do 
so  from  Horseshoe  station  farther  west,  but 
could  not.  The  storm  of  the  Indians  had  put 
the  line  out  of  commission,  but  as  their  horses 
were  utterly  exhausted,  they  had  to  put  up 
for  a  rest. 

Dan  gave  the  dispatches  to  Bellamy,  who 
locked  them  in  his  big  chest  for  the  night.  All 
rested  for  several  hours,  and  early  the  next 
morning,  Bellamy  gave  Dillon  the  dispatches 
again,  and  the  four  journeyed  on  to  the  fort. 
All  who  mention  it  tell  me  that  Dillon  and  not 
Phillips  was  the  bearer  of  the  dispatches. 


96 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Old  Bedlam  was  alive  with  a  merry  party, 
which  had  been  dancing  all  the  night.  On  the 
upper  floors  the  officers  had  administrative 
quarters,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  building 
was  full  of  the  dancers.  Dillon,  because  of  his 
bashfulness,  found  it  difficult  to  attract  the  no- 
tice of  any  of  the  soldiers  who  were  busy 
dancing  attention  to  the  ladies ;  and  while  hesi- 
tating, Phillips  grabbed  the  dispatches  from  his 
hands,  ran  into  the  throng,  and  up  the  stairs 
to  the  officers'  quarters. 

When  Coutant  wrote  his  history,  these  four 
men  were  scattered  to  the  four  winds.  Riptoe 
had  been  killed,  and  Dillon  was  supposed  to  be 
in  Mexico.  Gregory,  who  had  later  been  chief 
of  police  in  Laramie  City,  had  departed  for 
parts  unknown.  Coutant's  story  came  from 
Phillips  and  from  his  patriotic  political  friends. 
The  historian  is  now  also  dead,  he  having  died 
at  Chinook,  in  the  far  northwest. 

Dan  Dillon,  the  bearer  of  the  message  that 
reached  the  fort,  having  returned  from  the 
south  and  rejoined  his  command,  was  in  1881, 
given  some  dispatches  at  Fort  Robinson,  Ne- 
braska, for  delivery  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Indian  reservation,  at  Fort  Meade,  South  Da- 
kota. He  vanished  somewhere  in  the  Chey- 
enne river  country.  Nor  has  he  or  his  remains, 
.or  any  of  his  effects,  horse,  saddle,  or  accouter- 
ments,  ever  been  found.  Possibly  the  quick- 
sands of  the  river  could  tell  more  of  faithful 
Dan,  but  they  only  whisper  on  and  on  in 
voices  mysterious  and  unintelligible  to  us  all. 

From  a  very  early  date  the  mines  about 
Hartville,  Wyoming,  had  been  prospected.  In 
fact,  the  time  antedates  any  record,  and  it 
was  believed  that  the  white  people  who  were 
separated  several  hundred  years  ago,  a  frag- 
ment of  which  were  never  heard  from,  might 
have  been  among  the  early  men  at  Hartville. 
This  is  the  purest  conjecture,  however,  and 
only  the  fragments  of  old  tools  give  evidence 
of  early  pilgrims  of  superior  intelligence. 

During  the  days  of  the  cowmen  it  again  be- 
came quite  a  center  of  activity,  and  here  was 
one  of  the  relaxation  points  of  the  west.  Oth- 
ers were  Antelopeville,  Cheyenne,  Ogallala, 
Sidney,  and  Camp  Clarke.  Alliance,  the  pres- 
ent headquarters  of  the  Stockmen's  associa- 
tion, was  not  then  on  the  map.  The  Box  Butte 
table  lay  in  all  its  virgin  glory  under  the  west- 
ern sun. 

The  Texas  trail  was  three  hundred  miles 
wide,  if  you  take  in  all  its  deflections  and  rami- 
fications. From  east  of  Ogallala  to  the  Lara- 
mie plains  ran  the  parallel  lines  of  trvael,  some- 
times crossing  one  another,  according  to  the 


idea  of  the  men  having  a  herd  in  charge,  as 
to  pasturage  and  water. 

Occasionally  somewhere  between  the  start- 
ing point  and  the  destination,  a  large  herd 
would  entirely  disappear,  and  with  it  the  men 
in  charge.  The  general  belief  was  that  these 
were  gigantic  thefts,  but  there  came  a  story 
filtering  into  the  south  country,  of  a  mysterious 
arroyo  or  canyon,  somewhere  about  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  southeast  corner  of  Colorado,  where 
these  herds  of  cattle  were  stampeded  by  a 
phatom  steer,  run  over  a  bluff,  and  all  killed. 
I  think  I  shall  tell  this  story  as  it  came  to 
me  more  than  a  score  of  years  ago. 

The  route  of  the  original  Texas  Trail  was 
not  direct,  it  swung  eastward  across  Oklahoma, 
or  Indian  Territory,  to  Coffeyville  ;  then  swung 
westward  up  the  Arkansas  river  valley  a  hun- 
dred or  more  miles,  and  while  such  a  route 
had  water  advantages  over  a  route  more  di- 
rect, I  had  often  wondered  if  that  was  the 
reason  for  its  being  in  such  an  indirect  way. 

The  story  came  to  me  in  the  later  eighties, 
that  in  about  1860,  a  herd  had  been  sent  north 
by  the  direct  route,  but  that  it  never  reached 
the  Arkansas  river.  Searching  parties  failed 
to  disclose  what  became  of  them  although  they 
found  evidences  of  a  stampede  near  the  south- 
west corner  of  Kansas.  The  following  year 
another  expedition  was  planned  but  it  met  with 
the  same  fate.  Not  a  trace  beyond  a  few  miles 
from  where  they  had  appeared  to  stampede. 

The  next  expedition  was  manned  with  a 
bunch  of  trustworthy  men,  and  absolutely  fear- 
less. It  occurred  to  the  owners  that  perhaps 
somewhere  off  to  the  westward  someone  or 
several  were  starting  new  ranches  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Texas  owners.  So  after  sending 
out  the  original  party,  a  second  outfit  of  ten 
men  and  a  wagon  were  directed  to  follow. 
Their  duty  was  apparently  to  pick  up  the  strag- 
glers that  were  left  behind,  or  that  would 
get  up  in  the  night  and  start  back  along  the 
trail. 

One  of  those  beautiful  moonlight  nights  so 
common  to  the  southwest,  while  the  cattle  were 
all  lying  down  apparently  at  ease,  they  sud- 
denly arose,  and  after  a  brief  thunder  of  hoofs, 
seemed  to  melt  into  the  moonlight  mist,  and 
the  night  riders  had  gone  with  them.  When 
daylight  came  the  trail  was  followed  a  short 
distance  after  which  it  became  too  indistinct  to 
follow.  In  the  night  a  sudden  whirl  wind  had 
arisen  and  shifting  sands  had  obliterated  the 
tracks.  The  country  about  was  searched  close- 
ly for  many  miles,  but  with  barren  results. 

The  returning  men  to  the  Texas  range  were 
so  chagrined  that  they  begged  the  privilege 
of  taking  a  smaller  bunch,  and  go  over  the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


97 


same  trail.  Only  two  of  these  men  returned, 
and  their  story  ended  trailing  cattle  through 
that  particular  section  of  the  south  for  a  great 
many  years. 

They  had  crossed  the  Kansas  line  as  usual, 
and  the  night  was  one  of  those  typical  stam- 
peding nights.  The  utmost  vigilence  had  been 
observed.  The  night  herd  had  been  doubled, 
and  they  were  to  move  about  the  dozing  cattle, 
and  to  keep  up  whistling  or  singing  the  sooth- 
ing tones  that  only  night-herders  know  will 
tend  to  keep  the  cattle  from  taking  alarm. 

As  John  A  Lomax  says  in  his  book :  "The 
Songs  of  The  Cowboy." 

"What  keeps  the  herds   from  running, 
Stampeding  far  and  wide? 
The  cowboy's  long,  low  whistle 
And  singing  by  their  side." 

Suddenly,  like  one,  the  entire  herd  arose, 
and  the  silence  of  the  night  was  changed  to  a 
pandemonium  of  sound.  The  earth  trembled 
with  the  beating  of  hoofs,  the  cowboy's  tran- 
quil call  rose  to  a  shrill  crescendo,  shouts  and 
shots  woke  the  startled  prairie  owls,  and  all 
was  feverish  anxiety.  The  two  men  who  re- 
turned to  Texas  were  at  the  camp,  when  the 
tornado  of  activity  awoke.  They  were  a  little 
behind  the  others ;  one  was  a  little  in  advance 
of  the  other,  and  both  were  riding  to  overtake 
the  herd. 

One  of  the  riders  far  in  advance  suddenly 
disappeared,  then  another  went  down,  and  that 


meant  ground  to  death  under  the  feet  of  the 
trampling  steers.  One  after  another  the  head 
riders  fell,  and  there  were  left  but  the  two. 
One  was  riding  into  the  rear,  and  the  other  shut 
his  eyes  for  a  moment,  for  such  a  perform- 
ance meant  only  one  thing,  and  that,  death. 
Instantly  he  opened  them  again  for  in  closing 
his  eyes  he  had  apparently  closed  his  ears.  The 
Pandemonium  of  sound  had  ceased.  When 
he  looked  forward,  it  was  upon  an  empty  plain, 
save  for  the  one  lone  horseman,  that  came 
riding  back  to  him. 

"Did  you  see  it?"  he  asked. 

The  other  had  seen  nothing  that  could  be 
designated  as  "It." 

"The  Phantom  Steer"  said  the  first  spokes- 
man. "As  sure  as  we  live  there  was  a  big, 
shadowy  steer  that  led  the  bunch,  and  these 
that  came  on  became  as  he,  for  I  rode  through 
them,  and  cut  them  with  my  rope,  time  after 
time." 

The  Phantom  Steer  was  a  Thing  in  the 
semi-mythology  of  the  west,  that  always  leads 
herds  and  men  "to  the  end  of  the  trail."  And 
they  say,  out  in  that  section  of  the  land  some- 
where, there  is  an  arroyo  where  the  herds  have 
gone  down,  led  by  this  mysterious  creature, 
and  if  you  will  go  there  at  night  when  the 
moon  is  full,  you  can  see  the  shadows  moving, 
and  you  can  hear  the  "moo"  as  of  belated 
cattle'. 

So  the  Texas  Trail  was  swung  away  to  the 
east,  where  the  Thing  did  not  interfere  with 
safe  delivery  on  to  the  northern  range. 


CHAPTER  VI 

COWBOY  ESCAPADES  —  DEATH  OF  TIMMEY  TATE  —  RED  PATH  BILL  —  FRA- 
TERNAL AND  CLASS  SENTIMENT 


When  the  Cheyenne  and  Northern  railroad 
was  built,  the  trail  went  into  disuse.  The  cat- 
tle were  brought  north  by  rail  and  unloaded  at 
Wendover,  and  trailed  from  there  into  the 
Big  Horn  Basin  and  the  British  possessions. 

I  "skinned  mules"  on  the  head  of  Pole 
(Xodgepole)  creek,  Horse  creek  and  the  Chug- 
water,  and  I  cooked  for  an  outfit  from  the 
river  to  "the  basin."  I  had  had  no  experience 
at  cooking  to  amount  to  anything,  but  I  could 
boil  spuds  and  beans,  make  "sore-finger 
bread,"  and  make  good  coffee.    The  recipe  for 


good  coffee  is  "a  couple  of  hands  full  to  a  dip- 
per of  water."  What  more  does  a  hungry 
man  want?  Also  I  had  the  advantage  over 
some  cooks  in  that  I  kept  my  dishes  cleaned  up 
after  every  meal,  and  I  was  always  on  the  job. 
When  the  boys  would  pass  a  settlement 
where  there  were  any  girls,  some  of  the  set- 
tlers would  be  sure  to  have  a  roundup  dance. 
Either  among  the  boys,  or  among  the  settlers 
there  were  fiddlers.  Among  the  cowboys,  I 
knew  several:  there  was  Runey  Campbell,  Ed 
Stemler,   Ed  Wright  and   Ark.   Hughes  —  all 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


alive  today  (1919),  and  still  able  to  draw  a 
bow  across  the  strings.  In  fact  I  would  like 
to  go  to  one  of  the  old  fashioned  dances,  \Vith 
the  old  fashioned  music,  and  a  crowd  of  the 
old  timers.  To  be  sure,  it  would  be  nothing 
like  the  gymnastic  performances  of  the  new 
people,  the  dips,  the  trots,  and  the  wiggles 
that  we  are  told  is  dancing  now. 

When  near  one  of  the  old  frontier  towns, 
the  boys  were  due  for  a  little  relaxation. 

Once  down  at  Sidney,  Jimmy  Tate  and 
Johnny  Frantz  had  gone  to  town,  and  every- 


Four  Old  Time  Cowpunchers 

Left  to  right,  standing:     John  Shear,  Jimmey  Tate, 

sitting :     Johnny   Frantz   and   Frank   Fitz. 

body  knew  what  that  meant.  Each  would  try 
to  excel  the  other  in  some  prank,  or  deed  of 
daring.  Riding  their  horses  into  saloons,  sit- 
ting on  the  floor  of  a  grocery  store  in  tests  of 
endurance  eating  cove  oysters  from  the  can  by 
the  handful,  and  such  other  general  foolish- 
ness. 

Late  that  night  six  rapid  fire  shots,  and  the 
sharp  staccato  of  horse's  hoofs  announced  the 
return  of  Johnny,  and  with  him  was  Tate's 
riderless  horse.  The  boys  tumbled  out  of 
their  blankets  and  tarpaulins,  and  Johnny 
tumbled  from  his  horse.  He  told  a  sort  of  an 
incoherent,  reproachful  tale  that  Tate  was 
dead,  hack  in  the  road. 


All  were  more  or  less  concerned,  for  Tate 
was  supposed  to  have  intentions  of  giving 
evidence  against  the  Bay  State  Company  con- 
cerning some  of  their  acquisition  of  land  from 
the  government,  and  the  empty  saddle  looked 
bad,  for  Jimmy  was  a  good  rider,  even  when 
intoxicated.  "Long"  (Wyatt)  Heard,  now 
(1919)  and  before  of  Uvalde  county,  Texas, 
then  headquartered  on  Pumpkin  creek,  was 
telling  about  it.  He  said  that  the  story  they 
got  from  Johnny  was  that  Tate  had  fallen 
from  his  horse  and  was  killed. 

"But  how  do  you  know  that  he  is  dead?" 
was  asked. 

With  all  sincerity  Frantz  told  them  that  he 
had  stopped,  and  called  to  Tate  several  times, 
and  received  no  answer,  and  then  he  had 
"rode  over  him  two  or  three  times,  and  he 
never  moved." 

Jimmy  came  out  of  it  all  right,  but  after- 
wards died  with  his  boots  on,  in  the  same  old 
town  of  Sidney,  and  many  believed  that  his 
revelations  concerning  the  land  matters  had 
something  to  do  with  his  sudden  and  violent 
death.  He  now  lies  in  "Boots  Graveyard,"  a 
part  of  the  Sidney  cemetery,  that  was  set  aside 
for  the  boys  who  died  in  the  classic  way  of 
the  early  west. 

"Bad  men"  were  always  drifting  in  and  out 
of  the  early  camps,  and  through  the  frontier 
towns,  and  it  was  somewhat  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish the  real  from  the  make-believe.  Oc- 
casionally one  would  make  his  bluff  stand  up 
for  a  time,  but  he  eventually  met  someone  that 
"called  him." 

In  "Ole  Cheyenne"  it  used  to  be  the  stand- 
ing joke  that  a  cowpuncher  who  had  taken  on 
too  much  of  a  load,  was  a  candidate  for  Hat 
creek.  Why  Hat  creek  was  the  proposed  des- 
tination for  a  fellow  that  was  full,  is  more 
than  I  ever  learned.  But  that  stream,  if  it 
may  be  called  a  stream,  is  up  towards  the 
headwaters  of  White  river,  and  was  on  the 
line  of  the  trail  from  Fort  Laramie  to  Dead- 
wood.  Sending  them  up  Hat  creek  became  a 
classic  in  western  expression,  symbolizing  a 
drunken  cowpuncher,  and  it  never  failed  to 
humiliate  and  shame. 

One  time  a  "bad  man"  drifted  into  Chey- 
enne, and  his  name  was  enough  to  strike 
terror  to  tenderfeet.  "Red  Path  Bill"  was  a 
dread  combination.  "Bill"  was  a  favorite 
name  in  the  wild  first  years  of  the  west,  es- 
pecially if  the  person  was  a  bad  man;  but 
"Red  Path"  prefixed  would  certainly  indicate 
for  a  bad  man  nothing  less  than  a  trail  of 
human  gore. 

Red  Path  Bill  was  hungry  —  voracious  for 
human  bones  to  crush  in  his  mighty  jaws,  and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


')•! 


he  was  famishing  for  drink  —  red  liquor  of 
the  first  magnitude,  and  mixed  with  human 
blood.  He  could  not  be  appeased.  Pounds  of 
steak  —  blood  raw  —  or  such  stale  things  as 
coffee  and  common  bar  drinks,  could  not  sat- 
isfy such  an  appetite  as  he  possessed. 

So  he  rambled  from  place  to  place,  until  he 
found  the  place  of  Harry  Hynds. 

Hynds  came  to  Cheyenne  in  the  early  years, 
and  had  joined  with  a  man  named  Elliott  in 
the  trade  of  blacksmithing.  He  had  a  strong 
arm,  and  was  not  afraid  to  use  it ;  and  he  was 
also  a  reader  of  human  character.  He  quit 
blacksmithing,  and  opened  an  emporium  of 
entertainment  and  refreshments.  There  he 
had  to  know  the  science  of  humankind  to  sur- 
vive. 

His  business  developed,  and  at  the  time  Red 
Path  Bill  appeared,  the  place  contained  a  ves- 
tibule, with  cigars  and  the  like ;  and  behind 
swinging  doors  of  mahogany  was  a  mahogany 
bar  and  crystal  glass,  and  then  a  third  room 
separated  from  the  second  by  swinging  doors 
of  green.  In  this  latter  room  were  the  choice 
of  any  number  of  tame  amusements :  the  faro 
box,  the  roulette  wheel,  monte,  twenty-one, 
craps,  poker,  and  sometimes  keno. 

These  interested,  amused  and  entertained, 
and  sometimes  broke  and  hurried  a  man  up 
Hat  creek. 

Gambling  was  a  quiet  vice  and  the  besetting 
sin  of  the  cowboy  was  activity  —  great  activ- 
ity —  and  noise.  He  was  tired  of  the  mighty 
reaches  of  the  prairie,  and  was  glad  to  be 
where  he  could  bump  into  something.  He  had 
wearied  of  the  silent  solitudes,  and  he  wanted 
the  reverberation  of  sound.  So  the  gun  — 
that  six  gun — its  roar  within  the  confines  of 
a  room,  was  different  from  the  futile  little 
pops  out  on  the  open  range.  The  jingling 
glass,  and  his  pride  of  marksmanship  that 
often  plunged  a  room  in  darkness,  was  the 
transcendant  glory  of  the  new  free  west.  Es- 
pecially was  this  true,  when  an  unwilling  and 
half  wild  mustang  had  been  coaxed,  rowled, 
jabbed  and  coerced,  rearing  over  threshholds 
into  unaccustomed  haunts.  Furthermore  the 
boys  did  enjoy  seeing  the  gamblers  duck  for 
cover  under  the  tables  or  behind  the  bar. 

Red  Path  Bill,  with  moccasined  feet,  came 
silently  in.  His  deep  voice  called  for  the 
strongest  at  the  bar,  and  then,  to  the  swinging 
doors  of  the  inner  room.  Suddenly  he  was 
electrified.  A  heavy  fist  smote  simultaneously 
each  door,  and  they  swung  wide.  With  spec- 
tacular effect  he  had  made  an  entrance.  No 
one  seemed  to  notice  him,  and  he  was  offended. 

"I'm  Red  Path  Bill,"  he  roared,  and  glared 
about  to  see  if  anyone  dared  dispute  it.     None 


did.  Instead,  the  man  at  the  wheel  droned : 
"Double  OO  in  the  green,"  and  the  rumble  of 
"Deuce-Nine,"  or  "a  natural,"  or  "an  alsa," 
came  from  different  parts  of  the  room.  These 
expressions  may  have  been  a  reference  to  his 
entrance,  or  they  may  have  referred  to  the 
plays  at  the  different  tables.  Smiles  here  and 
there  would  have  indicated  the  former.  The 
games  and  the  players  went  on  as  usual.  Red 
Path  Bill  was  offended.  Somebody  had  killed 
his  act  in  the  vaudeville  of  life.  He  went 
about  annoying  the  players,  who  tolerated  him 
with  rare  good  nature,  until  he  trod  upon  the 
toes  of  a  bystander. 

Fred  Ashford  was  working  in  the  Union 
Pacific  shops  at  the  time.  He  had  for  several 
years  whacked  bulls  on  the  Black  Hills  route 
for  Billy  Hecht.  Fred  was  a  man  r  f  medium 
stature  and  prodigious  strength.  He  quit 
freighting  in  1882  and  joined  a  cow  outfit, 
and  then  later  went  into  the  shops. 

To  step  upon  a  man's  toes  in  the  west  was 
an  affront  and  a  challenge,  and  when  Red  Path 
Bill  picked  Ashford  for  the  offense,  he  did  not 
know  his  man.  Fred's  right  arm  swung  once. 
The  rest  were  better  told  by  a  humbled  and 
contrite  spirit. 

"I  am  what  remains  of  Red  Path  Bill.  They 
took  a  caseknife  and  tried  to  scrape  me  off 
the  wall  where  I  had  been  splattered,  but  they 
could  not  get  enough  to  do  much  good." 

Each  of  the  classes  that  inhabited  the  early 
west  held  the  other  in  contempt.  That  is :  the 
soldier  aKvays  treated  the  cowboys  as  "herds- 
men," and  the  cowboys  returned  the  sentiment 
with  vigor.  The  gamblers  respected  the  men 
of  the  range  for  their  money,  for  the  game 
way  they  took  a  loss,  but  generally  with  utter 
contempt  for  their  skill  at  cards.  Occasionally 
they  miscalculated.  Sandy  Ingraham  caught  a 
fellow  "out  on  a  limb"  once  in  the  Capitol 
saloon  of  Cheyenne.  After  a  delay  of  careful 
deliberation  of  fifty  minutes,  he  called  the 
gambler's  bet  of  seven  hundred  dollars,  and 
won  with  "two  deuces." 

Captain  Chas.  King,  who  wrote  Trumpeter 
Fred,  and  other  tales  of  local  color,  always 
used  the  offensive  appellation  "herdsman." 
Thus  the  whipping  of  a  drunken  or  saucy  sol-' 
dier  by  a  cowboy  or  freighter  was  always  con- 
sidered legitimate  sport. 

Occasionally  the  cow  outfits  would  sweep 
down  on  old  Fort  Fetterman,  or  some  other 
camp  or  sub-station  in  the  Fort  Laramie  dis- 
trict, and  would  rope  the  mountain  howitzers, 
and  antiquated  brass  cannon,  jerking  them 
from  their  positions,  would  drag  them  about 
the  fort.     Soldiers  knew  better  than  to  inter- 


100 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


fere  with  such  pranks,  for  when  the  sport  was 
over,  the  boys  would  make  amends. 

When  there  came  real  Indian  troubles,  the 
civilian    was    a    valuable    asset.      An    average 


freighter  or  cowman  was  much  better  skilled 
in  the  tactics  of  Indian  warfare,  and  were 
needed  when  trouble  arose. 


CHAPTER  VII 


COAD'S  RANCH  AT  SCOTTSBLUFF  STATION  —  SHEEDY'S  SEVEN-U  RANCH  ■ 
ANECDOTES  ABOUT  THEM 


About  1870,  the  Coad  Brothers  took  posses- 
sion of  the  old  Stage  station,  "Scotts  Bluffs," 
and  put  in  a  herd  of  cows.  This  they  devel- 
oped to  colossal  proportions.  The  younger 
Coads  still  have  the  ranch  north  of  Cheyenne 
at  which  Mark  M.  Coad  was  killed  a  few 
years  ago  by  a  Mexican.  At  the  early  date, 
however,  the  principal  ranch  was  just  a  little 
west  of  the  present  site  of  Melbeta,  and  their 
range  took  in  all  of  the  south  part  of  the 
North  Platte  valley,  from  Court  House  rock 
to  and  including  Mitchell  valley.  The  part- 
ners were  J.  F.  and  Mark  M.  Coad.  They  had 
10,000  cattle  and  their  brands  best  known  were 
FF-Bar  and  C-12.  The  "Wisconsin  Ranch" 
previously  operated  by  Coad,  near  Julesburg, 
was  for  caring  for  bull  herds  and  was  the 
scene  of  bloody  Indian  conflicts. 

From  Perry  Braziel,  who  "met  up"  with 
"Shanghai"  Pierce  at  Coffeyville,  and  drifted 
up  the  Texas  Trail  in  1880,  and  who  went  to 
work  for  the  Coads  in  1882,  and  who  still 
lives  in  the  splendid  country  south  of  Henry, 
and  from  R.  C.  Campbell  and  from  other  old 
timers,  I  have  been  able  to  get  a  fairly  accur- 
ate description  of  the  old  buildings  at  the 
Scotts  Bluff  Station,  which  became  the  Coad 
ranch  house. 

It  faced  the  south,  and  was  20  by  50  feet, 
its  walls  were  thirty  inches  thick  and  the  sod 
were  eight  or  ten  inches  in  thickness.  It  had 
red  cedar  cross  logs  and  ridge  poles,  and  poles 
and  dirt  were  used  for  the  roof.  A  row  of 
posts  through  the  center  supported  the  center 
ridge  log.  The  building  contained  two  rooms, 
the  smaller  being  about  12  by  20,  was  used  for 
the  kitchen.  A  large  sod  fireplace  added  cheer 
to  the  larger  room. 

It  was  in  and  around  this  old  building  that 
"Baldy"  Kelly,  and  "Iron  Leg  Bill"  DeCamp 
had  their  bout  over  who  should  win  the  af- 
fections of  their  enamorita.     I  never  learned 


her  name,  but  the  stories  first  gave  Baldy  an 
advantage,  and  then  Bill's  Winchester  took 
part,  and  the  last  of  Kelly  was  a  fading  fog 
in  the  direction  of  Cheyenne,  with  a  pocket 
full  of  Yorick  Nichol's  money. 

The  younger  generations  of  Coads  are  now 
here  frequently,  and  are  interested  in  develop- 
ing the  feeding  industry  in  the  land  where 
their  fathers  ran  the  big  range  herds. 

The  Powers  brothers  came  into  the  Scotts- 
bluff  country  in  1870  or  1871,  and  they  built 
a  ranch  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  within 
a  mile  of  the  present  site  of  the  north  end  of 
the  Bayard  state  aid  bridge.  They  were  Tex- 
ans  and  run  from  4,000  to  5,000  cattle.  Den- 
nis Sheedy  bought  this  outfit  sometime  after, 
and  here  was  the  famous  Seven-U  (7U) 
brand.  He  increased  the  herd  to  large  pro- 
portions. Sheedy  accumulated  a  fortune  and 
has  been  busy  for  years  in  the  commercial  af- 
fairs of  Denver,  being  president  of  the  Den- 
ver Dry  Goods  Company  only  a  short  time 
ago,  and  now  (1919)  vice-president  of  Colo- 
rado National  Bank.  It  is  to  be  ventured  that 
his  active  brain  is  still  working  in  lines  for 
which  it  was  splendidly  equipped. 

Around  the  Seven-U  clusters  a  number  of 
old  anecdotes  which  extended  down  to  the  ad- 
vent of  the  granger.  The  cowboys  used  to 
sing  a  song,  "The  Famous  Seven-U  Brand," 
when  I  first  came  into  the  west.  It  was  more 
of  a  slam  than  a  song,  and  one  time  years 
after,  when  Sheedy  stopped  at  Tusler's,  the 
lady,  who  had  an  old  melodian,  thought  to  re- 
vive a  pleasing  memory  by  singing  it,  but  it 
made  Mr.  Sheedy  indignant. 

James  O'Hallern  was  in  charge  at  the  time 
I  first  visited  this  ranch,  and  he  was  a  char- 
acter all  to  himself.  He  liked  company  and 
had  many  festive  occasions  at  the  old  sod 
ranch  house,  where  the  people  came  for  one 
hundred  miles  to  dance. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


101 


Tim  Montrose  was  the  cook,  and  a  good  one 
he  was,  albeit  that  he  "was  not  much  larger 
than  a  drink  of  water,"  as  the  cowboys  used  to 
say.  Tim  was  particularly  tired  of  one  fellow 
in  the  olden  days  who  settled  down  near  the 
ranch  and  made  it  his  general  source  of  prov- 
ender. Almost;  daily  he  would  sojourn  from 
his  squatter's  cabin  to  the  ranch  to  visit  Tim- 
my,  and  incidentally  "get  his  fill  of  grub." 

One  day  Tim  pulled  out  of  the  capacious 
oven  a  particularly  delightful  roast  of  great 
dimension.  The  visitor's  nose  soon  led  him  to 
it.  He  gorged  himself  outrageously  and  had 
some  internal  pains  as  a  result.  Yet  he  felt 
called  upon  to  compliment  the  cook.  Tim 
asked  him  if  he  knew  how  to  make  roast  beef 
tender  in  the  cooking.  Receiving  the  negative 
response,  he  told  him  to  put  a  little  strychnine 
upon  it  —  not  too  much,  as  a  little  too  much 
might  be  fatal,  but  that  he  always  put  some  on 
his  own  cooking.  This  suggestion,  and  the  in- 
ternal agonies  increasing,  so  frightened  his 
visitor  that  he  never  bothered  Tim  any  further. 

Montrose  made  regular  trips  to  Chicago,  to 
his  old  home  ward,  and  he  invariably  came 
back  with  the  scars  of  battle,  for  he  loved  a 
fight. 

One  time  in  a  cow  outfit,  a  big  bully  tried 
to  "run  a  whizzer"  on  Timmy.  For  a  little 
time  those  who  knew  Montrose  were  surprised 
to  see  the  stranger  apparently  "getting  by  with 
it."  Suddenly  the  battle  fire  in  the  little  Irish- 
man blazed  up,  and  after  a  short  but  terrific 
battle,  the  bully  turned  and  ran. 

James  O'Hallern  liked  a  good  time,  and  he 
frequently  called  the  scattered  people  of  the 
country  together  in  the  big  buildings  at  the 
Seven-U,  where  they  would  dance  all  night 
and  into  the  next  day. 

One  time  when  they  had  gathered  for  one 
hundred  miles  to  trip  the  light  fantastic,  the 
cook,  Montrose,  found  access  to  too  many 
flasks,  which  the  boys  had  hidden  in  the  barn. 
Tim  had  found  the  cache  and  his  condition 
was  such  that  O'Hallern  had  to  deny  him  the 
joy  of  the  dance  floor.  He  was  tremendously 
humiliated,  to  hear  him  tell  it,  and  likewise 
angry  in  a  maudlin  way.  He  planned  deeply 
and  from  his  pondering  a  scheme  of  revenge 
was  formed,  that  lacked  only  one  little  essen- 
tial element  of  successful  strategy. 

He  saddled  his  pony,  from  the  woodpile  he 
selected  a  club.  Ordinarily  he  was  a  good  man 
with  his  fists,  but  this  time  he  was  taking  no 
chances.  He  took  his  station  at  the  door  from 
which  he  had  been  ejected.  Soon  one  of  the 
boys  stepped  out  to  take  the  air,  and  Mont- 
rose very  politely  asked  him  to  tell  O'Hallern 
that  there  was  a  gentleman  at  the  door  who 


wanted  to  speak  to  him.  As  the  foreman 
crossed  the  threshhold,  'the  blow  fell,  and  it 
was  well  aimed  and  effective.  O'Hallern  fell 
across  the  doorstep,  and  was  insensible 
for  several  hours.  With  a  whoop  of  exultant 
victory  and  defiance  at  the  whole  world,  Tim 
Montrose  leaped  into  his  saddle  and  rode  away 
across  the  yard  toward  the  Camp  Clarke  trail. 
Here  came  the  disastrous  detail  he  had  over- 
looked. The  clothesline  was  hung  at  a  proper 
height  to  lift  him  from  the  saddle,  and  the  im- 
pact upon  the  earth  was  sufficiently  hard  to 
leave  him  in  an  insensible  condition  until  the 
next  day.  But  scratches  and  bruises  were 
common  in  those  days,  and  after  a  brief  delay 
to  ascertain  how  serious  were  the  casualties, 
the  gay  party  went  on  with  the  dance  until 
after  sunrise. 

At  the  Seven-U  there  are  four  graves  — 
two  of  which  were  emigrants  and  two  are  old 
cowboys  that  died  with  their  boots  on  and 
were  so  buried.  One  of  the  latter  was  a 
brother  of  Henry  Bradford,  who  was  with  the 
English  boys  later,  and  the  other  a  Texan  con- 
cerning whom  later  reference  is  made. 

The  surviving  Bradford  had  become  pos- 
sessed of  a  large  acreage  north  of  Camp 
Clarke,  which  was  called  the  Bradford  ranch, 
and  which  was  operated  by  a  man  named  El- 
liott. Bradford  had  some  income  therefrom, 
and  he  spent  part  of  his  time  at  the  Seven-U 
until  his  brother  was  killed. 

One  day  they  were  discussing  a  certain  out- 
law horse  that  had  been  run  into  the  corral 
with  great  difficulty.  The  discussion  was 
mixed  with  sundry  libations.  At  a  certain 
stage  "Brad"  offered  to  bet  twenty-five  dollars 
that  he  could  saddle  and  bridle  the  animal  un- 
assisted. The  bet  was  covered  and  he  repaired 
to  the  corral.  After  much  difficulty  he  man- 
aged to  get  a  rope  over  its  head  and  this  he 
looped  about  a  log  in  the  barn.  Gradually  he 
worked  the  animal  nearer  and  finally  he  got 
it  into  the  barn  and  snubbed  up  to  the  manger. 
Here  he  proceeded  to  blind  it  with  a  gunny 
sack,  and  then  saddle  and  bridle  it.  One  sud- 
den upward  swing  of  the  head  at  an  unexpect- 
ed moment  took  "Brad,"  who  was  leaning  over 
the  partition  from  an  adjoining  stall,  squarely 
in  the  face,  and  he  lost  all  the  teeth  of  his 
upper  jaw  on  the  left  side.  Occasionally  af- 
terwards, he  would  point  out  and  display  the 
gold  teeth  with  which  they  were  replaced,  and 
say:  "Well,  I  won  the  twenty-five,  but  it 
cost  me  a  hundred." 

When  the  granger  came,  the  Seven-U  was 
occupied  by  Ed  Burnett,  who  was  one  of  the 
old  families  about  Bayard.  Ed  one  night  had 
a  very  vivid  dream  about  the  grave  of  one  of 


102 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  emigrants  who  was  buried  at  the  Seven-U. 
He  awoke  the  next  morning  convinced  that  the 
grave  was  a  cache  for  hidden  gold,  and  he  pro- 
ceeded to  put  his  faith  in  dreams  into  his 
works.    But  when  he  reached  the  proper  depth 


he  found  a  crude  decayed  coffin  and  the  re- 
mains of  a  little  girl.  After  that.  Burnett 
lost  all  faith  in  dreams,  and  such  foolish 
things. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SURVEYOR   SCHLEICxEL'S   TEAMSTER    HUNG    AT    SIDNEY  —  THE    BOSLER 
RANGE  — THE   VB   BRAND  — MINNIE  MONTGOMERY  HONEY- 
MOON—THE HOUSE  OF  LA  GRANGE 


Contemporaneously  with  the  establishment 
of  the  Powers  ranch  (about  1871),  Bosler 
Brothers  &  Company  built  their  home  ranch 
on  the  lower  Blue,  near  the  present  site  of 
Lewellen,  and  extended  their  business  to  in- 
clude several  ranches  up  and  down  the  North 
Platte  river  on  the  north  side,  but  they  always 
maintained  the  principal  quarters  on  the  Blue. 
They  ran  15,000  to  20,000  cattle  and  were  one 
of  the  big  firms  of  the  time.  B-Bar  and 
others  were  their  brands. 

About  1872  E.  E.  Cunningham,  surveyor 
general  with  headquarters  at  Plattsmouth,  sent 
Alex.  Schleigel  to  survey  a  part  of  the  Platte 
river  country  between  North  Platte  and  Camp 
Clarke  bridge.  I  met  Mr.  Schleigel  a  few 
years  ago  in  Washington,  D.  C.  He  was  then 
a  draughtsman  in  the  Interior  Department,  but 
now  lives  at  Lincoln,  Nebraska.  He  is  an  old 
soldier  (being  under  Lt.  Beecher  in  the  Battle 
of  Beecher  Island),  and  has  been  in  many  In- 
dian battles,  and  he  is  an  intimate  friend  of 
Robert  Harvey,  our  state  surveyor,  and  of 
John  E.  Evans  of  North  Platte. 

This  territory  he  was  to  invade  was  gener- 
ally known  as  the  Bosler  range,  although  it 
was  occupied  by  Boyd  brothers,  of  which  Ex- 
Governor  James  E.  Boyd  was  one ;  and  the 
other  ranches  of  less  importance  in  relation  to 
size.  Schleigel  had  been  at  the  work  two  or 
three  weeks,  when  he  took  two  men  and  teams 
and  crossed  the  country  to  Sidney  for  supplies. 
He  bought  his  provisions  at  the  old  C.  A. 
Moore  supply  depot,  then  a  big  concern  of  the 
frontier  town. 

The  Boslers  and  other  big  cattle  men  did 
not  approve  of  the  survey,  for  it  meant  the 
final  settlement  of  the  land  by  homesteaders. 

After  the  wagons  were  loaded,  one  of  the 
drivers  of  the  party  failed  to  show  up.    When 


they  were  ready  to  depart  they  made  a  search 
for  him,,  and  in  a  cottonwood  tree  that  stood 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  garrison  at  Sidney,  they 
found  the  teamster  hanging  to  the  limb,  dead, 
and  on  his  body  was  pinned  a  placard,  "Horse 
Thief." 

SchleigeFs  party  believed  the  dead  man  had 
stolen  no  horses,  but  that  cattlemen  thought  so 
little  of  human  life,  they  had  hung  an  innocent 
man,  in  order  to  scare  them  into  giving  up  the 
survey. 

There  was  no  evidence  that  it  was  the  work 
of  the  Boslers  or  any  clue  as  to  the  identity  of 
the  parties  who  committed  the  deed,  and  per- 
haps the  man  had  stolen  a  horse  some  time  and 
the  vigilantes  had  just  caught  him. 

However,  a  general  impression  prevailed  as 
to  who  it  was  and  why  it  had  been  done.  If 
so,  Alex.  Schleigel  was  built  of  different  stuff 
than  they  had  calculated.  He,  the  old  soldier, 
continued  his  work  and  finished  the  survey  in 
due  time. 

Mark  Bouton  arrived  over  the  Texas  Trail 
in  1873.  He  decided  that  Bear  creek,  about 
fifty  miles  northeast  of  Cheyenne,  looked  good 
to  him,  and  here  he  went  into  the  cow  busi- 
ness. On  his  way  to  the  north,  Mark  had 
taken  a  side  trip  into  Denver,  and  there  he 
met  his  affinity.  After  settling  down  on  Bear 
creek  he  returned  to  Denver  and  sought  out 
his  "Virginia,"  and  brought  her  with  him  to 
the  ranch.  The  romance  of  Virginia  Bouton, 
placed  upon  the  range  the  old  and  familiar 
name.  "VB"  brand. 

One  born  to  the  range,  cannot  change  his 
habits  instantly,  and  while  anchored  on  BeaT 
creek,  Mark  Bouton  traveled  much.  Mrs. 
Bouton  frequently  accompanied  him,  and  at 
such   times    he   gave    way   to   the   passion   of 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


103 


jealously,  for  his  wife  was  prepossessing,  at- 
tractive and  fond  of  company. 

One  time  they  were  in  Cheyenne,  and  he  be- 
came obsessed  of  a  fear  that  she  intended  to 
leave  him,  or  to  go  back  to  the  old  wilderness 
of  passion  in  which  he  had  first  met  her.  He 
warned  her  not  to  leave  the  hotel,  under  pen- 
alty of  death.  Sometime  after  dinner  she  was 
gone.  Mad  with  affection  and  fear,  he  sought 
in  all  the  probable  places,  but  failed  to  find  her. 

In  the  evening,  two  ladies  were  approaching 
the  hotel,  when  from  behind  a  pile  of  lumber 
on  the  west  side  of  Eddy  street,  a  pistol  shot 
rang  out.  One  lady  fell  dead,  and  she  had 
much  the  same  graceful  carriage  as  Mrs.  Bou- 
ton,  but  proved  to  be  another  and  an  entirely 
innocent  girl.  Her  companion  was  Minnie 
Montgomery,  the  daughter  of  John  Montgom- 
ery, who  owned  the  log  stage  station  on  the 
Black  Hills  route,  at  the  north  end  of  the  Fort 
Laramie  bridge. 

Miss  Montgomery  did  not  see  the  assailant, 
and  whoever  he  was,  he  made  good  his  escape. 
No  one  knows  who  fired  the  shot,  but  all  old 
timers  had  their  suspicions. 

Bouton  finally  sold  his  ranch  to  Seberry  & 
Gardner,  who  built  a  big  stone  house,  and  went 
into  the  business  of  raising  hurdle  ponies,  for 
cross-country  riding,  and  other  fancy  purposes. 

Leaving  the  ranch,  Bouton  and  his  wife 
went  to  Deadwood,  and  by  and  by  there  drift- 
ed back  along  the  route  a  rumor  that  he  had 
found  his  wife  talking  to  a  mining  man  of 
considerable  prominence,  and  had  started  a 
row,  in  which  he  had  come  off  second  best. 
They  said  he  was  buried  in  Boots  graveyard 
at  Deadwood. 

Young  Gardner,  of  the  new  firm,  was  the 
trainer  for  the  ranch,  and  his  tiny  saddles  were 
the  jokes  of  the  country  wide.  Once,  when  a 
number  of  prospective  buyers  were  at  the 
ranch,  young  Gardner  proposed  to  give  them  a 
demonstration.  He  had  a  series  of  hurdles  of 
various  kinds  over  a  given  run  and  he  mounted 
one  of  his  well  broken  ponies  and  rode  away. 
The  first  hurdle,  which  was  an  insignificant 
affair,  proved  too  much  for  his  thoroughbred, 
and  they  went  down  in  a  heap.  A  great  shout 
of  laughter  went  up  from  the  assembled  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  which  provoked  young  Gard- 
ner into  a  torrent  of  language  so  inelegant,  al- 
beit so  expressive  of  his  sentiments,  that  the 
party  beat  a  hasty  retreat. 

John  Montgomery,  the  father  of  Minnie 
Montgomery,  who  was  with  the  unfortunate 
young  lady  who  was  murdered  at  Cheyenne, 
after  the  passing  of  the  Black  Hills  stage, 
sold  his  location  and  buildings  to  Whipple  & 
Hay,  who  put  some  cattle  on  the  range,  and 


established  the  4J  brand.  The  same  brand  is 
now  (1919)  owned  by  Ed  Covington,  whose 
range  is  in  the  Pine  Ridge  and  Hartville 
mountains. 

One  of  the  brands  acquired  by  the  Bay 
State  Land  and  Cattle  Company,  was  the  4J, 
but  it  was  of  another  herd,  and  of  less  import- 
ance. Just  east  of  Wild  Cat  mountain,  in  the 
northern  part  of  Banner  county,  is  a  spring 
that  adds  its  flow  to  that  of  Pumpkin  creek. 
This  was  located  by  a  man  named  Brown,  and 
the  forty  acres  on  which  it  was  situated  was 
sold  to  the  Bay  State.  This  spring  is  known 
as  the  "Four- Jay-Spring." 

Ed  Bouton,  a  brother  of  Mark  Bouton,  of 
the  VB,  followed  from  Texas  soon  after  the 
location  of  the  VB  ranch  on  Bear  creek.  He 
also  had  a  temper  and  an  inclination  to  homi- 
cide. A  sister  arrived  and  in  due  time  was 
married  to  one  of  the  early  men,  Ed  Bryant. 

Bryant  had  a  house  in  Cheyenne  on.  Sixth 
street,  but  he  was  out  at  the  ranch  considerable 
of  the  time,  while  his  wife  lived  in  the  city. 
One  day  Bryant  had  an  altercation  with  Ed 
Bouton,  and  came  off  second  best. 

It  was  thought  best  to  send  the  body  to  the 
widow,  and  it  was  accordingly  placed  in  a 
spring  wagon,  and  a  Teutonic  employee  was 
tojd  to  drive  with  it  to  Cheyenne.  Two  cow- 
punchers  were  delegated  to  ride  along,  and  see 
the  safe  delivery  of  the  remains. 

Reaching  the  city  late  one  evening,  the 
punchers  went  into  an  emporium  for  a  bracer, 
before  going  to  break  the  news.  The  Dutch- 
man waited  some  time,  and  being  thirsty,  and 
also  rightly  sensing  the  boys  were  taking  sev- 
eral before  returning,  he  decided  to  make  the 
delivery  alone.  Mrs.  Bryant  heard  the  knock 
on  the  door,  and  answered  the  summons.  The 
Dutchman  said  simply : 

"Mrs.  Bryant,  Ed  is  here." 

"Ed  who  ?"  asked  Mrs.  Bryant,  not  knowing 
if  he  meant  husband  or  brother. 

"Why,  Ed  Bryant,"  was  the  answer. 

"Well,  why  don't  he  come  in?"  she  asked. 

"Why,  damn  it,  he's  dead,"  was  the  gentle 
way  he  finally  broke  the  news  to  her. 

But  the  sudden  and  melancholy  end  of  men, 
and  the  sudden  widows  of  the  early  west,  had 
no  discouraging  effect  upon  matrimonial  events 
and  ventures. 

I  have  mentioned  John  Montgomery,  the 
keeper  of  the  stage  station  at  the  north  end  of 
the  Fort  Laramie  bridge.  Montgomery  had  a 
daughter  —  most  everyone  has  a  daughter  for 
that  matter  —  and  Miss  Minnie  Montgomery 
was  like  other  daughters  of  the  early  west. 
She  liked  to  ride,  and  frequently  met  the 
"birds  of  passage,"  the  early  cowboys,  and  the 


104 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


other  cowmen  that  settled  down  and  anchored 
themselves  to  the  soil. 

Among  her  admirers  was  a  foreman  of  the 
P.  F.  ranch.  This  foreman  used  to  make  peri- 
odical visits  to  Deadwood,  taking  from  the 
ranch  some  of  the  fat  cattle  for  Deadwood 
markets.  The  P.  F.  people  were  not  receiving 
the  liberal  returns  that  they  had  been  led  to 
believe  was  in  the  ranching  business,  and  grew 
suspicious  of  their  foreman.  An  examination 
of  the  books  seemed  to  give  an  impression 
that  all  the  cattle  sold  in  Deadwood  were  not 
accounted  for,  and  they  had  a  warrant  out  for 
their  foreman.  Officers  went  to  the  ranch  in 
search  of  the  alleged  criminal,  but  not  finding 
him,  were  returning  to  Cheyenne.  As  they 
reached  Horse  creek  crossing  they  met  him  in 
company  with  John  Montgomery's  daughter, 
Minnie.  They  had  been  married  in  Cheyenne 
the  day  before,  and  were  on  their  return  home. 

The.  Bride's  Day  may  have  been  fair  and 
clear,  but  it  was  "dark  in  the  east  and  west" 
for  the  groom.  I  never  learned  what  came  of 
the  trial,  or  of  the  principals  in  the  little  ro- 
mance, but  I  hope  big  John  Montgomery  took 
a  hand,  and  that  they  lived  happy  ever  after. 

We  lack  interest  in  history  and  the  older 
events,  frequently  because  we  have  no  inti- 
mate relationship.  Yet,  to  know  that  this  new 
land  of  ours  had  its  loves  and  romance  fifty 
or  more  years  ago,  attunes  our  hearts  to  the 
reception  of  stories  of  the  days  so  long  past. 
We  travel  about  and  find  places  named ;  and 
they  are  of  mountain  or  plain,  or  city  or  valley, 
and  we  seldom  stop  to  think  what  it  was  that 
named  it.     For  instance,  a  mark  has  been  left 


on  Horse  creek  in  the  name  of  LaGrange. 
Yet,  it  has  no  significance  to  the  ordinary  set- 
tler, tourist  or  individual.  There  are  perhaps 
a  few  dozen  living  people,  that  a  reference  to 
LaGrange  will  interest.  With  them  a  recita- 
tion of  the  little  intimacies,  and  memories  of 
experience,  or  a  word  of  the  personnel  of  the 
old  times,  will  arouse  a  train  of  memories  that 
will  trail  by  with  their  pleasant  recollections 
for  a  number  of  hours.  And  it  might  interest 
some  of  the  newer  people  of  the  community. 

All  the  cowboys  of  the  time  knew  Kale  La- 
Grange, as  a  "squaw  man"  along  with  Hi 
Kelly.  Nick  Genice,  and  Frank  Vallet.  It  was 
over  a  score  of  years  ago  that  LaGrange  quit 
the  western  range  and  went  back  to  his  old 
home  in  Iowa,  and  afterwards  married  a  white 
woman. 

Kale's  mother,  old  timers  all  remember 
"Aunt  Delia,"  was  a  much  married  woman.  I 
think  she  had  buried  a  round  half  dozen  hus- 
bands, before  she  met  Tommy  Chanavierre 
(Shunover)  and  in  the  late  eighties  Tommy 
was  her  spouse  —  the  one  we  knew.  Tommy 
was  the  one  whose  pride  of  ancestry  runs 
back  to  the  time  when  Marchioness  La  Pom- 
padour was  spreading  the  French  Empire  over 
the  western  world,  but  to  us  he  was  merely  a 
jolly  old  Frenchman,  who  liked  to  talk  with 
his  hands,  his  shoulders  and  otherwise,  and 
who,  merely  for  the  love  of  activity  and  so- 
ciety, went  visiting  about  the  country  in  "dat 
old  buckboard,"  with  "dem  old  plug."  "Shun- 
over"  died  in  Iowa.  I  am  not  advised  if 
"Aunt  Delia"  survived  to  marry  again. 


CHAPTER  IX 

CREIGHTON'S  —  THE  FIRST  RANCH  OF   ALL  — DEATH   OF   CREEL   IN   BULL 
CANYON  — TOM  KANE'S  ADVENTURE  — A  COWBOY  WEDDING 


After  the  loss  of  his  cattle  on  Rush  creek  in 
1865,  John  A.  Creighton  decided  to  get  out  of 
the  lines  of  the  regular  raids  of  Indians.  It 
seemed  that  their  north  and  south  line  of 
travel  centered  in  the  territory  east  of  Court 
I  [ouse  rock. 

It  will  be  observed  also  that  this  line  was 
the  path  of  the  buffalo  at  an  earlier  date,  and 
it  later  became  the  route  of  the  travelers  into 
the  gold  field  of  the  Black  Hills,  where  Henry 


T.  Clarke's  steel  lined  stages  went  over  the  old 
toll  bridge.  Now  the  travel  is  by  motor,  or 
over  the  Burlington. 

Creighton  went  west  up  Gonneville  or 
Pumpkin  creek.  Then  over  to  Horse  creek, 
and  up  to  the  Laramie  Plains.  Here  he  built 
a  substantial  set  of  ranch  buildings,  securing 
the  materials  from  the  Laramie  mountains. 

From  this  beginning  in  1867,  originally  for 
the   protection   of    his  bull   herds,   the   great 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Creighton  ranch  was  born.  He  was  first  in  the 
work  of  tying  the  east  and  west  with  wires 
and  electric  communication,  so  was  he  first  in 
all  Wyoming  and  western  Nebraska  to  go  into 
the  cow  business.  The  Creighton  ranch  opera- 
tions extended  and  establishments  were  built 
on  Horse  creek  and  Pumpkin  creek,  and  his 
ten  or  twelve  thousand  cattle  roamed  the 
ranges  of  the  east  half  of  Wyoming  and  the 
western  part  of  Nebraska.  The  half-circle- 
bar  brand,  of  the  very  early  days,  developed 
into  the  quarter-circle-block,  generally  called 
"circle-block"  in  the  later  years. 

Pumpkin  creek  ranch  became  the  "Home 
Ranch"  after  its  acquisition  by  the  Bay  State, 
and  the  name  Pumpkin  creek,  in  place  of 
Gonneville  creek,  rose  in  usage,  as  the  wild 
vegetable  which  provoked  it  gradually  disap- 
peared. The  range  cattle  were  very  fond  of 
the  product,  and  the  vine,  and  the  very  roots 
of  the  vine,  were  stamped  out  by  the  cattle 
trying  to  get  more  of  the  tasty  verbiage. 

The  "Home  Ranch"  is  woven  into  song  and 
story  by  cowboys.  It  can  be  made  to  apply  to 
any  Home  Ranch  anywhere  in  the  universe, 
and  there  was  a  song  that  had  the  run  on  the 
ranges  when  I  came  into  the  west  which  was 
entitled  "Pumpkin  Creek's  My  Home." 

Bull  Canyon  is  an  arroyo  that  leads  down 
from  the  Flowerfield  Swell  to  the  lower  tables 
at  the  head  of  Pumpkin  creek,  and  it  was  once 
the  rendezvous  of  freighters'  bulls  used  on  the 
Black  Hills  route. 

These  animals  were  not  always  enduring, 
and  they  required  periods  of  rest.  A  man 
named  Creel  decided  he  would  make  a  busi- 
ness of  handling  the  tired  cattle  until  they 
should  be  able  to  resume  the  burden  of  the 
yoke. 

Bull  canyon  was  unnamed  and  unappro- 
priated, and  there  was  an  abundance  of  water, 
and  the  nearness  of  the  range  to  Cheyenne 
made  it  a  desirable  spot  for  the  purpose.  So 
Creel  built  his  crude  cabin  and  rode  about 
looking  after  the  herd  of  bulls. 

The  Good  Book  says  something  about  it  not 
being  good  for  man  to  dwell  alone,  but  I  do 
not  think  that  had  anything  to  do  with  the  fact 
that  Creel,  on  one  of  his  visits  to  Cheyenne, 
brought  back  with  him  a  woman. 

This  woman  had  no  thought  of  remaining 
alone  in  the  solitudes.  The  sight  of  the  great 
herd  of  cattle,  and  the  isolation  put  into  her 
head  the  thought  of  independence  sudden  and 
swift.  She  pointed  out  to  Creel  that  it  would 
be  easy  to  get  away  with  the  cattle  and  out  of 
the  country  long  before  the  probability  of  be- 
ing discovered.     The   plan    failed,   and    Creel 


was  killed,  and  Bull  Canyon  became  only  a 
name  and  a  memory. 

Tom  Kane  used  to  run  the  ranges  of  the 
Pumpkin  creek  country.  Kane  was  known  in 
Sidney  in  the  early  days.  One  day  he  had  a 
brush  with  the  Indians,  and  escaped  into  the 
rushes  on  the  creek  bank  ten  miles  east  of 
Wild  Cat  mountain,  where  he  lay  three  days 
caring  for  his  wound  before  he  managed  to 
get  away. 

And  from  that  fact,  occurring  about  1874, 
the  point  of  rock  that  extends  into  the  valley 
just  west  of  Wright's  Gap  became  known  as 
Kane's  Point.  This  part  of  the  Wild  Cat 
range  is  one  of  the  beauty  spots  of  nature, 
and  the  long  wall  of  windworn  rocks  that  ex- 
tends from  Kane's  Point  to  the  northwest,  in 
back  of  Kelly's  ranch,  resembles  the  ruins  of  a 
Frowning  City  built  by  hands. 

John  Wright  came  to  Pumpkin  creek  from 
Horse  creek  in  1877;  he  earlier  resided  in 
Colorado.  Finding  some  rich,  unappropriated 
natural  meadows  in  the  vicinity  of  Kane's 
Point,  he  settled  down  and  proceeded  to  ac- 
cumulate cattle.  It  was  adjoining  the  Wright 
ranch  that  I  located  a  homestead  in  the  mid- 
dle eighties,  and  I  remember  meeting  John 
Wright  shortly  after. 

He  was  driving  by,  and  stopped  to  watch  me 
turn  over  the  sod  with  my  grasshopper  break- 
er. ,  In  the  course  of  our  conversation  I  said 
that  it  would  be  a  mighty  good  thing  if  the 
grangers  and  the  cowmen  could  dwell  together 
in  harmony.  John  exclaimed  that  I  was  the 
first  granger  that  he  had  ever  heard  say  such 
a  thing,  and  asked  me  why  I  thought  so.  I 
told  him  that  I  thought  the  cowmen  would  fur- 
nish a  home  market  for  the  product  of  the 
granger,  to  which  he  agreed. 

We  were  marked  for  good  friends,  Wright 
and  I,  and  we  always  were  glad  to  meet  each 
other.  I  am  sure  that  it  was  a  sincere  friend- 
ship. 

About  the  first  event  of  any  consequence  that 
occurred  after  my  coming  into  the  west  was  a 
cowboy  wedding. 

Miss  Alice  (Dude)  Wright  was  John 
Wright's  oldest  daughter.  Ed  A.  Boots  was 
with  a  cow  outfit  for  the  Bay  State,  and  he 
and  Miss  Wright  were  married  at  the  home  of 
the  Wrights,  on  Pumpkin  creek.  The  event 
brought  friends  for  five  hundred  miles. 

Elder  Stephens  was  then  located  at  Sidney, 
and  he  was  retained  to  perform  the  ceremony. 
"Retained"  is  probably  a  legal  expression,  but 
when  you  bring  a  minister  sixty  or  seventy 
miles  into  a  country,  I  take  it  that  it  is  proper 
to  "retain"  him. 

The  Wrights  had  some  homemade  rhubarb 


106 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


wine,  and  in  the  early  prodigal  way  of  the 
west,  a  dish  pan  full  of  this  was  set  out  on  the 
table  for  use  of  any  who  desired  to  partake. 
It  was  said  that  they  even  insisted  that  the 
Elder  take  some,  and  that  he  did  touch  it  to 
his  lips.  This  was  taken  as  evidence  that  he 
did  not  hold  himself  above  his  associations, 
and  there  were  few  boys  on  the  range  that 
would  not  swear  by  Elder  Stephens.  He  was 
a  powerful  influence  for  good  in  the  early  west. 

The  wine  was  a  little  light  for  some  of  them, 
and  they  surreptitiously  emptied  their  flasks 
into  the  beverage.  The  result  was  that  it  grew 
stronger  as  the  evening  waned. 

W.  J.  Kelly,  who  recently  died  in  Denver, 
and  who  was  the  oldest  actual  resident  of  Ban- 
ner county  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  there, 
and  he  took  Jim  Pogue  into  the  kitchen  for 
refreshment.  He  had  Jim  to  put  his  lips  to 
the  edge  of  the  pan,  while  he  tipped  it,  and 
Jim  let  the  mixed  beverage  run  down  his 
throat  in  considerable  quantity.  As  Pogue 
straightened  up,  he  wiped  the  tears  from  his 
eyes,  and  said:  "Bill,  I  always  did  have  a 
good  time  when  I  was  with  you." 

The  groom  was  a  bit  nervous,  and  the  boys 
would  urge  him  to  "take  a  bracer  and  buck 
up.  It  ain't  as  bad  as  it  seems,"  and  otherwise 
"jolly"  him.  Boots  usually  was  a  very  brave 
man,  but  the  boys'  tormenting  got  on  his 
nerves,  and  he  wept  during  the  ceremony, 
which  filled  the  boys  with  glee. 

After  a  while  someone  missed  Kelly  and  Al 
Stringfellow.     They  went  outside  and   found 


these  two  worthies  playing  "andy  over"  the 
haystack  with  their  six  shooters.  This  was  the 
regular  pastime  for  these  two  after  that, 
whenever  they  met,  and  were  in  the  proper 
frame  of  mind. 

The  dance  continued  until  morning,  and 
when  some  of  them  were  departing,  one  made 
a  misstep  as  he  meant  to  swing  into  the  sad- 
dle. The  horse  swung  away,  and  there  he  was 
with  one  foot  fastened  in  the  stirrup.  The 
wild  bronc  made  a  quick  swerve,  and  the  man 
swung  out  clear  of  him  and  the  ground  while 
it  ran  in  a  short  circle.  The  quick  wit  of  some 
other  cowboy,  and  his  skill,  saved  the  man. 
He  dropped  a  rope  over  the  animal's  head, 
and  brought  it  up,  head  end  to  the  man  on  the 
ground. 

"Swing  your  pardners,"  shouted  that  worthy, 
as  he  jumped  to  his  feet.  The  near  tragedies 
of  old  times  were  so  lightly  held  and  affairs 
that  ended  well  were  experiences  worth  while, 
and  compensated  fully  for  the  danger  involved. 

I  often  attended  the  dances  given  in  the  old 
Wright  school  house,  and  was  also  at  a  double 
wedding  at  Wright's  when  Ed  Wright  and 
Miss  Elizabeth  Osborne,  and  Henry  Heard  of 
Texas  and  Miss  Ono  Wright  were  married. 
The  country  had  changed  by  that  time,  and  it 
was  more  on  the  order  of  weddings  usual  in 
older  communities.  Boots  now  resides  at 
Thermopolis,  Ed  Wright  at  Morrill,  and  Henry 
Heard  at  Long  Beach,  California.  Thus  the 
tides  of  life  separate  and  distribute  the  peoples 
of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  X 

FIRST  RANCH  IN  NEBRASKA  WEST  OF  NORTH  PLATTE,  KEITH  &  BARTON 
H.  V.  REDINGTON'S  RANCH  —  NERUD'S     CORNER  —  LATER 
SNAKE  CREEK   RANCHES 


The  first  to  actually  engage  in  ranching  in 
western  Nebraska,  that  is  west  of  North  Platte, 
was  Keith  &  Barton.  Morrill  C.  Keith  was 
grandfather  of  Ex-Governor  Keith  Neville, 
and  Guy  C.  Barton  was  well  known  in  Omaha 
business  and  club  circles  for  many  years.  The 
location  of  their  ranch  was  at  O'Fallon's  Bluff, 
and  about  eighteen  miles  west  of  North  Platte. 
Guy  Barton  was  the  originator  of  the  ranch,  in 
which  Keith  soon  joined.  After  Keith  and 
Barton,  it  was  owned  and  operated  by  Barton 
&  Dillon. 


The  year  that  Creighton  built  his  ranch  near 
Wyoming  station  on  the  Laramie  Plains 
(1867),  Barton  embarked  in  the  sheep  busi- 
ness at  O'Fallons.  In  1868,  when  Robert 
Harvey  was  with  a  surveying  party  in  that 
vicinity,  the  ranch  was  not  much  of  an  affair. 
But  it  was  the  nucleus,  and  on  the  site  was 
builded  the  big  stone  house  that  still  stands. 

John  Bratt,  later  for  many  years  around 
North  Platte,  came  up  the  Texas  Trail  in 
1866,  and  the  following  year,  he  built  the  sec- 
ond ranch  in  Wyoming  on  the  Laramie  Plains, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


107 


but  the  altitude,  and  the  better  grasses  in  the 
vicinity  of  North  Platte,  made  a  change  in  his 
plans  and  he  was  almost  as  early  in  that  vicin- 
ity as  Keith  &  Barton.  His  first  ranch  there, 
however,  was  south  of  the  river  and  east  of 
North  Platte  city,  and  the  high  posts  a  little 
east  of  the  state  experiment  farm,  indicate  the 
gateway  of  the  original  ranch.  He  later 
moved  to  the  Birdwood,  twenty  miles  north- 
west of  North  Platte,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
"North  river." 

Next  in  the  order  of  seniority,  but  in  fact 
the  first  ranching  in  the  Panhandle  of  western 
Nebraska,  was  started  by  H.  V.  Redington,  in 
1870. 

Mr.  Redington  still  lives  at  Sidney  (1919). 
In  1870  he  landed  at  Sidney,  and  he  located 
his  ranch  on  "Lorren's"  fork,  about  a  mile 
from  its  junction  with  Gonneville  or  Pumpkin 
creek.  This  ranch  was  not  far  distant  from 
the  identical  spot  where  Gonneville,  the  French 
trapper,  lost  his  life  years  before. 

The  nearest  ranch  to  the  westward  at  that 
time  was  Creighton's  Horse  creek  ranch  — 
over  sixty  miles.  The  nearest  to  the  south  was 
Iliff's  ranch  on  the  South  Platte  river  —  sev- 
enty-five miles.  And  the  nearest  ranch  to  the 
east  was  Keith  &  Barton's  at  O'Fallon's  —  one 
hundred  miles.  And  the  whole  country  to  the 
north  was  Indian  land. 

His  ranch  dates  the  same  year  that  Coad 
Brothers  took  over  Scottsbluff  Stage  station 
for  their  cattle  operations,  but  earlier  in  the 
year. 

The  country  along  the  Platte  was  a  year  or 
two  later  than  Mr.  Redington  in  the  matter  of 
seniority  of  ranch  locations.  But  north  of  the 
river  into  the  Black  Hills  remained  Indian 
domain  until  some  years  after  when  gold  dis- 
coveries in  the  Hills  brought  about  a  transfor- 
mation. Stage  routes  from  Sidney  and  Chey- 
enne, and  the  tremendous  freight  transporta- 
tion opened  up  this  new  country  in  1876,  and 
later. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  Platte,  just  a  short 
distance  below  Bridgeport,  are  some  ditches 
that  look  like  rifle  pits  of  the  Indian  days. 
These  are  all  that  remains  of  the  original  Hart 
ranch  in  western  Nebraska.  The  trenches 
were  made  around  hay  stacks  in  the  place  of 
fences,  and  were  to  keep  range  cattle  away 
from  them,  which  it  did  very  successfully. 
The  later  location  of  the  Hart  ranch,  on  Snake 
creek,  was  about  one  and  one-half  miles  up 
the  creek  from  the  Sidney  crossing.  This 
ranch  branched  into  mercantile  business  and 
had  a  post-office. 

This  location  later  became  known  as  Nerud's 
corner,  and  the  four  corners  were  occupied  by 


different  branches  of  business.  A  timely  wag 
immortalized  them  in  verse  that  ran  as  fol- 
lows : 

Nerud's  corner, 

Baxter  Street, 

Foster's  restaurant, 

And  nothing  to  eat. 

Joe  Nerud  had  long  since  become  the  owner 
of  a  valuable  place  on  Snake  creek.  He  had 
the  blacksmith's  shop  at  the  Corners  in  the 
early  days. 

Old  Joe  frequently  comes  to  Scottsbluff  to 
trade,  but  an  indiscreet  joker  has  made  his 
visits  less  frequent  than  of  yore.  His  country 
is  naturally  tributary  to  Scottsbluff,  and  his 
son,  Young  Joe,  married  one  of  the  Scotts- 
bluff's  charming  girls,  Matilda  Montz. 

Old  Joe  was  here  a  number  of  years  ago, 
and  at  the  time  the  bootlegger,  Bill  Bowen, 
was  doing  business.  Like  most  old  timers,  Ne- 
rud likes  a  nip  now  and  then,  and  if  the 
weather  is  just  right  he  may  take  two.  Bill 
had  the  goods,  and  it  just  so  happened  that  the 
chief  of  police  was  hot  on  his  trail,  and  had 
him  pulled  for  a  "vag." 

Bill  was  a  pitiful  object  of  humanity  and 
Nerud's  sympathies  were  aroused.  He  told 
the  officers  of  the  law  that  he  would  take  Bill 
out  to  the  ranch,  if  they  would  let  him  off. 
The  humor  of  the  situation  was  too  great  to 
be  resisted,  and  he  was  put  into  the  wagon 
alongside  of  Joe.  and  sent  out  to  Snake  creek. 

I  cannot  say  what  brought  about  the  trans- 
formation in  Nerud's  sentiment,  but  the  fact 
is,  that  a  day  or  two  later,  Bill  Bowen  arrived 
on  the  Burlington  with  a  paid  in  advance 
passage  from  Angora,  and  he  did  not  have  a 
cent  when  he  left  Scottsbluff. 

A  man  is  not  to  be  censured  if  he  changes 
his  mind.  Wise  men  have  that  privilege  — 
and  no  one  would  blame  any  man,  who  in  an 
impulse  of  sympathy  or  sentiment  should  pick 
up  a  bug,  if  he  should  decide,  when  he  came  to 
an  analytical  study  of  the  insect,  that  he  had 
no  further  use  for  it.  A  kind  heart  only  would 
take  the  trouble  of  returning  it  to  the  spot 
from  which  he  had  taken  it. 

Pearson's  ranch  was  one  of  the  later  places 
on  Snake  creek,  and  he  needed  more  range  and 
came  into  the  hills  about  three  miles  north  of 
the  west  end  of  Lake  Alice,  where  he  estab- 
lished a  camp  —  as  a  sub-station  for  the 
ranch.  These  sub-stations  consist  usually  of  a 
well  and  windmill  and  a  set  of  watering  tanks. 
Sometimes  a  small  shack  and  corral  is  added. 
This  sub-station  of  the  Pearson  ranch  was  the 
only  watering  place  between  Snake  creek  and 
the' North  Platte  river. 


108 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


When  Pearson  sold  to  Billy  Haynes,  he  re- 
served this  sub-station  for  his  own  use. 

Pearson  had  two  daughters,  and  the  oldest, 
Alma,  married  Joe  Maycock  and  they  went  to 
Lusk  to  live.  She  did  not  live  very  long  — 
only  a  couple  years,  I  believe,  and  then  Joe 
married  the  younger  daughter,  Mamie. 

A  few  years  ago  they  removed  to  Canada, 
where  Joe  has  since  died. 

The  'Maycock  brothers  were  among  the  cow- 
boys when  the  grangers  began  to  arrive.  For 
when  the  contingent  that  settled  old  Tabor 
(now  Minatar'e)  landed  in  the  valley,  John 
Maycock  was  the  first  to  greet  them.  He  at  once 
"spread  the  alarm"  up  and  down  the  valley 
for  manv  miles. 

Virgil' Grout  and  Captain  W.  R.  Akers  were 
building  their  first  irrigation  ditch  over  the 
Wyoming  line,  when  they  saw  John  coming, 
riding  like  the  wind,  and  when  he  got  in  hear- 
ing distance  he  commenced  to  shout  the  news : 
"There  is  a  whole  colony  settling  on  the  river 
down  below  Scottsbluff,  and  they  have  brought 
along  everything,  even  a  postoffice."  This  lat- 
ter was,  of  course,  an  invention  or  imagina- 
tion, but  all  who  knew  John  Maycock  are  not 
surprised  at  this  —  in  fact  it  was  moderation. 
Some  years  later  John  Maycock  dropped  dead 
from  his  horse  in  the  sage  brush  of  central 
Wyoming,  and  there  was  another  on  the  Final 
Roundup. 

Mike  Elmore's  ranch  was  down  Snake  creek 
a  few  miles  from  the  old  Sidney  crossing. 
This  well  known  place  has  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  big  grading  outfit,  Kilpatrick 
Brothers,  who  use  it  for  wintering  horses. 
They  built  a  large  reservoir  on  the  creek  run- 
ning sheet  piling  down  into  the  substrata  to 
raise  the  underflow  for  a  supply  for  irrigation. 
The  experiment  was  only  partly  successful. 
They  did  increase  the  supply  a  small  amount, 
but  not  nearly  so  much  as  they  had  expected. 
Mike  Elmore  was  recently '  (1919)  killed  at 
Sheridan,  Wyoming,  by  being  struck  with  a 
passing  automobile. 

Wilbur  L.  Wallace  went  to  Snake  creek  in 
1S87,  and  located  near  the  old  Hart  ranch.  He 
also  needed  more  range  than  was  obtainable 
near  there  and  he  came  into  the  Lake  Alice 
country,  and  established  a  sub-station  about  a 
mile  northwest  of  the  Pearson  wells,  Wallace's 
wells  then  became  a  watering  place  for  many 
travelers.  In  due  time.  Wallace's  business  took 
him  to  Scottsbluff,  and  he  and  his  family  have 
resided  in  that  city  for  about  all  the  life  of  the 
municipality.  He  is  now  a  heavy  dealer  in 
livestock  for  range  or  feeding  purposes  and 
in  banking  business  at  Henry  (1919). 

John  Caddis  located  on  Snake  creek  at  the 


same  time  that  Wallace  went  there,  and  his 
daughter  Nellie,  who  later  became  Mrs.  Wal- 
lace, and  together  they  have  followed  the  trail 
of  human  events,  and  shared  the  joys  and  re- 
sponsibilities for  over  a  quarter. of  a  century. 

Turner  Harris  come  into  the  Snake  creek 
country  in  1888,  and  went  over  to  Mud  Springs 
for  his  selection.  This  place  also  developed 
and  became  a  postoffice.  Were  it  not  for  this, 
the  postoffice  department  and  the  Burlington 
railroad  would  be  asked  to  change  the  name  of 
meaningless  "Simla"  to  "Mud  Springs."  As 
that  railroad  station  south  of  Bridgeport  is  the 
location  of  the  famous  Mud  Springs  of  his- 
tory. 

The  Mud  Springs  in  Sioux  county  soon 
passed  to  the  hands  of  the  Schoonovers,  and 
they  in  turn  sold  it  to  Ed  Eastman.  Eastman 
used  to  live  at  Minatare,  and  was  identified 
in  the  story  of  Jimmy  Moore,  related  else- 
where. 

Eastman  wanted  more  land,  and  Mrs.  East- 
man secured  a  divorce  on  very  good  grounds 
of  periodical  intoxication.  She  then  took  a 
claim  near  his  land,  and  in  due  time  made  final 
proof.  Then  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eastman  secured  a 
license  and  went  before  a  magistrate  to  re- 
marry. 

The  judge  noticed  that  the  names  were  both 
Eastman,  and  he  asked  some  question  about  it. 
Mrs.  Eastman  told  him  that  they  had  been 
previously  married,  and  he  wanted  to  know 
why  they  had  been  divorced.  She  told  him, 
honestly,  that  she  had  secured  a  divorce  on  the 
grounds  of  drunkenness.  The  humor  of  the 
affair  was  that  at  the  time  of  the  second  wed- 
ding, she  might  have  had  ample  grounds  for  a 
second  divorce  on  the  same  complaint. 

John  Maycock  bought  out  Eastman  after  a 
few  years,  and  the  place  finally  went  to  Joe 
Schramek,  who  sold  it  to  Chas.  Loucomer,  the 
present  owner. 

Below  the  Elmore  ranch  on  Snake  creek, 
Billy  Haines  was  known  to  many  of  the  later 
people.  He  had  bought  out  Frank  Harris,  Will 
Benn,  Iperhope  and  some  others,  and  made 
quite  a  ranch.  After  Billy's  death,  Mrs.  Haines 
sold  the  ranch  to  Wilson  brothers.  Doc.  Wil- 
son was  quite  active  for  a  time,  but  the  ranch 
finally  went  to  Scotty  Henderson.  Scotty  has 
been  in  the  Snake  creek  for  a  third  of  a  cen- 
tury, and  is  the  present  owner  of  the  valuable 
ranch,  the  history  of  which  runs  back  to  al- 
most the  beginning  of  the  cow  business  in  this 
part  of  the  west. 

Jim  McKinney  was  also  upon  this  creek 
some  distance  below  the  Elmore  ranch.  Mc- 
Kinney sold  out  and  went  into  the  creamery 
business    at    Alliance. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XI 


COLONEL  CHARLES  COFFEE  OF  CREIGHTON'S,  BOX  ELDER,  ROCK  RANCH, 

HAT    CREEK   AND    CHADRON  —  EMMET  &  BREWSTER  —  ARREST 

OF  FLY  SPECK  BILL  — FIRST  GARDENS  IN  SIOUX  COUNTY 


The  Texas  trail  has  brought  many  a  good 
man  into  the  western  range  country,  and  it 
did  not  depart  from  the  custom  when  Colonel 
Charles  Coffee  arrived  in  1873,  at  the  Creigh- 
ton  ranch  on  Horse  creek.  Charlie  was  quite  a 
fellow  to  "play  his  own  hand,"  so  he  soon 
went  over  on  the  Box  Elder  in  the  Goshen 
Holes  and  built  his  initial  ranch  on  the  north- 
ern range. 

The  following  year  he  went  to  the  river,  for 
hay  and  grasses  of  the  Goshen  Holes  then 
made  rather  short  picking  for  the  stock  in  win- 
ter. Around  the  Rock  ranch  location,  then 
as  now,  there  were  some  excellent  meadows. 
The  summer  range  around  there  was  good, 
and  the  valley  produced  good  hay  for  winter. 
This  brought  about  the  building  of  the  ranch 
at  that  point  about  1877. 

The  earlier  years  had  witnessed  activity  in 
the  same  vicinity.  Carleton  Clinton  tells  us 
that  the  original  name  was  Stone  ranch,  from 
the  fact  that  a  southerner  first  located  it,  that 
his  name  was  Stone,  and  that  he  brought 
north  with  him  a  number  of  slaves,  and  lived 
there  for  a  time.  Clinton  has  not  given  us  his 
authority,  and  we  have  been  unable  to  con- 
vince ourselves  that  slavery  has  ever  existed  in 
the  North  Platte  valley.  None  of  the  chron- 
iclers of  events  along  the  Overland  trail  has 
mentioned  it,  and  the  trail  fell  into  disuse 
about  the  time  or  shortly  after  slavery  was 
abolished. 

The  overland  stage  and  the  pony  express 
had  a  stopping  place  near  the  present  ranch, 
and  the  meadows  were  used  for  supplying 
feed  for  their  stock.  But  I  am  conviced  that 
Rock  ranch  as  a  ranch-  came  into  existence, 
almost  simultaneously  with  the  abandonment 
of  the  old  Red  Cloud  agency.  Stealing  stock, 
particularly  horses,  by  the  Indians  was  com- 
mon at  that  time. 

The  horses  of  Charles  Coffee  were  so  stolen, 
except  a  few  of  the  most  useless,  and  the 
work  of  building  the  original  rock  house  on 
this  ranch  was  principally  by  hand.  The 
rocks  were  torn  out  of  the  hills  close  at  hand 
and  wheeled  by  hand  to  the  site,  where  they 
were  laid  up  in  alkali  gumbo.  The  barn,  pre- 
viously built,  was  west  of  the  house,  the  house 
was  provided  with  port-holes  commanding  a 
view  of  the  barn,  for  the  purpose  of  prevent- 
ing the   success  of   any   further  Indian   raids 


upon  the  stock.  The  original  building  is 
the  north  part  of  the  present  Rock  house,  and 
the  port-holes  are  filled  in  with  masonry. 

Sometime  before  the  building  of  this  ranch, 
or  about  1876,  Coffee  was  at  Ogallala,  and  in 
company  with  a  man  named  Gordon,  who  is 
the  father  of  the  Gordon  in  the  Gordon  Con- 
.  struction  Company.  They  had  what  was  call- 
ed, "The  Wild  West  Exchange"  at  Ogallala 
at  this  time,  and  here  the  boys  challanged  one 
another  for  feats  of  doing  or  daring  char- 
acteristic of  the  Wild  West.  Someone  had 
captured  a  young  buffalo,  and  had  it  properly 
confined.  While  generally  the  talk  was  of 
horses,  and  Gordon  was  expostulating  concern- 
ing the  merit  of  his  horse,  as  a  racer,  Coffee 
told  him  his  horse  was  not  so  much,  that  he 
could  beat  it  and  ride  the  buffalo.  That  na- 
turally led  to  an  expression  of  doubt  as  to 
whether  the  young  Texan  could  stick  to  the 
animal. 

Gordon  and  Coffee  met  only  a  few  days 
ago,  and  when  Gordon  sprung  the  old  incident, 
Charlie  said:  "The  boys  told  me  that  I  had 
a  pretty  good  time  at  that  affair,  and  looking 
myself  over  in  the  grey  light  of  the  morning 
after,  I  am  confident  that  they  were  right." 
He  had  ridden  the  buffalo,  but  there  were  a 
few  indications  that  the  buffalo  might  have 
stepped  on  Charlie  sometime  during  the  per- 
formance. 

At  the  time  they  were  at  Ogallala,  a  noted 
character  named  "Fly  Speck  Bill."  his  face 
being  well  spotted  with  freckles  that  had  the 
appearance  of  fly  specks,  had  been  appre- 
hended and  placed  in  the  city  jail.  But  the 
jail  was  a  flimsy  affair,  and  failed  to  hold  him 
for  long.  A  day  or  two  later,  as  Coffee  was 
leaving  Sidney  for  the  north  on  the  stage,  Bill 
was  found  to  be  one  of  the  passengers.  At 
Camp  Clarke  they  separated,  and  Charlie  did 
not  see  him  again  until  the  following  year. 

He  had  then  just  stolen  John  Durbin's  horse 
at  Cheyenne  and  was  making  his  get-away. 
Here  he  obtained  a  good  look  at  the  man  and 
sensed  his  identity,  although  he  did  not  make 
himself  known. 

Sometime  later,  when  in  Cheyenne,  Coffee 
met  Billy  Likens,  the  redoubtable  man  that  run 
down  Doc.  Middleton  about  the  same  time, 
and  Likens  asked  if  he  knew  "Fly  Speck  Bill." 
Being  assured,  he  asked  Coffee  if  he  would 


110 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


point  him  out,  as  he  had  reason  to  believe  the 
horsethief  was  in  town. 

They  went  into  the  Tivola  saloon,  then  on 
the  corner  west  of  the  old  Inter-Ocean  hotel, 
and  the  man  was  sitting  at  one  of  the  tables. 
Likens  pressed  a  gun  muzzle  against  the  back 
of  his  neck  and  said :  "Fly  Speck  Bill,  you  are 
my  meat."  The  arrest  proved  a  tame  affair, 
for  the  man  merely  glanced  at  the  officer,  and 
threw  up  his  hands,  saying:  "Oh,  all  right!" 

By  this  time  the  Coads  had  laid  claim  to 
about  all  of  the  North  Platte  valley,  east  of 
Scottsbluff  mountain.  They  had  put  fences 
in  the  gaps  in  the  hills,  and  had  some  pole 
bars  in  Mitchell  Gap. 

Among  early  ranchmen,  a  custom  had  sprung 
up  to  respect  the  calves  belonging  to  another, 
and  if  a  cow  and  calf  were  found  in  a  herd, 
off  of  their  proper  range,  it  was  customary  to 
put  on  the  calf  the  brand  of  the  real  owner. 
Coad  early  refused  to  follow  the  custom,  and 
the  calves  of  other  fellows  found  in  his  herds 
were  left  unbranded. 

One  time  a  calf  belonging  to  the  Coads 
crawled  through  the  bars,  into  Mitchell  val- 
ley, and  was  found  by  a  bunch  of  fellows  from 
higher  up  the  river.  That  Coads  might  under- 
stand the  custom,  they  singed  the  hair  on  one 
side  of  the  calf  with  big  letters  "M-A-R-K" 
and  on  the  other  side  "C-O-A-D,"  Coad  did 
not  like  it,  but  he  took  the  hint. 

By  1879  the  North  Platte  valley  had  become 
'  too  tame  for  Colonel  Coffee,  he  determined  to 
try  the  wilderness  once  more.  Near  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Ardmore,  on  Hat  creek,  he  found 
Hugh  Jackson.  He  told  Hugh  that  he  was 
looking  for  a  new  location,  and  with  the 
courtesy  of  the  first  cowmen,  he  asked  Jack- 
son if  he  would  like  a  neighbor.  Being  assured 
that  he  would  be  welcome,  Coffee  went  up  Hat 
creek,  looking  for  a  suitable  place.  He  esti- 
mated his  speed,  and  took  note  of  the  time  by 
his  watch,  until  he  had  reached,  as  he  thought, 
about  fifteen  miles — that  being  a  neighborly 
distance. 

There  he  and  his  wife  and  boys,  Charles  T. 
Jr.,  the  youngest  was  only  six  months  old,  set- 
tled down  in  a  cabin  on  what  proved  to  be  sec- 
tion fourteen,  township  thirty-three,  range  fifty- 
five.  There  the  O-Ten-Bar  brand  and  ranch 
was  born.    Coffee  still  has  the  place,  and  twen- 


ty-two thousand  acres  around  it,  vast  herds  of 
cattle,  a  bank  in  Chadron,  and  various  other 
matters  to  occupy  his  attention. 

Granville  Tinnin  is  the  hero  in  the  pretty 
story,  "The  Foreman  of  the  JAC.  This  ranch 
is  on  the  Rawhide,  and  is  partly  owned  by 
Coffee,  who  has  often  told  Mrs.  E.  Joy  John- 
son, the  writer,  that  she  made  a  hero  out  of 
the  wrong  partner.  I  presume  Tinnin  would 
take  issue  with  his  producer  on  this  matter. 

About  the  same  time  that  the  Hat  creek 
ranch  was  located,  Emmet  &  Brewster  estab- 
lished the  S-Bar-E  brand  twelve  miles  farther 
west.  Two  of  the  hangers  on  about  the 
S-Bar-E  ranch  were  "Whitney  Jim,"  and 
"Trapper  Tom,"  and  they  built  an  independent 
cabin  on  a  branch  of  Hat  creek,  where  they 
could  follow  their  own  inclinations  wittiout  in- 
terference. Jim  had  an  inclination,  or  pro- 
pensity, for  strong  drink,  and  a  pronounced 
aversion  to  cleanliness.  In  season  he  would 
gather  a  wagon  box  full  of  wild  plums,  take 
them  to  Fort  Laramie,  and  come  back  amply 
provided  with  booze,  which  Tom  would  help 
him  to  consume.  They  had  interesting  times 
trying  to  put  each  other  to  bed,  when  in  this 
maudlin  state,  both  maintaining  with  the  dig- 
nity of  intoxication  that  the  other  was  drunk. 

Tom  captured  hundreds  of  beaver,  and  sold 
the  pelts  for  one  dollar  each,  which  supplied 
all  that  was  necessary  during  the  winter  peri- 
ods. The  pair  originated  farming  into  the 
northwestern  corner  of  the  state — they  raised 
gardens  and  potatoes  usually  sufficient  for  their 
needs. 

The  different  branches  of  Hat  creek  and 
White  river  began  to  take  on  the  euphoneous 
names  of  early  days,  such  as  "Dirty  Jim 
Creek,"  "Sow-belly  Creek,"  "Tom  Creek," 
"War  Bonnet  Creek,"  and  the  like,  and  Cof- 
fee's ranch,  after  he  had  removed  to  Chadron 
and  the  kangaroo  rats  made  merry  around  the 
place,  was  nick-named  "Lickit  ranch."  While 
the  place  was  abandoned  part  of  the  time,  it 
was  kept  well  provisioned.  Sometimes  those 
who  were  there  for  a  day  or  two,  left  without 
washing  the  dishes,  and  one  time,  when  some 
others  had  stopped  and  found  the  dirty  plates, 
one  complained  and  another  said :  "Why  don't 
you  'lick  it',  if  you  don't  like  it."  Thus  orig- 
inated the  name  that  endures. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


111 


CHAPTER  XII 

JOHN  ADAMS  JOINS  REDINGTON  IN  FIRST  RANCH  OF  THE  PANHANDLE- 
THE   RUSTLERS  —  ORIGIN   OF  RANCHES  ON  CEDAR  CREEK— SMITH'S 
FORK  OR  RUSH  CREEK  — VANTASSEL'S  TIE  CONTRACT 


In  1874,  John  M.  Adams,  allured  by  the  big 
profits  then  apparent  in  the  cattle  business,  the 
Indian  depredations  having  practically  ceased, 
came  to  Sidney,  and  formed  a  partnership  with 
H.  V.  Redington,  under  the  name  of  Adams, 
Redington  &  Company,  at  the  ranch  near  the 
junction  of  "Gonneville"  creek  and  Lorren's 
fork,  about  a  mile  south  of  the  present  location 
of  Redington.  Their  range  included  the  lower 
Pumpkin  creek  country  and  Lawrence  fork. 
Adams  in  a  recent  letter  tells  of  it,  and  em- 
phasizes the  name  "Lorren's  fork,"  explaining 
its  original  significance.  "Lorren's,"  of  French 
derivation,  indicates  robbers,  and  the  rocks 
about  the  head  of  this  stream  were  once  the 
rendezvous  of  a  band  of  robbers,  who  preyed 
upon  the  unprotected  stragglers  along  the 
Overland.  Adams,  Redington  &  Company  ran 
4,000  to  6,000  cattle,  and  their  principal  and 
best  known  brand  was  H-Bar. 

The  Greenwood  ranch  of  Tusler  Brothers 
was  one  of  the  well  known  spots  along  the 
Sidney  trail.  Merchant  &  Wheeler  built  this 
about  1872,  and  it  was  operated  as  a  horse 
ranch  when  I  first  knew  of  it. 

I  was  then  new  to  the  ways  of  the  west. 
Clark  Streeter,  who  had  been  ranging  cattle 
on  Medicine  creek,  south  of  North  Platte  until 
the  grangers  came  into  that  territory,  and  I, 
were  riding  to  the  North  river  country,  when 
we  arrived  at  the  Tusler  ranch  a  little  after 
noon.  We  dropped  our  bridle  reins  over  the 
heads  of  our  tired  beasts,  and  walked  to  the 
door  and  asked  if  we  could  get  dinner.  A  lady 
told  us  "No,  we  never  feed  travelers,"  and 
she  no  doubt  meant  it.  The  travel  along  the 
route  was  doubtless  quite  extensive  and  they 
had  adopted  the  system.  We  asked  how  far  it 
was  to  the  next  ranch,  and  she  stepped  outside 
to  show  us  the  road.  Seeing  our  horses  and 
accoutrements,  she  exclaimed :  "Oh,  you  are 
cowboys,  are  you  ?  Well,  come  right  in,  and 
we  will  find  a  bite  for  you." 

I  was  not  then  a  cowboy,  but  I  was  young 
and  hungry,  and  Streeter  was  audacious  and 
hungry,  and  we  went  "right  in."  While  we 
were  eating,  the  lady  asked  us  a  question  that 
would  have  floored  me,  but  Clark  had  been  a 
little  longer  in  the  west.  She  asked :  "What 
outfit  do  you  belong  to?" 

"We  are  working  independent,"  answered 
Clark   promptly.     "We  are  looking  for  cows 


branded  'L,'  on  the  left  shoulder,  and  some 
Oregon  mares  that  got  away  and  started  back 
along  the  trail." 

I  told  you  Streeter  was  audacious,  but  he 
went  it  stronger  than  I  could  have  imagined. 
I  was  later  informed  that  there  was  this  much 
truth  to  his  reply:  The  cows  he  used  to  run 
were  branded  "L"  on  the  left  shoulder;  also 
several  years  before  his  father  had  bought  a 
bunch  of  Oregon  mares,  and  some  of  them 
had  gotten  away,  and  never  came  back. 

C.  C.  Nelson  and  Dr.  Geo.  C.  Keenan  bought 
this  ranch,  and  I  think  they  own  it  now 
(1919).  Keenan  was  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Tus- 
ler. 

A  letter  from  Adams  tells  of  the  hospiltality 
of  the  early  ranchers,  but  we  are  inclined,  from 
our  first  experience,  to  think  that  this  hospi- 
tality had  its  limitations  to  the  ranch  class ; 
that  the  only  way  to  reach  this  hearty  hospita- 
ble nature,  was  to  bear  "some  of  the  earmarks 
of  a  range  critter." 

Adam's  letter  says :  "at  these  ranches,  the 
truest  and  freest  of  hospitalities  prevailed,  and 
the  way-farers  and  weary  travelers  were  al- 
ways welcome  to  any  and  all  comforts  and  nec- 
essities that  the  abode  could  furnish  for  man 
or  beast.  In  fact  each  ranch  was  supplied  with 
the  necessities  of  life  in  abundance  and  the 
way-farer  was  welcome  to  help  himself  with- 
out awaiting  the  presence  of,  or  asking  the 
consent  of  the  owner  or  his  representative.  This 
practice  was  continued  until  the  county  settled 
up  more  thickly,  and  the  abuses  of  such  gen- 
erous courtesies  caused  the  stockmen  to  discon- 
tinue their  liberalities  to  some  extent. 

"The  ranchmen  learned  to  have  in  their  out- 
laying ranches,  only  such  things  as  they  could 
have  locked  up,  nailed  down,  or  otherwise 
guarded  from  petty  pilferers,  and  malicious  and 
unseemly  jokers." 

Tusler  ran  about  two  thousand  cattle  and 
one  thousand  horses,  and  the  ranch  brand  was 
Sixty-six  on  the  left  side,  and  cow  animals  were 
also  marked  with  dewlaps  on  the  brisket. 

In  1885,  Elijah  Tusler  was  riding  in  a  pri- 
vate car  of  an  official  of  the  Union  Pacific, 
when  it  arrived  at  Sidney.  Yielding  to  the 
importunities  of  "the  bunch"  on  board,  Tus- 
ler remained  on  the  car  after  it  left  for  the 
west.  Before  it  arrived  at  Potter,  he  stepped 
out  on  the  rear  platform,  and  not  returning  as 


11. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


quickly  as  the  party  thought  he  should,  an- 
other opened  the  door,  and  on  the  platform 
lay  the  form  of  Tusler.  He  was  quite  dead, 
apparently  from  heart  disease,  and  was  taken 
back  to  Sidney,  from  which  point  the  fact  was 
communciated  to  the  widow  at  the  ranch. 

"Ark"  or  "Henry  County"  Hughes  was 
working  for  the  Tusler  people  at  the  time. 
Hughes  had  come  up  from  the  mines  of  Colo- 
rado in  18S0.  He  went  to  work  on  the  Tus- 
ler ranch  in  1883,  and  remained  there  for  four 
years.  In  the  meantime  he  had  "picked  out" 
a  place  on  Horse  Creek,  where  he  established 
his  own  ranch  and  range. 

The  Tusler  cattle  were  sold  to  the  Ogallala 
company,  and  the  Greenwood  ranch  continued 
in  the  horse  business  a  number  of  years. 
Charlie  Nelson,  a  veteran  of  the  other  years, 
still  operates  it  (1919),  and  it  is  worth  while 
to  start  him  reminiscensing,  and  hear  story 
after  story  follow  as  he  leads  out  like  a  hound 
upon  a  trail. 

On  Cedar  creek,  which  the  earlier  maps 
designate  as  Rush  creek,  C.  A.  Moore  built  a 
ranch  in  the  early  seventies.  The  Shiedley 
Brothers  bought  this  place  for  their  North 
river  operations.  Mac  Radcliff  now  owns  it. 
The  first  convention  that  I  ever  attended  in 
western  Nebraska,  was  at  Sidney,  and  Mac 
Radcliff  was  the  nominee  of  the  democratic 
party  for  county  commissioner  of  old  Cheyenne 
county. 

The  Rush  creek  shown  on  the  maps  today, 
was  originally  called  Smith's  Fork.  Moore  had 
from  one  thousand  to  two  thousand  cattle  and 
his  range  extended  from  the  mouth  of  Smith's 
Fork  to  the  ranch. 

When  the  Shiedley  Brothers  acquired  this 
ranch,  Moore  went  into  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness. He  established  a  big  supply  depot  at 
Sidney  for  ranch  supplies  and  Black  Hills  out- 
fitting. And  at  one  time  the  sod  emporium  at 
the  north  end  of  the  Camp  Clarke  bridge  was 
owned  by  Moore. 

Just  at  what  time,  and  how  it  came  about, 
that  Rush  creek  was  changed  Cedar  creek,  and 
Smith's  Fork  was  changed  to  Rush  creek,  I 
do  not  know,  but  this  explanation  has  served 
to  clear  up  some  of  the  foggy  ideas  concern- 
ing locations  of  Indian  battles  and  other  early 
historic  events.  Modern  maps  give  these 
streams  the  later  designations. 

On  the  head  of  Smith's  Fork,  Lambert  Jen- 
kins of  Sidney,  began  building  his  ranch  struc- 
tures in  1873.  The  widow  of  Jim  Moore,  the 
pony  express  rider,  having  some  means,  ac- 
quired an  interest  in  this  ranch,  which  she 
sold  at  the  time  of  her  moving  to  Cheyenne  to 
become  Mrs.  VanTassel.  Tom  Kane  purchased 


her  interests,  and  Henry  Newman  also  took  a 
part  in  the  ranch's  destinies.  Then  a  number 
of  railroad  men  organized  a  company,  and 
bought  the  entire  outfit,  and  put  George  Green 
in  charge.  They  were  succeeded  by  Reuben 
Lisco,  and  the  late  Thos.  Wells  of  Chicago. 
Under  the  latter  ownership  the  Rush  Creek 
Land  &  Cattle  Company  has  remained  under 
the  direct  charge  of  Mr.  Lisco  until  the  pres- 
ent time. 

This  ranch  was  owned  by  many  and  differ- 
ent firms,  but  I  am  not  advised  that  the  own- 
ership was  always  satisfactory  to  the  owners. 
I  will  venture  the  opinion  that  when  Lambert 
Jenkins  sold  it,  he  did  so  at  a  profit ;  and  that 
under  the  present  ownership  it  has  been  well 
managed  and  is  one  of  the  solid  affairs  of  the 
kind. 

R.  S.  VanTassel,  of  Cheyenne,  who  married 
Mrs.  Jim  Moore,  was,  and  still  is,  for  that 
matter,  one  of  the  most  lively  wires  that  evel 
came  into  the  west.  He  started  in  the  territory 
of  Wyoming,  and  it  has  ever  since  been  his 
home.  He  was  unlike  Post  and  some  others 
that  "Cut  quite  a  swath"  for  a  time  and  then 
went  on  to  other  fields.  His  field  has  always 
been  Wyoming,  although  at  the  time  this  ii 
written  (1916)  he  is  in  a  hospital  in  Denver, 
attended  by  his  present  faithful  and  charming 
wife.  I  say  "present"  for  the  reason  that  he 
has  been  married  four  times.  Once  before 
his  uniting  with  Mrs.  Moore,  and  twice  since. 
The  first  two  died,  and  the  third,  who  was  an 
excellent  woman  and  the  daughter  of  Big  Alex 
Swan,  is  divorced  because  of  incompatibility  of 
temperament. 

Mr.  VanTassel  came  with  the  Union  Pacific, 
and  he  took  a  contract  to  supply  that  company 
with  a  million  and  a  quarter  ties  at  a  million 
and  a  quarter  dollars,  in  1867.  These  ties  were 
to  be  taken  from  the  land  grant  and  govern- 
ment lands  in  the  Medicine  Bow  mountains, 
and  delivered  at  a  station  called  Medicine  Bow. 
to  be  located  on  the  railroad  near  the  edge  of 
the  Laramie  Plains. 

During  the  winter  large  camps  of  wood 
choppers  were  maintained,  and  they  piled  up 
the  ties  along  the  gulches  and  frozen  streams 
to  await  the  spring  freshets.  Then  came  the 
work  of  "booming  ties,"  one  of  the  perilous, 
daring  and  strength-testing  undertakings  in  the 
west.  Men  were  detailed  to  keep  the  ties  from 
jamming,  and  to  break  jams  should  they  occur. 
At  Medicine  Bow,  a  string  of  ties  fastened  to- 
gether stretched  across  the  stream,  and  work- 
men pulled  the  floating  ties  ashore  and  piled 
them  up  in  great  ricks  as  fast  as  they  came 
down  to  this  obstruction.  A  man  was  here  de- 
tailed to  mark  them  and  two  men  kept  tally  of 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


113 


the  marked  ties.  The  marks  were  made  by  a 
hammer  on  one  end  of  which  was  the  letter 
"S"  for  identification  in  the  wood.  The  other 
end  of  the  hammer  was  smooth.  The  two 
score  keepers  were  selected,  one  by  the  Union 
Pacific  and  the  owner  by  Mr.  VanTassel. 

One  of  these  chanced  to  be  John  Snodgrass, 
later  identified  with  the  Bay  State  Company.  A 
wily  little  Irishman  was  detailed  to  use  the 
hammer   and    as   the    strokes    resounded,   the 


score-keepers  would  record —  one — two — three 
— four — tally,  etc.,  etc.  It  developed  that  about 
every  other  tap  that  the  Irishman  made,  was 
with  the  smooth  end  of  the  hammer  on  a  tie 
already  marked  or  next  to  be  marked.  So  that 
for  a  while  the  Union  Pacific  was  receiving 
only  about  half  the  ties  that  they  paid  for.  I 
did  not  learn  whether  the  Irishman  got  fired  or 
promoted,  but  he  "sure"  was  making  money  for 
R.  U.  VanTassel  while  it  lasted. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

JIM  KIDD'S  TRAINING  GROUND  — Y-CROSS  AND  CHERRY  CREEK  RANCHES 

—  HENHY  COUNTY  HUGHES  —  LITTLE  MOON  POST-OFFICE  — 

OELRICH'S  WILD  ESCAPADES 


About  four  miles  north  of  La  Grange  for- 
merly was  the  old  Y-Cross  ranch.  It  is  one 
of  the  oldest  places  in  the  country.  It  was 
built  by  the  Daters  early  in  the  seventies,  not 
long  after  those  Texans  had  established  the 
Sixty-six.  Ben  Morrison  ran  the  ranch  for 
the  Daters,  and  it  was  under  him  that  Jim 
Kidd  became  a  wonderful  rider.  So  wonder- 
ful indeed  was  his  skill  in  the  saddle  that  he 
traveled  with  Buffalo  Bill's  wild  west  show 
around  the  world,  and  finally  he  married  one 
of  the  women  riders  of  that  aggregation.  Lowe 
bought  the  place  from  Daters,  and  Hi  Kelly 
once  owned  it.  In  1888  it  was  a  sort  of  a 
road  house,  where  mighty  poor  meals  were 
served  for  "six  bits  a  throw."  About  1900  it 
was  bought  by  the  Yoders,  and  is  now  the 
ranch  of  Yoder  and  Marsh. 

I  was  then  bound  for  the  Big  Horn  Basin. 
When  I  crossed  the  Goshen  Holes  it  was  one 
of  those  queer  mirage  days,  when  everything 
was  a  shimmer,  and  everything  unreal.  I 
passed  within  a  mile  or  so  of  the  Cherry  Creek 
ranch,  originated  by  Coffee  in  1874,  owned  by 
Doty  in  1888,  and  now  belonging  to  the  Clays. 
I  am  sure  that  the  solid  ground  on  which  the 
ranch  stands  then  appeared  to  be  one  vast  in- 
land sea,  and  boats  floating  upside  down. 
Charles  Coffee  built  the  first  structures  of  this 
ranch,  Doty  &  Chamberlain  enlarged  it,  and  in 
1886  they  had  a  splitup.  Chamberlain  closed 
out  his  interests  and  went  to  Douglas,  from 
which  city  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate. 
He  made  a  lot  of  money  in  the  sheep  busi- 
ness later.     Doty  held  to  the  place  for  twelve 


years,  when  he  sold  to  the  Two-Bar  people. 
Both  Doty  and  Chamberlain  are  now  with  the 
Final  Roundup  over  the  Great  Divide. 

The  ranch  is  still  owned  by  the  Clays,  and 
Curtis  Templeton  is  the  genial  local  manager. 

"Henry  County"  Hughes  has  his  ranch  in 
this  section  of  the  country,  although  he  lives  at 
Scottsbluff  much  of  the  time.  "Henry  Coun- 
ty" quit  the  Tuslers  about  1887  and  went  to 
work  for  the  Bay  State.  He  was  in  Chris 
Streeks'  outfit  for  a  season  or  two. 

Hughes  is  like  Runey  Campbell  and  Ed. 
Stemler  in  the  respect  that  he  likes  to  play  the 
fiddle,  and  he  is  like  J.  S.  Robb,  in  that  he 
was  one  of  the  best  story-tellers  of  the  western 
range ;  and  he  is  like  Wyatt  Heard,  and  J.  W. 
Hoke,  and  Auctioneer  Hollingsworth  or  E.  von 
Forell,  that  he  is  stall  and  spare,  and  like 
Mark  Twain  that  his  humor  is  droll  and  full 
of  subtle  elements. 

Around  cow  outfits,  at  night  he  loved  to 
get  strung  out  with  his  yarns,  and  get  the  "boys 
agoing."  But  the  foreman  always  settled 
matters  when  his  stories  reached  too  far  into 
the  night.  He  would  roll  up  in  his  "tarp," 
and  if  "Henry  County"  failed  to  take  the  hint, 
he  would  say :  "Ark,  you  better  catch  a  horse, 
and  go  on  night  herd  tonight,"  and  that  meant 
an  order,  and  it  also  meant  no  more  stories 
for  that  night. 

On  lower  Horse  Creek,  at  the  crossing  of 
the  Overland  Trail,  there  was  an  old  sod  struc- 
ture used  by  the  hurrying  pony  express  riders. 
It  was  just  northwest  of  this  station,  that  John 
Sparks,  in  1872,  built  a  sod  house  for  his  men. 


114 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


About  the  same  time  he  built  a  similar  place  on 
the  Lodgepole  near  Potter. 

This  Horse  Creek  ranch  house,  from  de- 
scriptions given  by  many  old  timers,  and  par- 
ticularly by  L.  J.  Wyman,  who  made  it  his 
headquarters  for  years  and  who  owned  the 
land  until  1919,  cannot  fail  to  be  of  interest 
and  historic  value. 

It  was  twenty-four  by  twenty-six  feet  in- 
side, and  the  walls  were  thirty  inches  thick.  It 
had  three  windows  and  a  door.  The  door  was 
made  of  plank,  and  the  windows  had  shutters 
made  of  plank,  which  were  hauled  from  a  saw- 
mill located  in  the  Laramie  mountains.  This 
was  the  same  mill  that  supplied  much  of  the 
material  used  in  the  buildings  at  Fort  Laramie. 
The  floor  and  roof  board  were  double,  and  on 
the  roof  was  placed  several  inches  of  dirt. 

Four  port-holes  were  in  the  walls,  one  on 
each  of  the  four  sides,  made  in  the  manner 
of  an  hour  glass  placed  in  a  horizontal  posi- 
tion, to  give  a  wide  range  of  territory  in  case 
of  an  Indian  attack.  We  have  no  record  that 
it  was  ever  attacked.  The  Red  Cloud  agency 
was  then  on  the  spot  where  the  Lower  PF  now 
stands,  but  it  was  moved  fifty  miles  or  more 
to  the  north  in  1876. 

In  this  soddy  there  was  a  post-office  estab- 
lished, the  first  in  Scotts  Bluff  county  territory, 
and  William  Lancaster  was  the  first  post- 
master. It  was  called  "Little  Moon,"  after  a 
noted  Indian  chief.  When  the  post-office  was 
established,  the  soddy  was  enlarged  to  make 
room  for  it,  although  it  did  not  take  much 
room.  It  must  have  been  abandoned  about 
1874,  for  Lancaster  resigned  and  returned  to 
the  eastern  part  of  the  state,  and  went  into 
the  drug  business. 

The  house  faced  the  southeast.  In  addition 
Mr.  Sparks  had  about  two  acres,  enclosed  by 
a  sod  wall,  three  feet  thick  and  five  feet  high. 
He  also  fenced  a  meadow  of  about  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres,  and  some  of  the  posts  are 
still  in  use  after  nearly  fifty  years.  This  ranch 
was  sold  to  W.  C.  Lane  and  Thomas  Sturgis 
in  1876.  Mr.  Sparks  moved  to  Nevada,  where 
he  later  became  governor.  While  he  was  here 
he  owned  a  valuable  riding  horse  which  he 
kept  for  his  wife,  for  prior  to  her  death  she 
loved  to  ride  the  great  prairies.  After  his  de- 
parture the  horse  was  in  charge  of  Jim  Shaw, 
"Fiddler"  Campbell's  buddy,  and  was  kept  at 
the  Circle  Arrow  east  of  Antelopville,  now 
called  Kimball,  and  at  the  Circle  Block  at 
the  head  of  Pumpkin  Creek. 

Once  S.  J.  Robb,  (the  father  of  Mrs.  Frank 
McCreary  of  Scottsbluff,)  who  was  then  fore- 
man at  the  Circle  Block,  and  who  recently  died 
in    Arizona,    was    riding   "Old    Fox,"    as   the 


horse  was  called,  when  he  came  upon  a  bunch 
of  wild  horses.  Old  Fox  so  quickly  overtook 
them  that  Robb  did  not  have  time  to  get  his 
lariat  into  action.  He  seized  one  of  them  by 
the  tail,  and  threw  her  off  her  step,  and  so  de- 
layed her  progress,  that  another  cowman  on 
a  slower  horse,  roped  and  captured  a  pretty 
young  mare. 

A  little  before,  and  during  the  trouble  of 
Jim  Shaw  over  the  Collins  shooting  affair  at 
Camp  Clarke  bridge,  the  horse  was  taken  care 
of  by  Chris  Streeks,  the  veteran  "line  rider," 
and  Old  Fox  was  the  favorite  riding  horse 
of  the  young  lady  who  later  became  the  wife 
of  the  writer  of  this  history.  The  horse  was 
Kentucky  bred,  and  was  of  such  fine  spirit 
that  after  getting  settled  in  Nevada,  Mr. 
Sparks  had  him  shipped  to  that  state. 

L.  J.  Wyman,  went  to  work  for  Sturgis  & 
Lane  in  1882,  and  he  made  his  home  in  the 
famous  old  soddy  for  years.  He  owned  the 
place  until  this  year  (1919)  and  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  very  nearly  the  first  perma- 
nent settler  in  Scotts  Bluff  county.  Charley 
Foster  contests  with  him  this  honor,  and  he 
may  have  a  short  time  the  best  of  it. 

Sturgis  &  Lane  organized  the  Union  Cattle 
Company,  and  Mr.  Goodell  was  one  of  the  big 
stockholders.  The  Bridle-Bit  brand  was 
theirs,  and  it  was  one  familiar  to  the  early 
grangers.  This  company  is  credited  with  hir- 
ing men  from  the  Union  Pacific  shops  at 
Cheyenne,  and  the  women  of  the  wild  district, 
as  well  as  cowboys,  to  file  upon  lands.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  it  secured  a  vast  acreage,  much 
of  which  will  come  under  the  Fort  Laramie 
government  canal  for  irrigation. 

About  five  thousand  acres  of  this  land  was 
on  lower  Horse  Creek  in  Nebraska,  and  a 
"Lincoln  Land  Company,"  of  Minnesota  was 
negotiating  for  its  purchase  in  1907,  when  the 
news  came  that  the  "Lincoln  Land  Company" 
of  Nebraska,  had  purchased  the  stock  of  the 
corporation,  thereby  acquiring  the  enormous 
acreage  in  this  state,  as  well  as  in  Wyoming. 

Nearly  opposite  this  ranch,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  North  Platte  river,  was  Oelrich's 
ranch.  When  the  Scotchmen  were  becoming 
excited  over  the  bonanza  ranching  in  the  high 
plains  region,  the  Oelrich  brothers,  Harry  and 
Charlie,  came  out  from  Cheyenne,  and  acquired 
a  small  holding  of  hay  meadows,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present 
site  of  Morrill.  This  they  fenced  like  the 
Sturgis  &  Lane  hay  meadows  were  fenced,  with 
native  cedar  and  pitch  pine  posts,  and  barbed 
wire. 

There  was  no  bridge  at  this  point,  but  the 
river  was  generally  in  good  condition  to  ford, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


115 


and  there  was  a  ford  here  that  was  used  for  a 
great  many  years.  Land  seekers  looking  for 
claims  north  of  the  river  on  the  now  famous 
Dutch  Flats,  generally  crossed  at  Oelrich's 
ranch. 

The  brothers  were  of  the  wild  sort  of  fel- 
lows, and  had  no  conception  of  the  value,  or 
the  endurance,  of  horseflesh.  Often  they 
would  make  the  drive  from  the  ranch  to  Chey- 
enne in  less  time  than  they  should,  and  would 
ruin  a  good  horse  or  two  in  the  operation. 
Driving  out  they  observed  about  the  same  judg- 
ment. They  were  inclined  to  indulge  in  the 
flowing  bowl  more  than  discretion  would  ap- 
prove, and  that  was  perhaps  one  of  the  rea- 
sons for  their  rapid  driving. 

This  ranch  was  located  about  the  time  the 
Union  Cattle  Company  was  inaugurating  its 
campaign  for  separating  Uncle  Sam  of  many 
valuable  acres  of  land.  The  Union  Company, 
had  a  large  number  of  filings  made  by  men  who 
were  to  work  in  the  railroad  shops,  and  by 
women,  some  of  whom  it  was  said  had  not 
the  best  of  reputations.  Some  of  these  claims 
were  desert  claims  where  a  pretence  of  devel- 
oping irrigation  was  possible,  and  there  are 
yet  the  marks  of  the  old  ditches  that  run  up 
and  down  the  hills  along  Horse  Creek,  in  Wy- 
oming, that  were  used  to  make  Desert  "proof 
of  irrigation"  to  secure  patent  to  the  land. 

On  the  Nebraska  sice  of  the  state  line,  the 
desert  land  laws  did  not  apply,  and  the  men 
and  women  filed  pre-emptions,  expecting  to 
make  proof  after  six  months  alleged  residence. 
Some  pretense  of  residence  was  necessary, 
and  the  parties  would  absent  themselves  from 
their  usual  haunts  at  Cheyenne,  for  a  week  or 
two.  perhaps  twice  during  the  six  months  of 
"residence"  on  these  claims,  and  they  found 
Oelrich's  one  of  the  free  and  easy  places,  where 
they  assembled,  when  presumed  to  be  residing 
upon  their  respective  clairrs  just  across  the 
river. 

One  time  Oelrichs  had  1  illed  a  horse  in  the 
hard  ride  from  Cheyenne,  and  they  were  strand- 
ed at  the  ranch.  Hank  Ingraham  had  just  been 
up  to  Fort  Laramie,  and  bought  a  team  of  con- 
demned United  States  horses,  and  had  paid 
thirty-seven  dollars  for  the  team.  This  was 
about  1883. 


Charlie  Oelrich  ran  across  Hank  on  his 
way  down  the  river  to  the  feeding  meadows 
in  Mitchell  Valley,  and  wanted  to  buy  the  team. 
Hank  said :  "They  will  cost  you  four  hundred 
dollars."  Charlie  never  hesitated ;  he  wrote 
him  a  check  and  took  the  team. 

We  are  told  that  the  men  and  women,  who 
were  a  little  behind  their  expected  schedule, 
and  consequently  a  little  short  on  a  few  of  the 
things  that  go  to  make  life  a  merry  jest,  start- 
ed for  Cheyenne  with  the  team  going  at  a  rapid 
pace.  At  the  Big  Willows  on  Horse  Creek,  in 
the  Goshen  Holes,  there  was  a  deep  pool,  and 
some  one  suggested  that  the  party  stop  for  a 
swim.  This  appealed  to  the  popular  fancy  of 
the  party,  and  the  horses  were  sent  forward  at 
breakneck  speed.  On  arriving  there,  those  of 
the  party  were  in  such  haste  for  the  cool,  in- 
viting waters  of  the  pool,  that  they  forgot  to  tie 
the  team,  with  the  result  that  in  a  smashup  that 
followed,  one  of  the  horses  was  killed.  The 
other  was  ridden  back  to  the  ranch  for  a  mate, 
while  the  crowd  had  abundance  of  time  for 
bathing,  and  waiting  for  the  return. 

Charlie's  wife  was  an  actress,  of  whom  it  is 
said  that  she  enjoyed  the  wild  life  of  the  old 
frontier,  even  though  moral  standards  were 
frequently  shattered  by  her  associates. 

The  Oelrichs  also  had  a  ranch  a  few  miles 
north  of  Cheyenne,  where  Talaho  rides  were 
among  the  pleasures  and  pastimes. 

Harry  Oelrichs,  as  manager  of  the  Anglo- 
American  Cattle  Company,  as  it  was  sometimes 
called,  received  a  salary  of  $25,000.00  a  year, 
yet  he  always  started  the  year  about  $10,000  00 
in  debt. 

Charlie  went  into  the  brokerage  and  commis- 
sion business  in  New  York,  and  Harry  had  a 
stroke  of  paralysis. 

James  Gordon  Bennett  took  care  of  him  af- 
ter that,  and  for  eight  years  before  his  death 
he  was  utterly  helpless. 

One  of  the  old  Two-Bar  men  tells  me  that 
Harry,  who  though  not  married,  was  infatu- 
ated with  a  theatrical  celebrity,  who  frequently 
visited  the  Oelrich  ranches ;  namely,  Lillian 
Langtry,  well  known  on  the  stage  a  generation 
ago. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XIV 


AROUND  CAMP   WAGONS  — A   HORSE    TRADE    WITH    DOC.    MIDDLETON  — 

ARBUCKLE'S    BREAK   POST— SCOTCHMEN  BUY  BIG  RANCHES 

—  TOHN  CLAY  AND  THE   TWO-BAR 


Merry  making  around  the  camp  wagons  of 
the  round-ups,  and  in  the  frontier  towns  was 
of  the  cruder  sort,  if  you  measure  by  the  stan- 
dards of  the  effete  east.  But  wags,  and  there 
are  wags  everywhere,  and  humor,  uses  the  in- 
struments at  hand.  If  it  does  not  appeal  to 
cultivated  taste,  it  is  due  to  the  setting. 

Stories  are  told  of  the  old  "desert  rats" 
whose  passion  for  gambling  took  every  con- 
ceivable turn,  and  used  every  excuse  to  make  a 
wager.  It  was  the  monotonous  life  of  the  des- 
ert which  made  them  seek  diversion  in  gamb- 
ling. The  life  of  the  early  cowboy  was  a 
gamble ;  a  fair-paid  hazard  whether  one  would 
return  from  the  round-up,  whole  or  in  pieces, 
or  at  all. 

One  of  the  old  time  boys,  much  of  whose 
life  had  been  spent  in  the  saddle,  was  Chris 
Streeks.  He  was  here  in  the  days  when  the 
Likens-Middleton  contest,  or  feud,  or  man 
hunt,  was  stirring  to  partisanship  every  dwel- 
ler or  transient  between  Colorado  and  the  Da- 
kotas.  Yet  old  as  he  was  to  the  ways  of  the 
round-up,  he,  in  an  unguarded  instant,  let  a 
wild  horse  at  the  end  of  his  lariat  catch  the 
horse  he  was  riding  with  the  taut  rope  in  a  side- 
wise  position.  Anyone  versed  in  the  work  of 
the  range  knows  that  to  meet  the  jerk  at  the 
end  of  a  rope  it  to  have  the  horse  end  to,  with 
the  front  end  towards  the  careening  animal. 

Chris'  horse  went  down,  and  he  was  in- 
sensible so  long  that  it  was  a  gamble  if  he 
would  ever  "come  back."  This  happened 
somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of  the  J-Pens,  on 
Horse  Creek,  and  Chris  was  taken  to  Fort 
Laramie,  put  in  the  post  hospital  and  attended 
by  the  doctor  of  the  fort. 

Such  incidents  are  in  the  nature  of 
"scratches"  to  the  boys  of  the  prairie,  and 
there  is  always  a  reluctance  in  getting  word  to 
the  injured  man's  people,  for  the  chances  are 
that,  if  he  don't  die,  he  will  be  about  again 
shortly,  and  possibly  gone  on  about  his  busi- 
ness before  word  could  be  gotten  a  hundred  to 
five  hundred  miles  and  the  folks  get  back  to  the 
scene. 

But  the  news  of  the  accident  to  Streeks  fil- 
tered through  the  Goshen  Holes,  across  Horse 
creek  and  down  Pumpkin  creek  and  finally 
reached  Streeks's  wife,  who  lived  then  just 
southeasl  of  the  present  Airdale  ranch. 

Mrs.   Streeks  and  her  sister  took  a  wagon 


and  started  to  run  down  the  rumor  and  try- 
to  find  Chris,  for  betime  the  story  had  reached 
them  it  was  merely  a  rumor  that  he  had  been 
hurt,  and  the  location  of  the  accident  was  very 
vague.  They  made  Horse  creek  the  first  day, 
and  stayed  at  a  ranch  where  most  of  the  peo- 
ple were  transient,  and  knew  nothing  of  the 
accident. 

It  was  rather  daring  on  their  part,  and  the 
night  was  one  long  to  be  remembered,  for  the 
men  were  quarreling,  and  they  seemed  to  have 
some  grudge  against  a  young  fellow,  and  each 
seemed  to  take  a  turn  to  pick  at  him.  They 
could  not  make  out  the  cause  of  the  trouble, 
but  it  wore  away  without  any  fights  or  gun 
play;  and  in  the  morning  the  ladies  renewed 
their  search  for  something  tangible  about  the 
accident.  They  struck  a  fresh  trail  at  the  Y- 
cross  ranch  and  finally  landed  at  Fort  Laramie. 
Mrs.  Streeks  later,  after  Chris  had  recovered 
sufficiently,  returned  for  him  and  they  made 
him  a  bed  in  the  wagon  box  and  started  for 
home. 

In  the  Scotts  Bluff  mountains,  about  ten 
miles  southwest  of  Gering,  they  passed  the 
home  of  a  "nestor,"  or  one  of  the  "sooners" 
that  have  exhausted  all  their  land  rights,  yet 
move  ahead  of  settlement,  squatting  on  tracts 
which  they  think  will  become  desirable,  and 
for  which  they  will  be  able  to  obtain  a  few 
dollars  for  a  "squatter's  right."  The  woman, 
a  large  lady  of  Irish  antecedents,  ran  out  at 
approach  of  the  wagon  and  seeing  the  form  of 
a  man  covered  up  in  the  back  part  of  the 
wagon,  requested  the  privilege  of  looking  upon 
"the  pretty  corpse." 

I  have  often  heard  the  pleasantry  of  allu- 
sion to  Chris  with  his  six  feet  three,  and  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  as  the  "mak- 
ings" of  a  "pretty  corpse." 

Chris  Streeks  has  gone  now  to  the  "Home 
Ranch  across  the  Great  Divide,"  and  quit 
line-riding  between  the  states  of  Nebraska  and 
Wyoming,  which  work  was  necessary  because 
Wyoming  had  free  range  and  Nebraska  a  herd 
law. 

And  Mrs.  Streeks  has  also  gone.  I  wonder 
if  she  rides  in  a  golden  chariot  there,  or  if  she 
drives  the  keen  spirited  mustangs  of  the  earlier 
days.  Are  there  golden  streets,  or  is  it  the 
winding  trail  over  beautiful  fresh  prairies  that 
are  like  these  were  when  the  west  was  new? 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


117 


One  time  in  the  early  eighties,  when  Doc. 
Middleton  "went  wrong,"  (or  shall  we  say 
that  what  he  did  was  wrong?)  Chris  Streeks 
was  riding  in  the  usual  duties  of  the  range, 
when  a  tall  spare  man  with  keen  eyes,  came 
"fogging  up  the  trail"  from  the  direction  of 
Sidney. 

Chris  had  never  met  him  prior  to  that  time, 
but  this  was  the  redoubtable  Doc. 

"Fine  horse  you  got,  let's  trade,"  said  he. 

The  horse  the  doctor  was  riding  was  pretty 
well  winded  and  did  not  show  up  well  with 
the  fresh  animal  that  Chris  was  riding. 

"How  much  boot?"  asked  Chris,  "about  a 
hundred  ?" 

"Strip  off  your  saddle,"  answered  Doc,  "I 
just  killed  a  couple  soldiers  down  at  Sidney, 
and  they  are  after  me." 

Streeks  made  no  further  reference  to  the 
boot.  To  dispute  under  such  circumstances 
would  have  been  useless,  and  possibly  fatal  for 
some  one.  A  few  weeks  later  a  rider  came 
past  the  ranch  and  left  a  package  for  Chris. 
"Tell  him  Doc.  Middleton  sent  it,"  he  said. 
When  Streeks  opened  the  package  he  found  it 
contained  one  hundred  dollars.  That  was  a 
big  price  for  the  common  horse  of  the  range 
in  those  days. 

That  is  the  way  Doc.  Middleton  did  things. 
And  while  he  was  an  outlaw  according  to  the 
statutes,  there  were  extenuating  circumstances, 
and  the  civilians  of  the  west  generally  assisted 
him  in  his  efforts  to  keep  out  of  the  clutches 
of  that  tiresome  tyrant  called  "law." 

The  killing  of  the  soldiers  was  the  result  of 
a  brawl.  They  had  all  been  drinking  together, 
and  two  of  the  soldiers  imagined  they  were 
offended  at  something  the  doctor  had  said,  or 
failed  to  say,  as  is  the  way  with  drunken  men. 
They  attacked  him,  and  had  him  down  on  the 
bar-room  floor,  pummeling  him  in  good  order. 
He  warned  them  to  quit,  but  they  kept  at  it,  and 
he  shot  them  both  from  where  he  lay.  Had 
they  been  civilians,  it  would  have  been  self-de- 
fense, but  being  Uncle  Sam's  soldiers,  it  became 
a  crime.  This  was  the  final  thing  that  made 
Doc.  Middleton  an  outlaw,  in  the  real  sense 
of  the  word. 

In  those  days  —  the  days  of  the  Texas  Trail 
— Ogallala,  Camp  Clarke,  Hartville.  Sidney, 
Antelopeville  (now  Kimball)  and  Cheyenne 
were  the  regular  cowtowns.  Those  were  the 
halcyon  days  of  the  cow  business.  Big  com- 
panies were  being  organized,  and  absorbing  the 
ranches,  and  buying  —  book  value — 'the  local 
institutions. 

Post  sold  out  to  the  Arbuckles,  and  several 
were  absorbed  by  the  big  Bay  State  Land  and 
Cattle  Company.    The  Swans  had  Scotch  mil- 


lions behind  them.  Big  Alex  Swan  would  buy 
ten  thousand  cattle,  while  the  most  of  us  were 
quibbling  over  the  price. 

The  Swans  organized  a  big  company  of  Edin- 
burgh, Scotland,  men  and  passed  their  holdings 
to  the  new  company,  retaining  an  interest  in 
the  company  themselves.  The  new  company 
was  taking  over  herds  at  book  value  as  a  rule, 
but  the  canny  Scotch  decided  on  requiring  ac- 
tual count.  Thus  it  occurred  that  certain  cows 
found  their  way  through  the  counting  chutes 
more  than  once  to  make  up  the  number.  The 
Scotchmen  "smelled  a  mouse,"  and  required 
another  count.  This  time  each  animal  that 
passed  was  to  be  daubed  with  paint,  so  that  a 
second  count  of  the  same  animal  would  be 
impossible. 

There  is  a  peculiar  quirk  of  psychology  in 
the  old  boys  of  the  plains.  They  were  true  to 
a  fault  in  their  fidelity  to  their  old  masters 
and  associates,  although  when  a  new  outfit 
bought  a  brand  it  was  assumed  that  the  boys 
were  to  continue  with  the  new  outfit. 

When  Arbuckle  broke  Post  and  his  Chey- 
enne bank,  it  took  the  saving  of  nearly  all  the 
boys,  that  were  at  all  frugal,  for  Post's  bank 
was  their  depository.  Yet  few  of  them  would 
blame  Post.  They  were  firm  in  the  faith  that 
his  grand-stand  play  in  Cheyenne,  when  his 
wife  allowed  him  to  sell  her  jewels,  and  the 
house  over  her  head,  to  put  the  proceeds  into 
the  assets  of  the  wreck,  that  it  was  all  on  the 
square.  Some  of  us  wonder  if  the  machinery 
through  which  it  passed  was  not  well  oiled. 
Certain  it  is,  that  Mrs.  Post  continued  to  live 
in  the  house  until  her  removal  to  Salt  Lake. 
And  Post  either  had  ability  or  finance  to  get 
him  on  his  feet  rather  suddenly  in  their  new 
home. 

When  the  showdown  of  the  Scotch  was  re- 
quired, the  old  boys  felt  in  duty  bound  to  assist 
in  making  the  count  correspond  as  nearly  as 
possible,  with  the  book  value.  Counting  thou- 
sands of  cattle  is  no  easy  matter,  and  it  took 
both  speed  and  time.  As  they  were  crowded 
through  the  chutes,  the  marker  would  call  off, 
and  the  men  with  the  tally  sheets  would  mark 
it  down.  Two  men  were  detailed  to  mark  the 
cattle  with  the  paint  brush.  They  were  Davy 
Morris,  who  now  lives  at  Squaw  Mountain 
south  of  Laramie  Peak,  and  Jim  Hubbard, 
who  once  homesteaded  the  farm  in  Mitchell 
Valley  that  was  owned  by  Harry  Thornton  for 
many  years. 

That  these  men  were  experts  with  the  paint 
brush  goes  without  saving,  for  some  of  the 
eye  witnesses  of  the  affair  tell  me  that  about 
every  other  number  that  they  called  was  an 
animal  invisible  to  the  naked  eve.    Thev  would 


118 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


daub  one  and  call,  and  then  make  a  pass 
through  the  air  and  call  another,  and  the  men 
with  the  tally  sheets  were  kept  too  busy  to 
see  what  was  going  on.  Thus,  with  all  their 
care,  the  Scotchmen  failed  to  get  nearly  so 
many  cattle  as  they  thought  they  were  getting. 
Is  it  any  wonder,  with  a  handicap  of  forty  or 
fifty  per  cent.,  and  after  the  disaster  of  the 
Big  Spring  storm  of  1886,  with  prevailing  low 
prices  at  that  time,  that  the  company  became 
embarrassed? 

I  am  not  surprised  that  John  Clay  came 
out  and  took  over  the  ranch  and  holdings  of 
the  Swan  Land  &  Cattle  Company  in  1886.  but 
I  am  surprised  that  he  could  make  anything 
out  of  the  wreck.  Under  his  management, 
however,  the  Two-Bar  is  a  most  substantial  in- 
stitution. Clay  says:  "Still  sticking  by  the 
ship.  I  found  many  of  the  faithful  old  cow- 
boys of  better  days.     There  was  Billy  Hooker, 


and  Al  Bowie,  and  Harry  Haig,  and  Duncan 
Grant,  and  Dave  Morris,  and  Rufe  Rhodes, 
and  Frank  Shiek,  and  Ed.  Banks." 

"Bleaching  bones  littered  many  a  trail,  and 
told  the  story  of  disaster." 

Book  value  where  livestock  should  have  been, 
and  dead  cattle,  where  originally  were  live 
ones.  What  was  there  to  do  but  make  the  best 
of  a  tremendously  bad  situation.  John  Clay 
has  done  that  in  a  manner  that  few  others  could 
have  done. 

The  Swans  went  the  way  of  other  big  com- 
panies. A  few  held  their  herds  together  and 
went  to  other  ranges,  one  or  two  other,  particu- 
larly the  Bay  State  and  the  Union  Land  & 
Cattle  Company,  acquired  landed  possessions 
that  eventually  pulled  them  out  of  the  hole. 

The  Ogallala  was  one  that  went  into  Wyom- 
ing with  the  herds,  and  Paxton  pulled  that 
company  through  in  due  time,  and  good  shape. 


CHAPTER  XV 

FREWEN'S    RANCH    EXPERIENCE  — HANGING    OF   BILLY    NURSE   BY   VIGI- 
LANTES—HOLDING   UP    DOC.   M1DDLETON  — DEATH   OF 
THE  FAMOUS  CHARACTER 


About  the  time  that  Mills  and  Bullock  and 
others,  were  putting  in  their  herds  a  few  hun- 
dred cows  around  Fort  Laramie,  the  big  herds 
began  to  arrive  from  Texas. 

Westward  from  the  eastern  border  of  Wy- 
oming much  of  the  prairie  and  inter-mountain 
country  was  not  good  range  for  cattle.  There 
were  bad  lands,  sage  brush  lands,  and  grease- 
wood  lands  galore,  but  occasionally  were 
patches  of  natural  meadows.  The  Laramie 
Plains  was  one  of  these  green  pastures  of  na- 
ture, and  it  was  soon  located  by  the  cowmen 
looking  for  places  to  run  their  herds.  The 
Texas  herds  ran  into  thousands. 

As  John  Bratt  says :  "from  1867  the  business 
kept  changing.  From  the  date  that  they  drove 
their  first  herds  from  Texas  to  the  Laramie 
Plains,  for  ten  years,  ten  thousand  head  was 
considered  a  large  herd.  But  in  the  next  ten 
years,  or  until  about  1886,  twenty  thousand 
was  not  considered  a  big  herd,  and  some  book 
accounts  ran  as  high  as  forty  thousand." 

It  was  in  the  early  eighties  that  the  Swans 
were    buying    herds    in    great    quantities.      A 


ten  word  telegram  would  buy  ten  thousand. 
Those  were  sunny  cattle  days. 

Frewen  brothers  came  from  London  with 
quantities  of  money  to  invest  in  ranches.  Dick 
Frewen  of  the  Powder  River  Cattle  Company 
was  on  the  ground  early,  and  he  learned  too 
late  that  many  thousand  cattle  were  counted 
twice  over  and  paid  for  twice,  out  of  the 
money  that  he  had  to  invest. 

When  the  ten  days'  storm  in  the  spring  of 
1886  had  passed  and  when  every  creek  and 
gully  was  full  of  dead  cattle,  when  about  the 
only  live  cattle  in  this  section  were  found  in 
protected  places,  there  was  little  left  of  the 
Frewen  holdings. 

The  brothers  have  returned  to  London,  long 
ago,  and  when  someone  asks  them  about  going 
into  ranch  business,  they  whisper  low:  "Don't 
say  'ranch' —  say  'farm.'  " 

Many  of  the  first  "cowpunchers"  were  from 
Texas  where  the  cow  business  had  been  devel- 
oped for  a  number  of  years.  But  the  cooks 
and  wagon  men,  and  occasionally  a  northern 
born   "puncher"    were   among   the    outfits.      I 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


119 


don't  know  whether  it  was  something  a  little 
wrong  in  the  upper  story,  or  whether  it  was 
a  touch  of  the  prairie  that  made  so  many 
cooks  just  a  wee  bit  "oft." 

Wagon  men  and  cooks  seemed  to  have  ir- 
rational attributes  oftener  than  the  men  who 
rode.  The  diversion  of  the  riding,  and  the 
business  of  looking  after  cattle,  served  to  oc- 
cupy more  fully  their  attention,  and  they  were 
tired  at  night.  But  the  monotony  of  the  camp 
life,  and  the  continual  round  of  pots,  dishes 
and  pans,  and  baking  bread,  or  cooking  beans 
and  meat,  were  the  things  that  sent  some  of 
them  "out  of  their  heads." 

It  was  in  the  early  seventies,  before  J.  S. 
Robb  had  gone  back  to  Texas,  that  he   was 


with  an  outfit  that  had  just  turned  loose  a 
big  Texas  herd  at  Creighton's  Horse  Creek 
ranch.  The  boys  were  away,  in  pairs,  look- 
ing after  and  getting  the  cattle  acquainted  with 
their  new  range,  when  one  of  the  queer  spells 
seized  Billy  Nurse,  the  cook.  This  one  was, 
unfortunately,  a  drug  eater  before  he  went 
with  the  outfit. 

At  supper  that  night,  the  first  boy  down  at 
mess  picked  up  a  biscuit  and  bit  into  it.  There 
was  a  bitterness  that  he  did  not  like  and  he 
failed  to  eat  the  part  bitten  off  and  threw  the 
biscuit  to  a  dog.  The  dog  ate  it,  and  in  a 
moment  of  two  was  taken  sick,  and  died 
very  shortly  afterwards.  The  whole  pan  of 
biscuits  went  into  the  fire,  and  the  boys  were 
chary  about  what  they  ate  that  night.  The 
cook  went  about  as  normal,  but  perhaps  a 
little  more  morose,  but  the  boys  all  sensed 
that  there  was  something  wrong. 

The  next  day  at  evening,  Robb  and  a  man 


named  Parks  were  returning,  when  a  shot 
came  out  of  the  bushes,  and  the  bullet  whistled 
uncomfortably  near.  They  rushed  to  the  cover 
of  brush  but  found  no  one.  That  night,  while 
Parks  was  writing  a  letter  in  the  old  soddy, 
the  cook  shot  him  in  the  back,  killing  him  in- 
stantly. Before  he  could  get  any  further  ac- 
tion with  his  six-shooter,  the  boys  overpowered 
him.  He  was  taken  to  Pine  Bluffs,  then  to 
Cheyenne,  and  turned  over  to  the  authorities, 
and  in  due  time  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  for  life. 

It  was  brought  out  in  the  trial  that  he  had 
shot  at  Robb  and  Parks  earlier  in  the  evening 
of  the  murder,  and  that  he  had  tried  to  kill 
the  whole  outfit  by  poison  so  that  he  could 
take  and  get  away  with  the  thousands  of  cat- 
tle. Failing  in  the  poison  effort,  he  had  de- 
cided to  kill  them  two  by  two,  or  singly,  as 
they  returned  from  their  work.  His  marks- 
manship being  poor,  he  had  then  started  in 
with  the  intention  of  killing  the  outfit  single 
handed,  and  wholesale  robbery  as  his  objective. 

There  was  no  pentitentiary  in  Wyoming  at 
the  time,  and  the  custom  of  taking  care  of  pris- 
oners of  this  character,  was  to  take  them  to 
the  prisons  of  other  states,  the  state  of  Wy- 
oming paying  the  state  which  furnished  the  ac- 
commodation a  stipulated  fee. 

The  cook,  Nurse,  was  accordingly  taken  to 
Joliet,  Illinois,  to  serve  his  sentence.  For 
some  cause  or  other  he  obtained  a  parole,  and 
as  is  frequent  in  such  cases,  the  criminal  char- 
acter of  the  man  reasoned  that  having  es- 
caped with  light  punishment,  there  was  a  little 
danger  in  the  field  of  criminals,  and  there 
were  chances  of  great  gain.  He  went  to  South 
Dakota. 

Here  he  proved  more  successful  than  on 
Horse  Creek.  He  killed  four  perfectly  good 
men,  before  the  vigilantes  took  a  hand  in  the 
matter,  and  Mr.  Nurse  was  very  properly 
hung. 

Such  events  added  zest  and  spice  to  the  life 
of  the  range,  just  as  Robb's  little  event  com- 
ing from  Denver  at  one  time  produced  a  thrill. 
J.  S.  had  been  south,  and  was  returning  by 
train  over  the  Union  Pacific  out  of  Denver  to 
the  north. 

At  that  time  gambling  for  mild  stakes  was 
but  a  frivolous  pastime  and  was  permitted  on 
the  trains  running  through  the  western  coun- 
try. Robb  and  a  number  of  others  were  pass- 
ing away  the  time  with  a  little  game  of  "twen- 
ty-five cent  limit,"  and  were  having  consider- 
able amusement. 

Some  one  called  Robb's  attention  to  a  herd 
of  cattle  that  was  passing,  and  when  he  turned 
his  attention  again  to  the  game,  he  picked  up 


120 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


a  hand  with  four  kings.  He  said:  "If  the 
limit  was  off,  1  would  bet  five  dollars  on  this 
hand." 

One  of  the  players,  a  tall  spare  fellow  with 
sharp,  black  eyes,  looked  his  hand  over,  and 
answered:  "If  you  did,  I  would  raise  you  ten." 
They  got  to  bandying  words  about  the  merits 
of  their  respective  hands,  and  finally  made  a 
bet  of  fifteen  dollars.  The  other  fellow  had 
four  aces. 

Robb  got  to  mulling  the  incident  over  in  his 
mind,  and  decided  that  when  his  attention  was 
directed  outside  the  car  window,  there  had 
been  some  juggling  of  the  cards. 

"My  friend,"  he  said,  and  there  was  that 
tense  thrill  and  the  quiet  that  always  followed 
certain  tones  of  expression  in  the  west,  "My 
friend,  I  guess  I  will  have  to  trouble  you  to 
hand  me  back  that  money.  I  am  too  old  a 
stager  for  that  kind  of  work,"  and  his  six- 
shooter  was  there  ready  to  help  argue  the  mat- 
ter. 

"Oh !"  said  the  stranger,  "alright,  alright." 
He  passed  the  money  over,  and  the  game  went 
on. 

The  stranger  was  known  to  some  of  those 
present,  and  to  Robb  afterwards.  He  was 
Doc.  Middleton.  Rob  had  held  up  the  great 
western  desperado,  and  the  event  was  often 
thereafter  related  as  one  of  the  anecdotes  of 
western  adventure.  Robb  never  boasted  of 
it,  he  was  not  a  boaster,  and  then  Doc.  might 
have  considered  it  bad  taste.  He  had  sensi- 
tive notions  on  such  matters,  and  a  very  deli- 
cate trigger  finger. 

When  driven  to  it,  Doc.  Middleton  became 
an  outlaw  that  made  his  a  name  that  ranks 
high  in  importance.  He  knew  the  location  of 
more  good  horses  than  any  man  on  the  west- 
ern ranee,  and  he  could  take  them  from  the 
South  Platte  to  Cheyenne  river  in  less  time 
than  any  other.  The  organization  of  the  cat- 
tlemen's association  of  Wyoming  and  western 
Nebraska,  was  brought  into  active  use  in  bring- 


ing him  to  justice.  This  was  co-operated  in 
by  the  United  States  Government. 

John  Bratt  wrote  me  sometime  before  his 
death,  that  he  was  one  of  the  ten  men  who 
put  in  one  hundred  dollars  each,  to  hire  Billy- 
Likens  to  bring  him  in,  dead  or  alive.  Billy 
went  after  him,  and  had  several  brushes  in 
western  Nebraska,  and  one  in  particular  on 
the  Niobrara,  where  both  were  clipped  in  the 
gun  melee.  But  Likens  finally  landed  his  man, 
alive,  and  he  served  a  term  for  his  misdeeds. 

After  that  he  returned  to  the  old  range  and 
spent  his  declining  years  at  Ardmore,  in  the 
drug  business.  Doc.  would  close  his  store 
any  day  that  a  bunch  of  horses  came  to  town, 
and  go  out  and  size  them  up.  He  loved  a 
horse. 

Some  years  ago,  when  Jim  Dahlman  was 
candidate  for  governor,  and  I  was  looking  fu- 
tilely  towards  the  seat  of  Moses  Kincaid  in 
congress,  we  met  the  old  grizzled  wolf,  Mid- 
dleton, at  Crawford,  and  he  rode  with  us  to 
Chadron.  I  looked  out  at  the  pine  ridges  that 
are  visible  to  the  south  from  this  highway, 
and  thought  of  the  old  days  when  Middleton 
knew  every  canyon  and  gulch,  and  where  were 
the  best  hiding  places  for  horses.  In  my 
blithesome  way,  I  suggested  that  if  the  auto 
played  out  Middleton  might  know  where  there 
were  horses  to  pull  us  in.  In  some  way,  I  re- 
ceived an  impression  that  the  pleasantry  was 
not  appreciated,  but  there  was  no  serious  aver- 
sion to  it. 

Doc.  liked  excitement,  and  became  the  vic- 
tim when  John  Barleycorn  went  out  of  busi- 
ness. He  was  arrested  in  some  connection  with 
a  bootlegging  deal,  but  no  one  who  knows  Doc. 
Middleton  will  accuse  him  of  being  in  a  petty 
sneaking  affair.  He  might  drink,  and  he  might 
help  a  friend  get  a  drink,  which  probably  was 
just  what  got  him  involved. 

He  died  in  jail  at  Douglas  in  1918,  for  his 
old  frame  could  not  endure  the  racking  and 
hardships  of  younger  years. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XVI 


PERRY   YEAST'S   SUCCESS  —  JUDGE  GASLIN,   WHO    WROTE  "THE    LAW    OF 
THE  WEST-'—  TOM  RYAN'S    DEFIANCE 


Along  the  line  of  the  Union  Pacific,  between 
the  towns  of  Lewellen  and  Keystone,  there  is  a 
sand  hill  ridge  that  runs  down  from  its  asso- 
ciates almost  to  the  railroad  track. 

This  section  up  which  it  is  situated  contains 
just  about  enough  level  ground  for  the  location 
of  a  house  and  ranch  buildings,  and  the  build- 
ings are  there. 

This  was  once  the  humble  home  of  Perry 
Yeast,  who  now  lives  in  his  palatial  home  in 
Lincoln,  and  is  worth  a  million  or  so. 

When  Perry  settled  there,  it  was  ranches 
all  around  him.  the  Ogallala  Company  and 
John  Bratt  &  Company  in  particular.  Perry 
was  an  adept  at  the  work  of  discovering  un- 
branded  stock  on  the  range.  He  built  him  a 
rack,  or  pen  on  wheels,  with  which  he  used 
to  roam  about  the  country,  and  unidentified 
stock  of  the  range  would  soon  wear  his  brand. 
He  simply  took  to  himself  the  same  rights 
that  the  cattle  associations  assumed  they  pos- 
sessed. The  Ogallala  people  thought  it  might 
be  best  to  keep  him  occupied  in  other  pursuits, 
and  gave  him  a  contract  for  putting  up  the 
hay  on  their  North  river  meadows  one  year. 
He  cleared  up  several  thousand  dollars  in  the 
deal. 

When  the  Burlington  built  through  the  Sand 
Hills  he  contracted  to  furnish  meat  for  the 
construction  gangs  and  he  did  furnish  it  in 
such  quantity  that  Bratt  &  Company  thought 
he  could  not  be  supplying  it  entirely  from  his 
own  herd.  An  investigation  and  search  of 
the  Sand  Hills  disclosed  a  secluded  spot  with 
the  fragments  of  about  a  hundred  hides,  all 
of  which  were  once  worn  by  Bratt  cattle. 

Yeast  was  arrested,  but  he  sprung  a  sur- 
prise with  a  bill  of  sale  from  some  Omaha 
firm,  of  cattle  which  Bratt  &  Company  had 
marketed  there,  and  which  later  had  been  sold 
to  Yeast.  Bringing  Bratt  cattle  with  Bratt's 
brand  on  to  the  Bratt. range,  yet  in  the  legiti- 
mate ownership  of  Mr.  Yeast,  made  any  suc- 
cessful prosecution  impossible,  and  was  em- 
barrassing to  the  Bratt  Company. 

For  eighteen  months  before  the  election  of 
Harrison  as  President  in  1888.  the  Burlington 
building  operations  stood  still.  Yeast  sold 
some  beef,  but  in  very  diminished  quantity.  He 
went  over  into  Sand  Hills  north  of  the  new 
line,  and  located  on  Swan  Lake. 

Here  he  built  a  ranch  on  more  prodigai  pro- 
portions, and  had  a  nice  hay  valley  all  his  own. 


The  section  homestead  act  went  into  effect, 
and  he  was  one  of  the  men  who  saw  its  pos- 
sibilities under  the  older  lax  methods  of  the 
land  office  department,  and  a  number  of  men 
who  settled  around  him  were  supposed  to  have 
contracts  to  deed  him  the  land  after  acquiring 
title.  He  was  indicted  on  the  federal  charge  of 
conspiracy  to  defraud  the  government,  at  the 
same  time  that  Bartlett  Richards  and  others 
were  in  the  same  trouble. 

The  case  against  him  was  finally  dismissed, 
and  he  continued  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  suc- 
cessful ranching,  alternating  between  the  Bur- 
lington and  the  Northwestern  for  an  outlet 
for  his  product. 

We  are  told  now,  that  Mr.  Yeast  lives  in 
splendid  manner  in  Lincoln,  while  he  also  has 
a  magnificent  ranch  in  the  far  northwest,  the 
newer  country  of  Alaska. 

Yeast  came  at  the  time  that  cattle  kings 
were  losing  their  scepters,  and  the  ranges 
were  breaking  up  into  smaller  fragments,  and 
the  smaller  the  unit  the  greater  respect  for  law. 
This  theory  will  hold  good  in  any  of  the  walks 
of  life,  or  the  industry  of  our  country.  The 
old  cattlemen  were  not  dishonest,  but  the 
very  nature  of  their  business  made  them  adopt 
rules  concerning  "mavericks,"  and  other  rules 
that  in  effect  took  the  property  of  others. 

There  came  a  time  when  all  of  this  changed 
in  western  Nebraska,  and  also  a  time  when 
courts  reached  out.  There  was  a  judge  who 
wrote  the  law  on  the  sunset  sky,  who  by 
sheer  courage  compelled  the  wild  west  to  lift 
its  sombrero  to  the  majesty  of  legal  jurispru- 
dence. Courage  alone  would  not  have  done 
it,  but  integrity  and  justice  took  the  place  of 
mouldy  statute,  and  silly  precedent  or  decision. 
Judge  Gaslin  was  the  man. 

The  supreme  court  often  overruled  his  de- 
cisions, when  ''Appeals  in  Error"  were  made. 
Those  cases  made  "vigilantes,"  and  as  the 
judge  succinctly  remarked  when  he  saw  a 
horse  thief  hanging  at  Camp  Clarke  bridge: 
"There  is  one  conviction  that  the  Supreme 
Court   will   not   reverse." 

The  main  Texas  Trail  used  to  cross  at  Ogal- 
lala and  Ash  Hollow,  and  the  Texas  ranch  was 
just  below  Ash  Hollow.  It  was  the  annual 
rendezvous  of  the  cowboys  that  came  up  from 
the  Lone  Star  State.  Its' nearness  to  Ogallala, 
made  it  handy  for  the  boys  who  liked  the  wild 
life  of  the  old  cow  town. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


One  of  the  many  reminiscences  of  Judge 
Gaslin  has  to  do  with  that  city.  The  judge 
had  a  name  as  a  dispenser  of  justice  that  struck 
terror  to  evil  doers,  and  echoed  all  the  way 
from  Texas  to  Assiniboine,  for  the  nomads 
that  went  north  in  the  spring  and  south  in  the 
fall,  knew  that  Judge  Gaslin  was  in  western 
Nebraska. 

One  stormy  night,  the  men  of  the  trail  were 
in  the  old  hotel  that  used  to  stand  just  oppo- 
site the  depot  at  Ogallala,  and  as  the  night 
was  stormy,  so  were  the  natures  of  many  gath- 
ered there. 

The  landlord  became  alarmed  at  homicidal 
indications,  and  besought  Judge  Gaslin,  who 
was  in  his  room,  to  come  down,  and  just  show 
himself  for  a  few  moments  in  the  lobby  and 
bar.  He  at  first  demurred,  but  finally  consent- 
ed. The  time  was  propitious,  for  just  as  he 
stepped  into  the  room,  a  fight  had  started  and 
one  man  had  been  knocked  down. 

As  he  appeared,  someone  shouted  above  the 
pandemonium  that  prevailed:  "Judge  Gaslin, 
boys  !  the  judge  !" 

A  silence  followed  and  all  stood  still.  Final- 
ly one  of  the  originators  of  the  quarrel  stepped 
sheepishly  forward  and  extended  his  hand  to 
the  judge,  mumbling  something  about  being  a 
little  excited  over  a  political  argument. 

"Yes,"  said  the  judge  in  answer,  "and  if  I 
had  not  arrived  just  as  I  did,  I  suppose  I  would 
have  had  you  up  before  me  for  trial  the  next 
time  I  came  up  this  way." 

"No,  God  forbid!"  exclaimed  the  man,  im- 
pulsively, "that  is  judge,  I  hope  I  may  never 
have  to  be  tried  in  your  court." 

This  compliment  was  taken  as  intended,  and 
after  a  few  moments  the  judge  again  retired. 
You  never  saw  a  more  peacefully  inclined  lot 
of  rangers  in  your  life.  Drinking  and  games 
continued,  but  all  was  quiet  and  orderly. 

Another  incident  happened  at  Sidney,  when 
Gaslin  held  court  there,  which  was  a  character- 
istic of  the  judge.  A  young  fellow  had  been 
accused  of  horse  stealing;  he  had  taken  without 
leave  another  man's  horse  and  ridden  it  many 
miles,  but  turned  it  loose.  It  seemed  to  the 
jury  there  was  some  ground  for  leniency,  so 
they  brought  in  a  verdict  of  guilty,  with  recom- 
mendation of  a  light  sentence.  The  judge  took 
the  recommendation  as  a  transgression  of  the 
prerogatives  of  the  court,  and  said:  "Alright, 
we  will  say  —  well,  fifteen  years." 

The  jury  was  angry,  and  so  fast  as  cases 
come  up  they  returned  verdicts  of  not  guilty. 

At  the  close  of  the  term,  the  judge  called 
for  the  young  man  who  had  been  sentenced  to 
fifteen  years.  lie  was  brought  up,  trembling 
in  anticipation  of  something  more  severe,  but 


the  judge  delivered  to  him  something  like  the 
following : 

"Young  man,  the  honorable  jury  of  Chey- 
enne County  has  seen  fit  to  turn  loose  every 
other  damned  rascal  in  the  county,  and  I  don't 
see  any  reason  why  you  should  not  also  go. 
Your  sentence  is  indefinitely  suspended." 

In  general,  Judge  Gaslin  had  the  rough, 
western  element  "buffaloed,"  but  there  was 
one  occasion,  and  one  man  in  the  Panhandle 
that  upset  the  general  rule.  Two  men  named 
McCauley  and  Clarke  had  been  incarcerated  in 
Cheyenne  county  jail  on  a  felonious  charge, 
and  big  Tom  Ryan  appeared  before  the  judge 
at  Sidney  to  arrange  for  their  release. 

The  court  was  sitting,  and  as  usual,  hitting 
the  evil-doers  hard,  and  Clarke  and  McCauley 
were  getting  their  share  of  the  roast.  To  as- 
sail one's  friend  is  to  offend  the  man,  and 
Tom  Ryan  took  serious  offense.  He  knocked 
the  judge  off  the  Bench,  literally  and  figura- 
tively. 

It  was  such  an  unusual  affair  that  no  one 
thought  of  interfering,  while  Tom  Ryan  walk- 
ed like  a  victorious  gladiator  from  the  room. 
He  then  went  to  the  jail  and  broke  it  open, 
liberating  his  friends.  To  each  he  gave  a  gun 
and  a  pint  of  whiskey,  and  they  rode  over  to 
Greenwood  ranch  together. 

Mose  Howard,  now  (1919)  to  be  found 
around  the  Stock  Exchange  building  in  South 
Omaha,  was  sheriff  of  Cheyenne  County  at 
the  time.  It  took  but  little  thought  on  his 
part  to  know  that  he  must  arrest  Tom  Ryan 
and  his  friends,  or  attempt  to  apprehend  them, 
and  to  do  so  probably  meant  some  very  brisk 
gun  fire,  with  three  determined  men ;  or  that  he 
should  resign  as  sheriff.    "He  resigned. 

Sam  Fowler  was  appointed  to  succeed  him, 
and  Sam  started  for  the  Greenwood  ranch,  but 
on  reaching  the  destination,  he  did  not  even 
hesitate.  In  the  next  few  days,  he  rode  past 
the  ranch  two  or  three  times,  but  each  time  he 
"played  his  hunch"  to  ride  on.  One  day,  Ryan 
met  a  friend  of  Fowler's,  and  told  him  to  tell 
Sam,  that  he  had  seen  him  ride  by  the  ranch 
several  time  lately,  and.  to  say  to  him,  that  he 
(Ryan)  knew  what  Sam  was  looking  for. 
"You  also  tell  Sam  that  he  played  his  hunch 
right  each  time  when  he  failed  to  stop.  And 
tell  him  for  me,"  Ryan  continued,  "that  I  will 
give  him  another  hunch.  Not  to  waste  any 
more  time  on  me:  for  if  he  does,  I  will  kill 
him."    Sam  played  the  hunch. 

Mose  Howard  was  with  Robb  on  the  Creigh- 
ton  ranches,  for  a  while  after  that,  but  of  late 
years,  he  has  been  around  the  Stock  Exchange 
and  Stock  Yards  of  South  Omaha. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA  1 

CHAPTER  XVII 

NEWMAN'S   RANCH  ON  THE  RUNNING    WATER—  BARTLETT    RICHARDS 
COMPANY  — THE  SCOURGE  OF  THE  LAND  INQUISITION —CATTLE 
RUSTLERS  —  HALL   &   EVANS  —  EVAN'S  BATTLE  FOR  RIGHT 
—  FIRST    DAIRY  HERD 


E.  S.  Newman  established  the  largest  ranch 
on  the  Niobrara  or  Running  Water,  and  it  was 
the  first  in  point  of  time,  in  this  part  of  the 
sand  hills.  It  was  there  as  early  as  1878  or 
earlier.  He  ran  as  high  as  twenty  thousand 
cattle  at  one  time,  and  ranged  them  all  the 
way  from  Hat  Creek,  and  over  the  Wyoming 
and  Dakota  lines  to  the  northwest,  as  far  east 
as  Valentine.  The  ranch  was  located  in  the 
western  part  of  Cherry  county,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Antelope  Creek,  and  the  original  site 
has  now  been  abandoned.     The  land  is  occu- 


Loxc  Horn's  !■' 


pied  by  new  people.  Newer  ranch  buildings 
were  built  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
old  site,  and  it  is  (1919)  known  as  Fagin's 
ranch.  It  has  been  variously  called  Mayberry, 
or  Circle,  or  Boiling  Springs  ranch.  George 
Morehead  of  Omaha  had  a  brother  killed  near 
there  by  Cheyenne  Indians. 

Jim  Dahlman,  range  rider  from  Texas,  later 
sheriff  of  Dawes  county,  and  mayor  of  Omaha 
for  many  years,  worked  for  E.  S.  Newman 
after  his  arrival  on  the  northern  range.  Other 
old  time  punchers  on  this  ranch  were  James 
Ouigley  of  Valentine,  Charles  Hoyt  of  Whit- 
man, Robert  Miller  of  Burwell,  and  Henry 
and  John  Stitler. 

Newman  ranch  was  followed  by  Newman  & 
Hunter's,  and  later  Newman  retired.  Hunter 
&  Evans  had  a  ranch  at  the  confluence  of  Pine 
Creek  with  the  Niobrara  in  the  western  part 
of  Sheridan  county  as  early  as  1878.  Among 
the  many  brands  well  known  in  this  territory 
at  an  early  date  were  Z-Bar  and  Lazy-33. 
When  the  granger  came,  the  big  herd  was  driv- 
en to  Milk  River,   Montana,  where  the  com- 


pany continued  business  for  a  time. 

Bartlett  Richards  &  Company,  which  had 
been  organized  farther  west,  and  which  held 
their  stock  on  the  Belle  Fourche  and  Donkey 
Creek,  looked  upon  the  sand  hill  territory  aban- 
doned by  Hunter  &  Evans  as  an  open  field,  and 
moved  into  and  occupied  it.  The  Standard 
Cattle  Company  and  the  Spade  ranch  was  but 
a  part  of  their  activities,  although  they  ran 
about  twenty  thousand  head  of  cattle.  Numer- 
ous "locations"  were  made  in  the  hay  meadows 
between  Lakeside  and  Ellsworth  on  the  pres- 
ent line  of  the  Burlington,  and  Rushville  and 
Gordon  on  the  Northwestern.  Bar-O,  Spade, 
and  O-Bar  were  among  their  well  known 
brands. 

They  were  accused  of  attempting  to  follow 
the  precedent  established  by  the  Bay  State,  the 
Bridle  Bit,  Sturgis  &  Lane,  and  others,  and 
sought  to  acquire  title  to  a  vast  acreage  of 
government  land,  through  the  then  prevail- 
ing loose  land  office  methods. 

L.  C.  Baldwin,  of  Council  Bluffs,  who  had 
several  thousand  cattle  ranging  on  the  Lodge- 
pole  in  the  vicinity  of  Pine  Bluffs,  and  on 
Crow  Creek,  was  accused  of  following  the 
same  methods  of  acquiring  land.  The  best 
known  brands  of  Mr.  Baldwin  were  F-H-C 
and  3-3-3. 

All  the  west  knows  the  spasm  of  virtue  that 
swept  over  the  United  States  Land  Department 
when  the  dominating  influence  of  Gifford  Pin- 
chot  was  high  under  the  Roosevelt  regime. 

The  most  of  us  thought  that  the  land  ac- 
quired was  not  of  sufficient  value  to  make 
much  trouble  over,  much  less  make  criminals 
out  of  men  who  had  done  only  the  same  deeds 
that  had  been  followed  for  generations. 

Bartlett  Richards,  W.  G.  Comstock,  L.  C. 
Baldwin.  Charles  Tulleys,  J.  H.  Edmiston.  C. 
C.  Jamieson,  Perry  Yeast,  and  others  suffered 
the  federal  inquistion,  and  LI.  S.  Marshall  Mat- 
thews lost  his  official  head  as  a  result.  Some 
parts  of  the  west  were  seared  as  by  a  prairie 
fire,  and  finally  came  President  Taft  and  Sec- 
retary Ballinger.  Pinchot  sunk  into  the  ob- 
livion that  his  ill-advised  activities  deserved. 
When  a  man  attempts  to  climb  over  the  wrecks 
of  others  he  has  ruined,  natural  laws  of  com- 
pensation  will  prevail. 


124 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  Standard  Cattle  Company,  with  head- 
quarters at  Cheyenne,  ranged  fifteen  to  twenty 
thousand  cattle  over  the  headwaters  of  Horse 
Creek  and  the  Chugwater,  in  the  later  days  of 
the  cow  business. 

Earlier  the  cowmen  had  organized  associa- 
tions for  their  mutual  protection,  and  for  co- 
operation. They  developed  the  round-up  to  a 
system.  They  hired  fearless  men  for  detectives, 
and  trailed  fugitives  from  justice  into  far 
countries.  The  ramifications  of  this  ann  of 
the  cow  business  was  necessary,  albeit  some- 
times unjust. 

Vigilantes  hung  thieves  without  stint  or  con- 
science and  occasionally  a  transgressing  ranch- 
man very  nearly  met  that  melancholy  fate. 
Horse  thieves  and  cattle  thieves  were  trailed 
into  the  Britich  Provinces,  and  southward  to 
and  through  Mexico  into  the  South  American 
Republics,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 

John  Bratt  was  one  of  the  live  members 
of  the  old  executive  committee  of  the  Chey- 
enne Stock  Growers'  Association,  which  he 
helped  to  organize,  and  was  on  the  Executive 
Board  for  several  years. 

One  of  the  rules  adopted  by  this  organiza- 
tion was  that  all  unbranded  cattle  found  by 
the  roundups  were  to  be  taken  to  the  final  ren- 
dezvous, and  there  sold  to  the  highest  bidder, 
the  proceeds  to  go  into  the  treasury  of  the  asso- 
ciation. This  was  obviously  about  the  only 
thing  they  could  do,  but  should  the  roundup 
catch  the  lone  cow  of  an  early  settler,  if  she 
chanced  to  be  unbranded,  it  was  appropriating 
property  that  did  not  belong  to  the  association. 
I  think  there  was  one  or  two  decisions  that 
gave  the  cow  back  even  after  being  branded, 
where  the  ownership  was  proven. 

Early  grangers  found  considerable  fault  with 
this  scheme  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  this 
practice  or  system  brought  in  the  mind  of 
many  a  settler,  and  even  some  cowboys,  justi- 
fication for  rustling  calves,  and  killing  for 
beef. 

This  rustling  in  western  Nebraska,  became 
almost  a  joke  in  the  years  of  1887  and  1888. 
Men  increased  their  herds  at  a  rapid  rate. 
Many  cows  raised  "twins"  and  on  one  occa- 
sion, a  steer  was  credited  with  raising  seven- 
teen calves  in  one  season.  The  smaller  ranches 
were  as  busy  as  the  grangers  in  this  work. 
That  is  they  did  as  much  or  more  of  it,  but 
they  held  aloof  from  any  entangling  alliances. 

The  cowboys  learned  the  trick,  and  located 
unbranded  stuff  in  the  herds  driven  ahead  with 
the  roundup.  At  some  likely  place,  in  some 
manner,  one  of  the  men  would  manage  to 
single  out  the  cow,  or  heifer,  or  steer  without 


a  brand,  and  it  would  break  away  from  the 
herd.  He  would  ride  furiously  after  it,  and 
suddenly  his  horse  would  become  unmanage- 
able, and  run  between  it  and  the  rest  of  the 
bunch.  All  the  time  it  was  running  farther 
away,  and  finally  would  disappear  with  the 
rider  in  full  pursuit,  over  a  ridge  or  down  a 
gulch.  After  a  bit  the  rider  would  return, 
but  the  animal  never.  And  the  next  roundup 
would  find  it  with  the  private  brand  of  the 
cowboy  who  had  chased  it  into  the  distance. 

"Bay  State  Beef"  and  "Bridle  Bit  Beef"  and 
"Ogallala  Beef,"  became  a  sort  of  a  standard 
food  in  the  early  days.  Nearly  everyone  ate 
it,  however,  few  would  acknowledge  it.  Yet 
it  became  a  subject  of  humor  and  common  jest. 
One  of  the  early  missionaries  sent  out  by  the 
Presbyterians  into  Banner  county,  complained 
to  his  hosts  that  he  was  tired  of  Bay  State 
Beef,  and  hungry  for  chicken. 

On  one  occasion,  I  was  coming  through  the 
Wildcat  Range  on  my  way  to  Gering,  and 
stopped  at  a  settler's  place  near  Rifle  Gap,  for 
the  night.  The  man  of  the  place  and  I  were 
talking  when  a  roly  poly  boy  came  to  his 
father's  knee.  The  father  fondly  patted  his 
round  form,  and  said :  "My  son,  what  makes 
you  so  fat?"  The  little  imp  looked  up  and 
grinned  as  he  answered:  "Bay  State  Beef." 
The  father  laughed,  and  I  joined,  being  quite 
sure  the  boy  had  told  the  truth. 

In  the  winter  of  1887-88,  and  also  the  win- 
ter following,  small  herds  drifted  across  the 
state  line  of  Wyoming,  in  the  storms  when 
the  "line  riders"  could  not  carefully  guard 
the  entire  distance.  These  cattle  seldom  re- 
turned. The  men  who  were  sent  after  them 
would  see  hanging  to  ridge  logs,  or  on  the 
corners  of  houses,  nice  fresh  quarters  of  beef, 
and  in  hidden  places  they  might  find  the  waste 
materials  of  slaughtered  cattle. 

In  the  winter  of  1885-86,  I  was  working 
for  Hall  &  Evans,  whose  ranch  was  estab- 
lished in  1871  on  White  Horse  Creek,  about 
two  miles  northeast  of  North  Platte.  They 
had  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  head  of  cattle, 
and  forty  or  fifty  horses.  They  put  up  sev- 
eral hundred  tons  of  hay  along  the  river  bot- 
toms, and  they  milked  from  thirty  to  fifty 
cows. 

Mr.  Evans  was  in  the  County  Clerk's  office 
at  North  Platte,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall,  whose 
only  daughter  was  Mrs.  Evans,  lived  upon  the 
ranch.  They  made  butter,  and  kept  several 
hundred  hens,  and  had  private  customers  for 
the  product. 

Prior  to  their  settlement  upon  this  acreage, 
which  was  about  1867,  Major  L.  Walker  own- 
ed   the   place    and   the   LW  brand.      His   one 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


125 


thousand  to  two  thousand  cattle  ranged  the 
sand  hills  northward,  and  along  White  Horse 
Creek  and  the  North  Platte  river.  Settlement 
had  begun  to  make  a  change  at  the  time  I  was 
there.  In  fact,  the  spring  following  there  was 
almost  a  ceaseless  caravan  of  covered  wagons 
moving  on  into  the  west.  I  wondered  that  it 
could  hold  so  many,  and  yet  leave  any  land  un- 
occupied. 

"Grandpa"  and  "Grandma"  Hall  are  gone 
to  their  rewards,  both  being  devout  Methodists. 
John  E.  Evans,  his  wife,  and  son  Everett,  are 
still  at  North  Platte,  and  John  E.,  as  usual, 
is  doing  official  duty. 

He  served  in  the  legislature  at  the  time  Mill- 
ard and  Diederick  were  elected  United  States 
senators,  after  the  all  winter  deadlock.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  D.  E.  Thompson  of  Lin- 
coln desired  one  of  the  places,  and  his  rail- 
road influences  were  hard  at  work.     Tohn  £. 


Evans  was  one  of  the  "Lily  White"  Republi- 
cans that  refused  to  be  led  into  the  railroad 
camp.  And  for  that  little  band  of  courageous 
Republicans,  withstanding  the  castigation  of 
the  party  whip,  there  will  be  some  day  a  suit- 
able testimonial  in  the  hall  of  fame.  There 
will  come  a  time  when  the  descendants  of  such 
people  will  be  proud  of  their  ancestry,  as  the 
world  will  be  proud  of  its  truly  great  and  cour- 
ageous men. 

Let  us  give  a  word  of  credit  to  a  living  wom- 
an, Mrs.  W.  C.  Ritner,  now  living  at  North 
Platte,  (1919)  for  her  faith  in  the  dairy  of 
western  Nebraska.  This  resource  is  yet  in  its 
infancy,  but  thirty-five  years  ago,  Mrs.  Helen 
Randall,  widow  of  Ex-Governor  Randall,  now 
Mrs.  Ritner,  had  about  five  hundred  head  of 
cattle,  principally  dairy  stock,  upon  her  ranch, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  North  Platte  river, 
between  White  Horse  creek  and  the  Birdwood. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

BIG  RANCHES  ROUND  ABOUT  — FIRST  DRY  FARMING  AT  BIG  SPRINGS  — 

OTHER  RANCHES  ON  LODGEPOLE  — NEWMAN  LEADS  THE  TURKS  — 

THROUGH  "JERUSALEM"  — WALRATH,  FROM  OX  TEAM 

TO  AEROPLANE 


One  of  the  peerless  cowmen  of  early  years 
was  David  Rankin.  Years  ago  he  ran  his  ten 
thousand  cattle  on  North  and  Middle  Loup 
rivers,  and  at  Seneca,  in  the  midst  of  the  ma- 
jestic Sand  Hills,  he  had  his  home  ranch  and 
range.     His  brands  were  Bar-7  and  others. 

This  is  a  little  out  of  the  territory  covered 
by  my  narrative,  but  so  is  Bent  &  Evans,  later 
Nichols  &  Son,  of  the  96  brands,  who  ranged 
their  six  thousand  cattle  east  of  Fort  McPher- 
son  and  west  of  Plum  Creek,  and  so  is  Biff's 
F  L  ranch  on  the  South  Platte  river,  where  the 
pony  express  rider,  Jim  Moore,  met  his  death. 
Iliff  was  called  the  Cattle  King  in  his  time. 
Burke  Brothers,  with  the  flat  iron  brand  on 
three  or  four  thousand  cattle  between  North 
Platte  and  Fort  McPherson,  were  not  in  the 


Panhandle ;  nor  was  C.  W.  Wright,  now  to 
be  found  about  the  Denver  Club,  who  ranged 
his  two  or  three  thousand  cattle  branded  D  D 
on  Brigadier  creek,  Bad  Water  and  Poison 
Spider  in  Wyoming.  All  of  these  had  scat- 
tering cattle  in  western  Nebraska  and  they  had 
representatives  with  the  annual  roundup,  to 
accumulate  these  and  return  them  to  their 
own  respective  ranges. 

One  of  the  big  ranches  on  the  South  Platte 
country,  located  at  Big  Springs,  in  the  pres- 
ent borders  of  Deuel  county,  was  Shiedley 
Brothers  &  Company,  with  its  O  S  O  brands, 
and  its  ten  thousand  cattle.  This  firm  had 
Kansas  City  offices,  and  supplied  many  of 
the  smaller  concerns,  people  with  five  hundred 
to  two  thousand  head,  with  cattle  or  finance. 


126 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


There  came  the  time  when  W.  A.  Paxton 
quit  "wacking  bulls"  and  went  into  the  cow 
business.  He  located  at  Keystone  with  the 
Keystone  brand.  Later  he  organized  the  big 
Ogallala  Company  that  amalgamated  several  of 
the  largest  herds  on  the  range.  What  the  Bay 
State  accomplished  at  Kimball  and  north,  and 
Tom  Swan  in  Wyoming,  the  Ogallala  com- 
pany did  at  Alkali,  now  Paxton,  Nebraska,  and 
north  and  west. 

This  company  put  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
cattle  into  the  business  at  the  home  ranch,  and 
then  bought  the  Shiedley  outfit  with  its  many 
thousands,  Sheedy's  Seven  U,  Boyd  Brothers' 
herd.  Sharp's  ranch,  the  Tusler  cattle,  and  sev- 
eral of  the  other  herds  of  five  hundred  to  two 
thousand. 

The  Shiedley  ranch  was  the  location  of  the 
first  dry  farming  in  that  part  of  Nebraska.  In 
1881,  Otto  Baumgarten  went  out  on  an  island 
in  the  South  Platte,  and  plowed  some  ground, 
and  planted  a  diversity  of  crops,  mostly  garden 
stuff.  His  success  was  a  surprise  and  revela- 
tion to  the  cowmen,  who  had  no  idea  that 
anything  would  grow  without  irrigation  in  this 
semi-arid,  or  as  then  called  "arid"  west.  Even 
after  this  demonstration,  the  ranchmen  did  not 
take  to  farming,  but  left  that  achievement  for 
other  times  and  other  people.  Nor  was  garden- 
ing undertaken.  Everything  was  purchased, 
even  to  butter,  although  the  ranch  might  have 
ten  thousand  cows. 

West  of  Sidney  on  the  Lodgepole  were  sev- 
eral ranches  as  early  as  1874.  John  M.  Adams 
and  H.  V.  Redington  were  among  the  first. 
Adams  and  Redington  had  organized  a  com- 
pany to  take  over  the  ranch  at  the  mouth  of 
"Lorren's"  fork.  Sidney  was  the  accessible 
trading  point,  and  there  was  more  or  less  social 
life  there  on  account  of  the  fort.  It  was  de- 
termined that  a  ranch  nearer  Sidney  would  also 
have  its  advantages,  especially  at  shipping  time. 
Cattle  could  be  moved  to  the  railroad  and  al- 
lowed to  rest  on  the  fine  pasturage  and  hay 
meadows,  then  shipped  with  little  or  no  shrink- 
age. The  best  available  spot  for  the  use  of 
Adams  &  Redington  was  found  near  the  pres- 
ert  site  of  Potter.  This  ranch  is  still  owned  by 
Adams,  who  also  has  a  southern  home  at 
Augusta,  Georgia,  called  "The  Hill."  The 
Adams  ranch  is  one  of  the  beauty  spots  along 
the  Lodgepole.  This  firm  ran  four  thousand 
to  six  thousand  cattle  and  their  principal  brand 
was  H-Bar. 

Just  below  their  Potter  location,  near  the 
station  of  Bronson,  Callahan  &  Mursheid  had 
a  ranch,  which  about  the  time  of  establishing 
the  Adams-Redington  ranch,  went  to  the  own- 
ership  nf  Thos.  Kane. 


Henry  Newman,  who  once  had  an  interest  in 
the  holdings  that  finally  came  under  the  master- 
hand  of  Reuben  Lisco,  located  in  1873  a  ranch 
near  the  present  site  of  Sunol.  The  structures 
were  all  of  discarded  railroad  ties  set  on  end, 
making  rude  but  comfortable  stockades. 

After  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific,  for 
many  years  there  were  parties  of  emigrants 
crossing  the  continental  divide  in  the  old  way. 
There  were  parties  of  different  nationalities 
occasionally,  and  one  time  forty  or  fifty  Turks 
were  making  their  way  up  the  Lodgepole  valley. 
True  to  their  faith  and  custom,  they  wore  the 
picturesque  costumes  of  their  native  land.  As 
they  neared  Newman  ranch,  Henry  was  out 
with  his  saddle  horse  to  see  what  was  coming. 

Noticing  that  the  Turks  were  a  bit  exercised 
at  his  approach,  he  thought  to  give  them  ample 
justice  for  the  apprehension.  He  discharged 
his  six  shooter  with  rapid  successive  shots, 
and  then  dropped  his  rope  over  the  man  who 
appeared  to  be  their  leader.  A  dozen  other 
Turks  ran  to  the  rescue,  and  grabbed  hold  of 
the  rope,  but  the  sturdy  bronco  had  turned 
about,  and  Newman  had  taken  a  hitch  around 
the  saddle  horn.  They  started  moving  steadily 
along  with  the  Turks  tugging  vigorously  to 
stop  them  or  release  their  leader. 

Another  cowman  came  along  at  this  time 
and  hailed  Neuman. 

"What's  the  game,  old  timer?"  he  asked. 

"Nothing,"  answered  NeumanL  "only  I'm 
leading  these  d — d  Turks  through"  New  Jeru- 
salem." 

Having  had  his  little  escapade,  he  let  them 
proceed. 

Down  at  Big  Springs,  besides  the  Shiedley 
ranch,  were  the  Walraths,  whose  ranch  dates 
back  to  1873.  The  Walrath  ranch  was  owned 
by  A.  J.  and  Baggage  Walrath.  Their  herd 
was  a  comparatively  small  one  at  the  time, 
but  it  later  grew  to  large  proportions.  Bag- 
gage Walrath  has  gone  on,  to  the  Final  Round- 
up, but  A.  J.  still  lives  in  the  land  where  he 
has  seen  the  transition.  The  veteran  of  the 
plains  can  be  found  at  Julesburg,  and  has  a 
rich  fund  of  reminiscence. 

A.  J.  Walrath,  when  he  first  saw  the  South 
Platte  and  the  Lodgepole,  drove  an  ox  team. 
From  whacking  bulls  he  has  seen  the  coming 
of  the  mule  teams,  the  railroad,  the  automobile, 
truck  and  tractor,  and  recently  (1919)  there 
passed  overhead  thirty  flying-  machines  in  one 
dav.     This,  all  in  the  span  of  one  life. 

The  Stone  ranch,  with  its  six  thousand 
cattle  branded  C  on  the  left  hip.  quite  fully 
occupied  the  territory  east  of  Ogallala,  but 
Russell  Watts  built  a  ranch  near  there  which 
was    retained    as    headquarters,    although    his 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


127 


herds  of  three  or  four  thousand  cattle  were  to 
be  found  principally  on  Snake  Creek  and  the 
Niobrara,  where  the  brand  WW  on  the  left 
hip  and  side  were  held  during  the  summer 
seasons.  In  the  winter  he  brought  them  to  the 
ranges  nearer  to  the  home  ranch. 

Sparks  and  Timmon,  who  had  ten  or  twelve 
thousand  cattle  on  the  ranges  of  Gooseberry 
creek,  Nevada,  maintained  offices  at  Cheyenne, 
and  part  of  the  time  had  cattle  on  the  same 
range  occupied  by  Watts,  in  Nebraska,  on 
the  Running  water  and  Snake  creek.  Their 
herds  used  to  mingle  in  the  early  days,  but 
the  territory  was  later  left  to  others.  The  Hart 
ranch  had  occupied  the  Snake  creek  country, 
and  as  conditions  were  changing,  smaller  herds 
began  to  come,  and  ranches  of  only  a  few  hun- 
dred head  became  quite  common. 

On  Chadron  creek  and  White  river  the  Half- 
Diamond  E  owned  by  Price  &  Jenkins,  of 
Chadron,  was  one  of  the  well  known  early 
brands. 


J.  H.  Jewett,  who  owned  the  JHJ  brand, 
and  ranged  his  cattle  near  Sidney,  was  not  of 
the  very  oldest.  He  came  at  the  date  when 
the  big  ranches  were  passing  into  the  hands 
of  the  Bay  State,  Swan  and  Ogallala  concerns, 
and  smaller  ranches  were  sandwiching  in 
wherever  they  could  find  watering  places,  and 
a  little  hay  bottom. 

The  larger  concerns  had  visions  as  broad 
as  the  western  horizon,  but  the  smaller  men  had 
a  more  correct  interpretation  of  the  trend  of 
the  times.  Westward  the  tide  of  empire 
was  wending  and  it  soon  moved  into  western 
Nebraska,  driving  before  it  the  Big  Stampede. 
The  men  of  lesser  means  mingled  with  the 
grangers,  and  stuck  to  the  land.  Many  are 
still  to  be  found,  grizzled  pioneers,  and  the 
vanguard  of  the  present  land  of  activity  and 
progress. 


CHAPTER  NIN 

CREIGHTON  EXPANDS  — SNODGRASS  AND   McSHANE  — McINTOSH   FOUNDS 

"THE  CIRCLE  ARROW"  — SIMPSON    ORGANIZES    THE 

BAY  STATE    COMPANY 


Two  or  three  years  after  Creighton  located 
on  the  Laramie  Plains,  he  built  a  ranch  on 
Horse  creek.  It  was  in  1875  before  he  built  the 
"Pumpkin  Creek  Ranch,"  which  became  the 
home  ranch  of  the  Bay  State  Company. 
Creighton's  Point,  in  the  north  part  of  Banner 
county,  became  the  permanent  name  of  the 
outpost  of  Wildcat  Mountain. 

A  few  miles  down  the  Laramie  river  from 
Creighton's  ranch  on  the  Laramie  Plains,  John 
Bratt,  in  1867,  built  the  second  ranch  located  in 
Wyoming.  This  location  antedated  the  ac- 
tivities of  Bratt  at  North  Platte,  but  a  short 
time. 

The  Circle  Arrow  ranch,  which  is  on  Lodge- 
pole  creek  a  few  miles  east  of  Kimball,  was 
established  by  J.  J.  Mcintosh  in  1872.  Griffin 
&  Harken  bought  it  and  later  sold  it  to  John 
Sparks,  who  had  the  ranch  on  lower  Horse 
creek.  This  was  one  of  the  ranches  acquired 
by  the  Bay  State  Land  &  Cattle  Company. 

H.  H.  Robinson  was  manager  of  the  Bay 
State  when  I  came  into  the  west  and  he  lived 


at  Kimball,  which  was  the  new  name  of  An- 
telopeville. 

Johnny  Peters,  the  cowboys  called  him 
"Pete,"  found  his  first  work  in  western  Ne- 
braska, at  the  Circle  Arrow,  digging  a  cellar, 
the  autumn  of  1882.  Peters  and  "Big  Nose 
George"  (that  is  the  only  name  I  ever  heard 
for  him,)  were  at  work  shoveling  out  the  dirt. 
Peters  had  been  up  to  the  tie  camps  at  Medicine 
Bow,  and  his  muscles  wrere  hard  from  hewing 
ties,  but  "Big  Nose  George"  was  totally  unused 
to  work.  He  was  a  gambler  of  some  repute, 
but  had  had  a  streak  of  bad  luck,  which  his 
skill  could  not  overcome.  Being  on  his  uppers, 
he  had  to  do  something,  and  fell  in  with  Peters 
on  this  job.  His  lily  white  hands  were  a  mass 
of  cruel  blisters,  but  he  possessed  the  ability 
of  sticking  to  the  job. 

In  the  evenings  he  entertained  Johnny  with 
his  card  skill,  and  found  Peters  quite  an  adept 
pupil.  In  witness  whereof  ask  most  any  of 
the  old  boys  of  the  range  that  knew  him  during 
the  next  three  or  four  years. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Creighton's  Horse  Creek  ranch  was  just 
below  the  point  where  the  Pine  Bluffs  branch 
connects  with  the  creek.  This  branch  has  some 
springs  in  it,  and  is  partly  dry  most  of  the 
time.  He  had  here  the  Circle  Bar  brand  which 
was  later  converted  into  the  half  circle  block. 

The  J.  H.  D..  which  was  owned  by  Mead, 
Evans  &  Company,  was  twenty-five  miles  west 
of  Creighton's.  Billy  Likens  was  once  the 
foreman.  Likens,  after  serving  a  term  as  sher- 
iff of  Laramie  county,  became  the  cattle  de- 
tective of  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Associa- 
tion. He  had  many  nervy  and  dare-devil  ex- 
periences. 

G.  W.  Simpson  came  out  from  Boston,  and 
organized  the  Bay  State  Land  &  Cattle  Com- 
pany in  1882,  and  he  was  its  president.  He 
managed  to  get  Evans  interested,  and  Evans 
held  the  startegic  real  estate  of  the  J.  H.  D. 
Simpson  bought  it  and  then  he  undertook  to 
make  terms  with  O.  W.  Mead,  the  senior  and 
remaining  principal  stockholder  of  the  old  con- 
cern. Mead  refused  to  capitulate.  He  moved 
the  cattle  farther  up  Horse  creek,  and  put 
the  Four  K  brand  upon  the  range.  In  1886 
he  sold  this  ranch  and  went  to  Nevada. 

"Four-K  Ed"  was  one  of  the  employees  of 
Mead  that  stayed  with  him,  and  finally  went 
to  the  newer  west  with  him.  He  was  a  wiry 
little  Irishman,  full  of  mother  wit,  and  with  a 
fondness  for  strong  drink,  which  one  can  hard- 
ly believe  of  an  Irishman. 

Count  John  A.  Creighton,  John  Snodgrass, 
and  John  A.  McShane  had  in  the  meantime  be- 
come the  owners  of  the  Circle  Arrow  at  Kim- 
ball. The  Bay  State  negotiated  with  them,  and 
acquired  this  valuable  ranch,  along  with  other 
Creighton  possessions.  The  sum  paid  was  said 
to  be  around  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
John  Snodgrass  was  made  general  manager. 

The  Bay  State  Company  bought  the  Circle 
Arrow  in  the  Spring  of  1883,  and  Creighton 
sold  to  the  Company  in  the  autumn  of  the 
same  year  his  entire  ranch  possessions,  includ- 
ing Pumpkin  creek,  Horse  creek,  and  Laramie 
Plains  ranches. 

In  1883,  the  Bay  State  Company  branded 
all  their  cattle  with  the  "Circle  Block,"  which 
correctly  speaking  is  only  a  "quarter  circle- 
block,"  and  that  remained  their  standard  brand 
until  they  drove  their  herds  into  the  northwest, 
four  or  five  years  later. 

John  A.  McShane  became  quite  active  on 
the  range  then,  but  he  was  something  of  a  ten- 
derfoot. 

When  a  big  herd  was  brought  in  from  Texas 
and  turned  loose  in  this  country,  it  was  neces- 
sary for  tin-  boys  to  herd  them  for  a  while,  until 
tiny  became  familiar  with  the  country.    So  two 


by  two  they  would  set  forth  in  the  mornings 
and  would  go  about  the  wild  herds  that  were 
inclined  to  run  their  foolish  legs  off,  to  hold 
them  in  check,  and  move  them  about  until  they 
became  familiar  with  the  springs  and  watering 
places. 

One  day,  as  the  earliest  of  the  men  were 
dropping  back  to  the  ranch  at  the  head  of 
Pumpkin  creek,  after  the  cattle  had  been  prop- 
erly rounded  in,  they  found  McShane  cooking 
dinner  for  several  lazy,  fat  buck  Indians. 
These  Indians  were  perfectly  harmless,  but 
McShane  did  not  know  it.  They  had  been 
visiting  somewhere  down  south  and  were  re- 
turning to  the  Red  Cloud  Agency  on  White 
river. 

They  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to 
throw  a  little  scare  into  people  as  they  went 
along.  At  the  Circle  Arrow  they  shot  off 
their  rifles  and  left  some  stones  lying  in  peculiar 
positions,  which  old  Bill  Gaw,  the  trapper, 
told  the  people  at  the  ranch,  were  "war  signs." 

They  were  not  without  a  sense  of  humor, 
and  when  they  found  John  A.  alone  at  the 
ranch,  and  observed  his  fear  of  them,  they 
made  "hunger  signs,"  and  McShane,  not  know- 
ing if  they  were  friendly  or  untamed,  had  set 
about  getting  them  a  good  dinner. 

McShane  later  went  to  Omaha,  where  he 
was  elected  to  Congress  in  a  race  with  Thos. 
J.  Majors,  Edward  Rosewater's  opposition  to 
Majors,  assisted  materially  in  the  result. 

This  little  event  on  Pumpkin  creek  did  not 
put  McShane  among  the  class  of  irrational 
cooks.  There  were  many  exceptions  to  that 
rule 

There  was  Muldoon,  the  best  cook  that 
ever  dipped  a  pail  of  water  from  the  creek. 
It  is  said  that  once  one  of  the  boys  of  Mul- 
doon's  outfit  had  an  aversion  to  rice.  Rice 
was  a  staple  food  on  the  roundup,  and  Mul- 
doon told  him  that  he  just  had  to  eat  it.  He 
came  in  hungry  one  night,  and  the  dinner  had 
a  pudding  that  met  nicely  his  taste.  He  said 
it  was  fine  and  asked  of  what  it  was  made. 

"It  is  made  of  that  rice  that  you  don't  like," 
answered  Muldoon. 

There  was  Jim  Raley,  the  beau  brummel  of 
all  the  countrywide.  Aside  from  being  an  ex- 
cellent cook,  Raley  was  one  of  the  best  look- 
ing fellows  on  the  range.  Large,  well  built, 
fine  dark  eyes  and  mustache.  He  was  a  good 
entertainer,  and  the  girls  all  liked  him,  and  he 
was  as  fine  as  they  thought  he  was,  which 
was  "going  some."  The  only  thing  the  boys 
had  against  Jim  was  that  he  could  almost  any 
time  he  wanted  to,  take  their  girls  away  from 
them. 

And  in  addition  to  McShane,  and  Muldoon 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


129 


and  Raley,  the  writer  officiated  over  the  pots  apples,  dried  currants,  rice,  and  occasionally  the 

and  kettles  once,  and  cannot  find  the  heart  to  luxury  of  prunes.    These  with  coffee.    A  cook 

say  that  it  was  not  a  first-class  profession,  es-  who  cannot  satisfy  a  hungry  man  with  varia- 

pecially  where  dominated  by  a  first-class  man.  lions  of  those  staples  of  diet,  was  not  a  cook 

Sore-finger    bread,    sow-bellv,    beans,    dried  for  a  cow  outfit. 


CHAPTER  XN 

EARLY   SUB-IRRIGATION  —  BAY  STATE  BUYS  COAD'S  NORTH  RIVER  RANCH 

—  J.  S.  ROBB,  FOREMAN  — MARY  ROSE'S  GRAVE  — THE  GROUT 

HOUSE  —  I-  H.  D.  RANCH  —  ROUND-UP  AT  CIRCLE 

ARROW  —  DEATH    OF  "SKY  PILOT"  AT 

PINE  BLUFFS 


While  Simpson  was  managing  the  affairs  at 
the  J.  H.  D.,  big  Jim  Boyd  and  Runey  Camp- 
bell were  working  at  the  ranch.  And  just  be- 
low the  ranch  house  in  the  creek  are  still  some 
rocks  that  were  piled  there  in  the  indifferent 
but  substantial  manner  of  lazy  cowboys,  to 
form  a  sort  of  a  dam  for  raising  the  water  level 
in  the  creek,  and  causing  it  to  percolate  back 
into  the  hay  bottoms  belonging  to  that  ranch. 
The  theory  of  sub-irrigation  was  here  promul- 
gated. 

The  spring  of  1884  witnessed  further  changes 
in  the  Bay  State  developments.  Three  quarters 
of  a  million  dollars  had  already  been  spent  in 
acquiring  Creighton's  and  other  ranch  possess- 
ions. Now  the  company  reached  over  to  the 
North  River  and  bought  out  the  Coads,  paying 
therefor  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  Bay  State  people  ran  over  fifteen 
thousand  cattle  by  actual  count,  although 
when  they  bought,  they  obtained  a  book  value 
of  about  twelve  thousand  from  Creighton's  and 
about  ten'thousand  from  Coads. 

Coads  had  a  nice  bunch  of  horses  that  went 
with  their  possessions,  and  as  the  Creighton 
horses  were  not  very  good,  the  co.wpunchers 
of  the  Bay  State  were  pleased  when  the  Coad 
horses  came  into  Bay  State  ownership. 

This  put  the  ranch  at  the  head  of  Pumpkin 
creek  about  the  center  of  operations,  and  it 
consequently  became  the  Home  ranch  of  (he 
company. 

The  new  organization  was  G.  W.  Simpson, 
of  Boston,  president  and  general  financier; 
John  A.  McShane.  of  Omaha,  was  interested, 
for  the  Omaha  people  had  taken  some  stock  in 
the  new  concern.  H.  H.  Robinson  now  (1919) 
living  in  Denver,  became  the  range  manager. 


John  Snodgrass  had  built  a  large  dwelling  on 
the  north  side  of  the  railroad  track,  east  of 
the  Pumpkin  Creek  Trail  at  Antelopeville. 
This  he  made  his  headquarters.  Kimball,  who 
was  one  of  the  big  eastern  investors,  spent  a 
great  deal  of  his  time  at  the  different  ranches 
of  the  company,  getting  in  touch  with  the 
business  first  hand.  It  was  in  his  honor  that 
the  Union  Pacific  and  the  post-office  depart- 
ment, changed  the  name  of  Antelopeville  to 
Kimball. 

J.  S.  Robb  had  been  here  at  an  earlier  date, 
but  he  had  gone  back  to  his  old  home  in  Uvalde 
county,  Texas,  and  served  a  term  as  sheriff 
there.  Returning  to  this  county  a  short  time 
before  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  Bay 
State,  he  had  been  put  in  charge  as  foreman 
on  the  Pumpkin  creek  ranch  by  Creighton. 

Johnny  Peters  was  sent  over  from  the  Circle 
Arrow  and  plied  his  skill  with  a  broad  ax, 
hewing  the  logs  that  were  builded  into  the 
one  and  one-half  story  log  house,  which  Robb 
used  for  a  dwelling  at  the  head  of  Pumpkin 
creek.  He  then  built  the  stone  spring  house, 
which  was  delightfully  cool,  there  being  a 
large  cold  spring  therein. 

Mrs.  Robb  was  not  much  in  love  with  the 
solitudes.  She  often  had  visiting  with  her,  one 
of  the  women  of  the  ranch  proprietors,  or  what 
she  really  enjoyed  more,  were  the  visits  of 
the  girls  that  were  just  then  beginning  to  come 
into  the  valley. 

In  the  summer  of  1S87.  Mary  Rose,  whose 
father  was  a  soldier  in  Sidney  and  whose  moth- 
er was  dead,  came  out  to  visit  the  Livingstons, 
who  had  cared  for  her  during  her  childhood, 
and  were  like  parents  to  her.  Livingston's 
grout    house    stood    about    six    miles    east    of 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Wildcat  mountain  and  in  addition  contained  a 
postoffice,  and  was  quite  a  place  of  social  en- 
joyment. In  1888,  while  Alary  Rose  was  up 
at  the  head  of  the  creek  visiting  Mrs.  Robb 
she  was  taken  ill.  and  a  little  later  died.  She 
was  buried  at  Livingston.  The  grout  dwelling 
is  now  crumled  into  dust,  and  in  a  neglected 
wire  enclosure,  overgrown  with  weeds,  sweet 
clover  and  wild  roses,  there  is  now  the  little 
mound  where  one  of  the  charming  "first  girls" 
was  laid  to  rest. 

"Wild  roses  grow  on  Mary  Rose's  grave." 

Robb  had  one  of  the  best  memories,  and  if 
one  could  get  him  started  on  reminiscence,  he 
could  string  out  interesting  stories  by  the  hour, 
and  his  experiences  would  fill  a  book. 

Before  Runey  Campbell  knew  that  Robb 
was  a  foreman,  he  and  J.  S.  fell  in  together, 
and  were  traveling  up  the  Horse  creek  country 
going  to  the  J.  H.  D.  ranch.  At  this  branch 
there  was  a  queer  old  pair  of  people,  such  as 
sometimes  drift  into  out-of-the-way-places  and 
stick. 

Jule  Kransky  was  a  weazened  old  Dutchman 
who  would  not  weigh  over  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pounds,  and  his  wife,  just  as 
shrivelled,  and  dried  up,  would  weigh  about 
ninety.  Runey  told  Robb  he  would  introduce 
him  as  belonging  to  Creighton's.  and  he  added, 
"maybe  the  old  cuss  will  treat  us  half-way 
civil."  Kransky  evidently  believed  him  one 
of  the  high  officials,  for  'he  killed  a  chicken 
and  gave  them  a  fine  dinner. 

Jule  and  his  wife  talked  in  high  squeeky 
voices,  and  they  often  had  altercations  and 
sometimes  these  developed  into  fights.  In  the 
latter,  however.  Mrs.  Kranskv  was  no  match 
for  her  formidable  husband,  but  she  could  run 
the  faster,  so  the  bouts  usually  ended  in  a  foot 
race. 

Once,  however,  when  she  was  racing  ahead 
of  him  around  the  house,  crying  back  in  her 
shrill  staccato  accents:  "Jule,  Jule,  Jule,"  he 
gave  up  the  chase.  She  kept  on  running  still 
thinking  he  was  in  pursuit.  As  she  rounded 
a  corner  of  the  house  she  met  him  face  to 
face  and  it  was  too  late  to  escape.  That  time 
he  caught  her  and  gave  her  the  whipping  which 
he  thought  she  needed.  Perhaps  it  was  from 
that  event,  came  the  old  saying:  "I  whipped 
a  woman  once  fifty  years  old,  and  I  believe 
T  could  have  whipped  her  had  she  been  a  hun- 
dred." 

Below  the  Circle  Arrow  at  Kimball  was  one 
of  the  bivouacing  places  of  the  roundup.  It 
was  on  the  hank  of  the  Lodgepole.  below  the 
lower  ranch  fence.  Here  the  outfits  always 
paused  in  passing,  and  from  here  the  boys 
could  go  t<>    \.ntelopeville  fur  recreation.    One 


time,  they  left  at  the  camp  a  big  bully  of  a 
Dutch  butcher  who  was  acting  in  the  capacity 
of  cook  and  a  young  fat  kid  about  seventeen  or 
eighteen  years  old. 

Almost  invariably  there  is  a  kid  on  the 
round-up,  or  with  the  trail  wagon,  or,  for  that 
matter,  anywhere  else  in  the  early  west,  and 
he  is  usually  the  object  of  a  great  many  rough 
jokes  and  ill-temper.  This  kid,  being  fat,  was 
no  exception. 

On  this  occasion,  as  the  boys  returned,  singly 
or  in  pairs,  at  eventide,  they  found  the  kid 
strutting  about  the  camp  in  high  feather.  He 
told  them  that  he  had  been  boss  for  the  day. 
It  appeared  that  the  bully  had  begun  to  work 
off  his  ugly  feelings,  by  abusing  the  kid,  final- 
ly daring  him  to  fight,  and  offering  to  let 
him  tie  his  hands  behind  him,  and  start  in. 
The  kid  did  tie  his  hands  securely,  and  then 
jumping  on  his  horse  he  threw  a  rope  over 
the  cook,  and  dragged  him  into  the  creek, 
and  up  and  down  the  creek  a  number  of  times, 
nearly  drowning  him.  Finally  he  had  cried 
enough,  and  the  kid  untied  him.  after  which 
he  was  going  to  give  the  boy  a  thrashing,  but 
the  boy  "threw  down"  on  him.  made  him  throw 
up  his  hands,  and  promise  to  be  good.  For 
the  day  the  fat  boy  had  ruled  the  camp  with  an 
iron  hand. 

Here  is  was  that  Buddy  Crocket,  Al  Harris, 
Ad  Carthage,  Al  Stringfellow,  Jimmy  Tate, 
Johnny  Frantz,  E.  L.  Harrison,  Henry- 
Heard,  and  a  host  of  the  other  old  time  boys 
of  the  range  used  to  camp,  and  go  to  Ante- 
lopeville  for  their  pay  checks  and  a  good  time. 
One  night  there  had  been  quite  a  storm  and 
the  boys  were  returning  to  the  outfit,  where  a 
number  had  remained.  As  they  approached 
they  observed  the  big  tent  was  lying  flat,  and 
there  was  no  one  stirring  about  it.  They  dis- 
mounted and  proceeded  to  put  the  tent  up, 
when  they  discovered  under  it  a  number  of  men 
who  were  asleep. 

It  occurred  that  the  wind  had  blown  it  down, 
and  the  boys  finding  by  calling  to  one  another 
that  no  one  was  hurt,  and  being  sleepy  and 
perfectly'  dry  and  comfortable,  they  went  on 
with  their  slumber  without  putting  up  the  tent. 

The  Tracy  ranch  was  one  of  the  early  places 
acquired  by  the  Bay  State.  The  brand  was  the 
T  F  Circle,  and  the  location  near  Pine  Bluffs. 
The  old  trails  used  to  lead  from  Pine  Bluffs 
northward  over  the  fine  tables  now  called  Gold- 
en Prairie,  and  down  the  branch  of  Horse 
creek  to  Creighton's  Horse  creek  ranch.  South- 
ward the  trails  led  to  Crow  creek  ranges  and 
beyond. 

Pine  Bluffs  was  not  a  large  town,  but  any 
sort  of  a  place  in  those  days  had  a  saloon,  and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


131 


someone  about  the  place  could  entertain  at 
poker. 

Sometimes  the  churches  of  the  east  would 
send  out  missionaries  who  would  endeavor  to 
turn  the  unregenerate  saddle  boys  into  the 
paths  of  duty.  But  those  paths  were  not  well 
defined,  although  the  boys  back  in  their  minds 
had  a  respect  for  the  teachings  of  their  moth- 
ers, many,  many  years  ago.  The  trail  of  the 
wicked  are  broad,  and  easy  to  follow  even  out 
on  the  wide  prairies. 

One  of  these  "sky  pilots"  landed  at  Pine 
Bluffs,  and  the  boys  rigged  up  the  hall  over 
the  saloon,  which  generally  served  as  a  place 
to  dance,  and  the  saloon  was  closed  for  an 
hour  or  two  that  all  might  hear  the  sermon. 
After  the  missionary  had  told  the  old,  old 
story,  and  sang  a  few  hymns,  they  again  went 
down  stairs.  There  seemed  few  ways  to  show 
the  hospitality  of  the  west,  and  one  of  the 
boys,  just  to  be  friendly,  asked  the  missionary 
to  join  with  others  at  the  bar. 

Everybody  lined  up,  and  ordered  their  pref- 
erence, expecting  the  man  of  cloth  might  ask 
for  a  soda.  Imagine  their  surprise  when  he 
ordered  Scotch.  This  was  the  beginning. 
Everybody  had  to  set  'em  up  and  every  time 
the  minister  took  his  strong  decoction. 

The  affair  turned  into  a  sort  of  an  orgy, 
and  one  of  the  boisterous  fellows,  old  Carthage, 
I   believe   it   was,   swapped  his   sombrero    for 


the  man's  plug  hat.  After  while  a  team  was 
hitched  up  and  the  preacher  loaded  with  a 
well  jagged  driver  to  make  the  trip  to  Ante- 
lopeville,  whe.re  he  was  next  due. 

In  the  night  he  drove  up  in  front  of  the 
Lynch  hotel,  and  observing  a  light  in  the  office 
called  to  men  there  to  come  out  and  help  him 
"unload  a  dead  man."  During  the  journey, 
the  preacher  had  slumped  over  against  the  driv- 
er, and  he  believed  him  to  be  in  a  drunken 
stupor.  He  called  him  a  dead  man  in  attempted 
jocular  manner,  but  imagine  his  surprise,  when 
they  came  out  and  carried  him  into  the  hotel, 
to  find  that  he  was  actually  dead. 

It  created  quite  a  sensation,  and  while  each 
of  them  felt  in  a  measure  guilty  of  wrong  do- 
ing, there  was  really  nothing  that  could  fix  any 
guilt,  or  even  guilt  on  any  of  them. 

Six  or  eight  months  later.  Carthage  was 
down  at  Sterling,  when  he  received  an  express 
package.  He  opened  it  and  it  was  the  plug  hat 
which  he  had  left  at  Pine  Bluffs.  When  he 
saw  what  it  was,  he  went  white,  and  several 
days  were  required  to  steady  his  nerves  to  nor- 
mal condition. 

The  event  served  to  sober  down  all  those 
present.  After  that  they  were  less  inclined 
to  "turn  themselves  loose,"  when  the  unexpect- 
ed happened.  Each  felt  the  message  :  "Am  I 
my  brother's  keeper."  with  new  force. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


PAXTON'S  OGALLALA  COMPANY  — HALL'S  FAMOUS  DRIVE  TO  PINE  RIDGE 
DICK  BEAN'S  DEATH  — GUN  MEN  AND  FRANTZ'S  COMICAL  EPISODE 


The  organization  of  the  Ogallala  Cattle 
Company,  was  contemporaneous  with  that 
of  the  Two-Bar  and  the  Bay  State,  and  while 
Alex  Swan  was  buying  the  big  herds  of  Wy- 
oming, and  G.  W.  Simpson,  at  Antelopeville, 
W.  A.  Paxton  was  buying  those  from  Sidney 
to  Ogallala.  Among  his  lieutenants  in  Ne- 
braska were  Eugene  A.  Hall,  Mac.  Radcliffe, 
and  Dick  Bean. 

Paxton's  Keystone  ranch  was  the  first,  and 
the  nucleus  of  the  Ogallala  company's  hold- 
ings. Shortly  after  the  Shiedley  ranches  were 
acquired,  and  then  began  negotiations  for  the 
much  desired  Bosler  herds ;  George  Bosler,  the 
leading  spirit   in  that  organization  knew  that 


the  brothers'  many  cattle  had  suffered  less  loss 
during  the  preceding  winters,  and  that  there 
was  a  large  number  of  marketable  steers.  Pax- 
ton  knew  this  also,  but  was  not  able  .o  make  a 
satisfactory  offer  to  the  Boslers. 

He  then  took  up  negotiations  with  Dennis 
Sheedy,  who  had  bought  the  Seven-U  from 
Powers  Brothers  a  few  years  before.  Mr. 
Sheedy's  books  showed  that  he  had  thirty-five 
thousand  cattle,  but  the  Ogallala  boys  had  been 
over  the  range  and  had  found  large  quantities 
of  dead  cattle  of  that  brand.  'Gene  Hall  esti- 
mated the  survivors  at  not  to  exceed  one-half 
of  the  book  number.  Paxton  made  two  offers 
on  this  basis :  one  at  twenty-eight  dollars  per 


132 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


head  on  actual  count,  or  about  half  that  amount 
if  accepted  on  book  account. 

Jerry  Drummer  had  been  foreman  of  the 
Seven-U  for  about  twelve  years,  and  he  ad- 
vised Sheedy  to  take  the  offer  of  twenty-eight 
dollars  per  head.  Hall,  with  ten  expert  cow- 
men, besides  the  wagon  men,  was  detailed  to 
receive,  and  to  prevent  any  possible  errors  in 
count,  each  animal  received,  was  to  be  branded 
"S".  Paxton  evidently  believed  that  an  ef- 
fort would  be  made  to  swamp  the  receiving 
outfit,  and  confuse  the  count ;  perhaps  expect- 
ing that  a  number  would  get  away,  and  be 
rushed  through  the  counting  chutes  the  second 
time.  To  prevent  any  such  complication,  he 
sent  two  other  outfits  of  equal  dimension,  un- 
der Radcliffe  and  Bean,  to  assist. 

On  the  first  day  of  August,  1884,  six  thou- 
sand cattle  were  rounded  up  out  of  Nine  Mile 
canyon,  now  in  Scotts  Bluff  county,  and  deliv- 
ered at  the  Seven-U  ranch.  The  thirty  men  had 
them  about  half  branded  with  the  receiving 
brand,  when  four  thousand  more  were  deliver- 
ed from  the  Winter  creek  round-up,  which  was 
a  few  miles  farther  up  the  rive.  The  cattle 
were  mostly  of  the  long-horn  Mexican  type. 

"Now,"  sand  'Gene,  "Mr.  Sheedy  has  shot 
his  wad."  And  so  it  proved.  About  five 
thousand  more  were  delivered  in  smaller 
bunches  that  fall,  and  about  five  hundred  the 
following  spring.  That  concluded  the  delivery. 
Had  Sheedy  accepted  Mr.  Paxton's  alternate 
offer,  he  would  have  been  ahead,  and  the  fact 
that  his  foreman,  Drummer,  had  wrongly  ad- 
vised, caused  some  friction  between  Sheedy 
and  Drummer  in  the  days  that  followed. 

George  Bosler  died  shortly  after  the  Seven-U 
transfer,  and  Paxton  in  1885  struck  a  deal 
with  the  other  brother  for  the  entire  Bosler 
outfit,  for  one  million  dollars.  The  3oslers 
had  ranches  on  the  Blue,  on  Brown  creek,  on 
Coldwater  and  Lost  creek.  It  was  a  great 
stroke  of  business  for  the  Ogallala,  for  big 
dividends  of  the  company  followed  the  ship- 
ment of  beef  cattle  the  three  following  years, 
and  these  beef  cattle  came  very  largely  from 
the  Bosler  herds.  Ten  thousand  beeves  were 
shipped  in  the  autumn  of  1885,  practically  all 
Bosler  cattle,  and  the  company  paid  seventeen 
per  cent,  dividends.  The  following  year  ten 
thousand  more,  principally  Bosler  steers,  went 
on  the  market,  and  another  big  dividend  was 
declared. 

'The  Jews,"  and  others  of  the  east  began  to 
take  notice  and  nibble  at  the  capital  stock  of 
the  Ogallala  company,  but  Paxton  held  them 
off.  The  big  storm  of  the  spring  of  1886, 
destroyed  many  thousand  cattle,  and  drove 
Swan   and   his  Two-Bar  outfit  on  the   rocks, 


and  John  Clay  took  the  helm.  But  Paxton's 
outfit  was  stronger,  and  weathered  the  storm 
with  little  loss.  The  big  shipment  of  1886, 
were  followed  by  shipments  in  1887  that  ex- 
ceeded all  expectations  and  drove  investors 
towards  the  Ogallala  company,  clammering  for 
a  chance  to  invest  in  the  capital  stock.  Seven- 
teen thousand  beeves  were  shipped,  and  of 
those  about  ten  thousand  came  from  the  Bosler 
herds. 

The  granger  settlements  made  it  advisable 
to  move  the  remainder  of  the  cattle  to  Wyom- 
ing, and  the  home  ranch  was  to  be  on  Little 
Wind  river,  about  sixty-five  miles  northwest 
of  Fort  Fetterman,  or  Douglas.  Paxton  had 
bought  the  Boyd  herds  which  were  on  the 
lower  North  river,  and  in  all  he  had  about 
probably  fifteen  thousand  head  to  move,  be- 
sides several  thousand  calves.  One  of  the 
Boyds  (James  E.)  later  became  governor. 
Boyds  sold  to  the  Ogallala  company  about  three 
thousand  cattle. 

Herds  were  divided  into  four  lots,  and 
'Gene  Hall  broke  the  trail  with  thirty-six  hun- 
dred cattle  and  one  thousand  calves.  One  of 
the  other  herds  was  under  Bill  Hanger,  and 
another  was  in   charge  of  Bud  Chambers. 

On  August  first,  Hall  started  from  Camp 
Lake,  which  is  the  present  site  of  the  Hall  & 
Graham  ranch,  in  south  Box  Butte  county. 

1888,  being  the  tenth  years  for  Hall  upon  the 
range,  he  determined  that  it  should  be  his  last, 
except  in  business  for  himself.  W.  C.  Irvine 
had  been  made  general  manager  for  the  Ogal- 
lala company,  and  the  company  was  passing  in- 
to the  hands  of  new  people.  Irvine  had  ideas 
of  economy  that  meant  reduced  wages,  and 
one  was  to  cut  'Gene's  salary  from  one  hundred 
dollars  to  seventy-five  dollars  per  month. 
'Gene  said  "nothing  doing,"  so  he  remained 
out  the .  season  at  the  old  figure,  for  Paxton 
had  told  Irvine  that  he  had  better  keep  him  at 
that.  Knowing  that  Hall  intended  to  quit  at 
the  end  of  the  season,  he  thought  he  would 
give  him  a  job  that  would  break  his  headiness, 
and  keep  him  on  the  range,  for  he  was  a  good 
cowman. 

Fie  gave  him  three  thousand  and  thirty 
steers  by  actual  count  for  delivery  at  the  Rose- 
bud agency.  The  trip  was  a  trying  one,  over 
a  dry  country,  but  it  was  made  so  carefully 
that  it  ended  with  a  full  count,  and  all  in  good 
condition.  The  feat  caused  considerable  fa- 
vorable comment  at  the  time. 

The  habit  of  the  steer  is  to  get  lonesome, 
or  homesick  for  the  native  range,  and  once  in 
a  while  after  bedding  down  at  night,  a  single 
steer  will  get  up  and  start  back  along  the 
trail  in  the  darkness.    When  perhaps  a  hundred 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


133 


feet  away  from  the  herd,  he  will  begin  a  low 
moo,  or  call;  and  sometimes  another,  or  sev- 
eral others  will  get  up  and  follow.  In  the 
morning,  a  few  out  of  a  herd  of  thousands 
are  seldom  missed. 

To  avoid  this  loss,  after  the  cattle  were 
bedded  down  and  the  boys  had  turned  in,  Hall 
would  go  back  along  the  trail  three  or  four 
hundred  yards,  and  tethering  his  broncho  to 
his  wrist,  would  crawl  into  his  tarpaulin.  The 
lowing  of  a  straying  steer  never  failed  to  awak- 
en him,  and  he  would  rise  and  turn  it  back  into 
the  herd.  Eight  or  ten  other  steers  were  picked 
up  along  the  way,  and  they  made  up  any  loss 
that  did  occur,  for  in  spite  of  the  best  of 
care,  occasionally  one  will  drop  by  the  wayside. 

Hall's  old  partner,  Bean,  had  rounded  up  a 
smaller  bunch  on  the  North  river,  and  had 
driven  them  from  Camp  Clarke  to  the  Rose- 
bud, and  he  was  there  when  Hall  arrived. 

Mort  Eberly,  who  was  Hall's  right  hand 
man  on  the  trip,  later  became  inspector  for 
the  Wyoming  Stock  Association,  and  was  sta- 
tioned at  Sheridan,  from  which  place,  in  1893, 
he  went  "the  long  trail." 

William  A.  Paxton,  whose  family  is  now 
extinct,  stood  pre-eminent  among  Cattle  Kings 
of  all  the  early  years.  He  would  stand  by  his 
friends,  even  though  it  entailed  personal  losses 
through  their  weakness.  He  was  unfaltering 
in  fidelity.  In  some  ways  he  was  most  diffi- 
dent. I  once  witnessed  a  meeting  between 
the  Cow-premier  and  Roosevelt.  Paxton  was 
timid,  and  appeared  ill  at  ease  in  the  presence 
of  Theodore,  evidently  looking  up  at  the  po- 
sition of  President,  and  had  a  consciousness  of 
his  own  inferior  position.  Yet,  I  am  sure  there 
are  others  who  join  with  me  in  the  thought 
that  in  many  ways  Paxton  was  the  greater  of 
the  two.  And  that  takes  nothing  from  the 
glory  of  Teddy  Roosevelt. 

Among  Paxton's  "pets"  was  John  String- 
fellow,  who  went  to  work  for  him  on  the 
Keystone  ranch  in  1873.  He  had  met  him  the 
year  before,  but  went  back  to  Texas,  only  to 
return  the  following  year,  to  hunt  up  and  seek 
employment  of  "the  man  with  the  big  black 
whiskers." 

Stringfellow  drank  furiously  on  occasion, 
and  played  Monte  whenever  he  could  find  a 
game.  This  kept  him  indebted  to  Paxton,  who 
several  times  wiped  out  a  score  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars  debt,  just  because  John  was  a 
good  cowman,  and  sometimes  went  to  pieces 
when  he  contemplated  the  amount  that  he 
owed.  Old  cowmen  and  associates  said  that 
he  was  "a  whirlwind  of  hell,  when  drunk," 
whatever  that  may  mean. 

Paxton  once  promised  him  a  hundred  steers 


if  he  would  remain  sober  for  one  year.  He 
held  out  from  September  until  the  following 
July,  when  a  visit  to  Ogallala,  and  the  meet- 
ing of  some  old  friends,  ended  in  a  spree  of 
unusual  dimension'. 

John  was  a  brother  of  Al  Stringfellow,  who 
was  with  the  late  Bay  State  round-ups  in  west- 
ern Nebraska.  Al  was  the  fellow  who,  with 
Bill  Kelly,  at  the  wedding  of  Ed.  A.  Boots 
and  "Dude"  Wright  on  Pumkin  creek,  were 
found  in  the  grey  dawn  playing  "andy  over" 
the  hay  stack  with  their  six-shooters. 

Dick  Bean  was  another  of  Paxton's  "favor- 
ites," who  while  one  of  the  finest  fellows  on 
the  range,  and  one  of  the  best  cowmen  in  the 
Ogallala  outfits,  also  had  a  weakness  for  strong 
drink.  Bean  could  single  out  a  steer  and  drive 
it  through  fire  and  water,  and  he  could  stick 
to  the  back  of  a  horse,  but  he  could  not  drive 
a  team.  It  would  always  ramble  about  at  will. 
Most  of  the  teams  were  gentle  cow-ponies 
broken  to  harness,  and  they  would  rather  take 
to  the  prairies  than  follow  the  road.  This  in- 
ability to  drive  caused  his  death  in  1894  under 
a  load  o+  lumber,  which  he  was  hauling  to 
the  North  river  to  build  a  house  for  himself 
and  wife  on  a  small  ranch  that  he  had  picked 
out  for  their  future  home. 

Charles  Stepp  had  a  little  affair  with  Bean 
that  illustrates  his  peculiar  characteristics. 
Stepp  had  charge  of  a  bunch  of  cattle  that 
had  to  cross  the  river  a  little  below  Camp 
Clarke  and  Bean  was  to  assist.  The  river  was 
high,  and  the  cattle  turned  down  stream  when 
they  reached  the  deep  water,  and  commenced 
to  swim.  Bean  was  looking  after  the  lead 
cattle  to  keep  them  from  turning  about,  and 
start  a  mid-stream  mill  —  or  circling  move- 
ment. Stepp  became  excited,  and  shouted  to 
Bean  to  head  them  off  and  turn  them  to  the 
other  shore.  Bean  was  a  better  cowman  than 
Stepp,  and  shouting  directions  in  a  cow  out- 
fit, is  a  violation  of  the  ethics  of  the  range. 
Bean  was  tempted  to  pull  in  shore,  and  let 
them  go  as  they  willed,  but  they  were  Ogal- 
lala cattle,  and  he  was  working  for  the  Ogal- 
lala Cattle  Company. 

He  swam  his  horse  beside  the  lead  steers 
for  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  down  the 
stream,  in  order  to  let  Stepp  do  some  worrying, 
and  then  turned  his  horse  close  to  the  leaders, 
and  with  his  hand  slapped  a  little  water  on  the 
side  of  their  heads  nearest  to  him.  They  were 
turned  easily,  and  quietly,  and  swam  straight 
for  the  other  shore,  as  desired. 

Stepp  realized  that  he  had  made  a  bad  break, 
and  that  night  and  for  several  days,  he  tried 
to  show  favoritism  for  Bean,  but  he  was  too 
dignified  to  acknowledge  that  he  had  broken 


134 


HISTORY  OF   WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


cow-camp  ethics,  or  to  apologize.  Not  long 
thereafter,  Bean  quit  the  outfit  and  went  to 
Cheyenne.  Paxton  heard  of  his  departure,  and 
also  heard  of  the  episode. 

"Charlie,"  he  said,  "you  done  it.  Now,  you 
go  to  Cheyenne  and  bring  him  back.  Do 
whatever  is  necessary  to  bring  him  back.   See  ?" 

Stepp  evidently  "observed,"  for  he  went  to 
Cheyenne,  and  Bean  came  back  with  him,  and 
they  were  apparently  the  best  of  friends.  The 
stockmen's  convention  was  on  at  that  time ; 
the  Hart  outfit  had  found  Bean  unattached, 
and  had  hired  him,  but  Stepp  had  done  "what 
was  necessary"  to  secure  his  release. 

A  short  time  before  Bean's  marriage,  'Gene 
Hall  went  to  Ogallala,  where  he  found  Bean, 
with  John  Hewitt,  Charlie  Gifford  and  Jim 
McMahon  in  a  high  state  of  hilarity.  They 
were  wearing  long  linen  dusters  and  straw 
hats,  as  burlesque  new-comers.  Bean  went 
over  to  the  store,  and  soon  returned  with  a 
straw  hat,  and  dragging  a  new  linen  duster  by 
the  sleeve.  They  insisted  that  'Gene  join  them 
in  the  celebration,  but  Hall  said  the  country 
was  settling  up  with  civilized  folks,  and  that 
he  did  not  aprove  of  the  "rough  stuff"  they 
were  pulling  off,  and  that  he  told  them  as  much. 
Which  little  lecture  on  proper  etiquette  was 
received  with  much  merriment  by  the  four  hi- 
larious men. 

In  the  Texas  Panhandle,  and  along  the  Texas 
trail  as  far  north  as  Dodge  City,  the  gun 
man  was  much  more  in  evidence,  than  in  the 
northern  ranges.  In  the  south  range  country, 
feuds  sprang  up  that  sometimes  wiped  out  an 
entire  outfit.  There  were  many  gun  fights, 
and  homicide  whenever  there  was  the  slightest 
provocation.  The  northern  ranches  tried  to 
evade  the  mistakes  of  the  fire-brand,  hair- 
trigger  south. 

If  a  sure-enough  bad  man  became  affiliated 
with  an  outfit,  he  was  the  first  one  to  be  let  out 
by  the  management.  Hunter  &  Evans  were 
not  so  vigilant  as  Shiedleys,  Daters,  Boslers, 
Coad,  Swan,  Creighton,  Paxton  and  many  oth- 
ers, in  keeping  out  the  undesirables,  but  all 
had  their  troubles. 

Floyd  Grey  was  a  "Bosler  terrier"  one  sea- 
son, but  was  let  out  at  its  close,  as  many  an- 
other was  let  out  for  the  same  reason.     Grey 


was  a  very  angry  man,  and  said  if  he  ever 
met  George  Bosler,  he  would  knock  his  teeth 
down  his  throat  with  his  six-shooter.  George 
died  a  short  time  after,  so  that  if  the  threat 
was  ever  put  into  execution,  it  was  on  Another 
Range. 

Occasionally  some  one  would  come  up  the 
trail  looking  for  the  man  who  had  killed  his 
friend.  Justification  for  killing  the  man,  would 
lay  in  the  fact  that  the  proposed  victim  had 
taken  unfair  advantage  of  the  friend  and  sent 
him  away  on  the  "long,  long  trail." 

In  some  of  the  worst  killing  towns,  it  be- 
came the  habit  of  the  authorities  to  disarm  the 
boys  that  went  on  a  spree.  Truly  that  took 
away  a  lot  of  the  fun,  but  it  lessened  the 
danger.  Not  that  the  boys  cared  to  avoid  the 
dangers,  but  the  Cattle-premiers  did  not  want 
to  lose  their  valuable  men. 

John  Frantz  was  one  of  the  boys  that  kept 
a  gun  just  for  the  fun  of  hearing  it  pop.  He 
was  not  a  bad  man,  and  had  no  homicidal 
traits  of  character.  One  day  he  arrived  off 
the  range  at  Kimball,  and  stopped  at  Ham 
Lilly's  front  street  livery  barn,  which  then  stood 
next  to  the  alley  at  the  rear  of  the  present 
Wheatgrowers  hotel.  Between  the  barn  and 
the  corner  west,  was  Gassman's  grocery  store, 
and  the  few  who  could  play  horns,  had  gather- 
ed out  in  front  of  the  store,  practicing  as 
"the  Kimball  Cornet  Band."  Johnny  stepped 
into  the  alley  beside  the  livery-  stable,  and  espied 
a  big  sow,  peacefully  rooting  into  the  stable 
debris.  A  good  rider,  wiry,  and  quick  as  a 
cat,  Johnny  leaped  upon  the  back  of  the  sow, 
who  let  out  a  series  of  grunts  of  disapproval, 
and  plunged  out  of  the  alley,  scattering  the 
members  of  the  band,  as  Johnny  firing  his 
six-shooter  into  the  earth  or  sky,  rode  the 
frightened  hog  along  the  street.  Without  the 
gun,  this  escapade  would  have  lost  some  of  its 
joy  for  Johnny.  He  landed  safely,  "forked  end 
down,"  after  riding  the  protesting  animal  a  few 
rods  beyond  the  scattered  but  laughing  musi- 
cians. The  "practice"  was  off  for  the  night, 
but  Lew  Schaefer  did  a  thriving  business  in 
cove  oysters  that  evening,  and  Billy  Day  and 
Mike  Lynch  were  busy  in  their  place  of  busi- 
ness. When  Johnny  landed  in  town,  he  always 
"touched  it  off." 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRAi 


135 


CHAPTER  XXII 

A.  HALL  AND  ROBERT  GRAHAM'S  OLD  TIME  RANCH  —  OGALLALA    MEN 
AND  EVENTS  — INDIANS  GET  SOUTHERS  —  BARGAIN     SALES 
OF    RANCH    LOCATIONS  — HARPER'S  DEAL 


Gene  Hall,  the  foreman  of  the  Blue  River 
ranch,  was  but  a  kid  of  eighteen  years,  when  he 
"drove  drags,"  up  the  Texas  trail  in  1878. 
The  older  men  of  the  outfit  made  him  "eat 
dust,"  which  consisted  of  picking  up  the  strag- 
glers in  the  rear  of  the  herds. 

Young  as  lie  was,  'Gene  saw  the  great  grass 
ranges  of  western  Nebraska,  and  mentally  vow- 
ed to  come  back  some  day,  and  have  a  ranch 
of  his  own.  How  well  he  has  succeeded,  one 
can  see  by  a  visit  to  Camp  Lake,  where  Hall 
and  Graham  have  one  of  the  finest  ranches  and 
range  in  the  west.  It  is  modelled  after  the 
old  ranches ;  foreman's  or  main  ranch  dwell- 
ing, mess  house,  bunk  house,  and  stockade  cor- 
ral. A  little  of  the  "modern"  has  crept  in, 
birds  have  come  with  the  groves,  blue  grass 
and  clover  have  come  with  the  birds,  and  in 
this  age  of  concrete,  no  one  could  escape  a 
little  cement.  But  it  has  kept  "the  identity"  of 
the  ranches  of  forty  years  ago. 

In  the  spring  of  seventy-nine,  Hall  returned 
and  arrived  in  Sidney  "broke  flat."  He  stopped 
at  the  "Miner's  Hotel,"  which  was  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  block  in  which  you  will  now 
find  Hon.  W.  P.  Miles,  and  the  Hons.  Joseph 
and  Robert  Oberfelder.  three  of  the  old  timers 
of  Sidney.  In  the  days  of  the  middle  eighties 
this  block  contained  the  emporium  of  Mike 
Tobin  and  Harry  Winters,  and  the  Metropoli- 
tan held  the  position  on  Front  Street.  Nearly 
all  the  old  timers  stopped  at  the  Miner's  hotel 
in  1879,  and  the  landlord  took  'Gene  in  and 
let  him  stay  without  pay,  until  he  secured  work. 
Stopping  at  the  hotel  was  John  Graham,  with 
whom  Hall  visited  and  talked. 

Graham  had  drifted  up  the  trail  to  Ogallala 
a  year  or  two  before,  and  while  there,  two  of 
his  friends,  Billy  Brewdon  and  another  were 
killed  in  an  affair  with  four  other  fellows. 
The  four  were  said  to  be  a  rough  lot,  but  one 
of  them  was  Jack  Southers,  then  deputy  sheriff. 
The  others  were  Joe  Hughes,  Billy  Thompson 
and  Bill  Phebeus.  Billy  Thompson  had  the 
reputation  of  a  really  bad  man,  he  having  said 
to  have  killed  the  sheriff  of  Ellsworth,  Kansas, 
about  1873.  Phebeus  was  later  hung  by  vigil- 
antes at  Pueblo,  Colorado,  for  stealing  cattle. 

After  the  episode,  Graham  quit  the  range 
and  took  up  his  old  trade  of  blacksmithing  at 
Ogallala,  waiting  for  the  opportunity  to  pay 
them  back  in  their  own  coin.     He  wanted  to 


get  the  four  together  and  "clean  the  whole  out- 
fit" at  one  time.  Once  he  had  the  affair  almost 
in  hand,  when  Frank  King,  who  recently  died 
at  Broadwater,  and  who  was  then  an  officer 
of  the  law  at  Ogallala,  got  "a  whiff  of  the 
wind,"  and  took  Graham's  guns  away  from 
him. 

Graham  stayed  there  all  summer,  then  came 
to  Sidney,  for  the  four  were  now  drifted  their 
several  ways.  Graham  complained  bitterly, 
saying  it  "was  ad  —  d  shame  that  he  never 
got  satisfaction  for  the  murdering  of  his 
friends."  Graham  went  to  work  for  the  H- 
Three-Bar,  or  Hunter  &  Evans. 

The  deputy  sheriff  in  the  Ogallala  affair 
drifted  up  on  the  Niobrara  and  White  river 
ranges  also,  and  the  story  came  down  the  Sid- 
ney Trail  that  the  Indians  had  killed  him. 
Years  afterwards,  the  story  comes  out,  of  a 
meeting  between  Bill  Nagles.  of  Hunter  & 
Evans'  outfit,  and  E.  A.  Hall  of  the  Ogallala, 
which  took  place  on  Box  Butte  creek,  north  of 
Alliance.  Nagles  was  in  charge  of  a  bunch 
of  horses  when  they  met. 

"Get  down,  'Gene,  and  let's  visit,"  says  Bill. 
And  they  did,  sitting  cross-legged  on  the  prairie 
for  a  long  time.  Finally  the  conversation  turn- 
ed to  the  death  of   Southers,  and  Hall  said: 

"Billy,  do  you  reallv  think  the  Indians  killed 
him?"  ' 

Bill  looked  at  'Gene  in  apparently  owl-eyed 
astonishment,  but  each  had  sensed  the  other's 
though  without  the  words.  Then  Nagles 
said:  "I  could  put  my  hand  on  a  horse  in  this 
bunch  that  could  tell,  if  he  could  talk  :  and  John 
Graham  was  riding  that  horse  at  the  time 
Southers  was  killed." 

So  Graham  had  got  one  of  the  four,  the 
vigilantes  another,  and  of  the  other  two  there 
is  no  report.  Graham  was  later  shot  and  killed 
by  a  Missourian.  Bill  Nagles  a  little  later 
went  to  Oklahoma  and  accumulated  wealth, 
and  now  they  call  him  William  Nagles. 

This  unwritten  law  "to  get  the  man  who  gets 
your  friend"  is  responsible  for  one  ol  the 
graves  at  the  Seven-U.  When  Powers  Broth- 
ers were  still  at  the  helm,  in  1879.  two  Texans 
drew  their  pay  and  started  for  their  old  range, 
and  both  had  considerable  money.  The  mother 
of  one  of  them  lived  there.  A  week  or  two 
later  one  of  them  returned  and  said  that  he 
had  changed  his  mind,  and  came  back  to  work, 


136 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


but  that  his  pard,  the  one  whose  mother  was 
in  Texas,  had  "gone  on  down  the  trail.*' 

Shortly  afterwards  a  cow  outfit  was  coming 
north,  and  they  found  in  the  brush  along  the 
Frenchman,  the  body  of  a  dead  man.  There 
was  another  young  Texan  at  the  Seven-U  who 
heard  the  story,  and  made  some  inquiry  which 
satisfied  him  that  it  was  the  man  who  had  start- 
ed to  go  to  his  mother  in  Texas.  Subsequent 
correspondence  from  the  mother  said  that  her 
son  had  never  reached  home.  The  dead  man 
had  been  shot  and  robbed. 

One  day  the  Texan  who  had  returned,  said 
he  guessed  he  would  go  to  Camp  Clarke,  and 
the  young  man  said :  "I  guess  I'll  ride  along." 
Some  of  those  about  the  old  ranch  said  they 
felt  that  vibrant  tenseness  of  the  old  west, 
that  presaged  "an  event."  But  it  was  not  the 
policy  of  one  man  to  interfere  with  the  "affairs" 
of  another. 

The  young  man  came  back  alone,  and  they 
buried  the  Texan  with  his  boots  on  near  the 
old  ranch.  Thus  ended  another  matter  where 
one  fellow  looked  after  the  fellow  who  killed 
his  friend.  The  grief  of  the  mother  was  per- 
haps softened  by  the  thought  that  her  dead  boy, 
had  a  living  friend  of  such  purpose,  in  the  far 
North  Platte  valley. 

A  few  of  the  others  connected  with  the 
Ogallala  Company,  and  of  the  times  are  here 
briefly  referred  to : 

Frank  King,  who  recently  died  at  Broad- 
water, bought  the  Brown  Creek  ranch  of  the 
Ogallala  Company  after  they  took  their  cattle 
to  Wyoming.  He  paid  six  hundred  dollars 
for  the  land,  buildings  and  equipment  at  the 
place.  He  was  sheriff  of  Keith  county  at  one 
time. 

Tom  Fanning,  who  lives  near  Mitchell,  came 
from  Saint  Louis  in  1877,  and  went  to  work 
for  Paxton  &  Wier  on  the  Keystone  ranch, 
which  was  on  Clearwater  creek.'  Tom  Lawr- 
ence was  foreman.  He  was  afterwards  with 
Wier  at  Ogallala.  when  Wier  was  range  man- 
ager of  the  Ogallala  company,  which  he,  and 
Paxton  had  organized,  with  headquarters  in 
that  city. 

W.  A.  Paxton,  the  originator  of  the  com- 
pany, came  from  Missouri  in  1867.  He  there 
learned  the  art  of  "whacking  bulls."  He  had 
two  yoke  and  a  wooden  axle  sulky  plow  for 
breaking  sod.  It  had  a  larger  wheel  for  the 
furrow  side,  and  no  apparatus  for  levelling 
it  up  when  on  level  ground.  He  took  up 
freighting  on  arriving,  which  was  considerable 
of  an  enterprise  in  western  Nebraska,  even 
after  the  Union  Pacific  was  built. 

One    M.  R.  Jacket  and  Louis  Auftcngardner 


were  interested  in  the  cattle  company.  The 
latter  still  lives  at  Ogallala,  and  when  the 
herd  was  taken  to  the  northwest,  Jacket  parted 
with  his  interests,  and  located  a  ranch  in  Spring 
Canyon,  just  south  of  Lewellen,  where  I  be- 
lieve he  still  lives  (1919). 

Jacket's  men  captured  a  pair  of  young  buf- 
falo over  on  the  Stinking  water,  in  the  south 
part  of  Keith  county,  now  Perkins  county,  in 
1885.  He  kept  them  with  his  herd  until  1891, 
when  he  sold  them  to  a  butcher  in  Ogallala, 
who  shipped  them  to  Omaha.  Cattle  were 
low  priced  then,  and  when  these  buffalo 
brought  one  hundred  dollars  each,  it  was  con- 
sidered an  excellent  price. 

E.  M.  Searle,  afterwards  state  auditor,  was 
station  agent  at  Ogallala,  then  the  greatest  cat- 
tle shipping  point  west  of  Omaha.  George 
Halligan,  a  brother  of  Attorney  John  Halligan 
at  North  Platte,  was  marshal,  and  being 
marshal  of  Ogallala  required  nerve,  and  good 
judgment.  Mart  DePreist  was  sheriff  of 
Keith  county  about  that  time,  which  was  also 
a  job  of  responsibility  in  those  earlier  days. 
DePreist  is  now  chief  of  police  at  Ogallala, 
(1919). 

Charlie  McCune,  who  lives  at  Scottsbluff, 
is  one  of  the  boys  that  worked  for  the  Ogal- 
lala outfit  in  its  later  days,  when  they  were 
gathering  the  herds  for  the  Wyoming  drive. 

The  several  locations  of  ranches  that  had 
come  into  the  possession  of  the  Ogallala  con- 
cern were  sold  on  about  the  same  basis  of  that 
sold  to  Frank  King  —  a  few  dollars  each.  The 
values  of  such  places  were  not  considered  of 
much  consequence.  Watering  places  had  been 
early  appropriated,  and  usually  some  cow 
puncher  would  make  a  government  filing,  and 
after  making  final  proof,  he  would  sell  to  the 
outfit  for  a  few  hundred  extra  dollars. 

Among  these  first  locations  of  different 
cow  companies  were  a  lot  of  springs  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Camp  Clarke,  which  seemed  to  be 
quite  a  center  of  business,  and  well  watered. 
Pumpkin  creek  and  Lawrence  Fork  are  to 
the  southwest,  with  springs  in  many  of  the 
canyons.  There  were  also  Camp  Creek  springs, 
Deep  Holes,  Mud  Springs,  Rush  and  Cedar 
creeks  to  the  southeast.  Coldwater  Canyon, 
Pussy  Springs,  Lower  Dugout,  Finguard 
creek,  and  Brown  Creek  springs  were  down  the 
river  and  mostly  on  the  north  side. 

While  these  places  had  little  commercial 
value  to  the  bonanza  cowmen  who  were  tak- 
ing their -herds  out  of  the  country,  they  have 
been  acquired  and  ard  the  foundations  of 
many  of  the  new  ranches.  There  is  Rems- 
burg's  ranch  at  Pussy  Springs,  Lisco  ranch 
on   Cedar  and   Rush  creeks,  Beerline's   ranch 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


137 


at  the  mouth  of  Brown  creek  ;  Wagner's  ranch, 
a  little  below  it  on  the  river;  Slater's  ranch 
in  the  Tar  valley  section ;  Richardson's  ranch, 
south  of  Horse  Lake ;  and  there  is  J.  W. 
Rodger's  ranch,  Hibler's  ranch,  Peer's  ranch, 
Hubble's  ranch,  Smith's  ranch,  Johnson's 
ranch,  Club  ranch,  DD  ranch,  Margesson's 
ranch.  Hill's  ranch,  Hague's  ranch,  and  many 
others. 

Illustrative  of  the  value  placed  upon  them, 
is  the  consideration  of  Adams,  Redington 
ranch  in  Morrill  county,  which  was  probably 
as  good  a  location  as  any  of  them. 

J.  W.  Harper  came  to  Sidney,  in  September, 
1884,  and  homesteaded  on  the  tableland,  a 
few  miles  southwest  of  the  old  "Water  Holes." 
In  1893,  he  bought  Berry  Brothers'  quarter  of 
land  on  Lawrence  Fork,  and  shortly  after 
acquired  the  Redington  quarter  and  the  Adams 
quarter.  Adjoining  the  Berry  land  was  four 
hundred  and  eighty  acres  belonging  to  Sam 
Fowler,  and  used  as  a  horse  ranch.  Harper's 
water  for  irrigating  his  hay  meadow  came  off 
the  Fowler  land,  and  he  wanted  to  buy  it. 
Fowler  asked  $1,400.00  for  the  whole  acreage, 
which  Harper  thought  was  too  much. 


But  Fowler  sold  it  to  an  Iowa  man  by  the 
name  of  Battleax,  I  believe,  and  he  immediate- 
ly offered  to  sell  it  for  $2,200.00.  Harper 
again  refused  to  buy  it,  and  Battleax  sold  to 
Bickel,  another  Iowa  man.  Bickel  again  tilted 
the  price,  and  Harper,  as  he  relates  it,  says : 
"I  was  afraid  to  take  any  more  chances  on 
Iowa  men,  and  so  negotiated  its  purchase  for 
$3,200.00,  and  a  new  wagon." 

When  Redington  was  attacked  by  the  ''sell- 
ing fever,"  he  offered  his  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  which  contained  some  beautiful 
timber  and  about  a  mile  of  the  creek,  for 
$800.00.  It  also  contained  some  valuable  hay 
ground.  Harper  made  him  an  alternate  offer 
which  he  accepted.  Harper  was  to  put  twenty 
cows  on  the  place  and  Redington  was  to  care 
for  them.  At  the  end  of  three  years,  all  the 
increase  of  the  herd  was  to  belong  to  Reding- 
ton and  the  land  to  belong  to  Harper;  and 
Harper  was  to  make  up  the  calf  shortage  each 
year,  so  that  Redington  was  to  have  the  full 
number  of  calves  to  start.  Redington  made 
some  money  by  the  transaction  and  Harper 
made  more  in  the  long  run.  About  five  years 
ago  he  sold  the  land  to  Neihus  brothers  for 
$19,250.00 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

AN  INDIAN  WAGON  RACE  — BUILDING  CAMP  CLARKE  BRIDGE  — ROUND-UP 

WILD  WEST  SHOWS  —  TOM  HORN'S  OUTLAW  HORSE  —  SIX 

THOUSAND  CATTLE  MILLING  IN  THE  RIVER 


The  gold  seekers  going  into  the  Black  Hills 
had  three  routes :  One  was  by  way  of  the 
Northwestern  as  far  as  the  line  was  completed, 
somewhere  in  the  Valentine  country.  From 
there  the  route  was  overland.  The  establish- 
ment of  the  Red  Cloud  agency  on  White  river, 
and  the  attempt  to  domesticate  the  Indian, 
brought  some  freight  to  the  agency  by  the 
same  route.  Indians  were  engaged  to  haul  it. 
They  were  fitted  out  with  a  number  of  new 
wagons,  which  were  loaded  with  provisions 
for  regular  distribution.  They  had  an  accom- 
paniment of  a  detachment  of  cavalry.  All 
went  well  until  they  were  well  out  of  the  Sand 
Hills,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Gordon  or  Rush- 
ville.  Here  they  were  strung  out  for  a  num- 
ber of  miles,  and  the  notion  seems  to  permeate 
each  of  the  drivers  at  the  same  time,  that  he 


would  like  to  be  the  first  to  arrive  at  the  agency 
and  show  his  new  wagon.  There  was  a  grad- 
ual speeding  up  of  the  teams,  in  spite  of  the 
efforts  of  the  cavalry  to  hold  them  down.  By 
the  time  they  reached  the  vicinity  of  Chadron 
they  were  going  at  a  swift  trot.  In  the  mean- 
time the  drivers,  who  had  been  clad  in  over- 
alls or  jeans  for  the  first  time  had  become  un- 
comfortable from  the  heat,  and  they  had  cut 
out  the  seats  of  their  pantaloons  to  add  to  their 
comfort. 

When  within  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  of 
the  agency,  the  horses  were  warming  up  also, 
and  to  make  it  easier  on  them,  the  Indians  be- 
gan to  throw  out  sacks  of  flour,  and  slabs  of 
bacon.  They  reached  Red  Cloud  agency  in  a 
whirlwind  of  dust  and  going  at  top  speed,  and 
the  road  for  miles  back  was  lined  with  the  pro- 


138 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


visions  that  were  intended  for  regular  distri- 
bution. There  were  no  serious  losses  except 
for  time,  for  the  provender  was  gathered  up, 
and  the  tough  little  horses  of  the  range  stood 
the  race  fairly  well. 

Another  route  to  the  Black  Hills  was  by 
Cheyenne,  where  the  trail  had  been  well  broken 
to  the  North  Platte  river,  and  fairly  well  de- 
fined  as  far  as  Red  Cloud,  on  White  river. 

The  third  route  was  more  of  importance  to 
western  Nebraska.  It  was  from  Sidney,  north, 
and  was  known  as  the  Sidney  trail.  Its  dis- 
advantages were  that  during  the  early  part 
of  the  season,  the  North  Platte  river  was  high 
and  dangerous  to  cross.  Fort  Laramie  had  a 
cantilever  bridge,  which  is  still  in  use  (1919), 
and  which  had  been  hauled  by  wagons  from 
Fort  Leavenworth  more  than  a  decade  earlier, 
in  1867,  and  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  $70,- 
000.00  by  the  government. 

During  the  dry  season  when  the  river  cross- 
ing north  of  Sidney  was  easy  to  ford,  there 
were  two  or  three  other  places  where  water 
was  scarce. 

Henry  T.  Clarke  became  the  man  of  the 
hour.  He  went  to  the  Union  Pacific  officials 
and  secured  their  co-operation  and  they  ship- 
ped the  materials  for  the  bridge  ,  free  of 
freight.  Fie  then  secured  the  co-operation  of 
the  freighters,  who  each  hauled  a  load  or  two 
to  the  river,  free  of  expense,  and  some  of  them 
volunteered  a  part  of  the  work. 

Camp  Clarke  came  into  existence,  and  with 
it  the  toll  bridge.  Tolls  were  charged  the 
men  who  had  donated  work,  and  while  they 
objected,,  they  paid  the  price,  because  they 
could  not  stop  to  palaver  about  it.  Camp 
Clarke  became  the  most  important  place  of 
crossing  the  North  Platte  river,  and  it  was  on 
the  center  line  of  the  Texas  Trail.  In  the  days 
of  the  cowmen  it  became  a  place  of  tremend- 
ous significance. 

According  to  stories  of  the  early  days  the 
bridge  also  served  other  purposes  than  for 
crossing  the  river.  A  white  desperado  was 
found  hanging  there  one  time,  with  a  placard 
rudely  daubed  pinned  to  him,  which  read : 
"In  some  ways  he  was  a  bad  man,  and  in 
others  a  damnsite  wuss." 

Here  the  round-ups  of  Nebraska  and  Wy- 
oming met  and  the  Nebraska  chuck  wagons, 
many  of  them  turned  back,  sending  only  repre- 
sentatives farther  west  to  collect  scattering 
strays. 

Some  times  thirty  or  forty  outfits  would  as- 
semble at  the  "Sidney  bridge."  as  the  cow 
men  called  it.  And,  talk  of  your  Wild  Wot 
die  iw  !  There  has  been  nothing  like  it  in  his- 
tory.    There  was  nothing  artificial  in  the  buck- 


ing bronchos,  or  the  roping,  branding,  or  other 
hardy  adventures  incident  of  the  round-up. 

Five  hundred  cowpunchers  of  the  real  sort 
gathered  here  in  the  early  eighties,  and  they 
made  a  show  of  such  marvelous  dexterity  and 
horsemanship  that  the  trained  athletes  of  Buf- 
falo Bill's  and  Frontier  Aggregations  seem  like 
fading  images  on  the  sky-line  of  a  glorious 
past. 

Camp  Clark  was  situated  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  river,  and  the  fort  and  a  trading  post, 
afterwards  named  Wellsville,  were  at  the  north 
end  of  the  bridge.  Here  also  was  the  famous 
old  sod  saloon. 

In  the  unwritten  history  of  the  cow  men 
are  many  adventures,  thrilling  games,  and  oc- 
casionally a  shooting-up  of  the  old  "soddy," 
and  some  of  these  events  lap  over  the  advent 
of  the  granger  into  western  Nebraska. 

Some  forty  outfits  and  five  hundred  cow- 
punchers  were  there  in  eighty-four.  It  was 
a  wet  time  and  there  had  been  a  steady  down- 
pour for  two  days,  checking  the  progress  of  the 
work. 

"Swede  Pete,"  a  well-known  character,  was 
going  into  the  old  soddy  to  warm  up,  when 
he  found  his  singing  pardner  who  had  taken 
on  too  much,  was  leaning  in  an  attitude  of  de- 
jection, with  both  hands  gripping  into  the  rain- 
softened  sod  walls.  His  insecure  handhold 
gave  way,  and  he  crumbled  down  in  the  alkali 
mud  in  a  sorry  heap.  Just  then  he  noticed 
"Pete,"  he  said  mournfully,  "  'taint  because  1 
don't  like  it.  but  I  just  can't  keep  it," — and  he 
justified  the  statement. 

Then  this  man  who  had  ridden  a  runaway 
"loco"  over  a  sixty  foot  bluff,  killing  the  horse, 
he  himself  coming  up  unhurt ;  and  who  had 
ridden  before  stampedes  on  stormy  nights, 
perhaps  felt  closer  to  the  summit  of  the  Great 
Divide  than  ever  before ;  or  perhaps  it  was 
in  humorous  impulse,  for  he  moaned  dismally 
from  the  old  cowboy  song.  "Oh.  bury  me  not 
on  the  lone  prairieee— ee." 

Mrs.  E.  Joy  Johnson  of  Lusk,  Wyoming, 
writes  charmingly  of  these  round-ups  in  "The 
Foreman  of  J.  A.  6."  when  Laughlin,  Cham- 
berlain, St.  Claire,  Woody,  Snyder,  DeHart, 
Robb,  Sanely  Ingraham.  Flomer  Welker,  Perry 
Braziel,  Johnny  Minser,  Johnny  Frantz,  Harry 
Haig,  Ed.  Wright,  and  others,  many  of  whom 
still  reside  in  western  Nebraska  were  among 
the  cowpunchers  of  the  gatherings  of  eighty- 
four,  and  she  also  relates  many  amusing  in- 
cidents. 

One  of  her  stories  is  of  Tom  Horn's  adven- 
tures with  an  outlaw  horse. 

The  picturesqueness  of  American  frontiers- 
men would  lose  some  of  its  attractiveness, —  it 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


139 


would  be  less  of  an  accurate  figure  of  history, 
— 'if  it  lost  the  classical  language  of  the  cow- 
men. The  profanity  of  a  cowpuncher  never 
seemed  quite  so  profane  as  that  of  other  men. 
It  lacked  the  grossness  of  old-time  sea  captains 
and  longshoremen.  It  seemed  to  have  the  justi- 
fication of  being  the  effect  of  a  cause.  For 
instance,  the  picturesque  name  of  Tom  Horn's 
outlaw  horse  was  "Damned-if-I-Do,"'  which 
obtained  from  its  peculiar  characteristic  never 
to  carry  a  rider  across  a  stream.  Horn's  ex- 
perience was  none  different  from  others.  He 
was  thrown  in  midstream  and  came  near 
drowning.  Perhaps,  in  view  of  his  later 
achievements  and  death  from  the  hangman's 
noose  at  Cheyenne  a  few  years  ago,  it  would 
have  been  better  had  they  let  him  perish.  This 
seems  to  emphasize  the  old  saying  that  a  man 
who  is  born  to  be  hung,  will  never  drown. 

In  1885  the  "greasers"  arrived  in  large  num- 
bers, in  charge  of  cattle  from  the  south,  which 
were  being  taken  to  Big  Horn  Basin  and  Mon- 
tana for  summer  range.  (  )ne  herd  of  six  or 
seven  thousand  cattle,  in  charge  of  Mexicans, 
had  been  held  on  the  south  side  of  the  river, 
just  below  Clarke's  bridge,  for  a  number  of 
days,  because  of  the  swollen  condition  of  the 
stream. 

The  Mexican  is  not  a  daredevil  fatalist  like 
the  American  cowpuncher,  and  the  hazard  of 
crossing  the  river  was  "a  plenty"  to  inspire  him 
to  indolence  and  waiting.  The  foreman  was  J.  S. 
Robb,  well-known  as  a  good  cowman,  who  was 
worried  by  the  delay.  He  finally  obtained  the 
assistance  of  Johnny  Peters  and  Runey  Camp- 
bell. The  former  "went  the  Long-long  Trail" 
a  number  of  years  ago,  being  a  resident  of 
Scotlsbluff  at  the  time,  and  the  latter  now  lives 
near  Gering.  Robb  has  also  taken  the  "Long 
Trail." 

The  cattle,  after  much  effort  were  forced 
over  the  river  bank,  and  away  they  went, 
swimming  steadily,  until  about  half-way  across. 


when  the  leaders  turned  an  arc  downstream 
and  started  to  return.  Peters,  Campbell  and 
the  foreman  plunged  their  horses  in  to  turn 
them  back,  but  in  the  turning  they  continued 
the  arc,  and  in  a  few  moments  six  thousand 
cattle  were  milling  in  midstream  where  the 
water  was  six  or  eight  feet  deep. 

A  fortune.  $100,000.00  or  more,  was  threat- 
ened with  complete  destruction.  Three  Ameri- 
can cowboys'  reputations  were  in  the  scales 
(it  destiny.  Six  thousand  cattle  were  circling 
in  the  vortex  of  a  whirlpool.  Waves  radiated 
out,  waves  ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  and  the 
"troughs"  between  them  bared  the  sand  of  the 
river  bed. 

On  horse  between  the  waves,  the  shores  were 
hidden  by  walls  of  water,  and  then  a  ten  foot 
wave  would  slap  horse  and  rider  in  the  face 
and  roll  over  their  heads,  like  a  comber  on 
the  beach.  The  flaring  cow-ponies  met  the 
succeeding  waves  head  end.  In  the  troughs  be- 
tween two  waves  their  hoofs  braced  in  the 
yielding  sand,  their  ears  back,  and  the  waves 
often  lifted  them  backward  a  few  feet. 
Emerging  the  alert  ears  flipped  the  water  off, 
and  the  riders  quickly  getting  their  bearings 
the  horses  moved  rapidly  as  indicated  by  knee 
pressure  and  bridle  rein.  Steadily  they  worked 
round,  not  daring  to  turn  side  to  the  milling 
steers, —  for  a  wave  to  strike  them  sideways 
contained  fearful  menace. 

Peters  reached  the  opposite  side  of  the  herd 
first.  The  opportunity  was  soon  presented 
to  turn  the  heads  of  a  few  to  the  northern 
shore  and  the  wheeling  thousands  slowly  un- 
wound as  the  thread  of  swimming  steers  strung 
out  towards  the  grassy  flats  on  the  north  side. 
The  herd  had  been  saved  and  tin-  cowboys  had 
justified  the  reputation  of  courage  and  daring 
which  was  the  boast  of  the  fraternity.  The 
Mexicans  crossed  the  Camp  Clarke  bridge,  and 
took  the  cattle  on  into  the  north. 


140 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  FARQUERERS  AND  CROSS  COUNTRY    RIDING  — HUNTING    GEESE    ON 

HUGHES  ISLAND  —  FUN  OF  THE  FRONTIER  —  JIMMY 

MOORE'S  LONG  WALK 


About  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  grang- 
ers, Farquerer  Brothers  arrived,  and  located 
in  the  canyons  between  Redington  Gap  and 
Chimney  Rock.  They  were  also  picturesque 
Englishmen,  like  Geo.  Laing.  Henry  Brad- 
ford who  stayed  at  the  Seven-U  much  of  the 
time,  went  about  with  the  Farquerers  and 
Laing. 

Bradford  had  a  penchant  for  exaggeration 
and  a  vivid  imagination.  As  the  Hon.  T.  C. 
Osborne,  elected  members  of  the  new  constitu- 
tional convention,  (1919)  says:  "Bradford  was 
a  constitutional  pervaricator,"  an  opinion  once 
quite  general  among  the  old  timers. 

At  that,  he  was  an  entertainer  of  the  first 
class,  and  when  it  came  to  good  yarn,  "Old 
Brad,"  as  he  was  called,  was  an  inexhaustible 
supply.  He  was  an  interesting  character,  and 
full  of  droll  humor. 

One  time  Brad  was  with  a  party  doing  the 
sights  of  early  Sidney,  when  his  exchequer 
ran  low.  He  politely  told  the  others  of  his 
intention  to  retire.  When  hard  pressed  he 
told  the  reason  that  he  had  no  further  funds 
to  draw  upon.  The  others,  with  true  west- 
ern spirit,  told  him  that  they  did  not  care 
for  his  money,  but  that  they  wanted  his  society. 
He  said:  "Alright,  boys,  if  it  is  my  intellect 
that  you  want,  I  am  with  you,  but  I  am  out 
of  cash." 

These  English  boys  used  to  keep  good 
hounds  and  guns,  and  horses,  and  rode  their 
English  postage-stamp  saddles  straight  up  and 
many  was  the  time  that  they  rode  to  hounds, 
chasing  wolves  and  coyotes,  and  antelope. 

John  M.  Adams,  now  of  Georgia ;  £.  V.  S. 
Pomeroy,  now  of  California ;  J.  J.  Mcintosh, 
late  of  Sidney ;  and  others,  joined  with  them 
in  these  rides. 

The  bridge  north  of  McGrew  in  the  east 
part  of  Scotts  Bluff  county,  crosses  what  is 
known  as  Hughes  Island,  and  in  the  early 
days  wild  geese  nested  upon  this  island,  and 
hatched  their  young. 

The  English  sportsmen  and  their  guests 
would  take  their  hounds  and  horses,  when  the 
young  geese  were  big  enough  to  swim,  but  not 
old  enough  to  fly,  and  they  would  drive  a  brood 
into  the  water,  and  try  to  ride  them  down,  or 
catch  them  with  the  dogs.  There  was  a  great 
splashing  and  shouting,  and  the  dogs  entered 
into  i'h    full  spirit  of  the  chase.     Occasionally 


a  horse  would  strike  a  honey-comb  place  in 
the  sand  and  go  down,  the  rider  taking  a  full 
dive  into  the  water  over  the  animal's  head. 
The  young  geese  would  try  to  swim  away 
from  their  pursuers,  but  when  nearly  overtaken 
they  would  dive,  coming  up  hundreds  of  feet 
away,  and  then  hunters  and  hounds  would  go 
after  them  again.  It  was  great  sport  for  the 
sportsmen,  but  a  little  hard  on  the  young  geese  ; 
and  there  is  no  more  nesting  on  Hughes 
Island. 

Only  a  few  days  ago,  someone  speaking  of 
the  "English  boys,"  mentioned  Margeson 
Brothers.  The  Margesons  came  at  a  later  date, 
and  they,  along  with  good  old  Dan  Callahan, 
lived  at  the  head  of  Creighton  canyon.  The 
Farquerers  were  earlier,  and  differently  iden- 
tified. Cheighton  canyon  was  named  after  the 
Creightons  acquired  Coad's  ranch  at  old  Scotts 
Bluff  stage  station. 

There  were  three  of  the  Margesons,  who 
later  went  into  the  country  east  of  Camp 
Clarke,  then  they  separated  and  went  their  sev- 
eral ways.  One  is  quite  wealthy  in  the  ranch 
business  near  Pueblo,  Colorado ;  another  went 
to  Australia,  and  prospered  in  the  sheep  busi- 
ness. Hal,  the  younger,  was  educated  for  the 
cloth,  and  returned  to  England,  where  he  took 
up  the  work  of  the  ministry. 

1887  and  1888  witnessed  the  last  round-ups 
in  Nebraska,  where  I  assisted  in  driving  the 
Circle-Block  cattle  across  the  state  line  into 
Wyoming.  In  1888  a  considerable  party  of 
North  river  folks  had  gone  to  Sidney  to  make 
final  proof  on  pre-emptions,  crossing  the  river 
at  Clarke's  bridge.  A  number,  including  Jim- 
my Moore,  (not  the  Pony  Express  rider,) 
were  from  Minatare.  They  had  been  together 
on  the  trip,  and  were  a  trifle  the  worse  for 
wear,  when  they  stopped  at  W'ellsville  over- 
night on  their  return. 

The  driver,  Ed.  Eastman,  had  charge  of  a 
pony  of  whiskey,  which,  he  alleged,  was  for 
a  neighbor,  and  he  had  just  reason  to  fear  its 
safety.  He  hid  it  under  "Extract"  Smith's  bed, 
which  was  not  exercising  the  best  of  judgment. 

"Extract"  Smith  was  custodian  of  the  old 
sod  saloon,  and  the  first  part  of  his  monicker 
obtained  of  his  consecration  to  the  cause  of 
absorbing  lemon  extract. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  Ed.'s  strategy  did 
nut   avail,  and  early  in  the  evening  a  number 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


141 


of  the  party,  including  Jimmy,  found  way 
to  the  pony.  After  several  visits  into  the  inner 
sanctuary  of  the  sod  cabin,  Jimmy  startled  his 
friends  by  emerging  in  the  open,  hugging  the 
pony  in  his  arms,  and  declaring  himself  the 
reincarnation  of  the  Pony  Express  rider,  and 
that  in  the  hereafter  he  would  carry  the  pony 
as  a  penance"  for  the  pony's  previous  experience 
in  carrying  him.  Only  a  part  of  this  volun- 
tary acceptance  of  Karmic  law,  came  to  his 
friends  in  the  crude  classics  of  mortals,  and 
much  was  derived  by  inference  and  deduction. 

Before  long  Jimmy  was  carefully  tucked 
away,  outside  the  building,  his  couch  the  terra 
firma,  his  canopy  the  sky,  while  his  friends 
continued  the  night  revels.  In  the  early  morn- 
ing, he  awoke,  thoroughly  chilled,  and  loud 
were  his  lamentations ;  so  continuously  loud 
that  other  sleepers  were  disturbed.  So  when 
the  belated  stars  were  vanishing,  Jimmy's  out- 
fit took  up  its  journey  on  to  Minatare,  twenty 
miles  away.  In  some  manner  Jimmy's  de- 
parture was  delayed.  He  departed  about  one 
hundred  yards  behind  the  wagon. 

It  was  thoughtful  of  the  boys  to  relieve 
Jimmy  of  a  part  of  his  load  if  he  were  com- 
pelled to  walk  twenty  miles.  His  six  guns, 
weighing  several  pounds,  had  been  thought- 
fully transferred  to  the  wagon  before  starting. 

While  Jimmy  lacked  a  bit  the  night  before 
in  ability  to  stay  by  his  friends,  today  he  gave 
evidence  of  his  splendid  qualities.    And  for  the 


twenty  miles  he  followed  the  wagon  at  a  maxi- 
mum distance  of  about  one  hundred  yards. 
When  he  ran  the  wagon  rattled  along  a  little 
faster,  and  when  he  walked  the  wagon  slowed 
down,  and  there  were  opportunities  for  social 
chatter. 

Sometimes  the  conversation  waxed  warm,  as 
Jimmy  vehemently  expressed  pronounced  opin- 
ions on  sociology,  genealogy  and  evolution, 
specifically  referring  to  the  men  in  the  wagon 
as  examples.  'The  classic  outbursts  were  un- 
fortunately forever  lost  in  an  atmosphere  of 
constantly  increasing  temperature,  and  on 
and  appreciative  but  delirious  audience  ahead. 
The  wagon  arrived  at  Minatare  at  exactly 
12:10  P.  M.,  mountain  time,  Jimmy  at  12:12, 
and  at  intervals  of  about  fifteen  minutes,  for 
sometime  thereafter,  other  wagons  followed 
Jimmy  into  town.  These  were  driven  by  Win- 
field  Evans,  A.  W.  Mills,  Ab.  Malloy,  and 
others,  who  were  at  times  almost  within  hail- 
ing distance,  and  plain  in  view  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  twenty  miles. 

They  had  witnessed  a  splendid  triumph  of 
mind  over  matter.  The  obsession  of  Jimmy's 
intellect  in  the  one  determination  to  ride  in  the 
one  particular  wagon,  and  intense  interest  in 
the  lines  of  conversation,  obscured  the  slight- 
est flash  of  reasoning  that  by  waiting  a  few 
moments  at  the  roadside,  one  of  the  succeeding 
wagons  could  overtake  him. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


THE  FIRST  GRANGERS  —  MURDER  OF  COLLINS  AT  CAMP  CLARKE  —  SHERIFF 
CAMPBELL   GETS    DOC.  ROMINE  —  BEGINNING  OF  MINATARE 


About  five  miles  east  of  Scotts  Bluff  moun- 
tain, and  two  or  three  miles  northeast  of  the 
Overland  stage  and  pony  express  stopping 
place,  which  in  the  younger  years  was  called 
"Scotts  Bluff  Station,"  there  is  a  log  house. 
This  house  is  a  commodious  one-story  building, 
the  logs  being  hewn  from  the  native  pines, 
which  in  earlier  days  crowned  the  hills,  en- 
circling round  to  the  south,  and  from  which  the 
sturdy  energy  of  pioneers  made  their  habita- 
tions. 

In  the  turbulent  years  of  the  Overland 
Trail,  Howard  Stansbury  wrote  of  the  great 
dead  forest  of  red  cedar,  fallen  as  if  destroyed 


by  a  storm,  and  young  pines  were  growing  in 
the  midst  thereof. 

These  pines  had  reached  the  proportions  of 
sizeable  house-logs  when  the  pioneers  of  a  gen- 
eration ago  availed  themselves  of  the  gift  of 
nature,  to  build  homes,  barns,  sheds,  corrals, 
and  they  took  the  dead  cedars  and  dry  pitch 
pine  logs  for  fence  posts  and  fuel. 

In  the  dwelling  mentioned,  the  first  rooms 
of  which  were  builded  over  thirty-five  years 
ago,  lives  one  of  the  first  permanent  settlers  of 
the  present  Scotts  Bluff  country. 

"Fiddler  Campbell,"  the  cowboys  used  to  call 
him.  and  far  and  wide  Runey  Campbell  and  his 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


old  violin  travelled  to  attend  the  round-up 
dances,  and  hops  of  the  early  grangers. 

Years  ago,  this  editor  found  "the  gem  of  the 
prairie"  under  the  shadow  of  Wildcat  moun- 
tain ;  and  when  we  were  married,  Runey 
Campbell  and  Wellington  Clark  brought  their 
violins  twenty-five  miles  to  play  at  our  wed- 
ding party.  Clark  had  a  dulcinier  or  lap-organ, 
also,  with  which  he  varied  the  music. 

And  "with  heart  and  fiddle  still  in  tune," 
Campbell  and  his  fine  family  reside  happy  in 
their  rugged,  comfortable  bungalow,  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  broad  fertile  acres  of  alfalfa, 
which,  like  a  carpet  of  green  stretches  away 
towards  the  hills  and  to  the  river. 

Runey  Campbell,  is  a  distant  relative  of 
Robert  Campbell,  who  erected  the  first  rude 
stockade  on  Jacques  Laramie's  Fork,  which 
was  destined  to  become  the  historic  Fort  Lara- 
mie. He,  himself,  came  into  western  Nebras- 
ka country  before  the  famous  Bay  State  Land 
&  Cattle  Company  began  their  extensive  opera- 
tions in  the  west. 

At  that  time,  the  territory  embraced  in, 
Scotts  Bluff  county  contained  not  a  permanent 
settler,  and  no  white  woman  had  ever  trod 
the  turf,  or  gathered  wild  flowers  here,  except 
the  transient"  pilgrims  of  the  tragic  Overland 
Trail. 

Kimball,  then  called  Antelopeville,  was  a 
small  station  on  the  Union  Pacific,  consisting 
of  a  little  box  depot,  a  section  house,  and  two 
stockade  dwellings,  made  of  railroad  ties  on 
end,  with  dirt  for  roof  and  floor. 

Jim  Kinney,  the  veteran  ranchman  and  at- 
torney of  Kimball  county,  lived  in  one,  and  in 
the  other  dwelt  Will  Gaws,  the  hunter  and 
trapper,  surrounded  by  his  simple  wants  — 
his  traps,  his  guns,  his  few  handy  untensils, 
and  the  skins  of  animals  slain. 

Campbell  secured  employment  with  the  Cir- 
cle-Arrow ranch,  then  operated  by  Mead, 
Evans  &  Company.  Jim  Shaw  was  foreman. 

Shaw  and  Campbell  became  intimate  friends, 
and  when  Shaw  was  arrested  for  the  murder 
of  Collins,  the  bartender  of  the  sod  saloon  at 
the  north  end  of  Camp  Clarke  bridge,  Camp- 
bell firmly  believed  and  maintained  that  he 
was  wrongfully  accused. 

The  events  which  led  to  the  killing  are 
partly  lost  in  the  shadows  of  the  past,  but 
there  was  a  witness  to  the  tragedy,  who  told 
the  following  story. 

Shaw,  Campbell  and  others  engaged  in  the 
drive,  bad  gathered  at  the  famous  crossing  of 
the  river,  and  according  to  regular  custom, 
Shaw  was  engaged  in  a  social  game  of  poker, 
with  four  or  five  others,  including  a  gambler 
b\  the  name  of  G  illins. 


Of  those  present,  few  knew  of  any  hard 
feelings  existing  between  Collins,  the  gambler, 
and  Collins,  the  bartender,  yet  there  are  those 
who  maintain  that  such  an  enmity  existed. 
Shaw  had  had  a  few  words,  not  at  all  violent, 
with  Collins  the  bartender,  but  that  had  passed 
with  no  lingering  sulkiness. 

The  game  had  proceeded  with  •  the  regular 
grind,  without  premonition  of  trouble.  Shaw 
sat  facing  the  bar,  with  Collins,  the  gambler, 
directly  opposite.  Collins,  the  bartender,  came 
along  and  stood  behind  Collins  the  gambler, 
when  the  latter,  with  deliberation  took  his 
sombrero  from  his  head,  and  with  a  downward 
sweep,  extinguished  the  lamp.  There  followed 
a  flash  and  report.  My  informant  believes 
that  Collins  the  gambler  swung  his  left  arm 
backwards  and  discharged  the  weapon. 

Collins  the  bartender  was  instantly  killed, 
and  Jim  Shaw  arrested,  but  after  an  expensive 
delay  and  trial  at  Sidney,  he  was  liberated  for 
want  of  evidence. 

Campbell's  nearest  neighbors  were  ten  miles 
away,  and  they  were  ranchmen,  but  that  was 
not  for  long.  A.  W.  Mills  was  soon  putting 
up  his  soddy  just  across  the  river,  and  Joe 
Smith  was  building  at  Tabor  (now  Minatare). 
George  W.  Fairfield,  Wellington  Clark,  Theo- 
dore Harshman,  and  others  builded  in  the  same 
vicinity.  Josh  Stevens  builded  his  humble 
home  in  Cedar  Valley,  and  Charley  Smith  in 
the  Creighton  flat  near  the  present  site  of 
Melbeta.  Captain  W.  R.  Akers,  the  veteran 
irrigator  built  near  Collins  (now  Morrill)  the 
famous  "sod  house  that  covered  seven  Akers," 
as  the  old  settlers  used  to  tell  the  tenderfeet. 
Wild  horses  were  plentiful  then,  while  black- 
tail  deer  and  droves  of  antelope  were  com- 
mon, and  mountain  sheep  sported  in  the  rocks 
of  Scotts  Bluff  and  Castle  Rock. 

Campbell  has  always  been  direct  in  his  deal- 
ings with  his  fellow  men,  and  true  to  the  ways 
of  the  untrammeled  west,  the  fine  little  tech- 
nicalities so  common  in  law  bothered  him  not 
one  whit  when  later  he  was  chosen  sheriff  of 
the  new  county  of  Scotts  Bluff. 

When  Romine  wrecked  the  finances  of  the 
mercantile  establishments  at  new  Mitchell  and 
Bridgeport,  he  fled  to  Boston.  Sheriff  Camp- 
bell, armed  with  a  warrant  for  his  arrest  fol- 
lowed. A  Massachusetts  official  held  Romine, 
waiting  Campbell's  arrival,  told  Runey  to  get 
a  requisition  from  the  governor  and  take  the 
prisoner. 

"What  do  I  need  of  anything  like  that?" 
asked  Campbell,  "I  came  after  him,  didn't  I? 
Well,  I  can  take  him  home  without  bothering 
the  governor."  which  he  did,  for  Romine  came 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


back  with  Campbell  and  was  turned  over  to 
the  courts  here  for  trial. 

A.  W.  Mills  and  Joe  Smith  were  the  first 
to  build  houses  on  the  north  side  of  the  river 
in  the  present  limits  of  Scotts  Bluff  county. 
Mills  started  his  first  and  Smith  finished  his 
the  first.  The  first  pump  was  driven  by  Well- 
ington Clark  on  the  place  of  Mr.  Purdy,  and 
while  a  man  was  on  the  way  to  the  river  to  get 
some  water  to  prime  the  pump,  a  cow  was 
milked  and  the  pump  was  primed  with  milk. 

One  evening,  while  Mills  and  Smith  were 
working  on  Mills's  soddy,  they  had  reached  the 
top  of  the  walls,  the  sods  seemed  so  heavy  to 


them  that  they  improvised  a  slide  with  the 
endgate  from  the  wagon  to  the  top  of  the 
wall,  and  were  working  them  up  in  the  slow 
and  laborious  way.  George  Baltes  came  along 
afoot.  He  had  walked  all  the  way  from  Sid- 
ney. They  told  him  when  they  finished  un- 
loading they  would  go  to  camp,  and  get  sup- 
per, and  he  had  better  tarry  with  them  for  the 
night.  George  accepted,  and  notwithstanding 
his  long  walk  and  weariness,  he  picked  up  the 
sod  and  planted  them  on  the  top  of  the  wall 
without  slide  or  help.  George  was  a  powerful 
young  man  and  he  keeps  much  of  his  strength 
rnd  vigor  after  thirty-five  years. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


PERRY  BRAZIEL  ARRIVES  ON  THE  TEXAS    TRAIL  —  TRAILING    CATTLE 
TUDITH   BASIN  — SUNDERLING'S  ELK-SKIN  TROUSERS  — THE 
DRIVE  TO  PINE  RIDGE  — TWO  GIRLS  OF  THE  PRAIRIE 


TO 


Along  about  1879,  Perry  Braziel  "met  up" 
with  "Shanghai"  Pierce,  at  Coffeyville,  Kan- 
sas, and  from  there  to  the  North  Platte  val- 
ley was  only  a  short  drive  according  to  old 
ways  of  thinking.  Colonel  Braziel  said  that 
the  country  looked  good  enough  to  stay  in  a 
while,  and  he  went  to  work  for  Coad,  by  whom 
he  was  employed  for  two  or  three  years.  Then 
the  cow  business  went  through  a  transforma- 
tion. 

In  1878  the  range  loss  had  been  enormous, 
estimated  by  the  men  on  the  ground  at  fifty 
percent,  owing  to  the  severity  of  the  winter. 
In  1884  history  repeated  itself  in  this  respect, 
although  not  quite  to  the  same  proportion. 

The  old  timers  had  gotten  enough  of  the 
cow  business.  As  the  romance  of  ranching 
was  appealing  to  eastern  investors  and  ad- 
venturers, the  westerners  thought  it  a  good 
time  to  sell  out.  The  ranchers  kept  book  ac- 
counts, of  the  stock  supposed  to  belong 
to  them  out  on  the  range.  This  was  done  by 
adding  a  reasonable  percentage  for  increase  of 
calves.  For  each  one  thousand  cows  put 
upon  a  given  range,  say  in  the  spring  of 
1875,  by  "the  spring  of  1878.  there  should  be 
about  six  thousand  head  of  mixed  cattle. 
There  ought  to  be  eight  hundred  or  more  old 
cows  ready  for  the  market. 

With  a  fifty  percent  loss,  the  proceeds  from 
the  ranches  purchased  would  show  up  consid- 
erably less  than  anticipated  from  an  examina- 


tion of  the  books.  Sixteen  hundred  market- 
able cattle,  which  would  more  than  pay  the 
original  investment,  were  cut  down  to  eight 
hundred  by  actual  roundup  count.  It  was 
better  business  tactics  not  to  sell  the  actual 
cattle,  but  to  sell  the  ranches  and  the  num- 
bers shown  on  the  books.  This  could  not 
be  done  to  old  timers  at  face  value,  and  the 
new  crowd  needed  some  one  of  local  standing 
to  tie  to,  in  their  transactions.  That  is  what 
brought  into  existence  the  vast  spreading  ac- 
tivities of  Creighton,  Paxton  and  Swan. 

In  1886  Braziel  had  charge  of  one  of  the 
big  herds,  about  seven  thousand  head,  bound 
for  the  Judith  Basin  in  Montana.  In  the  out- 
fit were  a  number  of  those  whose  names  were 
familiar  in  western  Nebraska ;  among  which 
were  George  W.  Sunderling,  and  "Gunny 
Sack"  Pete,  and  there  was  a  long  lean  Mexi- 
can in  the  bunch.  George  W.  had  one  crown- 
ing virtue  that  gave  him  the  respect  of  all  his 
associates,  although  some  of  the  boy>  treated 
him  lightly.  He  was  loyal  and  indulgent  to 
his  mothers  and  sisters.  The  mother  was  one 
who  aspired  for  a  more  aristocratic  life  than 
their  humble  circumstances  would  permit,  and 
had  a  considerable  degree  of  intellectual  at- 
tainment, and  Grace  and  Bessie  shared  in  the 
ambition.  George  W.  would  impoverish  him- 
self to  secure  for  them  all  the  comfort  possible 
on  the  old  place  on  Pumpkin  creek. 

When  he  started  with  Braziel  on  this  trip. 


144 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


he  was  not  clad  in  an  overplus  of  garment. 
In  fact,  by  the  time  they  had  reached  Big 
Horn  Basin,  George  was  very  nearly  "out  of 
pants." 

In  one  of  the  tall  cottonwoods  along  the 
river  bank,  high  up  in  the  branches,  the  Mexi- 
can discovered  the  burial  place  of  a  Cheyenne 
Indian.  He  threw  his  rope  up  and  got  hold 
of  the  limb  and  shook  the  corpse  to  the  ground. 
He  then  unrolled  the  body  and  took  therefrom 
a  fine  pair  of  elkskin  trousers.  With  them  he 
returned  to  camp  and  sold  them  to  Sunderling 
for  ten  dollars  on  time.  It  was  sometime  later, 
before  George  W.  learned  of  the  place  where 
he  had  secured  them,  but  as  he  really  needed 
them,  and  had  experienced  no  ill  effects  from 
their  use,  he  continued  to  wear  them.  They 
were  of  excellent  material  for  they  lasted  him 
three  or  four  years. 

The  last  heard  of  George  Sunderling  he  was 
sheep  inspector  for  the  state  of  Montana,  and 
wore  a  Prince  Albert  coat  with  a  top  hat. 
His  brother  Lee,  or  better  known  as  "Spud," 
was  also  in  Montana. 

The  coming  on  of  settlers,  the  filling  up  of 
vacant  lands  in  the  valleys  and  on  the  high 
plains  of  western  Nebraska  crowded  the 
Texas  trail  steadily  farther  west,  and  the 
last  of  its  use  was  at  the  crossing  of  the  North 
Platte  river  near  the  mouth  of  Rawhide  creek. 
It  scarcely  touched  the  soil  of  Nebraska,  ex- 
cept such  herds  as  were  driven  to  Red  Cloud 
and  Spotted  Tail  agencies.  These  were  taken 
generally  up  the  Rawhide  past  "Texas  Toms" 
Snow's  place,  and  near  the  Patrick  ranch,  to 
the  head  waters  of  Running  Water  or  White 
river,  depending  upon  which  agency  they  were 
destined. 

In  the  spring  of  1888,  Colonel  Braziel  trail- 
ed his  last  large  herd,  which  were  fat  cattle 
from  Mitchell  valley,  and  were  taken  to  the 
Pine  Ridge,  or  Spotted  Tail  agency.  They 
were  routed  down  the  river  through  the  grang- 
er settlements  to  Camp  Clarke,  and  from  there 
through  the  sandhills  into  Sheridan  county. 

After  that  year  the  roundup  ceased  to  be  an 
institution  of  great  importance  in  this  state, 
and  those  of  farther  west  were  never  of  the 
magnitude  of  these  that  swept  across  the  vast 
pastures  of  western  Nebraska. 

In  the  middle  eighties  Doc.  Middleton  was  a 
respectable  cowpuncher  working  for  Powers, 
on  the  Kingen  ranch  near  the  present  site  of 
Mitchell.  But  about  that  time  he  visited  Sid- 
ney, and  in  a  fight  with  two  soldiers  and  John 
Barleycorn,  there  was  a  little  case  of  homi- 
cide which  started  him,  and  it  took  Billy  Likens 
and  the  majesty  of  the  law  to  bring  him  back. 


Leonard  Harrison,  late  of  the  Driftwood  and 
now  of  Gering  valley;  Hank  Wise,  the  one- 
eyed  cowpuncher;  Al  Stringfellow,  Ad  Carth- 
age, and  many  of  the  other  old  boys  were  here ; 
and  a  larger  number  of  them  have  gone  "trail- 
ing on  the  Other  Ranges." 

In  1885  and  1886  the  grangers  came  up  the 
North  river  in  long  caravans.  Among  the 
earliest  to  arrive  were  the  Rayburns,  who  set- 
tled in  Horseshoe  Bend,  and  the  Ashfords, 
who  located  on  Pumpkin  creek  near  Wild- 
cat mountain.  Ida  Rayburn  and  Gertrude 
Ashford  were  about  the  first  eastern  young 
ladies  to  arrive,  and  they  became  great  chums, 
often  visiting  one  another.  That  is  how  I 
first  met  Colonel  Braziel.  He  had  taken  to 
heart  the  words  written  in  those  days,  which 
ran  as   follows  :        : 

As  settlement  moves  to  the  west, 

The  cowmen  have  receded  ; 
They're  "branded"  with  the  dim,  dim  past, 

To  other  lands  "stampeded." 

The  grangers  scar  the  virgin  sod 
With  breaking  plow  and  harrow, 

They  mar  the  fields  of  golden  rod 
For  harvests  of  tomorrow. 

We  gladly  bid  you  stay  through  life 
Come  with  us  and  be  a  granger  ; 

Come,  settle  down  and  take  a  wife, 
And  cease  to  be  a  ranger. 

For  thirty  years  these  girl  chums  have 
shared  with  Perry  and  me  all  the  joys  and  re- 
grets of  the  growing  west.  I  often  wonder  how 
they  were  so  unwise,  but  as  Waldo  Winter- 
steen  of  Fremont,  once  said,  we  were  "sure 
enough  romancers." 

The  moonlight  is  beautiful  on  Wildcat 
mountain  and  on  the  castles  in  the  hills  of 
Horse  Shoe  Bend.    There  were: 

"The  wild  goose  haunts  on  the  willowed  isles, 
And  mad,  mad  rides  for  a  dozen  miles.' 

These  were  elements  that  diverted  analytic 
minds.  They  fell  in  love  with  the  prairie  and 
the  mountains,  and  we  were  entities  thereof, 
which  was  our  good  fortune.  Signal  Buttes 
stand  sentinels  above  the  broad  irrigated  acres 
of  Colonel  Braziel  and  family,  in  the  west 
edge  of  Scotts  Bluff  county,  while  the  Baby- 
lonian facades  of  Scotts  Bluff  mountain  stand 
like  collosal  ruins  frowning  across  the  river 
at  the  citv  in  which  we  dwell. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


145 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

LAING'S  RANCH  —  THE  WATER  HOLES  —  DEATH  OF  WHEELER  —  FIRST  HOGS 

ON  NORTH  RIVER  — FIRST  HOGS  ON  PUMPKIN   CREEK  — 

KILLING  RATTLESNAKES 


When  the  grangers  began  to  come  into  this 
country,  along  about  1885,  they  found  a  num- 
ber of  ranches,  that  were  not  of  the  really 
early  ones.  Sim.  Laing  had  a  ranch  on  "Lor- 
rens  '  Fork,  where  that  fine  creek  pours  out 
of  the  canyons,  and  this  creek  crossing,  with  its 
cooling  little  grove  of  mountain  ash,  was  a 
stopping  place  after  the  long  hard,  hot  drive, 
over  the  tablelands  from  Sidney. 

The  Sidney-Black  Hills  trail  struck  the  val- 
ley of  the  North  Platte  at  Greenwood,  coming 
down  from  the  divide  at  Tuslers.  But  a  branch 
trail  used  by  ranchmen  and  early  travellers, 
left  the  Black  Hills  Road  sixteen  miles  north- 
west of  Sidney,  at  what  was  known  as  the 
"Water  Holes."  These  holes  are  located  about 
six  or  seven  miles  south  and  the  same  distance 
west  of  the  present  site  of  Dalton.  This  was 
the  branch  generally  used  by  early  grangers, 
and  there  'was  a  drive  of  about  twenty  miles  to 
"Lorren's"  Fork  and  Laing's  ranch.  Sim  had 
a  brother,  Guy,  who  was  in  business  in  North 
Platte,  and  who  had  an  interest  in  the  ranch. 

Besides  stocking  the  ranch  with  horses  and 
cattle,  they  stocked  the  creek  with  brook  trout 
which  have  flourished  excellently,  and  they 
brought  in  and  turned  loose  a  pair  of  quails. 
From  that  beginning,  are  many  little  coveys  of 
quail  here  and  there  all  through  the  hills,  and 
on  the  islands  along  the  river.  Most  people 
have  been  very  considerate,  and  have  refrained 
from  shooting  them,  but  those  on  the  islands 
west  of  Scottsbluff  were  nearly  exterminated 
by  the  Japanese  before  they  knew  what  value 
local  people  place  upon  the  cheerful  "Bob 
Whites." 

Laing  was  one  of  the  best  of  fellows,  ordi- 
narily, but  he  would  go  to  Sidney  frequently, 
and  drink  was  about  the  easiest  thing  attain- 
able in  those  days.  When  Sim  got  a  full  load 
of  the  fire  water,  he,  who  had  done  so  much 
to  make  his  ranch  like  the  old  homes  back  east, 
would  imagine  himself  a  very  bad  cattle  king 
and  with  lots  of  hard  feelings  for  the  grangers. 

The  Water  Holes  referred  to  consisted  of  a 
pond  in  a  depression  of  the  prairie,  and  two 
shallow  wells  from  which  there  was  a  never 
failing  supply. 

J.  F.  Raymond  of  Scottsbluff,  and  H.  J. 
Raymond  of  Sidney  were  two  of  the  early 
grangers  of  the  table  north  of  Sidney.  They 
hauled    water   twelve    miles    from   the   Water 


Holes  to  their  claims,  until  they  had  a  well 
put  down.  The  water  at  the  "Holes"  was  so 
distasteful,  a  number  of  grangers  decided  on 
cleaning  the  wells.  They  met  at  an  appointed 
date,  and  found  their  opinions  justified.  A 
number  of  dead  skunks  and  jack  rabbits  were 
removed,  and  the  wells  thoroughly  cleaned. 

Just  as  they  were  finishing  the  work  Sim 
Laing  arrived  from  Sidney  with  "plenty  on 
board."  He  also  had  picked  up  an  old  human 
derelict  at  Sidney,  in  an  impulse  of  sentiment, 
and  was  taking  him  out  to  the  ranch.  Laing 
swung  into  the  Water  Holes  with  a  whoop, 
drove  his  mustangs  across  the  depression  and 
up  the  slope  and  nearly  into  one  of  the  un- 
covered wells. 

Frank  Raymond  ran  forward  to  turn  them 
aside  and  prevent  a  catastrophe,  whereby  Sim 
felt  himself  very  much  offended,  and  advised 
the  whole  listening  world  that  he  had  been 
there  before  any  of  the  d — d  grangers,  and 
that  he  did  not  need  to  be  directed  about  by 
any  of  them.  And  to  show  that  he  knew  what 
he  was  talking  about  he  whipped  up  his  horses 
so  suddenly  that  the  seat  toppled  over  back- 
wards out  of  the  rig,  carrying  him  and  his 
ancient  pickup  into  the  dust.  The  horses  were 
sensible  and  waited  events. 

"Old  man,"  said  Laing,  penitently  to  his 
derelict  friend,  "I  am  used  to  this  kind  of  a 
thing,  but  I  am  sorry  if  I  hurt  you." 

The  Water  Holes,  at  that  time,  had  a  road- 
house  on  the  slope  north  of  the  depression,  and 
it  was  run  by  Wheeler  &  Son.  Ordinarily  the 
grangers  would  take  along  their  "grub,"  but  oc- 
casionally they  would  drop  in  for  meals.  There 
were  unsophisticated  strangers  who  occasional- 
ly stopped  there  for  provender  and  who  did 
not  get  much  to  eat  but  paid  seventy-five  cents 
for  a  meal. 

As  young  Wheeler  put  it:  "We  are  fixed 
for  them  all.  When  a  granger  conies  along  we 
give  him  his  twenty-five  cent  meals,  but  when 
a  traveling-man  or  tourist  drops  in,  we  give 
him  a  six-bit  meal.  We  put  prunes  on  the 
table  for  him." 

Some  years  later,  the  elder  Wheeler  was  bit- 
ten by  a  dog,  and  he  literally  went  to  pieces. 
He  became  a  nervous  wreck  and  died.  The 
incident  occurred  at  the  ranch  of  Widow  Smith 
at  the  head  of  Rush  creek.  All  who  knew 
Wheeler  will  remember  that  he  was  a  nervous 


I4(> 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


sort  of  a  person,  and  it  is  probable  that  he 
kicked  or  struck  at  the  dog,  before  it  attacked 
him.  Wheeler,  however,  started  a  suit  for 
damages,  but  it  was  never  finished. 

Just  below  Laing's  ranch  on  "Lorren*s"  Fork. 
about  half  way  to  the  ranch  of  Adams  & 
Redington,  Sam  Fowler,  well  known  in  the 
Democratic  politics  of  old  Cheyenne  county, 
had  his  location,  where  he  ran  a  bunch  of 
horses. 

There  are  not  many  prettier  sights  within 
my  recollection;  along  after  noon  on  a  hot 
<la\.  than  a  bunch  of  sleek,  fat  horses,  that  have 
been  out  on  attractive  but  dry  feeding  places, 
head  for  the  watering  gaps,  springs  or  creeks. 
As  they  draw  near,  they  begin  to  feel  more 
thirsty,  and  one  will  break  into  a  trot ;  an- 
other will  go  it  one  better  and  gallop,  and  then, 
before  long,  they  all  are  racing  wild  and  free 
with  heads  up  and  plumes  flying  down  the  long 
slopes  to  the  water.  It  is  a  grand  sight  that  has 
passed  forever. 

Situated  about  two  miles  up  the  Platte  river 
from  Bridgeport,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river, 
is  a  cottonwood  grove.  It  was  once  the  ranch 
of  George  Laing,  a  young  Englishman  who 
came  out  here  for  the  love  of  adventure,  and 
the  alluring  profits  in  raising  cattle.  His  ranch 
cannot  be  classed  as  one  of  the  early  loca- 
tions, but  it  was  ahead  of  the  grangers,  and 
that  puts  it  back  about  thirty-five  or  forty 
years  ago. 

The  virile  English  are  flesh-eaters,  and  Laing 
liked  variety.  He  brought  in  a  few  hogs.  They 
were  not  for  profit,  but  merely  that  he  might 
have  pork  as  well  as  beef,  and  not  rely  on  the 
old  "sow-belly"  of  the  early  market  houses. 

In  1885,  he  made  a  trip  up  Pumpkin  creek 
and  stopped  at  Chris  Streeks's  place,  south  of 
Rifle  Gap.  He  stayed  all  night,  and  sometime 
during  the  conversation,  mentioned  his  pigs. 
Chris  asked  him  where  he  could  get  a  hog, 
that  he  wanted  to  get  one  for  a  change.  George 
told  him  that  the  "blawsted  'awgs  are  increasing 
so  fawst  that  they  are  about  to  run  us  off  the 
place,  and  if  you  will  come  down  and  get  them, 
you  can  'ave  a  pair." 

Laing  was  then  a  candidate  for  sheriff, 
and  it  is  possible  that  his  generous  feelings 
were  partly  inspired  by  that  good  brotherhood 
spirit  that  gets  into  a   man's  blood   when  he 


is  running  for  office.  Laing  was  defeated,  and 
still  he  made  good  cheerfully  on  his  proffer,  so 
that  we  must  say  that  he  was  a  thoroughbred 
sport. 

Nelson  Ashford,  with  his  son  William  and 
family,  and  daughter  Gertrude  arrived  the 
autumn  of  1885,  Mrs.  Nelson  Ashford  arriv- 
ing the  following  spring. 

Will  Ashford  was  a  live  wire  and  he  believed 
in  living  as  he  journeyed  through  life.  As  he 
was  coming  down  Long  Springs  hill,  he  got  a 
glimpse  of  the  beautiful  virgin  valley  where 
Harrisburg  was  later  planted,  and  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  hill  was  a  creek,  and  the  tops  of 
green  trees  were  to  be  seen.  Will  let  out 
a  bray,  like  a  homecoming  mule,  and  startled 
the  silent  watches  of  the  wilderness.  Out  of 
the  canyon  there  scurried  in  all  directions  wild 
animals  that  had  been  down  to  drink.  There 
were  wild  horses,  deer  and  antelope. 

Being  Grangers,  the  Ashfords  wanted  pigs  as 
well  as  cattle,  and  there  were  none.  Then  it 
occurred  to  Mrs.  Streeks,  (also  a  daughter  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nelson  Ashford)  that  Laing 
had  told  them  of  his  hogs.  It  was  a  long  ways 
to  Laing's  ranch,  the  nearest  source  of  supply, 
but  not  so  very  far  comparatively  with  the 
overland  journey  from  beyond  the  Missouri. 

One  day  Mrs.  Ashford  and  her  younger 
daughter  hitched  up  the  team  to  the  wagon  and 
started  out  for  Laing's.  That  night  they  had 
negotiated  the  hills  through  Wright's  gap,  and 
reached  Charley  Smith's  in  Creighton  Flat. 
Here  they  stayed  all  night.  The  next  day  they 
drove  on  down  to  Laing's,  passing  Chimney 
Rock,  and  Court  House  Rock  on  the  way.  The 
country  between  those  landmarks  was  alive 
with  rattlesnakes.  At  first  they  stopped  and 
killed  them,  but  there  were  so  many,  after  they 
had  killed  fourteen  or  fifteen,  they  gave  up 
the  work  of  extermination,  and  passed  a  great 
many,  which  rattled  saucily  at  them. 

Laing  had  many  of  the  charming  character- 
istics of  his  native  land,  his  accent  was  delight- 
ful and  perfect,  and  he  was  a  good  entertainer. 
He  fixed  up  a  crate,  and  loaded  the  two 
pigs  for  the  women  folks,  and  they  returned. 
Laing's  were  the  first  hogs  on  the  North  Platte 
river,  and  Ash  ford's  were  the  first  on  Pump- 
kin creek  or  into  the  territory  later  embraced 
bv  the  boundaries  of  Banner  county. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


THE  VIRGINIAN  —  ARBUCKLE'S  RANCH  —  ROMANCE  OF  PARENTS  OF  MADE- 
LINE FORCE-LINGLE  OF  VALLEY  VIEW  —  CONNOLYS  OF  THE  "PF" 
—  NEW    RANCHES  — HANK    INGHRAM'S  NARROW  ESCAPE 


A  few  years  ago,  a  book  called  "the  Vir- 
ginian" had  quite  a  run  in  the  western  country. 
Many  of  the  incidents  contained  therein  were 
from  experiences  in  the  Panhandle  of  Ne- 
braska, and  eastern  Wyoming.  One  of  the 
stories  told  was  that  of  the  pranks  of  two  cow 
punchers  at  a  dance.  While  the  mothers  of 
a  number  of  sleeping  infants  were  dancing,  the 
boys  changed  the  wraps  which  the  babies  wore 
and  changed  their  positions,  to  the  end  that 
when  the  dance  broke  up,  most  of  the  parents 
started  home  with  the  wrong  baby.  As  the  dis- 
coveries were  not  made  until  the  parents  were 
at  home,  in  some  cases  twenty  miles  from  the 
scene,  it  took  considerable  time  to  straighten 
out  the  tangle  of  who  was  who  in  Babyland. 

This  incident,  or  its  prototype,  occurred  at 
Alex  Perry's  on  Little  Horse  creek,  and  the 
two  miscreants,  some  of  the  mothers  called 
them  criminals,  were  Chris.  Mitchell  and  Tom 
McShane. 

Molly  Woods,  who  taught  school  on  Beaver 
creek,  was  one  of  the  central  characters  in 
the  story,  and  she  married  the  Virginian.- 

The  book  was  quite  true  to  the  life  of  the 
west,  twenty-five  to  forty  years  ago,  and  while 
the  author  selected  his  characters  in  this  vi- 
cinity, they  had  their  prototypes  in  many  local- 
ities. The  loves,  the  hates,  the  combats,  the 
mischief  makers,  and  all  that  went  to  make 
up  life  in  the  cow  country,  was  found  here, 
and  elsewhere,  wherever  the  range  cattle 
roamed. 

One  of  the  old  favorite  poems,  one  which 
Abraham  Lincoln  often  repeated  was  "we 
tread  the  same  paths  that  our  fathers  have 
trod." 

This  sometimes  runs  so  literally  true  that  one 
thinks  the  writer  thereof  had  lived  long  years. 
Take  the  story  of  the  family  of  Astors,  for  il- 
lustration. In  1812  and  1813  Robert  Stuart 
and  his  party  of  Astorians  wintered  a  little 
north  of  Scottsbluff.  and  since  then  four  gen- 
erations of  the  Astors  have  had  some  calling 
back  to  the  land  of  western  Nebraska  and 
eastern  Wyoming,  although  their  interests  here 
seemed  to  have  terminated  long  ago. 

One  of  the  pretty  romances  of  the  great 
prairies  came  about  in  the  early  eighties,  and 
it  involves  well  known  characters  locally,  as 
well  as  in  high  finance. 

When  Tonv  Kennedy  arrived  from  Ireland 


with  James  Baxter,  they  landed  at  Pittsburg. 
Both  were  strapped  and  both  wanted  a  job. 
One  took  one  side  of  the  street  and  one  the 
other  and  both  landed  jobs  in  stores  almost 
opposite  each  other.  Kennedy  went  to  work 
for  Arbuckle,  who  later  became  one  of  the 
Arbuckle  Brothers,  whose  coffee  was  all  over 
the  country  a  generation  ago.  Baxter  and 
Kennedy  came  on  to  western  Nebraska  in  1886. 

The  Arbuckles  made  money,  and  contracted 
the  ranch  fever.  They  came  to  Cheyenne,  and 
bought  the  A.  M.  Post  horse  ranch  on  "Pole" 
creek,  sixteen  miles  north  of  that  city.  They 
built  a  large  two  story  ranch  house,  with  mod- 
ern conveniences  on  each  floor,  and  otherwise 
improved  the  place  to  make  it  coincide  with 
their  views  of  what  a  ranch  should  be ;  and 
they  had  saddles  and  talahoes,  and  servants  and 
all  that  added  to  comfort. 

Post  sold  the  ranch  with  a  book  value  of 
five  thousand  mares,  and  they  wanted  a  count. 
The  old  game  of  running  the  mares  around 
a  hill,  and  delivering  the  same  lot  two  or 
three  times  was  pulled  off  successfully  here, 
and  the  Arbuckles  received  about  two  thousand 
instead  of  five.  Naturally,  they  made  the  dis- 
covery in  due  time,  but  entered  no  protest. 
One  day  their  private  car  was  set  off  at  Chey- 
enne and  Post  was  invited  to  be  their  guest. 

They  told  him  that  a  man  of  his  attain- 
ments ought  to  be  in  the  big  game  field  of  the 
east,  so  the  story  goes,  and  he  "fell  for  it."  So 
in  due  time  he  was  dabbling  in  stocks,  which 
they  advised  him  were  good.  He  made  money 
by  a  number  of  transactions,  and  then  they 
advised  the  big  plunge  as  a  rare  opportunity. 
It  broke  him  and  his  Cheyenne  Bank,  and 
with  it  went  the  savings  of  the  frugal  cow- 
punchers. 

William  A.  Force  was  put  in  charge  of  the 
ranch  of  Pole  creek,  and  among  the  young 
fellows  who  went  to  work  for  him  was  Fred 
Wolt,  for  many  years  a  well  known  resident 
and  business  man  of  Gering,  and  now  ( 1920) 
President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at 
Norfolk,  Nebraska. 

Among  the  New  York  visitors  at  the  ranch 
was  Lillian  Force,  a  sister  of  the  foreman, 
and  her  chum,  Kate  Talmadge. 

The  freedom  of  the  ranch,  the  glorious 
talaho  rides  in  the  rarified  western  air,  the 
white  light  of  moonlit  nights,    the   stars   that 


148 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


seem  so  close  to  the  earth,  and  the  attentions 
of  the  dashing  foreman  of  the  big  ranch,  all 
had  a  part  in  the  result  that  Kate  Talmadge 
became  Mrs.  William  A.  Force.  From  this 
union  Madeline  Force  was  born,  Madeline 
Force  who  became  Mrs.  John  Jacob  Astor. 
He,  the  grandson  of  John  Jacob  Astor  the  first, 
went  down  on  the  Titanic  a  few  years  ago, 
when  that  great  vessel  sank  in  the  Atlantic 
on  its  maiden  trip,  and  but  for  the  romance  of 
the  high  plains  here  related,  Madeline  Force 
would  never  have  been  born,  and  he  would 
likely  not  have  been  on  the  fatal  trip. 

The  horses  from  Arbuckle's  ranch  often 
were  brought  to  the  "North  River"  to  winter. 
Robert  F.  Neeley  took  charge  of  winter  feeding 
the  first  winter,  and  then  John  R.  Stilts  built 
some  large  sod  barns  and  sheds  and  for  several 
winters  attended  to  the  business.  Fred  Wolt 
came  over  to  the  valley,  and  remained.  He 
married  one  of  the  valley's  young  ladies,  Lill- 
ian Brashear,  and  went  into  mercantile  busi- 
ness at  Gering.  Fred  had  the  distinguishing 
characteristics  of  the  Bostonian,  which  was 
different  from  the  ways  of  the  west.  Some  of 
the  boys  called  him  "dudish,"  but  he  got  along 
well  with  them,  and  has  made  a  splendid  suc- 
cess in  a  business  way.  First  in  general  mer- 
chandise, then  specializing  in  furniture,  hard- 
ware and  undertaking,  in  which  he  is  now  en- 


Valley  View  ranch  came  into  existence  at 
a  later  date  with  Hiram  D.  Lingle  as  the 
master  mind.  This  was  located  in  the  valley 
of  the  Rawhide,  and  when  the  Burlington  built 
the  North  River  branch,  they  named  a  town 
near  his  several  thousand  acres  of  fine  al- 
luvial land  in  honor  of  his  genius  and  enter- 
prise. He  bonded  the  whole  acreage  with  sev- 
eral thousand  additional  under  the  Carey  Act 
and  built  an  irrigation  system.  About  this  time 
the  government  irrigation  act  was  passed,  and 
the  North  Platte  project  thereof  found  that 
"Lucky  Valley,"  occupied  by  Lingle's  Colon- 
ization Canal,  was  the  only  practical  route 
through  the  barrier  of  sand  hills  between  Raw- 
hide and  Sheep  creek.  Lingle  sold  his  ditch 
to  the  government,  and  has  since  divided  his 
lands  into  small  farms  and  sold  all  to  settlers 
except  the  home  place  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres,  which  he  retains  for  a  summer 
home.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lingle  reside  in  Chicago 
the  balance  of  the  year. 

The  well  known  PF  ranch  in  the  vicinity  of 
old  Red  Cloud  agency  came  into  existence  af- 
h  r  iIk  departure  of  the  Indians  for  their  new 
quarters  en  White  river.  The  two  locations 
known  to  the  present  generations  are  at  Lingle, 
Wyoming  and  Henry,  Nebraska. 


Al.  S.  Connoly  was  the  foreman  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  was  a  remarkable  man,  hav- 
ing a  grasp  upon  the  details  of  all  the  several 
locations  that  was  almost  uncanny.  What  hap- 
pened to  him  never  came  out  clearly,  but  it 
may  have  been  the  weariness  of  the  grind.  At 
any  rate,  he  quit  the  ranch  work  and  made 
quite  an  extended  search  of  Wyoming,  with 
the  hope  of  locating  a  bed  of  "coking  coal." 
Had  he  been  successful,  Guernsey  would  have 
been  the  great  foundry  center  that  the  inhabi- 
tants thereof  have  long  hoped  it  would  be. 

Owing  to  the  lack  of  that  kind  of  coal,  it 
has  been  found  expedient  to  ship  the  iron  ore 
from  Sunrise  mines  to  Pueblo,  Colorado,  near 
the  fields  where  this  variety  of  coal  is  found. 

In  some  way  Connoly  ran  at  cross-pur- 
poses to  Senator  Francis  E.  Warren,  and  for 
a  number  of  years  he  was  tireless  in  his  at- 
tempts to  make  that  respected  statesman  an- 
swer for  some  of  the  land  frauds  of  eastern 
Wyoming  and  western  Nebraska,  particularly 
on  Horse  creek,  where  thousands  of  acres  of 
Uncle  Sam's  domain  went  to  private  ownership 
by  means  that  have  often  been  criticized. 

Connoly  is  now  in  Washington,  at  some 
work  in  the  Interior  Department. 

In  18S4,  Ferris  was  in  charge  of  the  State 
Line  ranch,  which  later  went  to  Colonel  Pratt. 
Al.  Smith,  in  the  early  days  designated  "Swear- 
ing" Smith,  to  distinguish  him  from  "Extract" 
Smith  and  "Whispering"  Smith,  had  charge 
of  the  ranch  later,  and  now  I  believe  his  son  is 
managing  the  place  or  owns  it.  Sheldon  has 
a  picture  of  one  of  the  partly  dismantled  sod 
houses  on  this  place  that  was  erected  at  or 
about  the  time  the  ranch  occupied  the  old  Red 
Cloud  site. 

The  upper  PF  ranch  went  to  Field  &  Leiter 
of  Chicago,  and  later  to  the  Leiter  estate,  in 
which  it  still  remains.  Except  that  part  which 
has  been  sold  to  business  men  and  other  people 
in  the  town  of  Lingle. 

W.  P.  (Billy)  Connoly,  brother  of  the  form- 
er manager  of  the  ranches  for  Pratt  &  Ferris, 
is  now  local  manager  of  the  Leiter  properties, 
as  well  as  the  wide  ramifications  of  his  own 
activities.  "Billy"  is  in  banking,  mercantile, 
farming,  ranching  and  road  contracting  work, 
and  attends  them  all  equally  well.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  he  sells  real  estate  for  the  Leiter 
people,  as  the  town  of  Lingle  is  rapidly  de- 
veloping into  a  city. 

When  Connoly  took  charge  of  the  Leiter 
local  affairs,  Billy  Ashby,  an  Englishman,  was 
foreman  of  the  Bridle  Bit  ranch,  but  he  left 
soon  after  and  went  to  Douglas.  While  on  the 
cow  ranch,  he  hated  sheep  "like  skunks,"  but 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


149 


not  long  after  he  was  in  the  sheep  business  and 
accumulated  wealth. 

"Texas  Tom"  Snow  is  one  of  the  characters 
of  this  vicinity,  arriving  in  the  North  Platte 
valley  in  the  day  of  the  Texas  trail,  and  he 
has  established  himself  on  the  Rawhide  at 
"Snow's  Point,"  which  is  one  of  the  land- 
marks north  of  Lingle.  Drilling  for  oil  will 
start  in  this  vicinity  sometime  during  the  com- 
ing spring  (1920). 

About  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  granger, 
a  number  of  new  men  arrived  with  ranching 
instead  of  grangering  instincts,  and  these  be- 
came the  "ranchmen"  best  known  for  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century.  Many  of  them  accumu- 
lated large  herds  and  an  empire  of  fertile 
land. 

Joe  Sanford,  who  is  north  of  Mitchell,  is  a 
notable  example.  He  has  about  a  township 
of  land,  or  over  twenty-thousand  acres.  Dr. 
Miller,  who  acquired  extensive  ranch  posses- 
sions north  of  Morrill  about  fifteen  miles,  has 
"gone  to  another  range,"  but  the  excellent 
property  is  owned  and  managed  by  his  son, 
True  Miller.  Chas.  Loucomer  has  the  old 
Wind  Springs  ranch.  E.  von  Forrell  has  late- 
ly acquired  a  large  acreage  north  of  Lake  Alice 
in  Sioux  county,  where  Forrell  and  son  run 
their  fine  Herefords.  On  the  Harry  Haig 
ranch  in  Mitchell  valley  lives  (1919)  one  of 
the  characters  of  the  old  west,  H.  M.  In- 
ghram.  He  drove  stage  for  Gilman  &  Sals- 
bury,  who  owned  the  "Black  Hills  route"  from 
Cheyenne  in  its. earliest  years. 

"Stuttering"  Brown  had  charge  of  the  di- 
vision between  Cheyenne  and  Fort  Laramie. 


"Hank"  Inghram  had  an  adventure  and  nar- 
row escape  in  the  north  part  of  Sioux  county 
about  this  time.  He  was  coming  down  from 
Deadwood  with  one  of  the  Cheyenne  stages, 
and  fell  in  with  two  Irishmen.  He  drove  the 
stage  to  Custer,  and  "deadheaded"  to  Indian 
creek.  Here  they  were  attacked  by  Indians 
with  needle  guns  and  Marlin  rifles.  They  were 
pursued  down  the  old  road  for  eighteen  or 
twenty  miles  when  the  horses  played  out.  The 
men  left  them,  and  ran  into  a  burnt  over  wild 
cherry  thicket,  and  down  a  ravine. 

It  was  after  sundown,  twilight  settled  quick- 
ly, and  the  party  became  separated,  but  all 
headed  in  the  general  direction  of  Soldier 
creek,  making  their  several  ways  by  moon- 
light. They  were  chased  for  a  part  of  the 
distance,  and  one  Irishman  who  arrived  safely 
at  dawn  declared  that  he  had  been  pursued  all 
night.  The  others  arrived  at  an  earlier  hour, 
and  Inghram  had  his  pants  cut  with  bullets 
twice.  One  bullet  cut  through  the  cloth  and 
underwear,  and  just  burnt  the  skin. 

The  papers  at  Cheyenne  and  Omaha  reported 
he  had  been  killed,  but  he  has  lived  many  years 
since  and  still  retains  the  trousers,  or  a  part 
of  the  cloth  thereof,  as  a  memento  of  the  nar- 
row escape.  Among  the  reminiscences  of  H. 
M.  Inghram  is  that  of  a  big  dance  in  1876. 
Nick  Genice  gave  it  at  his  place  on  Bordeaux, 
and  the  people  came  for  many  miles.  They 
danced  without  ceasing  for  three  days  and 
nights. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  SHIFTING  SANDS  — THE  STORM  OF  78— FIRST  SETTLERS  ON  PUMPKIN 

CREEK  — FIRST  COWT  IN  WESTERN  NEBRASKA  — MENTAL  GIANTS 

OF  THE  BIG  COW  DAYS 


When  the  west  was  young,  who  would  have 
selected  W.  F.  Cody  for  the  historic  char- 
acter of  the  "Wild  West?"  Who  could  have 
guessed  the  destiny  of  Paxton.  or  Creighton, 
or  Bratt,  or  Van  Tassel,  or  McShane.  or  Cof- 
fee, or  Swan?  The  other  men  of  the  west 
shifted  and  strayed  abroad,  or  settled  on  their 
local  acres,  or  the  acres  of  some  other  state 
or  land. 


We  find  Frank  Brainard,  who  held  horses 
on  the  table  north  of  Scottsbluff,  in  the  winter 
of  1879,  now  stock  inspector  at  the' stock  yards 
of  Chicago.  That  winter,  he  tells  us.  a  half 
dozen  Indians  had  their  dugout  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  near  the  bad  lands. 

We  find  Ben  Graham,  the  brother  of  Joe 
Graham  of  Mollie's  Fork,  in  the  same  busi- 
ness at  Sioux  City.     Hugh  McFee  is  inspec- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


tor  al  Denver.  He  is  the  brother  of  Earl  Mc- 
Pee,  who  hunt,'  himself  near  the  1'F  ranch, 
because  of  a  love  affair. 

Earl  had  ridden  his  horse  underneath  a 
limb  of  a  big  Cottonwood,  and  attached  his 
lariat  thereto,  and  around  bis  neck.  He  then 
kicked  the  broncho  and  it  ran  away,  leaving 
him  suspended.  When  found  he  was  quite 
dead.  Some  of  the  boys  were  removing  his 
boots  preparatory  for  burial,  when  Smith,  the 
foreman  of  the  outfit,  accused  them  of  trying 
to  steal  a  dead  man's  boots.  The  others  were 
thinking  only  of  the  newer  methods  of  burial, 
but  Smith  insisted  on  the  old  order  being  car- 
ried out.  McFee  was  therefore  buried  with 
his  boots  on,  at  Fort  Laramie. 

Charlie  Talbot,  another  old  timer,  is  in- 
spector in  Omaha.  Mose  Howard  was  to 
be  found  about  the  stock  yards  for  years,  but 
he  died  recently.  Wyatt  Heard  is  in  Texas. 
Henry  Heard  at  Long  Beach,  California,  E.  A. 
Moots  is  at  Lander  and  Thermopolis.  Wyom- 
ing, Johnny  Minser  died  on  his  farm  near 
Fort  Laramie,  in  1918.  One  could  go  on  nam- 
ing the  boys  and  their  many  destinies,  but  they 
were  almost  as  numerous  as  the  sands  of  the 
Great  Sand  Hills.  A  great  many  have  gone 
on  the  "long,  long  trail."  And  out  of  these  great 
stretches  of  waste  or  pasturage,  have  come  a 
number  of  the  stronger  characters  of  Nebras- 
ka. 

In  the  winter  of  187S  came  one  of  the  worst 
storms  that  had  ever  visited  the  western  plains. 
It  wrecked  the  finances  of  some  of  the  cattle 
companies.  But  few  of  them  were  prepared 
for  ,-i  storm  of  such  severity.  It  commenced 
on  the  seventh  of  March  and  lasted  until  the 
tenth. 

The  storm  caught  Tommy  Chaunavierre 
(  Shunover),  Bob  Cavalier,  and  "Scotty,"  hunt- 
ing mountain  sheep.  The)-  had  killed  one  on 
Wildcat  mountain,  before  the  storm  struck, 
n  headed  for  Dicky  Brown's  place  at 
Kane'  Point!  Shunover  was  the  one  of  the 
three  to  reach  shelter.  The  other  two  hardy 
frontiersmen  perished  in  the  drifts  on  the 
way.  After  the  storm,  Cavalier  was  found 
near  Sand  Hill  south  of  the  Sunderling  place, 
which  is  now  (1919)  owned  by  Theo.  John- 
son. "Scotty"  reached  the  Will  Kelly  place 
he  lore  he  went  down.  The  son-in-law  of  Nick 
Genice  was  caught  in  this  storm  and  went 
"tin  long  trail."  ('has.  I  leek  had  twelve  teams, 
fourteen  yoke  to  the  team,  completely  wiped 
i  in  by  the  blizzard. 

In  1879,  while  watching  cattle  near  Kane's 
'  nt.  I  larve  Beeson  was  killed  by  Indians, 
wlii  i  crawled  up  in  the  rushes  and  shot  him. 
II''  either   was  afraid   to  crawl  to  the  cabin. 


or  could  not  do  so,  for  when  found  he  had  lain 
for  two  days,  and  had  stuffed  his  shirt  into  the 
wound  to  stop  the  blood.  This  occurred  about 
three  hundred  yards  up  the  stream  from  the 
point  where  Wright's  ranch  house  was  erected. 

WTight  came  down  the  valley  from  Horse 
creek  and  he  found  Dicky  Brown  near  Kane's 
Point.  Dicky  sold  out  to  Wright  a  short 
time  afterwards.  His  brother,  Jonathan 
Brown,  built  the  cabin  at  the  Four-J  spring, 
east  of  Wildcat,  and  he  made  final  proof  on 
the  land. 

John  Wright's  ranch  became  the  center  of 
affairs  for  a  number  of  years  on  the  valley  of 
the  Pumpkin.  Will  Kelly  located  near  him, 
and  then  came  Earley,  and  Livingstons,  who 
secured  a  postofhce  and  built  a  story  and  a 
half  grout  house,  where  the  first  settlers  en- 
joyed many  a  social  evening.  Wrights  and 
Livingstons  led  all  the  rest  when  it  came  to 
roundup  dances  and  social  festivities,  before 
the  grangers  came  and  submerged  the  older 
order  of  things. 

Two  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dicky  Brown,  which  were  the  first  wdiite  chil- 
dren born  in  that  section.  They  both  died  early 
and  are  buried  on  the  home  claim.  Bess 
Kelly  was  the  first  white  child  born  on  Pump- 
kin creek  that  lived  to  maturity.  She  is  now- 
dead.  Her  brother,  Ted,  still  has  the  old  place 
where  he  was  born. 

The  cow  business  had  its  run  for  about  twen- 
ty years.  But  the  first  domestic  cow  in  west- 
ern Nebraska,  was  that  which  William  Sub- 
lette trailed  after  his  wagon  in  the  trapper  days, 
when  he  drove  the  first  wagons  into  the  moun- 
tains. When  he  met  Fitzpatrick,  and  neces- 
sity required  more  speed  than  they  were  regu- 
larly making,  they  turned  the  cow  loose,  near 
the  present  site  of  Morrill,  and  she  became 
the  first  range  cow  in  the  Panhandle  of  the 
state.  That  was  before  Fort  William,  the 
antecedent  of  Fort  Laramie,  was  built. 

The  next  cows  were  ten  years  later,  being 
taken  through  to  Oregon.  Then  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  plodding  oxen  were  the 
cattle  that  trailed  across  the  land.  During  that 
period  the  buffalo  w^ere  nearly  exterminated, 
and  the  prairies  grew  luxuriant  grasses,  only 
to  be  burned,  or  to  feed  mustangs  and  wild 
horses,  and  work  oxen.  After  that  the  real 
run  of  cattle  affairs  for  a  score  of  years,  be- 
fore the  granger  came. 

Permanent  settlement  began  in  the  vicinity 
of  Scottsbluff  in  1884.  Before  that  date,  for 
a  number  of  years,  there  were  cowpunchers 
working  up  and  down  the  North  river  coun- 
try, who  later  became  permanent  fixtures. 
Charlie    Foster  and   L.   J.   Wyman   were   the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


151 


earliest  in  point  of  time.  They  were  in  a 
measure  fixed  here  several  years  before  any 
of  the  others,  but  it  was  in  the  capacity  of 
rangers  looking  after  cattle.  They  settled 
down  and  took  land  in  the  early  eighties. 
■  Runey  C.  Campbell,  who  still  resides  upon 
his  homestead  (1919),  George  Marsh,  lately 
removed  to  the  newer  land  of  Montana,  and 
W.  E.  Ingraham,  who  was  killed  by  a  colt  on 
his  farm  in  Mitchell  valley,  were  the  next  to 
build  permanent  domiciles  in  the  vicinity.  They 
located  about  ten  miles  apart,  that  being  in 
their  judgment  a  good  neighborly  distance. 
Campbell  was  near  the  old  Coad  ranch  in 
what  later  became  Gering  Valley.  Ingraham 
was  in  Mitchell  Valley  northwest  of  the  old 
fort  a  few  miles,  and  Marsh  on  Kiowa  and 
Horse  creek.  Wyman  and  Foster  were  nearer 
neighbors  for  Marsh.  These  houses  were  all 
on  the  south  side  of  the  siver,  and  were  made 
of  logs,  with  poles  and  sod  for  roofs  and 
dirt  floors. 

In  the  spring  of  1885,  "Sailor  Joe"  Hanson 
built  a  log  cabin  in  Mitchell  Valley,  and  lived 
there  for  a  number  of  years.  One  day  his 
boy  got  his  foot  tangled  in  a  lariat  rope,  the 
other  end  of  which  was  attached  to  a  wild  sad- 
dle horse.  The  animal  promptly  ran  away, 
and  dragged  the  boy  to  his  death,  after  which 
Hanson  sold  out,  and  left  the  country. 

Perry  Braziel,  who  had  been  here  off  and 
on  since  1882,  took  some  land  adjoining  the 
old  Bay  State  ranch  in  Mitchell  Valley,  about 
this  time.  Perry  had  been  at  the  ranch  con- 
siderable of  his  time  for  three  or  four  years, 
working  on  the  roundups  and  feeding  stock  in 
the  winter. 

Working  for  the  bonanza  cattle  outfits,  the 
men  upon  the  ground  saw  the  trend  of  the 
times.  This  land  could  not  always  remain  free 
range,  and  so  the  hay  meadows  were  taken  up 
by  the  boys  who  wanted  to  make  this  their 
permanent  abiding  place.  They  may  have  even 
thought  that  the  mental  giants  did  not  have 
their  ears  to  the  ground,  but  Paxton  and 
Creighton  visualized  the  future.  They  saw 
the  advancing  line  of  settlement,  and  they  heard 
the  tread  of  coming  thousands.  Their  amalga- 
mations were  but  the  shrewder  instincts  "Get- 
ting from  under"  as  they  felt  bonanza  ranching 
tottering  and  trembling  to  its  fall.  They  could 
see  that  soon  the  free  range  would  be  no  more. 
When    I    think   of    their   achievements,    I    am 


proud  of  the  people  of  the  west.  Much  may 
justly  be  said  of  later  people,  but  I  am  to 
speak  of  them  in  their  turn  and  place. 

I  refer  now  to  the  men  of  old.  Of  Creigh- 
ton, and  Paxton,  and  Swan,  and  McShane.  and 
Bratt.  and  Sheedy,  and  Van  Tassel,  and  Cof- 
fee. Of  the  men  who  pioneered  in  their  line. 
Who  were  unafraid  of  Indians  or  personal 
dangers,  and  bad  men,  and  roughed  it  with  the 
roughest. 

It  was  an  achievement  to  string  the  first 
wires  from  the  Missouri  to  Salt  Lake  City, 
placing  the  east  and  the  west  in  instantan- 
eous communication.  These  men  drove  their 
own  oxen  and  conducted  their  own  trail  wag- 
ons east,  west,  north,  south,  criss-crossing  west- 
ern Nebraska  with  the  marks  of  their  wagon 
wheels.  They  helped  to  drive  the  buffalo  from 
the  western  range,  and  filled  the  wide  pastures 
of  the  plains  with  domestic  cattle.  They  organ- 
ized and  amalgamated  mighty  herds,  and  trail- 
ed them  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  Yellow- 
stone. 

By  and  by  they  took  up  other  vocations,  and 
their  dominant  genius  built  the  pillars  of  cities. 
Firm  and  enduring  were  the  foundations  of 
their  fortunes.  And  so  much  of  their  great 
work  was  after  they  had  attained  middle  age. 

Paxton  told  me  once  that  some  men  have 
youthful  minds  until  they  are  forty  of  fifty 
years  of  age.  He  himself  was  thirty-nine  be- 
fore he  had  accumulated  a  thousand  dollars. 
But  all  the  earlier  years  he  had  been  learning 
at  the  University  of  Nature,  the  School  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  other  mental  giants  of 
the  world. 

Whacking  bulls,  night-herding-  the  nervous 
herds,  stringing  telegraph  wires  through  an 
Indian  wilderness,  building  great  ranches,  con- 
structing giant  packing  plants,  and  pillars  of 
masonry,  endowing  schools,  moulding  the  des- 
tinies of  a  state,  handling  fortunes  in  a  clay, 
these  men  stand  out  examples  of  western  en- 
terprise and  energy.  Life  whirled  them  from 
one  vocation  to  another,  but  in  each  environ- 
ment, there  shone  the  fire  of  individual  iden- 
tity. Each  was  a  human  dynamo,  with  coils 
of  experience,  and  the  name  of  any  one  of 
them  is  a  symbol  of  tremendous  power.  They 
met  all  manner  of  dragons,  and  were  victorious 
over  all  save  death.  And  some  of  them  bid 
fair  to  hold  him  off  for  many  years  to  come. 


1 1  [STORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XXX 


VIGI]   WTFS  II  \XG  REED  AT  SIDNEY  — THE   GREAT   BULLION   ROBBERY 
WHISPERING  SMITH  GETS  TWO 


The  cowman's  period  of  taming  the  wilder- 
ness also  included  the  period  of  Black  Hills 
gold  discoveries,  which  had  a  tendency  of  con- 
centrating rough  elements  at  the  terminals  of 
the  trails  to  and  from  the  gold  fields.  Thus 
Sidney  became  a  storm  center  of  deadly  activ- 
ity in  the  Panhandle  of  Nebraska. 

In  1879,  Sidney  was  a  pretty  rough  f  ren- 
der town.  The  gold  excitement  had  run  for 
about  three  years,  and  this  landing  place  for 
those  who  had  been  successful  and  were  re- 
turning east,  attracted  a  lot  of  good  business 
men  who  supplied  the  prosperous  miner  with 
new  outfits  suitable  for  the  old  home  back 
east.  Merchantmen  also  outfitted  those  who 
were  going  into  the  hills. 

There  was  another  class  that  sought  by  all 
sorts  of  intrigue  to  separate  the  miner  from 
his  money,  and  then,  they  presumed  that  the 
loss  of  fortune  would  send  the  men  back  to 
dig  more  gold.  Gamblers  and  saloon  men  of 
the  time  always  justified  any  act  necessary  to 
get  the  money,  with  the  following  philosophy : 
"These  men  are  naturally  spenders,  booze 
fighter.-,  and  otherwise  dissolute.  When  they 
have  money,  they  lay  around  the  towns,  drink, 
and  make  themselves  generally  disgusting  and 
disagreeable.  Therefore  take  the  money  from 
them  as  quickly  as  any  device  can  be  arranged. 
It  stops  their  ruinous  notions  and  sends  them 
into  the  healthy  life  of  the  open,  to  be  'pro- 
ducers.' " 

This  logic  is  about  as  reasonable  as  that  of 
profiteers  born  of  the  late  world  war. 

Sidney  had  its  large  bunch  of  self-appointed 
guardian--  of  ihis  class.  So  it  was  that  one 
Saturday  morning  the  town  woke  up  +o  the 
effect  that  one  of  its  best  men,  Henry  Locmis, 
had  been  shot  by  a  gambler  named  Charles 
Reed,  Loomis  was  taken  to  the  United  States 
hospital  at  the  Sidney  army  post,  where  it 
was  found  that  the  thigh  bone  was  shattered, 
and  an  amputation  was  necessary.  He  died  at 
live  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  May  10,  1879. 

Reed  had  lied  to  the  rocks  north  of  Sidney, 
bul  was  taken  by  Sheriff  Zweifel  and  a  posse, 
and  incarcerated  in  jail.  About  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  night  four  hundred  masked  men  arrived 
ai  lb.  jail,  overpowered  the  guards,  and  took 
Reed  to  a  telegraph  pole  on  the  south  side  of 
the  track  opposite  the  Union  Pacific  depot.  A 
ladder  was  procured,  and  a  rope  thrown  over 
tin'  cross-bar  of  the  pole,  one  end  of  which 


was  looped  around  Reed's  neck.  He  was  asked 
if  he  had  anything  to  say. 

"Only,  good-bye,  gentlemen,"  was  his  an- 
swer, and  he  was  swung  aloft.  A  few  shots 
were  fired  into  the  body,  and  there  were  ex- 
pressions here  and  there  that  "Loomis  is 
avenged."  The  crowd  dispersed  quietly,  with 
but  few  words. 

The  body  swung  in  the  air  all  during  the 
next  day,  and  thrilled  and  shocked  the  passen- 
gers going  through  Sidney  on  the  overland 
trains. 

The  rougher  element  was  quiet  for  a  time, 
but  soon  again  were  going  strong.    A  year  or 


Hanging  Reed  by  Vigilantes  Committee 

two  later  it  culminated  in  an  eighty  thousand 
dollar  robbery  of  gold  bullion  in  broad  daylight. 
This  was  believed  to  have  been  planned  some 
days  in  advance,  and  with  the  co-operation  of 
rbe  stage  driver  and  the  Sidney  express  agent. 

On  the  day  mentioned  the  stage  arrived  too 
late  to  catch  the  east  bound  train.  C.  K.  Allen, 
a  fine-looking  man,  was  express  agent.  He 
took  four  gold  bars,  valued  at  twenty  thousand 
dollars  each,  and  several  thousand  in  currency 
and  put  them  in  the  freight  room.  He  locked 
the  door  and  went  to  lunch. 

On  returning  he  found  that  a  hole  had  been 
sawed  through  the  floor,  and  the  gold  bars  and 
currency  were  gone.  A  tunnel,  which  must 
have  required  the  work  of  several  days,  led 
to  and  under  another  building,  and  the  robbers 
were  gone. 

Albert  Sorenson  tells  of  the  following  events 
in  this  way,  in  a  recent  issue  of  the  Omaha 
Bee  : 

"General    Superintendent    Morsman   of    fhe 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Pacific  Express  company  and  John  M.  Thurs- 
ton, then  assistant  general  attorney  of  the 
Union  Pacific,  upon  arriving  at  Sidney  to  in- 
vestigate the  robbery,  found  Robert  Law,  su- 
perintendent of  the  mountain  division,  already 
on  the  ground.  Law  had  brought  with  him 
James  H.  Smith,  known  as  "Whispering 
Smith."  the  railroad  detective,  whose  head- 
quarters were  at  Cheyenne. 

After  carefully  looking  over  the  situation 
and  weighing  all  the  circumstances,  it  was 
concluded  by  the  railroad  officials  that  the  rob- 
bery was  committed  by  four  men ;  that  the 
leader  was  a  man  named  McCarthy,  who  had 
served  as  sheriff  in  1876  and  1877,  and  at 
this  time  was  conducting  the  Capitol  saloon  and 
gambling  house.  He  was  a  man  of  consider- 
able political  influence  and  had  for  his  warm- 
est friends  the  entire  tough  element  which 
ran  the  town  to  suit  themselves. 

The  other  suspects  were  Patsy,  one  of  Mc- 
Carthy's bartenders,  a  barber  named  Flanna- 
gan  and  C.  K.  Allen,  the  station  agent,  ( for 
some  reason  the  stage  driver  was  not  included). 
McCarthy's  influence  was  so  strong  that  he 
at  first  prevented  an  indictment  from  being 
found  by  the  grand  jury,  but  the  district  at- 
torney made  a  motion  before  Judge  Gaslin  that 
Thurston  be  appointed  special  assistant  in  order 
to  permit  him  to  go  before  the  grand  jury. 

"The  judge  granted  the  order  and  Thurston, 
after  great  difficulty  and  in  spite  of  numerous 
obstacles,  put  in  his  way  by  McCarthy,  final- 
ly convinced  the  requisite  number  of  jurors 
that  they  would  be  justified  in  voting  for  an 
indictment. 

"When  the  case  came  up  for  trial  Thurston 
appeared  as  prosecutor.  In  relating  the  story 
of  this  affair  to  me,  in  the  summer  of  1916,  ex- 
Senator  Thurston  told  some  interesting  inci- 
dents regarding  Whispering  Smith,  who  was 
assisting  him  in  the  case.  They  occupied  Su- 
perintendent Law's  private  car  and  every  night 
Smith  asked  Thurston  to  take  a  walk  up  the 
track  to  a  lonely  spot  and  there  in  a  low  tone  — 
hardly  above  a  whisper  —  would  discuss  the 
events  of  the  day's  proceedings. 

One  night  he  said:  "Judge  Thurston,  you're 
not  a-goin'  to  get  those  fellows.  They-ve  set 
the  pins  against  you  in  this  county.  McCarthy 
is  the  ringleader,  and  I  can  settle  this  whole 
thing  for  you  if  you  just  let  me  go  down  and 
take  McCarthy  out,  and  bring  him  up  here  and 
hang  him  to  a  telegraph  pole." 

Smith  night  after  night  tried  to  persuade 
Thurston  to  let  him  carry  out  this  plan,  and 
the  detective  seemed  very  much  disappointed 
at  the  attorney's  refusal  to  take  any  steps  that 
were  not  in  accordance  with  law  and  order. 


"Well,  you  are  going  to  get  left,"  said  Smith, 
"that  jury  is  set  against  you." 

That  evening,  just  as  Thurston  was  about  to 
leave  for  Omaha,  Smith  took  him  behind  the 
station  and  whispered  to  him :  "I  told  you  so, 
but  Pm  a-goin'  to  stay  here  a  day  or  two,  and 
I  think  Pll  get  one  or  two  of  'em." 

At  midnight  "Long"  Kelly,  the  train  con- 
ductor, woke  Thurston  and  handed  him  this 
dispatch  from  Superintendent  Law :  "Jim  got 
Patsy."  At  noon  the  next  day  Thurston  re- 
ceived another  dispatch  from  Law.  It  was : 
"Jim  got  the  barber." 

Some  time  later,  Law  met  Thurston  and  re- 
lated the  details  of  Smith's  two  "gettings."  "I 
went  down  to  the  Capitol  saloon,"  said  Smith 
to  Superintendent  Law,  "and  waited  for  Mc- 
Carthy to  show  up,  but  I  guess  he  heard  I  was 
there  and  didn't  appear.  Bob,  I  got  tired  a-wait- 
in',  and  goin'  up  to  the  bar  I  called  Patsy,  the 
barkeeper,  a  damned  unhung  robber.  Patsy 
pulls  his  gun  and  shoots  at  me  but  misses.  I 
.guess  he  was  a  little  nervous  like.  I  pulled  and 
let  go,  and  when  they  look  Patsy  over  they'll 
find  a  hole  just  about  two  inches  to  the  left 
of  his  lower  vest  button.  Bob,  I  pulled  for  the 
button  but  I  sighted  a  little  off.  Somebody 
knocked  out  the  lights  and  I  emptied  my  gun 
over  the  heads  of  the  other  people  and  then 
came  away." 

Patsy  was  badly  wounded,  and  was  a  long 
time  in  recovering.  His  wound  was  at  the 
very  place  that  Smith  said  the  hole  would  be 
found.  Smith  was  arrested  but  was  discharged 
the  next  morning  on  the  ground  of  self-defense. 
A  few  minutes  later  as  he  was  approaching 
the  Lockwood  house,  barber  Flanagan  said: 
"That  murderous  whelp  shot  Patsy;  this  is  a 
hell  of  a  country  for  law  and  order." 

Smith  replied  with  a  vile  epithet,  and  asked 
the  barber  what  he  had  to  do  with  the  matter. 
The  barber  pulled  a  revolver  and  fired  at  Smith 
but  missed  him.  The  next  instant  the  barber 
was  a  dead  man,  a  shot  from  Smith's  gun  hav- 
ing hit  him  in  a  vital  spot.  Smith  was  again 
arrested  and  again  released  on  the  ground  of 
self-defense. 

Excitement  now  ran  high  in  Sidney.  A  vi- 
gilance committee  arrested  McCarthy  and 
lodged  him  in  jail.  That  night  the  prisoner 
was  informed  that  he  was  to  be  hanged  in  the 
morning  and  a  friendly  informant  told  him 
that  the  best  thing  he  could  do  was  to  mount 
a  saddled  horse  standing  outside  the  jail  and 
leave  the  country.  He  took  the  hint,  the  jail 
door  being  opened  for  his  exit.  He  was  prob- 
ably allowed  to  escape  by  the  sheriff  with  the 
consent  of  the  vigilantes. 

McCarthy  never  returned  to  Sidney,  and  it 


154 


HISTORY  (  )I;  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


was  thought  for  a  long  time  that  Whispering 
Smith  had  trailed  him  and  ended  his  career. 
This  belief  was  due  to  the  fact  that  Smith  dis- 
apeared  from  Sidney  the  same  night  that  .Mc- 
Carthy made  his  getaway  and  was  mysteriously 
absent  for  two  days. 

The  fourth  gold  brick  was  found  under  Mc- 
Carthy's saloon  several  years  after  his  depar- 
ture. The  find  was  made  by  workmen  who 
were  excavating  for  the  foundation  of  a  new 
bank  building.  McCarthy,  who  fled  to  Mon- 
tana, was  said  to  have  been  a  "Molly  Maguire" 
who  escaped  from  Pennsylvania,  after  the 
great  "Molly  Maguire"  excitement,  in  which  he 
was  a  leader  in  the  coal  fields  against  law  and 
order. 

Col.  A.  B.  Persinger,  owner  of  Hardscrabble 
ranch  near  Lodgepo'.e,  was  a  resident  of  Sid- 
ney at  the  time  of  the  "great  bullion  robbery," 
as  it  was  called,  and  while  in  Omaha  last  week, 
related  several  interesting  incidents  connected 
with  the  sensational  affair.  When  station  agent 
Allen  was  arrested  his  bond  of  $10,000  was 
signed  within  a  few  minutes  by  the  best  citi- 
zens of  Sidney. 

No  one  for  a  moment  believed  him  guilty,  as 
he  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  every- 
body in  the  community.  After  his  acquittal, 
the  firm  of  Persinger  &  Whitney,  wholesale 
and  retail  grocers,  employed  him  as  bookkeeper 
and   confidential   cashier.      Prior  to  becoming 


station  agent  Allen  had  served  as  county  clerk 
and  treasurer,  and  had  the  entire  confidence 
of  the  people.  Upon  leaving  Sidney,  Allen  lo- 
cated in  Pueblo.  Colorado,  where  he  became 
paymaster  of  a  large  coal  company. 

Colonel  Persinger  does  not  class  Smith  as 
a  hero,  such,  as  he  is  made  to  appear  in  a  novel 
bearing  the  title  of  "Whispering  Smith,"  writ- 
ten some  years  ago  by  Frank  H.  Spearman. 
He  knew  Smith  very  well,  and  regarded  him 
more  as  an  outlaw. 

Whispering  Smith  was  a  dead  shot ;  a  man 
of  nerve ;  cold-blooded,  calculating  and  fear- 
less ;  and  a  man  who  would  cunningly  and 
tauntingly  provoke  an  enemy  to  commit  the 
first  overt  act,  thus  giving  Smith  ground  for 
self-defense.  That  was  Smith's  game.  Such 
is  Colonel  Persinger's  iconoclastic  estimate  of 
the  hero  of  Spearman's  novel,  in  which  the 
"great  bullion  robbery"  is  not  even  remotely 
referred  to. 

Julius  Thoelecke,  who  resided  at  Sidney  at 
the  time,  does  not  share  with  Colonel  Persinger 
in  his  high  esteem  of  agent  Allen. 

Mr.  Persinger  and  his  "Hardscabble  Ranch" 
are  both  interesting.  His  is  a  personality  and 
his  ranch  a  landmark  on  Lodgepole  creek,  near 
the  town  of  Lodgepole.  He  established  the 
ranch  about  1878,  or  ten  years  after  the  coming 
of  the  Union  Pacific. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

OBERFELDERS  DEMONSTRATE  HOG  AND  ALFALFA  COMBINATION  —  LATER 

RANCHERS  N I '.AROSHKOSH  —  POOR'S  RANCH,  WHERE  SHELDON  HIT 

Tlllv  WEST  — COWBOYS  MARKING   GRAVES  — THE   MIDNIGHT 

RIDE  OF  WILD  HORSE  HARRIS 


\  great  many  people  passing  along  that  val- 
ley, on  the  <  )verland  trains,  or  the  Lincoln 
1  lighway,  have  admired  a  green  oasis  near  the 
pretty  village  of  Lodgepole,  which  is  the  Ober- 
felder  ranch.  <  >berfelder  Brothers  are  pioneer 
merchants  al  Sidney,  and  this  ranch  was  a 
side  issue.  I  [ere  was  where  a  demonstration  of 
what  hogs  would  do,  if  properly  handled  in  al- 
falfa fields,  proved  of  great  value  to  the  own- 
ers, a-  well  as  to  western  Nebraska  at  large. 
id  "Bob"  l  >berfelder  have  done  splen- 
didly their  part  in  western  development. 

Permanent    ranching  at    the   mouth   of   the 


Blue  Water  and  west  along  the  North  Platte 
valley  is  marked  by  the  names  of  old  timers 
in  the  present  limits  of  Garden  county.  Here 
we  find  foremost  among  them  several  persons 
still  living,  and  of  distinguished  interest. 

Reuben  Lisco  still  holds  the  famous  ranch 
heretofore  mentioned  in  detail. 

Samuel  P.  DeLatour  still  has  a  ranch  in 
"Cheyenne  Canyon"  on  the  Blue,  which  he 
established  before  1885. 

H.  C.  Gumaer  came  up  from  Howard  county 
and  permanently  settled  here  about  1885,  with 
headquarters  in  section  thirty-five.   Township 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


seventeen,  north  of  Range  forty-four  west.    He 
organized  the  Oshkosh  Land  &  Cattle  Company. 

D.  C.  Hooper  arrived  and  went  into  ranching 
about  the  same  time.  Previously,  Knowles- 
Baldwin  Company,  the  Ogallala  Company,, 
Adams,  Redington  &  Company,  and  the  LJsco 
ranch  were  in  practical  control  of  the  range, 
the  Ogallala  having  taken  over  many  of  the  _ 
other  ranches.  This  company  had  a  "camp" 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Blue,  when  the  latter  day 
ranchmen  began  to  arrive. 

About  1878,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Nio- 
brara, west  of  Valentine,  some  English  people 
financed  and  builded  what  became  known  as 
Poor's  ranch.  The  place  was  about  due  north 
of  Nenzel,  although  there  were  neither  Nenzel 
or  Valentine  at  that  time,  and  it  grew  to  the 
proportions,  then  necessary  to  be  called  a  ranch, 
namely:  the  number  of  cattle  ran  upward  of  a 
thousand.  The  range  extended  westward  twen- 
ty or  more  miles  and  north  to  the  Dakota  line. 

Two  cowboys  were  killed  by  Indians  there 
in  its  early  years. 

This  ranch  was  where  Addison  E.  Sheldon, 
present  secretary  of  the  State  Historical  So- 
ciety, stopped  for  a  time  on  his  first  journey 
into  northwest  Nebraska.  With  the  coming  of 
the  granger  the  ranch  was  abandoned. 

Earnest  Brothers,  who  located  on  the  Nio- 
brara in  Sioux  county,  in  1882,  held  the  ranch 
for  twenty  years  or  more.  Wilse  Earnest 
moved  to  Scottsblufr  about  1900,  but  Jim  was 
ranching  some  years  later.    Both  are  now  dead. 

Mr.  Meeks,  who  located  on  the  Niobrara, 
about  1878,  fifteen  miles  up  the  river  from 
Agate,  was  at  the  crossing  of  the  old  Ft.  LaraT 
mie-Ft.  Robinson  Military  road. 

Lusk  became  quite  a  cowtown  in  the 
eighties.  The  cemetery  there  would  no  doubt 
show  a  few  evidences  of  the  hilarious  chival- 
ry of  cowdays.  It  became  a  custom  then,  when 
anyone  died  with  "boots  on,"  to  put  him  in  a 
vehicle  that  answered  the  purpose  of  a  hearse, 
and  haul  it  to  the  cemetery  with  lariats  at- 
tached to  the  saddle  horns  of  cow  ponies. 

After  the  burial,  a  strong  board  was  set  up 
at  the  head  of  the  grave,  and  to  properly  iden- 
tify it  as  the  burial  place  of  one  of  the  west- 
ern bunch,  it  was  shot  full  of  holes. 

Some  of  these  boards  marked  the  graves  of 
departed  ones  for  years,  and  no  doubt  some 
of  them  are  still  to  be  found.  Occasionally, 
to  let  their  sleeping  comrades  know  that  those 
"still  on  top  of  the  turf,"  were  keeping  alive 
the  spirit  of  the  west  and  its  traditions,  a  party 
of  passing  cow-punchers  would  re-decorate 
these  crude  wooden  markers  with  a  battery 
of  fresh  bullet  holes. 

Recently   I   rambled  through  the  somewhat 


neglected  Boot  Hill  graveyard  at  Sidney.  The 
soldiers  who  were  buried  there  have  been 
taken  to  Cottonwood  or  Fort  McPherson  na- 
tional cemetery,  but  many  of  the  old  wooden 
markers  are-  still  at  the  graves.  Generally  all 
signs  of  identification  are  gone,  except  the  sub- 
stantial evidence  of  "six-guns."  The  story  of 
only  occasionally  one  of  the  one  hundred  and 
fifty  or  two  hundred  that  were  buried  there  is 
here  related.  In  fact,  the  stories  of  the  others 
are  generally  unknown.  In  the  rush  of  fif- 
teen hundred  a  day  that  passed  through  Sid- 
ney, if  one  fell  by  the  wayside,  even  though 
suddenly  and  violently,  it  left  no  lasting  im- 
pression. 

Only  the  passing  of  someone  who  was  iden- 
tified with  the  community,  as  townsmen  or 
herdsmen,  occasioned  any  extensive  remark. 
Men  like  Loomis,  or  Tate,  or  the  Pinkstons,  or 
perhaps  those  who  went  at  the  hands  of  vigil- 
antes. 

In  one  of  those  graves  lies  "Fritzie,"   who, 
while    he    perished    with    less   ostentation   and 
dramatic  suddenness  than  some  of  the  others, 
was    given    that    type    of    burial    because    his  • 
friends  thought  he  might  prefer  it. 

The  misfortunes  of  Fritzie  were  not  en- 
tirely due  to  himself,  and  none  of  his  old  time 
acquaintances  that  I  have  met  could  tell  me 
his  other  name.  Concerning  him,  "The  Mid- 
night Ride  of  Wild  Horse  Harris"  eclipsed 
many  of  the  dramatic  riders  in  history,  which 
are  chronicled  in  prose,  poetry  and  song.  Har- 
ris rode,  not  for  the  liberation  of  a  nation,  but 
for  the  relief  of  a  suffering  friend. 

Many  old  timers  knew  Fritzie  as  the  one- 
legged  cowpuncher  who,  for  a  time,  ran  Min- 
er's hotel  in  Sidney.  Fritzie's  infirmity  was 
caused  by  the  intoxication,  carelessness,  and 
magnified  sense  of  humor  possessed  by  his 
buddy.  Said  buddy  arrived  home  late  one 
night,  after  an  hilarious  time  in  Sidney.  Fritzie 
was  sleeping  when  his  buddy  entered,  and 
buddy  decided  it  would  be  funny  to  shoot  into 
the  bed  near  enough  to  make  his  partner 
jump.  He  did,  the  partner  jumped,  his  leg 
was  shattered  by  the  bullet,  and  later  ampu- 
tated. 

After  that  Fritzie  had  paralytic  spells.  They 
came  on  suddenly  and  left  almost  as  quickly. 

He  was  at  Kane's  ranch  near  Bronson  once 
when  attacked.  Two  wild  horse  trailers  had 
captured  a  band  and  had  them  in  Kane's  big 
pine  pole  corral.  The  trailers  were  Jerry 
McGahon  and  Walter  Harris,  called  "Wild 
Horse  Jerry,"  and  "Wild  Horse  Harris." 

They  were  excited  over  Fritzie's  paralytic 
attack,  and  Harris  was  going  to  Sidney  for 
the  doctor.     Their  own  horses  were  rambling 


156 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


out  on  the  prairie  somewhere,  and  Harris  said 
he  would  ride  a  wild  one.  Jerry  held  the 
lantern  and  Harris  threw  a  rope  at  random 
into  the  corral.  He  caught  a  wild-eyed  mare. 
They  snubbed  her  up  to  the  fence,  saddled 
her,' and  Harris  mounted  in  the  saddle.  In 
the  lantern  light  she  reared,  knocked  out  the 
light  and  disappeared  in  blackness.  Jerry 
struck  a  match,  and  saw  Harris  aholding  the 
animal  down. 

"Open  the  gate,"  he  said. 

This  was  done,  and  the  dark  form  of  horse 
and  rider  shot  into  the  night.  That  ride  to 
Sidney,  over  prairies  full  of  badger  and 
prairie   dog   holes,    buffalo    wallows,    and    the 


like,  on  a  wild,  never-before-ridden  horse,  in 
the  night,  was  accomplished  in  short  order. 

Harris  kept  the  animal  headed  east  and 
generally  between  the  railroad  and  the  creek, 
by  slapping  the  side  of  its  head,  this  side  and 
then  the  other,  with  rope,  and  hat  and  hand. 
After  the  first  frenzied  effort  to  roll  him  off, 
its  one  purpose  seemed  to  be  to  wish  to  run 
away  from  its  tormentor,  but  he  stuck  like 
a  leach. 

The  doctor  arrived  before  daylight. 

Later  Fritzie  went  entirely  to  the  bad  and 
died  in  the  poor-house.  The  boys  liked  him, 
but  he  wasted  whatever  they  liberally  bestow- 
ed upon  him,  and  in  useless  dissipation. 


chapter  xxxii 

Mcdonald  hung  by  vigilantes  at  sidney— sheriff  trognitz's  toke 
—  practical  tokes  of  old  timers 


By  1881,  the  gun  men  of  Sidney  were  again 
making  themselves  so  generally  obnoxious, 
that  a  drastic  and  a  lawless  exhibition  became 
necessary  to  show  them  that  it  must  end.  The 
slow  process  of  courts  would  not  have  the  im- 
mediate effects  which  conditions  urged,  and 
which  the  vigilantes  hoped  to  accomplish. 

In  the  passing  of  the  frontier  communities, 
heroic  measures  are  frequently  necessary.  The 
hanging  of  Reed  in  1879  toned  down  the  wild 
gang  for  a  time,  but  in  a  year  or  two,  the  shift- 
ing of  bad  men  from  place  to  place,  again  made 
Sidney  the  temporary  abode  of  a  tough  gang 
of  thieves  and  gamblers.  The  getaway  of  the 
bullion  robbers  added  to  their  general  reck- 
lessness. 

McCarthy's  saloon  was  the  Capitol,  which 
later  was  owned  by  Harry  Winters.  Mike 
Tobin  ran  the  corner  saloon  on  Second  street 
from  the  railroad.  Zig  Gudfruend  had  his 
emporium    on    Front    street,    and   there    were 

nlllcl's. 

Thi  soldiers  stationed  at  Fort  Sidney  were 
not  "t"  the  lily  white  variety.  An  Irishman 
named  John  Mathews  and  his  wife  ran  a 
joint  some  distance  east  of  the  present  site 
of  tin-  American  Stale  Bank,  and  they  got 
mixed  up  in  an  embroglio  with  a  bunch  of 
soldiers.  Early  in  the  morning  those  who  had 
retired,  I  Sidney  was  then  a  town  where  sa- 
le open  day  and  night)  wen-  awak- 
ened b)  hots,  and  the  few  who 


were  stationed  where  they  could  witness  the 
affair,  said  that  the  Irishman  and  his  wife 
stood  in  the  door  side  by  side,  and  each  emptied 
a  six-shooter  at  the  soldiers,  some  six  or 
seven  of  whom  were  wounded.  Then  they 
went  inside  and  barred  the  door,  and  im- 
mediately dropped  flat  upon  the  floor.  The 
soldiers  riddled  the  front  of  the  building  with 
bullets,  but  all  were  too  high  to  hit  the  re- 
cumbent occupants.  This  was  only  an  inci- 
dent of  the  life'there. 

Julius  Thoelecke  ran  a  jewelry  store  and 
watch  repairing  establishment  on  Second 
street  about  a  half  block  east  of  the  American 
State  Bank  corner,  in  1881,  and  he  resided  in 
the  same  building.  He  had  a  living  room  at 
the  rear  of  the  store,  and  a  kitchen  to  the 
rear  of  that.  West  of  the  living  room  was  the 
bedroom,  and  in  front  of  that  was  another 
room  occupied  by  a  milinery  store  and  living 
room,  which  was  owned  by  a  Mrs.  Ferguson. 

Thoelecke  had  a  brothe'r  at  North  Platte, 
who  occasionally  shipped  hay  to  Sidney,  and 
Julius  attended  to  the  distribution.  Sam  Fow- 
ler was  then  sheriff,  he  having  succeeded  Mose 
Howard  who  had  resigned.  He  had  a  deputy 
named  "Cottontail"  Strater,  a  fearless  man 
possessed  of  a  desire  to  see  a  little  more  law 
enforced.  On  the  morning  in  mind  he  visited 
Thoelecke's  place  for  the  purpose  of  nego- 
tiating regarding  some  hay. 

Fowler    and    "Cottontail"    had    "stirred    up 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


157 


the  animals,"  as  the  saying  went,  and  the 
gamblers  vowed  vengeance.  By  some  arrange- 
ment the  duty  fell  upon  one  named  McDonald 
to  get  rid  of  "Cottontail,"  and  on  that  morning 
he  entered  the  store  after  Strater,  and.  pulled 
his  gun.  Strater  had  just  time  to  duck,  and  he 
clucked  into  the  living-room  of  the  Thoeleckes. 
Getting  a  grip  on  his  gun  he  started  for  the 
front  room  again,  when  Mrs.  Thoelecke  took 
a  hand.  She  was  a  strong  woman  weighing 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  and  she 
seized  the  diminutive  deputy  sheriff  and  forced 
him  into  a  chair.  She  then  opened  the  door, 
and  McDonald,  thinking  it  was  the  returning 
deputy,  dropped  his  gun  upon  her.  She  was 
absolutely  fearless,  and  he  discovered  his  er- 
ror in  time  to  prevent  homicide.  Still  bent 
upon  his  purpose,  he  turned  out  of  the  door 
and  ran  around  the  millinery  store  towards  a 
side  door  of  the  kitchen.  But  here  Mrs. 
Thoelecke  again  met  him,  and  demanded  that 
he  leave  the  place  "like  a  gentleman."  The 
story  of  the  event  spread  like  a  prairie  fire. 
The  gamblers  gathered  in  force  on  the  corner 
in  front  of  Tobin's  saloon,  and  condemned  Mc- 
Donald for  his  fiasco  ending  of  the  affair. 
Fowler  and  Strater  went  about  deputizing 
men  to  take  the  gang.  Occasionally  one  who 
stood  in  with  the  rough  element  or  did  not 
court  any  trouble  with  them,  would  refuse  to 
be  deputized,  until  they  saw  the  muzzle  of  a 
gun,  and  the  determined  faces,  then  he  would 
join,  sometimes  with  a  humorous  remark,  that 
after  all  he  "guessed  he  would  go  too." 

How  they  got  away  with  it  without  a  shot 
being  fired  and  a  number  of  killed  and  wound- 
ed, was  only  a  miracle.  But  Fowler  went  into 
the  saloon  and  brought  out  McDonald.  He  and 
Hugh  Bean,  "the  gentleman  gambler,"  Dan 
Sullivan,  Frank  Anderson,  and  some  half  a 
dozen  others  were  disarmed,  marched  to  the 
old  Sidney  jail,  and  locked  in. 

Sometime  in  the  night  a  number  of  men, 
some  of  whom  still  reside  in  the  new  and  bet- 
ter Sidney,  got  their  heads  together.  In  the 
morning  McDonald  was  found  near  the  court 
house  hung  to  a  pole,  and  the  other  gambler 
prisoners,  had  all  "vamoosed"  for  healthier 
climates.  One  of  the  scattered  clan  recently 
died  in  Pocatello,  Idaho,  and  what  became 
of  the  others  is  of  little  consequence. 

The  deputy  sheriff  very  likely  owed  his  life 
to  the  activities  of  Mrs.'  Thoelecke,  although 
he  may  have  proven  the  quicker  had  he  been 
permitted  to  return  to  the  store,  and  McDonald 
been  the  victim  of  a  gun  fight  instead  of  at 
the  hands  of  vigilantes.  Had  he  chosen  his 
fate,  that  would  probably  have  been  the  alter- 
native.   The  staging  of  the  affair  in  a  jewelry 


store,  instead  of  the  usual  haunts,,  indicated 
a  yellow  start,  and  the  hope  to  catch  his  pro- 
posed victim  unprepared. 

This  was  the  last  hanging  by  vigilantes  in 
the  Panhandle,  but  occasionally  the  cow-punch- 
ers, to  give  travelers  on  the  Union  Pacific  a 
thrill,  would  pull  off  a  stunt  by  hanging  a  dum- 
my to  a  pole  near  the  railroad,  and  shoot  it  full 
of  holes,  as  a  train  pulled  into  town. 

In  the  middle  eighties,  Charley  Trognitz  was 
sheriff  of  Cheyenne  county,  and  he  had  a  bill 
disallowed  by  the  commissioners,  which  he 
himself  considered  was  an  error  upon  their 
part.  The  board  then  consisted  of  A.  Frame, 
J.  W.  Harper  and  Joe  Atkins. 

In  the  routine  of  county  business  there 
came  a  time  when  they  must  inspect  the  coun- 
ty jail.  Trognitz  let  them  all  get  well  inside, 
and  locked  them  in.  Rattling  the  big  keys 
upon  the  bars,  he  asked.  "Now  will  you  allow 
the  bill."  They  capitulated.  Charley  said  he 
knew  he  could  not  hold  them  to  it,  but  they 
also  knew  that  he  knew  enough  about  them 
to  keep  them  there  for  life,  and  a  little  touch 
of  it  would  bring  it  home  to  them. 

"The  trouble."  said  Charley,  "was  that  I 
could  not  tell  on  them,  for  I  was  in  it  when  it 
happened.  But  they  allowed  the  bill  of  a  man 
whom  they  thought  was  desperate." 

One  time  J.  W.  Harper  was  in  Omaha,  and 
he  met  Colonel  Charles  Coffee  of  Chadron  and 
a  number  of  other  old  timers.  They  had  stop- 
ped for  lunch  at  the  Millard  cafe,  and  one  of 
the  fellows  more  bibulous  than  the  others,  had 
lingered  long  over  his  chops.  The  others  grew 
tired  of  waiting  and  wandered  up  town.  Af- 
ter a  time  their  absent  friend  joined  them  and 
told  them  of  a  wonderful  work  of  art,  the  por- 
trait of  a  woman  in  the  cafe  of  the  Millard, 
which  the  others  had  failed  to  note. 

So  enthusiastic  was  his  endorsement  of  the 
work,  that  they  were  finally  sufficiently  inter- 
ested to  return  and  look  at  it.  The  picture 
proved  to  be  a  commonplace  portait  of  a  wom- 
an, and  none  could  see  the  cause  for  such 
enthusiasm.  The  amateur  art  critic  made  each 
one  of  them  stand  in  front  of  the  picture,  then 
to  each  side,  then  in  the  far  corners,  and  each 
time  look  at  the  woman's  eyes.  Still  they  were 
unmoved  and  demanded  that  he  point  out  the 
particular  features  of  art  that  appealed  to  him. 

"Why,  can't  you  see?"  he  said  with  appar- 
ent earnestness,  "that  wherever  in  this  room 
you  stand,  her  eyes  are  fixed  upon  you.  It  is 
wonderful.  You  over  there  and  me  over  here, 
and  she  is  looking  squarely  at  both  of  us  at  the 
same  time." 

The  fellows  looked  at  each  other,  ami  Cof- 


HISTORY  OF   WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


fee  broke  the  silence.  "Come  on,  boys,  I'll 
buy." 

The  coming  of  prohibition  will  forever  end 
certain  of  the  rough  pranks  and  jollity  of 
men.  Much  of  the  good  fellowship  and  humor 
of  the  west  was  where  the  spirits  were  en- 
livened by  frequent  and  sundry  libations.  Not 
all  of  the  early  men  drank,  but  those  who 
did  not,  frequented  the  places  where  those  bent 
on  revelry  were  inclined  to  congregate.  Com- 
ical incidents  that  were  common  in  the  bar 
room,  would  be  inappropriate  in  a  soda  parlor 
or  a  grocery  store.  Valentine  King  and 
Charley  Nelson,  initiating  a  newcomer  into 
the  glories  of  the  west,  would  be  out  of  place 
in  a  candy  kitchen. 

These  old  time  gentlemen  had  a  tenderfoot 
in  Zig.  Gudfreund's  saloon  at  Sidney,  and  their 
conversation  drifted  into  the  mysterious  power 
of  mind.  Nelson  declared  he  was  a  mind 
reader  and  the  stranger,  as  expected,  disputed 
the  existence  of  such  power.  A  small  wager 
was  put  up,  and  Nelson  retired.  The  stranger 
was  to  hide  some  article,  selected  after  Charley, 
had  left  the  room,  and  Nelson  was  to  find  it 
upon  his  return. 

The  stranger  was  looking  for  some  suitable 
article  to  hide,  when  King  innocently  suggested 
an  egg,  there  being  a  number  in  a  dish  behind 


the  bar.  The  unusual  article  Valentine  sug- 
gested could  be  hid  in  the  stranger's  cap,  which 
would  be  an  unlikely  place  to  look  for  it. 

Charley  was  then  called  in,  and  he  experienc- 
ed some  difficulty  in  getting  his  mental  ap- 
paratus in  working  order.  He  maneuverated 
about,  and  reached  up  his  arms,  for  a  while, 
and  finally,  when  it  was  in  the  right  position, 
he  said :  "Well,  whatever  it  is,  I  have  a  feel- 
ing that  it  is  right  here."  His  hand  went 
down  with  a  slap  upon  the  tenderfoot's  head 
and  smashed  the  egg.  The  smeared  and  in- 
dignant man,  was  finally  coaxed  into  good 
humor,  with  the  perfect  understanding  that  he 
was  now  a  full-fledged  westerner,  and  at  lib- 
erty to  practice  on  any  stranger  that  might 
happen  along. 

King  and  Nelson  have  both  left  this  land, 
the  former  on  the  "long,  long  trail."  and  Nelson 
to  Cuba,  which  has  not  yet  adopted  the  single 
standard  of  water,  with  nothing  above  two  and 
one-half  per  cent  alcohol.  He  says  it  is  ask- 
ing too  much  of  one  of  the  old  boys  who  used 
to  take  it  straight,  to  drink  forty  gallons  of 
water  to  get  one  of  "licker."  His  stay  in 
Cuba  will  not  be  permanent,  for  Nelson  has 
been  too  long  in  western  Nebraska  to  part 
with  it  forever. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

GORDON'S   AND  WHITEHEAD'S   RANCHES  —  YODER'S  BEGINNING  AND  EX- 
PANSION —  NEW  DEVELOPMENT  IN   GOSHEN   HOLES  —  BE- 
GINNING OF  ALFALFA  AND  SUGAR  BEETS 


On  our  first  trip  up  Horse  creek  in  the 
eighties,  we  stopped  at  the  Gordon  ranch,  in 
company  with  George  Whitehead.  Gordon 
was  .'in  active  Scotchman  and  had  built  an  irri- 
gation plant.  He,  in  one  place,  had  made  a 
tunnel  through  a  hill,  as  I  remember  it  quite 
a  long  distance,  and  large  enough  to  work  a 
team  in. 

The  house  was  modern  and  had  "uphol- 
stered" furniture.  The  night  we  were  there, 
we  were  entertained  in  the  parlor,  along  with 
a  couple  of  "punchers"  from  the  south.  These 
were  decidedly  ill  at  ease  sitting  on  the  sofa, 
until  they  got  their  feet  drawn  up  under 
them,  (in  the  "plush"  upholstery.  Gordon  tried 
Iiin  l.i'si  to  In  unconcerned  aboul  using  his  style 


furniture  as  a  boot  mat,  but  he  occasionally 
grunted ;  "that  must  be  comfortable." 

The  Gordon  ranch  later  became  a  part  of 
the  Colen  Hunter  ranch,  and  I  believe  it  so 
remains.  The  building  and  improving  of  the 
ranch  involved  Gordon  in  heavy  obligations 
which  he  was  unable  to  meet  in  the  later 
money-pinch.  He  built  an  ideal,  but  was  un- 
able to  retain  it.  like  so  many  of  the  ideals 
which  dreamers  build.  Someone  else  absorbed 
the  benefits  of  his  genius  and  industry,  because 
he  built  on  borrowed  money. 

I  do  not  know  the  present  ownership  of  the 
old  Whitehead  ranch,  although,  as  I  recall, 
it  was  quite  a  place  then. 

In    1881,    P.    T.   Yoder  and   his   son   H.    F. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBR  \SK  \ 


159 


(Frank)  came  from  Aft.  Pleasant,  Iowa,  and 
located  on  Bear  creek,  about  ten  miles  west 
of  the  present  site  of  Meridian.  This  ranch 
started  with  thirty-seven  heifers  and  a  dozen 
horses.  Mr.  Goodman,  a  squawman,  lived  not 
far  from  where  they  settled. 

Homer  Z.  Yoder,  no  relative  of  the  original 
family,  has  a  ranch  at  this  time,  three  or 
four  miles  down  the  creek  from  the  first  Yoder 
ranch. 

There  was  a  school  house  on  Bear  creek 
at  the  time — said  to  be  the  one  in  which  Molly 
Woods,  heroine  of  "The  Virginian"  once 
taught  school. 

Frank  Yoder.  attended  school  here  in  the 
winter  of  1881  and  1882,  being  the  only  white 
pupil  in  attendance.  Five  daughters  of  Good- 
man attended  this  school,  they  being  beady- 
eyed  half-breeds  of  varying  ages. 

At  the  tap  of  the  bell  for  intermission,  noon 
or  night,  these  girls  would  move  silently  to 
the  door,  but  as  soon  as  in  the  clear,  they  would 
scatter  and  run  for  the  brush  like  scared  rab- 
bits. Then  at  the  call  bell  they  would  silent- 
ly re-emerge  and  file  shyly  into  their  seats. 

Jess  Yoder,  a  brother  of  H.  F.,  arrived  in 
1882.  The  humble  beginning  developed  and 
at  sometime  or  another  these  Yoder  boys  have 
owned  a  lot  of  the  ranches  thereabout. 

The  Dollar  ranch,  on  Bear  creek  ;  the  Grease- 
wood  ranch  in  the  Goshen  Holes,  and  several 
others,  were  owned  at  one  time  or  another. 

The  Yoder-Marsh  Company,  consisting  of 
Jess  Yoder  and  a  brother-in-law  named  Marsh, 
now  own  the  old  Y-cross  ranch,  which  they 
bought  nearly  twenty  years  ago.  The}'  run 
three  to  four  thousand  cattle  at  this  time. 

H.  F.  Yoder,  about  five  years  ago,  acquired 
the  fine  old  Brown  ranch  near  La  Grange. 
This  place  had  3,160  acres  of  excellent  land. 
Here  Frank  keeps  in  the  neighborhood  of  one 
thousand  cattle. 

The  Yoder  boys  are  active  in  banking  and 
finance  in  the  Citizen's  National  Bank  of  Chey- 
enne, the  Torrington  National  Bank  at  Tor- 
rinsrton,  and  elsewhere. 

The  Hawk  Springs  Development  Company 
was  of  their  conception,  and  from  its  reservoir 
it  supplies  water  for  several  thousand  acres  of 
excellent  farms  in  the  heart  of  the  Goshen 
Holes. 


In  this  same  section  of  the  Goshen  Hole 
country,  the  Springers — •Henry  and  John  — 
have  their  reservoir  and  private  lands  and  ca- 
nals covering  a  thousand  acres  of  their  own. 

They  also  supply  water  for  Lon  Merchant. 
the  McHenrys.  Airs.  Armitage,  Security  Land 
Company  and  others. 

Also  here  is  built  the  "Bump-Sullivan"  ditch 
now  owned  by  "Goshen  Ditch  Company."  This 
company  also  has  a  storage  reservoir  and  is 
jointly  owned  by  Tom,  Charlie  (Pit)  and 
Jack  Lacy,  the  Sullivans,- Paul  Woods,  Ethel 
Rowell,  Airs.  Perry  Sullivan,  the  Selbys  and 
Wm.  Hingelfelt.  In  this  vicinity  is  destined  to 
be  a  city  of  considerable  importance  when  the 
Union  Pacific  extends  its  line  up  the  North 
Platte  Valley,  as  is  contemplated  in  1921. 

Some  excellent  alfalfa  fields  are  in  this  part 
of  the  valley,  and  a  sugar  factory  is  one  of  the 
early  anticipations  after  the  advent  of  the  rail- 
road. It  takes  a  long  time  to  realize  dreams, 
but  the  west  was  built  by  dreams. 

There  are  living  and  active  in  business  in  the 
state  capital,  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  men  who  sat 
in  the  shadow  of  sod  houses,  and  dreamed  that 
some  day  there  would  be  a  railroad  builded  to 
the  Salt  Basin,  and  Lancaster  Hill,  now  the 
city  of  Lincoln.  It  was  then  inland,  and  reach- 
ed by  trail  wagons  and  stage. 

Fifty  years  ago  there  lived  in  North  Platte 
a  dreamer  by  the  name  of  J.  B.  Park.  In  1870, 
he  advocated  through  the  columns  of  the  Lin- 
coln County  Adventurer,  the  planting  of  sugar 
beets  and  lucerne.  From  France  he  imported 
some  sugar  beet  seed  which  was  the  beginning 
of  that  crop  which  now  runs  to  ten  million  dol- 
lars a  year,  in  western  Nebraska  alone. 

He  also  imported  several  bags  of  Chilian 
clover  seed,  thus  planting  the  first  alfalfa  in 
Nebraska.  In  that  day  it  was  known  as  Lucerne, 
Chilan  clover,  or  California  clover,  the  name 
alfalfa  coming  into  general  use  later  on.  It 
is  difficult  to  estimate  the  value  which  Colonel 
Parks  initiation  has  been  to  our  community 
and  commonwealth. 

During  the  campaign  of  1920,  the  output 
from  the  four  sugar  mills  at  Scottsbluff,  Ger- 
ing,  Bayard  and  Mitchell  will  be  approximately 
one  thousand  pounds  of  refined  sugar  every 
minute  of  the  day  and  night,  a  total  of  some 
one  hundred  and  fifty  million  pounds. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 


SAND  HILL  RANCHES  OF  TODAY  — DANGERS  OF  THE  STAMPEDE  — ORIGIN 
OF  SOME  WESTERN  EXPRESSIONS  — PRANKS  OF  EARLY  DAYS 


The  Sand  Hill  regions  of  Sheridan,  Sioux 
and  Garden  counties,  are  more  extensive  than 
others  of  the  Panhandle,  though  not  having 
the  area  of  Cherry  county,  which  lies  further 
east,  or  not  having  the  percentage  of  grazing 
land  that  a  number  of  the  small  counties  in 
the  Sand  Hills  contain. 

These  Sand  Hill  regions  are  now  the  home 
of  many  great  ranches  that  have  come  since 
the  old  cattle  baron  went  over  the  Great  Divide. 
In  early  granger  days,  and  while  the  sand  hills 
were  passing  to  title  under  the  section  home- 
stead act,  we  heard  stories  of  feudal  despots 
known  as  "cattle  barons."  But  always  these 
bold,  bad  buccaneers  were  "over  the  hill," 
somewhere.  They  were  elusive,  and  no  one 
ever  quite  "met  up"  with  one. 

A  few  half  insane  bachelors  like  John 
Krause,  added  a  touch  of  realism  to  the  stories 
told.  But  the  real  ranchers  of  the  sand  hills 
were  fellows  like  Charles  Tulleys,  Festus 
Carothers,  Everett  Eldred,  Ed  Meyers,  John 
Batchelor,  Avery  Brothers,  L.  E.  Ballinger, 
George  Richardson,  Smith  Brothers  and  scores 
of  others  that  could  be  named. 

A  number  of  the  younger  ranchmen  obtained 
their  start  from  such  men  as  Festus  Carothers. 
Some  very  successful  young  men  have  been 
"put  upon  their  feet"  by  this  enterprising  and 
splendid  old  man  of  the  Hills,  more  than  once, 
before  they  succeeded  in  getting  a  grip  upon 
themselves. 

Some  of  the  Sand  Hill  ranches  are  landed 
empires. 

Eldred's  ranch  in  northern  Garden  county 
contains  about  four  townships.  He  runs  vast 
herds — probably  more  than  10,000  cattle  and 
1000  horses.  In  the  big  storm  of  March,  1913, 
fifteen  hundred  cattle  were  lost  by  their  drift- 
ing into  Swan  lake. 

The  Avery  ranches  are  also  large.  Charles 
has  a  ranch  covering  two  townships,  and  well 
stocked.  Sam  also  has  a  fine  ranch.  Fine 
hay  meadows,  and  a  hunting  lodge  on  one  of 
the  Avery  lakes,  built  for  the  accommodation 
of  friends  and  visitors,  is  the  way  Avery 
Brothers  do  things. 

Boyd  and  Rice  own  Crescent  ranch  which 

covers  about  three  townships,  and  is  well  stock- 

' d     George  Richardson  has  more  than  a  town- 

i     E    Ballinger  twenty  thousand  acres. 

R.  M.  Hampton's  ten  thousand  acre  ranch 
in    the    northern    part    of    Morrill    county,    has 


been  merged  into  the  thirty-five  thousand  acre 
ranch  of  Hall  and  Graham.  This  ranch  cuts 
thousands  of  tons  of  hay  annually,  and  suf- 
fered a  great  hay  loss  by  fire  in  1920.  They 
have  from  three  thousand  to  four  thousand 
cattle. 

All  these  ranches  are  under  the  new  order, 
as  the  old  free  range  has  passed  away.  The 
big  roundups  are  no  more,  except  perhaps  in 
remote  regions  of  Argentine,  or  on  the  Ama- 
zon, in  South  America. 

Neither  do  we  have  the  stampedes  that  used 
to  wither  the  grass  as  the  trampling  feet  of 
wild-eyed  cattle  passed.  Those  were  days  when 
"The  Phantom  Steer"  led  herds  to  perdition. 
To  quote  from  verse  written  in  the  running 
style  of  the  running  cattle: 

"For  at  my  side  with  a  flaming  nose, 
And  eyes  that  glowed  as  foxfire  glows, 
With  a  body  of  quivering,  pulsing  mist 
My  rope  cut  through  as  it,  whirling,  hissed. 
Was  a  Thing  that  sped  with  the  speed  of  deer : 
I    was    neck    and    neck    with    "The    Phantom 

Steer;" 
The  Thing  that  never  was  known  to  miss 
A  bottomless  bog,  or  a  precipice ; 
The  Thing  that  leads  both  herds  and  men 
To  where  they  never  come  back  again." 

The  old  familiar  and  effective  way  to  stop  a 
stampede,  was  to  ride  well  in  the  lead,  and  turn 
the  leaders  into  an  ever  narrowing  circle,  until 
they  were  into  a  slowly  revolving  wheel  with 
those  in  the  center  hardly  moving  out  of  their 
tracks.  This  contained  its  perils,  for  the  rid- 
ing at  night  is  nearly  always  on  strange  ground. 
If  a  horse  should  fall  it  was  almost  sure  death. 

Thus  the  use  of  the  word  "mill"  or  "milling," 
took  on  additional  meaning.  A  crowd  moving 
about  was  "milling  around."  Dancing  the  old 
"round  dances"  were  sometimes  called  "mill- 
ing." Occasionally  dancers  and  dancing  were 
referred  to  as  "the  night  herd  is  a-running," 
or  "the  herd,  it  got  to  milling  when  the  fiddle 
got  in  tune." 

Wyatt  ( Long)  Heard,  of  Uvalde  county, 
Texas,  drifted  through  Banner  county,  on  the 
last  roundup.  He  liked  the  social  early  times, 
but  had  the  fault  of  getting  seriously  in  earnest 
with  the  girls  he  liked  best.  Those  early  girls 
liked  a  good  time,  but  none  of  them  cared  any- 
thing about  "a  solid  fellow." 


HISTORY  <>]•   WHSTKRX   XKBKASKA 


One  with  whom  Wyatt  had  gone  several 
times,  when  asked  by  him  to  attend  another 
party,  plead  a  previous  engagement.  She  ap- 
peared at  the  party  with  Grant  Mills. 

Homer  Welker,  a  wag  of  the  range,  knew  of 
the  affair  and  when  he  got  the  proper  surround- 
ings he  said :  "The  only  way  to  stop  a  "Heard" 
is  to  get  it  to  "Mill."  Then  he  snorted.  Every 
body  but  Heard  appreciated  the  joke. 

There  were  a  lot  of  pranks  pulled  off  at 
parties  and  dances, and  where  some  "puncher's" 
horse,  or  buggy  team  was  tied  at  the  gate  or 
corral  of  a  place  where  one  of  the  first  girls 
were  known  to  reside.  I  found  my  broncho  un- 
tied late  one  night  when  I  was  starting  for 
home.  The  "fool  critter"  traveled  ahead  of  me 
in  the  moonlight  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
yards  distant,  all  the  way.  It  was  a  nice  seven 
mile  walk.    I  never  knew  who  did  the  untying. 

I  have  participated  in  changing  a  fellow's 
buggy  wheels,  putting  the  small  wheels  on  the 


rear,  so  that  the  occupants  would  drive  home 
"up  hill  most  of  the  way." 

Another  time,  a  "hitch  rope"  was  taken  from 
one  of  the  horses,  and  the  hind  wheels  tied 
together.  The  effect  was,  when  the  fellow 
started  home  with  the  girl,  the  first  revolution 
of  the  wheels  brought  the  rope  across  the  back 
of  the  buggy  box,  and  then  the  wheels  slid.  He 
worried  about  the  sagging  buggy  box,  and 
thought  a  spring  must  be  broken.  Also,  the 
ponies  failed  to  pick  up  any  speed,  and  seemed 
to  be  pulling  hard  on  the  light  rig.  Xext  morn- 
ing he  discovered  the  cause. 

One  of  the  jokes  of  the  ranchmen  in  north 
Garden  county,  whenever  visiting  Omaha  or 
other  markets,  was  to  pose  as  the  "Mayor  of 
Mumper."  Mumper  was  a  postoffice  at  a 
ranch  in  the  Sand  Hill  country,  and  while 
"Mayor  of  Mumper"  was  impressive  among 
distant  strangers,  at  home  it  had  about  as  much 
significance  as  mayor  of  a  hill  of  sand. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

FIRST  RAXCH  IN  DAWES  COUNTY  — GRAHAM  AND  SNYDER  ON  NIOBRARA 
RIVER  — OTHER  RANCHES  XEAR  FORT  ROBINSON  —  STAM- 
PEDIN'  ON  THE  OLD  TRAIL 


After  the  establishment  of  Fort  Robinson, 
soldiers  of  fortune  and  others  began  building 
ranches  within  the  radius  of  its  protection. 

The  first  to  enter  ranching  activities  in  the 
territory  now  embraced  in  Dawes  county,  was 
Edgar  Beecher  Bronson,  on  Dead  Man's  creek, 
a  few  miles  southwest  of  the  present  site  of 
Crawford.  The  Sioux  name  for  this  creek  was 
Ghost  creek.  Bronson  located  there  about  1878, 
and  about  the  same  time  Dr.  E.  B.  Graham  and 
R.  Snyder  established  themselves  on  the  Nio- 
brara, at  Agate,  which  has  later  become  famous 
as  the  home  of  Captain  James  H.  Cook. 

Bronson  moved  to  the  Niobrara  in  1879,  and 
located  about  twelve  miles  east  of  Graham  and 
Snyder.  He  became  a  writer  of  considerable 
note,  publishing  a  book  of  western  adventure. 

Captain  Cook  is  also  a  well  known  character 
in  western  Nebraska  early  life  when  Indians 
were  a  menace.  At  the  Agate  ranch  has  been 
unearthed  and  developed  one  of  the  most  fam- 
ous fossil  beds  of  the  world.  Mr.  Cook,  though 
long  before  in  the  west,  purchased  the  Graham 
ranch  about  1887. 

Jack  Carpenter  was  one  of    the  first  near 


Fort  Robinson.  He  initiated  his  work  about 
1879,  on  White  river  a  few  miles  west  of  the 
fort. 

About  the  same  time,  Captain  Hamilton,  an 
officer  at  the  fort,  started  on  Soldier  creek.  I 
believe  he  took  the  location  which  Bronson 
abandoned  on  going  to  the  Niobrara. 

Powers  Brothers  of  the  Seven-U  put  in  a 
sub-station  on  Bordeaux  creek. 

Six  miles  east  of  the  fort,  a  Mr.  Russell,  who 
represented  and  was  backed  by  the  Diiector  of 
the  Port  of  New  York,  built  the  Ox-Yoke 
ranch.  Russell  was  a  brother-in-law  of  the 
Director.  These  ranches  were  not  of  large 
proportion,  and  did  not  endure  for  long. 

Carpenter's  boy  —  Willie  —  arrived  in  the 
winter  of  1879-1880  and  was  snow-bound  in 
Sidney  for  three  or  four  weeks.  He  was  a  nice 
kind  of  a  kid  and  stayed  in  Oberfelder's  store. 
Some  years  later  a  big,  wiskered  man  with  a 
deep  voice  came  into  the  store  and  asked  for 
Bob.  When  Bob  appeared  he  said:  "I  want 
your  father,"  but  after  a  bit  he  discovered  it 
was  the  same  Bob  of  old.  He  asked  if  Bob  re- 
membered   Jack    Carpenter.      Bob    answered : 


162 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


"<  if   course    I    do,  and   also   his   son   Willie."' 

"Well,"  said  the  visitor,  "by I  am  Willie." 

He  had  developed  into  a  powerful  man  men- 
tally and  physically,  and  had  removed  to  Idaho, 
where  he  had  become  very  wealthy. 

From  1893  to  1910,  the  Union  Cattle  Com- 
pany leased  its  Goshen  Hole  lands,  west  of 
Wyoming  line  to  the  Two-Bar  or  Swan  outfit. 

Will  Sturgis  had  a  number  of  tests  made, 
looking  for  coal,  oil  and  gas.  Some  five  wells 
were  put  down,  ranging  from  500  to  1000  feet. 
At  one  time,  making  some  assessment  work, 
he  employed  Howard  Thomas,  who  was  sub- 
ject to  epileptic  fits.  He  had  a  shaft  down 
about  six  feet,  when  one  of  these  fits  rendered 
him  helpless.  He  drowned  in  less  than  a  foot 
of  water. 

Tom  Sturgis  had  Whispering  Smith  em- 
ployed in  the  eighties  to  keep  Cheyenne  county 
from  going  for  the  herd  law.  He  failed  in 
his  efforts  for  the  grangers  were  strong  for  it. 
McGinley  and  Stover  located  three  miles 
west  of  Agate  in  1882,  and  Earnest  Brothers 
located  three  miles  farther  up  the  river  about 
the  same  time. 

"Hank"  Clifford  ran  the  station  at  the  Nio- 
brara crossing  about  1878  or  1879.  The  same 
time,  or  thereabouts,  Mr.  Meeks  located  his 
ranch  fifteen  miles  northwest  of  Agate,  where 
the  Ft.  Laramie-Ft.  Robinson  Military  road 
crossed  the  river. 

A  third  nf  a  century  ago,  the  granger  broke 
into  the  open  range,  and  the  cowmen  scattered, 
or  stampeded,  or  settled  down  to  the  new  order. 
Every  little  while  we  now  hear  of  one  who  has 
gone  "stampedin'  on  the  Old  Trail."  Yet,  to- 
day, we  find  a  few  anchored  to  the  soil  of  the 
wonderful  land,  which  they  have  helped  to  tame 
from  the  wilderness  of  old,  to  the  present 
wilderness  of  green,  done  in  seventeen  shades 
of  glory  and  productivity. 

Recently  there  seems  to  be  a  Stampede  of 
the  old  boys,  heading  for  the  Home  Ranch 
Across  the  Great  Divide,  and  it  is  fitting  that 
we  should  close  this  history  of  an  epoch  in  the 
taming  0f  (he  west,  with  a  few  lines  dedicated 
to  the  brave  and  true  spirits  who  wrought  the 
transformation  : 

Stampedinj  ox  the  Old  Trail 

The  1>ovs  are  leavin'  this  old  range, 

Where  once  they  liked  to  ride; 
And  hittin'  for  the  Home  Ranch, 

\<  TO  ■    ilu-  I  ,rcat  Divide. 
We  .-ill  were  goin'  sometime 

P.n!   never  had  agreed 

1,1  quil  the  flats  in  bunches  — 
A  regular  stampede. 


From  Circle  Arrow  ranch  the  first 

To  drift  or  fade  away, 
Were  Jimmy  Tate  at  Sidney, 

And"  Kimball  Billy  Day. 
He's  put  in  Boot  Hill  Graveyard, 

With  boots  on,  as  he  died, 
W7hen  Jimmy  quit  the  Lodgepole 

And  hit  the  Great  Divide. 

And  then  to  take  the  High  Roau 

Was  our  old  Captain  Jenks  ; 
He  went  with  the  Rough  Riders 

When  shuffling  off  the  kinks. 
Then  Chris  Streeks  of  a  sudden 

Snuffed  out  the  light,  and  died  — 
He  swung  into  the  saddle 

For  the  Long  and  Lonely  Ride. 

Old  Baldy  Kelly  hit  The  Road 

From  Little  Moon  lakeshore, 
For  Iron  Leg  Bill  was  spittin'  fire 

From  out  the  cabin  door. 
Now.  Baldy 's  way  of  queerin'  Bill 

Was  coarse,  as  coarse  could  be. 
He  ought  a  hung  with  old  Tom  Horn 

Or  swung  with  Earl  McFee. 

O'Hallern  with  his  boots  on 

Done  quit  the  Seven-U : 
And  Charley  Moore,  of  Wellsville, 

Said  he'd  go  Trailin',  too. 
They  left  the  old  sod  shanty 

At  the  north  end  of  the  bridge, 
And  the  last  was  seen  of  either. 

He  was  trailin'  o'er  The  Ridge. 

The  Maycock  brothers,  John  and  Joe, 

Each  passed  along  The  Way. 
John  dropped  in  from  the  sagebrush, 

And  Joe  from  Canada. 
And  boys,  a  waitin',  millin'  'round. 

For  calls  to  come  up  higher. 
Saw  Colonel  Pratt  fade  up  The  Trail 

A  settin'  her  afire. 

Then  from  the  Runnin'  Water 

Went  the  Earnests  —  Jim  and  Wilse, 
And  from  the  Mitchell  valley 

Went  a  ridin'  John  R.  Stilts, 
Peg  Wiggins  went  from  Torrington, 

And  Extract  Smith,  be  blowed 
With  Gunnysack  Pete,  thru  the  dusk 

A  burnin'  up  The  Road. 

Then  Wright,  who  lived  on  "Pumpkin  Cieek' 

We  always  called  him  "John," 
Said,  "Boys,  I  guess  it's  quittin'  time 

And  I'll  be  movin'  on." 
And  Sandy  Ingraham  spread  his  hand 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


163 


And  guessed  he'd  quit  the  game, 
While  Peters  cashed  his  checks  in, 
And  said  he'd  do  the  same. 

They  saw  a  shadow  foggin' 

And  a  fannin'  up  The  Vale 
"It's  Johnny  Boyle,"  they  shouted, 

"That's  the  way  he  hits  The  Trail." 
Then  Haig,  he  quits  the  Two-bar, 

To  travel  on  The  Road, 
A  lookin'  for  old  Snodgrass, 

McShane  and  Mark  M.  Coad. 

He'll  find  them  sittin'  in  the  game 

In  good  old  fashioned  style, 
And,  maybe,  lookin'  on,  he'll  find 

His  neighbor,  Milton  Byal. 
There's  Tusler,  and~Sam  Fowler, 

And  Laing,  who  lived  upon 
The  "Lorren's  Fork"  a  plavin' 

With  old  Doc  Middletom 

It  sure  is  quite  an  outfit 

Of  saddle  boys  that  goes. 
Jim  Brantner,  of  White  river, 

And  little  Tim  Montrose. 
And  they  have  caught  Lew  Saunders 

A  trailin'  o'er  The  Hills  : 
And  Grangers  of  the  Frontier  — 

There's  Dad,  A.  W.  Mills. 

Raymond,  Rayburn,  Thornton, 

Ashford  — ■  pioneers 
Are  plowin'  up  the  turf  There 

As  here,  in  early  years. 
But  that  won't  make  them  worry 

They  won't  have  long  to  wait, 
'Til  someone  after  that  Long  Ride 

Will  say,  "Let's  irrigate." 

There's  H.  M.  Springer  —  drivin'  fast  • 

Along  the  Dusty  Trail 
There's  P.  J.  Yoder  leavin' 

The  Bear  creek  —  Fox  Creek  Vale. 
And  Colin  Hunter  from  Horse  creek  — 

He  crossed  the  Cheyenne  Plain 
Where  Gordon  had  gone  on  before, 

Along  with  Doc.  Tremaine. 

Sam  Lawyer  —  arms  a  flappin' 

And  floppin'  like  a  sail 
Went  foggin'  and  a  fannin'  up 

The  Dim  and  Dusty  Trail 
I  faintly  hear  an  anvil, 

And  ringin'  blacksmith  tools  : 
I  wonder  if  Jack  Hilton's  there 

A  shoein'  Spanish  mules. 

Bronson  left  the  Deadman's\ creek 


A  "Ghost"  upon  the  Wind. 
Doc  Graham  went  from  Agate 

A  followin'  close  behind. 
Bill  Kelly  went  from  Pumpkin  creek 

A  trailin'  old  Tom  Kane 
And  Newman's  quit  the  Lodgepole 

To  lead  the  Turks  again. 

Dick  Bean  could  drive  a  herd  of  steers 

Across  the  river  Styx. 
But  drivin'  harnessed  bronchos 

Got  him  in  a  regular  fix. 
When  horses,  harness,  wagon, 

They  had  all  begun  to  "mill," 
Why  Dick,  he  up  and  leaves  them 

On  the  Old  Ash  Hollow  Hill. 

With  old  association  gone 

Bratt  didn't  care  a  hoot 
'Bout  things  along  the  Birdwood, 

So  they  run  him  through  the  Chute 
With  Keith  and  Barton  on  One  Range 

And  maybe  A.  B.  Hall, 
Or  Chas.  McDonald  on  another 

Wouldn't  do  at  all. 

So  Bratt,  he  said,  no  Bogy 

Could  scare  one  of  his  stamp, 
If  he  had  men  like  Cody 

Or  Likens,  in  his  camp. 
He'd  hunt  the  scattered  Dogies 

And  as  he  found  his  pals, 
He'd  round  'em  up  and  drive  'em  in 

To  his  Home  Ranch  Corrals. 

I  wonder  if  the  old  boys. 

Join  in  the  "round  up  mill :" 
I  wonder  if  the  bronchos 

Are  linin'  the  corral: 
And  girls  with  merry  laughter. 

And  boys  with  shouts  of  glee, 
Swing  "a-la-man"  at  Livingston 

To  the  tune  of  Fiddler  Lee. 

The  old  grout  house  is  crumbled, 

And  soddies  of  the  west, 
Where  gatherings  were  welcome 

When  roundup  outfits  passed, 
Are  gone ;  and  gone  the  fiddler 

Who  played  the  prancin'  tune. 
When  "the  night  herd  was  runnin'  " 

'Til  the  settin'  of  the  moon. 

I  wonder  if  the  mess  house 

Is  like  it  used  to  be  ; 
I  wonder  if  the  bunk  house 

Is  calling  you  and  me. 
I  wonder  if  the  old  boys 

Arc  plavin'  seven  up. 


164 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


And  callin'  Collins,  bring  'em  in 
An  overbrimmin'  cup. 

D'ye  reckon  that  is  why  they 

Are  tearin'  down  The  Slope. 
Like  rippin'  into  Sidney, 

Or  down  on  Antelope. 
D'ye  reckon  there's  a  Camp  Clarke, 

A  Hartville  or  Cheyenne, 
A  waitin'  for  us  yonder  where 

The  other  boys  have  gone. 

Is  Jim  Moore  there  a  playin' 

A  game  of  solitaire, 
Or  is  he  ridin'  "the  Express," 

And  fannin'  through  the  air? 
For  many  a  long  gone  year  he's  been 

A  waitin'  for  The  Run 
He  knew  was  sure  a  comin'  when 


The  Stampede  was  begun. 

We'll  meet  with  old  Count  Creighton, 

He'll  be  there  without  fail, 
And  we'll  find  Billy  Paxton, 

A  freightin'  up  The  Trail. 
I  feel  like  tightening  the  cinch, 

To  quit  the  sorry  grange, 
And  join  one  of  the  outfits 

Headed  for  the  Other  Range. 

I  wonder  if  the  fordin's  good? 
If  not,  I'll  have  to  fix 

With  H.  T.  Clarke,  and  cross  his  toll- 
Bridge  o'er  the  River  Styx. 

Dear  old  Dad  White  will  be  there 
A  holdin'  out  his  hand, 

To  take  the  final  tribute, 

E're  we  reach  the  Promised  Land. 


CHEYENNE  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 


HISTORY  OF  THE  COUNTY 


Nothing  in  history  exceeds  in  romantic  in- 
terest the  discovery  and  settlement  of  the  New 
World,  of  which  Nebraska  and  Cheyenne  coun- 
ty are  a  part.  The  history  of  Nebraska  begins 
with  the  Spanish  Invasion  of  Mexico,  and  set- 
tlements at  Santa  Fe  and  Taos.  Then  later 
with  the  voyage  of  La  Salle  when  he  took  New 
France,  now  Canada,  and  the  region  of  the 
Great  Lakes  and  the  territory  of  Louisiana,  in 
the  name  of  Louis  the  Great,  King  of  France. 
Spain  followed  by  France  thus  became  the  first 
owners  of  the  territory  now  comprised  in  Ne- 
braska ;  in  1763,  Louisiana  Territory  was* 
ceded  back  to  Spain,  and  what  is  now  Cheyenne 
county,  though  unmarked  and  unnamed  was  in 
this  territory.  In  1802,  Spain  again  ceded  the 
territory  to  France,  which  prepared  the  way 
for  Thomas  Jefferson,  President  of  the  United 
States,  to  negotiate  the  Louisiana  purchase  by 
which  Louisiana  Territory  became  a  part  of 
the  young  Republic  in  1803.  Cheyenne  coun- 
ty was  a  part  of  it. 

This  section  of  the  country  was  inhabited 
only  by  the  roving  bands  of  Indians  at  that 
time  and  little  was  known  of  the  country  this 
far  west.  May  30,  1854,  Nebraska  Territory 
was  created  by  an  act  of  Congress,  and  in 
1866  the  question  of  the  admission  of  Ne- 
braska as  a  state  was  raised.  All  conditions 
required  by  Congress  were  complied  with  and 
on  March  1,  1867,  the  territory  ceased  to  be, 
and  the  great  state  of  Nebraska  came  into 
existence. 

Cheyenne  county  was  created  by  act  of 
the  first  state  legislature  in  1867,  and  at  that 
time  contained  the  territory  since  erected  into 
Banner,  Deuel,  Garden,  Kimball,  Morrill  and 
Scotts  Bluff  counties.  At  the  present  time  the 
county  lies  in  the  Panhandle  section  of  Ne- 
braska, in  the  second  tier  from  the  western 
boundary  and  the  south  tier  north  of  the  Colo- 
rado-Nebraska boundary.  Cheyenne  county  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Morrill  county  ;  on 
the  east  bv  Garden  and  Deuel  counties,  on  the 


south  by  Colorado,  and  on  the  west  by  Kim- 
ball and  Banner  counties. 

The  general  topography  of  the  country  may 
be  described  as  high  rolling  plains,  ranging 
from  broken  cliffs  along  the  Lodgepole  to  the 
level  lands  of  tableland  and  valleys.  The  land 
is  composed  mostly  of  rich  sand  loam,  occa- 
sionally traversed  by  deep  canyons  showing 
some  rock  out  cropping.  Profitable  farming  is 
extensively  carried  on  in  the  county.  Where 
much  was  given  over  to  stock-raising  by  using 
the  native  grasses  for  forage,  and  pasture,  in 
early  days,  it  is  now  secondary-  in  point  of  im- 
portance. 

The  Lodgepole  creek  valley  leads  all  the 
valley  in  the  county  in  size.  It  enters  the 
county  at  the  west  line  south  of  the  center 
north  and  south,  is  several  miles  wide  and 
runs  east  entirely  across  the  country  in  an  al- 
most direct  east  and  west  direction.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  major  stream,  the  Lodgepole  val- 
ley has  a  south  branch  running  northeast  from 
the  western  line  and  smaller  valleys,  many 
unnamed.  Lodgepole  valley  is  generally  "level, 
deep  soiled  and  well  watered  and  in  an  early 
day  was  attractive  to  the  homeseekers.  The 
lands  were  the  first  lands  to  be  settled  and 
today  are  the  sites  of  the  oldest  ranches  and 
farms.  In  the  early  days  the  stream  was 
wooded  along  its  banks  with  trees  native  to 
this  locality,  while  the  bluffs  bordering  the . 
valley    contained    scattering   Cedar 'and    Pine. 

Cheyenne  County  Weather 

No  detailed  description  of  climatic  condi- 
tions in  Cheyenne  county  is  necessary.  The 
climate  is  much  the  same  as  in  all  parts  of  the 
western  highlands  of  the  state  and  the  middle 
west,  and  is  admirably  adapted  to  stock-rais- 
ing and  agriculture.  It  is  a  very  healthful 
climate. 

Early  Settlement 

Contemporaneous    with    ami    following    the 


166 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


building  of  the  Union  Pacific,  the  cattlemen 
came  into  the  country.  All  was  government 
and  railroad  land,  and  the  stockmen  came  to 
use  the  ranges.  Originally  they  described 
their  brands  and  range,  thereby  indicating  a 
claim  for  so  many  miles  of  prairie  that  assured 
plenty  of  territory.  Ranges  seldom  overlap- 
ped, but  the  cattle  became  mixed  and  the 
round  up  instituted.  After  Gates  demonstrated 
efficacy  of  barbwire  some  began  to  build 
fences.  In  1869  and  1870,  cattle  were  wintered 
in  the  country  now'  comprised  in  Cheyenne 
county  though  the  ranges  had  been  used  before 
that  time  for  oxen.  For  a  number  of  years 
no  taxes  were  levied  against  the  cattle,  no  in- 
vestments in  real  estate  were  necessary  and 
the  profits  were  large.  Later  the  cattlemen  and 
ranchers  had  to  pay  their  taxes  to  the  organ- 
ized counties  adjacent.  They  had  no  benefit 
from  them  and  no  enforcement  of  the  laws  and 
in  order  to  accomplish  this  it  was  evident  that 
county  organization  should  be  established. 

County  organization  began  to  be  talked  over 
when  the  Union  Pacific  began  building  west 
through  what  is  now  Cheyenne  county  and  the 
history  of  the  county,  and  the  town  of  Sidney, 
are  so  closely  associated  that  they  will  be 
written  together. 

Sidney  and  Cheyenne  County 

The  story  of  Cheyenne  county  and  Sidney 
begins  in  1867  when  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road reached  the  site  of  the  present  city. 

On  December  13,  1867,  the  United  States 
established  Sidney  Barracks,  a  sub-post  of  Fort 
Sedgewick,  Colorado  Territory. 

On  November  28,  1870,  it  became  an  inde- 
pendent post. 

The  first  purpose  of  the  soldiers  at  Fort  Sid- 
ney was  to  protect  the  builders  of  the  rail- 
road; four  troops  of  the  Third  and  Fifth 
United  States  Cavalry  were  stationed  there 
and  a  portion  of  the  Third  Infantry  for  a 
time  but  they  were  later  sent  to  another  post. 
General  Dudley  was  in  command  of  Sidney 
Post  and  remained  two  years  before  being  re- 
lieved by  Genera]  Merritt.  A  companv  of 
soldiers  was  stationed  at  or  near  the  present 
site  of  the  town  of  Lodgepole  and  another 
twenty  miles  west,  where  Potter  is  now  located. 
In  the  middle  eighties  troops  from  Vancouver 
and   other    Pacific   coast    garrisons    were   sent 

tO  these  posts   for  a  time. 

Politics,  even  at  this  early  day,  entered  into 

he  lifi   mi  Cheyenne  county,  as  George  W.  E. 

member  of  Congress  from  the  Third 

Nebraska  District,  which  extended  a; 

a-     Fremont,    his    Ik. me.     used     the    threat     or 


scare  regularly  to  have  Fort  Sidney  abandoned, 
as  an  excuse  to  be  returned  to  Congress.  He 
succeeded  in  being  elected  until  the  farmers' 
revolution  resulted  in  the  election  of  Omer  M. 
Kem.  Four  years  after  he  was  first  elected, 
or  in  1894,  the  post  was  abandoned  and  the 
government  property  later  sold  to  the  Bur- 
lington railroad  and  used  as  the  site  for  the 
present  station  grounds. 

The  Union  Pacific  railroad  was  built  on  to 
the  west  from  Sidney  in  1868,  and  with  it  went 
a  large  part  of  the  population  of  the  town 
when  it  was  the  end  of  the  road.  There  was  a 
large,  nomadic,  rough  element  in  the  country 
at  the  time,  which  always  followed  the  rail 
head  where  it  could  prey  on  the  laborers.  The 
post  was  reduced  to  the  mere  needs  of  pro- 
tection from  Indians,  which  grew  less  and  less 
each  year. 

For  a  period  there  was  little  life  in  the 
town  and  county,  after  the  road  reached  farth- 
er west,  bur,  in  1870,  things  began  to  liven  up, 
and  the  people  began  to  consider  organization. 
A  partial  set  of  officers  were  named  and  plans 
made  for  a  regular  election.  This  took  place 
October  8,  1871,  when  Sidney's  pioneer  attor- 
ney, George  W.  Heist,  was  elected  probate 
judge,  but  refused  to  qualify.  He  was  later 
appointed  and  did  qualify.  George  Cook  was 
elected  sheriff,  but  was  removed  and  John 
Ellis  was  appointed  in  his  place.  James  Moore 
was  elected  treasurer  of  the  county  but  was 
unable  to  give  the  county  commissioners  a 
satisfactory  bond  and  Thomas  Kane  was  ap- 
pointed for  that  office,  and  D.  Cowigan  was 
commissioner,  but  later  resigned.  L.  Connell, 
elected  county  clerk,  served.  Even  at  this 
early  day  there  were  indications  that  a  political 
ring  had  been  formed  in  Cheyenne  county  and 
unless  a  man  was  favored  by  the  members  he 
did  not  succeed  in  public  life. 

The  Cattee  Business 

The  stagnation  of  the  town  and  county  con- 
tinued through  the  next  five  years.  The  trail 
herds  passing  through  the  town  and  county  en- 
livened life  occasionally,  when  cattle  werei 
driven  from  Texas  into  the  country  north  of 
Sidney.  The  cattle  business  was  becoming  im- 
portant in  the  Nebraska  Panhandle  where 
abundant  pasture  was  available.  A  report  of 
Thomas  Kane,  secretary  of  the  Cattle  Asso- 
ciation, made  August  5,  1876,  indicates  that 
the  growth  of  this  industry  in  Cheyenne  county 
was  considerable.  The  report  gives  only  the 
cattle  actually  in  the  county,  though  some  of 
the  companies  or  ranchmen  had  large  herds 
in  other  counties  of  the  state,  and  in  Colorado 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


167 


and  Wyoming.  Some  of  the  most  important 
companies  and  ranchmen  with  their  holdings 
are  as  follows :  Adams,  Redington  &  Co.,  six 
thousand  head ;  Codd  Brothers,  five  thousand 
head ;  Creighton  Herd,  three  thousand  head ; 
Tusler  Brothers,  thirty-five  hundred  head; 
Pratt  &  Ferris,  three  thousand  head ;  Bostler 
&  Irwin,  twenty-five  hundred  head ;  Bostler  & 
Lawrence,  two  thousand  head ;  other  men  who 
had  large  numbers  were  Maybury,  C.  A. 
Moore,  Harkinson  &  Griffin  ;  Thomas  Kane.  D. 

B.  Lynch,  H.  Newman,  Callihan  &  Murshied, 

C.  McCarty,  Walrath  Brothers,  Robert  How- 
ard, Jesse  Montgomery,  Merchant  &  Wheeler. 

First  Events  of  Interest 

The  first  white  child  born  in  Cheyenne  coun- 
ty was  Fanny  Fisher,  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Joseph  Fisher  of  Sidney.  She  was 
born  in  1869,  as  her  parents  had  come  to  the 
county  some  time  previously. 

The  first  cemetery  was  started  when  it  was 
found  necessary  to  bury  a  white  man  killed  by 
the  Indians. 


A  log  hut  served  as  the  first  store  building  in 
Sidney  and  was  built  by  a  man  called  "French 
Louis."  It  was  located  about  four  miles  south 
of  the  present  town  site,  but  when  a  station  was 
established  at  Sidney  on  the  railroad,  he  moved 
the  store  to  the  town.  Most  of  the  stock  of 
goods  at  that  day  consisted  of  necessary  sup- 
plies and  whiskey. 

In  1868,  Charles  Moore  built  a  frame  hotel, 
store  and  saloon,  and  about  the  same  time 
Thomas  Kane  built  the  second  frame  store 
building  and  became  the  first  postmaster  of 
Sidney. 

The  name  of  Tom  Kane  stands  out  con- 
spicuously in  the  development  of  Sidney  and 
Cheyenne  county,  as  he  was  naturally  a  builder 
and  pioneer  developer,  taking  an  active  part  in 
all  public  affairs.     He  was  not  only  the  first 


postmaster,  but  also  the  first  treasurer  of  the 
county.  He  was  instrumental  in  the  movement 
to  have  the  county  organized.  Mr.  Kane  was 
a  prominent  ranchman  of  this  district,  located 
near  Bronson  where  he  made  good  improve- 
ments, being  among  the  first  to  erect  a  good 
stone  dwelling  house.  As  an  early  attorney 
of  Cheyenne  county,  Mr.  Kane  was  naturally 
a  leader  in  many  movements  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  country.  He  became  secretary  of 
the  Cattle  Association  of  Western  Nebraska 
when  it  was  formed,  taking  part  in  the  settle- 
ment of  many  of  the  cattle  disputes  and  diffi- 


A  Fine  Residence  of  Sidney 

culties  of  the  early  days.  When  the  railroad 
tried  to  evade  paying  taxes  Mr.  Kane  siezed  an 
engine  on  the  track.  First  he  order  the  deputy 
sheriff,  A.  Solomonson,  to  stand  in  front  of  the 
engine ;  then  the  engineer  started  the  engine 
and  Solomonson  yelled  to  Kane,  who  replied, 
"Stand  where  you  are."  "But  they  will  run 
the  engine  over  me,"  replied  Solomonson. 
"If  they  do  I  will  make  them  pay  dearly  for 
it,"  Kane  replied.  Solomonson  stood  in  the 
track  and  was  not  hurt  as  Kane  had  attached 
a  log  chain  to  the  engine  and  track  and  the 
engine  did  not  move  until  the  taxes  were  paid. 
Mr.  Kane  never  ran  a  saloon  in  the  new  coun- 
try and  never  was  prominent  in  the  roystering 
life  of  the  frontier.  Characteristic  of  his  high 
spirits,  he  named  his  three  boys.  Tom,  Dick 
and  Harry. 

The  first  saloon  was  built  and  started  in  the 
new  town  of  Sidney,  by  Dennis  Carrigan.  Sid- 
ney one  time  had  twenty-three  saloons  in  one 
block  between  First  and  Second  streets  west  of 
Rose  street,  now  Center  street.  Now  there 
is  none.  The  business  died  of  its  own  ex- 
cesses and  vice.  Carrigan  went  into  other  busi- 
ness and  became  one  of  the  progressive  citizens, 
in  later  years.  Saloon  business  in  a  "cow 
town"  was  vastly  different  from  the  same  busi- 
ness in  the  mining  rush.  The  people  to  deal 
with  were  of  different  type  and  character. 


1(,S 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


In  1,876,  Sidney  suddenly  found  itself  the 
nearest  town  of  consequence  to  the  Black  Hills 
at  the  time  of  the  gold  rush.  Cheyenne  entered 
into  a  spirited  contest  for  the  business  which 
grew  with  leaps  and  bounds  from  the  many 
men  rushing  in  and  requiring  outfits ;  Kearney 


the  head,  "Why  argue  with  a  man  who  has  no 
brain?"  The  satire  and  sarcasm  of  the  early 
day  newspapers  was  at  its  best  between  Sid- 
ney and  Cheyenne. 

By  September,   1876,  Sidney  had  a  popula- 
tion of  a  thousand  inhabitants,  and  the  matter 


Clarke's  Centennial  Express  to  the  Black  Hills. 


Custer  Cily.  am 
.  route  may  3U,ip 
\|pad  flt  Sidney, 


Care_6f.H._T._CLARKE, 

Sidney,  Neb.; 
-ac-sStl^of.  js.vvKU.PE  fsjiD  I-',  Tii 


I^viV^ESS_DC5rNt;SS. 


pill 

lilt 


SIDNBY   SHOR'Ii  ROXFtW 

THI  BLACK  BXLXil 


ISKOW  OPEN  FOR  TRAVEL.  AND,  WITH  THS  ROAD.lS         "    . 

Guarded  £y  the  United  ^States  Troops'!  v 

ONLY  167  MILES  TO  CUSTER  CITf 

,  TOOa  THE  BSIOll  PACIFIC  BAIUOAD.  _ 

la'.y.  aEd^Ctmp  Olarto^liU*  KlvwBrt'ds 


B  RlWr,-ri,nn.nK  through  to  R*d  Cloi 
;L*  i»n  lutnlsh  [rsoiporuiloo  for 
Sidney  to  Custer  City,  i»<ir;   I  roc 


nwa1 


HRVUISl.    OF    EN\ 


FASBEHGEK  RAT3S  -  Omabi  to  Ouster  CUT.  lit  cUii  fit.'  3d  cUUi  |3t 
Xicteifor  sale  of  £rn{ou  Paiifia  Railroad  andr/ri*cii7al,Ilaitroad_TickttJ. 


Short  Route  to  Black  Hills 


also  opened  a  route  to  the  Hills  across  the 
sand  hills  of  central  Nebraska.  Kearney  soon 
dropped  out  of  the  running,  but  Cheyenne  kept 
up  for  years,  though  Sidney  held  its  own.  Dr. 
George  L.  Miller  ran  the  Omaha  Herald  at  the 
time  and  made  mention  of  the  advantages  of 
Sidney  :  a  spirited  fighl  followed  in  the  columns 
of  the  Cheyenne  papers  though  it  could  not  be 
denied  that  Sidney  was  sixty  miles  nearer 
od  than  Cheyenne.  The  Sidney  Tele- 
graph quoted  extensively  from  the  paper's  under 


of  city  government  and  a  permanently  platted 
city  engaged  much  attention,  although  gold  was 
the  item  of  paramount  interest  to  everyone.  It 
was  not  until  May  1,  1877,  that  a  plat  of  the 
town  was  filed. 

In  1876  and  1877,  there  arrived  and  departed 
from  Sidney  about  fifteen  hundred  people 
daily  in  the  rush  to  the  Black  Hills  for  gold. 
People  were  going  to  and  from  the  Black 
Hills,  except  for  a  few  who  stopped  in  Sidney 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


169 


a  few  days  farther  west,  also  itinerant  gamblers 
and  the  following  of  every  gold  rush. 

Growth  of  Business 

Business  grew  and  was  well  represented  in 
Sidney  in  1876  and  1877,  but  of  the  men  then 
engaged  in  retail  trade  only  two  merchants 
remain  in  business  today,  namely :  the  Ober- 
felder  Brothers,  clothiers.  During  the  rush 
through  this  section  P.  J.  Cohn  &  Company, 


ture  store,  Kelley  &  Cameron  and  G.  H.  and 
J.  S.  Collins  carried  harness  and  saddles. 
"Regular  outfitting  stores  were  owned  by  C.  A. 
Moore,  R.  S.  Van  Tassel  and  the  Oberfelders. 
At  the  latter  the  office  of  the  Stevenson  stage 
line  was  maintained  with  an  all  night  service. 
The  only  jewelry  store  was  owned  by  B.  M.  L. 
Thoelecke ;  C.  E.  Borquist  was  the  pioneer 
druggist  of  Sidney,  establishing  his  store  in 
1871,  and  in  1876  C.  F.  Goodman  opened  the 
second  drug  house. 


MOORE'  H'lTEL 

cJLl 


operated  the  Star  Clothing  House  which  for 
a  time  rivalled  the  Oberfelder  store.  P.  J. 
Cohn  was  the  original  senior  member.  His 
nephews  operated  the  store.  Louis  and  Mike 
Cohn  were  cousins  and  Louis  later  became  sole 
owner.  Mike  sold  his  interest  for  $40,000,  took 
it  to  Chicago,  and  lost  it.  William  France  had 
a  hardware  store  here  in  1876,  and  among  the 
grocers  were  Henry  Gantz  &  Son,  wholesale 
merchants  ;  W.  I.  McDonald,  G.  W.  Dudley  and 
H.  T.  Clarke.  C.  A.  Morian  and  Dennis  Car- 
rigan  each  ran  a  combined  dry  goods  and  gro- 
cery store  while  an  exclusive  dry  goods  house 
was  owned  by  Stevens  &  Wilcox  and  another 
by  A.  S.  Brown.    Dewey  &  Stone  ran  a  furni- 


The  first  doctor  to  locate  in  Sidney  who 
served  the  town  and  a  large  part  of  Chey- 
enne county,  was  Dr.  Boggs,  and  Dr.  J.  G. 
Ivy,  physician  and  surgeon,  came  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1876.  The  only  dental  office  in  the 
town  was  run  by  the  Urmy  Brothers. 

N.  Grant  and  John  Carrier  were  the  first 
men  to  run  barber  shops,  the  called  "fashion- 
able barbers,"  soon  followed  by  J.  H.  Surles 
and  Charles  M.  Rouse. 

Pratt  and  Ferris,  well  known  as  the  "P  F" 
were  the  early  freighters,  doing  an  extensive 
business  in  Cheyenne  county  and  the  Black 
Hills,  while  G.  W.  Dudley  advertised  "Dear's 
Stage   Line   to  the   Black   Hills."     The   main 


170 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


stage  line  was  run  by  Stevenson  and  the  Dears 
line  was  not  long  in  operation. 

Half  a  dozen  hotels  and  as  many  restaur- 
ants were  built  and  operated  to  accommodate 
the  rush  of  travelers,  the  best  known  being 
the  Lockwood  House,  the  Germania,  the  Gilt 
Edge,  the  Southern,  the  Delmonico,  the  Min- 
ers, the  American  and  H.  M.  McFadden's,  not 
one  of  which  is  in  business  today,  having 
passed  with  the  transient  life  of  that  day.  All 
the  men  who  operated  them  have  gone  but 
Mr.  McFadden  who  still  maintains  his  home  in 
Sidney  though  retired  from  business.  It  should 
be  stated  that  H.  M.  McFadden  advertised  in 
a  way  that  stood  out  like  an  island  in  a  tem- 


pestuous sea.     "No  gambling  tables  connected 
with  this  house." 

In  April,  1876,  the  only  resident  lawyers 
in  Sidney  were  George  W.  Heist  and  George 
R  Ballou,  though  by  the  spring  of  1877  V. 
Bierbower,  A.  M.  Stevenson,  Guy  Barnum, 
Jr.,  and  Tom  Kane  were  also  established  in 
law  practice. 

Mail   Route 

In  1876,  the  United  States  established  a 
mail  mute  between  Sidney,  Nebraska,  and 
Greeley,  Colorado.  Sidney  Probst  was  the 
driver  from  1876  to  1878,  and  his  many  ex- 
periences  of  those  early  days  are  interesting 
and  instructive,  telling  of  the  life  of  the  van- 
guard of  civilization.  Probst  died  a  few  years 
ago  in  Colorado.  This  route  did  not  com- 
pare in  peril  with  that  to  the  north  on  the 
Black  Hills'  route,  for  that  line  ran  through 
hostile  Indian  country,  and  the  stages  were 
lined  with  steel  foi  the  protection  of  the  pas- 
sengers.  Major  North,  with  his  Pawnee 
scouts,  and  the  Crows,  with  an  hereditary  en- 
mity for  the  Sioux,  were  valuable  assets  to  the 
while  in  subduing  the  Indian  troubles  north 
of  the  North   I  Made  river. 


Rivalry  Between  Towns 

Kearney's  ambition  to  compete  with  Sidney 
and  Cheyenne  for  the  Black  Hills'  business 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  road,  stage 
line  and  pony  express  through  the  sand  hills 
north  into  Dakota.  This  line  crossed  the  Nio- 
brara river  at  the  Newman  ranch  near  the 
mouth  of  Antelope  creek.    It  was  a  longer  and 


Overland  Mail  on  the  "Old  Trails"  Route  por 
San  Francisco 


more  dangerous  line.  Charles  Fordyce,  one 
of  the  pony  express  riders,  was  killed  by  In- 
dians a  little  north  of  that  station. 

In  1877,  a  white  man  who  had  been  selling 
or  trying  to  sell  trees  in  the  Hills  drove  into 
the  Newman  station.  It  was  snowing  and 
the  Newman  outfit  tried  to  persuade  him  to 
stay  until  the  storm  was  over  but  he  pressed 
on.     Later  appeared  an  advertisement  asking 


Pony  Express  and  Overland  Mail  Of 
Fort  Kearney 


the  whereabouts  of  a  tree  man,  saying  last 
seen  on  Cheyenne  river  traveling  south.  The 
following  spring  Hunter  &  Evans  outfit  found 
him.    Fie  had  perished  in  the  snow. 

The  Kearney  route  was  given  up  about  Janu- 
ary,  1878,  and  the  route  through  Sidney  be- 
came the  main  traveled  one  to  the  gold  fields. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


171 


Idians  Attack  Surveyors 

Indians  were  hostile  to  all  white  advances, 
especially  to  surveyors  and  when  I.  W.  La- 
Munyon  was  surveying  on  Pumpkin  creek  in 
1872,  a  detachment  of  soldiers  were  sent  to 
guard  the  surveying  party.  There  had  been 
no  sign  of  Indians  and  one  day  the  soldiers 
rode  out  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
surveyors  at  work  and  the  camp.  The  Indians 
then  seemed  to  rise  out  of  the  prairie  and  the 
surveyors  "dug  in"  making  a  hole  about  eight 
feet  square  into  which  they  put  the  provisions 
and  water,  then  crawled  in  themselves.  The 
Indians  circled  about  on  ponies,  swinging  over 
their  sides  and  shooting  under  the  animals 
necks;  but  the  soldiers  heard  the  firing,  re- 
turned in  haste,  and  the  Indians  fled.  No  one 
was  hurt  although  a  number  of  Indian  ponies 
were  shot  by  the  surveyors. 

First  Newspapers 
The  Sidney  Telegraph  came  into  existence 


in  May,  1873,  and  in  1874  was  published  by 
Joseph  B.  Gossage.  George  G.  Darrow  join- 
ed the  force  in  the  spring  of  1875.  Darrow 
later  went  to  Denver  and  Gossage  to  the  Black 
Hills,  and  in  1920,  was  publishing  the  Journal 
at  Rapid  City,  South  Dakota.  The  Telegraph 
was  not  only  the  first  newspaper  published  in 
Cheyenne  county,  but  first  in  the  Nebraska 
Panhandle. 

Toll  Bridge  axd  Death  Toll 

When  Plenry  T.  Clarke  decided  to  build  a 
toll  bridge  across  the  North  Platte  river  at 
"Camp  Clarke,"  he  sent  a  number  of  choppers 
into  the  Pumpkin  creek  hills  to  cut  suitable 
logs  for  the  piles  and  necessary  timbers  for 
the  bridge.  It  was  dangerous  work  as  is  testi- 
fied by  the  killing  of  a  man  named  Brocklay, 
and  later  Webber,  in  1876,  near  the  Tusler 
ranch,  by  Indians.  The  bridge  was  built,  how- 
ever, and  was  used  by  the  people  passing  north 
and  south. 


CHAPTER   II 


SIDNEY'S  WILDEST  DAYS 


Sidney  had  by  this  time  become  a  boiling 
caldron  of  humanity,  some  serious  and  hur- 
ried, others  serene,  methodical  and  unruffled, 
all  with  the  one  object,  gold.  The  town  was 
wide  open,  and  day  and  night  business  houses, 
saloons,  dance  halls  and  theatres  were  thronged 
with  people.  It  has  been  claimed  that  Sidney 
introduced  to  the  world,  the  all-night  theatre, 
with  continuous  performances. 

The  Telegraph  of  1876  refers  to  the  float- 
ing population  as  "freighters,  teamsters,  herd- 
ers, 'cowboys,'  Mexicans,  half-breeds,  gambl- 
ers, and  'Nymphs  du  pave.'  "  The  name  "cow- 
boy" was  apparently  just  coming  into  use.  In 
subsequent  years  the  term  "herdsman"  was 
made  to  apply  only  to  those  who  attended 
flocks  of  sheep. 

The  character  of  Sidney's  Wildest  Days,  be- 
fore the  vigilantes  hung  Reed,  and  partially 
subdued  the  town,  was  such  that  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad  issued  orders  refusing  to  al- 
low through  passengers  to  get  off  their  trains 
at  the  station.  This  came  as  a  result  of  com- 
plaints of  tourists,  who  were  held  up  or  mis- 
treated on  the  station  platform.    The  men  com- 


mitting these  offenses  were  "Three-finger 
Jack,"  "Hold-'em-up  Johnny"  and  others  of 
their  kind.  Jack  made  a  tactical  blunder  in 
a  storm  and  held  up  a  citizen  of  the  town,  fol- 
lowing which  he  and  some  of  the  worst  citi- 
zens "dusted,"  as  a  result  of  public  sentiment. 
A  number  of  incidents,  some  tragic,  and 
others  nearly  so,  and  some  of  boisterous  hum- 
or, are  here  chronicled,  which  indicate  the  life 
of  the  time  and  place  with  historic  accuracy. 

"Squire"  Newman's  Narrow  Kscape 

All  kinds  of  life  had  its  zest  because  of  the 
danger  involved.  Henry  Newman  had  been 
elected  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  thereby  was 
called  "Squire"  or  "Jedge"  as  occasion  prompt- 
ed, but  that  is  not  the  story. 

There  were  several  men  engaged  in  the 
work  of  capturing  wild  horses,  and  breaking 
them  for  domestic  uses.  Murshied  and  Pa- 
shon,  two  of  the  old-timers,  had  roped  a  wild 
horse  near  Callahan  &  Murshied's  ranch,  and 
had  him  in  a  corral.  A  number  were  looking 
him  over,  this  being  an  especially  fine  animal, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


but  of  the  fighting  kind.  Newman  was  nearby 
in  the  corral  on  a  horse  when  the  wild  animal 
attacked  him,  knocking  horse  and  rider  down. 
It  then  reared,  and  was  on  the  point  of  setting 
his  forefeet  down  on  the  prostrate  man  and 
stamping  him  to  death,  when  R.  S.  Van  Tassell 
seized  the  rope  which  was  trailing  from  the 
wild  horse's  neck,  and  '"set  on  it,"  swerving  it 
from  its  objective  by  a  few  feet.  Quick  ac- 
tion saved  a  tragedy. 

The  Schaefer  Massacre 

One  of  the  tragedies  of  the  period  occurred 
in  1878.  The  Schaefer  family  came  from 
Plattsmouth  and  went  to  work  at  Tusler's 
ranch.  The  man  was  employed  as  cook  at 
the  mess  house,   while  the  family  resided   in 


\\  Old  "Prairie  Schooner" 

an  independent  house  near  the  other  ranch 
building.  When  Lone  Wolf's  band  went  on 
a  rampage,  part  of  them  journeyed  near  here. 
The  incorrigible  Sioux  passed  on,  but  when 
they  passed  this  man,  his  wife,  and  three  chil- 
dren were  no  more. 

Three  Die  at  a  Dance 

About  the  time  of  Sidney's  last  lynching 
episode,  that  of  McDonald'in  1881.' fright- 
ful orgies  were  common  at  a  road  house  some 
dist  iiiii'  north  of  town,  at  one  of  the  spring 
creeks  leading  down  to  the  Platte  river.  One 
night,  a  dance  and  carouse  was  going  full 
'•win-  when  a  soldier  accidentally  shot  himself 
dead.  The  others  deposited  the  body  in  a 
corner  of  the  room  and  ordered  the  music  to 
proceed.  After  a  time  a  fellow  named  Jack 
Page  and  another  had  a  little  altercation,  Jack's 
adversary,  dead,  was  placed  into  the  corner 
villi  the  soldier,  and  the  dance  went  wildly  on. 

Later  in  the  night  a  third  man  was  killed, 
and  ibis  broke  up  the  dance.  The  lights  were 
shol   -in       Daylight    found  some  sleeping  off 


their  drunken   stupor  and  others  gone.     The 
three  dead  were  taken  to  Boot  Hill  Graveyard. 

Killing  of  Wild  Bill 

Forty  hours  after  the  killing  of  Wild  Bill 
(W.  J.  Hickok)  by  John  McCall,  at  Dead- 
wood,  which  event  occurred  in  a  gambling 
joint,  August  2,  1876,  the  news  reached  Sid- 
ney. It  created  a  profound  sensation  that  a 
thoroughly  established  king  of  gunmen  should 
be  taken  off  by  a  mere  kid. 

A  hastily  selected  jury  heard  the  boy's  story 
that  Wild  Bill  had  killed  his  brother  in  Kansas 
the  year  before.  He  was  found  "not  guilty," 
according  to  the  code  of  the  times,  but  was 
told  to  get  out  of  the  Black  Hills.  Before  the 
event,  Wild  Bill  had  heard  that  a  kid  was 
looking  for  him,  and  he  had  said,  "a  kid  look- 
ing for  me,  is  the  only  kind  I  am  afraid  of :  he 
may  get  me." 

A  Yellow  Affair 

Appearing  in  the  Telegraph  of  August  4, 
1S77,  was  the  following  notice,  affording  a 
basis  for  some  range  of  the  imagination: 

"Calamity  Jane  No.  2  has  arrived  from 
the  Black  Hills.  She  received  promotion  on 
the  road  as  assistant  wagon  boss.  She  be- 
came so  powerful  as  to  lead  to  the  discharge  of 
a  number  of  hands.  She  has  now  gone  west 
with  a  bull-whacker  to  learn  the  trade.  Her 
husband  is  not  a  violent  mourner.  She  is  a 
stubby  customer,  American,  and  cus-sed.  If 
she  has  any  conscience,  she  took  it  with  her, 
and  if  she  had  any  virtue,  her  husband  didn't 
know  it.  Her  child  is  now  in  good  hands,  and 
the  painter  is  happy. 

Evidently  the  painter  was  unhappy,  and  took 
an  unkindly  departing  shot  at  his  neglectful 
spouse.  According  to  codes  then  prevalent, 
either  the  Black  Hills  wagon  boss  or  the 
painter  would  have  tarried  permanently  some- 
where beside  the  Trail.  One  or  the  other  failed 
to  measure  up  to  the  standard  required  by  the 
red-blooded  men  of  the  period.  True,  it  was 
probably  better  thus,  for  none  of  them  was 
the  worse,  and  the  "child  is  now  in  good 
hands."  which  is  an  objective  worthy  a  tem- 
pi irary  humanity. 

The  Pinkston  Murder 

James  and  A.  J.  Pinkston,  father  and  son, 
located  on  Middle  creek  in  1885,  and  em- 
ployed a  man  named  Reynolds  to  help  build 
a  log  house.  They  lived  in  a  tent  meanwhile, 
and  cooked  and  ate  their  meals  in  the  open, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


having  an  improvised  table  in  front  of  the 
tent. 

On  the  night  of  September  16,  from  the 
story  toldy  over  a  very  trifling  affair,  the 
Pinkstons  were  killed  and  Reynolds  later  hung. 

According  to  Reynold's  story  it  started  at 
the  supper  table  over  a  difference  of  five  dol- 
lars in  wages,  whether  the  amount  due  was 
seven  dollars  or  twelve  dollars.  He  said  the 
Pinkstons  attacked  him  with  clubs  and  he 
used  the  axe  in  self  defense. 

His  first  story,  however,  told  at  Trognitz 
barn,  which  then  occupied  the  present  site  of 
tht  U.  S.  A.  Theatre  at  Sidney,  was  that  a 
stranger  came  along,  and  killed  the  Pinkstons 
in  a  fight,  and  had  compelled  him  to  help 
bury  them.  This  story  not  being  satisfactory 
to  the  officers,  he  was  arrested,  and  later  con- 
fessed. 

Of  the  numerous  hangings  in  Cheyenne- 
county,  this  was  conspicuously  the  only  legal 
execution  within  its  borders. 

An  Imaginary  Calf 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  the  recita- 
tion of  these  gruesome  and  sorrowful  events 
indicates  all  the  early  history  of  Sidney  and 
Cheyenne  county  were  of  such  color.  There 
were  lively  affairs  that  possessed  only  suffi- 
cient danger  to  quicken  the  pulses,  and  a  modi- 
cum of  humor  to  justify  the  hazard. 

There  were  attempts  by  swindlers  and 
crooks  that  sometimes  went  well,  but  generally 
ended  in  disaster. 

There  were  "Happy  Jacks,"  carefree  as  the 
western  wind,  always  with  ingenious  methods 
evolved  of  necessity,  when  an  unlucky  chance 
stripped  them  of  all  they  possessed.  Never 
discouraged  by  adverse  circumstances,  for  the 
darkness  of  the  night  meant  to  them  the  sun 
was  soon  to  rise.  "Whitie"  was  one  of  these 
genial  souls. 

"Whitie"  had  a  run  of  luck  that  put  him 
"down  upon  his  uppers,"  and  conceived  a 
scheme  for  a  moderate  stake.  He  invented  a 
calf  and  valued  it  at  ten  dollars.  He  told 
three  companies  he  had  such  a  calf,  and  if  they 
would  give  him  two  and  a  half  dollars  each, 
he  would  sit  in  a  game  of  "freezeout"  to  see 
who  should  own  the  calf.  They  "fell  for  it," 
and  a  local  man  won.  Then  it  was  played  for 
again  and  another  won.  A  dozen  times  that 
night  the  imaginary  calf  changed  hands.  This 
calf  was  introduced  into  Sidney  in  1876 ;  in 
1879  men  were  still  playing  for  it,  always  at 
a  value  of  ten  dollars ;  and  no  one  ever  saw 
the  calf. 


The  Lockwood  House  Gang 

Dropping  off  of  the  Black  Hills  travel,  due 
to  railroad  extension,  emptied  some  of  the 
hotels  in  Sidney,  the  Lockwood  House  being 
one.  This  was  rented  to  Wm.  Godfrey,  his  wife 
and  another  man.  They  were  a  trio  of  crude 
swindlers  with  a  unique  scheme.  They  selected 
the  names  of  several  hundred  people  in  all  parts 
of  the  United  States,  and  wrote  letters  on 
"Lockwood  House"  stationery,  of  similar  im- 
port to  each.  These  were  to  the  effect  that 
someone  had  died  in  the  hotel  owing  a  little 
bill.  Upon  examination  of  his  effects  they  were 
led  to  the  opinion  that  the  deceased  was  a  rela- 
tive of  the  one  addressed,  that  the  deceased  had 
left  some  personal  effects  ranging  in  value  from 
six  hundred  to  one  thousand  dollars,  and  con- 
sisting of  bank  deposit  slips,  diamond  rings 
and  watches. 

The  letter  continued  that  the  hotel  had  given 
the  body  a  decent  burial,  which  cost  with 
the  hotel  bill,  care,  and  the  like,  amounted  to 
one  hundred,  eight  dollars  or  an  approxi- 
mate sum.  If  the  addressed  cared  to  send 
this  amount,  the  effects  would  be  sent  to  them ; 
otherwise  they  would  be  sold  to  pay  the  bill. 
They  reasoned  that  the  recipients  of  the  let- 
ters would  send  the  money  to  get  the  goods, 
even  though  not  expecting  any  legacy,  and 
not  having  any  relation,  who  would  likely  be 
in  Sidney  to  die.  They  were  not  mistaken  in 
the  weakness  of  their  fellow  men.  The  money 
came  by  check,  draft  and  money  order. 

After  they  had  accumulated  about  forty 
thousand  dollars.  Postmaster  Fred  Clary  be- 
came suspicious  and  reported  the  facts  so  far 
as  he  knew  them  to  the  Federal  authorities.  The 
trio  were  arrested,  and  Judge  Dundy  sentenced 
them  to  Federal  prison.  The  woman  broke 
down  and  died  in  Sidney  Jail,  the  others  being 
taken  to  Leavenworth. 

Clary,  who  came  to  Sidney  as  a  telegraph 
operator,  served  a  term  as  postmaster  and  then 
returned  to  the  Western  LInion.  He  is  now 
general  superintendent  of  the  eastern  district. 

A  Wolf  in  Sheep's  Clothing 

Reverend  Benton,  a  Methodist  minister,  came 
to  Kimball  about  1890,  and  satisfied  people 
there  and  at  Sidney  with  his  credentials. 

Shortly  after  the  Morgan  &  Johnson  bank 
blew  up  and  Morgan  committed  suicide,  Benton 
tried  to  cash  an  eight  thousand  dollar  draft  at 
Cheyenne.  He  wanted  three  thousand  cash  im- 
mediately, and  would  leave  the  other  five  thou- 
sand on  deposit.    There  was  little  cash  available 


174 


HISTORY  <  >F  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


and  the  bank  did  not  accept  the  proffer.  Henry 
St.  Rayner  and  Mr.  Donaldson,  were  at  Chey- 
enne at  the  time,  and  when  they  returned  to 
Sidney,  told  the  local  bankers  of  "the  preacher 
with  the  eight  thousand  dollar  draft."  As  ex- 
pected, Benton  came  to  Sidney,  this  time  willing 
to  take  two  thousand  dollars  in  cash. 

L.  W.  Bickel,  banker  at  Kimball,  had  loaned 
Benton  twenty-five  dollars,  and  said  he  guessed 
he  had  "kissed  it  good  by,"  when  he  learned 
that  Benton  was  peddling  a  big  draft.  He  told 
Officer  Trognitz  to  get  the  twenty-five  if  he 
could. 

Benton  was  stopping  with  a  Methodist 
brother  named  Whitney,  although  leaving  his 
bag  at  a  hotel.  Trognitz  got  a  warrant  and 
searched  the  bag,  finding  it  contained  old 
clothes,  a  characteristic  tramp's  outfit.  Then 
he  arrested  Benton  at  the  Whitney  home.  The 
good  people  could  hardly  believe  Benton  was 
really  a  bad  character.  However,  Trognitz 
found  four  of  the  Bickel  five  dollar  bills  in  the 
end  of  his  spectacle  case,  and  some  silver  in 
his  pockets. 

The  papers  headlined  a  story  of  "cowboy 
Sheriff  arrests  a  preacher."  Two  days  later 
Cashier  Stone  of  Sioux  City  Savings  Bank,  ar- 
rived and  identified  Benton,  as  a  swindler 
named  Simpson.  His  method  was  to  get  part 
cash  on  a  large  draft,  drop  his  c!ergyman"s  at- 
tire, and  don  the  garb  of  a  tramp  until  well 
out  of  the  community.  He  was  also  wanted  at 
Central  City.  Sheriff  Trognitz  received  one 
thousand  dollars  reward. 

First  Celebration  of  the  Fourth 

The  first  Fourth  of  July  celebration  held  at 
Sidney  in  1877,  was  at  the  same  time  the  first 
event  of  the  kind  held  in  the  Panhandle  of  Ne- 
braska. An  extensive  and  interesting  story  of 
this  affair,  which  lacked  the  hampering  espio- 
nage customary  in  older  communities,  is  told 
by  the  Sidney  Telegraph  of  July  7,  1877. 
American  humor  was  a  part  and  parcel  of  the 
young  west,  as  evidenced  by  high  lights  of  the 
narrative. 

"The  National  salute  of  one  hundred  and 
one  guns  was  fired  by  Sidney's  battery  at  sun- 
rise. Let  it  be  stated,  for  once,  that  more  than 
a  hundred  shots  were  fired  in  Sidney  without 
in  a< '  ident." 

"Fitzpatrick  was  ruled  out  of  the  greased- 
pole  climbing  contest  because  of  his  great 
length.  He  was  too  near  the  top  of  the  "pole 
:ii  the  start." 

"C    K.  Allen  came  within  an  ace  of  plucking 

immon,  but   just  as  he  was  reaching 

for  the  nugget,  when  as  luck   would  have  it, 


some  buttons  attaching  his  suspenders  to  his 
trousers  in  the  rear,  gave  way,  and  Mr.  Allen 
retired  as  gracefully  as  the  circumstances 
would  permit." 

"Smithy  played  a  'stopless'  organ,  and  for 
aught  we  know  he  is  playing  it  still." 

There  was  a  greased  pig,  cortests  of  all 
sorts,  and  a  race  between  "bulls"  and  "mules" 
attached  to  freight  wagons.  "A  lot  of  money 
changed  hands  on  this  affair,  for  the  'bulls' 
won  by  ten  feet." 

The  Affair  at  Zobel's 

In  1877,  John  Zobel  ran  a  restaurant  with  a 
bar  on  the  west  side  of  Rose  street.  It  was 
typical  of  the  time  and  usually  full  of  custom- 
ers. 

A  friend  of  the  Oberfelders  from  New  York 
had  come  to  Sidney,  and  Bob,  while  showing 
him  around,  dropped  in  Zobel's  place.  At  one 
table  sat  three  distinguished  characters ;  Hank 
Clifford,  from  the  Stage  station  on  the  Nio- 
brara river ;  Ben  Tibbets,  beef  killer  and  squaw- 
man  from  Red  Cloud  agency,  and  "Arkansas 
John"  Wyseckler.  Their  bibulous  feast  had 
reached  a  stage  of  mellowness  where  they  were 
shampooing  one  another  with  tomato  ketchup. 
One  of  them  reached  for  the  pepper  sauce  bot- 
tle, and  Bob  and  his  guest  "beat  it." 

One  of  the  celebrating  three  let  out  a  yell 
like  a  Sioux  Indian,  and  the  shooting  began. 
When  the  smoke  cleared,  all  the  lights  were 
out  of  commission,  and  the  front  of  the  build- 
ing was  a  total  wreck.    No  one  was  killed. 

Cattle  Rustlers 

In  the  few  years  of  change,  where  ranges 
gave  way  to  grangers,  cattle  rustling  became 
common.  Early  in  this  period,  Doc  Middleton 
committed  the  offense  of  killing  two  dissolute 
soldiers,  and  thereby  became  an  outlaw.  Con- 
temporaneously others  made  it  a  business,  us- 
ing the  settler  as  a  "Smoke  screen."  As  often 
as  possible  they  made  the  granger  an  accom- 
plice, giving  him  meat  for  domestic  needs, 
which  needs  were  frequently  sufficient.  Occa- 
sionally cowboys  and  near  cowboys  became  cat- 
tle detectives,  and  sometimes  outside  detectives 
were  empolyed. 

Jack  Crittendon's  services  were  presumed  to 
be  on  the  side  of  cattlemen,  but  he  evidently 
"played  both  ends."  When  Tom  Kane  was 
preparing  some  cases  against  offenders  of 
cowmen's  ethics,  Jack  became  alarmed  that  he 
might  not  be  on  the  winning  side.  He  sought 
Kane  to  give  assurance  of  his  dependability. 
Kane  was  busy  making  out  some  papers  and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


told  Jack  to  wait,  but  being  nervous  and  ex- 
cited he  would  occasionally  interrupt  with  "I 
can  swear  to"  this  or  that.  Kane  told  him  to 
wait  "until  1  finish  this,"  and  he  continued, 
"then  1  will  tell  you  what  you  have  got  to 
swear  to."  A  faithful  chronicle  of  the  event 
is  that  Jack  waited. 

The  people  on  lower  Pumpkin  creek  were 
disturbed  during  this  period  by  the  arrest  of 
Lee  Nunn  by  Detective  Talbert.  Talbert  ap- 
parently decided  to  join  in  homing  making,  and 
as  brought  out  at  Nunn's  trial,  he  made  the 
suggestion  and  induced  Nunn  to'  join  him  in 
killing  a  range  beef.  There  was  no  dispute  as 
to  fact,  but  the  question  of  the  value  would 
settle  the  sentence,  whether  a  fine  or  the  peni- 
tentiary. Talbert  was  the  expert  witness  for 
the  cattlemen  who  wanted  the  accused  "sent 
over  the  road."  Judge  Isaac  Woolf,  tangled 
the  detective's  testimony,  who  in  fact,  was  not 
an  expert,  but  Woolf  was.  To  the  general  sat- 
isfaction of  grangers,  Nunn  was  released. 

Bonanza  Days 

The  bonanza  days  and  big  profits  in  Sidney 
occurred  during  the  Black  Hills  rush.  Then 
Colt's  revolvers  sold  for  forty  dollars  and 
everything  else  in  proportion.  Freighters  who 
figured  loads  at  two  tons  per  mule  or  ox,  cursed 
picks  and  shovels  as  "bulky  freight."  There 
was  not  room  on  a  wagon  to  put  the  customary 
ten  tons.  Two  wagons  trailing  behind  ten 
mules  were  supposed  to  carry  twenty  tons — two 
tons  to  the  mule. 

Back  to  Normal 

The  lean  years  of  the  early  nineties,  broke 
many  cattlemen,  and  the  grangers  were  "not 
yet  upon  their  feet."  Intense  privation  and 
heart-aches  covered  the  broad  acres  of  Chey- 
enne county.  The  prices  of  merchandise  drop- 
ped very  low  in  Sidney  and  elsewhere.  Bril- 
liant financiers  and  politicians  call  it  back  to 
normal,  and  helpless  mortals  echo  the  apology 


for  the  crime  of  financial  depression,  from  time 
to  time. 

The  New  Order 

Raising  of  wheat  has  changed  the  business 
of  the  county  which  has  been  settled  by  far- 
mers and  small  ranchers  and  Cheyenne  county 
is  today  one  of  the  productive  areas  of  the 
state. 

Sidney  now  has  twenty-eight  wholesale  dis- 
tribution branches  of  farm  machinery  and  the 
like.  The  city  also  contains  some  hundred  and 
twenty-five  business  houses  which  handle  all 
kinds  of  merchandise,  including  the  stocks  of 
autos,  trucks,  tractors,  and  all  sorts  of  imple- 
ments required  by  the  farmer.  Her  stone  quar- 
ries and  gravel  pits  have  been  used  extensively 
in  local  building  and  these  products  are  shipped 
into  other  parts  of  the  state.  While  wheat  and 
cattle  stand  out  as  the  great  resources  of  Chey- 
enne county,  her  other  agricultural  products 
are  many  and  valuable. 

At  the  present  time  interest  is  taken  in  the 
Lodgepole  valley  in  oil  and  natural  gas.  A  de- 
formation, or  structure  points  to  oil  land,  and 
an  old  surveyor's  report  shows  oil  seeps  east  of 
Sidney  but  up  to  the  present  no  well  has  been 
brought  in. 

United  States  Land  Office 

The  United  States  Land  Office  was  estab- 
lished in  Sidney  in  July,  1887,  with  the  first 
officers  as  follows:  John  M.  Adams,  register 
and  G.  B.  Blakely,  receiver ;  G.  B.  Blanchard, 
register  and  L.  M.  Neeves,  receiver,  succeeded 
them.  They  in  turn  were  succeeded  by  John 
M.  Adams,  register  and  P.  G.  Griffith,  receiver ; 
George  W.  Heist,  register  and  R.  D.  Harris, 
receiver.  Judge  Heist  died  in  office  after  which 
R.  D.  Harris  was  made  register  with  Matt 
Daugherty  receiver.  R.  D.  Harris  was  reap- 
pointed register  and  J.  L.  Mcintosh  receiver, 
following  which  these  two  officials  reversed  po- 
sitions which  they  held  until  the  office  was 
abandoned  in  March,  1906. 


176 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 

CHAPTER  III 

ORGANIZATION  OF  CHEYENNE  COUNTY 


Before  Cheyenne  county  came  into  existence, 
the  western  part  of  Nebraska  was  divided  by 
an  arbitrary  act  into  counties.  Two  of  these, 
Lyons  and  Taylor  counties,  and  a  part  of  Mon- 
roe county  comprised  the  territory  which  in 
1867,  was  made  into  Cheyenne  county.  These 
counties  had  no  organization  and  no  govern- 
ment was  needed.  Between  1867  and  1870, 
Cheyenne  county  was  attached  to  Lincoln  coun- 
ty for  all  revenue,  administrative  and  judicial 
purposes.  In  1870,  Thomas  Kane  went  to  Lin- 
coln, the  state  capital,  to  prevail  upon  Governor 
David  Butler,  to  call  an  election  for  choosing 
officers  for  Cheyenne  county,  which  was  done 
by  a  proclamation  in  August,  1870.  The  fol- 
lowing officers  were  chosen:  Thomas  Kane, 
treasurer;  John  Ellis,  sheriff;  C.  A.  Moore, 
Fred  Glover,  and  H.  L.  Ellsworth,  commis- 
sioners, and  H.  A.  Dygart,  clerk.  The  latter 
served  but  a  short  time  and  D.  A.  Martin  was 
appointed  to  succeed  him.  October  8,  1871, 
occurred  the  first  regular  general  election  in 
the  county  when  the  following  officials  were 
elected:  "George  W.  Heist,  probate  judge; 
George  C.  Cooke,  sheriff;  L.  Connell,  clerk; 
James  H.  Moore,  treasurer;  D.  Cowigan,  com- 
missioner, but  he  resigned.  George  Cooke  was 
removed  and  John  Ellis  was  appointed  in  his 
place.  George  Heist  refused  to  qualify  but 
was  later  appointed  and  did  qualify.  James 
Moore's  bond  was  not  acceptable  and  Thomas 
Kane  was  appointed  and  qualified.  The  com- 
missioners elected  were  :  Henry  Newman  and 
Joseph  Cleburne.  The  coroner  was  P.  Bailey, 
who  refused  to  qualify.  The  superintendent  of 
schools  was  George  R.  Ballou ;  county  survey- 
or, John  Griffin,  who  refused  to  qualify;  while 
the  justices  of  the  peace  were  Thomas  Kane 
and  Frederick  Glover. 

The  early  records  of  the  county  are  very 
meagre.  Some  of  the  early  officers  performed 
very  little  service.  Salaries  were  small,  some 
officers  serving  without  any  recompense.  The 
offices  were  not  as  attractive  as  they  are  now 
and  not  sought.  A  list  of  the  officers  of  the 
county  down  to  1918,  follows:  1872,  the  com- 
missioners  were  Henry  Newman,  and  Joseph 
Cleburne;  Judge,  G.  W.  Heist;  sheriff,  J.  J. 
Ellis;  coroner.  P,  Bailey  (refused  to  qualify)  ; 
treasurer,  Thomas  Kane;  superintendent  of 
schools,  George  R.  Ballou;  surveyor,  John 
Griffin  i  refused  to  qualify):  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  Thomas  Kane  and  Frederick  Glover. 
]    time   the  Cheyenne  county  judges 


have  been  as  follows :  D.  Carrigan,  George 
Darrow,  C.  D.  Essig,  Julius  Neubauer,  A. 
Pease,  Robert  Shuman,  Leroy  Martin,  F.  H. 
DeCastro,  A.  A.  Ricker,  M.  J.  Saunders,  James 
Tucker,  Henry  E.  Gapen  and  C.  P.  Chambers. 
Succeeding  Moore,  Glover,  Ellsworth,  New- 
man and  Cleburne,  commissioners  serving  have 
been  as  follows :  J.  J.  Mcintosh,  H.  V.  Red- 
ington,  James  Callahan,  Henry  Newman,  R.  S. 
Van  Tassel,  Henry  Tusler,  J.  F.  Simpson,  A. 
J.  Walrath,  Henry  Snyder,  J.  W.  Haas,  T.  H. 
Lawrence,  Moritz  Urbach,  John  Snodgrass,  J. 
B.  Stetson,  August  Newman,  Frank  L.  Smith, 
Morris  Davis,  P.  C.  Johnson,  A.  H.  Frame,  E. 
S.  Crigler,  J.  W.  Vanderhoof,  A.  W.  Atkins, 
W.  R.  Wood,  J.  W.  Harper,  Frank  A.  Rowan, 
Fred  Lindburg,  Robert  Emanuelson,  W.  C. 
Dugger,  Jerome  B.  Haiston,  Louis  R.  Bareaw, 
J.  B.  Haiston,  Lewis  Brott,  L.  R.  Barlow, 
Frank  X.  Rihn,  N.  H.  Troelstoup,  W'illiam 
Codings  and  J.  L.  Reed. 

County  Treasurers 

A  complete  roster  of  the  county  officers  has 
been  hard  to  obtain.  Some  of  the  offices  have 
been  created  since  the  organization  of  the 
county  but  the  persons  who  have  been  trusted 
with  the  public  funds  are  as  follows :  Thomas 
Kane.  Henry  Snyder,  C.  K.  Allen,  Carl  E. 
Borgquist,  James  Sutherland.  C.  D.  Essig, 
Adam  Ickes,  James  L.  Mcintosh,  A.  Pease, 
Fred  Lehmkuhl,  A.  K.  Greenlee,  J.  S.  Hagerty, 
W.  R.  Wood,  Simon  Fishman,  Mabel  Lan- 
caster. The  latter  is  the  first  woman  to  occu- 
py this  important  position,  and  regrets  have 
been  expressed  that  her  efficiency  cannot  be 
rewarded  by  more  than  two  terms  under  the 
statute. 

County  Clerks 

II.  A.  Dygart  was  the  first  clerk  to  serve  in 
the  county,  being  named  by  the  governor's 
proclamation  in  August,  1870.  He  has  been 
followed  by  L.  Connell,  C.  K.  Allen,  J.  J. 
Mcintosh,  L.  B.  Cary.  Dan  McAleese.  C.  J. 
Osborn,  William  C.  Bullock,  Tames  Burns, 
Robert  E.  Barrett,  Henry  T.  Doran,  F.  N. 
Slawson,  who  splendidly  assisted  in  the  com- 
pilation of  this  data. 

G irxrv  Superintendents 

The   office  of   superintendent   of   public   in- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


177 


struction  dates  from  the  organization  of  the 
county  and  first  election  October  8,  1872.  The 
first  superintendent  was  George  R.  Ballou,  be- 
ing succeeded  in  September,  1874,  by  I_.  Jen- 
kins, then  in  1875,  by  L.  H.  Bordwell.  Since 
that  time  the  following  men  have  filled  that 
office:  Daniel  Hirlihy,  E.  M.  Day,  Joseph 
Oberfelder,  Leslie  Stevens,  Mrs.  Julia  Shelton, 
Mrs.  E.  O.  Lee,  Mattie  McGee,  C.  P.  Cham- 
bers, Otis  D.  Lyon,  Mrs.  A.  B.  Knox,  Minnie 
E.  Chase,  William  Ritchie,  Jr.,  Edith  H.  Mor- 
rison, and  Anna  McFadden.  The  records  of 
the  superintendent's  office,  and  Mrs.  McFadden 
assisted  excellently  in  this  work. 

Other  County  Officers 

J.  J.  Ellis  was  the  first  sheriff  of  Cheyenne 
county ;  he  was  first  appointed,  then  elected 
October  8,  1872,  being  followed  in  office  by  C. 
McCarty,  John  Zweilfel,  F.  R.  Curran,  Robert 


(Xn  Court,  Sheriff's  Residence 

C.  Howard,  S.  O.  Fowler.  W.  T.  Eubank, 
Charles  Trognitz,  John  Daugherty.  Daniel  Mc- 
Aleese, Frank  King,  S.  H.  Babb,  J.  W.  Lee,  J. 
W.  McDaniel,  Adam  D.  Waggy,  and  then  J. 
W.  McDaniel,  the  present  incumbent,  returned 
to  duty. 

In  1873,  precincts  for  the  first  time  took  on 
importance  and  elected  officers  and  from  this 
time  have  continued  to  elect  the  necessary  offi- 
cers from  time  to  time. 

The  first  county  surveyor  was  elected  in 
1872,  being  John  Griffin  who  refused  to  qual- 
ify; Joseph  Callihan  was  elected  in  1873,  and 
refused  to  qualify,  since  which  time  the  sur- 
veyors elected  have  served.  The  first  coroner 
was  P.  Bailey,  who  refused  to  qualify  and  was 
followed  the  next  year  by  George  Williams  who 
also  refused  to  qualify,  but  since  that  time  the 
men  elected  have  generally  served. 

In  1881.  occurs  the  first  mention  of  a  county 
attorney,  when  V.  Bierbower's  name  is  given 
at  the  returns  of  the  November  elections.  He 
has  been  followed  by  W.  C.  Reilly,  E.  O.  Lee, 


William  P.  Miles,  Henry  Gapen,  Mark  Span- 
ogle,  Henry  Gapen,  Lerov  Martin,  Robert  W. 
Devoe,  C.  S.  Radcliffe. 

Judicial 

William  Gaslin,  Jr.,  was  the  first  district 
judge  to  sit  in  Sidney  and  Cheyenne  county, 
and  was  the  man  who  made  much  of  western 
Nebraska  bow  to  the  law.  He  served  from 
1876  to  1880.  Samuel  Savage  next  sat  upon 
the  bench  but  his  were  not  the  years  of  stress 
that  preceded  or  followed  as  he  held  office 
from  1880  to  1884. 

From  1884  to  1888,  Francis  G.  Hamer,  after- 
wards a  member  of  the  Nebraska  supreme 
court,  served  in  this  district.  His  record  is 
written  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  whose  homes 
he  saved  by  delay  of  process  of  law  in  the  in- 
terests of  justice.  In  the  end  everyone  was 
served  well. 

From  1888  to  1892,  A.  H.  Church  was  the 
judge  presiding  in  the  western  end  of  the  tenth 
district  of  Nebraska.  Conditions  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state  were  changing  and  he  had  dif- 
ficulty in  meeting  the  many  new  demands. 

William  Neville,  one  of  the  best  and  most 
able  judges  that  ever  sat  on  a  bench,  presided 
over  the  destinies  of  Cheyenne  county  and 
those  counties  afterward  carved  from  old  Chey- 
enne, from  1892  to  1896.  He  then  went  to 
Congress. 

For  fifteen  years  H.  M.  Grimes  sat  in  this 
district,  which  was  divided  about  ten  years  ago. 

By  the  creation  of  the  new  district,  R.  W. 
Hobart  was  appointed  and  took  over  the 
northern  counties  that  had  been  carved  from 
Cheyenne.  Judge  Grimes  still  presides  when 
court  meets  in  Cheyenne,  Deuel,  or  Kimball 
counties.  He  starts  now  upon  his  twenty-fifth 
year  as  judge  of  the  district  in  which  Cheyenne 
county  is  located,  which  is  evidence  of  a  satis- 
fied people. 

From  1868  to  1885,  the  statutes  provided  for 
the  election  of  district  attorneys.  During  those 
years  one  name  stands  alone  to  the  credit  of 
the  Panhandle  of  Nebraska,  that  of  Vic  Bier- 
bower,  of  Sidney,  who  was  elected  in  1S80  and 
served  one  term. 

Cheyenne  County  Court  House  No.  1 

The  present  Cheyenne  County  Court  House, 
is  of  Doric  simplicity  and  is  a  constant  source 
of  pleasure  to  the  eye  and  satisfaction  to 
the  people.  It  is  a  little  more  than  a  decade 
old,  as  $50,000  worth  of  bonds  were  voted  for 
the  erection  of  a  court  house  March  21,  1911. 
On  April   15,  of  the  same  year  the  contract 


178 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


for  the  new  structure  was  let  to  C.  F.  Good- 
hand  of  Ord. 

The  'building  is  sixty  by  eighty-four  feet, 
exclusive  of  the  portico  and  is  built  of  white 
stone.  The  interior  is  finished  in  oak  where 
wood  is  used  and  the  walls  are  natural  sand 
finish.  The  main  entrance  and  rotunda  are 
tiled.  The  stairway  is  of  steel  and  slate  with 
banisters  of  steel  and  brass.  There  are  three 
full  stories  including  the  basement  which  is 
light  and  airy  and  contains  the  jail,  the  fur- 
nace room,  and  two  convenient  rest  rooms  for 
the  public. 


eel  with  it  is  an  office  for  the  judge.  On  this 
floor  are  jury  rooms,  counsel  chambers  and  the 
caretaker's  apartments.  The  old  county  build- 
ings were  sold  and  wrecked  when  the  new  court 
house  was  placed  in  use  so  the  grounds  today 
are  beautifully  laid  out  in  lawns,  making  the 
court  house  yard  a  real  park  for  Sidney. 
Section  Homestead  Bill  Goes  Into  Effect 
As  a  result  of  the  Congressional  measure 
known  as  the  Section  Homestead  Bill,  passed 
in  1S94,  more  than  two  million  acres  of  land 
were  thrown  open  to  homesteaders  under  pro- 
vision by  which  an  entryman  was  entitled  to 


ClIEYF.XXK   Coixty   Court   House.   Sir 


The  rest  room  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  basement,  maintained  by  the  Women's 
Club,  is  cozy,  comfortable  and  convenient  and 
is  free  to  all  the  women  of  the  county.  The 
rest  room  for  men  practically  duplicates  this. 
A  fine  heating  plant  is  in  the  basement  so  that 
every  part  of  the  building  is  well  heated  and 
also  well  lighted  with  electricity.  All  the 
county  offices  an-  located  on  the  first  floor  and 
are  equipped  with  every  convenience  includ- 
ing vaults  for  the  records  and  county  treas- 
urer's papers.  The  offices  include  those  of 
thi  il-il.  superintendent,  assessor,  commiss- 
ioners, surveyor  and  county  judge,  which 
includes  an  office  and  court  room.  The  third 
floor  or  second  story  houses  the  district  court 
ii  h  i-  large  and  convenient.    Connect- 


six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  and  to  such  home- 
steaders under  the  old  law,  who  had  vacant 
lands  adjoining,  they  could  increase  their  acre- 
age to  a  section.  A  thirty  day  preference  was 
allowed  in  which  to  make  filing.  All  the  rest 
was  open  to  the  entrymen  first  coming.  This 
caused  a  land  rush  into  western  Nebraska  as 
hundreds  of  people  wanted  to  make  entries  un- 
der the  new  law,  Sidney  displayed  considerable 
activity  some  days  prior  to  June  28,  when  the 
homestead  law  took  effect.  Many  new  set- 
tlers thus  came  into  Cheyenne  county  who  be- 
came permanent  residents  and  aided  in  the 
further  settlement  of  this  section.  The  en- 
larged homestead  was  first  introduced  by  Con- 
gressman Wm.  Neville  for  two  sections,  the 
fruitful  suggestion  of  Judge  Homer  Sullivan 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


179 


of  Broken  Bow.  Congressman  M.  P.  Kincaid, 
followed  and  reduced  the  acreage  to  one  sec- 
tion. The  law  was  then  confined  to  Nebraska, 
but  now  includes  all  the  western  states. 

Cheyenne;  County  Schools 

District  No.  1,  was  organized  in  1871,  with 
C.  E.  Borgquist,  moderator;  D.  Carrigan,  di- 
rector, and  Joseph  Cleburne,  treasurer.  It 
included  Cheyenne  county  as  it  then  existed, 
and  unorganized  Sioux  county  which  then 
extended  eastward  to  the  present  line  of  Holt 
county.  In  a  period  of  less  than  fifty  years 
twenty-three  counties  have  been  formed  in  this 
first  school  district,  which  originally  included 
all  northwestern  Nebraska. 

The  first  teacher  in  this  district  was  Irene 
Sherwood,  who  taught  the  school  of  twelve 
pupils  at  her  home  in  Sidney,  during  the  win- 
ter of  1871-1872.  Ten  years  later  there 
were  four  school  districts  in  all  this  territory, 
located  at  Sidney,  Big  Springs,  Antelopeville 
(now  Kimball)  and  Lodgepole.  Sidney  re- 
ported one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils  with  a 
two  room  school.  J.  M.  Brenton  was  prin- 
cipal and  Mrs.  N.  L.  Shelton,  assistant. 

By  1884,  nine  districts  lined  the  Union  Pa- 
cific Railroad  from  Big  Springs  to  Cheyenne 
and  one  district  had  been  created  in  the  still 
unorganized  territory  of  Sioux  county,  near 
Fort  Robinson  on  White  river.  Miss  Mary 
Delahunty  was  the  teacher,  and  Daniel  Klein, 
director.  The  next  year  two  more  districts 
were  organized  in  Cheyenne  county ;  one  on 
Pumpkin  creek  and  the  other  on  the  North 
Platte  river.  Districts  Nos.  2  and  3  were  organ- 
ized in  Sioux  county  with  John  Tucker  and 
W.  V.  Pennington  directors  of  the  two  dis- 
tricts, in  the  order  named. 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  county  super- 
intendent in  Cheyenne  county  until  January, 
1871,  when  George  Ballou  assumed  the  duties 
of  that  office.  He  was  the  first  county  super- 
intendent of  a  territory  covering  nearly  a 
third  of  the  state.  On  the  first  Saturday  in 
February,  1873,  he  held  the  first  teacher's  ex- 
amination at  which  Rose  C.  Michael  and  Mrs. 
L.  M.  Ballou  were  the  only  applicants  and 
were  granted  certificates  numbered  one  and 
two.  School  moneys  available  were  appro- 
priated for  the  use  of  district  No.  1,  there 
being  only  the  one  district.  The  board  of  di- 
rectors then  consisted  of  Thomas  Kane, 
George  W.  Heist  and  John  Ellis. 

L.  Jenkins,  the  second  superintendent,  was 
elected  September  1,  1874.  and  granted  a  sec- 
cond  grade  certificate  to  Miss  Mollie  A.  Press- 
ley,  for  one  year.     All  moneys  again  went  to 


the  first  district.  On  September  14,  1875,  a 
second  grade  certificate  was  granted  to  Miss 
Delia  A.  Sharpless,  and  district  No.  1  had  all 
the  school  funds.  February  19,  1878,  County 
Superintendent  L.  H.  Bordwell  created  dis- 
trict No.  2,  at  Big  Springs  and  sent  notice  of 
its  organization  to  John  McCann.  Election 
was  held  February  26,  1878,  to  elect  school 
officers  who  were  as  follows :  G.  W.  Banhart. 
moderator;  R.  A.  J.  Walrath,  director;  a  man 
named  Green  was  treasurer,  but  the  district 
was  abandoned  as  no  school  was  held.  On 
August  4,  1879.  a  petition  for  reorganization 
of  district  No.  2,  was  filed  and  asked  that  the 
following  officers  be  named :  R.  J.  Coerdon, 
moderator;  E.  W.  Ormsby,  director;  A.  J. 
Walrath,  treasurer.  No.  2  district  was  cre- 
ated by  E.  M.  Day,  superintendent,  who  had 
been  appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy  July  8,  1879. 

District  No.  3.  at  Antelopeville,  now  Kim- 
ball, was  created  August  8,  1879,  with  J.  J. 
Kinney,  moderator;  John  J.  Mcintosh,  direc- 
tor and  William  Gaw,  treasurer.  There  was 
a  contest  of  "School"  and  "No  School,"  and  it 
would  seem  that  the  "No  School"  faction  had 
the  best  of  it  and  had  its  board  appointed. 
The  first  election  overturned  this  and,  in  1S80, 
Thomas  B.  Evans,  to  which  "taxable  inhabi- 
tant" the  notice  of  the  district's  organization 
had  been  sent,  and  James  Lynch  and  Walter 
Derrig  were  elected  members  of  the  school 
board. 

The  first  school  was  held  in  a  building  made 
of  railroad  ties  set  on  end,  and  had  a  dirt 
roof  and  dirt  floor.  Soon  afterward  a  frame 
building  was  bought ;  it  had  formerly  been 
used  by  J.  J.  Mcintosh  as  a  saloon.  This 
served  until  the  school  grew  and  required  more 
room  and  better  quarters,  which  were  pro- 
vided. The  old  frame  structure  was  sold  to 
the  Swedish  Lutheran  church  and  in  1920,  was 
still  used  for  church  purposes  though  remodel- 
ed and  with  additions. 

District  No.  4,  was  organized  at  Lodgepole, 
August  19,  1879,  by  E.  M.  Day.  county  super- 
intendent. H.  Barrett,  was  moderator ;  A.  C. 
Drake,  director  ;  and  James  Green,  treasurer. 

S.  V.  Livingston  became  county  superin- 
tepdent  in  1880,  and  no  new  districts  were 
formed  while  he  was  in  office.  Only  six  cer- 
tificates were  issued  during  his  term. 

Jos.  Oberfelder  was  then  elected  superinten- 
dent, and  assumed  office  in  1882.  Eleven  cer- 
tificates were  issued  by  him,  and  district  No. 
5,  at  Potter,  came  into  existence  September  S, 
1883,  when  John  O'Leary  was  selected  as  mod- 
erator;  James  Evans,  director  ;  and  Adam  Gun- 
derson,  treasurer. 

Leslie  Stevens,  who  served  as  superintendent 


180 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


after  1884,  discontinued  the  record  of  ser- 
tificates  issued,  except  for  the  entry  of  the 
number,  names  and  address. 

District  No.  6,  at  Bushnell,  was  organized 
September  26,  1884.  with  A.  Tracy,  Walter 
Derrig  and  S.  A.  Pierce  the  members  of  the 
board.  .March  7,  1885.  district  No.  7,  was 
formed  at  Chappell,  with  Messrs.  Johnson, 
Newman  and  McLoskey  making  up  the  board. 
Districts  Nos.  8  and  9,  were  "formed  on  the 
railroad  at  Bronson  and  Colton.  District  No. 
10,  the  first  organized  away  from  the  railroad, 
in  Cheyenne  county,  was  on  Pumpkin  creek 
at  the  old  Wright  ranch,  while  Leslie  Stevens 
was  superintendent.  It  came  into  existence  in 
March,  1885,  and  the  district  comprised  prac- 
tically all  the  territory  now  embraced  in  Ban- 
ner county,  and  all  south  of  the  North  Platte 
river  in  the  present  Scotts  Bluff  county.  The 
taxable  property  consisted  of  some  railroad 
land  and  ranch  cattle. 

Lora  Sirpless  was  the  first  teacher;  Tohn 
Wright  was  director,  and.  in  1887  L.  D.  Living- 
ston and  Hugh  Milhollin  became  members  of 
the  board.  A  local  contest  appeared  here,  and 
the  following  years  Mrs.  Ellen  Streeks.  S.  B. 
Shumway  and  Jacob  Keleton  were  elected  to 
the  school  board.  The  first  school  house  in 
the  district  was  made  of  logs  with  dirt  floor 
and  roof,  but.  in  1887.  a  frame  building  about 
sixteen  by  tweney-four  feet  was  erected  and 
Clara  Shumway  was  selected  teacher  in  1888. 
Camp  Clark  district,  No.  11,  was  organized 
the  same  month  as  district  10,  being  the  sec- 
ond away  from  the  railroad.  After  this 
schools  were  organized  thick  and  fast  as  the 
county  was  settling  up  and  by  the  autumn  of 
1888  there  were  a  hundred  and  thirty-two  dis- 
tricts in  Cheyenne  county.  Julia  Shelton  was 
superintendent  during  this  period  of  expansion. 
I  he  first  district  organized  and  holding  school 
in  the  present  Scotts  Bluff  county  was  at  Ta- 
bor, now  Minatare.  in  August,  1886.  Basil 
Decker,  Theodore  Harshman  and  Wellington 
Clark  constituted  the  board.  Horseshoe  Bend 
had  the  first  school  in  the  North  Platte  val- 
ley. It  was  held  in  an  old  claim  shack,  with 
Gertrude  Ashford  as  teacher.  The  district 
was  organized  March  7.  1886,  with  George 
Williams  as  director.  Cheyenne  county  has 
since  been  divided  and  retains  only  a  small  part 
oi  it-  original  territory  but  the  schools  have 
maintained  a  high  standard  of  efficiency  in 
tional  work. 
'I'l'<-  firsl  school  in  unorganized  territory 
later  Sioux  county,  and  now  Sheridan  county 
Wished  by  fas.  i  Iberfelder  in  1882  It 
was  located  near  Fori  Robinson  and  Red  Cloud 
Agency,  and  all   the  pupils   NVL>re  ha]f  i,reed 


Indians.  There  were  forty-two  of  them,  prin- 
cipally the  children  of  Sioux  women  and  white 
"squaw"  men.  We  are  told  that  the  famous 
chief  Red  Cloud  had  descendants  in  this  school. 
The  children  of  Nick  Janis  and  his  Crow  In- 
dian wife  were  among  them.  Mary  Dela- 
hunty  was  the  courageous  teacher  to  go  into 
this  wilderness  to  teach. 


New  High  School,  Sidney 

Cheyenne  county  as  it  now  exists  has  sev- 
enty districts,  which  include  several  that  are 
partly  in  Cheyenne,  and  partly  in  adjoining 
counties.  According  to  the  school  census  of 
1920,  there  are  two  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  forty-eight  pupils  in  the  county,  ranging 
in  age  from  five  to  twenty-one  years.  There 
are  four  accredited  city  and  town  high  schools 
as  follows.  Sidney,  with  twenty-three  teach- 
ers ;  Lodgepole,  with  nine ;  Potter,  with  seven ; 
and  'Dalton  with  seven.  There  are  consoli- 
dated schools  at  Sunol  and  Gurley,  the  first 
having  five  teachers  and  twelve  grades,  while 
Gurley  has  seven  teachers  and  eleven  grades. 


The  rural  schools,  sixty-five  in  number  do, 
not  seem  to  be  following  the  extreme  consoli- 
dation plans  of  some  other  counties,  it  being 
the  general  opinion  in  Cheyenne  county  that 
schools  of  two  or  three  rooms  and  a  teacher's 
cottage  are  best.  That  teaching  well  all  sub- 
jects up  to  the  eighth  and  tenth  grades  meets 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  most  demands  with  highest  efficiency  and 
economy  in  administration. 

There  are  four  parochial  schools  in  the  coun- 
ty :  The  Catholic  Academy  at  Sidney,  and 
three  others  which  are  Lutheran :  one  at  Sid- 
ney, one  south  of  Sidney  and  the  third  at 
Gurley.  Each  of  these  three  has  but  one 
teacher.  There  has  been  some  friction  to  get 
them  to  qualify  under  the  Simon  law  but  not 
as  much  as  in  other  counties.  The  main  diffi- 
culty has  been  to  get  these  schools  to  supply 
the  required  text  books.  Miss  Anna  McFad- 
den  is  the  present  superintendent  of  Chey- 
enne county,  and  takes  much  interest  in  her 
work. 

Municipal  Enterprises 

Sidney  possesses  as  good  and  cheap  a  water 
system  as  can  be  found  in  the  state.  The  water 
is  obtained  from  a  well  on  the  north  side. 
This  well  goes  down  to  second  water  and 
never  lowers  a  foot.  Its  quality  is  of  the  pur- 
est. It  is  pumped  to  the  reservoir  on  the  hill 
and  from  there  distributed  to  the  town  by  a 
fall  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  The  reser- 
voir will  hold  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  thou- 
sand gallons.  The  system  is  owned  by  the 
city  and  was  put  in  at  a  cost  of  $25,500.  Con- 
sumers get  a  water  rate  that  is  very  reasonable. 
A  sewer  system  has  been  a  badly  needed  in- 
novation and  has  improved  sanitary  conditions. 
This  is  also  owned  by  the  town.  The  lighting, 
heating  and  power  plant,  known  as  the  Sidney 


Birdseye  View,  Sidney 

Electric  Service  Company,  is  maintained  as 
a  private  enterprise  and  its  functions  are  as 
indicated.  The  entire  town  receives  the  light 
and  power  if  desiring  to  and  the  business  sec- 
tion is  furnished  heat  also.  The  service  is  ex- 
cellent in  each  branch.  Rose  street  is  lighted 
by  electroliers. 

This  plant  has  a  contract  for  pumping  the 
city  water  and  furnishes  lights  for  the  rail- 
road yards  and  shops  and  power  for  the  turn 
table.     The  Nebraska  Telephone  Company  is 


located  in  the  Cleburne  Block  and  enjoys  a 
large  patronage.  More  than  four  hundred  sub- 
scribers are  served  and  have  connections  with 
about  any  place  in  the  world.  Four  girls  are 
busy  throughout  the  twenty- four  hours. 

Sidney  has  more  than  sixteen  miles  of  ce- 
ment sidewalks,  much  of  it  twelve  feet  wide. 
These  lead  to  all  the  better  portions  of  the  town 
town  and  take  the  pedestrian  past  houses  that 
are  a  credit  to  any  city. 

Fire  protection  is  as  yet  quite  adequate  with 
two  volunteer  fire  companies,  the  Citizens  and 


the  Railroad  Boys.  Fire  plugs  are  placed  at 
frequent  intervals  over  the  town,  the  water 
supply  is  unlimited  and  the  pressure  great. 
The  town  has  been  remarkably  free  from  fires 
and  to  the  rare  cases  the  firemen  have  given 
the  highest  degree  of  service.  They  are  with- 
out a  suitable  home  and  in  conjunction  with 
the  Village  Board  are  planning  to  build  a  city 
hall  with  a  fire  department.  They  already  have 
a  considerable  fund  toward  that  end. 

Railroad  Importance 

As  has  been  stated  Sidney  has  railroads,  the 
Burlington  lying  north  and  south  and  the 
Union  Pacific  traversing  her  length  east  and 
west.  The;  Burlington  has  four  passenger 
trains  a  day  and  two  local  freight  carrying  pass- 
engers. The  U.  P.  has  a  division  at  this  point 
and  employs  upward  of  three  hundred  men. 
The  payroll  for  the  current  months  has  amount- 
ed monthly  to  $15,000.  The  round  house,  car 
department  and  coal  heavers  received  $5,800, 
monthly,  while  the  roadmaster's  office  and  the 
five  sections  within  the  county  total  $2,0^7.07. 
There  are  thirteen  passenger  trains  on  this 
road  each  day  and  at  this  point  two  local 
freights  carrying  passengers.  An  attractive 
depot  of  stone,  steam-heated  and  with  every 
convenience  for  travelers,  is  so  exquisitely 
kept  that  strangers  are  often  heard  to  remark 


182 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


upon  its  unusual  neatness.    The  windows  look 
out  upon  a  pretty  and  well-kept  park. 

In  truth,  the  whole  of  the  railroad  property 
is  so  orderly  and  neat  that  the  house-keepers 
could  learn  lessons  by  inspection  of  the  build- 
ings and  yards,  where  conditions  are  so  ad- 
verse to  neatness.  It  will  be  readily  understood 
that  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  is  a  large  part 
of  Sidney. 

First  Irrigation  in  Western  Nebraska 


The  first  irrigation  in  western  Nebraska  was 
in  the  Lodgepole  valley,  and  was  practiced  by 
the  soldiers  under  the  command  of  General 
Dudley  of  Sidney  in  1871.  A  dam  was  built 
across  the  creek  and  the  waters  thus  impounded 
were  used  to  irrigate  the  tracts  of  land  alloted 
to  the  companies.  Rivalry  existed  between  the 
companies  is  growing  the  best  gardens.  Let 
it  be  known  to  the  credit  of  this  early  tillage 
that  the  soldiers  raised  nice  gardens,  but  the 
grasshoppers  discouraged  their  efforts.  The 
first  produce  was  intended  to  supply  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  enlisted  men  and  their  officers 
and  finally  ended  in  the  addition  of  several  hun- 


dred dollars  worth  of  produce  being  sold  in 
town. 

When  the  fort  was  abandoned  in  1894,  trees 
two  or  three  feet  in  diameter  were  flourishing. 
After  the  valley  was  settled  more  densely, 
ditches  were  constructed  until  irrigation  was 
practiced  extensively  along  the  borders  of  the 
entire  creek.  The  dams  averaged  from  three 
to  ten  feet  in  height  and  seventy-five  to  one 
hundred  feet  in  length,  and  were  located  from 
a  half  to  three-quarters  of  a  mile  apart  along 
the  course  of  the  stream.  The  discharge  of 
Lodgepole  Creek  is  small  in  comparison  with 
many  other  streams  thus  utilized  in  Nebraska. 
This  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  stream 
is  fed  from  numerous  springs  along  its  en- 
tire course  and  also  by  the  fact  of  the  valley 
being  from  one  to  three  miles  in  width.  The 
irrigation  of  such  land  thus  being  very  close 
proximity  to  the  stream  that  water  reappears 
promptly,  after  being  spread  over  the  border- 
ing land.  It  has  been  observed  frequently  that 
when  all  the  flow  was  being  diverted  at  one 
point  the  stream  a  half  mile  further  down 
would  flow  again  the  same  as  if  no  water  had 
been  diverted  above. 


CHAPTER  IV 


LODGEPOLE 


The  town  of  Lodgepole  is  the  second  oldest 
town  in  Cheyenne  county.  It  had  the  first 
newspaper,  the  first  bank,  first  business  house, 
and  first  postoffice  in  the  county  outside  of  Sid- 
ney. School  district  No.  4  was  located  there, 
which  is  the  second  district  organized  within 
the  present  limits  of  the  county.  Its  high 
character  of  morality,  and  its  religious  and  edu- 
cational institutions  appeal  to  people  who  are 
looking  for  a  permanent  abiding  place. 

There  are  now  resident  there  some  excel- 
lent people  who  came  and  located  when  the 
cattlemen  occupied  the  wide  domain.  They 
have  adopted  the  newer  standards  of  an  own- 
ership of  acreage,  instead  of  the  open  range. 

There  arc  the  first  grangers  also,  who  came 
and  remained  through  the  years  of  stress,  a 
number  of  which  are  ye<  residents  after  the 
lap  e  of  a  third  of  a  century.  Here  was  horn 
the  first  white  boy  in  thai  part  of  the  county; 
Guy  C.  Newman.  Here  also  is  Col.  V  B. 
■   and  his  I  tardscrabble  ranch.     Here 


two  of  the  names  that  mean  much  to  early  his- 
tory of  the  region  were  recently  united  in  mar- 
riage. Not  the  younger  generation,  but  the 
principals  who  were  in  the  drama  of  early 
years.  A.  B.  Persinger.  aforesaid,  was  a 
ranchman  of  the  seventies,  while  Mrs.  G.  H. 
Jewett,  the  bride,  was  the  widow  of  the  first 
state  senator  from  the  Panhandle  of  Nebraska. 
He  it  was  who  built  the  first  bridge  across  the 
South  Platte  river  at  Big  Springs  in  the  early 
eighties. 

At  Lodgepole  also  is  the  veteran  editor,  J. 
V.  Wolfe,  who  for  so  long,  directed  the  des- 
tinies of  the  Express,  recently  retiring  in  favor 
of  Claude  Grisham,  who  is  keeping  a  standard 
of  excellence.  This  paper  was  established 
about  1884. 

Lodgepole  also  had  to  its  credit  one  of  the 
state's  best  members  of  the  legislature  in  1917- 
1919,  and  who  in  1921  became  regent  of  the 
State  University,  William  L.  Bates. 

Fred  Lehmkuhl  is  another  Lodgepole  name 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


183 


that  runs  steadily  through  the  progress  of  town, 
county,  and  community  welfare,  from  the  very 
beginning.  J.  R.  Young  is  still  another  long 
familiar  name,  a  pioneer  in  merchandising,  and 
always  forefront  for  the  good  of  the  town. 

F.  H.  Wolf,  cashier  of  the  Cheyenne  County 
Bank,  can  tell  you  stories  of  forty  years  ago, 
when  he  and  his  brother  Ed,  were  two  of  the 
four  pupils  attending  the  first  school  (a  private 
school)  held  in  the  old  wreck  of  a  depot  at 
Chappell  where  John  O'Neil,  the  station 
master,  gave  him  his  first  lesson. 

Lodgepole  is  located  on  the  Union  Pacific 
railroad  near  the  east  line  of  Cheyenne  county. 
It  is  beautifully  located,  surrounded  by  many 


the  main  crop  Lodgepole  has  prospered.  Ir- 
rigation has  led  to  the  growing  of  potatoes 
and  other  produce  which  has  given  the  sur- 
rounding country  an  impetus  which  is  re- 
flected in  the  town.  After  its  incorporation 
and  the  good  years  of  plenty,  sidewalks  were 
laid.  Miles  of  concrete  walks  were  laid,  and 
an  electric  light  plant  and  water  system  were 
established  that  render  excellent  service  and 
give  Lodgepole  a  metropolitan  aspect.  The 
electric  plant  and  water  works  are  housed  in 
the  same  building.  Lodgepole  has  a  modern 
school  house  of  cut  stone  and  it  is  rated  one 
of  the  best  in  the  county.  Lumber  and  coal 
vards  have  been  established,  elevators  to  handle 


natural  meadows  in  which  are  many  lakes 
made  by  darning  Lodgepole  creek.  This  lo- 
cality is  popular  with  hunters  from  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  state.  The  town  lies  in  the 
valley  which  has  a  gentle  rise  to  the  north  and 
south.  It  has  a  park  which  was  established 
by  the  railroad,  is  well  kept  and  has  a  band 
stand.  A  statue  of  Lincoln  marks  the  spot 
where  Lodgepole's  first  school  house  stood, 
now  the  center  of  the  park. 

The  station  was  first  established  when  the 
railroad  built  through  the  county.  At  first 
it  was  very  small,  just  a  section  house  and 
improvised  depot.  Not  until  1882  or  1883  was 
there  any  town.  A  school  was  established  in 
1S79.  Merchandising  came  later  when  the 
country  began  to  settle  up  with  permanent 
farmers.  Year  by  year  more  homes  have  been 
erected  and  since  the  introduction  of  wheat  as 


the  grain,  hardware  and  implement  houses 
have  been  started  and  furnished  the  country 
side  with  all  machinery  and  articles  needed  by 
the  farmers.  The  leading  mercantile  house 
was  started  in  1888  by  a  Mr.  Young  and  a 
large  fine  building  was  erected  to  house  the 
store  in  1892.  It  is  an  establishment  of  which 
Lodgepole  may  well  be  proud.  A  furniture 
store  was  one  of  the  early  business  houses, 
established  by  E.  Fenske,  also  handling  hard- 
ware, harness  and  monuments  and  for  years 
he  operated  the  elevator.  Lodgepole  was  es- 
tablished as  a  postoffice  some  years  after  the 
railroad  was  built  and  for  years  I..  R.  Barlow, 
one  of  the  early  settlers  was  postmaster.  To- 
day Lodgepole  is  one  of  the  attractive  and 
prosperous  towns  of  the  Panhandle  and  with 
its  rich  surrounding  country  has  thrived  and 


184 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


grown  into  one  of  the  good  shipping  and  trad- 
ing points  on  the  Union  Pacific. 

Lodgepole's  shipment  of  wheat  in  1920  total- 
led three  hundred  and  fortv-four  cars,  approxi- 
mating a  value  of  $600,000.  Last  year  (  1919) 
the  value  of  wheat  shipments  was  around 
$800,000. 

Potter 

Potter,  situated  in  the  western  part  of  Chey- 
enne county,  midway  north  and  south,  is  lo- 
cated  on  the   Union   Pacific   railroad,   not    far 


stands  and  also  built  the  building  first  used 
for  the  postoffice  after  it  was  removed  from 
the  station.  William  and  Andrew  McAdam 
built  on  the  corner  where  the  James  Lumber 
Company  now  has  an  office.  They  were  en- 
gaged in  the  furniture  business.  The  Mc- 
Adams  also  built  the  old  school  house  which 
stood  for  years  on  school  house  hill,  whkh 
was  later  remodeled  and  used  for  a  hotel  on 
Main  street.  This  old  school  was  built  about 
1887  or  1888,  but  after  being  removed  from 
the  station  the  first  school  was  held  in  a  small 


from  the  western  boundary.  It  owes  its  ex- 
istence and  early  establishment  to  the  railroad. 
The  station  house  of  the  railroad,  built  in  1870, 
was  the  only  building  in  Potter  for  a  number 
of  years  and  was  at  one  time,  station,  postof- 
fice. and  school  room  as  the  first  school  was 
held  in  this  building  with  a  teacher  from 
Omaha.  The  country  around  the  Potter  sta- 
tion was  used  first  by  the  cattlemen  but  gradu- 
ally some  settlers  came.  Among  the  men 
prominent  in  .settling  up  this  locality  was  the 
Reverend  Charles  Anderson,  who  lived  at  Sid- 
ney but  was  active  in  locating  people  in  the 
Potter  district.  Another  family  prominent  in 
the  promotion  of  the  town  was  the  Brotts, 
(Andrew  and  Lewis.)  and  their  families. 
They  established  the  first  hardware  store  on 
m  r  where  the  Citizens'  State  Rank  now 


frame  building  where  the  Thornburg  house 
was  built  later.  The  teacher  then  was  Miss 
Alary  O.  Strong.  By  this  time  Potter  had 
quite  a  few  houses  and  was  becoming  a  village. 
One  of  the  first  postmasters  was  Fred  Nelson. 
The  old  livery  barn  was  built  by  Frank  Hyde 
and  was  one  of  the  oldest  buildings  in  Potter 
outside  the  section  house  and  depot.  He  dug 
a  well,  the  first  in  Potter  and  put  up  a  tank 
and  windmill,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  pipe 
water  to  some  of  the  buildings  and  houses, 
installing  the  first  water  system  in  the  town, 
though  it  is  primitive,  and  of  simple  con- 
struction. 

Civic  advancement  began  in  real  earnest  in 
1885,  when  the  first  hotel  was  built  just  west 
of  Thornburg's  building,  O.  L.  Erickson  be- 
ing the  proprietor.    By  1889  Potter  was  thriv- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


185 


ing,  it  had  two  grocery  stores,  two  hardware 
stores,  a  newspaper  called  the  Potter  Press, 
one  hotel,  one  restaurant,  one  blacksmith  shop, 
a  furniture  store  and  a  feed  store.  About  this 
time  the  Lutheran  church  was  built  in  practic- 
ally its  present  form  except  for  the  tower  and 
some  interior  changes.  Mr.  D.  Shultz  was 
one  of  the  prominent  men  in  its  organization. 
The  Potter  Press  was  short  lived  and  within  a 
couple  of  years  Potter  was  without  a  paper. 
Later  the  Potter  Review  was  started  but  was 
likewise  abandoned.  A  third  attempt  was 
made  when  H.  Stevens  was  hired  by  some  en- 
terprising men  to  reestablish  the  Review  and 
has  been  published  ever  since  under  that  name. 

By  1890  the  farmers  who  had  settled  around 
Potter  began  to  raise  grains,  mostly  wheat 
and  oats  and  as  1892  was  a  good  year, 
Potter  had  to  build  grain  storage  houses  but 
not  of  the  type  used  today.  Everything  seem- 
ed bright  for  the  young  village  of  Potter  but 
the  droughts  of  1893  to  1895  made  great 
changes.  Many  settlers  left  the  country  and 
the  small  country  towns  suffered  from  the 
migration  and  hard  times.  Some  better  years 
followed  but  made  little  change  in  Potter.  Af- 
ter the  section  homestead  bill  was  passed  Pot- 
ter began  to  look  up  a  little  and,  in  1907, 
the  first  bank  was  organized,  before  which  the 
people  of  Potter  had  to  bank  at  Sidney.  The 
next  few  years  saw  great  changes  in  Potter, 
new  stores  were  erected,  the  Gunderson  hotel 
was  built.  Dr.  Ames  put  up  a  building  and 
the  Potter  State  Bank,  after  organization, 
was  located  in  a  new  building. 

In  the  meantime  Potter  was  incorporated 
and  began  to  put  in  sidewalks.  Bonds  were 
voted  and  municipal  light  and  water  systems 
were  established.  The  Union  Pacific  railroad 
built  a  new  station  and  tank,  while  the  farm- 
ers organized  and  put  up  a  large  grain  eleva- 
tor; later  they  also  erected  a  flour  mill.  Mr. 
Seyfang  projected  a  theatre  building  and  hall 
for  the  growing  town.  New  additions  were 
laid  out  while  many  fine  homes  were  construct- 
ed. Farming  was  prosperous  and  was  re- 
flected in  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
town,  so  that  today  it  is  one  of  the  prosperous 
young  towns  of  the  Panhandle  with  great 
opportunities  for  bigger  and  still  better  ex- 
pansion. 

The  Lutheran  church  is  of  stone  with  fur- 
nace heat.  It  has  a  large  membership  with  a 
resident  pastor.  The  Methodist  church  also 
has  a  large  membership  with  resident  minis- 
ter and  both  organizations  have  societies  for 
church  work. 

Potter's  school  has  developed  from  the  old 
station  where  it  was  organized  by  Joseph  Ober- 


felder,  when  count}-  superintendent  in  1883, 
to  two  rooms  in  the  late  eighties  and  about 
1915  to  four  rooms  well  equipped,  in  a  brick 
structure  with  basement,  gymnasium,  domes- 
tic science  and  clay  molding. 

In  the  winter  of  1886-1887  the  grangers  to 
the  north  used  to  bring  in  red  cedar  posts 
and  trade  for  groceries. 

During  that  winter  I  was  in  Potter  a  num- 
ber of  times  on  that  mission.  The  first  time 
was  with  George  Hendricks.  I  believe  we 
broke  the  road  just  about  as  it  now  stands.  I 
am  sure  our  little  pony  team  was  the  first  to 
go  up  that  hill  with  a  wagon  out  of  Big  Horn 
canyon  on  the  east  side  of  the  place  where 
the  principal  road  now  runs.  We  crossed 
Lawrence  Fork  at  the  same  point  this  road 
now  occupies.  We  were  unable  to  sell  or 
trade  the  posts  in  Potter  and  drove  to  Sidney, 
where  we  made  the  necessary  exchange  with 
A.  Pease,  then  in  business  there.  On  the  way 
in  I  shot  and  wounded  an  antelope,  but  had 
only  the  one  cartridge  and  could  not  complete 
the  job,  for  it  could  still  travel. 

In  someway  while  there  Hendricks  managed 
to  get  a  pair  of  soldier  blankets  and  a  United 
States  rifle,  inveigling  them  out  of  some  dis- 
solute soldier.  Soldiers  were  forbidden  to 
sell  them  but  occasionally  they  needed  the 
money  and  risked  doing  so. 

Another  time  in  Potter  with  Martin  Draper, 
we  were  in  a  store,  and  there  was  a  little 
kitten  playing  on  the  counter.  Unless  one 
has  been  used  to  the  domestic  animal  life 
of  older  communities,  and  has  been  transplant- 
ed into  a  wilderness  where  only  wild  life  exists 
one  cannot  understand  the  yearning  and  home- 
sickness for  old  associates,  when  reminded  of 
them. 

This  feeling  proved  too  strong  for  Draper 
and  he  surreptitiously  slipped  the  kitten  into 
his  overcoat  pocket.  It  was  taken  out  to 
Pumpkin  creek,  the  first  domestic  cat  in  the 
present  Banner  county  limits. 

The  Potter  Review  calls  that  town  the  "big- 
gest little  city  in  Nebraska,"  which  is  em- 
phasized by  the  character  of  its  numerous  busi- 
ness houses  of  today.  Among  these  are  Farm- 
ers Union  Trading  Company,  Johnson-Cords 
Company,  Thornburg  &  Hager,  Housen-Sey- 
fang  Mercantile  Company,  Potter  Lumber 
Company,  Johnson's  Implement  &  Feed  Store, 
Potter  Grain  Company,  Jones  Furniture  Store, 
Central  Market,  Potter  Bakery,  Gunderson's 
Hotel,  Seyfang  Theatre.  The  City  Garage, 
Hite's  Transfer,  and  numerous  others. 

The  two  banks  have  substantially  aided  in 
the  progress  of  the  community,  furnishing 
credit  for  the  rapid  expansion  of   agriculture 


HISTORY  OF-WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


and  the  development  of  the  raw  prairie  into 
magnificient  fields  of  wheat. 

At  one  time  in  the  county  division  agitation 
a  "Potter  county"  was  proposed.  This  pro- 
posal which  left  Sidney  on  the  edge  of  two 
counties  had  much  to  do  with  Sidney's  sudden 
change  of  heart  in  1888,  and  brought  that  city 
to  support  the  five-county  plan,  which  carried. 

In  1920  Potter  shipped  375  cars  of  wheat, 
of  a  value  of  approximately  $700,000.  a  drop  of 
probably  one-third  from  last  year's  total  cash, 
but  twenty-five  percent  of  the  wheat  is  yet  in 
the  fanners'  bins. 

Dalton 

The  high  divide  north  of  Sidney  was  trav- 
ersed by  the  overland  stage,  pony  express,  and 
western  bound  emigrants,  before  Sidney  exist- 
ed. The  Jules  Cut-off  from  the  South  Platte 
valley  at  Fort  Sedgewick  (now  Julesburg) 
went  up  Lodgepole  creek  to  near  the  present 
site  of  the  town  of  Lodgepole.  Here  it  cross- 
ed the  divide  to  Mud  Springs  (now  Simla) 
then  up  the  North  Platte  river  on  the  other 
old  trails. 

After  the  coming  into  existence  of  the  town 
of  Sidney  cattlemen  locating  in  the  "North 
River"  county  opened  new  roads  across  the 
empire  of  buffalo  grass.  Then  the  Black 
Hill's  trade  made  one  of  them  of  high  im- 
portance. 

A  handicap  to  this  territory  from  the  set- 
tlement point  of  view  was  lack  of  water. 
"The  Water  Holes"  offered  the  one  spot  where 
it  was  possible  to  obtain  shallow  water.  The 
freighters  and  stage  routers  had  located  this 
spot  and  put  down  some  wells. 

So  the  first  locating  on  the  divide  aside  from 
timber  claims,  was  in  this  vicinity,  that  they 
could  haul  water  until  such  a  time  as  they 
could  dig  a  well.  As  water  was  two  hundred 
to  three  hundred  feet  below  the  surface,  well- 
digging  was  no  small  undertaking. 

These  "Water  Holes"  were  some  distance 
southwest  of  the  present  town  of  Daiton. 
Eventually  such  beaut  ful  lands  were  destined 
to  become  homes ;  they  were  settled  upon  by 
homesteaders,  many  of  whom  are  yet  to  be 
found  in  the  prosperous  community.  At  first 
wells  were  dug  at  rare  intervals',  but  later 
the  drill,  the  windmill,  and  the  gasoline  engine 
have  solved  the  water  problem. 

The    Burlington   in    1920  projected  its  line 

south  from    Uliance  to  the  North  Platte  river, 

establishing    Bridgeport,    then    up    the    North 

Guemse}        It    connected   Bridgeport 

1  lenver  by  way  of  Sidney.     Th 


on  the  divide  were  Dalton,  Gurley  and  Hunts- 
man. 

Dalton  led  off  in  progress  and  enterprise, 
and  was  a  town  of  growing  importance  in  pro- 
portion to  the  acreage  of  buffalo  grass  that 
was  plowed  up,  and  the  acres  of  wheat  sown. 

Dalton  is  located  on  one  of  the  high  points 
in  the  county  and  commands  a  beautiful  view. 
Twenty -five  years  ago  this  site  was  a  field  of 
grass ;  a  wagon  road  leading  from  the  river 
country  wound  through  this  territory,  and  the 
location  was  visited  by  a  party  of  eastern 
men.  as  they  passed  over  the  divide  in  a  freight- 
er's wagon,  for  Sidney  was  then  the  first  town 
south  of  Alliance.  On  reaching  the  "high- 
est point,"  where  Dalton,  "Queen  of  the 
Prairie,"  today  lifts  her  head,  the  men  stood 
up  and  asked  why  the  country  was  not  fanned 
better  and   why   better   stock   was   not   raised 


Blind  Cannon   Xear  Poixt  of  Rocks 

and  the  driver  responded  that  farming  did  not 
pay.  Great  has  been  the  change  from  that 
day  to  this  for  Dalton  is  now  surrounded  by 
a  rich,  productive  agricultural  district.  Only 
three  years  after  the  travelers  passed  the  Bur- 
lington railroad  was  built  through  Cheyenne 
county  and  a  side  track  and  section  house  were 
established  on  the  top  of  the  notch  of  the  di- 
vide and  named  Dalton.  Shortly  afterward  a 
man  put  up  a  store  and  scales  and  the  scat- 
tered people  who  lived  in  the  district  began  to 
come  in  for  supplies  saving  the  longer  trip  to 
Sidney.  Then  settlers  east  of  Dalton  told  that 
they  had  been  raising  enough  wheat  and  grain 
for  their  use.  Other  farmers  questioned  why 
large  fields  would  not  yield  as  well  as  small 
ones.  Macaroni  wheat  was  introduced,  which 
had  drouth  resisting  qualities.  Farmers  re- 
membered the  years  of  1893  and  1895,  which 
were  well  nigh  rainless.  The  pioneer  mer- 
chant. W.  S.  Woolsey,  became  busy  and  pros- 
perous and  another  man  ventured  into  the  sta- 
tion town  to  establish  the  Clough  store.  Dur- 
ing this  period  farms  grew  closer  to  the  vil- 
lage and  a  small  school  was  established.   From 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


187 


this  time  the  town  grew ;  gradually  more  build- 
ings of  good  and  permanent  character  were 
built  for  commercial  purposes.  Livery  and  feed 
barns  sprang  up  to  accommodate  the  farm- 
ers ;  the  postoffice  was  established  in  the  Wool- 
sey  store;  J.  A.  Walford  and  C.  B.  Shanks  ran 
a  grocery  and  meat  market ;  the  Bridgeport 
Lumber  Company  established  a  lumber  yard 
under  the  management  of  Jesse  Ewing,  and 
J.  C.  Franden  opened  a  drug  store,  while  Dr. 
A.  E.  Hedlund  was  the  early  physician  to  open 
an  office,  and  enjoyed  a  good  practice.  Not 
long  after,  when  farm  lands  began  to  sell.  H. 
C.  Anderson  opened  a  real  estate  office.  The 
busy  blacksmith  shop  was  conducted  by  Her- 
man Martin  and  a  hardware  and  furniture 
store  by  Charles  Veith ;  a  confectionery  store 
by  H.  C.  Christensen  and  a  livery  and  im- 
plement house  by  C.  W.  Handley.  J.  B. 
Hire  managed  a  restaurant  while  A.  P.  Gustin 
operated  a  pool  hall  and  barber  shop.  The 
garage  of  Dalton  was  opened  by  Ben  Carter, 
while  his  wife  was  in  charge  of  the  telephone 
exchange.  Steve  Davis,  the  well  driller,  was 
a  busy  man. 

Dalton  supports  four  lodges,  all  of  which 
are  thriving;  they  are  the  Workmen,  the 
Woodmen,  the  Yeomen  and  the  Royal  Neigh- 
bors. Since  the  town  was  incorporated  many 
cement  sidewalks  have  been  laid  which  makes 
the  business  and  residence  property  most  at- 
tractive. The  Bridgeport  Lumber  Company 
established  a  plumbing  and  tinware  depart- 
ment, always  busy  and  a  number  of  carpenters 
are  active  building  the  new  residences  with  the 
increase  of  population. 

With  the  increase  in  agricultural  products 
it  was  necessary  to  have  means  to  handle  the 
immense  quantities  of  grain  shipped  from  Dal- 
ton and  three  of  its  four  elevators  were  built 
more  than  ten  years  ago ;  the  Central  which 
was  then  conducted  by  Ray  Clough  ;  the  Farm- 
ers Co-operative,  managed  by  H.  Harmuch, 
and  the  Foster  Milling  Company  conducted  by 
James  Morrison. 

D.  R.  Jones  &  Company  are  large  realty 
dealers  of  Dalton ;  they  have  handled  several 
hundred  families  in  farms  and  also  deal  in 
city  property.  Due  to  the  growing  business 
Mr.  Jones  took  into  partnership  in  1913,  A. 
J.  Jorgenson,  who  had  been  the  local  man- 
ager of  the  McNish  Land  Company.  The 
Western  Realty  Company  was  organized  in 
1906  with  W.  E.  Swartzlander  as  president. 
This  company  always  has  a  large  list  of  farm 
properties  for  sale  or  rent  with  automobiles 
ready  to  take  the  prospective  buyer  to  look  at 
land. 

Today  Dalton  is  well  represented  in  church 


work  and  civic  improvement  institutions.  It 
is  remarkable  the  growth  the  town  has  had 
within  such  a  short  period,  and  as  it  serves 
an  agricultural  community  all  its  business  is 
necessarily  such  as  supplies  the  wants  of  the 
farms  and  the  progressive  owners  who  trade 
in  Dalton.  Its  main  business  street  has  many 
good  and  attractive  business  houses ;  the  stores 
are  up-to-date  in  stock  equipment  and  service 
and  all  are  doing  a  fine  business. 

A  traveler  arriving  by  train  sees  the  two- 
story  hotel  just  across  the  street  from  the  sta- 
tu m.  It  is  enjoying  a  fine  trade  and  already 
is  growing  small  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  traveling  public.  This  house  was  con- 
ducted by  W.  N.  Foster  who  also  kept  a  ranch 
ten  miles  from  town. 

Dalton  now  has  a  population  of  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty,  two  excellent  banks,  and 
four  elevators.  Its  mercantile  interests  are 
well  represented.  The  Farmers  and  Merchants 
Bank,  and  the  Dalton  State  Bank  look  after 
financial  affairs,  which  is  an  undertaking  in  a 
wheat  town  where  elevators  of  the  capacity  of 
those  at  Dalton  are  in  evidence.  Three  hun- 
dred and  forty-one  cars  of  wheat  were  ship- 
ped from  Dalton  of  the  1920  crop  to  the  close 
of  the  year.  In  1919  the  shipments  were  tour 
hundred  and  twenty-one  cars.  The  value  last 
year  was  about  $1,000,000,  but  this  year's 
wheat  shipments  fell  off  in  value  as  well  as 
quantity,  being  probably  $600,000.  About 
thirty  percent  of  the  crop  remains  unsold. 

Gurley 

Gurley,  the  next  town  of  importance  in  the 
progress  of  Cheyenne  county,  is  five  or  six 
miles  south  of  Dalton.  It  has  two  banks  and 
is  otherwise  represented  in  a  business  way. 
Gurley  shipped  two  hundred  and  fifty-two  cars 
of  wheat  in  1920. 

There  was  a  drop  in  production  in  1920, 
but  owing  to  the  lack  of  cars  there  was  also 
a  short  shipment.  This  year's  crop  is  only 
seventy  percent  marketed,  thirty  percent  being 
in  local  elevators  and  farmers'  bins. 

The  character  of  the  country  about  Gurley 
is  a  continuation  of  the  Dalton  community. 

Huntsman 

I  [untsman  lies  still  further  south  on  this 
tableland,  and  nearer  to  Sidney.  The  town 
has  a  bank  and  mercantile  facilities.  There 
being  no  station  agent  the  grain  shipments  and 
other  products  are  billed  from  and  included  in 
the  report  of  the  Burlington  at    Sidney. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Lorenzo 

Lorenzo  is  near  the  Colorado  line  south  of 
Sidney  on  the  "South  Table"  as  it  is  called, 
but  is  of  little  commercial  interest,  except  as 
a  shipping  station.  Its  freight  business  is  like- 
wise handled  by  the  Burlington  agent  at  Sid- 
ney. The  "South  Table"  did  not  come  into 
importance  until  after  the  "North  Table"  had 
been  settled.  The  first  homesteaders  were 
attracted  north  on  account  of  the  pine  and 
cedar  forests  that  covered  the  rough  lands, 
supplying  fuel  and  building  materials  for 
the  first   important  needs. 

Along  the  lodgepole  valley  on  the  Union 
Pacific  railway,  aside  from  Sidney,  Lodgepole 
and  Potter,  there  are  in  Cheyenne  county  a 
number  of  shipping  points.  Colton  and  Bron- 
son  are  cared  for  by  the  agent  at  Sidney. 

Sunol 

Sunol  has  an  individual  identity,  and  its 
quota  in  the  shipment  of  wheat  in  1920  was 
one  hundred  and  six  cars,  valued  at  about 
$250,000.  It  has  a  bank,  stores  and  garage, 
being  on  the  Lincoln  Highway- 


Government  statistics  put  the  total  wheat 
product  of  Cheyenne  county  at  2,900,000 
bushels  for  1920.  Shipments,  however,  were 
in  excess  of  that  amount.  Conservative  figures 
show  a  total  of  2,111  cars  of  wheat  shipped 
out,  or  about  3,100,000  bushels,  and  that  rep- 
resents but  seventy  percent  of  the  crop.  The 
other  thirty  percent  on  hand  will  bring  a  grand 
total  yield  in  1920  of  around  four  and  one- 
half  million  bushels.  Sidney  and  the  stations 
handled  from  there,  shipped  693  cars. 

Of  the  2,111  cars  shipped,  1,197  went  over 
the  Union  Pacific,  and  914  over  the  Burling- 
ton, the  difference  being  due  to  better  rail- 
road and  car  service. 

The  Lincoln  Highway  traverses  the  county 
east  and  west,  paralleling  the  Union  Pacific 
railway,  and  a  highway  from  Denver  and 
Sterling  north,  passes  through  Sidney.  Its 
connections  are  with  the  North  Platte  Valley 
Road,  Yellowstone  Road,  and  the  Black  Hills. 

Important  community  centers  in  Cheyenne 
county  were  established  and  postofnces  lo- 
cated, but  generally  these  have  given  way  to 
rural  routes  from  railroad  stations,  and  the 
automobile  has  shortened  the  time  between  the 
railroad  and  the  interior  communities. 


CHAPTER  V 


STATE  OFFICIALS 


The  territory  of  Lyons,  Taylor  and  Monroe 
counties  later  erected  into  Cheyenne  county 
and  the  "Beavais  Terres"  to  the  north,  was 
included  in  the  district  represented  by  V. 
Krummer,  of  Columbus,  in  1866,  or  the  last 
territory  legislature.  This  district  included  all 
of  western  Nebraska.  The  representative  dis- 
trict was  limited  in  1873,  to  all  territory  west 
of  Hastings  and  Grand  Island,  while  the  east- 
ern boundary  of  the  senatorial  district  was 
Norfolk,  Columbus  and  Seward.  Guy  C.  Bar- 
ton of  North  Platte,  was  senator  in  1873  and 
in  1875.  He  was  the  pioneer  ranchman  of 
Nebraska,   west   of   North   Platte. 

Platte,  Colfax,  Butler,  Merrick,  Hall,  Buffa- 
lo, Lincoln,  Dawson,  Howard,  Sherman,  Val- 
ley, Greeley,  Boon.  Antelope,  and  Cheyenne 
counties,  were  by  the  Act  of  March  3,  1872, 
included  in  this  senatorial  district.  The  rep- 
ive   district    comprises    Lincoln,    Daw- 


son, Buffalo,  Sherman,  Valley,  Franklin,  and 
Cheyenne  counties.  Prior  to  that  the  man  to 
represent  this  district  was  Wells  Brewer  in 
1869-1870.  Cheyenne  county  has  never  had 
a  state  official  except  in  the  house  and  senate. 
The  time  set  by  law  for  convening  court  in 
Cheyenne  county  was  the  third  Monday  of 
June,  each  year.  The  law  at  the  time  re- 
quired a  petition  of  two  hundred  of  whom  ten 
must  be  "taxable  inhabitants,"  to  organize  a 
county.  Sioux  county,  then  unorganized,  was 
attached  to  Cheyenne  for  administrative,  ju- 
dicial and  taxation  purposes. 

In  the  Senate  and  Legislature 

G.  H.  lewett,  of  Sidney  was  state  senator 
in  1879 ;  G.  W.  Heist,  of  Sidney,  in  1883 ;  D. 
Carrigan,  of  Sidnev,  was  representative  in 
1881  ;  V.  Bierbauer, 'in  1883;  J.  M.  Adams  in 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


189 


1885,  and  George  C.  Lingenfelter  in  1893.  All 
were  from  Sidney.  In  1913,  Lewis  Brott,  or 
Sextrop,  Cheyenne  county,  was  elected  and 
was  followed  by  William  L.  Bates,  of  Lodge- 
pole.  Bates  served  two  terms  in  1917  and 
1918,  and  was  then  elected  regent  of  the  State 
University  in  1920.  He  had  removed  to  Kim- 
ball county  before  being  elected  to  this  office. 

State  Fish  Commission 

Robert  Oberfelder  was  appointed  State  Fish 
Commissioner  by  Governor  A.  H.  Holcomb 
about  1896.  He  served  for  six  years,  proving 
an  efficient  and  conscientious  official.  His  wide 
information  as  to  streams  and  lakes  of  west- 
ern Nebraska,  enabled  the  planting  of  the 
right  kind  of  fish  in  the  right  place.  That 
trout  now  abound  in  many  western  streams  is 
due  to  his  initiation. 

Banking  and  Finance 

In  1876,  there  was  but  one  bank  in  the 
Panhandle  of  Nebraska.  It  was  located  at 
Sidney.  A  private  bank,  the  first  in  this  part 
of  the  state,  was  established  by  Raynolds  and 
Wallace  and  was  called  the  Cheyenne  Coun- 
ty Bank."  A.  H.  Raynolds  was  from  Canton, 
Ohio,  and  was  a  relation  of  President  McKin- 
ley.  William  Wallace  was  for  years  connect- 
ed with  the  Omaha  National  Bank,  and  a  fig- 
ure of  prominence  in  the  financial  world.  Af- 
ter establishing  and  operating  their  bank  for  a 
time  Raynolds  and  Wallace  sold  to  Saxton 
Brothers,  who  were  also  from  Ohio,  and  also 
related  to  McKinley.  That  bank  continued  to 
operate  and  was  known  as  the  Exchange  Bank. 
It  went  to  the  wall  in  latter  financial  depres- 
sions, and  the  assets  were  taken  over  by  Mor- 
gan and  Johnson,  who  ran  it  for  a  number  of 
years.  About  1889,  Mr.  Morgan  shot  him- 
self and  the  bank  became  financially  em- 
barrassed. The  county  treasurer,  Adam  Ickes, 
had  county  funds  in  it  and  he  went  broke  try- 
ing to  make  good  the  county  losses,  turning 
over  all  his  private  funds  and  property  in  an 
effort  to  save  his  bondsmen. 

The  American  Bank,  which  had  just  been 
established,  took  over  what  was  left  of  the 
wrecked  Exchange  Bank  and  J.  J.  Mcintosh, 
president  of  the  American  Bank,  was  made 
receiver  of  the  Exchange.  Edwin  M.  Man- 
court,  of  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  a  proficient 
banker,  established  the  Merchants  Bank.  He 
was  more  conservative  than  had  been  his  pre- 
decessors in  Sidney's  banking  circles.  After 
a  few  years  he  liquidated  and  went  east,  being 
a   large   banker   in   Detroit,    Michigan,   today, 


and  also  vice-president  of  the  consolidated 
coal  companies.  The  third  bank  in  Sidney  was 
established  by  Milton  Ahrends,  but  it  was  later 
merged  with  the  First  National  Bank. 

The  fourth  bank  was  called  the  Sidney 
State  Bank.  After  operating  two  years  it 
was  taken  over  and  merged  with  the  Ameri- 
can Bank,  the  present  officers  of  the  latter  in- 
stitution being:  T.  C.  McNish,  president;  M. 
C.  Dinnery,  G.  E.  Taylor  and  G.  R.  Buckner, 
vice-presidents;  E.  D.  McAllister,  cashier;  J. 
L.  McCarthy,  assistant  cashier.  When  this 
bank  was  organized,  A.  S.  Raymond,  now  of 
Raymond  Brothers  &  Clarke,  wholesale  gro- 
cers of  Lincoln  and  Scottsbluff,  was  president; 
J.  J.  Mcintosh,  vice-president ;  and  George  E. 
Taylor,  the  present  active  vice-president  was 
then  cashier.  S.  H.  Burnham,  now  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  of  Lincoln,  succeeded 
Raymond  as  president  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  J.  J.  Mcintosh,  July  4,  1894.  Mr.  Mc- 
Nish became  president  in  1918.  The  present 
capital  and  surplus  amounts  to  $145,000. 

The  First  National  Bank  came  into  exist- 
ance  in  1902.  It  has  a  capital  and  surplus  of 
$75,800,  and  its  present  officers  are:  W.  E, 
Swartzlander,  president ;  A.  K.  Greenlee,  vice- 
president  ;  Leslie  Neubauer,  cashier ;  Charles 
L-  Mann  and  Lena  L.  Jensen,  assistant  cash- 
iers. The  men  who  were  influential  in  its 
organization  were  B.  A.  Jones,  J.  W.  Harper, 
Charles  Callihan,  Milton  Ahrends,  A.  K. 
Greenlee,  C.  D.  Essig,  Daniel  Bergman,  M.  H. 
Tobin  and  A.  Pease.  The  original  capital  was 
$25,000. 

For  fifteen  years  the  two  banks  stood  the 
test  of  Sidney's  growth  in  commercial  import- 
ance. Wheat  then  began  to  be  a  factor  of  Chey- 
enne county,  and  bank  accounts,  credits  and 
deposits  began  to  swell.  The  Nebraska  State 
Bank  was  organized  in  1917;  with  F.  M. 
Wooldbridge,  president ;  and  M.  L.  Woold- 
bridge,  cashier.  It  has  grown  steadily  and  is 
firmly  established.  In  1920,  the  officers  were: 
F.  M.  Wooldridge,  president;  F.  D.  Woold- 
ridge  and  J.  A.  Simones,  vice-presidents ;  M. 
L.  Wooldridge,  cashier;  and  Helen  Woold- 
ridge and  C.  E.  Wooldridge,  assistant  cash- 
iers. The  bank  has  a  capital  and  surplus  of 
$54,670.  The  Liberty  State  Bank  came  into 
existence  in  1919,  with  F.  N.  Slawson,  presi- 
dent ;  H.  R.  Fuller,  vice-president ;  R.  A.  Bar- 
low, cashier;  and  Marius  Christenson,  assist- 
ant cashier.  It  has  prospered  since  organiza- 
tion and  today  has  a  capital  and  surplus  of 
$33,000. 

The  oldest  bank  in  Cheyenne  county,  outside 
of  Sidney,  was  established  at  Lodgepole  in 
1889,  and  was  called  the  First  State  Bank.    It 


1-1,1 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


has  a  capital  and  surplus  of  $32,200.  The 
present  officers  are:  W.  G.  Milton,  president; 
J.  W.  Rogers,  vice-president  and  W.  J.  Chase, 
cashier. 

The  Cheyenne  County  Bank,  of  Lodgepole, 
was  organized  in  1915.  It  has  a  capital  and 
surplus  of  $31,540,  and  the  officials  are  as  fol- 
lows :  Ray  Isenberger.  president ;  Fred  Lehm- 
kuhl.  vice-president;  F.  H.  Wolf,  cashier  and 
W.  J.  Barrett,  assistant  cashier. 

Potter  has  two  banks,  the  Potter  State  Bank 
being  established  in  1911.  It  has  a  capital 
and  surplus  of  $31,500.  J.  A.  Woten  is 
president ;  C.  W.  Johnson  and  P.  Jensen,  vice- 
presidents  and  Thomas  Cowger,  cashier.  A 
small  bank  organized  in  1907  was  the  ante- 
cedent of  this  strong  organization. 

The  Citizens  State  Bank,  began  business  in 
1917.  It  has  a  capital  and  surplus  of  $18,000, 
with  the  following  officers :  G.  A.  Roberts, 
president ;  Clarence  Johnson,  vice-president ; 
R.  A.  Babcock,  cashier  and  D.  F.  Enevoldsen, 
assistant  cashier. 

Dalton  has  two  banks,  both  established  in 
1908.  The  Dalton  State  Bank  has  $33,800 
capital  and  surplus,  with  W.  J.  Ewing,  presi- 
dent ;  H.  A.  Fecht,  vice-president ;  J.  L.  Willis, 
cashier  and  R.  Buchanan,  assistant  cashier. 

The  Farmers  State  Bank  has  a  capital  and 
surplus  of  $27,640  and  the  following  officers: 
J.  H.  Foster,  president ;  P.  T.  Higgins,  vice- 
president  ;  and  Leslie  C.  Opper,  cashier. 

The  Gurley  State  Bank,  which  began  busi- 
ness in  1915,  has  a  capital  and  surplus  of  $32,- 
480.  C.  E.  Wyerts  is  president ;  A.  E.  Leclair, 
vice-president;  and  S.  P.  Johnson,  cashier. 

The  Fanners  State  Bank  of  Gurley  began 
business  in  1917,  has  a  capital  and  surplus  of 
$18,500  and  the  following  officers :  S.  J.  Han- 
son, president;  and  C.  W.  Smith,  vice-presi- 
dent. 

The  Farmers  State  Bank  of  Sunol,  was  or- 
ganized in  1914,  and  has  a  capital  and  surplus 
of  $24,930,  and  the  following  officers :    T.  W. 


Rogers,  president ;  W.  G.  Nielton,  vice-presi- 
dent and  G.  W.  Barlow,  cashier. 

The  Huntsman  State  Bank,  six  miles  north 
of  Sidney  began  business  in  1919,  and  now  has 
a  surplus  of  $4,500  and  a  capital  of  $10,000. 
Its  officers  are :  W.  A.  Sparks,  president ;  J. 
A.  Chaon,  vice-president,  and  W.  E.  Cunning- 
ham, cashier. 

This  concludes  the  list  of  financial  insti- 
tutions past  and  present  of  Cheyenne  county 
and  shows  a  remarkable  history.  The  first 
flush  of  the  gold  years,  the  bonanza  cattle 
days,  the  lean  years  of  the  droughts,  and  now 
the  agricultural  years  of  plenty.  The  great 
wide  wheat  fields  with  their  wealth  of  grain 
in  this  county,  is  reflected  in  the  volume  of 
business  shown  in  the  fourteen  banks.  The 
only  discordant  note  in  the  financial  history  of 
Cheyenne  county  in  a  quarter  of  a  century  has 
been  the  attempts  of  the  older  banks  to  keep 
new  ones  out.  The  new  banks  were  needed 
by  the  growth  of  business  in  Sidney  and  the 
surrounding  country. 

The  Farmers  State  Bank  of  Sunol  was  rob- 
bed July  28,  1916  at  noon.  The  robbery  was 
supposedly  planned  by  R.  G.  Lukins  and  Frank 
Connell,  the  former  acting  as  lookout  while 
Connell  took  the  money.  He  locked  C.  W. 
Smith,  the  cashier  in  the  vault  and  started 
away  with  the  loot,  but  two  men  were  in  the 
road.  He  shot  through  the  windshield  and 
killed  them  both.  Others  headed  him  off,  and 
he  ran  his  car  into  a  corn  field.  Lukins  was 
arrested  in  the  town  and  Connel  was  cap- 
tured in  the  willows  near  Tobin's  ranch.  He 
confessed,  and  both  men  were  sent  to  the  peni- 
tentiary. 

Two  other  concerns  handle  money  in  the 
county  though  they  are  not  bankers.  Ober- 
felder  Brothers  handle  hundred  of  thousands 
of  dollars  annually,  discounting  warrants.  Dr. 
Eichner  discounts  farm  paper  and  other  obli- 
gations in  large  amounts. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  PRESS 


There  has  been  no  agency  employed  that  is 
entitled  to  more  credit  for  the  development  and 
advancement  of  Cheyenne  county  from  its 
organization  than  its  newspapers.  During  the 
first  years  of  the  county's  history  there  was 
not  a  newspaper  published  within  its  bound- 
aries. The  Sidney  Telegraph  clearly  has  the 
field  in  priority  of  journalism,  in  Cheyenne 
county  and  the  Nebraska  Panhandle.  It  was 
first  issued  in  May,  1873,  in  style  being  more 
like  a  pamphlet  than  the  news  sheet  of  today. 
It  had  four  pages  with  four  columns  to  the 
page.  L.  Connell  was  the  publisher  at  its 
initiation.  It  was  then  bought  by  Joseph  B. 
Gossage  in  the  autumn  of  1874,  and  the  next 
year  George  C.  Darrow  became  a  partner  in 
the  ownership.  The  Telegraph  was  then  pub- 
lished under  the  firm  name  of  Joseph  B.  Gos- 
sage &  Company.  In  1878,  a  rival  newspaper 
appeared,  the  Plaindcaler,  which  was  started 
by  W.  H.  Michael.  In  1881,  this  paper  was 
sold  to  A.  C.  Drake  who  consolidated  it  with 
the  Telegraph  which  he  then  owned.  This 
gave  the  Telcgraph-Plaindcaler  a  clear  field 
for  some  time.  J.  C.  Bush  bought  it,  and 
then  Charles  Callahan  was  the  controlling  spir- 
it of  the  Telegraph  for  a  number  of  years, 
"Plaindealer"  being  dropped  from  the  name. 
For  a  long  time  now,  H.  E.  Gapen  has  been 
the  able  editoi.  He  is  a  good  politician  as 
well  as  an  efficient  newspaper  man  and  the 
combination  has  led  to  the  Telegraph  taking 
the  leading  place  in  the  local  newspaper  world. 
Mr.  Gapen  has  served  as  county  attorney  five 
times  and  was  later  county  judge. 

The  files  of  the  old  Telegraph  have  contrib- 
uted materially  to  the  history  of  the  county  as 
herein  recorded. 

J.  F.  Wellington  ran  the  Sidney  Democrat 
for  a  period  about  1886-1887,  but  owing  to  a 
change  of  administration  it  ceased  to  exist. 

The  Sidney  Journal  came  into  existence  in 
1888.  It  was  supported  by  some  politicians 
who  were  dissatisfied  because  the  Telegraph 
sold  space  to  the  Democrats.  They  declared 
that  the  Telegraph,  which  was  then  managed 
by  Charles  Callahan,  "had  sold  its  birthright 
for  a  mess  of  pottage."  The  new  paper  won 
official  patronage  during  1890-1891,  but  its 
owner  sold  out.  The  paper  was  not  successful 
and  its  publication  ceased.  The  farmers  rise 
in  political  prominence  in  1890,  brought  new 
interest   and   a    paper   was    started    by    L.    C. 


Stockwell,  but  it  too  faded  away  in  the  hard 
years  of  1894  and  1895. 

The  Sidney  Enterprise  began  its  fourth  year 
as  a  newspaper  January  6,  1921.  Its  publish- 
ers, Perry  and  Caroline  Coler,  came  from  Kan- 
sas. They  have  a  well  equipped  plant  and  pub- 
lish an  up-to-date  paper.  Mrs.  Coler  is  a 
writer  of  prose  and  poetry.  She  has  been 
known  for  many  fine  poems ;  the  Sidney  Wo- 
man's Club  has  accepted  some  of  her  work 
and  the  Choral  Society  has  set  some  of  her 
poems  to  music.  Sidney  with  its  population  of 
over  three  thousand  is  thus  well  served  with 
newspapers. 

Honorable  Charles  H.  Randall,  now  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  from  southern  California, 
started  the  Western  Nebraska  Observer,  at 
Antelopeville,  now  Kimball,  in  1885.  The 
paper  is  now  known  as  the  Kimball  Observer, 
and  was  the  second  newspaper  to  appear  in  the 
Panhandle  and  Cheyenne  county  outside  of 
Sidney,  for  a  number  of  years.  Randall  later 
published  the  "Centropolis  World"  which  be- 
came "The  World,"  then  "The  Early  Day."  It 
was  consolidated  by  C.  L.  Burgess,  with  "The 
Advocate,"  and  is  now  the  Banner  County 
News,  issued  at  Harrisburg,  Nebraska.  In 
1884  the  Lodgepole  Express  was  established. 
It  was  a  small  affair,  started  with  donations 
and  insufficient  capital,  and  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  ago  passed  into  the  efficient 
hands  of  James  C.  Wolfe.  The  town  plat  had 
been  filed  July  10,  1884,  shortly  before  the 
Express  was  started.  James  Wolfe  was  a 
pioneer  of  this  region  as  he  homesteaded  north 
of  Lodgepole  in  1885,  and  is  familiar  with  all 
the  trials  and  hardships  of  life  here  at  an  early 
day,  also  the  failures  and  discouragements  of 
the  drought  years.  He  published  the  Express 
for  more  than  twenty-five  years,  and  only  re- 
cently sold  it  to  Claude  E.  Grisham,  the  pres- 
ent efficient  owner  and  editor.  Mr.  Grisham 
was  formerly  of  Scottsbluff,  a  member  of  the 
staff  of  the  Star-Herald  and  later  on  the  Re- 
publican. In  1920.  Lodgepole  had  a  popula- 
tion of  five  hundred. 

The  Potter  Review  was  started  in  1912,  al- 
though prior  to  that  date,  years  ago,  there  was 
a  newspaper  published  there  from  about  1888 
to  1891,  called  the  Press.  The  first  paper  had 
quite  a  patronage  at  the  time  of  final  proof 
of  claims  for  homeseekers  but  after  that  dis- 
continued  publication.     When   wheat    became 


192 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  great  agricultural  crop  in  Cheyenne  county 
there  was  a  desire  for  a  local  paper  for  news 
around  Potter  and  the  Review  was  established. 
For  a  time  it  suspended  but  was  revived.  The 
present  editor,  H.  Stevens,  also  owns  the  paper. 
The  town  plat  of  Potter  was  filed  May  14, 
1885,  and  today  Potter  has  a  population  of  over 
five  hundred  inhabitants.  About  1913,  J.  W. 
and  L.  C.  Thomas  started  the  Dalton  Herald. 
The  original  name  is  changed,  the  first  owners 
gone.  Tom  Laley  succeeded  the  Thomases. 
The  localitv  is  now  served  by  the  Dalton  Dele- 


gate published  by  Don  Fey  Ermand.  The 
paper  was  first  established  in  1914,  and  has  a 
good  circulation,  being  in  fact  the  successor 
to  the  Herald.  Dalton  itself  came  into  exist- 
ence with  the  building  of  the  Burlington  rail- 
road in  1901,  and  the  town  plat  was  filed  April 
4,  1906,  and  today  Dalton  has  a  population  of 
three  hundred  and'  fifty  people.  This  completes 
the  roster  of  the  newspapers  of  Cheyenne 
county  which  is  well  and  efficiently  served  by 
newsy,  well  edited  papers. 


CHAPTER  VII 
FRATERNAL  ORDERS  AND  CLUBS 


The  first  fraternal  organization  in  Cheyenne 
county  was  created  bv  the  Masons  December 
26,  1877.  It  was  the  Frank  Welsh  Lodge  No. 
75,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  The  charter  was  granted 
June  25,  1879,  with  the  following  men  as  char- 
ter members :  John  A.  Carley,  Master ;  George 
W.  Russell,  Senior  Warden ;  Julius  Neubauer, 
Junior  Warden;  Norman  F.  Hazen,  Peter 
Smith,  John  W.  Griffin,  Robert  G.  Howard, 
Dennis  Carrigan,  Henry  Snyder,  Henry  Cro- 
hurst,  Alfred  Johnson,  Robert  S.  Oberfelder, 
John  Glickauf,  Albert  G.  Persinger,  Edward 
S.  Ebbs  and  A.  C.  Drake.  Only  three  of  these 
original  members  were  still  alive  in  1920; 
Messrs.  Carrigan,  Oberfelder  and  Persinger. 
The  officers  of  the  lodge  at  the  present  time 
are:  Frank  M.  Wooldridge,  Master;  George 
Brewer,  Senior  Warden ;  John  W.  Johnson, 
Junior  Warden ;  Leslie  Neubauer,  secretary 
and  Leon  Fine,  treasurer. 

In  1908,  the  building  at  the  corner  of  Rose 
street,  now  Center  avenue,  and  Third  street, 
was  erected  by  the  Masonic  order  and  used  for 
all  meetings.  The  lodge  is  now  contemplating 
the  erection  of  a  fine  new  temple  to  take  the 
place  of  the  first  building.  There  are  sixty 
Shriners  in  Sidney  and  they  have  a  Shrine 
Cluli  organized  which  has  arranged  social 
events  that  are  attractive,  pleasant  and  in- 
structive.  Following  the  organization  of  the 
Masonic  lodge,  an  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star 
came  into  existence  and  has  had  a  consistent 
growth  with  the  Masonic  body  and  in  1920, 
was  an  active  organization,  with  the  following 
Mrs,  <  "live  Agnew,  Worthy  Matron; 


Leon  Fine,  Worthy  Patron  ;  Mrs.  C.  P.  Grant, 
Associate  Matron;  Mrs.  Grace  Simondynes, 
Conductress;  Mrs.  D.  Saxon,  Associate  Con- 
ductress; Miss  Esther  Devine,  secretary;  Mrs. 
Tulia  Mann,  treasurer;  Mrs.  Grace  E.  King, 
Ada;  Mrs.  A.  E.  Ahrends,  Ruth;  Mrs.  C.  C. 
Jones,  Esther;  Miss  Katheryn  Greenlee,  Mar- 
tha ;  Mrs.  J.  J.  Mcintosh,  Electa ;  Mrs.  James 
Worden,  chaplain  ;  Mrs.  C.  L.  Mann,  organist ; 
Mrs.  Anna  Osborn,  warden ;  Mrs.  A.  J.  Jor- 
genson,  marshal,  and  Herman  Schroeder,  sen- 
tinel. 

The  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  organ- 
ized in  Sidney  in  1887,  with  twenty-two  mem- 
bers. The  lodge  now  has  a  hundred  and  six 
members.  The  Oberfelder  brothers  were  active 
in  establishing  the  Modern  Woodmen  in  Chey- 
enne county  and  Joseph  Oberfelder  was  state 
consul  in  1917.  The  Woodmen  have  had  a 
consistent  growth  from  the  start  and  are  one 
of  the  strong  organizations  in  the  county  today. 
The  present  officers  are:  Joseph  Oberfelder, 
vice-consul ;  V.  F.  Kucero,  adviser ;  F.  D. 
Wooldridge,  banker ;  F.  M.  Wooldridge,  clerk  ; 
and  C.  M.  Wright,  O.  R.  Owens  and  Hugh  D. 
Moore,  trustees. 

Valiant  Lodge  No.  98,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
was  organized  May  19,  1888,  by  the  Grand 
Chancellor,  O.  L.  Green  of  Kearney,  with  the 
following  charter  members :  W.  C.  Reillv,  C. 
S.  Ickes,  M.  L.  Tobin,  Zig  Gutfriend,  T.  Neu- 
bauer, Robert  Shuman,  T.  C.  Bush,  T-  F.  Well- 
ington, H.  S.  Kelter,  R.  J.  Wallace,  L.  B. 
Cary,  George  W.  Heist,  Morris  Davis,  H.  E. 
Gapin,  J.  E.  Trinnier,  Dr.  C.  H.  Fields,  J.  W. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


193 


Norval.  T.  B.  Dawson,  J.  W.  Vanderhoof,  J. 
E.  Van  Olinda,  W.  F.  Bassett,  Robert  S.  Ober- 
felder,  J.  W.  Meyers,  W.  H.  Adams,  W.  P. 
Miles,  H.  D.  Meyers,  George  W.  Jenner,  T. 
St.  Rayner,  P.  R.  Borgquist,  I.  J-  Mcintosh, 
E.  O.  Lee,  J.  A  Carlev,  J.  Z."  Denton  and  J. 
T.  Thoelecke.  The  Knights  of  Pythias  has 
been  a  strong  organization  from  the  first  with 
most  of  the  prominent  men  among  its  mem- 
bers ;  many  of  the  charter  members  are  still 
alive  and  are  today  active  in  its  councils. 

Sidney  Lodge  No.  196,  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen  was  started  in  1891,  with 
thirty-five  members  and  the  following  officers : 
Joseph  Oberfelder,  past  master  workman; 
George  F.  Blanchard,  master  workman ; 
Charles  Peterson,  foreman  ;  James  R.  Williams, 
overseer  and  Albert  Armstrong,  secretary.  The 
officers  in  1920  were :  Carl  Muller.  master 
workman ;  Everett  Foster,  foreman ;  John 
Daugherty,  overseer ;  Herman  Schroeder, 
treasurer;  Joseph  Oberfelder,  financial  secre- 
tary and  Everett  Foster,  A.  S.  Ayle  and  W.  J. 
Shoemaker,  trustees.  Today  the  Woodmen 
have  a  hundred  and  seventy-six  members  in 
Sidney. 

The  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  was 
established  by  the  activities  of  Joseph  Ober- 
felder, Joseph  Taylor  and  J.  G.  Tate,  (now  of 
Portland,  Oregon).  Joseph  Oberfelder  has 
been  a  member  of  the  State  Finance  Commit- 
tee of  the  Odd  Fellows  since  1908.  The  pres- 
ent officers  of  the  Sidney  Lodge  No.  91  are: 
Oscar  Hatcher,  noble  grand ;  J.  C.  Hatcher, 
vice  grand  ;  C.  S.  Chambers,  past  grand,  and 
Mr.  Jones,  secretary.  C.  M.  Wright  is  treas- 
urer with  N.  W.  Olson,  O.  M.  Harris  and  C. 
P.  Chambers,  trustees.  Charles  Couch  is  dis- 
trict deputy  grand  master.  The  Odd  Fellows 
is  a  very  live  organization  living  up  to  the 
tradition  for  charity  for  which  it  is  noted.  Nat- 
urally the  Daughters  of  Rebekah  are  as  ac- 
tive and  have  the  usual  social  affairs  in  which 
the  brother  Odd  Fellows  .participate,  especial- 
ly the  popular  suppers. 

The  Degree  of  Honor  has  two  lodge  organi- 


zations in  Sidney.  Degree  of  Honor  No.  122 
is  headed  by  Mrs.  Anna  Minshall  as  chief  of 
honor;  the  other  officers  for  1921  are:  Goldie 
Sweet,  lady  of  honor;  Catherine  Reiners,  chief 
of  ceremonies;  Margaret  Roth,  usher;  Minnie 
Leege,  associate  usher ;  Mayme  Davis,  treasur- 
er; Ella  Williams,  recording  financier;  Lizzie 
Burkhardt,  inside  watch  and  V.  Kucera,  out- 
side watch. 

Dora  Lodge,  Degree  of  Honor  is  headed  by 
Mrs.   Herman   Schroeder,  as  chief  of  honor. 

The  Macabees  are  also  represented  in  Sid- 
ney. 

The  Knights  of  Columbus  are  active  in  Sid- 
ney as  large  classes  are  regularly  initiated  and 
the  Catholic  ladies  serve  fine  banquets  in  St. 
Patrick's  auditorium  at  such  times. 

In  Sidney  the  Sidney  Community  Associa- 
tion looks  after  all  public  enterprises  and  new 
industries  and  has  a  remarkable  record  for 
the  good  done  for  the  city.  President  Buckner 
and  Secretary  Keppler  have  for  the  past  year 
set  an  example  of  proficiency  which  the  new 
officers  say  they  are  going  to  excel  for  the  up- 
building of  the  community.  The  following 
men  are  to  make  the  attempt :  M.  Dimery, 
president ;  E.  L.  Uptagrove,  vice-president ; 
Leon  Fine,  treasurer,  with  the  following  men 
on  the  board  of  directors :  C.  W.  Hornaday, 
W.  P.  Miles,  Frank  Whitelock,  W.  H.  Hod- 
kin,  W.  E.  Swartzlander  and  G.  R.  Buckner. 

Sidney  has  an  active  gun  club  organized  on 
January  9.  1920,  which  is  booked  for  ten  con- 
tests in  1921  with  Fort  Lupton,  Greeley,  Long- 
mont,  Pueblo,  Wray,  Yuma,  Colorado  Springs, 
Denver  and  Douglas,  Wyoming.  Scottsbluff 
or  Alliance  may  be  taken  for  the  one  vacant 
date  on  the  schedule. 

All  of  the  fraternal  organizations  of  Chey- 
enne county  have  taken  an  active  part  in  pub- 
lic and  municipal  affairs  and  the  members  are 
always  on  the  lookout  to  assist  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  county  and  their  own  communities 
which  shows  the  true  western  and  progressive 
spirit.  Twenty-two  nights  out  of  each  month 
are  lodge  nights  in  Sidney. 


I'M 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  CHURCH,  THE  BAR,  THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 


The  story  of  the  church  in  Cheyenne  county 
is  a  romance  of  life  in  this  section  of  the 
country.  For  the  first  few  years  after  the 
building  of  the  railroad,  there  were  no  towns 
and  Sidney  was  small.  The  lack  of  perman- 
ent settlers  made  church  activities  of  necessity 
supported  almost  entirely  by  outside  contribu- 
tions, and  there  were  not  many  of  these  from 
1869  to  1875.  The  "Panic  of  73"  and  the 
difficulties  of  obtaining  funds  are  still  clearly 
remembered  by  the  oldest  settlers. 

It  was  about  1876  or  1877  that  signs  of 
a  larger  and  permanent  town  became  notice- 
able in  Sidney.  Elder  T.  B.  Lemon  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  brought  a  fearless 
minister  of  rather  erratic  tendencies  into  what 


was  then  considered  the  wilderness  of  sin  of 
Cheyenne  county  and  in  the  language  of  the 
time,  "turned  him  loose."  There  was  a  man 
in  Sidney  at  the  time,  a  former  judge,  who 
said  that  if  a  church  was  established  in  the 
town  he  would  move  out.  The  minister  heard 
of  the  remark  and  accepted  the  challenge.  He 
began  his  work  among  the  lowly  and  unfortu- 
nate but  he  was  so  earnest  that  people  went 
to  hear  him.  He  gained  in  popularity,  and 
within  two  years  had  raised  funds  among  the 
people  to  buy  a  building  in  the  wildest  dis- 
trict. The  house  which  was  a  dance  hall  to 
that  date,  was  renovated  and  remodeled,  and 
the  firsl  Methodist  church  was  established  by 
1879.  By  this  work  this  abode  of  sin  and 
crime,  became  consecrated  ground.  As  he  had 
promised,  the  judge  left  Sidney  after  the 
church  was  founded  and  went  to  the  Black 
Hills;  later  he  became  a  changed  man  and  a 
pillar  of  tin*  Methodist  church  in  the  home  he 
adopted.  Rev.  Turner  was  minister  in  1881. 
A  little  later  Leslie  Stevens  tilled  the  pulpit. 


Stevens  later,  after  service  as  county  superin- 
tendent, went  to  China  where  he  died. 

The  beautiful  new  Methodist  church  of  to- 
day, is  built  upon  the  identical  spot  where  the 
fearless  minister  established  his  congregation 
forty-two  years  ago.  The  old  building  was 
torn  down  in  1884,  and  a  larger  one  erected. 
L.  D.  Livingston,  later  of  Pumpkin  creek,  was 
one  of  the  men  who  helped  in  the  building.  A 
parsonage  was  built  in  1889,  and,  in  1907,  the 
church  was  remodeled.  It  served  well  until  the 
congregation  outgrew  the  building  and  mem- 
bers desired  a  newer  and  larger  home.  In  1918, 
the  new  edifice  was  built  at  an  approximate 
cost  of  seventy  thousand  dollars  and  was  dedi- 
cated April  "13,  1919,  by  Bishop  Matt  S. 
Hughes.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  church  build- 
ings in  the  Panhandle  and,  in  1921,  there  are 
three  hundred  members,  while  the  Sunday 
School  has  an  enrollment  of  over  four  hun- 
dred. Reverend  T.  Porter  Bennett,  the  pres- 
ent pastor,  is  a  man  of  unusual  vitality  and 
progressive  spirit,  and  his  usefulness  is  empha- 
sized by  a  large  growth  in  the  membership. 

The  Episcopalian  church  was  the  second  es- 
tablished in  Cheyenne  county  and  Sidney.  Rev- 
erend William  Page  Chase  came  here  in  1879, 
and  held  services  regularly  from  September, 
to  May,  1880.  After  he  left  there  were  only 
occasional  services  held  by  missionaries  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  On  May  2,  1880,  Bishop 
Clarkson  confirmed  seven  persons  and  then 
visited  Sidney  occasionally,  holding  services 
until  1884.  Reverend  John  H.  Babcock  of 
North  Platte,  held  services  in  March,  1886. 
Bishop  Worthington,  accompanied  by  Rever- 
end Babcock  made  one  visit  in  April,  1886,  and 
baptised  four  children  whose  parents  were 
members  of  the  church.  The  Bishop  organized 
a  mission  by  the  name  of  "Christ  Mission," 
and  appointed  the  following  officers :  Colonel 
E.  W.  Stone,  warden ;  Andrew  Haskell,  treas- 
urer ;  Fred  H.  DcCostro,  clerk  and  Lieutenant 
Daniel  Carnman,  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
School.  Colonel  Stone  was  also  made  lay 
reader.  At  this  time  eighteen  persons  partook 
of  the  Holy  Communion  and  it  was  estimated 
that  twenty  families  were  connected  with  the 
church.  Sixty  dollars  a  month  was  pledged  for 
a  minister  and  the  Masonic  Order  volunteered 
the  use  of  its  hall  for  church  purposes.  A 
church  guild  was  organized  with  Mrs.  Fred  E. 
H.  Ebstein.  president;  Mrs.  Douglas,  treasurer 
and   Airs.   Morgan,  secretary.     At  the  request 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


l'»5 


of  the  Bishop,  Mr.  Babcock  took  charge  May 
26,  1886,  and  more  than  four  hundred  dollars 
was  raised  for  church  funds  at  a  bazaar  held 
at  the  Post  Theatre  in  June  of  that  year.  A 
lot  was  donated  by  J.  Thorn  Clarkson  and  two 
more  adjoining  were  purchased  for  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars.  Bishop  Worthington 
gave  three  hundred  dollars  and  the  Guild  the 
other  fifty  for  the  purchase  price.  These  lots 
were  deeded  to  the  Cathedral  Chapter  of  the 
Diocese  of  Nebraska  in  trust  for  the  use  of 
the  church. 

During  the  fall  of  1886,  a  small  building 
fund  was  raised.  F.  M.  Ellis  of  Omaha,  drew 
plans  for  a  church  building  and  Thomas  W. 
Walsh  in  November  was  awarded  a  contract 
for  putting  in  a  foundation.  The  corner  stone 
was  laid  by  the  Masonic  Order  and  Bjshop 
Worthington,  on  November  23,  1886.  A.  Pease 
built  the  church  which  was  completed  and  con- 
secrated July  28,  1889.  Reverend  Callaghan 
McCarthy  succeeded  Mr.  Babcock  and  Rever- 
end Thomas  W.  Barry,  chaplain  of  the  United 
States  army  at  Sidney  Post,  and  Reverend 
Robert  G.  Osborn  followed  in  turn.  In  1920, 
Reverend  Henry  Ives  has  charge  and  is  Dean 
of  western  Nebraska,  including  Kimball  and 
Scottsbluff.  He  is  faithful  and  unfailing  in 
his  stewardship  of  the  trust  which  has  been' 
well  rewarded  with  the  results  in  church  work. 
Right  Reverend  A.  R.  Graves  and  Bishop 
George  A.  Beacher.  were  contemporaneous 
with  this  period,  men  of  vast  influence  and 
service  to  the  church. 

The  Presbyterian  church  was  established  in 
this  section  at  a  later  day.  Today  the  work  of 
this  denomination  is  in  the  capable  hands  of 
Reverend  Samuel  Light.  The  church  is  grow- 
ing and  is  representative  of  Sidney  and  Chev- 
enne  county. 

Reverend  L.  L.  Holmes,  of  the  Christian 
church  is  building  substantial  foundations  of 
his  denomination  and  his  church  is  one  of  the 
newer  ones  that  has  had  a  fine  growth  in  Sid- 
ney, as  well  as  the  county. 

The  Catholic  church,  usually  a  pioneer,  was 
among  the  first  to  become  established  in  Sid- 
ney. Father  Conway  used  to  come  here  from 
North  Platte,  and  occasionally  a  priest  from 
Cheyenne  came  both  before  and  after  1880. 
Father  Conway  had  the  rectory  built  in  1883 
and  Vallie  Williams  says  that  there  was  a 
small  frame  church  built  here  a  few  years 
earlier,  about  1880.  Father  M.  J.  Barrett  was 
the  first  resident  priest,  coming  to  Sidney  in 
1883.  The  parish  then  included  Paxton  and 
Ogallala,  and  later  was  made  to  include  Osh- 
kosh,  Lisco.  Bridgeport,  Scottsbluff,  and  Dal- 
ton.     Reverend  Waldron  was  put  in  charge  of 


the  parish  in  1888,  being  followed  by  Reverend 
St.  Lawrence  in  1891,  Reverend  J.  R.  McGrath 
in  1893;  Reverend  J.  F.  McCarthy  in  1895, 
Reverend  J.  J.  Flood  in  1899,  who  died  and 
was  buried  in  Sidney  Catholic  cemetery  in 
1902,  Rev.  J.  P.  DeVane  was  placed  in 
charge  after  the  death  of  Father  Flood  and 
was  succeeded  by  Reverend  T.  D.  Sullivan  in 
1904 ;  Reverend  James  Dobson  in  1907,  who  re- 
mained until  1912.  That  year  the  Diocese  of 
Omaha  was  divided  and  the  Diocese  of  Kear- 
ney created  with  James  M.  Duffle,  of  Chey- 
enne, Wyoming,  as  Bishop.  Father  Dobson 
left  for  the  east  and  his  first  assistant.  Rev- 
erend Campman  was  in  charge  until  June,  1913, 
when  Father  Anton  Link,  the  present  efficient 
priest  was  placed  in  charge,  and  Chappel. 
Lodgepole,  Kimball  and  Angora  were  added 
to  the  parish. 

In  August,  1912,  the  new  stone  church  was 
commenced,  the  corner  stone  laid  in  October 
following,  and  it  was  completed  and  dedicated 
November  18,  1914.  That  year  the  old  parish 
house  was  wrecked  and  a  new  modern  parson- 
age erected.  The  church  cost  about  thirty-five 
thousand  dollars  which  was  quite  an  under- 
taking for  the  members  of  the  church. 

In  1915,  a  small  frame  school  house  was 
built  and  school  began  January  10,  1916.  The 
beginning  of  the  academy  was  undertaken  re- 
luctantly but  the  building  was  soon  crowded. 
Five  sisters  of  the  Ursuline  Community,  of 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  arrived  in  December, 
1915,  to  take  charge  of  the  school  and  by  the 
spring  of  1916,  it  was  necessary  to  enlarge  the 
school.  The  first  part  of  the  academy  cost 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and,  in  1920  it 
was  enlarged  by  an  addition  costing  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  This  was  dedicated  Janu- 
ary 7,  1921.  Fifteen  sisters  are  now  members 
of  the  teaching  force  of  the  school  and  there 
is  an  attendance  of  a  hundred  and  seventy-five 
day  scholars  and  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
boarders  who  live  at  a  distance. 

Sidney  has  two  Lutheran  churches.  The 
English  Evangelical  Lutheran,  presided  over 
by  Reverend  Kahl,  who  also  has  Gurley  charge 
of  Reverend  Karl  Fenske,  and  the  Trinity 
Lutheran  church  is  under  the  guidance  of  E. 
Borgmeyer  and  is  called  Southeast  Trinity. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Lodge- 
pole  recently  dedicated  a  new  church  building, 
Bishop  Homer  C.  Stuntz,  officiating,  as- 
sisted by  District  Superintendent  Dr.  M.  E. 
Gilbert  and  Reverend  Henry  F.  .Martens,  who 
was  appointed  to  this  charge  in  1918.  The 
consecration  ceremonies  occurred  in  December, 
1920.  This  church  was  established  in  the  Union 
Pacific  depot  January  1.  189S.    A  stone  church 


196 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


was  dedicated  the  following  year  with  Rever- 
end Dr.  Shank,  the  editor  of  the  Omaha 
Christian  Advocate,  as  master  of  ceremonies. 
It  took  nearly  ten  years  to  pay  off  the  debt  and 
mortgage  on  the  building.  J.  R.  Young,  Fred 
Lehmkuhl,  Lewis  A.  Ganson,  Charles  N. 
Coates  and  John  F.  Ganson  were  the  members 
of  the  building  committee  of  the  old  stone 
church.  The  building  committee  of  the  new 
church  were  R.  O.  Bond,  H.  L.  Lucke.  F.  H. 
Wolf,  B.  J.  Watson,  W.  T.  Hafer,  and  Fred 
Lehmkuhl.  The  last  named,  served  on  both 
building  committees.  The  comer  stone  of  the 
new  building  was  laid  July  2,  1920,  by  Grand 
Master  Joseph  B.  Fradenburg,  of  the  Masonic 
order  of  Nebraska.  The  edifice  cost  thirty-five 
thousand  dollars.  Reverend  A.  W.  Amsbury 
held  the  first  quarterly  conference  here  Janu- 
ary 21,  1893.  and  the  constitution  of  the  church 
was  drafted  by  J.  F.  Ganson  and  Charles  N. 
Coates. 

Gurley  has  a  live  Methodist  Episcopal  or- 
ganization and  church  with  Reverend  Coffman 
in  charge. 

Potter  has  three  churches,  and  as  has  been 
usual  in  this  county,  the  Methodist  church  was 
pioneer,  and  is  most  active.  Reverend  Chas. 
O.  Troy  is  pastor. 

Trinity  Lutheran  and  Catholic  churches  each 
are  here  provided. 

Although  not  a  church  organization,  the  Wo- 
men's Christian  Temperance  Union  is  associ- 
ated with  its  work  in  many  particulars.  The 
organization  has  been  in  existence  in  Cheyenne 
county  for  many  years.  The  local  institution 
at  Potter  is  particularly  virile,  and  has  done 
much  excellent  work.  Mrs.  A.  J.  Woten  is  the 
present  executive  head  and  is  ably  directing  it 
for  civic  and  communal  good. 

In  addition  to  the  churches  mentioned  and 
those  in  the  interior  of  the  county  rural  dis- 
tricts, a  tribute  should  be  paid  to  the  congrega- 
tions that  assembled  in  sod  houses,  log  huts  and 
dug  outs  in  the  days  when  the  grangers  were 
spreading  over  the  western  prairies  and  before 
churches  were  built.  Services  and  Sunday 
schools  were  held  in  every  neighborhood  and 
volunteer  laymen  were  everywhere  doing  their 
part  in  religious  work. 

Bar  Banquet  1887 

Shortly  after  the  re-election  of  Judge  Fran- 
cis (',.  I  lamer  as  district  judge  of  the  enormous 
district  then  comprising  the  greater  portion  of 
the  western  end  of  the  state,  a  complimentary 
banquet  was  tendered  him  at  the  old  Railroad 
eating  house  at  Sidney  on  December  14,  1887. 
mention  ni  the  time  and  the  place 


would  prove  that  in  modern  parlance,  "some 
time"  was  had  by  all  those  who  were  fortu- 
nate enough  to  be  present.  A  roster  of  those 
who  were  present  will  serve  to  awaken  many 
memories  and  it  will  also  serve  as  a  pretty 
complete  directory  of  those  who  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  local  and  district  governmental 
affairs  of  the  large  territory  then  embraced  in 
Cheyenne  county.  Naturally  there  were  not 
very  many  resident  lawyers  in  that  vicinity  at 
that  date,  so  in  this  list  will  be  found  the  men- 
tion of  numerous  other  attorneys  who  used  to 
journey  to  Sidney  when  court  was  in  session 
there.  Surviving  members  of  this  list  have  as- 
sured the  compilor  that  this  occasion  was  one 
that  had  not  been  forgotten  in  the  thirty-three 
years  since  it  took  place,  and  that  they  had  ex- 
perienced no  social  occasion  that  could  come  up 
to  this  one. 

Those  recorded  as  being  present  were :  Hon. 
Geo.  W.  Heist,  toastmaster ;  F.  G.  Hamer, 
guest  of  honor;  General  H.  A.  Morrow;  Major 
J.  J.  Mcintosh  ;  Attorneys  J.  J.  Halligan,  E.  M. 
Day,  of  Ogallala;  Judge  Lacey,  of  Cheyenne; 
J.  E.  Alexander  ;  J.  W.  Bartholemew,  of  Grand 
Island;  J.  W.  Brewster,  Court  Reporter;  J. 
M.  Adams,  Register  of  United  States  Land 
!  >fnce ;  C.  B.  Blakeley,  Receiver  of  United 
States  Land  Office;  Major  George  Laing,  C. 
D.  Esseg,  Judge  J.  J.  Neubauer ;  City  Council- 
man M.  T.  Tobin,  C.  Trognitz,  Joseph  Ober- 
felder ;  County  Judge  A.  Pease,  Postmaster  A. 
J.  Brennan,  L.  B.  Cary,  County  Clerk  elect. 
F.  L.  Smith,  County  Commissioner.  W.  P. 
Miles,  ludge  Shuman,  Tudge  J.  W.  Norvell, 
W.  C.  Reilley,  Thos.  Kane.  City  Marshal; 
Judge  W.  S.  Beall;  Henry  St.  Rayner;  E.  O. 
Lee ;  T-  F.  Wellington,  of  the  Democrat,  and 
J.  C.  Bush  of  the  Telegram. 

Cheyenne  County  Bar 

The  Bar  of  Cheyenne  county  has  been  rep- 
resented by  men  of  ability  and  sound  judgment 
since  the  courts  were  stablished.  The  first  law- 
yers to  practice  in  Sidney  and  Cheyenne  coun- 
ty were  Messrs.  Heist,  Bierbower,  Kane  and 
Norval.  Many  other  lawyers  have  been  men- 
tioned on  other  pages  of  this  history  where 
their  many  activities  in  the  interests  of  the 
county  have  been  recounted.  The  'present 
members  of  the  Cheyenne  County  Bar  are:  W. 
P.  Miles,  the  oldest  member  and  dean;  H.  E. 
Gapen,  J.  L.  Mcintosh,  Joseph  Oberfelder,  A. 
Warren.  Paul  Martin.  C.  S.  Radcliffe.  W.  H. 
Hodgkin,  Thomas  Powell  and  J.  L.  Tewell. 
Many  hard  and  difficult  cases  have  been  fought, 
won  and  lost  in  the  county  by  the  well  known 
lawyers   and   at  all   times   their   integrity   and 


HISTORY  OF  WKSTERX  NEBRASKA 


high  standards  have  been  maintained.  As  a 
rule,  the  community  now  is  not  involved  ex- 
tensively in  litigation. 

The  Medical  Profession 

In  the  early  days  there  were  few  physicians 
in  Cheyenne  county,  but  with  the  gradual  set- 
tlement, doctors  came  into  this  wild,  newly  set- 
tled country  and  here  became  established  to  aid 
and  succor  the  people.  The  first  physician  was 
Dr.    Boggs,   who   served   a   large   part   of   the 


county  around  Sidney.  He  was  followed  by 
Dr.  J.  G.  Ivy  in  the"  fall  of  1878.  The  first 
dentists  in  this  section  were  the  Urmy  broth- 
ers. With  the  passing  years  well  known  pro- 
fessional men  have  opened  offices  and  today  the 
medical  fraternity  is  well  represented  by  the 
following:  Doctors  Mantor,  Eichner,  Roche, 
Taylor,  Simons,  Schwartzlander,  regular  phy- 
sicians ;  Doctors  Donahoe,  Pettibone,  Webster 
and  Witham,  dentists ;  Dr.  Montgomery,  opti- 
cian and  Dr.  Barger,  osteopath.  Dr.  A.  J. 
James  is  the  physician  at  Potter. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  WORLD  WAR 


Immediately  upon  the  entrance  of  the  United 
States  into  the  World  War,  Cheyenne  county 
organized  for  practical  co-operation,  determin- 
ed to  help  the  government  in  every  way.  The 
prominent  business  men  and  bankers  of  the 
different  towns  formed  a  county  council  of  de- 
fense. The  different  bond  drives  were  organ- 
ized and  successfully  carried  out  and  all  went 
over  to  the  top.  The  people  in  every  commun- 
ity assembled  in  their  halls,  churches  and  school 
rooms  and  the  interest  manifested  by  them  was 
remarkable.  The  complete  list  of  the  men  who 
served  in  the  army  and  navy  from  Cheyenne 
county  has  been  sent  to  Xational  Headquar- 
ters but  the  First  Xational  Bank  of  Sidney 
compiled  as  complete  a  list  as  it  is  possible 
to  obtain  at  this  time,  which  is  as  follows : 
Anderson,  Royal;  Andrews.  Glenn  M. ; 
Anderson,  Emery  Evert;  Aldrich,  J.;  Arm- 
strong, Raymond  William  ;  Anderson,  Emil ; 
Anderson,  Edward  Christian ;  Ahlm,  Sexton 
David  V. ;  Bangert,  Harry  Fred  ;  Brott,  John 
Peter  ;  Bassett,  Kenneth  ;  Blackwell,  Wesley  ; 
Bryan,  Ilyod  McKinley  ;  Bartholamew,  Leo  A. ; 
Bentley,  Charlton  B. ;  Bolm,  William  A. ;  Burk- 
land,  Edgar ;  Borquist,  Carl  August ;  Baum- 
bach,  Herman  R. ;  Brachtenbach,  John ;  Ben- 
nett, Geo.  Elmer ;  Baker,  George ;  Baker, 
Harry  B. ;  Bixby,  Harry  L. ;  Bates,  Glen ; 
Bennett,  John  Wesley;  Baliff,  Lee  M. ;  Cook, 
Funston ;  Costello,  John ;  Collins,  John  Era ; 
Coons,  John  Willet ;  Carey.  George  Howard ; 
Cheeney,  Walter  Aney;  Coder,  Ralph;  Clark, 
Robert  Glenwood  ;  Christensen,  Andrew  ;  Clos- 
man,  Esbon  Tohn  ;  Couch,  Asa  Thomas  ;  Coates, 


Roy  ;  Calwell,  Fred  ;  Couch,  James  Clarence  ; 
Copeman,  Andrew  C. ;  Cook,  Simmons  W. ; 
dishing,  Fred  A. ;  Clinton,  Ray  Lawrence ; 
Chambers,  Allen;  Chambers,  Guy  ;  Clark,  Carl ; 
Cook,  Delbert;  Davis,  James;  Davis,  Walter 
F. ;  Daniel,  Lee  Marion  ;  Durnell,  Lennie  ;  Ded- 
rick,  Russell  Franklin;  Dedrick,  Guy  Clayton; 
DiMarks,  Joe;  Dowing,  Oliver  Holden;  Doofe, 
Henry;  Dunbar,  Charles  T. ;  Dennv,  Alva  H.; 


Durnell,  Rov  Forest;  Durnell,  Fail;  Evans, 
William;  Edner.  Alfred;  Ells,  David;  Ehmke, 
Herman;  Farr,  Charles;  Fenske,  Oscar  E. ; 
Fuller,  James  Hubert ;  Francis.  Clarence  ;  Fine, 
Samuel";  Flora.  Floyd  F. ;  Fine,  Joseph;  Green- 
lee, Rov  C. ;  Greenlee,  Albert  David;  Gould. 
Ernest 'P. ;  Grabill.  Blaine  Chester;  Gregory, 
Harry  Edward;  Gross,  Charley:  Gundel,  Fred 
E. ;  Grabill,  Isaac  Elmer.  Jr. ;  Grant.  Lawrence 
C;   Gould.    Henry;   Could.    William;  Griffith, 


198 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Ferl ;  Green,  Albert  ;  Heinzman,  Paul ;  Harper, 
John  \Y. ;  Hargens,  William;  Hajek,  Alonis ; 
Hatcher,  Grover;  Herbert,  Francis  James; 
Heise,  Paul;  Henrickson,  William  August; 
Harmsen,  August;  Hite,  Guy  Victor;  Hutch- 
inson, Carl  Henry ;  Hahler,  Frank ;  Henke, 
Peter;  Hopkins,  Oliver  Lee  ;  Hornby,  Paul  D. ; 
Hink,  Otto  P.;  Haiston,  Frank  E. ;  Hedges, 
Roy  ;  Hornby,  Paul ;  Hedges,  Allen ;  Hulsland- 
er,  C.  A. ;  Johnson,  Henry  Iven ;  Johnson,  Os- 
car N. ;  Judd,  Soloman  ;  Johnson,  Bastian  J. ; 
Johnson,  John  ;  Johnson,  Ralph  Palmer ;  Jones, 
Henry  C. ;  Jones,  Hugh  T. ;  Jackson,  Glenn  ; 
Johnson.  Albert ;  Kluck,  Rudolph ;  Kucera, 
Joseph  T. ;  Kottwitz,  Henry  Chas. ;  Konlrou- 
lis,  Mike ;  Knudson.  Knud  Olaf ;  Greuger, 
Elmer  Jay  ;  Kelley,  Emerson  W. ;  King,  F.  A. ; 
Kucera,  James ;  Kretz,  Winfield ;  Lawson, 
Charles  A. ;  Loval,  William  Carl ;  Lingwall, 
John  Albert ;  Ledbetter,  Carl ;  Lampros,  Alex ; 
Lorimore,  Kenneth  Claire ;  Langhram,  James 
Arthur ;  Lauritsen,  William ;  Lindberg,  Oscar 
R.R ;  Lund,  Leonard  F. ;  Lewis,  David  G. 
Livoni,  Max ;  Ledbetter,  Frank ;  McGrane 
James  M. ;  McDaniel,  James  Willis ;  McKin 
ney,  Fred  Alvin ;  McMillan,  Clyde  Harold 
McKean,  Elroy;  McFadden,  John;  Mills,  R 
C. ;  Meier,  Marhew  ;  Mauero,  Angelo  ;  Mahlke: 
Ernest;  Martin,  Llewellyn;  Mead,  George 
Wesley ;  Moore,  Sidney  Allen ;  Marvin,  Ern- 
est; Mickley,  William;  Mariotte,  Lewis;  Ma- 
son, Clarence  Lewis ;  Miller,  Lawrence  Wil- 
liam;  Martin,  Paul  L. ;  Miller,  Don  Leo; 
Mann,  C.  L. ;  Mohatt,  James;  Millett,  C.  P.; 
Melroes,  Harry ;  Mitchell.  James ;  Mikkelson, 
Bert  ;  Neilson,  Christian  Emil ;  Neil,  Fred  Lee ; 
Neilson,  Jens  ;  Otten,  Oakley  ;  Osborne,  Jess  ; 
Oberfelder,  Irving  T. ;  Pavlat,  Frank  ;  Pappis, 
George ;  Peetz,  John ;  Price,  Milo  Earl ;  Pin- 
dell,  Isaac  Lee  :  Panabaker,  Earling  F. ;  Parks, 
John  Clayton  ;  Perry,  Clarence  Harvey  ;  Parks, 
Charles  Fred  ;  Pierce,  Wm.  E. ;  Perry,  Charles  ; 
Robinson,  Henry  Andrew  ;  Roberts,  Russell  C. ; 
Raddatz.  Alfred  John  ;  Russell.  Verne  Wesley; 
Runge,  Frederick  ;  Runge,  Edward  ;  Reisdorff, 
Jake:  Ruttner,  Edward;  Roche,  R.  E. ; 
Spearow,  Herschel ;  Spearow,  Lynn ;  Simo- 
dynes,  Joseph ;  Sauer,  Hughlen  O. ;  Schimpy, 
Frederick  C. ;  Shoemaker,  Edward  Joseph ; 
Stikal,  Joe  J.;  Straight,  Albert  Peter;  Sulli- 
van. John  Lawrence;  Semoian,  Naazov; 
Sparks,  Harry;  Stratta.  James:  Shea.  Thomas 
Lawrence;  Schroeder,  Frank  Rudolph;  Stow- 
ell,  David:  Schwartz,  Harry  Benjamine; 
Schroeder,  Sidney  .Albert ;  Straight,  Walter  F. ; 
Spitler,  Roy  C. ;  Swanson,  Lynn  Theodore; 
Slawson,  Hugh;  Studt,  Fred;  Schwartz,  Fran- 
-  i  :  Troidl,  Michael;  Tewell,  James  Leonard; 
i.     Thomas     V.;     Vacik,    Jerry    C. ; 


Vaughn,  Fred  W. ;  Venturelli,  Antonio  ;  Walsh, 
William  Stephen  ;  Wilburn,  John  Ernest ;  Wills, 
Pearl;  Wright,  Charles  Thomas;  Wise,  Earl; 
Wills,  Grover  Cleveland;  Wilson,  Alva  Wil- 
liams ;  Wooldridge,  Clark ;  White,  Arthur  C. ; 
Willis,  Wm.;  Wright,  Elmer;  Wright,  Clar- 
ence ;  Wright,  Milton ;  Wallace,  Gerald ;  Wal- 
lace, Cyril;  Witters,  John. 

The  Legion  of  Honor  was  organized  at  Sid- 
ney by  the  returned  soldiers,  also  at  Lodge- 
pole  and  Potter.  The  Sidney  organization  has 
about  a  third  of  the  returned  veterans  of 
Cheyenne  county  on  its  rolls.  The  organiza- 
tion at  Potter  was  established  in  January,  1921, 
that  at  Lodgepole  was  earlier.  Attorney  Mar- 
tin was  the  head  of  the  Legion  in  Sidney  last 
year  and  the  present  officers  are:  Morley 
Pearson,  commander;  I.  L.  Pindell,  vice-com- 
mander; Frank  Schroeder,  financier;  Roy 
Greenlee,  Adjutant  and  Charles  Marsh,  ser- 
geant-at-arms. 

The  Red  Cross 

Soon  after  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  of  the 
World  War  a  chapter  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  was  established  in  Cheyenne  county  and 
did  valiant  service  throughout  the  war,  and  is 
now  engaged  in  splendid  work  of  relief  at 
home.  Mrs.  C.  W.  West  was  head  of  the  Sid- 
ney organization  and  proved  an  excellent  ex- 
ecutive. Leon  Fine,  the  retiring  treasurer  of 
the  Sidney  Red  Cross  Society  turned  over  to 
successor  ten  thousand,  two  hundred  and  seven- 
ty-seven dollars,  which  testifies  to  the  growth 
and  stability  of  the  organization  at  the  present 
time. 

Conclusion 

In  all  the  history  of  the  Panhandle,  Chey- 
enne county  and  Sidney  will  hold  their  places 
in  the  progress  and  development  of  the  section. 
From  Sidney  has  radiated  that  civilization  and 
progressive  spirit  that  has  changed  the  Pan- 
handle from  a  wilderness  to  the  homes  of  a 
rich  farming  and  agricultural  community,  to- 
day a  wide  reach  of  land  that  is  rich  and  fer- 
tile. The  start  was  made  by  the  building  of 
the  Union  Pacific  railroad ;  the  building  of  the 
Burlington  has  given  Cheyenne  county  a  stra- 
getic  position,  as  it  has  also  Sidney,  which  will 
become  a  distributing  center  for  the  two  lines 
of  railroad.  Though  Cheyenne  county  is  much 
reduced  in  size  from  the  "old  Cheyenne"  coun- 
ty, it  has  retained  rich  land  of  great  fertility. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  county  is  suitable 
for  cultivation.  There  is  little  waste  land  and 
only  a  small  part  is  rough.  Cheyenne  bids  well 
to  become  one  of  the  richest  counties  in  the 
Panhandle. 


BOX  BUTTE  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 
ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  COUNTY 


Box  Butte  county  had  its  first  inception  in 
the  minds  of  its  citizens  during  the  summer 
months  of  1886.  The  one  thousand  and  eighty 
square  miles  now  comprising  Box  Butte  coun- 
ty was  at  that  time  the  southern  half  of  Dawes 
county.  The  reason  of  this  was  the  great  dis- 
tance from  Chadron,  the  county  seat.  The  av- 
erage distance  was  sixty  miles,  which  the  peo- 
ple were  compelled  to  travel,  by  team  or  on 
horseback,  in  order  to  pay  their  taxes,  serve  on 
juries,  and  attend  to  their  legal  matters.  The 
population  of  this  territory  had  grown  to  be 
about  three  thousand  people,  which  was  prob- 
ably as  great  a  number  as  lived  in  the  northern 
half  of  the  county. 

A  convention  was  held  during  the  summer  of 
1886,  and  at  that  convention  it  was  decided  that 
steps  be  taken  to  secure  a  division  of  Dawes 
county  and  that  the  new  county  erected  in  the 
south  half,  if  division  succeeded,  should  be 
called  Box  Butte  county.  Committees  were  ap- 
pointed, petitions  were  circulated  and  unani- 
mously signed,  asking  the  County  Commission- 
ers of  Dawes  county  to  submit  the  question  of 
county  division  to  a  vote  of  the  people  at  the 
general  election  to  be  held  in  November  of  that 
year.  The  Commissioners  granted  the  request, 
and  at  the  November  election  a  majority  of  the 
votes  were  cast  in  favor  of  division.  The  gov- 
ernor of  Nebraska,  Honorable  John  M.  Thayer, 
issued  a  proclamation  designating  a  special 
election,  at  which  election  the  people  of  the 
new  county  were  to  choose  a  location  for  their 
county  seat,  and  elect  a  complete  set  of  county 
officers. 

Of  the  one  thousand  or  more  voters  partici- 
pating in  that  election  held  thirty-four  years 
ago,  but  few  are  still  residents  of  the  county. 
Among  those  recalled  are  E.  I.  Gregg,  who 
with  his  good  wife  were  very  industrious  in 
circulating  the  petition  asking  for  county  divi- 
sion. Other  residents  of  Alliance  who  partici- 
pated in  that,  election  are  R.  M.  Hampton,  F. 
M.  Knight,  Robert  Garrett,  John  O'Keefe,  Si 


Coker,  Moses  Wright,  C.  H.  Underwood, 
Julius  Atz,  Jack  Mettlen,  Henry  Clayton, 
George  Gadshy,  and  possibly  a  few  others. 

Prior  to  this  special  election,  political  conven- 
tions were  held  when  Democrats  and  Republi- 
cans each  nominated  a  complete  ticket  of  candi- 
dates for  the  county  offices.  The  country  being 
rather  thinly  settled  and  no  rapid  means  of 
communication,  people  were  unable  to  become 
personally  or  intimately  acquainted  with  the  re- 
spective candidates,  and  apparently  went  to  the 
polls  and  voted  their  party  tickets.  This  re- 
sulted in  the  election  of  the  entire  Republican 
ticket. 

There  were  two  candidates  for  the  location 
of  county  seat:  Nonpareil  and  Hemingford. 
They  were  two  cross-road  villages  of  about 
equal  size,  each  having  a  couple  of  stores, 
blacksmith  shop,  bank,  law  and  locater's  of- 
fices, and  Nonpareil  had  a  newspaper  and 
Hemingford  had  two.  Nonpareil  received  a 
majority  of  votes  and  was  declared  the  county 
seat  of  the  new  county. 

The  county  officers  were  as  follows :  County 
Clerk,  George  W.  Clark  ;  Treasurer,  Eli  Ger- 
ber;  Sheriff,  Fred  A  Shonquist ;  County  At- 
torney, James  H.  Danskin  ;  Surveyor,  Charles 
A.  Barney;  County  Superintendent,  N.  S. 
Simpson ;  Coroner,  Doctor  John  Blood  ;  County 
Commissioners,  James  Barry,  Louis  C.  De- 
Coudress,  and  a  Delbert  S.  Reed. 

When  the  result  of  the  election  became 
known,  Judge-elect  Field  drove  to  Chadron  and 
there  took  the  oath  of  office  as  County  Judge, 
returned  to  Nonpareil  and  administered  the 
oath  of  office  to  his  associate  officers.  He  ap- 
proved the  bonds  of  the  county  commissioners, 
who  immediately  met  in  special  session  and 
commenced  to  plan  to  launch  the  new  county 
upon  its  career  as  a  struggling  commonwealth. 
The  first  set  of  officers  elected  proved  to  be 
careful,  able  and  painstaking  officers.  The 
county  did  not  have  a  dollar  in   its   treasury, 


200 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


not  a   dollar   of   tax  had  been  levied,   and    its 
credit  had  yet  to  be  established. 

Nonpareil,  the  County  Skat 

The  people  of  Nonpareil,  as  an  inducement 
or  bribe  to  the  voters,  had  made  a  pre-election 
promise  that  in  case  Nonpareil  was  chosen  as 
the  county  capital,  that  they,  the  people  of 
Nonpareil  would,  at  their  own  expense,  erect 
a  frame  courthouse  suitable  to  house  the  coun- 
iv  officers  and  in  which  to  transact  the  coun- 
ty's business.  This  promise  they  fulfiLled  by 
erecting  a  flimsy  frame  structure,  twenty  by 
thirty  feet  in  dimensions,  one  and  a  half  stories 
in  height.  This  building  was  not  plastered, 
neither  did  it  have  a  chimney,  the  floors  were 
all  rough  boards,  counters,  tables  and  other 
furniture  was  manufactured  out  of  rough 
sawn  Pine  Ridge  lumber  by  local  carpenters. 
A  large  fire  proof  safe,  costing  one  thousand 
dollars  was  bought  on  long  time  payments, 
which  the  commissioners  promised  to  pay 
when  funds  were  derived  from  taxation.  This 
was  completed  .in  May  or  June  of  1887.  A 
small  jail,  containing  two  cells,  built  of  two 
by  four  scantling  securely  spiked  together  and 
covered  with  a  rought  board  roof  was  also 
erected. 

The  first  duty  of  County  Clerk  Clark  was  to 
take  an  assistant  and  go  to  Chadron  and  tran- 
scribe the  records  of  the  county  which  per- 
tained to  the  few  tracts  of  deeded  land,  mort- 
gages, and  other  legal  records,  which  were  ne- 
cessary, and  the  basis  of  the  present  county 
records.  There  were  verv  few  duties  for  the 
new  county  officers  to  discharge,  outside  of 
those  of  the  Countv  Clerk.  Clerk  of  the  Dis- 
trict Court,  and  the  County  Judge.  There 
were  no  taxes  collected  during  that  year,  and 
the  County  Treasurer  spent  a  few  days  only 
of  his  time  at  the  new  county  seat. 

This  set  of  county  officers  were  elected  to 
serve  for  the  remainder  of  the  year  1887,  a 
period  of  about  nine  months,  and  their  suc- 
cessors were  elected  at  the  election  held  No- 
vember 4.  1S87.  After  a  very  warm  political 
battle  staged  between  the  Republican  and 
Democratic  parties,  with  the  Prohibitionists 
casting  aboul  thirty  votes  in  the  county,  a 
ticket  composed  of  both  Democrats  and 'Re- 
publicans was  elected.  The  Pepublicans  elect- 
ed Fred  V  Shonquist,  Sheriff;  A.  L.  Field, 
County  Judee;  Doctor  W.  II.  Smith,  Coroner; 
while  the  Democrats  elected  John  O'Keefe, 
County  Treasurer;  [olm  Leith,  County  Su- 
perintendenl  :  C.  V  Burlew,  County  Clerk  ;  and 
Thomas  L.  Irvine.  Robert  R.  Ralls.  Charles 
Nichols,  Countv  Commissioners. 


The  upper  story  of  the  courthouse  was  fitted 
up  as  a  court  room,  and  the  first  term  of  Dis- 
trict Court  for  the  new  county  was  held  in  June, 
1887,  with  Honorable  M.  P.  Kinkaid,  our  pres- 
ent congressman,  as  Judge,  with  A.  L.  Warrick 
official  reporter.  There  were  not  many  cases 
of  importance  tried  at  this  term  of  court. 

Nonpareil  continued  to  be  the  seat  of  coun- 
ty government  until  the  first  day  of  January, 
1891,  a  period  of  three  and  one-half  years. 
The  Burlington  railroad  having  been  built 
diagonally  through  the  county  during  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1889,  passing  through 
the  new  town  of  Alliance  which  had  sprung 
up  in  the  meantime,  and  the  village  of  Hem- 


How   the   Court   Hocse   in    Alliance,    Nebraska, 

WAS     MOVED    TO    HemINGFORII,    THE    NEW    COUNTY 

Seat    of     Boy     Butte    County,     by    the 

Chicago,     Burlington      and      Quincy 

Railroad 

ingford,  and  missing  the  county  seat  by  a  dis- 
tance of  five  miles,  a  movement  was  started 
seeking  to  locate  the  county  seat  on  the  rail- 
road. Petitions  were  circulated  and  largely 
signed,  asking  the  County  Commissioners  to 
submit  the  question  of  re-location  at  a  special 
election.  This  special  election  on  the  question 
of  re-locating  the  countv  seat  was  called  for 
Tuesday,  the  7th  day  of  March,  1890.  Three 
places  were  voted  for  at  this  election,  namely : 
Alliance,  Hemingford  and  Nonpareil.  Neither 
of  these  places  received  the  necessary  three- 
fifths  vote  required  for  removal,  so  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  call  a  second  special  election,  which 
was  done  by  the  Commissioners,  and  the  elec- 
tion held  on  Tuesday,  the  8th  day  of  April, 
1890.  This  election  was  also  indecisive,  al- 
though Nonpareil  failing  to  receive  the  neces- 
sary two-fifths  vote  which  would  enable  it  to 
retain  the  county  seat,  dropped  out  as  a  can- 
didate, and,  under  the  law,  the  decisive  elec- 
tion went  over  until  the  general  election  in 
November. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


201 


Hemingford,    Seat   of   Government 

At  this  election,  Alliance  and  Hemingford 
were  the  opposing  candidates  and  it  was  only 
necessary  for  one  or  the  other  to  receive  a 
bare  majority  of  the  votes  cast  to  become  the 
county  seat  on  the  first  day  of  January  fol- 
lowing. This  election  was  the  most  bitterly 
fought  contest  that  ever  occurred  in  the  coun- 
ty 

Following  a  tacit  agreement  or  understand- 
ing, which  had  been  entered  into  between  the 
officials  of  the  Burlington 


The  people  of  Alliance  were  sorely  disap- 
pointed and  felt  very  bitter  at  the  opposition, 
especially  the  action  of  the  railroad  company, 
and  were  at  first  disposed  to  not  abide  by  the 
decision  of  the  voters.  Their  first  plan  was  to 
seize  the  county  records  from  the  flimsy  court- 
house at  Nonpareil,  convey  them  to  Alliance 
by  force  of  arms,  contest  the  election  in  the 
hope  that  by  showing  that  fraudulent  votes 
had  been  cast  they  might  eventually  reverse 
the  decision  rendered  at  the  polls  by  appeal 
to  the  courts.  This  plan  was  not  put  into  op- 
ration  because  they  learned  that  the  Burling- 


County  Court  House.  Alliance. 


sidary  corporation,  the  Lincoln  Land  Com- 
pany, parties  of  the  first  part,  and  the  respec- 
tive citizens  of  Alliance,  parties  of  the  sec- 
ond part,  it  was  agreed  and  understood  that 
the  new  town  of  Alliance  should  be  made  a  di- 
vision point  and  shops  established,  which  fac- 
tors would  be  the  foundation  for  a  thriving 
city,  and  that  Hemingford  should  be  given  the 
county  seat,  which  would  make  of  it  a  thriv- 
ing town ;  and  this  arrangement  would  enable 
the  Lincoln  Land  Company  to  make  a  market 
for  its  town  lots  in  both  towns,  of  which  it 
was  the  owner.  This  agreement  the  railroad 
officials  kept  to  the  best  of  their  ability,  and 
as  a  result  there  were  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  votes  cast  in  Alliance  in  favor  of  Heming- 
ford for  the  county  seat.  This  enabled  Hem- 
ingford to  win  by  a  majority  of  sixteen  votes. 


ton  officials  had  an  engine  fired  up  and  a  coach 
attached,  loaded  with  Burlington  detectives, 
special  agents,  and  other  employees,  which 
they  intended  using  upon  evidence  that  the 
mob  had  left  Alliance.  This  special  train  was 
to  have  been  run  to  Hemingford  and  the  posse 
coin-eyed  by  team,  a  distance  of  five  miles,  to 
Nonpareil,  and  would  be  there  to  defend  the 
seizure  of  the  records  upon  the  arrival  of  the 
raiding  party.  However,  the  then  county  of- 
ficials, of  whom  the  author  was  one,  supported 
by  the  sheriff.  Eugene  Hall,  armed  with  Win- 
chesters guarded  the  records  and  had  the  raid- 
ers appeared  they  would  have  met  a  very  warm 
reception. 

The  county  seat  was  moved  from  Nonpareil 
to  Flemingford  on  January  1st.  1891.  The 
county    officials    occupied    temporary    quarters 


202 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


from  then  until  the  May  following,  when  the 
commodious  courthouse  which  had  been  prom- 
ised by  the  people  of  Hemingford,  backed  by 
the  Lincoln  Land  Company,  was  erected. 
Hemingford  remained  the  county  seat  from 
the  latter  date  until  the  month  of  March,  1899, 
when  by  a  large  majority  vote  of  the  people, 
cast  at  a  special  election  held  previously,  it 
was  moved  to  Alliance,  where  the  officials  oc- 
cupied temporary  quarters  in  the  Phelan  Opera 
Block  until  the  following  July. 

Alliance,  the  County  Seat 

In  the  meantime,  the  county  commissioners 
purchased  of  the  Lincoln  Land  Company,  to 
whom  it  had  reverted,  the  Hemingford  court- 
house, at  a  price  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 
This  was  moved  to  the  present  court  house  site. 
at  Alliance  on  the  Burlington  railroad,  and 
was  considered  a  great  engineering  feat.  The 
building  was  forty-five  by  fifty-four  feet  with 
trussed  roof  forty  feet  in  height.  E.  W.  Bell, 
yet  a  resident  of  Alliance,  superintended  the 
removal.  This  court  house  was  used  for  coun- 
ty purposes  until  November,  1914,  when  the 
present  magnificent  court  house  was  completed 
and  occupied. 

Towns  and  Villages  of  the  County 

The  first  village  in  the  county  was  old  Non- 
pareil, first  called  Buchanan  because  many  of 
the  settlers  in  the  immediate  vicinity  came 
from  the  town  of  Buchanan,  Michigan,  and 
desired  that  the  new  town  be  called  after  their 
old  home  town.  This  name  was  later  changed 
to  Nonpareil,  at  the  instigation  of  Gene  Heath, 
eidtor  and  publisher  of  its  sole  newspaper 
called  "Gene  Heath's  Grip,"  in  imitation  of 
those  frontier  publications,  "Bill  Barlow's 
Budget"  and  "Bill  Nye's  Boomerang."  Mr. 
Heath  being  a  printer,  the  word  Nonpareil 
which  is  the  name  of  printers'  type  appealed  to 
him  as  more  euphonious  than  that  of  Buchan- 
an. He  being  a  Democrat  and  influential  with 
the  then  Democratic  Administration,  he  was  in- 
fluential enough  to  have  the  postoffice  named 
in  accordance  with  his  wishes- — -Nonpareil. 

This  village,  at  the  time  the  county  seat  was 
located  there,  consisted  of  two  general  stores, 
a  blacksmith  shop,  two  livery  barns,  one  bank, 
one  newspaper,  two  hardware  stores,  a  harness 
shop,  one  law  office,  one  feed  store,  lumber 
yard  and  agricultural  implement  depot  com- 
bined.  Nonpareil  ceased  to  exist  soon  after 
ili'-  removal  of  tin-  county  seat  to  Hemingford 
in  1891,  There  is  nothing  left  to  mark  its  site 
frame  school  house  which  yet  stands 


five  miles  south  and  one  mile  west  of  Heming- 
ford. 

The  village  of  Hemingford  was  founded  and 
was  named  by  several  natives  of  Canada, 
among  whom  were  R.  McLeod,  J.  W.  Roberts, 
J.  S.  Paradis,  J.  K.  Green,  Joseph  Hare  and 
others.  The  name  Hemingford  was  adopted 
because  of  old  associations  with  a  town  of  that 
name  in  Canada.  The  postoffice  was  called 
Carlyle,  and  was  located  four  miles  due  east 
of  the  present  site  of  Hemingford,  and  F.  W. 
Milek  was  the  first  postmaster.  This  post- 
office,  with  the  consent  of  the  postal  depart- 
ment, was  transferred  to  Hemingford,  but 
still  retained  its  name  Carlyle  for  a  year  af-^ 
terward. 

There  was  another  yillage  and  postoffice 
fourteen  miles  due  east  of  Hemingford,  called 
Box  Butte  postoffice,  but  it  never  boasted  but 
one  store,  postoffice,  a  blacksmith  shop,  a  no- 
tary public,  and  real  estate  office.  Like  most 
villages,  it  had  what  was  then  well  known  as 
a  Locator's  office,  a  term  now  obsolete.  The 
business  of  this  functionary  was  to  secure  gov- 
ernment plats  from  the  land  office  of  the  dis- 
trict in  which  he  was  located,  showing  the  gov- 
trnment  land  unfiled  upon,  and  which  for  a 
fee  of  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars  he  would  show 
to  the  prospective  homesteader,  prepare  his 
filing  papers  and  locate  him  upon  the  vacant 
quarter  section  which  he  selected. 

Another  village  was  thirteen  miles  west 
and  one  mile  north  of  Hemingford,  which  was 
called  Lawn.  It  had  a  postoffice  and  store 
combined. 

The  city  of  Alliance  was  unknown  or  un- 
heard of  at  the  organization  of  the  county.  It 
really  had  its  inception  on  the  27th  day  of 
May,  1887.  On  this  date  the  department  of 
public  lands  of  the  state  of  Nebraska,  through 
its  commissioner,  advertised  in  the  public  press 
that  all  school  lands  in  Box  Butte  county, 
which  consisted  of  sections  sixteen  and  thirty- 
six  in  each  township  would  be  offered  for 
sale  to  the  highest  bidder  on  the  following 
terms : 

No  land  would  be  sold   for  less  than 
seven  dollars  per  acre. 

If  a  bid  of  seven  dollars  was  received 
and  no  higher  bid  made,  it  would  be  sold 
to  the  bidder  on  payment  of  one-tenth  of 
the  purchase  price  down,  and  the  balance 
in  twenty-one  years  at  six  percent  interest. 
If  not  sold,  it  would  be  offered  for  lease 
at  its  appraised  value,  the  lessee  to  pay 
six  percent  per  annum  on  that  appraise- 
ment which  ranged  from  one  dollar  and  a 
quarter  to  four  dollars  per  acre. 
This  auction  was  held  in  front  of  the  Bank 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


203 


of  Nonpareil,  the  court  house  not  yet  having 
been  completed.  Deputy-  Land  Commissioner, 
J.  S.  Scott,  was  in  charge  of  this  sale,  but  little 
of  the  land  offered  found  buyers  until  section 
thirty-six,  township  twenty-five,  range  forty- 
eight,  the  present  site  of  Alliance,  was  reached 
in  its  order.    This  brought  on  spirited  bidding. 

J.  B.  Weston,  representing  the  Lincoln  Land 
Company,  bid  seven  dollars  per  acre  on  the 
first  forty  acre  tract  offered  for  sale.  This 
bid  was  immediately  raised  by  J.  H.  Sigafoos, 
and  the  land  was  bid  up  and  finally  sold  to  J. 
B.  Weston  for  forty-three  dollars  per  acre. 
Bidding  on  other  forty  acre  tracts  was  just  as 
spirited,  being  sold  to  the  same  purchaser  for 
prices  ranging  from  thirty-three  to  forty  dol- 
lars per  acre.  Finally  the  last  forty  acre  tract, 
it  being  where  South  Alliance  is  now  located, 
was  dropped  to  Mr.  Sigafoos  at  a  price  of 
thirty-eight  dollars  per  acre. 

The  high  price  which  this  land  brought  was 
convincing  proof  to  the  people  of  western  Ne- 
braska that  upon  the  arrival  of  the  Burlington 
railroad  then  building  westward,  this  would 
be  made  an  important  division  point  with  shops 
and  other  things  calculated  to  make  a  large 
and  thriving  city,  all  of  which  expectations 
have  been  realized. 

The  purchase  of  this  school  section  at  the 
land  sale  deeded  it  to  the  Lincoln  Land  Com- 
pany. In  the  hope  of  counting  on  the  building 
of  the  city,  people  came  from  different  parts 
of  Nebraska  and  surrounding  states  to  the  em- 
bryo town,  but  the  Lincoln  Land  Company  re- 
fused to  plat  a  town  site  and  offer  the  lots 
for  sale  until  after  the  arrival  of  the  railroad. 

These  people  congregated  into  a  mushroom 
town  or  community  on  the  deeded  land  of 
Samuel  A.  Smith,  just  east  of  the  present  town, 
where  the  dump  ground  and  pest  house  are 
now  located.  This  was  named  Grand  Lake, 
and  during  the  late  summer  of  1887  it  became 
a  typical  western  village  of  probably  a  thou- 
sand people.  It  had  four  banks,  two  news- 
papers, several  general  merchandise  stores, 
livery  stable,  hotels,  a  blacksmith  shop,  and 
residences,  all  housed  in  rude  structures  built 
of  rough  Pine  Ridge  lumber,  supplemented 
by  canvas. 

The  railroad  grade  of  the  Burlington  which 
had  been  rapidly  pushed  westward  during  the 
spring  and  summer  of  this  year  from  Anselmo, 
closely  followed  by  the  laying  of  rails,  reached 
Alliance  about  January  1st,  1888.  A  station 
was  opened  and  named  Alliance,  the  company 
refusing  to  recognize  the  name  Grand  Lake 
because  of  its  similarity  to  that  of  Grand  Is- 
land, which  it  was  claimed  would  result  in  a 


confusion  in  train  orders.  F.  M.  Phelps,  a 
resident  of  Alliance,  was  the  first  agent. 

Following  this  the  town  site  was  platted,  re- 
corded and  widely  advertised  throughout  the 
east,  and  a  sale  of  town  lots  in  the  coming  me- 
tropolis of  Alliance  was  held  on  the  25th  day 
of  February,  1888.  To  assist  in  bringing  peo- 
ple to  the  new  city,  the  Burlington  railroad, 
through  posters  and  the  press  advertised  that 
they  would  run  an  excursion  train  from  all 
Missouri  river  points  to  Alliance  and  return, 
and  the  fare  for  the  rcmd  trip  would  be  five 
dollars.  This  brought  a  train  load  of  pros- 
pective citizens,  mechanics,  artisans,  merchants, 
hotel  men,  and  included  all  the  elements  that 
generally  rush  to  a  new  mining  discovery  or 
a  new  town.  The  little  village  of  Grand  Lake 
was  overrun  and  was  unable  to  adequately 
shelter  or  feed  the  train  load  of  excursionists. 
Many  men  came  already  prepared  to  go  into 
business,  their  stocks  of  goods  were  bought, 
lumber  was  in  cars  on  sidetracks  with  which  to 
erect  buildings,  there  was  an  abundance  of 
carpenters,  plasterers  and  other  workmen  who 
had  come  with  their  tool  boxes  all  prepared 
to  build  a  city. 

At  the  lot  sale,  the  first  lot  offered  was  the 
one  where  the  First  National  Bank  now  stands. 
It  brought  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
and  was  purchased  by  Porter  Eihlers  &  Com- 
pany. This  firm  had  been  in  the  banking  busi- 
ness in  a  temporary  structure  in  the  town  of 
Grand  Lake,  and  they  immediately  proceeded 
to  erect  on  this  lot  a  frame  building  of  the  same 
size  as  the  present  bank  building.  In  this  they 
opened  the  State  Bank  known  as  Porter  Eihlers 
&  Company. 

The  next  lot  sold  was  directly  opposite, 
where  the  Alliance  National  Bank  now  stands, 
and  this  was  purchased  by  the  Bank  of  Alli- 
ance, which  later  merged  into  the  Alliance 
National  Bank,  and  of  which  F.  M.  Knight 
was  then  cashier,  and  has  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  original  purchasers  since  that 
time.  This  lot  was  sold  for  one  thousand  and 
fifty  dollars. 

The  prices  from  these  corners  extending 
back  were  graded  down  where  the  lot  upon 
which  the  present  Chinese  laundry  is  located 
sold  for  six  hundred  dollars.  Some  residence 
lots  were  sold  in  the  vicinity  of  Sixth  and 
Cheyenne  Avenues  at  prices  ranging  from  two 
hundred  to  three  hundred  dollars. 

The  building  of  a  town  immediately  com- 
menced, there  being  an  abundance  of  lumber, 
nails,  hardware,  lime  and  other  building  ma- 
terials on  hand  with  a  large  supply  of  skilled 
workmen.      The    first    eight    business    blocks 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


from  the  depot  northward  were  rapidly  chang- 
ed from  raw  prairie  into  a  bustling  town.  More 
than  one  hundred  buildings  were  under  con- 
struction at  the  same  time.  As  soon  as  they 
were  roofed  over  the  people  from  Grand  Lake 
began  moving  into  them  so  that  by  the  Fourth 
of  July  of  that  year  Alliance  probably  had 
a  population  of  two  thousand  people. 

At  this  time  Alliance  had  no  form  of  civil 
government,  but  it  realized  that  this  was  neces- 
sary. After  a  lapse  of  a  few  months  a  mass 
meeting  was  held  and  it  was  decided  to  incor- 
porate as  a  village  under  the  laws  of  the  state. 
A  petition  was  presented  to  the  county  com- 
missioners asking  that  it  be  incorporated  under 
the  name  of  the  village  of  Alliance  and  that 
five  village  trustees  be  appointed  to  serve  until 
the  following  April  when  a  regular  election 
would  be  held  and  regular  trustees  elected 
thereat.  The  first  board  of  trustees  consisted 
of  F.  M.  Sands,  J.  C.  Weeter.  C.  F.  Grant, 
W.  (',.  Simonson,  and  F.  YV.  Markham. 

Alliance  continued  under  the  village  form 
of  government  until  1891  when  it  changed  to  a 
city  of  the  second  class  with  a  mayor  and 
four  councilmen.  It  was  divided  into  two 
wards.  The  first  ward  comprised  the  territory 
lying  west  of  Box  Butte  Avenue,  and  the  sec- 
ond all  that  lying  east  of  Box  Butte  Avenue. 
Frank  H.  Smith  was  Alliance's  first  mayor. 
Mr.  Smith  was  chief  clerk  to  the  division  su- 
perintendent of  the  Burlington,  J.  R.  Phelan. 
He  was  succeeded  by  R.  M.  Hampton  as  may- 
or, who  filled  that  position  during  the  instal- 
lation of  the  city's  svstem  of  waterworks  in 
1892. 

Alliance  remained  a  terminus  of  the  Burling- 
ton railroad  from  January,  1888,  until  the 
track  was  laid  northwestward  in  September, 
1889.  During  this  year  and  a  half,  being  the 
rail  head,  it  was  a  very  lively  place.  All  ma- 
terial for  the  building  of  Belmont  tunnel,  cul- 
vert pipe,  machinery  for  the  Newcastle  coa 
mines  and  supplies  for  the  grading  camps  from 
Alliance  to  Newcastle  was  freighted  by  team 
from  Alliance  out  along  the  right  of  way. 
Hundreds  of  men  were  shipped  out  from  east- 
ern centers  to  work  on  the  grade  and  Alliance 
with  its  six  saloons  did  a  thriving  business 
with  hoboes.  However,  it  was  fairly  orderly, 
considering  the  character  of  its  floating  popu- 
lation,  only  one  or  two  murders  being  com- 
mitted during  that  time. 

Alliance  continued  to  grow  and  thrive  until 

the  panic  and  hard  limes  of   1893  and  1894, 

when   for  a    few  years  it   seemed  to  conic  to  a 

standstill  —  neither  increased  nor  decreased  in 

.  n  new  life  in  the  spring 

'Inn   the    Burlington  commenced   to 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


205 


build  southward  when  the  Platte  Valley  line 
was  built  and  later  in  the  summer  extended 
on  southward  to  Denver.  Since  that  time  it 
has  had  a  steady  and  healthy  growth,  until  at 
the  present  time  it  has  become  a  leading  city 
in  western  Nebraska,  with  a  population  of  over 
five  thousand  people. 

Agricultural  and  Live  Stock  Industries 

This  is  primarily  an  agricultural  country, 
ninety-five  percent  of  its  total  area  is  tillable. 
Only  about  sixty  percent  of  this  is  in  actual 


hogs  during  the  summer  season  and  the  corn 
to  finish  them  in  the  fall.  Hog  cholera  is 
unknown. 

Dairy  products  are  of  much  importance. 
The  county  has  one  large  creamery,  which 
uses  a  large  percent  of  the  native  product,  but 
considerable  is  shipped  to  outside  factories. 
The  Snake  Creek  valley,  having  an  average 
width  of  five  miles  and  a  length  of  thirty  miles, 
produces  a  great  deal  of  wrild  hay.  On  the 
table  lands  straw,  corn  fodder,  alfalfa  and 
kaffir  corn  are  used  for  rough  feed.  Many 
farmers  have  adopted  the  silo  method  of  pre- 


High  School,  Alliance 


cultivation,  the  remainder  being  unbroken 
prairie  used  for  pasture  when  used  at  all.  The 
soil  is  rich,  porous  and  very  productive.  It- 
contains  potash,  sufficient  for  renewal  and  fer- 
tilization, and  is  consequently  inexhaustible. 
Land  farmed  continuously  for  thirty  years 
produced  greater  crops  the  last  year  than  the 
first.  The  soil  is  especially  adapted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  potatoes,  it  being  sufficiently  sandy 
and  loose  to  enable  them  to  reach  enormous 
growth,  and  being  raised  without  irrigation, 
they  are  of  splendid  quality  and  keep  well  into 
the  following  year. 

The  next  largest  crop  is  of  small  grain  — 
wheat,  oats,  rye  and  barley  all  making  satis- 
factory yields.  Corn  is  a  secondary  crop,  but 
the  yield  is  continuously  increased  so  that 
many  more  hogs  are  raised  than  formerly. 
Alfalfa  is  increasing  in  acreage  and  importance 
every  year.     This  crop  is  used  to  pasture  the 


serving  ensilage.  The  soil  is  very  easily  cul- 
tivated and  the  surface  being  very  nearly  level, 
farm  labor  is  very  light  compared  with  that 
of  eastern  states. 

Cattle,  horses,  and  hogs  are  raised.  The 
cattle  industry  is  of  considerable  importance. 
The  cattle  grow  rapidly  on  the  nutritious  feed 
produced  and  are  sigularly  free  from  all  di- 
seases. 

Manufacturing  and  Industrial  Plants 
Owing  to  the  great  distance  from  the  coal 
fields,  the  county  has  hut  little  manufacturing. 
Harness,  saddle,  tinware,  water  tanks,  ice 
cream  and  butter  are  manufactured  in  suffi- 
cient quantities  to  supply  the  adjacent  terri- 
tory. 

Railroads 
Box  Butte  county  has  hut  one  railroad.    The 
Burlington    traverses    it     from    southeast    to 


21V, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


northwest,  havinga  mileageof  forty-two  miles, 
with  a  branch  line  connecting  with  the  Platte 
Valley  branch  and  Denver  connections  with  a 
total  mileage  of  fourteen  miles.  It  main- 
tains a  division  station  with  a  division  superin- 
tendent, also  offices  of  a  general  superinten- 
dent having  supervision  over  four  other  divi- 
sions, large  roundhouse  with  shops  for  the  re- 
pair of  its  rolling  stock.  About  eight  hundred 
employes    in    normal    times    are    on    the    pay- 


tion  of  their  children.  These  pioneer  schools 
first  were  conducted  in  a  small  room  of  a 
private  house,  in  a  dugout,  or  any  other  shel- 
ter that  was  available  until  school  houses  could 
be  erected.  As  the  county  grew,  these  primi- 
tive school  houses  gave  way  to  modern  frame 
school  houses  equipped  with  the  best  appliances 
for  teaching,  and  all  school  books  are  provided 
for  the  pupils  at  public  expense.  There  are 
now  two  graded  high  schools  in  the  county, 


School,  Alliance 


roll,  which  averages  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  per  month,  and  is  one  of  the 
county's  principal  resources. 

Public   Institutions 

There  are  no  state  of  public  institutions  lo- 
cated in  this  county. 

•    Schools 

The  people  of  Box  Butte  county  have  al- 
ways been  deeply  interested  in  having  the  best 
schools  that  their  means  could  afford.  The 
very  earliesl  settlers  considered  the  school  of 
sufficient  importance  that  among  their  first 
public  act-  was  to  organize  school  districts,  tax 
and  provide  schools  for  the  educa- 


the  one  at  Hemingford  occupying  two  build- 
ings and  employing  five  teachers.  The  public 
schools  of  Alliance  occupy  three  large  com- 
modious buildings  with  a  superintendent  and  a 
corps  of  thirty  teachers.  More  than  one  thou- 
sand pupils  are  enrolled. 

The  great  interest  which  the  people  of  the 
county  take  in  their  schools,  and  the  import- 
ance with  which  they  are  considered,  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  more  than  one-half  of  the 
money  raised  by  taxation  in  the  county  is  used 
for  the  support  of  its  schools. 

In  addition  to  the  public  schools  there  is 
located  at  Alliance  St.  Agnes'  Academy,  a 
parochial  school,  which  is  graded  and  has  the 
same  course  of  instruction  as  the  high  school, 
with  an  average  attendance  of  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  pupils. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


207 


CHAPTER   II 


CHURCHES  — THE  PRESS  — THE 


PROFESSIONS  AND  BUSINESSES 


Practically  all  of  the  leading  church  de- 
nominations have  organizations  and  church 
buildings  in  the  county.  The  Catholics  have 
churches  in  Alliance  and  Hemingford  and 
Lawn.  The  Methodists  have  churches  at  Al- 
liance, Hemingford,  and  at  Fairview,  twelve 
miles  northeast  of  Alliance.  The  Baptists, 
Presbyterians,  Episcopalians  and  Seventh  Day 
Adventists,  and  Lutherans  each  maintain  a 
church  in  Alliance.  The  Congregationalists 
have  a  church  in  Hemingford. 

The  people  are  sufficiently  interested  in  re- 
ligious matters  to  support  their  ministers,  as 
well  or  better  than  in  other  communities  of 
much  larger  population. 

The  Salvation  Army  maintains  a  corps  at 
Alliance,  being  one  of  only  five  in  the  entire 
state  of   Nebraska. 

Press 

The  press  has  played  an  important  part  in 
the  development  of  the  county,  and  has  had 
many  ups  and  downs,  the  number  of  papers 
published  varying  at  different  times. 

At  the  organization  of  the  county  in  1887, 
there  were  three  papers  published,  which  is 
the  same  number  as  at  present.  At  Heming- 
ford was  published  "The  Gleaner,"  with  Jo- 
seph Hare  as  editor  and  Publisher.  The  "Box 
Butte  Rustler"  was  published  by  Charles  A. 
Burlew,  while  "Gene  Heath's  Grip"  flourished 
at  Nonpareil.  Soon  after  this  "The  Gleaner" 
was  purchased  by  Gilman  Brothers,  moved  to 
Nonpareil,  and  its  name  changed  to  that  of 
"Box  Butte  County  Republican:"  It  survived 
one  year  when  it  gave  up  the  ghost. 

During  the  summer  of  1887  the  "Northwest- 
ern Times"  was  established  at  Nonpareil  by 
H.  B.  Fetz  and  W.  E.  Hitchcock.  After  two 
months  publication  it  was  moved  to  Grand 
Lake  and  its  name  changed  to  "Grand  Lake 
Times."  In  the  spring  of  1888  it  was  again 
moved  to  the  present  town  of  Alliance  and  the 
name  changed  to  "Alliance  Times,"  and  con- 
tinued under  the  same  ownership  and  manage- 
ment until  1892  when  it  was  purchased  by 
H.  J.  Ellis,  and  continued  under  his  ownership 
and  management  for  a  number  of  years.  Dur- 
ing this  time  it  was  made  a  semi-weekly  and 
by  Mr.  Ellis  sold  to  the  present  owner,  Ben 
J.  Sallows.  It  has  continuously  increased  in 
influence  and  importance  for  a  period  of  thirty- 
four  years. 

The  "Box  Butte   Rustler"   ceased    to   exist 


about  1890,  and  its  printing  machinery  was 
moved  to  Berea,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  W.  Ray- 
mond established  the  "Berea  Tribune"  which. 
after  a  dozen  issues,  also  ceased  to  exist. 

The  original  Nonpareil  newspaper,  "Gene 
Heath's  Grip"  was  moved  to  Alliance  in  1890, 
purchased  by  F.  M.  Broome,  and  its  name 
changed  to  the  "Pioneer  Grip."  It  continued 
being  published  until  about  1902  when  this 
business  was  taken  over  by  its  rivals  and  the 
printing  outfit  sold  to  Crawford  parties. 

"The  Guide"  was  established  by  J.  S.  Para- 
dise at  Hemingford  in  1889  and  its  publication 
continued  there  until  the  spring  of  1898,  when 
it  was  moved  to  Alliance  where  it  was  pub- 
lished for  one  year  and  was  then  absorbed  by 
its  rivals. 

Hemingford  was  without  a  newspaper  about 
a  year  when  the  "Hemingford  Herald"  was 
established  by  T.  J.  O'Keefe.  This  was  moved 
to  Alliance  in  1901  and  the  name  changed  to 
the  "Alliance  Herald."  Mr.  O'Keefe  later,  sold 
it  to  J.  W.  and  L.  C.  Thomas,  who  continued 
its  publication  until  1920,  when  it  passed, 
into  the  hands  of  the  present  owners,  Edwin 
M.  and  George  L.  Burr,  who  publish  it  as  the 
"Alliance   Semi-Weekly    Herald." 

There  is  one  paper  now  published  at  Hem- 
ingford known  as  the  "Hemingford  Ledger" 
which  is  owned  and  published  by  A.  M.  Vance. 
Other  publications  in  the  county  with  a  brief 
existence  were  the  "Alliance  Argus"  and  the 
"Alliance  Nezvs." 

Bench  and  Bar 

The  bar  of  Box  Butte  county  had  its  or- 
ganization in  1887,  and  consisted  of  four  law- 
years.  James  H.  Danskin  and  C.  W.  Gilman 
were  located  at  Hemingford,  wdiile  W.  G. 
Simonson  and  A.  L.  Field  practiced  at  Non- 
pareil. During  the  year  1887  their  numbers 
were  increased  by  admission  to  practice  of 
R.  M.  Hampton,  W.  J.  McCandless.  J.  V. 
Parker  and  Smith  P.  Tuttle.  Among  the  law- 
yers arriving  in  the  county  and  engaging  in 
practice  during  the  next  two  years  were  B.  F. 
Gilman,  J.  P.  Arnott,  R.  C.  Noleman,  Charles 
T.  Jenkins  and  William  Mitchell.  Mr.  Mitch- 
ell has  been  in  continuous  and  successful  prac- 
tice for  more  than  a  third  of  a  century,  and  is 
at  present  the  Dean  of  the  Box  Butte  County 
Bar. 

The  present  bar  consists  of  the  law  firms  of 
Boyd,  Metz  and   Meyer,  Mitchell  and  ('..-mi/. 


;,  |8 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Burton  and  Reddish,  with  L.  A.  Berry.  F.  A. 
Bald,  E.  C.  Barker.  B.  E.  Romig  and  Lee 
Basye  as  single  practitioners. 

Box  Butte  county  was  originally  a  part  of 
the  twelfth  judicial  district  which  was  created 
by  the  legislature  of  18S7.  when  the  Honorable 
Moses  1'.  Kinkaid  was  appointed  by  the  gover- 
nor as  first  judge  of  the  new-  district.  He 
continued  in  this  capacity  until  1892  when  the 
district  was  given  an  additional  judge,  and  the 
Honorable  Alfred  Bartow,  of  Chadron  was 
made  the  colleague  of  Judge  Kinkaid.  This 
district  was  about  three  hundred  miles  in 
length,  extending  from  the  east  line  of  Holt 
county  to  the  Wyoming  state  line.  Judge 
Bartow  was  succeeded  by  Honorable  W.  H. 
Westover  in  1896,  who  lias  held  the  office 
and  is  still  judge  of  this  district.  Judge  West- 
over  had  for  his  colleague,  after  the  election 
of  fudge  Kinkaid  to  Congress,  Judge  J.  J. 
Harrington  of  O'Neill,  Nebraska.  Later  the 
district  was  divided.  Judge  Harrington  pre- 
siding over  the  new  district  created  from  the 
eastern  half,  and  Judge  Westover  presiding 
over  the  new  district  created  from  the  western 
half. 

In  the  county  court,  the  first  judge  was  A. 
L.  Field,  who  served  two  terms.  Me  was 
succeeded  by  Judge  D.  K.  Spacht,  who  served 
two  terms,  followed  by  James  H.  H.  Hewitt, 
win  i  served  two  terms  and  was  succeeded  by 
Bruce  Wilcox,  who  served  one  term  and  was 
succeeded  by  D.  K.  Spacht.  who  served  one 
term,  followed  by  Abel  Hill,  who  died  after 
a  few  months  service  and  was  succeeded  by  B. 
F.  Gilman,  who  served  his  unexpired  term, 
followed  by  L.  A.  Berry,  who  filled 
the  position  for  eleven  years.  Uwing  to  ill 
health,  Judge  Berry  retired  January  1st,  1917, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Ira  F.  Tash,  the  pres- 
ent incumbent. 

Medic  \i.  Profession 

The  medical  profession  at  the  organization 
of  the  county  was  represented  by  Dr.  John 
Blood,  practicing  at  Hemingford,  Dr.  W.  H. 
Smith  looking  after  the  physical  ills  of  the 
people  of  Nonpareil  and  vicinity.  Dr.  Blood 
was  a  middle  age  man,  wore  a  silk  hat  and  full 
beard,  drove  a  fasl  stepping  team  and  made 
quite  a  dignified  appearance,  and  it  was  gen- 
erally understood  thai  hi-  knowledge  of  the 
horse  far  exceeded  his  knowledge  of  the  human 
anatomy.  Dr.  Smith  was  a  young  practitioner 
just  mil  of  schooli  whose  principal  claim  of 
distinction  was  a  splendid  nerve. 

The  first  amputation  performed  in  the  coun- 
ty wa<  by  Dr.  Smith,  who  amputated  the  arm 


of  one  Albert  Nelson  who  was  the  victim  of  a 
hunting  accident.  The  doctor  was  not  sup- 
plied with  up-to-date  surgical  instruments  and 
his  kit  was  especially  deficient  in  saws,  so  he 
called  upon  a  local  carpenter,  Mr.  D.  J.  Lahr, 
who  consented  to  file  one  of  his  fine  carpenter 
saws  to  such  a  state  that  the  doctor  used  it  in 
amputating  Nelson's  arm.  Nelson  being  of 
strong  physique  survived  the  operation. 

During  the  summer  of  1887,  Dr.  H.  B. 
Miller  joined  the  profession  and  opened  an 
office  at  Nonpareil.  The  next  amputation  was 
performed  by  Doctors  Smith  and  Miller,  who 
amputated  the  limb  of  William  Morton,  a 
victim  of  a  gun  shot  wound,  and  as  they  con- 
sumed most  of  a  forenoon  Morton  did  not  sur- 
vive the  shock  and  died  that  night. 

Dr.  F.  M.  Knight  was  a  regularly  accredited 
practitioner,  but  being  engaged  in  the  more 
remunerative  business  of  banking,  practiced 
but  very  little ;  and,  as  he  used  homeopathic 
remedies,  he  never  was  accused  of  doing  any 
harm,  though  he  may  not  have  done  any  good. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Smith  is  practicing  in  Los  An- 
geles, California,  while  Dr.  H.  B.  Miller  is 
practicing  in  Lincoln  Nebraska,  and  Dr.  John 
Blood  is  dead.  The  oldest  practitioner  now 
practicing  in  the  county  is  Dr.  Luther  W.  Bow- 
man, who  came  to  Alliance  in  1888  and  has 
been  in  continual  practice  since  that  time.  An- 
other of  the  pioneer  doctors  now  retired  was 
Dr.  W.  K.  Miller,  yet  living,  who  had  an  ex- 
tensive practice  and  served  the  county  in  the 
capacity  of  coroner  for  several  terms. 

There  are  now  eleven  members  of  the  med- 
ical profession  in  active  practice,  all  of  whom 
seem  to  be  quite  busy,  and  with  the  facilities 
afforded  by  St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  which  has  a 
capacity  sufficient  to  care  for  fifty  patients,  the 
health  of  the  community  is  well  cared  for. 

Banking  and  Finance 

\\  hen  the  county  was  organized  there  were 
three  hanking  institutions  in  operation  within 
its  borders.  These  were  the  Box  Butte  Bank. 
of  which  C.  A.  Burlew  was  president  and 
manager;  The  Farmers'  &  Merchants'  Bank, 
of  which  B.  F.  Jones  was  president  and  E.  A. 
Coates  was  cashier,  both  located  at  Heming- 
ford. Nebraska;  and  the  Bank  of  Nonpareil, 
located  at  Nonpareil,  with  F.  M.  Sands,  presi- 
dent. II.  C.  Hashoff.  cashier,  and  F.  M.  Knight. 
assistant  cashier.  Each  of  these  three  banks 
was  capitalized  at  five  thousand  dollars.  The 
two   former  went   into  voluntary  liquidation. 

The  Bank  of  Nonpareil,  when  Nonpareil 
ceased  to  exist,  hecame  the  Bank  of  Grand 
I. .ike.    later  the    Bank   of    Alliance,   which   was 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


209 


merged  into  the  Alliance  National  Bank  and  is 
still  operated  with  F.  M.  Knight  as  president, 
who  has  been  connected  with  it  since  its  organi- 
zation in  1886,  and  is  therefore  the  dean  of 
banking  circles  in  the  county. 

The  next  oldest  bank  in  existence  was  started 
in  Alliance  and  called  the  American  Bank,  op- 
erated under  a  state  charter,  which  later  ab- 
sorbed the  Citizens'  Bank,  and  also  took  over 
the  business  of  Porter,  Eihlers  &  Company, 
and  was  continued  under  this  name  until  the 
fall  of  1889,  when  it  was  reorganized  with  the 
same  officers  and  became  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Alliance.  Its  first  president  was  O. 
M.  Carter,  with  R.  M.  Hampton,  cashier  and 
D.  M.  Forgan,  assistant  cashier.  Mr.  Hamp- 
ton is  now  president  of  the  institution  and  has 
been  in  the  banking  business  continuously  since 
1888. 

Among  the  other  banks  of  the  county  was 
the  Bank  of  Hemingford,  which  was  establish- 
ed in  1888  and  failed  in  1895,  and  the  Box 
Butte  Banking  Company  of  Alliance,  which 
was  founded  in  1888  and  failed  in  1896.  These 
were  the  only  two  bank  failures  in  the  county 
since  its  organization.  The  financial  interests 
of  the  county  are  now  cared  for  by  seven 
banks :  The  Alliance  National  Bank,  the  First 
National  Bank,  First  State  Bank  and  Guardian 
State  Bank,  all  of  Alliance;  the  First  State 
Bank,  First  National  Bank,  and  Farmers'  State 
Bank,  of  Hemingford. 

Social  and  Fraternal  Organizations 

The  first  fraternal  organization  to  organize 
in  the  county  was  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  who 
instituted  Clarion  Lodge  No.  88  in  the  second 
story  of  the  courthouse  at  Nonpareil  in  Sep- 
tember, 1888.  This  lodge  was  later  moved  to 
Alliance,  but  after  some  years  was  discon- 
tinued. 

The  next  fraternal  organization  was  that 
of  the  Masons.  A  preliminary  meeting  was 
held  in  November  of  that  year,  in  the  second 
story  of  the  wooden  building  on  the  north  side 
of  west  Third  Street  in  Alliance,  which  is  now 
used  as  a  cream  station.  Word  was  sent  out 
and  about  all  the  Masons  living  in  Box  Butte 
county  assembled  in  this  small  hall  and  selected 
a  committee  to  secure  a  dispensation  from  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  state.  This  petition  was 
signed  by  the  requisite  number  of  Master  Ma- 
sons in  good  standing.  Reverend  Henry  J. 
Brown,  a  Presbyterian  minister  hitched  his 
two  horse  tandem  to  a  high  wheeled  cart,  and 


he  and  Thomas  Shurtz  drove  to  Hay  Springs 
and  secured  the  approval  of  that  lodge.  This 
petition  was  presented  to  the  Grand  Lodge  and 
a  dispensation  issued  in  January,  1889,  author- 
izing Alliance  Lodge  to  confer  degrees. 

The  first  officers  were :  Henry  J  Brown, 
Worshipful  Master;  John  Carman,  Senior 
Warden  ;  David  Peters,  Junior  Warden  ;  J.  W. 
Phillips,  Secretary;  and  H.  W.  Axtell,  Treas- 
urer. 

In  July,  1889,  a  charter  was  granted  and  the 
name  of  Alliance  Lodge  No.  183,  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.,  assigned,  which  has  had  a  continuous  ex- 
istence since  that  time,  and  has  grown  to  a 
membership  of  over  three  hundred  and  fifty, 
owns  and  occupies  a  fine  three  story  temple  at 
the  corner  of  Laramie  Avenue  and  Third 
Street  in  Alliance,  which  is  also  used  by  Sheba 
Chapter  No.  54,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  Bnena 
Commandery  No.  26,  Knights  Templar,  Aloy- 
ah  Chapter  No.  185,  Order  of  the  Eastern 
Star,  and  Adoniram  Lodge  No.  6,  Scottish 
Rite  Masons,  with  the  institution  of  a  consis- 
tory and  the  order  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  in  the 
near  future. 

The  next  oldest  fraternal  order  was  that  of 
the  Independent  (  Irder  of  Odd  Fellows  Lodge 
No.  168  being  established  in  Alliance,  with 
another  lodge  of  the  same  order  at  Heming- 
ford. The  Odd  Fellows  also  own  their  own 
hall  on  West  Third  Street  in  Alliance. 

The  most  recent  fraternal  organization  to 
organize  in  Alliance  is  that  of  the  Knights  of 
Columbus,  who  have  a  large  and  growing  mem- 
bership with  their  hall  located  on  Box  Butte 
Avenue  between  Third  and  Fourth. 

The  Benevolent  &  Protective  Order  of  Elks 
was  organized  in  1904  with  William  Mitchell 
as  its  first  Exalted  Ruler.  It  has  had  a  pros- 
perous existence  and  continuous  growth  and 
is  numbered  961.  It  now  has  a  membership  of 
over  six  hundred  and  owns  a  handsome  build- 
ing located  on  Box  Butte  Avenue  between 
Fourth    and    Fifth    Streets. 

Other  fraternal  orders  which  have  had  more 
or  less  precarious  existences  are  the  Modern 
Woodmen,  Woodmen  of  the  World.  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  Highlanders, 
Eagles,  Owls,  Modern  Brotherhood  of  Ameri- 
ca, as  well  as  other  fraternal  labor  organiza- 
tions. 

Among  the  social  organizations  are  The 
Rotary  Club,  Tost  M.,  Travelers'  Protective 
Association,  Lions  Club,  Country  Club.  Wom- 
ans  Club,  P.  E.  O.,  while  all  of  the  churches 
have  their  guilds  and  aid  societies. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 

CHAPTER  III 

MILITARY  HISTORY 


I  >wing  to  its  isolation,  the  county  has  never 
taken  any  important  part  in  the  wars  which 
have  occurred  since  its  organization.  The 
first  military  unit  formed  in  the  county  was 
a  troop  of  cavalry  organized  at  Nonpareil  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1888  and  named  in  honor  of 
the  then  governor  of  the  state,  John  M.  Thay- 
er. This  consisted  of  forty-two  members. 
Temporary  organization  was  formed  by  elect- 
ing A.  L.  Field  Captain ;  F.  M.  Sands,  First 
Lieutenant ;  Fred  A.  Shonquist,  Second  Lieu- 
tenant ;  and  Michael  Shindler,  Third  Lieu- 
tenant. There  was  really  no  place  for  third 
lieutenant,  but  as  Mike  was  the  only  man  in 
the  company  who  had  any  cavalry  experience, 
this  honorary  position  was  created  in  order  to 
give  him  authority.  After  a  sergeant  major 
and  other  sergeants  numbering  up  to  the 
eighth,  with  a  corresponding  number  of  cor- 
porals, musicians,  saddlers,  and  farriers  were 
appointed,  there  were  just  two  left  as  privates. 
These  were  James  H.  Danskin  and  Ira  E.  Tash, 
who,  because  they  could  not  have  any  office, 
refused  to  be  sworn  into  service.  This  broke 
up  the  company,  as  the  officers  did  not  have 
anyone  to  command,  but  all  of  the  members 
retained  their  sabers  and  several  of  them  still 
have  them  as  souvenirs  of  their  first  experi- 
ence as  warriors. 

The  Spanish-American  war  of  1898-99  did 
not  effect  the  county  as  there  was  no  company 
formed  and  no  one  from  the  county  enlisted 
for  service  in  that  conflict.  Since  then  a  num- 
ber of  those  who  participated  in  that  war  have 
become  residents  of  the  county  and  maintain 
a  Spanish-American  war  veterans  organiza- 
tion or  camp  in  Alliance. 

Indian  Scare 

The  nearest  Box  Butte  county  ever  came  to 
war  was  in  the  winter  of  1890-91,  when  the 
Sioux  Indians  on  the  Pine  Ridge  Reservation, 
seve,nty-five  miles  north  became  crazed  over 
what  the)  believed  to  be  the  coming  of  a 
Messiah,  whom  they  thought  would,  with  their 
help,  drive  all  the  white  settlers  from  the  west- 
ern county,  bring  back  the  buffalo  and  the 
game,  .mil  organized  for  a  general  massacre  of 
the  white  settlers  in  the  surrounding  country. 
Fortunately  there  was  a  deep  snow  at  this 
time  win.]]  delayed  their  movements  until  the 
United  States  Army,  commanded  by  General 
Nelson    A.    Miles,    could    throw   a    cordon    of 


troops  around  the  reservation,  and  after  the 
battle  of  Wounded  Knee,  fought  between  the 
Seventh  United  States  Cavalry  and  a  band  of 
Indians  commanded  by  Chief  Big  Foot,  in 
which  one  hundred  and  fifty  Indians  and  about 
twenty  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  cavalry  were 
killed,  the  uprising  was  ended.  The  Nebras- 
ka militia  was  called  to  arms  and  patrolled  the 
state  border  north  of  Hay  Springs,  Rushville 
and  Gordon.  At  Hemingford  a  company  for 
protection  was  organized,  armed  with  Win- 
chester repeating  rifles  and  held  themselves  in 
readiness  to  defend  the  inhabitants  of  the  coun- 
ty from  threatened  extermination  at  the  hands 
of  the  blood-thirsty  Sioux  Indians. 

Box  Butte  County's  Part  in  the 
World  War 

This  county  did  its  full  share  in  furnishing 
men  and  the  sinews  of  war  for  the  World 
War  of  1917-18-19.  A  volunteer  company 
was  formed  at  Alliance,  known  as  Company 
"G"  of  the  Fourth  Nebraska  National  Guard 
which  entered  the  federal  service  and  became 
later  Battery  "D"  of  the  127th  United  States 
Field  Artillery.  This  organization  spent  nearly 
a  year  at  Camp  Cody,  New  Mexico,  and  was 
a  part  of  the  34th  or  Sandstorm  Division 
which  reached  France  in  September,  1918,  but. 
as  an  organization,  they  did  not  participate 
in  active  fighting.  However,  many  of  its  mem- 
bers, by  being  assigned  to  other  divisions, 
took  part  in  the  closing  months  of  the  fight- 
ing in  the  Argonne  Forest  and  on  other  fronts  ; 
the  companv  returning  to  Alliance  in  the  spring 
of  1919.  This  company  was  commanded  by 
Captain  John  B.  Miller." 

There  were  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five 
young  men  of  the  county,  between  the  ages  of 
twenty-one  and  thirty-one,  enrolled  in  the 
selective  draft.  Of  this  number  over  three  hun- 
dred were  actually  called  into  service,  while 
there  were  many  enlistments  from  this  county, 
of  which  there  is  no  record.  No  roster  of  the 
soldiers  from  Box  Butte  county,  who  were 
in  the  service  of  their  country,  has  as  yet  been 
compiled. 

Four  Box  Butte  county  boys  are  known  to 
have  given  up  their  lives  for  their  countrv  while 
serving  in  France.  They  were  W.  C.  Herman, 
Charles  Martin,  Richard  Haugh,  who  were 
killed  on  the  field  of  battle,  while  Dean  Harris 
died  of  injuries  received  in  the  service. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  young  men  who  served  from  Box  Butte 
county,  upon  their  return,  immediately  organ- 
ized a  Post  of  the  American  Legion,  which  is 
No.  7  in  the  state.  It  is  quite  active  and  has 
a  membership  of  about  two  hundred.  Its  first 
commander  was  Earl  L.  Meyer,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  J.  B.  Miller,  and  upon  his  removal 
from  the  city  was  succeeded  by  Joseph  J. 
Dixon,  its  present  commander. 

The  people  of  Box  Butte  county  were  very 
patriotic  during  the  period  of  the  war.  They 
oversubscribed  their  quota  of  every  liberty 
loan,  practically  doubled  the  quota  for  the  Red 
Cross,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Knights  of  Columbus, 
Salvation  Army,  and  finally  in  the  combination 
drive  for  funds.  They  maintained  a  local 
chapter  of  the  American  Red  Cross  and  an 
active  and  efficient  County  Council  of  Defense, 
a  Home  Guard  of  uniformed  and  armed  men, 
strictly  enforced  the  food  regulations,  and  as 
a  whole  rendered  valuable  services  to  the 
country. 

Early  Settlers 

The  first  white  men,  other  than  the  French 
trappers  and  traders  to  see  Box  Butte  county, 
was  that  great  flood  of  gold  seekers  who,  in 
1878  to  1880,  traversed  its  extreme  width 
from  south  to  north  over  the  old  Sidney  trail 
from  Sidney,  Nebraska,  to  Deadwood,  South 
Dakota,  following  the  discovery  of  gold  there 
in  1876.  These  men  told  the  story  of  the  level 
plains  which  they  crossed  between  the  Platte 
River  on  the  south,  and  the  Niobrara  river  on 
the  north.  These  stories  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  owners  of  the  great  range  herds 
farther  to  the  eastward. 

The  next  people  to  visit  it  were  the  big  cattle 
owners,  their  foremen  and  cowboys.  They 
used  the  Box  Butte  plains  as  a  summer  range 
for  the  cattle  which  fattened  on  the  nutritious 
grass  with  which  the  plains  were  thickly  cov- 
ered. 

The  federal  government  surveyed  the  lands 
in  1879  and  1880,  after  which  they  were 
thrown  open  to  settlement.  A  few  of  the  earli- 
est settlers  came  in  over  the  Union  Pacific  as 
far  as  Sidney  and  then  traveled  overland  fol- 
lowing the  Sidney  trail,  and  took  up  home- 
steads in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county. 
On  the  completion  of  the  Northwestern  rail- 
road to  Chadron  in  1885,  the  railroad  company 
advertised  the  rich  lands  tributary  to  it 
throughout  the  east,  and  there  was  a  great  in- 
rush of  settlers,  most  of  whom  came  over  the 
railroad  to  Hay  Springs,  which  was  the  near- 
est railroad  point. 

The  first  filing  made  in  Box  Butte  countv 
was  in  1881  by  A.  H.  McLaughlin,  who  filed 


on  a  preemption  and  tree  claim  on  tin:  Nio- 
brara river  about  four  miles  west  of  Marsland. 
Mr.  McLaughlin  has  the  distinction  of  being 
the  oldest  living  settler  of  this  county.  During 
the  time  of  his  residence  on  this  place,  which 
he  still  owns,  he  was  a  resident  of  Sioux  coun- 
ty, unorganized,  which  comprised  the  north 
half  of  the  Panhandle  of  Nebraska,  and  Mr. 
McLaughlin  transacted  his  official  business  at 
Sidney,  the  county  seat  of  Cheyenne  county,  to 
which  Sioux  county  was  attached  for  adminis- 
trative and  judicial  purposes.  The  line  be- 
tween  Sioux  and  Cheyenne  counties  running 


Oscar  O'Bannon  and  S.  Avery,   (right)   was  one 
of  the  Old  Time  Trappers  in  North- 
western  Nebraska 


east  and  west  is  the  south  line  of  the  present 
Box  Butte  county.  Later,  Sioux  county  was 
divided  into  three  equal  portions  —  the  west- 
ern part  named  Sioux,  the  central  part  Dawes, 
and  the  eastern  third  Sheridan  county.  Sheri- 
dan and  Sioux  still  retain  their  original  boun- 
daries. Mr.  McLaughlin,  without  changing 
his  residence,  then  became  a  citizen  of  Dawes 
county  and  served  as  one  of  its  county  com- 
missioners. Chadron  was  the  county  seat. 
Upon  the  division  of  Dawes  county  into  Dawes 
and  Box  Butte  county,  he  then  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Box  Butte  county,  without  changing 
his  residence. 

The  early  settlers  of  the  county  were  mostly 
of  American  birth,  with  a  sprinkling  of  near- 
ly all  the  principal  nationalities.  The  Bohem- 
ians apparently  were  clannish  and  located  in 
large  numbers  and  were  the  dominant  factor  in 
Running  Water,  Lawn  and  Liberty  precincts. 
There  were  a  great  many  of  German  birth 
scattered  over  the  county,  without  there  being 
sufficient  number  to  be  called  a  German  set- 
tlement in  any  one  particular  place.     This  was 


!12 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


true  of  the  [rish,  excepl  that  a  number  of  fam- 
ilies—the Collins.  Mahoneys,  Shays,  '  >'Maras 
and  Silks  settled  in  one  neighborhood  in  Box 
Butte  precinct.  There  was  quite  a  settlement 
of  Norwegians  east  of  Hemingford.  There 
were  five  "families  of  Danes  congregated  to- 
gether a  few  miles  west  of  Nonpareil.  Four 
of  these  families  are  still  residents  of  the 
county  and  with  the  increase  in  the  families 
can  buast  of  being  the  only  nationality  which 
now  has  more  representatives  than  they  had 
at  the  time  the  county  was  organized. 

The  pioneers  probably  endured  more  hard- 
ships than  fell  to  the  lot  of  their  brothers  who 
settled  the  middle  and  eastern  states.  While 
they  had  no  forests  to  clear  or  stones  to  re- 
move in  order  to  make  a  home  they  had  but 
little  to  build  that  home  with.  Ninety-seven 
percent  of  the  houses  which  sheltered  the  first 
settlers  were  erected  out  of  native  sod.  The 
typical  settler  usually  arrived  in  a  covered 
wagon,  with  a  crate  of  chickens  tied  on  be- 
hind, leading  a  cow,  together  with  a  breaking 
plow,  a  spade,  axe  and  a  few  primitive  tools. 
Upon  arriving  at  the  place  he  had  selected  for 
his  homestead,  he  usually  unloaded  his  wagon, 
removed  the  wagon  box,  left  the  wife  and 
children  to  get  along  as  best  they  could  there 
while  he,  with  the  running  gears  of  the  wagon, 
went  to  the  Pine  Ridge,  fifty  miles  away,  to 
secure  ridge  poles,  some  rough  boards  and 
fire  wood.  Accompanied  by  one  or  two  neigh- 
bors who  assisted  in  loading  the  logs  and 
doubling  teams  up  steep  hills,  they  returned 
after  a  few  days.  Then,  hitching  on  the  break- 
ing plow  he  turned  a  quantity  of  sod  which 
he  cut  into  three  foot  lengths  with  the  spade, 
carried  and  erected  the  walls  of  their  future 
habitation,  placing  the  ridge  poles  upon  this, 
covi  red  with  a  layer  of  boards  or  poles,  upon 
which  he  placed  a  layer  of  sod  with  the  grass 
side  down,  thus  forming  a  rude  shelter  from 
the  elements.  The  same  process  was  followed 
in  a  sod  stable  erected  to  shelter  the  team  and 
cow.  lie  usually  had  to  travel  several  miles 
ring  or  neighboring  stream  and  haul 
water  in  a  barrel  for  household  use  until  such 
time  as  a  well  could  be  put  down. 

Practically  all  of  the  supplies  had  to  be  haul- 
ed from  Hay  Springs.  Of  course,  the  first 
year  no  crops  could  be  produced,  except  a 
small  amount  of  sod  corn;  but  later  the  first 
settlers  were  able  to  earn  some  money  by 
breaking  out.  tending  and  planting  tree  claims 
for  non-residents  and  erecting  houses  for  those 
who  happened  to  have  more  money  than 
led  to  depend  whol- 
ly   for  their   supply   of    fresh   meal    U] 

1    jack-   rabbits,  which   were   abundant, 


with  now  and  then  a  deer ;  but  fresh  pork  was 
an  unknown  quantity,  there  being  no  corn  or 
other  fattening  food  produced  upon  which 
hogs  could  be  raised.  There  was  also  a  scarc- 
ity of  material  with  which  to  make  enclosures 
for  the  hogs.  One  settler  tried  the  expedient 
of  building  a  pig  pen  out  of  sod,  but  on  leav- 
ing home  one  Sunday  for  a  call  upon  a  neigh- 
bor some  miles  distant  and  returning  after 
dark,  found  that  the  family  pig  had  rooted  a 
hole  through  the  sod,  invaded  the  house  and 
crawled  into  the  family  bed. 

The  settlers  managed  to  find  some  social 
enjoyment  by  being  mutually  helpful  to  each 
other,  organizing  Sunday  schools,  holding 
prayer  meetings,  and  sometimes  religious  serv- 
ices with  a  sermon  delivered  by  an  itinerant 
minister,  and  in  the  more  thickly  populated 
settlements  by  having  dances  and  parties  dur- 
ing the  long  winter  evenings. 

Notwithstanding  the  hardships,  the  health 
of  the  early  settlers  was  very  good  —  very  few 
deaths  occurred  from  diseases  and  not  many 
from  accidents.  Among  the  accidents  of  the 
early  days,  which  were  singularly  free  from 
fatalities,  was  that  which  occurred  at  the  home 
of  Charles  Schilling,  northeast  of  Heming- 
ford. He  with  his  large  family  lived  in  quite 
a  large  sod  house  with  a  leanto  kitchen  in  the 
rear,  back  of  which  was  a  cave  cellar.  An 
eighteen  hundred  pound  horse  belonging  to 
his  neighbor,  Frank  Porter,  got  out  of  his  stall 
one  Sunday  night,  wandering  over  to  Neighbor 
Schilling's,  first  walked  on  the  cave  cellar  and 
from  that  to  the  leanto  and  from  there  to  the 
main  part  of  the  house.  His  weight  was  too 
much  for  the  ridge  pole,  which  broke,  and  pre- 
cipitated him  bottom  side  up  down  among  the 
soundly  sleeping  Schilling  family.  The  kick- 
ings  and  squealings  of  the  horse  led  the  rude- 
ly awakened  family  to  believe  that  the  world 
had  come  to  an  end.  Air.  Schilling  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  the  horse  onto  his  feet,  led 
him  out  of  the  front  door,  and  lighting  the  lamp 
discovered  that  the  damage  was  one  hole  in 
the  roof,  the  complete  wreck  of  two  bed  steads, 
two  partitions  knocked  out,  and  one  boy  with 
a  scalp  wound  and  a  skinned  heel.  The  neigh- 
bors turned  out  the  next  day  and  put  a  new 
sod  roof  on  the  house,  and  Mr.  Potter  paid  the 
doctor  for  coming  out  and  attending  to  the 
boy's  wound-,  and  the  incident  was  soon  for- 
gotten. 

Another  accident  which  resulted  fatally  oc- 
curred at  the  home  of  Allan  Bearss,  in  the 
western  part  of  the  county.  While  the  family 
were  surrounding  the  breakfast  table  one  morn- 
ing, the  ridge  pole  of  their  house,  which  was 
not  of  sufficient  diameter  to  support  the  weight 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


213 


of  the  sod  roof,  suddenly  snapped  asunder,  pre- 
cipitating tons  of  sod  and  roof  boards  down 
onto  the  family.  Their  little  five  year  old 
girl  was  instantly  killed. 

Another  accident  occurred  when  two  Bo- 
hemians of  unpronounceable  names  had  taken 
a  contract  to  dig  a  well  on  the  homestead  of 
William  Wilmot,  six  miles  west  of  Heming- 
ford.  They  had  reached  a  depth  of  about 
sixty  feet,  were  hoisting  the  earth  out  with  a 
horse  and  rope  which  passed  over  a  pulley, 
this  pulley  supported  by  three  poles  forming 
a  triangle.  The  horse  backed  up  and  tumbled 
down  the  well  on  top  of  the  digger,  but  as  the 
horse  filled  the  capacity  of  the  well  quite  com- 
pletely, did  not  descend  very  rapidly  and  the 
digger  was  enabled  to  take  advantage  of  what 
space  the  horse  did  not  take  up  and  escaped 
with  his  life.  He  was  brought  to  the  surface 
and  the  neighbors  gathered  to  rescue  the  horse 
from  the  well.  The  fall  had  not  killed  him.  so 
a  strong  rope  was  secured.  Mr.  Wilmot  owned 
a  large  gray  team.  A  rope  was  placed  about 
the  horse,  the  team  attached  to  the  other  end, 
and  he  was  hoisted  to  the  surface  ;  but,  through 
some  miscalculation,  he  did  not  get  into  the 
clear.  The  gray  team  commenced  to  back  up 
when  Mrs.  Wilmot,  thinking  they  would  be 
drawn  into  the  well,  and  being  one  of  their 
most  valued  possessions,  seized  a  sharp  butcher 
knife,  rushed  out  and  drew  its  edge  across  the 
taut  rope,  severing  it,  which  precipitated  the 
old  horse  to  the  bottom  of  the  well  a  second 
time.  This  was  his  finish.  The  injured  man 
raised  himself  on  his  elbow  and  said,  "Dot 
was  a  horse  on  me." 

Another  and  fatal  accident  occurred  in  put- 
ting down  a  well  northeast  of  Hemingford, 
when  a  colored  man  named  Lewis,  while  plac- 
ing some  curbing  in  a  strata  of  sand  at  a  depth 
of  about  a  hundred  feet,  the  curbing  gave  way, 
precipitating  him  to  the  bottom  of  the  well, 
a  further  distance  of  fifty  feet,  with  tons  of 
the  caving  earth  burying  him  there.  It  was  too 
dangerous  to  attempt  the  rescue  of  the  body, 
so   the   surviving   wife   mortgaged    the    home- 


stead for  about  four  hundred  dollars,  made  a 
contract  with  some  experienced  well  diggers, 
who  sank  a  new  well  some  ten  feet  away  from 
the  old  well,  tunneled  from  the  new  to  the  old, 
rescued  the  body,  brought  it  to  the  surface, 
and  it  was  given  decent  interment. 

Box  Butte 

The  county  derives  its  name  from  a  large 
butte,  located  in  the  east  central  part  of  the 
county,  which  rudely  resembles  a  box.  The 
early  French  trappers  named  this  Box  Butte, 
pronounced  "bute."  butte  being  French  for 
hill  or  elevation.  The  early  cattle  men  called 
the  country  contiguous  thereto  the  Box  Butte 
country,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  White  Clay 
country,  and  similarly  named  localities.  It 
naturally  followed  that  this  should  be  selected 
as  the  name  of  the  new  county. 

There  is  no  record  of  any  battle  ever  having 
been  fought  in  the  county  between  the  In- 
dians and  United  States  troops,  the  nearest  be- 
ing when  a  band  of  Indians  left  their  reserva- 
tion in  Colorado  and  started  to  return  to  the 
country  from  which  they  had  been  taken  in 
the  Dakotas.  They  were  followed  up  by  a 
company  of  soldiers  under  the  command  of 
Major  Thornburg,  who  followed  the  trail  to 
Bronco  Lake  near  Alliance  :  and  the  trail  seem- 
ing to  scatter  there,  the  command  left  their 
wagons,  camp  equipage,  etc.,  while  they  scouted 
the  sand  hills  to  the  south,  believing  the  In- 
dians were  hidden  in  some  of  the  canyons. 
Upon  their  return  to  camp,  they  found  the  In- 
dians had  visited  it.  carried  off  what  provi- 
sions they  could,  and  burned  the  remainder, 
together  with  the  wagons,  tents,  and  the  rest 
of  the  outfit.  This  band  was  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Chief  Little  Hog.  They  were  later  cap- 
tured and  imprisoned  in  a  stockade  at  Ft. 
Robinson,  sixty  miles  to  the  northwest.  The 
soldiers  got  tired  of  guarding  them  and  one 
night  left  the  gate  to  the  stockade  open  and  the 
Indians  started  to  escape  during  the  night,  when 
the  soldiers  opened  fire  with  their  carbines  and 
practically  exterminated  the  entire  band. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  IV 


CIVIL  WAR  VETERANS 


A  roster  of  Civil  War  veterans  officially  pre- 
pared in  the  year  1891,  showed  the  names  of 
eighty-one  men  residing  in  the  county,  who 
wore  the  blue  uniform  of  their  country  during 
the  '60s.  and  now  that  a  generation  has  passed 
this  number  has  been  lessened  to  barely  a  doz- 
en survivors.  The  ranks  have  been  reduced 
principally  by  death,  there  being  fifty-two 
graves  of  Civil  War  soldiers  in  Greenwood  cem- 
etery at  Alliance,  and  twenty-one  at  Heming- 
ford.  A  few  have  moved  to  other  states,  and 
those  still  remaining  in  the  county  in  1921  are: 

Albert  Wiker,  11th  Iowa  Infantry,  Alliance; 
Robert  Garrett,  24th  Iowa  Infantry,  Alliance ; 
Aaron  Pool,  89th  Illinois  Infantry,  Alliance ; 
Joseph  B.  Denton,  139th  Pennsylvania  In- 
fantry, Alliance ;  James  Dickey,  98th  New 
York  Infantry,  Alliance;  Elsa  Vaughn,  8th 
Iowa  Cavalry,  Alliance ;  Cal.  H.  Underwood, 
8th  Missouri  Infantry,  Alliance;  Fred  Abley, 
6th  Michigan  Infantry,  Hemingford ;  Alvin  M. 
Miller,  76th  Illinois  Infantry,  Hemingford; 
Robert  Anderson,  127th  U.  S.  Colored  In- 
fantry. Hemingford ;  Augustin  H.  McLaugh- 
lin, 18th  Iowa  Infantry,  Marsland ;  Ambrose 
Hadley,  3d  Rhode  Island  Infantry,  Alliance ; 
Lewis  R.  Corbin,  83d  Pennsylvania  Infantry, 
Alliance. 

Concerning  the  boys  in  service  in  the  great 
World  War,  a  list  has  come  to  the  editor  in 
chief  which  is  added  to  the  splendid  story  of 
Ira  L.  Tash,  the  county  editor.  This  list  may 
not  be  complete,  but  is  presumed  to  be.  There 
were  three  ways  open  to  entrance  in  the  ser- 
vice for  the  government  army  :  enlistment,  vol- 
untary induction,  and  induction  in  the  draft. 

There  were  seventy-two  enlistments  as  fol- 
lows : 

Earl  E.  Acord,  Harold  W.  Berg,  Henry  L. 
Coker,  Albert  A.  Duncan,  Matison  P.  Gaste- 
neau,  Leon  C.  Ives,  John  Martin  King,  Clarence 
E.  Levere,  Norman  A.  McCorkle,  Russell  C. 
Miller,  George  J.  Moscrip,  Elmer  F.  Noe, 
George  E.  Ormsby,  Ray  Vernon  Reddish, 
Horace  H.  Anderson,  Don  Brenaman,  Donald 
Cooper,  Daniel  Elliott,  William  H.  Hammond, 
John  Henry  Kane,  John  Spencer  Knight,  Frank 
Lyman  Lewis.  Ervin  J.  Macken,  Ronald 
Moore,  Robert  W.  Murphey,  Martin  J.  Nolan, 
Wilbur  F.  Patterson,  Clarence  H.  Reed.  Elza 
I  Barger,  IVIerritt  L.  Chaffee.  William  1''.. 
Davis,  Louis  l\.  Federlin,  Claude  Hersch, 
E.  Katon,  Wincel  Lackey,  Glen  Dale 
Locke,    Leo    Roscoe    May,   William    Moravek, 


Archie  E.  Nickerson,  Everett  B.  O'Keef,  John 
Priess,  Harry  Roberts,  Harvey  Benjamin,  John 
Tyler  Claver,  Floyd  R.  Donovan,  John  T.  Fitz- 
gerald, Howard  Oliver,  Frederick  A.  King,  Joe 
Lando,  Roy  A.  McCluskey,  Herbert  E.  Milan, 
Harrv  A.  Morrisey,  Leo  M.  Nicolai,  William 
L.  O'Keefe,  Gaylord  H.  Pry,  Clifford  T.  Rob- 
erts, Howard  Rucker,  Charles  F.  Schafer, 
James  H.  Tally,  Rex  Truman,  James  E. 
Rundle,  Guy  E.  Speaker,  Lloyd  Thomas,  Wal- 
ter H.  Voight,  Frank  M.  Schmidt,  George  C. 
StoII,  Chester  M.  Thompson,  Chester  Z.  Wells, 
Pete  Sciora,  Dick  W.  Strong,  Francis  Town- 
send,  Corbin  V.  Witty. 

In  addition  there  were  voluntary  inductions 
numbering  nineteen  as  given  here : 

Howard  H.  Bennett,  George  A.  Hielman, 
Carl  Theo.  Koester,  George  Dening  Read, 
Walter  W.  Anderson,  Lester  G.  Brittan,  Le- 
land  Bane  Hirst,  Roy  E.  Mendenhall,  Chester 
H.  Shreve,  Raymond  L.  Bartlett,  Gilbert  Day- 
ton, John  Albert  Johnson,  Norman  M.  New- 
berry, Donald  W.  Spencer,  Abram  E.  Bennett, 
John  E.  Diesberger,  Chester  C.  Johnson,  Carl 
H.  Powell,  James  E.  Wiley. 

Those  who  were  inducted  through  the  reg- 
ular order  of  the  draft  are  as  follows : 

Alexander  Barrv,  Dwight  L.  Bennett,  Leo 
Brandle,  Charles  A.  Barlew,  Alex  C.  Cahill. 
Harry  Chester,  Charles  A.  Conley,  Petenon 
Domenico,  William  M.  Ellis,  Mike  Abas,  John 
P.  Bayer,  Conrad  Blume,  William  J.  Brandon, 
Floyd'  S.  Barnes,  Peter  F.  Callahan,  Hans  P. 
Christensen,  Louis  E.  Cottrell,  Emil  H.  Dry- 
son,  Ruben  E.  Elquist,  William  G.  Bailey, 
Perley  J.  Beach,  Malcolm  M.  Bogar,  Archie 
Brown,  Robert  W.  Burns,  John  Thomas  Capps, 
Fred  W.  Cloud,  Frederick  E.  Cutts,  Robert 
Duchon,  Jacob  H.  Elsea,  Clarence  O.  Baldwin, 
Fred  A.  Beckenbach,  John  S.  Bostrom,  Fred- 
erick R.  Brown,  William  H.  Butler,  William 
M.  Casey,  Harold  I.  Cochrane,  Harrison  H. 
Derric,  James  Earl  Eaton,  Henry  G.  Emde, 
X'eal  W.  Erskine,  Martin  L.  Fitzgerald,  Joe 
B.  Frohnapfel,  Harry  Gavelick,  Eddie  W. 
Green,  lames  Theo.  Halev,  George  A.  Harry, 
<  >rla  I  [awley,  Cecil  R.  Henry,  James  G.  Hib- 
bert,  Vern  Fred  Hucke.  John  Jiackas,  Adrian 
J.  Kean,  Joe  Kelly,  Charles  E.  Kincade,  Fred 
Krebs,  Loyd  Langford,  Edward  P.  Lewis, 
Paul  Glenn  Lundin,  Peter  L.  Manewal.  Charles 
E.  Martin.  William  J.  Eversall.  David  E.  Flem- 
ing. James  E.  Ford,  Thos.  A.  Golshannon,  Wal- 
ler  k.  Griffith,  Albert  Hare.  Richard  Haugh, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Hugh  L.  Hawkins,  Clarence  R.  Herbison, 
George  Hoke,  Ira  Irby,  Henning  M.  Johnson, 
Milton  J.  Keegan,  Charles  G.  Keough,  Ulyssess 
Kirk,  Frank  Kriz,  junior,  Forrest  A.  Lape, 
Joe  Lopaze,  Ernest  D.  McCarty,  John  J.  Man- 
ion,  Clay  R.  Melick,  Jess  G.  Fairchild,  Eugene 
S.  Flickinger,  Tom  Ford,  John  E.  Glass,  Wil- 
bur L.  Haggerty,  George  E.  Hare,  Roy  Haugh, 
William  F.  Head,  William  C.  Herman.  Roy 
Holton,  James  R.  Jacobs,  Samuel  Lee  Johnson, 
Benjamin  C.  Keeler,  Bedford  Keown,  Moritz 
Kittleman,  Anthony  M.  Kuhn,  Solomon  H. 
Lazerus,  Lyle  W.  Lore,  Archie  E.  McNeill, 
Warren  O.  Marcy,  Clarence  E.  Meek,  Ponde 
S.  Fileff,  Wilard  J.  Freshla,  Thomas  W. 
Gahagan,  Royce  L.  Glass,  Leslie  A.  Hall,  Obe 
Harris,  Cyril  Havalik,  George  R.  Heckman, 
John  H.  Hessler,  Fred  Homan,  Thomas  A. 
Jewell,  Gilbert  F.  Kays,  James  E.  Keenan,  Al- 
bert Kibler,  Robert  Klase,  Olaf  David  Kuhn, 
Armond  J.  LeSage,  Adam  Jay  Lortz,  Arthur 
Macken,  Fred  L.  Marsh,  Chester  A.  Melvin, 
Fred  J.  Meyer.  Jr.,  Martin  Nelson,  Ranson 
Herby  Parks,  ]ohn  Peltz,  Leslie  L.  Poole, 
Floyd  Ratleff,  Elvis  James  Rhein,  William  K. 
Robertson,  Frank  A.  Rumer,  Oakley  D.  Seeley, 
Irving  E.  Smith,  John  Ames  Stastny,  Fred 
Birdsell  Sweeney,  Jay  H.  Vance,  Benjamin  F. 
Ward,  Joseph  Williams,  James  J.  Moore,  John 
Earl  Nolan,  George  H.  Parsons,  Montague  H. 
Pendleton,  Carl  H.  Powell,  Wayne  L.  Redding- 
ton,  Alonzo  Rice,  Jacob  Rohrbouck,  William 
M.  Schoenmann,  Tohn  A.  Shay,  Charles  A. 
Spacht,  Alva  P.  Stockdale,  William  S.  Tad- 
lock,  Benjamin  F.  Vanderlas,  Ralph  M.  Weid- 
hamer,  Thomas  E.  Yeager,  Carl  Moscrip,  Paul 
J.  Norton,  Edward  R.  Paul,  Leslie  Perry, 
Charlie  A.  Powell,  Hans  P.  Renswold,  Arthur 
Rice,  John  Rosendorfer,  John  Schwaderer, 
George  H.  Shaffner,  Charles  L.  Squibbs, 
George  F.  Stockfleth,  Charles  Calvin  Tash, 
Walter  Walker,  Alvah  G.  Whaley,  Dwight  F. 
Zediker,  Max  Moscrip.  Frank  E.  O'Banion, 
Johnnie  Payne.  Archie  T.  Phillips,  Charles  W. 
Rathburn.  LeRoy  D.  Reynolds,  Lawrence  E. 
Richardson.  George  C.  Roth.  Herman  Seidler, 
Harrv  W.  Smith,  Thomas  L.  Squibbs,  John  E. 
Sullivan,  Leo  J.  Toohey,  William  F.  Walker, 
George  E.  Whalev,  Noble  F.  Zerbie. 

There  were  thirteen  rejections  and  dis- 
charges from  physical  disability,  and  a  service 
flag  in  Box  Butte  county  should  have  five 
known  gold  stars,  and  perhaps  there  are  others. 
Box  Butte  county  contingent  contained  five 
colored  men,  one  of  whom  died  of  injuries. 
The  organization  of  a  company  at  Alliance 
early  in  the  war  gave  to  Box  Butte  county  vol- 
unteers, a  number  from  outside  the  county  lim- 
its, principally  in  close-by  counties. 


Siege  of  Nonpareil 

The  local  Box  Butte  county  historian  tells 
of  the  affair  of  November,  1890,  when  there 
was  a  meeting  in  Alliance  of  the  indignant  citi- 
zens over  the  Burlington  attitude  on  the  county 
seat  question.  He  also  tells  of  the  defense  of 
the  records  as  proposed  by  the  county  officials. 
A  story  has  come  to  the  editor-in-chief,  which 
he  will  relate  for  what  it  is  worth,  and  for 
the  amusement  of  the  old-timers  who  were  in 
the  conflict.  I  am  sure  that  no  one  will  accuse 
the  writer  of  any  unkind  motives  when  the 
joke  is  upon  his  two  especially  good  friends, 
Ira  Tash  and  Eugene  Hall.  These  men  are 
referred  to  as  guarding  the  county  records  in 
the  anticipated  siege  of  Nonpareil. 

When  the  meeting  was  held  in  Alliance,  Su- 
perintendent Phelan  of  the  Burlington  had  pres- 
ent, as  he  usually  had  at  any  gathering,  a  man 
who  would  report  to  him  what  "was  doing." 
The  man  in  this  case  "fanned  it"  to  headquar- 
ters that  the  crowd  was  organized  to  go  out 
and  take  the  records,  and  as  stated  Phelan  had 
the  engine  ready.  Also  the  wires  conveyed  the 
information  to  Hemingford.  The  people  of  that 
town,  quite  a  number  of  them,  took  shot  guns 
and  bulldog  revolvers,  and  any  other  weapon 
handy  and  the  "flimsy  structure"  known  as  the 
court  house  at  Nonpareil  was  filled  with  the 
defenders,  had  the  enemy  appeared.  But  there 
had  been  a  change  of  heart  in  the  Alliance 
crowd,  and  the  affair  had  been  called  off. 

After  waiting  until  late  at  night  part  of  the 
defenders  at  Nonpareil  started  home.  When 
some  distance  away  from  the  building,  so  the 
story  goes,  one  who  had  started  south  to  his 
home  decided  to  try  out  his  gun.  At  that 
someone  in  the  court  house  yelled,  "Alliance 
is  coming,"  and  the  effect  was  said  to  be  about 
the  same  as  the  effect  upon  the  German  west 
front,  when  the  sound  of  "the  Yanks  are 
coming"  came  over  the  battlefield.  Over  and 
under  each  other  they  went,  finding  exits  where 
they  could.  Several  brave  boys  jammed  in 
the  doorway  and  tore  out  the  side  of  the  build- 
ing, others  smashed  the  windows,  carrying  the 
sash  away  with  them.  In  fact,  it  is  said,  that 
the  north  side  of  the  building  was  a  wreck, 
this  side  being  in  the  direction  of  Hemingford. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  Hall  and  Tash  stood  the 
test  all  right,  but  of  the  rank  and  file,  one  party 
reports  at  least  four  of  them  went  down  in  one 
pile  just  outside  the  building,  but  they  soon 
recovered  their  feet,  and  faded  into  the  moon- 
light. 

What  'Gene  Heath  Meant 

As  told  in  the  local  historian's  chronicle  of 
early  events,  'Gene  Heath  succeeded  in  having 


216 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  name  of  Buchanan  changed  to  Nonpareil. 
'Gene,  being  a  democrat  could  not  quite  recon- 
cile himself  to  the  constant  reminder  of  a 
wholly  unsatisfactory  democratic  president  of 
that  name,  who  was  the  last  in  the  antibellum 
days.  'Gene  also  believed  in  consistency,  and 
Nonpareil  was  a  small  place.  Nonpareil  type 
is  the  smallest  type  known  that  will  do  for  legal 
and  official  printing.  To  this  idea  the  town 
was  about  as  small  as  it  could  be,  and  yet  be 
the  legal  municipal  center  of  the  county  of 
Box  Butte. 

Cattle  Rustlers,  Holliday  and  Cochran 

Fred  Shonquist,  the  first  sheriff  of  Box 
Butte  county,  was  a  prince  of  good  fellows, 
but  occasionally  he  undertook  to  put  the  dis- 
tillers out  of  business,  by  drinking  everything 
in  sight.  At  such  times,  instead  of  being  a 
guardian  of  the  law,  he  would  shatter  about  all 
the  statutes  that  had  anything  to  do  with  good 
government.  The  Republicans  renominated  him, 
however,  in  1890,  but  the  Democrats  had  the 
good  judgment  to  place  in  nomination  Eugene 
A.  Hall.  Mall  was  elected  and  two  times  re- 
elected, serving  six  years.  During  that  time, 
he  was  successful  in  breaking  up  the  cattle 
rustling  that  had  been  carried  on  before  and  in 
assisting  in  the  arrest  of  the  murderer  of  young 
Ross  at  the  state  line  south  of  Kimball. 

Two  men  named  Holliday  and  Cochran  had 
worked  out  a  plan  for  rustling  cattle  over  the 
state  lines  of  Colorado,  Wyoming  and  South 
Dakota,  bringing  them  to  western  Box  Butte 
county,  and  so  mutilating  the  brands  that  they 
had  few  points  to  identify  them  as  the  original 
marks.  There  was  a  local  man  in  Hemingford 
and  another  just  over  the  line  in  Sioux  county. 
who  in  some  way  stood  in  with  the  rustlers,  al- 
though they  had  never  been  implicated  in  the 
transactions,  so  far  as  known.  In  1891,  a 
bunch  of  cattle  were  brought  in  from  Colorado, 
and  when  they  came  out  of  the  Holliday-Coch- 
ran  branding  pens  it  was  with  different  brands. 

Jack  Elliott,  who  was  agent  for  the  cattle 
association,  located  the  cattle,  and  he  and  a 
banker  named  Sterling  came  up  from  Colo- 
rado to  replevin  them.  Cochran  and  Holliday 
were  both  in  Kimball,  and  the  cattle  were  in 
charge  of  George  Zimmerman,  and  two  other 
nun.  and  were  just  over  the  line  in  Sioux 
county.  It  took  a  bit  of  maneuvering  to  get 
tin'  cattle  nver  the  line  into  Box  Butte  county, 
but  it  was  accomplished  in  time,  and  then 
Sheriff  Hall  served  the  necessary  writ,  and 
Sterling  and  Elliott  started  for  Hemingford 
with  the  cattle.  It  was  nearly  dark  and  they 
night  cm  the  prairie.     To  their  sur- 


prise in  the  morning  Cochran  and  Holliday 
were  on  hand.  It  later  developed  that  their 
friend  in  Hemingford  had  been  advised,  and  he 
in  turn  had  sent  a  wire  to  Holliday  at  Kimball. 
Cochran  and  Holliday  had  ridden  the  nearly 
one  hundred  miles  from  Kimball  during  the 
night. 

Sheriff  Hall  had  gone  home,  but  he  came 
back  in  the  morning,  to  find  that  the  rustlers 
were  trying  to  prevent  the  movement  of  the 
cattle  towards  the  railroad.  When  he  arrived 
they  rode  away,  but  followed  along  at  a  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  or  so,  keeping  on  the  ridges, 
evidently  debating  what  to  do.  They  finally 
evolved  a  plan,  of  having  their  friend  Webb 
replevin  the  cattle  in  turn.  "Bob"  Noleman  of 
Alliance  was  secured,  and  the  Colorado  crowd 
had  secured  the  services  of  Tuttle  and  Tash. 
Tuttle  directed  the  legal  process,  and  Noleman 
had  Webb,  who  had  been  very  busy  condemn- 
ing the  procedure,  ask  for  the  writ.  Tuttle  had 
wisely  anticipated  that  this  would  be  done,  and 
had  put  the  name  of  Webb  in  the  original  pro- 
cess. Sheriff  Hall  told  him  that  he  was  one  of 
the  parties  defendant,  and  there  was  no  way 
by  which  a  defendant  could  counter  with  an 
alternate  writ.  Noleman  stormed  at  what  he 
considered  the  high-handed  procedure,  and  he 
secured  constables  Gavin  and  Reed  who  served 
the  papers.  They  did  not  take  the  cattle  how- 
ever, for  they  were  in  process  of  being  loaded 
on  the  cars.  Sterling  had  a  Winchester,  and 
Elliott  had  a  big-looking  gun,  and  while  these 
never  spoke,  they  seemed  to  be  very  effective 
arguments  in  favor  of  letting  the  loading  pro- 
ceed. 

Holliday  and  Cochran  put  up  a  stiff  legal 
fight  for  the  cattle,  and  had  some  of  them  re- 
turned, but  the  lawyer's  bills  took  the  most  of 
what  was  saved,  for  when  the  affair  was  over 
they  were  pretty  well  cleaned  of  livestock. 

The  Ross  Murder 

Cochran  determined  to  make  another  raise, 
and  turned  his  attention  to  northern  Colorado. 
Near  the  state  line,  almost  directly  south  of 
Kimball,  lived  an  elderly  couple  named  Ross, 
and  their  son,  who  had  accumulated  a  nice 
bunch  of  cattle,  and  on  these  fell  the  covetous 
eyes  of  Cochran. 

(  )ne  mi  •ruing  they  were  missing  from  their 
usual  haunts,  and  Willie  Ross,  the  young  man, 
went  out  to  look  for  them.  He  did  not  come 
back  and  neither  horse,  rider,  or  cattle  could  be 
found. 

Again  Jim  Elliott  was  called  to  action.  He 
found  the  trail,  followed  north  across  the 
Union    Pacific   railroad   near   Dix,   and   across 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


_'i; 


Pumpkin  creek  at  Indian  Springs  and  Wright's 
Gap,  then  across  the  Platte  and  Snake.  He 
found  Cochran  and  the  cattle  in  Coyote  can- 
yon. Cochran  did  not  recognize  him  and  when 
within  a  few  feet  he  pulled  his  gun,  and  made 
Cochran  put  up  his  hands.  While  disarming 
and  hand-cuffing  him,  Cochran  was  protesting 
his  innocence,  and  asked  him  to  look  at  "the 
paper,"  a  bill-of-sale.  He  said  he  had  bought 
the  cattle  of  young  Ross,  who  had  told  him 
that  he  was  going  away.  As  the  horse  and 
saddle  were  gone,  the  story  looked  plausible. 
Sheriff  Hall  participated  in  the  proceedings  at- 
tendant and  following  the  arrest. 

The  parents  of  young  Ross,  when  they  heard 
this,  stoutly  declared  that  it  could  not  be  so, 
and  that  it  was  "not  like  Willie"  to  do  a  thing 
like  that.  An  extensive  search  brought  about 
the  discovery  that  the  body  had  been  buried 
in  a  sand  draw,  and  also  the  horse  and  saddle. 
Cochran,  it  appeared,  had  gone  to  a  nearby 
house  and  borrowed  a  spade,  and  when  he  re- 
turned it  there  was  no  one  at  home.  He  had 
entered  the  house,  secured  some  writing  ma- 
terials, and  made  several  attempts  at  writing 
a  bill-of-sale  before  he  had  succeeded  in  getting 
one  in  proper  shape  to  suit  him.  He  had  at- 
tempted to  destroy  the  unsatisfactory  efforts  by 
burning  them,  but  there  were  some  fragments 
left,  which  were  secured.  He  had  then  taken 
the  herd,  and  milled  it  about  on  the  sand,  where 
he  had  buried  the  man,  horse  and  saddle.  A 
subsequent  rain  had  also  further  obliterated 
the  place,  and  washed  out  many  of  the  tracks. 

There  was  a  question  as  to  whether  the 
murder  had  been  in  Colorado  or  Nebraska,  and 
the  surveyors  had  to  be  called  out,  to  definitely 
locate  the  line.  From  their  reports,  and  the 
evidence  at  hand  it  was  determined  that  the 
crime  had  been  committed  in  Colorado,  and  the 
body  dragged  some  distance,  and  buried  in 
Nebraska.  This  surveyor  party  was  at  work 
when  some  of  Scotts  Bluff  county  people  were 
on  their  way  to  Colorado  to  pick  spuds,  among 
whom  were  William  P.  Young  and  Antoine 
Hiersche. 

Cochran  was  never  tried  for  the  murder.  He 
was  tried  for  cattle  stealing,  convicted  and  giv- 
en forty-five  years  in  the  penitentiary  at  Can- 
yon City.  After  about  twenty  years  penal 
servitude,  he  was  paroled  on  account  of  being 
tubercular,  and  if  yet  living,  is  still  at  large. 

County  Officers 

When  the  county  was  organized  in  1887,  the 
first  officers  elected  were  only  for  the  comple- 
tion of  that  year.  On  November  4,  1887,  the 
regular  election  was  held  and  at  this  time  offi- 


cers were  chosen  for  the  following  regular 
terms.    A  roster  of  such  officers  is  as  follows: 

Judges:  The  first  county  judge  was  A. 
L.  Field.  He  was  followed  by  1).  K.  Spacht, 
who  was  succeeded  by  James  H.  H.  Hewitt. 
Bruce  Wilcox  then  served  one  term,  he  being 
followed  by  D.  K.  Spacht  who  was  returned 
to  the  office.  Abel  Hill  next  followed,  and  he 
died  in  office,  after  a  few  months'  service.  B. 
F.  Oilman  completed  the  term,  after  which  L. 
A.  Berry  assumed  the  judicial  ermine  and  held 
the  office  for  eleven  consecutive  years,  retiring 
January,  1917.  Ira  L.  Tash  then  assumed  the 
office,  and  has  held  it  since. 

Clerks :  The  office  of  county  clerk  was  also 
ex-officio  clerk  of  the  district  court,  and  of  the 
board  of  county  commissioners,  when  the  coun- 
ty was  organized.  The  first  clerk  who  served 
for  the  nine  months  of  1887,  was  Geo.  W. 
Clark.  At  the  regular  election  following  Charles 
A.  Burlew  was  elected,  and  he  was  follwed  by 
Ira  L.  Tash.  Mr.  Tash  was  clerk  at  the  time 
the  county  seat  was  moved  from  Nonpareil  to 
Hemingford.  Next  following  was  Joseph  K. 
Neal,  then  Fred  M.  Phelps.  Sam  M.  Smvser 
then  was  elected,  and  he  was  followed  by  D. 
K.  Spacht.  W.  C.  Mounts  was  then  elected, 
and  M.  S.  Hargraves  followed.  Mounts  again 
returned  to  the  office,  and  now  Miss  Avis  M. 
Joder  is  the  efficient  incumbent  of  the  office. 

Treasurers  :  The  first  county  treasurer,  who 
served  for  the  short  term  of  1887,  was  Eli  Ger- 
ber.  John  <  CKeefe,  Sr.,  became  the  next 
treasurer,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  John 
O'Keefe,  Jr.  Then  Samuel  B.  Libby  was 
chosen,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Alvin  M. 
Miller,  and  A.  S.  Reel  followed.  'Alex  Muir- 
head  was  next  in  order,  and  then  Charles  W. 
Brennan.  Fred  W.  Mollring  next  looked  after 
the  county  finances,  and  he  was  followed  by 
Edgar  M.  Martin.  Frank  W.  Irish,  the  pres- 
ent excellent  treasurer  completes  the  list  of 
treasurers  of   Box  Butte  county. 

Sheriffs  :  Fred  A.  Shonquist  was  the  first 
sheriff  of  Box  Butte  county,  serving  the  short 
term  of  1887.  and  then  one  full  term.  At  the 
election  of  1889,  Eugene  A.  Hall  was  elected, 
serving  three  terms.  Then  came  Edwin  P. 
Sweeney,  then  Ira  C.  Reed.  Albert  Wiker  was 
the  next  sheriff,  and  he  was  followed  by  Cal- 
vin M.  Cox,  and  James  W.  Miller  in  turn,  the 
latter  being  the  present  popular  head  of  the 
law  enforcement  division  of  the  county  gov- 
ernment. 

Superintendents:  The  educational  depart- 
ment of  the  countv  is  always  its  most  import- 
ant function,  for  it  deals  with  the  children  of 
the  future.  Box  Butte  county  has  been  for- 
tunate in  the  class  of  educators  that  it  has  had 


>18 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


for  its  county  educational  head:  Those  who 
have  served  in  that  capacity  are :  First,  Nathan 
S.  Simpson,  then  Burton  F.  Gilman,  John 
Leith,  H.  F.  Fillmore,  Anna  E.  Neeland,  John 
W.  Baumgardner,  Leora  Rustin,  Ora  E.  Phil- 
lips, Delia  M.  Reed,  and  Opal  Russell,  the 
present  incumbent. 

Attorneys :  The  county  prosecutors  have  a 
large  duty  to  perform,  for  a  small  compensa- 
tion. So  poorly  paid  has  this  office  been  con- 
sidered, that  it  is  always  difficult  to  get  the  best 
talent  to  consider  the  sacrifices  that  it  involves. 
Excellent  lawyers  are  sometimes  found  in  these 
offices,  but  it  is  usually  with  a  view  to  the  ac- 
quaintanceship they  thereby  secure.  The  first 
county  attorney  of  Box  Butte  county  was 
James  H.  Danskin,  who  served  the  short  term 
when  the  county  was  organized,  and  was  re- 
elected. In  June,  1890,  he  resigned  to  accept 
the  office  of  Receiver  in  the  United  States  Land 
Office  at  Alliance.  William  M.  Iodence  was 
appointed  and  filled  out  the  unexpired  term. 
Robert  C.  Noleman  next  served  for  one  term 
and  then  Burton  F.  Gilman  for  two  terms. 
Iodence  was  then  returned,  in  1896,  for  one 
term.  He  was  succeeded  by  Smith  P.  Tuttle. 
William  Mitchell  was  elected  in  1900,  and  serv- 
ed four  years,  after  which  Eugene  Burton 
served  three  terms.  Lee  Basye  the  present  in- 
cumbent, is  serving  his  third  term  in  the  office. 

Surveyors:  Barring  the  original  work  of 
surveying  or  locating  the  settlers  the  office  of 
county  surveyor  in  a  new  county  is  not  one  of 
much  compensation.  Box  Butte  county  -has 
had  the  following  occupants  of  the  surveyors 
office:  Charles  A.  Barney.  H.  H.  Burnette, 
Daniel  W.  Hughes,  John  P.  Hazard,  and  Reub- 
en E.  Knight,  the  latter  being  the  present  offi- 
cial. 

Coroner:  This  office  was  in  the  new  coun- 
ties of  western  Nebraska,  and  not  much  sought 
for.  but  nevertheless  it  was  a  very  important 
position,  and  was  filled  by  the  medical  fra- 
ternity of  capableness  and  high  order.  The 
following  doctors  of  Box  Butte  county  have 
held  the  position:  Tohn  Blood,  W.  H. 'Smith, 
W.  W.  Hamilton,  W.  K.  Miller,  L  E.  Moore, 
G.  W.  Mitchell  and  Chas.  E.  Slagle. 

Commissioners :  The  first  county  commis- 
sioners, who  served  for  the  nine  months  of 
1887  were  James  Barry.  Louis  C.  De  Coud- 
ress  and  Thos.  L.  Irvine.  On  these  fell  the 
first  duties  of  the  new  countv's  organization. 
Ai  ill.-  first  regular  election  R.  R.  Ralls  and 
Charles  Nichols  took  the  place  of  the  first  two 
named.  Other  commissioners  who  followed 
wen  Vlex    Burr,    Leonard    Sampy,    Fdgar 

rames  Hollinrake,  Ceo.  W.Duncan, 
Geo   W.  Loer,  James  Barry,  (second  election), 


John  Meintz,  L-  F.  Smith,  Frank  Caha,  Joseph 
M.  Wanek,  and  Anton  Uhrig  (second  elec- 
tion). Calvin  L.  Hashman,  Geo.  W.  Duncan 
and  George  Carrell  are  the  present  incumbents. 

District  Clerk :  This  office  was  established 
in  January,  1921,  or  separated  from  the  office 
of  county  clerk.  W.  C.  Mounts  was  elected 
first  clerk,  now  serving  in  that  position. 

County  Assessor :  This  office  is  of  compara- 
tively recent  origin  and  has  been  filled  in  turn 
by  A.  S.  Reed,  E.  P.  Sweeney,  John  Jelinek, 
J.  A.  Keegan  and  John  Pilkington,  the  last 
named  being  the  present  incumbent. 

Box  Butte  county  can  well  be  proud  of  those 
who  have  served  it  in  an  official  capacity.  The 
offices  have  been  quite  equally  distributed  be- 
tween the  political  parties,  and  there  has  never 
been  a  shortage,  an  arrest,  a  scandal,  or  indict- 
ment attaching  to  a  single  public  official. 

State  Officials 

Box  Butte  county  has  never  had  a  state  offi- 
cial outside  of  the  legislative  branch  of  state 
government.  In  1901,  J.  H.  Van  Boskirk  was 
a  member  of  the  state  senate,  being  the  first 
in  that  capacity  from  the  county.  Earl  D.  Mal- 
lery  served  in  the  same  capacity,  in  the  session 
of  1915,  he  being  the  second  and  last  state  sen- 
ator from  the  county  to  date. 

L.  W.  Gilchrist  was  the  first  member  of  the 
legislature,  in  1889.  Then  in  1913,  Earl  D. 
Mallery  was  a  member.  Frank  M.  Broome  was 
chosen  for  that  post  in  1915,  and  was  later  ap- 
pointed Receiver  of  the  United  States  Land 
Office  at  Valentine.  In  1917  Lloyd  C. 'Thomas 
was  chosen.  Thomas  was  one  of  the  members 
joining  in  the  introduction  of  the  Nebraska 
mineral  statute,  which  was  passed  at  an  extra- 
ordinary session  of  the  legislature  in  1918.  He 
volunteered  for  the  world  war,  but  was  not 
inducted  into  service  owing  to  its  abrupt  end. 

John  W.  Thomas  w;as  deputy  state  land  com- 
missioner during  the  administration  of  G  L. 
Shumwav  as  chief  of  that  office,  during  1917 
and  1918. 

William  L.  O'Keefe  was  assistant  in  the  of- 
fice of  Chas.  W.  Pool,  secretary  of  state,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  but  resigned  and 
went  into  the  service  in  the  World  War. 

Each  of  these  have  performed  well  the  duties 
assigned  to  them,  and  no  word  of  reproach  can 
be  truthfully  said  concerning  any  of  Box  Butte 
county's  contingent  in  the  duties  of  the  state  as- 
signed to  them. 

U.  S.  Land  Officers 

The  United  States  Land  Office  was  estab- 
lished at  Alliance  on  July  1,  1890.     Fred  M. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


:l'' 


Dorrington,  of  Chadron,  was  appointed  Regis- 
ter, and  James  H.  Danskin,  Receiver.  They 
served  until  the  change  of  administration  in 
1893,  when  they  were  succeeded  by  John  W. 
Wehn  of  Wilber,  Nebraska,  as  Register,  and 
F.  M.  Broome,  of  Alliance,  as  Receiver.  Fol- 
lowing another  change  of  administration  in 
1897,  Fred  M.  Dorrington  was  appointed  Reg- 
ister and  William  R.  Akers,  as  Receiver.  Dor- 
rington died  in  office  in  January,  1903,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Bruce  Wilcox.  Akers  and  Wil- 
cox administered  the  office  for  four  years,  and 
were  replaced  by  W.  W.  Wood  of  Rushville 
as  Register  and  H.  J.  Ellis  of  Alliance  as  Re- 
ceiver. Upon  the  election  of  Woodrow  Wilson 
as  president  in  1912,  J.  C.  Morrow,  of  Scotts- 
bluff,  became  Register,  with  T.  J.  O'Keefe.  of 
Alliance,  as  Receiver,  and  they  continue  to 
draw  the  salary  and  perquisites  pertaining  to 
the  office. 

Ira  E.  Tash 
County  Judge  of  Box  Butte  county,  was  born 
in  Clarke  county,  Iowa,  February  13,  1862, 
and  remained  there  until  he  was  25  years  of 
age,  with  his  parents,  who  were  farmers.  He 
taught  school  during  the  winter  and  worked 
at  railroad  construction  work  during  the  sum- 
mer months.  He  received  his  education  in  the 
country  schools.  In  March,  1S87,  he  came  to 
what  is  the  extinct  Nonpareil  and  engaged  in 
real  estate  and  farm  loan  business  until  Janu- 


ary 1,  1890,  when  he  was  elected  County  Clerk. 
He  conducted  that  office  for  one  year,  then  the 
office  was  moved  to  Hemingford,  the  county 
seat,  and  after  four  years,  in  1894,  he  formed 
the  law  firm  of  Tuttle  &  Tash.  which  continued 
there  until  1900,  when  the  firm  moved  its  of- 
fices to  Alliance.  In  1895  he  was  appointed  re- 
ceiver of  the  Bank  of  Hemingford  and  settled 
its  affairs.  While  living  at  Hemingford  he 
served  on  the  school  board  and  city  council.  In 

1901  he  engaged  in  the  clerical  work  for  the 
contractors    rebuilding   the    Union    Pacific :   in 

1902  was  associate  editor  of  the  Alliance 
'rimes;  in  1903  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
Alliance,  serving  in  that  capacity  for  twelve 
years,  and  in  1916,  was  elected  county  judge, 
re-elected  in  1918  without  opposition,  and  is 
thus  serving  the  people  of  his  county  at  this 
time. 

The  public  service  of  Ira  E.  Tash  has  always 
been  of  the  best.  Box  Butte  county  has  cause 
for  congratulation  in  the  fact  that  Mr.  Tash 
became  a  citizen  of  the  county  at  a  very  early 
date  and  has  been  continually  one  of  the  bearers 
of  the  county's  escutcheon  through  all  the  years. 
Never  has  he  faltered,  and  but  for  him  the 
record  of  the  county  achievements,  and  of  its 
people  would  be  incomplete.  His  experiences, 
his  memory,  his  ability  to  state  the  occurrences 
with  precision,  and  withal  his  splendid  fund  of 
good  humor,  have  made  the  Box  Butte  County 
History  a  splendid  narrative. — Editor-in-Chief. 


DEUEL  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 


ORGANIZATION  OF  DEUEL  COUNTY 


Deuel  county,  one  of  the  smallest  in  the  state 
and  the  most  southeasterly  county  in  the  Pan- 
handle of  Nebraska,  lies  in  the  most  southerly 
tier  of  counties  and  in  the  third  east  from  the 
western  boundary  of  Nebraska.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  it  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Garden 
county,  on  the  east  by  Keith  county,  on  the 
south  by  Colorado  and  on  the  west  by  Cheyenne 
county.  Like  all  the  rest  of  Nebraska,  the 
early  inhabitants  of  this  county  were  the  rov- 
ing bands  of  Indians  that  inhabited  the  plains 
before  the  white  man  came  and  before  the  ter- 
ritory in  which  Deuel  county  lies  was  known  to 
the  whites  who  settled  the  continent.  Like  the 
rest  of  Nebraska  this  land  belonged  to  Spain, 
France,  and  then  became  a  part  of  the  United 
States. 

For  a  number  of  years  after  Nebraska  Ter- 
ritory was  created,  and  the  western  part  of  the 
state  laid  out  in  counties,  called  Lyon.  Taylor, 
and  Monroe.  Deuel  county  territory  was  then 
principally  in  Lyon  county.  After  Nebraska 
became  a  state,  Deuel  county  was  comprised  in 
old  Cheyenne  county,  and  much  of  the  early 
history  of  that  county  is  a  part  of  Deuel  coun- 
ty's history.  Many  of  the  early  events  of  Deuel 
county  are  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  "Old 
Cheyenne."  By  the  election  of  1888,  the  east- 
ern third  of  Cheyenne  county  was  erected  as 
Deuel  county  and  later  the  northern  portion  of 


Deuel  county  became  Garden  county.  In  the 
early  history  and  general  treatment  of  the  Pan- 
handle, will  be  found  stories  of  Deuel  county, 
long  before  Nebraska  became  a  state.  Also 
reference  will  be  found  to  the  ranch  life  in  this 
section  when  the  cowman  held  it  as  a  range. 
The  county  was  named  after  a  man  who  was 
connected  with  the  building  of  the  Union  Pa- 
cific railroad. 

The  general  topography  of  Deuel  county  is 
high  rolling  or  undulating  plains,  ranging  from 
precipitious  cliffs  along  the  streams  to  the 
level  land  of  tables  and  valleys.  The  high  pla- 
teaus have  been  called  tables  and  received  va- 
rious names.  Along  the  tables  go  the  valleys, 
and  the  county  is  noted  for  the  tablelands  used 
for  grazing  also  for  the  fertile  valleys.  The 
Lodgepole  valley  is  the  longest  in  the  county ; 
it  enters  at  about  the  center  of  the  western 
boundary,  flows  southeast  and  a  little  west  of 
the  center  of  the  southern  boundary  passes  out 
into  Colorado.  The  Platte  valley  crosses  the 
southeastern  corner  of  the  county  and  while 
not  so  long  as  the  Lodgepole,  is  wider.  In 
addition  to  these  major  valleys  there  are  smaller 
valleys.  Lodgepole  creek  and  the  Platte  river 
are  the  streams  and  it  is  from  them  that  the 
water  is  secured  for  the  irrigation  carried  on  in 
Deuel  countv. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  II 


FIRST  SETTLERS 


Like  a  large  section  of  the  Panhandle,  the 
earliest  whites  in  Deuel  county  were  the  cattle- 
men, who  came  here  with  their  great  herds 
of  cattle,  a  few  of  whom  became  permanent 
settlers,  and  after  the  building  of  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad,  a  little  real  settlement  began. 
Before  the  railroad  came  the  distances  were 
so  great  that  few  people  ventured  so  far  from 
a  source  of  supply.  A  few  adventurous  spirits 
ventured  in  and  many  went  by  over  the  fam- 
ous Oregon,  California,  and  Colorado  trails. 
Settlers  came  in  slowly  at  first  and  their  com- 
ing was  not  encouraged  by  the  cattlemen,  who 
saw  that  the  homesteader  would  sooner  or 
later  absorb  their  range  and  supplant  stock- 
raising  and  grazing  with  farming  and  stock- 
raising  on  a  farmer's  scale.  The  bitter  feeling 
existing  between  the  early  settlers  and  the 
cowmen  was  not  much  manifest  in  Deuel  county 
but  the  cowmen  were  obliged  to  give  way  to 
the  grangers.  After  the  coming  of  the  rail- 
road, there  were  increasing  numbers  of  home- 
steaders and  in  time  they  counted  by  the 
hundred  to  the  cattlemen's  one.  The  south- 
eastern and  southwestern  parts  of  Deuel  coun- 
ty settled  first  as  the  railroad  crossed  the  south- 
eastern corner  of  the  county,  ran  to  Julesburg, 
Colorado,  then  turned  across  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  county  a  little  west  of  the 
center  and  ran  northwest,  leaving  a  little  north 
of  the  center  of  the  western  boundary.  The 
first  towns  and  stations  for  supplies  were  on 
the  railroad  and  the  settlers  naturally  located 
within  the  area  where  they  could  obtain  neces- 
sities, though  this  was  not  always  true  and 
many  settlers  scattered  throughout  what  is 
now  Garden  county  as  well,  for  there  was 
water  to  be  had  there. 

Early  Trials  and  Bitter  Years 

From  1884  to  1887,  the  tablelands  of  Deuel 
county  filled  up,  and  many  and  varied  are  the 
stories  of  pioneer  hardships  of  the  people  who 
came  here  at  that  time.  For  a  time  the  far- 
mers or  permanent  settlers  managed  to  live 
and  a  few  made  a  little  money.  However  in 
the  later  eighties  most  of  the  grangers  went 
broke  ;  in  fact  it  may  be  stated  without  excep- 
tion that  the  high  plains  went  broke  all  to- 
gether, and  of  the  aristocratic  grangers  not 
one  remained  in  the  western  part  of  the  state 
of  Nebraska.  Among  the  settlers  there  was 
practically  no  money  and  all  business  was  car- 


ried on  by  barter.  Posts,  wood,  or  the  bones 
of  dead  animals  were  traded  for  groceries  and 
supplies,  as  the  merchants  of  the  early  days 
took  anything  for  which  they  could  find  a 
market.  Out  on  the  north  divide,  there  were 
hundreds  of  people  in  the  same  condition, 
among  them  Herman  Kuehnn,  Anton  Hatter- 
man,  August  Fonnarder,  Syver  Johnson,  John 
Elmquist,  Peter  Soderquist,  Frank  Johnson, 
and  many,  many  others.  They  had  to  haul 
water  from  ten  to  eighteen  miles,  from  Big 
Springs,  or  Ash  Hollow,  for  family  use  and 
stock  because  they  did  not  have  the  money  for 
a  well  or  equipment  after  they  had  one;  the 
water  supply  on  the  tables  being  two  hundred 
or  more  feet  clown  in  the  ground. 

Jim  Pindell  had  a  well  drill  but  he  could  not 
operate  without  money  and  though  willing  to 
work  for  the  people  who  needed  water  could 
not  do  it  for  nothing.  However,  occasionally  a 
settler  would  trade  around  or  "jockey"  and 
finally  get  a  well,  and  when  this  was  done  the 
owner  would  try  and  make  up  for  the  cost  by 
charging  for  the  water.  However,  water  for 
domestic  uses  was  rarely  denied  if  a  person 
did  not  have  the  pay  for  it,  but  stock  water 
was  sometimes  as  high  as  seventy-five  cents  a 
barrel.  One  time  Adam  Zimmerman  went  to 
Colorado  to  work  to  earn  some  money  and 
in  a  month  had  earned  twenty  dollars,  but  his 
expenses  going  and  coming  cost  seventeen  dol- 
lars so  he  was  not  much  better  off.  Another 
time  a  neighbor  hired  him  for  a  day  and  gave 
him  a  rooster  for  pay,  which  died  on  the  way 
home. 

George  Richardson  tells  of  plowing  tree 
claims  for  non-residents,  who  sometimes  for- 
got to  send  the  money  for  the  work  and  Peter 
Jensen  tells  of  the  old  sod  schoolhouse  where 
they  had  a  few  cracked  boxes  for  desks  and 
piled  up  sod  for  benches  for  the  scholars.  W. 
W.  Waterman  at  Day  postoffice  could  tell  how 
"cancellations"  fell  off,  because  the  people 
could  not  possibly  spare  the  money  for  stamps 
and  write  to  relatives  and  friends.  But  the 
people  lived  through  the  years  of  trial  and 
have  seen  the  later  years  of  triumph  come  to 
pay  them  for  the  hardships  and  privations. 
Carl  Pigeon,  who  had  no  use  for  his  threshing 
machine  outfit  in  the  early  nineties,  has  had 
plenty  of  work  for  it  during  the  later  years 
and  has  had  a  fine  business,  which  shows  the 
development  and  prosperity  of  the  wheat  and 
grain  industry  in  Deuel  county  for  some  time 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


past.  John  Steward,  who  early  saw  what  ir- 
rigation would  do  when  water  was  applied  to 
the  fertile  soil  of  the  valleys  changed  to  irri- 
gated land  and  now  has  a  fine  farm  and  breeds 
Belgian  horses,  Hereford  cattle,  and  Poland 
China  hogs.  So  we  could  go  on  telling  of  the 
transition  and  prosperity  of  many  of  the  early 
settlers  who  managed  to  stay  through  the  hard 
years.  In  the  early  days  the  vision  of  the 
future  here  was  in  every  mind.  All  were  look- 
ing forward ;  now  they  sometimes  look  back  or 
at  the  scars  of  battle  left  upon  hand  and  brow, 
and  say,  "Oh  well,  gold  needs  fire  to  bum 
away  the  dross.  It's  not  pure  until  it  passes 
the  crucible."  There  seemed  to  have  been 
happy  times  occasionally  and  many  laugh  over 
the  ridiculous  escapes  by  which  the  tribulation 
was  temporarily  submerged.  Agnew  Rayburn 
occasionally  will  chuckle  over  the  time  when 
Chappell  cast  three  thousand  votes  and  Big 
Springs  cast  over  five  thousand  at  the  county 
seat    election.      Others    do    likewise    as    there 


were  not  that  many  people  in  the  county.  Riley 
Ford  laughs  over  the  time  the  roundup  took 
him  to  Julesburg  and  "shot  up"  the  town.  A 
hearty  laugh  in  that  early  day  served  to  en- 
liven the  pulses  and  break  the  tenseness  of  con- 
ditions and  save  many  a  man  and  woman  from 
"going  crazy."  Hard  times  parties  were  held 
where  old  clothes  were  worn  as  though  it  were 
a  joke  although  it  was  no  joke  but  the  truth. 
Old  clothes,  packed  away  safe  from  moths, 
vintages  of  foregone  years,  were  brought  out 
j.nd  given  place  of  honor  on  festal  occasions. 
,  But  best  of  all,  there  were  hearts,  dear  hearts, 
that  saw  beyond  the  clouds  of  adversity  into 
the  sunshine  of  a  happy  land  and  happy  times 
in  the  future.  Imagination  pictured  the  years 
of  plenty;  or  perhaps  they  glimpsed  the  pur- 
pose for  which  mankind  must  suffer  such  heavy 
years.  Today  those  who  are  left  see  that  this 
faith  has  been  justified  and  many  are  now  en- 
joying the  later  years  of  life  in  comfort  and 
prosperity. 


CHAPTER  III 


COUNTY  ORGANIZATIO     N  AND  DEVELOPMENT 


By  the  election  of  November,  1888,  Cheyenne 
county  was  divided  and  practically  the  eastern 
third  was  erected  as  Deuel  county,  which  came 
into  existence  at  that  time.  Later  the  northern 
portion  of  Deuel  was  cut  from  Deuel  and  be- 
came Garden  county,  greatly  reducing  the  size 
of  Deuel  county.  In  January,  1889,  Deuel 
county  was  organized.  The  first  meeting  of  the 
county  board  is  recorded  on  January  21,  1889, 
with  the  following  officers :  George  P.  Smith, 
judge ;  Ed.  Herrington,  clerk ;  W.  H.  Sigler, 
treasurer,  and  B.  G.  Hoover,  H.  G.  Gumaer 
and  Willis  Lee,  commissioners.  The  next  day, 
January  22,  the  following  officers  qualified :  J. 
L.  Robson,  treasurer,  Reuben  Lisco,  sheriff, 
and  Dr.  W.  H.  Babcock,  coroner.  On  Feb- 
ruary 2,  F.  W.  Starks  qualified  as  superintend- 
ent  of  schools. 

The  first  act  of  the  commissioners  was  to 
elect  B.  G.  Hoover  chairman,  and  the  second 
ad  was  by  two  votes  fur  Chappell  and  one  for 
Froid,  to  declare  Chappell  the  temporary  coun- 
ty -rat.  Some  official  bonds  were  approved 
and  the  clerk  instructed  to  ask  for  bids  for 
supplies.  Thus  ended  the  first  day  of  Deuel 
county's  official  life. 


The  Chappell  Register  was  designated  the 
official  paper  on  January  26,  and  the  county 
attorney's  salary  was  fixed  at  five  hundred 
dollars.  On  this  day  a  brand  committee  was 
created  by  the  board  of  commissioners  who 
named  G.  E.  Thompson  and  John  Robinson  its 
first  members. 

On  January  15,  1889,  a  county  seat  election 
was  declared  to  have  made  no  choice.  The 
county  then  contained  eleven  precincts  as  fol- 
lows:  Alkali,  Lisco,  Lost  Creek,  Blue  Creek, 
Park,  Sughrue.  Rush  Creek,  Green,  Chappell, 
Swan  and  Big  Springs. 

In  their  order  road  districts  one  to  eleven 
were  created  of  the  same  name  and  size  as 
the  precincts.  The  first  bills  allowed  by  the 
commissioners  were  for  election  services,  viz : 
C.  G.  Jones,  A.  T.  Stewart,  J.  H.  Roudebush, 
Frank  Isenberger,  Floyd  Jones,  E.  E.  Catron, 
Simon  Hopper,  R.  D.  Root,  W.  T.  Bowers, 
George  Northrup,  E.  F.  Clayton,  Ed.  Coumbe, 
and  Reuben  Lisco. 

By  order  of  the  board,  all  territory  of  Deuel 
county  then  north  of  the  North  Platte  river 
was  designated  as  commissoner  district  num- 
ber one.     District  number  two  was  the  west 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


223 


half  of  that  part  of  the  county  south  of  the 
river  and  district  number  three  was  the  east 
half.  April  3,  1889,  E.  Fish  was  appointed 
deputy  for  Ed.  Herrington,  clerk,  as  Mr.  Her- 
rington was  in  Sidney  much  of  the  time  tran- 
scribing the  records  for  the  new  county. 

Two  petitions  for  bonding  the  county,  one 
for  one  bridge  and  another  for  two  bridges, 
across  the  North  Platte  river,  were  filed  April 
22,  but  both  were  rejected.  On  May  21,  an- 
other petition  for  eighteen  thousand  dollars  in 
bonds  and  two  bridges  was  approved  but  was 
lost  on  the  election. 

The  board  of  commissioners,  sitting  as  a 
board  of  equalization,  on  June  19,  1889,  found 
the  following  assessable  property  in  Deuel 
county:  personal,  $93,345.79;  real  estate, 
$443,558.50;  Union  Pacific  railway,  $303,- 
503.20;  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company, 
83,448.90,  a  total  of  $848,856.39.  The  first 
levy  for  taxes  was:  for  roads  three  and  a  half 
mills ;  bridges,  one  mill ;  sinking  fund,  one  and 
a  half  mills.  The  Big  Springs  Precinct  Bridge 
Bond  was  for  three  mills.  Another  attempt 
was  made  for  a  "North  River"  bridge  by  a  pe- 
tition of  October  9,  1889,  when  ten  thousand 
dollars  worth  of  bonds  was  asked,  but  was  lost 
at  the  subsequent  election. 

In  the  spring  of  1890,  a  bridge  was  built 
across  the  Blue  river,  the  first  bridge  built  by 
Deuel  county.  In  1890,  L.  B.  Cary  and  some 
other  men  were  working  out  the  details  of  the 
Belmont  canal  as  irrigation  was  already  be- 
coming an  important  factor  in  the  industrial 
life  of  the  county.  J.  B.  Anderson,  called 
"Swede"  Anderson,  conceived  the  idea  of  ex- 
tending the  Belmont  canal  to  the  great  tables 
between  the  north  river  and  the  Lodgepole. 
For  raising  funds  he  proposed  bonding  the  pre- 
cincts. This  idea  went  so  far  as  to  call  elec- 
tions in  several  precincts.  The  company  which 
was  to  handle  the  project  was  known  as  the 
Belmont  and  Froid  Canal  and  Reservoir  Com- 
pany. One  hundred  and  seven  persons  of 
Union  precinct  asked  for  an  election  to  vote 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  in  subsidizing  bonds; 
one  hundred  and  eighteen  petitioners  proposed 
twenty  thousand  dollars  of  bonds  as  the  quota 
of  Froid  precinct;  fifty-one  persons  in  Green 
precinct  wanted  to  vote  on  twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars  of  bonds ;  all  for  the  same  purpose 
and  elections  were  called  for  August  5,  1890. 

In  the  meantime  some  of  the  old  settlers 
had  been  stung  by  subsidization  bonds  for  rail- 
roads back  east,  as  the  railroads  were  never 
built  or  had  ceased  to  operate  and  the  rails 
were  torn  up  after  the  bond  had  been  secured. 
These  men  set  about  making  an  independent 
examination  of  the  project,  with  the  result  that 


it  was  found  that  the  elevation  of  the  Froid 
tableland  proved  to  be  from  seventy-five  to 
ninety  feet  too  high  to  get  water  to  it  through 
the  Belmont  intake  from  the  river.  Mass  meet- 
ings were  called  and  Anderson  was  asked  to 
explain.  The  versatile  Anderson  said  that  an 
hydraulic  power  station  on  Rush  creek  would 
lift  the  water  and  at  the  same  time  an  electric 
generating  plant  could  be  added.  However, 
the  seed  of  doubt  had  been  planted  in  the  minds 
of  the  people,  and  the  scheme  failed.  The  elec- 
tions were  re-called. 

The  writer  was  then  publishing  the  Ashford 
Advocate,  and  from  Banner  county  watched 
the  progress  and  ultimate  failure  of  the  idea. 

Scotts  Bluff  county  was  then  just  beginning 
to  promote  irrigation  projects,  and  the  ques- 
tion was  how  to  raise  money  to  build  ditches. 
"Swede"  Anderson's  idea  suggested  the  scheme 
of  irrigation  districts  and  the  writer  discussed 
it  with  W.  W.  White,  and  mentioned  it  to  A. 
B.  Wood.  Mr.  White  thought  several  pre- 
cincts might  be  combined  into  a  district.  Into 
the  writer's  mind  came  the  sense  of  injustice, 
taxing  the  land  not  served  for  the  benefit  of 
that  which  was  served.  Mr.  Wood  was  non- 
committal on  the  subject  at  the  time  but  later 
said  that  there  was  so  little  basic  value  to  the 
land,  therefore  no  foundation  for  a  bond  is- 
sue of  consequence. 

In  1893,  Tim  T.  Kelliher  and  I  were  at  Lin- 
coln during  the  legislature.  Tim  was  chief 
bookkeeper  in  the  Senate  and  I  was  chief  en- 
grossing clerk  in  the  House.  Kelliher  met  R. 
B.  Howell,  whom  he  introduced.  Howell,  Sen- 
ator J.  H.  Danner  and  I  framed  an  irrigation 
district  bill  which  was  introduced  by  Darner. 
The  complete  story  of  its  development  is  told 
in  Scotts  Bluff  County  History,  but  it  was  sug- 
gested to  the  writer  for  the  first  time  through 
the  efforts  of  J.  B.  Anderson  in  Deuel  county. 

In  February,  1891,  there  were  sonn-  read- 
justments of  precinct  lines  in  Deuel  county, 
and  consolidations  in  which  the  precincts  of 
Park,  Big  Springs  and  Blue  Creek  were  to 
support  a  bond  for  a  bridge  near  the  location 
of  Lewellen.  Then  Chappell  and  Sughrue  pre- 
cincts proposed  a  like  plan  for  a  bridge  near 
the  site  of  Oshkosh.  The  vote  for  the  east 
bridge  carried  about  four  to  one  and  that  of 
the  west  by  about  six  to  one.  These  bridges 
were  built  in  1891  by  the  St.  Joseph  Bridge 
and  Boiler  Company. 

In  the  meantime  Chappell  held  the  temporary 
county  seat.  In  the  election  of  January  15, 
1889.  Froid  cast  an  apparently  honest  vote  of 
less  than  three  hundred,  but  Chappell  heard  of 
an  enormous  vote  being  cast  at  Big  Springs, 
and  the  printing  of  extra  ballots  by  thousands 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


was  begun.  Toward  nightfall  of  election  day 
it  appeared  to  be  a  contest  of  endurance  of  the 
presses  and  supply  of  paper  for  ballots.  The 
news  came  up  the  valley  that  the  Big  Springs 
vote  had  reached  three  thousand.  Chappell 
beat  it  by  a  few  and  quit.  Big  Springs  had  a 
few  thousand  extra  ballots  printed  at  Ogallala, 
"enough  to  fill  the  ballot  box,"  as  told  by  one 
of  the  partisans,  with  a  final  total  of  five  thous- 
and six  hundred  and  twenty-six  votes.  Chappell 
was   overvoted   but    not   beaten.      The   courts 


were  appealed  to,  and  for  years  the  charge  of 
illegal  voting  kept  the  temporary  county  seat 
there.  Finally  the  slow  process  of  law  resulted 
in  an  order  for  a  new  election  for  June  23, 
1894.  No  place  received  a  majority  and  on 
July  21  following,  another  election  was  held, 
which  gave  Chappell  a  clear  majority,  and  by 
action  of  the  county  board  August  11,  1894, 
Chappell  became  the  permanent  seat  of  justice 
of  Deuel  countv. 


CHAPTER  IV 


IRRIGATION  IN  DEUEL  COUNTY 


In  1895,  the  Nebraska  legislature  passed  the 
Irrigation  District  Law.  In  1896,  the  first 
Deuel  county  petition  under  that  law  for  a 
district  was  presented  by  Mr.  Van  Newkirk  and 
other  men.  but  was  rejected  because  "doubtful 
if  desired  by  the  majority  of  the  voters,"  and 
"doubtful  if  it  could  be  watered  by  one  sys- 
tem." In  July,  1898,  George  F.  Clark,  and  a 
number  of  other  men  petitioned  to  organize 
an  irrigation  district  on  Blue  creek  and  an 
election  was  called  for  July  30,  which  resulted 
in  five  votes  for  and  six  against  the  petition, 
so  it  was  lost.  October  20,  1898.  Ira  Paisley 
and  others  petitioned  for  an  irrigation  district 
taking  in  a  smaller  tract  on  Blue  creek.  The 
election  to  decide  upon  it  was  called  for 
November  12,  with  the  result  that  there  were 
five  votes  for  the  project  and  none  against  and 
the  irrigation  of  this  tract  became  assured.  The 
officers  elected  were:  division  No.  1,  N.  Berg- 
eson,  five  votes  ;  No.  2,  I.  M.  Paisley,  five  votes  ; 
No.  3,  Clarence  Hewett,  five  votes ;  as  direc- 
tors ;  A.  F.  Ramsey,  five  votes  for  treasurer, 
and  A.  F.  Ramsey,  five  votes  as  assessor.  Thus 
was  the  first  irrigation  district  in  Deuel  coun- 
ty organized.  It  came  into  existence  by  this 
election  and  the  declaration  of  the  county  board 
November  21,  1898.  This  first  important  move- 
ment for  irrigation  was  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  county  which  later  became  Garden  coun- 
ty, fur  when  the  new  county  was  organized  it 
took  nearly  all  the  irrigated  land  in  Deuel  coun- 
ty. The  county  still  has  a  vital  interest  in  the 
Western  Irrigation  District  which  waters  an 
excellent  body  of  land  near  Julesburg.  This, 
however,    is   a    newer   enterprise   but   of   much 


commercial  importance  to  Deuel  county  as  it 
affords  water  for  the  southeastern  part  along 
the  Platte  river  valley. 

Blue  Creek  Irrigation  District  was  organized 
April  3,  1905,  and  the  first  officers  were :  Divi- 
sion No.  1,  Richard  Clark,  director  by  a  vote 
of  thirteen  to  four  for  A.  S.  Ross ;  division  No. 
2,  Henry  Black,  director  by  eleven  votes  with 
no  opposition ;  division  No.  3,  James  Orr,  di- 
rector, by  sixteen  votes  with  no  opposition; 
George  McCormick  was  elected  treasurer  by 
sixteen  votes  without  opposition,  and  George 
Gilliard,  assessor,  by  sixteen  votes  with  one 
cast  for  James  Caslin.  The  total  vote  cast  was 
twenty  of  which  eighteen  were  for  the  organi- 
zation of  the  district  and  two  opposed.  Today 
the  irrigation  in  Deuel  county  is  of  much  im- 
portance in  raising  certain  crops  on  the  watered 
land  that  could  not  be  raised  before,  and  in  con- 
sequence different  agricultural  products  are 
becoming  of  importance  in  these  districts  where 
any  crop  planted  never  fails.  The  farmers  on 
the  irrigated  farms  are  becoming  prosperous 
and  the  country  is  richer  as  a  result,  which  is 
reflected  in  the  growth  of  the  market  towns.  So 
it  is  to  be  seen  that  while  a  large  part  of  the 
original  irrigated  district  was  taken  away, 
enough  was  left  Deuel  to  make  it  a  county 
which  is  introducing  more  irrigation  as  it  is 
found  feasible  and  profitable. 
Humor  and  Incidents  of  Deuel  History 

The  pages  of  history  and  record  are  often 
enlivened  by  humor  which  takes  away  the  dull- 
ness of  mere  facts.  Simon  Hopper,  who  was 
reelected  commissioner  in  1SC>7.  was  on  Janu- 
ary 6,  1898,  on  the  convening  of  the  new  board 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


of  commissioners,  made  the  object  of  an  amus- 
ing moment  for  the  other  members,  M.  P. 
Clary  and  J.  H.  Roudebush,  as  will  be  shown 
by  the  following  official  record  :  "It  was  moved 
and  carried  that  the  commissioner  residing  at 
the  county  seat  buy  the  county  supplies  for 
the  ensuing  year."  Hopper  was  the  victim,  for 
Roudebush  and  Clary  were  the  out  of  town 
members  of  the  board.  It  does  not  follow  that 
Hopper  bought  the  supplies.  If  he  did,  the 
county  paid  for  them. 


merit  proceedings  were  instigated  against 
Sheriff  Kennison  but  were  withdrawn  when  he 
resigned  and  W.  H.  McEldowney,  his  deputy, 
was  appointed  sheriff  in  his  place.  E.  S.  Kenni- 
son some  years  later  shot  and  killed  Sam  D. 
Cox,  of  Minatare,  who  was  an  implacable  foe 
of  liquor,  and  today  Kennison  is  an  inmate 
of  the  state  penitentiary. 

Garden  County  Created 
The  next  high  light  in  the  history  of  Deuel 


Court  House.  Chappeel 


In  1900,  occurred  in  Deuel  county  one  of 
the  unfortunate  affairs  of  politics  that  had  a 
violent  climax  in  Scotts  Bluff  county,  and  its 
echoes  still  reverberate.  E.  S.  Kennison  was 
elected  Sheriff  in  1899,  taking  office  the  follow- 
ing January.  At  that  time  he  was  a  likable 
man,  but  had  a  weakness  for  drink.  His  offi- 
cial capacity  brought  to  his  side  all  the  lawless 
element  who  worked  upon  his  weakness.  He 
was  frequently  intoxicated  and  was  said  to  be 
"a  devil  when  under  the  influence  of  liquor." 
His  friends  and  bondsmen  tried  to  get  him 
away  from  these  evil  influences,  but  to  no 
avail.  His  bondsmen  then  asked  to  be  re- 
leased. The  county  commissioners  met  August 
22,   1900,  to   require  a  new  bond.     Impeach- 


county  occurred  when  Charles  Tomppert  and 
five  or  six  hundred  petitioners  asked  on  July 
26,  1909,  for  an  election  to  divide  the  county 
and  of  the  northern  portion  create  a  new 
county  of  Garden.  A  protest  was  riled  by 
John  R.  Wertz  and  Nicholas  E.  Zehr.  "in  be- 
half of  ourselves  and  four  hundred  tax  pay- 
ers." Wilcox  and  Halligan  of  North  Platte 
were  present  to  argue  the  case  for  the  protest- 
ants.  The  county  board  heard  the  matter  and 
by  unanimous  action  called  an  election  to  decide 
the  question  for  November  2,  1909.  The  com- 
missioners at  the  time  were  A.  G.  Newman, 
Albert  S.  Ross,  and  D.  F.  Fickes.  The  election 
carried  and  the  history  of  Garden  county  com- 
pletes the  story.     Fickes  and  Ross  were  both 


226 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


residents  of  the  portion  of  Deuel  county  which 
became  Garden,  resigned  as  commissioners  of 
Deuel  county,  and  Ed.  C.  Wolf  and  George 
Kalb  succeeded  them. 

County  Court  House 
For  many  years  Deuel  county  rented  quarters 
for  the  transaction  of  the  county's  business. 
The  old  frame  school  house  that  was  built  in 
the  early  eighties,  and  in  which  was  taught  the 
first  legally  constituted  public  school  in  Chap- 
pell,  stood  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  pres- 
ent court  house  grounds.  It  was  used  as  the 
office  of  the  county  clerk  for  many  years.  The 
school  is  now  situated  a  block  north  of  the 
old  site.  Economical  administration  and  the 
danger  of  fire  to  records,  together  with  the 
growing  prosperity  of  Deuel  county,  led  to  the 
building  of  a  suitable  court  house  which  would 
be  representative  of  the  county  and  its  people. 
In  1915,  such  a  structure  was  erected.  The 
corner  stone  was  laid  by  the  Master  Workmen 
of  the  Grand  Lodge,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons  of  Nebraska,  May  15,  1915,  A. 
L.  1915,  Thomas  M.  Davis,  Grand  Master. 
The  board  of  county  commissioners  at  that 
time  consisted  of :  Simon  Hopper,  chairman, 
George  Kalb,  and  James  Brown;  their  names 
being  cut  in  the  corner  stone  with  those  of  J. 
J.  Huddart,  architect,  and  M.  J.  Kenney, 
builder.  The  cost  of  the  building  at  that  time 
was  about  half  what  such  a  fine  building  would 
have  come  to  later.  In  the  new  structure  the 
county  offices  were  suitably  and  well  housed 
with  every  modern  convenience  to  facilitate 
county  work  and  Deuel  may  well  be  proud  of 
her  court  house. 

In    1919,   an    effort    was    made   to   build    a 


$100,000  county  high  school  at  Chappell  and 
an  election  called  for  May  13,  of  that  year, 
but  on  May  28,  the  election  was  reordered  for 
July  8.  The  vote  when  counted  stood  five  hun- 
dred and  sixty-three  for  and  four  hundred 
forty-two  against  the  building  of  the  school, 
and  there  was  not  the  necessary  two-thirds  ma- 
jority to  carry.  A  protest  was  made  against 
counting  the  vote  of  Big  Springs,  as  it  was 
mostly  adverse  as  that  town  already  had  a  high 
school.  The  county  commissioners  overruled 
the  protest  and  declared  the  election  lost.  On 
July  28,  1919,  a  committee  was  appointed  for 
redisricting  the  county  according  to  the  new 
law  with  the  following  people  as  its  members : 
Retta  F.  Brown,  H.  R.  Busse,  and  J.  R.  Hol- 
combe. 

In  1918.  J.  W.  Sjogren  was  the  agricultural 
agent,  the  first  to  hold  that  office  in  the  county 
and  since  that  time  the  county  agent  has  taken 
an  active  part  in  farming  industries.  He  has 
been  influential  in  introducing  new  methods, 
to  make  the  most  of  the  soil  and  has  been  of 
great  aid  and  benefit  to  the  people  of  Deuel 
county.  The  Deuel  County  Farm  Bureau  was 
organized  December  17,  1917,  with  G.  B. 
Brown,  president ;  Fred  E.  Smith,  secretary, 
and  Sam  Robb,  treasurer.  These  men  with 
William  Mack,  of  Big  Springs,  Emil  Olson, 
of  Swan  precinct,  and  O.  C.  Brestel,  of  Chap- 
pell, constituted  the  board.  The  meeting  of 
January,  1921,  indicates  that  added  interest  is 
being  taken  in  the  agricultural  development  of 
the  county  which  is  of  general  benefit  to  all. 
The  bureau  is  doing  excellent  work  throughout 
the  county  and  the  farmers  are  cooperating 
with  it  in  an  effort  to  increase  production  and 
raise  the  standard  of  farm  life. 


CHAPTER  V 


COUNTY  OFFICERS 


.  The  first  judge  of  Deuel  county  was  George 
P.  Smith,  who  took  office  in  1889  and  served 
two  terms,  ending  January  1.  1892.  Isaac 
Woolf  was  then  elected  and  reelected  four 
times,  serving  ten  years  on  the  bench.  John 
O'Neil  assumed  the  office  in  1902,  being  reelect- 
ed in  1904,  but  shortly  after  that  resigned. 
Isaac  Woolf  was  appointed  for  the  unexpired 
term  and  served  sixteen  years,  being  reelected 


seven  times.  H.  R.  Busse  was  elected  to  the 
bench  in  1919,  and  reelected  for  1921.  In  his 
legal  profession  he  became  interested  as  at- 
torney in  cases  now  before  the  county  judge 
and  to  meet  the  situation,  the  county  commis- 
sioners appointed  Isaac  W'oolf  a  special  acting 
judge  to  hear  and  dispose  of  those  matters. 
Mr.  Woolf's  total  service  to  the  county  now 
aggregates    some   twenty-eight   years ;    a    long 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


period  for  one  man,  whose  efficiency  has  been 
marked. 

The  first  county  clerk  of  Deuel  county  was 
Ed.  Herrington,  who  was  twice  reelected  and 
served  in  that  capacity  five  years.  He  has  been 
followed  in  office  by  Kirk  A.  McCall,  for 
four  years;  Jackson  Gyger,  for  four  years; 
Robert  A.  Day,  for  four  years ;  Eugene  De- 
Latour.  for  four  years ;  Jack  McCormick,  for 
two  years  ;  Cyrus  O.  Brown,  who  served  for 
three  years  and  then  resigned ;  H.  D.  Betts  was 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  and  then  was 
elected. 

J.  L.  Robson  was  the  first  man  to  fill  the 
office  of  county  treasurer  of  Deuel  county,  tak- 
ing office  in  1889  for  one  year;  he  was  follow- 
ed by  A.  H.  Nichols,  for  four  years  ;  Abel  Carl- 
son, for  four  years ;  Fred  Sudman,  for  four 
years  ;  John  Wertz,  for  four  years  ;  William  E. 
Roudebush,  for  four  years ;  Henry  C.  Peter- 
son for  six  years ;  Hezekiah  Epperson,  for  two 
years;  and  J.  G.  McCormick,  who  was  elected 
in  1919  and  is  still  serving. 

The  first  man  to  serve  as  county  attorney  for 
Deuel  county  was  W.  H.  Sigler,  elected  in  1889, 
was  reelected  but  resigned,  to  be  followed  by 
S.  P.  DeLatour,  who  was  appointed  to  finish 
the  term.  Jacob  Keifer  followed,  serving  three 
years  before  he  resigned.  George  C.  McAllis- 
ter was  elected  in  1897,  served  until  1906,  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  L.  ( ).  Pfeiffer,  who  is  still 
the  attorney  starting  upon  his  eighth  term  in 
office. 

Reuben  Lisco  was  the  first  sheriff  of  Deuel 
county,  being  followed  in  office  by  Gordon  E. 
Thompson,  J.  M.  Brunt,  E.  S.  Kennison,  who 
resigned  ;  W.  H.  McEldowney,  W.  W.  Bower, 
Walter  Clark,  who  resigned ;  B.  E.  Fish,  Oran 
Bower,  and  Andrew  Peterson  who  has  been 
reelected  five  times. 

The  superintendent  of  public  instruction  in 
Deuel  county,  since  its  organization  have  been : 
F.  W.  Starks,  Rosa  Dodds,  Mrs.  S.  C.  German, 
Allen  Chamberlain  and  again  Rosa  Dodds,  Rob- 
ert F.  McGrale,  Mrs.  L.  M.  Bernhard.  Vera 
Yockey,  and  Retta  F.  Brown,  who  is  starting 
on  her  fifth  term  of  office. 

The  first  board  of  county  commissioners  con- 
sisted of  B.  G.  Hoover,  H.  G.  Gumaer,  and 
Willis  Lee,  who  were  installed  in  1889.  John 
Robinson  and  J.  S.  McLaughlin  succeeded  Lee 
and  Gumaer  in  1890.  Hoover  served  three 
years  and  was  succeeded  by  M.  P.  Clary.  Mc- 
Laughlin served  two  years  and  Robinson  three 
years.  Since  then  the  county  commissioners 
have  been :  James  Thompson,  W.  W.  Fought, 
Simon  Hopper,  J.  H.  Roudebush,  F.  H.  Bar- 
ber, H.  G.  Gumaer.  who  was  returned  for  six 
years ;  A.  G.  Neuman,  who  served  eight  years ; 


Albert  S.  Ross,  who  served  six  years ;  D.  F. 
Fickes,  E.  C.  Wolf,  George  Kalb,  who  served 
six  years ;  Simon  Hopper,  who  was  returned 
for  two  three-year  terms ;  but  resigned  during 
his  second  term;  Robert  F.  McGrale,  who  was 
formerly  county  superintendent,  served  five 
years ;  James  Brown,  who  served  nearly  six 
years ;  A.  E.  Colman  and  Oran  B.  Bower. 
Earl  LaGrange  was  appointed  to  complete 
Brown's  unexpired  term,  while  S.  E.  Olson,  Z. 

F.  Whitney,  and  John  Warren  were  commis- 
sioners in  1921.  Simon  Hopper  has  the  rec- 
ord of  thirteen  years  service  as  commissioner ; 
A.  G.  Newman,  of  eight  years ;  and  H.  G. 
Gumaer  of  seven  years.  M.  P.  Clary,  J.  H. 
Roudebush,  F.  H.  Barber  and  George  Kalb, 
each  have  six  years'  service  to  their  credit, 
while  Albert  Ross,  and  James  Brown  have 
nearly  six  years. 

The  county  officials  of  Deuel  county  in  1921 
are  as  follows:  H.  R.  Busse,  judge;  Isaac 
WToolf,  special  judge  in  some  cases;  H.  D. 
Betts,  county  clerk  and  he  also  holds  office  as 
clerk  of  the  district  court  and  register  of  deeds, 
being  assisted  by  Ethel  Hitchman,  deputy ;  J. 

G.  McCormick,  treasurer,  assisted  by  Irene 
Friskopp,  deputy ;  Retta  Brown,  superintend- 
ent ;  A.  Peterson,  sheriff,  J.  C.  Bloom,  assessor; 
L.  O.  Pfeiffer,  attorney":  S.  E.  Olson,  Z.  F. 
Whitney  and  John  Warren,  county  commis- 
sioners, and  H.  F.  Sick,  highway  agent.  The 
county  surveyor  is  S.  W.  Terry,  and  J.  W. 
Sjogren  is  agricultural  agent. 

D.  C.  Hooper  was  elected  the  first  county 
surveyor  in  1892.  W.  F.  Marsh  then  served 
two  terms  or  four  years,  after  which  D.  C. 
Hooper  wa^  returned  to  the  work  for  four 
years.  A.  B.  Wynes  was  elected  in  1902,  and 
in  1904  John  Robinson  became  surveyor,  hav- 
ing just  closed  his  term  of  three  years  as 
county  commissioner.  He  served  several  terms 
as  surveyor,  after  which  in  1910  S.  W.  Tern- 
assumed  the  same  duties  and  has  now  started 
on  his  eleventh  year  in  office. 

The  first  county  physician  of  Deuel  was  Dr. 
Hosea  Hudson,  appointed  in  1890.  This  posi- 
tion is  an  appointive  one  and  filled  by  the  com- 
missioners annually.  Dr.  Hudson  served  three 
years,  being  succceeded  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Bab- 
cock  for  six  years.  The  office  was  then  taken 
over  by  Dr.  H.  H.  Hough  who  held  it  two 
years.  '  Dr.  W.  Mullen  was  county  physician 
"for  a  number  of  years  after  1902,  and  in  1914 
Dr.  M.  B.  Patty  was  appointed  and  today  is 
also  a  member  of  the  town  board  of  Chappell. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Babcock  was  the  first  coroner  of 
the  county,  taking  office  in  January,  1889 ;  he 
was  reelected  in  1890  and  in  "1892,  Simon  Hop- 
per,   afterwards     county    commissioner,     was 


228 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


elected,  being  followed  by  Dr.  Hosea  Hudson, 
serving  eight  years.  .  Charles  Davidson  held 
office  as  coroner  in  1906,  afterward  being  fol- 
lowed by  Clinton  H.  Smith,  elected  in  1911,  and 
by  Dr.  M.  B.  Patty,  elected  in  1916.    This  com- 


pletes the  official  list  of  the  men  who  have 
served  Deuel  county  in  public  office,  usually 
most  efficiently  and  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  the  people. 


CHAPTER  y 


TOWNS 


Chappell,  the  county  seat  of  Deuel  county, 
came  into  existence  with  the  building  of  the 
Union  Pacific  railroad,  when  it  was  first  merely 
a  station  on  the  road.  It  is  located  in  the  west 
central  part  of  the  county,  on  the  main  line  of 
the  Union  Pacific.  John  O'Neil,  who  was  sta- 
tion agent  here  about  1S80  to  1885,  located  in 
the  old  improvised  depot,  was  so  far  as  is 
known,  the  first  operator  and  agent,  of  the  rail- 
road at  this  point,  and  the  first  permanent  resi- 
dent. The  depot  was  partly  dug  out  and  part- 
ly old  railroad  ties,  while  the  rest  was  con- 
structed from  the  wreck  of  an  old  freight  car. 

Soon  after  the  building  of  the  railroad  a  few 
people  came  to  the  site  of  Chappell,  and  there 
were  children,  so  Mr.  O'Neil,  realizing  the  need 
of  instruction  for  them,  taught  the  first  school 
in  the  depot,  the  first'  school  in  what  is  now 
Deuel  county  territory.  He  had  neither  certi- 
ficate, district  or  authority  to  do  so  and  had  no 
taxes  to  support  him  but  the  school  was  estab- 
lished and  did  a  good  work.  The  section  boss 
at  Chappell  was  a  man  named  Wolf,  lately 
from  North  Platte,  who  had  two  boys,  Ed.  and 
Frank.  Another  section  hand.  Mr.  Meituer, 
lived  in  a  shack  southwest  of  the  station  and 
also  had  two  boys  ;  these  four  boys  consisted  of 
the  pupils  of  this  pioneer  school.  One  of  the 
boys,  Ed.  Wolf,  has  since  served  his  county  as 
commissioner,  and  is  now  serving  Chappell  as 
trustee  and  councilman.  He  has  gained  promi- 
nence since  the  early  days  as  he  is  president  of 
the  Deuel  County  Bank.  Frank  Wolf  is  cashier 
of  the  Cheyenne  County  State  Bank,  at  Lodge- 
pole,  which  shows  that  the  early  day  training 
was  excellent.  In  this  section  house  on  Janu- 
ary 10,  1881,  Dora  Wolf  was  born,  the"  first 
white  child  born  in  what  is  now  Deuel  county. 
She  married  Cyrus  Brown,  a  native  of  Mercer 
county,  Illinois,  who  was  afterwards  county 
clerk  of  Deuel  county  for  a  number  of  years. 


She  contracted  lung  trouble  in  the  flu  epidemic 
of  1918  and  died  in  1920. 

About  1883,  John  O'Neil  resigned  as  agent 
for  the  railroad  and  the  following  year,  1884, 
J.  B.  and  M.  A.  Carmichael  surveyed  a  tract 
of  ground  for  the  town  site  of  Chappell  which 
was  filed  at  Sidney  August  27,  1884.  On 
September  19,  they  sold  a  number  of  lots,  tne 
first  of  which  was  bought  by  George  W.  Mc- 
Cluskey.  He  purchased  nine  lots  for  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  dollars.  They  were  in  block 
seventeen.  On  the  same  day  John  O'Ne'l 
bought  eight  lots,  namely:  1,  2,  3,  13,  14,  15, 
17,  and  18,  in  block  18,  for  which  he  paid  one 
hundred  and  sixty  dollars.  H.  A.  Simpson  also 
bought  a  number  of  lots  in  block  18  for  a 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  dollars,  which  gives 
some  idea  of  the  value  of  real  estate  in  those 
days  in  a  new  country  and  new  town.  Thomas 
Farmer  was  also  a  purchaser  of  lots  on  that 
eventful  day.  The  conclusion  of  that  day's 
transactions.  I  should  say,  "Land  office  busi- 
ness," was  the  sale  to  Henry  W.  Wiemer  of 
lot  11,  block  12  for  twenty  dollars. 

Later  in  the  year,  in  November  and  Decem- 
ber, other  sales  were  made  in  Chappell,  but  the 
business  of  the  town  did  not  grow.  There  was 
no  activity  and  the  sales  were  in  the  way  of 
a  speculation.  Tim  McCluskey  built  the  little 
building  in  which  he  ran  the  first  store  in 
Chappel.  He  also  had  a  postoffice  established 
and  became  the  first  postmaster  of  Chappell. 
Mr.  O'Neil  was  one  of  the  first  men  to  handle 
real  estate  in  the  town  and  county  and  though 
fifteen  years  passed  after  the  establishment  of 
the  station  at  Chappell,  there  was  little  or  no 
town  of  consequence. 

At  Sidney  there  was  some  activity  in  real 
estate.  A  few  people  were  beginning  to  come 
into  the  prairie  country  and  locate  preemption 
claims  and  timber  claims  which  did  not  require 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


229 


much  pretense  of  residence.  Joe  C.  Johnson 
came  to  Sidney  in  1882  with  ranching  in  view; 
he  was  from  Missouri  and  kept  thinking  he 
might  go  back  but  with  another  man  worked 
together  selling  land,  though  really  looking  for 
something  for  himself.  The  other  man  was  a 
surveyor  and  had  work  near  Lodgepole.  When 
they  were  through  there  they  decided  to  come 
on  to  the  Chappell  locality  and  drove  down  the 
valley.  They  arrived  quite  late  and  the  only 
place  to  stay  in  Chappell  was  a  shack  near  the 
station.  Johnson  rapped  on  the  door  but  the 
woman  of  the  house  had  retired.  John- 
son asked  if  they  could  get  supper  and 
was  told  it  was  too  late.  A  kettle  was  on  the 
stove  and  Johnson  said,  "Well,  we  can  do  with- 
out supper,  but  I  have  a  quart  of  whiskey  out 
in  the  buggy  and  I  want  some  of  that  hot  water 


tempt  to  stimulate  business  two  of  the  three 
had  given  a  "wash  sale,"  but  they  and  the 
other  one  went  to  Johnson  in  this  deal.  Today 
these  lots  are  situated  at  the  best  corner  in 
Chappell  on  the  best  street  intersection  where 
the  present  business  is  located.  The  Masonic 
hall  is  now  on  the  corner,  which  shows  the 
changes  that  have  taken  place  since  the  day  of 
the  deal. 

Jack  Crowe  had  a  drug  store  at  Lodgepole 
at  the  time  Chappell  was  started  and  within  a 
short  time  built  quite  a  pretentious  store  build- 
ing in  Chappell  about  1884.  It  cost  six  hundred 
dollars  or  more  and  he  put  in  a  stock  of  drugs 
with  his  brother  in  charge.  Eugene  Fish  started 
the  first  pool  hall  in  Chappell,  but  did  not  have 
much  business.  In  1888,  he  and  a  Mr.  Lazerus 
put  in  a  stock  of  drugs ;  then  they  bought  the 


Chapi-eix  ix  1886 


to  go  with  it."  The  man  of  the  house  bright- 
ened up.  He  rapped  on  the  inner  door  and 
called  to  his  wife  to  get  up  and  she  replied 
she  would  not,  then  he  said,  "Listen,  old  wo- 
man, these  men  want  some  supper,  and  he  has 
gone  out  to  get  a  quart  of  whiskey."  When 
Johnson  returned  the  woman  was  up  and  doing 
and  she  helped  "deflate"  the  quart.  The  old 
man  sliced  some  meat  as  there  was  a  part  of 
a  beef  hanging  outside  and  they  soon  had  a 
good  hot  meal  to  eat.  At  this  time  John  O'Neil 
and  a  man  named  Short,  were  trying  to  get 
Chappell  started  and  they  urged  Johnson  to 
buy  a  lot,  as  they  could  advertise  that  more 
people  were  coming  and  buying  lots.  Johnson 
and  his  friend  were  out  in  the  country  and 
looked  over  some  railroad  land,  where  a  tract 
that  suited  Johnson  was  found  and  he  bought 
it.  When  they  came  back  to  the  station,  O'Neil 
and  Short  tried  again  to  get  him  to  buy  a  lot 
in  the  town  site.  Mr.  Johnson  looked  about 
and  asked  what  they  would  take  for  a  certain 
corner  of  three  lots.  They  said  to  start  it, 
"four  dollars  a  lot.  or  twelve  dollars  for  the 
three."    Johnson  bought  them.     In  an  early  at- 


Crowe  stock  and  moved  it  into  the  building 
which  had  just  been  completed. 

Ira  Brashears  took  up  realty  more  enthusias- 
tically when  he  disposed  of  the  Rustler,  and 
built  the  first  frame  dwelling  house  in  Chappell. 
Before  that  all  the  houses  had  the  appearance 
of  temporary  shacks,  which  in  reality  they 
were,  so  the  first  real  house  was  an  important 
event. 

Ben  Beatty  built  and  started  up  early  in  1886 
but  sold  to  Fred  Sudman  in  February  and  went 
to  Julesburg.  Fred  Sudman  thus  started  in  the 
mercantile  business,  and  later  formed  a  combi- 
nation with  Eugene  Fish  in  the  Sudman-Fish 
Company,  which  became  and  continued  an  im- 
portant business  concern  for  years,  with  stores 
at  Chappell,  Oshkosh  and  Lewellen.  Today  the 
company  is  out  of  the  mercantile  business  in 
which  they  prospered. 

Isaac  Woolf  is  one  of  the  sturdy  characters 
of  Deuel  county  development,  as  he  came  here 
about  1884  and  built  the  first  real  hotel  in 
Chappell.  It  was  called  the  Chappell  hotel  and 
Still  stands  just  east  of  the  First  National  bank- 
corner,  although  it  was  built  more  than  thirty- 


230 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


five  years  ago.  In  1886,  Isaac  Woolf  started 
the  first  meat  market  in  Chappell  and  about 
the  same  time  Mrs.  Woolf  started  the  first  mil- 
linery store,  which  filled  a  much  needed  want 
as  women  had  to  go  to  Sidney  for  their  hats. 
At  that  time  there  were  no  barber  shops  in 
Chappell.  as  Nicholas  Zehr's  fine  parlor  had 
not  been  established.  As  Mr.  Woolf  could 
handle  a  razor,  he  also  became  the  first  ton- 
sorial  artist.  He  was  a  man  of  diversified  abil- 
ity and  talents  as  he  also  cried  sales  and  be- 
came the  first  auctioneer  to  practice  that  voca- 
tion in  Deuel  county  territory. 

During  twenty-eight  years  of  the  time  he  has 
lived  in  Chappell  Isaac  Woolf  has  been  county 
judge,  breaking  all  records  in  the  Panhandle 
of  Nebraska  to  hold  such  an  office. 


Business  House,  Chappell 

The  destinies  of  people  are  so  interwoven 
that  one  can  hardly  understand  it.  In  the  years 
when  John  O'Neil  was  teaching  school  in  the 
crude  surroundings  of  the  depot  at  Chappell, 
Allie  Warner  was  teaching  school  in  New 
York.  One  of  her  pupils  was  F.  G.  LaSelle ; 
something  brought  Miss  Warner  to  Chappell, 
and  when  they  built  the  frame  school  house  and 
established  the  first  real  school,  Allie  Warner 
became  the  first  teacher.  Then  she  married 
John  O'Neil,  the  merchant,  and  after  that  her 
former  pupil,  J.  G.  LaSelle,  came  from  New 
York  to  Chappell  and  bought  her  husband's 
store.  LaSelle  and  his  sons,  G.  S.  and  G.  G. 
LaSelle,  ran  this  store  for  many  years,  finally 
selling  to  the  Ryan  Chain  Department  Stores. 
So  the  first  store  in  Chappell  still  exists  merged 
in  the  larger  establishment  of  Ryan's. 

John  (  i'Neil  early  entered  enthusiastically 
into  the  plan-  of  Air.  Carmichael  to  make  the 
railroad  station  at  Chappell  a  community  cen- 
ter, with  conveniences  and  associations  of  the 
best.  Ira  Brashear's  voice  and  pen,  the  fine 
characters  of  W.  II.  Babcock  and  Isaac  Woolf, 
the  business  enterprises  of  Joe  Johnson,  Fred 
Sudman,  and  'Gene  Fish,  the  ranch  home  prop- 
erties    ni    August  Neuman,    Mr.    Wolf    and 


others  all  combined  early  in  the  formation  years 
to  build  an  enduring  basis  for  Chappell's  ulti- 
mate success. 

Gordon  &  Chingreen  started  a  store  in  1886 
and  then  Chingreen  sold  his  interest  to  Gordon 
and  later  Gordon  sold  to  Milliken  &  Swanson. 
They  in  turn  sold  to  Burke,  and  Burke  to  M. 
L.  Tobias.  This  store  is  now  known  as  the 
Chappell  Mercantile  Company. 

So  Chappell  emerged  from  the  unknown 
some  twenty  years  after  the  railroad  reached 
that  point  on  the  map.  Yet  Chappeli  was  not 
incorporated  as  a  village  for  another  score  of 
years.  The  necessary  two  hundred  people  were 
found  by  taking  in  a  farm  or  two.  They  might 
have  left  out  the  farmers  if  they  had  taken  in 
the  railroad  and  station  men. 

L.  O.  Pfeiffer  had  just  come  to  Chappell 
and  was  in  the  office  of  G.  C.  McAllister  and 
Mr.  Pfeiffer  drew  the  papers  as  suggested  by 
McAllister.  In  the  light  of  years  it  would  seem 
that  while  serving  Deuel  county  in  general,  in 
this  particular,  McAllister  also  served  the 
Union  Pacific  railroad.  In  the  light  of  experi- 
ence Attorney  Pfeiffer  would  notice  the  differ- 
ence it  would  make  in  the  village  tax  possibili- 
ties, if  the  south  line  of  the  corporate  limits  was 
on  the  south  line  of  the  railroad  right  of  way, 
instead  of  upon  the  north  line.  At  that  time  it 
would  be  but  natural  that  he  would  not  notice 
any  particulars,  except  the  details  of  accuracy 
in  drawing  the  petition.  In  this  way  Chappell 
lost  out  on  her  tax  roll  collections  some  consid- 
erable sums. 

On  September  10,  1907,  the  county  commis- 
sioners of  Deuel  county  made  the  necessary- 
record  for  bringing  into  existence  the  first  cor- 
porate village  of  Deuel  county.  They  named 
for  the  first  trustees  of  Chappell,  Fred  Sudman, 
H.  I.  Babcock.  Oran  B.  Bower,  John  Wertz, 
and  Charles  Soeton.  Chappell's  first  village 
board  therefore  spoke  for  efficiency  and  that 
the  town  maintains  its  original  high  standard 
is  emphasized  by  the  names  of  the  present 
members :  August  Neuman,  M.  B.  Patty,  Ed. 
C.  Wolf.  Frank  Burling  and  Walter  Stewart. 

By  the  autumn  of  1887,  nearly  all  lines  of 
business  were  represented  in  Chappell.  Fred 
Sudman's  general  mercantile  store  and  E.  Fish 
&  Company's  drug  store  had  not  yet  consoli- 
dated. W.  D.  Post  was  in  the  lumber  business, 
and  B.  D.  K.  Wertz  had  a  hardware  store. 
McEldowney  &  Wertz  ran  a  livery  stable.  Mil- 
liken  &  Swanson  had  by  that  time  acquired  the 
store  started  by  Gordon  &  Chingreen.  C.  C. 
Reynolds  had  put  in  a  line  of  farm  implements, 
although  most  of  the  grangers  brought  theirs 
with  them.  A.  P.  Wilcox  had  taken  up  the 
pump  and  windmill  line  and  wells  were  being 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


put  in  as  fast  as  the  settlers  could  get  time  and 
means.  Most  of  the  well  appliances  were  im- 
provised windlasses  or  wheels  with  buckets  and 
a  rope.  Lee  &  Lee  and  W.  H.  Sigler  were  at- 
torneys and  Hosea  Hudson  was  the  physician 
at  Chappell.  John  O'Neil  still  maintained  that 
he  was  the  pioneer  land  agent.  The  Commercial 
National  Bank  was  the  only  institution  of  its 
kind  in  the  town,  and  Mrs.  J.  B.  Laycock  ran 
the  Chappell  hotel  and  Mr.  Funk  the  bakery. 

Great  have  been  the  changes  from  that  day 
to  those  of  1921,  and  the  business  of  Chappell 


to  other  business  and  we  now  find  Ryan's  Chain 
Department  Store.  The  Bostonian,  Chappell 
Mercantile,  Stephens  Grocery,  Airs.  McAuliff, 
Dry  Goods,  Chappell  Cash  Grocery  and  other 
new  institutions  lining  the  business  thorough- 
fares. Thompson's  Pharmacy,  modern  and  up- 
to-date  occupies  the  site  of  Chappell's  first  drug 
store,  and  "Rexall"  has  an  active  representative 
in  H.  J.  Handley's  Pharmacy.  Chappell  has  a 
number  of  small  hostelries  and  excellent  room- 
ing houses,  while  places  to  eat,  restaurants, 
cafes,  bakeries  and  the  like  are   found  in  all 


is  illustrative  of  the  progress  of  Deuel  county. 
The  old  frame  structures  have  largely  passed 
out  of  existence  here  and  new  brick  buildings 
of  the  most  substantial  order  and  the  best  qual- 
ity are  in  evidence  in  the  business  district.  Nat- 
urally garages  to  care  for  the  expanding  auto- 
mobile business  are  on  every  hand  and  service 
stations  greet  the  eyes  on  the  Lincoln  highway 
at  the  town  approaches.  Distributing  houses 
for  tractors  and  implements  for  bonanza  farm- 
ing are  of  importance.  One  of  the  largest  in- 
stitutions of  its  kind  is  the  Chappell  Lumber 
&  Hardware  Company ;  the  Western  Hardware 
Company  is  also  a  concern  of  importance. 

In  the  older  days  the  Sudman  &  Fish  Com- 
pany and  LaSelle  Brothers  and  those  still 
earlier  were  prominent  in  commercial  industry 
and  mercantile  lines.     Todav  thev  have  taken 


parts  of  the  business  section.  Bracken's  Under- 
taking and  Furniture  establishment  is  a  com- 
paratively new  and  up-to-date  establishment 
which  meets  with  the  needs  of  the  town  and 
surrounding  territory.  Land  and  investment 
firms  have  prospered  amazingly  with  the  rise  of 
land  values  and  more  settlement  in  Deuel  coun- 
ty. Distinctively  as  an  example  of  progressive 
cooperation,  the  Farmers  Elevator  Company, 
managed  by  Mr.  Morrison,  stands  preemi- 
nently out  in  the  town  and  county.  Handling 
vast  quantities  of  grain  and  milling  products,  it 
is  a  shining  example  of  organized  farmer's  suc- 
cess. The  fanners  also  coopertae  in  the  pur- 
chase and  handling  of  farm  machinery.  This 
elevator  has  a  capacity  of  five  thousand  four 
hundred  bushels  an  hour,  though  for  delivery 
to  cars  and  shipment  about  twenty  thousand 


232 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


bushels  a  day  is  what  can  be  handled.  About 
six  hundred  thousand  bushels  is  the  record  for 
wheat  in  a  season. 

Chappell  owns  its  own  water  and  electric 
plant  which  is  giving  fine  service  to  the  town. 
Cement  sidewalks  cover  practically  the  entire 
town  and  the  streets  are  some  of  the  best  in  the 
Panhandle.  A  fine  brick  school  building  was 
erected  in  1911  at  a  cost  of  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  and  is  a  twelve  grade,  approved  school 
and  high  school.  The  Chappell  Commercial 
Club  is  one  of  the  live  oraginzations  of  its 
kind  and  has  done  much  for  the  development  of 
the  town  and  county. 


Western  Lumber  &  H 


The  Chappell  State  Bank  is  doing  much  for 
the  town  and  county,  the  First  National  Bank, 
the  oldest  in  the  county  is  an  institution  that 
from  the  first  has  been  of  influence  in  the  up- 
building of  the  town,  while  the  Deuel  County 
Bank  is  doing  a  fine  business. 

The  Register  is  an  up-to-date  newspaper  that 
furnishes  the  town  and  county  with  excellent 
service.  Today  Chappell  stands  out  as  one  of 
the  live,  prosperous  and  thriving  towns  of  the 
Panhandle  which  is  doing  a  large  business,  mar- 
keting the  crops  of  the  contributing  territory 
and  supplying  it  with  the  necessities  of  agri- 
cultural life  and  industry,  and  bids  fair  to  be- 
come larger  and  of  more  importance  with  the 
increase  from  farming  on  modern  lines. 

Big  Springs 

Big  Springs  is  the  second  town  of  importance 
in  Deuel  county.  It  is  located  in  the  southeast- 
ern part  of  the  county  on  the  Union  Pacific  rail- 
road in  the  Platte  valley;  is  the  center  of  a 
fine  irrigated  farm  district  and  is  a  growing 
town  of  progressive  people.  Big  Springs  was 
platted  and  the  plat  recorded  at  Sidney,  No- 
vember 6,  1884  ;  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  filed 
the  plat.  At  an  earlier  date  the  station  was 
known  as  Lone  Tree.  Big  Springs  was  known 
at  an  early  day  as  it  was  not  far  from  the  pres- 
ent town  that  tin-  "crossing"  of  the  famous 
<  )regon  and  California  trails  occurred.  This 
history  is  given  iii  the  general  history  of  the 
Panhandle. 


J.  H.  Jewett,  who  was  the  first  state  senator 
from  the  Panhandle,  induced  the  bonding  of  the 
Big  Springs  precinct  for  a  bridge  across  the 
South  Platte  river  in  1885.  The  famous  Jewett 
ranch  was  located  near  Big  Springs  and  its  his- 
tory is  also  given  in  another  place  in  this  his- 
tory. Near  the  town  site  Otto  Baumgarten  dem- 
onstrated practical  dry  farming  a  number  of 
years  before  homesteaders  spread  over  the  high 
lands  of  Deuel  county.  In  1883  Big  Springs 
settlement  consisted  of  one  adobe  house  aside 
from  the  railroad  section  house  and  depot, 
which  were  small  affairs.  About  the  first  store 
in  Big  Springs  was  erected  by  Abbott  &  Kim- 
ball. Old  timers  will  remember  the  sign  on 
the  side  of  the  building,  "Ott  &  Kim,"  and 
thereby  hangs  the  tale.  A  tramp  painter  ar- 
rived in  Big  Springs  and  struck  Abbott  and 
Kimball  for  a  job  of  sign  painting;  they  told 
him  to  paint  the  name  of  the  firm  on  the  side 
of  the  store  building.  Carefully  measuring  the 
space,  he  began  in  the  middle  with  the  form 
"&."  then  the  last  letter  of  Abbott  and  the  first 
of  Kimball ;  he  persevered  until  he  had  the  last 
three  letters  of  Abbott  and  the  first  three  of 
Kimball;  then  he  rested,  and  for  aught  they 
know  he  is  resting  still.  "'Ott  &  Kim"  caused 
so  much  comment,  the  firm  recognized  its  ad- 
vertising value,  and  it  so  remained  for  many 
years.     Mr.  Kimball  still  runs  the  store.     Big 


Springs  had  the  first  organized  school  district 
in  Deuel  county  territory,  being  No.  2,  of  old 
Cheyenne  county. 

As  related  elsewhere,  Big  Springs  once  cast 
an  enormous  vote  on  a  county  seat  election, 
more  than  five  thousand  votes  were  returned 
but  failed  to  get  the  county  seat.  Frank  Down, 
one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  the  town  has 
lived  here  since  the  early  seventies,  being  one 
of  the  first  men  to  establish  a  store.  A.  E. 
Phelps  built  a  hotel  in  1884,  and  opened  it 
Christmas  eve  of  that  year.  He  has  run  the 
hotel  for  thirty-seven  years,  being  the  pioneer 
man  of  his  line  and  one  of  the  oldest  business 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


men  in  the  town.  Gotlieb  Manser  opened  a 
blacksmith  shop  in  Big  Spring  in  1886,  the 
first  in  this  section.  Mr.  Manser  still  resides 
in  the  town  but  is  not  so  active  as  thirty-five 
years  ago. 

The  Big  Springs  of  today  is  of  much  more 
commercial  importance  than  the  early  village. 
The  farmers  are  proving  the  collective  theory 
of  marketing  by  a  Farmers'  Elevator  and  Store. 
The  members  are  composed  of  early  settlers 


Street  Corner,  Chapfeu. 

and  new  farmers  who  work  together  for  the 
common  good  of  all,  in  marked  harmony. 
Among  the  names  of  old  timers  we  find  such 
men  as  Godfrey  Zolman  who  came  here  late  in 
the  eighties,  sold  butter  at  ten  cents  a  pound 
and  is  now  selling  cream  at  seventy  and  eighty 
cents  a  pound.  Will  Hartman  is  another  of 
the  men  who  came  in  1886,  who  is  a  member 
of  the  cooperative  farmers  enterprise.  Hart- 
man  says  that  he  is  not  superstitious  about  the 
number  thirteen,  for  his  homestead  filing  was 
the  thirteenth  claim  that  had  been  made  for 
that  particular  tract.     The   other  twelve  had 


given  it  up,  but  it  was  the  foundation  of  his 
present  good  fortune. 

The  town  of  Big  Springs  has  in  addition  to 
the  Farmers  Store,  the  old  Abbott  &  Kimball 
store  and  the  newer  Eagle-Tucker  Mercantile 
Company,  Peterson's  Pharmacy,  the  LaGrange 
Market,  Junge  Brothers  Implement  House, 
McKipps  &  Company,  Furniture ;  Neilson  & 
Brown,  Autos  and  Tractors ;  Caskey  Electric 
Supply  Store  ;  Phelps  Motor  Company  ;  Flora's 
Big  Springs  Lumber  Company;  Klindt's  Cafe, 
and  Wilbur's  Cafe.  There  are  two  banks, 
whose  history  will  be  found  under  the  head  of 
finance  and  banks,  a  doctor,  a  lawyer,  a  den- 
tist, and  other  professional  people  and  places 
of  business  including  a  newspaper.  J.  W. 
Crannell,  who  for  a  decade  engaged  in  various 
enterprises :  a  pool  hall,  cigar  store,  and  meat 
market,  now  has  retired,  but  is  a  contractor 
and  builder  at  times.  If  Big  Springs  had  an 
early  organization  it  was  abandoned.  On  May 
15,  1917,  the  county  commissioners  created 
the  village  of  Big  Springs,  and  appointed  A. 
Kjeldgaard,  Otto  Neilson.  William  Mack,  Aug- 
ust Gehrke,  and  J.  R.  Holcombe,  village  trust- 
ees. The  petition  asking  for  such  creation  of 
the  village  was  filed  April  30.  These  men  ably 
represent  the  modern  spirit  of  Big  Springs, 
which  stands  for  development  and  progress. 
Big  Springs  has  a  fine  school  building  which 
would  be  a  credit  to  a  town  many  times  its 
size.  The  town  is  the  shipping  and  supply 
point  for  the  irrigated  district  along  the  South 
Platte  river  as  well  as  the  dry  farming  lands 
nearby.  It  is  a  thriving  community  with 
every  prospect  of  growth.  For  years  the  town 
has  been  well  served  by  the  Remington  hotel 
for  the  benefit  of  the  traveling  public. 


CHAPTER  VI 


SCI  K  >OLS  IN  DEUEL  COUNTY 


The  very  early  schools  of  Deuel  county  came 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  Cheyenne  county,  as 
Deuel  was  a  part  of  "Old  Cheyenne"  until 
erected  as  a  separate  county.  The  history  of 
the  first  schools  in  what  is  now  Deuel  county 
territory  will  be  found  in  that  of  Cheyenne 
county  where  the  early  struggles  for  education 
in  this  section  are  told. 

The   first   county    superintendent   of    Deuel 


county  was  F.  W.  Starks,  who  served  one  year 
after  the  county  was  organized.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  Mrs.  Rosa  Dodds  in  1890,  who  served 
one  term  in  office.  She  left  some  excellent  rec- 
ords of  the  first  schools  under  the  new  county 
administration.  In  1892  Mrs.  S.  C.  German 
became  superintendent,  and  she  in  turn  was 
succeeded  by  Allen  Chamberlain,  in  1894.  Mr. 
Chamberlain  was  later  presiding  elder  of  this 


234 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


district  for  the  Methodist  church.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Catherine  Wil- 
liams of  Scottsbluff.  After  his  service  as  pre- 
siding elder,  Mr.  Chamberlain  went  to  Ord,  in 
charge  of  the  church  at  that  place. 

In  1896,  Rosa  Dodds  was  recalled  to  duty 
as  county  superintendent  and  was  reelected  in 
1898.  Two  years  later,  in  1900,  Robert  F.  Mc- 
Grale  became  superintendent,  being  reelected 
in  1902,  serving  two  terms.  Mrs.  L.  M.  Bern- 
hard,  a  school  mate  of  the  writer,  many  years 
ago.  at  New  Windsor,  Illinois,  was  elected  sup- 


being  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Deuel  county, 
as  he  came  here  in  1884,  locating  in  that  part  of 
Deuel  county  which  later  was  formed  as  Gar- 
den county.  D.  C.  Hooper  died  in  1920,  while 
the  mother  still  lives  with  Mrs.  Brown  in  Chap- 
pell. 

The  first  school  held  within  the  present  lim- 
its of  Deuel  county  was  in  district  No.  2,  of 
Cheyenne  county,  at  Big  Springs,  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  district  as  before  stated,  being  re- 
lated in  the  story  of  Cheyenne  county.  The 
next  school  was  organized  in  the  Chappell  dis- 


erintendent  in  1904,  being  twice  reelected, 
thereby  serving  six  years.  The  health  of  her 
mother,  Mrs.  Coe.  required  Mrs.  Bernhard's 
complete  attention  thereafter  and  she  did  not 
run  for  office.  She  atttended  the  mother  to 
the  old  home  in  Illinois,  then  to  the  Mayo  Clin- 
ic, Rochester,  Minnesota  and  then  back  to 
Deuel  county,  where  Mrs.  Coe  passed  away  in 
1918,  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Coe's  sister,  Mrs. 
J.  H.  Brown. 

Vera  Yockey  became  superintendent  in  1910, 
and  in  1912  was  reelected.  In  1914  Retta  Brown 
was  elected  to  office  as  superintendent  and  still 
has  charge  of  the  office.  She  has  been  reelected 
three  times,  with  seven  years  past  service  and 
two  \<  i  to  serve  before  (he  present  term  expires 
which  indicates  a  satisfactory  record.  Mrs. 
Brown  was  formerly  Retta  1  looper.  her  father 


trict,  now  District  No.  7,  of  Deuel  county.  John 
O'Neil  at  an  earlier  date  taught  a  small  private 
school  in  the  railroad  station.  In  the  summer 
of  1885  a  frame  building  some  twenty- four  by 
thirty-six  feet  was  built  on  the  present  court 
house  block  and  Allie  Warner,  afterwards  Airs. 
John  O'Neil  was  the  first  teacher.  After  the 
organization  of  the  county  of  Deuel  twenty- 
eight  districts  were  found  to  be  in  or  partly  in 
the  new  county.  Of  these,  nine  had  sod  school 
houses ;  ten  had  lumber  school  houses ;  and  one 
was  of  logs.  Eight  contained  no  report  of  the 
character  of  the  housing  facilties.  The  teachers 
at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  county 
were:  William  Bradlev.  1.  P.  Krum.  Mrs.  C. 
A.  Glass,  Ida  Hibbs,  A.  D.  Maxwell,  Mrs.  C. 
J.  Slocum.  1.  W.  Mills.  Mrs.  Clara  Graf,  J.  C. 
Gyger,  Erna  Pickering,  C.  W.  Snodgrass,  A. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


235 


P.  Wilcox,  Jessie  Laycock,  Jennie  Plummer, 
Hattie  Gates,  Mrs.  P.  Seberger,  Agnes  Smith, 
Henrv  Swanson,  H.  M.  Finch,  Jennie  Salsbury, 
Ella  j.  Brown,  Mrs.  M.  Kenney,  M.  Belle  Eb- 
right,  Mollie  Darlington,  W.  L.  Harrington,  C. 
J.  Slocum  and  Yinne  Brown. 

It  may  be  observed  that  Jessie  Laycock 
taught  two  schools,  one  beginning  after  the 
close  of  the  other.  Three  hundred  and  forty- 
seven  pupils  registered  at  these  schools  when 
the  county  first  came  into  existence.  The  growth 
and  development  of  Deuel  county  may  be  un- 
derstood, when  it  is  stated  that  in  ten  years 
there  were  sixty-three  districts  and  in  twenty 
years  seventy  to  take  care  of  the  increasing  at- 
tendance of  the  children  of  the  settlers  and  far- 
mers. 

The  first  teachers  institute  of  Deuel  county 
was  held  August  3-15,  1891,  with  Professor  C. 
L.  Harper  as  instructor  and  Superintendent 
Rosa  Dodds,  instructress.  There  were  fifty- 
four  teachers  in  attendance.  Superintendent 
Stark's  record  of  certificates  issued  is  missing 
so  that  the  record  begins  February  15,  1890, 
when  1.  C.  Gvger  was  issued  a  certificate.  On 
March  8,  following,  Fred  L.  Gilliard,  Eva  M. 
Gilliard,  and  Mollie  Hilber  were  issued  certifi- 
cates. District  No.  1,  was  organized  March  4, 
1889,  upon  petition  of  George  Shirley,  John 
Enslow  and  others,  and  was  located  in  14-42. 
District  No.  2,  organized  at  Big  Springs,  when 
a  part  of  Cheyenne  county,  by  E.  M.  Day,  who 
sent  notice  to  E.  W.  Ormsby,  "a  taxable  inhab- 
itant," at  that  time  comprised  all  of  Deuel  and 
Garden  county  territory.  Big  Springs  is  now 
in  District  No.  19,  No.  2  being  north  thereof. 
District  No.  3  was  in  15-45  and  district  No.  4 
was  organized  originally  by  Julia  Sheldon,  wife 


the  territory  was  a  part  of  Cheyenne  county, 
in  March,  1887.  It  was  on  the  west  line  of  the 
present  county,  west  of  Chappell. 

On  March  7,  1885,  Leslie  Stevens  created 
school  district  No.  7,  which  included  the  town 
of  Chappell,  then  in  Cheyenne  county. 

In  the  present  Deuel  county,  since  Garden 
county  was  cut  from  the  territory,  there  are 
thirty  districts,  forty-five  teachers  and  a  thous- 
and and  seventeen  pupils,  with  one  parochial 
school  at  Big  Springs,  conducted  by  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church.  There  are  no  consoli- 
dated schools  except  in  the  northwestern  cor- 
ner, a  Garden  county  unit.  There  are  eleven 
grades  at  Big  Springs,  which  has  a  fine  modern 
brick  school  building,  while  Chappell  also  has 
an  excellent  building  with  fine  equipment  and 
accredited  high  school. 

As  before  stated,  the  county  has  no  consoli- 
dated schools  with  the  exception  of  one,  a  Gar- 
den county  unit,  which  includes  the  northwest 
corner  of  Deuel  county. 

The  Chappell  high  school  has  twelve  grades ; 
Frank  L.  Smith  is  superintendent  and  Miss 
Nellie  Vail  is  principal  ;  while  twelve  teachers 
constitute  the  faculty.  At  Big  Springs  four 
teachers  are  employed.  The  superintendent  is 
Lorin  1).  Root,  with  Gertrude  Houston,  princi- 
pal. Ordinarily  there  are  twelve  grades,  but 
this  year  there  are  only  eleven  as  but  one  pupil 
regi   m  red  for  the  twelfth  grade. 

The  educational  advantages  of  Deuel  county 
are  equal  to  any  in  the  state.  All  over  the  coun- 
ty the  schools  are  good,  using  modern  methods 
and  equipment,  and  provided  with  excellent 
teachers,  which  give  the  children  of  the  county 
every  advantage  and  of  which  the  people  may 
he  proud. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  CHURCH  IN  DEUEL  COUNTY 


Like  the  rest  of  the  history  of  Deuel  county, 
the  earliest  religious  activities  of  the  county 
were  in  Cheyenne  county,  of  which  it  was  a 
part  for  many  years.  The  first  meetings  were 
of  necessity  held  in  private  houses  as  there 
were  no  church  buildings  in  the  early  days  and 
when  a  visiting  missionary,  elder  or  priest  was 
known  to  lie  coming  the  people  would  gather  in 
some  sod  house  in  the  earliest  days  and  later 


in  the  better  homes  constructed  nt  lumber  and 
there  conduct  services.  Chappell,  the  first  town 
of  importance  in  Deuel  county,  naturally  lie- 
came  the  religious  center  after  it  was  settled, 
and  the  churches  there  had  much  to  do  with 
the  high  moral  standard  of  the  people  of  the 
entire  county  as  an  excellent  influence  was  ex- 
tended throughout  its  territory. 

From    1883   to    1885,   and    for  a   long   period 


!36 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


after  that  Ira  Brashears.  a  layman,  of  high  re- 
ligious standing,  hesitated  not  in  what  he  be- 
lieved to  be  his  duty.  He  was  a  good  man  in 
a  country  just  merging  from  a  wild  state  and 
spoke  the  word  of  God  with  fervor  and  elo- 
quence, holding  meetings  in  various  places 
throughout  the  county.  Air.  Brashears  did  a 
fine  work  as  a  pioneer  evangelist  and  deserves 
mention  in  the  history  of  the  county  for  the 
good  he  did  when  no  ordained  minister  or 
priest  could  be  obtained.    Following  him  came 


Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Chaitki.i. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Babcock,  who  ministered  to  the 
sick  in  body  and  in  spirit  as  well,  for  when 
not  engaged  in  the  duties  of  his  medical  pro- 
fession, he  preached  good  sermons  wherever 
and  whenever  he  found  time  and  a  few  people 
gathered  to  listen.  After  the  frame  school 
house  was  built  in  Chappell,  services  were 
held  there  which  was  the  start  of  real  church 
activities  in  the  town  and  county.  No  church 
building  was  erected  until  1896,  when  the 
Methodist  organization  erected  a  frame  struc- 
ture and  Reverend  O.  A.  Trahue  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  congregation.  The  members 
of  the  church  at  once  began  to  show  an  in- 
crease; a  Sunday  School  was  organized  which 
became  larger  and  an  influence  for  good  in 
the  community.  The  Methodist  church  pros- 
pered and,  in  1915,  twenty  years  after  its  first 
church  was  built,  the  new  beautiful  modern 
edifice  was  dedicated,  when  Reverend  J.  E. 
Hays  was  pastor.  In  1921,  Reverend  L.  V. 
Slocumb  was  given  charge  in  January.  He 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  increasing  the 
membership  of  both  the  church  and  Sunday 
School ;  is  a  man  who  works  for  the  interest 
of  church  and  community,  and  with  the  other 
auxiliaries  of  the  congregation  the  Methodist 
church  is  taking  a  place  of  importance  in  the 
affairs  of  Chappell. 

The  Methodist  church  was  also  the  pioneer 
religious  organization  at  Big  Springs,  for 
Elder  Stephens  preached  his  faith  all  over  the 
western  part  of  Nebraska  and  the  people  there 
gathered  for  services  at  an  early  day.  A  church 


organization  was  perfected  there  and  it  is  the 
strongest  denomination  in  the  town,  with  an 
extended  influence  for  good.  The  Presbyterian 
church  also  has  an  organization  in  Big  Springs, 
the  only  one  of  that  denomination  in  Deuel 
county. 

At  an  early  day  Catholic  priests  held  services 
in  old  Cheyenne  county,  that  portion  which  is 
now  Deuel  county,  when  a  number  of  its  mem- 
bers could  gather  together,  but  there  was  no 
organization  in  the  early  days,  a  visiting  priest 
having  to  cover  a  large  territory.  Today, 
however,  the  Catholics  are  second  strongest  in 
the  county,  in  membership  and  activities,  al- 
though until  1915,  there  was  no  church  build- 
ing. The  meetings  up  to  the  time  the  church 
was  built  were  held  whenever  a  visiting  priest 
came.  However,  at  the  present  time  the  Cath- 
olics have  a  fine  commodious  church  with 
Father  Keller  as  resident  priest.  This  church 
serves  the  town  and  a  large  contributing  parish 
and  today  is  a  great  influence  in  Deuel  county. 

Many  people  of  the  German  Lutheran  faith 
setttled  in  Deuel  county,  and  like  the  people 
of  other  faiths,  for  many  years  had  no  real 
church  organization,  holding  their  meetings  in 
the  houses  of  the  members  who  belonged  to 


A 

il  si 

■,     1 

:"       *M. 

_n-<tf 

*-  Dy 

p 

^■Wpg^yy 

■ILSi 

other  churches  from  which  they  came  to  the 
west.  Later  they  perfected  an  organization  at 
Chappell  which  was  in  charge  of  Reverend 
Gans  until  1920,  when  he  resigned  after  vears 
of  faithful  and  good  work  for  the  people  of 
this  congregation.  The  church  was  established 
as  an  organization  in  1916  and  has  a  good 
membership. 

In  1918,  the  Pentecostal  church  was  organ- 
ized and  the  following  vear  a  church  building- 
was  erected  with  Reverend  Ira   I.  Walker  as 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


237 


pastor.  This  church  is  sometimes  referred  to 
as  the  "Holy  Rollers,"  but  by  its  pastor  is 
called  "The  Assembly  of  God  Church." 

A  membership  organization  of  the  Christian 
church  was  effected  at  Chappell  in  1920,  but 
no  minister  has  yet  been  assigned.  A  minis- 
ter comes  from  Sidney  or  some  other  town  oc- 
casionally, also  visiting  ministers  who  held 
services  for  the  people  of  this  congregation. 
Regular  meetings  are  held  for  the  present  in 
the  court  house. 

The  success  and  progress  of  church  work 
are  dependent  usually  upon  the  auxiliaries, 
where  the  women  of  the  church  meet,  work 
and  plan  for  the  benefit  of  the  congregations. 
The  Ladies  Aid  is  no  small  factor  in  the  im- 
portant part  the  Methodist  church  has  per- 
formed for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  Deuel 
county.  The  women's  organizations  of  the 
other  churches  are  doing  a  like  work  for  them. 

The  following  county  churches  complete  the 
history  of  this  important  part  of  Deuel  county 
development.  In  1819,  the  Methodists  built  a 
church  at  Froid,  to  serve  the  north  central 
part  of  the  county  and  the  Froid  community. 
Six  miles  northeast  of  Chappell,  the  Mennon- 
ites  have  a  church,  as  that  part  of  the  tableland 
was  largely  settled  by  that  denomination. 
Fourteen  miles  northeast  of  Chappell  there  is 
a  Swedish  settlement  and  a  Swedish  church 
has  been  organized  and  church  building  erected 
to  serve  that  corner  of  the  county.  In  the  set- 
tlement about  the  old  Day  postoffice,  there  was 
a  Methodist  church  organized  many  years  ago. 
To  a  large  extent,  the  country  people  come  in- 
to Chappell  and  Big  Springs  and  Julesburg  to 
church,  when  they  live  within  a  distance  that 


allows  of  Sunday  attendance.  The  motor  car 
has  made  them  within  easy  reach,  when  roads 
are  good. 

Temperance 

Closely  associated  with  the  church  is  the 
question  of  temperance,  as  the  members  of  all 
church  organizations  have  usually  sided  with 
the  work  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union  to  eradicate  this  evil;  and  while 
there  is  no  such  organization  in  Deuel  county 
the  church  people  have  been  active  in  this 
work.  Deuel  county  never  had  but  one  saloon 
in  its  history  and  has  outlived  that.  It  was 
run  by  George  McCluskey  in  Chappell,  in  the 
days  before  the  town  was  organized  as  a  vil- 
lage. Before  McCluskey,  a  man  named  An- 
derson, from  Missiouri,  was  running  a  "blind 
pig;"  he  made  big  money  for  a  while,  but  left 
when  the  law  and  order  people  began  to  take 
action  against  traffic  in  liquor. 

In  Big  Springs  in  the  early  days,  consider- 
able liquor  was  sold,  but  without  license,  and 
bootlegging  to  a  limited  degree  is  practiced  in 
Chappell  and  Big  Springs.  When  the  terri- 
tory now  included  in  Garden  county,  was  a 
part  of  Deuel  county,  a  few  saloons  were  li- 
censed in  the  North  Platte  river  country,  but 
for  only  a  few  years.  Recently  a  car  was 
seized  and  sold  near  Chappell  by  state  law  en- 
forcement agents,  as  it  had  evidently  been  used 
for  border  traffic  running  across  the  line  from 
Colorado.  Generally  speaking,  this  particular 
locality  has  been  free  from  liquor  consumption, 
and  the  people  of  Deuel  county  consider  John 
Barleycorn  as  dead  as  slavery. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE    PRESS  — BANKS    AND    FINANCE —BENCH    AND    BAR- 
FESSION  —  FRATERNAL  ORGANIZATIONS 


MEDICAL    PRO- 


In  the  early  days  after  Chappell's  first  settle- 
ment was  made,  the  town  needed  a  newspaper, 
not  alone  for  the  community,  but  to  urge  set- 
tlers to  come  to  the  county,  and  also  for  the  few- 
ranchers  who  ought  to  be  given  the  news  of 
general  world  affairs.  The  question  arose  as 
to  where  the  subscribers  were  to  come  from. 
Ira  Brashears  became  the  man  of  the  hour.  He 
became  the  moving  spirit  in  the  establishment 


of  the  newspaper,  and  the  Chappell  Rustler 
came  into  existence.  It  was  printed  on  a  job 
press  and  published  without  regard  to  regular 
sequence  for  a  time.  Mr.  Brashears  was  an  old 
soldier,  and  as  has  been  recounted,  though  a 
layman,  he  preached  in  Chappell  and  the  coun- 
try for  some  years.  He  was  a  man  of  excellent 
character  and  just  the  man  needed  in  the  forma- 
tive years  of  Chappell's  development.    Volume 


.w 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


I,  No.  1,  of  the  Rustler  was  published  July  1, 
1885,  a  four  column  folio,  and  the  three  ad- 
vertisements it  contained  were :  Hosea  Hud- 
son, physician  and  surgeon;  John  O'Neil, 
lands,  he  being  the  "pioneer  real  estate  deal- 
er;" and  Ira  Brashears,  real  estate  and  notary 
public.  This  was  the  notice  of  the  first  notary 
in  Chappell. 

The  Chappell  Register  for  the  first  several 
months  of  its  existence  was  printed  at  Lodge- 
pole,  no  files  of  these  months  are  to  be  found. 
Volume  I,  No.  15,  contains  an  "Introductory," 
indicating  it  was  the  beginning,  there  being  no 
explanation  of  why  the  number  was  15  instead 
of  1.  Probably  this  was  the  initial  number 
published  at  Chappell.  It  appeared  September 
29.  1887,  with  Morgan  and  Yenson  as  pub- 
lishers. A  year  later  it  was  published  by  Mor- 
gan &  Company,  which  would  indicate  a 
change  in  the  management.  It  is  possible  that 
the  Rustler  was  its  antecedent,  and  there  had 
been  fourteen  numbers  of  that  paper  previous- 
ly issued. 

The  fight  over  the  location  of  the  county 
seat  waxed  warm  during  the  first  part  of  1889, 
the  Register  fighting  valiantly  for  Chappell,  and 
the  Journal,  appearing  at  Big  Springs,  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  O'Day,  fighting  for  Big  Springs. 
The  Register  accused  Mr.  O'Day  of  being  an 
importation  for  hire  and  indulged  in  divers 
personalities  which  were  common  the  first 
years  that  newspapers  were  established  in  west- 
ern Nebraska.  Among  the  personal  jibes  at 
O'Day  was  an  alleged  bill  for  printing  tickets. 
The  bill  ran  into  many  dollars  for  tickets 
printed  by  the  thousand  alleged  to  have  been 
for  the  purpose  of  stuffing  the  ballot  boxes,  and 
then  two  items  for  damages :  "Damages  to 
the  press,  $5.00.     Damage  to  character,  $.03." 

Before  starting  the  Register  at  Chappell, 
Mr.  Morgan  ran  the  Lodgepole  Enterprise, 
which  was  established  by  Yensen  and  Mounts. 
Mr.  Morgan  bought  Yensen's  interest  in  the 
paper  and  became  part  owner.  Later  James 
Wolfe  bought  Mount's  interest,  and  then  Mr. 
Morgan's  and  transformed  the  Enterprise  into 
the  Express,  which  he  owned  and  managed  for 
twenty-five  years.  A  history  of  this  paper  will 
be  found  in  the  history  of  Cheyenne  county. 

After  the  sale  of  his  interest  to  Mr.  Wolfe, 
Morgan  together  with  Yensen  came  to  Chap- 
pell and  became  identified  with  the  life  of  the 
town.  I'M  Searles  at  this  time  had  begun  to 
bring  land  seekers  from  Ogallala  to  the  Chap- 
pell locality  to  buy  railroad  land.  It  was  gen- 
i  rally  -"Id  at  about  seven  dollars  an  acre,  one 
tenth  of  the  purchase  price  being  in  cash. 
Searles,  who  later  became  state  auditor  of  Ne- 


braska, inspired  both  Morgan  and  Yensen  in 
the  future  of  Chappell  and  the  surrounding 
country.  Yensen's  primary  object  was  to  get 
into  the  real  estate  business,  into  which  he 
soon  graduated. 

Guy  C.  Newman  was  born  on  his  father's 
ranch  south  of  Lodgepole,  March  16,  1885,  the 
first  white  boy  born  in  that  community.  It  was 
not  his  fault  that  the  politicians  later  put  him 
over  the  edge  in  Cheyenne  county.  He  has, 
however,  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
Deuel  county,  as  he  has  lived  on  the  Newman 
ranch  southeast  of  Chappell  many  years.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  was  at  the  helm  of  the 
Chappell  Register,  serving  most  admirably  the 
community  and  the  county  as  an  editor  of  the 
paper.  Mr.  Newman  also  had  charge  of  the 
implement  department  of  the  farmers  collec- 
tive enterprises  at  Chappell  and  showed  good 
business  ability. 

Seven  years  ago,  H.  A.  Talbott  came  from 
Clay  county  to  Chappell  to  work  on  the  Regis- 
ter, and  eventually  he  bought  the  paper  which 
he  now  manages  with  the  able  assistance  of  his 
wife.  Harvey  Talbott  was  born  in  Clay  coun- 
ty thirty  years  ago  and  after  brief  schooling  in 
the  high  school  there,  began  to  work  as  a  com- 
positor there  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  on  the 
Clay  County  Patriot.  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Emiline  A.  "Gillette,  March  17,  1914.  Dyer  Gil- 
lette, Mrs.  Talbott's  father,  left  Oberlin  Col- 
lege to  enlist  in  the  army  during  the  Civil  War 
and  afterwards  served  as  clerk  of  the  district 
court  in  Clay  county.  Mr.  Gillette  and  his 
wife,  Ida  A.,  are  still  living  at  the  old  home 
place.  In  1914,  Mr.  Talbott  came  to  Chappell 
and  entered  upon  his  duties  at  the  Register  of- 
fice, later  becoming  proprietor  and  editor  of 
the  paper  with  his  wife  for  associate.  The 
Talbotts  have  taken  part  in  the  phenominal 
growth  of  Chappell,  in  which  their  energy  and 
enterprise  have  most  materially  assisted.  Ac- 
tive in  Chappell's  Chamber  of  Commerce,  of  a 
hundred  members,  and  on  the  Register,  they 
lead  the  pace  for  other  business  people  and  of 
the  city's  forward  progress. 

Big  Springs  has  long  been  without  a  news- 
paper. When  Mr.  O'Day  gave  up  his  paper 
there  and  the  Journal  ceased  to  exist,  there  was 
not  much  for  a  number  of  years  to  encourage 
a  new  man  to  take  up  such  an  enterprise.  How- 
ever, the  Progress  has  come  into  existence  and 
being  during  the  last  part  of  1920.  It  was  first 
printed  in  Denver,  and  the  new  plant  at  Big 
Springs  is  not  yet  fully  installed  in  January, 
1921.  but  there  is  the  promise  that  Big  Springs 
will  have  a  live,  energetic  news  sheet  in  the 
near  future. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


239 


Banks  and  Finance 

The  history  of  Deuel  county's  financial  insti- 
tutions is  similar  to  that  of  the  greater  part  of 
the  western  country.  There  have  been  fat  years 
and  lean  years  along  with  prosperity  or  depres- 
sion, shared  by  all  the  people,  and  reflected  in 
financial  life  and  banking  business. 

The  first  bank  at  Chapped  was  organized  in 
1886,  and  then  known  as  the  Commercial  Bank. 
J.  L.  Robson  was  the  prime  spirit  in  the  move- 
ment for  its  organization.  "Jim"  Robson,  as 
he  was  familiarly  known,  came  from  Illinois, 
where  his  brothers  Jack  and  Dick  were  well 
known  about  the  Rio  country  as  breeders  of 
fine  cattle  and  heavy  feeders  of  hogs  and  cattle, 
as  well  as  men  of  the  happiest  and  most  cheer- 
ful dispositions.  In  1890  the  Commercial  Bank 
had  a  capital  of  $20,000.  J.  L.  Robson  was 
president ;  Frank  McAuliff,  vice-president ;  arid 
Eugene  Fish,  cashier.  It  was  the  pioneer  bank 
of  Chapped  and  did  much  toward  the  early  de- 
velopment of  the  town  and  Deuel  county,  which 
was  much  in  need  of  banking  facilities  for  the 
farmers  and  homesteaders  who  were  coming  to 
this  locality  to  settle. 

In  May,  1889,  E.  F.  Clayton  and  E.  D.  Ham- 
ilton organized  the  Deuel  County  State  Bank  at 
Chapped.  Early  in  the  nineties  they  bought 
the  Commercial  Bank  and  merged  the  two; 
eventually,  with  the  prosperity  of  the  passing 
years,  this  bank  developed  into  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank,  the  leading  institution  in  the  coun- 
ty. The  substantial  and  leading  citizens  of  the 
country  and  of  Chapped  became  interested  in 
this  bank,  bought  its  stock  and  for  years  it  was 
rated  as  one  of  the  most  substantial  and  sound 
banks  in  all  Nebraska.  For  something  like 
thirty  years  H.  I.  Babcock  has  served  the  bank 
in  varied  capacities,  first  as  clerk  under  Mr. 
Hamilton,  later  advancing  to  more  important 
positions,  and  for  many  years  now  has  been 
the  guiding  spirit.  The  capital  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  is  $25,000,  with  a  surplus  of  $45.- 
000.  Its  officers  are:  J.  R.  Wertz,  president, 
T.  M.  Johnson,  vice-president;  H.  I.  Babcock, 
cashier ;  H.  D.  Betts  and  F.  A.  Burling,  assist- 
ant cashiers.  Frozen  loans  and  low  prices  for 
wheat,  together  with  the  policy  of  the  Federal 
Reserve  Banks  at  this  time,  January,  1921,  have 
caused  this  institution  to  temporarily  suspend. 

Until  1912  this  bank  was  able  to  care  for  the 
financial  needs  of  Chapped  and  the  surround- 
ing farming  territory  then  the  Chapped  State 
Bank  came  into  existence.  The  men  most  in- 
fluential in  the  establishment  and  organization 
of  the  new  bank  were  H.  C.  and  E.  C.  Peter- 
son and  M.  P.  Jensen;  they  took  an  active 
part  in  the  activities  of  the  bank  and  do  so  to 


the  present  time.  Formerly  they  were  assisted 
by  C.  E.  Groves  and  B.  B.  Abels,  who  were  the 
vice-presidents.  On  January  10,  1921,  the  insti- 
tution showed  over  $77,000  capital,  surplus  and 
profits.  When  it  was  organized  the  capital  was 
$25,000,  which  shows  the  great  development  of 
the  bank  and  the  sound  policy  upon  which  it  is 
conducted,  as  well  as  the  confidence  it  has 
gained  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  The  present 
officials  of  the  State  Bank  are :  H.  C.  Peterson, 
president;  M.  P.  Jensen,  and  C.  M.  Empson, 
vice-presidents ;  and  E.  C.  Peterson,  cashier. 

The  Peoples  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $15,000, 
was  organized  in  1917,  with  L.  P.  Sorenson, 
president,  and  J.  W.  Knox,  cashier.  In  1919, 
the  Deuel  County  Bank  was  also  established, 
with  E.  C.  Wolf  as  president ;  H.  R.  Isenberger, 
vice  president;  G.  S.  LaSelle,  cashier;  and  J. 
O.  Rusho,  assistant  cashier.  It  started  with  a 
capital  of  $25,000  but  bought  the  Peoples  Bank 
in  1920  and  consolidated  the  two  institutions. 
At  the  present  time,  1921,  the  Deuel  County 
Bank  has  a  capital  of  $50,000  and  surplus  of 
$10,000.  The  same  officers  direct  its  destinies, 
assisted  on  the  directorate  by  Faithful  Adam- 
son  and  Henry  Adamson.  The  father  of  E.  C. 
Wolf,  the  president  of  the  Deuel  County  Bank, 
came  to  Chapped  as  a  section  boss  in  the  late 
seventies,  and  Ed  and  his  brother  Frank,  as 
told  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  history,  received 
their  early  educational  instruction  at  the  school 
of  John  O'Neil,  in  a  box  car  which  was  used 
for  the  station  at  the  railroad  in  Chappell. 
Later  the  Wolfs  developed  a  ranch  northwest 
of  Chappell  and  so  near  as  will  ever  be  determ- 
ined, Trapper's  Rock,  where  one  of  the  trag- 
edies of  long  ago  occurred,  is  situated  on  the 
Wrolf  property.  This  incident  is  related  in 
the  first  part  of  the  blanket  history  of  the  Pan- 
handle, in  that  division  devoted  to  fur  traders 
and  trappers. 

About  1888,  H.  L.  Gould  established  the 
State  Bank  of  Big  Springs,  which  institution 
still  exists,  but  is  now  known  under  the  name 
of  the  Farmers  State  Bank.  This  new  institu- 
tion was  chartered  in  1906,  and  absorbed  the 
State  Bank.  Andreas  Kjeldgaard  is  president 
of  the  Farmers  State  Bank,  at  the  present  time, 
1921,  with  Carl  Kjeldgaard.  cashier,  and  W.  H. 
Klendt,  assistant  cashier.  It  has  a  capital  of 
$20,000,  and  surplus  of  $3,000. 

The  American  State  Bank  of  Big  Springs 
was  organized  in  1917,  with  $15,000  capital  and 
$3800  surplus.  It  is  officered  by  John  Jensen, 
president;  ( )tto  F.  Riss,  vice-president;  and 
Sylvia  Jensen,  cashier. 

This  closes  the  story  of  the  banks  of  Deuel 
county.  They  have  taken  an  important  part 
in  the   history   of   the   county,   materially   as- 


240 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


sisted  in  the  development  of  the  country  by 
caring  for  its  financial  affairs  and  during  this 
temporary  period  of  financial  stress  are  looking 
forward  to  a  bright  and  prosperous  future, 
when  financial  depression  consequent  to  the 
World  War  shall  have  passed  and  the  country 
is  again  enjoying  the  normal  conditions  which 
existed  before  the  world  upheaval. 

Bench  and  Bar 

The  history  of  the  Bench  and  Bar  in  Deuel 
county  begins  with  the  county's  organization  as 
a  separate  unit.  The  first  justice  of  the  peace 
in  what  is  now  Deuel  county  territory  was  at 
Chappell  when  Ed  E.  Bennett  assumed  that 
office.  Ira  Brashears  was  first  notary  public 
and  for  some  time  contest  cases  were  heard  be- 
fore him.  The  first  cases  tried  after  the  new 
county  came  into  existence,  was  a  contest  case 
in  which  Isaac  Woolf  was  the  attorney.  Bra- 
shears  was  also  a  lawyer  by  profession,  the 
first  to  qualify  to  practice  in  Deuel  county.  W. 
H.  Sigler  soon  after  this  hung  out  his  sign  as 
a  general  practicing  attorney,  and  S.  P.  DeLa- 
tour  and  E.  D.  Hamilton  opened  offices  for  the 
practice  of  their  profession  in  the  early  nineties. 
Following  them  came  next  in  order  Jacob 
Keifer  and  George  McAllister,  who  was  after- 
wards state  representative  several  times,  and 
county  attorney  a  number  of  years.  He  became 
a  leader  in  the  legal  profession  and  gained  a 
high  reputation  for  his  ability.  The  firm  of 
Lee  &  Lee  appeared  in  Chappell  for  a  time  as 
members  of  the  legal  profession,  then  they  left 
not  to  be  heard  of  again.  E.  D.  Hamilton  was  a 
qualified  attorney  but  he  did  not  practice  law 
long  as  his  talents  ran  to  finance,  a  field  in 
which  he  met  with  great  success.  E.  E.  Jones, 
better  known  as  "Double  E."  Jones,  opened  an 
office  as  a  lawyer  but  so  far  as  is  known  never 
tried  a  case.  W.  A.  Burnett  also  appeared  in 
the  list  of  attorneys  at  one  time  but  like  many 
of  the  otbers  is  gone.  At  the  present  time 
there  are  but  three  qualified  attorneys  in  Deuel 
county  and  all  are  holding  office :  H.  R.  Busse, 
is  county  judge;  Isaac  Woolf,  is  special  acting 
county  judge  in  a  number  of  cases  wherein 
Judge  Busse  has  been  an  attorney :  L.  O.  Pfeif- 
fer  is  county  attorney,  a  position  he  has  held 
for  fourteen  years  and  still  has  another  term 
ahead  of  him,  which  shows  in  what  esteem  he 
is  held  by  the  people  of  Deuel  county.  Isaac 
Woolf  has  served  Deuel  county  as  judge  for 
twenty-eight  years  and  his  duties  as  special 
judge  will  extend  the  period  for  a  year  or  more. 
A  remarkable  record  for  one  man  to  hold. 

Ml  DIC  \l.   I'kdl-'ESSION 

The   first  doctor  to  cast   his   fortunes  with 


Chappell  and  the  future  Deuel  county,  was 
Hosea  Hudson.  Dr.  W.  H.  Babcock  was  next 
in  order1  and  he  served  the  community  and  coun- 
ty long  and  faithfully,  during  a  period  when 
the  country  was  sparsely  settled  and  develop- 
ment just  beginning.  Today  Dr.  M.  B.  Patty, 
Dr.  A.  C.  Coleman,  and  Dr.  Frank  Waldo 
Scott,  are  physicians  and  surgeons  in  Deuel 
county.  Dr.  D.  Edward  O'Connor  and  Dr. 
William  H.  Cobble  are  osteopathic  physicians 
and  surgeons,  and  Dr.  Mabel  Green  and  Doc- 
tors Lewis  and  Lewis  are  chiropractors.  The 
dental  profession  is  represented  in  the  county 
by  Dr.  Lynch  and  Dr.  T.  P.  Mullins.  All  the 
above  are  located  in  Chappell. 

In  Big  Springs,  the  medical  profession  is  rep- 
resented by  Dr.  Clinton  H.  Smith,  physician 
and  surgeon,  and  Dr.  J.  J.  Wilson,  is  the  only 
member  of  the  dental  profession. 

The  general  good  health  prevailing  in  the 
high  plains  region  of  Nebraska,  exists  in  Deuel 
county,  which  limits  the  activities  and  necessi- 
ties of  numerous  medical  men  and  a  medical 
clinic,  as  are  to  be  found  in  older  communities. 
The  professional  men  in  the  county  are  of  ex- 
ceptionally high  standing  as  physicians  and  den- 
tists, and  are  qualified  to  give  the  people  the 
best  of  service  and  advice  when  it  is  needed,  so 
that  the  population  of  Deuel  county  is  well 
cared  for  when  occasion  requires  it. 

Fraternal  Organizations 

The  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masonic  Or- 
der, "Florence"  No.  205,  of  Chappell  received 
dispensation  September  2,  1890,  and  a  charter 
June  IS,  1891.  The  first  meeting  of  the  Ma- 
sons in  Chappell  was  held  in  the  office  of  A. 
H.  Nichols,  who  acted  as  chairman,  and  E.  F. 
Clayton,  as  secretary.  The  following  men  were 
charter  members  June  18,  1891 :  George  T. 
Kendall,  (Master)  ;  Samuel  Saulsbury,  (Senior 
Warden)  ;  Albert  B.  Persinger,  (Junior  War- 
den) ;  Fred  Sudman,  (Senior  Deacon)  ;  Ed- 
ward Clayton,  James  Thompson  (Junior  Dea- 
con) ;  James  L.  McLaughlin,  Albert  H.  Nich- 
ols, William  Wilcox  (Treasurer)  ;  William  M. 
Hoagland,  James  M.  Bay  (Chaplain)  :  William 
H.  Babcock,  Stephen  Strong,  August  G.  New- 
man, Abial  C.  Copeland,  Jacob  Keifer,  George 
H.  Ahrends,  Ellsworth  D.  Hamilton,  Edmond 
Herrington,  Reuben  Lisco,  Martin  Nicholson, 
John  Robinson,  Henry  Weigand.  John  M. 
White  was  on  the  petition  as  was  W.  F. 
Gumaer,  but  failed  to  get  their  demits  in  time 
for  the  charter.  E.  F.  Clayton  carried  the  dis- 
pensation report  to  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Omaha, 
in  June,  1891.  There  are  nineteen  Shriners  in 
Chappell,  most  of  whom  are  members  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


241 


Shrine  at  Omaha,  but  a  few  belong  at  Hast- 
ings. 

In  January,  1921.  the  officers  of  the  Masonic 
Lodge  at  Chappell  were:  William  H.  Thomp- 
son, Master;  Glenn  S.  LaSelle,  Senior  War- 
den ;  F.  W.  Scott,  Junior  Warden ;  John  M. 
Brownell,  Secretary;  Ed.  Wolf,  Treasurer,  and 
Edward  Clayton,  Senior  Deacon. 

The  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star  was  insti- 
tuted in  Chappell  May  5,  1909,  at  which  time 
its  officers  and  charter  members  were  as  fol- 
lows :  Mrs.  May  Johnson,  Worthy  Matron ; 
Mrs.  May  Newman,  Associate  Matron ;  Thom- 
as M.  Johnson,  Worthy  Patron ;  Guy  C.  New- 
man, Secretary;  Mrs.  Ella  M.  Hendrickson, 
Conductress ;  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Roudebush,  Asso- 
ciate Conductress;  Mrs.  Luceba  Babcock, 
Chaplain  ;  Henry  G.  Weigand,  Treasurer  ;  Miss 
Grace  A.  Newman,  Ada;  Mrs.  Minnie  Sud- 
man,  Ruth;  Dora  A.  Wolf,  Esther;  Mrs.  Flor- 
ence A.  Soeton,  Martha ;  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Weig- 
and, Electa;  and  George  A.  Soeton,  Sentry. 
The  members  were:  Mrs.  Tille  A.  Peterson, 
Andrew  Peterson,  Eugene  DeLatour,  Harvey 
I.  Babcock,  William  E.  Roudebush,  John 
O'Neil,  Minnie  Zimmerman,  Mrs.  Christy 
Manuel,  James  Manuel,  August  G.  Newman, 
John  R.  Wertz,  William  G.  Melton,  August 
Sudman,  Mrs.  August  Sudman,  Miss  Lucy 
Johnson,  Fred  Sudman,  Miss  Minnie  Sudman, 
facob  Roudebush,  Miss  Maude  Sudman, 
Frank  C.  LeSelle,  Harriet  B.  LaSelle,  Airs. 
Helen  Babcock,  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Roudebush. 
The  Eastern  Star  in  1921  had  a  hundred  and 
nineteen  members  with  the  following  officers : 
Mrs.  Tillie  Peterson,  Worthy  Matron;  Mary 
B.  Thompson,  Associate  Matron ;  Glenn  S.  La- 
Selle, Worthy  Patron ;  Olive  Bracken,  Secre- 
tary ;  Mrs.  Julia  Sudman,  Conductress;  Mrs. 
Freda  Triplett,  Assistant  Conductress ;  Mrs. 
Lillian  Slocumb,  Chaplain ;  Henry  C.  Peter- 
son. Treasurer;  Clarence  A.  Grey,  Sentry; 
Mrs.  Mary  Smith.  Marshal ;  Mrs.  Emily 
Brownell,  Warden ;  Mrs.  Grace  Busse,  Ada  ; 
Mrs.  Lulu  Colman,  Ruth;  Mrs.  Ada  Wolf, 
Esther;  Mrs.  Jennie  Hapworth,  Martha;  Min- 
nie Sudman,  Electa ;  and  in  her  absence  Mrs. 
W.  H.  Thompson  is  Electa. 

The  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  No. 
181,  was  established  in  Chappell  on  May  13, 
1890.  The  charter  members  and  first  officers 
of  the  organization  were :  W.  P.  Miles,  Noble 
Grand  ;  T.  P.  Morgan,  Vice  Grand  ;  John  Hin- 
shaw,  Recording  Secretary ;  George  P.  Smith, 
Financial  Secretary;  and  Martin  Michelson, 
Treasurer;  H.  W.  Chowins,  H.  H.  Chowins, 
W.  V.  Rielly,  John  N.  White,  and  O.  B.  Sho- 
bert.  This  order  now  has  a  hundred  and  two 
members  and  the  officers  in  1921  were:  Amel 


Peterson.  Noble  Grand ;  Ray  Sterns.  Vice 
Grand;  A.  J.  Bracken,  Secretary;  and  A.  E. 
Ross,  Treasurer. 

The  Daughters  of  Rebecca,  was  chartered 
August  24,  and  established  August  28,  1891. 
The  officers  and  charter  members  were:  Mrs. 
Nettie  Morgan,  Noble  Grand ;  Vennie  Brown, 
Vice  Grand ;  Cintie  Cole,  Recording  Secre- 
tary ;  Mrs.  Mary  Smith,  Financial  Secretary ; 
Mrs.  Marv  Moors,  Treasurer ;  George  P. 
Smith,  W.  F.  Cole,  Mrs.  S.  H.  Cole,  T.  B. 
Morgan,  Tohn  Hinshaw,  Mrs.  A.  A.  Hinshaw, 
Frank  Thatcher,  Mrs.  F.  S.  Thatcher,  Charles 
E.  Foster,  Mrs.  Alice  Foster,  B.  D.  K.  Wertz, 
Martin  Mikkelson,  George  W.  Sine,  [ohn  M. 
White,  Mrs.  J.  M.  White,  Charles"  Moore, 
George  M.  Smith,  Agnes  Smith,  J.  H.  Brown, 
B.  H.  Brashears,  Mrs.  B.  H.  Brashears,  Isaac 
Woolf,  and  Mrs.  Hattie  Woolf.  There  were 
fifty-seven  members  in  this  organization  while 
the  present  officers  were:  Alta  Nosland,  Noble 
Grand ;  Hazel  Peterson,  Vice  Grand ;  Retta 
Brown,  Secretary  ;  J.  C.  Gyger,  Treasurer  ;  and 
Lydia  Crawford,  Chaplain. 

Royal  Neighbors,  No.  6950,  was  instituted 
at  Chappell  April  6,  1911,  with  the  following 
members:  Nettie  Bailey,  Retta  F.  Brown,  Dol- 
lie  M.  Cave,  John  E.  Cave,  Laura  J.  Christen- 
sen,  Hattie  Foster,  Ora  M.  Francouer,  Kath- 
ryn  McFadden,  Lillian  Peterson,  Charles  N. 
Resler,  Mary  J.  Resler,  Charles  W.  Rice,  Em- 
ma Rce,  Florence  M  .  Rice,  Heber  O.  Rice, 
Ethel  E.  Sebastine,  Minnie  Snead,  Elizabeth 
Stegeman.  Maud  Sudman,  Minnie  Sudman, 
Lena  Unzicker,  Anna  A.  Wertz,  Bertha  M. 
Wertz,  Roosevelt  W.  K.  Wertz,  Vera  L.  Yock- 
ey,  and  Nancy  E.  Zehr.  In  1921,  the  Royal 
Neighbors  held  an  open  installation  when  the 
following  officers  were  installed :  Oracle,  Mae 
Ross;  Vice  Oracle,  Mae  Gyger;  Chancellor, 
Lucy  Holthaus  ;  Recorder.  Pearl  Handley  ;  Re- 
ceiver, Matilda  Spindler ;  Marshall,  Vergie  Mc- 
Auliffe ;  Inner  Sentinel,  Lois  Robbins ;  Outer 
Sentinel,  Edna  Sipes;  and  Manager,  Maude 
Chocran. 

Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  Red  Oak 
Camp  No.  2518,  was  instituted  at  Chappell 
October  11.  1894.  with  the  following  charter 
members :  Allen  Chamberlain,  William  E. 
Coumbe,  Charles  W.  Ferguson,  Ed  Herring- 
ton,  Tames  W.  Head,  Tr.,  John  Howitt,  Will- 
iam R.  Miller,  George  W.  Moore,  F.  1'.  Mor- 
gan, James  F.  McLaughlin,  Harry  C.  Mc- 
New,  August  G.  Newman,  Gustav  Newman, 
Julius  W.  Newman,  E.  C.  Park,  Lincoln  W. 
Pidgeon,  Fred  Sudman,  and  John  W.  Whonn. 
In  1921,  the  officers  of  the  Modern  Woodmen 
were:  A.  E.  Ross,  Consul;  Will  Zehr,  Clerk; 
Jack  Howitt,  Advocate;  Ed  Hobson,   Watch- 


242 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


man;  Jack  McAuliff,  Escort;  Henry  Peterson, 
Banker.  There  are  now  ninety-three  members 
in  the  organization. 

"McConaughey  Castle"  Chapter,  Royal 
Highlanders,  No.  784,  was  established  at  Chap- 
pell  October  3,  1917,  with  the  following  char- 
ter members:  Oron  M.  McPheeters,  Past 
Illustrious  Protector;  Gust  Johnson,  Illustri- 
ous Protector ;  Mae  T.  Handley  C.  C. ;  Ada  B. 
McPheeters,  W.  E. ;  Clyde  L.  McConaughey, 
Secretary-Treasurer;  Etta  Gibson,  Guide; 
Millie  M.   Bums,  Herald;  Effie  L.   Malcomb, 


C.  of  A. ;  Floyd  D.  Jacobson,  C.  of  S. ;  Harry 
A.  McPheeters,  Warder;  Truman  E.  Rich- 
ardson, Sentry ;  George  L.  Herrick,  M.  A.  N. ; 
Fred  H.  Gibson,  M.  H.  N. ;  Joseph  E.  Barton, 
A.  H.  N. ;  Lester  E.  Vandiver,  Physician ; 
Clara  M.  Cave,  Eva  A.  Herrick  and  Leota 
Jacobson.  This  fraternity  has  not  been  very 
active  though  its  membership  has  increased 
some.  Clyde  McConaughey  has  gone  to  the 
home  office  at  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  and  no  lead- 
er has  yet  taken  his  place  in  the  local  castle. 


CHAPTER  IN 
DEUEL  COUNTY'S  WAR  RECORD  —  GRAND  ARMY  OR  THE  REPUBLIC 


Many  of  the  early  settlers  of  Deuel  county 
were  men  who  had  served  in  the  army  during 
the  Civil  War.  After  coming  to  the  new 
country  of  western  Nebraska,  those  who  lived 
near  enough  to  Chappell  and  the  men  in  the 
town  formed  a  post  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  known  as  Crocker  Post,  No. 
218,  Department  of  Nebraska.  Though  many 
of  the  members  have  died  with  the  passing 
years,  Crocker  Post  still  is  active  and  for  the 
year,  1921,  acting  installation  officer,  J.  H. 
Brown,  years  ago  sheriff  of  Mercer  county, 
Illinois,  inducted  the  following  officers  into 
service:  Commander,  J.  C.  Johnson;  Senior 
Vice,  Jake  Roudebush ;  Junior  Vice,  August 
Guenin;  Adjutant,  A.  J.  Withers;  Quarter- 
master, J.  H.  Brown;  Surgeon,  J.  W.  Con- 
yers;  Chaplain,  R.  V.  Beach;  Officer  of  the 
Day,  W.  Saunders ;  Officer  of  the  Guard,  J. 
W.  Statler;  and  Patriotic  Instructor,  J.  H. 
Brown.  These  men  who  so  gallantly  served  in 
the  Civil  War  are  not  forgotton  in  the  crowd- 
ing events  and  the  stupendous  conflict  of  the 
late  World  War. 

World  War  Activities 
Deuel  county  occupied  a  conspicuous  place 
in  the  activities  of  western  Nebraska  in  con- 
nection with  the  World  War.  An  effective 
organization  for  war  drives  was  created  at 
an  early  date,  after  the  United  States  declared 
war  against  Germany.  John  Wertz  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  Thrift  and  War  Saving  Stamp 
campaigns,  with  the  result  that  they  were  regu- 
larly over  subscribed.    Tom  Johnson,  who  had 


charge  of  the  Liberty  Bond  drives,  went  over 
the  top  easily  in  all  but  the  second  Liberty 
Loan.  In  that  instance  the  reason  was  ample, 
for  it  was  at  the  time  when  the  local  re- 
sources were  driven  the  limit  in  financing  the 
wheat  growers  of  the  county.  The  first  im- 
portant duty  of  the  United  States  and  the 
farmers  was  to  produce  wheat  and  they  had 
to  have  money  to  do  so.  The  second  drive 
fell  thirty  thousand  dollars  under  the  quota, 
but  the  third  Liberty  Loan  went  over  by  sixty 
thousand,  thereby  making  good  and  much  more, 
as  it  made  up  by  some  extra  thousands  the 
shortage  of  the  second  drive. 

June  5,  1917,  three  hundred  and  forty-four 
Deuel  county  boys  registered  for  service  in 
the  various  branches  of  the  army  and  navy, 
which,  with  those  who  had  previously  come 
before  the  county  clerk,  made  approximately 
four  hundred  for  the  first  registration  day. 
On  June  19,  following,  the  Deuel  County  Red 
Cross  Society  was  organized  with  the  fol- 
lowing officers :  Mrs.  Ruth  Vandiver,  Chair- 
man;  Mrs.  Ethel  Pfeiffer,  Secretary;  Miss 
Ada  Wolf,  Treasurer;  Mrs.  Olive  Bedford 
and  Mrs.  John  Cave  were  nominated  a  Com- 
mittee to  solicit  members.  Red  Cross  Tag 
Day  netted  four  hundred  and  ninety-four  dol- 
lars and  some  cents,  which  with  previous  col- 
lections amounted  to  seven  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-five dollars.  The  executives  and  committee 
met  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  H.  C.  Heming  to  plan 
their  additional  work  on  June  30.  There  were 
by  that  time  a  hundred  and  fifty  active  mem- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


143 


bers  in  the  organization,  but  they  set  the  goal 
at  a  thousand  members. 

At  the  election  held  in  August,  1917,  John 
Wertz  was  elected  Chairman,  with  Mrs.  Ed  C. 
Wolf,  Vice  Chairman;  Mrs.  H.  C.  Peterson, 
Treasurer;  Mrs.  L.  O.  Pfeiffer,  Secretary,  and 
Mrs.  R.  B.  Williams,  Assistant  Secretary. 
Among  the  future  activities  planned,  was  a 
Christmas   dinner   for  the  boys   in  service  in 

1917,  and  on  April  12,  1918,  nine  hundred  and 
twenty-one  dollars  was  realized  from  a  Red 
Cross  auction.  The  drive  of  May,  1918,  went 
five  hundred  dollars  over  the  allotment  for 
Deuel  county,  as  the  quota  was  twenty-five 
hundred  dollars  and  the  Red  Cross  drive  netted 
three  thousand  dollars. 

A  Junior  Red  Cross  was  organized  in  June, 

1918,  with  Mrs.  Dr.  Lynch  as  its  head  execu- 
tive. The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  also  became  active 
and  the  drive  of  November,  1917,  went  fifty 
per  cent  over  the  quota  for  Deuel  county, 
which  was  alloted  fifteen  hundred  dollars  and 
subscribed  two  thousand,  two  hundred  and 
ninety  seven  dollars. 

Among  the  "four  minute  men,"  speakers 
for  the  Liberty  Bond  drives  and  other  war 
movements  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  R.  Busse, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  D.  Betts,  Mrs.  Retta  Brown, 
and  other  prominent  people  who  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  the  prosecution  of  the  work  for 
the  government  during  the  war.  An  organiza- 
tion was  also  effected  in  Deuel  county  for  the 
enrollment  of  student  nurses.  Captain  L.  O. 
Pfeiffer  and  Lieutenants  Libby  and  McCon- 
aughey  made  a  vital  institution  out  of  the 
Home  Guards,  who  did  good  work.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1918,  the  guards  were  organized  with 
seventy  members  and  finally  the  number  in- 
creased to  more  than  a  hundred,  with  the  fol- 
lowing list  of  officers  besides  the  captain  and 
lieutenants:  H.  D.  Betts,  first  sergeant:  }.  W. 
Knox.  K.  W.  Wildman,  H.  B.  Linch.  and  F. 
E.  Weldon,  plain  sergeants;  F.  L.  Smith, 
quartermaster;  T.  M.  John,  color  bearer;  G. 
G.  Laselle,  L.  A.  Bersee.  O.  O.  McPheeters, 
Arthur  Rfeibe,  A.  W.  Robbins.  J.  R.  Hill,  Fred 
Sudman  and  J.  M.  Miller,  corporals. 

In  the  main  corrider  of  the  court  house 
hangs  the  service  flag  of  Deuel  county.  Of  the 
one  hundred  and  twenty-three  names  thereon 
nine  shine  with  golden  stars,  and  those  who 
gave  their  lives  for  democracy  are :  Hilmer 
E.  Jeppson,  Clinton  McAuliff,  Frank  Deutsch- 
er,  Glen  Harmon,  Claude  Remington,  Ed- 
ward H.  Johnson,  Roy  Arms,  Daniel  Downley, 
and  William  McEvoy. 

The  roll  of  honor  of  Deuel  county's  sons  who 
served  under  the  flag  during  the  World  War 
is  as   follows:     S.   G.   Tiestbaruer,    Harry    I. 


Elmquist,  Gordon  B.  Hoover,  Alonzo  H.  De- 
Priest,  June  S.  Johnson,  Ray  E.  Parker,  Ben- 
jamin F.  Brown,  Ivan  R.  Root,  Hilmer  E. 
Jeppson,  Wilson  K.  Triplett,  Fred  Westling, 
Jesse  W.  Briggs,  Edward  E.  Chalberg.  Fred  M. 
Fussell,  Louie  Mikkelson,  Guy  E.  Higgins, 
Carl  F.  Eitzen.  John  Erick  Bergren,  Riley  R. 
Barnes,  Clarence  F.  McCarty,  William  John- 
son, Herman  Drake,  Chester  G.  Wilcox,  Paul 
C.  Bergstrom,  Earnest  W.  Schake,  Carl  A. 
Johnson,  Elof  E.  Olson,  Lincoln  E.  Miller, 
Clinton  McAuliff.  Felix  M.  Grant,  Ralph  M. 
Robbins,  Woodridge  H.  Neal,  Frank  Deutsch- 
er,  Lester  R.  Perry,  Herman  Christensen, 
Lynn  W.  Statler,  Harry  G.  Neuman,  Carl  J. 
Jurgenson,  Everett  Hayes,  Jasper  W '.  Wright, 
Fred  H.  Pfeiffer.  Earnest  Franceour,  Waldo 
Mayfield,  Cecil  Shunk,  George  S.  Johnson, 
Frank  Gray,  Vancil  Stalancker,  Walter  W. 
Kallsen.  Sam  H.  DePriest,  Frank  Best,  Glen 
Harmon,  R.  D.  Updike,  Roy  Fredrick,  Henry 
Brestel  Clifford  Shattuck.  Mark  Gyger,  Laur- 
ence E.  Miller.  Herman  A.  Andre,  Lee  Stutz- 
man.  Earl  Nieier,  Wallace  Armstrong,  Joseph 
R.  Beckman,  Joe  Tarred,  Neil  Diehl,  George 
McCleary,  Fred  D.'Stoki,  Wm,  E.  Zehr,  Leon- 
ard Hodgman,  Claude  Remington,  Henry  W. 
Brian,  Wm.  F.  Mason,  Wm.  G.  Wilder,  Wm. 
F.  Slattery,  Vernon  J.  Nelson,  Edward  H. 
Johnson,  Ray  Stutzman,  Elmer  Stutzman, 
James  T.  Farris,  Carl  P.  Erickson,  Homer  C. 
Jacobson,  Wallace  A.  Harvey,  Albert  R.  Ho- 
vich,  Cecil  W.  Stanley,  Martin  Mikkelson,  Al- 
bert M.  Johnson,  Harry  Yoder,  Gavo  Bas- 
magien,  S.  A.  Stearn,  Elmer  E.  Bilyen,  Carl 
Wildman,  Herman  Miller,  Henry  Tibbets,  Lale 
L.  Harmon.  John  T.  Berttain,  Roy  Ames. 
Earnest  A.  Schilling,  Aug.  J.  Elmquist,  Wm. 
R.  Pettigrew,  Walter  E.  Armstrong,  Daniel 
Downley,  Willie  Luko,  Stanley  J.  Yispel,  Geo. 
Peterson.  Carl  Kjeklgaard.  Archie  M.  Jacob- 
son.  Charles  Bergstrom,  Earl  Groves,  Fred  C. 
Anderson,  Wm.  McEvoy,  Geo.  Richardson. 
Thomas  W.  Buckley,  Walter  J.  Cox,  Leonard 
Hart,  Dudley  C.  Browning,  Arthur  H.  Mauser. 
Howard  G.  Skinner,  Henry  W.  Dehring,  Bert 
K.  Wilder,  Geo.  E.  Benson,  Herbert  Olson,  and 
Harry  McPheeters. 

In  Big  Springs  the  boys  who  served  in  the 
army  and  navy  during  the  war  have  an  active 
branch  of  the  American  Legion  and  have  re- 
cently purchased  a  building,  formerly  a  church, 
but  later  used  for  mercantile  purposes,  for  the 
use  of  the  Legion  club  rooms.  This  was  bought 
of  R.  V.  Taylor  of  Scottsbluff  and  will  be  con- 
verted into  suitable  rooms  for  club  activities 
and  meeting  purposes;  so  that  the  men  who 
served  over  seas  or  in  this  country  will  have 
a  place  which  they  know  is  their  own  and  can 


244 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


use  for  Legion  work  and  keep  all  the  men  of 
the  Legion  in  the  county  in  touch  with  one 
another. 

Henry  J.  Elmquist,  who  returned  from  the 


battle  front  unharmed,  was  killed  in  the  peace- 
ful life  to  which  he  had  returned  when  a  fast 
train  struck  his  truck,  when  he  was  hauling 
wheat. 


CHAPTER  X 


CLIMATE  AND  PRODUCTS  OF  DEUEL  COUNTY 


Western  Nebraska  and  Deuel  county  have 
many  qualifications  that  go  to  make  what  may 
be  considered  an  ideal  climate.  The  summers 
are  moderately  long  and  cool,  possessing  all 
the  warmth  that  is  necessary  for  a  growing 
season,  tempered  by  breezes.  The  air  is  crisp 
and  invigorating,  produced  by  the  altitude  of 
thirty-five  hundred  feet.  The  nights  in  west- 
ern Nebraska  are  cool,  and  greatly  appreciated 
by  people  from  farther  east.  Taking  into  con- 
sideration the  soil  of  western  Nebraska  with 
the  climate  a  fine  combination  is  had.  The 
soil  of  the  broad  prairies  and  some  of  the 
tablelands  is  a  dark  loam  with  sufficient  sand 
to  make  it  work  easily.  This  is  underlaid  with 
lighter  loam  under  which  is  a  clay  subsoil. 
There  is  no  alkali  or  gumbo  of  any  considerable 
area,  in  Deuel  county.  The  land  absorbs  the 
rainfall  to  a  great  depth,  the  earth  remaining 
cool  and  moist  below  the  surface.  With  the 
modern  system  of  farming  that  has  come  to 
prevail  a  dust  mulch  is  formed  by  harrowing, 
which  preserves  the  moisture  for  the  use  of 
growing  crops. 

To  give  a  comprehensive  idea  of  all  the 
crops  raised  in  Deuel  county,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  touch  upon  practically  all  the 
vegetables  and  grains  peculiar  to  the  temperate 
zone.  But  mention  will  be  made  here  of  such 
crops  as  have  demonstrated  their  adaptability 
to  the  soil  and  climate  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  greatest  profit  per  acre.  Wheat  has  a 
firm  hold  on  the  county  since  the  days  when 
settlers  first  came  here  to  farm.  Both  the  fall 
and  spring  varieties  do  well  in  Deuel  county. 
Wheat  has  practically  become  the  greatest  one 
crop,  though  others  have  been  introduced  with 
irrigation  in  the  districts  where  water  can  be 
had  that  pay  well,  but  wheat  has  the  greatest 
acreage  and  brings  in  the  greatest  returns  from 
one  product.  Corn  yields  well  and  has  done 
better  with  attention  paid  to  scientific  breed- 
ing and   selection.     The  cool  nights   possibly 


work  against  a  maximum  yield  from  the  corn 
planters  view,  but  with  proper  care  and  culti- 
vation bounteous  yields  can  be  obtained.  Kaf- 
fir corn,  barley  and  other  semi-arid  grains  are 
popular  for  fodder  with  the  farmers  within 
late  years.  In  the  irrigated  districts  of  the 
county  the  sugar  beet  industry  has  become 
large  and  is  very  profitable.  Potatoes  also 
are  cultivated  and  the  immense  crops  bring  in 
large  money  to  the  men  who  devote  time  to 
raising  the  "spud."  In  fact,  practically  every 
crop  returns  immense  dividends  where  water 
is  placed  on  the  land. 

In  1919  Deuel  county  produced  two  mil- 
lion bushels  of  wheat,  most  of  which  was  mar- 
keted at  Chappell  and  Big  Springs,  within  the 
county  and  at  Julesburg,  just  over  the  line  in 
Colorado.  Some  was  marketed  at  Dalton,  Osh- 
kosh,  and  Lewellen.  This  is  the  largest  one 
product  in  the  county  and  reflects  the  general 
prosperity  of  the  country.  The  cattle  and  live 
stock  business  while  not  large  as  in  the  days 
of  the  open  range  is  still  of  great  importance 
in  Deuel  county.  The  farmers  are  working 
into  high  grade  stock,  which  they  raise  on  the 
farms  and  ship  to  the  markets.  Alfalfa  is  a 
profitable  crop  in  this  part  of  the  state ;  it 
produces  a  large  yield  per  acre,  more  than 
double  that  of  clover  and  has  a  high  feeding 
value.  The  most  of  the  alfalfa  grown  in  the 
United  States  is  produced  in  western  Nebras- 
ka and  Kansas.  On  irrigated  land  the  tonnage 
per  acre  is  enormous.  All  vegetables  are  grown 
in  the  county  that  are  common  to  the  temper- 
ate zone  but  outside  of  sugar  beets  and  pota- 
toes are  not  largely  exported. 

In  1920,  less  acreage  was  planted  to  wheat 
in  Deuel  county  and  black  rust  did  such  dam- 
age that  the  crop  was  approximately  two-thirds 
of  the  crop  of  1919,  but  at  that  close  to  a  mil- 
lion bushels  were  marketed  and  some  three 
hundred  thousand  bushels  were  being  held  by 
the   farmers  in   Tanuarv.   1921.     Some  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


245 


men  holding  their  wheat  are  in  financial  cir- 
cumstances to  permit  it,  but  others  are  not.  The 
latter  class  feel,  however,  that  to  let  loose  at 
the  present  market  value,  will  be  ruinous  to 
them.  Reasoning  that  it  is  bankruptcy  to  sell 
now,  they  are  sticking  for  higher  prices,  feel- 
ing that  they  cannot  lose  by  delay. 

The  wealth  of  Deuel  county  must  be  attri- 
buted to  the  thrift  and  energy  of  her  citizens 
for  it  has  been  the  product  of  the  years.  Soil 
has  yielded  rich  rewards  to  the  tiller,  but  the 
process  has  been  slow.  However,  farms  have 
developed,  homes  been  established,  the  railroad 
is  in  vigorous  operation  and  prosperous  years 
have  come  to  the  people.  Deuel  is  essentially 
an  agricultural  county  and  it  is  the  products 
of  the  soil  with  the  labor  of  the  settlers  that 
have  won  the  county's  place  of  prominence  in 
Nebraska. 

Great  indeed  are  the  changes  from  the  day 
Deuel  county  was  organized.  There  were  no 
automobiles,  motorcycles,  tractors  or  the  like  in 
the  county  then  and  transportation  was  by 
wagon  and  buggy.  Today  all  is  changed,  the 
motor  cars  frisk  the  population  over  the  high- 
ways from  town  to  town  and  across  the  coun- 
try. Years  ago  the  breaking  plow  was  the 
king  of  implements,  now  its  place  is  taken  by 
the  riding  plow  drawn  in  many  cases  by  the 
tractor.  Today  nearly  all  farm  machinery  in 
the  county  is  up-to-date.     Gang  plows  stir  the 


fields  that  the  old  time  implements  began  to 
work ;  planters,  drills,  listers,  seeders,  harvest- 
ers or  binders,  double  rowed  cultivators,  rid- 
ing harrows,  six  foot  mowers,  rakes,  sweeps, 
stackers,  threshers,  and  every  other  implement 
that  has  a  name  or  place  in  modern  husbandry, 
are  now  in  use  in  Deuel  county  fields  on  Deuel 
county  farms.  Today  the  telephone  places  the 
farmer  in  a  position  to  keep  in  touch  with  the 
market  hour  by  hour  and  much  farm  business 
today  is  transacted  by  telephone  lines  which 
stretch  over  Deuel  county  connecting  the 
farms  with  the  towns. 

The  land  value  of  Deuel  county  is  high, 
making  it  a  rich  division  of  the  state  though 
small ;  it  has  not  been  possible  to  learn  the 
value  of  the  personal  property  value  of  the 
county  but  it  ranks  among  the  first  of  the  coun- 
ties of  the  Panhandle :  this  taken  in  connection 
with  the  values  of  live  stock  makes  a  person 
begin  to  think  of  the  wealth  and  resources  of 
Deuel. 

The  history  of  Deuel  county  has  ever  been 
the  history  of  the  frontier.  The  spirit  that  has 
presided  over  her  destines  has  been  that  of  the 
pioneer;  the  creative,  formative  forces  have 
been  the  same  as  those  which  won  the  west 
from  the  wilderness  and  within  the  last  two 
decades  the  county  has  been  pioneering  in  the 
establishment  of  its  irrigation  and  last  phase 
of  development. 


GARDEN  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 


EARLY  HISTORY 


This  locality  was  a  favorite  hunting  ground 
of  the  American  Indians.  In  the  north,  the 
scores  of  beautiful  lakes;  in  the  center,  Blue 
creek,  with  its  miles  of  willow  fringed  mea- 
dows, and  a  little  farther  south  the  broad  North 
Platte  river  with  its  cedar  covered  bluffs  and 
canyons,  furnished  ideal  places  for  camp,  hunt 
or  battle  ground. 

Indian  relics  are  still  easily  found  ;  beads, 
stone  axes  and  arrow  heads  being  most  abun- 
dant. 

One  of  the  Indians'  best  buffalo  traps  was  a 
bluff  near  the  river  about  five  miles  west  of 


Christ  Lake 

Ash  Hollow.  On  top  of  this  bluff,  is  about 
thirty  acres  of  level  pasture  land.  On  the 
southeast  side,  there  is  an  easy,  gradual  slope 
to  the  top.  This  possible  way  of  approach, 
however,  comprises  not  more  than  one  tenth 
of  the  circumference  of  the  hill.  At  all  other 
places,  no  man  or  animal  can  ascend  or  de- 
scend. Any  time  the  Indians  could  scare  a 
few  buffalo  onto  this  hill,  they  could  prevent 
them  from  taking  the  back  track  and  there 
was  no  place  for  them  to  go  except  to  try  a 
jump  and  light  upon  the  rocks  fifty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  helow. 

The  legend  is  that  the  first  white  man  to 
settle  here,  was  one  McCullingan.  Certain  it 
is,  that  a  canyon  about  four  miles  south  of 
I  Ishkosh  is  -lill  called  McCulligan's  canyon  and 


there  may  be  seen  the  remains  of  a  stone  fire 
place  cut  into  the  rock. 

Ash  Hollow  is  one  of  the  few  places  along 
the  river,  where  one  can  drive  down  from  the 
south  tableland  to  the  river  botton  with  a 
wagon;  and  in  early  times,  it  was  the  only 
feasible  place  of  ascent  and  descent.  Ash  Hol- 
low at  its  lower  end  is  a. wide,  sand  draw  can- 
\on;  this  soon  begins  to  become  narrower, 
"iinber  and  brush  appear  in  abundance.  The 
way  becomes  tortuous,  and  rocky,  but  without 
any  particularly  steep  ascent  in  any  place,  we 
arrive  on  the  level  tableland  nearly  three  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  river  bottom. 

The  canyon  is  said  to  have  been  a  dangerous 
place  to  pass  through  in  early  times  because  of 
hostile  Indians.  The  first  settlers  found  several 
graves  at  the  lower  end  of  the  hollow,  upon 
one  of  which  was  a  board  marker,  with  the 
inscription  Rachel  Pattison,  died  1849.  This 
grave  is  now  marked  by  a  stone  slab  and  there 
is  an  Oregon  Trail  marker  there. 

Beside  the  Indian  relics,  many  remains  of 
pre-historic  animals  have  been  found  in  and 
near  Ash  Hollow.  Of  these,  the  most  valuable 
collections  have  been  made  by  Air.  and  Mrs. 
M.  P.  Clary,  who  live  in  the  Hollow  ;  and  by 
Mr.  Edward  H.  Hartman,  who  lives  near  the 
mouth  of  Blue  creek. 

In  the  mad  rush  to  the  west,  the  pioneers  dur- 
ing several  decades  scarcely  stopped  to  take  a 
second  look  at  the  territory  which  is  now 
Garden  county :  Westward  Ho  !  Farther,  far- 
ther west,  was  the  cry. 

Not  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  the  cattle- 
men began  ranging  stock  in  the  valley  here. 
First  among  them  were  the  Adams  Reddington 
Company  south  of  the  river  and  the  Knowles 
Baldwin  Company  and  Ogalalla  Land  and  Cat- 
tle Company  north  of  the  river.  One  of  the  first 
permanent  habitations  in  the  county  was  a  camp 
built  near  the  mouth  of  Blue  Creek  by  the  Ogal- 
alla  Company.      The  site  of   this  old  camp  is 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


247 


near  where  the  farm  buildings  of  William  Rolf- 
ing  now  stand,  a  little  over  a  mile  west  of 
Lewellen. 

The  days  of  the  free  range  cattle  baron  ex- 
tended until  about  the  year  1889;  that  was  the 
year  of  the  last  range  cattle  "Round  up ;"  then 
the  fencing  in  of  huge  pastures  began.  The 
United  States  Government  made  such  strenuous 
objections  to  the  holding  of  government  land 
under  fence,  that  the  large  pastures  were  soon 
cut  up  and  the  deeded  land  ranch  became  the 
proper  thing. 

This  part  of  the  North  Platte  valley  land 
did  not  look  very  attractive  to  the  early  set- 
tler. The  big  herds  of  cattle  kept  the  grass 
eaten  off  and  the  sand  trampled  up ;  so  that 
the  soil  looked  to  be  too  sandy  for  any  use. 
Furthermore,  the  homeseeker  would  often  be 
told  that  the  place  of  his  choice  had  already 
been  filed  upon  or  patented,  when,  in  reality, 
it  was  open  for  homestead  entry.  Then,  too, 
the  government  corners  were  few  and  far  be- 
tween ;  so  that  determining  locations  were  very 
difficult.  John  Yenscn,  a  Lodgepole  locator, 
found  claims  for  many  of  the  earliest  settlers, 
pushing  his  surveys  north  of  the  river  as  early 
as  the  year  1885. 

Mr.  William  Lisco  was  one  of  the  first  cow- 
boys to  ride  the  range  in  this  vicinity.  His 
first  job  here  was  in  1872  and  it  was  nearly 
fifteen  years  later  that  he  took  his  claim  on 
the  valley  just  west  of  the  present  line  between 
Garden  and  Morrill  counties. 

Previous  to  the  year  1885,  when  the  Lewel- 
len settlement  was  started  by  D.  C.  Hooper 
and  others,  and  the  Oshkosh  settlement  was 
started  by  John  Robinson  and  H.  G.  Gumaer, 
Rueben  Lisco  had  located  on  Rush  Creek  and 
S.  P.  Delatour  on  Blue  Creek. 

So,  today,  Mr.  Delatour  and  Mr.  Lisco  are 
about  the  oldest  of  the  "old  timers."  Both  of 
them  are  still  in  the  ranching  business  and 
both  are  successful  in  the  banking  business. 

Mr.  Delatour  located  and  still  lives  .in 
Cheyenne  canyon  on  Blue  Creek,  where  the 
Indians  made  their  last  stand  in  Harney's  Bat- 
tle of  Ash  Hollow. 

In  1885,  the  Bowers  brothers  opened  up 
headquarters  for  a  horse  ranch  about  ten  miles 
west  of  where  Oshkosh  now  is  located. 

The  south  table  was  the  first  part  of  the 
county  to  receive  much  attention,  the  set- 
tlers working  north  from  the  main  line  of  the 
Union  Pacific  railroad.  Among  the  first  ones 
were  Reuben  Lisco,  C.  M.  Cowdin,  who  sold 
out  in  Ingraham  and  Coombs;  Ernest  Sher- 
man, Asa  Remsburg,  Jacob  Roudebush,  John 
Orr.  Peter  Olson,  Charles  Olson,  Chris  and 
Cal  McCormick,  Henry  and  George  Gilliard, 


Dennis  and  Morse  P.  Clary.  After  settle- 
ments were  made  on  the  north  side  of  the  river 
and  teaming  had  to  be  done  via  Chappell,  the 
Geo.  W.  Hulse  place  was  the  half-way  house 
and  feeding  station.  William  Keizer  estab- 
lished the  Kowanda  postoffice  in  1889,  bring- 
ing the  mail  up  from  Julesburg  by  stage.  The 
postoffice  is  still  being  used,  the  mail  com- 
ing over  from  Chappell  now.  Mrs.  Henry 
G.  Smith  is  the  present  postmistress.  She 
also  carries  a  small  stock  of  goods  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  its  patrons. 

D.  C.  Hooper,  one  of  the  first  settlers  north 
of  the  river  near  Lewellen  used  to  walk  to 
Ogallala  or  Big  Springs  for  his  groceries.  He 
had  a  hand-cart  with  which  he  hauled  them. 


Farm  Home,  at  Ash  Hollow 

He  carried  a  sack  of  flour  on  his  back  from 
Big  Springs  to  his  home.  He  would  lie  down 
to  sleep  wherever  night  overtook  him.  After 
Dennis  B.  Clary  came,  he  made  that  a  stop- 
ping place. 

Dennis  Clary  came  to  the  south  table  in 
1885  when  it  was  old  Cheyenne  county.  His 
entire  outfit  consisted  of  a  set  of  single  harness 
and  his  grip.  He  came  alone,  his  family  com- 
ing the  next  year.  When  he  arrived  at  Big 
Springs,  he  purchased  a  horse  and  rode  out 
to  his  claim  near  Ash  Hollow.  He  built  a 
cart,  nailing  two  thicknesses  of  boards  together 
crosswise  and  trimming  them  into  shape  for 
wheels.  The  tire  was  a  curved  ash  root  nailed 
on  this.  The  hub  was  an  ash  stump  and  the 
shafts  were  ash  poles ;  all  topped  off  with  a 
bed  large  enough  to  carry  half  a  wagon  load. 
With  his  horse  "Old  Jim*'  and  this  cart  he 
gathered  bones  and  hauled  them  to  Big  Springs 
to  pay  for  groceries.  In  fact,  all  his  hauling 
was  done  in  the  old  cart  for  a  number  of  years. 
His  pitchfork  was  an  ash  limb  with  three 
branches  for  prongs.  Mr.  Clary  bad  preserv- 
ed the  old  cart  and  pitchfork   for  years;  but 


248 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


a  prairie  tire  finally  ate  them  up.  The  old 
stone  house  on  his  tree  claim  in  the  Hollow 
was  built  by  himself.  He  hauled  the  stone 
and  logs  with  his  one  horse,  cart  and  sled. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Gilliard  and  Dennis  Clary  laid 
out  the  Ash  Hollow  cemetery,  where  Rachel 
Pattison  was  buried.  She  was  a  young  girl 
who  had  been  shot  by  the  Indians  in  1849, 
while  she  was  going  to  the  spring  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Hollow.  These  old  men  wished  to  be 
buried  there,  and  their  request  was  granted. 
There  is  a  large  cemetery  there  now,  and  here 
was  placed  and  dedicated,  one  of  the  Oregon 
Trail  monuments. 


Rock  at  Ash  Hollow,  near  Spring 

The  Killing  of  the  Last  Two  Buffalo 

In  1886,  a  band  of  Sioux  Indians  came 
down  from  the  Reservation  in  South  Dakota. 
They  reached  the  Blue  and  startled  the  set- 
tlers somewhat ;  but  it  proved  to  be  merely  a 
hunting  expedition,  finding  so  little  game  they 
had  resorted  to  killing  cattle  for  food.  They 
found  and  killed  the  last  two  buffalo  in  this 
section.  The  settlers  had  let  these  two  alone 
thinking  to  preserve  them.  Mr.  Ed.  Hartman 
was  interested  enough  to  get  one  of  the  skulls 
and  has  it  now,  with  his  interesting  collection. 

Upon  the  west  table  north  of  Lisco  were 
mam  sections  of  very  good  farm  lands.  These 
were  taken  about  1887  and  soon  after  by  set- 
tlers  coming  from  the  east  by  way  of  Lodge- 
pole.  Among  those  settlers  were  Anson  B. 
Allen,  G.  W.  Mauk,  John  Bentley,  Geo.  Curf- 
man,     Arthur,    Ed.,  Joe  and   Evelyn   Murphy, 


and  John  H.  Stubbs  from  Iowa.  It  seems 
that  Arthur  Murphy  built  the  first  house  on 
the  west  table  in  1887.  Among  those  old 
timers  were  Chas.  Buske,  Win.  Shay,  Harvey 
Brown,  Wm.  Wallace,  Robert  Granger,  Ar- 
thur Welton  and  George  Pierce  (father  of 
Mrs.  John  Martin)  who  also  came  in  via  Al- 
liance. These  were  some  of  the  sturdy  ones 
who  outlived  the  troubles  of  the  dry  years, 
hauling  water  and  supplies  for  miles.  They 
would  sometimes  sit  in  the  dark  in  the  even- 
ing for  they  were  out  of  oil.  These  people 
were  often  twenty-five  miles  from  a  postoffice, 
and  forty  miles  from  a  doctor,  but  as  Mrs. 
L.  M.  Myers  expressed  it,  the  outdoor  life 
made  people  much  more  healthy.  They  didn't 
need  a  doctor  so  often,  but  in  some  cases  it 
was  a  serious  hardship,  as  in  the  following 
experience.  Mrs.  Myers'  father,  Julius  John- 
son, was  very  seriously  wounded  by  a  des- 
perado. She  was  obliged  to  wade  and  swim  the 
river  and  go  five  miles  to  get  help,  then  the 
neighbor  had  to  go  thirty  miles  to  get  the 
doctor.  She  had  run  most  of  the  way  and 
had  just  enough  strength  to  tell  them  what 
was  wanted  when  she  fainted.  They  went  to 
help  her  father  and  get  the  doctor  and  the  fath- 
er's life  was  saved. 

This  same  lady  when  a  girl  was  often  out 
hunting  for  Indian  beads,  arrow  heads,  etc. 
One  day  she  came  to  an  old  hollow  stump, 
upon  investigation  it  was  found  to  contain 
many  human  bones  and  a  button.  It  had 
evidently  served  as  a  grave  for  a  child.  It 
was  beside  the  Old  Mormon  Trail  and  some 
Mormon  emigrants  had  spent  a  winter  here  in 
years  gone  by.  There  was  also  a  grave  mark- 
ed Sarah  Turner,  died  1872.  The  weather  had 
almost  smoothed  the  board-marker. 

M.  P.  Clary  and  Bill  Brown  were  going 
down  the  south  side  of  the  river  when  a  snow 
storm  came  up.  It  developed  into  a  real 
blizzard.  To  secure  better  protection  from  the 
storm,  they  went  into  a  canyon  just  south  of 
McCulligan's  canyon  and  camped  until  it  was 
over.  They  were  compelled  to  take  the 
end-gate  of  the  wagon  to  shovel  themselves 
out.  When  they  got  started,  they  were  two 
days  reaching  home  the  snow  was  so  deep. 

The  years,  1885-86-87,  seemed  to  be  the 
great  years  for  settlement,  as  will  be  seen  by 
looking  over  the  history  of  the  different  lo- 
calities. Settlers  continued  to  come  until  the 
dry  years,  1890-92-93-94,  when  so  many  grew 
discouraged  and  left.  It  was  a  kind  Provi- 
dence though  for  it  left  more  pasture  for  those 
hardy  ones  who  stayed.  The  hardships  of 
these  years  tested  the  endurance  of  these  brave 
people    to    the    limit    and    only    the    strongest 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


?49 


ones  remained.  It  was  during  those  dry 
years  that  A.  D.  Remington,  who  had  located 
at  Day,  on  the  south  table  in  1887,  did  so  much 
for  the  preservation  of  the  settlers.  He  had 
started  a  store,  postoffice,  dairy  and  creamery. 
At  the  crisis  in  the  dry  years  he  loaned  money 
to  those  in  need,  helping  them  to  pull  through 
until  good  crops  came  again.  He  was  the 
means  of  keeping  a  good  many  people  from 
leaving  the  country  at  that  time.  He  was  a 
wonderful  help  all  through  that  famine ;  for 
it  grew  very  serious.  Many  gathered  bones  of 
animals  bleached  and  dry,  selling  them  to  buy 
groceries.  They  would  camp  out  a  week  at 
a  time  gathering  bones.  Stock  was  allowed  to 
roam  where  it  could  snatch  a  little  to  eat. 
Potatoes  were  like  hickory  nuts  but  were  gath- 
ered very  carefully  nevertheless.  Victor 
Marsh's  father,  W.  D.  Marsh,  living  near  the 
river  was  a  carpenter  so  went  where  he  could 
work  at  his  trade.  Others,  like  Mr.  I.  H. 
Kimbel  and  Kirk  McCall  living  near  Oshkosh 
and  George  Gilliard  near  Lewellen,  made 
money  by  hunting.  They  would  come  home 
with  a  wagon  load  of  geese,  ducks,  etc.  They 
would  dress,  pack  in  barrels  and  ship  them  to 
Denver  or  Omaha  making  enough  to  buy  gro- 
ceries for  themselves  and  often  for  a  less  for- 
tunate neighbor. 

The  hunting  in  this  region  was  fine  in  the 
early  days.  The  first  winter  Mr.  Tom  Camp- 
bell was  in  this  county  up  by  the  lakes,  he 
caught  sixteen  beaver,  eight  otter  and  six- 
teen deer  besides  many  ducks,  geese,  etc. 
There  were  some  buffalo  and  many  droves  of 
wild  horses,-  which  would  steal  the  domesti- 
cated horse,  refusing  to  let  them  return  to  their 
owners.  So  a  war  was  waged  on  the  wild 
horses.  A  high  hill  about  seventeen  miles 
northeast  of  Oshkosh  was  used  as  a  relay 
station  for  fresh  horses  in  hunting  the  wild 
ones  as  they  could  see  a  bunch  of  horses  a 
long  distance  from  there.  It  is  called  Wild 
Horse  hill.  One  outfit  caught  one  hundred 
horses  in  one  trip.  Over  in  the  canyons  just 
south  of  Oshkosh  is  Wild  Horse  Corral,  a  nat- 
ural corral  formed  by  steep  rocks,  in  which 
wild  horses  were  trapped  and  caught. 

There  were  fewer  birds  then,  than  now, 
many'  felt  that  the  birds  were  real  friends  by 
cheering  up  some  lonely  settlers  with  their 
bright  happy  songs.  To  illustrate  some  of  the 
inconveniences  of  early  settlers,  one  lady  near 
Lisco  used  a  baking  powder  can  and  a  hammer 
handle  for  a  coffee  mill. 

Up  on  the  table  it  was  often  two  hundred 
to  four  hundred  feet  to  water,  costing  $1.50 
per  foot  for  driving  a  well  as  many  were 
short    of    monev    thev    were   obliged    to    haul 


water  long  distances,  from  four  to  nine  miles. 
In  such  cases  they  didn't  have  much  stock  and 
would  drive  them  to  a  pool  or  lagoon  or  take 
them  with  them  when  they  went  after  water. 

The  prairie  fires  would  come  roaring  over 
the  land  taking  everything  "in  its  course.  The 
best  protection  in  such  cases  were  strips  of 
plowing,  wide  enough  to  prevent  the  fire  from 
jumping  across.  Mrs.  Jones,  Mary  Hender- 
son then,  was  living  on  her  homestead  west 
of  town  and  had  Pearl  Jensen  staying  with  her. 
They  saw  a  prairie  fire  over  east  of  Oshkosh. 
They  were  worried  at  first,  then  concluded 
that  the  fire  couldn't  get  past  Oshkosh  so  went 


Rush  Ckeek  Ranch.  Rocky  Point 

to  sleep  About  ten  o'clock  they  were  awak- 
ened by  the  bright' light  from  the  fire  which 
had  come  quite  close  to  them.  They  dressed 
hurriedly,  took  sacks  and  water  to  beat  it 
away  from  the  house  and  corral.  Mrs.  Jones' 
brother,  Lee  Henderson,  had  gathered  a  large 
pile  of  wood  for  her  winter's  supply.  The  fire 
got  into  that  and  burned  it  up,  almost  getting 
to  the  house.  The  two  women  worked  until 
morning  when  the  fire  had  passed.  A  neighbor 
came  over  to  see  how  they  had  stood  the  fire. 
1  Ie  had  fought  it  and  lost  most  of  his  hay,  but 
had  saved  his  home.  They  were  all  feeling 
rather  blue  and  discouraged. 

Mr.  George  Gilliard  took  a  load  of  house- 
hold goods  for  a  neighbor  from  Lewellen  up 
twenty-five  miles  north  of  Alliance.  It  took 
nearly  a  week.  He  camped  on  the  way  up 
and  back,  and  paid  his  own  expenses.  He  re- 
ceived $10  for  the  trip  and  thought  himself 
wonderfully  well  paid. 

Among  the  blessings  of  these  early  settlers 
are  to  be  counted  the  wild  fruits  and  berries  to 
be  found  in  the  canyons  and  at  oilier  points 
throughout  this  part  of  the  county.  Wild  cur- 
rants,   cherries,    grapes,    and    plums    grew     m 


250 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


abundance  in  the  canyons  and  among  the  rocks, 
while  in  the  sandhills  are  found  the  sand 
cherries. 

There  were  very  few  settlers  in  the  sand- 
hills then,  few  and  far  between.  In  the  early 
days',  a  family  wished  to  get  up  to  a  northern 
settlement  so  struck  out  across  the  county 
through  the  sandhills.  They  got  lost  and  wan- 
dered around  for  some  days.  They  ate  up  all 
the  provisions  they  had  and  fed  the  straw  out 
of  the  bed-ticks  to  the  horses  before  they  fin- 
ally came  to  the  head  of  Blue  Creek.  They 
knew  they  would  find  somebody  by  following 
that  down.  They  reached  the  Davis  ranch 
tired  and  hungry.  After  resting  and  getting  a 
fresh  supply  of  provisions  they  secured  a  cow- 
boy guide  to  take  them  through  the  hills.  It 
is  easy,  even  now,  to  get  lost  in  them  and  there 
are  many  more  settlers. 

The  usual  and  popular  residence  of  the  early 
settlers  was  of  course  the  "Soddy."  Even  the 
Kinkaid  homesteaders  of  1905  to  1910  most  all 
built  sod  houses.  Among  the  older  settlers 
however,  there  arose  a  great  craze  of  building 
residences  of  stone  laid  up  in  Alkali  mud. 
These  materials  could  usually  be  found  handy 
and  in  abundance,  and  when  properly  con- 
structed such  a  house  is  nearly  as  good  as  a 
brick  house. 

About  1906,  the  fashion  changed  and  the 
frame  house  or  concrete  house  became  popu- 
lar. It  was  about  that  time  that  Archie  Wynes 
and  Herman  Bushnell  hauled  cement  from 
Julesburg  and  made  a  large  stone  and  cement 
block  opera  house  in  Oshkosh.  The  porch 
built  in  front  of  the  building  was  floored  with 
cement.  This  was  before  the  county  division 
and  was  the  first  cement  porch  or  sidewalk  laid 
in  Deuel  county. 

The  wagon  bridges  at  Oshkosh  and  Lewellen 
were  not  built  until  1891.  Previous  to  that 
time  crossing  the  river  was  usually  dangerous. 
Many  would  get  caught  in  the  quicksand,  losing 
their  horses,  loads  and  sometimes  even  them- 
selves. Mr.  Robert  Dailey  living  near  Lisco 
was  crossing  the  river  near  his  home  when  the 
horses  got  into  the  quicksand.  It  was  cold  and 
in  spite  of  all  his  efforts  he  couldn't  untie  the 
wet  ropes  or  loosen  the  harness.  He  lost  the 
two  horses,  but  was  fortunate  enough  to  save 
himself.  He  also  had  some  experience  in 
crossing  the  ice.  He  started  across  with  a  load 
of  hogs  for  market.  He  tried  twice  and  finally 
had  to  unload  them  on  the  ice  and  drive  them 
home.  The  third  time  he  took  them  down  to 
Oshkosh  and  crossed  on  the  bridge. 

Jesse  Lee  Colyer  said  many  a  time  they 
had  tied  a  rope  to  a  board  and  dragged  that 
over  the  ice  in  order  to  have  it  to  cross  the 


open  channels  in  the  ice.  In  trying  to  handle 
the  board  and  packages  of  groceries  they  would 
be  so  careful  of  the  board  that  they  would  lose 
the  groceries. 

Of  all  the  old  timers,  none  was  handier  with 
rope  or  gun  than  Texas  Bill  Helms.  His  claim 
was  in  the  hills  near  the  Geo.  Richardson 
ranch.  His  favorite  weapon  was  the  45  calibre 
Colt,  but  in  all  his  gun  fights  with  friends  and 
neighbors,  although  apparently  shooting  to 
kill,  he  would  cripple  and  vanquish  his  op- 
ponent without  killing  him,  usually  coming  out 
of  the  encounter  uninjured.  He  once  sent  a 
bullet  ploughing  across  the  top  of  Harm 
Granger's  head  but  not  breaking  the  skull. 

On  one  occasion  he  went  to  Mr.  Jackett's 
home  and  after  a  bitter  quarrel,  Mr.  Jackett 
grabbed  a  revolver  and  ordered  him  off  the 
place.  Helms  started  to  leave  but  unknown  to 
Jackett  he  had  left  his  shotgun  leaning  against 
the  doorjam  as  he  came  in.  Just  as  he  stepped 
out  he  grabbed  the  shotgun  and  noticing  that 
Jackett  was  off  his  guard,  turned  and  shot  his 
hand  off  and  the  revolver  dropped  to  the  floor 
without  having  been  discharged. 

One  evening  early  in  December,  1896,  Helms 
went  out  to  bring  in  his  milk  cows  and  just  as 
he  had  driven  them  through  a  gate,  closed  it 
and  got  on  his  horse  again,  a  fusilade  of  shots 
rang  out  from  the  top  of  a  little  hill  not  more 
than  fifty  yards  distant,  man  and  horse  drop- 
ped dead,  riddled  with  bullets  and  buckshot. 
The  murderers  were  never  apprehended.  Empty 
rifle  and  shot  gun  shells  were  found  on  top  of 
the  little  hill,  but  the  tracks  of  the  gunmen  were 
obliterated  by  the  drifting  sand  and  the  officers 
had  to  give  up  the  chase. 

Israel  Kimbel  tells  an  incident  of  his  ex- 
perience as  emergency  deputy  under  Sheriff 
Rube  Lisco  in  1892. 

It  seems  that  A.  D.  Remington  of  Day  post- 
office  had  a  mortgage  on  a  bunch  of  cattle  be- 
longing to  Hi.  Wilson  who  lived  in  the  hills 
north  of  Island  Lake.  Wilson  was  unable  to 
settle  and  Remington  sent  Constable  Bill  Plum- 
mer  of  Big  Springs  to  take  possession  of  the 
cattle  under  the  mortgage.  Mr.  Plummer  came 
back  unsuccessful ;  so  Mr.  Remington  brought 
suit  in  replevin.  Sheriff  Lisco  went  to  serve 
the  writ ;  but  Mr.  Wilson  and  his  sons  and  son- 
in-law  resisted  so  stoutly  that  the  sheriff  went 
back  to  Chapped  and  procured  a  warrant  for 
their  arrest.  On  his  second  trip  accompanied 
by  Bill  Plummer  and  a  boy  from  Chicago  he 
pulled  into  a  hunting  camp  on  Island  Lake  just 
as  a  blizzard  came  down  from  the  north.  Here 
he  found  Floyd  Jones,  A.  W.  Gumaer,  Kirk 
McCall  and  Israel  Kimbel  who  had  no  trouble 
in  persuading  him  to  stop  and  help  eat  the  roast 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


251 


duck  and  swan,  and  share  their  camp  during 
the  blizzard.  (  >n  the  third  day  they  hit  the 
trail  for  the  Wilsons  and  soon  had  them  ar- 
rested and  hand-cuffed  ;  but  Mrs.  Wilson's  bull- 
dog got  into  the  melee  and  started  to  chew  up 
the  trousers  of  the  sheriff.  The  Chicago  boy 
and  Plummer  both  emptied  their  guns  at  the 
dog  without  effect,  not  even  hitting  any  of  the 
men  or  women  in  the  crowd.  Mrs.  Wilson 
felled  the  Chicago  boy  with  a  huge  beef  bone 
and  the  dog  having  got  out  a  little  to  one  side 
Mr.  Kirribel  shot  and  killed  it,  but  Mrs.  Wil- 
son's anger  still  raged,  thinking  that  the  poor 
dog  had  been  shot  by  the  boy.  After  the  sheriff 
and  constable  had  gone  with  their  prisoners, 
the  hunter  deputies  stayed  and  visited  until  the 
exasperated  Mrs.  Wilson  got  in  a  good  humor 
and  treated  them  to  a  bountiful  and  delicious 
dinner. 

Organization  of  the  County 

In  early  times,  the  territory  now  included  in 
Garden  county  was  a  part  of  old  Cheyenne 
county.  In  the  year  1888,  the  eastern  part  of 
Cheyenne  county  was  cut  off  and  Deuel  county 
organized  with  Chappell  the  county  seat. 

On  the  completion  of  the  railroad  up  the 
North  Platte  river  in  1908,  the  people  in  the 
central  and  northern  part  of  the  county  began 
strenuously  to  advocate  county  division.  Even 
with  the  county  seat  at  Chappell  the  people  in 
the  northeast  part  of  the  county  were  seventy- 
five  miles  from  the  seat  of  county  government. 
Petitions  for  county  division  election  were  cir- 
culated in  1909,  the  question  voted  upon  in 
the  fall  election  and  carried  by  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority.  Eugene  Delatour,  county  clerk, 
at  once  executed  the  certificate  that  the  county 
was  divided  and  that  the  part  north  of  town- 
ship fifteen  to  be  henceforth  known  as  Garden 
county. 

The  first  county  officers  were :  Robt.  A.  Day, 
Clerk  ;  Charles  Davis,  Treasurer;  Walter  Clark, 
Sheriff;  T.  C.  McKee,  Superintendent  of 
Schools ;  Lee  Minner,  Attorney ;  John  Robin- 
son, Surveyor;  J.  C.  Hartman.  Assessor,  H.  H. 
Hough,  Coroner ;  A.  W.  Gttmaer,  Tudge ;  and 
M.  P.  Clary,  D.  F.  Fickes,  and  Wni  Barnwell, 
Commissioners. 

Oshkosh  the  new  county  seat  is  conveniently 
located  in  the  south  central  part  of  the  county. 
The  commissioners  rented  the  lower  floor  of 
the  Commercial  hotel  in  Oshkosh  for  a  court 


house,  hired  Mr.  Day  to  transcribe  the  records 
from  Deuel  county ;  built  a  temporary  jail  and 
a  cement  vault  for  the  records,  and  early  in 
1910  Oshkosh  got  settled  down  to  the  duties 
and  responsibilities  as  county  sat  of  the  new 
county. 

In  the  spring  of  1914,  the  county  commis- 
sioners called  a  special  election  to  submit  to 
the  voters  the  question  of  issuing  court  house 
bonds  in  the  sum  of  forty  thousand  dollars 
($40,000).  The  measure  failed  to  carry  and 
the.  county  is  still  renting  the  old  cramped,  un- 
suitable building  for  a  court  house.  The  county 
officers  at  this  time.  March,  1920.  are:  G.  E. 
Melvin  Clerk  ;  Ed.  S.  Wood,  Treasurer  ;  A.  W. 
Gumaer,  Judge;  R.  H.  Smith,  Sheriff;  H.  J. 
Curtis,  Attorney;  H.  A.  Mark,  Surveyor; 
Esther  M.  Johnson.  Superintendent;  D.  F. 
Fickes,  Assessor;  Wm.  L.  Law,  J.  R.  Woolery, 
and  W.  R.  VV.  Taylor,  Commissioners. 

The  record  of  officers  serving  in  Garden 
county  from  the  date  of  the  county  organiza- 
tion to  the  present  time  (  1920)  is  as  follows: 

County  Clerks:  Robt.  A.  Day.  1910-1916; 
Geo.  Melvin,  1916  still  in  office. 

Treasurers  :  Chas.  Davis.  1910-1916  :  Ralph 
Laycock,  1916-1918;  Ed.  S.  Wood,  1918  still 
in  office. 

Sheriffs:  Walter  Clark.  1910-1918;  R.  H. 
Smith,  1918,  still  in  office. 

Superintendent  of  Schools:  T.  C.  McKee, 
1910-1913;  Nellie  Olson-Stroud.  1913-1918; 
Esther  M.  Johnson.  1918,  still  in  office. 

County  Attorneys:  Dee  Minner,  1910,  only 
a  few  inonths.  R.  F.  Williams.  1910-1916; 
H.  f.  Curtis.  1916,  still  in  office. 

Surveyors:  John  Robinson,  1910-1916;  H. 
A.  Mark.  1916."  still  in  office. 

Assessors:  lohn  C.  Hartman,  1910-1912; 
J.  C.  Morgan,  1912-1916;  D.  F.  Fickes.  1916, 
still  in  office. 

Coroner:  Dr.  H.  H.  Hough.  1910-1916; 
Dr.  Geo.  H.  Morris,  1916-1918;  H.  I.  Curtis, 
1918,  still  in  office. 

Judge:     A.  W.  Gumaer.  1910.  still  in  office. 

Commissioners:  Third  district,  M.  P.  Clary, 
1910-1916;  Roscoe  Vance.  1916-1918;  W.  C. 
Clark,  1918-1920:  W.  R.  W.  Taylor,  1920.  ap- 
pointed to  fill  vacancy.  Second  district.  D.  F. 
Fickes.  1910-1911;  I.  C.  Roudebush,  1911- 
1916;  W.  L.  haw.  1916,  still  in  office.  First 
district,  Wm.  Barnwell,  1910-1916;  I.  R.  Wool- 
ery, 1916  1920 


252 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  II 


BOUNDARY    DISPUTES  — AS  BETWEEN  INDIVIDUALS 


The  original  land  surveys  in  Garden  county, 
being  indistinctly  marked,  have  been  the  source 
of  continual  trouble.  In  some  of  the  townships 
no  interior  corners  are  to  be  found.  The  cur- 
rent rumor  is  that  the  Indians  bothered  the 
surveyors  so  much  that  the  surveyors  could  not 
do  their  work  in  a  proper  and  thorough  man- 
ner. 

The  early  settlers  in  township  17,  range  44, 
where  Oshkosh  is  now  located,  took  up  a  col- 
lection and  hired  a  surveyor  to  resurvey  the 
township  and  mark  every  section  and  quarter 
section  corner.  So  this  central  township  has 
been  free  from  boundary  line  quarrels.  Mr. 
Marsh,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  near  the 
present  site  of  Lewellen,  was  a  surveyor  and 
did  considerable  work  in  his  line  in  that  neigh- 
borhood. The  corners  made  or  perpetuated  by 
him  have  saved  considerable  trouble  and  ex- 
pense. 

There  has  always  been  a  great  scramble  for 
hay  land  especially  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county,  where  the  valuable  hay  lands  lie  in 
small  valleys  surrounded  by  rough  pasture 
lands.  Anyone  resorting  to  litigation  to  deter- 
mine a  boundary  line  was  at  once  confronted 
with  the  necessity  of  spending  a  large  sum  on 
surveyor's  fees ;  it  being  necessary  in  many 
instances  to  survey  an  entire  township  in  order 
to  surely  determine  the  location  of  a  single 
quarter  section.  Accordingly,  trial  by  battle 
was  occasionally  resorted  to,  but  even  this  an- 
cient method  produced  no  satisfactory  results. 
Finally,  the  United  States  government,  recog- 
nizing the  urgent  necessity,  began  making  re- 
surveys  and  have  now  succeeded  in  finishing  a 
considerable  portion  of  this  territory. 

In  the  year  1910,  C.  J.  Devasher,  an  eccen- 
tric character  from  the  south,  measured  off  his 
newly  acquired  section  homestead  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  county  and  announced  that 
it  included  Les.  Ballenger's  ranch  buildings.  He 
further  proceeded  to  build  his  residence  close 
to  Mr.  Ballenger's  and  gave  Mr.  Ballenger  to 
understand  that  he  could  move  off  if  he  did  not 
like  it.  Upon  complaint  and  hearing  before  the 
Insanity  Board,  Dr.  Devasher  was  found  to  be 
insane  and  committed  and  sent  to  the  State 
Hospital  for  the  insane.  Within  three  weeks 
he  was  discharged  and  was  back  home  continu- 
ing the  fight  for  what  he  believed  to  be  his 
legal  rights.  After  several  rounds  in  court  and 
out,  Mr.  Devasher  discovered  that  he  had  made 


a  big  mistake  in  measuring  off  his  claim  and 
that  it  neither  included  hay  land,  the  Ballenger 
buildings  nor  anything  else  of  any  particular 
value.  He  accordingly  gave  up  the  fight  in  dis- 
gust. 

It  was  also  in  the  year  1910  that  William  J. 
Dymond  decided  that  his  homestead  extended 
over  and  through  one  of  Perry  Yeast's  choice 
hay  valleys.  Mr.  Dymond  and  his  sons,  Golba 
D.  Groves  and  Mr.  H.  S.  Coulson  went  to  work 
to  put  up  the  hay  in  this  valley.  Within  a  day 
or  two,  they  suddenly  found  themselves  sur- 
rounded by  a  considerable  company  of  armed 
men  on  horseback,  Perry  Yeast  in  command. 
Mr.  Yeast  told  them  to  take  themselves  off  the 
place  and  fix  up  the  fence.  As  they  refused. 
Mr.  Yeast  made  them  an  oration  in  genuine,  if 
not  choice  cowboy  language,  emphasizing  same 
with  ornate  ge=ture  and  flourish  of  a  six-shoot- 
er. The  other  men  proceeded  with  axes,  sledges 
and  knives  to  break,  cut,  smash  and  demolish 
Mr.  Dymond's  haying  machinery  and  harness. 
Mr.  Dymond  and  party  were  not  armed  and 
did  not  resist. 

Mr.  Yeast  and  his  party  were  arrested  and 
tried  at  the  fall  term  of  court  on  a  charge  of 
unlawful  assembly.  It  being  practically  impos- 
sible to  prove  that  they  had  planned  and  con- 
spired together  to  commit  the  act ;  they  were  all 
acquitted  and  discharged.  They  did  not  attempt 
to  deny  that  they  destroyed  the  machinery  and 
cut  up  the  harness  and  offered  to  pay  the 
whole  damage.  Mr.  Dymond  would  not  accept 
their  money  nor  any  part  of  it. 

Upon  careful  investigation,  Mr.  Dymond 
found  that  he  was  wrong  in  his  contention  con- 
cerning his  boundary  line  and  that  he  had  been 
trespassing  upon  Mr.  Yeast's  land. 

Meager  and  highly  exaggerated  rumors  con- 
cerning the  Yeast-Dymond  skirmish  rapidly 
spread  in  every  direction  and  within  a  day  or 
two  it  must  have  been  the  impression  in  many- 
cities  that  there  was  a  state  of  war  in  exist- 
ence. At  any  rate,  several  persons  here  re- 
ceived telegrams  from  city  papers  asking  for 
daily  detailed  telegraphic  reports  of  the  war 
between  cattlemen  and  homesteaders. 

On  the  whole,  the  attitude  of  old  timers  and 
cattlemen  toward  homesteaders  has  been  uni- 
formly kind  and  neighborly,  despite  the  rank 
and  disgraceful  school  of  fiction  which  repre- 
sents the  cattlemen  as  being  wild,  hostile,  un- 
reasonable and  cannibalistic. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


253 


As  Between  Counties 

The  territory  now  organized  as  Garden 
county  was  in  early  times  the  northeastern  part 
of  Cheyenne  county  and,  from  the  year  1888 
until  the  year  1910,  it  was  the  northern  part  of 
Deuel  county.  The  eastern  boundary  of  Chey- 
enne county  was  defined  by  the  legislature  to 
be  the  25th  degree  of  longitude  west  from 
Washington.  This  25th  degree  was  hard  to 
find,  but  soon  after  the  creation  of  Deuel  coun- 
ty, there  was  some  dispute  between  Deuel  and 
Keith  counties  concerning  the  boundary ;  so 
the  commissioners  of  the  respective  counties 
surveyed  out  and  agreed  upon  a  boundary. 
Keith  county  only  extends  north  to  the  north 
line  of  township  16  and  there  the  surveyors 
stopped.  This  left  the  boundary  line  as  be- 
tween Deuel  and  Arthur,  and  between  Deuel 
and  Grant  counties  undetermined  and  un- 
marked. The  State  legislature  in  1895  at- 
tempted to  remedy  this  trouble  by  passing  a 
law  fixing  the  west  boundaries  of  Arthur  and 
Grant  counties  on  the  range  line  between  ranges 
40  and  41  west ;  which  range  line  is  about  three 
and  one-half  miles  east  of  the  25th  degree  as 
between  Deuel  and  Arthur  counties  and  is 
about  two  and  one-quarter  miles  east  of  the 
25th  degree  as  between  Deuel  and  Grant  coun- 
ties. This  range  line  was  generally  recognized 
by  county  and  state  officers  and  citizens  as  be- 
ing the  eastern  boundary  of  Deuel,  despite  the 
fact  that  as  there  had  been  no  vote  of  the 
people  on  the  question,  the  statute  of  1895  was 
unconstitutional  and  void. 

About  a  year  after  the  time  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  Garden  county  in  1910,  McPherson 
county  then  having  charge  of  Arthur  county 
judicial  and  revenue  purposes,  brought  suit  to 
enjoin  the  officers  of  Garden  county  from  col- 
lecting taxes  against  persons  or  property  in  the 
territory  lying  between  the  25th  degree  of  long- 
itude and  the  west  line  of  range  40.  This  suit 
dragged  along  for  a  couple  of  years  and  Mc- 
Pherson county  decided  that  they  had  mistaken 
their  remedy  and  dismissed  the  suit. 

In  the  year  1914,  Arthur  county  having 
started  up  their  regularly  organized  county 
business,  filed  suit  in  quo  warranto  to  oust 
Garden  county  and  its  officers  from  the  same 
strip  of  territory  in  question  in  the  above  men- 
tioned McPherson  county  suit.  The  conten- 
tion of  Arthur  county  was,  that  the  original 
eastern  boundary  of  Cheyenne  county,  to-wit, 
the  25th  degree  of  longitude,  must  hold  for 
Cheyenne  county's  successors,  Deuel  and  Gar- 
den'counties ;  that  the  Statute  of  1895  was  un- 
constitutional and  void  and  therefore  the  exer- 
cise of  control  over  the  disputed  strip  by  Gar- 


den county  was  illegal.  <  >n  the  other  hand, 
Garden  county  contended  that  the  25th  degree 
of  longitude  was  wholly  unknown  and  an  im- 
aginary line  and  that  no  attempt  was  ever  made 
by  anyone  to  have  it  surveyed  and  marked  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  until  the  year  1912;  de- 
nied that  said  line  became,  ever  has  been  or  is 
the  east  line  of  Garden  county,  the  west  line  of 
Arthur  county,  or  the  boundary  line  between 
Garden  and  Arthur  counties. 

Garden  county  further  alleged  that  all  along, 
prior  to,  and  ever  since  the  legislative  act  of 
1895,  Deuel  county,  within  its  inherent  and  stat- 
utory power,  exercised  jurisdiction  and  author- 
ity in  all  public  matters  over  said  strip  of  ter- 
ritory as  a  part  of  Deuel  county,  and  continued 
so  to  do  until  Garden  county  was  organized ; 
that  since  its  organization,  Garden  county  has 
continued  to  exercise  such  jurisdiction  and 
authority,  and  does  so  at  the  present  time  ;  that 
during  all  of  this  time,  to  the  present,  school, 
road  and  voing  districts  within  said  counties  of 
Deuel  and  Garden,  have  embraced,  and  do  em- 
brace said  strip ;  that  highways  have  been  built, 
public  schools  established  and  maintained,  elec- 
tions held,  justice  administered,  property  as- 
sessed and  the  taxes  collected  and  disbursed  by 
Deuel  and  Garden  counties;  in  all  of  which  the 
residents  and  taxpayers  have  participated,  and 
received  the  benefits  and  enjoyments  thereof; 
without  protest  on  their  part  or  on  the  part  of 
Arthur  couny. 

At  the  1916  fall  term  of  the  district  court  of 
Garden  county,  Nebraska,  Judge  Hobart  held 
that  the  range  line  between  ranges  40  and  41  is 
the  boundary  between  Arthur  and  Garden 
counties  and  dismissed  Arthur  county's  peti- 
tion. 

Arthur  county  appealed  the  case  to  the  su- 
preme court  of  the  state.  Which  court  affirmed 
the  decision  of  Judge  Hobart  and  in  the  opinion 
filed  November  17,  1916,  and  reported  in  the 
100  Nebraska,  page  324,  decided  the  range  line 
between  ranges  40  and  41  to  be  the  county 
boundary.  Thus,  the  little  "No  Man's  Land" 
which  had  been  in  dispute  for  fifty  years,  be- 
came permanently  a  part  of  Garden  county. 

While  this  suit  was  pending.  Grant  county 
prevailed  upon  the  attorney  general  of  the 
state  to  file  original  suit  in  the  supreme  court 
on  behalf  of  Grant  county  to  oust  Garden 
county  and  its  officers  from  control  of  and 
authority  over  the  disputed  strip  as  between 
Grant  and  Garden  counties.  This  was  the  strip 
about  two  and  one  fourth  miles  wide  lying 
between  the  west  line  of  range  40  and  the  25th 
degree  of  longitude  in  townships  21,  22  and 
23  north. 

The  issue,  were  practically  the  same  a-  in 


254 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  Arthur-Garden  county  case.  Grant  county 
filed  a  demurrer  to  Garden  county's  answer  on 
the  ground  that  said  answer  did  not  contain 
facts  sufficient  to  constitute  a  defense  to  the 
complaint.  Upon  hearing  thereon  the  demur- 
er was  overruled  and  William  Mitchell  of  Al- 
liance was  appointed  as  referee  to  take  the  evi- 
dence and  report  findings  of  fact  and  conclu- 
sions of  law  to  the  court.  After  taking  the 
evidence  at  Hyannis  and  Oshkosh  and  cogitat- 
ing thereon  for  six  months,  the  referee  found 
that  the  25th  degree  of  longitude  was  and  is 
the  boundary  line  between  Grant  and  Garden 
counties ;  that  Garden  county  should  be  ousted 
from  the  territory  east  of  the  25th  degree,  and 
recommended  that  the  boundary  line  be  placed 
about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  the 
25th  degree  at  the  middle  of  range  41. 


In  spite  of  our  strenuous  objections,  this  re- 
port was  confirmed  by  the  supreme  court,  and 
Garden  county  ousted  from  the  territory  be- 
tween the  middle  and  the  east  line  of  range 
41  in  townships  21,  22  and  23  north.  Fifty- 
four  sections  were  handed  over  to  the  good 
little  county  of  Grant.  Our  only  consolation 
being  the  eighty- four  sections  handed  over  to 
us  by  Arthur  county. 

Thus  we  remain,  fifty-four  miles  long,  north 
and  south,  twenty-eight  miles  wide  in  the  south- 
ern part,  thirty-three  miles  wide  in  the  mid- 
dle part,  and  thirty-one  miles  wide  in  the 
northern  part,  and  having  a  total  area  of  one 
million  and  fifty-six  thousand  acres. 

And  no  more  boundary  fights  for  ours;  no, 
not  one. 


CHAPTER  III 
AGRICULTURAL  AND  LIVE  STOCK  INDUSTRIES 


The  southern  part  of  Garden  county  is  a 
high  plain  about  three  hundred  feet  higher 
than  the  North  Platte  river  bottom.  This  is 
the  wheat  country  par  excellence,  and  is  not 
a  bad  country  for  diversified  farming.  Alfalfa 
seed  potatoes,  and  sorghum  cane  are  among 
the  most  profitable  crops. 

In  the  south  part  of  the  county  there  is  a 
solid  body  of  wheat  land  over  250.000  acres  in 
extent;  of  course  some  of  this  is  unbroken 
prairie,  but  at  the  present  rate  of  development, 
it  will  all  be  in  cultivation  within  a  few  years. 

Breaking,  discing,  drilling,  and  harvesting  is 
now  practically  all  done  with  big  machinery 
run  by  motor  power.  Although  there  are  many 
headers,  and  combined  headers  and  threshers, 
the  most  popular  method  of  harvesting  is  by 
means  of  several  binders  drawn  by  one  large 
oil  burning  tractor  engine. 

The  Campbell  system  of  farming  is  not  pop- 
ular here,  although  spring  grain  is  sometimes 
cut  down  to  about  half  a  normal  crop  because 
of  drouth.  A  good  crop  can  be  raised  every 
year  by  rotating  winter  wheat  and  other  crops. 
The  last  failure  was  in  the  year  1895. 

The  average  crop  of  winter  wheat  is  twenty- 
two  luishels  per  acre,  but  a  yield  of  thirty-five 
bushels  per  acre  is  nut  uncommon.  This  land 
is  now    selling  at  about  $70.00  per  acre,  some 


well  improved  places  bringing  over  $100.00 
per  acre. 

The  descent  from  the  wheatland  to  the 
North  Platte  river  is  rough,  precipitous,  and 
bluffy,  there  being  but  a  few  comparatively 
narrow  strips  of  bottom  land  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river.  This  so-called  canyon  strip  is  ex- 
cellent grazing  land. 

The  principal  irrigated  land  belt  of  the 
county  lies  along  the  north  side  of  the  river. 
This  strip  of  alfalfa  and  beet  land  is  about 
two  and  one-half  miles  in  width  and  extends 
clear  across  the  county.  Until  the  year  1916, 
but  little  of  this  valley  was  in  cultivation.  It 
produced  abundant  crops  of  wild  hay  without 
irrigation,  and  the  owners  were  satisfied  and 
prosperous.  Now,  however,  the  "big  noise"  of 
the  sugar  beet  is  heard  in  the  land  and  the  old 
order  is  changing.  In  1918,  automatic  beet 
dumps  were  constructed  at  Oshkosh  and  Perm 
and  numerous  tracts  of  from  twenty  to  two 
hundred  acres  were  planted,  to  beets.  The  yield 
was  so  satisfactory  that  in  the  year  1919  the 
acreage  was  greatly  increased,  and  the  sugar 
beet  industry  is  with  us  to  stay.  The  1919 
crop  was  about  15,000  tons. 

The  favorite  crops  for  rotation  with  beets 
are  alfalfa,  oats,  corn,  millet,  cane,  and  pota- 
toes.    The  people  here  are  rapidly  learning  ir- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


255 


rigation.  and  some  of  the  same  freeholders  who 
were  formerly  content  with  a  crop  of  less  than 
a  ton  of  wild  hay  per  acre,  now  grumble  if  the 
same  acre  produces  less  than  twenty  tons  of 
beets.  Of  course  the  new  industry  has  brought 
in  many  new  settlers  of  many  kinds  and  nation- 
alities, and  it  has  boosted  the  price  of  land  un- 
til it  looks  as  if  a  man  must  needs  be  rich  be- 
fore he  should  think  of  buying  a  farm. 

No  doubt  most  of  the  whole  valley  of  the 
North  Platte  is  good,  but  if  there  is  any  place 
more  worthy  to  be  called  the  garden  spot  of  the 
great  plains,  than  Garden  county's  irrigated 
belt,  we  know  not  the  name  of  that  place. 

"Where  once  the  redskin  to  the  death. 
Fought  pioneer  and  scout, 
The  Swede  with  non  alcoholic  breath. 
Sets  rows  of  cabbage  out." 

However  our  champion  cabbage  raiser  is 
Japanese,  Mr.  I.  Ibata,  and  he  makes  a  success 
of  it  every  year.  As  a  side  issue  he  raises  a 
few  car  loads  of  potatoes.  His  farm  lies  n 
short  distance  northwest  of  Lewellen. 

Peas  are  about  the  surest  of  all  the  truck- 
crops:  furthermore  they  are  just  the  thing  for 
rotation  with  beets  and  alfalfa.  Naturally  we 
must  have  a  canning  factory  before  it  will  pay 
to  plant  large  acreages  to  such  a  perishable 
vegetable. 

North  of  the  irrigated  belt  before  reaching 
the  real  sand  hill  grazing  country,  there  is  a 
strip  about  fifteen  miles  wide  in  which  lie 
numerous  patches  of  excellent  farm  land.  The 
largest  of  these  is  called  the  "west  table"  which 
lies  north  of  Lisco.  This  table  has  just  the 
right  soil  for  corn  and  potatoes,  and  in  early 
times,  A.  B.  Allen  made  it  famous  for  the  pro- 
duction of  navy  beans.  Here  lies  the  winter 
wheat  ranch  of  G.  W.  Berge;  and  he  and  his 
neighbors  will  tell  you  that  their  lands  will  pro- 
duce good  crops  of  grain.  Dry  land,  well,  yes, 
but  isn't  that  better  than  wet  land  as  long  as 
it  will  produce  the  crops. 

Another  body  of  good  land  is  Antelope  val- 
ley which  is  a  few  miles  northeast  of  Oshkosh. 
It'  is  about  the  largest  dry  valley  in  the  county 
and  it  has  been  famous  for  its  big  com  crops 
ever  since  the  coming  of  A.  M.  Pringle,  Cas- 
per Zorn,  W.  W.  Fought,  John  Blausey,  and 
W.  C.  Plummer,  the  first  homesteaders. 

Farther  north  lie  the  hills  and  lakes,  the  real 
ranch  country.  The  land  now  being  practically 
all  patented,  the  larger  ranches  are  being 
squared  up  and  extended.  Many  wet  valleys 
have  been  improved  by  draining  by  means  of 
open  ditches.  Some  cattlemen  have  experiment- 
ed  enough   with   sweet   clover   and   alfalfa   to 


make  it  apparent  that  within  a  short  time  the 
range  steer  will  have  some  tame  hay  to  vary 
the  monotony  of  his  diet,  and  the  flavor  of  his 
wonderful  carcass. 

Another  innovation  is  the  raising  of  big  gar- 
dens by  the  ranchmen.  They  have  at  last  de- 
cided that  the  homegrown  vegetable  is  worth 
while.  Many  of  them  now  milk  a  sufficient 
number  of  cows  to  provide  themselves  and 
ranch  hands  with  milk  and  butter.  However 
they  are  not  yet  ready  to  argue  that  anybody  is 
likely  to  get  rich  milking  cows. 

The  business  of  raising  or  ranging  horses  has 
suffered  a  sharp  decline  lately.  Mule  raising  is 
still  a  profitable  business,  but  not  at  all  popular. 
The  sheep  raising  craze  has  not  struck  this 
country  yet.  Our  rancher  devotes  his  time  to 
the  cattle  business. 


The  largest  ranch  in  the  county  is  Everett 
Eldred's,  containing  90,000  acres.  He  has  about 
10.000  head  of  cattle  and  1,000  head  of  horses. 
He  has  his  own  wild  hay  meadows  to  produce 
his  winter's  feed  and  is  planning  a  big  increase 
in  his  alfalfa  acreage.  During  the  blizzard  in 
March,  1913,  he  lost  1,500  head  of  cattle.  They 
drifted  with  the  storm  into  Swan  Lake,  which 
was  in  the  pasture.  Orlando  is  his  postoffice 
and  Belle  Avery  postmaster. 

Samuel  and  Charles  Avery  each  have  large 
ranches.  Charles'  ranch  contains  40,000  acres 
with  many  hay  meadows  from  which  he  cuts 
winter  feed  for  his  thousands  of  head  of  stock. 
His  ranch  house  is  at  Orlando  postoffice. 

The  Crescent  ranch  owned  by  Boyd  and 
Rice  contains  60,000  acres.  Such  large  ranches 
give  plenty  of  hay  for  winter  besides  the  sum 
mer  pasture.  These  people  have  a  postoffice  at 
their  ranch  house  called  Mumper  postoffice. 

Northeast  of  the  Crescent  ranch  John  R. 
Webster,  president  of  the  Illinois  Central  rail- 
road, owned  a  ranch  comprising  50,000  acres, 
called  Cross  Half  Circle  ranch.  This  has  re- 
cently been  sold  to  J.  M.  Cox  whose  postoffice 
is  at  the  ranch  house. 

The  cowbovs  and  other  employes  on  these 
ranches  would  form  a  village  by  themselves. 
Mr.  George  Richardson's  ranch  comprises  only 
30.000  acres,  some  farm  after  all.     L.  E.  Bal- 


256 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


linger  has  but  20.000  acres  in  this  county,  all 
the  rest  of  his  ranch  is  over  in  Sheridan  coun- 
ty- 

On  the  valley  and  north  and  west  table 
farms,  the  hog  is  the  important  animal.  Many 
Garden  county  fanners  have  carried  off  honors 
from  the  Denver  Stock  show.     Mr.  John  Me- 


vich  who  settled  on  Blue  Creek  in  1886  has 
been  particularly  successful  with  hogs.  For 
five  straight  years  he  took  the  grand  prize  for 
best  carload  of  hogs,  besides,  many  other 
prizes.  He  has  a  large  pillow  cover  made  of 
his  prize  ribbons  and  he  is  justly  proud  of  it. 


CHAPTER  IV 


TOWNS   IN  THE  COUNTY 


OSKOSH 

In  the  year  1885,  Henry  Gumaer,  Alfred  W. 
Gumaer,  George  P.  Kendall,  H.  W.  Potter  and 
John  Robinson  started  a  cattle  ranch  at  the 
present  site  of  Oshkosh.  They  organized  a 
company  and  as  the  Gumaer  brothers  were  na- 
tives of  Ohskosh,  Wisconsin,  they  named  it  the 
Oshkosh  Land  and  Cattle  Company.  They  had 
been  informed  that  there  were  several  thousand 


up  considerably  by  the  homestead  filings  of 
Charley  Mills,  Floyd  Jones,  J.  H.  Duffin,  Tim 
Duffin,  Peter  Duffin,  Susie  Duffin,  Delia  Duffin, 
and  Winnie  Duffin.  Henry  G.  Gumaer  and 
John  Robison  drove  their  first  herd  of  cattle 
through  from  St.  Paul,  Nebraska.  In  1889 
they  built  a  two  story  frame  building  on  the 
Wy2  of  the  NWJ4  of  section  36,  township  17, 
range  44,  in  which  they  started  a  general  store 


acres  of  school  land  at  this  point  in  addition  to 
section  36,  and  they  expected  to  be  able  to 
purchase  the  whole  tract.  They  built  their 
headquarters  ranch  near  the  east  side  of  sec- 
tion 35,  purchased  section  36,  and  applied  to 
purchase  the  balance  of  the  tract.  They  soon 
found  that  the  whole  tract  outside  of  section 
36  was  government  land,  so  they  filed  on  as 
much  as  possible  and  were  able  to  have  and 
hold  a  good  sized  ranch,  which  was  soon  cut 


and  postoffice  named  Oshkosh.  This  building 
is  now  the  Miller  hotel.  It  was  just  before  this 
time  that  Hartman  postoffice  was  established 
about  eight  miles  north  of  Oshkosh  on  Lost 
Creek.  Sebastian  Hartman  was  the  first  post- 
master. He  had  started  a  small  store  in  1888 
and  secured  a  postoffice  in  the  spring  of  1889. 
Fred  Teppert  was  postmaster  for  about  one 
and  one-half  years  just  before  it  was  discon- 
tinued in  1899.    The  mail  was  brought  up  from 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Ogallala  three  times  a  week,  via  Lewellen  and 
Ramsey.  Hugh  Boggs  of  Lewellen  had  the 
contract  for  carrying  the  mail  to  Oshkosh,  and 
employed  Charley  Ransom  to  drive  part  of  the 
time.  They  used  a  span  of  vicious  mules  that 
were  always  hard  to  hitch  up  and  always  look- 
ing for  a  chance  to  run  away.  Hartmans  car- 
ried the  mail  from  Oshkosh  to  Hartman.  Be- 
fore securing  the  postoffice  they  had  been 
obliged  to  go  to  Ramsey  for  their  mail. 

In  1890  the  Oshkosh  public  school  was  or- 
ganized in  a  sod  building  up  on  Lost  Creek. 


The  building  of  a  bridge  across  the  North 
Platte  river  in  1891  opened  up  a  new  channel 
for  development.  Now  Chappell  came  to  be 
the  chief  shipping  point. 

Eugene  Fish,  Henry  Sudman  and  August 
Sudman  of  Chappell  organized  a  mercantile 
company  called  the  A.  Sudman  Company  and 
in  1894  bought  out  the  Oshkosh  store  and  the 
eighty  acres  of  land  on  which  it  was  located. 
Mr.  A.  Sudman  became  the  new  manager  and 
postmaster.  In  June,  1897,  Mr.  Sudman  mar- 
ried Miss  Pearl  Plummer.  and  they  lived  over 
the  store.  This  was  the  first  wedding  in  Osh- 
kosh. It  was  celebrated  with  great  pomp  in 
the  rooms  which  were  to  be  their  home,  over 
the  store.  About  this  time  Mr.  Kirk  McCall 
bought  a  "Drug  Shop"  which  Robert  Day  had 
been  running  in  a  small  building  just  north  of 
the  store. 

About  nine  o'clock  one  evening  in  May,  1895, 
Mr.  Sudman  and  a  clerk.  Will  Rolfing,  were 
sitting  in  the  store,  when  a  man  came  in,  bought 
some  tobacco  and  matches,  then  went  out.  In 
a  short  time  two  masked  men  with  revolvers 
came  back  marching  Kirk  McCall  ahead  of 
them.  One  made  the  men  hold  up  their  hands 
while  the  other  helped  himself  to  all  there  was 
in  the  safe.  They  got  $300  in  checks,  etc.,  be- 
longing to  the  store,  and  $60.00  from  the  post- 


office  besides  two  watches.  They  overlooked  a 
nickle  and  three  pennies.  That  much  was 
left  with  which  to  start  business  the  next  day. 
They  made  a  clean  get-a-way. 

Among  the  first  buildings  in  Oshkosh  was 
Jim  Monahan's  blacksmith  shop  just  south  of 
the  store.  It  was  a  most  busy  and  important 
establishment  in  those  days.  He  later  sold  out 
to  Noah  Brewer.  In  1909  Mr.  Noah  Brewer 
who  was  anxious  to  get  into  the  automobile 
game  sold  his  blacksmith  shop  to  King  Rhiley 
and  moved  to  Sidney.  Strange  to  say  Mr. 
Rhiley  soon  got  into  the  auto  business  himself 
in  the  old  Brewer  shop.  At  that  time  there 
was  only  one  motor  vehicle  in  Oshkosh ;  it  was 
a  high  wheeled  International  owned  by  Archie 
Wynes  and  John  Delatour.  Although  owned 
by  two  men  it  required  about  four  men  and  a 
boy  to  coax  it  along. 

Mr.  Rhiley  went  to  work  to  build  an  auto- 
mobile that  one  man  could  run.  and  he  suc- 
ceeded (  almost ) .  He  got  one  finished  up  and 
in  running  condition  and  succeeded  in  trading 
it  off  to  Jim  Duffin.  He  then  got  an  agency  for 
the  Oakland  and  did  a  good  business.  He  is 
now  the  Western  Nebraska  distributor  for 
Buick  automobiles,  G.  M.  C.  trucks  and  the 
Hudson  Super-Six  and  is  the  seventh  oldest 
dealer  in  the  state. 


First  Store,  Oshkosh 

Mr.  Rhiley  is  an  expert  auto  driver  and  has 
a  knack  of  getting  up  speed.  His  first  racing 
experience  was  at  the  Box  Butte  County  Fair 
in  1912.  He  easily  won  every  race  billed.  Since 
that  time  he  has  entered  about  all  the  races  in 
western  Nebraska,  and  usually  comes  under  the 
wire  in  the  lead. 

In  1919,  at  the  North  1  Matte  races,  open  to 
the  world,  he  won  twelve  straight  first-  cut  of 
thirteen  races,  and  lowered  several  world's  rec- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ords  for  a  circular  half  mile  dirt  track.  Time, 
half  mile,  30J/2  seconds ;  one  mile,  one  minute 
and  3y2  seconds;  25  miles,  28  minutes  and  15 
seconds.  Mr.  Rhiley's  natural  ability  and  many 
years  of  experience  over  the  ordinary  race  car 
gave  him  some  advantage  over  the  ordinary 
race  car  driver.  He  enjoys  the  racing  game, 
he  designs  and  builds  his  own  racing  cars,  and 
by  great  care  in  the  construction  and  adjust- 
ments thereof  he  eliminates  to  some  extent  the 
chief  troubles  of  all  kinds.  He  has  wonderful 
luck  too,  for  he  has  never  had  a  serious  acci- 
dent. 

It  was  in  1898  that  the  Woodman  hall  was 
built.  It  served  as  society  hall,  dance  hall, 
church  services,  in  fact  all  gatherings  of  any 
size  went  to  the  hall.  It  has  looked  upon  a  va- 
riety of  scenes  and  festivities.  They  had  the 
public  school  here  one  year. 

The  A.  Sudman  &  Company  built  a  new 
building    later    called    the    Corner    Store,    two 


blocks  north  and  moved  the  stock  up  there  in 
1903.  A  lumber  yard  across  the  street  was  con- 
nected with  it.  The  old  store  building  was  re- 
modeled into  a  hotel,  which  was  managed  by 
Jake  Miller.  They  had  been  running  a  hotel, 
in  a  way,  in  the  rooms  over  the  store,  since  Mr. 
Sudman  had  moved  into  his  new  residence  in 
1900. 

At  this  time,  the  Wehn  Telephone  Company 
established  a  telephone  system  from  Bridgeport 
to  Oshkosh,  Lewellen  and  other  points  It  was 
a  great  convenience,  as  well  as  a  pleasure  and 
is  still  appreciated.  In  1920  the  Wehn  Com- 
pany sold  out  to  a  company  with  Mr.  Warner 
of  Chadron  as  manager.  All  these  lines  are 
now  consolidated  under  the  name  of  Platte 
Valley  Telephone  Company. 

A  plat  of  the  original  town  site  was  now  laid 
out  by  A.  Sudman  Company  in  March,  1905. 
A  bank  building  was  built  near  the  lumber 
yard,  but  it  being  directly  in  the  Union  Pacific 
right-of-way  was  sold  to  the  railroad  company 
in  1907.  The  railroad  company  sold  it  to 
WVnes  &  Bushnell,  and  it  was  used  as  a  post- 


office  and  residence  by  Archie  Wynes  who  was 
postmaster  until  1915,  when  the  postoffice  was 
moved  to  its  present  location  on  Main  street. 
Mr.  Wynes  remained  in  the  postoffice  until 
June,  1915,  when  Gilbert  Swanson  was  ap- 
pointed. He  is  still  there,  March,  1920.  One 
rural  route  was  established  in  1913  out  east 
and  north  of  Oshkosh ;  on  which  the  mail  is 
carried  daily. 

In  1906  Col.  Wisner  of  Bayard  became  in- 
terested enough  in  Oshkosh  to  come  here  and 
start  a  newspaper  called  the  Oshkosh  Herald. 
It  was  published  by  various  owners  in  a  small 
building  on  the  east  side  of  Main  street  until 
the  building  over  by  the  depot  was  built  in 
1911. 

In  1905  Fred  Williams  built  a  two  story 
frame  hotel  on  Main  street.  He  soon  sold  it  to 
J.  C.  McCoy  of  Lewellen.  This  hotel  was  run 
by  Jim  Caslin,  and  later  by  Leo  Fox.  It  was 
while  Jim  Caslin  was  the  landlord  that  Walter 
Bentz  received  the  name  "Polly,"  by  which  he 
went  almost  entirely  afterward.  He  was  very 
fond  of  crackers  and  was  always  calling  for 
them,  so  Mrs.  Caslin  began  calling  him  "Polly." 

When  Oshkosh  was  made  a  county  seat  in 
1909  a  company  of  Oshkosh  men  bought  the 
hotel  and  rented  the  lower  floor  to  the  county 
for  a  court  house,  and  they  rent  out  the  sec- 
ond story  for  a  rooming  house.  The  building  is 
still  used ;  so  any  traveler  can,  for  a  dollar  a 
night,  have  the  unique  experience  of  lodging  in 
the  upper  story  of  the  court  house.  At  present 
this  rooming  house  is  managed  by  Mrs.  S.  E. 
Valentine,  who  took  charge  in   1914. 

In  1905,  LaSalle  &  Miles  built  and  opened 
up  a  general  store,  half  way  between  the  hotel 
and  Corner  Store,  and  Dan  Atchinson  started 
the  first  drug  store  just  north  of  them  and 
called  it  the  Oshkosh  Drug  Company.  W.  W. 
Bowers  and  Mr.  "Dad"  Potts  bought  this,  car- 
rying it  on  under  the  same  name.  It  still  goes 
by  the  same  name,  although  it  has  changed 
hands  a  number  of  times ;  L.  H,  Stroud  and 
Sons  now  own  it.  J.  F.  Crane  was  the  druggist 
until  1910,  when  he  went  into  business  for  him- 
self under  the  name  of  the  Oshkosh  Pharmacy  : 
this  was  sold  to  Melvin  &  Riddle  in  1919. 

Oshkosh  has  never  had  a  very  destructive 
fire,  flood  or  storm.  On  the  night  of  May  24, 
1915,  however,  a  tornado  of  the  right  size  and 
force  to  destroy  the  whole  town  struck  a  short 
distance  north  of  it.  This  was  a  particularly 
wicked  twister.  It  struck  with  the  greatest 
force  at  the  home  of  Mr.  James  F.  Blair, 
twisted  his  buildings  into  splinters,  picked  him 
up  out  of  the  house  and  broke  every  bone  in 
his  body,  and  left  him  lying  lifeless  on  the 
prairies  about  a  half  mile  east  of  his  home. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


259 


The  splinters  and  pieces  of  furniture  and  books 
lay  along  the  path  of  the  storm  for  a  distance 
of  three  miles.  He  had  several  valuable  docu- 
ments in  his  trunk.  Of  these,  his  will  was  the 
only  paper  found.  It  was  found  right  close  to 
Curt  Farris'  house,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
Blair  place. 

Mr.  Blair  had  a  heavy  farm  wagon.  The 
storm  left  several  large  pieces  of  the  wagon 
bed  out  in  the  rye  field  about  three  hundred 
yards  west  of  the  house,  the  twisted  running 
gears  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  northwest 
of  the  house ;  two  of  the  wagon  wheels  were 
blown  to  pieces,  one  was  found  slightly  smash- 
ed up  a  short  distance  east  of  the  house  and  the 
fourth  wheel  was  found  uninjured  more  than 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  east. 

The  Oshkosh  Lumber  Company  was  formed 
May  1,  1906,  with  Robert  Quelle,  manager. 
It  continued  in  business  until  the  fall  of  1916, 
when  it  sold  to  the  Sterling  Lumber  Company. 
This  became  a  branch  yard  under  the  name  of 
Garden  County  Lumber  Company  with  Mr. 
Hunsaker  manager.  He  has  since  returned  to 
Ft.  Morgan,  Colorado,  and  Mr.  B.  M.  Robin- 
son is  manager  in  1920. 

The  Woodman  hall  was  sold  in  1905  to  New- 
kirk  and  Burchard  who  put  in  a  stock  of  hard- 
ware. Burchard  soon  sold  to  Newkirk  who 
continued  to  run  the  business  until  the  spring 
of  1911,  when  he  sold  to  Robert  Quelle  and 
Albert  Quelle.  The  next  year  Quelle  Brothers 
put  up  the  hardware  store  near  the  depot.  Al- 
bert Quelle  was  the  manager  from  the  first  un- 
til March,  1917,  when  he  sold  his  share  to  Rob- 
ert Quelle.  Howard  Fickes  bought  one-third  in- 
terest in  1917,  when  the  new  furniture  depart- 
ment was  added  to  the  building.  O.  Shatto  is 
connected  with  the  firm  now  having  bought 
one-third  interest  in  1919. 

After  the  sale  of  the  Woodman  hall,  where 
the  social  life  of  the  community  centered,  the 
need  of  a  hall  was  so  apparent  that  Wynes  and 
Bushnell  erected  the  stone  Opera  House  in  1907 
just  north  of  the  Union  Pacific  right-of-way  be- 
fore the  track  was  laid.  Just  at  this  time  the 
coming  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  up  the 
valley  was  a  sure  thing.  It  was  completed  in 
1908.  The  rails  were  laid  and  the  first  train 
reached  here  August  8,  1908.  That  spelled 
grow  to  Oshkosh.  The  division  of  the  county 
came  the  next  year  with  Oshkosh  for  county 
seat. 

L.  Aufdengarten  &  Son  came  from  Ogalalla 
in  1909  and  bought  the  old  LaSalle  &  Miles 
store  from  W.  W.  Bowers,  who  had  purchased 
it  of  LaSalle  &  Miles  late  in  1906.  LaSalle  & 
Miles  only  stayed  about  one  year.  Mr.  Aufden- 
garten continued  to  run  the  business  until  his 


death,  September,  1916,  when  L.  Aufdengar- 
ten, Jr.,  took  charge  of  it.  They  erected  a 
brick  building  across  the  street,  and  moved  in- 
to it  1918,  with  a  larger,  better  stock  of  goods. 
The  old  Bowers  building  is  occupied  by  the 
Oshkosh  Shoe  and  Harness  Shop  owned  by 
George  H.  Rose.  He  opened  up  for  business 
in  September,  1918.  In  the  same  building  is 
Robert  Roger's  Paint  Shop. 

New  additions  to  the  town  had  been  platted 
and  Oshkosh  was  spreading  out.  In  1911  the 
village  was  incorporated  and  many  improve- 
ments have  appeared,  as  grading  the  streets, 
cement  walks,  electrict  lights,  water  works,  etc. 
Oshkosh  has  no  museum  but  Miles  J.  Maryott 
has  a  collection  of  mounted  birds,  Indian  relics, 
bones,  coins,  etc.,  that  is  worth  traveling  across 
the  continent  to  see.  Mr.  Maryott  is  an  artist 
and   finds   ready   sale    for   his   paintings.      He 


paints  animal  and  landscape  pictures,  but  his 
wild  bird  pictures  take  up  a  large  part  of  his 
time.  His  hobby  is  collecting  prehistoric  ani- 
mal bones  and  Indian  relics.  He  also  collects 
and  mounts  rare  birds. 

In  his  youth  Mr  Maryott  was  a  professional 
base  ball  player  and  later  spent  several  years 
as  a  trap  shooter  and  expert  marksman.  He 
tied  for  the  World's  Handicap  at  Chicago  in 
1907  shooting  blue  Ricks.  As  a  game  shot,  he 
has  few  equals  in  the  west.  Mr.  Maryott  war 
born  in  Burt  county,  Nebraska,  in  1873,  and 
has  been  a  resident  of  Oshkosh  since  1909.  He 
homesteaded  in  1910  in  the  sand  hills  of  Gar- 
den county  for  the  sole  purpose  of  being  closer 
to  his  life  work  as  a  naturalist  and  painter  of 
western  scenery. 

The  fanners  are  beginning  to  take  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  business  of  the  town.  They 
have  organized  two  corporations,  one  of  which 
handles  the  only  grain  business  of  tin-  town, 
and  is  called  the  Farmers  Elevator  Company. 
In  1916  this  company  was  chartered  and  bought 
out  the  elevator  which  had  been  run  tor  several 
years  by  the  Oshkosh  Lumber  Company.  The 
other  farmers'  corporation  is  the  Garden  Coun- 
tv  Supply  Company  which  is  doing  a  big  gen- 


260 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


eral  merchandise  business  in  the  building  for- 
merly occupied  in  succession  by  H.  A.  Davis. 
Jacob  H.  Roudebush  and  L.  H.  Stroud,  each  of 
whom  spent  several  years  in  the  general  store 
business. 

George  C.  Duvall  &  Company  ( Eugene  Fish 
of  Chappell  was  in  the  partnership)  bought  out 
the  Corner  Store  on  May  14,  1910;  just  six- 
teen years  exactly  after  the  A.  Sudman  Com- 
pany went  into  the  business.  Duvall  &  Com- 
pany stayed  only  three  years  selling  to  Floyd 
Jones  and  Mr.  Empson  in  1913.  In  two  years 
time  Mr.  Jones  bought  Empson's  interests ; 
but  sold  out  entirely  in  May.  1917,  to  H.  W. 
Potter.  Will  Gumaer,  and  Jack  Martin.  They 
at  once  enlarged  the  building,  put  in  a  largei 
stock  and  incorporated  as  the  Oshkosh  Mer- 
cantile Company.  They  have  the  largest  build- 
ing and  carry  by  far  the  largest  stock  of  goods 
in  town. 

Oshkosh  had  reached  the  stage  where  elec- 
tric lights  were  needed.  On  September  11, 
1915,  a  plant  was  put  into  operation  by  A.  D. 
Riddile.  It  has  been  enlarged  and  improved 
and  in  1919  it  was  sold  to  the  village.  It  is 
now  run  under  village  management,  as  well  as 
a  water  system  being  started.  Bonds  for  the 
water  and  lights  were  voted  June  5,  1919.  Some 
defect  was  discovered  in  the  proceedings  so 
they  voted  on  them  again  January  22,  1920. 
The  bonds  were  carried  both  times.  The  sewer 
system  will  be  put  in  operation  in  1920.  The 
electric  plant  now  gives  twenty-four  hour  ser- 
vice. 

The  first  Ford  agency  in  the  county  was  in 
1911  by  Saunders  &  Twilford,  who  sold  out 
to  W.  W.  Bowers.  These  first  agents  having 
no  service  department,  business  was  rather 
slow.  In  1913  Parker  Brothers  of  Julesburg 
sent  an  agent,  R.  O.  Deulen,  over  here  to  take 
this  territory.  He  rented  a  large  building  and 
put  in  a  repairing  department.  The  next  year 
he  took  the  agency  himself.  With  various  part- 
ners he  continued  the  business  until  Septem- 
ber. 1916,  when  he  sold  to  Kimbel  &  Peterson. 
They  put  up  the  new  garage  in  the  north  part 
of  town,  and  moved  up  there  in  October,  1917. 
W.  L.  Kimbel  has  charge  of  it  now.  as  he 
bought  Peterson's  interest  February  20,  1918. 

Robert  J.  Dalton  is  the  proprietor  of  the 
Oshkosh  Automobile  Paint  Shop.  For  awhile 
he  tried  to  run  his  photograph  gallery  and  paint 
shop  too ;  but  for  the  past  year  he  has  had  such 
a  rushing  business  in  the  paint  shop  that  he  has 
had  but  little  time  for  the  photography. 

From  1910  until  1918  William  S.  Monahan 
did  blacksmith  work  in  a  little  shop  on  his 
farm,  two  miles  north  of  Oshkosh.  He  then 
sold  his  farm  and  bought  a  shop  on  Main  street 


and  moved  to  Oshkosh.  Mr.  Monahan  is  an 
experienced  and  thoroughly  capable  mechanic. 
He  has  a  new  cement  block  building  nearly 
completed,  and  will  soon  have  a  blacksmith 
shop  which  has  more  the  appearance  of  a  man- 
ufacturing establishment. 

Since  the  A.  Sudman  Company  platted  the 
original  town  of  Oshkosh  in  1905,  the  follow- 
ing additions  have  been  platted :  The  A.  Sud- 
man Company  Addition,  Duffin's  Addition, 
Maloy's  Addition,  Bott  and  Hart's  Addition. 
There  are  about  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of 
land  within  the  corporate  limits  of  Oshkosh. 
On  March  1,  1920,  the  population  was  725. 

Lewellen 

.  In  1884,  S.  P.  Delatour,  the  first  settler  in 
this  part  of  the  county,  selected  his  home  on 
Blue  Creek  and  with  abundance  of  water  and 
unlimited  range,  he  prospered  in  the  cattle  busi- 
ness from  the  start. 

The  next  year,  1885,  D.  C.  Hooper  came  with 
a  company  of  settlers  among  them  Ed.  Hart- 
man,  Ira  Paisley,  Bergeson,  Colyer  and  Du- 
vall. W.  D.  Marsh  came  in  the  same  year. 
All  settled  in  the  river  valley  and  on  Blue 
Creek.  Soon  afterward,  about  1886,  John  Me- 
vich,  James  Wilson,  James  Winters  and  Mr. 
Meeker  settled  on  Blue  Creek.  Ora  Meeker 
was  the  first  girl  born  in  the  present  limits  of 
Garden  county,  June  4.  1886 ;  and  Dick  Wilson 
was  the  first  boy,  in  April,  1887. 

About  this  time,  1886,  Frank  Lewellen  start- 
ed a  store  and  postoffice  in  his  residence  four 
miles  east  of  the  present  site  of  Lewellen.  The 
mail  was  brought  up  from  Ogalalla  ;  in  fact,  all 
of  the  hauling  was  done  from  there  as  the 
Keith  county  bridge  near  Ogalalla  gave  a  much 
better  way  than  fording  in  crossing  the  North 
Platte  river. 

About  seven  miles  northeast  of  Lewellen,  on 
the  present  site  of  Lutherville,  a  postoffice  was 
started  by  Mr.  Ramsey,  about  1887,  called 
Ramsey  postoffice.  The  mail  also  came  from 
Ogalalla.  This  postoffice  was  moved  to  the 
John  Mevich  home  on  Blue  Creek  in  1890. 

Up  the  creek  about  ten  miles,  a  branch  post- 
office  was  established  in  1891,  at  a  settlement 
composed  of  Levi  Prouty,  Mary  Flock,  P.  S. 
Peterson,  Hans  Madison,  John  Twiford,  A.  S. 
Kingery,  John  Lamberty,  Davis  Bros.,  Gus  and 
Paul  Rentzch.  Jake  Miller,  Jim  L'sher,  Dave 
Sleezer,  Tom  Snel!  and  possibly  other  families. 
This  postoffice  was  called  Hutchinson  and  was 
located  at  John  Lamberty's  house.  He  was  the 
first  mail  carrier,  bringing  the  mail  from  Ram- 
sey twice  a  week. 

In  1893,  the  Ramsey  postoffice  was  discon- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


261 


tinued  and  Lewellen  postoffice  was  moved  to 
the  present  site  of  Lewellen  into  Robert  Graf's 
store.  He  was  appointed  postmaster  at  that 
time. 

The  village  of  Lewellen  began  with  that  little 
store  and  postoffice.  A  bridge  across  the  North 
Platte  river  at  this  point  in  1891  had  its  effect 
on  this  village.  A  few  settlers  had  gathered 
there,  a  small  school  started  and  in  1890  a 
frame  building,  which  is  still  standing  was 
built.  This  was  used  about  fifteen  years  when 
it  was  decided  that  a  larger  building  was 
needed.     It  was  sold  in  1908.  but  it  was  three 


from  Big  Springs.  Its  stockholders  were  the 
farmers  along  the  line  and  it  was  put  up  in 
1900,  in  order  to  get  in  touch  with  the  rest  of 
the  world.  It  has  since  been  extended  to  sur- 
rounding towns  as  well  as  a  number  of  rural 
lines.  In  1903  the  Wehn  Telephone  Company 
extended  its  lines  from  Bridgeport  and  I  >sh- 
kosh  to  Lewellen  and  also  leased  the  farmers 
line  from  Big  Springs. 

The  Sudman-Fish  Company  bought  out  the 
old  Robert  Graf  store  in  April,  1901.  built  a 
new  building,  and  run  the  store  under  the  name 
of  the  Lewellen  Mercantile  Company  with  Wm. 


years  before  another  building  was  put  up,  so 
the  school  was  held  in  the  Hall  during  that 
time  with  L.  H.  Warner  and  Lyle  Mewhirter 
teachers.  At  last  in  1911  they  were  comfort- 
ably housed  in  a  good  building.  In  the  mean- 
time the  Lutherville  and  Bergeson  schools  were 
discontinued.  The  Lewellen  school  was  grow- 
ing and  in  1918  the  11th  and  12th  grades  were 
added,  making  it  a  complete  high  school.  The 
Exhibit  building  on  the  fair  grounds  was  used 
by  the  lower  grades  in  1920,  but  the  large  new 
building  is  nearly  completed. 

One  of  the  first  enterprises  of  Lewellen  after 
the  store  and  postoffice  was  the  Bank  of  Lewel- 
len, organized  in  1905,  a  history  of  which  is 
given  in  "Banking  and  Finance."  The  frame 
building  in  which  it  carried  on  its  business  is 
now  occupied  by  the  telephone  exchange. 

The  first  telephone  line  was  one  coming  in 


Rohlfing  manager.  This  was  later  sold  to  Orr, 
Spindler  &  Company,  in  1917,  who  enlarged 
the  stock  and  run  it  until  1919,  when  the  com- 
pany was  changed.  After  January  1,  1920.  the 
store  run  under  the  name  of  Lewellen  Mer- 
cantile Company  with  Joseph  Hitchens.  man- 
ager. 

The  first  show  to  reach  Lewellen  was  a  small 
show  in  one  wagon.  The  company  was  com- 
posed of  a  man  by  the  name  of  Hurst,  his 
wife  and  children.  It  created  quite  a  stir;  the 
show  was  given  in  the  school  house.  Every- 
one who  heard  of  it  was  there  if  possible. 

After  the  railroad  was  surveyed  through  the 
valley,  1.  C.  McCoy  laid  out  the  village  of 
Lewellen  in  July,  1906.  The  first  addition  was 
soon  needed  and  was  platted  in  ( >ctober,  1907. 
Two  additions  have  since  been  added,  making 
about  sixty  aero  altogether. 


262 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  Lewellen  Lumber  Company  was  organ- 
ized by  Roy  Brown  and  Sudman,  Fish  and 
Company.  Their  first  carload  of  lumber  was 
hauled  over  from  Chappell  before  the  railroad 
reached  Lewellen.  Roy  Brown  was  manager. 
This  was  sold  to  the  Sterling  Lumber  Company 
of  Denver,  in  1917.  This  company  has  also 
bought  the  yards  at  Oshkosh  and  Lisco. 

The  completion  of  the  railroad  to  this  point 
in  1907  gave  new  life  to  the  village.  The  first 
station  agent  was  W.  A.  Hostetter  who  remain- 
ed there  a  number  of  years.  F.  J.  Ritter  is 
agent  in  1920. 


The  M.  S.  Gates  Hardware  Company  is  the 
successor  of  the  Rohlfing  and  Berquist  Com- 
pany, who  sold  to  them  in  1916. 

The  first  church  was  the  Methodist,  which 
was  built  in  1889,  although  it  had  been  organ- 
ized before  that.  Services  were  held  in  the 
school  house.  In  1910  the  Baptist  church  was 
built,  Rev.  Elkins  being  pastor  at  the  time.  A 
small  organization  was  formed  and  has  con- 
tinued to  thrive.  A.  J.  Coffee  is  pastor  now.  A 
Lutheran  church  was  built  and  dedicated  in 
1915  while  Rev.  Clark  Powell  was  pastor. 

Phil  Pizer's  Quality   Store  was  opened  for 


Dr.  Hall,  a  druggist,  came  in  1907,  and 
opened  up  a  drug  store  in  a  tent.  A  frame 
building  was  soon  put  up  and  the  stock  moved 
into  it.  He  stayed  only  two  years  when  he 
sold  out  to  Mr.  W.  W.  Crosby  in  November, 
1909.    Crosby  still  runs  the  business. 

Chris  Fisher  came  over  from  Big  Springs 
in  1907,  with  his  stock  of  goods  and  started 
the  Blue  Creek  Mercantile  Company.  The  busi- 
ness has  grown  until  now  he  handles  groceries, 
lumber  and  coal. 

Dr.  Morris  came  in  1908,  but  he  has  since 
given  up  his  practice. 

The  McCoy  hotel  was  built  in  1908. 

Thomas  Eggers  who  settled  in  this  valley 
in  1900,  started  in  the  mercantile  business  in 
1917,  but  the  next  spring  he  built  a  new  brick 
hotel  which  was  furnished  and  opened  for  busi- 
ness in  August,  1918. 


business  in  September,  1913.  with  a  stock 
valued  at  $10,000,  composed  of  everything  in 
ready-to-wear  and  piece  goods  for  ladies, 
misses,  men  and  boys.  The  business  has  in- 
creased until  the  stock  is  valued  at  $30,000. 

A  Farmers  Cooperative  Company  was  incor- 
porated March  15,  1919,  with  directors  as  fol- 
lows :  C.  F.  Roberts,  president ;  Wm.  Sherden, 
secretary  and  treasurer ;  L.  E.  Byrd,  manager ; 
R.  Vanc'e.  C.  A.  Harris,  Geo.  Orr,  Geo.  L.  Bra- 
den,  E.  C.  Stockhouse  and  C.  U.  Cooper.  A 
good  stock  of  general  merchandise  and  imple- 
ments is  carried  with  a  coal  and  produce  de- 
partment, as  well  as  live  stock  shipping. 

At  this  time,  December,  1919,  the  popula- 
tion of  Lewellen  is  about  four  hundred. 

The  present  postmaster  is  Wm.  Naviaux. 

An   electric   light   plant   was   established   in 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASK  \ 


263 


December,    1917.      This  gives   Lewellen   good 
light  for  business  houses  and  homes. 

The  village  hopes  to  be  incorporated  this 
year  (  1920),  but  some  are  opposing  it,  so  it 
is  rather  uncertain. 

Garden  County  Fair  Association 
The  citizens  in  and  around  Lewellen  believed 
that  an  annual  fair  for  the  exhibition  of  pro- 
ducts would  be  a  benefit.  It  was  decided  to 
hold  a  Corn  Show  in  the  fall.  On  September 
21,  1910,  the  Garden  County  Fair  Association 
was  organized  with  John  Mevich,  president ;  C. 
G.  Berquist,  secretary,  J.  H.  Wehn,  treasurer. 
A  board  of  directors  consisted  of  ].  C.  McCoy, 
F.  H.  Barber,  Richard  Clark.  Cal"  McCormick, 


Secretary,    Mrs.    Roy    Brown,    Corresponding 
Secretary. 

A  banquet  and  social  good  time  was  given  in 
March,  1920,  which  was  conceded  to  be  a  great 
success.  The  officers  then  were,  Mrs.  Beebee, 
President,  Mrs.  Crosby,  Recording  Secretary, 
Mrs.  McCall,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

Lisco 
Nineteen  hundred  and  nine  was  an  eventful 
year  in  the  history  of  Lisco.  The  railroad 
reached  there  in  the  fall  of  1908.  So  Reuben 
Lisco  laid  out  the  village  of  Lisco  and  opened 
up  a  store  and  postofnce  in  January,  1909,  in 
a  small  frame  building  near  the  Lisco  ranch 
house  on   the  north   side   of   the   river.      The 


Chris  McCormick,  Stephen  Brown,  I.  H.  Orr, 
Geo.  Cochran  and  Van  Delatour.  It  has  held 
a  successful  fair  each  fall  with  1919  capping 
all  with  the  largest  attendence  and  successful 
financially.  The  officers  in  1919  were:  C.  F. 
Roberts,  president ;  Phil  Pizer,  secretary  and 
treasurer ;  Board  of  Directors :  Chas.  Roberts, 
Phil  Pizer,  Jim  Caslin,  V.  E.  Marsh,  Fred 
Johnson,  Joe  Brunt,  I.  H.  Orr  and  M.  S. 
Gates. 

The  Woman's  Club  of  Lewellen  was  organ- 
ized in  October,  1913,  as  an  auxiliary  to  the 
Farmers  Institute.  Mrs.  Cal  McCormick  was 
the  first  President  and  Mrs.  Dick  Clark  Sec- 
retary. It  was  federated  with  the  State  Feder- 
ation of  Woman's  Clubs  in  March,  1917,  and 
has  thirty  members.  It  has  its  year  book  of 
programs  and  hostesses,  etc. ;  works  for  the 
betterment  of  the  community.  The  first  offi- 
cers under  the  federation  were  Mrs.  Mollie 
Wilson,  President.  Mrs.  Hostetter,  Recording 


store  which  was  practically  in  a  cornfield  was 
called  the  Lisco  Mercantile  Company ;  W.  F. 
Gumaer  was  manager.  A  lumber  yard  was  con- 
nected with  it.  W.  F.  Gumaer's  family  was  the 
first  one  on  the  present  site  of  Lisco.  His 
daughter  Viola  was  the  first  child  born  in 
Lisco. 

To  get  the  postofnce  started,  the  mail  was 
carried  from  Oshkosh  twice  .a  week  for  six 
months,  either  by  team  or  train,  the  Lisco  post- 
office  paying  for  the  transportation.  Mr. 
Gumaer  was  postmaster  until  his  health  failed 
in  December,  1916,  when  Mrs.  Cary  was  ap- 
pointed postmistress.  Miss  Jessie  Lee  Colyer 
was  appointed  postmistress  in  1918 :  but  in 
February,  1920  while  in  Omaha  nursing  her 
sick  sister  she  contracted  pneumonia  and  died. 

The  telephone  line  was  continued  up  to  Lisco 
in  1909,  branches  to  other  points  and  the  far- 
mers line  coming  on  soon  after. 

The  Lisco  hotel  and  depot,  besides  two  or 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


three  residences  were  completed  in  1909.  This 
same  year  the  Presbyterian  church  was  built 
but  not  dedicated  until  the  spring  of  1910.  This 
year  saw  the  erection  of  a  fine  new  brick  build- 
ing to  be  occupied  by  the  Lisco  Mercantile 
Company,  postoffice  and  bank  on  the  corner. 

The  building  now  used  as  a  restaurant  by 
Mr.  Jim  Horn  was  put  up  in  1910  for  a  pool 
hall.    The  present  pool  hall  is  across  the  street. 

The  school  was  held  in  an  upstairs  room  in 
the  Lisco  Mercantile  building  until  1911,  when 


of  Mr.  Myers,  Lisco 


a  two  room  building  was  erected.  That  fall 
school  started  in  nice  new,  clean  quarters  with 
Misses  Goodmanson  and  Davis,  teachers. 

Just  at  this  time  the  dreams  of  the  old  set- 
tlers came  true  and  a  bridge  was  built  across 
the  river  in  the  spring  of  1912.  It  being  only 
one-half  mile  from  the  county  line  between 
Garden  and  Morrill  counties,  Morrill  county 
helped  pay  for  its  construction. 

A  small  stock  of  drugs  carried  by  the  Lisco 
Mercantile  Company  was  sold  in  May,  1916, 
to  J.  A.  Ray ;  and  in  the  fall  he  moved  into  the 


new  brick  building  now  occupied  by  the  drug 
store,  postofhce  and  printing  office  which  Mr. 
Lisco  completed  in  the  fall  of  1917. 

In  the  summer  of  this  same  year,  Frank- 
Browning  put  up  a  building  and  opened  up  a 
hardware  store.  Wm.  Mankin  bought  him  out 
in  1918  and  in  1919  sold  a  half  interest  to  D. 
E.  Meiklejohn,  the  present  owner. 

In  1916  W.  F.  Gumaer's  health  failed  and 
he  was  obliged  to  give  up  work.  Mr.  Lisco 
decided  to  sell  the  Lisco  Mercantile  Company 
to  Stevenson  Brothers  and  the  lumber  yard  to 
the  Sterling  Lumber  Company  of  Denver, 
which  has  added  a  good  stock  of  hardware. 
Lou  Hagemeister  is  manager. 

Two  garages  were  put  up  in  1919,  the 
Mitchell  Motor  Company  in  April  and  May, 
by  Ed.  F.  Mitchell  and  the  Lisco  garage  by 
Guy  Dolson,  in  June.  One  of  the  best  hotels 
in  the  county  is  at  Lisco  run  by  Mrs.  Smithern 
who  came  there  in  1918. 

Chas.  Minshall  bought  out  a  man  named  Pel- 
ton  in  1915,  but  sold  to  the  Farmer's  Coopera- 
tive Company  in  1918.  This  company  is  putting 
up  a  new  building  which  will  give  them  more 
room,  as  well  as  an  improvement  to  the  town. 

There  are  a  number  of  very  good  residences 
in  Lisco,  among  them  is  Mr.  Lisco's  which  is 
entirely  modern.  He  has  his  own  electric  light 
plant. 

Mr.  Cary  has  been  depot  agent  here  from 
the  opening  of  the  station  by  the  Union  Pacific 
railroad  in  1909. 

.The  Mitchell  garage  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
February,  1920,  which,  was  a  great  loss.  They 
are  planning  to  rebuild. 

The  Catholic  church  was  built  in  1915  and 
was  dedicated  in  the  spring  of  1916,  with  much 
pomp  and  an  impressive  ceremony.  This  church 
has  about  forty  members. 


CHAPTER  V 


RAILROADS  —  SCHOOLS  —  CHURCHES  —  THE    PRESS  ■ 
BANKING  AND  FINANCE 


BENCH    AND    BAR 


The  carrying  into  effect  of  the  plans  of  the 
Union  Pacific  railroad  to  build  a  line  on  a 
water  grade  from  North  Platte  to  the  moun- 
tains, brought  to  our  North  River  country  its 
first  and  only  railroad.  This  line  was  built 
in  1907  and  1908,  reaching  Lewellen  in  1907, 
and  the  first  train  arriving  at  Oshkosh  on  Aug- 


ust 8,  1908.  In  September  a  huge  celebration 
and  barbecue  was  held  at  Oshkosh  to  show  to 
the  world  the  gladness  of  a  new  railroad  town. 
People  came  from  miles  around  Julesburg, 
(  Igalalla,  Chappell,  etc.  All  went  well  and 
everyone  had  a  good  time,  even  though  the 
meat  was  not  done  to  a  turn. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


265 


Lewellen,  Oshkosh  and  Lisco  at  once  began 
to  boom.  The  rapid  growth  of  these  towns, 
and  the  development  of  the  surrounding  agri- 
cultural lands,  soon  brought  on  clamor  for 
county  division,  and  in  1909  the  new  county  of 
Garden  was  formed  out  of  the  north  part  of 
Deuel. 

The  first  depot  agents  at  the  towns  along  the 
line  were,  at  Lewellen,  W.  A.  Hostetter ;  at 
Oshkosh,  Frank  Maryott ;  at  Lisco,  R.  C.  Cary, 
who  is  still  there.  At  Oshkosh  the  changes 
have  been  many  since  Maryott  left.  1920  finds 
J.  B.  Bailey  at  Oshkosh 'and  F.  J.  Bitter  at 
Lewellen. 

Schools 

During  the  early  days,  the  school  advantages 
were  the  same  as  in  all  new  settlements.  Very 
few  schools  and  often  none  for  many  miles.  A 
number  of  those  early  schools  were  practically 
private  schools  held  in  the  home  of  some  for- 
tunate settler.  It  was  a  common  occurrence 
for  the  children  to  be  obliged  to  go  from  five 
to  eight  miles  to  school. 

The  first  school  building  in  the  county  was 
in  what  is  now  Joint  district  No.  2.  known  as 
the  Wendt  school  on  the  south  table  west  of 
Ash  Hollow.  It  was  built  of  sod  in  1887,  by 
M.  F.  Clary,  Nicholas  Opp,  Bob  Taylor,  and 
Pete  Ferry,  on  section  33,  southwest  corner. 
Eva  Gilliard  (now  Mrs.  J.  A.  Marshall  near 
Lewellen)  was  the  first  teacher.  She  was  only 
sixteen  vears  old. 

Mrs.  'Robert  Dailey,  near  Lisco.  had  no 
school  near  at  hand.  In  order  to  get  the  children 


to  school,  she  took  them  to  Lodgepole,  often 
fording  the  river  to  do  so.  (  >nce  she  placed  tin- 
children  on  a  cake  of  ice  to  serve  as  a  raft. 
She  waded  the  river;  her  struggle  to  keep  the 
raft  from  carrying  the  children  down  stream 
in  spite  of  her'  would  be  a  lesson  in  courage 
and  determination.  The  school  districts  would 
sometimes  get  badly  in  debt,  so  the  patrons 
would  hire  a  teacher  and  pay  the  salary  out  of 


their  pockets.  Lewellen.  for  instance,  had  to  do 
that  in  1902.  Mrs.  Chris  McCormick  was  the 
teacher  hired. 

On  the  south  table  the  old  sod  school  build- 
ings  are   of   the  past.      They   now   havi     g 

frame  buildings  well  equipped  for  work,  good 
salaries  are  paid  for  good  teachers.  In  the 
north  the  sod  building  still  holds  sway.  The 
country    being   not    fully    developed,    they    are 


Old  Stone  Schoolhouse,  Oshkosh 

sometimes  as  far  as  eight  miles  apart.  Through 
the  central  part  of  the  county  we  still  find 
some  sod  buildings,  but  more  often  the  well 
built  frame  building  is  taking  its  place. 

The  first  county  superintendent  was  T.  C. 
McKee,  elected  in  1910.  His  health  failed  and 
he  was  obliged  to  resign  in  October,  1913.  when 
Nellie  Olson  (now  Mrs.  Ed.  Stroud)  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  vacancy.  Then  having  been 
elected  and  reelected,  she  remained  in  that  office 
until  March  1,  1918,  when  she  resigned.  Miss 
Esther  Johnson  was  appointed  to  fill  the  va- 
cancy and  has  since  been  elected  to  the  office. 

Lewellen  had  the  first  village  school  in  1890. 
A  frame  building  was  put  up  and  used  until 
1908,  when  it  was  sold.  They  had  expected  to 
have  a  new  building  ready  for  the  next  year, 
but  there  was  some  trouble  about  the  bonds, 
leaving  the  community  without  a  school  build- 
ing for  three  vears.  During  this  time  school 
was  held  in  the  Hall,  1..  II.  Warner  and  Lyle 
Mewhirter  were  two  of  the  teachers  who  taught 
in  the  Hall.  In  1911  a  good  frame  building 
was  completed.  In  1918  the  11th  and  12th 
grades  were  added,  making  a  high  school  course 
complete.  A  large  brick  building  is  being 
erected  this  year  for  its  accommodation.  It 
will  be  a  needed  improvement. 

The  teachers  in  1920,  are  Gwendoline  Jones, 
Superintendent,  Warren  E.  Dolan,  Assistant, 
and  Miss  Granet,  the  high  school  teachers;  and 
Mary  Byer,   \da  lion, back.  Mrs.  Cassell  Dela- 


266 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


tour  and  Mrs.  Esther  Jones  as  grade  school 
teachers. 

As  early  as  1890  a  small  school  was  carried 
on  in  the  sod  house  on  John  Robinson's  pre- 
emption on  Lost  Creek,  one  mile  north  of  Osh- 
kosh.  Among  the  teachers  who  taught  in  this 
building  were  Viola  Empson  (now  Mrs.  Robt. 
Day),  D.  F.  Fickes  and  Miss  Hunsinger. 

That  old  sod  house  was  used  until  1896,  when 
a  new  sod  building  was  put  up  in  the  north 
edge  of  town  near  where  the  old  stone  building 
now  stands.  John  Twiford  taught  in  this  build- 
ing in  1903,  and  Laura  Laycock  taught  one  of 
the  last  terms  of  school  in  the  old  "Soddy." 
The  stone  building  consisting  of  two  rooms  was 
erected  in  1905.  It  was  quite  a  pretentious 
building  at  that  time,  but  soon  became  too 
small.  In  the  fall  of  1910  the  primary  grades 
were  moved  into  a  small  frame  building  on  Fish 


—nil 

Sir 

Hi 

■  El 

yrr  J»if*ii 

street,  just  north  of  the  railroad  track.  Here 
Bonnie  Twiford  taught.  During  the  summer 
of  1911.  a  small  frame  building  was  built  in  the 
yard  with  the  stone  one.  Here  Jessie  Lee  Col- 
yer  taught  the  primary  grades  in  1911-12. 

The  next  fall  the  schools  were  crowded,  Miss 
Mina  Vance  taught  the  fourth  and  fifth  grades 
in  a  room  over  Quelle's  Hardware  store.  Nellie 
Olson  taught  the  primary  grades  in  the  frame 
building.  Katherine  McCusker  and  Mr.  Samuel- 
son  taught  the  higher  grades  in  the  stone  build- 
ing. _     ■ 

Oshkosh  school  soon  had  outgrown  its  quar- 
ters. The  eleven  grades  needed  more  room  so 
a  commodious  brick  building  was  erected  in 
1914,  giving  ample  space  to  accommodate  the 
school  for  some  years  to  come.  But  now,  1920, 
that  building  is  filled  to  its  full  capacity,  em- 
ploying  seven  teachers  for  the  pupils  of  the 
first  eight  grades.  The  teachers  are:  Nellie 
Coffin,  Superintendent,  Kate  Waters,  Mrs.  G. 
M.  Robison.  Beulah  Wilson,  Edith  Miles,  Mrs. 
Harriet  Hall  and  Fannie  Matson. 

The  first  school  in  Lisco  was  held  in  a  room 
over  the  Lisco  Mercantile  Company  store,  dur- 


ing the  year  1909-10.  It  was  a  private  school 
supported  by  the  few  residents  of  Lisco.  There 
were  fourteen  pupils  enrolled  with  Jessie  Lee 
Colyer  teacher.  It  was  made  a  public  school 
the  following  year  with  Miss  Williams  as 
teacher.  The  room  over  the  store  was  used 
until  1911,  when  the  present  frame  building 
was  put  up  with  two  rooms  and  two  teachers, 
Miss  Goodmanson  and  Miss  Davis.    Last  year, 

1918,  they  were  obliged  to  fit  up  a  room  over 
the  Lisco  Mercantile  Company  store  again.    In 

1919,  two  rooms  over  the  store  were  needed  as 
the  tenth  and  eleventh  grades  were  added  to 
the  course.  The  teachers  in  Lisco  at  this  time 
were  Cora  Felker.  Principal,  Eva  Snider,  As- 
sistant, Mrs.  R.  O.  Stevenson  and  Miss  Lela 
Mosser. 

Garden  County  High  School 

June  26,  1915,  a  Garden  county  high  school 

was  organized  under  the  control  of  a  Board  of 

Regents.  County  Superintendent  Nellie  Olson 

Stroud,  County  Treasurer  Ralph  Laycock,  and 

F.  A.  Dutton  of  Oshkosh,  Mr  Tilgner,  of 
Lewellen  and  Geo.  Sampson,  of  Lisco,  were 
elected  on  the  Board  of  Regents.  The  first 
teachers  were  Ben  F  Robinson,  Superintendent, 
Mrs.  Minnie  Robinson  and  Miss  Louise  Bar- 
stow,  Assistants.    They  remained  two  years. 

The  first  graduates  were  Walter  Olson,  Bess 
Blair,  Beulah  Blair,  Marguerite  Day,  Bernice 
Miller  and  P'ern  Bentz. 

The  Garden  county  high  school's  best  year 
in  basket  ball  was  in  1916-17.  Paul  Bergstrom, 
Superintendent  of  the  Oshkosh  grade  schools, 
coached  the  high  school  team.  They  did  so  well 
that  they  were  allowed  to  go  to  the  state  tourn- 
ament. They  were  not  in  the  best  of  condition, 
two  players  were  sick  with  hard  colds,  but  they 
won  the  first  game  from  Bassett  and  lost  the 
second  to  Pawnee'  City.  The  players  were  Frank 
Robinson,  Clyde  Sudman,  Lee  Henderson, 
Everett  Dennis.  Walter  Stroud  and  Ralph 
Snell. 

The  basket  ball  team  in  1918-19  won  their 
monograms  and  wool  jerseys  in  the  high  school 
colors,  purple  and  white. 

In  the  years  1919-20  they  have  played  very 
.good  games.  The  players  were:  Gus  Jacobs, 
Rex  Proper,  David  Curtis,  Rush  Snow  and 
Murray  Snow ;  the  girls  were,  Pearl  Kingery, 
Opal  Plummer.  Vena  Quelle,  Esther  Miller, 
and  Helen  Naslund. 

In  1918  the  grades,  needing  the  entire  build- 
ing, a  new  high  school  building  was  built  in  the 
west  part  of  town  on  a  five  acre  tract  under 
irrigation.  The  teachers  were  Lena  Freiday, 
Superintendent,  Winefried  Warren,  and  Mrs. 

G.  M.   Robison.     That   year  Garden  countv's 


HISTORY  OF  WKSTERX  NEBRASKA 


267 


first  field  meet  was  held  in  the  second  week  of 
May  and  was  a  grand  success.  It  consisted  of 
baseball,  basket  ball,  tennis,  novelty  events, 
and  all  track  events.  Garden  county  high 
school  won  the  meet  with  a  lead  of  96  points, 
with  Lewellen  second.  The  champion  athletes 
were  Ivan  Hartman,  Lewellen,  first ;  David 
Curtis,  of  Garden  county  high  school,  second; 
Rex  Proper  of  Garden  county  high  school, 
third.  Girls  :  Pearl  Kingery,  first ;  Helen  Nas- 
lund,  second;  Opal  Plummer,  third;  all  of 
Garden  county  high  school. 

The  present  teachers  of  the  Garden  county 
high  school  are:  Arthur  Douglas,  Superinten- 
dent, Miss  Helen  McComas.  Miss  Pearl  Cal- 
vert and  Miss  Edith  Anderson,  Assistants.  The 
present  Board  of  Regents  are.  County  Superin- 
tendent. Miss  Tohnson,  County  Treasurer,  Ed. 
Woods,  F.  A.  Dutton  of  Oshkosh.  D.  F.  Mor- 
ris of  Lewellen  and  Geo.  Sampson  of  Lisco. 

On  November  22.  1919,  a  spelling  contest 
was  held  at  Oshkosh  between  the  grades  and 
rural  schools.  The  following  schools  sent  con- 
testants :  Lisco,  Oshkosh,  District  56,  District 
5,  District  50  and  District  62.  Anna  Carpen- 
ter of  District  50  won  the  first  prize,  Lisco  sec- 
ond and  Oshkosh  third. 

Garden  county  schools  have  taken  prizes  on 
exhibits  at  the  State  Fair  at  Lincoln.  In  1918 
the  rural  schools  of  districts  40  and  56  won 
first  prize  on  drawing  and  district  40  on  pen- 
manship. 

In  1919  Oshkosh  won  first  in  the  four  best 
drawing  cards,  district  56.  district  19  sent  a 
collection  of  work  that  took'  first  prize.  A  rural 
school  took  second  prize  on  two  drawings.  Osh- 
kosh took  third  on  booklets  on  Nebraska  and 
Geography. 

Churches 

The  first  church  in  the  county  was  an  organi- 
zation on  the  sputh  table,  eleven  miles  south- 
west of  Lewellen  near  where  the  Day  church 
now  stands.  It  was  a  Methodist  church  organ- 
ized in  1887  by  Dennis  Clary,  W.  H.  Gilliard 
and  Chris  McCormick,  Sr.  Mr.  Clary  had  been 
in  the  ministry  for  thirty  years.  The  building, 
which  has  now  fallen,  was  of  sod,  with  a  small 
cemetery  in  connection  with  it,  which  is  still 
there.  When  the  frame  building  was  built,  it 
was  put  up  two  miles  southeast  and  is  now 
called  Day  church. 

The  first  Easter  service  was  held  in  M.  P. 
Clary's  house  before  the  completion  of  the 
church.  Mrs.  Homer  Spillman  was  at  this  ser- 
vice. She  heard  there  was  to  be  one  but  didn't 
know  just  where.  She  put  the  children  into  the 
wagon  and  drove  ten  miles  across  the  prairie 
to  reach  it.    A  kind  Providence  led  her  to  Mr. 


Clary's   house  in   time    for   the    service.      Mr. 
Ruckman  was  the  pastor  in  charge. 

The  first  church  in  Lewellen  was  a  Meth- 
odist church  built  in  1S99.  Rev-.  Coslet,  Eg- 
gers,  and  Bollan  preached  in  the  school  house 
before  the  church  was  built.  Rev.  Elmer  Kel- 
ler was  the  first  pastor  to  preach  in  the  new 
church.  It  naturally  was  a  small  organization 
at  first.  The  churches  of  Lewellen  and  Osh- 
kosh hired  a  pastor  together  for  a  number  of 
years.  It  has  been  only  since  1915  that  each 
church  has  hired  its  own.  The  church  in 
Lewellen  now  has  a  parsonage,  ninety-one 
members,  a  live  Sunday  School,  Ladies  Aid 
Society  and  Young  People's  Society.  The  Aid 
Society  helps  materially  in  the  support  of  the 
church  and  its  benevolences.  It  put  up  the 
tower  on  the  church  and  placed  a  bell  therein 
to  ring  out  its  call  every  week.  Rev.  P.  H. 
Smith  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  Lutheran  church  organization  of  Lewel- 
len was  formed  in  the  fall  of  1906,  by  William 
Heidenrich,  from  Oshkosh,  with  a  Sunday 
School  and  Ladies  Guild  in  connection.  That 
year  a  nice  church  was  built  and  dedicated,  dur- 
ing Rev.  Clark  Powell's  pastorate.  They  join 
with  the  church  at  (  >>hk<>4i  in  hiring  a  minis- 
ter, who  has  resided  in  Oshkosh  until  1920. 
Rev.  R.  A.  Helms,  the  present  pastor,  lives  in 
Lewellen. 

In  1911  a  Baptist  church  was  built.  Rev. 
Elkins  was  pastor.  The  organization  has 
steadily  been  growing.  They  have  decided  to 
build  a  parsonage  this  year.  The  present  pas- 
tor is  A.  J.  Coffey. 

The  first  church  organization  in  (  tshkosh 
was  the  Methodist  Episcopal.  It  was  a  branch 
of  the  Methodist  church  at  Lewellen,  and  help- 
ed in  the  support  of  the  Lewellen  pastor,  who 
came  to  Oshkosh  for  services  every  other  Sun- 
day. Services  were  held  in  the  schoolhouse  or 
hall  until  the  Lutheran  church  was  built  in 
1909.  Then  services  were  held  in  that  every 
other  week,  alternating  with  the  Lutheran  pas- 
tor who  went  to  Lewellen  every  week  until 
1912,  when  they  built  a  church  home.  The 
Methodist  church  was  dedicated  July.  1913, 
while  Rev.  McAbee  was  pastor.  A  revival  was 
held  by  Evangelist  Flowers,  thereby  adding 
many  more  members.  The  church  organiza- 
tion was  perfected  at  this  time  with  about  sixty 
members.  Among  them  were  the  Bowers,  Twi- 
fords,  Sherleys,  Sterlings,  McCords.  Duttons, 
Henrys  and  Aufdengartens.  Both  the  Lewel- 
len and  Oshkosh  churches  were  growing 
stronger  and  able  to  stand  alone.  In  the  spring 
of  1916  each  decided  to  hire  a  pastor  alone. 
Rev.  McGill  staved  at  Lewellen  and  the  Osh- 


268 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


kosh  church  hired  a  young  man,  Rev.  Cum- 
mins, until  fall. 

While  Rev.  Koch  was  here,  a  parsonage  was 
built  and  the  Ladies  Aid  has  just  finished  pay- 
ing for  it.  They  had  previous  to  this  finished 
paying  the  debt  on  the  church.  The  "present 
pastor  is  Rev.  Kuhler.  They  have  a  nice  large 
Sunday  School  with  Miss  Miles  Superintend- 
ent. Young  Peoples  society,  the  Epworth 
League,  is  connected  with  the  church.  Miss 
Johnson  is  the  leader. 

On  June  10,  1906,  Rev.  Wm.  Heidenrich 
came  to  Oshkosh.  He  organized  a  Lutheran 
church  September  9.  1906,  calling  it  St.  Mark's 
Evangelical  Lutheran  church.  Among  the  first 
members  were  the  Sudmans,  Quelles,  Fickes, 
Swansons  and  others.  It  consisted  of  fifteen 
charter  members,  with  Sunday  School  and 
Ladies'  Guild  in  connection.  The  services 
were  held  in  the  school  house  or  hall  until  the 
church  building  was  completed  in  the  spring 
of  1909.  The  dedication  was  held  in  June, 
1909.  Oshkosh  joins  with  the  Lewellen 
church  in  the  support  of  a  pastor.  Rev. 
Heidenrich's  wife's  health  was  poor,  so  he  de- 
cided to  go  to  a  lower  altitude.  He  resigned 
May  22,  1910,  after  staying  here  four  years. 
He  was  well  liked,  and  the  church  regretted 
very  much  to  have  him  leave.  Since  that  time, 
they  have  had  Rev.  Collier  who  stayed  a  short 
time,  Rev.  Woods,  Rev.  Clark  Powell,  Rev. 
Ebright  (who  preached  during  his  vacation) 
Rev.  W.  H.  N.  Stevens,  all  of  whom  resided 
in  Oshkosh.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  R.  A. 
Helms,  resides  in  Lewellen.  The  Sunday 
School  and  the  Ladies  Guild  have  been  well 
kept  up,  supporting  the  church  in  its  work 
right  loyally.  The  membership  is  about  fifty, 
with  Roy  Swanson,  Clerk. 

While  Father  Burns  of  Scottsbluff  was  com- 
ing regularly  to  hold  services  in  Oshkosh,  a 
church  was  built  in  1916.  It  was  dedicated  the 
following  spring  in  the  usual  form.  It  has 
aLout  sixty  members. 

While  Rev.  Heindenrich  was  pastor  of  the 
Lutheran  church  at  Oshkosh,  he  organized  a 
church  and  Sunday  School  at  Kowanda.  They 
held  meetings  in  the  schoolhouse  until  1915 
when  a  church  building  was  erected.  Rev.  Jen- 
sen of  Lewellen  came  here  to  preach  at  times. 
Rev.  Koch.  Baker  and  Kuhler  of  the  Oshkosh 
Methodist  church  have  preached  over  there 
every  other  Sunday  since  1916.  A  good  Sun- 
day School  has  been  maintained. 

At  Lisco  the  Presbyterians  were  the  first 
denomination  to  get  busy.  Rev.  Currens,  sev- 
enty years  old,  came  from  Alliance  into  the 
neighborhood  south  of  the  river  and  held  meet- 
ings in  a  sod  school  house  during  the  winter 


of  1908-09.  In  his  visiting  he  would  wade  the 
river  even  though  it  was  full  of  ice.  An  or- 
ganization was  formed  there.  The  church  was 
built  in  Lisco  the  following  spring,  but  not  ded- 
icated until  the  spring  of  1910.  Before  the 
church  was  completed,  meetings  were  held  in 
the  homes  and  at  the  waiting  room  in  the  de- 
pot. Much  comfort  was  taken  with  a  small 
folding  organ  which  could  be  folded  up  and 
carried  whereever  it  was  needed.  Some  of 
the  pastors  were :  Rev.  John  Ellis,  Rev.  Ebey, 
Rev.  Snowdon  and  Rev.  Woodward.  These 
pastors  resided  in  Broadwater,  coming  to  Lisco 
for  services. 

In  1915  the  Catholics  in  and  around  Lisco 
determined  to  have  a  church  home  and  that 
summer  it  was  begun.  Father  Burns  from 
Scottsbluff  came  for  services.  The  following 
spring  it  was  dedicated  with  the  usual  cere- 
monies.    They  have  forty  members. 

Out  on  what  is  called  the  west  table  about 
eight  miles  northeast  of  Lisco,  we  find  a  thriv- 
ing Adventist  church  called  the  Lisco  Advent- 
ist  church.  In  June,  1908,  an  organization  was 
formed  consisting  of  forty-two  members.  The 
building  was  erected  that  same  year. 

Some  of  the  people  living  in  Antelope  and 
Lost  Creek  valleys  wished  to  have  a  church 
building  for  preaching  services  and  Sunday 
School.  A  subscription  list  was  started  and 
funds  raised  for  the  building.  One  was  put 
up  in  1916  of  cement  blocks.  It  was  named 
the  Silvia  Union  church,  in  honor  of  Mrs. 
John  Kiley,  who  had  been  one  of  the  main 
starters  of  the  movement.  It  was  dedicated  in 
June,  1917.  Money  enough  was  raised  that 
day  to  pay  off  the  debt. 

The  Press 

The  first  newspaper  was  established  in  Osh- 
kosh in  1906,  by  Col.  Wisner  of  Bayard.  This 
was  a  weekly  paper  named  the  Oshkosh  Herald. 
In  the  following  year  the  Colonel  sold  out  to 
Calkins  and  Loob.  Calkins  soon  disappeared, 
but  Loob  continued  to  publish  the  Herald  for 
a  few  months  longer.  Will  Twiford  acted  as 
editor  until  tjre  spring  of  1908,  when  R.  A.  Day 
and  Charles  Tomppert  bought  the  business  and 
were  soon  publishing  the  Herald  as  an  eight 
page  paper,  printing  two  pages  of  it  in  their 
office. 

In  the  fall  of  1908,  Mr.  Tomppert  and  Wal- 
ter Bentz  formed  a  partnership,  and  embarked 
on  the  sea  of  journalism,  in  full  charge  and 
ownership  of  the  Herald.  Thev  managed  to 
print  four  pages  each  week  on  their  Washing- 
ton hand  press.  Within  a  year,  they  had  in- 
creased the  circulation  to  several  hundred  and 
were  doing  a  paying  business. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


_'<)') 


In  1910,  the  business  was  incorporated  under 
the  name  of  Tomppert-Bentz  Company,  the 
stock  being  held  by  Charles  Tomppert,  P.  J. 
Bentz,  Walter  Bentz,  Clyde  Bentz.  Pearl  Bentz 
and  Roy  Bentz.  The  new  company  at  once  put 
in  modern  machinery  and  built  a  good  new 
office  building. 

For  the  two  years  following,  the  Oshkosh 
Herald  bid  fair  to  become  the  model  news- 
paper of  the  Great  Plains.  Dissension  arose 
among  the  stockholders  and  Mr.  Tomppert 
finding  himself  out-voted  at  every  turn  by  the 
Bentz  family,  sold  out  to  them  for  what  he 
could  get  and  gracefully  retired  from  the  Com- 
pany. 

He  at  once  planned  to  established  a  rival 
paper,  and  in  August,  1912,  bought  out  the 
Garden  County  News  which  Mr.  Warner  had 
been  running  for  two  or  three  years  at  Lewel- 
len,  bought  a  new  press  and  linotype,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  make  the  old  News  the  biggest  and 
best  paper  in  the  county.  1300  copies  of  the 
Nezvs  is  now  printed  each  week. 

At  this  time  the  Bentz  Company  were  pub- 
lishing three  papers  in  the  county.  The  Osh- 
kosh Herald,  at  Oshkosh,  The  Lcivcllen  Ga- 
zette at  Lewellen  and  the  Lisco  Tribune  at 
Lisco.  They  did  most  of  the  printing  at  the 
Herald  office.  In  1913,  they  sold  the  Tribune 
to  Mr.  Cary  of  Lisco,  The  Herald  and  Gazette 
were  run  by  different  members  of  the  Bentz 
family  until  May,  1919,  when  they  discontinued 
both  papers  and  moved  to  Florida. 

This  leaves  just  one  newspaper  in  Oshkosh, 
one  in  Lewellen  and  one  in  Lisco. 

In  1919,  Mr.  David  J.  Colyer  bought  the 
Lisco  Tribune  from  Mr.  Cary.  He  is  rapidly 
improving  it,  building  up  the  circulation  and 
making  a  real  newspaper  out  of  it. 

Mr.  John  B.  Barton  established  the  Lewellen 
Optimist  on  March  22,  1917.  Each  year,  it  is 
steadily  increasing  in  quality  and  circulation 
and  it  is  loyally  supported  especially  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  county. 

The  Bench  and  the  Bar 
Garden  county  has  no  resident  district  judge. 
When  first  organized  in  the  year  1910,  this 
county  was  in  the  thirteenth  judicial  districl 
of  Nebraska,  presided  over  by  Judge  H.  M. 
Grimes  of  North  Platte. 

In  1911.  the  new  seventeenth  judicial  dis- 
trict was  created,  of  which  a  short  time  later, 
Ralph  W.  Hobart  of  Scotts  Bluff  county  was 
elected  judge  and  he  has  held  the  office  up  to 
the  present  time. 

Alfred  W.  Gumaer  has  held  the  office  of 
county  judge  ever  since  the  county  was  organ- 
ized.   At  the  first  general  election  in  1910,  Wal- 


ter Bentz  was  a  candidate  for  the  office,  but 
was  so  badly  defeated  that  since  that  time  no 
one  has  filed  for  the  office,  against  judge 
Gumaer.  Although  not  a  member  of  the  bar, 
Judge  Gumaer  is  well  read  in  the  law,  and 
ever  preserves  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the 
bench.  About  the  only  time  the  magisterial 
calm  was  ever  ruffled  was  on  the  occasion  when 
a  well  dressed  young  man  and  woman  with 
every  appearance  of  candidates  for  matrimony 
presented  themselves  before  him  and  smiling 
recited,  "Will  you  divorce  us  from  each  other, 
Judge?" 

Lee  Minner  of  Omaha,  was  our  first  county 
attorney.  After  but  a  few  weeks  in  the  office, 
he  became  dissatisfied,  resigned  his  office  and 
removed  to  Kansas  City. 

The  next  attorney  to  arrive  was  R.  F.  Wil- 
liams who  came  from  Bridgeport.  Nebraska. 
He  was  appointed  county  attorney  in  the  spring 
of  1910  to  fill  the  vacancy,  was  elected  to  the 
office  in  1910,  reelected  in  1912.  Failing  to 
secure  reelection  in  1914,  he  went  back  to  his 
boyhood  home  in  Niles,  Michigan.  Richard  F. 
Williams,  who  was  known  here  as  "Judge" 
Williams,  was  a  captain  and  veteran  of  the 
Civil  War.  He  always  took  a  lively  interest 
in  politics  and  was  a  staunch  Republican.  In 
addition  to  his  successful  experience  as  a  sol- 
dier and  lawyer,  he  spent  several  years  as  a 
miner  and  prospector,  and  at  one  time  edited 
and  published  a  newspaper  at  St.  Edwards, 
Nebraska.  Judge  Williams  now  spends  the 
winters  in  Florida.  He  is  the  father  of  Fay 
E.  Williams,  one  of  the  pioneer  lawyers  of 
Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Herbert  J.  Curtis,  county  attorney  of  Garden 
county,  was  born  in  Knoxville,  Marion  county, 
Iowa,  on  September  24,  1871.  His  paternal 
ancestors  came  from  England  in  early  colonial 
times  and  each  new  generation  joined  the  west- 
ern bound  pioneers.  In  the  early  fifties  when 
Mr.  Curtis's  father.  Stephen  Curtis,  was  a 
small  boy,  the  Curtis  family  emigrated  from 
Ohio  to  the  Des  Moines  river  bottom  near  the 
site  of  old  Bellefountain  and  engaged  in  the 
usual  occupations  of  the  woodman.  The  grand- 
father was  a  sash  and  door  maker,  and  his 
sons  operated  the  first  portable  sawmill  on  the 
Des  Moines  river. 

Herbert  J.'s  mother  was  also  of  pioneer  stock 
but  her  people  originally  came  from  Ireland, 
and  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  from  thence  mov- 
ing to  Highland  county,  Ohio,  from  there  to 
Des  Moines  county.  Iowa,  and  on  to  Marion 
count  v.  Several  of  her  ancestors,  the  Mc- 
Conaugheys  were  scalped  in  their  own  door- 
yards  by  the  Indians  of  William  Penn's  prov- 
ince. 


270 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Mr.  Curtis's  boyhood  was  spent  on  a  farm 
near  Knoxville.  He  did  farm  work  in  the 
summer,  and  attended  the  district  school  in  the 
winter,  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  when 
his  father  died,  and  he  being  the  oldest  of  a 
large  family  of  children  quit  school  and  took 
charge  of  the  farm  work.  When  he  was 
twenty-one  years  old,  his  mother  married  again, 
and  taking  a  four  year  old  colt  as  his  inherit- 
ance, he  struck  out  to  earn  some  schooling.  By 
teaching  school  a  portion  of  the  year,  and  at- 
tending school  and  doing  odd  jobs  the  remain- 
der of  the  time,  he  secured  a  first  class  teach- 
er's certificate,  and  the  degrees  of  Bachelor 
of  Didactics,  and  Master  of  Didactics  from  the 
Highland  Park  College,  Des  Moines,  Iowa.  He 
then  took  the  Principal  Teachers'  examinations 
in  the  United  States  Civil  Service,  and  in 
1895  received  an  appointment  as  teacher  at  the 
Colorado  River  Indian  Boarding  School  at 
Parker,  Arizona.  Two  years  later  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  position  of  superintendent  at  the 
Uncompagre  Boarding  School  at  Fort  Duch- 
esne, Utah,  and  in  a  short  time  transferred 
to  the  Pine  Point  Boarding  School,  in  the  Tam- 
arack and  Pine  Regions  near  Lake  Itasca,  in 
northern  Minnesota. 

While  occupying  the  latter  position,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Lillie  Gilbert  of  Memphis,  Michigan. 

Having  studied  law  at  spare  times  for  sev- 
eral years,  in  September,  1907,  he  decided  to 
finish  the  law  course  and  enrolled  in  the  law 
College  of  the  State  University  of  Nebraska, 
receiving  his  sheepskin  and  admission  to  the 
bar  in  1910.  He  then  immediately  moved  to 
Oshkosh.and  has  been  engaged  here  in  the  prac- 
tic  of  law  ever  since. 

In  the  fall  of  1912,  he  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  Frank  Dutton  under  the  firm  name 
of  Curtis  &  Dutton,  lawyers.  This  partner- 
ship was  dissolved  in  December,  1914. 

In  1914,  Mr.  Curtis  was  elected  county  at- 
torney, reelected  in  1916,  and  again  reelected 
in  1918  for  a  four  year  term. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Curtis  have  three  children : 
David,  born  in  Beecher  county,  Minnesota, 
May  7,  1903  ;  Helen,  born  in  Lancaster  county, 
Nebraska,  July  31,  1907;  Robert,  born  in  Osh- 
kosh.  Nebraska,  May  25,  1911. 

Frank  A.  Dutton  has  been  actively  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  in  Garden  county  and 
surrounding  counties  since  1912. 

Mr.  Dutton  was  born  September  26.  1877, 
at  Hiram  Rapids,  Portage  County,  Ohio,  almost 
within  the  shadow  of  Hiram  College.  His  par- 
ents, Merritt  Dutton  and  Jeannette  Mott  Dut- 
ton were  also  natives  of  Ohio.  Merritt  Dut* 
ton  was  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War. 

Mr.  Dutton  was  raised  as  a  farmer  boy  in 


Geauga  county,  Ohio,  and,  in  1897,  he  with 
his  parents  and  brothers  moved  to  the  town  of 
Telluride,  Colorado,  where  they  engaged  in 
the  mining  business  for  ten  years. 

On  January  31,  1907,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Clara  Dutton  and  they  at  once 
moved  to  Lincoln,  Nebraska.  In  September, 
1907,  Mr.  Dutton  enrolled  as  a  student  in  the 
Law  College  of  the  State  University  of  Ne- 
braska, completing  the  course,  and  receiving 
his  certificate  of  admission  to  the  bar  in  June, 
1910.  He  then  returned  to  Colorado,  located 
at  Grand  Junction  and  practiced  law  there  un- 
til 1912. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dutton  have  two  children : 
Jeanette,  born  in  Grand  Junction,  Colorado, 
on  December  25,  1910 ;  and  Mary  Louise,  born 
in  Oshkosh,  Nebraska,  June  16,  1915. 

Banking  and  Finance 

Garden  county  has  only  five  banks  but  they 
are  all  solid,  thriving  institutions.  Two  of  them 
are  located  at  Oshkosh,  two  at  Lewellen  and 
one  at  Lisco. 

The  first  bank  here  was  the  Deuel  County 
Bank,  organized  at  Oshkosh  in  1904,  by  J.  W. 
Wehn.  For  the  first  few  months  the  business 
was  crowded  into  the  sitting  room  of  the  Mil- 
ler hotel.  The  bank  then  moved  into  a  new 
frame  building  built  especially  for  a  banking 
house.  When  the  railroad  was  surveyed  and 
located,  the  new  bank  was  unfortunately  found 
to  be  in  the  middle  of  the  right  of  way,  so  they 
sold  the  building  to  the  railroad  company,  and 
moved  into  a  small  frame  building  on  the  east 
side  of  Main  street.  About  this  time  Rob't  A. 
Day  succeeded  P.  W.  Burke  as  cashier,  which 
position  Mr.  Day  held  until  January,  1919, 
when  he  was  elected  president.  Three  months 
later  John  T.  Wood,  a  successful  banker  from 
Mason  City,  Custer  county,  Nebraska,  located 
here,  bought  Mr.  Day's  interest  in  the  bank, 
and  Mr.  Day  retired  from  the  banking  busi- 
ness. 

On  moving  into  their  new  building  in  1911, 
this  bank  was  converted  into  a  National  Bank, 
and  named  First  National  Bank.  In  1915, 
however,  it  was  converted  back  into  a  State 
Bank  under  the  name  of  First  State  Bank  of 
Oshkosh,  capital,  $25,000.  The  profits  of,  and 
deposits  in,  this  bank  have  increased  by  leaps 
and  bounds  lately.  The  last  report  shows  de- 
posits amounting  to  over  $350,000. 

Since  1911,  this  bank  has  been  owned  by  our 
citizens,  the  heaviest  stockholders  being  Rob't 
A.  Day,  J.  C.  Schlater  and  A.  Sudman,  up  to 
the  time  when  Mr.  Wood  bought  in  and  be- 
came president,  in  1919. 

Lewellen's  first  bank,  The  Bank  of  Lewellen, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


was  organized  in  1905,  with  a  capital  of  $5,000, 
by  J.  W.  Wehn,  President,  Chas.  Burke,  Vice- 
President,  and  J.  H.  Wehn,  Cashier. 

It  carried  on  its  business  in  a  small  frame 
building  now  used  by  the  telephone  exchange. 

In  1911.  the  Garden  County  Bank  was  or- 
ganized with  a  capital  of  $10,000,  S.  P.  Dela- 
tour.  President ;  Eugene  Delatour,  Vice  Presi- 
dent, and  B.  C.  Delatour,  Cashier. 


Two  banks  were  unnecessary,  so,  in  1914,  the 
Delatours  bought  the  Bank  of  Lewellen,  and 
consolidated  the  two  under  the  name  of  Bank 
of  Lewellen,  with  a  capital  of  $25,000,  and  the 
same  officers  of  the  former  Garden  County 
Bank. 

A  suitable  building,  the  present  one,  was  built 
in  1917,  and  the  capital  increased  to  $50,000. 

The  present  officers  are :  S.  P.  Delatour. 
President;  B.  C.  Delatour,  Vice  President;  C. 
G.  Berquist,  Cashier. 


The  farmers  in  this  locality  decided  to  have 
a  bank  of  their  own,  so  organized  the  Farmer's 
State  Bank  in  fune,  1915,  with  a  capital  of 
$15,000.  The  first  officers  were  M.  R.  Scrip- 
ter,  Sr.,  President ;  M.  P.  Clary,  Vice  Presi- 
dent; G.  L.  Stout,  Cashier;  W.  A.  Hostetter, 
Assistant  Cashier. 

Its  growth  was  assured,  and  the  capital  in- 
creased to  $30,000,  with  total  assets  of  $315,000 
and  a  slight  change  in  officers :  M.  P.  Clary, 
President  and  Chris  McCormick,  Vice  Presi- 
dent. Cashier  and  Assistant  remain  the  same, 
with  Irving  Tilgner,  Bookkeeper.  This  bank 
also  is  housed  in  a  good  substantial  building. 

In  March,  1917,  the  Oshkosh  State  Bank  was 
organized  at  Oshkosh,  with  a  capital  of  $15,- 
000.  The  officers  are  Reuben  Lisco.  President ; 
Peter  Olson,  Vice  President;  J.  F.  Shields, 
Cashier ;  G.  W.  Sampson,  Assistant  Cashier. 

This  bank  carries  on  its  business  in  the  finest 
business  building  in  Oshkosh. 

The  only  bank  of  Lisco  is  the  Lisco  State 
Bank,  which  was  organized  May  19,  1909.  the 
same  eventful  year  in  the  history  of  Lisco.  The 
first  officers  were.  Reuben  Lisco.  President ;  T. 
E.  Wells,  Vice  President;  W.  W.  Aldndge, 
Cashier,  and  W.  F.  Gumaer,  Assistant  Cashier. 

The  bank  has  carried  on  its  business  in  a 
corner  of  the  building  occupied  by  the  Lisco 
Mercantile  Company. 

At  present  (November,  1919),  it  has  a  capi- 
tal of  $20,000.  with  the  same  officers  with 
the  exception  of  cashier  and  Assistant  G.  W. 
Sampson  is  cashier. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  COUNTY'S  PART  IX  THE  WORLD  WAR 


At  the  declaration  of  war,  by  the  United 
States,  the  county  responded  to  all  calls  with 
good  spirit.  A  Council  of  Defense  was  ap- 
pointed consisting  of  L.  H.  Stroud,  Chas. 
Tomppert  and  Dr.  Geo.  H.  Morris.  It  did  its 
work  loyally.  The  Advisory  Board  was  A.  W. 
Gumaer,  F.  A.  Dutton,  W.  W.  Aldridge  and 
R.  S.  Laycock.  The  Government  Appeal  agent 
was  H.  J.  Curtis  and  the  Food  Administrator 
was  John  Twiford. 

H.  A.  Mark  was  chairman  of  the  Four  Min- 
ute Men  and  was  ably  assisted  by  many  speak- 
ers at  Oshkosh,  Lewellen  and  Lisco. 


County  Fuel  Committee  consisted  of  H.  J. 
Curtis,  Chairman;  11.  G.  Gumaer,  Walter 
Smith,  W.  W.  Fought,  of  Oshkosh;  J.  H. 
Mevich,  of  Lewellen;  and  C.  D.  Minshall,  of 
Lisco. 

The  Exemption  Board  appointed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor were.  Geo.  Melvin,  County  Clerk  ;  Wal- 
ter Clark.  Sheriff;  and  Dr.  G  H.  Morris.  The 
immense  tasks  incident  to  registration  and  in- 
duction were  promptly  and  efficiently  perform- 
ed. 

All  calls  fur  money  met  with  a  hearty  re- 
sponse.    The  hanks   had  charge  of   the   Bund 


27. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


drives,  five  in  number,  and  the  War  Stamp 
Drives.  All  quotas  were  raised  with  a  goodly 
surplus. 

The  War  Savings  societies  were  in  charge  of 
Mr.  F.  A.  Dutton.  A  great  many  societies  were 
formed  giving  added  interest  to  the  Thrift 
Stamps  habit  among  school  children  as  well  as 
older  ones. 

All  calls  from  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  were  answer- 
ed with  full  and  overflowing  measures. 

A  Woman's  Council  of  Defense  was  created. 
It  was  quite  a  large  organization.  They  took 
charge  of  the  war  gardens,  conservations  of 
food,  canning  demonstrations,  as  well  as  caring 
for  lecturers  on  their  line  of  work.  '"The  Spin- 
ster's Return,"  a  home  talent  play,  was  given 
to  raise  funds.  It  was  very  well  done  and  fully 
appreciated. 

The  work  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  was  confined  to 
the  making,  fitting  and  delivering  of  a  comfort 
kit  to  each  soldier  upon  leaving.  A  testament 
and  song  book  were  among  the  other  helpful 
articles  included  in  the  kit. 

Lewellen  was  the  first  in  the  county  to  or- 
ganize a  Red  Cross  Chapter.  This  was  done 
August  28,  1917.  Oshkosh  and  Lisco  soon  fol- 
lowed with  organizations  September,  1917. 
Each  started  with  the  regulation  ten  members, 
and  a  few  others  besides.  The  drives  for  mem- 
bership brought  good  results.  Before  the 
Armistice  was  signed  Lewellen  had  five  hun- 
dred members,  Oshkosh  and  Lisco  had  over 
nine  hundred. 

Successful  Red  Cross  sales  were  held  in  the 
three  places.  Oshkosh  raised  over  $1,400  in 
February,  1918.  The  quotas  each  time  were 
raised  with  a  surplus. 

The  ladies  of  these  organizations  were  great 
workers  and  sent  in  a  great  many  garments 
and  knitted  articles.  Lewellen  disbursed  about 
$2000  for  supplies  and  Oshkosh  and  Lisco 
about  $1500.  This  work  was  in  charge  of  Mrs. 
F.  A.  Dutton,  Mrs.  L.  H.  Stroud.  Mrs.  Potter 
at  Oshkosh  and  Mrs.  R.  Lisco  at  Lisco ;  at 
Lewellen  Mrs.  Geo.  Cockran  had  charge  of  the 
Knitting  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Ross,  the  sewing. 

The  officers  at  Lewellen  who  carried  the 
work  on  so  well,  were :  Mrs.  Sarah  Ross, 
Chairwoman;  Mrs.  Geo.  Cockran,  Vice:  Mrs. 
Grace  Mevich,  Secretary;  Mr.  G.  L.  Stout, 
Treasurer.  Those  at  Oshkosh  were  Mr.  F.  A. 
Dutton.  Chairman;  Mr.  H.  A.  Mark,  Vice; 
Mrs.  Blanch  Riddile,  Secretary;  Mrs.  Hattie 
Sarver,  Treasurer. 

The  work  of  carrying  on  the  sewing  and 
knitting  at  the  Red  Cross  room  at  Lisco  was 
superintended  by  Mrs.  R.  Lisco  and  Mrs.  Wm. 
Stevenson.  There  were  a  number  of  Junior 
Red  Cross  societies  in  the  schools  in  the  county. 


Many  rooms  were  100  per  cent  Red  Cross 
members. 

A  company  of  home  guards,  consisting  of 
about  fifty  men,  was  formed  at  Oshkosh,  with 
W.  F.  Gumaer,  Captain;  Chas.  Carr,  1st  Lieu- 
tenant. 

At  Lewellen  they  had  a  larger  company  with 
Rev.  Engle,  Captain;  and  Bert  Smith,  1st  Lieu- 
tenant. 

Each  company  trained  twice  a  week  in  mili- 
tary tactics  and  became  quite  proficient  for 
"awkward  squads." 

We  know  of  no  official  or  authentic  roster  of 
those  who  joined  the  colors  from  this  county. 
It  is  sure  that  the  number  is  over  two  hundred  ; 
but  regret  to  say  that  our  list  is  incomplete. 

Three  of  the  boys  were  killed  in  battle  viz. : 
Adian  S.  Pizer,  St.  Mihiel,  September  12,  1918, 
of  Lewellen  ;  Earl  L.  Bray,  near  Vessiers,  Octo- 
ber 6,  1918,  of  Lewellen;  and  Stephen  Shaw, 
of  Oshkosh. 

Walter  Peterson,  Robert  Cooper,  Wesley  M. 
Cattron,  Ralph  McKonkey,  and  Armal  Lane 
Allen  died  of  pneumonia  while  in  the  service. 

Of  those  most  severely  wounded  in  action, 
were  Daff  Young,  of  Lewellen,  and  Duane 
Marshall,  of  Oshkosh.  The  former  lost  one 
arm  and  one  leg  in  the  Argonne  drive,  Novem- 
ber 5,  1918,  and  the  latter  on  July  17,  1919,  was 
so  severely  wounded  in  the  leg  that  amputation 
was  necessary.  The  bones  were  shattered  and 
several  operations  at  long  intervals  were  re- 
quired. He  is  still  in  the  hospital  ( March, 
1920). 

One  of  our  first  volunteers  was  Dr.  C.  L. 
Hooper,  of  Lewellen,  who  was  commissioned 
as  1st  Lieutenant  in  the  Medical  Corps  on  May 
17,  1917.  He  was  stationed  at  Ft.  Riley,  Kan- 
sas, in  the  90th  Division  and  later  at  Camp  Tra- 
verse, Texas.  On  March  6,  1918.  he  was  pro- 
moted to  Captain,  and  was  sent  to  France  two 
months  later.  While  in  France,  he  received 
his  commission  as  Major  and  was  sent  into 
Germany  with  the  Army  of  Occupation.  He 
returned  to  his  medical  practice  in  Lewellen  in 
May.  1919. 

Company  "H,"  Sixth  Nebraska  Infantry  was 
recruited  on  and  after  June  24,  1917,  in  two 
detachments,  one  at  Chadron,  Nebraska,  and 
one  at  Lewellen,  Nebraska,  and  vicinity.  The 
following  named  Garden  county  volunteers  con- 
stituted the  Lewellen  detachment:  Mucho 
Balka,  Russell  Beerup,  Jesse  K.  Bradley,  Miles 
Branson.  Louis  Brown,  Ray  Brown.  Gordon 
Cary,  Ross  W.  Casey,  William  E.  Dowson, 
Dwight  Dowson,  Gordon  Harvey,  Archie  John- 
son. Wesley  McLey,  Harold  Neill.  Joseph  C. 
Orr,  Howard  F.  Outson,  Charles  L.  Parachini, 
Basil  F.  Roberts,  Vester  L.  Rumsey,  Paul  D. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


273 


Temple,  William  Thacker,  Frederick  Thorn- 
ton, Irving  E.  Tilgner,  Eldred  P.  Veatch,  Vir- 
gil Weatherwax,  Robert  Weston,  Bert  W.  Wil- 
son, Jesse  Young,  Okie  O.  Young,  Kootenai 
Tracy,  Harold  Anderson,  (Ray  Clarv,  Hdqurs. 
Co.  109  Engrs.),  Geo.  B.  Cochran.  1st  Lieut., 
Geo.  A.  Post,  who  later  was  commissioned  2nd 
Lieutenant. 

On  August  3,  orders  to  mobilize  at  Chadron 
were  received,  and  the  company  was  mustered 
into  the  Federal  service  on  August  8.   1917. 

On  September  loth,  the  company  entrained 
for  Camp  Cody,  New  Mexico,  arriving  there  on 
September  17th.  Two  weeks  later,  the  com- 
pany together  with  sixty-five  enlisted  men  from 
Company  "I,"  and  forty  men  from  Company 
"F,"  Sixth  Nebraska  Infantry,  was  transferred 
to  the  109th  Engineers  and  announced  as  Com- 
pany "F,"  109th  Engineers. 

Day  after  day  and  month  after  month,  the 
boys  expected  orders  to  go  "over  there."  After 
a  year  of  training,  worrying  and  waiting  at 
Camp  Cody,  the  orders  came,  and  they  started 
for  the  front,  "rejoicing  as  a  strong  man  lo  run 
a  race." 

In  January,  1919,  when  the  regiment  was 
separated  into  several  detachments,  Company 
"F"  remained  on  duty  at  Mesves  Hospital  Cen- 
tre, France,  until  the  middle  of  May  ;  when 
for  about  two  weeks,  station  was  changed  to 
Nevers  ;  then  sent  to  LeMans  area  and  from 
there  to  the  embarkation  port  and  home,  being 
demobilized  at  Camp  Dodge,  Iowa,  on  July  2, 
1919,  having  had  ten  months  of  service  in 
France  out  of  their  two  years  of  service. 

Besides  the  above  named  company,  a  consid- 
erable number  of  men  volunteered  in  various 
branches  of  the  Service.  Following  is  a  par- 
tial list:  Harry  Kretzler,  George  P.  Avery, 
Clavton  W7.  Brunt,  Clarence  E.  Brown,  John 
H.  Block,  Ir.,  Frank  F.  Clarv.  John  O.  Ross, 
Gerald  T.  Richards.  Harold'  Wilson,  Robert 
Holmes,  Jack  L.  Anderson,  Sam  T.  Bradley, 
Abraham  Barbris,  Wallace  E.  Elkins,  Chance 
Goodro,  Charles  W.  McConkey,  Thomas  Lew- 
is, Thomas  Richardson,  Berrie  Rahman,  David 
Colyer,  Jess  Cunningham,  James  Shuler,  Harry 
Horn,  Walter  Pitzlin,  Robert  Brown.  Forrest 
Hunnell,  Bud  Bastin,  John  Schultz,  Stephen 
Shaw,  Walter  Shaw,  Herman  Pickerel,  Benja- 
min Shepard,  Henry  Twiford,  Duane  "Dave" 
Marshall.  Melvin  Conners,  Lloyd  L.  Laycock, 
Walter  D.  Stroud.  Mack  Foster,  Everett  Den- 
nis, Amie  Henderson,  Clarence  Lamberty, 
Frank  Wright. 

Enlisted  in  the  Navy:  Arthur  Hunnell.  Ira 
Paisley,  Alva  Henry,  Frank  Brennan,  Don 
Cooper  and  Melvin  White. 


Aviation    Corps:     Charles    Elrod    and    Fay 
Neill. 

List  of  those  inducted  under  the   Selective 
Draft. 

Frank  II.  Austin.  Anthon  Emanuel  Ander- 
berg.  George  L,  Adams,  Orval  H.  Brenneman, 
Edward  William  Burke,  Ben  H.  Balcom,  Hu- 
ber  Bartlett,  Walter  E.  Billingsley,  Albert 
Berglund,  Edwin  J.  Beerup,  Ora  Lincoln  Ben- 
nett, Harry  C.  Buske,  Walter  August  Bellin, 
Bert  Barber.  Charley  Berglund,  Mahon  R.  Bil- 
lingsley, Jerry  Chulick,  Wayne  J.  Cunningham, 
Robert  Cranmore,  George  B.  Cochran,  Harry 
Clifford  Cooper,  Wesley  M.  Cattron,  James 
Cranmore,  Robert  Henry  Cooper,  Samuel 
Clark,  Alvind  Christensen,  Daniel  D.  Cunning- 
ham, Clarence  D.  Douglas,  Roy  Glen  Dimond, 
Charles  Allen  Douglas,  John  Dierk,  Ralph 
Clyde  Dayley,  Thomas  Duncan,  Ira  Hoffman 
Davis.  Edward  J.  Frey,  George  Embree,  Ray 
E.  Earnhart,  George  Gilliard,  Jr.,  Ira  A.  Gard- 
ner. Charles  Alfred  Gugelman.  Nicholas  Gugas, 
Giouains  Gabba.  William  Giles,  Robert 
Holmes,  Benjamin  T.  Hollister.  Royal  Ernest 
Hittle,  Francis  Merritt  Halstead.  Ray  Hutchin- 
son. Arthur  C.  Hedin,  Lester  Holler>,  Cole 
Henderson,  Bernard  Albert  Hassenstab, 
George  W.  Hammond,  George  A.  Jackson, 
Paul  H.  Jones,  Fred  Christ  Jensen,  Fred  H. 
Koberstein,  Alfred  Ernest  Crouse,  John  R. 
Kiley,  Carl  William  Kaschke,  Glenwood 
Charles  Long,  Edward  V.  Liestritz,  Herman 
W.  Musolf,  Harry  L.  Mason,  Everett  Martin 
Meeker,  Robert  G.  McCormick,  John  Edward 
Nelson,  Peter  Barnum  Nelson,  Peter  Nelson, 
Christ  Leth  Nelson,  Emerson  Newton,  Ed. 
Nordell.  Ralph  Dewy  Naslund,  Carl  Martin 
Neilson,  David  C.  Ou'tson,  Elden  P.  Orth,  Ray 
Elmer  Osborn,  Ernest  Theodore  Olsen,  Jack  P. 
Persinger,  Edmund  Pratt,  Gust  AI.  Peterson, 
Walter  Peterson,  Lloyd  F.  Peterson,  John  Ray 
Pringle,  Due  B.  Perrin,  Jack  Howard  Rout- 
son.  Claude  A.  Renneau,  William  McKinley 
Robinson.  Harvey  Reichman,  Howard  Roy 
Slife,  Gordon  Ross  Shafenberg,  Cyril  Ephriam 
Swanson,  Jacob  Conrad  Schlater,  Archie  An- 
drew Snell,  Howard  Smeaton,  Howard  A. 
Shellady,  Henry  John  Sold.  Walter  Lee  Sher- 
ick,  Andy  F.  Sehirmer,  James  Charles  Smith. 
Olive  I..  Shryer,  Orla  Orlando  Stackhonse, 
Nick  Thomas.'  Obed  D.  Temple.  Taylor  Vor- 
hees,  George  Vocke,  Frank  Williams  Clarence 
A.  Wilson,  Barney  Wassmiller,  George  Ray- 
mond Williams.  Thomas  Abraham  Whinnery, 
Haven  Burl  Wallace. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  VII 


SOCIAL  AND  FRATERNAL  ORGANIZATION 


In  all  early  settlements  real  fraternity  exists 
without  any  named  and  officered  organization. 
Where  a  few  are  gathered  together  a  social 
good  time  resulted.  At  country  jollifications 
some  would  ride  on  horse  back,  or  in  a  farm 
wagon,  a  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  miles  in 
order  to  get  some  enjoyment,  to  mix  with  the 
hard  work.  Good  times  they  were,  with  all  to 
help  in  feeding  the  "bunch." 

The  old  settlers  meet  each  year  now  to  have 
an  "old  time  reunion."  All  elections  and  holi- 
days were  set  aside  for  social  gatherings. 

Each  church  society  meetings,  even  though 
much  work  should  be  done,  was  a  social  eddy 
in  the  current  of  existence. 

With  increase  in  population  and  establish- 
ment of  villages  comes  the  social  and  fra- 
ternal society.  A  band  of  thirty  ladies  in  Lew- 
ellen  carry  on  the  work  of  the  Woman's  Club. 
They  have  prearranged  programs  and  meet 
once  a  month.    It  is  quite  successful. 

A  Public  Service  Club  was  organized  in  Osh- 
kosh  for  the  benefit  of  the  community.  It  had 
a  large  membership  from  the  start  and  has  been 
adding  to  it.  Its  aim  is  to  further  any  improve- 
ment that  will  benefit  the  community  as  a 
whole ;  such  as  boosting  for  good  roads,  for  the 
water  works,  Chautauqua  and  Lyceum  courses. 

The  first  fraternal  organization  in  Garden 
county  was  the  Modern  Woodmen.  It  received 
its  charter  in  September,  1897,  having  fourteen 
members.  August  Sudman  was  the  first  clerk. 
It  didn't  seem  to  grow  much  until  1900,  when 
the  membership  was  greatly  increased.  A  hall 
was  built  in  1898,  but  sold  in  1904.  Its  mem- 
bership in  1920  has  decreased.  Only  thirty-two 
members  are  enrolled,  with  Robt.  Quelle,  Vice 
C. ;  H.  P.  Madison,  Clerk  ;  Bill  Plummer,  W. 
A. ;  Albert  Quelle,  E.  B.,  Howard  Fickes,  W. ; 
Sam  Newkirk,  S. ;  Dr.  G.  H.  Morris,  Physi- 
cian. The  M.  W.  A.  swept  the  country  with 
great  enthusiasm,  especially  for  a  period  of  ten 
years  beginning  in  1898.  In  Lisco  a  band  of 
thirteen  members  received  a  charter  from  the 
Modern  Woodmen  in  1911.  There  is  a  camp 
in  Lewellen  also  and  it  has  built  a  hall. 

On  December  30,  1908,  Mrs.  Anna  T.  Craw- 
ford, of  Scottsbluff.  instituted  a  lodge  of  the 
Royal  Neighbors  of  America,  at  Oshkosh.  It 
was  called  the  Riverview  Lodge,  No.  5516,  and 
received  its  charter  January,  1909.  They  had 
twenty  members,  with  Airs.  Pearl  Sudman, 
Oracle ;  Ada  Melvin,  Past  Oracle ;  and  Viola 
Day.  Recorder.     In  1920  they  have  a  member- 


ship of  thirty-five  beneficiary  and  twenty-three 
social  members,  with  Maggie  Kingery,  Oracle; 
Zulah  Gumaer,  Vice  Oracle  ;  Jessie  Aufdengar- 
ten,  Past  Oracle ;  Clara  Dutton,  Chaplain ; 
Sarah  Taylor,  Recorder ;  Mildred  Robinson, 
Receiver ;  Mamie  Stephenson,  Marshal ; 
Myrtle  Brostrom,  Assistant  Marshal ;  Mary  E. 
Potter,  Inner  Sentinel ;  Belle  Wood,  Outer 
Sentinel ;  Blanch  Kingery,  Manager ;  Hattie 
Sarver,  Manager,  2nd  year ;  Emma  Smith, 
Manager  3rd  year;  Dr.  Morris,  Physician. 

In  1913  it  was  found  that  the  required  num- 
ber of  Masons  to  form  a  lodge  were  in  and 
around  Oshkosh.  so  on  December  12,  1913.  a 
lodge  of  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  was  instituted  with 
twenty  members.  After  a  time  under  dispen- 
sation, a  charter  was  granted  and  Oshkosh 
Lodge  No.  286  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  was  constituted 
in  July,  1914.  Grand  Master  Davis,  and  Grand 
Custodian  French  were  present.  Honor  was 
accorded  them,  and  an  elaborate  banquet  was 
enjoyed  by  all.  They  now  had  a  membership 
of  thirty  with  C.  M.  Empson,  W.  M. ;  H.  J. 
Curtis.  S.  W. ;  Floyd  Jones.  J.  W. ;  H.  G. 
Gumaer,  Treasurer ;  D.  F.  Fickes,  Secretary ; 
J.  F.  Crane,  S.  D. ;  Aug.  Sudman,  J.  D. ;  John 
Robinson,  Tyler.  The  lodge  has  grown  until 
now  it  has  sixty  members  with  G.  E.  Melvin, 
W.  M. ;  C.  L.  Tomppert.  S.  W. ;  H.  P.  Madi- 
son, J.  W. ;  A.  W.  Gumaer  (acting)  Treasurer; 
D.  F.  Fickes,  Secretary ;  Fred  A.  Pickering,  S. 
D. ;  Chas.  A.  Harris.  J.  D. ;  John  Robinson, 
Tyler.  This  lodge  has  lost  but  two  members 
by  death;  these  were  Henry  G.  Gumaer  and 
Eugene  Delatour,  both  charter  members. 

By  combining  the  members  of  the  Eastern 
Star  found  in  Lewellen  and  Oshkosh,  the  re- 
quired number  was  procured  to  organize  a 
chapter  at  Oshkosh.  A  dispensation  was  grant- 
ed. Airs.  Anna  Davis  of  Alliance  came  to 
Oshkosh,  August  30,  1915,  and  organized  a 
chapter  with  the  following  officers :  Mae  Den- 
nis. Worthy  Matron;  Aug.  Sudman,  Worthy 
Patron ;  Gertrude  Wehn.  Associate  Matron ; 
Pearl  Sudman,  Conductress;  Blanche  Riddile, 
Assistant  Conductress  ;  Arthur  Riddile.  Secre- 
tary and  Treasurer.  The  chapter  continued  un- 
der dispensation  until  May  11,  1916.  when  a 
Charter,  No.  264.  was  granted.  June  12.  1916. 
Mrs.  Anna  Davis  came  and  installed  the  fol- 
lowing officers  :  Mae  Dennis,  Worthy  Matron  ; 
Aug.  Sudman,  Worthy  Patron:  Ada  Melvin, 
Associate  Matron  ;  Pearl  Sudman, Conductress : 
Blanch   Riddile,   Associate   Conductress ;   Lilie 


HISTORY  <  )F  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


275 


Curtis,  Secretary;  Arthur  Riddile,  Treasurer; 
Alary  Jones,  Adah;  Viola  Day,  Ruth;  Kate 
Wynes,  Esther ;  Beulah  Tomppert,  Martha ; 
Irene  Fickes,  Electa ;  Josie  Clary,  Organist ; 
Sarah  Roudebush,  Warder ;  Floyd  Jones,  Sen- 
tinel ;  Lou  Clary,  Chaplain.  A  banquet  and  a 
social  good  time  was  given  at  this  meeting  to 
celebrate  the  receiving  of  the  charter.  All  has 
moved  along  nicely  with  new  members  added 
at  many  meetings  until  we  now  have  sixty-three 
members. 

The  present  officers  for  the  year  1920  are : 
Ada  Melvin,  W.  M. ;  Robt.  Quelle,  W.  P.; 
Viola  Day,  Associate  M. ;  Cora  Clark,  Con.; 
Hattie  Sarver,  Associate  Con. ;  Fay  Shatto, 
Secretary;  Jessie  Aufdengarten,  Treasurer; 
Irene  Fickes,  Adah  ;  Jessie  Crane,  Ruth  ;  Zulah 
Gumaer,  Esther;  Myrtle  Billingsly,  Martha; 
Lilie  Curtis,  Electa ;  Mary  Jones,  Chaplain ; 
Dora  Quelle,  Marshal;  Sarah  Roudebush, 
Warder;  Otis  Shatto,  Sen.  The  annual  ban- 
quet of  this  order  is  held  in  February  or 
March. 

Garden  Camp,  No.  327,  of  the  Woodmen 
of  the  World  was  organized  at  Oshkosh, 
August  27,  1910.  It  had  forty  charter  mem- 
bers, with  the  following  officers:  H.  H. 
Hough,  Consul ;  Clyde  Empson,  Adviser 
Lieutenant;  Samuel  Van  Newkirk,  Banker; 
G.  E.  Melvin,  Clerk  ;  Jas.  Ryan,  Escort ;  W.  B. 
Cate,  Watchman ;  Harry  Twiford,  Sentinel ; 
Dr.  H.  H.  Hough,  Physician ;  Gus.  Johnson, 
J.  C.  Kiley  and  Leroy  Nigh,  Managers ;  Joe 
Williams,  P.  C.  The  lodge  has  grown  smaller 
instead  of  larger  having  only  nineteen  mem- 
bers at  present.  The  following  are  in  office 
now:  Roy  E.  Swanson,  Consul;  Leroy  Nigh, 
Adviser  Lieutenant ;  Samuel  Van  Newkirk, 
Banker  and  Clerk ;  Geo.  W.  Rose,  Escort ;  Dr. 
Geo.  H.  Morris,  Physician ;  Geo.  Rose,  Leroy 
Nigh,  and  Isadore  Richstein,  Managers  ;  Moses 
Wetherby.  Past  Consul.  In  Lisco  we  find  a 
small  organization  of  W.  O.  W.,  consisting  of 
fifteen  members  which  received  its  charter  in 
1911. 

In  May,  1913.  after  the  organization  of  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World  in  Oshkosh,  Mrs. 
Anna  T.  Crawford,  of  Scottsbluff,  came  to 
Oshkosh  and  organized  a  Woodmen  Circle 
called  Oshkosh  Grove  No.  136.  It  had  sixteen 
charter  members  with  the  following  officers : 
Carrie  M.  Foster,  Guardian ;  Silvia  Kiley.  Ad- 


viser; Thora  Van  Newkirk.  Clerk:  Clara  D. 
Nigh,  Banker;  Jeanette  Wetherby,  Attendant; 
Anna  M.  Swanson,  Chaplain;  Thyra  L.  Madi- 
son, Inner  Sen.;  Lillian  Tutchinson,  Outer 
Sen. ;  Leroy  Nigh  and  Anna  Rose,  Managers, 
and  Dr.  Morris,  Physician.  The  present  offi- 
cers are  very  much  the  same :  Carrie  M.  Fos- 
ter, Past  Guard;  Anna  Rose,  Guard;  Wilma 
Swanson,  Adviser;  Thora  Van  Newkirk, 
Clerk;  Clara  Nigh,  Banker;  Bernice  M.  Biss, 
Attendant;  Anna  M.  Swanson,  Chaplain; 
Francis  Swanson,  Assistant  Attendant ;  Grace 
Miller.  Inner  Sentinel;  Thyra  L.  Madi- 
son, Outer  Sentinel ;  Jeanette  Wetherby,  Man- 
ager ;  Dr.  G.  H.  Morris,  Physician ;  Eva  E. 
Swanson,  Captain.  They  have  only  beneficial 
members,  and  they  now  number  twenty-three. 
One  of  their  number,  Silvia  Kiley,  died  in 
March.  1917.  Early  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
•  year,  they  held  a  very  impressive  service  at 
the  unveiling  of  her  monument,  in  Antelope 
Valley  cemetery,  all  the  members  taking  part. 
A  small  Circle,  consisting  of  five  members 
was  organized  at  Lisco  in  1911.  It  does  not 
seem  to  grow  much. 

Grand  Master  Radcliffe,  of  Benkleman,  and 
Assistant  Grand  Secretary  Gage,  of  Fremont, 
came  to  Oshkosh,  March  4,  1920,  and  insti- 
tuted a  lodge  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  known  as  the 
Garden  Lodge,  No.  388.  It  has  twenty-five 
members  as  a  start,  and  dozens  of  aspiring  can- 
didates. B.  E.  Robinson,  N.  G. :  W.  A.  Over- 
man, V.  G. ;  J.  L.  Shanks,  Secretary ;  J  no.  T. 
Wood.  Treasurer.  Mr.  Wood's  father.  F.  J. 
Wood,  has  worked  faithfully  to  get  it  started 
and  was  appointed  District  Deputy  Grand  Mas- 
ter for  this  district. 

Reveille  Post  No.  14,  American  Legion,  was 
organized  at  Lewellen,  receiving  its  charter 
August  4,  1919.  The  following  are  its  offi- 
cers: C.  L.  Hooper,  Commander;  Ross  Carsey, 
Vice  Commander ;  Mucho  Bolka,  Vice  Com- 
mander; Irving  Tilgner,  Adjutant;  Jesse  K. 
Bradley.  Finance  Officer.  The  executive  com- 
mittee consists  of  C.  L.  Hooper,  Ross  Carey, 
Irving  Tilgner,  Jesse  K.  Bradley,  Geo.  Post, 
Ira  Paisley  and  Wm.  Thacker. 

The  Post  has  a  membership  of  eighty,  and 
is  proud  of  the  fact  that  it  has  not  received 
any  outside  aid.  It  was  represented  at  the 
state  conventions  held  in  Omaha  and  Hastings. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 


Garden  county  has  never  been  blessed  with 
many  members  of  the  medical  profession.  The 
first  settlers  were  obliged  to  go  for  many  miles 
to  reach  a  doctor.  Fording  the  river  was  only 
one  of  the  difficulties  of  such  a  trip. 

Eventually  in  the  fall  of  1899.  Dr.  H.  H. 
Hough  and  wife  arrived  in  Oshkosh,  from 
Aurora.     They  were  gladly  welcomed. 

He  opened  up  an  office  in  his  residence,  a 
sod  house  in  the  south  edge  of  town.  His 
work  here  was  appreciated  by  many  and  he 
stayed  until  the  spring  of  1917,  when  he  de- 
cided a  change  of  climate  would  benefit  his 
wife's  health.  They  moved  to  Weiser,  Idaho, 
where  they  are  on  a  small  dairy  and  fruit 
farm. 

In  the  meantime,  in  1909,  Dr.  Morris  came 
to  Lewellen  and  Dr.  Stanley  Clement  opened 
up  an  office  in  Oshkosh.  The  latter  only  stayed 
about  two  years. 

Dr.  Morris  stayed  in  Lewellen,  but  has 
since  given  up  practicing. 

By  this  time,  in  1911,  Dr.  Geo.  H.  Morris 
located  in  Oshkosh,  making  two  doctors  by  the 
name  of  Morris  in  Garden  county.  His  ef- 
forts to  relieve  the  sufferings  of  humanity  have 
been  quite  successful. 

Horses  were  too  slow  for  a  doctor's  long 
ride  in  this  country,  after  the  coming  of  the 
automobile.  He  used  a  Ford  for  awhile,  but 
declared  it  was  also  too  slow,  and  he  bought 
a  Buick. 

He  has  always  been  a  worker  for  good  roads. 
He  has  furthered  many  interests  for  the  good 
of  Oshkosh  and  the  county.  He  served  on  the 
Draft  Board  during  the  war,  started  the  Red 
Cross  and  boosts  the  Chautauqua  and  Lyceum 
He  married  Miss  Ruth  Mevich,  of  Lewellen, 
in  the  summer  of  1918. 

Oshkosh  had  needed  another  physician,  as 
the  work  was  too  heavy  for  one ;  so,  many 
were  pleased  when  Dr.  Kelly  arrived  in  May, 

1917.  His  work  here  was  cut  short  by  the 
"Flu"  epidemic.  He  and  his  wife  were  both 
down  with  it  and  Dr.  Kelly  died  in  November, 

1918,  after  being  here  only  about  one  and  one- 
half  years. 

Dr.  C.  L.  Hooper  came  to  Lewellen  in  1916. 


When  war  was  declared,  he  volunteered  for 
service  and  was  called  May  19,  1917,  entering 
the  Medical  Corps. 

After  his  varied  experience  in  the  army  the 
citizens  of  Lewellen  petitioned  him  home.  He 
returned  to  Lewellen  May,  1919,  to  resume 
his  medical  duties  there. 

Dr.  Phillips  practiced  in  Lewellen  during  Dr. 
Hooper's  absence. 

Garden  county  teeth  have  been  very  well 
looked  after  by  the  dental  profession.  The 
first  dentist  to  locate  in  this  county  was  Dr. 
Moses  Wetherby,  who  left  his  home  and  prac- 
tice in  Chile,  South  America,  to  come  to  Osh- 
kosh in  1903,  arriving  when  the  town  con- 
sisted of  a  store  and  blacksmith  shop.  He  has 
ever  since  been  our  principal  tooth  doctor  and 
did  all  work  free  for  the  local  boys  who  needed 
tooth  repairing  preparatory  to  their  acceptance 
as  soldiers  in  the  World  War. 

Dr.  Baker  came  in  1909,  opening  an  office  in 
his  residence.  His  health  was  poor  and  he 
passed  away  in  February,  1914. 

At  Lewellen,  Dr.  Gainsforth  came,  in  1917. 
Mrs.  Gainsforth  taught  in  the  public  schools 
there.  They  soon  gave  it  up  and  left  Lewellen 
to  its  fate  in  1919.  But  this  last  summer,  in 
1919,  Dr.  Rice,  a  young  man  just  graduated 
from  Dental  College  has  opened  up  an  office 
there. 

Throughout  the  year  1919,  Dr.  Morris  was 
the  only  medical  practitioner  in  Oshkosh.  Be- 
ing nearly  worn  out  by  the  enormous  amount 
of  work,  he  as  well  as  the  people  in  general, 
gladly  welcomed  Dr.  D.  L.  Hibberd,  who  ar- 
rived in  Oshkosh  early  in  1920.  He  had  re- 
cently returned  from  France  and  selected 
Oshkosh  as  his  permanent  location.  Both  doc- 
tors are  kept  very  busy,  as  they  have  many  pa- 
tients in  the  county,  their  territory  extending 
out  a  long  distance,  especially  to  the  north- 
ward. 

It  was  also  in  1920,  that  Dr.  A.  J.  Dunlavy, 
the  dentist,  located  in  Oshkosh,  and  opened  his 
new  office  on  Main  street  just  south  of  the 
postoffice.  Oshkosh  having  been  without  a 
licensed  dentist  for  several  years,  Dr.  Dunlavy 
jumped  into  a  big  business  from  the  start. 


SIOUX  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 
DESCRIPTION  AND  EARLY  HISTORY 


Sioux  county  lies  in  the  extreme  north- 
western corner  of  the  state.  It  is  sixty-nine 
miles  long,  with  an  average  width  of  about 
thirty  miles.  There  are  three  correction 
lines  in  the  county  with  the  net  result  that 
the  county  is  thirty-four  miles  wide  at  its 
base  and  but  twenty-eight  at  its  top. 

The  history  of  this  county,  next  to  that 
of  Cheyenne  county,  goes  back  into  the 
primitive,  before  Jim  Dahlman  and  other 
Texas  rangers  invaded  the  wide  prairies. 

In  territorial  days,  before  1867,  the  land 
was  divided  into  two  subdivisions  with  no 
distinctive  border  between  the  two.  The 
west  section  was  known  as  Beauvais  Terras 
or  bad  lands,  and  the  east  portion  as  the 
Great  Sand  Hills.  Bear  in  mind  that  the 
"county"  then  was  much  larger  than  at  pres- 
ent, but  statesmen  had  not  considered  it  of 
sufficient  importance  to  give  it  a  name. 

About  the  only  evidence  of  civilization, 
was  the  proposed  wagon  road  from  Fort 
Pierre  to  Fort  Laramie,  in  the  northwest 
corner  and  roughly  paralleling  the  present 
Hat  creek.  Along  this  route  was  a  place 
Called  Dancer's  Hill,  the  location  of  which 
has  been  lost  to  the  memory  of  man.  The 
oldest  of  the  present  generation  of  people 
there  do  not  seem  to  have  heard  of  it. 

Fifty  years  ago,  March  1,  1867,  Nebraska 
became  a  state,  and  by  an  arbitrary  act  of 
the  legislature,  Sioux  county  came  into  ex- 
istence. Its  eastern  boundary  was  the  pres- 
ent west  line  of  Holt  county,  and  its  south 
line  the  forty-first  degree  of  latitude,  which 
is  its  present  south  line.  There  was  no 
county  government,  and  few  white  people 
to  need  one  until  a  later  date.  It  was  at- 
tached to  Cheyenne  county  for  taxation,  ad- 
ministrative and  judicial  purposes  for  nearly 
a  score  of  years. 

From  Sioux  count}-  as  first  created,  a  total 
of  sixteen  county  organizations  now  exist, 
and  the  parent  county  reduced  to  about  one- 


tenth  of  its  original  size,  or  approximately 
twenty-one  hundred  sections.  This  area  is 
now  populated  with  forty-five  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  people,  according  to  the  census 
of  1920,  which  is  a  decline  of  over  one  thou- 
sand people  from  the  census  of  ten  years 
ago.  This  decline  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
many  speculative  homesteaders  were  in  the 
county  a  decade  ago,  attracted  by  the  sec- 
tion homestead  law.  These  have  since 
proven  up  on  their  claims,  and  some  have 
moved  to  nearby  towns  and  others  have  sold 
their  lands  to  neighbors,  and  ranchmen. 

The  character  of  the  county  generally  is 
adapted  for  ranching,  much  of  the  area  be- 
ing rough  and  broken,  but  well  watered.  As 
a  result  ranching  is  the  predominant  indus- 
try. 

Water  Resources  and  Uses 
The  Niobrara  river,  first  called  L"Eau  Qui 
Court,  and  later  Running  Water,  is  the  most 
important  stream  as  to  size  in  Sioux  county. 
It  enters  the  county  about  twenty-five  miles 
south  of  the  northwest  corner,  running 
southeasterly  to  Agate,  a  distance  of  about 
twenty  miles,  thence  nearly  east  an  almost 
equal  distance  to  the  county  line,  the  point 
of  leaving  the  county  being  about  seventeen 
miles  farther  south  than  the  point  of  en- 
trance. 

Adjacent  to  this  river  are  rough  hills,  well 
grassed  and  ideal  for  grazing.  The  valley 
is  generally  narrow,  but  widens  in  many 
places,  where  are  found  excellent  meadows, 
early  appropriated  by  enterprising  ranch- 
men. 

Next  in  importance,  and  perhaps  serving 
a  greater  population,  is  White  river,  finding 
its  sources  in  many  springs  and  spring 
branches  from  the  canyons  north  and  south 
of  Harrison,  and  north  of  Andrews  and 
Glen.  This  water  shed  net  only  furnishes 
water  for  irrigating  the  farms  along  the  val- 


278 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


leys,  but  also  for  the  domestic  use  of  the 
city  of  Crawford. 

In  the  south  central  part  of  the  county  are 
the  many  sources  of  Snake  creek,  or  Snake 
river,  which  early  had  a  much  more  attrac- 
tractive  name,  "Bluewater."  Bordering-  val- 
leys, flat  and  sub-irrigated,  forming  natural 
meadows,  are  in  many  branches.  Ranches 
are  to  be  found  in  all  the  attractive  places. 

Good  dry-land  farms  are  to  be  found  north 
and  east  of  the  creek,  while  to  the  south  are 
rough,  sandy  and  broken  plains,  furnishing 
what  is  necessary  for  the  ideal  of  ranching, 
an  early  spring  range.  The  warming  sun 
strikes  a  quick  response  from  these  low 
sandy  ridges,  and  grass,  far  enough  along 
for  grazing,  is  often  ten  days  earlier  here 
than  in  other  parts  where  the  soil  is  of  dif- 
ferent character. 

South  of  the  central  part  of  the  county, 
and  along  its  west  border,  is  Sheep  creek. 


"Feeding  Time,"  Nicholson  Bros.'  Ranch 

principally  valuable  for  stock  water  for  the 
first  ten  miles  after  its  entry  from  Wyoming, 
the  valley  being  narrow  and  the  bordering 
lands  best  suited  for  grazing.  About  eight 
miles  north  of  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
county,  this  stream  crosses  the  government 
irrigation  canal.  Here  the  valley  widens, 
and  the  stream  flow  increases  from  the 
waters  percolating  through  the  ground  from 
irrigation  on  the  bench  lands  adjoining. 
Parts  of  the  valley  are  well  farmed  and  other 
parts  are  marshlike  and  wet.  The  bench- 
lands  to  the  west  are  called  Iowa  flats,  and 
to  the  east  are  called  the  Dutch  flats,  both 
being  exceedingly  fertile  and  well  farmed. 

Spottedtail  springs  are  near  the  south  line 
of  the  county,  about  centrally  east  and  west. 
The  two  branches  of  the  valley  bear  the 
names  of  Wet  Spottedtail  and  Dry  Spotted- 
tail,  formerly  characterizing  the  conditions 
obtaining.  But  the  building  of  the  govern- 
ment canal,  which  bends  northward  into 
Sioux  county  at  this  point  for  a  number  of 
miles,    has    started    a    number    of    strong 


springs  in  the  dry  branch  and  has  increased 
the  flow  in  the  wet  branch.  The  original 
springs  were  once  a  camping  ground  on  the 
Spottedtail  trail  from  the  Pineridge  reserva- 
tion to  Fort  Laramie.  They  were  later  ap- 
propriated by  ranchmen,  but  now  the  broad 
acres  around  them  are  intensively  farmed, 
and  the  streams  have  been  stocked  with 
trout  wdiich  thrive  therein. 

In  the  north  end  of  Sioux  county  is  the 
Hat  creek  basin,  which  forms  a  drainage 
outlet  for  about  a  dozen  spring  branches. 
This  territory  has  been  the  scene  of  many- 
stirring  adventures.  These  are  related  else- 
where. This  stream  is  used  in  a  small  way 
for  irrigation  but  generally  it  furnishes 
water  for  stock  and  domestic  uses. 

Cottonwood  creek  touches  the  east  edge 
of  the  county  about  nine  miles  south  of  the 
northeast  corner,  and  Crazywoman  creek 
touches  the  northwest  corner  of  the  county 
for  a  few  miles. 

The  territory  now  embraced  in  Sioux 
county  was  first  claimed  by  Spain,  due  to 
Coronado's  trip  from  New  Mexico  into  the 
land  of  Quivera,  which  was  without  doubt 
Nebraska.  After  1739,  when  Mallet  brothers 
made  their  trip  into  the  great  plains,  it  was 
claimed  by  France.  For  a  time  it  was  the 
pawn  of  kings,  but  finally  was  sold  by  Na- 
poleon to  the  United  States.  At  the  time  of 
the  sale  the  Spanish  flag  was  flying  in  Saint 
Louis,  although  the  territory  was  technical- 
ly the  property  of  France.  To  complete  the 
transfer  the  Spanish  flag  came  down  and  the 
French  flag  went  up.  The  French  inhab- 
itants of  the  city  were  wildly  demonstrative 
of  the  event,  and  asked  that  it  might  remain 
there  for  a  day  that  they  could  properlv  cel- 
ebrate. This  request  was  granted.  The  pur- 
chase was  made  in  1803.  but  the  transfer 
took  place  in  March.  1804. 

Recently  Nebraska  seems  to  have  shown 
the  existence  of  prehistoric  races,  although 
for  many  years  no  trace  of  such  were  to  be 
found.  This  race  seems  to  have  utterly  dis- 
appeared. They  apparently  lived  in  under- 
ground houses,  probably  due  to  the  rigorous 
climate,  and  the  lack  of  fuel  on  the  great 
plains.  That  these  peoples  were  as  far  west 
as  Sioux  county  is  not  yet  demonstrated. 
There  were,  however,  found  ancient  ruins 
north  of  Bridgeport  and  near  Agate,  about  a 
half  a  century  ago.  Those  near  Agate  were 
on  the  top  of  a  high  hill  after  the  manner  of 
the  Aztec  ruins  of  the  southwest.  Yet  ac- 
cording to  the  best  authorities,  I  am  led  to 
the  opinion  that  the  ruins  were  left  by  the 
Paducas  or  Comanches  about  the  year'eigh- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


279 


teen  hundred,  before  they  went  south  to  the 
Arkansas  river.  The  Cheyennes,  the  Ara- 
pahoes  and  the  Sioux  each  have  had  a  period 
in  this  land,  while  Assinaboines  and  Crows 
came  at  intervals.  It  is  possible  the  Paw- 
nees hunted  here  while  they  claimed  the 
country  in  the  vicinity  about  Court  House 
rock.  This  however  has  been  the  Sioux 
country  since  it  became  a  land  of  history. 

Fort  Robinson  was  established  May  8, 
1874,  and  was  a  place  of  great  military  activ- 
ity for  many  years.  It  is  on  the  east  edge  of 
the  county,  and  on  both  sides  of  White  river. 


About  two  miles  from  its  western  extremity 
is  the  United  States  wood  reservation  about 
three  and  one-half  miles  square.  The  stories 
of  the  Indian  wars  of  the  early  trappers  in 
this  vicinity,  and  as  well  as  much  of  the  ccw 
man's  story  appears  in  other  parts  of  these 
volumes,  and  need  not  be  repeated  here. 
The  Indian  agencies  known  as  Red  Cloud 
on  White  river,  and  Spotted  Tail  on  the  pine 
ridges  northeast  of  Chadron  were  the  orig- 
inal cause  for  building  Fort  Robinson,  but 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  Black  Hills 
made  it  of  vastly  greater  significance  than  at 
first    intended.      The    two    roads    from    the 


Union  Pacific  railroad,  from  Sidney  and 
Cheyenne,  here  joined  in  one,  going  north  to 
Custer  and  Deadwood. 

Sioux  county  climate  is  not  materially  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  other  parts  of  the  Pan- 
handle of  Nebraska.  It  is  perhaps  a  little 
more  subject  to  severe  storms,  the  most  ex- 
traordinary of  which  was  probably  the 
snowstorm  of  April  seventeenth,  nineteen 
twenty.  This  storm  literally  buried  the 
Northwestern  passenger  train  near  Harri- 
son, and  smothered  some  of  the  dwellings 
nearly  to  the  eaves.  However  the  isother- 
mal lines  do  not  seem  to  give  it  the  low  de- 
gree of  temperature  that  is  occasionally  evi- 
dent two  hundred  miles  farther  to  the  east. 
Rainfall  of  recent  years  has  been  sufficient 
to  raise  ordinary  farm  crops  of  this  altitude 
and  latitude,  but  yields  are  better  if  suppli- 
mented  with  irrigation.  Dry  land  farming 
is  not  a  safe  proposition  under  the  usual 
amount  of  rainfall,  but  the  excessive  precipi- 
tation of  the  last  few  years  may  prove  of  a 
permanent  nature. 

In  all  the  high  prairie  country,  winds  of 
considerable  velocity  are  not  uncommon. 
Before  the  groves  of  the  later  settlers  began 
to  dot  the  prairie  these  winds  were  more 
common  and  more  violent  than  of  later 
years.  Meteoric  conditions  no  doubt  have 
an  important  part  in  the  change. 

In  June,  eighteen  ninety-four,  the  first  in- 
cipient cyclone  to  manifest  its  presence  in 
the  memory  or  chronicles  of  man  made  its 
appearance  near  Gilchrist  center.  In  the 
scattered  settlements  but  little  damage  was 
done,  D.  W.  Wroody  being  about  the  only 
sufferer.    His  sheds  were  blown  down. 

About  February  first,  nineteen  hundred 
four,  the  second  and  last  cyclone  known  to 
Sioux  county  appeared  in  the  Montrose  set- 
tlement, blowing  away  Chris  Wasserburg- 
er's  dwelling  house. 


280 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  II 


FIRST  SETTLERS  AND  EARLY  TOWN  HISTORIES 


The  first  white  people  to  visit  Sioux  coun- 
ty were  probably  Mallet  brothers  related  in 
early  chapters  of  this  book.  Then  the  trap- 
pers' came,  and  Sage  as  early  as  eighteen 
forty-five  made  a  visit  here  in  connection 
with  the  American  Fur  Company.  The  next 
was  the  establishment  of  Fort  Robinson, 
and  then  the  Black  Hills  discovery  of  gold. 
In  the  late  seventies  the  ranchmen  came.  It 
is  difficult  to  call  a  restless  mortal  like  Ed- 
gar Beecher  Bronson  a  ranchman  because 
he  tarried  on  Soldier  creek  for  a  few  weeks 
or  months,  or  on  the  Niobrara  river  a  sim- 
ilar length  of  time.  There  were  many  fly- 
by-nights  that  came  and  tarried,  then  went 
on  into  oblivion,  or  distinction  as  the  case 
may  be,  that  are  as  entitled  to  be  called 
ranchmen  as  is  Bronson. 

First  Ranches 

Emmons  &  Brewster  built  the  first  ranch 
in  Sioux  county  about  twelve  or  fifteen 
miles  northwest  of  the  present  site  of  Har- 
rison. The  surveyors  of  1878  place  this 
ranch  upon  the  map,  and  while  several 
others  were  located  at  or  near  the  same 
time,  they  were  not  in  evidence  when  the 
surveyor's  parties  ran  the  meridians  and 
parallels.  Newman's  ranch  and  Hunter  & 
Evans'  ranch  were  in  the  east  portion,  now 
Sheridan  and  Cherry  counties,  and  Col. 
Charles  Coffee  came  to  Hat  creek  about 
that  time.  Down  on  the  Niobrara  river 
Doctor  Graham  was  building  the  Agate 
ranch,  which  has  become  historic. 

As  distinguished  from  ranchmen  the  first 
real#  settlers  arrived  about  eighteen  eighty- 
one*  They  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort 
for  the  protection  it  gave  them.  L.  E.  Bel- 
den  was  the  first.  John  Foxwell  came,  but 
did  not  stay  long.  Daniel  Klein  arrived  soon 
after.  The  Rigdons  arrived  the  same  year, 
or  eighteen  eighty-two.  Then  came  Henry 
Kreman,  who  now  has  the  old  Foxwell 
place. 

The  first  school  was  established  here  in 
eighteen  eighty-three,  with  Klein  the  first 
director  and  Mary  Delahunty  the  first  teach- 
er. Ezra  Tucker,  Wm.  Raum,  Bill}-  Har- 
mon, Dave  Calville  and  the  Rodgers  folks 
arrived  soon  after. 

Not  main-  settlers  arrived  until  eighteen 
eighty-five.  When  J.  H.  Newlin  came  in 
eighteen  eighty-five,  he  lived  on  the   Klein 


place  for  awhile.  Mr.  Newlin  is  now  pub- 
lisher of  the  Sioux  County  Journal  at  Har- 
rison. 

First  Events  of  Interest 
The  first  white  child  born  in  Sioux  county 
in  the  Harrison  sector  was  Miss  Sadie  Mor- 
ris, daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Morris, 
who  settled  on  Sowbelly  creek  in  eighteen 
eighty-five.  It  is  possible  that  there  were 
born  children  at  the  fort  in  an  earlier  year, 
but  they  were  transient,  and  there  is  no  rec- 
ord. Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Zimmerman,  who 
also    arrived    in    eighteen    eighty-five,    believe 


this  to  be  the  first  known  or  recollected 
birth.  This  is  also  the  recollection  of  Daniel 
Klein,  who  settled  on  White  river  in  1882. 

The  first  wedding  was  that  of  Carl  Lux 
and  Rena  Fellers  in  eighteen  eighty-five. 

The  first  death  and  burial  in  the  cemetery 
at  Harrison  was  an  elderly  stranger  who 
died  alone  in  his  tent  just  as  the  railroad  was 
building  into  Harrison.  The  next  was  that 
of  Mrs.  W.  E.  Fiddler.  The  Fiddlers  arrived 
in  eighteen  eighty-seven,  and  were  living  in 
a  tent  wagon.  Mrs.  Fiddler  was  a  victim  of 
the  great  white  plague,  arriving  in  the  high- 
er altitudes  and  among  the  pines  too  late  to 
stop  its  ravages. 

Mrs.  Katherine  Graham  was  the  first 
white  woman  to  permanently  make  her 
home  in  Sioux  county.  She  still  resides 
with  her  daughter  at  the  Agate  ranch.  Mrs. 
Cook  is  the  daughter.  Captain  Ccok  being 
the  present  occupant  of  the  old  Graham 
ranch. 

The  first  religious  services  ever  held  in 
the  count}-  were  at  this  ranch,  Mrs.  Graham 
calling  the  few  neighbors  together,  and  or- 
ganizing a  Sunday  school. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


281 


Jennie  Hunt  was  the  first  teacher  in  Dis- 
trict number  one  before  Sioux  county  was 
organized.  In  eighteen  eighty-eight  she  was 
married  to  W.  E.  Fiddler  whose  wife  died 
the  year  before.  Together  they  went  on 
westward  to  Oregon.  Miss  Hunt  had  fol- 
lowed Miss  Delahunty  as  teacher  in  District 
number  one.  The  latter  had  removed  to  An- 
telopeville  (now  Kimball).  Jennie  Hunt 
was  the  first  teacher  in  Harrison,  then  called 
Bowen,  in  1886.  The  school  in  Harrison  was 
in  the  second  story  of  YVernecke's  furniture 
store,  just  north  of  the  present  Commercial 
hotel.  The  top  story  of  the  store  has  since 
been  removed. 

As  stated,  the  first  permanent  settler  in 
the  White  river  valley  was  L.  E.  Belden, 
who  located  on  what  is  now  known  as  Lake 
ranch,  about  eighteen  eighty-one.  Billy  Bel- 
den, who  resides  at  Harrison,  is  a  son  of  the 
first  settler. 

Before  the  building  of  the  railroad,  the 
people  over  on  Hat  creek  dreamed  of  a  city 
to  be.  John  W.  Hunter  lived  over  there,  and 
he  and  C.  F.  Slingerland  ran  a  store.  They 
wanted  a  post-office,  and  it  needed  a  name. 
Hunter's  little  daughter  was  named  "Ores- 
sa,"  which  was  suggested  as  the  name  for 
the  post-office.  Down  in  Texas,  there  is  a 
shrub  called  "Bodarc."  The  people  of  a 
Texas  community  were  asking  for  a  post- 
office  and  that  it  be  named  "Bodarc." 

In  some  inexplicable  way,  the  department 
at  Washington  crossed  the  names,  and  gave 
the  Texas  post-office  the  name  of  Oressa, 
and  the  Sioux  county  post-office  the  name 
Bodarc.  It  was  quite  a  long  time  before  the 
people  of  Hat  creek  knew  how  it  happened. 

Slingerland  and  Hunter  made  Bodarc  a 
live  place  for  awhile.  They  established  the 
Bodarc  Record  in  the  autumn  of  eighteen 
eighty-six,  just  before  the  election  on  the 
county-seat  question.  Slingerland  went 
overland  to  Crawford  and  there  took  the 
train  to  Omaha  to  get  his  printing  outfit. 
When  the  county-seat  war  was  on,  Slinger- 
land, having  no  job  press,  rode  horseback  to 
Crawford  and  had  tickets  printed,  but  as 
later  shown,  they  did  not  have  enough  votes. 
The  railroad  made  it  an  uphill  fight  to  try  to 
locate  the  county-seat  in  the  Hat  creek 
basin. 

B  KOI  XX  IXC,  OF  I  [arrison 
The  building  of  the  Chicago  ec  Northwest- 
ern line  through  Sioux  county  put  the  first 
railroad  within  its  limits.  In  eighteen 
eighty-six  the  work  reached  the  present  site 
of    Harrison.      The    place    was    then    called 


Summit,  because  of  its  altitude  which  is  for- 
ty-eight hundred  and  seventy-seven  feet 
above  sea  level.  Some  distance  north  of  the 
line  of  the  survey  was  Bodarc,  which  as 
stated  had  a  post-office,  store,  and  news- 
paper, the  Record. 

The  name  of  Summit  was  changed  to 
Bowen  by  the  railroad  so  naming  the  sta- 
tion. There  was  another  Bowen  in  Nebras- 
ka and  therefore  the  name  was  changed  to 
Harrison.  The  town  was  incorporated  May 
third,  eighteen  eighty-nine.  W.  R.  Smith 
was  the  first  chairman  of  the  town  board, 
D.  P.  Davis  was  town  treasurer,  and  Theo. 
Timbers,  marshall  and  street  commissic'iier. 

The  railroad  reached  the  town  in  June, 
eighteen  eighty-six,  and  there  were  a  num- 
ber of  temporary  stores  put  in  near  the  de- 
pot. These  were  generally  boarded  up  a 
few  feet  from  the  ground,  and  had  tents  or 
canvas  for  the  tops.  Sellers  &  Griswold 
were  the  first  to  thus  engage  in  merchandis- 
ing. Anderson  &  Company  opened  the  first 
drug  store  at  the  same  time.  Both  were  east 
of  the  depot  as  it  is  new  located. 

The  first  permanent  building  in  the  town 
for  merchandising  purposes  was  the  Ranch 
Supply  store,  which  building  is  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Marstellers  who  are  engaged  in 
general  merchandise  trade. 

The  census  of  nineteen  twenty  gives 
Bowen  precinct,  including  the  village  of 
Harrison,  a  population  of  six  hundred  twen- 
ty-one. 

POSTOFFICES  AND  POSTMASTERS 

About  eighteen  eighty-one  War  Bonnet 
post-office  was  established  at  the  Emmons 
&  Brewster  ranch,  with  B.  E.  Brewster  as 
post-master.  This  was  the  first  post-office 
in  the  county  outside  of  Fort  Robinson. 

The  offices  at  Agate  and  Bodarc  followed, 
the  latter  being  about  eighteen  eighty-five. 
When  the  new  railroad  town  sprang  up,  Ed 
Satterlee  was  appointed  post-master  of  the 
place.  Will  H.  Davis  was  the  second  to 
have  charge  of  Harrison's  post-office,  then 
came  Mr  Huff,  and  in  the  nineties  J.  !•*..  Mar- 
steller.  Mrs.  Leah  P.  Rice  is  the  present  oc- 
cupant of  the  office. 

The  Court  l  [01  si 
The  question  O  county-seat  location  lay 
between  Harrison  and  Bodarc,  but  the  con- 
test was  short  li\i'd.  Bi  wen  and  llat  creek 
precincts,  Harrison  being  located  in  the  for- 
mer, agreed  to  and  did.  in  eighteen 
eighty-eight,  build  the  presenl  courthouse. 
The  architects    were    Whitney    &    Murphy. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  brick  used  were  burned  on  Sowbelly 
creek.  George  Klein  burned  a  kiln  or  two 
of  brick  on  Spring  creek,  which  he  expected 
to  sell  to  the  builders  of  the  courthouse,  but 
they  could  not  agree  on  price,  so  they 
burned  their  own.  And  this  ended  the  brick 
industry  in  Sioux  county. 

Sowbelly  Creek  Named 

This  creek  and  canyon  obtained  its  pecu- 
liar name  from  a  circumstance  that  occurred 


to  existence  before  the  railroad  reached  the 
county.  It  was  started  by  Charles  F.  Slin- 
gerland.  but  was  later  merged  with  the 
Sioux  County  Herald,  and  Slingerland  went 
east  about  eighteen  eighty-eight  and  is  with 
the  Omaha  Bee  at  this  time. 

The  Newspaper  Records 
No  one  realizes  as  the  days  go  by  what 
the    weekly    record    of    the    country    press 
means  to  the  lover  of  history  in  future  years. 


Sioux  County  Court  House,  FTarriso 


there  during  the  Indian  wars.  A  number  of 
soldiers  on  scout  duty  out  of  Fort  Robinson 
found  themselves  hard  pressed  by  Indians, 
and  were  held  in  close  quarters  until  nearly 
starved  before  the  rescue  party  arrived. 
When  relieved  from  their  tension  of  resist- 
ance they  were  "hungry  enough  to  eat  a  raw 
dog."  The  sole  article  of  provision  which 
the  rescuing  party  had,  was  old  dry-salt 
bacon,  which  in  the  language  of  the  rough 
west  was  called  sowbelly.  Since  then  the 
name  has  clung  to  the  place. 

First  Newspaper 

The    Bodarc    Record    was    the    first    news- 
paper published  in  Sioux  county,  coming  in- 


No  one  can  properly  appreciate  how  much 
the  press  is  doing  for  the  community  until 
he  reads  it  in  the  light  of  years.  After  the 
lapse  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  one  can  read 
understandingly  of  the  period  of  the  record. 
One  can  appreciate  wdiat  provoked  the  out- 
bursts of  wrath  or  satire,  or  the  many  little 
disturbances  that  stirred  the  communities  to 
their  center.  The  country  press  of  thirty  or 
forty  years  ago  said  things  without  the  re- 
straint that  is  seen  today.  There  were  no 
studied  efforts  to  say  a  thing  in  a  way  that 
might  easily  be  understood  another  way. 
There  were  no  veiled  insinuations.  They 
called  a  spade  by  that  name.  In  that  perfect 
expression,  the  world  of  the  time  was  cor- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


283 


rectly  recorded,  and  there  was  no  doubt 
about  it.  Sometimes  we  wonder  if  the  press 
has  deteriorated,  or,  having  taken  cog- 
nizance of  the  weaknesses  and  frailties  of 
ourselves  and  our  brothers,  most  of  us  speak 
with  observance  of  the  rules  of  charity.  The 
next  generation  will  perhaps  understand  us 
better  than  we  understand  ourselves. 

On  September  thirteenth,  eighteen  eighty- 
eight,  the  Sioux  County  Journal  was  born. 
\Y.  E.  Patterson  was  proprietor,  and  L.  J. 
Simmons  was  assistant.  Ed  Satterlee  had 
started  the  Sioux  County  Herald  in  eighteen 
eighty-six.  Charlie  Verity  ran  it  for  a  while. 
He  referred  to  Slingerland  of  the  Record  as 
"The  Bucktown  dude"  because  he  wore  a 
Prince  Albert  coat.  The  Bodarc  Record  was 
moved  to  town  and  merged  with  the  Herald 
at  a  later  date. 

In  August,  eighteen  ninety-two,  volume 
one,  number  one  of  the  Independent  ap- 
peared. It  was  published  by  A.  L.  Baum- 
gartner.  This  paper  burned  out  not  long 
after  it  started,  and  the  proprietor  came  very 
near  losing  his  life  in  the  fire.  He  was  evi- 
dently discouraged  in  the  venture,  for  he 
sold  the  paper  to  Charles  E.  Verity  in  No- 
vember, eighteen  ninety-three. 

The  Herald  was  published  by  Ed  Satter- 
lee on  a  street  fronting  the  present  site  of 
the  depot  at  Harrison,  and  the  post-office 
was  next  to  it.  Judge  Hunter  had  started 
the  Republican  at  Bodarc,  for  the  purpose, 
so  his  political  enemies  declared,  of  having 
an  organ  through  which  he  could  exploit  his 
theories  and  opinions.  That  some  of  these 
opinions  were  not  of  the  highest  and  the 
judge  had  a  sharp  way  about  putting  the 
matter,  we  do  not  wonder  that  his  enemies 
endeavored  to  make  light  of  his  venture. 

Satterlee  turned  over  the  control  of  the 
Herald  to  Mr.  Davis,  who  arranged  the  con- 
solidation of  the  Republican  therewith. 
Davis  was  chairman  of  the  republican  coun- 
ty central  committee,  and  president  of  the 
Harrison  town  club.  The  year  before  Davis 
had  been  the  candidate  of  the  republicans 
for  county  attorney,  but  had  withdrawn, 
giving  Satterlee,  the  democratic  candidate, 
a  clean  field.  This  had  made  rampant  par- 
tisans, and  enemies  of  both  Satterlee  and 
Davis  about  as  mad  as  they  could  be.  So 
that  when  Davis  took  over  the  Herald  from 
Satterlee,  they  declared  it  was  a  part  of  the 
trade. 

W.  E.  Patterson  of  the  Journal  sold  his 
interest  to  L.  J.  Simmons,  who  in  turn  sold 
out  to  George  Cannon.  About  nineteen 
hundred  Cannon  sold  the  outfit  to  George 


Phipps,  and  Phipps  later  passed  the  title  to 
Cleo  (or  Howard)  Burke.  Burke,  in  Janu- 
ary, nineteen  hundred  five,  sold  it  to  J.  H. 
Newlin,  and  went  to  Bridgeport. 

The  Harrison  Sun,  which  came  into  ex- 
istence May  eleventh,  nineteen  hundred, 
was  started  by  Win.  II.  Ketchmun,  then  of 
the  Crawford  Tribune,  and  L.  C.  Wright.  It 
had  been  purchased  by  Newlin  in  the  fall  of 
nineteen  hundred  three,  and  he  had  taken 
possession  in  February  following.  He  con- 
solidated the  Sun  with  the  Press-Journal, 
and  later  dropped  the  first  part  of  the  name. 
Under  his  efficient  management,  the  Jour- 
nal is  the  only  paper  published  in  Sioux 
county  at  the  present  time. 


J.  H.  Newlin  came  to  Sioux  county  about 
thirty-five  years  ago,  and  has  since  made  it 
his  home.  He  first  taught  school  and  was 
active  in  educational  work.  Miss  Ella  M. 
Conner  in  eighteen  eighty-eight  was  teach- 
ing the  Bodarc  school  when  she  and  Mr. 
Newlin  met.  Miss  Conner  was  from  near 
Plattsmouth  and  had  been  attracted  to  the 
better  wage  schedule  or  the  homestead  pos- 
sibilities in  the  Harrison  country.  J.  H. 
Newlin  and  Miss  Ella  Conner  were  married 
May  twenty-ninth,  eighteen  ninety.  Both 
were  in  the  first  teachers'  institute  in  Sioux 
county,  and  both  are  yet  living. 

They  have  two  living  daughters  :  one  mar- 
ried Milo  E.  Wolff  and  they  live  on  a  ranch 
in  Wyoming,  thirty  miles  northwest  of  Har- 
rison. Bessie,  the  other  daughter  is  at  home 
and  assists  on  the  Journal,  in  the  news 
notes,  the  business  department,  and  the  lin- 
otype department.  Both  Jessie  and  Bessie  are 
state  normal  graduates,  and  hold  life  teach- 
ers' certificates. 

The  compiler  of  these  historic  note-  owes 
much  to  the  generous  use  of  old  files,  and 
the  memory  of  Mr.  Newlin,  ami  his  kindly 
assistance  in  other  ways. 

Ed.  Satterlee 

The  name  of  Ed.  Satterlee  stands  out  con- 
spicuously in  Sioux  county  history.  He  was 
the  first  "county  clerk,  named  by  the  gov- 
ernor as  special  county  clerk,  to  prepare  for 
the  first  regular  election  of  the  county  at  its 
organization.  He  was  the  first  post-master 
ofHarrison,  or  Bowen  as  ii  was  then  called. 
He  started  the  first  newspaper  in  Harrison. 
lie  was  also  the  first  county  attorney  elect- 
ed at  the  first  regular  election. 

I  knew  Satterlee  as  a  landlord  when  he 
ran  the  Blaine  hotel  at  Chadron.     1  doubt  if 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


there  was  one  single  knight  of  the  grip  that 
knew  him,  but  that  sincerely  regretted  the 
illness  and  permanent  incapacity  that  made 
it  necessary  for  him  to  retire  from  business. 


On 


Activi 


There  are  others  that  were  active  officially 
and  otherwise  in  the  early  history  of  which 
brief  mention  should  be  made,  aside  from 
references  to  them  in  some  of  the  stories 
told  in  this  work.  There  was  J.  E.  Marstel- 
ler,  who  came  in  eighteen  eighty-six,  when 
Harrison  (then  called  Summit)  was  a  tent 
town;  who  worked  first  at  the  carpenter 
trade  and  then  for  a  long  time  was  engaged 
in  mercantile  lines.  There  is  Geo.  Gerlock, 
cowpuncher,  business  man,  banker;  John  A. 


Anderson,  who  came  cut  to  the  Emmons  & 
Brewster  ranch  in  the  early  days ;  Ed.  F. 
Pontius,  who  has  been  in  public  and  semi- 
public  life  for  about  thirty-five  years ;  the 
Davis  family,  the  Schnurrs,  the  Jordans,  the 
McGinleys,  the  Halls,  the  Lowrys.  the 
Wertz's,  the  Meyers.  Fred  now  being  county 
treasurer;  the  Cherrys,  Earl  Cherry  being 
the  county  clerk  and  to  whom  this  chron- 
icler feels  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  assistance 
in  compiling  this  history. 

The  list  of  officials  in  Sioux  county  for 
efficiency  from  beginning  to  the  present 
time,  stand  high  in  the  counties  of  the  Pan- 
handle. The  records  were  and  are  well  kept, 
and  these  that  we  have  met  are  splendidly 
courteous  and  will  go  out  of  their  way  to 
accommodate   the   public  and   the   stranger. 


CHAPTER  III 


MEDICAL     FRATERNITY 


■THE     BAR  — STORY 
CHURCHES 


OF     THE     SCHOOLS 


Doctor  Graham  was  the  first  resident  doc- 
tor of  Sionx  count}-,  and  he  was  a  ranchman, 
and  not  a  regular  practitioner. 

The  first  doctor  to  register  in  Sioux  coun- 
ty was  George  Jefferson  Shafer.  Some  time 
before  registration  was  started  he  attended 
the  sick.  He  came  with  the  beginning  of 
the  town  of  Harrison.  Frank  Dooley  Bur- 
gess was  the  next  to  register,  in  eighteen 
eighty-nine,  but  he  does  not  seem  to  be  re- 
membered as  a  resident  doctor,  and  more 
than  likely  lived  outside  the  county.  In 
eighteen  ninety  the  name  of  Doctor  J.  L.  A. 
Ziegenhagin  appears.  In  the  early  nineties 
Doctor  Bridgeman  and  Doctor  Julian  E. 
Phinney  were  practising  in  the  Harrison 
vicinity.  In  the  late  nineties,  Doctors  L.  W. 
Bowman  and  Levi  J.  C.  Berchard,  regis- 
tered. 

The  first  veterinarian  registered  in  eigh- 
teen ninety-eight  was  Doctor  E.  E.  Barr. 

Shortly  after  nineteen  hundred  Doctors 
Albro  J.  Ames  and  Clyde  Davis  were  prac- 
ticing physicians  in  Sioux  comity.  These 
were  followed  by  M.  A.  Nye,  Richard  L. 
Pans.  George  A.  Matthews,  and  A.  A.  Pot- 
lief. 

Wendell  11.  Priest,  still  a  resident  of  Har- 


rison, registered  in  August,  nineteen  ten,  the 
dean  of  the  profession  at  the  present  time. 

Charles  Avery  Hanson  was  here  in  nine- 
teen eleven,  John  E.  Ramsey  in  nineteen 
fourteen,  and  Doctor  Francis  A.  Borglum 
arrived  in  January,  nineteen  fifteen.  Doctor 
Borglum's  office  is  equipped  with  every  elec- 
trical device  known  to  modern  surgery  and 
practice,  and  he  is  very  active  at  the  present 
time. 

Doctors  Lloyd  Cramer,  Frank  M.  Barns 
and  Jack  Brahams  appear  upon  the  register 
of  nineteen  sixteen,  and  Willis  C.  Tanner  a 
year  later. 

Paul  Herbert  Priest  registered  as  physi- 
cian and  surgeon  in  nineteen  twenty,  being 
the  last  resident  doctor  to  engage  in  prac- 
tice. Earl  Emanuel  Dale  of  Lusk,  some- 
times comes  into  Sioux  county  to  attend 
cases,  and  some  of  the  other  registrants  re- 
side in  other  and  adjoining  counties. 

The  only  resident  doctors  today  are  the 
Priests  and  Borglum. 

Francis  Harrold  Wallace  was  the  only 
dentist  to  register  in  the  county. 

Stella  J.  Phipps  is  the  only  name  appear- 
ing as  a  nurse,  registering  last  year. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


285 


Robert  Wefso,  pharmacist,  registered  in 
nineteen  twenty. 

The  general  health  of  the  community  is 
good.  The  record  of  the  work  done  by  the 
local  fraternity  during  the  World  War,  is  of 
splendid  patriotic  service. 

The  Bench  and  Bar 

Sioux  count)'  has  never  had  the  distinc- 
tion of  naming  a  district  judge  of  her  own 
citizenship.  But  she  has  participated  in  the 
naming  of  distinguished  and  excellent 
judges  who  have  presided  over  her  courts. 
Back  in  the  beginning,  Judge  Gaslin  used  to 
handle  without  gloves  any  of  Sioux  county 
citizens  who  appeared  in  his  court  at  Sidney. 
From  the  fifth  district,  the  tenth  district 
next  included  Sioux  county.  Samuel  L.  Sav- 
age of  Kearney  was  appointed,  then  Francis 
G.  Hamer  was  elected.  The  twelfth  district 
was  created  in  eighteen  eighty-seven,  and 
M.  P.  Kinkaid  was  appointed  judge,  being 
elected  later.  In  eighteen  ninety-one  the 
fifteenth  district  came  into  existence.  A.  W. 
Crites  was  appointed  to  divide  the  work  of 
the  district.  Alfred  Bartow  of  Chadron  suc- 
ceeded Crites,  and  in  eighteen  ninety-six 
W.  H.  Wrestover  became  judge  in  the  place 
of  Bartow.  J.  J.  Harrington  took  the  place 
of  Kinkaid  in  nineteen  hundred.  The  six- 
teenth judicial  district  was  created  in  nine- 
teen twelve,  including  Sioux  county,  and 
Judge  Westover  still  presides  when  district 
court  is  held  in  this  county. 

Thus  for  over  twenty-five  years  Judge 
W.  H.  Westover  has  been  chosen  and  re- 
chosen  by  the  people  of  his  district.  Of  late 
years  there  has  been  no  opposition  at  the 
elections. 

Membership  of  the  Sioux  county  bar  is 
pretty  well  reflected  in  its  official  list  of 
county  prosecutors.  First  again  we  find  the 
name  of  Ed  Satterlee.  W.  H.  Davis  was 
contemporaneous  of  the  time,  and  John  W. 
Hunter  soon  followed  as  a  practitioner.  In 
the  nineties  there  were  Geo.  Walker,  Hugh 
L.  Conley,  Alvin  T.  Clark.  Grant  Guthrie 
and  perhaps  some  others.  M.  J.  O'Connell 
was  teaching  school  in  eighteen  ninety- 
seven.  He  practiced  law  in  Harrison  for  ten 
years  after  about  eighteen  ninety.  W.  A. 
McMann  was  at  Bodarc  for  a  time,  and  R.  L. 
Wilhite,  now  of  Gordon,  was  here  for  a  time. 

Fern  Samuel  Baker  came  to  Harrison 
about  a  decade  ago  and  is  the  present  county 
prosecutor.  Colonel  J.  W.  Hartwell  and 
Mr.  Baker  now  constitute  the  total  resident 
membership  of  the  bar  of  Sioux  count}'. 


The  Story  of  the  Schooi  - 
As  heretofore  stated  the  first  school  or- 
ganized in  Sioux  county  was  while  it  was 
yet  unorganized  territory,  and  attached  to 
Cheyenne  county.  Jo.  Oberfelder  was  then 
county  superintendent  at  Sidney.  In  eigh- 
teen eighty-three  he  came  to  Fort  Robinson 
and  organized  district  number  one,  just  west 
of  the  fort.  He  brought  along  Miss  Mary 
Delahunty  from  Lexington,  who  had  been 
engaged  to  teach.  There  were  few  pupils  in 
the  school  that  did  not  have  Indian  blood  in 
their  veins.  There  were  half-breeds  and 
quarter-bloods,  which  with  five  white  chil- 
dren, made  forty-two  of  them.  District 
number  two  in  the  unorganized  Sioux  coun- 
ty was  farther  east  and  in  territory  not  in- 
cluded in  the  county  when  it  adopted  organ- 
ization. 


District  number  three  was  organized 
when  Julia  Shelton  was  superintendent  of 
Cheyenne  county,  or  on  August  fifth,  eigh- 
teen eighty-six.  This  came  within  the  coun- 
ty when  organization  was  effected.  There- 
fore number  one  and  number  three,  which 
were  near  the  old  fort,  are  the  two  oldest  dis- 
tricts in  the  county,  and  both  antedate  the 
county.  Sioux  county  records  give  little  his- 
tory of  number  one,  except  that  Jacob  Klein 
was  the  director.  Of  number  two.  Win.  A. 
Raum  petitioned  for  its  organization,  the 
election  was  held  at  the  residence  of  Win 
M.  Pennington,  and  the  officers  elected 
were:  F.  McProcunier,  moderator;  J.  B. 
Pequett,  director,  and  Wm.  M.  ('daze,  treas- 
urer. 

District  number  four,  which  was  also  or- 
ganized by  Julia  Shelton,  November  first, 
eighteen  eighty-six,  was  another  of  the  older 
districts,  and  adjoins  the  fort  on  the  north. 
The  election  in  this  district  was  held  at  the 
residence  of  Robert  Tally.  The  officers 
elected  were:  Wm.  Harmon,  mo 
Chas.  Saxton,  director,  and  John  Spear. 
treasurer. 


286 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  first  district  organized  after  the  crea- 
tion of  the  county  government  was  number 
two,  taking  the  number  which  had  been  set 
off  into  one  of  the  counties  to  the  east.  This 
was  organized  January  seventh,  eighteen 
eighty-seven,  in  the  vicinity  of  Glen.  B.  F. 
Thomas,  the  first  county  superintendent  of 
the  organized  county,  created  it,  and  the 
first  officers  thereof  were:  Henry  Rogers, 
moderator ;  John  S.  Tucker,  director,  and 
Chas.  T.  Kyle,  treasurer.  Thomas  also  cre- 
ated fifteen  other  districts  during  his  term 
of  office.  Between  March  fourth  and  De- 
cember fifteenth  of  eighteen  eighty-seven, 
Superintendent  Thomas  issued  teachers' 
certificates  to  nineteen  persons,  eleven  of 
which  were  to  girls  and  women  and  the 
others  to  boys  and  men.  Four  were  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  and  seven  were  twenty- 
one  or  over,  and  only  three  above  twenty- 
five. 

Certificate  number  one  went  to  Minnie 
Thomas,  aged  nineteen ;  number  two  to 
Montie  Cooper,  aged  eighteen^,  number 
three  to  Cora  Smith,  aged  seventeen,  and 
the  others  in  the  following  order:  Edith  E. 
Hunt,  Julia  A.  Baurret,  Ben  B.  Smith,  Lor- 
ena  Thomas,  E.  E.  Blewett,  Jane  D.  Hunt, 
William  V.  Mitchell,  Cora  Secher,  Mrs. 
Louie  Moore,  Elsie  Merriam,  M.  J.  O'Con- 
nell,  Ellen  Woody,  Mrs.  Belle  E.  Moseby, 
Chas.  Groves,  John  W.  Graham,  and  Geo.  A. 
Ainsworth. 

S.  W .  Cox  succeeded  Thomas  as  superin- 
tendent, and  during  his  term  there  were  cre- 
ated nine  new  districts.  Five  more  were 
created  under  A.  Southworth,  who  followed 
Cox.  In  eighteen  ninety-one  Superinten- 
dent Cox  made  a  separate  record  for  all  cer- 
tificates issued,  which  plan  was  generally 
followed  until  nineteen  hundred  five,  when 
the  new  law  was  adopted  that  changed  the 
issuance  of  certificates  to  the  state  superin- 
tendent. 

The  first  state  apportionment,  made  Janu- 
ary first,  eighteen  ninety  was  five  hundred 
twenty  dollars  and  thirty-five  cents.  There 
were  twenty-three  districts  and  five  hun- 
dred and  eighty-two  pupils  in  the  county. 
The  July  apportionment  was  twenty-three 
dollars  and  one  cent  more  than  that  of  Jan- 
uary, there  was  one  more  district  and  twen- 
ty more  pupils. 

The  growth  of  the  schools  of  this  county 
is  shown  by  the  records  of  the  present  day 
in  comparison  with  the  above.  There  are 
eighty-five  districts  in  the  county,  and  a 
total  of  twelve  hundred  and  nineteen  pupils. 
There  is  a  shortage  of  teachers  to  go  around 


if  all  the  schools  held  their  terms  at  the  same 
time.  Only  eighty-one  teachers  are  avail- 
able. Six  of  the  schoolhouses  are  of  sod,  five 
of  logs  and  the  others  are  frame,  except  one 
of  stone.  Nearly  all  of  them  are  in  good  re- 
pair. There  are  no  districts  without  funds 
to  maintain  four  months'  school — the  mini- 
mum required  by  law. 

The  state  apportionment,  due  to  increased 
revenue  from  the  school  lands  is  now  higher 
than  it  was  prior  to  nineteen  seventeen. 
While  commissioner  of  public  lands  and 
buildings  in  nineteen  seventeen  and  eigh- 
teen, this  writer  inaugurated  a  new  policy 
which  has  been  followed  since,  a  higher  val- 
uation of  school  lands.  The  result  is  that 
nineteen  twenty-one  apportionment  from 
the  state  is  nearly  two  dollars  per  pupil  for 
January,  or  a  total  of  twenty-three  hundred 
fifty-eight  dollars  and  sixty  cents,  as  com- 
pared with  approximately  one  dollar  as 
shown  by  earlier  reports.  In  eighteen  nine- 
ty it  was  less  than  eighty  cents  per  pupil  as 
shown  by  the  apportionment  of  July  fifth. 

There  are  no  consolidated  districts  in  the 
county,  except  on  the  Dutch  flats.  Three 
schools,  namely  numbers  forty-four,  forty- 
seven,  and  seven,  have  two  or  m'ore  teach- 
ers. The  county  has  the  county  high  school 
plan.  The  Harrison  schools  teach  eight  of 
the  grades  and  the  county  high  school  car- 
ries it  to  the  higher  grades  up  to  twelve. 
Domestic  science  and  agriculture  are  taught 
and  arrangements  are  under  way  for  the 
benefits  of  the  Smith-Hughes  act.  The 
Shumway  act  applies  in  the  county  high 
school.  A  new  high  school  building  for  the 
county  is  under  construction. 

There  are  no  parochial  schools  in  Sioux 
county. 

The  first  teachers'  institute  in  Sioux  coun- 
ty convened  July  twentieth,  eighteen  ninety- 
one  and  continued  ten  days.  Professor  N.  E. 
Leach  and  wife  were  the  instructors.  The 
teachers  in  attendance  were :  Sarah  Par- 
sons. Minnie  Smith.  Will  H.  Davis,  Eva  E. 
Conner,  Ben  B.  Smith.  J.  H.  Newlin,  Elsie 
Merriam.  A.  P.  Babcock,  Mabel  Robinson, 
Minnie  Crane,  Anna  Kirbey,  Myrtle  Zim- 
merman, Mrs.  Sarah  Shaw,  Mrs.  Ella  New- 
lin, Alice  Thomas,  Mrs.  Sadie  Gilles.  Mrs. 
J.  W.  Smith,  and  Lilly  Thomas. 

Of  these,  there  were  five  who  had  one 
hundred  per  cent  perfection  in  attendance, 
promptness  and  standing.  Of  these  five, 
two,  namely.  Will  H.  Davis  and  Elsie  Mer- 
riam were  later  county  superintendents,  and 
one,  J.  H.  Newlin  is  editor  of  Sioux  county's 
only  newspaper. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN'  NEBRASKA 


2S7 


Box  Butte  county,  Dawes  county  and 
Sioux  count}'  now  unite  in  a  teachers'  insti- 
tute, which  is  held  at  Chadron,  the  home  of 
the  state  normal.  In  June,  nineteen  twenty, 
thirty-nine  teachers  from  Sioux  count}-  were 
in  attendance. 

The  Harrison  schools  today  have  the  fol- 
lowing teachers:  Sadie  Trumm,  first  and 
second  grades:  Nell  Osborn,  the  third  and 
fourth;  Genevieve  Reece,  the  fifth  and  sixth, 
and  Mary  Bonsall,  the  seventh  and  eighth. 

In  the  county  high  school,  Edgar  Wright 
is  superintendent:  May  Conn,  domestic  sci- 
ence: Roy  J.  W.  Ely,  agriculture  and  man- 
ual training,  and  Mrs.  Ely,  business  instruc- 
tion, typing,  etc. 

Seventeen  districts  in  the  county  have 
bonded  debt,  only  two  of  which  levy  more 
than  ten  mills  for  the  sinking  fund.  Seven 
districts  have  a  building  fund  with  none 
over  ten  mills.  The  levy  for  the  county  high 
is  eight  mills,  and  the  total  county  levy  for 
other  purposes  is  twelve  and  one-tenths 
mills,  and  the  total  county  levy  for  other 
purposes  is  twelve  and  one-tenth  mills. 
Harrison  village  has  a  levy  of  fifty  mills  for 
all  purposes. 

Mrs.  Fred  Meyers,  the  present  efficient 
county  superintendent,  assisted  the  compiler 
in  collaborating  the  data,  in  this  story  of  the 
Sioux  county  schools,  which  work  is  much 
appreciated. 

The  Churches 

Rev.  J.  A.  Scamahorn,  the  pioneer  minis- 
ter of  Gordon,  was  the  first  ordained  minis- 
ter to  hold  services  in  Sioux  county,  so  far 
as  we  have  been  able  to  learn.  He  followed 
the  building  of  the  railroad  to  Summit,  now 
Harrison. 

True,  there  were  services  held  in  the 
homes  of  the  county,  and  possibly  at  Fort 
Robinson,  prior  to  that  time.  It  is  known 
that  the  first  services  held  in  the  county, 
outside  of  those  of  which  we  find  no  record, 
at  the  fort,  were  on  the  Niobrara  river  at 
Agate,  or  the  Graham  ranch. 

Mrs.  Katherine  Graham,  wife  of  Doctor 
Graham,  who  located  the  ranch  in  eighteen 
seventy-eight,  called  the  few  neighbors  and 
the  cowboys  together  and  held  services  at 
regular  intervals  after  that  date. 

Reverend  J.  H.  Skinner  in  eighteen  eigh- 
ty-eight came  to  Harrison  and  preached  in 
a  building  on  Main  street  where  the  Lowry 
hotel  is  now  situated,  until  the  first  Meth- 
odist church  was  built.  Reverend  J.  F. 
Lusk  occupied  the  Methodist  pulpit  in 
eighty-nine    and    ninety.      E.    E.     Rorick  fol- 


lowed, and  then  W.  C.  Glasner.  In  ninety- 
three  Reverend  J.  W.  (Wick)  Kendall  as- 
sumed the  charge.  He  was  followed  by 
Chas.  E.  Connell,  and  then  D.  I.  Clark,  and 
in  ninety-eight  J.  L.  (Jce)  Kendall.  W.  R. 
Warren  was  here  in  nineteen  hundred,  and 
then  C.  L.  Smith  and  J.  F.  Youngman. 
W.   C.    Daniels    was   next,   and    then    A.    R. 


Methodist  Ch 


York  followed  by  A.  H.  York.  Reverend 
Meyer  was  the  minister  in  nineteen  ten, 
C.  E.  Carter  in  twelve,  and  Joseph  Snowden 
in  the  latter  part  of  thirteen.  Geo.  H. 
Wehn,  O.  H.  Albertson  and  Edward  McGill 
followed  in  turn,  and  in  September,  nine- 
teen twenty.  Reverend  Clare  L.  Yan  Metre 
arrived  and  he  has  splendidly  followed  up 
the  work.  The  church  now  has  a  member- 
ship of  about  one  hundred  and  the  Sunday 
school  an  enrollment  of  one  hundred  seven- 
ty-two. A  new  and  modern  church  edifice 
is  contemplated  in  the  near  future. 

Harrison's  other  church  is  the  Catholic's. 
When    the    town    was   new.   Father   Carroll 


-iF 

^_ — 

> 

y 

I^J^i 

C  ATI1I11. 


II  \KKI.-o 


used  to  come  from  Crawford  and  hold  ser- 
vices. The  Catholic  church  at  Harrison  was 
built  about  nineteen  eleven,  and  Father  Mc- 
Mann,  the  resident  priest  of  Crawford,  holds 
services  here  once  each  week,  alternating 
between  Saturdays  and  Sundays.  The  mem- 
bership is  about  seventy.     There  is  also  a 


2SS 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Catholic  organization  at  Montrose  which  is 
served  by  a  priest  from  Ardmore. 

Lutherans  have  an  organization  at  Har- 
rison, and  Reverend  H.  Sagehorn  comes 
from  Crawford  once  every  three  weeks,  and 
holds  service. 

The  young  people  of  Harrison  are  taking 
active  interest  in  church  work,  and  through 


their  splendid  service,  the  future  of  the 
churches  here  will  be  an  excellent  part  in 
the  building  of  the  character  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  county.  Ladies'  organiza- 
tions auxiliary  to  church  endeavor  is  here 
particularly  active,  especially  the  Ladies' 
Aid,  which  is  all  that  the  name  implies. 


CHAPTER  IV 
BANKING  AND  FINANCE  — FRATERNAL   ORGANIZATIONS —  INDUSTRIES 


The  story  of  the  banks  in  Sioux  county 
tells  the  story  of  its  material  progress  only 
in  part,  because  many  of  Sioux  county 
people  do  their  banking  in  adjoining  coun- 
ties :  Lusk  and  Torrington,  Wyoming ;  Ard- 
more, South  Dakota;  Crawford,  Heming- 
ford,  Marsland,  Alliance,  Henry,  Morrill, 
Mitchell,  Scottsbluff,  and  Minatare,  all  the 
latter  named  in  Nebraska,  each  have  some 
of  the  finances  of  Sioux  county  people  to 
look  after  and  handle.  This  leaves  the 
banks  at  Harrison  only  a  portion  of  the 
county  business.  Scotts  Bluff  county  banks 
probably  do  as  much  Sioux  county  business 
as  the  banks  of  the  county  itself. 

Nevertheless  the  resume  of  banking  af- 
fairs from  the  time  when  two  per  cent  a 
month  was  not  unreasonable  interest  to  the 
present  day  of  the  federal  reserve  and  bank 
guarantee  laws,  is  interesting  reading. 

C.  E.  Verity  and  S.  H.  Jones  established 
the  first  bank  in  Harrison  and  Sioux  county. 
This  was  in  eighteen  eighty-seven,  the  year 
following  the  organization  of  the  county. 
Verity  had  been  the  deputy  special  county 
clerk  at  the  organization  of  the  county,  and 
Jones  was  the  first  justice  of  peace  in  the 
county  to  qualify.  The  bank  was  called  the 
Bank  of  Harrison. 

The  next  bank  organized  was  called  the 
Commercial  State  Bank.  B.  E.  Brewster 
was  president ;  C.  F.  Coffee  the  vice  presi- 
dent, and  Chas.  C.  Jameson,  cashier.  The 
names  of  these  three  men  have  been  written 
in  large  letters  upon  the  northwestern  part 
of  Nebraska.  March  seventeenth,  nineteen 
hundred  four,  this  bank  had  a  capital  of  ten 
thousand,  and  ten  thousand  surplus,  with 
thirty-one  thousand,  one  hundred  seventy- 
six  dollars  and  ninety-one  cents  of  undivided 


profits.  Its  total  deposits  were  about  one 
hundred  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  its  loans 
and  discounts  about  ninety  thousand,  and 
overdrafts  less  than  four  hundred  dollars. 
Knowing  the  lean  years  of  ninety-three  and 
ninety-four,  this  statement  measured  up 
well  with  any  of  the  banks  of  the  state  sim- 
liarly  situated. 

Both  of  these  banks  have  passed  out  of 
existence  or  been  merged  into  the  institu- 
tions of  today.  Following  the  panic  of  nine- 
teen seven,  the  reaction  brought  into  exist- 
ence the  First  National  Bank.  This  was 
organized  and  chartered  in  nineteen  eight, 
and  is  today  one  of  the  most  substantial  in- 
stitutions in  northwestern  Nebraska.  Its 
capital  stock  is  fifty  thousand,  its  surplus 
forty-five  thousand,  and  deposits  over  one- 
half  a  million.  It  has  loans  and  discounts 
reaching  five  hundred  and  seventy-nine 
thousand,  cash  and  exchange,  fifty-eight 
thousand  three  hundred;  real  estate  about 
eleven  thousand,  and  bonds,  stocks  and 
securities  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars,  ac- 
cording to  its  statement  of  December  twen- 
ty-ninth, nineteen-twenty.  The  present  af- 
fairs of  this  bank  are  under  the  efficient  man- 
agement of  A.  L.  Schnurr,  president:  F.  W. 
Clarke  and  Will  H.  Davis,  vice  presidents; 
Theo.  Okerblade,  cashier,  and  De  P.  Davis, 
assistant  cashier. 

Harrison  State  Bank  came  into  existence 
in  nineteen  ten,  with  W.  C.  Reed,  president; 
D.  W.  Hamaker,  vice  president,  and  George 
L.  Gerlach,  cashier.  This  bank  on  Febru- 
ary twenty-first,  nineteen  twenty-one,  had 
twenty  thousand  capital,  five  thousand  sur- 
plus, and  undivided  profits  twenty-eight 
hundred  seventeen.  Its  deposits  were  ap- 
proximately one  hundred  eighteen  thousand, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


289 


and  its  loans  and  discounts  one  hundred  six 
thousand  dollars.  The  bank's  reserve  is 
about  twenty  per  cent,  showing  a  healthy 
condition.  The  present  officers  are:  Geo. 
Gerlach,  president ;  D.  W, .  Hamaker,  vice 
president ;  Wiley  Richardson,  vice  president, 
and  I.  L.  Gerlach,  cashier. 

Many  people  around  Scottsbluff  are  well 
acquainted  with  Mrs.  George  Gerlach, 
whose  acquaintance  they  delighted  in  when 
she  was  living  there  as  Miss  Crete  Powell. 

Under  the  present  stress  and  pressure  of 
the  federal  reserve  and  ethers  high  in 
finance,  and  the  consequent  slump  of  prices 
of  farm  products  and  livestock,  the  banks  of 
Harrison  have  held  up  strongly  and  steadily 
with  "nose  to  the  wind."  Few  in  all  the 
west  have  done  so  proportionately  well. 

Fraternal  Organizations 

The  first  lodge  in  Sioux  county  was  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World.  Harrison  lodge 
number  fifty-eight  was  organized  February 
twenty-fourth,  eighteen  ninety-four.  E.  F. 
Pontius  was  the  first  chief  commander,  and 
V.  A.  Hester,  advocate  lieutenant;  D.  H. 
Griswold  was  banker,  and  F.  A.  Castle  the 
first  clerk.  The  other  charter  members  and 
officers  were:  J.  H.  Scott,  escort;  C.  W. 
Greenlee,  watchman ;  J.  A.  Ambrose,  sen- 
tinel, and  J.  W.  Robinson,  E.  E.  Smiley  and 
Sol  Wrilson,  managers. 

The  lodge  still  thrives  and  has  a  member- 
ship of  fifty-nine  at  the  present  time.  D.  J. 
Bigelow  is  now  chief  commander;  P.  H. 
Unitt,  lieutenant;  F.  W.  Meyer,  banker,  and 
E.  F.  Pontius,  clerk. 

Next  in  the  order  of  seniority  in  fraternals 
in  Harrison  is  the  Modern  Wroodmen  of 
America;  Sioux  camp  number  twenty-nine 
hundred  and  twenty-three.  This  was  organ- 
ized April  twenty-fifth,  eighteen  ninety-five, 
with  an  even  twelve  charter  members,  as 
follows :_  W.  C.  Bonsell,  Albert  R.  Dew, 
J.  E.  Phinney,  Tames  W.  Scott,  Junius  W. 
Smith,  E.  E.  Smilev.  Samuel  L.  Ulery, 
Charles  H.  Unitt,  Joseph  C.  Varley,  T.  6. 
Williams,  H.  S.  YVoodruff  and  Wm.  B. 
Wright.  This  fraternity  also  is  still  a  virile 
institution  with  forty-six  members.  The 
present  officers  are:  worthy  consul.  J:  II. 
Wilhermsdorfer;  advocate,  A.  C.  Davis: 
L.  O.  Lovelace,  clerk;  and  Otto  Pape, 
banker. 

The  first  ladies'  auxiliary  fraternal  was 
Silver  Leaf  Camp  number  thirteen  hundred 
eighty-one,  instituted  February  twenty-fifth, 
eighteen  ninety-nine,  Royal  Neighbors.   The 


charter  members  of  this  lodge  were:  Mrs. 
Kittie  Bowker.  Mrs.  J.  II.  Kartell.  Mrs.  F. 
Avery,  Frank  Avery,  Mrs.  E.  P.  Maine.  Mrs. 
Florence  E.  Wright.  .Miss  Dotha  M.  Bartell, 
J.  H.  Bartell,  Alex.  Dowry,  W.  11.  Wright, 
Goodscn  Lacy,  Mrs.  Matilda  Lacy,  Ed.  V. 
Bowker,  Herman  H.  Dickmann.  Miss  Mabel 
F.  Lowry,  Mrs.  Alice  C.  Lowry,  Mrs.  Mary 
•  Holly,  Mrs.  E,  B.  Pontius,  Mrs.  Wanda  I. 
Davis,  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Sutton,  and  Mrs.  Mary 
E.  Wright.  We  have  not  the  membership 
of  this  order  at  the  present  time,  but  the 
names  of  the  officers  indicate  that  the  Royal 
Neighbors  is  still  a  vital  institution,  and 
keeping  up  the  standards  for  which  it  was 
created.  The  present  officers  are :  Clara 
Unitt,  oracle ;  Elizabeth  Davis,  vice  oracle ; 
Alice  Davis,  recorder,  and  Zua  Wilherms- 
dorfer, receiver. 

The  first  lodge  organized  in  Harrison  out- 
side of  the  fraternal  beneficiary  institutions 
was  that  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  on  August  twenty-seventh,  nine- 
teen hundred  six.  Edward  F.  Pontius  was 
noble  grand.  Other  charter  members  were  : 
J.  H.  Wilhermsdorfer,  W.  H.  Smoke,  J.  H. 
Bieser,  George  Brown,  A.  Glick,  John  A. 
Hanson,  L.  L.  Wilson,  George  F.  Phillips. 
Hans  Knudsen,  George  Rutherford,  and 
Otto  Tietze.  Harrison  lodge  number  three 
hundred  eighteen  as  it  is  called  now,  has 
sixty-seven  members,  all  live,  good  fellow- 
ship members,  and  no  lodge  of  that  order, 
which  order  stands  so  high  in  deeds  of  char- 
ity, and  attention  to  its  sick  and  distressed, 
can  excel  three  hundred  eighteen  in  the 
cause  for  which  it  is  famed.  The  present 
list  of  officers  are  :  C.  T.  Miller,  noble  grand  ; 
L.  M.  Lovell,  vice  grand ;  E.  F.  Pontius,  sec- 
retary, and  A.  L.  Schnurr,  treasurer. 

Wherever  there  is  a  vital  Odd  Fellows 
lodge,  one  finds  a  live  order  called  the 
Daughters  of  Rebekah.  Woodbine  Rebekah 
lodge  number  two  hundred  eighty-one  was 
organized  and  chartered  September  twenty- 
sixth,  nineteen  hundred  ten.  The  full,  wing 
were  the  charter  members:  Mrs.  Z.  F.  Wil- 
hermsdorfer, Miss  Karma  D.  Priddy,  Mrs. 
Maggie  Priddy,  Mrs.  Avis  A.  Burke,  Mrs. 
Ella  M.  Newlin,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Pontius, 
Mrs.  Mattie  A.  Parsons,  Mrs.  Ida  M .  Proc- 
tor, Mrs.  Maude  Shorow,  Mrs.  Emma  Bige 
low,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Bigelow,  Mr-.  Ella  Wil- 
son, Mrs.  Fannie  Murphy,  John  II.  Nfewlin, 
Vernon  Hanson,  Chris  Shorow,  E.  V  Bige- 
low, John  D.  Proctor,  and  William  Murphy. 
Carrie  Woodruff  is  the  present  noble  grand; 
Lulu  Rogers,  vice  grand;  Elsie  Schnurr,  sec- 


290 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


retary.  and  Elizabeth  Pontius,  treasurer. 
The  lodge  meets  the  second  and  fourth 
nights  of  each  month. 

Frequently  the  Masonic  order  is  referred 
to  as  the  parent  of  all  lodges,  the  Kingbee  of 
them  all.  Yet  it  was  the  last  order  to  be 
created  in  Harrison.  Yet  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  first  member  of  any  lodge  that  ever 
walked  the  pine  ridges  and  the  fertile  lands 
around  them  was  a  Mason.  In  the  sign  lan- 
guage of  the  Indians  are  Masonic  symbols. 
Someone  sometime  among  the  aborigines 
gave  them  crude  lessons  in  Masonry. 

Sioux  lodge  number  two  hundred  seventy- 
seven,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons 
was  created  under  dispensation  June  tenth, 
nineteen  ten,  and  chartered  June  sixth,  nine- 
teen eleven.  Its  charter  members  were  John 
A.  Anderson,  Nels  Anderson,  Fern  S.  Baker, 
John  H.  Bieser,  Thomas  S.  Boyd,  William 
W.  Callamore,  William  H.  Davis,  George  L. 
Gerlach,  Francis  M.  Hall,  David  W.  Ha- 
maker,  Daniel  Jordan,  Thos.  C.  Lewis,  An- 
drew McGinley,  John  E.  Mann,  John  Mark- 
ing, Joseph  C.  Parsons,  George  F.  Phillips, 
Edward  F.  Pontius,  Tressie  M.  Powell, 
Walter  C.  Reed,  Albert  L.  Schnurr,  Nathan 
R.  Tisdale,  Charles  H.  Unitt,  Francis  H. 
Wallace,  Cyrus  O.  Wertz,  Jerman  B.  Wil- 
kerson.  There  are  sixty-seven  Mason  mem- 
bers of  this  order  at  the  present  time,  and 
the  officers  now  are:  Tress  M.  Powell, 
worthy  master;  Jesse  Gerlach,  senior  war- 
den; F.  H.  Wallace,  junior  warden,  and 
De  P.  Davis,  secretary. 

Perhaps  in  all  the  Panhandle  of  Nebraska 
there  is  no  place  where  the  fraternity  of  old 
timers  is  as  strong  as  it  is  in  Sioux  county 
and  Harrison.  This  fraternity  is  without 
lodge,  dues,  or  officers,  but  those  who  have 
been  in  the  west  thirty-five  or  forty  years, 
or  longer,  who  have  slept  on  the  sod,  who 
dwelt  in  the  crude  structures  that  first 
served  as  habitations,  who  went  through  the 
years  of  privation  and  distress  together,  are 
more  firmly  bound  together  than  an  oath  or 
obligation  can  bind  men.  The  old-timers 
are  strung  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
county,  from  Joe  Sanford  on  the  south  to 
John  Anderson  on  the  north,  from  Scotty 
Henderson  and  Ben  Swanson  to  the  Wy- 
oming line. 

Stock  Industry 

Back  in  the  beginning  the  buffalo  ranged 
the  pastures  of  Sioux  county,  and  then  came 
the  time  of  the  big  herds  of  cattle.  This  in 
time  passed  and  the  smaller  ranchman  came 
to  be  the  prosperous  builder  of  the  county. 


Due  to  the  livestock  industry,  more  than 
any  one  factor,  the  past  of  the  county  has 
been  a  story  of  progress.  The  eight  years 
just  passed  are  an  illustration  of  what  has 
gone  before  and  what  to  expect  in  the 
future.  Take  the  assessment  rolls  of  nine- 
teen thirteen  to  date  : 

1913 23,576  cattle;     7,697  horses 

1914 20,733  cattle;     7.920  horses 

1915 25,766  cattle;     7,948  horses 

1916 43,057  cattle  ;  10,909  horses 

1917 52,708  cattle;  16.273  horses 

1918 54,362  cattle;  12,179  horses 

1919 56,381  cattle  ;  10.750  horses 

1920 50,672  cattle  ;     9,657  horses 

The  diminishing  numbers,  especially  of 
cattle,  shown  in  the  last  year  was  due  to  the 
action  of  the  federal  reserve  in  demanding 
liquidation  of  debts.  The  increased  uses  of 
automobiles,  trucks  and  tractors  in  the  last 
three  or  four  years  accounts  for  the  decline 
in  the  number  of  horses. 

A  recent  movement  is  to  increase  the 
number  of  dairy  cattle  in  the  county.  This 
means  new  prosperity,  for  where  the  dairy 
cow  goes  there  are  fine  houses  and  big  farms 
and  incidentally  creameries  and  bank  ac- 
counts. The  record  of  one  eastern  bank  is 
an  increase  of  one  million  dollars  due  to 
dairy  cows. 

Also  on  the  modern  farm,  especially 
where  there  is  alfalfa,  hogs  are  found.  That 
Sioux  county  is  coming  into  this  is  shown  in 
a  number  of  places,  especially  in  the  irri- 
gated section  in  the  Morrill  community. 
Also  Reverend  Newlands  of  Glen  recently 
has  put  in  seme  very  fine  stock. 

Industry  and  Progress 

Outside  of  agriculture,  the  industrial  de- 
velopment is  in  its  infancy.  The  general 
character  of  the  county  agriculture  is  ranch- 
ing, except  where  irrigation  is  practical. 
This  is  but  limited,  except  under  the  govern- 
ment irrigation  canal,  in  the  south  part  of 
the  county,  and  here  are  the  fertile  fields  of 
the  Dutch  flats,  the  Iowa  flats,  Sheep  creek 
country  and  the  Spottedtail  region.  Scat- 
tered spots  have  been  irrigated  on  the  Nio- 
brara river.  Snake  creek,  Hat  creek  and 
White  river,  and  where  irrigated  are  won- 
derful yields  of  alfalfa,  potatoes,  sugar  beets 
and  native  hay.  In  the  southwest  corner  are 
fine  homes  surrounded  by  groves,  and  or- 
chards on  nearly  every  eighty  acres.  In 
other  parts  of  the  county,  the  irrigated  tract 
is  usually  an  individual  unit  owned  by  one 
person  for  ranch  or  farm  purposes.    The  co- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  XEBKASK  \ 


291 


operative  effort  is  found  principally  under 
the  Interstate  canal,  although  occasionally 
two  or  three  may  in  places  elsewhere  unite 
in  the  building  of  a  larger  system  than  one 
would  care  to  undertake. 

There  are  no  factories  of  any  kind,  except 
perhaps  the  manufacture  of  cement  stone  or 
brick  and  that  is  very  limited.  At  one  time 
brick  was  burned  on  Hat  creek  or  Monroe 
creek  for  individual  use,  and  at  another  time 
on  Sowbelly  creek  for  the  use  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  court  house,  but  that  ceased  after 
the  special  use  was  over.  To  be  sure,  auto- 
mobile repairs  and  accessories  are  necessary 
in  every  community. 

Oil.  Gas  and  Minerals 

The  virgin  character  of  Sioux  county  soils 
are  being  exploited  at  the  present  time  and 
it  may  be  that  valuable  minerals,  such  as 
vanadium,  thorium,  and  mica  may  be  found 
in  quantity  to  mean  mineral  wealth  to  the 
count}-.  But  the  mind  of  her  people  has 
lately  been  drifting  towards  the  great  prob- 
ability that  oil  and  gas  underlie  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  land.  This  is  emphasized 
by  the  steadily  approaching  discoveries, 
now  just  over  the  line  in  Wyoming  and 
South  Dakota.  So  close  has  this  come  to 
the  border  line  of  Sioux  that  there  is  little 
doubt  but  that  the  same  oil  producing  con- 
ditions obtain  within  the  county  borders. 
Geologists  have  located  a  number  of  favor- 
able structures,  at  least  two  in  the  vicinity 
of  Agate,  and  two  north  and  west  of  Harri- 
son. The  drill  is  steadily  going  down  at 
Agate  on  one  of  these  structures,  and  has 
reasonably  favorable  indication  at  twenty- 
five  hundred  feet.  While  the  matters  are 
not  given  out  concerning  what  the  well  has 
developed,  it  is  believed  that  paying  sands 
have  been  reached,  although  the  promoters 
are  going  to  the  deeper  and  more  produc- 
tive sands. 


A  group  of  Columbus  parties,  including 
lieutenant  governor  Edgar  Howard,  are  ar- 
ranging to  put  up  a  drill  on  Cottonwood 
about  ten  or  twelve  miles  northwest  of  Har- 
rison, and  geologist  G.  W.  Harris  has  been 
upon  the  ground  for  some  weeks  past.  The 
prophesy  is  rife  that  the  first  commercial  oil 


produced  from  a  well  in  Nebraska  will  be  in 
Si<  iux  count}-. 

Fossil  Beds 

The  White  river  rocks  have  proven  a 
wonder  field  for  geologists  and  paleontol- 
ogists the  world  over.  The  White  river 
beds  as  known  geologically  are  not  confined 
to  the  river  as  known  geographically.  In 
fact  the  most  productive  beds  from  a  paleon- 
tological  standpoint  are  not  on  White  river 
at  all,  but  near  Ardmore.  and  Agate.  The 
well  known  collection  of  specimens  of  Chas. 
II.  Morrill  in  the  museum  at  the  Nebraska 
State  L  niversity,  came  largely  from  the 
Ardmore  and  Agate  sections,  while  many  of 
the  best  universities  of  the  world  have  sel- 
ected specimens  from  the  Agate  field.  There 
is  an  inexhaustible  mine  of  rich  geological 
information  on  the  ranch  of  Captain  1.  II. 
Cook. 


292 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  V 
ORGANIZATION  OF  SIOUX  COUNTY  — COUNTY  OFFICIALS 


In  September,  eighteen  eighty-six,  upon 
the  representation  of  E.  D.  Satterlee  and 
others,  Governor  Dawes  issued  a  proclama- 
tion for  the  organization  of  Sioux  county 
with  its  present  boundaries.  As  previously 
stated  the  unorganized  county  was  much 
larger,  but  in  ones  and  twos  and  numbers, 
counties  had  been  taken  from  it  circumscrib- 
ing its  boundaries  to  those  that  now  prevail. 
As  is  stated  in  the  history  of  Dawes  county, 
many  of  the  inhabitants  there  desired  that 
the  new  county  could  keep  the  old  name  of 
Sioux,  but  as  it  was  detached  from  Sioux 
county  it  could  not  take  the  parent  county 
name. 

The  proclamation  of  the  governor  was 
dated  September  twentieth,  eighteen  eighty- 
six.  It  named  J.  G.  Morris,  J.  F.  Pfost  and 
D.  H.  Griswcld  as  special  county  commis- 
sioners, and  E.  D.  Satterlee  as  special  coun- 
ty clerk.  The  date  of  their  beginning  to 
function  was  Friday,  October  first,  and 
Bowen  was  named  the  temporary  seat  of 
county  government.  C.  E.  Verity  was 
named  special  deputy  county  clerk. 

On  that  date  the  commissioners  met  and 
chose  J.  G.  Morris  the  first  chairman  of  the 
board.  Their  first  act  otherwise,  was  to  di- 
vide the  county  into  districts.  District  num- 
ber one  was  all  north  of  the  north  line  of 
township  thirty-two;  district  number  two 
was  all  of  townships  thirty-one  and  thirty- 
two,  and  district  number  three  was  all  south 
of  the  south  line  of  township  thirty-one. 
The  county  was  divided  into  four  voting  pre- 
cincts only,  and  the  clerk  was  instructed  to 
have  ballots  prepared  and  the  election  was 
called  for  November  fourth.  The  precincts 
named  were :  War  Bonnet,  with  the  polling 
place  at  S.  E.  ranch  ;  Bowen  precinct,  with 
polling  place  in  the  building  owned  by  T-  G. 
Morris;  White  river,  with  the  polling  place 
at  the  residence  of  C.  H.  Rigdon,  and  Run- 
ning Water,  with  the  polling  place  at  the 
Robert  Neece  ranch. 

Charles  H.  Andrews  &  Company  fur- 
nished the  rooms  for  the  clerk  and  treasurer 
at  a  rental  of  ten  dollars  a  month.  E.  D. 
Satterlee  and  Company  furnished  the  rooms 
for  the  judge  and  sheriff  for  seven  dollars 
per  mouth,  which  goes  to  show  that  the 
profiteering  landlord  had  not  at  that  time 
reached  the  seal  of  county  government  in 
Sioux    county.     The   county   clerk   was   in- 


structed to  request  C.  L.  Tubbs  to  make  an 
estimate  of  the  costs  of  necessary  county 
furniture  and  to  immediately  provide  six 
plain  chairs  for  his  own  office,  and  two 
chairs  for  the  judge's  office  and  one  high 
stool. 

At  the  election  of  November  fourth  the 
following  officials  were  elected:  Judge, 
C.  E.  Verity;  clerk,  Charles  C.  Jameson; 
treasurer,  Edmund  C.  Lockwood ;  attorney, 
Edward  D.  Satterlee ;  superintendent,  Ben- 
jamin F.  Thomas;  sheriff,  J.  F.  Pfost;  sur- 
veyor, William  M.  Pennington;  coroner, 
Charles  H.  Andrews,  and  commissioners. 
J.  G.  Morris,  A.  M.  McGinley  and  Daniel 
Klein.  The  county  seat  was  located  at  Har- 
rison. 

On  November  twenty-fourth  the  county 
official  paper  was  named  for  the  first  time — 
the  Sioux  County  Herald.  At  the  commis- 
sioners' meeting  of  that  date,  the  necessary 
furniture  for  the  new  county  was  ordered  of 
C.  L.  Tubbs. 

At  the  meeting  of  December  first  a  safe 
was  bought  which  cost  the  county  five  hun- 
dred and  twenty-three  dollars.  A  full  set  of 
county  records  were  also  purchased  of  the 
Omaha  Republican  at  a  cost  of  nine  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  The  following  day  the 
polling  place  of  War  Bonnet  precinct  was 
changed  from  S.  E.  ranch  to  the  ranch  of 
Charles  F.  Coffee  on  Hat  creek. 

The  first  justice  of  peace  in  the  new  coun- 
ty was  S.  H.  Jones,  of  Bowen  precinct,  who 
assumed  the  office  in  January,  eighteen 
eighty-seven.  Chas.  Rigdon,  or  White  river 
precinct,  was  the  second  justice  of  the  peace 
to  qualify  in  the  county.  Stephen  A.  Deck- 
er, of  White  river  precinct,  was  the  first  con- 
stable in  the  county  to  qualify. 

Herd  Law  Repealed 

On  January  twenty-fifth  a  vote  was  taken 
upon  the  question  of  herd  law  or  no  herd 
law.  Previously  to  that  date,  cattle  were 
permitted  under  the  law  to  roam  at  will,  and 
the  homesteader  had  to  protect  his  crops  as 
best  It*  could.  This  election  changed  the 
method  however  for  the  herd-law  carried  by 
a  vote  of  four  hundred  forty-nine  for,  to  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  against. 

Six  precincts  participated  in  this  election 
for  Cottonwood  precinct  on  the  northwest 
and  Whistle  creek  precinct  on  the  southeast 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


293 


had  been  added  and  organized.  The  north 
part  of  the  county  seemed  inclined  to  the  old 
regime  but  Whistle  Creek  and  Running- 
Water  precincts  turned  out  in  full  and  gave 
a  nearly  unanimous  vote  against  free  range. 

On  March  fifteenth  the  county  was  divid- 
ed into  road  districts,  numbering  seven,  and 
road  overseers  supplied  to  each  district  as 
follows:  number  one.  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  county,  Thos.  Holly ;  number  two,  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  county,  Jacob  Mark- 
ing; number  three,  Cottonwood,  Wm.  Har- 
mon; number  four.  White  River,  W.  H. 
Johnson;  number  five,  Bowen,  C.  A.  Pax- 
ton;  number  six,  Running  Water,  J.  W. 
Earnest;  number  seven.  Whistle  Creek, 
Robert  Neice. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  board  was  April 
twenty-ninth,     at     which     the     first     liquor 


New  Road,  Monroe  C, 


Xf.ak   Harrison 


license  in  Sic'itx  county  was  ordered  issued 
to  Charles  H.  Weller,  who  made  it  a  prac- 
tice to  be  about  the  first  man  on  hand  at  the 
towns  along  the  railroad.  Harrison  was  not 
incorporated,  so  it  was  a  county  license  for 
the  precinct  of  Bowen,  and  the  price  was  five 
hundred  dollars. 

There  may  be  no  connection  between  the 
two  incidents  but  the  same  day,  the  board 
decided  that  the  county  needed  a  jail,  and 
M.  Nelson  was  given  the  contract  to  build  it 
for  fifty-four  dollars  and  fifty  cents. 

A  petition  from  the  tax-payers  was  that 
day  presented  to  the  board,  asking  that  the 
school  lands  of  the  county  be  appraised  for 
leasing  purposes.  The  board  proceeded  ti> 
and  did  appraise  the  lands  as  requested  dur- 
ing the  early  season  of  eighteen  eighty- 
seven. 

The  first  petition  for  a  public  mad  was 
filed  at  this  meeting.  It  was  signed  by  John 
W.  Hunter  and  others,  and  was  to  establish 
the  public  road  from  Bodarc  to  Bowenj  The 


road  was  established,  and  with  slight  modi- 
fications is  in  use  at  this  time. 

The  first  brand  committee  appointed  in 
Sioux  count}'  was  in  February,  eighteen 
eighty-seven,  and  consisted  of  George  Wal- 
ker and  Samuel  B.  Coffee. 

Owing  to  the  creation  of  commissioner's 
districts  throwing  two  of  the  members  of 
the  board  in  one  district,  and  one  of  the 
other  districts  being  without  a  member. 
Commissioner  Morris  resigned  March  fif- 
teenth, and  Samuel  B.  Coffee  was  appointed 
to  fill  his  place.  Coffee  failed  to  qualify,  and 
Don  Wier  was  appointed.  Mr.  Wier  ac- 
cepted the  office  and  qualified  April  twenty- 
ninth. 

The  board  met  as  a  board  of  equalization 
in  June,  eighteen  eighty-seven,  found  the 
following  list  of  property  after  equalizing 
the  same  : 

Railroad $146,316.00 

Telegraph  1,749.60 

Personal  182,522.00 

Real   Estate 64,391.04 

A  levy  of  fifteen  mills  was  made. 

The  above  represents  the  true  or  actual 
value  of  property  as  then  assessed.  The 
growth  of  the  county  may  be  illustrated  by 
giving  the  valuations  of  nineteen  twenty. 
The  total  is  given  at  over  one  and  one-half 
millions  of  dollars,  while  the  present  county 
treasurer,  Fred  Meyers,  informs  the  writer 
that  real  estate  increases  of  nineteen  twenty- 
one  will  bring  it  above  two  and  one-half  mil- 
lion dollars.  The  nineteen  twenty  returns 
of  railroad  property  with  the  added  Burling- 
ton railroad,  seems  to  be  considered  worth 
less  money  than  the  value  of  eighteen 
eighty-seven.  Personal  property,  by  com- 
parison seems  to  have  about  doubled,  and 
real  estate  increased  ten-fold. 

On  June  twentieth,  eighteen  eighty-seven, 
the  name  Bowen  was  changed  to  Harrison. 

The  courthouse  of  Sioux  county,  while 
commodious,  convenient  and  imposing,  did 
not  cost  the  county  anything.  Originally  ii 
was  built  by  Bowen  and  Hat  creek  pre- 
cincts, which  voted  bonds  for  that  purpose, 
and  they  presented  the  building  to  the 
county. 

In  April,  eighteen  eighty-eight,  the  first 
jury  was  called  for  Sioux  county. 

Till-;    I    HI   I.    I   \l.     I'"  \MII.Y 

As  stated,  C.  K.  \Yrit\  was  tin-  first  coun- 
ty judge.  IK-  was  also  tin-  local  United 
States  court  commissioner,  and  hi-  duties 
brought  before  him  a  large  amount  of  land 


294 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


business.  That  this  was  not  without  its 
troubles  was  shown  by  a  charge  in  the 
Bodarc  Record  that  he  had  shown  gross 
favoritism  in  some  hearing  before  him  in 
the  Bowen  hotel.  Minnie  Shoneborn  made 
an  affidavit  that  was  filed  in  the  land  office 
at  Valentine,  and  G.  L.  Smith  made  charges' 
before  the  county  commissioners.  A  hear- 
ing was  had,  and  Verity  was  fully  exoner- 
ated by  the  board.  This  goes  to  show  that 
official  berths  are  not  always  what  they 
seem  to  be — a  bed  of  roses.  Verity  refused 
.  to  remain  longer  in  the  office,  and  resigned 
on  Julv  twentieth. 

Following  Verity,  John  W.  Hunter  was 
appointed  and  then  elected.  Sleightholme 
Barker  was  then  judge  for  four  years,  and 
S.  H.  Jones  was  special  judge  in  a  few  spe- 
cific cases.  Chas.  Verity  was  in  eighteen 
ninety-twc<  also  a  special  judge  for  a  short 
time. 

Robert  Wilson  was  elected  and  assumed 
the  duties  of  the  office  in  eighteen  ninety- 
four.  He  served  one  term  only  in  part.  He 
resigned  and  G.  W.  Harter  was  appointed 
to  fill  out  the  term.  Then  Wilson  was  elect- 
ed and  served  three  terms  or  a  total  of  six 
years.  In  December  just  before  the  expira- 
tion of  his  third  term,  he  resigned  and 
Charles  E.  Schlit  was  appointed.  Schlit 
served  until  the  following  June,  when  J.  H. 
Bartell  was  appointed.  Justin  Wilherms- 
dorfer  was  elected  and  assumed  the  duties 
of  the  office  in  nineteen  four.  In  July,  nine- 
teen six,  Floyd  Jones  was  appointed  special 
judge.  In  nineteen  eight  began  the  long 
period  of  which  the  county  judge's  office  was 
occupied  by  A.  L.  Schnurr.  He  served  for 
six  terms  or  a  total  of  twelve  years,  and  then 
declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election.  In 
February,  nineteen  nine,  Justin  Wilherms- 
dcrfer  was  appointed  a  special  judge,  and  in 
nineteen  twent\'-one  he  returned  to  the  office 
by  election.  In  October,  nineteen  sixteen, 
and  again  in  June,  nineteen  nineteen.  E.  F. 
Pontius  had  the  service  of  special  judg'e  in  a 
number  of  cases.  Judge  Wilhermsdorfer 
(called  "Dorfer"  by  his  friends)  now  occu- 
pies the  office. 

County  Clerks 

The  county  clerk's  office  has  held  some  re- 
markable characters,  high  in  the  esteem  of 
the  northwest,  and  efficient  to  an  extraordi- 
nary degree.  First,  there  was  Ed.  Satterlee, 
by  appointment  of  the  governor.  The  first 
election  made  Charles  C.  Jamieson  the  coun- 
ty clerk.  Jamieson  was  one  of  the  strongest 
characters  in  the  cow  country,  and  while  he 


was  made  to  feel  the  lash  of  Roosevelt's  land 
inquisition,  even  that  powerful  force  did  not 
shake  the  confidence  of  his  friends.  Charles 
Jamieson  was  too  large  a  man  for  the  small- 
minded  special  agents  of  the  United  States 
land  department  to  injure.  He  remains  in- 
terested in  western  Nebraska  to  a  very  large 
extent,  although  he  now  resides  in  Denver. 

Conrad  Lindeman  followed  as  county 
clerk  and  served  two  terms  efficiently  as  is 
shown  by  the  record.  M.  J.  Blewett  fol- 
lowed with  three  terms  of  excellent  service. 
Win.  A.  J.  Raum,  recently  killed  near  Glen 
by  the  fall  of  a  horse  he  was  riding,  served 
two  terms  following  nineteen  hundred. 

Then  came  the  long  and  wonderfully  effi- 
cient record  of  E.  F.  Pontius.  Six  terms,  or 
a  total  of  twelve  years,  he  held  the  dual  of- 
fice of  county  clerk  and  clerk  of  the  district 
court.  Cyrus  O.  Wertz  served  one  term  fol- 
lowing and  his  record  was  up  to  the  high 
standard  of  excellence,  and  this  being' the 
period  of  the  great  world  war,  extra  heavy 
duties  were  involved.  The  present  clerk. 
Earl  R.  Cherry,  was  first  elected  in  nineteen 
eighteen,  and  has  since  been  re-elected.  The 
work  in  his  office  is  excellently  systematized 
and  he  has  a  very  efficient  assistant  as  dep- 
uty. Miss  E.  Mary  Broderick. 

County  Treasurers 

As  stated  heretofore,  Edmund  C.  Lock- 
wood  was  the  first  treasurer  of  Sioux  coun- 
ty. He  served  but  one  term  when  Martin 
Gayhart  was  elected.  Gayhart  served  four 
years  and  was  followed  by  H.  S.  Woodruff, 
who  served  two  years.  Charles  Biehle  fol- 
lowed with  two  terms,  and  in  nineteen  hun- 
dred John  Serres  was  chosen.  Serres  served 
one  term  and  then  John  I.  Davis  served  a 
term,  after  which  Carl  M.  Lux  was  elected 
for  two  terms.  M.  D.  Jordan  then  followed 
for  two  terms,  and  Thos.  S:  Boyd  succeeded 
him  for  two  terms.  In  nineteen  seventeen 
the  present  treasurer.  Fred  W.  Meyer,  was 
elected.  He  was  re-elected  in  nineteen  nine- 
teen, and  the  change  in  the  law  gives  him 
additional  service  for  two  years.  Mr.  Meyer 
has  proven  an  excellent  official,  and  has  for 
his  deputy,  Jess  Anderson,  and  is  up  to  the 
standard  of  capableness  and  courtesy  for 
which  the  office  has  been  conspicuous. 

County  Superintendents 
The  first  superintendent  of  schools  in 
Sioux  county  was  Benjamin  F.  Thomas, 
who  settled  in  the  Hat  creek  country  in  the 
early  eighties.  Thomas  was  an  educator, 
and  his  two  daughters,  Minnie  and  Lorena, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


295 


were  teaching-  school  in  the  first  years  of 
Sioux  county  history.  They  were  very 
young  girls  at  the  time,  but  their  excellent 
work  is  remembered  by  man}-  of  the  present 
people  of  the  county.  Thomas  was  followed 
by  S.  W.  Cox,  who  served  until  eighteen 
ninety,  when  A.  Southworth  was  elected,  he 
serving  two  terms. 

W.  H.  Davis  was  the  fourth  superinten- 
dent, and  he  served  two  terms,  being-  fol- 
lowed by  Elsie  Merriam,  and  she  by  Julius 
B.  Burke.  Burke  served  a  little  over  three 
years,  and  after  retiring  from  the  office  in 
March,  nineteen  hundred  three,  Conrad 
Parsons  was  appointed  to  complete  the 
term.  John  Barky  was  elected  in  nineteen 
four,  and  Arthur  F.  Becker  in  nineteen 
eight.  Mary  J.  Fenske  was  chosen  in  nine- 
teen twelve  and  served  five  years. 

In  nineteen  seventeen  Miss  Vinnie  Newell 
was  superintendent,  and  re-elected  two  years 
later.  In  January  of  the  present  year,  nine- 
teen twenty-one,  she  began  her  third  term, 
but  under  a  different  name.  One  of  the  ro- 
mances of  Sioux  county  occurred  under  the 
dome  of  the  courthouse.  Miss  Vinnie 
Newell  became  Mrs.  Fred  Meyers,  the  wife 
of  the  county  treasurer.  So  that  it  is  Mrs. 
Meyers  who  is  the  present  efficient  county 
superintendent. 

County  Sheriffs 

The  sheriff's  office  has  maintained  the 
good  name  of  Sioux  county's  official  family. 
J.  F.  Pfost,  one  of  the  original  three  named 
by  Governor  Dawes  to  attend  affairs  as  spe- 
cial acting  county  commissioner  during  the 
formative  period  of  the  county's  organiza- 
tion, was  the  first  sheriff.  He  was  re-elect- 
ed, and  then  Thos.  Reidy  followed  for  two 
terms.  A.  R.  Dew  was  then  chosen  and  he 
was  followed  by  David  Bartlett.  Thos. 
Holly  was  elected  in  eighteen  ninety-eight 
and  was  re-chosen  for  nineteen  hundred. 
Holly  retired  from  the  office  in  nineteen 
hundred  and  Alex.  Lowry  named  to  fill  out 
the  term,  after  which  he  was  elected  and 
filled  the  office  for  two  full  terms.  Before 
Lowry  was  chosen  in  the  first  instance  Ed- 
win B.  Lyon  occupied  the  office  from  Octo- 
ber, nineteen  hundred,  to  January,  nineteen 
one.  After  Lowry  had  served  two  terms, 
Lyon  was  elected  and  he  held  the  office  for 
two  terms.  In  nineteen  ten  Oscar  F.  Ward 
took  over  the  sheriff's  office,  after  which  he 
served  three  terms.  Then  the  law  enforce- 
ment duty  fell  to  Geo.  W.  Hill,  who  is  be- 
ginning his  fourth  term,  the  longest  period 
served  by  any  one  man. 


County  Attorneys 

The  office  of  the  county  prosecutor  has 
been  remarkably  well  filled'  in  Sioux  county. 
Mention  has  heretofore  been  made  under 
the  bench  and  bar  division,  but  here  in  the 
proper  sequence  are  the  names  of  the  per- 
sons whom  the  county  has  honored  and 
whom  have  honored  the  county.  The  ser- 
vice has  been  by  no  means  entirely  upon  one 
side. 

Edward  D.  Satterlee,  after  serving  the 
county  under  special  appointment  as  county 
clerk  in  helping  the  organization,  was  elect- 
ed the  first  county  prosecutor.  L.  O.  Hull 
was  elected  and  took  the  office  over  in  eigh- 
teen ninety.  He  almost  immediately  retired 
from  the  office,  and  Geo.  Walker  was  ap- 
pointed on  January  twentieth.  Hugh  L. 
Conley  succeeded  him  by  election,  and  was 
re-elected.  Then  Alvin  T.  Clark  was  elect- 
ed but  he  resigned  in  December,  eighteen 
ninety-five.  Grant  Guthrie  was  appointed 
to  fill  the  vacancy,  afterwards  elected  for  a  full 
term.  M.  J.  O'Connell  was  elected  and  took 
the  office  in  eighteen  ninety-nine,  being  re- 
elected five  times,  making  a  total  service  of 
twelve  years.  Fern  Samuel  Baker,  who  suc- 
ceeded him,  has  a  record  about  as  long.  By 
the  close  of  his  present  term  he  will  have 
attained  the  distinction  of  being  the  one  who 
has  had  the  longest  period  of  service.  Baker 
is  also  coroner. 

County  Commissioners 
By  designation  of  Governor  Dawes,  as 
heretofore  recited,  J.  G.  Morris,  J.  F.  Pfost 
and  D.  H.  Griswold  were  the  special  com- 
missioners during  the  formative  period  of 
Sioux  county.  The  election  of  eighteen 
eighty-seven  made  J.  G.  Morris,  A.  M.  Mc- 
Ginley  and  Daniel  Klein  the  members  of  the 
board.  Klein  and  Morris  were  from  the 
same  district  and  district  number  two  was 
without  membership,  according-  to  the  lines 
later  drawn  by  this  board.  Morris  therefore 
resigned  on  March  fifteenth  and  Don  M. 
Wier  was  appointed  April  twenty-ninth  to 
fill  the  vacancy.  In  eighteen  ninety  a  full 
new  board  was  chosen  consisting  of  J.  1',. 
Burke,  John  A.  Green,  and  Chas.  U.  Grove. 
In  the  following  years  the  count}-  lias  had 
for  its  "county  dads"  some  of  the  best  men 
in  the  county,  and  all  the  time  has  been  ably 
and  economically  handled.  The  following 
list  will  show  the  high  character  of  the  men 
who  have  managed  the  county  business.  In 
the  nineties  there  were  Fred  W.  Knott.  M.  1. 
Weber.  I:.  F.  Johnson,  Frank  Tinkham,  I. 
Mittlen.  Jens  C.    Meng,  and   A.    Procunier. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Since  nineteen  hundred  we  find  the  follow- 
ing incomplete  list  of  able  men  have  been  in 
charge:  Dan  Jordan,  A.  C.  Cullers,  E.  A. 
Biglow,  J.  C.  Eberspecher,  A.  L.  Saxton, 
C.  R.  Taplin,  Geo.  W.  Davis,  Robert  Harri- 
son, G.  B.  M.  Will,  J.  H.  Lacv,  S.  L.  Albert- 
son,  F.  M.  Hall.  Cyrus  O.  Wertz,  and  J.  E. 
Marsteller.  Lacy,  Albertson  and  Hall  are 
the  present  commissioners. 

The  official  historv  of  Sioux  county  has 


been  remarkable  for  its  efficiency,  and  for 
the  freedom  from  rancorous  disputes  that  are 
injected  into  so  much  of  our  political  life. 
So  often  the  man  who  does  well,  suffers  the 
inquisition  of  a  hostile  press,  or  the  bitter 
antagonisms  of  those  who  want  something 
that  they  are  not  entitled  to.  Outside  of  the 
one  affair  of  Verity  in  the  early  history,  we 
find  nothing  on  the  record  to  indicate  do- 
mestic bitterness  in  the  official  family  life. 


CHAPTER  VI 
SIOUX    COUNTY    IN    THE    WORLD    WAR  — EARLY     SCHOOLS  — WILD     LIFE 


The  part  that  western  Nebraska  per- 
formed in  the  World  War  will  never  be  for- 
gotten by  the  grateful  people  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  republic.  We  may  feel  that 
we  are  paying  great  penalty  when  we  make 
out  the  income  tax  report  or  otherwise  con- 
tribute to  the  war  taxes  that  are  found  on 
nearly  every  theater  ticket,  or  drink  at  the 
soda  fountain,  or  particular  medicine  that 
we  need.  But  without  that  entry  into  the 
great  conflict,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  allies 
would  have  won,  and  had  they  not  won, 
what  would  the  war  lords  of  Germany  ex- 
acted, no  one  knows.  Our  entry  in  all  prob- 
ability saved  us  fighting  alone  a  subsequent 
and  possibly  much  more  disastrous  war.  In 
any  event  those  who  went  to  the  front  and 
those  who  performed  heroic  work  and  sac- 
rifice at  home,  each  performed  the  duty  well 
and  their  names  should  be  enscrolled  in  the 
temple  of  fame. 

The  selective  draft  made  the  record  of 
those  that  registered  and  were  drawn  for 
service  far  more  easy  to  follow  than  that  of 
the  volunteers,  and  the  names  of  those  en- 
gaged in  home  service.  In  many  counties, 
"'every  scrap  of  paper''  connected  with  the 
draft  has  been  sent  to  the  federal  authori- 
ties at  the  Washington  war  department, 
but  in  a  few  counties  the  clerks  or  others  in- 
terested, made  a  list  of  those  who  were  in- 
ducted into  the  draft,  and  the  record  of  each. 
County  clerk  Earl  R.  Cherry  is  one  of  the 
few  that  realized  the  importance  of  this,  and 
saved  a  list,  which  the  public  will  appreciate 
more  the  coming  years.  The  names  thus 
provided  this  historian  are  as  follows: 


Honor  Roll 
Major  Frank  M.  Barnes,  Lieutenant  El- 
vin  M.  Colbert.  Lieutenant  Clarence  R. 
Bigelow,  Earl  M.  Hatch,  John  W.  Case, 
John  R.  Jolly,  Thomas  B.  Hilton,  Walter  L. 
Jones,  Walter  F.  Hahn,  Leon  Sciara,  Alvin 
W.  Persinger,  Harry  R.  Ellsworth,  Willie 
M.  Gcmpert,  Willie' C.  Noe,  Roy  M.  Seiz, 
Wralter  E.  Keene,  Douglas  H.  Readinger, 
John  Toscana,  Arthur  L.  Estler,  Theodore 

A.  Bergquist,  Gilbert  L.  Dennis,  Seth  W. 
Tipton,  George  W.  Layton,  Frederick  Doh- 
ma,  Lawrence  O.  Hume,  Bert  L.  Adams, 
Dick  Henderson,  Joseph  W.  Sanford,  Theo- 
dore J.  Lien,  James  H.  Selby,  Fred  F. 
Runge,  Jesse  L.  Gerlock,  Evan  W.  Powell, 
Frank  G.  H.  Glaser,  George  A.  Peterson, 
Paul  Forbes,  Glen  Kreman,  Robert  H.  John- 
ston, Lorenz  Heller,  Clifford  H.  Whitaker, 
Frank  E.  Arner,  William  F.  Bucklev.  Jesse 

B.  Selby,  Henry  Kistler,  Stanley  B."  Paulis, 
Roy  Buckley,  Bennie  N.  Nortness,  Iver  T. 
Lingwood,  John  Markuson,  Charles  W. 
Reedy,  Albert  A.  Lechner,  Brownie  D. 
Phinney.  Herbert  D.  Mann.  Victor  H.  Mets, 
Arthur  E.  Saxton,  Frank  M.  Baumgardner, 
De  P.  Davis,  Bert  G.  Mielke,  Ivor  Meeker, 
George  E.  Casson,  Bruce  B.  Morten,  Henry 
M.  Bourne,  George  L.  Davis,  Jeremiah  Sny- 
der, Paul  C.  Gieke,  Frank  B.  Anderson, 
George  C.  Fox,  Alva  G.  Lukins,  LeRoy 
Countryman.  Earl  D.  Rodgers,  Howard  H. 
Mcintosh,    Benjamin    H.    Russell,    Clarence 

C.  York,  Guy  Murphy,  Arthur  Eveland,  Ot- 
to II.  Schmutzler,  Reuben  Coppom,  Fred  A. 
Sternberg,   Asa  A.   Troy.   Frank   C.   Hittle, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


297 


Joseph  A.  Chlecq,  Henry  E.  Stanton,  Her- 
bert O.  Ward,  John  A.  Barnard,  Henry  T. 
Dunn,  Phillip  H.  Unitt,  Willis  V.  Jordan, 
John  A.  Keimig,  George  S.  Mete,  William 
11.  Ahlman.  Wayne  Hnckaby.  Benjamin  H. 
Derby,  Andrew  C.  Wynne,  LeRoy  G.  Dur- 
and,  Earl  E.  Buckingham,  AYalter  R.  John- 
son, Elmer  E.  Fleener,  William  C.  Gilbert, 
Charles  Hoover,  Marc.  A.  Howard,  Harrv 
D.  Bartell,  William  D.  Hunter,  Forrest  D. 
Pfeiffer,  Henry  A.  Haas,  Roy  A.  Larsen,  Ju 
Gerl,  Marcellus  H.  Howard,  John  Marking. 
Five  who   went   failed   to   return.      Those 


The  Red  Cross  was  commanded  bj  Rev- 
erend Clare  Van  Metre,  as  chairman,  and 
Mrs.  Maude  Pontius,  secretary.  Among 
those  must  active  were  A.  L.  Schnurr,  Mrs. 
Charles  Unitt,  Mrs.  John  Martin,  and  John 
Marsteller.  The  splendid  work  of  this 
branch  of  war  activities  is  best  told  1>\  the 
fact  that  it  never  faltered,  or  fell  behind  in 
anything  that  was  assigned  to  it. 

<  >ne  particular  feature  that  is  not  noted  in 
every  community,  emphasizes  the  thorough- 
ness of  the  work.  A  Junior  Reel  Cross  was 
created  with  Mrs.  Fred  Meyers  as  chairwo- 


"\\  in  \  Tin-.  Bo's  s  Were  i.i.  wi 


opposite  whose  names  there  should  be  a 
golden  star  are:  Douglas  H.  Readinger, 
who  died  in  action ;  Earl  E.  Buckingham, 
who  died  of  influenza  at  Bordeaux:  Louis 
Shallers,  Robert  H.  Johnston,  of  pneumonia, 
at  Funston,  and  William  1).  Hunter,  of 
pneumonia,  at  Cam])  Mills. 

The  record  does  not  show  the  names  of 
these  who  volunteered,  and  in  some  of  the 
counties  this  is  being  collected  through  the 
assessors.  It  should  be  done  throughout  the 
United  States. 

A.  L.  Schnurr  was  most  active  in  home 
work  and  had  charge  of  the  bond  drives, 
thrift  stamp  drives,  and  various  other  activ- 
ities. Sioux  county  never  failed  to  respond 
and  go  over  the  top. 


man,  and  the  work  of  the  younger  set.  rilled 
with  the  enthusiasm  of  youth,  speaks  in  no 
uncertain  tones  of  Sioux  county's  part  of 
the  war  of  the  world. 


U 


About  a  month  after  the  signing  of  the 
armistice,  an  auxiliary  post  of  the  Eegion  oi 
Honor  was  created  at  Harrison:  He  1'. 
I  )a\  is  was  first  commander;  M.  X.  Wil- 
hermsdorfer,  vice  commander:  J.  I..  Gerlacli, 
adjutant,  and  1'.  M.  Unitt,  treasurer  !t  had 
thirty-one  members.  Since  then  many 
others  have  united  in  the  organization.  The 
present  officers  are  1.  I..  Gerlacli,  comman- 
der; J.  A.  McClarey,  vice  commander:  1  >e  1'. 
Davis,  adjutant,  and   1'.   II.  Unitt.  treasurer. 


J..S 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  organization  is  a  very  live  affair  and 
recently  put  on  a  show  in  the  Harrison  op- 
era house,  which  was  well  appreciated  by 
the  local  people,  and  of  profit  to  the  order. 
The  "Cootie  Quartette"  consists  of  Gerlach, 
McClarey,  Ely  and  Doctor  Priest.  Others 
participating-  in  the  event  were  Wefso, 
Marking,  Wright,  Howard.  Phinney,  Mar- 
steller,  Davis,  Meyers,  and  Miss  Grace 
Scott. 

The  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 

In  the  vicinity  of  Harrison  there  are  but 
few  of  the  boys  of  the  Civil  War  remaining. 
Most  of  them  have  bivouaced  on  another 
camping  ground,  yet  we  are  not  unmindful 
that  but  for  them  there  would  not  have  been 
the  great  America  to  quickly  decide  the  con- 
test overseas.  The  county  of  Sioux  early 
provided  that  these  heroes  of  the  sixties 
should  have  all  the  fostering  care  that  law 
and  system  provided. 

The  first  soldiers'  relief  committee  was 
selected  by  the  county  commissioners  Feb- 
ruary twenty-fifth,  eighteen  ninety.  Eli  J. 
Wilcox  and  Edgar  G.  Hough  were  named. 
The  historian  does  not  find  a  record  of  any 
later  appointments  than  those  of  nineteen 
seventeen,  at  which  time  William  J.  A. 
Raum,  James  A.  Sailors  and  Sanford  Hill 
were  chosen.  Sailors  has  since  gone  on,  and 
we  are  told  by  a  number  of  old  timers  that 
the  other  two  and  John  Plunkett  are  so  far 
as  they  recall  the  only  remaining  local  mem- 
bers of  the  old  guard  and  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic. 

Agricultural  Society 
From  the  story  of  the  war  we  return  to 
the  story  of  the  triumphs  of  peace.  Sicux 
county's  prosperity  to  date  is  entirely  due 
to  agriculture  in  one  form  or  another.'  But 
until  about  ten  years  ago  there  was  no  agri- 
cultural society.  Dry  farming  had  by  that 
time  taken  a  firm  hold  upon  the  high  plains, 
and  the  citizens  of  Harrison  and  vicinity  or- 
ganized such  a  society  in  nineteen  eleven. 
The  organizers  were  headed  by  John  H. 
Lacy,  A.  L.  Schnurr,  T.  H.  Wilhermsdorfer, 
G.  L.  Gerlach,  R.  L.  Keel,  J.  H.  Dickman, 
E.  A.  Bigelow,  J.  A.  Anderson,  P.  X.  Sum- 
mers and  others.  The  county  now  has  an 
annual  fair  and  agricultural  "exhibit.  The 
livestock  exhibit  is  generally  very  fine.  The 
society  lias  regular  fair  grounds  and  a  race 
track,  well  arranged  for  the  accommodation 
of  tlu-  public. 

VV.  P.  I  lo_\  t  is  tlic  president  at  the  present 
time,  and  Earl  K.  Elliott  is  secretary,  and  the 


nineteen  twenty-one  fair  is  being  planned  at 
the  present  time.  Special  attention  is  to  be 
given  to  dairy  stock  this  year  and  blooded 
swine  will  take  a  more  important  place  than 
at  any  previous  assembly. 

Harrison  of  Today 

Sioux  county  may  be  said  to  be  a  county 
of  but  one  village  organization.  The  other 
stations  on  the  railroad  are  not  of  much  con- 
sequence, and  none  of  them  has  a  bank. 
Such  mercantile  business  as  is  carried  on 
there  is  very  light,  and  merely  an  adjunct  to 
the  postoffices  generally.  Andrews  and  Glen 
are  on  the  Northwestern  railroad,  and  no 
other  station  is  named  on  that  road  or  the 
Burlington.  In  the  interior  of  the  county 
are  a  number  of  postoffices  and  small  stores 
for  the  convenience  of  their  immediate 
neighborhoods  and  the  pressing  wants 
thereof.  Much  of  the  merchandising  needs 
of  Sioux  county  are  supplied  by  towns  and 
cities  in  adjoining  counties,  on  the  east  and 
south  particularly.  But  the  business  of  Har- 
rison is  substantial  and  may  best  be  shown 
by  its  variety  in  the  following  list :  Mar- 
steller  &  Sons,  Koch  Mercantile.  Equity 
Store  (Farmers),  managed  by  P.  B.  Bige- 
low, Cash  Store,  by  Avis  A.  Tanner,  in  gen- 
eral merchandise  and  dry  goods;  Tress  M. 
Powell,  in  hardware  business;  C.  H.  Unitt, 
in  lumber  and  hardware ;  Morrison  Lumber 
Company  ;  Max  Federle's  market ;  C.  T.  Mil- 
ler's furniture  store:  Iverson  &  Meyers  and 
H.  E.  Leroy  in  electrical  supplies;  T.  E. 
Phillips,  in  the  Harrison  pharmacy;  W.  J. 
Lacy,  Ed.  G.  Meyers  and  W.  I.  Carroll  each 
in  the  garage  business ;  two  good  hotels,  the 
Lowry,  operated  by  Lowry  &  Fleming,  and 
the  Commercial,  managed  by  Ferd  Federle ; 
a  restaurant  managed  by  the  pioneer  Ellis 
Lowry;  Z.  B.  Johnson,  the  harness  man; 
these  attend  the  supply  needs  of  the  com- 
munity. The  two  banks  are  ably  managed 
as  heretofore  mentioned  in  more  detail. 
J.  A.  McClarey  is  the  tonsorial  artist,  and 
Frank  Beerbower  runs  a  pool  hall.  Doctor 
Borglum  and  the  Doctors  Priest  look  after 
the  general  health,  while  F.  H.  Wallace  is 
the  dentist.  A.  C.  Davis  is  general  abstrac- 
tor, and  C.  P.  Broderick  is  auctioneer.  Airs. 
Louise  Peters  operates  a  creamery  station, 
and  there  is  a  movie  show  twice  a  week. 
This  is  given  in  the  opera  house  which  was 
erected  by  the  Odd  Fellows  in  nineteen  hun- 
dred eight.  This  building,  which  cost  eleven 
thousand  dollar-,  is  now  worth  double  that 
amount,  and  part  of  it  is  used  for  a  lodge 
hall  for  the  various  fraternities.     The  town 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


j.).  i 


and  community  are  served  by  the  Bell  tele- 
phone system.  This  is  the  Harrison  of  to- 
day, live,  energetic,  of  high  moral  and  intel- 
lectual standards,  a  splendid  place  to  reside. 

Edward  F.  Pontius 

The  Pontius  name  runs  through  a  great 
many  of  the  events  early  and  late  of  Sioux 
county  history,  particularly  along  fraternal 
lines.  Those  who  know  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pon- 
tius are  not  surprised  at  this,  for  their  names 
are  synonyms  of  neighborly  kindness  and 
personal  friendship.  E.  F.  Pontius  was  the 
first  head  of  the  first  fraternal  and  beneficial 
organization  in  the  county,  the  Woodmen  of 
the  World,  and  he  is  the  present  secretary, 
and  Mrs.  Pontius  is  a  charter  member  of  the 
first  woman's  fraternal  in  the  county.  Mr. 
Pontius  was  a  charter  member  of  the  first 
Masonic  lodge  in  the  county,  he  was  the  first 
noble  grand  of  the  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  the 
present  secretary. 

For  twelve  years  E.  F.  Pontius  served  as 
county  clerk  and  he  was  twice  made  special 
county  judge.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pontius 
were  active  in  war  work  and  were  g'lad  to  do 
their  part  as  privates  in  the  ranks  of  those 
who  were  keeping  the  home  fires  burning. 
While  Mr.  Pontius  very  considerably  assist- 
ed the  historian  in  the  collaboration  of  the 
historic  notes  of  the  county,  we  were  struck 
with  his  reticence  concerning  the  important 
part  which  he  had  performed  in  its  affairs 
and  destiny.  Where  achievement  stands  out 
so  boldly  it  is  indeed  remarkable  that  the 
principal  should  let  the  record  alone  tell  the 
story.  The  fellowship  of  Sioux  county 
would  not  have  been  so  complete  had  it  not 
been  for  the  activities  of  the  Pontius  folks. 

That  First  School 

The  story  of  the  organization  of  the  first 
school  in  Sioux  county  is  variously  told,  par- 
ticularly that  part  relating  to  the  identity  of 
the  first  teacher.  From  the  consideration  of 
all  the  facts,  we  are  led  to  the  opinion  that 
this  is  the  correct  history. 

The  district  was  organized  at  the  request 
of  Daniel  Klein,  who  was  the  first  director, 
and  he  was  assisted  by  the  Rigdons  and  Mr. 
Gates.  Five  white  children  only  were  with- 
in reach  of  the  school :  Klein  had  one,  Gates 
had  one,  and  Rigdcn  three. 

Jo  Oberfelder  who  organized  the  district. 
coming  from  Sidney  in  eighteen  eighty- 
three,  when  he  was  county  superintendent 
of  Cheyenne  county,  says  that  there  were  a 
large  number  of  half  breeds,  forty-two  in  all. 
included  in  the  school  census  as  returned. 


While  these  did  not  attend  school  very  reg- 
ularly, and  many  of  them  perhaps  not  at  all, 
they  served  to  get  a  larger  state  apportion- 
ment, wdiich  was  surely  needed  in  the  new 
and  far-away  school. 

Oberfelder  also  says  that  the  first  teacher 
was  Mary  Delahunty,  whom  he  induced  to 
come  from  Lexington  and  he  personally  saw 
that  she  was  installed  as  the  first  instructor 
in  Sioux  county.  In  eighteen  eighty-five, 
"Mollie"  Delahunty  was  teaching  in  Ante- 
lopeville  (now  Kimball)  and  staying  at  the 
home  of  the  Lynchs.  Jennie  Hunt  is  fre- 
quently referred  to  and  believed  to  be  the 
first  teacher,  but  according  to  Oberfelder,  she 
must  have  followed  Miss  Delahunty.  This 
is  also  supported  by  the  record  of  teachers' 
certificates  issued  in  Cheyenne  county. 
Daniel  Klein  says  that  the  first  teacher  was 
Lorena  Thomas,  but  that  must  have  been 
after  Sioux  count}-  was  organized.  Lorena 
Thomas  was  one  of  the  first  teachers  in  the 
organized  county,  but  she  was  then  only 
seventeen  years  of  age.  The  first  school  in 
district  number  one  was  about  four  years 
before  that,  and  Miss  Lorena  Thomas  was 
then  only  about  thirteen  years  old. 

Back  to  thi;  Beginning 

The  busy  mind  of  the  present  generation 
may  not  find  it  uninteresting  to  go  back  to 
the  beginning  of  things  in  Sioux  count}'. 
Not  entirely  to  the  days  of  Sage  or  the 
American  Fur  Company,  nor  even  to  the 
time  of  Indian  war.  But  to  the  days  when 
George  Gerlach  was  rounding  up  cattle  on 
Sioux  county's  bread  acres,  and  join  with 
him  and  his  early  associates  in  some  of  the 
early  pranks  of  abundant  vitality  and  buoj  - 
ant  youth. 

One  of  these  affairs  was  on  the  old  Dull 
Knife  battle  ground  near  Harrison.  While 
rambling  through  the  hills  northwest  of  tin 
town,  he  stumbled  upon  the  slightly  exposed 
remains  of  some  of  the  Indians  that  had  fal- 
len when  Dull  Knife's  band  had  made  its 
break  for  liberty  from  the  barracks  al  Fort 
Robinson.  Among  his  findings  was  the 
scalp  and  long  hair  of  an  Indian,  and  a  skull. 
He  decorated  his.  own  head  with  the  wig  of 
the  Indian  and  elevated  the  skull  upon  a 
stick.  Thus  decorated,  he  made  a  spectac 
ular  invasion  of  the  home  of  his  parents,  and 
his  mother,  in  the  queer  way  that  mothers 
have,  failed  to  appreciate  the  prowess  of  her 
son. 

Discouraged,  but  still  ambitious,  he  or- 
ganized a  part}-  of  embryo  archeologists, 
consisting  of    Ben    I'..   Smith.   George   Hunt 


300 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


and  himself.  The  work  of  exhuming  was 
upon  a  bunch  of  land  about  ten  or  twelve 
feet  above  the  creek  bed,  and  also  there  was 
an  abrupt  rise  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet  on  the 
side  away  from  the  creek,  to  the  plain  above. 
Wild  animals  had  burrowed  in  the  bank  of 
the  creek  and  made  runways  to  the  bench 
upon  which  the  boys  were  working,  and  tor- 
rential rains  which  sometimes  fell  had 
washed  the  holes  in  tunnels  large  enough  for 
a  wolf  to  pass.  One  hole  of  large  size  start- 
ed at  the  creek  bed.  and  came  out  upon  the 


bench  level  at  the  point  where  they  were 
excavating.  In  their  work  they  had  dug 
away  a  part  of  the  upper  end  of  the  runway. 
Dusk  had  fallen  and  the  young  men  were 
still  persevering  in  the  work.  The  dog 
started  a  rabbit  along  the  creek  bed  and  as 
it  reached  the  lower  opening,  it  darted  in 
with  the  dog  in  full  pursuit.  Up  through 
the  hole  popped  the  rabbit  and  then  the  dog. 
Hunt,  who  was  tired  and  a  bit  nervous,  went 
straight  up  the  sheer  twenty  or  thirty-foot 
bank  and  some  distance  away  before  he  re- 
covered a  grip  upon  his  nerves.  The  boys 
quit  for  the  night,  but  later  resumed  the 
work  in  daylight.  A  complete  skeleton  was 
taken  out,  and  later  sent  by  Smith  to  the 
state  university  museum. 

A  Real  Fright 
George  Gerlach  says  that  there  was  one 
time  that  he  received  the  worst  fright  of  his 
life,  and  that  the  immediate  cause  was  only 
a  doorlatch.  He  was  staying  in  a  cabin  in 
the  pine  ridges,  taking  care  of  some  cattle 
and  he  had  a  quarter  of  fresh  beef  hung  out- 
side on  the  corner  of  the  cabin.  One  night 
he  heard  a  prowler  and  thinking  it  was  a 
coyote,  he  slipped  on  his  trousers  and  ran 
outside  to  scare  it  away.  As  he  rounded  the 
corner  of  the  cabin,  a  huge  shadow  loped 
around  the  next  corner.     It  seemed  to  be  as 


large  as  a  small  bear  or  a  large  mountain 
lion.  George  was  unarmed  and  rushed  for 
the  cabin  door  to  get  a  gun.  There  were 
some  cobble  stones  in  front  of  the  door,  and 
George  was  barefoot,  so  he  leaped  over  these 
on  to  the  threshold,  for  they  hurt  his  feet. 
As  he  went  through  the  door  his  loose  sus- 
penders caught  the  latch.  There  was  quick 
action  for  an  instant,  for  how  could  he  know 
what  dreadful  beast  had  snapped  at  him  out 
of  the  dark.  George  says  his  scalp  rose  up, 
not  alone  the  hair,  and  he  left  his  suspenders 
and  a  few  buttons  that  held  them  at  the 
door.  After  that,  he  said,  for  all  he  cared, 
whatever  it  was  it  was  welcome  to  the  meat, 
but  that  it  was  probably  just  as  frightened 
as  he,  for  he  heard  it  no  more. 

Abundant  Wild  Life 
In  the  days  when  Harrison  was  in  its 
swaddling  clothes,  wild  life  was  very  abun- 
dant thereabouts.  As  many  as  a  dozen  or 
fourteen  in  a  pack,  the  grey  wolves  roamed 
through  the  pine  ridges,  after  sheep,  young- 
cattle  or  colts,  ham-stringing  and  pulling 
down  yearlings  when  needing  them  for  fcod. 
In  the  Spoon  Butte  country  there  was 
once  one  of  the  largest  bunches  of  antelope 
that  ever  congregated  together,  said  to  have 
numbered  three  hundred  fifty  to  four  hun- 
dred. Frequently  small  bunches  of  antelope 
are  seen,  especially  in  the  winter,  number- 
ing forty  or  fifty,  and  the  writer  remembers 
having  seen  perhaps  seventv-five  in  one 
drove  in  the  Mitchell  vallev  'of  Scottsbluff 


^^|9^ 


county.  The  pine  ridges  of  Sioux  county  at 
that  time  also  abounded  in  blacktail  deer,  a 
few  whitetail  deer,  and  once  in  a  while 
mountain  sheep  were  seen  in  such  places  as 
Coliseum  rocks. 

Antelope  Kill  Rattlers 
The  antelope  is  usually  timid,  but  has  a 
particular  antipathy  to  rattlesnakes.      It   is 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


301 


either  unafraid  of  them,  or  is  so  terrorized 
that  it  will  fight  them  with  the  wonderful 
skill  of  the  wilderness.  When  an  antelope 
finds  a  rattlesnake  it  immediately  gives 
battle.  Its  manner  of  attack  is  three  quick 
jumps.  The  second  time  its  hoofs  strike  the 
ground  it  is  with  great  rapidity,  directly  up- 
on the  snake  and  away  before  it  has  time  to 
strike.  Time  after  time  it  repeats  the  ma- 
neuver, until  the  rattler  is  literally  cut  to 
pieces  by  its  sharp  hoofs. 

A  Snake  Den 

The  rocks  on  the  pine  ridges  have  seemed 
especially  attractive  to  rattlers  in  the  days 
gone  by,  and  when  these  unwelcome  crea- 
tures hibernate,  they  congregate  in  "dens." 
In  that  part  of  this  history  called  "Indian 
War  and  Legend,"  will  be  found  the  story 
of  how  a  den  was  destroyed  in  the  early 
days.  Occasionally  other  dens  had  been 
found  and  destroyed,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  it  has  been  believed  that  snake  dens 
were  a  thing  of  the  past.  In  nineteen  twen- 
ty, not  far  from  one  of  the  schoolhouses 
south  of  Harrison,  the  snakes  congregated 
in  the  rocks  for  their  winter  sleep. 

Modern  methods  will  be  used  in  the 
spring  of  nineteen  twenty-one  to  eradicate 
this  nest.  A  fire  guard  is  to  be  plowed 
around  the  den  at  a  safe  distance,  and  then  a 
truck  having  several  barrels  of  gasoline  will 
be  run  over  the  recks  and  the  gasoline  emp- 
tied into  the  den.  The  truck  will  be  driven 
outside  the  fire  guard,  and  the  prairie  within 
the  circle  set  on  fire.  It  is  believed  that  after 
the  fire  reaches  the  gasolene  there  will  be 
short  work  of  the  snakes.  This  being  prob- 
ably the  last  convention  of  the  undesirable 
reptile  residents,  the  beautiful  pine  clad  hills 


will  be  safe  for  campers  and  t<  wrists,  as  well 
as  nature  loving  citizens  in  the  years  to 
come. 

Beautiful  Pine  Ridge 

A  few  days  since  the  historian  topped  the 
pine  ridges  of  Sioux  county,  just  as  the  sun 
was  rising. 

Around,  the  glory  of  the  mountain  maze, 
White  pinnacles  above  the  evergreen. 

All  sparkling  with  Aurora's  slanting  rays  ; 
The  tenseness  of  the  altitudes,  serene. 

Saddle  mountain.  Coliseum  rocks. 
Bold  elevations  high  above  the  trees. 

The  sunlight  penetrating  hidden  nooks. 
The    forest    whispering    in    the    morning 
breeze. 

My  mind  went  back  to  the  eighties,  when 
I  first  saw  the  pine-clad  hills  of  western  Ne- 
braska, and  in  the  language  of  St.  George 
Cooke  when  he  first  beheld  these  same  hills, 
I  said  "this  is  my  space." 

True  I  had  never  heard  of  Cooke  at  that 
time,  but  there  are  thousands  who  for  the 
first  time  have  beheld  the  pine  ridges  of  Ne- 
braska, have  heard  their  hearts  say  to  them 
the  same  words.  We  who  have  lived  here 
long  have  grown  familiar,  and  day  after  day 
in  the  plodding  toil  of  men  we  notice  them 
not.  Yet  occasionally  we  will  straighten 
our  shoulders  and  look  out  across  the  hill  or 
plain,  and  the  spirit  of  the  Infinite  sweeps 
over  us  as  we  wonder  why  people  let  the 
little  things  of  ordinary  life  annoy  them. 
The  Architect  of  all  had  beautiful  plans 
when  He  made  Sioux  county. 


KIMBALL  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  HISTORY  OF  KIMBALL  COUNTY 


Kimball  county  is  located  in  the  extreme 
western  part  of  the  state  of  Nebraska  ;  in 
fact  it  is  one  of  the  two  southwestern  corner 
counties  in  the  state.  A  glance  at  the  map 
will  explain  readily  how  both  Kimball  and 
Dundy  counties  can  be  the  corner  south- 
western county,  one  farther  south  and  the 
other  farther  west.  The  county  of  Kimball 
adjoins  the  state  of  Wyoming  on  the  west 
and  Colorado  on  the  south,  and  is  the  south- 
western corner  countv  of  the  Western  Ne- 


state  government  until  1888,  when  its  divi- 
sion from  Cheyenne  county  was  effected. 
But  before  that  time  settlers  had  entered  the 
western  corner  of  great  Cheyenne  county 
and  started  Antelopeville  (now  Kimball) 
and  Bushnell. 

The  population  of  the  county  consists 
mainly  of  native-born  Americans  who  have 
immigrated  from  the  eastern  part  of  Nebras- 
ka and  from  Iowa  and  Illinois.  There  is  a 
small  percentage  of  Swedes  and  Danes  and 


braska  or  "Nebraska  Panhandle"  group  of 
eleven  counties  embraced  together  in  this  gen- 
eral treatment  of  the  History  of  Western 
Nebraska.  To  the  north  of  this  county  lies 
its  sister  county,  Banner,  and  its  mother 
county,  Cheyenne,  to  the  east.  Kimball,  the 
county  seat,  is  451  miles  by  rail  west  of 
Omaha,  a  fact  which  demonstrates  the  ex- 
treme length  of  the  state  of  Nebraska.  The 
county  is  nearly  square  and  has  an  area  of 
958  square  miles,  or  613,120  acres. 

Kimball  county  did  not  come  into  exist- 
ence as  a  separate  entity  or  division  of  the 


some  Russians,  the  latter  being  employed  in 
the  cultivation  of  sugar  beets  and  other  spe- 
cial crops.  The  total  population  of  1912  re- 
ported in  the  1910  census  has  increased  to 
4,498  in  1920,  more  than  doubling  in  the  in- 
tervening decade.  Approximately  one-half 
of  the  population  of  the  county  is  in  the 
towns  of  Kimball,  Dix,  and  Bushnell,  and 
the  major  portion  of  the  other  half  in  the 
Lodgepole  Creek  valley  and  around  the  in- 
land settlements  of  Crossbar,  Beacon, 
Bethel  and  Leaf  dale,  and  around  the  small- 
er centers  of  Smed,  Oliver,  Owasco  and  La- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


303 


cinto.     The  population  011  the  upland  plains 
is  rather  light  in  density. 

The  main  line  of  the  Union  Pacific  rail- 
road west  of  Omaha  passes  through  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  county  and  gives  the  county 
benefit  of  transcontinental  and  main-line 
service  from  Omaha  to  Cheyenne,  Salt  Lake 
and  the  Pacific  coast.  This  is  the  only  rail- 
road through  the  county,  so  that  some  sec- 
tions of  the  county  are  so  remote  from  rail- 
road as  to  involve  fifteen  to  twenty  mile 
hauls  of  farm  products  to  marketing  points. 
The  wagon  roads  are  for  the  most  part  ordi- 
nary dirt  roads,  which  are  not  permanently 
located  or  built,  as  yet.  However,  as  there 
is  not  a  heavy  rainfall  these  roads  are  gen- 
erally in  fair  condition  throughout  the  year. 
The  Lincoln  Highway  passes  east  and  west 
through  the  Lodgepole  Creek  valley  and  is 
in  good  condition  for  both  wagon  and  auto- 


mobile traffic.  The  federal  aid  road  north 
from  Kimball  to  Harrisburg,  Gering  and 
Scottsbluff  is  generally  in  excellent  condi- 
tion. 

First  Settlement  in  the  County 

The  first  permanent  settlements  in  Kim- 
ball county  were  made  about  1868.  This 
was  about  the  time  the  Union  Pacific  rail- 
road was  extended  through  the  county.  But 
the  very  early  history  of  Kimball  county  is 
most  extensively  covered  in  other  parts  of 
this  work  in  the  treatment  given  of  the  set- 
tlement of  this  western  Nebraska  "panhan- 
dle" section.  The  early  history  of  Cheyenne 
county  dating  prior  to  1888,  naturally  and 
inseparably  involves  a  great  deal  of  the  his- 
tory of  Kimball  county.  Among  the  pioneer 
families  of  this  county  were  James  English 
and  James  J.  Kinney,  who  came  in  the  early 
days  with  the  Union  Pacific  railroad.  Other 
families  arriving  during  this  first  period  in 
the  history  of  the  county,  while  it  was  still 
a    part    of    Chevenne    county,    were    P>.    K. 


P.ushee,  Peter  Atkins.  Adam  Grubb,  D.  H. 
Shultz,  E.  J.  Dillon.  Henry  11.  Prouty,  P. 
Maginnis,  Mrs.  C.  A.  Shafer,  L.  E.  Shafer, 
F.  J.  Bellows,  C.  A.  Bickel,  George  VV. 
Heard,  N.  E.  Garman,  A.  II.  Amos,  J.  W. 
Hurley,  S.  R.  Walker.  Jas.  Newell,  Thomas 
Gering,  W.  U.  Hall,  Henry  Vogler,  D.  A. 
Yoakam-,  Ira  Sawyer,  Gus  Linn,  II.  .Mar- 
shall, Samuel  Woolridge,  and  S.  A.  Prescott, 
and  others  whose  names  will  appear 
throughout  the  portion  of  this  work  given  to 
Kimball  and  Cheyenne  counties. 

Descriptions  of  life  upon  the  ranches  prior 
to  the  advent  of  the  Union  Pacific  road,  and 
the  identity  of  the  various  ranches  after  the 
arrival  of  the  railroad  will  be  left  to  another 
portion  of  this  work.  A  description  of  the 
trials  and  troubles  of  the  Indian  days  will 
likewise  be  assigned  to  the  general  treat- 
ment of  this  entire  territory. 

The  Census  Story  of  the  Growth 
The  figures  of  the  Federal  census  of  1900 
as  compared  with  that  of  1910,  and  the  more 
wonderful  progress  displayed  by  the  figures 
for  1920,  graphically  tell  the  story  of  the  evo- 
lution of  the  prairie  cattle  range  of  this  lo- 
cality into  thriving  communities  and  a  pros- 
perous county. 

Kimball  Count}',  Nebraska 

Minor  Civil  Division        1920  1910  1900 

Kimball  county 4498  1942     75S 

Antelope  precinct,   including 

Kimball  village ^.2450  942     37S 

Bushnell   precinct,   including 

Bushnell  village '.757  334     137 

Dix   precinct,   including   Dix 

village 635  246     156 

Johnson    precinct 343  233 

South   Divide  precinct 148      

Union   precinct 165  187       B7 

Incorporated  Place          1920  1910  1900 

Bushnell   village 321      

Dix   village. 248     

Kimball   village 1620  454     254 

Early  Settlement  of  Kimball  and 
Vicinity 
The    purchase   bv    Hon.    |.    T.    Clarkson, 
from  the  U.  P.  Ry.  Co.  of  a'll  of  their  lands 
lying  south  of  the  railway,  from  the  vicinity 
i  >i"  Pi  itter,  near  the  \\  estern  edge  of  the  pres- 
ent   Cheyenne    count},    across    the    presenl 
Kimball  count},  to  the  Wyoming  line,  was 
the   first   step   toward   the   settlement    of   the 
western    end    of   old    Cheyenne    count}-,   or 
present  Kimball  count} .    Clarkson  1 
firsl   lender,  and  fiiiallv  the  sale  was  ratified 


304 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


by  the  government,  and  Clarkson  by  wait- 
ing got  his  title. 

Shortly  thereafter  the  Bay  State  Live 
Stock  Co.  purchased  all  of  the  railroad  land 
lying  north  of  the  track,  hoping  thereby  to 
secure  a  permanent  range  for  their  stock. 
They  took  two  courses  to  obtain  title.  First, 
they  took  the  claim  of  the  Union  Pacific  for 
a  patent,  the  government  not  then  having 
given  a  patent  thereto,  and  second,  the  Bay 
State  people  made  a  contract  with  the  Union 
Pacific  people,  who  could  not  give  title  by 
transfer  of  patent,  as  Congress  must  yet 
ratify  their  claim.  The  Bay  State  Company, 
through  its  president,  H.  H.  Robinson,  made 
a  tender  to  the  Union  Pacific  people.  Later 
the  bondholders  of  the  Union  Pacific 
brought  foreclosure  proceedings  on  their 
bonds ;  and  then  the  Bay  State  people  inter- 
vened on  their  contract,  and  on  a  compro- 
mise reached,  the  government  ratified  after- 
wards. 

The  land  in  the  vicinity  of  present  Kim- 
ball county  not  involved  in  these  two  fore- 
going deals  was  taken  up  by  various  indi- 
viduals, who  started  settling  in  this  locality 
about  1886. 

A  considerable  land  was  gathered  togeth- 
er in  later  years  to  form  the  Circle  Arrow 
ranch,  now  approximately  .5,000  acres  in 
area.  This  had  certain  Bay  State  lands, 
Pumpkin  Creek  lands  and  other  lands  in  this 
locality  of  Kimball.  They  used  the  whole 
range  in  the  eastern  end  of  the  present  coun- 
ty. The  local  ranch  was  sold  to  Robert 
Beal,  and  then  to  Beal  &  Hagerty,  and  later 
to  H.  M.  Bennett  of  Cheyenne,  and  finally  to 
the  Lodgepole  Land  Company,  of  which  B.  F. 
Knapp  of  Fremont  is  president. 

W.  T.  Young  was  an  early  homesteader  in 
this  locality,  coming  about  1885.  He  still 
has  holdings  of  about  3,500  acres.  Theo. 
Menges  had  at  one  time  practically  a  thou- 
sand acres,  which  since  his  departure  has 
been  split  up  and  sold  to  various  parties. 
J.  J.  Kinney's  ranches,  which  expanded  to 
about  four  thousand  acres,  were  west  of 
town,  on  both  sides  of  the  railroad.  He  sold 
these  holdings  to  H.  A.  Clark  of  Columbus, 
who  disposed  of  them  to  Wm.  Webster,  of 
Kansas  City.  While  part  of  this  ranch  has 
been  split  up.  the  most  of  it  is  yet  together. 
The  L.  C.  Kinney  holdings,  west  of  Bush- 
nell,  have  been  sold. 

The  Clarkson  land  was  afterwards  dis- 
posed of  and  came  into  the  hands  of  numer- 
ous settlers,  and  much  of  it  has  now  passed 
into  hands  of  third  and  fourth  parties. 

These  early  settlers,  with  a  pride  becom- 


ing their  faith  and  enthusiasm  in  the  sup- 
porting qualities  of  this  region  for  an  exten- 
sive population,  collected  samples  of  their 
products  and  exhibited  at  the  Omaha  and 
state  fairs  as  early  as  1885,  and  thus  aided 
materially  in  securing  the  second  premium 
at  each  fair  on  county  exhibits. 

Kimball  ix  1886 

A  good  grasp  of  the  state  of  progress  then 
made  by  Kimball  county  can  be  secured 
from  that  portion  of  a  booklet  issued  in  1886 
by  a  "Guide  to  the  Lands  cf  Cheyenne 
County."  issued  that  year  by  the  members  of 
the  Real  Estate  Association  of  Cheyenne 
county,  Nebraska.  Those  members  of  that 
association  then  living  within  the  present 
confines  of  Kimball  county  were:  Jones  & 
Stevens,  S.  F.  Fleharty  and  Theo.  Menges 
of  Kimball  and  James  Newell  of  Bushnell. 
Of  the  Kimball  region,  these  enthusiastic 
advocates  of  western  Nebraska  said : 

"Attention  was  directed  last  fall  (1885)  to 
an  immense  area  of  rich  agricultural  valley 
and  table  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Pumpkin 
Seed  creek,  from  twenty-five  to  forty  miles 
north  and  northwest  of  Kimball.  Since  that 
time  not  less  than  three  hundred  people 
have  become  permanent  residents  of  that 
locality.  They  are  raising  fine  crops  this 
year,  and  will  soon  have  all  the  advantages 
of  long  settled  communities.  The  improve- 
ment of  the  country  has  also  been  rapid  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Kimball.  All  of 
the  valuable  claims  near  the  railroad  have 
been  taken.  Nine  hundred  tree  claims  and 
eight  hundred  homesteads  and  pre-emption 
claims  have  been  taken  in  this  section  of  the 
country  tributary  to  Kimball.  There  are 
still  about  five  thousand  claims  vacant.  The 
beginning  of  the  present  crop  season  was 
very  unfavorable ;  all  over  the  country  there 
was  a  phenomenal  drought,  our  state  suf- 
fering with  the  rest,  though  the  drouth  end- 
ed in  Cheyenne  county  several  weeks  earlier 
than  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Heavy 
rains  in  the  early  part  of  July  saved  our 
crops ;  after  that  time,  at  frequent  intervals 
for  several  weeks,  the  whole  of  western  Ne- 
braska was  abundantly  supplied  with  rain. 
Our  future  is  no  longer  an  unsolved  prob- 
lem. With  confidence  we  invite  our  eastern 
friends  to  come  and  invest  their  capital  in 
this  flourishing  part  of  the  yet  unsettled 
West.  These  lands  must  continuously  ad- 
vance in  price  at  least  for  years  to  come,  and 
are  now  being  taken  every  day,  both  for 
farming  and  grazing  purposes. 

"Kimball   (formerly  called  Antelopeville ) 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


(.1)  Residence  op  Isaac  Roush.    (2)  Residence  of  John    I.   Filer      (3)    Some   Early    Settlers 
Kimball.    (4)  Right,  Residence  or  Henry  Vogler;    left,  John  Campbell 


306 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


is  located  in  the  valley  of  the  Lodgepole, 
only  a  short  distance  from  that  beautiful 
stream,  having-  in  fact  a  promising  location. 
This  town  has  six  stores,  all  doing  well — 
two  are  general  stores  (The  Pioneer  Store, 
Randall  &  Co.,  and  that  of  Schaeffer  Bros.) 
and  each  carries  a  good  stock  of  goods. 
There  is  also  one  hardware  store,  a  drug 
store,  a  shoe  shop,  and  a  first-class  lumber 
yard.  The  Bank  of  Kimball  was  recently 
established  and  opened  in  a  neat  and  com- 
modious building.  A  newspaper,  the  Ne- 
braska Observer,  was  started  here  in  the 
spring  of  1885;  it  has  flourished  and  done 
much  to  promote  the  settlement  of  the  coun- 
try. The  fact  that  Kimball  is  sure  to  be- 
come a  county  seat  when  the  county  is  di- 
vided has  caused  it  to  grow  very  rapidly.  A 
glance  at  its  location  on  the  map  will  con- 
vince any  one  that  this  anticipation  is  well 
founded.  Kimball  now  contains  about  two 
hundred  people,  and  has  a  good,  well-attend- 
ed school.  Recently  the  voters  of  this  dis- 
trict have  voted  a  bond  for  the  purpose  of 
building  a  schoolhouse  to  cost  not  less  than 
$2,500.  A  Methodist  church  society  was  or- 
ganized here  over  a  year  ago,  and  they  ex- 
pect to  have  a  church  building  within  the 
next  twelve  months.  Town  lots  can  be  had 
at  a  fair  price  and  on  long  time.  There  are 
opportunities  here  for  all  classes  of  people 
who  are  industrious  and  persevering.  As  in 
all  new  countries,  the  conditions  that  insure 
success  are  in  a  measure  to  be  created ;  so  it 
is  here,  and  those  who  come  now  and  aid  us 
in  building  up  the  town  and  developing  the 
country  will  reap  a  rich  reward." 

Mrs.  Mary  Lynch 

One  of  the  picturesque  characters  who  has 
played  an  inseparable  and  invaluable  part  in 
not  only  starting  but  building  the  communi- 
ty of  Kimball,  is  Mrs.  Alary  Lynch,  who  up- 
on June  24.  1919,  celebrated  her  eighty-sev- 
enth birthday  and  at  the  same  time  marking 
practically  the  period  of  forty-six  years'  res- 
idence in  Kimball.  At  that  time  this  noble 
"grandmother"  of  the  town  of  Kimball  was 
in  a  very  remarkable  good  condition  of 
health,  for  one  of  her  years  and  experience. 
Upon  that  date  over  one  hundred  of  Mother 
Lyncb*s  children,  grandchildren,  relatives, 
friends  and  acquaintances  gathered  at  her 
home  to  pay  her  a  well  merited  tribute.  In 
addition  to  the  fine  big  leather  rocker  that 
this  admiring  concourse  brought  to  Mother 
Lynch,  her  heart  was  especially  gratified  by 
another  letter  and  a  telegram  from  two  of 
her  former  "boys."    (  >ne  of  these  came  from 


\Y.  M.  Jeffers,  general  manager  of  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad  system,  who  when  he  was 
an  operator  at  Kimball  many  years  before, 
had  boarded  with  Mother  Lynch.  This  mes- 
sage read,  "With  your  ether  old  friends  and 
admirers  may  I  also  extend  my  congratula- 
tions and  best  wishes  on  your  eighty-sev- 
enth anniversary  and  with  added  hope  that 
through  the  years  to  come  there  will  be 
many  sunshiny  days.  In  recalling  your 
many  kindnesses  in  the  old  days  when  a 
youngster  at  Kimball  and  how  you  lectured 
me.  I  am  reminded  of  the  daily  newspaper 
picture,  'When  a  fellow  needs  a  friend.' 
"W.  M.  Jeffers." 

This  telegram  came  from  another  of  her 
beys  and  said,  "Best  wishes  for  your  con- 
tinued good   health  and  many  more  birth- 
days and  may  every  one  be  more  pleasant. 
"C.  B.  Irwin,  General  Agent, 

"Cheyenne,  Wyoming." 

A  few  weeks  preceding,  in  May,  1918,  as 
Mr.  Jeffers  had  been  going  through  Kimball 
in  his  special  car,  he  had  the  car  set  on  the 
side  track  and  asked  the  local  employees  if 
Mrs.  Lynch  was  still  living  and,  if  so,  where. 
Messrs.  Jeffers  and  Irwin  got  out  of  the  car 
and  went  over  to  the  house  to  visit  Mother 
Lynch.  The  heart  of  the  good  old  mother 
was  as  gratified  by  the  visit  of  these  former 
boys  as  most  anything  that  could  have  come 
to  her. 

Realizing  that  the  story  of  Kimball  could 
not  be  complete  without  its  narration,  in 
part,  by  one  who  had  played  so  important 
part  therein  as  Mrs.  Lynch,  the  compiler 
secured  seme  of  the  points  from  her,  as  she 
could  remember  them,  the  morning  after 
this  memorable  birthday  party. 

Mrs.  Lynch  narrates  that  she  came  out  to 
Kimball  in  1873.  Mr.  Darling  was  then 
agent  for  the  Union  Pacific.  He  later  moved 
her  here  from  below  Sidney  near  Colton,  to 
run  the  section  house.  There  were  then  no 
houses  here  but  a  few  'dobes  where  the  sec- 
tion men  used  to  sleep.  The  next  town  east 
was  Sidney,  about  thirty  miles,  and  the 
next  town  west  was  Cheyenne  about  sixty- 
five  miles.  There  were  a  few  ranches  way 
to  the  south.  The  people  out  there  used  to 
come  in  and  get  supplies  at  the  section  house 
and  would  stay  for  a  meal.  This  trade  in 
addition  to  the  few  section  men  situated 
there  soon  made  this  bearding  house  in  the 
wild  plains  a  good  paving  business. 

Mrs.  Lynch  stayed  in  this  section  house 
for  a  good  many  years  and  says  that  the  sec- 
tion men.  cow-boys  and  Indians  were  her 
steadfast  and  faithful  friends.     The  popular- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


307 


ity  of  this  place  grew  so  swiftly  that  many 
of  the  railroad  men  would  eat  with  her  and 
would  arrange  their  work  in  order  to  take  a 
meal  with  her  instead  of  staying  at  Sidney. 
Mrs.  Lynch  relates  that  when  she  was  in 
Colton    the    Indians    came    during   the    two 


were  mostly  Sioux  and  Cheyenne.  The  gov- 
ernment furnished  them  with  provisions  but 
they  did  not  know  how  to  use  them.  They 
would  trade  their  very  hest  items  to  the  sec- 
tion men  for  a  plug  of  tobacco. 

By  1880  Mr.  T.J.  Kinney  had  started  his 


years  she  lived  at  the  section  house,  and  as 
she  was  just  from  Iowa,  she  did  not  know 
exactly  how  to  take  their  presence,  but  as 
they  were  very  friendly  and  would  bring  her 
antelope  meat  and  call  her  "Heap  good 
squaw"  she  soon  accepted  their  presence  as 
calmly  as  that  of  any  other  person.     They 


ranch  up  west  of  town.  Mr.  J.  J.  .Mcintosh 
ran  a  .saloon  in  the  very  early  days.  After 
hynch's  came  the  saloon  was  closed  up  and 
they  had  a  schoolhouse  instead. 

Mother  Lynch  narrates  that  the}  were 
living  in  the  section  house  when  the  little 
settlement  of  Kimball  started.    Her  husband 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


had  a  claim  then  on  the  creek  to  which  they 
went  to  attempt  to  establish  their  home 
after  leaving  the  section  house.  The  first 
crop  that  was  raised  there  was  in  potatoes. 
People  came  in  from  Illinois  and  especially 
from  Chicago  and  from  all  over  the  country 
east  of  here  and  were  astonished  to  find  that 
potatoes  could  be  grown  here  without  irri- 
gation. The  impression  had  become  general 
that  this  part  of  the  country  was  so  dry  that 
nothing  could  be  raised.  Of  course  a  few 
years  later  when  the  drouth  came  on  this, 
it  became  true  and  only  those  who  did  not 
have  money  enough  to  move  and  had  to 
stay,  remained.  Mother  Lynch  who  had  her 
boarding  business  to  rely  upon,  said  she  al- 
ways felt  sorry  for  the  other  people  in  those 
dark  days. 

The  first  building  in  Kimball  proper  was 
the  Hotel  Martha,  run  by  Schooleys  from 
Illinois.  This  was  on  the  Rodman  build- 
ing location.  The  Kimball  hotel  started 
about  twenty-five  years  ago  after  Mrs. 
Lynch  had  started  her  hotel  and  boarding 
house.  She  says  that  her  husband  then  had 
more  to  do  than  he  could  manage  with  the 
claim  and  stock,  so  he  had  induced  her  to 
start  this  hotel  upon  the  site  where  Walker's 
garage  now  is  located.  After  the  Hotel 
Kimball  started,  the  Hotel  Martha  closed 
up.  Mr.  Bickel  bought  the  building  in  for 
taxes  and  closed  it  up. 

The  Storm  ot  1873 

Mother  Lynch  relates  an  incident  con- 
nected with  the  storm  of  1873,  the  biggest 
that  this  part  of  the  country  had  ever 
known.  She  says  a  train  got  as  far  as  Kim- 
ball and  had  to  stop  here.  They  faced 
starvation  unless  they  could  get  succor  from 
outside.  The  conductor  worked  his  way 
over  to  Lynch's  to  get  meals.  With  him  he 
brought  a  lawyer  from  Chicago  named  Clay- 
ton. This  "high-toned"  lawyer  at  once  said 
that  their  place  looked  like  they  could  get  a 
good  breakfast,  and  asked  if  he  could  also 
get  a  breakfast  for  a  lady.  They  had  a 
breakfast  of  sausage  and  potatoes  and  bis- 
cuits. When  they  had  partaken  of  the  re- 
past he  remarked  that  she  must  make  a  good 
fortune  there  and  when  he  went  to  pay  his 
bill  he  handed  her  a  ten-dollar  bill  for  three 
meals.  She  did  not  have  any  change,  but 
they  were  satisfied,  and  insisted  on  letting  it 
stand  at  that. 

Starting  a  School 
When  Mrs.  Lynch  first  came  to  Kimball 
there  were  of  course  no  school  facilities.    Mr. 


Kinney  who  had  been  section  foreman  did 
not  want  any  school  there.  Sidney  was  us- 
ing its  influence  to  keep  a  school  out  of  the 
west  part  of  the  county,  for  they  wanted  all 
the  school  money  in  Cheyenne  county  to  go 
to  their  schools  there.  Mrs.  Lynch  said  she 
soon  attended  to  influencing  him  into  hav- 
ing a  school  here  anyway.  She  relates  while 
Mr.  Kinney  sided  in  with  them,  "I  told  him 
we  were  going  to  get  it."  Mrs.  Lynch  gave 
notice  that  she  could  not  stay  there  without 
a  school  building.  A  train  man  came  in 
about  that  time  and  asked  her  why  she  was 
leaving  town  and  she  said  on  account  of 
there  being  no  schools.  The  trainman  said 
he  supposed  then  she  was  leaving  for  Sidney 
and  she  said.  "No,  I  am  not."  The  orders 
then  came  to  move  Mrs.  Lynch  to  Sidney 
but  she  informed  her  husband  that  they 
were  going  to  get  a  school.  They  raised 
twenty-five  dollars  and  found  a  few  scholars 
but  no  place  to  have  them  attend.  There 
was  an  old  "dobe"  that  one  of  the  section 
men  had  moved  out  of.  For  that  she  paid 
ten  dollars,  so  the  first  school  held  in  Kim- 
ball cost  thirty-five  dollars. 

A  man  moved  from  Hillsdale  named  Mr. 
Dorrick  and  sent  his  boy  over  to  help  them 
out.  Lynch's  oldest  boy,  who  was  the  first 
child  born  in  the  section  house  there,  was 
then  about  four  and  one-half  years  old  and 
he  was  used  to  make  out  the  seven  pupils 
that  were  necessary.  The  school  has  been 
running  at  Kimball  ever  since. 

When  the  section  homestead  law  came. 
Lynch's  took  a  claim  about  seven  miles  west 
of  town  and  held  it  until  they  proved  up. 
On  account  of  sickness  and  ill  health,  Mrs. 
Lynch  had  to  give  up  the  hotel.  After  that 
she  had  an  operation  in  Omaha,  then  she 
came  back  and  made  her  home  with  her  son- 
in-law.  Mr.  Bushee  wanted  to  go  in  the 
hotel,  so  she  took  a  house  in  as  part  payment 
which  she  later  sold  to  her  son-in-law,  and 
then  moved  to  her  present  home  where  she 
has  lived  for  about  ten  years. 

Mrs.  Lynch  was  born  in  Ireland.  She 
came  to  Boston  when  eleven  years  old  with 
her  parents,  Tom  Connors  and  Mary  Con- 
nors. She  lived  in  Massachusetts  until  her 
marriage  at  the  age  of  seventeen  to  John 
Lynch,  and  remained  there  after  her  mar- 
riage until  after  the  birth  of  her  second 
child.  They  then  went  to  Prairie  Du  Chien, 
Wisconsin,  and  from  there  to  McGregor, 
Iowa.  Her  husband  was  a  railroad  contrac- 
tor. She  came  first  to  Colton.  when  she 
moved  to  Nebraska.  Her  first  husband  died 
in    Texas   while   engaged   in    railroad    work. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Si»o 


She  married  her  second  husband,  James 
Lynch,  in  Ackley,  Iowa.  She  has  thirteen 
grandchildren  living  aroun'd  Kimball,  her 
son  Frank  has  six  children,  and  a  daughter, 
Mrs.  C.  A.  Forsling,  has  seven  children.  She 
has  one  son,  Dennis,  in  Iowa  Falls,  and  two 
sons  by  her  second  husband  now  living  in 
Wyoming:  James  in  Casper,  and  Mike  else- 
where in  the  state. 

In  the  cow-boy  days,  Mother  Lynch  had 
to  take  care  of  the  cow-boys  as  well  as  the 
railroad  beys.  Familiar  figaires  in  those  days 
included  the  McShanes,  especially  Tom,  a 
cousin  of  John  McShane.  Jim  Shaw  was 
another  figure.  One  of  her  sons,  Mike,  was 
a  cow-boy  for  the  Bay-State  Company. 
Merrell  Wyman  was  another  well  known 
cow-boy.  John  Snodgrass  was  a  familiar 
figure  with  the  Creighton-McShane  outfit. 
He  moved  from  here  to  Springfield  where 
he  died.  John  Creighton  used  to  come  in 
and  always  had  a  satchel  of  chocolate  and 
that  was  his  medicine  when  not  in  a  hos- 
pital. Dr.  Mockett  brought  Dr.  Lord  up 
from  below  Sidney  and  introduced  him  to 
Mrs.  Lynch.  Dr.  Lord  had  come  to  Sidney 
to  operate  upon  a  patient  and  when  he  in- 
quired about  Mrs.  Lynch  and  found  out  she 
was  at  Kimball  he  came  right  up. 

Mrs.  Lynch  recounts  that  Kimball  has  re- 
mained a  pretty  dry  county  through  all  its 
history  and  never  had  a  real  bad  fight  or  had 
anybody  killed  in  a  drunken  brawl. 

County  Division 

The  agitation  for  a  division  of  Cheyenne 
county  started  rather  actively  as  early  as 
1884."  One  of  the  leading  spirits  in 'this 
movement  was  Theo.  Menges,  a  real  estate 
agent  at  that  time.  He  unceasingly  and  un- 
tiringly canvassed  this  question.  He  later 
died  in  Chicago,  as  president  of  Western 
Dental  College,  one  of  the  largest  institu- 
tions of  its  character  in  the  country  at  the 
time. 

The  question  was  eventually  submitted 
three  times.  The  first  effort,  late  in  1887, 
was  beaten.  This  proposal  was  for  three 
counties,  dividing  the  big  Cheyenne  county 
into  three  sections,  the  east  practically  the 
present  Deuell  and  Garden  counties,  the 
center,  the  present  Cheyenne  and  Merrill 
counties,  and  the  west  section,  the  present 
Kimball,  Banner  and  Scottsbluff  counties. 
A  futile  effort  to  submit  the  question  was 
made  in  January,  1888,  when  a  petition 
signed  by  Charles  Anderson  and  122  others 
was  filed,  asking  the  board  to  set  aside  a  ter- 
ritory named   therein   into   a   county   to   be 


called  "1 'otter"  and  a  vote  be  taken  thereon 
at  the  next  general  election.  The  board 
found  that  this  petition  did  not  contain  a 
majority  of  the  legal  voters  residing  in  the 
territory  described,  but  found  in  favor  of 
submitting  a  similar  petition  signed  by  one 
O.  B.  Taneyhill  and  137  legal  voters  resid- 
ing in  a  territory  therein  described  and  ask- 
ing for  a  county  named  "Kimball"  to  be  vot- 
ed upon. 

The  second  proposition  was  one  that 
called  for  the  formation  of  four  counties  out 
of  Cheyenne,  the  three  new  divisions  to  be 
Deuell,  Scottsbluff  and  Kimball.  Sidney 
favored  running  the  line  between  the  two 
counties  out  of  the  western  third  of  the  old 
county  through  the  center  of  the  present 
Banner  county.  This  was  lost.  The  propo- 
sition made  for  a  count}'  that  would  give 
Potter  a  county-seat  placed  Sidney  right  on 
a  county  line  and  would  deprive  her  of  any 
county  seat,  and  drove  Sidney  to  a  point 
where  her  adherents  had  to  favor  the  final 
division  proposition.  The  division  adher- 
ents figured  if  they  would  make  the  next 
trial  on  a  plan  that  would  give  Lodgepole 
and  Potter  county  seat  chances  and  still 
leave  Sidney  sitting  on  a  county  line,  it 
would  add  to  their  strength.  That  agitation 
brought  a  considerable  number  of  Sidney- 
adherents  over  to  the  proposition  of  1888 
which  prevailed. 

The  final  proposition  submitted  the  for- 
mation of  four  new  counties,  and  divided 
Cheyenne  county,  as  follows:  Deuel  from 
present  Deuel  and  Garden  counties;  Chey-. 
enne  remained  that  territory  now  Cheyenne 
and  Morrill  counties :  Scottsbluff,  Banner 
and  Kimball  formed  out  of  the  west  end, 
and  according  to  present  lines. 

The  petition  of  October  2,  1888,  defined 
the  boundaries  of  Kimball  county,  as  fol- 
lows: "All  of  that  portion  of  Cheyenne 
county  commencing  at  the  northeast  corner 
of  Section  3.  in  Township  16,  north,  range 
53,  west  of  the  6th  1'.  M.,  thence  west  on 
township  line  between  Townships  16  and  17, 
North,  to  a  point  where  the  line  intersects 
with  the  east  boundary  line  of  the  Territory 
of  Wyoming,  and  thence  south  along  the 
west  boundary  line  of  the  State  of  Nebraska 
to  a  point  where  said  line  intersects  with 
the  north  boundary  line  of  the  Slate  <<\  Ci  >li  >- 
rado,  and  thence  east  ah  ng  the  south  boun- 
dary line  of  the  Stale  of  Nebraska  to  a  point 
where  said  line  intersects  with  a  line  extend- 
ing due  north  on  the  section  line  between 
Sections  If)  and  17  in  Township  1-'  north, 
range  53  west  of  6th  P.  M.  and  thence  north 


310 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


to  the  northwest  corner  of  section  4,  in 
township  12,  north,  range  53,  west  cf  6th 
P.  M.  and  thence  due  east  to  the  southeast 
corner  of  section  34,  township  13,  north, 
range  53  west  of  6th  P.  M.  and  thence  due 
north  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

The  second  proposal  for  division  became 
very  heated  between  the  adherents  of  Kim- 
ball and  Banner  counties. 

The  Banner  county  people  opposed  Kim- 
ball county  in  their  plan  to  have  the  west 
end  of  big  Cheyenne  county  divided  into 
two   counties.     The    Banner   county   people 


vicinity),  101  for,  3  against;  Sidney,  74  for, 
241  against;  Lodgepole,  14  for,  145  against; 
Potter,  3  for,  '101  against;  Chappell,  159 
for,  1  against ;  Big  Springs,  41  for,  84 
against ;  Dix,  7  for,  26  against :  Pumpkin 
Creek,  39  for,  3  against ;  Bronson,  29  for, 
21  against;  Bushnell,  3  for.  21  against;  Hull, 
19  for.  63  against;  Long  Springs,  38  for,  66 
against;  Wright,  51  for,  71  against;  Gabe 
Rock,  18  for,  14  against;  Gering,  115  for,  16 
against ;  Mitchell,  4  for,  36  against;  Sughrue. 
94  for ;  Blue  Creek,  74  against ;  Loraine,  22 
for;    Camp    Clarke,    none    for,    66    against; 


Kimball  Count?  Court:  House,  Kimball 


had  one  advantage  in  more  votes  in  propor- 
tion to  the  area,  as  Kimball  county  then  had 
every  other  section  tied  up  under  railroad 
ownership.  There  was  no  town  in  the  Ban- 
ner territory.  Among  their  leaders  were 
J.  A.  Burton,  Bill  Ryan  and  Martin  and  Will 
Montz,  while  some  of  the  spokesman  for 
Kimball  county  territory  were :  C.  F.  Robert- 
son, Theo.  Menges  and  A.  B.  Beard. 

A  brief  review  of  the  vote  cast  in  Novem- 
ber, 1887,  on  the  first  proposal  forming  two 
new  counties,  and  making  three  counties  out 
of  Cheyenne,  would  serve  the  purpose  of 
showing  the  divisions  by  precincts  and  com- 
munities that  Cheyenne  county  had  then 
been  formed  into.  Lost  Creek,  2  for,  5 
against;  Tabor,  2  for,  7  against;  Coulton,  3 
for,    19    against;    Antelope    (now    Kimball 


Kiowa,  50  for,  5  against ;  Union  Valley,  none 
for,  47  against;  Redington,  2  for,  78  against, 
making  933  for  new  counties,  and  1,259 
against,  without  five  precincts  including 
Gilchrist,  Bayard,  Rush  Creek  and  Court 
House  Rock  as  missing,  in  above  tabulation. 

County  Government 
Before  the  organization  of  Kimball  coun- 
ty as  a  separate  county,  the  history  of  the 
government  of  this  community  is  a  part  of 
that  of  Cheyenne  county,  and  will  appear 
therein.  A  few  scattering  mentions  made  of 
the  period  preceding  1888  will  serve  to  shew 
who  were  the  active  citizens  interested  in 
the  local  government  affairs.  In  1873,  three 
years  after  the  organization  of  Cheyenne 
county,  James  J.  Mcintosh  served  as  county 


HISTORY  (  >F  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


!]  1 


commissioner  for  one  year,  while  he  was  liv- 
ing at  Potter.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
the  present  Kimball  county  territory  was 
then  the  southwestern  corner  of  Cheyenne 
count}'.  The  territory  west  of  Potter  be- 
came Antelope  precinct  of  Cheyenne  coun- 
ty. In  1873,  I.  D.  Miller  wras  justice  of  peace 
by  appointment  and  T.  B.  Evans,  justice  of 
peace  and  assessor  by  election  that  fall,  for 
Antelope  precinct.  In  1874.  J.  J.  Mcintosh 
was  justice  of  the  peace  and  road  supervisor 
and  T.  B.  Evans,  justice  of  the  peace.  H.  V. 
Redington  was  justice  of  the  peace  and  road 
supervisor  for  Potter,  and  also  served  about 
this  time  as  county  commissioner  from  Pot- 
ter and  vicinity.  Officers  who  served  Ante- 
lope precinct  about  1876  and  1877  were:  John 
Kelley,  assessor;  H.  J.  Mcintosh  and  Jas. 
Lynch  as  justices  of  the  peace ;  T.  B.  Evans 
and  J.  J.  Kinney,  judges  of  the  election  ;  Jas. 
Lynch,  John  Kelley,  clerks  of  the  election. 
and  Peter  Rollman  and  M.  O'Brien,  con- 
stables. At  that  time,  for  the  election  board 
in  Potter  those  who  served  were:  Jas.  Mor- 
ris, A.  Gunderson  and  J.  A.  Anderson, 
judges ;  the  clerks  were :  J.  T.  Walker  and  f . 
Coleman.  In  1878  and  1879.  those  who 
served  in  local  governmental  affairs  were  : 
Justices  of  the  peace  for  Antelope  precinct : 
Wm.  Murray  and  Thos.  R.  Benson ;  Leo 
Peterson  and  Peter  Rollman,  constables ; 
on  the  election  board,  Jas.  Lynch,  Wm. 
Murray  and  Geo.  Peterson  as  judges  and 
J.  T.  Walker  and  C.  T.  Harkison,  clerks ; 
Thomas  B.  Evans  as  road  supervisor, 
and  J.  J.  Mcintosh  as  assessor.  At  a  jail 
election  held  on  May  13,  1879.  the  voting  for 
Antelope  precinct  was  done  at  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad  station  at  Antelopeville. 
This  election  called  for  the  submission  of  a 
five  mill  tax  to  build  a  jail,  and  in  Cheyenne 
county  as  a  whole  carried  by  a  vote  of  236 
to  12.  At  a  special  election  on  April  5,  1881, 
the  proposition  of  issuing  $20,000  of  bonds 
for  funding  of  warrants  of  indebtedness  oi 
Cheyenne  county  was  voted  upon.  Another 
election  about  that  time  was  over  $20,000 
bond  issue  for  building  a  buggy  bridge. 

J.  J.  Mcintosh  became  county  clerk  of 
Cheyenne  county  in  1877.  Mr.  Mcintosh 
had  come  to  Brady  Island  in  February,  1869, 
engaged  as  an  operator  in  the  employ  of  the 
U.  P.  R.  R.  Co.,  and  remained  there  three 
months,  when  he  came  to  Potter,  as  agent 
and  operator,  where  he  remained  five  years 
and  then  went  to  Sidney.  He  had  served 
one  year  as  county  commissioner,  lie  later 
moved  to  his  stock  ranch,  28  miles  west  of 
Sidney.     This  makes  him   a   pioneer  of  the 


Dix  vicinity  of  the  eastern  portion  of  present 
Kimball  county.  He  was  born  in  Province 
of  Ontario,  Can.,  at  a  place  named  St.  An- 
drews, June  17,  1850.  and  married  in  Omaha,. 
Neb.,  in  1871,  to  Miss  Mary  Heelan,  of  Chi- 
cago, III.  His  wife  died  in  April,  1875.  By 
their  union  they  had  two  sons,  John  Thomas 
and  James  L.  He  was  married  again  at  a 
later  date  in  Sidney,  to  Miss  Mollie  Kelly  of 
Grand  Island,  Nebraska. 

At  an  election  on  November  4,  1884,  the 
issuance  of  $25,000  bonds  for  building  a 
court  house  was  voted  upon  and  they  Mild  ; 
and  another  election  was  set  for  the  same 
question  on  November  3,  1885,  but  was  not 
successful. 

B\  1886.  the  population  had  become  suffi- 
cient so  thai  Dix  precinct  had  been  formed  of 
that  territory  in  Townships  12,  13  and  14, 
range  54.  Theo.  Menges  was  an  early  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  for  that  township,  and  when 
he  resigned,  James  M.  Bearse,  was  ap- 
pointed. 

In  the  general  election  of  1888,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  board  who  served  for  Antelope 
precinct  were:  H.  R.  Stevens,  L.  R.  Markley 
and  T.  Remington  as  judges,  and  H.  W. 
Newell  and  L.  E.  Nebergall  as  clerks.  In 
Dix  precinct,  those  who  served  at  that  time 
were:  W.  II.  Soloman,  A.  P.  Ferrenberg  and 
11.  P.  Chattborg,  as  judges,  and  IP  Vogler 
and  John  Clausen  as  clerks. 

When  Kimball  count)-  was  given  separate 
organization  in  1888,  its  first  officers  were 
Samuel  Woolridge,  county  clerk  and  clerk 
of  district  court;  N.  IP  Carman,  county 
treasurer;  J.  B.  Timmony.  county  attorney; 
George  W.  Beard,  county  judge;  I'M  Rath- 
burn,  sheriff;  Rufus  Cooley,  county  superin- 
tendent of  schools;  L.  R.  Markley,  coroner, 
and  H.  R.  Stevens,  surveyor,  with  P.  W. 
Bickel.  James  Newell  and  Henry  Cholberg, 
county  commissioners. 

County  Clerks 

Succeeding  the  first  county  clerk  ami  clerk 
of  district  court,  Samuel  Woolridgi 
F.  J.  Bellows,  who  served  from  1890  until 
1896.  His  successor  was  Henry  Vogler,  who 
served  three  terms.  In  1901,  Frank  M. 
Woolridge  became  clerk  and  he  served  two 
terms.  In  1906,  C  T.  Dillon  took  the  office. 
His  successor,  A.  P.  Beard,  served  three 
terms,  and  in  1913,  IP  C  Amos  tool 
After  three  faithful  terms.  .Mr.  Amos  was 
succeeded  b\  the  present  efficient  clerk, 
Miss  I).  T.  Heynan. 

Count*  Treasurers 

The    first    treasurer.    \.    IP    Carman,    was 


312 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


succeeded  in  1889  by  L.  W.  Bickel.  Mr. 
Bickel  served  for  about  twelve  years,  when 
he  was  succeeded  in  1902  by  P.  Maginnis. 
After  two  terms,  he  yielded  the  office  to 
Henry  Vogler,  who  was  succeeded  by  F.  M. 
Woolridg'e,  who  served  four  years.  In  1911 
Will  J.  Davies  took  the  office.  In  1913, 
A.  B.  Beard  became  treasurer,  and  his  suc- 
cessor in  1916  was  the  present  county  treas- 
urer. Isaac  Roush. 

County  Attorneys 
The  record  of  county  attorneyship  will 
pretty  well  reflect  the  history  of  the  Bar  of 
Kimball  County,  for  most  of  her  lawyers 
have  been  honored  with  the  public  prose- 
cutorship  at  one  time  or  another.  After 
J.  B.  Timmony,  the  next  county  attorney 
was  James  W.  Davis;  in  1892,  J,  J.  Kinney 
undertook  this  office,  and  he  served  until  the 
election  of  F.  H.  DeCastro  in  1896.  After 
Mr.  DeCastro  had  served  six  years,  Mr.  J.  J. 
Kinney  was  recalled  to  the  office  in  1903, 
and  he  served  until  the  appointment  of  W.  T. 
Ballard  about  1909.  Mr.  Ballard  served  for 
about  four  years,  and  in  1913,  James  A.  Rod- 
man was  elected.  He  served  until  1918,  and 
when  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  state 
representative  and  went  to  the  legislature  to 
represent  Kimball  and  neighboring  counties, 
Mr.  W.  J.  Ballard  resumed  the  office  of 
county  attorney. 

County  Judges 
The  important  office  of  county  judge,  up- 
on whom  falls  not  only  the  trial  of  many 
matters  of  litigation  but  the  responsible  ad- 
ministration of  probate  affairs,  was  first  as- 
sumed in  Kimball  countv  bv  George  W. 
Beard.  In  1890,  H.  Marshall  undertook  this 
office,  and  his  successor  was  W.  J.  Leoning. 
In  1895,  H.  H.  Prouty  became  judge  and  in 
1899,  Gus  Linn  was  elected  judge.  H.  H. 
Prouty  then  resumed  the  office  and  served 
for  about  ten  years.  Geo.  W.  Wright  then 
became  judge  for  a  term  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  P.  Schwenk,  and  in  1913  a  second 
long  incumbency  began  when  the  present  ef- 
ficient county  judge  assumed  the  office, 
Judge  F.  J.  Bellows. 

Sheriffs 
The  office  of  sheriff,  the  guardian  of  the 
law  and  administrator  of  order,  was  first  as- 
sumed in  the  new  county  by  Ed  Rathbun. 
The  next  sheriff  was  A.  Hanson  in  1889.  In 
1891  P.  Maginnis  undertook  this  office  and 
served  for  about  ten  years.  For  two  terms, 
C   A.   Forsling  assumed   the   sheriff's   star. 


and  then  for  two  terms  it  passed  to  E.  W. 
Bartholamew,  and  in  1908  the  honor  fell  up- 
on the  man  who  has  since  efficiently  dis- 
charged this  office,  O.  E.  Forsling.  ■ 

County  Superintendents  of  Schools 
Kimball  county  opened  up  her  work  on 
the  task  of  developing  her  schools  coinci- 
dent with  her  organization  of  a  count}-  gi  »v- 
ernment.  Her  first  superintendent  was 
Rufus  Cooley.  Succeeding  him  was  Eva  T. 
Farmer  ( Mrs.  Eva  F.  Braden  )  who  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1894  by  Lillian  Crownover.  In 
1896,  B.  K.  Bushee  became  superintendent 
of  schools  and  his  successor  was  Z.  O. 
Davis.  In  1901  Alice  Wilkinson  assumed 
the  office,  and  two  years  later  B.  K.  Bushee 
returned  to  the  work.  In  1905  Alice  Wilkin- 
son returned  to  the  office  and  served  until 
Nellie  M.  Crandall  took  office  in  1910.  In 
1912,  Claude  L.  Alden  succeeded  to  this  of- 
fice, and  his  successor  was  Ethel  McEl- 
heney,  who  held  until  the  advent  of  the  pres- 
ent superintendent,  Racheal  McElrcy,  who 
has  served  four  years  and  in  January,  1921, 
began  another  term  of  faithful  and  satisfac- 
tory service. 

Other  County  Officers 
The  office  of  count}-  assessor  has  been 
held  during  most  of  the  separate  existence 
of  this  office  by  the  immediate  predecessor 
of  its  present  incumbent,  J.  T.  Jefferson. 
E  M.  Prouty,  the  present  assessor,  took  of- 
fice in  1921,  and  H.  H.  Parker  held  it  upon 
its  institution  some  ten  years  ago.  W.  T. 
Young  was  holding  the  office  of  coroner 
when  it  was  consolidated  into  the  duties  of 
the  countv  attornev  some  six  vears  ago. 
A".  D.  Ivey.  Dr.  W.  L.  Carlyle.  L'  K.  Simon 
and  Dr.  L.  R.  Markley  held  this  office  in 
years  preceding.  H.  R.  Stevens  was  the  first 
county  surveyor ;  F.  J.  Bellows  succeeded 
him  and  served  through  the  nineties  and 
oart  of  the  next  decade  and  E.  D.  Drake  has 
held  this  post  in  recent  years  and  is  the  pres- 
ent incumbent. 

County  Commissioners 

As  heretofore  noted,  the  first  board  of 
commissioners  to  undertake  the  administra- 
tion of  the  affairs  of  Kimball  county  con- 
sisted of  L.  W.  Bickel,  James  Newell  and 
Henry  Cholberg.  In  1889.  Newell  remained 
over  with  J.  H.  Campbell  and  J.  V.  Brady 
as  new  colleagues.  In  1890  J.  T.  Jefferson 
succeeded  Campbell.  C.  F.  Robertson  suc- 
ceeded Brady  in  1892.  In  1894-95.  Newell 
was   still   serving,   with    D.    H.    Shultz   and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


313 


E.  J.  Dillon  as  the  other  members.  In  1896 
a  new  board  was  at  the  helm,  with  L.  C. 
Kinney,  J.  W.  Hurley  and  John  Claussen  as 
members.  This  board  remained  in  office  in 
the  succeeding  year,  1898.  In  the  latter 
year,  Claussen  and  Hurley  remained  at  the 
po'St  with  F.  M.  Peterson  as  the  new  mem- 
ber. Claussen  remained  on  duty  but  in  1900 
he  was  joined  by  Alfred  Forsling  and  Alfred 
Hanson.  Hanson  served  until  1903  when 
A.  H.  Amos  succeeded  him.  Members  Lilly 
and  H.  B.  Kaufman  came  on  in  1902.  In 
1904,  Kaufman  and  Amos  served  with  Rob- 
ert Gunderson  as  the  third  member.  In  1906, 
Gunderson  remained,  with  Gus  Linn  and 
Oscar  Karlstrum  as  new  members.  These 
three  served  in  1907  and  1908.  In  1909.  a 
new  board  came  into  power,  consisting  of 
P.  L.  Mairs,  Elmer  Johnson  and  A.  H. 
Amos.  In  1911,  John  Claussen  returned  t>. 
duty  upon  the  board  and  served  with  Amos 
and  Johnson.  In  1912.  Charles  F.  Snyder 
succeeded  Johnson.  J.  Pedrett  came  on  in 
Amos'  seat  the  following  winter.  Pedrett 
and  Snyder  remained  in  1914  with  Joe  Pev- 
erly  as  the  new  member.  In  1915,  Snyder 
remained  on  duty,  but  W.  D.  Atkins  and 
Henry  Phillips  were  the  new  members. 
These  three  faithfuls  served  on  through 
1916,  1917  and   1918.     In   1919.  Dave  Sonday 


of  Bushnell  succeeded  Evertson  in  the  Sny- 
der seat  and  the  three  members  in  1921  are 
\V.  D.  Atkins.  D.  H.  Sonday  and  Hans  Gun- 
derson, Jr.  C.  F.  Snyder  resigned  during 
1918  after  nine  years  of  faithful  and  steady 
service  and  for  a  time  G.  E.  Evertson  served 
in  his  stead. 

In  1877,  the  government  established  a 
postoffice  at  Antelopeville  (now  Kimball) 
and  John  Mcintosh  was  the  first  postmaster. 
For  the  last  seven  or  eight  years  E.  W. 
Roche  has  been  the  very  efficient  incumbent 
of  the  office. 

B.  K.  Bushee  was  the  first  person  from 
Kimball  county  to  serve  in  the  Nebraska 
state  legislature,  serving  two  terms.  \Y.  S. 
Rodman  is  the  present  and  only  other  mem- 
ber of  the  house  of  representatives  from  the 
county,  serving  his  second  term. 

I'..  K.  Bushee  was  the  first  member  of  the 
state  senate  from  Kimball  county,  now  serv- 
ing his  fifth  term,  and  once  serving  as  pres- 
ident pro  tern  of  the  senate. 

William  L.  Bates  was  the  first  and  only 
state  official  to  be  elected  from  Kimball 
county,  and  he  is  now  serving  as  regent  of 
the  state  university.  Mr.  Bates  served  two 
terms  in  the  state  legislature,  but  from 
Chevenne  county. 


CHAPTER  II 


SOIL,  CLIMATE  AND  POSSIBILITIES 


Kimball  county,  being  essentially  an  agri- 
cultural and  live  stock  producing  territory, 
more  than  usual  stress  must  be  laid  upon 
these  features  in  recording  the  story  of  its 
settlement,  progress  and  evolution.  While 
it  is  not  the  strict  province  of  a  historical 
narrative  to  deviate  and  wander  into  the 
realms  of  scientific  or  technical  elaboration, 
the  history  of  the  county  is  plainly  written 
in  a  presentation  of  its  physical  features  and 
possibilities.  This  work  has  been  thorough- 
ly, comprehensively  and  wonderfully  per- 
formed in  the  soil  survey  of  the  county 
made  and  preserved  by  the  Federal  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture.  "A  study  of  this  work- 
to  anyone  engaged  in  agricultural  and  live 
stock  industries  in  Kimball  county  will 
many  times  repay  the  reader. 


Kimball  county  lies  in  the  Great  Plains 
province,  in  the  division  known  as  the  High 
Plains. 

The  county  consists  of  a  moderately  roll- 
ing plain,  dissected  by  the  valley  of  Lodge- 
pole  creek,  from  one  to  two  miles  wide  and 
about  200  feet  deep,  extending  across  the 
center  of  the  count}'  in  an  east-west  direc 
tion.  It  is  sharply  defined,  with  broad  areas 
of  undulating  table-land  on  each  side.  The 
valley  '  is  characterized  by  steep  upper 
slopes,  or  bluffs,  with  gentle,  extended 
slopes  at  the  base  which  merge  into  a  nearly 
level     valley    terrace.       The    creek     winding 

through  the  valley  has  a  narrow  recent  tl 1 

plain  lying  about  two  to  four  feet  above  the 
stream',  which  is  subject  to  overflow  at  in- 
frecment  intervals.     A   well-defined  alluvial 


314 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


terrace  of  smooth,  nearly  level,  cr  gently 
sloping,  lies  at  elevations  of  twenty  to  forty 
feet  above  the  creek,  and  a  high  bench,  sixty 
to  eighty  feet  above,  occurs  in  places. 

The  two  areas  of  upland,  the  "table-land" 
or  the  "divides,"  have  much  the  same  char- 
acter. There  are  numerous  shallow  drain- 
age ways,  so  that  the  land  for  the  most  part 
is  slightly  rolling,  although  a  considerable 
part  is  nearly  level.  The  drainage  ways,  or 
"draws,"  in  their  upper  courses  are  simply 
broad,  shallow  depressions  with  no  definite 
or  continuous  channel.  Along-  the  lower 
courses  of  the  larger  draws,  however,  the 
valleys  are  sharply  cut  into  the  plain  and  are 
defined  on  their  outer  edges  by  steep  slopes 
or  bluffs,  which  in  a  few  places  are  rugged 
and  barren  of  soil.  The  floors  of  the  small 
valleys,  however,  are  comparatively  wide 
and  nearly  level.  Small,  isolated,  level- 
topped  hills  or  buttes  and  low,  rounded 
knolls  seldom  more  than  twenty  to  fifty  feet 
above  the  general  level  of  the  surrounding 
lower  lying-  areas  are  features  of  the  upland 
plain.  There  are  also  numerous  slight  basins 
or  depressions  without  drainage  outlets 
scattered  over  the  table-land.  These  are  all 
shallow,  lying-  twenty  to  fifty  feet  below  the 
surrounding  land,  and  vary  in  size  from  two 
or  three  to  about  1,000  acres.  They  appear 
to  represent  original  depressions  in  the 
plain,  but  have  probably  been  increased  in 
size  by  wind  erosion. 

The  elevation  of  the  county  varies  from 
about  4,800  to  5,300  feet  above  sea  level,  and 
the  general  slope  is  eastward.  The  drainage 
is  principally  through  Lodgepole  creek,  the 
only  stream  of  importance  in  the  county  and 
a  tributary  of  South  Platte  river.  A  small 
area  in  the  extreme  northern  part  of  the 
county  is  drained  by  Rocky  Hollow,  which 
flows  into  Lawrence  Fork,  a  small  tributary 
emptying  into  North  Platte  river.  Short 
draws  occur  throughout  the  upland,  so  that 
no  part  of  the  county  is  poorly  drained,  ex- 
cept some  of  the  low  bottom  land  along 
Lodgepole  creek.  The  draws  are  dry 
throughout  the  year,  except  immediately 
after  heavy  rainstorms.  Lodgepole  creek 
has  a  small  flow  of  water.  It  is  a  perennial 
stream,  although  for  a  few  miles  of  its 
course  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  it 
disappears  beneath  the  sand  and  gravel 
which  fill  its  channel. 

The  region  is  practically  treeless;  in  its 
natural  state  it  supports  a  thick  growth  of 
grasses.  The  principal  grasses  are  gramma 
grass  and  buffalo  grass.  The  trees  native  to 
the  region  consist  of  scattered  and  stunted 


pines  on  the  rougher  and  more  broken  land, 
with  some  Cottonwood,  box  elder,  ash,  wil- 
low, and  juniper  along  the  creek. 

Lodgepole  creek  affords  a  supply  of  water 
for  irrigation  and  other  purposes,  and  abun- 
dant water  is  obtained  from  shallow  wells 
in  the  valley.  On  the  upland  plain  water  is 
obtained  from  wells  100  to  250  feet  deep. 
The  water  is  generally  suitable  for  domestic 
use,  and  the  quantity  is  ample  for  farm  and 
ranch  requirements. 

Climate 

The  mean  annual  temperature  is  reported 
by  the  weather  bureau  station  at  Kimball  as 
47.5°  F. 

The  mean  annual  rainfall  is  about  16 
inches,  but  it  varies  widely  from  year  to 
year. 

The  average  date  of  the  latest  killing  frost 
in  the  spring  is  May  16,  and  of  the  first  in 
the  fall,  September  21,  giving  a  normal 
growing  season  of  128  days.  However, 
frosts  frequently  occur  as  late  as  June  and 
as  early  as  August.  The  earliest  recorded 
date  of  killing  frost  in  the  fall  is  August  25, 
and  the  latest  in  the  spring,  June  5.  The 
grazing  season  lasts  ordinarily  from  the 
middle  of  May  to  the  1st  of  November, 
while  some  of  the  grasses  cure  into  hay  in 
a  state  of  nature  and  furnish  some  suste- 
nance for  stock  throughout  the  winter. 

Winds  of  high  velocity  are  common  both 
in  the  winter  and  summer. 

The  climate  in  this  region  is  the  principal 
controlling  factor  in  agricultural  develop- 
ment. It  restricts  in  various  ways  the  vari- 
ety of  crops  grown  and  has  a  decided  influ- 
ence on  the  methods  of  farming.  On  ac- 
count of  the  small  amount  of  rainfall  only 
drought-resisting  and  hardy  varieties  of 
crops  can  be  grown  profitably  on  the  dry 
land.     The  growing  season  is  short. 

Agriculture 
After  several  disastrous  dry  years  in  the 
early  nineties  farming  was  almost  complete- 
ly abandoned  in  favor  of  ranching.  Stock- 
raising  continued  the  dominant  industry  un- 
til about  1905,  when  a  federal  law  was  en- 
acted under  which  the  public  land  could  be 
homesteaded  in  tracts  of  640  acres,  and  the 
lands  rapidly  passed  into  private  ownership. 
This  had  the  effect  of  breaking  up  the  large 
cattle  ranches  and  giving  an  impetus  to 
farming.  Many  of  the  homesteaders,  how- 
ever, practiced  farming  for  only  a  short  time, 
and  after  acquiring  ownership  of  the  land 
sold  their  holdings  to  land  speculators.     On 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


315 


the  cultivated  land  an  extensive  system  of 
dry  farming"  is  carried  on,  while  adjacent 
unoccupied  sections  are  leased  for  pasture 
and  hay  land,  so  that  stock  raising-  on  a 
small  scale  is  practiced  in  conjunction  with 
crop  production. 

Farming-  under  irrigation  is  practiced  to 
some  extent.  "Wheat  is  the  principal  crop 
in  acreage  and  the  chief  cash  crop  of  the 
county.  Both  winter  and  spring  wheat  are 
grown,  winter  wheat  occupying  the  greater 
acreage.  The  yields  have  shown  wide  varia- 
tions in  the  last  ten  years,  ranging  from  less 
than  six  to  as  much  as  thirty-five  bushels 
per  acre.  It  seems  to  be  the  general  experi- 
ence that  the  winter  wheat  slightly  exceeds 
the  spring  wheat  in  yield. 

Corn  is  generally  grown  on  the  upland  as 
a  feed  crop  for  use  on  the  farm.  The  vari- 
eties grown  produce  smaller  stalks  and 
smaller  ears  than  those  of  the  eastern  part 
of  the  state.  The  White  Cap  Dent  seems  to 
be  one  of  the  most  successful  varieties,  and 
good  yields  have  been  obtained  from  Blue- 
flower  Flint  and  other  varieties  of  this  class. 

Oats  are  grown  on  practically  all  the 
farms  operated  by  the  owners,  and  the  crop 
ranks  as  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
county.  The  grain  yields  are  very  uncer- 
tain, but  in  the  most  favorable  years  forty  to 
fifty  bushels  per  acre  are  obtained,  and  a 
considerable  part  of  the  crop  is  marketed. 

Alfalfa  is  of  local  importance  as  a  hay  and 
forage  crop.  The  crop  is  grown  principally 
on  irrigated  land,  but  also  to  some  extent 
on  the  dry-land  farms.  The  yields  under  ir- 
rigation vary  from  two  to  four  tons  per  acre 
per  season.  On  the  upland  alfalfa  is  both 
planted  in  rows  and  cultivated,  and  seeded 
broadcast,  the  yields  being  considerably  less 
than  on  the  irrigated  land.  The  quality  of 
the  alfalfa  grown  in  the  county  is  good. 

Irish  potatoes  constitute  one  of  the  spe- 
cial cash  crops  of  the  county.  This  crop  is 
grown  principally  under  irrigation  in  the 
Lodgepole  valley.  The  yields  are  common- 
ly 150  to  175  bushels  per  acre. 

Sugar  beets  also  are  an  important  special 
crop,  on  irrigated  land.  The  acreage  runs 
usually  less  than  that  of  Irish  potatoes.  The 
tops  are  in  local  demand  for  stock  feed. 

Fruit  has  not  yet  been  grown  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  supply  even  the  small  local  de- 
mand. Plum  trees  are  most  certain  of  yield- 
ing fruit.  Among  the  small  fruits,  goose 
berries,  currants  and  strawberries  do  well. 

Stock-raising  is  regarded  as  a  profitable 
industry,  although  conditions  at  present  are 
not  favorable  for  carrying  on  ranching  on  an 


extensive  scale.  Cattle  rank  first  in  number, 
followed  by  horses  and  sheep.  Most  of  the 
stock  raising  is  done  in  combination  with 
farming,  each  farmer  commonly  leasing 
from  one  to  three  unoccupied  sections  for 
pasture. 

Small  numbers  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs 
are  fed  for  market  in  good  crop  years.  Al- 
falfa is  the  principal  feed  crop,  while  corn, 
barley,  beet  tops,  oats,  emmer,  and  such 
other  feed  and  forage  crops  as  may  have 
succeeded  during  the  season  are  utilized. 

I  >airying  is  carried  on  to  a  small  extent, 
but  is  a  comparatively  unimportant  indus- 
try. Sufficient  milk  and  butter  is  produced 
to  supply  the  local  demand,  and  small  ship- 
ments are  made  to  outside  points.     A  small 


Wheat  Seedi 


of  T.  L.  Bogle 


creamery  has  been  established  at  Kimball. 
The  cattle  on  the  farms  are  of  good 
grades,  the  Hereford  blood  predominating 
in  the  herds  of  beef  cattle  and  the  Holstein 
in  the  dairy  herds.  Most  farms  have  from 
three  to  six  horses  of  heavy-draft  type.  All 
the  farms  are  equipped  with  the  modern 
labor-saving  machinery  required  for  grain 
farming  on  an  extensive  scale.  Tractors  are 
extensively  used  for  breaking  land. 

Agricultural  Asso<  i  vtions 

The  law-makers  at  Washington  either  did 
not  know  (.r  did  not  take  into  ci  nsideration 
the  fact  that  there  was  a  whole  lot  of  land  in 
southwestern  Nebraska  that  doe-  not  belong 
in  the  sand  hill  classification  and  is  a  virtual 
garden  spot,  but  it  came  within  their  laws 
all  to  the  fortunate  and  yet  deserving  efforts 
of  these  settlers  whose  goi  d  judgment  led 
them  to  that  locality. 

One  of  the  earliest  agricultural  activities 
was  that  of  the  Kimball  [mprovement  Asso- 
ciation organized  in  1888,  and  furnishing  the 
fanners  with  seed  wheat  without  cost. 

The  citizens  of  Kimball  met  with  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Bay  State  Live  Stock  Company 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


and  combined  in  an  effort  to  develop  the 
west  territory  of  the  county.  About  six  hun- 
dred bushels  of  wheat  were  secured  at  a  cost 
of  fifty  cents  a  bushel.  This  was  given  out 
in  quantities  for  sowing  ten  acres.  A  large 
amount  of  broom  flax  seed  was  secured.  Mr. 
Schultz  living  north  of  town  raised  fifty 
bushels  of  flax  to  the  acre.  John  Campbell 
raised  wheat  that  took  first  prize  in  Iowa  at 
the  state  fair.  The  Bay  State  Company 
which  was  then  taking  steps  to  put  some  of 
the  west  par.t  of  the  county  in  cultivation. 


was  then  engineered  by  Geo.  Simpson,  John 
A.  McShane  and  John  Snodgrass. 

The  Farmers  Union  Co-operative  Asso- 
ciation of  Bushnell  was  organized  May  19, 
1917,  with  the  following  charter  members  : 
E.  T-  McKinnon,  G.  A.  Millett,  G.  E.  Bloom- 
field,  Arthur  Olson,  L.  N.  Van  Pelt,  Geo. 
Schindler,  Lee  Hall,  Glenn  Williams,  H.  J. 
Miller,  H.  C.  Bloomfield,  J.  L.  Miller,  W.  F. 
Choffer.  W.  E.  Daniels,  S.  H.  Wright,  H.  L. 
Wright,  Lon  Van  Pelt,  Mrs.  F.  U.  Van  Pelt, 
W.  R.  Jones,  C.  O.  Taylor,  E.  P.urgstrum. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


317 


A.  H.  Carnils,  C.  F.  Hoffman,  P.  E.  Hoke, 
C.  S.  Bradshaw,  A.  Sandburg",  Paul  Schin- 
dler,  A.  O.  King,  J.  A.  Nixon  and  John  Pat- 
ton. 

The  Farmers  Union  of  Kimball  was  or- 
ganized in  September,  1917,  with  the  follow- 
ing: Fred  Stanfield,  John  W.  Drake,  Geo. 
A.  Ernst,  Max  Bickel,  Daniel  lams,  Jacob 
Pedrett,  Mrs.  Belle  Luers,  Mrs.  Anna  M. 
Ernst,  Paul  Leurs,  Peter  M.  Nelson,  Ulrich 
Pedrett,  Ezra  J.  Ernst,  Clarence  C.  Camp- 
bell, Edward  M.  Lee,  Murlain  E.  Triddle, 
Guy  M.  Fleming,  Hugh  G.  Irwin,  Mrs.  Lou- 
isa Pedrett.  Rav  Ogle,  A.  P.  Van  Winkle, 
C.  E.  Huff,  Lee  Reed,  Thomas  Phillips. 
Walt  J.  Blackmail  and  Miss  Esther  V. 
Ernst. 

The  Kimball  Farm  Association  was  flour- 
ishing as  early  as  1914.  The  officers  for  that 
year  were :  President,  Geo.  Ernst ;  vice 
president,  John  Tucker;  secretary,  E.  O.  Ul- 
rich ;  treasurer,  F.  J.  Bellows. 

The  governing  board  was  John  Irwin, 
John  Rassmussen,  John  Clausen,  D.  K.  At- 
kins, Jake  Pedrett,  Will  Nelson,  Chris 
Thompson,  H.  H.  Parker,  E.  Foreman, 
Thos.  Phillips,  Elmer  Johnson. 

Another  farm  organization  among  the 
South  Divide  farmers  was  called  the  St. 
John  Community  Congress. 

The  Kimball  and  Banner  Farm  Lean  As- 
sociation was  in  operation  by  1914.  Its  offi- 
cers were  :  Frank  Cunningham,  president ; 
Chas.  Anderson,  vice  president ;  A.  R. 
Thomas,  secretarv;  F.  O.  Baker,  treasurer; 
H.  H.  Parker.  E.  J  McKinnon,  J.  W.  Far- 
mer. 

In  1915,  Lincoln,  Scottsbluff  and  Kimball 
were  three  leaders  in  western  division  at  the 
state  fair.  Kimball  had  hired  Geo.  Unruh 
as  its  count}'  demonstrator  and  to  him  was 
due  considerable  credit  for  his  work  while 
in  that  capacity.  He  was  succeeded  by 
R.  E.  Holland  who  came  when  Unruh  went 
to  Chadron. 

Farmers'  Shipping  Association  of  Dix  was 
organized  in  October,  1914.  A  roster  of  the 
workers  of  this  association  shows  who  had 
been  the  active  business  people  and  agricul- 
tural people  of  that  vicinity  in  recent  years. 
E.  E.  Coding.  John  Clausen,  C.  O.  Ander- 
son, D.  K.  Alkins,  Hans  Gunderson,  A.  B. 
Beard,  L.  C.  Christenson,  Claude  Alden, 
Hans  Hansen,  Fritz  Rotke,  Emil  Anderson, 
John  Blake,  J.  A.  Irwin,  Louis  Nielson,  Fos- 
ter Lumber  Company,  John  Graham,  L.  W. 
Thorson,  B.  M.  Johnson.  R.  R.  Barnes,  H.  P. 
Hansen.  O.  C.  Jensen,  Wm.  1 '.rating.  1-'..  A. 
Bergman,  Geo.  Kellham,  Wm.  Goding,  E.  R. 


Hodges,  G.  H.  Turnbull,  A.  F.  Copper,  Emil 
Belgum,  Emery  Horner,  Geo.  Perry,  Julius 
Johnson,  Arthur  Manning,  John  Manning, 
McKenney.  A.  W.  Wilson,  Noy  D.  Wilson, 
E.  C.  Whitcomb,  Joe  Soles,  D.  E.  Dennison. 

In  July.  1918,  a  meeting  of  all  county 
agents  of  this  part  of  the  state  was  held  at 
Kimball.  Among  those  in  attendance  were 
county  agents  from  the  following  counties : 
A.  W.  Tell,  Scottsbluff;  C.  A.  Sawyer,  Sher- 
idan ;  C.  E.  McComb,  Morrill;  Ii.  G.  Gould, 
Cheyenne;  J.  W.  Logan,  Deuel;  Geo.  Kel- 
logg, Keith ;  Bert  Barber,  North  Platte. 

The  group  in  attendance  made  a  trip  to 
Fort  Collins  and  Greeley,  potato  region, 
from  Kimball  and  made  a  special  study  of 
potato  experiments. 

Farm  Bureau 

Kimball  county  was  one  of  the  first  coun- 
ties in  the  state  to  take  up  the  farm  bureau 
work.  It  was  first  organized  in  1915,  and 
has  shown  a  steady  growth  from  year  to 
year.  Since  the  organization  there  have 
been  five  countv  agents:  Geo.  Unruh,  R.  E. 
Holland,  P.  H. "Stewart,  W.  C.  Calbert,  and 
C.  L.  Deitz.  The  present  occupant  being 
enly  temporary. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  work 
accomplished  by  this  office  during  the  vear 
1920. 

A  campaign  for  soil  improvement  by  rota- 
tion, fertilizers,  etc.,  increased  crop  produc- 
tion by  cultural  methods,  disease  control. 
and  the  introduction  of  varieties  of  high 
yielding  seed. 

The  potato  growers  have  been  organized 
and  have  been  co-operating  with  the  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  State 
Horticultural  Department.  The  growers 
have  all  been  induced  to  treat  their  seed  for 
disease  and  where  their  crops  have  been  free 
from  disease  their  seed  for  sale  has  been  cer- 
tified. The  local  organization  also  belongs 
to  the  Nebraska  Potato  Exchange.  Their 
county  exhibit  took  first  place  at  the  state 
show.  The  sugar  beet  growers  were  organ 
ized  into  an  association  of  thirty-two  mem- 
bers and  secured  a  modern  dump  at  (  Iwasco. 

Experiments  were  conducted  with  the  fol- 
lowing miscellaneous  crops:  kaffir,  feterita, 
broom  corn,  and  limine  grass. 

A  strenuous  campaign  was  waged  for  the 
eradication  of  prairie  dogs,  ground  squirrels, 
potato  bugs,  grasshoppers,  elm  leal'  rollers 
and  small  fruit  pests. 

Several  demonstrations  were  held  for  tin- 
vaccination  of  cattle  for  blackleg  and  other 
troubles.     Several   herds   of   hogs   were   in- 


318 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


spected  for  cholera.     Several  flocks  of  poul- 
try were  culled. 

In  farm  economics  three  hundred  farm  ac- 
count books  were  distributed  through  the 
banks.  Eight  hundred  and  eighty-six  farm 
laborers  were  placed  and  helped  maintain  a 
uniform  wage.  Eight  boys'  and  girls'  clubs 
were  organized  with  a  membership  of  fifty- 
nine.  Exhibits  were  placed  at  the  county 
fair,  the  interstate  fair,  and  state  potato 
show. 

Fair  Records 

The  splendid  agricultural  record  of  Kim- 
ball county  is  reflected  by  the  various 
achievements  of  its  citizens  at  the  state  and 
county  fairs  in  the  past  few  years. 

In  1913  Kimball  and  three  neighboring 
counties  carried  off  fifty-one  prizes  at  the 
state  fair.  Premiums  awarded  Kimball 
county  were : 

First  on  red  spring  wheat  in  bundle,  Nel- 
son. 

First  on  Durham  wheat  in  bundle.  Nelson. 

First  on  white  ats,  threshed.  Nelson. 

First  on  white  oats  in  bundle.  Nelson. 

Second  on  red  spring  wheat  in  bundle, 
Nelson. 

Second  on  Durham  wheat  in  bundles.  Nel- 
son. 

Second  on  potatoes,  Claussen. 

Third  on  Durham  wheat  in  bundle,  Ernst. 

Third  on  winter  rye,  Pedrett. 

Third  on  popcorn,  Jaccby. 

At  the  1920  state  fair,  at  Lincoln,  the  oer- 
centages  awarded  to  the  county  exhibits 
from  the  western  district  reflects  Kimball 
county's  high  standing,  it  being  surpassed 
only  by  Dawes  county,  with  a  rating  of 
435.5,  and  Kimball  reaching  a  rating  of 
385.5,  while  Sheridan  was  third  with  a  rat- 
ing of  352.9 ;  Hitchcock,  fourth  at  334,  and 
Cheyenne,  fifth  with  275.7.  In  the  irrigated 
divisions,  Morrill,  Lincoln  and  Keith  car- 
ried away  the  honors. 

District  Honors 

Kimball  county  won  sixty-two  per  cent  of 
all  prizes  at  Rushville  show. 

Kimball  not  only  landed  the  1920  conven- 
tion of  the  Western  Nebraska  Potato  Grow- 
ers, but  carried  away  sixty-two  per  cent  of 
the  prizes  at  this  year's  meeting.  Kimball 
sent  1,600  pounds  of  her  choice  spuds  to  the 
exhibition  held  at  Rushville.  Wednesday, 
Thursday  and  Friday.  She  landed  second 
place  in  county  exhibits  and  second  in 
artistic   display.     Jake   Pedrett   was   elected 


president  of  the  association  for  the  coming 
year. 

With  Crawford  and  Scottsbluff  strong 
contenders  for  next  year's  convention,  Kim- 
ball succeeded  in  landing  the  meeting  in  re- 
sponse to  an  invitation  from  the  Kimball 
club  together  with  the  faithful  work  of  Mr. 
Pedrett  and  County  Agent  Calvert.  Kim- 
ball received  the  following  prizes : 

Irrigated — Early  Ohio,  Art  Bickel,  sec- 
ond; Triumphs,  Art  Bickel,  first;  Triumphs, 
Robert  Garrard,  second ;  Triumphs,  J.  Ped- 
rett. third;  Triumphs.  Robt.  Garrard, 
fourth;  Downing,  H.  J.  Holick,  first:  Down- 
ing, J.  H.  Courtright,  second;  Pearl,  J.  Ped- 
rett. first;  Pearl.  Phillip  Flohr,  second; 
Pearl.  I.  H.  Courtright.  third;  Pearl,  P. 
Flohr,  fifth. 

Dry  Land— Pearl,  C.  S.  Bradt,  first;  Pearl, 
E.  J.  Horrum,  second  ;  Pearl,  Henry  Yogler. 
third;  Pearl,  C.  S.  Bradt.  fourth;  Blue  Ale- 
tors,  C  S.  Bradt,  first ;  Blue  Victors,  Conrad 
Trout,  second;  Downing.  Aug.  Gadeken, 
first ;  Downing.  Aug.  Gadeken,  second ;  Tri- 
umphs. Gus  Forsling,  third  ;  Cobbler,  Reu- 
ben Peterson,  first ;  Cobbler,  Reuben  Peter- 
son, second ;  Russet  Burbank,  Aug.  Gade- 
ken. first;  Russet  Burbank,  Fay  White,  sec- 
ond ;  Russet  Burbank,  A.  Gadeken.  third ; 
Russet  Burbank,  Con  Trout,  fourth. 

Kimball  Irrigation  District 
The  Kimball  Irrigation  District  is  located 
in  Kimball  county  in  the  valley  of  Lodge- 
pole  creek.  It  is  traversed  by  the  main  line 
of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad.  No  farming 
section  possesses  better  railroad  facilities 
and  a  ready  market  where  satisfactory  prices 
prevail  is  open  to  this  great  district.  The 
town  of  Kimball  is  situated  on  the  railroad 
in  about  the  center  of  the  district.  This  is 
said  to  be  the  only  irrigation  district  tra- 
versed for  its  entire  length  by  a  great  trans- 
continental trunk  rail  line. 

In  the  early  days  Lodgepole  valley  was  a 
favorite  feeding  ground  of  the  buffalo  and 
later  became  a  grazing  ground  for  herds  of 
domestic  cattle.  In  more  recent  years  the 
granger  came  and  settled  in  the  valley  and 
on  the  table  lands  surrounding,  producing 
good  crops  by  scientific  methods  of  dry 
farming.  Forty  per  cent  of  the  land  in  the 
district  is  under  cultivation.  But  to  the 
minds  of  the  settlers  the  fact  has  been  ap- 
parent for  man}'  years  that  eventually  where 
practicable  the  country  should  be,  and  must 
be  irrigated  to  produce  the  best  possible 
agricultural  results.  A  few  irrigation  ditches 
were    run    from    Lodgepole    creek   and    more 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBRASK  \ 


satisfactory  results  obtained  by  a  direct  flow 
of  water  from  the  creek  than  by  dry  farming 
methods,  but  confronting"  the  fanners  was 
the  necessity  of  conserving  the  large  amount 
of  flood  and  waste  waters  of  Lodgepole 
creek  in  a  huge  reservoir  that  would  im- 
pound sufficient  water  to  irrigate  all  of  the 
land  and  hold  it  in  readiness  to  be  turned 
upon  the  soil  whenever  it  might  be  needed. 
Enough  water  went  to  waste  annually  in 
flood  times  and  during  the  eight  months  of 
each  year  when  it  could  not  be  used  for 
direct  irrigation,  to  irrigate  the  land  twice 
over,  and  the  sight  of  this  waste  stirred  the 
people  to  action. 

A  natural  reservoir  site  was  at  hand  lying 
across  Lodgepole  creek,  scarcely  half  a  mile 
distant  from  the  west  end  of  the  land  to  be 
irrigated.  This  reservoir  is  now  completed 
and  has  a  capacity  of  7,200  acre-feet  of 
water,  which  supplementing  average  rain- 
fall, is  sufficient  to  water  the  7,200  acres  of 
land  embraced  in  the  Kimball  Irrigation 
District.  It  is  estimated  by  many  irrigation 
experts  that  one  acre  foot  of  water  is  suffi- 
cient to  irrigate  one  acre  of  land,  but  the 
Kimball  project  is  not  dependent  upon  this 
calculation  because  it  is  the  first  and  only 
reservoir  filling  on  the  creek  and  its  water 
appropriation  entitles  it  to  approximately 
9.000  acre-feet  of  water  during  the  year, 
which  can  be  obtained  by  refilling  from  the 
stream  as  the  water  is  used  during  the  grow- 
ing season.  The  Oliver  Reservoir  is  the 
name  given  this  huge  storage  basin.  The 
extreme  height  across  the  channel  of  the 
creek  is  fifty  feet,  and  the  entire  distance 
across  the  channel,  which  is  three  hundred 
feet,  is  driven  with  sheet  piling  down  to 
bedrock  or  hardpan.  The  inside  slope  of  the 
dam  is  faced  with  five  inches  of  reinforced 
concrete  with  two  and  one-half  feet  of  con- 
crete opening.  The  conduit  or  outlet  works 
is  also  built  of  concrete  reinforced  with  steel 
bars.  A  rocky  ledge  on  the  south  side  of  the 
reservoir  furnishes  a  natural  spillway  of 
ample  capacity  to  take  care  of  the  situation 
in  the  event  the  reservoir  should  be  filled  to 
overflowing,  providing  the  necessary  outlet 
for  this  surplus  so  that  none  of  this  water 
can  go  over  the  dam. 

A  second  reservoir  site  is  owned  by  the 
district,  which  is  located  on  the  same  creek 
six  miles  west  of  the  <  diver  Reservoir.  It 
has  been  surveyed  and  estimates  of  con- 
struction cost  made,  so  that  construction 
can  begin  whenever  the  people  of  the  dis- 
trict so  desire  and  more  land  is  petitioned  to 
be    included    within    the    irrigation    district. 


This  reservoir  when  completed  will  have  a 
capacity  of  3,400  acre-feet,  which  makes  a 
grand  total  of  approximately  11,000  ai  res  of 
land  that  can  be  ultimately  irrigated  from 
these  two  reservoirs.  The  rainfall  during 
the  growing  season,  which  has  been  of  such 
great  benefit  to  the  Kimball  section  in  the 
'past,  will  be  a  big  help  to  the  irrigation  sys- 
tem, as  irrigation  can  be  carried  on  with  a 
smaller  quantity  of  water  than  would  other- 
wise be  required. 

As  previously  stated,  an  important  feature 
of  the  Kimball  project  is  the  close  proximity 
of  the  storage  reservoir  to  the  land  which  it 
is  intended  to  irrigate.  The  outlet  canal  is 
only  one-half  mile  long,  and  at  the  point 
where  it  reaches  the  land  of  the  district, 
divisii  n  gates  are  located.  At  this  point  two 
main  canals  branch  off.  One  is  known  as 
the  South  canal  and  is  flumed  across  the 
creek  and  winds  for  a  distance  of  twenty 
miles  in  an  easterly  direction  to  a  point 
seven  and  one-half  miles  east  of  the  town  of 
Kimball. 

The  second  canal  called  the  North  canal, 
runs  along  the  north  side  of  the  U.  P.  rail- 
road for  a  short  distance  and  then  runs  in  a 
northeasterly  direction  for  a  distance  of 
fourteen  miles  to  a  point  two  and  one-half 
miles  north  of  Kimball. 

These  two  main  canals  cover  the  entire 
acreage  embraced  in  the  district.  The  town 
of  Kimball  is  practically  surrounded  by  the 
district,  and  no  tract  of  land  is  more  than 
three  miles  from  a  loading  station  on  the 
U.  P.  railroad.  Within  the  district  there  are 
three  loading  stations  on  the  railroad,  with 
two  additional  stations  outside  the  district, 
one  five  miles  and  the  other  two  and  one- 
half  miles  distant  from  the  boundaries.  This 
is  especially  advantageous  for  the  raising  of 
heavy  tonnage  crops  such  as  potatoes,  sugar 
beets  and  alfalfa. 

The  organization  of  the  Kimball  Irriga- 
tion District  was  consummated  on  Novem- 
ber 6,  1909.  at  an  election  of  land  owners  in 
the  district  who  were  qualified  voters. 
There  was  not  one  dissenting  vote  at  this 
election.  Their  organization  wa-  brought 
about  through  the  efforts  of  four  local  resi- 
dents and  business  men  of  the  town  of  Kim- 
ball. I.  S.  Walker,  who  is  now  president  of 
the  district,  is  also  secretary  of  the  Pioneer 
I. an. I  Company  and  one  of  the  large  land 
owners   of    the   district. 

The  Kimball  Irrigation  District  organiza- 
tion was  really  started  by  local  parties  who 
had  tiled  an  appropriation  for  a  Storage  pro- 
ject   \pril  15.  PHIS.     (  )n   lulv  12.  1909,  a  petl- 


320 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


tion  signed  by  twenty-four  land  owners  was 
presented  to  the  board  of  county  commis- 
sioners of  Kimball  county,  praying  for  the 
organization  of  an  irrigation  district,  and  on 
October  9,  the  board  approved  the  petition 
and  called  an  election  for  November  6.  On 
November  15.  1909,  the  commissioners  met 
as  a  canvassing  board,  and  finding  an  unan- 
imous vote  in  favor  of  the  district,  declared 
it  duly  organized.  On  April  9,  1910,  bonds 
in  the  sum  of  $250,000  were  voted  for  the 
construction  of  the  project.  These  were  is- 
sued under  date  of  July  1,  1911.  They  were 
sold  during  1911,  the  purchasers  being  most- 
ly local  men. 

When  the  Kimball  Irrigation  District  for- 
mation was  attempted  in  August,  1909,  the 
petition  was  signed  by  Irving  Walker,  Will 
Davies,  C.  A.  Eorsling,  Henry  Vogler,  Fred 
Morgon,  Thos.  Wilkinson,  Chas.  Dillon, 
A.  H.  Amos,  G.  S.  Brady,  J.  Pedrett,  H.  A. 
Clarke,  L.  H.  Lilly,  John  Ewbank,  John  Ty- 
nell,  M.  F.  Lemon,  Jno.  Alexander.  P.  L. 
Maers,  Thos.  Wilkinson.  H.  C.  Amos,  Mrs. 
Annie  Dolon,  P.  Maginnis,  H.  F.  Carpenter, 
J.  T.  Jefferson,  B.  Burke. 

Among  the  pioneer  spirits  who  assisted 
materially  in  upbuilding  this  project  was 
P.  Maginnis,  owner  and  patentee  of  the  cel- 
ebrated Maginnis  steel  flume,  which  is  ex- 
tensively used  through  the  irrigation  dis- 
tricts of  the  world.  These  flumes  are  used 
in  construction  on  work  of  the  Kimball  dis- 
trict. The  home  factory  was  originally  at 
Kimball,  and  the  people  of  this  town  pointed 
with  pride  to  this  factory  as  an  industry  of 
which  any  large  city  in  the  country  might 
be  proud.  In  recent  years  it  has  been  moved 
to  Denver  by  a  company  which  purchased 
Maginnis's  patent  and  interests. 

C.  A.  Forsling,  a  local  real  estate  dealer 
and  large  land-owner,  who  is  president  of 
the  Pioneer  Land  Company,  is  on  the  board. 
F.  F.  Lemon,  a  retired  sheep-raiser  and 
ranchman,  is  also  a  director  of  the  district. 
He  is  an  expert  on  irrigation  projects,  hav- 
ing been  a  resident  of  the  Greeley,  Colorado, 
district  for  more  than  thirty  years.  The  pre- 
liminary survey  for  the  district  was  made  in 
1905  by  H.  O.  Smith,  who  at  that  time  was 
deputy  state  engineer  of  the  state  of  Ne- 
braska, and  the  first  estimates  were  made  by 
him  for  Messrs.  W.  Walker,  Maginnis  and 
Forsling,  Mr.  Lemon  not  being  a  resident  of 
the  county  at  that  time.  April  14,  1908, 
Messrs.  WTalker  and  Maginnis  were  granted 
an  appropriation  from  Lodgepole  Creek  for 
20,000  acre-feet  for  storage  purposes.  In  the 
summer  of  1908,  Messrs.  Walker,  Maginnis, 


Forsling  and  Lemon  entered  into  an  agree- 
ment to  employ  engineers  to  make  a  perma- 
nent survey  of  the  lands  to  be  included  in 
the  Kimball  district  and  to  run  the  surveys 
for  two  main  line  canals  covering  approxi- 
mately 8,000  acres. 

In  October  of  1908,  these  engineers  locat- 
ed and  surveyed  the  Oliver  Reservoir. 
Messrs.  Baker  and  Thompson,  two  promi- 
nent engineers  of  Greeley,  were  the  men 
who  made  these  surveys  and  estimates  of 
cost,  Mr.  E.  E.  Baker,  senior  member  of  the 
firm,  making  the  report  showing  the  feas- 
ibility of  the  project.  While  the  surveys 
were  under  way  the  promoters  communi- 
cated with  the  best  irrigation  contractors  in 
Colorado,  the  state  where  irrigation  is  car- 
ried on  extensively,  and  at  the  same  time 
employed  the  well  known  legal  firm  of  Hayt, 
Dawson  and  Wright,  of  Denver,  to  organize 
the  district. 

The  contract  was  let  to  Atchison  and 
Dailey  of  Fort  Morgan,  August  14,  1910, 
and  by  December  1,  1911,  the  entire  work 
was  practically  completed,  a  few  details  only 
remained.  The  cost  of  construction  was 
$235,000,  or  approximately  $33.00  an  acre. 
No  irrigation  project  was  ever  completed  in 
such  short  time,  and  the  promoters  point 
with  pride  to  the  fact  that  the  cost  was  ap- 
proximately the  same  as  the  original  esti- 
mate, and  also  to  the  fact  that  net  one  dollar 
was  absorbed  for  promotion  nor  in  commis- 
sion to  any  bond-selling  concern  for  placing 
the  bonds.  Patriotism  and  local  pride  alone 
constructed  the  Kimball  Irrigation  District 
project.  Before  June  1,  1911,  $200,000  in 
bonds  had  been  subscribed.  Of  this  sum  $75,- 
000  was  taken  by  Kimball  people  and  the  re- 
maining $125,000  by  persons  interested  in 
the  district.  The  first  furrow  was  turned  on 
the  dam  June  8,  and  on  November  8,  five 
months  later,  the  headgates  were  shut  clown 
preliminary  to  filling  the  reservoir  for  the 
1912  supply  of  water.  Ninety-seven  per  cent 
of  the  construction  work  was  complete  at 
that  time. 

In  the  construction  of  the  system  fourteen 
steel  flumes  were  used.  These  cost  $35,500 
in  place.  The  largest  flume  is  1100  feet  long 
and  has  a  maximum  height  of  fifty-six  feet. 
The  financial  condition  is  A-l.  There  are  no 
unpaid  interest  coupons,  all  semi-annual  in- 
terest on  bonds  has  been  promptly  paid 
since  issued.  Very  few  registered  warrants 
on  general  fund,  said  warrants  taken  at  par 
by  the  banks.  Cost  of  maintenance  for  1914, 
sixty  cents  per  acre;  for  1915,  sixty  cents  per 
acre,   and   for   1916,   seventy-five   cents   per 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


121 


acre.  Part  of  this  year's  maintenance  went 
into  construction  of  new  steel  flumes,  there- 
fore this  cost  has  not  increased.  Each  an- 
nual levy  for  interest  on  bonds  is  $2.25  per 
acre,  making  the  total  levy  for  1916,  $3.00 
per  acre. 

Ninety-five  per  cent  of  all  lands  in  this 
district  are  in  cultivation  and  crops  this  vear 
(1920)  and  all  this  land  is  irrigated.  The 
crops  consist  of  sugar  beets,  potatoes,  cab- 
bage, alfalfa,  native  hay,  wheat,  oats,  barley, 
spelts  and  corn.  In  1921  II.  Walker  is  pres- 
ident and  F.  E.  Reader,  secretary  of  this 
district. 

Lodgepole  Irrigation  Company 
The   Lodgepole    Irrigation    Company  was 
organized  in  November,  1913.  with  $250,000 


capital  stock.  The  announced  intention  of 
this  company  upon  its  organization  being  to 
put  the  Bennett  Live  Stuck  Company's 
range,  overtake  all  fertile  acres  into  irriga- 
tion and  divide  into  eighty-acre  tracts  for 
sale  to  settlers.  This  range  was  then  com- 
posed of  approximately  5,000  acres  of  land. 
It  was  figured  that  this  project  would  allow 
more  than  one-hundred  new  families  to 
come  into  Kimball  county  and  settle. 

The  principal  places  of  business  were 
named  as  Cheyenne,  Wyoming,  and  Kim- 
ball, Nebraska.  The  officers  were  H.  M. 
Bennett,  Pitt  Covert,  J.  A.  Whiting.  The 
work  on  the  clam  was  started  Aery  shortly 
after,  by  the  Owens  Construction  Company 
of  Denver.  By  1919  something  like  20,000 
acres  had  been  put  into  irrigation. 


CHAPTER  III 


TRANSPORTATION—  HIGHWAYS 


When  Kimball  count}-  was  first  claimed 
from  the  boundless  prairie  and  cattle  range 
by  the  early  ranchers  and  homesteaders,  the 
sole  paths  of  travel  lay  along  the  U.  P.  R.  R. 
roadbed  and  the  trails  of  the  hunter,  trapper, 
trader,  or  home-seeking  tourist  bound  west- 
ward. Except  for  these  defined  trails,  the 
access  to  the  Indian  trail,  the  domain  of 
Kimball  county  was  unmarked,  unfenced, 
unclaimed  and  undefined.  The  progress  of 
the  county  to  its  present  high  state  of  devel- 
opment in  this,  or  in  other  lines,  is  fairly 
well  measured  by  the  evolution  of  its  trans- 
portation and  highway  facilities  whose  first 
entrance  for  proper  facilities  beyond  the 
original  trails  and  the  tourist  was  of  course 
the  arrival  of  the  U.  P.  "Trans-continental 
Railroad."  This  long  preceded  the  estab- 
lishment of  Kimball  county  as  a  separate  en- 
tity and  the  first  twenty  years  cf  railroad 
history  of  this  community  belongs  to  that 
period  when  it  was  part  of  the  mother  coun- 
try, Cheyenne. 

But  inasmuch  as  the  only  railroad  line 
which  enters  within  the  borders  of  Kimball 
county  is  the  great  Union  Pacific,  and  con- 
sidering the  importance  of  the  railroad  to 
the  community,  it's  only  fitting  that  enough 
space  be  allotted  at  this  point  to  devote  some 
attention  to  the  organization  and  building  of 


tin--  wonderful  system.  What  this  meant  to 
Kimball  county  can  be  fully  impressed  upon 
the  minds  of  any  citizen  or  friend  of  this 
county,  or  any  reader  of  this  work  by  a  mo- 
ment's reflection  upon  what  cost,  loss,  ami 
inconvenience  the  counties  without  a  rail- 
road have  undergone. 

The  interesting  story  of  the  inception  and 
consummation  of  the  dreams  of  the  "Trans- 
continental" rail-builders  who  gave  this 
wonderful  system  to  the  great  west,  can  best 
be  distinguished  in  the  words  of  one  who 
played  a  leading  part  in  the  scenes  of  those 
days. 

Ox  the  P.  I'.  Trail 

Major-General  Grenville  M.  Dodge,  chief 
engineer  of  the  Union  Pacific  railway  from 
1866  to  1870,  the  period  of  its  most  active 
construction,  has  narrated  the  story  of 
"How  we  built  the  Union  Pacific  Railway" 
in  such  form  that  it  consumes  forty  printed 
pages,  so  that  the  portion  of  it  quoted  here- 
after will  form  but  a  small  part  of  his  nar- 
rative : 

"In  1836  the  first  public  meeting  to  con 
sider  the  project  of  a  Pacific  railway  was 
called  by  John  Plumbe,  a  civil  engineer  of 
Dubuque,  Iowa.  Interest  in  a  Pacific  rail 
way  increased  from  thi~  time.     The  explora- 


322 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


tions  of  Fremont  in  1842  and  1846  brought 
the  attention  of  Congress,  and  A.  C.  Whit- 
ney was  zealous  and  efficient  in  the  cause 
from  1840  to  1850.  The  first  practical  meas- 
ure was  Senator  Salmon  P.  Chase's  bill, 
making  an  appropriation  for  the  explora- 
tions of  different  routes  for  a  Pacific  railway 
in  1853.  Numerous  bills  were  introduced  in 
Congress  between  1852  and  1860,  granting 
subsidies  and  lands,  and  some  of  them  ap- 
propriating as  large  a  sum  as  $96,000,000  for 
the  construction  of  the  road.  One  of  these 
bills  passed  one  of  the  houses  of  Congress. 

"The  route  was  made  by  the  buffalo,  next 
used  by  the  Indians,  then  by  the  fur  traders, 
next  by  the  Mormons,  and  then  by  the  over- 
land immigration  to  California  and  Oregon. 
It  was  known  as  the  Great  Platte  Valley 
Route.  On  this  trail,  or  close  to  it,  was  built 
the  Union  and  Central  Pacific  railroads  to 
California,  and  the  Oregon  Short  Line 
branch  of  the  Union  Pacific  to  Oregon. 

"In  18d2  Henry  Farnum  and  Thomas  C. 
Durant  were  building  the  Mississippi  and 
Missouri  railroad,  a  line  westward  across 
the  state  of  Iowa  as  an  extension  of  the  Chi- 
cago and  Rock  Island,  then  terminating  at 
Rock  Island,  Illinois.  They  desired  to  "end 
that  line  at  the  Missouri  river,  where  the 
Pacific  railroad,  following  the  continent  for- 
ty-second parallel  of  latitude,  would  com- 
mence. Under  the  direction  of  Peter  A. 
Dey,  who  had  been  a  division  engineer  of 
the  Rock  Island  and  was  chief  engineer  of 
the  M.  &  M.  in  Iowa,  I  made  the  first  survey 
across  the  state  of  Iowa,  and  the  first  recon- 
noissances  and  surveys  on  the  Union  Pacific 
for  the  purpose  of  determining  where  the 
one  would  end  and  the  ether  commence,  on 
the  Missouri  river.  I  crossed  the  Missouri 
river  in  the  fall  of  1853  and  made  our  ex- 
plorations west  of  the  Platte  Yallev  and  up 
it  far  enough  to  determine  that  it  would  be 
the  route  of  the  Pacific  road." 

General  Dodge  speaks  of  the  Platte  Val- 
ley, "then  the  chief  thoroughfare  for  all  the 
Mormon,  California,  and  Oregon  overland 
immigration." 

General  Dodge's  relation  of  the  events  oc- 
curring in  the  next  few  years  had  an  im- 
portance upon  the  future  of  Kimball  county 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  estimate,  even 
as  one  looks  back  upon  it  from  the  viewpoint 
of  fifty  to  fifty-five  years  later.  For  had  be 
failed  to  locate  the  Union  Pacific  railroad 
where  it  eventually  did  run,  much  of  the  his- 
tory of  Kimball  county  would  have  been  es- 
sentially different  and  the  bulk  of  Kimball 


county's  history  probably  would  have  been 
much  less. 

"The  times  were  such,"  he  says,  "that  the 
work  on  the  M.  &  M.  railway  was  suspended 
for  some  years.  Meanwhile  I  located  at 
Council  Bluffs,  continuing  the  explorations 
under  the  directions  of  Messrs.  Farnum  and 
Durant  and  obtaining  from  voyagers,  immi- 
grants, and  others  all  the  information  I 
could  in  regard  to  the  country  farther  west. 
There  was  keen  competition  at  that  time  for 
the  control  of  the  vast  immigration  crossing 
the  plains,  and  Kansas  City,  Fort  Leaven- 
worth (then  the  government  post),  St. 
Joseph  and  Council  Bluffs  were  points  of 
concentration  on  the  Missouri.  The  trails 
from  all  points  converged  in  the  Platte  val- 
ley at  or  near  old  Fort  Kearney,  following 
its  waters  to  the  South  Pass.  A  portion  of 
the  Kansas  City  immigration  followed  the 
valley  of  the  Arkansas  west,  and  thence 
through  New  Mexico.  The  great  bulk  of 
the  immigration  was  finally  concentrated  at 
Council  Bluffs  as  the  best  crossing  of  the 
Missouri  river.  From  my  explorations  and 
the  information  I  had  obtained  with  the  aid 
of  the  Mormons  and  others,  I  mapped  and 
made  an  itinerary  of  a  line  from  Council 
Bluffs  through  to  Utah,  California  and  Ore- 
gon, giving  the  camping  places  for  each 
night,  and  showing  where  wood,  water  and 
fords  of  the  streams  could  be  found.  Dis- 
tributed broadcast  by  the  local  interests  of 
this  route  the  map  and  itinerary  had  no 
small  influence  in  turning  the  mass  of  over- 
land immigration  to  Council  Bluffs,  where  it 
crossed  the  Missouri  and  took  the  great 
Platte  valley  route.  This  route  was  up  that 
valley  to  its  fork  to  Salt  Lake  and  Cali- 
fornia by  way  of  the  Humboldt,  and  to  Ore- 
gon by  the  way  of  the  Snake  and  Columbia 
rivers.  This  is  today  the  route  of  the  Union 
Pacific  and  Central  Pacific  to  California  and 
the  LTnion  Pacific  to  Oregon. 

"In  1854,  when  Nebraska  was  organized, 
we  moved  to  its  frontier,  continuing  the  ex- 
plorations under  the  patronage  of  Messrs. 
Farnum  and  Durant.  and  obtaining  all  valu- 
able information,  which  was  used  to  con- 
centrate the  influence  of  the  different  rail- 
ways east  and  west  of  Chicago  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  forty-second  parallel  line." 

General  Dodge  then  continues: 

"In  1861  we  discontinued-  the  railroad 
work  because  of  the  Civil  War.  The  pas- 
sage of  the  bill  of  1862,  which  made  the 
building  of  a  transcontinental  railroad  pos- 
sible, was  due  primarily  to  the  persistent  ef- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


323 


forts  of  Hon.  Samuel  R.  Curtis,  a  representa- 
tive in  Congress  from  Iowa,  who  reported 
the  bill  before  entering  the  Union  service  in 
1861.  It  was  then  taken  up  by  Hon.  James 
Harlan,  of  Iowa,  who  succeeded  in  obtaining 
its  passage  in  March.  1862." 

In  commenting  upon  how  this  road  ob- 
tained its  name,  General  Dodge  narrates 
that  various  lines  proposed  had  received  the 
names  of  the  "North  Route,"  "Buffalo 
Trail,"  "South  Route,"  but  that  in  1858  a  bill 
was  fostered  that  gave  out  the  name  "Union 
Pacific."  One  of  the  arguments  advanced 
for  the  bill  that  eventually  passed  was  that 
the  route  proposed  would  tend  to  hold  the 
people  of  the  Pacific  coast  in  the  Union.  He 
adds : 

"Lincoln  advocated  its  passage  and  build- 
ing, not  only  as  a  military  necessity,  but  as 
a  means  of  holding  the  Pacific  Coast  to  the 
Union.  This  bill  became  a  law  in  1862,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  but  what  the  sentiment 
that  the  building  of  the  railroad  would  hold 
the  Union  together  gave  it  the  name  of  the 
Union  Pacific." 

He  continues : 

"In  May,  1866.  I  resigned  from  the  army, 
came  to  Omaha  and  took  charge  of  the  work 
as  chief  engineer,  and  covered  the  line  with 
engineering  parties  from  Omaha  to  Califor- 
nia, and  pushed  our  location  up  the  Platte 
valley.    In  1866  we  built  260  miles. 

"In  the  winter  of  1866  we  planned  to  build 
the  next  288  miles  to  Fort  Sanders.  As  cur 
work  had  to  be  clone  under  the  protection  of 
the  military,  I  was  continually  in  communi- 
cation with  General  Sherman.  Although  he 
had  expressed  the  belief  that  our  proposition 
of  building  so  far  in  1867  would  be  almost  a 
miracle,  yet  during  the  year  1867  we  reached 
the  summit  cf  the  Black  Hills  and  finishing 
at  Cheyenne  where  the  population  of  nearly 
10.000  gathered  around  us." 

Most  of  the  touches  of  interest  in  early 
railroad  incidences  affecting  Kimball  local- 
ity have  been  mentioned  by  Grandma  Lynch 
and  in  personal  references  and  sketches  of 
various  Kimball  county  pioneers,  who  in 
former  years  were  in  the  service  of  some 
department  of  the  Union  Pacific. 

This  takes  the  Union  Pacific  on  beyond 
Kimball  county. 

State  Highway  Work 
From  the  provisions  and  aopropriations 
made  by  the  Nebraska  State  legislature  in 
1917.  and  the  wonderful  increased  apprecia- 
tion of  the  necessity  of  uniform,  permanent 
highway   construction    that    swept   over  the 


state  in  the  following  biennium  came  forth 
the  gigantic  appropriations  and  program  of 
the  1919  legislatures  and  the  federal  aid  pro- 
viding approximately  $10,000,000  for  the 
construction  of  some  4,200  miles  of  state 
highways  mapped  out  by  the  state  engini  er. 
The  Kirrlball-Harrisburg  project  of  19.85 
miles  secured  a  very  early  place  on  the  lists 
of  projects  as  No.  16,  in  the  state,  far  ahead 
of  the  Harrisburg-Scottsbluff  project,  which 
became  No.  69.  In  January.  1921,  the  Kim- 
ball-Harrisburg  project,  extended  to  26.7 
miles,  was  98  per  cent  completed. 

The  Bayard-Broadwater  and  Broadwater- 
Oshkosh  projects.  Numbers  79a  and  82,  be- 
ing 93  per  cent  and  90  per  cent  completed, 
were  other  projects  in  the  western  part  of 
the  state  to  come  near  the  Kimball-H arris- 
burg  line  in  point  of  completion. 

The  Lincoln  I  [ighway 
The  Lincoln  Highway,  the  first  trans-con- 
tinental highway  to  be  projected  across  the 
United  States  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pa- 
cific, traverses  the  entire  length  of  Kimball 
county.  When  this  association  was  in  the 
process  of  active  organization  in  1913,  Kim- 
ball took  seventeen  certificates  of  member- 
ship to  help  pay  the  expenses  of  this  ven- 
ture. Copyrighted  markers  were  erected  to 
point  out  the  course  of  this  highway.  These 
were  twenty-one  inches  high.  They  had  a 
red  strip  three  inches  in  width,  a  white  band 
fifteen  inches  wide,  and  a  blue  strip  three 
inches  in  width.  The  ccntribtuors  in  1913 
were:  ].  W.  Ewbank.  Chas,  Anderson, 
F.  M.  Wooldridge,  C.  W.  Richards.  C.  L. 
Alden.  L.  H.  Lilly,  George  Yogler,  Bank  of 
Kimball,  I).  C.  Mockett,  J.  L.  Jones.  C.  E. 
Lockwood,  Hubbard  &  Nugent,  F.  E.  Read- 
er, Gus  Linn,  B.  K.  Bushee.  V.  I'..  Car-ill. 
Sam  Hanna.  Will  Young,  1.  A.  Tracy,  [saac 
Roush,  E.  T-  Dillon,  P.  Maginnis,  I.  S.  Wal- 
ker, Hans  Nelson.  Fred  Morgan,  F.  M. 
Whitman,  Mrs.  A.  L.  Fort. 

Highways 

The  greatest  step  ahead  since  the  arrival 
and  improvement  of  the  railroad  has  been 
the  arrival  of  the  automobile  and  the  conse- 
quent improvement  of  highways,  so  rapidly 
fostered  by  the  use  of  the  motor  car.  It  has 
only  been  within  the  past  twelve  war-  that 
the  automobile  lias  come  in  common  use. 
The  rapidity  of  its  prestige  and  multiplica- 
tion looking  backward  eight  years  we  find 
that  in  1913,  according  to  the  records,  there 
were  thirty-two  autos  in  Kimball  c<  unty,  of 
which    there    were    ten    Fords,    four    Buicks, 


324 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


four  Reo  and  two  E.  M.  F.  Of  the  remain- 
ing eleven  there  were  as  many  different 
makes.  Following-  is  the  list  with  the  name 
of  owner: 

Edwin  Pierce,  Buick ;  Wm.  E.  Pile, 
Brush  ;  John  Filer,  E.  M.  F. ;  B.  A.  Lathrop, 
Stoddard-Dayton  ;  John  Simmones,  Frank- 
lin ;  A.  J.  Hull,  Maxwell;  C.  T.  Dillon,  Reo; 
Geo.  Ernst,  Overland;  Frank  Goodwin, 
Chalmers-Detroit;  F.  M.  Woolridge,  Buick; 
W.  B.  Cooper,  Ford;  Hans  Peterson,  Ford; 
E.  J.  Dillon,  Ford;  Wm.  Ballard,  Ford; 
H.  C.  Erwin,  Ford ;  F.  O.  Baker,  Ford  ;  J.  A. 
Erwin,  Ford ;  Mr.  Holladay,  Ford ;  Mr.  Van 
Pelt,  Ford;  B.  K.  Bushee,  Reo;  W.  D.  At- 
kins, Buick;  A.  H.  Amos,  Ford;  W.  J. 
Davies,  Studebaker;  Hubbard  &  Nugent, 
Buick;  C.  E.  Lockwood,  Reo;  J.  Ewbank, 
E.  M.  F.;  Ira  Lee,  Reo;  G.  Linn,  Velie  ;  P. 
Maginnis,  Rambler ;  W.  T.  Young,  Jr.,  Cad- 
illac;  J.  Claussen,  International. 

The  Modern  Highway 

Dr.  S.  M.  Johnson  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
official  spokesman  for  the  Motor  Convoy, 
was  in  Kimball  at  that  time.  Being  unable 
to  give  a  lecture  in  the  interests  of  Federal 
highways  in  Kimball,  the  following  was 
given  the  Observer  by  Dr.  Johnson: 

"The  war  experience  has  showed  more 
than  ever  before  that  the  motor  vehicle  was 
a  boon  to  humanity.  Civilization  progressed 
just  as  facilities  for  transportation  were  pro- 
vided. The  spread  of  civilization  and  the 
productiveness  of  the  commonwealths  have 
followed  where  transportation  showed  the 
way. 

"In  the  earlier  times  it  was  the  waterways 
and  the  wagonways.  Since  the  invention  of 
the  locomotive  it  has  been  the  railway.  In 
the  era  in  which  we  now  enter  the  motor 
vehicle  on  the  modern  highway  will  be  the 
main  factor  in  the  development  of  communi- 
ties and  national  advancement.  When  we 
first  built  the  railway  we  first  provided  the 
roadbed,  then  bought  our  rolling  stock  and 
then  put  it  in  commission.  Now  we  have 
reversed  the  order.  We  have  purchased  our 
rolling  stock,  a  costly  and  delicately  con- 
structed mechanism,  and  put  it  into  commis- 
sion before  we  have  a  roadbed  suitable  for 
its  use. 

"The  result  is  a  drain  upon  the  financial  re- 
sources which  no  community  in  the  United 
States,  or  the  country  as  a  whole,  is  rich 
enough  to  stand. 

"It  costs  twice  as  much  to  operate  a  motor 
vehicle  upon  an  improper  roadbed  as  upon 
a  suitable  one.    This  cost  may  be  figured  in 


gasoline,  tires,  repairs,  deterioration,  and 
one's  time  and  energy. 

"When  these  costs  are  figured  it  is  appar- 
ent that  the  outlay  under  present  conditions 
is  far  in  excess  to  proper  roadbed. 

"We  have  a  war  debt  and  must  economize. 
Furthermore,  half  of  the  human  family  goes 
to  bed  hungry  every  night  and  millions 
starved  during  the  war.  This  being  true, 
preventable  waste  becomes  a  sin  against  hu- 
manity. We  are  conducting  a  national  drive 
for  better  roads.  We  have  agreed  that  the 
next  big  job,  now  that  we  have  completed 
the  job  over  there,  is  to  provide  proper  road- 
beds throughout  the  United  States  over 
which  we  may  operate  the  motCT  vehicle. 
Our  growth  of  transportation  of  men  and 
goods,  the  contrast  in  the  items  of  time, 
comfort  and  convenience  between  transpor- 
tation by  steam  ar  railway  trains,  by  buggy 
or  wagon,  became  so  great  that  necessity  re- 
quired a  substitute.  Science  has  provided  a 
substitute  so  well  adapted  to  the  purpose 
that  today  one-third  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  have  resorted  to  the  use  of  the 
passenger  car,  while  I  am  informed  that 
even  in  the  newest  part  of  the  country  where 
agriculture  has  taken  its  most  rapid  strides 
within  the  past  five  years  and  where  from 
Ogallala  to  Kimball  I  have  been  surprised  at 
the  magic  growth  of  new  towns  and  cities  of 
the  most  modern  type.  I  understand  that 
there  are  fifty  loads  of  wheat  moved  by 
motor  truck  to  one  load  by  the  old-time 
method. 

"I  have  come  from  Washington  to  Kimball, 
and  everywhere,  at  cross  roads,  villages  and 
cities  I  have  been  impressed  with  the  num- 
ber of  autos  parked  and  filled  with  cheering 
people  who  have  hailed  us  as  the  harbinger 
of  the  better  day,  but  nowhere,  even  at  the 
country  cross  roads  or  in  the  cities,  have  I 
seen  old  Dobbin  parked.  The  fact  that  needs 
to  be  impressed  today  is  that  the  entire  hu- 
man family  is  going  to  resort  to  the  motor 
vehicle  as  rapidly  as  these  can  be  manufac- 
tured, the  means  provided  for  their  pur- 
chase, proper  roadbeds  constructed  for  their 
operation,  and  skill  developed  for  the  opera- 
tion and  upkeep.  We  are  conducting  a  na- 
tional drive  for  these  purposes." 

The  Motor  convoy  which  consisted  of  a 
large  number  of  powerful  motor  trucks 
and  other  motor  equipment  was  sent 
across  the  United  States  in  August,  1919,  for 
joint  purposes  demonstrating  the  progress 
already  made  in  those  lines  of  experimenting 
and  exploring  possibilities  of  future  im- 
provement and  testing  the  highway  systems 
of  the  country  came  through  Kimball. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  COMMUNITY  OF  KIMBALL 


An  examination  of  the  census  figures 
shows  that  practically  one-third  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  Kimball  county  lives  in  the  town 
of  Kimball,  the  county  seat  and  metropolis 
of  the  county.  Another  good  sized  percent- 
age lives  near  and  belong  to  the  trading  com- 
munity of  Kimball.  Here  we  find  centered 
not  only  the  seat  of  county  government,  but 
the  industrial,  commercial,  educational,  so- 
cial and  religious  activities  and  energies  of 
the  county,  so  that  a  fairly  complete 
treatment  of  these  various  activities  of  the 
life  of  the  county  can  best  be  reached  by  de- 
voting a  chapter  division  to  the  city  of  Kim- 
ball. ^ 

ANTELOPEVILLE 

In  1885  this  little  community  had  a  popu- 
lation of  about  one  hundred.  One  of  the 
first  numbers  of  the  Kimball  Observer  gave 
the  following  data  concerning  this  com- 
munity which  is  now  instructive  as  well  as 
interesting.  "Some  of  our  most  prominent 
citizens  have  made  their  homes  here  and 
have  been  holding  responsible  positions 
with  the  railroad  company.  The  location  of 
the  town  is  on  a  gentle  slope,  some  hills  be- 
ing to  the  south.  One  hundred  acres  are  al- 
ready planted.  Forty  acres  by  Mr.  J.  T. 
Clarkscti  of  Sidney,  forty  acres  by  A.  Burg, 
of  Antelopeville  on  the  south  side  of  the 
track,  and  twenty  acres  on  the  north  side  of 
the  track  planted  by  the  Bay  State  Live 
Stock  Company.  Mr.  A.  Burg,  who  is  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  sentence,  is  now  a 
well-to-do  retired  citizen  of  Grand  Island. 
Antelopeville  already  has  a  good  school 
building  with  school  ten  months  of  the  year. 
It  has  a  good  Union  Sunday  school  with  a 
splendid  library  at  its  command  through  the 
efforts  of  G.  W.  Simpson  of  Boston.  Rev. 
E.  Mount  is  now  pastor  of  the  M.  E. 
church." 

J.  T.  Clarkson  owned  the  land  that  part  of 
the  town  site  is  formed  from  and  has  large 
interests  adjoining  the  new  town.  A.  Burg 
laid  out  part  of  the  town.  F.  W.  Schaffer 
has  been  east  projecting  a  line  of  lumber. 
Theo.  Menges  is  a  leading  land  agent  and 
locater.  Others  have  been  Jones,  Fleharty, 
Root  and  Robertson.  Mr.  Wolf  keeps  a  res- 
taurant. J.  J.  Kinney  has  a  horse  ranch 
three  miles  west  of  town.  J.  J.  Mcintosh 
has  a   ranch   near  town.      T.   11.   Gridlv  and 


Jas.  Lynch  have  large  gardens.  J.  H.  Cogh- 
lin  runs  a  railroad  eating  house.  Peter  Rool- 
man  has  a  extensive  line  for  brick  kiln. 

Including  the  rapidity  with  which  the  de- 
velopment of  this  region  when  it  once  start- 
ed, attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  eight 
hundred  timber  culture  entries  were  made  in 
Cheyenne  county  in  the  season  of  1885,  and 
five  hundred  homesteads  taken  in  the  same 
time. 

The  name,  Antelopeville,  was  changed  be- 
cause it  conflicted  with  Antelope  postoffice 
and  the  new  town  was  named  Kimball  after 
General  Manager  Kimball  of  the  Union  Pa- 
cific railroad. 

Kimball,  formerly  Antelopeville,  had  a 
newspaper  from  the  very  start.  The  Ne- 
braska Observer  started  May  1,  1885,  by 
C.  H.  Randall,  editor  and  publisher.  A.  M. 
Randall  was  manager  in  1885.  C.  H.  Ran- 
dall in  recent  years  became  a  member  of  the 
national  congress  from  California,  being  the  . 
first  and  only  Prohibitionist  congressman 
ever  elected,  as  a  member  of  that  partv. 

The  name  of  the  Nebraska  Observer  was 
changed  to  the  Kimball  Observer  after  the 
change  of  the  name  of  the  town.  This  paper 
was  published  in  1887,  by  Beard  &  Riddle 
and  later  by  A.  B.  Beard,  who  sold  it  to 
G.  L.  Carlyle,  who  in  about  another  decade 
later  turned  in  to  R.  D.  Wilson,  and  its  pres- 
ent active  and  efficient  publisher.  V.  B.  Car- 
gill,  has  been  in  charge  of  this  enterprise  for 
almost  another  decade. 

Very  seldom  is  it  possible  to  find  a  news- 
paper that  has  been  so  consistently  and  care- 
fully managed  through  a  period  of  thirty- 
live  years  as  has  the  Observer. 


Busi  ness  Directory 


i  88i : 


Other  business  people  in  Kimball  as  early 
as  1886,  were  Randall  &  Company,  conduct- 
ing the  main  store.  N.  E.  Gassman.  gro- 
ceries, drugs,  feed  and  llour.  Schaffer  P.ms., 
in  dry  goods,  clothing,  groceries,  hardware, 
lumber,  hats,  and  boot-. 

Teliol  &  Marel  &  Company,  dry  ^>"d>. 
and  Stanley  Bros.,  wholesale  and  retail  gro- 
ceries  of  Cheyenne  were  advertising  in  the 
Observer  in  1886. 

(  )ther  business  people  in  Kimball  were 
L  F.  Crain,  drugs;  A.  M.  Treat,  lumber; 
I..  I..  Feltham,  attorney  at  law;  C.  C.  Cle- 
witt.  contractor;  I>.  I.  Sullivan,  contractor; 


326 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


P.  Magihnis,  blacksmith  shop;  Jas.  Lynch, 
meat  market ;  Minnie  Shirley,  millinery ; 
Miss  M.  Marston,  millinery;  J.  McAllister, 
barber;  L.  K.  Markley,  physician;  Geo.  W. 
Beard,  Hotel  Martha';  C.  C.  Clewett,  con- 
tractor; N.  E.  Gassman,  groceries;  Jas.  M. 
Bearse,  postmaster  and  drug  store ;  S.  N. 
Paulson,  shoes;  L.  A.  Ballenger,  livery 
stable;  Bank  of  Kimball,  real  estate  and  in- 
surance ;  S.  Wooldridge,  groceries ;  C.  F. 
Robertson  &  Company,  and  McPherson, 
Jensen  &  Company,  hardwares. 

Business  Changes,  1900-1907 
In   1900,  Bushee  &  Vogler  were  the  lead- 
ing merchants,  the  Shaefer  stock  continued 
from   1887  until   1907  when   Will  J.   Davies 


cian ;  Beyers  &  Strohan,  restaurant;  Kim- 
ball Meat  Market;  Walker  &  Forsling,  real 
estate ;  Kimball  Drug  Store,  F.  M.  Morgan 
and  E.  M.  Prouty  :  Will  J.  Davies,  general 
merchandise  stock  at  old  Schaefer  store ; 
C.  A.  Forsling,  livery  barn ;  P.  Maginnis, 
blacksmith  and  foundry  work ;  Cunningham 
Realty  Co.;  F.  M.  Whitman,  proprietor  of 
the  Whitman  House;  L.  H.  Lilly,  livery 
stable,  running  the  stage  from  Kimball  to 
Harrisburg;  Gus  Linn,  hardware,  who  built 
his  new  building  in  this  year.  Foster  Lum- 
ber Co.,  with  C.  E.  Steuteville  as  manager; 
P.  Nelson,  coal;  H.  A.  Phelps,  dray  and  ex- 
press wagcn  ;  George  Holton,  dray  line  in 
winter  and  farming  in  the  summer  ;  William 
J.   Ballard,   attorney,   who   located   in   Kimball 


seye  View  of  Kimball  in  1900 


purchased  it.  George  F.  Wilkinson  had  the 
Kimball  Pharmacy  in  1900.  F.  H.  DeCastro 
was  attorney  and  Dr.  W.  L.  Carlyle,  physi- 
cian. B.  K.  Bushee,  in  1907,  was  in  the  gen- 
eral merchandise  business.  Other  business 
houses  in  Kimball  in  1907  were  P.  Schwenck 
&  Co.,  real  estate  ;  J.  S.  Brady,  general  mer- 
chant, in  business  since  1904 ;  Kimball  Land 
Co.,  F.  E.  Reader,  resident  agent;  H.  Mar- 
shall, then  proprietor  of  Central  Hotel; 
F.  M.  Wooldridge.  who  came  to  Kimball 
county  at  an  early  date  and  had  been  in  bus- 
iness since  1893,  and  Mrs.  F.  M.  Wooldridge, 
with  millinery  stock.  Isaac  Roush,  besides 
being  postmaster,  handled  a  stock  of  sta- 
tionery, news,  cigars  and  confectionery; 
Godfrey  Pearson,  barber  shop;  Bank  "of 
Kimball,  with  H.  A.  Clark,  J.  J.  Kinney, 
president,  and  A.  C.  Fonda,  cashier,  as  offi- 
cers and  then  having  deposits  of  $115,000,  in 
sharp  contrast  to  the  prosperity  some 
twelve  years  later;  Dr.  P.  C.  Mockett  physi- 


in  1903;  Dr.  G.  E.  Darrow,  who  came  from 
Omaha  about  this  time,  and  Dr.  J.  H.  Dul- 
lard, and  Kimball  Grain  Company,  elevator. 

Business  Roster,  1919-1920 

A  comparative  roster  of  business  people 
of  Kimball  in  1919  and  1920,  will  serve  as  a 
fair  barometer  of  the  progress  of  this  enter- 
prising community: 

Banks:  American  State  Bank.  Bank  of 
Kimball,  Citizens  State  Bank. 

Autos :     Anderson   Hart-Parr    Tractor    Co. 

Dentists  :  Dr.  L.  A.  Donahoe,  succeeded 
by  Dr.  H.  R.  Alden  ;  Dr.  Paul  Greusel,  Dr. 
M.  Markley. 

Medical  Doctors :  Drs.  Moss  &  Bonnell, 
Dr.  E.  F.  Noonan.  Dr.  E.  L.  Rolph,  Dr.  P.  C. 
Mockett.  Dr.  J.  R.  Carter. 

Attorneys-at-Law:  W.  J.  Ballard,  Rod- 
man &  Rodman,  Higgins  &  Torgeson. 

Stores:  Seaman's  Furniture  Store,  Haz- 
zard  Furniture  Co.,  John  Bevington,  Bruce 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


327 


Perrine  &  Son,  W.  J.  Davies,  general  store; 
Eichenberger  &  Graves,  general  store  ;  J.  M. 
Grubs,  succeeding  Daylight  Department 
Store;  Gus  Linn,  hardware;  J.  H.  Louthan, 
Maginnis  Hardware,  Farmers  Cash  Store, 
Kimball  Clothing  Co. 

Drug  Stores  :  Morgan's  Drug  Store  ;  Rex- 
all  Drug  Store. 

Lincoln  Highway  Garage,  C.  E.  Lock- 
wood,  "The  Land  Man";  Lodgepcle  Land 
Company,  Mutual  Oil  Company,  National 
Refining  Co.,  Nebraska  Telephone  Co.,  Ob- 
server Printing  Office,  Prairie  Oil  &  Gas 
Co.,  Richards  &  Kennemer,  Securitv    Land 


Farmers  Co-operative  Association.  Gibson 
Motor  and  Tractor  Co.,  Highland  Live 
Stock  Co.,  Kimball  Mill  «!v  Elevator  Co., 
Kimball  County  High  School,  Kimball  Irri- 
gation District,  Kimball  Irrigation  District 
Reservoir,  Kimball  Bakery  and  Cafe,  Kim- 
ball Clothing  Co.,  H.  Linn  Plumbing  Shop, 
G.  E.  Ketch  Transfer  Co.,  Kimball  Steam 
Laundry,  T.  E.  Darling,  electric  contractor ; 
J.  J.  Fiegenschuh,  veterinary;  Bonham 
Eirothers,  licensed  embalmers  and  undertak- 
ers;  Wallin  Bros.,  well  drillers:  Western 
Nebraska  Observer,  office  supplies ;  E.  M. 
Prouty,  justice  of  the  peace. 


&  Loan  Co.,  Smith  Land  Co.,  Standard  Oil 
Co.,  Whitcomb  Bros  &  Champlin. 

Hotels:  Wheat-growers  Llotel,  Hotel 
Brown,  Hotel  Murray. 

Auctioneers:  Earl  C.  Waxham,  Col.  R.  R. 
Sandridge. 

Contractors:  Wm.  Bartlett  &  Son,  D. 
Leslie  &  Brothers. 

Barber  Shops :  The  Palace  Barbar  Shop, 
Lincoln  Highway. 

Creamery  Stations:  Kimball  Creamery, 
S.  Sorenson,  proprietor. 

Lumber  Company :  Irwin  Lumber  Co., 
Farmers  Lumber  Co.,  Foster  Lumber  Co. 

Meat  Markets:  Waggoner's  Market,  City 
Meat  Market. 

Bullock's  Vulcanizing  Plant,  Carter  Land 
Company,    V.    B.    Cargill,    editor    Observer : 


Civic  Activities 

Kimball  has,  like  every  other  town  in  it~ 
early  history,  made  spasmodic  spurts 
towards  maintaining  a  commercial  or  com- 
munity club  but  in  recent  years  built  up  a 
very  active  and  creditable  organization,  the 
Kimball  Club.  In  1917  its  officers  were: 
Guv  Graves.  W.  T.  Young,  Ceo.  Vogler, 
Herbert  Linn.  K.  W.  Hunter,  V.  1'..  Cargill 

In  1918  this  club  occupied  a  new  building 
erected  at  the  cost  of  $16,000.  I ts  officers 
were:  I.  S.  Walker,  Geo.  Vogler,  Will 
Davies,  W.  S.  Rodman.  V.  1!.  Cargill. 

Its  25x70-fect.  two-story  building  has 
the  club  rooms  located  on  the  second  floor 
and  very  creditably   furnished. 

The  successor  of  the  Kimball  Club  is  the 
Lions  Club,  the  present  commercial  club  of 


328 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  city.  Its  1921  officers  are.  J.  A.  Gibson, 
president;  B.  K.  Bushee,  vice  president; 
J.  R.  Tritt,  treasurer,  and  C.  M.  Ott,  secre 
tary.  This  organization  holds  Monday  noon 
luncheons  where  the  members  gather  to  dis- 
cuss the  problems  of  the  community,  and 
undertakes  whatever  tasks  come  up  in  the 
lines  of  its  functions. 

The  Bank  of  Kimball 
Very  seldom  is  a  town  the  size  of  Kimball 
as  conveniently  equipped  with  banks  as  the 
tcwn  of  Kimball.  The  oldest  of  these.  The 
Bank  of  Kimball,  was  started  in  1886  by  the 
Bickels.  In  1907  H.  A.  Clarke  of  Columbus 
undertook  the  banking  business.    A.  C.  Fon- 


ber,  1915.  B.  K.  Bushee  was  president  and 
Wm.  Rodman,  cashier.  W.  S.  Rodman  was 
vice  president.  W.  J.  Davis  and  Benjamin 
Levinski  were  stockholders.  Later  the  Rod- 
mans left  this  bank  and  started  the  Ameri- 
can State  Bank,  of  which  W.  S.  Rodman  is 
president,  Wm.  Rodman,  cashier,  and  C.  A. 
Larson,  assistant.  The  other  directors  in 
the  American  State  Bank  besides  the  Rod- 
mans were:  P.  Maginnis,  Hugh  Irwin  and 
Oscar  Olson. 

The  Citizens  State  Bank  occupies  a  new 
home,  the  front  of  which  is  Roman  brick 
with  massive  pillars  of  Bedford  stone  on 
each  side  of  the  entrance.  The  floors  were 
mosaic  tile.     Inside  the  woodwork  and  fix- 


Residexce  of 


da  was  his  cashier.  J.  J.  Kinney  remained 
connected  with  the  bank.  In  1909  was  an- 
other change  in  the  management  of  the 
bank,  Gus  Linn  being  placed  as  president, 
Harry  Vogler  as  cashier,  and  Geo.  Vogler, 
as  assistant. 

In  1917  Gus  L.  Vogler  became  cashier. 
The  directors  are  now  Gus  Linn,  president ; 
Geo.  L.  Vogler,  cashier;  John  Filer,  Dr. 
P.  C.  Mockett,  Vernon  Linn.  This  bank  is 
now  housed  in  a  room  with  magnificent  fix- 
tures. It  has  an  especially  equipped  ladies' 
rest  room,  private  telephone  booths,  two 
waiting  rooms  equipped  with  large  desk, 
chairs,  and  settee.  A  private  consultation 
room,  safe  deposits  vaults  with  250  boxes. 
The  bookkeeping  room  is  away  from  the 
banking  room.  All  of  the  fixtures  and  furni- 
ture are  of  black  walnut  and  marble. 

The  Citizens  State  Bank  started  in  Octo- 


tures  are  black  walnut  and  walls  are  Ala- 
bama marble  to  the  height  of  fifty-four 
inches,  with  plaster  and  stucco  above  this. 
It  has  skylights  and  all  of  the  other  fixtures 
are  of  black  walnut  and  marble.  The  Amer- 
ican State  Bank  has  likewise  equipped  itself 
with  similarly  splendid  furnished  room  on 
the  corner  formerly  occupied  by  the  Kimball 
Hotel. 

Kimball  County  Bar 
Kimball  had  an  early  influx  of  lawyers, 
coincident  with  the  settlement  of  this  terri- 
tory. In  the  eighties  came  George  Mover, 
and  then  James  W.  Davis,  C.  F.  Robertson 
and  I.  I.  Kinney.  F.  H.  DeCastro  came 
about  1906,  and  W.  J.  Ballard  about  1907. 
D.  Regione  practiced  here  commencing 
about  this  period.  Ballard.  Regione  and 
Kinney  were  the  enrolled    Kimball   County 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


329 


Bar  in  1910.  James  A.  Rodman  and  his 
brother,  Roland  V.  Rodman,  entered  prac- 
tice at  Kimball  in  recent  years.  Attorney 
A.  O.  Torgeson  came  to  Kimball  some  three 
or  four  years  ago  and  in  1920  he  was  joined 
by  Attorney  R.  M.  Higgins  of  Omaha.  So 
Kimball  county  now  has  a  splendid  bar,  of 
both  older  and  younger  legal  lights.  James 
A.  Rodman  is  making  a  legislative  record  in 
the  sessions  of  1919  and  1921,  and  in  the 
constitutional  convention  of  1920,  that  fol- 
lows creditably  upon  the  long  legislative 
record  of  B.  K.  Bushee,  as  member  of  house 
of  representatives  in  1909  and  1911,  and  sen- 
ator in   1913,   1915,   1917,    1919  and    1921,   in 


by  S.  R.  Carlyle  and  B.  K.  Bushee  in  1907. 

Isaac  Brush  was  clerk  in  the  early  nineties 
and  I.  S.  Walker  in  the  later  nineties. 

From  1903  to  1907  the  members  oi  the 
town  board  were:  W.  D.  Atkins,  Isaac 
Roush,  Gus  Linn,  L.  W.  Bickel,  F.  J.  Bel- 
li iws. 

In  1904:  W.  D.  Atkins,  J.  S.  Brady,  Gus 
Linn.  S.  Carlvle,  Henry  Vogler,  L.  W. 
Bickel. 

In  1905:  S.  L.  Carlyle,  J.  S.  Brady,  Gus 
Linn,  B.  K.  Bushee,  Peter  Nelson,  Henry 
Vogler.  L.  W.  Bickel. 

In    1906:      B.    K.    Bushee,    P.    Maginnis, 


rmEtm 


giving  Kimball  county  an  important  voice   in 
moulding  Nebraska  legislation. 

City  Government 

Kimball  was  incorporated  shortly  after  its 
change  to  that  name  about  1888.  Its  offi- 
cers about  1890  were:  L.  R.  Markley,  L.  E. 
Shaefer,  J.  M.  Bearse,  P.  Maginnis,  G.  F. 
Hark,  Isaac  Roush,  clerk;  X.  (  ).  Calkins, 
treasurer;  J.  W.  David,  attorney;  Henry 
Phillips,  marshall. 

The  records  that  would  show  the  officers' 
directorate  for  the  city  from  1891  to  1910 
seems  to  have  been  misplaced  or  at  least 
could  not  be  located  at  the  time  of  this  com- 
pilation and  no  complete  roster  could  be 
prepared  for  that  period.  It  is  known  that 
H.  Marshall  served  as  chairman  in  1892  and 
C.  A.  Schooley  in  1893.  L.  W.  Bickel  was 
holding  this  honor  by  1898.  F.  H.  DeCastro 
was  mayor  in  1900,  W.  D.  Watkins  was  also 
serving  in  1903  or  1904  and  was  succeeded 


Peter  Nelson.  F.  W.  Whitman,  P.  Mockett, 
Henry  Vogler,  L.  W.  Bickel. 

Beginning  with  1910  the  officers  of  the 
city  have  been:  I.  S.  Walker,  F.  Lemon. 
B.  K.  Bushee,  F.  H.  Cunningham,  D.  L. 
Regione,  Geo.  Vogler,  treasurer;  Jas.  A. 
May,  clerk. 

In  1911:  B.  K.  Bushee,  F.  F.  Reader, 
Frank  Cunningham,  Fred  Eichenberger, 
Wm.  Young,  W.  J.  Ballard.  Geo.  Vogler, 
treasurer;   lames  May,  clerk. 

In  1912:"  B.  A.  Lathrop,  F.  E.  Reader, 
Frank  Cunningham.  B.  1\.  Bushee,  Wm. 
Young.  Fred  Eichenberger,  treasurer;  L  A. 
May,  clerk. 

In  1913:  A.  B.  Beard.  F.  Reader.  Win. 
Cronin,  B.  K.  Bushee,  Wm.  Young,  J.  A. 
May,  clerk. 

In  1914:  A.  B.  Heard.  1',.  K.  Bushee,  fohn 
Filer.  Wm.  Cronin  and  Isaac  Roush. 

1915:  G.  L.  Vogler,  R.  D.  Wilson,  F.  R. 
Morgan,  Isaac  Roush. 


330 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


1916:  G.  L.  Vogler,  R.  D.  Wilson,  W.  S. 
Rodman,  F.  R.  Morgan  and  Gus  Linn. 

1917:  G.  L.  Vogler,  R.  D.  Wilson,  F.  R. 
Morgan,  Herbert  Linn  and  W.  S.  Rodman. 

1918:  Frank  Cooper,  G.  L.  Vogler.  F.  R. 
Morgan,  Gus  Linn  and  Wm.  Young. 

1919:  J.  R.  Tritt,  J.  A.  Irwin,  Wm.  Cro- 
nin,  Gus  Linn  and  Wm.  Young. 

In  1917  Kimball  voted  to  put  in  sewers  by 
a  vote  of  98  to  49.  In  June,  1918.  electric 
lights  bonds  were  voted  upon  with  a  vote  of 
56  to  17. 

At  the  spring  election  of  1920,  new  coun- 
cilmen  chosen  were :  F.  E.  Reader,  F.  J. 
Eichenberger  and  Thomas  Campbell.  For 
school  directors,  C.  L.  Alden  and  Mrs.  O.  A. 
Hedlund  were  chosen.  City  Clerk  Overton 
was  retained  at  that  post  of  duty  and  J.  D. 
Renne  made  superintendent  of  the  munici- 
pal light  plant. 


Modern  School  Near  Kimball,  Known 
"Pedktt"   School 


Kimball  county  has  built  up  a  splendid 
public  school  system,  which  has  reached  its 
climax  in  a  splendid,  modern  county  high 
school,  costing  around  $100,000.  The  elec- 
tion establishing  this  county  high  school 
was  held  in  1919  and  resulted  in  313  votes 
for,  201  against. 

A  summary  of  the  status  of  Kimball  coun- 
ty high  schools  and  Kimball  schools  at  the 
beginning  of  1921  was  prepared  as  follows 
by  county  superintendent  Rachael  McElroy : 

The  present  roster  on  the  school  boards 
of  Kimball  are  on  the  city  school :  W.  S. 
Rodman,  chairman;  F.  E.  Reader,  treasurer; 
Mrs.  O.  A.  Hedlund.  secretary;  Claude  Al- 
den, Gus  Linn  and  Mrs.  M.  Markley.  On 
the  Kimball  county  high  school  the  present 
board  officers  are:  W.  S.  Rodman,  chair- 
man; Isaac  Roush,  treasurer;  Rachel  McEl- 
roy,  secretary;  E.  A.  Selover  and  Ed.  A. 
Bergman. 


The  teachers  for  Kimball  county  high 
school  are :  C.  P.  Beale,  superintendent ; 
Ida  Roberts,  Elmer  O.  Bergman,  Alta 
Youngblcod,  Edna  Bieseking,  R.  R.  Ricker 
and  F.  B.  Kelly. 

The  Kimball  grade  school  teachers  are : 
Eva  King,  principal;  Mrs.  Irvin  Littrell, 
Helen  Binning,  Edith  Rhoads,  Sarah  Lec- 
key,  Dorothy  Groves,  Alice  Andrews,  Neva 
Tritt,  Mary  Wright,  Martha  Lecky,  Hazel 
Parks,  Frances  Lovett,  Gladys  Beale,  Trena 
Haugen,  Ruth  Moore  and  Maude  Drake. 

The  superintendent  of  the  schools  prior 
to  the  present  superintendent's  position  was 
filled  by  L.  A.  Eastman. 

Churchks 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Kim- 
ball is  the  pioneer  religious  institution  of 
this  county.  Its  start  began  with  the  first 
settlement  of  the  community  in  1885.  A 
flourishing  Union  Sunday  school  was  being 
led  by  C.  F.  Robertson  as  superintendent. 
C.  C.  Clewett  was  choir  leader  and  Rev.  E. 
Mount  was  pastor  in  charge.  In  1886  Rev. 
T.  H.  Dry  was  pastor,.  Mrs.  Theo.  Menges 
was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school. 
In  1888  E.  J.  Robinson  was  pastor  and  O.  B. 
Tanneyhill  was  leading  the  Sundav  school. 
In  1890  Rev.  W.  H.  Bancock  was  pastor. 
Rev.  J.  P.  Bradley  assisted  this  charge  about 
this  same  time  and  in  1892  Rev.  W.  H.  D. 
Hornaday  entered  upon  a  pastorate  which 
lasted  for  several  years.  In  1898  Rev.  Ben- 
jamin Hornaday  was  in  charge,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Russell  Link,  who  served  as 
pastor  of  this  flock  until  the  arrival  of  Rev. 
R.  Randolf.  In  1906  N.  G.  Medlin  came  and 
after  him,  Rev.  E.  J.  Hayes  served.  His  suc- 
cessor was  Rev.  E.  Markley  who  served 
about  three  years  and  was  followed  by  Rev. 
Nathan  English.  In  1916  Rev.  P.  H.  Smith. 
came  to  these  people  and  he  was  followed 
by  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  W.  H.  Wright, 
who  was  appointed  in  1920  to  a  third  year  of 
service. 

The  Presbyterian  church  of  Kimball  has 
been  served  for  the  past  few  years  by  Rev. 
Thomas  K.  Hunter  and  Rev.  6.  O.  St.  John 
presiding  when  Rev.  Wresley  M.  Hyde,  Jr., 
Mas  the  pastor  of  this  flock.  The  following 
account  of  the  ordination  of  Rev.  St.  John 
and  the  organization  of  the  Union  Presby- 
terian church  of  Dix  will  illustrate  the  close 
co-operation  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
this  part  of  the  state. 

Called  from  the  farm  to  the  pulpit,  Mr. 
O.  O.  St.  John  of  the  south  table  was  or- 
dained a  minister  of  the  gospel  in  the  Kim- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


331 


ball  Presbyterian  church  in  the  presence  of 
a  large  and  appreciative  audience  and  a  num- 
ber of  the  ministers  of  the  Box  Butte  Pres- 
bytery. 

Rev.  D.  W.  Montgomery,  pastor  evangel- 
ist of  Alliance,  moderated  the  session  and 
conducted  the  ordination;  Rev.  Geo.  F.  Mc- 
Dougal  of  Bridgeport  preached  the  sermon; 
Rev.  W.  I.  Eby  of  Broadwater  charged  the 
candidate,  and"  Rev.  Theo.  Hagerman  of 
Dalton  charged  the  people. 

Rev.  St.  John  will  preach  every  Sabbath 
evening  in  Kimball  and  every  other  Sab- 
bath morning  at  St.   John's  Chapel,     lie  is 


of  the  Dix  community  it  would  be  the  wish 
of  the  people  that  the  Rev.  Thomas  K.  Hun- 
ter preach  for  them  for  a  time  in  a  wholly 
undenominational  way,  and  that  the  session 
of  the  Kimball  church  would  permit  their 
pastor  to  give  Sabbath  afternoons  to  preach- 
ing at  Dix,  regular  services  at  Dix  would  lie 
arranged.  After  a  canvass  of  the  Dix  com- 
munity their  representatives,  Mrs.  Emma 
Williams  and  Airs.  Rena  Peterson,  arranged 
with  Dr.  Hunter  to  preach  regularly  on  Sab- 
bath afternoons  in  the  village  schoolhouse 
north  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad.  This 
plan  was  entered  into  May  20.  1918. 


will  known  to  our  readers  and  will  no  doubt 
be  a  success  in  his  new  calling.  No  higher 
recommendation  is  needed  in  any  calling 
than  the  one  accorded  Mr.  St.  John  Thurs- 
day evening. 
The  Union  Presryterian  Church  of  Dix 

On  Wednesday,  May  15,  1918,  Mrs. 
Emma  Williams,  Mrs.  Alice  Bellmore  and 
Mrs.  Mary  Wrendt,  called  on  the  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  in  Kimball  to  ar- 
range for  him  to  preach  for  the  people  of 
Dix'and  vicinity,  as  at  that  time  they  had  no 
religious  services  of  any  kind  and  had  not 
had  for  some  time. 

It  was  then  agreed  that  if  after  a  canvass 


After  the  sermon  and  children's  day  exer- 
cises on  Sabbath,  June  9th,  in  the  grove  at 
Mr.  Williams'  residence,  the  congregation 
agreed  that  they  would  open  the  way  for 
the  organization  of  a  church.  The  name  of 
the  church  was  to  be  determined  by  the  vote 
of  the  large  congregation  present.  The 
votes  taken  resulted  in  the  choice  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  by  about  two-thirds 
the  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast.  And  the 
result  of  this  vote  was  stated  to  the  minister 
later,  who  was  not  present  at  the  time  of  the 
meeting  at  which,  without  his  knowledge, 
the  matter  of  organization  was  discussed 
and  determined. 


332 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  first  public  announcement  looking 
toward  the  organization  of  the  church  was 
made  on  Sabbath,  June  30,  1918,  a  blank 
petition  to  the  Presbytery  of  Box  Butte  for 
the  organizing  of  a  Presbyterian  church  at 
Dix,  Nebraska,  was  left  for  the  congregation 
to  circulate  and  sign. 

On  Sabbath.  July  7,  1918,  was  returned 
a  petition  signed  by  seme  sixty  or  seventy 
persons  desiring  the  Presbytery  to  organize 
a  Presbyterian  church  at  Dix,  and  after  two 
weeks  notice,  on  Sabbath,  July  21.  1918,  by 
the  request  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Kearns,  D.D., 
superintendent  of  Home  Missions  for  Synod 
of  Nebraska  and  of  the  Home  Missions 
Committee  of  the  Presbytery  of  Box  Butte, 
the  Rev.  Thomas  K.  Hunter,  D.D.,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Home  Mission  Committee  of  said 
Presbytery,  did  organize  the  Union  Presby- 
terian church  of  Dix,  Nebraska 

The  names  of  some  twenty-three  persons 
were  enrolled  as  charter  members  of  this 
church,  and  two  elders  were  elected,  A.  W. 
Wilson  and  Mr.  Williams.  Also  three  trus- 
tees were  elected,  Mr.  E.  Horrum  for  three 
years,  Mr.  K.  G.  Walker  for  two  years,  and 
Mr.  A.  J.  Mayes  for  one  year. 

Of  this  meeting,  Mrs.  Rosa  MacGallogly 
was  secretary,  and  Rev.  Thomas  K.  Hunter, 
moderator.    ■ 

The  records  of  the  above  recorded  meet- 
ing were  lost  or  mislaid,  and  to  obviate  any 
error  the  Presbytery  of  Box  Butte  in  ses- 
sion at  Synod,  October  1,  1919,  commis- 
sioned Dr.  Hunter  to  go  to  Dix  and  assist 
the  Rev.  O.  O.  St.  John  to  receive  the  char- 
ter members  and  others  into  the  church,  and 
thus  complete  the  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion. 

Accordingly,  on  Sabbath,  November  23, 
1919,  the  Rev.  Thos.  K.  Hunter  in  co-opera- 
tion with  the  Rev.  O.  O.  St.  John,  did  re- 
ceive into  and  enroll  the  names  of  the  fol- 
lowing named  persons  in  the  Union  Presby- 
terian church  of  Dix,  Nebraska,  and  declare 
the  ecclesiastical  organization  of  the  church 
complete.  The  list  of  names  of  members 
received  November  23,  1919,  and  on  the 
roll  at  that  time,  are:  Arthur  W.  Wilson, 
Ernest  Otis  Houghtaling,  Wm.  Elwood  Mc- 
Kinney,  Emery  J.  Horrum.  Mrs.  Mary 
Claussen  Wendt,  Mrs.  Annie  E.  Graham, 
Mrs.  Rosa  Mae  Gallogly,  Mrs.  Minnie  Alice 
Bellmore,  Miss  Neva  Leota  Shaw,  Mrs.  Le- 
ora  Alice  W'illson,  Mrs.  Zula  Ruth  Hough- 
taling, Mrs.  Ella  S.  McKinney,  Mrs.  Foster 


Eleanor  Rorrun,  Mrs.  Naomi  Romayne 
Port.  Webster,  Miss  Grace  Mae  Graham, 
Mrs.  Nettie  B.  Starr,  Mrs.  Zoa  Shaw. 

The  Union  Presbyterian  church  of  Dix, 
Nebraska,  was  enrolled  bv  the  Presbyterv 
of  Box  Butte,  April  2.  1919,  as  partially 
organized  and  as  incorporated. 

As  assistant  secretaries  of  Home  Missions 
in  the  Synod  of  Nebraska,  the  Rev.  S.  H. 
King  and  the  Rev.  B.  A.  Frye,  rendered  spe- 
cial services  in  the  congregation  of  the  Dix 
church,  and  by  their  preaching  and  counsel, 
aided  in  confirming  the  people  in  carrying 
forward  the  work  of  the  Master  in  this  rap- 
idly developing  region. 

The  Rev.  O.  O.  St.  John  took  charge  of 
the  Dix  church  in  connection  with  the  St. 
John's  chapel  under  the  direction  of  the  Pres- 
bytery and  plans  for  the  erection  of  a  house  of 
worship  were  immediately  begun. 

In  the  meantime  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  W.  Tay- 
lor was  elected  Assistant  Synodical  Superin- 
tendent of  Home  Missions,  and  made  his 
headquarters  at  Scottsbluff.  A  part  of  his 
duty  was  to  assist  the  Rev.  O.  0.  St.  John 
in  the  raising  of  funds  for  the  building  of 
the  church  at  Dix.  Dr.  Taylor's  efficient 
and  persistent  efforts  in  connection  with  the 
pastor  and  co-operation  of  a  willing  and 
generous  people  enabled  them  to  dedicate  on 
Sabbath.  May  9,  1920,  a  beautiful  and 
commodious  house  of  worship,  worth  not 
less  than  ten  thousand  dollars,  but  secured  at 
a  cost  of  about  eight  thousand  dollars.  The 
dedication  sermon  was  preached  and  large 
subscriptions  secured  before  and  on  the  day 
of  dedication  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  E.  Far- 
mer, and  prayer  of  dedication  was  offered 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hunter,  pastor  of  the  Kim- 
ball Presbyterian  church,  the  pastor,  Rev. 
O.  O.  St.  John  closing  the  services  with 
prayer  and  invoking  the  divine  blessing  up- 
on the  whole  service  and  enterprise.  There 
were  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  people 
present  at  this  meeting. 


Civ; 


iND  Spanish  War  Veterans 


Kimball  county's  settlement  started  much 
too  late  to  have  any  participation  as  a  com- 
munity in  the  Civil  War,  and  was  too 
sparsely  settled  to  support  a  separate  com- 
pany in  the  Spanish  War,  but  taking  the 
roster  of  Civil  and  Spanish  War  veterans 
living  in  Kimball  county  in  1915.  shows  the 
presence  of  a  proportionate  number. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


333 


KIMBALL  COUNTY— CIVIL  WAR  YETERAXI 


Name  Residence 

Amos,  A.  H Kimball 

Beard.  G.  W Kimball 

Fleming,  G.  M Kimball 

Grubb,  D.  A Kimball 

1  lowland,  W.  A Kimball 

Johnson,  M.  F Bushnell 

Leaning,  I.  W Kimball 

Mooney,  J.  A Pine  Bluffs,  W\ 

Proutv,  Capt.  H.  H Kimball 

Rogers.  G.W Bushnell 

Wirack,  II Kimball 

Warner,  B.  F Kimball 

Widdoes Kimball 


Battery.  Yessel 

Company 

or  Regiment 

Fr<  'in  Stat.-  of 

A 

1 

Wis. 

B 

3 

Ind. 

F 

5 

Pa. 

C 

198 

111. 

A 

75 

111. 

I 

11 

Ma 

2  Bat. 

Iowa 

K 

12 

111. 

B 

Vt. 

I 

11 

Mo. 

KIMBALL  COUNTY— SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR;  9 


Name  Residence 

Farnsworth,  J.  B Kimball 

Farrell,    T Potter 

Gcding,  E.  E Dix 

Harr,  F.  L Pine  Bluffs,  Wyo. 

Hull,  A.  T Kimball 

Overton.  C.  A Bushnell 

Seyfer.  O.  W Kimball 

Sandridge Kimball 

Willis.  C.  E Kimball 


Bat 

ery.  Vessel 

Company 

or 

Regiment 

Fro 

m  State  of 

M 

3 

Ind. 

C 

9 

Ind. 

A 

1 

S.  D. 

B 

18 

H 

H 

Okla. 

P. 

4 

Mo. 

D 

40 

Kas. 

B.  L 

F.  A. 

Ind. 

Pickett  Post  No.  221.  G.  A.  R..  was  organ- 
ized very  early.  Some  of  the  commanders 
were :  C.  Schooly  as  early  as  1886,  and  in 
the  early  nineties  were  B.  Deason,  I,  N. 
Broyles,  H.  H.  Prouty.  Early  adjutants 
were:  N.  O.  Calkins,  Jas.  Newelt,  G.  W. 
Beard. 

Frontier  lodge  No.  49.  Knights  of  Pythias, 
was  installed  August.  1898.  with  the  follow- 
ing charter  members:  Geo.  F.  Wilkinson, 
T.  L  Bellows,  L.  W.  Bickel,  J.  Sheahen, 
C.  F.  Dillon,  E.  W.  Dillon,  C.  A.  Forsling, 
F.  E.  Forsling,  H.  H.  Howe,  Ed  Doran, 
L.  E.  Schafer,  J.  J.  Brady.  P.  Maginnis,  O.  C. 
Phillips,  Thos.  W ilkinson,  E.  J.  Dillon,  John 
Gharst,  Thos.  E.  Friese.  C.  L  Oldaker.  ).  M. 
Fickes,  F.  M.  Woolridge,  Geo.  M.  Hood. 
F.  H.  Decastro,  E.  M.  Prouty,  S.  B.  Bassett, 
C.  V.  Dick. 

Its  first  officers  were:  M.  M.  Proutv, 
C.  C. :  Lee,  Bickel.  V.  C. :  Geo.  F.  Wilkinson, 
prelate;  L  Gharst.  iM.  W.:  II.  H.  Howe, 
M.  E.;  L.  E.  Schafer.  M.  P.:  P.  Maginnis, 
M.  A.;  F.  E.  Forsling,  I.  G. :  Chas.  Dillon, 
O.  G. 

Some  of  the  past  chancellors  were:  E.  M. 


Prouty.  S.  B.  Bassett,  D.  V.  Dick.  P.  Ma- 
ginnis. 

Some  of  the  presiding  officers  were:  G.  F. 
Wilkinson,  John  Gharst,  I.  S.  Bradv,  O.  E. 
Forsling. 

The  Masonic  order  was  installed  in  De- 
cember. 1914.  with  the  following  members: 
W.  J.  Davies.  Dr.  W.  K.  Mvler.  V.  B.  Car- 
gill,  F.  R.  Morgan,  W.  S.' Rodman.  I.  S. 
Walker,  C.  W.  Richards.  F.  L  Bellows.  A.  1',. 
Morgan,  Al  Mangan,  O.  W.  Seyfer,  I.  T. 
Dean.  J.  J.  Jefferson,  C.  L.  Alden,  j.  T. 
Dean,  J.  S.  Emerson,  F.  M.  Woolridge,  Ben- 
jamin llearson.  Rev.  English,  I.  W.  Hook, 
H.  E.  Speze,  Fred  Checo,  P.  I..  Man-.  Rev. 
Shackleford,  Us.  Reverly,  Geo.  Snook,  [.  II. 
Runyan,  E.  Caldwell,  E.  Wickland,  Han 
Hazzard. 

The  following  were  tin-  first  officers:  Will 
Davies.  worthy  master :  <  >.  W.  Seyfer,  senior 
warden;  C.  B.  Cargill.  junior  warden:  F.  R. 
Morgan,  senior  deacon;  C.  VV.  Richards, 
junior  deacon:  F.  Woolridge,  secretary. 

Ax  Unusual   Family   Record 
Although  Km, ball  lodge  No.  294,  then  one 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


of  the  youngest  Masonic  lodges  in  the  state, 
in  February.  1917.  it  recorded  an  event  un- 
usual in  Masonic  history.  In  one  of  its 
meetings  there  gathered  eight  Morgan 
brothers,  all  Master  Masons,  meeting  under 
one  roof.  It  was  the  first  time  that  they  had 
all  been  together  in  years  and  the  first  time 
that  they  had  all  attended  the  same  lodge. 
At  Grand  Island,  in  1907.  seven  of  them  had 
been  present,  but  one  brother,  Charles,  was 
then  living  in  Los  Angeles  and  could  not  get 
there.  Fred  Morgan  had  been  attempting 
for  several  years  to  secure  their  presence  at 
one  time,  but  accomplished  this  for  the  first 
time  when  the  local  lodge  was  putting  on 
the  fellowcraft  degree.  The  brothers  took 
the    various    posts    as    follows,    when    they 


1904  and  its  first  officers  were:  Past  C.  of 
Honor,  Mrs.  A.  E.  Beard;  C.  of  H..  Mrs.  11. 
Lern;  L.  of  H..  Hattie  E.  Walker;  C.  of 
Cerm.,  Mrs.  Ida  Hall;  Financier.  Mrs.  F.  H. 
Briggs;  Treasurer  and  Recorder,  Miss  A. 
Woolridge ;  I.  W.,  Cora  Bartholomew ; 
O.  W.,  Wr.  D.  Hall ;  S.  W.,  Miss  P.  Fickes. 

Some  of  the  presiding  officers  and  secre- 
taries were :  Mrs.  Bartholomew,  Susie 
Fickes,  Mrs.  M.  Bickel,  Mrs.  E.  W.  Barthol- 
omew, Miss  Nellie  Kinney,  Mrs.  P.  Magin- 
nis,  Mrs.  John  Sprague. 

The  local  lodge  No.  2547  of  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  was  chartered  on  No- 
vember 1,  1894,  with  the  following  mem- 
bers: Dowe  Buckeman,  Harrv  J.  Bloom, 
Louis  W.  Bickel,  C.  J.  Campbell,  A.  Coch- 


Near  Kimball 


opened  the  work  that  evening:  Horace 
Morgan,  Clarion,  Iowa,  W.  M. ;  George  Mor- 
gan.^St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  S.  W.;  Charles  Mor- 
gan, Los  Angeles,  J.  W. ;  Jess  Morgan,  Mo- 
berly,  Missouri,  Sr.  Deacon;  Ross  Morgan, 
Alma,  Nebr.,  Jr.  Deacon  ;  Walter  Morgan, 
Plains,  Montana,  Secretary;  Fred  Morgan, 
Kimball,  Nebr.,  Treasurer,  and  Arthur  Mor- 
gan, Kimball,  Tyler. 

A.  O.  U.  W.  organized  1886  in  Sherman, 
Hall,  Kimball  counties  and  has  been  in  ex- 
istence ever  since.  Some  of  the  presiding 
Master  Workmen  have  been :  S.  Wooldndgje. 
W.  D.  Hall.  Z.  O.  Davis,  Jacob  Pedrett, 
L.  E.  Shaefer,  J.  W.  Sheahan.  S.  L.  Car- 
lyle,  Henry  Vogler,  Wm.  Crcnin,  Ole  Ped- 
rett. 

Some  of  the  recorders  have  been:  I.  S. 
Walker.  H.  Vogler,  F.  J.  Bellows. 

Some  of  the  clerks  have  been :  B.  K 
Bushee,  H.  S.  Fletcher,  C.  T.  Dillon,  and 
C.  W.  Richards. 

Degree  of  Honor   No.  91   was  organized 


ran,  Clarence  A.  Forsling,  Henry  Gotte, 
John  W.  Hurley,  Geo.  Herrick,  John  J.  Kost, 
Pat  Maginnis,  j.  H.  Nettleton,  John  Richart, 
L.  E.  Shaefef,  Thos.  Sethal'er,  Geo.  W. 
Smith,  Chas.  E.  Spear,  N.  S.  White,  I.  S. 
W'alker. 

Royal  Neighbors  lodge  No.  804  was  in- 
stalled December  20,  1900,  with  the  follow- 
ing members :  Rose  L.  Wooldridge,  Daisy 
E.  Johnston,  Irving  S.  Walker,  Oscar  E. 
Forsling,  Rose  Forsling,  Geo.  Herrick,  J.  W. 
Sprague,  Ruth  Bushee,  Conrad  Burg,  Win- 
nie DeCastro,  Geo.  F.  Wilkinson,  Annie 
L.  M.  Fletcher,  Barney  Martin,  Clarence  A. 
Forsling,  Ida  Hall,  Jennie  Bickel,  Hattie  E. 
Walker,  Henry  S.  Fletcher,  Frank  M.  Wool- 
ridge, Thomas  Setheler,  Fred  Whitman, 
Ethel  Forsling,  Emma  Martin,  Alice  Fors- 
ling, Frank  Forsling,  Lean  Whitman,  Henry 
Fletcher,  B.  K.  Bushee. 

Royal  Highlanders,  Crichtown  Castle  No. 
433,  was  organized  November  24,  1904,  with 
the    follc'winsr    charter    members:       Frank 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Whitman.  Chas.  W.  Mairs,  Hattie  Elder. 
Lily  A.  Wilkinson.  Josie  Welch,  Henry  II. 
Howe,  Harry  A.  Felso,  Chas.  W.  Hansen, 
Mamie  Bartholomew,  Chas.  Sprague,  God- 
frey T.  Pearson,  Melrose  Wooldridge,  Edwin 
A.  Bargman.  Anna  Gunderson,  Anna  J. 
Schaefer,  Robt.  Gunderson,  Chas.  Joldaker, 
Dr.  P.  C.  Mockett. 

Truth  lodge  No.  262  of  the  carder  of  East- 
ern Star  was  chartered  May  12.  1915,  with 


Old  Timers 

On  January  23,  1915.  a  gathering  i  f  old 
timers  was  held.  Besides  Dr.  Amos,  Capt. 
Prouty  were  present:  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jack 
Dolan,  Elmer  Johnson.  A.  11.  Amos,  John 
Filer,  P.  Maginnis,  Gus  Linn,  O.  E.  Fors- 
ling,  Alfred  Forsling,  Irvin  Richardson, 
E.  G.  Perry,  Jake  Pedrett,  H.  E.  Parks,  J.  H. 
Campbell,    Frank    Bickel,   Art    Bickel,    Geo. 


Resiukxce  of  Chas.  E.  J 


the  following:  Mrs.  Nellie  Alden,  Claude 
L.  Alden,  Mrs.  Kate  Bellows,  Frank  J.  Bel- 
lows, Mrs.  Belle  Cargill.  V.  B.  Cargifl,  Mrs. 
Mary  M.  Caldwell,  Evan  Caldwell,  Mrs. 
Louise  Mvlar,  Wilber  K.  Mylar,  Mrs. 
Rachel  McElroy,  Mrs.  Hazel  Mangen,  Mrs. 
Helen  I.  Rodman.  Mrs.  Grace  1'..  Rodman. 
Alary  J.  Richards.  Chas.  Richards.  Mrs. 
Esther'  Horam,  Mrs.  Winifred  Seyfert. 
Oscar  W.  Sevfert.  Mrs.  Melrose  Wooldridge, 
Miss  Helen  Woolridge,  Frank  M.  Wool- 
ridge,  Mrs.  Anna  Linn.  Gus  Linn,  Mrs. 
Florence  I.  Lee,  Rev  F.  Lee. 


Nugent,  Will  Nugent.  Frank  Whitman, 
Chas.  Dillon.  Newton  Biggs,  also  Grandma 
Lynch,  Mrs.  C.  A.  Forsling,  Marx  Ewbank, 
Mrs  I  ickes  lis.  M  I  ndaffer  like  Nils  n 
Mark  Winn.'  Joe  Nelson,  Capt.  I!.  II. 
Prouty,  J.  T.  Jefferson.  Jake  Thomas,  Chet 
Cronn,  Mrs.  11.  Golte,  Mrs.  T<  in  Wilkenson, 
Mervin  Snyder,  Emerson  Faden,  Fred  Gar- 
rard, Fred  Dillon.  Mr-,  llavnen,  Mr-.  Al- 
fred Hansen.  Bert  Bickel,  Albert  Larson, 
Bert  Larson,  Shirl  Vogler,  \  ern  Linn.  Mrs. 
John  Shehan,  Ruth  Walker.  Johnnie  Ben- 
son, Art  Atkins.  Herman  Reischberg,  Alice 


336 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Maginnis,    Airs.    Fred    Morgan,    Airs.    Art 
Morgan. 

In  October,  1917,  R.  D.  Wilson,  former 
publisher  of  the  Nebraska  Observer,  bought 
the  Banner  County  News  at  Harrisburg. 
Air.    Wilson   had   the    Observer  when   it   was 


Whitney  at  the  home  of  his  daughter.  He 
came  to  Kimball  in  1898  and  lived  there 
twenty  years,  excepting  four  years.  Two  of 
these  were  spent  in  Harrisburg  and  two  near 
Bushnell.  For  thirteen  years  he  was  pro- 
prietor of  the  Whitney  House. 

In  1918  Kimball  made  a  decided  step  in 

advance    when    the    new    Wheat    Growers 

otel  was  opened  at  a  cost  of  over  $15,000. 


printed  on  a  Washington  hand  press  and  the 
total  editions  could  be  carried  to  the  post- 
office  on  one  hand.  When  he  sold  it  to  the 
present  owner,  V.  B.  Cargill.  it  was  one  of 
the  best  equipped  county  newspapers  in 
western  Nebraska. 

June  14,  1917.  occurred  the  death  of  Cap- 
tain H.  H.  Prouty,  a  unique  and  important 
character  in  the  growth  and  development  of 
Kimball.  He  was  born  December  28,  1842, 
at  Brattleboro,  Vermont.  He  went  in  the 
Civil  War  with  Company  3,  Second  regi- 
ment, and  in  the  fall  of  1874,  was  promoted 
to  captain  of  Company  D.    He  came  to  Kim- 


E.  E.  Gom> 


Dix 


by  Frank  Cunningham.  This  hotel  is  a  real- 
ly unique  venture,  for  a  town  of  this  size.  It 
is  one  story  in  height  with  a  full  basement, 
making  practically  two  stories.  It  has  a 
commodious  lobby  on  the  first  floor  with 
two  rows  of  guest  rooms  furnished  with  run- 
ning water  and  very  elegant  furniture. 

In  the  basement  the  dining  room  is  locat- 
ed at  one  end  of  the  large  room,  used  also 


""^3 

■^     jm^S2^r^ 

ilnif'Plf  it_ 

||5M 

M 

'-Vrf 

— .^t jZZ- ,:. 

-    J 

-  ■  '  ^'»u(pi 

^^v-mmmn*?] 

Residence  of  Petrus  Peterson,  Dix 

ball  in  1886  and  spent  over  thirty  years  of 
valued  service  in  this  community.  He  was 
married  in  May.  1880  to  Julia  Hurty.  who 
preceded  him  in  death  by  several  years. 
They  had  five  children:  Ed.  M.,  Ella  M.,  Geo. 
L.,  Caroline  and  Julia  E. 

The  year  1917  also  saw  the  death  of  Fred 


for  a  ball  room  as  well  as  dining  room,  with 
a  splendid  soda  fountain  in  the  front  end. 

Dix 
The  town  of  Dix  was  laid  out  on  the  land 
of  Margaret  Robertson  and  was  later  moved 
to  a  point  south  of  the  railroad  station  where 
it  was  platted  by  D.  H.  Shultz.  The  original 
town  was  laid  out  by  C.  T.  Robertson  and 
secured  its  name  from   Dixon,  Illinois,  the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


337 


former  home  of  Margaret  Robertson.  The 
first  building"  in  the  town  was  a  store  built 
by  Henry  Vogler.  Fritz  Dachtler  built  the 
first  few  houses.  Then  followed  the  original 
store  and  house  of  Voglers.  Philip  Nelson 
built  the  next  business  building.  Following 
Henry  Vogler,  the  proprietorship  of  the  first 
store  passed  on  to  C.  H.  Randall,  and  later 
to  Julius  Johnson,  C.  E.  Birt,  Philip  Nelson, 
and  recently  has  been  the  Farmers  Store. 

Later  stores  were  started  by  Gus  Linn 
who  put  in  a  hardware  store,  the  Dix  Mer- 
cantile Company,  by  E.  E.  Goding,  and 
(.thers;  the  Farmers  Union  Store  by  Philip 
Nelson  and  others.  The  present  business 
houses  of  Dix  are  the  Dix  Mercantile,  Farm- 
ers Union,  E.  O.  Houghtaling,  and  Guss 
Linn.  In  addition  the  community  has  the 
elevators  started  by  the  Farmers  Shipping 
Association   and   the    Dix    Grain    Company, 


tw>  restaurants,  one  hotel,  Foster  Lumber 
Company,  two  garages,  a  meat  market,  tele- 
phone exchange,  municipally  owned  water 
and  light  plant,  an  enterprising  newspaper, 
the  Dix  Tribune,  published  by  E.  K.  Goding 
and  L.  F.  Price,  one  drug  store,  one  millin- 
ery store,  Gunderson  livery  stable,  Citizens 
State  Bank,  started  in  1919,  of  which  George 
W.  Winkleman  is  president,  E.  E.  Goding, 
W.  R.  Ehlers,  cashiers.  In  1921  the  officers 
of  this  bank  are.  W.  R.  Ehlers,  president  : 
E.  E.  Goding.  vice  president,  and  F.  II.  Mat- 
tocks, cashier. 

The  Farmers  State  Bank  of  Dix,  reorgan- 
ized in  1920,  is  another  substantial  financial 
institution. 

Hall  and  Harms  have  an  auto  repairing 
establishment  and  Frank  Campbell  a  billiard 
parlor. 


CHAPTER  V 
KIMBALL  COUNTY  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 


A  particularly  bright  star  in  the  crown  of 
any  Nebraska  county  is  its  record  during  the 
great  World  War,  and  especially  during  the 
participation  of  our  nation,  from  April  2, 
1917,  to  November  11,  1918,  and  on  until  the 
close  of  the  Victory  Liberty  Loan. 

Nebraska,  as  a  state,  made  a  most  brilliant 
record  throughout  the  great  war,  and  in  this 
record,  Kimball  county  played  a  consistent 
and  highly  creditable  part. 

Nebraska  claims  to  have  had  more  sol- 
diers and  sailors  in  the  service  of  our  coun- 
try, in  proportion  to  her  population,  than 
any  other  state.  Out  of  the  total  increment 
of  armed  forces  of  4,034,743  for  the  entire 
United  States,  Nebraska  produced  an  incre- 
ment of  49.614.  Of  these  29,807,  or  only 
60.08,  represent  inductions  under  the  reg- 
istrations into  the  National  Army;  14,416, 
or  29.06%,  were  enlistments  in  the  army; 
4.944,  or  9.96%,  enlisted  in  the  navy,  and 
447,  or  .90%,  in  the  Marine  Corps.  The  per 
cent  of  increment  in  the  National  Army  for 
Nebraska  was  only  60.08%  against  the  aver- 
age for  the  entire  nation  of  66.10%,  and  the 
enlistments  for  all  other  branches  of  armv 


and  naval,  and  marine  service  for  Nebraska 
was  39.92%,  compared  with  33.90  for  the  en- 
tire nation. 

Not  only  in  number  furnished  did  Ne- 
braska hold  above  the  national  average,  but 
in  practically  every  other  feature  of  securing 
the  men  for  military  service.  In  the  cost  per 
man  of  inductions  into  the  selective  service, 
Nebraska  accomplished  the  work  at  a  ci  si  ol 
$4.90  per  man.  against  the  national  average 
of  $7.90  per  man.  In  the  matter  of  physical 
rejections,  Nebraska  ranked  around  6% 
against  the  national  average  of  8.1'..  and 
only  nine  states  showed  a  lower  average. 

Nebraska  furthermore  claims  the  record 
of  having  subscribed  more  money  per  capita 
for  Liberty  Bonds  and  War  Savings  Stamps, 
and  given  more  money  to  the  Red  Cross, 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  K.  of  C.  than  any  other 
state.  She  oversubscribed  ever)  quota  from 
1%  on  first  liberty  loan  to  4i>2';  on  the 
Knights  of  Columbus  drive.  Nebraska  was 
the  first  state  to  go  over  the  top  in  the  War 
Savings  Stamps  campaign,  and  the  only  one 
to  pass  the  mark  in  the  first  campaign.  Lat- 
er, the  system  worked  out  in  Nebraska  was 


338 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


applied  to  the  entire  nation  and  a  second  day  The    first    two    liberty    loans    in    Kimball 

set  for  every  state,  except  Nebraska,  to  con-  were  practically  handled  by  the  banks.    The 

duct  the  same  campaign.  banks  of  Kimball  made  a  record  in  this  re- 

spect,   inasmuch   as   this   bank  and  its  cus- 

Dueing  the  \\  ar  tomers  took  fifty  per  cent  of  all  war  sub- 

Kimball   county   enrolled   361    registrants  scriptions,    including    liberty    loans,    Y.    M. 

on  June  5,  1917,  and  a  total  of  410  in  that  C.    A.,   and   other   war   subscription    quotas 

first   registration.     In    common   with   every  that  were  allotted  to  Kimball  county, 
other  countv  in  the  state,  or  community  in 

the  country;  June  5.  1917,  will  stand  out  as  The  First  Drawing 

a   red-letter   day.      Since   the   foundation   of  While  it  was  held  in  Washington,  D.  C, 

the  republic,  the  American   people   had   in-  tnis  national  drawing  was  a  notable  event  in 

herited  a  deep-seated  prejudice  against  any-  tne  history  of  the  lives  of  so  many  Kimball 

thing  akin  to  universal  compulsory  military  countv  citizens,  that  it  becomes  an  incident 

service.    Then,  to  ask  almost  ten  millions  of  jn  the  history  of  Kimball  countv.    Room  No. 

men  to  register  for  military  service,  between  226,  the  public  hearing  room  'of  the  U.   S. 

are  ages  of  21  to  31,  reared  and  educated  to  Senate  Office  building,  was  the  scene  of  the 

the  idea  of  absolute  freedom  from  any  form  nrst  drawing.     10,500  numbers  were  drawn, 

of    military    service,    except    such    as    they  tne  first  capsule  being  taken  from  the  glass 

might  voluntarily  assume,  seemed  to  many  bowl  at  9:30  a.  m.,  Friday.  Julv  20,  and  the 

almost  a  dangerous  risk  for  the  federal  gov-  iast  at  2:16  a.  m„  Saturday,  July  21.  1917: 

ernment  to  take.    But  it  turned  out  decisive-  elapsed  time,  sixteen  hours,  forty-six  min- 

ly  that  this  tradition  was  more  than  offset  utes,  and   during  which   time   the   numbers 

by  a  popular  will  to  win  the  war,  and  so  im-  were  telegraphed  and  bulletined  all  over  the 

bued  were  the  American  people  with  the  de-  countrv.      The    first    few    numbers    drawn 

termination   to  perpetuate  their  democratic  were  258,  2522.  9613.  4532.  10218.  458,  3403. 

ideals,  and  so  deeply  impressed  were  they  10015. 

with  the  knowledge  that  it  was  not  only  nee-  The   only   number   that   affected   Kimball 

essary  to  raise  an  army,  but  do  it  quickly,  men   was   258,   drawn   by   Secretarv   Baker, 

that   the  whole  nation    registered  9,586,508  ]leld  by  James  Albert  Rodman.     The   nine 

men  on  that  notable  June  5th.      .  men  next  following,  drawn  from  the   Kim- 

The  precinct  registrars  who  served  on  ball  countv  roster,  were.  337,  D.  W.  Wash- 
that  notable  day  were:  Antelope,  L.  S.  berg:  275."  Alex.  Schneidmiller :  126,  Alfred 
Walker  and  George  L.  Vogler.  Bushnell,  W.  Hall :  107,  Guv  Graves  :  309.  Guv  Sharer : 
F.  O.  Baker,  O.  D.  Pickett.  Dix,  J.  E.  Gal-  43,  Clarence  E.  Crane;  10.  T'hos.  Adamson  : 
logly,  Phillip  Nelson.  Union,  A.  B.  Beard,  HO,  Howard  Hall ;  18,  Donald  Becker. 
Frank  Bickel.  South  Divide,  C.  L.  Alden  Those  who  registered  for  call  to  military 
and  F.  J.  Eichenberger.  Johnson,  R.  D.  service  on  June  5th,  1917,  were:  Walter 
Wilson  and  F.  E.  Reader.  The  registration  Brown  Adair,  James  Delanev  Austin,  Fred- 
of  361  on  that  day  was  divided  between  the  erick  Achziger,  Carl  August'  Anderson.  \r- 
precmcts  as  follows:  Antelope,  152;  Bush-  thur  Earl  Atkins,  Charles  Wilson  Avery, 
nell,  73;  Dix.  54;  Johnson,  34;  South  Divide,  Charles  Clarence  Arbuckle,  Erick  Anderson, 
12    and  Union,  26.  Eugene    R.    Anderson.    Thomas    Adamson, 

The  record  of  Kimball  county  during  the  James  Ahlstrom,  Wm.   F.  Apel    Arthur  E 

war  as  to  its  contributions  to  the  military  Anderson,  Acea  Aeklee,  Ira  E.  Adams,  Jesse 

service  are  shown  in  the  following  figures:  J.    Baxter,    Cecil    Barnett,    Daniel    Becker. 

Registered  on  June  5,  1917     .  .  410  °liver   Bandt.   Stanley   Beck,   Samuel    Paul 

Registered  June  and  August,  1918     .  .         48  Bllrks'  °ran  Wm-  Bybee,  Arthur  C.  Bickel. 

Registered  September  12,  1918.  .  .       605  Albert  C-   Bickel,  Ralph  F.   Brown.  Arthur 

Harry    Bloom.    Chas.    Lester    Bogle,    Bert 

Total    1  063  Berkshire,  Earl   Burt,   Edgar  James   Black, 

H.  C.  Bergerhoff,  Rav  Everett  Bessev,  Ed- 

Actually  inducted  and  accepted  at  camp,  win  A.  Bergman,  Wm.  F.  Boop,  Elmer  Otto 

108.     There  were  161   in  general  service,  4  Bergman.   Carl   K.    Belgun,   Ralph    Bowers, 

remediables.   and  28  placed   in   limited   ser-  Boyd  Frank  Badglev,  John  Frederick  Buess. 

vice,  and  only  21  from  this  county  disquali-  Peter  S.  Bourlier,  Nathaniel  Bernev.  A.  C. 

fied.     The  record  of  deferments  shows   114  Blodgett,  Arthur  fames  Castle.  Tames  John 

on  ground  of  dependency.  61  on  agricultural  Carev.  Clarence  E.  Crane,  Tack'son  Tippens 

and  4  for  industrial  reasons.  Cooper,    H.   C.   Chalker.   Roy   L.   Campbell. 


Geo.  Schroeder 
lohn  Schroeder 
Glen  V.  Osborn 
Chas.  C.  Williai 


9.  Ear!  Sizi  more 

0.  Carlson  Bros. 

1.  Chas.  Bullock 

2.  Albert  M.  Strai 
}.  Arthur  Mis""1 
4.  Robert  Maginn 


9.   (  lai 


Carl  Dickman 
31.  Rile)  1     R 

'II         .    I'..  Schwartz 
,  ,     mh.Ici 

34.    K.-x  Graham 
.15.   I.esli.    I  ' 

i       BenSOn 


1.  Alfred  Hall 

2.  Evcntt  Huffman 

3.  A.  Earl  Irwin 

4.  A.  B.  Hubbard 

5.  Israel  Leven-kv 
p..    Kphraim  I.evinsk 


9.    Flovd  Flohrer 
(died  in   camp) 

10.  Geo.  Mc  1  unp^ev 
(killed    in    action 

11.  Arthur  H.  Atkins 
1_>.    Shirlev  II.  YogU 

13.  Ernest  Linn 

14.  Chester  Seguine 

15.  ririch  Pedrett 


16.  Howard  Smith 

17.  Harvev  Smith 
IS.  Merle  A.  P.radv 
19.  Earl  Bicknell 
211.  Alfred  Sequinc 

21.  Fred  Miller 

22.  Roger  Wilson 


25.  A.J.Fritzler 

26.  Ernest  Parker 

27.  Leonard  E.  Smith 

28.  Geo.  Semler 

29.  Wilbur  K.  Mvlar 

30.  T.  Gilbert  (  Hdaker 

31.  "Ralph  Hill 


Noah  Stewart 
T.  A.  Russell 
'Chauncey  Crewes 
Leonard  Hook 
Clarence  Hook 
A.  C.  Moyer 
E.  W.  Hughbanks 


10.  Thomas  Bailiff 

11.  Fred  White 
U.  Beter  Bourlier 
1.1.  Clvde  IV   Sett 

14.  A.  H.  Barrett 

15.  Harry  Shuler 

16.  Harlan  Xecly 
1/.  Verne  Seiuiine 
IS.  Erwin  Mansan 


20.  Clar<  i  i      B 
Zl.    Ray  I.athrop 
2J.   I.vie  Curtis 

21.  G.nra.l  Cuii'l'il 
24.  Thos    Will. .in:- 

Neel] 

I         .       B,  reman 
;      i  .    .1  Russell 


I  ■  ■•    1  ockwood 

10    Gei     i 

,!J.    IIui!h  li.    ii 

I 

r..  ikslme 

.15.  William  5 


342 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


C.  C.  Cronn.  Harvev  Caldwell,  Jno.  Carter, 
Dick  Carlson,  A.  D.  Cook,  Earl  B.  Cass, 
Oscar  Carlson.  M.  O.  Clary,  John  Loy 
Cromie,  Howard  O.  Cromie,  Gust  Christc- 
douLon,  Jno.  C.  Clausen,  Jr.,  Frederick  W.  C. 
Cubein,  John  Leonard  Carlson,  Andrew  E. 
Carter,  Mack  Collier,  Arthur  H.  Cornelius, 
Leonard  A.  Donahue,  Ralph  Wright  Dillon, 
John  W.  Delay,  Shelby  Dennison,  George 
John  Dreith,  Dillard  Earl  Dennison,  Harold 
Dankman.  Randolph  Churchill  Davis,  Hugh 
Dean.  Josiah  L.  Disney,  Guy  Andrew  Dis- 
ney, Arnold  E.  Dickman,  Carl  August  Dick- 
man,  Lester  Walter  Domena,  Walter  A. 
Eden,  Edward  H.  Eden,  Max  Allen  Emer- 
son. Ezra  Jacob  Ernst,  Geo.  G.  Evertson, 
Harrison  Easier,  Wm.  Lester  Ely,  Frank 
Oliver  Evertson,  Frederick  Melvin  Eddv, 
Wm.  Christian  Eber,  A.  J.  Fritzler,  V.  N. 
Foot,  Henry  Ludwig  Flohr,  G.  D.  Francisco, 
J.  J.  Fiegenschuh,  Geo.  Forman,  Elmer 
Forsling,  Guy  M.  Fleming,  Paulus  Falck, 
Jess  Frank  Farmer,  Marion  Andrew  Far- 
mer, John  A.  Foster,  Alfred  Foreman.  Vest 
Gabel,  Roy  Greenfield,  Guy  Graves,  John 
Howard  Grange,  Fred  R.  Grubbs,  Edgar 
Lee  Griffith,  James  Gulzow,  Jr.,  David  Gol- 
den, W.  D.  Goodwin,  Lee  Roy  Graham,  Clif- 
ford Gailey  Greenwalt,  Clyde  Leonard  Gan- 
non, Harlen  M.  Gillespie,  Ralph  Benjamin 
Graham,  A.  Gunderson,  Clyde  B.  Gorman, 
Thomas  James  Holt,  Merton  Eugene  Hal- 
stead,  Edward  Hofstetter,  A.  B.  Hubbard, 
Everette  M.  Huffman,  Alford  W.  Hall,  Ed- 
ward Hieghbanks,  Samuel  Heffson,  Ignatius 
Joseph  Hilgert,  Wm.  Jacob  Haller,  Frank  L. 
Hook,  Ross  Y.  Hutchison,  R.  E.  Holland, 
W.  F.  Herman,  Earl  E.  Hickman,  Lee  Hall, 
Paul  Hoke,  Fred  Harrison,  Leonard  Hook, 
Clarence  B!  Hook,  J.  E.  Hammond,  Howard 
Hall,  Arthur  Noble,  Emery  Jos.  Homun, 
Benjamin  F.  Heidccff,  Glenn  L.  Hudson, 
H.  E.  House,  Walter  Millard  Howell,  Na- 
thaniel Bentson  Henderson,  A.  E.  Irwin, 
Joseph  D.  Imes,  Albert  Wm.  Imes,  Clarence 
Glenn  Irby,  Clarence  A.  Johnson,  Cecil  F. 
James,  Charles  M.  Johnson,  Jens  Jensen, 
Wilmer  McKarty  Jones,  Henry  Lee  Jones, 
Ole  Jensen,  Jas.  Chris  Jensen,  John  Robert 
Johnson,  Ichezo  Kubdtera,  Chester  Crockett 
Kaderli,  Geo.  E.  Ketch,  Frederick  Kane, 
Christian  F.  Krans,  Gustalf  O.  Karlstrum, 
John  Knippel,  Conrad  Knippel,  Geo.  Klip- 
pel.  Raymond  C.  Kaufmann.  Bernard 
Rich  Kelso,  Loyal  Kyle,  Michel  James 
Kennelly,  Geo.  Albert  Kellham,  F.  K.  Lewis, 
Charley  Lorensen,  Lloyd  L.  Lock  wood,  Ray 
Lathrop,  Joe  A.  Lockwood,  Herbert  E. 
Linn,  Yernon  E.  Linn,  O.  G.  Linn,  Ernest 


Linn,  Solomon  Peter  Linneman,  Y.  V.  Love- 
land,  Albert  Lower,  Wm.  L.  Lee,  Ernest 
Ray  Long,  Earl  August  Law,  Benjamin 
Martin,  Harrison  Mack,  Wm.  Miller,  Geo. 
Mcjinsey,  Allen  D.  McCormick,  Arthur  F. 
Maginnis,  Robert  J.  Maginnis,  W.  R.  Mc- 
Campbell,  Frederick  Miller,  Otto  Allen  Mor- 
ris, W.  O.  Miles,  Harry  Townsend  Mead, 
Joseph  Thomas  McGauran,  R.  Y.  Molshee, 
Rich  Guy  McClanahan,  W.  K.  Mylar,  Fred- 
erick Hooker  Mattocks,  Chas.  Louis  Mont- 
gomery, Frederick  Mcrby,  A.  C.  Mover, 
Lewis  Robert  McFarland,  Geo.  W.  Morri- 
son, Guy  Melonari,  Arthur  Joseph  Manning, 
Eugene  Meredith,  Frank  Roscoe.  Walter 
Nunn,  John  Wm.  Norris,  Chas.  Wm.  Nel- 
son. Jno.  Joseph  Newbigging,  Nels  Chris- 
tian Nelson,  Hans  Peter  Franklin  Nelson, 
Arthur  Mannard  Nelson.  Nels  Johnny  Nel- 
son, John  Gilbert  Oldaker,  Royal  Chas. 
Oldaker,  Glenn  Ban  Osborn,  O.  D.  Pickett. 
Edwin  Harrison  Prather.  Frances  W.  Pick- 
ett, Charlie  D.  Prime,  Bill  Pawpanikolan, 
Wm.  B.  Peters,  Olaf  Alexander  Petersen, 
Ralph  Adolph  Phillips,  Ernst  Arthur  Peter- 
son. Alexander  Purchuis,  Ulrich  Pedrett, 
Ernst  Wesley  Parker,  Emanuel  Harrison 
Piper,  Phil  Marten  Piper,  Joseph  Andrew 
Pease,  Delmar  Laurence  Pickett,  Fay  La- 
vern  Pyle,  Reuben  Peterson,  Lee  James 
Peterson,  Albert  Alexandria  Petersen,  Fred- 
erick Peterson.  Cloe  Walt  Petersen,  Hans 
Emiel  Petersen.  Wm.  Robinson.  Wm.  Roy 
Reid,  Earl  Richardson,  Geo.  Richardson. 
Ralph  Raymond  Randcl,  Gail  Herbert  Rus- 
sell, James  Albert  Rodman,  Chester  Arthur 
Razee.  Charles  Heese  Roberts,  Wm.  Rod- 
man, Arthur  Reher,  James  Allen  Russell, 
Norman  James  Robinson,  Fritz  Emil  Retke. 
Wm.  Luther  Robinson,  Alvin  Thomas  Rat- 
liff,  Hugh  Ray,  Clarence  Herbert  Ray. 
Floyd  Herbert  Richardson.  James  Irwin 
Runnels,  Herman  Wm.  Reiseberg,  Cedrick 
Stewart,  Paul  H.  Stewart,  Ivan  Sample, 
Alexander  Schneidmiller,  George  Scherner- 
man,  Robt.  Bradley  Shepard,  Ernst  Jacob 
Stearley,  Vern  Seguine,  George  E.  Sand- 
ridge,  Lewis  Schumacher,  George  Semler, 
Thurman  O.  Sandridge.  Harry  Yern  Shuler, 
Ross  Stratton,  Verne  Thomas  Smith.  J.  S 
Steele,  Chester  Arthur  Seyuine,  Hv.  Schuer- 
mann,  Jno>.  Schlegel,  C.  M.  Schieler,  Freder- 
ick Schott.  Charles  Douglas  Seguine. 
Thomas  Ivan  Smith,  Wm.  J.  Speer.  Alfred 
Edward  Sequine,  Roy  Elmer  Snyder.  Yer- 
non Sullivan,  Samuel  Robert  Smith.  Chas. 
Wm.  Smith,  Oscar  O.  Swanberg,  Carl  ll\. 
Swanberg,  N.  N.  Stewart,  Jens  Johan  Soren- 
sen,    Warren    R.    Stivers,    Guv    H.    Sharar. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


343 


Elic  L.  Snyder,  Gust  Sakelares.  Charles 
Southard.  Benjamin  Harrison  Sims,  Benja- 
min Milton  Swayze,  Edward  Saunders,  ( )li- 
ver  Simpson,  Albert  M.  Straub,  Worth 
Story,  Glenn  F.  Scott,  J.  E.  Sumner,  Elmer 
August  Seth,  George  Schroeder,  John  Roy 
Schrceder,  Harold  Eugene  Sterner,  Hans 
Schmidt,  Arthur  E.  Torgeson,  Lewis  J. 
Tretbar,  Ralph  E.  Truax,  Nathan  P.  Thorn, 
John  Joseph  Tworney,  Perle  James  Traer, 
Elmer  Jay  Taylor,  George  Tomlin,  Erwin 
L.  Titman.  Darwin  Chester  Tucker,  Chris 
Thompson,  S.  D.  Vogler,  Robert  Clyde  Vog- 
ler,  George  L.  Vogler,  Lester  Vandeventer, 
Erwin  A.  Vanwinkle,  Geo.  Ferdnand  Wige- 
len,  Frederick  Albert  White,  O.  W.  Whalen, 
D.  W.  Wahlberg,  Francis  Deign  Woolri'dge, 
Alfred  T.  Wallen,  Gustof  Herbert  Wallen, 
Chas.  Clinton  Williams,  Tom  Carter  Wis- 
roth,  James  Wilson,  August  N.  Young,  Au- 
gust Young.  Eddie  Young.  Fred  Leonard 
Carter,  Andrew  Jensen. 

After  2217  of  Kimball  county's  sons  reg- 
istered on  June  5th,  the  next  step  in  the 
selection  of  those  who  should  be  called  into 
actual  military  service  was  undertaken  by 
assigning  to  each  registrant  a  number,  pro- 
ceeding serially  from  one  upwards,  the 
series  being  separate  and  independent  for 
each  local  board  area  in  the  country.  Thus 
each  registrant  in  Kimball  county  could  be 
identified  by  citing  his  Kimball  county  local 
board  name  and  his  Kimball  county  serial 
number.  The  local  board,  by  which  name 
the  selective  board  for  the  county  has  been 
commonly  designated,  proceeded  to  number 
the  cards  with  red  ink  numbers,  consecu- 
tively, without  regard  to  alphabetical  ar- 
rangement. Five  lists  were  then  prepared, 
one  retained  for  the  records  of  the  local 
board,  one  copy  posted  in  a  conspicuous 
place  in  the  courthouse,  one  copy  given  out 
for  publication  by  the  press,  and  two  re- 
maining copies  furnished  to  the  state  au- 
thorities and  the  offices  of  the  provost  mar- 
shal general  at  Washington.  In  order  then 
to  designate  with  the  utmost  impartiality 
the  sequence  in  which  registrants  qualified 
for  military  service  should  be  called  as  need- 
ed, a  single  national  drawing  was  held  on 
July  20,  1917,  for  those  who  had  registered 
June  5th. 

In  August,  J.  A.  Rodman  was  appointed 
county  appeal  agent  and  instructed  to  ex- 
amine and  appeal  certain  classes  of  exemp- 
tion claims.  A  girls'  Red  Cross  corps  that 
was  working  in  support  of  the  campaign  by 
August  16th,  had  raised  $267.00.  The  girls 
who  were  particularlv  active  were:   Marian 


Heard,  Anna  Belian,  Louise  Prouty,  Helen 
Nelson,  Lucille  Moss,  Madonna  Mathers, 
Nadine  Lockwood,  Lela  Forsling,  Francis 
Overton,  Lucille  Harris,  America  Rodman, 
Lorena  Belian,  Liaza  Maginnis,  1  ><  ris 
Fickes,  Bernice  Kronkright,  Nina  Mandrell, 
Margaret  Fisher. 

Liberty  Loan  Work 

In  September,  Senator  B.  K.  Bushee  made 
a  trip  to  Omaha  to  serve  on  the  committee 
of  arrangements  for  the  next  liberty  loan 
campaign.  About  this  time  County  Clerk 
H.  C.  Amos  accepted  the  position  of  cashier 
of  the  Citizens  State  Bank  and  thus  resigned 
the  place  on  the  County  Elective  Service 
Board. 

In  November.  1917.  Kimball  was  assigned 
a  quota  of  $1,500  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  drive. 
This  county  for  that  work  was  in  the  dis- 
trict with  Box  Butte.  Banner,  Scotts  Blurt. 
Cheyenne,  Morrill.  Kimball,  Deuel.  The 
work  was  to  begin  on  November  12th.  and 
on  November  9th  a  meeting  was  held  at 
Fraternity  Hall  to  organize  the  campaign. 
By  November  22nd.  Kimball  had  more  than 
doubled  its  assigned  quota.  This  work  was 
divided  between  Kimball  High  School, 
$200;  Grade  School,  S120;  general  subscrip- 
tions, $2280.50;  Philathea  Club,  $100;  Dix, 
$569.68;  Bushnell,  $231.75.     Total.  $3501.93. 

Foon  Administration 

The  County  Food  Administration  was 
formed  early  in  December,  1919,  with  Will 
J.  Davies  as  chairman,  and  assistants  were: 
B.  K.  Bushee.  Rachael  McElroy,  <  >.  St. 
John.  P.  H.  Stewart.  E.  J.  llonem.  F.  O. 
Baker,  and  Attorney  J.  A.  Rodman. 

On  December  13th.  the  first  Food  Admin- 
istration price  was  published  and  shewed 
that  the  prices  then  for  the  staple  commodi- 
ties should  be:  Sugar.  1  lb..  9c;  flour,  1 
sack,  $3.10;  corn  meal.  1  lb.,  6)  \c\  bread, 
loaf,  10c;  potatoes,  cwt,  $2.25:  creamer) 
butter,  53c;  fresh  eggs  per  do/.,  50c. 

Those  who  served  upon  the  County  Coun- 
cil of  Defense  were:  B.  K.  Bushee,  presi- 
dent; John  I.  Filer,  vice  president;  Y.  B. 
Cargill,  secretary;  W.  T.  Young,  Gus  Linn, 
O.  St.  Mm,  James  Dean.  1.  E.  Gall  gley, 
and  F.  (  ).  Baker. 

The  following  served  on  the  Legal  Advis- 
ory Board:  Judge  F.  J.  Bellows,  James  V 
Rodman,  and  W.  J.  Ballard. 

For    Food    Administrator.    W.     I.    Davies 
w  as  c<  nintv  chairman. 
The    Fuel   Administrators   were:      Editor 


344 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


V.  B.  Cargill,  chairman,  with  F.  J.  Eichen- 
berger  as  assistant  fuel  administrator. 

For  the  Liberty  Loans,  C.  L.  Alden  was 
chairman.  Publicity  Manager,  A".  B.  Car- 
gill. 

Red  Cross  Society  chose  for  its  president, 
Mrs.  Bertha  Hazhar,  and  for  vice  president, 
Mrs.  W.  S.  Rodman. 

Red  Cross 

By  January  3,  1918.  the  Kimball  chapter 
of  the  Red  Cross  had  a  membership  of  1013, 
exclusive  of  those  who  took  out  life  mem- 
bership before  the  drive.  The  result  of  the 
recent  drive  enabled  Chairman  W.  S.  Rod- 
man to  report  for  Kimball,  884  members ;  for 
Bushnell,  127,  and  for  Dix,  102. 

The  financial  report  showed  membership 
reports,  Kimball,  $927.00  ;  Bushnell,  $127.00; 
Dix,  $103.00.  Balance  of  checks,  $525.00. 
Supper.  $4.00.  Sale  of  goose,  $26.50.  or  a 
total  of  $1,172.75  .  In  January  a  war  savings 
meeting  held  by  Harry  O.  Palmer  of  Omaha 
gave  this  work  an  enthusiastic  launching. 

Some  of  our  Kimball  people  were  no 
doubt  kicking  about  high  prices  cf  food  pro- 
ducts in  1918,  long  before  the  prices  of  1919 
and  1920,  but  if  they  only  could  have  experi- 
enced the  prices  that  the  exchange  showed 
existed  in  Berlin — butter,  $2.25  per  lb ; 
sugar,  56c  ;  ham  and  bacon,  $2.11  ;  American 
soap,  5  bars  for  $1.12 — they  would  drop  into 
satisfied  silence. 

Professor  Johnson  of  Kimball  schools  re- 
signed to  take  effect  Saturday,  January  26, 
1918,  to  enlist  in  the  navy ;  though  he  was 
not  yet  twenty-one  and  not  subject  to  the 
draft,  he  had  hastened  into  the  service. 

By  September,  1918,  Treasurer  George  L. 
Vogler  of  the  Kimball  chapter  of  Red  Cross 
showed  a  membership  of  1,150  which  was 
certainly  remarkable  for  the  population  of 
the  county.  In  1910  the  official  census 
showed  but  1,942.  '  The  financial  settlement 
for  the  chapter  in  December,  1917,  had  been- 
81.287.93. 

The  Coal  and  Fuel  Administration  had 
started  in  mid-winter  of  1917  and  1918.  The 
first  coal  prices  officially  set  for  this  com- 
munity were  Rock  Springs  lump,  $8.95; 
Maitland  lump,  $9.95  per  ton  ;  nut  coal,  50c 
less  per  ton  ;  where  the  customer  takes  the 
coal  from  the  car.  Deliveries  made  in  town 
were  at  draymen's  prices  above  the  price  set 
for  the  coal. 

In  March,  Kimball  was  announced  to 
have  won  a  second  place  among  the  ninety- 
three  counties  in  the  state  for  having  the 
largest  per  cent  of  membership  in   the   Red 


Cross  in  proportion  to  its  population.  While 
it  did  not  win  first  place  it  came  the  next 
thing  to  it  and  the  only  count}'  ahead  of  it 
w-as  a  well-settled  eastern  county.  The  table 
showing  membership  and  per  cent  in  rela- 
tion to  population  is  as  follows  : 

County                            Population  Per  cent 

Butler 9,230  72.5 

Kimball    1,150  59.2 

Grant 649  59.1 

Scottsbluff 4,738  56.7 

Douglas   94.424  56.0 

Dundy 2.131  52.0 

Morrill    2,381  51.9 

Cheyenne 2,358  51.8 

Dodge  11,171  50.4 

Phelps 5.115  48.9 

War  Savings  Stamp  Campaign 
By  March  22.  1918.  chairman  W.  S.  Red- 
man of  the   "War  Savings  Stamp  campaign 
was  able  to  report  Kimball  had  raised  her 
$56,120  share  on  that  day. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  Nebraska 
was  the  first  state  in  the  Union  to  go  over 
the  top  on  the  War  Savings  campaign.  The 
Wrar  Savings  Stamp  scheme  had  been  fig- 
ured out  and  placed  in  charge  of  one  of  the 
leading  financiers  of  the  nation,  Frank  A. 
Yanderlip,  of  the  National  City  Bank  of 
New  York  City.  But  it  remained  for  a  little 
county  out  in  Nebraska  to  hit  upon  the  most 
feasible  plan  of  selling  the  small  thrift 
stamps  and  war  savings  certificates.  A 
group  of  men  in  Seward  county  held  a  meet- 
ing around  the  holiday  season  in  1917,  short- 
ly after  the  appointment  of  count}-  chair- 
men and  local  committees,  to  devise  ways 
and  means  to  meet  the  quota  in  Seward 
county,  accepted  the  suggestion  of  Mr. 
W.  H.  Brokaw,  now  director  of  the  Agricul- 
tural Extension  Department  of  the  State 
University  and  Farm  Bureau  work.  They 
drew  a  plan  from  this  idea,  to  conduct  a  pre- 
liminary campaign  of  education  and  follow 
it  with  a  set  date,  upon  which  there  would 
be  called  a  meeting  simultaneously,  for  the 
same  day  and  hour,  in  every  school  district 
of  the  count}-,  and  each  district  would  en- 
deavor to  subscribe  to  its  quota  then  and 
there.  This  plan  worked  so  successfully  in 
Seward  count}-  in  January,  1918.  that  Sew- 
ard county's  early  response  to  her  quota  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  Ward  M.  Burgess 
(of  M.  E.  Smith  &  Company",  Omaha),  who 
had  been  made  state  director.  Upon  inquiry 
and  presentation  of  this  plan  to  Mr.  Bur- 
gess, he  decided  to  give  it  a  try-out  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


345 


state  of  Nebraska.  A  state-wide  campaign 
of  education  was  conducted  for  six  weeks. 
and  on  March  22,  1918,  practically  every 
count}-  in  the  state  except  Seward,  held 
these  meetings  and  subscribed  its  (junta,  and 
the  state  of  Nebraska  was  the  first  state  to 
go  over  the  top  on  the  War  Savings  Stamps. 
The  success  of  the  Nebraska  plan  so  attract- 
ed the  attention  of  those  in  charge  of  the  na- 
tional campaign,  that  Mr.  Burgess  was 
called  east  to  assume  charge  of  its  applica- 
tion to  the  nation  and  a  second  date  set  for 
the  War  Savings  Stamps  campaign,  in  every 
state  in  the  Union  except  Nebraska.  In  this 
campaign,  as  in  the  others.  Kimball  county 
followed  the  policy  of  having  a  large  per- 
centage of  her  quota  subscribed  ahead  of  the 
date  and  went  over  easily. 

The  report  of  March  showed  that  by  that 
time  Kimball  had  gone  over  her  quota  by 
$3,000. 

Five  Kimball  men  took  the  individual 
limit  of  S1.000  of  all  of  these  bunds.  They 
were  W.  J.  Davies,  Dr.  P.  C.  Moffit.  W.  S. 
Rodman,  P.  Maginnis,  and  Gus  Linn. 

H.  Vogler  took  $800.00.  W.  T.  Young, 
$600.00,  and  some  taking  $500.00  were,  John 
Ewbank,  John  1.  Filer.  B.  K.  Bnshee,  and  C. 
Oscar  Olson. 

0.  G.  Linn  was  appointed  in  April  to 
serve  as  director  of  War  Saving  Societies 
under  the  direction  of  Chairman  Rodman. 

On  May  2nd,  the  sugar  company  sent 
S7.000.00  for  its  third  Liberty  Loan  quota. 
which  had  not  been  expected  by  the  local 
committee. 

1.  S.  Walker,  president  of  Kimball  irriga- 
tion district,  received  this  welcome  gift  from 
the  Great  Western  Sugar  Company  at  Den- 
ver, and  explaining  that  out  of  their  S2.000,- 
000  Liberty  Loan  quota  they  were  crediting 
$7,000  as  the  proportion  that  Kimball  pro- 
duction  entitled  this  company  to  receive. 

Red  Cross  Drive 
On  May  9th,  County  Chairman  C.  L.  Al- 
den  received  the  Liberty  Loan  honor  flag 
for  the  towns  of  Kimball,  Dix  and  Bushnell, 
each  having  exceeded  its  quota.  The  total 
subscriptions  of  Kimball,  exceeding  $135.- 
000.,  had  far  more  than  met  its  assigned 
quota  of  $97,000.  In  May,  1918,  an  organ- 
ization was  formed  for  the  second  Red 
Cross  drive,  with  P.  Maginnis  as  chairman, 
and  as  his  assistants,  for  Dix,  Mrs.  Galli  g- 
lv,  chairman,  and  Mr.  Gallogly  as  cashier 
for  Union  Precinct.  C.  A.  Forsling,  chair- 
man lor  Kimball  and  South  Divide,  and 
W.    M.    Rodman,    cashier.       Bushnell    and 


Johnson    precinct--,    (  ).    I  ).    Pickett,    chairman; 
R.  E.  Holmes,  cashier. 

.Mrs.  R.  D.  Wilson  as  publicity  chairman, 
secured  several  full-page  advertisements  in 
a  special  Red  Cross  edition  of  the 
issued  May  16th.  The  advertisements  of 
the  Red  Cross  Fighting  Dollars  was  contrib- 
uted by  the  Farmers  State  Bank  of  Bush- 
nell. The  advertisement  shewing  how  the 
last  war  funds  were  spent  was  contributed 
by  other  Bushnell  business  houses:  Tin- 
Cash  Bargain  Store,  Bushnell  State  Bank, 
O.  D.  Pickett,  Foster  Lumber  Company,  and 
Western  Lumber  Company.  From  Dix  two 
advertisements  were  financed.  "Facts  about 
the  American  Red  Cross,"  financed  by  Gun- 
derson  &  Peterson  Garage,  Mother  Price's 
Cafe,  John  Norris  Blacksmith  Shop,  and 
Frank  Campbell's  Confectionery. 

"What  has  your  Red  Cn  ss  money  done?" 
was  placed  by  the  Farmers  State  Bank.  Fos- 
ter Lumber  Company,  and  Phil  \Telson 
General  Merchandise. 

From  Kimball  the  advertisement  on  "I  am 
afraid  this  is  all  1  can  spare."  by  the  county 
officers:  Isaac  Roush.  treasurer:  1).  T.  I  lev- 
man,  clerk;  Rachael  McElroy,  superinten- 
dent; F.  J.  Bellows,  judge,  and  <  >.  K.  Fors- 
ling, sheriff.  Another  full-page  advertise- 
ment by  the  Farmers  Lumber  Company, 
Kennemer  &  Irwin,  Citizens  State  Bank, 
Commercial  State  Bank,  Bank  of  Kimball. 

By  .May  31st.  Kimball  was  well  over  on 
its  second  Red  Cross  drive.  <  >n  June  2nd, 
the  Union  Pacific  took  off  five  trains  a  day 
and  the  public  began  to  notice  the  effect  of 
the  move  upon  its  convenient  passenger  ser- 
vice. Some  of  the  trains  affected  were  num- 
bers 3,  7.  17.  westbound,  and  numbers  8,  6, 
10.  eastbound.  Number  19  took  over  the 
work  of  number  3.  and  number  1  that  of 
numbers  7  and  17. 

With  a  Red  Cross  quota  to  the  two  drives 
and  with  $2,500,  the  returns  shi  w  thai  Kim- 
ball responded  with  $2,559.15;  Dix.  $817.75, 
and  Bushnell,  $675.60. 

By  July  5th  the  "Sammy  Girls"  had  raised 
$504.70. 

Fourth  Liberty  Loan 
The  Fourth  Liberty  Loan  was  held  Sep- 
tember 12.  1918.  \t  that  time  600  citizens 
of  Kimball  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
twenty-one.  and  thirtj  one  and  forty-live, 
stepped  up  and  filled  out  registration  cards 
and  showed  themselves  ready  for  the  call  of 
the  service.  Those  who  handled  the  work 
of  this  registration  at  the  local  precincts 
were:    I.  S.  Walker,  !•'.  E.  Reader,   Antelope- 


346 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ville;  E.  J.  Horrum,  T.  E.  Gallogv,  Dix; 
O.  D.  Pickett,  F.  O.  Baker,  Bushnell;  Rob- 
ert Pahl,  Harold  Sterner,  South  Divide ; 
O.  P.  Cromwell,  C.  E.  Bert,  Union,  and 
W.  W.  Chamberlain  and  Mr.  Meredith, 
Johnson  Precinct. 

The  division  of  this  registration  as  to  pre- 
cincts was  as  follows:  Antelopeville,  329; 
Bushnell,  100;  Dix,  87;  Union,  25;  South 
Divide,  23,  and  Johnson,  36. 

The  Count}'  Draft  Board  consisted  of 
Sheriff  Forsling,  county  clerk;  H.  C.  Amos, 
and  Dr.  P.  C.  Mockett. 

While  the  Armistice  arrived  at  a  timely 
moment  that  rendered  it  unnecessary  to  call 
upon  the  men  of  thirty-one  to  forty-five,  and 
in  Kimball  county  saved  those  of  eighteen 
to  twenty-one  from  call,  the  drawing  that 
determined  the  order  of  these  2,760  regis- 
trants ranked  next  in  interest  to  the  first 
drawing  in  Jul}',  1917. 

This  third  drawing  was  held  in  the  caucus 
room  of  the  Senate  Office  Building.  There 
were  17,000  numbers  drawn,  the  first  cap- 
sule being  taken  from  the  same  glass  bowl 
that  had  been  used  in  the  first  drawing,  at 
noon,  Mondav,  September  31st.- and  the  last 
at  8  a.  m.,  Tuesday,  October  1st,  1918, 
elapsed  time,  twenty  hours.  The  first  fif- 
teen capsules  were  drawn  by  the  following 
government  officials,  and  the  numbers 
drawn,  when  low  enough  to  affect  Kimball, 
were  held  by  the  following  Kimball  county 
registrants : 

1.  President  Wilson.  No.  322.  Arthur  B. 
Morgan,  Kimball. 

2.  Vice  President  Thomas  Marshall,  No. 
7277. 

3.  President  pro-tempore  of  Senate.  Sen- 
ator Willard  Saulsburv,  of  Delaware,  No. 
6708. 

4.  Speaker  Chamo  Clark,  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, Xo.  1027. 

5.  Secretarv  of  Navv,  Tosephus  Daniels, 
No.  16169. 

6.  Acting  Secretarv  of  War.  Benjamin 
Crowell,  No.  8366. 

7.  Senator  George  Chamberlain  of  Ore- 
gon, 5366. 

8.  Senator  Francis  E.  Warren  of  Wyom- 
ing, No.  1697. 

9.  Representative  Dent  of  Alabama.  No. 
7123. 

10.  Reoresentative  Julius  Kahn,  Califor- 
nia, No.  2781. 

11.  General  Pevton  C.  March.  Chief  of 
Staff,  U.  S.  Armv,"9283. 

12.  Admiral  Win.  S.  Benson.  Chief  of 
(  (perations,  I'.  S.  Navy.  No.  6147. 


13.  Lieutenant  General  Samuel  B.  M. 
Young  of  U.  S.  Army,  retired,  10086. 

14.  Provost  Marshal  General  Enoch 
Crowder,  432,  Hans  Peterson  Dix. 

15.  Col.  Charles  Warren,  Judge  Advo- 
cate, Army.  904. 

The  next  seven  numbers  applied  to  Kim- 
ball men  were:  20,  Fred  Strickler;  525. 
Peter  Christensen ;  219,  John  Randolph 
Tritt ;  72,  Jacob  Miles  Grubbs;  134,  Chas.  A. 
Baker;  4,  Ralph  E.  Holmes;  395,  John  G. 
Roberts. 

The  fourth  Liberty  Loan  campaign  came 
along  in  October.  The  quota  for  Kimball 
was  made  $232,500.  By  October  17th,  the 
county  had  $100,096  of  this  in.  By  October 
21st,  the  county  lacked  only  a  little  bit  of 
having  one  hundred  per  cent.  The  U.  W. 
W.  drive  to  help  the  seven  joint  organiza- 
tions gave  Kimball  a  quota  of  $9,000.  Bv 
November  21st.  $7,500  of  this  had  been  re- 
ceived. On  the  readjustment  that  was  made 
in  this  campaign  Kimball's  quota  was  re- 
duced tC'  $6,300.  Some  of  the  larger  sub- 
scriptions for  this  movement  were :  John 
Ewbank,  Gus  Linn,  P.  Maginnis,  W.  S.  Rod- 
man, John  Filer,  B.  K.  Bushee,  A.  B.  Beard. 
W.  F'.  Davies. 

The  Red  Cross  election  showed  the  offi- 
cers elected  were:  Thomas  Campbell,  F.  E. 
Reader,  Mrs.  Thomas  Campbell,  and  Airs. 
Emma  Williams. 

November  11th,  Armistice  Day.  beyond 
any  doubt  the  happiest  day  in  the  history  of 
Kimball  county,  was  celebrated  as  no  4th  of 
July  was  ever  celebrated  in  this  locality. 
Bon-fires,  artillery  play  featured  the  occa- 
sion. 

Service    Roll,    Kimball    County  —  Regis- 
trants of  First  Registration  who 
Entered  Service 

Volunteered  before  turn  reached :  H.  C. 
Bergerhoff,  David  Golden,  Edgar  J.  Black, 
Ralph  A.  Phillips,  Charles  M.  Johnson,  Olaf 
A.  Peterson  (navy),  Alfred  T.'Wallin,  Yern 
Seguine,  Ernest  A.  Linn.  Robert  J.  Magin- 
nis, Gustave  H.  Wallin,  Ray  O.  Lathrop, 
Paulus  Falck,  William  B.  Peters,  Everett  M. 
Huffman  (medical  department),  John  G. 
Oldaker,  James  D.  Austin,  Arthur  F.  Ma- 
ginnis (navy),  W.  K.  Mylar  (medical  ser- 
vice), Shirlev  D.  Yogler. 

Entered  service :  Alfred  W.  Hall,  Guy  H. 
Sharas.  Thomas  Adamson.  Howard  Hall. 
Daniel  Becker,  Joe  A.  Lockwood,  Hugh 
Dean,  George  E.  Sandridge.  GEORGE  Mc- 
JIMSEY  (killed  in  battle),  Clarence  L.  Sny- 
der.   James    Wilson    (colored).    Chester    C. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


347 


Xeelv,  Arthur  Atkins,  Albert  M.  Straub, 
Frederick  A.  White,  Charles  C.  Williams, 
Benjamin  Martin  (colored),  John  Carter 
colored),  Sam  Heffron,  Eddie  Young  (col- 
ored), Marion  Farmer,  Clarence  A.  Johnson, 
Fred  Miller,  Gust  Sakilaris,  A.  J.  Fritzler, 
Joseph  J.  Carey,  Alfred  Foreman  (colored), 
Oliver  Simpson,  Alvin  I.  Ratliff,  Gail  H. 
Russell,  Harry  P.  Shuler,  O.  G.  Linn,  Glen 
V.  Osborn,  A.  E.  Irwin,  Clifford  P..  Green- 
wait,  W.  Chris  Thomson,  Aimer  Funk,  Fred 
Harrison,  Cecil  Barnett,  Arthur  P.  Hub- 
bard, Ulrich  Pedrett,  ERYIX  L.  TITMAN 
(died  in  Funston),  Jens  Jensen,  Henry  L. 
Jones  (colored),  Irven  Sample,  William  C. 
Wisworth,  Ernest  W.  Parker,  Peter  S. 
Bourlin,  Earl  Brest,  William  Robinson  (col- 
ored), Edward  W.  Hughbanks.  Fred  M.  Ed- 
dy. Earl  E.  Richardson,  Cedrick  Stewart 
(colored),  Warren  R.  Stivers,  Walter  Xiinn 
(colored),  Willis  R.  McCampbell.  Allen  S. 
McCormick,  Benjamin  F.  Hudloff.  Fred  P. 
Carter,  Ray  C.  Greenfield,  Samuel  P.  Burks, 
George  Semler,  Ole  Jensen,  Truman  ( ). 
Sandrid^e,  Chauncev  Crews,  Harvev  Cald- 
well (colored).  John  O.  Foster.  Walter  M. 
Howell,  Acea  Acklie,  Bernard  R.  Kelso, 
Frederick  Peterson.  Carl  A.  Dickman.  Stan- 
ley Beck,  John  R.  Schroeder,  Edward  Saun- 
ders, Arthur  ■  E.  Torgeson,  Ralph  Power. 
A.  C.  Mover,  Noah  N.  Stewart,  Chester  A. 
Seguine,  Alfred  E.  Seguine.  Elmer  T.  Fors- 


ling,  Harlan  Neely.  James  A.  Rtfssell,  Jesse 
J.  Paxter.  Albert  C.  Peterson,  Leslie  W. 
Domina,  Leonard  Hook,  George  C.  Richard- 
son, Conrad  Knipple,  Harold  Dinkman,  P.ert 
P.  Berkshire,  George  Schroeder,  Clyde  L. 
Gannon,  Elmer  O.  Bergman,  Clarence  B. 
Plook,  Otto  A.  Morris,  Karl  A.   Paw. 

Those  who  volunteered,  but  were  not  sub- 
ject to  registration  at  the  time:  John  R. 
Henderson,  Edwin  Mangan,  Ralph  Hall, 
John  Gearo'U,  Israel  Levenski,  Ephraim 
Levenski,  Olaf  Gunderson,  Ed.^ar  Peterson, 
Klmer  Peterson.  James  Peterson,  Robert 
Peterson,  Hobart  Peterson,  Earl  Sizermore, 
Irwin  Pierson,  Elmer  Nelson,  Paul  Nelson, 
Harold  Nelson  (student's  training),  Merle 
Brady,  Claude  Benson,  Fred  Peverly,  Frank 
Linn  (Red  Cross),  Carl  Bergman,  Marvin 
Simmons,  Arthur  L.  Carlson,  Clarence  II. 
Carlson. 

Registrants  of  the  June,   [Qi8,   Registra- 
tion 'Who  Entered  Service 
fennings  X.  Hall,  Charles  Bullcck,  Arthur 
E.  Parrett,  Arthur  E.   Birt,  John   \\.    Dins- 
dale,  Rexford  M.  Graham,  Richard  C.  Steele. 

Registrants  of  August  ij,  1918,  Who  had 
Entered  Students'  Training  School 
Estelle  L.  Powers.  Jesse  J.  Cromil,  John 
C.  Davies.  John  \\".  Forsling,  l.v<>  V.  ECronk- 
right.  John  S.  Linn. 


MORRILL  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 
MORRILL  COUNTY 


Morrill  county,  as  a  separate  entity,  in 
1921,  is  only  a  child  of  a  dozen  years,  for  it 
has  been  only  twelve  years  that  this  county 
has  existed  under  its  separate  name,  as  a 
full-fledged  institution  apart  from  the 
mother  county  of  Cheyenne.  But  the  tale  of 
the  settlement  and  development  of  the  area 
of  territory  which  comprises  Morrill  county 
reached  back  into  the  Cheyenne  county 
realm,  and  the  narration  of  the  part  played 
by  those  pioneer  spirits  who  have  built  up 
Merrill  county  is  most  appropriately  told 
under  this  section  of  the  general  story  of  the 
western  Nebraska  garden  spot. 

Fortunately,  some  years  before  his  death, 
Judge  George  J.  Hunt,  who  played  such  a 
large  part  in  the  development  of  Morrill 
county,  reduced  to  writing  some  remin- 
iscences and  impressions  of  the  formative 
years  of  the  county's  development  and 
growth,  and  the  compilers  give  practically 
in  its  entirety  this  story  of  Morrill  county's 
beginnings,  and  evolution  from  Cheyenne 
county  into  separate  entity. 

Some  Early  History 

Cheyenne  county  originally  embraced 
Deuel  county  on  the  east  and  which  when 
formed  from  Cheyenne,  included  the  terri- 
tory since  organized  into  Garden  and  Deuel 
counties,  and  thence  running  west  embraced 
all  of  the  area  south  and  west  of  there  be- 
tween the  Wyoming  and  Colorado  line. 
This  territory  was  also  at  the  same  time  re- 
duced by  the  formation  of  Kimball,  Banner 
and  Scottsbluff  counties  on  the  west  and  for 
a  number  of  years  after  Cheyenne  county 
consisted  of  the  territory  between  these  last 
named  counties  on  the  west  and  Deuel  coun- 
ty on  the  east.  For  a  great  many  reasons 
Cheyenne  was  the  best  known  county  in  the 
state  and  was  as  well  known  throughout 
New  England  as  it  was  in  Nebraska.  Be- 
fore its  cuter  limits  were  trimmed  bv  the  for- 


mation of  the  counties  named,  it  was  known 
as  the  largest  organized  county  in  the  state 
and  during  that  period  it  had  become  the 
cradle  of  the  cattle  business.  It  was  while 
Edward  Creighton  was  building  the  Far 
West  telegraph  line,  which  antedated  the 
construction  of  the  LT.  P.  railroad,  that  the 
discovery  was  accidentally  made  that  cattle, 
turned  loose  upon  the  buffalo  grass  in  Chey- 
enne county,  without  any  other  feed,  no 
shelter,  and  no  attention  whatever,  would 
not  only  thrive  during  the  winter,  but  they 
would  be  in  better  condition  in  the  spring 
than  they  were  at  the  beginning  of  winter. 
In  hauling  telegraph  poles  and  wire,  cattle 
were  used  entirely,  and  when  the  construc- 
tion force  had  reached  a  point  near  where 
the  town  of  Sidney  was  afterward  located, 
winter  overtook  them  and  the  men  simply 
turned  the  yoke  cattle  loose  and  struck  east 
for  winter  quarters.  Not  expecting  to  again 
see  them,  work  was  resumed  in  the  spring 
with  a  new  set  of  ox  teams,  but  several  of 
the  men  thought  they  would  learn  what  had 
become  of  the  cattle  they  turned  loose  in  the 
early  winter  and  riding  north  from  there 
found  every  animal  near  the  head  of  Middle 
creek  grazing  as  contentedly  as  a  bunch  of 
milch  cows  ever  did  in  a  blue  grass  pasture 
and  were  actually  fat  and  sleek.  When  this 
fact  was  reported  to  Edward  Creighton.  his 
quick  apprehension  suggested  what  might 
be  done  by  driving  Texas  cattle  to  Cheyenne 
county  in  the  fall  and  turning  them  loose. 
Later  he  did  turn  a  larger  bunch  of  cattle 
loose  in  that  locality  and  the  remarkable 
manner  in  which  they  went  through  the 
winter  caused  that  experiment  to  be  repeat- 
ed by  Mr.  Creighton  and  many  others  who 
had  learned  of  the  incident,  and  the  cattle 
business,  as  we  have  known  it,  was  the  out- 
growth. Thousands  of  dollars  of  eastern 
capital  were  invested  and  many  large  cattle 
companies  formed  in  and  around  Boston  and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


349 


Providence  and  the  magnitude  of  that  inter- 
est can  be  gauged  by  the  numerous  million- 
aires whose  vast  wealth  can  yet  be  traced  to 
the  second  and  third  generations.  All  of 
that  portion  of  western  Nebraska  lying  on 
the  west  side  of  the  100th  meridian  became 
the  empire  of  numerous  cattle  barons,  who 
held  undisputed  sway  until  the  army  of 
homesteaders  with  almost  unbroken  front, 
marched  up  to  the  100th  meridian.  But  even 
after  reaching  that  line  they  seem  to  have 
been  held  in  check  for  several  years,  as  if 
charmed  or  spellbound  by  that  magnificent 
area  of  table  land  stretching  with  gentle,  un- 
dulating slope  to  the  very  foot-hills  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  This  vast  area  was  cov- 
ered with  a  thick  coat  of  buffalo  grass  which 
as  long  as  the  virgin  soil  was  not  broken  did 
not  show  a  weed  to  mar  the  beaut}-  of  the 
surface.  The  peculiarity  of  this  grass  was 
not  alone  in  its  wonderful  nutritious  quality, 
but  the  fact  that  as  it  cured  in  the  dry  at- 
mosphere and  under  the  constant  sunshine 
of  our  peculiar  weather,  it  became  coated  as 
if  with  a  thin  covering  of  wax,  which  pre- 
served its  succulent  qualities  and  made  it  as 
palatable  for  winter  grazing  as  the  greenest 
herbage  in  a  blue  grass  pasture.  During  the 
period  mentioned,  the  I'.  P.  railroad  was 
completed  and  towns  sprang  up  and  pros- 
pered along  its  line.  Travelers  had  seen 
from  the  car  windows  all  of  the  features 
mentioned  and  the  country  at  large  had  been 
told  of  these  facts  and  others  more  marvel- 
lous until  curiosity  coupled  with  the  desire 
to  better  their  condition,  prompted  thou- 
sands to  seek  homes  on  the  western  prairie. 
Neither  cattle  business  nor  cattle  baron 
could  forever  hold  them  back  and  in  the 
eighties  Cheyenne  county  became  thickly  dotted 
with  dwellings  built  by  the  homesteader, 
though  a  large  per  cent  of  them  were  so 
small  as  to  have  been  dubbed  "claim 
shacks."  So  far  from  cities  and  trading 
marts,  so  high  were  freight  rates,  and  so  few 
were  lumber  yards  and  scarce  was  money 
that  the  settler  in  the  ingenuity  so  manifest 
in  new  countries,  found  a  cheaper,  and  many 
will  yet  tell  you  a  better  substitute  for  build- 
ing material  in  the  prairie  sod,  right  at  hand. 
For  this  reason  ninety  per  cent  of  the  farm 
dwellings  constructed  by  homesteaders  and 
ranchmen  were  sod  buildings.  The  economy 
of  their  construction  not  only  enabled  hun- 
dreds to  dwell  upon  their  homesteads  who 
had  not  the  means  of  making  improvements 
of  other  material,  but  the  unusual  warmth 
of  a  house  so  constructed  and  the  equally 
unusual  low  temperatures  in  the  very  hottest 


days  of  summer  made  life  upon  the  prairie 
more  pleasant  than  in  many  of  the  homes 
of  a  better-to-do  class  in  the  more  thickly 
settled  sections  of  the  east. 

The  advent  of  the  homesteader  constantly 
forced  the  cattle  men  further  west  until  the 
big  herds  which  had  formerly  fattened  on 
the  unparalleled  pasturage  of  western  Ne- 
braska had  crossed  the  line  into  Wyoming 
and  the  disappearance  and  decadence  of  the 
customs  and  habits  of  the  ranch  and  the 
range  was  a  souce  of  regret  to  nearly  every- 
one but  the  farmer.  For  the  cowboy,  while 
feared  by  some,  was  loved  by  many  and  ad- 
mired by  all ;  for  there  never  was  a  truer 
friend,  a  braver  boy  to  face  the  many  perils 
common  to  his  day  and  duty,  nor  a  more 
faithful  guardian  of  the  interests  intrusted 
to  his  care.  Fair  weather  meant  a  holiday 
fur  him  but  when  the  storms  of  winter  raged 
in  their  greatest  severity,  he  would  disdain 
shelter  and  defy  old  Boreas,  and  though 
generally  supplied  with  the  best  of  saddle 
horses,  would  show  by  his  greater  endur- 
ance, man's  superiority  to  the  animal. 
While  doubtless  many  tales  greatly  exag- 
gerate the  bravery,  nerve  and  dare-devil 
spirit  of  this  peculiar  class,  there  are,  never- 
theless, incidents  and  facts,  the  mere  rela- 
tion of  which  for  several  generations  yet 
will  always  draw  interested  listeners. 

During  the  times  referred  to.  Fort  Sidney 
was  one  of  the  most  noted  and  popular  forts 
on  the  plains.  Gold  had  been  discovered  in 
the  Black  Hills  and  while  the  railroads  had 
not  built  into  that  territory,  the  gold-seeker 
could  not  be  kept  out,  and  Sidney  being  the 
nearest  railroad  point,  had  become  the  out- 
fitting station  and  a  constant  stream  of  gold- 
hunters  flowed  northward  from  that  point. 
The  trail  crossed  Pumpkin  creek  at  Court 
House  Rock,  and  in  1876  the  first  wagon 
bridge  across  the  North  Platte  river  was 
constructed  about  five  miles  west  of  Bridge- 
port, at  what  for  years  was  prominentlj 
shown  on  the  map  of  Nebraska  as  Camp 
Clarke.  The  name  of  "Camp"  was  given  lie- 
cause  the  tide  of  travel  to  and  from  the  hills 
had  become  so  great  awaiting  its  comple- 
tion, that  the  caravans  and  pedestrians  con- 
gregated on  either  side  of  the  valley  in  that 
immediate  vicinity  gave  the  appearance  of 
a  bivouac.  That  Sidney,  the  county  seat  of 
Cheyenne  county,  should  frequently  have 
gotten  its  name,  together  with  a  photograph 
giving  a  bird's-eye  view  of  its  principal 
thoroughfare,  in  the  Police  Gazette  was  not 
surprising.  With  the  fort  on  it^  outskirts. 
the    cowbov    surrounding   it.    and    the    gold- 


550 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


hunter  passing  through  or  returning  with 
hopes  of  fortune  high  or  else  with  disap- 
pointment weighing  heavily  on  his  heart,  no 
wonder  that  numerous  saloons  in  that  vicin- 
ity became  the  most  crowded  and  popular 
resorts  in  the  country.  The  bartender  was 
an  artist  in  those  days  and  he  had  a  separate 
bottle  for  every  class  he  was  called  upon  to 
serve.  The  soldier  on  his  sixteen  dollars  per 
month  required  a  ready-mixed  concoction 
that  would  bring  about  the  desired  result  in 
one  fifteen-cent  draught.  The  cowboy, 
whose  spirit  of  ever-ready  comradery  re- 
quired more  numerous  potations,  was  given 
a  better  and  a  milder  draught.  The  buoyant 
gold-seeker  naturally  craved  the  best,  and 
he  whose  hopes  had  already  been  clashed, 
would  take  what  he  could  best  pay  for  — 
generally  known  as  "forty  rod."  Hence 
originated  the  saying  that  "Every  drink  con- 
tained a  dance,  a  song  and  a  fight."  and  it 
was  the  common  lament  of  the  frequenters 
of  those  places  that  if  you  stopped  to  watch 
a  fight  in  one  salocn,  you  would  miss  seeing 
two  around  the  corner.  As  civilization  ad- 
vances, such  conditions  as  these  are  surely 
outgrown  and  the  change  is  sometimes 
brought  about  as  quickly  as  a  panorama. 
The  North  Western  railroad  built  into  the 
hills  and  the  trail  from  Sidney  to  Deadwood 
ceased  to  be  infested  with  the  mounted  high- 
wayman and  the  animated  metropolis  lost 
its  principal  source  of  gaiety  and  coin.  The 
settler,  too,  had  forced  the  Indian  from  his 
patrimony  and  he  had  compelled  the  cattle 
kings  to  seek  empires  elsewhere,  and  with 
the  passage  of  the  Red  Men  went  the  neces- 
sity for  the  soldier.  The  fort  was  aban- 
doned. The  cowboy,  who  by  this  time  had 
evoluted  into  the  cow-puncher,  had  learned 
from  experience  the  advantage  of  having 
some  winter  feed  for  his  herd  and  natural 
water  within  his  range,  and  having  imbibed 
from  the  homesteader  something  of  the 
spirit  of  agriculture,  settled  in  the  valleys 
and  along  the  streams  and  turned  ranchman 
— a  term  which  has  since  been  understood  as 
embracing  both  farmer  and  cattleman.  For 
him  who  thus  showed  himself  wiser  in  his 
generation  than  the  homesteader  proper, 
"life  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell."  for 
during  this  period  of  transition,  which  cul- 
minated in  the  eighties,  a  few  years  in  the 
cycle  of  seasonable  showers  seemed  to  indi- 
cate that  the  rain  belt  extended  as  far  west 
as  the  foothills.  Hut  those  who  prayed  to 
Jupiter  Pluvius  instead  of  plowing  their 
fields  deep  and  conserving  the  moisture  as  it 
fell,   soon   felt   that   fate  had   laid   its   heavy 


hand  upon  them,  for  there  followed  a  series 
of  years  in  which  they  suffered  a  total  crop 
failure.  It  has  been  said  that  men  are  like 
sheep.  It  might  be  better  to  say  that  most 
men  are  ready  to  flee  from  threatened  re- 
verses, and  like  the  rebellious  Israelites,  be- 
cause their  promised  land  seems  further  off 
than  they  anticipated,  tire  of  manna  and 
long  for  the  flesh  pots  of  Egypt.  But 
whether  either  or  neither  was  the  cause, 
those  immigrants  who  had  dotted  the  table- 
land with  their  dwellings  had  for  several 
years  watched  their  crops  wither  when 
touched  by  that  simoon  of  the  southwind. 
until  their  hearts  lost  courage  and  like  a  de- 
feated army  the  prairie-schooner  was  seen 
eastward-bound  on  every  highway,  and 
many  continued  their  course  until  they 
crossed  the  Missouri  and  even  the  Missis- 
sippi. Just  a  few  short  years  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  Indian,  the  soldier  and  the 
cattle,  one  following  up  the  grass-grown  but 
still  well  defined  trail  from  Sidney  to  the 
hills,  would  see  on  either  side  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  see,  deserted  and  crumbing  "sod- 
dies"  as  so  many  tombstones  standing  at  the 
grave  of  buried  hopes.  All  of  which  meant 
that  man  in  his  extremity  must  resort  to 
other  means  of  accomplishing  what  his  pred- 
ecessor failed  to  attain.  Attention  was  called 
to  the  North  Platte  river  flowing  across  the 
northern  half  of  Cheyenne  county.  Irriga- 
tion had  accomplished  wonders  in  that  sec- 
tion of  Colorado  made  famous  by  him  who 
gave  his  name  to  Greeley,  and  the  possibili- 
ties of  that  method  of  agriculture  became 
the  subject  of  universal  discussion  in  this 
section  of  the  country  and  many  canals  were 
projected,  numerous  appropriations  made, 
and  some  few  ditches  actually  built  and 
operated.  These  projects  began  at  the  state 
line  and  formed  an  interlacing  net-work  like 
half-links  in  a  chain,  on  either  side  cf  the 
river  and  on  down  to  the  forks  of  the  Platte. 
Cheyenne  county  had  all  of  the  river  front- 
age within  her  limits  well  marked  and  cov- 
ered and  wherever  a  land  owner  or  the  land 
owners  under  any  completed  canal  gave 
proper  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
land  and  the  irrigation  of  their  crop,  most 
satisfactory  results  were  obtained.  Rail- 
roads were  quick  to  see  the  possibilities  and 
they  paralleled  and  crossed  the  valley. 
Towns  sprang  up.  Manufacturing  indus- 
tries were  established  and  many  towns  have 
been  founded  whose  prosperity  is  evidenced 
by  stores,  schools  and  churches,  followed  by 
the  establishment  of  electric  lighting  plants 
and  city  pumping  stations.     These  features 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


351 


astonish  and  challenge  the  admiration  of 
persons  from  eastern  states,  who  perhaps 
have  lived  in  or  else  are  familiar  with  towns 
of  four  times  the  population,  whose  inhab- 
itants still  grope  their  way  home  in  darkness 
and  go  to  their  pumps  for  water.  Science, 
too,  has  shown  the  settler  beyond  the  valley, 
that  many  crops  can  be  grown  under  proper 
attention  that  will  pay  the  farmer  as  well 
here  on  land  which  can  be  purchased  for 
one-fourth  the  price  as  does  the  farmer  re- 
ceive in  the  humid  region.  These  results 
have  attracted  another  set  of  homesteaders 
until  practically  all  government  land  has 
been  filed  upon  and  our  farmers  as  a  class 
are  as  prosperous  as  those  in  the  older  sec- 
tions of  the  state.  With  this  renewed  influx 
of  home-makers  and  new  railroads,  came  the 
feeling  that  we  in  the  northern  half  of  old 
Cheyenne  county  were  too  far  removed  from 
the  county  seat  and  as  early  as  1907  a  prop- 
erly signed  petition  for  a  division  of  the 
county  was  presented  to  the  count}-  commis- 
sioners, and  when  submitted  received  the 
requisite  majority.  The  county  was  divided 
and  a  little  mere  than  half  of  the  original 
territory  was  organized  into  Morrill  county. 
Bridgeport  became  the  county  seat,  a 
court  house  was  built,  with  jail  in  the  base- 
ment, which  for  convenience,  utility  and 
taste  of  architecture  is  not  surpassed  in 
western  Nebraska.  The  North  Platte  river 
angles  from  the  northwest  in  a  southeasterly 
course  through  the  heart  of  the  count}-. 
This  river,  being  the  finest  stream  flowing- 
east  from  the  Rock  Mountains,  affords  an 
abundant  supply  for  all  the  canals  fringing 
its  banks  and  should  there  come  a  time  of 
scarcity,  the  government  reservoir,  known 
as  the  Pathfinder,  impounds  sufficient  water 
for  several  times  the  acreage  susceptible  to 
irrigation.  Experience  has  so  repeatedly 
demonstrated  the  fact  that  irrigation  means 
intensive  cultivation  and  that  it  is  only 
where  a  smaller  acreage  has  been  intensive- 
ly cultivated  and  properly  irrigated  that  a 
full  measure  of  success  can  be  realized,  that 
many  of  our  best  farmers,  men  who  at  first 
undertook  the  cultivation  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  reduced  it  to  eighty  and 
again  to  forty.  This  process  of  thus  reduc- 
ing- the  acreage  and  multiplying  the  yield 
has  shown  that  there  is  an  idle  acreage  oh 
which  thousands  of  farmers  could  soon  gain 
independence  under  the  half-dozen  canals  in 
this  county,  all  completed  and  in  yearly  op- 
eration. It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  are  60,- 
000  acres  under  these  completed  enterprises 
which  lie  idly  basking  under  the  three  hun- 


dred sunshiny  days  in  the  year,  which  if 
tickled  with  the  cultivator  would  smile  back 
with  bursting  granaries. 

In  location,  this  irrigated  section  of  .Mor- 
rill county  has  advantages  nowhere  excelled, 
and  in  a  very  few  instances  equaled  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  Rockies.  There  is  not  a 
cereal  common  to  the  latitude  that  has  not 
been  produced  here  to  the  maximum  yield. 
Its  soil  is  rich  and  deep  and  so  easily  cul- 
tivable that  most  crops  can  be  successfully 
grown  on  the  new  breaking.  The  arid  re- 
gion is  acknowledged  to  be  the  home  of  al- 
falfa and  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  the 
yield  of  potatoes  and  sugar  beets  is  as  great 
per  acre  as  has  ever  been  grown  in  localities 
where  those  products  have  become  noted. 
Since  the  canals  mentioned  were  construct- 
ed, the  idle  and  unbroken  acreage  sub-irri- 
gated from  them  has  produced  the  finest 
natural  hay,  and  where  water  has  been 
turned  upon  the  unbroken  prairie,  a  natural 
growth  of  what  is  called  wheat  grass  springs 
up  which  makes  the  finest  wild  hay  that  is 
to  be  found  upon  the  western  market.  While 
the  elevation  naturally  shortens  the  seasons, 
and  because  also  our  summer  nights  are  in- 
variably cool,  corn  is  not  the  principal  crop; 
vet  in  the  valley  under  irrigation,  and  on  the 
table  above  the  canals,  corn  is  grown  and 
makes  a  paying  crop.  With  both  the  U.  P. 
and  Burlington  roads  running  here  and  with 
direct  lines  to  South  Omaha,  our  feeding- 
facilities  are  unexcelled.  Already  thousands 
of  cattle  and  sheep  are  brought  into  the  val- 
ley and  prepared  for  market  on  alfalfa,  oats 
and  corn.  And  if  at  any  time  the  local  sup- 
ply of  corn  falls  short,  it  can  be  shipped  in 
from  the  locality  known  as  the  "corn  belt" 
at  a  rate  several  cents  per  hundred  cheaper 
than  Fort  Collins,  Greeley  and  other  great 
feeding  points  can  obtain,  so  that  with  un- 
limited quantities  of  alfalfa  grown  here, 
with  oats  in  abundant  supply,  yielding  as  it 
does  when  properly  handled,  from  80  to  120 
bushels  per  acre,  with  freight  rates  in  our 
favor,  and  with  the  cattle  market  within 
twenty-four  hours  from  the  loading  chute, 
this  has  become  the  greatest  winter  feeding- 
section  in  the  country,  thus  affording  a 
home  market  for  two  of  the  principal  crops 
produced.  Sugar  factories  to  the  west  of  us 
have  caused  much  attention  to  he  given  to  the 
beet  crop.  Receiving  stations  are  located  at 
frequent  intervals  on  both  railroads  where 
the  beets  are  weighed  and  loaded,  the  com- 
pany paying  the  freight  to  the  factory,  and 
in  this  way  the  grower  whose  field  is  forty- 
miles    from    the    factory    receives   the    same 


352 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


price  per  ton  as  does  the  farmer  who  deliv- 
ers them  in  his  wagon  at  the  factory.  This 
crop  has  been  found  very  profitable.  Main- 
fields  have  yielded  from  eighteen  to  twenty- 
six  tons  per  acre,  the  average  yield  from  the 
entire  acreage  in  the  valley  being  about  fif- 
teen tons.  From  this  it  is  easy  to  be  seen 
that  the  owner  of  an  irrigated  farm  in  the 
North  Platte  valley  will  soon  be  rated 
among  the  most  independent  classes  of  our 
citizen's.  From  what  has  been  said  of  the 
irrigated  section,  however,  it  must  not  be 
inferred  that  the  farmers  beyond  or  above 
the  line  of  canals  are  not  making  good.  It 
has  been  conclusively  demonstrated  in  re- 
cent years  that  there  are  certain  crops 
adapted  to  "dry  land"  farming,  and  which 
can  be  grown  every  year  regardless  of  the 
scarcity  of  rainfall  during  that  particular 
season.  And  the  farmers  who  practice  the 
method  of  soil  culture  conserve  the  mois- 
ture falling  in  the  early  spring  or  in  the 
shape  of  snow  during  the  winter,  smile  at 
dry  seasons  and  are  only  glad  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  prove  to  the  world  that  crop  fail- 
ures are  unnecessary. 

So  kind  has  nature  been  in  the  matter  of 
climate,  sunshine  and  soil  that  in  spite  of 
periodical  failures  and  the  return  of  many  a 
discouraged  homesteader  in  early  days  the 
territory  formerly  known  as  Cheyenne  coun- 
ty has  long  been  spoken  of  as  the  "poor- 
man's  paradise."  Many  of  those  who  aban- 
doned the  country  because  of  the  crop  fail- 
ures of  earlier  clays,  returned  later  to  say 
that  there  was  a  fascination  which  forced 
them  to  return  and  that  they  fared  better 
here  than  they  did  after  revisiting  their  ear- 
lier homes,  and  it  can  be  said  without  an 
exception  that  the  earlier  settler  who  wea- 
thered the  storms  and  retained  his  holdings 
here  has  become  independent.  In  fact,  there 
are  no  poor  men  in  this  country.  Cheyenne 
county  never  had  a  poor  farm.  Morrill  coun- 
ty has  no  need  of  an  alms  house  and  there  is 
not  a  pensioner  on  the  bounty  of  the  county 
today.  By  cultivating  a  portion  of  the  sec- 
tion of  land  which  Uncle  Sam  in  his  bounty 
bestowed  upon  him.  and  by  pasturing  milch 
cows  on  the  remainder  of  his  land,  the  home- 
steader has  attained  a  degree  of  indepen- 
dence which  a  landless  man  in  the  older  sec- 
tions of  the  country  would  labor  years  be- 
fore reaching. 

Camp  Clarkf. 

In  pioneer  days  of  Nebraska  the  name  of 
Henry  T.  Clarke  was  known  from  the  Mis- 
souri   river    to    the    Black    Hills.      Endowed 


with  remarkable  courage,  an  indomitable 
will,  and  energy,  he  was  the  man  to  step  into 
the  breach  and  conquer  the  obstacles  to  ad- 
vancing civilization.  In  1875  and  1876,  he 
built  the  Camp  Clarke  bridge,  three  miles 
west  of  where  the  city  of  Bridgeport  now 
stands,  and  there  are  still  a  few  of  the  old- 
timers  left  who  remember  that  event.  For 
weeks  the  surging  tide  of  humanity  had  been 
gathering  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  await- 
ing the  completion  of  that  now  historic 
structure,  and  when  at  last  the  gates  were 
thrown  open,  it  was  necessary  to  divide  the 
day  into  halves,  permitting  those  from  the 
south  to  pass  northward  for  half  a  day.  and 
then  those  from  the  north  to  pass  soutbward 
for  an  equal  length  of  time.  Foot  passen- 
gers paid  a  dollar  each  for  the  privilege  of 
crossing  the  bridge,  while  teams  were 
charged  at  the  rate"of  from  $5.00  to  S10.00. 
The  tolls  collected  on  the  day  of  the  open- 
ing of  the  bridge  amounted  to  more  than 
$10,000,  and  for  several  years  the  bridge  was 
a  mint  for  its  owner  and'  a  great  convenience 
to  the  restless  pioneers  who  struggled  for 
gold  and  gain  in  the  unexplored  fastnesses 
of  the  great  west. 

The  following  account  was  written  by  Mr. 
Clarke  a  few  years  ago  for  an  illustrated 
card  designed  to  preserve  the  facts  connect- 
ed with  the  early  history  of  his  locality: 

"In  1875,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  mer- 
chants and  others  of  Omaha,  in  order  to  get 
a  short  route  into  the  Black  Hills  to  secure 
the  travel  and  trade,  Henry  T.  Clarke  put  in 
this  bridge.  The  bridge  spans  the  North 
Platte  river  three  miles  west  of  the  present 
town  of  Bridgeport  and  nine  miles  east  of 
Chimney  Rock  (an  old  landmark,  and  sixty 
miles  east  of  Ft.  Laramie,  the  nearest  bridge 
crossing).  It  has  sixty-one  spans  and  was 
made  extra  strong  in  order  to  carry  the 
heavy  mining  machinery.  The  timber  was 
framed  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  and  Moline,  Il- 
linois, in  1875.  There  was  one  house  be- 
tween Sidney  and  the  bridge,  a  distance  of 
fifty  miles,  and  one  house  between  Camp 
Clarke  and  Camp  Robinson  (the  Red  Cloud 
Sioux  Indian  Agency),  seventy  miles  dis- 
tant. This  was  a  Sioux  and  Chevenne  In- 
dian country  prior  to  the  treaties.  Mr. 
Clarke  asked  the  government  for  protection. 
They  furnished  him  a  plan  for  Fort  Clarke, 
which  he  built  for  the  government:  at  its 
completion  the  War  Department  placed 
troops  there.  This  was  on  the  north  end  of 
the  bridge,  so  that  the  range  would  take  in 
the  whole  of  the  bridge.  They  also  placed 
a  company  of  cavalry  at  his  place  of  busi- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ness  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  Mr. 
Clarke  asked  the  mail  authorities  to  put  in 
mail  service  to  the  Black  Hills;  the  Postal 
Department  declined  to  do  so  as  it  was  In- 
dian country.  Some  may  recall  the  burning 
of  Gordon*s  outfit  in  the  Black  Hills  coun- 
try in  1875  by  order  of  the  War  Department. 
Mr.  Clarke  contracted  with  the  War  Depart- 
ment to  carry  the  army  mail  from  Fort  Sid- 
ney on  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  to  Camp 
Clarke,  and  to  Camp  Robinson  on  the  north. 
He  put  on  the  Clarke  Centennial  Pony  Ex- 
press, supplying  all  towns  in  the  Black  Hills. 
He  was  postmaster  at  Camp  Clarke,  the  gov- 
ernment turning  all  mail  over  to  him,  ac- 
cepting it  from  him,  which  was  conducted 
until  the  government  put  on  mail  service. 
Hay  was  then  from  $100  to  $150  a  ton  ;  corn, 
12c  to  15c  a  pound.  The  Indians  were 
troublesome.  One  of  the  pony  riders,  Rock- 
afellow,  at  one  time  rode  into  a  camp  of  hay- 
makers and  found  four  white  men  dead  after 
an   Indian  attack. 

"Henry  Tefft  -Clarke  was  born  on  April 
26,  1834,  at  Greenwich,  New  York.  The 
rudiments  of  his  education  were  acquired  in 
a  common  school  on  his  grandfather's  farm 
at  Greenwich,  where  the  late  President 
Chester  A.  Arthur  was  a  fellow  pupil. 

"He  finished  his  education  at  the  village 
academy  built  by  his  father,  and  at  the  age 
of  nineteen  went  to  Erie  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  was  employed  as  a  clerk  in 
a  store.  In  1855  he  moved  to  Topeka,  Kan- 
sas, driving  from  the  western  terminus  of 
the  Rock  Island  railroad,  then  in  Illinois. 
He  later  went  to  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  and 
removed  to  Bellevue.  Xebraska,  believing 
that  the  town  would  some  time  become  the 
western  terminus  for  a  railroad. 

"In  the  spring  of  1856  Mr.  Clarke  became 
the  steamboat  agent  at  Bellevue  and  from 
dealing  in  a  small  way  in  provisions  he  soon 
branched  out  into  a  general  merchandise 
business.  In  1862  he  took  a  contract  to  fur- 
nish the  government  with  corn  and  oats  at 
Fort  Kearney,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Platte  river,  about  two  miles  east  of  the 
present  city  of  Kearney. 

"Later  he  contracted  to  furnish  large 
quantities  of  hay,  corn  and  wood  for  the 
army.  When  this  contract  was  completed 
in  1864,  he  entered  into  the  freight  business, 
buying  general  merchandise  and  miners' 
supplies  and  freighting  them  to  Denver. 

"In  1864  and  1865  Mr.  Clarke  made  an  un- 
successful attempt  to  locate  the  eastern  ter- 
minus of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  at  Belle- 
vue and  spent  a  great  deal  of  money  in  mak- 


ing surveys  and  in  sounding  the  Missouri. 
In  1867,  Mr.  Clarke  began  surveying  for 
railroads  from  Bellevue  to  (  (maha  and  Sioux 
City  to  Lincoln.  He  completed  the  survey 
from  Omaha  to  Lincoln  and  secured  the 
right  of  way  for  a  part  of  the  line.  The  first 
ten  miles  of  the  line  was  built  and  is  now 
operated  by  the  Burlington. 

"Mr.  Clarke  became  engaged  in  the  build- 
ing of  railroads  and  highway  bridges  in  1870. 
The  last  bridge  he  built  was  at  Camp  Clarke. 

"The  Clarke  Centennial  Pony  Letter  Ex- 
press was  established  by  Mr.  Clarke  in  1876, 
operating  between  Sidnev  and  mining  points 
in  the  Black  Hills.  He  also  established 
postoffices  in  the  mining  towns.  A  whole- 
sale store  at  Deadwood  was  likewise  oper- 
ated by  Mr.  Clarke. 

"In  1859  Mr.  Clarke  was  married  to  Miss 
Martha  A.  Fielding  at  Greenwich,  New 
York.  Seven  children  were  born  to  this 
union:  Harrv  Fielding,  William  Edward. 
Charles  Hughes,  Henry  Tefft.  Jr.,  and 
Maurice  Gordon. 

"Harry  Fielding  Clarke  was  the  first  na- 
tive born  member  of  the  Nebraska  legisla- 
ture, being  elected  state  senator  from  Doug- 
las and  Sarpy  counties  when  but  twenty- 
three  years  of  age.  Charles  Hughes  Clarke, 
also  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  was  the 
youngest  person  ever  elected  to  the  state 
legislature,  entering  the  office  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one.  He  died  June  1,  1893,  at  Lin- 
coln. " 

"Henry  Tefft  Clarke,  Jr..  was  a  member  of 
the  state  legislature  from  Douglas  county 
during  the  session  of  1905.  At  present  he  is 
chairman  of  the  state  railway  commission. 

"In  1862.  during  its  territorial  years, 
Henry  T.  Clarke  was  a  member  of  the  Ne- 
braska house  of  representatives.  In  1864  he 
was  elected  to  the  council  (now  the  state 
senate).  He  was  a  prominent  candidate  for 
the  gubernatorial  nomination  in  1SSS.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  board  of  education  at 
Omaha  for  three  years  and  president  of  the 
board  for  two  years  of  that  time. 

"Mr.  Clarke  was  the  first  man  to  be  made 
a  Master  Mason  in  Xebraska,  having  been 
raised  by  Xebraska  lodge  Xo.  1,  at  Bellevue. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  lodge 
of  veteran  Masons  at  Omaha  and  was  its 
president. 

"Mr.  Clarke  has  been  actively  interested  in 
man_\-  business  enterprises  at  Omaha,  among 
them  being  the  Xorthwestern  Electric  Light 
Company  and  the  Lee-Glass  Andreson 
Hardware  Company.  In  1883  he  started  the 
wholesale  drug  house  of  the   11.  T.   Clarke 


354 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN"  NEBRASKA 


Drug  Company  at  Omaha,  with  a  branch  in 
Lincoln. 

"He  built  Clarke  Hall,  at  Bellevue,  the 
institution  now  known  as  Bellevue  college. 
He  presented  it  to  the  Presbyterian  synod 
of  Nebraska  together  with  two  residences 
and  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres  of 
ground.  The  institution  is  now  the  collegi- 
ate department  of  the  University  of  Omaha. 

"Mr.  Clarke  received  a  large  amount  of 
land  for  building  railroads  in  the  state  and 
put  many  thousand  acres  under  cultivation, 
giving  his  personal  attention  to  raising  grain 
and  stock. 

"In  1905  Mr.  Clarke  was  elected  president 
of  the  state  historical  society  and  of  the  Ne- 
braska Territorial  Pioneers'  Association." 

Henry  T.  Clarke  died  at  Excelsior 
Springs,  Missouri,  early  in  the  year  1913. 
after  a  prolonged  illness  lasting  six  year-;. 
He  was  seventy-eight  years  of  age. 

(The  foregoing  is  taken  partly  from  the 
Bridgeport  News-Blade,  and  Max  Wilcox 
has   our   appreciation.  —  Editor-in-Chief.) 

Soldier  Amusements 

The  soldiers  in  charge  of  protecting  the 
Camp  Clarke  bridge  had  a  dull  time  except 
for  the  passing  strangers,  and  found  ways  of 
whiling  away  the  hours.  One  outfit  came 
from  Red  Cloud  and  they  inaugurated  a  plan 
of  amusement  that  is  talked  about  by  old- 
timers  to  this  day.  They  shook  dice  to  see 
who  should  sit  in  a  chair  some  distance 
away  from  the  old  sod  saloon.  Then  the 
others  shook  dice  again.  Anyone  who  failed 
to  throw  five  aces  was  given  four  shots  at 
the  four  legs  of  the  chair.  If  he  missed  all 
four  shots  he  had  to  treat.  The  man  in  the 
chair  was  not  permitted  to  wriggle,  swear  or 
chew  tobacco,  for  they  tended  to  disconcert 
the  man  with  the  gun.  The  chair  victim 
could  hold  his  own  legs  as  high  as  he  wanted 
to,  and  fifteen  minutes  was  the  time  limit 
that  anyone  had  to  remain  in  the  precarious 
position. 

WellsyillE 

Wellsville  is  the  name  by  which  the  place 
at  the  north  end  of  the  bridge  was  known  in 
the  eighties.  Camp  Clarke  proper,  and  the 
blockhouse  for  defense  was  there  earlier,  al- 
though the  gate  and  collecting  station  for 
tolls  was  at  the  south  end  during  the  middle 
eighties,  and  "Dad"  White  was  in  charge. 
At  Wellsville  there  was  a  saloon  and  a  small 
stock  of  merchandise. 


Early  Settlement 

It  will  be  noted  throughout  the  historical 
review  of  Morrill  county  that  the  separate 
activities  of  the  county  had  been  confined 
largely  to  the  last  dozen  years,  and  that  a 
large  portion  of  those  residents  in  the  coun- 
ty as  well  as  in  the  town  have  come  to  Mor- 
rill county  since  the  advent  of  the  railroad 
some  twenty  years  ago.  It  will  also  be 
noted  by  a  reference  to  the  early  history  of 
that  part  of  Cheyenne  county,  which  is  now 
Morrill  county,  as  presented  in  the  general 
history  of  the  entire  Panhandle  territory, 
and  in  the  separate  history  of  Cheyenne 
county,  that  there  came  upon  the  stage  and 
has  largely  disappeared  an  early  generation. 
This  first  generation  of  pioneer  spirits  left 
their  imprint  upon  the  ultimate  development 
of  Morrill  county.  Quite  a  few  of  those  who 
came  to  this  vicinity  some  forty  years  ago 
are  still  here,  one  of  these  being  Frank  H. 
Putman,  still  a  resident  and  active  business 
man  in  Bridgeport.  Mr.  Putman  tells  as  fol- 
lows of  early  settlement : 

"When  I  came  to  this  part  of  Nebraska 
in  1878,  this  was  a  cattle  country  pure  and 
simple.  Leaving  the  present  site  of  Ogal- 
lala  in  1878,  the  first  important  place  was  the 
ranch  of  Shiedley  brothers.  These  three 
brothers  lived  together  as  bachelors.  I  went 
to  work  for  them  driving  range.  They  had 
a  new  outfit  up  through  here  from  North 
Platte,  and  I  knew  and  visited  all  the 
ranches  from  that  city  to  Fort  Laramie. 

"I  filed  in  1884  and  it  was  not  until  about 
that  time  that  the  homesteaders  began  to  set 
themselves  up  against  the  claims  of  the 
ranchers  and  file  on  homesteads.  Hiram 
Fisk  was  the  first  homesteader  in  the  south- 
east part  of  what  is  now  Morrill  county.  He 
died  some  time  ago  Next  along  the  river 
there  was  Olaf  Lift".  He  hired  a  man  to  haul 
him  out  there  from  a  ranch  though  he  did 
not  know  where  he  was  going.  He  made  an 
application  for  filing  but  did  not  know  wdiere 
the  land  was.  He  told  a  fellow  to  just  un- 
load him  there.  The  next  day  he  went  to 
town  and  found  out  where  the  land  was  and 
then  made  for  himself  a  dug-out  and  lived  in 
it.     That  was  about  1884. 

"The  next  pre-emption  down,  there  was 
taken  by  Otto  Baumgarten.  He  was  an  old 
cook  on  the  Cedar  Creek  ranch,  formerly  on 
the  South  Platte  at  Shiedley's.  He  later  left 
this  country  and  went  north.  The  next  one 
to  come  was  Geo.  Haxby  who  filed  about  the 
same  time,  and  Charles  Gifford  filed  about 
that  time.  A  year  or  two  later  the  Rogers 
came.      1.    T.    Rogers    has    been    living    in 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Bridgeport  in  recent  years:  Douglas  has 
been  living  at  Alliance,  and  Wesley  is  dead. 

"This  now  brings  us  up  near  the  middle  of 
Morrill  county,  east  and  west.  The  next 
place  was  the  F.  H.  Putman  place,  taken  in 
1884,  as  was  that  of  Ora  Remsburgh.  Mrs. 
C.  Nelson  filed  on  a  quarter  about  1886. 
Andrew  Hansen  came  about  that  time  and 
three  of  the  Adams'  filed  just  about  then. 
Mr.  Lape  and  his  two  sons-in-law,  Jake 
Amer  and  Dick  Meredith,  came  about  the 
same  time  and  the  two  Van  Gorder  brothers 
filed  three  miles  below  the  present  Bridge- 
port on  what  is  now  the  Mark  Iddings  place. 
This  places  us  up  into  the  vicinity  south  of 
Bridgeport. 

"In  the  late  eighties  that  neighborhood 
was  taken  up  by  John  Mcintosh  (brother  of 
Jim  Mcintosh).  Chas.  Lowe,  Chas.  Logan, 
R.  P.  Scott  (on  his  well-known  place  a  mile 
south  of  Bridgeport),  and  R.  V.  Brown, 
whose  holdings  took  in  the  west  part  of  the 
townsite  of  Bridgeport,  and  upon  which  he 
erected  the  corner  grocery^  here  in  town. 
Mr.  Peterson  of  Julesburg  bought  up  land 
which  became  the  east  part  of  the  Bridge- 
port townsite.  Just  below  town  the  Tusler 
outfit  located  their  hay  meadow  (this  was 
the  Hart  ranch  at  an  earlier  date).  Above 
town  were  Geo.  Laing  and  T.  W.  WTolf's 
places.  Henry  T.  Clarke  had  filed  in  the 
seventies  and  the  story  of  the  Camp  Clarke 
ranch,  store  and  toll  bridge  are  more  fully 
narrated  elsewhere.  Past  Camp  Clarke  in 
the  eighties  were  the  filings  of  Frank  Dur- 
nell  and  Henry  Randall,  his  father  and 
brother,  and  the  Ccad  filings. 

"As  to  the  development  on  the  north  side 
on  the  Platte  river  on  the  west  side  the 
town  of  Bayard  sprang  up  in  the  nineties 
northwest  of  Bridgeport.  That  country  was 
practically  all  ranches  until  1890. 

"In  the  sand  hill  country,  Geo.  Richardson 
settled  in  the  early  nineties  where  the  Big- 
nell  brothers  of  Lincoln  were  running  five 
hundred  to  eight  hundred  head  of  cattle. 
Charles  Snow  has  been  over  in  there  for 
twenty-five  or  thirty  years.  Herman  Smith 
and  Frank  Cantwell  were  in  there  and  the 
heirs  of  Herman  Smith  have  about  five  hun- 
dred to  eight  hundred  head.  I  sold  my  old 
place  in  1896  and  bought  a  ranch  twenty- 
five  miles  northeast  of  Bridgeport  and  I 
have  run  some  five  hundred  to  eight  hun- 
dred head  of  cattle  in  there.  W.  C.  Thomp- 
son has  ranched  extensively  and  Robt.  Gra- 
ham of  Alliance  on  the  Graham  holdings  in 
the  north  end  of  the  county  has  had  perhaps 
in  excess  of  one  thousand  head.  Frank  1  '.lain 


has  run  several  hundred  at  a  time.  R.  M. 
Hampton  at  Alliance  has  had  a  large  ranch 
out  there.  He  sold  to  Hall  and  Graham. 
Also  over  in  the  north  part  of  the  county 
have  been  Henry  Swan  in  early  times,  Joe 
Vaughn  of  Alliance,  and  Burk  &  Tiernan  in 
the  northwest  quarter. 

"Around  Broadwater  some  of  those  who 
filed  early  in  the  late  eighties  and  early  nine- 
ties were :  First,  Tom  Wagoner  on  Broad- 
water site,  Lloyd  Remsbery,  Carl  Wagoner, 
Smith  Bros.,  Geo.  Beerline,  Robt.  Walsh, 
Pat  Dunn,  Chas.  Towle,  Mike  Beerline, 
Mike  Elsass,  Frank  King,  Jno.  Hagerty,  Ed. 
Crawford.  Alex  Sesslar.  Mr.  Rouse,  Jno. 
Sessler,  O.  M.  Robinson." 

The  early  history  of  Morrill  county  is  en- 
tirely and  inseparably  intermingled  into  the 
governmental  history  of  Cheyenne  county. 

It  was  not  until  1909  that  the  county  of 
Morrill  was  formed  and  taken  from  Chey- 
enne county  so  this  part  of  the  history  of 
Morrill  county,  while  important,  is  rather 
brief.  Throughout  the  thirty  years  preced- 
ing the  separate  establishment  of  the  county 
the  portion  of  Cheyenne  county  which  is 
now  Morrill  county  played  a  more  or  less 
important  part  in  the  county  governmental 
affairs  of  the  Mother  County. 

As  early  as  1878,  the  county  records  of 
Cheyenne  county  show  local  officers  elected 
for  Court  House  Rock  precinct.  In  that  year 
among  the  precinct  officers  elected  for  that 
territory  were  :  L.  Mined,  justice  of  peace, 
and  Julius  Hill,  also  justice  of  peace;  con- 
stables, Ed.  Countryman,  Chas.  Patten ; 
Thos.  Crosby,  assessor;  election  officers: 
D.  B.  Powers,  judge;  D.  B.  Lynch,  judge; 
H.  Best,  judge:  Win.  Gill,  clerk;  H.  Rey- 
nolds, clerk;  David  Thrall  was  road  superin- 
tendent. 

At  an  election  in  May,  1879.  held  at  the 
H.  T.  Clarke  store  the  following  men  served 
on  the  election  board:  P.  W.  Miller,  Julius 
Hill,  Mark  M.  Coad,  H.  W.  Elliott.  Lige  E. 
Tusler.  We  do  not  find  a  record  of  any  pre- 
cinct organized  at  this  place  so  early  as  that. 
It  was  no  doubt  a  division  of  Sidney  precinct 
for  convenience  of  North  River  voters. 

Thos.  Lawrence  is  shown  to  have  been  ap- 
pointed assessor  for  this  territory  in  1880. 
$20,000  bridge  bonds  were  proposed  about 
March.  1880,  to  build  a  buggy  bridge  across 
the  North  Platte  river  but  met  an  adverse 
vote  of  170  to  464.  This  somewhat  over- 
estimates that  sparse  population  of  this  ter- 
ritory at  that  date. 

Redington   precinct   had  been    formed   by 


356 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


September.  1887.  Camp  Clarke  precinct 
was  formed  about  that  time. 

By  1887  the  map  showed  this  north  end  of 
Cheyenne  county  which  later  became  Mor- 
rill count}-  to  be  divided  between  the  orig- 
inal Court  House  Rock  precinct  in  the  south 
part  of  said  territory  and  Camp  Clarke  pre- 
cinct north  of  Court  House  Rock.  Bayard 
was  west  of  Camp  Clarke  precinct,  and  Red- 
ington  south  of  Bayard. 

After  the  formal  establishment  of  Morrill 
county  on  March  9,  1909,  L.  R.  Barlow,  J.  B. 
Haiston,  Louis  Brott,  the  county  commis- 
sioners of  Cheyenne  county,  met  with  the 
commissioners  of  Morrill  count)-  to  divide 
the  property  of  the  two  counties.     The  first 


prominent  in  republican  political  circles  of 
the  state. 

The  Lincoln  Land  Company  donated  a 
block  for  the  court  house  site,  and  Chas.  H. 
Morrill  contributed  S10.000  cash  to  apply  on 
the  building.  This  with  the  $15,000  bonds 
made  ample  funds. 

Court  House 
Immediately  after  the  formal  division  of 
the  county  from  Cheyenne,  steps  were  taken 
for  the  erection  of  a  new  and  thoroughly 
modern  court  house  at  Bridgeport.  On  May 
15.  1909,  on  the  petition  of  J.  L.  Finn,  C.  O. 
Morrison,  Frank  Cravett  and  two  hundred 
other  electors,  a   vote  was   requested  upon 


Court  House  Rock,   South  of  Bridgeport 


county  commissioners  of  Morrill  county 
were  Fred  R.  Lindberg,  Herman  E.  Smith, 
Win.  T.  McKelvey.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
assessed  valuation  of  Cheyenne  county,  be- 
ing twice  that  of  Morrill  county,  that  Chey- 
enne county  should  get  two-thirds  of  the 
property  and  Morrill  one-third.  All  funds 
except  the  bridge  fund  should  be  divided  on 
the  same  ratio. 

Morrill  was  to  receive  the  unpaid  taxes 
for  1909.  Morrill  was  to  pay  Cheyenne 
county  two-thirds  of  all  the  election  ex- 
penses. The  contract  with  the  Western 
Bridge  and  Construction  Company  for  a 
bridge  over  the  Platte  river  near  Irving,  Ne- 
braska, should  fall  upon  Morrill  in  its  liabil- 
ity with  such  proceedings  to  be  started  and 
the  district  court  to  adjust  that  liability. 

The  new  county  was  named  Morrill,  in 
honor  of  Charles  H.  Morrill,  president  of  the 
Lincoln  Land  Company,  and  for  many  years 


the  issuance  of  SI  5,000  bonds  for  the  build- 
ing a  court  house  of  which  it  was  remarked 
by  said  petitions  was  not  necessary  for  rea- 
son that  said  board  is  in  favor  of  said  bond 
issue.  It  favored  said  election  asked  for  in 
the  said  petition  so  the  election  was  called 
for  the  29th  of  June.  1909,  and  carried  by  a 
substantial  majority.  The  commissioners 
districts  and  the  precincts  of  the  new  county 
were  then  as  follows  : 

District     1  :       Havnes.     Gilchrist, 


teilley    Hi 


and 


Storm 
Weir- 


Lake.    Eastwood 
Lisco. 

District  2:     Canif 
Court  House  Rock. 

District    3:      Good    Streak, 
Redington. 

Bids  on  the  new  court  hi 
ceived  on  October  4th  as  follows:  Winters 
&  Short.  Atwood.  Kansas,  $21,750;  Pruden 
&   Breckenhauer,    Norfolk,   Nebraska,  S2L- 


Clarke,   Union,   King. 


were    re- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


357 


970;  A.  C.  Thomas,  Blooming  Prairie,  Min- 
nesota, $22,793  ;  C.  R.  Inman,  Crawford,  Ne- 
braska, $24,150;  S.  C.  Beck,  Alliance,  Ne- 
braska, $26,809. 

Whereupon  the  contract  was  awarded  to 
Winter  &  Short.  The  heating-  and  plumbing 
contract  was  awarded  to  the  Sterling  Heat- 
ing and  Plumbing  Company  for  $2,100.  The 
Lincoln  Land  Company  aided  in  getting  the 
site  of  the  court  house  located  for  Bridge- 
port, and  to  donate  a  choice  of  two  blocks 
of  land,  one  being  a  block  300  feet  square 
abutting  River  and  Nemaha  streets,  lying 
420  feet  north  of  block  three  of  the  original 
town  of  Bridgeport,  and  the  other  being  a 
block  of  the  same  dimensions  abutting  on 
River  and  Cheyenne  streets,  420  feet  north 


and  both  Fred  R.  Lindberg  and  Col.  A.  W. 
Atkins  had  been  county  commissioners. 
Those  who  have  served  as  county  officers 
for  Morrill  county  since  its  separate  organ- 
ization : 

County  commissioners:  The  first  board 
who  started  in  1909  and  served  together  for 
practically  five  years  were :  Fred  R.  Lind- 
burg,  Herman  E.  Smith,  Wm.  T.  McKelvey. 
Upon  this  trio  of  faithful  servants  fell  the 
onerous  burdens  of  the  details  of  county 
government  and  of  the  numerous  precincts 
of  the  county.  The  legislative  and  adminis- 
trative functions  pertaining  to  getting  the 
various  county  offices  established,  supplied 
and  equipped,  and  under  their  guidance. 
The  work  of  building  the  new  court  house  as 


y:_,,-  m 


^•11 1  l  |FF 


of  block  two  of  the  original  town  of  Bridge- 
port. This  offer  being  contingent  upon  the 
condition  that  the  court  house  was  not  to 
cost  less  than  $15,000  and  was  to  be  com- 
pleted on  or  before  April  1,  1910. 

The  first  named  site  was  the  one  selected 
and  upon  it  Morrill  county's  magnificent 
court  house  was  built. 

Bridgeport  precinct  was  organized  cut  of 
King  and  Eastwood  in  October  of  that  year. 

County  Officials 
Prior  to  the  separate  organization  of  Mor- 
rill county  this  part  of  the  county  had  a 
number  of  times  furnished  county  officials 
for  Cheyenne  county,  and  office  of  county 
clerk  had  been  held  four  years  by  R.  E.  Bai- 
rett,  R.  H.  Willis  had  served  as  county  sur- 
veyor, and  Mark  Spanogle  as  county  attor- 
ney. J.  W.  Lee  had  been  sheriff  and  Win. 
Ritchie,  Jr.,  had  been  county  superintendent. 


well  as  the  bridge,  and  road  work  operations 
were  carried  out.  To  these  three  Morrill 
county  probably  owes  as  deep  an  obligation 
as  it  can  at  any  time  in  its  future  history 
ever  owe  to  any  hoard  of  commissions  who 
may  take  charge  of  its  affairs. 

In  1914  H.  E.  Randall  succeeded  Mr.  Mc- 
Kelvey and  remained  on  the  board  four 
years.  When  Messrs.  Lindburg  and  Smith 
"left  the  board,  J.  J.  Grimes  came  on  with 
Leslie  Bocdrv  who  resigned  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  F."  H.  Putman.  After  Randall, 
Putman  and  Grimes  had  served  together  for 
one  and  one-half  years,  then  Fred  R.  Lind- 
burg returned  to  the  board  and  served  with 
Messrs.  Randall  and  Grimes  and  these  three 
men  were  succeeded  in  January,  1919,  by 
R.  C.  Bassett  of  Bayard  (who  had  served 
for  about  three  months  before  that).  S. 
Garvey  of  Bridgeport  and  C.  W.  Draper  of 
Broadwater,  with  Mr.  Bassett  made  up  the 


,o8 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


board  in  1920.  Dale  B.  Osborne  was  elect- 
ed in  November,  1920,  to  a  seat  upon  this 
board.  A  roster  of  the  precinct  officers 
chosen  to  serve  in  1921-22  indicates  the 
growth  of  Morrill  county's  administrators 
tasks. 

Bayard  precinct:  J.  B.  Foelmer,  police 
magistrate:  Orrin  J.  Lathrop,  justice  of 
peace:  J.  E.  Hunt,  assessor;  R.  L.  Lincoln, 
overseer  of  highways,  first  district;  Will 
Johnson,  overseer  of  highways,  second  dis- 
trict; Seth  Bankson,  overseer  of  highways, 
third  district. 

Bonner  precinct :  F.  E.  Bradbury,  justice 
of  the  peace;  F.  P.  Boone,  assessor;  F.  P. 
Boone  and  F.  E.  Bredbury,  tie  for  overseer 
of  highways. 

Broadwater  precinct :  Walter  A.  Cana- 
day,  police  magistrate;  Thos.  O.  Haiston, 
justice  of  the  peace;  C.  V.  Gilbert,  assessor; 
W.  T.  Carr,  overseer  of  highways. 

Camp  Clarke  precinct:  Dave  Kelly,  po- 
lice magistrate;  P.  C.  Wade,  justice  of  the 
peace ;  Thos.  Burke,  assessor ;  O.  M.  Robin- 
son, overseer  of  highways,  south  district; 
Paul  Gebauer,  overseer  of  highways,  north 
district. 

Court  House  Rock  precinct:  F.  P.  Han- 
way,  justice  of  the  peace ;  Chas.  Ellis,  asses- 
sor;  M.  E.  Hanway,  overseer  of  highways, 
east  district ;  M.  A.  Dugger,  overseer  of 
highways,  west  district. 

Eastwood  precinct:  C.  M.  Fetters,  justice 
of  the  peace;  H.  W.  Majors,  assessor;  J.  A. 
Thompson,  overseer  of  highways,  south  dis- 
trict ;  A.  D.  Waggie,  overseer  of  highways, 
north  district. 

Gilchrist  precinct :  Joe  Bignell  and  Julius 
Burke,  tie  for  justice  of  the  peace;  Frank 
Castewell,  assessor;  C.  A.  Snow,  overseer  of 
highways. 

Goodstreak  precinct:  E.  W.  Becker,  jus- 
tice of  the  peace;  Albert  Acker,  assessor; 
William   Marquardt,  overseer  of  highways. 

Haynes  precinct:  A.  D.  Hull,  justice  of 
the  peace;  Leslie  Boodry,  assessor;  F.  W. 
Wood,  overseer  of  highways. 

King  precinct :  D.  S.  Kelsey,  justice  of 
the  peace:  D.  S.  Meek,  assessor;  C.  F.  Hag- 
erty,  overseer  of  highways. 

Kinkaid  precinct:  B.  L.  Gillespie,  justice 
of  the  peace;  Sam  Sawyer,  assessor;  O.  B. 
Lawhead,  overseer  of  highways. 

Redington  precinct:  A.  W.  Lease,  justice 
of  the  peace;  Fred  Gilman,  assessor:  X.  D. 
Skinner,  overseer  of  highways. 

Riley  Hill  precinct:  James  Mitera,  jus- 
tice of  the  peace;  W.  V.  Dove,  assessor: 
VV.  J.  Williams,  overseer  of  highways. 


Union  precinct:  R.  S.  McConnell,  jus- 
tice of  the  peace;  C.  E.  Satchel],  assessor; 
Cleo  Green,  overseer  of  highways. 

Storm  Lake  precinct:  Sam  Hickman, 
justice  ci  the  peace;  John  Scott,  assessor; 
Charles  Fulcher,  overseer  of  highways. 

Weir-Lisco  precinct :  E.  Humphrey, 
L.  B.  Hiscock,  William  Hanna  and  Nels 
Lindberg,  tie  for  justice  of  the  peace ;  James 
A.  Millett,  assessor ;  Eric  Lif,  overseer  of 
highways,  Weir  district;  Dan  Dean,  over- 
seer of  highways,  Lisco  district. 

Yockey  precinct:  W.  T.  Dean,  Jr.,  justice 
of  the  peace;  C.  L.  Hoxworth,  assessor; 
John  Mittlesteadt,  overseer  of  highways. 

County  Clerk  and  Clerk  of  District 
Court 

The  first  incumbent  of  this  important  of- 
fice was  Charles  D.  Casper.  Casper  was 
formerly  state  senator  from  Butler  county. 
This  officer  had  not  only  the  duty  of  county 
clerk  and  therefore  clerk  of  the  board  of 
commissioners,  but  was  also  clerk  of  the  dis- 
trict court  and  register  of  deeds  for  the  coun- 
ty. In  1912  J.  R.  Minshall  took  this  office. 
For  the  last  three  years  of  his  term  Z.  H. 
Jones  served  as  his  deputy  and  in  1917  Mr. 
Jones  became  the  county  clerk  and  clerk  of 
district  court  and  has  since  then  acceptably 
performed  the  multiple  duties  of  those  of- 
fices until  their  separation  and  was  re-elect- 
ed in  November,  1920,  for  a  four-year  term 
as  clerk  of  district  court.  W.  C.  Clark  was 
elected  to  the  now  separate  office  of  countv 
clerk. 

County  Treasurer 
The  first  county  treasurer  was  Frank  Irv- 
ing and  he  was  succeeded  by  Thos.  Ishmael. 
who  served  for  five  years.  In  1917,  after 
having  served  as  deputy  to  Irving  and  Ish- 
mael, Miss  Mabel  J.  Johnson  assumed  the 
county  treasurership  and  with  the  assistance 
of  Mary  Johnson  has  discharged  the  duties 
of  this  office  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
every  patron. 

Sheriff 

John  O.  Belden,  assisted  by  Clarence  W. 
Mount  as  deputy,  served  the  first  term  as 
sheriff  and  from  1912  until  1921,  Wm.  I.  Dy- 
son has  been  the  sheriff  of  Morrill  county, 
until  he  was  succeeded  by  R.  C.  Neumann. 

County  Superintendent 

The  first  county  superintendent  after  the 
organization  of  the  count}-  was  Mary  E. 
Walford.       Succeeding    her    for    live    vears 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


359 


came  Cora  A.  Thompson  who  later  went  to 
Lincoln  to  assume  a  place  on  the  staff  of 
state  superintendent  of  public  instruction, 
and  the  present  superintendent,  E.  F. 
Keller. 

Coroner 
The  coroners  of  the  county  were  Victor 
Anderson  and  Loren  R.  North,  the  latter 
who  served  until  this  office  was  abol- 
ished and  its  duties  moved  over  to  the  coun- 
ty attorney. 

Assessor 

The  assessor  of  this  county  was  first  P.  G. 
Burke  and  then  B.  E.  Betebender  and  for 
the  four  years  from  1917  to  1921,  it  has  been 
held  by  J.  D.  Zimmerman,  E.  M.  Bigelow, 
taking  office  in  January,  1921. 

Surveyor 
The  first  county  surveyor  was  Chas.  Ed- 
wards and  his  successor  was  Geo.  Welton, 
who  served  until  1915  when  the  present  sur- 
veyor, Robert  H.  Willis,  took  this  office. 

County  Attorney 

The  county  attorneyship  was  first  held  for 
six  years  by  Attorney  Fav  E.  Williams. 
Since  1915,  Attorney  K.  W.  McDonald  has 
discharged  the  duties  of  this  office. 

County  Judge 
Morrill  county  has  been  more  steadfast  in 
its  political  affections  in  the  matter  of  the 
county  judge  when  they  captured  John  H. 
Steuteville,  at  the  inception  of  the  county's 
career,  and  it  has  kept  him  to  this  date. 
Judge  Steuteville  has  served  as  colleague 
with  all  of  the  county  officials  who  have 
served  Morrill  county.  He  gave  way  in  Jan- 
uary, 1921,  to  H.  M.  Marquis  of  Bayard,  and 
returned  to  private  practice. 

The  First  Term  of  District  Court 

Those  electors  who  are  drawn  for  jury 
service  at  the  first  term  of  district  court 
were :  Goodstreak.  E.  E.  Dueker,  Andy 
Christenson ;  Bayard.  H.  E.  Randall,  Jas. 
Burns,  C.  O.  Morrison,  C.  H.  Harpole,  I.  P. 
Armagost,  Jas.  Beauchamp.  R.  D.  McFeron, 
T.  A.  Fulton.  Redington,  Geo.  F.  Randall. 
Ben  E.  Wagner,  Geo.  Juelfs.  R.  S.  Boyd. 
Mark  W.  Whitman,  Geo.  Dugger.  Haynes, 
Alex.  Blackstone,  Rov  Wolford,  Frank- 
Born,  W.  C.  Fairfield, 'Reilley  Hill,  G.  A. 
Dove,  F.  D.  Paul,  O.  Frownfelter.  Camp 
Clarke.  Asa  Baker,  Mike  Beerline,  Geo.  De- 
graw,  John  E.  Oliver,  Robt.  Gregg,  O.   M. 


Robinson,  Chas.  E.  Logan,  A.  R.  Thompson, 
Jas.  McFarlaine,  Otis  Smith.  Win.  Mount, 
E.  G.  Rouse,  Louis  Larson.  Frank  Hunt. 
Court  House  Rock,  W.  F.  Hollingsworth, 
Marion  Dugger,  John  Hall,  Marcus  Hall- 
way, Frank  Halloway.  Lnion.  A.  L.  Adams, 
L.  E.  Buck.  Gilchris't,  J.  A.  Hutchinson  and 
C.  A.  Snow.  Storm  Lake,  Arthur  Feagins. 
S.  M.  Hickman.  King.  Chas.  Tolle,  Fred 
Anderson,  Andrew  Hansen.  Broadwater, 
C.  G.  Fairman.  Anthony  Johnson,  Pat  Row- 
Ian,  George  Beerline.  Eastwood,  Frank 
Mulloy,  T.  B.  Rogers,  J.  J.  Grimes.  Weir- 
Lisco,  Olaf  Lindberg,  D.  A.  Colyer. 

The  first  session  of  district  court  in  Mor- 
rill county  was  held  on  June  14,  1909.  at  11 
a.  m.,  in  the  Odd  Fellows  hall  at  Bridgeport. 
Hon.  H.  M.  Grimes  of  North  Platte  was  the 
presiding  district  judge.  C.  B.  Casper  was 
clerk  and  John  O.  Sheldon,  sheriff.  The  first 
case  recorded  on  the  docket  was  that  of 
Jesse  M.  Couckins  vs.  the  Nine  Mile  Irriga- 
tion District.  This  came  up  for  action  and 
was  continued  over  the  term.  The  next  case 
on  the  docket  was  Louis  Liebard  vs.  The 
Guaranty  Investment  Company.  A  mort- 
gage foreclosure  next  came  up.  The  last 
court  held  under  Judge  Grimes'  jurisdiction 
as  district  judge'was  April  4,  1911.  The 
district  then  was  composed  of  the  counties 
of  Lincoln,  Perkins,  Keith,  Cheyenne,  Kim- 
ball, Banner,  Deuel,  Garden,  Logan,  Mc- 
Pherson,  Scotts  Bluff,  and  Morrill. 

In  June.  1911,  R.  W.  Hobart  of  Gering  be- 
came the  presiding  judge  of  Morrill  county 
district  court.  Morrill  county  was  then  re- 
moved from  the  old  13th  judicial  district 
into  the  new  17th  judicial  district,  and  in 
1921  is  still  serving  in  that  responsible  ca- 
pacity. 

The  Story  of  the  Census 
To  the  census  may  we  turn  for  a  practical 
and  actual  manifestation  of  the  wonderful 
growth  and  development  of  Morrill  county. 
The  preliminary  figures  published  for  the 
1920  census  applying  to  Morrill  county 
show,  in  comparison  with  the  stories  of  pre- 
ceding census: 


MORRILL   COUNTY.    NEBRASKA 

Minor  Civil   Division  1920   1910  1900 

Morrill  county 9151   4584  * 

Bayard  city 2127    261   

Bayard   precinct 1406     693  579 

Bonner   precinct 66 

Bridgeport   city 1235     541  545 


360 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Broadwater  precinct,  in- 
cluding Broadwater  vil- 
lage    S57  248 

Camp  Clarke  precinct 619  556 

Court  House  Rock  precinct  313  195 

Eastwood  precinct 291  282 

Gilchrist  precinct S7  131 

Good  Streak  precinct 61  118 

Haynes  precinct 358  408 

King   precinct 172  199 

Redington    precinct 397  396 


Reilly  Hill  precinct 138     122.... 

Storm  Lake  precinct 66     112    ...  . 

Union   precinct 200     137   .... 

Weir  Lisco  precinct 323     135    .... 

Yockev  precinct 435    

Incorporated  Place  1920  1910  1900 

Bayard  city 2127     261    

Bridgeport  city 1235     541     545 

Broadwater  village 364 

*  Comparison  of  population  for  1900  made 
wherever  possible. 


CHAPTER  II 


TRANSPORTATION  DEVELOPMENT 


Just  as  the  story  of  a  person's  life  is  often 
best  told  in  the  ventures  undertaken,  and  the 
dreams  attempted  and  at  least  partially  car- 
ried to  maturity  with  some  substantial  re- 
sults, so  the  story  of  Morrill  county  can  be 
graphically  elaborated  in  the  discussion  of 
some  of  her  "dreams"  and  hopes.  The  coun- 
ty took  its  second  era  of  rapid  growth  from 
the  arrival  and  building  of  the  Alliance  to 
Sterling,  Brush  and  Denver  lines  of  the  Bur- 
lington railroad,  and  the  arrival  of  the 
branch  to  Wyoming  extending  westward 
from  Bridgeport,  and  later  the  Union  Pa- 
cific branch  from  North  Platte.  While  these 
three  railroad  lines  measure  the  achieve- 
ments accomplished  in  rail  transportation, 
many  others  have  been  planned.  These 
fond  hopes  have  brought  forth  other  fruits. 
In  producing  and  setting  forth  the  argu- 
ments for  the  fruition  of  these  many  hopes, 
Morrill  county  has  herself  discovered  and 
been  prompted  to  set  forth  to  the  rest  of  the 
world  her  physical  and  material  resources. 
Not  as  a  tale  of  dead  hopes,  but  as  a  vivid 
portrayal  of  the  valiant  struggle  kept  up  for 
some  two  decades  by  the  active,  loyal  cit- 
izens of  Morrill  count}',  do  we  divert  to  por- 
tray a  series  of  discussions  of  the  many  rail- 
road projects  launched  for  further  transpor- 
tation facilities  through  Morrill  county.  In 
years  to  come,  when  some  of  these  may  be 
in  actual  existence,  then  these  pages,  per- 
haps pronounced  by  present  readers,  as  a 
closet  of  skeletons,  will  be  valuable  original 
sources  of  information  upon  the  planting 
and  growth  of  these  hopeful  projects.    Could 


a  small  portion  of  these  proposed  lines  have 
materialized,  Morrill  county  would  have 
been  most  wonderfully  networked  with 
transportation  lines.  But  next  to  the  story 
of  her  agricultural  and  material  soil  pro- 
during  tale,  the  transportation  evolution  of 
the  county  develops  it  beyond  some  of  its 
sister  counties. 

Bridgeport-O'Neill  Railroad 

Attention  was  called  some  eight  or  ten 
years  .ago  to  the  Burlington's  line,  running 
from  Duluth,  at  the  head  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
and  now  extending  as  far  as  O'Neill,  this 
state.  The  Hill  people  said  little  about  this 
project,  but  newspapers  professed  to  believe 
that  it  was  the  intention  to  connect  that  line 
with  the  roads  centering  in  Bridgeport.  Be- 
sides providing  a  short  and  direct  line  across 
the  continent,  the  read  would  pass  through 
a  good  country  the  entire  distance.  The  Hill 
interests  maintain  a  line  of  steamers  plying 
from  Buffalo  to  Duluth,  and  another  line 
from  Seattle  across  the  Pacific  ocean.  The 
road  from  O'Neill  to  Bridgeport  will  con- 
nect the  two  ends  and  provide  a  complete 
trans-continental  transportation  system. 

Comment  in  the  Omaha  Bee  and  Lincoln 
State  Journal  indicated  that  the  railroad 
company  had  the  matter  under  advisement. 

The  State  Journal  said,  among  oilier 
things: 

"The  connection  of  the  (  Weill  line  of  the 
Burlington  with  the  Billings  line  has  been 
frequently  discussed  since  the  llill  interests 
secured  the  Burlington.    A  number  of  years 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ago  a  prominent  Burlington  official  said  it 
was  the  intention  to  connect  the  loose  ends 
of  the  system  north  of  the  Platte  river  in  a 
way  that  would  afford  commercial  circula- 
tion." 

Bridgeport-Kearney  Link 

After  the  building  of  the  Guernsey  line, 
for  some  years  the  Burlington  used  the  Col- 
orado &  Southern  and  the  Northwestern 
tracks  to  reach  Casper.  Later  they  built 
their  own  road  and  some  heavy  tunnel  work 
was  necessary  in  Platte  canyon. 

Bridgeport  then  began  to  anticipate  the 
long  deferred  line  connecting  Bridgeport 
and  Kearney,  and  the  following  appeared  in 
the  local  press  of  the  time : 

"Every  man  and  every  team  that  can  be 
crowded  into  the  big  tunnel  work  west  of 
Guernsey  is  being  rushed  to  the  scene  of 
activity  and  carload  after  carload  of  outfits 
and  equipment  are  being  shipped  to  that 
point.  The  Burlington  is  using  every  effort 
to  push  that  work  to  completion. at  the  ear- 
liest possible  date. 

"Prominent  railroad  men  who  are  in  posi- 
tion to  know  what  they  are  talking  about, 
have  given  out  the  statement  within  the  past 
few  days  that  as  soon  as  the  harvest  season 
is  over  and  labor  becomes  more  plentiful, 
work  on  the  Bridgeport-Kearney  line  will  be 
commenced,  and  others  who  have  interests 
here  and  are  waiting  for  the  first  steps  to  be 
taken  in  the  building  of  the  new  line  to 
launch  other  enterprises,  have  written  that 
they  have  been  given  the  same  assurance. 

"In  fact  it  is  believed  that  nothing  less 
than  a  financial  panic  will  stand  in  the  way 
of  filling  in  the  gap  between  Bridgeport  and 
Kearney  this  year." 

Bridgeport  to  Harriseurg 
"An  Electric  Line  would  be  a  Direct  Ben- 
efit without  Proving  a  Menace  to  Our  Bus- 
iness Interests,"  was  headlined  at  Bridge- 
port in  May,  1913,  when  Banner  county  was 
in  a  fever  for  a  railroad. 

With  the  possibility  that  the  effort  to 
build  a  standard  gauge  railroad  from  Chey- 
enne to  Bridgeport  might  not  prove  success- 
ful, the  News-Blade  suggested  that  a  com- 
pany be  at  once  organized  and  incorporated 
to  build  an  electric  or  motor  line  from 
Bridgeport,  via  Redington,  to  Harrisburg, 
and  as  much  further  as  the  business  would 
warrant.     The  News-Blade  said  : 

"An  electric  line  could  be  cheaply  built 
and  it  would  provide  the  people  of  Banner 
county   with    a    railroad   outlet   that    would 


bring  them  to  the  railroad  center  of  western 
Nebraska." 

Cheyenne-Bridgeport  Line 
A  new  railroad  project  was  being  pushed 
to  connect  these  cities,  via   Pumpkin   creek 
and  Banner  county  in  1913. 

The  Commercial  Club  listened  to  the 
proposition  of  the  men  who  were  promoting 
the  railroad  from  Cheyenne  to  Bridgeport, 
discussing  measures  and  the  projects  from 
all  standpoints, 

The  proposition  was  discussed  freely  and 
while  all  were  in  favor  of  the  proposed  road, 
the  question  of  details  was  referred  to  the 
railroad  committee  which  was  to  confer  with 
the  promoters  of  the  enterprise  at  a  date  to 
be  fixed  to  suit  the  convenience  of  all  par- 
ties. 

Bridgeport-Newark  Line 

In  1915,  railroad  officials  announced  that 
definite  arrangements  were  being  made  for 
the  building  of  the  long  expected  river  road, 
and  that  the  plans  were  to  be  given  out  soon. 
It  was  stated  that  the  road  was  to  run  from 
Bridgeport  to  Newark  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river  instead  of  to  Kearney,  and  cross 
the  river  twice.  Blue  prints  were  said  to 
have  been  prepared,  and  maps  ready  for  dis- 
tribution. 

It  was  also  stated  that  the  necessary  funds 
for  building  the  new  line  had  been  raised 
and  that  it  would  be  rushed  to  completion  in 
time  to  accommodate  through  trains, 
through  the  tunnels,  at  Guernsey. 

"Bridgeport  will  now  prepare  to  become 
the  leading  city  of  western  Nebraska."  en- 
thusiastic journals  of  that  town  declared. 

These  were  several  of  the  dreams  that 
were  shattered  by  the  war  in  part.  All  of 
them  would  be  practical,  and  possibly  may 
come  in  the  future. 

Highway  Development 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  the  trail  of  the  Indian, 
<>r  the  unbroken  surface  of  the  boundless 
prairie,  which  greeted  the  earliest  trappers, 
ranchers  and  homesteaders  of  the  Morrill 
county  area  to  the  wonderful  gravel-sur- 
faced, boulevarded  roadways  being  con- 
structed by  the  Nebraska  State  Department 
of  Public  Works  in  this  second  decade  of  the 
twentieth  century.  This  single  feature  in 
the  physical  evolution  of  the  county  goes  a 
long  ways  toward  marking  the  progress 
made  in  even*  phase  of  its  life.  Something 
of  the  scheme  of  the  vast  undertaking  of  the 
new  state  highway  system  has  been  outlined 


362 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


in  other  portions  of  this  work.  When  the 
projects  already  launched  are  completed, 
Morrill  county  will  have  a  splendid  network 
of  permanent  highways,  from  east  to  west 
and  from  north  to  south  across  the  county. 

North  Platte  Valley  Highway 
First,  local  people,  the  communities  and 
municipalities  found  it  necessary  to  investi- 
gate and  mark  the  most  feasible  roads  from 
place  to  place.  Seme  of  these  were  graded 
but  many  miles  were  untouched  by  plow, 
grader,  or  road  drag. 

Committees  or  delegates  from  the  towns 
met  from  time  to  time  to  discuss  proposed 
highways,  the  North  Platte  Valley  Highway 
being  one  of  the  early  definite  marked  roads 
of  Morrill  county.  This  was  meant  to>  con- 
nect Lincoln  Highway  near  North  Platte, 
Nebraska,  with  the  Yellowstone  Highway 
near  Douglas,  Wyoming. 

Pat  King  Road 
It  was  decided  by  the  delegates  from  Alli- 
ance and  Bridgeport  to  mark  the  road 
known  as  the  Pat  King  road  from  Alliance 
to  Angora,  as  it  is  the  best  road  for  immedi- 
ate travel.  As  soon  as  the  road  on  the  east 
side  of  the  railroad  track  can  be  put  in  shape 
for  travel,  the  markers  will  be  changed  to 
that  route.  The  "Pat  King  road"'  runs 
northwest  from  Angora  for  a  number  of 
miles,  and  then  northeast  to  Alliance,  and  is 
about  ten  miles  longer  than  the  road  on  the 
east  side  of  the  railroad  track,  but  it  will  be 
used  until  the  east  side  road  can  be  put  in 
better  condition  through  the  sand  hills. 

State  and  Federal  Aid  Roads 
In  May,  1919,  the  county  commissioners, 
with  the  county  clerk,  went  over  the  road 
that  will  run  through  the  county  from  south- 
east to  northwest  and  will  receive  federal 
and  state  aid  in  building.  After  spending 
considerable  time  at  different  points  in  sel- 
ecting the  best  route,  the  commissioners 
passed  a  resolution  adopting  the  route  they 
had  selected,  and  pledging  the  county  to  ac- 
cept the  provisions  of  the  federal  and  state 
aid  road  acts,  to  furnish  the  right  of  way  and 
to  maintain  the  road  after  its  construction. 

The  commissioners  also  pledged  to  desig- 
nate this  as  a  county  road  within  thirty  days 
after  its  completion.  In  other  words,  it  be- 
comes a  county  road  after  it  has  been  built 
by  the  federal  and  state  governments,  and 
the  county  is  to  maintain  it  in  good  condi- 
tion. 

The   road  enters   the  county   on   the  east 


line  of  section  29,  township  19,  range  46,  and 
runs  in  an  almost  direct  line  northwest  to 
Broadwater,  where  it  crosses  the  river  to  the 
south  side  and  follows  along  comparatively 
close  to  the  river  about  five  miles.  Then  it 
runs  west  for  about  two  and  a  half  miles, 
and  then  north  and  west  for  short  distances 
until  it  reaches  the  Guthrie  ranch.  Then  it 
runs  west  from  the  Guthrie  ranch  until  it 
strikes  the  Burlington  railroad  about  five 
miles  southeast  of  Bridgeport,  which  it  fol- 
lows to  that  city. 

The  road  crosses  the  river  again  at 
Bridgeport  and  follows  along  closely  to  the 
river  to  near  the  railroad  crossing  tower  at 
Northport,  this  being  a  departure  from  the 
present  traveled  road  which  runs  through 
the  sand  hills  immediately  northwest  from 
Northport,  and  will  make  a  much  better 
road.  The  road  crosses  the  railroad  tracks 
near  the  tower  at  the  north  end  of  the  new 
Burlington  railroad  bridge,  and  follows 
along  the  south  side  of  the  Burlington  rail- 
road in  a  northwesterly  direction  for  about 
two  miles,  where  it  crosses  the  railroad 
track  and  again  runs  approximately  north- 
west till  it  strikes  the  old  Bayard  read  at  the 
west  side  of  the  big  sand  hill  east  of  the  De- 
Graw  beet  dump.  This  cuts  out  the  big  hill 
with  its  sand  and  hard  climbing.  The  new 
road  then  practically  follows  the  old  road 
until  it  reaches  Bayard. 

From  Bayard  the  new  road  runs  north 
four  miles,  which  is  some  departure  from 
the  old  road  that  used  to  run  west  from  Bay- 
ard past  the  sugar  factory,  the  commission- 
ers desiring  to  get  the  road  away  from  the 
"seep  land"  near  the  sugar  factory  that  has 
made  the  road  so  hard  to  travel  and  keep  up. 
From  the  point  four  miles  north  of  Bayard 
the  new  road  runs  straight  west  until  it  en- 
ters Scotts  Bluff  county. 

The  commissioners  had  two  important 
matters  tc  consider  in  selecting  the  route 
near  Bridgeport.  The  first  was  to  get  away 
from  the  sand  north  of  the  river,  as  the  cost 
would  be  excessive.  This  was  done,  as  be- 
fore described,  by  turning  the  road  sharply 
to  the  west  from  the  Northport  crossing  and 
then  continuing  along  the  south  side  of  the 
'  Burlington  track.  Then,  running  southeast 
from  Bridgeport,  the  road  was  held  as  close- 
ly to  the  river  as  practicable,  which  makes 
it  a  water  grade  road  and  at  reasonable  ex- 
pense of  building  and  upkeep. 

The  second  problem  was  to  designate  a 
road  that  would  serve  the  greatest  number 
of  people,  and  would  fill  the  demand  for 
postal  routes,  that  are  badly   needed  along 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


363 


the  south  side  of  the  valley.  These  postal 
routes  have  been  urged  for  years,  and  the 
land  along  the  proposed  routes  is  becoming 
densely  populated.  This  does  not  mean  that 
the  road  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  be- 
tween Bridgeport  and  Broadwater  will  be 
neglected,  as  it  will  be  maintained  by  the 
county,  but  it  does  mean  that  the  route  on 
the  south  side  would  serve  the  greatest 
number  of  people  at  this  time.  The  state 
and  federal  aid  is  for  roads  most  needed. 
The  commissioners  are  pledged  to  a  good 
roads  program,  and  each  district  will  receive 
attention  as  rapidly  as  possible.  It  has  been 
hard  to  find  labor  to  do  road  improving,  and 
the  county  board  has  had  to  do  the  best  it 
could.  All  roads  in  the  county  will  receive 
attention. 

The  road  from  Denver,  Sidney  and  Hal- 
ton  connects  with  this  state  and  federal  aid 
road  a  few  miles  southeast  of  Bridgeport. 
This  highway  over  the  divide  roughlv  par- 
allels the  old" Sidney-Black  Hills  trail." 

Bridgeport-Broadwater   Road 
Quite  a  lot  of  trouble  was  had   in  getting 


the  route  from  Bridgeport  to  Broadwater, 
south  of  the  river,  laid  out  for  work.  A  road 
close  to  the  river  was  wanted,  instead  of 
through  the  hills  and  this  became  accom- 
plished by  donating  of  the  right  of  way  by 
land  owners  along  the  route.  A.  W,  Atkins 
donated  over  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  right 
of  way  through  his  ranch,  and  other  land 
owners  signed  up  so  as  to  make  certain  the 
best  road. 

This  road  will  require  a  little  more  work 
at  the  beginning  than  the  road  through  the 
hills.  Twice  or  three  times  as  much  ton- 
nage can  be  hauled  in  one  load  and  the  cost 
of  hauling  thereby  materially  reduced.  It 
will  run  through  the  irrigated  section  en- 
abling travelers  to  see  the  better  lands. 

The  farming  corporation  of  Omaha  donat- 
ed some  right  of  way  and  also  subscribed 
$500  in  cash  toward  building  the  road.  The 
first  work  by  state  and  federal  aid  in  the 
county  was  on  this  road,  it  being  most  need- 
ed to  meet  demands  for  connecting  prin- 
cipal towns  of  the  county. 


CHAPTER  III 
l()\\   Till-,  LAND  CHANGED 


In  April,  1919,  Mrs.  R.  C.  Bassett  wrote 
lor  the  Ladies'  Literary  Club  and  read  at  the 
home  of  Mrs.  C.  W.  Clifton,  the  following 
allegorical  and  descriptive  story  of  the  de- 
velopment of  the  North  Platte  valley : 

"Old  Spotted  Elk  stood  on  the  brow  of 
Signal  Hill  looking  northward.  In  the  val- 
ley below,  and  in  front  of  him,  lay  the  mud- 
dy waters  of  the  North  Platte,  which 
seemed  to  broaden  cut  and  lose  themselves 
in  the  yellow  sand,  only  to  be  collected  later 
as  by  some  unseen  force,  and  to  be  swept 
swiftly  through  the  channel  where  the  banks 
narrowed.  Again  its  course  widened  ;  the 
river  spread  its  waters  over  sand  bars  and 
around  clumps  of  willows,  passing  lazily 
from  view  far  to  the  southeast. 

''Beyond  the  river  lowlands  a  broad  roll- 
ing table  seemed  to  rise  and  stretch  itself 
northward  for  miles  and  miles  to  where  a 
range  of  hills   lifted   its  purple   haze   in   the 


afternoon  sun.  The  snow  had  disappeared 
some  weeks  before,  and  now  the  valley  and 
table  land  beyond  were  green  with  grass, 
the  sage  brush  had  taken  on  a  deeper  hue. 
while  at  the  feet  of  the  old  warrior  on  the 
hilltop  bloomed  the  wild  geranium,  the  little 
Montana,  and  the  yellow  cactus  of  the  west- 
ern prairies. 

"The  old  chief  gazed  long  and  lovingly  at 
the  panorama  thus  spread  out  before  him. 
Then  turning  his  eyes  to  the  east  he  mused, 
'It  is  no  longer  for  us.  No  longer  shall  the 
brave  red  men  hunt  buffalo  over  the  hills  or 
on  the  grassy  plain.  The  white  man  comes 
to  build  houses  and  towns.  The  antelope 
will  be  gone,  and  the  sunny  hunting  ground 
be  plowed  to  raise  food  for  the  pale  face  and 
his  children.  He  comes  from  the  rising  sun. 
The  braves  of  the  once  great  tribe  are  gone, 
and  I  am  left:  I  go.'  Then  shouldering  his 
rifle,    the    old    warrior    mounted     his    little 


364 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


shaggy  mustang,  and  was  soon  wending  his 
way  up  the  valley  toward  the  northwest.  As 
he  rounded  the  last  curve  of  the  break 
through  the  hills  the  old  chief  turned  and 
gazed  behind  him.  Far  below  down  the 
river  his  trained  old  eyes  caught  sight  of  a 
half  dozen  or  more  ox-wagons  toiling  slow- 
ly up  the  valley. 

"  'The  pale  face/  the  old  warrior  mut- 
tered, and  turning  his  back  once  more,  rode 
through  the  pass,  around  the  turn,  straight 
into  the  land  of  the  setting  sun. 

"The  next  morning  a  wagon  train  consist- 
ing of  some  half  dozen  ox-wagons,  rumbled 
laboriously  along  the  Oregon  Trail  and 
wound  its  way  up  the  North  Platte  valley. 
A  halt  was  made  near  a  singular,  conical- 
shaped  phenomenon,  called  by  Washington 
Irving  'The  Chimney.' 

"Some  of  the  party  from  the  ox-wagons 
climbed  Old  Sig'nal  Hill,  and  standing  on  its 
summit  in  the  exact  place  where  Old 
Spotted  Elk  had  stood  the  evening  before, 
gazed  over  the  same  picturesque  panorama. 

"  'Let  us  stop  here,'  said  one.  'Here  is 
grass  for  our  cattle.  Why  go  further  and 
fare  worse?' 

"The  next  summer  the  hills  and  table 
lands  were  dotted  with  houses. 

"The  ranches  were  gradually  giving  way 
to  the  homesteaders,  who  flocked  here  from 
the  east,  and  thus  began  the  real  settlement 
of  the  North  Platte  valley.  Schools  were 
started,  churches  were  organized,  and  dur- 
ing this  period  of  development  the  murky 
waters  of  the  river  lay  in  basking  sunlight 
as  though  waiting  its  time. 

"Then  came  the  master  mind,  which  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  utilizing  the  Platte  and 
bringing  its  life-giving  waters  upon  the 
thirsty  fields  and  parching  plains.  Thus  was 
solved  the  problem  of  the  hot  summer 
months. 

"The  large  volume  of  water  in  the  river, 
the  wide  bottom  lands,  and  the  long,  gentle 
slopes  of  the  table  lands  afforded  ideal  con- 
ditions for  irrigation.  From  the  building  of 
the  first  irrigation  ditch  in  about  1887,  to 
the  completion  of  the  Tri-State  Ditch  in 
1911,  and  the  Government  Ditch  a  little  lat- 
er, the  country  has  developed,  step  by  step, 
until  there  are  now  some  275,000  acres  of 
land  under  irrigation  in  the  North  Platte 
valley.  This  has  been  brought  into  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  until  it  is  fast  becoming 
one  of  the  richest  sections  in  the  world." 

Soil  and  its  Production 
<  >ne  in  any  walk  of  life  finds  it  difficult  to 


write  upon  the  subject  dearest  to  his  heart, 
without  an  unconscious  boost  for  his  partic- 
ular business.  The  editor-in-chief  has  before 
him  an  excellent  article  prepared  by  A.  T. 
Seybolt  of  Bridgeport,  upon  the  subject  of 
Morrill  county  soil  and  its  production. 
While  "get  your  dollars  into  Morrill  county 
land"  is  excellent  advice,  that  is  not  histor- 
ical. History  relates  to  things  already  done, 
and  not  to  things  anticipated. 

The  Soil  Builder 

When  the  Architect  of  All  laid  down  the 
strata  of  soil  that  is  the  foundation  of  Mor- 
rill county's  agricultural  accomplishments 
and  prospects,  He  laid  the  foundation  for  a 
marvellous  history  of  productivity ;  and 
when  the  "Gering  river"  ran  westward  into 
the  inland  sea,  enduring  monuments  were 
made.  This  swiftly  moving  river  at  Chim- 
ney Rock  was  evidently  at  least  one  hundred 
forty  feet  deep,  and  the  coarser  sand  that 
settled  down  and  were  cemented  into  the 
firmer  rocks  form  that  much  of  the  spire  of 
that  wonderful  landmark  of  the  ages.  Court 
House  Rock  and  Round  House  Rock  are 
two  other  distinctive  monuments  of  that  an- 
cient river,  while  the  mighty  facades  of  the 
Wildcat  range  west  of  Court  House  Reck, 
and  the  bluffs  south  of  Broadwater  are  like- 
wise sediments  of  that  river  which  was  the 
long  ago  antecedent  of  the  great  North 
Platte. 

In  the  oxidization  of  the  rocks,  the  softer 
substances  have  "decomposed." 

Oxygen  and  hydrogen,  wonderful  invis- 
ible elements  of  the  Infinite,  are  today,  and 
as  they  have  been  for  a  million  years,  work- 
ing — working  incessantly,  penetrating  the 
hard  and  flinty  substances  of  the  earth,  and 
creating'  therefrom  the  rudiments  of  an  ex- 
cellent soil.  Never,  anywhere  in  the  wide 
world  was  there  found  anything  better.  For 
many  feet  down  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth 
are  found  stores  of  potash  to  draw  upon  as 
the  surface  soil  loses  this  vital  element 
through  crop  production.  Nature  builded 
well  and  builded  deep  the  foundations  of 
Morrill  county  agriculture. 

Morrill  county  has  vast  acres  of  irrigated 
land,  which  are  passing  from  the  larger 
holdings  into  smaller  farms,  for  it  has  been 
found — in  the  language  of  the  late  Arnold 
Martin — "Twenty  acres  is  abundant  for  any 
man,  forty  acres  is  a  calamity,  and  eighty 
acres  a  catastrophe."  Spreading  acres  de- 
velops the  muscle  but  does  not  give  the 
brain  the  wider  chance  to  expand  in  scien- 
tific production. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


365 


For  ranching,  Morrill  county  has  its  share 
of  the  great  sand  hills  and  rough  lands  suit- 
ed only  for  grazing.  And  for  the  scientific 
dry-land  farmer  there  are  wide  acres  of  up- 
land prairie,  and  table  land  of  the  highest 
quality. 

Physically,  topographically,  hydn  ►graph- 
ically, geographically,  geologically,  strati- 
graphically,  all  these  big  sounding  words 
speak  for  the  glory  of  Morrill  county.  They 
tell  of  richness  and  beauty,  and  temperate 
climes:  of  a  wonderful  past  and  undreamed 
of  future  progress  with  the  years. 

Cattle 

When  we  come  to  think  of  the  countless 
herds  of  buffalo  and  antelope  that  first 
roamed  in  this  valley ;  the  great  herds  of  the 
cattlemen  later,  and'  then  how  the  salvation 
of  the  early  settlers  came  through  turning 
their  attention  to  cattle  instead  of  grain  rais- 
ing, it  seems  useless  to  say  more  about  this 
being  a  cattle  country.  The  land  of  free 
range — the  time  when  the  cattle  roamed  the 
prairie  summer  and  winter  unrestricted — is 
past.  The  coming  cf  the  homesteader  was 
the  termination  of  the  big  rancher,  except  in 
such  cases  as  a  far-seeing  ranchman  has  ac- 
quired title  to  large  tracts  of  deeded  lands. 
Also  the  better  method,  born  of  experience, 
is  that  cattle  be  ranged  in  summer  and  fed 
in  winter.  The  cattlemen  of  old  counted 
that  it  took  from  ten  to  sixteen  acres  to 
range  a  cow  a  year,  giving  feed  both  sum- 
mer and  winter  from  the  prairie.  With  win- 
ter feeding  half  this  amount  should  be  suf- 
ficient. 

It  is  hard  to  say  just  how  much  an  irri- 
gated pasture  will  support  but,  properly 
handled,  the  best  can  be  safely  counted  on 
to  feed  two  or  three  cows  to  the  acre  during 
the  summer  season,  though  at  this  forced 
cropping  the  pasture  cannot  be  expected  to 
last.  This  is  no  drawback,  for.  in  irrigated 
farming,  crop  rotation  is  a  very  essential 
feature. 

Western  Nebraska  cattle  are  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  average  of  their  eastern 
brothers  in  regard  to  purity  of  breed. 
Thoroughbred  bulls  are  the  only  ones  used. 
The  prevailing  breeds  are  Herefords  and 
Shorthorns,  with  an  occasional  Angus  herd 
for  beef,  while  Holsteins  and  Jerseys  con- 
stitute the  dairy  herds. 

A  review  of  those  men  who  were  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  stock-raising  in  Mor- 
rill county  and  vicinity  in  the  last  score  of 
years  can  be  gleaned  in  part  from  the  lists  of 
"Brand"  registrations. 


Coote  C.  Mulloy,  Lower  Dug  Out,  Irving, 
Nebraska. 

Robert  Graham,  Cleman,  Nebraska. 

John  Hanway,  Deep  Holes,  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

R.  V.  Brown,  Cedar  Creek,  Lisco,  Ne- 
braska. 

John  King,  ten  miles  west  Angora,  An- 
gora, Nebraska. 

Olof  Lendberg,  below  Lisco,  Lisco,  Ne- 
braska. 

Emmons  Vivian,  Red  Willow,  Bayard, 
Nebraska. 

Lewis  Wilson,  Lawrence  Fork,  Lewis, 
Nebraska. 

Fred  Blaine,  Neville  Valley,  Alliance,  Ne- 
braska. 

Thos.  Roberts  &  Son,  Wild  Horse,  Bay- 
ard, Nebraska. 

Wm.  Lisco,  N.  Platte  in  Garden  and  Mor- 
rill counties,  Oshkosh,  Nebraska. 

J.  E.  Trinnier,  Greenwood,  Simla,  Ne- 
braska. 

Lew  Finn,  Deep  Holes,  Bridgeport,  Ne- 
braska. 

Steve  Petty,  south  of  Storm  Lake,  Cle- 
man, Nebraska. 

Henry  Clarke,  Pumpkin  Creek,  Bridge- 
port, Nebraska. 

Wm.  M.  Willard,  Court  House  Rock, 
Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

I.  N.  Ware,  Indian  Creek,  Bridgeport,  Ne- 
braska. 

E.  A.  Cooper.  Lower  Dug  Out,  Irving, 
Nebraska. 

Bern  Hutchinson.  Court  House  Rock, 
Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Smith  Brothers,  4  P.  Ranch,  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

Anthony  Johnson,  north  of  Lisco,  Irving, 
Nebraska. 

J.  W.  Bowersock,  Lower  Dug  Out,  Irv- 
ing, Nebraska. 

Ed.   Porter,   Bridgeport,    Nebraska. 

F.  W\  Smith,  Indian  Creek,  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

J.  W.  Ricedorff,  Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Art  Oliver,  Bird  Cage  to  North  River, 
Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

N.  W.  Elter,  Pumpkin  Creek,  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

Iddings  Brothers,  Deep  Moles,  Bridge- 
port. Nebraska. 

J.  P.  Holloway,  Court  House  Rock, 
Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Whitman  Brothers,  Camp  Clark,  Bridge- 
port, Nebraska. 

A.  W.  Atkins.  Camp  Creek  or  Lower 
Deep  Holes,  Sidney,  Nebraska. 


366 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN*  NEBRASKA 


W.  L.  Ayer,  Deep  Holes.  Bridgeport.  Ne-  Andy    Hansen,    mouth    of    Plum    Creek, 

braska.  Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Gust    Mittlestadt,    Camp    Clark,    Bridge-  C.  W.  Sixberry,  Chimney  Rock,   Bayard, 

port,  Nebraska.  Nebraska. 

Frank  Putman,  Alliance.  Nebraska.  J.  C.  Foster,  22-44,  Lakeside,  Nebraska. 

Jos.  Hutchinson,  Pumpkin  Creek.  Bridge-  R.  F.  Durnall,  Bayard.  Nebraska, 

port,  Nebraska.  Wm.    T.    McKelvey.    Redington    Gap    to 

Carl  Wagoner,  Cedar  Creek,  Irving,   Ne-  Chimney  Rock,  Bayard,  Nebraska, 

braska.  E.  S.  Crigler.  south  of  Redington.  Reding- 

M.  C.  Hubble,  22-45,  five  miles  north  Or-  ton,  Nebraska. 

lando.  Orlando,  Nebraska.  Sam    Oliver,    Bird    Cage    to    No.    River, 

J.   I).    Hagerty,  Fire   Guard   and   Brown's  Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Creek.  Bridgeport,  Nebraska.  P.  C.  Wade,  east  of  Oak  Creek,  Lisco.  Ne- 

Jas.  Millet,  below  Lisco,  Lisco.  Nebraska,  braska. 


Lewis  M.  Meyers,  Cedar  Creek,  Lisco, 
Nebraska. 

P.  C.  Laing.  Brown's  Creek,  Irving,  Ne- 
braska. 

Frank  Bull's,  Court  House  Rock,  Bridge- 
port, Nebraska. 

Clyde  Meglemre,  Greenwood,  Bridgeport. 
Nebraska. 

Abe  Hutchinson,  Alliance,  Nebraska. 

W.  C.  Dugger,  Middle  Creek.  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

Mac  Radcliff,  Cedar  Creek,  Sidney,  Ne- 
braska. 

Rush  Creek  Land  &  Live  Stock  Company, 
Rush  Creek  and  No.  Platte  river,  Lodgepole. 
Nebraska. 

W.  W.  Belden.  Middle  Creek  and  Green- 
wood, Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Covalt  &  Sons,  Storm  Lake  and  N.  Platte 
river,  Cleman,  Nebraska. 

W.  C.  Brown,  Camp  Lake,  Alliance.  Ne- 
braska. 

W.  C.  Thompson,  Camp  Lake,  Alliance, 
Nebraska. 

White  &  Riley,  Camp  Clarke.  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

John  Hall,  east  of  Camp  Creek.  Lisco,  Ne- 
braska. 

F.  E.  LaMore,  Deep  Holes,  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

Hannawald  &  Sons,  Camp  Clarke,  Bridge- 
port. Nebraska. 

Feagins  &  Feagins,  Camp  Lake.  Cleman, 
Nebraska. 

\".  M.  Clough,  near  Lisco,  Lisco,  Ne- 
braska. 

Frank  Irving.  Brown's  Creek.  Irving,  Ne- 
braska. 

Ben  H.  Pusey,  Irving,  Nebraska. 

Warren  Coulter,  Pumpkin  Creek,  Reding- 
ton. Nebraska. 

Burke  Brothers.  Bird  Cage  to  No.  River, 
Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

II.  B.  Hopkins,  Greenwood,  Redington, 
Nebraska. 


Robert  McConnell,  Deep  Holes  and  Mud 
Springs,  Simla,  Nebraska. 

John  Nunn,  Round  House  Rock.  Bridge- 
port, Nebraska. 

John  Scherer,  Mud  Springs,  Simla,  Ne- 
braska. 

R.  Swanger,  Pumpkin  Creek,  Bridgeport. 
Nebraska. 

Eric  Lif,  below  Lisco,  Lisco,  Nebraska. 

Dunn  Brothers,  Fire  Guard,  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

G.  J.  Hunt,  Pumpkin  and  Cedar  Creek, 
Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Fred  Lindberg,  Lawrence  Rock,  Reding- 
ton, Nebraska. 

Jerry  Finn,  Deep  Holes,  Bridgeport,  Ne- 
braska. 

William  Mount,  Bridgeport.  Nebraska. 

A.  M.  Capron,  Greenwood,  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

W.  H.  Willis,  between  Indian  Creek  and 
Red  Willow,  Bridgeport,  Nebraska: 

Chas.  Logan,  Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

C.  C.  Nelson,  Greenwood,  Simla.  Ne- 
braska. 

Miller  Robinson,  Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Jas.  Finn,  Pumpkin  Creek.  Bridgeport. 
Nebraska. 

H.  T.  Dean,  Greenwood  and  Pumpkin 
Creek,  Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

J.  H.  Clawges,  Deep  Holes  and  Camp 
Creek,  Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Hazen  Chase,  Middle  Creek  and  Green- 
wood, Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Geo.  Haxby,  Brown's  Creek,  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

Elsas  &  Sons,  Fire  Guard.  Bridgeport,  Ne- 
braska. 

Beerline  Brothers,  Brown's  Creek,  Irving, 
Nebraska. 

Arthur  North.  Deep  Holes.  Pisco.  Ne- 
braska. 

Toole  Brothers,  Gutch  Creek,  Bridgeport. 
Nebraska. 

Jas.  Lafolett.   Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


367 


A.  J.  Alby,  Deep  Holes,  Bridgeport,  Ne- 
braska. 

Henry  Bartling,  .Middle  Creek,  Reding- 
ton,  Nebraska. 

Wm.  Stilwill,  Range  Camp  Creek,  Lisco, 
Nebraska. 

Chas.  Endsley,  Middle  Water,  Redington, 
Nebraska. 

Fred  Lisco,  Morrill  and  Garden  counties, 
Lisco,  Nebraska. 

Asa  Remsburg,  north  of  Lisco,  Lisco,  Ne- 
braska. 

L.  R.  North,  Deep  Holes  and  Cedar  Creek. 
Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Pat  Rowlan,  Fire  Guard,  Irving,  Ne- 
braska. 

C.  H.  Anderson.  Cedar  Creek,  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

Robert  Walsh.  Lower  Dug  Out,  Irving. 
Nebraska. 

Willis  Land  &  Cattle  Co..  Camp  Clarke, 
Bridgeport.  Nebraska. 

Adam   Waggy,   Lee's   Creek.   Irving,    Ne- 

John  Seslar,  No.  Four  P.  Creek,  Bridge- 
port, Nebraska. 

Ed.  North,  Cedar  Creek.  Lisco,  Nebraska. 

Mrs.  M.  A.  Ware,  below  Lisco,  Lisco.  Ne- 
braska. 

Jacob  Eckert  &  Son,  Ickes,  Nebraska. 

E.  B.  Polley,  Pumpkin  Creek.  Redington. 
Nebraska. 

White  &  Duncan,  vicinity  of  Camp  Clarke, 
Camp  Clarke,  Nebraska. 

George  Rouse,  Bratton  Creek.  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

A  number  of  these  have  now  passed  cut 
of  existence,  or  have  been  absorbed  and  con- 
solidated. 

Sheep  Raising  and  Lamb  Fattening 
In  the  hills  to  the  south,  the  mountains  to 
the  west,  and  the  sand  hills  to  the  northwest 
is  good,  cheap  range  for  grazing  sheep — 
North  Platte  Valley  land  is  worth'  entirely 
too  much  for  this  purpose.  A  few  years  ago 
large  numbers  of  sheep  and  lambs  were  win- 
tered and  fattened  here.  For  a  number  of 
years,  other  markets,  including  the  con- 
structors of  the  government  and  Tri-state 
canals,  have  made  a  demand  on  the  hay 
crop.  An  old  sheep  feeder's  advice  is.  "If 
you  have  never  fed  sheep,  try  old  ewes  first 
for  a  year  or  two ;  then  if  you  succeed  you 
can  rest  assured  that  you  will  make  good 
money  at  lamb  feeding."  Lamb  feeding, 
like  chicken  raising,  is  something  that  all 
will  not  succeed  at.  but  some  of  our  feeders 
make  good  money  at  it.  while  spending  most 


of  their  time  in  Omaha  and  hiring  all  of  the 
work  done.  Alfalfa  hay  and  speltz  make  a 
good  lamb  fattening  ration.  It  is  a  high 
grade  line  of  thoroughbred  sheep  to  be 
found  here.  A  half  dozen  sheep  worth  $500 
to  $1,000  can  be  found  on  more  than  one 
sheep  ranch. 

Hog  Raising  and  Poultry 
Not  many  people,  as  yet,  have  engaged  in 
this  occupation.  This  was  a  hog  raising 
rather  than  a  hog  fattening  country;  it  paid 
better  at  first  to  grow  the  hogs  here  and 
then  ship  them  to  the  corn  belt  to  fatten. 
This  is  an  ideal  country  for  the  bacon  type 
of  hog.  Hogs  will  live  from  early  spring  to 
late  in  the  fall  upon  the  alfalfa  pasture,  and 
brood  sows  have  been  wintered  on  the  al- 
falfa hay  with  good  results.  Pigs  farrowed 
in  early  spring  can  be  turned  off  in  the  fall 
weighing  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hun- 
dred pounds,  with  little  expense,  by  raising 
on  alfalfa  pasture  and  supplementing  this  in 
the  early  fall  with  sugar  beets,  and  possibly 
a  little  grain.  Hog  raising  here  is  not  ham- 
pered with  the  risks  common  to  many  local- 
ities. In  the  last  few  years  several  have  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  raising  pedigreed 
breeding  stock  and  it  bids  fair  to  be  a  better 
paying  business  than  raising  hogs  for  the 
feeding  market.  There  are  about  6,000  hogs 
in  Morrill  county. 

Dairying 
Although  this  has  been  a  cattle  country 
for  years,  little  in  the  way  of  dairying  has 
been  done,  it  being  the  old  practice  of  the 
beef  growing  rancher  to  buy  all  his  butter  in 
town.  Dairying  is  too  confining,  has  too 
much  work  attached  to  it,  to  suit  the  habits 
of  the  old  style  cattle  men.  They  also  main- 
tained the  extra  milk  going  to  calves  made 
better  calves.  The  high,  dry  atmosphere, 
warm  winters,  cool  summer  nights,  and  lux- 
uriant feed  makes  this  an  ideal  dairy  coun- 
try. Those  who  are  going  into  it  are  mak- 
ing- money,  and  lots  of  it.  There  is  no  rea- 
son, if  we  can  have  the  buttermakers.  why 
North  Platte  valley  will  not  have  a  national 
reputation  for  its  excellent  butter.  Several 
farmers  have  their  entire  output  contracted 
by  the  year.  Others  ship  their  cream,  there 
being  receiving  stations  at  all  of  the  railroad 
towns. 

Poultry 

A  number  of  years  ago  eggs  sold  at  "four 
dozen  for  a  quarter."  They  have  never  been 
less  than  fifteen  cents  since  the  construction 


368 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


of  the  railroad  into  the  valley  in  1899.  They 
have  steadily  advanced  and  have  ranged  up- 
ward from  fifty  cents  a  dozen  for  many 
years.  The  hens  have  not  gone  on  a  strike. 
It  is  a  case  where  they  cannot  keep  up  with 
the  demand,  a  thing  which  will  never  be 
done  until  we  get  more  people  willing  to 
make  big  money  doing  small  things.  The 
irrigationist  and  cattle  man  considers  his 
time  too  valuable  to  devote  attention  to  such 
a  trivial  affair  as  poultry.  Poultry  raising  is 
just  the  thing  to  couple  with  dry  farming  on 
a  homestead.  Turkeys  are  easily  raised  and 
are  quite  profitable  where  one  has  sufficient 
range  for  them  without  bothering  the  neigh- 
bors. Farm  women  and  ranch  women,  how- 
ever busy,  do  find  time  for  handling  some 
poultry,  and  numbers  of  them  regularly  have 
an  income  from  "the  national  bird"  at 
Thanksgiving  time,  and  another  at  Christ- 
mas time. 

Morrill  county,  according  to  assessment 
rolls,  has  about  twenty  thousand  domestic 
fowls,  the  number  of  chickens  being  vastly 
predominate. 

Horses 

There  was  a  time  when  the  horse  of  the 
plains  country  was  the  Indian  pony  and  the 
broncho.  This  is  not  the  case  in  the  central 
and  upper  North  Platte  Valley,  though  the 
little  horse  is  still  found  in  the  lower  valley. 
The  common  weight  of  draft  horses  is  four- 
teen to  sixteen  hundred.  Twelve  to  thirteen 
hundred  is  not  an  uncommon  weight  for 
saddle  and  buggy  use.  The  larger  horse 
ranches  own  their  own  breeding  stock  and 
the  smaller  fanners  band  themselves  to- 
gether into  stock  companies  and  import  high 
priced  stallions  direct  from  Europe.  There 
are  also  most  excellent  horses  in  private 
ownership.  Here  the  scrub  and  grade  stal- 
lion is  almost  unknown.  For  the  last  few 
years  horses  have  been  in  demand  at  good 
figures,  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  dol- 
lars being  not  an  uncommon  price  for  a 
work  team.  But  few  mules  are  raised  here. 
A  great  many  eastern  people  have  the  idea 
that  a  brand  on  a  horse  is  the  sign  of  an  out- 
law, or  broncho  or  pony  stock.  This  is  no 
longer  true.  In  North  Platte  valley  can  be 
found  thoroughbred  Xorman  horses,  import- 
ed direct  from  Europe,  wearing  brands.  The 
brand  is  a  sign  of  ownership  and  not  "the 
wild  and  woolly  west." 


Whether  housed  in 
of  the   urban    dwellei 


S    AM)    I  IoNEY 

e  restricted 


acres  of  the  farmer,  the  North  Platte  valley 
bee  is  the  same  untiring,  industrious  worker. 
The  vast  fields  of  alfalfa  and  sweet  clover, 
the  Rocky  Mountain  bee  plant  growing  in 
waste  places  and  along  the  roadside,  and  the 
profusion  of  flowers  on  field,  farm,  or  the 
unbroken  prairie  make  honey  gathering  an 
easy  task.  This  honey  is  beautiful  and  clear, 
with  a  delicate,  mild,  sweet  flavor.  The 
comb  is  light  colored  and  the  strong  "bees- 
wax" taste  so  common  to  eastern  honey,  is 
entirely  absent.  One  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  of  hone}-  is  not  an  unusual  output 
for  one  hive.  In  a  single  season,  besides 
swarming  twice  and  laying  up  an  ample  sup- 
ply for  their  use,  one  hive  has  furnished  one 
hundred  and  thirty-four  pounds  of  market- 
able hone}-.  Many  farmers  have  twenty-five 
or  more  swarms  and  a  few  have  hives  run- 
ning up  around  the  two  hundred  mark. 

Frank  Durnell,  living  near  Bayard,  had 
from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  hives  a 
recent  year.  As  each  hive  contains  about 
22,000  bees,  Mr.  Durnell's  army  of  industri- 
ous workers  numbered  millions.  He  pro- 
duced about  eighteen  gallons  of  strained 
honey  annually  from  the  larger  hives.  One 
year  from  seventy-five  hives  he  produced 
5,400  quarts  of  strained  honey,  or  seventy- 
two  quarts  per  hive.  In  addition  one  hun- 
dred hives  of  bees  in  the  spring  under  nor- 
mal conditions  should  produce  two  hundred 
new  colonies,  although  scientific  handling 
will  control  that  to  some  extent. 

Alfalfa 

Alfalfa  is  to  the  irrigated  Morrill  county 
what  the  cocoanut  palm  is  to  the  tropics — 
food  and  drink  and  raiment.  There  are 
crops  paying  more  to  the  acre,  there  are 
crops  requiring  less  labor,  there  are  crops 
requiring  less  time  to  give  return,  but  there 
is  net  another  crop  that  will  stand  by  the 
farmer  year  in  and  year  out,  giving  him 
compound  interest  on  the  labor  invested, 
and  returning  the  soil  doubly  enriched  like 
alfalfa.  Alfalfa  is  sowed  either  spring  or  fall 
at  the  rate  of  twelve  to  fifteen  pounds  to  the 
acre. 

Spring  sowing  is  either  with  or  without  a 
nurse  crop.  While  young  it  is  a  tender 
plant,  but  after  the  first  season  it  will  look 
after  itself.  Spring  sowing  gives  one  light 
crop  the  first  year.  Under  irrigation  it  gives 
three  to  four  cuttings  in  the  season,  yielding 
three  to  five  tons  of  cured  hay  to  the  acre. 

The  rainfall  is  such  that  all  of  the  hay,  un- 
less it  be  a  part  of  the  first  crop,  can  be  cut 
and   put   into   the   stack   with    little   fear   of 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN'  NEBRASKA 


,V,o 


damage  from  rains,  coming  from  the  stack 
at  feeding  time  as  bright  and  green  as  when 
cut.  The  first  cutting  is  best  for  horses,  the 
second  and  third  for  cattle  and  sheep,  and 
the  fourth  for  milk  cows,  hog  feeding  and 
lamb  fattening.  All  farm  animals  are  fond 
of  it.  It  makes  good  green  pasture  for  hogs 
and  horses,  but  as  green  pasture  it  is  not  the 
best  for  cattle  and  sheep  owing  to  the  liabil- 
ity of  causing  bloat  the  same  as  clover.  Ne- 
braska grown  alfalfa  seed  is  gaining  an  en- 
viable reputation  for  purity  and  excellence. 
Under  irrigation  it  is  not  a  sure  seed  crop- 
per, though  the  second  year  is  liable  to  pro- 
duce seed  of  more  value  than  that  of  the 
land  upon  which  it  is  grown.  Eight  to  ten 
bushels  (480  to  600  pounds)  is  considered  a 
good  seed  crop,  fourteen  to  sixteen  bushels 
are  not  unusual,  and  as  high  as  eighteen  has 
been  been  reported.  Owing  to  its  use  in  the 
arts  the  price  of  seed  is  not  liable  to  fall  be- 
low fifteen  cents,  and  has  reached  thirty 
cents  for  choice  North  Platte  valley  grown 
seed.  Dry  land  farmers  are  learning  that 
while  the  3-ield  is  not  so  great  with  them  as 
under  irrigation,  it  is  a  surer  seed  crop.  Un- 
der dry  farming  the  most  successful  seed 
growers  plant  the  alfalfa  in  rows  and  culti- 
vate the  same  as  other'crops.  Alfalfa  seed 
weighs  sixty  pounds  to  the  bushel. 

Grain  Crops 
Oats,  spelts,  wheat,  rye  and  small  grains 
generally  are  wonderful  producers  and 
profitable  crops.  Corn  recently  has  come  in 
for  a  reasonable  amount  of  attention.  The 
latter  is  not  always  harvested  in  the  regular 
way.  Hogs  and  sheep  have  been  found  to 
be  excellent  corn  harvesters. 

Vegetables 

Potatoes,  or  "spuds,"  lead  all  others  com- 
bined in  quantity  and  importance,  although 
cabbage  was  early  a  commercial  crop.  Re- 
cently pickles  ( or  cucumbers )  have  been 
grown  for  the  Heinz  people.  Onions  have 
been  produced  on  a  limited  scale.  They 
yield  several  hundred  bushels  per  acre,  and 
are  usually  of  a  high  market  value. 

Other  Crops 
The  homesteader  has  found  sorghum  and 
millet  profitable  forage  crops.  The  season  is 
too  short  for  kaffir  corn  to  ripen.  Sorghum 
making  has  been  tried  here.  The  finest  kind 
of  sorghum  molasses  was  the  result  but 
frost  is  liable  to  cut  the  milling  season  short. 
Beans  yield  heavily  both  with  and  without 
irrigation.      This    seems    to    be    the    natural 


home  of  everything  of  the  pea  and  bean  fam- 
ily. Carrots  make  a  good  crop.  No  country 
ever  raised  finer  turnips.  Along  the  line  of 
garden  and  truck  farming  nut  so  much  is 
known,  but  there  is  no  reason  why  the  farm- 
er should  not  keep  his  table  well  supplied 
with  home-grown  vegetables.  Watermel- 
ons, squashes,  pumpkins  and  tomatoes  pro- 
duce mammoth  yields.  Now  that  there  is  a 
tendency  toward  intensified  farming  it  is 
probable  that  many  crops  heretofore  untried 
will  prove  to  be  money-makers.  As  a  crop 
producing  section  Morrill  county  is  yet  in  its 
infancy. 

Fruits 

It  has  been  the  prevailing  idea  that  this  is 
not  a  fruit  country.  We  can  remember 
when  the  prospects  of  eastern  Nebraska  be- 
ing a  fruit  country  was  far  more  discourag- 
ing than  that  of  Morrill  county.  From  the 
writer's  observations  and  experiences  many 
fruits  are  excellent  producers.  It  will  not  be 
long  before  we  will  have  canning  factories 
.putting  up  strawberries,  currants,  raspber- 
ries, mulberries,  cherries  and  plums.  And 
in  their  season  the  same  factories  will  make 
a  market  for  large  quantities  of  beans,  peas, 
and  sweet  corn.  The  honest  nursery  man 
will  nut  advise  planting  a  vineyard  with  any 
of  the  now  known  varieties  of  grapes,  owing 
to  the  season  being  too  short  for  them  to 
properly  mature,  but  there  is  no  telling  how 
soon  a  grape  maturing  two  weeks  earlier 
may  be  found.  This  may  never  be  the  land 
of  the  commercial  orchardist,  but  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  average  farmer  should  not 
grow  all  the  tree  fruit  needed  for  his  own 
use  cheaper  than  it  can  be  imported.  One 
trouble  with  fruit  trees  under  irrigation  is 
that  if  given  all  the  water  they  can  use  they 
continue  growing  until  late  in  the  fall  with- 
out maturing  up  the  season's  growth,  and 
the  result  is  the  green  wood  winterkills. 
This  can  be  overcome  by  proper  attention 
to  the  watering. 

Sugar  Beet  Culture 

When  II.  G.  Leavitt  came  into  the  North 
Platte  valley,  one  of  his  prime  purposes  was 
the  establishment  of  sugar  beet  culture. 
This  included  Morrill  county  territory  1  then 
a  part  of  Cheyenne  county)  in  the  tests. 
Sugar  beets  were  raised  and  shipped  to 
Ames,  where  the  factory  was  located.  The 
price  then  paid  was  five  dollars  per  ton. 

This  demonstration,  while  proving  the 
tonnage  and  sugar  content  tc  the  extent  that 
we  now  have  factories  here,  met  with  disas- 


370 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ter ;  the  Ames  factory  went  broke,  and  the 
farmers  realized  but  a  small  amount  of  the 
money.  From  that  beginning-  the  largest 
single  industry  in  the  North  Platte  valley 
exists. 

The  Great  Western  Sugar  Company  has 
four  factories  in  operation  in  the  valley,  one 
of  which  cost  approximately  two  million  dol- 
lars is  within  Morrill  county  at  the  city  of 
Bayard.  This  is  one  of  the  newest  type  and 
strictly  up-to-date  mills.  It  turns  out  annu- 
ally almost  enough  sugar  to  feed  the  entire 
state  of  Nebraska.  In  round  numbers,  the 
county  produced  a  quarter  of  a  million  tons 
of  beets  in  1920,  for  which  the  farmer  re- 
ceived three  million  dollars,  and  from  which 
the  factory  made  about  eight  hundred  thou- 
sand bags  of  refined  sugar,  or  something  like 
sixty-five  pounds  for  every  man.  woman  and 
child  in  the  state.  The  pre-war  consumption 
of  sugar  was  an  average  of  eighty  pounds, 
but  it  has  fallen  below  that  since  the  habit 
of  curtailing  the  appetite  for  sweets  was  en- 
forced by  war. 

Morrill  county's  part  in  the  sugar  produc- 
tion of  the  North  Platte  valley  is  approx- 
imately one-fourth  of  the  whole.  While  def- 
inite figures  are  given  out  by  the  company, 
there  is  more  or  less  criss-crossing  of  the 
production  at  the  different  factories  and  be- 
tween the  different  counties.  For  illustra- 
tion, beets  raised  on  the  line  of  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad  in  Morrill  county  were  in 
part  at  least  reduced  to  sugar  in  the  factory 
at  Gering.  Scotts  Bluff  county,  while  beet's 
raised  in  a  part  of  Scotts  Bluff  county  are 
sent  to  Bayard  in  Morrill  county  for  reduc- 
tion to  sugar.  Then  certain  portions  of  the 
syrups  that  cannot  be  treated  at  the  Bayard 
and  Gering  factories  are  sent  to  the  Scotts- 
bluff,  Scotts  Bluff  county,  factory,  which  in- 
stitution has  a  specially  constructed  adjunct 
to  the  mill,  called  a  StefBns  process,  by 
which  sugar  can  be  reduced  from  syrups 
that  would  otherwise  not  be  saved. 

Minerals 

It  is  a  fond  hope,  based  upon  seme  geolog- 
ical soundness  of  theory,  that  there  must  be 
mineral  deposits  in  parts  of  Nebraska. 

The  possibilities  cover  a  wide  range.  J.  B. 
Lynch,  of  Bridgeport,  made  an  extended  re- 
search of  Morrill  county  and  arrived  at  a 
conclusion  "that  valuable  mineral  deposits 
here  were  being  overlooked :  aluminum,  vol- 
canis  ash,  gypsum,  and  glass  sand  deposits." 
He  advances  that : 

"Granite,  gneiss,  and  volcanic  rocks  de- 
compose, setting  free  feldspar  in  finely  pul- 


verized form — this  is  clay.  Variations  in 
composition  of  specimens  show  portions  of 
silicate  of  potash,  or  scda,  or  small  quanti- 
ties of  lime,  or  iron. 

Aluminum  oxide,  crystalized  in  nature, 
forms  oriental  gems.  They  are  variously 
colored  by  the  oxide,  blue  in  sapphire,  green 
in  emerald,  yellow  in  topaz,  red  in  rub}'. 
Massive  impure  beds  and  magnetic  iron  ap- 
proximating emery  and  used  for  polishing. 
are  here. 

"There  are  small  deposits  of  drab  colored 
clay  in  the  silt  of  the  river  bed,  and  in  below 
the  gumbo  deposit  in  our  town  soil,  and  this 
is  very  rich  in  aluminum.  Besides  the  above 
mentioned  clay,  there  are  harder  formations 
in  the  uplands  and  in  the  brakes. 

"A  great  possibility  for  some  enterprise  is 
in  our  deposits  of  white  sand  which  is  valu- 
able in  making  glass  for  windows  and  bot- 
tles.    Glass  is  composed  of  sand  and  soda. 

"We  have  deposits  of  gypsum  a  short  dis- 
tance from  town,  which  make  a  superior 
wall  builder  used  as  plaster  with  four  to  six 
parts  sand,  like  mixtures  of  stucco.  Stucco 
costs  now  about  one  dollar  a  hundred 
pounds,  while  gypsum  should  not  cost  over 
twenty  cents. 

"We  have  fine  deposits  of  volcanic  ash. 
ready  to  be  made  into  scouring  compounds. 

"Our  alkali  white  which  can  be  scraped 
up  off  the  ground  is  largely  washing  soda 
(soda  carbonate)  and  when  it  is  tinged  with 
yellow  or  brown  it  is  owing  to  the  presence 
of  vegetable  matter  destroyed  by  another 
carbonate  of  potash. 

"Our  exports  will  include  the  following  in 
a  short  time  if  the  right  men  wake  up  and 
utilize  nature's  gifts : 

"Glass  for  windows,  bottles  and  table- 
ware. 

"Baking  soda,  washing  sc-da,  scouring 
soaps  and  chemical  cleaners  made  of  caustic 
soda.  Dry  batteries,  aluminum  ware,  brick, 
and  artificial  stone. 

"Who  has  the  Midas  touch  to  turn  these 
known  natural  resources  into  gold?" 

The  enthusiasm  of  this  expert,  and  his 
conclusions  which  were  announced  in  191Q. 
have  not  up  to  this  date  (March,  1921)  in- 
spired the  man  with  the  Midas  touch. 

(  >u.  and  Gas 

Drilling  for  oil  and  gas  in  Morrill  county 
is  not  yet  undertaken,  although  unmistak- 
able evidences  of  "deformations"  appear. 
Three  parts  of  the  county  show  signs  of  "a 
structure." 

The  depth  will  likely  be  great  owing  to 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


the  covering"  depositions  of  tertiary  and  re- 
cent age.  Drilling  in  Banner  county,  in 
Sioux  county,  and  the  Goshen  Holes  have 
demonstrated  the  presence  of  oil-bearing 
rocks,  although  the  drill  has  not  yet  pen- 
etrated a  paying"  pool. 

Recent  blasting"  in  the  construction  of  the 
government  irrigation  canal  north  toward 
Angora,  opened  up  a  small  pocket  of  natural 
gas,  which  experts  believe  is  a  leak  from  a 
larger  pool,  perhaps  some  distance  away. 

Morrill  County  Farm  Bureau 

The  Morrill  County  Farm  Bureau  was 
established  in  1918.  Mr.  Comb  was  the  first 
county  agent  and  served  three  years.  He 
then  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  Geo.  R. 
Schroll,  starting  February  1,  1921. 

The  State  Farm  Bureau  drive  was  sched- 
uled for  March,  1921.  Farm  bureau  work  in 
Morrill  county  soon  became  popular. 

Some  of  the  projects  inaugurated  and  car- 
ried on  by  this  agency  have  been  grasshop- 
per control,  in  which  poison  bait  was  used 
with  results  satisfactory,  saving  crops  of 
value  of  thousands  of  dollars.  The  eradica- 
tion of  prairie  dogs,  in  which  work  the  coun- 
ty was  nearly  covered.  Preliminary  work  in 
gopher  control.  The  control  of  potato  bugs 
and  web  worms  with  good  results  and  sav- 
ing a  large  amount  of  crop. 

Disease  control  for  animals.  The  bureau 
encouraged    vaccination    for    blackleg"    with 


serum,  which  has  now  become  a  general 
practice  and  results  have  been  100%.  Vac- 
cination to  prevent  hog  cholera  in  which  two 
outbreaks  started  and  both  were  checked. 
Many  demonstrations  made,  advice  given  as 
to  seed  treatment  for  potatoes,  wheat  and 
oats. 

Some  of  the  constructive  projects  have 
been,  potatoes,  variety  tests,  seed  trials, 
marketing  problems  worked  upon,  culminat- 
ing in  a  potato  exchange.  Trees  ;  introduc- 
tion of  new  varieties  attempted  as  to  Chi- 
nese elm,  pines,  orchard  and  landscape  work. 

Bees ;  an  association  formed  and  bee  in- 
spector appointed. 

Stock  improvement,  encouraging  better 
sires. 

<  )ther  problems  worked  on  have  related  to 
farm  records,  labor,  exchange,  irrigation  and 
drainage,  seed  testing,  introduction  of  new- 
varieties  of  grain  and  forage. 

State  and  county  exhibits. 

During  these  three  years  crops  have  been 
good.  This  county  surprises  people  from 
the  east  by  the  quality  of  corn  and  its  sure- 
ness  to  ripen.  Winter  wheat  is  taking  the 
place  of  spring  wheat.  The  potato  industry 
is  developing,  and  an  effort  made  to  get 
quality  acreage  of  the  same  increased. 

In  irrigation,  government  extension  will 
add  15,000  additional  acres  under  ditch, 
bringing  amount  of  irrigated  land  to  near 
100,000  "acres. 


CHAPTER  IV 
GOVERNMENT  IRRIGATION 


A  short  history  of  the  general  subject  of 
government  irrigation  and  the  inception  of 
the  various  projects  in  western  Nebraska, 
and  near  the  Wyoming  border  which  laid 
the  foundation  for  the  later  enterprises  that 
have  been  or  are  being  projected  in  Morrill 
county. 

The  first  irrigation  in  America,  except  by 
pre-historic  peoples,  was  by  the  Spanish  in 
Xew  Mexico.  The  Mormons,  after  1847. 
practiced  it  extensively  in  Utah.  In  the 
early  fifties  Germans  from  San  Francisco 
established  the  colony  of  Anaheim,  building 
a  canal  and  cutting  the  farms   into  20-acre 


tracts.  The  colony  was  successful.  In  1870 
the  Flurierism  colony,  promoted  by  Horace 
Greeley,  began  the  first  irrigation  in  Colo- 
rado. From  these  efforts  Greeley,  Colorado, 
has  come  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  example 
of  what  irrigation  will  do.  In  the  early  sev- 
enties, the  government  post  at  Sidney  built 
a  small  irrigation  system. 

In  1871  the  Riverside,  California,  colony 
and  canal  were  established.  Today  this  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in  the  world, 
and  land  has  an  enormous  value.  These 
were  the  earliest  irrigation  projects,  and 
from  them  the  irrigation  idea  spread  over  a 


37: 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


wide  area.  Many  canals  were  built  by  co- 
operative efforts  of  people  under  them  and 
outside  capital,  but  most  of  the  land  subject 
to  irrigation  remained  unclaimed  govern- 
ment land. 

Major  John  Wesley  Powell,  United  States 
Geological  Survey,  William  E.  Smythe,  of 
California  ;  John  Hall,  of  Texas  ;  John  Henry 
Smith,  of  Utah;  C.  E.  Brainard,  of  Idaho; 
L.  Bradford  Prince,  of  New  Mexico,  can  be 
looked  upon  as  the  prime  movers  in  govern- 
ment irrigation.  During  1891  while  em- 
ployed on  the  Omaha  Bee  as  editor,  Mr. 
Smythe  wrote  articles  resulting  in  a  state 
irrigation  convention  at  Lincoln,  which  laid 
the  first  steps  toward  a  National  Irrigation 
Congress,  the  first  one  held,  which  convened 
a  few  months  later  at  Salt  Lake  City.  The 
first  idea  advocated,  which  resulted  in  the 
Gary  Act  of  1894,  was  that  the  government 
should  turn  its  land  over  to  the  respective 
states  en  condition  that  the  state  would  ar- 
range for  watering  it.  Some  of  the  states, 
notably  Idaho  and  Wyoming,  have  taken 
advantage  of  this  act.  Owing  to  the  neces- 
sity of  diverting  water  from  the  river  in  one 
state  in  order  to  water  the  lands  in  another, 
the  idea  of  federal  government  irrigation  be- 
gan to  grow  popular  among  the  arid  states 
with  interstate  streams.  Many  bills  were 
introduced  into  congress  appropriating 
money  for  irrigation,  only  to  be  voted  down 
by  the  east  and  south.  At  last  Senator  New- 
lands,  of  Nevada,  solved  the  problem,  and 
introduced  a  bill  providing  that  the  net  pro- 
ceeds of  the  sale  of  public  lands  should  be 
used  for  irrigation  works  in  the  respective 
states.  This  bill  first  failed  to  pass,  and  it 
is  possible  that  the  attempt  at  national  ir- 
rigation would  have  failed  had  it  not  been 
for  President  Roosevelt,  who,  from  personal 
acquaintance,  knew  the  needs  of  the  west 
and  became  an  ardent  supporter  of  govern- 
ment irrigation.  The  act  authorizing  the 
present  reclaimation  work  was  approved 
June  17,  1902.  This  act  places  the  control 
of  government  irrigation  in  the  hands  of  the 
secretary  of  the  interior,  who  is  having  the 
work  carried  forward  by  the  Reclamation 
Service.  Already  twenty-five  projects  have 
been  considered.  Some  are  completed, 
others  in  building,  and  owing  to  the  exces- 
sive cost  of  these  the  remainder  are  indef- 
initely postponed. 

North  Platte  Project 

This  project  comprises  all  of  the  govern- 
ment reclamation  work  on  North  Platte 
river,    extending   from    about    the    town    of 


Broadwater,  Nebraska,  on  the  east,  to  the 
point  where  the  river  unites  with  the  Sweet- 
water, in  the  state  of  Wyoming.  This  pro- 
ject is  divided  into  the  following  sub-pro- 
jects: Pathfinder  reservoir  and  dam,  on  the 
river  three  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Sweetwater ;  the  Interstate  Canal,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river  in  Wyoming  and  Ne- 
braska, and  the  Goshen  Hole  and  Fort  Lar- 
amie Canals  on  the  south  side  of  the  valley. 
The  government  is  not  donating  anything 
to  the  people  in  carrying  out  this  work,  as 
some  have  supposed.  It  is  not  presenting 
them  with  irrigation  canals.  From  the  re- 
ceipts from  public  lands  the  L'nited  States  is 
building  dams  and  reservoirs  for  the  storage 
of  water  to  be  used  in  irrigation;  also  build- 
ing canals  and  laterals  to  water  the  lands 
and  owners  of  the  lands  are  to  pay  back  the 
money  without  interest,  in  twenty  annual  in- 
stallments, when  it  will  again  be  used  to 
build  other  canals.  The  cost  of  this  land  it- 
self will  depend  on  whether  it  is  owned  by 
the  government,  in  which  case  it  is  nothing, 
or  by  private  parties  who  may  sell  it,  and  the 
cost  of  the  water  is  dependent  upon  the  total 
cost  of  the  system.  The  cost  of  making  sur- 
veys and  soil  tests,  building  diversion  dams 
and  reservoirs,  constructing  gates  and  spill- 
ways, digging  the  canals  and  laterals,  doing 
whatever  it  is  necessary  to  perfect  the  sys- 
tem, and  maintaining  it  until  it  is  turned 
over  to  the  people  goes  into  the  total  bill  and 
the  persons  who  take  the  land  must  pay  it 
in  full.  Each  acre  of  land  that  can  be  wa- 
tered must  pay  its  pro-rata.  The  difficulties 
of  putting  in  the  system  and  the  area  of  land 
it  will  water  are  the  two  factors  that  deter- 
mine the  cost  of  the  water  right. 

Pathfinder  Dam  and  Reservoir 
The  Pathfinder  dam  and  reservoir  is  locat- 
ed about  three  miles  below  the  junction  of 
the  Sweetwater  with  the  North  Platte  near 
the  old  Overland  Trail,  and  is  named  in 
honor  of  John  C.  Fremont,  who  was  wrecked 
at  almost  this  point  in  an  attempt  to  float 
down  to  the  Missouri.  The  dam  is  100  feet 
thick  at  the  bottom,  10  feet  wide  at  the  top, 
and  215  feet  high,  built  of  solid  masonry,  is 
situated  in  a  deep  gorge  of  solid  granite.  No 
water  ever  flows  over  the  dam,  the  overflow 
being  through  a  specially  constructed  spill- 
way cut  in  the  solid  rock.  The  reservoir  ex- 
tends twenty  miles  up  the  North  Platte  and 
fifteen  miles  up  the  Sweetwater  and  has  a 
capacity  of  about  326  billion  gallons,  enough 
to  cover  one  million  acres  to  a  depth  of  one 
foot.      It    collects    the    flood    waters    of   the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


373 


river  and  stores  them  until  such  time  as  they 
are  needed  for  irrigation.  By  storing  the 
flood  waters  in  this  and  other  reservoirs  the 
Xorth  Platte  river  will  supply  more  water 
than  will  ever  be  needed  fur  all  the  lands 
that  can  be  watered  from  it. 

Interstate  Canal 

Just  below  the  mouth  of  Whalen  can- 
yon, and  about  eight  miles  up  the  river  from 
the  site  of  old  Fort  Laramie,  is  a  diversion 
dam  of  concrete  325  feet  long  with  an  ex- 
treme height  of  35  feet,  and  from  the  south 
end  of  the  concrete  extends  an  earthen  em- 
bankment 2,000  feet  long  with  a  maximum 
height  of  18  feet.  This  check  raises  the 
water  of  the  river  about  13  feet.  The  inter- 
state canal  heads  here  with  a  capacity  of 
1,400  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second,  and  at 
the  forty-fifth  mile  the  capacity  is  1,200 
cubic  feet  of  water  per  second.  The  total 
length  of  the  canal  will  be  about  150  miles, 
terminating  15  miles  east  of  where  the  Bur- 
lington road  crosses  the  river  at  Bridgeport, 
and  will  water  a  total  of  some  over  200,000 
acres.  The  first  three  sections  of  the  canal, 
about  125  miles,  are  now  completed.  Near 
the  present  end  of  the  canal  are  two  large 
natural  reservoir  sites  in  which  is  stored  the 
waters  for  the  third  section.  The  first  sec- 
tion of  the  canal  lies  entirely  in  Wyoming 
and  is  an  enlargement  of  the  W;halen  Falls 
canal  which  waters  some  30,000  acres  under 
the  Gary  Act. 

The  government  maintains  the  main  canal 
and  laterals  of  the  system.  Farm  units  were 
made  with  the  intention  of  giving  each 
homesteader  eighty  acres  of  land,  but  the 
area  varies  greatly  depending  on  the  quality 
of  the  land  and  the  nearness  to  present  mar- 
kets. The  size  of  the  actual  farm  with  the 
amount  of  irrigable  land  varies  from  forty 
to  one  hundred  acres. 

Water  Users'  Association 
The  Reclamation  Act  provides  not  only 
for  the  construction  of  the  canals  and  reser- 
voirs, but  also  for  their  maintenance  of  the 
Reclamation  Service  until  such  time  as  the 
major  portion  of  the  cost  of  any  project  shall 
have  been  paid  back  to  the  government, 
"then  the  management  and  operation  of  such 
irrigation  works  shall  pass  to  the  owners  of 
the  land  watered  thereby,  to  be  maintained 
at  their  expense  under  such  form  of  organ- 
ization and  under  such  rules  and  regulations 
as  may  be  acceptable  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior."  In  compliance  with  the  provi- 
sions of  the  act  as  just  quoted,  the  interior 


department  instructed  the  forming  of  a  cor- 
poration for  the  Interstate  Canal  t<  >  be 
know  as  the  Water  Users'  Association.  A 
share  of  stock  represents  the  water  right  to 
one  acre  of  land.  Shareholders  must  be  own- 
ers (or  homesteaders)  of  land  capable  of  be- 
ing watered  from  the  Interstate  Canal,  and 
the  water  stock  becomes  a  part  of  and  at- 
tached to  the  land  and  can  thereafter  be  con- 
veyed only  by  conveying  title  to  the  land 
Each  stockholder  will  be  allowed  to  hold  as 
many  shares  of  stock  as  acres  of  land,  but 
must  not  exceed  a  total  of  160  shares.  The 
shareholder  must  also  be  a  resident  of  the 
neighborhood,  which  is  accepted  as  meaning 
a  limit  of  fifty  miles.  This  applies  alike  to 
homesteaders  and  holders  of  deeded  land. 
Those  holding  more  than  the  prescribed  160 
acres  must  dispose  of  the  excess  before 
water  can  be  had  for  any. 

Irrigation  in  Morrile  County 

The  irrigable  lands  contiguous  to  Bridge- 
port are  in  two  projects — the  Northport  irri- 
gation district  (called  the  "Bridgeport  unit" 
by  the  government  reclamation  officials), 
which  lies  on  the  north  side  of  the  Platte 
river,  and  the  Bridgeport  irrigation  district, 
which  lies  on  the  south  side.  These  two  dis- 
tricts are  separate  and  distinct,  and  each  is 
in  itself  a  large  irrigation  project. 

The  Bridgeport  irrigation  district  em- 
braces about  15,000  acres  of  first-class  ir- 
rigable land,  much  of  which  is  already  under 
intensive  cultivation.  The  canal  supplying 
this  land  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  this  territory, 
and  its  rights  are  among  the  best.  One  big 
improvement  vastly  increased  the  value  of 
land  in  this  project  in  1918  by  the  building 
of  a  dam  across  the  river. 

This  was  determined  at  a  meeting  of  the 
directors  and  a  full  representation  of  the  dif- 
ferent interests  under  the  canal.  The 
Bridgeport  irrigation  district  covers  the  land 
under  the  old  Belmont  canal,  extending  from 
the  headgate  to  about  forty  miles  east  and 
comprising  as  stated,  about  15,000  acres  of 
irrigated  land.  A  large  share  of  this  land  is 
owned  by  the  Central  States  Land  Com- 
pany, successors  to  the  old  Belmont  con- 
cern. 

The  directors  of  the  district  decided  to 
make  the  water  supply  certain  for  all  time  to 
come  in  the  future  by  the  building  of  a  di- 
version dam  across  the  river  at  the  headgate. 
It  was  a  big  undertaking  and  cost  a  large 
sum  of  money,  yet  the  cost  to  each  individ- 
ual land  owner  under  the  canal  will  In-  com 
paratively  small. 


374 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  dam   extends  clear  across   the   river,  debtedness  of  the  company  was  paid  in  1904. 
part  of  it  being  in  the  form  of  a  dike  and  and  since  that  time  there  have  been  no  obli- 
part    being   an    immense    concrete    spillway  gations  against  the  company, 
that  will  control  the  flood  water  at  all  times.  The  men  who  organized  the   Little   Bel- 
The  dam   raises   the  water  about  two   feet  mont  Company  in  1889,  had  the  pick  of  all 
and  fills  the  canal   to  running-  over  at  any  lands  in  the  valley,  and  as  a  result  the  hold- 
time  of  the  year  when  water  is  needed  or  can  ings   which   came   to   the   present   company 
be  used.  embraced  some  of  the  best  lands  in  the  state. 
This  cost  is  about  five  dollars  per  acre — a  This  canal  eventually  came  into  the  con- 
very  small  sum,  and  worth  it  in  a  single  year  trol  or  name  of  the  Belmont  Irrigating  Canal 
in  a  case  of  emergency  which  occasionally  &  Water  Power  Company. 
arises.     It  will  save  everv  vear  a  part  of  the 
maintenance  cost.  Belmont  Contract 

This    company    turned    over   its    lands    in 

BEGINNING  OF  IRRIGATION  Morrill   county  "to  a  colonization  company. 

Irrigation  in  Morrill  county  began  about  and  offered  water  rights  in  its  canal  on  the 

1889,  with  the  Belmont  conception.     Some-  following  terms : 

time  previouslv  to  this  L.  B.  Carv  was  pub-  r 

lishing  the  Irrigation  Age  at  Kearney,   the  «  ATER  ^°ntrac  ' 

paper  being,  I  believe,  established  by  Wil-  I ,  hereby  agree  to  purchase 

Ham  E.  Smythe,  later  of  Riverside,  Califor-  of  the  Belmont   Irrigating  Canal   &   Water 

nia.     Carj-  came  to  the  then  Cheyenne  coun-  Power  Company,  a  water  right  on  its  usual 

ty,  and  one  of  the  first  efforts  there  was  to      terms  for  the  following  described  land 

assist  the  Belmont  enterprise.  situated  in  Morrill  county,  Ne- 

The  conception  originally  in  the  building  braska,   and   shown   to   be   irrigable   by   the 

of  this  canal'was  perhaps  what  is  called  the  topographical   survey  of  said   canal   and   to 

Van  Aukin  fiasco,  this  being  a  part  of  the  pay  for  the  same  $16.25  per  acre,  to  be  evi- 

scheme  proposed  by  Swede  Andersen  for  ir-      denced  by promissory  notes,  each  for 

rigating  the  divide  of  Deuel  county  near  one-tenth  of  the  total  cost  thereof,  and  pay- 
Froid.  able,  the  first  note  one  year  after  date,  and 
As  told  in  the  history  of  Deuel  county,  the  remaining  notes  each  one  year  there- 
that  affair  fell  through.  The  pioneers,  how-  after,  with  interest  at  six  per  cent  per  an- 
ever,  under  the  present  Belmont  had  been  num.  payable  annually,  and  to  secure  said 
banded  together  and  determined  to  finish  payment  by  a  first  mortgage  upon  the  land 
the  unit  for  their  needs.  L.  B.  Cary  was  above  described,  to  which  the  water  is  to  be 
much  interested  in  it,  and  frequently  in  the  conveyed  ;  it  being  understood  that  said 
years  of  its  building  told  the  editor-in-chief  notes  and  mortgage  are  to  be  executed  and 
of  the  system  being  built,  something  of  its  placed  in  escrow  in  the  Bridgeport  Bank. 
cost,  and  the  hopes  of  the  men  who  were  where  the  water  deed  to  be  executed  by  said 
putting  their  shoulder  to  the  wheel.  This  company  to  the  land  described  is  also  to  be 
was  about  1888  and  1889.  placed  in  escrow,  the  same  to  be  delivered 
Later,  after  the  farmers  had  done  consid-  only  upon  the  organization  of  an  irrigation 
erable  individual  work  on  the  proposed  ■  district  to  take  over  the  said  Belmont  canal 
canal,  they  found  themselves  in  need  of  and  the  exchange  of  papers  to  take  place  up- 
money,  and  were  directed  to  G.  J.  Hunt,  on  the  entry  of  the  order  by  the  county  corn- 
then  a  prominent  attorney  at  Omaha,  who  missioners  declaring  such  district  organized, 
had  succeeded  in  restoring  their  lands  to  a  It  being  fully  understood  that  the  said  Bel- 
number  of  Van  Aukin's  victims,  and  had  mont  Irrigating  Canal  &  Water  Power  Com- 
come  into  prominence  through  the  success-  pany  is  to  transfer  its  canal,  franchise  and 
ful  fights  he  had  made  in  the  courts.  appropriation  to  the  district  so  organized  to 
Mr.  Hunt  came  here  in  1892,  and  was  take  the  same,  free  of  charge,  the  district 
practically  for  a  number  of  years  the  whole  taking  the  canal  in  its  present  condition  and 
Belmont  Company.  All  the  disappointments  such  transfer  of  the  canal  to  the  district  to 
of  pioneer  days  were  experienced  in  the  sue-  be  made  at  the  time  the  notes  and  mortgage 
feeding  years.  The  undertaking  was  a  large  referred  to  are  delivered  by  said  Bridgeport 
one   and    called    for   heavy   expenditures    of  bank. 

money,  which  the  panic  of  1893  made  il  im-  Mr,  Purrington,  who  represented  the  col- 
possible  to  secure,  but  finally,  through  the  onization  company,  sold  upwards  of  2,000 
sale  of  land  and  stuck  certificates  all  the  in-  acres  of  the    Belmont  lands   following  this 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


movement  for  an  irrigation  district,  and  the 
people  of  the  community  expressed  the  hope 
that  a  satisfactory  agreement  be  reached 
whereby  the  Belmont  canal,  with  its  fran- 
chise and  appropriation^  become  the  prop- 
erty of  a  district,  which  meant  that  they 
would  be  controlled  by  the  actual  owners 
and  tillers  of  the  land  under  it,  that  it  be 
made  to  render  such  perfect  service  to  the 
farmers  dependent  upon  it  for  water.  For 
the  benefit  of  any  opposed  to  the  district 
plan,  a  relinquishment  form  was  provided, 
at  the  suggestion  of  P.  C.  Wade,  which  form 
was  as  follows : 
To  the  State  Board  of  Irrigation,   Lincoln, 

Nebraska : 

I owner  of  the in 

Morrill  County,  Nebraska,  hereby  relinquish 
to  the  Sltate  of  Nebraska,  all  of  my  right, 
title  and  interest,  and  any  claim  or  interest 
whatsoever,  in  and  to  the  appropriation  of 
water  for  irrigation  purposes  from  the  North 
Platte  River  heretofore  made  for  said  land, 
which  appropriation  is  designated  upon  the 
record  in  the  State  Engineer's  Office,  as 
Docket  Number  928.  and  hereby  respectfully 
ask  that  said  appropriation  be  cancelled  and 
annulled  as  to  said  lands,  for  the  reason  that 
said  appropriation  has  not  been  beneficially 
applied  for  more  than  three  years  last  past, 
and  for  further  reason  that  I  do  not  desire 
to  make  application  of  said  appropriation  to 
said  lands  at  any  time  in  the  future. 

The  object  was  to  permit  those  who  so 
desired  to  relinquish  their  interest  in  the  ap- 
propriation of  water  heretofore  made  for 
their  lands  and  to  secure  the  cancellation  of 
their  application,  without  expense  or  unnec- 
essary delay. 

It  was  understood  the  proposition  of  the 
Belmont  company  was  satisfactory  to  all  in- 
terests and  there  would  be  no  further  objec- 
tion to  the  organization  of  a  district. 

Bridgeport  Irrigation  District 
Those  freeholders  who  signed  the  first 
petition  on  March  26,  1913,  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Bridgeport  irrigation  district 
were:  W.  H.  Davis,  W.  T.  Younggreen, 
James  Finn.  W.  B.  Whiteman.  J.  L.  John- 
son, Mark  Iddings,  C.  Palmer,  Hiram  Maize. 
Nels  Lindquist,  Oscar  Lindquist,  Olga  Lind- 
quist,  Olaf  Lundberg.  Nels  Lund,  Joseph  A. 
Johnson,  Carl  Johnson,  John  Bennes,  L.  C. 
Curtis,  H.  F.  Curtis.  John  M.  Daugherty, 
The  National  Land  Company  by  F.  II. 
Davis.  Jr.,  Belmont  Irrigation  Canal  & 
Water  Power  Company,  by  Charles  A. 
Sweet,    president;    C.    A.    Sweet,    Frank    N. 


Hunt,  Emma  Woolsey,  J.  I..  Hanway, 
Charles  Lowe,  J.  B.  Lynch,  11.  EC.  Burket, 
C.  C.  Nelson,  L.  N.  Meyer,  A.  C.  North.  I.  I. 
Halligan,  W.  T.  Wilcox.  M.  Hannawald, 
Wm.  Mount,  E.  O.  Liff,  Wenzel  Schmidt, 
Xels  C.  Lindberg,  Hanna  Lindberg,  Ellen 
Lindberg,  Anna  Lindberg.  Loren  R.  North, 
George  J.  Hunt,  Daniel  Johnson,  Lena  John- 
son, D.  Johnson,  E.  J.  Johnson. 

Action  was  taken  on  this  petition  April  2, 
1913,  but  legal  forms  and  other  obstacles  en- 
forced delay.  A  second  petition  was  filed 
September  15,  1914,  signed  by  C.  Palmer, 
P.  C.  Wade.  Emma  Woolsey,  W.  H.  Davis, 
H.  F.  Curtis,  E.  P.  Ouivev,  C.  C.  Nelson. 
L.  L.  Curtis,  C.  A.  Sweet.  G.  J.  Hunt,  Mabel 
Tohnson,  Wm.  Mount,  J.  S.  Hanwav. 
Charles  Hanwav.  R.  P.  Scott.  D.  E.  Ahrens. 
A.  T.  Seyboldt.  W.  E.  Guthrie.  Margaret 
Guthrie,  Hiram  Maize.  Mark  Iddings,  James 
Finn,  Belmont  Irrigation  Canal  &  Water 
Power  Company,  by  C.  A.  Sweet,  president; 
John  M.  Hanwav,  Josephine  A.  Johnson 

This  petition  described  the  land  embraced 
in  the  proposed  district  and  it  set  forth  that 
all  of  which  lands  described  therein  and  ir- 
rigable from  the  North  Platte  river  through 
the  irrigation  canal  of  the  Belmont  Irriga- 
tion Canal  and  Water  Power  Company,  and 
it  was  the  intention  of  the  petitioners  after 
such  irrigation  district  be  created  and  organ- 
ized for  such  district  to  purchase  the  appa- 
ratus, canal  and  irrigation  works  of  the  said 
Belmont  Water  Power  Company,  for  the  ir- 
rigation of  the  land  that  the  said  district  to 
the  extent  that  such  apparatus  and  canal  and 
irrigation  works  may  be  used  therefor. 

The  polling  places  for  an  election  set  for 
December  29,  1914.  were.  Division  One.  the 
house  of  R.  P.  Scott;  Division  Two,  the 
home  of  John  Hanwav;  Division  Three,  the 
residence  of  P.  C.  Waite.  The  officers  elect- 
ed were:  Directors,  Fred  Lemberg,  John 
Hanwav,  P.  C.  Wade,  with  R.  P.  Scott, 
treasurer,  and   Marshall    Hanwav.   assessor 

In  1914  the  Belmont  Company  had  trans- 
ferred all  its  land  in  this  county  by  contract 
to  the  Security  Realty  and  Investment  Com- 
pany of  Des  Moines,  colonization  and  immi- 
grant agents.  Messrs.  A.  R.  Ryan  of  the 
Union  Pacific.  W.  M.  Dickson  and  J.  F.  Du- 
lin  of  Des  Moines,  and  I).  Wilson  of  <  >maha 
were  active  in  the  movement  which  for  a 
time  attempted  the  division  of  these  lands 
into  smaller  tracts  and  the  colonization. 
The  Belmont  Company  kept  the  ownership 
of  the  canal  until  the  district  was  organized 
by  authorization  of  the  vote  of  December  29. 
1914. 


376 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  low  cost  of  water  and  the  easy  pay- 
ments induced  considerable  speculation  in 
land  under  this  system.  It  did  not  cost 
much  to  let  the  land  lie  idle,  and  appreciate 
in  value  as  the  enterprising  farmers  along- 
side built  up  the  community.  These  idle 
acres  were  a  source  of  irritation  to  the  resi- 
dent people,  and  gave  the  section  an  ill-de- 
served reputation  for  being  backward. 

Belmont  Land  Deals 

Early  in  1919,  a  corporation  known  as  the 
Farming  Corporation  of  Omaha  was  organ- 
ized with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000.00  for 
the  purpose  of  buying  and  improving  the 
Belmont  lands  in  the  Bridgeport  irrigation 
district.  Principal  stock  holders  in  the  com- 
pany were  Skinner  Bros.,  of  Omaha,  propri- 
etors of  the  Skinner  Packing  Company  and 
a  number  of  other  large  institutions.  Wm. 
Ritchie,  Jr.,  and  Mark  Spanogle  became 
president  and  local  financier  agents  for  the 
company  and  the  law  firm  of  Ritchie  and 
Canaday.  attorneys  for  the  organization. 
The  company  started  operations  by  buying 
eight  farms  of  eighty  acres  each  in  the 
Bridgeport  Irrigation  district.  They  then 
planned  good  improvements  for  these  farms 
and  placed  them  for  rent  to  responsible  ten- 
ants on  good  terms.  This  company  then 
laid  plans  not  only  to  foster  the  sale  of  land 
in  the  Belmont  district  but  to  steadily  in- 
crease the  acreage  to  cultivation  and  in 
other  ways  develop  this  fertile  valley.  This 
move  bore  particular  importance  to  the  fact 
that  the  Belmont  lands  had  been  unoccu- 
pied for  years  and  greatly  retarded  the 
growth  and  development  of  Bridgeport. 

The  North  Side  Irrigation  Project 
The  irrigated  portions  of  western  Ne- 
braska are  becoming  recognized  as  being 
among  the  most  important  agricultural  sec- 
tions of  the  United  States.  In  recent  years, 
the  production  of  crops  by  irrigation  has 
gone  forward  in  Morrill  county  by  leaps  and 
bounds,  and  farmers  who  are  practicing  this 
S3-stem  of  agriculture  are  experiencing  pros- 
perity. Irrigation  is  in  its  infancy  in  this 
county,  which  is  destined  to  become  one  of 
the  most  productive  agricultural  counties  of 
the  state. 

It  is  our  belief  that  Morrill  county  can 
rightfully  boast  of  possessing  the  youngest 
irrigation  district  in  the  state.  The  North- 
port  irrigation  district  was  created  by  an 
election  held  on  the  22nd  day  of  September, 
1017,  at  which  the  electors  of  the  district 
were  able  to  express  by  ballot  their  wishes, 


in  regard  to  the  organization  of  the  district. 
The  result  of  the  election  was  sixty-four 
votes  for  and  one  against  the  proposition, 
which  is  an  indication  of  the  popularity  of 
such  organizations. 

The  lands  within  the  district  comprise  the 
area  on  the  North  Platte  river  extending 
from  the  line  between  ranges  fifty  and  fifty- 
one,  in  township  twenty-one,  to  approx- 
imately the  center  of  range  forty-nine,  in 
township  twenty,  aggregating  twenty  thou- 
sand acres,  and  embraces  the  fertile  Indian 
Creek,  Upper  Dugout  and  Plum  Creek  val- 
leys, and  the  fine  table  lands  lying  between 
these  valleys.  The  area  comprising  the  dis- 
trict is,  in  fact,  a  part  of  the  original  North 
Platte  valley  project  and  is  generally  re- 
ferred to  as  the  Bridgeport  Unit  by  the 
United  States  reclamation  officials.  It  took 
the  government  about  twelve  years  to  reach 
the  time  where  it  is  possible  to  say,  with  any 
degree  of  assurance,  when  work  on  the  pro- 
posed main  ditch  and  laterals,  for  the 
Bridgeport  unit,  would  be  commenced.  Ac- 
tive construction  work  started  on  this  ditch 
in  the  spring  of  1918,  and  water  will  be 
available  for  a  considerable  part,  and  per- 
haps all,  of  the  district  during  the  year  1921. 

The  Tri-State  Land  Company  at  one  time 
claimed  a  prior  right  over  the  government  to 
irrigate  and  reclaim  these  lands,  and  sought 
to  induce  the  land  owners  to  contract  with 
it  for  water  rights  and  the  construction  of 
the  ditches.  The  opposition  to  this  move- 
ment was  so  strong  that  the  company  finally 
abandoned  its  purpose  and  left  the  field  open 
to  the  government.  The  government  finally 
succeeded  in  acquiring  an  interest  in  the 
Tri-State  ditch,  which  has  its  terminus  at 
the  range  line  at  the  west  end  of  the  district, 
and  thereby  became  possessed  of  ditch  ca- 
pacity more  than  ample  to  carrv  all  of  the 
water  necessary. 

The  chief  obstacle  in  the  way  of  reclama- 
tion of  this  area  by  the  government  being 
thus  removed,  it  only  remained  to  make  the 
necessary  surveys  and  estimates  of  the 
amount  of  work  required  preliminary  to  en- 
tering uoon  active  construction.  These  sur- 
veys and  estimates  were  made  and  the  con- 
struction is  well  on  toward  the  completion 
of  the  system. 

The  Northport  irrigation  district  has 
many  advantages  over  similar  areas  in  the 
North  Platte  valley,  if  not  in  the  entire  state. 
It  is  served  by  two  great  railroad  systems. 
the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Ouincy.  and  the 
Union  Pacific,  the  first  of  which  has  lines 
passing  north  and  south  through  and  along 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


377 


the  south  side  of  the  west  part,  while  the 
Union  Pacific  passes  along  the  south  side  of 
the  east  two-thirds  of  the  district,  thus  plac- 
ing the  most  remote  parts  of  the  area  within 
four  miles  of  a  railroad.  The  stations  of 
Northport  and  Kelly  on  the  Union  Pacific 
are  accessible  for  the  eastern  part,  and  the 
stations  of  Northport,  DeGraw  and  Vance 
on  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  are  ac- 
cessible for  the  western  part,  thus  affording 
every  part  of  the  district  unexcelled  ship- 
ping facilities. 

The  settlers  within  the  Bridgeport  unit 
have  exhibited  great  patience  and  deter- 
mination in  waiting  for  the  coming  of  the 
time  when  water  would  be  available  for  ir- 
rigation. These  qualities  will  insure  won- 
derful development  and  prosperity  for  the 
district  when  the  government  has  the  work 
completed  and  water  is  at  hand.  The  set- 
tlers will  then  be  able  to  possess  themselves 
of  the  reward  that  is  due  to  them  for  such 
patience  and  determination,  and  millions  of 
dollars  will  be  added  to  the  value  of  the  agri- 
cultural products  and  to  the  taxable  value  of 
the  property  of  the  count}-  and  state. 

As  the  district  is  indebted  in  part  to  the 
energy  of  F.  E.  Williams,  so  the  editor  is  in- 
debted to  Mr  .Williams  for  the  preparation 
of  the  data  relating  to  the  Northport  irriga- 
tion district. 

For  many  years  the  land  owners  whose 
holdings  are  across  the  river  north  from 
Bridgeport  have  been  pleading  with  the  gov- 
ernment for  an  extension  of  the  Tri-State 
Canal,  in  which  the  United  States  has  a  one- 
fifth  carrying  capacity,  to  cover  the  large 
tract  of  level  land  that  has  been  waiting  for 
the  application  of  water  that  it  might  give 
forth  abundantly.  Other  projects  on  the 
Platte  above  Bridgeport  have  been  pushed 
strenuously  by  those  interested  and  the 
lands  north  of  Bridgeport  have  been  forced 
to  wait  longer  than  seemed  to  be  fair  to  their 
owners.  A  number  of  Bridgeport  citizens 
have  at  different  times  interested  themselves 
in  the  matter. 

Mark  Spanogle,  ably  supported  by  Attor- 
ney Williams,  took  the  affair  in  hand  and 
a  meeting  of  land  owners  was  called  for  I  )e- 
cember  9,  1916.  On  that  date  a  very  enthu- 
siastic meeting  was  held  in  the  rooms  of  the 
Bridgeport  bank,  which  was  presided  over 
by  Mark  Spanogle  and  at  which  the  follow 
ing  named  persons  were  present :  Humph- 
rey Smith,  B.  E.  Betebenner,  S.  G.  Rouse. 
Carl  Bauer,  W.  H.  Tracy.  F.  A.  Reitnour, 
Thos.  Skarboe,  D.  J.  Kelsey,  J.  K.  Vandel, 
Lewis  Thompson,  Chas.  C.  Herman,  W.  S. 


Basset,  J.  H.  Hagerty,  T.  S.  Vandel,  \Y.  E. 
Guthrie,  Frank  Hunt,  |essc  Payne,  Clvde 
Todd,  C.  A.  Edson,  <  >.  f.  Dean.  ]'.  11.  Mann, 
Chas.  A.  Tolle,  C.  F.  Brown,  M.  V.  Hall- 
gren,  W.  A.  Wilhite.  Win.  Ireland.  A.  XV. 
Moats,  C.  F.  Hagerty.  F.  E.  Williams  and 
Mark  Spanogle. 

Fay  Williams  addressed  the  meeting  and 
spoke  strongly  and  straight  from  the  shoul- 
der to  the  assembled  land  owners,  with  the 
result  that  they  immediately  started  to  work 
to  do  something  for  themselves  and  all 
others  interested  in  the  north  side  lands. 
Upon  motion,  it  was  unanimously  decided 
that  all  present  wanted  the  canal  extended 
and  that  a  representative  should  be  sent  at 
once  to  Washington  to  present  the  claims  to 
the  proper  authorities.  Pursuant  to  this  mo- 
tion it  was  further  decided  unanimously  that 
Attorney  Fay  Williams  was  the  proper  man 
to  send  to  the  capital  for  that  purpose  and 
that  he  should  be  sent  without  delay.  A  sub- 
scription list  was  drawn  up  to  defray  ex- 
penses and  several  hundred  dollars  were 
raised  immediately  for  that  purpose.  As 
socn  as  the  necessary  arrangements  could 
be  made,  Mr.  Williams  took  his  departure 
for  Washington  and  began  to  lay  siege  to 
the  irrigation  authorities  in  the  furtherance 
of  his  plans. 

On  December  13,  Mr.  Williams  tele- 
graphed Mr.  Spanogle,  asking  for  a  petition 
to  be  signed  by  all  land  owners  under  the 
proposed  extension,  which  involved  a  heavy 
amount  of  labor  which  had  to  be  done  at 
once.  Mr.  Spanogle  responded  with  his  cus- 
tomary vigor  and  a  day  or  two  later  a  peti- 
tion was  forwarded  to  Washington  carry- 
ing the  signatures  of  sixty-six  land  owners 
and  being  couched  in  the  strongest  possible 
terms,  urging  the  secretary  of  the  interior 
to  give  his  personal  attention  to  the  mani- 
festly fair  and  just  claims  of  the  signers. 

Of  Mr.  Williams'  work  at  Washington  we 
are  not  in  a  position  to  speak  in  detail,  but 
he  left  no  stone  unturned  to  influence  the  ir- 
rigation officials  and  on  December  15  a  hear- 
ing was  had  before  Director  Davis  at  which 
Mr.  Williams  presented  the  case  of  the  land 
owners  very  vigorously  and  strongly.  Of 
this  hearing,  the  Omaha  World-Herald,  un- 
der date  of  December  15,  has  the  following 
to  say  : 

"As  a  result  of  the  hearing  today  before 
Director  Davis  of  the  reclamation  service, 
on  the  proposed  extension  of  the  Bridgeport 
ditch,  surveys  will  be  made  early  next  sum- 
mer as  a  basis  for  estimates  to  be  submitted 
to  congress  next  session.     F.  E.  William-  of 


37S 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Bridgeport  made  the  principal  statement  in 
support  of  the  proposed  extension.  The  re- 
clamation service  believes  that  the  extension 
will  demand  eventually  the  construction  of 
another  reservoir  near  Guernsey,  Wyoming'. 

"The  two  projects  will  involve  more  than 
$1,000,000.  Director  Davis  said  today  that 
the  service  is  not  opposed  to  either  plan  and 
that  their  completion  is  a  matter  of  appor- 
tioning funds  in  the  face  of  demands  from 
other  quarters.  Senators  Hitchcock.  Norris, 
Congressman  Kinkaid,  Gcvernor-elect  Ne- 
ville and  Charles  Ross  took  part  in  the  hear- 
ing." 

So  it  would  seem  that  the  efforts  of  those 
who  are  interested  have  already  begun  to 
bear  fruit.  At  any  rate,  there  is  no  question 
but  that  the  efforts  and  money  have  been 
well  expended  and  that  the  officials  at 
Washington  have  been  impressed  with  the 
necessity  for  extending  the  canal  so  that  this 
large  tract  of  land  may  receive  the  water 
and  thus  make  use  of  the  carrying  capacity 
already  owned  by  the  government. 

The  Nczvs-Bladc  said  it  was  not  strong 
for  picking  out  any  particular  man  for  glori- 
fication, but  it  must  be  admitted  that  Mark 
Spanogle  had  been  the  soul  of  this  enter- 
prise. He  had  talked  for  it,  worked  for  it 
and  dreamed  of  it  for  years  and  his  prompt 
and  effective  work  in  this  instance  met  with 
encouragement  and  praise.  Fay  Williams 
had  also  been  very  active  and  eventually 
came  in  for  his  full  share  of  credit. 

Northport  Irrigation  District 
The  election  for  the  establishment  of  this 
district  held  on  September  22,  1917,  resulted 
in  sixty-five  votes  in  favor  thereof  and  one 
against.  For  director  in  the  first  division 
R.  H.  Willis  was  elected,  the  second  division 
chose  C.  W.  Mount  and  third  division  elect- 
ed R.  A.  Riddle.  Mark  Spanogle  was  elect- 
ed treasurer  and  John  Condon,  assessor. 

The  petition  for  the  establishment  of  this 
Northport  district  bears  a  great  many  names 
and  forms  a  splendid  directory  of  the  citi- 
zens residing  or  owning  land  in  the  central 
part  of  Morrill  county  and  it  was  signed  by 
the  following:  Since  then  M.  H.  Hagertv 
later  withdrew  his  name:  Mary  Mittle- 
stead.  J.  H.  Brubaker,  John  A.  Gordon,  J.  K. 
Vanel,  K.  G.  Brown,  Mrs.  J.  11.  Mann,"  for- 
merly Lydia  Hoag,  Josephine  Hoag,  Mrs. 
S.  W.  Daniels,  M.  P.  Gonden,  T.  S.  Vandel. 
Delos  Walker,  F.  A.  O'Neal,  G.  A.  Calkins, 
C.  B  Brown,  G.  N.  Rose,  Humphrey  Smith, 
Ernest  Hoeler,  Joe  E.  Cook,  R.  A.  Riddle, 
Clyde  Reitnour,  Jesse  Payne,  M.  11.  Hager- 


tv,  C.  A.  Cope,  A.  W.  White,  Thomas  Kai- 
boc,  O.  J.  Dean,  Christ  Bauer,  C.  A.  Tolle, 
C.  F.  Hagerty,  A.  L.  Guthridge,  Lizzie  S. 
Smith,  Mrs.  Solomon  James,  Mrs.  Etta 
Wells,  R.  J.  Middleton,  L.  T.  Thompson, 
Cora  A.  Thompson,  Lewis  Thompson,  C.  A. 
Edson,  C.  E.  Todd.  C.  C.  Herman,  Mabel 
Betebenner,     Tesse    Edson,    James    Ke'lsev, 

C.  W.  Mount,  Wm.  Ireland,  A.  T.  Seybol't. 
M.  G.  Brinker,  S.  T.  Brinker,  C.  S.  Brown, 

D.  S.  Kelsey,  Henry  Franklin.  A.  W.  Moats. 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Miller,  Chas.  T.  Cullen,  W.  E. 
Guthrie,  Ada  Melvin,  George  W.  Zimmer- 
man, R.  L.  Martin,  A.  H.  Tetters,  W.  H. 
Tracy,  Frank  N.  Hunt,  Thomas  Jacobson, 
J.  I. "Catron,  G.  A.  Seslar,  W.  S.  Bassett, 
Julius  Gebauer,  L.  F.  Harmon,  Mary  Dob- 
son,  C.  B.  Achey,  E.  G.  Rouse,  F.  E.  Wil- 
liams, Floyd  Seyboldt,  James  A.  Payne,  Rex 
Jepords,  Jesse  F.  Young,  Laura  E.  Young. 
J.  A.  Hutton,  Robert  H.  Willis.  M.  D. 
Brown,  R.  C.  Neumann,  E.  S.  Kelbourn.  H. 
Dobrinski,  C.  J.  Christensen,  Mary  Jones, 
Theodore  R.  Jones. 

Alliance  Irrigation  District 
The  petition  for  the  formation  of  this  dis- 
trict was  filed  February  18,  1913,  and  was 
signed  by  Albert  O'Neal,  N.  B.  O'Neal,  Gus 
Middlest'adt,  George  DeGraw,  A.  R.  Thomp- 
son, H.  H.  Vandevanter,  W.  E.  Moe,  Asa 
Baker,  Hattie  McFaron,  Fred  Boyer,  Ulrica 
Andersen,  B.  E.  Betebender,  Wm.  Peters, 
Olive  Peters,  S.  H.  Osborne,  J.  E.  Hunt. 
James  Burns,  George  W.  Young.  John 
Keith,  Wm.  Mount,  C.  F.  Clawges. 

The  election  was  for  the  29th  of  March, 
1913,  and  resulted  in  the  election  of  the  fol- 
lowing officers  and  directors  :  Division  One. 
Paul  Roberts;  Division  Two,  Fred  Boyer, 
and  Division  Three,  Asa  Baker.  Assessor, 
George  Middlestadt ;  treasurer,  Wm.  W. 
Yannata.  This  district  eventually  bonded 
for  $45,000.  The  Alliance  canal  opened 
south  of  Bayard  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river.  About  two  miles  west  of  the  county 
line,  it  crosses  the  Burlington  line  about  a 
mile  east  of  the  town  of  Bayard  and  then 
runs  in  a  southeasterly  direction  more  or 
less  paralleling  the  railroad  through  Bayard 
township  and  goes  into  Yockey  township. 
This  canal  is  about  twelve  or  fifteen  miles 
long. 

The  bonds  of  this  district  were  sold  to  the 
state  of  Nebraska.  The  investment  of  the 
permanent  school  funds  in  irrigation  bonds, 
although  authorized  by  law.  had  never  been 
done  until  Wm.  Ritchie,  Jr.,  brought  these 
before  the   board  of  educational   lands   and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


379 


funds.  This  board  then  consisted  of  Keith 
Neville,  governor;  Charles  W.  Pool,  secre- 
tary of  state;  George  Hall,  state  treasurer; 
Willis  Reed,  attorney  general,  and  G.  L. 
Shumway,  state  land  commissioner.  Ne- 
ville and  Shumway  were  from  the  irrigation 
section  of  Nebraska.  This  departure  was  of 
distinctive  benefit  to  irrigation  development 
in  Nebraska,  and  to  date  there  has  been  no 
delinquent  interest  on  such  investments  of 
the  state  school  funds. 

Chimney  Rock  District 

The  Chimney  Rock  irrigation  district  was 
inaugurated  bv  a  petition  filed  October  3, 
1912,  signed  by  R.  F.  Durnall,  R.  J".  Kruse. 
H.  E.  Randal'l.  S.  E.  Samuelson,  W.  II. 
Nickols,  E.  G.  Boyer,  John  Donley,  F.  A. 
Comstock,  James  Burns,  C.  W.  Sixberry. 
W.  E.  Morse,  M.  J.  Hanna,  asking  for  the 
organization  of  the  proposed  district.  The 
district  was  divided  into  three  divisions  and 
an  election  ordered  for  November  12,  1912. 
Division  one  was  to  vote  at  Chimney  Rock 
store.  Division  two  at  Chimney  Rock 
schoolhouse,  and  division  three  was  directed 
to  vote  at  the  dwelling  house  in  the  north- 
west quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter  23-20- 
52. 

Fourteen  votes  were  cast  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  the. district  and  cue  against  and  were 
divided  four  for  division  one,  and  five  each 
for  divisions  two  and  three.  The  directors 
elected  were  F.  A.  Comstock  in  division  one, 
W.  F.  McKelvey  in  division  two.  and  J.  E. 
Oliver  in  division  three.  S.  E.  Samuelson 
was  elected  treasurer,  and  C.  W.  Sixberry 
received  thirteen  votes  for  assessor. 

The  canal  was  located  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river.  It  started  in  the  west  end  of 
Camp  Clarke  precinct  and  run  through  Bay- 
ard precinct  to  the  west  end  of  the  county 
through  Scotts  Bluff  county.  This  district 
has  been  bonded  for  a  total  of  $83,000. 
Bonds  of  this  district  were  purchased  by  the 
state  of  Nebraska  at  the  same  time  those  of 
the  Alliance  irrigation  district  were  pur- 
chased. So  that  Chimney  Rock  and  Alli- 
ance share  in  being  the  first  to  sell  their 
bonds  to  the  state. 

Brown  Crekk  Irrigation  District 
The  formation  of  this  district  was  peti- 
tioned on  November  8,  1912,  hearing  on  said 
petition  was  held  on  December  16,  1912. 
The  following  list  of  signers  of  this  petition 
show  considerably  to  whose  ambitions  en- 
ergy the  conditions  were  due :  Mark  Span- 
ogle.    H.    B.    Smith,    J.    D.    llagerty.    C   A. 


Tolle.  P.  J.  Dunn,  S.  J.  Dunn,  John  Riley, 
Peter  Riley,  M.  Elassass,  John  Beerline, 
Myrtle  Slimm,  Frank  H.  King,  Roy  R.  Rew, 
Tames  L.  Mcintosh,  W.  S.  Bassett,  Jafe 
Thurman,  W.  T.  Layne,  1'.  A.  Rowlan,  Pat 
Rowlan,  Anthony  Johnson,  P.  A.  Johnson, 
Mrs.  X.  P.  Riley,  M.  L.  Wehn,  W.  11.  Snell, 
G.  W.  Beerline,  and  C.  F.  Hagerty. 

The  election  was  held  February  1.  1913. 
and  resulted  in  the  election  of  C.  G.  Stevens 
as  director  for  the  second  division,  Pat 
Hawlon,  third  division,  and  Frank  H.  King 
and  Pat  Dunn  tied  for  the  directorship  of 
the  first  division.  Anthony  Johnson  was 
elected  assessor  and  M.  L.  Wehn,  treasurer. 

The  head-gate  of  the  canal  of  this  district 
lies  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  across  from 
Bridgeport  near  the  railroad  bridge  about  a 
mile  east.  The  canal  runs  east  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river  through  the  balance  of 
Camp  Clarke  precinct  across  King  precinct, 
crosses  Broadwater  and  the  end  is  about  in 
the  west  part  of  eastwood  precinct;  tin- 
canal  being  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles 
in  length. 

Irrk'.ationists 

One  of  the  activities  of  the  western  part  of 
Nebraska  in  which  Morrill  county  has  been 
able  to  play  an  important  part  has  been  the 
proceeding  work  of  the  Nebraska  State  Irri- 
gation Association. 

A  convention  of  this  association  was  held 
in  Bridgeport  in  1915-1916-1918.  The  offi- 
cers selected  in  1915  were:  President.  J.  T. 
Whitehead,  Mitchell;  first  vice  president, 
W.  Y.  Hoagland,  North  Platte ;  second  vice- 
president,  S.  P.  Delatour,  Lewellen  ;  secre- 
tary, J.  E.  LeBlanc,  Bridgeport;  treasurer, 
Mark  Spanogle.  Bridgeport. 

J.  G.  W'codman  of  Morrill  was  the  presi- 
dent elected  in  1916.  Legislative  commit- 
tee: F.  M.  Sands,  Gering;  B.  K.  Bushee. 
Kimball;  W.  Hiersche,  Scottsbluff;  J.  G. 
Beeler,  North  Platte;  A.  W.  Atkins,  Bridge 
port;  W.  M.  Barbour,  Scottsbluff.  and  Judge 
I  hint,  Bridgeport. 

The  executive  committee:  R.  II.  Willis, 
Bridgeport;  H.  H.  Andrews,  Callaway;  T-  T- 
Halligan,  North  Platte;  S.  P.  Delatour, 
Lewellen  ;  Paige  T.  Francis.  Crawford  ;  J.  S. 
Walker,  Kimball;  O.  W.  Gardner.  Gering, 
and  W.  V.  Harvey.  Culbertson. 

Drainage  committee:  J.  F.  Whitehead. 
Mitchell;  Otto  Juergens,  Minatare,  and  L. 
A.  Fricke,  Bayard. 

The  officers  for  1917  and  1918  were  :  Pres- 
ident, 1.  G.  Woodman.  Morrill;  first  vice 
president,    II.    II.    Andrews.   Callaway;   sec- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


ond  vice  president,  P.  A.  Anderson,  Her- 
shey;  treasurer.  Mark  Spanogle,  Bridge- 
porl  ;  secretary,  J.  E.  LeBlanc,  Bridgeport. 

Executive  committee:  R.  II.  Willis, 
Bridgeport;  ).  T.  Halligan,  North  Platte; 
I'.  T.  Francis,  Crawford;  O.  W.  Gardner, 
Gering;  II.  II.  Andrews,  Callaway;  S.  P. 
Delatour,  Lewellen  ;  I.  S.  Walker,  Kimball; 
W.  V.  Harvey,  Culbertson. 

Legislative  committee:  G.  J.  Hunt, 
Bridgeport;  W.  M.  Barbour,  Scottsbluff; 
William  Morrow,  Scottsbluff;  F.  M.  Sands, 
Gering;  B.  K.  Bushee,  Kimball;  J.  G.  Hee- 
ler. North   Platte. 

The  officers  for  1919  were:  President, 
II.  II.  Andrews,  Calloway;  first  vice  presi- 
dent, M.  Schumacker;  second  vice  president, 
P.  A.  Anderson;  treasurer,  Mark  Spanogle; 
secretary,  R.  11.  Wissis. 

Executive  committee:  R.  H.  Willis. 
Bridgeport;  Paige  T.  Francis,  Crawford; 
I.  T.  Whitehead,  Mitchell;  Oval  Beal, 
Brule;  J.  J.  Halligan,  North  Platte:  0.  W. 
Gardner,  Gering;  1!.  K.  Bushee,  Kimball. 

Legislative  committee:  <-.  J.  Hunt, 
Bridgeport;  J.  G.  Beeler,  North   Platte;  W. 


V.  Hoagland,  North  Platte:  W.  M.  Barbour, 
Scottsbluff;  J.  G.  Woodman,  Scottsbluff; 
Fred  A.  Wright,  Scottsbluff. 

The  officers  for  1920  were:  President, 
A.  X.  ATathers,  Gering;  first  vice  president, 
M.  Schumacher,  Minatare;  second  vice  pres- 
ident, P.  A.  Anderson,  Hershey;  treasurer, 
AI.  Spanogle,  Bridgeport. 

The  committees  were  as  follows: 

Executive  committee:  R.  H.  Willis, 
Bridgeport;  A.  P..  Wood.  Gering;  B.  K. 
Bushee,  Kimball;  R.  S.  Butterfield,  Brule: 
E.  T.  Westervelt,  Scottsbluff;  Captain  V. 
Halligan,  North  Platte:  Dr.  McDowell, 
Chadron ;  Perrv  Brazil.  Morrill;  John  T. 
Wood,  Oshkosh. 

Legislative  committee:  James  T.  W White- 
head, Mitchell;  J.  G.  Beeler,  North  Platte: 
William  Harbour,  Scottsbluff:  John  G. 
Stuckey,  Lexington:  Fred  A.  Wright. 
Scottsbluff;  Niles  E.  Olsen,  Gering;  George 
P.  Buckner,  Sidney. 

Drainage  committee:  Fred  Everett, 
Scottsbluff;  A.  M.  Ginn.  Mitchell;  R.  C. 
Bassett,  Bayard. 


CHAPTER  V 
BRIDGEPORT    BUSINESS   DIRECTORY  —  THE  BAR  —  OTHER  ACTIVITIES 


The  very  name  is  attractive  and  suggests 
to  the  stranger  something  more  than  an  or- 
dinary village.  One  at  once  assumes  that 
there  is  a  bridge  spanning  an  important 
stream  and  at  the  end  of  that  bridge  is  a 
port  or  town  of  some  importance  and  both 
surmises  are  correct. 

Bridgeport  always  will  naturally  be  a 
thriving  city  of  the  western  part  of  the  state, 
and  the  commercial  center  of  a  magnificent 
territory.  With  its  network  of  railroads 
reaching  out  in  all  directions,  Bridgeport  of- 
fer- excellent  facilities  for  the  jobber,  the 
distributor,  the  manufacturer,  the  wholesale 

grocers,  dr\  g Is  dealers,  hardware  houses. 

and  many  other  large  business  houses. 
Around  it  is  an  empire  which  stretches  in  all 
direct  inns  and  is  made  directly  tributary  by 
railroads  reaching  out  in  five  different  direc- 
tions like  spokes  in  a  wheel  of  commerce. 
Bridgeport  is  the  railroad  center  of  western 
Nebraska. 


The  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Ouincy  rail- 
road company  has  marked  this  city  as  its 
center  of  operations  in  the  Platte  valley,  and 
here  should  be  both  the  freight  and  passen- 
ger divisions  and  a  natural  point  for  other 
prospective  lines  centering  here,  as  pointed 
out  more  fully  in  the  railroad  story  of  this 
county's  history.  During  the  coming- 
months  steps  will  be  taken  to  install  car  re- 
pair shops  here,  with  a  saw  mill  for  framing 
timbers.  A  twenty  stall  roundhouse  has 
been  built  and  a  modern  passenger  station 
will  be  provided. 

In  recent  years  there  has  not  been  a  va- 
cant house  or  a  vacant  room  in  the  city,  and 
this  in  fact  has  been  the  condition  nearly  all 
of  the  time  since  the  town  was  laid  out  near 
ly  twenty  years  ago.  Bridgeport  is  the  gate 
way  to  the  great  North  Platte  valley,  and  i 
surrounded  by  rich  irrigated  lands. 

When  the  Burlingtbn  railroad  reached  the 
present    location    of    Bridgeport    it    secured 


i 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ground  for  the  town  site  parti)-  from  Pete 
Peterson  of  Julesburg  and  partly  from  l\.  V. 
Drown.  The  first  building  put  up  then  for 
a  saloon  is  now  used  for  an  ice  cream  parlor 
It  was  built  for  a  man  named  Armstrong. 
The  first  store  building  was  where  Brown's 
grocery  now  is  and  was  built  fqr  J.  A. 
Gaines.  R.  P.  Scott  purchased  the  town  site 
for  Lincoln  Land  Company.  J.  L.  Miller 
who  had  been  farming  below  the  town,  quit 
about  that  time  and  came  into  town.  The 
next  year  Miller  went  in  with  Gaines  in  the 
Miller  cv-  Gaines  store.  Will  Gaines  bought 
the  interest  of  J.  A.  Gaines  shortly  after  this 
time  and  in  1902  Miller  bought  out  Will 
Gaines.  This  first  general  store  up  to  about 
six  years  ago  was  run  as  J.  L.  Miller.  Mr. 
Crown  later  took  over  the  grocery  part  of 
the  store.  The  clothing  stock  became  that 
of  Miller  &  Harshman  and  the  furniture 
stock  put  in  as  Miller  &  Hopkins  and  these 
activities  with  the  opera  house  have  made 
Mr.  Miller  not  only  dean  of  the  business 
men  of  Bridgeport,  but  a  leader  at  all  times. 
The  first  house  in  town  was  either  that  of 
Mr.  1  laker  or  Mrs.  Martha  Smith. 

Crrv  Government 

The  city  of  Bridgeport,  of  course,  dated 
back  only  some  twenty  years.  It  was  the 
desire  of  the  compiler  of  this  section  to  in- 
clude a  complete  roster  of  all  of  those  who 
had  sacrificed  their  personal  convenience 
and  time  to  the  arduous  duties  of  a  "City 
Dad,"  but  unfortunately  the  city-  clerk's  rec- 
ords prior  to  1911  were  not  turned  over  to 
the  present  clerk  and  were  misplaced  at  the 
time  they  were  wanted,  so  we  are  able  to 
record  only  those  who  had  served  in  the 
past  decade. 

In  1911  the  town  board  was  composed  of 
Messrs.  Clyde  Spanogle,  Frank  H.  Putman, 
Ray  C.  Neumann,  Mike  Beerline,  and  Mr. 
May.  W.  11.  Willis  was  citv  clerk,  and  was 
followed  in  1912  by  C.  G.  Perry,  who  held 
this  post  until  he  resigned  in  1917  to  enter 
service  in  the  World  War.  W.  11.  Willis 
resumed  the  office  and  held  it  until  the  elec- 
tion of  R.  E.  Barrett  in  1919.  Mark  Span- 
ogle,  in  1911,  was  serving  as  city  treasurer, 
as  he  has  since  faithfully  served.  F.  E.  Wil- 
liams was  serving  as  city-  attorney  in  1911 
and  was  succeeded  bv  K.  W.  McDonald, 
who  served  from  1912  until  1918. 

In  1912  the  town  board  remained  the  same 
as  in  1911,  except  that  Mark  Iddings  took 
the  place  of  F.  H.  Putman,  who  resigned  in 
September,  1911. 

The   election   of    1913,    witnessed    the   en- 


trance of  L.  R.  North.  Thomas  Ishmael  and 
J.  E.  Trinnier,  who  served  with  Spanogle 
and  Iddings. 

In  1914  Spanogle  was  re-elected  and  R..  C. 
Neumann  came  on  the  board. 

In  1915  North  and  Trinnier  wne  re-elect- 
ed and  Mike  Beerline  succeeded   [shmael. 

In  1916  Spanogle  was  re-elected  and  A. 
W.  Atkins  succeeded  Neumann.  They 
served  with  the  three  hold-over  members. 

In  1917  three  new  men  were  brought  onto 
the  board  to  serve  with  Spanogle  and  At- 
kins, they  being  Charles  F.  Manney,  Guy 
W.  Gardner  and  Ed.  P.  Morriss. 

In  1918  the  same  board  served. 

In  1919  Bridgeport  had  reached  the  place 
where  it  adopted  the  mayor  and  ward  sys- 
tem of  municipal  government.  The  honor 
of  being  the  first  mayor  of  the  city  fell  to 
Clyde  Spanogle,  who  had  rendered  a  li  nger 
continuous  service  on  the  town  board  than 
any  other  individual  trustee  of  Bridgeport. 
The  first  councilmen  elected  were  Roy 
Harshman  and  George  McGill  for  the  first 
ward,  and  Mark  Iddings  and  Charles  F. 
Manning  for  the  second  ward. 

Business  Interests 
By  1900  Bridgeport  had  a  well  established 
community  of  business  interests.  A  review 
of  those  "business  houses  then  already  in 
operation  with  some  slight  notice  paid  to 
their  successive  ownership,  or  discontinu- 
ance, if  so,  would  be  appropriate  at  this 
point.  The  Bridgeport  bank  opened  about 
1900  with  J.  W.  Wehn  as  president;  J.  <  ). 
Baker,  vice  president,  and  C.  II.  Connett  as 
cashier.  Bridgeport  livery  stable  started 
with  J.  W.  Lee  as  proprietor  and  is  at  the 
same  location  twenty  years  later,  but  with 
1).  W.  Walker  as  its  recent  owner.  Milhol- 
land's  restaurant  was  then  the  "grubery." 
The  C.  D.  Essig  stock  of  hardware  and  fur- 
niture was  located  where  the  bank  building 
now  is  with  Loren  North  as  manager.  This 
establishment  later  became  the  Bridgeport 
Hardware  Company.  It  moved  to  the  pres- 
ent building  of  the  Home  Hotel  a  number  of 
years  ago  and  became  the  Mercantile  Co.  in 
the  last  years  of  its  career.  The  Tierman  & 
Tierman  grocery  stock  conducted  by  wo- 
men was  at  that  present  location  of  Millett's 
feed  store  but  has  been  gone  for  some  time. 
The  career  of  Bridgeport's  general  merchan- 
dise stock,  that  .if  J.  A.  Gaines,  has  already- 
been    sketched.      The    Sawyer    stock    of    dry 

goods,  then  one  of  Bridgeport's  leading  mer- 
cantile establishments,  was  sold  to   I).   W. 

White,  who;   had   been    running   the   store   in 


382 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Camp  Clarke.  White's  store  at  Camp 
Clarke,  six  miles  from  Bridgeport,  was 
known  in  1900  as  the  "Bee  Hive"  store. 
This  stock  was  moved  to  Bridgeport  a  short 
time  later  and  became  the  "Checker  Front" 
department  store.  In  November,  1901,  Dr. 
J.  S.  Romine  bought  the  Checker  Front 
stock  from  White  and  also  the  J.  A.  Smith 
stock,  then  in  the  Heme  Hotel  building,  and 
consolidated  the  two  stores  in  the  Smith  lo- 
cation and  called  it  the  Department   Store. 


repair.  The  hardware  stock  later  became 
the  property  of  Beerline  and  Scott.  The 
harness  part  of  that  business  successively 
came  into  the  control  of  W.  H.  Miller.  Joe 
Turst  and  Howard  Burke.  The  Hotel  Val- 
ley on  the  corner  near  the  depot  was  in 
1900  run  by  Ed.  Fitch.  Later  it  was  leased 
by  Mike  Beerline  and  run  as  the  Melvin 
Hotel  and  later  passed  to  the  control  of  Idd- 
ings  and  LaFollette,  and  has  been  run  re- 
centlv  bv  Nellie  Burke.     D.  W.   I'tter  had 


J.  S.  Romine,  proprietor.  Dr.  Romine  with 
a  wealthy  ranch  man  and  business  man  of 
Mitchell  about  this  time  purchased  the  gen- 
eral stock  of  the  Millett  mercantile  com- 
pany. He  at  various  times  also  had  other 
stores  in  the  valley.  Dr.  H.  P.  Scroggin 
acted  for  a  time  as  manager  for  some  of 
these  stores,  removing  here  from  Rantoul, 
Illinois.  Moran  Brothers  and  Sharp  were 
running  the  Bridgeport  restaurant.  Win. 
McCarter  had  the  blacksmith  shop.  The 
lumber  business  of  Bridgeport  was  opening 
up  about  1900  by  Carr  &  Neft"  and  this  con- 
cern is  still  here.  James  Wolff,  the  watch- 
maker and  jeweler,  has  since  left.  F.  FI. 
Wilder  handled  harness,  hardware,  and  shoe 


another  blacksmith  shop  in  1900.  A  real 
estate  office  was  run  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Long  and 
H.  M.  Bullock,  also  a  lawyer.  Fred  A. 
Wright  of  Scottsbluff  and  Omaha  and  At- 
torney Merriman,  then  both  of  Gering,  ran 
cards  in  the  first  papers,  offering  legal  ser- 
vice to  the  people  of  the  young  community. 
The  first  hardware  stock  here  was  that  of 
Burke  &  Harpole,  located  where  the  W.  L. 
Clawges  barber  shop  and  jewelry  shop  now 
are  situated.  This  stock  was  later  moved  to 
Bayard  where  this  firm  has  one  of  the  larg- 
est business  houses  in  that  enterprising  city. 
Mrs.  F.  H.  Wilder  also  offered  dressmaking 
service  and  Mrs.  Haxby  came  within  a  year 
with  a  millinery  store. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


383 


Business  Changes 
In  1902  Ishmael  and  Zimmerman  put  in  a 
stock  of  groceries,  boots  and  shoes  where 
the  picture  show  now  is  located.  This  stock 
was  sold  in  January,  1912,  to  W.  H.  Tracy 
and  was  later  burned  out.  Mrs.  Haxby  and 
Myrtle  Irwing  offered  a  small  stock  of  cloth- 
ing and  dress  goods.  J.  A.  Schwender's  sa- 
loon had  been  started  about  this  time  south 
of  the  Valley  Hotel.  Fred  Oilman  of  Red- 
ington  was  offering  photographic  service. 
The  Bradford-Kennedy  Lumber  Co.  put  in 
the  second  lumber  yard  under  the  manage- 
ment of  J.  Trinnier.  This  later  became  the 
Bridgeport  Lumber  Company,  an  active 
concern  after  its  twenty  years  of  existence. 
N.  C.  French  had  the  carriage  shop.  .Mrs. 
J.  A.  Schwender  opened  the  Palace  dining 
room  in  October,  1902.  The  Essig  stock  by 
1903  was  going  as  the  Bridgeport  Hardware 
Company,  with  Loren  North  as  proprietor. 
White  &  Anderson  had  opened  the  drug 
store  which  is  now  Dr.  Anderson's  phar- 
macy. This  stock  was  then  where  Hatch 
and  Rice  now  are  located.  The  restaurant 
had  the  location  where  the  drug  store  is 
now.  These  were  part  of  three  buildings 
that  later  burned. 

Business  Directory  for  1905 

By  1905  the  leading  stores  were  the  J.  L. 
Miller,  Bridgeport  Hardware  Company. 
B.  L.  Neff  &  Elter  Company  Hardware,  the 
latter  of  which  became  the  Beerline  and 
Scott  stock,  and  Ishamel  and  Zimmerman, 
merchandise.  The  Bridgeport  Bank  with 
J.  W.  Lane  still  president,  had  grown  in  de- 
posits to  $60,811.95,  and  a  statement  of  re- 
sources showed  $81,525.12.  Mark  Spanogle 
and  Clyde  Spanogle  had  come  into  this  bank 
as  vice  president  and  cashier.  Faye  Wil- 
liams had  located  here  in  the  practice  of  law. 
Dr.  V.  Anderson  was  practicing  medicine  as 
well  as  running  the  drug  store  and  Bridge- 
port had  sufficiently  expanded  to  now  have 
the  service  of  various  other  lines  of  business 
people.  A.  C.  Kaempfer  had  a  blacksmith 
shop.  J.  H.  Porter  was  running  a  dray  line. 
P.  J.  Carnahan  was  auctioneer.  C.  F.  Claw- 
ges  had  opened  the  barber  shop  and  the 
Welsh  photograph  gallery.  Albert  Scott  & 
Co.  were  making  cement  blocks. 

Business  Directory  for  1910 
By  1910  the  business  directory  at  Bridge- 
port had  considerably  expanded.  The 
News-Blade  was  well  in  operation.  The 
Bridgeport  Bank  had  been  joined  in  its  line 
of  work  by  the  Vallev  State   Bank,  which 


began  in  March,  1910,  with  J.  I..  Johnson  as 
cashier  and  John  Burkett  as  assistant ;  and 
the  First  National  Bank. 

Some  of  the  business  people  of  Bridgeport 
at  that  time  were:  E.  H.  Farmer,  real  es- 
tate; J.  E.  Trinnier,  abstracts;  A.  L.  Davis, 
abstracts ;  John  Steuteville,  attorney ;  Wil- 
liams &  Williams,  attorneys ;  G.  J.  Hunt, 
attorney;  M.  L.  Wehn.  "leading  merchant" 
at  Broadwater;  Ishmael  &  Zimmerman, 
Bridgeport  Pharmacy;  R.  H.  Willis,  Cash 
Bazaar,  groceries  and  shoes;  L.  R.  North, 
embalmer;  Miller  Opera  House:  C.  E 
Palmer ;  R.  C.  Neumann.  proprietor 
Meglemre,  city  dray  ;  J.  W.  Lee,  Palace  liv- 
ery stable  ;  Bridgeport  Hardware  Company  : 
LeBlanc  Brothers,  started  about  1907  or 
1908;  W.  H.  Willis,  implements;  Beerline  & 
Scott,  hardware  and  harness ;  Bridgeport 
Lumber  Company ;  W.  J.  Scoggins,  den- 
tist;  M.  F.  Umbenhower,  auctioneer;  Dr. 
C.  Palmer,  R.  C.  Neumann,  proprietor 
Hotel  Bridgeport ;  Wilcox  &  Broome,  law 
and  land  attorneys  at  Alliance,  practicing 
here  considerably ;  C.  E.  May,  meat  market ; 
The  Mode  Millinery  ;  E.  C.  Haines,  jeweler  ; 
Beatrice  Creamery  Company ;  Baker  Res- 
taurant, W.  A.  Barnes,  proprietor ;  Concrete 
Works,  J.  Frank  VanAtter ;  The  Midway 
Saloon. 

1914  Business  Directory 
The  following-  is  a  business  directory  of 
the  town  in  1914.  Bridgeport  Mercantile 
Company,  W.  D.  Cocke,  president  and  man- 
ager, dry  goods,  clothing,  boots,  shoes,  gro- 
ceries, hardware,  furniture  and  notions; 
T.  H.  Stevens,  meat  market;  Rochell 
Brothers,  cleaning  and  pressing;  W.  H.  Mil- 
ler &  Son,  harness  shop;  H.  H.  Cook,  res- 
taurant ;  C.  E.  McGee,  bakery  and  lunch 
room ;  Beerline  &  Scott,  hardware  and  har- 
ness;  R.  C.  Neumann,  Hotel  Bridgeport; 
Miller  &  Hopkins,  furniture ;  J.  L.  Miller  & 
Company,  clothing  and  furnishings ;  R.  C. 
Harshman,  manager;  Platte  Valley  Mercan- 
tile Co.,  dry  goods  and  ladies'  furnishings: 
G.  G.  Putman.  groceries;  Bridgeport  Lum- 
ber Company,  lumber  and  coal,  F.  H.  Put- 
man,  president.  J.  L.  Tout,  secretary:  A.  C. 
G.  Kaempfer,  blacksmith  and  wagon  shop; 
Valley  Hotel,  Ridings  and  LaFollette,  pro- 
prietors ;  Sam  Fisher,  barber  shop ;  Rey- 
nolds &  Clark,  restaurant;  J.  A.  Schwender. 
wines,  liquors  and  cigars;  R.  H.  Hester,  the 
Club  saloon;  C.  C.  Nelson,  the  "Sugar  Beet 
Exchange";  J.  S.  Lee,  livery;  C.  S.  Munson, 
restaurant:  [.  E.  Coleman,  meat  market; 
T.   G.   Porter",  pool  hall;   LeBlanc    Brothers, 


384 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


clothing  and  men's  furnishings  ;  The  Bridge- 
port Pharmacy.  Dr.  V.  Anderson ;  Dr.  V. 
Anderson,  physician  and  surgeon ;  C.  B. 
Gadd,  barber  shop  and  bath  room;  Airs.  A. 
Sanquest  &  Dtrs.,  millinery  and  ladies' 
goods;  The  Lyric  Theatre,  \Y.  M.  Bucy, 
proprietor  ;  J.  I.  Zimmerman,  real  estate  and 
insurance;  L.  R.  North,  groceries  and 
meats ;  Dr.  W.  J.  Scoggins,  dentist ;  C.  F. 
Clawges,  City  Barber  Shop ;  Bridgeport 
Bank,  capital  $25,000;  G.  J.  Hunt,  attorney 
at  law;  First  National  Bank,  capital  $25,000; 
J.  L.  Johnson,  real  estate,  investments  and 
insurance:  F.  E.  Williams,  attorney  at  law; 
R.  H.  Willis,  civil  engineer;  C.  B".  Millett, 
groceries  and  feed ;  Dr.  C.  Palmer,  physician 
and  surgeon;  M.  Stout,  photographer; 
Bridgeport  Garage,  L.  Boodry,  proprietor; 
W.  H.  Willis,  implements,  wagons,  buggies 
and  automobiles ;  Mark  Iddings.  livery  and 
omnibus  line ;  Jddings  and  Meglemre.  dray 
line  and  ice ;  Carr  &  Neff  Lumber  Company, 
lumber  and  coal ;  Star  Bottling  Works,  A'an 
Zimmerman,  manager;  Nebraska  Telephone 
Company  ;  The  Mode,  Miss  Mayme  Hager- 
ty,  proprietor,  the  up-to-date  millinery 
store ;  Standard  Oil  Company,  Clyde  Meg- 
lemre, manager;  Clarke  and  Martin,  auto 
hospital ;  J.  F.  Vannatter,  proprietor  cement 
works  and  contractor;  R.  A.  Riddle,  build- 
ing contractor;  The  Bridgeport  News- 
Blade,  publishing,  printing,  ruling,  binding, 
general  office,  bank  and  school  supplies. 

1919  Business  Directory 

After  twenty  years  of  growth  Bridgeport 
finds  itself  with  a  much  increased  list  of 
prosperous  business  houses. 

The  Golden  Rule  Store,  Hatch  &  Rice  Va- 
riety Store,  Mrs.  A.  Sonquest  &  Daughter, 
Carr  &  Neff  lumber  yard,  Robert  Gress, 
R.  V.  Brown.  Daylight  Clothing  Store, 
Chas.  West,  tailor;  Beerline  &  Scott,  hard- 
ware; Winter  Hardware  Companv ;  L.  R. 
North,  undertaker;  Bridgeport  Lumber 
Company ;  Farmers  Creamerv  Companv ; 
Lyric  Theatre;  W.  H.  Willis 'Motor  Com- 
pany; Millet  &  Smith,  tires:  C.  A.  Perkins; 
Avery  Garage;  Bridgeport  Bakery;  Hegrich 
Harness;  R.  E.  Neumann  Land  'Company  ; 
A.  J.  Marsh,  contractor;  J.  E.  Mart,  painter; 
Chas.  Sawyer,  plasterer;  Nels  Hansen, 
painting  and  decorating;  O.  K.  Barber 
Shop,  J.  Humpal,  proprietor;  Iddings  & 
Johnson ;  Bridgeport  Blade. 

Various  changes  and  extensions  will  be 
noted  concerning  some  of  these  stores  al- 
ready mentioned  that  still  are  in  existence. 

The  Golden  Rule  Store  has  flourished  un- 


der its  present  ownership,  Guy  Gardner, 
who  bought  out  the  Millett  stock.  Robert 
Gregg's  grocery  has  been  in  operation  for 
about  four  years.  R.  V.  Brown  grocery 
stock  is  an  old-timer  in  this  line. 

The  Daylight  clothing  stock  of  Morris  & 
McGee  is  the  successor  of  the  LeBlanc 
stock  and  shares  this  field  with  the  general 
stores,  J.  L.  Miller  &  Company  and  Charles 
West,  the  tailor.  The  hardware  stores  are 
those  of  Beerline  and  Scott  and  Winter 
Hardware  Company. 

L.  R.  North  new  has  an  undertaking  es- 
tablishment. The  lumber  yards  are  those  of 
Carr  &  Neff  and  the  Bridgeport  Lumber 
Company,  formerly  Bradford-Kennedy. 
F.  H.  Putman  started  in  with  this  concern. 
When  Mr.  Trinnier  went  out,  J.  L.  Tout 
came  in  and  later  G  H.  Watkins  became 
part  of  this  concern.  In  addition  to  the  old 
Miller  opera  house,  Bridgeport  has  had  for 
some  time  a  very  up-to-date  picture  theatre, 
the  Lyric. 

Auto  Business 

A  business  that  has  risen  to  a  position  of 
supreme  importance  within  the  short  life  of 
Bridgeport  has  been  the  auto  business  with 
its  garages,  tire  and  accessories,  sales  and 
repair  shops. 

Leslie  Boodry  put  in  the  first  garage  in 
Bridgeport  where  the  Buick  garage  is  now 
located.  W.  H.  Willis  soon  expanded  his 
hardware  and  implement  business  so  that  he 
handles  the  Studebaker  and  Oakland  cars. 
The  Bridgeport  Motor  Company  handling 
the  Ford  agency,  built  an  attractive  and  sub- 
stantial garage.  Millet  &  Smith  handle  the 
Monarch  tires.  C.  Clawges  became  distrib- 
utor for  the  Patterson,  Buick  and  Chevrolet. 

C.  A.  Perkins  for  some  time  ran  the  Avery 
garage.  Walter  Clarke  now  has  a  garage 
and  repair  shop. 

Commercial  Club 

Bridgeport's  Commercial  Club  started  its 
thriving  career  about  a  decade  ago.  In  1910 
the  officers  of  the  Commercial  Club  were : 
President,  J.  L.  Tout;  vice  president,  R.  H. 
Willis;  secretarv.  I.  E.  LeBlanc;  board  of 
managers,  G  J."  Hunt.  L.  R.  North.  C.  F. 
Clawges,  J.  M.  Lynch,  William  H.  Willis. 

Committees  on  Membership:  Tohn  C. 
Burket.  E.  W.  Fleming.  L.  R.  North.  City 
and  County  Improvements :  C.  F.  Clawges. 

D.  C.  Sharp,  J.  L.  Miller.  Irrigation  and 
Water  Supply:  F.  E.  Williams.  E.  H.  Far- 
mer, J.  F.  Trinnier.  Advertising:  J.  L. 
Johnson.    Clyde    Spanogle,    W.    H.    Willis. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


385 


Good  Roads:  R.  H.  Willis,  R.  P.  Scott,  Rev. 
T.  B.  Burke.  Conventions  and  Excursions: 
J.  H.  Steuteville,  A.  W.  Atkins.  J.  H.  Lynch. 

In  1913  it  had  sixty-five  active  members. 
Through  the  efforts  of  President  Mark 
Spanogle,  thirty-four  new  members  were 
taken  into  this  community  organization  at 
one  meeting  in  February.  At  that  time  the 
committees  were  given  early  announce- 
ments and  this  roster  somewhat  indicates 
the  active  workers  in  the  earlier  days  of  this 
commendable   enterprise : 

Finance:  J.  L.  Tout,  J.  A.  Schwender. 
County  and  City  Improvements:  J.  L.  John- 
son, O.  J.  Life,  Mark  Iddings.  Irrigation 
and  Water  Supply :  F.  E.  Williams,  W.  D. 
Cocke,  Clyde  Spanogle.  Membership : 
Charles  Cameron,  Lee  Nunn,  Roy  Harsh- 
man.  Advertising:  T.  B.  Estelle,  J.  E.  Trin- 
nier,  C.  E.  Quale.  Good  Roads:  F.  H.  Put- 
man,  Mike  Beerline.  R.  H.  Willis.  Conven- 
tions and  Excursions:  A.  W.  Atkins.  Archie 
Clinton,  W.  H.  Willis. 

Special  Standing  Committees  —  Chautau- 
qua :  Dr.  W.  J.  Scoggin,  W.  D.  Cocke,  L.  B. 
Winter.  Nebraska  Irrigation  Congress : 
R.  H.  Willis,  Earnest  LeBlanc.  A.  W.  At- 
kins. North  Platte  Valley  Teachers'  Asso- 
ciation:  Professor  R.  M.  Marrs,  C.  S.  Cheat- 
ham, Wade  Flynn.  Reception:  F.  E.  Wil- 
liams. Old  Soldiers  and  Settlers  Reunion  : 
B.  E.  Betebenner,  G.  H.  Watkins,  F.  R. 
Lindberg,  I.  L.  Johnson.  Railroad:  G.  J. 
Hunt,  J.  L.  Miller,  R.  C.  Neumann.  J.  E.  Le- 
Blanc, L.  R.  North. 

Upon  December  28,  1916,  a  complete  reor- 
ganization of  the  old  boosters'  club  was  ef- 
fected at  the  city  hall.  The  new  organiza- 
tion is  to  be  known  as  the  Morrill  County 
Community  Club.  The  members  certainly 
mean  business. 

Mark  Spanogle  was  elected  president  and 
T.  B.  Estill,  treasurer.  The  secretary  was 
to  be  elected  by  the  board  of  directors  which 
consisted  of  the  president  and  chairmen  of 
the  four  different  bureaus ;  so  in  order  that 
this  board  of  directors  might  become  organ- 
ized and  ready  for  business,  each  bureau 
held  a  meeting  and  elected  its  chairman. 

Each  bureau  had  twenty  or  more  mem- 
bers, as  follows : 

Commercial  Bureau :  G.  J.  Hunt,  chair- 
man ;  T.  B.  Estill,  H.  C.  Burke,  C.  E.  McGee, 
N.  Beerline,  T.  B.  Manning,  H.  B.  Hopkins, 
Roy  Harshman,  Ed.  Slimm,  Geo.  Clark, 
Mayme  Hagertv,  M.  B.  Farris,  H.  H.  Smith, 
Wm.  Willis,  E.'F.  Morris,  L.  R.  North,  Rex 
Jeffords,  E.  W.  Todd,  E.  K.  Milmine,  Guy 
Gardner. 


Enterprise  Development  Bureau  :  A.  T. 
Seybolt,  chairman ;  R.  C.  Neumann,  F.  E. 
Williams,  C.  B.  Millett,  R.  H.  Willis,  C.  F. 
Clawges,  J.  E.  LeBlanc,  E.  V.  Draper,  F.  H. 
Putman,  Lloyd  Wiggins,  R.  E.  Barrett, 
Frank  Hunt,  Dr.  C.  Palmer,  Fred  Lindberg, 
E.  Steuteville,  Dr.  McCrosson,  J.  II.  Wehn. 
C.  C.  Nelson. 

Community  Affairs  Bureau:  W.  E. 
Guthrie,  chairman  ;  Wm.  Ritchie,  Geo.  Mc- 
Dougall,  H.  R.  Van  Home,  W.  C.  Clarke, 
Z.  H.  Jones,  C.  E.  Carter,  Max  Wilcox,  Tom 
Neighbors,  Thornton  Manning,  V.  A.  Doe- 
ty,  W.  I.  Dyson,  W.  M.  Bucy,  J.  L.  Tout, 
Clyde  Spanogle,  F.  DeVault,  Robt.  Hanway, 
Dr.  Logan,  J.  Peacher,  Dr.  Whitney,  George 
Murphy. 

Publicity  and  Conventions  Bureau  :  Bruce 
Wilcox,  chairman  ;  C.  D.  Casper,  C.  G.  Per- 
rv,  W.  B.  Meeker,  John  Porter,  A.  C.  Estill, 
Tom  Ishmael,  J.  H.  Steuteville,  J.  E.  Trin- 
nier,  K.  W.  McDonald,  Frank  Brown,  A.  B. 
Nichols,  R.  V.  Brown,  F.  E.  Hedglin,  Mrs. 
Sanquest,  Mrs.  Cram,  F.  H.  Wilder.  H. 
Rogers,  C.  L.  West,  Mark  Spanogle,  A.  F. 
Marsh. 

Chamber  of  Commerce 

The  work  of  the  old  Commercial  Club  in- 
volved into  the  progressive  Community 
Club,  which  carried  on  the  community  work 
for  Bridgeport  for  some  few  years.  Then  in 
common  with  the  practice  cf  giving  the 
commercial  organizations  throughout  the 
United  States  uniform  title,  the  community 
agency  of  Bridgeport  is  now  known  as  the 
Bridgeport  Chamber  of  Commerce.  The 
1920  officers  and  faithful  committee  workers 
were : 

President,  F.  E.  Williams:  vice  president. 
A.  W.  Atkins;  secretary,  A.  E.  Fisher: 
treasurer,  Lloyd  Wiggins. 

Committees:  Promotion  —  Mark  Span- 
ogle, chairman;  A.  E.  Fisher,  T.  F.  Neigh- 
bors. Public  Improvement — Dr.  C.  Palmer, 
chairman;  Fred  Lindberg,  R.  H.  Willis. 
Entertainment — E.  M.  Bigelow,  chairman; 
W.  P.  Ackerman,  Ed.  Morris.  Finance— 
A.  T.  Seybolt,  chairman:  George  Irwin, 
Lloyd  Wiggins.  Membership  —  Frank- 
Hunt,*  chairman ;  E.  W.  Hackney.  C.  G. 
Perry.  Publicity — Bruce  Wilcox,  chairman  ; 
E.  L.  Novotny,  E.  M.  Bigelow. 

*  Deceased. 

Telephones 
The  Wehn  Telephone  Company  saw  to  it 
that  Morrill  county   secured  telephone  ser- 
vice  earlv   in   the  career  of   that   utility   in 


HISTORY.  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


western  Nebraska  and  made  connection 
with  the  Bell  telephone  system  at  North 
Platte,  securing  a  full  metallic  service  from 
Ogallala  and  giving  direct  long  distance 
communication  to  all  parts  of  the  country 
and  especially  service  to  Morrill  and  Gar- 
den county  points. 

Newspapers 

The  Bridgeport  Blade  began  publication 
July  27,  1900,  with  Cary  and  Lawley  as  pub- 
lishers. In  October  L.  B.  Cary  became  pro- 
prietor. In  1905  R.  H.  Willis  was  publisher. 
The  Platte  Valley  News  began  in  1903. 
These  two  papers  were  consolidated  into  the 
News-Blade,  July  24,  1908.  J.  M.  Lynch  be- 
came editor  and  remained  in  active  charge 
of  this  paper  for  some  years  until  Bruce 
Wilcox,  its  present  editor,  took  charge. 
Wilcox  served  as  register  in  the  United 
States  land  office  at  Alliance,  and  is  one  of 
Morrill  county's  best  men.  He  married 
Miss  Oliver,  one  of  the  first  families  in 
Hackberry  canyon  community. 

The  story  of  the  Bridgeport  Herald  is  in- 
separably woven  with  the  story  of  the  re- 
cent years  of  the  life  of  Charles  D.  Casper. 
Knowing  Mr.  Casper  for  twenty-seven 
years,  the  editor-in-chief,  in  appreciation  of 
his  public  service,  will  permanently  record 
some  of  the  eulogies  spoken  at  the  time  of 
his  final  call  from  the  earthly  duties. 

C.  D.  Casper 

It  was  the  doctrine  of  old  paganism  that 
the  gods  gave  nothing  to  mortals  without 
severe  toil,  acting  upon  the  principle  that 
labor  conquers  all  things  and  "time  will 
bring  its  own  reward." 

C.  D.  Casper  struck  out  in  the  great  ocean 
of  busy  life  and  struggled  heroically  with  its 
waves.  His  standard  of  work  was  the  same 
in  public  as  it  was  in  private  life.  He  knew 
no  compromise  when  principles  were  in- 
volved. He  was  genial  and  social  in  his  in- 
tercourse with  friends,  always  thoughtful 
and  considerate  of  the  feelings  of  others. 
His  life  is  a  splendid  exposition  of  those 
quiet,  guiding  precepts  of  the  highest  type 
of  our  citizenship.  He  crowned  it  all  with 
a  Christian  faith  that  stripped  death  of  all 
terror  to  him.  Rev.  King,  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  of  Bridgeport,  of  which  church 
Mr.  Casper  was  a  member,  preached  a 
funeral  discourse.  The  Masons,  of  which 
lodge  Mr.  Casper  was  an  honored  member, 
took  charge  of  the  services  and  at  the  grave 
the  impressive  burial  service  of  both  that 
order  and  also  the  Eastern  Star,  were  given. 


Beautiful  floral  offerings  bore  mute  testi- 
mony of  the  esteem.  John  W.  Morris  of 
Gering,  an  old  soldier  of  the  same  regiment, 
was  present  at  the  funeral. 

Charles  Deputy  Casper  was  born  at  Wil- 
mington, Delaware,  December  10,  1845,  and 
departed  this  life  at  Hot  Springs,  South  Da- 
kota, July  24,  1920,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four  years. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  enlisted 
in  the  Northern  Army,  and  served  to  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War  as  bugler  in  Company 
D,  First  Regiment  of  Delaware  Cavalry.  x\t 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War  he  was  honorably 
discharged.  He  re-enlisted  and  saw  service 
on  the  western  frontier,  during  the  time  that 
the  Indians  were  causing  the  United  States 
so  much  annoyance.  He  was  honorably  dis- 
charged a  second  time  and  for  some  time 
afterward  worked  at  whatever  he  was  able 
to  find,  employment  being  scarce  and  wages 
low. 

He  entered  a  printing  office  at  Danville, 
Iowa,  as  an  apprentice.  In  1873  he  came  to 
Nebraska,  settling  at  David  City,  in  Butler 
,  county,  being  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that 
city.  Here  he  established  the  "Butler  Coun- 
ty Press,"  which  he  conducted  for  more  than 
thirty-three  years. 

On  December  31,  1880,  he  was  married  to 
Nancy  M.  Brownseet,  a  native  of  New  Eng- 
land. To  this  union  were  born  three  daugh- 
ters, Emma  M.,  Grace  A.,  and  Ruby  L.,  and 
one  son  who  died  in  infancy. 

He  was  one  of  the  leading  democrats  of 
the  state  of  Nebraska,  serving  four  terms  as 
state  representative  and  one  term  as  state 
senator  from  Butler  county.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  control  of  the  Sol- 
diers and  Sailors  Home  at  Grand  Island  and 
Milford  for  three  years. 

In  1898  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the 
Nebraska  Commission  of  the  Trans-Missis- 
sippi Exposition  held  at  Omaha,  Nebraska, 
serving  during  1898  and  1899.  In  1904  he 
was  a  delegate  from  Nebraska  to  the  Demo- 
cratic National  Convention  at  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  and  at  one  time  was  chairman  of 
the  Democratic  State  Convention. 

In  1906  he  removed  to  Bayard.  He  took 
a  government  homestead  about  ten  miles 
northeast  of  Bayard,  meanwhile  working  on 
the  Bayard  Transcript,  the  Bridgeport 
Blade  and  the  Bridgeport  News.  When 
Morrill  county  was  formed  he  was  most  in- 
strumental in  assisting  and  was  rewarded  by 
being  elected  the  first  county  clerk  of  Mor- 
rill county,  holding  that  office  for  two  terms. 

In    1912    he    established    the    "Northport 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


387 


Herald,"  but  in  1913,  removed  to  Bridgeport 
and  continued  it  until  his  death.  He  was  an 
editor  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  and  his 
editorials  and  newspaper  articles  were  the 
subjects  of  comment  by  newspapers 
throughout  the  state. 

He  became  a  member  of  the  Masonic  or- 
der years  ago,  in  Iowa,  later  affiliating  at 
David  City.  When  Camp  Clarke  lodge  No. 
285,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  organized  at  Bridge- 
port in  1913,  he  became  one  of  the  charter 
members,  and  has  been  active  in  the  work 
of  this  lodge  since  that  time.  He  has  been 
patron  of  the  Eastern  Star  since  its  organ- 
ization in  1914.  He  was  also  commander  of 
the  Morrill  county  post  of  the  Grand  army 
of  the  Republic. 

C.  G.  Perry,  the  master  of  the  Masonic 
lodge  at  Bridgeport;  Rev.  S.  H.  King,  Rev. 
B.  Burke,  Rev.  Geo.  F.  MacDougall,  Addi- 
son C.  Sheldon,  secretary  State  Historical 
Society,  J  .  H.  Steuteville,  Mark  Spanogle, 
A.  E.  Fisher,  and  K.  W.  McDonald  each  ex- 
pressed words  of  appreciation  of  the  friend- 
ship and  service  to  community  and  state, 
performed  by  the  deceased. 

Professional  Directory 

The  professional  directory  of  Bridgeport 
in  1913  showed  among  others,  the  following 
professional  men  practicing: 

Doctors  :  C.  Palmer,  M.D.,  physician  and 
surgeon;  V.  Anderson,  surgeon,  C,  B.  &  0. 
Ry.  Company ;  G.  T.  Seabury,  D.V.S.,  veter- 
inary surgeon  and  dentist ;  William  J.  Scrog- 
gin,  general  dental  practitioner. 

Attorneys :  Bruce  Wilcox,  lawyer  and 
land  attorney;  F.  M.  Broome,  United  States 
land  attorney,  office  at  Alliance,  practicing 
here;  G.  J.  Hunt,  attorney-at-law ;  John  H. 
Steuteville.  attorney-at-law;  Williams  & 
Williams,  attorneys-at-law ;  Hurd  &  Span- 
ogle,  lawyers ;  Geo*.  G.  Cronkleton,  United 
States  commissioner. 

Auctioneers:  H.  P.  Coursey,  live  stock 
and  general  auctioneer;  M.  F.  Umbenhower, 
auctioneer;  J.  E.  Coleman,  general  auction- 
eer. 

Other  professional  men  :  Jas.  I.  Zimmer- 
man, real  estate;  A.  T.  Seybolt,  insurance, 
real  estate;  L.  R.  North,  licensed  embalmer 
and  undertaker ;  Bridgeport  Realty  Com- 
pany. 

Professional  men  of  1916  were:  Ritchie 
&  Perry,  attorneys-at-law ;  F.  E.  Williams, 
attorney-at-law ;  George  J.  Hunt,  attorney- 
at-law;  John  H.  Steuteville,  attorney-at-law; 
George  G.  Cronkleton.  United  States  com- 
missioner,  office   at    Bayard ;    C.   J.    Logan, 


M.D.,  physician  and  surgeon  ;  Dr.  V.  Ander- 
son ;  Dr.  C.  A.  Collins,  veterinary  surgeon  ; 
Drake  &  Drake,  registered  optometrists,  of- 
fice at  Alliance;  L.  Hoppen,  massager. 

The  professional  men  of  1917  were: 
Ritchie  and  Perry,  attorneys-at-law ;  F.  E. 
Williams,  attorney-at-law;  George  J.  Hunt, 
attorneyrat-law ;  John  H.  Steuteville,  attor- 
ney-at-law; C.  J.  Logan,  M.D.,  physician 
and  surgeon;  Dr.  V.  Anderson;  Dr.  C.  A. 
Collins,  veterinary  surgeon  ;  Drake  &  Drake, 
registered  optometrists,  office  at  Alliance ; 
L.  Hoppen,  massager;  George  G.  Cronkle- 
ton, United  States  commissioner,  office  at 
Bayard;  J.  C.  Pedersen,  architect  and  super- 
intendent, office  at  Gering. 

Morrill  County  Bar 

The  Morrill  county  bar  had  increased  to 
somewhat  enlarged  proportions.  The  death 
of  Judge  George  J.  Hunt  left  a  notable  gap 
in  the  familiar  line-up  of  the  legal  fraternity. 
His  younger  partner,  C.  G.  Perry,  had  taken 
over  the  office  and  practice.  Judge  Leslie  G. 
Hurd,  who  had  come  from  Harvard,  Ne- 
braska, to  look  after  the  practices  of  Fay  E. 
Williams,  at  Bridgeport,  and  Thomas  F. 
Neighbors,  at  Bayard,  remained  with  them 
after  they  returned  from  service  in  the 
World  War,  and  they  had  formed  the  firm 
of  Williams,  Hurd  &  Neighbors,  with  offices 
at  both  Bridgeport  and  Bayard.  County  At- 
torney K.  W.  McDonald  who  came  to 
Bridgeport  within  the  past  decade  and  built 
a  splendid  practice,  has  associated  with  him 
George  W.  Irwin.  Win.  Ritchie,  Jr.,  al- 
though now  in  Omaha,  maintains  an  office  at 
Bridgeport  with  Ralph  O.  Canada  who 
came  to  Bridgeport  a  few  years  ago  from 
Minden.  Judge  J.  H.  Steuteville  and  Banker 
Mark  Spanogle,  although  not  actively  en- 
gaged in  practice  are,  nevertheless,  entitled 
to  be  credited  as  members  of  the  Morrill 
county  bar. 

A  few  years  ago  the  community  of  Bay- 
ard, a  village  of  only  a  few  hundred  popula- 
tion, had  no  resident  attorney,  and  depended 
upon  Bridgeport  and  towns  to  the  west  for 
legal  service,  except  for  the  work  of  United 
State  Commissioner  Cronkleton  and  local 
justices,  but  with  the  phenomenal  growth  of 
the  town  came  several  attorneys  resident  at 
Bayard.  H.  M.  Marquis  was  one.  In  1917 
was  another,  Yale  H.  Cavett,  who  was  asso- 
ciated with  Morrow  &  Morrow  of  Scotts- 
bluff.  There  were  also  C.  A.  Mantz,  who 
was  associated  with  Wm.  Ritchie,  at  Bridge- 
port, and  Fred  T.  Nichols.  In  1919  E.  E. 
Richards   and   Edward    F.    Carter   came   to 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Bayard  and  formed  a  partnership.  This  gave 
Bayard  a  formidable  proportion  of  the  bar 
of  Morrill  county,  an  aggregation  of  more 
than  a  dozen  of  as  capable  and  affable  prac- 
titioners as  can  be  found  anywhere  in  the 
state  of  Nebraska. 

George  J.  Hunt 

On  February  19,  Judge  Jacob  Fawcett  of 
the  supreme  court  paid  a  masterly  tribute  to 
Bridgeport's  townsman,  Judge  G.  J.  Hunt, 
at  the  bar  memorial  services  held  at  the 
court  house : 

If  the  court  please,  it  is  with  mingled 
pain  and  pleasure  that  I  respond  to  your 
honor's  kind  invitation  to  say  something  on 
this  occasion  in  reference  to  the  life  and 
character  of  our  brother,  George  J.  Hunt, 
who  has  so  recently  been  called  from  his 
family,  the  activities  of  life,  and  this  bar,  to 
stand  at  the  bar  of  the  final  court  before 
which  we  too  must  sooner  or  later  appear. 
While  the  reason  for  this  meeting  causes 
me  great  pain  at  the  loss  of  one  whose 
friendship  I  have  enjoyed  for  many  years,  it 
is  a  pleasure  that  I  can  be  here  today  and 
add  a  word  to  the  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  our  departed  brother  which  is 
now  being  paid  by  the  members  of  this  bar. 

I  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Hunt  in 
October,  1887,  when  I  removed  to  Omaha 
from  my  old  home  in  Illinois.  He  was  then 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Congdon,  Clarkson 
&  Hunt.  Our  acquaintance  and  friendship 
continued  without  interruption  until  Mr. 
Hunt  removed  to  Bridgeport,  which,  as  I 
recall  it,  was  early  in  1892,  and  since  he  be- 
came an  active  part  of  the  life  and  business 
of  the  great  North  Platte  valley  in  Morrill 
and  Scottsbluff  counties  we  have  been  asso- 
ciated together  in  many  matters,  in  all  of 
which  there  was  never  any  disagreement. 

Mr.  Hunt  was  born  in  1857  in  Baltimore, 
Maryland.  He  was  the  youngest  of  the 
three  sons  of  a  widowed  mother.  Full  of 
Maryland  pride,  and  with  not  much  in  the 
way  of  resources  except  aristocratic  ten- 
dencies, George  worked  his  way  through  a 
Maryland  college  and  was  graduated  at  the 
head  of  his  class  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  His 
family  traditions  were  always  with  him,  and 
in  spite  of  lack  of  much  in  the  way  of  earth- 
ly goods,  he  worked  his  way  and  was  always 
a  gentleman.  He  exhibited  a  measure  of 
southern  arrogance,  as  some  people  called  it, 
but  it  was  not  that.  While  his  manner 
might  suggest  it,  the  fact  was  it  was  simply 
an  inborn  sense  of  honesty  of  purpose,  in- 
tegrity    of     character     and     respectability, 


which  gave  him  that  appearance.  When  one 
came  to  know  him  they  found  instead  of  ar- 
rogance, the  utmost  geniality.  He  made  few 
intimate  friends,  but  such  as  he  did  make 
were  firm  friends.  He  came  to  Nebraska  in 
1875,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  a  year 
taught  school  at  Plattsmouth  in  Cass  county, 
studying  law  during  unoccupied  hours.  In 
1876  he  removed  from  Plattsmouth  to  Oma- 
ha, where,  notwithstanding  he  had  not  had 
much  experience  in  that  line,  he  secured  a 
position  as  bookkeeper  in  the  firm  of  Creigh- 
ton  &  Morgan.  This  position  he  filled  ac- 
ceptably for  nearly  a  year.  What  wras  the 
firm  of  Creighton  &  Morgan  is  now  the  Pax- 
ton  &  Gallagher  wholesale  house  in  Omaha. 
During  the  latter  part  of  1876  he  returned  to 
Maryland,  studied  law  for  several  months 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Maryland. 

He  returned  to  Omaha  in  the  early  spring 
of  1878  and  entered  as  a  clerk  in  the  office  of 
Thomas  W.  T.  Richards,  who  during  the 
Civil  War  had  been  a  captain  in  the  Con- 
federate army  under  Mosby.  Mr.  Congdon, 
senior  member  of  the  law  firm  above  re- 
ferred to,  of  which  Mr.  Hunt  became  "a  mem- 
ber, entered  the  law  office  of  Charles  T. 
Manderson,  afterwards  United  States  sen- 
ator, in  1878.  In  the  spring  of  1879  Mr. 
Richards  associated  Mr.  Hunt  with  himself 
as  a  partner,  the  firm  name  being  Richards 
&  Hunt.  This  co-partnership  continued  for 
a  year  or  two.  Richards  was  the  founder  of 
what  is  now  the  Paxton  &  Vierling  iron 
works  of  Omaha.  In  1881  Richards  sold  out 
his  interest  in  the  foundry  and  iron  works 
and  went  to  California.  Just  prior  to  Rich- 
ards' departure,  Mr.  Clarkson,  the  ether 
member  of  the  law  firm  above  referred  to, 
arrived  in  Omaha  from  Chicago  and  went 
into  Judge  Doan's  office.  He,  Mr.  Congdon 
and  Mr.  Hunt  soon  became  intimate  friends. 
Quite  a  mutual  admiration  society  came  into 
existence  between  them,  and  particularly  be- 
tween Mr.  Clarkson  and  Mr.  Hunt.  The  re- 
sult was  that  early  in  1881  the  law  co-part- 
nership of  Clarkson  &  Hunt  came  into  exist- 
ence and  continued  until  May  1,  1883.  Mr. 
Congdon  in  the  meantime  had  become  a 
partner  of  Senator  Manderson  under  the 
firm  name  of  Manderson  &  Congdon.  Mr. 
Manderson  was  elected  to  the  senate  in  1883, 
and  on  May  1  of  that  year  he  and  Mr.  Cong- 
don dissolved  partnership  and  the  firm  of 
Congdon,  Clarkson  &  Hunt  was  organized. 
These  three  young  men  had  already  estab- 
lished individual  reputations  for  themselves, 
so  that  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  new  firm 
immediately  succeeded  in  building  up  an  ex- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


389 


tensive  and  active  business.  They  all 
worked  faithfully  and  hard,  with  the  result 
that  as  Mr.  Congdon  expressed  it  to  me. 
they  "each  grew  in  law  as  well  as  in  grace." 
Mr.  Hunt  had  become  obsessed  with  the  no- 
tion of  getting  to  the  front  financially.  He 
engaged  in  speculation  in  which  Mr.  Clark- 
son  took  a  hand  in  putting  Omaha  and  the 
whole  western  country  to  the  front.  This 
was  an  expensive  operation  for  many  of 
those  who  engaged  in  that  undertaking  dur- 
ing those  years,  and  cost  all  three  of  the 
gentlemen  a  considerable  amount  of  hard 
cash.  Finally  a  gentleman  from  California 
or  Idaho  brought  an  irrigation  case  to  the 
firm.  The  work  fell  to  Mr.  Hunt.  The  re- 
sult was  the  dissolution  of  the  old  firm  and 
the  placing  of  Mr.  Hunt  in  the  irrigation 
business  and  caused  his  removal  to  Bridge- 
port. The  firm  of  Congdon,  Clarkson  & 
Hunt  was  dissolved  in  February,  1892,  Mr. 
Hunt  coming  to  the  great  North  Platte  val- 
ley with  his  irrigation  matters  and  Mr. 
Clarkson  continuing  for  a  time  with  Mr. 
Congdon. 

Mr.  Hunt  possessed  a  superb  mind  and  a 
broad  education.  He  was  an  indefatigable 
student  and  gave  to  his  clients  the  very  best 
that  was  in  him.  He  worked  many,  many 
times  when  others  would  have  rested.  His 
friends  now  regret  that  he  did  not,  on  some 
of  those  occasions,  rest.  When  Congdon, 
Clarkson  &  Hunt  went  together  all  three 
were  unmarried,  but  all  three  were  engaged 
to  be  married.  Mr.  Hunt  was  married  on 
September  12,  1883,  and  Congdon  and  Clark- 
son during  the  following  month.  They  were 
always  very  close  to  each  other  and  their 
families  were  equally  close.  Mrs.  Hunt*s 
maiden  name  was  Margaret  Bouldin.  She 
was  Mr.  Hunt's  boyhood  sweetheart  and  the 
only  girl  or  woman  he  was  ever  known  to> 
have  any  interest  in.  He  was  engaged  to 
her  prior  to  coming  to  Nebraska.  Air.  Cong- 
don said  to  me,  and  no  one  knows  whereof 
he  spoke  better  than  he :  "As  a  wife  and 
mother  she  has  been  without  a  superior  and 
she  shows  to  best  advantage  through  close 
acquaintance."  They  had  three  children, 
Harriet,  Julia  and  Frank.  All  three  were 
married  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Hunt's  death.  All 
three  were  born  in  Omaha. 

Like  all  other  men  who  came  in  early  days 
to  what  had  formerly  been  the  great  western 
desert,  Mr.  Hunt  had  many  long  and  great 
difficulties  to  contend  with.  In  all  of  the 
years  his  courage  never  failed  him,  nor  did 
he  ever  lose  his  faith  in  himself  or  abandon 
the  thought  that  he  would  eventually  work 


his  financial  life's  problems  so  that  when  the 
time  came  that  he  should  be  called  hence,  if 
he  should  leave  his  boyhood  sweetheart  be- 
hind him,  he  would  leave  her  provided  for. 
He  was  not  a  selfish  man,  he  did  not  toil  in 
season  and  out  of  season  simply  to  accumu- 
late wealth  for  wealth's  sake,  but  it  seemed 
to  me  as  I  know  him  and  have  talked  with 
him,  and  I  get  the  same  word  from  Mr. 
Congdon,  that  the  thought  uppermost  in  his 
mind  always  was  for  the  Maryland  girl  who 
came  west  with  him  to  share  the  dangers 
and  privations  of  western  life  and  remained 
his  loving  and  faithful  wife  during  all  the 
years.  One  consolation  in  this  sad  hour  is 
that  she  could  be  with  him  in  his  last  mo- 
ments, and  that  when  he  was  called  a\vay  he 
has  left  her  provided  for,  so  that  if  he  had 
time  to  think  over  the  matter  in  his  last  mo- 
ments he  left  us  with  the  assurance  that  the 
ultimate  purpose  of  his  life  was  about  to  be 
accomplished. 

Many  pages  could  be  written  were  I  to  go 
into  detail  of  incidents  in  Mr.  Hunt's  life 
which  show  him  to  have  been  an  exception- 
all)'  true  man.  If  he  failed  to  be  true  in  any- 
thing, it  was  not  in  not  husbanding  his 
strength  in  order  that  his  years  might  have 
been  prolonged. 

Bridgeport  Schools 

When  our  pioneer  forefathers  first  blazed 
a  trail  through  the  trackless  forests  of  the 
east,  one  of  the  early  necessities  of  the  rude 
settlement  was  the  old  log  schoolhouse 
where  "  'ritin',  readin',  and  'rithmetic"  were 
dealt  out  in  rather  scanty  allotments  to  the 
rising  young  hopefuls  of  the  comunity.  As 
the  frontier  line  steadily  pushed  westward 
until  the  great  prairie  region  of  the  Missis- 
sippi basin  was  reached,  the  unprepossessing 
log  "house  of  larnin"  gave  way  to  the  still 
more  gloomy  looking  sod  schoolhouse  where 
the  same  rule  of  three  was  dealt  with  just  as 
precariously.  No  matter  where  or  when  a 
settler  contemplates  going  to  a  new  location, 
perhaps  the  first  circumstance  he  considers 
is  the  educational  advantages  of  the  country 
in  which  he  intends  to  cast  his  lot.  If  he  is 
a  workman  living  in  town,  he  wants  to  learn 
at  once  how  much  and  how  good  schooling 
his  children  can  secure  without  leaving  the 
parental  roof.  If  he  is  a  farmer,  he  wants  to 
know  at  once  how  far  his  children  will  have 
to1  go  from  home  to  secure  the  educational 
advantages  which  are  their  rightful  heritage. 

To  the  many  newcomers  that  are  seriously 
contemplating  the  establishment  of  their 
homes  at  or  near  Bridgeport,  there  could  be 


M) 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


offered  no  stronger  inducement  than  the  ex- 
cellent educational  advantages  offered  in  this 
rising  city. 

No  town  in  the  state  of  1200  population 
can  offer  better  educational  facilities  and  but 
few  can  equal  them.  Housed  in  an  excep- 
tionally handsome  and  commodious  modern 
building,  the  Bridgeport  youngsters  enjoy 
luxuries  every  day  of  their  school  lives  that 
a  few  years  ago  were  undreamed  of,  and 
which  are  still  lacking  in  many  residences. 

The  first  grade  is  divided  into  two  sec- 
tions, presided  over  by  the  Misses  Dyson 
and  Sharp,  both  residents  of  Bridgeport  and 
graduates  of  the  institution  in  which  they 
are  now  instructing.  1919  was  the  first  year 
with  two  primary  teachers.  The  enrollment 
of  beginners  was  so  much  larger  than  usual 
owing  to  the  influx  of  settlers  that  one  room 
was  too  small  to  accommodate  them,  and 
one  teacher  was  added,  making  a  total  of 
twelve  on  the  entire  force. 

The  second  and  third  grades  are  combined 
under  the  instruction  of  Miss  Irene  McCos- 
key.  This  enrollment  has  also  reached  the 
limit,  and  the  time  is  short  until  there  will 
have  to  be  a  teacher  for  each  of  these  two 
rooms.  The  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  grades 
are  taught  by  the  Misses  Kortz,  Porter  and 
Davis  respectively.  All  of  these  young  ladies 
are  local  residents  and  graduates  of  the 
Bridgeport  high  school. 

The  seventh  and  eighth  grades  are  com- 
bined under  the  direction  of  Miss  Linnabery. 
The  time  is  already  here  when  each  of  these 
grades  should  be  in  a  separate  room  and 
have  individual  instructors.  After  the  en- 
rollment reaches  a  certain  number,  one 
teacher  cannot  handle  them  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. 

Now  the  high  school.  1919  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  term  found  but  very  few  extra 
seats,  the  enrollment  being  much  larger  than 
atany  former  time.  In  1918  the  school  was 
raised  to  what  is  known  as  "Class  A"  in  the 
comparative  rating  of  Nebraska  high  schools 
by  the  state  university.  1919  it  was  placed 
a  notch  higher,  being  entered  on  the  accred- 
ited list  of  the  North  Central  Association  of 
Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools.  This 
makes  the  rating  of  the  Bridgeport  high 
school  equal  to  the  best  in  the  state.  A 
graduate  of  this  institution  can  now  enter 
practically  any  school  in  the  country  with- 
out examination  unless  it  is  a  professional  or 
technical  college  that  requires  one  or  more 
years  of  undergraduate  college  study  as  a 
prerequisite  for  entrance. 

The  high   school   faculty  is   composed  of 


the  superintendent  and  four  teachers,  all 
possessing  degrees  from  a  four  year  college 
or  university.  F.  S.  Copeland  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Nebraska  is  superintendent,  and 
director  of  the  English  department.  Miss 
Florence  R.  Smith  of  the  University  of  Den- 
ver is  principal,  and  instructor  in  science  and 
mathematics.  Mrs.  E.  W.  Tedd  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Nebraska  is  assistant  principal, 
and  also  director  of  the  departments  of  his- 
tory and  normal  training.  Mrs.  W.  F.  Mor- 
rison of  the  Colorado  State  Teachers'  Col- 
lege is  director  of  the  commercial  depart- 
ment and  also  of  girls'  athletics.  Miss  Ledra 
Johnson  of  the  Nebraska  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity is  teacher  of  Latin  and  English,  and  has 
charge  of  the  High  School  Girls'  Glee  Club. 
In  addition  to  the  regular  members  of  the 
faculty,  there  is  employed  each  year  a  dra- 
matic coach  to  handle  the  annual  declama- 
tory contest.  For  the  last  two  years  Mrs. 
Ethel  M.  Copeland  of  the  University  of  Ne- 
braska has  been  employed  in  that  capacity. 

The  high  school  gives  four  full  years  of 
work  above  the  eighth  grade.  At  least  thir- 
ty university  credits  are  required  for  gradu- 
ation. The  course  for  the  first  two  years  is 
set  and  then  upon  entering  the  eleventh 
grade  the  student  is  free  to  choose  between 
the  commercial  and  normal  training  courses. 

The  commercial  course  consists  of  two 
full  years  work  in  that  department.  The 
studies  covered  are  shorthand,  typewriting, 
business  English,  bookkeeping,  and  Spanish. 
A  pupil  can  secure  a  complete  business  edu- 
cation right  in  the  home  school  and  prepare 
himself  for  a  good  position.  The  normal 
training  course  is  conducted  in  strict  com- 
pliance with  the  regulations  of  the  state  edu- 
cational department,  its  primary  object  be- 
ing to  send  out  each  year  a  number  of  well 
qualified  teachers.  How  well  this  object  is 
attained  can  be  attested  by  the  work  of  grad- 
uates in  the  schools  of  Morrill  and  adjoining 
counties. 

The  domestic  science  laboratory  is  as  well 
equipped  with  all  modern  appliances  as 
money  can  buy.  The  general  laboratorv  is 
remarkably  complete  for  instruction  in  all 
the  major  sciences.  The  typewriting  de- 
partment is  well  supplied  with  good  ma- 
chines. The  general  library  is  fair,  while 
the  historical  reference  shelves  are  well 
filled.  Throughout  all  the  grades  the  most 
up-to-date  texts  and  appliances  have  been 
procured. 

•In  the  dramatic  department,  1918.  this 
school  took  first  in  the  district  declamatory 
contest,  humorous  section.     The  local  con- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


391 


test  at  that  time  had  eighteen  entries,  twen- 
ty-three tryouts  were  entered  in  1919.  The 
interest  displayed  in  this  department  can  best 
be  appreciated  when  it  is  known  that  in  many 
high  schools  with  an  enrollment  of  two  hun- 
dred there  can  be  secured  but  eight  or  ten  en- 
tries for  the  local  contests. 

The  stress  of  the  war  caused  Iargel]  the 
suspension  of  school  athletics,  and  the  influ- 
enza epidemic  made  such  work  difficult.  Each 
spring  the  high  school  publishes  an  excellent 
senior  annual.  The  spring  dramatics  of  the 
school  are  always  of  a  strong  character.  A 
school  orchestra  and  glee  club  are  maintained. 

The  nineteen  hundred  and  eighteen  graduat- 
ing class  contained  nine  members.  Nineteen 
hundred  and  nineteen  will  graduate  eight,  one 
girl  having  answered  the  call  of  the  teaching 
profession  early  last  fall.  Nineteen  hundred  and 
eighteen's  enrollment  was  in  the  neighborhood 
of  225;  1919  close  to  300.  nearly  seventy  of 
which  were  in  high  school. 

It  has  been  only  a  few  years  since  Bridge- 
port organized  on  a  graded  basis.  Among  the 
school  superintendents  who  have  had  charge 
of  the  Bridgeport  schools  were  Arthur  North, 
Mr.  Briggs,  Mr.  Miller,  Mr.  Thompson,  Mr. 
R.  M.  Marrs,  C.  A.  Sheets,  F.  S.  Copeland  and 
E.  L.  Novotny. 

Some  of  the  school  officers  during  this  time 
were  as  follows : 

R.  P.  Scott,  L.  R.  North,  W.  H.  Willis,  A. 
W.  Atkins,  J.  M.  Lynch,  T-  I.  Zimmerman, 
Thomas  Ishmael,  O.  N.  Thostesen,  W.  H.  Wil- 
lis, Ben  Brown.  C.  Palmer,  E.  L.  Milmine,  E. 
W.  Swanson,  Z.  H.  Jones. 

In  the  year  of  1910  and  some  time  before 
that,  Bridgeport  schools  consisted  of  a  frame 
four  room  building  with  four  teachers.  Since 
that  time  the  enrollment  was  steadily  growing 
and  the  number  of  teachers  was  increased. 
This  called  for  another  two  room  frame  build- 
ing. 

In  1916  these  were  insufficient  and  a  brick 
building  of  fourteen  rooms  was  erected.  These 
are  modern  in  every  way.  In  1919  the  old 
two  room  school  house  was  moved  over  to  the 
main  building;  this  was  for  the  purpose  of  tak- 
ing care  of  the  increased  enrollment. 

In  1921  another  two  room  building  was 
erected.  The  school  at  present  has  three 
courses.  The  Commercial  which  was  added  in 
1916  under  Superintendent  C.  A.  Sheets,  and 
the  Normal  Training  Course  and  the  College 
Preparatory.  At  present  there  are  seventeen 
teachers  employed  with  385  pupils  in  the 
grades  and  ninety  in  the  high  school. 

Some  other  special  features  added  to  the 
school  under  the  present  administration  are  as 
follows : 


Citizenship  Course  throughout  the  school, 
Physical  Training  throughout  the  school.  Arts 
Course,  throughout  the  school,  Manual  Train- 
ing, Community  Play  Ground,  Parent-Teacher 
Association,  Intelligence  Tests  Given,  Athletics, 
Home  Economics,  Opportunity  Room,  Medical 
Inspection,  Free  Kindergarten,  School  Survey 
Given. 

The  school  at  present  ranks  as  high  as  any 
in  the  state.  It  is  rated  in  class  A  and  belongs 
to  the  North  Central  Association  of  Secondary 
Schools  and  College. 

Banks 

The  first  bank  in  Bridgeport  was  the  Bridge- 
port Bank,  organized  in  1900  with  J.  W. 
Wehn  as  president,  J.  O.  Baker  as  vice-presi- 
dent and  C.  H.  Connett  as  cashier.  The  next 
bank  was  the  Valley  State,  organized  in  1902. 
These  two  banks  ran  along  together  for  quite  a 
space  of  vears. 

In  1901  Mr.  Connett  resigned  and  Mark 
Spanogle  succeeded  him  as  cashier.  Then  Mr. 
Baker  disposed  of  his  interest  in  1904  and  Mr. 
Spanogle  became  a  member  of  the  board  of 
directors.  Under  the  direction  of  these  offi- 
cials the  bank  continued  until  February  3,  1909, 
when  Mr.  Wehn  resigned  the  position  of  presi- 
dent and  J.  H.  Wehn  retired  from  the  position 
of  assistant  cashier.  On  that  date  a  reorgan- 
ization of  the  bank  was  effected,  and  the  capi- 
tal stock  was  increased  to  $15,000.  A  new 
board  of  directors  was  chosen  as  follows:  Fred 
Lindberg,  Mark  Spanogle  and  Clyde  Spanogle, 
and  the  new  officers  were :  Fred  R.  Lindberg, 
president ;  L.  P.  Lindberg.  vice-president ; 
Mark  Spanogle,  cashier;  Clyde  Spanogle,  as- 
sistant cashier. 

In  1910  the  officers  of  these  banks  were: 
Bridgeport  Bank :  Fred  R.  Lindberg,  presi- 
dent ;  L.  P.  Lindberg ;  Mark  Spanogle,  cash- 
ier; and  Clyde  Spanogle.  At  that  time  this 
bank  had  a  paid  up  capital  of  $15,000,  surplus 
and  profits  $5,000.  deposits  $120,000.  State- 
ments which  not  only  reflect  the  steady  and 
healthy  growth  of  this  institution,  but  also  in- 
dicates similar  progressive  development  of  the 
community  may  be  gained  by  compairing  the 
statements  of  May  16,  1914,  with  that  of  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1920. 

May  16,  1914: 

Resources 
ounts .  .  . 


Loans  and  d 

<  Iverdrafts    

Banking  house,  furni- 
ture and  fixtures.  .  .  . 

Current  expenses,  taxes 
and  interest  paid.  . .  . 


$212,097.30 
226.61 


7,500.72 
40.72 


392 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Due  from  national  and 

state  banks   $  16,641.65 

Checks  and  items  of  ex- 
change    1,244.20 

Currency 2,567.00 

Gold  Coin 8,430.00 

Silver,  nickels  and  cents  1,890.62     30,773.47 

Total    $250,638.10 

Liabilities 

Capital  stock  paid  in.'. .  $  25,000.00 

Surplus  fund   3.500.00 

Undivided  profits    1,369.24 

Individual  deposits  sub- 
ject to  check $117,905.21 

Demand   certificates    of 

deposit 5,529.47 

Time  certificates  of  de- 
posit _  91,766.58 

Cashier's  checks  out- 
standing          1,255.00 

Due    to     national     and 

state   banks 2,735.91  219,192.17 

Depositors        guaranty 

fund ".  1,576.69 

Total    $250,638.10 

February  14,  1920: 

Resources 

Loans  and  discounts.  .  .  $757,825.23 

Overdrafts    6,067.36 

Bonds,  securities,  judg- 
ments, claims,  etc.,  in- 
cluding all  govern- 
ment bonds 1,700.00 

Banking  house,  furni- 
ture and  fixtures.  .  .  .  7.500.00 

Other  real  estate 2,500.00 

Current  expenses,  taxes 

and  interest  paid. . . .  13,379.57 

Due  from  national  and 

state  banks   $  40.934.07 

Checks  and  items  of  ex- 
change         12,468.36 

Currency 15,841.00 

Gold  coin 622.50 

Silver,  nickels  and  cents       4.283.89 

Liberty  loan  bonds  held 

as  cash  reserve 13,735.09     87,884.91 

Total    $876,857.07 

Liabilities 
Capital  stock  paid  in.  .  .  $  25.000.00 

Surplus  fund    25.000.00 

Undivided  profits 21,390.93 


Individual  deposits  sub- 
ject to  check $455,023.93 

Demand  certificates   of 

deposit    30,567.08 

Time  certificates  of  de- 
posit     297,571.42 

Cashier's  checks  out- 
standing           6,614.82 

Due  to  national  and 
state  banks 8,517.69  798,294.94 

Depositors         guaranty 

fund '.  7,171.20 

Total   $876,857.07 

In  1910  the  Valley  State  was  officiated  by 
Homer  K.  Burkett  of  Lincoln,  as  president,  C. 

A.  Morrill,  vice  president,  who  was  later  suc- 
ceeded in  that  office  by  M.  W.  Folsom  of  Lin- 
coln, J.  L.  Johnson,  cashier  and  John  G.  Burk- 
ett. assistant  cashier. 

This  bank,  at  that  time,  had  a  paid  up  cap- 
ital of  $20,000.00,  surplus  $2,300.00.  deposits 
$81,650.00.  and  loans  and  taxes  $84,780.00. 

This  institution  in  1910  was  succeeded  by 
The  First  National  Bank  of  Bridgeport.  The 
officers,  in  1914,  were:  Directors.  H.  K.  Burk- 
ett, M.  W.  Folsom,  G.  H.  Watkins.  J.  L.  Miller, 
J.  L.  Johnson,  W.  C.  Dugger ;  President,  H.  K. 
Burkett ;  Vice-president,  M.  W.  Folsom  ;  Cash- 
ier, G.  H.  Watkins  ;  Assistant  Cashier.  T.  B. 
Estill. 

The  only  changes  in  the  officers  were  the 
substitution  of  M.  W.  Folsom  for  J.  L.  John- 
son in  the  office  of  vice-president,  and  the  pro- 
motion of  T.  B.  Estill  to  the  position  of  assist- 
ant cashier. 

In  1915,  some  changes  were  made  in  the 
government  of  this  bank  and  the  Xcz^s-Blade 
of  January  15.  1915,  gave  the  following  ac- 
count of  the  personnel  of  the  management  of 
this  institution : 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of 
the  First  National  Bank,  was  held  last  week 
at  which  time  directors  were  elected  for  the 
coming  vear  as   follows :     W.   C.   Duggor.  T. 

B.  Estill,  J.  L.  Miller,  F.  H.  Putman,  G.  H. 
Watkins,  Lloyd  Wiggins. 

The  following  officers  were  then  elected :  G. 
H.  Watkins,  president ;  F.  H.  Putman.  vice- 
president  :  T.  B.  Estill,  cashier ;  Lloyd  Wiggins, 
assistant  cashier. 

Mr.  Watkins  has  been  vice-president  of  the 
Citizen's  National  Bank,  of  McCook,  of  which 
institution  Mr^.  Franklin  is  the  president,  and 
he  will  divide  his  time  between  the  two  banks. 
F.  H.  Putman.  the  vice  president,  is  one  of  the 
best  known  men  in  western  Nebraska.  He  rode 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


393 


the  range  in  the  early  days  and  finally  settled 
down  to  the  prosaic  life  of  a  lumber  dealer. 

T.  B.  Estill  has  been  with  the  bank  for  the 
past  two  years  in  the  capacity  of  assistant  cash- 
ier, and  now  steps  up  to  the  more  responsible 
position  of  cashier.  Mr.  Estill  is  popular  with 
the  people  of  town  and  country,  and  has  al- 
ready made  good. 

Lloyd  Wiggins  has  been  the  local  manager 
of  the  Carr  &  Neff  Lumber  Company  for  six 
years  past  and  has  a  steadily  growing  business 
to  his  credit.  His  successor  has  not  yet  been 
selected,  and  he  will  continue  to  look  after  the 
lumber  business  for  a  time,  but  enters  upon 
his  new  duties  as  assistant  cashier,  on  January 
20th. 

The  other  directors,  W.  C.  Duggor  and  J.  L. 
Miller,  have  been  identified  with  the  develop- 
ment of  town  and  country  since  pioneer  days. 
They  have  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  the 
people. 

The  fact  that  the  First  National  has  been 
controlled  by  non-residents  has  worked  against 
its  popularity,  but  now,  under  home  manage- 
ment, it  expects  to  get  its  share  of  the  business. 

The  Nebraska  State  Bank  of  Bridgeport  was 
the  third  institution  of  Bridgeport  which  start- 
ed in  1916,  with  L.  B.  Howey,  of  the  City  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Lincoln,  as  president;  J.  L. 
Miller  of  Bridgeport, '  and  T.  L.  Green  as 
vice  presidents;  T.  B.  Estill,  theretofore  cash- 
ier of  the  First  National  Bank,  as  cashier  and 
W.  B.  Meeker,  assistant  cashier. 

This  bank  started  with  a  capital  of  $25,000, 
and  soon  built  up  a  surplus  profit  of  $5,000, 
with  deposits  of  $115,000.  and  loans  and  dis- 
counts $106,000,  during  1916. 

On  September  6,  1918.  the  News-Blade  com- 
mented upon  a  change  of  management  of  this 
bank  as  follows : 

The  management  and  controlling  interest  of 
the  Nebraska  State  bank  changed  hands  the 
first  of  the  month.  A.  E.  Fisher,  who  founded 
and  operated  successfully  the  Farmers  State 
Bank  of  Bayard,  being  president  of  that  insti- 
tution, sold  his  interest  in  that  concern  about 
two  weeks  ago  and  went  over  a  considerable 
part  of  Nebraska  in  search  of  a  promising  lo- 
cation for  another  bank.  Mr.  Fisher  became 
convinced  that  Bridgeport  has  the  best  pros- 
pects for  immediate  advancement  of  all  the 
towns  he  has  investigated,  so  he  made  purchase 
of  all  of  the  stock  of  the  Nebraska  State  Bank 
of  this  city  that  is  owned  by  non-residents.  He 
took  over  the  interests  of  Green,  Wright. 
Howey  and  Ferguson  of  Scottsbluff  and  Lin- 
coln, and  has  assumed  charge  of  the  bank  as 
cashier.  Mr.  Fisher  has  a  family  consisting  of 
a  wife  and  three  children,  and   will  move  to 


this  city  as  soon  as  he  can  arrange  for  a  resi- 
dence property.  The  bank  will  therefore  be  a 
strictly  home  institution,  and  Mr.  Fisher  and 
family  will  be  made  welcome  in  their  new  home 
by  all  of  our  citizens. 

The  growth  reached  by  this  bank  in  its  ca- 
reer is  reflected  by  its  statements  of  February 
14,  1920: 

Resources 

Loans  and  discounts  .  .  .  $148,402.99 

Overdrafts    1,227.73 

Bonds,  securities,  judg- 
ments, claims,  etc., 
including  government 
bonds 915.76 

Banking  house,  furni- 
ture and  fixtures 6,083.81 

Current  expenses,  taxes 

and  interest  paid.  .  .  .  1,380.06 

Cash  items 513.34 

Due  from  National  and 

State  banks $  54,315.76 

Checks  and  items  of  ex- 
change          1,304.92 

Currency 6,947.00 

Gold  coin 377.50 

Silver,  nickels  and  cents  858.04     63,803.22 

Total    $222,326.91 

Liabilities 

Capital  Stock  $  25,000.00 

Surplus    fund 3,500.00 

Undivided  profits 1,503.16 

Individual  deposits  sub- 
ject to  check $104,859.86 

Time  certificates  of  de- 
posit       85,225.67 

Cashier's  checks  out- 
standing    218.16  190,303.69 

Depositors'  '     guaranty 

fund '.  2.020.06 

Total    $222,326.91 

In  February,  1917,  a  charter  was  granted  by 
the  state  banking  board  for  the  establishment 
of  a  new  bank  at  Broadwater,  to  be  called  the 
Union  State  Bank.  In  looking  over  the  list 
of  stockholders,  appeared  the  names  of  some 
of  the  most  prominent  men  of  Broadwater  and 
vicinity,  as  well  as  some  of  the  strongest  finan- 
ciers of  Bridgeport. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  named  as 
stockholders:  E.  V.  Duer.  John  Covalt,  Clyde 
Spanogle,  J.  R.  Minshall.  John  H.  Adams, 
George  W.  Beerline,  Carl  A.  Wagoner,  Fred 
Lindberg,  Carl  C.  Stevens,  <  )lof  Lindberg,  and 


394 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Mark  Spanogle.     The  following  named  stock- 
holders appeared  as  officers  of  the  bank : 

Mark  Spanogle,  president ;  George  W.  Beer- 
line,  vice-president ;  Clyde  Spanogle,  cashier. 

Corporations  and  Associations 

A  review  of  the  record  of  corporations  and 
associations  as  kept  in  compliance  with  the 
laws  of  the  state  at  the  County  Clerk's  office, 
show  those  who  have  been  the  energetic  launch- 
ers and  operators  of  numerous  business  enter- 
prises that  have  flourished  in  Morrill  county. 
The  articles  of  the  Bridgeport  Independent 
Telephone  Company  filed  on  March  18,  1901, 
showed  as  incorporators :  R.  Swanger,  F.  E. 
Bentley.  I.  Catron,  Mrs.  I.  Catron,  P.  G.  Be- 
bauer,  W.  C.  Harned,  O.  J.  Life,  F.  E.  Wil- 
liams, C.  A.  Tolle,  G.  A.  Zimmerman,  H.  L. 
Scoggin,  Leslie  H.  Ball,  Jesse  F.  Young,  Wil- 
liam H.  Willis  and  E.  G.  Rouse. 

The  Wehn  Telephone  Company  made  con- 
nection in  1909,  with  the  Bell  Telephone  Com- 
pany system  at  North  Platte,  making  full  me- 
tallic service  from  Ogallala. 

By  the  enterprise  of  this  company,  and 
Bridgeport  people,  service  was  soon  had 
throughout  the  county,  to  Broadwater,  Lisco, 
Oshkosh,  Lewellen  and  on  to  North  Platte. 

Forest  Lawn  Cemetery 
To  the  Forest  Lawn  Cemetery  Association, 
is  due  the  beautiful  resting  place  which  has 
been  secured  and  developed  as  a  last  resting 
place  for  the  loved  ones  of  the  citizens  of 
Bridgeport.  The  original  board  of  trustees 
who  bore  the  brunt  of  the  work  and  secured 
and  developed  this  beautiful  plot  were:  J.  M. 
Lynch,  clerk,  I.  A.  Davis,  D.  A.  Sharp,  J.  B. 
Burke,  chairman,  Thos.  Ishmael,  G.  A.  Wel- 
ton,  L.  R.  North,  R.  H.  North,  R.  H.  Willis, 
C.  A.  Tolle. 

The  Morrill  Land  and  Investment 
Company 
Filed  on  March  12.   1919.  with  Harvey  L., 
Sarah  L..  and  Hazel  T.  Scoggin,  as  incorpora- 
tors. 

The  Pool  Stock  Company  of  Broadwater 
Incorporated  on  November  22,  1909,  to  buy 
and  sell  cattle  with:  Coote  C.  Malloy,  J.  C. 
Birdsell,  Richard  H.  Watkins,  as  incorpora- 
tors ;  Charles  G.  Edgerton,  president  and  gen- 
eral manager,  and  Paul  Burkhalter,  of  Broad- 
water, as  secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  Bridgeport  Light  and  Power  Company 
filed  articles  on  December  28,  1910,  calling  for 
a  capital  stock  of  $25,000,  with  the  following 
incorporators:     Jos.  L.   Miller,  Jas.   L.  Tout, 


J.  B.  Burke,  F.  K.  Irwin.  A.  L.  Davis.  Charles 
C.  Nelson,  C.  Palmer,  Thos.  Ishmael.  Fred 
Lindberg,  Robert  H.  Willis,  J.  N.  Lynch.  C.  S. 
Hutchinson,  J.  E.  Trinnier,  Loren  R.  North, 
J.  E.  LeBlanc,  secretary,  J.  L.  Johnson.  John 
G.  Burkett,  Charles  F.  Clawges,  Mark  Iddings, 
Elbert  Scott,  Victor  Anderson,  Mark  Spanogle, 
Fay  E.  Williams,  J.  F.  Steuteville,  George  J. 
Hunt,  A.  S.  Kaempfer. 

Farmers  Mutual  Canal  Company  had  filed 
on  July  6,  1909,  to  take  over  the  canal  then 
owned  by  the  Tri-State  Land  Company,  with 
B.  G.  Dohman,  F.  W.  Taylor  and  Fred  A. 
Wright  as  incorporators. 

The  Bridgeport  Mercantile  Companv  filed 
August  5,  1911,  with  William  D.  Cocke,' Loren 
R.  North  and  Charles  E.  Steuteville,  as  incor- 
porators. 

Platte  Valley  Company  filed  on  July  9.  1912, 
with  Claude  S.  Cheatham,  Mable  Cheatham, 
and  Matilda  Hilfiker,  as  incorporators. 

The  Mount  Hope  Cemetery  Association  filed 
on  February  25,  1919,  articles  showing  it  in- 
tended to  establish  a  cemetery  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  Section  6,  Township  20,  Range  51, 
near  Atkins,  and  the  articles  were  signed  by 
R.  E.  O'Neal,  Gus  Middlestadt,  George  De- 
Graw,  Albert  O'Neal,  Fred  Berger,  Oscar 
Funk  and  A.  W.  Anderson. 

Western  Blau  Gas  Company,  incorporated 
March  4,  1915,  with  James  D.  Sevier,  S.  Rob- 
inson and  Alderman  as  incorporators. 

An  enterprise  which  has  given  Bridgeport 
some  distinction  in  the  industrial  world  has 
been  its  pickle  factory.  The  Otto  Kuehne 
Pickling  Company  was  incorporated  Tune  15, 
1915,  by:  P.  C.  Wade,  A.  T.  Seybelt,  Thos. 
Ishmael,  Otto  Kuehne,  Sam  Livingston,  A.  W. 
Atkins,  A.  Weisenberger,  J.  L.  Johnson,  F.  H. 
Putman,  J.  F.  Holloway,  L.  R.  North,  T-  A. 
Schwender,  F.  E.  Williams,  T.  B.  Estill,  J.  G. 
Porter,  William  Mount,  Robert  Gregg,  R.  A. 
Riddle,  Martin  Hannwald,  T.  M.  Lvnch,  Fred 
Lindberg,  William  H.  Willis,  J.  E.  Trinnier. 

The  operation  of  this  enterprise  is  told  thus 
in  May,  1919. 

H.  H.  Van  Deventer  is  starting  the  spring 
campaign  for  cucumbers  for  the  pickle  factory. 
He  is  making  contracts  with  growers  and  is 
offering  assistance  to  all  who  want  to  plant 
cucumbers  for  the  factory  this  year.  The  com- 
pany will  furnish  seed  to  all  growers,  so  that 
cucumbers  will  be  of  standard  size  and  quality 
and  will  enable  the  factory  to  pay  the  best 
price.  Prices  will  be  paid  on  the  same  scale 
as  last  year,  which  were  "war  prices ;"  so  the 
growers  will  know  from  the  beginning  that  they 
are  going  to  get  good  returns  for  their  labor. 
An  expert  superintendent  in  the  person  of  C. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


395 


H.  Pickarts,  formerly  of  Leavenworth,  Kans., 
is  on  the  ground  and  will  move  his  family 
here  soon.  He  will  give  his  best  attention  to 
the  factory  management  and  to  the  producing 
of  a  high  class  of  pickles  by  the  factory  so 
that  the  business  may  be  put  on  a  more  per- 
manent basis.  Prospective  growers  should  see 
the  superintendent  or  Mr.  Van  Deventer,  the 
president,  or  may  make  their  contracts  at  the 
Hunt  Realty  company's  office  at  any  time.  This 
should  be  attended  to  at  once  by  those  who 
want  to  grow  cucumbers  this  season. 

The  Broadwater  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Company  was  incorporated  May  16,  1916,  by 
John  Adams,  J.  R.  Minshall,  Carl  Wagoner, 
Harry  Golden,  Thos.  A.  Haiston,  C.  C.  Pay- 
ton,  Virgil  O.  Bruner,  Haver  Bruner,  C.  W. 
Rudisil,  C.  M.  Ewing,  M.  L.  Wehn,  Preston 
Enos,  H.  W.  Shull,  J.  A.  Tishchacher,  O.  H. 
Browning,  C.  B.  Merritt,  Paul  Bruner,  Claude 
E.  Williams,  Charles  T.  Williams,  John  Co- 
valt  and  Lottie  Covalt. 

The  industry  of  Bridgeport  is  the  creamery. 
The  change  and  progressive  plan  for  this  insti- 
tution, formulated  in  May,  1919,  were  recorded 
as  follows  : 

On  Tuesday,  May  16,  1919,  the  property  of 
the  Farmers  Cooperative  Association  was  sold 
to  ten  individual  farmers  who  are  reorganizing 
the  affairs  of  the  company  and  will  eventually 
merge  the  concern  into  a  Farmers  Union  Co- 
operative Association.  This  merger  will  be 
made  within,  the  next  sixty  days.  In  the 
meanwhile  the  property  will  be  used  as  a 
receiving  station  for  butter  fat  and  eggs  and 
business  will  be  kept  up  as  usual.  The  pres- 
ent name  of  the  organization  is  the  Farmers 
Creamery  company,  of  which  E.  P.  Loy  is 
present  manager  and  Frank  Corl  is  operator. 

The  men  who  took  over  the  creamer)-  are 
E.  P.  Loy,  J.  E.  Oliver,  W.  J.  Cochran,  Or- 
ville  Dugger,  Joe  Niehus,  Will  Muhr,  Gus  Mit- 
tlesteadt,  Clarence  Mount,  William  Powell  and 
Joseph  Twist. 

They  are  all  representative  farmers  and 
stockmen  of  the  substantial  kind.  They  as- 
sumed liability  for  payment  for  the  property 
and  will  retain  ownership  until  a  Farmers  Un- 
ion Cooperative  Association  has  been  perfect- 
ed, which  will  be  soon. 

The  manager  advises  us  that  it  is  the  inten- 
tion of  the  Farmers  Union  Cooperative  Asso- 
ciation to  handle  a  number  of  lines  of  business 
as  soon  as  arrangements  can  be  made.  They 
will  handle  cream  separators,  now  having  an 
agency  for  these,  and  will  engage  in  general 
merchandise  business  including  farm  machin- 
ery, along  the  lines  of  the  Farmer  Union  stores 
that  are  in  operation  at  different  places.     The 


manager  also  states  that  the  requisite  number 
of  petitioners  for  the  organization  of  a  Far- 
mers Union  has  been  secured  and  the  rest  of 
the  work  of  organizing  is  largely  of  a  detail 
character. 

Bayard  Cemetery  Association  filed  articles 
July  20,  1916,  with  the  following  as  incorpora- 
tors:  C.  H.  Harpole,  I.  L.  Mueller,  T.  F. 
Watkins,  W.  E.  Garwood,  L.  A.  Fricke,  W. 
T.  McKelvey,  R.  A.  Wisner,  E.  Einsell.  L.  C. 
Leach,  all  elected  directors  except  the  last  two. 

Broadwater  Corporative  Association  was  in- 
corporated for  a  wholesale  and  retail  business 
in  coal,  lumber,  implements  and  machinery  by : 
Marion  Morriss,  Harvey  Majors,  Carl  A.  Wag- 
oner, Pete  Armburst,  Perry  Babb,  John  J. 
Grimes  and  M.  L.  Wehn. 

The  Farmers  Cooperative  Association  of 
Bridgeport  filed  articles  on  October  25,  1916, 
with  $10,000  capital  and  signed  by:  W.  C. 
Muhr,  J.  A.  Muhr,  E.  G.  Rouse,  W.  J.  Coch- 
ran, Harvey  Hascall,  Gus  Mittlestadt,  W.  T. 
Todd,  George  Sudvka,  W.  D.  Cocke,  Thos. 
Carter,  I.  E.  Oliver.'G.  A.  Seslar,  H.  D.  Mcwil- 
liams,  C.  W.  Mount.  S.  H.  Burkey,  Floyd 
Friend,  J.  L.  Muhr,  William  Powell,  George 
Miceke,  T.  O.  Dugger,  E.  P.  Lov,  and  James 
F.  Turst. 

Farmer  Union  of  Bayard  was  incorporated 
on  March  17,  1917,  by:  George  Harms,  John 
H.  Helzer,  O.  S.  Smith,  Willie  Linn,  Ira  Bige- 
low,  W.  E.  Garwood,  G.  A.  Norgren,  G.  W. 
Suhr,  Hugo  Diedricksen,  G.  S.  Sawin,  R.  M. 
Garwood,  John  Peuse,  I.  C.  Hanson,  I.  C. 
Watt,  A.  J.  Dunham,  D.  H.  Henderson,  W.  F. 
Gray,  D.  E.  Meredith,  Henry  C.  Knott,  George 
N.  Lee,  C.  F.  Prouty,  George  C.  Fox,  Argell 
Warren,  Conrad  Knim  &  Son. 

Union  State  Bank  of  Bridgeport  was  incor- 
porated with  the  following  directors:  E.  N. 
Duer,  John  H.  Adams,  J.  R.  Minshall,  Fred  R. 
Lindberg,  and  the  following  stockholders : 
George  W.  Beerline,  John  Cavalt,  E.  W.  Duer, 
Fred  R.  Lindberg,  John  H.  Adams,  C.  A.  Wag- 
oner, Carl  C.  Stevens,  Clyde  Spanogle.  J.  R. 
Minshall  and  Mark  Spanogle. 

Churches 
The  establishing  of  resident  congregation  in 
Bridgeport  came  soon  after  the  town  sprang 
up  in  1900  with  the  Methodists  in  the  field 
first.  The  Presbyterian,  the  Episcopal  and  the 
Baptist  congregations  followed.  The  Catholic, 
Lutheran,  Evangelical  and  Seven  Day  Adven- 
tist  while  having  no  church  edifice,  held  occa- 
sional services  in  Bridgeport.  The  United 
Brethren  congregation  built  a  church  in  1904, 
and  maintained  actively  for  quite  a  few  years 
and  then  sold  their  building  to  the  Presbyterian 


396 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


people.  Rev.  Wagner  was  their  first  pastor. 
Rev.  S.  H.  King  has  served  the  people  of  the 
Presbyterian  congregation  for  the  past  three 
years,  or  since  the  resignation  of  Rev.  George 
F.  MacDougall. 

Rev.  E.  R.  Kendall  came  to  the  Methodist 
people  in  1919,  before  him  Rev.  A.  J.  May  had 
served  this  congregation. 

An  interesting  and  memorial  occasion  for  the 
Presbyterian  workers  of  this  vicinity  was  in 
April,  1919. 

The  Box  Butte  Presbytery  was  in  session  for 
three  days  in  Bridgeport  and  brought  a  very 
large  number  of  visitors  to  the  city.  Among 
those  who  were  present  were  the  following: 
Rev.  Alexander  Wimberly,  of  Bayard,  also  the 
moderator;  Rev.  E.  A.  Sayre,  of  Gering,  the 
clerk  of  Presbytery;  Rev.  Ben  Fye,  temporary 
clerk,  clerk  of  Presbytery,  and  a  resident  of 
Scottsbluff;  Rev.  A.  J.  Kearns,  of  Alliance; 
Rev.  W.  H.  Kearns,  Omaha ;  Rev.  P.  P.  Kep- 
linger,  Mitchell ;  Rev.  E.  A.  Steen,  Scottsbluff ; 
Rev.  George  Woodward,  Broadwater;  Rev.  J. 
P.  Miller,  Gordon;  Rev.  T.  J.  Hunter,  Kim- 
ball; Rev.  J.  B.  Currens,  Morrill;  Rev.  Thom- 
as Osborn,  Bayard  ;  Mr.  R.  V.  Crone,  president 
of  Hasting  College,  and  Dr.  E.  H.  Lehman,  of 
Lolodorf,  Africa. 

The  following  were  elders,  or  layworkers : 
J.  D.  Johnston,  Bridgeport ;  Mr.  A.  W.  Wilson, 
Dix;  J.  E.  Wilson,  Alliance;  T.  O.  Samuelson, 
Lisco";  E.  F.  Barfoot,  Kimball;  Hugh  D. 
Moore,  Sidney ;  Orville  Wilson,  Dix ;  J.  O. 
Kemper,  Bayard. 

From  time  to  time,  a  great  many  others  were 
in  attendance  upon  the  session  which  was  filled 
with  interesting  debates,  reports,  and  delibera- 
tions of  the  New  Era  program  of  the  whole 
church. 

The  rules  of  the  Presbytery  were  revised, 
which  make  the  fall  meeting  come  upon  the 
third  Tuesday  in  September,  at  Gordon.  After 
this  date,  the  spring  meeting  is  to  be  held  on 
the  third  Tuesday  in  April,  each  year.  The 
commissioners  to  the  general  assembly  which 
convenes  in  St.  Louis,  in  May,  are  Rev.  George 
Woodward  and  H.  D.  Moore.  Alternates,  Rev. 
S.  Light,  and  Dr.  Wilson,  of  Rushville.  Rev. 
Ben  Fye  as  a  committee  on  resolutions  gave  a 
hearty  testimonial  to  the  hospitality  extended 
to  the  delegates  and  to  the  arrangement  com- 
pleted by  the  committee  on  entertainment,  Rev. 
S.  H.  King,  the  pastor,  and  elders  L.  R.  North, 
E.  V.  Draper,  J.  D.  Johnston,  C.  E.  Garner,  O. 
N.  Thostesen  and  Lee  Nunn. 

The  Ladies  Presbyterial  Missionary  society 
met  at  the  same  time  in  the  lecture  room  and 
had  very  interesting  sessions  and  were  address- 
ed   by    Mrs.    Hilliker   and    Mrs.    Johnson    of 


Omaha.  They  had  many  ladies  from  in  and 
out  of  town  as  visitors  among  which  were  the 
following:  Mrs.  Moore,  Mrs.  Hunter,  Mrs. 
Harvey,  Mrs.  Wilson,  Mrs.  Woodward,  Mrs. 
Speith,  Mrs.  Barfoot,  Mrs.  North,  Mrs.  Todd, 
Mrs.  Seybolt,  Mrs.  Vance,  and  Mrs.  Wilson 
of  Alliance.  Under  their  auspices  the  lecture 
by  Dr.  W.  S.  Lehman  was  held  in  the  church 
in  the  evening  and  a  very  generous  offering  was 
taken  for  missions. 

Passing  of  Pioneers 

One  by  one  the  original  pioneers  are  making 
a  pilgrimage  to  another  land.  Two  of  those 
who  were  in  the  history  of  Redington  some 
years  ago  are  gone.  Fred  Putney,  who  died  at  ■ 
Torrington  in  the  summer  of  1919,  was  about 
twenty-five  years  ago  living  on  Pumpkin  Creek 
a  few  miles  west  of  Redington.  Fred  Putney 
weighed  six  hundred  and  sixty  pounds,  by  far 
the  largest  resident  of  the  North  Platte  valley. 
He  had  had  made  for  him  a  specially  construct- 
ed motor  car  with  the  steering  wheel  in  the 
center,  and  before  his  death  which  he  saw  ap- 
proaching he  had  measurements  taken  and  a 
coffin  made — the  largest  ever  made  by  the  Den- 
ver casket  makers.  A  part  of  the  side  walls 
of  the  house  had  to  be  removed  to  carry  the 
casket  through.  Fred  Putney  was  an  old  cow- 
puncher,  and  rode  the  range  until  he  grew  too 
heavy  for  a  horse.  He  was  a  man  of  true  west- 
ern courage,  and  with  a  heart  in  proportion  to 
the  splendid  size  of  his  physique. 

Another  pioneer  that  has  recently  gone  on 
to  the  new  country,  is  Henry  Niehus.  Niehus 
was  born  in  Germany  sixty-five  years  ago,  and 
came  to  America  about  a  half  century  since. 
Nebraska  became  a  state  and  Niehus  an  Ameri- 
can about  the  same  time,  and  each  has  done  the 
part  allotted  to  make  the  colors  of  the  flag 
shine  brighter.  As  related  elsewhere,  he  settled 
on  Lawrence  Fork  in  1889.  He  was  a  man  of 
unabating  energy  and  industry,  and  left  a  com- 
fortable estate.  His  widow,  one  son  and  three 
daughters  succeed  him,  each  of  which  is  doing 
duty  in  the  various  walks  of  life.  Joe  Niehus 
lives  on  the  home  place  at  Redington,  Mrs. 
Theodore  Scoville  lives  at  Bushnell  in  Kimball 
county.  Mrs.  Will  Borden  resides  at  Bayard, 
and  the  other  daughter,  Mrs.  R.  H.  Willis  lives 
at  Bridgeport. 

Still  another  name  that  is  familiar  in  the 
storv  of  Morrill  county  and  Bridgeport,  is  that 
of  Beerline.  John  Beerline,  who  came  to  the 
North  Platte  valley  in  1896,  and  was  married 
to  Lilly  Ewing  three  years  later,  has  gone  on  to 
the  New  Land,  yet  the  land  that  is  ages  old. 
Mike  Beerline  of  Bridgeport,  and  George  Beer- 
line  of   Broadwater   are  brothers   of   the   de- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


397 


ceased.  These  three  brothers  have  stamped 
their  names  indelibly  upon  the  history  of  the 
communities  in  which  they  made  their  home. 

Frank  Schram  is  another  American  who 
came  to  this  country  from  Germany,  three  years 
before  Nebraska  became  a  state.  In  order  to 
get  permission  to  leave  the  land  of  his  nativity, 
he  had  to  promise  to  return  in  case  he  was 
needed  for  military  duty.  A  year  or  so  before 
the  outbreak  of  the  World  War,  he  was  in- 
jured in  a  runaway,  the  final  result  of  which 
was  his  demise  after  five  years  of  ill  health.  He 
came  to  the  North  Platte  valley  in  1888;  and 
resided  here,  on  his  farm  and  in  the  city  of 
Bridgeport  since.  Mrs.  Schram  was  formerly 
Mrs.  Margaret  Mueller. 

In  1903,  when  Bridgeport  was  in  its  swad- 
dling clothes,  J.  L.  Johnson  came  to  the  city 
and  engaged  in  the  banking  business.  He  was 
cashier  of  the  Platte  Valley  State,  which  after- 
wards became  the  First  National.  He  has  been 
active  in  the  commercial  and  civic  affairs  of  the 
town,  but  has  gone  on  to  that  City  not  made 
with  hands.  He  was  faithful  in  his  steward- 
ship in  public  welfare  as  well  is  in  the  accumu- 
lation of  property. 

With  the  passing  of  Frank  H.  King,  which 


occurred  a  few  years  since,  western  Nebraska 
lost  one  of  the  stalwart  characters  whose  record 
goes  back  to  the  days  of  cattle  kings.  From 
1875  to  1883  he  worked  for  the  Bosler  Broth- 
ers' outfit,  and  then  for  a  few  years  he  was  an 
Ogallala  foreman.  He  then  bought  one  of  the 
old  Bosler  ranches,  and  went  into  the  new  man- 
ner of  ranching.  King  was  sheriff  of  Cheyenne 
county  four  years,  from  1897  to  1900.  He  was 
an  excellent  man  in  every  respect,  loved  by  his 
neighbors  and  old  timers  generally,  and  they 
turned  out  enmasse  to  attend  the  final  services 
to  their  comrade  and  friend.  Those  who  rode 
the  range  with  him  here,  who  saw  his  departure 
for  the  Other  Range,  did  so  with  the  calm  as- 
surance that  they  will  join  him  in  the  Final 
Roundup  later  on.  King  left  a  widow  and  six 
children,  and  the  name  will  always  be  linked  in 
the  history  of  Morrill  county,  as  one  that  ties 
the  older  times  to  the  new,  for  King  had  the 
wisdom  to  know  that  the  old  way  of  ranching 
was  gone,  and  to  adopt  the  new  standard  at  the 
right  time.  Fred,  Harry,  Frank,  Grace,  Hazel 
and  Catherine,  the  children,  have  grown  up 
here  and  remain  to  perpetuate  the  name  and 
blood  of  excellent  parentage. 


CHAPTER  VI 
BAYARD 


The  first  settlements  made  in  that  part  of 
Morrill  county,  in  which  the  city  of  Bayard 
now  flourishes,  as  has  been  pointed  out  in  other 
parts  of  this  work,  were  in  the  middle  eighties. 
It  was  not  until  about  that  time  that  home- 
steaders pushed  into  the  high  plains  of  this 
region,  and  attempted  to  wrest  these  lands 
from  the  cattle  men.  The  cattle  wars  that 
raged  for  a  time  never  reached  the  state  of 
terror  here  that  they  did  on  the  Wyoming 
prairies.  By  1888  the  big  herds  had  been 
practically  withdrawn  and  the  settlers  were  left 
in  virtually  undisputed  possession  of  the  valley. 
W.  P.  De Vault  had  preempted  in  1888  and  E. 
M.  Stearns  came  from  Loup  City  about  that 
time  and  made  a  deal  with  Wm.  Peters  who 
had  homesteaded  on  section  27  and  there  the 
original  town  site  of  Bayard  was  planned  and 
lots  laid  out.  Three  other  men  went  into  this 
project,   Dr.   Cottington,   Messrs.   Winter   and 


Kranzfelter.  A  small  community  soon  grew 
up.  The  first  bank  was  the  small  Bank  of 
Bayard.  Stearns  installed  a  store.  The  Bayard 
Transcript  was  launched  in  1888  in  a  sod  house, 
a  little  ways  off  the  town  site,  and  a  small  plant 
was  moved  from  Loup  City,  and  a  Mr.  Totten 
was  the  first  editor,  but  F.  O.  Wisner  took 
charge  of  this  paper  within  a  year  and  it  has 
been  in  the  hands  of  that  family  ever  since. 
Wm.  Johnston  had  a  livery  stable.  For  a  time 
Harvey  Stevens  ran  one  of  the  stores  and 
James  O'Holleran  handled  groceries  and  con- 
ducted the  postoffice.  F.  C.  McMath  had  a 
stock  of  goods,  which  he  disposed  of  to  A.  O. 
Taylor  who  ran  the  stock  until  the  railroad 
came  and  then  the  store  was  taken  to  the  new 
site  by  Frank  Stearns.  S.  D.  Burnett  started 
the  old  hotel  and  that  building  was  moved  over 
to  the  new  town  site.  In  1898  Gering.  Bayard, 
Lewellen  and   Oshkosh  were  the  only  places 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


claiming  the  distinction  of  towns  in  the  whole 
North  Platte  valley.  In  fact,  Gering  was  the 
only  town.  Other  places  had  been  established, 
risen  into  prominence,  and  passed  into  history. 
Fifty  miles  from  the  nearest  railroad  supported 
by  the  cattlemen  of  the  high  plains  and  the  far- 
mer, no  better,  thriftier,  more  industrious  place 
\Vas  to  be  found  in  the  west.  The  outside  world 
was  taking  notice  of  this  busy  little  place  and 
the  wonderful  opportunities  in  the  valley  sur- 
rounding. There  was  hardly  an  acre  of  land, 
water  for  irrigation  included,  but  could  have 
been  bought  for  $10.00,  and  the  seller  would 
have  thought  he  was  having  the  best  of  the 
bargain.  Capitalists  began  to  look  at  North 
Platte  valley  as  a  good  place  to  invest.. 

The  C.  B.  &  Q.  railway  saw  a  future,  for 
this  country  and  built  into  it,  a  paying  institu- 
tion from  the  first  train.  This  was  the  con- 
necting link  of  civilization  the  valley  was  now 
to  the  outside  world.  New  people,  with  new 
business  life  came;  the  old  inhabitants  were 
awakened  from  their  peaceful  slumber  of  con- 
tentment, and  a  new  era,  a  greatness  only 
dreamed  of  by  far-seeing  few,  began  to  be  a 
reality.  Land  content  to  be  worthless  waste 
became  valuable  town  lots  in  the  new  towns 
springing  up  along  the  new  highway  built  in  the 
track  of  the  one  made  by  the  prairie  schooner 
a  half-century  before. 

The  real  history  of  the  new  town  of  Bayard 
began  with  the  building  of  the  Alliance-Guern- 
sey Branch  of  the  Bayard  and  Morrill  which 
ran  its  first  trains  in  1899  and  1900.  At  that 
time  the  old  town  site  moved  over  practically 
bodily.  A  few  of  the  early  homesteaders  who 
had  taken  up  land  and  living  in  the  vicinity  of 
Bayard  for  the  two  decades  preceding  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  new  town  site  were:  Fred 
Benton.  W.  P.  De Vault,  W.  W.  Vannatta,  W. 
T.  McKelvey,  R.  F.  Durnell.  F.  A.  Comstock, 
W.  L.  Thomas,  Jas.  Webster,  J.  T.  Montgom- 
ery and  S.  H.  Osborne. 

During  1920,  the  Bayard  Transcript  secured 
the  services  of  an  excellent,  trained  writer  and 
reviewer,  Evans  Hilton.  Mr.  Hilton  made  a 
review  and  survey  of  the  facilities  and  oppor- 
tunities of  the  town  of  Bayard  and  vicinity. 
Measuring  Bayard  not  only  as  a  single  town 
or  city,  but  taking  the  broader  view  of  its 
wonderful  trade  community  and  territory,  he 
pictured  the  entire  project  in  splendid  terms. 
Much  of  the  history  of  the  community  is  woven 
into  this  graphic  series  and  while  the  entire 
product  is  much  too  long  for  reproduction  in 
this  work,  we  feel  it  should  not  be  lost  to  pos- 
terity. Neither  should  this  work  be  confined 
to  the  narrow  limitations  of  the  newspaper  file, 
kept  in  two.  or  three  places,  but  given  fuller 


circulation  through  this  work,  so  the  compiler 
of  this  narrative  has  taken  portions  of  Mr. 
Hilton's  story  of  Bayard  and  herein  incorpor- 
ates  the   same. 

Located  on  the  Burlington  railroad,  almost 
centrally  between  Bridgeport  and  Scottsbluff, 
in  the  heart  of  the  fertile  North  Platte  valley, 
Bayard,  with  a  population  of  2,500,  today  takes 
rank  among  the  cities  of  the  state  for  growth 
and  opportunities  offered.  Practically  builded 
in  five  years,  with  the  erection  of  the  mammoth 
$2,000,000  sugar  factory  in  1917,  the  city  has 
one  of  the  brightest  futures  of  any  city  in  the 
entire  state  of  Nebraska.  Climate,  soil,  alti- 
tude and  resources  combine  to  make  it  one  of 
the  most  productive  spots  in  the  fertile  valley, 
while  work  being  done  within  the  city  by  a 
progressive  set  of  business  men  is  pushing  it 
rapidly  toward  the  front. 

Thirty-eight  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  short  hot  days  with  the  long  cool  even- 
ings are  experienced  in  summer,  while,  lying 
snuggly  in  the  North  Platte  valley  it  has  con- 
siderable protection  during  the  winter  months. 

The  valley,  eleven  miles  in  width,  is  under 
seven  irrigation  projects,  the  government  High- 
line  and  Lowline,  the  Alliance,  the  Tri-State, 
Bayard  Short  Line  and  Chimney  Rock.  But 
one  of  these,  the  Chimney  Rock  project,  lies 
south  of  the  North  Platte  river. 

Founded  thirty-one  years  ago,  following  the 
taking  of  the  tract  as  a  homestead,  on  which 
now  is  located  the  sugar  factory,  the  city  of 
Bayard  experienced  little  growth  until  five 
years  ago.  In  1916,  there  were  less  than  500 
people  in  the  place,  but,  in  1917,  with  the  erec- 
tion of  the  factory,  the  work  was  started  on 
Webster  avenue  and  within  that  time  and  this 
that  street  represents  thousands  of  dollars  in 
improvements  and  presents  the  appearance  of 
a  larger  city  with  its  two-story  modern  and 
fireproof  business  houses,  constructed  for  the 
most  part  of  fire  brick. 

Sixty-four  businesses  are  represented  at  the 
present  time,  among  them  being  three  banks 
with  combined  resources  of  $1,303,263.20. 

Extensive  civic  improvements  have  been 
made  in  that  period.  A  $78,000  water  system 
started  in  1916,  and  extended  in  1919.  draws 
its  supply  from  a  well  near  the  city.  The  water 
is  pure  and  the  system  is  fed  by  underground 
springs. 

A  sewerage  system  estimated  at  $44,600  was 
completed  last  year  which  makes  the  city  abso- 
lutely safe  from  a  standpoint  of  sanitation. 
Two  miles  of  cement  sidewalks  and  crossings 
will  be  laid  within  the  next  few  months.  A  new 
$225,000  high  school  already  is  under  the 
course  of  construction  and  will  be  completed 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


399 


by  the  opening  of  the  fall  term.  Electric  power 
is  supplied  from  up  the  valley,  but  with  the 
completion  of  the  huge  government  project  be- 
low the  Pathfinder  dam  it  is  thought  that  cur- 
rent may  be  taken  in  charge  by  the  city.  The 
erection  of  a  $75,000  municipal  building  is  but 
a  matter  of  months,  while  at  the  same  time 
modern  fire-fighting  apparatus  also  will  be  in- 
stalled. The  subject  of  paving  had  been  dis- 
cussed but  is  held  over  for  the  time  being. 

The  sugar  factory  at  Bayard,  one  of  three 
constructed  in  the  valley,  a  fourth  now  being 
in  the  course  of  construction/  at  Mitchell, 
swings  an  enormous  trade  into  the  city.  Last 
year  approximately  $1,225,000  was  paid  into 
the  farmers  of  Morrill  county  for  this  one 
crop  alone.  This  year  it  is  estimated  it  will 
reach  $2,500,000  or  almost  double  that  of  last 
year.  The  apparent  prosperity  of  all  the  stores, 
which  handle  up-to-the-minute  lines  of  all  mer- 
chandise are  the  best  pointers  to  the  character 
of  the  proprietors  and  the  citizens  in  general. 

With  the  erection  of  the  new  $225,000  high 
school  building,  which  will  be  completed  in  the 
fall,  the  city  will  have  three  schools.  The  high 
school  already  is  accredited  and  ranks  with  the 
best.  The  teaching  faculty  of  twenty-seven  is 
of  the  highest  grade  and  must  show  excellent 
ratings,  first  grade  city  certificates  being  re- 
quired. 

Six  churches  add  the  moral  tone  to  the  city, 
which  in  addition  to  the  fraternal  orders  and 
clubs,  make  the  social  life  of  the  highest  and 
most  moral. 

School  Facilities 

With  the  completion  of  the  new  $225,000.00 
high  school  building,  which  is  to  be  modern  and 
equipped.  Bayard  takes  rank  among  the  cities 
of  the  state  from  the  educational  standpoint. 
The  new  Bayard  high  school  is  one  of  the  most 
thoroughly  modern  buildings  devoted  to  educa- 
tional work  west  of  Lincoln  and  Omaha,  in  the 
entire  state.  Bonds  for  the  erection  of  this 
building  have  been  voted  over  a  period  of  two 
years.  The  first  issue  of  $40,000  was  voted  in 
1918,  the  second  issue  of  $60,000  voted  in  1919, 
and  third  and  largest  issue,  of  $125,000  voted 
in  1920.  This  allows  the  city  $225,000  for  a 
school  building  which  will  stand  as  a  monu- 
ment to  what  has  been  done  along  educational 
lines  in  the  city  and  county. 

This  high  school  which  is  constructed  of  fire- 
brick and  reinforced  concrete,  presents  a  beau- 
tiful picture.  It  is  located  at  the  edge  of  the 
residential  section,  easily  accessible  from  every 
part  of  the  city,  and  stands  on  a  prominent 
point  overlooking  the  broad  North  Platte  val- 
ley.   The  upper  part  of  the  building  of  yellow 


fire  brick,  forms  a  striking  contrast  with  the 
brown  firebrick  and  white  cornices  and  edg- 
ings. The  steps  within  are  of  concrete  and 
the  walls  will  be  of  hollow  tile.  From  a 
standpoint  of  being  fire  proof  the  new  structure 
cannot  be  excelled. 

A  large  playground  in  addition  to  the  equip- 
ment of  a  modern  gymnasium  within,  affords 
plenty  of  exercise  for  the  physical  development 
of  the  student.  The  gymnasium  rated  among 
the  best  in  the  state  has  a  tiled  swiming  pool 
and  track,  and  is  equipped  with  every  modern 
devise  for  physical  culture.  Athletics  is  given 
special  attention  with  an  instructor  in  this 
branch. 

The  other  two  buildings  devoted  to  school 
purposes  in  Bayard  are  the  brick  school  which, 
until  the  present  time,  was  used  by  the  high 
school,  but  is  now  used  for  the  junior  high 
school.  This  building,  erected  in  1917,  has 
twelve  rooms  and  is  modern  throughout. 

The  third  school,  the  original  district  school 
building  of  Bayard,  was  erected  about  twenty 
years  ago  and  is  not  modern.  It  is  devoted  to 
grade  work  and  more  especially  to  the  younger 
students  and  primary  work. 

The  teaching  force  is  twenty-seven,  which, 
for  a  city  of  2,500,  shows  the  advancement 
being  made  in  school  work  and  along  educa- 
tional lines. 

While  the  school  census  of  Bayard  shows  but 
550,  still  last  year  629  students  were  enrolled  in 
the  schools,  due  perhaps  to  the  fluctuating  pop- 
ulation of  the  city  which  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year  is  rated  around  4,000. 

The  Bayard  School 

Believing  that  the  majority  of  the  people  of 
the  community  are  interested  in  the  new  school 
building,  the  following  is  a  description  given 
for  their  consolation. 

The  building  is  a  brick  structure  fifty-nine 
and  one-half  feet  wide  and  eighty-six  and  one- 
half  feet  long,  is  two  stories  high  with  a  base- 
ment. The  structure  faces  the  south  on  which 
side  and  at  the  extreme  ends  are  found  the 
main  entrances.  It  is  built  of  a  rough-fini.shed, 
dark  red  brick  and  trimmed  in  grey  face  brick. 

City  Government  ok  Bayard 

The  town  of  Bayard  was  incorporated  on 
November  13.  1900.  The  first  Town  Board 
consisted  of:  E.  M.  Stearns,  J.  H.  Long,  F.  O. 
Wisner,  C.  H.  Burk,  Ward  VerValin. 

In  1901,  E.  M.  Steams,  C.  <  ),  Morrison,  K. 
(  ).  Wisner,  C.  H.  Burk.  las.  (  )'Hollaren. 

In  1902,  A.  E.  Delahoyde  failed  to  qualify 
and  Wm.  Grose  served  in  his  place.  ).  1 1.  Lung. 
F.  O.  Wisner,  C.  H.  Burk.  Ward  VerValin. 


400 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


In  1903,  W.  W.  Vannatta.  J.  H.  Long,  C.  W. 
Stone,  C.  H.  Burk,  Ward  VerValin. 

In  1904.  W.  W.  Vannatta,  ].  H.  Long,  F.  O. 
Wisner,  C.  H.  Burk.  A.  ].  Ames. 

In  1905.  W.  W.  Vannatta,  J.  H.  Long,  F.  O. 
Wisner.  Harvey  Stephens,  Charles  D.  Green. 

In  1906,  W.  W.  Vannatta,  J.  H.  Long,  W. 
T.  McKelvey,  Fred  Benton,  J.  C.  Wysong. 

In  1907,  W.  W.  Vannatta,  J.  H.  Long,  F.  E. 
Stearns.  Fred  Benton,  I.  C.  Wysong. 

In  1908.  W.  W.  Vannatta,  J.  H.  Long,  F.  E. 
Stearns,  Fred  Benton,  J.  C.  Wysong. 

In  1909,  W.  W.  Vannatta,  J.  H.  Long.  L.  C. 
Leach,  Fred  Benton,  C.  H.  Harpole. 

In  1910,  Paul  Burkhalter,  I.  H.  Long,  L.  C. 
Leach,  W.  T.  McKelvey,  C.  H.  Harpole. 

In  1911,  William  Franklin,  I.  H.  Long,  E. 
E.  Williams,  W.  T.  McKelvey,  J.  C.  Wysong. 

In  1912,  N.  E.  Workman,  T-  H.  Long,  W. 
P.  DeVault,  William  Franklin. 

In  1913,  N.  E.  Workman.  J.  H.  Long,  W.  P. 
DeVault,  L.  C.  Leach,  W.  W.  Vannatta. 

In  1914,  N.  E.  Workman,  J.  H.  Long,  W.  P. 
DeVault,  L.  C.  Leach,  W.  W.  Vannatta. 

In  1915,  J.  W.  Daggey.  In  May,  1915,  Long 
resigned,  W.  T.  McKelvey  appointed,  Walter 
Erickson,  C.  D.  Leach,  W.  W.  Vannatta. 

In  1916,  E.  R.  Vannatta,  L.  F.  Flower,  W. 
J.  Ericson,  E.  W.  Chambers,  L.  A.  Fricke. 

In  1917.  F.  W.  Hughes,  L.  F.  Flower,  G.  W. 
Judd,  F.  W.  Chambers,  L.  A.  Fricke,  resigned, 
A.  E.  Fisher,  appointed. 

In  1918,  A.  G.  Kemper,  L  Loewenstein,  G. 
W.  Judd.  W.  J.  Ericson,  L."A.  Fricke. 

In  1919,  Albert  Harrison,  first  mayor.  L.  A. 
Fricke,  Chairman,  G.  W.  Judd,  J.  Lowen- 
stein,  E.  H.  Klemke.  W.  J.  Ericson.  Wm. 
Swartz,  councilmen. 

Albert  Harrison,  formerly  chief  of  police  at 
Scottsbluff,  the  first  mayor  of  the  city  of 
Bayard,  is  a  man  of  excellent  character  and 
principles.  The  distinguished  character,  Pierre 
Du  Terrial  Bayard,  known  as  "The  knight 
without  fear  and  without  reproach"  supplied 
the  name  for  the  town  and  city  in  western 
Morrill  county,  but  the  title  may  be  made  to 
apply  to  the  first  mayor  of  that  city,  the  name 
of  which  harks  back  four  hundred  years. 

The  clerks  and  treasurers  who  have  served 
have  been : 

1900 — F.  E.  Stearns.  C.  O.  Morrison,  were 
first  clerk  and  treasurer  of  village. 

1901— C.  H.  Harpole.  March  4.  1901,  A.  A. 
Wagner. 

1902— C.  H.  Harpole,  A.  A.  Wagner. 

1903— C.  H.  Harpole,  F.  O.  Wisner. 

1904 — C.  H.  Harpole,  Vannatta. 

1905— C.  H.  Harpole,  F.  E.  Stearns. 

1906— C.  H.  Harpole,  F.  E.  Stearns. 


1907— C.  H.  Harpole,  F.  E.  Stearns. 

1908— C.  H.  Harpole,  September,  E.  R.  Van- 
natta. 

1909— R.  A.  Wisner,  E.  R.  Vannatta. 

1910— R.  A.  Wisner,  E.  R.  Vannatta,  J.  A. 
Games. 

1911— Dallas  Hampton,  C.  H.  Harpole. 

1912 — Dallas  Hampton,  Geo.  C.  Cronkleton, 
C.  H.  Harpole. 

1913— Geo.  C.  Cronkleton,  E.  F.  Kelley.  C. 
H.  Harpole. 

1914— E.  F.  Kellev.  C.  H.  Harpole. 

1915— Geo.  C.  Cronkleton,  E.  R.  Vannatta. 

1916— C.  A.  Mantz,  E.  R.  Vannatta. 

1917—0.  I.  Lathrop,  E.  R.  Vannatta. 

1918— G.  C.  Houghreny.  F.  J.  Heani,  E.  R. 
Vannatta. 

1919— F.  J.  Eagan,  first  clerk  and  William 
Loibl,  first  treasurer  of  city. 

Vannatta  is  therefore  dean  of  official  life  of 
Bayard  with  a  record  of  ten  years  as  trustee 
and  seven  years  as  treasurer. 

Harpole  is  a  close  second  with  eight  years 
clerk,  two  years  trustee  and  four  years  as  treas- 
urer. 

E.  M.  Stearns,  trustee  for  first  two  years, 
was  the  father  of  F.  E.  Stearns,  twice  trustee 
later,  the  first  clerk,  and  three  times  treasurer. 
F.  E.  (or  Frank)  later  served  three  terms  in 
the  state  legislature  and  was  without  superior 
in  that  body  during  his  service. 

Col.  F.  O.  Wisner  served  five  years  as 
trustee,  one  as  treasurer,  and  his  son  Ray  two 
years  as  clerk.  The  Wisners  also  have  publish- 
ed the  Bayard  Transcript  since  1889. 

December  12,  1911.  citizens  of  Bayard  peti- 
tioned for  special  election  to  be  called  for  pur- 
pose of  voting  $15,000  bonds  for  highway  con- 
struction and  improvement.  Said  petition  sign- 
ed by  following  residents  of  that  precinct.  This 
list  forms  a  rather  comprehensive  directory  of 
the  truly  representative,  active  and  progressive 
citizens  of  the  Bayard  community  at  that  time. 

J.  R.  Henderson,  Fred  Breyer,  R.  R.  Parriot, 
T.  D.  Wright,  Franz  Schramm,  T.  W.  Harper, 
C.  O.  Morrison,  T.  F.  Watkins.  C.  H.  Harpole, 
Wm.  Peters,  Frank  McCarter,  Geo.  Mason,  W. 
H.  Stone.  F.  L.  Ericson,  E.  F.  Keeley,  S.  W. 
Daniels.  J.  G.  Neighbors,  N.  C.  Wysong,  H.  C. 
Henderson,  T.  O.  Spalding,  S.  G.  Colebank,  C. 
E.  Roberts.  Z.  V.  Cleveland.  A.  M.  Gilbert.  H. 
E.  Erickson.  J.  A.  Fulton,  Oscar  Funk,  E.  H. 
Klembke,  Laura  A.  Reynolds,  W.  Roberts,  L. 
C.  Leach,  H.  E.  Randall.  F.  A.  Comstock,  A. 
W.  Tohnson.  C.  G.  Edgerson.  J.  H.  Daggy,  W. 
E.  Hoth,  P.  I.  Kruse,  R.  E'  O'Neal.  R.  H. 
Walford,  T.  M.  Brown,  O.  R.  Peters.  Geo.  W. 
Young.  W.  O.  Smith,  D.  C.  Howell.  R.  A. 
Warner,  John  King,  Jas.  Webster,  E.  H.  Reyn- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


olds,  W.  H.  Nichols,  E.  C.  Green,  R.  E.  Davis, 
J.  A.  Fitzgerald,  A.  W.  Anderson:,  I.  P.  Armo- 
gast,  D.  H.  Henderson,  W.  W.  Corbett,  O.  C. 
Breyer,  W.  C.  Hough,  E.  R.  Vannatta,  E.  H. 
Wells,  O.  S.  Smith,  John  L.  Mueller,  Paul  Rob- 
erts, Wm.  S.  Franklin,  John  Kieth,  E.  C.  Vi- 
vian, Fred  Benton,  J.  D.  Kern,  J.  W.  Hughes. 

Masons 
Bayard  has  a  number  of  thriving  fraternal 
associations  which  have  done  their  full  share 
towards  the  up-building  of  the  community.  The 
local  Masonic  lodge,  Bayard  Lodge  301,  was 
chartered  June  19,  1918,  with  the  following 
charter  members :  Harvey  Bald,  Roland  Bas- 
sett,  Fred  Beltner,  Harry  Berggsen,  John  Bil- 
leter.  March  Bigler,  Leon  Calvert,  Harvey  Car- 
ter, Jno.  Cavett,  Axel  Ericson,  Alb.  Fisher, 
Lawrence  Fricke,  Earl  Heyl,  Fred  Hughes, 
Ellis  Judke,  Clyde  Leach,  F.  McCarter,  Robt. 
Pinkerton. 

Odd  Fellows  and  Rebeccas 

Chimney  Rock  Lodge  257.  I.  O.  O.  F.  started 
September  23,  1901,  with  the  following  as  char- 
ter members :  F.  Watkins,  Steve  Lowley,  J. 
H.  Long,  S.  D.  Barnett,  Elmer  Warner,  R. 
Sheffer,  L.  H.  Franklin,  Wm.  Evens,  Chas. 
Franklin,  Jas.  O'Hollaren.  Wm.  Peters.  Re- 
beccas organized  Bee  Hive  Lodge  17S  in  Febru- 
ary, 1917,  with  a  membership  of  150. 

Royal  Neighbors 

This  lodge  has  been  a  tower  of  strength  and 
consolation  in  the  lives  of  many  Bayard  people. 
Bayard  Camp  1623  of  the  Royal  Neighbors  of 
America  was.  installed  early  on  May  2,  1899, 
with  the  following  members  :  Bertha  Wagner, 
May  Flower,  Jennie,  Lee,  Eva  Peters,  Sadie 
Betting,  Florence  Betting,  Elizabeth  McKelvey, 
Lottie  Wagner,  Mary  Peters.  Melissa  Randall, 
Edith  Comstock,  Carrie  Neighbor,  Ada  Stearns, 
Melissa  Baquet,  Josephine  Taylor,  Fanny  San- 
doz,  Mary  Roberts,  Elsie  Beltz,  Rose  Peters, 
Anglene,  Flanagen,  Mary  Wagner,  Ora  Burn, 
Mary  Daggy.  M.  L.  Waitman. 

W.  O.  W. 
Bayard  Camp  325  of  Woodmen  of  the  World 
started  in  October,  1910,  with  the  following 
charter  members :  Ray  Wisner,  Harry  Eric- 
son.  Clvde  Leach,  Le'ster  Armagast,  Albert 
Clark. 

M.  W.  A. 
Bayard  also  has  a  successful  Camp  of  Wood- 
men of  America  of  which  John  Muller  is  recent 


Mercantile 

Bayard  has  a  large  number  of  stores,  princi- 
pally the  Farmers  Union  and  the  Golden  Rule 
and  Bayard  Mercantile.  Groceries  are  handled 
by  the  Hire  Bros.,  and  the  Star  Grocery  and 
J.  B.  Falmer.  Hardware  is  handled  by  the 
Winter  Co.,  Burke  &  Harper  and  the  Erickson 
Hardware  Co.  The  clothing  stores  are  the 
Bayard  Clothing  Company,  L.  J.  Fox  and  Com- 
pany, Wm.  Deiens. 

Drygoods  stores,  in  addition  to  those  named, 
are,  Kemper  Dry  Goods  Co.,  Morrison  Dry 
Goods  Co.,  Variety  Store.  F.  J.  Egan  runs  a 
very  up-to-date  jewelry  store.  The  drug  stores 
are  the  pharmacies  of  Hughes  and  Erickson. 

The  lumber  yards  are  those  of  L.  W.  Cox 
&  Co.,  and  Bayard  Lumber  Co.  J.  L.  Hall 
Lumber  Co.,  formerly  ran  a  lumber  yard  here. 
Other  business  enterprises  are  the  Furniture 
stores  of  Adams  Sisters,  the  Armogast  Auto 
Co.,  the  Bayard  Motor  Co.,  Beatrice  Creamery 
stations,  for  which  the  Farmer's  Union  are 
agents. 

Harry  Bergglen  contractor  and  builder.  Dr. 

D.  F.  Broodshaw,  dentist.  Harry  Bulch, 
blacksmith.  Commercial  Hotel  and  Cafe.  Dav- 
idson and  Hochstettler.  L.  A.  Fricke,  real 
estate  office.  Great  Western  Sugar  Beet  Fac- 
tory. Grand  Hotel  and  Cafe.  Hapgood  and 
Co.  Art  Store.  Hotel  Bayard.  Hughes 
Bros.  Light  and  Railway  Power  Company. 
L.  G.  Lundy,  second  hand  store.  L.  Lathrop 
and  Mr.  Bassett,  real  estate.  W.  P.  DeVault, 
real  estate.  Platte  Valley  Telephone  Company. 
Star  and  Ideal  Theatres.  Bank  of  Bayard. 
First  National  Bank  and  Farmers  Bank. 

Bank  Deposits 

Perhaps  there  is  no  better  way  to  judge  the 
general  standing  of  a  community  than  by  the 
statements  of  its  banks,  and  we  wish  to  call 
special  attention  to  the  report  of  the  First  Na- 
tional and  the  Bank  of  Bayard  which  appear 
in  this  issue.  The  Bank  of  Bayard  is  one  of 
the  oldest  in  the  valley  and  was  organized  with 

E.  M.  Stearns,  president ;  W.  H.  Cook,  cashier; 
and  Thos.  Winter,  assistant  cashier.  Through 
all  the  years  of  adversity  the  bank  was  the  sup- 
port and  mainstay  of  the  community  and  many 
a  man  owes  his  present  prosperity  to  the  as- 
sistance he  received  at  that  time.  Now  that 
the  hard  times  are  past  the  bank,  under  the 
present  management,  is  rapidly  forging  ahead 
and  is  considered  one  of  the  solid  institutions 
of  the  valley.  Its  deposits  are  now  $263,960.51 
and  the  combined  deposits  of  the  two  banks  are 
$644,077.11. 

The  First  National  Bank  is  now  among  the 


402 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


largest  and  strongest  banks  in  the  valley,  with 
deposits  of  over  $313,000,  loans  of  about 
$222,000,  cash  and  exchange  on  hand  of  over 
$118,000,  surplus  and  undivided  profits  of  over 
$17,00  and  total  resources  of  over  $380,000. 
The  bank  stands  in  an  almost  impregnable  posi- 
tion to  be  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  the  com- 
munity in  the  building  up  of  its  resources  and 
in  its  ability  to  properly  take  care  of  all  busi- 
ness instructed  to  its  care. 
Hotels 

The  first  hotel  in  Bayard  of  course  was  the 
old  hotel  brought  over  by  Mr.  Barrett  from 
the  old  town  site.  The  Grubber  hotel  and  res- 
taurant started  about  19  years  ago.  The  old 
Windsor  hotel  was  built  by  Wm.  Johnson.  The 
Commercial  hotel  has  been  conducted  by  the 
Watkins  family  in  addition  to  the  fine  forty- 
room  Bayard  hotel  built  in  1916  and  the  Com- 
mercial. Bayard  also  has  the  Grand  Cafe  and 
hotel. 

Churches 

Bayard  has  an  up-to-date  group  of  churches 
representing  several  different  denominations. 
The  first  church  in  this  part  of  the  North 
Platte  Valley  was  started  about  1890  with  Rev. 
Dorman  one  of  the  first  ministers.  The  con- 
gregations in  recent  years  which  have  main- 
tained churches  in  Bayard  are  the  Methodist, 
Presbyterian,  St.  Margaret's  Episcopal,  the 
First  Baptist,  the  Lutheran  and  Farmers  Con- 
gregation. The  United  Presbyterian  with  Rev. 
Wagner  as  pastor  came  to  Bayard  about  six- 
teen years  ago.  Its  church  building  is  now  in 
use  by  Presbyterians. 

Post  Office 

Otto  Wisner  had  charge  of  the  postofhce 
about  1891  and  handled  it  until  1904,  when 
Frances  L.  Wisner  became  postmistress  and 
remained  until  she  was  succeeded  about  1913 
by  George  Fox  who  has  since  been  postmaster. 
Old  Settlers  Gone 

The  passing  of  the  pioneers  into  that  newer 
land  of  the  Unknown  Country,  seems  rapid 
now,  almost  like  the  string  of  prairie  schoon- 
ers that  thirty-five  years  ago  came  up  the  val- 
ley of  the  North  river.  Two  women  and  two 
men  have  gone  recently,  who  shall  be  men- 
tioned here,  for  they  are  typical  of  the  best 
whose  memory  we  cherish,  until  we  too  shall 
be  "moving  on." — -  Editor-in-Chief. 
Henry  E.  Randall 

Life  epitomizes  the  distance  traveled  by  the 
human  race  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  how 
hard  or  how  long  that  passage  it  is  a  road  all 
must  travel — all  who  are  born  must  make.     In 


the  passing  of  Henry  Randall  at  his  home  in 
Bayard  some  time  since  the  relatives  not  only 
lose  a  kind,  considerate  husband,  father,  son 
and  brother,  but  this  community  also  loses  an 
honest,  upright  citizen.  Mr.  Randall  came  here 
about  1890,  when  this  country  had  little  to 
offer  and  from  that  time  on  played  a  man's 
part.  He  went  into  the  cattle  business  and  by 
care  and  thrift,  laid  up  a  good  portion  of  this 
world's  goods,  later  taking  up  farming.  He 
served  this  county  for  two  terms  as  County 
Commissioner  and  was  forced  to  resign  on  ac- 
count of  illness.  Of  a  most  kindly  disposition, 
his  neighbors  and  acquaintances  were  his 
friends.  With  high  ideals  of  right  we  believe 
we  can  safely  say  that  Henry  Randall  wronged 
no  man  intentionally. 

Something  over  two  years  ago  he  was  strick- 
en with  a  growth  on  the  brain.  He  consulted 
specialists  and  was  operated  on.  For  a  time  he 
appeared  to  be  getting  better,  when  a  turn  for 
the  worse  came,  and  from  that  time  on  the 
end  was  inevitable.  Being  of  more  than  an 
ordinary  constitution,  the  end  came  slowly  and 
to  that  end  he  bore  his  part  like  a  man. 

Henry  Earl  Randall  was  born  April  25, 
1869,  at  Dodge,  Wisconsin.  He  came  to  Ne- 
braska in  1886,  and  in  December,  1892,  was 
married  to  Miss  Melissa  C.  Beldon.  To  this 
union  were  born,  two  sons,  Gerald  and  Max, 
and  a  daughter,  Mrs.  M.  Garwood.  Besides 
his  wife  and  children  he  leaves  four  brothers, 
Charles  C,  of  Bandon,  Oregon;  Dean  M.,  of 
St.  Cloud,  Florida ;  J.  O.  of  Bridgeport,  and 
A.  J.  of  Bayard,  His  aged  father,  James  M. 
Randall,  lives  at  St.  Cloud,  Florida. 

Mrs.  Mary  Watkins 

Mary  Nebraska  Joice  was  the  first  white 
child  born  in  Nebraska  City,  on  December  17, 
1854,  one  year  after  that  town  sprung  into  ex- 
istence. Her  parents  moved  there  in  1853,  and 
erected  the  fifth  house  built  there.  She  mar- 
ried A.  M.  Duel.  In  1895  she  came  to  Alli- 
ance, later  coming  to  Bayard,  where  she  con- 
ducted a  store.  In  1896,  she  married  T.  F. 
Watkins  who  was  in  the  restaurant  business  in 
Alliance  where  they  remained  until  1898,  when 
they  moved  to  her  homestead  east  of  Bayard, 
later  moving  to  this  city  where  they  embarked 
in  the  hotel  business  which  they  conducted  for 
a  number  of  years.  She  was  active  in  lodge 
work,  being  instrumental  in  organizing  the 
Rebecca  lodge  in  this  city.  She  was  forced  to 
take  her  bed  on  the  second  day  of  November, 
1920,  and  passed  away  the  following  Monday. 
Funeral  services  were  held,  Rev.  Wimberly 
and  Rev.  Osborne  conducting  the  services.  The 
Rebecca  lodge  had  charge  of  the  burial  service. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


4()3 


While  death  is  looked  upon  as  the  final  and 
great  calamity  in  every  life,  it  at  least  brings 
all  people  to  the  position  where  they  are  will- 
ing and  disposed  to  do  justice  to  the  dead, 
whether  foe  or  friend.  It  is,  perhaps,  true 
that  the  best  measure  of  any  person  can  be 
had  after  their  departure  from  the  conflicts  of 
life.  With  all  of  our  boasted  knowledge  and 
ingenuity,  we  must  all  in  the  end,  admit  our 
inability  to  defeat  the  dread  reaper,  and  that 
sooner  or  later,  under  the  inexorable  providence 
of  God,  all  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Adam 
will  go  willingly  or  unwillingly  to  join  the  de- 
parted in  the  great  beyond. 

In  the  death  of  "Aunt"  Mary  Watkins,  as 
she  was  familiarly  called  by  all  who  knew  her, 
another  pioneer  resident  has  passed  from  that 
ever  lessening  circle  in  this  community.  A 
type  of  woman  who  made  friends  by  her 
motherly  disposition,  prone  to  look  at  the  good 
things  in  every  one  rather  than  the  bad ;  happy 
and  sunny  nature,  her  passing  will  cause  more 
than  usual  sorrow  among  the  class  who  have 
looked  upon  her  as  their  friend.  Devoid,  per- 
haps, of  the  veneer  so  desired  by  some,  she 
was  a  plain  woman  who  played  well  her  part 
in  the  drama  of  life  where  she  has  long  re- 
sided. 

Mrs.  George  Mason 

Christina  Ruehl  was  born  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  July  19,  1861,  and  lived  there  until  five 
years  of  age.  At  that  time,  she  with  her  par- 
ents moved  to  Newport,  Kentucky.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  years  she  came  with  her  parents 
to  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  she  joined  the 
Presbyterian  church  and  was  an  active  member. 
On  October  15,  1884,  she  was  married  to 
George  Mason,  and  on  May  26,  1886,  came  to 
Nebraska,  and  lived  on  a  homestead  near  Mina- 
tare,  until  1899,  when  they  moved  to  Bayard 
and  resided  there  until  her  death. 

To  this  union  were  born  eight  children,  three 
dying  in  infancy.  She  leaves  to  mourn  her  loss 
George  E.  Mason,  Sr.,  her  husband ;  George 
Mason,  Jr.,  Bayard  Nebraska;  Mrs.  N.  C. 
Wysong.  Nevada,  Missouri ;  Mrs.  Lloyd 
Staples,  Los  Angeles,  California;  Mrs.  Lydia 
Young,  Bayard,  Nebraska  ;  and  Mrs.  Phil  Rick- 
man,  Bayard,  Nebraska.  All  were  at  her  bed- 
side at  the  time  of  her  death  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Mrs.  N.  C.  Wysong,  who  was  unable  to 
be  present  on  account  of  sickness.  Her  only 
brother,  Charles  Ruehl,  was  also  present. 

She  died  at  the  age  of  59  years. 

Services  were  conducted  by  Rev.  Alexander 
Wimberly  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  using 
the  Scriptural  consolation  of  Isaiah  66:13,  "As 
one  whom  his  mother  comforted,  so  will  I  com- 


fort you."  To  those  who  were  not  fortunate 
in  knowing  the  wife  and  mother,  who,  by  her 
passing,  has  rendered  another  home  in  this  city 
desolate,  the  mere  fact  that  some  one  has  died, 
means  nothing,  is  nothing,  but  to  those  who 
knew  this  grand,  good  woman,  to  those  who 
had  been  permitted  the  pleasure  of  her  ac- 
quaintanceship, and  knows  what  the  loss  is  to 
the  devoted  father  and  children,  that  passing 
will  hring  profound  sorrow. 

When  the  shadows  lengthened,  despite  the 
years  of  suffering,  her  only  regret  was  the 
leaving  of  her  loved  ones;  she  was  not  afraid 
to  die. 

Frank  Com  stock 

In  the  death  of  Frank  Comstock,  another 
pioneer  of  this  section  has  passed  on,  and  with 
that  passing  will  come  a  feeling  of  sorrow  to 
all  who  knew  him.  Honest,  hardworking,  and 
loyal  to  his  friends  with  a  most  kindly  dispo- 
sition we  really  do  not  think  he  had  an  enemy 
in  the  world.  Temperate  in  his  hahits  in  all 
things,  every  one  was  his  friend  and  there  per- 
haps is  no  one  who  knew  him  well  who  cannot 
tell  of  some  kindly  act  performed  for  them  or 
others.  He  knew  that  he  was  going  for  some 
time  before  he  died  and  as  death  approached  he 
met  it  as  he  lived,  calmly  and  fearlessly.  The 
old  soldier,  settler,  comrade,  and  friend  has 
gone  but  behind  him  he  has  left  the  record  of  a 
man.  Soldiers  of  the  present  conflict  carried 
his  body  to  the  last  resting  place,  and  taps 
were  sounded  and  while  he  was  unconscious  of 
all  this,  methinks  that  up  yonder  he  has  long 
since  heard  the  welcome  plaudit,  "Well  done, 
thou  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  into  the 
joys  of  thy  Lord." 

Francis  A.  Comstock  was  born  at  Boonville, 
Oneida  County,  New  York.  June  18,  1845.  At 
seven  years  of  age  he  moved  with  his  family  to 
Herkimer  county.  New  York,  where  he  resided 
until  1858.  In  that  year  he  moved  to  Blue 
Earth  county,  Minnesota,  from  which  place  he 
enlisted  in  Company  E.  2nd  Minnesota  Cavalry, 
1863,  and  served  under  the  colors  until  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War.  His  company  was 
given  service  on  the  Western  Plains  among  the 
Sioux  Indians. 

After  the  war  he  took  up  his  residence  in 
Todd  county,  Minnesota,  where  he  married 
Edith  E.  Webster,  at  Gordontown  January  1, 
187<>.  After  living  for  three  years  in  Montana 
and  returning  to  Minnesota  for  another  three 
years,  Mr.  Comstock  moved  with  his  family  to 
Kearney,  Nebraska.  In  the  spring  of  '86  the 
Comstocks  settled  in  the  North  Platte  Valley 
at  Chimney  Rock  where  the  family  lived  for 
thirty  years.  In  ISOh,  he  united  with  the  United 


404 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Brethren  church  of  which  he  was  a  faithful 
member  until  the  day  of  his  departure  from 
this  life. 

In  1916,  Mr.  Comstock  retired  from  the 
farm  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Bayard 
where  he  has  since  lived.  He  had  not  been 
well  for  some  months  but  was  taken  down 
with  his  last  illness  the  Fourth  of  July,  and 
had  been  confined  to  his  bed  most  of  the  time 
since.  He  passed  quietly  away  September  9, 
1919.  He  has  four  brothers  and  four  sisters 
living,  three  of  whom  were  at  his  bedside  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  There  also  remain  to 
mourn  his  departure,  his  wife,  Edith  E.,  and 
three  children,  Edward  E.  of  Morrill ;  George 
A.  of  Bayard;  and  Nellie  F.  Leytham  of 
Bayard,  and  nine  grand  children,  besides  many 
friends  and  neighbors. 

Angora 

Situated  on  the  Burlington  Alliance-Bridge- 
port line  near  the  north  edge  of  Morrill  coun- 
ty is  the  village  of  Angora,  the  third  town  of 
importance  in  the  county.  Its  territory  is  the 
Good  Streak  country  to  the  west,  where  ciry- 
farming  is  practiced  to  considerable  success, 
and  a  prosperous  community  is  the  result; 
while  to  the  east  stretches  the  great  sand  hills, 
where  thousands  of  cattle  graze.  This  town  is 
well  represented  in  mercantile  lines,  and  has 
churches,  schools  and  other  community  con- 
veniences, including  banking  facilities.  For 
the  period  of  its  existence  it  has  dreamed  of 
the  "Burlington  Cut-off"  a  proposed  line  from 
Angora  to  Scottsbluff,  cutting  off  both  grade 
and  distance.  This  proposed  line  they  also 
anticipate  will  be  extended  into  the  sand  hills 
to  Anselmo  and  O'Neill,  putting  the  town 
upon  the  shortest  line  east  and  west  from  the 
Missouri  river  to  the  great  North  Platte  val- 
ley. 

Broadwater 

It  is  quite  probable  that  the  people  of  Broad- 
water will  challenge  the  claim  of  Angora  to 
third  place  in  commercial  importance  in  Mor- 


rill county.  Having  no  assembled  figures,  the 
historian  will  leave  that  to  rival  claims.  True 
it  is,  Broadwater  is  situate  in  the  heart  of  an 
excellent  irrigated  community,  and  the  adja- 
cent tables  are  the  harvest  scenes  of  some  of 
the  best  dry-farming  in  the  state.  George  W. 
Berge,  twice  candidate  for  governor  of  Ne- 
braska, and  once  for  attorney  general  lives 
near  Broadwater,  and  has  a  splendidly  equip- 
ped modern  farm.  The  village  is  situate  upon 
the  Union  Pacific  North  Platte  valley  branch, 
or  Medicine  Bow  cut-off.  The  place  has 
ample  backing  and  mercantile  facilities, 
churches,  schools,  and  the  like,  to  make  it  a 
live  community  center.  The  Kings,  the  Smiths, 
the  Wehns  and  the  Beerlines  are  among  the 
families  that  have  helped  to  make  Broadwater 
an  enterprising  town,  and  a  good  place  to  re- 
side. 

North  port 
On  the  north  side  of  the  river,  north  of 
Bridgeport  is  the  town  of  Northport,  which, 
because  of  the  fact  that  the  Union  Pacific  and 
the  Burlington  lines  cross  at  that  point  as- 
pired to  higher  things.  The  Harpers,  the 
Howards  and  the  Montzes  were  among  the 
families  that  sought  for  a  time  to  make  it  the 
metropolis  of  Morrill  county.  C.  D.  Casper 
here  ran  the  Northport  Herald  for  a  time.  The 
railroad,  however,  failed  to  give  the  place  the 
support  that  was  anticipated,  and  the  canal 
construction  on  the  north  side  was  delayed  so 
long  that  the  hope  of  a  large  town  vanished. 
Bridgeport  largely  attends  to  the  needs  of  the 
Northport  community  in  every  line. 

Other  Places 
Atkins  and  Simla,  are  small  distribution 
centers,  where  the  railroad  offers  loading  fa- 
cilities, and  mercantile  business  is  carried  to 
a  very  limited  extent.  The  last  named  is  at 
the  site  o<f  old  Mud  Springs,  famous  in  the 
history  of  the  pony  express,  overland  stage, 
and  early  cow  days,  but  its  importance  is  not 
large  in  modern  history  of  the  county. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


405 


CHAPTER  VII 


MORRILL  COUNTY  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 


Just  as  it  is  true  of  every  other  Nebraska 
County,  Morrill  County's  record  during  the 
great  World  War  is  a  bright  star  in  its  crown. 

The  brilliant  record  of  Nebraska  throughout 
the  Great  War,  of  which  Morrill  County 
played  its  proportionate  and  creditable  part 
has  already  been  set  out  elsewhere  in  this 
work. 

Shortly  after  the  entrance  of  the  United 
States  into  the  World  War  in  April,  1917,  the 
Government's  call  to  take  a  registration  of  all 
men  subject  to  conscription  in  military  pur- 
poses, was  answered  by  Morrill  county.  Those 
citizens  of  Morrill  county  who  were  named  to 
participate  as  precinct  registrars  were: 

Union  precinct,  N.  H.  Noonan ;  Court 
House  Rock  precinct,  E.  L.  LeBlanc ;  Haynes 
precinct,~G.  W.  Berry;  Camp  Clark  precinct, 
Thos.  Ishmael  and  G.  W.  Murphy:  Bayard 
precinct,  W.  D.  Askine,  C.  A.  Mantz  and 
Yale  Cavet ;  Redington  precinct,  H.  A.  Gil- 
man  ;  Broadwater  precinct,  J.  R.  Minshal ; 
Weir-Lisco  precinct,  J.  A.  Millett ;  Eastwood 
precinct,  Harvey  W.  Majors ;  Storm  Lake  pre- 
cinct, Victor  E.  Covalt ;  Gilchrist  precinct,  C. 
A.  Snow;  King  precinct,  C.  A.  Tolle ;  Riley 
Hill  precinct,  W.  V.  Dove ;  Bonner  precinct, 
M.  L.  Anderson;  Yockey  precinct,  C.  I.  Hox- 
worth  ;  Goodstreak  precinct,  C.  H.  Green. 

The  registration  on  June  5  in  Morrill  coun- 
ty, showed  949  registered  on  that  day,  repre- 
sented as  follows  among  the  various  precincts : 

Bridgeport,  170:  Yockey,  51;  Storm  Lake. 
S;  Redington,  33;  Union,  17:  Havnes,  30; 
Eastwood,  29;  Weir-Lisco,  16;  Riley  Hill,  15  ; 
King,  25  ;  Broadwater,  67  ;  Gilchrist.  15  ;  Good- 
streak,  7:  Court  House  Rock.  20:  Bavard, 
446 ;  total  949. 

The  final  figures  given  by  the  offices  of  the 
Provost  Marshal  General  of  the  United  States 
show  that  the  first  registration  of  Morrill 
county  totaled  955.  The  entire  record  of  Mor- 
rill county  during  the  war,  as  to  its  contribu- 
tion to  the  military  service  is  shown  in  the 
following  figures : 

Registration  on 

June  5,   1917 955 

Tuly  and  August.   1918 60 

September  12,   1918 1139 

Total   2154 

Those  actually  inducted  and  accepted  at 
camp,  254.    There  were  243  in  general  service. 


five  remediables,  126  placed  in  limited  service 
and  only  twenty-five  from  this  county  disquali- 
fied. The  record  of  deferments  shows  368  on 
the  ground  of  dependents,  fifty-two  on  agri- 
cultural and  six  for  industrial  reasons. 

Back  Here 

The  activities  of  those  who  were  to  bear 
the  burdens  of  the  war  work  "back  here" 
were  early  started  in  this  county. 

A  patriotic  meeting  was  called  as  early  as 
May  19,  1917,  with  the  program  arranged  in 
two  parts.  One  part  was  to  boost  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Red  Cross  with  G.  J.  Hunt  pre- 
siding. Patriotic  addresses  were  arranged  by 
K.  W.  McDonald,  Rev.  G.  F.  McDougall,  Dr. 
C.  Palmer,  and  Mark  Spanogle.  An  address 
on  "What  a  Woman  Can  Do"  by  Mrs.  M.  J. 
McCrossen.  "Work  of  the  Red  Cross"  by 
Edward  Morris,  and  "Red  Cross  Work"  by 
Mrs.  J.  Rowan,  head  of  the  Red  Cross  organi- 
zation in  Alliance.  The  second  part  of  the 
program  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  G.  J. 
Hunt  fostered  the  work  of  the  Council  of  De- 
fense, with  patriotic  addresses  by  F.  E.  Wil- 
liams, A.  W.  Atkins,  and  C.  G.  Perry.  A 
reading  on  "Community  Service"  by  Mrs. 
Mark  Spanogle. 

Council  of  Defense 
Organized  under  the  leadership  of  Judge 
G.  J.  Hunt,  chairman  of  the  Council,  and  held 
meetings  every  Friday  night  in  Essig  Hall. 
During  that  period  when  affairs  of  such  vital 
importance  to  the  nation,  current  problems 
were  weekly  discussed  and  plans  laid  to  pro- 
mote patriotic  movements  throughout  the  en- 
tire county.  By  June,  more  than  360  members 
had  joined  this  Council  and  the  number  was 
rapidly  increasing.  The  officers  of  the  Morrill 
County  Council  were:  G.  J.  Hunt,  chairman; 
Col.  A.  W.  Atkins,  vice  chairman;  J.  H. 
Steuteville,  secretary-treasurer.  The  precinct 
committeemen:  Camp  Clarke,  Max  Wilcox: 
Bavard.  Earl  Vannatta;  Redington,  Bryan 
Waitman ;  Court  House  Rock.  Albert  Finn ; 
Yockey,  C.  I.  Hoxworth  ;  King,  Harry  King ; 
Gilchrist.  II.  E.  Smith  ;  Eastwood,  E.  V.  Duer; 
Storm  Lake,  Wrri.  Archer;  Haynes,  Robert  O. 
Close;  Broadwater,  O.  H.  Browning;  Weir- 
Lisco,  Ed.  T.  Mitchell;  Union,  Ernest  Finn; 
Bonner.  Frank  Boone;  Rilev  Hill.  \V.  V.  Dove; 
Goodstreak,  C.  H.  Green. 


406 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


The  Red  Cross  Chapter 

The  formal  organization  of  the  Red  Cross 
Chapter  took  place  Saturday,  May  9,  1917. 
Despite  perverse  weather  on  the  occasion,  the 
patriotism  of  Bridgeport  citizens  was  not 
dampened. 

At  the  appointed  hour  G.  J.  Hunt  called 
the  meeting  to'  order  and  delivered  a  rousing 
address  to  those  present.  This  was  followed 
by  a  touching  speech  by  County  Attorney  K. 
W.  McDonald,  whose  father  served  under  the 
Stars  and  Stripes.  Attorney  Fay  Williams 
followed  with  a  stirring  talk,  in  which  he 
urged  all  to  do  their  duty  in  this  hour  of  need. 
Editor  C.  D.  Casper  spoke  on  the  philosophy 
of  the  war  and  the  history  of  the  nations  en- 
gaged therein,  showing  that  he  had  made  a 
deep  study  of  the  subject.  Attorney  C.  G. 
Perry  then  delivered  a  forceful  address,  in 
which  he  presented  many  new  ideas  of  a  prac- 
tical nature  and  in  a  very  pleasant  manner. 

The  organization  of  a  local  Red  Cross  Chap- 
ter was  then  taken  up,  and  Ed  Morris,  who  has 
had  much  experience  in  that  line,  made  a  beau- 
tiful address  on  behalf  of  that  movement  and 
outlined  the  wide  scope  of  the  work  that  is 
being  done  by  Red  Cross  workers.  Mrs.  M.  J. 
McCrossen,  who  is  an  experienced  trained 
nurse,  read  a  good  paper  on  "What  Women 
Can  Do,"  which  was  very  effective.  Mrs.  J. 
Rowan,  of  Alliance,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the 
Red  Cross  work  in  Box  Butte  county,  made  a 
splendid  appeal  for  support  of  that  organiza- 
tion. Mrs.  Rowan  is  a  very  pleasant  speaker 
and  her  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  sub- 
ject at  hand  made  her  address  of  great  in- 
terest. Mrs.  Spanogle,  whose  name  was  on  the 
program,  thought  best  to  decline  to  speak  on 
account  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour  and  the 
great  amount  of  work  in  organizing  that  yet 
remained  to  be  done  in  a  limited  time.  Mark 
Spanogle  also  declined  to  take  up  time  for  the 
same  reason.  Patriotic  songs  were  sung  at 
intervals  by  all  those  present,  and  Mrs.  Roy 
Harshman  rendered  a  favorite,  "Keep  the 
Home  Fires  Burning,"  as  a  solo,  to  the  plea- 
sure of  the  audience. 

An  invitation  was  extended  to  those  present 
to  join  the  Red  Cross  Chapter,  and  seventy- 
five  members  were  enrolled  as  quickly  as  their 
names  could  be  written  down.  Ed  Morris  was 
then  elected  president  of  the  chapter,  Mrs.  G. 
J.  Hunt,  vice  president ;  Mrs.  Mark  Spanogle, 
secretary ;  and  Miss  Mabel  Johnson,  as  trea- 
surer. 

Memoriae  Day 
Decoration  day  took  on  an  added  apprecia- 
tion in  1917.     Exercises  were  held  on  May  30, 


with  Attorney  Fred  A.  Wright,  of  Scottsbluff, 
as  the  speaker  of  the  day.  Those  present  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Forest  Lawn  cemetery  for  the 
purpose  of  decorating  the  graves  of  the  sol- 
diers buried  there.  Three  veterans  of  the 
Civil  War  were  buried  in  this  cemetery:  Com- 
rades Brown,  White,  and  Milledge. 

Early  Recruits 

Morrill  county's  sons  began  to  pour  into 
service  at  the  very  first  opportunity.  All 
three  of  her  young  men,  Thomas  F.  Neighbors, 
George  Irwin,  and  H.  R.  Van  Home,  who  left 
for  Fort  Snelling,  got  through  the  preliminary 
examination  and  were  assigned  to  companies 
for  drill.  In  communication  Mr.  Van  Home 
had  the  following  to  say : 

"Kindly  tell  all  our  friends  that  the  Bridge- 
port trio,  Neighbors,  Irwin,  and  myself,  have 
passed  the  examination  here  successfully.  We 
feel  very  fortunate  over  this,  since  one  hundred 
or  so  have  been  rejected  for  physical  defects. 
Neighbors  has  been  assigned  to  Company  14; 
Irwin  to  Company  13 ;  and  myself  to  Company 
3.  With  the  new  equipment  given  us  and  uni- 
forms donned,  we  look  like  real  soldiers  in- 
deed, but  there  is  much  to  learn  and  they  will 
keep  us  busy  in  the  next  three  months."  ' 

Company  G  assembled  at  Alliance  as  early 
as  May  20,  to  pass  federal  examination  given 
by  Captain  Wallace,  federal  officer  inspector, 
and  of  the  eighty-seven  men  who  answered  the 
roll  call,  there  were  two  Bridgeport  boys,  Leo 
Coleman  and  Roscoe  Dean.  The  first  detach- 
ment, five  per  cent  of  the  soldiers  from  Morrill 
county,  left  on  August  1  and  were:  Charles  A. 
Mantz,  Frank  W.  Chambers,  August  W.  John- 
son, Clark  Ruly,  Keith  E.  McGee.  "They, 
were  given  a  rousing  farewell  at  Esseg  Hall 
by  the  warm-hearted  people  of  Morrill  county. 
While  space  in  this  work  would  not  permit  the 
full  presentation  of  remarks  made  upon  such 
occasion,  the  farewell  admonition  prepared  for 
this  occasion  by  Rev.  George  F.  McDougall 
will  serve  to  preserve  the  nature  of  tribute 
that  Morrill  county  felt  upon, each  and  every 
occasion  when  her  sons  were  leaving  for  the 
front : 

"Men  of  the  new  army,  our  heroes  in  khaki. 
These  men  are  leaving  in  the  gloom  of  a  beau- 
tiful morning  of  sunshine,  going  in  the  glory 
of  a  nation  which  is  giving  her  best  in  battle 
for  democracy,  leaving  in  the  hush  of  sorrow 
that  overflows  the  hearts  of  those  who  still  re- 
nin in  at  home,  leaving  in  the  spirit  of  deter- 
mination which  predicts  ill  for  those  who 
forced  them  to  depart  from  all  that  is  sweet 
and  dear  in  life. 

"Men  of  the  new  army,  you  are  leaving  amid 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


407 


the  tears  and  the  cheers  of  comrades  and  you 
are  going  out  from  our  midst  with  the  tears  of 
loved  ones  fresh  on  their  cheeks,  departing 
for  whatever  battle  front  the  war  department 
may  send  you,  and  in  the  belief  that  you  will 
give  the  best  you  have  in  strength  and  man- 
hood for  the  cause  which  means  life  to 
democracy. 

"Today  is  the  most  momentous  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  Most  thrilling  for  Morrill  coun- 
ty. This  is  the  first  time  we  have  ever  sent  a 
whole  army  to  a  foreign  soil  to  fight  for  the 
same  principle  which  gave  this  our  nation  life, 
going  to  fight  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the 
mother  of  our  own  civilization. 

"You  men  who  go  out  of  our  midst  today 
may  never  return  to  us,  and  this  knowledge  is 
realized  by  those  who  send  you.  There  are 
mothers  with  sad  faces  and  there  are  grim 
eyed  men  who  realize  what  it  means  for  you 
to  go.  No  cheering,  no  shouts  of  laughter  mar 
the  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  all  is  silent  save 
the  lowly  spoken  word,  the  vigorous  hand- 
shake and  the  good  wish  for  the  future. 

"Boys,  you  who  are  separated  from  your 
comrades'  company  may  never  meet  again; 
separated  for  life.  Those  who  see  you  depart 
sympathize  with  you  and  they  also  understand 
the  deep  sorrow  on  the  part  of  the  loved  ones 
you  leave.  'God  help  the  person  who  would 
dare  say  that  these  boys  in  khaki  are  not  all 
men.' 

"You  may  go  to  France,  you  may  go  to  Rus- 
sia, you  may  be  sent  elsewhere,  but  you  will 
gladly  go  where  needed.  We  may  never  see 
you  again,  but  you  are  still  ours.  We  see  you 
in  the  concentration  camps,  we  see  you  on  the 
great  liner  of  the  seas,  still  ours.  We  will  hear 
of  your  deeds  of  valor  on  the  battlefields  of 
France,  in  the  trenches,  and  we  declare  you  are 
still  ours.  You  will  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder 
with  Tommy  Atkins,  you  will  take  your  stand 
side  by  side  with  the  French  Poilu,  and  while 
you  fight  for  the  rights  of  men  you  still  belong 
to  us. 

"We  let  you  go  but  we  keep  you  in  our 
hearts.  We  furnish  you  who  in  the  future  will 
have  the  credit  for  saving  the  world  from  bru- 
tality and  for  humanity.  You  are  the  men  who 
will  be  ready  to  fight  the  Germans  over  the 
rampart  of  dead  bodies,  you  will  give  your  life 
for  the  land  and  liberty  we  love  so  well.  You 
will  come  back  to  us,  bringing  with  you  the 
knowledge  that  will  make  for  the  brotherhood 
of  man  and  'golden  age  for  which  humanity 
waits.'  May  the  Great  God  whose  Providence 
rules  the  universe  protect  and  bless  you  and 
bring  you  safely  home  again." 


Red  Cross  Work 

By  July  the  Morrill  County  Red  Cross  Chap- 
ter made  a  most  excellent  report  of  the  pro- 
gress of  its  work  up  to  that  time. 

Total  amount  subscribed  in  Morrill  county 
to  the  American  Red  Cross  fund  from  July 
18  to  25,  1917,  $17,974.70;  total  men  registered 
for  army  service,  949;  amount  subscribed  for 
each  man  registered,  $18.94;  average  amount 
pledged  by  each  subscriber  in  the  county, 
$13.55. 

Progress  of  Home  War  Work 
The  second  quota  for  Morrill  county  consist- 
ed of  thirty-eight  men,  with  six  alternates,  who 
left  early  in  October  for  Camp  Funston. 

In  September  the  call  came  for  the  women 
of  Morrill  county  to  register  for  service.  The 
following  named  ladies  assisted  in  the  register- 
ing by  driving  cars  to  and  from  the  court 
house:  Mrs.  K.  W.  McDonald,  Mrs.  Ed. 
Slimm,  Miss  Mabel  Sanquest,  Mrs.  M.  R. 
Hackler,  and  Mrs.  Dick  Martin.  The  ladies 
who  assisted  at  the  registering  at  the  court 
house  were:  Mrs.  H.  L.  Scoggin,  chairman; 
Mrs.  Brandt,  Mrs.  Manning,  Miss  Alberta 
Lynch,  and  Mrs.  Ritchie. 

The  chairmen  who  officiated  in  the  different 
precincts  in  this  work  'were:  Court  House 
Rock,  Lillian  Twist ;  Union,  Delia  Finn ; 
Broadwater,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Minshall ;  Eastwood, 
Mrs.  John  McDermott;  Riley  Hill,  Miss  Anna 
Daxon;  Bonner,  Mrs.  Frank  Boone;  Haines, 
Mrs.  O.  O.  Buck  ;  Gilchrist,  Mrs.  Hugh  Smith; 
Goodstreak,  Mrs.  Cora  Zoller;  Bayard.  Mrs. 
C.  H.  Harpole ;  Camp  Clark,  Mrs.  H.  L.  Scog- 
gin ;  Redington,  Mrs.  Fred  Gilman ;  Storm 
Lake,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Archer ;  King,  Mrs.  Charles 
Tolle  ;  Yockey,  Mrs.  W.  R.  Grain  ;  Weir-Lisco, 
Miss  Hilda  Lindberg. 

Liberty  Loans 

As  throughout  the  nation,  the  work  of  the 
first  Liberty  Loan  was  quietly  undertaken  by 
the  banks  and  a  few  leading  spirits  in  each 
community  and  without  public  demonstration. 
But  when  the  call  came  for  Morrill  to  do  its 
part  in  the  campaign  of  selling  $3,000,000,000 
of  "Second  Liberty  Bonds."  an  organization 
was  promptly  formed.  By  the  end  of  the  first 
week  in  October,  eighty-one  men  from  Morrill 
had  left  their  homes,  their  businesses  and  their 
loved  ones  to  protect  the  liberty  of  the  world. 
A  ringing  call  was  issued  to  those  at  home  to 
back  up  those,  with  their  money.  This  organi- 
zation complete  in  every  precinct,  was  formed 
by  the  following  committee  : 


408 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Bayard  Precinct :  Fred  Benton,  chairman  ; 
Earl  Vannatta,  George  Harms,  George  Cronk- 
leton,  all  of  Bayard,  Nebraska. 

Broadwater  Precinct :  Pat  Rowlan,  chair- 
man ;  M.  L.  W'ehn,  John  H.  Adams,  A.  H. 
Smith,  all  of  Broadwater,  Nebraska. 

Camp  Clark  Precinct:  T.  B.  Estill,  chair- 
man ;  Mark  W.  Iddings,  Thomas  Burke,  C.  B. 
Millett,  all  of  Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Goodstreak  Precinct :  Thomas  E.  King, 
chairman ;  R.  B.  Whitlam,  E.  E.  Dueker, 
Charles  H.  Green,  all  of  Angora,  Nebraska. 

Haynes  Precinct :  Frank  Boone,  chairman  ; 
O.  O.  Buck,  Fred  Case,  George  Micek,  all  of 
Angora,  Nebraska. 

Riley  Hill  Precinct:  W.  V.  Dove,  chair- 
man; Roy  Austin,  Frank  Lamb,  Edward  Pet- 
erson, all  of  Lynn,  Nebraska. 

Storm  Lake  Precinct :  W.  H.  Archer,  chair- 
man ;  S.  M.  Hickman,  George  Rudisil,  all  of 
Broadwater,  Nebraska ;  A.  O.  Cole,  Alliance, 
Nebraska. 

Weir-Lisco  Precinct :  Olaf  Lindberg,  chair- 
man ;  Mac  Radcliff,  D.  A.  Colyer,  J.  A.  Mil- 
lett, Jr.,  all  of  Broadwater,  Nebraska. 

Gilchrist  Precinct :  Charles  A.  Snow,  chair- 
man ;  W.  E.  Rice,  Frank  Cantrell,  Joseph  Big- 
nell,  all  of  Alliance,  Nebraska. 

Redington  Precinct ;  E.  P.  Loy,  chairman  ; 
Bridgeport,  Nebraska ;  J.  W.  Niehus,  N.  C. 
Dunlap,  George  F.  Randall,  all  of  Redington, 
Nebraska. 

Yockey  Precinct :  C.  I.  Hoxworth,  chair- 
man;  Roy  O'Neal,  J.  E.  Parsons,  all  of  Yock- 
ey, Nebraska. 

Eastwood  Precinct:  Harvey  Majors,  chair- 
man ;  John  Grimes,  M.  F.  Umbenhower, 
George  Wheeler,  all  of  Eastwood,  Nebraska. 

Bonner  Precinct :  Joseph  Vaughn,  chair- 
man ;  Alliance,  Nebraska ;  R.  K.  Thomas,  An- 
gora, Nebraska. 

Court  House  Rock  Precinct :  J.  E.  LeBlanc, 
chairman;  W.  C.  Dugger,  J.  S."  Trott,  F.  R. 
Reddish,  all  of  Bridgeport,  Nebraska. 

Union  Precinct :  Lewis  Finn,  chairman  ;  R. 
E.  McConnell,  Louis  Schutz,  A.  D.  Biers,  all 
of  Dalton,  Nebraska. 

King  Precinct :  Harry  King,  chairman  ;  O. 
J.  Dean,  Henry  Franklin,  all  of  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska  ;  Peter  Riley,  Broadwater,  Nebraska. 

Mark  Spanogle,  county  chairman;  Frank  N. 
Hunt,  county  secretary,  both  of  Bridgeport, 
Nebraska. 

In  the  bond  drive,  Morrill  county  subscribed 
$10,000  more  than  her  quota  of  $124,200,  pro- 
rated among  the  various  precincts  as  follows: 
Camp  Clark-Bridgeport,  $31,450;  Bayard, 
$28,250;  Broadwater,  $10,000;  Redington,  $4,- 
500;   Haynes    (Angora),  $3,300;  Union,  $3.- 


200;  King,  $2,000;  Riley  Hill,  $1,450;  Storm 
Lake,  $550;  Western  Sugar  Company's  check 
to  Chairman  Spanogle,  $50,000. 

Third  Liberty  Loan 

The  third  Liberty  Loan  was  distributed  by 
quotas  among  the  different  banks  of  the  United 
States,  instead  of  by  precincts,  as  had  been 
done  heretofore.  Each  bank  was  responsible 
for  raising  its  quota,  and  the  report  of  F.  E. 
Williams,  county  chairman,  shows  how  the  dif- 
ferent banks  maintained  their  quotas,  also  sub- 
scription receipts  from  sources  other  than  the 
banks. 

The  several  precinct  committees  who  had 
charge  of  the  registration  and  distribution  of 
individual  quotas  were: 

Bayard  Precinct :  W.  P.  De Vault,  chair- 
man;  Fred  Benton,  George  C.  Cronkleton, 
George  Harms. 

Broadwater:  H.  C.  Golden,  chairman;  C. 
A.  Wagner,  Harvey  Bruner,  T.  C.  Haiston. 

Bonner:  Frank  Woods,  chairman;  Fred 
Case,  Angora. 

Camp  Clark :  G.  F.  McDougall.  chairman  ; 
H.  H.  Vandeventer,  Bruce  Wilcox,  F.  H.  Put- 
man,  L.  R.  North. 

Court  House  Rock :  T.  E.  LeBlanc,  chair- 
man, J.  S.  Trott,  F.  R.  Reddish,  W.  C.  Dugger. 

Eastwood:  John  Thompson,  chairman;  C. 
S.  Cheney,  W.  S.  Hinman.  J.  J.  Cain. 

Gilchrist:  C.  A.  Snow,  chairman;  Charles 
Thompson,  Wm.  Rice,  Hugh  Smith. 

Goodstreak :  Thos.  King,  chairman,  or 
Fred  Case,  Angora. 

Haynes  :    Fred  Case,  chairman. 

King:  Harry  King,  chairman;  C.  A.  Tolle, 
O.  J.  Dean,  Peter  Riley. 

Redington:  E.  P.  Loy,  chairman:  N.  C. 
Dunlap,  J.  W.  Niehus,  George  F.  Randall. 

Riley  Hill :  W.  V.  Dove,  chairman ;  Roy 
Austin.  J.  P.  Murphy,  Frank  Paul. 

Storm  Lake  :  Victor  Covalt,  chairman ;  W. 
H.  Archer,  John  Scott,  C.  M.  Jones. 

Union:  J.  L.  Finn,  chairman.  R.  E.  McCon- 
nell, Lewis  Schuetz,  A.  D.  Biers. 

Wier-Lisco :  P.  C.  Wade,  chairman  ;  Olof 
Lindberg,  S.  C,  Ruby,  Hiram  Maize. 

Yockey :  Ellis  Judd,  chairman ;  J.  E.  Par- 
sons, C.  I.  Hoxworth,  Roy  O'Neall. 

Red  Cross  Work 
The  Red  Cross  workers  in  Bridgeport  did 
some  very  energetic  and  effective  work  in  the 
drive  for  their  funds  in  May.  A.  W.  Atkins 
conducted  the  work  in  town,  acting  as  precinct 
chairman  and  being  ably  assisted  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  local  Red  Cross  chapter.  Head- 
quarters   were    opened    in    the    office    of    the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


4(i') 


Hunt  Realty  Company,  the  front  windows 
being  profusely  decorated  with  the  colors  of 
the  Red  Cross,  posters,  packages  of  surgical 
dressings,  etc.,  and  the  display  was  attractive 
and  appealing.  The  quota  was  approximately 
$1.00  per  capita,  which  would  make  our  quota 
in  town  about  $1,000  or  a  little  more.  Up  to 
Tuesday  night,  the  28th,  when  the  headquar- 
ters were  closed,  over  $1,800.00  in  cash  had 
been  put  in  the  bank  for  the  Red  Cross,  with 
some  pledges  still  unpaid  and  a  good  supply  of 
valuable  articles  which  had  been  donated  and 
to  be  sold. 

Food  Administration 

The  Morrill  County  unit  of  the  National 
Food  administration  was  elected  in  December, 
1917,  with  Judge  J.  H.  Steuteville  as  County 
Food  Administrator.  The  main  assistants  in 
this  work  as  it  progressed  through  the  ensuing 
month  were  G.  W.  Tudd,  Bayard ;  C.  B.  Mer- 
nitt,  Broadwater;  R.  T.  Eli  and  Mrs.  D.  C. 
Henderson,  Angora;  Harry  King  of  King 
precinct ;  H.  A.  Gillman,  Redington,  and  T.  B. 
Estill  and  later  Lloyd  Wiggins  of  Bridgeport. 
The  fuel  administration  was  inaugurated  about 
this  time  in  charge  of  Judge  G.  J.  Hunt. 

Home  Guards 

About  two  dozen  men  met  at  the  Essig  hall 
February,  1917.  and  proceeded  to  effect  a  local 
Home  Guard  organization.  Mr.  W.  H.  Willis 
opened  the  meeting  as  temporary  chairman.  J. 
H.  Steuteville  was  chosen  as  president  and  F. 
S.  Copeland  as  secretary  of  the  permanent  or- 
ganization. The  members  chose  the  following 
officers:  Captain,  W.  H.  Willis;  first  lieuten- 
ant, Wesley  Rogers ;  second  lieutenant,  Frank 
Hedglin.  A  request  was  sent  in  to  the  state 
department  for  the  officers  commissions. 

The  following  was  the  initial  muster  roll ; 

F.  E.  Hedglin,  Earl  Steuteville,  W.  IT  Wil- 
lis, Wesley  Rogers,  Harold  lones,  G.  P. 
Fitzpatrick",  R.  S.  Wise.  Pearl  Pooler.  C.  R. 
Rice,  Jesse  Young,  Orville  Kortz,  Auburn  At- 
kins, Roy  Harshman,  Clyde  Reitnour.  Claude 
May,  F.  S.  Copeland,  J.  H.  Steuteville,  M.  B. 
Ferris,  William  I.  Dyson,  A.  W.  Atkins. 

Other  parts  of  the  county  were  gathering  at 
their  public  places  to  pay  farewell  tribute  to 
the  boys  departing  from  their  neighborhoods. 
During  the  fourth  week  in  June,  the  entire 
community  in  the  vicinity  of  Redington  wasg 
devoting  itself  to  a  series  of  farewells  and  re- 
ceptions, to  Sherman  Wilcox  and  Forrest 
Ridge,  who  were  to  leave  their  neighborhood 
for  service  with  the  June  contingent. 

A  further  reduction  in  the  use  of  beef  and 
sugar  was  named  at  this  time. 


The  Food  Administration  and  Council  of 
Defence  had  incurred  considerable  expense  and 
Mr.  Bigelow  acted  as  a  committee  and  took  up 
small  collections  in  June  to  meet  this. 

Through  the  Summer 
The  devotion  of  the  activities  of  the  com- 
munity to  the  work,  continued  at  the  same 
tension  throughout  the  summer.  The  June, 
1918,  drawing  of  those  who  had  become  twen- 
ty-one since  1918  resulted  in  the  first  five  Mor- 
rill county  boys  to  be  drawn,  being : 

1.  10.     Edwin  Frans  Peterson,  Redington. 

2.  29.     Earnest  Edward  Cassidy,  Bayard. 

3.  17.     Claude  Egbert  Buckner.  Broadwater. 

4.  4.     Allan  Barnhart  Atkins,  Bridgeport. 

5.  28.     Charles  Israel   Hoxworth.  Yockey. 
Another  large  contingent  was  given  a  rousing 

farewell  at  Essig  hall  on  June  27th. 

Rev.  McDougall  called  the  assembly  to  order 
and  stated  briefly  the  purpose  of  the  meeting, 
bringing  in  a  little  story  to  indicate  how  the 
boys  were  going  to  "sit  on  the  Kaiser." 

The  first  number  was  a  song  by  the  Bridge- 
port borne  guards  under  the  leadership  of  Ed. 
Morris,  and  the  guards  were  called  back  and 
required  to  respond  to  an  encore. 

Mrs.  Roy  Harshman  rendered  a  very  appro- 
priate solo,  her  selection  being  a  patriotic  song 
written  especially  for  the  occasion.  Mrs. 
Harshman's  singing  is  always  enjoyable. 

Rev.  McDougall  then  introduced  Judge 
Hurd,  who  spoke  feelingly  and  sensibly  to  the 
boys  who  were  about  to  go  to  camp,  calling 
their  attention  to  the  fact  that  they  were  now 
about  to  do  the  things  that  entitled  them  to  be 
called  "men"  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  As 
many  of  them  had  to  go  on  the  northbound 
train  at  10:30.  the  proceedings  were  cut  short 
and  refreshments  were  served  early  1>\  the 
members  of  the  woman's  club.  Then  a  large 
crowd  escorted  the  soldiers  boys  to  the  train 
and  gazed  after  them  in  tears  as  the  train  pulled 
away  from  the  depot.  The  crowd  Was  even 
larger  than  on  Monday  night,  showing  that  our 
people  do  not  weary  of  honoring  our  heroes. 
The  following  program  was  rendered : 

Song  by  the  audience,  "America." 

Maypole  drill  by  twelve,  little  girls  under  the 
direction  of  Miss  Oldershaw. 

Address  by  E.  M.  Bigelow. 

Reading  by  Mrs.  Garner. 

Address  by  Editor  C.  D.  Casper. 

Piano  duet  by  Mabel  Ericson  and  Wreatha 
Farmer. 

Address  by  Rev.  McDougall. 

Introduction  of  each  man  of  the  contingent 
to  the  audience  by  Chairman  J.  PI.  Steuteville. 

"Star  Spangled  Banner,"  by  the  audience. 


410 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Each  one  of  the  speakers  appeared  earnestly 
desirous  of  giving  advice  and  good  cheer  to  the 
selected  soldiers.  Mr.  E.  M.  Bigelow  spoke  of 
his  own  experiences  in  connection  with  the 
militia  and  regular  army,  and  his  talk  was 
along  practical  lines.  He  offered  some  excel- 
lent advice  and  much  encouragement  to  the 
boys  who  were  entering  army  life. 

Editor  Casper  spoke  of  his  experience  as  a 
soldier  of  the  Civil  War,  and  made  a  good, 
sound  and  effective  speech  that  was  well  re- 
ceived by  the  soldiers  as  well  as  the  audience. 

Rev.  McDougall  made  a  strongly  eloquent 
plea  for  the  defeat  of  Germany — "to  her  knees" 
— which  occasioned  a  strong  applause  from  the 
assembly.  The  Reverend  also  spoke  good  cheer 
and  encouragement  to  the  recruits. 

The  Red  Cross  ladies  served,  refreshments 
and  the  people  afterwards  came  forward  and 
took  each  soldier  by  the  hand  and  bade  him 
farewell. 

This  pace  was  kept  up  throughout  the  month 
of  May.  when  a  crowd  of  citizens  gathered  at 
the  Essig  hall  April  29th  to  bid  farewell  to 
another  contingent  of  Morrill  county  soldiers 
was  a  matter  of  memory. 

The  first  speech  of  the  evening  was  made  by 
Luther  Murphy  of  Morrill,  who  is  a  traveling 
salesman  but  who  devotes  much  of  his  time  in 
speaking  at  patriotic  meetings  wherever  he  has 
the  opportunity.  Mr.  Murphy  is  a  whirlwind 
orator  and  rouses  his  hearers  to  the  high  pitch 
of  enthusiasm  maintained  by  himeslf.  He  told 
graphically  of  the  atrocities  committed  by  the 
Huns,  and  eulogized  the  men  who  were  going 
over  to  stop  the  barbarians. 

Professor  Henri  Deschamps,  a  Frenchman 
by  birth  and  who  has  been  doing  psychological 
work  in  Bridgeport  for  some  time,  made  a 
very  touching  address  to  the  soldier  boys  and 
told  of  how  France  needed  them  in  this  hour 
of  peril.  The  professor  spoke  feelingly  of  the 
French  people's  love  for  the  American  soldiers 
and  closed  with  a  beautiful  peroration  in  fare- 
well to  the  ones  who  were  to  leave  for  France. 

Attorney  G.  J.  Hunt,  chairman  of  the  coun- 
ty council  of  defense,  then  delivered  an  elo- 
quent address  which  went  right  to  the  hearts 
of  all  present.  Mr.  Hunt  encouraged  and  in- 
spired the  selected  men  to  a  high  degree,  and 
left  with  them  the  assurance  that  they  were 
bound  to  victory  which  would  ultimately  bring 
liberty  and  democracy  to  the  entire  world. 

Judge  Steuteville  closed  the  program  with 
a  forcible  talk  on  the  duty  of  Americans,  and 
especially  American  housekeepers,  in  conserv- 
ing the  food  which  must  be  had  to  win  the 
war.  The  judge  was  deeply  absorbed  in  his 
duties  as  chairman  of  the  county  food  admin- 


istration and  was  using  every  bit  of  energy  he 
possessed  to  encourage  people  in  obeying  the 
food  regulations. 

The  next  Wednesday  night  another  meeting 
was  held  for  the  purpose  of  showing  honor  to 
the  group  of  men  who  were  to  leave  on  the 
train  for  Camp  Logan  at  2  :00  a.  m.,  the  same 
night. 

Many  more  names  were  added  to  the  muster 
roll  at  a  meeting  held  early  in  March. 

War  Work  Moving  Along 

The  steady  progress  of  the  tenor  of  war 
work  was  marked  by  so  many  steps  that  it  is 
impossible  to  chronicle  all  of  them  in  this  short 
review.  Just  to  pause  for  a  moment  and  glance 
at  a  single  week  in  April,  1918,  one  year  after 
the  entrance  of  our  country  into  this  conflict, 
we  find  numerous  significant  marks  of  the 
steady  progress  of  this  work.  At  that  time, 
Morrill  county  was  examining  men  to  send 
another  contingent  of  twelve  to  Camp  Funston 
at  the  end  of  the  month.  The  Food  Adminis- 
tration was  announcing  further  stringent  rules. 
The  Red  Cross  knitting  department  was  mov- 
ing to  the  back  rooms  of  the  First  National 
Bank.  The  Third  Liberty  Loan  was  going 
strong  and  Morrill  county  was  headed,  in  the 
first  five  days  for  that  usual  mark,  "surpass- 
ing its  quota."  A  rousing  series  of  patriotic 
meetings  were  held  on  April  7th  and  8th  at 
Broadwater  and  Bayard  and  Bridgeport  with 
serious  patriotic  addresses  by  Hon.  W.  L. 
Dowling,  of  Madison,  Nebraska.  The  United 
States  Boys'  Working  Reserve  was  prepared 
to  register  every  boy  between  the  ages  of  six- 
teen and  twenty-one  for  non-military,  agricul- 
tural and  other  industrial  service  outside  of 
school  terms.  The  enrolling  officers  for  that 
work  in  Morrill  county  were: 

Bridgeport,  Agnes  fl.  Clark. 

Northport,  Mrs.  Effie  B.  Mann. 

Broadwater,  Coila  E.  Etchison. 

Bayard,  Mabel  C.  Yensen. 

Angora,  Amy  E.  Dyson. 

Bridgeport,  County  Superintendent  Kelley. 

Thrift  Campaign 

T.  B.  Estill  of  the  Nebraska  State  Bank  of 
Bridgeport  was  appointed  chairman  for  Mor- 
rill county  in  the  campaign  of  selling  Thrift 
Stamps  and  War  Saving  Certificates.  The 
men  who  were  appointed  to  handle  the  sale  of 
Morrill  county's  quota  of  $117,800  were: 

E.  L.  Case,  Angora  ;  Mark  Spanogle.  Bridge- 
port:  Ja.  Millett,  Colver;  W.  V.  Dove.  Lynn; 
N.  C.  Dunlap,  Redington :  J.  E.  LeBlanc, 
Bridgeport:  E.  F.  Kelley,  Bridgeport;  Miss 
Emma    Lyon,    Bridgeport:    C.    O.    Morrison, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


411 


Bayard ;  J.  R.  Minshall,  Broadwater ;  E.  V. 
Deuer,  Broadwater ;  Jesse  Edson,  Northport ; 
J.  E.  Parsons,  Yockey ;  J.  L.  Finn,  Simla ; 
Miss  Mabel  Johnson,  Bridgeport ;  T.  B.  Estill, 
chairman,  Bridgeport. 

Morrill  county  went  over  the  top  on  this 
campaign  in  March,  1918,  and  pledged  20  per 
cent  more  than  her  allotted  quota,  thus  doing 
her  full  share  in  helping  to  make  Nebraska  the 
first  state  in  the  Union  to  subscribe  its  quota. 
The  fifty-two  districts  o<f  the  county  returned 
1,843  subscriptions,  with  a  total  subscribed 
amount  of  $134,055.00. 

War  Savings  Societies 

Under  the  leadership  of  A.  E.  Fisher, 
county  director,  there  were  fifty-eight  war  sav- 
ing societies  in  active  operation  in  Morrill  coun- 
ty. Whether  or  not  one  feels  from  the  retro- 
spective view  that  is  now  being  taken  of  this 
work,  whether  the  war  saving  stamps  or  "The 
Baby  Bonds"  really  fulfilled  the  mission  that 
it  was  so  sincerely  and  zealously  proclaimed 
during  the  war  period,  that  it  would,  it  cannot 
be  doubted  but  what  the  societies  served  a  very 
beneficial  purpose.  They  inculcated  into  the 
minds  of  the  people  lessons  of  patriotism  and 
principles  of  thrift  that  were  worth  the  effort, 
and  it  is  probably  not  amiss  that  at  this  point 
due  credit  should  be  given  to  those  who  as- 
sumed the  responsibility  of  these  organizations. 

September,  1918,  Registers 
Thursday,  September  12,  1918,  was  another 
historic  day  in  the  United  States.  On  that  day 
the  nucleus  of  a  new  national  army  was 
formed,  when  every  man  between  the  ages  of 
eighteen  and  forty-five,  inclusive,  except  the 
men  who  had  theretofore  registered,  came  to 
the  polls  and  tentatively  offered  themselves  to 
the  service  of  their  country  and  humanity. 

Fourth  Liberty  Loan  Campaign 

The  Fourth  Liberty  Loan  campaign  came 
under  way  in  September.  A  rousing  meeting 
was  held  at  the  court  house  on  September  15th, 
to  arrange  for  the  opening  of  the  campaign  on 
September  28th. 

Women  workers  were  chosen  to  assist  in  the 
fourth  liberty  loan. 

The  county's  quota  for  this  loan  was  $311,- 
250.00. 

A  contingent  of  thirty-one  men  left  Bridge- 
port on  July  22d.  Instead  of  the  usual  recep- 
tion, the  program  was  changed  that  time  and 
the  ladies  of  the  Red  Cross  conducted  canteen 
service  at  the  park  near  the  depot  for  a  few 
hours  preceding  the  departure  of  these  boys. 

Lieutenant  William  Ritchie,  Jr.,  came  home 


in  July  on  a  short  leave  of  absence  from  Camp 
Dodge,  Iowa.  Lieutenant  H.  R.  Van  Home 
then  assigned  to  a  command  in  Headquarters 
Company  of  trench  mortars,  136th  Infantry,  at 
Camp  Cody,  arrived  for  a  short  visit.  He  re- 
ported that  Charles  Gadd  was  then  first  ser- 
geant of  Company  F,  109th  Engineers,  and 
soon  expected  to  enter  an  officers'  training 
school.  Donald  Merritt,  of  Broadwater,  was 
serving  as  a  battalion  sergeant  major. 

Rev.  McDougall  sent  in  his  application  for 
chaplain  in  the  army.  W.  E.  Kirby  made  ap- 
plication for  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work.  A  farewell 
banquet  was  tendered  on  July  13th  to  Attorney 
F.  E.  Williams,  the  occasion  being  the  ap- 
proaching time  he  was  to  depart  for  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  work  in  France. 

Four-Minute  Men 
Under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  F.  S.  Copeland, 
the  four  minute  men  of  Morrill  county  per- 
formed that  unique  service  that  this  organiza- 
tion brought  to  the  general  public.  The  four 
minute  speech  was  something  new  in  the  way 
of  public  speaking,  by  which  a  good  ten  or 
fifteen  minute  talk  had  eight  to  eleven  minutes 
taken  off  and  its  four  minute  climax  delivered, 
proved  to  be  a  wonderful  patriotism  aroused. 
Those  men  who  stood  so  loyally  by  Chairman 
Copeland  in  Bridgeport  were :  fudge  G.  J. 
Hunt,  Judge  J.  H.  Steuteville,  R.  E.  Barrett, 
K.  W.  McDonald,  Rev.  McDougall,  F.  E. 
Williams,  County  Agent  H.  A.  McComb,  and 
L.  G.  Hurd. 

Morrill  County  Bar 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  county  in  the  United 
States  that  possessed  at  the  beginning  of  the 
great  world  war  a  bar  composed  of  more  than 
two  or  three  active  practicing  attorneys,  can 
show  a  record  that  excels  that  of  the  Morrill 
County  bar.  At  the  opening  of  the  war,  there 
were  eleven  members  of  this  bar.  including 
County  Judge  Steuteville,  who  was  not  very 
actively  engaged  in  the  practice,  and  excluding 
two  or  three  attorneys  who  came  into  the  coun- 
ty near  the  conclusion  of  this  war  or  there- 
abouts. Of  the  eleven  practicing  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war,  seven  of  these  lawyers,  or 
about  seventy  per  cent  of  this  bar  left  their 
clientele  and  their  offices,  which  furnished 
their  means  and  livelihood,  to  enter  the  service 
of  their  country.  William  Ritchie.  Jr..  C.  G. 
Perrv,  Thos.  F.  Neighbors,  George  Irwin, 
Yale  H.  Cavatt  and  Charles  Mantz,  all  left  to 
enter  military  service.  F.  E.  Williams  went 
into  over-seas  service  as  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  worker. 
Of  these  remaining  at  home  were  Judge  G.  |. 
Hunt,  K.  W.  McDonald.  Judge  J."  II.  Steute- 


412 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ville,  Fred  I.  Nichols  and  after  his  arrival, 
Judge  L.  G.  Hard.  It  has  been  noted  that 
these  men  devoted  the  major  portion  of  their 
time  during  the  war  period  to  the  success  of 
the  work  of  the  Council  of  Defense,  Red  Cross, 
Liberty  Loans,  Food  and  Fuel  Administration, 
four  minute  men  and  other  war  activities. 

The  Armistice 
Following  the  close  of  the  Fourth  Liberty 
Loan,  the  war  work  went  on  during  October  at 
the  usual  pace,  until  about  the  middle  of  the 
month,  when  the  influenza  epidemic  which  was 
sweeping  the  country  at  that  time  made  its 
appearance  in  various  parts  of  this  county.  It 
became  necessary  for  the  Board  of  Health,  the 
Board  of  Education,  the  Council  of  Defense 
and  the  City  Council  to  consider  ways  and 
means,  resulting  in  an  order  closing  all  public 
gatherings  during  part  of  that  month.  Before 
this  epidemic  had  abated  and  on  the  eve  of  the 
departure  of  a  large  contingent  of  Morrill 
county's  sons,  came  the  welcome  news  of  the 
signing  of  the  Armistice.  Morrill  county  tore 
loose  all  bonds  of  restraint  and  indulged  in  a 
celebration  of  the  happiest  day  of  its  history. 

War  Work  Drive 

The  last  drive  was  the  United  War  Work 
Drive  of  the  seven  united  agencies  of  service 
and  mercy  which  was  in  progress  at  the  time 
of  the  Armistice.  The  status  of  this  drive  early 
in  December  was  as  follows : 

Bayard    $  7,125.50 

Union    298.00 

Bonner    270.00 

Yockev    67.50 

Court  House  Rock 330.50 

Broadwater    673.00 

Camp  Clark   1,500.00 

Eastwood    456.21 

Wier-Lisco   262.50 

Goodstreak    84.50 

Hickerv 55.00 

Storm  Lake   370.00 

Redington    316.00 

King    50.00 

Haynes    312.25 

Total  for  county $12,170.96 

Victory  Loan 

The  Fifth  or  Victory  Loan  campaign  was 
planned  in  May,  1919.  The  quotas  of  the  pre- 
cincts was  fixed  by  townships  as  follows : 

Bayard    $92,000.00 

Bonner    7.500.00 

Broadwater    17,000.00 


Camp  Clark   38,000.00 

Court  House  Rock 10.000.00 

Eastwood 14.000.0C 

Gilchrist    12,500.00 

Haynes    13,000.00 

Good  Streak 5.500.00 

King    6,500.00 

Redington   19,000.00 

Reilly  Hill    7,000.00 

Storm  Lake   8,500.00 

Union    8,000.00 

Weir-Lisco  11,000.00 

Yockey    11,500.00 

Local  Exemption  Board  Passed  Into 
History 

The  local  exemption  board,  that  was  the 
center  of  interest  as  well  as  the  storm  center 
for  public  opinion  a  few  years  ago,  performed 
the  final  acts  of  shipping  its  reports  to  the 
war  department  at  Washington,  March  28, 
1919,  and  disposed  of  the  government  property 
it  had  been  using.  The  members  were  for- 
mally discharged  in  the  spring  of  1919.  No 
more  difficult  or  unpleasant  task  could  be 
placed  on  any  body  of  men  than  the  one  that 
was  carried  through  so  successfully  by  the 
members  of  the  exemption  board  of  the  county. 
They  were  compelled  to  take  men  from  their 
families  and  relatives,  and  place  them  on  the 
firing  line  of  death.  Women  deluged  the  board 
with  protesting  tears,  and  men  with  angry  re- 
monstrance and,  in  some  cases,  threats.  The 
board  stood  firm  through  it  all  and  cut  through 
like  a  knife — fairly  and  impartially,  as  nearly 
as  they  could  with  hastily  assembled  facts, 
sometimes  presented  in  a  partial  manner.  Mis- 
takes may  have  been  made  for  all  men  are 
human. 

Now,  that  nothing  is  left  of  the  organization 
but  a  memory,  it  should  be  a  grateful  memory 
of  three  men  who  did  their  duty  Well  —  Dr. 
Palmer,  Professor  Copeland,  and  Sheriff  Dy- 
son. 

Memorial  Welcome 

A  gala  and  memorial  occasion  for  Morrill 
county  was  the  celebration  in  May,  1919.  when 
the  returned  soldiers  and  sailors  captured 
Bridgeport.  The  Nczcs-Blade  described  this 
occasion  in  part : 

A  small  army  of  returned  soldiers  and  sail- 
ors descended  upon  this  city  Tuesday  and  com- 
pletely captured  the  place.  Everything  was 
turned  over  to  them  without  question,  for  it 
was  impossible  to  resist  such  an)  army  of 
heroes  as  those  who  marched  gallantly  through 
our  streets.  They  were  conquering  heroes  in- 
deed, and  theirs  was  the  right  to  take  what 
they  saw  fit.     They  were  the  most  delightful 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


413 


captors  in  the  world,  and.  if  what  they  said 
may  be  taken  to  be  true,  they  never  took  such 
a  pleasing  bunch  of  captives  as  our  citizens 
proved  to  be. 

The  big  "welcome  home"  was  everything  it 
should  have  been.  Flags  were  flying  every- 
where, inspiring  band  music  stirred  our  people 
to  a  greater  exhibition  of  patriotism,  a  magni- 
ficent program  had  been  fully  arranged  and 
was  carried  out  so  that  the  guests  of  honor 
were  being  entertained  every  minute  from 
noon  to  midnight.  The  banquet  was  one  of  the 
finest  ever  given  in  the  city,  and.  best  of  all, 
our  heroes  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  oc- 
casion and  enjoyed  everything  thoroughly, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  big  parade  to  the 
last  waltz  at  the  hall. 

The  parade  at  two  o'clock  was  headed  by 
the  Bayard  brass  band,  and  the  compliments 
that  were  expressed  to  the  band  were  many. 
The  home  guards  acted  as  escort  to  the  return- 
ed soldiers  and  sailors.  As  the  company  of 
returned  heroes  came  marching  down  the 
street,  in.  full  uniform,  and  with  their  swing- 
ing military  gait  and  splendidly  erect  bearing, 
they  were  applauded  by  the  great  crowds  that 
lined  our  streets,  to  the  echo.  They  were  fol- 
lowed in  the  procession  by  ladies  of  the  Red 
Cross,  also  in  uniform,  boy  scouts,  a  long  pro- 
cession of  school  children,  several  civic  organ- 
izations, and  citizens  in  automobiles.  The  parade 
disbanded  at  the  opera  house,  where  the  after- 
noon program  was  to  be  rendered  but  only  a 
small  fraction  of  the  crowd  could  get  into  the 
building  and  the  seats  were  given  over  mostly 
to  the  ladies. 

A  couple  of  hours  were  spent  in  hearing  the 
program,  when  Captain  Willis  dismissed  the 
audience  so  that  they  might  have  an  opportun- 
ity to  see  a  war  tank  that  was  being  paraded 
through  the  streets.  The  tank  was  one  that 
had  been  used  in  the  Victory  loan  drive  in 
Wyoming,  and  was  being  shipped  back  to 
Kansas  City  on  a  fiat  car.  Chairman  Span- 
ogle  was  apprised  by  telegram  of  its  coming, 
and  was  told  that  the  driver  of  the  tank  could 
not  be  present,  but  the  people  were  invited  to 
view  it  on  the  car.  This  didn't  suit  the  soldier 
boys,  so  they  charged  the  tank  and  soon  had 
the  beast  at  their  mercy.  It  was  hauled  by 
willing  hands  from  its  resting  place  on  the 
car.  the  engine  was  started  up,  the  tank  was 
driven  through  the  streets  and  the  machine 
guns  were  turned  loose  with  blank  catridges  to 
give  the  people  an  idea  of  what  tank  warfare 
was  at  the  battle  front.  The  tank  had  seen 
considerable  service  at  the  battle  front  in 
France,  and  had  many  dents  in  it  from  hard 
nosed  bullets  that  had  been  used   in  vain   by 


the  ones  whom  it  had  attacked.  It  was  painted 
in  various  colors,  as  a  camouflage,  and  was  one 
of  the  most  interesting  things  of  the  day.  Mark 
Spanogle,  district  chairman  of  the  Victory 
loan  organization,  mounted  it  and  made  a 
short  speech  in  which  he  urged  the  people  to 
take  the  loan  over  the  top  as  the  tank  had  gone 
over  the  top  so  many  times. 

At  six  o'clock  the  guests  were  conducted  to 
the  Odd  Fellows  hall  where  a  banquet  was  ten- 
dered them.  This  was  perhaps  the  most  elab- 
orate part  of  the  program,  being  prepared  and 
served  by  the  Bridgeport  woman's  club,  of 
which  Mrs.  W.  H.  Gustafson  is  president.  Rev. 
King  returned  thanks,  and  Rev.  Mathews  de- 
livered a  number  of  anecdotes  from  his  iarge 
stock.  The  male  quintet  entertained  with  sev- 
eral songs,  and  the  soldiers  returned  the  com- 
pliment by  singing  trench  songs  and  patriotic 
selections  with  which  they  had  whiled  away 
the  long  hours  in  the  army.  Short  addresses 
were  also  made  by  Lieutenant  T.  F.  Neighbors 
of  this  city  and  Mr.  Kennedy  of  Bayard.  The 
guests  we're  very  liberal  in  their  thanks  and 
remarks  of  appreciation  of  the  spread. 

Immediately  after  the  banquet  the  men  of 
honor  were  reconducted  to  the  opera  house 
where  the  Bridgeport  Comedy  company  was 
ready  to  renew  their  entertainment.  The  even- 
ing program  began  with  an  overture  by  the 
Bavard  band,  followed  by  a  reading  by  Mabel 
Ericson  entitled,  "Minnie  at  the  Movies."  Miss 
Ericson's  work  is  entitled  to  much  credit,  and 
she  was  trongly  applauded.  The  band  filled  in 
the  intermission  with  a  number  of  selections, 
and  then  the  comedy  company  presented  the 
one-act  comedy  entitled,  "Foiled  by  Heck  !"  It 
was  a  forty  minute  play,  and  each  one  of  the 
participants  is  deserving  of  special  mention 
which  lack  of  space  forbids.  The  manbers  of 
the  company  are  Professor  F.  S.  Copeland, 
Mrs.  F.  S.  Copeland,  Reatha  Farmer,  Mabel 
Ericson,  Elsie  Riddle,  Wesley  W.  Rogers  and 
Eugene  LeBlanc.  Mrs.  Copeland  was  taken 
seriouslv  ill,  and  her  part  was  well  taken  by 
Miss  Farmer,  the  latter's  part  being  filled  by 
Elsie  Riddle. 

Home  Guards  Demobilize 

One  of  the  strongest  factors  in  patriotic 
Americanism  during  "the  war  passed  into  his- 
tory lanuarv  16,  1920,  with  the  demobilization 
of 'the  Bridgeport  home  guards.  The  guards 
were  organized  on  March  1,  1918,  and  not  only 
drilled  faithfully  and  continuously  in  the  man- 
ual of  arms,  but  they  kept  the  morale  of  our 
citizens  high  during  the  struggle  of  the  world 
for  independence. 

Invitations  were  sent  out  a  few  days  before, 


414 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


to  the  members  of  the  company  and  several  of 
their  friends,  requesting  them  to  appear  at  the 
opera  house  the  evening  of  January  16,  for 
demobilization  exercises.  About  eighty-five 
people  assembled  at  the  opera  house  and  held 
one  of  the  most  delightful  social  events  that 
have  ever  been  held  in  the  city  of  Bridgeport. 

Tables  were  set  on  the  stage  and  a  spread 
was  served,  immediately  after  which  responses 
to  the  toasts  were  given.  The  guards  who  re- 
sponded to  the  toasts  proved  that  they  were 
orators  as  well  as  soldiers.  Captain  W.  H. 
Willis  acted  as  toastmaster.  Private  Estill 
gave  the  toast,  "Fall  in ;"  Sergeant  Bayles  gave, 
"At  Ease ;"  First  Lieutenant  Rogers  gave, 
"Forward.  March!"  First  Sergeant  Morris 
gave  "Company  Dismissal."  There  were  also 
read  letters  from  Chaplain  McDougall  and 
Private  Deulen,  who  were  absent: 

After  the  banquet  Captain  Willis  presented 
to  each  member  of  the  company  an  honorable 
discharge  from  service  and  the  gun  and  equip- 
ment that  had  been  used  by  the  members  while 
in  service.  The  arm  and  equipment  becomes 
the  property  of  the  discharged  members,  and 
will  be  a  valued  souvenir  of  his  service  in  the 
home  guards. 

Following  is  the  final  roll  call  of  the  Bridge- 
port home  guards : 

Honor  Roll 
Officers:  Captain,  W.  H.  Willis;  First 
Lieutenant,  W.  W.  Rogers ;  Second  Lieuten- 
ant, Frank  Hedglin ;  First  Sergeant,  Ed.  Mor- 
ris ;  Sergeant,  Henry  Payne ;  Quartermaster 
Sergeant,  Rov  Harshman ;  Chaplain.  Rev. 
George  McDougall;  Chaplain,  Rev.  H.  C. 
Matthews ;  Color  Sergeant,  Carl  Bayles ;  Ser- 
geant, Glen  Porter;  Corporal,  R.  Richardson; 
Corporal,  W.  T.  Jones,  Jr. ;  Corporal,  Andy 
Michael ;  Corporal,  George  Crick  ;  Corporal,  F. 
S.  Copeland ;  Bugler,  Clay  Lee;  Secretary,  Z. 
H.  Jones ;  Privates,  Albert  Dugger,  George 
Cope,  Ralph  Riddle,  Joe  Humpal,  Monte  Far- 
ris,  Don  Duelen,  Bob  Estill,  Leslie  Hascall, 
Howard  Burke,  Herbert  Haines,  Earl  Steute- 
ville.  Jesse  Payne,  J.  H.  Steuteville,  Clarence 
Gregg,  Arthur  Ishmeal,  Edgar  Clark,  Alex 
Scott,  Ernest  Michael.  Howard  Kilburn,  Earl 
Ishmael,  Fred  DeGraw,  E.  B.  Newkirk,  Mel- 
vin  Long,  Ivol  Thostesen,  Ora  Vannater,  Jesse 
Young,  Eloyd  Smith,  Arthur  Erickson,  How- 
ard Anderson,  H.  O.  Turner,  Orvil  Kortz,  O. 
W.  Wells,  Marvin  McCole,  Otis  Peer,  I,.  E. 
Hoffman,  P.  C.  Chandler. 

War  Memorial  Association  Organized 
A  county  organization  of  the  Nebraska  War 
Memorial  association  was  perfected  June   11, 


1920,  at  a  meeting  held  in  Bridgeport.  It  was 
decided  that  Morrill  county  was  to  go  over  the 
top  with  her  quota  for  the  state  memorial  just 
as  she  went  over  the  top  with  all  of  the  Liberty 
loans  and  Red  Cross  drives.  E.  F.  Morris  was 
selected  as  county  chairman,  and  he  immediate- 
ly appointed  E.  M.  Bigelow  as  county  secre- 
tary. W.  E.  Guthrie  was  selected  as  county 
team  chairman,  and  his  duty  was  to  organize 
the  precinct  teams  for  the  drive.  Arthur  Erick- 
son was  chosen  as  county  treasurer,  and  the 
association  was  ready  for  the  big  drive. 
List  of  Men  in  the  Service  of  the  United 

States  as  Shown  on  the  Records  of 

the    Local    Board    for    Morrill 

County,  Bridgeport,  Neb. 

June,  1917,  Registration 

Ashby,  Harry  H.,  Anderson,  Grif  A.,  An- 
derson, Arthur  C,  Amsberry,  Earl  T.,  Ander- 
son, Walter  D.,  Amsberry,  Louis  F.,  Ander- 
son, Raymond,  Anderson,  William  L..  An- 
drews, Ira  G.,  Allen,  Lee,  Acker,  Albert  A., 
Ackerman,  William  P.,  Aspden,  Raymond  W., 
Brines,  John  W.,  Berwick,  Fred,  Brumm, 
George  H.,  Booker,  Robert  L.,  Burry,  Charles, 
Blackburn,  Ira,  Blackstock,  Aubrey  F.,  Bank- 
son,  Everrett  C,  Booras,  Peter,  Bauer.  Carl, 
Bergman,  Edward,  Biester,  Leo  J.,  Buckner, 
Emanuel  F.,  Burrows,  Glen  C,  Bollerup, 
Christian  A.,  Beatty,  Harley,  Berend.  Louis  C, 
Bray,  James  N.,  Beaver,  Earnest  V.,  Bodry, 
Warren  D.,  Becker,  Roscoe  H.,  Brown,  Wil- 
liam V.,  Brennan,  Frank,  Bailey,  Paul  S., 
Brown,  Robert  E-,  Boodry,  David  E.,  Brink- 
man,  Albert,  Buckles,  Chester  E.,  Barr,  Leon- 
ard R.,  Barberis,  Aberham,  Bankson,  Amos  S., 
Clouse,  Frank,  Cook,  Leonard,  Cavett.  Yale 
H.,  Colburn,  Clarence  L.,  Childs,  Fred  F., 
Cleveland,  Robert  E.,  Colyer,  David  C.  Cham- 
bers, Raymond  L.,  Chambers,  Allen  S.,  Collins, 
Cassius  A.,  Comstock,  Jacob  G.,  Chesebro,  Ray 
F.,  Carter,  Chester  E.,  Chambers,  Frank  W., 
Cherrington,  Homer  F.,  Chapman,  Raymond 
C,  Coulter,  Lester  R.,  Clark,  George  C.'Clure, 
LeRoy  S..  Childs,  Frank  E.,  Curtis.  Elbert, 
Coulter,  Bernice  R.,  Crandall,  Jerry  A..  Castel- 
low,  Theodore,  Colwick,  William  C,  Chapman, 
Ralph  D.,  Cade.  Clarke  H.,  Capron.  Albert  M., 
Clark,  Harold  E.,  Church,  James  A.,  Cain,  Ed- 
ward A.,  DeArmond,  Clarence  A.,  Brescher, 
Roy  R.,  Dibbles,  Herbert  O.,  Daugherty.  Jer- 
ry W.,  Determan,  Edward,  Dushole,  Edward 
F.,  Dockrell,  Gage  W.,  Daugherty,  Orange  J., 
McDermott,  George,  Deines,  Carl  A.,  Dud- 
derar,  Russel  A.,  Dean,  Guy  L.,  Enes,  Ray- 
mond. Elder,  Tim,  Freeman,  Charles  W.,  Fos- 
ter, William  E.,  Fassiot,  Antonio  M.,  Ferris, 
Charles   E.,    Faulkner,   William   R.,    Franzen, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


415 


Carl  F.,  Funk,  Elmer  H.,  Friend,  Joseph  A., 
Gebauer,  Paul  G.,  Grimpe,  Fred  A.,  Gibson, 
Leonard  O.,  Goll,  Edward  L.,  Graham,  Don- 
ald A.,  Gies,  Henry,  Guard,  Edward  W.,  Goff, 
Charles  H.,  Going,  William  L.,  Gillespie,  Alva 
L.,  Gardner,  Charles  H.,  Gill,  Carl  P.,  Herz- 
berg.  Carl  B.,  Hunt,  Col.  E.,  Hutchinson,  For- 
est H.,  Hall,  Asa  M.,  Hoffman,  Lester  E., 
Hanway,  Robert  R.,  Herzog,  William.  Hender- 
son, Paul  C,  Henderson,  Dorris  L.,  Hildreth, 
Roy  N.,  Hutsell,  Loyd  E.,  Herzberg,  John  B., 
Herzberg.  Herman,  Hansen,  Guy  J.,  Harms, 
George  M.,  Hunt,  Carson  A.,  Houck,  Wil- 
liam A.,  Hughes,  Leon  D..  Humphrey,  Fred 
W.,  Hunt,  John  E..  Hannah,  Charles,  Irwin, 
George  W..  Julian,  Frank  J..  Johnson,  August 
W.,  Johnson,  George  F..  Jarrett,  Herman,, 
Jones,  Frank  W.,  Jones,  Arleigh,  Jones,  Law- 
rence R.,  Johnson,  Clarence,  John,  Roy,  Jines, 
Flector,  Kinney,  Harry  E.,  Kleich,  Emil,  Ken- 
nedy, lames  D.,  Kellev,  Robert  E.,  Kirby,  John 
W.,  Kittell,  Willard  J..  Kolar.  Frank  L.,  Ken- 
zie,  James  E.,  Klemke,  Alfred  E.,  King,  Mar- 
tin, Klemke,  Erich  H.,  Kolzow,  George  F., 
Kyle,  Earl.  Krupp,  Charles  B.,  Koonce,  Dwight 
B.,  Kunzie,  George,  Kirk,  Arthur,  Longcor, 
Oscar  F.,  Lehman,  Eles  E.,  Lister,  James, 
Longan,  Frank  E.,  Laing,  Victor  K.,  Logan, 
Fred  B.,  Lane,  Edmund  L.,  Leonard,  Mark  H., 
Lincoln,  Elery  R.,  LeBlanc,  Ernest  L.,  Lam- 
berson,  Charles  A.,  Lane,  Wade  H.,  Ladegard, 
William.  Miefort,  Frank  M.,  Miksell,  Joseph 
H..  Mittelsteadt,  Tohn  M.,  Martine,  Manuel, 
Miller.  William,  McGee,  Keith  E.,  McAlear, 
Carl,  Massoglia,  Frank,  McDole,  Mack,  Mair, 
Glen  W..  Mrkvicka,  Charley,  Miller.  Orvil  A., 
Morrill,  Toe  M.,  Miller,  William  L..  Mays, 
Daniel  A.,  Miller,  Curtis  M.,  Morrill,  Glen  M., 
McCracken,  William  L.,  McEwan,  Elmer, 
Moore,  Robert  B.,  Mantz,  Charles  A.,  Miller, 
Lloyd  M.,  Matson,  William  H.,  McFall,  Rolla 
R.,  Merritt,  Walter  D.,  Merritt,  Don  J.,  Mil- 
ler, Reuben  A.,  Mildexter,  Lee,  McCracken, 
Edward,  McLaughlin,  Lee  V.,  Mead,  Frank 
M.,  Mercer,  Walter  L.,  Nunn,  Jesse  L.,  Niegh- 
bors,  Thomas  F.,  Nies,  Albert  H.,  Newkirk, 
Allen  M.,  Nunn,  Joseph  W.,  Norris,  Emest  H., 
Olin,  Glen  S.,  Osborne.  Dean  H.,  Perryman, 
John  L..  Jr.,  Payne,  Lee  A.,  Parachini,  Charles, 
Pearson,  John  C.,  Perry  Claibourne  G,  Payne, 
James  L.,  Peck,  Maurice  M.,  Pearson,  Ralph, 
Parriott,  Delbert,  Price,  Ray,  Palmer,  Lee  O., 
Pfeiffer,  Carl  W.,  Parkhurst,  William,  Rob- 
erts, Perry  W.  L.,  Ruby,  Clarke  E.,  Rodriguez, 
Juan,  Rodgers,  David  A.,  Ridge,  Forrest,  Ring, 
Otto  W.,  Ross,  James  M.,  Rowen,  Carl  F., 
Reynolds.  James  P.,  Reitnour,  Fern  A.,  Reisch, 
Joseph  F..  Reed,  Frank  E.,  Robinson,  Frank 
L.,  Rasmussen,  Thomas  D.,  Roark,  Robert  B., 


Rivers,  Lawrence  E.,  Rayburn,  James  F., 
Ritchie,  William,  Jr.,  Russell,  Fred  J.,  Rice, 
Grover  C,  Ray,  Julius  E.,  Rakich,  Steve,  Six- 
berry,  Henry,  Smith,  Harry  E.,  Short,  Arthur 
E..  Smith,  David  W.,  Skala,  Charles  G, 
Strauss,  Jack  A.,  Simpson,  Bird  R.,  Smith, 
Harold  E.,  Sedman,  Colin  C.,  Schwab,  Harold 
J.,  Smith,  Stephen  E.,  Snyder,  Neville  S., 
Smith,  William  R.,  Shoopmann,  Elzie,  Shoe- 
maker, Arthur  G,  Siebold,  Philip  H.,  Sturgeon, 
Philo  C,  Stone,  Fred  W.,  Sorenson,  Roy  P., 
Snedeker,  Albert  G.,  Snyder,  Walter  A.,  Speit- 
zen,  Henry  T.,  Steimel,  Norman  C,  Stoner, 
Wallace  D.,  Scott,  Philip  R.,  Smith,  Earl  G., 
Smith  J,oseph  L.  B.,  Smith,  Albert,  Snider, 
Jesse  M.,  Thompson,  William,  Tucker,  Alva 
A..  Tyteca,  Albert  J.,  Todd,  Clyde  E.,  Tinsley, 
William  A.,  Terry,  Leonard  C,  Thomas,  John 
F.,  Tinsley,  Bert  G..  Thompkins.  Raymond  E., 
Underwood,  Frank  W.,  Vorhees,  Edson  A., 
•Van  Deventer,  Forde  M.,  Van  Horn,  Robert 
A.,  Van  Horn.  Harry  R.,  Warren,  Ralph  W., 
Walter,  John  J.,  Whetstine,  Sherman,  Wesley, 
Charles,  Wilson,  James  C,  Weaver,  Turner, 
Walden,  Emmet  R.,  Waggerby,  Prince  W., 
Wilson.  Harry  E.,  Waite,  Cecil,  Wedell,  Jesse 
P.,  Weber,  Fred,  Wilcox,  Sherman,  Welton, 
George  W.,  Jr.,  Werber,  Carl  T„  Watson, 
Lucien  C,  Wilken,  William  J.,  Walsworth, 
Henry  J.,  Winegar,  Guy  L.,  Wright,  Frank  L., 
Weaver,  John  6.,  Washburn,  Herschel,  Wise, 
Velmi  L."  Walter,  Charles  O.,  Zeller,  John  V., 
Zeller,  Ellis  R.,  Yates,  Raymond. 

Registratiton  of  June,  1918 
Ortman.  Glen  L.,  Mills,  Alva  M.,  Murray, 
Kirk,    Standish,   Glen,    Thomas,    William    A., 
Waitman,  Bran  J.,  Wasser,  Milan  D. 

Registration  of  September,  1918 
S.  A.  T.  C. 
Atkins,  Auburn  H.,  Cocke,  Robert  D.,  Erick- 
son,  Tohn  A.,  Gibbs,  Lloyd  T.,  Hahn,  Reuben 
E.,  Hughes,  Dwight  O.,  Herron,  Charles  H., 
Johnson,  David  G,  Schuetz.  Phillip  H.,  Stock- 
well,  James  A. 

Honor  Roll 
One  of  the  regrettable  features  of  history 
writing  is  the  difficulty  in  securing  accurate 
data.  In  the  great  war,  for  instance,  many 
Morrill  county  boys  enlisted  and  some  were 
voluntarily  inducted  in  the  various  camps.  The 
names  of  the  boys  who  enlisted  are  not  in  the 
list  of  those  inducted  by  the  draft.  Some  of 
them  have  been  accredited  to  other  towns  and 
counties.  Yet  they  were  Morrill  county  boys. 
One  friendly  assistant  in  the  county  gave  us  a 


416 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


list  according  to  his  recollection.  We  asked 
the  assistance  of  three  others  that  we  thought 
were  in  position  and  would  be  anxious  to  as- 
sist us.  One  entirely  neglected  our  letter.  An- 
other turned  it  entirely  over  to  the  third  who 
wrote  us  one  of  the  most  disheartening  letters 
we  have  received.  However,  the  following 
made  the  supreme  sacrifice:  Jess  N.  Snider, 
Broadwater,  died  in  France ;  James  Leonard 
Payne,  died  in  France;  Roy  Johnson,  Bridge- 
port, died  at  Chateau  Thierry,  July  15,  1918; 
Earl  Berry,  lost  in  Argonne  Forest,  died  work- 
ing a  machine  gun,  upon  whom  was  conferred 
the  distinguished  service  medal  after  his  death  ; 
Forrest  Ridge,  Redington,  died  in  France; 
Elmer   Cheeney,   Redington,   died   in   France ; 


Frank  M.  Meifort  and  Joseph  h.  B.  Smith, 
Bayard,  two  chums  who  went  forth  together ; 
one  died  at  Funston  and  the  other  of  wounds  in 
France;  Edward  A.  Cain,  Lisco,  died  in  camp ; 
Wallace  D.  Stoner,  Angora,  died ;  William  E. 
Foster,  totally  blinded,  and  has  since  died ; 
Earl  Amsbury,  died  at  Bayard,  since  return 
home  after  being  mustered  out. 

There  may  have  been  others  whose  names 
will  be  given  down  to  posterity  and  time  cdong 
with  those  who  gave  so  much  wlv'le  others  who 
gave  less  are  reluctantly  doing  homage  to  the 
boys  who  gave  their  all. 

These  names  were  given  by  Rev.  S.  H.  King 
in  his  Memorial  Day  address  of  1920. 


SHERIDAN  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 


HOW  WE  BEGAN 


The  periods  of  county  building  and  com- 
munity building  are  distinctive,  and  each  an 
epoch  unto  itself.  Each  has  its  own  peculiar 
attributes,  its  peoples,  and  its  dragons  to  slay. 
The  great  plains  region  has  a  similarity  in 
some  respects,  but  each  subdivision,  county, 
community  or  town  has  its  own  environment, 
and  its  own  human  as  well  as  its  wild  elements 
to  consider.  Truly  as  related  in  the  blanket 
history,  the  fact  that  Coronado  and  the  Span- 
ish adventurers  came  into  the  north  from  Mex- 
ico before  Marchioness  le  Pompadour  sent 
Mallett  brothers  and  Verendrye  into  the  west, 
is  of  vast  importance  to  western  Nebraska. 

This,  however,  is  not  of  such  interest  to 
Sheridan  county,  as  it  is  to  the  counties  where 
irrigation  is  a  larger  element  of  progress. 

Sheridan  county  participated  in  the  epochs 
of  taming  the  wilderness,  which  were  common 
to  all  of  western  Nebraska.  It  had  its  trappers 
a  century  ago,  and  the  Indian  wars  of  a  half 
century  past,  and  later,  its  period  when  cattle- 
men were  kings.  It  also  had  its  lean  years  of 
the  nineties,  and  now  its  extraordinary  period 
of  success.  The  story  of  trappers,  and  wars, 
and  cattlemen  are  told  in  the  blanket  history  of 
the  Panhandle,  incorporated  in  this  volume, 
and  this  part  of  the  narrative  begins  with  the 
settlements  of  the  grangers. 

Sometimes  it  is  "the  period  of  liquidation" 
which  charitable  and  apologetic  people  use  to 
tell  of  legalized  highway  robbery,  that  drives 
people  into  the  west  and  sometimes  it  is 
sickness  in  its  various  forms  that  inspires  "a 
change  of  climate."  And  sometimes  it  is  the 
natural  spirit  of  the  pioneer,  and  again  it  may 
be  the  hope  of  owning  a  home. 

The  thing  that  first  "broke  the  ice"  for  Sheri- 
dan county  was  the  "change  of  climate  desire." 
There  was  no  Sheridan  county  then.  It  was  a 
part  of  Sioux  county.  One  by  one  the  counties 
were  being  carved  out  of  the  east  section  of  a 
great  territory  called  Sioux  county,  which  had 
no   county   organization,   and    which   was    at- 


tached to  Cheyenne  county  for  administrative, 
judicial  and  taxation  purposes.  The  railroad 
had  reached  Valentine,  and  Judge  Tucker  was 
the  United  State  Commissioner  located  at  that 
point. 

Judge  Tucker  was  back  in  the  blue  grass 
state  at  the  Louisville  exposition.  At  the  hotel 
at  which  he  tarried  he  met  Rev.  John  A.  Scam- 
ahorn,  a  sufferer  from  stomach  troubles  and 
complications  to  the  extent  that  the  doctors 
had  recommended  a  "change  of  climate." 

Judge  Tucker  was  always  an  enthusiast  for 
Nebraska,  and  told  in  glowing  terms  a  story 
of  the  paradise  of  the  west.  He  found  Rev- 
erend Scamahorn  a  ready  listener,  and  assured 
him  that  northwestern  Nebraska  was  the  most 
salubrious  climate  in  the  world.  Scamahorn 
was  from  a  malarial  section  of  Indiana,  and  a 
number  of  his  neighbors  were  with  him.  and 
all  became  interested  in  the  new  Mecca  of  the 
great  northwest. 

That  autumn,  the  year  of  1883,  six  or  seven 
of  them  determined  to  come  out  and  look  it 
over.  While  here  they  ate  so  hearty  and  slept 
so  well  that  they  were  assured  it  was  indeed  a 
healthful  climate,  and  they  returned  with  glow- 
ing reports.  During  the  winter  a  party  of  104 
was  made  up  to  come  west  into  the  wilder- 
ness. On  March  20,  1884,  they  left  Sullivan, 
Indiana,  ■.chartering  cars  to  Valentine,  and: 
bringing  along  their  stock,  horses,  cows,  farm 
machinery,  and  household  effects. 

Necessary  funds  were  a  concern  to  many  of 
them,  and  not  the  least  of  these  was  Rev. 
Scamahorn.  He  had  a  cow,  a  hog,  two  old 
horses,  and  sixty  dollars  in  money.  Not  enough 
for  carfare  for  himself  and  wife,  but  he  man- 
aged to  arrange  to  go  as  caretaker  of  one  of 
the  cars,  and  that  gave  him  free  passage,  while 
the  money  enabled  the  wife  to  travel  with  the 
others. 

.Mrs.  Scamahorn,  who  still  lives  (1921)  at 
Gordon,  had  in  her  Indiana  home  a  new,  up- 
holstered parlor  set,  which  she   felt   she  would 


418 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


not  need  in  her  western  home.  A  young  lady 
of  her  home  town  was  about  to  be  married,  and 
she  was  the  owner  of  a  full  blood  Holstein 
cow.  Mrs.  Scamahorn  and  the  young  lady  met 
and  talked  tilings  over  with  the  result  that  the 
cow  was  added  to  the  Scamahorn  possessions, 
and  the  furniture  went  into  the  home  of  the 
bride  to  be.  Mr.  Scamahorn  managed  also  to 
secure  a  yoke  of  oxen  in  place  of  his  old  team. 
The  colony  went  into  camp  at  Valentine,  un- 
til they  could  make  their  land  entries,  Valen- 
tine still  being  the  terminus  of  the  railroad  in 
March,  1884.  From  here  they  made  their 
overland  trip  to  near  where  Gordon  now  stands 
and  here  most  of  them  made  their  permanent 
abiding  place.  Mr.  Scamahorn  drove  the  oxen, 
which  being  slower  than  horses,  gave  him  and 
his  wife  much  of  the  drive  alone,  but  usually 
at  night  they  would  overtake  the  balance  of 
the  party,  for  while  the  others  had  to  put  up 
tents  and  make  down  beds,  their  bed  was  in 
the  wagon. 

The  prairie  had  been  swept  by  a  prairie  fire, 
and  no  grass  was  to  be  found  except  in  gulches 
and  creek  bottoms.  The  barrels  of  feed  that 
they  had  brought  along  soured  and  neither  the 
cow  nor  the  oxen  would  eat  it,  so  their  anxiety 
was  first  concerning  the  shortage  of  ration  for 
their  stock.  One  day  they  stopped  at  a  little 
sod  house  by  the  way,  to  see  if  they  could  get 
some  feed,  but  the  woman  of  the  house  when 
she  saw  a  woman  in  the  wagon  ran  out  crying 
and  screaming,  and  begged  her  to  come  in.  Her 
baby  was  sick,  and  she  feared  it  was  going  to 
die.  Her  greatest  lament  was  that  it  had  never 
been  baptized.  Great  was  her  manifestations 
of  joy  when  Mrs.  Scamahorn  told  her  that  her 
husband  was  a  minister,  and  that  he  would 
baptize  the  baby.  So  here  in  the  humble  sod 
cabin,  Rev.  Scamahorn  read  the  first  baptismal 
service  in  that  part  of  the  state,  and  the  mother 
in  her  gratitude,  gave  him  two  dollars,  and 
Mrs.  Scamahorn  a  warm  peach  pie. 

One  day  after  they  had  passed  beyond  the 
burned-off  zone,  they  came  upon  a  valley  of 
excellent  grass.  Mr.  Scamahorn  was  not  well, 
and  the  stock  needed  feed  so  they  stopped  for 
the  time  being,  and  he  lay  down  to  rest.  Mrs. 
Scamahorn  sat  upon  the  wagon  tongue  watch- 
ing the  stock  to  see  that  it  did  not  stray  far 
from  camp.  After  awhile  the  atmosphere  be- 
gan to  take  on  the  hazy  appearance  that  all 
westerners  know  is  the  advance  indication  of  a 
prairie  fire.  In  the  distance  she  could  see  the 
smoke  and  then  a  flash  of  the  flame.  Unused 
to  the  menace  of  the  prairie,  she  was  neverthe- 
less struck  with  the  horror  of  their  unprotected 
situation,  and  her  mind  flashed  upon  the  fact 
that  in.  the  wagon  was  a  quantity  of  powder — 


enough  to  blow  it  to  pieces.  She  woke  her  hus- 
band, who  at  first  was  in  despair,  but  she  had 
recollected  the  story  of  Kit  Carson,  and  how- 
he  had  fought  fire  by  backfiring  the  prairie. 
The  story  of  their  youthful  days,  brought 
fruition,  for  by  burning  the  grass  about  the 
wagon,  they  escaped  the  "red  terror"  that 
came  after  them  over  the  distant  hills.  The 
others  were  not  in  the  path  of  the  fire,  and  were 
greatly  relieved  when  the  Scamahorns  came  on 
along  the  road  after  the  fire  had  passed. 

In  due  time  the  party  arrived  at  Boiling 
Springs  where  Jim  Dahlman  worked  in  the 
early  days,  and  here  it  was  necessary  to  ford 
the  Niobrara  river.  The  oxen  went  into  the 
water  in  good  shape  but  turned  down  stream, 
and  Rev.  Scamahorn  seemed  to  be  able  to  do 
nothing  that  would  change  their  course.  The 
other  men  rushed  in  and  by  their  combined 
efforts  the  stubborn  beasts  were  turned  to  the 
shore.  At  Newman's  ranch  they  had  to  again 
cross  the  river,  and  a  bunch  of  cow-boys  were 
there  to  see  them  arrive.  They  had  heard  of 
the  "outfit  of  new  settlers"  and  the  "old  preach- 
er" with  them,  and  they  had  planned  that  it 
would  be  a  good  joke  to  give  him  a  "baptizing" 
in  an  apparently  accidental  way.  As  before, 
the  oxen  could  not  be  controlled  and  turned 
stubbornly  down  the  stream.  The  "old  preach- 
er" jumped  into  the  water  waist  deep  and  made 
the  team  head  for  the  shore  without  accident. 
Mrs.  Scamahorn  said  she  was  concerned  lest 
the  chicken  crate  should  fall  into  the  water  and 
her  fowls  be  drowned.  The  cow-boys  cheered 
and  said  they  guessed  he  "would  do."  He  asked 
to  buy  some  hay,  and  they  filled  his  wagon  full, 
when  one  of  them  said:  "Well,  old  Spooken- 
dyke,  is  that  enough?"  Mr.  Scamahorn  an- 
swered: "How  did  you  know  my  name:  I 
thought  I  was  away  out  here  among  strangers." 
They  all  enjoyed  the  joke  and  again  the  cow- 
boys voted  that  the  "old  preacher"  would  do. 

Later  in  his  ministerial  duties  he  preached  to 
these  same  men  of  the  range,  and  found  them 
always  courteous,  although  sometimes  a  bit 
rough  in  manner  and  address.  Soon  after  the 
event  at  Newman's  ranch,  they  arrived  at  their 
destination.  Feed  was  scarce  and  the  water 
was  poor,  being  mostly  obtained  from  pools 
until  a  well  had  been  put  down.  They  located 
on  their  place  about  one-half  mile  east  of  the 
present  site  of  Gordon,  and  around  them  set- 
tled the  others  who  had  made  the  pilgrimage 
with  them. 

Mr.  Scamahorn  had  foreseen  the  need  of 
mail  facilities  in  the  new  community.  He  was 
a  personal  acquaintance  of  the  Postmaster 
General,  and  had  received  an  appointment  as 
postmaster,  so  as  soon  as  their  tent  was  up, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


419 


Mrs.  Scamahorn  emptied  a  trunk  and  using  a 
cigar  box  for  stamps,  the  first  postoffke  at 
Gordon  was  established.  Newman's  ranch 
had,  since  the  Black  Hills  excitement,  served 
as  the  mail  collecting  and  distribution  station 
of  Sheridan  county  territory,  but  the  Scama- 
horn postoffice  marked  the  milestone  of  a  new 
era  in  the  community  building.  Each  night 
when  Mrs.  Scamahorn  locked  the  trunk,  the 
postoffice  was  closed  for  that  day.  While  this 
office  served  a  very  large  territory,  the  cancel- 
lations were  never  largeenough  to  be  any  in- 
ducement for  keeping  the  office,  and  only  the 
public  welfare  kept  it  going. 

Only  the  pioneer  woman  can  know  of  the 
lonely  hours  holding  down  a  claim.  The  people 
of  the  Gordon  settlement  knew  of  the  days 
when  the  men  would  have  to  go  to  Valentine 
for  supplies,  or  to  the  pine  ridges  for  timber 
for  firewood.  The  dead  pines  and  cedars,  lying 
in  drifts  in  the  gulches,  or  in  tangled  masses 
where  the  winds  had  torn  them  out  by  their 
roots,  was  an  excellent  fuel  supply,  and  but 
for  this  provision  of  nature  the  rigors  of  the 
winters  would  have  been  felt  far  more  keenly. 
But  when  the  man  of  the  house  went  after 
firewood,  the  time  was  long  until  his  re- 
turn. If  he  was  late,  the  wife  would  have  a 
troubled  sense,  an  uneasiness  for  fear  that  a 
log  had  fallen  upon  her  husband,  or  a  rock 
had  loosed  from  its  ancient  moorings  and 
tumbled  down  upon  him.  And  this  fear  would 
hold  with  increasing  interest  her  attention  un- 
til he  hove  into  view. 

One  day  the  cow  pulled  her  picket  pin,  and 
started  off.  Mrs.  Scamahorn  tried  to  overtake 
her,  and  when  the  end  of  the  dragging  rope 
was  within  reach,  she  tried  to  turn  her  back. 
But  the  cow  was  thirsty  and  went  to  the 
stream.  After  drinking,  she  crossed  to  the 
other  side.  Fearful  of  losing  the  valuable  cow, 
Mrs.  Scamahorn  pulled  off  shoes  and  stockings 
and  waded  the  stream.  The  cow  went  on,  and 
in  desperation,  the  timid  woman  accosted  two 
strangers  who  were  building  a  claim  cabin. 
They  caught  the  cow,  hitched  up  the  team  and 
took  Mrs.  Scamahorn  and  prized  livestock  back 
to  the  "home  range."  They  refused  any  pay 
for  the  service,  but  were  very  glad  indeed  to 
accept  a  sack  of  fresh  eggs. 

Another  time,  Mr.  Scamahorn  had  left  early 
for  Pine  ridge  for  wood.  He  thought  the  trip 
would  take  two  days,  and  had  gone  to  a  neigh- 
bors to  get  a  girl  to  come  over  and  stay  with 
his  wife,  but  she  could  not  come.  Shortly  after 
he  left  a  party  of  suspicious  looking  men  came 
and  went  into  camp  near  their  tent.  The  men 
stayed  around  all  day.  and  occasionally  came 
over  and  asked  about  the  postoffice,  saying  they 


had  some  three  cent  stamps  that  they  desired 
to  trade  for  the  red  twos  that  were  just  then 
coming  into  use.  She  was  afraid  to  open  the 
trunk,  and  it  was  with  some  relief  that  she 
saw  the  girl  from  the  neighbor  come  into 
view;  not  that  she  was  any  protection,  but  the 
lonesome  terror  was  not  so  great.  At  even- 
tide the  girl's  father  came  and  took  her  home, 
and  Mrs.  Scamahorn  sat  down  for  a  sleepless 
night.  She  sat  upon  the  trunk,  and  took  her 
husband's  rifle  in  her  hands.  She  had  never 
fired  a  gun,  but  determined  to  do  so,  if  occa- 
sion required. 

The  evening  wore  on,  and  along  in  the  night 
she  heard  the  approach  of  wagon  wheels,  and 
to  her  intense  relief  Air.  Scamahorn  drove  up 
to  the  tent.  He  said  that  he  just  felt  impelled 
to  get  home  that  night,  and  everything  had 
worked  out  right  for  it.  He  found  wood  at 
the  first  ridge,  quite  easy  to  load,  and  the  oxen 
had  walked  exceedingly  well.  In  the  morning 
the  strangers  were  gone.  Like  Arabs,  they 
had  silently  folded  their  tents,  and  glided 
away. 

First  Church  and  First  Services 

On  the  second  Sunday  in  May,  1884,  about 
seventy-five  people  gathered  in  front  of  the 
Scamahorn  tent,  and  Rev.  John  A.  Scamahorn 
organized  the  first  Methodist  church  west  of 
Valentine.  The  service  was  opened  with  "Guide 
Me  Oh,  Thou  Great  Jehovah,"  then  a  prayer 
was  offered,  and  the  23rd  Psalm  was  read,  and 
then  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  chapter  of 
Saint  John.  The  next  hymn  was  "Rock  of 
Ages,"  after  which  Reverend  Scamahorn 
preached  to  his  audience,  which  sat  about  upon 
the  ground,  the  woodpile  and  on  wagon 
tongues.  The  text  chosen  was,  "Then  Simon 
Peter  answered  and  said,  To  whom  shall  we 
go.  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life." 
Great  earnestness  and  zeal  marked  the  words 
of  Reverend  Scamahorn,  and  they  made  their 
impress  upon  the  lives  of  pioneers  of  thirty- 
seven  years  ago,  in  that  vicinity.  Following  the 
service  the  class  was  organized ;  there  were 
thirteen  members. 

Just  thirty  years  thereafter,  the  tine  new 
church  edifice  of  Gordon  was  built  at  a  cost 
of  fifteen  thousand  dollars. 

As  the  railroad  buikled  on  into  the  west  in 
the  years  following,  Reverend  Scamahorn  went 
to  the  forefront,  and  preached  the  gospel  with 
great  fervor.  Fie  served  Valentine.  Chadron, 
Crawford  and  Gordon  as  pastor,  and  was  for 
six  years  the  presiding  elder  of  the  district.  In 
this  capacity,  he  was  at  1  tarrison  and  other. ex- 
treme points  in  the  Panhandle  of  Nebraska.  He 


420 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


passed  to  his  reward  some  years  ago,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-eight  years. 

A  very  useful  man  in  the  story  of  Sheridan 
county,  the  pioneer  pilot  that  led  the  Hoosier 
colony  beyond  the  great  sand  hills  into  the 
high  plains  region — the  fertile,  healthful  land 
in  which  we  abide. 

The  original  town  of  Gordon  was  a  mile  east 
of  the  present  fair  grounds.  The  first  general 
store  in  Gordon  was  established  by  Tom  Glov- 
er. He  started  in  a  small  shanty  in  the  old 
town,  and  later  built  the  frame  store  at  the 
comer  of  Alain  and  Second  streets,  in  new 
Gordon.  This  building  still  stands,  and  is  the 
property  of  Mr.  Joyce. 

Shattuck  &  Holmes  put  in  the  first  hardware 
store  at  Gordon,  and  George  Hiller  had  a  store 
there  before  the  railroad  came. 

The  freight  was  hauled  from  Valentine,  and 
it  gave  the  settlers  a  little  work,  but  it  was 
mostly  in  exchange  for  groceries,  provisions 
and  clothing. 

Another  store  was  opened  up  some  distance 
northwest  of  Gordon,  almost  three  miles  di- 
rectly north  of  the  present  site  of  Clinton.  This 
store  was  openedin  1884,  at  the  comer  of  sec- 
tions 27,  28,  33,  34,  in  township  33,  range  43. 
Two  miles  north  of  this  store  was  Phil  Mos- 
ser's  blacksmith  shop,  which  was  established  in 
1885.  It  was  in  section  22.  A  year  later,  or 
a  little  less,  a  postoffice  was  established  here. 

A  sod  school  house  was  built  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  section  16,  in  this  neighborbood, 
in  1885. 

Bruce  Hewitt,  the  present  county  treasurer, 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  this  section.  His 
claim  was  the  southwest  quarter  of  five,  while 
his  brother's  was  in  the  northeast  of  ten  and  his 
father  had  a  tree  claim  in  section  eleven. 

In  1885  John  Crowder  brought  a  second  col- 
ony from  Indiana,  and  others  were  arriving  in 
bunches  about  that  time  from  other  states. 

In  the  year  1885,  the  Chicago  and  North- 
western line  was  extended  west  from  Valen- 
tine. Gordon  was  made  a  station,  but  about  a 
mile  west  of  the  old  site.  Its  elevation  as  found 
by  railroad  engineers  was  3554  feet.  It  was  the 
first  settlement  encountered  after  leaving  Val- 
entine, the  sand  hills  between  not  being  attrac- 
tive to  early  settlers,  except  those  who  desired 
isolation  and  wide  acres  for  ranging  cattle. 
Thus  the  new  Gordon  came  into  existence.  As 
stated,  Tom  Glover  moved  from  his  old  town 
shanty  into  the  new  store  built  by  him  at  the 
corner  of  Alain  and  Second  streets. 

Others  besides  the  people  from  Indiana,  had 
their  eyes  upon  the  west.  Eastern  Nebraska 
had  been  built  up  by  the  pioneer  spirit,  and  the 
children  of  those  who  had  crossed  the  Alissouri 


were  looking  with  longing  eyes  toward  the  sun- 
set. Somewhere  out  there  was  free  land  and 
the  fresh  air  of  the  open  country.    In  October, 

1883,  about  the  same  time  that  Judge  Tuck- 
er was  at  the  Louisville  exposition,  a  party  of 
six  was  made  up  at  Pawnee  City,  Nebraska, 
and  they,  too,  come  to  the  high  plains  region 
that  was  destined  to  become  Sheridan  county. 
Twelve  miles  northeast  of  the  present  site  of 
Rushville  appealed  to  them  as  the  land  they 
were  looking  for.  Five  of  the  six  took  claims 
in  this  section,  and  four  of  the  five  became  citi- 
zens of  the  country,  bringing  with  them  many 
others.  These  six  were :  Bruce  Hewitt,  the 
present  county  treasurer ;  J.  C.  Morrison,  Louis 
Ertel,  Geo.  T.  Morey,  one  of  the  first  board  of 
county  commissioners ;  John  Hassler,  editor  at 
Pawnee  City,  took  a  tree  claim  but  never  came 
here  to  reside;  and  C.  C.  Akin,  went  away 
without  filing  on  any  land.  The  section  had  as 
attractions  besides  good  land,  close  proximity 
to  the  pine  ridges  for  fuel,  and  abundant  good 
water  at  from  ten  to  eighty  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. 

North  of  the  present  site  of  Rushville  was  a 
community    center,  called   "Rush    Valley,"    in 

1884.  The  homesteaders  were  overflowing  'the 
plains  west  of  the  sand  hills,  and  as  was  usual, 
the  first  consideration  was  feed  for  their  stock. 
Buffalo  grass  furnished  a  much  better  pastur- 
age than  it  appeared  at  casual  glance,  and  it 
was  too  short  for  hay,  so  the  attraction  of  a 
natural  hay  meadows  was  sufficient  to  induce 
first  settlers  in  the  matter  of  location. 

"Rush  Valley"  had  some  natural  meadows. 
For  the  convenience  of  the  public,  and  inci- 
dentally the  profit  in  the  business,  each  com- 
munity early  had  a  store.  Two  miles  north  of 
the  present  county  seat,  Henry  Crow  started  a 
store  in  1884,  and  soon  thereafter  had  a  post- 
office,  he  being  the  first  postmaster.  A  mile 
farther  north  Cal  Weeter  started  the  second 
store  in  the  "Rush  Valley"  settlement. 

"With  the  coming  of  the  railroad  the  follow- 
ing year,  the  new  town  sprang  into  existence. 
Morse  &  Shepherd  started  a  general  store  in  a 
tent  one-half  mile  west  of  town,  then  built  the 
frame  store  in  Rushville,  upon  the  site  of  the 
present  feed  store.  Mercantile  business  started 
with  a  rush,  and  in  structures  that  were  boxed 
up  a  few  feet  from  the  ground,  the  balance  be- 
ing tent.  Early  in  the  mercantile  line  were  A I  os- 
ier &  Tully's  general  store,  Emmet  &  McEach- 
ron  in  drugs,  and  O.  F.  Farnam  also  in  drugs. 

The  elevation  of  Rushville  as  shown  by  the 
railroad  was  3739  feet  above  sea  level. 

One  of  the  first  enterprizes  in  a  town  is  a 
lumber  yard.  Vail  &  Lucas  were  the  pioneers 
at  Rushville,  and  they  almost  immediately  sold 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


\2\ 


to  Phinney  &  Williams.  J.  H.  Jones  was  put 
in  as  manager.  He  owns  it  now.  The  office 
was  on  the  north  side  of  the  railroad  original- 
ly. If  you  will  drop  into  his  lumber  office, 
which  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  track,  near 
the  depot,  and  start  something  reminiscent  of 
old  times,  J.  H.  Jones,  the  pioneer,  will  soon 
have  a  place  in  the  conversation,  for  his  life 
of  active  business,  and  excellent  memory,  makes 
him  one  of  the  most  excellent  sources  of  old 
history  of  the  Rushville  settlement. 

The  second  lumber  yard  was  started  soon 
after,  by  Herman  O.  Morse,  and  was  doing 
business  before  the  close  of  1885. 

The  first  bank  established  in  the  town  was 
bv  H.  A.  Chamberlain,  and  was  called  the  Bank 
of  Rushville.  Soon  after  Joe  Armstrong  start- 
ed the  Farmers  &  Merchants  Bank,  and  the 
third  in  point  of  seniority  was  the  Citizens,  or- 
ganized by  M.  P.  Musser  &  Company. 

First  White  Child 

The  first  white  child  born  in  Rushville  was 
Wilma  Wood,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W. 
W.  Wood.  Mr.  W:ood  was  an  attorney  resid- 
ing on  a  claim  in  the  Rush  Valley  settlement, 
and  later  served  as  Receiver  in  the  United 
States  land  office  at  Alliance.  He  early  moved 
to  Rushville  after  the  advent  of  the  railroad, 
waiting  only  to  make  final  proof  on  his  claim. 
The  daughter  was  born  soon  after  they  moved 
into  the  town. 

For  a  long  time  Rushville  told  newcomers 
that  the  climate  was  so  healthful  thereabout, 
that  they  had  to  kill  a  man  to  start  a  graveyard. 
The  fact  is  that  a  man  was  murdered  near  the 
town,  and  was  the  first  person  to  be  buried  in 
Rushville  cemetery. 

William  Shafer  and  George  Ginger  were 
partners  living  in  a  tent  at  the  time  the  railroad 
was  building  into  the  community.  In  some 
kind  of  a  difficulty,  Ginger  shot  and  killed 
Shafer.  The  murderer  was  taken  to  Sidney, 
then  the  seat  of  justice,  and  was  convicted  and 
sent  to  the  state  penitentiary. 

In  the  town  proper  the  first  to  engage  in 
mercantile  business  was  Mosler  &  Tullys  in 
a  tent,  west  of  the  site  of  the  present  postoffice. 
This  was  later  the  Red  Front  location  and  is 
now  occupied  by  J.  W.  Grubb. 

Enderly  &  Sellers  opened  the  Blue  Front 
store  about  the  same  time. 

Occupying  land  adjoining  the  townsite  on 
the  west  were  two  courageous  young  women, 
who  had  come  with  the  advance  of  settlement. 
Early  in  the  historv  of  the  town  they  opened 
a  five  and  ten  cent  store  on  the  lot  north  of 
the  present  Recorder  office.  Their  business 
expanded,  and  they  bought  the  building  now 


occupied  by  the  printery,  then  the  W.  W.  Wood 
building  north.  Mr.  Zoll  then  bought  the  cor- 
ner building,  which  was  known  as  the  Arm- 
strong store. 

All  through  their  mercantile  experience  these 
courageous  women  were  called  "The  Girls" 
and  although  retired  from  active  participation 
in  Rushville's  commercial  life,  any  of  the  old 
timers  will  refer  to  Sue  S.  Slotter  and  Kate 
M.  Zoll  as  "the  girls." 

The  Slotter  homestead  was  once  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  corporate  village,  but 
was  afterwards  set  out.  The  townsite  itself  is 
situate  upon  what  was  once  the  homestead  of 
John  Baer,  but  he  did  not  make  final  proof.  He 
relinquished  and  the  tract  was  entered  as  a 
townsite  for  the  town  of  Rushville.  The  "S 
&  Z.  Store"  as  operated  by  "the  girls,"  sold 
out  some  years  ago,  and  a  furniture  store  oper- 
ated bv  John  W.  Grubb  is  now  on  the  corner. 
"The  Girls,"  are  still  residents  of  Rushville, 
and  keenly  alive  to  the  city's  interests,  and  the 
editor-in-chief  acknowledges  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude to  their  assistance  in  the  compilation  of 
the  facts  concerning  early  Rushville. 

While  the  railroad  had  passed  both  Gordon 
and  Rushville,  and  they  had  become  established 
in  history  before  Hay  Springs  came  into  ex- 
istence, and  while  Chadron  was  to  be  the  divi- 
sion station,  and  thereby  overshadow  its  near 
neighbors,  in  some  respects  the  town  of  Hay 
Springs  made  a  very  important  mark  in  his- 
tory. "This  town  is  near  the  west  line  of  the 
county  of  Sheridan  as  later  created,  and  the 
fartherest  west  of  any  railroad  town  in  the 
county.  It  has  the  highest  elevation,  the  same 
being  3828  feet  above  sea  level. 

T.  S.  Tripp,  who  was  a  land  attorney  at  Hay 
Springs  in  the  autumn  of  1885,  and  who  did 
considerable  business  locating  homesteaders, 
secured  for  himself  an  appointment  as  United 
States  Court  Commissioner,  thereby  qualifying 
for  the  making  of  land  entries,  of  hearing  con- 
tests and  of  receiving  final  proofs.  He  was 
also  the  first  notary  public  in  the  town. 

The  Congregationalists  were  the  first  church 
to  organize  in  Hay  Springs.  Rev.  B.  F.  1  tfffen- 
bacher  was  there  in  1885  and  preached  also 
occasionally  elsewhere,  being  one  of  the  tir-t 
to  preach  at  Rushville. 

Rev.  Diffenbacher  preached  the  sermon  in 
commemoration  of  the  life  of  General  Grant, 
in  1885,  in  a  big  tent  which  had  been  set  up  by 
the  quartermaster  of  Civil  War  veterans,  in 
the  town  of  Rushville. 

The  first  marriage  license  issued  in  the  new 
county  of  Sheridan  was  to  Benjamin  Robbins 
and  Miss  Lila  Abbott.  They  still  reside  in 
Rushville. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  II 


CREATION  OF  SHERIDAN  COUNTY 


In  June,  1885,  James  W.  Loofbourow  and 
others  called  upon  the  Governor  of  the  state  to 
create  by*  proclamation  the  new  county  of 
Sheridan,  the  same  being  a  strip  sixty-nine 
miles  long  and  thirty-six  miles  wide  off  of  the 
east  edge  of  Sioux  county.  This  proclamation 
was  issued,  and  the  county  came  into  existence 
July  first  of  that  year. 

The  proclamation  named  T.  B.  Irwin,  L.  E. 
Post  and  J.  D.  Woods  as  special  county  com- 
missioners, and  James  W.  Loofbourow  as 
special  county  clerk.  Rushville  was  named  the 
temporary  county  seat.  The  duties  of  these 
officers  were  to  conduct  the  county  affairs 
through  the  formation  stage  of  an  election  for 
the  selection  of  the  county  officers  in  a  regular 
way,  and  for  the  location  of  a  permanent 
county  seat. 

The  board  met  on  the  25th  day  of  July,  1885, 
and  its  first  act  was  to  divide  the  county  into 
three  commissioner  districts.  All  of  ranges 
forty-one  and  forty-two  comprised  the  first  dis- 
trict ;  all  of  ranges  forty-three  and  forty-four 
were  the  second  district,  and  the  third  district 
was  composed  of  ranges  forty-five  and  forty- 
six.  Irwin  acted  as  chairman  of  the  board 
and  Post  made  the  above  motion,  which  was 
seconded  by  Woods. 

Then  Woods  took  the  initative  and  moved 
the  county  be  divided  into  voting  precincts,  and 
this  was  seconded  by  Post.  The  precincts  and 
voting  places  were  designated  as  follows: 
"Wounded  Knee"  precinct  at  Henry  Breden- 
steiner  residence  in  section  17-34-41  ;  "Larra- 
bee  Creek"  precinct  at  G.  T.  Morey  residence 
in  section  6-33-43  ;  "White  Clay"  precinct  at 
Ben  Tibbet's  house  ;  "Beaver  Creek"  precinct 
at  Cowgill's  ranch  ;  "Hay  Springs"  precinct  at 
T.  Thompson's  store  ;  "Rushville"  precinct  at 
Wood  &  Weeter's  law  office ;  "Gordon"  pre- 
cinct at  Ladd's  law  office ;  "Heywood"  precinct 
at  G.  A.  Heywood's  residence ;  "Hunter"  pre- 
cinct at  Hunter's  ranch ;  and  "Mirage"  pre- 
cinct at  S.  Dewey's  store. 

The  clerk  was  ordered  to  issue  call  for  an 
election  and  prepare  ballots  and  ballot  boxes 
for  these  ten  precincts. 

First  Officers  Elected 

The  first  officers  of  the  new  county  by  vir- 
tue of  this  election  were  : 

Judge,  C.  Patterson ;  Treasurer,  A.  McKin- 
ney ;  Superintendent,  S.  S.  Murphy ;  Clerk, 
Abel  Hill;  Sheriff,  John  Rig7S ;  Coroner,  Jas. 


F.  Tucker;  Surveyor,  Sojomon  V.  Pritcher; 
and  Commissioners,  T.  B.  Irwin;  G.  T.  Morey 
and  J.  D.  Woods. 

Abel  Hill  appointed  J.  Steward  Coghlan  as 
deputy,  while  he  went  in  person  to  Sidney  to 
transcribe  the  meagre  records  necessary  for 
starting  the  new  county  on  its  way.  (Abel  Hill 
died  in  Alliance  some  years  ago. — Ed.) 

John  Riggs  appointed  two  dqxity  sheriffs : 
one,  Edward  C.  Miller  of  Rushville,  and  the 
other  D.  C.  Middleton,  of  Gordon.  The  last 
named  is  the  well  known  character  of  western 
Nebraska,  Doc.  Middleton. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  newly  elected  board 
of  commissioners  was  held  in  Rushville  Sep- 
tember 15,  1885,  and  there  were  present  T.  B. 
Irwin,  J.  D.  Woods,  and  G.  T.  Morey,  com- 
missioners ;  and  Abel  Hill,  clerk. 

The  bond  of  C.  Patterson  as  county  judge 
was  approved,  after  which  the  judge  approved 
the  bonds  of  the  three  commissioners.  The 
bonds  of  the  clerk  and  sheriff  were  also  ap- 
proved. The  bond  of  J.  C.  Weeters  as  justice 
of  the  peace  was  also  approved,  he  being  the 
first  justice  and  precinct  officer  of  Sheridan 
county  to  qualify. 

Robert  McCarthy  filed  his  bond  as  justice 
of  the  peace  at  Gordon  about  this  time,  being 
the  first  in  that  vicinity.  The  editor-in-chief 
recently  asked  of  Mr.  McCarthy,  who  is  now 
county  surveyor  and  county  higlrway  agent, 
what  was  the  nature  of  affairs  that  he  had  to 
judge  in  that  early  day  when  he  was  justice. 
He  said,  "Well,  they  had  to  have  someone  to 
judge  the  Indian  races."  This  statement  was 
of  literal  fact.  There  was  not  much  litigation, 
but  the  athletic  Indians  wanted  someone  with 
authority  to  judge  the  outcome  of  their  many 
tests  of  speed.  This  arbiter  they  would  not 
dispute,  but  select  a  judge  from  the  crowd  and 
it  was  an  invitation  to  argument  and  misunder- 
standing. 

At  this  first  meeting  of  the  board,  the  clerk 
was  instructed  to  prepare  lists  of  the  books  and 
supplies  needed  by  the  new  county,  and  ask  for 
bids. 

W.  W.  Wood,  C.  C.  Akin  and  W.  H.  West- 
over  each  made  a  proposition  to  the  commis- 
sioners to  act  as  county  attorney  until  January, 
1886,  and  the  commissioners  accepted  the  lat- 
ter. Therefore  the  first  attorney  of  Gordon, 
became  the  first  county  attorney  of  Sheridan 
county. 

W.  W.  Wood  made  a  proposition  to  furnish 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


423 


office  room  for  the  judge  and  the  clerk,  together 
with  fuel  and  lights  necessary,  for  eight  dol- 
lars per  month.     The  proposition  was  accepted. 

At  this  meeting  the  board  issued  a  call  for  a 
county-seat  election,  and  set  the  date  of  locat- 
ing the  permanent  county-seat  on  October  6, 
1885. 

The  election  which  resulted  in  the  selection 
of  the  foregoing  officials  was  held  on  Septem- 
ber 8.  1885,  and  W.  H.  Hull  furnished  the 
count\'  with  the  first  ballot  boxes.  The  county- 
seat  question  had  been  submitted  at  the  same 
time.     There  had  been  four  contestants,  three 


The  friend  had  said.  "It  looks  like  Rushville 
had  lost  out."  Riggs  asked  how  far  it  was  he- 
hind  Hay  Springs  and  was  told,  "about  200 
votes."  Riggs  is  said  to  have  remarked  that  he 
guessed  he  would  have  to  go  back  to  the  ranch 
and  get  some  more  votes. 

The  facts  are  that  the  returns  from  Hunter 
precinct  gave  226  votes  for  Rushville.  The 
canvassing  board  consisting  of  Abel  Hill,  clerk, 
and  James  W.  Loofbourow  and  William  Wat- 
terman,  refused  to  count  the  extraordinary 
vote,  but  by  some  process  of  selection  did 
count  forty-two  of  the  votes,  and  rejected  one 


Sheridan  County  Court  House,  Rushy 


of  which  were  the  railroad  towns  of  Gordon, 
Rushville,  and  Hay  Springs.  Rushville  had  a 
clear  plurality,  but  no  place  had  a  majority  of 
all  the  votes  cast,  which  required  a  re-submis- 
sion of  the  question. 

Rushville  and  Hay  Springs  were  the  contest- 
ants in  the  finals,  and  there  was  the  usual  bit- 
terness that  accompanies  such  contests.  On  the 
face  of  the  returns  Rushville  had  919  votes 
and  Hay  Springs  839,  a  majority  of  80.  But  a 
story  had  come  in  that  Hunter  precinct,  which 
was  for  Rushville,  had  voted  a  lot  of  illegal 
votes :  that  the  ranch  had  voted  its  payroll  for 
years  gone. 

After  the  lapse  of  years,  it  will  do  to  tell 
the  story,  which  may  or  may  not  have  any 
foundation  of  fact.  It  was  stated  that  John 
Riggs  was  bringing  in  the  returns  from  Hunter 
ranch  when  he  met  a  friend  and  stopped  to  talk. 


hundred   and  eighty-four.     This   action   gave 
Hay  Springs  839  and  Rushville  735. 

The  county  commissioners  declared  Hay 
Springs  the  successful  candidate,  and  ordered 
the  seat  of  county  government  removed  to  that 
town.  Rushville  partisans  resented  what  they 
termed  unauthorized  proceedings  and  went  into 
court.  It  resulted  in  a  preemptory  writ  event- 
ually issuing  from  the  supreme  court  of  the 
state,  Samuel  Maxwell,  chief  justice,  and  sent 
down  by  Guy  A.  Brown,  then  clerk,  ordering 
the  canvassing  board  to  reconvene  and  canvass 
the  vote  as  sent  in,  they  having  no  authority 
to  go  behind  the  returns.  This  opinion,  made 
nearly  a  year  after  the  election,  gave  Rush- 
ville the  permanent  county-seat,  and  during  the 
interim,  it  had  been  the  temporary  seat  of  coun- 
ty government.. 
'  The  election   of   September  8  had   revealed 


424 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


that  Sheridan  county  was  to  have  political  con- 
tests the  same  as  "back  east."  Except  for  the 
candidate  for  treasurer,  A.  McKinney,  and 
Commissioner,  G.  T.  Morey,  there  were  con- 
tests for  the  several  offices.  The  results  also 
showed  the  isolated  votes;  one  or  two  votes 
for  this  or  that  person,  and  the  humorist  was 
also  in  evidence.  There  was  one  vote  for 
"Baby  Tucker."  whom  we  understand  was  a 
rather  fat  youngster  who  lived  over  in  Cherry 
county.  The  vote  also  evidenced  the  partisans 
in  the  county-seat  fight  were  remembered  by 
their  friends  and  enemies. 

First  General  Election 
The  first  general  election,  held  in  November, 
1885.  supplied  the  offices  for  one  year.  These 
officers  were  as  follows : 

ludge,  C.  Patterson,  re-elected,  against  C. 
C.  Akin;  Clerk,  J.  C.  Weeter;  Treasurer,  A. 
McKinney,  re-elected ;  Superintendent,  S.  S. 
Murphy,  re-elected;  Sheriff,  John  Riggs,  re- 
elected ;  Coroner,  James  F.  Tucker,  re-elected ; 
Attorney,  W.  H.  Westover,  re-elected ;  Sur- 
veyor, Sol  Pitcher,  who  failed  to  qualify,  and 
George  L.  Rockwell  was  appointed  in  January, 
1886. 

Commissioners  Irwin  and  Morey  were  re- 
elected and  L.  E.  Post  succeeded  J.  D.  Woods. 
Irwin,  who  was  foreman  at  the  Newman  ranch, 
died  iir  Texas  some  years  ago. 

Early  People  and  Affairs 
Of  the  items  that  were  transcribed  from 
Cheyenne  county  records,  was  the  first  chattle 
mortgage  filed  by  one  of  the  Sheridan  county 
territory.  William  Rowley  mortgaged  to  Thos. 
McDonnell  a  team  of  mules,  harness  and  wagon 
for  $75,  on  April  10,  1885,  due  in  six  months 
and  drawing  interest  at  ten  per  cent  per  an- 
num. The  witnesses  to  the  transaction  were 
J.  R.  Jordan  and  G.  A.  Beeler.  These  people 
were  from  Gordon.  The  first  in  the  Rushville 
neighborhood  was  Edwin  C.  Miller  to  W.  W. 
Wood,  filed  in  Sidney  July  2,  1885,  and  covered 
a  team  of  mules,  five  horses,  wagon,  buck- 
board,  harness,  saddle  and  bridle. 

On  July  25,  1885,  H.  A.  Babcock,  state  audi- 
tor, sent  out  the  county  values  as  found  by  the 
state  board  of  equalization,  at  $71,513.  There 
was  due  for  state  taxes  thereon  $525.61,  which 
had  been  charged  to  "Sheridan  county,  unor- 
ganized." How  rapidly  was  the  growth  of  the 
community  is  shown  by  the  assessment  rolls  of 
the  year  following.  In  1886  the  county  valua- 
tions were :  Railroad,  $168,677.69  ;  personal 
property,  $194,449.42;  and  real  estate,  $150,- 
193.06;  or  a  total  of  $513,320.17.  This,  more 
than  seven  times  the  value  of  the  previous  year, 


was  partly  due  to  the  railroad  building,  partly 
due  to  mercantile  expansion  and  settlers  moving 
in,  partly  due  to  final  proofs  upon  pre-emptions 
and  partly  to  a  little  closer  survey  of  the  pro- 
perty in  the  county  by  the  assessors. 

Rushville 
At  the  meeting  of  the  county  board  on  Octo- 
ber 9,  1885,  a  petition  was  presented  asking  for 
the  incorporation  of  the  village  of  Rushville. 
The  petition  being  legally  sufficient,  the  board 
named  the  following  members  of  the  first  Rush- 
ville trustees :  Peter  Bruhn.  Chris  Mosler,  Ed. 
McEachron,  L.  F.  Enderly  and  O.  Meservy. 
The  first  levy  of  taxes  for  village  purposes  was 
was  made  in  June,  1886,  while  W".  H.  Martin 
was  clerk  of  the  village  board.  The  meeting 
place  of  the  board  was  in  "Tully's  store,"  and 
the  levy  made  was  seven  mills. 

Gordon 
On  November  19,  1885,  a  petition  was  pre- 
sented to  the  county  board  asking  for  the  crea- 
tion of  the  village  of  Gordon.  The  petition 
being  sufficient  legally,  the  request  was  granted, 
and  the  following  were  named  the  first 
trustees:  A.  S.  Holmes,  John  G.  Fritz,  M. 
Swigert,  M.  Morrisey  and  L.  F.  Rinehardt. 
There  must  have  been  an  early  change  in  the 
membership  for  in  June,  1886,  F.  J.  Andreas 
was  chairman  of  the  board.  L.  O.  Hill  was 
village  clerk,  and  the  first  levy  was  ten  mills 
for  village  purposes. 

Hay  Springs 

November  19,  1885.  the  people  of  Hay 
Springs  also  presented  a  sufficient  petition  for 
the  incorporation  of  the  village.  The  county 
commissioners  named  the  following  persons  as 
trustees  for  the  village :  William  Waterman, 
A.  McKinney,  George  Millard,  George  Ballet 
and  J.  E.  Brown.  On  June  7th  following  M. 
Finch  was  the  village  clerk  and  the  first  village 
levy  was  made  at  ten  mills. 

At  this  meeting  of  the  county  commissioners, 
the  first  bills  allowed  for  any  public  service 
were  approved:  W.  H.  Hull  received  $15  for 
services  in  making  ballot  boxes  for  the  first 
countv  election.  C.  E.  Rickley  received  $60, 
and  j'  H.  Edwards  $30.  W.  W.  Wood  received 
$4..  J.  D.  Woods  $27.50  and  T.  B.  Irwin 
$19.20. 

Judges 
As  stated,  the  first  county  judge  was  C.  Pat- 
terson, who  was  re-elected  three  times,  serving 
until  May.  1891.  Harcut  M.  Bullock  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term,  and  was 
elected  in  1892.     Following  Bullock  was  L.  A. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Brooks,  who  served  one  term ;  then  Chas.  P. 
Bresee  was  elected  and  re-elected.  Bresee  later 
bcame  state  senator.  He  resigned  the  office  of 
judge  in  June,  1899,  when  John  Beely  was  ap- 
pointed to  complete  the  term.  J.  H.  Stanchfield 
was  elected  in  1900  and  served  until  Novem- 
ber 20,  1901.  Then  began  the  long  period  in 
which  Jesse  H.  Edmunds  wore  the  county  judi- 
cial ermine  For  over  thirteen  years  he  main- 
tained the  office,  yielding  in  1915  to  R.  G. 
Dorr,  who  is  now  serving  his  fourth  term  and 
seventh  year. 

Clerks 

The  first  three  clerks  of  Sheridan  county  fol- 
lowed one  another  in  rapid  succession.  Within 
the  first  six  months  of  the  county's  existence  it 
had  these  three,  James  W.  Loofbourow,  by  ap- 
pointment of  the  governor  as  special  clerk. 
Fie  was  defeated  as  a  candidate  by  Abel  Hill, 
at  the  county's  first  election,  and  J.  C.  Weeters 
captured  the  persimmon  from  Hill  in  the  No- 
vember election,  two  months  later.  Sol  V. 
Pitcher  was  elected  in  the  autumn  of  1888.  and 
served  two  terms.  N.  H.  Wier  was  deputy 
clerk  in  1887  and  W.  E.  Sharp  in  1890.  J.  J. 
Barnes  took  the  office  in  1890  serving  two 
terms  or  until  1896.  De  F.  Van  Vleck  who 
was  Barnes'  deputy  for  three  years,  took  over 
the  office  of  clerk  in  1896,  and  was  re-elected 
six  times,  serving  a  total  of  fourteen  years.  In 
1896  he  had  former  clerk  Barnes  for  his 
deputy.  H.  F.  Wasmund,  junior,  was  then 
county  clerk  for  four  years  or  two  consecutive 
terms.  At  the  beginning  of  his  second  term  he 
departed  from  the  usual  custom  and  named 
Maude  E.  Gillespie  as  clerk.  This  element  of 
progress  in  the  county  of  Sheridan  was  so  pop- 
ular, that  Miss  Gillespie  was  elected  county 
clerk,  being  so  far  as  the  editor-at-large  is 
able  to  determine  the  first  woman  honored  with 
such  office  in  the  state.  She  is  now  beginning 
her  eighth  year  as  chief  of  the  office  and 
nowhere  is  there  an  office  better  organized,  sys- 
temized  or  courteously  commanded. 

Clerks  of  the  District  Court 
This  office  was  separated  from  that  of  coun- 
ty clerk  in  1889,  and  Charles  F.  Mays  was  the 
first  clerk  of  the  district  court  in  Sheridan 
county.  Robert  A.  Keller  served  from  1892  to 
1895  inclusive,  and  he  was  followed  by  J.  1-".. 
Brown,  who  served  nine  years.  Amy  I.  Stew- 
art, who  was  his  deputy  during  this  period, 
became  the  first  woman  clerk  of  the  district 
court  in  Sheridan  county.  She  was  elected 
first  in  1904  and  is  still  at  the  duty  in  1921. 
During  this  period  she  has  had  several  deputies 
of  note,  among  which  we  find  the  names  of  J. 


E.  Brown,   Maude  E.  Gillespie  and  Florence 
Maine. 

Treasurers 

The  first  treasurer  as  heretofore  stated  was 
A.  McKinney  who  was  re-elected  without  op- 
position. In  1888,  John  H.  Jones,  the  pioneer 
lumberman  of  Rushville,  became  treasurer. 
Jones  was  re-elected  in  1890.  He  had  for  his 
deputy  F.  M.  Godfrey.  J.  H.  Hamsberger  was 
elected  in  1892,  and  after  one  term  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Henry  Murphy  who  served  two 
terms,  the  legal  limit.  In  1898,  Henry  F.  Was- 
mund was  elected,  and  he  was  re-elected  in 
1900,  after  which  his  son,  Henry  F.  Wasmund, 
Junior,  served  one  term.  Lee  Fritz  was  chos- 
en in  1904  and  again  in  1906.  P.  T.  Johnson 
then  served  for  two  terms,  after  which  John 
Crowder  was  treasurer  for  two  terms.  Bruce 
H.  Hewitt,  the  Pawnee  City  pioneer,  was  then 
elected  and  he  still  has  charge  of  the  office. 
While  Hewitt  has  been  in  the  community  for 
thirty-seven  years,  or  thereabout,  part  of  the 
time,  about  fifteen  years,  he  was  over  the  line 
in  Cherry  county,  in  the  ranching  business. 

Superintendents 

The  office  of  county  superintendent  was 
ushered  in  in  Sheridan  county  by  the  selection 
of  S.  S.  Murphy  at  the  special  election  Sep- 
tember 8,  1885.  John  M.  S.  Linn  followed  in 
1888  and  again  in  1890.  H.  J.  Stanchfield  was 
chosen  in  1892  and  again  in  1894.  Then  J.  A. 
Briggs  was  elected  in  1896.  He  served  "until 
September.  1897,  when  M.  E.  Parker  was  ap- 
pointed to  complete  the  term.  Mary  E.  Parker 
was  then  elected  in  1898  and  re-elected  twice. 
C.  L.  Hopper,  who  was  elected  first  in  1904, 
served  three  terms,  after  which  C.  P.  Kelley 
served  the  longest  term  of  any  superintendent 
to  date.  In  1919  Mrs.  Pearl  Summers  was  in- 
ducted into  the  office  and  has  been  re-elected. 
Mrs.  Summers  is  holding  high  the  standard  set 
by  Sheridan  county  women  in  public  life,  and 
if  men  do  not  look  well  after  their  official 
duties,  the  example  set  by  women  officials  will 
have  a  tendency  to  impress  the  public  mind,  and 
other  offices  will  give  way  to  the  ambition  of 
the  other  sex. 

Pearl  Ellis,  now  Mrs.  Pearl  Summers,  and 
Jennie  Ellis  were  graduates  of  Crawford  High 
School,  being  in  the  class  of  1895.  There  were 
six  members  in  this  class.  One  is  dead,  and 
three  of  the  other  five  became  county  superin- 
tendents, the  Ellis  sisters  being  two  of  the 
three  which  attained  that  distinctive  honor. 

Sheriffs 

As  stated,  John  Riggs  was  the  first  sheriff  of 


426 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Sheridan  count}-.  Edward  C.  Miller  and  Doc 
Middleton  were  his  two  deputies.  Riggs  was  a 
brother-in-law  of  T.  B.  Irwin,  the  county  com- 
missioner. Riggs  was  foreman  at  Hunter's 
ranch  while  Irwin  had  the  same  distinctive 
honor  at  Newman's  ranch.  These  two  were  the 
old  and  the  big  ranches  of  the  time.  Looking 
back  across  the  thirty-six  years  of  intervening 
time,  it  appears  that  the  appointment  of  D.  C. 
Middleton  as  deputy  sheriff  by  John  Riggs 
was  a  wise  bit  of  strategy.  Doc  Middleton 
might  not  have  complete  respect  for  the  owner- 
ship of  horses  and  cattle,  but  while  deputy 
sheriff  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  stock  of  Hun- 
ter's ranch  and  Newman's  ranch  were  abso- 
lutely immune  from  the  frequent  and  almost 
epidemic  tendencies  of  other  people's  stock  to 
mysteriously  disappear. 

E.  T-  Rosecrans  served  a  number  of  terms  as 
sheriff  following  Riggs,  and  in  1894  W.  H. 
Essex  was  elected,  being  re-elected  two  years 
later.  For  eight  years  following  1898,  Thos. 
E.  Housh  was  the  administrator  of  the  law, 
then  came  Chas.  B.  Suplinger,  L.  A.  Beckwith 
and  then  A.  D.  New.  R.  M.  Bruce,  the  pres- 
ent popular  sheriff,  was  first  elected  in  1917. 

Surveyors 
Solomon  V.  Pitcher  was  the  first  surveyor 
of  Sheridan  county.  Pitcher  was  with  the  gov- 
ernment outfits  prior  to  his  settlement  at  Rush- 
ville.  He  assisted  in  the  surveys  in  the  south- 
west part  of  Scotts  Bluff  county,  and  was  with 
the  party  that  found  the  big  cedar  with  a  seven 
foot  trunk.  This  cedar  was  so  near  to  a  proper 
corner  for  a  section,  that  it  was  so  designated. 
Some  years  later  the  timber  scavengers  cut  it, 
but  the  perpetrators  of  the  deed  were  never 
found.  A  tree  seven  feet  in  diameter  should 
make  a  large  number  of  posts,  and  no  doubt 
did  do  so,  and  perhaps  kept  a  homesteader's 
family  from  dire  hunger. 

Buried  Gold 
That  stump  is  yet  to  be  found,  and  near  it 
according  to  tradition,  robbers  buried  a  large 
quantity  of  gold,  stolen  from  an  overland 
stage.  "Dad"  Carr,  and  others  have  removed 
many  cubic  yards  of  earth  in  an  attempt  to  find 
it.  Pitcher  received  a  letter  from  a  party  in 
Denver  at  one  time,  which  asked  him  to  jour- 
ney to  Gering  where  the  writer  would  be  on 
hand  at  a  certain  date.  The  letter  stated  that 
he  had  a  key  to  the  cache  of  gold,  a  certain 
number  of  feet  in  a  certain  direction  from  a  big 
cedar  tree.  Pitcher  arrived  in  Gering  at  the 
right  time  and  tarried  for  several  days.  He 
went  out  and  located  the  stump  of  the  tree,  but 
the  other  party  failed  to  come.     Y\ "hen  he  got 


home  there  was  another  letter  to  the  effect  that 
the  Denver  man  had  been  sick,  and  it  set  an- 
other date  for  the  meeting,  but  as  Pitcher 
tersely  expressed  it:  "I  had  one  wild  goose 
chase,  and  I  am  not  going  on  another." 

Sol  Pitcher  became  county  clerk  and  Geo. 
L.  Rockwell  was  appointed  surveyor.  In  1888, 
D.  I.  Wynkoop  was  chosen  for  the  office,  and 
in  1890  R.  M.  Ball  was  elected,  being  re-elected 
two  years  later.  Then  came  C.  S.  Casebeer, 
who  served  but  a  year.  In  1895,  J.  C.  Woods 
was  appointed  and  J.  W.  Jacobs  was  elected  in 
1896.  William  G.  Wilson  served  two  terms 
from  1898  to  1901,  then  in  1902  came  Thos. 
M.  Huntington.  Robert  McCarthy  was  elected 
in  1904.  but  resigned  a  year  later.  W.  E. 
Mitchell  then  served  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  McCarthy  was  recalled  to  the  office  in 
1910,  serving  several  terms.  In  1917,  Sydney 
H.  Foster  was  elected  and  served  until  1919, 
when  Robert  McCarthy  was  again  returned  to 
the  office.  The  veteran  and  pioneer  of  the 
Gordon  settlement  was  rechosen  in  1921,  and 
is  on  the  work  at  the  present  time.  In  1918 
he  was  county  highway  commissioner,  being 
followed  by  Edward  Stamford.  Now  Mc- 
Carthy does  double  duty,  the  commissioner  of- 
fice being  eliminated.  Hale  and  hearty,  he 
does  his  duty  well. 

Coroners 

As  heretofore  related,  James  F.  Tucker  was 
the  first  coroner,  being  re-elected.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  S.  L.  Brown  and  then  by  Wm.  H. 
Smith.  J.  M.  Waterman  was  elected  in  1890, 
and  in  1892  V.  Rucker  succeeded  him  to  the 
place.  R.  F.  Metcalf  was  elected  in  1894,  and 
was  followed  two  years  later  by  W.  R.  Bow- 
man. I.  R.  C.  Davis  then  served  two  terms, 
and  Floyd  Jones  one,  followed  bv  one  term  bv 
John  W.  Grubb.  John  O.  Elmore.  Milton  B. 
McDowell  and  Albert  Molzahn  are  other  citi- 
zens who  have  had  the  coroner's  office,  before 
the  position  was  finally  consolidated  with  that 
of  sheriff. 

Attorneys 

The  first  attorney  was  appointed  as  previ- 
qusly  told.  W.  H.  Westover  was  first  county 
prosecutor.  R.  J.  Graham  was  elected  in  1888, 
and  Geo.  Spend  was  appointed  special  deputy. 
Thos.  M.  Redlau  was  chosen  in  1889.  Robert 
M.  McGee  in  1891.  and  then,  in  1893.  W.  H. 
Westover  was  recalled  to  the  post.  Charles  E. 
Woods  followed  for  three  terms,  and  then  Wil- 
liam W.  Wood  for  one  term.  C.  Patterson 
served  from  1903  to  1906,  inclusive,  after 
which  W.  W.  Wood  served  another  term.  In 
1909,  Roscoe  L.  Wilhite  began  a  long  period 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


427 


of  county  prosecutor,  the  end  of  which  has  not 
been  reached  in  1921. 

County  Assessors 
This  office  is  of  comparatively  recent  origin. 
George  S.  Peters  had  had  the  place  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  period,  although  Henry  E. 
Coleman  has  occupied  the  office  satisfactorily 
and  R.  B.  Sailor  is  the  present  incumbent. 

County  Commissioners 
The  important  position  of  county  commis- 
sioner in  Sheridan  county  has  always  been  in 
good  hands.  The  governor  appointed  T.  B. 
Irwin,  L.  E.  Post  and  J.  D.  Woods  the  first 
special  county  board  to  look  after  the  prelim- 
inaries of  county  organization.  At  the  first 
election  G.  T.  Morey  was  chosen  in  the  place 
of  Post,  and  the  next  election,  which  was  the 
first  regular  election.  Post  succeeded  Woods. 
Then  through  the  following  years  these  names 
have  been  indelibly  stamped  upon  the  history 
of  the  county  as  "county  dads :" 

M.  Finch."  L.  H.  Hewitt,  H.  T.  Wasmund, 
G.  Ed  Hopkins,  F.  M.  Jennings,  A.  W.  Brown- 
ell,  John  Hage,  Wr.  C.  Shattuck,  C.  A.  Turner. 
H.  S.  Burlingmier  E.  Bauder,  O.  J.  Marcy,  P. 
F.  Johnson,  L.  R.  Bray,  J.  W.  Grubb,  Elza 
Walls,  J.  D.  Stauffer,  R.  W.  Reid,  J.  F.  Mc- 
Parland,  Tohn  Coleman,  Anton  Jansen,  Robert 
M.  Bruce.  P.  S.  Parker,  Fred  Graeber,  Otto 
Smith.  Fred  C.  Duerfeldt,  William  Hollstein. 
Smith,  Duerfeldt  and  Hollstein  are  the  pres- 
ent incumbents  in  the  year  1921. 

County  Physicians 
We  do  not  find  the  record  of  a  county  physi- 
cian in  Sheridan  county  prior  to  1890,  at  which 
time  J.  Q.  Elmore  was  appointed.  The  record 
is  quite  complete  until  1914.  A.  N.  Sheffner 
followed  Elmore,  and  the  following  names  ap- 
pear as  having  been  in  duty  looking  after  the 
public  health:  E.  T.  Julian,  T.  B.  Rankin,  J. 
R,  C  Davis,  O.  L.  Wilson.  Z.  T.  Daniel  and  A. 
J.  Molzahn.  Davis  served  six  consecutive 
years  between  1894  and  1900,  and  Wilson  six 
years  almost  immediately  following  that  period. 


The  first  brand  committee  filing  bonds  for 
record,  were:  M.  D.  Cravath  and  A.  M.  Mod- 
isett,  in  1897.  The  first  sheep  inspector  was 
Samuel  T.  Wallace  in  1896.  He  was  followed 
by  Geo.  P.  Auker  in  1898. 

The  first  Soldiers  Relief  Committee  filing 
bonds  for  service  were :  W.  M.  Alexander  in 
1890,  and  J.  F.  Powers  and  John  Beeley,  in 
June,  1891.  The  last  Soldier's  Relief  Commit- 
tee bond  filed  is  that  of  C.  S.  Gates  in  1921. 
Not  many  of  the  brave  boys  of  1861-65  remain 
this  side  of  the  Final  Rendezvous. 

State  Officials  from  Sheridan  County 

Sheridan  county  has  had  for  a  quarter  of 
a  century  as  judge  of  the  district  court,  W. 
H.  Westover.  For  a  large  part  of  the  time  his 
court  reporter  has  been  Jerry  Scott,  whose  cap- 
able work  is  attested  by  all  who  have  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  court  procedure. 

The  county  has  also  been  represented  in  the 
state  senate  by  Chas.  P.  Bresee,  in  the  session 
of  1905.  Sheridan  county  has  had  several  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature,  the  first  being  Wm.  H. 
McCann  of  Hay  Springs,  in  1887.  Ed.  L. 
Heath,  the  founder  of  the  Rushville  Standard, 
was  a  member  in  1891,  and,  in  1893,  J.  D. 
Woods  of  Hay  Springs  was  chosen.  Woods  won 
a  reputation  in  the  house  by  shutting  off  useless 
debates.  He  would  "move  the  previous  ques- 
tion," and  thus  end  wearisome  arguments  that 
otherwise  seemed  to  have  no  termination.  Com- 
binations of  politics  kept  Sheridan  county  out 
of  representation  in  either  house  or  senate  for 
many  years.  In  1919  the  potash  interests  de- 
manded the  retirement  of  Lloyd  Thomas,  of 
Alliance,  who  was  a  representative  of  excellent 
vitality  and  purpose.  T.  L.  Briggs,  of  Antioch, 
was  chosen. 

Generally  speaking,  the  officials  of  Sheridan 
county,  at  home  and  abroad,  have  been  of  pro- 
gressive ideals,  and  the  county  may  well  be 
proud  of  their  records.  Few  counties  can 
show  the  public  spirit  in  the  official  family,  or 
the  tendency  to  reward  faithful  service  by  the 
ballots  of  the  people. 


428 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  III 


BANKING  AND  FINANCE 


According  to  the  chattel  mortgage  records 
there  were  a  few  men  who  loaned  money  to 
deserving  and  desiring  homesteaders  before 
there  were  any  banks  established.  Also  as  stat- 
ed heretofore,  the  first  bank  in  Rushville  was 
put  in  by  H.  A.  Chamberlain  and  called  the 
Bank  of  Rushville.  Then  Joe  Armstrong  with 
the  Farmers  and  Merchants  bank,  and  then  M. 
P.  Musser  &  Company. 

The  evolution  of  banking  has  wrought  many 
changes  in  the  finances  of  the  people  of  the 
county.  The  potato  enterprise  for  instance  has 
such  a  firm  foundation  that  crop  loans  for  a 
moderate  amount  upon  the  growing  potato  crop 
is  not  considered  hazardous,  wihile  in  the  early 
days  that  character  of  a  loan  would  have  been 
for  a  bank,  outside  the  question. 

Rushville  now  has  two  banks.  The  Stock- 
man's National,  which  was  established  in  1898, 
has  a  capital  of  thirty-five  thousand  dollars, 
and  a  surplus  of  over  forty  thousand.  During 
the  stress  brought  on  by  the  ill-advised  action 
of  the  federal  reserve,  this  bank  had  a  cash  re- 
serve of  over  twenty-two  per  cent,  an  extra- 
ordinarilly  strong  situation.  The  officers  are 
A.  M.  Modisett,  president;  H.  C.  Dale,  vice 
president;  Geo.  B.  Wilson,  cashier;  and  Ella 
Barth,  assistant  cashier. 

The  Union  (State)  Bank  was  chartered  in 
1908.  It  has  a  capital  of  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars,  and  a  surplus  of  nearly  sixty  thousand 
dollars.  The  cash  reserve  of  this  bank  is  high 
also,  about  twenty-eight  per  cent  during  the 
stress  of  money  matters  in  the  spring  of  1921. 
Lewis  Oberwetter  is  president;  W.  F.  Strat- 
heide,  vice  president ;  G.  E.  Ellsworth,  cashier ; 
and  M.  M.  Wahlford,  assistant  cashier. 

Gordon  is  the  only  town  in  Sheridan  county 
with  a  population  of  over  one  thousand,  ac- 
cording to  the  census  of  1920.  While  still  un- 
der village  organization,  it  is  able  to  qualify  as 
a  city  of  the  second  class,  if  its  citizens  so  de- 
sire.   Gordon  has  three  banks. 

The  First  National  is  the  oldest  in  vears,  it 
being  organized  in  1889.  It  has  $50,000  capital 
and  over  $80,000  surplus.  D.  H.  Griswold  is 
president;  W.  E.  Brown,  vice  president; 
Dwight  P.  Griswold,  cashier;  and  Anna 
Schmidt,  assistant  cashier. 

The  Gordon  State  Bank,  which  was  organ- 
ized in  1907,  has  the  largest  capital  of  any  bank 
in  the  county.  It  has  $80,000  capital  and  $20.- 
000  surplus.  F.  C.  Hill  is  president:  I.  S. 
Magowan,  cashier;  and  R.  S.  Ross  and  Blanche 
Parker,  are  assistant  cashiers. 


The  American  Bank  was  organized  in  1919, 
and  has  a  capital  of  $35,000  and  a  small  sur- 
plus. F.  P.  Mills  is  president ;  L.  H.  Jordan, 
vice  president ;  and  J.  J.  Olsson,  cashier. 

One  of  the  oldest  banks  in  Sheridan  county 
is  at  Hay  Springs,  being  more  than  thirty  years 
in  the  service  of  the  community.  The  North- 
western State  Bank  was  organized  in  1890.  It 
has  a  capital  of  $50,000  and  a  surplus  of  $23,- 
000.  According  to  recent  reports  it  has  de- 
posits of  over  half  a  million  dollars,  and  loans 
and  discounts  of  approximately  eighty  per  cent 
of  the  deposits.  Cash  and  undivided  profits 
aggregate  $190,000.  Chas.  Weston  is  president 
of  this  exceptionally  strong  institution;  Wil- 
liam Waterman  is  vice  president ;  J.  S.  Den- 
man  is  cashier  and  R.  Gustafson,  assistant 
cashier. 

The  First  National  Bank  of  Hay  Springs, 
which  commenced  business  in  1908,  is  another 
one  of  the  big  institutions  of  the  county,  in  its 
volume  of  business  and  financial  connections. 
Its  capital  is  $25,000  and  surplus  about  $40,- 
000.  Its  deposits  according  to  a  recent  state- 
ment were  over  three  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. Cash  and  undivided  profits  were  above 
$130,000.  Col.  Chas.  F.  Coffee,  of  Chadron, 
is  the  head  cf  this  bank,  and  I.  B.  Richmond, 
vice  president ;  J.  A.  Goff,  cashier  and  T.  R. 
Morrison,  assistant  cashier. 

The  Clinton  State  bank  was  organized  in 
1917,  with  a  capital  of  $15,000.  It  has  accum- 
ulated a  small  surplus.  It  has  deposits  of 
$86,000  and  loans  and  discounts  of  $71,000, 
with  a  cash  and  undivided  profits  account  of 
over  $20,000.  The  present  officers  are  :  Noah 
Mose,  president ;  Nels  S.  Larsen.  vice  presi- 
dent ;  R.  O.  Lyon,  cashier ;  and  K.  C.  Mathesen, 
assistant  cashier. 

The  first  bank  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
county  was  at  Lakeside,  and  was  established  in 
1914,  or  before  war  and  potash  entered  into  the 
county  development.  Primarily  it  was  for  the 
accommodation  of  cattlemen,  but  later  took 
care  of  the  finances  of  the  Lakeside  Potash 
business.  Its  capital  was  $11,000,  and  accord- 
ing to  recent  statements  its  surplus  was  $7,000. 
It  had  deposits  aggregating  $155,000  and  loans 
and  discounts  $136,000,  cash  and  exchange 
$28,000.  The  officers  are:  H.  C.  Peterson, 
president ;  R.  M.  Hampton,  of  Alliance,  vice 
president ;  and  C.  M.  Empon.  cashier. 

The  potash  bubble  was  responsible  for  the 
establishing  of  banks  at  Antioch.  War  demand 
for  potash  made  that  locality  look  up  in  1917 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


429 


and  that  year  two  banks  were  organized  and 
opened  for  business  in  the  potash  metropolis. 
According  to  the  figures  of  a  local  census  the 
town  had  two  thousand  people  at  one  time,  but 
many  of  them  were  transients  and  the  closing 
of  potash  works,  and  the  burning  of  the  mills 
has  reduced  the  population  until  it  will  hardly 
qualify  as  a  city  of  the  second  class,  to  which 
honor  it  recently  aspired.  Two  large  mills 
have  burned  and  the  others  are  now  silent. 

Antioch  State  Bank  had  $10,000  capital  and 
$1,000  surplus,  deposits  of  more  than  $90,000 
and  loans  and  discounts  aggregating  over  $65,- 


do  not  reflect  the  magnitude  of  the  financial 
interests  of  that  part  of  the  county.  Cattlemen 
have  long  had  connections  with  Alliance  banks, 
and  with  commission  houses  at  Omaha,  Kansas 
City,  and  elsewhere,  while  the  big  potash  mills 
had  city  connections  for  the  transaction  of  their 
extensive  affairs. 

The  Bar 

The  dean  of  Sheridan  county  bar  is  Judge 

W.  H.  Westover.     He  was  pioneer  attorney  at 

Gordon,  the  first  county  attorney,  and  district 

judge,  now  these  past  more  than  twenty-five 


000,  with  cash  and  undivided  profits  of  upward 
from  $28  000.  H.  A.  Copsey  was  president; 
Chas.  E.  Brittan,  of  Alliance,  vice  president; 
and  James  P.  Thomas,  cashier. 

Potash  State  Bank  had  $20,000  capital  and 
$1,000  surplus;  its  deposits  were  $60,000  and 
loans  and  discounts  $48,000  with  cash  and  un- 
divided profits  of  over  $18,000.  The  officers 
were:  W.  H.  Ostenberg,  president;  W.  G. 
Wilson,  vice  president;  and  F.  E.  Vlasek,  cash- 
ier. This  bank  later  reduced  its  capital  to 
$10,000  and  increased  its  surplus  to  $2,000. 

In  the  spring  of  1921,  these  two  banks  con- 
solidated, as  the  Potash  State  Bank,  so  that 
Antioch  has  but  one  bank  at  the  present  time, 
officered  by  Copsey,  Brittan  and  Thomas. 

Much  of  southern  Sheridan  county  does  its 
banking  business  in  Alliance,  so  that  the  state- 
ments of  the  banks  at  Antioch  and  Lakeside 


vears.  About  the  same  time  Samuel  II.  Ladd 
took  up  practice  at  Gordon,  being  in  active 
practice  about  one-third  of  a  century.  C.  C. 
Akin  was  also  an  early  day  attorney. 

The  pioneer  attorney  of  Rushville  was  W. 
W.  Wood.  He  homesteaded  near  the  town  and 
moved  in  soon,  forming  a  partnership  with 
Attorney  Weeters. 

The  bar  of  the  county  is  pretty  well  repre- 
sented in  the  roster  of  the  prosecuting  at- 
torneys through  the  years.  R.  J.  Graham, 
Thos.  M.  Redlau  and  Geo.  Spend  were  present 
in  the  late  eighties.  Robert  M.  McGee  and 
Charles  E.  Woods  joined  in  the  legal  services 
of  the  community  during  the  nineties.  C. 
Patterson  was  in  the  profession  about  twenty 
years  ago,  and  Roscoe  L.  Wilhite  who  has  been 
for  a  dozen  years  the  county  prosecutor,  is  at 
present  an  active  resident  member  of  the  bar. 


430 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


A.  M.  Emley,  Eloyd  H.  Jordan,  and  P.  H. 
O'Rourke  are  at  present  practicing  in  Gordon. 
F.  M.  Broome,  while  a  qualified  attorney,  lives 
at  Antioch.  but  attends  largely  to  land  matters 
in  connection  with  the  United  States  land  de- 
partment. S.  L.  O'Brien  is  also  a  practicing 
attorney  at  Antioch.  Ladd,  Dorr,  Jordan  and 
O'Rourke.  of  Gordon;  Westover,  Wilhite,  Pat- 
terson, J.  H.  Edmunds  and  Chas.  A.  Plantz,  of 
Rushville  ;  and  J.  E.  Gilmore.  of  Hay  Springs, 
are  the  present  members  of  the  north  Sheridan 


W.  H.  Crawford,  and  O.  L.  Wilson.  Dr.  C. 
L.  Bates  and  Dr.  L.  Quast  are  dentists. 

At  Gordon  there  are  Doctors  Edward  H. 
Dwyer,  James  Q.  Elmore,  Loren  Jones,  S.  E. 
Overmass  and  Geo.  F.  Bartholomew.  In  den- 
tistry there  are  Tim  Woolm  and  G.  R.  Brown- 
field". 

At  Hay  Springs,  Doctors  Anderson,  A.  N. 
Sheffner,  Stanley  Clements,  and  Albert  J.  Mol- 
galm  are  the  more  recent  administers  to  public 
health. 


county  bar:  with  O'Brien  and  Broome,  in  the 
south  part  of  the  county. 

Medical  Profession 

The  first  doctor  in  the  vicinity  of  Rushville 
was  Doctor  J.  R.  C.  Davis,  who  had  a  home- 
stead four  miles  northeast  of  the  present  site 
of  Rushville  before  the  town  had  come  into 
existence. 

Dr.  W.  N.  Nanney  is  said  to  have  been  the 
first  doctor  in  Rushville.  Doctors  E.  T.  Julian 
and  T.  B.  Rankin  were  early  day  physicians 
and  surgeons. 

The  fraternity  has  always  been  well  repre- 
sented in  all  lines,  although  the  health  of  the 
high  plains  is  usually  of  the  best. 

Among  the  doctors  of  the  county  there  are 
several  at  Rushville,  namely :     Z.  T.  Daniels, 


Besides  the  doctors  from  Alliance  who  at- 
tend the  wants  of  the  people  of  south  Sheri- 
dan county,  Dr.  Edward  C.  Cowles  is  at  Anti- 
och, and  Dr.  F.  J.  Peterson  is  an  osteopath. 
Dr.  Moore  attends  the  sick  of  southern  Sheri- 
dan county  also,  and  for  awhile  Dr.  E.  L. 
Emerson,  whose  main  occupation  was  ranch- 
ing, was  nevertheless  called  upon  as  occasion 
required. 

The  Churches 

The  story  of  the  church  has  been  partly  told. 
Rev.  J.  A.  Scamahorn  on  the  second  Sunday 
in  May,  1884,  organized  the  first  Methodist 
church  west  of  Valentine,  in  the  north  part  of 
the  state.  This  was  also  the  first  church  of 
any  kind.  Rev.  B.  F.  Diffenbacher,  for  the 
Congregationalists  Was  early  on  the  ground  at 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


431 


Hay    Springs ;    as    early    as    1885.      He    also 
preached  at  Rushville. 

Elder  Martin  also  used  to  come  up  from 
Ord  and  that  section  for  a  number  of  years. 
Those  early  ministers  met  with  unusual  ex- 
periences, but  in  the  main  they  were  able  to 
meet  the  requirements. 

Robert  H.  Weller  was  a  pioneer  saloon  man 
in  all  the  towns  along  the  Northwestern.  As 
fast  as  towns  were  reached  by  the  railroad  he 
would  get  a  saloon  license.  He  had  been  a 
cow-puncher,  and  possessed  the  liberal  con- 
ceptions of  the  old  time  cowboy.  Elder  Martin 
arrived  in  Rushville,  and  looking  around  found 
only  one  building  at  all  suitable  for  holding 
services,  that  building  being  Weller's  saloon. 
He  asked  the  proprietor  if  he  could  hold  ser- 
vices there,  and  Weller  had  said  "Sure ;  wait 
a  minute.  I'll  hold  the  boys  steady." 

He  cleared  off  a  faro  layout  in  the  back 
part  of  the  building  for  the  minister  to  use  for 
a  pulpit,  then  he  went  to  the  bar,  and  rapped 
upon  it  with  his  six-shooter.  The  noise  eased 
down,  and  he  said,  "Boys,  the  preacher  man  is 
going  to  be  the  main  game  for  awhile.  He  is 
going  to  talk,  and  if  there  is  anyone  here 
who  feels  he  can't  keep  still,  he  had  better 
vamouse ;  for  if  he  busts  loose  while  the, 
preacher  is  here,  I'll  plug  him  full  of  holes." 
The  order  was  perfect.  Elder  Martin  talked 
a  few  minutes  and  sang  a  few  hymns.  He 
asked  the  boys  to  join  in  the  singing.  The 
hymns  were  the  old  ones  with  which  nearly 
every  one  was  familiar,  and  some  of  the  boys 
were  fair  singers,  so  that  before  long  the  crude 
rafters  of  Weller's  saloon  were  vibrating  with 
a  chorus  of  masculine  voices  singing  hymns  of 
praise.  They  voted  "Preacher  Martin"  as 
made  of  "the  right  stuff." 

Father  Kendall  was  among  the  first  of  the 
ministry  in  Sheridan  county.  Rev.  Howell  and 
Dr.  Mallery  were  there  in  the  middle  eighties. 
The  first  church  in  Rushville  was  the  Metho- 
dist, which  was  a  log  structure,  about  a  block 
south  of  the  present  site  of  the  postoffice.  It 
was  built  in  1885,  and  was  afterwards  used  for 
Rushville's  first  school. 

Minnie  Buchanan  was  the  first  teacher. 
Rev.  R.  H.  Gammon,  still  living  and  often 
to  be  seen  about  George  Peck's  hardware  store, 
was  also  a  pioneer  Methodist  minister.  The 
name  of  Rev.  J.  C.  Sloan  also  appears  in  early 
nineties. 

Rushville  has  several  churches :  Methodist, 
Presbyterian,  German  Lutheran  and  Catholic. 
The  ffrst  two  named  were  established  in  1885. 
The  Lutherans  started  about  twelve  or  thirteen 
vears  ago,  with  Rev.  Lainge  at  its  head.  Rev. 
Wahle  followed  him  and  in  1921,  Rev.  B.  E. 
Swartz  is  the  minister. 


The  Catholic  church  at  Rushville  is  com- 
paratively new,  being  only  nine  or  ten  years 
old.  It  has  however  made  a  large  develop- 
ment. It  has  a  resident  priest.  Rev.  J.  A. 
Knepper,  and  St.  Mary's  academy  is  a  part  of 
its  progressive  activity. 

Rev.  Colwell  is  the  present  Methodist  min- 
ister, and  Rev.  N.  P.  Olney  is  at  present  in 
charge  of  the  Presbyterians. 

Rev.  Wingett  has  charge  of  the  Methodist 
church  at  Gordon  and  B.  E.  Swartz  looks  after 
the  Lutherans.  There  are  Catholics  and  Chris- 
tions  represented  at  Gordon. 

Hay  Springs  has  Congregational,  Methodist 
and  Catholic  churches.  Some  distance  south 
of  Gordon  is  Lavaca  Parsonage,  and  there  are 
gatherings  in  almost  every  community  for  ser- 
vices from  time  to  time.  At  Antioch  there  are 
Methodists,  Congregationalists  and  Catholics 
served  by  local  ministers  or  from  Alliance 
which  is  close  at  hand.  The  transient  popu- 
lation built  up  by  the  potash  industry  also 
helped  to  build  places  of  worship,  but  they 
did  not  remain  to  support  them  after  the  bot- 
tom fell  out  of  the  potash  market. 

The  Press 

The  story  of  the  press  runs  through  the 
years.  No  one  need  tell  what  it  is  doing,  for 
it  speaks  for  itself.  Yet  it  knows  not  how  well 
it  speaks,  for  while  the  editor  in  most  cases 
thinks  he  is  expressing  his  own  sentiments, 
these  sentiments  have  been  formed  by  associa- 
tions and  environment.  Some  editors  confine 
their  expression  of  progress  to  the  particular 
circle  in  which  they  are  most  familiar,  some 
to  the  horizon  of  the  political  faith,  but  general- 
ly the  editor  knows  the  pulsebeat  of  his  com- 
munity, and  the  newspaper  gives  the  record  of 
the  pulse.  It  is  a  wonderful  record  to  read 
after  years  has  tempered  the  judgment  of  the 
reader. 

The  Rushville  Standard  is  the  dean  of  the 
press  in  Sheridan  county.  Thirty-six  years 
ago  it  was  founded  by  Ed.  L.  Heath,  who 
afterwards  served  the  county  and  district  in 
the  state  legislature.  For  many  years  this 
journal  has  been  in  the  capable  hands  of  C.  L. 
Mayes,  who  delights  to  reproduce  from  the  old 
files  bits  of  past  history,  relating  to  pioneers 
living,  or  those  who  leaving  an  indelible  im- 
press, have  "passed  on." 

The  Rushville  Recorder  is  ten  years  the 
vounger,  being  established  in  1894.  G.  M. 
Cooper  is  the  present  efficient  head  of  this 
journal. 

The  Gordon  Journal,  now  so  efficiently  man- 
aged by  the  Leedoms,  Boyd  S.  and  Joe  W.,  as- 
sisted by  Caroline  Stubblefield,  dates  back  to 
1891.     This  period  of  thirty  years  has   liven 


432 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


under  the  management  of  several  ownerships. 
Editor  Jones  appeared  at  the  head  of  this  paper 
in  its  initial  stages.  Later  H.  G.  Lyon  the 
present  postmaster  of  Gordon,  who  takes  an 
active  interest  in  historical  affairs,  was  owner. 
H.  D.  Leedom  once  owned  it,  and  sold  it  to 
J.  G.  Clark.  Clark  sold  it  to  the  two  Lee- 
doms,  who  are  the  present  owners. 

The  antecedent  of  the  Journal,  was  the 
Sheridan  County  Gazette,  established  in  1884, 
by  L.  O.  Hull.  This  was  the  first  paper  pub- 
lished in  the  county,  and  had  it  continued  un- 
interruptedly to  the  present  time  would  have 
been  a  year  or  more  older  than  the  Rushville 
Standard. 

Hay  Springs  has  two  newspapers,  the 
News  and  the  Enterprise.  These  papers  each 
have  an  age  of  about  thirty-three  years,  both 
being  started  on  their  way  in  1888.  For  many 
years  Fred  W.  Johansen  has  edited  and  man- 
aged the  Enterprise  in  a  most  capable  and  pro- 
gressive manner.  The  News  has  had  as  its 
controlling  head,  the  substantial  intelligence  of 
John  C.  Burton. 

In  the  south  part  of  the  county,  at  Antioch, 
the  veteran  newspaper  man,  Frank  M.  Broome, 
was  the  man  of  the  hour  when  the  potash  town 
wanted  a  paper,  and  the  Antioch  News  was 
the  result.  Broome,  as  a  public  man  and  pub- 
lisher, has  had  a  lifetime  of  experience  in 
western  Nebraska.  When  'Gene  Heath  left 
for  other  lands  the  old  'Gene  Heath's  Grip  was 
passed  to  the  stewardship  of  Frank  Broome. 
The  editor  in  chief  during  his  whiil  upon  the 
sea  of  journalism,  "exchanged"  with  the 
Grip,  regarding  it  as  one  of  the  most  valued 
weekly  papers  that  came  to  his  desk. 

No  county  in  the  state  can  show  a  higher 
standard  of  progressive  papers  than  the  county 
of  Sheridan,  and  the  people  of  the  county  will 
bear  the  same  critical  analysis. 

Mercantile  Progress 

From  the  time  that  Tom  Grover  opened  his 
store  in  Gordon,  and  Henry  Crow  and  Cal 
Weeter  in  the  Rush  Valley  section,  or  T. 
Thompson  at  Hay  Springs,  mercantile  affairs 
have  had  a  high  part  in  the  county  progress. 
Nowhere  is  there  found  a  more  up-to-date 
character  among  men  in  the  mercantile  lines. 
Individual  effort  has  always  been  of  the  hon- 
orable order  that  inspires  traders  to  know  that 
they  are  getting  a  square  deal.  Then  there  has 
been  some  co-operative  effort  in  marketing  and 
buying  that  deserves  honorable  mention. 

Outside  of  the  railroad  towns  in  both  the 
north  and  south  portions  of  the  county,  there 
were  early  established  country  stores.  There 
were  Albanv,   Adaton,   Hunter,  Grayson,  La- 


vaca, Mirage  and  many  other  places,  some  of 
which  still  maintain  stores,  and  some  of 
which  are  abandoned.  S.  Dewey  who  was 
early  at  Mirage  closed  out  his  business  after  a 
number  of  years. 

One  of  the  desires  of  early  mercantile  en- 
terprise was  to  get  into  the  close  proximity  of 
the  Indian  Reservation.  In  this  respect,  Gor- 
don has  always  had  the  advantage. 

Bootlegging  among  the  Indians  has  always 
been  followed  by  some  of  the  lawless  dispens- 
ers of  liquor,  and  for  that  reason  the  reserva- 
tion had  its  boundaries  extended  some  dis- 
tance beyond  the  point  where  the  Indian  allot- 
ment ceased.  Into  this  neutral  zone,  the  trader 
and  trafficker  wished  to  operate.  It  was.  not 
permitted.  As  late  as  1904,  a  homesteader 
named  Charles  Nines  tried  to  open  a  store, 
but  lost  his  homestead.  President  Roosevelt 
was  made  acquainted  with  the  facts,  and  he 
set  aside  the  section  of  land.  Legally  this  may 
have  been  questioned,  but  what  is  the  use  of  a 
poor  homesteader  fighting  the  United  States. 
He  gave  it  up. 

Hay  Springs  Today 

Hay  Springs  has  nearly  six  hundred  inhabi- 
tants, has  three  churches,  two  banks,  two 
grain  elevators,  a  potato  market  house,  opera 
house,  electric  lights,  water  works  and  Beaver 
Valley  telephone.  It  has  the  Northwestern 
railroad,  Western  Union  telegraph  and  Ameri- 
can express.  It  is  on  the  state  highway  from 
Norfolk  and  Sioux  City  to  the  Black  Hills, 
and  at  the  junction  of  a  state  road  leading 
south  to  Alliance,  Scottsbluff  and  Denver. 
Several  rural  telephone  lines  radiate  out  from 
the  town;  to  Grayson,  Moomaw,  and  White 
Clay.  About  twenty  stores  and  restaurants 
supply  the  mercantile  requirements  of  thq 
town  and  surrounding  country.  The  Niobrara 
river  is  about  fifteen  miles  south. 

Irrigation  at  Mirage 
A  number  of  years  ago,  an  appropriation 
was  made  from  the  Niobrara  river,  for  irri- 
gating what  was  called  the  Mirage  irrigation 
project.  The  headgate  was  in  section  26-29- 
48  in  Dawes  county.  It  had  two  reservoir 
sites  in  Sheridan  county,  in  section  ten,  29-46, 
and  in  section  six,  29-45.  It  crossed  Pepper 
creek,  and  took  in  a  large  body  of  land.  For 
some  reason  the  matter  was  abandoned.  In 
the  spring  of  1921,  a  number  of  the  farmers 
and  owners  of  land  in  this  vicinity,  made  a 
tour  of  inspection  of  the  irrigated  territory  in 
and  around  Scottsbluff,  and  so  enthusiastic 
are  they  that  now  the  project  is  to  be  revived 
under  the  name  of    Hay    Springs   Irrigation 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


433 


District.  The  development  of  this  idea  will 
mean  a  family  on  each  eighty  acre  farm  un- 
der the  ditch,  instead  of  the  sparse  population 
there  now,  and  it  will  mean  a  rapid  doubling 
up  of  the  land  values,  and  earning  power  of 
the  farms. 

This  land  under  irrigation  will  make  a  big 
difference  in  the  mercantile  affairs  of  Hay 
Springs.  One  who  has  never  lived  in  an  ir- 
rigation country,  and  noticed  the  change  of 
business  activity  with  the  acres  that  are  put 
under  irrigation,  can  have  no  conception  of 
how   rapidly  business  develops.     It  is  almost 


Rushville 
John  W.  Grubb's  furniture  store  is  one  of 
the  places  where  one  can  accumulate  a  fund 
of  stories  about  old  Rushville,  for  Mr.  Grubb 
homesteaded  north  of  town  about  a  mile,  in 
1884,  and  has  been  in  business  in  town  for  al- 
most thirty  years.  Also  may  be  found  there 
from  time  to  time  W.  J.  Zoll,  who  takes  great 
interest  in  old  times  and  has  a  splendid  memory 
to  assist.  He  is  a  brother  of  Kate  M.  Zoll, 
one  of  the  splendid,  brave  young  women  who 
came  to  Rushville  when  it  was  still  Rush  Val- 
ley, and  afterwards  was  associated  with  Mrs. 


an  even  growth  between  the  country  and  the 
town — that  is.  for  every  additional  resident 
upon  the  land,  the  business  of  the  adjacent 
town  will  require  an  additional  resident.  Two 
thousand  additional  people  in  the  Mirage  dis- 
trict, on  irrigated  lands,  means  not  only  two 
thousand  prosperous  people  in  farm  homes, 
but  approximately  the  same  number  of  inhab- 
itants added  to  the  town  of  Hay  Springs.  Ac- 
cording to  1920  census  Hay  Springs  has  577 
people. 

The  settlement  about  the  town  is  largely 
American.  There  is  quite  a  settlement  of 
thrifty  Danes,  and  a  good  wholesome  sprinkling 
of  other  nationalities:  Swedish,  German, 
French,  and  all  dwelling  under  the  flag  of  the 
land  of  their  adoption  in  peace  and  amity,  as 
becomes  good  Americans. 


Sue  M.  Slotter,  in  Rushville  mercantile  affairs 
for  so  many  years. 

But  the  transition  of  Rushville  from  a  tent 
town  in  1885,  to  the  present  place  of  substan- 
tial buildings,  and  excellent  mercantile  attain- 
ments is  one  of  the  remarkable  stories  of  pro- 
gress which  covers  the  high  plains.  Scientific 
farming,  following  the  disasters  of  the  early 
nineties,  shows  the  ingenuity  of  man,  and  cap- 
ableness  of  the  home  making  human  being  to 
survive  and  prosper  in  the  face  of  alnm>t  any 
kind  of  trouble,  or  in  any  kind  of  environment. 
It  is  the  farm,  and  what  the  farm  does,  that 
speaks  for  the  progress  or  retrogression  of  any 
town  or  community  center.  So  intelligent  sur- 
mounting of  farm  disasters,  made  the  Rush- 
ville of  today. 

Rushville  has  about  forty  mercantile  estab- 


434 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


lishments  representing  every  line  of  business : 
flour  mill,  grain  elevators,  banks,  hotels,  five 
churches,  two  newspapers,  water  works,  elec- 
tric lights,  opera  house,  court  house,  railroad, 
express  and  telegraph.  Co-operative  efforts  in 
marketing  potatoes,  and  other  products,  are 
among  the  modern  achievements  of  the  town. 
It  is  the  county  seat,  and  has  a  population  of 
955  according  to   1920  census. 

Gordon 

The  first  settlement  of  grangers  in  the  coun- 
ty of  Sheridan,  is  today  the  metropolis  of  the 
county.  The  story  of  the  Gordon  rifles  and 
the  burning  of  the  Gordon  wagons  and  equip- 
ment, was  one  of  the  unwise  affairs  of  hand- 
ling the  Indian  question,  and  Indian  country, 
that  has  marked  the  administration  of  that 
department  from  time  to  time.  This  event  oc- 
curred near  the  Sheridan-Cherry  line,  some  dis- 
tance south  of  Gordon  and  a  little  east.  The 
finding  of  relics  is  yet  of  frequent  occurrence. 
The  Gordon  outfit  was  burned  by  the  war  de- 
partment of  the  United  States  and  not  by  In- 
dians as  might  naturally  be  assumed.  Gordon 
has  trespassed  beyond  the  lines  laid  down  and 
arbitrarily  forbidden  by  the  department. 

Inasmuch  as  Gordon  was  upon  the  only 
connecting  line  for  a  road  or  trail  through 
the  sand  hills  without  encountering  much 
sandy  road,  this  road  could  easily  have  been 
a  much  travelled  highway  from  the  eastern  set- 
tlements, to  the  Black  Hills  and  High  Plains 


country,  had  it  not  been  discouraged  in  its  in- 
cipiency  by  the  federal  government.  The  effect 
has  been  to  put  back  for  a  generation,  the  de- 
velopment of  road  facilities  through  a  section 
of  western  Nebraska,  that  has  needed  such  for 
its  progress. 

A  half  a  hundred  business  enterprises  mark 
Gordon's  commercial  standing  as  high  in  the 
story  of  the  county.  To  the  north  is  the  In- 
dian country,  to  the  east  the  cattle  country,  and 
to  the  west  and  south  dry-fanning  makes  it 
situated  ideally  for  steady  trade.  No  depression 
of  any  one,  can  so  effect  the  other  two  of  Gor- 
don's sources  of  business.  Flour  mills,  eleva- 
tors, electric  lights,  water  works,  four  churches, 
two  hotels,  two  banks,  a  live  newspaper,  and  a 
generally  wide  awake  people,  make  the  city 
an  excellent  place  to  live.  1920  census  gives 
Gordon  a  population  of  1591. 

Clinton  as  stated  heretofore  his  its  bank  and 
store,  although  being  between  Gordon  and 
Rushville,  it  has  an  uphill  fight  in  this  day  of 
motor  cars.  The  stories  of  Antioch,  Lakeside 
and  Hoffland  appear  in  the  resume  of  the  re- 
sources of  Sheridan  county,  under  the  subdi- 
vision of  Potash.  Bingham  and  Ellsworth  are 
sand  hills  stations  on  the  Burlington,  with  post- 
offices  and  stores  for  local  accommodation.  At 
Ellsworth  the  big  ranch  people,  the  Spade 
ranch,  have  a  store.  It  is  quite  complete  in  all 
the  needs  for  ranching,  following  the  well 
known  business  sense  of  the  Spade  people  in 
all  their  various  enterprizes. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  SCHOOLS 


No  part  of  a  new  land  is  of  such  interest  as 
that  part  which  relates  to  education.  The 
first  schools  of  the  High  Plains  were  neces- 
sarily crude  affairs.  Log  houses  and  sod  houses 
were  generally  thrown  up  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  sometimes  the  first  schools  were  in  the 
claim  shack  of  some  settler,  and  occasionally 
that  of  the  teacher. 

The  first  school  district  organized  in  Sheri- 
dan county  was  at  Gordon,  Otcober  9,  1885. 
The  county  had  been  created  the  previous  July, 
and  organized  in  September.  The  settlements 
at  Gordon  and  Rush  Valley  were  a  year  and 


more  old.  Whatever  school  was  held  before 
October,  1885,  was  in  the  nature  of  private 
schools,  and  no  record  is  available. 

The  petitioners  for  the  organization  of  dis- 
trict number  one  were : 

J.  A.  Scamahorn,  Frank  Thompson.  H.  F. 
Lingle.  L.  L.  Work,  A.  V.  Stratton,  John 
Howell.  D.  Ward,  S.  S.  Murphy,  M.  Moriety, 
T.  C.  Morrison,  F.  Buck,  E.  D.  Evans,  W.  W. 
Claybaugh.  M.  Reed,  N.  T.  Sonds,  Thos. 
Huntington,  J.  G.  Fritz,  Frank  Hunt,  J.  R. 
Tordan,  L.  Schmidt,  Wm.  Hogie,  T.  B.  Irwin, 
W.  E.  Gibbs,  H.  D.  Huntington,  J.  S.  Nichol- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


435 


son,  L.  C.  Jaques,  Sol.  Dix,  J.  Barnett,  G.  S. 
French,  A.  S.  Holmes,  F.  J.  Andrea,  C.  Shrout, 
C.  S.  Fritz,  M.  Swigert,  C.  E.  Hoffman. 

District  number  two  was  organized  at  Rush- 
ville.  on  October  21,  1885.  District  number 
three  at  Hay  Springs,  on  October  28.  1885. 
Three  other  districts  came  to  life  upon  this 
same  date :  Number  four,  the  Pawnee  City 
settlement,  north  of  Clinton ;  Number  five, 
north  of  Hay  Springs ;  Number  six  at  the  state 
line  north  of  Gordon.  Seven  other  districts 
were  organized  before  the  close  of  1885.  By 
June,  1886,  there  were  nine  additional  dis-  • 
tricts,   so   that  the  first  county  levy   was   for 


B.  Biddle,  number  two ;  and  Bertha  Loving, 
number  three.  In  November  four  was  issued 
to  Carrie  M.  Goodykoonts,  number  five  to 
Katie  Dulin,  and  in  December  P.  H.  Shep- 
ard  received  number  six  and  F.  J.  Gaily  num- 
ber seven.  Only  the  seven  certificates  to  teach 
were  issued  in  1885. 

In  1886,  there  wrere  issued  seventy-one  cer- 
tificates, and,  in  1887,  forty.  The  broad  acres 
of  Sheridan  county  were  then  populated  as 
they  never  were  before  or  since.  In  July,  1886, 
the  county  received  its  first  state  apportionment 
of  school  funds  amounting  to  $591.12.  Twenty- 
three  districts  participated  in  the  distribution 


that  number   of    schools.      The   different   dis- 
tricts had  levies  as  shown  below : 

First  Levies 

No.  1.  eight  mills;  No.  2,  twelve  mills;  No. 
3,  fifteen  mills;  No.  4,  none;  No.  5,  fifteen 
mills  ;  No.  6,  twenty-five  mills ;  No.  7,  fifteen 
mills;  No.  8,  fifteen  mills;  No.  9,  none;  No. 
10,  fifteen  mills;  Nos.  11  and  12,  none;  No.  13, 
twenty-five  mills. 

There  seems  to  have  been  a  break  in  the 
numbering  of  districts  at  this  time  for  several 
numerals  are  missing.  Of  the  remaining  dis- 
tricts, No.  26,  had  seventeen  and  one-half 
mills ;  No.  24,  had  twenty  mills ;  Nos.  14  and 
25  had  twenty-two  mills;  and  Nos.  13,  15,  21, 
22,  27  and  31  had  twenty-five  mills. 

First  Teachers'  Certificates 
The  first  record  of  certificates   issued  was 
on  October  17,  1885.     On  that  date  John  M. 
Linn  received  certificate  number  one;  W.  C. 


to  the  extent  of  $6.42  per  district ;  the  balance 
was  distributed  according  to  the  school  popula- 
tion at  the  rate  of  64c  per  pupil.  There  were 
686  pupils  in  the  county. 

The  apportionment  of  the  following  Janu- 
ary was  $778.45,  which  gave  each  district 
$8.48,  and  distributed  85c  per  pupil.  The 
school  census  of  1886  showed  360  bovs  and 
326  girls. 

The  Schools  Today 

In  1920  report  there  is  shown  in  Sheridan 
county  a  total  of  116  districts.  Ninety-two  of 
these  are  housed  in  frame  school  houses,  five 
in  brick  and  four  in  stone  or  concrete.  There 
are  eight  log  and  three  sod  school  houses  in 
the  county,  and  all  the  houses  are  in  fair  condi- 
tion. 

There  are  3108  pupils  in  Sheridan  county, 
and  169  teachers,  nine  of  whom  are  male  and 
one  hundred  sixty  female.  The  last  state  ap- 
portionment to  the  county  was  $4296.99.  Four 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


years  ago,  the  state  apportionment  amounted 
to  $3876.13.  The  county  superintendent,  Mrs. 
Pearl  Summers,  believes  that  there  is  some 
error  in  the  computations,  or  Sheridan  county 
would  receive  a  greater  share  of  the  state 
funds.  The  progressive  policies  adopted 
by  the  state  land  department,  in  taking  an  in- 
ventory of  school  property,  and  making  the 
property  even  more  for  support  of  the  schools, 
while  G.  L.  Shumway  was  commissioner, 
which  policy  has  been  followed  by  his  succes- 
sor, Dan  Swanson,  it  seems  would  yield  a  larg- 
er increase  from  the  state  apportionment.  Mrs. 
Summers  is  investigating,  and  if  there  is  more 
due  the  county,  she  will  get  it  for  the  county 
schools. 

In  1920,  twenty-three  schools  in  the  county 
had  nine  months  of  school.  There  were  thirty- 
three  that  had  eight  months  and  forty-three 
that  had  less  than  eight  months  school.  Eleven 
schools  had  no  school  or  less  than  four  months. 
Each  and  every  district  in  the  county  has  ade- 
quate funds  for  a  four  months'  term,  if  they 
so  desire. 

Gordon  and  Rushville  have  accredited  high 
schools.  Hay  Springs  has  ten  grades  and  does 
some  work  in  the  eleventh  grade.  The  Catholic 
academy  has  twelve  grades  and  seven  teachers. 
One  hundred  forty-two  pupils  are  in  this 
school,  nineteen  of  whom  are  in  the  higher 
grades.  Clinton  consolidated  school  has  four 
teachers,  and  has  combined  two  districts.  Dis- 
trict No.  35,  known  as  the  Banner  school, 
consolidated  five  districts,  and  employs  three 
teachers. 

Eighty  teachers  from  Sheridan  county  at- 
tended the  combined  or  joint  teachers'  insti- 
tute at  Chadron.  in  1920.  Thirty-five  of  the 
teachers  stayed  for  the  summer  Normal. 

The  first  school  in  Sheridan  county  was  in 
Gordon,  in  a  frame  shack  on  the  east  side  of 
Main  street,  between  First  and  Second  streets. 
From  this  humble  beginning,  the  county  has 
developed  a  splendid  educational  system,  which 
is  a  matter  of  just  county  pride. 

Resources  of  Sheridan  County 

Predominent  export  products  of  Sheridan 
county  in  the  agricultural  lines  are  potatoes 
and  wheat.  Other  ordinary  farm  products  are 
raised,  and  there  is  considerable  alfalfa  and 
hay.  In  the  valleys  of  the  sand  hills  are  many 
beautiful  meadows,  but  their  product  is  almost 
if  not  entirely  for  home  use.  The  Spade 
ranch,  while  appropriating  much  of  this  valu- 
able land  to  its  own  use,  has  done  a  fine  line 
of  development  work  thereon,  by  sowing  the 
seed  of  tame  grasses  into  the  wild  sod.  Many 


of  the  wild  meadows  have  become  fine  fields 
of  timothy  and  red  clover. 

Cattle,  sheep  and  horses  are  raised  in  large 
quantities  in  Sheridan  county.  The  best  quali- 
ty has  taken  the  place  of  the  old  Texas  vari- 
eties of  cattle,  although  occasionally  one  of  the 
ranchmen  will  ship  in  a  train  load  of  "old 
dogies"  that  makes  the  mind  run  back  to  the 
days  of  the  Texas  trail.  It  is  doubtful  if 
these  experiments  pay,  in  this  rigorous  climate, 
and  this  day  of  modern  method  of  handling 
livestock,  but  the  old  timers  get  homesick  for 
the  old  kind  of  the  early  days. 

In  these  sand  hill  ranches  we  find  two  very 
different  characters  out  of  the  growth  of  years. 
We  find  the  ultra  selfish,  hardened,  sly,  decep- 
tive and  grasping  kind  occasionally,  that  has 
none  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness  in  them. 
Men  that  never  help  a  fellow  man,  men  whose 
object  seeems  to  be  to  accumulate,  and  accum- 
ulate. Harsh  men,  but  fortunately  they  are 
few. 

I  could  name  dozens,  of  the  most  excellent 
characters  that  the  broad  acres  of  sand  hills 
have  developed  into  giants  of  character,  men 
like  Festus  Caruthers,  only  perhaps  few  that 
have  attained  the  high  degree  of  usefulness  to 
the  world.  Festus  Caruthers,  in  one  instance, 
gave  a  young  man  three  different  starts  on  the 
right  road  to  prosperity,  before  he  stuck  to  it 
and  struck  his  gait.  But  he  will  be  found  now 
over  near  the  Boiling  Springs,  with  a  fine 
ranch.  There  are  several  others  that  owe  to 
Caruthers  their  inspiration  and  start  to  suc- 
cess. Caruthers  is  not  alone,  but  he  is  a  stal- 
wart example  of  the  sand  hills  product.  There 
was  Charlie  Tulleys,  one  of  the  best  of  sand 
hills  men,  but  his  life  was  cut  short  some 
years  ago.  There  is  Chas.  C.  Jameson,  and 
Ed.  Myers  and  Heber  Hord,  and  scores  of 
others  that  have  made  big  men,  and  it  has  not 
spoiled  them.  They  have  made  good,  and  their 
stewardship  has  been  all  right. 

There  are  the  Modisetts,  Irwin,  Cravath. 
Coffee,  Musser,  stalwart  characters  of  the  cat- 
tle days  ;  there  are  Eugene  E.  Thompson,  David 
Briggs,  William  G.  Wilson  and  Herman 
Krause,  who  have  carried  all  the  modern  con- 
veniences into  their  ranch  homes.  Of  the 
smaller  ranches  there  are  many  worthy  of  es- 
pecial mention,  among  which  we  find  Frank  E. 
Jesse,  Frank  H.  Palmer,  Leonard  Boyer, 
Frank  C.  Reeves,  Henry  Heir,  Jacob  Herman, 
Cecil  C.  Wilson  and  Leslie  Ballinger.  These 
men  have  joined  with  others  in  making  the, 
sand  hills  a  good  place  to  live. 

Jules  A.  Sandoz,  member  of  the  state  horti- 
cultural society,  and  director  therein,  has  put 
the  sand  hills  on  the  map  as  a  producer  of 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


437 


fruit.  His  fruit  ranch  is  equal  to  many  of 
those  of  Idaho.  Washington  or  Colorado. 
Plums  of  all  varieties,  apples,  pears,  and  all 
kinds  of  small  fruits  are  grown  upon  this 
ranch.  In  addition  to  his  own  development  he 
has  furnished  many  of  his  friends  and  neigh- 
bors with  plants,  trees  and  bushes  of  all  kinds 
and  without  charge.  He  is  not  in  the  nursery 
business,  except  in  the  way  that  it  will  bene- 
fit and  improve  his  home,  his  neighborhood, 
his  county  and  his  state. 

In  one  distinctive  feature  has  Sheridan 
county  passed  all  her  contemporaries.  Potash 
production  in  Nebraska,  as  an  industry,  is 
practically  confined  to  this  county,  although 
frayed  edges  are  over  the  county  lines  in  ad- 
joining and  nearby  counties.  "Sand  hills  gold," 
as  it  has  been  called,  seems  to  have  been  in- 
tended for  Sheridan  county  alone. 

The  first  factory  of  consequence  was  built  at 
Hoffland,  and  produced  for  some  time  in  a 
quiet  way,  until  the  war  broke  out,  and  then, 
"the  cat  was  out  of  the  bag."  There  were  big 
profits  in  potash,  and  factory  after  factory- 
came  into  existence.  Some  of  these  were  built 
without  much  source  of  supply,  and  other 
people  waxed  rich  in  accumulating  potash 
leases.  Some  of  these  leases  were  obtained  by 
the  initiate,  who  failed  to  enlighten  those  who 
were  selling ;  others  were  made  at  the  insistence 
of  the  seller  when  neither  the  selling  party  or 
the  buyer  knew  of  the  value.  When  the  Hord 
interests  were  buying  some  ranch  lands,  they 
purchased  a  tract  from  one  A.  Simonson,  an 
attorney  then  practicing  in  Alliance.  One1 
eighty  contained  a  sour  lake,  which  it  is  stated 
Mr.  Hord  offered  to  let  Simonson  retain  if  he 
would  cut  the  price  one  hundred  dollars.  Sim- 
onson insisted  that  it  go  with  the  others.  Later 
it  proved  worth  many  thousand  dollars  for  the 
potash  it  contained.  On  another  occasion  John 
Krause  bought  some  land  containing  a  lake 
from  a  party  named  Long.  It  developed  that 
Krause  had  made  an  examination  and  knew 
the  lake  to  be  rich  in  potash.  In  the  courts 
Long  recovered  something  over  seventy  thous- 
and dollars,  said  to  be  the  value  of  the  pro- 
duct Krause  had  taken  from  him  without  just 
compensation.  There  is  a  case  pending  in  the 
courts  against  the  Krause  interests  for  potash 
taken  from  state  lands  without  lawful  author- 
ity. 

The  editor-in-chief,  when  commissioner  of 
public  lands  and  buildings  of  the  state,  had  un- 
pleasant controversies  with  John  Krause  and 
Tom  Briggs  concerning  potash  rights  upon 
state  lands.  The  former  acquired  by  purchase 
a  tract  of  state  school  land  containing  a  potash 
lake  without  the  knowledge  of  the  state  ap- 


praisers. Part  of  this  lake  is  upon  lands 
owned  by  the  state  and  not  purchasable,  but 
a  pipeline  was  constructed,  and  the  potash  ex- 
tracted. The  commissioner  made  a  demand, 
and  obtained  from  the  operator  of  the  plant, 
(then  W.  E.  Sharp,  of  Lincoln,  who  had  pur- 
chased, for  his  company,  the  American  Potash 
Works  at  Antioch),  a  statement  of  the  amount 
of  potash  taken  from  this  lake.  Surveys  were 
made  by  the  department  of  surveys,  under  or- 
der of  the  commissioner  and  computations  were 
made  as  a  basis  of  the  pending  suit. 

In  the  case  of  Tom  Briggs  lake,  Briggs  ap- 
plied to  the  state  for  the  right  to  extract  the 
potash,  which  was  the  honorable  thing  to  do. 
There  was  no  law!  for  mineral  leasing  in  the 
state,  but  Attorney  General  Reed  held  that 
the  board  of  educational  lands  and  funds  had 
authority  to  issue  such  leases,  under  the  consti- 
tution, the  legislature  having  laid  down  no 
method  of  procedure. 

Under  this  ruling  of  the  attorney  general, 
the  Nebraska  Pipeline  &  Refining  company 
had  asked  for  and  received  permission  to  pros- 
pect the  lakes  of  some  thirty-nine  sections  of 
land  with  the  privilege  of  selecting  not  more 
than  five  within  one  year.  The  amount  of 
publicity  given  this  permit,  and  inquiries  ar- 
riving at  the  office  of  the  commissioner,  caused 
him  to  insist  before  the  board  upon  a  set  of 
rules,  and  a  lease  form  for  mineral  leases. 
This  caused  considerable  delay,  and  conflicting 
applications  for  the  Briggs  section,  and  other 
sections  deemed  desirable.  Under  the  rules 
adopted  competitive  bidding  was  required 
where  two  or  more  applications  were  filed  ask- 
ing for  the  same  tract.  Over  two  hundred 
leases  were  issued  under  these  rules,  forty- 
four  of  which  were  in  Sheridan  county. 

The  Briggs  lake  was  auctioned,  and  bids 
held  open  for  an  hour,  and  the  lease  was  auth- 
orized to  be  given  to  J.  J.  Sullivan  for  $1,000 
bonus  and  twelve  and  one-half  percent  royalty. 
The  court  declared  these  mineral  leases  were 
without  authority,  and  void.  Then  at  the  extra- 
ordinary session  of  the  legislature  in  April, 
1918,  a  mineral  statute  was  enacted,  and  the 
board  sought  to  proceed  thereunder.  Again 
the  courts  were  invoked,  and  again  the  delay. 
In  the  end  of  two  or  three  years  of  litigation, 
Briggs  secured  the  potash  rights  on  the  section 
for  a  five  percent  royalty,  as  the  potash  bubble 
had  so  far  exploded  that  he  was  the  only  bid- 
der. Thus  the  lawyers  profited,  but  the  state 
and  all  individuals  interested  lost  considerable 
sums,  beacuse  of  the  delays. 

As  commissioner,  the  editor-in-chief  real- 
ized the  urgency  of  immediate  production  of 
potash,  both  from  the  point  of  national  needs 


43S 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


in  war,  and  also  from  the  point  of  value  of 
the  product.  He  sought  by  all  reasonable 
means  to  get  contentious  parties  into  working 
agreements,  either  upon  a  division,  or  to  pay 
the  money  into  court,  and  litigate  concerning 
the  equities  in  the  money. 

Both  of  these  plans  failed,  and  the  fact  that 
the  state  did  not  receive  a  large  revenue  from 
potash  production,  and  the  fact  that  disput- 
ants failed  to  realize  any  considerable  sums 
from  potash  taken  from  state  lands,  is  due  to 
the    alluring   appeal    of    extraordinary    legal- 


any  other  mill  in  the  section,  being  one  of  the 
first  in  operation,  and  continuously  a  producer 
when  any  others  were  producing,  and  adja- 
cent to  and  using  the  water  from  many  of 
the  richest  lakes. 

Jess  lake  stands  as  the  one  that  produced 
the  most  potash  in  Sheridan  county  or  the 
state.  It  is  said  that  something  near  ten  mil- 
lion dollars  worth  of  product  has  been  ex- 
tracted from  this  one  basin. 

What  is  geologically  termed  the  Dawes  and 
Furnas   ridge  extends  through  the  county  of 


fees,  and  the  persuasive  arguments  of  attor- 
neys for  the  litigants. 

Just  as  J.  E.  O'Brien  and  associate^  were 
about  to  open  their  potash  plant  at  Antioch, 
a  mysterious  fire  broke  out,  and  it  was  en- 
tirely destroyed.  The  plant  was  rebuilt  but 
got  into  the  production  of  potash  just  as  the 
market  broke,  the  mill  was  consequently  never 
profitable  to  the  investors.  The  company  fin- 
ally gave  it  up  and  the  plant  was  sold. 

The  Lakeside  plant  had  a  bad  fire  at  one 
time,  entailing  a  loss  of  many  thousands  of  dol- 
lars and  an  additional  loss  of  time  at  a  period 
when  potash  was  bringing  good  prices. 

More  recently  there  have  been  two  fires  at 
Antioch  in  the  potash  works.  The  latter  prac- 
tically destroyed  the  American  plant,  which 
was  owned  by  the  Western,  or  generally  re- 
ferred to  as  the  Sharp  interests.  The  Ameri- 
can plant   has   turned   out   more  potash   than 


Sheridan.  A  number  of  the  mineral  leases 
issued  by  the  state  were  for  oil  prospects  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  county.  The  question 
of  fuel,  and  the  presumed  submerged  deforma- 
tion in  the  vicinity  of  the  potash  plants, 
brought  forth  the  agitation  at  one  time  of  put- 
ting a  test  well  down  in  that  part  of  the  county, 
but  the  plan  never  materialized. 

The  northwestern  part  of  the  county  has 
appealed  to  oil  prospectors  for  many  years, 
although  within  the  county  the  drill  has  never 
penetrated  below  strata  needed  for  water.  The 
Midwest  company  has  done  some  drilling  in 
the  county  of  Dawes  only  a  few  miles  from 
the  county  line,  and  at  present  the  Big  Chief 
company  is  drilling  just  over  the  South  Dakota 
line.  This  company  is  operated  from  Rush- 
ville,  and  is  owned  in  large  part  by  Sheridan 
county  people.  If  this  well  becomes  a  pro- 
ducer, well  number  two  will  be  put  in  on  the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


439 


Nebraska  side  of  the  state  line,  for  the  rocks 
encountered  indicate  the  best  prospects  are 
to  the  south  of  the  present  drilling. 

In  February,  1921,  this  company  was  offi- 
cered by  William  F.  Matthew,  president ;  G. 
A,  Ostrander,  vice  president ;  Ira  Kelley,  sec- 
retary ;  and  Geo.  Greer,  treasurer.  Frank 
Owens  was  actively  interested,  and  Doc.  Un- 
derbill the  driller.  The  new  officers  are :  Rev. 
W.  G.  Vahlie,  president ;  H.  S.  Gillespie,  sec- 
retary ;  Herman  Miller,  treasurer.  Herman 
Lund  and  Tom  Lincoln  were  active  in  the  pro- 
motion of  the  enterprise,  and  "Red"  Mc- 
Clure  spudded  the  well,  the  depth  of  the  drill 
in  March.  1921,  being  about  five  hundred  feet. 

Nothing  speaks  more  eloquently  for  the  sub- 
stantial character  of  Sheridan  county,  than  the 
story  of  its  agricultural  development.  The 
first  turning  of  virgin  sod  smiled  back  at  the 
first  settlers  with  abundant  harvest.  By  1888, 
the  county's  agriculture  had  advanced  to  such 
a  stage  that  an  agricultural  society  was  formed. 
Recent  exhibits  at  the  state  fair  have  won  the 
admiration  of  those  agriculturally  inclined,  es- 
pecially in  potatoes,  vegetables,  and  alfalfa  and 
wild  hay. 

The  latest  manifestations  of  agricultural 
unity  and  power  is  the  Farm  Bureau,  and 
Sheridan  county  is  alive  to  the  purposes  of 
the  organization.  The  present  officers  are : 
Anton  Jansen,  president ;  Geo.  Fisher,  vice 
president;  R.  H.  Bourne,  secretary;  Jeffrey 
Westervelt,  James  Hindley^  John  Burrows, 
Clarence  DeWitt,  directors.  The  county  com- 
missioners of  1921  have  approved  a  Farm 
Bureau  budget  of  two  thousand  dollars. 

County  Division 

All  attempts  at  county  division  have  so  far 
failed.  One  of  the  persistent  ambitions  of 
Gordon  is  to  become  a  county-seat  town,  and 
one  of  the  dreams  of  the  future  is  a  new 
county  formed  out  of  a  part  of  Sheridan 
county,  and  a  part  of  Cherry  county,  but  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  such  an  accomplish- 
ment is  the  consent  of  the  two  counties  named. 

Shortly  after  the  building  of  the  Burling- 
ton through  the  south  part  of  the  county,  a 
petition  was  filed  with  the  county  commission- 
ers (on  October  S,  1888.)  asking  the  submis- 
sion of  the  question  of  dividing  the  county,  and 
forming  the  new  county  of  Kersey.  This  pe- 
tition was  laid  upon  the  table  by  the  county 
board. 

COUXTV   DEIiTS 

The  first  years  of  any  county  it  is  embar- 
rassed by  lack  of  funds.  Taxation  fails  to 
bring  returns  for  a  year  and  then  the  amounts 


are  small.  The  result  is  that  bonds  are  re- 
sorted to,  to  bring  the  finances  of  the  county 
into  good  repute.  Sheridan  county  issued 
$33,000  in  bonds  in  November,  1888,  to  care 
for  floating  indebtedness  and  bring  county 
warrants  to  a  cash  basis.  Schools  and  roads 
are  the  two  important  items  of  expense  in  the 
county.  It  has  a  few  bridges,  but  they  are 
not  long  or  expensive  to  construct,  like  those 
in  counties  along  the  Platte  river.  The  court- 
house, while  very  nice,  artistic  and  conven- 
ient, was  constructed  at  small  cost  as  com- 
pared with  the  present  costs  of  such  struc- 
tures.   The  county  debt  is  small. 

Fraternal  Organizations 

On  the  30th  of  July,  1887,  Amity  Lodge 
No.  169,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  given  a  dispen- 
sation under  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  the  state.  The  charter  members  were : 
James  M.  Baker,  Orren  W.  Boston.  Albert  M. 
Clyborne,  Samuel  S.  Cornell,  James  D.  Cor- 
der,  James  R.  C.  Davis.  Casper  C.  Fransom, 
Francis  M.  Godfrey,  Benj.  W.  Harnish,  John 
H.  Jones,  Elijah  Kendall,  Ornestine  Meservey, 
Geo.  T.  Morey,  Michael  P.  Musser,  Cornealus 
Patterson,  Robert  O.  Pugh,  Edward  A.  Pyne, 
Edward  Jj  Robinson,  Charles  E.  Sanford, 
Frank  W.  Sprague,  Arthur  D.  Slowills,  John 
E.  Veach,  Newton  H.  Wier,  Nathan  A.  Shep- 
herd and  George  Spense. 

The  officers  under  dispensation  were:  J. 
R.  C.  Davis,  master;  E.  J.  Robinson,  senior 
warden;  John  Jones,  junior  warden;  M.  P. 
Musser,  treasurer;  F.  M.  Godfrey,  secretary. 
E.  J.  Robinson  was  a  minister,  and  before  the 
charter  was  granted,  which  occurred  June  21, 
1888,  he  was  in  the  Kimball  and  Banner  coun- 
ty country.  John  H.  Jones  was  advanced  to 
senior  warden,  and  F.  W.  Sprague  was  junior 
warden  under  the  charter  as  granted. 

The  lodge  now  has  seventy-two  members,  is 
a  verv  live  institution,  and  lives  up  to  its  tra- 
ditions and  purposes.  The  present  officers  are; 
.Frank  H.  Black,  master;  Clarence  O.  Sawyer, 
senior  warden  ;  John  C.  Dullaghan,  junior  war- 
den ;  Horace  C.  Dale,  treasurer ;  and  Zadok  T. 
Daniel  secretary.  Dr.  Daniel  is  a  patriarch  of 
the  order.  Born  at  Eufala.  Alabama,  he  is  a 
Tangier  life  member  Omaha  Temple  V  A. 
(  ).  N.  M.  S.,  is  a  past  master,  ex-scribe  Podge 
of  Perfection  Scottish  Rite,  and  lias  for  twelve 
years  been  the  secretary  of  Amity  Lodge. 

Garnet?  Lodge  No.  125.  Okder  of  the 
Eastern  Star 

This  companion  of  Masonry  was  organized 
and  chartered  ten  years  after  the  Masonic 
lodge  was  chartered,  or  June  2^,   1898.     The 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


first  officers  and  charter  members  were:  Mil- 
lie A.  Farman,  matron ;  Mary  A.  Cornell,  as- 
sociate matron  and  Joseph  E.  West,  patron. 
Joseph  E.  Werb,  John  H.  Jones,  Horace  C. 
Dale.  Lizzie  A.  Ford,  William  W.  Ford,  Jos- 
eph P.  Evans,  David  Dullaghan,  J.  O.  Apian, 
Byron  Cornell,  Joe  Bell,  Capitola  Tully, 
Rickie  Jones,  Jamie  S.  Brown,  Lillian  E.  Dale, 
Emma  K.  Moore,  J.  E.  Brown,  Bertha  A. 
Evans,  Dora  Dullaghan,  Marie  L.  Aplin,  Ollie 
Franzen,  Martha  West,  and  Althea  Bell. 

Rushville  Lodge  No.  369,  I.  O.  O.  F. 
This  lodge  was  organized  and  chartered 
June  5,  1912,  with  fourteen  charter  members. 
B.  F.  Ray  was  the  first  noble  grand,  and  C.  L. 
Mayes,  the  first  secretary.  The  lodge  now  has 
sixty-five  members  and  the  following  officers : 
Ross  Merrill,  noble  grand ;  H.  M.  Steehm,  vice 
grand ;  B.  F.  Ray,  secretary ;  Joe  David  treas- 


Rushvilee  Lodge  No.  308,  Daughters  of 
Rebecca 

The  companion  lodge  of  the  Odd  Fellows 
was  organized  in  April,  1913,  with  forty-three 
charter  members.  Mrs.  Dora  Hewitt  is  the 
noble  grand ;  Uldrikka  Schmidt,  vice  grand ; 
Vealetta  Steehm.  secretary ;  and  Georgia  Dan- 
iel, treasurer.  There  are  eighty-two  members 
at  this  time. 

Modern  Woodmen 

Sheridan  lodge  number  1042  Modern  Wood- 


men of  America  was  the  second  lodge  chartered 
in  Rushville,  it  being  organized  July  30,  1889, 
with  eleven  members.  The  following  were 
the  officers :  Rev.  J.  C.  Sloan,  vice  consul ;  W. 
N.  Ford,  worthy  advisor;  C.  E.  Mayes,  clerk; 
and  Frank  Wood,  banker.  The  lodge  is  one 
of  the  largest  in  the  county,  having  a  member- 
ship of  seventy-nine  at  the  present  time.  The 
present  officers  are :  H.  S.  Stinson,  vice  con- 
sul ;  Luther  Davis,  worthy  ndvisor ;  C.  L. 
Mayes,  clerk ;  and  M.  O.  Keiffe,  banker. 

Royal  Neighbors 
The  companion  lodge  of  the  Woodmen  or- 
ganized June  12,  1901,  Rose  Lodge  number 
2616,  with  twenty-three  charter  members.  This 
lodge  has  the  largest  membership  of  any  fra- 
ternity in  Rushville  and  is  officered  as  follows : 
Mrs.  Jesse  French,  oracle ;  Mrs.  Mary  Moore, 
vice  oracle;  Mrs.  Carrie  Henderson,  recorder; 
Mrs.  Maude  Stamper,  receiver. 

Other  Lodges 
The  historian  has  given  more  detail  to  the 
lodges  at  the  county  seat,  but  Gordon,  Hay 
Springs,  Antioch,  and  other  places  have  fra- 
ternities of  the  same  and  other  lodges,  whose 
communal  fires  are  kept  burning  by  the  pa- 
tience and  charity  of  their  beloved  members. 
The  harsh  world  of  business  is  softened,  and 
toned  down,  and  the  brotherly  love  engendered 
and  kept  alive  in  the  fraternal  organizations  of 
the  land.  Nowhere  is  that  spirit  more  exempli- 
fied than  it  is  in  all  parts  of  Sheridan  county. 


CHAPTER  V 
SHERIDAN  COUNTY  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 


Sheridan  county,  ever  ready  to  do  its  part 
in  public  affairs,  never  faltered  when  the  great 
sacrifices  were  necessary  for  world  liberty. 
The  pioneers  who  came  to  Sheridan  county, 
and  the  children  of  those  pioneers,  had  within 
them  the  blood  of  independence  and  self-sac- 
rifice. They  had  stood  the  test  of  early  years, 
and  they  met  the  test  in  the  supreme  trials  of 
war.  The  people  gave  of  their  time,  their 
means  and  their  own  blood.  The  liberty  loans 
were  met  and  passed  in  regular  order,  the 
thrift  and  war  savings  drives  went  as  usual 
in  western  Nebraska,  the  Red  Cross  and  other 


volunteer  workers  met  with  cordial  assistance 
and  never  failed  to  go  over  the  top. 

Two  ways  were  open  for  the  boys  to  enter 
the  national  army,  by  the  volunteer  route  and 
by  induction  through  the  draft.  Before  the 
draft  law  became  effective  many  had  enlisted, 
and  others  not  in  the  first  draft,  sought  ser- 
vice by  voluntary  induction.  The  record  of 
•the  draft  in  Sheridan  county  was  happily 
kept  by  Miss  M.  Gillespie,  in  a  most  complete 
manner.  And  in  1920,  the  assessors  were  in- 
structed to  list  all  the  volunteers  whose  names 
do  not  appear  in  the  regular  draft  lists.  Thus 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


441 


Sheridan  county  has  a  list  of  the  boys  who 
went  into  the  war,  far  more  nearly  complete, 
than  any  county  of  the  Panhandle,  which  it 
has  been  the  privilege  of  the  editor  to  examine. 
The  state  wide  instruction  to  assessors,  to  do 
as  Sheridan  county  has  already  done,  is  a  trifle 
belated,  but  is  better  by  far  than  not  doing  at 
all.  Even  then  there  will  be  a  possibility  of 
omissions. 

Honor  Roll 

Charles  Atwood,  Harold  F.  Anderson,  Gus 
N.  Anderson,  Floyd  R.  Armon,  Frank  F.  Ap- 
ian, John  Jacob  Anghrn,  Oliver  K.  Arnold, 
John  G.  Ackerman,  Albert  R.  Arnold,  Wm.  C. 
Arms,  Eli  J.  Anderson,  James  Anderson,  Carl 
M.  Andreason,  Harvey  B.  Bourne,  Raymond 
L.  R.  Bartlett,  Owen  Bennett,  Steve  Brewer, 
Raliegh  Brown,  Howard  Barta,  Clyde  W.  Bas- 
om,  Theodore  H.  Bos.  Roy  Brownlow,  Glen 
W.  Black,  Fred  W.  Bell,"  Harry  W.  Bietz, 
Bruce  H.  Bourne,  John  Barta,  Walter  E.  Blum, 
Raleigh  E.  Barker,  Paul  F.  Blair,  Alva  L. 
Burton,  Julius  H.  Bachman,  Roy  C.  Bran- 
son, Osmer  A.  Brownlow,  Earl  H.  Briggs, 
Albert  C.  Bisbee,  Chas.  W.  Brown,  Bernie  D. 
Berkheimer,  Arthur  T.  Blackledge,  Ralph  A. 
Baker,  Joseph  E.  Brown,  George  H.  P.  Bos, 
Jay  A.  Bottorff,  William  H.  Bormess,  Arthur 
F.  Boyles,  Will  Cummings,  Harley  Carrier, 
Wayne  Coxon,  Wm.  H.  Crawford,  Harry  R. 
Caparoon,  Adolph  Cerny,  Merle  C.  Cass, 
Arthur  M.  Coon,  Elmer  E.  Casselman.  Eldon 
E.  Cunningham,  Rufus  L.  Childester,  William 
Clauson,  John  C.  Cline,  Edward  W.  dishing, 
Jr.,  Moses  Clayton,  Frank  J.  Crom,  Lewis  N. 
Carrier,  Lewis  W.  Coon,  Martin  Curtis,  Ralph 
L.  Clancey,  William  D.  Coffey,  Earl  Chamber- 
lain, Guy 'P.  Christie.  Herbert  H.  Clarke,  Pat- 
rick N.  Carroll,  W.  G  Carlton.  Emil  II.  Dry- 
son,  Lawrence  E.  Dunn,  Virgil  C.  Dwiggins, 
Joseph  I.  Dexter,  Fred  Droescher,  Harry  B. 
DeWolf",  William  H.  Davis,  John  B.  Dykes, 
Ralph  P.  DeBoer,  James  L.  Dale,  Alberic  De- 
Poorter,  John  W.  Dixon.  George  M.  Duer- 
feldt.  Clifford  F.  Davis,  Fay  E.  Ellis,  Joseph 
A.  Edgell,  Olaf  C.  Elie,  Everett  J.  "Early, 
Robert  T.  Evans,  Eueil  D.  Edmondson,  Walter 
E.  Flueckinger,  Clyde  V.  Faust,  Harry  D. 
Ferguson,  Abel  R.  Findley,  Adolph  Fauk- 
hauser,  James  R.  Furman,  Louis  J.  Fraser, 
Lloyd  C.  Fry,  Fred  Finger,  Wm.  C.  Findley, 
Claude  E.  Fitzgerald,  Clayton  Graham,  Ever- 
ett E.  Guy,  Chas.  E<  Gleason,  D wight  P. 
Griswold,  Charles  R.  Gardner,  Rex  Gulick, 
Leo  J.  Grey,  Howard  G  Gibbs,  Frederick  M. 
Graeber,  Miles  D.  Grover,  Roydon  W. 
Ganow,  Herman  I.  Gerdes,  Floyd  M. 
Gettys,  Chas.  T.  Garmon,  Wm.  C.  Hicks,  form 


Herman,  Albert  J.  Heeftle,  Joseph  F.  Henan, 
Wm.  A.  Hosek,  Paul  W.  Hagel,  Lawrence  A. 
Hatch,  Ted  T.  Hummel,  Charlie  A.  Hare, 
John  A.  Helmeisch,  Henry  H.  Hoffland,  Peter 
J.  Heesacker,  Grover  C.  Hayes,  Clarence  L. 
Hoagland,  Martin  H.  Heesacker,  Walter  D. 
Horden,  Ivan  E.  Hayes,  John  Havlik.  Forest 
E.  Hippach,  Myron  P.  Hallowell,  Frank  G. 
Horn.  Howard  G.  Hoselton,  Carl  W.  Hage- 
dorn,  William  H.  Hagedorn,  Audley  T.  Harp, 
.Mike  W.  Hindman,  William  M.  Humphrey, 
Henry  J.  Huckins,  Albert  Hagedorn,  Roy  L. 
Hoffland,  James  W.  Hare,  James  C.  Holley, 
Levi  A.  Hahn,  foe  Harter,  Robert  Hinton, 
Clarence  II.  Hills,  Mon.  Hubbard,  Allie  G 
Hopperton,  Ted  LaVerne  Hummel,  Harlie  A. 
Hale,  Sidney  B.  Irwin,  Martin  J.  Janssen,  Ed- 
ward B.  Jameson,  Wm.  j.  Jones.  lb.  Jensen, 
Elmer  W.  Johnson.  Wilmer  J.  Johnson,  Har- 
vey L.  Jones.  Edward  P.  Johnson,  Albert  P. 
Johnson,  Harry  R.  Johnson,  Alvin  D.  Johns, 
George  F.  Jansen,  Harry  P.  Johnson,  Peter 
Y.  Jensen,  Joe  L.  Jiranek,  Lein  B.  Jacobson, 
John  Jorgensen,  Frank  M.  Kuchera.  Joseph  L. 
Krepci,  Rudolph  ].  Krejci,  Albert  Kutschara, 
Charles  R.  Kime,  H.  M.  Kleutschy.  Thomas 
Kennedy.  Henry  Keiser,  Frederick  W.  Koch, 
Claude  Kerns,  Gerhart  R.  Kittelman,  Paul  P. 
Kramer.  Harry  L.  Kirkman,  Earl  W.  Kendig, 
Mallow  L.  King,  Octave  L.  Kicken,  Thomas 
Kearns.  Fred  Kramer,  Lennie  F.  Kutschara, 
Claus  Koehnke,  Adolph  J.  Kraisinger,  Charlie 
Lulow,  Willis  J.  Lonie,  Gilbert  W.  Little,  L. 
E.  Lawrence,  Joe  W.  Leedom,  George  A.  Liv- 
ingston, Charles  J.  Leistritz,  Vince  Leonard, 
Carl  C.  Landrey,  Dave  Landers,  Conrad  Law- 
rence. Henry  M.  Lefler.  F.  B.  Logan,  Frank 
Lawrence,  Lars  L.  Lineburg,  Ernest  Muescli, 
L  W.  Moorhead,  Howard  S.  Mellon.  Martin 
L.  Melcher,  Charles  C.  Miller,  Alberts  I.  Mil- 
ford,  Walter  R.  Miller,  Floyd  M.  McCluskey, 
Frank  S.  Mauk,  Wayne  E.  Mapes,  Gilbert  L 
McCreath.  lames  M.  Miller,  William  G.  Moss, 
John  Mclntire,  Wilber  G.  Merritt,  Charley  E. 
Macumber,  Noah  Myers,  Ernest  L.  Matthews, 
Ellis  R.  McCrary,  Warren  W.  Mapes,  Boyd 
B.  Morev,  Herman  W".  Mueksch,  August  ]. 
Mussack,  Bert  G  Muelke,  Roy  Mullikin,  Wil- 
liam M.  McC.raw.  Frank  S.  McCune,  Ernest 
A.  Markwalder.  Eyle  C.  Menick.  George  D. 
Magowan,  Albert  D.  New,  Ernest  W.  Nelson, 
Clarence  A.  New,  Ernest  II.  Xewhouse, 
Charles  F.  Orth,  Eddie  F.  (••Conner.  Bennett 
Owen,  James  F.  Overton,  Ralph  E.  Owen, 
John  O'Conner,  Jesse  E.  Plouch,  Martin  I'. 
Peters,  Robert  f.  Perreton,  Tug  I 'aimer, 
Arthur  Parker.  Emil  I.  Pfisterer,  Willi-  F. 
Pyles,  Edwin  1.  Lowell,  Clifford  R.  Parker, 
Claude  A.    Perry,   Due.  C.   Perrin,   Danel   II. 


442 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Prue,  Jess  E.  Reeves,  Chris  Reibold,  Melvin 
Rodgers,  Dan  Bryan  Racobs,  Raymond  W. 
Reese,  Willie  W.  Roby,  Grover  E.  Riley,  John 
Rowlette,  Arthur  Rush,  Ehvood  J.  Randle, 
Winston  W.  Randle,  Carlos  A.  Rogers,  Har- 
vey L.  Roby,  George  L.  Riley,  Frank  H.  Ride- 
out,  Harvey  W.  Ravmer,  Lewis  O.  Riley,  Roy 
Rash,  Ross  D.  Rash,  John  H.  Robins.  R.  W. 
Stoner,  Walter  A.  Sanderson,  Harold  A.  Sor- 
enson,  Loyd  B.  Souands,  Adrian  Souands,  John 
E.  Souands,  Claude  A.  Sheffner,  Charles  W. 
Shaekelton,  Wm.  Savage,  Homer  Spaulding, 
Carl  A.  Smith,  Jerry  D.  Stouffer,  Clyde  H. 
Speer,  Harry  A.  Smith,  Harrison  Strasburger, 
George  H.  Smith,  Milo  C.  Shafer,  Louis  C. 
Stiehl,  Ernest  J.  Scherbarth.  Paul  Shrewsbury, 
Erick  O.  Schultz,  John  E.  Sherlock,  Robert  G. 
Slocum,  Lynn  Stone,  Arthur  L.  Schiedt,  Fred 
Stone,  Harry  L.  Sandoz,  Don  B.  Shrewsbury, 
Paul  A.  Stover,  Howard  A.  Speer,  Wilbur  S. 
Sutton.  George  F.  Sydow,  Ami  F.  Sandoz,  Wil- 
liam T.  Sears,  Harry  Stouffer,  John  L.  Steph- 
ens, Frederick  Shear,  Morton  R.  Sweeney, 
Pleasant  W.  Smith,  Arthur  E.  Schubert,  John 
L.  Shipp,  Lewis  M.  Smith.  Arthur  R.  Skiles, 
Grant  A.  Stannard,  Guss  Thompson,  Walter  E. 
Townsend,  Lawrence  Toline,  Harold  S.  Thom- 
as, H.  K.  Tiller,  Roy  Toline,  Walter  H.  Tyler, 
Joe  V.  Tulloss,  Lester  Trotter,  Albert  S.  L. 
Thompson,  Clarence  E.  Taylor,  Thomas  R. 
Thompson.  Ira  B.  Thayer,  Raymond  H.  Tour- 
tellotte.  William  McKi'nley  Tyler,  William  E. 
Vollentine,  F.  E.  Vlasak,  Grover  A.  VanBus- 
kirk,  Theophiel  Vincent,  Frank  J.  Votrubs, 
Anton  Vodicke,  Ernest  A.  Vickery,  John  A. 
VanDinter,  Leonard  Van  Ryt,  Archie  J.  Van 
Buskirk,  Ray  S.  Vanderford,  James  W.  Wil- 
liams, Peter  Wyers,  Lewis  B.  Wiles,  Theodore 
C.  Wassenberg,  John  E.  Wolf,  Fred  Witt. 
Geo.  Wilson,  Carl  S.  Williams.  Frank  C. 
Winters,  Samuel  E.  H.  Waldron,  Henry  M. 
White,  John  L.  Wehr,  Joseph  A.  Wehenkel, 
John  E.  Yowell,  Ben  Zurcher. 

Of  this  total  of  368  sons  of  Sheridan  county 
that  went  forth  to  do  their  part  in  the  world 
conflict,  142  were  volunteers,  and  226  were 
inducted.  Few  communities  will  show  a  great- 
er proportion  of  volunteers  for  service,  and  a 
number  of  them  became  officers.  The  editor 
has  not  the  list 

John  A.  VanDinter  was  with  the  Rainbow 
Division. 

Sergeant  Martin  J.  Janssen  received  the  D. 
S.  C.  for  extraordinary  heroism  at  Flirey, 
France,  September  12,  1918,  and  has  eight 
medals. 

Tin-:  Supreme  Sacrifice 
The  following  named  made  the  supreme  sac- 


rifice :  J.  A.  Bottorff,  Paul  W.  Hagel,  Emil  j . 
Pfisterer,  Grover  A.  YanBuskirk,  Anton  Vo- 
dicke. William  H.  Davis,  Adolph  Fankhauser. 
Owen  Bennett,  Dan  Bryan  Racobs,  and  Robert 
Hinton.  Ten  whose  names  will  be  written  on 
the  scroll  of  fame.  The  first  named  five  died 
of  disease,  and  the  other  five  were  killed  in 
action. 

The  signing  of  the  armistice  was  an  occa- 
sion of  great  rejoicing.  It  was  the  greatest  bit 
of  news  that  ever  reached  Sheridan  county,  for 
it  went  to  the  heart  of  nearly  every  home. 

Following  the  War  of  the  World,  the  return- 
ing soldiers  created  a  fraternity  called  the 
American  Legion,  the  purposes  of  which  are 
well  known  and  splendid.  It  was  organized  in 
December,  1919.  The  first  officers  were  Charlie 
Brown,  commander ;  Martin  Janssen,  vice-com- 
mander; Geo.  Wilson,  adjutant;  and  Floyd 
McCoskey,  treasurer. 

The  Legion  had  about  seventy-five  members 
in  the  spring  of  1921,  and  the  officers  were: 
Geo.  Wilson,  commander;  Wm.  H.  Crawford, 
vice  commander;  W.  G.  Lonie,  adjutant;  and 
Peter  Jensen,  treasurer. 

Recently  the  Auxiliary  of  the  Legion  was 
organized  at  Rushville,  with  the  following  offi- 
cers :  Mrs.  J.  W.  Davis,  president ;  Mrs.  O.  L. 
Wilson,  vice  president ;  Mrs.  P.  J.  Jensen,  sec- 
retary; Mrs.  J.  W.  Jackson,  treasurer,  and 
Airs.  J.  Furman,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Brown,  and  M. 
V.  Ward,  committee. 

These  organizations  are  to  be  found  in  other 
places  in  the  county.  Gordon,  Hay  Springs, 
and  Antioch,  either  have  Legion  Posts  or  have 
tentative  organizations  leading  to  the  future 
establishment  of  posts. 

Conclusion 

From  the  time  that  T.  B.  Irwin,  John  Riggs, 
Jim  Dahlman.  J.  C.  Quigley,  and  others  in 
early  ranching  invaded  the  territory  that  was 
later  to  become  Sheridan  county,  from  the 
days  when  Nick  Janis,  and  Ben  Tibbets  first 
set  foot  upon  its  virgin  soil,  from  the  later 
date,  that  John  A.  Scamahorn  was  the  Moses 
that  led  his  colony  through  the  sand  hills,  and 
the  10+  splendid  settlers  that  came  with  him, 
from  the  time  that  the  Pawnee  City  contingent 
arrived,  and  Rush  Valley  settlement  came  into 
existence,  the  territory  and  the  county  have  as- 
sumed the  role  of  progress  and  advanced 
ideals.  Even  when  the  wild  soul  of  Doc  Mid- 
dleton  was  free  upon  the  wide  prairie,  there 
was  little  of  the  rancor  and  hostility  that  fre- 
quently existed  in  the  transition  of  the  ranges 
to  farms. 

The  people  have  always  supported  the  most 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


443 


progressive  forms  of  government  and  law.  In 
no  county  in  the  state  has  there  been  such  a 
uniformity  of  press  support  of  good  and  mod- 
ern ideals.  There  is  not  an  old  line  conserva- 
tive in  the  newspaper  business  and  there  has 
been  none  for  years.  Mayes.  Leedoms,  Johann- 
sen,  Clark,  Broome,  and  Cooper,  are  all  progres- 
sive up-to-the-minute  scribes  and  recorders  of 


the  passing  events.  These  men  have  performed 
no  small  part  in  the  building  of  the  foundations 
of  Sheridan  county,  upon  the  firm  and  endur- 
ing basis  of  sound  intelligence.  The  exercise 
of  the  brain  has  had  and  will  have  much  to 
do  in  the  future  in  retaining  for  this  county, 
the  excellent  place  it  has  won  among  the 
counties  of  the  state. 


SCOTTS  BLUFF  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 


WHEN  PART  OF  CHEYENNE  — EARLY  EXPERIENCES 


By  an  arbitrary  act  of  the  territorial  legis- 
lature, Lyons  county  was  created  out  of  a  part 
of  the  western  Nebraska,  which  is  now  Scotts 
Bluff,  Banner,  and  Kimball,  and  a  part  of  each 
Cheyenne  and  Morrill  counties. 

The  first  state  legislature  re-adjusted  the  lines 
and  the  names.  Lyons  county,  which  had  been 
unorganized,  ceased  to  exist,  and  in  its  place 
and  the  place  of  Taylor  county  which  was  ad- 
joining it  upon  the  east,  and  in  the  place  of  a 
part  of  Monroe  county,  which  was  east  of 
Taylor.  Cheyenne  county  was  created.  For  a 
few  years  it  remained  unorganized,  attached  to 
Lincoln  county  for  administrative,  judicial  and 
taxation  purposes.  Then  Tom  Kane  and  a  few 
other  of  the  live  wires  of  Sidney,  secured  the 
necessary  act  of  the  governor  and  Cheyenne 
county  became  a  separate  entity.  Scotts  Bluff 
county  was  a  part  thereof,  in  the  extreme 
northwest  corner  of  its  limits. 

School  district  number  one  was  organized  at 
Sidney,  and  Scotts  Bluff  county  was  also  a 
part  thereof.  Taxes  from  the  Coad  and  Sheedy 
and  other  big  ranches  were  paid  into  Sidney. 
Even  the  ranches  that  were  over  in  the  unor- 
ganized county  of  Sioux,  as  far  east  as  Valen- 
tine and  the  Long  Pine  section,  helped  to  pay 
for  the  support  of  the  Sidney  schools  for  a 
few  years.  But  these  taxes  were  not  large,  al- 
though the  territory  covered  a  half  of  the 
state. 

District  No.  10 

John  Wright  secured  the  organization  of 
District  No.  10,  in  the  early  eighties,  which 
district  embraced  all  of  the  present  Banner 
county  and  all  south  of  the  river  in  the  present 
Scotts  Bluff  county.  This  took  in  the  Sparks, 
Coad  and  Creighton  ranches,  and  smaller 
places  on  the  water-ways,  and  some  of  the  tax- 
able railroad  land  upon  the  divide  between 
Harrisburg  and  Kimball.  The  school  house 
was  built  at  Wright's  ranch  on  Pumpkin  creek, 
i he  first  school  being  in  a  log  house,  until  the 


frame  was  built.  Lora  Sirpless  was  the  first 
teacher.  When  the  building  of  the  frame 
school  house  came  up.  the  settlers  were  locat- 
ing in  the  east  end  of  Banner  county  as  it  now 
exists,  and  they  wanted  the  school  house  at 
Freeport.  Hugh  Milhollin  was  elected  on  the 
school  board.  A  compromise  was  reached,  and 
two  school  houses  were  built  in  1886,  one  at 
Wright's  ranch  and  the  other  at  Freeport, 
both  of  frame.  They  are  still  in  good  repair 
and  used  for  the  original  purpcses. 

John  Thoelecke  was  the  first  assessor  in  the 
territory  after  number  ten  came  into  existence. 
The  first  year  he  brought  in  a  large  return  of 
cattle  from  the  big  ranches,  and  the  taxes  paid 


these  institutions  was  ot  material  impor- 
tance. In  1886,  however,  John  failed  to  find 
very  many  cattle  on  the  ranches  in  the  district. 
The  settlers  blamed  him  for  a  lack  of  vision, 
but  it  may  be  that  the  ranch  owners,  profiting 
by  the  experience,  had  put  their  cattle  just  over 
the  line  in  Wyoming  on  April  first,  or  at  least 
declared  to  the  assessor  that  they  were  there. 

First  Settlers 

The  first  permanent  settler  within  the  limits 
of  the  present  county  of  Scotts  Bluff  was 
Charlie  Foster,  residing  near  and  adjoining  a 
proposed  town  on  the  Union  Pacific  extension 
to  be  made  in  the  year  1921. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


445 


Everything  worth  while  seems  to  be  dis- 
puted. Lem  Wyman  has  claimed  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  first  permanent  settler  for 
many  years,  but  the  question  is  now  settled 
because  Lem  has  moved  away.  Both  these 
excellent  people  were  cowboys  back  in  the 
seventies,  and  both  came  on  to  this  range  at 
about  the  same  time.  Both  settled  down,  and 
were  good  citizens  for  about  forty  years,  rais- 
ing families  and  developing  farms. 

There  has  also  been  a  dispute  as  to  where 
the  Union  Pacific  should  put  its  station.  Par- 
tisans for  the  Mihan  location  were  contested 
by  the  partisans  of  the  Lyman  location,  the  two 
being  about  one  and  one-half  miles  apart. 

Perry  Braziel,  a  settler  since  1882,  lives 
near  Lyman  and  Foster  nearer  to  the  Mihan 
quarter.  While  each  was  a  partisan  of  his 
favorite  location,  there  was  no  bitterness  in  the 
contest,  the  "old-timer  fraternity"  being  so 
much  stronger  the  tie  that  binds. 

Runey  C.  Campbell  came  along  about  1883, 
and  the  following  year  he  appropriated  some 
choice  hay  meadows  adjacent  to  the  old  Coad 
ranch.  Shortly  after  "Sailor  Joe"  Hansen, 
built  a  log  cabin  in  Mitchell  valley,  but  he  left 
after  a  short  time,  when  he  lost  his  boy,  who 
was  dragged  to  his  death  by  a  runaway  horse. 
"Sandy"  Ingraham  caught  the  horses,  but  the 
boy  was  dead. 

Then  William  R.  Akers,  John  Coy,  and  Vir- 
gil Grout  came  up  from  the  Greeley  district, 
and  started  the  work  of  the  Lucerne  canal, 
the  story  of  which  is  told  elsewhere.  Then 
came  the  Tabor  or  Minatare  settlement. 

First  Plowing 

The  first  in  this  locality  was  A.  W.  Mills, 
who  died  in  Omaha  some  few  years  ago,  but 
whose  home  was  here  for  so  many  years.  Mills 
arrived  from  Sidney,  unloaded  his  grass-hopper 
plow  and  began  to  plow  sod  on  his  claim  which 
was  about  half-way  between  the  present  muni- 
cipalities of  Scottsbluff  and  Minatare.  He  was 
the  first  granger  to  set  a  plow  in  the  sod  of 
Scotts  Bluff  county.  He  and  a  friend  were 
engaged  in  putting  up  a  sod  house,  when 
George  Baltes  walked  in  from  Camp  Clarke. 
George  came  up  to  where  the  men  were  work- 
ing near  the  top  of  the  sod  walls.  It  was  even- 
ing and  the  sod  were  seemingly  very  heavy,  so 
heavy  that  Mills  and  his  assistant  had  impro- 
vised a  slide  from  the  wagon  to  the  top  of  the 
wall,  by  using  the  endgate.  George  was  asked 
to  wait  until  they  finished  unloading  the  sod 
and  they  said  they  would  get  supper  and  he 
could  bunk  with  them  for  the  night. 

George  then  gave  them  an  exhibition  of  his 


prodigious  strength.  He  jumped  upon  the  wag- 
on, and  notwithstanding  his  long  wralk  that  day, 
and  having  had  no  dinner,  he  picked  up  the 
big  sod,  single  handed,  and  placed  it  upon  the 
wall. 

Joe  Smith  at  the  same  time  selected  a  tract 
that  later  was  platted  as  Tabor.  There  was 
later  some  mixup  over  the  claim,  and  he  relin- 
quished a  half  of  the  claim  which  was  taken 
by  A.  M.  (Mack)  Fairfield. 

While  A.  W.  Mills  was  the  first  to  start  a 
house  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  Smith 
was  the  first  to  have  his  finished. 

Wellington  Clark,  George  W.  Fairfield — the 
old  surveyor, —  A.  B.  Purdy,  and  Joe  Smith 
arrived  at  the  same  time  from  Sidney.  They 
were  in  Sidney  when  Mills  left  that  town  for 
the  North  river  country.  They  arrived  at 
their  selected  claims  about  September  10,  1886. 

Primed  the  Pump  With  Milk 

Their  first  act  was  to  drive  down  a  well 
point,  and  attach  a  pitcher  pump.  Having  no 
water  to  prime  it,  and  the  pump  refusing  to 
act  without  priming,  one  of  them  started  for 


'Where  Purdy  Primed 


the  river,  some  distance  away,  to  get  the  nec- 
essary water.  While  gone,  it  occurred  to  Mr. 
Purdy  to  milk  the  cow,  and  prime  the  pump 
with  milk. 

Others  Walk  In 

Josh  Stevens  settled  in  the  Cedar  valley, 
southwest  of  the  present  site  of  Gering  in  the 
fall  of  1886,  and  Laportes  settled  at  the  foot 
of  the  bad  lands  to  run  a  few  horses.  Oscar 
Gardner  had  known  the  Laportes  were  here, 
and  he,  like  George  Baltes.  walked  in  from 
Camp  Clarke.  It 'will  l)e  seen  that  some  of 
our  most  substantial  citizens  found  this  coun- 
try while  on  foot,  and  it  was  merely  the  sturdy 


446 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


determination  of  the  young  pioneers  that 
brought  them  upon  their  feet  to  this  land  of 
promise,  and  it  was  the  same  spirit  that  sus- 
tained them  in  the  fight,  kept  them  on  their 
feet,  and  made  them  well-to-do  citizens  of  the 
valley  today. 

Gardner's  First  Night 

Oscar  Gardner  tells  of  his  experience  at  the 
old  Coad  ranch,  where  he  stopped  the  first 
night.  Here  he  met  Runey  Campbell  and  Jim 
Shaw,  who  were  looking  after  the  Bay  State 
affairs  at  the  ranch.  He  was  invited  to  stay, 
and  took  supper  with  them.  At  bed  time  he 
shared  with  Shaw  a  bunk  on  the  kitchen  floor. 
He  was  awakened  in  the  night  by  the  sniffling 
about  of  some  night  prowler,  and  in  the  dim 
light  he  could  make  out  some  kind  of  moving 
form. 

Jim  awoke  at  this  time  and  sat  up,  asking 
what  was  the  matter.  "There  is  some  kind  of 
animals  moving  around  in  here,"  Oscar  said. 
Jim  let  out  a  sleepy  grunt  and  said  simply 
"skunks,"  then  he  rolled  back  and  went  to 
sleep.  Sleep  with  skunks  prowling  about  was 
such  a  new  and  novel  experience,  that  Gard- 
ner's rest  was  much  broken.  But  in  the  morn- 
ing he  learned  that  it  was  the  habit  of  a  nest 
of  these  skunks  to  come  to  the  kitchen  every 
night.  They  entered  through  a  hole  in  the  sod 
wall,  and  proceeded  to  pick  up  such'  fragments 
of  meat,  bacon  rinds,  or  pieces  of  bone  that 
the  boys  threw  about  on  the  dirt  floor,  instead 
of  out  at  the  door. 

Later  it  was  determined  to  rid  the  place  of 
the  skunks,  and  the  manner  was  as  novel  as 
the  way  of  cleaning  the  kitchen.  So  accus- 
tomed were  the  animals  to  the  presence  of  man, 
that  they  would  move  about  close  to  their  feet, 
as  though  scarcely  aware  of  their  presence.  It 
is  said  that  a  skunk  has  no  sense  of  pain  and 
from  the  story  told  one  must  believe  that  it  is 
true.  The  manner  of  their  destruction  was  to 
spill  kerosene  into  their  hair  or  fur,  and  then 
set  it  on  fire.  While  it  burned  the  skunks 
moved  about  apparently  uninterested.  Some- 
times it  took  two  or  three  saturations  of  oil 
and  the  same  number  of  burnings  to  finish  the 
skunk.  When  it  became  effectual,  the  animals 
merely  laid  down  and  died,  apparently  with- 
out pain,  and  certainly  not  offering  the  skunk's 
usual  offensive  tactics  when  annoyed. 

Fording  the  Platte 

There  were  no  bridges  on  the  Platte  between 
Camp  Clarke  and  Fort  Laramie,  so  the  people 
used   to   cross    frequently,    except   during   the 


freshets  of  June  and  early  July.  It  was  nec- 
essary to  get  fuel,  for  nature  had  bestowed  up- 
on the  hills  south  of  the  valley,  the  timber  sup- 
ply that  assisted  the  early  people  of  the  valley. 
There  were  several  places  found  along  the 
river,  where  by  passing  from  island  to  island, 
and  sand  bar  to  sand  bar,  there  was  little 
difficulty  or  danger.  If  one  followed  the  track 
of  the  wagons  gone  before,  a  good  load  could 
be  pulled  across  the  river,  but  if  one  got  out  of 
the  beaten  track,  there  was  more  or  less 
trouble. 

Near  Tom  Fanning's  place  was  one  of  these 
fords,  which  a  great  many  of  those  who  set- 
tled on  the  Dutch  Flats,  used  as  a  crossing. 
Gotfried  Kamaan  was  coming  across  there  on 
his  way  to  his  claim,  and  he  had  a  yoke  of 
oxen.  He  got  out  of  the  beaten  track,  and  the 
oxen  broke  the  yoke,  leaving  him  sitting  in 
mid-stream.  He  waded  ashore,  went  to  Fan- 
ning's and  stayed  all  night.  In  the  morning 
his  wagon  had  settled  down  somewhat,  but  was 
still  in  sight.  Fanning's  horse  stock  was  more 
of  the  saddle  and  driving  varieties,  and  Ka- 
maan needed  a  good  draft  team  to  get  him  out 
of  his  trouble.  The  Dvorseks  had  a  place  a 
short  distance  down  the  river  from  Fanning's 
and  he  had  some  heavy  draft  horses.  A  team 
of  these  and  a  rope  reaching  to  the  shore  were 
secured ;  Kamaan  broke  the  ice  which  had 
frozen  thinly  across  the  space,  and  waded  out 
to  the  wagon  in  the  icy  cold  water.  The  team 
pulled  the  wagon  out,  and  he  proceeded  upon 
his  way.  Experiences  similar  or  otherwise, 
sometimes  amusing,  and  sometimes  tragic,  were 
the  lot  of  the  pioneer  in  Scotts  Bluff  county. 

Captain  Akers's  Story 
Through  the  skein  of  early  events  in  the 
North  Platte  valley,  and  in  the  county  of 
Scotts  Bluff,  the  name  of  Akers  runs.  The 
editor  first  met  the  captain  about  thirty  years 
ago,  and  through  the  years,  we  had  many  ideas 
in  common.  There  have  been  so  many  charac- 
ters in  the  "Iliad  of  Hardships  of  the  Pioneer," 
that  run  along  certain  struggles  and  needs,  that 
I  have  chosen  for  one  the  story  of  Captain 
Akers,  as  told  to  me,  some  years  before  he 
went  to  the  "Farther  Frontier."  It  tells  the 
steps  by  which  several  generations  have  moved 
on  and  on  from  land  to  land,  like  the  genera- 
tions of  men  have  moved  since  our  courageous 
forefathers  landed  on  New  England's  coast. 

One  of  the  things  that  drive  people  into  the 
west,  that  makes  them  pioneers,  is  to  get  away 
from  the  conventions  and  requirements  of  older 
civilization.  When  the  money-changers  bring 
on  their  periodical  panics,  the  men  in  the  older 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


447 


country  are  usually  harder  hit  than  the  people 
of  the  frontier.  A  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  or 
more,  or  during  the  nineties  while  the  period  of 
depression  was  over  the  east,  we  of  this  country 
felt  less  its  rigors,  because  We  were  all  used  to 
being  without  money,  and  accustomed  to  barter 
and  trade  as  a  medium  of  exchange. 

Years  earlier,  when  the  United  States  Bank 
went  down  under  the  onslaughts  of  General 
Jackson,  the  nation  had  a  severe  blow  in  the 
matter  of  credit.  Individual  America  was 
broke,  and  all  were  in  the  same  boat,  just  as 
they  were  in  1907,  when  clearing  house  and 
cashier  checks  were  substituted  for  money. 

It  was  this  early  cataclysm  of  the  country's 
finances  that  caught  Grandfather  Akers,  as  it 
caught  my  own  and  your  own  grandfathers, 
and  all  our  grandfathers  in  that  melancholy 
day. 

In  1848,  when  some  were  treking  through 
this  America's  Valley  of  the  Nile,  to  Oregon, 
and  others  were  hurrying  through  to  the  newly 
discovered  gold  fields  of  California,  Grand- 
father Akers,  with  his  several  sons,  and  their 
families,  in  one  of  which  was  ten  year  old 
William,  came  west  into  Iowa  to  find  homes. 
First  to  Burlington,  then  to  Crawfordville, 
then  to  the  place  where  Millersburg  now 
stands. 

There  was  no  money  then,  and  the  $1.25  per 
acre  price  for  land  was  prohibitive,  so  they 
"squatted"  on  claims.  And  when  Millersburg 
was  started,  the  father  of  William  sold  his 
"squatter's  right,"  and  moved  to  town,  and  he 
and  young  William  plied  the  hammer  and  saw 
steadily  and  continually  until  William  reached 
his  majority. 

Others  have  told  of  his  war  record  at  Henry, 
Donaldson,  Shiloh,  Lays  Ferry,  Lyuca,  Resaca, 
Corinth,  and  other  places  until  after  three  and 
a  half  years,  he  was  mustered  out  at  Louisville, 
Kentucky. 

Triumphs  of  Peace 

When  I  was  young,  we  were  taught  that 
deeds  of  valor  were  the  greatest  achievements, 
but  now  we  find  greater  triumphs  in  peace. 
One  of  the  most  heroic  things  that  Captain  W. 
R.  Akers  has  done  in  his  splendid  career,  was 
when  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years  he  took 
up  the  work  of  education  which  had  been 
denied  him  in  his  younger  years.  He  went  to 
school  and  stood  in  classes  with  ten-year-old 
children  to  learn  the  multiplication  table.  How 
well  he  succeeded,  how  great  was  his  achieve- 
ment, is  told  in  the  fact  that  in  the  next  ten 
years  he  attended  Cornell  college,  and  taught 
high  school  and  served  three  times  as  county 


superintendent.  In  the  meantime  he  studied  law, 
and  opened  a  law  office  at  Malcolm,  where  for 
eight  years  he  practiced  law. 

In  the  meantime.  Miss  Susan  Karnes,  of 
Loudenville,  Ohio,  had  become  Mrs.  Akers, 
and  together  they  reasoned  that  there  were 
greater  opportunities  in  the  west.  Captain 
Akers  hung  out  his  shingle  in  Fort  Collins  in 
1882. 

Mrs.  Akers  was  preparing  to  join  him.  She 
had  a  sale  of  the  most  of  their  household  ef- 
fects, and  went  to  a  neighbors  to  spend  the 
night.  On  the  morrow  she  was  to  journey  to 
far  off  wonderful  Colorado  to  join  her  hus- 
band. 

The  papers  the  next  morning,  contained  the 
names  of  the  dead  and  injured  in  the  terrible 
Grinnell  cyclone,  and  Mrs.  Aker's  name  was 
among  the  dead,  and  Miss  Cora  Akers  badly 
injured.  Thus  was  the  joy  of  anticipation 
changed  to  gloom  and  Captain  Akers  went 
east  as  fast  as  steam  and  steel  would  carry  him. 
Back  again  in  the  land  of  the  setting  sun, 
but  the  zeal  for  law  had  died.  He  went  out 
upon  a  farm,  and  here  came  to  him  the  inspira- 
tion that  marked  him  for  her  own.  Irrigation 
— that  ancient-modem  science — claimed  and 
chained  his  intellect  and  activities,  first  a  gal- 
ley slave,  and  then  a  master  in  the  conquest 
of  the  arid  west. 

He  heard  of  the  great  North  river,  with  its 
mighty  volume  of  water  and  its  fertile  acres, 
where  no  white  people  lived  except  the  cow- 
men, and  few  real  homes  had  foundations. 

Captain  Akers,  Virgil  Grout,  and  John  Coy 
saw  the  possibilities  of  the  rich  soil,  and  abun- 
dant waters,  and  here  they  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  their  future  homes. 

Captain  Akers  had  again  married,  and  his 
second  and  charming  wife  whom  the  people 
here  knew,  was  Miss  Francis  Hayes,  of  York 
ville,  Illinois.  And  together,  they  put  their 
belongings  on  a  hay  rack  and  started  for  the 
new  land,  where  under  the  desert  land  act,  and 
homestead  and  pre-emption  laws,  they  could 
lay  claim  to  960  acres. 

With  wife,  children,  household  goods,  cloth- 
ing, provisions,  hope,  courage,  and  $2.40  of 
actual  money,  they  left  Fort  Collins,  and  by 
the  time  they  reached  Chugwater  the  money 
was  gone. 

And  here  a  wagon  wheel  broke  down. 
Mother  Akers  cried  a  little,  and  father  Akers 
went  down  the  creek  looking  for  a  ranch.  He 
found  one,  and  there  were  several  wagons 
standing  around.  He  told  the  ranchman  his 
plight.  He  had  not  misgauged  the  great  heart 
of  the  west,  and  he  borrowed  a  wagon  and 


448 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


continued  his  journey  into  the  promised  land. 

The  broken  wheel  was  left  at  Fort  Laramie 
to  be  repaired,  at  a  cost  of  $7.50  which  was 
yet  to  be  secured,  and  which  financial  achieve- 
ment was  made  by  borrowing  it  from  an  Eng- 
lishman, then  about  ten  miles  up  the  Rawhide 
creek. 

This  same  Englishman  taught  W.  R.  Akers, 
by  the  use  of  an  architect's  level,  the  way  to 
run  the  line  of  a  ditch.  And  this  primitive 
instrument,  with  nature's  brain  and  brawn,  was 
the  equipment  used  in  laying  out  the  first  irri- 
gation canal  in  the  North  Platte  valley.  That 
canal  still  runs,  and  carries  water  more  satis- 
factorily than  some  of  the  newer  works  which 
the  boys  with  "sheepskins"  and  in  khaki  uni- 
forms with  much  ado  have  traced  across  parch- 
ments, in  rooms  where  just  the  right  degree  of 
light  and  shade  obtains. 

How  early  settlers  found  the  necessary  food 
to  eat,  are  stories  as  old  as  pioneer  life;  and 
hardships  and  privations  vary  only  in  degree 
and  kind.  There  was  a  time,  one  winter  in 
the  middle  eighties  that  brought  the  question 
of  sustenance  for  the  next  meal.  The  autumn 
previously,  Mr.  Akers,  having  time  and  idle 
horses,  had  put  up  several  stacks  of  the  coarse 
stemmed  sand  grass.  The  ranchmen  told  him 
that  it  had  no  feeding  qualities,  but  he  thought 
it  would  be  better  than  nothing.,.  Winter  came, 
and  he  found  his  horses  ate  it,  and  were  fat, 
while  stock  on  the  range  grew  poorer. 

The  Empty  Flour  Sack 

One  cheerless  day  the  flour  sack  was  empty, 
and  so  was  the  purse.  The  lion-hearted  said : 
"Mother,  I  don't  know  where  to  get  more 
flour."  And  here  Mother  Akers  justified  the 
faith  of  a  pioneer's  wife.  She  said,  "William, 
it  will  come  from  somewhere." 

She  went  out  to  call  upon  a  new  neighbor — 
a  Mrs.  Steinmetz,  and  Mr.  Akers  sat  mooding 
by  the  cabin  door.  A  stranger  rode  up  and 
saluted,  asking  if  he  knew  of  anyone  who  had 


any  hay  for  sale.  Mr.  Akers  took  him  over  a 
ridge  to  a  stack,  which  he  examined. 

"How  much  for  the  stack?"  he  asked. 

"One  hundred  dollars,"  bravely  said,  but 
with  inward  dread  that  the  man  would  vanish. 

Sells  Some  Hay 

The  man  laid  down  $20  in  gold,  and  gave 
him  a  check  for  the  $80. 

At  noon  Mother  Akers  returned  to  try  to 
improvise  a  meal.  Captain  Akers  met  her  at 
the  door,  and  said  : 

"Mother,  I  have  sold  a  stack  of  hay." 

"How  much  did  you  get  for  it,  father?"  a 
little  eagerly. 

"One  hundred  dollars,"  and  he  caught  her 
or  she  would  have  fallen  on  the  doorstep. 

That  afternoon,  Watson's  grocery,  a  small 
store  up  the  river,  put  $50  worth  of  groceries 
in  Captain  Akers  wagon,  and  the  gaunt  wolf 
left  his  door  forever. 

His  life  has  been  woven  into  the  construc- 
tive laws  of  Nebraska,  and  he  has  served  his 
country  in  war  and  peace,  but  of  all  his  great 
achievements,  the  greatest  is  that  he  held  aloft 
a  beacon  to  guide  the  footsteps  of  the  young. 
A  good  clean  life,  of  trying  environment  at 
times,  but  of  a  glorious  sunset.  His  days  were 
marked  with  climaxes,  and  when  fate  or  Provi- 
dence intervened  or  rebuffed,  his  indomit- 
able will  spoke,  "Take  Courage,"  and  out  of 
seeming  disaster  he  triumphed  to  splendid  use- 
ful citizenship. 

Captain  Akers  taught  us  the  way  to  put 
fragments  together,  and  make  the  desert  blos- 
som as  a  rose.  Here  was  the  vagrant  river  and 
the  desert  land,  and  here  now  is  the  green  oasis 
of  thousands  of  homes. 

The  blossom  which  I  now  lay  upon  his  bier, 
is  but  poor  tribute  and  only  one ;  of  the  mam- 
he  has  made  to  bloom,  but  I  am  glad  that  while 
he  lived  I  also  gave  him  flowers,  and  never 
failed  to  render  him  true  homage  for  the  ser- 
vice he  has  rendered  to  all  our  Scotts  Bluff 
country. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  II 


GERING  — FIRST   OF   MANY   THINGS 


The  town  of  Gering  was  dreamed  about  by 
Oscar  Gardner  and  a  few  others  as  early  as 
1886,  but  it  was  not  until  March  7,  1887,  that 
the  town  really  came  into  existence.  The  first 
thing  was  a  post  office,  and  Oscar  W.  Gardner 


First   Cabin,   Gering,    1886 

was  the  first  postmaster.  Gardner  was  also 
the  first  notary  public. 

In  April,  Martin  Bristol  made  the  first  fix- 
tures for  this  office. 

The  town  was  named  Gering  in  honor  of 
Martin  Gering.  This  man  with  Gardner  un- 
der the  name  of  Gering  &  Gardner  put  in  the 
pioneer  store  of  the  town.  It  confined  its  mer- 
cantile activities  to  implements  and  hardware. 

F.  A.  Garlock  (now  of  Harrison)  and  T.  S. 
Franklin  put  in  the  second  store,  which  was  a 
general  merchandise  establishment. 

The  third  business  enterprise  in  the  town 
was  a  newspaper  started  and  still  conducted  by 
A.  B.  Wood.  Volume  one,  number  one,  of  the 
Gering  Courier  was  issued  April  27,  1887.  Mr. 
Wood  brought  the  first  chair  to  Gering.     He 


Gering  Courier,  1887 


bought  it  of  C.  D.  Essig  of  Sidney,  and  brought 
it  in  with  his  printing  outfit.  Up  to  that  time, 
tables  and  chairs  were  improvised  of  cracker 
boxes  and  other  boxes  used  in  the  hauling  in 
of  merchandise. 

The  fourth  store  in  Gering  was  a  drug  store 
started  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Cbarlesworth,  who  was 
also  the  first  doctor.  Dr.  C.  W.  Mercereau  was 
there  soon  after. 


The  Mail  Route 

After  the  establishment  of  the  post-office  the 
next  thing  was  how  to  get  the  mail.  Old  Camp 
Clarke  wanted  it  to  come  that  way,  but  Gard- 
ner planned  to  have  it  brought  from  Redington, 
then  considered  a  better  and  quicker  way.  The 
carrier  from  Sidney  to  Camp  Clarke  frequent- 
ly carried  it  on  to  the  river  post-office,  nnd  at 
least  once  lost  it  on  the  prairie  where  it  lay 
until  his  return  trip.  Kimball  put  in  a  bid  to 
get  a  route  established  across  country  from 
there,  and  occasionally  a  pouch  of  mail  was 
brought  in  from  that  point  by  a  freighter.  This 
confusion  and  often  delays  continued  until 
October. 

L.  D.  Livingston's  had  established  a  post- 
office  at  their  home  on  Pumpkin  creek  about 
seven  miles  east  of  wildcat  mountain.  They 
secured  mail  from  Redington.  In  Banner  coun- 
ty there  were  several  stores  opened  and  these 
brought  mail  out — for  those  who  gave  them 
orders — from  Kimball,  Sidney  or  Potter,  as 
the  case  might  be. 

In  October,  1887,  the  postoffice  at  Ashford 
was  established  and  Wm.  Ashford  was  appoint- 
ed postmaster.  Then  a  Star  route  was  put  on 
from  Kimball  to  Gering,  which  took  in  Ashford 
as  an  intermediate  point,  and  dropped  mail  for 
Livingston,  at  the  latter  point.  From  that  time 
Gering  had  quite  a  regular  mail  service. 

Jones  M.  Clapp  was  the  first  carrier  on  this 
route  into  Gering.  The  route  is  still  in  service, 
although  the  method  of  travel  has  changed 
from  the  broncho  buck  board  to  the  automo- 
bile; and  the  rough  trail  of  the  first  year-  has 
changed  to  the  fine  state  and  federal  aid  scenic 
highway. 

The  first  carpenter  and  builder  in  Gering  was 
Martin  Bristol,  soon  to  be  joined  in  that  work 
by  Ed.  Bosley  and  C.  F.  Berry.  Orf  Fanning 
came  a  little  later. 

Wm.  and  Frank  Stalcup  were  the  first  black- 
smiths. 


450 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


In  May,  1887,  Lamont  brothers  were  making 
plans  for  a  hotel  and  livery  stable.  However 
the  Pioneer  Hotel,  in  fact  and  name,  was  built 
by  C.  W.  and  Elmer  Hogaboom. 

Early  Talk  of  Railroad 

As  early  as  1885,  the  Union  Pacific  filed  a 
plat  through  government  land  up  the  North 
Platte  valley.  As  Perry  Braziel  recently  stated, 
"It  has  been  about  forty  years  since  they  first 
planned  building  up  here,"  and  they  had  not 
yet  reached  his  place  in  western  Scotts  Bluff 
county.  And  he  was  "going  to  stay  there  forty 
years  longer  and  if  he  did  not  have  a  railroad 
by  that  time  he  was  going  to  move  out." 


the  first  institutions  was  a  band.  Geo.  Luft 
arrived  from  Seward,  in  May,  and  went  into 
partnership  with  Dr.  Charlesworth  of  the  Ger- 
ing  drug  store.  There  had  been  some  talk  of 
a  band  and  with  the  arrival  of  Luft,  it  became 
a  surety.  He  was  the  band  leader.  The  other 
members  were :  A.  B.  Wood,  Ed.  Gering,  Oscar 
and  Charlie  Gardner,  Bert  Hubbard,  Frank 
Garlock,  John  Gorten,  and  Horatio  Knapp. 
They  were  short  of  instruments,  but  the  band 
at  Kimball  loaned  them  their  horns  for  the 
Fourth  of  July  celebration  of  1887. 

One  of  the  curios  displayed  in  Gering  win- 
dows in  the  early  days  of  the  town  was  a  set 
of  hoofs  from  a  dead  mule.    These  were  found 


Street  Sce 


On  May  3,  1887,  Phil  Jurish  and  L.  B. 
Calaghan  came  up  to  Gering,  and  then  went  up 
on  top  of  the  mountain.  They  came  back  down 
to  the  young  town,  and  told  the  folks  that  they 
could  see  a  train  coming  up  the  south  side  of 
the  river.  This  of  course  w'as  what  was  hoped 
would  some  day  occur  and  for  long  years  it 
was  Gering's  fondest  wish.  Eventually  the 
dream  came  true. 

In  the  same  month  Ed  Gering  came  to  the 
new  town  and  pre-empted  a  half  mile  south. 
He  said  he  was  near  enough  to  the  business 
part  of  town.  Also  that  he  did  not  want  his 
children  playing  around  the  cars. 

In  common  with  new  communities,  among 


in  the  Mitchell  gap,  and  had  the  shoes  still 
attached.  On  one  of  these  some  wag  had  in- 
scribed the  following:  "Died  with  his  boots  on 
—1849— Scott's  Bluffs." 

Whether  this  inscription  was  written  then  or 
later  no  one  now  knows.  There  were  the  bones 
of  many  mules  and  horses  found  along  the  trail 
near  here.  Several  were  killed  and  the  wagons 
burned,  as  is  recorded  elsewhere  in  this  work 
while  transporting  army  provisions  to  Salt  Lake 
City.  This  is  in  the  narrative  of  Al  Wiker. 

The  First  of  Many  Things 
The  first  bank  in  the  present  limits  of  Scotts- 
bluff  county  was  the  Bank  of  Gering  establish- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


451 


ed  by  Martin  Gering  and  others.  This  bank  is 
now  the  Gering  National  and  its  destinies  are 
presided  over  by  Al  Mathers. 

The  first  record  of  a  birth  was  a  son  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  A.  Porter  Pritchard,  born  June  6, 
1887.  A  girl  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel 
Lamont  shortly  afterwards.  It  may  be  that 
there  were  earlier  births,  but  they  escaped  the 
attention  of  the  chronicler  of  the  time. 

The  first  wedding  was  that  of  Miss  Ella 
Yance  to  Wm.  Burton,  and  the  ceremony  was 
performed  by  Rev.  B.  L.  Brisbane.  It  occur- 
red in  June,  1887. 

On  July  1,  1887,  occurred  the  first  double 
wedding  in  the  valley.  The  contracting  part- 
ies were  Miss  Mamie  Randall  to  Elmer  Hath- 
away, and  Miss  Etta  Hathaway  to  Wm.  Bur- 
gess. 


town.  He  called  George  King  into  his  confi- 
dence, and  after  telling  him  that  he  must  never 
breath  a  word  of  the  discovery,  he  exposed  the 
glittering  "mica"  to  George's  gaze.  King  knew 
what  it  was,  but  congratulated  Schiffbauer  on 
his  find.  As  he  left  the  place  he  met  Frank 
Sands,  and  told  him  to  go  into  Schiffbauer's 
store  and  ask  to  see  the  "gold."  Naturally  the 
shoemaker  would  be  surprised  that  Sands 
should  know  anything  about  it ;  then  Sands  was 
to  tell  him  that  King,  whom  he  had  pledged  to 
secrecy,  had  given  it  away.  The  "little  Dutch- 
man" lost  faith  in  humanity,  and  in  King  in 
particular,  at  that  fime. 

Some  years  later  Schiffbauer  &  Langhorst 
ran  the  pioneer  shoe  store  in  Gering.  This 
Langhorst  was  a  brother  of  Louis  Langhorst, 
prominent   for  many  years  in  the  democratic 


The  first  fire,  aside  from  the  prairie  fires  of 
old  and  the  carnage  along  the  old  trails  was  that 
of  James  Westervelt.  It  was  caused  by  a 
neighbor  who  wished  to  burn  off  his  place  and 
he  succeeded.  The  fire  got  beyond  his  control 
and  James  Westervelt's  house  was  in  line  of 
the  flames.  The  loss  was  about  $600,  a  con- 
siderable amount  in  that  time. 

The  first  barber  in  Gering  was  John  Garten. 

The  first  shoemaker  was  Wm.  Schiffbauer. 
He  had  a  claim  near  town  and  one  day  while 
he  was  putting  clown  a  well  he  found  a  pocket 
of  bright  yellow  metal.  Like  many  he  hoped 
and  believed  he  had  struck  gold,  and  he  care- 
fully wrapped  it  up  and  brought  a  quantity  to 


politics  of  the  state,  and  organizer  of  the  "ship 
by  truck"  movement  between  Omaha  and  Lin- 
coln. 

Gering  school  district  was  organized  in  July, 
1887,  with  James  Westervelt,  as  moderator, 
Charles  Johnson,  as  director;  and  Geo.  B.  Luft, 
as  treasurer. 

In  April,  1887,  the  historian  finds  chronicled 
a  school  report  from  district  number  51,  with 
Nettie  K.  Carling,  teacher,  and  eleven  pupils 
enrolled;  but  this  school  was  outside  of  Gering. 

Gering  celebrated  the  Fourth  of  July  in  1887. 
Everything  was  new  and  the  sporting  contests 
were  something  of  the  wild  west  order. 

Runey  Campbell  and  Sandy  Ingraham  always 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


had  some  horses  about  them  that  showed  speed 
and  the  Bay  State  ranch  usually  kept  a  few  fast 
horses.  So  the  racing  was  very  fair  for  the 
new  country.  Campbell  and  Ingraham  had  at 
an  earlier  date  "put  one  over"  on  the  Bay  State 
boys  and  they  were  ready  for  real  contests. 
That  other  occasion  was  when  Campbell  had 
heard  from  Ingraham  that  the  Bay  State  fel- 
lows had  some  race  horses.  Ingraham  said, 
"Runey,  that  hoss  of  yours  can  beat  any  of 
them  for  I  have  timed  them,  but  how  can  we 
get  them  to  bet?"  "I  will  fix  that,"  said  Camp- 
bell, "you  be  over  there  with  your  money"  on 
a  given  date. 

Runey  drove  up  with  a  team  that  had  on 
chain  harness,  and  hitched  to  an  old  wagon. 
They  sat  around  and  "chinned"  for  a  time,  and 
finally  the  subject  turned  to  race  horses.  Two 
of  the  Bay  State  crowd  got  to  bantering  over 
the  relative  speed  of  their  nags,  and  Runey 
looked  over  their  ponies.  "Nothing  doing  in 
speed,  boys,"  he  said ;  "I  have  an  old  horse 
out  there  in  my  team  that  can  beat  either  of 
them."  Finally  when  all  the  money  was  up  that 
they  could  induce  the  ranch  boys  to  bet,  Runey 
stripped  his  harness  from  his  best  horse  and 
won  the  race.  At  the  celebration,  Harve  Beebe 
won  the  prize  as  the  best  rider  of  wild  steers. 
This  was  accomplished  without  a  saddle. 

In  revolver  contests  at  one  hundred  yards, 
Geo.  Luft  easily  beat  Ben  Franklin,  and  all 
others. 

There  were  bucking  contests  and  other 
amusements  and  red  lemonade.  The  bowery 
dance  was  well  patronized. 

Walking  a  Tight  Wire; 
Old  Gering  could  improvise  amusements 
when  all  the  regular  stunts  were  over.  On 
one  Fourth  a  few  years  later,  all  the  usual 
affairs  Were  over,  and  there  were  some  who 
proposed  to  keep  alive  the  interest  by  some- 


thing new.  Lee  Dozier  proposed  for  five  dol- 
lars to  walk  a  wire  from  one  side  of  the  street 
to  the  other.  He  had  the  wire  stretched,  and 
went  to  Westervelt's  blacksmith  shop  and' 
had  some  hooks  made  which  he  could  attach 
to  his  ankles.  He  had  not  told  the  crowd,  but 
expected  to  surprise  them  by  walking  the  wire 


.  :ksmith  Shop 
lu  uv  ndivn.  n.  dugout  Shop  and  Store  i 
the  bank  to  the  right  of  the  Spring  Bank. 


Photo    by    Harv. 


Site  of  Roubidoux's  First  Blacksmith  Shop 

Left  to  Right:     G.  L.  Shumwav,  Clarence  A.  Paine, 

A.  B.  McCoskey. 


head  downward  hanging  by  the  hooks.  That 
was  a  courageous  undertaking  for  a  five  dol- 
lar fee.  However  he  had  failed  to  take  into 
consideration  the  sagging  of  the  wire,  and  as 
he  left  one  building  he  moved  one  foot  to  take 
the  first  step  the  other  hook  began  to  slide. 
He  slid  some  distance  from  the  building,  and 
becoming  panicky  was  unable  to  get  the  other 
hook  over  the  wire.  There  he  hung  waving 
the  disengaged  foot  in  vain  effort,  and  calling 
for  help,  while  the  crowd  yelled  in  delirious 
joy  at  the  comical  gyrations  of  the  swinging 
leg. 

Mr.  Westervelt  induced  a  number  of  boys 
to  run  a  wagon  underneath  Lee  and  with  the 
aid  of  step  ladders  he  was  brought  down  from 
his  precarious  position.  After  a  suitable 
amount  of  hilarious  dispute  the  fee  was  paid, 
even  though  Lee  had  failed  to  complete  his 
journey  across  the  street.  Dozier  resides  in 
Scottsbluff,  and  probably  looks  back  at  the 
attempt  to  walk  a  wire  with  as  much  amuse- 
ment, as  he  then  served  to  the  spectators  in 
old  Gering. 

The  County  Fair 

While  Cheyenne  county  had  been  in  exist- 
ence for  nearly  twenty  years  before  Gering 
was  started,  there  was  no  county  agricultural 
society.  Gering  proceeded  to  organize,  and 
was  recognized  as  the  Cheyenne  County  Fair 
Association   bv   the   state    association,    Robert 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


453 


F.  Furnas,  secretary,  on  August  5.  18S7. 
James  Westervelt  was  president,  and  C.  W. 
Johnson,  secretary.  Sidney  woke  up  and  or- 
ganized an  association  also,  but  was  a  little 
too  late. 

This  peculiar  attribute  later  followed  for 
after  county  division  had  set  the  Gering  asso- 
ciation outside  of  Cheyenne  county,  Bayard 
organized  and  was  recognized  as  the  home  of 
the  county  fair  of  Cheyenne  county  until  it  too 
was  set  off  into  Morrill  county. 

The  first  Cheyenne  County  Fair  was  held  at 
Gering  September  26,  27,  and  2S,  1887.  Gering 
held  the  Fair  for  many  years  after  this  became 
Scotts  Bluff  county,  but  it  went  to  Mitchell 
some  years  ago  and  through  the  able  manage- 
ment of  Ed  Reid,  J.  T.  "Whitehead,  and  other 
live  wires  of  that  city,  it  has  become  an  insti- 
tution of  which  all  people  of  the  county  are 
proud. 

Before  Mitchell  had  gotten  fairly  into  the 
swing  of  running  the  fair  a  county  exhibit  as- 
sociation was  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
properly  advertising  at  the  state  fair  and  else- 
where. This  institution  gave  over  the  work 
largely  to  Winfield  Evans,  who  raised  and  col- 
lected such  products  as  he  was  able  and  put 
them  on  exhibition.  The  boxes  formerly  made 
by  the  commercial  club  at  Scottsbluff  were 
turned  over  to  the  association,  and  other  recep- 
ticles  provided.  The  exhibits  were  made  for 
a  number  of  years  and  with  a*lways  an  increas- 
ing number  of  premiums.  Hundreds  of  rib- 
bons have  been  awarded  to  Scotts  Bluff  county 
— not  only  at  the  state  fair,  but  at  the  interna- 
tional show  at  Kansas  City  and  elsewhere.  In 
this  international  show  the  county  won  sev- 
eral of  the  best  prized  silver  cups. 

In  the  first  years  of  Gering  the  towns  along 
the  railroad  began  to  talk  county  division.  The 
original  plan  was  to  make  three  counties  of 
old  Cheyenne.  This  story  has  been  told  else- 
where. The  first  meeting  to  consider  it  held 
in  Gering  was  on  May  21,  1887.  A.  B.  Wood 
was  chairman,  and  E.  P.  Cromer  secretary. 
O.  W.  Gardner  and  A.  B.  Wood  were  chosen 
delegates  to  attend  a  convention  which  had 
been  called  to  meet  at  Sidney. 

Not  long  after  the  establishment  of  a  post- 
office  at  Gering.  other  community  centers  or- 
ganized and  a  number  of  outlying  offices  were 
supplied  through  the  Gering  office.  Miss 
Worthington  had  one  established  at  Creighton 
valley.  This  valley  was  first  called  Irish  Flats 
but  after  considerable  newspaper  discussion 
and  other  controversy,  Creighton  valley  came 


more  generally  into  use.  Another  postoffice 
was  established  at  Mitchell,  which  was  then  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river  about  two  miles 
west  of  the  south  end  of  the  present  .Mitchell 
bridge.  Geo.  L.  Shockley  was  appointed  post- 
master. 

In  thirty-four  years  of  existence  Gering  has 
had  hut  five  postmasters.  O.  W.  Gardner  was 
the  first.  Ed  Thornton  followed  and  then  Fred 
A.  Wright.  With  the  return  of  the  republicans 
to  national  power  A.  B.  Wood  was  appointed 
and  served  the  longest  of  any  incumbent,  or  a 
total  of  sixteen  years.  Will  H.  Lamm  is  the 
present  "Nasby"  of  the  growing  important  city. 

Deep  Well  Tragedies  and  Near  Tragedies 

Digging  the  wells  of  Scotts  Bluff  county  had 
its  dangers  as  well  as  the  deep  well  country  of 
the  high  divides.  Two  incidents  are  here  re- 
lated. 

W.  B.  Cole  had  dug  a  well  to  the  depth  of 
sixty  feet  and  was  walling  it  up.  He  was  with- 
in sixteen  feet  of  the  top  and  at  work  when 
Lizzie,  his  little  five  year  old  daughter  fell  in 
at  the  top.  He  undertook  to  catch  her  but 
failed  and  she  went  to  the  bottom  of  the  well. 
Down  he  went  after  her  as  quickly  as  possible 
and  found  her  but  little  the  worse  for  the 
sixty  foot  fall.  This  was  little  short  of  mirac- 
ulous. 

In  Horseshoe  Bend  there  was  another  some- 
what similar  accident.  Some  newcomers  were 
having  a  well  bored — using  a  large  augur. 
They  had  pulled  the  augur  from  the  hole  pre- 
paratory to  going  into  dinner,  when  a  two-year 
old  child  ran,  fell,  and  toppled  head-long 
into  the  hole.  The  distance  was  some  eighty 
feet  to  the  bottom  of  the  hole.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood there  was  a  boy  about  eleven 
years  old  who  was  very  slim.  He  consented 
that  they  tie  a  rope  to  his  feet,  let  him  head 
first  into  the  well,  and  he  would  bring  out  the 
baby.  This  boy  —  Johnny  Smith —  was  cer- 
tainly a  brave  young  fellow  and  should  have 
been  given  a  medal,  but  they  were  not  passing 
out  medals  in  those  early  days.  They  never 
have  awarded  prizes  to  pioneers.  Johnny  saw 
his  duty,  and  did  it  well:  the  child  was 
brought  to  the  surface,  but  was  quite  dead.  The 
sorrowing  parents  buried  the  little  one.  and 
immediately  pulled  out  and  left  the  country. 

The  Smith  family  later  went  into  the  western 
coast  countrv.  I  have  never  learned  what  be- 
came of  the  brave  little  hero  that  went  head 
first  down  an  eightv  foot  well  that  was  none 
too  large  to  admit  his  body. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  III 


CITY  OF  SCOTTSBLUFF 


Scottsbluff  was  established  by  the  Lincoln 
Land  Company,  upon  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  23,  township  22  north  and  range  55 
west  6th  principal  meridian.  The  principal  part 
of  the  town  as  originally  platted  was  on  land 
patented  to  Elizabeth  McClenahan  by  the 
United  States. 

Anselmo  B.  Smith  surveyed  and  the  plat 
was  filed  covering  fifteen  original  blocks,  which 
with  streets  and  alleys  approximated  forty 
acres.  It  was  surveyed  upon  liberal  lines, 
wide  streets  and  alleys,  the  main  thoroughfare 
being  one  hundred  feet  in  width. 

The  promoters  anticipated  that  Gering  would 
be  ready  to  move  over  to  the  town  site,  and 
negotiations  were  initiated.  A  number  of  Ger- 
ing business  men  were  inclined  to  the  proposal, 
and  progress  was  being  made,  but  as  is  often 
the  case,  a  mistake  was  made  in  presuming  that 
some  were  so  unimportant  that  they  need  not 
be  reckoned  with.  This  started  something 
with  the  result  that  a  large  majority  of  the 


J  irijfei* 


stfiinr 


Homestead  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  McClenahan,  1899 

business  men  stayed  with  the  "old  town,"  and 
but  a  few  moved  across  the  river.  The  Home- 
stead, then  published  by  Geo.  E.  Mark,  now 
of  the  Mitchell  Index,  was  one  of  the  impor- 
tant factors  in  the  fight. 

First  Enterprises 

The  first  business  in  Scottsbluff,  was  that  of 
lumber  yards.  Geo.  W.  King  and  Carr  & 
Neff  Lumber  Company,  began  about  the  same 
time,  and  John  A.  Orr  closely  followed.  Orr's 
yard  was  the  antecedent  of  L.  W.  Cox  & 
Company.     Then  King  sold  to  the  same  firm. 

The  first  bill  of  lumber  was  sold  by  King 
to  Mr.  Kirkpatrick,  who  built  a  small  store 
on  the  south  lot  of  the  present  William  Frank 
building,  occupied  by  Fliesbach's  Department 
store. 

About  the  same  time  Winfield  Evans  started 
the  little  frame  dwelling  that  stood  at  the  in- 


tersection of  Overland  Road  and  First  Avenue. 
This  has  been  removed  and  a  service  station 
now  occupies  the  ground. 

Charles  H.  Simmons  moved  a  log  house 
into  town  and  put  it  at  the  intersection  of 
Fifteenth  street  and  Broadway  as  now  known. 
He    was    appointed    the    first    postmaster    of 


Scottsbluff,  and  for  years  held  the  office  in  this 
building.  In  addition  he  put  in  a  small  stock 
of  merchandise. 

Kirkpatrick  then  went  to  Geo.  King,  who  had 
sold  him  about  eighty  dollars  worth  of  lumber 
for  his  store,  and  told  him  that  he  wanted  to 
sell  it  back.  He  said  there  was  not  business 
enough  for  two  stores  in  Scottsbluff.  thus 
being  the  first  man  to  express  the  provincialism 
exercised  by  the  financial  institutions  of  the 
city  in  the  bank  fight  of  1919. 

Immediately  following,  Andy  McClenahan 
started  to  put  up  a  frame  store  on  the  site  of 
the  present  Bowen  building  at  Sixteenth  street 
and  Broadway.  John  Emery  also  began  the 
erection  of  the  first  twenty-five  foot  front  of 
the  Emery  hotel.  These  began  to  look  like 
real  buildings. 

McClenahan  Sells  Out 
When  Andy  McClenahan  sold  his  corner  to 
George  King,  it  was  thought  that  King  paid 
all  it  was  worth ;  and  when  King  sold  it  to 
Dormann  the  price  seemed  rather  high,  but 
Dormann  sold  to  the  Bowens.  who  built  the 
new  building,  and  added  another  lot.  The  en- 
tire structure  was  sold  in  1919  to  Charles  R. 
Raymond,  of  the  First  National  Bank  for 
seventy-five  thousand  dollars. 

The  first  hardware  store,  which  soon  after 
put  in  furniture,  was  started  at  the  very  begin- 
ning— early  in  1900  by  George  B.  Luft  and 
Frank  A.  McCreary,  under  the  name  of  Luft 
&  McCreary,  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Sixteenth  street.  This  was  a  one  story  frame 
twenty -five  feet  wide  and  about  fifty  feet  long. 
The  papers  of  1901  say  that  they  were  putting 
in  a  double  store  stock  in  a  single  store  room 
by  hanging  about  half  of  it  on  the  ceiling. 

Later  J.  C.  McCreary  came  out  from  Shel- 
ton  and  bought  the  Luft  interest.  The  part- 
nership known  as  McCreary  Brothers  thus 
came  into  existence  and  while  it  has  later  been 
made  a  corporation,  it  ;s  still  at  the  old  stand. 
It  has  one  of  the  finest  store  buildings  in  the 
west,  certainly  none  finer  for  display  and' 
stock  is  to  be  found  in  the  panhandle  of  Ne- 
braska, or  eastern  Wyoming.  This  building 
was  constructed  in  1908,  and  the  firm  does  a 
big  volume  of  business  both  wholesale  and  re- 
tail. 

Geo.  B.  Luft  also  started  the  first  exclusive 
dry-goods  store  in  Scottsbluff  in  1900.  An 
earlv  advertisement  of  this  store  which  was 
named  the  Fair,  speaks  of  a  "rush  for  fancy 
dress  shirts  at  39  cents,  work  shirts  at  50  cents, 
shoes  at  $1.50,  and  suits  at  $8  to  $10.00."  Prices 
like  that  would  create  a  riot  in  the  years  1920 
or  1921. 

First  Bill  of  Groceries 

As  stated,  the  first  grocery  store  was  built 
and  run  by  Mr.  Kirkpatrick,  and  the  first  bill 
of  groceries  that  went  out  of  the  store,  was 
traded  for  some  eggs,  brought  in  by  Jacobus' 
daughter.  Mr.  Jacobus  lived  in  a  sod  house 
that  once  stood  on  the  chautauqua  grounds,  the 
present  site  of  the  ea~t  ward  schools. 

The  first  bank  in  Scottsbluff  was  the  Irriga- 
tors Bank,  which  James  Casselman  brought 
over  from  Gering  in  1900.  Casselman  built  a 
small  frame  bank  on  the  site  where  Magees 
clothing  store  is  now  situated,  the  Fair  store 
being  on  the  lot  north,  and  the  old  location  of 
Gates  hardware  was  just  south.  On  March 
15,  1902,  this  bank  had  a  deposit  of  $29,071.56. 

Other  banks  in  the  county  at  the  same  time 
had  deposits  as  follows:  Bank  of  Gering, 
$66,206.95  ;  Mitchell  Vallev  Bank,  $44,375.06 ; 
Minatare  Bank,  $7,446.06.  The  bank  at  Bayard 
had  $39,083.52. 

The  first  newspaper  in  Scottsbluff  was  the 
Republican,  with  E.  T.  Westervelt  as  editor 
and  proprietor ;  he  is  still  guiding  its  destinies. 
The  second  paper  was  started  by  E.  F.  Moon 
and  called  the  Herald,  being  established  about 
two  years  later.  In  1907,  Peter  J.  Barron  es- 
tablished the  Star.  The  two  latter  have  been 
consolidated  under  the  name  of  Star-Herald, 
which  is  managed  by  H.  J.  Wisner,  and  owned 
by  Wisner  and  A.  B.  Wood.  C.  C.  Cross  is 
one  of  its  vigorous  editorial  writers. 


The  first  barber  shop  was  that  of  Sherman 
Miller,  on  the  site  of  the  present  American 
State  Bank.  The  second  opened  was  that  of 
Ed  Vandenburg  on  the  present  location.  For 
awhile  Ed  lived  in  the  back  part  of  the  shop, 
and  here  his  second  daughter  was  born  May  31, 
1903.  When  she  was  but  a  few  days  old,  the 
fire  occurred  that  burned  his  shop  with  other 
buildings,  and  the  mother  and  baby  had  to  be 
carried  out  in  the  night.  It  was  after  midnight 
and  raining. 

The  first  stock  of  millinery  was  carried  in 
the  Fair  store,  and  Mrs.  Luft  in  charge.  Mrs. 
M.  E.  Marsh  was  the  first  dressmaker.  She 
had  her  own  building  on  Broadway,  near  the 
intersection  of  Fifteenth  street. 

The  First  Church 
The  first  church  was  that  of  the  Presby- 
terians, built  in  1900.  Rev.  J.  B.  Currens  first 
put  up  a  tent  in  what  was  then  a  cornfield, 
and  went  out  to  Jacobus'  to  stay  all  night.  In 
the  morning  Jacobus'  daughter  looked  out  the 


First  Church,  Scottsbluff 

window  of  the  soddy,  and  exclaimed;  "Mr. 
Currens,  the  tent  is  down."  During  the  night 
there  had  been  quite  a  gale,  which  not  only 
blew  down  the  the  tent,  but  damaged  it  so  that 
it  could  not  be  put  up  again  without  repairs. 

Rev.  Currens  debated  the  matter  for  a  while, 
he  was  much  discouraged,  but  he  finally  bought 
some  lumber  and  pledged  his  salary  for  the 
payment  of  the  cost.  Then  he  had  built  a 
small  church  on  the  present  Presbyterian  site. 
It  was  of  boards  set  on  end,  and  the  sides  and 
the  roof  had  battens  over  the  cracks. 

The  first  school  board  was  O.  B.  Brown,  E. 
T.  Westervelt  and  W.  M.  Barbour.  A  school 
house  site  had  been  donated  by  the  Lincoln 
Land  Company  on  what  is  now  Avenue  A. 
About  one-half  of  the  main  school  house  on 
this  tract  was  built.     How  to  build  it  was  the 


456 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


question.  The  cost  they  found  would  be  about 
forty-eight  hundred  dollars,  and  there  was  a 
valuation  in  the  district  so  that  the  limit  of  a 
bond  issue  was  fourteen  hundred  dollars.  The 
matter  was  finally  solved  by  the  issuance  of 
warrants  to  make  up  the  amount,  and  these 
were  sold  by  John  A.  Orr. 

The  building  was  of  frame,  and  veneered 
with  brick.  From  the  beginning  the  schools 
of  Scottsbluff  have  been  crowded  to  the  limit 
of  possible  attention. 

Among  the  early  residences  of  Scottsbluff 
were  those  of  Robert  G.  Walsh,  who  moved 
over  from  Gering ;  Wilse  Earnest,  who  moved 
in  from  the  Snake  creek  ranch ;  E.  T.  Wester- 
velt,  Harvey  Walker  and  the  Harrisons.  In 
North  Scottsbluff,  Frank  Smith,  G.  L.  Shum- 
way  and  L.  L.  Raymond  were  the  first. 

The  first  real  estate  firm  was  Wright,  Orr  & 
Howard — William  H.  Wright,  John  A.  Orr, 
and  T.  M.  Howard.  They  also  wrote  the  first 
insurance,  both  fire  and  life,  that  was  written 
here.  When  Mr.  Wright  died,  the  firm  contin- 
ued as  Orr  &  Howard.  Later  Mr.  Howard 
passed  on,  and  John  A.  Orr  still  continues  the 
business  in  1921.  This  veteran  of  the  valley 
and  city  has  seen  many  of  his  dreams  come 
true. 

The  first  contractors  and  builders  were  Win- 
field  Evans  and  Charles  E.  Dooley.    The  elder 


ipm 

PR 

"iniiifiiifr'Ufliiii^lii  i 

Reoideno.   of  T.  C.  H«Uy       J_-"-"' 

Mr.  Andrews  did  some  carpenter  work,  as  did 
also  Andy  McClenahan.  Charles  H.  Simmons 
also  used  the  saw  and  hammer  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent, while  later  his  sons  have  built  many  fine 
houses  in  the  city. 

Village  Officers  Named 
In  1899  the  Burlington  System  finished  the 
grading  to  and  beyond  Scottsbluff.  In  1900 
train  service  was  instituted,  and,  on  June  25th, 
mail  clerks  were  put  on  the  trains  running 
through  the  town.  J.  F.  Ringler  and  D.  W. 
Voorhees  were  the  first  railway  mail  clerks 
going  through  the  town  on  regular  service. 


The  county  commissioners,  by  motion  of  L. 
A.  Christian,  seconded  by  F.  H.  Riege,  and 
concurred  in  by  E.  S.  DeLaMatter,  created 
the  village  of  Scottsbluff  July  20.  1900,  and 
appointed  Frank  McCreary,  C.  H.  Simmons, 
John  Emery,  John  McGowan,  and  O.  P. 
Yarger  as  trustees. 

August  20,  1900.  an  election  was  authorized 
to  vote  sixty-five  hundred  dollars  to  build  a 
bridge  across  the  river  west  of  Scottsbluff. 
This  bond  was  for  Winter  Creek  precinct  only. 
It  carried  and  the  bridge  was  built,  and  in 
service  until  1918,  when  the  new  concrete 
structure  was  completed. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  commissioners,  July 
20th,  aforesaid,  the  county  attorney  was'  in- 
structed to  take  such  necessary  steps  to 
legally  prevent  the  removal  of  buildings  from 
Gering  to  Scottsbluff,  until  the  back  taxes  on 
the  lots  were  paid.  This  resulted  in  the  pay- 
ment of  some  of  the  back  taxes,  and  in  other 
cases  prevented  the  removal  of  the  buildings. 
The  spring  election  of  1901  resulted  in  the 
election  of  Winfield  Evans,  Wm.  H.  Wright, 
Michael  Powers,  Dan  Park,  and  Frank  Mc- 
Creary as  trustees,  the  first  three  for  two 
years  and  the  others  for  the  one  year  term. 
George  Luft,  Oscar  Yarger.  and  Mr.  Frakes 
each  received  one  vote,  and  Elmer  Soder  two. 
These  four  declared  that  the  next  year  they 
proposed  to  combine  their  strength  and  put  up 
a  ticket  of  their  own. 

Forty-four  votes  were  cast  at  the  election 
of  April.  1902.  "Jimmy"  Carr,  George  King, 
and  L.  W.  Cox  were  elected  members  of  the 
council,  as  "Mike"  Powers  had  resigned. 
Wright  and  Evans  held  over. 

At  that  time  the  McClenahan  fence  occupied 
the  middle  of  the  "county  road,"  now  named 
"Overland  Road."  The  town  board  wanted  it 
set  back  the  two  rods ;  the  boys  were  a  little 
slow  about  doing  it,  so  the  board  set  Jerry 
Ragan,  then  marshal,  to  do  the  job.  Some  di- 
vision existed  on  the  council  for  the  McClena- 
hans  were  strong  factors  in  the  town  at  the 
time,  and  it  was  feared  they  would  resist,  or 
not  like  it.  But  there  was  no  trouble,  and 
everyone  has  been  satisfied  that  it  was  done 
at  the  time  and  the  street  graded. 

In  1903  S.  D.  Kirkhart  and  Charles  A.  Mor- 
rill were  elected  members  of  the  board,  and 
F.  A.  Wright  made  clerk  and  attorney.  Here- 
tofore the  records  had  been  kept  by  a  member 
of  the  board.  Therefore,  Fred  Wright  was 
the  first  clerk  and  attorney  regularly  employed. 
Kirkhart  was  chairman  of  the  board. 

The  election  of  the  spring  of  1904  changed 
the  complexion  of  the  board.    J.  C.  McCreary, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


457 


S.  W.  Ripley,  and  E.  T.  Westervelt  took  the 
places  of  the  three  retiring  members,  and  they 
named  L.  L.  Raymond  as  clerk  and  attorney. 
C.  W.  Baysinger  was  chosen  marshal. 

In  1905,  Morrill  was  re-elected  and  L.  A. 
Larson  made  the  new  member,  and  chairman 
of  the  board,  with  Raymond  again  chosen 
clerk  and  attorney. 


were  bought  and  piled  into  the  streets  during 
the  summer,  and  covered  with  gravel.  On 
July  first.  Tom  Hall  was  allowed  a  bill  for 
hauling  one  hundred  and  thirty  loads  of 
gravel  at  seventy  cents  a  load,  or  less  than 
fifty  cents  a  yard. 

In  1906,  the  board  named  an  election  board 
for  the   first  time.      Tohn  \Y.   Gaddis,  W.  A. 


llU  :  .  a;. a  fig.,  g ii  " 
e  ee  c  i;i  I  3a.  g  a bie ■ 
aa  a  3ii' 
33  a  3 at' 

M  31  IM 


View  From  Depot,  Scottsuluff 


In  the  spring  of  this  year  the  main  street  of      Hall,  and  John  Koenig  were  the  judges;  and 
ottsbluff.    now    Broadway,    looked   like   the      A.  Crawford  and  Ed  Denison  were  clerks.    A 

llage   board    were   elected :    E 


Scottsbluff,  now  rJroaclway 
streets  of  Venice.  The  sidewalks,  which  were 
of  plank  and  extending  ten  feet  from  the  lot 
line,  bordered  on  a  foot  of  water.  Frogs  sang 
merrily  in  the  streets,  and  called  vivid  atten- 
tion to  what  was  necessary  to  be  done.  The 
old  sod  corrals  of  John  Hall  and  John  Emery 


full  new  village  board  were  elected:  E.  T. 
Westervelt  and  Winfield  Evans  for  the  two- 
year  term ;  and  S.  W.  Ripley,  A.  J.  Shumway, 
and  W.  H.  Gates  for  the  one-year  term.  Rip- 
ley was  elected  chairman,  and  L.  L.  Raymond, 
clerk  ;  with  II.  T.  Bowen  as  treasurer. 


458 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Considerable  spirit  became  manifest  in  the 
village  elections  this  year.  Alvin  McClena- 
han  and  his  friends  felt  justified  in  believing 
that  they  were  unfairly  dealt  with,  and  Alvin's 
saloon  refused  a  license.  So  that  the  election 
of  1907,  for  the  first  time,  brought  out  the 
question  of  license  or  no  license.  The  temper- 
ance people  had  the  support  of  a  part  of  the 
so-called  wet  element,  and  the  drys  won  by  a 
vote  of  ninety-nine  to  fourteen. 

D.  H.  Cole,  Beach  Coleman,  and  T.  C.  Bot- 
tom were  elected  on  the  board,  with  Evans  and 
Westervelt,  holdovers.  They  named  Raymond 
again  for  clerk  and  attorney,  and  Harry  T. 
Bowen  again  for  treasurer.  The  dry  ordi- 
nance was  passed,  and  since  that  date  the  town 
has  been  without  a  saloon. 


W.  Cox,  J.  J.  Harrison,  and  J.  A.  Orr,  judges ; 
and  W.  A.  Hale  and  A.  Crawford,  clerks. 

Evans  was  re-elected  on  the  council  and 
Harry  Wisner  succeeded  Westervelt  as  a 
member.  Raymond  and  Bowen  were  again 
named  clerk  and  treasurer  respectively. 

T.  C.  Bottom  moved  from  town  and  A.  J. 
Shumway  succeeded  him  as  councilman  in 
August,  190S. 

In  June  of  this  year,  the  Platte  Valley  Tele- 
phone Company  was  granted  a  franchise  in 
Scottsbluff,  although  they  had  been  in  opera- 
tion for  some  time  before. 

Woman's  Commercial  Club 
The  Woman's  Commercial  Club,   which  at 
this  time  was  active,  asked  permission,  and  it 


Building  became  very  active  and  the  coun- 
cil took  up  the  question  of  water  works.  Fol- 
lowing the  big  fire  of  1903,  which  burned  out 
Ed  Vandenburg,  J.  J.  Harrison,  Frank 
Duff,  and  Joe  Anderson,  pumps  had  been  put 
at  a  number  of  places  in  town  for  fire  protec- 
tion. The  Zoellner  fire  of  1908  put  these 
pumps  to  a  full  test,  and  they  proved  quite 
successful.  This  was  partly  because  the  fire 
had  not  gained  much  headway  when  the  fire 
was  discovered.  That  was  the  beginning  of 
the  Scottsbluff  municipal  water  system. 

In  1908,  the  election  board  consisted  of  L. 


was  granted,  to  install  at  the  comer  of  Broad- 
way and  Seventeenth  street  a  cement  watering 
trough.  This  was  put  in  late  in  July  and  for 
nearly  ten  years  was  of  service  to  the  public. 
When  the  auto  took  precedence  of  the  horse 
the  trough  was  removed.  The  club  was  organ- 
ized in  February,  1907. 

1907  had  proven  a  busy  year  in  the  building 
of  Scottsbluff,  McCreary  Brothers  and  the 
Marquis  Opera  House  being  among  the  busi- 
ness buildings.  G.  L.  Shumway  built  the  resi- 
dence that  was  later  converted  into  the  Mid- 
west Hospital. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


459 


Chautauqua  Organized 

This  year  the  North  Platte  Valley  Chau- 
tauqua Association  was  reorganized,  and  a 
tabernacle  built  on  the  grounds  which  had 
been  previously  purchased. 

The  village  board,  in  1908,  ordered  the  con- 
struction of  cement  sidewalks  on  the  west  side 
of  Main  street,  now  Broadway.  This  was 
ordered  during  November.  Previous  to  this, 
such  sidewalks  had  been  built  in  front  of  the 
Ed  Vandenburg  barber  shop,  and  the  First 
National  Bank.  The  Bowen's  then  were  in 
control  of  the  bank.  Vandenburg  was  the  first 
to  build,  and  has  the  credit  of  being  the  starter 
of  the- fourteen  foot  sidewalks  now  on  Broad- 
way. While  the  board  was  debating  about  the 
width  of  the  sidewalks,  which  had  previously 
been  but  ten  feet,  Vandenburg  planted  his  curb 
at  fourteen  feet,  and  began  work.  The  First 
National  Bank,  which  was  then  at  the  location 
of  the  present  east  entrance  of  the  Diers 
Brothers  store,  did  likewise,  and  the  ordinance 
was  made  to  conform. 

Water  Works  Bonds 

On  October  6,  1908,  the  village  voted  $30,- 
000  bonds  for  water  works,  the  election  carry- 
ing by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  twenty-two  to 
thirty-two. 

B.  A.  Lathrop  of  Lathrop  &  Buzza,  Jules- 
burg,  came  before  the  board  in  January,  1909, 
with  a  proposition  to  put  in  an  electric  light 
plant.     An  agreement  could  not  be  reached. 

On  the  18th  of  February  following  an  ordi- 
nance was  passed  granting  such  a  franchise 
to  J.  C.  Caine  and  C.  J.  Morley  of  Denver,  and 
the  first  light  plant  in  the  North  Platte  valley 
was  soon  under  construction.  It  was  built  upon 
lots  purchased  and  owned  by  the  city,  where 
the  water  tank  and  city  wells  were  likewise 
placed. 

In  the  April  election  of  1909  Jesse  Babcock, 
J.  H.  Graves  and  H.  W.  Neff  were  elected 
members  of  the  board,  in  the  place  of  Cole, 
Coleman  and  Shumway.  Two  hundred  votes 
were  cast.  T.  F.  Kennedy  was  named  clerk 
and  Fred  Wright  as  attorney. 

The  importance  of  the  automobile  in  traffic 
was  emphasized  in  May,  1909,  by  the  passage 
of  a  speed  ordinance. 

Double  Election 
In  the  spring  of  1910,  a  large  number  of  the 
live  people  of  the  town  did  not  approve  of  the 
fact  that  the  old  board  failed  to  declare  Scotts- 
bluff  a  city,  and  proceeded  accordingly.  Two 
hundred  votes  had  been  cast  in  1909,  indicat- 


ing more  than  a  thousand  people.  To  express 
their  disapproval,  on  election  day.  a  second  elec- 
tion board  was  organized  across  the  street  from 
the  regular  polling  place,  where  about  twice  as 
many  votes  were  cast  for  a  city  ticket  as  were 
cast  at  the  village  election  across  the  street. 

At  the  village  election  Wisner  and  Evans 
were  re-elected  on  the  board,  and  the  question 
of  "city"  or  "village"  was  voted  upon,  resulting 
in  sixty-six  for  city  and  twelve  for  village. 

The  larger  element  brought  an  action  in  the 
district  court  to  declare  their  ticket  the  true 
officers  of  the  city  of  Scottsbluff.  but  it  was 
not  sustained.  Judge  Grimes  ruled  that  while 
'in  fact  Scottsbluff  was  a  city  in  size,  it  took 
official  action  to  make  it  so,  and  that  official 
action  had  never  been  taken. 

This  year  Coleman  was  named  attorney, 
Kennedy  as  clerk,  W.  T.  Hill  as  marshal  and 
H.  T.  Bowen  treasurer.  Graves  resigned  as 
member  of  the  Board  and  A.  G.  Emerson  was 
selected ;  Evans  resigned  and  F.  F.  Everett  was 
chosen. 

In  February,  1911,  Fred  Roberts  asked  for 
and  received  a  franchise  for  electric  light  and 
power;  he  having  purchased  the  Caine  and 
Morley  interests  in  the  old  plant,  which  were 
sold  under  orders  of  court.  The  Cross  & 
Roberts  Electric  company,  popularly  known  as 
the  "C.  &  R.  Electric,"  came  into  existence. 

This  rendered  splendid  service  during  the 
management  of  Mr.  Roberts,  and  he  also  in- 
stalled a  municipal  heating  plant,  and  later  an 
artificial  ice  plant.  The  Intermountain  Rail- 
way, Light  &  Power  Company,  purchased  the 
plant  in  1918,  since  which  time  the  patrons 
have  found  much  fault  with  the  inadequacy  of 
the  service.  The  growth  has  caused  an  over- 
load, and  improvement  and  enlargements  of 
the  plant  have  not  kept  pace  with  the  needs 
of  the  public. 

The  first  city  election  occurred  April  4, 
1911.  Fred  Alexander  was  elected  mayor 
over  A.  G.  Emerson  and  F.  L.  Wright;  Fred 
Stark  was  chosen  clerk  over  T.  F.  Kennedy 
and  B.  J.  Seger;  H.  T.  Bowen  elected  treas- 
urer over  A.  E.  Andrews  and  L.  C.  Jackson; 
E.  M.  Cowen  elected  police  judge  over  C.  A. 
Payne  and  Wm.  McDougal.  A.  B.  McCos- 
key  had  a  clean  sweep  for  city  engineer.  The 
councilmen  elected  were:  first  ward:  H.  E. 
Brown  and  Peter  O'Shea;  second  ward. 
Wm.  P.  Young  and  C.  E.  Dooley ;  third  ward, 
W.  H.  Price  and  Chas.  Tohnson ;  fourth  ward, 
C.  H.  Westervelt  and  E.  E.  Maxon.  Stark 
did  not  qualify  as  clerk  and  during  the  year 
there  were  several  clerks  who  served  for  a 
short  time.     C.  C.  McElroy  was  the  first,  fol- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


A.  T.  Crawford's  Garage.  Scottsbi.uff 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


lowed  by  W.  L.  Greenslit,  and  then  by  M.  J. 
Murphy,  who  also  acted  as  water  commission- 
er.   Pat  Nash  was  chief  of  police. 

In  1912  the  same  officers  were  in  charge  of 
affairs,  except  that  G.  L.  Shumway  was 
elected  clerk  and  D.  R.  Schenck  as  police  judge. 
The  school  board  was  F.  W.  Plehn  and  C.  W. 
Gahringer  and  F.  A.  Wright,  Wm.  Morrow 
was  appointed  city  attorney,  A.  J.  Shumway 
water  commissioner  and  W.  H.  Goforth  chief 
of  police.  During  1912  the  main  sanitary 
sewer  was  installed. 

The  city  had  begun  to  take  on  metropolitan 
airs.  The  election  in  1913,  like  the  two  pre- 
ceding it,  was  hotly  contested.  F.  S.  Mc- 
Caffree  and  H.  E.  Brown  were  the  principals 
for  mayor,  and  McCaffree  won.  G.  L.  Shum- 
way was  again  elected  clerk,  carrying  all  four 
wards.  Peter  O'Shea  was  elected  treasurer 
for  a  second  term;  D.  R.  Schenck  was  elected 
police  judge  for  a  second  time;  C.  A.  Liljen- 
stolpe  was  chosen  city  engineer ;  Chas.  Deulin, 
W.  P.  Young,  I.  N.  Wallace,  F.  D.  Schofield, 
and  L.  Crasher  were  elected  members  of  the 
council,  and  W.  H.  Gable  and  S.  K.  War- 
rick members  of  the  school  board.  G.  L. 
Shumway  was  appointed  water  commissioner, 
H.  A.  Guernsey  chief  of  police,  and  Dr.  A. 
M.  Faught,  city  physician. 

A  petition  calling  for  an  election  to  vote 
$25,000  bonds  for  a  city  hall  was  found  to 
be  insufficient  in  number.  In  June  the  ques- 
tion of  Sunday  baseball  was  submitted,  and 
carried  by  a  vote  of  two  hundred  and  eight  to 
one  hundred  nineteen.  In  October  fifteen 
thousand  dollars  in  water  bonds  were  voted 
for  extensions.  Branch  sewers  were  installed 
this  and  the  year  previous  over  a  large  part 
of  the  city.  During  the  year  councilmen  Maxon 
Brown,  Wallace  and  Young  resigned  and 
Charles  T.  Zoellner.  Jr.,  B.  J.  Seger,  C.  J. 
Steen  and  W.  L-  Simmons  were  selected  to 
fill  their  places. 

The  highlights  of  the  McCaffree  adminis- 
tration were  extension  of  water  works,  sewers, 
and  street  improvement.  The  first  time  that 
the  water  works  proved  to  be  more  than  self- 
sustaining,  the  beginning  of  public  park  im- 
provement, and  the  beginning  of  the  city  li- 
brary. Under  the  excellent  management  of 
the  city  physician,  A.  M.  Faught,  the  small 
pox  epidemic  was  subdued  and  brought  under 
control.  The  board  also  made  a  complete  re- 
vision of  the  city  ordinances. 

In  1914,  the  city  election  proved  a  quiet  af- 
fair for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  city. 
C.  J.  Steen  was  elected  mayor  without  oppo- 
sition, H.   S.  Stark  city  clerk,  and  Peter  O'- 


Shea, treasurer,  also  both  unopposed.  A.  L. 
Selzer  triumphed  over  C.  A.  Liljenstolpe  for 
city  engineer  by  a  close  vote.  There  were  no 
contests  on  councilmen  the  following  being 
elected:  B.  J.  Seger,  F.  F.  Everett,  H.  L& 
Sams,  F.  D.  Scofield,  W.  E.  Ashbaugh  and 
H.  T.  Bowen,  F.  H.  Roberts,  E.  E.  Maxon  and 
J.  M.  Carr  were  elected  on  the  school  board. 
Fred  Wright  was  city  attorney,  H.  W.  Guern- 
sey chief  of  police,  and  Dr.  A.  M.  Faught 
again  city  physician.  H.  S.  Stark  failed  to 
qualify  as  city  clerk  and  G.  L.  Shumway  held 
over,  also  retaining  the  position  of  water 
commissioner  until  July  first  when  O.  M. 
Finley  was  appointed.  Councilman  Crasher 
removed  from  ward  four,  and  L.  W.  Cox  was 
appointed  in  his  stead.  During  the  illness  of 
chief  Guernsey,  Frank  H.  Koenig  was  chief 
of  police.  G.  L.  Shumway  was  appointed 
street  and  park  commissioner.  Councilman 
Seger  resigned  and  Albert  Harrison  was  ap- 
pointed in  his  placei 

1915  proved  a  contested  election  in  which 
F.  Alexander  was  elected  mayor,  Yal  Kirk- 
han  as  clerk,  Peter  O'Shea  as  treasurer,  A.  L. 
Selzer  as  engineer.  Charles  Deulin,  F.  G. 
Warrick,  R.  D.  Owens,  W.  E.  Ashbaugh  and 
K.  K.  Maxon  were  chosen  councilmen;  F.  A. 
Wright,  W.  H.  Gable  and  J.  M.  Carr  on  the 
school  board.  Wm.  Morrow  was  named  city 
attorney,  Albert  Harrison  as  chief  of  police, 
O.  M.  Finley  as  water  commissioner,  and  the 
Star-Herald  designated  the  official  paper. 

In  1916  C.  H.  Westervelt  was  elected  mayor, 
V.  B.  Kirkham  re-elected  clerk,  Peter  O'Shea 
re-elected  treasurer  and  A.  L.  Selzer  re-elected 
city  engineer.  A.  Harrison,  F.  F.  Everett  and 
H.  T.  Bowen  were  re-elected  councilmen,  and 
Milo  Jones  in  the  third  ward.  J.  M.  Carr  and 
S.  K.  Warrick  were  re-elected  on  the  school 
board.  Beach  Coleman  was  appointed  city 
attorney,  Winfield  Evans  water  commissioner 
and  J.  L.  Martin  as  chief  of  police  and  street 
commissioner.  In  December,  1916,  the  city 
voted  thirty-two  thousand  dollars  in  water- 
works extension  bonds,  also  the  council  issued 
thirty-thousand  dollars  in  refunding  bonds  for 
the  same  department. 

In  1917  the  election  was  hotly  contested.  A. 
M.  Faught  was  elected  mayor,  M.  O.  Sohus 
as  clerk,  D.  B.  Kelley  as  treasurer,  W.  T.  Hill 
as  water  commissioner.  F.  C.  High,  H.  W. 
Davison,  Frank  DcConley,  E.  J.  Brown  and 
T.  D.  Deutch  were  elected  councilmen,  and 
Edmund  Simmons  and  F.  H.  Roberts  on  the 
school  board.  Mayor  Faught  made  the  follow- 
ing appointment :  city  engineer,  A.  L.  Selzer ; 
city  attorney,  J.   H.   Stewart;  chief   of   police 


462 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


and  street  commissioner,  J.  S.  Martin  ;  city 
physician,  F.  W.  Plehn.  Again  the  city  was 
called  upon  to  extend  its  water  mains,  and 
this  time  the  bonds  were  for  thirty-two  thous- 
and dollars  aggregate.  Also  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  bonds  were  voted  to  build  a  city  hall. 
Milo  Jones  resigned  to  take  management  of  the 
new  fire  truck  and  Frank  Cowen  was  named 
councilman  in  his  stead.  Mayor  Faught  also 
delegated  to  F.  H.  DeConley,  president  of  the 
council  much  of  the  duty  attendant  as  acting  _ 
mayor. 

There  were  no  mayor,  clerk,  treasurer  or 
water  commissioner  to  be  elected  in  1918,  but 
the  councilmen  chosen  were  T.  D.  Deutsch, 
F.  F.  Everett,  Frank  H.  Cowen,  O.  M.  Fin- 
ley,  A.  G.  Rvan,  and  M.  J.  Higgins.  For  the 
school  board  W.  H.  Gable  and  A.  F.  Baldridge 
were  chosen.  The  following  were  selected  by 
the  mayor:  J.  S.  Martin,  chief  of  police  and 
street  commissioner;  Mel  Miller,  night  watch- 
man ;  Dr.  Rasmussen,  city  physician ;  A.  L. 
Selzer,  engineer,  J.  H.  Stewart,  attorney;  and 
J.  E.  Risk,  light  inspector.  Scottsbluff  Drain- 
age district  was  organized,  and  the  work  put 
in  during  the  year.  The  paving  district  on 
Broadway  and  adjoining  streets  and  alleys 
was  created,  and  bonds  voted  for  the  inter- 
sections. A  thorough  auditing  of  the  city 
departments  was  made  in  October,  by  J.  W. 
Gross,  and  improved  systems  of  accounting 
adopted.  In  September,  M.  O.  Sohus  resigned 
as  clerk  and  J.  W.  Bly  appointed,  since  which 
time  Bly  has  served  to  the  present  date.  F. 
F.  Everett  was  chairman  of  the  board  during 
part  of  1918.  J.  H.  Stewart  removed  from  the 
city  and  H.  Leslie  Smith  was  appointed  city 
attorney.  W.  T.  Hill  resigned  as  water  com- 
missioner and  C.  H.  Simmons  was  appointed. 
The  election  of  1919  was  hotly  contested  and 
a  heavy  vote  polled.  For  the  first  time  women 
were  partisans  in  the  fight.  A  total  of  nearly 
sixteen  hundred  votes  were  cast.  F.  A.  Mc- 
Creary  was  elected  mayor,  J.  W.  Bly  as  clerk, 
Frank  Fischer  as  treasurer,  Winfield  Evans 
as  water  commissioner.  C.  N.  Wright,  F.  M. 
Bryan,  O.  M.  Finley  and  M.  J.  Higgins  were 
chosen  councilmen.  S.  K.  Warrick,  E.  E.  Ma- 
gee  and  Mrs.  W.  A.  McCain  on  the  school 
board. 

Mayor  McCreary  made  the  following  ap- 
pointments :  Bert  Ritchie,  chief  of  police ;  A. 
Coulter,  night  watchman;  Cliff  DeMott,  street 
commissioner;  Arthur  Selzer,  city  engineer, 
H.  Leslie  Smith,  attorney;  Dr.  N.  H.  Ras- 
mussen, health  officer.  Twenty-six  thousand 
dollar  bonds  were  again  necessary  to  further  ex- 


tend the  water  system,  following  which  another 
ten  thousand  dollars  was  added.  Forty  thous- 
and dollars  in  bonds  were  also  voted  for  the 
creation  and  building  of  a  storm  sewer.  A 
gas  ordinance  was  proposed,  but  finally  with- 
drawn. Bert  Ritchie  resigned  as  chief  of 
police,  and  P.  J.  McSween,  the  present  effi- 
cient chief,  was  appointed. 

The  election  of  April,  1920,  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  J.  N.  Stoops,  F.  F.  Everett,  Frank 
Cowen,  and  A.  G.  Ryan  for  councilmen.  The 
question  of  Sunday  shows  was  decided  against 
the  movement.  The  proposed  bonds  for  pur- 
chasing the  river  front  and  islands  for  park 
purposes  was  likewise  defeated.  Winfield 
Evans  and  A.  L.  Selzer  were  chosen  members 
of  the  school  board.  The  Republican  was 
named  the  official  paper.  The  building  of  the 
Irrigation  college  by  the  state  upon  west  Twen- 
tieth street  extension,  called  for  the  extension 
of  the  water  mains  thereto,  and  at  the  request 
of  Superintendent  McCarthy  this  has  been 
done. 

Condemn  State  Police 
On  the  twenty-first  of  January,  1921.  the 
state  police  came  to  Scottsbluff  and  so  con- 
ducted themselves  that  the  council  found  it 
proper  to  pass  condemnatory  resolutions,  which 
the  mayor  and  every  member  of  the  council 
signed.  The  criticism  was  particularly  directed 
at  the  state  chief  Gus  Hyers  and  his  deputy, 
Carl  Schmidt,  who  was  said  to  have  used 
"Prussian  methods"  with  a  prisoner.  Fred 
Fulton,  another  deputy  was  exonerated  and 
justified.  Schmidt  was  formerly  chief  clerk 
in  the  state  land  commissioner's  office,  during 
the  incumbency  of  Fred  Beckmann. 

With  the  exception  of  one  year  when  G.  L. 
Shumway.  was  police  judge,  and  one  year  when 
E.  M.  Cowen  occupied  that  position,  D.  R. 
Schenck  has  held  the  office  for  the  entire  life 
of  the  city — a  total  of  nine  years. 

In  all,  the  city  has  been  well  served.  During 
its  life  as  a  village,  the  time  when  D.  H. 
Cole,  Beach  Coleman,  H.  J.  Wisner,  Winfield 
Evans  and  A.  J.  Shumway  constituted  the 
village  board,  or  in  1908  and  1909,  stands  out 
as  a  period  of  municipal  advancement.  In  its 
life  as  a  city,  Scottsbluff  has  had  excellent 
management  from  the  start,  the  administrations 
of  Fred  Alexander  and  F.  S.  McCaffree,  ap- 
pearing to  have  the  advantage  in  municipal 
progress.  The  latter  worked  under  a  handicap 
of  a  smallpox  epidemic  of  unusual  violence, 
yet  the  progress  is  distinctive  indicating  excep- 
tional executive  ability. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


463 


1921  Election 

The  spring  city  election  of  1921  proved  a 
surprise  to  man)'.  L.  B.  Murphy  had  been 
nominated  for  mayor  and  until  the  last  hour 
for  filing  candidates  it  seemed  that  there  would 
be  no  opposition.  Then  the  friends  of  Theo. 
D.  Deutsch  placed  with  the  city  clerk  a  peti- 
tion asking  that  his  name  be  placed  upon  the 
ballot.  Murphy  was  in  California  and  had  no 
idea  of  the  influences  that  made  him  a  candi- 
date which  were  the  so-called  "business  inter- 
ests" and  a  combination  of  other  ideas.  Other 
people  believed  that  it  meant  the  selling  of 
improvement  bonds  for  whatever  market  price 
they  would  bring  and  municipal  improvements 
which  the  condition  of  the  times  would  hardly 
justify.  Deutsch  was  a  heavy  tax-payer  and 
an  old  time  resident  of  the  city  and  county. 


The  farmers  took  a  part  also  and  passed  about 
cards,  the  striking  legend  of  which  was.  "This 
is  our  town  too."  Deutsch  was  elected  and 
began  his  administration  by  some  excellent  ap- 
pointments:  P.  J.  McSween  chief  of  police; 
A.  R.  Honnold  as  city  attorney  ;  F.  M.  Cline, 
street  commissioner ;  arc!  Dr.  S.  G.  Allen, 
city  physician.  The  administration  started  off 
with  marked  executive  standards  and  conserva- 
tive economies.  "It  is  no  public  crib  to  run 
to"  for  salaries,  and  "a  dollar's  worth  for  a 
dollar,"  are  two  of  the  policies  strictly  adhered 
to  by  the  mayor  and  the  council.  Scottsbluff 
has  an  excellent  administrative  force.  Guy 
Carlson  and  Lou  Schwaner  succeeding  Dr. 
Stoops  and  F.  M.  Bryan  in  the  council  were 
the  only  changes  otherwise  in  the  city  officers 
from  the  previous  year. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  NEWSPAPERS— EARLY  DAYS  IN  THE  COUNTY 


Having  once  been  a  modest  newspaper  man 
I  know  something  of  the  sorrows  of  pioneer 
journalism.  If  one  says  a  good  word  for  a 
friend,  some  one  else  is  liable  to  mistake  it 
for  "a  slam"  at  another.  Then  there  were 
times  when  a  load  of  wood  or  a  little  proven- 
der looked  very  good  to  be  taken  on  subscrip- 
tion. This  has  all  changed  and  the  newspapers 
are  today  the  lords  of  the  land.  The  fact  is 
they  have  been  re-organized  upon  a  business 
basis  and  there  has  been  business  in  the  last 
number  of  years. 

The  Dean 

The  dean  of  Panhandle  and  Scotts  Bluff 
county  journalism  is  without  doubt  A.  B. 
Wood  of  the  Gering  Courier — which  paper, 
as  has  been  related  he  founded  nearly  thirty- 
five  years  ago. 

Within  the  next  few  years  there  were  sev- 
eral other  Scotts  Bluff  county  men  in  the  news- 
paper business  but  they  are  not  therein  en- 
gaged at  the  present  time.  There  was  Col. 
Peck  of  the  Mitchell  Quirt  when  Mitchell  was 
south  of  the  river.  It  was  established  in  Jan- 
uary, 1889.  There  was  Col.  E.  M.  Totten  of 
the  Chimney  Rock  Transcript.  This  paper  was 
first  established  at  "Mills  Site"  or  on  the  old 


A.  W.  Mills  homestead  about  half  way  be- 
tween Scottsbluff  and  Minatare.  Then  it  was 
moved  to  Minatare  where  it  remained  for  a 
time.  It  is  the  antecedent  of  the  Bayard 
Transcript  as  we  now  know  it.  It  was  at 
Minatare  in  188S. 

G.  E.  Mark 
Will  A.  Hale  once  ran  the  Homestead  in 
Gering.  Geo.  E.  Mark  of  the  Mitchell  Index 
acquired  the  outfit  and  it  was  later  moved  to 
Mitchell  where  for  twenty  or  more  years  Col. 
Mark  has  run  the  Index,  the  only  paper  of 
the  city.  Mr.  Mark  is  one  of  the  old  timers 
who  takes  particular  interest  in  old  history. 

The  Republican 
Next  in  the  order  of  seniority  is  E.  T.  West- 
ervelt.  Col.  Gene  has  been  at  the  helm  of  the 
Republican  at  Scottsbluff  during  the  life  of 
the  city.  His  original  little  frame  shack  was 
put  up  in  a  cornfield. 

The  Star-Herald 

Harry  J.  Wisner  has  for  a  number  of  years 
been  at  the  helm  of  the  Star-Herald,  and  with 
him  is  associated  one  of  the  best  writers  in 


464 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  county,  Col.  Cross.  The  origin  of  this 
paper  is  two-fold.  Earnest  F.  Moon  establish- 
ed the  Herald  in  the  early  days  of  Scottsbluff 
and  a  few  years  later  Peter  J.  Barron  es- 
tablished the  Star.  Col.  Moon  was  a  con- 
sistent progressive  and  for  a  clean  town  at  all 
times.  Col.  Barron  arrived  on  the  scene  when 
the  village  was  emerging  into  a  city  and  was 
foremost  in  the  movement  that  made  Scotts- 
bluff the  leading  city  of  the  North  Platte  valley 
country. 

Col.  Wisner  associated  with  A.  B.  Wood  con- 
solidated the  two  and  have  made  it  a  live 
journal.  They  inaugurated  a  daily  edition  but 
gave  it  up  at  the  end  of  a  year  as  unprofit- 
able. 

A  Daily  Newspaper 

The  Daily  News  next  came  into  Scotts  Bluff 
county  newspaper  world  —  Col.  Clark  coming 
from  Gordon  and  associating  with  Col.  McCon- 
nell.  The  paper  had  hard  sledding  when  the 
federal  reserve  tightened  up  on  credit,  and 
the  consequent  slowing  down  of  all  business. 
The  present  management  followed  and  is  doing 
well.  The  Minatarc  Free  Press  is  one  of  the 
later  papers  that  the  general  growth  of  the 
county  brought  about.  It  has  had  a  tumult- 
uous and  tragic  career.  Sam  D.  Cox  once  ran 
it  and  after  his  death  it  was  managed  by  Prof. 
Chambers  for  awhile  and  at  the  present  time 
it  is  owned  by  Ben  Sallows. 

The   Sam   Cox    Murder 

Not  often  is  it  that  an  editor  and  those 
whom  a  conscientious  editor  must  oppose 
reach  such  a  state  of  hostility  that  homicide 
results.  But  Scotts  Bluff  county  had  one  such 
experience.  Sam  D.  Cox  a  mortal  enemy  of 
the  saloon  and  in  all  a  man  of  great  ability 
and  progressive  ideas  was  editor  of  the  paper 
at  Alinatare.  He  formerly  had  been  connected 
with  and  was  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Lincoln 
Daily  Call.  Minatare  was  infested  with  a 
bunch  of  boot-leggers  and  E.  S.  Kennison  of 
the  hotel  was  friendly  because  of  the  weakness 
he  had  for  something  stronger  than  water. 
This  weakness,  as  has  been  related  in  the  his- 
tory of  Deuel  county,  lost  him  his  job  as  sheriff 
and  many  friends  while  in  that  county. 

In  Scotts  Bluff  county  he  clung  to  the  idols 
that  ruined  him  there.  The  less  couragous  of 
the  gang  in  Minatare  lost  no  opportunity  in 
"pumping  up  Kennison"  and  making  him  think 
he  was  the  object  of  Sam's  cutting  remarks. 
Cox  in  fighting  for  the  principle  often  made 
personal  remarks  that  fit  the  foot  rather  snugly 
and  there  was  no  difficulty  in  firing  the  booze 


muddled  brain  of  Kennison  to  the  point  that 
he  provoked  and  started  a  fight  in  one  of  the 
stores.  In  a  clinch  with  Cox  Kennison  pulled 
a  gun  and  killed  the  editor.  It  was  a  hard 
fought  legal  battle  that  put  Kennison  in  the 
penitentiary  for  twenty-three  years.  It  took 
two  counties  and  two  juries  to  put  him  there 
and  there  have  been  many  and  futile  attempts 
to  get  him  out  by  pardon  and  parole. 

Other  Newspapers 
The  Morrill  Mail  and  the  Henry  Item  consti- 
tute the  papers  not  mentioned  heretofore  in 
the  little  live  cities  of  their  position.  Each 
have  been  very  useful  for  their  communities 
and  the  editors  deserve  all  the  support  that 
they  are  given.  In  fact  that  is  true  of  prac- 
tically all  the  editorial  and  journalistic  people 
of  the  county. 

The  Midwest 
One  of  the  youngest  journals  in  the  county 
and  yet  one  of  the  most  virile  is  the  Midzvest 
of  Gering.  The  once  state  publicity  agent 
Col.  Will  R.  Maupin  is  the  editor.  Col.  Maupin 
formerly  published  the  York  Democrat  and 
the  Midwest  Magazine.  Prior  to  those  associ- 
ations he  had  been  in  the  newspaper  game  for 
a  life  time. 

Colonel  Wood's  Story 
A.  B.  Wood,  the  dean  of  western  Nebraska 
newspaper  men  has  furnished  the  compiler  a 
statement  of  journalistic  history  of  this  county 
and  the  adjoining  county  of  Banner,  which 
owing  to  his  first  hand  knowledge  is  a  valuable 
contribution.  It  is  a  matter  of  congratulation 
that  we  are  able  to  include  this  story  for  per- 
manent record.  In  the  history  of  Banner 
county  will  be  found  a  story  more  in  detail  of 
the  newspapers  of  Harrisburg  and  Ashford. 

Scotts  Bluff  County  Journalism 
By  A.  B.  Wood 

The  Gering  Courier,  which  I  have  conducted 
personally  from  that  day  to  this,  was  first  is- 
sued on  April  27,  1887,  and  was  a  patent  inside 
sheet  with  the  two  outside  pages  printed  "at 
home."  The  honor  of  being  the  pioneer  in  the 
North  Platte  valley  was  not  easily  achieved 
for  less  than  a  week  later  the  Minatare 
Trumpet  appeared,  its  publisher  being  John 
F.  Ringler.  Neither  the  Trumpet  nor  my  own 
paper  were  established  with  any  large  vision 
of  the  later  greatness  of  the  North  Platte  val- 
ley. For  my  own  part,  the  fact  that  the  country 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


465 


was  being  settled  by  homesteaders  and  that 
they  would  in  due  time  need  to  spend  money 
for  publishing  notices  for  final  proof  was  the 
impelling  motive.  Indeed,  this  source  of  rev- 
enue was  all  which  enabled  my  embryo  busi- 
ness to  survive  through  a  period  of  years  until 
real  development  began  to  take  place.  The 
original  plant  of  the  Courier  consisted  of  an 
Army  press,  one  of  those  affairs  which  sets  on 
a  table  and  is  operated  like  a  clothes  wringer, 
printing  one  page  at  a  time,  and  a  mere  hand- 
ful of  type  and  necessary  cases.  This  outfit, 
a  lot  of  groceries  for  the  only  store  in  the 
North  river  valley,  a  couple  or  three  trunks  and 
a  number  of  other  articles  were  only  enough 
to  make  a  moderate  sized  wagon  box  full  which 
Avas  hauled  out  for  me,  and  with  me,  from 
Sidney,  seventy  miles  across  country. 

Final  proof  notices  were  the  first  objective 
in  the  establishment  of  newspapers,  but  closely 
thereafter  came  the  county  seat  question,  as 
it  became  probable  that  the  old  county  of  Chey- 
enne would  be  divided  into  several  counties, 
and  was  responsible  for  a  number  of  papers  at 
prospective  county  seats,  notably  in  what  are 
now  Scott  Bluff  and  Banner  counties.  The 
third  paper  was  started  at  a  point  in  Mitchell 
valley  opposite  the  present  city  of  that  name, 
by  one  E.  B.  Peck,  who  lasted  just  long  enough 
to  make  the  campaign  for  county  seat  location, 
but  long  enough  to  take  my  name  in  vain  147 
times  by  actual  count  in  his  final  issue.  Surely 
those  were  the  days  of  personal  journalism. 

A  newspaper  had  been  published  at  Bayard, 
opposing  the  division  lines  which  placed  it  on 
the  border  line  between  the  new  Scotts  Bluff 
county  and  the  central  portion  of  the  old 
county,  which  still  remained  Cheyenne  county. 
It  was  called  the  Chimney  Rock  Transcript, 
and  was  printed  by  J.  J.  Totten,  and  he  at 
•once  espoused  the  cause  of  a  point  west  of 
Minatare,  called  Millstown,  as  a  county  seat 
contender,  but  after  this  idea  was  eliminated 
by  the  selection  of  Gering,  its  publication  was 
continued  at  Bayard,  and  the  sheet  was  pur- 
chased in  July,  1889,  by  Col.  Francis  O.  Wis- 
ner,  a  fine  type  of  the  old  school  journalist,  and 
published  by  him  until  his  death.  Today  it  is 
still  in  a  hearty  condition  with  his  son,  R.  A. 
Wisner,  at  the  helm. 

The  county  seat  period  was  responsible  for 
a  number  of  newspapers  in  Banner  county  also. 
The  peak  birth  rate  was  in  1888,  when  the  list 
across  the  south  hills  included  the  various  hope- 
ful contenders  for  the  county  seat.  The  Free- 
port  Gazette  in  the  northeast  part,  J.  J.  Wilson 
being  the  publisher.  An  issue  of  this  paper 
now   before  me   lists   E.   M.   Cowen,   now   of 


Scottsbluff,  as  an  advertiser,  but  later  on  he 
is  found  as  publisher  of  the  Early  Day  at  Har- 
risburg,  from  which  I  conclude  he  acquired 
the  plant  and  moved  it  there  after  Harrisburg 
won  out.  Centropolis  was  a  proposed  site  less 
than  a  mile  from  Harrisburg,  and  C.  H.  Ran- 
dall, who  has  since  become  known  to  fame  as 
the  California  prohibition  congressman,  was 
the  founder  of  the  Centropolis  World,  of 
which  a  copy  indicates  he  was  the  best  real 
newspaper  man  of  us  all  in  those  days.  Ash- 
ford,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  made 
a  strong  fight  for  the  Banner  county  seat,  and 
was  really  a  good  trading  center  already.  They 
entered  the  campaign  with  a  paper  temporarily 
printed  in  my  own  office  at  Gering,  called  the 
Ashford  Gazette.  J.  F.  Gay,  now  in  Iowa, 
was  the  nominal  editor,  but  as  I  recall  it  W. 
W.  White,  now  of  Gering,  C.  E.  Dooley  and 
J.  M.  Schooley  were  the  men  who  arranged 
for  the  publication.  This  plant  passed  through 
the  hands  of  Grant  L.  Shumway  and  others, 
finally  being  located  in  Harrisburg. 

The  final  proof  patronage  was  a  political 
matter  in  those  days,  and  there  was  one  os- 
tensibly Scotts  Bluff  county  paper  for  a  brief 
period  which  came  near  putting  the  Courier 
out  of  business.  John  M.  Adams,  a  democrat, 
was  registrar  of  the  land  office  at  Sidney,  in 
which  place  the  Telegraph  was  published  by 
Bush  &  Callahan,  also  the  Sidney  Democrat, 
by  J.  F.  ("Duke")  Wellington.  The  latter  be- 
ing a  democrat  conceived  the  idea  of  securing 
all  the  government  patronage,  and  one  fine  day 
a  paper  came  over  to  Gering  out  of  his  shop 
bearing  the  title  of  the  Gering  Democrat.  He 
started  a  similar  process  to  get  the  coveted 
business  in  other  sections  also,  since  the 
law  required  the  publication  of  land  notices 
in  the  paper  published  "nearest"  the  land ;  but 
the  register  was  privileged  to  designate  in  case 
there  was  more  than  one  paper — hence  around 
the  Courier  shop  in  Gering  there  was  gloom  so 
thick  we  could  almost  spread  it  on  our  pan- 
cakes. At  that  time  I  was  in  partnership  with 
Martin  Bristol,  doing  a  farm  loan  business  for 
an  eastern  company.  The  brilliant  thought 
struck  him  as  a  solution,  and  he  said,  "Just 
you  run  my  name  up  there  as  editor  and  I'll 
go  over  there  and  read  the  riot  act  to  Adams. 
Guess  I'm  democrat  enough  to  get  by."  We 
did.  and  for  a  few  brief  months  the  Courier 
was  a  democratic  sheet,  a  fact  which  my  good 
friend  E.  T.  Westervelt,  will  never  let  me  for- 
get, although  he  forgets  I  had  probably  a 
much  "blacker"  reputation  then  than  now,  and 
even  chairman  of  the  republican  county  com- 
mittee at  that  time.     But  the  Gering  Democrat 


466 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


expired  with  its  issue  of  November  9,  1888, 
after  the  presidential  election  result  became 
known. 

The  next  newspaper  enterprise  in  this  sec- 
tion was  the  Independent  Union,  in  which 
A.  F.  Snyder,  for  the  period  from  April,  1891, 
to  February  18,  1892,  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  farmers  alliance  movement,  then  suspended 
and  went  to  Cheyenne.  In  the  fall  of  1893, 
the  Nebraska  Homestead  made  its  advent  at 
Gering,  Wm.  A.  Hale  being  the  publisher,  and 
selling  it  to  Wagner  brothers,  Harry  and 
Frank,  in  1895.  They  in  turn  sold  to  George 
E.  Mark  in  May,  1896.  That  gentleman  was 
not  a  practical  newspaper  man,  but  he  was 
adaptable  and  successful,  and  has  been  steadily 
in  the  harness  since  that  time,  except  for  a 
brief  period  during  which  he  sold  the  plant 
to  E.  F.  Moon,  but  bought  it  back  again  in 
June,  1900.  When  the  Burlington  railroad 
reached  the  North  Platte  valley  and  passed  by 
on  the  other  side,  Mr.  Mark  moved  his  plant 
to  Mitchell  in  April,  1901,  changing  the  name 
to  the  Mitchell  Index,  which  is  conducted  by 
him  at  this  time  and  is  one  of  the  most  stable 
institutions  in  the  valley. 

The  Burlington  railroad  marked  also  the  be- 
ginning of  much  additional  newspaper  history. 
E.  T.  Westervelt  founded  the  Scottsbluff  Re- 
publican and  E.  F.  Moon  the  Scottsbluff  Her- 
ald. The  former  is  still  conducted  by  him 
with  ability  and  profit.  The  Herald  is  still 
likewise  in  existence  as  one  side  of  the  Star- 
Herald  name,  of  which  more  later. 

The  Morrill  Mail  was  established  by  R. 
Bruce  Hill,  ostensibly,  but  its  ownership  was 
Geo.  E.  Mark,  and  later  on  H.  N.  Perrine, 
later1  deceased,  became  the  nominal  publisher. 
The  proxy  conduct  of  a  newspaper  plant  not 
always  being  satisfactory,  and  becoming  dissat- 
isfied with  the  management  of  Will  F.  Due, 
whom  he  had  placed  in  charge  following  Per- 
rine's  death,  Mr.  Mark  sold  the  Mail  to  W.  E. 
Alvis  in  October.  1913.  The  latter  died  a  few 
years  ago,  but  the  paper  is  still  operated  by 
his  wife. 

The  original  Minatare  paper,  the  Trumpet, 
was  sold  by  Ringler  to  John  Dyer,  who  could 
not  make  it  go,  and  it  was  absorbed  by  the 
Gering  Courier.  Some  years  later,  Sam  D. 
Cox  established  the  Minatare  Sentinel.  Its 
history  covering  the  murder  of  Cox  in  a  fight 
growing  out  of  Cox's  espousal  of  the  temper- 
ance cause  is  no  doubt  covered  elsewhere  in 
this  volume.  In  the  meantime,  the  Minatare 
Free  Press  was  established  by  Worth  F. 
Graham,  and  afterward  consolidated  with  the 
Sentinel.     Passing  through  the  respective  own- 


erships of  W.  F.  Harper,  Clarence  E.  Lee,  I. 
N.  Lyman  and  R.  O.  Chambers,  it  is  now  a 
thriving  and  going  concern  in  the  hands  of 
Rufus  Jones  as  editor,  but  owned  jointly  by 
him  and  B.  J.  Sallows  of  the  Alliance  Times. 

In  November,  1906,  the  Star  was  established 
at  Mitchell  by  P.  J.  Barron,  and  exactly  one 
year  later,  in  1907,  he  moved  it  to  Scottsbluff. 
The  Star  and  Herald  were  purchased  by  Harry 
J.  Wisner  and  A.  B.  Wood  and  consolidated  in 
October,  1912,  and  is  still  so  published,  Mr. 
Wisner  being  in  charge  and  assisted  by  Chas. 
C.  Cross  as  one  of  its  editors.  A  daily  paper 
was  published  for  one  year,  but  found  unpro- 
fitable. At  this  writing  a  daily  paper,  the 
Platte  Valley  Neivs,  is  making  a  heroic  strug- 
gle to  established  itself,  with  what  result  time 
will  tell.  It  was  started  by  A.  E.  Clark,  and 
at  this  time  is  in  charge  of  George  Grimes, 
formerly  a  Lincoln  newspaper  man. 

After  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  came  into 
the  valley,  the  McGrezv  Messenger  was  estab- 
lished by  the  writer  on  October  28,  1912,  and 
printed  (in  Gering)  until  February  19,  1913, 
when  it  was  sold  to  G.  J.  Long.  In  November 
of  that  year,  he  removed  the  plant  to  Gering, 
where  it  was  published  as  the  Wasp  for  some- 
thing like  a  year,  then  sold  to  Hammond  & 
Cloud,  who  changed  its  name  to  the  Twin 
City  Times.  It  was  not  a  success,  and  was 
finally  suspended,  the  old  material  still  being 
stored  in  Gering. 

To  bring  the  story  down  to  recent  years,  only 
needs  to  mention  the  Henry  Messenger,  printed 
for  a  year  or  so  by  J.  D.  Fugate,  and  sus- 
pended in  1920.  The  McGrew  Messenger  and 
the  Mclbcta  Times  were  two  papers  issued  for 
perhaps  a  year  each  as  commercial  propositions 
by  the  clubs  of  those  places.  The  Gering  Mid- 
zvest  is  the  youngest  weekly  in  the  county,  hav- 
ing operated  during  the  past  two  years  by  Will 
M.  Maupin,  a  well  known  Nebraska  newspaper 
man,  who  also  at  this  time  is  printing  for  the 
young  city  of  Lyman  a  paper  which  he  states 
will  be  supplied  with  a  plant  of  its  own  shortly. 

This  article  has  made  no  mention  of  publi- 
cations not  in  the  accepted  newspaper  class. 
Several  papers  of  a  general  character  nave 
been  printed  here,  among  them  the  Nebraska 
Odd  Fellow  with  a  statewide  circulation  with 
my  own  name  as  publisher,  but  in  reality  a 
commercial  proposition  for  the  actual  owners. 
The  Hammer  was  an  engineering  paper  printed 
in  Gering  for  some  time,  H.  A.  Mark  being  its 
author.  The  Nebraska  Times,  a  Japanese  pub- 
lication may  also  be  credited  to  the  county  list. 

There  may  be  some  slight  inaccuracies  in  this 
article.    Much  of  it  has  been  gathered  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


467 


files  of  the  Courier,  which  I  have  complete  for 
almost  thirty-five  years  in  bound  form,  and 
which  constitute  the  most  valuable  mass  of  his- 
torical data  imaginable.  I  also  have  copies  filed 
away  of  almost  all  of  the  publications  I  have 
named  in  this  article,  and  the  brief  perusal  I 
have  given  them  in  getting  together  the  ma- 
terial herewith  has  been  a  labor  of  love,  one 
which  I  would  be  delighted  sometime  to  repeat 
with  a  view  to  exemplifying  the  gratifying  con- 
trast which  has  come  to  pass  within  my  life- 
time in  the  newspaper  conditions. 

SCOTTSBLUFF    VOLUNTEER    FlRE    DEPARTMENT 

In  December,  1909,  pursuant  to  call,  a  num- 
ber of  the  citizens  gathered  together  in  the 
office  of  Carr  &  Neff  Lumber  company,  and 
organized  a  Volunteer  Fire  Department,  which 
was  the  beginning  of  the  city's  present  vigor- 
ous fire  fighting  machine. 

The  first  meeting  was  held  on  the  eleventh, 
when  Fred  Alexander  was  elected  president ; 
P.  J.  Barron,  secretary-treasurer ;  and  J.  C. 
Caine  as  chief.  They  also  constituted  a  com- 
mittee to  draft  constitution  and  by-laws.  The 
next  meeting  was  held  on  the  sixteenth.  George 
Elquist,  W.  A.  Stull,  W.  W.  Cline,  G.  L. 
Shumway,  W.  H.  Goforth,  C.  J.  Dawson,  J. 

D.  Bohnert  and  J.  C.  Caine  were  the  first  mem- 
bers to  fully  qualify  as  members  On  January 
tenth  F.  D.  Schofield,  William  Morrow  and  A. 

E.  Delahovde  qualified,  and  on  February  four- 
teenth, E.'S.  Young,  W.  G.  Ashbaugh.'H.  W. 
Newby,  Chas.  J.  Evans,  Homer  Cline,  W.  E. 
Rice.  M.  T.  Murphy,  W.  T.  Hill,  G.  1.  God- 
sev,  V.  B.  Kirkham,  Earl  Sawver,  P.  T.  Shef- 
fer.  I.  N.  Wallace,  A.  Dean,  G.  E.  Caine,  H. 
J.  Gilbraith  and  M.  A.  Scott  did  likewise.  This 
completed  the  roster  of  the  first  members  of 
the  fire  department,  a  total  of  thirty  members. 
At  this  meeting  W.  A.  Stull  was  chosen  as  as- 
sistant chief. 

In  April,  1910,  Alexander  and  Barron  were 
re-elected,  and  H.  J.  Gilbraith  chosen  chief. 
Gilbraith  served  until  June  13  when  F.  D. 
Schofield  was  selected.  The  council  during  this 
year  passed  an  ordinance  charging  fire  insur- 
ance companies  doing  business  in  Scottsbluff 
an  annual  license  of  five  dollars  for  a  fireman's 
fund.  P.  T.  Sheffer  was  appointed  assistant 
chief,  and  the  department  divided  into  three 
groups.  Hose  Cart  No.  1  had  Hill,  Morrow, 
Edgar,  Schofield  and  Barron,  while  No.  2  had 
Sheffer,  Guernsey,  Foreman,  Carlisle  and  Cline. 
The  hook  and  ladder  team  was  Elquist,  Lane, 
Alexander,  Westervelt  and  Ashbaugh. 


In  1911,  a  more  thorough  organization  was 
effected.  J.  R.  Baskins  was  elected  president; 
O.  W.  Rhoads,  chief;  F.  D.  Schofield,  secre- 
tary-treasurer; W.  T.  Hill  was  made  foreman 
of  Hose  Cart  No.  1  with  W  A.  Stull  as  as- 
sistant ;  B.  T.  Sheffer,  foreman  of  No.  2  with 
J.  J.  Carlisle,  assistant ;  Geo.  Elquist  was  fore- 
man of  the  hook  and  ladder,  with  I.  N.  Wal- 
lace, assistant.  This  year  the  department  put 
on  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  which  was  a 
live  one.  So  lively 'in  fact  that  all  of  the  fire- 
works went  off  at  once,  giving  a  never-to-be- 
forgotten  pyrotechnical  display. 

Baskins  was  re-elected  in  1912,  with  Drew 
Rogers,  chief;  and  W.  L.  Simmons,  secre- 
tary-treasurer. 

In  1913.'  Harry  Wisner  was  elected  presi- 
dent, being  re-elected  the  following  year.  Jack 
Carlisle  was  chief  in  1913,  and  Bert  Lynch, 
secretary.  Geo.  Bohnert  was  chief  in  1914, 
and  Guy  Lane,  secretary.  In  1915,  F.  G. 
Warrick  was  president ;' Wash  Scott',  chief; 
and  Dan  Ayres,  secretarv.  Bert  Lynch  fol- 
lowed as  president  in  1915,  with  Wash  Scott 
again  chief,  and  Milo  Jones  secretary. 

O.  W.  Rhoads,  chief  in  1911,  has  served 
three  terms  as  president,  1917,  1918,  and  1920. 
A  tireless,  loyal  member. 

John  Orr,  who  was  chief  in  1917  and  1918, 
became  president  in  1919,  and  is  president 
in  1920.  He  is  another  who  has  been  steadily 
working  for  the  good  of  the  order.  Milo  Jones 
was  chief  in  1919,  and  in  1920  Guy  Carlson 
was  chosen  for  the  place.  Carlson's  idea) 
brought  about  the  adoption  of  the  "silent  fire 
alarm,"  instead  of  the  siren  whistle.  This 
system  is  the  ringing  of  a  bell  at  the  home 
of  every  member  of  the  fire  department,  in- 
stead of  disturbing  the  entire  city. 

W.  P.  Ford  was  elected  chief 'in  1921.  F. 
E.  Missen  was  secretary  in  1917,  Bert  Lynch 
in  1918,  and  Marshall  Kinney  in  1919;  Kim 
Westervelt  and  W.  P.  Ford,  each  serving  for 
a  short  time.  Lynch  again  became  secretary 
in  1920  and  G.  F.  Ervin,  treasurer.  In  1921 
Lee  Wright  is  the  secretary  and  Ervin  again 
looking  after  the  treasurer's  office. 

In  1919  the  new  city  hall  was  built  with  ac- 
commodations for  the  department  including 
club  rooms,  and  the  old  hose  house  was  aban- 
doned. A  combination  truck  was  purchased  that 
year,  and  put  in  charge  of  G.  F.  Ervin.  driver, 
and  he  has  been  the  driver  since  that  time.  In 
1921  the  new  chemical  truck  was  bought  by 
the  city,  and  \Y.  H.  Goforth,  driver,  put  in 
charge.  The  department  has  today  thirty-eight 
active  members. 


468 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Brief  Saloon  Record 

Before  the  village  was  incorporated,  a  Mr. 
Armstrong  came  over  from  Alliance  and  tried 
to  get  a  saloon  license  from  the  county  com- 
missioners. The  matter  was  delayed  although 
Colonel  Irwin  stayed  around  for  some  weeks. 
Immediately  following  the  creation  of  the  vil- 
lage, Alvin  McClenahan  and  Spry  &  Soder 
were  granted  license,  and  Soder  moved  a  brick 
building  over  from  Gering.  This  was  the  first 
brick  business  house  on  Broadway,  and  is 
used  as  "Sweetland"  by  Theo.  Lewis  at  this 
time. 

Armstrong,  then  came  from  Alliance  and 
built  a  story  and  half  frame  near  the  depot, 
where  he  opened  for  a  time.  A  colored  tramp 
painter  came  along  and  Armstrong  had  him 
print  a  sign  upon  the  roof,  in  letters  seven  feet 
long.  It  was  not  a  neat  job,  and  not  evenly 
spaced.  Armstrong  made  him  paint  another 
"N"  on  the  name,  so  that  until  the  building 
burned  some  years  later,  the  first  sign  to  greet 
the  eye  of  the  stranger  at  the  station  was 
"S-A-L-O-O-N-N."  Dan  McAlseese,  of  Sid- 
ney, once  owned  this  place. 

The  saloon  was  short-lived  in  Scottsbluff, 
and  went  out  of  business  by  a  seven  to  one 
vote  in  1907,  since  which  the  town  and 
city  has  been  consistently  dry.  There  has  been 
some  boot-legging,  but  no  more  than  in  other 
places  of  equal  size  and  importance.  The  of- 
ficers are  generally  very  vigilant,  and  are  con- 
stantly picking  up  those  whom  are  bent  on  in- 
fractions of  the  liquor  laws. 

Early  Days  in  Scottsbluff 
With  the  building  of  new  towns,  there  is 
always  the  spirit  that  at  first  challenges  the 
authority  of  law.  Not  however  with  the  law- 
less spirit,  but  with  the  spirit  of  independence. 
They  want  no  restraining  influence,  no  inter- 
ference with  what  they  are  doing.  The  old 
west  was  more  inclined  to  this  than  the  newer 
towns.  Yet,  when  Scottsbluff  came  into  exist- 
ence there  were  numbers  of  the  old  regime, 
who  took  it  upon  themselves  to  give  the  new 
town  a  touch  of  high  life  —  to  stage  a  sort  of 
a  realism  to  the  order,  or  lack  of  order  that 
once  obtained.  This  throwback  of  ten  or  twen- 
ty years  was  the  end  of  the  wild  west  in 
Scotts  Bluff  county.  Naturally,  there  were 
some  really  lawless  episodes  instead  of  relax- 
ation, for  the  evilly  inclined  always  take  ad- 
vantage of  a  condition  and  throw  in  with  in- 
nocent amusements  and  sometimes  transform 
them  into  orgies  that  should  not  exist. 

J.  H.  Casselman  will  remember  to  his  dying 
day  an  affair  that  grew  partly  out  of  Cassel- 


man's  opposition  to  the  saloon.  Some  of  the 
wild  ones  resented  interference  and  set  about 
to  make  things  hum.  Then  there  was  a  little 
bad  blood  between  the  two  saloons,  which 
added  fuel  to  the  flames.  A  partisan  of  one 
entered  the  other  and  hit  John  Eiler,  the  kindly 
and  peaceable  attendant  at  the  bar  in  the  other 
saloon,  over  the  head  with  a  beer  bottle.  Slim 
McClenahan  was  interested  in  the  saloon 
where  the  affair  was  pulled  off,  and  he  grab- 
bed his  gun.  He  never  waited  for  the  ordi- 
nary method  of  getting  the  gun  in  action,  but 
started  a  rapid  fire,  by  striking  the  hammer 
part  way  back  and  releasing  it.  The  cylinder 
was  quickly  emptied  toward  the  offender,  and 
one  bullet  hit  his  finger.  He  lost  no  time  in 
going  out  of  the  door  and  across  the  street, 
where  a  tree  that  stood  at  the  McCreary  cor- 
ner checked  his  progress  for  a  moment.  This 
tree  bent  under  the  impact  of  his  body,  but 
he  soon  went  on  his  way  with  little  diminishing 
of  speed. 

A  few  moments  later,  a  woman  came  madly 
down  the  street  with  a  gun,  which  she  pressed 
into  the  ribs  of  Mr.  Casselman,  declaring  that 
it  was  his  agitation  that  had  caused  all  the 
trouble.  Casselman  did  not  answer,  and  she 
rushed  on  to  the  saloon  where  the  affair  started. 
But  "Slim"  had  gone  out  the  back  door,  over 
to  Mowry's  barn  and  saddled  his  horse.  He 
rode  into  the  country  and  did  not  come  back 
for  a  few  days,  or  until  the  affair  had  cooled 
down.  It  is  said  that  Casselman  collapsed 
after  the  woman  passed  on,  and  had  to  be  car- 
ried into  the  bank. 

John  Konkle  can  also  remember  when  he 
first  came  to  Scottsbuff,  and  was  camped  on 
First  avenue,  near  the  present  Emery  Annex. 
A  bullet  carelessly  sent  on  its  way  passed 
through  the  top  of  his  wagon  cover.  Whether 
or  not  this  was  the  reason,  John  returned  to 
his  home  in  the  south  part  of  the  state  and  re- 
mained there  a  couple  years  before  he  returned 
to  make  the  city  his  permanent  home. 

For  the  most  part  the  popping  of  guns  with- 
in the  city  limits  was  entirely  for  amusement, 
and  those  who  shot  them  did  so  just  for  ex- 
uberance, noise  or  marksmanship.  The  fel- 
lows who  did  the  shooting  were  just  "waking 
things  up."  For  instance,  when  Herman  Siing- 
baum  came  in  off  the  range  the  town  seemed 
a  bit  quiet,  and  he  so  remarked.  A  bystander 
handed  him  a  gun  and  said  "wake  her  up." 
Herman  stepped  out  on  the  street,  and  fired 
three  shots  into  the  ground  and  three  into 
the  air,  and  then  handed  the  gun  back  to  the 
owner.  The  shooting  occurred  in  front  of  the 
Harrison  grocery.     Mrs.  Harrison  used  to  sit 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


469 


in  the  front  room  of  the  grocery,  and  when  a 
customer  came  in  she  would  call  Mr.  Harrison 
who  sometimes  worked  in  the  back  room, 
counting  eggs  or  checking  in  merchandise. 
Mrs.  Harrison's  eyesight  was  very  poorly  at 
the  time,  and  she  could  not  attend  the  wants 
of  customers,  but  occupied  a  rocker.  When 
the  gun  was  discharged  it  so  startled  her  that 
she  went  over  back  in  the  rocker,  and  Mr.  Har- 
rison fell  over  a  crate  of  eggs  in  his  haste. 
But  Herman  was  out  of  sight,  and  it  was  a 


long  time  before  they  knew  who  was  responsi- 
ble for  the  incident. 

Trying  to  make  themselves  believe  that  the 
wild  west  still  existed,  and  putting  a  touch  of 
realism  in  it,  were  play  hours  in  early  Scotts- 
bluff,  but  to  those  who  had  lived  the  old  west- 
ern way,  they  had  about  the  same  realism  as 
the  movie.  There  was  little  of  the  thrill  of 
danger,  that  went  with  the  old  west,  and  little 
of  the  gigantic  action  that  was  with  events  in 
the  epoch  when  cattlemen  were  kings. 


CHAPTER  V 


INCIDENTS  AND  PERSONALITIES 


When  the  grangers  came  they  found  a  num- 
ber of  the  unique  characters  of  cowboy  days 
trailing  around  as  though  they  regretted  to 
leave  the  old  range.  There  were  Dan  Calla- 
han, Phil  Jurish,  Jimmy  Moore,  and  many 
others,  but  this  incident  is  concerning  Phil.  In 
1889,  he  dropped  in  where  the  election  was 
being  held  in  Tabor  precinct,  and  made  some 
remark  about  what  the  governor  of  North 
Carolina  said  to  the  governor  of  South  Caro- 
lina. He  had  about  a  pint  of  that  now  obso- 
lete beverage  in  a  quart  bottle,  and  passed  it 
to  the  nearest  member  of  the  board.  It  went 
the  rounds  and  Phil  replaced  the  cork  and  put 
what  was  left  in  his  pocket.  "Gentlemen,"  he 
asked,  "would  you  like  to  hear  a  song?"  Being 
assured  that  they  would  be  delighted  he  sang, 
"The  Irish  Exile,"  in  a  fine  tenor  voice.  Then 
he  emptied  the  bottle  and  mounted  his  horse. 
As  he  rode  away  he  announced  that  he  was 
going  over  the  Castle  Rock  precinct  to  defeat 
Runey  Campbell  for  constable.  He  failed  in 
his  mission.  Phil  had  a  little  case  in  district 
court  over  some  water  rights,  and  he  secured 
the  services  of  Judge  Heist.  As  the  case  was 
about  to  go  to  the  court,  the  Judge  said  in  that 
wheezy  voice  of  his:  "Well,  Phil,  I  guess  it  is 
about  time  to  give  me  a  retainer."  Phil  asked 
how  much  and  when  the  judge  said,  "About 
twenty  dollars,"  Jurish  nearly  had  a  fit.  He 
paid  the  money  which  then  was  a  big  sum, 
after  which  he'  exclaimed :  "Well,  Judge,  we 
will  sure  win  the  case  now,  won't  we  ?'  "No-o" 
drawled  the  judge  as  he  tucked  away  the  twen- 


ty, "No-o — we  will  lose  the  case,  Phil." 
"What,"'  yelled  the  surprised  client,  as  the 
money  disappeared  into  the  judge's  watch  pock- 
et, "me  paying  you  twenty  to  tell  me  I  am 
going  to  lose?"  "Well,"  drawled  Heist,  "it  is 
worth  something  to  know  it  in  advance." 

How  Tabor  Was  Named 
Names  are  sometimes  left  perpetually  upon 
the  country,  not  for  what  the  individual  does, 
but  because  of  an  admiring  friend  or  affection- 
ate relative.  The  precinct  in  which  Minatare 
is  situate  is  called  Tabor,  after  Wian  Tabor, 
the  son-in-law  of  Geo.  W.  Fairfield.  It  was 
left  to  Fairfield  to  supply  the  name  and  he 
chose  Tabor.  He  also  platted  a  town  of  that 
name,  but  Minatare,  just  east  of  it,  became  the 
town.  While  Tabor  was  a  good  citizen,  there 
was  nothing  so  distintctive  about  him  or  his 
service  to  the  community,  that  should  make  his 
name  paramount  to  that  of  many  other  Mina- 
tare folks. 

True,  George  W.  Fairfield  had  done  much, 
and  out  of  deference  to  him  was  the  name. 
Fairfield  was  one  of  the  old  surveyors  for  the 
government  and  he  was  also  one  who  sur- 
veyed out  Minatare  canal,  and  others  of  the 
early  days.  He  was  an  enthusiast  of  irriga- 
tion, and  in  pioneer  development. 

Tim;  Quagmires 
Fairfield's    spectacular   language    is    written 
into  the  field  notes  now  on  file  with  the  state 
surveyor,  in  the  office  of  the  state  land  com- 


470 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


missioner,  but  nowhere  does  it  surpass  his  des- 
cription of  the  bog  holes  or  quagmires  found 
in  western  Scotts  Bluff  county.  These  singular 
formations  seem  to  be  wells  in  the  firmer  soils, 
and  the  wells  are  filled  with  a  soft  muck.  These 
differ  in  color  but  all  are  very  thin,  and  orig- 
inally many  cattle  were  lost  in  them.  The  grass 
grows  green  around  the  edges,  and  in  tufts  on 
top  of  the  heaps  of  muck,  for  it  seems  that 
the  internal  pressure  forces  the  bogs  to  rounded 
forms  above  the  level  adjacent  ground. 

There  are  two  groups  of  these  bogs  in  the 
county,  about  two  or  three  miles  apart :  one 
just  east  of  the  Crocket  ranch  and  the  other 
on  Honeycutt  hill.  Each  group  has  a  dozen 
or  more  of  the  bogs  about  ten  feet  across, 
twenty-five  feet  and  upward  apart,  and  some- 
times connected  by  trenches  that  seem  to  be 
cracks,  possibly  made  by  an  upwards  pressure 
of  underneath    forces   or  materials.      No  one 


for  distances  instead  of  using  the  chain. 

It  calls  to  mind  the  story  of  the  elder  Mr. 
Lafferty  who  was  a  locater  in  early  days. 
There  was  a  small  party  of  land  seekers  of 
which  Bert  Mills  was  one,  and  they  were  run- 
ning off  the  lines  using  the  wagon  wheel  meth- 
od. One  hundred  eighty-five  revolutions  made 
a  half  mile,  and  Mr.  Lafferty  was  doing  the 
counting.  After  they  had  driven  on  and  on 
until  it  seemed  three  or  four  times  the  half 
mile,  they  turned  and  found  that  Lafferty  had 
fallen  asleep.  It  was  one  of  those  hot,  sleepy 
days.  They  turned  about,  and  started  it  over 
again  with  the  same  result,  but  the  third  time 
he  counted  it  to  the  half  mile  post. 

Other  Early  Names 
It  would  have  been  more  in  keeping  with 
proprieties  to  have  given  Tabor  precinct  the 
name  Harshman.     Theo.  Harshman  furnished 


:e  or  Jesse   Pickering  Xear  Mi 


knows  to  what  depths  these  bogs  extend  but 
at  least  it  is  presumed  that  they  reach  down 
to  the  Laramie  formation  and  perhaps  a  far 
greater  depth.  One  can  shove  a  pole  or  post 
into  the  muck  with  little  force,  as  far  as  it 
will  reach. 

Surveyor  Fairfield  said  that  an  unfortunate 
steer  could  never  hope  to  extricate  itself  if  it 
fell  into  one  of  these  bogs,  but  that  it  would 
gradually  sink  down  "until  its  last  despairing 
bellow  would  ring  across  the  prairie  as  the  tip 
of  its  tail  would  sink  beneath  the  mud." 

Surveying  With  a  Wagon  Wheel 
The  fact  that  many  corners  were  some  few 
feet  or  rods  from  where  they  should  be,  making 
crooked  lines,  or  sometimes  over  acreage  or 
under  acreage  in  given  tracts,  gave  rise  to  the 
stories  that  original  surveyors  were  careless, 
and  "counted  the  revolutions  of  a  wagon  wheel" 


the  largest  family  and  thereby  the  greatest 
population  of  any  individual  in  "the  precinct. 
He  arrived  in  the  spring  of  1886,  from  Iowa, 
with  several  covered  wagons,  as  there  were 
twelve  children  (and  they  were  all  good  work- 
ers). He  built  a  sod  house  30  by  75  feet,  in 
which. the  family  resided  for  twenty  years.  He 
brought  a  complete  blacksmith  outfit  and  put 
up  a  shop,  which  was  a  great  convenience  to 
the  neighborhood.  He  also  brought  the  first 
herd  of  dairy  cows  that  was  ever  in  Scotts 
Bluff  county. 

The  Johnson  family  is  another  familiar  one 
in  the  nomenclature  of  Scotts  Bluff  county.  We 
have  had  W.  W.  Johnson,  the  tree  man,  who 
went  over  all  the  country  selling  trees,  and 
many  an  orchard  now  blooms  to  his  memory 
and  perseverance.  We  have  the  present  family 
of  Johnsons,  at  Scottsbluff,  who  are  active  in 
all  its  public  spirit  and  enterprise  and  there 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


are  others.  But  the  Johnsons  that  are  around 
Minatare,  are  distinctive  and  have  been  from 
the  early  pioneer  days.  C.  T.  Johnson  was 
the  first  county  superintendent  of  Scotts  Bluff 
county.  He  had  other  qualities  that  dis- 
tinguished him.  For  instance,  he  one  day  took 
W.  R.  Akers  and  Bert  Mills  to  hunt  grouse  on 
the  islands.  He  had  a  good  dog,  and  the 
birds  were  flushed  in  nice  order.  Akers  and 
Johnson  worked  along  together  and  Bert  was 
the  boy  of  the  crowd.  Johnson  killed  fourteen 
of  sixteen  flushed  up,  and  Akers  not  one. 
Among  the  advantages  permanently  to  the  good 
of  the  county  for  C.  T.  Johnson  having  resided 
here  is  that  Harry  T.  and  Frank  Johnson  are 
among  the  present  citizenship  of  Minatare. 
Harry  served  for  years  as  county  commissioner 
and  Frank  once  as  superintendent  and  both 
have  been  prominent  in  everything  for  the  pro- 
gress of  the  community  and  county. 

The  Flowers,  and  Fowlers,  and  Norths,  and 
Wrights,  the  Bloods,  and  Clarks,  and  Keelers, 
and  Orr,  and  Moomaws,  and  Davis's  and  Gen- 
trys  stand  among  the  old  names  of  quality  in 
the  north  side  east  end  of  the  county.  While  on 
the  south  side  are  the  Franklin  folks,  Ben  Rob- 
erts, the  Hubbards,  the  Jeffords,  the  Lees,  the 
Randalls  and  scores  of  other  excellent  names 
deserving  of  being  perpetuated  in  the  nomen- 
clature of  the  county  they  have  helped  to  build. 
But  their  names  are  not  so  written.  Instead, 
we  have  Tabor,  Minatare,  Melbeta,  McGrew, 
Hayward,  and  other  names.  Few  of  our  towns 
mean  anything  by  the  names  except  that  some 
one  has  permitted  us  to  use  his  splendid  "An- 
drew Jackson"  for  our  convenience. 

The  Lost  Chain 

Near  Minatare,  the  settlers  had  but  one  log 
chain  at  first,  that  was  in  much  use  dragging 
logs  and  posts  out  of  the  canyons.  It  went  the 
rounds  that  way,  and  the  man  to  whom  it  be- 
longed considered  it  a  community  chain.  He 
therefore  kept  it  handy  on  a  post  so  that  the 
neighbor  who  wanted  to  borrow  it  could  take 
and  was  welcome  if  he  returned  it  to  the  post 
as  soon  as  through  with  it.  One  day  it  was 
gone  and  never  came  back  and  he  considered  it 
stolen  as  soon  as  it  failed  to  be  returned  in  a 
day  or  two.  At  the  following  round-up,  which 
was  about  the  last  round-up  in  Nebraska,  a% 
range  steer  was  found  with  the  log  chain  on 
its  horn.  It  had  evidently  been  rubbing  on  the 
post  and  by  accident  one  of  the  links  slipped 
over  its  horn  and  the  steer  had  carried  it  for 
several  months.    It  was  identified  by  the  home- 


made link  which  was  large  enough  to  slip  over 
the  horn. 

Tree  Claims 

Many  of  the  beautiful  groves  to  be  found  in 
the  valley  were  the  initiation  of  first  settlers  un- 
der the  timber  claim  act.  That  law  required 
the  claimant  to  plant  and  cultivate  ten  acres  of 
trees  upon  an  160-acre  claim.  Probably  ninety 
per  cent  of  the  tree  planting  was  later  neg- 
lected and  the  groves  died.  Many  trees  were 
not  good  varieties,  but  the  man  who  planted 
Ash,  Box  Elder  and  Cottonwood  and  attended 
to  them,  made  satisfactory  groves.  In  Scotts 
Bluff  county  will  be  found  a  number  of  the 
successful  timber  culture  shady  nooks  on  the 
valley's  broad  expanse. 

The  Schumacher  boys,  Matt  and  John,  who 
came  here  about  1885,  were  among  the  success- 
ful growers  of  trees.  There  is  also  the  fine 
grove  of  W.  M.  Barbour  northwest  of  Scotts- 
bluff.  Joe  Emery  was  also  a  successful  grower 
of  trees,  and  fruit  trees  as  well.  When  Mrs. 
Emery  was  a  little  girl,  she  planted  a  lot  of 
small  trees  that  her  father  had  brought  up 
from  the  river ;  and  the  people  who  attend  the 
Scotts  Bluff  County  Fair,  at  Mitchell,  year 
after  year,  should  know  and  realize  whose 
hand  it  was  that  planted  those  magnificent 
shade  trees  upon  the  fair  grounds.  Dvorsek's, 
Deutsch's,  Simmons'  and  Fanning's  places  are 
well  bowered  in  the  trees  of  older  years,  while 
the  newer  people  are  planting  groves  and  or- 
chards under  all  the  canals. 

The  "tree  planter  state"  has  not  confined 
the  tree  results  from  the  timber  culture  law 
alone  to  Scotts  Bluff  county.  If  one  will  take 
a  trip  south  for  twenty  miles,  over  the  state 
and  federal  aid  road  into  Banner  county,  one 
will  see  three  more  of  these  groves.  They  are 
a  bit  neglected  now  and  the  fire  has  run 
through  one  of  them  but  that  was  not  the  fault 
of  the  law  or  the  people  who  took  pride  in 
planting  and  caring  for  the  trees.  Will  Ash- 
ford,  Daniel  Stouffer,  and  Emma  J.  Leach 
planted  those  groves.  The  first  two  have 
"gone  on"  and  the  latter  now  lives  at  Long 
Beach,  California.  These  are  in  Banner  coun- 
ty development,  but  they  are  nevertheless  a 
part  of  the  tree  planting  story  of  the  Panhandle. 
Ten  miles  east  of  this  road  the  editor-in-chief 
planted  his  several  thousand  trees  that  grew 
and  thrived  so  long  as  the  place  was  under 
his  care.     They  may  be  there  now. 

Others  in  Scotts  Bluff  county  who  have 
substantial  groves  to  their  memory  from  the 
old  tree  culture  law  are  Charles  Robinson  and 
S.  S.  Videtto. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


"Sons  of  Martha" 

When  surveyors  invaded  the  Indian  country, 
the  red  men  were  first  struck  with  fear  and 
superstition.  When  they  invaded  the  cattle 
country,  the  cowmen  were  distinctly  annoyed. 
But  the  surveying  went  on  and  the  settler 
came  and  occupied  the  land.  They  are  the 
base  of  our  present  day  civilization  and  pros- 
perity. Foremost  among  Nebraska's  "Sons  of 
Martha"  is  Robert  Harvey,  the  present  state 
surveyor.  He  has  put  a  lifetime  into  the 
work,  the  most  of  which  was  in  western  Ne- 
braska. He  made  long  trips  into  the  Indian 
country  and  among  cow  ranches.  He  had  all 
kinds  of  adventures  with  Indians,  with  men 
of  unfriendly  natures,  with  prairie  fires,  and 
with  storms  of  early  years. 

Equipping  his  parties  on  the  lower  Loup 
(or  Wolf)  river,  he  would  journey  for  long 
trips  into  the  western  part  of  the  state.  When 
the  country  traversed  became  too  sandy,  or  for 
any  cause  the  wheeling  was  too  heavy,  the 
party  would  make  a  cache  of  a  part  of  the 
provisions,  to  pick  them  up  at  a  later  date  in 
case  of  need.  Owing  to  the  danger  of  other 
parties  finding  the  cache  and  appropriating  the 
goods  to  their  own  use,  or  destroying  them, 
it  was  necessary  for  them  to  obliterate  all 
traces  of  the  hiding  place,  and  trust  to  mem- 
ory to  again  find  the  same. 

One  Hidden  Cache 

On  one  trip  they  were  nearing  the  point 
where  they  were  to  go  to  work,  and  they  cached 
away  a  quantity  of  corn  and  flour  in  a  sand 
blowout  some  distance  from  the  trail  their 
wagons  were  making.  They  buried  the  pro- 
visions under  several  feet  of  sand.  They  then 
discovered  that  one  of  the  sacks  of  corn  had 
had  a  small  hole  in  it  and  that  an  occasional 
kernel  of  corn  had  dropped  on  the  way  from 
the  wagons  to  the  cache.  They  picked  up 
every  kernel  of  corn  they  could  find  and  then 
obliterated  the  burying  place  and  the  tracks  to 
and  from  the  wagon  by  smoothing  the  sand. 

Some  weeks  later,  on  their  return,  they  found 
that  some  of  the  wasted  corn  had  not  been 
recovered,  and  that  there  was  a  row  of  grow- 
ing corn  from  the  wagon  tracks  to  the  cache 
at  the  top  of  the  blowout,  thus  clearly  pointing 
out  to  any  chance  passerby  where  the  pro- 
visions and  feed  were  hidden.  The  cache, 
however,  had  not  been  disturbed. 

Something  over  forty-two  years  ago  a  sud- 
den snowstorm  swept  down  upon  them  while 
in  Sheridan  county,  and  while  resting  under 
the  lea  of  a  rock  waiting  for  it  to  ease  up  be- 
fore they  returned  to  their  camp,  Dull  Knife, 


then  on  his  famous  raid,  made  a  run  between 
them  and  the  camp,  with  a  bunch  of  soldiers 
in  hot  pursuit.  The  recalcitrant  Indians  were 
soon  thereafter  captured. 

The  Burning  Prairies 
Some  distance  south  of  the  present  site  of 
Chadron,  in  Dawes  county,  a  prairie  fire  came 
.sweeping  down  upon  them  in  a  high  wind  from 
the  northwest.  As  it  topped  the  ridge  from 
Chadron  creek,  it  presented  a  wonderful  but 
fearful  sight.  It  was  the  worst  ever  witnessed 
by  the  veteran  surveyor,  and  only  rapid  work 
back-firing  and  the  assistance  of  a  natural 
ridge  of  rock  saved  the  outfit  from  destruc- 
tion. They  were  running  a  "base  line"  to  the 
west  and  had  to  continue  for  several  days.  The 
burnt  prairie  did  not  offer  an  inviting  condition 
for  feed  for  their  horses  and  mules.  But  it 
so  transpired  that  some  natural  obstruction  had 
broken  the  progress  of  the  flames  at  nearly 
every  natural  camping  place,  leaving  a  spot  of 
unburned  prairie.  In  one  place  the  grass  had 
been  flattened  down  by  a  herd  of  cattle  that 
had  bedded  there  for  a  night,  and  this  did  not 
burn. 

Hunting  Water  Places 
In  the  early  part  of  June,  1880,  Mr.  Harvey 
and  his  party  were  working  near  the  head  of 
Winter  creek  draw  in  Sioux  county.  They  had 
followed  the  south  line  of  township  twenty-five 
to  section  33  in  range  54,  where  they  estab- 
lished camp.  Near  them  was  a  pile  of  rocks 
that  had  been  put  up  by  a  previously  passing 
party,  marking  a  corner  on  the  edge  of  a  bluff. 
They  needed  water,  and  the  notes  left  by  the 
preceding  party  said  there  was  a  spring  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  to  the  southward.  A  search 
failed  to  reveal  its  location.  About  120  chains 
south  was  the  head  of  Winter  creek  draw,  but 
no  water.  To  the  north  was  a  high  rocky 
ridge.  They  got  along  with  the  meagre  sup- 
ply of  water  on  hand,  postponing  further 
search  until  the  following  day. 

The  Mirage 

In  the  dawn  they  witnessed  the  most  remark- 
able mirage  that  was  ever  witnessed  in  western 
Nebraska.  Two  or  three  hundred  miles  to  the 
southwest  were  Long's  peak,  Pike's  peak,  and 
the  Mountain  of  the  Holy  Cross ;  and  they 
were  standing  out  plainly  and  distinctly  visible 
to  the  naked  eye. 

To  the  westward  appeared  some  rough  hills 
covered  with  timber,  and  cattle  grazing  on  the 
hillsides.  This  puzzled  Mr.  Harvey,  for  the 
presence  of  timber  in  this  locality  had  never 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


473 


before  been  noted  by  surveyors  or  travelers, 
and  the  Spotted  Tail  trail  passed  near  where 
they  were  encamped. 

A  short  distance  west  from  their  camp,  they 
found  another  ravine  that  led  off  to  the  south- 
west. A  man  rode  down  it  for  some  distance, 
while  the  others  waited  for  him  to  report.  The 
sound  of  his  rifle  announced  the  discovery  of 
water,  and  the  wagons  dropped  down  into  the 
valley  to  replenish  their  supply. 

When  they  reached  the  top  of  the  next  ridge, 
the  timbered  hills  to  the  west  had  vanished. 
Probably  these  were  the  hills  west  of  Rawhide, 
or  the  Hartville  mountains,  which  are  seventy 
to  one  hundred  miles  away,  and  they  were 
drawn  near  by  the  mystery  of  the  mirage. 

Careless  Surveys 

When  the  work  of  subdividing  townships 
was  taken  up,  a  large  number  of  men  were  em- 
ployed, and  some  of  the  parties  were  not  very 
careful  of  their  work.  In  some  places  the  lines 
are  as  crooked  as  the  proverbial  ram's  horn  and 
have  caused  innumerable  controversies  and  liti- 
gation over  the  boundary  lines.  There  have 
been  overlapping  claims,  and  strips  of  "no 
man's  land,"  and  resurveys  ;  the  carelessness  of 
those  irresponsible  parties  has  brought  trouble' 
without  end.  Corners  have  become  "lost''  and 
some  early  settlers  improvised  corners  where 
they  thought  they  ought  to  be,  and  where  they 
had  selected  their  claims.  When  in  the  sand 
hills  occasionally  the  original  corners  were 
found,  it  so  upset  the  calculations  of  the  set- 
tlements that  they  importuned  the  government 
to  make  a  resurvey  and  establish  the  lines 
where  they  would  meet  the  lines  of  the  tracts 
which  the  settlers  occupied.  Washington  au- 
thorized the  now  famous  "Alt  Survey." 

Inasmuch  as  this  survey  took  many  acres  of 
fine  hay  meadows  out  of  state  school  lands  and 
gave  them  to  claimants,  the  state  resisted  the 
action  of  the  government.  A  bill  was  intro- 
duced in  the  legislature  approving  the  survey 
as  to  Grant  and  Hooker  counties,  and  this  too 
was  resisted  for  the  same  reason.  The  legal 
department  employed  Frank  Edgerton  to  pro- 
tect the  state.  Frank  evidently  felt  he  could 
take  on  more  clients  and  he  accepted  the  work 
of  chiropractics  in  helping  to  legalize  their  pro- 
fession. The  result  was  disastrous  to  the  state. 
The  chiropractics  won.  the  state  lost.  No 
other  county  has  been  able  to  secure  adoption 
of  this  abortive  survey,  although  they  have 
sought,  or  individuals  have  sought  from  time 
to  time  to  make  the  Alt  lines  stand  in  counties 
where  the  statute  has  not  sanctioned  it.  So 
far  they  have  failed. 


George  W.  Fairchild  and  F.  M.  Dnrrington 
were  among  the  old  time  surveyors  in  western 
Nebraska.  E.  C.  Simmons  and  II.  A.  Mark 
have  done  much  recent  work.  Dan  Nippell 
recently  worked  in  the  Antioch  district  re- 
establishing corners. 

Horse  Improvement 

When  Creighton  bought  the  Coad  ranch  he 
bought  with  it  a  large  number  of  horses  which 
were  of  the  better  class  than  those  generally 
found  on  ranches.  This  was  a  matter  of  con- 
gratulation to  the  cowboys  for  they  liked  good 
riding  stock. 

Harry  Winters  used  to  have  a  fine  driving 
team  which  he  personally  used  between  his 
saloon  business  in  Sidney  and  his  ranch  busi- 
ness on  the  North  Platte  river  near  Wright's 
gap.  Charlie  Trognitz  also  had  some  fine 
drivers  that  he   would  let  out  occasionally  to 


Farm  R 


people  that  he  was  sure  would  not  over  drive. 
Sam  Fowler  had  some  fair  horse  stock  down 
on  Lawrence  Fork.  These  were  the  old  people 
and  their  pride. 

The  Post  ranch  on  Pole  creek  a  few  miles 
north  of  Cheyenne  was  a  place  where  one  could 
find  some  good  horses  and  some  of  these  found 
their  way  into  the  North  Platte  valley. 

Neelev's  Ride 
Frank  Neeley  had  taken  the  job  of  putting 
up  the  hay  on  the  Ray  State  meadows  in 
Mitchell  valley  and  during  the  winter  of  1886- 
1887,  he  was' worried  as  to  a  market  for  the 
product.  He  made  ten  trips  to  Cheyenne,  and 
had  agreed  to  price  as  to  the  hay:  and  that 
William  A.  Force,  the  manager  of  the  Post 
ranch,  was  to  send  some  of  these  horses  over 
to  the  river  to  be  fed.    One  day  during  a  snow 


474 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


storm,  Neeley  received  a  letter  from  Force  not 
to  consider  the  matter  farther ;  that  his  brother 
in  California  was  not  expected  to  live,  and  he 
was  to  start  in  a  few  days  f^r  the  bedside. 
Neeley  considered  that  he  must  get  to  Chey- 
enne the  next  day  or  lose  out ;  even  then  he 
might  not  make  a  deal,  but  it  was  his  one 
chance. 

He  rode  all  night  through  the  driving  snow 
and  the  next  morning  was  at  Cheyenne.  "On 
the  way,"  said  Neeley,  "I  figured  that  the  way 
to  sell  the  hay  and  be  sure  it  was  sold  was  to 
open  an  account  with  them.  So  I  sold  them 
the  hay  at  their  figure,  and  took  as  part  pay- 
ment six  mares  valued  at  $900,  which  I  brought 
home  with  me."  Frank  had  made  a  shrewd 
move,  for  he  not  only  got  some  good  horse 
stock,  but  they  sent  a  large  number  of  their 
horses  to  Mitchell  valley  to  winter  feed.  After 
that  year  John  R.  Stilts  built  his  large  sod 
barns  an;!,  brought  them  regularly  there  to  feed. 

All  these  antedated  the  real  breeding  up  of 
the  pintail  bronchos  that  were  the  first  horses 
here.  T.  J.  James  brought  a  good  sire  into 
the  valley ;  John  H.  Hall's  "Neptune"  was  a 
good  horse;  Ed  Thornton's  "Ben  Laddie"  is 
the  cire  of  many  fine  horses. 

After  1900,  there  were  many  others  brought 
in.  Matt  Schumacher  brought  in,  and  bred 
some  of  the  finest  Belgians.  In  1903,  W.  L. 
Wallace,  T.  D.  Deutsch  and  Jerry  Ragan 
brought  an  excellent  Belgian  from  Iowa.  The 
sire  that  belonged  to  Hall,  Sayre  &  Company 
was  a  fine  coach  and  was  kept  at  Gering.  These 
are  a  few  of  the  people  responsible  for  bring- 
ing in  good  horse  stock. 

Violent  Storms 

This  portion  of  the  state  has  been  free  gen- 
erally from  violent  storms.  The  emigrants 
moving  into  the  far  west  occasionally  were 
inconvenienced  by  the  sudden  mountain 
storms  that  still  visit  here  once  in  a  while. 
They  sometimes  were  just  sudden  deluges  of 
w"ater  that  lasted  an  hour  or  two.  At  other 
times  they  were  accompanied  by  hail  of  such 
severity  that  such  legends  as  that  of  Cannon 
Ball  river  result.  Along  this  stream  are  piles 
of  rounded  -rocks  and  Indian  tradition  is  that 
they  fell  in  a  mountain  storm. 

In  the  early  days  of  ranching  there  was  a 
blizzard  that  was  remembered  for  many  years 
as  the  most  severe  of  all  time,  and  its  reputa- 
tion still  survives.  It  is  doubtful  if  one  of 
such  destructiveness  has  ever  occurred  before 
or  since.  The  storm  started  on  March  7,  1878, 
and  lasted  until  the  tenth.     Thousands  of  cat- 


tle perished.  The  Seven-U,  near  Bayard,  was 
a  heavy  loser.  Ranch  losses  ran  from  forty  to 
sixty  per  cent.  Billy  Heck,  in  charge  of 
freighting  from  Cheyenne  to  Fort  Laramie, 
was  caught  out  in  this  storm  with  twelve  teams 
of  fourteen  yoke  of  oxen  to  the  team,  and  the 
entire  168  head  perished.  "Stuttering"  Brown, 
who  ran  the  stage  over  this  route,  did  not 
venture  out,  much  to  his  good  judgment.  A 
nephew  of  Nick  Janis  (Genice)  died  on  the 
river  near  the  state  line.  But  this  was  before 
the  years  of  the  granger. 

In  1884  there  was  also  a  bad  loss  of  cattle, 
incident  to  a  storm,  but  strong  or  well  fed 
cattle  survived  it.  The  storm  of  March  22, 
1886,  was  tremendously  destructive.  It  con- 
tinued for  about  ten  or  eleven  days,  "some- 
times letting  loose  a  little  to  get  a  better  hold," 
as  the  people  said.  It  occurred  after  an  ex- 
tended period  of  fine  weather.  The  grass  had 
started  and  cattle  having  been  out  grazing  on 
the  soft  spring  grass  were  unfitted  to  sustain 
the  long  period  of  the  storm.  In  the  end, 
thousands  of  dead  cattle  littered  every  range. 
The  wrecks  of  cow  corporations  affecting 
this  territory  were  the  Scottish  companies,  the 
Bostonians,  and  the  Texas,  and  Nebraska  com- 
binations. The  genius  of  the  Coads,  the 
Creightons,  the  McShanes ;  of  W.  A.  Paxton, 
James  E.  Boyd,  John  Clay,  and  others,  were 
tested  to  their  uttermost. 

That  spring  was  my  initiation  into  the 
storms  of  the  west.  On  the  Hall  &  Evans 
ranch,  near  North  Platte  City,  A.  B.  Hall 
and  I  had  the  care  of  about  250  head  of  stock, 
and  were  milking  thirty  cows.  On  the  third 
day,  Mr.  Hall  had  a  chill,  and  from  then  on 
the  duty  was  mine,  assisted  by  Mrs.  Hall.  It 
was  a  day  and  night  undertaking,  snatching  a 
bit  of  sleep  whenever  one  could.  I  milked  the 
cows,  fed  the  horses  and  cattle,  pumped  water 
with  an  ordinary  pitcher  pump  for  them  all, 
churned  the  butter,  and  looked  after  several 
hundred  hens.  Early  cows  were  dropping 
their  calves  in  snow  drifts,  where  I  would  find 
them  and  take  them  by  the  wheelbarrow  route 
to  the  kitchen.  Here  I  would  rub  them  dry 
with  a  gunny  sack,  feed  them  some  hot  diluted 
milk,  and  return  them  to  their  mothers.  We 
did  not  have  a  loss. 

The  river  and  lagoons  remained  open,  and 
at  night  there  was  a  great  clattering  of  wild 
fowls,  which  had  migrated  northward  in  the 
earlier  warm  weather  and  were  caught  here 
in  the  storm. 

The  call  of  the  duck  and  the  sand  hill  crane 
Of  wild  geese  and  brants  resounding  again 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


475 


From   White   Horse   creek   to    North   river 
Platte. 
A  revel  in  storm  and  water  and  sand  ; 
The  snow  a-seurrying  over  the  land ; 

The  night — it  swallowed  my  vanishing  hat. 

Summer  Snow  Storms 

In  the  east  a  snow  storm  in  the  summer  or 
late  spring  never  in  the  early  life  of  the  his- 
torian do  we  remember.  So  that,  when  on 
May  first,  1887,  the  snow  began  to  fall  about 
our  cabin  on  Pumpkin  creek,  it  was  a  most 
wonderful  sight,  and  when  it  continued  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  day  and  lay  a  foot 
deep  across  the  prairie,  it  was  little  short  of 
marvellous  to  me.  Snow  in  Illinois  had  meant 
the  death  of  any  green  herbage  and  I  antici- 
pated that  it  meant  the  same  here.  We  have 
since  found  that  plants  on  the  high  plains  be- 
come, in  a  measure,  immune  to  freezing 
weather. 

Our  horses  drifted  away  in  the  storm  and, 
toward  evening,  I  sallied  forth  to  find  them. 
They  had  gone  less  than  half  a  mile  and  were 
standing  in  a  smother  of  snow  when  it  fell 
over  an  embankment  protected  from  the  wind. 
Their  tracks  indicated  that  they  had  left  the 
protecting  bank,  starting  for  the  house  a  num- 
ber of  times,  but  had  not  the  courage  to  face 
it  very  far.  I  took  the  lead,  and  they  followed 
me  in  single  file  through  the  still  raging  storm. 

The  next  day  was  beautiful  and  sunny,  and 
before  evening  the  snow  had  melted  and  gone 
into  the  ground  and  was  of  great  benefit  to 
crops  and  cropping  that  year. 

The  snow  will  occasionally  fall  as  late  as  the 
first  of  June,  but  in  very  small  quantity.  The 
latest  snow  storm  of  consequence  that  has  oc- 
curred here  began  on  May  19,  1914,  and  con- 
tinued for  three  days.  On  May  23  we  went 
to  our  buried  garden,  dug  down  through  about 
sixteen  inches  of  wet  snow,  and  pulled  some 
crisp  radishes  for  our  dinner.  That  night  it 
froze  quite  hard,  but  as  everything  was  cov- 
ered with  a  blanket  of  snow,  no  damage  was 
done  except  to  fruit  blossoms.  Some  of  these 
were  not  yet  far  enough  advanced. 

The  tornado  has  never  accomplished  much 
of  its  devastation  in  the  Panhandle  of  Ne- 
braska. Three  have  been  observed,  and  one 
photographed,  while  in  earlier  years  there 
evidently  were  two  storms  of  greater  magni- 
tude than  any  that  have  been  seen.  Stansbury 
mentioned  the  evidence  of  a  great  storm  that 
had  blown  down  the  great  cedar  forest  that 
once  stood  on  the  Wildcat  range  near  Chimney 
rock.  This  must  have  occurred  about  one 
hundred  years  ago,  or  perhaps  longer. 


'  Tornado  of  June,  1878 

A  most  remarkable  tornado  occurred  about 
June  11  or  12,  1878,  and  crossed  Cherry  and 
Sheridan  counties,  breaking  near  Buffalo  Gap, 
South  Dakota.  Beaver  creek  comes  out  of  the 
Black  Hills  at  the  latter  point  flowing  east- 
ward eventually  uniting  with  Cheyenne  river. 
The  rocks  on  either  side  stand  up  on  edge 
because  of  the  great  internal  disturbances  that 
made  the  Black  Hills. 

Over  a  radius  of  several  sections  there  was 
a  deposit  of  mud,  rushes,  turtles,  and  fish,  sev- 
eral feet  deep  and  a  deluge  of  water.  In  a  tor- 
rent the  water  rushed  through  the  gap  and 
a  few  miles  below  utterly  destroyed  eleven 
wagons  that  were  loaded  with  miscellaneous 
merchandise  for  Black  Hills  points.  There 
was  no  salvage.  The  storm  had  come  from 
the  southeast. 

Not  long  after  this  storm,  a  surveying  party 
headed  by  Robert  Harvey  were  in  Sheridan 
and  Cherry  counties.  Others  of  the  party 
were  Wm.  Culbertson,  David  Davis,  Samuel 
Brittan,  Ed.  Turner,  Sam  F.  Keeney,  Max 
Amendi,  C.  R.  Starkweather,  Ed.  Seeley  and 
W.  S.  Orr.  I  believe  Starkweather,  who  was 
the  wagon  boss,  still  lives  in  Salt  Lake  City. 
Seeley  and  Orr  have  been  reported  as  dead. 
Amendi,  Turner  and  Keeney  dropped  back  in- 
to the  unknown  from  which  theyr  came.  Brit- 
tan and  Davis  were  buddies  and  Davis  was 
from  the  famous  Molly  Maguire  district  of 
Pennsylvania.  Culbertson  who  came  from  a 
peppermint  farm  in  Michigan  was  a  musician 
and  carried  a  "lap  organ"  which  he  used  to 
entertain  the  boys  at  night  about  the  campfire. 
He  could  play  well  and  was  a  good  singer 
which  adds  to  the  glory  of  the  open  life. 

This  party  was  in  the  vicinity  of  section 
36-28-36  which  is  south  of  the  Bordman.  Mr. 
Harvey  noticed  a  strip  or  wide  swath  where 
the  grass  was  laid  flat  to  the  ground  as  though 
washed  over  by  a  flood.  But  it  had  been 
swept  up  grade  which  is  contrary  to  the  way 
that   water  runs. 

He  had  surmised  that  the  deposited  mud 
and  other  materials  at  Buffalo  Gap  might 
have  come  from  Nebraska  and  he  had  told 
the  boys  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  a  lake  in 
the  sand  hills  that  the  storm  might  have 
crossed.  A  short  distance  from  this  flattened 
grass  they  found  a  crescent  shaped  lake.  The 
rush  bound  shore  line  was  broken  in  two 
places.  A  strip  on  each  side  had  been  -wept 
bare  to  the  clear  white  sand  below.  Thus 
was  explained  what  might  have  been  a  geolog- 
ical mystery. 


476 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Geo.  Fulton  Murdered 
In  July,  1888,  Geo.  Fulton  was  shot  and 
instantly  killed  by  a  man  named  Arnold. 
Fulton  had  been  a  good  friend  of  Arnold 
but  there  seemed  to  be  a  little  difference  be- 
tween them  with  relation  to  some  wages. 
Arnold  had  used  Fulton's  team  to  do  some 
plowing  and  did  not  want  to  make  any  allow- 
ance. 

On  the  day  of  the  fatality  Arnold  with  his 
gun  proceeded  up  the  valley  to  LeMaster's 
place,  the  latter  owing  him  a  little  bill  for  la- 
bor. LeMaster  was  not  at  home  so  he  went 
to  Dan  D.  Davis'  place,  for  what  it  was  not 
known.  Then  he  went  to  Fulton's.  George 
was  at  home,  and  Arnold  said  he  had  come 
after  the  money.  Fulton  explained  where  there 
was  a  little  difference  but  it  did  not  satisfy,  and 
he  declared  he  came  after  some  money  and  he 


was  going  to  get  it  at  which  he  pulled  his  gun 
and  shot  into  the  roof.  George  said  that  a 
little  thing  like  that  did  not  scare  him  and 
told  him  to  cut  it  out.  Arnold  then  shot  him 
and  after  he  fell  fired  another  bullet  into  the 
back  of  his  neck.  Mrs.  Fulton  and  her  sis- 
ter had  run  out  of  the  house  but  he  followed 
them  around  the  house  and  Mrs.  Fulton 
emptied  the  contents  of  her  purse  — 
which  was  little  enough  —  into  his  hand.  He 
then  went  to  Wellington  Clark's  place  and 
told  of  the  killing.  He  was  arrested  and  at 
first  the  case  was  called  at  Sidney  where  a 
continuance  was  granted.  The  trial  came  on 
after  Scotts  Bluff  county  was  organized.  Heist 
&  Rayner  conducted  the  defense  and  the  pris- 
oner got  off  with  twenty-three  years.  He  was 
released  some  years  later  on  the  insanity  dodge 
and  he  and  his  family  utterly  faded  out  of 
sight. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  STORY  OF  IRRIGATION 


The  part  played  by  irrigation  in  the  North 
Platte  valley  marked  its  wondrous  develop- 
ment. Without  irrigation  the  county  pros- 
perity would  still  be  large  like  the  rest  of  west- 
ern Nebraska,  but  the  added  insurance  pro- 
vided by  the  network  of  canals  that  spread 
over  the  county,  has  made  it  indeed  a  garden 
spot — a  paradise  clone  in  seventeen  shades  of 
green. 

Francis  Parkman  tells  us  that  in  1847,  there 
were  some  Mexicans  at  Fort  Laramie,  who 
were  trying  to  raise  gardens  by  irrigation,  but 
with  indifferent  success.  Since  then  climatic 
and  soil  conditions  must  have  changed,  for  the 
application  of  water  by  irrigation  to  the  same 
lands  today,  brings  marvelous  result. 

The  first  dry  farming  in  western  Nebraska, 
as  heretofore  stated,  was  by  Otto  Baumgarten, 
at  the  Shiedley  ranch  near  Big  Springs.  He 
raised  some  vegetables  on  a  plat  plowed  upon 
an  island,  but  this  had  the  benefits  of  sub-irri- 
gation. The  extraordinary  showing  that  veg- 
etables would  grow  well  was  not  encouraged 
by  the  ranchmen,  who  foresaw  the  end  of  the 
open  range,  if  such  evidence  was  to  be  put  be- 
fore the  homeseekers. 

Then  General  Anncon  put  in  a  small  irriga- 


tion plant  at  the  Sidney  Fort  in  1874.  This 
was  used  by  giving  .each  of  the  soldiers  who 
would  try  it,  a  garden  spot,  and  an  offer  of 
prizes  to  the  best  gardener. 

There  was  not  much  success  to  the  enter- 
prise, the  soldiers  being  indifferent  gardeners, 
and  several  years  later,  the  matter  was  a  sub- 
ject of  conversation  between  Robert  Ober- 
felder  and  General  Merritt.  Bob  was  told  to 
"turn  himself  loose,"  and  he  had  one  of  the 
finest  of  gardens,  principally  potatoes,  grow- 
ing, when  the  grasshoppers  came  along  and 
left  the  ground  absolutely  bare. 

The  trees  however,  were  doing  fine,  and 
the  more  venturesome  and  home-loving  were 
making  attempts  with  flower  gardens.  These 
generally  developed  until  ten  years  after  ir- 
rigation was  put  in,  the  places  along  the  routes 
of  the  laterals,  became  beauty  spots.  Sidney 
looked  to  the  eyes  of  the  stranger  who  crossed 
the  wide  reaches  of  prairie,  before  arriving 
there,  like  a  veritable  oasis  in  the  desert. 

In  the  meantime,  ranchmen  had  noted  that 
the  valley  lands  under  which  the  "water  table" 
was  close  to  the  surface,  made  good  hay  crops. 
They  also  noticed  the  porous  character  of 
the  soil,  and  the  thought  had  occurred  to  raise 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


477 


the  level  of  the  water  in  the  streams  it  would 
percolate  back  farther  from  the  stream  banks, 
making  more  hay  land.  So  the  substantial 
method  was  adopted  of  hauling  loose  rocks  or 
refuse  from  the  barns  and  corrals,  and  throw- 
ing into  the  channels.  The  stream  thereby  be- 
came little  cascades  at  irregular  distances,  and 
then  instead  of  running  waters,  there  were 
rather  quiet  lagoons  above  each  of  these  ar- 
tificial rapid  places.  The  waters  were  held  at 
higher  levels,  and  soaked  back  into  the  banks 
as  intended. 

The  next  step  was  to  build  small  ditches  to 
lead  the  water  away  from  the  natural  chan- 
nels, across  the  flat  grounds  near  by,  where 
it  was  turned  loose  to  soak  into  the  ground, 
or  find  its  way  back  to  the  stream. 

First  Canal  in  the  North  Platte  Valley 
When  William  R.  Akers,  John  Coy  and  Vir- 
gil Grout  arrived  in  the  valley,  their  first 
thought  after  getting  settled,  was  to  build  an 
irrigation  canal.  As  stated  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  this  was  done  with  the  use  of  an 
ordinary  spirit  level,  for  the  engineering  in- 
strument. They  had  plenty  of  time,  and  teams, 
and  they  had  brought  along  a  few  of  the  com- 
mon tools  necessary,  before  the  days  of  drag 
lines,  steam  shovels  and  tnt  in  such  uses  here. 
The  Lucerne  canal  was  completed  in  due 
time,  and  still  does  service  in  an  excellent 
manner  in  the  territory  about  L ingle ;  and 
the  original  costs  were  so  small  as  to  be  neg- 
ligible. 


ney,  who  represented  the  district,  introduced 
and  secured  the  passage  of  a  short  bill  for  ir- 
rigation regulation  in  the  manner  of  appro- 
priating water. 

A  number  of  filings  had  been  previously 
made,  and  several  canals  built.  The  first  from 
the  North  Platte  river  was  the  Seeberger  canal 
at  North  Platte.  The  second  was  the  Farmers 
canal,  and  the  third  the  Minatare  canal,  both 
in  Scotts  Bluff  county. 

I  was  publishing  the  Ashford  Advocate, 
about  seventeen  miles  south  of  the  town  of 
Gering,  when  George  F.  '  Fairfield,  who 
surveyed  and  was  active  in  the  promotion  of 
the  Minatare  canal,  occasionally  stopped  in  to 
tell  of  the  progress  of  the  ditch.  Ashford  was 
then  on  the  stage  and  freighting  road  to  Kim- 
ball. One  time  he  told  of  the  picnic  held  by 
the  Minatare  folks  upon  the  completion  of  the 
canal,  and  the  turning  in  of  the  water.  The 
celebration  had  been  during  the  day,  but  the 
water  had  proceeded  more  slowly  along  the 
canal  than  anticipated,  and  it  was  nightfall  be- 
fore it  reached  the  waiting  people.  In  the 
classic  language  of  the  old  surveyor  ''the  sil- 
very moon  was  high  overhead  when  the  water 
rounded  the  bend  above  the  crowd,  and  on  it 
came,  like  a  silver  ribbon  unrolling  itself  upon 
the  prairie." 

The  Farmers  canal  contemplated  far  more 
extensive  development.  At  first  it  was  com- 
pleted but  a  few  miles  and  the  undertaking 
farther  seemed  so  great  that  progress  rested 
for  some  time. 


First  Irrigation  in  Scotts  Bluff  County 

When  the  summer  heat  began  to  tell  upon 
the  crops  in  1881,  and 'there  was  a  shortage 
in  the  rainfall,  Will  Ripley  and  Ben  Gentry 
were  farming  near  the  Winters  creek  springs, 
northeast  of  the  present  site  of  Scottsbluff  city 
about  five  miles.  They  noticed  that  next  to 
the  spring  bed,  the  oats  were  remaining  green 
and  growing,  while  a  little  distance  away,  they 
were  suffering  from  want  of  moisture.  They 
took  a  team,  and  without  leveling  apparatus, 
plowed  furrows  from  the  running  water  into 
the  field.  The  water  followed  behind  the  plow, 
and  soon  there  was  a  demonstration  of  what 
resulted  from  the  artificial  application  of  water 
to  growing  crops. 

The  following  year,  there  was  considerable 
activity  in  the  subject  of  irrigation,  and  but 
little  building  of  ditches.  Nebraska  had  no 
irrigation  law.  The  corporation  statute  gave 
"Irrigation  companies"  "the  right  of  eminent 
domain."  That  was  all.  In  the  legislature  of 
the  winter  of  1889,  Henrv  St.  Raynor,  of  Sid- 


Wright's  Vision  of  the  Enterprise 

Clarke  and  Wright  were  engaged  in  the 
realty  business  at  Weeping  Water,  and  became 
interested  in  this  country.  They  came  up  and 
looked  it  over,  with  the  result  that  Wright 
moved  here  permanently,  and  there  came  with 
him,  or  soon  after,  quite  a  number  from  the 
Weeping  Water  settlements.  They  are  among 
the  most  substantial  and  good  citizenship  that 
are  to  be  found  in  this  county  of  good  citizens. 

An  investigation  of  the  lands,  and  the  nature 
of  the  water  rights,  appealed  to  them.  They 
made  some  reports  on  the  acreage  and  the  prob- 
able cost  of  building  the  canal  unit  by  unit,  and 
the  prospect  of  settlers  taking  the  water,  and 
paying  for  it.  Back  in  Rutland,  Vermon,  was 
F.  C.  Colburn,  an  old  family  friend,  and  a 
substantial  financial  character.  He  agreed  to 
raise  the  money  to  build  the  ditch,  up  to  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars  ultimately,  which 
was  the  estimate  made  by  the  engineers  headed 
bv  Wes.  Kittell.     Colburn  succeeded  in  rais- 


478 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ing  sixty  thousand  dollars  from  friends  and 
among  relatives  and  estates  held  in  trust.  Wil- 
liam H.  Wright  was  joined  in  the  west  by 
John  A.  Orr  and  Thos.  M.  Howard,  under 
the  name  of  Wright,  Orr  &  Howard.  Orr  took 
up  the  work  of  attending  the  commissary, 
which  was  northeast  of  the  present  Scottsbluff 
a  short  distance. 

We  can  almost  call  Mr.  Orr  the  first  mer- 
chant of  the  town  of  Scottsbluff,  but  his  store 
was  outside  the  present  city  limits,  and  was 
closed  out  before  the  town  came  into  existence. 

The  Postoffice 

In  this  commissary  there  was  a  postoffice, 
called  Wright,  and  John  A.  Orr  was  the  post- 
master during  its  entire  career.  Reports  were 
not  as  regularly  attended  as  is  now  required, 
but  the  winding  up  of  the  affairs  of  this  office 
was  made  by  turning  over  the  supplies,  and 
everything  was  in  good  order,  as  those  who 
know  Mr.  Orr,  naturally  would  expect. 

Many  amusing  and  other  incidents  occurred 
at  and  in  connection  with  this  store.  Once  a 
fellow  was  enroute  from  Sidney  with  a  load 
of  merchandise.  On  the  tableland  north  of 
Bayard,  he  broke  an  axle.  He  got  off  the 
wagon,  looked  ruefully  at  the  broken  part  and 
said :  "Now,  what  do  you  think  of  that?  Here 
I  am  fourteen  miles  from  nowhere,  with  a 
broken  axle  and  not  a  bit  of  baling  wire  to 
mend  it."  In  those  days  the  baling  wire  that 
came  around  baled  hay,  was  used  for  almost 
universal  repair  work,  a  broken  hamestrap, 
tug,  or  other  parts  of  the  harness,  or  double 
trees,  neckyoke,  tongue  and  some  parts  of  the 
wagons,  but  just  how  it  could  be  used  to 
mend  a  broken  axle,  was  left  to  the  imagina- 
tion. 

We  had  in  our  midst  at  that  time  a  fellow 
named  George  Ringler,  who  had  quite  a  tend- 
ency to  appropriate  to  his  own  use,  things  that 
he  came  across  when  the  owner  was  not 
around.  Some  harness  disappeared  from  the 
commissary,  and  watchers  found  where  George 
had  buried  it  on  the  ditch  bank.  Kind-hearted 
Mr.  Orr  did  not  wish  to  prosecute,  but  did 
hope  to  reform  the  misguided  man.  With  the 
harness  back,  he  gave  George  a  quiet  talking 
to,  about  where  that  policy  would  lead  him. 
Ringler  cried  like  a  good  penitent,  and  Orr  was 
much  impressed  with  his  sincerity,  until  a 
short  time  after  he  discovered  that  during  the 
stay  at  the  store,  either  just  before  or  after  the 
talk,  George  had  again  let  his  fingers  stray. 
Ringler  afterwards  went  to  Canon  City  peni- 


tentiary  for  an  offense  in  Colorado,  where  I 
believe  he  died. 

Canal  Construction 

An  agreement  was  entered  into  between  the 
local  management  of  the  Farmers  Canal  com- 
pany, and  Jesse  Harrison  and  others,  whereby 
the  latter  agreed  to  build  and  complete  the 
canal  for  $400,000.  Because  of  the  stringency 
in  the  money  market,  and  the  lack  of  financial 
ability  of  the  Harrison  company,  the  deal  fell 
through.  In  the  meantime  individuals  along 
the  route  had  been  induced  to  take  up  and  ex- 
cavate sections  of  the  canal,  for  which  they  in 
some  cases  received  part  money,  part  goods 
and  part  was  to  apply  upon  their  water  rights. 

In  the  end  the  company  went  broke,  and 
the  local  people  lost  practically  even-thing  they 
possessed,  along  with  the  wreck.  Colburn  had 
found  it  impossible  to  raise  the  amount  that  he 
had  anticipated.  Then  due  perhaps  to  worn- 
over  what  seemed  the  poor  investments,  Mr. 
Colburn  died.  Quite  a  few  of  the  investors 
held  canal  stock  and  others  had  lands.  For  the 
most  part  the  lands  were  in  the  name  of  Col- 
burn as  trustee. 

At  his  death,  William  H.  Wright  was  ap- 
pointed the  trustee,  and  how  faithfully  he 
fulfilled  the  trust  was  shown  by  the  ultimate 
report,  that  brought  back  to  each  investor  the 
sum  invested  together  with  interest  for  the 
full  time  the  money  had  been  out  of  hand. 

Eventually  the  ditch  was  sold  to  H.  G. 
Leavitt  and  associates,  and  while  it  cost  many 
times  the  original  estimates,  and  while  there 
was  no  doubt  some  waste  and  losses  in  the 
construction,  it  is  pronounced  by  experts  and 
engineers  as  one  of  the  finest  structural  ac- 
complishments in  all  the  history  of  irrigation. 

The  needle  dam,  at  the  intake  of  this  tre- 
mendous artificial  river,  is  of  such  character 
that  one  man  can  in  a  few  hours  practically 
dam  the  North  Platte  river,  or  in  the  same 
length  of  time  remove  the  dam.  He  can  hold 
the  water  at  a  given  inch  in  height,  regardless 
of  the  fluctuating  flow  from  day  to  day  or 
hour  to  hour. 

The  wasteway  constructed  some  distance 
down  the  ditch  from  the  headgate,  contains 
nineteen  miles  of  re-enforcing  steel  rods,  the 
body  being  of  concrete.  Massive  iron  gates 
that  can  be  raised  or  lowered  at  will,  govern 
the  flow  of  the  water  into  the  main  canal.  Each 
day  the  ditch  superintendent  receives  reports  by 
telephone,  the  needs  of  the  water  users  along 
the  sixty-mile  canal  and  that  is  the  quantity 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


479 


that  goes  through  the  gates.  At  the  headgate 
the  canal  bottom  is  forty  feet  wide,  and  it 
will  carry  water  a  depth  of  eleven  feet. 

The  Burlington  railroad  was  vitally  inter- 
ested in  this  project,  from  the  standpoint  of 
tonnage  and  passenger  traffic  incident  to  its 
development.  George  W.  Holdredge  was  one 
of  the  active  promoters  from  that  viewpoint. 
Holdredge  and  William  Frank  made  a  trip  over 
the  land  before  the  ditch  construction  com- 
menced, and  Frank  was  given  authority  to  pur- 
chase for  the  Tristate  Land  Company,  as  the 
Leavitt  company  was  called,  a  large  acreage 
of  the  lands.  He  acquired  about  thirty  thou- 
sand acres,  much  of  it  at  five  to  ten  dollars 
per  acre.  While  the  company  itself  lost  a 
large  sum  of  money,  the  losses  would  have 
been  far  greater,  had  it  not  been  for  the  ad- 
vances of  the  value  of  the  land. 

Frank's  activities  were  not  alone  confined  to 
the  buying  of  land.  When  emergencies  arose 
regarding  right-of-way,  he  invariably  proved 
the  man  of  the  hour;  sometimes  by  buying 
outright  the  property  that  caused  the  friction, 
and  sometimes  taking  necessary  court  action 
to  prevent  obstruction  of  the  work.  He  could 
if  he  wished,  tell  of  the  hot-summer  confer- 
ences in  Omaha,  when  others  were  away  on 
vacations,  and  even  the  courts  were  not  to  be 
found  except  by  journeys  into  the  woods  or 
mountains.  In  these  duties  Attorney  James 
E.  Kelby  was  right  hand  man  and  capable 
counsellor. 

The  Canal  Builders 
The  men  of  brain  were  not  the  only  people 
necessary  to  build  the  ditches,  neither  were  the 
men  of  finance.  There  came  a  time  when  rough 
men  of  action,  capable  of  handling  other  rough 
men  of  work  were  strung  along  the  miles  of 
the  construction. 

Bids  for  the  big  construction  appeared  high 
in  comparison  with  former  prices  for  similar 
work.  However,  portions  were  let  out,  prin- 
cipally to  Maney  Brothers,  and  part  of  the 
work  was  undertaken  by  force  account.  The 
latter  is;  that  the  company  itself  went  into 
construction  business.  The  government  was 
then  building  its  big  Interstate  canal,  and  the 
rivalry  between  the  two  advanced  prices  of 
construction,  and  made  labor  independent. 

Engineer  Wanzer  was  at  the  head  of  the 
consulting  board,  and  O.  V.  P.  Stout,  of  the 
Nebraska  University,  was  frequently  overlook- 
ing the  works.  Chas.  Green  was  sent  out  by 
Stout  at  the  request  of  the  Tristate  people.  Be- 
fore leaving,  Stout  gave  his  student  one  part- 


ing piece  of  advice  that  has  made  Green  one 
of  the  foremost  engineers  in  the  land  today. 
Stout  said:  "Remember,  Green,  you  are  going 
out  there  to  build  a  big  ditch.  You  will  find 
all  kinds  of  reasons  for  slowing  down,  for 
stopping  the  work  from  time  to  time,  but  that 
is  not  what  you  are  there  to  do.  The  meas- 
ure of  your  success  will  be  the  rapidity  with 
which  you  proceed,  and  the  completion  of  the 
canal." 

Green  proceeded,  and  revolutionized  the 
work.  He  drove  the  force  account  department 
into  camp,  and  stored  the  machinery.  The 
management  found  objection  and  Green  of- 
fered his  resignation,  but  it  was  not  accepted. 
He  put  on  smaller  divisions  of  contractors,  and 
tore  about  the  country  in  that  little  old  Stanley 
steamer  (one  of  the  first  automobiles)  like  a 
wild  tornado.  Where  there  was  danger  of  go- 
ing to  jail  for  trespass  on  land  where  right-of- 
way  questions  had  not  been  settled,  he  took  the 
chance,  and  won. 

Help  was  brought  from  Denver,  from  any- 
where it  could  be  gotten.  Some  of  the  camps 
were  entirely  of  negroes,  and  the  first  requisite 
with  them  seemed  to  be  a  gun  and  a  razor.  Fre- 
quently one  would  come  to  town  slashed  up, 
or  with  a  wound  of  some  sort,  and  require  the 
attention  of  the  doctor.  Each  of  the  negro 
camps  held  some  of  the  female  variety,  and 
these  were  eternally  at  war.  More  wounds 
were  made  by  the  one-fourth  female  population, 
and  upon  one  another,  than  there  were  in  the 
three-fourths  male  population. 

It  took  hardy  characters  to  handle  these 
camps,  among  which  probably  J.  F.  Williams, 
a  powerful  one-armed  Texan,  was  the  peer.  I 
do  not  recall  a  fatality  in  all  the  negro  fights, 
but  there  is  a  story  that  has  gone  along  with 
the  years,  that  here  are  negroes  buried  in  the 
twelve  and  fifteen  foot  ditch  banks.  This  may 
be  true  but  it  probably  resulted  from  an  affair 
that  Williams  pulled  off  to  scare  his  refractory 
camp  into  submission  and  industry. 

One  morning,  as  the  first  teams  came  up  the 
bank  with  Fresnos  filled  with  dirt,  Williams 
was  there.  Near  where  he  was  standing  there 
were  a  pair  of  partly  exposed  boots,  of  the 
kind  worn  by  the  laborers.  They  were  in  a 
position  that  indicated  they  might  be  upon 
feet.  The  dirt  had  been  partly  dug  out  with  a 
spade,  and  the  hole  again  refilled,  and  it  had 
the  appearance  of  a  partly  buried  man.  Wil- 
liams called  to  the  driver  to  dump  his  dirt  over 
the  boots,  "and  finish  burying  this  dead  nig- 
ger." There  were  no  independent  or  saucy 
negroes  in  Williams  camp  after  that  incident. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 
CHAPTER  VII 


MORE  OF  THE  IRRIGATION  STORY 


Going  back  again  to  the  beginning,  the  first 
irrigation  works  in  the  North  Platte  valley- 
were  built  without  much  money,  Fortunately, 
perhaps,  there  was  plenty  of  time,  and  most 
people  had  a  team  or  two  of  pintail  bronchos. 

Enterprise  Canal 

For  surveying  and  doing  all  the  engineering 
work  upon  the  Enterprise  canal  which  covers 
about  fourteen  thousand  acres  of  land,  William 
R.  Akers  received  one  hundred  dollars.  The 
construction  work  was  done  by  the  people 
along  the  ditch,  and  each  took  shares  of  stock 
in  payment.  When  the  irrigation  district  law 
came  into  existence,  the  Enterprise  district  was 
formed,  bonds  voted,  and  the  stock  in  the  com- 
pany exchanged  for  the  bonds.  This  policy 
was  followed  by  the  Mitchell  ditch,  the  Cen- 
tral, and  some  of  the  others  farther  down  the 
valley. 

Winter  Creek  Canal 

The  people  under  the  Winter  creek  canal 
line,  managed  to  scrape  together  enough  money 
to  have  their  line  run  out  and  cross-sectioned, 
but  the  building  seemed  too  large  to  undertake. 
Finally  Dan  D.  Johnson  grew  weary  of  just 
laying  around  and  plowed  up  the  ground  on  a 
section  of  the  canal  line  that  crossed  his  land. 
He  was  moving  some  of  the  dirt  to  one  side, 
when  Will  Ripley  drove  up.  "What  are  you 
doing,  Dan?"  asked  Will.  "Building  a  ditch," 
said  Dan.  "Too  big  a  job,  ain't  it  ?"  Will  asked. 
"Well,  it  won't  build  itself,  "answered  John- 
son, "and  I  have  both  horses  and  time.  Why 
not  be  doing  something?" 

Good  advice,  and  good  initiation,  started  the 
work.  In  two  weeks  teams  were  at  work  for 
the  whole  length  of  the  canal.  Thus  was  the 
ditch  built. 

Our  Own  Conversion 

As  the  dry  years  came  on  in  the  early  nine- 
ties, I  was  at  Harrisburg,  and  Ash  ford,  doing 
a  little  newspaper  work,  teaching  school,  and 
trying  my  first  irrigation  farming.  Sometime 
previously,  F.  P.  Reed  had  built  a  ditch  for 
the  purpose  of  furnishing  power  for  a  mill, 
which  mill  was  never  completed.  I  rented  the 
land  on  which  this  canal  was  located  and  did 
some  work  in  extending  it  to  get  it  upon  our 
homestead.     A  small  ditch  constructed  by  Jim 


Walters  to  water  his  timber  claim,  crossed  this 
homestead  making  a  little  garden  spot  that  we 
could  irrigate.  All  told  I  had  about  twenty 
acres  under  ditch.  Will  C.  (Pink)  Reed  and 
Jake  McClune  had  a  few  acres  under  the  same 
canal.  The  results  here,  made  a  profound  im- 
pression upon  anyone  who  looked  it  over.  A 
patch  of  wheat  grass  hay  went  three  tons  to 
the  acre,  millet  went  two  tons,  and  everything 
else  that  was  watered  grew  wonderfully,  while 
ten  feet  back  from  the  lateral  line,  the  millet 
and  grass  shrivelled  and  died  in  the  hot  winds 
that  swept  in  from  the  south. 

District  Idea  Born 

About  that  time  "Swede"  Anderson  was  try- 
ing to  interest  the  people  on  the  Froid  table- 
land in  Deuel  county,  in  extending  the  Belmont 
canal.  This  story  is  told  in  the  History  of 
Deuel  county,  in  this  volume.  W.  W.  White 
and  I  had  been  associated  in  a  number  of 
affairs,  and  we  discussed  the  Deuel  county 
proposed  experiment,  and  the  methods  sought 
to  raise  money  to  build  ditches.  That  was  the 
big  question  on  the  North  river.  There  seemed 
some  sort  of  an  injustice  in  bonding  a  precinct 
to  build  a  ditch  that  would  water  only  a  part 
of  the  precinct;  and  out  of  the  consideration 
of  the  problem,  the  idea  of  district  irrigation 
came. 

George  C.  Lingenfelter,  of  Cheyenne  coun- 
ty, was  elected  to  the  legislature  that  year,  and 
in  the  legislative  session  of  1893,  he  secured 
for  me  an  appointment  as  chief  engrossing 
clerk  in  the  house.  J.  L.  Lynch,  representative 
of  Dawson  county,  assisted.  J.  H.  Darner,  of 
Lexington,  who  had  been  chosen  senator,  se- 
cured for  Tim  T.  Kelliher  a  position  as  book- 
keeper in  the  senate.  E.  W.  Crane,  an  active 
man  in  the  campaign,  tried  to  get  a  place 
through  Senator  Darner,  but  he  evidently  did 
not  get  the  support  he  thought  Mr.  Darner 
could  give.  He  did,  however,  secure  a  clerk- 
ship through  the  friendly  offices  of  H.  G 
Stewart,  now  of  Scotts  Bluff  county,  but  then 
senator   Crom  Dawes  county. 

Carried  to  Lincoln 
Tim  Kelliher  knew  of  my  irrigation  ideas 
to  some  extent,  and  he  had  met  R.  B.  Howell, 
of  Omaha,  who  had  some  ideas  of  forming 
irrigation  districts.  He  had  us  meet  and  with 
Senator  Darner  we  went  over  a  proposed  bill 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


481 


forming  it  from  what  our  insufficient  knowl- 
edge of  California  and  Colorado  statutes,  told 
us  would  be  applicable  to  Nebraska  condi- 
tions. Darner  introduced  the  bill.  Crane  was 
still  irritated  by  what  he  considered  Senator 
Darner's  neglect,  and  he  picked  some  holes  in 
the  bill,  which  he  put  up  to  Senator  Stewart. 
No  doubt  some  of  them  were  weak  points,  but 
in  the  main  the  opposition  came  from  a  lack 
of  understanding  the  purpose,  and  in  that  day 
when  populism  had  emerged  to  power,  there 
was  a  fear  of  a  joker  in  every  thing  that  was 
not  fully  understood.  Stewart  opposed  the 
bill,  and  it  was  defeated. 

The  Bill  at  Home 

Wenzel  Hiersche  received  a  copy  of  the  pro- 
posed bill,  and  his  thought  was  that  it  had 
some  hidden  features.  He  went  over  to  Frank 
Sands,  and  they  looked  it  over.  They  decided 
that  it  was  too  big  a  bill  to  thoroughly  analyze, 
and  pass  judgment  on,  in  the  short  time  they 
had  to  do  so,  so  an  objection  went  in  to  the 
passage  of  the  act.  Sands  says:  "I  then  saw 
the  underlying  principle  was  sound,  but  I 
thought  we  ought  to  have  more  time  to  consid- 
er it ;  what  it  would  do  and  not  do." 

The  criticism  of  A.  B.  Wood  was  that  such 
a  bill  would  do  in  California,  "where  the  land 
had  a  basic  value,  but  here  our  lands  had  no 
value  of  consequence."  Captain  W.  R.  Akers 
came  to  the  defense  of  the  proposed  principle, 
and  in  two  years  that  followed  it  was  pretty 
well  threshed  out,  and  practically  approved. 
Senator  Akers,  who  was  chosen  from  this  dis- 
trict for  the  legislative  session  of  1895,  went 
into  the  work  with  thoroughness.  He  secured 
the  co-operation  of  Senator  Stewart,  again 
there  from  Dawes  county,  and  the  bill  be- 
came a  law  in  April,  1895. 

An  Odd  Aftermath 
One  of  the  queer  situations  that  arose  from 
this  story  of  the  irrigation  district  bill,  was 
that  in  March,  1895,  about  ten  days  before 
the  bill  became  a  law,  William  H.  Wright  went 
before  the  proper  authorities  at  Lincoln,  and 
under  the  existing  St.  Raynor  law,  asked 
for  a  revival  of  the  water  right  which  the 
Farmers  Irrigation  Company  held.  These  had 
been  idle,  and  practically  dead.  Their  request 
was  granted.  This  gave,  as  shown  by  later 
court  records,  a  ten  year  preferential  riglu  to 
the  water  in  the  claim,  and  for  its  application 
to  beneficial  uses.  For  years  Senator  Stewart 
fought  this  appropriation  and  other  canals 
claimed  precedence  in  time,  but  the  supreme 
court  finally  sustained  it.    I  have  often  thought 


if  Senator  Stewart.  Frank  Sands,  Wenzel 
Hiersche,  and  other  affected  by  this  decision, 
and  through  the  years  opposed  to  the  appro- 
priation, had  given  the  immediate  time  to  the 
bill  proposed  in  1893,  and  the  bill  then  became 
a  law,  that  the  story  would  have  been  written 
differently.  The  water  right  of  the  Farmers 
canal  would  have  died  a  natural  death.  How- 
ever, that  is  not  important  now,  for  all  have 
supplemental  waters  from  the  Pathfinder  dam, 
and  the  questions  of  priority  need  never  be 
again  discussed  or  litigated  in  the  state  of  Ne- 
braska. Only  interstate  right  need  now  the 
dictim  of  law,  and  return  waters  to  the  streams 
is  solving  that  question. 

The  Mitchill-Gering  Canal 
This  is  one  of  the  systems  evolved  in  the 
lean  years  when  the  money  question  was  hard 
to  solve.  Chas.  Neeley,  W.  A.  French  and 
Phil  Stilts  plowed  the  first  furrows  and  moved 
the  first  dirt  from  this  canal.  It  was  built  as 
all  the  early  canals  were  built,  by  the  energy 
of  the  people  who  wanted  the  water.  The 
headgate  is  in  Wyoming,  and  the  right  to  di- 
vert the  water  from  the  stream  is  a  Wyoming 
privilege  granted.  Its  right  in  Nebraska,  comes 
from  the  years  of  time  it  has  been  applied 
to  the  land,  the  fact  that  water  and  land  are 
inseparable  under  the  state  laws,  and  the  fact 
that  the  territory  and  the  water  users  therein 
qualified  under  the  state  irrigation  district  law 
shortly  after  its  passage.  Ten  years  (the 
Mitchell  ditch  easily  had  twice  that)  of  undis- 
puted used  of  water,  makes  "the  right  of  pre- 
scription" good,  according  to  many  of  our 
best  authorities. 

After  this  ditch  was  completed  as  far  as 
Horse  creek,  Theo.  Deutsch,  made  it  one  of 
the  most  substantial  in  all  the  country,  by 
running  it  "bank  full"  to  the  creek  where  the 
water  returned  to  the  river.  During  this  time 
he  watched  the  bank  the  full  length,  and 
when  it  settled  down  a  little,  applied  more 
dirt.  The  soaking  and  puddling  thus  given  it, 
made  it  so  substantial,  that  it  has  never  shown 
any  signs  of  weakening  in  the  thirty-odd  years 
of  service.  John  A.  Orr,  Perry  Braziel,  Frank 
Neeley  and  Harry  Haig  were  the  promofers 
of  the'  Mitchell  canal. 

Gering  Canal 

The  Gering  end  of  the  canal  was  built  at  a 
later  date,  and  under  the  district  plan.  The 
total  bond  issue  was  about  thirteen  dollars  per 
acre,  and  a  warrant  indebtedness  of  four  or 
five  dollars  existed  shortly  alter.  The  engi- 
neering difficulties  getting  the   canal   through 


482 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Spillway  Pathfinder  Dam.  Nebraska's  X 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


483 


the  bad  lands  north  of  the  mountain,  were  no 
small  matter.  Private  local  enterprise  made 
some  attempts  but  the  finishing  and  completing 
of  the  successful  canal  was  finally  in  the  hands 
of  T.  C.  Henry,  of  Denver. 

At  one  time  there  was  some  dispute  as  to 
the  amount  due  Mr.  Henry,  and  he  declared  he 
would  quit  the  job  unless  it  was  paid.  The 
local  people  stood  their  ground  and  Henry  left 
the  room  in  high  dudgeon.  He  took  to  the 
middle  of  the  street,  his  long  thin  legs  and  arms 
jerking  like  piston  rods.  When  he  had  gone 
far  enough  to  see  that  his  spectacular  depar- 
ture did  not  cause  the  people  to  relent,  he 
stopped  short,  his  head  at  an  angle  indicating 
concentration  upon  a  profound  problem.  He 
wheeled  about,  marched  back  jn  the  same 
jerky  piston  effect  steps,  entered  the  building, 
completely  capitulating  to  the  popular  will.  It 
was  not  conceded  on  his  part  that  this  was 
right  —  no  indeed  —  but  the  pride  of  achieve- 
ment, the  desire  to  finish  the  job.  inspired  to 
the  sacrifices  he  was  about  to  make. 

The  Gering  debt  seemed  like  a  heavy  load, 
for  a  time,  but  in  the  growth  of  years  and  the 
knowledge  of  what  irrigation  can  be  made  to 
do  in  the  fertile  lands  of  Scotts  Bluff  county, 
the  amount  now  seems  of  little  consequence,  a 
mere  fraction  of  the  vast  benefits  received. 

Small  Enterprises 

Central  irrigation  ditch  was  first  built  by 
private  means,  and  then  converted  into  a  dis- 
trict. At  one  time,  Martin  Gering  undertook 
by  an  hydaulic  method  to  use  the  canal  to  force 
water  to  the  higher  elevation  of  the  town  of 
Gering.  Farther  down  the  valley,  Castle  Rock- 
canal  and  Steamboat  Rock  canal  are  parallel 
systems  watering  the  lower  part  of  the  valley 
in  the  vicinity  of  Melbeta  and  McGrew.  They 
are  old  systems,  built  by  the  brawn  and  deter- 
mination of  early  years.  These  people,  like 
the  people  who  built  the  first  ditches  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  remember  the  short- 
age of  equipment.  The  late  John  Hall  said 
that  later  men  in  yellow  britches  were  doing 
some  good  work,  but  the  epoch  of  real  achieve- 
ment was  when  men  built  without  money,  and 
almost  without  machinery. 

He  tells  of  when  Anton  Hiersche,  Will 
Young,  and  many  of  the  older  crowd  used  to 
go  to  Colorado  to  "pick  spuds"  for  a  'grub 
stake."  Once  they  observed  some  discarded 
scrapers  lying  by  the  roadside.  On  returning 
home  they  secured  wagons  and  drove  back  to 
the  Greeley  country,  and  finding  no  claimant 
for  the  scrapers,  they  loaded  them  on  their 
wagons  and  brought  them  home.     They  were 


half  worn  out  "slushers."  and  scrapers  of  the 
Mormon  "tongued"  variety.  These  were  a 
boon  to  the  ditch  builders  of  the  North  Platte 
valley,  serving  much  in  the  ditch  construction 
of  those  formative  years. 

Government  Irrigation 

By  the  passage  of  the  reclamation  act,  in 
1904,  a  new  element  entered  into  the  develop- 
ment of  the  west.  The  power  and  finance  of 
the  United  States  were  put  behind  the  building 
of  systems  that  before  were  too  large  or  com- 
plicated for  the  undertaking  of  private  enter- 
prises. 

The  North  Platte  valley  was  singularly  for- 
tunate, and  Scotts  Bluff  county  most  favor- 
ably located  to  invite  the  building  of  a  vast 
federal  project.  After  the  work  of  seventeen 
years,  there  is  yet  a  tremendous  development 
ahead.  Upwards  of  ten  million  dollars  have 
been  expended  in  government  canals,  dams, 
dikes,  reservoirs  and  systems  of  laterals,  and 
several  million  more  will  be  needed  to  com- 
plete the  works  in  this  territory. 

Caney  French's  Ditch 

The  work  of  his  father  on  the  Mitchell  ca- 
nal and  the  work  of  his  own  under  the  tute- 
lage of  John  Kellums  who  had  repair  and  en- 
largement work  on  the  same  canal,  imbued  the 
younger  French  with  the  spirit  of  irrigation 
enterprise.  Caney  French  looked  about  and 
found  a  place  where  he  could  take  from  the 
North  Platte  river  through  a  rock  bound  head- 
gate  the  water  necessary  to  supply  about  six- 
teen hundred  acres  on  a  flat  south  of  Hem  v.  a 
part  of  which  is  in  Wyoming  and  the  major 
part  in  Nebraska. 

Here  he  put  in  a  number  of  years  in  build- 
ing an  independent  irrigation  project  which  he 
has  completed,  and  owns  a  lot  of  the  land  there- 
under. About  one-half  of  the  sixteen  hun- 
dred acres  covered  by  the  ditch  belongs  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  French,  her  homestead  being  a 
part  of  the  watered  tract. 

The  permit  is  taken  from  the  river  in  Wy- 
oming, but  Mr.  French  secured  his  rights  by 
proper  procedure  before  the  Nebraska  authori- 
ties, thereby  making  his  appropriation  doubly 


Water  Claims  in  County 
On  September  \i<.  1887,  the  first  water  ap- 
propriation was  taken  out  in  Scotts  Bluff,  and 
the  second  on  the  North  Platte  river  in  Ne- 
braska. This,  as  has  been  state,  ripened  into 
the    Farmers    Irrigation    district    right    which 


484 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


was  merged  into  the  government  system,  and 
farmers  secured  the  benefits  of  the  Pathfind- 
er storage  as  an  exchange. 

Following  in  the  order  given  are  the  appro- 
priations from  the  river  and  other  streams  in 
Scotts  Bluff  county. 

Farmers  canal,  September  16,  18S7,  from 
North  Platte  river,  60,000  acres;  Minatare 
canal,  January  14,  1888,  from  North  Platte 
river.  12,000  acres  ;  Winter  creek  canal,  Octo- 
ber 18,  1888,  from  North  Tlatte  river,  7,000 
acres ;  Enterprise  ditch,  March  28,  1889,  from 
North  Platte  river,  12.000  acres ;  Castle  Rock 
canal,  April  18,  1889,  from  North  Platte  river, 
5,000  acres  ;  Central  canal,  June  23,  1890,  from 
North  Platte  river,  2,000  acres ;  Ramshorn 
canal.  March  20,  1893,  from  North  Platte  riv- 
er, 2,500  acres  ;  Shortline  canal.  May  1,  1893, 
from  North  Platte  river,  3,000  acres;  Nine 
Mile  canal,  December  6,  1893,  from  North 
Platte  river.  4,000  acres ;  Steamboat  ditch,  Oc- 
tober 22,  1895,  from  North  Platte  river,  800 
acres;  Gering  canal,  March  15,  1897,  from 
North  Platte  river,  15,000  acres. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  the  Mitchell 
canal  irrigates  about  15,000  acres,  and  there 
are  a  number  of  smaller  appropriations  from 
the  North  Platte  river:  David  Kah,  of  Mina- 
tare. Will  A.  Hale  of  Scottsbluff,  L.  F.  Flower 
of  Minatare,  and  Joe  Maycock  at  Morrill. 
John  Kellums  has  several  appropriations  from 
Owl  creek ;  John  Mihan,  Perry  Braziel, 
George  Marsh,  Chas.  E.  Gatch,  A.  O.  Taylor, 
Caney  French,  C.  B.  Foster.  Joel  Jackson,  F. 
D.  Gilmore,  Ellis  Lowry,  Ed.  A.  Currie,  H. 
J.  Pizer,  and  a  few  others  have  small  appro- 
priations from  Horse  creek,  Kiowa  creek, 
Sheep  creek,  Winter  creek,  and  other  small 
streams. 

The  acreage  given  in  the  foregoing  list  is 
approximate.  In  some  cases  the  original  in- 
tentions have  been  enlarged,  and  a  few  of  the 
smaller  projects  entirely  abandoned.  A  larg- 
er number  of  the  small  appropriations  have 
been  merged  into  the  southside  federal  irri- 
gation project,  and  are  included  in  the  Gering 
&  Fort  Laramie  Irrigation  district. 

Interstate  Canal 
Some  years  before  the  reclamation  act  was 
passed,  several  irrigation  enthusiasts  were  look- 
ing for  the  possible  extention  of  H.  D.  Lingle's 
irrigating  canal  of  Wyoming,  into  Nebraska, 
and  including  thereunder  the  fine  table  lands 
now  under  the  Interstate  canal.  They  were 
driving  east  from  the  Rawhide,  and  struck  a 
valley  through  the  sand  hills,  which  Oscar 
Gardner  called  "Lucky  valley,"  because  of  the 
desired  elevation. 


When  the  government  purchased  the  Lingle 
canal,  and  made  its  extention,  this  valley  was 
utilized  for  the  passage  of  the  big  Interstate 
canal  into  Nebraska.  The  building  of  this 
canal  was  simultaneous  with  that  of  the  Tri- 
state  or  Farmers  canal,  and  the  incidents  and 
conditions  obtaining  in  the  construction  years 
were  similar  to  those  related  under  the  former 
story.  This  difference  occurs :  government 
work  was  eight  hour  labor.  Under  the  civil 
service  rules  and  the  rapid  expansion  of  the 
government  department,  there  were  those  in 
the  service  that  the  departmnt  could  not  dis- 
charge had  it  so  desired,  and  some  of  the 
places  were  occupied  by  men  who  should  not 
have  been  there. 

That  is  generally  true  in  civil  service  posi- 
tions, but  it  was  more  apparent  in  irrigation 
work  which  was  expanding  with  such  strides. 
The  result  was  some  costly  mistakes,  and  a 
higher  cost  of  canal  construction.  However, 
the  system  was  built  in  a  substantial  manner, 
the  only  lingering  fault  being  the  capacity  of 
the  canal,  which  many  believe  is  not  adequate 
for  the  vast  acreage.  This  has  been  remedied 
in  part,  by  the  construction  of  storage  reser- 
voirs known  as  Lake  Alice  and  Lake  Mina- 
tare, and  by  securing  a  carrying  capacity 
through  the  Farmers  canal,  for  irrigating  what 
is  known  as  the  Northport  extension. 

Gradually,  the  difficulties  have  been  ironed 
out,  and  the  system  is  now  in  quite  capable 
hands.  The  territory  embracing  something 
near  140.000  acres  is  changed  from  grazing 
land  to  splendid  irrigated  farms.  There  have 
been  many  changes  from  the  original  concep- 
tions and  altruistic  ideas.  There  have  been 
a  number  of  modifying  acts  relating  to  the 
irrigation  statute,  making  longer  time  for  the 
payments,  but  the  costs  have  mounted  rather 
higher  than  the  original  estimates.  It  is  ex- 
pected that  this  will  all  be  adjusted  in  due  time 
with  ultimate  justice  to  all. 

Water  Users  Association 
The  original  plans  required  the  organization 
of  a  water  user  association.  This  was  done  at 
a  series  of  meetings  held  in  Scottsbluff.  The 
incorporation  of  their  names  as  appears  in  the 
articles  filed  with  the  secretary  of  the  state  are: 
G.  L.  Shumway,  F.  F.  Everett,  J.  A.  Smith, 
J.  C.  McCreary,  W.  N.  Randall,  Wenzel 
Hiersche,  M.  A.  Sams,  M.  K.  Powers,  An- 
drew Crawford,  John  Powers,  John  Hall, 
Frank  A.  McCreary,  E.  T.  Westervelt,  Anton 
Hiersche,  H.  L.  Sams,  L.  L.  Raymond,  J.  A. 
McGowan. 

The  following  were  named  as  officers :  Presi- 
dent, Harvey  L.  Sams ;  Vice  President,  Wen- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


485 


zel  Hiersche ;  directors,  W.  N.  Randall,  D.  D. 
Davis,  C.  A.  Elquist,  H.  M.  Arnold,  John 
Powers,  Elmer  Hathway.  and  John  Hall.  The 
capital  stock  was  originally  $200,000. 

The  inception  of  the  water  users  plan  found 
its  origin  in  the  Salt  River  valley,  Arizona. 
The  editor-in-chief  was  informed  of  its  exist- 
ence by  the  editor  of  the  Irrigation  Age,  Mr. 
D.  H.  Anderson,  of  Chicago.  Immediately,  I 
wrote  for  a  copy  of  these  articles,  and  with 
some  amendments  to  meet  local  conditions, 
these  were  the  articles  adopted  by  the  North 
Platte  Valley  Water  Users  Association. 

The  Gering  and  Fort  Laramie  canal  is  un- 
der a  different  plan.  Judge  Will  R.  King  for 
years  under  President  Wilson  and  Secretary 
Lane  was  a  constructive  chief  counsel  of  the 
reclamation  service.  And  he  formulated  a 
plan  for  irrigation  districts  functioning  in  the 
place  of  water  users  associations.  It  was  be- 
lieved the  elimination  of  the  eight  hour  fea- 
ture in  the  work  of  administering  the  water 
would  be  an  economy,  which  under  the  water 
users  plan  leaves  that  to  the  government  di- 
recting law,  which  is  for  eight  hour  labor. 
It  yet  remains  to  be  demonstrated.  In  any 
event  if  it  fails  to  satisfy  the  public,  the  public 
need  blame  nobody  but  itself.  Just  now  the 
higher  costs  of  maintenance  under  the  Inter- 
state project  is  causing  considerable  irritation 
and  criticism.  Perhaps  this  is  without  just 
cause,  and  perhaps  had  the  territory  the  dis- 
trict plan  of  management  it  would  find  its  ex- 
pense as  great. 

The  official  roster  of  the  North  Platte  Valley 
Water  Lasers  Association  is  interesting.  Few 
of  the  incorporators  have  held  office  for  any 
length  of  time.  Of  the  original  seventeen,  ten 
have  never  been  officials.  Five  of  these  still 
are  farming  under  the  government  ditch.  Three 
others  who  have  held  office  are  farmers  under 
the  project.  Of  the  present  officials  I  think 
only  one  had  land  in  the  project  at  the  time 
the  organization  was  created.  Wenzil  Hiersche 
has  had  the  longest  term  of  office,  beginning 
with  the  first  creation  of  the  institution,  No- 
vember 14,  1904,  he  served  on  the  board  with- 
out intermission  for  more  than  sixteen  years. 
In  1921,  he  is  succeeded  by  Wr.  Clyde  F.  Smith, 
who  has  been  a  farmer  of  the  same  neighbor- 
hood for  the  same  length  of  time,  and  now  for 
the  first  time  an  official. 

Going  Back 

Following  the  narrative  of  irrigation  de- 
velopment, the  story  has  forward  and  backward 
movement,  like  a  story  in  the  press.  In  the 
early  nineties  Gilchrist,   Mead  &   lohnson,  of 


Cheyenne,  made  a  proposition  to  the  people 
of  Gering  and  vicinity,  to  build  a  south  side 
canal  on  the  basis  of  seven  dollars  for  a  per- 
petual water  right,  and  a  fixed  charge  of  $1.50 
per  acre  per  year  for  maintainance.  This 
proposition  met  with  considerable  favor  and 
would  no  doubt  have  been  made  had  not  two 
discouraging  elements  injected  themselves  at 
that  time. 

The  Belmont  and  Froid  affair  was  just  then 
receiving  an  airing,  and  was  referred  to  as  the 
"Belmont  &  Fraud"  canal.  Bering  &  Brothers, 
of  London,  were  behind  the  Cheyenne  aggre- 
gation, and  just  at  that  time  they  blew  up, 
which  made  the  immediate  raising  of  funds  by 
Gilchrist,  Mead  &  Johnson,  an  impossible 
task. 

However,  after  some  delay,  the  south  side 
project  was  under  way  with  local  energy.  R. 
F.  Neeley,  whose  spirit  of  enterprise  was  ex- 
emplified in  that  earlier  ride  to  Cheyenne 
through  a  storm  to  sell  the  P.  O.  horse  people 
some  Mitchell  valley  hay,  was  again  in  the 
forefront  with  a  contract  for,  and  was  rapid- 
ly proceeding,  with  enlarging  the  Mitchell  end 
of  the  canal. 

Miller  &  Henry  were  engineers  and  Henry 
Investment  Company,  contractors.  Much  rock 
work  had  been  done  in  the  bad  lands  and  the 
water  had  been  turned  in  to  test  it  out.  At 
"No.  6"  fill  there  occurred  a  disastrous  wash- 
out in  December,  1900,  which  while  discourag- 
ing never  made  the  stout  hearts  stop  beating. 
It  really  served  as  a  permanent  benefit,  for 
thereafter  all  the  fills  and  high  banks  were 
"puddled."  I.  J.  Ross.  Stilts  &  David,  and 
Koenig  Brothers,  each  had  contracts  widening 
the  rock  excavations,  while  farther  along  and 
around  "Cedar  valley",  dirt  was  being  moved 
by  Alva  Leonard,  A.  M.  Parmenter,  F.  E. 
Randall,  John  Clure,  and  others.  The  set- 
tlers were  determined  to  have  a  ditch. 

Antecedent  of  Reclamation  Act 
Four  years  before  the  passage  of  the  recla- 
mation act,  congress  appropriated  $100,000  for 
making  surveys  for  locations  of  suitable  reser- 
voir sites.  The  engineers  employed  under  this 
act,  or  appropriation,  were  to  make  selections 
of  sites  where  the  water  impounded  would  or 
could  be  made  to  control  stream  flow  and  at 
the  same  time  serve  for  irrigation  uses.  This 
required  a  much  wider  range  of  activity  than 
merely  finding  a  good  place  to  hold  back  the 
water.  The  mountains  are  filled  with  good  res- 
ervoir locations,  many  of  which  will  not  serve 
irrigation  to  any  great  extent. 

In  the  west  the  government  had  also  built 


486 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


a  number  of  small  canals  to  supply  forts  and  in 
some  cases  on  Indian  reservations,  to  give  the 
red  men  a  boost.  The  latter  were  without  cost 
to  the  Indians,  but  there  seemed  no  way  to 
convince  eastern  congressmen  that  the  build- 
ing of  irrigation  works  would  serve  a  double 
purpose :  make  homes  on  the  land  and  con- 
trol stream  flow.  Congressmen  called  the  re- 
clamation act  a  "slick  steal"  saying  that  never 
a  dollar  spent  would  be  paid  back.  In  this  the 
prophets  were  not  accurate,  although  these 
charges  are  no  more  justifiable  against  the 
water  user  than  levee  charges  on  the  lower  Mis- 
issippi  would  be  against  the  people  living  in 
that  vicinity. 

Dams  and  Reservoirs 

The  Pathfinder  Dam  and  Reservoir  is  one 
of  the  great  engineering  features  of  the  govern- 
ment irrigation  system  in  the  North  Platte  val- 
ley. Briefly  it  will  impound  1,000,000  acre 
feet  of  water  (sufficient  to  cover  1,000,000 
acres  one  foot  deep).  This  water  is  collected 
from  melting  snows  in  the  early  part  of  the 
season  and  thereby  serves  to  prevent  floods 
that  used  to,  frequently,  and  in  fact  every 
June  and  July  tear  along  with  destructive  force 
from  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  This  is  held  back  and  re- 
leased as  needed  for  irrigation  in  the  months  of 
August  and  September,  when  the  rainfall  on 
the  high  plains  is  usually  insufficient  for  crop 
needs. 

The  expense  of  this  dam  has  been  charged 
to  the  water  users  in  the  North  Platte  valley, 
although  the  benefits  are  fully  as  pronounced 
in  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  and  other  states  of 
the  south. 

On  the  north  side  of  this  valley,  in  Scotts 
Bluff  county,  there  are  two  constructed  reser- 
voirs along  the  line  of  the  Interstate  canal. 
Lake  Alice,  so  named  in  respect  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  and  for  his  daughter  Alice  Long- 
worth,  is  a  beautiful  lake  two  miles  long  and 
about  a  half  mile  wide  with  a  maximum  depth 
of  about  thirty  feet.  It  holds  thirty  thousand 
acre  feet  of  water  available  for  use  when 
needed. 

Ten  miles  southeast  of  this  is  the  larger 
lake  designated  as  Lake  Minatare.  This  is 
about  three  miles  across  and  has  a  maximum 
depth  of  about  eighty  feet.  It  will  contain 
90,000  acre  feet  of  water  when  filled.  The 
larger  portions  of  this  is  available  for  ir- 
rigation use  when  needed.  Sixty-seven  thou- 
sand acre  feet  of  water  can  be  drawn  through 
the  outlet  valves  on  emergency.  These  lakes 
furnish  excellent  fishing  resorts. 


Minatare  Dam 

Many  unexpected  formations,  or  lack  of 
formations,  were  found  in  the  construction  of 
this  dam.  All  the  dirt  was  first  stripped  from 
the  Brule  clay  foundation.  Then  into  the  clay- 
rock,  a  trench  was  cut  to  a  depth  of  forty  to 
sixty  feet  in  places,  or  until  it  wras  believed  that 
the  excavation  was  below  any  possible  seams 
in  the  formation.  In  this  trench  was  built  a 
concrete  core  for  the  dam.  The  length  of  the 
dam  is  4,000  feet  and  the  maximum  fill  is 
sixty-five  feet.  The  top  oi  the  dam  is  twenty 
feet  wide  making  a  maximum  width  of  350 
feet,  for  the  slope  is  about  two  and  one-half 
to  1.  The  embankment  contains  a  half  million 
yards  of  earth  and  150,000  yards  of  gravel.  A 
tunnel  twelve  by  fifteen  feet  extends  through 
this  tunnel  at  the  rate  of  450  cubic  feet  per 
second.  Nearly  seven  hundred  thousand  pounds 
of  steel  wrere  used  in  the  construction  and  out- 
lets. There  were  over  eighty  thousand  sacks 
of  cement  used  and  the  total  cost  was  nearly 
$600,000.  At  high  water  line  the  lake  covers 
2,230  acres. 

For  some  time  after  its  completion  there 
were  extensive  springs  bubbling  up  on  the  low- 
er side  of  the  dam.  It  was  known  that  these 
must  go  down  through  the  rock  formations, 
and  there  was  no  danger  to  the  dam.  How 
ever  a  diamond  drill  made  test  holes  along  the 
dam,  and  finally  located  the  under-rock  pass- 
ages. Into  these  by  hydraulic  power  were  forc- 
ed several  carloads  of  concrete,  and  ultimately 
effectively  stopped  the  leads.  During  this 
process,  the  force  of  the  hydralic  machinery 
caused  bubbling  out  in  the  lake  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  the  dam  showing  the  points  at  which 
the  water  had  found  the  subterranean  channels. 
The  historian  has  gone  extensively  into  the  de- 
tails of  this,  which  is  only  one  of  the  many 
structures  of  the  tremendous  irrigation  sys- 
tem that  now  covers  such  a  wide  acreage  of 
Scotts  Bluff  county.  These  irrigation  struc- 
tures are  of  various  shapes  and  forms :  great 
dykes,  concrete  flumes  and  syphons  that  are 
large  enough  to  carry  veritable  rivers,  and  tun- 
nels in  the  hills.  One  of  these,  that  will  be 
large  enough  to  ran  a  train  through,  is  to  be 
part  of  the  Gering  &  Fort  Laramie  canal  where 
it  passes  through  the  Scotts  Bluff  National 
Monument  from  Mitchell  valley  to  Gering  val- 
ley. 

So,  out  of  the  wilderness,  has  the  land  about 
us  emerged.  So,  from  the  ranges  for  buffalo 
and  cattle,  have  we  the  magnificent  homeland 
of  our  adoption.  Trees,  groves,  orchards,  gar- 
dens, flowers,  and  shrubbery,  and  around  them, 
the  farms  done  in  seventeen  shades  of  green. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


487 


Cities  have  sprung  up,  Aladdan-like,  or  like  the  alone  runs  to  about  seven  million  dollars  a 
dreams  of  dreamers,  and  over  twenty  thousand  year.  It  is  a  story  as  wonderful  as  the  Arabian 
people  live  in  Scotts  Bluff  county.     One  crop      Nights. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


SCOTTS  BLUFF  COUNTY  SCHOOLS 


The  beginning  of  the  school  in  the  North 
Platte  valley  was  in  Horseshoe  Bend,  when  a 
part  of  Cheyenne  county.  A  new  district 
had  been  taken  from  the  old  number  ten  and 
number  eleven  by  the  Williams,  the  Shobars, 
the  Rayburns,  and  others.  Gertrude  Ashford 
taught  this  school,  and  she  stayed  at  the  Ray- 
burn  homestead  during  the  week,  and  rode 
home  over  the  glorious  hills  at  the  weeks'  end. 
This  district  is  in  Banner  county. 

Within  the  limits  of  the  present  Scotts  Bluff 
county  the  first  school  was  at  Minatare,  and 
Lora  Sirpless  was  the  first  teacher.  I  have 
spoken  of  the  Gering  schools  in  an  early  day, 
and  of  some  of  the  other  schools.  I  asked 
the  county  superintendent,  Ada  M.  Haldeman, 
to  give  me  a  snapshot  of  the  school  situation 
past  and  present,  and  how  well  she  has  done 
this  will  be  seen  by  the  following  story,  which 
is  remarkable,  not  only  in  the  concise  way  in 
which  it  has  been  stated,  but  also  by  the  won- 
derful progress  of  education  in  the  county. 

This  is  but  one  of  the  ways  of  education  that 
is  offered  by  Scotts  Bluff  county.  Every  far- 
mer has  the  benefits  of  the  experiment  station, 
the  irrigation  college,  the  county  agent,  and 
the  expert  irrigators  and  field  men  in  connec- 
tion with  the  sugar  company.  They  are  prin- 
cipally without  cost  to  the  people. 

The  chautauqua  is  another  way  by  which 
we  become  informed.  This  institution  was 
first  brought  into  Scotts  Bluff  county  by  some 
of  the  Scottsbluff  people,  probably  more  as 
the  result  of  the  initiation  of  Rev.  E.  E.  Thomp- 
son than  any  one  man.  In  1921  Gering  offers 
a  number  one  program. 

A  Snapshot  of  CbuNTY  Schools 
By  Ada  M.  Haldeman 
As  the  residents  of  Scotts  Bluff  county  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord,  1920,  recall  the  many  and 
splendid  achievements  of  the  short  thirty-one 
years  of  the  county's  existence,  they  would  do 
well  to  go  back  in  their  imagination  to  the  days 


of  the  early  pioneers  of  this  county,  or  even 
farther  to  the  period  before  Scotts  Bluff  coun- 
ty had  been  carved  from  the  broad  expanse  of 
Cheyenne  county. 

With  the  early  settler  came  the  spirit  of 
education.  Wherever  nature  had  left  materials 
for  a  home  the  pioneer  found  them.  With  the 
sound  of  his  ax  and  hammer  as  he  fashioned 
his  log  shanty,  came  the  echo  of  these  tools 
as  they  helped  to  fashion  the  first  rude  school 
house. 

Or,  if  you  please,  the  stubborn  sod,  which 
parted  from  its  mother  earth  that  the  plains- 
man mijjht  build  a  home  for  himself  and  fam- 
ily, had*  its  companion  turf  peeled  back  clean 
cut  and  left  to  dry  in  the  sun  for  the  school 
house  of  the  settler's  children. 

In  at  least  one  instance  native  gravel  and 
rock  entered  into  the  composition  of  a  grout 
school. 

In  one  case,  the  new  settlers  poor  in  worldly 
wealth  but  rich  in  ambition  and  Yankee  ingen- 
uity, dug  a  cave  in  the  hillside  and  secured  a 
schoolma'am  to  teach  their  growing  children 
the  mysteries  of  the  three  R's  and  the  alphabet. 

Sometimes  the  summer  crop  rewarded  the 
sturdy  farmer  with  an  abundance  of  grain. 
There  are  those  now  living  in  Scotts  Bluff 
county  who  started  to  school  within  the  shelter- 
ing confines  of  a  school  house  constructed  of 
bales  of  straw. 

All  honor  to  the  ambition  and  perseverance 
of  the  early  pioneer  and  pathbreaker  whose 
foundations  made  possible  more  pretentious 
and  useful  superstructures.  Within  the  meager 
walls  of  crude  buildings  his  children  learned 
Well,  besides  book  learning,  many  lessons  of 
patriotism  and  community  welfare  ;  of  honesty, 
industry,  and  thrift;  of  steady  self-reliance, 
without  which  virtues  no  nation  can  build  suc- 
cess fullv. 

The  First  District 

The  first  school  district  formed  in  Scotts 
Bluff  county  was  organized  by  our  first  County 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Superintendent,  Miss  Frances  E.  Brown,  now 
Mrs.  Dan  Davis  of  Scottsbluff,  on  October  3, 
1889.  This  district  was  in  Kiowa  precinct, 
southwest  of  Morrill  and  south  of  the  Platte 
river. 

Close  upon  the  heels  of  District  one  came 
many  other  one-teacher  schools  with  buildings 
of  various  sizes  and  materials  but  with  similar 
lines  and  architecture. 

By  teaching  in  these  buildings  many  a 
rising  Scotts  Bluff  county  farmer,  lawyer  or 
other  business  man  secured  needed  funds  and 
early  training.  And  many  a  pretty  eastern 
girl  taught  school  while  she  held  down  a  near- 
by homestead  or  until  she  was  kidnapped  by 
some  popular  young  cowpuncher  or  granger 
of  the  neighborhood. 

The  school  houses  were  community  meeting 
houses,  useful  alike  for  church,  Sunday  School, 
singing  school,  spelling  bee,  box  supper,  pie 
supper,  political  caucus  and  the  neighborhood 
dance.  It  is  small  wonder  that  those  buildings 
still  in  existence  have  sagging  sills  and  much 
carved  furniture.  The  shed-barn  was  often  a 
necessary  part  of  the  school  property,  in  sparse- 
ly settled  communities.  The  tough  pony  might 
be  saddleless  or  almost  bridleless,  but  as  a 
carrier  of  children  he  was  a  part  of  the  school 
equipment. 

Consolidated  Schools 

In  1915  a  new  type  of  rural  school  appeared 
with  the  consolidation  of  Districts  36  and  38 
into  the  Lake  Alice  Consolidated  school. 

In  1915  Hope  School  District,  together  with 
District  21  made  the  second  consolidated  school 
in  the  county  and  in  1917,  Districts  34,  37,  42 
and  51  consolidated  as  the  Sunflower  School. 

In  July,  1920,  Hope  School  evolved  through 
various  stages  from  its  first  dug-out  school 
house  into  an  excellent  furnace-heated,  two- 
teacher  school  with  a  commodious  playground, 
a  superior  collection  of  play  apparatus,  a  cot- 
tage used  in  turn  for  teachers'  home  or  to 
house,  during  the  school  year,  pupils  living  in 
a  remote  part  of  the  district.  The  pupils  were 
transported  in  a  carry-all  drawn  by  horses  and 
hired  at  district  expense. 

Lake  Alice  school,  with  a  five  acre  site,  has 
a  substantial  school  building,  cottage  for  jit- 
ney driver,  garage,  gasoline  tank  and  pump 
and  a  many  roomed  dormitory,  modern  in 
every  respect.  This  dormitory  will  house  the 
teachers,  the  jitneys  and  the  departments  for 
Manuel  Training  and  Home  Economics.  The 
transportation  of  pupils  is  by  means  of  large 
automobile  busses,  owned  by  the  district.  The 
school   enrolled   in    1919-20  one  hundred  and 


eighty  pupils.     Eight  teachers  and  a  manual 
training  teacher  were  hired  for  1920-21. 

The  Sunflower  Consolidated  school,  on  a 
twenty-acre  tract  donated  by  Uncle  Sam  from 
an  adjoining  government  reserve,  has  a  large 
brick  building  thoroughly  modern  and  furnish- 
ing room  for  the  present  corps  of  eight  teach- 
ers and  two  hundred  fifty-five  pupils,  a  brick 
shop  with  six  housekeeping  rooms  above,  a 
superintendent's  cottage  and  a  care-taker's  cot- 
tage. 

A  building  which  will  house  the  transporta- 
tion contractor,  his  two  drivers  and  his  three 
cars  is  under  process  of  construction. 

During  the  past  year,  besides  carrying  on  an 
excellent  quality  of  work,  Sunflower  boys  and 
girls  have  had  the  advantage  of  art  and  music 
lessons  under  the  able  direction  of  well  trained 
specialists. 

During  1920-21  the  Sunflower  high  school 
had  intensive  training  in  Agriculture  and  Home 
Economics  and  Lake  Alice  had  Home  Eco- 
nomics work.  These  courses  were  handled  by 
instructors  especially  trained  for  the  conduct 
of  this  work.  Both  schools  will  receive  fed- 
eral and  state  aid  and  supervision  for  these 
departments.  Music  will  hold  an  important 
place  in  the  program. 

Under  the  Redistricting  Law  of  1919,  Con- 
solidated School  District  67,  between  Sun- 
flower, Lake  Alice  and  Scottsbluff  has  been 
formed  and  other  districts  are  taking  steps  to 
change  their  boundaries.  District  No.  67  will 
construct  a  two-room  building  on  the  site  of 
the  old  East  Six  school.  Here  will  gather  the 
pupils  in  seventh,  eighth,  ninth  and  tenth  grades 
from  the  entire  district.  For  the  present,  four 
six-grade  schools  will  be  conducted  in  the  four 
one-teacher  buildings  in  various  parts  of  the 
district. 

While  improvement  of  roads  and  added  val- 
uation are  needed  to  permit  any  consolidated 
school  in  Scotts  Bluff  county  to  attain  to  its 
highest  possibilities,  we  find  the  consoli- 
dated rural  school  competing  well  with  any 
town  school  of  its  size.  Since  the  consolidated 
school  offers  improved  buildings  and  equip- 
ment, some  specialization  of  work,  the  asso- 
ciation of  teachers  and  a  teacher's  home  on 
the  school  ground,  there  is  small  difficulty  in 
securing  teachers  for  these  school. 

Pupils  are  permitted  better  training,  more 
of  them  remain  in  school  to  complete  the  high 
school  course,  greater  competition  is  possible 
and  pupils  may  remain  at  home  while  pursuing 
high  school  work. 

Patrons  take  added  pride  in  a  superior 
plant ;  greater  improvements  and  better  equip- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


489 


ment  are  possible.  A  larger  and  more  efficient 
community  center  is  available ;  strong  attrac- 
tions— such  as  art  exhibits,  glee  clubs,  lecture 
courses,  athletic  meets,  musicals,  etc.,  are  avail- 
able with  the  large  community  hall. 

Modern  improvements  for  the  farm  home 
will  spread  from  the  school  houses ;  not  the 
least  among  advantages  is  the  training  of  boys 
and  girls  for  independent  rural  life  rather  than 
away  from  the  farm.  Short  courses  and  voca- 
tional work  under  the  supervision  of  state  and 
federal  specialists  and  partly  supported  by 
stale  and  federal  funds  go  with  the  consoli- 
dated rural  school. 

We  believe  that,  wherever  a  territory  of  suf- 
ficient size  and  valuation  and  with  sufficient 
number  of  pupils  may  be  found,  the  consoli- 
dated school  will  eventually  be  located,  by  the 
wish  of  the  patrons  in  the  district.  The  Redis- 
ricting law  of  Nebraska  endeavors  to  give 
impetus  to  the  establishment  of  a  rural  graded 
school  wherever  conditions  make  this  possible. 

Probably  the  most  significant  feature  of  our 
recent  school  development,  has  been  the  in- 
troduction and  progress  of  vocational  work  in 
the  high  schools. 

All  of  these  five  cities  and  towns  have  more 
or  less  of  equipment  and  time  on  the  schedule 
for  this  work.  Home  Economics  has  been 
taught  in  all  of  these  places,  manual  training 
and  specialized  agriculture  in  most  of  them. 

Gering  and  Scottsbluff  have  creditable  com- 
mercial departments  and  turn  out  students  pre- 
pared for  practical  business  training.  Scotts- 
bluff and  Gering  have  installed  equipment  and 
specially  trained  instructors  for  teaching  Smith- 
Hughes  Home  Economics.  Scottsbluff  has 
also  the  Smith-Hughes  agricultural  work,  both 
cities  in  these  courses  receiving  special  state 
and  federal  aid  as  well  as  detailed  state  and 
federal  supervision  in  this  work. 

The  boys  learn  practical  and  scientific  agri- 
culture with  the  addition  of  home  projects;  the 
girls  learn  to  cook,  and  serve  meals,  to  can 
fruit  and  to  sew.  The  ability  developed  in  these 
courses  demonstrates  the  value  of  teaching  vo- 
cational subjects  in  school  under  competent  su- 
pervision. 

The  Scottsbluff  and  Mitchell  Home  Eco- 
nomics instructors  and  pupils  have,  during  the 
past  year,  served  hot  cafeteria  lunches  to 
teachers  and  pupils  at  a  nominal  sum. 

School  Population 

The  school  population  of  Scotts  Bluff  county 
in  June,  1920,  was  7,633,  an  increase  of  seven- 
teen per  cent  over  that  of  1919.  Since  each 
year's  increase  has  been  rapid  the  ingenuity  and 


financial  strength  of  school  officials  and  pat- 
rons, especialy  in  cities  and  towns,  have  been 
greatly  taxed  to  provide  sufficient  school  room 
and  equipment. 

Among  the  better-built  and  more  recent 
school  houses  in  rural  districts  besides  those 
already  given,  may  be  mentioned  the  follow- 
ing'1 

District  No.  3,  a  commodious  brick  building, 
especially  well  equipped  and  finished.  This 
building  is  just  east  of  the  Scottsbluff  Sugar 
factory. 

Nine  Mile  school,  which  has  had  a  mush- 
room growth  during  the  last  five  years,  and 
now  has  ample  quarters  for  three  teachers  and 
their  classes. 

Creighton  Valley,  Number  Eight,  Number 
Seventeen,  and  Number  Twelve  have  remodel- 
led their  buildings  to  take  care  of  the  increas- 
ing attendance  and  to  make  it  possible  to  add 
one  teacher  each.  District  Ten  West  has  pro- 
vided space  for  two  teachers.  Number  Twen- 
ty-four has  a  most  excellent  plan  of  structure 
with  ample  space  for  cloak  rooms  and  hall  and 
with  furnace  heat  and  approved  lighting.  Lake 
Minatare  has  a  creditable  two-teacher  building 
and  neat  little  teacherage. 

Fairview  School  on  Dutch  Flats,  is  our 
newest  and  one  of  the  most  attractive  appear- 
ing schools  in  the  county — furnace  heated,  elec- 
tric lighted  and  well  finished.  Practically  all 
of  these  schools  have  given  careful  attention 
to  the  lighting  and  heating  of  their  buildings, 
as  well  as  to  the  comfortable  seating  of  pupils. 

At  present  McGrew  and  Melbeta  have  sub- 
stantial school  houses  adequate  for  immediate 
needs ;  Minatare  has  a  good  nine-room  brick 
structure  besides  the  high  school  frame  build- 
ing; Mitchell,  Morrill,  Scottsbluff  and  Gering 
are  contemplating  the  early  erection  of  new 
buildings  for  immediate  needs. 

When  these  buildings  have  been  completed 
the  present  urban  population  of  our  county 
will  be  well  cared  for,  but  the  building  of  sugar 
factories  at  Minatare  and  Mitchell,  together 
with  the  rapid  growth  in  population  throughout 
the  county,  will  doubtless  require  continual 
school  building  for  years  to  come. 

Among  the  better  urban  school  buildings 
may  be  mentioned  the  substantial  brick  build- 
ings of  Mitchell  and  Minatare,  the  ward  and 
high  school  building  of  Scottsbluff,  and  Ger- 
ing's  new  high  school  and  grade  building. 

Looking  forward  into  the  near  future  we 
see  many  substantial  improvements  in  the 
school  situation.  Larger  and  better  buildings 
will  gradually  take  the  place  of  some  temporary 
structures  now  in  use ;  larger  school  grounds 
with  more  play  ground  apparatus,  more  trees 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


and  more  space  for  agricultural  experiment 
will  be  found.  Vocational  work  will  continue 
to  grow  in  importance  on  the  school  curricu- 
lum;  pupils  will  be  better  trained  to  meet  the 
social  and  economic  needs  of  their  communities. 
Written  and  oral  examinations  will  gradually 
give  place  to  the  more  scientific  and  adequate 
measurements  and  tests  which  are  taking  prom- 
inent places  in  the  school  programs  of  the  lead- 
ing schools  of  the  country  today.  Night  schools 
for  foreigners,  summer  schools  for  the  children 
of  beet  workers  and  more  continuous  use  of 
the  school  plant  will  be  factors  of  our  educa- 
tional growth.  The  city  and  country  school 
nurse  will  come  to  stay  to  follow  up  the  physi- 
cal examination  of  pupils. 

Serving  Hot  Lunch  at  Schools 

Boys'  and  Girls'  club  work,  include  the  hot 
lunch  for  cold  weather,  in  rural  and  city 
schools,  the  scientific  raising  and  care  of  farm 


crops  and  animals,  the  making  of  garments  and 
preparation  of  meals  under  the  efficient  co-op- 
eration and  guidance  of  the  County  Home 
Demonstrator  and  Agricultural  Agent.  Boys 
and  girls  and  their  parents  are  enthusiastic 
supporters  of  the  Club  movement. 

Increased  salaries  for  teachers,  better  train- 
ing for  teachers,  improved  buildings  and  equip- 
ment are  helping  to  return  a  hundred-fold  to 
parents  the  increased  taxation  which  makes 
possible  added  opportunity  for  the  training  of 
their  boys  and  girls  to  enjoy  wholesome  in- 
dustries and  pleasures  of  farm  and  city. 

With  Scotts  Bluff  county's  infinite  resources 
and  the  tireless  energy  and  ambition  of  her 
people,  she  can  and  is  beginning  to  build  up  a 
commonwealth  second  to  none  in  this  part  of 
the  west.  The  results  of  her  efforts  will  be 
limited  only  by  the  breadth  of  vision  and  ap- 
plication of  those  in  charge  of  the  educational 
growth  of  the  young  people  of  our  county. 


CHAPTER  IX 
OFFICIAL  SCOTTS  BLUFF  COUNTY 


As  a  separate  entity,  Scotts  Bluff  county 
began  its  existence  in  1888.  The  first  offi- 
cial bond  filed  in  the  county  was  that  of  T. 
H.  Ewing  as  justice  of  the  peace  of  Kiowa 
precinct.  Immediately  following  were  the 
bonds  of  John  Dyer,  of  Tabor  precinct;  John 
R.  Stilts,  of  Mitchell  precinct ;  Geo.  Mason,  of 
Tabor  precinct ;  and  D.  D.  Johnson,  of  Winter 
creek  precinct;  all  as  justices;  and  Theodore 
Harshman,  of  Tabor,  as  assessor;  and  Dwight 
H.  Hawley,  of  Wrinter  creek  as  constable. 
These  bonds  were  first  filed  with  the  parent 
county  of  Cheyenne.  The  county  was  organ- 
ized in  January,  1889,  with  the  following  of- 
ficers :  J.  M.  King,  county  judge  :  Frank  Beers, 
treasurer;  T.  J.  Fanning,  sheriff;  J.  L.  Gil- 
more,  surveyor;  B.  F.  Gentry,  clerk  with  D. 
D.  Davis  deputy ;  C.  T.  Johnson,  superinten- 
den  ;  W.  J  Richardson,  attorney  ;  J.  A.  Burton, 
coroner. 

S.  R.  Spear,  L.  L.  Christian,  and  T.  D. 
Deutsch,  commissioners.  Jahile  Keefer  was 
deputy  sheriff.  It  had  been  a  three  cornered 
race  and  the  candidates  were  elected  in  the 
most  part  by  pluralities.  L.  L.  Feltham  and 
Jahile   Keefer  had   divided   the   opposition  to 


King  for  judge.  Peter  McFarlane  and  F.  A. 
Garlock  had  split  the  opposition  to  Gentry  for 
clerk.  Beers  for  treasurer  had  two  opponents, 
Ed.  Thornton  and  Ed.  Markland.  For  sheriff 
Fanning  had  Chas.  W.  Ford  and  Geo.  W. 
Davis  as  opponents.  B.  F.  Knapp  alone  match- 
ed steel  with  C.  T.  Johnson ;  A.  B.  Wood  and 
J.  B.  Towne  appeared  on  the  ballot  in  opposi- 
tion to  Burton  for  coroner;  Bruce  McCoskey 
was  candidate  against  Gilmore;  C.  M.  Wood- 
ard  and  M.  L.  Bishop  were  candidates  against 
Richardson  for  county  attorney;  and  there 
were  six  candidates  contending  against  the  suc- 
cessful three  for  commissioners  in  the  names 
of  Ellis  Lowry,  D.  D.  Johnson,  F.  J.  Irvine, 
Charles  Bouton,  Bennett  Chapman  and  Samuel 
J.  Clarke.  The  tickets  were  represented  as 
democratic,  republican  and  peoples.  The  peo- 
ples indorsed  C.  T.  Johnson,  the  democratic 
candidate  for  superintendent,  and  J.  L.  Gil- 
more  the  republican  candidate  for  surveyor, 
easily  electing  both.  Of  the  candidates  elected 
King  and  Richardson  were  on  the  peoples 
ticket ;  Gentry,  Richardson  and  Spear  were 
republicans ;  and  Beers,  Fanning.  Burton, 
Deutsch  and  Christian  were  democrats. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


491 


Division  and  County  Seat 
Scotts  Bluff  county  cast  2,048  for  and  654 
against  county  division.  At  the  first  county 
seat  election  there  were  three  contestants,  and 
the  result  was  as  follows :  Gering,  in  section 
2-21-55,  268  votes:  Mitchell  (then  in  Mitchell 
valley)  in  section  11-22-56,  172  votes;  Mills 
site  (north  of  the  river)  in  section  34-22-54, 
109  votes.  No  place  having  received  a  majori- 
ty, another  election  was  called  with  Mills  site 
eliminated. 

In  the  election  that  followed  there  was  con- 
siderable acrimony.  The  Gering  Courier  and 
the  Mitchell  Quirt  were  valiantly  defending 
their  respective  locations.  These  papers  were 
then  published  on  "patent  insides"  that  is  they 
received  from  the  Newspaper  Union  theii* 
papers  with  two  pages  printed,  and  printed  the 
other  two  at  home.  These  were  brought  in  by 
the  stage  from  Kimball,  the  nearest  railroad 
express  office,  and  sometimes  they  missed  con- 
nections. Sometimes  the  weather  kept  the 
stage  from  running,  and  sometimes  the  ready 
prints  were  sent  C.  O.  D.,  and  the  local  print- 
ers were  occasionally  compelled  to  wait  a  day 
or  two,  or  until  the  money  came  in  to  meet 
these  bills. 

During  this  fight,  there  came  a  storm  that 
prevented  the  arrival  of  the  Courier  prints  on 
time,  and  having  a  stock  of  plain  white  paper, 
Colonel  Wood  printed  the  two  home  pages, 
leaving  the  others  blank.  Mitchell  partizans 
referred  to  this  as  the  best  paper  ever  gotten 
out  in  Gering.  The  blank  pages  were  just  what 
they  needed  for  keeping  "pedro  scores."  Pedro 
was  a  game  then  played  by  local  people  at 
cards,  and  the  storm  kept  them  in  doors,  so 
that  they  had  plenty  of  time  to  play. 

The  result  of  the  second  county  seat  elec- 
tion was:  Gering  309,  Mitchell  223,  Gering 
thereby  becoming  the  permanent  county  seat  of 
Scotts' Bluff  county. 


Second  Election 
The  second  county  election  occurred  in  No- 
vember, of  1889.  The  result  as  before  was  a 
mixed  ticket,  there  being  three  tickets  in  the 
field.  Gentry  for  clerk,  Beers  for  treasurer,  Gil- 
more  for  surveyor,  and  Deutsch  for  commis- 
sioner were  re-elected,  defeating  George  B. 
Luft.  A.  B.  McCoskey  and  Ellis  Lowry  respec- 
tively. Milton  Byal  defeated  Tom  Fanning  for 
sheriff,  for  Fanning's  deputy  Kiefer  got  into 
the  race  and  split  the  normal  Fanning  vote.  Jas. 
Westervelt  gave  Frank  Beers  a  close  run  204 
to  211,  and  McCoskey  was  close  on  the  heels 
of  Gilmore  for  surveyor.  W.  H.  Johnson  had 
no  opposition  for  coroner,  and   Miss   Francis 


Brown  (now  Mrs.  Dan  D.  Davis)  had  a  ma- 
jority over  both  her  opponents  for  superinten- 
dent. Anthony  Kennedy  defeated  L.  A.  Chris- 
tian for  commissioner  in  the  first  district,  and 
Perry  Braziel  was  elected  over  Ed.  Thornton 
in  the  second,  and  as  stated  Deutsch  was  elect- 
ed in  the  third  district  over  Ellis  Lowry. 

First  Bond  Issue 

As  is  usual  in  counties  beginning  their  inde- 
pendent organization,  there  was  a  scarcity  of 
money.  The  first  years  of  a  county  mean  in- 
variably a  debt ;  then  usually  a  bond  issue  to 
clear  it  up.  Then,  in  the  case  of  Scotts  Bluff 
county,  it  fell  heir  to  the  costs  incurred  in  the 
Arnold  murder  trial.  The  murder  occurred 
at  about  the  time  of  the  county  division  and 
while  the  trial  was  at  Sidney  and  in  Cheyenne 
county  by  some  legal  method  the  mother  coun- 
tv  succeeded  in  passing  it  on  to  the  new  countv 
of  Scotts  Bluff. 

So  at  the  regular  election  of  1889  the  bond 
issue  was  considered  and  carried  by  a  very 
small  margin,  namely,  191  to  189. 

Election  of  1890 

The  election  of  November  4,  1890,  was  of 
little  local  interest,  only  two  county  officers  be- 
ing elected.  Elmer  J.  Morse  was  elected  com- 
missioner from  district  number  three,  and  L. 
L.  Feltham  was  chosen  county  attorney  over 
J.  M.  King  by  a  vote  of  202  to  186.  W.  J. 
McCandless  carried  the  county  for  representa- 
tive over  Chas.  Purnell  by  66  votes.  Nine 
prohibition  votes  were  cast  in  Rose  precinct  — 
practically  the  total  vote  of  the  precinct. 

There  were  three  constitutional  amendments 
proposed  and  voted  upon  in  1890.  The  one  for 
increasing  the  number  of  supreme  judges  car- 
ried the  county  by  ninety.  The  other  two  re- 
lated to  the  liquor  question  and  exemplified 
the  spirit  of  the  county  at  that  early  date  was 
for  temperance  —  a  principle  to  which  it  has 
always  adhered.  The  prohibition  amendment 
carried  171  to  130,  while  the  high  license 
amendment  lost  by  a  vote  of  161  to  118. 

First  Soldier's  Relief  Commission 
The  first  commisioners  to  look  after  relief 
for  old  soldiers  was  appointed  in  1890,  and 
consisted  of  John  P.  Finley.  D.  D.  Johnson 
and  Wm.  H.  Johnson,  all  of  whom  are  now 
bivouaced  in  the  Land  Beyond. 

First  Precinct  Officers 

Among  the  precinct  officers  chosen  at   the 

first  election  and  serving  Scotts  Bluff  county 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


in  1889  are  the  following:  T.  J.  James,  Tabor 
precinct;  Enos  S.  DeLaMatter,  Kiowa  pre- 
cinct; Clark  B.  Whipple,  North  Hull  precinct; 
M.  L.  Bishop,  Gering  precinct;  Oscar  W. 
Gardner,  Gering  precinct ;  as  justices  of  the 
peace :  B.  B.  Franklin,  Eugene  T.  Westervelt 
and  A.  B.  Wood,  constables  of  Gering  pre- 
cinct and  other  constables  as  follows :  Dwight 
Hawley  of  Winter  creek  precinct ;  William  H. 
Gould  and  Charles  W.  Proctor  of  Tabor  pre- 
cinct ;  R.  H.  Spaulding  of  Highland  precinct ; 
Richard  Beebe  of  North  Hull  precinct ;  Geo. 
W.  Davis  of  Castle  Rock  precinct.  The  road 
overseers  serving  filing  bonds  were  Seymour 
Dickman  of  Castle  Rock  precinct ;  W.  J.  Sen- 
teny  of  Highland  precinct;  Albert  Gillett  of 
Roubedoux  precinct;  Basil  Decker  of  Tabor 
precinct ;  J.  E.  Shannon  of  Mitchell  precinct ; 
John  Ray  of  Kiowa  precinct;  E.  J.  Morse  of 
district  number  nine;  and  Ossian  M.  Ross  of 
North  Hull  precinct.  In  the  bond  register  we 
also  find  the  following  named  for  assessors : 
A.  E.  Currie  of  Kiowa ;  J.  S.  Edgar  of  North 
Hull ;  Michael  R.  Harris  of  Winter  creek  ;  Mil- 
ton Byal,  of  Mitchell;  E.  Y.  B.  Smith,  of 
Roubedoux ;  George  B.  Luft  of  Gering;  R.  M. 
Senteny  of  Highland;  J.  W.  Lee,  of  Castle 
Rock;  and  Edward  Scrivens  of  Ford. 

The  Platte  River  Bridge 

In  a  very  early  date  the  Fort  Laramie  bridge 
was  built,  and  in  the  seventies  Camp  Clarke 
bridge  came  into  existence.  Between  these 
two  points  there  were  a  number  of  fords. 
"Rock  Bottom"  ford  was  near  the  upper  PF 
ranch  and  was  used  extensively  by  overland 
emigrants  and  then  by  the  freighters  for  the 
Black  Hills  traffic.  The  Indians  and  the  buf- 
fulo  used  to  cross  at  almost  any  point  that 
would  suit  their  fancy.  Saint  George  Cooke 
saw  a  large  Indian  village  cross  near  the  pres- 
ent location  of  the  Scottsbluff-Gering  bridge. 
After  the  battle  of  Horse  creek  a  thousand 
or  more  crossed  near  the  state  line.  Near 
the  east  line  of  Scotts  Bluff  county  travelers 
were  once  halted  for  three  hours  to  allow  the 
passage  of  a  vast  herd  of  buffalo  which  was 
moving  across  the  river  and  to  the  north.  Near 
Tom  Fanning's  ranch  there  is  the  old  ford 
used  so  much  by  early  settlers.  Oelrich's 
ranch  had  a  regular  crossing  and  Gering  and 
Minatare  had  regular  fords  before  the  day  of 
bridges. 

When  Gering  came  into  the  county  seat  con- 
test, Martin  Gering  offered  to  build  a  bridge 
in  case  his  namesake  was  chosen.  That  bridge 
was  built  and  was  in  service  for  many  )ears. 
That  was  before  the  days  of  concrete  state  and 


federal  aid  bridges.  It  was  a  narrow  affair  — 
single  track  at  first  —  about  four  thousand  feet 
long  with  two  "turnouts"  for  teams  to  pass 
each  other.  The  rails  were  flimsy  and  occa- 
sionally some  driven  animal  or  team  would  go 
into  the  river  taking  the  rail  with  it. 

Judge  J.  M.  King  s  team  took  him  through 
the  railing  into  the  water  one  time  in  about 
twenty  years  ago,  and  in  the  mixup  two  of  his 
fingers  were  so  nearly  amputated,  that  the 
doctors  finished  the  job.  One  time  Sherwood 
Taylor  was  hauling  a  load  of  hay  across  this 
bridge,  and  the  wind  upset  it  into  the  river, 
with  Taylor  underneath.  He  was  unable  to 
extricate  himself  and  was  drowned.  There 
were  other  tragedies  and  near  tragedies  in  the 
crossing,  more  than  once. 

In  1908  the  water  reached  the  highest  stage 
in  its  history  and  was  running  nearly  up  to 
the  bridge  floor.  W.  J.  Bryan  made  his  first 
address  in  Scottsbluff  on  June  8th  of  that  year, 
and  had  to  cross  the  river  to  reach  Harris- 
burg  and  Kimball.  He  will  probably  remember 
that  trembling  old  bridge  as  Dr.  A.  T.  Craw- 
ford drove  him  across  with  the  Pierce  Arrow. 
The  river  was  so  high  that  many  people  re- 
fused to  cross  to  Scottsbluff,  when  they  saw 
the  menace  of  the  raging  water. 

Judge  R.  W.  Hobart  made  a  trip  across  this 
bridge  in  the  latter  days  of  its  use.  The  new 
bridge  —  which  in  1921  is  called  the  old  bridge 
—  was  just  about  complete,  and  the  old  bridge 
on  the  section  line  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  was 
being  neglected.  It  was  full  of  holes  and  oc- 
casionally a  section  of  the  railing  was  gone. 
Anton  Hiersche  was  driving  a  team  of  spirited 
colts,  and  had  Judge  Hobart  in  the  rig  with 
him.  At  the  approach  he  put  the  team  on  the 
run  and  went  across  the  bridge  at  full  speed. 
It  seemed  like  a  perilous  ride  but  Anton  knew 
his  skittish  team,  and  took  the  chance.  If  kept 
going  there  was  less  menace  than  if  given  time 
to  get  frightened  and  possibly  going  off  the 
bridge  at  so_me  point. 

The  original  bridge  in  Scotts  Bluff  county  cost 
the  county  nothing,  and  cost  those  who  built 
it  around  $10,000.  The  next  bridge  which  was 
from  Scottsbluff  to  Mitchell  valley  cost  even 
less,  for  the  railroad  donated  a  lot.  It  was 
built  by  bonding  Winter  creek  precinct  for 
$6,500.  Compared  with  our  present  bridges 
and  bridge  building  processes  it  seems  small, 
but  those  bridges  served  well  in  those  days. 
Today  seven  concrete  state  aid  bridges,  which 
cost  wlith  the  approaches  nearly  a  million  dol- 
lars, now  span  the  river.  But  they  are  there 
for  all  time  without  much  care  or  cost  of  re- 
pair. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Political  History 
During  the  years  of  the  early  nineties  the 
populists  were  active  and  a  power  to  be  reck- 
oned with.  In  some  instances  they  were  strong 
enough  to  have  their  own  way,  and  in  others 
they  combined  with  other  parties  and  were 
sufficiently  strong  to  dominate  the  conventions 
and  practically  name  the  candidates. 

As  late  as  1896,  Bryan  carried  Scotts  Bluff 
county  by  fifteen.  T.  D.  Deutsch  was  again 
elected  county  commissioner.  The  Courier 
then  paid  the  following  compliment  to  the  pres- 
ent mayor  of  Scottsbluff  city:  "The  returns 
indicate  a  good  healthy  trade  on  county  offi- 
cers was  conducted,  but  the  delivery  was  prin- 
cipally on  one  side.  It  is  a  losing  operation 
every  time  unless  a  good  schemer  like  Theo. 
Deutsch  has  hold  of  one  of  the  strings.  Theo. 
is  a  mighty  smooth  politician,  and  when  he 
can't  fool  a  big  part  of  the  people  all  the  time 
it  is  no  use  for  common  fellows  to  try." 

While  this  is  "old  stuff"  in  more  than  one 
sense  the  peculiar  part  of  the  accusation  was 
that  there  were  but  two  county  officers  elected 
that  year.  T.  M.  Morrow  was  elected  coun- 
ty attorney  over  W.  J.  Richardson  by  a  vote  of 
246  to  213  and  Morrow  and  Deutsch  were  on 
the  same  ticket.  That  left  no  one  to  be  traded. 
This  was  but  one  of  the  many  battles  royal 
in  the  old  days  and  anything  is  good  for  an 
argument  according  to  the  standards  of  the 
times  and  politicians  of  the  periods.  Then, 
young  people  take  to  heart  the  subjects  of 
political  economy  far  more  seriously  than  do 
we  when  full  of  years. 

First  Commissioner's  Meeting 
Board  met  January  28,  1889 ;  present,  L. 
A.  Christian,  S.  R.  Spear,  and  T.  D.  Deutsch, 
commissioners ;  and  B.  F.  Gentry,  clerk. 
Deutsch  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  board. 
The  official  bonds  of  J.  M.  King  as  county 
judge  and  B.  F.  Gentry  as  county  clerk  were 
approved.  Gering  was  chosen  the  temporary 
county  seat  on  the  vote  of  Spear  and  Chris- 
tian, Deutsch  being  for  Mitchell.  Board  ad- 
journed until  the  next  day. 

On  January  29  the  first  county  estimate  and 
levy  was  made ;  estimate  of  expense  for  the 
years  $17,500.  General  fund  levy,  9  mills; 
sinking  fund,  3  mills  ;  road  fund,  2  mills  ;  bridge 
fund,  1  mill.  Compensation  for  county  super- 
intendent fixed  at  $3.50  per  day.  County  seat 
election  was  called  for  February  12th ;  elec- 
tion notices  and  ballots  to  be  printed  by  A.  B. 
Wood.  S.  R.  Spear  was  chosen  to  accompany 
County  Attorney  W.  J.  Richardson  to  Sidney 
to  make  a  settlement  with  the  mother  county 
of  Cheyenne. 


Thus  was  Scotts  Bluff  county  sent  upon  its 
official  and  substantial  career. 

Old  Personal  Bonds 
In  the  beginning  of  the  county,  from  the 
names  that  appear,  either  as  principle  or  as 
surety,  it  seems  that  nearly  everyone  was  on 
some  bond.  These  old  names  are  here  given 
for  the  reason  that  it  will  revive  a  flood  of 
memories  among  those  that  were  here  in  the 
formative  years. 

Thos.  H.  Ewing's  bond,  the  first  filed,  con- 
tained for  sureties  Daniel  Wooldridge  and  W. 
H.  Hulbert.    If  was  filed  January  5,  1889. 

Other  names  were :  Joseph  G.  Neighbors, 
F.  A.  Garlock,  R.  E.  King,  S.  T-  Clark,  C.  C. 
Franklin,  J.  S.  Franklin,  Wm.  H.  Bass,  Mar- 
tin Gering,  Joe  Salmon,  W.  E.  Ingraham,  R. 
T.  Huffman,  Tohn  Emery,  T.  R.  Garrett,  Peter 
McFarlane,  F.  W.  Hugh's,  j.  E.  Giltner,  W.  E. 
Morse,  T-  H.  Currie,  E.  A.  Currie,  A.  W. 
Mills,  Geo.  C.  Stahl,  Ed.  Eastman,  Wm.  King- 
en,  G.  W.  Slonecker,  G.  F.  Wingate,  Martin 
Bristol,  M.  L.  Bishop,  P.  L.  Hull,  C.  A.  Bou- 
ton,  S.  W.  Ripley,  Chas.  W.  Chubb,  Anthony 
Kennedy,  Bennett  Chapman,  E.  O.  Wilberger, 
D.  T.  Cummins,  Charles  B.  Gardner,  T.  J. 
James,  J.  S.  Mace,  Robert  S.  MisKimmon,  W. 
S.  MisKimmon,  Wm.  C.  Kirby,  James  Wester- 
velt,  Gus  Tensen,  S.  Woldridge,  E.  B.  Spencer, 
A.  L.  Wiles,  Robert  M.  Senteny,  David  F. 
Hayes,  John  F.  Wooldridge,  M.  G.  Murray, 
John  A.  Fairchild,  Edward  C.  Enderly.  John 
Worthington,  W.  B.  Cole,  Judson  A.*  Moon, 
Wm.  Sheffener,  Elmer  Hathaway,  Daniel  W. 
Warner,  I.  N.  Rose,  Geo.  Gerlock,  Austin 
Moomaw,  Phil  W.  Hull,  Ed.  Gering,  Alex- 
ander Clark,  F.  T-  Irvine,  E.  T.  Harshman, 
Wm.  Rutter,  A.  B.  Wood,  Robert  F.  Neeley, 
G.  W.  Hale,  L.  D.  Williams,  John  H.  Kel- 
lums,  M.  R.  Harris,  Winfield  Evans,  B.  F. 
Hector.  Richard  Beebe,  John  Card,  Robert  S. 
Oberfelder,  George  Sowerwine,  Thos.  Cham- 
bers, and  others. 

Of  the  one  hundred  or  more  names  that  ap- 
pear as  first  county  officials  and  bondsmen, 
about  twenty-five  remain  in  the  land  about  us. 
Probably  as  many  more  have  gone  to  that 
Greater  Frontier  beyond,  and  the  others  have 
gone  away.  Of  the  eleven  original  county 
officers  but  three  remain:  B.  F.  Gentry,  T.  D. 
Deutsch,  and  T.  J.  Fanning.  Six  of  them  are 
dead  and  the  other  two  gone  to  other  lands, 
one  of  whom.  Frank  Beers,  is  in  California. 

The  Court  House 
Scotts  Bluff  county  early  built  a  brick  court 
house.      Long   since   the    room   has    been    in- 


494 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


adequate  and  it  was  impossible  to  preserve  the  Its  cost  is  practically  $250,000  when  equipped, 
records  properly.  The  county  now  has,  nearly  It  is  to  be  of  beautiful  design,  but  no  picture  is 
complete  a  court  house  befitting  its  importance,      yet  available,  as  scaffolding  is  not  removed. 


CHAPTER  N 


THE  FARMERS  REVOLUTION 


The  expansion  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
the  dominant  character  of  such  men  as  Jay 
Burrows  and  John  Powers  began  as  early  as 
1888.  The  leadership  of  such  splendid  men, 
and  the  country  needs  more  of  them  now, 
brought  about  the  political  uprising  of  the 
following  years.  In  1890  a  number  of  con- 
gressmen were  elected,  and  by  1892  the  move- 
ment had  spread  like  a  prairie  fire  over  the 
state.  That  year  Congressman  O.  M.  Kem 
was  elected  for  his  second  term,  as  member 
from  this,  then,  the  third  district.  John  Pow- 
ers was  the  candidate  for  governor,  and  many 
still  maintain  he  was  honestly  elected,  but 
that  through  a  partisan  act  of  the  supreme 
court  and  the  manipulation  of  politicians, 
James  E.  Boyd  was  seated. 

The  movement  was  a  little  slow  in  reaching 
Scotts  Bluff  county  and  the  Panhandle.  In 
the  election  of  1890,  Post  for  supreme  judge 
was  sixty  ahead  of  Edgerton.  For  district 
judge,  Church  was  ninety-three  ahead  of  Ne- 
ville. 

Some  of  the  county  offices  had  a  three  cor- 
nered fight  and  in  others  it  was  straight  out 
between  the  democratic  and  republican  candi- 
dates. F.  J.  Irvine  was  elected  judge  over 
E.  S.  DeLaMatter;  Ed.  Sayre  was  elected  over 
C.  C.  Franklin  for  treasurer.  A  division  of 
the  opposition  between  Maycock,  indepen- 
dent, and  Raymond,  republican,  gave  Harry 
Walker  an  easy  victory  for  sheriff.  In  the 
contest  for  clerk,  J.  H.  Vickrey  nosed  out 
ahead  of  T.  D.  Deutsch  by  two  votes  while 
Snyder,  independent,  received  eighty-eight  or 
about  one-half  as  many  as  the  high  man. 

Mrs.  Aggie  Moomaw  was  elected  superin- 
tendent as  an  independent;  and  A.  B.  Mc 
Coskey,  for  surveyor;  and  L.  O.  Tisdel,  for 
coroner.  It  was  not  a  good  year  for  republi- 
cans in  Scotts  Bluff  county.  Lot  L.  Feltham 
who  was  county  attorney  resigned  in  1893, 
and  M.  J.  Huffman  was  appointed.     He  was 


re-chosen  in  the  fall  election  of  that  year,  and 
W.  H.  Hulbert  was  elected  judge. 

The  republicans  had  better  luck  in  1893, 
fur  only  one  democrat,  T.  D.  Deutsch  for  com- 
missioner over  George  Lawyer,  was  elected. 
Two  independents,  Mrs.  Moomaw  for  super- 
intended, and  J.  W.  Senteny,  for  sheriff,  were 
elected.  L.  L.  Raymond  was  candidate  against 
Mrs.  Moomaw,  and  Senteny  had  two  oppo- 
nents: John  R.  Stilts  and  A.  M.  (Dad)  Carr. 
The  republicans  secured  the  rest  of  the  coun- 
ty offices.  L.  O.  Tisdel  received  a  majority 
over  both  his  opponents,  who  were  W.  J. 
Chambers  and  Henry  Stevens. 

The  most  marked  contest  seemed  to  be  be- 
tween the  several  candidates  for  clerk.  J.  H. 
Vickrey  was  re-elected  by  a  plurality  of  thir- 
teen over  Martin  Bristol,  but  lacking  103  of 
having  a  majority.  L.  A.  Christian  and  D.  D. 
Davis  were  candidates.  Ed.  Sayre  was  re- 
elected treasurer  in  a  contest  against  F.  M. 
Sands.  O.  W.  Gardner  defeated  J.  M.  King 
and  Theo.  Harshman  for  judge,  while  A.  P. 
Kittell  triumphed  over  A.  B.  McCoskey  and 
T.  L.  Gilmore  for  survevor.  Commissioners 
for  1894  were  B.  Decker,  T.  D.  Deutsch  and 
E.  S.  DeLaMatter.  L.  L.  Raymond  was  chos- 
en deputy  county  clerk. 

In  November,  1894,  the  republicans  carried 
the  county  by  about  seventy.  E.  S.  LeLaMat- 
ter  defeated  James  H.  Cross  for  county  judge. 
M.  J.  Huffman  was  re-elected  county  attorney 
over  T.  M.  Morrow  who  ran  as  an  indepen- 
dent ;  and  F.  A.  Wright,  who  was  the  demo- 
cratic candidate.  The  farmers'  revolution  was 
on  in  full  swing  over  the  state.  They  dictated 
the  democratic  nominee  for  governor,  Silas  A. 
Holcomb,  and  he  was  elected.  They  also 
elected  O.  M.  Kem  again  for  congress.  W.  R. 
Akers  was  elected  to  the  senate,  and  R.  D. 
Harris  for  representatives,  both  republicans. 

Things  were  warming  up  for  the  election  of 
president  in  1896.  In  the  west  Cleveland's 
administration   was  accepted  by  many   demo- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


495 


crats  as  an  abject  surrender  to  Wall  street. 
Yet,  the  moneyed  east  was  demanding  the  re- 
turn of  republicans  to  power.  So  strong  was 
this  force  being  brought  to  bear  that  Win.  H. 
Wright  wrote  the  engineer,  A.  P.  Mitchell,  that 
he  was  going  to  vote  the  republican  ticket  as 
the  chance  to  get  eastern  money  to  finish  the 
Farmers  canal,  and  the  letter  was  given  publi- 
cation in  local  republican  papers. 

The  election  of  November  6,  1895,  was  the 
fore-runner  of  the,  great  battle  of  the  ballots 
of  1896.  There  were  ten  candidates  for  re- 
gents of  the  state  university.  H.  L.  Gould  and 
C.  H.  Morrill  easily  carried  Scotts  Bluff  coun- 
ty and  were  elected  by  the  state.  None  of  the 
other  eight  candidates  received  100  votes  in 
the  county  while  the  Gould  and  Morrill  vote 
was  over  200.  H.  M.  Grimes  and  William  Ne- 
ville divided  honors  for  district  judge  the  vote 
being  220  to  219.  Grimes  was  elected  and  be- 
gan his  twenty-five  year  period  in  that  capacity, 
which  ended  only  with  his  recent  death.  Ne- 
ville also  some  years  since  went  to  his  great 
judgment  bar. 

In  this  election  of  1895  the  republicans  had 
the  best  of  it  in  Scotts  Bluff  county.  They 
elected  all  but  surveyor  and  commissioner. 
A.  B.  McCoskey,  democrat,  was  chosen  sur- 
veyor over  Ed.  Scriven  by  a,  close  vote:  209 
to  201.  There  were  three  candidates  for  com- 
missioner: Matt  Schumacher,  republican;  F. 
J.  Irvine,  democrat ;  and  Chas.  Fowler,  peoples 
independent.  The  latter  was  elected,  defeating 
Schumacher  by  11  votes,  and  Irvine  by  23. 
For  clerk,  C.  W.  Ford ;  for  treasurer,  C.  B. 
Whipple:  for  judge,  Geo.  W.  King;  for  super- 
intendent, L.  L.  Raymond ;  and  for  coroner, 
Dr.  Jos.  H.  Miller,  were  elected  by  large  ma- 
porities.  The  contest  for  sheriff  developed 
a  three  cornered  fight  between  E.  T.  Fester- 
velt,  republican ;  Chris  Gronberg,  democrat ; 
and  W.  J.  Senteny,  peoples  independent.  West- 
ervelt  received  170  votes  out  of  a  total  of  449, 
the  others  being  almost  equally  divided.  His 
plurality  was  28. 

In  the  battle  of  1896,  the  county  was  carried 
by  Bryan  for  president  by  14,  and  by  Hol- 
comb  for  governor  by  eight.  The  fusion  of 
the  democrats  and  pebples  independents  that 
year  was  the  best  in  its  history.  Porter  for 
secretary  of  state  had  15  lead  in  this  county. 
The  balance  of  the  state  ticket  went  republican 
here  by  majorities  of  from  four  to  sixteen. 
There  was  a  constitutional  amendment  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  judges  and  all  parties  had 
nominated  candidates.  William  Neville  and 
John  S.  Kirkpatrick  carried  the  county  over 
their  republican  opponents  Ryan  and  Kincaid. 
They  also  carried  the  state  but  the  amendment 


failed  to  carry,  so  they  were  elected  to  offices 
that  did  not  exist. 

The  county  ticket  was  only  for  commission- 
er and  attorney  and  the  fusion  forces  were 
successful.  T.  M.  Morrow  won  over  W.  J. 
Richardson  by  33  votes  or  246  to  213 ;  and  T. 
D.  Deutsch  won  over  John  A.  Orr  by  28  or 
116  to  88.  This  was  the  election  in  which  the 
Courier  intimated  that  trading  was  practiced 
but  the  delivery  on  one  side.  Perhaps  Mor- 
row did  receive  some  support  from  Orr  par- 
tisans, and  perhaps  they  expected  return  sup- 
port ;  and  perhaps  some  of  Richardson's  sup- 
porters were  for  Deutsch,  anticipating  that 
Deutsch's  friends  were  for  Richardson.  Per- 
haps such  votes  were  cast,  but  in  any  event 
both  the  democrats  won.  This  was  about  the 
last  of  democratic  dominance  in  Scotts  Bluff 
county  politics.  Occasionally  a  democratic 
candidate  will  win  out,  but  in  the  main  the  re- 
publicans have  had  the  upper  hand  in  the 
county  for  the  past  nearly  quarter  of  a  century. 

The  election  of  1897  was  a  republican  land- 
slide. Every  candidate  of  that  party  for  state 
or  county  offices  were  elected.  In  this  county 
majorities  from  14  to  232  prevailed.  E.  von 
Forell,  now  of  our  county,  but  then  of  Kear- 
ney, was  a  candidate  for  regent  of  the  state 
university  but  was  not  elected.  C.  W.  Ford 
was  elected  clerk;  Geo.  W.  King  for  judge; 
C.  B.  Whipple  for  treasurer;  L.  L.  Raymond 
for  superintendent ;  E.  T.  Westervelt  for  sher- 
iff; Georgia  A.  Fix  for  coroner;  Thos.  Pres- 
ton for  surveyor;  and  E.  S.  DeLaMatter  for 
commissioner. 

In  November,  1898,  there  were  republican 
majorities  on  all  the  state  ticket,  but  F.  A. 
Wright,  democrat,  was  elected  over  M.  J.  Hue- 
man  republican  for  county  attorney ;  and  L. 
A.  Christian,  by  petition,  was  chosen  over  Matt 
Schumacher,  republican,  for  commissioner.  N. 
M.  Snyder,  by  petition,  was  elected  surveyor. 

The  republican  state  ticket  as  well  as  the 
county  ticket  carried  in  Scottsbluff  county  in 
November,  1899.  County  officers  elected  were : 
L.  L.  Raymond,  judge  ;  H.  M.  Thornton,  clerk ; 

E.  J.  Whipple,  treasure ;  P.  H.  Stone,  super- 
intendent;  Robert  G.  Walsh,  sheriff;  G.  A. 
Fix,   coroner;   N.    M.    Snyder,   surveyor;  and 

F.  H.  Riege,  commissioner.  The  vote  on 
commissioner  was  very  close,  being  123  for 
Riege,  and  119  for  George  Baltes.  J.  L.  Gil- 
more  gave  Nate  Snyder  a  close  run  also  for 
surveyor.  On  three  other  candidates  there 
appeared  a  little  "knifing"  on  the  part  of  re- 
publicans. Raymond.  Thornton,  and  Walsh 
had  engendered  a  hostile  spirit  of  some  of  their 
colleagues,  possibly  the  beginning  of  the  north 
and  south  feud  that  politicians  have  used  for 


496 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


twenty  years,  and  fed  from  time  to  time.  In 
any  event  Walsh  and  Raymond  were  two  of 
Gering's  first  people  to  move  to  Scottsbluff, 
and  Thornton  with  his  additions  to  Gering  is 
perhaps  a  result  of  this  old  discord. 

In  1900,  F.  A.  Wright  went  down  in  a  bat- 
tle for  county  attorney  with  Ed.  A.  Mann ;  and 
Ed.  A.  Currie  defeated  Theo.  Deutsch  for 
commissioner.  Wright  lost  by  34  and  Deutsch 
by  29.  The  republican  state  ticket  swept  the 
county  by  about  125  average. 

The  election  of  1901  resulted  in  practically 
a  republican  victory.  Some  of  the  officers  were 
elected  by  small  majorities  and  but  two  demo- 
crats were  successful.  The  republicans  elect- 
ed Ed.  J.  Whipple  for  treasurer ;  H.  M.  Thorn- 
ton for  clerk  ;  E.  S.  DeLaMatter  judge ;  Agnes 
Lackey,  superintendent ;  Joseph  H.  Fairfield, 
surveyor;  L-  R.  Craig,  coroner;  and  the 
democrats  elected  Runey  C.  Campbell  for  sher- 
iff, and  Thos.  Allen  for  commissioner. 

In  November,  1902,  Wenzel  Hiersche,  demo- 
crat, was  elected  commissioner. 

The  November  election  of  1903  gave  the 
democrats  two  officers  and  the  republicans  the 
balance.  R.  C.  Campbell  was  re-elected  sher- 
iff and  James  McKinley  for  clerk.  The  re- 
publicans elected  Thos.  Preston,  treasurer;  E. 
S.  DeLaMatter,  judge;  A.  C.  Morrison,  com- 
missioner ;  F.  P.  Johnson,  superintendent ;  R. 
B.  Judson,  surveyor ;  and  F.  D.  Wolt,  coroner. 
For  the  first  time  the  county  elected  a  county 
assessor,  Anthony  Kennedy,  republican  being 
the  first  to  fill  that  office  in  Scotts  Bluff  coun- 
The election  of  1904  divided  honors  between 
the  parties.  L.  L.  Raymond,  republican,  was 
chosen  county  attorney,  and  T.  P.  Allen,  demo- 
crat, re-elected  commissioner. 

In  1905  the  republicans  elected  the  following 
officials:  Thos.  Preston,  re-elected  treasurer; 
E.  S.  DeLaMatter,  re-elected  judge  ;  R.  B.  Jud- 
son, re-elected  surveyor;  F.  D.  Wolt,  re-elect- 
ed coroner;  and  J.  P.  Westervelt,  for  sheriff. 
The  democrats  re-elected  James  McKinley  for 
clerk,  and  elected  Jess  O.  Ammerman  for 
commissioner,  and  Agnes  Lackey  for  super- 
intendent. 

Resignations  and  changes  of  residence  re- 
quired the  electorate  to  choose  a  surveyor  and 
three  commissioners  in  addition  to  the  county 
attorney  in  1906.  Wra,  Morrow,  fusion,  was 
■chosen  attorney;  Clarence  Scriven,  republican, 
was  elected  surveyor;  and  the  commissioners 
were:  A.  H.  Fuller  and  W.  M.  Barbour,  re- 
publicans ;  and  Frank  Beers,  a  democrat. 

In  November,  1907,  election,  Agnes  Lackey, 
democrat ;  and  F.  D.  Wolt,  republican,  had  no 


opposition  for  re-election  to  the  offices  of 
superintendent  and  coroner  respectively.  The 
democrats  elected  H.  T.  Johnson,  commission- 
er, and  otherwise  the  county  ticket  was  repub- 
lican. DeLaMatter,  Scriven,  and  Westervelt 
were  re-elected  judge,  surveyor,  and  sheriff, 
respectively;  and  M.  H.  McHenry  was  chosen 
clerk;  Geo.  Sampson,  treasurer;  W.  H.  White 
county  assessor. 

In  1908,  W.  H.  Barbour  was  chosen  without 
opposition  for  re-election  for  commissioner; 
and  Wm.  Morrow  re-elected  attorney.  The 
new  location  for  a  bridge  between  Scottsbluff 
and  Gering  was  the  paramount  issue  and  it 
carried  669  to  317 — the  necessary  two-thirds 
vote. 

The  1909  election  resulted  in  re-choosing  the 
entire  county  ticket  except  sheriff  and  commis- 
sioner. Billy  Hunt  was  chosen  for  the  former 
place  and  R.  S.  Baker  for  the  latter.  Both 
were  republican  candidates. 

The  election  of  1910  resulted  in  re-election 
of  H.  T.  Johnson  for  commissioner;  and  R.  W. 
Hobart  was  chosen  county  attorney  without 
opposition. 

DeLeMatter  and  Wolt  were  the  only  officers 
re-elected  in  1910.  A.  B.  McCoskey  was  chos- 
en by  all  parties  for  surveyor ;  and  M.  H. 
McHenry  without  opposition  for  the  new  of- 
fice of  clerk  of  the  district  court.  The  repub- 
lican candidates  that  were  successful  were: 
J.  H.  Ferguson,  clerk ;  Fred  L.  Burns,  treas- 
urer; H.  J.  Mumma,  superintendent;  and 
Chas.  R.  Raymond,  commissioner.  The  demo- 
crats elected  Fred  O.  Aaron  for  sheriff. 

Robert  G.  Walsh,  republican,  was  elected 
commissioner  in  1912,  and  Geo.  Downey,  on 
both  republican  and  democratic  tickets,  had  no 
trouble  in  being  selected  county  assessor. 

The  biennial  election  law  went  into  effect 
and  there  were  no  officers  to  be  chosen  in  1913. 
And  in  1914  of  the  ten  officials  chosen  six  had 
no  opposition.  These  were  Fred  Burns  for 
treasurer;  Ada  Haldeman  for  superintendent; 
W.  W.  White  for  attorney;  A.  B.  McCoskey 
for  surveyor;  F.  A.  McCreary  for  coroner; 
and  Chas.  Raymond  for  commissioner.  Re- 
elected officers  were  Ferguson  for  clerk  ;  Aaron 
for  sheriff;  Johnson  for  commissioner  and 
DeLaMatter  for  judge. 

The  suffrage  amendment  carried  in  this 
county  974  to  479  although  it  lost  in  the  state. 

Scotts  Bluff  county  opposed  the  removal  of 
the  state  universitv  to  the  state  farm  by  a  vote 
of  1144  to  507. 

Only  five  officers  were  elected  in  Novem- 
ber, 1916,  the  others  holding  over  under  the 
provisions  of  the  new  statute.    H.  M.  Springer 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


497 


for  commissioner ;  Robert  G.  Simmons  for  at- 
torney; and  F.  H.  Koenig  for  sheriff,  were 
the  successful  republican  candidates.  Martin 
Bristol  for  county  assessor,  and  Val.  B.  Kirk- 
ham  for  clerk,  were  successful  democrats. 

Since  1918  there  have  been  but  few  changes 
in  the  county  official  roster:  Val.  B.  Kirkham 
resigned  as  clerk,  and  the  commissioners  chose 
J.  W.  Burrows  for  the  place,  and  last  year 
(1920)  Edgar  P.  Johnson  was  elected  county 
assessor  without  opposition.  The  office  of 
register  of  deeds  was  created  in  1916  and 
James  H.  Ferguson  appointed.  At  the  next 
election  R.  G.  Neeley  was  chosen  and  he  was 
re-elected  in  1920. 

The  present  county  officers  are :  R.  G. 
Neeley,  register  of  deeds ;  J.  W.  Burrows, 
clerk  ;  M.  H.  McHenry,  clerk  of  the  district 
court;  A.  R.  Downar,  treasurer;  Frank  Koe- 
nig, sheriff;  Ada  M.  Haldeman,  superinten- 
dent ;  A.  B.  McCoskey,  surveyor;  J.  L.  Grimm, 
attorney;  E.  S.  DeLaMatter,  judge;  Edgar 
Johnson,  assessor;  J.  F.  Ray,  H.  M.  Springer, 
and  Geo.  Lawyer  as  commissioners.  The) 
tremendous  growth  of  the  county  in  the  last 
score  of  years  has  so  added  to  the  burdens  of 
office  holding  that  there  seems  to  be  little  zest 
in  the  contests  and  the  present  officers  are 
measuring  up  to  their  responsibilities  equal, 
if  not  superior,  to  any  in  the  state. 

State  Officers 

As  early  as  1893  Scotts  Bluff  county  candi- 
dates for  state  offices  appeared.  J.  M.  King 
aspired  for  the  fusion  nomination  for  repre- 
sentative, but  lost  out  to  Geo.  C.  Lingenfelter 
of  Cheyenne  county  in  the  convention. 

Captain  W.  R.  Akers  has  the  distinction  of 
being  the  first  of  this  county  to  occupy  an 
office  larger  than  the  county  limits.  He  was 
elected  to  the  senate  in  1895  and  served  with 
remarkable  capacity.  Akers  later  served  as 
assistant  state  engineer  in  the  formative  period 
of  the  department  of  irrigation. 

The  only  other  member  of  the  senate  from 
Scotts  Bluff  county  was  in  1909,  when  L.  L. 
Raymond  was  chosen  from  this  district.  The 
story  of  Raymond's  achievements  is  best  re- 
corded in  his  biographical  sketch  to  be  found 
elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

In  1907,  Henry  M.  Springer  was  elected  to 
the  house  of  representatives,  he  being  the  first 
member  from  Scotts  Bluff  county  to  serve  in 
that  capacity.  The  name  of  Springer  has  long 
been  identified  with  the  growth  of  this  part  of 
the  west.  The  present  county  commissioner 
(twice  chosen)  is  the  son  of  the  Springer  who 
served   in  the  legislature. 


In  1913,  Frank  M.  Stearns  was  the  next 
member  of  the  house  from  this  county.  Frank 
was  twice  re-elected,  and  was  one  of  the  best 
representatives  in  the  state.  During  his  third 
term  he  was  a  minority  member  but  his  diplo- 
macy, ability  and  integrity  won  for  him  an 
influence,  with  consequent  results,  that  have 
made  a  permanent  record  in  the  destinies  of 
the  state. 

For  the  last  two  terms  W.  M.  Barbour  has 
held  the  important  place  as  a  member  in  the 
house,  and  has  maintained  the  high  standard 
of  Scotts  Bluff  county  official  excellence. 

Judge  W.  R.  Hobart  was  the  first  district 
judge  from  Scotts  Bluff  county,  he  being  ap- 
pointed in  1911  to  till  the  vacancy  caused  by 
the  creation  of  a  new  district  composed  of  Ban- 
ner, Garden,  Arthur,  Morrill,  and  Scotts  Bluff 
counties.  He  has  been  re-chosen  three  times 
at  subsequent  elections  and  still  presides  over 
the  judicial  destinies  of  the  county  and  dis- 
trict. 

A.  B.  McCoskey  was  appointed  assistant 
state  engineer  at  the  time  when  Akers  gave  up 
the  position  for  that  as  receiver  in  the  United 
States  land  office  at  Alliance.  McCoskey  is  at 
present  county  surveyor  of  Scotts  Bluff  county. 

The  editor-in-chief  was  elected  Commission- 
er of  Public  Lands  and  Buildings  for  the  state 
in  1916.  He  adopted  a  new  policy  of  making 
an  inventory  of  the  state  school  lands  and  prop- 
erty, and  raising  the  valuations  toward  the 
point  where  they  should  be.  The  result  was  an 
increase  of  ten  thousand  dollars  a  month  in 
the  revenues  to  help  support  the  schools.  The 
policy  has  been  followed  by  his  successor  in 
the  office. 

During  his  period  in  the  state  house  he 
wrote,  and  the  legislature  passed,  a  state  min- 
eral statute  which  has  already  been  a  source 
of  revenue  to  the  extent  of  many  thousand 
dollars  from  potash  production.  With  the 
prospective  discovery  of  oil  it  will  mean  a 
much  greater  income  for  the  schools. 
Irrigation  College 

He  also  wrote,  and  the  legislature  passed, 
the  bill  providing  for  the  state  irrigation  col- 
lege. This  is  an  initiation  of  one  of  the  great- 
est institutions  in  the  land,  if  proper  polices 
are  inaugurated  and  carried  out.  It  is  the 
only  irrigation  college  in  the  world,  and  the 
world  is  hungering  for  a  knowledge  of  this 
scientific  method  of  farming.  The  state  re- 
gents and  chancellor  of  the  university  should 
call  together  a  number  of  the  best  heads  known 
to  practical  irrigation  and  adopt  a  curriculum 
that  will  meet  the  crying  public  need.  Credit 
is  due  to  H.  L.  Sams  for  the  suggestion  of  the 
idea  and  it  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  Farmers' 


498 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Institute.  The  state  formerly  sent  to  the  ir- 
rigated section,  men  to  address  the  Farmers' 
institute  that  were  utterly  unfamiliar  with  ir- 
rigation conditions.  So  far  from  the  needs 
were  their  advice,  that  the  local  people  would 
pay  the  expenses  of  a  Colorado  man  to  come 
from  Greeley  or  Collins  territory,  to  talk  in- 
telligently on  irrigation  problems  in  farming. 
There  was  always  a  difficulty  in  getting  the 
most  satisfactory  people  and  the  thought  oc- 
curred to  Mr.  Sams  to  have  a  school  at  which 
men  could  be  trained  in  the  technique  of  irri- 
gation. 

Frank  Stearns  introduced  the  bill  in  the  leg- 
islature. It  was  passed  in  the  closing  days  of 
the  session  with  a  small  appropriation.     The 


following  session  a  larger  appropriation  was 
passed  and  more  land  was  acquired.  During 
1921-22  larger  buildings  will.be  erected.  Prof. 
McCarthy  is  in  charge  and  is  a  man  of  con- 
siderable vision. 

The  result  of  the  editor's  experience  in  the 
state  house  is  given  best  in  his  biennial  report 
issued  in  1918,  a  copy  of  which  may  be  had  by 
addressing  the  land  commissioner's  office,  at 
Lincoln,  Nebraska. 

He  is  the  only  citizen  of  Scotts  Bluff  county 
elected  to  a  state  office,  was  renominated  with- 
out opposition,  and  came  the  nearest  of  elec- 
tion of  any  candidate  upon  the  democratic 
ticket  in  1918. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  CHURCH— ITS  ACCOMPLISHMENTS— FIRST  RELIGIOUS  SERVICES 


Rev.  B.  D.  Yates  was  the  first  resident  min- 
ister in  Cedar  valley  and  Scotts  Bluff  county. 
In  the  early  years  all  the  beautiful  valley  land 
about  Gering  was  called  Cedar  valley.  Father 
Yates  was  a  United  Brethren  and  held  serv- 
ices at  school  houses  or  in  the  homes,  and  it 
mattered  not  what  your  faith,  for  he  minister- 
ed to  all  the  denominations.  These  first  min- 
isters were  splendidly  liberal. 

On  December  12,  1886,  a  few  neighbors 
gathered  at  the  home  of  E.  P.  Cromer  and 
organized  the  first  Sunday  school  in  Cedar 
valley.  Mr.  Cromer  was  elected  as  superin- 
tendent, and  Mrs.  Sallie  Pritchard  as  secre- 
tary-treasurer. Uriah  Millikin,  A.  Porter 
Pritchard,  and  Mrs.  R.  M.  Hanks  were  the 
teachers.  They  later  held  the  school  at  the 
school  house  two  miles  south  of  Gering.  This 
was  old  district  number  twenty-seven  and  the 
school  house  was  built  in  1887.  The  school 
house  at  Gering  was  not  built  until  the  follow- 
ing year. 

Another  early  minister  —  one  most  promi- 
nent in  early  Gering,  was  Rev.  Benjamin  L. 
Brisbane.  He  had  a  homestead  on  the  south 
side  of  Scottsbluff  mountain  which  included 
the  spring.  While  he  lived  there,  he  made 
the  south  pass  up  the  mountain  reasonably  ac- 
cessible, and  used  to  lead  his  mule  up, '  and 
haul    down    firewood    and    necessary    timber. 


He  never  made  final  proof  on  the  claim. 

Rev.  Brisbane  was  a  Baptist,  and  his  son- 
in-law,  C.  T.  Johnson  (formerly  in  the  Bank 
of  Gering),  and  Mrs.  Johnson  were  most  ac- 
tive in  church  work.  The  Baptists  had  the 
first  church  organization  in  Gering.  Also; 
the  first  church. 

The  Methodist  people  organized  about  the 
same  time,  but  neither  of  them  had  churches 
until  about  1889.  In  1887  the  new  Methodist 
organization  were  talking  of  "a  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollar  church." 

The  Christian  church  came  into  being  about 
1890,  and  Rev.  A.  Slafter  was  the  first  min- 
ister. Among  other  early  preachers  who  vis- 
ited Gering  were  Rev.  RRufus  Cooley,  who 
came  out  occasionally  from  Potter;  Rev.  A. 
Dorman,  and  Rev.  A.  A.  Fries. 

May  21,  1887,  was  the  date  of  the  first 
services  held  in  Gering;  presided  over  by  Rev. 
Brisbane  as  the  first  minister. 

About  this  time  —  the  same  month  —  Miss 
M.  E.  McKinstry  organized  a  Sunday  school 
in  Horseshoe  Bend. 

The  First  Church 

The  first  church  actually  built  in  Scotts 
Bluff  county  was  in  the  Kiowa  country.  It 
was  made  of  native  lumber  from  the  native 
pines,  and  the  first  load  was  hauled  by  J.  E. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Jones.  The  first  board  sawed  was  by  Thos. 
Shiels.  This  was  the  Methodist  church  with 
Rev.  Tripp  in  charge.  Elder  Armbury  obtain- 
ed a  loan  from  the  church  extension  fund, 
which  paid  the  necessary  cash  outlay,  but 
much  of  the  work  was  donated.  The  church 
was  built  near  the  old  Couch  place,  and  was 
later  moved  to  Harrisburg. 

The  second  church,  in  the  limits  of  the  coun- 
ty as  now  shown,  was  at  Hull.  It  was  also  a 
Methodist  church  and  was  built  very  soon  af- 
ter the  Kiowa  building  was  put  up. 

Then  the  Methodists  built  at  Gering  and  the 
Baptists  built  in  the  Robidoux  valley.  Rev. 
John  Young  and  wife  were  quite  active  in  the 
building  of  the  latter. 

These  early  activities  in  church  work  have 
blossomed  out  into  an  extensive  religious  work 
up  and  down  the  valley,  and  nearly  all  the 
Christian  religions  are  represented  in  Scotts 
Bluff  county. 

The  present  Bishop  Beecher  of  the  Episcopal 
church  was  here  in  an  early  day,  and  he  made 
many  trips  through  this  country  in  his  young- 
er years,  his  bride  accompanying  him  on  nearly 
all  occasions. 

The  Bishops  Lose  Their  Guns 
The  Bishop  came  occasionally  to  hunt  and 
fish,  and  once  when  coming  he  brought  the 
then  Bishop  Graves  with  him.  They  stopped 
at  C.  J.  Carlisle's  at  Harrisburg  overnight, 
and  left  their  guns  in  the  wagon.  In  the  morn- 
ing the  guns  were  gone.  Suspicion  pointed  to 
a  roustabout  that  lived  in  the  Hull  neighbor- 
hood. A  search  warrant  was  gotten  out  by 
Carlisle,  one  of  the  guns  was  found,  and  the 
man  brought  back  to  town.  Carlisle  hired  a 
local  attorney.  The  jury  found  him  guilty, 
but  it  was  stated  the  hired  attorney  suggested 
that  they  make  the  value  of  the  gun  less  than 
$35,  so  that  it  would  be  petit  larcency  and  a 
jail  sentence  instead  of  the  penitentiary.  The 
jail  at  Harrisburg  was  more  or  less  of  a  joke, 
but  the  jury  followed  the  suggestion. 

Afterwards  it  was  claimed  that  the  attorney 
sold  the  other  gun  to  another  party  with  ad- 
monitions of  secrecy,  and  it  further  appeared 
from  reports  that  he  had  advised  the  jury  to 
be  easy  on  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  to  establish 
a  price,  and  protect  himself  in  case  the  other 
gun  was  found  in  his  possession. 

Bishop  Beecher  has  always  had  a  warm  spot 
in  his  heart  for  the  North  Platte  valley  coun- 
try, and  the  result  was  that  after  a  number 
of  years  St.  Andrew's  Mission  came  into  ex- 
istence at  the  metropolis.  Rev.  Henry  Ives 
was  the  immediate  and  directing  genius  of  its 
organization  and  existence. 


The  Episcopals 

On  August  20,  1910,  he  visited  that  Nich- 
ols ranch  on  Little  Moon  lake,  and  the  follow- 
ing day  held  the  first  meeting  in  a  store  room 
at  Henry.  There  were  twenty-five  people  in 
attendance.  On  August  27,  he  became  the 
guest  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fred  D.  Wolt  at  Ger- 
ing; and  the  following  day  held  services  at 
which  there  were  thirty  people.  The  first  serv- 
ices held  in  Scottsbluff  were  on  September  8, 
and  by  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  Leeper,  the  pastor, 
they  were  in  the  Methodist  church.  A  heavy 
down  pour  of  rain  occurred  at  the  time.  But 
twenty  persons  were  present. 

The  first  Guild  meeting  was  at  the  home 
of  Mrs.  Geo.  Jones  on  September  27,  with 
seventeen  women  present.  A  mission  was 
organized  at  this  meeting,  and  Bishop  Graves 
asked  for  a  name.  By  unanimous  agreement 
"Saint  Andrews"  was  chosen  for  the  mission. 
For  a  while  services  were  held  in  the  hall  over 
Rice's  store,  and  later  in  the  Christian  church 
where  arrangements  were  made  for  afternoon 
meetings. 

For  a  number  of  months  the  members  of  the 
Christian  church  were  without  a  pastor  and 
during  that  time  the  Episcopals  had  the  use 
of  the  church  in  the  morning.  On  December 
15,  1911,  Rev.  Ives  entered  into  negotiations 
with  the  management  of  the  Christian  church 
and  purchased  the  building  and  lot  for  $900. 
Services  were  held  irregularly  for  a  time,  and 
finally  Reverend  Ives  was  placed  in  charge  with 
Gering,  Mitchell,  Bayard,  Bridgeport,  Mina- 
tare,  and  Henry.  Following  his  advancement 
in  church  work  the  local  church  was  turned 
over  to  A.  Sidney  Topping,  a  lay  minister ;  he 
was  followed  by  Rev.  W.  S.  J.  Dumville ;  and 
he  by  Rev.  Frank  Henry ;  and  now  ably  taken 
care  of  by  Rev.  A.  A.  Weller.  The  parsonage 
was  built  about  four  years  ago. 

Bishop  George  A.  Beecher  has  risen  to  be 
one  of  Nebraska's  truly  great  men  and  Scotts 
Bluff  county  takes  justifiable  pride  in  part  of 
the  formative  period  in  the  making  of  the 
splendid  character.  However  he  has  given 
back  to  us  by  precept  and  example  a  courage 
and  ambition  for  better  living.  So  the  compen- 
sations and  services  usually  balance. 

Among  the  well  known  people  who  assisted 
in  the  organization  of  this  church  and  its  main- 
tainance  in  Scottsbluff,  were  Air.  and  Mrs. 
Chas.  A.  Morrill,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  L.  Bowen, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Geo.  A.  Jones,  Dr.  F.  W.  Plehn 
and  family,  Heyward  G.  Leavitt,  Mrs.  John 
Hall,  Mrs.  H.  H.  Ostenberg,  Mrs.  A.  Grace 
Hamer,  and  Helen  R.  Eastman.  Bishop  Beech- 
er had  thirty-five  confirmations  on  one  trip. 


500 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Rev.  Curren's  Story 

Another  who  has  done  much  for  the  relig- 
ious and  moral  life  of  the  North  Platte  valley 
in  all  parts  thereof,  from  Garden  county  to 
Fort  Laramie,  is  Rev.  J.  B.  Currens,  the  Pres- 
byterian missionary  who  built  the  church  at 
Scottsbluff. 

In  the  early  days  he  used  to  wade  the  river  to 
render  spiritual  service  to  the  people  of  Garden 
county.  He  was  located  at  Alliance  and  when 
the  railroad  extension  was  made  through  the 
valley  into  Wyoming  he  was  upon  the  ground 
early.  He  made  stereopticon  pictures  of  when 
the  railroad  came  to  Scottsbluff.  It  was  Sun- 
day morning  and  the  construction  men  were 
"cleaning  up."      The   track   had  been   laid   to 


train  stood  at  the  head  of  what  is  now  Broad- 
way. There  was  no  depot,  hotel,  store,  or 
street,  but  the  railroad  was  there. 

As  Mr.  Currens  said,  "I  had  been  down  at 
Bridgeport  and  built  a  church  and  now  I  came 
to  Scottsbluff.  But  there  were  no  Presbyterians 
in  sight.  How  could  we  have  a  church  here? 
Rev.  E.  H.  Sayre  and  his  family  were  at  Ger- 
ing,  but  they  had  Methodist  and  Baptist 
churches  there.  Also  resident  pastors  and  it 
was  the  desire  of  the  Presbyterians  not  to 
the  town  the  night  before.  Some  of  the  men 
were  shaving  each  other,  and  others  were  do- 
ing their    week's  washing.     The  construction 


tramp  on  other  people's  toes,  or  divide  the  com- 
munity, or  the  support  of  the  struggling 
churches  there. 

"I  had  been  Sunday  School  missionary  for 
several  years  and  sometime  every  summer  I 
would  come  down  from  Alliance,  organizing 
Sunday  Schools  in  nearly  every  sod  or  log 
school  house  that  I  could  find,  as  far  west 
as  Sunflower.  One  was  in  the  dining  room  of 
the  old  Camp  Clarke  hotel  several  years  before 
the  railroad  came.  Another  was  in  the  old 
Wright  school  house  two  or  three  miles  east 
of  the  proposed  town  of  Scottsbluff. 

"How  to  build  a  church  at  Scottsbuff  ? — that 
was  the  question.  Where  were  the  Presby- 
terians to  support  it  ? — that  was  another  ques- 
tion. I  decided  to  try.  I  put  a  tent  in  a  corn 
field  and  went  out  to  Jacobus'  sod  house.  This 
was  on  the  east  ward  school  house  site.  It  was 
later  bought  by  the  chautauqua  association,  and 
by  the  people  connected  therewith  sold  to  the 
school  district.  Jacobus'  family  occupied  the 
sod  house  that  stood  among  the  young  cotton- 
woods  of  the  time.  I  visited  W.  H.  Wr right  who 
then  lived  two  miles  in  the  country ;  then  Mr. 
Lackey,  Mr.  Johnson,  Mr.  Sayre;  and  others 
that  I  knew  personally.  Mr.  Wright,  who  was 
townsite  agent,  and  I  selected  a  lot  and  I  put 
up  the  tent,  intending  to  hold  a  week's  meet- 
ing. 

"The  next  morning  Mr.  Jacobus'  twelve  year 
old  daughter  looked  out  the  window  and 
shouted,  'Mr.  Currens,  your  tent  is  down.' 
There  had  been  a  cold  snow  and  heavy  March 
wind  during  the  night.  It  had  pulled  the  stakes 
from  the  soft  ground  0f  the  cornfield  and  there 
was  my  tent  all  torn  and  flapping,  and  my  lamp 
that  I  had  bought  in  Gering  the  day  before  was 
broken.  I  laid  a  few  boards  on  the  flapping, 
torn  tent,  and  took  a  night  to  consider  what 
was  best  to  do.  The  next  morning  I  determin- 
ed to  build  a  church,  and  went  over  to  Gering 
and  bought  the  lumber  for  a  small  building, 
pledging  my  salary  for  the  payment.  We  went 
to  work  and  in  a  week  we  had  a  church  built 
of  rough  boards  set  on  end,  and  a  board  roof ; 
also  a  church  and  Sunday  School  was  organ- 
ized. 

"Rev.  E.  H.  Sayre  preached  every  other 
Sunday  while  the  Christian  minister  at  Gering 
held  services  here  the  alternate  Sunday.  Air. 
Jacobus  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
School ;  Mr.  Wright,  assistant ;  Miss  Orr,  sec- 
retary; and  Mr.  Lackey  teacher  of  the  Bible 
class.  At  first  we  sat  on  pine  boards,  but  the 
Ladies  Aid  soon  managed  to  get  chairs  and  an 
organ  while  Mr.  Wright  gave  us  a  stove.  I 
gave  the  lamp. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


501 


"While  only  eight  persons'  names  appear  as 
charter  members  of  this  first  church  in  Scotts- 
bluff :  namely  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cassel,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wright,  and  son  Cullen,  Mrs.  Sayre, 
Edith  Sayre,  and  Mrs.  Wood  ;  others  were  soon 
affiliated  with  the  work.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCos- 
key,  and  Mr.  Johnson,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  A. 
Orr,  D.  H.  Cole.  F.  F.  Everett,  and  C.  H. 
Simmons,  Dr.  H.  L.  Sheldon  and  wife,  Thos. 
M.  Howard,  Geo.  W.  Sawyer,  and  others.  The 
church  was  organized  in  the  pioneer  building 
May  20,  1S99,  by  Rev.  Thos.  L.  Sexton  and 
later  re-organized  by  Rev.  J.  C.  Sloan. 

At  that  time  there  was  no  depot,  no  com- 
pleted building,  and  no  store  or  restaurant  in 
Scottsbluff.  They  were  building  the  first  part 
of  the  Emery  hotel." 

As  Others  Began 

The  historian  has  asked  a  number  of  minis- 
ters to  tell  us  the  story  of  early  church  strug- 
gles, and  Rev.  Currens  responded  so  completely 
with  a  story  of  detail,  that  we  think  it  describes 
fairly  well  the  beginning  of  many  others.  Some- 
times we  think  that  our  churches  are  inclined 
to  get  away  from  the  first  principles  of  food 
for  the  hungering  soul.  It  is  well  that  "God's 
House"  be  made  beautiful,  if  we  do  not  forget 
that  Christ  was  born  in  a  manger.  The  spirit 
behind  these  first  efforts  to  plant  the  churches 
in  our  valley  had  much  to  do  with  the  substan- 
tial character  of  the  older  citizenship  that  has 
been  remarked  by  visitors  and  later  settlers 
coming  into  our  midst.  Many  of  the  newer 
and  delightful  characters  that  have  helped  to 
build  the  modern  Scotts  Bluff  county  were  at- 
tracted here  by  the  very  fact  that  the  earlier 
people  were  of  such  excellence. 

The  churches  of  the  valley  are  now  numer- 
ous. Men  like  Rev.  F.  J.  McCaffree,  Rev.  T. 
C.  Osborne,  Rev.  Sayre,  and  others  have  come 
and  stayed.  They  have  carried  the  Gospel  and 
the  principles  of  better  living  into  the  commun- 
ity centers  of  the  land  of  their  adoption.  Others 
have  come  and  gone  but  left  behind  them  a 
memory  of  service.  And  always  side  by  side 
or  perhaps  a  little  in  advance  of  the  men,  were 
the  good  women  of  the  west.  The  mothers  who 
know  that  the  spiritual  inspiration  planted  in 
the  minds  of  her  children  will  make  them 
better  people  in  the  years  that  follow. 

Father  Byrne's  Activities 
While  the  Catholic  church  was  one  of  the 
three  great  institutions  that  responded  to  the 
call  of  the  western  wilderness  in  the  thirties 
of  nearly  one  hundred  years  ago ;  while  Father 
Peter  DeSmet  probably  saved  thousands  of 
lives  along  the  great  trails  that  went  through 
the  North  Platte  valley,  by  impressing  the  In- 


dian mind  that  it  was  "The  Great  White  Medi- 
cine Road ;"  while  he  performed  the  marriage 
ceremony  of  Lucien  Fontenelle  (the  first  man 
in  charge  of  the  first  trading  fort  in  the  pres- 
ent limits  of  Scotts  Bluff  county,  and  his  Indian 
woman)  the  Catholic  church  failed  for  many 
years  to  follow  the  lead  of  this  great  man.  It 
was  not  otherwise  a  pioneer  in  religious  activity 
as  it  was  in  so  many  other  sections. 

It  remained  for  Father  T.  C.  Byrne's  energy 
and  vision  to  do  much  of  the  church  building 
of  that  denomination,  and  it  was  after  the  sub- 
stantial character  of  material  progress  had 
reached  a  stage  that  none  need  ■  doubt  the 
valley's  future.  Father  Byrne  came  to  Scotts- 
bluff in  October,  1912,  a  little  over  a  year 
after  he  was  ordained  priest.  The  following 
churches  were  built  while  he  was  in  charge.  St. 
Teresa  at  Mitchell;  St.  Gants  at  Lisco ;  St. 
Elizabeth  at  Oshkosh ;  St.  Mary's  at  Bridge- 
port ;  and  St.  Agnes  at  Scottsbluff. 

Wrhile  money  is  no  standard  of  spiritual  ex- 
cellence, the  human  mind  has  been  so  trained 
in  the  school  of  material  things  that  it  is  one 
of  the  methods  by  which  we  measure  accom- 
plishment. The  smallest  of  these  churches  cost 
about  five  housand  dollars,  and  the  crowning 
excellence  of  the  one  at  Scottsbluff  is  remarked 
by  many.  It  is  115  feet  long  and  50  fet  wide, 
and  will  seat  from  700  to  1000  people.  The 
spire  reaches  123  feet  into  the  air.  Wm.  Frank 
donated  three  blocks  of  ground,  and  presum- 
ably there  will  be  an  academy  here  in  the  fu- 
ture. The  aggregate  value  of  church  property 
assembled  during  the  regime  of  Father  Byrne 
in  the  several  towns  in  the  North  Platte  valley 
is  approximately  $200,000,  the  greater  part 
of  which  is  at  Scottsbluff. 

Churches  Elsewhere 
While  at  Minatare,  Morrill,  Melbeta,  Mc- 
Grew,  Haig,  and.  Henry,  the  church  has  made 
substantial  prgress  with  the  period,  it  remained 
for  Mitchell  to  adopt  a  new  order,  which  in 
reality  is  the  older  order  modified. 

Back  in  the  younger  days  of  the  world  the 
worshiper*  of  the  Deity  had  such  numerous 
"gods"  and  "creeds"  that  the  building  of 
"churches"  or  "shrines"  was  a  tremendous  bur- 
den. Then  they  built  Pantheons:  a  single 
building  where  the  different  people  could  go 
and  worship,  regardless  of  their  particular 
manner  of  doing  so.  Mitchell  went  the  old  way 
one  better.  The  good  folks  there  established  a 
Community  church  with  Walter  Runden  in 
charge.  It  has  been  abundantly  satisfactory  to 
the  organizers — this  exemplification  of  the 
community  spirit ;  and  the  Brotherhood  here 
shown  still  has  Rev.  Runden  for  pastor. 


502 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  XII 
SCENIC  BEAUTY  — MANUFACTURING  AND  OTHER  INDUSTRIES 


No  part  of  the  west  can  excel  the  Wildcat 
range  for  scenic  beauty.  This  beauty  also  ex- 
tends to  the  south  part  of  Banner  county.  No 
one  can  imagine  the  impressions  one  receives 
when  one  reaches  the  top  of  some  eminence 
and  looks  about  at  the  miles  of  evergreen 
fringed  miniature  mountains.  It  must  be  seen 
to  be  appreciated. 

Coming  from  the  plains  region,  these  moun- 
tains do  not  seem  small.  They  are  gigantic 
geological  structures  approximately  a  mile 
above  the  sea,  and  rising  hundreds  of  feet,  and 
in  some  instances  a  thousand  feet,  above  the 
surrounding  land.  Scottsbluff  mountain  is 
4,662  feet  above  sea  level  and  eight  hundred 
feet  above  the  river  that  runs  at  its  feet.  Wild- 
cat mountain  is  5,038  feet  and  the  Hogback  is 
5,082  feet  above  tide  water,  and  about  nine 
hundred  feet  above  the  adjoining  valley.    The 


Scott  Bluff  Mountain 

Wildcat  range  extends  from  near  Bridgeport 
to  the  state  line,  or  about  forty-five  miles.  The 
range  varies  from  two  or  three  to  five  or  six 
miles  wide,  and  the  two  spurs  terminating  at 
the  north  with  the  Scottsbluft'  mountain,  and 
at  the  south  with  the  Wildcat  mountain,  makes 
an  extreme  width  of  about  fifteen  miles. 

In  this  forty-five  miles  range,  there  is  one 
natural  pass  for  travel,  being  known  as 
Wright's  Gap  and  is  south  of  Melbeta.  A 
number  of  other  passages  were  used,  but  were 
much  more  difficult:  there  is  Round  House 
Gap,  Williams  Gap,  Birdcage  Gap,  Rifle  Gap, 
The  V.  and  perhaps  a  few  others.  The  pres- 
ent state  and  federal  aid  highway  south  of 
Scottsbluff  and  Gering  is  entirely  artificial. 
The  cattle  trails  ran  here  and  there  over  the 
hills,  and  because  this  was  almost  directly 
south  of  the  original  town  of  Gering,  a  pre- 
carious roadway  was  made,  and  it  was  used 


for  freighting  and  stage  traffic.  According 
to  present  standards  it  would  be  "a  pretty 
tough  road." 

But  the  builders  either  by  accident  or  design 
made  it  run  through  very  picturesque  canyons 
and  over  a  high  ridge  that  gave  one  a  magni- 
ficent view  of  the  lesser  hills  and  the  distant 
pine  and  cedar  fringed  mountains,  as  well  as 
of  the  valleys  smooth  and  fair. 

To  the  southwest  were  Wildcat  and  Hogback 
with  their  mile  high  summits  towering  above 
their  contemporaries,  and  across  the  valley 
south  of  Lover's  Leap.  Southeast  were  Table 
Mountain  and  the  Big  Horns  and  eastward  was 
Chinese  Wall,  on  the  south  side  of  the  range, 
and  Castle  Rock  and  Sheep  Mountain  on  the 
north  side.  '  The  spire  of  Chimney  Rock,  and 
the  pile  of  Court  House  Rock  were  hidden  by 
other  elevations. 

Hon.  W.  W.  Cox,  of  Seward,  who  visited 
this  land  in  1892,  tells  of  the  scene,  and  thus 
describes  the  vista  to  the  north : 

''O !  the  transporting  rapturous  scene, 

The  rises  to  my  sight. 
Sweet  hills  arrayed  in  living  green, 

And  a  river  of  delight." 

"Scottsbluff  in  the  distance,  and  nestling  be- 
side it  and  Dome  Rock ;  at  the  feet,  the  bright 
bustling  little  town  of  Gering.  The  broad 
river  shining  in  the  bright  sunlight  like  a  silver 
spear,  was  sweeping  through  the  broad  valley." 

Scottsbluff  National  Monument 

As  stated  Benjamin  F.  Bribane  once  had  a 
homestead  filing  on  a  part  of  Scottsbluff  and 
he  left  without  making  proof.  Later  on  T.  C. 
Henry  made  a  filing.  He  said  he  would  make 
final  proof,  and  cede  it  to  Gering  for  a  park. 
This  did  not  materialize  and  later  still  Mrs. 
Gardner,  the  mother  of  Oscar  W.  Gardner, 
had  a  filing.  She  had  a  cabin  in  the  bend  in 
the  bluff  back  of  the  country  club  house.  She 
did  not  make  proof,  and  the  bluff  then  reverted 
back  to  the  government  in  time  to  be  caught 
in  the  reserve  for  irrigation.  In  the  land  busi- 
ness occasionally  there  would  come  to  my  at- 
tention and  to  others  the  idea  that  the  moun- 
tain would  make  an  ideal  "garden"  for  re- 
creation. Near  Golden,  Colorado,  a  table 
mountain  was  converted  into  a  "beer  garden." 
Should  Scottsbluff  have  met  such  a  fate  it 
would  destroy  its  beauty  and  usefulness  for 
recreation,  for  at  least  a  part  of  the  people. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRAJ 


50.? 


The  thought  of  preserving  it  to  all  the  people 
was  the  Henry  view,  and  the  Gardner  view, 
and  it  was  the  same  that  inspired  me  to  suggest 
to  Congressman  Kincaid  the  introduction  of 
a  bill  to  set  it  aside  for  a  park.  He  informed 
me  of  the  national  monument  law,  and  went 
with  me  to  the  proper  Washington  department 
to  make  the  necessary  application  to  have  it 
so  set  aside.  I  was  asked  to  prepare  a  historic 
statement  as  a  basis  for  the  request  and  to 
designate  the  lands.  This  was  done  and  the 
National  Park  magazine  used  the  matter  prac- 
tically complete  in  describing  the  monument 
several  years  later.  Will  M.  Maupin,  the  editor 
of  the  Midwest,  at  Gering,  has  been  designated 
custodian,  and  the  public  are  taking  a  natural 
pride.  Winfield  Evans  and  Robert  F.  Neeley 
are  proposing  the  setting  aside  of  a  day,  and  a 
call  for  volunteers  for  tree  planting,  then  get 
trees  by  the  thousand  from  the  National  Forest 
at  Halsey,  Nebraska,  and  put  in  a  day  in  for- 
esting the  monument.  There  are  thousands 
of  trees  already  upon  the  historic  landmark 
varying  in  height  from  a  foot  to  fifty  feet  or 
more.  But  there  are  many  acres  that  are  bar- 
ren of  trees  and  all  they  need  is  a  chance  to 
grow. 

The;  Country  Club 

At  the  foot  of  the  National  Monument  of 
Scottsbluff  the  people  of  the  county  have  a 
"Country  Club,"  Here  they  have  a  neat  and 
commodious  club  house,  and  golf  links,  and 
all  that  goes  with  a  first  class  country  club. 
During  the  summer  season  there  is  a  custo- 
dian in  charge,  and  the  people  from  one  end 
of  the  valley  to  the  other,  join  in  the  sport 
and  entertainment  common  and  general  at  such 
places. 

Experiments  and  Orcharding 

Probably  dozens  in  the  county  have  sought 
to  increase  forage  and  hay  crops  by  the  intro- 
duction of  vetches  and  other  plants.  The  editor 
has  tried  a  number,  including  the  shipping  of 
quack  grass  sod  from  Minnesota  and  Johnson 
grass  sod  from  Arkansas.  Neither  has  prov- 
en a  success. 

In  1889,  I  planted  an  orchard  from  the 
Crete  nurseries  on  my  father's  homestead  in 
Banner  county. 

In  Scottsbluff  city  are  numerous  orchards  on 
the  places  along  Overland  Road :  notably  the 
Sams  place,  the  Howard  place,  the  Wright 
place,  the  Dooley  place,  the  Hall  place,  and 
what  was  formerly  the  Evans  place.  O.  B. 
Brown  had  a  fine  orchard  which  was  sold  to 
Mr.  Mills,  and  is  now  cut  up  into  smaller  places 
about  Ninth  and  Tenth  streets.  Herman  Sling- 
baum  and  C.  D.   Snvder  have  excellent  fruit 


acreage  on  Eleventh  street,  and  Wm.  Marlin  on 
Tenth  avenue.  Others  in  the  same  vicinity  also 
are  growing  fruit.  The  John  Emery  farm  east 
of  town,  and  the  Joe  Emery  farm  west  of  town, 
the  C.  H.  Simmons  orchard  in  the  east  part  of 
the  city,  are  close  in  nice  orchard  places. 

Farther  out  are  some  of  the  most  noted 
places  in  the  county:  the  orchards  of  Ed. 
Scrivens  and  Howard  Raymond  northwest  and 
those  of  Otto  Jurgens  and  Teodore  Carlson  be- 
tween here  and  Minatare. 

In  the  north  part  of  town  are  the  places  of 
A.  V.  (Buck)  Taylor,  which  is  largely  straw- 
berries. The  Roach  place,  now  owned  by  Mr. 
Colin,  and  south  thereof  the  newer  fruit 
orchard  recently  purchased  by  Mr.  Cath,  are 
a  bower  of  shade  and  fruit.  On  Broadway  be- 
tween Twentieth  and  Twenty-first  street,  A.  E. 
Scott  has  a  fine  orchard  formerly  owned  by 
Geo.  B.  Luft.  Across  the  street,  is  the  edi- 
tor's orchard  in  which  we  have  a  few  hardy 
varieties  of  fruit.  George  H.  Roach  also  plant- 
ed the  orchard  that  is  now  owned  by  D.  W. 
Hill  on  Avenue  A  and  Twenty-first  street.  J. 
R.  Kelley  also  has  a  fine  young  orchard  at  the 
intersection  of  the  same  streets.  The  rem- 
nant of  L.  L.  Raymond's  former  orchard  is 
in  T.  C.  Halley's  beautiful  lawn.  Scattered 
about  the  city  and  county  are  younger  or- 
chards that  will  be  a  pride  to  the  owners  in  the 
near  future.  The  McHenry  cherry  orchard 
of  Gering  is  another  well  known  place. 

That  this  community  has  an  excellert  clim- 
ate for  fruit  has  been  demonstrated,  and  for 
the  benefit  of  the  people  who  are  interested, 
we  are  giving  the  investigation  of  Jules  Ami 
Sandoz  of  Sheridan  county.  He  has  been 
there  for  nearly  forty  years,  and  has  develop- 
ed a  fruit  orchard  as  fine  as  you  will  find  in 
Colorado  or  Idaho.  He  cultivates  and  cares 
for  his  fruit  for  profit,  and  is  thirty-five  miles 
from  the  railroad  station. 

The  Sandoz  Fruit  Farm 

The  Sunbeam  Everbearing  Red  Raspberry 
developed  by  Prof.  Hanson,  from  Turtle  Moun- 
tain wild  stock,  is  hardy  and  produces  from 
July  to  October.  It  does  not  require  burying 
in  winter  like  some  red  raspberries.  Ohta  is 
another  raspberry  recommended  bv  Mr.  San- 
doz. 

He  recommends  also  as  the  best  cherries 
for  western  Nebraska,  the  Dyehouse,  Mont- 
morency, and  Wragg.  They  are  best  on  north 
slopes.  For  plums,  he  says  we  can  compete 
with  California  if  we  plant  and  care  for  the 
Omaha,  Stella.  Waneta,  Wastesa,  and  Yutega 
varieties. 


504 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


For  sandy  land,  even  white  sand,  plant  Han- 
sen's sand  cherry  hybrids :  Opata,  Sapa,  Skuya, 
Sansota.  and  Cherosoto.  They  will  thrive  well 
also  in  the  heavy  and  black  soils. 

The  best  pears  are  Flemish  Beauty  and  Mos- 
cow No.  9,  which  in  addition  to  hardiness, 
fruitage,  and  other  qualities,  grow  very  straight 
and  make  nice  shade  trees. 

The  following  are  the  choice  of  apples  in  the 
order  given:  Florence,  Whitney  Crab,  Duch- 
ess, Wealthy,  Janet,  Yellow  Transparent, 
Hibernal,  Longfield,  Charlamoff,  Ljveland, 
Raspberry,  Delicious,  and  Golden  Delicious. 
The  Charlamoff  is  a  splendid  tree  for  combined 
fruit  and  shade. 

This  western  Nebraska  "Burbank"  says,  "do 
not  plant  Compass  cherry  — ■  it  is  too  poor. 
Yata  and  Sapa  much  better.  Plant  only  the 
Beta  grape.  And  do  not  plant  Transparent 
crabs  as  they  will  infest  all  other  trees  with 
blight." 

Paul  Sandoz,  a  brother  of  the  "sand  hills 
fruit  wizard,"  formerly  lived  at  Bayard,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river,  and  left  an  orchard 
there  when  he  went  to  Oregon. 

Gold  Discovered 

In  1S98,  some  one  found  a  little  float  gold 
in  the  gravel  on  the  north  side  of  the  river. 
Samples  were  thoroughly  examined  and  small 
quantities  found.  All  the  gravel  hills  to  the 
north  were  entered  under  the  placer  mining 
laws,  and  experts  came  from  Denver  to  make 
examinations.  The  gold  was  found  to  be  only 
float  gold  and  could  not  be  collected  with  the 
ordinary  cradle.  It  was  of  such  small  con- 
sequence the  excitement  soon  passed. 

Recently  Wallace  Beatty  found  in  the  sand 
excavated  on  his  sand  lot  between  Scottsbluff 
city  and  the  river  a  small  nugget  of  gold  and 
a  few  other  particles,  but  they  failed  to  appear 
in  sufficient  frequency  to  create  much,  en- 
thusiasm. Small  particles  of  gold  that  have 
come  down  from  the  mountains  are  found  as 
far  east  as  Broadwater. 

An  Ancient  Waterfall 
From  a  geological  standpoint  the  editor-in- 
chief  would  believe  that  very  little  gold  will 
ever  be  found  east  of  the  mouth  of  horse 
creek  in  western  Scotts  Bluff  county.  The 
rock  bottom  ford  at  the  upper  PF  ranch  and 
the  upper  rim  of  the  "state  line  anticline" 
would  serve  as  lodging  places  for  any  gold  that 
might  be  washed  down  the  river,  and  should 
any  pass  those  natural  riffles  in  the  rocks,  if 
would  sink  to  unknown  depths  in  the  sand 
that   is   known   to  be  hundreds   of   feet  deep. 


Probably  at  an  earlier  time  the  state  line  anti- 
cline was  a  natural  dam  in  the  river  and  the 
country  above  Henry  and  up  to  Torrington 
may  have  been  submerged.  The  water  pour- 
ing over  this  dam  gouged  out  a  great  hole  un- 
der the  waterfall.  This  in  the  change  of  years 
has  filled  up  with  white  sand  now  impervious 
to  water.  So  that  the  gold  that  may  have 
come  down  the  Platte,  probably  never  came 
beyond  this  point,  and  here  it  is  buried  a  thou- 
sand feet  down.  A  few  fragments  have  pos- 
sibly come  on  in  excessive  freshets  and  these 
are  being  found.  Float  gold  is  so  light  that 
water  will  carry  it  on,  at  least  some  of  the 
lighter  particles,  into  the  far  sea. 

Manufacturing 

Scotts  Bluff  county  has  become  one  of  the 
leading  counties  in  the  state  for  its  output  of 
manufactured  or  finished  materials  and  foods. 

The  first  manufacturing  of  any  nature  in 
this  section  of  the  country  was  at  Cheyenne, 
in  1873,  when  a  brick  yard  was  started.  Prob- 
ably the  first  brick  made  in  western  Nebraska 
was  by  Bob  Everett,  on  Willow  creek,  in  Ban- 
ner county.  This  was  about  1888  and  he  hauled 
brick  to  Kimball.  He  also  furnished  the  brick 
for  the  John  E.  Logan  house  in  Harrisburg, 
which  I  believe  is  the  only  brick  building  in 
that  town  and  county. 

O.  W.  Gardner  started  the  manufacture  of 
brick  in  Scotts  Bluff  county.  It  was  in  1889 
that  Ed.  W.  Sayre  wanted  to  build  a  brick 
store.  Gardner  took  the  soil  from  near  the 
corner  where  Stever  Lowley  now  resides  and 
went  into  the  manufacture  of  brick.  The  two 
story  Stayre  store,  the  old  Commercial  hotel, 
and  the  Soder  saloon  building  were  built  from 
the  product  and  all  are  doing  service  after 
thirty  years  and  the  quality  of  the  brick  seems 
to  have  been  excellent.  The  Soder  building 
was  moved  to  Scottsbluff  and  is  now  "Sweet- 
land"  and  owned  by  Theo.  Lewis. 

Gardner  put  on  his  "darbys"  and  went  to 
work  in  the  yard  like  any  other  laborer. 

Joe  Kinnamon  was  there  at  the  time  but 
he  was  in  other  lines  of  work.  He  hauled 
home  made  lumber  from  the  Kiowa  mill  that 
was  used  in  the  Sayre  building,  and  also  string- 
ers for  the  old  Gering  bridge. 

Charles  Dooley  manufactured  some  very 
good  quality  brick  at  the  foot  of  the  bad  lands 
for  a  number  of  years.  W.  B.  Cole  under- 
took it  in  a  small  way.  A.  Sorenson  has  put  a 
great  many  fair  quality  brick  upon  the  market 
which  have  been  manufactured  at  Gering. 

One  of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  an  at- 
tempt to  make  brick  in  this  part  of  Nebraska  is 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


505 


to  find  clay  that  is  free  from  lime.  The  fine 
particles  of  lime-stone  that  is  so  universally 
scattered  throughout  our  soil  is  excellent  from 
the  point  of  richness  of  the  land,  but  it  has  no 
virtue  in  brick-making.  The  burning  of  the 
brick  also  burns  the  lime  which  makes  it  "alive" 
and  when  water  from  rains  or  the  moisture  of 
the  mortar  enters  the  brick  the  lime  "slacks" 
and  bursts  the  brick  or  makes  "pop  holes"  in 
them. 

At  Edgemont  a  pile  of  manufactured  brick 
crumbled  under  this  action  of  the  elements  and 
at  other  places  the  same  trouble  has  been  en- 
countered. In  the  extreme  northwest  part  of 
the  state  is  a  red  bed  of  material  called  "in- 
dian  paint"-  and  some  brick  were  made  from 
this  at  one  time.  They  were  wonderfully  hard 
brick,  water-proof  and  enduring.  But  the 
weight  is  almost  twice  that  of  other  brick. 
Transportation  being  a  big  item  in  building 
materials  the  weight  makes  these  bricks  prohibi- 
tive for  use  outside  of  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood. 

Concrete  manufacturing  in  its  many  forms 
is  naturally  a  part  of  the  present  age  in 
Scotts  Bluff  county  as  well  as  all  over  the 
west.  The  miles  of  cement  sidewalks,  the 
foundation  work,  the  re-enforced  building 
and  irrigation  structures,  the  tile,  brick  and 
blocks  made  of  concrete  have  moun+ed  into 
millions  of  dollars  of  structural  value. 

The  Story  of  Sugar 

Sugar  beets  as  an  industry  came  from 
Europe.  When  Napoleon  ruled  the  affairs  of 
France  the  industry  was  new  and  he  told  the 
people  of  that  country  to  raise  the.ir  own  sugar 
or  go  without.  That  put  France  in  the  fore- 
front of  beet  sugar  producing  nations,  although 
prior  to  the  embargo  Germany  and  the  adja- 
cent states  were  more  extensive  producers  of 
the  product. 

The  beginning  in  Nebraska  was  some  years 
ago  at  Ames,  Grand  Island  and  Norfolk.  The 
Norfolk  plant  was  moved  to  Colorado  and  the 
Ames  plant  became  a  part  of  the  big  mill  at 
Scottsbluff. 

The  beginning  of  the  culture  here  was  prob- 
ably the  inspiration  of  the  Burlington  railroad 
which  knew  of  the  great  tonnage  incident  to 
development  of  that  industry.  The  person 
who  actually  started  the  industry  in  Scotts 
Bluff  county  was  H.  G.  Leavitt.  He  had  been 
connected  with  the  Ames  factory  and  knew 
from  experience  that  beets  raised  in  the  lands 
dependent  upon  rainfall  contained  less  sugar 
content  than  beets  that  are  in  the  semi-arid 
region.      Three    peculiarities    of    climate    are 


best  for  sugar  beet  culture.  Naturally  deep 
culture  is  an  essential.  But  an  ideal  beet  clim- 
ate would  be  one  that  would  wet  the  ground 
thoroughly  in  the  spring  before  planting 
time;  then  reasonably  dry  weather  so  that 
the  roots  will  reach  down  to  the  deeper  soil 
after  moisture,  thereby  making  a  long  beet. 
Then  from  about  July  15  plenty  of  water  will 
make  heavy  tonnage  —  the  beets  growing  dur- 
ing this  midsummer  period  of  about  sixty  days. 
For  some  days  before  the  beets  are  bar- 
vested  there  should  be  a  period  of  warm, 
sunny  weather  and  this  will  put  the  sugar 
content  into  them.  In  rainfall  communities 
there  is  no  control  over  these  factors,  but  where 
crops  are  dependent  upon  irrigation  for  mois- 
ture there  is  a  measurable  control  of  the  con- 
ditions desired.  Mr.  Leavitt  and  Mr.  Geo. 
W.  Holdredge  found  in  Scotts  Bluff  county 
soil  the  essential  qualities  for  beet  growing 
and  in  the  climate  they  found  that  which  was 
lacking  at  Ames.  Beets  were  raised  and  ship- 
ped to  Ames  where  chemical  tests  were  made 
and  found  as  desired. 

Beets  were  raised  at  a  promised  price  of 
five  dollars  per  ton  but  the  factory  went  broke 
and  paid  much  less.  The  demonstration  prov- 
ed that  tonnage  and  content  were  as  antici- 
pated and  of  such  volume  and  quality  that  we 
have  sugar  factories  here.  It  is  by  far  the 
largest  single  industry  in  the  North  Platte 
valley.  Four  large  factories  are  in  the  valley 
and  three  of  them  within  the  limits  of  Scotts 
Bluff  county.  Probably  six  hundred  thousand 
tons  of  beets  were  grown  in  the  county  and 
the  farmers  received  therefor  approximately 
seven  million  dollars.  About  two  million  bags 
of  sugar  was  the  1920  output.  Before  the  war 
the  average  consumption  of  sugar  per  capita 
was  about  eighty  pounds  but  it  has  fallen  some 
below  that  since,  owing  to  the  habits  and  les- 
sons of  the  war.  It  will  be  seen  that  Scotts 
Bluff  county  produced  sugar  sufficient  for  over 
two  million  people. 

The  county  has  three  large  mills,  the  largest 
and  first  built  being  at  Scottsbluff  city.  The 
next  was  built  at  Gering  and  the  third  at 
Mitchell.  A  fourth  factory  is  at  Bayard  with- 
in two  miles  of  the  Scotts  Bluff  county  line. 
The  four  are  all  the  mills  of  the  Great  West- 
ern Sugar  Company  with  headquarters  at  Den- 
ver. 

The  story  of  the  first  mill  and  the  efforts 
to  locate  the  same  in  this  valley  is  told  that  the 
spirit  of  the  people  of  the  valley  be  shown.  In 
the  years  of  its  initiation  the  Great  Western 
sent  several  men  into  the  valley  to  look  it 
over  and  report.     By  accident  I  met  W.   H. 


506 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Fairbrother  and  made  one  or  two  trips  with 
him.  One  time  I  took  him  to  look  over  the 
Hiersche  farm  of  two  hundred  acres  east  of 
town  and  tried  to  point  out  its  attractive  fea- 
tures as  a  suitable  location  for  a  sugar  factory. 

As  the  matter  seemed  near  to  culmination 
A.  V.  Officer  came  into  the  valley.  We  had 
a  sort  of  a  commercial  club  that  occasionally 
met  in  the  hall  of  the  old  frame  that  stood 
where  the  First  National  Bank  now  stands 
and  for  the  time  had  Charles  A.  Morrill  for 
its  presiding  officer.  Morrill,  J.  C.  McCreary, 
F.  F.  Everett  and  Fred  A.  Wright  with  "Doc" 
A.  T.  Crawford  drove  overland  to  Denver,  en- 
countering considerable  snow  south  of  Chey- 
enne, and  met  some  of  the  officers  of  the  sugar 
company  and  they  left  but  little  unsaid  that 
needed  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  point. 

Enthusiasm  ran  high  and  so  high  that  a 
telegram  signed  by  C.  A.  Morrill  as  president 
of   the  commercial   club  went  to  the  Lincoln 


Sugar  Factory,  Scottsbluff 

Land  Company  and  several  others  that  might  be 
interested.  Charlie  did  not  happen  to  be  at 
home  at  the  time  but  he  did  happen  to  be  in 
how  he  telegraphed  from  Scottsbluff  when  he 
was  already  in  Lincoln. 

But  the  result  was  that  the  sugar  company 
asked  for  an  option  upon  not  less  than  ten 
thousand  acres  of  land  which  they  would  select 
east  of  the  town  of  Scottsbluff  at  a  maximum 
price  of  not  over  $115  per  acre,  and  contracts 
for  the  raising  of  not  less  than  ten  thousand 
acres  of  sugar  beets  for  the  year.  The  first 
the  office  of  the  Lincoln  Land  Company  at 
Lincoln  when  the  telegram  arrived.  They 
handed  it  over  to  him  and  asked  him  why  and 
was  reasonably  easy  to  get  but  the  latter  more 
difficult,  owing  to  the  fact  that  other  towns 
would  refrain  from  any  encouragemen  of  sugar 
beet  raising  for  a  factory  at  Scottsbluff  —  each 
hoping  the  lightning  would  strike  its  way.  J. 
C.  McCreary,  F.   F.  Everett  and  I   went  out 


on  several  of  the  trips  to  secure  the  land.  The 
first  place  optioned  was  the  Hiersche  200 
acres.  We  then  secured  the  W.  S.  Cline 
land  and  the  lands  of  J.  E.  Armstrong,  Albert 
Harrison,  Norman  DeMott,  W.  H.  Johnson, 
Harry  Walker,  John  A.  McGowan  and  part 
of  the  F.  F.  Everett  farm.  Two  others  were 
desired  but  not  obtained,  although  in  one  case 
the  party  signed  up  an  option  then  declined  to 
deliver  it.  I  remember  McCreary  saying,  "we 
either  want  it  or  know  that  we  do  not  have  it. 
If  you  cannot  give  it  to  us  burn  it  up,"  and 
it  was  burned  in  the  kitchen  stove.  The  high- 
est price  paid  for  any  of  the  land  was  $250 
per  acre  for  the  McGowan  forty.  No  land 
was  bought  for  less  than  $115,  and  most  of  it 
for  around  $150.  In  the  totals  it  was  found 
that  the  purchase  price  was  about  $23,000 
more  than  the  price  the  company  wished  to 
pay.  This  was  made  up  by  popular  subscrip- 
tions from  the  local  people.  As  usual  some 
paid  more  than  their  business  would  justify 
and  others  paid  less,  and  some  who  subscribed 
refused  to  pay  at  all  and  were  let  out  of  it 
without  any  attempt  to  collect. 

Then  came  the  question  of  acreage.  When 
about  six  thousand  of  the  ten  thousand  acres 
were  subscribed  it  was  found  difficult  to  get 
more.  Some  of  the  beet  acreage  subscribed 
was  raw  prairie  and  hardly  to  be  classed  as 
beet  land.  In  this  we  are  all  surprised  at  the 
results  from  prairie  land  put  into  beets.  It 
took  considerable  emphasis  on  the  part  of  such 
positive  natures  as  Craig  McCreary  to  get  the 
company  to  accept  our  claim  that  the  acreage 
question  was  solved  and  that  the  additional 
four  thousand  acres  would  be  subscribed  as 
soon  as  it  was  definitely  given  out  that  the 
factory  was  to  be  located  at  Scottsbluff.  We 
"got  away  with  it"  but  the  fact  was  that  there 
were  never  over  seven  thousand  acres  raised 
that  year.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  the  factory 
did  not  care  for  more  beets  at  that  time  as  it 
was  a  little  late  in  getting  started. 

There  were  acres  covered  with  machinery 
shipped  in  and  under  the  direction  of  Geo. 
Cumbers  this  gradually  went  into  place.  Some 
of  the  parts  of  the  old  Ames  factory  were 
used  and  much  new  machinery.  As  a  tribute 
to  the  intelligence  of  the  construction  genius 
let  it  be  said  that  thirteen  acres  of  floor  space 
was  filled  with  complicated  machines  all  driven 
from  one  propelling  engine  and  that  when 
ready  to  start  it  started  and  ran  for  sixty  days 
and  nights  without  a  pause  for  adjustments  or 
any  other  cause. 

The  struggles  incident  to  the  location  of  the 
first  factory  in  Scotts  Bluft"  county  have  been 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


507 


duplicated  in  a  way  by  the  building  of  the 
others  at  Gering,  Mitchell  and  Bayard.  Not 
perhaps  quite  so  intense,  for  the  company  has 
not  required  the  exacting  terms  in  other  cases 
since  they  were  unnecessary.  Acreage  has 
always  been  more  than  the  local  factories  could 
consume  and  tons  have  been  shipped  out  to  the 
factories  of  Colorado. 

The  property  of  the  Great  Western  Sugar 
Company  in  Scotts  Bluff  county  is  probably 
worth  seven  or  eight  million  dollars  and  in- 
cluding the  Bayard  mill  will  probably  repre- 
sent ten  million  dollars  in  value. 

The  by-products  from  the  mills  —  pulp  and 
syrup  —  is  of  great  interest  to  the  feeding  in- 
dustry; thousands  of  cattle  and  sheep  being 
fed  annually  adjacent  to  the  sugar  factories. 
Stock  feeding  yards  covering  hundreds  of  acres 
are  near  the  mills  and  the  company  as  well  as 
others  use  them  in  the  feeding  season. 

The  Soil 

I  have  told  the  story  of  "The  Gering  River" 
which  ran  westward  into  an  inland  sea.  The 
enduring  monuments  that  form  the  Wildcat 
range  were  then  laid  down.  At  Chimney  Rock 
it  was  140  feet  deep  as  shown  by  the  deposi- 
tions in  the  spire.  But  much  of  the  rich  soil 
of  Scotts  Bluff  county  was  laid  in  the  bottom 
cf  possibly  one  hundred  fathoms  of  water  be- 
fore that  river  was  in  existence.  Sheep  -Moun- 
tain, Castle  Rock,  and  Scotts  Bluff  are  distinc- 
tive monuments  of  the  ancient  river  and  in 
part  the  valley  lying  alongside  received  its 
alluvial  substances  from  wash  from  these  hills. 

The  oxidization  of  the  rocks  that  ages  ago 
were  strewn  upon  the  turbulent  main  is  one 
of  the  sources  of  wonderful  fertility.  Oxi- 
gen  and  hydrogen,  the  wonderful  invisible  ele- 
ments of  Infinite,  have  been  at  work  for  a 
million  years  —  incessantly  penetrating  the 
flinty  substances  of  the  younger  world.  And 
while  the  waters  covered  our  country  minute 
marine  life  put  into  the  sedimentation  the  ele- 
ments that  make  it  now  rich  in  potash,  lime, 
and  all  the  qualities  required  for  crop  raising, 
and  all  the  especially  desirable  crops  for  the 
human  race. 

The  big  farms  of  the  valley  have  been  grad- 
ually cut  into  smaller  acreage  for  it  is  found 
that  one  does  not  need  a  large  acreage.  As 
Arnold  Martin  said :  "Twenty  acres  is  enough 
for  any  man,  forty  acres  is  a  calamity  and 
eighty  acres  a  catastrophe."  The  brain  has  the 
better  chance  to  expand  on  a  smaller  acreage 
according  to  intensive  farming  methods. 

The  work  of  enriching  the  irrigated  lands 
goes  on  with  the  years.     Baron  Munchausen 


once  said  of  the  waters  of  a  river  similar  to 
the  North  Platte  that  in  every  gallon  of  water 
there  was  a  peck  of  sediment.  Other  notable 
characters  have  said  that  "Platte  river  waters 
were  too  thick  for  batter  and  too  thin  for 
dough."  During  the  high  water  period  some 
tests  were  made  and  about  twenty-five  per 
cent  of  the  fluid  dipped  from  currents  of  the 
river  proved  to  be  sediment  —  largely  silt. 
This  spread  out  by  the  network  of  irrigation 
ditches  over  the  farms  year  after  year  is  of 
immense  value,  said  to  be  two  dollars  and  up- 
wards per  acre  each  year.  Few  rivers  in  the 
world  carry  as  much  solid  matter  as  does  this 
"America's  Valley  of  the  Nile." 

Oil  and  Gas 

Scotts  Bluff  county  has  probably  the  first 
discovery  of  natural  gas  and  oil  in  Nebraska. 
A  number  of  years  ago  Wm.  Sturgis  made 
some  test  drillings  in  the  county  along  Horse 
creek.  The  well  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek 
nearly  a  thousand  feet  deep  disclosed  evidence 
of  the  ancient  waterfall  heretofore  mentioned. 
Near  the  Mihan  farm  in  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  34-23-58  the  discovery  of  oil  sands 
and  gas  was  made.  The  quantity  is  small,  the 
depth  thereto  is  shallow,  less  than  one  thousand 
feet,  but  through  all  the  years  there  has  been 
a  steady  flow  of  gas  from  the  four  inch  pipe 
in  the  well.  It  is  in  sufficient  quantity  to  burn 
when  confined  to  a  small  hole. 

The  Prairie  Oil  &  Gas  —  a  subsidiary  of  the 
Standard  Oil  —  drilled  to  the  south  of  the 
county  and  are  operating  in  the  Goshen  Hole 
to  the  west.  The  Centennial  well  and  the  new 
well  just  spudded  in  by  an  Ohio  company  are 
within  ten  miles  of  the  west  county  line.  A 
well  at  Agate  about  twenty  miles  from  the 
north  county  line  is  down  some  distance  with 
good  prospect.  Oil  and  gas  are  found  seeping 
from  the  ground  in  some  parts  of  Scotts  Bluff 
county  and  there  is  evidence  of  one  "very  old 
structure"  a  part  of  which  is  within  the  coun- 
ty and  of  several  "newer  structures"  in  whole 
and  in  part  within  the  county  limits. 

Other  Resources 
The  county  has  abundant  resources  other 
than  its  argicultural  and  sugar  manufacturing. 
The  Wildcat  range  has  many  beds  of  excel- 
lent volcanic  ash,  one  being  about  eight  feet 
thick  and  of  great  purity.  In  the  Owl  creek 
country  there  are  magnesium  outcrops  that 
are  valuable.  Wonderful  and  extensive  beds  of 
gravel  are  here  and  there  throughout  the  coun- 
ty. Some  of  these  are  of  the  quality  and  color 
of  the  famous   Sherman  hill  gravel  used   for 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ballast  on  the  Union  Pacific  right-of-way  and 
along-  the  Lincoln  Highway.  Wallace  Beatty  of 
Scottsbluff  has  opened  up  the  largest  gravel 
deposit  in  a  mercantile  way  and  ships  out  hun- 
dreds of  tons  of  the  product  for  state  aid  and 
other  highways  and  for  building  purposes. 

In  the  moderately  new  geological  formations 
of  the  rocks  there  have  been  some  examina- 
tions made  with  a  view  to  discovering  a  bed 
of  thorium  content.  Thorium  or  Valadinum 
is  used  in  steel  to  temper  it  and  make  it  more 
serviceable  for  uses  which  its  fusing  tempera- 
ture will  now  not  permit  it  to  be  used.  Tests 
have  found  some  rocks  radio  active  and  with 
two-tenths  of  one  per  cent  the  required  mineral 
—  not  sufficient  for  development.     But  its  be- 


ing radio  active  and  the  presence  of  the  mineral 
make  further  prospecting  sure  and  it  may  be 
successful. 

There  have  been  no  coal  discoveries  of  con- 
sequence in  the  county  although  undoubtedly 
ligniteous  coal  underlies  the  county's  soil.  The 
depth,  is,  however,  prohibitive  from  a  commer- 
cial standpoint. 

Potash  production  is  only  in  connection  with 
the  sugar  factory  at  Scottsbluff  and  the  low 
price  of  the  commodity  made  the  plant  lie  idle 
the  year  of  1921.  It  is  made  from  the  waste 
waters  from  the  mills  at  Scottsbluff  and  Gering 
which  is  piped  into  a  large  storage  reservoir 
and  later  reduced  to  potash. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  COUNTY  MILITARY  RECORD  —  HONOR  ROLL  —  FRATERNAL  ORDERS 


One  of  the  forever  bright  spots  in  the  history 
of  Scotts  Bluff  county  will  be  the  part  she  took 
in  the  great  World  War.  This  county  stands 
with  but  few  equals,  in  a  state  that  had  no 
equal  in  the  constructive  and  substantial  parts 
of  the  world's  conflict. 

When  the  great  forest  fire  in  northern  Wis- 
consin was  raging  some  years  ago,  it  reached 
the  shore  of  Tomahawk  lake.  Out  on  this 
lake  on  rafts,  were  refugees,  a  mile  from  the 
shore.  The  heat  became  so  intolerable,  that 
they  dropped  over  the  edges  of  the  rafts  into 
the  water  up  to  their  necks,  and  repeatedly 
ducked  their  heads.  A  great  sheet  of  flame 
stretched  out  across  the  water  and  over  their 
heads,  and  set  the  forest  on  fire  about  a  half 
mile  beyond  them.  The  flames  leaped  nearly 
one  and  one-half  miles,  a  distance  unheard 
of  in  forest  fires,  and  theretofore  believed  an 
impossible  distance  for  a  fire  to  leap. 

So  many  of  us  said  wisely  to  ourselves,  when 
President  Wilson  made  his  famous  trip  into 
the  west,  telling  us  that  the  world  was  on  fire, 
that  if  we  staid  on  our  side  of  the  broad  At- 
lantic, that  great  green  ocean  would  be  the 
natural  and  invincible  "safeguard"  beyond 
which  the  flames  of  Europe  would  not  reach. 
This  was  our  mistake,  for  we  had  not  reck- 
oned with  the  ambition  of  the  insane  monarch, 
and  the  war  mad  brutal  bestiality  of  the  Prus- 
sian.    Germany  and  the  German  people  were 


but  pawns  in  the  game.  They  had  been  taught 
for  generations  things  concerning  the  power, 
the  intelligence  and  the  destiny  of  the  race. 

Germany's  threat  to  make  the  United  States 
pay  indemnity,  for  the  losses  her  war  lords 
claimed  were  due  to  munition  and  food  sup- 
plies for  the  Allies  and  none  for  the  Central 
Empire,  was  a  factor  in  inducing  the  United 
States  to  enter  into  the  conflict. 

Before  the  formal  entry  of  this  country  in- 
to the  fray,  many  theretofore  Americans, 
crossed  the  Canadian  line  and  became  citizens 
of  the  Dominion,  and  enlisted  under  the  Eng- 
lish flag.  Thousands  of  Italians  and  French 
people  returned  to  their  native  lands  to  fight 
for  the  country  that  gave  them  birth. 

When  the  ruthless  warfare  on  the  seas  took 
form  that  made  it  impossible  for  the  United 
States  to  remain  quiet  longer,  congress,  in- 
stead of  declaring  war  upon  Germany,  declar- 
ed that  a  state  of  war  already  did  exist.  Then 
the  thousands  of  Americans  which  before  had 
reluctantly  held  back,  waited  no  longer,  and 
"volunteered."  Those  who  thus  "enlisted"  be- 
came one  class  or  part  of  the  American  army. 
Those  who  joined  the  army  by  "voluntary  in- 
duction" became  another  portion  of  the  whole, 
while  the  regular  for  of  registration  and  "in- 
duction" became  the  third,  and  by  far  the 
largest  part  of  the  mighty  army  of  the  Re- 
public of  the  United  States. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


509 


The  call  for  registration  came  soon  after 
the  declaration  that  a  state  of  war  existed,  or 
in  April,  1917. 

The  Registration 

The  registration  of  June  5,  1917,  was  red 
letter  day  in  the  history  of  America,  when 
an  army  of  ten  million  fighting  men  became 
available  for  service.  In  Scotts  Bluff  county 
the  people  who  participated  in  and  assisted  in 
the  work  of  conscription  as  registrars  perform- 
ed their  work  with  unabating  zest.  Like  each 
of  the  several  departments  of  war  work  there 
was  no  flagging  of  spirit. 

General  Bundy's  famous  remark  in  answer 
to  the  suggestion  of  General  Foch  at  Chateau 
Thierry  was  the  idea  dominant  in  the  people 
of  Scotts  Bluff  county  whether  in  the  work  at 
home  or  the  boys  that  went  forth  to  do  their 
duty.  It  will  be  forever  remembered  by  the 
world  regardless  of  the  petty  politicians  that 
hesitate  to  do  him  honor  that  General  Bundy 
said :  "Americans  have  been  forced  to  retire. 
They  will  not  understand  it;  we  are  going  to 
counter  attack."  They  did  and  it  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  end,  for  from  that  day  the  Boche 
were  on  the  run  until  the  Armistice  was  sign- 
ed. After  a  seventy-two  day  Marathon  they 
were  ready  to  sign  anything. 

Scotts  Bluff  county  did  not  wait  for  the 
draft.  Many  of  her  boys  went  forth  as  vol- 
unteers and  are  credited  to  other  counties,  par- 
ticularly Box  Butte  where  Captain  Miller  or- 
ganized a  company  and  a  number  came  from 
the  several  towns  in  this  county. 

The  First  Eight 

Of  the  first  eight  drawn  in  the  draft  only 
three  returned  without  the  scars  of  war.  Two 
were  badly  gassed  and  three  were  killed  in 
action.  The  list  is  here  given :  Lewis  L.  Hood, 
killed  in  action;  August  W.  Turnbull,  killed 
in  action ;  John  A.  Michie,  killed  in  action ; 
Paul  F.  Bryan,  gassed ;  Irl  J.  Walker,  gassed ; 
Charles  B.  Yarnell,  Henry  F.  Kilpatrick, 
Reuben  C.  Driscoll. 

Two  other  boys,  who  were  born  and  reared 
in  this  vicinity,  were  among  those  who  made 
the  supreme  sacrifice.  They  were  Archie  Irion 
and  Charlie  Wright.  In  honor  of  this  sacrifice 
and  in  the  memory  of  these  native  boys,  the 
local  post  of  the  American  Legion  is  named 
the  Wright-Irion  post. 

Earl  Holcomb,  well  known  in  Scottsbluff 
and  now  a  resident  of  Gering,  had  one  close 
call  on  the  west  front  when  the  officer  under 
whom  he  was  serving  in  the  medical  corp  was 
blown  to  atoms  and  Holcomb  wounded.     He 


wrote  home  in  a  humorous  vein  concerning  a 
safety  razor  his  folks  had  sent  him.  He  said, 
"It  is  somewhere  on  the  west  front,  but  I  am 
not  going  to  look  for  it." 

The  humorous  seemed  to  run  through  the 
spirit  of  the  Yankee  boys  in  the  midst  of  their 
perils  and  dangers.  Another  Scottsbluff  boy. 
Earnest  Young,  was  on  the  Tuscania  when  it 
was  torpedoed  off  the  coast  of  Ireland.  He  was 
one  of  those  who  reached  the  shore  in  safety. 
In  writing  home  he  said  that  he  and  another 
were  playing  checkers  and  the  game  was  about 
over.  He  had  but  one  king  and  his  opponent 
had  three.  Suddenly  his  "king  jumped  all 
three  of  his  opponents  and  the  game  was  over." 
That  is  the  way  of  our  western  boys:  They 
treated  these  narrow  escapes  and  the  tragedies 
lightly. 

At  home  the  bond  drives  and  all  the  other 
drives  went  over  the  top  in  record  time.  The 
farmers  were  producing  wheat  and  sugar— two 
of  the  much  needed  elements  of  war — in  record 
quantities.  The  council  of  defense  and  the 
home  guards,  the  Red  Cross  and  other  organi- 
zations were  working  fine. 

A.  T.  Shumway  was  the  only  local  man  who 
went  overseas  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  "Pop" 
as  the  boys  called  him,  made  an  excellent  record 
according  to  the  high  standards  of  others  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  in  the  great  World  War 
from  this  part  of  the  west. 

Robert  G.  Simmons  born  and  raised  in 
Scotts  Bluff  county  has  been  singled  out  for 
the  distinctive  honor  of  state  commander  of 
the  American  Legion,  an  organization  created 
by  members  of  the  great  American  Army. 

Individual  mention  of  the  hundreds  of  Scotts 
Bluff  county  boys  that  each  performed  his 
duty  so  well  would  be  impossible. 

The  ability  of  the  local  young  men  to  handle 
horses  put  a  number  of  them  in  line  for  that 
work:  Dan  Ingraham,  Joe  Sanford,  the 
Hiersche  boys  and  a  number  of  others.  No 
matter  in  what  particular  department  they  were 
assigned  there  was  always  the  splendid  fidelity 
to  duty  and  service  that  marked  Scotts  Bluff 
county  as  one  of  the  brightest  stars  in  the  story 
of  the  war. 

Old  Soldiers 
There  is  no  dimming  in  the  brilliance  of  the 
achievements  of  the  men  of  old  who  almost 
sixty  years  ago  shouldered  their  muskets  for 
the  land  recently  made  more  glorious  by  the  re- 
cent war.  Had  they  not  been  there  with  the 
usual  purpose  there  would  have  been  a  divided 
America  and  perhaps  no  participation  in  the 
recent  world  conflict.  There  are  not  many  of 
them  left — those  old  war  horses  of  the  past, 


510 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


but  the  recent  registration  at  a  reunion  at  Ger- 
ing  showed  twenty-nine.  Fourteen  of  them 
were  from  outside  the  county  but  only  three 
from  a  distance.  That  leaves  but  fifteen  of  the 
registrants  as  residents  of  Scotts  Bluff  county. 
True  there  may  have  been  more  in  the  county 
who  were  not  able  to  attend  the  re-union.  The 
list  of  the  registrants  were  as  follows : 

John  W.  Morris,  commander,  George  Sower- 
wine,  Phineas  B.  Gurnsey,  Isaac  S.  Barger,  J. 
J.  Boyer,  Wendell  Gross,  A.  H.  Townsend,  all 
of  Gering,  Joseph  W.  Smith,  D.  D.  Martindale, 
W.  M.  Fo'sket,  Otis  A.  Richardson,  Luther 
Mattox.  all  of  Scottsbluff;  Newton  Bowman 
and  John  W.  Douglass  of  Mitchell;  and  W. 
T.  Briggs  of  Morrill ;  I.  F.  Meglemre,  Richard 
Skinner,  Frederick  Weber,  J.  S.  Hutchinson 
and  S.  L.  Bricker  of  Bridgeport;  James  H. 
Daggy,  James  Leslie  and  Joseph  Coty  of  Bay- 
ard ;  John  Covalt  of  Broadwater ;  Robert  An- 
derson of  Hemingford ;  S.  D.  Burnett  of  Red- 
ington;  R.  T.  Jones  and  Orlando  Learned  of 
Burkett,  Nebraska  ;  and  F.  M.  Smith  of  Lyons, 
Kansas. 

Captain  Finlay  was  the  first  commander  of 
the  G.  A.  R.  in  this  county  and  he  is  now 
bivouaoed  in  that  farther  camping  ground.  One 
of  the  exhibits  at  the  recent  re-union  was  a 
set  of  stirrups — a  present  from  General  Tom 
Henderson  at  the  close  of  the  war  to  Chas.  Mc- 
Comsey,  the  well  known  soldier  and  pioneer 
who  recenly  "went  to  the  new  frontier." 

Fraternal  Spirit  and  Orders 

Scotts  Bluff  county  has  not  been  slow  in  the 
matter  of'  fraternals.  It  has  seemed  to  the 
laymen  that  the  fraternal  spirit  has  run  riot 
in  the  county  to  such  an  extent  that  all  one 
needs  to  do  is  to  propose  to  organize  something 
and  immediately  the  something  will  be  organ- 
ized. Some  have  been  inclined  to  intimate  that 
this  is  because  we  have  so  many  "easy  marks" 
but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  is  because  the 
generous  spirit  of  Scotts  Bluff  county  people  is 
looking  for  an  outlet  at  all  times. 

The  old  Scotts  Bluff  lodge  of  Masons  at  Ger- 
ing goes  back  to  early  days  and  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  were  early  at  Minatare.  The  Masons, 
the  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
are  the  three  most  vital  organizations  of  fra- 
ternal orders  in  the  county.  They  each  have 
large  memberships,  several  lodges  and  are  alive 
to  the  principles  for  which  their  lodges  were 
created.  I  think  that  Victor  Fuehring,  the 
present  master  of  Robert  W.  Furnas  lodge 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Scottsbluff,  is  one  of  the  most 
consistent  and  industrious  Masons  that  I  have 
ever  met.    He  was  raised  in  the  lodge  of  which 


he  is  now  master  and  has  always  been  a  faith-    I 
ful  member  and  attendant. 

W'hile  the  editor  was  the  first  chancellor  in    I 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  Scottsbluff  all  will 
agree  that  the  most  active  member  and  the  one    I 
who  is  most  consistent  in  attendance  and  in  pre-    j 
cept  and  example,  is  George  L.  Wilcox. 

Val  Kirkman,  F.  H.  Koenig  and  W.  L.  Sim-     1 
mons  and  Frank  Scofield  are  among  the  active 
Odd  Fellows. 

Anna  R.  Crawford  has  been  an  organizer  of     1 
the  Royal   Neighbors   for  years   and   later  of     | 
the  Woodman  Circle.     She  has  had  many  ex-     j 
periences  worthy  of  a  more  detailed  mention 
because  of  the  fidelity  of  purpose;  illustrative 
as  it  is  of  the  fidelity  that  marks  the  fraternal     ] 
spirit  of   the   people   of    the   county.      In    the 
early  days  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America 
was  a  vital  order  but  other  organizations  have     j 
passed  it  in  importance  of   numbers   and  en- 
thusiasm since. 

The  more  recent  creations  are  the  Rotary 
Club  and  the  Lion's  Club. 

The  past  year  or  two  A.  W.  Means  has  been 
doing  some  wonderful  work  among  the  younger  | 
people  with  his  Carter  canyon  summer  camp 
as  well  as  in  constant  endeavor.  The  Boy  Scout 
and  the  Campfire  Girls  movement  have  devel- 
oped an  excellent  usefulness  among  the  young 
set. 

Altogether  there  has  been  a  delightful  and 
useful  element  in  every  institution  that  has  been 
promulgated  in  Scotts  Bluff  county  due  with- 
out doubt  to  the  spirit  of  the  people  who  have 
become  interested. 

Conclusion 

The  editor  regrets  that  he  must  limit  the 
number  of  pages  devoted  to  the  events  and  pro- 
gress and  people  of  Scotts  Bluff  county.  He 
has  been  many  years  accumulating  the  stories 
herein  told.  He  has  omitted  many  that  he 
would  like  to  have  related  and  there  are  many 
that  should  have  found  space  that  he  has  not 
heard.  Some  one  else  will  some  day  take  up 
the  thread  of  events  and  follow  on.  They  will 
fill  in  the  omissions  that  I  have  made.  There 
are  so  many  that  I  should  thank  for  the  kindly 
assistance  that  personal  mention  of  each  indi- 
vidual will  not  be  possible.  I  wish  however  all 
should  know  that  I  appreciate  this  help  and 
to  hope  that  a  better  hand  than  mine  will  com- 
plete the  story  of  our  inland  empire. 

The  prosperity  of  the  county  in  the  future 
will  fall  upon  its  people  and  their  co-operative 
efforts.  The  present  financial  condition  has 
proven  unsatisfactory  in  that  the  banks  have 
exacted  too  great  a  tribute  in  proportion  to  the 
service  rendered. 


BANNER  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 
FOLLOWING  HORACE  GREELEY'S  ADVICE  —  EARLY  EXPERIENCES 


The  historian  crossed  the  Missouri  river 
on  September  15,  1885,  and  has  since  claimed 
Nebraska  for  his  home.  That  trip  up  the 
Republican  river  and  into  Colorado  and  Kan- 
sas; then  across  country  from  Indianola  to 
North  Platte,  was  the  prototype  of  the  ex- 
perience of  many  seeking  new  homes  in  the 
far  west. 

My  first  impression  of  North  Platte  was  not 
of  the  best.  It  had  twelve  saloons  that  ran 
wide  open.  My  opinion  of  "Buffalo  Bill" 
fell  several  notches  when  I  saw  the  Wild  West 
saloon  in  which  I  believe  he  had  an  interest. 
I  had  come  from  the  provincial  community  of 
western  Illinois,  and  in  the  light  of  years  have 
come  to  be  more  liberal  in  my  conceptions  of 
the  early  people  of  the  plains.  In  subsequent 
years  I  rode  the  range  as  a  "puncher"  and 
drove  twenty  mule  teams  with  one  line  and  a 
blacksnake  whip.  I  remained  an  abstainer 
and  occasionally  found  others  that  did  like- 
wise ;  but  I  learned  to  tolerate  and  really 
sometimes  enjoy  the  witticisms  and  foolish- 
ness of  those  who  did  indulge.  The  fact  of 
being  sober  did  not  reduce  one  in  the  opinion 
of  his  associates,  although  they  in  their  cups 
and  in  carousals  frequently  "smoked  up"  the 
little  cities  of  the  plains. 

I  spent  the  winter  of  1885-86  on  the  ranch 
of  Hall  &  Evans  northeast  of  North  Platte; 
and  one  of  the  pleasant  acquaintances  of  my 
life  has  been  with  John  Evans,  recently  gone 
over  the  Great  Divide.  Father  and  Mother 
Hall  have  also  gone  to  their  rewards,  they 
being  devout  Methodists. 

In  the  spring  of  1886  the  constant  string 
of  emigrants  and  emigrant  wagons  going  west 
along  the  valley  of  the  North  Platte  river  gave 
one  an  impression  that  soon  the  entire  west 
would  be  filled  with  people.  I  grew  impa- 
tient to  be  on  my  way,  and  in  May  I  came  to 
Sidney  and  in  June  went  on  to  Cheyenne. 

I  shall  always  remember  the  time  when  we 


topped  the  crest  of  the  divide  east  of  Chey- 
enne and  I  saw  far  away  to  the  southwest  the 
snowy  caps  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

During  the  summer  I  "skinned  mules"  on 
the  Cheyenne  &  Northern,  now  a  part  of  the 
Hill  system  of  railroads  that  connects  Denver 
with  the  Big  Horn  Basin  and  the  Puget  Sound. 
Here  I  found  many  homeseekers  like  myself 
who  had  taken  claims  and  were  out  looking 
for  a  grub  stake  for  the  winter.  Several  were 
from  the  Box  Butte  Table,  among  whom  were 
old  time  friends  from  Illinois,  John  Frazier 
and  Henry  Watson. 

One  does  not  accumulate  much  in  working 
for  $1.75  per  day,  and  paying  $4.50  a  week 
for  inferior  board,  for  when  the  season  is 
over  there  are  clothes  to  buy  to  take  the  place 
of  worn  out  garments.  So  when  I  returned 
to  Sidney,  with  my  new  boots  resting  com- 
fortably upon  plush  cushions,  I  had  little  resi- 
due from  my  summer's  wages.  I  fell  in 
with  George  Hendricks,  whom  my  uncle 
George  Streeter  had  located  in  Hackberryf 
canyon,  and  we  shoveled  coal  for  the  Union 
Pacific  to  get  the  winter  grub  stake. 

I  had  bought  an  old  buckskin  broncho  of 
Charlie  Trognitz  and  took  a  skinning  like  a 
tenderfoot  for  it  developed  a  "setfast" — a 
sore  under  the  saddle  that  would  heal  up  when 
the  horse  was  not  in  use,  but  would  not  stand 
much  pressure  of  riding,  and  would  peel  off 
again.  On  the  back  of  this  broncho  we  packed 
our  belongings  consisting  of  our  beds,  bacon, 
flour,  beans,  coffee,  cooking  utensils,  axes, 
picks,  shovels,  and  clothing,  and  started  over 
the  divide  for  Pumpkin  creek  —  our  promised 
land.  In  a  little  over  a  day  —  one  leading  the 
horse  and  the  other  walking  behind  to  prod 
it  along  —  we  reached  Hackberry  canyon,  and 
here  in  a  grove  by  the  spring  we  built  our 
first  cabin. 

Three  sides  of  it  were  of  log  and  the  back 
was   against   a   rock.      The   roof   was   of    the 


5i; 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


well  known  materials  as  was  the  floor  —  just 
dirt  —  resting  on  poles  and  pine  boughs.  Up 
the  rock  side  of  the  cabin  we  improvised  a 
fireplace,  made  of  stones  gathered  near  by,  and 
laid  in  mud  from  the  spring  and  creek.  Then 
we  rigged  our  bunk  in  one  side  of  the  cabin 
and  hung  a  blanket  for  the  door. 

Out  of  the  elements  at  hand  we  had  made 
the  rudiments  of  a  home  and  security  pre- 
vailed, although  without  the  coyotes  and  grey 
wolves  howled,  and  the  winds  whistled  through 
the  treetops.  It  was  a  pleasant  moment  when 
all  complete  we  were  preparing  our  first  meal ; 
the  bacon  odor  filled  the  cabin,  the  coffee  was 
steaming,  the  bread  was  baking  in  a  skillet 
that  leaned  so  that  the  heat  from  the  fire 
would  cook  it  one  side  at  a  time.  The  art 
of  turning  it  when  one  side  was  done  is  fa- 
miliar to  all  people  of  the  west  —  tossing  it  in- 
to the  air  and  then  catching  it  in  the  skillet 
as  it  came  down. 

I  remember  at  Ashford,  Charlie  Gilpin  and 
I  were  the  guests  of  W.  W.  White  at  his 
claim  shack  near  Funnel  Rock,  and  Charlie 
tried  the  experiment  of  turning  a  flapjack  in 
the  air,  with  the  usual  result  of  first  experi- 
ence. The  "batter"  side  hit  the  wall  about 
six  feet  from  the  floor  and  smeared  a  trail 
as  far  as  gravity  would  take  it.  It  is  saying 
nothing  against  White  as  a  housekeeper  that 
the  batter  dried  where  it  hit,  and  was  there 
when  he  made  final  proof  on  the  claim  some 
months  later. 

The  first  Sunday  school  in  Hackberry  neigh- 
borhood was  organized  in  the  spring  of  1887, 
by  James  Hadley,  who  called  a  few  of  the 
neighbors  together  at  the  claim  house  of  Cora 
Oliver.  Mr.  Hadley  was  chosen  superinten- 
dent. After  the  Oliver  log  school  house  was 
built,  the  Sunday  school  was  held  there. 

A  little  later  another  Sunday  school  was  or- 
ganized in  the  residence  of  A.  B.  (Briley) 
Randleman  near  Table  mountain  in  the  Big 
Horn  valley.  Active  in  the  work  were  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Randleman,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  L.  Deaton, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  G.  A.  Cashier,  Grant  Allen  and 
others.  They  named  the  historian  as  superin- 
tendent. Grant  Allen  was  the  originator  of  the 
idea  that  developed  into  a  Sunday  School  picnic 
held  in  Hackberry  canyon.  Probably  this  was 
the  first  of  its  kind  in  all  the  Panhandle  of 
Nebraska.  It  was  held  in  June,  1888,  and  from 
far  and  near  the  settlers  assembled  in  the 
beautiful  grove  of  hackberry  and  ash  by  Hen- 
drick's  beautiful  spring.  Many  vehicles  were 
decorated.  Allen  rolled  up  the  side  curtains 
of  his  covered  wagon  and  decorated  the  bows, 
top,  wheels,  box,  and  harness  artistically.     I 


do  not  know  where  he  found  the  decorations ; 
he  must  have  brought  them  with  him  when 
he  came.  Six  of  us  young  people  rode  the 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  and  entered  the  grove 
in  triumph,  for  ours  was  easily  the  prize  taker. 

The  rocks  about  Hackberry  canyon  never 
before  re-echoed  to  the  sounds  that  came  out 
of  the  grove.  There  were  many  musical  selec- 
tions, and  John  Muhr  gave  us  a  temperance 
lecture  which  was  undoubtedly  the  pioneer 
dry  address  of  western  Nebraska. 

Old  district  number  ten  was  the  first  school 
in  this  part  of  the  west  and  as  heretofore  stated 
the  first  teacher  was  Lora  Sirpless.  With  the 
coming  of  the  grangers  there  were  numerous 
schools  established  almost  simultaneously. 
Over  one  hundred  were  organized  in  1887  and 
1888,  many  of  which  were  in  the  present  limits 
of  Banner  county.  In  the  Hackberry  commun- 
ity, Samuel  Oliver  and  John  Muhr  were  among 
the  organizers  of  a  school  in  1887.  They 
were  on  the  board.  Cora  Oliver  was  the  teach- 
er first  employed,  and  she  held  school  in  her 
claim  house  until  a  log  school  house  was  built. 

Cora  Oliver  and  Samuel  Abbot  were  mar- 
ried on  February  12,  1888,  the  ceremony  being 
performed  by  Justice  of  the  Peace  E.  M. 
Cowen.  On  that  day  a  terrible  storm  raged 
over  western  Nebraska.  In  November,  1891, 
"Sam"  and  "Cora",  as  they  were  always  called, 
contracted  typhoid  fever.  Cora  died  December 
3,  and  Sam  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month. 
Cowen  has  never  performed  another  marriage 
ceremony.  Once  when  we  were  both  "jedges" 
in  Scottsbluff,  he  came  to  me  and  asked  me  to 
perform  a  ceremony,  for  the  melancholy  de- 
mise of  both  his  old  friends  on  Pumpkin  creek 
had  made  him  decline  to  officiate  at  weddings. 

The  Abbots  left  two  children — a  boy  who 
died  in  the  summer  of  1892,  and  a  girl,  now 
Mrs.  Claude  North,  and  residing  at  El  Paso, 
Illinois. 

Samuel  and  Mrs.  Oliver  are  now  residing  at 
Readley,  California,  where  the  youngest 
daughter  Vera  resides,  and  looks  after 
them.  Mrs.  Oliver  has  been  helpless  for  some- 
time with  creeping  paralysis  and  Mr.  Oliver  is 
quite  feeble.  The  children  are  scattered  in 
many  states.  One  of  .'the  daughters  is,  at 
Bridgeport  where  her  husband,  Bruce  Wilcox 
—  with  her  assistance  —  ably  chronicles 
through  the  Nezvs-Blade  the  story  of  active 
life  and  community  development. 

Over  the  hill  north  of  Freeport  is  a  corner 
of  Banner  county  somewhat  isolated  from  the 
rest  of  the  county  by  the  "Wildcat  range"  of 
mountains.  William's  Gap  was  the  somewhat 
rough  and  tumbled  thoroughfare  by  which  the 
people  of  Horseshoe  Bend  and  lower  Pump- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


513 


kin  creek  mingled  and  visited.  The  gap  was 
so  named  because  of  a  unique  character, 
George  Williams  who  lived  near  there.  In 
this  country  lived  the  Rayburns,  the  Hubbards, 
the  McNetts,  the  Shobars,  the  Williams,  the 
Roberts,  the  Franklins,  "Johnny"  Logan, 
"Mike"  Jeffords,  the  Darnells,  and  others.  I 
believe  the  Williams  are  all  dead  except  H. 
V.  (Vollie)  who  resides  at  Sidney.  "Grand- 
mother" Williams  died  at  Caldwell,  Kansas ; 
Quincy,  at  Sidney;  James  R.  (the  father  of 
Vollie),  at  Sidney;  George  at  Cassville,  Perry 
county,  Missouri  (in  the  Ozarks).  Mrs.  Will- 
iams remarried  at  Caldwell,  Kansas,  to  an 
old  soldier.  Both  are  now  dead,  Mrs.  Will- 
iams dying  in  Texas. 

John  E.  Logan  went  to  Missouri  to  do  some 
work  for  the  Kilpatricks,  and  is  reported  to 
have  died  there. 

The  Hubbards  who  are  said  to  be  the  first 
settlers  of  Horseshoe  Bend,  who  were  in  what 
is  known  as  the  C.  D.  Wood  canyon  are  still 
alive  in  Idaho,  although  very  feeble.  He  has 
creeping  paralysis.  Johnny  Hubbard  was 
killed  by  falling  under  a  train  on  which  he  was 
a  brakeman,  at  Weiser,  Idaho,  and  Hudson, 
his  brother  died  at  Boise.  William  Hubbard 
is  at  North  Platte  in  railroad  work. 

In  this  part  of  Banner  county  now  resides 
James  Jessup  formerly  of  Scotts  Bluff  county, 
who  was  once  candidate  for  county  treasurer. 

Settlement  Groups 

Around  Freeport  soon  there  were  settled 
Thos.  Wilson,  the  Stalcups,  Henry  Bruner, 
Hugh  Milhollin,  and  up  the  creek  were  the 
Earleys,  and  Jim  Pogue.  Above  the  Wright 
ranch  was  Wm,  Kelley,  the  Livingstons,  Chris 
Streeks,  and  the  Thoelecke  place  where  Fran- 
cois Jourdain  held  forth.  The  beginning  of 
the  Airdale  ranch  was  north  of  the  creek,  with 
Philo  H.  Mann  and  Harry  Eggleston  in  charge. 
Later  the  Hartmans  moved  into  the  canyon 
north  of  Livingston  and  Ingles  settled  on 
land  to  the  south. 

South  of  Livingston,  Martin  Draper  was 
early  to  settle  and  Robert  Osborne  came  soon 
after.  Then  there  were  the  Fitzsimmons 
people,  our  neighbors  for  we  had  our  home- 
stead joining  theirs.  Harry  was  at  Colorado 
Springs,  foreman  of  the  Rock  Island  round 
house  the  last  time  we  saw  him.  The  elder 
Fitzsimmons  have  gone  to  the  "new  frontier" 
while  two  daughters,  Mrs.  J.  M.  Wilson,  of 
Harrisburg,  and  Mrs.  Charles  Gingrich,  of 
Gering,  are  still  residents  of  this  beautiful 
land.  Draper  has  "gone  on,"  and  Osborne  re- 
sides in  Gering. 


Sam  Kelly  has  managed  the  home  ranch  of 
the  old  Wright  place  for  several  years ;  he  re- 
sides at  Scottsbluff  during  the  school  year. 

John  Kelly  has  developed  his  holdings  until 
he  has  an  empire  of  land — a  domain  that  keeps 
him  busy — but  not  too  busy  to  put  in  part  of 
his  time  at  his  home  on  Avenue  A,  near  21st 
street,  Scottsbluff,  looking  after  his  young  or- 
chard. 

John  Weast  and  family  went  on  to  Montana  ; 
the  Livingstons  to  Colorado  ;  and  we  know  not 
what  became  of  Harvey  Ransier,  Will  Clampitt, 
the  Calahans,  and  others,  who  in  the  first  years 
went  heavily  after  the  timber  supplies  about 
Big  Horn.  The  Brays  who  bought  and  ac- 
cumulated cattle  have  yet  a  representative  in 
the  county,  Ben  F.  Bray.  In  east  Big  Horn 
came  the  Wyatts  and  J.  B.  Hankinson,  and  in 
west  Big  Horn  settled  Judge  Walters  and  John 
Nail.  The  Dicks  came  and  went  away  soon. 
The  Walters  are  gone,  Nail  is  gone,  Hankinson 
is  dead,  and  the  Wyatts  moved  into  the  Harris- 
burg neighborhood  where  the  children  still  re- 
side. 

The  first  fire  in  Banner  county— outside  of 
prairie  fires — was  when  E.  M.  Cowen's  resi- 
dence at  Freeport  burned  to  the  ground  with 
all  its  contents.  This  occurred  in  June,  1887. 
The  folks  had  little  to  subsist  upon  until  the 
return  of  Mr.  Cowen  from  Sidney.  There  were 
numerous  fish  in  the  creek  and  they  were  easy 
to  catch.  This  was  the  main  source  of  proven- 
der for  a  few  days.   . 

The  first  funeral  was  that  of  Mary  Rose 
at  Livingston  June  25,  1887.  Dicky  Brown  had 
lost  two"  children  who  had  been  buried  near 
Wright's  ranch  at  a  date  prior  to  the  coming 
of  the  grangers.  Mary  Rose  was  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  and  lived  with  the  Livingstons, 
and  often  visited  for  several  days  with  Mrs. 
S.  T.  Robb  at  the  head  of  the  creek,  where  the 
Bay  State  ranch  was  located.  She  was  buried 
at  Livingston  and  her  neglected  grave  is  there 
yet  enclosed  in  barbed  wire. 

The  part  of  Banner  county  in  which  I  landed 
has  some  of  the  old  names  and  people,  while 
many  are  gone.  Geo.  Hendricks  has  drifted 
on,  and  if  living  must  be  about  seventy-five 
years  of  age. 

Take  the  Hackberry  neighborhood.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Sam  Abbott  are  dead.  Frank  Abbott  was 
a  short  time  ago  at  Gering.  E.  M.  and  Frank 
Cowen,  Ed  and  Mel  Denison  and  a  few  others 
reside  in  Scottsbluff.  One  familiar  name  of 
that  old  neighborhood  is  that  of  Muhr.  John 
Muhr  was  among  the  first  grangers — a  pioneer 
also  in  the  temperance  movement.  The  names 
of  J.  L.,  W.  G,  and  W.  A.  Muhr  are  among 


514 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  Banner  county  people  who  grew  up  and 
stayed  with  the  land.  In  Horseshoe  Bend, 
John  McNett  still  holds  bachelor  hall  as  of 
old.  A.  F.  Burnett,  Richard  Skinner,  and  W. 
M.  Wisner,  are  familiar  names  to  old  timers. 

Around  Big  Horn 

When  we  topped  the  hill  to  Big  Horn  val- 
ley in  that  summer  day  of  thirty-five  years  ago, 
there  were  but  few  settlers  there.  Crickbaum 
had  almost  full  sway  in  the  first  section  of  the 
valley,  and  in  the  west  section  Geo.  A.  Cashier 
had  settled.  We  selected  a  timber  claim  ad- 
joining Cashier's,  and  a  pre-emption  cornering 
therewith.  Soon  about  our  places  there  were 
homestead  domiciles :  J.  W.  Thomas,  the  vet- 
eran surveyor;  the  Jensens,  the  Randlemans, 
the  Wisconsin  boys,  Frank  Heinz  and  Joe 
Hammerly,  the  Fryes,  the  Filers,  the  Brays, 
and  Theo.  Johnson  with  his  blacksmith  shop. 

In  the  summer  of  1887,  Nora  Thomas  died 
and  was  buried  on  the  Deaton  hill,  north  of 
Big  Horn.  I  was  suddenly  and  unexpectedly 
called  upon  to  perform  the  last  sad  rites.  I 
quoted  from  Bryant's  "Thanatopsis,"  at  the 
grave.  Nora  Thomas  was  the  daughter  of  the 
veteran  surveyor. 

In  1887,  J.'  S.  Clarkson  offered  a  prize  of 
one  hundred  dollars  for  the  best  five  acres  of 
corn  grown  in  Cheyenne  county  without  irriga- 
tion. John  S.  Wright  of  Pumpkin  Creek  won 
the  prize;  he  raised  fifty  bushels  per  acre.  The 
variety  grown  was  squaw  corn  which  gave  rise 
to  some  argument,  but  there  was  nothing  in  the 
specifications  that  would  bar  any  variety  of 
corn. 

In  1887  the  roundup  passed  my  father's 
homestead  on  Pumpkin  creek  terraces.  It  was 
the  firsti  time  that  our  people  had  seen  thou- 
sands of  cattle  trailing  by  for  hours  and  it  was 
a  marvelous  sight.  In  the  passing  across  the 
country  they  went  over  the  fields  of  the  grang- 
ers, and  naturally  there  was  not  much  crop  left. 
A  settlers  protective  association  was  formed  in 
the  log  school  house  just  built  in  section  33  or 
west  Big  Horn.  It  never  got  very  far,  for 
the  settlers  decided  that  Washington  was  too 
far  away  to  get  effective  action.  After  that 
"slow  elk"  frequently  hung  on  the  ridgepoles 
of  the  settlers.  The  old  and  infirm  were  cared 
for  by  the  stronger  and  more  youthful  people 
of  the  neighborhood.  The  settlers  also  began  to 
look  for  "mavericks"  or  unbranded  stock 
among  the  range  cattle.  The  more  daring  be- 
gan to  take  unbranded  calves  from  their  range 
cow  mothers. 

One  morning  Harry  Fitzsimmons  rode  over 
to  the  house  and  said  someone  had   stolen  a 


heifer  from  his  corral.  The  neighborhood 
turned  out,  and  the  trail  was  struck.  It  was 
easily  followed  to  Wildcat  mountain.  In  the 
black  root  sod  on  this  eminence  it  was  lost. 
Going  down  Helves  canyon,  Mrs.  Helves  de- 
clared that  they  had  passed  that  way  early  in 
the  dawn.     She  was  mistaken. 

Long  years  afterwards  a  letter  came  from 
Texas  telling  how  close  we  were  upon  the  real 
folks  we  were  after.  There  was  a  cabin  that 
looked  deserted  near  which  we  passed  in  the 
canyon  on  the  west  side  of  Wildcat,  and  there 
was  the  heifer  and  the  rustlers.  They  burned 
the  rope  before  we  came  in  view.  These  two 
men  were  good  citizens  as  far  as  the  people 
knew  and  remained  as  such.  After  years  one 
of  them  was  converted  in  Texas  and  he  sent 
the  price  of  the  heifer  to  Fitzsimmons.  I  am 
glad  we  did  not  find  them  then,  for  Harry 
was  mad  enough  to  shoot. 

Will  Kelly's  daughter  was  the  first  child  born 
on  Pumpkin  creek  that  lived  to  maturity.  Bess 
Kelly  grew  up  in  the  present  limits  of  Ban- 
ner county  but  has  since  died.  Ted  Kelly  re- 
sides on  the  old  Kelly  ranch  on  Pumpkin  creek. 

The  Lone  Pine  District 

South  of  the  valley  was  the  Lone  Pine  dis- 
trict. A.  S.  Alexander  opened  a  store  there 
when  the  land  was  young.  Wild  horses  used  to 
browse  on  the  high  tablelands  and  travellers 
could  see  them  from  afar. 

Prominent  among  the  early  names  in  this 
community  were  the  Trowbridges,  the  Mc- 
Latchys,  the  Palms,  the  Johnsons,  the  Larsons, 
and  the  Petersons.  All  these  names  are  still 
in  the  land — decendant  of  the  pioneers  and  in 
rare  cases  the  pioneers  themselves— except  Mc- 
Latchy. 

Palm  was  a  wizard  in  fruit ;  he  had  an  or- 
chard and  worked  at  blending  varieties.  Notic- 
•i)£  the  trees  that  were  hardy  in  this  country, 
lie  sought  to  graft  domestic  fruit  on  some  of 
the  native  stock.  He  was  successful  in  making 
plums  grow  on  boxelder  trees,  but  not  to  a 
commercial  extent. 

J.  T.  Bunger's  was  the  well  known  place  on 
the  south  divide  on  the  road  to  Kimball  from 
Big  Horn  and  Indian  Springs.  Bunger  had  a 
deep  well  and  used  to  haul  the  water  out  of  it 
with  a  team.  There  was  a  barrel  attached  to 
the  rope  and  he  would  bring  up  a  barrel  of 
water  at  a  time 

When  coming  to  western  Nebraska  I  heard 
of  the  depth  to  water  between  Hastings  and 
Seward,  and  in  Keith  county  I  found  a  man 
who  had  just  completed  a  well  140  feet  deep. 
That  scared  me  out  of  the  fine  tableland  coun- 
trv  that  is  now  Perkins  countv.    The  fine  table- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


515 


lands  north  of  Sidney  and  in  south  Banner 
county  were  no  doubt  passed  over  by  dozens 
and  hundreds  of  people  on  account  of  the 
depth  to  water.  But  that  question  has  later 
been  solved. 


Nels  Christianson,  now  living  in  Mitchell  val- 
ley, has  dug  a  mile  of  deep  wells  if  they  were 
placed  end  on  end.  His  pick  and  shovel  are  a 
part  of  the  collection  of  the  state  historical 
society  at  Lincoln. 


CHAPTER  II 
BEAUTIFUL  SCENERY— TRAGEDIES— RANCHES  AND  SCHOOLS 


One  of  the  most  inspiring  bits  of  scenery  is 
on  the  road  from  Bunger's  place  to  Indian 
Springs.  As  the  road  formerly  ran,  one  ap- 
proached the  hills  from  the  long  hot  trip  over 
the  divide  near  the  east  side  of  Indian  Springs 
draw.  A  few  pine  trees  attracted  the  eye  to 
the  west  and  northwest,  then  suddenly  there 
would  appear  a  grand  vista  of  Big  Horn  can- 
yon. The  approach  was  just  at  the  head  of  an 
abrupt  canyon  where  there  is  a  spring,  about 
half  a  mile  south  of  Table  mountain.  The 
longer  one  looked,  the  more  it  inspired ;  first 
the  close-at-hand  view,  and  then  farther  away 
across  the  wide  valley  of  the  Pumpkin,  were 


"Lover's  Leap" 

the  castle  walls  of  Kane's  point;  and  to  the 
northwest  the  mile  high  Wildcat  and  Hogback 
mountains  towered. 

I  am  not  surprised  that  the  Indians  liked 
Indian  Springs.  I  am  not  surprised  that  the 
two  trails  that  led  away  across  the  valley  led 
to  Wildcat  and  to  Kane's  point.  For  at  the  dis- 
tance these  two  held  aloft  their  primitive  and 
wilderness  grandeur,  inviting  to  the  nature  lov- 
ing instinct  in  mankind. 

From  Indian  Springs  westward  there  is  a 
low  range  of  hills,  in  which  I  killed  the  only 
deer  that  ever  fell  from  my  gun.  At  the  foot 
of  these  hills  were  I.  L.  Yoey,  H.  P.  Hinds, 
Will   S.   McKee,  and  Levi   Schooley  in  those 


first  years.  Later  the  Fadens  and  Grant  Brady 
ran  their  thousands  of  sheep  on  this  range.  J. 
S.  Emerson's  ranch  occupies  part  of  this  acre- 
age at  the  present  time. 

Nature  gave  Banner  county  the  significant 
distinction  of  having  within  its  borders  several 
features  of  geological  interest.  Evidence  points 
out  that  Horse  creek  formerly  flowed  south 
of  Sixty-six  mountain  and  down  the  valley  of 
the  Pumpkin.  The  wind  drift  of  ages  swept 
over  and  buried  it  in  the  west  end  of  the 
county,  but  the  flow  of  much  of  its  water  is 
through  the  sands  and  subterranean  channels 
of  the  Pumpkin  valley  to  this  day. 

Wildcat  and  Hogback  mountains  are  the 
two  highest  mountain  peaks  in  the  state  of 
Nebraska,  being  5038  and  5082  feet  above  the 
sea  respectively.  Hon.  W.  W.  Cox  made  a 
trip  through  here  in  the  early  years  and  re- 
marked:  "What,  a  mountain  in  Nebraska? 
It  surely  is,  and  it  sure  is  a  daisy." 

The  Flowerfield  Swell  is  the  highest  land  in 
the  state  of  Nebraska.  Near  the  head  of  Bull 
Canyon  on  the  Wyoming  line  is  the  only  place 
in  the  state  that  can  be  said  to  be  a  mile  above 
the  sea.  Should  the  commonwealth  evenly 
sink  a  mile  the  entire  state  would  be  under 
water  except  a  small  area  on  the  Flowerfield 
swell. 

So  far  as  has  been  shown,  the  Mastodon  was 
the  first  settler  in  the  valley  of  the  Pumpkin; 
and  that  was  when  the  surface  of  that  part 
of  the  world  was  many  feet  below  its  present 
level.  In  the  well  being  put  down  on  the  home- 
stead of  S.  B.  Shumway,  at  a  depth  of  sixty- 
four  feet,  the  remains  of  one  of  these 
primitive  monsters  was  encountered.  How 
much  of  it  is  there  no  one  knows,  but  it  is 
certain  that  we  removed  a  part  of  the  upper 
jaw  containing  two  back  teeth.  These  grinders 
weighed  about  eight  pounds  each,  and  were 
eight  inches  long  by  four  in  width  on  the  grind- 


516 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ing  surface.  In  sand  that  showed  every  indi- 
cation of  caving,  the  hazard  was  too  precarious 
to  undertake  to  remove  any  more  of  the  pre- 
historic mammoth. 

Owing  to   deep   water    on    the    divides    the 
homestead  settlements  were  first  in  the  valleys 


"Twin  Sisters"  Rock 

and  the  first  claims  on  the  divide  were  tree 
claims.  Among  the  first  to  homestead  on  the 
Sidney  tableland  were  the  Raymond  brothers. 
It  was  twelve  miles  north  and  a  little  east  of 
Sidney.  Downer,  Teeter  and  Company  owned 
a  well  outfit,  and  they  were  employed  to  put 
down  a  well.  Jack  McCutchin,  now  ( 1920)  of 
Wheatland,  Wyoming,  had  charge.  The  well 
was  220  feet  deep,  and  furnished  abundant 
water  for  the  whole  neighborhood  for  many 
years.    It  is  still  in  use. 

Nels  Christenson,  heretofore  mentioned  as 
having  dug  a  mile  of  deep  wells,  was  down  280 
feet  digging  in  the  well  of  Andrew  Liden, 
which  was  twelve  miles  north  of  Potter,  in 
1890.  The  well  was  a  hole  about  two  feet  and 
ten  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  bucket  was  six- 
teen inches  square,  and  weighed  when  full 
about  300  pounds.  When  at  the  top  of  the 
well,  it  was  detached,  and  accidently  allowed 
to  fall  back  in.  A  shout  from  above  warned 
Christenson  who  "flattened  himself"  against 
the  side  of  the  well  and  held  up  his  hands  to 
ward  off  the  blow.  The  bucket  skinned  his 
knuckles,  tore  the  shirt  and  skin  from  his 
breast  and  landed  just  in  front,  on  the  bottom 
of  the  well.  A  day  or  two  later  he  was  at 
work,  and  finished  the  well  in  due  time. 

In  the  southwest  part  of  Banner  county,  and 
the  northwest  part  of  Kimball  county,  there 
were  two  well  fatalities  in  the  deep  wells  of 
that   vicinity.      About   six   miles   east   oi    the 


southwest  corner  of  the  county,  a  fellow  named 
Morby  was  buried  at  a  depth  of  about  two 
hundred  feet,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  "nearest 
of  kin"  he  was  not  exhumed. 

Just  over  the  line  in  Kimball  county,  a  man 
named  Peterson  was  buried,  and  after  one  or 
two  attempts  were  made  to  get  the  body  out, 
they  came  to  Robert  Osborne  who  had  had 
experience  in  the  mines.  He  said  he  could  get 
to  the  body  but  someone  else  would  have  to 
take  it  out.  When  he  reached  it,  he  was  hauled 
up,  and  another  man  went  down  and  removed 
the  body.  Peterson  had  been  in  for  six 
weeks,  and  was  in  a  bad  state  of  decomposi- 
tion. The  body  was  crouching  in  a  half  erect 
position  under  some  of  the  caved-in  curbing, 
but  it  is  probable  that  death  had  been  practic- 
ally instantaneous. 

While  on  the  subject  of  tragedy,  we  here 
relate  the  story  of  the  murder  that  occurred  in 
the  upper  end  of  the  valley,  about  four  miles 
south  of  Hull.  Four  people — three  men  and 
one  woman — selected  four  claims,  and  built 
one  house  so  that  one  of  each  of  its  four  cor- 
ners would  be  upon  a  claim ;  thereby  four  beds, 
one  in  each  corner,  would  occupy  separate 
homesteads.  The  people  were  Mrs.  Yost  and 
her  son,  and  the  others  named  Thompson  and 
Rogers.     Young  Yost  and  Rogers  were  about 


Smoke  Stack  Rock 

twenty-five  years  old,  and  Thompson  thirty- 
five  or  forty.  The  "boys"  sometimes  worked 
out,  or  were  getting  out  house  logs  from  Bull 
canyon;  for  each  had  planned  his  individual 
home  as  soon  as  he  could  get  around  to  build- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


517 


ing  it.  Thompson  was  supposed  to  put  in  his 
time  in  improving  the  several  claims. 

Rogers  came  home  one  day  from  accumulat- 
ing a  grub  stake,  and  complained  that  Thomp- 
son was  not  doing  his  share ;  that  he  Was  put- 
ting in  too  much  time  trying  to  win  the  favor 
of  Widow  Yost,  and  not  enough  on  the  work 
at  hand.  Rogers  and  Thompson  had  a  fight, 
and  Rogers  went  to  the  far  corner  of  his  claim 
and  started  a  dugout.  Thompson  went  to 
Frank  Beer's  store,  then  a  little  south  of  Eagle 
Nest,  and  bought  a  gun.  He  then  went  to  Bull 
canyon  where  young  Yost  was  hewing  house 
logs,  and  told  him  of  the  trouble.  The  inti- 
mated slander  of  his  mother  made  young  Yost 
mad,  and  he  borrowed  Thompson's  gun  and 
started  straight  for  Rogers.  In  a  battle  that 
followed,  Yost  was  shot  through  the  arm,  and 
Rogers  through  the  leg.  The  latter  wound 
healed  over,  but  internally  began  to  mortify. 
Seventeen  days  after  the  shooting  Dr.  Markley, 
of  Kimball,  dressed  the  wound,  but  it  was  too 
late.  Rogers  died  January  16,  1887,  or  just 
thirty  days  after  the  fight.  A  younger  brother 
came  from  Belgrade,  Maine,  and  the  body 
was  taken  there  for  burial.  The  body  had  been 
laid  out  at  Joe  Menard's  place,  and  he,  with 
Sherm.  Bookwalter,  and  Melt.  Hill,  and  Bo- 
gardus  Blade,  kept  watch  while  T.  D.  Deutsch 
went  to  Kimball  to  meet  young  Rogers.  They 
were  somewhat  confused  in  a  snowstorm,  and 
when  they  saw  the  Menard  light,  and  drove  up 
to  the  very  door,  the  place  did  not  look  natural. 

When  the  body  reached  Kimball,  Doctor 
Field,  and  County  Attorney  Rielly  were  on 
hand,  and  inquest  was  held  in  Ham  Lilly's 
barn.  Mrs.  Yost  and  her  son  and  Thompson 
were  arrested  and  lodged  in  the  Sidney  jail. 

The  father  of  young  Yost,  and  the  former 
husband  of  the  widow,  came  out  to  look  after 
the  defense  for  the  boy.  As  he  was  the  one 
who  did  the  shooting,  he  was  the  one  against 
whom  the  prosecution  directed  its  energy.  Mrs. 
Yost  and  Thompson  both  testified  as  to  young 
Rogers  conduct,  and  as  to  what  he  had  said. 
The  boy  was  justified,  according  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  time,  and  the  others  were  likewise 
released  in  June  of  that  year. 

All  parties  faded  out  of  the  ken  of  Banner 
county,  and  the  claims  were  later  entered  by 
the  MisKimmons  family ;  thus  the  land  first  in- 
volved in  tragedy,  became  devoted  to  the  arts 
of  peace  and  dedicated  to  the  altar  of  home. 

Other  Tragedies  of  Old 

Two  other  tragedies  have  their  interest  to 
old  timers  on  Pumpkin  creek  aside  from  the 
Rogers  murder  elsewhere  chronicled. 


Dave  Shaw  was  a  horse  rustler  in  the  vicinity 
of  Camp  Clarke  temporarily  and  a  posse  were 
out  after  him.  In  the  east  edge  of  Banner 
county  territory  they  had  a  brush  with  him, 
and  Rufus  Brott,  a  saloon  man  from  Camp 
Clarke,  was  killed.  The  rustler  escaped  for  the 
time  being,  but  was  later  apprehended  and 
brought  before  the  bar  of  justice  by  George 
Laing. 

The  east  end  and  the  west  end  of  the  county 
being  fully  identified  and  baptised  in  the  homi- 
cidal blood  of  men  it  was  fitting  that  the  cen- 
tral part  should  share  in  a  Cain  and  Abel  epi- 
sode. Jim  Walters  who  resided  at  Ashf  ord  had 
some  kind  of  a  difficulty  with  Lewis  F.  Ender- 
ly, a  merchant  at  Harrisburg.  We  do  not  know 
the  nature  of  their  trouble  but  it  became  acute. 
One  day  Jim  was  in  Enderly's  store  at  Harris- 
burg, and  was  leaning  upon  the  show  case, 
when  a  friend  came  in  and  said,  "Jim,  you 
ready  to  go  home?"  Walters  straightened  up, 
and  as  he  did  so  his  elbow  went  through  the 
glass  with  a  crash.  Enderly,  a  nervous  man 
under  any  circumstances,  grabbed  a  shotgun 
and  fired  with  fatal  effect.  He  testified  that 
Jim  had  threatened  him  and  he  thought  Wal- 
ters was  pulling  his  gun.  The  case  never  went 
beyond  the  justice  court.  Enderly  died  two 
years  later  of  softening  of  the  brain,  probably 
accentuated  by  this  tragedy. 

The  west  end  of  the  county  was  settling 
fast.  Here  we  found  the  Hamptons,  the  War- 
ners, the  MisKimmons,  the  Noyes,  A.  B.  Hull, 
T.  W.  Rockafield,  the  Spears,  and  the  Spahr 
family,  the  Dunns,  the  Cards,  and  McComseys, 
in  the  Hull  neighborhood ;  and  the  Riders  a 
little  farther  south.  W.  W.  Everett  was  on  Wil- 
low creek,  and  G.  A.  and  John  Snook  were  on 
Pumpkin  creek  below  the  Bay  State  ranch. 
Uzell  Snook  on  Wildcat  mountain  is  the  son  of 
G.  A.  Snook.  The  names  of  Bert  Warner,  W. 
W.  Warner,  Rolla  Warner,  Arthur  Warner, 
Dunn  brothers,  W.  C.  Spahr,  and  C.  W.  Rider, 
sound  like  voices  from  home,  to  the  old  timers. 

Around  Ashford  there  are  a  group  of  like- 
wise interesting  names  that  hark  back  into  the 
primitive  years.  The  Howards,  the  Masons, 
the  Stauffers,  the  Shaftos,  the  Walters,  and  the 
Olsons,  the  Andersons,  Chris  Pfiefer,  the 
Shauls.  Leonidas  Leach  brought  into  the  coun- 
ty some  of  the  finest  Morgan  horses  ever  seen 
in  this  section.  Emma  Leach,  now  of  Long 
Beach,  California,  planted  the  trees  that  top 
the  hill  south  of  the  old  Ashford  townsite.  To 
the  east  of  this  road  will  be  seen  the  grove, 
down  on  the  flat,  that  was  planted  by  William 
Ashford.  A  little  farther  south  will  be  seen 
the  Stauffer  orchard.    Daniel  Stauffer  was  firm 


518 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


in  his  faith,  and  that  faith  his  son,  F.  F.  Stauf- 
fer,  has  shared.  The  result  is  acres  of  cher- 
ries. F.  U.  and  Geo.  Streeks  are  still  on  Pump- 
kin creek  looking  after  the  Airdale  ranch,  and 
Theo.  Johnson  is  upon  and  owns  the  Sunderling 
place  and  a  lot  of  adjacent  lands.  The  Beattys 
have  gone  to  Scottsbluff  and  prospered. 

Around  Harrisburg  we  find  the  names  of 
the  Cross  family,  the  Jones,  Earl  and  Geo.  A  , 
Mark  H.  Crosby,  the"  Downers,  Stauffers,  the 
Grubbs,  the  Kellys,  the  Langmaids,  the  Dubbs, 
the  Snyders,  Lars  Olson,  and  others. 

Over  on  the  southwest  table  are  the  McKin- 
nons,  the  Cox  family,  the  VanPelts,  Cvrus, 
William,  and  Mrs.  T.  U.  All  old  timers  re- 
member Tom  VanPelt  for  the  good  citizen 
that  he  was.  Others  prominent  in  the  neigh- 
borhood for  the  material  and  civic  progress  of 
the  high  tableland  are:  John  Patton,  Geo. 
Schindler,  and  the  Thomases,  the  Zorns,  John 
V.  Broadhead.  Over  in  the  Gabe  Rock  country 
J.  W.  Hoke  formerly  resided,  and  while  he 
went  to  Colorado,  one  of  his  sons  resides  in 
the  vicinity  of  Sixty-six  mountain.  Rolland 
Bigsby  carries  on  the  family  name,  and  Johnn'e 
Wynne,  Rolla  Alanbaugh,  Gust  Pearson  Wil- 
son Mitchell,  Earl  Harvey,  and  Roy  D.  Wilson 
each  carries  forward  the  spirit  of  enterprise 
that  brought  their  ancestry  into  the  west.  Shed- 
rick  Peterson,  Klaus  E.  Peterson,  and  Frank 
Peterson  are  among  the  well  known  Banner 
county  people,  while  no  less  distinguished  we 
find  many  other  names.  Ed  Heintz,  Felix  Wilk- 
inson, Mrs.  L.  A.  Green,  Mrs.  S.  N.  Larson, 
Geo.  W.  Leafdale,  Lars  J.  Hendrickson,  Mrs. 
John  Jensen,  H.  I.  Miller,  F.  W.  Schumaker, 
Charles  V.  Webber,  L.  M.  Hopkins,  W.  H. 
McComber,  Ewing  Barrett,  Thos.  C.  Barkell 
and  A.  H.  Heiman,  each  have  contributed  their 
part  in  the  upbuilding  of  community  and  its 
spirit  in  the  parts  of  the  county  in  which  they 
respectively  abide.  In  the  northwest  portion 
Jesse  O.  Ammerman  and  Edward  J.  Whipple 
retain  the  names  of  olden  times  as  beacons  of 
what  can  be  done  by  young  people.  On  Wild- 
cat W.  W.  Henderson  has  come  at  a  later  date. 
The  editor  well  remembers  the  Bolin  Spear  for 
the  high  moral  standard  he  never  failed  to  hold 
aloft  and  the  name  of  Sarah  M.  Spear  is  one 
I  notice  in  the  later  chronicles. 

Banner  county  is  one  of  the  two  counties  in 
the  state  that  has  dropped  in  population  in  the 
last  ten  years.  From  that  enormous  vote  cast 
at  the  county  division  election  the  population 
dropped  back  until  in  1900  the  census  shows 
but  1114  people.  In  1910  there  were  1444.  In 
1920  but  1435.  The  area  of  the  county  is  743 
square  miles  which  gives  a  population  of  less 


than  two  for  each  section  of  land  in  the  county. 
This  is  principally  rural  population.  But  natur- 
ally the  land  must  be  in  large  holdings  and  some 
of  the  largest  are  those  of  Lars  Olson  of  Har- 
risburg,  and  A.  H.  Olson  of  Ashford.  John 
Kelly,  Hope  Brown  estate,  Joe  Duckworth,  and 
W.  W.  Henderson,  Rolla  Warner,  the  Harveys, 
the  Noyes  family,  A.  B.  Beard  and  Millard 
Cluck  are  some  of  the  big  present  acreage  in 
individual  ownership.  Thos.  W.  G.  Cox,  Cyrus 
Van  Pelt,  E.  J.  McKinnon  and  many  others 
are  surrounded  by  great  stretching  acres  ac- 
cumulated in  the  years  of  intelligent  dry  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising. 

The  Largest  Ranch 

The  largest  ranch  in  Banner  county  is  called 
the  Airdale.  It  has  taken  long  years  to  build 
it  to  its  present  proportions  and  perfection. 
Harry  Eggleston  and  Philo  Mann  were  the  first 
in  management  and  the  ownership  was  largely 
on  T.  C.  Eggleston.  After  Harry  went  back  east 
and  Mann  died,  Trowbridge  C.  Eggleston  him- 
self came  and  developed  the  ranch  with  marked 
energy  and  ability.  It  is  now  owned  by  the 
Airdale  Ranch  Company  and  is  one  of  the  best 
appointed  and  well  balanced  ranches  in  the 
west.  Ed.  Ried,  W.  H.  Ferguson,  C.  N. 
Wright  and  Del  Skinner  are  the  heavy  stock- 
holders and  the  extensive  hay  meadows  are 
now  being  taken  care  of  by  Fred  U.  Anderson 
and  Geo.  Streeks. 

Subterranean  Waters 

Many  efforts  have  been  made  to  raise  the 
subterranean  waters  to  do  surface  service.  The 
cowboys  used  to  pile  rocks  in  the  creek  to 
raise  the  water  table  so  that  the  moisture  would 
percolate  back  into  the  adjoining  land  and  feed 
the  grass  roots.  In  the  dry  years  of  the  nine- 
ties many  dreamed  of  methods  of  raising 
water  that  was  known  to  exist  but  a  few  feet 
below  the  earth's  surface  in  extensive  sheets. 
It  remained  fc"  A.  E.  Scott  to  sink  a  concrete 
wall  to  the  bed  rock  across  Pumpkin  creek, 
intercepting  the  underflow  and  bringing  it  to 
the  surface  and  applying  it  to  beneficial  use. 
His  plant  was  one  of  the  most  successful  of 
its  kind  that  it  has  been  the  privilege  of  the 
historian  to  examine.  It  is  now  owned  by 
Dr.  Simon  of  Sidney. 

Those  Early  Builders 
The  building  of  the  first  rude  domiciles  and 
later  the  extension  of  such  building  as  the 
pioneers  could  afford  by  the  expenditure  of 
either  time  or  money;  the  furnishing  of  these 
homes  and  all  the  other  works  of  breaking  out 
or  fencing  the  land  are  stories  of  similar  cir- 
cumstances to  nearly  all. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


519 


After  building  Hendrick's  cabin  in  Hack- 
berry  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  build  on  my 
pre-emption.  At  its  north  end  there  was  a 
little  spring  which  we  cleaned  out  as  we  did 
the  spring  at  Hackberry.  Then  in  the  bank 
of  the  small  arroyo  we  excavated  the  "house"' 
about  eight  by  twelve  feet.  In  front  we  put 
up  cedar  posts  and  covered  the  top  with  posts, 
cedar  boughs  and  dirt.  Later  I  boarded  the 
room  up  from  the  bottom  about  four  feet  and 
used  common  shiplap  lumber  for  a  floor.  The 
balance  of  the  walls  and  the  ceiling  were  cov- 
ered with  muslin.  The  front  was  of  shiplap 
with  a  board  door  and  one  window  of  four  8x10 
glass.  The  furniture  consisted  of  a  bed  built 
across  the  back  part  of  the  room,  a  sheet  iron 
stove  of  small  camping  dimensions,  a  cracker 
box  that  served  both  as  cupboard  and  table  and 
the  bed  with  one  nail  keg  served  as  chairs. 

The  stable  was  also  a  dugout  and  we  dug 
off  a  pathway  so  that  we  could  easily  descend 
from  the  mesa  above  to  the  door  of  our  cabin 
and  to  the  stable.  This  was  my  first  claim 
home  and  we  lived  there  —  Hendricks  and  I — 
part  of  the  time  and  part  of  the  time  in  Hack- 
berry. 

We  bought  a  team  of  pintail  old  age  bronchos 
of  Harvey  Ransier  with  harness  and  wagon 
and  were  to  pay  for  them  in  getting  out  one 
hundred  houselogs  and  I  don't  know  how  many 
posts.  We  had  no  money — the  grubstake  we 
had  raised  at  Sidney  was  less  than  twenty 
dollars.  We  had  worked  six  days  at  $1.75  per 
day  each  and  paid  out  for  our  board  so  together 
we  had  about  eighteen  dollars  to  buy  our  axes, 
shovel,  pick,  and  winter's  provender  as  far  as 
it  would  go. 

As  my  father  had  determined  to  follow  into 
the  west  we  got  out  a  set  of  houselogs  for  him 
and  erected  a  house  1Sx28  with  a  board  roof. 
After  that  I  made  me  a  new  log  house  for  my 
homestead  claim  16x26  and  a  story  and  a  half 
high.  It  was  floored,  roofed  and  finished  with 
native  lumber  which  I  had  myself  taken  from 
the  hills  and  had  reduced  to  lumber  at  the  old 
Ben  Cross  sawmill. 

In  those  days  it  did  not  seem  to  me  that  we 
worked  very  hard.  We  seemed  to  have  plenty  of 
time  for  visiting,  exploring  and  re-creation,  yet 
when  we  sum  up  the  quantity  of  work  that  was 
accomplished  in  the  time  that  we  had  to  do  it 
we  must  have  worked  like  Trojans  of  old.  We 


must  have  been  full  of  the  "Fires  of  Youth," 
a  vitality  of  which  the  young  are  possessed  but 
wholly  unconscious  of  its  existence.  The  hard- 
est labor  of  all  were  the  trips  to  Sidney  for 
lumber  which  took  three  days  to  the  trip. 

The  above  experiences  are  similar  to  those 
of  hundreds  of  others  in  Banner  county.  Those 
who  came  with  some  money  and  built  better 
than  others  were  soon  reduced  to  the  same  rank 
as'the  rest  of  us.  The  hard  times  of  the  early 
nineties  was  the  great  leveller  —  all  the  west 
went  broke. 

Banner  County  Schools 

There  are  few  of  us  who  have  not  at  one  time 
or  another  served  on  the  school  board  of  the 
home  district — my  experience  was  in  the  Cash- 
ier district  or  No.  33 — and  few  who  have  not 
at  one  time  or  another  taught  a  district  school 
• — my  experience  in  this  was  in  the  soddy  school 
house  in  the  "V"  district.  The  early  salaries 
paid  teachers  were  not  high,  ranging  from  $22 
a  month  to  $30  per  month  but  the  schools  I 
venture  were  as  well  taught  as  they  are  today 
when  vou  consider  the  equipment  with  wrhich 


Early  Schoolhouse 

we  had  to  operate.  We  taught  the  foundation 
studies  and  when  one  wanted  "domestic 
science"  she  helped  her  mother  at  the  kitchen 
stove ;  in  "scientific  agriculture"  we  went  into 
the  fields.  "Dry  farming"  was  learned  by  ex- 
perience and  none  of  the  old  timers  had  time 
or  money  to  take  a  course  in  the  "Campbell 
system." 

In  addition  to  the  district  schools  of  the 
county  there  is  a  County  High  School  at  Har- 
risburg,  in  which  the  higher  grades  are  taught. 


520 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  III 


HOW  THE  COUNTY  BEGAN— EARLY  OFFICERS 


In  the  middle  eighties  Cheyenne  county  was 
filling  up  with  grangers.  Seven  counties  are 
now  embraced  in  the  territory  that  was  then 
one.  The  county  division  agitation  began  in 
1887  and  was  originated  by  the  towns  along  the 
railroad.  Kimball  and  Chappell  each  had  am- 
bitions to  become  county  seat  towns,  and  they 
each  wanted  all  the  territory  north  to  be  trib- 
utary to  them  in  matters  administrative  and 
judicial  as  well  as  commercially.  This  was  not 
satisfactory  to  the  people  off  the  railroad, 
with  the  result  that  the  proposed  lines  of  di- 
vision were  rejected  by  the  people.  Next  year, 
or  in  1888,  the  five  county  proposal  was  sub- 
mitted which  was  carried  in  all  parts  of  the 
old  county  including  Sidney,  which  had  prev- 
iously opposed  any  form  of  division. 

Banner  county  territory  then  had  2,721  votes 
— the  largest  in  its  history — indicating  a  popu- 
lation of  8,000.  2,064  votes  were  cast  for  di- 
vision and  657  against ;  more  than  three  to  one. 
Theo.  Menges  and  George  Moyer  were  leaders 
for  division  at  Kimball,  in  both  elections,  but 
within  a  short  time  after  Kimball  became  a 
county  seat  both  of  these  agitators  went  to 
other  fields. 

There  was  an  effort  to  make  two  counties 
on  Pumpkin  creek  which  would  center  near 
Freeport  and  Banner.  E.  M.  Cowen  headed 
the  Freeport  delegation  to  Kimball  convention, 
and  Robinson  &  Wells  took  active  part  for  the 
Banner  crowd.  Banner  was  near  the  head  of 
the  creek.  In  the  resolutions  committee  they 
won  out,  and  on  the  floor  of  the  convention, 
John  Adams  successfully  threw  his  support  to 
a  minority  report  that  was  brought  in  by  the 
delegates  from  the  central  part  of  the  territory 
now  in  Banner  county. 

Wright's  Precinct 
At  the  convention  that  was  held  in  Wright's 
precinct  to  elect  delegates  to  go  to  Kimball, 
there  was  some  discussion  as  to  the  name  for 
the  proposed  new  county.  Some  proposed 
"Wright"  in  honor  of  the  early  ranchman.  J. 
B.  Hankinson  proposed  it  be  named  "Freling- 
heuson"  and  other  names  were  proposed.  I 
was  one  to  consult  with  delegates  from  Ban- 
ner and  Ashford.  We  met  at  the  latter  place 
and  H.  L.  Wells,  S.  M.  Smith,  and  the  his- 
torian were  appointed  a  committee  to  agree 
upon  a  name.  We  not  only  selected  the  name 
"Banner  county,"  but  we  proposed  the  design 
for  the  county  seal  which  was  later  adopted 


by  the  commissioners,  and  is  the  present  seal 
of  the  county.  In  the  circle  will  be  found  a 
banner,  and  across  its  face  is  a  line  indicating 
the  stream  that  traverses  the  county  from  west 
to  east.  In  the  center  of  the  banner  is  shown  a 
pumpkin ;  thus  stamping  Banner  county  and 
Pumpkin  creek  upon  every  official  document 
from  the  county  record. 

Immediately  after  it  became  known  that  the 
new  county  was  to  be  a  fact,  the  politicians 
and  statesmen  became  very  busy.  There  in- 
stantaneously appeared  four  aspirants  for  coun- 
ty-seat honors  ;  namely  Ashford,  Banner,  Free- 
port,  and  Harrisburg.  A  convention  was  call- 
ed to  meet  in  Harrisburg  to  nominate  a  county 
ticket. 

Those  not  successful  in  their  ambitions,  and 
others  not  present,  decided  that  this  conven- 
tion did  not  properly  represent  the  voice  of 
the  people  and  another  convention  met  at  Ash- 
ford a  short  time  afterwards.  There  were  two 
of  the  Harrisburg  ticket  that  met  favor  at 
Ashford.  Clara  Shumway  for  superintendent, 
and  W.  W.  Renfrow  for  sheriff,  were  on  both 
tickets.  The  result  of  the  election  showed  that 
some  of  the  others  were  practically  unopposed, 
but  the  fight  was  on  commissioner  and  attorney. 
In  the  first  district,  E.  M.  Cowen  defeated  A. 
L.  Deaton  for  commissioner ;  Ira  Paver  and  G. 
W.  Rockafield  being  the  other  two  commis- 
sioners elect.  A.  H.  Dunlavy  and  W.  R. 
Hampton  contested  honors  for  attorney,  and 
Dunlavy  won.  The  other  first  county  offi- 
cers were:  J.  E.  Logan,  clerk;  Cyrus  Van 
Pelt,  treasurer;  Henry  Walters,  judge;  W.  W. 
Renfrow  for  sheriff  and  Clara  Shumway  for 
superintendent  as  aforesaid. 

The  county  was  organized  on  January  29, 
1889,  and  Ashford  was  chosen  the  temporary 
county  seat  by  the  commissioners.  An  election 
was  called  to  locate  the  seat  of  county  govern- 
ment permanently,  and  at  the  first  election 
Banner  was  eliminated.  Another  election  re- 
sulted in  the  selection  of  Harrisburg,  for  Free- 
port  went  over  in  a  body  for  that  point  quite 
to  the  surprise  and  chagrin  of  Ashford. 

What  was  considered  one  of  the  shrewd 
political  moves  of  the  time  was  when  a  meet- 
ing was  being  held  to  determine  the  basis  of 
representation  for  a  coming  convention.  M, 
E.  Shafto  proposed  that  it  be  on  the  basis  of 
one  delegate  for  each  fifteen  votes  or  major 
fraction  thereof,  cast  at  the  last  election.  This 
was  adopted,  and  when  the  vote  was  appor- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


521 


tioned  it  was  found  that  Long  Springs  pre- 
cinct (containing  Harrisburg)  had  cast  82 
votes  and  Ash  ford  83.  This  one  vote  for  Ash- 
ford  gave  that  precinct  one  additional  delegate 
and  the  balance  of  power  in  the  convention 
that  followed.  It  was  a  long  time  before  the 
politicians  of  Harrisburg  could  forgive  or  for- 
get Shafto. 

The  following  is  the  official  history  of  the 
county  from  the  beginning:  clerks,  J.  E. 
Logan  who  served  two  terms ;  J.  W.  Hoke  fol- 
lowed serving  two  terms,  after  which  M.  E. 
Shafto  served  two  terms.  J.  W.  Hoke  was 
then  returned  for  two  more  terms.  Murdoch 
McLeod  followed  and  he  was  succeeded  by  A. 
J.  Shumway.  In  September,  1905,  Shumway 
removed  to  Scottsbluff.  He  resigned  and  C.  S. 
Page  was  appointed.  Dr.  Page  served  for 
nearly  fourteen  years,  retiring  in  January,  1919. 
R.  D.  Wilson  then  assumed  the  duties  of  the 
office  and  was  re-elected  at  the  last  election. 

Treasurers:  Cyrus  VanPelt  was  the  first 
treasurer  and  served  two  terms.  VanPelt  has 
no  hands,  both  being  lost  in  an  accident  when 
quite  young,  but  he  is  a  good  scrivener  and  ac- 
countant. He  holds  the  stock  of  the  pen  be- 
tween his  wrists  and  writes  with  free  arm 
movement.  Years  of  practice  made  it  easy  for 
him  to  pull  loose  change  from  his  pocket  with 
his  stub  of  an  arm,  and  as  easy  to  return  to 
that  receptacle  moneys  that  he  wished  to  so  de- 
posit. Byron  VanVleet  followed  VanPelt,  for 
one  term,  and  then  came  H.  L.  Graves.  Owing 
to  difficulties  in  his  accounts  he  resigned  in 
November.  1896,  and  A.  E.  Scott  was  ap- 
pointed. Scott  was  re-elected,  after  which  J. 
M.  Wilson  served  two  terms.  John  E.  Wyatt 
then  was  treasurer  for  four  years  after  which 
Wilson  was  returned  to  the  office,  the  only 
treasurer  having  that  signal  honor.  From  Jan- 
uary, 1910,  J.  W.  Hill  served  two  terms,  and 
then  J.  B.  Heintz  followed  for  two  terms  or 
five  years,  the  biennial  election  law  giving  him 
one  year  additional  to  the  regular  term.  J.  E. 
Schindler  assumed  the  office  in  1919  and  was 
re-elected  at  the  last  election. 

Judges :  Henry  Walters  was  the  first  coun- 
ty judge.  In  1890,  J.  B.  Hankinson  was  elected 
serving  one  term.  S.  B.  Shumway  then  served 
for  two  years,  and  A.  H.  Dunlavy  followed  for 
one  term.  Levi  Schooley  then  served  a-  term 
after  which  H.  P.  Hinds  served  two  terms 
thereby  breaking  the  record.  Schooley  was 
then  returned  for  another  term  after  which  J. 
W.  Hoke  served  one  term  and  was  re-elected. 
He  resigned  in  July,  1907,  after  which  M.  E 
Shafto  was  appointed.  Shafto  was  twice  re- 
elected and  then  S.  E.  Cross  served  three  years. 


Shafto  was  returned  to  the  office  in  1915  and 
being  re-elected  at  the  last  election  his  present 
term  will  make  about  fifteen  years  service  as 
judge  with  the  last  ten  years  uninterrupted. 
Adding  to  this  his  four  years  as  clerk,  M.  E. 
Shafto  is  easily  the  Dean  of  Banner  county  offi- 
cial life. 

Superintendents :  Beginning  with  the  elec- 
tion of  Clara  Shumway  as  county  superintend- 
ent in  1889,  and  her  re-election  in  1890,  the 
schools  of  Banner  county  have  been  well  looked 
after  for  the  more  than  thirty  years.  The  rec- 
ord shows  the  first  teacher's  certificate  was  is- 
sued to  Gertrude  Ashford.  Following,  Ella 
Freeman  served  one  term  as  superintendent  and 
Jones  M.  Clapp  one  term.  Grant  Allen  as- 
sumed the  office  in  1896,  but  resigned  in  Aug- 
ust, 1897.  A.  S.  Alexander  then  served  until 
1899,  when  E.  F.  Barfoot  assumed  the  office 
for  a  year.  Mrs.  W.  E.  Heard  was  then 
chosen,  and  re-chosen  two  years  later,  after 
which  Mrs.  Mamie  Faden  was  superintendent 
for  two  years.  Jessie  Barfoot  then  began  her 
four  year  period  after  which  M.  M.  Belain 
served  for  five  years.  Minnie  Larson  then  was 
at  the  head  of  the  county  education  for  four 
years,  followed  by  one  term  by  Fred  Johnson. 
At  the  last  election  J.  H.  Macauley  was  elected 
and  is  serving  at  the  present  time. 

Sheriffs :  Ten  different  men  have  served  as 
sheriff  of  Banner  county  beginning  with  W.  W. 
Renfrow.  David  W.  McKee  followed,  after 
which  Vance  Cross  broke  the  record  by  a  ser- 
vice of  four  years.  David  Muldrew  then  serv- 
ed one  term,  and  he  was  followed  by  John  R. 
Kelly.  F.  E.  Woodard  then  followed  and  he 
was  succeeded  by  H.  A.  Downer.  William  H. 
Ingles  served  as  sheriff  for  two  terms,  after 
which  H.  A.  Downer  was  returned  to  the  office 
and  served  for  seven  years.  In  1915,  Patrick 
O'Grady  assumed  the  duties  of  the  office  and 
so  well  has  he  performed  them  that  he  has  no 
opposition  at  the  succeeding  elections.  By  the 
end  of  his  term,  his  will  be  the  longest  unin- 
terrupted service  in  the  office,  and  will  also 
have  passed  Downer's  total  service  of  a  little 
over  seven  years. 

County  Attorneys :  A.  H.  Dunlavy  was  the 
first  county  attorney  serving  two  years.  J.  C. 
Black  then  served  for  a  little  over  a  year.  W. 
R.  Hampton  served  the  county  for  a  year  as 
prosecutor,  after  which  C.  M.  Woodard  served 
for  six  years.  A.  S.  Alexander  then  was  at- 
torney for  a  time.  The  law  was  amended  to 
permit  the  selection  of  non-resident  attorneys 
and  Fred  Wright  was  appointed  in  1906  ser- 
ving four  years.  W.  W.  White,  of  Gering,  was 
then  chosen  and  served   seven   years.     J.   A. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Rodman  of  Kimball  has  served  four  years,  and 
recently  O.  J.  Torgerson  was  appointed. 

Commissioners :  In  the  first  district,  E.  M. 
Cowen  was  the  first  to  be  selected.  In  1890, 
Hugh  Millhollin  assumed  the  duties  of  the 
office.  W.  E.  Wyatt  was  chosen  in  1891  and 
served  six  years.  John  Hendrikson  then  served 
for  six  years  and  he  was  followed  by  the  late 
Hope  Brown  for  two  terms  or  a  total  of  six 


Wheat  Seeding 
years.  Victor  Peterson  then  served  for  three 
years  being  followed  by  T.  H.  Smith,  who 
served  nearly  two  terms.  Peterson  was  then 
returned  to  the  office  until  1919,  when  W.  E. 
Burnap,  the  present  incumbent,  was  elected 
Wyatt,  Henrikson,  and  Brown  are  tied  for 
the  long  period  of  service  each  being  for  six 
years  while  Peterson  has  nearly  five  years  to 
his  credit. 

In  the  second  district,  Ira  Paver  was  the 
first  commissioner.  J.  T.  Bunger  then  fol- 
lowed for  a  year,  and  F.  R.  Stewart  served  a 
year.  John  Rowley  then  was  chosen  for  one 
year  after  which  Stewart  was  returned  for 
three  years.  Wm.  Ramsbottom  then  served  one 
vear,  W.  S.  McKee  completing  his  term  and 
then  being  re-elected  for  two  full  terms  or  a 
total  of  over  seven  years  service.  D.  W.  (Billy) 
Hill  was  then  chosen  in  a  surprising  way 
by  a  popular  movement  for  writing  his  name 
upon  the  ballot  and  defeating  the  regular  can- 
didate whose  name  was  printed  on  the  bal- 
lot. Hill  served  two  terms  or  six  years.  F.  F. 
Stauffer  was  then  chosen  for  four  years ;  Lars 
Olson  followed  for  four  years,  and  Grant 
Meek,  the  present  incumbent  of  the  office,  was 
chosen  in  1919. 

In  the  third  district,  G.  W.  Rockafield  was 
the  first  commissioner.  T.  L.  Pierce  was  the 
successor  and  he  was  followed  by  J.  M.  Mann. 
F.  O.  Baker  was  elected  in  1895  and  served 
nearly  eight  years.  W.  E.  Heard  then  served 
for  two  years,  and  Chas.  H.  Spieth  a  little  over 
five  years.  C.  G.  Peterson  completed  the  term 
after   which   G.   A.    Millett  held   a   four  year 


term.  L.  H.  Warner  then  was  commissioner 
for  five  years  being  followed  by  J.  W.  Cross 
who  was  chosen  at  the  last  election. 

Good  old  names  are  those  we  find  on  the 
roster  of  Banner  county  official  life.  In  the 
entire  list  one  will  find  but  few  that  were  not 
strong  and  true  to  their  obligations — a  less  per- 
centage than  you  will  find  in  the  story  of  a 
state.  The  people  knew  their  neighbors  and 
voted  for  them  because  of  their  respective 
merit,  which  is  not  always  true  of  state  offi- 
cers. Banner  county's  financial  condition,  her 
law  abiding  citizenship,  and  her  material  ad- 
vancement, are  evidence  of  the  good  manage- 
ment of  public  and  private  affairs  within  her 
borders. 

Many  are  the  other  good  old  names  that  do 
not  appear  in  the  county  official  life.  All  can- 
not hold  office ;  some  hold  the  minor  offices  in 
the  county  with  excellent  record  and  others 
never  aspired  to  office  of  any  kind.  The 
southwest  part  of  the  county,  the  valley  around 
Harrisburg,  and  the  tableland  south  are  filled 
with  the  good  people  whose  names  are  familiar 
and  who  have  been  there  for  a  generation. 
Other  parts  of  the  county  have  equally  as  good 
representation,  but  perhaps  the  tableland  has 
developed  more  rapidly  as, a  wheat  and  grain 
producing  community,  for  there  is  no  better 
soil  to  be  found  anywhere  in  Nebraska. 

Here  the  modern  method,  tractor  farming, 
is  at  its  best,  for  the  far  reaches  of  prairie  offer 
no  obstruction.  The  only  limitation  to  the 
length  of  the  furrow  is  the  ownership  of  the 
land.  Last  year  there  was  a  section  of  wheat 
raised  along  the  state  and  federal  aid  state  road 
south  of  Harrisburg  that  not  a  hoof  of  an  ani- 


Marketing  Potatoes 

mal  touched.  It  was  plowed,  disced,  harrowed, 
seeded,  harvested,  threshed,  and  hauled  off  the 
place  with  machinery.  A  combination  harves- 
ter and  thresher  was  used  in  garnering  the 
crop ;  and  motor  driven  trucks  hauled  it  away. 
This,  however,  is  an  extreme  case  of  fanning 
by  machinery.  Nearly  everyone  has  some 
horses  and  cows  are  a  necessity  on  a  farm.  The 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


523 


is  yet  the  queen  of  the  state  and  the  bid- 
len  is  a  maid  of  honor, 
inner  county  now  has  but  seven  precincts 
ced  to  meet  the  present  requirement  of  the 


population.  All  are  old  names  except  one.  The 
present  voting  divisions  are  :  Epworth,  Flower- 
field,  Gabe  Rock,  Lone  Pine,  Long  Springs, 
Loraine  and  Wright. 


CHAPTER  IV 
ONCE  A  PART  OF  LYONS  COUNTY— BANKS— THE  PRESS— INDUSTRIES 


This  territory  was  first  designated  on  maps 
as  a  part  of  Lyons  county.  In  the  early  seven- 
ties Cheyenne  county  was  created  out  of  Lyons 
county,  Taylor  county  and  a  part  of  Monroe 
county.  Thus  for  fifteen  or  more  years  it  re- 
mained and  Banner  county  came  into  exist- 
ence. 

Only  three  banks  is  the  history  of  Banner 
county.  Banner  county  bank  was  the  first  and 
for  long  years  it  was  under  the  efficient  care 
of  C.  J.  Carlisle.  A.  E.  Scott  and  Fred  Tel- 
camp  were  valuable  assistants  of  this  bank  at 
different  times.  When  J.  H.  Graves  was 
county  treasurer  the  Beards  and  some  others 
organized  a  bank  that  endured  for  a  time.  Car- 
lisle had  displeased  one  political  faction  and  it 
was  not  proposed  to  "feed  him  up"  with  coun- 
ty money.  This  bank  liquidated  after  about 
two  or  three  years. 

When  the  Standard  Oil  was  expecting  to 
bring  in  an  oil  well  near  Harrisburg  the  Mc- 
Nish-Ostenburg  interests  established  a  bank 
there  to  be  ready  for  the  big  rush.  The  oil 
failing  to  materialize  this  bank  also  liquidated 
a  year  or  more  ago.  The  original  Banner  Coun- 
ty Bank  is  the  only  existing  financial  institu- 
tion in  the  county.  Several  of  the  substantial 
names  of  the  county  appear  connected  with  this 
bank. 

Banner  county  press  activity  was  confined 
to  the  first  few  years.  Then  it  settled  down  to 
the  Banner  Comity  News  which  has  flourished 
as  monarch  of  the  field  for  over  a  quarter  of 
a  century. 

Almost  simultaneously  several  papers  ap- 
peared :  the  Ccntropolis  World,  the  Frccport 
Gazette,  and  the  Ashford  Advocate.  Charles 
H.  Randall  who  has  since  served  the  Los 
Angeles  district  of  California  for  two  terms  in 
congress,  was  the  founder  of  the  World. 
Johnny  Wilson  established  the  Gazette,  and 
while  the  name  of  J.  F.  Gay  appeared  at  the 
head  of  the  Ashford  Advocate,  it  was  known 


that  W.  W.  White,  Chas.  E.  Dooley  and  Jake 
Schooley  were  behind  it. 

Randall  sought  to  have  a  county-seat  town 
of  his  own.  The  "Harrisburg"  postoffice  was 
formerly  "Centropolis."  Randall  was  editor  of 
the  World,  postmaster,  and  the  Schooley-Fish- 
er  combination  for  Harrisburg  had  failed  to 
meet  his  expectations.  One  morning  "Harris- 
burg" woke  up  to  find  that  a  plat  of  "Centro- 
polis" was  to  be  filed  about  a  half  mile  north 
of  where  Schooley  had  planned  the  town.  The 
Randall  building,  postoffice  and  newspaper  had 
been  moved  to  the  new  site,  at  the  present 
Wyatt  corner. 

Local  courts  were  appealed  to  and  a  search 
warrant  issued :  a  justice  issued  it,  looking  for 
a  United  States  postoffice.  As  A.  H.  Dunlavy 
said :  "the  warrant  accused  Charlie  Randall  of 
swallowing  the  postoffice." 

Randall  could  probably  have  fought  it  out, 
but  concluded  not  to  do  so,  and  moved  the 
building  back  to  Harrisburg.  He  soon  sold 
out  and  went  into  the  railway  mail  service.  In 
this  he  undertook  to  suggest  to  a  superior  offi- 
cial of  the  service  an  improvement,  which  sug- 
gestion was  received  with  some  acrimony  on 
the  part  of  that  official.  Randall  said  if  he 
could  not  use  his  brains  in  the  service  he  would 
resign — and  resign  he  did.  He  was  too  big 
a  man  for  truculence,  as  has  been  demonstrated 
by  his  continued  rise. 

Randall  used  to  drive  a  roan  horse  that  had 
a  habit  of  stopping  unbidden  at  times.  Usually 
it  could  be  started  by  taking  it  by  the  bit.  One 
day  Mrs.  Randall,  her  sister,  and  Randall's 
baby  daughter,  drove  to  Ashford.  Starting  on 
the  return  the  horse  stopped.  Mrs.  Randall's 
sisler  could  not  get  it  to  start  in  the  usual  way, 
and  Mrs.  Randall  got  out  to  try  her  hand.  Be- 
fore the  sister  could  get  into  the  buggy-,  the 
horse  started  leaving  both  ladies  on  the  prairie 
and  the  baby  sitting  in  the  bottom  of  the 
buggy. 


524 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Ira  Paver  and  I  were  visiting  at  the  claim 
house  of  my  cousin,  Emma  Leach  about  two 
miles  south  of  Ashford.  We  saw  the  horse  and 
buggy  pass  at  a  brisk  trot ;  the  road  was  about 
a  half  mile  from  where  we  were.  Then  we 
saw  the  two  women  coming  on  afoot  and  could 
hear  some  one  crying. 

Paver  had  a  pony  called  "Naughty  Tom," 
and  he  was  hitched  to  a  cart.  We  drove  out 
to  the  road  and  found  out  the  trouble. 
Naughty  Tom  was  no  whirlwind  to  travel,  but 
he  made  two  or  three  miles  in  record  time  that 
day.  When  he  approached  the  rig  he  was 
driven  in  a  wide  circle  on  the  prairie,  passing 
the  Randall  buggy,  and  dropped  into  the  road 
ahead  of  it.  Then  slowing  down  the  runaway 
was  easy  to  catch.  The  little  girl  was  still 
enjoying  the  ride,  and  a  recent  letter  from 
Hon.  Chas.  Randall  states  that  the  grandchil- 
dren (this  daughter's  children)  are  the  source 
of  much  enjoyment  to  this  household. 

The  Freeport  Gazette  passed  from  J.  J.  Wil- 
son to  A.  F.  Snyder,  who  moved  it  to  Harris- 
burg.  When  E.  M.  Cowen  bought  the  Cen- 
fropolis  World  and  changed  its  name  to  the 
Early  Day,  the  Snyder  paper  ceased  to  exist 
or  was  merged  into  the  larger  journal. 

Charles  Gilpin  came  from  Missouri  and  he 
and  W.  W.  White  took  over  the  Ashford  Ad- 
vocate. The  first  few  papers  were  issued  from 
the  office  of  the  Gcring  Courier.  Gilpin  went 
baik  to  Missouri,  and  the  historian  became  as- 
sociated with  White  under  the  name  of  White 
&  Shumway.  White  sold  and  the  paper  was 
then  operated  by  A.  J.  Shumway  and  the 
writer.  Emma  Leach  acquired  my  brothers 
interest,  and  Leach  &  Shumway  was  at  the 
masthead  for  a  time.  The  paper  was  then 
leased  to  M.  E.  Shafto.  In  the  autumn  of 
1891  he  joined  with  A.  J.  Shumway  and  moved 
the  plant  to  Harrisburg.  Later  in  the  fall 
I  re-assumed  management. 

Graves  &  Beard  bought  the  Early  Day,  and 
then  C.  L.  Burgess  acquired  both  papers  and 
consolidated  the  plants  under  the  name  of 
Banner  County  News.  A.  J.  Shumway  became 
associated  and  Burgess  &  Shumway  then  ran 
the  News  for  a  time.  Burgess,  sold  to  A.J. 
Shumway  and  in  1904  he  sold  it  to  Norman 
McKinnon.  Sometime  later  M.  E.  Shafto,  C. 
S.  Page,  and  I  believe  J.  M.  Wilson,  were  in- 
terested in  a  company  that  bought  out  McKin- 
non. Shafto  finally  acquired  the  interests  of 
the  others,  and  then  sold  the  plant  to  R.  D. 
Wilson. 

In  1920  the  building  and  entire  plant  was 
burned.  The  paper  was  continued,  being  pub- 
lished elsewhere  for  a  time  until  new  materials 


and  stock  could  be  acquired.  Then  Clarence 
Shafto  purchased  it  from  Wilson  and  is  the 
present  publisher. 

The  original  press  brought  to  Harrisburg 
was  an  old  Washington  hand  press  but  of 
rather  unique  design.  The  multiple  power  given 
by  a  mechanism  just  over  the  press  plate  is 
different  from  that  usually  found  on  the  Wash- 
ington press,  and  was  hand  forged.  The  origin 
of  the  press  is  not  known  as  Randall  purchased 
it  second  hand.  The  Ashford  Advocate  was 
published  on  an  old  Army  press. 
Bench  and  Bar 

It  is  a  story  quickly  told.  The  county  is 
without  a  resident  lawyer.  All  legal  business 
is  attended  by  attorneys  residing  outside  the 
county.  Fred  Wright  formerly  held  the  larger 
part  of  this  business.  W.  W.  White  and  J. 
A.  Rodman  each  have  a  share.  L.  L.  Raymond 
formerly  had  considerable  business  in  Banner 
county  and  retains  a  portion  of  the  clientele.  A. 
R.  Honnold,  who  was  for  many  years  the  dis- 
trict counsel  for  the  United  States  reclamation 
service,  is  building  up  a  useful  service,  and  has 
many  friends  in  Banner  county.  All  of  the 
formerly  resident  attorneys  of  the  county  at 
one  time  or  another  have  held  the  office  of 
county  prosecutor,  except  R.  J.  Wallace.  While 
he  was  an  attorney,  he  was  more  of  a  loan 
agent  and  made  many  farm  loans  to  early  set- 
tlers in  need  of  funds. 

Fraternal 

Fraternal  orders  are  few  and  far  between  in 
Banner  county.  In  fact,  the  only  real  live 
institution  of  the  kind  is  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
lodge  at  Harrisburg.  The  order  has  existed 
exemplifying  the  lives  of  Damon  and  Pythias 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Recently  the  local 
members  thereof  gave  a  banquet  and  invited 
the  brothers  and  their  families  from  other 
castles  within  the  radius  of  twenty-five  or 
thirty  miles  to  participate  in  the  festivities. 
Medical 

Banner  county  has  had  but  few  doctors.  In 
the  early  days  Dr.  Markley  used  to  come  out 
from  Kimball  and  occasionally  Dr.  Field  from 
Sidney.  Dr.  Scherer  of  Kimball  once  had  a 
practice  of  some  proportions  in  the  county. 
Scherer  hved  in  the  county  for  a  time.  Dr. 
Franklin  was  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  coun- 
ty. Dr.  Georgia  A.  Fix  and  Dr.  Miller  of 
Gering  were  in  the  county  occasionally.  Dr. 
Stalcup  practiced  at  Freeport  and  Harrisburg. 
These  were  the  doctors  of  old  and  but  three 
of  them  were  resident  doctors  at  any  time. 

In  the  later  years  the  county  determined  to 
have  a  resident  doctor  and  prevailed  upon  Dr. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


C.  S.  Page  to  locate  among  them.  Page  became 
county  clerk  as  well  and  held  the  office  for 
years.  Page  was  once  candidate  for  Lieutenant 
Governor. 

Industries 

Farming — the  several  branches  of  agricul- 
ture — ■  naturally  is  the  leading  industry  of  a 
fertile  county  like  Banner.  The  progress  of 
grain  raising  has  developed  from  the  days  that 
Bill  and  Martin  Montz  ran  an  old  horse-power 
thresher  to  the  present  French  and  Hanks  com- 
bination harvesters. 

This  has  made  better  roads  necessary,  and 
the  old  "Hogback  ragtrack"  that  we  used  to 
follow  after  leaving  the  south  hills  has  changed 
into  vastly  improved  highways.  Many  of  the 
farm  homes  have  changed  from  dwellings  of 
the  old  Jake  Smith  dugout  type,  to  modern 
Delco-lighted  farm  houses  of  large  dimension. 

Plow  and  sod,  or  ax  and  timber,  made  the 
first  dwellings.  The  Livingston  grout  house 
was  the  first  to  break  away  but  the  lime  therein 
was  hauled  from  Sidney.  Over  in  Big  Horn, 
about  a  mile  north  of  the  Table  mountain  the 
first  lime  kiln  in  the  county  came  into  exist- 
ence as  early  as  1887.  G.  W.  Bushong  and 
sons  were  the  owners. 

About  the  same  time  "Briley"  Randleman 
started  his  sorghum  mill.  This  was  a  conven- 
ience, and  we  hauled  cane  for  many  miles  to 
take  home  our  home-made  molasses.  Syrup 
was  quite  a  necessary  standard  of  food  in 
those  years. 

The  first  and  only  brick  yard  in  the  county 
was  on  Willow  creek — established  by  Bob 
Everett  about  1S88.  He  hauled  some  of  the 
product  to  Kimball,  and  he  furnished  the  brick 
for  Johnny  Logan's  brick  house  in  Harrisburg ; 
the  only  brick  ever  constructed  in  the  county. 
It  is  now  the  residence  of  M.  E.  Shafto. 

At  the  Four- J  spring  Ben  Cross  located  a 
sawmill  where  the  native  timber  was  reduced 
to  rough  boards  for  our  domestic  use.  Ed. 
Wright  bought  this  mill,  and  ran  it  for  a 
while  in  Glenrock  canyon,  now  a  part  of  Air- 
dale  ranch.  He  later  moved  it  to  Laramie 
peak.  The  largest  log  that  I  pulled  to  this  mill 
made  240  feet  of  lumber.  It  was  too  heavy  to 
load  on  a  wagon  and  I  had  a  pair  of  hind 
wheels  from  and  old  wagon  of  large  dimension. 
I  balanced  the  log  about  the  middle  with  a  chain 
over  the  axle  and  under  the  reach.  By  pulling 
the  reach  down  to  horizontal,  it  lifted  most  of 
the  weight  of  the  log,  and  was  easily  dragged 
six  or  seven  miles  to  the  mill.  This  mill  was 
of  great  service  to  early  people. 

F.  P.  Reed  undertook  to  put  in  a  water- 
power  flour  mill  at  Ashford  but  the  reservoir 


he  made  for  reserve  supply  failed  to  hold  be- 
cause the  ground  was  perforated  with  gopher 
holes.  It  would  fill  about  half  full  and  the 
entire  supply  from  the  creek  could  not  raise 
it  farther.  The  first  and  only  boat  that  was 
ever  in  Banner  county  was  on  this  reservoir 
where  the  young  folks  of  Ashford  would  float 
around  in  the  narrow  confines  of  its  bordering 
banks  and  dream  of  Venice.  "Youth  is  our 
Italy  and  Greece — full  of  gods  and  temples." 

The  mill  was  never  completed.  Reed  gave 
it  up  and  went  to  Coatsburg,  Illinois,  where  he 
fell  from  an  upper  floor  in  a  mill  there,  into 
the  engine  room  and  was  instantly  killed  by 
breaking  his  neck. 

In  the  early  nineties  the  farmers  alliance 
movement  swept  over  Banner  county  and  Jim- 
my Burton,  E.  M.  White,  Martin  Montz,  and 
others  around  Harrisburg  were  enthusiastic, 
making  trips  out  to  the  sod  school  houses, 
fighting  bed  bugs  and  fleas,  as  well  as  the 
pirates  of  finance  that  were  then  on  one  of 
their  periodical  squeezes  or  sprees. 

One  of  the  common  incidents  to  such  periods 
is  that  farmers  are  more  inclined  to  co-opera- 
tion than  at  other  times.  At  this  time  the  de- 
velopment was  manifest  in  the  building  of  a 
cheese  factory  at  Harrisburg.  Geo.  Kendrick 
was  put  in  charge  and  he  knew  the  business. 
The  product  was  good  and  found  a  fair  mar- 
ket, but  one  year  the  output  was  practically  all 
sent  to  a  brokerage  concern  that  failed  to  re- 
mit. This  crimp  caused  the  dissolution  of  the 
institution,  and  the  stockholders  felt  that 
enough  care  had  not  been  exercised  by  C.  J. 
Carlisle  in  looking  up  the  character  of  the  con- 
cern before  sending  the  cheese.  This  is  doubt- 
ful, for  any  shipper  knows  you  cannot  always 
depend  upon  reports  as  to  the  character  of 
brokerage  firms. 

At  the  present  time  I  do  not  know  of  a 
single  manufacturing  institution  in  operation 
in  Banner  county.  The  material  progress  and 
wealth  accumulation  in  the  county  "comes  from 
the  grass  roots" — it  comes  out  of  the  ground. 

In  the  hills — particularly  on  the  north  side 
of  the  valley — are  excellent  beds  of  volcanic 
ash,  but  this  is  so  plentiful  that  its  development 
is  not  likely  for  many  years.  When  General 
Stansbury  made  his  trip  through  here  he  left 
the  river  and  came  up  Pumpkin  creek  for  a 
distance  and  crossed  over  the  hills  back  to  the 
Platte  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  present 
Banner  county.  He  said  he  picked  up  some 
lumps  of  lignitic  coal  in  Pumpkin  creek,  ac- 
cording to  his  reports  to  the  government;  also 
that  the  hills  near  Chimney  Rock  were  covered 
with  a  dead  forest,  that  looked  like  it  had  been 


526 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


swept  down  by  a  storm.  Harley  Wells  once 
claimed  to  have  discovered  coal  blossoms  on  the 
east  side  of  Wildcat  mountain. 

The  Prairie  Oil  &  Gas  Company,  of  Inde- 
pendence, Kansas,  a  subsidiary  of  the  Standard 
Oil  Company,  once  looked  over  Banner  county, 
and  a  few  years  ago  they  drilled  a  hole  over  a 
mile  deep  on  the  land  holdings  of  John  Kelley. 
The  drill  was  down  below  the  level  of  the  sea. 


There  were  both  oil  and  gas  encountered  but 
the  depth  made  it  doubtful  of  commercial  quan- 
tity. A  vein  of  lignitic  coal  was  gone  through 
at  the  depth  of  nine  hundred  feet.  It  was 
about  ten  feet  in  thickness.  An  accident  when 
several  thousand  feet  of  casing  parted  from 
the  rest  and  fell,  "jimmed"  the  well  and  it 
was  abandoned.  Banner  county's  dream  of 
great  mineral  value  there  ceased  to  exist. 


CHAPTER  V 
IRRIGATION— EARLY  POSTOFFICES— EARLY  EXPERIENCES 


In  the  dry  years  of  the  early  nineties  the 
facts  were  brought  home  to  people  on  Pumpkin 
creek  that  they  should  Irrigate.  Prior  to  that 
there  had  been  small  projects  developed.  John 
Wright  and  W.  J.  Kelly  had  a  ditch  near 
Kane's  point  that  diverted  the  water  and  let 
it  percolate  back  across  the  meadow  land  to 
the  creek.  Eggleston  had  a  small  area  irri- 
gated which  is  a  part  of  the  Airdale  develop- 
ment of  the  present  time.  Jim  Walters  had  a 
ditch  on  his  tree  claim  near  Ashford,  which 
crossed  our  homestead  domicile.  We  had- 
about  three  acres  that  it  watered  and  it  gave 
us  a  nice  garden  patch.  Down  the  creek  Worth 
Earley  and  Henry  Bruner  each  had  small 
ditches  leading  from  the  creek,  but  generally 
the  flow  of  water  was  light  below  the  Wright 
ranch.  For  about  a  mile  east  of  Ashford  the 
bed  of  the  creek  was  higher  than  the  immedi- 
ately adjoining  land,  and  in  the  winter  the 
creek  would  freeze  and  water  flow  over  the 
ice  until  it  was  above  the  banks,  when  it  would 
spread  back  covering  sixty  or  seventy  acres 
of  land  with  a  sheet  of  ice. 

In  the  nineties  we  extended  and  used  the  old 
mill  ditch  with  the  ultimate  intention  of  carry- 
ing it  to  the  homestead  where  we  estimated 
that  it  would  irrigate  about  fifty  or  sixty  acres. 

"Swede"  Anderson's  irrigation  attempt  in 
Deuel  county  had  run  its  course,  but  the  "irri- 
gation district  germ"  had  been  planted  in  my 
system  and  abode  its  time  for  development. 
That  came  in  the  winter  of  1892-1893,  when  I 
went  as  chief  engrossing  clerk  to  the  state  leg- 
islature. This  story  has  been  told  in  the  his- 
tory of  Scotts  Bluff  county. 

Sub-irrigation  always  attracted  attention, 
and  the  abundance  of  water  at  a  shallow  depth 


made  many  speculate  as  to  how  to  bring  it  to 
the  surface.  As  stated  elsewhere,  it  remained 
for  the  enterprise  of  A.  E.  Scott  to  show  one 
way  of  so  doing.  The  improvement  and  gen- 
eral use  of  the  explosion  engine  has  pointed 
out  another  way  that  will  sometime  extend  the 
irrigated  acreage  of  Banner  county  many  fold. 

Some  years  ago  Fred  Roberts,  who  was  then 
manager  of  the  power  plant  at  Scottsbluff,  ex- 
amined parts  of  Pumpkin  creek  valley  in  com- 
pany with  the  historian,  with  a  view  to  putting 
in  pumping  motors,  extending  a  power  line  and 
putting  a  transportation  system  to  and  from 
the  cities  of  Gering  and  Scottsbluff.  He  sold 
out  to  the  Intermountain,  which  company  has 
not  been  able  to  keep  abreast  of  the  local  needs, 
and  consequently  extension  was  out  of  the 
question. 

But  at  no  far  distant  date  the  great  under- 
water sheet  of  north  Banner  county  will  be 
doing  service  for  the  people  to  a  much  greater 
extent  than  many  now  conceive  is  possible. 

POSTOFFICES  OF  Old 

Without  question  the  first  postoffice  on 
Pumpkin  creek  was  at  Redington.  The  first 
within  the  present  boundaries  of  Banner  coun- 
ty was  at  Livingston  with  Mrs.  Livingston  the 
postmistress.  In  August,  1887,  E.  M.  Cowen 
was  appointed  postmaster  for  the  newly  creat- 
ed office  at  Freeport.  Mail  was  brought  from 
Redington.  In  October  of  the  same  year  Wil- 
liam Ashford  was  named  postmaster  for  a  new 
office  at  Ashford  and  the  Redington-Livingston 
route  was  extended  for  the  service.  Practically 
at  the  same  time  Centropolis  postoffice,  the 
antecedent  of  Harrisburg,  came  into  existence 
with  C.  H.  Randall  as  postmaster.  Banner  and 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Hull  soon  followed  in  the  call  for  mail  service. 
A.  B.  Hull  was  appointed  at  the  latter  point 
and  Mrs.  Harvey  Ransier  at  Banner.  Getting 
the  mail  from  the  railroad  was  the  problem, 
but  this  was  solved  by  a  star  route  from  Kim- 
ball to  Gering  in  late  1S87.  Jones  M.  Clapp 
was  the  first  carrier.  For  many  years,  Emery 
Lewis  who  resides  near  Harrisburg  in  1921, 
drove  this  route  on  the  north  end  and  also 
kept  the  route  going  from  Ashford  to  Reding- 
ton.  The  Harrisburg-Scottsbluff  division  is 
now  maintained  by  Roy  Lewis,  and  a  Dodge 
car  has  superseded  the  rattling  old  stage  of 
years  ago.  The  trip  is  made  in  an  hour  or 
two  that  formerly  took  half  a  day.  Ham  Lilly 
and  C.  A.  Forsling  for  years  attended  the  Har- 
risburg-Kimball  portion  of  the  route,  and  the 
same  is  now  operated  by  Floyd  Lewis,  with  the 
same  improvement  in  character  of  service. 
Emery  Lewis,  the  veteran  stage  driver,  resides 
at  Harrisburg,  and  is  retired  to  his  farm  south 
of  town. 

The  First  Stores 

The  date  of  the  first  mercantile  establish- 
ment in  Banner  county  I  cannot  give  with  cer- 
tainty. In  1887  A.  S.  Alexander  had  a  store 
in  the  Lone  Pine  country  where  we  used  to 
go  seventeen  miles  for  mail. 

But  I  believe  L.  D.  Livingston  had  the  first 
store.  It  was  running  as  early  as  June,  1886, 
the  grout  house  being  built  the  previous  year. 
Lightning  struck  this  grout  house  and  cracked 
the  walls  soon  after  it  was  built  and  the  fam- 
ily thereafter  lived  in  the  log  house  and  used 
the  new  house  for  mercantile  and  postoffice 
and  for  the  merry  parties  of  the  olden  time. 

Charley  Wurdig  opened  a  store  in  Freeport 
as  early  as  1887  and  perhaps  at  an  earlier  date. 
Will  Clampitt  had  a  store  in  Big  Horn  the 
same  year. 

Dooley  &  Logan  built  the  large  store  building 
in  Ashford  soon  after  and  here  was  carried 
one  of  the  most  complete  lines  of  merchandise 
in  the  county.  In  later  years  this  building  was 
torn  down  by  John  E.  Logan  and  removed  to 
Gering.  The  hall  over  this  store  was  used  for 
several  years  as  a  gathering  place  and  for 
parties  of  all  kinds.  Around  Ashford  were 
gathered  in  those  early  years  a  jolly  set  of 
young  folks:  the  Logans,  the  Dooleys,  the 
Schoolevs,  the  Eckersons,  the  Smiths,  Newt 
Sperry  and  others.  W.  W.  White,  C.  T.  Gil- 
pin and  some  others  were  a  little  more  solemn 
and  looked  upon  the  future  with  more  serious 
mien. 

For  some  time  Luft  &  Enderly  conducted  a 
store  at  Ashford.  Enderly  Brothers  had  a 
store  at  Harrisburg  for  years  and  one  of  the 
present  merchants  of  Harrisburg  was  associat- 


ed therein.  J.  M.  Wilson,  familiarly  known  as 
"Doc."  because  he  was  first  a  druggist,  was 
in  the  Enderly-Harrisburg  store  which  he  later 
acquired.  While  he  served  the  county  in  vari- 
ous capacities  and  Mrs.  Wilson  the  government 
as  postmistress  for  many  years  they  have  al- 
ways kept  the  main  store  of  the  town  and  at 
times  fed  the  hungry  traveller  most  excellent 
meals.  J.  M.  Wilson  is  the  Dean  of  Banner 
county  mercantile  life. 

Of  late  years  there  have  been  other  good 
merchants    in   Harrisburg — the   Zorns   among 
them ;  and  there  were  others. 
Bank  Robbery 

Banner  county  once  had  its  sensation  of  this 
nature.  According  to  the  best  information  it 
was  believed  that  there  were  three  men  involv- 
ed in  the  plans  and  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  W.  Gra- 
ham to  pull  off  the  deed. 

C.  J.  Carlisle  was  in  the  bank  at  the  time 
and  the  man  rode  up  to  the  back  door.  Dis- 
mounting he  entered  and  called  to  Carlisle  to 
throw  up  his  hands  at  the  same  time  started  to 
draw  his  gun.  The  gun  stuck  in  the  holster 
sufficiently  long  for  Carlisle  to  rush  out  the 
back  door  and  jump  upon  the  robber's  horse. 
He  rode  around  the  court  house  square  shout- 
ing "robbers"  until  there  were  several  men 
headed  for  the  scene.  Back  of  the  bank  there 
was  a  large  pile  of  cedar  posts  that  Carlisle 
had  taken  in  from  time  to  time  and  behind 
these  the  robber  took  refuge.  W.  W.  Everett, 
an  old  soldier,  was  exchanging  shots  with  the 
bandit  around  this  post  pile  when  others  be- 
gan to  arrive.  The  man  made  a  run  for  an 
empty  house  that  was  in  the  south  part  of 
town  when  a  bullet  from  C.  L.  Burgess's  rifle 
hit  him  in  the  leg.  In  the  excitement  of  the 
moment  one  woman  who  saw  him  trying  to 
again  rise  screamed,  "shoot  him  again,  Mr. 
Burgess  he  isn't  dead  yet."  Graham  was  tried 
and  convicted  but  it  was  generally  believed  that 
he  was  the  goat  and  the  real  bandits  who  plan- 
ned the  affair  had  gotten  away.  Graham  es- 
caped and  was  never  again  apprehended  or 
sought  for.  He  lived  in  this  community  for 
many  years  afterwards  and  made  a  quiet  and 
respectable  citizen.  Today  he  is  the  principal 
owner  of  a  bank  in  Wyoming. 

A  Singular  Masquerade 

Old  timers  still  talk  of  the  singular  appear- 
ance of  William  Reep  and  his  supposedly  way- 
ward nephew,  William  Wallace  who  came  into 
the  Flowerfield  country  a  number  of  years  ago. 
Wallace  was  a  wildling  and  was  in  all  kinds  of 
episodes  with  other  wild  folks  of  the  day.  Fre- 
quently he  would  go  on  a  spree  with  some  of 
them  for  several  days  but  never  was  known  to 
be  too  much  intoxicated  to  take  care  of  him- 


528 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


self.  At  the  dances  he  was  a  favorite  and  con- 
ducted himself  with  interesting  dash  and  spirit. 
He  carried  the  mail  on  the  Gabe  rock  route 
for  several  months.  During  this  period  it  was 
said  that  there  came  from  the  east  at  regular 
periods  drafts  that  were  always  endorsed  by 
Wallace  and  cashed  by  Reep.  After  a  particu- 
larly dashing  episode  that  disturbed  some  good 
families  of  "the  county  Mr.  Reep  and  William 
Wallace  left  the  community.  The  lingering 
effect  of  this  last  episode  was  some  court  pro- 
ceedings wherein  came  the  evidence  that  Wil- 
liam Wallace  was  a  woman  and  the  wife  of 
William  Reep.  It  could  hardly  be  believed 
even  by  the  closest  associates  until  several  re- 
sponsible parties  attested  to  its  truth.  It  was 
a  well  planned  and  executed  masquerade  and 
no  one  here  knows  its  purpose.  Many  believed 
the  checks  were  behind  it  and  that  in  some  way 
the  real  William  Wallace  was  being  imper- 
sonated, the  Reeps  in  all  likelihood  having  in- 
side information  of  the  facts  and  that  probably 
Wallace  was  dead. 

The  Storm  of  1878 

This  was  a  long  time  ago.  Banner  county 
territory  had  but  two  resident  families  at  that 
time  and  one  of  them  was  more  or  less  tem- 
porary. At  the  head  of  the  creek  was  Creigh- 
ton's  ranch  and  John  S.  Wright  had  the  year 
before  located  near  Kane's  point.  Tommy 
Shunover,  Bob  Cavelier  and  "Scotty"  were 
hunting  mountain  sheep.  They  had  made  a 
kill  on  Wildcat  mountain  when  the  storm  came. 
They  undertook  to  drift  with  it  to  Wright's 
ranch  but  the  spring  weather  having  been  mild 
had  caught  them  unprepared  and  without  heavy 
clothing. 

Shunover  was  the  only  one  of  the  three  to 
reach  the  shelter.  One  had  fallen  near  the 
place  Theo.  Johnson  now  resides  and  the  other 
near  Ted  Kelly's.  This  storm  was  long  re- 
membered by  cattle  men  as  one  that  caused 
great  losses.  It  occurred  on  March  7,  1878. 
No  later  storm  has  equalled  in  violence  or 
destructiveness. 

Weddings  and  a  Golden  Wedding 
The  first  wedding  in  the  valley  or  in  Ban- 
ner county  territory  has  been  told  in  the  story 
of,  "When  Cattlemen  Were  Kings."  It  was 
that  of  Miss  Dude  Wright  to  E.  A.  Boots 
which  occurred  at  the  old  Wright  ranch  and 
Elder  Leslie  Stevens  came  from  Sidney  to 
perform  the  ceremony.  The  next  wedding  of 
Pumpkin  creek  people  was  that  of  Ellen  An- 
derson and  Oiris  Streeks.  Elder  Stevens  also 
performed  this  ceremony.     The   wedding  oc- 


curred at  the  Metropolitan  Hotel  at  Sidney 
and  cowboys  from  far  and  near  were  in  at- 
tendance. They  cleaned  up  the  Thoelecke 
jewelry  store  of  all  its  supply  of  silverware  for 
presents  to  the  uniting  couple. 

The  wedding  and  the  sequel  of  Miss  Oliver 
and  Samuel  Abbott  has  already  been  chronicled 
as  has  also  the  double  wedding  at  Wright's 
place. 

The  spirit  and  determination  of  the  mating 
quality  in  mankind  can  be  illustrated  by  many 
references  to  early  marriages.  Tom  Hughes 
(on  the  Niobrara)  paid  Judge  Robert  Shuman 
$100  to  come  out  to  his  place  and  perform  a 
marriage  ceremony. 

T.  D.  Deutsch  the  present  mayor  of  Scotts- 
bluff  city  went  to  Sidney  a  distance  of  about 
one  hundred  miles  to  get  his  marriage  license ; 
then  seventy  miles  to  Kimball  to  get  a  min- 
ister. As  he  puts  it,  "I  bought  a  couple 
'Hereford'  shirts  (the  white  shirt  was  a  new 
experience  for  him)  and  we  were  married 
in  a  dugout."  This  spirit,  however,  is  what 
has  made  our  part  of  the  west.  Deutsch's  in- 
domitable will  was  here  exemplified  and  the 
same  industry  and  perseverance  helped  him  to 
aid  in  the  building  of  many  of  the  headgates 
and  ditches  on  the  North  Platte  river  and  to 
perform  the  duties  of  county  commissioner  in 
the  formative  days  of  the  county  of  Scotts 
Bluff  and  other  public  duties  from  time  to 
time. 


Ham  ['Ton's  Golden  Wedding 

Some  years  ago  there  was  celebrated  at 
Harrisburg  the  golden  wedding  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  W.  R.  Hampton,  the  only  event  of  the 
kind  that  we  know  in  Banner  county.  The  af- 
fair was  at  Hotel  St.  James  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  court  house  square.  Many  of 
the  friends  of  the  pioneers  of  Banner  county 
attended  this  affair.  Since  then  both  of  the 
elder  Hamptons  have  gone  on  to  the  New 
Country. 

The  World  War 

Into  the  Arcadian  peace  of  Banner  county 
came  the  world  disturbing  rumor  of  war.  Then 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


529 


followed  all  the  activities  incident  to  the  prepa- 
rations and  carrying  on  of  the  great  enterprize. 
The  selective  draft,  the  bond  drives,  the  Red 
Cross,  the  thrift  stamp  and  war-savings  drives 
and  the  miscellaneous  drives  incident  and  nec- 
essary in  the  world  conflict  came  into  Banner 
county  and  the  patriotic  peoples  rose  like  one 
and  performed  the  duties  as  becomes  Ameri- 
cans everywhere.  The  love  of  freedom  that 
brought  into  the  open  of  western  Nebraska  the 
people  who  here  reside  would  not  brook  the 
threat  against  the  liberty  of  the  world.  Those 
militarists  that  would  build  out  of  the  war 
a  war  machine  for  the  United  States  had 
better  pause  and  take  count.  The  world  loves 
those  who  leave  the  plow  and  the  marts  of 
I  trade  in  time  of  stress  but  no  affection  is  wasted 
upon  the  "regular"  soldier  and  none  upon 
those  who  bring  into  our  peaceful  communities 
the  constant  reminder  of  strife  and  the  arrog- 
ance of  military  caste. 

Arcadian  Delights 

Those  were  splendid  years  of  the  long  ago, 

when   the   violinists    of    the    valley    were   Ed. 

Stemler.    who   played   with   the   fiddle    upside 

down,  and  pulled  the  bow  with  his  left  hand. 


There  were  Lee  Livingston,  Ed.  Wright,  Runey 
Campbell,  and  the  Shobar  string  band.  In  the 
absence  of  better  music  Jim  Pogue  plied  the 
bow  across  the  strings ;  Wellington  Clark  play- 
ed the  "dulcimer"  on  occasion.  Phil  Jurish 
led  all  the  rest  at  jig  dancing.  He  was  not 
alone  in  the  art  for  Wyatt  Heard,  Will  Ash- 
ford,  and  others,  could  rattle  the  clogs.  Down 
the  valley  there  was  an  old  lady  named  Mrs. 
Mclntyre  who  could  dance  like  a  devotee  of 
the  footlights.  I  would  like  to  have  the  old 
crowd  back  again,  to  celebrate  the  Fourth  in 
Wright's  Gap,  as  we  did  in  1887;  or  to  dance 
at  Abbott's,  or  Wright's,  or  Livingston's,  or 
Ashford  or  on  Pleasant  Hill. 

The  new  generation  have,  however,  many  of 
the  old  delights  of  rural  life,  and  some  of  the 
newer  enjoyments.  Then  we  did  not  know  of 
automobile  — ■  our  best  modes  of  conveyance 
being  horses  and  a  buggy,  or  the  saddle.  The 
children  of  Banner  county  have  none  of  the 
old  homesickness  of  their  fathers  and  mothers, 
and  have  grown  into  maturity  in  the  environ- 
ment of  the  prairie,  and  western  sky,  and 
western  stars.  Around  them  are  the  Arcadian 
delights  of  Nature's  own  magnificence  —  life, 
beauty,  and  delightful  dreams. 


DAWES  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  EARLIEST  YEARS 


Dawes  county  is  one  of  the  most  historic 
as  well  as  prosperous  counties  in  the  state. 
Erom  its  well  known  citizens  we  have  collabor- 
ated a  story  that  cannot  fail  to  be  of  i  iterest. 
We  will  begin  with  the  reminiscences  aud  phil- 
osophy of  F.  B.  Carley,  who  was  the  first 
county  clerk. 

Prior  to  1878  the  territory  now  known  as 
Dawes  county  really  had  no  white  settlers. 
However,  it  is  known  that  a  few  trappers  had 
plied  their  vocation  within  its  borders  for  short 
periods  in  earlier  years,  probably  as  early  as 
1873.  A  few  Frenchmen  had  been  adopted  in- 
to the  Sioux  tribes,  had  married  Indian  women 
and  were  accustomed  to  camp  on  the  various 
streams  in  summer  and  were  units  of  the  com- 
munity camps  established  by  the  Indians  in 
winter  at  various  sites  where  fuel  was  avail- 
able, for  a  number  of  years  before  1878,  but 
they  were  wanderers  with  no  fixed  abode.  At 
least  they  never  were  permanent  residents  of 
the  county.  Tradition  tells  that  an  occasional 
cattleman  came  to  look  at  the  rich  grass  lands 
as  early  as  1875,  and  that  a  few  venturesome 
spirits  eager  to  explore  the  Black  Hills  region 
passed  through  its  borders  in  the  same  year. 
Camp  Robinson,  at  the  present  site  of  Fort 
Robinson,  was  established  in  1876,  and  was 
thereafter  garrisoned  by  soldiers,  with  Post 
Trader  and  a  few  civilian  employees  usual  at 
frontier  posts  in  those  days,  but  they  all  be- 
longed exclusively  to  the  army  and  were  here 
as  transient  campers  only  so  long  as  their  con- 
nection with  the  army  continued.  They  were 
merely  temporary  residents  of  a  military  camp 
and  did  not  class  themselves  as  citizens  of  the 
county. 

Prior  to  the  state  legislative  session  of  1883, 
the  territory  which  is  often  called  the  pan- 
handle of  Nebraska,  and  comprising  eleven 
counties  at  this  date,  was  known  as  Cheyenne 
and  Sioux  counties.  That  part  now  compris- 
ing the  counties  of  Sioux,  Dawes,  Box  Butte, 
and  Sheridan  was  unorganized  and  known  as 
Sioux  county,  and  was  by  statute  attached  to 


Cheyenne  county  on  the  south  for  judicial  and 
other  governmental  purposes;  that  is  to  say, 
the  only  local  civil  government  enjoyed  by 
Sioux  county  was  exercised  and  administered 
by  the  courts  and  officials  of  Cheyenne  county, 
Sidney  being  the  county  seat. 

The  legislature  of  1885  divided  Sioux  coun- 
ty into  three  counties;  Sioux  county  with  its 
present  territory;  Dawes  county  with  the  ter- 
ritory now  comprising  Dawes ;  and  Box  Butte 
counties,  and  Sheridan  county  as  it  remains  at 
this  time.  At  the  fall  election  in  1886  the 
proposition  to  divide  Dawes  by  the  establish- 
ment of  Box  Butte  county  was  carried  by  vote 
of  the  people  of  the  entire  territory,  and  soon 
thereafter  the  records  pertaining  to  Box  Butte 
were  transferred  and  the  new  county  organ- 
ized ;  and  it  was  then  that  Dawes  county  with 
its  territory  as  we  know  it  today  came  into  ex- 
istence. 

The  county  received  its  name  at  the  hands 
of  the  legislature  as  an  honor  conferred  upon 
the  then  governor,  James  W.  Dawes.  The 
name  of  Sioux  county  was  very  dear  to  the 
few  inhabitants,  and  as  the  territory  comprising 
the  county  was  at  that  date  the  real  heart  of 
all  the  territory  cut  up,  and  we  prided  our- 
selves on  having  more  semblance  of  settlement 
and  civilization  than  other  sections  of  the  orig- 
inal county,  our  people  felt  piqued  that  the 
western  part  of  the  territory  should  take  away 
our  county  name. 

Cattle  Years 

From  1878  to  1884  the  only  industry  of  the 
county  was  that  of  cattle-raising.  Business  of 
ranching  was  then  carried  on  upon  a  larger 
scale  than  would  be  possible  in  a  more  popu- 
lated community,  by  men  schooled  in  the  pro- 
fession, a  profession  which  time  and  change 
has  made  practically  obsolete,  not  only  in  this 
section,  but  in  the  United  States.  Cattle  ranging 
as  then  in  vogue  required  an  empire  of  unpopu- 
lated territory  and  is  unknown  today.  The  lands 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


531 


were  unsurveyed  and  belong  to  the  public  do- 
main. Ranchmen  paid  no  rental  and  possessed 
no  rights  to  land  recognized  by  government,  ex- 
cept the  preference  right  accorded  to  "squat- 
ters," which  consisted  of  the  preference  right 
to  homestead  or  timber  culture  entry  when 
lands  were  surveyed  and  thrown  open  to  entry. 
The  right  of  "discovery"  was  the  only  right 
possessed  by  the  ranchmen  to  the  large  tracts 
then  occupied.  Custom  became  in  practice  the 
unwritten  law  of  the  land  that  the  first  to  es- 
tablish a  ranch  on  a  certain  creek  or  in  a  cer- 
tain locality  was  entitled  to  sufficient  range  for 
his  needs ;  the  metes  and  bounds  of  each 
"range"  were  fairly  well  defined  and  no  one 
encroached  upon  the  rights  of  his  neighbor  — 
at  least  it  was  so  in  Dawes  county,  as  there 
were  no  disputes  over  range  rights  during  the 
•open  range  period.  A  ranch  with  500  head 
of  cattle  was  classed  as  a  small  one,  and  there 
was  but  one  such  in  the  county.  The  others 
"ran"  from  2000  to  5000  head. 

Cow  Ponies 

The  price  of  horses  was  cheap  and  but  few 
were  grown  by  the  ranchmen ;  the  supply  of 
saddle  horses  which  was  a  necessary  part  of 
the  equipment  of  each  ranch  being  mostly 
brought  from  Texas  along  with  the  cattle 
herds.  It  was  almost  the  universal  custom  for 
each  cowboy  to  have  his  "string"  of  six  or 
eight  saddle  horses  selected  by  himself  or  as- 
signed to  him  by  the  owner  for  his  individual 
use.  It  was  a  gross  breach  of  etiquette  for 
one  rider  to  handle  or  use  the  horse  of  another 
except  in  a  case  of  emergency  or  stressful  need. 
When  it  is  understood  that  a  goodly  portion  of 
the  cowboy's  work  in  handling  wild  cattle  was 
hazardous  in  the  extreme,  it  will  be  seen  how 
vitally  important  it  was. that  each  rider  should 
know  the  characteristics  of  his  horses. 

The  First  Settlers 

The  first  ranch  established  in  the  territory 
that  was  to  become  Dawes  county  was  by  Ed- 
gar B.  Bronson  in  the  summer  of  1878  and 
was  located  on  Dead  Man's  creek  five  miles 
south  of  Fort  Robinson.  For  some  time  after 
his  arrival  he  was  dubbed  a  tenderfoot  which 
in  fact  he  was  to  those  born  or  reared  upon  the 
frontier.  He  was  a  young  man,  probably  24 
or  25,  well  educated  and  well  bred  and  about 
the  last  man  one  would  expect  to  find  upon  a 
cattle  ranch.  He  had  commenced  life  as  a 
newspaper  man  in  the  east. 

Chance  threw  him  in  contact  with  men  from 
the  west  and  the  tales  of  western  life  appealed 


to  his  nature  and  so  firmly  to  his  love  of  ad- 
venture that  he  came  to  Cheyenne  and  worked 
for  a  time  as  a  common  "puncher."  Afterwards 
he  purchased  a  small  herd  of  his  own  and 
moved  them  to  White  river  valley.  At  first  he 
ranged  from  the  head  of  White  river  to  Fort 
Robinson  and  later  moved  over  the  divide  to 
Running  Water.  It  was  known  as  the  Three 
Crow  Ranch,  and  was  sold  in  1883  to  a  com- 
pany of  which  Bartlett  Richards  was  manager. 
Dawes  county  then  knew  Bronson  no  more  ex- 
cept through  his  books :  "Reminiscenses  of  a 
Ranchman"  and  other  stories.  But  a  big- 
hearted,  brave  and  generous  man  like  Bronson 
could  not  live  in  an  untamed  country  such  as 
this  was  at  that  time  without  the  impress  of 
his  personality.  He  did  not  have  as  much 
"cow  sense"  as  some  of  our  earliest  people,  but 
he  had  the  advantage  of  travel  and  education 
which  in  most  of  us  was  sadly  lacking  and 
those  who  were  privileged  to  know  him  were 


First  House  in  Dawes  County,  Built  in  1879 
and  1880 

more  or  less  enriched  by  his  few  years'  stay 
among  us. 

A  stage  line  from  Sidney  to  the  Black  Hills 
with  steel  lined  Concord  stages  of  twelve  pas- 
senger capacity  was  established  and  put  in  oper- 
ation through  a  part  of  what  is  now  Dawes 
county  in  1876.  In  a  short  time  it  carried 
mails.  The  stage  travelled  what  was  called 
the  Deadwood  trail  entering  the  county  at  a 
point  a  little  southeast  of  the  present  town  of 
Marsland.  thence  over  the  divide  and  down 
Breakneck  hill  to  White  Clay  creek  crossing 
White  river  at  the  old  Red  Cloud  agency  about 
midway  between  Fort  Robinson  and  Crawford. 
The  schedule  time  from  Sidney  to  Red  Cloud, 
a  distance  of  120  miles,  was  24  hours.  The 
coming  and  going  of  the  dusty  old  stage  coach 
was  the  daily  event  of  importance  at  every 
stage  station. 

A  tri-weekly  mail  route  was  established  be- 
tween Fort  Robinson  and  the  Bijou  hills  on  the 
Missouri  river  in  1877.  but  was  discontinued 
after  the  return  of  Red  Cloud  Indians  to  the 


532 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Pine  Ridge  in  1878.  Then  a  daily  mail  was 
established  between  Fort  Robinson  and  the 
Pine  Ridge  which  was  continued  until  the  sum- 
mer of  1855. 

The  service  was  by  buckboard  or  on  horse- 
back, depending  upon  the  season  of  the  year 
and  the  condition  of  the  roads.  In  winter  and 
in  spring  as  it  so  transpired  not  more  than  one 
mail  a  week  was  delivered  and  month  after 
month  the  contractor  was  obliged  to  report  his 
story  to  Uncle  Sam  by  affidavit  of  himself  and 
the  carrier  or  other  witnesses  conversant  with 
the  facts  of  no  bridges,  no  forage,  and  no 
travel  to  help  break  the  trail.  This  was  in  or- 
der to  escape  fines  for  failure  to  deliver  mails 
as  stipulated  in  the  contract. 

Whether  merited  or  not,  it  was  the  opinion 
our  people  generally  entertained  in  those  days 
that  the  departments  at  Washington  were  very 
stupid  in  handling  the  affairs  of  the  Indians, 
the  mails  and  other  public  matters  of  vital  im- 
portance to  the  few  inhabitants  here  almost 
isolated  from  civilization. 

Two  of  Dawes  county  pioneers  who  are  still 
with  us  were  connected  with  the  Fort  Robin- 
son-Pine Ridge  mail  line  in  the  early  eighties, 
P.  B.  Nelson  as  contractor  and  R.  H.  Arnold 
as  carrier. 

In  the  spring  of  1876  the  Cheyenne  and 
Black  Hills  Telegraph  company  constructed  a 
one  wire  line  into  Deadwood  and  after  the  es- 
tablishment of  Camp  Robinson  the  company 
built  a  line  sixty  miles  east  from  Hat  creek 
station  where  a  wire  testing  operator  was  sta- 
tioned to  Robinson  where  the  first  telegraph  in- 
strument clicked  in  the  present  limits  of  Dawes 
county. 

After  the  establishment  of  the  Pine  Ridge 
agency  the  government  built  a  telegraph  line 
from  Fort  Robinson  to  Rosebud  agency  via 
the  Pine  Ridge  agency.  The  line  was  a  prac- 
tical failure  east  of  the  Pine  Ridge  agency 
during  the  whole  period  of  its  existence  for  the 
reason  that  between  Pine  Ridge  and  Rosebud 
there  were  many  Indian  camps  and  telegraph 
poles  furnished  dry  and  convenient  firewood. 
The  Indian  agents  as  often  as  opportunity  pre- 
sented explained  to  the  Indians  the  importance 
of  keeping  the  wire  off  the  ground  that  quick 
communication  might  be  had  with  Washington 
as  to  the  shipment  of  blankets  and  provisions 
for  their  own  use.  The  Indians  would  promise 
not  to  molest  the  poles  any  more  but  the  line 
would  go  down  within  a  day  or  two  after  a 
repair  party  had  put  it  in  order. 

In  1876  Dawes  county  territory  was  the 
home  of  two  large  divisions  of  the  Sioux  In- 
dians.    The  Brules  were  at  the  Spotted  Tail 


agency,  located  on  White  river  near  the  mouth  j 
of  Beaver  creek,  now  a  part  of  the  ranch  of  ] 
Mrs.  Wm.  Braddock ;  and  the  Ogallalas  at  the 
Red  Cloud  agency,  a  mile  east  of  Fort  Robin-  j 
son. 

Official  records  and  statements  of  the  earli-  I 
est  inhabitants  fail  to  agree  as  to  the  time  of 
the  location  of  these  agencies,  probably  for  the 
very  good  reason  that  like  Topsy  they  just 
grew.  When  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  was 
built  these  Indians  were  scattered  over  eastern 
Wyoming,  parts  of  the  Dakotas  and  western 
Dakotas.  The  government  from  time  to  time 
sent  its  officials  to  visit  and  confer  with  them 
first  in  one  place  and  then  in  another.  When 
regular  or  permanent  agents  were  appointed 
they  established  themselves  at  the  camps  or 
headquarters  which  Spotted  Tail  and  Red 
Cloud  had  set  up  for  themselves  and  named 
the  agencies  after  those  chiefs. 

The  Brule  Sioux  virtually  effected  their  own 
removal  to  the  Rosebud  country  north  of  Gor- 
don, Rushville  and  Valentine.  For  sometime 
as  individuals  they  kept  drifting  in  that  direc- 
tion until  a  large  portion  of  them  resided  there 
and  in  order  that  the  agent  might  keep  in  touch 
with  them  he  was  instructed  to  move.  By  the 
middle  of  the  summer  of  1877  the  old  Spotted 
Tail  agency  on  White  river  had  become  only 
a  memory. 

In  October,  1877,  about  12,000  of  the  Ogal- 
lala  Sioux  were  removed  from  Red  Cloud 
agency  to  the  Missouri  river  at  Bijou  hills  but 
they  were  moved  back  to  the  present  Pine 
Ridge  agency  a  year  later. 

Neither  the  cowmen  or  the  early  settlers 
were  ever  molested  by  the  Indians  except  that 
occasionally  a  few  horses  were  stolen  from  the 
ranches.  Red  Cloud  and  the  lesser  chiefs 
frowned  upon  such  acts  which  were  in  the  most 
instances  committed  by  young  men  who  wanted 
the  excitement  and  adventure  to  break  the 
monotony  of  camp  life. 

After  the  establishment  by  the  Indian  agent, 
Dr.  McGillycuddy,  of  the  Indian  police  under 
Captain  Sword,  in  1880  or  1881,  these  acts  of 
lawlessness  entirely  disappeared. 

One  Indian  Scare 

In  the  winter  of  1890  and  1891  the  people  of 
the  county,  particularly  those  residing  in  the 
eastern  portion  thereof  and  nearest  the  Sioux 
reservation,  experienced  a  genuine  Indian 
scare.  A  weird  religious  excitement  had  sprung 
up  among  the  Sioux  which  was  given  expres- 
sion in  what  was  termed  "ghost  dancing."  The 
fanatical  unrest  finally  precipitated  the  Battle 
of  Wounded  Knee  between  the  Indians  and  the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


533 


United  States  army.  It  was  next  to  impossi- 
ble for  anyone  to  inform  themselves  as  to  what 
was  really  transpiring  on  the  reservation  or 
the  causes  which  brought  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  troops  to  the  agency  and  when  it  was 
known  that  an  engagement  had  taken  place  be- 
tween the  Indians  and  the  troops,  it  was  only 
natural  that  much  excitement  should  prevail 
among  settlers.  Most  of  those  residing  east  of 
Chadron  moved  their  families  either  to  Chad- 
ron  or  Hay  Springs  and  so  filled  the  town  that 
not  a  few  camped  in  the  court  house  at  Chad- 
ron. The  residents  of  the  towns  also  became 
agitated  over  the  prospect  of  an  Indian  out- 
break. 

After  the  Battle  of  Wounded  Knee  the  sur- 
viving turbulent  ones  were  placed  under  arrest 
and  the  uncomfortable  feeling  in  Dawes  county 
passed  away  in  a  few  days. 

In  the  summer  of  1882  news  came  through 
cowmen  returning  from  visits  in  the  east  that 
quickly  spread  from  ranch  to  ranch  ;  news  dis- 
quieting to  the  then  inhabitants  of  the  country. 
It  was  to  the  effect  that  the  Northwesern  rail- 
road intended  to  extend  its  line  to  the  White 
river  valley  with  the  Black  Hills  as  its  ultimate 
objective.  Also  that  the  Burlington  was  con- 
templating an  extension  into  northwest  Ne- 
braska. Also  that  the  government  was  about 
to  survey  the  lands  with  a  view  to  opening 
them  to  legal  entry  and  settlement. 

Immediately  there  was  a  revolutionary 
spirit  manifested  and  plans  were  discussed  how 
the  "plow  chasers"  could  be  stopped.  Look- 
ing back  over  the  period  of  years  how  puny 
and  childlike  were  the  protests  of  the  brave  fel- 
lows who  then  comprised  the  citizenship;  yet 
it  was  natural  that  their  feelings  should  be 
stirred  to  the  depths  by  the  prospect  of  others 
coming  to  dispossess  them  of  their  homes;  to 
upset  their  businesses  and  to  change  the  trend 
of  their  lives. 

The  cow  people  as  they  were  pleased  to  call 
themselves  loved  their  calling  and  had  come 
to  almost  believe  that  the  ranges  occupied  by 
them  belonged  to  them  as  by  birthright.  For  a 
long  time  their  possession  had  been  without 
hindrance  of  other  men  or  the  government. 

Strains  of  the  "cowboy  Swan  song"  could 
be  heard  in  the  spring  of  1884  in  any  cow  camp 


in  Dawes  county.  By  the  fall  of  the  year 
every  cowboy  realized  that  the  new  era  was  at 
hand.  The  distinction  of  being  the  first  to  ac- 
knowledge it  is  accorded  to  Sam  Cross  of  the 
'"33"  outfit  who  rode  into  camp  between  Red 
Cloud  and  Mayfield  ranch  one  noon  and  after 
listening  to  the  boys  discussing  the  possible 
tide  of  settlement  he  solemnly  said  : 

"Fellers  it's  this-away.  Cow  time  in  this 
country  will  soon  be  over ;  the  grangers  are 
already  hyar;  thar's  two  of  'em  aholden  down 
Squaw  crick  this  mawnin.'  I  jest  come  by 
and  talked  to  'em  and  seed  their  government 
paper  writin's  fer  the  land  ;  and  you  shore  can't 
beat  the  game.  So  my  advice  to  you-all  to 
hurry  up  and  git  some  corn-fed  gal  to  adopt 
ye  and  then  turn  in  and  hep  her  make  a  livin' 
jest  like  ye  was  born  a  granger." 

A  few  like  Bob  and  Ben  Harrison  and  Billy 
Lockler  took  his  advice  and  stayed  with  the 
country,  married  and  adapted  themselves  to 
the  changed  conditions.  But  the  most  of  them 
pushed  out  into  New  Mexico,  Wyoming  and 
Montana  or  wherever  a  range  country  could  be 
found.  The  dissolution  of  the  cowboy  clans 
of  Dawes  county  was  practically  complete  by 
the  summer  of  1885. 

"Dancers  Hill"  in  Sioux  county  is  the  first 
reference  to  dancing  in  northwestern  Nebraska. 
"Dancing  Buttes"  in  Dawes  count}-  is  also  old 
with  Indian  tradition.  But  the  dance  hall  came 
with  the  saloon  and  the  forts ;  the  stage  station 
and  the  railroad.  Johnny  Owens  and  John 
Cotton  were  two  of  the  well  known  characters 
who  maintained  such  places  in  the  early  years. 

In  1884  Cotton's  place  near  Fort  Robinson 
ceased  to  operate.  It  was  maintained  just  over 
the  line  of  the  reservation  near  the  present  site 
of  the  city  of  Crawford.  Here  were  frequent 
fracases  between  the  cowboys  and  the  soldiers. 
John  Cotton  was  an  ex-cow-puncher.  One 
days  in  the  justice  court  at  Fort  Robinson 
where  Cotton  was  an  trial  for  some  misde- 
meanor Jack  Talbott,  the  foreman  of  the  Ox- 
yoke  ranch,  was  asked  to  state  his  opinion  as 
to  Cotton's  general  reputation.  He  replied  with 
this  quaint  expression: 

"Well,  he's  a  pretty  good  feller,  but  he  sells 
licker  that  would  make  a  hummin'  bird  spit 
in  a  rattlesnake's  eye." 


534 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  II 


CLIMATE— AGRICULTURE  AND  SOILS 


The  soil  survey  of  Dawes  county  is  very 
complete.  The  county  lies  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  state,  has  an  area  of  1,402  square 
miles,  or  897,280  acres. 

Physiographically  the  county  includes  por- 
tions of  two  main  divisions.  The  southern 
part  lies  within  the  High  Plains,  the  northern 
part  in  a  lowland  belt.  That  part  of  the  High 
Plains  lying  within  the  county  is  known  in 
Nebraska  geography  as  the  Dawes  Table,  and 
occupies  the  southern  third  of  the  county. 

The  Niobrara  river  drains  about  450  square 
miles  of  the  county  on  the  south  and  the  White 
river  drains  all  the  remainder,  except  about  35 
square  miles  in  the  northwest  corner,  which 
drains  north  into  the  Cheyenne  river.  The 
White  river  rises  in  Sioux  county,  about  30 
miles  west  of  the  Dawes  county  line,  and  flows 
in  a  northeasterly  direction,  crossing  into  South 
Dakota  about  two  miles  from  the  eastern  coun- 
ty line.  The  valley  is  approximately  45  miles 
long,  but  the  length  of  the  stream  is  much 
greater  because  of  its  meandering  course. 

Numerous  tributaries  flow  southeasterly  into 
the  White  river,  the  most  important  of  which 
are  Big  Cottonwood,  Little  Cottonwood,  Rush, 
and  Lone  Tree  creeks.  These  streams  have 
carved  out  narrow  valleys  and  in  general  are 
bordered  by  narrow  strips  of  bottom  land. 
They  are  cutting  rapidly  near  their  sources, 
and  much  slower  in  their  lower  courses  ;  but 
the  White  river  and  its  tributaries  are  eroding 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent  all  along  their 
•courses.  Numerous  tributaries,  of  which  the 
most  important  are  Beaver,  Bordeaux,  Chad- 
ron.  Dead  Horse.  Indian  and  Ash  creeks,  enter 
the  White  river  from  the  south,  flowing  almost 
due  north  from  their  sources  in  the  Pine  Ridge 
watershed.  Here  they  have  deep  channels, 
which  are  being  rapidly  intrenched. 

How  County  Was  Formed 

Dawes  county  was  formed  from  a  part  of 
Sioux'  county  in  1885.  Settlement  had  begun 
a  few  years  before,  and  by  1886  nearly  all  the 
land  had  been  filed  upon  under  the  public- land 
laws.  The  lowlands  along  the  White  river  and 
Bordeaux  creek  were  first  taken  up  and  later 
settlement  spread  over  the  entire  county.  The 
early  settlers  were  of  many  nationalities,  a 
large  percentage  being  American  born. 

In  1910  the  total  population  of  the  county 
was  8.254.     Approximately  89  per  cent  of  the 


population  consists  of  native  white  persons 
and  nine  per  cent  of  foreign  born.  The  princi- 
pal foreign  nationalities  represented  are  Ger- 
man, Irish,  English  and  Swedish.  The  rural 
population,  including  the  residents  of  all  the 
towns  except  Chadron,  constitutes  67.4  per  cent 
of  the  total  and  averages  four  persons  to  the 
square  mile.  The  most  densely  populated  areas 
are  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Chadron  and 
Crawford,  in  the  White  river  valley,  on  the 
flat  north  of  Crawford,  and  on  the  Dawes 
Table.  The  area  of  Pierre  clay  soil  and  the 
country  between  the  Dawes  Table  and  the 
Niobrara  valley  are  very  sparsely  settled. 

Chadron,  the  county  seat  and  principal  town, 
is  situated  about  ten  miles  northeast  of  the 
center  of  the  county.  This  town  is  a  division 
point  on  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  railroad, 
and  the  shops  operated  here  furnish  employ- 
ment for  quite  a  large  number  of  men.  Craw- 
ford is  situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Chicago, 
Burlington  &  Quincy  railroad  and  the  Chicago 
&  Northwestern  railroad,  about  four  miles  from 
the  western  county  line.  This  town  is  noted 
for  its  horse  markets.  It  owes  its  growth  part- 
ly to  the  establishment  of  a  military  reserva- 
tion nearby  and  partly  to  the  development  of ' 
the  surrounding  farming  community.  Mars- 
land,  Whitney,  Wayside,  and  Belmont  are  other 
towns  in  the  county,  named  in  order  of  impor- 
tance. Fort  Robinson  lies  near  the  western  bor- 
der of  the  county,  on  the  Chicago  &  North- 
western railroad. 

The  Chicago  &  Northwestern  railroad  be- 
tween Omaha,  Nebraska,  and  Lander,  Wyom- 
ing, crosses  the  county  east  and  west.  A  branch 
runs  northwest  from  Dakota  Junction  to  Dead- 
wood  and  the  Black  Hills.  The  main  line  of 
the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  railroad  be- 
tween Omaha  and  Denver  on  the  south  and 
Billings.  Mont.,  on  the  north,  crosses  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  county,  passing  through  Mars- 
land  and  Crawford. 

Agriculture 

The  first  settlers  to  make  use  of  the  agricul- 
tural resources  of  Dawes  county  were  cattle- 
men. During  the  period  from  1877  to  1884  ag- 
riculture was  confined  to  the  grazing  of  cattle 
on  the  free,  open  range,  where  a  variety  of  nu- 
tritious grasses  furnished  good  summer  and 
fair  winter  grazing.  Winter  losses  were  very 
heavy  at  times,  but  usually  the  profits  on  the 


HISTORY  <  )F  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


535 


animals  that  survived  were  large.  Grain  farm- 
ing began  to  replace  open-range  ranching  about 
1884,  when  settlers  began  to  take  up  the  al- 
luvial lands  along  Bordeaux  creek  and  White 
river.  A  little  later  homeseekers  from  the  vi- 
cinity of  Sidney,  to  the  south,  settled  upon  the 
table  and  park  lands.  At  that  time  the  nearest 
railroad  points  were  Sidney  to  the  south  and 
Valentine  to  the  east.  By  the  end  of  188b  set- 
tlement had  spread  to  all  parts  of  the  county. 
A  large  percentage  of  the  tillable  land  was 
brought  under  cultivation,  and  it  is  probable 
there  was  as  much  land  in  cultivation  before 
1890  as  there  is  at  the  present  time.  Corn,  cats, 
and  potatoes  were  grown  for  home  use,  but 
wheat  early  became  the  money  crop. 

At  the  present  time  the  smooth  land  of  the 
White  River  Valley  is  largely  held  in  compara- 
tively small  farms  devoted  to  grain  production, 
general  farming,  and,  to  a  small  extent,  dairy- 
ing. The  remainder  of  the  area  is  utilized  by 
stock  farmers  and  ranchers,  many  of  whom 
cultivate  only  sufficient  lands  to  produce  grain 
and  hay  for  feed. 

The  most  extensively  grown  crop  is  corn, 
which  occupied  16,532  acres.     In   1910  wheat 


One  H 


or  Dawes  County  Spuds 


and  oats  both  ranked  above  corn  in  acreage, 
but  the  latter  crop  has  been  increasing.  A  few 
farmers  raise  more  corn  than  they  require  and 
sell  the  surplus  in  the  community.  Corn  is 
used  for  feeding  hogs,  cattle  and  horses.  The 
demand  is  greater  than  the  supply,  and  there 
is  a  large  annual  importation  from  the  corn 
belt. 

Wheat  ranks  second  in  importance  among 
the  grain  crops.  The  average  yield  is  thirteen 
bushels  per  acre.  There  are  two  flour  mills  in 
the  county,  but  the  greater  part  ot  the  crop  is 
shipped  to  eastern  markets.  The  quality  of  the 
grain  is  generally  very  good. 

Oats  rank  third  in  acreage.  About  10,000 
acres  annually  are  devoted  to  this  crop.  The 
production  is  practically  all  used  within  the 
county  for  feeding  stock. 


Rye  is  an  important  crop  in  local  areas, 
mainly  on  the  table-land  and  park  lands.  This 
crop  occupies  3,700  acres  annually  with  an 
average  yield  of  19.4  bushels  per  acre.  Part 
of  the  crop  is  used  by  local  mills,  but  the 
greater  part  is  shipped  out  of  the  county. 

According  to  the  census,  about  50,000  acres 
are  devoted  to  hay  production.  Of  this  total, 
about  40,000  acres  are  in  wild  grasses.  The 
feeding  value  of  the  western  wheat  grass 
which  grows  in  the  Pierre  clay  region  is  very 
good,  and  the  hay  always  brings  a  premium  on 
the  market.  The  other  grasses  cut  are  the  blue- 
stem  and  grama.  Alfalfa  is  the  principal  culti- 
vated hay  crop,  occupying  over  10,000  or  more 
acres.  Much  of  the  hay  produced  is  fed  to 
stock,  but  a  large  tonnage  is  shipped  to  both 
eastern  and  western  markets  and  to  the  Black 
Hills. 

Irish  potatoes  are  an  important  product  in 
certain  sections  of  the  county,  especially  on  the 
eroded  table-lands  in  the  vicinity  of  Belmont 
and  Marsland,  where  the  sandy  soil  is  very 
well  suited  to  the  crop.  About  2,500  acres  are 
devoted  to  potatoes.  Yields  as  high  as  200 
bushels  per  acre  are  frequently  obtained.  The 
production  is  sold  mostly  to  eastern  buyers, 
who  come  into  the  county  and  contract  with 
the  farmers  at  the  time  of  harvest. 

Barley  and  spelts  are  at  present  relatively  un- 
important crops,  but  they  are  gaining  in  favor 
on  account  of  their  seemingly  greater  resist- 
ance to  drought.  Very  little  barley  or  spelt 
is  marketed. 

Fruits,  including  apples,  cherries,  and  plums, 
are  grown  to  a  small  extent.  Few  orchards 
receive  proper  care.  Strawberries  do  well,  but 
are  not  produced  commercially. 

Nearly  every  farm  has  as  much  pasture 
land  as  cultivated  land,  and  most  farms  have 
more.  In  the  region  occupied  by  the  Pierre 
clay,  and  in  the  area  lying  south  of  the  Dawes 
Table,  nearly  all  of  the  land  is  used  for 
grazing. 

The  value  of  poultry  and  eggs  produced  is 
$60,000  annually.  About  one-half  of  the  pro- 
duction was  sold.  On  practically  every  farm 
chickens  are  kept  in  greater  or  less  number. 

The  size  of  farms  in  Dawes  county  ranges 
from  a  few  acres  to  several  sections.  Most  of 
the  farms  are  between  300  and  1.500  acres 
in  size,  and  the  average  size  for  the  county  is 
897.8  acres. 

Seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  farms  are  oper- 
ated by  owners,  as  compared  with  85.6  per 
cent  in  1900,  and  95  per  cent  in  1890.  The 
cash  and  share  rental  systems  are  about  evenly 
divided  in  favor.  Share  rent  ranges  from  one- 
fourth   to  one-third  of   the  crop.     Cash   rent 


536 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


ranges  from  50  cents  to  $5  an  acre,  depending 
on  the  location  and  value  of  the  land. 

Irrigation  is  carried  on  quite  generally  along 
/he  Niobrara  and  White  rivers  and  their  tribu- 
taries. There  are  no  public  ditches,  but  far- 
mers have  co-operated  in  the  construction  of 
systems  to  supply  water  to  small  areas  of  first- 
bottom  and  terrace  land.  In  some  years,  as  in 
the  summer  of  1915,  there  is  sufficient  rain- 
fall to  make  irrigation  unnecessary.  A  large 
project  for  irrigation  along  the  White  river 
was  inaugurated  near  Crawford  about  twenty 
years  ago,  with  a  capital  of  $150,000.     This 


was  expended,  but  obstacles  were  encountered 
which  prevented  the  completion  of  the  project 
and  the  results  obtained  were  of  little  import- 
ance. The  small  private  ditches,  however, 
have  proved  very  successful.  Alfalfa  is  the 
main  crop  grown  under  irrigation,  although 
some  wild-hay  land  is  irrigated.  Practically  all 
the  terrace  and  first-bottom  land  along  the 
White  river  and  the  first-bottom  soils  along 
the  Niobrara  river  are  irrigable. 


Stock  Raising  and  Other  Interesting 
Facts 

About  five  years  ago  Harry  B.  Coffee  made 
a  statement  which  is  reproduced  here  relative 
to  stock-raising,  there  being  no  better  authority 
on  the  subject.  It  is  full  of  interesting  facts 
on  other  matters  also: 

Fifteen  years  ago  most  of  the  land  north 
and  west  of  White  river  was  government  land 
and  free  range  through  to  Cheyenne  river.  In 
those  days  most  ranchmen  in  northern  Dawes 
county  ran  their  herds  on  this  range  in  the 
summer  months  and  shipped  them  in  the  fall, 
except  what  they  reserved  to  carry  over  for 
the  next  season  and  these  they  took  home. 

Much  of  this  land  known  as  "gumbo"  pro- 
duced the  very  best  of  grazing  known  as  buff- 
alo grass.  This  grass  has  unusual  fattening 
qualities  and  is  inferior  only  to  grain. 

All  over  this  vast  range  are  water  holes 
which  fill  up  from  melting  snow  and  spring 
rains  and  hold  out  the  entire  season. 

At  present  all  this  land  has  been  home- 
steaded,  fenced,  and  much  of  it  under  cultiva- 
tion, producing  good  crops  when  properly  tilled. 
There  are  probably  not  more  than  one  half  as 
many  cattle  south  of  White  river  as  formerly 
while  north  of  the  river  the  number  is  not 
much  lessened,  while  the  introduction  of  reg- 
istered stock  has  greatly  improved  the  quality. 

Years  ago  many  two  year  old  steers  were 
shipped  in  from  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  these 
were  kept  until  three  or  four  years  old  then 
shipped  to  South  Omaha  and  compared  fav- 
orably wtih  the  grain  fed  cattle  of  like  age. 

But  few  cattle  are  shipped  in  except  regis- 
tered stock  as  most  ranchmen  aim  to  produce 
their  own  cattle  and  also  to  raise  and  husband 
enough  feed  to  carry  their  stock  over  the  win- 
ter regardless  of  weather.  Dawes  county  has 
never  been  infested  by  any  epidemic  among 
cattle,  horses  or  hogs.  Alfalfa  grows  abund- 
antly wherever  it  is  sown  in  Dawes  county 
and  the  seed  produced  here  is  a  very  high 
grade. 

With  the  raising  of  the  grade  of  cattle  many 
have  been  induced  to  adopt  the  dairy  strains 
and  as  a  result  a  creamery  and  ice  plant  is  now 
being  built  to  care  for  the  cream  output.  Cattle 
are  being  inspected  to  insure  pure  products  and 
Dawes  county  may  soon  hope  to  be  a  leader 
in  the  production  of  butter  and  other  creamery 
outputs. 

We,  who  came  as  pioneers  of  the  cattie  and 
horse  industry  of  this  part,  are  proud  of  the 
fact  that  we  have  never  lost  faith  in  the  re- 
sults and  they  are  even  beyond  our  most  san- 
guine expectations  and  we  believe  we  shall  live 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


537 


to  see  the  home  of  our  choice,  the  most  pros- 
perous part  of  the  grandest  state  in  the  union. 

We  know  whereof  we  speak  and  are  still  in 
the  business  and  have  no  desire  to  change  our 
occupation.  The  cow  has  been  and  is  the 
Queen  of  Nebraska.  Raise  good  stock  and  you 
are  sure  of  good  results.  It  costs  less  to  pro- 
duce good  stock  than  scrubs  and  oh  what  a 
difference  in  the  outcome. 

Horses  are  raised  in  great  numbers  here  and 
the  small  western  horse  is  rapidly  being  dis- 
placed or  rather  replaced  by  standard  breeds 
of  English  and  French  draft  and  roadster 
class.  Dawes  county  has  furnished  several 
hundreds  of  horses  for  the  European  war  zone 
in  the  last  six  months. 

We  have  had  ample  chance  to  observe  the 
outcome  of  attempts  at  ranching  and  farm- 
ing in  Dawes  county  and  will  say,  fearless  of 
successful  contradiction,  that  every  man  who 
has  made  a  persistent  effort  has  had  his  labors 
crowned  with  success.  And  we  look  forward 
to  the  time,  in  the  near  future,  when  Dawes 
county  shall  be  the  leader  of  the  state  in  the 
production,  not  only  of  stock,  but  also  of  grain 
and  other  products  that  are  simply  awaiting 
brain  and  brawn  for  their  development.  It  is 
true  that  the  time  of  saddle  farming  is  past 
but  the  time  of  real  farming  is  in  its  embryotic 
state  in  Dawes  county. 

Dawes  county,  the  only  county  in  the  west- 
ern half  of  the  state  without  a  sandhill,  has 
more  running  creeks,  more  timber,  more  irri- 
gated acres  of  alfalfa  and  excepting  Cherry, 
more  miles  of  railroad  than  any  of  the  twenty- 
five  western  counties  in  Nebraska.  Dawes 
county  has  two  rivers  and  over  twenty-six 
creeks  winding  through  fertile  valleys  verdant 
with  fields  of  alfalfa,  wheat,  oats  and  corn. 
There  are  more  than  13,000  acres  of  alfalfa 
in  the  county.  Though  this  is  a  great  increase 
over  the  alfalfa  acreage  five  years  ago,  five 
years  more  will  see  even  a  greater  increase. 
Thousands  of  acres  of  the  best  land  in  the 
county  lie  idle.  Too  many  farmers  are  wait- 
ing for  volunteer  alfalfa  to  take  their  places. 
Others  have  too  much  land  and  can  develop 
but  a  small  part  of  their  holdings.  Within  six 
miles  of  Chadron  are  five  separate  ranches 
each  comprising  over  two  thousand  acres  and 
each  capable  of  supporting  ten  families  or 
fifty  families  in  all,  if  the  land  were  divided  up 
in  smaller  tracts  and  the  resources  of  each  de- 
veloped. The  resources  are  here.  All  that  is 
needed  to  make  Dawes  county  a  garden  spot 
is  new  energy  and  new  capital. 

Seventeen  hundred  bushels  of  carrots  to  the 
acre  seems  almost  impossible,  but  such  a  crop 


was  raised  by  J.  W.  Good  on  his  farm  six 
miles  east  of  Chadron.  He  raises  every  year 
from  five  hundred  to  six  hundred  bushels  of 
onions  to  the  acre  and  from  thirty  to  thirty- 
five  tons  of  stock  beets  to  the  acre.  Last 
year,  one  of  the  driest  years  of  record,  his 
corn  went  fifty  bushels;  his  wheat  has  run  as 
high  as  thirty-six  bushels  and  his  oats  sixty- 
three  bushels  to  the  acre.  Mr.  Good  is  one  of 
the  biggest  hog  raisers  in  the  state.  He  has 
about  twelve  hundred  hogs  feeding  on  alfalfa. 
He  gets  a  cent  a  pound  more  for  his  hogs  than 
the  market  price  because  they  are  free  from 
disease  and  find  a  ready  market  at  the  serum 
plants  at  advanced  prices.  Dawes  county  has 
never  had  a  case  of  hog  cholera.  There  is  lots 
of  money  to  be  made  raising  hogs  where  alfalfa 
is  so  easily  produced.  Mr.  Good  has  over  five 
hundred  acres  in  alfalfa  besides  raising  a 
greater  variety  of  crops  than  any  other  farmer 
in  Dawes  county.  He  has  proved  that  Dawes 
county  will  raise  almost  any  crop  raised  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state  when  properly  cared 
for. 

Other  Dawes  county  farmers  will  verify 
statements  as  to  their  yields.  Schwabe  brothers 
last  year  netted  over  $60  per  acre  from  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  alfalfa  six  miles 
north  of  Chadron.  They  cut  the  first  crop  for 
hay  which  averaged  about  a  ton  and  a  half  to 
the  acre.  The  next  crop  was  left  for  seed 
and  averaged  from  five  to  eight  bushels  per 
acre.  Dr.  Wes  Grantham  is  author  of  the 
statement  that  his  alfalfa  land  three  miles  south 
of  Chadron,  netted  him  more  than  $80  per 
acre  last  year.  Dawes  county  seed  is  recog- 
nized as  a  superior  quality  throughout  the 
country.  John  O'Donnell  won  first  prize  at 
the  state  fair  with  his  Dawes  county  seed  raised 
along  the  Niobrara  valley.  At  the  Land  Show 
in  Omaha  when  all  the  farming  sections  from 
the  Missouri  river  to  the  Pacific  were  in  com- 
petition, Dawes  county  won  first  prize  with  its 
alfalfa  seed,  testing  98  per  cent  pure. 

Dawes  county  last  year  won  two  out  of  the 
three  first  prizes  given  to  the  boy  or  girl  in 
the  state  showing  the  biggest  yield  of  poatoes, 
corn  and  garden  produce.  Dawes  county  won 
the  state  championship  on  potatoes  and  garden 
produce.  Frank  Chaulk,  17  years  old,  raised 
two  hundred  bushels  of  marketable  potatoes  on 
one  acre,  doing  all  the  work  himself,  and  beat 
all  the  other  counties  in  the  state  with  his  yield. 

The  garden  truck  prize  went  to  Myrtle 
Mann  who  netted  $71.20  from  one  tenth  of  an 
acre  of  ground  five  miles  south  of  Chadron. 
She  not  only  won  the  state  championship  for 


5.W 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Dawes  county  but  won  second  prize  in  the 
national  contest  competing  against  all  the 
other  counties  in  the  United  States.  This  shows 
what  Dawes  county  can  do  under  intense  culti- 
vation. 

The    following    table    shows    what    Dawes 
county  produced: 
Crop  Bushels 

Corn  198,384 

Spring  Wheat 125,100 

Oats    218,243 

Rye 71.838 

Barlev 13,542 

Potatoes  131040 

Alfalfa   (tons)    27,394 

Wild  Hay  ( tons')   8,641 


hay  in  the  stack  since  it  cures  up  before  frost 
and  thus  conserves  its  nutrition.  This  is  one 
of  the  greatest  assets  for,  with  plenty  of  pas- 
turage, only  a  small  amount  of  hay  is  necessary. 
This  reduces  the  cost  of  production  to  a  mini- 
mum. 

With  good  winter  pasturage,  two  hundred 
tons  of  hay  will  easily  winter  five  hundred  head 
of  cattle  in  Dawes  county.  The  eastern  part  of 
the  state  would  require  several  times  that  much 
hay  to  carry  the  same  number  of  cattle  through 
the  winter,  because  the  grass  is  of  little  value 
after  frost  hits  it.  Horses  usually  run  out  all 
winter  without  hay  and  work  in  the  summer 
without  grain.  Eat  cattle  right  off  Dawes 
county   grass   bring  nearly   as   much   as   corn 


Superior  Domixo-557924,  0\yxi:i>  r.v  Mrs.  \Ym.  Rrawuick,  Chadron. 


Dawes  county  ranks  fourth  in  the  state  in 
the  production  of  spring  wheat.  This  «record 
is  exceptionally  good  when  you  consider  the 
fact  that  there  are  only  five  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  men  over  twenty-one  years  old 
on  the  farms  in  Dawes  county. 

The  live  stock  industry  is,  of  course,  the 
chief  industry  in  the  county.  No  country  can 
be  better  adapted  to  the  raising  of  cattle  than 
Dawes  county.  Its  grasses  are  nutritious  and 
fattening.     The  grass  is  as  good  in  winter  as 


fed  cattle  on  the  market.  Grazing  land  is 
cheap  and  the  cost  of  raising  livestock  of  all 
kinds  is  very  low  as  compared  to  the  cost  to 
the  eastern  farmer  on  his  high  priced  land,  who 
has  to  feed  corn  winter  and  summer  to  fatten 
his  cattle.  The  eastern  feeders  are  casting  en- 
vious eyes  in  this  direction  and  it  won't  be 
long  before  a  good  many  of  them  will  have  a 
Dawes  county  ranch  to  supply  their  feed  lots 
with  cattle. 

Though  Dawes  county  is  suffering  the  same 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


539 


as    the   country   in  general    from   shortage   in  The   following  table   shows  the  number  of 

cattle,  it  now  has  a  better  grade  of  stock.    One  livestock  in   Dawes  county  in    1914,   as  com- 

of  the  biggest  herds  of  registered  cattle  in  the  pared  to  1907: 

state  is  owned  by   William  Braddock   on  his 

ranch  north  of  Chadrori.     Mr.   Braddock  has  Kind                                           1914               1907 

over  three  hundred  and  fifty  head  of   regis-     Cattle 21,181  43,975 

tered  Herefords.     It  doesn't  cost   very  much      Sheep  5,542  20,600 

more  to  raise  good  stock  and  the  returns  are      Hogs    4,494  2,275 

several  times  as  much.    Mr.  Braddock  sells  his      Horses   10.132  8,239 

calves  for  two  and  three  times  as  much  as  the      Mules  and  Jacks 527  123 

ordinary  calf   will   bring.     There   are  several     . 

herds  of  registered  cattle  in  Dawes  county.  2,485  milch  cows  included. 

The  cattle  business  offers  one  of  the  greatest 

opportunities   open   to    capital    at    the   present  Dawes  county  has  the  natural  resources  to 


time.  Prices  may  fluctuate,  but  they  will  have 
a  steady  upward  trend  to  meet  the  ever  in- 
creasing demand  from  both  home  and  abroad. 
Statistics  show  that  there  were  in  the  United 
States,  in  1907,  over  72,533,000  head  of  cattle, 
as  compared  to  58,592,000  in  1914.  The  de- 
mand has  been  increasing  steadily  and  the  sup- 
ply decreasing.  Ther.e  is  only  one  logical  con- 
clusion — ■  higher  prices.  When  the  war  ended, 
restocking  Europe's  farms  commenced,  the  de- 
mand should  increase  and  the  prices  soar  to  a 
new  level.  Now  is  the  time  to  get  into  the 
cattle  business  before  the  rise  in  prices  and  the 
consequential  advance  in  land  values. 


care  for  three  times  the  number  of  livestock 
that  now  graze  its  pastures.  In  1907  it  had 
twice  as  many  and  its  alfalfa  production  was 
only  half  as  great. 

When  Dawes  county's  agricultural  re- 
sources are  developed,  Chadron,  the  county 
seat,  will  outgrow  its  corporate  limits  in  search 
of  room  for  expansion.  Already  Chadron  is 
recognized  as  an  educational  center  of  western 
Nebraska.  With  a  State  Normal  School,  an 
annual  pay  roll  of  nearly  a  million  dollars  from 
the  railroad,  and  a  rich  agricultural  commun- 
ity, Chadron  bids  fair  to  become  a  city  of  ten 
thousand  people. 


540 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  III 


SETTLEMENT  AND  INDIAN   DAYS  IN  DAWES  COUNTY 


Quite  a  few  made  their  filings  on  land  with- 
out having  seen  it.  relying  upon  statements 
made  by  locators  residing  at  Valentine.  These 
agents  had  only  a  general  idea  as  to  the  qual- 
ity and  lay  of  land,  and  result  was  a  few  set- 
tlers who  made  entries  in  this  way  were  dis- 
appointed with  selections  made  through  proxy. 

During  the  summer  of  1884  a  great  rush  of 
homeseekers  made  entries  under  the  pre-emp- 
tion and  timber  culture  acts  at  Valentine  land 
office,  but  only  a  comparative  few  established 
actual  residence  on  lands  before  the  spring  of 
1885. 

Peter  B.  Nelson,  with  his  wife,  Olaffine,  and 
two  children,  Nellie  and  Ernest,  antedate  any 
of  the  other  settlers  of  the  county  by  several 


The  new  arrivals  were  mostly  young,  and 
eager  to  quickly  build  up  new  homes  and  con- 
vert the  prairie  into  garden  patches  and  grain 
fields,  and  the  activity  displayed  on  every  hand 
was  convincing  proof  to  the  few  old  timers 
that  a  new  era  for  Dawes  county  was  an  ac- 
complished fact. 

By  the  fall  of  1885  the  population  of  the 
country  districts  was  larger  than  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  for  the  reason  that  the  lands  of  the 
county  as  a  rule  are  now  owned  in  larger 
tracts.  Up  to  1892  but  few  had  turned  their 
attention  to  stock-raising,  and  they  in  a  very 
modest  way. 

By  1892  most  of  the  settlers  had  made  final 
proof  on  lands  and  secured  small  loans  from 


years,  having  settled  on  Bordeaux  Creek, 
three  miles  east  of  Chadron,  along  with  the 
first  cattle  ranch  in  1878,  and  holding  land  by 
virtue  of  "Squatters'  Rights"  until  legal  entry 
could  be  made. 

The  next  settlers  to  arrive  were  Mrs.  Fan- 
nie M.  B.  O'Linn,  with  her  daughter  and  two 
sons,  and  Hiram  J.  Ingersoll  and  family,  both 
families  establishing  residence  on  Chadron 
creek  in  March,  1884,  and  Howard  G.  Fur- 
niaii  and  family,  on  Niobrara  river,  a  few 
miles  east  of  Marsland  in  the  earlv  spring  of 
1884. 

In  the  spring  of  1885  a  stream  of  settlers 
came  to  settle  upon  lands  previously  entered 
ai  the  land  office. 


eastern  investors  by  mortgaging  to  secure 
funds  to  pay  the  government  $1.25  per  acre  on 
pre-emption  claims,  and  the  crop  failure  of 
that  year,  combined  with  land  prices,  made 
payment  of  interest  impossible,  and  the  value 
of  the  lands  depreciated  to  almost  nothing. 
Many  eastern  investors  refused  to  pay  the  very 
small  taxes  then  levied,  together  with  the  ex- 
pense of  foreclosure  suits  necessary  to  secure 
title,  and  allowed  their  mortgage  liens  to  lapse. 
This  was  so  general  that  the  county  itself  was 
compelled  to  foreclose  on  lands  for  collection 
of  taxes  under  what  was  known  as  the  tax 
scavenger  act.  The  bulk  of  these  foreclosures 
by  the  county  came  in  1900.  during-which  year 
110  cases  were  brought  in  the  district  court  by 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


541 


the  county  attorney  and  the  lands  sold.  Sales 
of  farm  lands  of  this  kind  forced  by  the  coun- 
ty, and  numerous  foreclosures  of  tax  liens  by 
individuals,  was  the  opportune  time  for  the 
formation  of  ranches  and  putting  together 
tracts  of  1,000  and  2,000  acres  by  those  who 
"hung  on"  to  the  country,  and  the  laying  of 
foundations  for  many  fortunes  amassed  by 
ranchmen  in  later  years. 

The  season  of  1885  was  good,  and  although 
farming  operations  were,  of  course,  limited, 
returns  were  satisfactory,  and  inspired  the 
newcomers  with  faith  in  the  country  and  to 
doubt  the  statements  so  often  put  forth  by  cat- 
tlemen that  it  was  fitted  only  for  range  cattle 
and  Indians. 

During  the  next  six  years  —  1886  to  1891  — 
settlers  just  plodded  along  and  "farmed,"  most 
of  them  with  inferior  work  animals  and  inade- 
quate machinery.  Generally  speaking,  farming 
was  indifferently  done  and  crop  yields  not  what 
they  might  have  been,  although  seasons  were 
fair. 

In  1892  came  a  severe  drouth,  accompanied 
by  the  panic  and  extremely  low  prices,  and 
every  day  added  to  the  sombre  color  of  the 
industrial  life  of  the  county,  and  made  the 
problem  of  existence  more  complex.  The  his- 
tory of  the  nation  may  record  that  the  panic 
came  in  1893,  but  the  fact  is  that  its  fury  was 
upon  all  of  western  Nebraska  as  early  as  the 
summer  of  1892.  Dry  seasons  lasted  for  seven 
years. 

No  single  epic  in  the  history  of  Dawes  coun- 
ty holds  so  much  of  human  interest  as  the  story 
of  the  pioneer  homebuilders  who  faced  the 
drouth,  the  panic  and  the  low  prices  of  the 
'90's.  The  pathos  of  those  drouth  stricken 
days,  when  stout  hearts  yielded  to  dishearten- 
ing conditions;  those  days  "when  all  the  west 
went  broke,"  was  an  experience  never  to  be 
forgotten  by  those  who  witnessed  or  were  a 
part  of  the  exodus  of  a  large  portion  of  our 
people  from  their  homes  in  poverty  and  in 
doubt  as  to  where  they  would  go  or  what  the 
future  had  in  store  for  them.  The  industrial 
conditions  prevailing  elsewhere  were  not  in- 
viting to  those  now  impoverished  who  had  so 
recently  been  home  owners  and  land  owners 
of  Dawes  county. 

Much  could  be  written  of  the  individual 
struggle  by  business  and  professional  men  and 
farmers  to  avert  the  failures  they  were  so 
helpless  to  escape,  when  poverty  was  a  normal 
condition,  and  the  resources  of  the  country 
were  so  dried  up  that  the  business  man  could 
not  help  the  farmer  nor  vice  versa  ;  when  many 
business  men  closed  their  doors  and  went  home 


to  the  "wife's  folks,"  and  farmers  loaded  their 
belongings  into  prairie  schooners  and  bade  fare- 
well to  homes  and  surroundings  upon  which 
the  affections  and  hopes  had  been  placed,  and 
tracked  east  or  west  to  commence  over  again. 
Mention  of  the  conditions  prevailing  which 
molded  the  lives  of  our  people  at  that  time 
would  be  incomplete  unless  tribute  was  paid  to 
the  courage  and  resourcefulness  of  the  women. 
Men  may  excel  in  physical  courage,  but  the 
moral  courage  displayed  by  the  women  gener- 
ally in  those  sombre  days  was  fully  sufficient 
to  warrant  any  student  of  human  nature  in 
concluding  that  in  time  of  universal  and  long 
drawn  out  disaster  and  hardship  the  women 
can  carry  the  heavy  load.  The  sublime  hope 
and  courage  of  the  women  of  Dawes  county 
were  the  chief  props  of  our  community  life 
during  the  disastrous  years  of  the  nineties. 

The  people  of  the  county  today  have  no 
more  fear  of  a  return  of  the  conditions  of  the 
nineties  than  of  a  repetition  of  the  grasshopper 
scourge,  for  the  reason  that  we  have  learned 
what  the  country  is  adapted  for  and  how  its 
natural  resources  may  be  utilized ;  our  indus- 
tries are  established  and  the  foundations  of 
our  prosperity  are  sure. 

Among  other  things,  those  pioneer  settlers 
did  demonstrate  for  us  that  ordinary  farming 
methods  as  carried  on  in  eastern  Nebraska  and 
Iowa  were  largely  impractical  in  Dawes  county 
in  the  average  season;  that  the  breeding  and 
raising  of  horses,  cattle  and  hogs,  and  the 
growing  of  alfalfa  were  more  essential  to  the 
success  and  prosperity  of  the  agriculturist  than 
the  raising  of  wheat  and  other  cereals ;  that  is 
to  say,  experience  has  satisfied  the  old  timers 
that  it  is  a  country  better  adapted  to  ranching 
than  farming;  that  by  combining  ranching 
with  farming  the  income  for  a  term  of  years 
is  sure  and  certain,  for,  no  matter  how  un- 
favorable the  season,  a  fair  crop  of  grasses 
native  to  the  climate  is  sure  to  grow  and  ma- 
ture, which,  when  brown  and  cured,  are  rich 
in  substance  and  a  crop  of  much  money  value. 
It  requires  time  for  people  to  assimilate  the 
fact  that  the  sombre  terrain  of  brown  grass 
standing  on  the  ground  in  the  winter  season 
was  a  crop  that  could  be  depended  upon ;  that 
the  short  grass  was  not  withered  and  worth- 
less, but  cured  and  ripened  and  equivalent  to 
cured  hay  as  fodder.  As  they  came  to  under- 
stand the  value  of  the  grass  for  winter  rang- 
ing, there  came  also  a  realization  that  the  fod- 
der produced  by  a  blighted  wheat  or  oats  crop, 
if  husbanded  in  season,  was  of  much  value  as 
"roughing"  to  tide  over  the  periods  when  snow 
covered  the  grass;  and  the  art  of  averting  a 


542 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


crop  failure  was  learned.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  this  is  a  semi-arid  region,  but  the  state- 
ment needs  to  be  qualified ;  in  the  spring  time 
the  precipitation  is  as  sure  as  in  the  Missouri 
valley  region.  The  dry  weather  comes,  "if  at 
all,"  in  July  and  August.  The  agriculturist 
schooled  in  peculiarities  of  the  climate  remains 
"on  the  job"  very  closely  in  mid  crop  season. 
The  abundant  rainfall  in  spring  and  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil  gives  assurance  of  a  crop  equal 
to  that  of  eastern  Nebraska  or  Iowa  up  to  the 
latter  part  of  June,  after  which  the  rainfall  is 
more  uncertain,  and  then  if  drouth  sets  in  to 
threaten  the  small  grain  or  corn  crop  experi- 
ence seems  to  have  taught  the  grower  not  to 
gamble.  A  good  fodder  crop  will  repay  the 
expense  of  seeding  and  harvesting,  the  steer  in 
the  grass  pasture  or  the  hog  in  the  alfalfa 
patch  will  do  the  rest,  and  the  season  will  be 
rounded  out  as  a  success,  even  though  not  a 
bushel  of  grain  is  threshed. 

Some  Legends  of  Crow  Butte 
By  Wayne  T.  Wilson,  Chadron 

The  buttes  of  the  northwest  are  as  mile-posts 
marking  periods  and  events  in  the  history  of 
the  country.  Among  the  numerous  buttes  of 
this  section  of  the  country,  none  has  a  more  in- 
teresting history  than  "Crow  Butte."  Located 
five  miles  east  of  Crawford,  it  can  be  seen  for 
miles  in  every  direction,  standing  like  a  sentinel 
guarding  the  pine-clad  hills  on  the  south  and 
the  beautiful  White  river  valley,  which  winds 
across  the  country  at  its  feet  on  the  north.  Its 
battle-scarred  sides  are  evidences  of  the  hard 
fought  battles  which  occurred  between  the 
tribes  of  hostile  Indians  that  once  inhabited 
this  section  of  the  great  west.  A  view  of  this 
stately  rock  can  be  seen  in  this  issue,  showing 
also  the  approach  to  the  summit,  which  is  1,000 
feet  higher  than  the  surrounding  country.  The 
walls  on  the  opposite  side  near  the  top  have  a 
perpendicular  elevation  of  100  feet. 

Many  beautiful  Indian  legends  are  told  about 
this  historic  place.  The  incident  that  gave 
"Crow  Butte"  its  name  occurred  years  before 
white  men  saw  the  plains  of  Nebraska  and 
when  this  land  was  the  chosen  field  of  large 
herds  of  antelope  and  buffalo.  Here  the  In- 
dian came  in  quest  of  food  and  raiment  and 
here  the  tribes  met  and  struggled  for  suprem- 
acy. This  was  disputed  territory  between  the 
Sioux  and  Crow  Indians,  who  were  ever  bitter 
enemies,  and  the  entrance  of  one  tribe  or  the 
other  into  this  valley  meant  hostilities,  which 
only  ended  with  the  extermination  of  one  band 
or  the  other. 


It  was  in  the  early  sixties  —  no  one  can  as- 
certain the  exact  date,  but  as  the  Indian  will 
tell  you,  "many  moons  ago,"  long  before  Red 
Cloud  agency  occupied  this  same  ground  — 
that  two  bands  of  Indians  met  here  and  fought 
unceasingly  for  hours  and  hours,  until  both 
sides  were  reduced  to  less  than  half  their  num- 
ber. Such  open  fighting,  such  carnage  had 
never  before  been  witnessed  in  tribal  warfare. 
At  eventide,  on  the  third  day  of  conflict,  the 
Crows  recognized  their  disadvantage  and  ulti- 
mate defeat  and,  under  cover  of  darkness, 
withdrew  to  the  summit  of  this  butte,  with  the 
intention  of  using  it  as  a  fortification.  The 
Sioux  knew  well  there  was  no  escape  for  the 
Crows,  except  by  a  narrow  path,  by  which  they 
had  gained  the  top. 

Accordingly,  they  put  a  strong  guard  across 
this  path  and  fell  back  onto  the  creek,  to  care 
for  their  sick  and  wounded. 

For  a  time  it  looked  as  if  the  Crows  were 
doomed  to  starvation.  The  chiefs  and  wise 
men  were  called  in  council  to  devise  means  of 
escape.  It  was  decided  that  a  few  old  men 
among  them,  who  had  outlived  their  useful- 
ness, should  be  sacrificed  that  the  others  might 
live. 

The  old  men  were  stationed  on  the  side  of 
the  butte  where  they  would  be  in  plain  view 
of  the  Sioux  guard  and  instructed  to  chant 
their  weird  songs,  so  that  the  Sioux  might  not 
suspicion  their  undertaking.  The  rest  of  the 
band  were,  meanwhile,  busily  engaged  in  tear- 
ing in  twain  their  blankets,  which  they  tied  to- 
gether and  subsequently  used  as  a  means  of 
escape  over  the  north  precipice  of  Crow  Butte, 
a  distance  of  100  feet.  They  accomplished  this 
dangerous  task  during  the  night,  having  the 
old  men  on  top  to  chant  their  songs. 

It  was  several  hours  before  the  Sioux 
learned  of  the  ruse.  They  at  once  decided  to 
place  a  guard  around  the  entire  butte  and 
starve  to  death  the  remaining  few.  Several 
days  passed  and  still  the  chanting  of  the  old 
men  was  wafted  down  on  the  breeze  from  the 
pines  on  the  hillside.  One  moon  elapsed  and 
the  chantings  ceased,  and  the  majestic  butte 
was  enveloped  in  a  mist. 

In  the  evening  tide,  as  the  autumnal  sun 
sank  slowly  behind  distant  western  hills,  the 
mist  was  lighted  in  a  blaze  of  glory  and  the 
guards  beheld  three  beautiful  Indian  maidens 
floating  in  the  distance,  and  finally  the  maidens, 
bearing  the  old  men  who  had  been  left  on  the 
butte,  and  surrounded  by  a  strange  light  —  ac- 
cording to  the  legends  of  the  Indians  —  floated 
into  the  heavens,  upon  the  wings  of  great  birds 
of  pure  white. 

The  Sioux  chiefs  were  gathered  in  council 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


543 


to  explain  this  strange  phenomenon,  but  all 
shook  their  heads  and  only  spoke  of  the  Great 
Father.  Finally,  one  old  Sioux  arose  and  ex- 
plained that  the  old  men  had  been  taken  to  the 
happy  hunting  ground,  and  that  the  maidens 
had  been  sent  as  messengers  of  peace,  and  that 
unless  they  made  treaty  with  the  Crows  there 
would  be  a  drouth  and  the  antelope  and  buf- 
falo all  leave  the  country;  but  if  they  did  make 
peace  the  game  would  stay  and  they  would 
want  no  more. 

A  messenger  was  sent  after  the  Crows,  who 
requested  them  to  return,  which  they  did,  and 
a  compact  was  entered  into,  which  has  not  been 
broken  to  this  day. 

Thus  Crow  Butte  received  its  name. 


Brave  Band  of  Indians  Killed 

In  the  military  cemetery  at  Fort  Robinson 
are  the  graves  of  about  fifty  Cheyenne  Indians. 
These  braves  were  killed  in  one  of  the  sharp- 
est conflicts  that  ever  took  place  between  sol- 
diers and  Indians.  It  was  in  the  summer  of 
1878  that  a  band  of  Indians,  who  had  been 
removed  from  Pine  Ridge  agency  to  the  In- 
dian Territory,  came  wandering  back  up  the 
Platte  and  crossed  over  into  the  Running 
Water,  where  they  divided  into  two  divisions. 
One  division  continued  up  Running  Water, 
while  the  other  moved  over  into  the  Pine  Ridge 
country,  near  the  head  of  Chadron  creek,  and 
lay  there  quietly  in  camp.  General  Thoruburg 
followed  up  with  one  thousand  troops  and 
camped  on  Bronce  lake,  now  the  town  site  of 
Alliance.  Here  General  Thornburg  was  re- 
lieved of  his  command,  and  was  succeeded  by 
General  McKenzie. 

The  little  band  of  Indians  who  had  continued 
up  Running  Water  was  soon  located  and  was 
immediately  returned  to  their  reservation  in 
the  Indian  Territory,  with  but  little  trouble. 
The  band  on  Chadron  creek  had  not  yet  been 
discovered  nor  missed.  The  intention  of  the 
Indians  was  not  hostility,  but  to  get  back  to 
the  home  they  loved  and  the  scenes  of  their 
childhood.  They  were  mostly  married  bucks 
and  had  found  their  wives  among  the  Sioux, 
their  friends  and  neighbors  on  the  Pine  Ridge 
agency. 

General  Larrabee,  then  in  command  at  Fort 
Robinson,  kept  the  country  well  patrolled  and 
scouted  for  signs  of  hostile  Indians.  The  fate 
of  General  Custer  and  the  famous  Seventh 
cavalry  was  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  General 
Larrabee  and  his  soldiers.  It  was  late  in  the 
fall  of  that  year,  1878,  when  the  scouts  report- 


ed that  a  band  of  Indians  were  in  camp  at  the 
head  of  Chadron  creek.  A  detachment  of  sol- 
diers were  sent  out  to  inquire  their  purpose 
and  destination.  It  was  soon  learned  that  they 
belonged  to  a  band  of  Cheyennes  that  had 
been  sent  back  to  the  Indian  Territory  only  a 
short  time  before.  The  Indians  were  persuad- 
ed to  peaceably  accompany  the  soldiers  over 
to  White  River,  where  they  camped  for  the 
night.  The  next  morning,  when  the  start  was 
made  in  the  direction  of  Fort  Robinson,  the 
Indians  rebelled  and  flatly  refused  to  go  any 
farther. 

At  first  the  Indians  believed  they  were  being 
returned  to  the  Pine  Ridge  agency,  but  when 
they  found  this  was  not  the  intention  of  the 
soldiers,  they  refused  to  go.  They  remained 
there  that  day,  and  when  night  came  on  a  mes- 
senger was  sent  to  the  fort  for  reinforcements 
and  some  large  guns.  When  day  dawned  the 
next  morning  the  Indians,  who  had  camped  on 
a  lower  piece  of  ground  than  the  soldiers, 
looked  up  into  the  mouth  of  several  pieces  of 
field  artdlery.  Under  this  persuasive  argu- 
ment the  Indians  peaceably  accompanied  the 
soldiers  to  the  Fort. 

Once  here,  they  were  confined  in  the  old 
barracks,  which  were  later  replaced  by  new 
ones  for  the  soldiers.  Here  they  were  kept 
from  September  until  the  following  January. 
They  would  not  return  to  their  southern  res- 
ervation, and  all  overtures  in  this  direction 
availed  nothing. 

General  Larrabee  then  resorted  to  other  and 
more  severe  tactics.  He  first  took  their  fuel 
away,  and  as  this  failed  of  its  purpose,  their 
rations  were  also  taken.  The  Indians,  with- 
out either  fire  or  rations,  became  savage.  On 
the  night  of  January  10,  1879,  they  broke 
through  the  windows  of  their  barracks  and  at- 
tacked the  guards  with  knives  and  war  clubs, 
which  they  had  made  out  of  the  floor  of  the 
barracks.  The  guards  were  killed  and  their 
guns  taken. 

By  this  time  the  soldiers,  who  had  retired 
for  the  night,  awoke  to  the  awful  realization 
of  the  fate  of  their  comrades.  Hastily  they 
dressed,  and  without  waiting  for  orders, 
grabbed  their  guns  and  fiercely  attacked  the 
belligerent  Indians.  The  dawn  of  morning 
showed  that  twenty-eight  Indians  and  a  num- 
ber of  soldiers  were  lying  dead  on  the  com- 
mons east  of  the  barracks.  The  remaining 
Indians  fled  up  White  River.  The  women  and 
children  were  induced  to  return  to  the  fort, 
where  their  wounds  were  dressed.  Many  of 
the  women  and  children  had  been  badly  wound- 
ed.    One  squaw  was  shot  twenty-two  times, 


544 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


and  is  still  alive  and  living  on  Pine  Ridge 
agency.  The  bucks  fled  across  onto  Hat 
creek,  where  they  were  pursued  by  the  sol- 
diers. They  finally  took  refuge  in  the  head 
of  a  canyon,  where  they  were  impregnably 
fortified.  Artillery  was  used  to  shell  them 
out  and  the  little  band  of  twenty-two  sacri- 
ficed their  lives  rather  than  accept  exile  to  a 
strange  land. 

How  Crazy  Horse  Died 

One  of  the  greatest  mysteries  of  the  famous 
Custer  massacre  and  Sioux  war  of  1876  was 
the  death  of  Crazy  Horse,  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal chiefs  and  leaders  of  the  rebellious 
Sioux — the  man  above  all  others  who  was  the 
evil  genius  of  that  stormy  period.  The  tele- 
graph reports  sent  out  from  Fort  Robinson  at 
the  time  of  his  death  were  contradictory  and 
nebulous.  No  one  seemed  to  know  how  he 
died,  while  the  man  who  killed  him  —  Wil- 
liam Gentles,  of  the  Fourteenth  United  States 
infantry —  died  with  the  secret  locked  in  his 
bosom.  There  were  only  two  witnesses  to  the 
act,  and  only  one  of  them  is  now  living.  His 
name  is  Sergeant  William  F.  Kelly,  formerly 
of  the  Fourteenth  infantry,  in  recent  years  a 
resident  of  E  street,  in  Washington.  The 
story  that  he  told  to  a  Washington  Post  re- 
porter of  the  killing  of  Crazy  Horse  had  never 
before  been  published  until  Sergeant  Kelly 
had  kept  the  matter  a  secret  for  twenty-seven 
years. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Custer  massacre, 
on  June  25,  1876,  said  Sergeant  Kelly,  the 
Sioux,  pursuant  to  a  custom  followed  by  all 
plains  Indians  in  their  wars  with  the  whites, 
split  up  into  numerous  small  bands  which  de- 
parted in  every  direction,  in  order  to  bewilder 
the  troops,  which  they  knew  would  be  sure  to 
follow.  Most  of  these  bands  came  in  at  the 
approach  of  winter  and  surrendered,  and  a 
large  body  of  them  were  captured  in  Mon- 
tana by  General  Miles,  but  the  band  under 
Crazy  Horse,  which  took  refuge  in  the 
Powder  river  country,  remained  out  until  late 
in  February  of  1877. 

It  was  during  the  latter  part  of  this  month, 
however,  that  Crazy  Horse  and  his  band,  half 
starved  and  nearly  frozen,  arrived  at  Red 
Cloud  agency,  Nebraska,  in  the  teeth  of  a 
cutting  blizzard,  and  offered  to  surrender. 
The  agent,  whom  the  Indians  thoroughly  de- 
spised for  very  good  reasons,  had  deserted  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  Sioux  war,  and  at  the 
time  I  speak  of  the  agency  was  being  conduct- 
ed by  Lieutenant  Johnson,  of  the  Fourteenth 
infantry,   which  regiment,   together  with   sev- 


eral others,  was  stationed  at  Fort  Robinson 
under  General  McKenzie.  The  fort  lay  a 
short  distance  from  the  agency,  and  as  soon 
as  the  fact  became  known,  General  McKenzie 
went  over  and  held  a  pow-wow  with  the  In- 
dians, at  which  terms  of  capitulation  were  ar- 
ranged. Rations  were  issued  to  the  starving 
redskins,  who  pitched  their  tepees  on  the  bank 
of  WTiite  Clay  creek,  about  six  miles  distant 
from  the  agency. 

Before  proceeding  further.  I  want  to  state 
that  of  all  Indians  Crazy  Horse  was  perhaps 
the  worst  and  most  thoroughly  criminal  that 
ever  lived.  He  was  the  typical  bad  Indian, 
without  a  single  redeeming  trait  or  quality,  and 
one  of  the  hardest  men  to  deal  with  in  the  en- 
tire west.  Consequently,  it  was  not  long  after 
this  event  before  Crazy  Horse  had  a  quarrel 
with  his  principal  sub-chief  and  adviser,  an 
Indian  known  to  the  whites  as  Little  Bad  Man. 
I  don't  know  what  it  was  about,  but  at  all 
events  the  two  were  deadly  enemies  from  that 
time  forward,  and  as  a  result  of  this  trouble 
Little  Bad  Man  gathered  his  followers  to- 
gether and,  separating  from  Crazy  Horse,  es- 
tablished his  camp  at  a  point  two  miles  up  the 
creek.  Things  remained  quiet  until  the  next 
ration  day  came  around.  In  those  days  it  was 
the  custom  to  issue  beef  to  the  Indians  on  the 
hoof.  The  entire  tribe,  bucks  and  squaws 
alike,  mounted  on  ponies,  would  congregate 
about  the  corral  in  which  the  government  cattle 
were  kept,  and  as  fast  as  the  cattle  were 
driven  out  would  hold  a  regular  buffalo  hunt, 
whooping  and  yelling  and  riding,  chasing  the 
cattle  until  the  poor  animals  were  almost  ready 
to  drop,  then  shooting  and  leaving  them  to  the 
squaws  to  skin  and  butcher,  as  they  did  in  the 
days  of  old  on  their  buffalo  hunts. 

On  this  occasion  Lieutenant  Johnson  was  on 
the  point  of  issuing  cattle  to  Crazy  Horse, 
when  the  interpreter  informed  him  that  Little 
Bad  Man  had  asked  that  his  cattle  be  issued 
separately.  The  acting  agent  was  perplexed, 
for  at  that  time  everyone  was  trying  to  pacify 
the  Indians,  and  he  realized  that  whatever  he 
did  he  was  certain  to  arouse  the  anger  of  one 
or  the  other  of  the  two  men.  He  asked  the 
advice  of  the  interpreter.  The  latter  replied 
that  he  thought  the  best  plan  would  be  to  issue 
rations  as  requested  by  Little  Bad  Man.  This 
the  agent  did,  serving  Little  Bad  Man  first. 
when,  sure  enough,  just  as  he  had  feared, 
Crazy  Horse  flew  into  a  fury,  refusing  to  ac- 
cept his  share,  and  riding  back  to  camp  fol- 
lowed by  his  people. 

Spring  was  approaching,  and  it  was  not 
long  after  that  before  Crazy  Horse  began  mak- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


545 


ing  trouble.  It  was  not  his  nature  to  remain 
peaceful  and  quiet,  and  reports  seemed  lo  in- 
dicate that  he  was  preparing  for  the  war  path. 
Among  other  things,  he  circulated  the  story 
that  General  McKenzie  and  his  entire  com- 
mand were  preparing  to  descend  on  the  camp 
some  night  and  massacre  the  entire  outfit.  By 
means  of  this  and  similar  stories  he  managed 
to  start  a  reign  of  terror,  both  in  his  camp  and 
also  that  of  Little  Bad  Man.  At  that  time 
Crazy  Horse  had  some  three  hundred  warriors 
and  one  hundred  forty-six  tepees,  and  the  way 
we  came  to  hear  these  reports  was  due  to  the 
feuds  which  existed  among  the  Indians  them- 
selves. 

The  Ogalalla  Sioux,  Under  Red  Cloud,  and 
the  Brule  Sioux,  under  Spotted  Tail,  had  re- 
mained loyal  to  the  whites  during  the  campaign 
of  1876,  and  also  the  Arapahoes.  Red  Cloud 
and  his  people  were  stationed  at  the  agency 
named  in  his  honor,  while  Spotted  Tail  and  the 
Brule  Sioux  were  at  Spotted  Tail  agency, 
some  miles  distant.  The  Ogalallas  were  bit- 
ter enemies  of  the  Northern  Sioux  under 
Crazy  Horse,  despising  the  latter  from  the  bot- 
tom of  their  hearts.  A  very  considerable  num- 
ber of  these  Indians  were  at  that  time  enlisted 
and  serving  in  several  companies  at  Fort  Rob- 
inson, and  inasmuch  as  Crazy  Horse  was  a 
domineering  tyrant,  holding  his  people  in  sub- 
jection more  through  fear  than  he  did  through 
kindness,  they  did  a  good  deal  of  talking  be- 
hind his  back  to  the  Ogalallas  and  enlisted  In- 
dians who,  of  course,  carried  the  word  direct 
to  the  commanding  officer. 

These  rumors  finally  became  so  alarming 
that  General  McKenzie  sent  word  to  Crazy 
Horse,  through  an  interpreter,  telling  him  to 
come  to  the  fort ;  that  he  wanted  to  see  him. 
Crazy  Horse  sent  word  that  if  McKenzie 
wanted  to  see  him  he  would  have  to  come  to 
his  camp.  Following  this.  General  McKenzie 
sent  a  second  time,  summoning  him  to  the 
fort,  in  reply  to  which  Crazy  Horse  stated  that 
he  was  sick.  The  third  time  General  McKen- 
zie sent  word,  he  gave  Crazy  Horse  to  under- 
stand that  unless  he  obeyed  he  would  send 
down  and  have  him  brought  to  the  fort  by 
force.  Crazy  Horse  concluded  that  it  would 
be  well  to  obey,  and  sent  word  back  that  he 
would  be  up  the  following  morning. 

When  a  person  hears  a  great  deal  of  some 
famous  personage,  it  is  no  more  than  natural 
that  he  should  form  a  somewhat  exalted  notion 
of  the  personality  and  appearance  of  the  dis- 
tinguished individual ;  and  such  was  the  state 
of  my  mind  with  regard  to  Crazy  Horse.  I 
expected  to  see  a  second  Pontiac,  a  noble  red 


man;  and  you  can  imagine  my  surprise  when, 
on  the  arrival  of  Crazy  Horse  next  morning 
before  the  general's  headquarters,  I  beheld 
one  of  the  meanest,  sickliest,  most  repulsive 
looking  Indians  that  ever  walked  the  face  of 
the  globe.  Of  course  I  was  not  present  at  the 
conference,  but  I  heard  enough  of  what  took 
place  to  know  that  General  McKenzie  gave  him 
a  pretty  straight  talking  to.  He  was  given  to 
understand  that  McKenzie  was  not  contem- 
plating any  night  attack  on  his  village,  but  try- 
ing to  live  in  peace,  and  that  if  war  became, 
necessary  he  would  come  in  the  daytime  to  do 
what  fighting  he  had  to  perform. 

Instead  of  pacifying  Crazy  Horse  it  only 
made  him  worse.  At  the  time  of  his  surren- 
der he  gave  up  some  fifty  ponies,  which  were 
given  to  Red  Cloud,  and  at  the  conference  he 
asked  that  they  be  restored  —  a  request  flatly 
refused  by  General  McKenzie.  This  made 
him  furious,  and  a  few  weeks  after  this  pow- 
wow reports  began  starting  that  Crazy  Horse 
was  preparing  to  take  the  warpath.  In  the 
meantime,  however,  General  McKenzie  was 
relieved,  General  L.  P.  Bradley  arriving  as  his 
successor!  General  Bradley  had  been  at  the 
fort  only  a  few  days  when  another  alarming 
report  came  in,  the  result  of  which  was  that 
the  entire  command  was  ordered  ready  for  ac- 
tion, and  on  the  following  morning  left  the 
fort  to  surround  and  capture  Crazy  Horse  and 
his  band. 

There  was  only  one  cannon  at  the  fort  —  an 
old  brass  affair,  used  for  firing  the  morning 
and  evening  gun  —  and  this  constituted  the 
artillery.  An  old  Irishman  named  Murphy, 
who  quarreled  with  the  driver  because  the  lat- 
ter failed  to  keep  the  six  mules  in  line  with 
the  rest  of  the  command,  had  charge  of  the 
battery,  while  I  was  the  gunner.  Little  Bad 
Man  was  on  hand  to  guide  us  to  the  camp  of 
his  rival,  and  away  we  went  in  fine  style.  The 
work  of  surrounding  the  camp,  which  was  in 
a  low  hollow  or  depression  in  the  prairie,  was 
very  skillfully  executed,  but  when  the  order 
came  to  close  in,  and  we  crossed  the  ridge  that 
shut  the  camp  off  from  view,  not  a  tepee  was 
in  sight. 

It  appears  that  Crazy  Horse  had  spies  just 
as  well  as  ourselves,  and  that  he  had  gotten 
wind  of  this  intended  move  some  five  hours 
beforehand.  What  happened  in  the  Indian 
camp,  I  am  not  able  to  say,  but  at  all  events 
his  band  picked  up  in  a  body  before  davlight 
the  following  morning,  and  moved  into  Red 
Cloud  agency,  mixed  among  the  Ogallalas  in 
such  a  manner  that  they  were  not  readily 
noticed,   while  Crazv  Horse  mounted  a  horse 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN   NEBRASKA 


and  put  out  for  Spotted  Tail  agency,  hoping 
to  lie  low  at  that  point  until  affairs  quieted 
down  and  he  got  in  thorough  readiness  for  the 
warpath. 

While  we  were  standing  around,  disgusted 
and  disgruntled  over  our  poor  success,  one 
of  Crazy  Horse's  band  came  up  and  told  us 
what  had  occurred.  We  returned  to  the  fort, 
and  as  there  was  a  telegraph  line  from  there 
to  Spotted  Tail  agency.  General  Bradley  wired 
General  Brooke  (retired)  to  have  Spotted 
Tail  arrest  Crazy  Horse  the  moment  he  ar- 
rived there.  This  the  former  was  quite  willing 
to  do,  and  did  so.  Mr.  Crazy  Horse  was 
brought  back  to  the  fort  in  an  ambulance,  es- 
corted by  two  troops  of  cavalry. 

The  Indians  at  Red  Cloud  agency  having 
heard  of  his  coming,  had  congregated  about 
the  fort,  and  when  we  arrived  with  Crazy 
Horse,  the  pendemonium  and  excitement  that 
followed  I  shall  never  forget.  To  begin  with 
the  followers  of  Crazy  Horse  grew  excited  over 
the  exultation  of  the  Ogallalas,  Brules  and 
members  of  Little  Bad  Man's  party  and  pre- 
pared for  battle.  This  was  the  signal  for 
counter  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the  friendly 
Sioux,  who  hegan  stripping  their  clothing  for 
fight. 

Crazy  Horse  was  taken  to  the  adjutant's  of- 
fice, where  the  officer  of  the  day,  Captain  Kin- 
nington,  and  his  enemy.  Little  Bad  Man,  started 
with  him  to  the  guard  house,  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  distant.  He  bucked  so  hard 
that  they  had  their  hands  full  getting  him  over 
to  this  building.  It  was  then  sundown  and 
the  space  between  the  guardhouse  and  the 
office  was  filled  with  Indians,  soldiers  and  the 
guard,  who  with  fixed  bayonets  were  stationed 
there  to  prevent  any  one  from  getting  in  the 
way  of  the  two  men  and  their  recalcitrant  pris- 
oner. Just  as  they  entered  the  prison,  Crazy 
Horse  caught  sight  of  the  grated  bars  and 
iron  doors  of  the  cell  he  was  to  occupy,  and 
with  one  supreme  effort  threw  Kinnington  in 
one  direction  and  Little  Bad  Man  in  another. 
As  he  did  so  he  drew  a  long  butcher  knife  from 
up  his  sleeves  and  attacked  Little  Bad  Man, 
cutting  him  on  the  wrist.  The  latter  was  game, 
and,  grasping  Crazy  Horse  by  the  arms,  the 
two  struggled  for  the  mastery  out  through  the 
door  and  into  the  alleyway  between  the  prison 
and  the  office.  The  guard  formed  a  circle 
around  the  two  men  as  they  struggled  while 
Kinnington  was  trying  every  way  he  could  to 
get  some  one  to  part  the  two  men  and  secure 
Crazy  Horse. 

It  was  an  exciting  moment,  when  a  shot 
would   have    started    a    massacre,   and   no    one 


knew  just  what  to  do.  Suddenly,  as  the  two 
men  surged  forward  in  the  direction  of  where 
I  as  standing,  I  saw  Win.  Gentles,  an  old 
soldier,  and  a  veteran  of  the  Mormon  cam- 
paign of  1857,  give  Crazy  Horse  a  thrust  with 
his  bayonet.  The  thrust  was  delivered  with 
lightning  like  rapidity,  and  the  next  instant  he 
had  his  gun  at  carry,  as  though  nothing  had 
happened.  Crazy  Horse  gave  a  deep  groan, 
staggered  forward  and  dropped  his  knife  and 
fell. 

Only  two  men,  myself  and  another,  saw  and 
knew  how  this  was  done;  and  the  strangest 
thing  of  all  was  that  many  members  of  the 
guard  imagined  that  they  were  guilty  of  the 
killing. 

Crazy  Horse  died  at  midnight.  He  was  con- 
scious all  the  while  and  never  uttered  a  word. 

Red  Cloud's  Plea  For  Justice 

Red  Cloud  went  to  Washington  some  years 
ago,  accompanied  by  American  Horse,  his 
principal  lieutenant,  for  the  purpose  of  calling 
the  attention  of  congress  to  certain  grievances. 
Rev.  Dr.  Eastman,  a  well  educated  half-breed, 
went  along  as  interpreter,  and  did  his  work 
very  well.  He  is  a  fine  looking,  intelligent  fel- 
low, and  is  popular  with  the  Sioux  tribe. 

Senator  Pettigrew,  chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee on  Indian  affairs  interrogated  the  old  chief, 
and  a  stenographer  took  a  complete  report  of      ' 
the  conversation  as  interpreted  by   Dr.  East- 
man.    Red  Cloud  said: 

"I  am  nearly  seventy-seven  years  old,  and 
am  very  feeble  and  almost  blind ;  you  see  I 
wear  black  goggles  to  shield  my  fading  eyes 
from  the  light,  which  hurts  them.  Although  I 
am  old  and  feeble,  I  have  come  all  this  distance 
to  plead  for  justice  to  my  people.  In  1851  I 
made  a  treaty  at  Fort  Laramie  and  gave  the 
white  men  a  right  to  build  a  railroad  across 
my  country.  I  never  gave  up  any  rights  to 
property,  beyond  the  use  of  ground  for  the 
railroad.  I  have  alwavs  lived  in  and  round 
the  Black  Hills  of  Dakota.  My  people  still 
live  there,  but  the  treaties  which  have  been 
made  with  them  have  been  violated  by  the 
white  men.  I  made  a  treaty  with  the  great 
soldier  who  was  president  for  eight  years 
(Grant),  and  he  assured  me  that  my  reserva- 
tion should  never  be  interfered  with.  Now 
white  men  want  to  divide  the  reservation  into 
eighty-acre  lots  for  my  people  to  starve  on. 
The  lands  are  bad  lands  and  we  cannot  raise 
crops  there.  In  August  the  hot  winds  dry  up 
everything,  even  the  little  streams. 

"We  want  our  lands  as  they  are.  so  that  we 
may  make  a  living  by  raising  horses  and  cattle, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


547 


because  the  lands  are  nearly  all  good  grazing 
lands.  We  do  not  want  money  from  the  gov- 
ernment in  place  of  rations,  because  we  can  live 
on  what  the  government  sends  us  to  eat ;  but 
nearly  all  of  the  beef  cattle  sent  to  us  are 
thin  and  starved  to  death.  We  prefer  money 
and  will  buy  our  own  clothing.  The  suits  of 
clothes  are  made  of  poor  cloth  and  they  fall 
to  nieces.  Besides,  the  tall  men  get  short  suits 
and  the  small  men  get  long  suits,  and  the  dis- 
tribution is  never  satisfactory.  We  would 
rather  have  money  than  government  blankets, 
because  they  are  all  rotten.  They  are  made  of 
cow's  hair,  dipped  in  ink,  and  in  the  rain  or 
moisture  the  ink  runs  off  of  them.  Besides, 
they  fall  to  pieces.  When  we  are  compelled  to 
take  such  goods  and  blankets  we  are  charged 
big  prices  for  them,  and  we  trade  them  away 
for  other  clothing,  and  have  to  give  money  in 
addition  in  order  to  get  decent  things  to  wear. 
"We  want  the  lands  left  as  they  are.  We 
want  decent  food  to  eat.  We  are  entitled  to 
good  clothing,  or  money  in  its  place.  We  want 


a  law  preventing  half-breeds  from  acquiring 
tribal  rights  on  our  reservation.  White  men 
come  here  to  marry  our  young  squaws  and 
then  claim  tribal  rights  of  property  and  cheat 
us  out  of  our  best  grazing  lands.  If  we  should 
kill  them  for  coming  among  us  unforbidden 
the  army  would  punish  us  for  protecting  our- 
selves. Therefore,  I  come  to  ask  that  the  gov- 
ernment will  treat  my  people  right  and  pro- 
tect us  from  the  bad  white  men." 

In  his  stalwart  days  Red  Cloud  was  a 
mighty  warrior  and  a  murderous  savage. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  pitiful  to  see  him  now, 
shambling  along,  led  by  others  and  going  to 
Washington  to  make  an  honest  and  heroic  ef- 
fort to  secure  for  his  people  the  rights  which 
ought  to  be  spontaneously  conceded  by  the 
government.  His  days  of  savagery  are  gone 
and  he  is  now  an  old  man,  wise  and  attempt- 
ing in  his  untutored  way,  to  do  right  and  to 
induce  the  intelligent,  civilized  white  men  to 
also  do  that  which  is  right. 


CHAPTER  IV 


EARLY  DAYS— AND  CRAWFORD— MANY  FIRST  THINGS 


"The  easy  and  quick  method  of  communi- 
cating with  your  friends  at  Crawford  (by 
telephone)  causes  me  to  realize  the  change  tnat 
has  taken  place  since  mv  first  visit  there,  in 
1884,"  says  Mrs.  F.  M.  O'Linn,  a  number  of 
years  ago,  in  the  Crawford  Tribune : 

"Then  the  territory  now  known  as  Sioux, 
Dawes,  Box  Butte  and  Sheridan  counties  was 
all  Sioux  county,  unorganized,  but  attached  to 
Cheyenne  county  for  judicial  purposes. 

"The  only  houses  in  what  is  now  Dawes 
county  (except  on  the  ranches)  were  those 
around  Fort  Robinson,  in  April,  1884.  To  one 
of  these,  where  lived  Mr.  McManis,  we  went, 
in  the  fall  of  the  year,  to  obtain  potatoes.  Our 
return  to  what  is  now  known  as  Dakota  Junc- 
tion required  over  a  day's  time,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  our  team  mired  in  Dead  Horse  creek. 
Soon  after  dark  we  were  helped  out  by  a  pass- 
ing cowboy,  and  escorted  to  the  Price  &  Jen- 
kins ranch  on  Chadron  creek.  Here  we  were 
given  a  warm  welcome  and  a  good  supper.  A 
young  fawn,  skinned  and  dressed,  was  added 
to  our   supplies,   and   cowboys,   on   horseback, 


guided  us  safely  to  our  log  house.  I  often 
wish,  when  one  uses  the  term  'cowboy'  slight- 
ingly, he  knew  some  the  many  hundreds  of 
noble  and  generous  acts  they  are  credited  with 
in  northern  Nebraska.  To  me  the  very  name 
means  'one  of  nature's  noblemen.'  " 

First  Commissioners 

The  latter  part  of  April,  1885,  notice  was 
received  from  Governor  Dawes  of  the  appoint- 
ment, as  special  commissioners  of  Dawes  coun- 
ty, C  Fairchild,  E.  E.  Egan  and  H.  G.  McMil- 
lan, with  F.  B.  Carley  as  county  clerk.  Chad- 
ron was  the  temporary  county  seat.  This  board 
met  May  9,  1885,  and  divided  the  county  into 
voting  precincts  and  called  an  election  for  June 
27,  to  elect  county  and  precinct  officers,  and 
to  locate  the  county  seat  permanently. 

July  3,  1885,  when  the  official  vote  was 
counted.  Chadron  was  declared  the  county  seat 
of  Dawes  county,  over  Dawes  City  (now  Whit- 
ney), its  only  opponent  in  the  race.  It  was 
said  that  every  Indian,  every  traveler,  every 
boy,  in  fact,  every  person  that  could  be  found 


548 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


inside  the  limits  of  the  county  that  did  not 
wear  dresses,  was  allowed  to  vote.  The  total 
vote  cast  was  949. 

In  1SS4,  we  found  at  Ft.  Robinson  Major 
Louis  H.  Carpenter  of  the  5th  cavalry,  com- 
manding officer.  He  had  three  troops  under 
him  and  one  company,  "C"  of  the  4th  infantry. 
The  kindest  hospitality  was  shown  us  here,  and 
every  attention  possible  paid,  which  was  most 
highly  appreciated,  after  six  months  of  "rough- 
ing it."  All  supplies  for  the  fort  were'  hauled 
from  Sidney,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles. 


of  H.  J.  Ingersoll  on  Chadron  creek,  October 
26,  1884.  Dr.  Alfred  Lewis,  of  Valentine, 
was  then  married  to  Jennie  H.  Ingersoll,  by 
Rev.  Jones. 

The  first  church  services  of  the  M.  E.  church 
were  held  in  the  house  of  Mrs.  O'Linn,  on 
White  river,  in  December,  1884,  being  con- 
ducted by  Rev.  Joseph  Gray  of  the  Sidney  dis- 
trict. 

The  first  thea'trical  performance  took  place 
at  the  house  of  John  Settles,  on  Bordeaux 
creek,  in  February,  1885. 

The  first  hotel  opening  was  at  P.   B.  Nel- 


I  i 


u 


^-?^pll 


Dawes  County  Court  House,  Chadron 


Pine  Ridge  agency,  under  the  efficient  charge 
of  Dr.  V.  T.  McGillicuddy,  was  the  center  of 
civilization  to  the  east  of  us  in  those  days.  Here 
we  found  houses,  schools,  and  witnessed  the  is- 
suance of  rations,  that  made  one  see  how  much 
easier  it  was  to  be  a  ward  of  Uncle  Sam  than 
a  citizen  of  the  U.  S.,  and  a  would-be  settler, 
having  to  fight  for  a  living  in  more  ways  than 
one,  to  obtain  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land.  We  had  to  travel  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  with  a  team  to  obtain  provisions,  as  they 
were  not  allowed  at  the  agency  to  sell  us  even 
the  necessities  of  life. 

Firsts  of  Many  Things 
So  far  as  I  know,  the  first  birth  in  what  is 
now  Dawes  county,  was  a  baby  boy,  at  George 
Crawford's,  on  Chadron  creek  in  July,  1884. 
The  first  wedding  occurred  at  the  residence 


son's,  in  Bordeaux,  in  February,  1885,  and  they 
"didn't  go  home  'till  morning."  At  this  ranch 
the  "gude  wife"  was  known  to  everyone  far 
and  near." 

The  first  trial,  or  rather  attempted  trial,  of 
a  criminal  character  was  that  of  Frank  Wal- 
thal,  a  nephew  of  the  Mississippi  senator ;  but 
as  no  once  could  be  found  to  act  as  complain- 
ing witness,  it  was  dismissed.  The  sheriff  who 
had  been  called  all  the  way  from  Sidney,  was 
much  chagrined  and  searched  the  statute  (of 
which  I  had  the  only  copy)  faithfully  to  find 
something  he  could  do,  but  finally  returned 
home  alone.    This  was  in  April,  1885. 

The  assessment  for  Dawes  county  for  1885 
was  made  by  Cheyenne  county  assessors  and 
was  as  follows  : 

Horses    1,828;  valued  at  $  35,460 

Cattle    25,575;        "        "      222,126 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


540 


Mules   153; 

Sheep    640 ; 

Hogs  2; 

Carriages  and 

wagons    143 ; 

Merchandise    .... 
Land,  800  acres .  . 


4,590 

321 

8 

5,114 
8,500 
1,600 


Total  value  of  all  property $280,000 

Which  with  a  tax  levy  of  nine  mills  on  the 
dollar  gave  Dawes  a  revenue  of  $2,520. 

I  look  back  upon  the  summer  of  1884  as 
one  of  the  most  pleasant  I  ever  spent.  We 
had  only  to  throw  our  lines  in  the  White 
river  to  have  a  catfish  to  eat.  We  found  forty- 
nine  kinds  of  wild  flowers,  which  kept  us  busy 
with  our  botany  and  dictionary.  We  went 
"a-beading,"  finding  large  supplies  the  Indians 
had  lost,  and  the  busy  ants  had  gathered  in 
their  hills  for  us.  Then,  too,  the  whole  country 
looked  as  beautiful  as  imagination  could  pic- 
ture, filled  with  castles  on  the  ground  and  in 
the  air. 

Capt.  Jim  Cook's  Agate  Springs  Ranch 

If  one  was  to  attempt  to  write  a  description 
of  this  portion  of  the  country  and  would  neg- 
lect to  include  the  famous  Agate  Springs  ranch, 
owned  and  conducted  by  Capt.  "Jim"  Cook,  his 
efforts  would  be  incomplete.  It  would  take 
columns  to  give  the  reader  even  a  vague  idea 
of  the  beauty,  richness  and  convenience  of  this 
lauded  pearl  of  the  Niobrara  valley.  Standing 
on  an  elevation  of  more  than  one  hundred  feet 
and  casting  the  eye  in  either  direction  up  and 
down  this  fertile  plat,  for  a  distance  of  ten 
miles  sights  beautiful  and  grand  meet  the  vi- 
sion. Dotted  here  and  there  with  shady  groves, 
the  gentle  breezes  moving  their  leaf-burdened 
branches  to  and  fro,  and  the  thousands  of  tiny 
songsters  which  inhabit  them,  warbling  their 
notes  to  nature ;  the  purling  stream  of  the 
Niobrara,  winding  its  way  in  a  zigzag  course 
through  the  entire  valley;  herds  of  cattle  and 
horses  moving  about  feeding  on  the  nutritious 
grasses  of  the  seeming  boundless  fields ;  the 
barns  standing  like  sentinels  in  an  earthly  para- 
dise;  the  endless  stock  sheds  and  outhouses  ;  the 
magnificent  house  of  Capt.  Cook  and  family, 
surrounded  by  immense  gardens  of  growing 
vegetation,  and  stately  elm  trees  so  artistically 
arranged  about  the  home  ;  the  miniature  lake  so 
close  at  hand,  just  to  the  west  of  the  palatial 
abode.  Passageways  and  hedges  lead  all  about 
the  premises ;  macademized  road  crosses  the 
valley  to  the  barns — all  these  are  but  a  small 
conception  of  the  grandeur  portrayed  to  the 
eye  of  the  individual  who  should  happen  to  be 


so  fortunate  as  to  view  the  Agate  Springs 
ranch  scenery  that  abounds  in  all  directions. 

The  size  of  this  mammoth  stock  haven  is 
eight  thousand  acres.  More  than  three-quar- 
ters of  a  mile  in  width  in  some  places,  and  a 
mile  and  more  in  other  places ;  it  reaches  a 
distance  of  more  than  ten  miles  up  and  down 
the  Niobrara  valley.  Every  inch  is  fertile  and 
productive  and  grows  almost  every  conceivable 
vegetable. 

Capt.  Cook  has  an  irrigation  system  in  opera- 
tion that  is  absolutely  complete.  The  flow  of 
water  in  the  Niobrara  fills  the  ditches  and  one 
thousand,  two  hundred  acres  are  therefore 
made  more  productive  by  means  of  irrigation. 

Two  thousand  tons  of  hay  were  put  in 
stack  last  season  and  Mr.  Cook  expects  to 
greatly  increase  these  figures  this  season.  Not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  $20,000  worth  of  last 
year's  cut  was  sold  in  the  stack  off  this  ranch, 
there  are  yet  thousands  of  tons  remaining  in 
the  fields. 

Mr.  Cook  has  reduced  stock-raising  to  a 
practical  business  basis.  Every  detail,  no  mat- 
ter how  small,  is  carefully  looked  after. 

A  water  system  plant  is  one  of  the  many 
features  of  the  ranch  that  is  deserving  of  men- 
tion. On  a  convenient  elevation  a  six  hundred 
barrel  reservoir  is  erected  and  close  at  hand 
is  an  inexhaustible  well.  The  water  is  brought 
to  the  surface  and  into  the  reservoir  by  means 
of  an  immense  windmill.  Pipes  lead  out  to  the 
corrals  and  barns  and  into  the  home,  which, 
by  a  system  of  plumbing,  is  carried  to  all  parts 
of  the  building.  In  case  of  fire  a  stream  of 
water  can  be  thrown  a  distance  of  one  hundred 
feet  or  more. 

The  herds  of  stock  are  of  the  high-grade 
quality  and  run  largely  to  Aberdeen,  and  Angus. 
The  number  of  horses  on  the  place  at  present  is 
but  three  hundred  and  fifty  head,  recent  sale 
diminishing  the  former  number.  They  are  also 
of  the  high  grade  quality,  and  are  sired,  foaled 
and  bred  on  the  Agate  Springs  ranch. 

The  commodious  home  was  built  in  1893. 
It  contains  fifteen  rooms,  a  den  and  bath  room. 
It  has  all  the  conveniences  of  a  modern  home 
and  is  richly  furnished  throughout.  Mr.  Cook 
purchased  Agate  Springs  ranch  sixteen  years 
ago,  and  has  gradually  developed  its  resources 
and  beautified  the  premises  until  now  it  seems 
that  any  further  effort  along  these  lines  would 
be  fruitless.  It  has  reached  the  point  where 
perfection  draws  to  a  close  years  of  persistent 
toil  and  countless  dollars. 

Mr.  Cook's  family  consists  of  his  estimable 
wife  and  two  sons.  Harold  and  John  and  his 
mother-in-law,  Airs.  Graham,  a  prepossessing 


550 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


elderly  lady  of  delightful  entertaining  quali- 
ties. A  visitor  to  Mr.  Cook's  ranch  is  so  roy- 
ally entertained  that  the  event  is  long  cherished. 
Beginning  of  Crawford 
Crawford  was  incorporated  August  2,  1886. 
There  is  an  amusing  incident  connected  with 
the  story  of  incorporating  the  place.  Crawford 
was  a  very  tiny  infant  then  and  not  enough 
legal  signatures  could  be  procured  to  a  docu- 
ment asking  for  incorporation  honors  to  satis- 
fy the  law,  in  the  whole  community.  W.  D. 
Edgar  and  E.  A.  Thompson  were  active  and 
persistent  in  their  desire  to  see  the  town  in- 


The  commissioners  granted  the  petition,  and 
appointed  as  trustees  H.  F.  Clough,  J.  Burger, 
A.  Thompson,  O.  K.  Eastman  and  C.  R.  Cook. 

Crawford  is  located  in  the  extreme  west  por- 
tion of  the  county.  Its  natural  advantages 
give  it  an  exceptional  prestige  as  a  distributing 
point  for  miles  around.  Its  railroad  facilities 
make  it  by  right  the  commercial  center  for 
northwest  Nebraska,  southwest  Dakota  and 
eastern  and  central  Wyoming. 

The  town  has  a  good  graded  public  school, 
costing  $35,000,  churches,  water  power,  flour- 
ing mill,  and  is  an   important  shipping  point 


corporated.  They  visited  the  Fort  and  many 
soldiers  signed  the  instrument.  On  presenting 
the  petition  to  the  board.  Von  Harris,  the 
chairman,  instantly  noticed  the  unlawful  signa- 
ures.  "How-  is  it,  Mr.  Edgar,"  quickly  inter- 
rogated Von  Harris,  "you  overlooked  getting 
the  signature  of  the  commanding  officer,  Col. 
Fletcher?"  Mr.  Edgar,  quick  to  grasp  the 
import  of  Von  Harris'  remark,  answered,  say- 
ing: "Why,  certainly,  Mr.  Von  Harris;  the 
colonel  would  have  willingly  signed  it,  had  he 
been  there ;  let's  go  and  have  something,"  and 
the  two  proceeded  to  "irrigate." 


for  grain,  stock  and  hay. 

The  site  upon  which  Crawford  is  built  was 
formerly  a  tree  claim,  taken  up  by  W.  E. 
Annin,  the  first  postmaster  of  Fort  Robinson. 
It  was  town  sited  in  1886  by  the  Pioneer  Town 
Site  company,  which  was  virtually  the  Elk 
Horn  railroad. 

Whitney,  Bordeaux,  Dunlap,  Marsland,  and 
Belmont  are  all  small  places  of  more  or  less 
importance  to  the  surrounding  community.  A 
store  or  two,  a  blacksmith  shop,  school  house, 
postoffice,  and  possibly  a  few  minor  industries 
tell  the  story  of  their  magnitude. 


CHAPTER  V 
C(  )UNTY  ORGANIZATION  AND  GOVERNMENT 


The  territory  embraced  in  Dawes  county 
was  first  settled  in  1884,  by  a  band  of  as  hardy 
and  determined  pioneers  as  ever  crossed  the 
plains  to  seek  homes  in  the  great  west.  In  the 
spring  of  1885  the  county  was  organized,  on  a 


petition  of  some  of  our  first  settlers  and  fore- 
most citizens,  among  whom  were  Cyrus  Fair- 
child,  B.  S.  Paddock,  E.  S.  Nesbitt,  E.  Egan, 
B.  F.  Carley,  F.  M.  Dorrington,  J.  H.  McMil- 
lan, and  W.  H.  Reynolds. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


551 


On  the  9th  day  of  May,  1885,  the  first  hoard 
of  county  commissioners  met.  These  were  ap- 
pointed by  Governor  Dawes,  after  whom  the 
county  was  named,  and  consisted  of  Cyrus 
Fairchild,  E.  E.  Egan,  H.  G.  McMillan,  with 
F.  B.  Carley  as  clerk.  At  this  meeting  the 
commissioners  created  seven  voting  precincts : 
Dry  Creek,  Bordeaux,  Chadron,  Ash  Creek, 
Crow  Butte,  Running  Water  and  Snake  Creek. 
They  also  issued  a  call  for  the  first  election. 
The  election  was  held  June  27,  1885,  and  re- 
sulted as  follows: 

Commissioners :  D.  Y.  Mears,  H.  A.  Moore- 
head,  A.  H.  McLaughlin ;  County  Judge,  Burr 
Shelton;  Treasurer,  H.  G.  McMillan;  Clerk, 
F.  B.  Carley ;  Sheriff,  George  W.  Clark ;  Cor- 
oner, R.  K.  Burns ;  Surveyor,  R.  W.  Calvin. 

The  location  of  the  county  seat  was  hotly 
contested  between  Chadron  and  Dawes  City, 
the  latter  town  now  known  as  Whitney,  which 
terminated  in  favor  of  Chadron  by  a  majority 
of  two  hundred  and  fifteen  votes.  The  number 
of  votes  cast  was  nine  hundred  and  forty-nine. 
Chadron  received  five  hundred  and  eighty-two, 
Dawes  City  three  hundred  and  sixty-four,  Bor- 
deaux three. 

The  first  district  court  was  held  at  Chadron 
during  February.  1886.  There  was  only  one 
case  of  importance  tried  at  that  time.  Ed. 
Casey  was  charged  with  holding  up  a  s:age 
near  Whitney  and  securing  the  contents  of  a 
paymaster's  box.  The  trial  resulted  in  an  ac- 
quittal. 

The  erection  of  the  courthouse  was  com- 
pleted in  1887,  at  a  cost  of  $35,000.  This 
enormous  outlay  of  the  people's  money,  con- 
sidering what  ought  to  have  been  the  real  cost, 
caused  criticism  of  those  directly  in  charge  of 
the  county's  affairs,  but  little  comment  followed 
the  transaction. 

There  are  six  railroad  towns  and  ten  post- 
offices  in  the  county.  The  Nebraska  division 
of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  and  the 
Burlington  railroads  tap  the  county  from  east 
to  west  and  north  to  south,  with  a  branch  at 
Chadron  running  into  the  Black  Hills. 

The  fuel  question  is  of  but  little  importance 
to  the  farmer,  for  he  can  go  to  the  timber  at 
any  time  and  get  wood — yet  free  for  chopping 
and  hauling.  The  great  Wyoming  coal  fields 
are  less  than  a  hundred  miles  from  us.  Coal 
can  be  laid  down  at  railroad  towns  in  the 
county  equal  to  the  best  Iowa  coal. 

There  are  over  one  hundred  school  districts 
in  the  county  and  a  school  house  in  each  dis- 
trict. The  most  competent  teachers  are  em- 
ployed to  develop  the  minds  of  the  ''young 
idea,"    no    matter   how    small    the    attendance 


may  be.  All  the  towns  support  creditable  church 
edifices,  and  in  localities  where  no  church  is 
provided,  the  school  house  is  used  for  this 
purpose. 

The  land  upon  which  Red  Cloud  agency  once 
stood  forms  a  portion  of  the  military  reserva- 
tion on  which  Fort  Robinson  is  built.  Sur- 
rounded on  three  sides  by  beautiful  ridges  of 
the  famous  Pine  Ridge  hills,  on  the  north  side 
by  a  magnificent  range  of  cliffs,  known  to  the 
Sioux  Indians  as  "Dancing  Buttes,"  and  on 
the  west  and  south  sides  lie  a  succession  of 
towering  peaks,  relieved  by  beautiful  undulat- 
ing swells  and  receding  knobs.  These  are  cov- 
ered by  superb  growth  of  stately  pines  and 
nutritious  grasses,  on  which,  in  times  past,  the 
buffalo,  deer,  elk  and  other  game  fed  undis- 
turbed, except  by  the  wily  Indian,  who  claimed 
an  ownership  in  them. 

In  1881-1882  the  slaughter  of  the  buffalo 
reached  its  highwater  mark  in  northwestern 
Nebraska.  Buffalo  hunting  it  was  called  by 
courtesy,  but  the  pursuit  as  then  practiced  pos- 
sessed none  of  the  features  or  attributes  of  the 
sport  known  as  hunting.  The  Indians  hunted 
the  buffalo  and  so  did  those  whites  who  shot 
and  killed  for  the  trophies  of  the  chase ;  but 
the  cowardly  and  inhumane  work  that  exterm- 
inated the  monarch  of  the  prairies  was  in  no 
sense  "hunting,"  though  for  lack  of  a  more 
appropriate  title  the  men  who  helped  to  do  it 
were  called  buffalo  hunters.  That  winter,  we 
are  told,  the  very  deep  snow  made  it  almost 
impossible  for  herds  to  move,  and  fully  two- 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  of  these  noble, 
harmless  beasts  were  mercilessly  slaughtered. 
The  humanitarian  will  deplore  this  chapter  of 
our  history;  the  fatalist  will  argue  that  in  the 
development  of  the  west  the  buffalo  was  fast 
becoming  an  obstacle  and  their  removal  was 
provided  for.  Whatever  may  be  the  conclu- 
sion, there  is  no  room  to  doubt  the  dependent 
fact :  With  the  exception  of  a  few  sickly 
herds  of  less  than  a  hundred  each  the  buffalo 
is  extinct. 

Roster  of  Officers  of  County 

1885 

County  Treasurer,  DeForest  Richards ; 
Clerk,  Robert  Dickson;  Sheriff,  Geo.  W. 
Clark ;  Tudge,  W.  W.  Byington  ;  Commission- 
ers, D."  W.  Sperling,  T.  D.  Pattison,  A.  V. 
Harris. 

1887 

County  Treasurer,  Lyman  A.  Brower ;  Clerk, 
W.    L.    Handy;   Sheriff,    James   C.    Dahlman ; 


552 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


Judge,  T.  F.  Powers ;  Superintendent,  R.  H. 
"Blanchard  ;  Surveyor,  Frank  Woodford  ;  Coro- 
ner, Geo.  P.  Waller. 

1888 
County  Attorney,  M.  Ballard ;  Commission- 
er, Josiah  Berger. 

1889 
County    Treasurer,    L.    A.    Brower;    Clerk, 
Tohn  G.  Maher;  Sheriff,  T.  C.  Dahlman ;  Judge, 
S.   A.   Ballard;   Clerk   District  Court,  A.   G. 
Shears ;  Attorney,  W.  G.  Pardoe ;  Commission- 
er,   B.    S.    Cooley ;    Superintendent,    R.     H. 
Blanchard;  Coroner,  G.  E.  Myers. 
1890 
County  Commissioner,  A.  M.  Bartlett;  At- 
torney, I.  N.  Harbaugh. 
1891 
County  Clerk,  J.  G.  Maher;  Sheriff,  J.  C. 
Dahlman  ;  Treasurer,  W.  H.  Reynolds  ;  Judge, 
S.  A.  Ballard ;  Clerk  of  District  Court,  A.  G. 
Shears ;  Coroner,  D.  C.  Gibbs  ;  Commissioners, 
G.  W.  Howenstein,  Cephas  Ross. 
1892 
County  Attorney,  G.  A.  Eckles. 

1893 
County  Clerk.  O.   K.  Eastman;  Treasurer, 
W.  H.  Reynolds ;  Judge,  P.  E.  Baird ;  Super- 
intendent, C.  E.  Foster;  Coroner,  J.  V.  Way; 
Commissioners,     Benj.     Loewenthal,     T.     W. 
Schmidt ;  Sheriff,  A.  M.  Bartlett. 
1894 
Clerk  District  Court,  B.  H.  McGrew. 

1895 
County  Clerk,  O.  K.  Eastman;   Treasurer, 
T.  L.  Paul;  Clerk  District  Court,  F.  B.  Carley; 
Judge,  E.  S.  Ricker;  Sheriff,  A.  M.  Bartlett; 
Coroner,  Geo.  Uhl. 

1896 
County  Attorney,  A.  G.  Fisher ;  Commission- 
er, A.  C.  Fowler. 

1897 
County  Treasurer,  W.  F.  Hayward ;  Sheriff, 
Chas.  F.  Darqan;  Clerk,  C.' F.  Wardlaw ; 
Judge,  E.  S.  Ricker;  Superintendent,  A.  R. 
Julian;  Coroner,  J.  F.  Sampson;  Commission- 
er, Chas.  R.  Peterson. 

1898 
County  Attorney,  W.  H.  Fanning;  Commis- 
sioner, Donald  McMillan. 
1899 
County  Treasurer,  Jacob  Kass ;  Clerk,  C.  T. 
Wardland ;   Sheriff,  C.  F.  Dargan ;  Judge,   S. 
G.    Canfield ;    Superintendent,    H.    L.    Fisher; 
Clerk  District  Court,  F.  B.  Carley ;  Surveyor, 
R.  M.  Stanton ;  Coroner,  J.  F.  Sampson ;  Com- 
missioner, Samuel  T.  Mote. 

Countv  Attorney,  Albert  W.  Crites. 


1901 

Countv  Treasurer,  J.  Kass ;  Clerk,  R.  G. 
Smith ;  Sheriff,  W.  A.  Birdsall ;  Judge,  C.  D. 
Sayrs  ;  Superintendent,  H.  L.  Fisher ;  Coroner, 
Chas.  E.  Furay;  Commissioner,  J.  C.  Farring- 
ton. 

1902 

County  Attorney,  E.  M.  Slattery. 
1903 

County  Clerk,  R.  G.  Smith ;  Treasurer, 
Wayne  T.  Wilson  ;  Clerk  District  Court.  C.  L. 
Freeman;  Sheriff,  W.  A.  Birdsall;  Judge.  C. 
D.  Sayrs  ;  Assessor,  H.  Lambert  ;  Commission- 
er, Wm.  J.  Darrow ;  Coroner,  Chas.  G.  El- 
more. 

1904 

County  Attorney,  Justin  E.    Porter ;   Com- 
missioner, E.  C.  Kendrick. 
1905 

County  Treasurer,  Wayne  F.  Wilson ;  Clerk, 
Chas.  Naylor;  Sheriff,  L.  K.  Mate;  Judge,  C. 
D.    Sayrs;   Superintendent,   Thos.    S.    Smith; 
Commissioner,  W.  S.  Gillam. 
1907 

County  Clerk,  Chas.  Naylor;  Treasurer, 
Thos.  S.  Smith;  Clerk  District  Court,  L.  J.  F. 
Iaeger;  Judge,  C.  D.  Sayrs;  Sheriff,  L.  K. 
Mate;  Superintendent,  Jennie  M.  Ellis;  Com- 
missioner, C.  H.  Bisping. 
1908 

County  Attorney,  Edwin  D.  Crites ;  Asses- 
sor, J.  E.  Clapp;  Commissioner,  Geo.  A.  Ham- 
ilton. 

1909 

Countv  Clerk,  Chas.  Navlor ;  Treasurer, 
Thos.  S.' Smith  ;  Sheriff,  A.  W.  Birdsall ;  Judge, 

C.  D.  Sayrs ;  Superintendent,  Carrie  L.  Mun- 
kres ;  Commissioner,  Martin  J.  Weber ;  Coro- 
ner, H.  C.  Gibson. 

1911 
County    Clerk,    Chas.    Naylor;    Treasurer, 
Harry  Adams ;  Clerk  District  Court.  L.   T.  F. 
Iaeger;  Judge,  E.  M.  Slattery;  Sheriff,  W.  A. 
Birdsall ;  Superintendent,  Carrie  L.  Munkres. 
1912 
County  Attorney,  Edwin  D.  Crites  ;  Commis- 
sioner, J.   T-  Harvev ;  Assessor,   Tohn  B.  Car- 
roll. 

1914 
County    Clerk,    R.    G.    Smith;    Treasurer, 
Harry  Adams  ;  Sheriff,  Vet.  Canfield  ;  Superin- 
tendent, Carrie  L.  Munkres ;  Attorney,  Edwin 

D.  Crites ;  Judge.  E.  M.  Slattery ;  Commission- 
ers, M.  Christensen,  Tohn  Blundall. 

1918 
County    Clerk,    R.    G.    Smith;    Treasurer, 
Bill  Cjuinn ;  Sheriff,  Yet.  Canfield ;  Attorney, 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


553 


Frederick   A.    Crites ;    Commisisoners,   W.   A. 
Birdsall ;  Dugald  McMillan. 

The  county  officers  for  1920  and  1921  are: 
County  Clerk,  Roll  G.  Smith;  Treasurer, 
Bill  Quinn;  Clerk  District  Court.  L.  T.  F. 
Iaeger;  Sheriff,  Vet.  Canfield ;  Judge,  E.  M. 
Slattery;  Superintendent,  Edna  E.  Rineker; 
Assessor,  Frank  J.  Walvington ;  Attorney, 
Frederick  J.  Crites ;  Surveyor,  Page  T.  Fran- 
cis;  Commissioners,  S.  Swinebank,  Crawford, 
W.  A.  Birdsall;  Chadron,  Dugald  McMillan, 
Marsland. 

State  Officers  From  Dawes 

Dawes  county  has  never  had  a  state-wide 
officer  elected  from  its  borders.  It  has  had 
candidates  of  its  citizens  and  its  former  citi- 
zens. Jim  Dahlman  was  once  a  candidate  for 
governor;  John  Maher  once  aspired  in  the 
primaries  ;  W.  H.  Reynolds  was  once  a  candi- 
date in  the  primaries  for  state  treasurer.  A. 
W.  Crites  was  once  district  judge  of  the 
fifteenth  judicial  district.  Alfred  Bartow  of 
Chadron  succeeded  him  in  that  position. 

Nebraska's  state  senate  has  had  some  re- 
markably strong  men.  W.  W.  Wilson  of  Chad- 
ron was  the  first  so  selected  in  1891.  H.  G. 
Stewart  of  Crawford,  now  of  Scotts  Bluff 
county  was  one  of  the  remarkably  strong  men 
of  the  senate  in  the  two  terms  of  1893  and 
1895.  In  1899  another  who  has  proven  his 
worth  was  chosen.  W.  H.  Reynolds  served 
that  year  and  has  since  been  chosen  two  terms, 
1911  and  1913;  and  is  now  the  live  mayor  of 
Chadron.  George  M.  Adams,  •  one  of  the 
strongest  men  of  Crawford  and  northwest  Ne- 
braska was  a  member  in  1917.  James  W.  Good 
is  the  present  member  and  his  membership  has 
been  marked  in  the  last  two  sessions  of  the 
senate. 

In  the  house  we  find  a  no  less  interesting 


and  powerful  array  of  talent  from  the  county 
of  Dawes.  Leading  in  chronological  order  and 
possibly  in  progressive  spirit  was  Addison  E. 
Sheldon  in  1897  and  at  present  the  secretary 
of  the  state  historical  society  and  of  the  leg- 
islative reference  bureau.  Next  was  Allen  G. 
Fisher,  a  splendid  intelligence  who  has  handi- 
capped his  own  efficiency  by  indulging  in  an- 
tagonisms with  his  fellowmen:  Col.  Chas.  F. 
Coffee,  whose  name  is  not  limited  to  western 
Nebraska,  was  a  member  in  1901.  It  is  likely 
there  is  no  man  with  greater  influence  and  al- 
ways for  the  good  in  all  northwestern  Ne- 
braska. Frank  Currie  of  Crawford,  a  man  of 
high  standing,  served  two  terms  in  the  house, 
1903  and  1905.  In  1907  we  find  the  name  of 
our  old  friend  George  M.  Adams,  the  Craw- 
ford merchant  and  business  man  who  later  be- 
came senator.  Chas.  H.  Chase  of  Crawford 
succeeded  Adams  in  1909  and  left  a  stamp  of 
his  identity  upon  the  records  of  the  state  legis- 
lature. In  1913  H.  E.  Riesche,  at  present  effi- 
cient member  of  the  state  normal  board,  was 
elected  and  kept  high  the  standard  of  educa- 
tional and  other  excellence  from  Dawes.  Last 
mentioned  and  in  the  order  of  chronology,  but 
not  least  in  the  hearts  of  his  people,  is  Charles 
Naylor.  He  served  in  1915  and  1917  with  an 
efficiency  and  integrity  that  made  him  a  state 
wide  character.  Recently  his  splendid  and  in- 
telligent wife  has  been  called  Beyond.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Naylor  were  holding  two  of  the 
highest  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  Rebekahs  of 
the  state  at  the  time  of  Mrs.  Naylor's  depart- 
ing from  the  field  of  activity. 

Geo.  C.  Snow  was  representative  in  the  legis- 
lative session  of  1919.  A  good  man,  in  keeping 
with  Dawes  county's  high  record. 

Dawes  county  has  a  just  reason  to  be  proud 
of  the  galaxy'  of  her  statesmen  and  other 
noted  people  that  have  gone  forth  from  her 
borders. 


CHAPTER  VI 
TOWN  OF  CHADRON 


In  the  early  fall  of  1884,  E.  E.  Egan  erected 
a  log  house  on  his  claim,  about  a  mile  south  of 
the  mouth  of  Chadron  creek,  launched  the 
Sioux  County  Journal  and  announced  that  it 
was  published  at  Chadron.     Strange  as  it  may 


seem,  this  was  the  first  business  venture  in 
the  county  to  come  after  range  cattle,  post 
settlers,  and  Indian  traders,  and  it  was  recog- 
nized as  a  harbinger  of  civilization,  of  schools 
and  churches,  and  women  and  children. 


554 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


It  could  only  be  guessed  that  "Chadron"  was 
somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of  the  creek  bearing 
that  name,  for  the  town  still  "lay  a  bornin"  in 
the  mind  of  Egan. 

The  Journal,  week  after  week,  told  of  the 
wonderful  White  river  valley,  "the  garden 
spot  of  the  western  Nebraska,  beyond  the  sand 
hills ;"  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil ;  the  ideal  cli- 
mate ;  the  pure  atmosphere,  and  the  soft  sun- 
shine unsurpassed  elsewhere,  facts  so  familiar 
to  the  native  of  Dawes  county  today. 

The  Journal  did  much  in  helping  to  bring  set- 
tlers and  others.  Egan  was  a  broad  minded, 
talented  fellow  of  25,  with  a  wife  and  young 


Richards,  (who  in  later  years  became  the  gov- 
ernor of  Wyoming),  a  perfect  type  of  the 
educated  and  polished  New  England  gentleman, 
to  Opportunity  Hank,  a  typical  frontier  tin- 
horn gambler,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  greeting 
a  newcomer  with  a  wild  stare,  with  nostrils  ex- 
tended and  eyes  blazing,  accompanied  by  some 
lingo  of  words,  such  as  "I'm  a  fighting  man ;  I 
can  whip  my  weight  in  wild  cats.  I  can  I 
guess."  followed  by  a  nasal  snort  which  can- 
not be  described  in  words,  but  which  conveyed 
the  impression  that  he  was  ready  and  willing 
to  prove  the  assertion,  but  Hank  was  a  bluffer 
through  and  through. 


child  when  he  "homesteaded"  on  Chadron 
creek,  and  is  deserving  of  grateful  remem- 
brance for  the  large  part  he  played  in  the  es- 
tablishment and  upbuilding  of  the  town  of 
Chadron  and  in  furthering  the  speedy  settle- 
ment of  the  county.  It  was  mainly  due  to  his 
stand  and  influence  that  the  town  was  named 
Chadron,  as  the  railroad  company  had  deter- 
mined upon  the  name  of  Bordeaux. 

It  was  often  said  in  early  days  that  no  town 
of  its  size  ever  had  so  many  individual  charac- 
ters of  pronounced  type  as  Chadron.  Egan 
was  one  of  them — one  who  was  ever  ready  to 
voice  his  honest  opinions  in  matters  of  public 
concern,  and  stake  his  all  upon  his  convictions. 
And  those  characters   ranged   from   DeForest 


Chadron  was  the  first  town  established  in 
the  county.  However,  it  was  first  on  the  map 
as  O'Linn.  In  the  summer  of  1884  Mrs.  Fan- 
nie O'Linn  obtained  the  establishment  of  a 
postofhce  and  the  appointment  of  herself  as 
postmistress,  naming  the  office  in  honor  of  her 
son  who  was  accidentally  killed  and  maintained 
it  in  a  claim  "shack"  on  her  homestead  on 
White  river  just  east  of  the  present  Dakota 
Junction. 

The  shack  was  half  "dug  out"  and  half  sod. 
that  is,  an  excavation  in  the  ground  was  dug 
about  four  feet  in  depth  and  sod  walls  laid  up 
from  the  surface  three  or  four  feet,  and  this 
was  covered  by  log  rafters,  brush  and  earth, 
making  what  is  termed  a  dirt  roof.     It  con- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


55? 


sisted  of  one  room  about  14x16,  which  served 
as  living  room,  bed  room  and  kitchen.  The 
mail  was  kept  in  a  cracker  box,  from  which 
the  patrons  of  the  postoffice  not  infrequently 
helped  themselves  when  calling  for  their  mail. 

In  the  early  fall  of  1884  Burr  Shelton  and 
his  wife,  Phoebe,  arrived  from  the  east  with 
a  small  stock  of  general  merchandise  which  was 
freighted  by  wagon  from  Valentine,  procured 
native  lumber  from  the  sawmill,  which  Fred 
M.  Merritt  had  just  set  up  on  Chadron  creek 
near  the  pine  ridge,  and  erected  a  modest  frame 
store  building,  on  the  O'Linn  homestead.  Judge 
Jason  Wood  arrived  about  the  same  time  and 
opened  a  land  locating  agency  in  a  temporary 
office  building.  The  Shelton  store  building  and 
the  O'Linn  and  Judge  Wood  shacks  became  the 
nucleus  of  the  "old  town"  of  Chadron.  Later 
in  the  fall  of  1884  Milo  M.  Harrah  came  from 
Iowa  with  a  stock  of  hardware,  and  early  in 
January,  1885,  W.  A.  and  G.  A.  Birdsall  cast 
their  lot  with  the  town  and  established  a  livery 
stable  and  feed  supply  store.  With  the  com- 
ing of  spring  of  1885  other  business  houses 
were  established  as  follows :  Loewenthal 
Brothers,  clothing,  Walter  &  Lyman,  druggists, 
J.  Kass  &  Company,  hardware.  Glover  &  Brow- 
er.  general  merchandise,  Dawes  County  Bank, 
Chadron  Banking  Company,  Lake  &  Halley, 
bankers,  McCoy  hotel,  F.  R.  Curran,  saloon. 

Some  of  the  later  comers  were  doing  busi- 
ness in  tents  waiting  the  time  when  the  town 
should  be  definitely  located,  and  a  town  site 
plated  and  lots  placed  on  sale,  and  other  busi- 
ness people  were  on  the  ground  ready  to  em- 
bark in  business  ventures  as  soon  as  a  perman- 
ent town  should  be  established.  Among  the 
latter  were  Robert  Hood  and  Mary  Smith-Hay- 
ward.  who  are  still  Chadronites.  No  dwelling 
houses  were"  built  at  the  old  town  for  the  rea- 
son that  all  were  merely  squatters  on  Mrs. 
O'Linn's  claim  without  any  legal  rights  to  the 
ground  occupied.  The  temporary  buildings 
were  grouped  so  as  to  .give  the  appearance  of 
a  street.  The  O'Linn  homestead  and  adjoin- 
ing lands  were  generally  believed  to  be  the 
natural  and  most  desirable  site  for  the  new 
town.  The  matter  of  location  was  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  railroad  company,  and  why 
the  present  site  was  determined  upon  has 
always  remained  a  mystery.  In  those  days  the 
higher  railroad  officials  were  often  quite  arro- 
gant, and  many  of  the  first  settlers  believed  that 
the  price  of  land  asked  by  Mrs.  O'Linn, 
coupled  with  other  demands,  so  incensed  the 
railroad  officials  that  they  acted  in  a  vengeful 
spirit  in  making  the  location.  Be  this  as  it 
may.    fate  decreed   for  the  raw  land  acquired 


for  its  own  town  site.  Failing  to  secure  the 
desired  land  of  the  old  town  site  it  sought  to 
locate  three  quarter  sections  at  the  new  site 
with  government  land  warrants,  and  was  in 
fact  allowed  to  make  the  entries  at  the  local 
land  office  at  Valentine. 

Richard  M.  Stanton  instituted  a  contest  as 
to  one  quarter  section  alleging  that  prior  to  en- 
try by  warrant  by  the  townsite  agent  he  had 
tendered  a  pre-emption  application  which  was 
wrongfully  rejected  by  the  land  office  when  no 
other  entry  was  of  record  and  charging  collu- 
sion of  the  land  office  officials  with  the  townsite 
company.  The  matter  was  strongly  contested, 
the  decision  of  the  local  land  office  being  in 
favor  of  the  townsite  company.  On  appeal  to 
the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office 
at  Washington  the  decision  was  reversed,  and 
the  townsite  company  thereon  appealed  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  but  before  a  hearing 
of  the  case  was  had  by  the  Secretary  a  com- 
promise was  affected,  the  townsite  company- 
paying  Mr.  Stanton  $15,000  to  relinquish  his 
claim,  a  very  handsome  price  for  a  Dawes 
county  claim  in  those  days. 

When  it  was  definitely  made  known  by  the 
railroad  company  where  the  town  was  to  be 
established  and  that  town  lots  would  be  placed 
on  sale  on  August  1,  1885,  all  commenced  to 
plan  for  moving  and  building,  and  those  with 
families  began  to  look  forward  to  the  time 
when  their  families  might  join  them  in  the 
establishment  of  new  homes  in  a  brand  new 
town.  The  townsite  officials  had  given  assur- 
ance that  the  town  would  remain  the  terminus 
of  the  road  for  at  least  two  years,  thereby  mak- 
ing it  the  outfitting  point  for  the  country  west 
and  north,  but!  the  Burlington  road  began 
building  west  from  Broken  Bow  with  its  des- 
tination unknown  to  the  Fremont,  Elkhorn  and 
Missouri  Valley  Company,  which  urged  the 
latter  to  push  its  lines  to  the  Black  Hills  country 
and  west  to  the  coal  fields  and  stock  ranges  of 
Wyoming.  Before  the  town  could  be  officially 
platted,  the  special  election  was  coming  on  for 
the  organization  of  the  county  government,  the 
election  of  county  officers  and  the  location  of 
the  county  seat.  At  this  time  the  friends  of 
Chadron  were  in  a  quandary  as  to  possible  mis- 
understanding and  legal  entanglements  which 
might  arise  over  the  location  of  the  county 
seat.  While  the  railroad  officials  had  announced 
where  they  intended  to  establish  a  town  called 
Chadron,  a  few  squatters  on  Mrs.  O'Linn's 
homestead  called  the  settlement  by  the  same 
name,  and  in  reality  there  was  no  town  that 
could  at  the  time  lay  legal  claim  to  the  name 
of  Chadron,  and  if  Dawes  City  should  contest 


556 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


the  election  it  might  be  difficult  to  establish 
proof  as  to  where  the  voters  intended  the  coun- 
ty seat  should  be.  And  so  it  was  thought 
best  to  designate  on  the  ballot  the  location  of 
the  town,  and  the  ballots  were  printed  "Chad- 
ron  located  on  S.  W.  J4  of  Section  17,  Town- 
ship 33,  Range  48."  After  the  election  in 
June,  the  county  clerk  transacted  business  at 
the  old  town,  and  packed  up  his  records  in  a 
suitcase  and  moved  to  the  new  town  on  August 
first  with  the  other  inhabitants.  Prior  to  re- 
moval the  sheriff  let  it  be  known  that  his  of- 
fice was  any  place  in  the  county  where  he  hap- 
pened to  be.  The  county  judge  issued  mar- 
riage licenses  to  the  few  applying,  but  none  of 
the  other  county  officers  took  up  their  official 
duties  until  established  in  the  county  seat  pro- 
per at  the  new  town. 

A  Retrospective  Glance  at  Chadron 

The  following  by  F.  J.  Houghton  is  a  his- 
toric story  of  the  past  and  almost  to  date,  very 
extensive  and  complete. 

In  writing  the  history  of  our  beautiful  city, 
one  begins  by  casting  for  facts,  like  an  expert 
with  the  rod,  casting  for  bass,  and  the  reel  of 
time  sings  a  pleasing  tune  as  the  lure  goes  out, 
and  almost  the  first  cast  is  rewarded  with  tro- 
phies of  old  timers  upon  the  brows  of  whom 
age  in  her  annual  round-up  has  placed  her 
brand.  Age  may  conquer  the  flesh  but  the 
spirit  of  the  west  never  yet  surrendered  till 
mortal  light  was  extinguished.  Memory  sleeps 
at  times,  but  when  awakened  flashes  with  a 
brightness  that  illumines  the  past.  So,  if  the 
pictures  painted  here  are  pleasant,  it  is  be- 
cause of  the  incandescent  flashes  from  the  by 
gone  years,  when  the  switch  key  is  softly 
pressed  by  the  hand  that  here  records  the  story 
of  Chadron's  magic  growth. 

We  are  deeply  indebted  to  such  old  timers 
as  Wendel  A.  Birdsall,  P.  B.  Nelson  and  John- 
nie Stetter,  who  were  in  the  country  when  the 
Spotted  Tail  Indian  agency  was  over  on 
Beaver  creek  near  "Sheridan  Gate,"  Ben 
Loewenthal,  Jim  Owens,  Jake  Kass  and  many 
others  who  staked  their  claims  at  Old  Chad- 
ron where  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  railway 
crosses  White  river.  Give  Johnnie  Stetter  a 
good  cigar  and  a  half  Nelson  on  your  time  and 
he  will  keep  you  interested  for  many  hours,  tell- 
ing you  how  Corporal  MacDonald,  a  regular 
soldier,  skewered  Crazy  Horse  to  the  wall 
with  a  bayonet  at  the  old  Red  Cloud  agency 
and  held  him  there  until  he  was  dead,  and 
how  the  incident  came  near  causing  an  out- 
break, which  only  for  Antoine  Janis,  whose 
wife    was   Indian,   might  have   resulted  in  a 


massacre  similar  to  that  when  brave  Custer 
with  his  entire  troop  was  annihilated  on  the 
little  Big  Horn. 

Johnnie  Stetter  was  the  first  white  man  mar- 
ried in  the  county  of  Dawes  after  it  was  or- 
ganized, and  his  bride  was  a  sister  of  Post- 
master W.  A.  Danley.  The  county  was  not 
fully  organized  at  that  time  and  his  marriage 
license  was  procured  from  Cheyenne  county, 
from  which  Dawes  county  was  separated.  But 
Alfred  Lewis  was  married  here  while  this  terri- 
tory was  a  part  of  Cheyenne  county.  In  the 
years  between  1877  and  1884  northwest  Ne- 
braska was  populated  principally  by  Indians 
and  cow-men.  The  early  history  of  Chadron 
clusters  around  the  "Half  Diamond  E  Ranch," 
which  was  located  on  the  old  Sidney  trail  near 
where  it  crossed  Chadron  creek,  on  the  school 
section  now  under  lease  from  the  state  by  Dr. 
C.  B.  Payton.  The  ranch  buildings  were  intact 
as  late  as- 1887.  The  creek  was  called  after  a 
French  trapper  and  squawman  named  Chadron 
(pronounced  with  a  long  O  and  accent  on  the 
last  syllable)  who  came  to  the  country  with 
Janis  and  Bordeaux  in  1847.  The  Frenchman, 
Chadron,  had  squatted  on  a  tract  of  land  on 
the  west  side  of  Chadron  creek  near  its  junc- 
tion with  White  river.  In  1880  a  postoffice 
was  established  at  the  "Half  Diamond  E. 
Ranch,"  with  Robert  Harrison  postmaster.  The 
ranch  was  owned  by  Price  &  Jenks  of  Chey- 
enne and  was  a  veritable  fort  for  protection 
against  hostile  Indians.  The  corrals  were  stock- 
ades and  the  ranch  was  constructed  from 
heavy  logs  and  made  with  port  holes  in  the 
walls  for  convenience  in  fighting  Indians.  An 
underground  escape  was  prepared,  leading 
down  to  the  creek  and  thence  into  the  dense 
brush  that  bordered  its  banks.  This  under- 
ground passage  was  stored  with  supplies  suffi- 
cient for  a  siege  of  several  days  duration,  and 
so  packed  that  it  could  be  carried  away  in 
small  quantities  if  necessary,  and  many  were 
the  skirmishes  had  with  the  vicious  red-skins. 
The  last  battle  between  Indians  and  soldiers 
in  the  vicinity  of  Chadron,  was  fought  a  few 
rods  north  and  west  of  the  old  ranch  building, 
on  the  land  now  owned  by  A.  N.  Jackson, 
which  was  the  homestead  of  George  Dorring- 
ton,  and  the  rifle  pits  have  remained  to  this 
day.  The  location  of  the  ranch  was  ideal,  on 
the  banks  of  beautiful  Chadron  Creek  which 
winds  through  thick  foliage  as  it  makes  its 
way  into  the  broader  valley  where  its  sparkling 
waters  mingle  with  the  more  turbulent  White 
river,  near  the  point  where  the  first  real  set- 
tlers   of    Dawes   county   pitched   their  serried 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


557 


rows  of  white  tents  and  "Old  Chadron"  was 
born. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1884  there  were  ru- 
mors afloat  that  the  Fremont,  Elkhorn  &  Mis- 
souri Valley  railway  company  would  extend 
its  line  west  from  Valentine  the  next  year.  The 
White  river  valley  was  extensively  advertised 
as  a  stock  and  farming  country,  subject  to 
homestead  entry  and  practically  unsettled.  As 
usual,  people  flocked  to  this  new  land  and  the 
advance  guard  consisted  of  a  few  families  and 
business  men  having  been,  as  they  believed, 
truthfully  informed  that  a  division  town  would 
be  located  on  White  river,  sought  out  the  points 
where  the  survey  intersected  with  that  stream, 
erected  crude  business  houses  and  proceeded  to 
make  a  town.  Mrs.  Fannie  O'Linn,  a  pioneer 
woman,  now  residing  with  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Smith,  at  Chadron,  had  secured  a 
homestead  at  the  place  where  the  town  was 
located  and  succeeded  in  establishing  a  post- 
office  with  the  name  of  O'Linn.  But  the  loca- 
tion had  so  long  been  intimately  associated  with 
the  name  of  Chadron,  the  creek  and  French 
trapper  pioneer  and  the  former  postoffice  of 
Chadron,  that  the  new  settlers  desiring  to  pre- 
serve, as  far  as  possible,  the  history  and  tra- 
ditions collected  and  handed  down  by  those 
who  for  ages  had  traveled  the  ancient  Indian 
trails,  protested  against  the  name  of  O'Linn 
and  transmitted  to  Washington  a  remonstrance 
signed  by  nearly  every  settler  in  the  country  and 
succeeded  with  the  assistance  of  our  representa- 
tives in  congress,  in  having  the  name  changed 
to  Chadron.  Mrs.  O  Linn  had  erected  a  little 
log  shack  on  her  claim  where  she  resided  for 
a  time,  and  it  was  in  this  humble  home  that 
the  present  Methodist  church  of  Chadron  was 
organized  and  conducted  its  first  service.  She 
was  destined  to  become  one  of  the  most  widely 
known  and  respected  women  in  the  northwest 
She  was  present  at  the  first  wedding,  the  first 
birth  and  the  first  funeral  in  Dawes  county. 
The  first  burial  was  very  sad.  and  more  so  be- 
cause the  death  was  accidental  and  came  with- 
out a  moment's  warning.  Bert  O'Linn,  oldest 
son  of  Mrs.  O'Linn,  had  accidentally  shot  him- 
self. His  remains  were  interred  near  their 
new  home,  but  later  were  moved  to  Blair,  Ne- 
braska, and  now  rest  in  the  family  lot  in  the 
cemetery  of  that  place. 

The  autumn  of  1884  found  a  few  families 
and  business  houses  at  the  old  town  on  White 
river  near  what  is  now  Dakota  Junction.  These 
people  existed  there  through  the  most  severe 
winter  that  the  oldest  settlers  have  experienced 
in  this  country.  The  snow  was  so  deep  that 
travel    with    any   conveyance   was    impossible. 


Stage  lines  were  tied  up,  and  no  mails  could  get 
through.  Canyons  and  valleys  over  the  entire 
country  were  filled  with  snow.  Chadron  creek, 
Deadhorse,  and  Ash  creeks  were  completely 
covered.  The  snow  was  so  deep  above  them 
and  beaten  so  solid,  that,  when  travel  became 
possible,  heavy  freight  outfits  passed  over  on 
the  snow  as  if  there  had  been  no  creeks.  There 
were  scarcely  supplies  sufficient  to  feed  the 
little  bunch  of  people  that  had  staked  their  des- 
tiny in  this  new  Eldorado.  There  was  no  out- 
side communication  for  weeks  and  weeks  until 
a  purse  was  made  up  and  a  man  engaged  to 
walk  to  Fort  Robinson  and  bring  up  the  mail. 
The  journey  was  made,  so  we  are  informed, 
on  snow  shoes,  and  the  mail  bag  brought  to 
Old  Chadron  packed  on  the  back  of  the  carrier. 
Four  days  were  required  to  make  the  trip.  Ex- 
sheriff  Wendall  A.  Birdsall,  was  one  of  the 
number  who  spent  that  strenuous  winter  at  the 
old  town  and  informed  the  writer  that  he  made 
two  trips  to  Fort  Robinson  and  back  on  foot. 

During  a  lull  in  one  of  the  many  severe 
blizzards  that  winter,  Elmer  Rees,  a  young  man, 
started  out  hunting  and  was  lost  in  the  storm. 
A  rescuing  party  was  instituted  and  a  search 
made  for  the  young  man  without  success.  His 
remains  were  found  when  the  snow  melted 
away  in  the  spring.  There  were  many  narrow 
escapes  from  death  by  blizzards  that  memor- 
able winter,  but  it  passed  with  only  a  minimum 
of  fatalities,  and  spring,  with  its  thousand  per- 
fumes of  bursting  buds  borne  upon  every  frag- 
rant breeze  from  the  south,  its  raucous  serenade 
by  hundreds  of  beautiful  song  birds,  the  far 
off  cry  of  hungry  coyotes,  came  and  found  this 
little  community  with  its  brave  heart  overflow- 
ing with  hope,  watching  and  waiting  for  the 
first  construction  train  and  listening  for  the 
shrill  scream  of  the  first  locomotive.  The  early 
spring  of  1885  saw  a  great  influx  of  people  at 
the  old  town.  Every  branch  of  business  was 
represented,  but  saloons  predominated.  It  was 
frequently  visited  by  cow  boys  from  adjoining 
ranches,  fine,  manly  fellows  when  sober,  but 
otherwise  when  intoxicated.  Every  saloon 
operated  gambling  tables  and  dance  halls  had 
ample  patronage  and  nightly  revels.  The  town 
was  "shot  up"  at  frequent  intervals. 

Angel's  place  was  the  first  saloon  in  the 
town,  and  the  first  to  be  made  the  target  of  a 
hundred  six  shooters  in  the  hands  of  as  many 
reckless  cowboys.  Angel  was  compelled  to  part 
with  all  his  cartridges  and  they  were  made  use 
of  by  the  boys  in  shooting  up  the  place.  Not 
a  bottle  or  glass  was  left  unbroken.  Every 
article  of  furniture  was  shot  to  pieces ;  the 
stove  was  perforated,  windows  broken  and  the 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


walls  and  ceiling  riddled  with  bullets.  Angel 
touched  only  the  high  places  in  making  his 
exit.  After  wrecking  his  place,  the  boys  pro- 
cured a  stove  and  other  furniture  from  the  Tv 
A.  N.  ranch,  then  located  on  Horsehead  creek  ' 
near  where  Oelrichs,  S.  D.,  now  stands,  and 
otherwise  assisted  Angel  to  start  in  business 
again.  Soon  after,  Angel  secured  a  bartender 
from  some  distant  point,  and  gave  it  out  that 
he  had  hired  a  man  with  whiskers  that  was 
some  gun  man  himself,  and  that  any  further 
disorder  in  his  emporium  would  be  summarily 
sat  upon.  The  new  man  came  and  he  truly 
was  a  man  with  whiskers  and  had  a  formid- 
able appearance  with  his  long  red  beard.  Short- 
ly after  his  arrival,  Bill  Malone,  one  of  the 
wildest  of  the  fellows,  heard  about  the  man 
with  whiskers,  who  was  a  bad  man  with  a  gun, 
and  came  in  to  size  him  up.  Malone  approached 
the  bar,  looked  at  the  purported  bad  man  for 
a  moment,  in  evident  disgust,  then  grabbed  him 
by  the  long  whiskers  with  his  right  hand,  pulled 
his  gun  and  began  shooting  through  them  with 
the  other.  The  man  finally  escaped  with  only 
a  few  whiskers,  but  lots  of  experience  and  de- 
parted the  town  forever.  In  1884  Burr  Shelton, 
who  was  later  a  local  judge  of  Dawes  county, 
erected  a  frame  building  and  a  general  store  in 
the  old  town.  The  building  now  stands  on  Egan 
street  in  the  present  town,  and  is  owned  by 
J.  W.  Owens.  Soon  after  this  the  boys  made 
some  demand  upon  Mr.  Shelton  which  was  re- 
fused, and  they  shot  up  the  store  badly,  dam- 
aging the  contents,  terrorizing  and  menacing 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shelton,  who  were  living  in  the 
rear  of  the  store.  Later  these  same  fellows, 
having  learned  that  Mr.  Shelton  was  in  no  way 
to  blame,  became  his  warmest  friends.  The 
next  person  to  erect  a  frame  building  was  Dr. 
J-  M.  Davidson ;  he  erected  a  small  shack  which 
was  used  for  an  office.  Very  soon  L.  N.  Cart- 
wright  and  George  B.  Chase,  father-in-law  of 
Charles  Trussler'began  the  erection  of  a  small 
building,  intending  to  open  x  supply  store,  but 
before  it  was  completed  W.  A.  and  George 
Birdsall  bought  them  out  and  put  in  a  stock 
of  groceries  and  provisions.  The  Birdsalls 
later  erected  a  building  and  opened  a  livery 
and  feed  stable,  which  they  conducted  for  many 
years  in  the  new  town.  The  next  enterprise 
was  a  lunch  room,  operated  by  one  Bloodgood. 
On  his  opening  night  the  cow  boys  ate  up  and 
shot  to  pieces  everything  in  the  house.  The  next 
man  was  named  Cotton,  of  dance  house  fame. 
He  erected  the  frame  building  now  on  the  cor- 
ner just  south  of  the  Blaine  hotel,  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Second  and  Bordeaux  avenue,  which 
was  used  for  a  saloon  ;  later  he  built  a  dance 


hall,  which  was  moved  over  and  is  now  merged 
into  one  of  the  finest  homes  in  Chadron  on 
Egan  street.  About  the  first  of  April,  1885, 
tents  began  to  come.  The  first  was  that  of 
M.  M.  Harrah,  who  put  in  a  stock  of  hard- 
ware ;  then  came  Jack  and  Sam  Stotts  with 
groceries  ;  Walter  &  Lyman,  drugs  ;  Ed.  Flvnn, 
saloon,  Tom  and  Charley  Black  and  White 
&  Sloggy,  restaurants  and  saloons,  and  Keyes 
&  Soder,  cigars,  confectionery  and  notions. 
About  this  time  the  two  story  log  house  of 
Mrs.  O'Linn  was  completed  and  leased  to  Mc- 
Coy &  Kearns,  who  converted  it  into  a  hotel 
and  saloon.  Then  came  more  tents.  Loewen- 
thal  Brothers,  clothing;  Kass  &  Poll,  hardware; 
Billy  Wilson,  afterwards  postmaster,  with 
furniture :  Emil  Faust,  bakery ;  Frank  Soder, 
saloon,  afterwards  turned  into  a  dance  house 
which  was  later  moved  to  the  new  town  and 
operated  by  irrepressible  Johnnie  Owens,  and 
later  cut  into  two  parts  and  made  into  resi- 
dences and  now  occupied  by  prominent  fam- 
ilies. By  this  time  buildings  were  fast  going 
up.  Among  them  the  Lockler  &  Harrison  Red 
Front  saloon  with  Mickey  O'Brien  in  charge ; 
Carter  &  Dixon,  wholesale  and  retail  liquors ; 
Canfield  &  Garner,  groceries  and  hotel.  Ed. 
Egan  moved  his  Journal  plant  in  from  his 
shack  out  on  Chadron  creek ;  Glover  &  Brower 
put  in  the  Dawes  county  bank ;  Ballou  &  Cas- 
sady,  real  estate ;  H.  O.  Martin,  jewelry ;  An- 
ton Weber,  groceries ;  Lamb  &  Whitten,  gen- 
eral store  with  George  Shinn  manager ;  Valen- 
tine &  Younglove,  general  store  with  Ed.  Val- 
entine manager ;  Higgins  &  Coffey,  saloon,  and 
C.  H.  King,  groceries. 

During  the  early  summer  of  1885,  the  old 
town  grew  at  rapid  strides.  People  of  all 
classes  drifted  in  and  among  them  crooks, 
and  gamblers,  hold-up  men  and  women  of 
doubtful  character.  One  old  town  character, 
who  gained  considerable  notoriety,  was  a  wo- 
man, Mary  Woodward,  better  known  by  the 
euphonious  title  of  Red  Jacket.  Mrs.  Wood- 
ward was  very  much  faded,  but  was  said  to 
have  been  a  brilliant  and  beautiful  woman  in 
her  younger  days.  Once  when  making  a  trip 
on  a  Mississippi  steamboat,  she  fell  violently 
in  love  with  the  captain  of  the  boat,  deserted 
her  husband  and  went  to  live  with  the  captain 
without  the  formality  of  a  marriage  ceremony. 
A  few  years  of  the  life  caused  her  beauty  to 
wane  and  the  captain  tiring  of  her,  discarded 
her  for  some  woman  who  appealed  more  to 
his  taste,  and  she  drifted  with  the  tide  for  a 
few  years  then  remarried.  She  lived  with  her 
last  husband  for  some  years,  then  followed  the 
crowd  to  old  Chadron.     She  had  a  claim  on 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


559 


White  river  just  south  of  the  Junction.  She 
was  possessed  of  a  violent  temper,  and  more 
than  once  asserted  what  she  believed  her  rights 
with  a  Winchester  rifle,  and  was  charged  with 
the  murder  of  a  man  who  trespassed  upon  her 
claim.  Red  Jacket  came  over  with  the  old  town. 
She  was  a  confirmed  dope  fiend,  and  after  great 
suffering  she  died  in  poverty  about  1888.  Once 
when  confined  in  the  public  bastile  she  man- 
aged to  set  the  jail  on  fire,  but  John  Henry, 
who  was  also  an  inmate,  gave  an  alarm  and 
they  were  rescued.  Red  Jacket  was  given  the 
name  because  she  constantly  wore  a  red 
sweater  when  running  the  Mississippi  river. 
There  are  people  living  in  Chadron  at  .this  date 
who  are  said  to  have  gazed  into  the  barrel  of 
her  six  shooter.     Her  claim  was  swallowed  up 


new  town  was  named  after  the  old.  Whether 
or  not  the  new  town  was  launched  into  exist- 
ence by  the  bursting  of  a  bottle  of  champagne, 
we  are  unable  to  enlighten  the  reader.  But  know- 
ing the  particular  thirst  that  gnawed  at  the 
throats  of  many  westerners  of  that  date,  we 
deem  it  safe  to  say  that  nothing  less  than 
straight  whiskey  was  indulged  in  on  that  oc- 
casion. Anyway,  the  town  was  platted,  named 
Chadron,  lots  listed  for  sale  and  the  sale  day 
set  for  August  1,  1885.  An  arrangement  was 
made  with  the  Town  Lot  company  by  which 
the  business  men  at  old  Chadron  could  select 
lots  in  the  new  town  and  purchase  them  at  the 
list  price,  but  all  others  would  be  sold  at  auc- 
tion, at  not  less  than  the  list  price  to  the  highest 
bidder.    Those  entitled  to  lots  at  list  price  had 


Si'ki:i:t  Vikw,  Chadron 


in  expenses  when  she  was  charged  with  mur- 
der, and  for  some  years  she  was  a  county  ward. 
In  the  summer  of  1885,  the  F.  E.  &  M.  V. 
railroad  was  built  from  Valentine  westward  a 
hundred  miles  through  the  sand  hills  and  fin- 
ally reached  the  rich  open  prairies  of  what  are 
now  Sheridan  and  Dawes  counties.  For  some 
reason  the  lands  upon  which  the  Western  Town 
Lot  company  expected  to  locate  the  town  near 
White  river  were  not  available  for  that  pur- 
pose. But  the  town  lot  company  had  quietly 
secured  a  tract  of  sufficient  dimensions  for  a 
good  sized  town,  platted  the  same  and  selected 
"Bordeaux"  as  a  suitable  name  for  the  infant 
metropolis.  This  christening  was  not  satis- 
factory to  the  first  settlers,  and  steps  were  taken 
that   brought   about    a    re-christening   and    the 


a  meeting  and  made  their  selections  with  very 
little  friction.  Some  wanted  to  make  Main  ave- 
nue the  principal  business  street.  Others  wanted 
Second  street,  but  differences  arose  and  busi- 
ness houses  were  finally  located  about  evenly 
between  the  two.  What  is  now  the  First  Nation- 
al Bank,  was  located  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  Main  avenue  and  Second  street,  in  a  little 
rough  board  shack  just  large  enough  for  the 
safe,  a  desk  and  counter,  and  was  opeiated  by 
Richards  Bros.  &  Brown,  all  business  men 
of  the  highest  integrity  and  all  have  since 
passed  into  the  Silent  Valley.  Much  of  Chad- 
ron's  prosperity  was  due  to  these  energetic  men 
and  they  should  be  accorded  great  credit.  We 
are  informed  that  the  first  draft  issued  from 
this  bank  was  for  the  sum  of  $17,000.    Glover 


560 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN'  NEBRASKA 


&  Brower  came  over  with  the  Dawes  County 
Bank,  and  W.  E.  Higman  with  the  Chadron 
Banking  company.  After  selecting  their  lots 
on  August  1,  1885,  the  business  men  returned 
to  the  old  town  and  began  preparations  to  re- 
move to  the  new,  and  when  the  pink  sun 
peeked  over  the  edge  of  the  world  on  August, 


Second  Street,  Chadron 

2,  her  slanting  rays  chased  the  darkness  away 
and  revealed  a  new  Chadron,  where  twenty- 
four  hours  before  the  coyotes  were  trailing 
jackrabbits  and  grey  hawks  sailing,  watching 
for  dinner.  Every  business  house  in  the  old 
town  came  over.  We  would  be  pleased  to  give 
here  the  entire  list,  but  have  been  unable  to 
secure  the  names  of  all  who  cast  their  lots  for 
better  or  worse  with  the  new  town.  Most  of 
them  remained  a  while,  then  drifted  on  west- 
ward. Many  have  passed  the  dark  river,  but 
a  few  of  those  old  timers  are  still  here  and 
have  had  much  to  do  with  the  upbuilding  of 
our  beautiful  little  city.  At  the  sale  of  the 
lots  on  August  1,  $56,000  was  paid  for  prop- 
erties. John  Berry  and  E.  E.  Egan  were 
agents  of  the  Town  Lot  company.  With  the 
coining  of  the  railroad  also  came  the  people. 
In  the  autumn  of  1885  the  estimated  popula- 
tion was  1,500.  Not  a  dwelling  had  been  com- 
pleted, but  many  were  in  course  of  construc- 
tion. Builders  labored  week  days,  nights  and 
Sundays.  The  noise  of  hammer  and  saw  ceased 
not  day  or  night.  Saloon  and  restaurants  were 
open  at  all  hours.  There  were  many  places 
to  eat.  but  few  to  sleep.  Great  numbers  slept 
in  tents  and  many  in  the  open  air.  The  rail- 
road company  established  headquarters  in  a 
rough  board  building  near  where  the  present 
freight  house  stands.  It  contained  the  offices, 
depot,  freight  house  and  dispatcher's  rooms. 

Stage  coaches  arrived  and  departed  to  and 
from  Deadwood  and  intermediate  points.  Mer- 
chandise and  supplies  were  freighted  westward 
overland  by  large  freighting  outfits,  and  it 
was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  ten  and  twen- 
ty horse  or  mule  teams,  with  two  and  three 
wagons    trailing.,      Occasionally    there    would 


be  an  outfit  drawn  by  oxen.  John  Y.  Sechler, 
a  squaw  man,  better  known  as  "Arkansas 
John,"  and  who  has  since  freighted  over  the 
Great  Divide  never  to  return,  had  the  largest 
outfit  that  came  to  Chadron.  It  was  a  novel 
sight  when  his  wagons  were  all  loaded  and  the 
teams  strung  out  on  the  trail,  winding  away 
over  the  hills  over  a  mile  in  length.  It  was 
exciting,  too,  when  an  unbroken  animal  would 
be  in  a  twenty-horse  team.  No  time  would 
be  lost  in  breaking  and  there  was  no  doubt  of 
his  going.  He  had  to  go.  Sometimes  he  would 
rear  and  plunge,  throw  himself  and  get  drag- 
ged a  few  hundred  yards,  but  it  was  only  a 
matter  of  an  hour  or  two  until  he  would  be 
thoroughly  subdued.  The  railroad  company 
put  a  large  force  to  work  upon  buildings  and 
only  a  few  weeks  elapsed  before  a  depot,  hotel 
and  roundhouse  were  completed.  A  village 
government  was  perfected  with  DeForest 
Richards,  Thomas  A.  Glover,  M.  M.  Harrah, 
and  William  H.  Crater,  trustees ;  E.  S.  Ricker, 
clerk;  L.  A.  Brower,  treasurer,  and  M.  P. 
Cook,  attorney.  But  on  the  second  day  of 
August,  1886,  the  village  cast  off  its  swaddling 
clothes,  and  donned  the  habiliments  of  a  city 
of  the  second  class.  D.  Y.  Mears  (Uncle 
Dave)  was  first  to  be  honored  with  the  office 
of  mayor ;  Robert  G.  Dorr,  now  county  judge 
of  Sheridan  county,  clerk  ;  and  Benjamin  Low- 
enthal,  treasurer.  The  first  school  was  organ- 
ized with  Mrs.  Laura  Clay,  now  residing  at 
448  Bordeaux  street,  teacher,  and  the  upper 
room  of  the  Harry  Hooker  residence  at  the 
corner  of  First  avenue  and  Egan  street,  for 
school.  This  limited  space  was  soon  crowded 
to  overflowing.  An  effort  was  made  to  provide 
a  suitable  place  resulted  in  the  erection  of  the 
frame  building  on  West  Second  street,  now 
occupied  by  Schwabe  Brothers  as  a  feed  store. 
This  too  soon  became  crowded  and  a  carriage 
house  on  the  Bartlett  Richards  residence  pro- 
perty was  made  into  a  school  room  and  used 
for  that  purpose  until  the  high  school  building 
was  ready  for  occupancy.  This  little  building 
was  later  merged  into  what  is  C.  F.  Coffee's 
garage.  In  1887,  the  school  population  increas- 
ing rapidly,  the  school  district  floated  $18,000 
of  10-20  bonds  and  the  present  high  school 
building  erected,  with  C.  E.  Foster  first  prin- 
cipal. 

Mr.  Foster  had  a  contract  for  three  years 
with  the  school  board,  but  some  dissatisfaction 
arose  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  avoid  the 
contract  and  discharge  the  superintendent. 
Joseph  Denton  was  then  employed  and  took 
charge  of  the  school,  but  Mr.  Foster  appeared 
at  the  school  house  daily  for  a  long  time,  but 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


561 


finally  gave  this  up  and  brought  suit  against 
the  district  for  his  unexpired  contract  and  suc- 
ceeded in  recovering  a  judgment  for  $600.00 
against  the  district,  which  the  school  board 
paid. 

In  1911,  it  was  found  necessary  to  provide 
more  school  accommodation  and  a  new  build- 
ing was  erected  in  the  west  part  of  the  city, 
at  a  cost  of  $20,000.  There  is  a  school  popu- 
lation of  885  and  the  two  large  buildings  are 
scarcely  adequate  to  accommodate  this  large 
number.  Up  to  1887  there  were  no  brick 
buildings  in  the  town,  but  in  the  spring  of  that 
year,    all   the   buildings   on   the    west    side   of 


was  sold  to  the  consumers  at  20c  a  barrel.  John 
Marston,  now  residing  at  the  corner  of  Second 
street  and  Bordeaux  avenue,  was  the  chief 
water  dealer  in  the  early  days  at  Chadron.  The 
crying  need  of  the  city  was  more  water.  Ar- 
tesian water  was  talked  about,  and  a  company 
was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  putting  down  a 
well.  A  contract  was  made  with  a  well  drilling 
outfit  and  work  commenced  on  Pill  hill  just 
back  of  the  present  residence  of  W.  S.  Gillam. 
The  contract  price  for  the  first  thousand  feet 
was  $2.00,  and  for  the  second  thousand  feet, 
$1.00  per  foot.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  com- 
pany veiled  their  wisdom   when  the  contract 


Jack  Rabbit  Roundup,  Chadron 


Main  avenue  from  Second  street  to  where  the 
postoffke  now  stands  were  burned.  There  was 
not  water  enough  in  the  town  to  put  out  a 
fire  in  a  kitchen  stove.  People  could  only  stand 
idly  by  and  see  their  buildings  go  up  in  smoke. 
This  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  town.  But  out 
of  ashes  and  debris  grew  the  splendid  brick  and 
stone  buildings  now  occupying  the  same  sites 
on  Main  avenue.  Later  an  effort  was  made  to 
provide  some  means  of  fire  protection  for  the 
city.  Two  large  cisterns  were  made.  One  at 
the  corner  of  Main  avenue  and  Second  street 
and  one  at  Egan  and  Second  streets.  These 
were  filled  with  water  and  a  large  hand  engine 
was  secured,  which  did  valiant  duty  on  many 
occasions.  The  first  fire  after  the  purchase  of 
the  new  engine  was  the  depot  hotel.  It  was  a 
hot  day  in  August.  Twelve  hundred  feet  of 
hose  were  required  and  nearly  every  man  in 
town  was  at  the  pump  brakes  or  the  hose  line, 
but  the  building  was  saved  as  the  last  barrel  of 
water  in  the  cistern  was  exhausted.  At  this 
date  all  the  water  for  domestic  use  was  hauled 
to  town  in  wagons  from  nearby  springs  and 


was  made,  for  the  second  thousand  feet  is 
much  more  difficult  than  the  first,  and  they 
should  have  paid  a  high  price  for  it.  The 
drilling  company  penetrated  the  earth  about 
seven  hundred  feet,  salted  the  hole  and  repre- 
sented they  had  struck  a  vein  of  coal.  This 
caused  great  excitement  for  a  time  as  it  was 
known  that  the  state  had,  and  has  a  large  re- 
ward for  coal  in  paying  quantities  in  Nebraska. 
Finally  the  drilling  company  represented  that 
they  were  down  1,100  feet,  collected  for  the 
first  thousand,  managed  to  lose  their  drill  be- 
yond recovery  and  abandoned  the  whole  thing. 
The  manager  was  afterwards  killed  in  Wyom- 
ing by  one  of  his  employees  for  becoming  too 
intimate  with  his  wife.  The  demand  increased 
with  its  rapid  growth,  and  on  May  24,  1888,  the 
first  election  for  water  bonds  took  place  and 
$35,000  of  bonds  were  voted.  The  survey  was 
made  and  a  water  system  soon  perfected  with 
a  large  Holly  pumping  station  three  and  one- 
half  miles  southwest  of  town. 

The  pumping  system  was  soon  found  to  be 
inadequate  and  besides  was  too  expensive.  The 


562 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


cost  of  operating  was  about  $600  a  month  and 
the  supply  insufficient.  In  1891,  during  the  ad- 
ministration of  Mayor  J.  I.  Leas,  a  survey  was 
made  which  disclosed  that  a  gravity  system 
could  be  obtained  by  tapping  Chadron  creek  at 
a  point  seven  miles  south  of  the  city.  The 
matter  was  taken  up  by  the  council  and  that 
year  another  bond  election  voted  $80,000  more 
bonds  and  the  pipe  line  was  extended  up  Chad- 
ron creek  to  the  designated  point.  The  pro- 
ceeds of  the  bonds,  however,  failed  to  cover  the 
expense  of  the  new  project  and  interest  bearing 
warrants  were  issued  to  the  amount  of  $10,000, 
which  were  purchased  by  Chadron  citizens,  the 
plant  completed  and  the  pumping  station  aban- 
doned. The  demand  for  water  has  increased 
every  year  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  lay 


•          J* 

*%■ 

W^r*"—  I 

•~~~ 

— -■*?  41 

Sg=g  |g  - 

-K  = 

■ft' 
-  •>■ 

--3*          Vl 
"V- 

iRHfe 

;        — 

0;)  "*"■■ 

First  Schoolhouse,  Ten  Miles  South  of  Chadron 

a  second  10-inch  main  to  the  source  of  supply. 
In  1914,  under  the  administration  of  Mayor 
Allen  G.  Fisher,  the  supply  was  greatly  aug- 
mented by  the  erection  of  a  new  concrete  and 
earth  work  dam  that  will  impound  sufficient 
water  to  cover  twenty  acres  of  land  to  an 
average  depth  of  about  ten  feet.  In  1886, 
the  United  States  land  office  was  located  in 
Chadron  with  Milton  Montgomery,  register, 
and  A.  W.  Crites,  receiver,  but  was  a  few  years 
later  moved  to  Alliance  in  Box  Butte  county. 
Shortly  after  Dawes  county  was  organized  a 
county  seat  fight  arose.  Dawes  City  ( now 
Whitney)  and  Chadron  were  contestants  for 
the  honor.  Every  method  of  securing  votes 
was  employed.  The  election  was  under  the  old 
law  and  in  many  instances  the  voter  was  led 
to  the  polls  and  cast  his  vote  as  directed.  It 
was  a  warm  time  and  no  mistake.  John  Berry, 
an  advance  scout  of  the  railroad  company,  and 
a  Chadron  booster,  was  in  evidence  everywhere. 
Physical  encounters  were  frequent.  The 
Whitney  people  were  out  in  their  war  paint 
and  determined  to  win.  About  the  time  for 
closing  the  polls  Von  Flarris,  the  leading  spirit 
of  that  berg,  wired  to  Chadron  to  know  how 
many  votes  were  cast  at  this  place.  The  in- 
formation was  so  astounding  that  it  is  said 
that  they  kept  the  polling  place  open  all  night 


and  voted  all  the  cats  and  dogs  in  town  but 
still  lost  out.  Chadron  cast  1,017  votes,  the 
greatest  number  ever  polled  from  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  town  to  the  time  when  the  present 
court  house  was  erected.  At  this  time  D.  W. 
Sperling,  Jim  Patterson  and  Von  Harris  were 
county  commissioners  and  the  contract  for  its 
construction  was  let  by  them,  but  it  remained 
for  Commissioner  Harris,  Mann  and  Cooley 
to  complete  the  construction. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  soil  of  western  Ne- 
braska is  adapted  to  the  growing  of  sugar 
beets  and  an  analysis  has  disclosed  that  beets 
grown  in  Dawes  county  and  northwest  Ne- 
braska contain  a  greater  per  cent  of  Saccharine 
matter  than  those  grown  in  other  parts  of  the 
same  state.  This  suggested  that  if  we  could 
secure  a  facory,  the  county  would  at  once  come 
into  its  own,  as  the  beets  could  be  easily  grown 
and  the  yield  large. 

So  in  the  summer  of  1894  an  effort  was  made 
to  find  some  individual  or  corporation  who 
could  or  would  bring  a  sugar  factory  to  our 
energetic  little  city.  The  Oxnard's  already  had 
a  factory  at  Norfolk,  but  could  not  be  induced 
to  come  here.  A  mass  meeting  was  held  to 
consider  the  matter  and  a  committee  consisting 
of  J.  S.  Romine,  B.  F.  Pitman  and  A.  C.  Put- 
man  were  elected  to  go  on  a  still  hunt  for  the 
right  man,  and  finally  unearthed  one.  He  styled 
himself  Hurst.  Baron  (  ?)  Hurst  of  Chicago, 
who  represented  that  he  possessed  the  neces- 
sary knowledge,  influence  and  money  to  carry 
out  the  scheme.  Every  one  was  enthusiastic. 
All  the  baron  required  was  the  title  to  about 
16,000  or  20,000  acres  of  land  and  a  good 
chunk  of  stock  in  the  concern  and  his  "Open 
Sesame"  would  unbar  the  door  that  held 
Dawes  county  wealth  captive.  Land  was  cheap 
here  and  any  160  acres  in  the  county  could  be 
bought  for  a  song,  so  we  all  commenced  sing- 
ing the  song  and  succeeded  in  securing  the 
title  to  several  sections.  The  committee  wait- 
ed on  the  so-called  Baron  Hurst  in  Chicago 
several  times,  were  wined  and  dined  and  sent 
back  to  Chadron  for  more  title  deeds.  The 
factory  would  be  commenced  in  a  few  weeks 
and  be  ready  for  operation  next  season.  But 
go  back  and  get  more  land.  The  Baron  and 
Baroness  came  to  Chadron  to  view  the  situa- 
tion and  the  warranty  deeds.  The  site  of  the 
factory  was  selected.  Romine  was  to  be  the 
manager.  This  on  the  quiet,  for  everybody  in 
town  expected  this  paying  position.  Meetings 
were  held  among  the  farmers.  In  our  minds 
Dawes  county  was  one  large  beet  field.  Every- 
body lost  his  head.  That  is,  everybody  but  one 
man.  A.  A.  McFadon  frowned  on  the  propo- 
sition   from    the    beginning    and    the    people 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


563 


abused  him.  He  began  an  investigation  of 
Baron  Hurst  and  they  cursed  him ;  he  in- 
formed the  people  that  Hurst  was  a  fake  and 
they  felt  like  mobbing  him.  A  meeting  was 
held  on  the  street  at  the  corner  of  Second  and 
Egan  to  denounce  Mr.  McFadon.  A  promin- 
ent citizen  and  sometime  spellbinder  was  to  be 
the  chief  orator.  But  before  beginning  his 
speech  he  required  a  stimulant.  Someone,  in 
a  spirit  of  mischief,  doped  the  stimulant.  The 
speaker  began  his  flight  of  oratory,  raised  one 
hand  toward  heaven,  and  collapsed,  fell  into 
the  stree+.  was  carried  home  on  a  stretcher, 
and  the  crowd  faded  away  into  the  darkness. 
Hurst  was  a  confidence  man.  Disappointment 
rested  heavily  upon  everybody  but  Mr.  Mc- 
Fadon. and  the  sugar  beet  business  was  aban- 
doned. 

About  this  time  a  corporation  was  organized 
by  Chadron  people  for  the  purpose  of  building 
a  large  hotel  and  went  broke  with  the  building 
half  completed.  Later,  private  parties  finished 
the  structure,  which  is  now  our  popular  Hotel 
Blaine.  Chadron,  like  all  other  cities,  had  its 
ups  and  downs. 

The  first  five  years  were  fairly  prosperous. 
In  fact,  we  think  they  may  be  called  the  boom 
days.  But  with  the  advent  of  the  nineties  came 
also  a  drouth  that  continued  for  four  or  five 
years.  The  panic  of  1893  added  to  the  dis- 
tress already  caused  by  the  prolonged  dry 
spell.  Money  was  not  to  be  had.  No  security 
was  sufficient  to  obtain  a  loan.  Many  business 
houses  were  forced  to  the  wall  and  several 
banks  closed  their  doors.  People  drifted  away 
until  half  the  houses  seemed  empty  and  prop- 
erty depreciated  in  value  and  in  many  in- 
stances sold  for  less  than  half  the  first  cost. 
In  these  days  it  was  a  wide  open  town.  Sa- 
loons, gambling  houses  and  restaurants  were 
open  at  all  hours.  At  first  money  seemed  plen- 
tiful. It  was  stacked  in  heaps  on  the  gambling 
tables,  but  finally  their  business  began  to  wane. 
While  Chadron  seemed  to  be  going  to  the  bad, 
there  was  still  an  optimistic  spirit  in  the  breast 
of  its  real  people.  The  town  was  always  a 
trifle  sensational.  It  was  constantly  doing 
things  that  no  other  town  ever  did.  A  hun- 
dred mile  race  was  pulled  off. 

On  the  day  of  the  race  a  withering,  blister- 
ing simoon  set  in  from  the  south  and  before 
night  Mike  Elmore's  beautiful  thoroughbred 
succumbed  to  exhaustion  ;  half  the  horses  were 
dead  on  the  field  and  the  race  was  won  by  a 
cayuse  that  belonged  to  Jim  Dahlman  and  was 
ridden  by  Frank  Hartsell,  worth  about  fifty 
dollars.  Then  a  Chadron  to  Chicago  race  was 
organized.  The  entries  were  Doc  Middleton, 
the   one   time    famous    Nebraska   outlaw,   but 


then  a  peaceable  law  abiding  citizen  of  Chad- 
ron, residing  on  Shelton  street  in  a  neat  cot- 
tage which  he  had  erected,  and  now  owned  by 
Willis  Schenek ;  John  Berry,  the  C.  &  N.  W. 
advance  scout ;  Joe  Gillespie,  cowboy  and  horse 
wrangler ;  Emmet  t  Albright,  a  sure  thing  man, 
and  Charles  W.  Smith,  all  of  Nebraska;  David 
Douglas,  Spearfish,  South  Dakota ;  George 
Jones,  Whitewood,  South  Dakota;  Rattle 
Snake  Pete  Stevens,  Kansas ;  and  Joe  Camp- 
bell, of  Indian  Territory. 

The  race  was  started  by  firing  a  45  revolver 
from  the  balcony  of  the  Hotel  Blaine  and  ter- 
minated at  the  entrance  of  the  World's  Fair  in 
Chicago. 

Hundreds  of  people  were  out  to  view  the 
start  and  thousands  to  greet  the  victors.  Mayor 
Harrison  and  Buffalo  Bill  with  a  magni- 
ficent following  met  the  winners,  Joe  Gillespie 
and  John  Berry  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city  and 
escorted  them  to  the  final  goal.  This  event  did 
more  to  put  Chadron  on  the  map  than  any  prev- 
ious event. 

F.  S.  Baird,  then  of  Chicago,  now  of  Chad- 
ron, informed  the  writer  that  the  newspaper 
comments  on  the  thousand  mile  race  gave  him 
the  first  knowledge  that  such  a  place  as  Chad- 
ron existed,  and  that  interest  in  this  great  race 
caused  him  to  look  up  the  town  to  which  he 
eventually  migrated. 

Although  a  frontier  town,  the  people  were 
generally  law  abiding.  Of  course  gambling 
and  dance  halls  with  their  attendant  resorts 
were  tolerated  in  those  days,  but  there  was  no 
great  amount  of  what  is  usually  termed  tough 
element.  Occasionally  a  cowboy  who  had  im- 
bibed too  freely  would  ride  his  horse  into  a 
saloon  and  shoot  things  up,  and  on  one  occa- 
sion Renfro's  Circus,  a  second  rate  affair  with 
a  bunch  of  gamblers,  thieves  and  shell  game 
men  following,  was  shot  to  pieces.  It  was  not 
done  by  cowboys  or  toughs  either.  Some  of 
the  present  business  men  of  the  town  took  part 
in  the  shooting  and  at  least  one  of  the  city 
officers  assisted.  There  was  never  but  one 
murder  in  the  town  and  that  was  a  double  mur- 
der. One  George  Wooten  shot  and  killed  his 
wife  just  at  the  entrance  of  Mrs.  Hayward's 
store,  then  turned  the  gun  on  himself  and  both 
lay  dead  on  the  walk  near  the  door  of  the  store. 

During  those  early  years  the  people  of  Chad- 
ron and  surrounding  country  suffered  great 
privation,  yet  their  hearts  always  went  out  in 
sympathy  toward  those  who  were  in  great  dis- 
tress. When  news  of  the  great  Johnstown  dis- 
aster came  with  an  appeal  for  assistance,  Chad- 
ron and  vicinity,  out  of  the  little  they  had,  con- 
tributed a  train  load  of  supplies  consisting  of 
corn,  potatoes  and  flour.    When  an  earthquake 


564 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


wrecked  the  beautiful  city  of  San  Francisco, 
Chadron  contributed  nearly  a  thousand  dollars 
to  assist  in  relieving  distress.  These  were  only 
few  of  the  many  instances.  No  appeal  for 
help  was  passed  unheeded.  When  distress 
cried  out,  the  wild  scramble  for  money  was  for 
a  time  forgotten.  No  community  ever  loosed 
its  purse  strings  more  generously.  Many  pa- 
thetic scenes  were  witnessed  on  the  street  that 
never  found  their  way  to  the  people.  Often 
amusing  scenes  were  enacted. 

There  was  a  little  two  room  shack  about 
where  the  P.  W.  Hennessy  house  now  stands 
which  as  occupied  by  a  couple  of  the  wild  wo- 
men of  early  days.  There  was  also  in  the 
town  a  burly  red-headed  Scotchman  and  his 
wife,  who  posed  as  salvation  army  people.  The 
good  wife,  after  due  deliberation  thought  it 
her  religious  duty  to  attempt  to  convert  the  two 
wayward  girls.  She  accordingly  called  and  had 
a  heart  to  heart  talk  with  them.  They  ex- 
pressed regret  that  they  had  departed  from  the 
right  way,  thanked  the  lady  for  her  kindly 
feeling  and  promised  to  consider  the  matter 
of  reform.  Before  departing  the  lady  was  in- 
vited to  have  some  refreshments.  Cake  and 
fruit  were  brought  and  set  before  her  which 
she  seemed  to  appreciate  and  "just  a  sip  of 
wine  could  do  no  harm."  The  good  woman 
fearing  that  to  refuse  might  undo  all  her  good 
work  took  one  taste,  then  another,  and  found 
it  so  pleasant  that  she  could  not  resist  and  was 
soon  under  the  influence  to  such  an  extent  that 
she  lost  consciousness.  She  was  laid  on  the 
bed,  covered  with  a  sheet,  a  beer  bottle  under 
each  arm  and  word  sent  to  her  husband  that 
his  wife  was  dead.  He  came  very  quickly  and 
found  her  —  dead  drunk.  There  is  some  doubt 
about  which  most  needed  reforming. 

Every  town  has  its  freak  individual  who 
makes  himself  and  others  ridiculous  at  times. 
Often  he  is  a  man  with  "wheels  in  his  head," 
oftener  someone  with  a  habit.  The  story  of 
our  little  city  would  be  incomplete  without  some 
mention  of  Opportunity  Hank  (Henry  Atkins), 
an  old  time  gambler  and  booze  fighter.  Oppor- 
tunity was  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  War  and  it 
is  possible  may  have  participated  in  some  of 
the  many  battles  during  the  four  years  strife. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  he  engaged  in  many 
a  tussle  with,  but  never  yet  succeeded  in  win- 
ning a  fight  with  old  Johnnie  Booze.  When  not 
drinking  he  was  quiet  and  unassuming,  but 
given  two  or  three  drinks,  he  would  start  down 
the  street  with  a  wild  whoop,  declaring  that  he 
was  a  fighter  and  could  lick  any  man  in  Chad- 
ron. He  was  indeed  a  fierce  looker,  with  long 
hooked  nose  which  had  been  knocked  clean 
over  toward  his  right  ear  during  some  of  his 


many  gambling  room  fights.  His  wicked, 
blood-shot  eyes  and  nervous  movements.  The 
fact  was,  that  because  of  age  and  whiskey, 
Hank  was  really  feeble  and  could  not  whip  a 
ten  year  old  school  boy.  It  was  all  a  bluff  with 
him.  It  happened  that  one  day  when  the  streets 
were  filled  with  people  "Old  Opportunity  started 
out  "to  lick  any  man  in  Chadron."  The  train 
had  just  arrived  and  brought  in  many  strangers. 
Opportunity  stepped  in  front  of  a  big  husky 
fellow,  squared  himself  off, 'and  with  a  wicked 
leer  in  his  bleared  eyes  said,  "I'm  a  fighter  I 
am,  I  can  lick  any  man  in  Chadron."  The 
stranger  looking  into  those  fierce  blood  shot 
eyes  evidently  thought  it  was  now  or  never 
with  him  and  struck  out  with  all  his  might.  The 
blow  caught  Hank  on  the  jaw  and  the  stranger 
made  a  quick  get  away.  After  a  brief  space 
Opportunity  raised  up,  gazed  around  a  mo- 
ment in  evident  disgust,  and  remarked,  "I 
guess  I  ain't  no  fighter,  ain't  I  ?" 

The  Gold  Bar  saloon,  which  was  located  in 
the  building  in  recent  years  occupied  by  Phil- 
lips Book  Store  on  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Second  street,  had  a  den  of  wildcats,  which 
were  kept  on  the  walk  outside  the  building, 
and,  believe  me,  they  were  some  fierce  wild- 
cats, too.  Opportunity  stopped  before  the  cage 
one  afternoon,  watched  the  animals  for  a  short 
period  and  evidently  believed  he  could  cover 
himself  with  glory  by  licking  them  all  at  once. 
He  removed  his  coat  and  vest,  looked  up  and 
down  the  street,  to  see  if  anyone  was  watching 
him,  then  rolled  up  his  sleeves.  By  that  time 
he  had  attracted  the  attention  of  quite  a  crowd, 
which  gathered  around  him.  He  informed  the 
gathering  multitude  that  he  could  "lick  any 
wildcat  God  ever  made,"  and  plunged  his  bare 
hand  between  the  bars  of  the  cage  in  an  at- 
tempt to  grasp  the  enemy.  The  cats  were  s~me 
fighters  themselves  and  tore  his  hands  almost 
to  rags.  Opportunity  withdrew  his  torn  and 
bleeding  hands,  looked  at  the  crowd  with  ap- 
parently injured  feelings,  and  remarked  that 
"I  guess  I  can't  lick  any  wildcat  that  God  ever 
made,"  and  hurried  away  to  some  more  se- 
cluded spot. 

The  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  Chadron  was 
an  old  time  Methodist  minister,  J.  A.  Wilson, 
and  his  justice  parlor  was  in  a  building  on  the 
second  lot  north  of  the  Methodist  church  on 
Morehead  street,  in  recent  years  owned  by  Mrs. 
Caroline  Kraut.  Judge  Wilson  was  a  fine  old 
man  but  had  a  method  of  his  own  when  dis- 
pensing justice.  John  Henry  was  a  black  negro, 
so  black  that  charcoal  would  make  a  white 
mark  on  his  face.  His  appearance  on  the 
street  was  that  of  a  King  of  Cannibal  Islands ; 
he   was   always  clothed  in   smiles   and  a   jag. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


565 


usually  extremely  polite  but  sometimes  quar- 
relsome. On  one  occasion  he  had  trouble 
with  another  gentlemen  of  color  and  threat- 
ened to  carve  him  with  a  razor.  This  did  not 
quite  meet  the  approval  of  the  party  to  be  thus 
carved  so  he  procured  a  pistol  just  to  be  on 
the  safe  side.  Shortly  after  as  he  was  walk- 
ing down  the  street  he  saw  John  Henry  ap- 
proach him  from  the  opposite  direction.  He 
commanded  him  to  stop  on  penalty  of  death 
but  John  had  nerve  and  kept  advancing  till 
.the  man  with  the  gun  fired.  His  aim  was 
bad  and  before  he  could  fire  again  the  mar- 
shal nabbed  him.  He  was  taken  before  the 
justice  of  the  peace  and  arraigned  on  the 
charge  of  shooting  with  intent  to  kill.  He  ac- 
knowledged the  shooting  but  claimed  J^hn 
Henry  had  attacked  him  with  a  razor.  John 
was  sent  for,  brought  into  court  and  seated 
in  a  chair  at  the  side  of  and  very  near  to  the 
judge,  but  he  had  no  razor.  Now  the  judge 
was  an  almost  constant  smoker  and  kept  a 
cigar  or  two  in  one  of  the  drawers  of  his 
desk.  He  opened  his  docket  on  the  table,  but 
before  taking  up  the  case  he  took  from  the 
drawer  a  fragrant  cigar,  deliberately  removed 
the  tip  with  his  desk  knife,  lighted  it  and  took 
a  generous  whiff  or  two  then  laid  the  cigar  on 
his  desk  beside  the  docket.  After  writing  a 
few  words  he  reached  for  his  cigar  but  it  was 
not  where  he  had  laid  it.  He  then  turned  his 
gaze  upon  the  prisoner.  There  sat  John  Henry 
in  all  his  kingly  dignity  smoking  the  judge's 
cigar.  The  man  who  shot  with  intent  to  kill 
was  fined  $5.00  which  he  paid  and  was  dis- 
charged. John  Henry  was  fined  $15.00  and 
sent  to  jail  for  being  shot  at.  Whether  or  not 
the  purloining  of  the  judge's  cigar  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  John  Henry's  fine  and  sent- 
ence is  still  an  unanswered  question. 

Up  until  1900  Chadron  had  not  made  much 
progress  as  a  business  point.  A  fine  roller 
mill  had  been  erected  and  the  company  failed. 
Not  less  than  twenty  businesses  went  to  the 
wall.  Three  banks  closed  their  doors  and  the 
future  was  veiled  by  uncertainty.  Nearly  every- 
body who  had  means  to  purchase  transportation 
left  for  other  fields.  Settlers  had  ruined  the 
country  for  ranch  purposes  and  farming  was 
not  profitable.  People  living  on  the  prairie 
lands  were  compelled  to  give  up.  Those  along 
the  timbered  creeks  fared  a  little  better.  They 
could  sell  wood  enough  at  $1.50  a  load  to  pur- 
chase supplies.  But  it  was  difficult  for  the 
people  in  town  to  find  money  to  buy  a  load 
even  at  that  price.  Chadron  was  destined  how- 
ever to  come  to  its  on.  The  perseverance 
of  those  who  stood  by  the  old  ship  through 
wreck   and   disaster,   who    faced   poverty   and 


privations,  who  had  lost  their  property  and 
money  and  had  seen  the  slender  bridge  of  hu- 
man life  break  under  the  heavy  burden,  saved 
the  day,  and  dragged  together  the  remnants  of 
the  almost  bankrupt  municipality.  Inch  by 
inch,  step  by  step,  the  business  men  who  were 
stayers  recovered  from  the  strain  incident  to 
the  long  drought  and  paralyzing  panic.  City 
improvements  began  and  everybody  worked  to- 
gether. Mrs.  Mary  E.  Smith  Hayward,  lab- 
ored almost  day  and  night  to  beautify  the  city 
and  the  court  house  park  is  a  proud  monument 
to  her  memory.  Admiring  citizens  have 
erected  an  artistic  fountain  in  the  center  of  the 
park  inscribed  in  her  honor.  Twenty-five  beau- 
tiful brick  and  stone  buildings  have  been  erect- 
ed. In  1907,  the  roller  mill  burned,  and  cut  of 
its  ashes  arose  a  splendid  structure  with  a  daily 
capacity 'of  200  barrels.  In  1910  the  C.  &  N. 
W.  round  house  and  shops  were  destroyed  by 
fire  together  with  sixteen  engines,  all  equipped 
with  coal,  oil  and  water  ready  to  go  out  upon 
their  respective  runs,  and  almost  in  a  breath 
a  modern  structure,  costing  around  $100,000 
appeared  on  the  site  of  the  former  building. 
In  1911  when  the  state  decided  to  place  a 
Normal  School  near  the  west  end  of  the  state, 
Chadron  entered  the  contest  for  the  location 
and  as  an  inducement  offered  a  beautiful  tract 
of  eight  acres  with  $12,000  for  a  site. 

As  competitors  Alliance,  Crawford,  Valen- 
tine and  Scottsbluff  entered  the  race.  After  a 
spirited  fight  Chadron  was  selected  as  the  loca- 
tion and  its  citizens  raised  over  $13,000.00  by 
popular  subscription  to  make  good  her  offer. 
So  generously  did  they  respond  that  a  surplus 
donation  remained  and  was  refunded  to  the 
subscribers.  In  a  few  years  the  Chadron 
school  had  attained  an  enrollment  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  students  in  the  most  properous 
Normal  School  in  the  state. 

Located  in  the  central  part  of  the  city  is  a 
beautiful  public  library  building  of  artistic  de- 
sign. The  collection  of  books  consists  of  sev- 
eral thousand  volumes  and  is  cared  for  by  an 
efficient  board  of  management,  with  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Smith,  librarian. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ  ition 
owns  and  occupies  a  splendid  three  story  mod- 
ern brick  building  valued  with  equipments  at 
$30,000.00.  It  is  under  the  management  of  a 
board  of  trustees  consisting  of  successful  busi- 
ness men  and  has  a  large  enrollment.  Its  mem- 
bers have  free  use  of  its  fine  bath  rooms  and 
for  a  small  charge  may  enjoy  the  bowling  alley 
and  gymnasium. 

Lots  have  been  purchased  on  the  corner  of 
Main  avenue  and  Third  street  and  money  ap- 
propriated for  a  government  building  to  cost 


566 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


$110,000.00  and  the  structure  will  without 
doubt  be  completed  soon. 

In  1912  the  magnificent  Masonic  Temple  was 
erected  on  Main  avenue.  The  entire  building 
and  equipment  cost  $18,000.00,  and  the 
same  year  the  Mildred  Block,  now  occupied  by 
the  Citizens  State  Bank,  and  the  most  preten- 
tious building  in  the  town,  was  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $24,000.00. 

The  Intermountain  Railway  Light  &  Power 
Company,  with  their  plant  valued  at  $75,000.00 
furnishes  a  continuous  day  and  night  current 
for  light  and  domestic  power  purposes.  The 
Chadron  Journal  and  Chadron  Chronicle  print- 
ing and  folding  and  type-settings  machines  ;  the 
machinery  of  the  Chadron  Garage  Company ; 
Chadron  planing  mill ;  Christensen  wagon 
shop;  J.  F.  Stanton  and  E.  P.  Scott,  shoe  re- 
pairing machines  are  operated  by  electricity  and 
many  families  make  use  of  the  current  for 
cooking.  An  ice  factory  and  cold  storage  plant, 
with  creamery  in  connection  have  been  erected, 


Public  Library,  Chadron 

which  with  equipment  cost  $60,000.00.  The 
Chadron  Telephone  Exchange  was  established 
in  1891.  Since  that  the  time  the  plant  has 
steadily  grown  till  now  there  are  2,230  phones 
in  the  country  and  communication  with  Omaha 
and  all  eastern  cities  has  been  established.  As 
the  industries,  so  has  the  population  and  area 
of  the  town  increased.  G.  A.  Birdsall  platted 
several  blocks  on  the  west  side,  the  greater 
par  of  which  have  been  improved  by  elegant 
and  substantial  homes.  Normal  Heights,  a 
beautiful  tract,  was  platted  as  an  addition  on 
the  south  side  and  many  residence  lots  sold. 
Kenwood  addition  and  Houghton's  sub-division 
on  the  north  side  have  been  most  successful. 
They  were  platted  in  1913.  Three  hundred 
seventy-five  lots  were  sold  in  ten  days.  Water 
mains  have  been  laid,  street  lights  and  tele- 
phone communication  installed  and  fifty  homes 
erected.  Kenwood  was  platted  by  George  C. 
Flack,  treasurer  of  the  Occidental  Building  and 
Loan  Association  of  Omaha,  Nebraska,  and 
his  faith  in  our  city  is  investing  large  sums  of 
money  here   in   home   building.      Propositions 


for  many  new  industries  are  under  considera- 
tion and  the  near  future  will  see  their  consum- 
mation. Twenty-five  miles  of  mains  convey 
water  to  the  consumers  of  the  city.  There  are 
twenty  miles  of  sidewalk  and  street  crossings 
and  a  complete  sewer  system.  It  is  not,  how- 
ever, in  physical  improvements  alone  that 
Chadron  excels.  In  education,  music  and  cul- 
ture no  city  in  the  west  ranks  higher.  The 
Woman's  Club  has  a  membership  of  nearly 
two  hundred  and  is  in  close  touch  with  the  state 
and  national  organization.  The  Chadron  Cul- 
ture Club  has  a  limited  membership  and  the 
maximum  is  always  maintained.  The  Chadron 
Commercial  Club  has  a  membership  of  two 
hundred  active  business  men,  who  are  untiring 
in  their  efforts  to  make  Chadron  truly  the  me- 
tropolis of  the  west.  A  great  number  of  Chad- 
ron citizens  occupy  high  places  in  the  councils 
of  men.  Among  these  are  two  college  presi- 
dents, two  district  judges,  James  C.  Dahlman, 
many  times  mayor  of  greater  Omaha,  the  late 
Hon.  A.  W.  Crites,  ex-judge  and  ex-receiver 
of  the  United  States  Land  Office,  F.  M.  Dor- 
rington  and  Major  T.  F.  Powers,  both  de- 
ceased, and  W.  H.  McCann  register  and  re- 
ceiver of  the  United  States  Land  Office,  Cap- 
tain L.  A.  Dorrington,  superintendent  of  gov- 
ernment prisons  in  the  Philippines,  E.  S.  Rick- 
er,  historian  in  the  Indian  Department,  Wash- 
igto,  D.  C. ;  Frank  Chaulk,  age  fifteen  years, 
champion  potato  grower  of  the  state,  and 
Myrtle  Mann,  age  fourteen,  state  champion  of 
garden  clubs;  and  the  irrepressible  John  G. 
Maher,  peerless  prevaricator  and  proud  of  the 
achievement,  and  sometimes  democratic  candi- 
date for  Governor  until  1920,  when  he  became 
Republican.  Of  successful  business  men  the 
number  is  very  large.  The  city  government  is 
and  nearly  always  has  been,  in  the  control  of 
young  men  of  energy  and  ability.  Those  who 
have  occupied  the  position  of  mayo1-  are  D.  C. 
Mears  and  C.  C.  Hughes,  deceased,  Herbert  A. 
Cox,  George  L.  Harner,  T-  I.  Leas,  deceased, 
F.  M.  Merritt,  James  C.  Dahlman,  H.  M. 
(Tug)  Wilson,  A.  W.  Crites,  deceased ;  Charles 
Rust,  deceased,  A.  M.  Wright,  E.  D.  Satterlee, 
Robert  Hood.  Allen  G.  Fisher,  W.  F.  Hay- 
ward,  deceased,  W.  H.  Donahue,  Duncan  Mc- 
Millan, J.  W.  Finnegan  and  Ben  Loewenthal, 
twenty  in  all.  During  this  period  there  have 
been  but  six  city  clerks :  Robert  Dorr,  served 
three  and  one-half  terms;  I.  W.  Smith,  two; 
L.  T-  F.  (Billy  the  Bear)  Iaeger,  ten  and  one- 
half  ;  B.  F.  Pitman,  a  half ;  F.  J.  Houghton, 
seven  and  G.  E.  Marriott,  eight  terms.  A  vol- 
untary fire  company  with  a  splendid  equipment 
has  been  very  successful  in  extinguishing  fires 
and  no  considerable  conflagrations  have  occur- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


567 


red  since  it  was  organized.  Two  newspapers 
watch  over  the  destinies  of  the  city  and  county  : 
The  Chadron  Journal  and  Chadron  Chronicle. 
The  Journal  was  established  at  the  old  town  by 
E.  E.  Egan.  There  have  been  many  papers 
published  in  the  city  most  of  which  came  to  a 
tragic  end,  but  the  Journal  has  survived  them 
all. 

Strangers  coming  to  our  town  through  the 
misty  miles  of  a  thousand  sand  hills,  first  note 
the  green  slopes  and  dark  foliage  of  the  pines, 
the  broad  streets  bordered  with  beautiful  trees, 
inviting  lawns  and  long,  shady  walks,  but  when 
they  motor  into  the  country  through  deep  can- 
yons over  sunny  slopes  and  billowy  pastures 
they  first  realize  the  possibilities  of  this  practic- 
ally new  country.  Then  returning  when  the 
night  comes  drooping  purple  and  soft  with 
golden  stars  in  ber  robe  and  the  silver  moon 
hanging  low  over  the  northwest  prairie  they 
cease  to  wonder  why  we  love  this  beauty  spot. 
Yet  these  are  not  all  that  make  life  pleasant 


served  the  city  during  the  seven  or  eight  year 
periods  well  and  good.  Two  years  ago  the 
city  decided  it  would  embark  upon  the  new 
experience  and  experiment  of  a  City  Manager. 
Mr.  Rayburn  formerly  of  Kansas  City  and 
later  the  secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce at  Scottsbluff  was  employed.  The  regu- 
lar city  officials  found  that  the  system  was  at 
fault  or  that  the  individual  selected  did  not 
meet  with  favor  or  success  and  Mr.  Rayburn 
has  journeyed  on  for  new  fields  to  conquer. 
In  1913,  T.  P.  Larison,  J.  W.  Owens,  H. 
F.  Maika,  C.  L.  Hilbert,  O.  U.  Lerrington  and 
T.  H.  Smith  served  as  councilmen.  In  1914, 
Smith,  Larison,  Owens  and  Lerrington  held 
over  while  W.  E.  Mote  and  J.  W.  Good  were 
members ;  Smith  and  Larison  were  still  mem- 
bers in  1915  with  the  following  colleagues:  P. 
H.  Hyde,  E.  O.  Dugan,  E.  G.  Shamp  and  J. 
Wood.  Larison  was  still  upon  the  board  in 
1916,  Dugan,  Hyde  and  Shamp  holding  over 


here.  You  must  enter  the  homes,  commodious 
and  hospitable,  and  feel  the  thrill  of  welcome 
enjoyed  by  every  stranger.  People  like  these 
are  not  found  in  every  land. 

There  is  more  sunshine  in  Nebraska  than  in 
most  states,  and  it  isn't  all  from  heaven  either, 
but  in  the  smiling  countenance  and  sympathetic 
heart,  and  those  who  do  not  know  this  beauti- 
ful city  with  its  splendid  people  have  missed 
the  best  part  of  their  life. 

Recent  City  Officers 

Since  1913  Allen  G.  Fisher  has  served  four 
years  as  mayor;  W.  A.  Donahue,  two  years; 
W.  H.  Reynolds,  two  years  (starting  the  city 
off  as  one  of  the  first  class)  ;  and  E.  C.  Byerly 
is  the  present  mayor. 

During  the  entire  period  G.  E.  Marriott  has 
been  city  clerk. 

The   councilmen    in    the    order    given   have 


and  with  A.  L.  Andrews  and  F.  L.  Floyd  new 
members. 

Larison  remained  upon  the  board  in  1917 
with  Floyd  and  Andrews  hold-overs.  C.  A. 
Berg,  W.  Weaver  and  W.  A.  Danley  were  the 
new  members.  In  1918  we  find  Floyd,  Weaver, 
Danley  and  Berg  remained  and  W.  S.  Satterlee 
and  M.  H.  Nichols  new  members.  With  the 
coming  of  a  city  of  the  first  class  in  1919  the 
council  was  increased  to  eight.  Berg,  Weaver, 
Danley,  Floyd,  Satterlee  and  Nichols  remained 
members,  the  new  councilmen  being  W.  L. 
Randall,  and  O.  J.  Putnam.  In  1920  Satter- 
lee, Weaver,  Danley.  and  Randall  held  over, 
T.  P.  Larison  was  returned  to  the  board  and 
E.  C.  Eyerly,  C.  A.  Hanna  and  W.  S.  Bostder 
were  new  members.  At  the  present  time  Hanna, 
Danley,  Weaver,  Larison  and  Satterlee  are 
still  members,  their  associates  being  E.  M. 
Birdsall,  Chas.  Loewenthal  and  W.  Wr.  Pas- 
cal. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


CHAPTER  VII 


BUSINESSES   AND   PROFESSIONS 


The  beginnings  of  almost  ever}-  line  of  busi- 
ness and  professional  activity,  as  well  as 
financial,  social  and  fraternal,  has  been  some- 
what covered  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Harking  back  to  1887,  when  Chadron  was 
quite  young  and  rather  small,  one  cannot  with- 
out interest  view  the  establishment  in  Novem- 
ber, and  issuance  upon  November  17,  1887,  of 
No.  1  of  the  Northwestern  Temperance  Advo- 
cate, with  the  subheading,  "Malice  Toward 
None,  Charity  For  All.  The  Welfare  of  Our 
People  is  Greater  Than  Party  Interests,"  with 
A.  E.  and  J.  D.  Sheldon,  publishers. 

A  brief  review  of  the  news  and  advertising 
columns  of  that  earlier  pioneer  of  the  press  of 
Dawes  county  shows  the  churches  then  active- 
ly working  were  the  Baptist,  G.  W.  Read,  pas- 
tor; Methodist,  Rev.  R.  J.  Davenport,  pastor; 
Congregational,  G.  J.  Powell,  pastor ;  and 
Grace  Episcopal,  Rev.  J.  N.  Chestnutt,  pastor. 

The  professional  directory  showed  services 
rendered  to  the  community  by  G.  A.  Eckles,  at- 
torney ;  Spargur,  Fisher  &  McCann,  attorneys, 
with  abstractor  in  the  office;  Mrs.  Fannie 
O'Linn,  attorney-at-law  and  abstractor  of 
titles ;  W.  W.  Byington,  attorney ;  Ricker  & 
Houghton,  (E.  S.  Ricker  and  F.  J.  Houghton) 
attorneys ;  O.  H.  Wilson  and  L.  J.  F.  Iaeger, 
justices  of  the  peace  and  notary  publics ;  I.  N. 
Harbaugh,  attorney ;  F.  P.  Wagenner,  real 
estate ;  Levi  G.  Sweat,  real  estate ;  M.  Bal- 
lard, county  attorney ;  P.  E.  Baird,  attorney 
at  law ;  F.  M.  Dorrington  &  Sons,  attorneys, 
and  real  estate. 

Among  the  business  institutions  of  the  town 
were,  The  Pioneer  Store,  P.  B.  Nelson,  Chi- 
cago Clothing  Store,  I.  Silverstein,  Blue  Front 
Grocery  store.  L.  Butler,  offering  free  deliv- 
ery at  that  early  date ;  Chadron  Meat  Co.,  Wil- 
liam Wilson,  wholesale  and  retail  furniture 
and  queensware ;  Wm.  Belanger,  groceries  and 
other  lines ;  Second  Hand  Store,  Dahlman  & 
Simmons'  Chadron  Meat  Market;  R.  Busse, 
photographer,  Culp  &  Long,  successors  to 
Flock  Brothers  in  Chadron  and  Yreka  bak- 
eries ;  W.  A.  Danley's  Chadron  Dairy;  R.  Mc- 
Leod's  Boston  Store  ;  Smith's  ladies'  furnish- 
ings. 

The  Northwestern  Prohibition  Publishing 
Company  was  incorporated  to  handle  the 
Advocate  and  do  other  printing,  with  George 
D.  Read,  Levi  G.  Sweat,  B.  F.  Van  Lehn, 
Arthur  Chase,  T.  L.  Jeffers,  R.  M.  Stanton, 
William  Roberts  and  F.  P.  Waggenner  as  in- 
corporators. 


Taking  the  time  about  the  year  1890, 
as  another  mark  from  which  to  survey  the 
business  interests  of  Chadron,  and  register 
such  change  or  growth  as  was  then  evident, 
we  find,  Chadron  Roller  Mills  in  operation. 
Concerns  not  mentioned  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph, in  business  about  this  time,  included : 
Rosa  &  Thompson,  groceries ;  J.  Kass  &  Co., 
wagons  and  implements,  hardware  and  plumb- 
ing; J.  W.  Scofield,  cigar  factory;  E.  Mead's 
Chadron  Grocery ;  J.  W.  Way's  furniture 
stock ;  E.  D.  Caffee  in  charge  of  Chadron 
Dairy;  Stetter  Bros.,  then  in  charge  of  Chad- 
ron Market ;  Robinson  &  Smith,  confectionery  ; 
Bowers  &  Demmon,  livery  stable  at  Birdsall's 
old  stand;  Adamson  &  Imel,  west  side  livery 
stable,  proprietors  of  the  Chadron  and  Non- 
pareil Stage  line;  Weber  Brothers,  new  stock 
of  groceries;  W.  Christensen's  hardware  stock 
open  alike  for  trade  of  democrats  and  republi- 
cans, prohibitionists,  union  labor  men,  mug- 
wumps and  all  other  classes  of  people;  Myers 
&  Boone ;  and  Loewenthal  Bros.,  Palace  Cloth- 
ing House,  since  1885. 

Fraternal  life  in  Chadron  was  not  neglected 
in  1890  and  the  following  lodges  were  actively 
engaged  in  their  respective  missions :  Damas- 
cus Lodge  No.  53,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Chad- 
ron Lodge  No.  72,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  Occidental 
Chapter  No.  48,  R.  A.  M.,  Samaritan  Lodge 
No.  158,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  Pine  Ridge  Camp  No. 
745,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  Lexing- 
ton Relief  Corps  No.  108.  and  Lexington  G. 
A.  R.  Post. 

F.  B.  Carley  was  postmaster  then.  The 
Democrat,  with  C.  W.  Allen  as  editor  was  a 
competing  journal  to  the  Advocate,  and  the 
Dawes  County  Journal. 

Illustrative  that  the  day  of  effort  on  the 
part  of  commercial  institutions  of  a  larger  city 
to  secure  the  trade  of  smaller  places,  even 
some  distance  away,  is  the  fact  that  in  a  Sep- 
tember, 1890,  edition  of  the  Chadron  Demo- 
crat can  be  found  the  following  directory  of 
Omaha,  Nebraska,  business  houses  soliciting 
the  trade  of  Dawes  county  and  western  Ne- 
braska patrons ;  Mrs.  J.  Benson,  ladies  and 
children's  furnishings;  John  S.  Caulfield, 
wholesale  bookseller,  United  States  National 
Bank,  A.  H.  Perrigo  &  Co.,  bicycles ;  Brown- 
ing, King  &  Co.,  clothing;  A.  L.  Deane  &  Co., 
bank  vaults,  locks ;  Dean,  Armstrong  &  Co., 
wholesale  cigars ;  Star  Land  and  Loan  Com- 
pany. 

Further  business  houses  noted  as  in  exist- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


569 


ence  about  this  time  were  Klingaman  Bros., 
meats ;  Lambert's  Grocery  ;  Chadron's  Bottling 
Works  and  J.  H.  Larkin,  liquors  and  cigars ; 
Geo.  T.  H.  Babcock,  farm  loans;  Trager  & 
Kuh,  photo  gallery ;  Butler's  Blue  Front  Store 
continuing;  J.  L.  Paul  &  Co.,  grocers;  M. 
O'Hanlon,  proprietor  of  Hotel  Chadron ;  Glo- 
ver &  Brower's  O.  K.  Store ;  Lucas  &  Allen 
were  conducting  the  Democrat  late  in  1890; 
Dr.  O.  V.  Harris,  M.  D.,  and  Dr.  E.  C.  Koons, 
dentist,  were  practicing  in  Chadron ;  Keyes  & 
Soder,  fruits  ;  A.  Anderson,  manager  of  Chad- 
ron Boot  Store ;  D.  S.  Cockrill,  blacksmith 
shop;  Glover  &  Brower,  in  charge  of  Dawes 
County  Bank;  Simon  Feldenheimer,  clothing; 
Cater  &  Dickson,  liquor  dealers ;  C.  H.  King, 
The  Chicago  Store;  Waller  &  Lyman's,  drug- 
gists ;  E.  E.  Thornburg,  druggist ;  Wm. 
Highey,  City  Drug  Store;  J.  A.  Cummings, 
general  merchandise ;  Dr.  Alfred  Lewis,  drug 
store ;  C.  H.  King  &  Co.,  general  store. 

During  the  Nineties 

A  brief  review  of  the  business  institutions 
that  flourished  in  Chadron  during  the  nineties 
will  disclose  many  new  ones,  some  faithful  and 
solid  concerns  staying  on,  and,  as  always  in 
this  particular  phase  of  the  business  world, 
many  have  dropped  by  the  wayside. 

M.  E.  Smith  &  Co.;  Lowenthal  Bros.,  Pal- 
ace Clothing  House;  J.  M.  Young  &  Co.,  in 
back  part  of  O.  K.  Store ;  J.  V.  Way  &  Co., 
furniture ;  Chadron  Dray  Line ;  Bank  of  Chad- 
ron, successor  to  Lake  &  Halley,  bankers; 
Klingaman  &  O'Brien,  meats ;  John  F.  Ten- 
zer,  successor  to  Excelsior  Lumber  Co.  First 
National  Bank  had  started  up,  with  Bartlett 
Richards,  president,  DeForest  Richards,  vice- 
president,  Chas.  C.  Jameson,  cashier,  Robert 
Hood,  J.  E.  Ainsworth,  A.  W.  Crites,  J.  L. 
Paul,  as  other  directors.  S.  F.  Smith's,  gro- 
ceries ;  Sampson  &  Hall,  millinery ;  H.  D. 
Mead,  succeeding  D.  Y.  Mears,  harness  deal- 
er; Weber  Bros.  Grocery;  Stetter  Bros., 
meats ;  and  J.  L.  Paul  &  Co.,  were  all  still 
operating.  The  Chadron  Banking  Co.,  with 
A.  C.  Putman,  president,  and  F.  B.  Carley, 
cashier,  was  in  operation.  D.  A.  Strong,  lum- 
ber. J.  H.  Larkin,  Broghamer  &  Weyland, 
and  J.  W.  Owens  were  in  the  liquor  business. 
J.  W.  Good  had  a  clothing  stock ;  A.  Win- 
burger,  tailor. 

By  1894  the  Bank  of  Chadron  was  running, 
with  Richard  C.  Lake,  president ;  Albert  W. 
Crites,  vice-president;  A.  A.  Record,  cashier; 
and  C.  W.  Dresser,  L.  A.  Brower,  Tom  Moore, 
and  Geo.  P.  Waller,  other  directors.  It  will 
be  noted  that  both  the  financial,  and  profes- 


sional roster  also,  and  the  business  roster  of 
Dawes  county  displays  in  the  record  of  these 
early  days  many  a  name  which  has  become  a 
byword  of  the  state  and  stands  for  statewide 
achievement  in  some  line  of  endeavor  in  the 
years  since  intervening. 

Other  business  houses  of  the  period  of  the 
middle  nineties,  were :  Butler  &  Palmers,  gro- 
ceries ;  W.  F.  Hartman  &  Co.,  fresh  meats ; 
Randall's  market;  A.  M.  Wright,  west  end 
furniture  store ;  J.  Cerny,  tailor ;  J.  Brog- 
hamer's  Blue  Ribbon  Beer  and  other  old  time 
liquid  stimulants.  In  1894,  A.  P.  Sloan  became 
cashier  of  Chadron  Banking  Co. 

An  addition  to  the  press  roster  of  Chadron 
and  Dawes  County  in  1893  was  the  Chadron 
Recorder,  of  which  Claude  T.  Taylor  was  an 
early  publisher.  In  1895,  Henry  Ormesher 
had  taken  over  the  old  Stetter's  Central  Meat 
Market;  Drug  stores  in  1895  were  conducted 
by  Davis  Bros.  Windsor  Drug  Store;  and  J. 
M.  Robinson;  The  Chadron  Cage,  E.  Upstill, 
prop. ;  John  Bros.,  shoe  dealers ;  A.  G. 
Johnson,  musical  instruments ;  Chadron  Roller 
Mill ;  and  Hayes  &  Bargelt,  jewelers,  were  con- 
cerns running  at  that  time.  The  next  bank 
to  enter  the  lists  in  Chadron  was  the  Citizens 
State  Bank  with  W.  L.  May,  president,  J.  T. 
May,  vice  president  and  A.  A.  McFadon,  cash- 
ier. Other  business  houses  of  that  time  were 
Wayne  Wilson,  confectionery  and  manufac- 
turer of  fresh  candies;  Eason  Bros.,  photogra- 
phers ;  Baldy's  Place  for  fine  wines ;  K.  A. 
Hinote's  Chadron  Steam  Laundry ;  Stevens 
Hotel ;  Kasper  Furst,  shoe  store ;  G.  P.  Wash- 
burn, railroad  jeweler;  Reynolds  &  Eastman, 
abstracts,  insurance  and  real  estate ;  the  big 
brick  Blaine  Hotel;  Chas.  Parks'  Ideal  Lunch 
Room;  Chapin  House;  Nellie  Woodard,  dry 
goods  and  notions. 

Professional  Roster  of  the  Nineties 
The    lawyers    practicing    here    during    this 

decade  included  C.  H.  Bane,  E.  S.  Richer,  I. 

N.    Harbaugh,    Mrs.    Fannie   O'Linn,    G.    A. 

Eckles,  P.  E.  Baird,  Spargur  &  Fisher,  Geo.  T. 

H.  Babcock,  Alfred  Bartow,  F.   I.  Houghton 

and  J.  R.  McDonald. 

Of   the  medical    fraternity   there   were   Dr. 

Flock,  Dr.  J.  I.  Leas,  Dr.  E.  C.  Koons,  den- 
tist ;  Dr.  J.  E.  Warrick,  M.  D. 

The  fraternal  order  included  the  continued 

activity  of  those  mentioned  before  and  a  few 

new  ones.    Masons,  R.  A.  M.,  Lenington  Post 

G.  A.  R.  and  W.  R.  C,  I.  O.  O.  F..  A.  O.  U. 

W.,  K.  of  P.,  Commandery  K.  of  P.,  M.  W.  A. 

Chadron  Alliance  No.  1100,  Sons  of  Veterans 

were  new  lodges. 


570 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


In  the  1900-1910  Decade 

M.  Iv  Smith  &  Co.,  were  still  in  business  at 
Chadron  ;  Chadron  Mercantile  Co. ;  J.  W.  Good 
and  Loewenthal  Brothers  were  still  actively 
engaged  in  their  lines ;  L.  W.  Gorton  had  a 
jewelry  stock  ;  F.  B.  Woodruff's  novelty  store ; 
Wm.  Chisholm;  First  National  Bank  in  1905 
was  under  management  of  C.  F.  Coffee,  presi- 
dent, F.  W.  Clarke,  vice-president,  B.  L.  Sco- 
vel,  cashier  and  H.  E.  Reische,  asst.  cashier. 
The  Citizens  State  Bank  was  officered  by  A. 
W.  Reikman,  president,  J.  T.  May,  vice-presi- 
dent, and  F.  B.  Carley,  cashier. 

C.  R.  Payton  and  L.  Roy  Bower  were  den- 
tists. 

Physicians  then  practicing  here  included  Dr. 
B.  C.  Elms. 

G.  T.  H.  Babcock  and  L.  Card  were  attor- 
nevs  practicing  here  then. 

Long  Pine  Lodge  No.  173  O.  R.  C.  and 
Ingraham  Lodge  No.  303,  B.  of  L.  E.,  Pine 
Ridge  Lodge  No.   17,  B.  of  L-  F.  and  Black 


Hills  Lodge  No.  139,  B.  of  R.  T.  represented 
the  Conductors,  Engineers,  Locomotive  Fire- 
men and  Brakemen  or  Trainmen  respectively 
and  along  with  F.  O.  Eagles,  Chadron  Aerie 
No.  542,  Degree  of  Honor,  Chadron  Lodge 
No.  182  had  been  added  to  the  roster  of  fra- 
ternal organizations. 

In  1905  seven  churches  were  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  religious  activities  of  the  Com- 
munity ;  Grace  Episcopal,  J.  Rockwood  Jen- 
kins, minister:  St.  Patrick's  church,  Father  J. 
F.  Barry,  pastor;  Congregational  church,  J. 
H.  Andreas,  pastor;  First  Baptist  church,  E. 
F.  Eberly,  pastor;  Christian  church.  M.  E. 
church,  E.  F.  Hunt,  pastor;  and  First  Church 
of  Christ  Scientist. 

Chadron  Academy,  started  in  1898,  was  be- 
ginning its  18th  year  of  successful  operation  in 
fall  of  1906.  This  school,  conducted  as  a  pri- 
fate  institution,  and  not  a  sectarian  school,  was 
a  pioneer  educational  institution  of  northwest- 
ern  Nebraska  and  played  an  important  part  in 


giving  Chadron  a  precedence  in  more  recent 
years  for  selection  as  a  state  educational  cen- 
ter. The  Chadron  Conservatory  of  Music, 
running  at  these  times  teaching  piano,  vocal, 
theory,  history  of  music,  gave  the  community 
an  added  prestige  as  a  cultural  center. 

In  the  commercial  world,  F.  H.  DeRhodes 
&  Co.'s  double  store  took  an  important  place. 
McMillan  Bros..  O.  C.  Erlewine,  undertaker 
and  Robert  McNair,  store;  M.  W.  Farr,  furni- 
ture. 

Decade  1911  to  1921 

A  directory  of  the  members  of  the  bar  in 
1910,  shows  those  then  practicing,  with  the 
year  of  their  admission  to  practice  were  G.  T. 
H.  Babcock,  1891;  Lee  Card,  1902;  A.  W. 
Crites,  1872;  E.  D.  Crites,  1908;  Allen  G. 
Fisher,  1886;  F.  H.  Houghton.  1892;  D.  B. 
Tenckes,  1882;  C.  D.  Sayrs,  1872;  and  E.  M. 
Slattery,  1898.  At  Crawford,  also  were  B.  P. 
McKelvey,  1905.  and  J.  E.  Porter,  1890,  and 
W.  P.  Rooney,  moved  to  Chadron.  Business 
changes  during  the  next  decade  brought  into 
the  circle,  O.  J.  Schweiger  &  Co.,  Burns  Bros, 
meat  market ;  F.  J.  Seabury,  implements  ;  Stan- 
ton Shoe  Co.;  First  National  Bank  retained  as 
officers,  C.  F.  Coffee,  president,  F.  W.  Clarke, 
vice  president,  B.  L.  Scovel,  cashier  and  H.  E. 
Reische,  assistant  cashier.  The  Citizens  State 
Bank  was  managed  by  W.  A.  Carmean,  presi- 
dent, J.  T.  May,  vice  president,  E.  K.  Reik- 
man, cashier  and  C.  W.  Mitchell,  assistant 
cashier. 

Chadron  Hardware  Co.,  Nichols  &  Fisher, 
West  End  Market ;  A.  E.  Phillips  opened  a 
new  flour  and  feed  store  in  1912;  Lenington 
Bros.,  groceries.  New  concerns  that  showed 
up  in  the  next  few  years  numbered  Andrews 
&  McNees,  Red  Cross  Drug  Store;  Ed.  E. 
Morey,  jewelry;  Walsh  Grocery  Co.;  Gran- 
tham Bros.,  Chadron  Mercantile  Co.,  Thos. 
Staarup.  jeweler ;  Ormeher  Bros.,  meats. 

Business  Interests  in  Craweord 

At  the  end  of  the  decade  of  the  Nineties, 
business  interests  flourishing  in  Crawford, 
showed  among  others,  Commercial  State  Bank, 
with  Leroy  Hall,  president,  O.  K.  Eastman, 
cashier,  and  H.  O.  Eastman,  assistant  cashier. 
Bank  of  Crawford  with  Harry  S.  Clarke, 
president  and  C.  A.  Minick,  cashier.  Palace 
Saloon,  James  L.  Hogle,  prop.,  G.  H.  Dietrich, 
saloon ;  H.  C.  Rineker.  meat  market.  Red  Light 
Saloon,  Cleland  &  Co.,  furniture ;  Crawford 
Mercantile  Co.,  John  Bruer's  saloon ;  Reade  & 
Shorey,  saloon  ;  In  a  short  time  B.  F.  John- 
son became  president  of  the  Bank  of  Craw- 
ford. 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


571 


1905-1910 

Jumping  up  some  five  years  brings  a  few 
changes  in  the  business  roster  of  Crawford. 
Crawford  Mercantile  Co.  still  holds  forth. 
First  National  Bank  has  added  Clyde  J.  Horns- 
by  as  assistant  cashier ;  The  Commercial  State 
Bank  still  has  Leroy  Hall  as  president,  An- 
drew Vetter,  vice  president,  Frank  L.  Hall, 
cashier  and  Norris  E.  Hartwell,  assistant 
cashier.  Robert  McNair,  furniture  and  hard- 
ware ;  Scott,  the  jeweler;  M.  J.  Williams,  lum- 
ber dealer;  Forbes  Bros,  clothing;  S.  M. 
Knapp  &  Co.,  C.  H.  Chase  &  Co.,  George  M. 
Adams,  general  merchandise  and  lumber;  Jas. 
A.  Hughes,  Star  saloon;  Diehl  &  Eversull, 
were  familiar  business  names. 

The  Crawford  Tribune,  successor  to  the  old 
Cra'cjford  Clipper,  was  still  running  with  Wm. 
H.  Ketchum  at  the  helm,  and  Con.  Lindeman. 
assisting. 

Crawford  Chamber  of  Commerce 
In  common  with  all  western  cities  or  new 
towns  the  city  of  Crawford  in  1911  organized 
a  commercial  body  called  the  "Crawford's 
Business  Men's  Organization"  says  Geo.  E. 
Gorton,  the  present  secretary  of  the  Crawford 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  It  was  principally  to 
look  after  credits,  there  being  many  transient 
people  at  the  time.     The  re-organization  took 


place  two  years  later  to  include  in  the  work  of 
the  institution  the  broader  needs  of  the  town. 
Chas.  A.  Minick  was  chairman  and  H.  L.  Wil- 
son was  secretary  of  the  meeting.  The  follow- 
ing officers  were,  chosen:  W.  B.  Morrison, 
president;  J.  E.  Porter,  first  vice  president;  A. 
L.  Hungerford,  second  vice  president ;  Chas.  H. 
Chase,  third  vice  president  and  Cyrus  O.  Wertz 
as  secretary.  S.  A.  Oliver  was  treasurer.  The 
Chamber  has  affiliated  with  the  state  and  na- 
tional organizations  and  did  an  immense 
amount  of  work  in  its  various  lines,  the  most 
important  of  which  is  perhaps  the  highway 
work  and  marking  through  the  beautiful  park- 
land of  northwest  Nebraska. 

Present  City  Officers 

The  city  of  Crawford  at  the  present  time  is 
efficiently  managed  by  the  following  officers : 
H.  B.  Foerster,  mayor;  W.  L.  Elswick,  clerk; 
C.  J.  Hornsby,  treasurer;  J.  J.  Rasmussen,  en- 
gineer; O.  W.  Percy,  attorney;  I.  L.  Yearns, 
chief  of  police;  L.  Horton,  night  police ;  R.  W. 
McHoes,  water  commissioner,  and  Dr.  B.  F. 
Richards,  city  physician. 

The  councilmen  are  Geo.  W.  Rief,  C.  W. 
Fritts,  S.  R.  Morey  and  H.  Broadhurst. 

The  park  board  consists  of  C.  W.  Fritts. 
chairman,  and  W.  O.  Barnes,  secretary  and 
C.  L.  Leithoff,  member. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
CHURCHES  AND  SCHOOLS— BANKS— IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 


The  First  Baptist  church  of  Chadron  is  now 
thirty-four  years  old.  It  was  organized  Feb- 
ruary 13,  1887,  with  sixteen  constituent  mem- 
bers, and  Rev.  G.  W.  Reed  became  its  first 
pastor.  A  recognition  service  and  council  was 
called  for  March  27,  1887,  in  which  Rev.  J.  J. 
Keeler,  district  missionary,  Rev.  J.  A.  Osborne, 
general  missionary,  and  Rev.  E.  A.  Russell; 
State  Sunday  School  secretary,  participated ; 
(the  latter  still  living  at  Ord,  Nebraska)  and 
the  church  was  duly  recognized  as  a  regular 
Baptist  church. 

A  part  of  the  present  church  building,  with 
the  parsonage  was  constructed  in  the  spring  of 
1888,  and  the  building  dedicated  June  24,  of 
that  year. 
The  total  membership  since  its  organization 


reaches  488,  its  present  membership  being  one 
hundred  forty-three.  There  have  been  fourteen 
pastors  during  this  time.  During  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  F.  L.  Roselle.  March,  1899,  to  January, 
1890,  the  church  edifice  was  enlarged  to  its 
present  size.  The  next  pastor,  F.  M.  Sturde- 
vant,  came  to  the  church  December  28,  1913, 
and  during  the  year  1912  the  church  building 
was  remodeled  on  the  inside,  and  improvements 
made  costing  about  $500.00.  C.  E.  Hamilton 
followed  him. 


Thi 


Congregational  Church 
vas    the    first    religious    organization 


formed  in  the  city  of  Chadron,  and  was  ef- 
fected September  13.  1885,  with  Rev.  H.  Bross, 
then  general  missionary,  as  the  acting  pastor. 


572 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


A  church  building  was  erected  on  the  present 
site  at  a  total  cost  of  $1,775,  and  dedicated 
December  21,  1885.  For  the  first  year  this 
building  was  occupied  in  common  with  the 
Methodist  organization.  The  church  received 
considerable  help  from  the  missionary  societies 
of  the  church  of  the  East  in  the  support  of  the 
pastor  during  the  early  years  of  its  existence. 
In  the  thirty-six  years  of  its  history  the  church 
has  had  the  following  pastors:  Revs.  Bross, 
Crane,  Powell,  Power,  Ferguson,  Ricker,  An- 
dress,  Mitchell,  Dungan,  and  then  Rev.  J.  H. 
Stough  and  lastly  A.  T.  Davi-es.  These  men 
have  built  well,  and  they  have  left  the  impress 
of  their  work  and  spirit  on  the  church  both 
here  and  elsewhere,  in  this  west.  Under  the 
pastorate  of  Rev.  Powell,  the  parsonage  was 
erected,  and  an  addition  to  the  church  building. 
The  building  itself  was  raised  and  a  basement 
made  under  the  whole  structure,  equipped  with 
a  furnace,  a  toilet  room,  kitchen  and  kitchen 
utensils,  and  the  whole  basement  so  finished 
that  it  could  be  used  for  the  primary  depart- 
ment of  the  Sunday  School  and  for  prayer 
meetings,  as  well  as  for  social  meetings  of  the 
church  and  young  people,  a  new  carpet  covered 
the  floor  of  the  auditorium  and  the  new  paper 
on  the  walls,  a  renovation  costing  about  $1,800 
in  all,  all  of  which  was  provided  for  and  the 
debt  is  being  liquidated  year  by  year. 

Grace  Church 

The  first  service  of  the  Episcopal  church  in 
Chadron  was  held  in  the  old  court  house  hall  in 
the  Chadron  Banking  Company's  building  on 
Sunday,  January  30,  1887,  by  the  Rev.  T.  C. 
Eldred.  The  same  clergyman  continued  to  hold 
two  services  each  Sunday  until  March  6,  1887. 
On  Tuesday,  February  1,  of  this  same  year,  a 
parish  meeting  was  held  at  the  home  of  Mr. 
Arthur  C.  Putman,  at  which  time  it  was  de- 
cided to  name  the  parish  Grace  church.  On 
Sunday  evening,  February  6,  after  evening 
prayer,  the  following  officers  of  the  parish  were 
nominated:  Burr  Shelton,  warden;  Alfred 
Bartow,  clerk ;  Gideon  E.  Myers,  treasurer. 
The  Bishop  (Worthington)  made  his  first  visi- 
tation on  Sunday,  March  7. 

On  July  16,  1887,  the  Rev.  J.  N.  Chestnut 
assumed  charge.  Very  soon  after  an  unoccu- 
pied building  on  Main  street,  near  Second  ave- 
nue, was  rented  and  fitted  up  for  service.  A 
five-room  house  on  King  street  was  bought  for 
a  rectory  on  September  1.  In  the  same  month 
a  fund  for  a  church  building  was  started  in 
January,  1888.  A  lot  was  purchased  in  May, 
and  in  October  the  cornerstone  was  laid.  The 
first   services   in   the  present   church    building 


were  held  on  Sunday,  January  6,  1889.    Rev. 
J.  J.  Crawford  was  pastor  in  1921. 

Methodist  Church 

The  history  and  growth  of  the  Methodist 
church  of  this  city,  like  that  of  the  Methodist 
church  in  this  county,  is  a  story  full  of  interest 
to  all  who  have  helped  in  building  up  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country  and  county. 

The  first  conference  of  representatives  of 
this  church,  looking  forward  to  establishing  a 
Methodist  class  and  church  in  this  community 
was  held  in  the  log  cabin  which  was  the  home 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  M.  B.  O'Linn,  out  near 
Dakota  Junction.  This  was  the  germ  of  our 
church  organization  in  this  city.  The  charge 
was  called  "The  White  River  O'Linn  Charge," 
Niobrara  Valley  District,  West  Nebraska  Con- 
ference. This  was  in  1884.  The  first  pastor 
was  Rev.  J.  B.  Gray  and  the  first  presiding 
elder  was  Rev.  G.  W.  Martin.  Services  were 
held  in  private  homes  and  school  houses  and 
then  our  people  were  allowed  to  use  the  court 
room  which  is  the  room  now  occupied  by  Rey- 
nolds &  Hood  as  their  law  office.  Later  we 
were  permitted  to  hold  services  in  the  Congre- 
gational church  alternating  with  their  services. 

In  1886,  at  the  Fourth  Quarterly,  Conference, 
July  10,  Rev.  G.  W.  Martin,  presiding  elder,  in 
the  chair,  and  Rev.  J.  A.  Scamahorn,  (whose 
widow  now  lives  at  Gordon,  Nebraska),  pas- 
tor in  charge,  the  following  report  was  made 
by  the  trustees  :  Rev.  T.  W.  Wilson,  secretary  ; 
J.  B.  Boone,  S.  H.  Glover,  Burr  Shelton  and 
L.  Butler :  "To  the  members  of  the  Quarterly 
Conference  of  the  Chadron  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church.  Dear  Brethren:  The  Trustee  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Chadron 
would  beg  leave  to  make  this  their  first  annual 
report.  During  the  year  ending  with  this  re- 
port we  have  had  under  consideration  the  erec- 
tion of  a  suitable  house  of  worship  and  have 
procured  plans  that  call  for  a  building  32x28 
feet  with  a  lecture  room  14x28  feet,  to  be  built 
of  brick.  We  have  in  the  further  prosecution 
of  this  work  bought  and  paid  for  lots  one  and 
two  in  block  nineteen  in  the  city  of  Chadron, 
for  which  we  paid  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
twenty-five  dollars.  We  have  also  secured  on 
subscription  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  this 
building  $700.00.  Having  made  application  to 
our  church  extension  board  for  aid  and  they 
have  granted  us  (as  soon  as  conditions  are  com- 
plied with)  a  donation  of  $250.00  and  a  loan 
of  $500.00.  We  have  now  advertised  for  bids 
for  the  erection  of  building  and  material  and 
hope  in  the  near  future  to  be  able  to  advance 
rapidly  in  the  erection  and  completion  of  said 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


573 


structure.     But  to  do  so  and  to  complete  the 
building  without  a  heavy  debt  requires  an  in- 
creased exertion  and  sacrifice  in  subscriptions. 
"For  Board, 

"J.  W.  Wilson,  Sec." 

From  this  report  we  conclude  that  the  pres- 
ent Methodist  church  was  built  in  1887.  Al- 
though in  later  years  it  was  remodeled  at  a 
neavy  expense. 

In  making  inuqiry  of  J.  W.  Good  and  other 
members  we  learn  that  he  was  the  man  who 
furnished  and  hauled  the  sand  which  was  used 
in  the  construction  of  the  present  building  and 
that  was  in  1887.  It  was  remodeled  in  1910  at  a 
cost  of  $5,000.00  and  only  part  of  this  paid  at 
that  time.  The  pastor  who  undertook  the  re- 
building was  Rev.  Whitman  and  he  being  re- 
moved by  conference  left  a  part  of  this  debt 


O.  R.  Beebe,  R.  Elrod,  S.  E.  Grant,  J.  C.  Dil- 
lon, Clinton  Senneff,  pastor  in  1921. 

The  Public  Schools 

In  1889  a  little  booklet  gotten  out  by  enter- 
prising people  of  Dawes  county  and  called, 
"The  Great  Northwest"  is  interesting,  con- 
taining the  following: 

"In  nearly  all  Nebraska  towns  a  visitor  will 
find  that  educational  matters  are  regarded  as 
of  first  and  higbest  importance.  It  is  pre-emi- 
nently so  with  Cbadron.  Other  enterprises 
have  in  nowise  interfered  with  the  city's  public 
school  interests.  One  of  the  finest  school  build- 
ings in  the  state  is  found  in  this  city.  It  is  a 
massive  two-story  and  basement  building,  72x 
79  feet  in  dimensions,  constructed  wholly  of 
brick  and  stone.    In  the  front  is  a  commanding 


Methoiust  Church.  Chadron 


unpaid.  Rev.  Beebe  followed  him  but  did  noth- 
ing towards  raising  it,  feeling  it  was  not  his 
debt.  He  stayed  a  year  and  a  half  and  suddenly 
took  his  departure  to  another  conference.  A 
supply  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Elrod  finished  out 
the  conference  year  of  Rev.  Beebe.  At  the  1912 
conference,  held  at  Atkinson,  Bishop  McCon- 
nell  appointed  Rev.  S.  E.  Grant  to  this  charge 
and  he  served  one  year  and  was  removed  by  the 
conference  and  the  present  pastor  was  ap- 
pointed by  Bishop  Bristol  at  the  Valentine  con- 
ference, 1913. 

The  following  pastors  have  served  this 
charge:  Revs.  J.  B.  Gray,  J.  A.  Scamahom, 
Asbury  Collins,  J.  P.  Suedaker,  R.  T-  Daven- 
port, A.  R.  Julian.  W.  M.  Whitsitt,  A.  J.  Shees- 
man,  E.  E.  E.  Rorick,  O.  S.  Baker,  R.  G. 
Easley,  D.  J.  Clark,  A.  E.  DuBois,  E.  E.  Hunt, 
S.  A.  Chappell,  E.  E.  Shafer,  W.  W.  Whitman, 


tower,  ten  feet  square,  which  rises  from  the 
foundation  to  a  height  of  eighty-five  feet  and 
constitutes  the  main  entrance  to  the  building. 
Besides  the  recitation  rooms  and  wardrobes, 
there  are  eleven  large  school  rooms  supplied 
with  all  modern  school  facilities  and  advan- 
tages, and  these  rooms  are  heated  by  base- 
ment furnaces  and  ventilated  to  perfection. 
The  cost  of  completing  and  furnishing  this 
beautiful  temple  of  learning,  which  was  erect- 
ed in  1887  and  is  illustrated  in  these  columns, 
was  $30,000.  Its  halls  are  occupied  by  four 
hundred  and  thirty-four  pupils,  and  presided 
over  by  a  principal  and  five  capable  assistants. 

"The  citizens  of  Chadron  are  also  making 
strenous  efforts  to  secure  a  state  normal  school 
and  a  collegiate  institution.  They  are  pretty 
certain  to  succeed  in  both  aims.  The  college 
which    will    be   conducted   under   the   auspices 


574 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


of  the  Congregational  denomination,  and  the 
founding  of  which  is  practically  assured,  is 
to  cost,  when  completed,  around  $100,000.00. 
Successful  in  all  past  enterprises,  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  these  citizens  will 
be  likewise  successful  in  their  ambition  to  make 
Chadron  an  educational  center." 

The  above  extract  shows  that  from  its  very 
beginning  Chadron  has  been  an  educational 
center  of  the  fertile  region  lying  beyond  the 
Nebraska  sand  hills  and  extending  into  South 
Dakota  and  Wyoming.  The  hoped-for  Congre- 
gational school  came,  served  its  purpose  well 
and  gave  way  to  the  Chadron  State  Normal 
school.  The  growth  of  the  public  schools  has 
been  steady.  The  original  school  building  is 
still  in  good  condition  and  at  slight  expense 
could  be  made  as  good  as  new.  It  is  used  for 
the  high  school  and  for  the  grade  children  of 


built  about  four  years  ago.  It  is  of  pressed 
brick  and  stone.  Owing  to  lack  of  funds, 
some  of  the  rooms  have  never  been  finished. 
The  school  board  has  called  a  special  elec- 
tion for  the  22nd  of  June  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  the  necessary  funds  to  complete  these 
rooms  and  to  make  repairs  in  the  high  school 
building.  When  this  building  is  completed  it 
will  be  one  of  the  finest  ward  buildings  in  the 
state. 

At  the  time  the  West  Ward  building  was 
erected  it  was  believed  that  it  would  be  years 
before  all  of  the  building  would  be  needed. 
Last  year  five  teachers  were  added  and  in  order 
to  relieve  the  crowded  condition  in  some  of 
the  rooms  more  will  be  needed  this  vear.  Every 
room  can  be  used  as  soon  as  completed  and  the 
large  number  of  new  homes  being  built  on  the 
north  side  of  the  tracks  will  call   for  a  new 


the  East  Ward  as  far  as  the  seventh  grade. 
The  eight  grade  children  go  to  the  beautiful 
new  West  Ward  building  and  the  room  once 
occupied  by  them  in  the  high  school  building 
has  been  converted  into  a  fine  chemical  and 
physics  laboratory.  Within  the  past  year  nor- 
mal training,  which  has  proved  so  popular  in 
Nebraska  because  of  the  excellent  training  it 
gives.  *o  the  high  school  graduate  who  is  going 
out  t  teach  in  the  country  schools,  has  been 
a  regular  feature  of  the  high  school  course. 
Almost  all  of  the  class  of  1915  received  certi- 
ficates the  night  they  graduated. 

The  Chadron  high  school  offers  as  strong  a 
four  year  high  school  course  as  is  offered  by 
any  high  school.  It  is  fully  accredited  by  the 
University  of  Nebraska  and  by  all  other  col- 
leges and  universities  of  the  state. 

The   beautiful    "West   Ward"   building  was 


building  in  that  of  the  city.  The  determination 
of  the  citizens  of  Chadron  to  make  this  city 
the  educational  center  may  be  counted  upon 
to  see  that  the  necessary  funds  are  provided 
and  that  no  selfish  motives  will  be  allowed  to 
check  the  growth  and  development  of  a  system 
of  city  schools  second  to  none  in  Nebraska. 

The  State  Normal 
The  faculty  and  emplovees  of  the  State 
Normal  School  at  Chadron' in  1919-1920  were 
as  follows  :  Robert  I.  Elliott,  President ;  Effie 
D.  Hulbert,  Registrar ;  Amanda  B.  Osnes,  Sec- 
retary ;  W.  T.  Stockdale,  Dean,  Department  of 
Education ;  Edna  E.  Work,  Dean  of  Women, 
Preceptress  of  the  Dormitory;  Lucy  M.  Clark, 
English  Language  and  Literature ;  C.  H. 
Bright,  Mathematics  and  Rural  Schools ;  Chas. 
W.    Philpott,   Physics;  Mrs.   Chas.   W.   Phil- 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


575 


pott,  Chemistry,  and  Laboratory  Assistant;  E. 
P.  Wilson,  History  and  Civics ;  Roy  B.  Clark, 
Latin  and  Assistant  in  English  ;  Susie  E.  Boyer, 
Principal  Model  High  School ;  Susan  R.  Fra- 
zier.  Primary  Director,  First  and  Second 
Grades  ;  Bertha  Wilson,  Commercial  Director ; 
Ethel  L.  Delzell,  Home  Economics ;  R.  E. 
Holch,  Manual  Training;  H.  H.  Camburn,  Ag- 
riculture and  Botany;  Mabel  Harris,  Librar- 
ian; Elmira  Scovel,  Public  School  Music; 
Richard  E.  Yarndley,  Voice,  Cello,  Glee  Club, 
Orchestra  and  Choruses ;  Roy  A.  Peterson, 
Violin ;  Jessie  G.  Cowan,  Expression,  Physical 
Training;  Emma  Steckelberg,  French,  Span- 
ish, Latin.  Employees,  J.  R.  Bolin,  Engineer ; 
J.  E.  Hackler,  Agriculturist;  H.  G.  Hagler, 
Janitor. 

Financial  Institutions 

The  "Dawes  County  Bank"  was  the  first 
established  in  the  county,  Thomas  H.  Glover 
was  president  and  Lyman  A.  Brower,  cashier. 
It  went  into  voluntary  liquidation  and  quit 
business  in  '91  or  '92. 

Chadron  has  three  banks.  The  First  Na- 
tional has  survived  all  the  years  and  has  capital 
and  surplus  of  $1'50,000  as  shown  in  the  "blue 
book."  Its  president  is  Col.  Chas.  F.  Coffee. 
C.  F.  Coffee,  junior,  is  vice  president ;  W.  E. 
Mote,  cashier  and  Grace  Miller,  assistant 
cashier. 

The  Citizens  State  Bank  which  was  es- 
tablished in  1889  by  Andrew  McFadon  with 
a  capital  of  $20,000  has  been  re-organized  and 
enlarged  until  today  its  capital,  surplus  and 
undivided  profit  exceed  $100,000.  O.  J. 
Schweiger  is  president ;  T.  T.  May,  vice  presi- 
dent ;  C.  W.  Mitchell,  cashier  and  E.  M.  Bird- 
sail  and  K.  R.  Klingaman,  assistant  cashiers. 
Schweiger  was  formerly  a  commercial  sales- 
man and  is  one  of  the  most  progressive  of  the 
younger  men  in  business  in  Chadron. 

The  Chadron  State  Bank  has  a  capital  and 
surplus  of  over  $130,000  according  to  a  recent 
statement.  B.  L.  Scovil  is  president ;  J.  H. 
White,  vice  president :  W.  P.  Rooney,  cashier. 
Other  directors  are  Robert  Hood  and  W.  H. 
Donahue. 

Crawford  has  three  distinctive  financial  in- 
stitutions. The  oldest  bank  is  the  Commercial 
State  established  in  1886.  It  has  a  capital  sur- 
plus and  profit  of  $100,000.  Leroy  Hall  is 
president ;  Andrew  Vetter  and  Frank  L.  Hall, 
vice  presidents ;  M.  G.  Eastman,  cashier  and 
Besse  E.  Chapman,  assistant. 

The  First  National  Bank  (formerly  the 
Bank  of  Crawford)  was  organized  August  1, 
1899  with  a  capital  of  $15,000.  Bartlett  Rich- 
ards  was  president ;   Andrew   McGinley,   vice 


president;  and  C.  A.  Minick,  cashier.  It  was 
re-organized  in  1903,  made  a  national  bank,  its 
capital  increased  and  has  since  been  again  in- 
creased. It  now  has  $50,000  capital  and  the 
same  amount  of  surplus  and  undivided  profits. 
Its  present  officers  are  O.  R.  Ivans,  president ; 
F.  McGiverin,  vice  president ;  C.  A.  Minick, 
cashier ;  Clyde  J.  Hornsby,  assistant.  J.  E. 
Porter  and  George  Swanson  are  directors. 
B.  F.  Tohnson  was  the  president  of  this  bank 
from  1901  to  1918  inclusive. 

The  Farmers'  Bank  was  chartered  under  the 
state  laws  in  1919.  T.  F.  Golden  is  president; 
W.  H.  Sutherland,  vice  president;  James  H. 
Nestor,  vice  president;  and  F.  M.  Stapleton 
as  cashier. 

The  principal  organizers  of  these  older  banks 
have  passed  away.  The  solid  foundation  on 
which  the  banks  were  started  is  still  reflected 
in  their  gradual  growth,  and  also  speaks  well 
for  their  continued  management ;  they  have 
been  practically  owned  by  home  capital.  During 
all  the  hard  times  of  the  past  they  both  have 
enjoyed  the  entire  confidence  of  their  cus- 
tomers and  the  community  at  large,  and  this 
in  a  great  measure  may  be  attributed  to  the  fact 
that  they  have  always  done  a  strictly  banking 
business  and  have  never  used  any  of  the  bank 
funds  for  outside  schemes  and  promotion  of 
outside  business.  They  have  always  taken 
care  of  the  financial  needs  of  their  customers 
at  all  times  and  at  satisfactory  rates.  The 
gradual  increase  of  their  business  is  a  good  in- 
dication of  the  condition  of  the  country.  The 
various  interests  are  such  that  the  farmer  al- 
ways has  something  to  turn  into  money ;  if  the 
grain  crops  are  light  he  has  some  stock  to  sell, 
and  also  the  increasing  growth  of  alfalfa  in  this 
section  is  giving  to  it  a  business  that  is  a  win- 
ner and  will  be  a  growing  industry  in  the  fu- 
ture. The  alfalfa  seed  grown  in  Dawes  county 
is  second  to  none  grown  in  the  United  States 
and  very  few  sections  can  compete  with  it  as 
to  quality  in  every  way  and  as  it  always  makes 
good  in  planting,  any  one  who  comes  here  for 
it  once  will  come  whenever  they  need  alfalfa 
for  seeding. 

The  editor  is  indebted  to  B.  L.  Scovil  for 
parts  of  the  above  information. 

The  World  War 

In  closing  the  local  history  of  Dawes  county 
the  last  great  chapter  of  its  experience  shall 
have  brief  mention.  It  is  a  star  that  will 
shine  in  the  firmament  of  Nebraska's  splendid 
constellation. 

Every  drive  of  the  war  stands  out  con- 
spicuous in  that  every  one  went  over  the  top 
without  hesitation  and  in  record  time.     Every 


576 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


war  auxiliary  was  up  on  its  toes  to  excel  the 
record  of  similar  organizations  elsewhere.  Not 
merely  with  the  idea  that  it  wanted  to  excel 
although  that  has  a  wonderful  merit  but  be- 
cause keen  intelligence  and  patriotism  of  the 
freedom  loving  people  of  the  county  made 
everything  move  forward  like  the  Yanks  went 
forward  when  General  Bundy  told  General 
Foch  "we  are  going  to  counter-attack." 

Eight  hundred  twenty  three  men  registered 
on  June  5,  1917.  the  first  registration  day.  They 
were  distributed  over  the  county  as  follows : 
Evergreen,  35;  Table,  23;  Craig,  21;  West 
Chadron,  197;  East  Chadron,  196;  Antelope, 
32;  Wayside,  12;  Whitney,  39;  Leonard,  41  ; 
Orange,  22 ;  and  Crawford,  295. 

This  was  Dawes  county's  first  contingent 
that  said  to  the  world  militarism  must  perish 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  was  time  when 
in  the  retrospect  we  can  observe  what  the  Ger- 
man ambition  and  experiment  cost  the  world 
in  blood  and  treasure.  Even  the  few  benefits 
that  we  of  America  might  have  had  from  the 
war  the  politicians  at  Washington  destroyed. 
Even  to  this  day  —  approaching  three  years 
after  the  close  of  the  war  in  fact  nrrogant 
European  countries  that  owe  us  vast  sum  and 
do  not  pay  us  the  interest  thereon  will  refuse 
to  admit  into  their  lands  the  products  of 
America  in  American .  ships  on  the  same  base 
that  they  will  admit  American  products  in  the 
ship?  of  their  own  country.  Some  of  them 
have  an  embargo  on  American  meats  and  live- 
stock. America's  participation  in  the  war, 
beautiful  and  heroic  sacrifice  of  the  boys  in 
action  and  service,  the  purpose  and  endeavor 
ot  the  people  at  home  all  magnificent  and 
glorious  as  they  will  ever  be  have  been  an- 
nulled by  the  inefficient  statescnft  of  those 
that  were  in  and  those  whom  we  have  put  into 
the  high  places  of  the  land. 

This  lack  of  statescraft  has  not  been  the  fault 
of  the  people  of  Dawes.     This  county  stands 
high  in  its  civil  and  military  attributes.     A  re- 
view of  the  facts  set  forth  elsewhere  in  this 
history  will  emphasize  the  high  class  of  Dawes 
county   official,   educational   civic   standing   in 
the  galaxy  of  splendid  community  worthiness. 
Dawes  County  Chapter, 
Chadron,  Nebraska. 
HEADQUARTERS 
Chadron  Club,  241  Main  Street 

The  Dawes  County  Chapter,  American  Red 
Cross  of  Chadron,  Nebraska  was  organized 
May  29,  1917,  by  the  Rev.  Reuben  Pickett, 
Chapter  of  Daughters  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution, with  a  charter  membership  of  thirty- 
six. 

The  chapter  was  formed  under  the  direction 


of  the  Mountain  Division  Red  Cross  of  Denver, 
Colorado,  and  had  as  its  territory,  Dawes 
county,  Nebraska. 

Officers  elected  for  one  year  were  as  follows  : 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  O'Einn  Smith,  chairman ;  Mrs. 
Minnie  Crites  and  Mrs.  Sara  Heyward  Bar- 
rett, vice  chairmen;  Mrs.  Robert  Eliott,  secre- 
tary; William  Mclntyre,  treasurer. 

Chairmen  of  the  following  committees  were 
also  elected  at  this  time :  Ray  Tierney,  exe- 
cutive ;  Miss  Blanche  Sperling,  finance ;  Mrs. 
H.  B.  Sands,  membership ;  L.  J.  F.  Ieager,  war 
council  fund ;  Mrs.  J.  Leppla,  supplies ;  H.  B. 
McDowell,  M.  D.,  instruction  ;  Mrs.  E.  L.  God- 
sail,  comfort;  Mrs.  Maude  Cleghorn,  canteen; 
O.  S.  Renf  ro,  civilian  relief ;  Mrs.  Sturdevant 
Bartlett.  junior  red  cross. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  O'Linn  Smith  was  State  Re- 
cording Secretary  of  Daughters  of  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution,  Chairman,  Library  Extension 
Department  State  Federation  Women's  Clubs, 
and  Librarian  of  Chadron  Public  Library  at 
the  time  of  her  election  as  Chairman  of  the 
Red  Cross.  She  had  lived  in  Chadron  many 
years  and  had  been  an  officer  and  helpful  mem- 
ber of  many  state  and  district  club  organiza- 
tions and  community  interests. 

Mrs.  Minnie  Crites,  Vice-Regent,  had  been 
Grand  Matron  of  the  Eastern  Star  of  Nebraska 
and  was  an  old  resident  of  Chadron. 

Mrs.  Sara  Heyward  Barrett  was  Secretary 
and  Treasurer  of  the  Heyward  Cattle  Com- 
pany and  an  active  member  of  many  clubs  of 
the  city. 

Airs.  Robert  Elliott,  Secretary,  was  the  wife 
of  the  President  of  the  State  Normal  School 
of  Chadron,  and  a  worker  in  many  clubs. 

William  Mclntyre,  Treasurer,  was  Assistant 
Cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank,  Chadron. 
Owing  to  illness  of  the  Secretary,  Mrs.  Elliott 
was  obliged  to  resign  in  September,  the  17th, 
and  Miss  Mildred  Baker,  teacher  in  the  Chad- 
ron High  School,  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

Five  branches  were  organized  in  the  county 
with  chairmen  as  follows :  Marsland,  Bert 
Furnam ;  Craig,  Mrs.  Harry  Bartlett ;  Way- 
side. Mrs.  F.  S.  Baird  ;  Antelope,  Harry  Clark  ; 
Esther,  Mrs.  Frank  Wolvington. 

During  the  first  war  drive  a  large  sum  was 
raised  by  the  chapter ;  in  charge  of  J.  Kass  and 
others. 

At  the  second  War  drive,  $13033.65;  in 
charge  of  Wm.  P.  Rooney  and  others. 

March  26.  1918,  five  boxes,  gross  weight 
882  lbs.,  of  clothing  much  of  it  new,  and  sup- 
plies were  sent  from  the  Dawes  County  Chap- 
ter at  Chadron  to  the  Commission  for  Relief 
in  Belgium. 

The  following  is  the  first  annual  report  of 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


577 


supplies  sent  for  year  ending  June  1,  1918: 
Abdominal  bandages,  145;  Soultetus,  38; 
Gauze  dressings,  18242 ;  Gauze  compresses 
(8x4),  101 ;  Muslin  bandages,  542;  Bed  shirts, 
145;  Helpless  case  shirts,  38;  Bed  socks,  101; 
Undershirts,  35;  Handkerchiefs,  190;  Pajamas 
(winter),  345.  Refugee  Garments:  Drawers 
(girls),  35;  Layettes,  1;  Petticoats,  30;  Pina- 
fores, 50;  Underdrawers  (boys),  6;  Under- 
shirts, 6;  Quilts,  2;  Crib  quilts,  42.  For 
Soldiers:  Comfort  bags,  84;  Helmets,  168; 
Mufflers.  73;  Pairs  socks,  303;  Sweaters,  389; 
Pairs  wristlets,  175. 

For  1917,  Christmas,  180  packages  were 
made  and  sent  to  the  Omaha  headquarters. 
Mrs.  Vet  Canfield  was  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee that  prepared  these  packages. 

Mrs.  Sands  having  moved  to  Iowa,  Mrs.  O. 
J.  Schweiger  was  appointed  chairman  of  the 
Membership  Committee. 

Dr.  McDowell  gave  First  Aid  courses  in 
Red  Cross  instruction  to  classes  during  the  fall 
and  winter.  Forty  women  have  received  Na- 
tional Red  Cross  Certificates  for  having  com- 
pleted the  course. 

The  Canteen  Committee,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Mrs.  Cleghorn,  gave  to  every  soldier 
passing  through  Chadron,  on  the  troop  trains, 
hot  coffee,  sandwiches,  gingerbread,  dough- 
nuts, etc. 

Magazines  and  books  were  distributed  on 
all  troop  trains  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  O'Linn 
Smith,  War  Service  Librarian,  and  her  com- 
mittee. 

On  request  from  the  Omaha  headquarters,  a 
committee  of  instructors  from  the  surgical 
dressing  department  (consisting  of  Mrs.  O.  L. 
Eason,  Mrs.  Bert  Richert,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
O'Linn  Smith  and  Mrs.  Ward  Mclntyre)  went 
to  Gordon,  Sheridan  County,  Nebraska,  and 
gave  instructions  to  classes  there. 

Work  rooms  in  the  Masonic  Temple  were 
open  six  days  a  week,  during  the  fall  and  win- 
ter days,  and  two  evenings  in  the  week,  for 
those  who  could  not  attend  during  the  days  ;  all 
during  the  time  quotas  to  the  chapter'  were 
large. 

The  first  year  the  Dawes  County  Chapter 
held  one  regular  business  meeting  each  month 
and  six  special  meetings,  all  of  which  were 
duly  announced  in  the  county  papers  and  all 
members  invited  to  be  present. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  year's  work,  Chadron 
had  an  enrollment  of  2036,  a  large  number  be- 
ing obtained  at  the  Christmas,  1917,  drive  in 
charge  of  E.  E.  Hays,  Principal  Chadron  High 
School,  and  with  the  members  added  of  the 
branches,  gave  4040,  being  75  per  cent  of  the 
adult  population  of  Dawes  county. 


The  Junior  Red  Cross  was  organized  in 
every  school  district  in  the  county  under  the 
direction  of  Mrs.  Bartlett,  chairman,  and  Miss 
Edna  Rincker,  County  Superintendent  of 
Schools. 

At  neither  of  the  drives  was  a  request  made 
for  the  25  per  cent  which  might  have  been  re- 
turned for  home  use,  as  the  Finance  Commit- 
tee always  had  the  cash  provided  ahead  for  use. 
All  of  the  departments  went  "Over  the  Top" 
for  every  request  from  National  and  State 
headquarters.  Many  letters  of  thanks  were 
received  for  the  same  and  also  letters  from 
the  state  inspectors  of  work,  as  to  the  quality 
sent  and  all  accepted. 

Officers  elected  for  second  year,  beginning 
June  1,  1918,  were:  O.  S.  Renfro,  chairman; 
Mrs.  J.  Leppla,  vice-chairman;  Mrs.  Edward 
Birdsall,  secretary ;  Wm.  Mclntyre,  treasurer. 

O.  S.  Renfro  resigned  and  R.  G.  Easley  was 
appointed  in  his  place.  Mr.  J.  Leppla  moved 
from  Chadron  soon  after  election  and  Mrs.  C. 
L.  Eason  appointed  vice  chairman.  Wm.  Mc- 
lntyre moved  from  Chadron  and  Edward  Bird- 
sall was  given  his  office. 

The  above  and  foregoing  report  approved 
by  me,  this  10th  day  of  May,  1919. 

(  Signed)  Robert  G.  Easley, 
Chairman  Dawes  County  Chapter. 

No  report  has  yet  been  made  on  the  second 
year's  work  of  Chadron  Chapter. 

On  June  14,  1918,  a  new  Dawes  County 
Chapter  was  organized  at  the  County  Court 
House  at  Chadron,  by  representatives  from 
various  branches  of  the  county  and  the  orig- 
inal Dawes  County  Chapter  was  renamed  the 
Chadron  Branch  of  Dawes  County  Chapter. 

Officers  were  elected  as  follows:  William 
Mclntyre,  Chadron,  chairman;  Thomas  L. 
Holding,  Whitney,  vice-chairman;  Gertrude 
Girman,  Chadron,  secretary;  M.  G.  Eastman, 
Crawford,  treasurer. 

William  Mclntyre  left  Dawes  county  and  no 
record  has  been  made  of  any  action  taken  by 
this  chapter. 

Crawford,  Dawes  Countv,  Nebraska. 

The  books  were  audited  April  29,  1918,  and 
a  Chapter  of  the  American  Red  Cross  was 
formed,  with  the  following  officers :  Chair- 
man, W.  O.  Barnes;  Vice-Chairman,  Mrs.  L. 
A.  Howe:  Treasurer,  Clyde  Hornsby;  Secre- 
tary, Edith  Houston.  Said  local  Chapter  lie- 
came  a  branch  of  the  Dawes  Countv  Chapter, 
June  14,  1918. 

The  Whitney  and  Belmont  Chapters  which 
had  been  working  with  us,  then  became  subor- 
dinate to  the  county. 

The  following  chairmen  were  elected  :  Sur- 
gical  dressings,   Mrs.    R.    L    Irwin;   Hospital 


HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NEBRASKA 


garments,  Mrs.  L.  Lease ;  Membership,  Mrs. 
C.  F.  Triplett;  Knitted  garments.  Mrs.  M.  L. 
Birney ;  Refugee  clothing,  Mrs.  Flora  Abbott, 
under  whose  management  the  work  advanced 
rapidlv  with  the  following  shipments :  April 
30,  1918,  1025  surgical  Wipes,  4x4 ;  675  com- 
presses, 8x4;  330  compresses,  9x9.  June  5, 
1918,  newly  knitted  27  sweaters ;  1  helmet ;  32 
pairs  socks;  5  pairs  wristlets.  October  11, 
1918,  14  helmets ;  7  pairs  wristlets.  August 
26,  1918,  35  pairs  pajamas ;  70  bed  shirts ;  30 
sweaters  ;  20  pairs  socks. 

September  30,  1918,  14  cases  Belgian  gar- 
ments were  sent,  consisting  of  ladies  winter 
suits  and  coats,  men  and  boys  clothes,  women 
and  girls  clothes,  box  new  shoes,  infants  and 
children's  clothes,  20  new  suits  for  ladies  and 
children,  fur  scarfs,  ladies  and  children  clothes, 
shoes  and  caps. 

October  26,  1918,  surgical  dressings.  300 
large  sponges. 

October  30.  1918.  200  absorbent  pads,  8x12. 

November  21,  1918,  surgical  dressings,  675 
small  sponges,  200  sponges,  4x4,  14  triangular 
bandages,  18  gauze  rolls  (5  yds.),  475  sterile 
dressing  pads,  8x4,  220  compresses,  9x9.  229 
gauze  strips  folded,  170  triangular  bandages, 
65  abdominal  bandages. 

November  26,  1918,  48  sweaters. 

November  1,  1918,  30  filled  comfort  bags. 

January  8,  1919,  30  chemise,  52  pinafores, 
64  undershirts. 

March  7,  1919,  Belgian  relief  garment  box: 
shoes,  babies'  clothing,  ladies'  waists,  under- 
wear, boys'  overcoats,  men's  trousers,  men's 
new  suits.  In  first  box  children's  coats,  fur 
cap,  ladies'  coats,  skirts,  dresses,  sweaters, 
socks,  scarfs,  vests,  men's  new  suits. 

Second  box,  January  15,  1919:  100  hand- 
kerchiefs, 30  pinafores,  400  outing  flannel 
petticoats. 

February  27,  1919,  refugee  garments.  50 
black  pinafores. 

The  annual  election  took  place  October  8, 
1918,  with  the  following  results : 


Chairman,  E.  B.  Fritts  ;  Secretary,  Mrs.  C.  G. 
Abbott ;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  Clyde  Hornsby. 

Committee  of  Directors :  Mesdames  W.  B. 
Munson,  Bess  Chapman,  S.  M.  Knapp  and 
Messrs.  W.  O.  Barnes,  W.  F.  Starnes.  R.  N. 
Henry,  W.  O'Weefe. 

Committee  Chairmen :  Surgical  dressing. 
Mrs.  Wm.  Smeak;  Hospital  garments,  Mrs.  B. 
F.  Richards ;  Civilian  relief,  Miss  Henry ; 
Membership,  Mrs.  W.  B.  Morrison;  Supply, 
Mrs.  Homer  Sherrill ;  Refugee  garments.  Mrs. 
Flora  Abbott ;  Finance,  Mrs.  H.  Linderman ; 
Nut  shell,  Mrs.  W.  B.  Morrison ;  Spanish 
"Flu",  Mrs.  R.  N.  Henry;  Nurserv  activities, 
Mrs.  W.  T.  Forbes;  Brassards.  Mrs.  A.  G. 
Jones. 

The  continual  success  of  the  work  was  due 
to  the  zeal  of  the  chairmen  and  the  response  by 
the  public  of  Crawford  and  vicinity. 

January  13,  1919,  the  local  chapter  remitted 
$500.00  to  the  National  organization. 

Drives     August  2,  1917 $2,709.49 

2nd        May,  1918 3,317.00 

January,  1918,  remittance  for  Christ- 
mas drive  membership $1,205.00 

January,    1918,    Christmas    roll    call 

drive  500.00 

December,  1917,  Christmas  packages 

—  60 75.00 

November  26,    1918,    for  state  base 

hospital   50.00 

The  Annual  Roll  Call  for  Membership  is  be- 
ing conducted  in  this  county  the  same  as  the 
other  local  communities,  under  the  directions 
sent  out  from  Central  Division. 

This  Dawes  County  Red  Cross  Chapter  is 
being  continued  under  the  direction  of : 

C.  W.  Mitchell,  chairman,  Chadron,  Neb. ;  E. 
B.  Fritts,  vice-chairman,  Crawford,  Neb. ;  Cecil 
W.  Lyon,  treasurer,  Crawford,  Neb. ;  Mrs.  M. 
E.  Gordon,  secretary,  Chadron,  Neb. ;  Miss 
fulia  E.  Rucker,  executive  secretarv,  Chadron, 
Neb. 


1481 


m