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ALLEN  COUNTY  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


3  1833  01751  4545 

GENEALOGY 
978.2 
N2642 
1922 


NEBRASKA 

AND    RECORD    OF 


MI5TORV 


♦  Vol.  V. 


January-March  1922 


No.  1 


CONTENTS 

Editorial  Notes 1 

Memoirs  of  Peter  Jansen 2 

Letter  from  George  Bird  Grinnell  ...         3 

Mormons  on  the  Niobrara — Ed  A.  Fry  .         .     4-6 

The  First  Brick  in  Lincoln — A.  Roberts      .         .        6-9 

A  Letter  From  General  Henry  A.  Atkinson  on 

the  Nebraska  Region        ....        9-11 

Early  Black  Hills  Expeditions        ....       12 

Early  Recollections   of  Nebraska  Granges — 

T.  N.  Bobbitt 13-14 

Nebraska  in  1852 14-15 

Beginnings  of  Minden 16 


PUBLISHED    QUARTERLY    BY   THE   NEBRASKA    STATE 

HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

LINCOLN 


Entered  as  second  class  matter  February  4,  1918,  at  the  Post  Office, 
Lincoln,  Nebraska,  under  Act  Augrust  24,  1912, 


Allen  County  PuDiic  Ubfa» 
900  Webster  Straet 
PO  Box  2270 
Fort  Wiyne,  IN  4Wl4m 


THE  NEBRASKA  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 
Founded  September  25,  1878 

The  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society  was  founded  Sep- 
tember 25,  1878,  at  a  public  meeting  held  in  the  Commercial 
Hotel  at  Lincoln.  About  thirty  well  known  citizens  of  the 
State  were  present.  Robert  W.  Furnas  was  chosen  president 
and  Professor  Samuel  Aughey,  secretary.  Previous  to  this  date, 
on  August  26,  1867,  the  State  Historical  Society  and  Library 
Association  was  incoiporated  in  order  to  receive  from  the  State 
the  gift  of  the  block  of  ground,  now  known  as  Haymarket 
Square.  This  original  Historical  Association  held  no  meet- 
ings. It  was  superseded  by  the  present  State  Historical 
Society. 

Present  Governing  Board 

Executive  Board — Officers  and  Elected  Members 

President,  Robert  Harvey,  Lincoln. 

1st  V-President,  Hamilton  B,  Lowry,  Lincoln 

2nd  V-President,  Nathan  P.  Dodge  Jr.,  Omaha 

Secretary,  Addison  E.  Sheldon,  Lincoln 

Treasurer,  Philip  L.  Hall,  Lincoln 

Rev.  Macheal  A.  Shine,  Plattsmouth 

Don  L.  Love,  Lincoln 

Samuel  C.  Bassett,  Gibbon 

John  F.  Cordeal,  McCook 

Novia  Z.  Snell,  Lincoln 

William  E.  Hardy,  Lincoln 

Ex  OflFicio  Members 

Samuel  R.  McKelvie,  Governor  of  Nebraska 

Samuel  Avery,  Chancellor  of  University  of  Nebraska 

George  C.  Snow,  Chadron,  President  of  Nebraska  Press  Association 

Howard  W.  Caldwell,  Professor  of  American  History,  University  of 

Nebraska 
Andrew  M.  Morrissey,  Chief  Justice  of  Supreme  Court  of  Nebraska 
Clarence  A.  Davis,  Attorney  General  cf  Nebraska 


NEBRASKA  (^i.HI5TORV 

AND  RECORD  OF  ,  ,/\n^^\yimmk  i^ioneer    dj^^s 


'r 


a 


Published    Quarterly   by   the    Nebraska    State    Historical    Soceity 


Addison  E.  Sheldon,  Editor 


Subscription,  $2.00  per  year 


All  sustaining  members  of  the     Nebraska     State     Historical     Society     receive 
Nebra,ska  History  and  other  publications  without  further  payment. 


Vol.  V.  January-March  1922  No.  1 


Miss  Ruth  A.  Gallaher  writes  a  ,good  account  of  the  Mormon  hand- 
cart expeditions  in  1856,  some  of  which  outfitted  at  Iowa  City,  in  the  Pa- 
limpsest, published  by  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa.  One  of  these 
expeditions  left  Florence,  Nebraska,  August  18  of  that  year  and  passed 
beyond  Fort  Laramie  in  September.  It  was  overtaken  by  snow  storms 
and  many  of  its  number  perished  from  cold  and  hunger  before  the  main 
body  reached  Salt  Lake  City  in  November.  Most  of  the  members  were 
immigrants  from  Europe.  Men,  women,  and  children  pushed  handcarts 
and  walked  from  the  Missouri  river  to  Salt  Lake.  Miss  Galleher  says 
that  the  deaths  in  1856  handcart  columns  led  to  acrimonious  corres- 
pondence between  Mormon  leaders  and  discontinuance  of  handcart  par- 
ties. Handcart  Mormon  expeditions  were,  however,  still  walking  to  Zion 
on  the  Nebraska  City-Fort  Kearny  trail  in  the  late  sixties  before  the 
completion  of  the  Union  Pacific  to  the  Salt  Lake.  There  are  persons 
living  in  Nebraska  who  remember  these  handcart  and  wheelbarrow  con- 
panies. 


Among  the  interesting  souvenirs  of  early  times  in  Furnas  c.unty  is 
one  received  from  the  dau,ghter  of  William  Sweeney,  of  Arapahoe.  This 
read  thus: 

August  25,  1874.  The  bearer  Mr.  T.  G.  Brown  is  empowered  to  col- 
lect from  William  Sweeney  the  sum  of  six  dollars  ($6.00)  being  money 
due  me  for  use  of  cattle  six  days.  John  W.  Gillmore.  *  *  *  p^jji 
this  bill  with  four  dollars  ($4.00)  Tuesday,  November  24  to  T.  G.  Brown 
at  drug  store.     William  Sweeney. 

It  would  appear  that  the  service  of  a  yoke  of  cattle  was  valued  by 
the  owner  at  one  dollar  a  day,  but  he  compromised  at  four  dollars  for 
six  days.  This  receipt  is  wi-itten  upon  a  narrow  sheet  of  note  paper 
bearing  a  map  in  the  upper  left-hand  corner  showing  Arapahoe  as  a 
great  railroad  center  with  lines  of  road  reaching  out  in  every  direction. 


2  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

MEMOIRS  OF  PETER  JANSEN 

Hon.  Peter  Jansen  was  bo}-n  March  21,  1852,  at  the  town 
of  Berdjansk,  on  the  shore  of  the  sea  of  Azof  in  southeastern 
Russia.  He  came  to  Nebraska  in  1874.  He  is  still  among  us 
and  publishes  a  volume  of  140  pages  entitled  "Memoirs  of  Pe- 
ter Jansen."  The  reader  wishes  the  book  were  longer.  It  is 
one  of  a  number  of  books  now  being  published  by  the  pioneers 
of  Nebraska,  each  one  telling  the  story  of  the  early  days  in  a 
personal,  vivid,  interesting  and  truthful  way. 

Senator  Jansen's  sketch  of  his  life  has  far  more  than  the 
usual  interest  because  it  tells  the  story  of  the  great  "Mennon- 
ite  migration"  which  filled  vast  areas  of  Nebraska  prairies  in 
Jefferson,  Gage,  Clay,  Hamilton  and  York  counties  in  the  de- 
cade of  1870-80.  It  is  time,  even  now,  to  do  honor  and  give 
credit  to  those  people  in  the  settlement  of  our  State.  They 
bi-ought  to  Nebraska  a  perfectly  disciplined,  religious,  frugal, 
hard  working  people.  Almost  without  a  single  exception  they 
made  a  success  of  their  settlements  and  of  each  individual 
home  in  them. 

How  queer  and  clannish  they  appeared  to  the  eyes  of  the 
original  American  stock.  Boyhood  recollections  of  the  writer 
emphasize  this.  The  Mennonite  houses,  built  of  sod  with  a 
huge  brick  stove  nearly  filling  one  of  the  rooms,  burning  straw 
for  fuel  and  used  as  a  general  bedstead  for  the  family  on  cold 
winter  nights.  The  housing  of  live  stock  in  a  section  of  the 
family  home.     The  cut  of  the  clothes.     And  all  that. 

The  old  American  stock  was  inclined  to  scoff  at  these 
queer  people  from  Russia,  speaking  German,  sticking  close  to- 
gether and  finding  in  the  old  fashioned  religion  of  their  de- 
nomination most  of  their  culture  as  well  as  consolation.  They 
certainly  taught  Nebraska  some  good  lessons.  First  of  all 
they  brought  Turkey  red  winter  wheat  from  southeastern 
Russia.  They  brought  that  splendid  hedge  tree,  fruit  tree 
and  bird  shelter — the  Russian  mulberry.  They  brought  stead- 
iness and  devotion  and  showed  how  homes  could  be  made  upon 
the  high  prairies  of  central  Nebraska.  They  brought  also  a 
deep,  even  if  at  times,  irrational,  belief  and  practice  in  peace 
doctrines,  for  they  were  Quakers.  They  had  left  Prussia  a 
hundred  years  before  to  avoid  military  service.  They  had  set- 
tled in  southern  Russia  with  solemn  guaranty  of  exemption 
from  that  service.  When  the  Czar  broke  the  contract  and  be- 
gan to  marshal  all  his  subjects  for  the  great  w^ar  preparation 
in  Europe  which  followed  the  Franco-Prussian  w^ar  of  1870, 
these  people  left  the  fruitful  farms  they  had  made  and  came 
to  Nebraska. 

Looking  back  upon  their  almost  fifty  years  of  settlement 
in  this  state  it  can  be  said  that  they  have  proven  themselves 
one  of  the  most  valuable  of  many  valuable  elements  in  our 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  3 

population.  It  is  time  for  those  of  us  having  the  old  American 
stock  in  our  blood  to  say  this  now  while  some  of  the  pioneer 
Mennonites  are  still  among  us.  It  will  be  said  by  all,  and  es- 
pecially by  the  future  Nebraska  historians  in  a  century  from 
now. 

Senator  Peter  Jansen  has  not  only  given  the  people  of  his 
time  a  book  of  current  interest,  but  has  made  a  document 
which  will  be  valued  by  the  historian  of  the  future  as  one  of 
the  most  important  contributions  to  the  history  of  pioneer  Ne- 
braska.   

LETTER  FROM  GEORGE  BIRD  GRINNELL 

Many  thanks  for  the  copy  of  Dr.  Koenig's  Study  of  Tu- 
berculosis Among  the  Nebraska  Winnebago.  The  conditions 
which  she  pictures  are  shocking,  but  not  new.  In  many  tribes 
they  have  been  noticed  for  years,  though  not  described  in  de- 
tail as  by  Dr.  Koenig.  Her  paper  is  most  interesting  and  it 
is  useful  to  have  the  matter  again  brought  up  now  and  in  such 
form  as  to  reach  a  new  public. 

The  Indians  are  wholly  ignorant  of  sanitation,  of  the 
communicability  of  tuberculosis,  and  of  the  dangers  which  fol- 
low the  recent  changes  in  mode  of  life.  But  perhaps  the  most 
fatal  thing  that  the  Indians  have  had  to  face  is  the  absolute 
lack  of  an  interest.  In  the  old  times  the  constant  search  for 
food,  the  excitements  of  the  war  path,  the  moving  about  from 
place  to  place,  kept  them  interested  and  busy.  These  occupa- 
tions have  all  disappeared ;  and  where  people  are  in  receipt  of 
some  small  income  that  will  just  support  them,  and  so  have  no 
motive  whatever  for  exertion,  they  are  without  any  active  in- 
terest in  their  lives. 

What  the  outcome  shall  be  of  the  difficulties  the  race  is 
meeting,  we  cannot  now  tell ;  but  to  view  the  largely  prevent- 
able suffering  among  many  tribes  of  Indians,  is  discouraging 
and  painful. 

Dr.  Koenig  has  done  a  useful  piece  of  work  in  bringing  to- 
gether her  observations  about  this  particular  tribe.  I  am  es- 
pecially glad  that  she  has  made  inquiry  into  the  use  of  peyote, 
and  has  published  what  she  has  learned.  This  testimony  ought 
to  be  of  some  help  in  securing  legislation  by  Congress  against 
the  transportation  of  this  drug,  the  use  of  which  I  have  always 
believed  is  enormously  harmful. 

I  congratulate  Dr.  Koenig  on  her  paper,  and  the  Nebras- 
ka Historical  Society  on  its  energy  in  publishing  this. 


D.  C.  Young,  rural  route  1,  Plattsmouth,  writes: 

Please  send  a  few  extra  copies  of  Nebraska  History  from  July  to 
December,  1921.  I  want  to  send  some  of  them  to  a  son  of  Robert  Stafford, 
mentioned  as  an  early  settler  of  Rock  Bluff.  I  am  acquainted  with  two 
men  here  that  took  part  in  some  of  the  Indian  fighting  of  the  60's.  I 
will  try  to  get  some  data  of  them.  I  will  send  you  the  picture  of  my 
father's  log  house  that  was  built  in  1855,  a  part  of  which  is  still  standing. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY 


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XA^  'K<i>J\^T*V<^^     K<i>4U1*\'^HT,:--ifit^xf^\Cif^tX^^ 

THE  MORMON  WINTER  CAMP  ON  THE  NIOBRARA. 

In  the  October-December  (1921)  number  of  the  Nebraska  History 
Magazine,  I  note  the  wish  of  Hon.  George  F.  Smith,  of  Waterbury,  Dix- 
on County,  that  a  marker  might  be  placed  somewhere  on  tlie  Old  Mormon 
Trail  that  passes  from  Florence  to  Niobrara.  As  little  seems  to  be  known 
of  the  Mormons  in  this  state  and  why  they  should  have  selected  the 
mouth  of  the  Niobrara  for  winter  quarters  on  their  way  to  their  prom- 
ised land,  perhaps  I  am  in  as  good  a  position  to  reveal  the  facts  as 
anybody. 

The  first  white  people,  in  any  considerable  number,  to  stop  in  the 
old  L'Eau  qui  Court  (Rapid  river  or  Niobrara)  county  were  the  Mor- 
rnons.  The  party  comprised  sixty-five  families  with  one  hundred  and 
fifty  wagons.  It  was  the  pioneer  train  to  the  land  of  promise,  and  it 
was  at  this  point  (or  rather  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Niobrara  river  op- 
posite the  town  of  Niobrara)  that  they  spent  the  winter  of  1846-7. 

Until  1901  it  was  believed  by  the  founders  of  Niobrara,  because  of 
the_  numerous  graves  found  in  that  vicinity,  that  these  Mormons  had 
perished  at  the  hands  of  the  red  men,  and  their  coming  and  their  going 
was  shrouded  in  mysteiy.  In  June,  1901,  Isaad  and  John  Riddle,  the 
former  from  Provo,  Utah,  the  latter  from  Crete,  Nebraska,  visited  Nio- 
brara for  the  purpose  of  locating  these  landmarks  and  two  mill  burrs  that 
had  been  left  here  by  them  in  their  departture. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  5 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  have  an  extended  interview  with  these 
Mormons.  Isaac,  at  the  time  of  the  Mormon  camp  here  in  1847,  was  six- 
teen, and  his  return  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  straighten  out  history, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  Captain  North  will,  if  he  has  not  already  done  so, 
locate  "Pawnee  Station,"  the  first  stop. 

Mr.  Riddle  said  that  in  their  start  from  Kanesville,  Iowa,  in  July, 
1846,  they  made  the  first  wagon  wheel  mark  up  the  Platte  Valley. 
While  in  camp  at  Pawnee  Station  (presumably  near  Columbus  or  Genoa), 
where  soldiers  were  stationed,  they  contracted  with  the  government  to 
harvest  a  crop  of  small  grain  and  corn  which  had  been  put  in  by  la- 
borers, but  who,  becoming  frightened  by  the  Pawnees,  had  fled.  While 
thus  engaged  in  the  close  of  the  harvest  a  courier  from  Kanesville  ar- 
rived with  orders  not  to  proceed  farther,  as  it  was  feared  they  could  not 
reach  their  destination  before  winter  set  in,  and  they  should  seek  winter 
quarters. 

It  was  found  that  prairie  fires  had  devastated  the  country  west  of 
Laramie  and  thereabouts.  A  band  of  Ponca  Indians  chanced  to  be  vis- 
iting the  Pawnees  at  the  time,  who,  upon  inquiry,  reported  that  excel- 
lent winter  quarters  could  be  found  at  the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara  river, 
and  they  volunteered  to  pilot  them.  Mr.  Riddle  said  that  his  party  had 
with  them  a  small  cajinon  which  much  attracted  their  attention  and  he 
thought  that  this  was  one  reason  for  their  solicitation,  since  the  Sioux 
always  annoyed  the  Poncas. 

The  Ponca  had  truly  led  them  into  a  country  of  verdure — plenty  of 
feed  and  timber  and  game.  The  young  men  of  the  party  frequently  ac- 
companied the  Indians  in  their  winter  hunts  up  the  Niobrara  Valley, 
''going  where  the  pine  timber  was  quite  heavy."  The  timber  stretches 
were  abundant  with  wild  turkeys  and  the  prairies  alive  with  buffalo. 
''Where  your  town  now  stands,"  (Niobrara),  said  the  aged  patriarch, 
"there  were  Indian  camps  from  the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara  to  Five  Mile 
(Bazile)   Creek." 

During  the  winter  of  1846-7  Newell  Knight,  a  millwright,  chiseled 
from  granite  boulders  found  in  the  neighboring  hillsides,  two  mill-burrs, 
with  which  they  had  intended  to  grind  their  grain  by  horse-power. 

Mr.  Knight  and  sixteen  others,  principally  women  and  children,  suc- 
cumbed to  pnevimonia.  The  mission  of  the  Riddles  was  to  locate  these 
graves  for  Jesse  Knight,  the  Utah  capitalist,  whose  father's  remains  lie 
here,  that  an  appropriate  monument  might  be  erected  in  memory  of  that 
winter's  sojourn.  The  graves  had  become  extinct,  but  ashes  from  fire- 
places in  the  barracks  were  found. 

In  the  spring  of  1907  Jesse  Knight,  two  daughters,  and  elder  brother, 
the  president  of  the  Mormon  University,  and  J.  W.  Townsend,  of  Crete, 
Nebraska,  who  also  accompanied  the  Riddles  in  1901,  made  final  arrange- 
ments for  the  ground  on  which  the  present  impressive  granite  shaft, 
surrounded  by  an  iron  fence,  faces  the  public  highway,  telling  its  own 
short  story  thus: 

Erected  1908 

NEWELL   KNIGHT 

Born  Sept.  13,  1800,  Died  Jan.  11,  1847 

A  Member  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 

Latter  Day  Saints. 


Father 
Who  died  during  the  hardships  of  our  exodus  from  Nauvoo  to  Salt 
Lake  City.     "Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  righteousness 
sake,  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 

Matt.  V  ch.,  10  vs. 


6  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

Others  Who  Died  at  Ponca  in  the  Years  1846-7: 
Mr.  Cava! 
Mrs.  Caval 
Lucy  Brunson 
Ann  Boyce 
Mrs.  Rufus  Tack 
Mrs.  Spicer  Crandall 
Mrs.  Newell  Drake 
Mrs.  Dame 
Gardurout  Noble 
Benjamin  F.  Mayer 

In  the  spring  of  1847  these  Mormons  were  called  back  to  Florence 
by  Kanesville  church  heads,  returning  by  the  Bazile  Valley  and  over  to 
the  Logan  Valley.  A  new  start  was  made  the  spring  following.  This 
route  was  selected,  Mr.  Riddle  explained,  because  of  the  heavy  rains 
and  consequent  impassable  condition  of  the  Platte  Valley.  By  taking 
the  old  trail  via  Watei'bury  and  the  head  of  the  Bazile,  they  were  enabled 
to  head  the  Elkhorn  that  they  might  reach  Laramie.  The  main  business 
street  of  Creighton,  Nebraska,  is  on  the  Old  Mormon  Trail. 

EDWIN   A.   FRY. 

These  burrs  were  in  existence  when  the  first  permanent  white  set- 
tlers came  to  Niobrara  and  were  used  in  a  small  mill  on  the  Red  Bird, 
but  no  trace  of  them  could  be  found  when  the  Riddles  and  the  Knights 
were  here,  nor  since.  It  was  supposed  that  the  west  channel  that  forms 
Niobrara  Island  Park  had  been  used  for  power,  and  to  this  day  that 
channel  is  designated  as  "the  Mormon  canal,"  but  this  was  not  the  case, 
as  these  authorities  advised  me  when  inquiry  was  made. 


FROM  A  YOUNG  OCTOGENARIAN  PIONEER 

I  think  the  following  letter  fully  fits  the  title. 

Mr.  Roberts'  statement  that  all  of  the  bricks  for  the  first 
university  building  were  made  in  Nebraska  City  seems  to  be 
incorrect.  "A  Complete  History"  of  Its  (Lincoln's)  Foundation 

and  Growth ,"  by  John  H.  Ames,  printed  in  June  1870, 

hundred  and  foi*ty  thousand  bricks  are  now  on  hand,  and  the 
brick-yard  is  furnished  with  one  thousand  cords  of  wood  and 
two  improved  brick  machines  capable  of  moulding  28,000 
bricks  per  day,  with  which  brick  may  be  made  as  fast  as  need- 
ed in  the  construction  of  the  building.  A  sufficient  amount  of 
sand  and  lime  is  also  on  hand  for  the  completion  of  the  work, 
which  is  to  be  commenced  on  the  walls  during  the  present 

week "    This  statement  by  Mr.  Ames  deserves  credence. 

Furthermore,  under  date  of  June  22,  1870,  David  Butler,  gov- 
ernor ;  John  Gillespie,  auditor ;  and  Thomas  P.  Kennard,  secre- 
tary of  state,  as  "Commissioners  of  Public  Buildings  of  the 
State  of  Nebraska,"  certify  the  correctness  of  the  history. 

Thomas  Malloy,  a  stonecutter  from  Chicago  who  was  em- 
ployed in  the  construction  of  the  first  capitol  in  Lincoln,  in  a 
short  history  of  that  entei-prise  referred  incidentally  to  the 
construction  of  the  university  building,  as  follows:  *Tn  1868 
Mr.  Robert  Silvers  got  the  contract  of  building  the  State  Uni- 
versity.   The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  start  a  brick  yard.    He 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  7 

bought  all  the  wood  he  could  find  in  the  country  and  had  to 
haul  it  with  teams  as  there  was  no  railroad  in  the  country  at 
that  time." 

The  contract  for  the  erection  of  the  university  building 
was  dated  August  18,  1869.  D.  J.  Silver  and  Son  were  the  con- 
tracting builders.  The  son,  Robert  D.,  was  the  actual  builder. 
This  scandalous  agreement  with  David  Butler,  on  the  part  of 
the  state,  was  the  gist  of  articles  of  the  impeachment  proceed- 
ings against  the  governor. 

Mr.  James  Stuart  Dales,  who  has  been  secretary  of  the 
board  of  regents  of  the  university  since  December  1,  1875, 
says  that  some  bricks,  made  in  Nebraska  City,  were  used  for 
facing  the  walls  of  the  building. 

Dade  City,  Florida,  March  23,  1922. 
Mr.  Albert  Watkins, 
Lincoln,  Nebraska. 
Dear  Sir: 

Yours  of  the  20th  instant  received.  It  seems  odd  to  be 
called  upon  to  recite,  as  if  it  were  ancient  history,  some  facts 
that  seem  to  me  very  recent.  It  may  be  true  that  I  am_  get- 
ting old  but  where  are  the  scores  of  younger  men  who  knew 
as  well  as  I  or  better  all  about  the  building  of  the  first  or  Ad- 
ministration building  of  the  State  University.  I  arrived  in 
Lincoln,  February  20th,  1870,  and  on  the  22nd  there  was  an 
adjournment  of  the  state  legislature  and  all  went  out  to  view 
the  site  of  the  penitentiary  which  had  just  been  located.  It 
was  a  fine  warm  day  and  I  and  two  friends  were  lying  on  the 
grass  southwest  of  the  capitol  when  we  saw  a  cloud  of  dust 
and  teams  coming  from  the  south.  It  was  the  legislators  and 
citizens  coming  back  from  the  Penitentiary  site.  They  were  in 
open  lumber  wagons  mostly.  (There  was  only  one  two-seated 
carriage  in  town  at  the  time,  that  of  Governor  Butler ) ,  and  all 
were  engaged  in  a  wild  race  whipping  the  horses  and  yelling 
like  Comanches.  That  was  my  introduction  to  official  Nebras- 
ka.   But  I  am  not  answering  your  questions. 

The  brick  for  the  University  building  came  from  Nebras- 
ka City.  Part  of  them  were  on  the  ground  when  I  came  and 
the  walls  of  the  basement  were  more  than  half  completed.  The 
bricks  were  laid  in  that  year  1870  and  at  that  time  no  bricks 
had  been  made  at  Lincoln  except  one  or  two  small  kilns  burn- 
ed by  Luke  Lavender.  L.  K.  Holmes  began  burning  brick  in 
1879  and  that  fall  or  the  next  spring  Moore  &  Krone  began 
burning  brick.  They  had  the  contract  for  the  High  School 
building  and  burned  their  own  brick.  That  was  in  1872.  I  do 
not  know  who  hauled  the  brick  for  the  University  or  whether 
Nebraska  City  helped  pay  for  hauling,  but  presume  not.  John 
M.  Burks,  if  still  alive,  should  know  something  about  the  mat- 


8  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

ter  but  Nebraska  City  was  not  enthusiastically  friendly  to 
Lincoln  in  1870. 

It  so  happened  that  I  had  just  made  a  call  upon  Mr.  Silver 
the  day  his  men  fell  through  and  two  were  killed.  They  were 
putting  on  the  ceiling  joists  over  the  chapel  and  the  roof 
trusses  were  not  completed,  only  the  stringers,  or  tie  beams, 
were  laid  across  and  held  up  by  shores  of  2  x  4  pieces  spiked 
together — 30  feet  long — and  these  swayed  fearfully  as  the 
men  walked  carrying  the  joists.  I  called  Mr.  Silver's  atten- 
tion to  this  saying  it  was  certainly  dangerous  but  he  only  said, 
"Waite  is  running  that  and  he  knows  his  business."  JBefore 
i-eaching  home  I  heard  the  crash  and  looking  back  saw  the  dust 
rising  and  knew  what  had  happened. 

It  was  during  the  term  of  Gov.  James  that  the  founda- 
tion of  the  University  building  was  repaired.  Prof.  Aughey 
first  called  my  attention  to  the  matter  and  after  looking  it 
over  I  called  upon  the  governor  and  at  my  request  he  went 
with  me  to  look  it  over.  The  walls  of  the  chapel  wing  were 
in  the  worst  condition  and  we  entered  this  part  through  a 
window  where  the  sash  had  been  removed  and  a  plank 
from  the  sill  to  ground  inside  furnished  easy  access.  The 
walls  were  built  with  rather  thin  ashlar  courses  17  feet  high 
on  the  outside,  backed  with  very  poor  rubble  work  inside,  and 
not  being  properly  bonded  they  were  parting  company.  I 
picked  up  a  barrel  hoop  and  passed  it  through  the  center  of 
a  pier  from  one  window  to  another,  and  I  will  never  forget 
how  frightened  the  governor  was.  Shouting  Hold!  Hold!  'till 
I  get  out  he  jumped  through  that  window  like  a  rabbit.  At 
call  of  the  governor  the  regents  met  and  let  a  contract  to  John 
McFarland  of  Nebraska  City  to  put  new  walls  under  the  chap- 
el wing.  Mac  was  a  pretty  fine  old  man,  for  one  who  had 
served  a  term  in  the  pen.  for  murder,  but  he  liked  good  whis- 
key and  the  work  was  left  mostly  in  my  care  especially  after 
an  occurrence  that  I  wish  to  relate  because  I  have  had  men 
declare  it  could  not  be  true.  McFarland  began  work  on  the 
N.  W.  corner  pier  and  had  completed  that  and  the  one  next  to 
it  and  was  getting  ready  to  take  out  the  next  (on  the  west 
side)  when  it  was  time  to  quit  work  on  Saturday  afternoon, 
That  evening  it  rained  hard.  Prof.  Aughey  was  woiking  in 
the  laboratory  when  he  heard  a  noise  and  on  examination 
found  that  the  pier  next  to  the  new  work  had  fallen  complete- 
ly out.  He  hastened  to  the  residence  of  Chancellor  Benton  on 
H  street  and  together  they  came  to  my  home  on  P  street  and 
we  all  hurried  to  the  building.  On  the  way,  however,  I  called 
at  the  St.  Charles  hotel  where  Mac  and  his  men  all  boarded 
and  got  several  of  the  men  to  go  with  me.  We  had  only  one 
lantern,  and  it  was  still  raining.  The  brick  pier  three  stories 
in  height  was  still  hanging,  being  supported  by  the  brick  that 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  9 

extended  across  between  the  windows,  but  it  was  slowly  giv- 
ing way,  as  we  could  tell  by  the  chunks  of  plaster  that  kept 
falling  inside,  some  heavy  enough  to  crush  the  chapel  seats 
where  they  fell.  There  was  no  way  to  save  the  pier  but  by 
getting  a  "needle"  under  it  supported  by  heavy  blocking  both 
inside  and  outside.  To  send  men  inside  seemed  too  great  a 
risk  and  yet  if  the  pier  should  fall  it  would  probably  bring 
down  the  whole  wing  if  it  did  not  wreck  the  building  for  it 
was  a  wonder  to  all  who  saw  the  condition  of  the  walls  that 
they  stood  at  all.  I  asked  the  Chancellor  what  to  do,  but  he 
would  not  say — nor  would  Aughey,  but  as  the  pier  had  stood 
thus  for  an  hour  I  took  a  chance.  Calling  for  volunteers  I 
held  the  light  and  stood  by  to  give  orders,  and  there  was 
where  old  King  Alcohol  helped  me.  The  men  sprang  to  the 
work  at  the  first  word  and  exactly  followed  my  orders.  In  a 
few  minutes  the  needle  was  placed  and  jackscrews  tightened. 
The  pier  was  safe.  What  the  result  might  have  been  had  the 
pier  fallen  and  dragged  down  as  it  must  the  whole  chapel  wing, 
at  a  time  when  Omaha  was  raising  hades  to  get  the  Univer- 
sity can  only  be  guessed.  But  I  have  always  thought  if  the 
men  had  not  been  well  fired  with  corn  whiskey,  they  would 
not  have  risked  going  inside  that  dark  basement  with  the 
bricks  crushing  and  plaster  crashing  down  above  them. 
Yours  very  truly, 

A.  ROBERTS. 


LETTER  FROM  GENERAL  ATKINSON  TO  COLONEL 
HAMILTON 

(General  Henry  Atkinson  defeated  the  Indians  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Bad  Axe,  Wis.,  in  1832.  Fort  Atkinson,  Nebraska,  is  nam- 
ed for  him.  He  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  in  1782,  became 
Brigadier  General  in  1821,  and  died  in  1842.  Colonel  W.  S. 
Hamilton,  U.  S.  A.,  Lieut.  Col.  Rifles,  resigned  in  1817.  The  let- 
ter is  characteristic  of  the  "Old  Army"  and  shows  the  then 
geographical  distribution  of  Indian  tribes,  some  now  extinct.) 

Louisville,  Ky.,  Dec.  21,  1825. 
My  Dear  Colonel : 

I  had  the  pleasure  a  short  time  since,  to  receive  your 
friendly  letter  of  the  2nd,  Sept.,  written  at  the  Bay  of  St. 
Louis. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  pleasure  and  the  grat- 
itude I  feel  impressed  with  by  your  kind  remembrances  and 
more  kindly  sentiments. 

Let  it  suffice  for  me  to  say  that  I  reciprocate  with  them 
fully — yes  as  fully  and  as  freely  as  you  could  wish  in  the  heart 
of  your  old  friend  and  Capt.  I  have,  as  you  mention,  for  sev- 
eral years  been  called  from  point  to  point  in  discharge  of  var- 
ious duties  assigned  me  on  the  frontier,  at  St.  Louis  and  at 


10  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

this  place,  rendering  my  service  more  active  than  has  fallen 
to  the  lot  of  almost  any  other  officer,  and  of  course  more 
agreeable,  and  I  have  the  consolation  to  believe  that  I  enjoy 
the  confidence  of  government  and  the  esteem  and  respect  of 
the  officers  under  me —  and  what  is  not  least,  your  appro- 
bation— these  things  I  would  say  only  to  a  friend  because  they 
would  otherwise  savor  of  egotism,  which  in  me  God  forbid,  but 
they  are  reflections  that  gratify  me  when  I  think  upon  them, 
and  when  I  converse  with  friends  like  you. 

The  duties  I  performed  last  Summer  were  both  pleasing 
to  me  and  of  importance.  In  May,  1825,(1)  Congress  authori- 
zed the  President  to  appoint  commissioners  to  hold  treaties  of 
Trade  and  friendship  with  the  Indian  Tribes  "beyond  the 
Mississippi"  and  to  employ  a  Military  escort  to  accompany 
them.  $10,000  was  appropriated  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
transportation,  and  $10,000.  for  expenses  incident  to  holding 
treaties  with  and  for  presents  to  the  Indians.  Major  O'Fallon 
and  myself  were  appointed  to  fill  the  commission,  and  I  was 
directed  to  select  the  troops  to  compose  the  escort  and  to  de- 
cide upon  its  strength.  The  act  passed  too  late  in  1825(1)  to 
afford  time  to  perform  the  duties,  in  that  season.  I,  however, 
provided  transportation  and  provisions  and  concentrated  the 
escort,  consisting  of  500  men,  at  Council  Bluffs  that  fall,  and 
early  in  May,  of  the  present  year,  moved  with  this  force  from 
Council  Bluffs  and  proceeded  up  the  Missouri  river  to  a  point 
120  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone  River.  On  our 
ascent  of  the  river  we  held  councils  and  made  treaties  with 
twelve  Tribes  and  on  our  return  to  the  Bluffs,  with  five  other 
tribes. 

Those  above  the  Bluffs  were  the: 

Poncans,  180  warriors ;  Yanktons,  600  warriors ;  Yanton- 
ais,  800  warriors ;  Tetons,  600  warriors ;  Siones,  800  warriors ; 
Ogallalas,  300  warriors ;  Hunkpapas,  300  warriors ;  Cheyennes, 
600  warriors ;  Aricaras,  500  warriors ;  Mandans,  250  warriors ; 
Minatarees  250  warriors;  and  Crows,  800  warriors. 

South  of  the  Bluffs : 

Otoes,  300  warriors;  Grand  Pawnees,  1,100  warriors; 
Pawnee  Loups,  700  warriors ;  Pawnee  Republics,  300  warriors ; 
and  Mahas,  500  warriors. 

These  tribes  comprise  all  the  Indians  from  Council  Bluffs 
up  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  that  reside  on  the  Missouri  or  ever 
visit  it,  except  the  Blackf eet  Indians  and  the  Assiniboins ;  the 
first  of  these  reside  at  the  foot  of  the  Mountains  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  Missouri,  too  distant  for  us  to  have  reached 
them.  We  could  easily  have  reached  the  falls  of  the  Missouri, 
but  then  they  would  have  yet  been  700  miles  above  us.  The 
Assiniboins  reside  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Milk  river,  a 
branch  of  the  Missouri.     The  Blackfeet,  who  are  broken  into 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  11 

many  tribes,  are  estimated  at  5,000  warriors,  and  the  Assini- 
boins  at  2,000. 

We  performed  our  trip  with  great  faciUty  and  ease,  ow- 
ing partly  to  the  manner  our  transports  were  propelled,  that 
is  by  wheels,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  a  body  of  more  than 
550  men  should  have  encountered  the  dangerous  navigation 
of  the  Missouri,  ordinary  casualties,  etc.,  with  out  losing  on 
the  whole  voyage  a  single  soul,  or  meeting  with  any  accident 
to  our  transports. 

On  my  return  to  St.  Louis  on  the  19th,  Oct.,  after  a  de- 
tention of  two  weeks  there,  I  proceeded  to  this  place  with  a 
view  of  prosecuting  my  journey  to  Washington  City.  I  had 
felt  a  great  desire  for  some  time  to  visit  the  place  and  then 
spend  a  few  months  among  my  friends  in  North  Carolina,  but 
on  my  arrival  I  was  detained  in  command  of  this  dept.,  and 
General  Scott  departed  for  N.  Y.,  and  here  I  must  remain,  I 
suppose,  till  relieved  by  General  Gaines,  who  is  expected  out 
in  a  month  or  less;  and  then,  for  crossing  the  mountains.  I 
don't  know  what  I  can  say  that  would  interest  you  about  our 
army  affairs. 

Bissell  has  gone  to  Washington  with  a  full  hope  of  being 
brought  to  fill  the  yet  vacant  Colonelcy  in  one  of  the  Artillery 
Regiments.  It  is  thought,  however,  he  will  fail.  General 
Scott  and  Gaines,  are  quarreling  about  their  rank,  and  some 
serious  notes  have  passed  between  them.  How  they  will  set- 
tle the  dispute,  I  am  unable  to  say,  as  to  their  rank,  if  there 
should  be  a  doubt,  a  board  of  officers,  should  be  convened  to 
settle  it.  Clinch,  (2)  our  mutual  friend,  is  and  always  will  do 
well.    He  has  a  well-poised  mind  and  a  good  judgment.    I  am 

afi'aid  the  habits  of  C will  ruin  him,  poor  fellow  I  mourn 

over  his  unhappy  propensities.  Morgan  is  doing  well,  his  hab- 
its are  good  and  he  has  a  fine  intellect  and  a  noble  soul.  I  feel 
a  determination  to  avail  myself  of  those  gifts  Heaven  has 
provided  for  us.     I  am  strengthened  with  a  hope  of  success 

from  the  circumstances  of  enjoying  the  best  of  constitutions. 
***** 

Let  us,  as  you  propose,  write  quarterly  to  each  other, 
without  awaiting  answers.    I  beg  of  you  to  present  me  kindly 
to  Mrs.  Hamilton,  and  speak  of  me  to  your  little  boys. 
Yours  aff'y  and  sincerely, 

H.  ATKINSON. 

(1)  Obviously  an  error  for  1824. 

(2)  This  was  probably  Gen.  Duncan  S.  Clinch,  for  whom 
Fort  Clinch,  Fla.,  was  named.  His  daughter  (d.  1905),  mar- 
ried Major  Robert  Anderson,  of  Fort  Sumter  fame. 


Chris  Tatge,  died  at  Norfolk  Februai-y  4,  1922,  aged  ninety-one  years, 
11  months.  He  was  bom  in  Germany  and  settled  in  Cedar  County  in 
1887.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  horticulturist,  the  originator  of  the  Tatge 
plum  and  the  Randolph  plum,  varieties  approved  by  experts  in  that  field. 


12  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

EARLY  BLACK  HILLS  EXPEDITIONS. 

Old-timers  in  the  west  ai-e  the  only  persons  who  can  now 
appreciate  the  impenetrable  mystery  which  surrounded  the 
name  "Black  Hills  of  South  Dakota"  fifty  years  agro.  The  gos- 
sip of  early  trappers  and  plainsmen  ascribe  to  that  region 
marvels  which  made  it  a  rival  of  Yellowstone  Park.  Old  tales 
of  Father  De  Smet  relating  how  gold  nuggets  had  been  brought 
by  Indians  from  that  wonderful  mountain  area  rising  from  the 
plains  and  badlands  were  current.  The  determination  of  the 
Sioux  and  Chej-'enne  tribes  to  keep  white  people  from  explor- 
ing there  intensified  the  mystery. 

The  earliest  organized  attempts  to  reach  the  Black  Hills 
in  order  to  explore  for  gold  started  from  Sioux  City. 

Charles  Collins,  editor  of  the  Sioux  City  Times,  and  John 
Gordon  were  two  of  the  earliest  promoters  of  this  expedi- 
tion. In  1868  the  United  States  by  solemn  treaty  at  Fort  Lar- 
amie with  the  Sioux  Indians  agreed  to  keep  white  men  out  of 
the  region.  About  1872  agitation  to  open  the  region  began  at 
Sioux  City  and  continued.  There  were  great  profits  to  any 
city  in  outfitting  expeditions  of  gold  hunters.  The  business 
men  of  Sioux  City  were  the  first  to  start  the  movement  for 
invasion  of  the  Black  Hills.  Early  expeditions  started  from 
Sioux  City  and  followed  the  general  course  of  the  Niobrara 
river.  One  of  these  expeditions,  known  as  the  Gordon  expe- 
dition, was  halted  near  Boiling  Springs,  in  Cherry  County,  May 
13,  1875.  Its  outfit  was  burned  and  its  members  taken  as 
military  prisoners  to  Fort  Randall. 

The  interesting  history  of  Nebraska,  as  well  as  Iowa,  of 
this  early  Black  Hills  gold  rush,  is  related  by  Dr.  Erik  M. 
Eriksson  in  the  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and  Politics  for  July, 
1922.  The  first  expedition  from  Sioux  City  assembled  three 
miles  west  of  the  Missouri  river  near  Covington,  Nebraska, 
October  16,  1874.  Their  wagon  tops  were  inscribed  ''O'Neil's 
Colonies"  in  order  to  give  out  the  impression  that  their  desti- 
nation was  the  Elkhorn  valley.  This  expedition  fooled  the  mili- 
tary, reached  the  Black  Hills  December  28,  1874,  built  a  stock- 
ade and  made  the  first  white  settlement  in  the  Black  Hills. 
Next  April  a  detachment  of  United  States  soMers  surrounded 
them  and  took  them  as  prisoners  to  Fort  Laramie,  Wyoming. 

The  best  route  to  the  Black  Hills  was  from  Sidney,  cross- 
ing the  North  Platte  about  three  miles  above  Bridgeport  and 
passing  by  the  Red  Cloud  agency  near  the  present  city  of 
Crawford.  The  history  of  the  Black  Hills  gold  rush  is  so  in- 
terwoven with  that  of  the  Nebraska  region  that  no  accurate 
account  of  it  can  be  written  which  does  not  include  the  Ne- 
braska movement.  Professor  Eriksson  has  rendered  valuable 
service  in  compiling  from  newspapers  and  other  sources  a 
reliable  account  of  that  part  of  the  Black  Hills  movement. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  13 

MY  RECOLLECTION  OF  THE  EARLY  GRANGE 
IN  NEBRASKA 

By  T.  N.  Bobbitt 


I  remember  the  early  state  and  local  Grange  well.  It  was 
born  of  a  necessity. 

The  agricultural  interests  of  the  nation  were  depressed. 
It  was  an  effort  to  better  conditions — which  it  did. 

It  was  a  secret  organization.  Its  founders  were  of  the 
National  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washington. 

The  Nebraska  State  Grange  was  organized  at  Grand  Is- 
land in  the  summer  of  1873.  W,  B,  Porter,  master;  Wm.  Mc- 
Caig,  secretary,  both  of  Cass  County ;  Mr.  McThurson  of  Saun- 
ders County  as  treasurer  (as  I  remember) . 

In  the  fall  of  1873  the  Eagle  Grange,  Cass  County,  was 
organized.    T.  N.  Bobbitt  was  master  and  Ed  Post  secretary. 

The  purposes  were  social,  educational  and  financial.  Two 
of  the  offices  of  each  Grange  were  filled  by  women  of  the 
Grange  and  the  female  patrons  were  usually  present  at  all 
meetings  and  many  were  th«e  times  we  had  a  splendid  dinner 
and  a  fine  social  time. 

In  April,  1874,  as  master  of  our  Grange,  I  attended  the 
first  regular  Grange  meeting  at  Seward  Nebraska.  I 
think  there  were  at  least  75  delegates  present,  including  sev- 
eral ladies.    We  had  a  profitable  session  of  about  three  days. 

Seward  did  not  have  hotel  accommodations  for  all  and 
many  of  us  had  rooms  at  private  homes.  Many  long  time 
friendships  were  made  at  these  meetings  and  I  later  attended 
a  state  meeting  at  Lincoln — there  were  many  there.  Gen. 
Van  Wyck  was  there  from  Otoe  county.  There  were  dissen- 
sions there — I  will  not  say  more  as  it  was  inside  the  grange. 

Our  grange  adopted  a  system  of  wholesale  buying,  as  did 
other  granges  by  taking  money  belonging  to  the  grange,  buy- 
ing in  quantities  the  things  most  needed  for  cash.  The  mas- 
ter, or  some  one  appointed  to  purchase  and  distribute  these 
articles,  returned  the  money  to  the  grange  treasurer,  thus  get- 
ting wholesale  rates.  Purchases  were  largely  made  of  Lin- 
coln wholesale  houses. 

Subsequently  I  attended  a  county  meeting  at  South  Bend. 
The  Granges  near  there  were  building  a  little  elevator,  holding 
about  a  carload  of  grain,  using  scoops  to  move  the  grain.  This 
was  the  first  grange  elevator  on  the  Burlington.  Later  a  larg- 
er and  better  one  was  built  at  Greenwood.  I  was  a  stockholder. 
Later  the  enterprise  failed  and  it  cost  me  twelve  times  as 
much  to  get  out  as  it  did  to  get  in. 

It  has  been  said  that  politics  killed  the  grange,  which  is 
largely  true,  but  there  were  other  reasons.  The  grangers  un- 
dertook more  things  than  they  could  carry  through.  Our 
Greenwood  elevator  failed.     At  Plattsmouth,  the  granges  be- 


14  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

gan  manufacturing-  cultivators  and  failed.  At  Rock  Bluffs 
they  shipped  grain  by  steamboats  on  the  Missouri  River,  but 
lacked  vv^arehouses  and  thereby  suffered  loss.  The  grange 
movement  was  needed  and  accomplished  much  good.  It  lacked 
sufficient  capital  and  in  some  cases  men  of  ability  and  integ- 
rity to  carry  it  through. 

Our  state  grange  did  much  good  during  the  winter  of 
1874-5,  distributing  supplies  to  needy  grangers  through  Ne- 
braska (after  the  grasshopper  raid,  July  26,  1874).  W.  B. 
Porter  as  state  master  was  appointed  on  the  state  relief  com- 
mittee to  receive  from  the  granges  over  the  United  States  the 
money  and  other  supplies  sent  in  and  distribute  the  same. 
There  are  many  granges  yet  in  existence  and  still  doing  good 
in  the  world. 


NEBRASKA  IN  1852. 


Many  of  the  most  interesting  glimpses  of  early  Nebraska 
are  found  in  the  diaries  and  letters  of  early  emigrants  cross- 
ing the  plains.  In  recent  years  there  has  been  a  flood  of  print- 
ed literature  from  these  early  lay  sources.  In  the  Washington 
Historical  Society  Quarterly,  July,  1922,  is  an  account  of  cross- 
ing the  plains  from  Prmceton,  Illinois,  to  Salem,  Oregon,  in 
1852,  by  Clarence  B.  Bagley.  The  party  left  Princeton  April 
20,  and  reached  Salem  September  17. 

Some  of  the  statements  in  this  story  are  new  to  the  editor. 
Among  them  are  theso : 

(1)  That  the  hills  across  the  river  from  Kanesville, 
(present  site  of  Omaha)  in  1852,  were  called  Council  Bluffs. 

(2)  That  a  band  of  Pawnee  operated  a  floating  pontoon 
made  of  rushes  across  the  Elkhorn  in  1852. 

The  interesting  query,  why  a  wagon  jolts  in  driving  across 
the  sandy  bed  of  a  swift  river,  is  this  probably  due  to  the  cur- 
rent digging  out  the  sand  in  the  bed  as  the  wagon  travels? 

The  old  controversy  whether  the  Oregon  Trail  was  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Platte  or  the  south,  or  on  both,  may  be  sug- 
gested by  the  account  of  large  wagon  trains  going  west  on 
both  sides  in  1852.  The  undeniable  truth  about  this  is  that  the 
first  trail  across  the  continent  started  from  Independence, 
Missouri,  and  kept  on  the  south  side  of  the  Platte  all  the  way 
to  Fort  Laramie.  This  trail  was  traveled  by  increasing  num- 
bers every  year  from  1882  on.  It  received  the  name  of  the 
Oregon  Trail  before  there  was  any  traveled  road  up  the  north 
side  of  the  Platte.  The  north  side  road  began  with  the  Mor- 
mon migration  of  1846-47.  It  started  from  Florence  and  kept 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Platte  river  all  the  way  to  Fort  Lara- 
mie. After  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  the  north  side 
trail  was  extensively  traveled  by  people  from  the  northern 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  15 

states  who  did  not  wish  to  go  so  far  out  of  their  way  as  re- 
quired in  order  to  start  on  the  old  Oregon  Trail.  This  north 
side  road  was  sometiraes  called  the  California  Trail.  It  was 
not  generally  called  the  Oregon  Trail  at  any  time,  since  that 
name  had  already  been  given  to  the  road  on  the  south  of  the 
Platte.  The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  the  Bagley 
diary : 

Our  route  lay  through  Oskaloosa  and  Des  Moines  in  Iowa,  and  we 
reached  the  Missouri  river  on  May  22,  1852,  at  or  just  below  the  Old 
Mo)mon  town  of  Kanesville.  On  the  opposite  banks  of  the  river  were 
hills  then  termed  Council  Bluffs,  I  believe  from  the  fact  that  it  had  of- 
ten happened  that  treaties  and  '^councils"  with  the  Indians  had  been 
made  there. 

It  took  us  all  day  to  cross,  as  there  were  many  other  wagons  to  be 
taken  over  and  all  of  ouvs  did  not  have  the  right  of  way  at  the  same 
time.    My  recollection  is  that  this  ferryboat  was  operated  by  steam. 

We  were  now  at  the  westerly  limit  of  civilization.  On  the  east  bank 
of  the  river  were  a  few  small  trading  villages,  but  on  the  westerly  bank 
the  Indian  country  began.  There  were  thousands  of  Indians  camping  on 
the  river  bottom  and  on  the  bluffs  where  Omaha  now  stands.  We  waited 
here  over  one  day,  Sunday,  May  23,  1852,  to  ,get  all  ready  for  our  r;al 
start  for  Oregon. 

The  migration  of  1852  was  the  heaviest  of  any  to  Oregon  and  C;.li- 
fornia.  It  was  then  and  always  has  been  estimated  that  it  reached  fully 
50,000.  On  all  our  part  of  the  trip  we  had  no  fear  of  the  Indians  except 
to  protect  ourselves  from  the  pilfering  of  articles  about  camp  and  from 
stealing  our  horses  at  night. 

Among  Father  Mercer's  papers  I  found,  several  years  ago,  his  origi- 
nal list  of  the  night  patrol  of  sentries  that  went  on  guard  each  night 
with  the  stock,  as  most  of  the  time  they  had  to  be  taken  quite  a  distance 
from  camp  in  order  that  they  might  have  sufficient  grass  to  feed  upon. 
This  was  a  serious  handicap  all  along  the  route  and  became  much  worse 
after  the  migration  on  the  south  of  the  Platte  crossed  over  to  the  north 
side,  somewhere  near  Fojt  Laramie,  I  believe. 

At  Council  Bluffs,  Thomas  Mercer  was  elected  captain  of  the  com- 
pany and  directed  its  movements  across  the  plains.  It  was  a  necessary 
custom  to  select  a  captain  of  each  party,  who  directed  the  movements  of 
the  train  about  stopping  for  the  night  and  starting  in  the  morning;  about 
"laying  over,"  on  Sunday  or  any  other  time  it  was  thought  best.  Other- 
wise there  would  have  been  frequent  disputes  and  disagreements  about 
the  movements  of  the  company.  The  trip  was  on  to  bring  out  all  the 
good  qualitis  and  the  bad  ones,  "as  well,  but  I  do  not  remember  any  sei-ious 
disputes  along  the  whole  oi  the  route  . 

After  resting  over  one  day,  we  made  our  real  start  ''across  the 
plains"  on  the  24th  of  May,  1852.  This  proved  to  ba  a  comparatively 
early  start  as  thousands  came  after  us.  We  found  better  grazing  in  con- 
sequence and  less  dust,  jn.o  small  item  in  an  alkaline  country.  About 
twenty  miles  out  we  had  to  cross  a  narrow,  deep,  sluggin,g  stream  called 
the  Elkhorn.  Here  we  hud  our  only  dispute  with  the  Indians.  A  band  of 
Pawnees  had  constructed  of  rushes  a  floating  pontoon  or  bridge  that 
would  hold  a  wagon  and  team.  They  demanded  for  each  team  and  wagon 
five  dollars.  This  our  people  felt  was  exorbitant  and  they  offered  to  pay 
one  dollar  instead,  which  in  turn  was  refused.  Our  men  got  their  rifles 
and  told  the  Indians  thut  it  meant  a  fight  unless  the  lower  offer  was 
accepted.  After  a  lot  of  loud  talk  matters  quieted  do\\^l  and  the  Indians 
agreed  upon  the  dollar  a/id  we  came  on  our  way. 

All  through  May  and  June  we  drove  on  up  the  Platte  and  its  tribu- 
taries. For  hundreds  of  miles  the  road  was  so  level  that  but  for  the 
Platte  running  eastward  jno  one  could  have  told  we  were  gradually  as:end- 


16  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

ing  toward  the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  one  stretch  of  two  hundred  miles 
we  saw  but  one  lone  tree,  a  Balm  of  Gilead  on  an  island  in  the  river.  Our 
fuel  was  called  "buffalo  chips/'  though  I  am  sure  that  much  of  it  was 
from  the  cattle  that  haci  preceded  us,  instead  of  buffalo.  That  year  the 
migration  was  so  large  dnd  close  together  that  the  buffalo  were  fright- 
ened away  from  our  vicinity  and  we  never  saw  one  on  the  trip. 

For  hundreds  of  miles  we  saw  a  constant  procession  of  wagons  on 
the  south  bank  as  well  as  on  our  own  north  side.  We  came  to  recognize 
some  of  the  trains  on  the  further  side  and,  of  course,  on  our  own  .side. 
Years  later  I  often  heard  father  addressed  by  someone  in  Oregon  who 
told  of  meeting  our  train  on  the  Platte  or  on  the  Snake  River.  Alon,g 
the  Platte  the  most  notable  feature  of  natural  scenery  was  "Chimney 
Rock,"  that  was  shaped  like  an  immense  circular  chimney  set  on  a  hill. 
It  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  a  few  miles  away  from  it.  Its  form- 
ation was  of  a  soft  rocl<.  or  indurated  clay  that  in  that  arid  climate  was 
subject  to  slight  erosion.  It  has  been  an  object  of  frequent  note  for  one 
hundred  years,  and  in  the  years  since  we  saw  it  has  shown  but  little 
chan,ge  in  shape  or  height. 

We  forded  several  streams  so  deep  that  blocks  were  put  undei-  the 
beds  of  the  wagons  so  tUat  the  water  would  not  damage  articles  in  them. 
One  of  the  large  branches  of  the  Platte,  Loup  Fork,  was  the  most  notable 
of  these.  It  was  necessary  to  drive  very  rapidly  to  avoid  sinking  in  the 
quicksands  all  the  way  across,  yet  the  wagons  rattled  and  jolted  as 
though  the  bottom  was  broken  rock  instead  of  sand..  It  greatly  excited 
my  curiosity  at  the  time  and  I  never  have  understood  the  peculiar  form- 
ation that  would  let  a  wagon  or  animal  settle  in  it  and  scon  engulf  it 
and  yet  seem  like  rock  when  driven  across.  We  took  the  precaution  to 
have  our  horses  drink  all  the  water  they  would  before  driving  into  the 
stream  that  they  might  not  try  to  stop  on  the  way  across.  All  little  de- 
tails of  every  day  life  had  to  be  carefullythought  out  to  avoid  necessary 
delays  and  difficulties. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  MINDEN 


The  Minden  News  of  June  1,  1922  has  an  interesting  story  of  the 
beginnings  of  Minden.  Minden  was  first  an  idea,  then  a  suivey,  finally 
a  county  seat.  The  idea  originated  in  a  broom  cornfield  on  the  farm  of 
Joel  Hull  in  September,  1875.  Five  men  were  harvesting  broom  corn. 
There  was  not  another  house  within  four  miles.  Eating  lunch  at  noon 
on  the  grass  the  five  men  made  up  the  plan  to  buy  a  quarter  section  of 
land  as  near  the  center  of  Kearney  county  as  possible,  survey  it  into  a 
town  site,  offer  it  as  the  future  county  seat  to  the  voters  and  if  success- 
ful to  turn  the  land  over  to  the  county  at  cost.  In  accordance  with  this 
plan  Mr.  Hull  bought  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  seven,  town  six, 
range  four,  from  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  at  $3.75  per  acre. 
The  voters  of  Kearney  County  at  a  special  election  November  21,  1876, 
voted  to  locate  the  county  seat  on  the  tract  almost  unanimously.  The 
quarter  section  was  Ihen  offered  to  the  county  commissioners  for  the 
price  paid  the  railroad  company.  The  commissioners  refused  to  accept 
it  for  lack  of  funds.  Mr.  Hull  then  organized  the  Kearney  County  Land 
Association  which  took  over  the  tract  and  platted  it  into  lots.  The  orig- 
inal plan  of  the  founders  of  Minden  became  a  reality.  As  the  county 
seat  was  located  at  the  center  the  prolonged  and  bitter  county  seat  con- 
test which  mars  the  history  of  so  many  Nebraska  counties  was  avoided. 
When  the  Burlington  railroad  built  across  the  county,  Minden  Avas  a 
natural  and  convenient  point  and  by  construction  of  the  railroad  became 
not  only  the  county  seat  but  the  chief  town  of  the  county  which  it  has 
continued  to  be.  Not  many  counties  or  county  seats  have  had  as  smooth 
sailing  and  prosperous  a  voyage  in  their  political  and  industrial  devel- 
opment as  Kearney  county  and  Minden. 


THE  NEBRASKA  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

Made  a  State  Institution  February  27,  1883. 

An  act  of  the  Nebraska  legislature,  recommended  by  Governor 
James  W.  Dawes  in  his  inaugural  and  signed  by  him,  made  the  State 
Historical  Society  a  State  institution  in  the  following: 

Be  it  Enacted  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Nebraska: 

Section  1.  That  the  "Nebraska  State  Historical  Society,"  an  or- 
ganization now  in  existence — Robt.  W.  Furnas,  President;  James  M. 
Wool  worth  and  Elmer  S.  Dundy,  Vice-Presidents;  Samuel  Aughey, 
Secretary,  and  W.  W.  Wilson,  Treasurer,  their  associates  and  successors — 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  recognized  as  a  state  institution. 

Section  2.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President  and  Secretary 
of  said  institution  to  make  annually  reports  to  the  governor,  as  required 
by  other  state  institutions.  Said  report  to  embrace  the  transactions  and 
expenditures  of  the  organization,  together  with  all  historical  addresses, 
which  have  been  or  may  hereafter  be  read  before  the  Society  or  funiished 
it  as  historical  matter,  data  of  the  state  or  adjacent  western  regions  of 
country. 

Section  3.  That  said  reports,  addresses,  and  papers  shall  be  pub- 
lished at  the  expense  of  the  state,  and  distributed  as  other  similar  official 
reports,  a  reasonable  number,  to  be  decided  by  the  state  and  Society,  to 
be  furnished  said  Society  for  its  use  and  distribution. 

Property  and  Equipment 

The  present  State  Historical  Society  owns  in  fee  simple  title  as 
trustee  of  the  State  the  half  block  of  land  opposite  and  east  of  the  State 
House  with  the  basement  thereon.  It  occupies  for  offices  and  working 
quarters  basement  rooms  in  the  University  Library  building  at  11th  and 
R  streets.  The  basement  building  at  16th  and  H  is  crowded  with  the 
collections  of  the  Historical  Society  which  it  can  not  exhibit,  including 
some  15,000  volumes  of  Nebraska  newspapers  and  a  large  part  of  its 
museum.  Its  rooms  in  the  University  Library  building  are  likewise 
crowded  with  library  and  museum  material.  The  annual  inventory  of 
its  property  returned  to  the  State  Auditor  for  the  year  1920  is  as  follows: 

Value  of  Land,  V2  block  16th  and  H $75,000 

Value  of  Buildings  and  permanent  improvements 35,000 

Value  of  Furniture  and  Furnishings 5,000 

Value    of    Special     Equipment,     including     Apparatus, 

Machinery  and  Tools 1,000 

Educational  Specimens  (Art,  Museum,  or  other) 74,800 

Library  (Books  and  Publications) 75,000 

Newspaper  Collection 52,395 

Total  Resources $318,195 

Much  of  this  property  is  priceless,  being  the  only  articles  of  their 
kind  and  impossible  to  duplicate. 


wm^ 


NEBRASKA  , 

AND    RECORD    OF  ,  , .  ^. 


I-II5TORV 

PIONEER      1DJK:^S 


Vol.  V 


April- June,  1922 


No.  2 


CONTENTS 

Editorial  Notes 

Paul  Brothers  of  St.  Paul         .... 

Military  Posts  in  the  West,  Fort  McPherson 

Branding  in  New  England  .... 

Senator  P.  W.  Hitchcock's  Bank  Note  Report- 
er—1860  

Chongatonga  (Big  Horse),  Otoe  Chief 

Letter  from  Indian  Commissioner  Manypenny 
to  Arkee-keetah,  Otoe  Chief 

Early  History  of  Creek  Indians 

New  Years  Carriers  in  Nebraska        ... 

Portrait  of  W.  J.  Bryan ;  Address  by  Hardy 

W.  Campbell 

The  Sioux-Pawnee  War ;  Danish  Colony  in  Hov/ar 

Logan  County — First  Things      .... 

Editorial  Notes 


1 

17 

i 

18-20 

j 

21-22 

i 

23 

i 

i 

24-25 

26 

1 

27 

1 

28 

t 

28 

29 

i  30 

31 

i 

32 

♦ 
1 

PUBLISHED    QUARTERLY    BY   THE    NEBRASKA    STATE 

HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

LINCOLN 


Entered  as  second  class  matter  February  4,  1918,  at  the  Post  Office, 
Lincoln,  Nebraska,  under  Act  August  24,  1912. 


« 


THE  NEBRASKA  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

Founded  September  25,  1878 

The  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society  was  founded  Sep- 
tember 25,  1878,  at  a  public  meeting  held  in  the  Commercial 
Hotel  at  Lincoln.  About  thirty  well  known  citizens  of  the 
State  were  present.  Robert  W.  Furnas  was  chosen  president 
and  Professor  Samuel  Aughey,  secretary.  Previous  to  this  date, 
on  August  26,  1867,  the  State  Historical  Society  and  Library 
Association  was  incorporated  in  order  to  receive  from  the  State 
the  gift  of  the  block  of  ground,  now  known  as  Haymarket 
Square.  This  original  Historical  Association  held  no  meet- 
ings. It  was  superseded  by  the  present  State  Historical 
Society. 

Present  Governing  Board 

Executive  Board — Officers  and  Elected  Members 

President,  Robert  Plarvey,  Lincoln. 

1st  V-President,  Hamilton  B.  Lowry,  Lincoln 

2nd  V-President,  Nathan  P.  Dodge  Jr.,  Omaha 

Secretary,  Addison  E.  Sheldon,  Lincoln 

Treasurer,  Philip  L.  Hall,  Lincoln 

Rev.  Macheal  A.  Shine,  Plattsmouth 

Don  L.  Love,  Lincoln 

Samuel  C.  Bassett,  Gibbon  ' 

John  F.  Cordeal,  McCook  i 

Novia  Z.  Snell,  Lincoln  i 

William  E.  Hardy,  Lincoln 

Ex  Officio  Members 

Saniuel  R.  McKelvie,  Governor  of  Nebraska 

Samuel  Avery,  Chancellor  of  University  of  Nebraska 

Geor,ge  C.  Snow,  Chadron,  President  of  Nebraska  Press  Association 

Howard  W.  Caldwell,  Professor  of  American  History,  University  of 

Nebraska 
Andrew  M.  Morrissey,  Chief  Justice  of  Supreme  Court  of  Nebraska 
Clarence  A.  Davis,  Attorney  General  of  Nebraska 


NEBRASKA  (1^,1-1  I5TORV 

AND     RECORD    OF   ,       W^^  MkWll^    PIONEER      D.AVS 


Published   Quarterly  by  the    Nebraska   State   Historical 

Soceity 

Addison  E.  Sheldon,  Editor 

Subscription,  $2.00  per  year 

All  sustaining  members  of  the     Nebraska     State     Historical 

Nebraska  History  and  other  publications  without  further 

Society     receive 
payment. 

Vol 

V. 

April-June,  1922 

No. 

2 

In  the  September  number  of  the  Wisconsin  Magazine  of 
History,  in  a  history  of  Platteville,  in  that  state,  is  the  fol- 
lowing paragraph  of  interest  to  Nebraska  readers : 

One  of  our  oldest  living  i-esidents  at  Platteville  is  Mr.  Frank  Rowe, 
vi^ho  came  here  in  the  forties  and  v^'ho  crossed  the  plains  to  California 
with  an  ox  team  in  1852,  leaving  Platteville  on  the  last  day  of  March. 
There  were  five  ox  teams  in  the  company.  Close  to  the  mouth  of  Shell 
Creek,  Nebraska,  the  company  was  attacked  by  Indians,  but  fortunately 
at  that  moment  another  company  bound  for  California  came  in  sight.  A 
corral  was  quickly  made  of  the  wagons,  and  the  oxen,  horses,  and  non- 
combatants  were  put  in  the  center.  The  battle  lasted  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  finally  the  Indians  withdrew  leavin,g  nine  of  their  number  dead. 


William  J.  Holladay  was  buried  in  North  Loup  cemetery  June  18. 
He  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  that  region,  conducting  a  sutler's 
store  at  Fort  Hartsuff,  the  frontier  post  guarding  the  early  settlements 
on  the  Loup  rivers.     Later  he  was  sheriff  of  Valley  County. 


18 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY 


JAMES  N.  PAUL 
Sept.  23,  1839 
March  9,  1922 


NICHOLAS  J.  PAUL 
July  27,  1841 
July  18,  1921 


The  Paul  Brothers 

of  St.  Paul 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  19 

THE  PAUL  BROTHERS  OF  ST.  PAUL 

By  Robert  Harvey 
President  Nebraska  Historical  Society 

During  the  past  twelve  months  Nebraska  has  lost  two 
pioneers,  identified  with  Nebraska  territory  and  state  for 
nearly  sixty  years.  Howard  county  has  lost  two  citizens, 
James  N.  Paul  and  Nicholas  J.  Paul,  the  sponsors  for  its  posi- 
tion on  the  map  of  the  state,  first  to  give  to  the  world  its  ad- 
vantages of  location,  fertile  soil  and  healthful  climate;  who 
initiated,  induced  and  gave  direction  to  the  first  tide  of  a 
peaceable  and  thrifty  emigration  into  the  Loup  country,  thus 
giving  Howard  county  character,  dignity  and  an  enviable 
standing  among  the  counties  of  the  state.  Together  they  se- 
cured the  severance  of  sixteen  townships  from  the  north  part 
of  Hall  county  and  the  passage  of  a  bill  in  the  legislature  of 
1871  defining  the  boundaries  of  Howard  county.  They  pro- 
moted its  speedy  organization.  They  showed  their  faith  in 
the  country  by  more  than  fifty  years  of  continuous  residence 
within  its  boundaries,  and  by  constant,  harmonious  labor  for 
the  betterment  of  its  citizenship,  educational  and  financial  in- 
terests. They  opened  to  the  world's  toilers  the  door  of  that 
great  agricultural  region  drained  by  the  Loup  rivers,  compris- 
ing the  counties  of  Howard,  Greeley,  Sherman,  Valley,  Gar- 
field and  Loup. 

St,  Paul,  the  county  seat  of  Howard  County,  was  named 
by  U.  S.  Senator  Phineas  W.  Hitchcock  in  their  honor. 

James  N.  Paul,  the  older  brother,  was  born  in  Beaver 
County,  Pa.,  September  23,  1839,  and  soon  after  the  family 
moved  to  Meigs  County,  Ohio.  He  served  in  Company  H,  140th 
Regiment  Ohio  Infantry,  in  the  Civil  war,  after  which  he  came 
west  and  for  six  or  seven  years  was  engaged  in  government 
surveying.  In  the  winter  and  spring  of  1871,  with  his  brother, 
he  was  interested  in  founding  a  colony  in  the  Loup  river  coun- 
try in  Howard  County  and  took  a  homestead  adjoining  St. 
Paul  which  he  still  owned  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

At  the  permanent  organization  of  the  county  he  was  elec- 
ted county  commissioner  for  the  long  term  and  was  the  cen- 
tral figure  in  piloting  the  organization  through  its  infancy  to 
a  stable  financial  basis  which  had  marked  influence  in  the  fu- 
ture management  of  its  finances. 

In  the  fall  of  1873  he  succeeded  Seth  P.  Mobley  as  pro- 
prietor and  editor  of  the  Howard  County  Advocate  which  he 
ably  conducted  until  1878,  when  the  plant  was  sold  to  Robert 
Harvey.  He  then  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law  to  which  he 
gave  all  his  time  and  energy  and  soon  became  one  of  the  lead- 
ing trial  lawyers  in  central  Nebraska.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  senate  in  the  legislature  of  1885  and  was  chairman  of  the 
judiciary  committee. 


20  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

In  1901  he  became  judge  of  the  11th  judicial  district 
which  place  he  filled  with  great  ability  until  the  expiration  of 
his  term  in  1917  when  he  voluntarily  retired  on  account  of 
failing  health. 

He  was  positive  and  firm  in  his  convictions,  wise  in  his 
counsels  and  honorable  in  business  transactions. 

As  pioneer,  home  builder,  lawyer,  statesman  and  jurist  he 
made  a  firm  and  lasting  impression  upon  the  people  and  the 
institutions  of  central  Nebraska. 

He  died  at  his  home  in  St.  Paul  March  9th,  1922,  at  the 
age  of  82  years,  five  months  and  sixteen  days. 


Nicholas  Jay  Paul,  the  younger  brother  of  Judge  Paul, 
was  born  in  Meigs  County,  Ohio,  July  27,  1841.  Receiving  an 
academic  education  at  Ewington,  Ohio,  for  a  time  he  taught 
district  school.  In  the  fall  of  1862,  he  moved  to  Leavenworth 
and  the  following  years  was  engaged  in  government  survey- 
ing in  southern  Nebraska.  He  was  also  a  trusted  employe  of 
the  Union  Pacific  land  department. 

He  was  associated  with  Judge  Paul  in  founding  a  colony 
in  the  Loup  country  and  filed  a  homestead  entry  on  a  quarter 
section  of  fine  land  adjacent  to  St.  Paul  where  he  continued  to 
live  until  his  death.  Mr.  Paul  was  one  of  the  commissioners 
appointed  to  effect  the  temporary  organization  of  Ho\¥ard 
county  and  at  the  fall  election  of  1871  was  chosen  probate 
judge  which  office  he  held  for  four  years.  In  1876  he  was 
elected  the  first  representative  to  the  legislature  from  the 
county. 

In  1879  he  was  elected  county  treasurer  and  reelected  in  1881.  After 
the  expiration  of  his  second  term  he  declined  further  to  be  a  candidate  for 
any  office,  excepting  that  of  school  director  which  he  held  for  forty-eight 
years,  always  manifesting  a  great  interest  in  educational  matters. 

In  1884  he  purchased  the  stock  of  the  Howard  county  bank  and  soon 
after  organized  the  St.  Paul  National  Bank,  and  in  later  years  changed  to 
the  St.  Paul  State  Bank  to  which  he  gave  his  undivided  attention  for  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  It  was  during  the  dark  financial  days  of  the  nine- 
ties that  the  rugged  honesty  of  the  man  was  displayed  when  in  despair  of 
being  able  to  weather  the  storm  of  national  financial  depression  he  said 
he  would  rather  give  up  all  his  property  and  begin  over  again,  than  that 
any  of  his  depositors  should  suffer.  His  bank  was  considered  one  of  the 
substantial  institutions  of  central  Nebraska. 

He  had  kept  a  diary  since  1866  in  which  he  briefly  recorded  his  busi- 
ness transactions  and  those  who  have  been  permitted  to  examine  his 
books  have  been  surprised  at  the  great  number  of  money  loans  during  the 
first  few  years  of  the  colony's  early  life  and  the  repayment  of  the  same 
amount  apparently  without  interest.  During  those  few  years,  which  in- 
cluded the  years  of  the  grasshopper  scourge,  there  was  great  destitution 
and  many  families  would  have  suffered  great  hardships  had  they  not 
known  where  they  could  go  for  aid  and  sympathy.  It  falls  to  the  lot  of 
few  men  in  private  life  to  be  so  generally  known  and  to  possess  so  many 
true  friends. 

He  died  of  apoplexy  at  hig  desk  at  the  noon  hour,  July  18,  1921,  at 
the  age  of  79  years,  11  months  and  21  days. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  21 

MILITARY  POSTS  IN  THE  WEST. 

One  of  the  rare  volumes  upon  Western  history  is  circular 
No.  8,  issued  from  the  Surgeon-General's  office,  War  Depart- 
ment, May  1,  1875.  It  is  a  report  on  the  hygiene  of  the  United 
States  army  with  a  description  of  all  military  posts  and  a  map. 
It  is  a  volume  of  570  pages  and  is  now  quite  out  of  print  and 
difficult  to  find.  The  volume  recently  secured  by  the  Ne- 
braska State  Historical  Society  was  through  the  kindness  of 
General  Wm.  H.  Carter,  whose  letter  is  printed  elsewhere  in 
this  magazine. 

The  volume  contains  complete  descriptions  of  all  western 
army  posts,  with  an  account  of  the  surrounding  country,  tabu- 
lation of  all  buildings,  an  account  of  the  health  of  soldiers  at 
each  post  and  hygienic  conditions,  diagrams  of  each  fort  and 
its  buildings  and  a  weather  record  during  the  history  of  the 
fort. 

The  forts  and  camps  in  Nebraska  described  in  this  vol- 
ume are  Camp  Hartsuff,  in  the  North  Loup  valley,  located  in 
1874;  Fort  McPherson,  in  Lincoln  county,  located  in  1866; 
North  Platte  station,  Lincoln  county  established  in  August 
1867;  Omaha  Barracks,  Douglas  County,  established  Novem- 
ber 20,  1868;  Camp  Robinson,  Sioux  county,  established  in 
February,  1874 ;  Camp  Sheridan  (Spotted  Tail  Agency)  Sheri- 
dan county,  located  September  9,  1874 ;  Sidney  Barracks,  Chey- 
enne county,  located  in  1867. 

In  addition  to  these  there  is  a  chapter  each  upon 
these  forts  inseparably  connected  with  the  history  of 
Nebraska:  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas;  Fort  Laramie,  Wyo- 
ming;  Fort  Randall,  South  Dakota. 

Most  interesting  detailed  information  is  given  of  living 
conditions  for  the  population  of  these  forts.  This  includes 
such  details  as  the  number  of  cubic  feet  for  each  person  in 
living  rooms,  the  kinds  of  diseases  and  number  of  cases  at 
each  post,  the  methods  of  heating,  water  and  ice  supply,  bath- 
rooms, garden  products,  libraries  and  scientific  observations 
upon  conditions  which  could  be  made  only  by  trained  medi- 
cal observers. 

Fort  Kearny,  the  most  important  military  post  in  Ne- 
braska during  the  frontier  period,  was  abandoned  in  1871  and 
therefore  does  not  appear  in  this  report.  Fort  McPherson  in 
1875  was  still  a  post  of  importance  and  the  description  of  the 
buildings  and  conveniences  there  are  of  interest: 

The  buildings  are  arranged  about  a  quadrangle  844  by 
560  feet.  Two  sides  are  formed  by  five  barracks,  three  log 
and  two  frame;  one  (log,  shingled-roof)  145  by  27  feet,  with 
wings  of  87  by  20  feet;  one  (frame,  shingle-roof,  unoccupied, 
and  out  of  repair)  108  feet  by  27  feet,  with  a  wing  of  69  by 
20  feet;  one   (log,  shingle-roof,  unoccupied)    114  by  27  feet, 


22  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

with  wing  69  by  20  feet;  one  (frame,  shingle-roof)  147  by  27 
feet,  with  wing  of  69  by  20  feet,  and  another  (log,  shingle- 
roof)  132  by  30  feet,  with  no  wing.  Each  building  contains 
eighteen  windows,  and  compartments  used  as  dormitories,  or- 
derly-rooms, dining  and  cooking  rooms.  The  dormitories  are 
ceiled.  Average  air-space  per  man  in  two  buildings  occupied 
at  present  is  698  cubic  feet.  Single  iron  bedsteads  are  used. 
Ventilation  is  by  windows  and  roof -ventilators. 

One  side  is  occupied  by  officers'  quarters-frame,  lathed 
and  plastered,  with  shingle-roofs — in  good  repair.  Three 
single  buildings,  42  by  20  feet ;  four  double  54  by  20  feet ;  one 
commanding  officer's,  65  by  24  feet.  Two  single  buildings,  40 
by  20  feet,  are  on  a  line  with  hospital,  in  the  rear  of  the  main 
line  of  officers'  quarters.    All  have  kitchens  24  by  15  feet. 

The  fourth  side  is  occupied  by  the  adjutant's  office,  (new) 
41  by  30  feet;  quartermaster's  office,  (new)  36  by  30  feet; 
the  commissary  storehouse,  (new),  96  by  25  feet;  and  the 
band  quarters,  (new)  52  by  22  feet;  with  wing  90  by  19  feet. 

In  the  rear  of  the  barracks  are  the  quartermaster's  ware- 
house, (log)  132  by  30  feet;  the  forage  building,  (log),  130 
by  27  feet,  and  six  laundresses'  houses,  (five  log  and  one 
in  an  account  of  the  construction  of  the  building,  says,  "Three 
frame;)  two,  40  by  24  feet;  one  30  by  15  feet;  one,  40  by  18 
feet,  with  wing  24  by  15  feet;  one  60  by  18  feet;  one,  30  by 
15  feet,  with  wing  12  by  15  feet;  aiso,the  cavalry  stables,  log 
with  shingle-roofs;  four,  200  by  30  feet,  and  one,  235  by  30 
feet. 

A  new  guard-house  was  erected  in  1874.  It  is  built  of 
logs,  42  by  18  feet,  and  9  feet  high  from  floor  to  ceiling,  and 
contains,  besides  a  guard  room,  ten  single  cells,  each  6  by  3 
feet,  and  one  double  cell,  6  by  6  feet.  There  is  no  general 
prison-room.    Ventilation  is  sufficient. 

The  post-bakery  (log)  is  45  by  30  feet,  with  large  oven. 

The  hospital  is  a  log  building,  well  chinked  and  plastered, 
with  lathed  and  plastered  ceilings  and  shingle-roof.  It  con- 
sists of  a  main  building  69  by  20  feet,  and  a  wing  56  by  20 
feet,  forming  an  "L". 

The  two  ward-rooms,  respectively  20  by  38  feet  and  20 
by  20  feet  will  accommodate  twenty-four  patients,  giving  to 
each  466  cubic  feet  air-space.  The  dispensary  is  20  by  12  feet, 
the  steward's  room  10  by  20  feet,  and  the  dining  room  and 
store  room  are  each  20  feet  square.  The  washroom  8V2  by  15 
feet,  adjoins  the  larger  ward.  The  steward's  quarters  have  a 
kitchen  14  by  20  feet,  adjoining.  The  hospital  kitchen,  16  by 
20  feet,  communicates  with  the  dining  room  in  the  wing  of 
the  building.  An  addition  of  a  post-mortem  room  has  been 
made. 

There  is  no  post  library;  but  two  company  libraries,  one 
containing  362  volumes,  the  other  26  volumes. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  23 

The  bathing  facilities  are  good  in  company  quarters ;  the 
river,  however  is  preferable  in  summer.  No  post  or  company 
order  for  compulsory  and  systematic  bathing  has  been  issued. 


BRANDING  IN  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COLONIES 


Whereas  many  questions,  and  sometimes  troublesomi' 
suites  grow  betwixt  men,  about  horses  running  together  in 
the  woods  unmarked,  It  is  ordered,  That  each  plantation  in 
this  jurisdiction  shall  have  a  marking  iron,  or  flesh-brand,  for 
themselves  in  particular,  to  distinguish  the  horses  of  on^ 
plantation  from  another;  namely,  New-hav-en  an  iron  made 
to  set  on  the  impression  of  an  H,  as  a  brand-mark,  Milford  an 
M,  Guilford  a  G,  Stamford  an  S,  Southold  an  S  with  an  0  in 
the  middle  of  it,  Brainford  a  T.  Which  plantation  brandmark, 
is  to  be  visibly  and  as  sufficiently  as  may  be,  set  upon  the  near 
buttock  of  each  horse,  mare,  and  colt,  belonging  to  that  plan- 
tation. Beside  which,  every  owner  is  to  have,  and  marke  his 
horse  or  horses,  with  his  own  particular  flesh-brand  having 
some  letter,  or  letters  of  his  name,  or  such  distinguishing  mark, 
that  one  man's  horses  may  be  known  from  another's.  And 
that  in  each  plantation  there  be  an  officer  appointed,  to  record 
each  particular  man's  mark,  and  to  see  each  particular  man's 
horse,  mare,  and  colt,  branded,  and  to  take  notice,  and  record 
the  age  of  each  of  them,  as  near  as  he  can,  with  the  colour, 
and  all  observable  marks,  whether  natural  or  artificial;  and 
what  artificial  marks  it  had  before  the  branding,  whether  on 
the  ear,  or  elsewhere,  with  the  year  and  day  of  the  month  when 
branded.  And  in  each  plantation,  the  officer  for  his  care  and 
pains,  to  have  six  pence  of  the  owner,  for  each  horse,  mare,  or 
colt,  so  branded  and  recorded.  And  that  after  the  publishing 
hereof,  every  one  who  hath  any  horse  or  horses,  of  what  age 
or  kind  soever,  doe  duly  attend  this  order,  at  his  perill;  the 
officer  also  is  to  require  as  satisfying  evidence  of  his  right, 
who  presents  any  such  horse,  etc.  as  may  be  had,  or  to  record 
any  defect  of  due  evidence,  that  a  way  may  be  open  to  other 
claims. 

New  Haven  Code  (pub.  1655.)  probably  1643  in  use,  Trum- 
bull—Blue  Laws,  p.  227. 


From  Phil.  R.  Landon,  "North  Acre  Seedsman,"  at  Sterling,  Nebraska: 

The  statement  in  "Nebraska  History"  that  "no  earthwork,  mound, 
lodge  site  or  human  bones,  along  this  part  of  the  Missouri  river  has 
been  there  1,000  years,"  is  correct  ,so  far  as  my  examination  and  obser- 
vation go.  In  fact,  bones  and  stone  work  that  I  have  du,g  up  in  Nebraska 
in  the  past  forty  years  have  proved  to  me  that  they  were  not  more  than 
a  century  old.  One  instance  was  in  my  digging  on  North  Acre.  I  came 
upon  the  bones  of  an  Indian  and  white  man  buried  together,  and  among 
the  bones  was  a  belt  buckle  with  the  letters  U.  S.  A.  upon  it.  If  liiere 
were  any  "pre-historic"  men  in  Nebraska  I  will  have  to  be  shown." 


24 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY 


B  A  ^  K     \  O  H'  I*: 


DESCRIPTIVE  LIST, 


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(I  Ijompsmi^s  Bank  JUtf  iV  dLommcrcial  ^ilfpuvtfr. 

•  (untiijim;  u(1R\tk  hksihiptioxs  (ir  ui.  the 

(Tomiino  Ba  uk  N btes, 

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S«   RSCRIBKU.S     WH«»     n^^  V     <>  N  K     V  K  A  )!     !>•    \  D  V- A  N  (?  K 

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PUBLIRHEiD  BY  CHAS    BLONDKLF;    lir  FRAVKLIN^^^Ti 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY 


25 


OT«rfookingcltT. 

26,  bun.  Indian,  female,  children,  globe- 
Indian  squaw,  w  Ith  bow  and  arrow*— 2,  portrait 
of  boy.  „  „ 

3s.  two  females,  cows,  sheep,  factory— 3,  3— 
flying  female,  cars,  canal,  &c. 


KANSAS  TEREITOKY. 


Knnaas  Valley  Bonk,  Atchison. 

3s,  two  wild  horses  running,  horses  In  dla- 
ance-3,  female  portrait— 3,  pigs. 

55,Indian  on  horse  shooting  buffaloes— .5,male 
portrait— 5,  portrait  of  girl  holding  dove. 

iOs,  right  end,  10,  steamboai,  river,  ftc- 
left  end,  10,  cars,  X  on  shield. 

20s.  emigrants,  oxen,  horses,  wagons,  ac — 
20,  male  portrait— 20,  female  seated  on  either 
side  of  shield. 

50s,  steamboat,  city  in  distance— iO,  male 
porti-ait- 50,  sailor  with  hand  on  capstan,  bar- 
rels, bales,  Slc  ,  vessels  in  distance. 

100s,  spread  eagle  on  shield— 100,  male  por- 
trart— C,  male  portrait. 


NEBRASKA  TEERITORY. 


SENATOR  P.  W.  HITCHCOCK'S  BANK  NOTE  REPORTER, 
USED  IN  1860 

Phineas  W.  Hitchcock  was  United 
States  Senator  from  Nebra.ska  from  1871 
to  1877.  He  was  the  father  of  our  pres- 
ent Senator  Gilbert  M.  Hitchcock.  Sen- 
ator P.  W.  Hitchcock  was  one  of  the 
leading  spirits  in  the  pioneer  period  of 
Nebraska  history.  He  was  the  author 
and  introducer  of  the  Timber  Culture  Act 
passed  by  Congress  in  1874.  His  name 
is  forever  associated  with  the  great  en- 
terprises of  the  empire  builders  of  the 
trans-Missouri  region. 

In  the  Nebraska  historical  library  is 
now  a  copy  of  Thompson's  Bank  Note 
and  Commercial  Reporter,  published  in 
1860.  A  fac-simile  of  the  title  page  of 
this  historical  document  is  printed  upon 
the  opposite  page  of  this  magazine.  The 
picture  shows  the  name  of  P.  W.  Hitch- 
cock written  thereon.  A  loop  at  its  upper 
left-hand  comer  shows  where  it  was 
hung  to  a  hook  in  Mr.  Hitchcock's  office 
for  ready  reference.  The  scattered  spots 
across  the  title  page  are  evidence  to  the 
historical  student  of  the  existence  of  files 
in  the  business  offices  of  pioneer  Ne- 
braskans. 

Thompson's  Reporter  was  a  necessity 
for  every  business  man  in  the  United 
States  in  the  period  of  state  bank  note 
circulation.  It  describes  and  gives  pic- 
tures of  all  the  foreign  coins  likely  to 
circulate  in  the  United  States  and  there 
were  many  of  them.  It  also  ogives  fac- 
similes of  many  of  the  state  bank  note 
issues  of  that  period  and  a  description  of 
all  of  them.  There  were  hundreds  of 
banks  under  state  charters  issuing  cur- 
rency under  various  degrees  of  regulation. 
Before  a  merchant  dared  accept  a  curren- 
cy bill  he  needed  to  look  up  the  stand- 
ing of  these  banks  and  examine  the  notes 
offered  for  possible  counterfeits,  of  which  there  were  many.  So  this  early 
Nebraska  book  is  of  very  rare  value,  made  all  the  more  so  by  bearing  the 
signature  of  the  first  Senator  Hitchcock. 

Upon  this  page  is  given  a  half-tone  of  the  page  of  Senator  Hitch- 
cock's Bank  Note  Reporter  which  shows  the  bank  notes  in  circulation  in 
Kansas  Territory  and  Nebraska  Territory  in  1860.  It  will  be  observed 
that  only  one  Kansas  Bank,  the  Kansas  Valley  Bank,  of  Atchison,  had 
its  notes  listed  in  the  Bank  Note  Reporter  of  1860.  For  Nebraska  Ter- 
ritory the  space  is  significantly  vacant.  There  were  plenty  of  Nebraska 
wildcat  banks  issuin,g  paper  currency  in  the  period  between  1855  and  1857. 
Over  $400,000  in  paper  currency  was  issued  by  these  Nebraska  banks. 
These  notes  are  -still  found  occasionally  in  the  papers  of  early  Nebraska 
pioneers.  They  are  interesting  to  museum  collectors.  In  the  Nebraska 
Historical  Society  museum  are  many  of  these  early  wildcat  notes.  But 
the  editor  of  Thompson's  Bank  Note  Reporter  in  1860  ruled  all  these  Ne- 
braska bank  notes  issued  out  of  his  publication.  This  Historical  Society 
is  indebted  to  Mr.  C.  A.  Westerfield,  3116  Mason  Street,  Omaha,  for  this 
valuable  addition  to  its  library. 


CANADA. 


26  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

SOME  DISTINGUISHED  OTOE  CHIEFS 

P'rom  Attorney  Edwin  R.  McNeill,  of  Pawnee  City,  Okla.: 

Chongatonga,  (now  spelled  Shunatona  by  the  Indian  Office,  which  is 
not  correct)  or  Bi,g  Horse  was  born  about  1838.  He  was  named  after 
his  grandfather,  the  head  chief  of  the  tribes  who  made  a  peace  and 
friendship  treaty  in  1817.  When  Shunk-co-pe  died  he  left  two  minor 
sons — Cha-doe-nah-ye,  or  Standing  Buffalo,  who  afterwards  took  the 
name  of  James  Arkeketa,  Sr.,  and  Chon-ga-tong-a,  or  Big  Horse.  Chon- 
,gatonga  was  a  brave  and  every  war  party  gotten  up  he  was  always 
selected  as  a  scout. 

His  activities  in  battles  won  for  him  the  divine  right  to  wear  two 
eagle  feathers  upon  his  scalp,  which  was  considered  the  highest  honor 
that  could  be  conferred  upon  a  brave.  As  a  brave  he  earned  for  himself 
a  name  among  his  people.  His  brother,  who  was  older  than  he,  was  a 
chief  and  took  the  name  of  Arkeketa. 

In  those  days  it  was  the  custom  of  the  various  Indian  Agents  to 
appoint  as  policemen  of  the  agency  the  braves  of  the  tribes,  so  when  the 
Otoes  settled  down,  he  was  appointed  as  a  policeman.  When  part  of 
the  tribes  under  Chiefs  Medicine  Horse  and  White  Horn  left  their  former 
reservation  in  Nebraska  and  moved  to  the  Indian  Teri'itory,  Chongatonga 
came,  because  he  had  favored  the  proposition  of  moving  to  the  lands  set 
apart  for  all  of  the  peaceful  Indians. 

When  the  rest  of  the  tribes  finally  gave  their  consent,  some  of  the 
chiefs  were  delegated  to  come  and  look  over  the  land  and  choose  their 
home.  His  brother,  James  Arkeketa,  was  on  e  of  those  to  come  and  he 
returned  with  his  brother  to  assist  him. 

He  was  a  policeman  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  and  for  his  efficiency 
and  faithfulness  to  his  duties  he  was  appointed  a  chief  of  the  tribes  by 
the  Indian  Office  and  approved  by  the  Interior  Department  on  July  6, 
1886.  He  took  sick  soon  after  he  became  a  chief  and  died  in  the  fall  of 
1887. 

Richard  William  Shunatona  (Chongatonga)  was  born  upon  the  plains 
of  western  Nebraska,  while  the  Otoes  were  on  their  annual  fall  hunt  for 
buffaloes  in  1876. 

From  the  words  of  Shunk-co-pe,  that  the  only  chance  for  the  red 
man  was  to  go  to  school  and  learn  to  move  the  head,  the  hand,  the  feet, 
the  body,  and  the  tongue  like  the  white  man,  and  also  from  his  own  ex- 
perience as  a  policeman,  he  saw,  so  he  wanted  his  son  to  receive  some 
education. 

He  sent  him  to  the  boarding  school  at  Otoe  and  when  he  finished 
the  grades  he  sent  him  to  Chilocco  Indian  School,  from  which  school  he 
graduated  in  1896. 

After  graduation  he  entered  the  government  service  as  a  clerk,  but 
resigned  on  account  of  the  race  prejudice  in  the  work. 

He  became  a  chief  and  was  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  leading  men 
of  the  tribes.  He  knew  the  ways  because  he  was  raised  in  the  council 
fires. 

He  is  the  head  of  the  buffalo  clan  and  has  represented  his  tribes  as 
a  delegate  to  Washington  several  times  and  is  now  one  of  the  five  men 
selected  by  the  Superintendent  to  act  as  a  Committee  to  transact  all 
tribal  business  wuth  the  government. 

He  is.  married  to  a  Pawnee  and  they  have  eight  children  who  are 
being  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Pawnee,  Okla.  His  children  do 
not  understand  their  Indian  tongue. 

He  is  of  good  royal  blood  from  both  sides  and  therefore  he  is  one 
and  belon,gs  to  the  aristocratic  families  of  the  tribes. 

(Editor's  Note)  The  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Otoe  tribe  signed  December  26,  1817  is  signed  by 
William  Clark,  Auguste  Choteau,  Benjamin  0'  Fallon.  Manuel  Lisa,  Jo- 
seph LaFIesche  (interpreter)  and  by  Chongaton,ga  (Big  Horse)  among 
the  Otoe  chiefs. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  27 

LETTER  FROM  INDIAN  COMMISSIONER  MANYPENNY 


To  Department  of  the  Interior, 

Ar-kee-kee-tah,  Office  Indian  Affairs, 

or  March  20,  1854. 

Stay  By  It. 

Principal  Chief  of  the  Confederate  Bands  of  OTTOE 
and  MISSOURI  Indians 

Having  conckided  the  business  which  brought  you  here, 
I  deem  it  my  duty  on  your  departure  for  your  home,  to  ex- 
press to  you  my  approbation  of  your  official  conduct  while 
here,  and  to  commend  the  interest  you  have  shown  for  the 
Ottoe  and  Missouri  people. 

On  your  return  to  the  Ottoes  and  Missourias,  you  will  find 
many  perplexities  and  difficulties ;  but  by  constant  persever- 
ance and  a  firm  determination  to  do  right  at  all  times  and  un- 
der all  circumstances,  you  will  be  sustained  in  all  your  efforts 
for  the  civilization  of  your  people;  and  it  may  be  allotted  to 
you  to  yet  see  them  in  quite  an  advanced  state  of  intellectual 
improvement,  and  each  family  comfortably  situated. 

Enjoin  on  them  habits  of  industry.  Teach  them  to  abhor 
idleness  and  the  accompanying  vices — such  as  gambling  and 
the  like. 

Urge  them  to  cease  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  for  intem- 
perance is  their  greatest  enemy. 

Encourage  the  young  to  go  to  school.  And  let  all  fear 
God  and  keep  his  commandments. 

A  great  responsibility  rests  on  you  and  the  other  Chiefs 
— and  I  ardently  hope  you  may  all  be  found  equal  to  any 
emergency  that  may  arise  in  your  country  and  among  your 
people. 

I  cannot  impress  too  strongly  on  you  the  necessity  of  at 
all  times  conducting  yourself  properly.  Your  example  should 
be  such  as  to  inspire  your  people  with  confidence.  Much  de- 
pends on  this.  I  confidently  hope  you  will  appreciate  the  deep 
responsibility  that  rests  on  you,  and  set  an  example  of  dili- 
gence, temperance,  patience  and  kindness  before  your  people. 

I  will  often  think  of  you  when  far,  far  away,  and  shall 
be  anxious  to  hear  the  news  from  your  country,  hoping  that 
it  may  always  be  good. 

Your  friend, 

GEO.  W.  MANYPENNY. 
Commissioner. 


The  original  of  the  above  interesting  historical  document  is  now  in 
the  museum  of  the  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society.  It  is  presented  by 
Richard  William  Shunatona,  representative  of  this  Society  to  the  Otoe 
tribe.  Mr.  Shunatona  is  very  much  interested  in  the  work  of  this  Society 
and  especially  in  preservation  of  the  history  and  traditions  of  the  Otoe 
tribe.  The  story  of  his  family  on  the  opposite  page  of  this  magazine  is 
an  interesting  contribution  to  this  history. 


28  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  CREEK  INDIANS 


John  R.  Swanton  is  one  or  the  most  painstaking  students 
and  attractive  writers  upon  American  Indians.  His  latest 
book  is  bulletin  73  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology — 
just  issued.  The  book  gives  a  condensed  story  of  the  Creak 
tribe  from  their  first  contact  with  white  people.  The  tribe 
was  one  of  those  encountered  by  the  Spanish  explorer,  Ferdi- 
nand De  Soto,  in  1539.  They  then  lived  in  the  Georgia  region, 
had  well-built  villages,  cultivated  fields  and  were  fierce  and 
warlike.  Ever  since  that  time  the  Creeks  have  been  among 
the  bravest  of  the  southern  tribes.  General  Jackson  found 
them  such  in  his  Indian  campaigns. 

For  Nebraska  readers  Mr.  Swanton's  last  volume  has 
chief  interest  from  its  account  of  the  Siouan  tribes  on  the  At- 
lantic coast.  These  tribes,  related  by  blood  and  language  to 
the  Nebraska  Otoe,  Omaha,  Ponca  and  Sioux  tribes,  have  al- 
most disappeared.  They  have  been  the  subject  of  special  stor- 
ies by  Mr.  Mooney  and  the  facts  brought  out  by  him  go  far  to 
confirm  the  traditions  of  the  Nebraska  tribes  that  their  an- 
cestors journeyed  a  long  distance  from  the  east  into  the  Miss- 
issippi valley  and  thence  up  the  Missouri  to  their  home  in  this 
state. 

A  valuable  feature  of  Mr.  Swanton's  book  is  a  series  of 
ten  maps  showing  the  location  of  the  various  southern  Indian 
tribes  as  described  by  the  early  white  explorers  and  their 
gradual  migration  westward  to  their  present  home  in  Okla- 
homa. 


J.  H.  Sweet,  editor  of  the  Nebraska  City  Daily  Press,  writes  the  fol- 
lowing very  interesting  comment  on  the  custom  of  New  Year's  Carriers 
address.  We  hope  other  editors  will  give  their  recollections  and  present 
practice : 

I  was  very  much  interested  in  your  article  on  "Carriers'  Addresses" 
wliich  appeared  in  a  recent  copy  of  "Nebraska  History."  You  wonder 
why  the  custom  did  not  survive. 

The  custom  does  survive  in  Nebraska  City.  Our  carriers  take  out 
with  them  on  each  New  Year's  Day  an  "address'  for  their  patrons.  Us- 
ually the  boys  are  rewarded.  The  "Address,"  however,  is  somewhat  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  was  in  vogue  in  the  early  sixties  and  seventies 
and  has  more  utilitarian  purpose.  It  is  usually  a  calendar  or  something 
of  that  sort. 

I  have  tried  to  stop  the  custom,  but  I  have  found  it  almost  impossible 
to  do  so.  The  carriers  expect  it  and  the  patrons,  good  naturedly,  have 
asked  that  it  be  continued.  Personally,  I  have  felt  that  the  boys'  monthly- 
compensation  should  be  sufficient,  but,  apparently,  my  opinion  has  not 
been  affirmed  by  the  higher  court. 

I  wonder  if  these  addresses  are  still  given  out  by  other  newspaper 
carriers — that  is,  in  other  portions  of  the  state. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  29 

PORTRAIT  OF  WM.  J.  BRYAN 


From  Mrs.  Josephine  Hull,  of  Los  Angeles,  California,  the 
Historical  Society  recently  received  the  gift  of  a  fine  portrait 
of  William  J.  Bryan,  and  this  letter : 

Yours  received  and  was  glad  to  know  you  received  the 
picture  of  Wm,  J.  Bryan  all  right.  In  regard  to  how  I  came  to 
make  it  was  through  request  of  Miss  Butterfield,  superintend- 
ent of  the  Art  department  of  the  Nebraska  building  at  the 
Trans-Mississippi  Exposition  at  Omaha,  who  came  to  my  Stu- 
dio and  asked  me  to  paint  several  life  size  portraits  to  be  ex- 
hibited there,  as  the  Nebraska  Artists'  donation,  I  being  a  resi- 
dent of  Nebraska  at  that  time,  1898,  and  as  my  husband  and 
I  were  great  admirers  of  William  J.,  we  took  it  with  us  to  Cal- 
ifornia— but  since  his  death,  and  my  son's  wife's  death,  am  at 
present  here  with  him. 

The  portraits  were  done  in  water  color  and  India  ink,  and 
were  of  ex-senator  Allen  of  Madison,  Nebraska,  Governor  Hol- 
comb,  ex-Governor  Dawes  of  Crete,  Nebraska,  and  ex-Senator 
Alhson  of  Iowa,  which  hung  in  the  Goveraor's  parlors  during 
the  Fair,  except  that  of  Governor  Holcomb  which  they  draped 
in  flags  and  hung  it  on  balcony,  over  fountain  in  center  of  main 
building,  opposite  entrance,  and  also  selected  my  five,  from 
the  many  and  hung  them  over  the  speakers  opening  day. 
Should  there  be  any  other  information,  would  gladly  give  it. 

JOSEPHINE  HULL. 


AN  ADDRESS  BY  HARDY  W.  CAMPBELL 

At  Alliance  on  February  15  deserves  place  in  the  historical  record. 
The  subject  of  his  address  was  ''Summer  Tillage"  and  was  a  condensa- 
tion of  twenty-five  years  experiment  and  experience  west  of  the  Missouri 
River.  Mr.  Campbell  was  not  the  inventor,  nor  the  discoverer,  of  what 
is  called  "Dry  Farming."  He  was  and  is  its  chief  publicity  agent  and 
promoter.  The  plan  in  its  essential  features  was  used  in  California, 
Utah,  and  other  dry  regions  many  years  before  it  was  tried  by  Mr.  Camp- 
bell in  South  Dakota  and  brought  to  Nebraska  by  him  in  the  early  nine- 
ties. A  propaganda,  organized  by  Mr.  Campbell  and  others,  had  its 
chief  center  of  distribution  in  Lincoln,  the  home  of  Mr.  Campbell  for  a 
number  of  years.  The  vast  literature  upon  dry  farming,  now  filling 
thousands  of  printed  pages,  started  here.  Looking  back  over  thirty 
years  it  can  now  be  seen  what  a  great  movement  then  began.  The  high 
plains  of  western  Nebraska,  Wyoming  and  Colorado  have  become  the 
homes  of  thousands  of  successful  farmers.  The  scientific  methods  for 
raising  crops  on  scant  rainfall,  and  their  limitations,  are  now  fairly  well 
established.  Successful  crops  cannot  be  grown  in  the  absence  of  water. 
Hot  winds  like  those  of  1894  and  little  rainfall  as  in  1910  will  reduce  dry 
farming  yields  below  the  point  of  profit.  But  the  avera,ge  yield  in  aver- 
age years  may  be  doubled  and  trebled  by  the  application  of  present  dry 
farming  methods.  H.  W.  Campbell,  as  the  largest  contributor  to  the  prac- 
tice and  the  propaganda  of  this  method,  deserves  high  rank  in  the  future 
history  of  Nebraska.  His  present  residence  is  at  Los  Angoles  where  he 
is  in  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad.  A  daugnter,  JMrs.  A. 
E.  Yarter,  lives  at  Alliance. 


30  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

THE  SIOUX-PAWNEE  WAR. 

Mr.  S.  C.  Bassett  ,a  member  of  the  Historical  Society  board,  and  one 
of  the  most  discriminating  students  of  Nebraska  history,  adds  his  per- 
sonal recollection  to  the  story  of  the  last  battle  field  of  the  Sioux- 
Pawnee  war  in  a  recent  letter: 

In  the  last  Historical  Society  quarterly  I  have  just  been  reading 
with  much  pleasure  and  interest  every  item  of  a  historical  nature,  and 
especially  "The  Last  Nebraska  Battlefield  of  the  Sioux-Pawnee  War." 

The  Pawnee  hunting  expedition  route  in  1873,  from  the  reservation 
to  the  hunting  grounds,  was  up  the  Platte  valley  following  the  public 
highw-ay  which  ran  close  beside  the  Union  Pacific  railroad.  We  were  liv- 
ing on  our  homestead  claim  a  mile  distant  from  this  highway.  James 
Ogiivie,  station  agent  at  Gibbon,  informed  us  that  hundreds  of  Pawnee 
Indians  were  coming  up  the  Platte  valley  going  on  an  annual  buffalo 
hunt  on  the  divide  between  the  Platte  and  Republican  rivers.  Train  men 
reported  that  the  Indians  had  camped,  the  night  before,  at  a  point  east 
of  the  present  village  of  Shelton,  and  our  family  all  went  to  che  high- 
way to  see  them  pass  by.  It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  when 
Indians  first  appeared.  First  were  several  hundred  Indian  men,  mount- 
ed on  ponies.  Following  were  ponies  dragging  tepee  poles  on  which 
were  the  camp  equipage,  these  in  charge  of  the  women.  Bringing  up  the 
rear  were  hundreds  of  loose  ponies  driven  by  the  Indian  boys  and  girls. 

The  procession  was  more  than  a  mile  in  length  and  all  our  people 
were  deeply  interested.  It  was  reported  the  Indians  crossed  the  Platte 
near  Plum  Creek  (now  Lexington).  The  divide  west  of  Ft.  Kearny  and 
south  of  the  Platte  was  the  last  stand  of  buffalo  in  Nebraska  and  very 
many  of  our  people  had  hunted  the  buffalo  in  that  region. 

We  first  learned  of  the  Sioux-Pawnee  battle  when  hundreds  of 
Pawnees  v/ere  hauled  in  box  cars  and  on  top  of  freight  cars,  on  the 
Union  Pacific  railroad  from  Plum  Creek  to  a  point  near  the  reservation. 


From  P.  M.  Hannibal — Howard  County. 

We  came  here  from  Wisconsin  in  1871  when  there  was  not  a  build- 
ing in  this  county.  About  200  Pawnee  Indians  camped  on  the  Loup 
River  within  a  mile  of  our  Danish  Colony  that  numbered  only  20  per- 
sons and  the  Sioux  were  not  far  away  and  we  were  not  sure  but  they 
might  come  any  day.  They  never  troubled  us  but  they  did  threaten  our 
friends  in  Valley  County  who  took  claims  up  there  in  1872.  The  Sioux 
got  so  close  that  all  the  Danes  up  there  left  their  claims  to  come  doAvii 
here  to  stay  with  us  a  while.  But  on  their  way  down  the  North  Loup 
they  met  a  lot  of  soldiers  going  up  with  a  gan,g  of  workers  to  build  a 
fort!  That  settled  the  Sioux  problem  for  them  and  for  us!  Later,  Jeppe 
Smith  became  first  postmaster  of  Ord.  The  post  office  was  on  his  claim 
about  four  miles  above  where  it  is  now.  Peter  Morteusen,  late  state 
treasurer,  was  the  first  school  district  treasurer  there.  I  w^as  the  first 
teacher  here,  helphig  some  other  Danes  to  learn  good  English.  I  taught 
the  first  and  second  terms  of  school  up  there.  Andersen,  Mortensen  and 
Smith  were  here  before  they  went  up  there.  We  had  many  a  good  talk 
together — "Li  the  days  when  we  were  pioneers — fifty  years  ago."  We 
got  our  postoffice  here  in  1872.  Before  that  our  neai*est  postoffice  was 
Grand  Island,  with  no  roads  or  bridges.  We  forded  the  Loup  with  oxen 
and  got  over  the  sloughs  and  sand  hills  the  best  we  could.  "In  God  we 
trust,"  was  our  motto  and  God  helped  us  all  the  way. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  31 

LOGAN  COUNTY— FIRST  THINGS. 

The  Gandy  Pioneer  gives  the  followinc:  as  among  the  first  happen- 
ings in  the  history  of  white  men  in  Logan  county.  Although  pjssessing 
a  fine  body  of  rich,  black,  table  land  and  splendid  water,  the  Logan 
county  region  was  flanked  by  sand  hills  and  out  of  the  beaten  path  of 
land  seekers.  It  was  not  until  the  middle  eighties,  after  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Burlington  road  across  Custer  county,  that  homesteaders 
settled  in  considerable  numbers  in  Logan.  This  record  of  the  earliest 
settlement  deserves  wider  knowledge  and  additional  detail.  It  would  be 
quite  worth  while  to  know  something  of  the  life  of  Thomas  Kirby,  the 
pioneer  hunter  and  trapper: 

Thomas  Kirby,  hunter  and  trapper,  in  the  summer  of  1873,  built  the 
first  house  in  Logan  county.  It  was  built  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Loup  River,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  north  of  the  town  of  Logan.  This 
house  was  part  dug  and  part  made  of  cedar  logs,  theie  being  a  big 
grove  of  these  in  the  canyon  near  by. 

The  canyons  surrounding  the  Clark  table  were  a  favorite  place  for 
black  tailed  deer  and  wild  horses  ran,ged  on  the  table  land. 

In  the  early  days  beaver  were  plenty,  also  a  few  otter.  They  d'd 
not  bother  to  trap  musk  rats  as  there  were  plenty  of  the  more  valuable 
and  larger  fur  beai'ing  animals. 

In  1876  Charlie  Ewing,  as  part  of  a  cattle  company  organized  at  Co- 
lumbus, Nebraska,  brought  in  a  car  load  of  Texas  cattle  and  built  a 
frame  house  on  the  north  side  of  the  Loup  one  mile  east  of  Logan,  on 
the  land  now  known  as  the  M.  Laughler  farm.  This  was  the  first  frame 
house  built  in  Logan  County. 

The  Camp  Fire  girls  of  Sutton  celebrated  Arbor  Day  by  planting  a 
red  cedar  tree  to  mark  the  spot  where  the  iirst  white  man  lived  at  that 
place.  The  man  was  Luther  French  who  homesteaded  in  1870  and  built 
a  dug-out  on  the  south  bank  of  School  Creek.  A  secret  room  was  dug 
with  the  dugout  where  his  children  could  hide  from  Indians  when  the 
father  was  away  huntin,g.  Underground  rooms  were  common  in  the 
early  period  of  settlement.  At  the  old  Fouse  ranch  on  Beaver  Creek,  a 
station  on  the  Nebraska  City-Denver  trail,  there  was  a  large  underground 
stable  capable  of  holding  a  hundred  head  of  stock.  This  was  constructed 
for  defense  against  Indian  attacks,  although  hostile  Indian  raids  never 
quite  reached  the  ranch.  The  "underground  fort"  at  the  Fouse  ranch 
is  one  of  the  outstanding  remembrances  of  the  editor's  childhood. 


V.  J.  McGonigle  of  Jackson,  Nebraska,  is  writing  a  most  interesting 
series  of  letters  in  the  Dakota  City  Herald  upon  the  early  white  history 
of  that  region.  Mr.  McGoni,gle  is  a  new  member  of  the  Historical  So- 
ciety and  promises  important  help  in  preserving  historical  material  in 
that  region. 


W.  A.  Anderson  settled  near  Ord  on  February  1,  1879.  There  are 
only  a  few  settlers  of  that  period  now  living.  He  is  the  donor  of  im- 
portant early  implements  to  our  museum. 


A  letter  from  Abraham  Lincoln  to  Judge  Reavis  of  Falls  City,  father 
of  Congressman  Frank  Reavis,  dated  November  5,  1855,  is  one  of  the 
documents  treasured  in  the  Reavis  family.  An  extract  from  the  letter 
reads  "Always  bear  in  mind  that  your  own  resolution  to  succeed  is  more 
important  than  anything  else." 


32  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

In  the  soldiers'  plat  in  the  San  Diego  cemetery,  I  recently  came  across 
a  grave  marked  with  one  of  the  regulation  marble  markers,  such  as  are 
furnished  by  the  government  for  soldiers,  and  also  with  a  granite  mon- 
ument.    The  marker  bears  this  inscription: 
"George  P.  Hall 
Co.  B.,  2nd  Neb.  Cav." 

The  monument  bears  the  following  inscription: 

"George  P.  Hall. 

April  22,  1841— May  12,  1915 

Mary  Elizabeth  Hall 

His  wife 

Dec.  28,  1847. ." 

GEORGE  J.  REMSBURG, 

San  Diego,  Cal. 


A  letter  from  Hon.  F.  F.  Haase,  of  Emerson,  President  of  the  Farm- 
ers' State  Bank  and  senator  from  that  district  in  1917,  adds  his  name  to 
the  membership  list  of  the  State  Historical  Society. 


The  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  in  Lincoln  have  placed  a 
complete  set  of  the  Massachusetts  Soldiers  and  Sailors  in  the  Historixral 
Library.  Mrs.  Elsie  Mastermann  has  contributed  typewritten  copies  of 
the  Tedrow  and  Mastermann  families  for  the  manuscript  files.  The  li- 
brarian desires  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  gifts  from  Mr.  Dale  P.  Stough, 
Mrs.  H.  R.  Fling,  Mr.  George  J.  Remsburg,  Mr.  N.  J.  Anderson,  Mr.  T. 
N.  Bobbitt,  and  the  Deborah  Avery  Chapter,  D.  A.  R. 


Mr.  George  F.  Smith  of  Waterbury,  sends  a  note  upon  the  death  of 
Augustus  H.  Surber  who  died  there  June  15,  1922.  He  enlisted  at  16 
years  of  age  in  Co.  E,  Fourth  Iowa  Infantry,  serving  three  years.  He 
settled  in  Dixon  county  in  1883  and  was  the  last  surviving  veteran  of 
the  Civil  War  at  that  place. 


John  Louis  Dougherty,  vice-president  of  the  Commercial  Bank  at 
Liberty,  Missouri,  writes  us  a  most  interesting  letter  relating  to  his  fam- 
ily. His  father  was  Lewis  B.  Dougherty,  son  of  John  Dougherty,  early 
Indian  trader  and  United  States  agent  to  the  Nebraska  Indians  in  the 
period  1820-1840.  His  aunt,  Annie  Elizabeth  Dougherty,  was  born  at 
Fort  Atkinson,  Aug.  29,  1824  and  was  therefore  one  of  the  first  white 
children  born  in  Nebraska.  She  married  Charles  F.  Ruff  of  the  United 
States  Army,  in  1842  and  had  four  children,  three  of  whom  are  still  liv- 
ing. She  died  in  Philadelphia,  July  11,  1909.  The  old  military  records  of 
Fort  Atkinson  do  not  give  reports  of  the  births  at  that  frontier  post, 
but  the  editor  of  this  magazine  hopes  to  establish  by  other  reliable  evi- 
dence the  birth  of  the  first  white  child  in  the  present  Nebraska  region, 
who  may  be  Annie  Elizabeth  Dougherty. 


Casper  Stork,  eighty-one,  died  at  Arlington  April,  1922.  Mr.  Stork 
was  a  member  of  the  Quincy  colony,  movin,g  from  the  city  of  that  name 
in  Illinois  to  Fontanelle  in  1858  and  has  resided  there  ever  since. 


Charles  W.  Pear&all,  court  reporter  at  Omaha,  finished  thirty-five 
years  service  in  that  profession  April  11,  1922.  Mr.  Pearsall  has  reported 
some  of  the  most  important  trials  held  in  Nebraska,  including  the  Yocum 
murder  trial  in  the  Dismal  river  region,  the  Comstock-Richards  land 
fraud  cases,  Mabray  frauds,  the  Union  Pacific  mail  robbery  at  Seymour 
and  many  others. 


STATEMENT    OF    THE    OWNERSHIP,    MANAGEMENT,    CIRCULA- 

TION,  ETC.,  REQUIRED  BY  THE  ACT  OF 

CONGRESS  OF  AUGUST  24,  1912 

Of 

Nebraska  History  and  Record  of  Pioneer  Days,  published  quarterly  at 
Lincoln,  Nebr.,  for  April,  1922. 

State  of  Nebraska,  County  of  Lancaster,  ss. 

Before  me,  a  Notary  Public  in  and  for  the  State  and  county  afore- 
said, personally  appeared  A,  E.  Sheldon,  who,  having  been  duly  sworn 
according  to  law,  deposes  and  says  that  he  is  the  Managing  Editor  of 
the  Nebraska  History  and  Record  of  Pioneer  Days,  and  that  the  follow- 
ing is,  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief,  a  ti-ue  statement  of  the 
ownership,  management  (and  if  a  daily  paper,  the  circulation),  etc.,  of 
the  aforesaid  publication  for  the  date  shown  in  the  above  caption,  re- 
quired by  the  Act  of  August  24,  1912,  embodied  in  section  443,  Postal 
Laws  and  Regulations,  printed  on  the  reverse  of  this  form,  to  wit: 

1.  That  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  publisher,  editor,  manag- 
ing editor,  and  business  managers  are; 

Publisher,  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 
Editor,  A.  E.  Sheldon,  Lincoln  ,Nebr. 
Managing  Editor,  A.  E.  Sheldon,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 
Business  Managers,  A,  E.  Sheldon,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 

2.  That  the  owners  are:  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society, 

3.  That  the  known  bondholders,  mortgagees,  and  other  security 
holders  owning  or  holding  1  per  cent  or  more  of  total  amount  of  bonds, 
mortgages,  or  other  securities  are:  None. 

4.  That  the  two  paragraphs  next  above,  giving  the  names  of  the 
owners,  stockholders,  and  security  holders,  if  any,  contain  not  only  the 
list  of  stockholders  and  security  holders  as  they  appear  upon  the  books 
of  the  company  but  also,  in  cases  where  the  stockholder  or  security  hold- 
er appears  upon  the  books  of  the  company  as  trustee  or  in  any  other 
fiduciary  relation,  the  name  of  the  person  or  corporation  for  whom  such 
trustee  is  acting,  is  given;  also  that  the  said  two  paragraphs  contain 
statements  embracing  affiant's  full  knowledge  and  belief  as  to  the  cix*- 
cumstances  and  conditions  under  which  stockholders  and  security  holders 
who  do  not  appear  upon  the  books  of  the  company  as  trustees,  hold  stock 
and  securities  in  a  capacity  other  than  that  of  a  bona  fide  owner;  and 
this  affiant  has  no  reason  to  believe  that  any  other  person,  association, 
or  corporation  has  any  interest  direct  or  indirect  in  the  said  stock,  bonds, 
or  other  securities  than  as  so  stated  by  him. 

A.  E.  SHELDON,  Editor. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  11th  day  of  April  1922. 
(SEAL)  MAX  WESTERMANN,  Notary  Public. 

(My  Commission  expires  Aug.  4,  1927.) 


NEBRASKA 


-y^-^ 


AND    RECORD    OF  , 


Vol.  V 


HISTORV 

PIONEER      DAVS 


July-S«ptember,  1922 


No.  3 


CONTENTS 

The  Nebraska  G.  A.  R 33 

Chalk  Bluff  or  Happy  Jack 34 

Freighting — Buffalo  Breeding — Pawnee  Squaw  35 

Skull  Creek,  Butler  County 36 

Crist  Anderson — Josiah  Miner — G.  F.  Smith     .  37 

Good  Old  Man — H.  W.  Brown — Jacob  Adriance  38 

Whitney  Village,  Dawes  County 39-40 

General  John  M.  Thayer 41-46 

Site  of  Plum  Creek  Massacre 47-48 

Death  of  Mrs.  John  Pilcher 49 


PUBLISHED    QUARTERLY    BY    THE    NEBRASKA    STATE 
HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 
LINCOLN 


Entered  as  second  class  matter  February  4,  1918,  at  the  Post  Office, 
Lincoln,  Nebraska,  under  Act  August  24,  1912. 


THE  NEBRASKA  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

Made  a  State  Institution  February  27,  1883. 

An  act  of  the  Nebraska  legislature,  recommended  by  Governor 
James  W.  Dawes  in  his  inau??ural  and  signed  by  him,  made  the  State 
Historical  Society  a  State  institution  in  the  following: 

Be  it  Enacted  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Nebraska: 

Section  1.  That  the  "Nebraska  State  Historical  Society,"  an  or- 
ganization now  in  existence — Robt.  W.  Furnas,  President;  James  M. 
Woolworth  and  Elmer  S.  Dundy,  Vice-Presidents;  Samuel  Aughey, 
Secretary,  and  W.  W.  Wilson,  Treasurer,  their  associates  and  successors — 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  recognized  as  a  state  institution. 

Section  2.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President  and  Secretary 
of  said  institution  to  make  annually  repoi-ts  to  the  governor,  as  required 
by  other  state  institutions.  Said  report  to  embrace  the  transactions  and 
expenditures  of  the  organization,  together  with  all  historical  addresses, 
which  have  been  or  may  hereafter  be  read  before  the  Society  or  furnished 
it  as  historical  m.atter,  data  of  the  state  or  adjacent  western  regions  of 
country. 

Sertion  3.  That  saxl  reports,  addresses,  and  papers  shall  be  pub- 
lished at  the  expense  of  the  state,  and  distributed  as  other  similar  official 
reports,  a  reasonable  number,  to  be  decided  by  the  state  and  Society,  to 
be  furnished  said  Society  for  its  use  and  distribution. 

Property,  and  Equipment 

The  present  State  Historical  Society  owns  in  fee  simple  title  as 
trustee  of  the  State  the  half  block  of  land  opposite  and  east  of  the  State 
House  with  the  basement  thereon.  It  occupies  for  offices  and  working 
quarters  basement  rooms  in  the  University  Library  building  at  11th  and 
R  streets.  The  basement  building  at  16th  and  H  is  crowded  with  the 
collection-^  of  the  Historical  Society  which  it  can  not  exhibit,  including 
some  15,000  volum.es  of  Nebraska  newspapers  and  a  large  part  of  its 
museum.  Its  rooms  in  the  University  Library  building  are  likewise 
crowded  with  library  and  museum  material.  The  annual  inventory  of 
its  property  returned  to  the  State  Auditor  for  the  year  1920  is  a?  follows: 

Value  of  Land,  Vs  block  16th  and  H $75,000 

Value  of  Buildings  and   perinanent  improvement.s 35,000 

Value  of  Furniture  and  Furnishings 5,000 

Value    of    Special      Equipment,     including     Apparatus, 

Machinery  and  Tools 1,000 

Educational  Specimens  (Art,  Museum,  or  other) 74,800 

Library  (Books  and  Publications) 75,000 

Newspaper  Collection 52,395 

Total  Resources $318,195 

Much  of  this  property  is  priceless,  being  the  only  articles  of  their 
kind  and  impossible  to  duplicate. 


NEBRASKA  ,       .    HI5TORV 

yVND    RECORD    OF  \  .,  PIONEER      D^AiVS 

.  sji       k.-         A 


•^^^^^^'"'  >tF' 


;• '.  ''"tiS^Tr^r"'^^^^^' 


Published   Quarterly   by  the    Nebraska    Historical   Society 


Addison  E.  Sheldon, 

Editor 

Subscription,  $2.00  per  year 

All 

sustaining 
Nebraska 

members    of    the     Nebraska    State     His 
History   and  other  publications  without 

torical 
further 

Society    receive 
payment. 

Vol 

V 

July-September 

1922 

No. 

3 

The  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  in  Nebraska  marches  on  with  the 
flag,  its  ranks  greatly  diminished.  State  Adjutant  Harmon  Bross  gives 
the  present  numbers  as  149  posts  and  1,731  members.  Thirty  years  ago 
there  were  350  posts  and  nearly  10,000  members.  During  the  year  1922 
156  members  passed  on.  Five  posts  in  the  state  disbanded  during  the 
year  for  lack  of  membership.  Under  arrangements  made  by  Adjutant 
Bross  the  original  records  of  posts  now  disbanded  are  taken  in  charge  by 
the  State  Historical  Society  and  carefully  preserved  for  future  histori- 
cal use.  A  hundred  years  from  now  these  records  will  be  regarded  as 
treasures  of  the  greatest  importance,  equal  in  interest  and  value  to  those 
of  the  Revolutionary  War.  We  are  yet  too  near  the  period  of  the  Civil 
War  adequately  to  estimate  the  importance  to  America  and  to  the  world 
of  its  results.  One  thought  gives  a  clue  to  this.  America  has  become 
the  strongest  nation  in  the  world,  its  influence  the  most  powerful  in  world 
councils.  The  influence  of  America  for  the  peace  and  good  will  of  the 
nations  is  the  great  hope  of  the  world.  How  different  all  this  if  our 
great  country  had  been  permanently  divided  by  secession. 


Peter  Berlet  died  at  Auburn,  January  27,  1923,  aged  82.  He  was 
born  in  France,  settled  in  Nemaha  county  in  1866  and  had  a  long, success- 
ful and  influential  career.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Nebraska  House  of 
Representatives  in  1899  and  of  the  senate  in  1901.  He  was  one  of  a 
group  of  French  speaking  Nebraskans  in  Nemaha  and  Richardson  coun- 
ties, where  the  natives  of  France  and  of  Germany  dwell  in  peace  side  by 
side,  even  in  time  of  World  War. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY 
CHALK  BLUFF  OR  HAPPY  JACK 


A  Land  Mark  in  the  North  Loup  Valley 


The  Seventh  Day  Baptist  people  settled  at  North  Loup 
fifty  years  ago.  They  were  an  industrious,  God-fearing  folk, 
intelligent,  inclined  to  read,  rather  set  in  their  religious  faith 
and  willing  to  debate  the  subject  with  any  one  who  was  rash 
enough  to  run  the  risk.  They  made  a  settlement  that  "stuck." 
The  beautiful  farms  were  opened  along  the  valley.  The  more 
adventurous  climbed  the  hills  and  made  good  there.  Theirs 
was  the  common  experience  of  pioneers  in  Nebraska  fifty  years 
ago.  The  grasshopper  made  his  abode  with  them.  The 
Sioux  Indians  occasionally  raided  down  the  Loup.  Dry  weath- 
er and  hot  winds  encouraged  religious  zeal  by  removing  the 
temptation  of  much  earthly  possessions. 

But  the  Seventh  Day  people  stayed  on,  worshipping  God 
after  their  own  conscience  and  hanging  out  their  washing  Sun- 
day morning.  So  they  plan  to  celebrate  their  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary at  North  Loup  next  August  and  expect  to  have  a  great 
homecoming  of  the  children  and  friends  from  the  four  quar- 
ters of  the  world  and  the  seven  seas.  The  Bulletin  of  the 
Seventh  Day  Baptist  Church  at  North  Loup  is  an  eight  page 
periodical  which  brings  this  news  to  the  Historical  Society  li- 
brary. It  brings  also  on  its  front  page  a  picture  of  Chalk 
Bluff  or  Happy  Jack,  which  is  a  bold  hill  on  the  North  Loup 
river  so  chalky  white  that  it  may  be  seen  for  many  miles.  It 
tells  this  tale  of  the  bluff: 

"Happy  Jack  Swearenger,  a  trapper  and  government  scout 
lived  at  one  time  in  a  dugout  below  this  bluff,  which  gave  it 
the  name  of  Happy  Jack.  It  is  said  that  as  Mr.  Rood,  pioneer 
Seventh  Day  Baptist,  was  hurrying  back  to  camp  after  his 
initial  trip  to  the  top  of  the  bluff,  he  stumbled  over  Happy 
Jack  who  was  fast  asleep  on  one  of  the  cat  steps  on  the  side  of 
the  bluff.  Immediately  he  found  himself  facing  Happy  Jack's 
gun  but  as  soon  as  the  scout  saw  the  situation  Mr.  Rood  was 
allowed  to  go  unmolested." 

The  Bulletin  further  exhorts  with  the  following  invita- 
tion: 

"Come  and  tell  us  of  your  experience  with  poverty,  home- 
sickness, drouth,  grasshoppers,  blizzards,  prairie  fires,  hunt- 
ing, fighting,  dugouts,  leaky  sod  houses,  and  don't-  forget  the 
fleas." 


G.  B.  Pavey  died  at  Grand  Island  December  10,  1922  in  his  70th 
year.  He  came  to  Nebraska  in  July  1858,  and  has  been  a  continuous 
resident. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  35 

Freighting  from  the  Missouri  river  to  the  mouatains  was  a  favor- 
its  and  almost  universal  means  of  existence  for  Nebraska  settlers  in  the 
territorial  period.  It  was  the  one  occupation  which  brought  in  money 
to  many  a  log  cabin  home  and  enabled  the  family  to  stick  by  their  land. 
One  by  one  the  old  Nebraska  freighters  pass  on.  Peace  to  their  mem- 
ory. Many  a  time  the  writer  of  these  lines  has  been  given  a  free  ride 
by  the  bull-whackers  of  the  freighting  outfits  on  the  old  well-traveled 
trail  leading  from  Nebraska  City  to  Fort  Kearny  and  the  mountains. 
They Weie  fast-disappearing  from  the  trail  then,  as  the  railroads  push- 
ed westward  taking  their  job  away  from  them.  Often  the  writer  has 
listened  to  their  complaint  that  the  railroads  were  ruining  the  Nebras- 
ka country,  driving  the  freighting  wagons  off  tlie  trail,  taking  away  the 
market  of  the  early  ranchmen  and — worst  of  all — bringing  in  an  alien 
population  untrained  in  the  fine  art  of  hospitality  and  fellowship  wliich 
followed  the  overland  trails  from  the  beginning.  These  musings  and 
memories  started  by  noting  the  death  of  Jacob  M.  Epler  at  Julian, 
Nemaha  county,  November  26',  1922,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year.  Mr.  Ep- 
ler began  freighting  with  oxen  from  Nebraska  City  in  1859  and  follow- 
ed the  freighting  trail  for  five  years,  most  of  the  time  in  the  government 
service.  He  then  settled  upon  a  Nebraska  farm  and  made  an  honorable 
record  throughout  his  successful  career. 


Fred  Uhlir,  of  Verdigree,  Knox  county,  startled  his  community  by 
unloading  four  head  of  young  buffales  at  that  station  the  last  week  in 
January.  He  bought  them  from  a  buffalo  ranch  at  Pierre,  South  Dakota, 
paying  $1,000  for  the  four.  A  bull  and  three  cows  composed  the  ship- 
ment. It  is  the  intention  of  Mr.  Uhlir  to  increase  the  herd  and  use  them 
in  crossing  upon  cattle  for  the  purpose  of  securing  buffalo  robes  as  well  as 
beef.  The  time  when  buffalo  hides  sold  from  the  hunter's  wagon  at  a 
dollar  a  piece  and  every  settler's  dugout  and  sod  house  had  buffalo  robes 
on  its  beds  seems  like  yesterday  to  the  editor  of  this  magazine.  From  his 
boyhood  home  every  autumn  went  forth  a  dozen  wagons  filled  with  buf- 
falo hunters  bound  for  the  Republican  valley — then  the  great  buffalo  - 
hunting  field.  No  cornfed  beef  can  ever  compare  with  the  rich,  delicate 
gramma  grass  flavor  of  the  wild  buffalo.  In  later  years  frontier  families 
pined  for  the  good  old  buf  falo  steak  and  dried  buffalo  which  had  been 
their  chief  diet  during  the  period  of  early  settlement.  Children  of  that 
time  could  not  be  persuaded  to  eat  dried  beef  after  the  disappearance  of 
the  buffalo.  Here's  a  hope  that  the  buffalo  will  survive  in  Nebraska,  his 
original  home  of  greatest  numbers.  Buffalo  robes  now  command  from 
$100  to  $300  apiece  and  the  cross  of  the  buffalo,  especially  upon  the  black 
breeds  of  cattle,  is  said  to  produce  a  robe  of  extraordinary  beauty. 


A  monument  was  recently  erected  on  the  John  Reiter  fanii  near  In- 
dianola.     Upon  it  is  this  inscription: 

"Pawnee  Squaw,  wounded  in  battle  between  Sioux  and  Pawnees  Aug- 
ust 5,  1873,  at  Massacre  canyon;  left;  for  dead;  was  picked  up  by  a  hunt- 
er; brought  to  Indianola  and  left  at  the  home  of  L.  B.  Korn,  where  she 
died  a  few  days  later.  Burial  made  by  E.  S.  Hill,  L.  B.  Korn  and  G.  A. 
Hunter." 

The  grave  of  this  Pawnee  woman  has  been  enclosed  \vith  a  strong 
fence  made  from  gas  pipe  and  the  large  stone,  set  in  cement,  which  stands 
as  a  monument  ought  to  protect  the  grave  through  all  future  years.  Mr. 
E.  S.  Hill,  one  of  those  who  buried  the  woman  in  1873,  is  the  chief  pro- 
motor  of  this  monument. 


36  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

SKULL  CREEK,  BUTLER  COUNTY 

The  story  of  Skull  Creek  in  Butler  County  and  days  of 
early  settlement  there  is  told  in  graphic  tale  by  an  early  set- 
tler. 

Skull  Creek  is  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Butler  County. 
Linwood  is  the  principal  nearby  town.  A  great  Pawnee  vil- 
lage stretched  along  the  bench  land  of  the  Platte  valley  there 
for  many  years.  We  have  records  of  visits  to  this  village  in 
1833  and  at  intervals  thereafter  by  government  agents,  mili- 
tary officers  and  explorers. 

The  bluffs  back  of  the  bench  land  were  graveyards  of  the 
Pawnee  nation  for  many  years.  The  editor  of  this  magazine 
has  paid  several  visits  to  this  ancient  cemetery.  Everywhere 
the  hills  are  dotted  with  sunken  spots  and  the  rank  growth  of 
sunflowers  marking  the  graves  of  these  early  Nebraska  peo- 
ple. Modern  white  settlers  have  shown  no  more  respect  for 
the  dead  than  the  explorers  in  Egypt  have  shown  for  king  Tut- 
ank-ahmen.  Everywhere  the  spade  of  the  white  man  had 
dug  into  the  graves,  throwing  out  bones,  beads,  fragments  of 
weapons,  clothing.  Many  a  Pawnee  chief  will  wander  empty 
handed  across  the  fields  of  the  happy  hunting  grounds  for  lack 
of  the  weapons  his  people  placed  with  such  loving  care  by  his 
side. 

Skull  Creek  received  its  name  from  an  abundance  of  skulls 
washed  out  by  the  waters  from  the  bluffs,  oi",  as  one  tradi- 
tion tells,  left  on  the  battle  field  in  a  great  fight  many  years 
before.  The  writer  of  this  story,  whose  family  settled  in  But- 
ler county  in  1863  says : 

"Once  a  year  the  Omahas,  Otoes  and  Pawnees  would  come 
and  spend  several  days  in  marching  around  these  graves,  sing- 
ing and  moaning  for  the  loss  of  their  honored  dead.  It  was 
the  delight  of  the  settler  to  dig  into  these  graves  to  see  what 
might  be  found.  Gun  barrels,  iron  saddle  stirrups,  and  bones 
were  found.  The  finding  of  these  things  goes  to  prove  the 
fact  that  v/hen  an  Indian  warrior  is  buried,  that  his  horse, 
saddle,  and  gun,  is  buried  with  him  as  he  is  supposed  to  need 
them  in  the  happy  hunting  ground  where  he  is  going.  My 
wife  can  well  remember  of  going  up  on  this  bluff  when  she 
was  a  girl,  and  picking  up  all  kinds  of  beads  in  great  quantities 
found  on  the  ground  around  these  graves. 

"At  the  foot  of  this  bluff  was  a  field  of  about  thirty  acres 
surrounded  by  a  wall  of  dirt,  some  eight  or  ten  feet  high,  made 
by  the  Indians  and  used  as  a  fort,  or  breastwork  in  time  of 
battle.  A  gi-eat  portion  of  this  wall  was  made  from  dirt  dug 
up  near  where  the  wall  was  built,  yet  not  all,  for  a  lot  of  it 
was  brought  from  the  'catcher'  holes  that  were  dug  in  great 
numbers  all  over  the  field.     These  holes  were  very  curiously 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  37 

made.  They  were  dug  round  and  not  larger  at  the  top  than 
a  wash  tub,  and  dug  about  that  size  down  for  some  three  or 
four  feet,  then  they  were  dug  out  inside  just  the  shape  of  a 
jug.  Some  of  them  were  ten  or  twelve  feet  across  and  often 
ten  feet  deep.  Into  these  holes  the  Indians  would  place  their 
corn  and  such  things  as  they  had  stored  up  for  winter,  so  that 
when  the  enemy  came  upon  them,  they  could  be  driven  off,  and 
afterward  come  back  and  dig  up  their  stuff.  The  object  of 
digging  these  holes  in  such  a  shape,  was  to  have  as  small  a 
top  as  possible  so  that  it  could  be  covered  in  such  a  manner 
that  no  one  but  the  owner  could  find  it.  And  so  the  dirt  from 
these  holes  was  carried  by  the  squaws  in  their  blankets  and 
lielped  to  build  the  wall  around  the  field." 

(Editor's  Note:  These  holes  were     "caches,"     from  the 
French  word  "cacher" — to  hide  or  conceal.) 


Representative  Crist  Anderson,  of  Bristow,  Boyd  county,  puts  an- 
other big  Nebraska  storm  on  the  calendar  in  an  article  printed  in  the 
Bristow  Enterprise  October  18,  1922.     He  writes: 

VForty-two  years  ago,  October  15  and  16,  1880,  a  howling  blijizard 
and  snow  storm  was  raging  over  these  prairies.  We  then  lived  in  a 
little  log  house  on  Turkey  Creek  in  Holt  county.  Many  of  the  leaves 
\\ere  still  on  the  trees  as  they  are  now.  The  storm,  as  I  remember  it, 
lasted  nearly  three  days  and  left  over  a  foot  of  snow  on  the  level,  and 
just  a  part  of  the  sod  corn  stalks  sticking  out.  Some  of  that  snow  re- 
mained in  the  draws  until  the  next  May, 

'  Our  log  hut  was  small,  no  floor,  a  board  and  dirt  roof,  but  it  was 
warm  and  we  had  plenty  to  eat,  plenty  of  wood  and  we  did  not  suffer 
as  did  some  that  hard,  long  winter.  Some  of  the  people  could  not  get 
supplies  and  many  had  to  grind  corn  in  their  coffee  mills.  Game  of  all 
kinds  was  plentiful." 


Josiah  Miner,  who  settled  nine  miles  southwest  of  Friend  in  1872 
and  still  lives  on  his  original  soldier's  homestead,  has  a  splendid  grove 
of  walnut  trees  planted  by  him  fifty  years  ago.  Mr.  Miner  is  originator 
of  the  idea  of  a  walnut  log  cabin  upon  the  new  capitol  grounds  as  a  per- 
manent memorial  to  the  soldier  homesteaders  of  Nebraska.  A  model 
of  this  log  cabin  has  been  presented  by  Mr.  Miner  to  the  Historical  So- 
ciety and  use<l  for  illustration  of  his  idea  before  members  of  the  legis- 
lature. 


Hon.  George  F.  Smith  of  Waterbury,  Dixon  county,  writes  a  warm 
letter  of  appreciation  for  volume  XX.  He  says:  "I  can  scarcely  give 
expression  to  my  delight  and  gratification  in  reading  this  volume.  It 
is  a  great  book  and  so  historically  correct  that  while  reading  it  one  can 
almost  see  the  stirring  events  of  that  early  period  being  enacted.  My 
father  was  one  of  the  forty-niners.  He  drove  oxen  from  Galena,  Illinois, 
to  Sacramento,  California,  in  the  summer  of  forty-nine  and  was  conse- 
quently one  of  that  great  company  which  the  book  so  adequately  por- 
trays. How  rich  indeed  is  this  imperial  state  of  Nebraska  in  the  poss- 
ession of  so  large  a  part  of  the  area  in  which  those  wonderful  deeds  were 
done." 


38  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

DEATH  OF  GOOD  OLD  MAN 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  probably  the  oldest  In- 
dian died  on  the  reservation  near  Walthill  January  12,  1923. 
This  was  Ta-ou-ka-han,  translated  into  English,  Good  Old 
Man.  Old  Indians  reckoned  their  age  by  the  time  when  as 
they  say  "the  stars  fell."  This  remarkable  phenomenon, 
which  filled  the  night  with  blazing  meteors  from  horizon  to 
horizon,  occurred  in  1833  and  impressed  itself  upon  all  the  In- 
dian tribes.  Good  Old  Man  was  nine  years  old  at  the  time  ac- 
cording to  his  story.  Besides  his  Indian  name  and  its  transla- 
tion, Good  Old  Man  was  named  Arthur  Ramsey  by  the  white 
missionaries. 

Good  Old  Man  was  born  when  the  tribe  lived  on  the  Elk- 
horn  riv'sr  near  Frem.ont.  Later  the  tribe  moved  to  a  vil- 
lage site  near  the  present  town  of  Homer.  Still  later  they 
moved  to  the  Papillion  valley,  giving  up  that  region  by  the 
treaty  of  1854  and  moving  to  the  present  location,  then  called 
Blackbird  Hills. 

Good  Old  Man  told  the  story  of  the  buffalo  hunt  on  Beav- 
er Creek,  in  what  is  now  Boone  county  in  the  summer  of  1855, 
when  Logan  Fontenelle  was  killed  by  the  Sioux.  Good  Old 
Man  was  selected  by  the  Ethnological  Bureau  at  Washington 
as  one  of  the  typical  Indians  for  a  portrait  in  the  Smithsonian 
museum.  Some  years  ago  the  editor  of  this  magazine  secured 
phonographic  records  of  Good  Old  Man's  favorite  songs  in  the 
Omaha  tongue  and  very  excellent  photographs  while  singing 
these  songs. 


A  land  mark  of  early  Lincoln  was  H.  W.  Brown,  the  bookstore  man. 
For  forty  years  lie  was  in  the  drug:  and  book  business  in  Lincoln.  He 
was  one  of  the  old-fashioned  book  dealers.  He  loved  books.  People  loved 
to  talk  with  him  about  books.  His  book  store  was  a  center  of  book  in- 
terest. "With  him_  the  love  of  books  was  greater  than  the  love  of  money 
and  he  had  no  mind  for  adoption  of  more  modern  commercial  methods 
which  sell  books  regardless  of  merit  or  development  of  book  taste  in  the 
public.  Mr.  Brown  sold  out  his  book  business  in  Lincoln  a  number  of 
years  ago  and  is  now  living  at  the  age  of  79  near  his  boyhood  home  at 
Sidney,  Maine.  He  served  as  a  Union  soldier  in  the  Civil  War  and  was 
a  prisoner  at  Andersonville,  finally  making  his  escape  from  the  rebel 
prison  at  Florence,  South  Carolina,  and  getting  back  to  the  Union  lines. 


The  story  of  the  pioneer  preachers  of  the  gospel  in  Nebraska  is  one 
of  great  interest  and  social  value.  One  of  them,  Rev,  Jacob  Adriance, 
died  at  Fremont  December  18,  1822,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven.  He  set- 
tled at  Tekamah  in  1857  and  began  his  service  as  a  minister  of  the  M.  E. 
church.  Since  that  time  he  was  almost  continuously  in  the  missionary 
church  service  until  a  few  years  ago  when  failing  health  caused  his  re- 
tirement. In  1862  he  secured  a  farm  in  Dodge  County  on  a  soldier's  land 
warrant  issued  to  his  father  and  signed  by  Abraham  Lincoln. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  39 

WHITNEY  VILLAGE,  DAWES  COUNTY 

A  recent  issue  of  the  News,  published  at  Whitney,  revives 
memories  and  historical  recollections  connected  with  that  vil- 
lage. The  editor  of  this  magazine  first  visited  Whitney  in  the 
summer  of  1888  and  for  the  next  eight  years  in  his  work  as  a 
Dawes  County  editor  was  a  frequent  visitor  in  that  commun- 
ity. 

The  story  of  Whitney  might  well  be  entitled  "The  Rise 
and  Fall  and  Rise  Again  of  a  Frontier  Community."  The  first 
white  village  in  the  neighborhood  called  Dawes  City  was  lo- 
cated on  the  south  side  of  the  White  River  about  a  mile  from 
the  present  Whitney.  It  was  planned  to  be  the  county  seat  of 
Dawes  County,  but  Chadron,  the  railroad  division  point,  out- 
voted all  other  rivals  for  that  honor.  When  the  Chicago  and 
Northwestern  Railroad  (then  called  Fremont,  Elkhorn  and 
Missouri  Valley)  built  west  from  the  White  River  in  1886  the 
walls  of  a  large  Sioux  earth  lodge  were  standing  on  the  bank 
of  the  White  River  near  the  right  of  way.  The  station  was 
christened  Earth  Lodge.  A  little  later,  when  settlers  came 
in  and  began  to  homestead  and  preempt  the  White  River  val- 
ley, there  w^as  objection  to  Earth  Lodge  as  a  name  and  the  rail- 
road company  changed  the  name  to  Whitney,  in  honor  of  P. 
Whitney,  whom  many  settlers  of  that  time  remember  as  a 
very  active  gentleman  who  handled  the  sale  of  town  lots  along 
the  line  of  the  railroad. 

The  village  of  Whitney  enjoyed  a  boom  in  the  years  1887- 
89.  A  continual  stream  of  settlers  poured  in.  Not  only  the 
White  River  valley,  but  the  smooth  "gumbo"  prairie  north  of 
Whitney  was  rapidly  claimed  by  the  newcomers.  Several 
store  buildings  went  up  in  Whitney.  A  dozen  business  houses 
started,  stores,  shops,  a  hotel,  churches.  A  mill  located  there 
and  a  newspaper  started.  Providence  sent  the  rain  just  right 
for  the  rich  gumbo  land.  Many  fields  of  spring  wheat  yielded 
thirty  and  forty  bushels  to  the  acre  in  1889.  It  seemed  that 
nothing  could  stop  the  high  tide  of  prosperity  from  filling  the 
White  River  valley. 

Then  rapidly  came  the  dry  years,  beginning  with  1890. 
The  financial  panic  came  along  in  1893.  Settlers  mortgaged 
their  claims,  and  moved  to  the  mountains,  back  east,  down  into 
the  Ozarks.  Whitney  began  to  fade  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 
It  was  at  this  period  that  a  famous  political  epigram  was  coin- 
ed in  Whitney.  It  was  the  hard  times  campaign  of  1894 — 
Silas  A.  Holcomb  of  Broken  Bow  running  as  populist  candidate 
for  governor  against  Thomas  J.  Majors  of  Peru,  republican 
candidate.  Joint  debates  were  held  between  the  populists  and 
the  republicans  in  the  school  houses.  At  a  debate  in  Whitney 
George  A.  Eckles,  Chadron  lawyer,  spoke  first  for  the  repub- 


40  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

licans.  He  painted  the  blackest  picture  possible  of  the  condi- 
tion which  would  follow  if  Holcomb  were  elected.  Credit 
would  be  refused  the  people  of  Nebraska  by  eastern  merchants 
and  money-enders.  Loans  would  be  called.  Banks  and  stores 
would  break.  Farmers  would  be  sold  out  by  the  sheriff.  At 
the  close  of  forty  minutes  Mr.  Eckles  had  demonstrated  his 
g-reat  ability  as  a  prophet  of  disaster.  Before  the  populist 
speaker  assigned  to  reply  to  Mr.  Eckles  would  get  the  floor, 
Von  Harris,  a  farmer  living  just  west  of  Whitney,  rose  from  a 
back  seat  and  made  this  speech :  "Mr.  Chairman,  hard  times, 
can't  hurt  Whitney."  The  effect  was  electrical.  A  great  roar 
of  laughter  and  stamping  of  feet  filled  the  room.  The  ans- 
wer was  so  complete  that  subsequent  speakers  scarcely  refer- 
red to  the  disastrous  prophesy. 

Since  that  time  the  village  of  Whitney  nearly  disappeared 
from  the  map,  ambitious  ranchers  hauling  its  houses  miles 
across  the  country  to  locate  on  their  claims.  The  mill  burned 
down.  The  editor  flew  as  far  as  Mexico.  Just  a  little  group 
of  old-timers  gathered  at  the  post  oft  ice  and  swapped  stories 
about  the  early  boom.  Then  things  happened,  one  by  one. 
The  White  River,  Trunk  Butte  Creek,  East  and  West  Ash, 
Cottonwood  and  Lone  Tree  streams  were  impounded  and  their 
waters  spread  out  upon  strips  of  land.  Alfalfa  was  planted. 
Winter  wheat  put  in.  The  potato  crop  found  a  place  in  the 
valley.  Dry  farming  methods  came  in.  Cows  vvere  milked 
and  the  cream  separator  swiftly  whirled.  Hens  and  eggs  and 
pigs  and  cows  multiplied. 

So  Whitney  came  back.  It  now  has  a  community  club  of 
two  hundred  members.  It  has  a  twenty  thousand  dollar 
school  liouse.  It  has  a  lumber  yard,  two  general  stores,  a  bank, 
a  grain  elevator,  a  hotel,  plenty  of  garages,  lots  of  pep  and  a 
newspaper.  Thus  the  "Rise  and  Fall  and  Rise  Again  of  Whit- 
ney village  in  Dawes  County"  makes  an  epic  cycle  of  Nebraska 
history.     And  all  true. 


Interesting  sociology  items  printed  in  the  Fairbury  Journal  of 
December  7  recall  two  events  of  half  a  century  ago  which  could  not 
happen  now.  First  of  these  was  a  lotteiy  project  for  the  purpose  of 
raising  money  for  a  Nebraska  State  Orphan  Asylum.  Second  was  a 
proposition  submitted  to  the  voters  of  Jenkins  Mills  (then  an  important 
point  in  Jefferson  county)  to  vote  twelve  thousand  dollars  bonds  to  aid 
in  the  establishment  of  a  foundry  and  machine  shop  at  that  place.  The 
precinct  was  to  own  stock  in  the  enterprise.  Only  a  fevv^  of  the  old- 
timers,  or  historical  students  of  economic  events,  realize  how  often  in 
the  early  years  were  these  propositions  for  aid  in  establishing  factories 
by  bond  issues  put  across  in  the  western  states.  The  ambition  of  early 
towns  to  become  manufacturing  centers  made  them  an  easy  mark  for 
the  promoters  of  that  period.  The  constitution  of  1875  stopped  the 
game. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  41 

GENERAL  JOHN  M.  THAYER 


Interesting  Correspondence  With  tlie  Secretary  of  Worcester 

Light  Infantry  Veteran  Association  of  Massachusetts, 

Where  General  Thayer  began  His  Career  as  a 

Soldier  in  1842 


Recently  the  editor  has  had  a  most  interesting  correspon- 
dence with  Mr.  Herbert  L.  Adams,  secretary  of  the  Worces- 
ter, Massachussetts,  Light  Infantry  Veteran  Association. 
From  this  correspondence  it  appears  that  this  organization  is 
putting  into  record  form  the  career  of  its  different  members 
through  the  years.  One  of  these  members  is  General  John 
M.  Thayer.  Apparently  the  people  in  Massachussetts  lacked 
a  great  deal  of  having  adequate  information  concerning  Gen- 
eral Thayer.  They  were  in  possession  of  a  newspaper  clipping 
at  the  time  of  his  death  stating  that  he  had  been  United  States 
Senator  from  Nebraska  and  subsequently  governor.  The  sec- 
retary wrote  asking  for  more  definite  information. 

From  the  correspondence  the  following  extracts  are 
taken : 

Worcester,  February  9,  1923. 

I  am  just  in  receipt  of  your  valued  favor  of  February  7 
and  I  do  not  delay  in  expressing  my  sincere  appreciation  of  aid 
afforded  us. 

General  Thayer  was  indeed  a  distinguished  soldier  and 
citizen,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  many  who  served 
during  the  past  120  years  in  the  ranks  of  this  old  military  or- 
ganization, and  it  affords  us  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction  to  be 
able  to  publish  such  a  complete  and  authentic  account  of  his 
life. 

I  am  taking  the  liberty  of  herewith  enclosing  a  copy  of 
typed  matter,  this  being  the  initial  copy,  and  subject  to  re- 
vision, and  before  publication  it  will  be  carefully  checked  by 
comparison  with  the  publications  of  your  society  and  official 
military  records. 

I  note  by  your  memorandum  that  General  Thayer  held  a 
commission  as  Brigadier  General  in  1855  in  the  Nebraska  Mil- 
itia, which  seems  to  confirm  the  meager  information  given  in 
an  Associated  Press  dispatch  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1906, 
that,  prior  to  the  Civil  War,  he  saw  considerable  service  and 
gained  a  high  reputation  as  an  Indian  fighter;  and  I  am 
prompted  to  ask  if  you  would  have  the  kindness  to  procure 
from  the  records  of  your  Adjutant  General's  Office,  data  cov- 
ering his  service  up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  i,  e.,  date 
of  his  entering  the  state  militia,  service,  and  any  appointments 
or  commissions  he  may  have  received  prior  to  his  appointment 
as  Brigadier  General. 


42  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

Worcester,  Mass.,  24th  March  1923. 

The  additional  information  you  give  us  concerning  the 
career  of  General  Thayer  is  most  welcome  and  will  be  incor- 
porated in  the  sketch  for  the  history,  and,  thanks  to  you,  it 
will  make  one  of  the  most  interesting  sections  of  the  work. 

We  who  have  served  in  the  ranks  of  the  old  company, 
which  has  had  a  continuous  existence  for  120  years,  take  much 
pride  in  the  organization  as  a  body  and  in  the  individual  rec- 
ords such  as  that  of  General  Thayer  who  is  one  of  a  large 
number  of  the  old  command  who  have  become  distinguished  in 
military  and  civic  life.  Three  governors  of  this  state,  one  of 
Maine,  Nebraska  and  Wyoming;  Senators  (U.  S.)  Representa- 
tives in  Congress;  U.  S.  Attorney  General;  Judges  of  high 
courts ;  twenty  or  more  State  Senators  and  representatives ; 
Members  of  Governor's  Council  and  a  dozen  or  so  Mayors  of 
our  city,  to  say  nothing  of  the  very  many  who  won  high  rank 
in  the  various  wars  in  which  the  country  has  been  involved, 
the  last  and  crowning  glory  from  a  military  standpoint,  in  the 
fact  that  the  company  was  Co.  C,  of  the  104th  Infantry,  26th 
Division  U.  S.  A.,  whose  colors  were  decorated  by  the  French 
Government  in  France,  the  only  American  regiment  to  be  so 
honored. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  28th  February,  1923. 

This  is  in  somewhat  tardy  acknowledgement  of  your  very 
kind  favor  of  February  16,  with  the  Volume  V,  of  your  publi- 
cations you  were  so  good  as  to  loan  us  and  which  I  have  found, 
aside  from  that  part  relating  to  General  Thayer,  of  very  great 
interest. 

I  have  now  made  up  a  somewhat  better  sketch  of  the  life 
and  career  of  General  Thayer,  which  I  am  taking  the  liberty 
to  enclose  an  extra  carbon  copy  of  and  which  I  hope  you  will 
consider  as  more  adequately  doing  justice  to  such  a  career. 
You  are  at  liberty  to  destroy  or  place  this  matter  in  your  files 
if  desired. 

I  call  your  attention  to  one  item  in  this  sketch  with  which 
you  may  not  agree,  that  is  the  lines  relating  to  a  (possible) 
connection  with  the  family  of  Hon.  Eli  Thayer  who  became  so 
conspicuous  in  western  affairs  just  about  the  time  that  Gener- 
al Thayer  was  winning  renown  in  the  same  section  of  the  coun- 
try. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  has  been  impossible  for  me  to 
confirm  my  belief  that  these  two  men  were  closely  related,  al- 
though Eli  Thayer  hastwo  daughters  now  living  in  Worces- 
ter who  appear  to  be  in  ignorance,  and  so  far  as  I  have  search- 
er, the  published  genealogies  of  the  Thayers  make  no  mention. 
It  would  seem  to  me  however  that  inasmuch  as  both  John  M. 
and  Eli  Thayer  were  born  in  the  same  town  (Bellingham  being 
set  off  from  Mendon)    and  both  born  within  a  year  of    each 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  43 

other,  they  must  have  come  from  the  same  family.  I  am  still 
looking  and  may  have  to  change  my  sketch  as  far  as  it  has 
mention  of  Eli  Thayer. 

T  have  the  good  fortune  to  have  in  my  own  home  here,  a 
gentleman,  George  C.  Hitt,  a  former  resident  of  Indianapolis, 
connected  by  relationship  with  former  Congressman  Robert  C. 
Hitt,  of  Illinois,  who  was  personally  acquainted  with  General 
Thayer  and  a  number  of  his  associates  in  civic  and  military 
life  Vv'hen  he  v/as  (Gen'l.  Thayer)  a  resident  of  your  state.  He 
also  has  been  interested  in  reading  the  book  and  looking  over 
your  catalog  of  publications  and  has  more  than  once  remarked 
about  the  fine  work  your  society  is  doing  on  historical  lines 
and  I  am  glad  also  to  compliment  you.  It  has  pleased  me  also 
to  find  a  number  of  your  publications  on  file  here  at  our  public 
library. 

We  ai-e  especially  pleased  to  have  so  good  a  likeness  of 
General  Thayer  and  this,  combined  with  the  sketch,  will  make 
an  interesting  chapter  in  the  forthcoming  history. 

SKETCH 

GENERAL  JOHN  MILTON  THAYER 

General  John  Milton  Thayer,  one  of  the  most  distinguish- 
ed veterans  of  the  Worcester  Light  Infantry,  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Bellingham,  Massaachusetts,  January  24,  1920. 
He  was  the  ninth  child  and  son  of  Lieutenant  Elias  and  Ruth 
(Staples)  Thayer,  both  natives  of  Mendon,  Mass.  He  gradu- 
ated from  Brown  University  in  1841 ;  took  up  the  study  of  law 
in  the  office  of  William  Lincoln  in  Worcester ;  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  Worcester  County  and  practiced  here  until  about 
1854.  While  engaged  in  his  profession,  he  was  for  a  short 
period  editor  of  the  old  Worcester  Magazine  and  Historical 
Journal,  a  publication  which  gave  promise  of  becoming  noted 
but  which  unfortunately  through  lack  of  financial  backing, 
had  a  short  existence. 

General  Thayer  was  regarded  here  as  a  man  of  consider- 
able literary  and  professional  ability  and  one  of  the  most  prom- 
ising members  of  the  bar.  He  was  a  member  of  an  old  and 
distinguished  New  England  family  of  common  ancestry  with 
others  of  the  same  name  who  became  distinguished  in  public 
life,  one  of  whom,  Hon.  Eli  Thayer,  of  Worcester,  became 
nationally  famous  thru  his  advocacy  of  the  admission  of  Ore- 
gon into  the  Union  his  efforts  in  making  Kansas  and  its  settle- 
ment by  "organized  emigration"  in  the  "fifties." 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  in  the  first  year  after  his 
graduation  from  college,  General  Thayer  became  a  member  of 
the  "Infantry,"  which  was  then  designated  as  a  "A  Company 
of  Light  Infantry,"  attached  to  the  8th  Regiment,  5th  Brigade 
and  3d  Division,  of  the  Mass.  Militia.     He  was  appointed  Third 


44  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

Lieutenant,  July  23,  1842  and  second  Lieutenant,  April  27, 
1843,  then  because  of  the  demands  of  his  profession,  he  retir- 
ed from  the  militia  here.  He  was  married  in  Worcester,  on 
December  17,  1842  to  Mary  Laura  Albee. 

In  1854  General  Thayer  removed  to  the  new  Territory  of 
Nebraska  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at  Omaha,  in 
which  he  continued  until  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  the  Re- 
belhon  in  1861. 

When  the  Territorial  Militia  of  Nebraska  was  organiz- 
ed in  1855  and  a  choice  was  to  be  made  for  a'  Brigadier  Gener- 
al to  command  same.  Gen.  Thayer  was  selected.  As  stated  by 
a  State  of  Nebraska  official,  "by  reason  of  his  previous  military 
training  in  your  organization  (Worcester  Light  Infantry) 
General  Thayer  was  regarded  as  the  best  equipped  man  to  be 
appointed  Brigadier  General"  and  he  was  commissioned  as 
such,  retaining  this  office  until  outbreak  of  the  Civil  W^ar. 

On  June  30,  1861,  he  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States  as  Colonel  of  the  First  Nebraska  Infantry,  which 
organization  subsequently  became  the  First  Nebraska  Caval- 
ry. This  regiment  had  a  good  record  in  the  war,  participat- 
ing in  the  battles  of  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh,  Vicksburg  and 
elsewhere.  On  November  1,  1862,  General  Thayer  was  honor- 
ably discharged  as  Colonel,  by  reason  of  his  acceptance  on  that 
date  of  an  appointment  as  Brigadier  General  of  Volunteers,  re- 
signing his  commission  at  the  end  of  the  war  and  receiving  his 
discharge  on  July  19,  3865. 

From  1867  to  1871,  General  Thayer  was  United  States 
Senator  from  Nebraska;  in  1875  he  was  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent Grant  Governor  of  Wyoming  Territory  and  from  1887  to 
1891  he  was  Governor  of  Nebraska. 

His  death  occurred  at  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  March  19,  1906, 
at  the  age  of  86.  When  the  news  of  his  death  reached  Wor- 
cester by  Associated  Press  dispatches,  there  were  a  number 
of  old  members  of  the  bar  and  ex-member  of  the  militia  living 
who  remembel-ed  him  when  a  citizen  of  Worcester. 

General  Thayer  became  a  citizen  of  Nebraska  when  it 
was  a  young  and  somewhat  turbulent  territory.  The  country, 
outside  of  Omaha  and  a  very  few  other  places  was  very  thinly 
settled  and  there  was  considerable  lawlessness  and  disregard 
of  civilized  authority,  especially  on  the  part  of  the  Indians, 
of  whom  there  were  a  gi'eat  number  in  and  surrounding  the 
territory  and  with  these  elements  the  military  forces  of  the 
territory  had  more  or  less  trouble. 

The  most  notable  occasion  in  which  General  Thayer  played 
a  leading  part  was  the  so-called  "Pawnee  War  of  1859"  which 
consisted  of  a  stern  chase  after  the  marauding  red  men  by  a 
volunteer  force  under  General  Thayer.     The  Indians  compris- 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  '       45 

ed  practically  the  entire  tribe  of  "Pawnees"  and  while  this  con- 
flict did  not  result  in  bloodshed,  this  was  due  altogether  to  the 
coolness,  daring  and  quick-wittedness  of  the  general,  who — 
realizing  fully  the  responsibility  resting  upon  him  and  the 
great  risk  he  was  taking,  ordered  his  force  of  only  one  hundred 
and  ninety-four  mounted  men,  with  one  small  piece  of  field  ar- 
tillery, to  charge  the  Indian  who  were  in  camp  and  numbered 
fourteen  hundred  armed  warriors,  constituting  the  fighting 
force  of  the  tribe  that  numbered  altogether  about  five  thou- 
sand males,  females  and  children. 

The  story  of  this  campaign  has  been  told  by  various  par- 
ties but  the  best  and  undoubtedly  the  most  truthful  account 
has  been  i-elated  by  General  Thayer  himself,  who  modestly 
attributed  his  success  to  the  fact  that  every  man  of  his  small 
force  was  a  trained  frontiersman,  of  courage  and  daring.  They 
were  thoroughly  incensed  at  the  Indians,  many  of  them  hav- 
ing suffered  by  their  continual  raids  and  all  were  anxious  to 
retaliate.  The  very  audacity  of  the  charge  took  the  red  men 
"off  their  feet"  and  caused  their  complete  surrender  without 
the  loss  of  a  life  and  could  not  be  considered  otherwise  than  a 
most  notable  achievement. 

In  connection  with  this  campaign,  there  was  a  story 
which  was  not  given  general  publicity  until  many  years  after 
the  incident  occurred.  It  was  told  by  General  Thayer  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society,  January  10, 
1900,  the  particulars  of  which  are  given  in  the  published  re- 
port of  the  society  for  that  year,  furnished  through  the  kind- 
ness of  its  Superintendent,  Addison  E.  Sheldon. 

It  appears  that  when  news  of  the  uprising  of  the  "Paw- 
nees" first  reached  the  Capitol  at  Omaha,  brought  in  by  cour- 
iers from  the  regions  along  the  Elkhorn  river,  where  the  In- 
dians were  driving  out  the  settlei's,  burning  their  homes  and 
devastating  their  settlements,  the  Governor  of  the  territory 
was  absent  and  the  duties  of  governorship  fell  upon  the  then 
secretary,  Honorable  J.  Sterling  Morton  (afterwards  Secre- 
tary of  Agriculture  under  President  Cleveland.)  Because  of 
the  exigency  of  the  moment,  Acting  Governor  Morton  issued 
orders  to  General  Thayer  to  recruit  a  force  of  volunteers  im- 
mediately and  set  out  to  rescue  the  settlers  and  subjugate  the 
Indians. 

Acting  in  strict  accord  with  his  orders  from  the  Acting 
Governor,  General  Thayer  started  with  such  force  as  he  was 
able  to  raise  for  the  seat  of  the  trouble.  It  appears  however, 
that  the  Governor  himself  had  learned  of  the  affair  and  the 
start  of  the  expedition  and  General  Thayer  had  not  been  out 
more  than  two  days  before  he  was  overtaken  by  the  territor- 
ial Governor,  who,  unfortunately,  was  very  much  under  the 


46  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

influence  of  liquor  and  very  far  from  being  in  a  tractable  frame 
of  mind.  He  immediately  tried  to  assume  command  of  the 
expedition  and  issued  some  orders  which  threatened  to  cause 
a  revolt  and  actual  disbandment  unless  something  was 
promptly  done.  General  Thayer  had  no  time  to  consult  with 
anyone  at  headquarters — there  were  no  quick  means  of  com- 
munication— and  realizing  the  temper  of  his  man  and  the  fu- 
tility of  trying  to  reason  with  his  drunken  Governor,  His  Com- 
mander-in-Chief, he  immediately  placed  him  under  arrest; 
had  him  placed  in  an  ambulance  wagon  under  guard  and  kept 
him  there  until  the  force  had  met  and  overcome  the  Indians. 

General  Thayer  felt  very  sure  that  because  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  out  there  in  an  unbroken  wilderness,  where  no  law 
or  authority,  except  that  of  "might,"  prevailed,  he  was  justi- 
fied in  his  course  of  action.  The -force  under  him  was  purely 
voluntary — not  even  enlisted — and  he  felt  that  the  emergency 
called  for  prompt  and  drastic  action,  such  as  would  command 
the  respect  of  his  men — and  it  did.  The  Indians  were  overtak- 
en and  thoroughly  subdued ;  the  Governor  sobered  up  and  the 
incident  of  his  arrest  seems  to  have  been  forgotten,  so  far  as 
any  "official"  action  went. 

General  Thayer  was  regarded  by  the  people  of  Nebraska 
as  one  of  the  state's  most  distinguished  citizens.  His  civil 
and  military  record  there  covered  a  period  of  more  than  fifty 
years,  from  1854  to  1906.  He  was  buried  in  the  beautiful 
Wyuka  cemetery,  adjoining  the  city  of  Lincoln,  where  a  hand- 
some monument  marks  his  grave. 


Everyone  familiar  with  the  townsite  of  the  cit3  ol  bcottsbluffs 
twenty  years  ago  recalls  how  it  was  distinguished  above  other  places  in 
the  North  Platte  valley  by  the  beautiful  young  groves  of  cottonwood 
planted  by  the  early  settlers.  At  that  time  these  cottonwoods  were  sap- 
lings, just  about  tall  enough  to  hide  a  horse.  They  gave  the  townsite  an 
attractive  appearance  which  was  certainly  some  contribution  to  the  future 
metropolis  of  the  North  Platte  valley.  Those  trees  now  shade  the  city  and 
the  Scottsbluff  Star-Herald  notes  that  these  cottonwood  pioneers  are 
now  being  removed  from  the  business  blocks  by  axe  and  saw. 


Rev.  Thomas  L.  Sexton  died  in  Lincoln,  November  29,  1922,  aged 
83.  Dr.  Sexton  came  to  Seward  as  a  Presbyterian  minister  in  1882  and 
was  for  forty  years  one  of  the  leaders  of  his  denomination  in  the  state, 
a  strong,  high-minded  spirit,  a  Union  soldier  in  the  Civil  War. 


A  fire  at  Blair  December  1  burned  the  millinery  store  of  Mrs.  T.  C. 
Hilton,  thereby  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  she  had  been  continuous- 
ly in  the  millinery  business  at  that  place  since  the  spring  of  1869.  Her 
husband,  L.  F.  Hilton,  was  editor  for  many  years  of  the  Blair  Pilot  and 
his  name  familiar  in  the  early  newspaper  annals  of  the  state. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  47 

SITE  OF  PLUM  CREEK  MASSACRE 


Visited  by  President  Harvey  and  Secietai y  Sheldon  of  the 

State  Historical  Society — A  Smooth  Plat  of  Unbroken 

Prairie    in    the    Midst    of    a    Cornfield    on 

the  Oregon  Trail  About  Ten  Miles  Southeast 

of  Lexington 


In  October,  1922,  President  Harvey  and  Superintendent 
Sheldon  visited  the  site  of  the  Pkim  Creek  Massacre  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Platte  river,  about  ten  miles  from  Lexington. 
We  were  guided  to  the  place  by  County  Surveyor  Beattie,  of 
Dawson  County,  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  the  region. 

The  site  is  located  near  the  center  of  an  eighty  acre  corn- 
field and  about  sixty  rods  north  of  the  section  line  highway. 
The  land  is  part  of  the  Dilworth  ranch  owned  by  C.  J.  Dil- 
worth,  former  attorney  general  of  Nebraska.  The  murdered 
party  of  emigrants  were  buried  by  the  soldiers  who  arrived 
soon  after  the  massacre.  Other  persons  were  subsequently 
buried  in  the  same  plot  of  ground.  It  is  a  perfectly  level  tract 
about  one-fourth  acre  in  extent,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  banks  of  Plum  Creek.  The  Oregon  Trail  wound  its  way 
across  this  level  bench  of  prairie,  crossing  Plum  Creek  at  a 
point  about  a  mile  west  of  the  site  where  the  dead  are  buried. 
The  wagon  tracks  of  the  old  trail  are  clearly  visible  even  today. 
Several  gravestones  mark  the  site  of  the  massacre,  some  of 
them  broken.  There  are  several  individual  graves  and  one  or 
two  large  mounds  apparently  marking  the  common  grave  of  a 
number  of  people. 

The  owner  of  the  land  has  carefully  refrained  from  culti- 
vating this  little  patch  of  Nebraska  sod  in  the  midst  of  his 
field.  It  is  inaccessible  to  the  public,  except  by  walking 
across  the  cultivated  land.  A  strip  of  land  for  a  public  drive 
leading  in  to  the  burial  site  should  be  secured.  A  worthy 
monument  should  be  erected  at  the  spot.  The  survey  of  the 
Burlington  railroad  extension  from  Newark  up  the  south  side 
of  the  Platte  to  North  Platte  and  Bridgeport  runs  across  this 
bench  land  near  the  line  of  the  Oregon  Trail.  The  manage- 
ment of  the  Burlington  road  could  do  a  noble  deed  and  add  to 
the  historic  interest  of  this  line,  when  constructed,  by  bring- 
ing this  little  consecrated  strip  with  its  pioneer  graves  into  its 
right  of  way  and  making  the  monument  one  of  the  conspicuous 
historic  marks  upon  its  historic  highway. 

The  nearest  to  an  eye  witness  account  of  the  Plum  Creek 
massacre  in  existence  was  written  by  James  Green,  of  Central 
City,  for  the  annual  meeting  of  the  State  Historical  Society  a 
few  years  ago.  Mr,  Green  is  now  seventy-eight  years  old. 
His  account  of  the  massacre,  which  he  narrowly  escaped  with 


48  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

his  own  life,  has  sufficient  interest  to  warrant  printing  at  this 
time  when  the  extension  of  the  Burlington  railroad  is  appar- 
ently an  event  of  the  near  future.     His  story  is  as  follows: 

In  the  spring  of  1860  I  went  with  my  parents  to  Pike's 
Peak,  where  I  passed  the  time  until  January,  1862.  Then  I, 
with  my  brother,  S.  S.  Green,  now  of  Schuyler,  Nebr.,  started, 
each  with  an  ox  team,  from  Denver  to  Omaha  after  freight. 
From  January  to 'November  in  the  y  ear  1862  we  made  these 
round  trips  from  Denver  to  Omaha,  driving  3,600  miles  in 
eleven  months  with  oxmobile. 

In  the*  s  pring  of  1863  my  brothei-  went  to  Montana.  At 
this  time  I  exchanged  my  cattle  for  a  mule  team  and  made  one 
trip  with  them  in  the  early  summer  of  sixty  three.  While  in 
Omaha  I  became  entangled  in  the  famous  Judge  Tator  trial  for 
the  murder  of  his  friend,  Isaac  Neff  and  I  think  I  was  the 
most  important  witness  in  the  case.  Judge  Tator  was  con- 
victed and  executed  some  time  in  the  fall  of  1863.  It  was,  I 
believe,  the  first  legal  execution  in  the  territory. 

Having  become  highly  taken  up  with  the  country  around 
Shinn's  ferry,  about  seven  miles  west  of  the  present  city  of 
Schuyler,  I  came  back  from  Denver  and  squatted  on  a  piece  of 
land  where  the  present  station  of  Edholm  now  stands.  On 
May  thirteenth  following  I  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Garrett  who  lived  with  her  parents  twenty  miles  east  of  me 
in  Saunders  county.  Not  long  after  this,  some  time  in  July, 
I  got  a  hankering  for  the  old  Rockies  again  and  we  loaded  our 
traps  in  the  wagon  and  started  across  the  Plains,  fully  expect- 
ing to  make  our  f utu.re  home  some  where  along  the  foot  of  the 
Rocky  mountains.  At  the  time  we  started  there  were  faint 
rumors  that  the  Indians  wei-e  going  to  cause  trouble  and  on  ar- 
riving at  Fort  Kearney,  125  miles  west,  the  officers  there  v/ere 
advising  the  emigrants  to  travel  in  large  companies  for  self- 
protection.  But,  being  perfectly  familiar  with  the  country 
and  also  with  the  Indians,  for  they  were  always  in  evidence 
along  the  route,  we  proceeded  on  our  way  and  went  as  far  as 
Cottonwood  Springs,  later  Fort  McPherson.  On  our  arrival  at 
this  point  the  air  was  full  of  rumors  of  depredation  further 
west  and  it  was  said  one  man  had  been  killed  and  his  stock 
run  off.  After  due  consideration  Vv'e  concluded  the  best  thing 
to  do  was  to  tui'n  back  and  wait  a  year,  when  perhaps  the  In- 
dian troubles  would  be  settled. 

So  early  in  the  morning,  August  6,  we  turned  our  oxen  to 
the  east  and  drove  to  Gillman's  ranch,  twelve  miles  east,  and 
went  into  camp  one  half  mile  east  of  the  ranch  on  the  bank  of 
the  i-iver.  The  river  here  was  full  of  little  tow  heads  and 
small  channels  a  few  inches  deep  trickling  over  the  sand.  After 
we  had  been  in  camp  perhaps  one  and  one  half  hours  and  I  was 

(Continued    in   Vol.   V   No.  4) 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  49 

DEATH  OF  MRS.  JOHN  PILCHER 


A  Famous  Woman  of  French  and  Indian  Blood  Whose  Family 

Connects  the  Present  Time  With  the  Earliest 

W^hite  Settlement  in  Nebraska 


Mrs.  Harriett  Pilcher,  widow  of  John  Pilcher,  died  at 
Walthill  December  14,  1922,  in  her  eighty-second  year.  She 
was  born  at  Philadelphia  August  28,  1841,  and  with  her  par- 
ents made  the  long  journey  by  ox  team  arriving  at  Omaha  on 
December  1,  1855.  Her  father's  name  was  Arlington,  the 
village  being  named  for  him.  A  little  later  sh-e  moved  to  De- 
catur, where  in  1860  she  married  John  Pilcher.  Ten  children 
v/ere  born  of  this  marriage  and  eighty-seven  grandchildren 
and  great  grandchildren  at  the  time  of  her  death.  Eight  of 
her  grandsons  served  as  soldiers  in  the  World  War,  one  of 
them  being  wounded  in  the  Argonne. 

John  Pilcher  Vv^as  the  son  of  Major  Pilcher,  leading  Indian 
trader  in  the  Nebraska  region  a  century  ago.  His  trading 
posts  along  the  Missouri  river  were  famous  resorts  of  Indians 
and  white  men.  In  1823  he  became  president  of  the  Ameri- 
can 1<  ur  Company  at  St.  Louis  and  in  1838  he  was  appointed 
superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  for  this  region.  He  died  in 
1848.  The  mother  of  his  son  John  was  an  Omaha  Indian 
woman. 

The  children  of  early  fur  traders  and  Indian  women  have 
been  the  great  connecting  link  between  the  savage  customs  and 
traditions  of  the  Indian  tribes  and  the  civilization  of  the  v/hite 
man.  Speaking  the  languages  of  both  the  Indian  tribes  and 
the  white  men,  and  knowing  from  childhood  tlie  ways  of  the 
Indian,  they  became  not  only  the  interpreters  between  the 
white  and  red  men  at  their  councils  but,  even  more,  the  inter- 
preters of  Indian  life  to  the  civilized  world.  Without  their 
aid  we  should  have  inevitably  lost  the  large  part  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Indian  customs,  folklore  and  religion  which  is  such  a 
valuable  storehouse  for  future  literature  and  perpetual  in- 
terpreter of  prehistoric  times  to  present  day  people. 

The  Pilcher  home,  on  a  beautiful  site  two  miles  west  of 
Walthill,  has  for  many  years  been  a  center  of  all  that  was 
l^est  in  both  Indian  and  frontiei-  white  society.  Six  daugh- 
ters in  the  family  made  an  attractive  center  for  many  young 
men.  All  the  daughters  married  well,  Mrs.  Pilcher  was  a 
deeply  religious  woman,  full  of  sympathy  and  helpfulness  for 
Indian  or  white  people.  Her  name  will  always  be  an  honored 
one  in  Nebi'aska  history  and  in  the  annals  of  the  Omaha  Indian 
tribe. 


NEBRASKA 

AND    RECOPHD    OF  ,, 


iVol.  V 


MI5TORV 

PIONEER      DAVS 


October-Decembei',  1922 


No.  4 


CONTENTS 

Letter  from  Editor  Edson,  Filley  Spotlight.       .     50 

Rock  Bluff — Grange  Song  Book — Joel  Warner        51 

Tom  Powers,  Cattleman  —  James  E.  Newsome, 

U.  P.  porter 52 

J.  P.  Dunlap — Pioneer  Nurseryman  in  Butler 

County        53-56 

Legend  of  Weeping  Water 57-59 

Hastings    Monument — Agate    Springs — North 

Platte  Log  Cabin 59 


PUBLISHED    QUARTERLY    BY    THE    NEBRASKA    STATE 
HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 
LINCOLN 


Entered  as  second  class  matter  February  4,  1918,  at  the  Post  Office, 
Lincoln,  Nebraska,  under  Act  August  24,  1912. 


THE  NEBRASKA  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

Made  a  State  Institution  February  27,  1883. 

An  act  of  the  Nebraska  legislature,  recommended  by  Governor 
James  W,  Dawes  in  his  inauu:ura!  and  signed  by  him,  made  the  State 
Historical  Society  a  State  institution  in  the  following: 

Be  it  Enacted  by  the  Leg-islature  of  the  State  of  Nebraska: 

Section  1.  That  the  "Nebraska  State  Historical  Society,"  an  or- 
ganization now  in  existence — Robt.  W.  Furnas,  President;  James  M. 
Woohvorth  and  Elmer  S.  Dundy,  Vice-Presidents;  Samuel  Aughey, 
Secretary,  and  W.  W.  Wilson,  Tieasurcr,  their  associates  and  successors-^ 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  recognized  as  a  state  institution. 

Section  2.  That  it  shall  be  the  du^y  of  the  President  and  Secretary 
of  said  institution  to  make  annual'y  re^iorts  to  the  governor,  as  required 
by  other  state  institution?.  Said  report  to  embrace  the  transactions  and 
expenditures  of  the  organization,  together  with  all  historical  addresses, 
which  have  been  or  may  hereafter  be  read  before  the  Society  or  fuinished 
it  as  historical  matter,  data  of  the  state  or  adjacent  western  regions  of 
country. 

Section  3.  That  said  reports,  addresses,  and  paper?  shall  be  pub- 
lished at  the  expense  of  the  state,  and  distributed  as  other  similar  official 
reports,  a  reasonab'e  number,  to  be  decided  by  the  state  and  Society,  to 
be  furnished  said  Society  for  its  use  and  distribution. 

Property  and  Equipment 

The  present  State  Historical  Society  owns  in  fee  simple  title  as 
trustee  of  the  State  the  half  block  of  land  opposite  and  east  of  the  State 
House  v/ith  the  basement  thereon.  It  occupies  for  offices  and  working 
quarters  basement  rooms  in  the  University  Library  building  at  11th  and 
R  streets.  The  basement  building  at  16th  and  H  is  crowded  with  the 
collections  of  the  Historical  Society  which  it  can  not  exhibit,  including 
some  15,000  volumes  of  Nebraska  newspapers  and  a  large  part  of  its 
museum.  Its  rooms  in  the  University  Library  building  are  likewise 
crowded  with  library  and  museum  material.  The  annual  inventory  of 
its  property  returned  to  the  State  Auditor  for  the  year  1920  is  as  follows: 

Value  of  Land,  V2  block  16th  and  H $75,000 

Value  of  Buildings  and   permanent  improvements 35,000 

Value  of  Furnituie  and  Furr\ishings 5,000 

Value    of    Special     Equipment,     including     Apparatus, 

Machinery  and  Tools 1,000 

Educational  Specimens  (Art,  Bluseum,  or  other) 74,800 

Library  (Books  and  Pviblications) 75,000 

Newspaper  Collection 52,895 

Total  Resources $318,195 

Much  of  this  property  is  priceless,  being  the  only  articles  of  their 
kind  and  impossible  to  duplicate. 


NEBRASKA  HI5TORV 

y^lND     RECORD    OF  RIONEER      D^WS  _ 


Published   Quarterly   by  the    Nebraska    Historical   Society 


Addison  E.  Sheldon,  Editor 

Subscription,  $2.00  per  year 

All 

sustaining 
Nebraska 

membei 
History 

s    of    the     Nebraska    State     Historical 
and  other  publications  without  furthei 

Society 
payme 

receive 
nt. 

Vol 

5 

October-December,  1922 

No. 

4 

George  T.  Edson,  editor  of  the  Spotlight  at  Filley,  in  sending  the 
Historical  Society  the  most  complete  file  of  that  publication  in  exist- 
ence takes  occasion  to  add  a  few<  remarks  of  general  interest  to  the  pub- 
lic and  of  special  interest  to  newspaper  publishers  in  Nebraska.  From 
it  we  quote, 

"The  Filley  Spotlight  was  established  in  November,  1915,  but  the 
files  for  the  first  two  years  were  burned  with  the  printing  office  in 
March,  1918.  The  paper  was  again  started  August  18,  1918,  and  the  files 
are  fairly  complete  from  that  date,  A  few  are  missing,  but  none  are 
to  be  supplied  from  this  office. 

"I  will  entrust  them  to  your  care,  hoping  that  in  future  years  some- 
thing may  be  found  in  them  of  interest  or  value.  The  editor  has  been 
careful  in  the  collection  of  vital  statistics  and  has  endeavored  to  give  a 
good  deal  of  information  in  the  obituaries.  I  have  often  inquired  the 
name  of  the  father  of  some  aged  resident,  and  thus  recorded  a  genera- 
tion of  the  family  which  will  be  unknown  in  our  next  generation.  The 
earlier  copies  are  poorly  printed,  owing  to  the  handicaps  under  which 
the  publisher  worked  after  the  fire  which  cleaned  out  his  plant.  In  the 
interim  between  November,  1917  and  March  1918,  I  was  in  Mexico,  and 
from  March,  1918,  until  the  following  August  I  was  figuring  on  how  I 
could  resume  publication  and  trying  to  earn  enough  money  to  buy  a 
junk  plant. 

"Hereafter  I  shall  mail  the  Historical  Society  regular  numbers  of 
the  Spotlight,  which  may  be  added  to  the  file  I  am  sending  you.  I  am 
a  well  wisher  of  the  Society  and  hope  to  see  it  housed  in  commodious 
quarters  some  day,  with  ample  facilities  to  care  for  its  collections." 


,51  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

SONGS 

of 

THE  GRANGE 

Set  to  Music  and  Dedicated  to 

The  Order  of 

Patrons  of  Husbandry 

In  the  United  States 


Philadelphia: 
J.  A.  Wagenseller,  Printer,  23  N.  6th  St. 
1874 
The  above  lines  represent  the  title  page  of  a  gift  to  the 
Historical  Society  by  D.  A.  Young  of  Plattsmouth.    This  par- 
ticular copy  was  used  by  the  old  Rock  Bluff  Grange  of  Cass 
county.     The  songs  sung  by  the  grangers  in  those  years  were 
a  great  influence  in  that  society  which  did  the  first  work  in 
the  field  of  farmers'  organization  of  Nebraska.     The  tunes  in 
many  cases  are  familiar.    The  words  breathe  a  high  type  of 
fellowship    and  motive.     Among  the  hundred    songs  of  this 
book,  one  stanza  may  be  quoted  as  a  sample  of  its  sentiments : 

The  farn;er's  the  chief  of  the  nation 

The  oldest  of  nobles  is  he; 
How  blest  beyond   others  his  station, 

From  want  and  from  envy  how  free; 
His  patent  was  granted  in  Eden, 

Long  ages  and  ages  ago; 
O,  the  farmer,  the  farmer  forever; 

Three  cheers  for  the  plow,  spade  and  hoe! 


The  oldest  librarian  in  Nebraska  (perhaps  in  the  world)  is  Rev. 
Joel  Warner  of  Hooper,  now  in  his  eighty-fifth  year.  He  is  still  ac- 
tively and  keenly  interested  in  the  development  of  the  public  library 
there.  Mr.  Hooper  has  been  a  resident  of  Nebraska  for  fifty-eight 
years,  most  of  them  spent  as  minister  of  Presbyterian  churches.  He 
has  been  candidate  on  the  Prohibition  Party  ticket  for  governor  and  has 
lived  to  see  a  dry  nation — once  regarded  as  an  impossible  dream.  In  the 
winter  of  1865-6  Mr.  Hooper  taught  school  at  Bellevue  and  organized 
there  the  first  literary  society  in  the  state  so  far  as  his  information 
goes.  His  active  memory  recalls  the  great  prairie  fire  which  swept  over 
Elk  Hill  at  Bellevue,  afterward  the  site  of  Bellevue  College.  It  was 
like  a  scene  from  Dante's  Inferno.  Mr.  Warner  writes:  "In  those  years 
as  soon  as  the  grass  was  dry  in  the  fall,  the  gi-eat  fires  would  sweep 
over  the  prairie  and  destroy  all  vegetation,  leaving  the  roots  exposed  to 
the  sun's  rays,  the  winter's  frost,  and  fierce  winds.  It  was  no  wonder 
that  emigrants  who  passed  over  the  country  late  in  the  fall  or  early  in 
the  spring  pronounced  it  a  desert  land,  since  far  as  the  eye  could  reach 
nothing  was  seen   but  the  blackened  prairie." 


John  N.  Anderson  of  Leland,  Illinois,  writes  that  he  ownes  a  quarter 
section  of  land  in  Nebraska  and  desires  the  publications  of  the  His- 
torical Society. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  52 

Tom  Powers,  one  of  the  old  time  cattle  men  of  the  North  Platte  Val- 
ley, was  recently  telling  stories  of  the  old  time  which  are  printed  in  the 
Scottsbluff  Star-Herald  of  November  7,  1922.  His  stories  relate  to  both 
Nebraska  and  Wyoming  and  belong  to  a  period  when  the  state  line  cut 
little  figure  for  the  frontiersmen.  Among  other  stories  of  Mr.  Powers 
were  these: 

"We  killed  buffalo  on  the  Cheyenne  river  as  late  as  1888.  I  saw  as 
many  as  five  thousand  antelope  in  one  drove  in  those  years.  Herman 
Ldppold  and  myself  killed  seventeen  gray  wolves  by  poisoning  them  with 
strychnine  one  night.  We  put  the  poison  in  the  carcass  of  an  antelope 
and  received  $37.50  bounty  for  each  woU  scalp, 

'  The  coldest  day  I  ever  saw  in  Wyoming  or  western  Nebraska  was  in 
January,  1898.  I  drove  a  team  from  Rawhide  to  Mitchell,  on  account  of 
a  jumping  toothache,  and  the  thermometer  registered  fifty-six  below  at 
five  p.  m. 

"Wild  geese  were  in  abundance  along  the  Platte  river  all  the  time 
and  their  music  could  be  heard  for  miles.  The  Sioux  Indians  came  down 
here  frequently  and  some  of  the  cowboys  used  to  get  stuck  on  the  good- 
looking  squaws.  I  never  did  myself,  for  they  didn't  like  the  Irish  very 
well  and  we  didn't  get  along.  They  seldom  caused  us  trouble  as  they  were 
afraid  of  the  cowpunchers  who  were  quick  to  draw  their  guns,  but  they 
dealt  out  misery  to  the  emigrants  by/  running  off  their  horses  and  cattle. 
We  had  a  great  many  dances  in  the  country.  People  went  more  than  a 
hundred  miles  to  dance,  at  a  ranch.  They  did  not  dance  just  one  night, 
but  took  pack  horses  and  their  beds,  stayed  three  or  four  nights  and  had 
a  good  time. 

"In  the  spring  of  the  year  there  were  always  many  cattle  in  the  valley 
that  had  drifted  in  during  the  winter.  In  the  spring  of  1887  on  the  gen- 
eral round-up  there  were  twenty-seven  round-up  wagons  and  each  wagon 
represented  a  different  outfit  and  averaged  at  least  fifteen  men  to  the 
wagon.  Each  man  had  a  string  of  at  least  nine  horses,  so  you  can  imag- 
ine how  many  saddle  horses  there  would  be  in  one  round-up,  more  horses 
perhaps,  than  many  of  the  residents  of  the  valley  will  ever  see.  The  larg- 
est round-up  I  ever  saw  was  in  the  spring  of  '87  on  what  was  known  as 
below  the  sinks  of  Sheep  creek  on  what  is  now  Pete  Vomberg's  place, 
about  two  miles  west  of  Morrill.  On  the  drive  it  was  estimated  that 
there  were  over  40,000  head  of  cattle.  They  had  to  be  cut  up  in  17  bunches 
and  it  took  two  days  to  work  the  drive.  Every  outfit  of  any  size  for 
over  three  hundred  miles  from  the  north  and  west  had  cattle  in  that  round- 
up." 


The  Union  Pacific  magazine  has  an  interesting  story  of  James  E. 
Newsome,  the  oldest  porter  in  the  employ  of  the  Pullman  Company,  who 
finished  fifty-two  yeai^s  of  actual  service  for  the  company  on  September 
10,  1922._  Mr.  Newsome  might  be  regarded  as  a  Nebraska  pioneer  on 
wheels  since  he  has  been  running  on  trains  between  Chicago  and  Denver 
for  forty-five  years.  He  knew  by  name  nearly  all  the  distinguished  men 
of  the  Trans-Missouri  region— General  Nelson  A.  Miles,  Col.  Wm.  F. 
Cody,  J.  Sterling  Morton,  James  E.  Boyd,  Edward  Rosewater,  not  to  men- 
tion Jesse  and  Frank  James,  Wild  Bill  Hickok  and  "Canada  Bill,"  the  fa- 
mous three-card  monte  shark  who  used  to  fleece  passengers  on  the  over- 
land trains  by  playing  the  part  of  a  green  cattleman  who  was  learning  to 
play  cards.  Besides  the  history  of  the  hom.esteader,  the  pioneer  business- 
man, the  mechanics,  who  foundeil  and  built  the  great  empire  of  the  plains 
and  prairies,  there  is  to  be  reckoned  the  pioneer  railroader  who  kept  up 
transportation  service  with  the  rest  of  the  world. 


53  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

A  PIONEER'S  EXPERIENCE  IN  BUTLER  COUNTY 


J.  P.  Dunlap  of  Dwight  Relates  His  Farm  and  Orchard  Adven- 
tures of  the  Early  Years 


In  1869  I  settled  on  this  place  in  Butler  County,  Nebraska, 
on  the  west  line  of  Richardson  Township,  adjoining  the  east 
line  of  Plumcreek  township.  Not  far  to  the  east  in  Richard- 
son township  the  table  land  broke  off  into  hilly  land  of  small 
creeks  and  small  patches  of  timber  along  the  creeks.  In 
Richardson  township  there  were  then  five  settlers.  To  the 
west,  Plumcreek  township  was  a  tall,  grass  covered  plain, 
where  no  white  man  had  ever  miade  his  home. 

What  tame  crops  could  be  grown  here  was  then  only  a 
conjecture  and  people's  opinions  differed  on  that,  so  try  was 
the  only  way  to  know.  I  did  not  have  much  money,  but  good 
ability  and  will  to  work.  Days  those  times  were  from  dawn 
to  dark,  so  a  strife  for  a  home  began. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  summer,  I  had  a  well,  a  small  log 
house,  a  shed  for  stock,  guards  to  protect  against  wild  fires 
that  burned  off  the  dead  grass  of  the  plains  once  a  year. 
About  ten  acres  of  the  wild  sod  was  broken  out  and  most  of  it 
planted  to  vine  crops,  such  as  squash,  melons  and  beans.  A 
hole  was  chopped  in  the  new-turned  sod,  the  seed  dropped  in 
and  the  hole  tramped  shut  was  all  that  was  needed  until  har- 
vest, as  no  weeds  grew  on  sod  the  first  year.  Turnips  were 
sowed  and  harrowed  well  on  the  new  broke  sod.  They  all  did 
well.  I  had  never  seen  such  do  better  than  they  did.  I  also 
planted  corn,  but  it  did  not  make  a  very  good  crop  on  such 
new  land.  Fuel  was  gathered  from  creeks.  Wild  hay  was 
plenty  everywhere  just  for  the  cutting.  The  winter  was  a 
little  harder  than  an  average  Nebraska  winter,  but  we  got 
through  it  passably  fair  for  such  a  new  country. 

In  the  spring  of  1870  I  began  planting  trees.  Osage 
orange  seed  was  planted.  Plants  grew  well,  those  not  needed 
for  myself  were  sold  to  neighbors.  People  twenty  miles  away 
were  called  neighbors  in  those  days.  Fence  rows  of  osage 
died  in  places.  Honey  locust  for  fence  proved  hardy,  but  when 
barb  wire  came  into  use  demand  for  hedge  plants  ceased.  I 
planted  a  few  apple  trees,  a  few  currants,  peach  seeds  and 
wild  fruits  from  the  creeks.  Of  the  wild  fruits  the  rasp- 
berry and  plum  were  the  most  worthy.  The  rest  of  the  plow- 
ed land  was  put  to  wheat,  corn  and  potatoes.  All  made  fair 
crops.  More  sod  was  broken  and  as  many  vines  and  beans  as 
could  be  used  planted  on  the  new  sod.     More  new  settlers  mov- 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  54 

ed  in.  I  would  break  sod  for  them  when  needed.  When  the 
plow  got  dull  there  was  a  blacksmith  shop  and  store  where 
Seward  is  now  and  an  angling  road  there.  We  called  it  thir- 
teen miles.  I  would  let  the  team  rest  and  take  the  shares  on 
my  back  and  walk.  If  I  did  not  have  to  wait  long  I  would  get 
home  by  noon.  If  I  did  have  to  wait  it  only  made  dinnei'  that 
much  later.  Early  June  when  I  was  at  the  blacksmith  shop 
the  seeds  were  ripe  on  the  wild  maple  trees  on  the  Blue  river. 
I  got  two  sacks  and  some  boys  to  help  me  to  gather  seeds,  car- 
i-ied  them  home  and  planted  them.  They  grew  well.  The 
young  trees  were  in  good  demand. 

In  1872  I  went  to  Missouri  and  got  plants  of  fruit  and 
flowers  such  as  I  thought  would  be  most  desirable.  There  was 
a  nursery  started  east  of  Seward.  I  got  some  stock  of  them. 
I  planted  wind  breaks,  mostly  of  cottonwood,  gray  willows,  elm 
and  maple  about  the  house.  I  got  more  new  sod  broke.  New 
settlers  were  still  coming,  which  made  a  market  for  surplus 
crops  and  kept  money  in  circulation.  Everybody  worked 
with  a  will,  filled  with  elation  and  hope  of  having  a  home  in  so 
fertile  and  healthful  a  country. 

In  1873  the  Midland  Pacific,  now  the  Burlington,  railroad, 
v/as  built  to  Seward.  Two  brothers,  named  Spears,  each  start- 
ed a  nursery.  I  got  stock  of  each  of  them.  Both  died 
within  a  few  years.  The  first  nursery  there  had  quit.  There 
vvere  hardly  enough  sales  of  the  nursery  stock  for  a  man  to 
live  on  that  alone,  but  so  many  new  farms  were  being  opened 
that  the  prospects  for  the  business  in  the  near  future  looked 
good.  Mr.  Jobes,  near  Seward,  started  a  nursery.  I  got  stock 
of  him.  He  quit  the  business  a  few  yeais  later.  The  spring 
of  1874  opened  with  all  good  prospects  of  the  past  seasons. 
July  31  was  a  calm,  clear,  hot  day.  I  was  going  with  a  crew 
heading  wheat  when  a  dark  cloud  came.  We  did  not  know 
what  it  was  or  could  be  until  it  hit  us.  It  was  grasshoppers 
that  darkened  the  sun,  that  made  the  light  look  like  moonlight. 
They  were  eating  all  green  vegetation,  except  the  wild  grass. 
We  kept  on  working,  the  hoppers  going  with  the  heads  of  grain 
into  the  stacks.  The  next  day  was  Saturday.  My  turn  to  get 
my  wheat  headed  would  not  come  until  the  middle  of  the  next 
week.  The  crew  said  if  I  would  have  my  grain  cut  on  Sunday 
(that  was  the  ijcxt  diiy)  they  would  help.  I  told  them  I  would 
rather  take  chances  of  some  being  left.  When  my  regular 
turn  did  come  the  hoppers  had  gone  to  hunt  new  pasture.  All 
my  oats  and  smooth  wheat  were  entirely  ruined.  Ten  acres  of 
barbed  wheat  that  was  dead  lipe  and  dry  was  not  harmed. 
It  was  enough  for  our  bread  and  seed  and  some  to  sell,  and  to 
this  day  when  I  think  of  it  I  feel  glad  that  I  did  not  harvest  it 
on  Sunday.  But  I  hold  a  kindly  feeling  to  those  that  kindly 
made  the  offer.     All  other  crops  were  gone. 


55  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

All  leaves  were  eaten  from  the  trees  and  plants,  except  a 
few  plants  that  I  covered  with  dirt.  The  larger  trees  leaved 
again  and  most  of  them  survived  the  winter,  but  were  in  a 
weak  condition.  European  larch  never  leaved  again.  William 
Griffin,  who  was  helping  me  Saturday,  told  me  after  he  had 
thrashed  his  wheat  that  the  upper  joints  of  the  hoppers  legs, 
when  broke  off,  were  small  enough  to  go  through  the  riddle 
and  too  heavy  for  the  fan  to  blow  them  out,  so  they  went  in 
with  the  thrashed  grain  and  as  near  as  he  could  tell  by  look- 
ing at  it  it  was  half  grasshoppers'  legs. 

The  grasshoppers  were  a  burden  for  a  few  years,  but  never 
again  were  they  so  bad  as  in  1874.  If  the  hoppers  had  only 
eaten  our  crops  and  if  that  had  been  all  it  would  not  have  been 
so  bad,  but  they  gave  the  country  a  bad  name.  Immigiation 
here  ceased.  Many  settlers  sold  such  property  as  they  could 
not  take  with  them  for  what  they  could  get  and  went  away. 
Those  that  remained,  with  great  economy  and  hard  v/ork,  man- 
aged to  live  until  prosperity  returned.  I  raised  garden  truck 
and  sold  it  in  the  new  towns  that  had  been  started  to  help  me 
keep  up  expenses.  The  grasshopper  damage  got  less  each 
year.  We  raised  fair  crops  each  year,  but  the  prices  were  so 
low  for  what  we  had  to  sell.  In  1877  the  U.  P.  railroad  was 
built  through  where  Brainard  is  now  and  immigration  began 
again. 

Those  that  moved  away  began  to  return  and  prosperity 
was  again  in  the  country.  Some  years  were  better  than 
others,  but  it  has  been  onward  and  upward  all  the  time.  I 
put  in  more  trees  and  plants  each  year,  trying  to  keep  even 
with  the  demand.  At  first  the  demand  was  greater  for  forest 
than  for  fruit  trees  and  after  the  tree  claim  act  passed  the  de- 
mand for  forest  tree  plants  was  great.  We  could  sell  native 
ash  and  boxelder  plants  boxed  for  less  than  one  dollar  a  thous- 
and as  they  were  taken  in  such  large  quantities.  Mulberries, 
locust,  catalpa,  walnut  and  oak  were  higher  prices.  Several 
large  nurseries  were  established  in  the  state  to  supply  the 
demand.  This  great  demand  lasted  only  a  few  years  until  the 
tree  claimers  were  all  supplied.  After  that  there  was  only  lo- 
cal demand  for  forest  trees. 

In  1887  the  Northwestern  railroad  was  built  through 
where  Dwight  is  and  part  of  the  old  homestead  was  taken  in 
the  townsite  of  Dwight.  This  made  it  more  convenient  for  all 
kinds  of  business.  The  demand  for  fruit  trees  and  plants,  or- 
namental plants,  shrubbery  and  evergreen  trees,  both  for  or- 
namental use  and  windbreaks,  has  greatly  increased.  The 
country  has  gradually  settled  until  all  the  lands  are  occupied  by 
good  homes,  sheltered  by  trees  and  supplied  by  fruits  from 
their  own  orchards.  In  planting  trees  I  wanted  to  plant 
enough  of  all  kinds  that  was  needed,  but  if  I  planted  more  of 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  56 

one  kind  than  I  could  sell  the  surplus  was  a  loss  and  if  I  did 
not  plant  enough  of  any  one  kind  there  would  be  a  shortage 
and  I  would  have  to  buy  to  fill  the  deficiency.  There  were  in- 
sects and  dry  spells  in  summer  and  snow  drifts  and  rabbits  in 
winter  and  all  plants  did  not  do  well  alike.  So  as  long  as  I 
was  in  the  business  I  was  not  able  to  make  very  good  guesses 
as  to  the  proportion  and  amounts  to  plant.  Our  children  grew 
up  and  went  to  homes  of  their  own,  and  I  got  so  that  I  could 
not  work  very  much,  so  I  closed  out  my  nursery  business  in 
1912. 

I  will  give  name,  age  and  size  in  circumference  (m  feet  and 
inches  three  feet  above  the  ground)  of  the  biggest  trees  of 
their  kind  of  a  few  kinds  that  I  have  grown  on  this,  the  old 
place,  on  the  table  land  by  Dwight.  All  of  the  trees  had  a  fair 
amount  of  space  except  the  bur  oak.  It  was  crowded  on  one 
side.  Perhaps  it  is  the  best  native  timber  tree  to  plant  on  the 
high  land  here.  In  the  grove  all  are  much  smaller  of  their 
kind  and  age  than  those  given  here.  The  Minkler  apple  tree 
is  nearly  dead.  The  cottonwood  is  forked  and  one  fork  was 
struck  by  lightning  ten  years  ago.  The  Wisconsin  weeping 
willow  is  showing  age.  All  of  the  others  are  healthy.  The 
native  maple  grew  by  a  slough.  The  Burkett  pear  produced 
twenty-two  bushels  of  pears  last  year.  The  other  trees  stand 
near  the  house. 

Pear,  6  feet  3  inches,  45  years  old. 
Apple,  6  feet  6  inches,  49  years  old. 
Pine,  4  feet  3  inches,  49  years  old. 
Scotch  Pine,  4  feet  10  inches,  29  years  old. 
Silver  Spruce,  Picen  Pungen,  3  feet  8  inches,  32  years  old. 
Willow,  7  feet,  5  inches,  45  years  old. 
Elm,  8  feet,  49  years  old. 
Walnut,  5  feet,  8  inches,  35  years  old. 
Oak,  5  feet,  2  inches,  35  years  old. 
Cottonwood,  13  feet,  6  inches,  52  years  old. 
Maple,  13  feet,  4  inches,  49  years  old. 
Russian  Olive,  4  feet,  2  inches,  30  years  old. 
Boxelder,  7  feet,  7  inches,  49  years  old. 
Prussian  Lilac,  12  feet  high,  25  foot  spread  of  branches, 
about  40  years  old. 

All  these  measured  in  March,  1923. 

James  P.  Dunlap, 


E.  T.  Long  of  St.  Edward  finished  husking  a  sixty  acre  field  of  coi'n 
February  7,1923.  He  was  fifty-nine  days  in  the  field  doing  it,  not  be- 
cause he  was  compelled  to,  but  to  show  what  a  pioneer  settler  could  do 
in  the  present  day.  Mr.  Long  homesteaded  in  Boone  county  in  May,  1871, 
and  has  been  there  ever  since,  being  the  second  settler  in  that  county. 


57  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

LEGEND  OF  WEEPING  WATER 


The  Story  as  Put  in  Literary  Form  by  J.  C.  Lindberg,  a  Gradu- 
ate of  Doane  College,  now  Teacher  at  the  Aberdeen 
Normal  School,  South  Dakota 


Many  requests  reach  the  Historical  Society  for  the  legend 
of  Weeping  Water.  There  is  no  established  form  for  this 
legend.  It  is,  in  fact,  difficult  to  determine  how  far  the  legend 
is  a  real  Indian  creation  and  how  far  the  product  of  the  white 
man's  imagination.  Prof.  0.  C.  Dake,  -early  teacher  of  liter- 
ature in  the  Nebraska  University,  and  author  of  the  first  vol- 
ume of  Nebraska  poetry,  has  a  poem  upon  this  legend.  His 
l)Ook  was  printed  in  1871.  He  doubtless  gathered  the  material 
for  the  story  from  people  at  Weeping  Water,  Cass  County, 
some  of  whom  settled  there  in  1856. 

Professor  Lindberg  sought  information  upon  this  legend 
from  the  editor  of  this  magazine  twenty  years  ago.  Subse- 
quently he  wrote  the  story.  A  recent  published  version  of  his 
story,  printed  in  South  Dakota,  follows : 

"Nebraska  has  but  few  legends  to  lend  spice  to  the  or- 
dinary prosaic  routine  of  her  busy  life.  The  following,  the 
legend  of  Weeping  Water,  is  an  interesting  one,  and  is  well 
worth  a  hearing,  as  well  as  preservation.  Doubtless  there  are 
many  people  in  the  state  who  have  perhaps  not  heard  it,  and 
some  of  these  perhaps  not  far  from  the  scene  of  action.  The 
Weeping  Water  is  a  beautiful  little  stream  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  Nebraska,  too  large  to  be  called  a  creek,  but  scarcely 
large  or  dignified  enough  to  be  called  a  river.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  those  who  live  within  easy  reach,  and  are  able  to  enjoy  its 
scenery  wish  it  none  other  than  it  is. 

But  it  is  with  the  origin  of  the  stream  and  not  its  beauty, 
that  we  are  concerned,  and  here  it  is  that  the  legend  becomes 
of  interest.  Many  years,  perhaps  centuries  ago,  two  Indian 
tribes  roamed  the  plains  of  what  is  now  eastern  Nebraska. 
They  were  very  hostile  toward  each  other,  for  each  claimed 
this  particular  territory  as  its  ancestral  hunting  ground.  As 
years  passed  on  this  hostile  feeling  became  more  and  more 
strained.  These  were  not  the  days  of  arbitration,  viompulsory 
or  otherwise,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  only  m.eans 
of  settlement  lay  through  an  appeal  to  the  god  of  war.  It  al- 
so chanced  that  upon  the  same  night  each  tribe  planned  to  sur- 
prise and  overawe  the  other,  with  the  result  that  at  earlv  dawn 
each  found  itself  face  to  face  with  its  dreaded  enemy.  The  bat- 
tle was  fierce.  Upon  the  result  hung  the  fate  of  the  whole 
tribe,  and  of  all  that  is  dear  to  the  heart  of  an  Indian.  Each 
warrior  burned  with  the  desire  for  revenge.     All  day  the  bat- 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  58 

tie  lasted  with  varying  successes  and  defeats  on  both  sides. 
Now  one  of  the  tribes  seemed  to  be  the  complete  master  of  the 
field,  when  suddenly  from  an  ambush  would  rally  forth  a 
swarm  of  men  and  overawe  the  victors  with  a  shower  of  ar- 
rows. No  point  of  the  compass  pointed  out  safety  of  escape. 
Every  tree,  every  bush,  every  bank  hurled  forth  its  deadly 
weapons.  The  result  was  the  total  annihilation  of  one  of  the 
tribes  and  only  a  handful  of  the  other  was  left  to  tell  the 
story. 

As  the  days  passed  on  and  no  tidings  came  to  those  of 
the  vanquished  tribe  who  were  left  in  the  camp,  they  became 
uneasy.  They  knew  only  too  well  the  meaning  of  no  news. 
A  council  was  held  and  it  was  decided  to  go  en  masse  to  bury 
their  dead.  It  was  indeed  a  sad  sight  that  greeted  them  when 
they  arrived  upon  the  scene.  There  were  tears,  many  tears. 
After  they  had  buried  their  dead  another  council  was  held  at 
which  it  was  decided  that  each  year  upon  the  anniversary  of 
the  battle  the  whole  tribe  should  journey  to  the  scene  of  the 
slaughter  and  there  lament  their  dead  heroes.  This  custom 
was  dutifully  kept  up  until  the  white  man  appeared  upon  the 
scene  and  pushed  the  Indians  farther  west.  But  meanwhile  a 
great  many  tears  had  been  poured  out,  so  many,  indeed  that 
a  little  stream  was  formed  and  made  its  way  down  the  valley. 
The  bed  of  the  stream  is  very  uneven  and  broken  by  many 
little  falls  and  because  of  this  (as  well  as  from  the  origin  of 
the  stream)  there  is  a  constant  murmuring  and  complaining 
and  so  it  was  christened  the  Weeping  Water.  It  was  in  these 
complaints  that  the  water  heard  the  following  voice : 

Though  all  nature  around  us  is  smiling 
There's  a  note  of  despair  in  the  song. 
Come  tell  me,  no  longer  beguiling, 
Come  tell  me  the  tale  of  thy  wrong. 
Then  a  murmur  as  soft  as  the  breeze. 
Yet  wierd  as  the  sighing  of  waves — 
"I'm  grieving  the  death  of  my  kinsmen, 
I'm  grieving  the  death  of  my  braves." 

There's  joy  in  the  bobolink's  singing 
There  is  music  in  every  nook ; 
But  deep  in  my  heart  keeps  ringing, 
The  longing  lament  of  the  brook. 
'Tis  the  wail  of  an  Indian  maiden, 
Like  the  moaning  of  far  distant  waves ; 
"Return  me,  i-eturn  me  my  lover. 
Return  me,  return  me  my  braves." 


59  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

Now  the  Sim  in  its  glory  is  setting, 
And  the  shadows  of  evening  unfold, 
No  breeze  the  tree-tops  are  fretting 
And  the  cloud-land  is  purple  and  gold; 
Still  the  soul-rending  wail  of  the  mourner, 
An  echo  from  countless  graves; 
"Revenge  me,  revenge  me,  my  kinsmen; 
Revenge  me,  revenge  me,  my  braves." 

(Editor's  Note :  Upon  the  early  French  maps  of  the  Ne- 
braska region  appears  the  stream  of  the  legend  with  the  name 
"L'eau  qui  Pleure" — whose  English  equivalent  is  "water 
which  weeps.") 


A  letter  from  D.  A.  Young,  Plattsmouth,  one  of  the  early  time 
pioneers  of  Cass  county,  tells  the  story  of  the  Rock  Bluff  precinct  elec- 
tion in  1866.  The  story  is  familiar  to  all  old-timers  and  is  one  of  the 
fifty  stories  in  the  book,  "History  and  Stories  of  Nebraska."  In  brief 
it  is  the  story  of  the  election  board  which  went  to  dinnei-  at  noon  taking 
the  ballot  box  with  them.  The  precinct  voted  2  to  1  Democratic.  The 
Republican  canvassing  board  at  Plattsmouth  threw  out  the  vote  of  the 
precinct,  thereby  changing  the  result  of  the  election  for  legislature.  In 
consequence  two  republicans  were  sent  to  the  United  States  senate  in- 
stead of  two  democrats.  Throwing  out  Rock  Bluff  precinct  however 
did  not  change  the  result  of  the  vote  upon  statehood  nor  was  it  in  any 
way  responsible  for  President  Andrew  Johnson's  veto. 


The  G.  A.  R.  memorial  shaft  on  the  court  house  square  at  Hastings, 
now  under  construction,  is  to  be  thirty-five  feet  high,  surmounted  by  a 
Union  soldier  in  private's  uniform  standing  at  attention.  Its  foundation 
is  an  eight  foot  cube  of  solid  cement  in  which  is  imbedded  a  copper  box 
nine  by  eleven  by  five  inches  containing  historical  records.  The  monu- 
ment is  to  be  of  the  finest  grade  of  Barre  granite  and  will  cost  $9,975. 


Harold  Cook  of  Agate*,  Springs  ranch  in  Sioux  county,  was  a  Lincoln 
visitor  (luiing  the  holidays.  The  Agate  Springs  ranch  has  become  a 
center  of  interest  in  every  museum  of  the  United  States.  Wonderful 
discoveries  of  prehistoric  animals  continue  at  that  place.  Last  year  over 
five  thousand  visitors  were  received,  although  the  ranch  is  from  twenty 
to  fifty  miles  from  the  railroads  of  that  region.  A  museum  building  to 
hold  the  remarkable  collections  now  at  the  ranch  and  others  yet  to  be  dis- 
covered is  contemplated. 


The  North  Platte  Women's  Club  has  done  a  fine  patriotic  piece  of 
work  by  securing  for  permanent  preservation  a  cedar  log  cabin  now  stand- 
ing in  the  south  part  of  that  city  and  one  of  the  first  buildings  erected  in 
North  Platte.  The  cabin  will  be  moved  to  a  convenient  spot  near  the 
court  house,  fitted  up  as  a  museum  and  memorial  building  in  coopera- 
tion with  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  A  good  photo- 
graph of  this  cabin  taken  by  the  writer  a  few  years  ago  is  in  the  His- 
torical photograph  collections. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  60 

OTOE  INDIAN  LORE 


Richard  Shunatona,  Keeper  of  Peace  Pipe  and  Chief  of  the 
Buffalo  Clan,  Furnishes  Important  Information 
Upon  the  Present  Chiefs,  Customs  and  Tradi- 
tions of  the  Tribe 


Otoe  Names  for  Months  and  Seasons 


From  Richard  Shunatona,  member  of  the  Nebraska  State 
'Historical  Society  and  representative  of  the  society  to  the 
Otoe  tribe  in  Oklahoma,  we  have  received  most  interesting-  and 
valuable  unpublished  material  relating  to  that  tribe  which  fol- 
lows : 

1.  The  names  and  addresses  of  the  living  chiefs  of  the 
Otoe  and  Missouria  Indians  are: — 

Name  Address  Remarks 

Hoke  S.  Dent,  Red  Rock,  Okla.,  descendant  of  Shumonecahthee,  1817 
R.  Shunatona,  Pawnee,  Oklahoma,  descendant  of  Chongatonga,  1817 
Sam  Black  Red  Rock,  Okla.,  descendant  of  Woronesane,  1825 

S.  B.  Lincoln,  Red  Rock,  Oklahoma,  descendant  of  Walonithau,  1833 
Wm.  Fawfaw,  Red  Rock,  Oklahoma,  appointed  chief  by  Interior  Dept. 
Felix  Robedioux,  Red  Rock,  Oklahoma,  descendant  of  Medicine  Horse,  1854 
Wm.  Green,  Red  Rock,  Oklahoma,  descendant  of  Lanuwahhah,  1825 

Sam'  Ellis,  Red  Rock  Oklahoma,      descendant  of  Hahchegesuga,  1830 

Moses  Harragarra,  Red  Rock,  Oklahoma,  descendant  of  Big  Soldier,  1854 
John  Pipestem,  Red  Rock,  Oklahoma,  descendant  of  Mawthratine,  1854 
Robert  McGlaslin,  Red  Rock,  Oklahoma,  descendant  of  Mawthratine,  1854 
Iowa  Coonskin,  Red  Rock,  Oklahoma,  descendant  of  Bahtheecuja,  1825 
David  Pettit,         Red  Rock,  Oklahoma 

2.  The  names  of  the  old  and  distinguished  Indians  are : — 
Charles  Watson,  retired  chief  and  historian  of  the  tribe.  Far- 
rar  Robedioux,  a  Civil  War  Veteran  and  the  oldest  member  liv- 
ing. 

2.     The  names  of  the  old  and  distinguished  Indians  are : — 

James  Arkeketa,  Sr.,  or  Standing  Buffalo,  died  July  24, 
1912.  His  distinguished  deed  was  in  recovering  some  stolen 
cavalry  horses  for  the  government.  He  was  the  last  priest 
of  the  tribe  and  head  of  the  Buffalo  Clan. 

Richard  Whitehorse,  died  1922,  was  a  friend  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  friendly  to  everybody. 

Josiah  Headman,  died  ,  was  the  head  of  the 

Bear  Clan. 

Albert  Green,  died  Jan.  17,  1921,  was  a  teacher  and  orator. 
He  was  really  the  principal  chief  when  he  died. 

Henry  Jones,  died  Sept.  22,  1918.  He  succeeded  his  uncle, 
Whitehorso,  <r.s  one  of  the  chiefs.     He  was  loved  by  his  tribe. 

In  conclusion,  permit  me  to  add  the  following : — 

The  Otoe  and  Missouria  Tribes  were  known  by  the  French 
explorers  as  early  as  1673,  under  the  name  of  Otantata,  or 
Wah-doe  dah-dah. 


61  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

In  olden  times  there  were  only  seven  chiefs  of  the  tribes. 
Each  chief  was  a  keeper  of  a  Peace  pipe  which  was  their  sym- 
bol or  insignia.  To  become  a  chief  of  the  tribes  was  no  easy 
matter,  for  it  required  something  more  than  a  member  of  the 
family  to  be  one.  In  order  to  be  initiated  into  the  secret  order 
of  the  Chief's  lodge  one  must  be  a  student  of  the)  great  school- 
room of  Nature,  for  really  a  chief  must  be  able  to  teach  the 
tribes.  They  derived  the  figure  seven  from  the  Pleiades,  and 
each  chief  puts  his  trust  in  these  heavenly  stars,  because  each 
one  represented  one  of  the  Pleiades. 

As  God  gave  Moses  by  word  of  mouth,  on  Mount  Sinai,  the 
laws  which  he  delivered  unto  his  people,  who  repeated  it  until 
fixed  in  their  minds,  so  it  is  with  the  Indians.  The  Great 
Spirit  taught  them  in  their  own  primitive  way  and  since  then 
their  laws  have  been  handed  down  to    each  generation. 

The  Otoe  and  Missouria  Tribes  are  divided  into  bands  or 
clans,  with  chiefs,  symbols,  badges,  etc.  The  influence  of 
names  and  families  is  strictly  kept  up  and  their  qualities  and 
relative  distinction  preserved  in  heraldric  family  arms. 

The  Otoe  and  Missouria  Tribes  have  two  ruling  fami- 
lies, viz: — Ah-lu-qwa,  or  Buffalo  Clan  and  the  Tu-nah-be,  or 
Bear  Clan.  Each  clan  is  the  ruler  as  their  respective  moon  ar- 
rives. 

When  the  moon  begins  to  warm  mother  earth  and  when 
the  grass  and  the  leaves  begin  to  have  a  coat  of  green,  or  dur- 
ing the  last  quarter  of  Ma-gan-na,  (plow  month)  or  the  month 
of  Api'il,  the  Ah-lu-qwa  is  the  ruler  of  the  tribes  and  is  to  be 
respected. 

When  the  moon  begins  to  cool  mother  earth  and  when  the 
leaves  turn  brown  and  begin  to  drop  back  to  earth,  or  during 
the  last  quarter  of  Tah-ke-lu-rscha,  (mating  of  deers)  or  the 
month  of  October,  the  Tu-nah-be  becomes  the  ruler  of  the 
tribes.  When  the  change  is  made  certain  rites  and  rituals 
are  performed. 

When  the  "Guardian  of  all  red  childrien"  placed  the  Otoe 
and  Missouria  Tribes  here  upon  the  earth,  they  were  given  re- 
ligious customs,  t\'hich  were  observed  in  the  old  days  gone  by. 
Every  new  moon  brought  some  rituals  and  Avhen  they  prepare 
to  give  mother  earth  the  seed  for  their  crop,  certain  rites  were 
had  and  the  same  is  true  when  they  gather  the  harvest  and 
when  their  fall  hunt  is  about  to  begin.  They  remembered 
their  Maker  daily  and  always  called  upon  Him  for  guidance  and 
protection. 

Believing  that  this  will  be  of  some  interest  and  regretting 
very  much  that  the  true  history,  given  by  an  Indian  who  is  a 
student  of  the  old  Indian  teachings,  will  be  forgotten  forever, 
I  now  close. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  62 

BE-LAH-WAY 
(Month  Counting) 

CALENDAR 

Was-se-gay,  Me-tah-way, 

People,      My  own. 
Wah-doe-dah,  hay-dah,  Nu-dar-chee, 

Otoes       and       Missoiirias. 
WAH-COHN-DAH,  E-chee-chee-a,  A-wa-tah-way-nay, 

Great  Spirit  children  his  own. 

WAH-COHN-DAH,  Ah-blah-a-ah-dah-nay, 

Great  Spirit  everywhere  they  see 

WAH-COHN-DAH,  Me-kay,  way-glo-he-nay, 

Great  Spirit,  faithful  worshippers." 

The  Otoe  and  Missouria  tribes  have  songs  for  their 
Great  Spirit  because  He  is  everywhere.  Their  songs  are 
breathed-in  songs  and  these  songs  are  treasured  down  through 
the  ages  from  generation  to  generation. 

Each  new  moon  meant  purification  and  sacrifice  from 
every  family  in  the  tribes.  The  priest  of  the  tribes  takes 
their  offerings  and  takes  them  to  the  altar  which  is  built  for 
that  purpose  only,  and  the  possessor  offers  them  as  a  sin  offer- 
ing to  the  Great  Spirit.  The  priest,  looking  to  the  heaven,  of- 
fers a  prayer  and  sings  to  the  Great  Spirit,  who  is  watching 
his  children  everywhere.     An  elegy  is  sung  to  the  new  moon. 

The  different  seasons  of  the  year  brought  some  form  of 
worship.  The  most  important  event  is  spring  and  in  fact 
their  new  year  begins  with  the  spring.  Spring  was  a  day  of 
much  thinking  because  the  Great  Spirit  made  everything  to 
live  over  again.  It  meant  that  they,  as  a  tribe  or  nation,  must 
bury  their  past  and  live  over  again  and  try  to  remember  their 
Maker  more  each  day  by  their  prayers.  Their  feasts  for  new- 
resolutions  are  had  at  the  very  beginning  of  spring. 

Winter  was  also  a  big  event  because  it  brought  to  their 
minds  of  the  death  of  things  and  to  the  human  race.  Winter 
reminded  them  of  death.  The  snow  covering  the  whole  earth 
reminded  them  of  the  purity  of  their  Great  Spirit,  and  they  al- 
ways tried  to  live  a  pure  life. 

Their  count  of  the  days  begins  with  each  new  moon,  and 
every  important  event  or  act  is  reckoned  as  the  new  moon, 
when  moon  was  larger  than  new  moon  or,  when  moon  was  full, 
when  moon  was  smaller  than  full  moon,  which  meant  new 
moon,  1st  quarter,  full  moon  and  last  quarter. 

Such  is  the  counting  months  of  the  year  of  the  Otoe  and 
Missouri. 

Richard  Shunatona,  Author. 


63 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY 


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65  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

SITE  OF  PLUM  CREEK  MASSACRE 

(Continued  from  Vol.  V,  No.  3) 


sitting  on  the  wagon  tongue  thinking  of  hooking  up,  all  of  a 
sudden,  without  any  apparent  noise,  nine  of  the  biggest,  black- 
est war  painted  Indians  I  ever  saw  suddenly  appeared  f I'om  out 
of  the  river  all  riding  good  horses.  They  at  once  began  to  par- 
ley. Some  of  them  could  talk  English  pretty  good,  wanting 
to  trade  ponies  for  squaws.  As  my  wife  sat  on  the  wagon  in 
plain  sight  of  them  they  raised  their  bids  from  one  to  four 
ponies  for  her. 

All  at  once  the  whole  party  struck  out  for  the  bluffs  on 
the  full  run,  which  for  the  moment  was  a  puzzle  to  me.  The 
mystery  was  soon  solved,  for  on  looking  down  the  road  I  saw 
a  company  of  cavalry,  that  were  being  sent  from  Ft.  Kearny  to 
Cottonwood  Springs,  within  a  mile  of  us.  These  cavalry  were 
to  establish  an  outpost  near  where  the  trouble  was  expected. 
I  don't  think  we  would  have  been  disturbed  by  these  Indians 
at  that  time  except  in  a  badgering  way  and  my  reason  for  this 
belief  will  be  given  later. 

From  this  camp  we  drove  on  for  another  half  day.  We 
camped  this  time  at  what  was  called  the  Deserted  Ranch,  a 
place  on  a  dry  gulch  where  someone  had  started  a  ranch  and 
gave  it  up  before  completion.  Soon  after  going  into  camp 
here  a  mule  train,  consisting  of  ten  four  mule  teams,  drove 
from  the  east  and  went  into  camp  on  the  north  side  of  the 
road  about  one  hundred  yards  from  us.  This  was  August  7, 
1864.  This  train  belonged  to  Frank  Morton,  of  Sidney,  Iowa. 
I  will  speak  further  of  it  later. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  August  8,  we  broke  camp  and 
made  what  was  called  a  breakfast  drive,  a  very  common  thing 
in  those  days.  We  drove  to  the  twenty-one  mile  point  and 
went  into  camp,  about  ten  o'clock  for  our  breakfast.  We  had 
been  there  but  a  short  time  v/hen  the  stage  coach  passed  us 
on  double  quick  time  going  east  and  the  driver  shouted  that  we 
had  better  get  out  of  that  as  there  Mere  ten  or  twelve  dead 
men  lying  in  the  road  a  little  way  above  there. 

Yet  with  all  this  I  could  hardly  believe  that  there  was 
anything  unusual  so  I  hitched  up  our  team  and  drove  four 
miles  to  the  seventeen  mile  point,  seventeen  miles  from  Kear- 
ny. While  there  in  camp,  about  ten  o'clock,  a  company  of  cav- 
alry came  up  from  the  fort  on  double  quick.  The  captain  halt- 
ed and  asked  where  I  camped  last  night  and  when  I  told  him  at 
the  old  soddy  he  asked  if  I  saw  any  Indians.  I  told  him  I  did 
not.  "Well,"  he  said,  "it's  strange,  for  just  where  you  say 
you  camped  last  night  it  is  reported  that  ten  or  twelve  people 
were  killed  and  one  woman  taken  prisoner  and  their  mules 
run  off  and  wagons  bui^ned." 


And  now  comes  the  strange  part  of  my  story  showing  that 
if  such  a  thing  as  providence  interfering  or  assisting  anyone 
it  certainly  showed  its  full  hand  in  our  case  from  the  time  we 
turned  around  at  Cottonwood  Springs  until  we  passed  on  and 
escaped  that  massacre  knovrn  as  the  Plum  Cre-ek  massacre. 
For  "it  is  a  fact  that  the  people  killed  in  that  raid  were  the 
same  people  who  camped  so  near  r.s  the  night  before  and  the 
fact  that  we  made  an  early  drive  that  morning  was  the  only 
reason  that  we  escaped.  Again,  v/hen  I  tell  you  that  Mrs. 
Morton,  who  was  accompanying  her  husband  on  this  trip,  was 
an  old  schoolmate  and  chum  of  my  wife  and  the  further  fact 
that  tliey  failed  to  recognize  each  other,  in  our  respective 
camps,  must  be  another  act  credited  to  Providence.  The  peo- 
ple slain  in  this  outfit  consisted  of  Frank  Morton  owner  of  the 
outfit,  of  Sidney,  Iowa,  and  ten  vvhite  men  drivers,  and  a  col- 
cred  cook.  Mrs,  Morton  wa^:  taken  prisoner  and  I  believe  re- 
niained  v/ith  these  Indians  for  about  five  months  v/hen  she 
was  rescued  through  some  friendly  Indians,  taken  t?  Denver 
and  final] V  reached  hei-  friends  again. 

Another  and  most  remarkable  escape  occurred  at  this 
time.  About  four  miles  east  of  our  camp  was  a  new  ranch 
owned  by  a  German  called  Dutch  Smith.  On  our  drive  that 
morning  as  vve  passed  the  Smith  place  he  was  seated  in  a  bug- 
gv  at  the  door  and  his  wife  was  pleading  v/ith  him  to  go  along. 
They  were  going  to  Fort  Kearny,  but  he  seemed  to  be  quite 
anxious  for  her  to  rem.ain  home.  However,  she  prevailed,  for 
v/ithin  one  half  hour  they  passed  us  on  the  road  to  Fort  Kear- 
ny. The  Indians  who  committed  the  murders  at  the 
Morton  Camp  followed  down  the  road  as  far  as  Smith's  place, 
killed  his  hired  nian,  ran  off  his  stock  and  burned  his  build- 
ings. Whether  these  different  escapes  all  just  happened  or 
Vv'hetiier  the  hand  of  Providence  was  guiding  us  are  things  that 
to  me  are  not  comprehensible. 

In  referring  back  to  the  episode  at  Gillm.an's  ranch  with 
the  nine  Indians  I  liave  come  to  the  conclv^sion  that  they  would 
not  have  harmed  us  at  that  time.  I  consider  the  Plum  Creek 
massacre  a  premeditated  attack,  as  there  were  depredations 
coramitted  all  along  the  Overland  Trail  for  a  distance  of  tv/o 
hundred  miles  and  thus  the  little  squad  who  visited  us  would 
not  dare  to  start  the  scrap  until  the  agreed  time  arrived. 

On  our  arrival  back  at  the  old  home  and  starting  point  we 
concluded  that  Nebraska  was  good  enough  for  us  and  we  have 
rounr^'icd  out  a  full  one  h?lf  century  within  her  confines.  We 
have  two  sons,  thi]'teen  grandchildren,  and  five  great-grand- 
children, all  born  in  Nebraska  and  all  living  in  the  state  today, 
v/ith  out  a  death  in  the  family  for  forty-six  years. 

It  is  marvelous  to  stop  for  a  moment  to  consider  what  has 
taken  place  in  this  great  America  of  ours  in  one  half  century. 
Every  mile  of  railroad  west  of  Minneapolis,  Ft.  Des  Moines  and 
St.  Joseph  has  been  constructed  since  I  settled  in  Nebraska 
Territory,  Fort  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  being  the  nearest  to  a  rail- 
road at  the  tinie  of  my  settling  in  Butler  county. 


Spanish  Expedition  Number 


NEBRASKA  pHlHISTORY 


AND    RECORD    OF 


rrONEER      DAVS 


[  Published  Quarterly  by   the  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society 


Addison  E.  Sheldon,  Editor 

Subscription,  $2.00  per  year 

AH 

sustaining 
receive 

members  of  the  Nebraska   State  Historical 
Nebraska  History  and  other  publications 
without   furthr  payment. 

Society 

Vol. 

VI 

January-March,  1923 

No. 

1 

CONTENTS 

The  Battle  at  the  Forks  of  the  Loup  and  the  Platte 
August  11,  1720.~Extermmation  of  the  Spanish  Army 
by  Otoe  Tribe  of  Indians.~A  New  Chapter  in  Nebraska 
History 

Translation  from  French  and  Spanish  Sources  by  Ad- 
dison E.  Sheldon 

Letter  from  Rev.  M.  A.  Shine  upon  New  Documents 

First  Visit  of  Nebraska  Indians  to  Paris  in  1725 

Charlevoix  Letters  on  the  Massacre  of  the  Spanish 
Caravan 

With  Ten  Full  Page  Illustrations  on  the  Text 


Entered  as  second  class  matter  February  4,  1918,  at  the  Post  Office, 
Lincoln,  Nebraska,  under  Act  August  24,  1912. 


]2>«BK>^»<>«»o«a»<i 


THE  NEBRASKA  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

Founded  September  25,  1878 

The  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society  was  founded  Sep- 
tember 25,  1878,  at  a  public  meeting  held  in  the  Commercial 
Hotel  in  Lincoln.  About  thirty  well  known  citizens  of  the 
State  were  present.  Robert  W.  Furnas  was  chosen  president 
and  Professor  Samuel  Aughey,  secretary.  Previousto  this  date, 
on  August  26,  1867,  the  State  Historical  Society  and  Library 
Association  was  incorporated  in  order  to  receive  from  the  State 
the  gift  of  the  block  of  ground,  now  known  as  Hay  market 
Square.  This  original  Historical  Association  held  no  meetings. 
It  was  superseded  by  the  present  State  Historical  Society. 

Present  Governing  Board 

Executive  Board — Officers  and  Elected  Members 

President,  Hamilton  B.  Lowry,  Lincoln 

1st  V-President,  W.  E.  Hardy,  Lincoln 

2nd  V-President,  Rev.  M.  A.  Shine,  Plattsmouth 

Secretary,  Addison  E.  Sheldon,  Lincoln 

Treasurer,  Don  L.  Love,  Lincoln 

James  F.  Hanson,  Fremont 

Samuel  C.  Bassett,  Gibbon 

John  F.  Cordeal,  McCook 

Novia  Z.  Snell,  Lincoln 

Robert  Harvey,  Lincoln 

Ex  Officio  Members 

Charles  W.  Bryan,  Governor  of  Nebraska 

Samuel  Avery,  Chancellor  of  University  of  Nebraska 

J.  P.  O'Furey,  Hartington,  President  of  Nebraska  Press  Association 

Andrew  M.  Morrissey,  Chief  Justice  of  Supreme  Court  of  Nebraska 


New  Chapter  in  Nebraska  History 

Documents  from  Paris  Give  Account  of  Massacre  by  the 

Otoe  Triljc  of  Spanish  Militari/  Expedition 

on  August  11,  1720 


Declare  That  the  Fight  Took  Place  on  Nehra>ska  Soil  at 

the  Junction  of  the  Platte  and 

Loup  Rivers 


Unpublished  Diary  of  Spanish  Officer  Found  on  the  Field 

of  Battle  Gives  Account  of  the  March 

from  Santa  Fe. 


[A  battle  between  a  Spanish  army  and  the  Otoe  tribe  of 
Nebraska,  fought  203  years  ago  at  the  junction  of  the  Loup 
and  the  Platte  rivers  (adjoining  the  present  city  of  Colum- 
bus.) The  complete  defeat  and  destruction  of  the  Spanish 
force.  Booty  from  the  battlefield  carried  by  Indians  to  the 
French  settlements  in  Illinois  and  even  as  far  away  as  the 
Straits  of  Mackinac  in  Michigan. 

The  above  paragraph  summarizes  startling  Nebraska 
news  contained  in  a  recent  issue  of  the  Journal  de  la  Societe 
des  Americanistes,  published  at  Paris  by  a  group  of  French 
scholars  for  the  promotion  of  knowledge  of  America  and  cor- 
dial relations  with  its  people. 

The  story  of  a  Spanish  expedition  and  its  defeat  is  not 
new.  Accounts  hitherto  published  lacked  definite  information. 
They  seemed,  in  some  respects,  like  the  wonderful  legend  of 
^enalosa,  or  the  wild  tales  of  Baron  la  Hontan.  or  Mathieu 
Sagean.  all  of  them  locating  in  the  Nebraska  region  great  na- 
tions of  semi-civilized  Indians  with  high  walled  cities,  great 
wealth  of  gold  and  silver,  fleets,  armies  and  other  products  of 
the  imagination.  These  early  accounts  of  the  Spanish  Cara- 
van were  interpreted  generally  as  embellishments  of  Spanish 
raids  on  the  Osage  country  southeast  of  Kansas  City. 

Now  comes  the  learned  French  editor  at  Paris  furnish- 
ing us  with  unpublished  documents — in  particular  a  copy  of 
a  Spanish  military  note  book  kept  by  an  officer  with  the  ex- 
pedition describing  the  march  and  the  events  preceding  the 
battle.  Based  on  these  new  sources — and  critical  comparison 
with    the  former   accounts — the  French  editor   hands  us  his 


NEBRASKA  HLSTORY 


LEM 
DE  I/EXPEDITION  ESl'AGNOLE 

DU    MISSOURI 

*4I    AllCT  1720  . 
FA.  UF,  BiROB  MA.RC  C.E  VILLIERS. 


Ellri,,l  d„  J«„rnjil  d,  U  S«cUU  d„ 


I  Ml.   p.   ?.»-»». 


klT     SIEGE     DE     LA     SOCllilK, 


Title   page   of  Original   French   publication   translated   for   tli 
publication  of  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  S 

opinion  all  the  way  from  Paris  that  the  Massacre  of  the  Span- 
ish took  place  at  the  junction  of  the  Loup  with  the  Platte,  in 
Platte  county,  Nebraska.  He  furnishes  us  with  a  map  show- 
ing the  location  of  Indian  tribes  in  this  region  at  the  date  of 
1720  and  indicating  the  site  of  the  battle  ground.  There  is 
yet  room  for  more  critical  study  of  the  text  of  these  docu- 
ments with  the  map  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  region  by  Ne- 
braska scholars  qualified  by  exact  knowledge  of  the  country. 
But,  even  so,  the  new  material  and  the  opinion  of  the  Paris 
editor  give  this  discovery  in  Nebraska  history  an  importance 
comparable  only  with  the  publication,  forty  years  ago,  of  the 
Coronado  expedition.] 


MASSACRE  OF  THE  SPANISH  EXPEDITION  OF  THE 

MISSOURI  (AUGUST  11,  1720) 

BY  BARON  MARC  DE  VILLIERS 

(TRANSLATED  BY  ADDISON  E.  SHELDON) 

FROM  THE  JOURNAL  OF 
THE  SOCIETY  OF  AMERICANISTES,  PARIS 


Warned  by  the  Padouka  (Comanche)  that  French  trap- 
pers were  about  to  ascend  the  Missouri  to  search  for  mines 
and  to  try  to  gain  possession  of  New  Mexico,  the  Spanish  or- 
ganized, in  the  spring  of  1720,  an  important  expedition  to  ex- 
plore the  region  of  the  Missouri  and  to  drive  from  those  quar- 
ters any  French  who  might  already  have  established  them- 
selves there.  But  the  Spaniards  did  not  know  how  to  concil- 
iate the  Indians  and  their  column,  in  spite  of  its  strong  arma- 
ment, was  completely  exterminated  by  the  Otopata,  other- 
wise called  Oto,  about  100  kilometers  from  the  Missouri. 
Early  Accounts  of  Massacre 

Father  Charlevoix',  Dumont  de  Montigny==  and  Le  Page 
du  Pi'atz'  have  each  left  us  an  account  of  the  massacre  of  the 

NOTES 
BY   BARON  MARC  DE  VILLIERS 

1.  Hk^ovy  of  New  France.       Edition  of  1744,  v.  Ill,  p.  246-2.")]. 

2.  Historical  Memoirs  of  Louisiana,  1753,  v.  II,  p.  284-285. 

3.  History  of  Louisiana,  1756;  v.  II,  p.  246-251. 


by  Addison  E.  Sheldon  on  pages  29-31. 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY  5 

expedition.  The  20th  letter  of  Father  Charlevoix  contains  in- 
teresting details,  especially  since  they  were  gathered  from 
Indians  coming  directly  to  Canada-,  for  all  the  other  versions 
which  we  know  came  from  the  savage  nations  which  frequent- 
ed only  our  posts  in  the  Illinois.  The  account  of  Le  Page  du 
Pratz,  very  much  more  developed  and  possibly  inspired  by 
that  of  Dumont,  seems  at  times  a  little  too  fantastic  and 
makes  the  error  of  taking  the  Missouri  for  the  Otoptata  and 
above  all  of  confounding  the  Osage  with  the  Pani.  As  to  Du- 
mont de  Montigny  he  has  quite  certainly  very  much  exagger- 
ated the  force  of  the  Spanish  Expedition  by  making  it  "1,500 
persons,  — men.  women,  and  children.-"  From  200  to  250 
Europeans,  accompanied  by  several  hundreds  of  Indian  car- 
riers, probably  started  from  Santa  Fe.  But,  as  three-fourths 
of  the  members  of  the  expedition  returned  to  New  Mexico  for 
various  reasons,  the  column  after  crossing  the  river  of  the 
Kanza  included  scarcely  more  than  200  persons,  of  whom  60 
were  Spaniards. 

New  Documents  Found. 

Three  unpublished  documents,  preserved  in  the  archives 
of  the  Hydrographic  Service  of  the  Marine  and  of  the  Minister 
of  War,  enable  us  to  correct  or  to  complete  the  accounts  of  the 
three  first  historians  of  Louisiana,  and  to  establish,  for  the 
first  time,  that  the  expedition  of  the  Spaniards  was  extermin- 
ated on  August  11  or  i2.  1720  by  the  Otoptata  Indians  (Oto)% 
acting  in  concert  with  the  Pani-Maha  (Loup  or  Skidi)  and 
perhaps  some  Missouri,  upon  the  banks  of  the  river  Platte 
(Nebraska)  and  very  probably  near  its  junction  with  the  Loup 
river  (Loup  Fork). 

In  1720  France  and  Spain  were  at  war.  We  had  just 
seized  the  port  of  Pensacola  and  driven — for  the  moment — 
the  Spaniards  from  their  post  of  Adayes^  It  would  seem  en- 
tirely natural  to  see  the  governor  of  New  Mexico  seeking  to 
take  an  easy  revenge  against  our  posts,  very  poorly  defended, 

4.  This  letter  is  dated  at  Michillimakinac,  July  21,  1721.  But 
Charlevoix  wrote  out  the  greater  part  of  his  letters,  or  at  least  revised 
them  entirely,  after  his  return  to  France. 

5.  Bossu,  who  in  recopying,  alM^ays  exaggerates,  speaks  of  more 
than  1,500  guns!       New  Voyages  to  West  Indies,  \.  I,  p.  175. 

6.  The  names  written  in  italic  are  those  adopted  by  the  Handbook 
of  American  Indians,  published  by  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology. 

7.  Founded  to  watcl)  our  e.^t-iblishment  of  Natchtotochez,  located 
on  Red  river. 


6  NEBRASKA   HISTORY 

in  the  Illinois.  However,  when  one  knows  the  fundamental 
policy  of  the  Spaniards,  all  of  whose  efforts  tended  to  main- 
tain a  large  zone  of  mystery  between  Louisiana  and  New^  Mex- 
ico, this  reason  alone  seems  quite  insufficient. 

John  Law's  Mississippi  Bubble. 

The  60-odd  unhappy  Spaniards  massacred  by  tbe  Otop- 
tata,  were,  in  truth,  the  obscure  and  unfortunate  victims  of 
the  system  of  John  Law  and  the  fantastic  schemes  of  the 
Company  of  the  Indies.  The  great  number  of  mining  tools 
which  this  expedition  carried,  the  colonists  with  their  live- 
stock which  it  conducted,  show  that  the  Spaniards  did  not 
limit  themselves  to  the  plan  of  keeping  the  French  at  a  dis- 
tance from  New  Mexico,  but  above  all,  cherished  the  hope  of 
seizing  the  fabled  mines  of  the  Missouri,  so  well  advertised  on 
the  Rue-Quinquempoix. 

Certainly  in  the  springtime  of  1720  the  Mississippi  Craze 
had  already  greatly  diminished.     At  Paris  they  sang: 

The  mines,  — we  will  rummage  in  'em 
For  no  doubt  we'll  find  something  in  'em 
— If  Nature  ever  put  it  in  'em. 

And  very  few  people  in  Europe  still  believed  in  boulders  of 
emerald  and  mountains  of  silver  in  Louisiana.  But  the  news 
of  this  recent  skepticism  had  not  yet  had  time  to  reach  Santa 
Fe  in  New  Mexico. 

Oto  Tribe — Various  Names. 

Most  of  the  early  authors  who  concern  themselves  with 
Upper  Louisiana  speak  of  the  Otoptata  and  nearly  all  the  18th 
century  maps  of  America  indicate  their  habitat^  with  consid- 
eerable  accuracy.  But  the  name  of  these  Indians^  is  written 
in  many  forms  and  one  encounters  indifferently  Ototacta, 
Octotact,  Onatotchite,  Otontata,  Huatoctoto,  Othouez,  etc. 
In  1724  Venyard  De  Bourmont,  later  the  author  of  the  Rela- 
tion of  his  Journey-'  called  them  Hoto  and  Otho,  and  it  is  this 
name  of  Oto  which  the  Americans  have  preserved  for  the  last 
survivors  of  this  nation  which  is  perpetuated  even  to  our  own 
time". 

8.  We  might  cite:  .  Franquelin,  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  d'Anville, 
Vaugondys,  Bowen,  etc. 

,9.  The  Ha^ndbook  of  American  Indians  notes  more  than  seventy 
of  them,  and  that  list  is  yet  to  be  completed! 

10.  Mavgry,  v.  VI,  p.  396  and  402. 

11.  Tlie  census  of  1906  still  numbers  390  of  them. 

*  See  notes  by  Addison  K.  Sheldon  on  pages  29-31. 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY  7 

According  to  Father  Charlevoix  "The  Octotatas  are  people 
related  to  the  Aiouez  (now  lowas)  from  whom  it  is  even  said 
they  are  descended."  This  information  agrees  with  the  class- 
ification of  the  Handbook  of  American  Indians,  in  which  the 
Iowa,  the  Oto  and  the  Missouri  are  grouped  with  the  great 
Siouan  family.  An  unfinished  Spanish  manuscript,  a  compil- 
ation of  undated  and  unsigned  documents,  makes  the  Oto  de- 
scendants of  the  Missouri.  This  collection  indicates  that  at 
the  beginning  of  the  19th  century  the  Oto  numbered  500 
souls,  of  whom  120  were  warriors;  that  they  often  intermar- 
I'ied  with  the  Kansas,  and  protected  in  disdainful  manner  the 
Missouri,  reduced  then  to  only  80  warriors.  At  this  period 
the  Oto  were  allies  of  the  Pani,  properly  called  Grand  Pani 
(Pawnees  Chaui),  of  the  Sawl^ee  (Sawk)  and  the  Zorro  (Ren- 
ards  or  Foxes).  They  were  at  war  with  the  Maha  (Omaha), 
Poncare  (Ponca),  Sioux,  Great  and  Little  Osage,  and  also  with 
the  Caneci  (Lipan  or  Apache)  and  the  Lobo  (Skidi). 

The  Platte  and  Nemaha  Rivers. 

It  is  believed  that  the  original  Oto,  then  living  in  the 
present  state  of  Iowa,  first  dwelt  near  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Nemaha  i-iver'%  before  they  fixed  their  home  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  liver  of  the  Pani  whicli  the  Mallet  brothers  chris- 
tened on  June  2,  1739,  with  the  name  of  Plate.  This  name  so 
w^ell  characterizes  this  river  that  it  remains  to  our  day,  with 
the  spelling  Platte.-^'  The  Otoe  never  removed  far  from  this  re- 
gion and,  though  driven  many  times  toward  the  south  during 
the  course  of  the  19th  century,  they  still  occupied  in  1882,"  a 
I'eserve  located  in  the  central  part  of  the  present  state  of  Ne- 
braska. 

12.  This  river  falls  into  the  Missouii  a  little  north  of  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  State  of  Nebraska. 

13.  The  Indians  rail  this  river  Nebraska,  the  educated  Spani-,h 
translate  the  name  Plate  in  Someio,  the  others  ijito  Plata  which  n.ea.cs 
silver!  And  the  Americans  themselves,  at  times  have  given  it  tliut 
of  Swallow — (perhaps  Shallow?) 

14.  The  Oto  wei-e  at  that  date  removed  to  Indian  Territory. 
*  See  notes  by  Addison  K.  Sheldon  on.  pages  29-;i1. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY 


Chon-moni-case  or  Shau-mone-kusse,  (called  by  the  white  fui'- 
traders  letan )  is  the  most  noted  chief  of  the  Otoe  tribe  in  the  early 
American  period.  He  was  one  of  those  prominent  at  the  great  council 
of  the  Otoe  tribe  with  Major  Long  Oct.  3,  1819,  at  their  camp  about  six 
miles  above  Florence,  near  Fort  Lisa.  He  was  then  a  young  man  alid 
this  portrait  as  made  at  that  period.  Later  he  became  a  head  chief. 
He  was  killed  April  28,  1837,  in  a  fight  with  young  Otoes  who  had  run 
away  with  one  of  his  wives.  Moses  Merrill,  first  missionary  to  the 
Otoe,  saw  the  fight  and  wrote  the  story  of  it  in  his  diary.  The  great 
Otoe  village  where  letan  ruled  was  three  miles  southeast  of  the  present 
village  of  Yutan.  There  are  many  remains  of  this  village  still  visible. 
They  were  photographed  by  the  editor  of  this  magazine  in  1912.  Yutan 
was  named  in  honor  of  this  Otoe  chief. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  9 

Nebraska  Indians  Journey  to  Paris. 

About  1714  the  grand  chief  of  the  Otoptata  descended 
the  Mississippi  to  meet  Bienville,  and  died  at  Biloxi.  Ten 
years  later  another  chief  of  this  nation  accompanied  M.  De 
Bourmont  to  Paris,  The  nations  on  the  Missouri  had  designed 
to  send  to  France  ten  delegates,  — one  Otoptata,  four  Osage 
and  five  Missouri,  one  of  whom  was  a  young  woman.  But  the 
Council  of  the  Colony,  for  reasons  of  economy,  held  back  five 
and  permitted  to  go  only  the  young  Missouri  woman,  one 
Otoptata  and  one  Osage,  one  Missouri,  one  Illinois  and  Chi- 
cagou,  ambassador  of  the  Metchigamias. 

The  (Indian)  envoys  arrived  at  Paris  on  September  20, 
1725,  and  were  received  by  the  duke  of  Bourbon,  the  duchess 
of  Orleans  and  the  directors  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies. 
They  were  then  presented  to  the  king  by  Rev.  Father  de 
Beaubois  (S.  J.)  who  delivered  to  Louis  XV  a  necklace  of 
friendship  sent  by  Mamantonense,  chief  of  the  Metchigamias, 
Kaokias  and  Tamarois'%  with  a  speech'«  given  by  Chicagou". 
This  orator  had,  a  few  days  before,  wished  the  duchess  of 
Orleans  "to  be  fruitful  in  great  warriors  like  the  ancestors  of 
your  husband  and  yourself." 

These  Indians  from  Louisiana  were,  for  sometime,  all  the 
rage  at  Paris.  They  received  beautiful  blue  suits  with  gold 
lace.  At  the  Bois  de  Bolougne,  before  the  court,  they  hunted 
deer  "in  their  own  style,  that  is  by  chasing"  and  they  gave 
war  dances  at  the  opera  and  the  Italian  theatre.  If  we  may 
believe  Bossu  one  of  these  Indian  envoys  recalled  thirty  years 
afterward  the  perfumes  so  extravagantly  used  by  Paris  ladies 
and  declared  that  "they  smelled  like  alligators." 
Nebraska  Orator  at  Paris. 

One  of  the  three  representatives  of  the  Otoptatas,  Osages 
and  Missouris,  we  do  not  know  which,  died  on  the  journey,  and 
one  of  his  companions  pronounced  an  oration  for  the  deceased 
in  the  name  of  all  the  Indians  of  the  Missouri.  Here  are  two 
charming  passages  from  the  translation  made  in  prose  and 
verse  of  his  address  before  the  king: 

"Twelve  whole  moons  have  passed  since  we  left  our  land 
(that  is,  Nebraska,  Missouri  and  Iowa,)  November,  1724  to  ap- 
pear here.  One  of  our  chiefs  is  dead  on  the  way,  the  others 
gave  up,  or  remained  on  the  seashore,  (that  is,  in  New  Or- 
is. The  Michijjamea,  Cahokia  and  TamaSroa  were  Indian  tribes 
closely  related  to  the  Illinois. 

16.  Chicagou  was  still  living  in  1762.       See  Bossu,  New  Voyages  to 
West  Indies,  1768,  v.  I,  p.  157. 

17.  See  Dumont,  Hi.storical  Memoirs  of  Louisiana  v.  II,  p.  76. 
*  See  notes  l)y  Addison  E.  Sheldon  on  pages  29-31. 


10  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

leans.)  We  are  ashamed  to  see  our  plain  speech.  We  bring  with 
us  furs  and  the  work  of  our  squaws.  You  will  not  think  them 
of  much  worth,  since  you  have  in  abundance,  things  so  much 
more  beautiful,  but  everything  was  lost  in  the  first  ship  which 

w^as  to  bring  us  across^* we  cannot  wonder  enough  at  the 

beautiful  things  which  we  see  every  day.  We  are  very  happy 
in  the  treatment  given  us  since  we  arrived  in  this  land ;  we  had 
not  been  so  before  we  arrived  here'^  The  tribes  represent  to 
you : 

1.  Not  to  abandon  them  and  they  ask  the  French  as  much 
to  keep  friendship  as  to  provide  for  their  needs. 

2.  That  they  have  never  had  any  one  to  teach  them  to 
pray  save  only  a  white  collar^"  who  came  to  them  a  little  time 
ago,  whom  they  are  happy  to  have  and  beseech  you  to  send 
others. 

3.  They  beg  you  to  send  us  back  entrusted  with  your 
message  and  they  will  look  on  all  upon  this  side  (the  great 
water)  in  order  that  they  may  see  you  again. 

4.  That  the  French  having  made  known  to  us  all,  that  you 
think  in  all  this  country,  and  that  the  stores  which  are  here 
are  from  you.   We  are  in  your  hands  give  to  our  bodies.  (Sic) . 

Verses  in  Honor. 

So  much  eloquence  drove  an  anonymous  versemaker  to 
put  in  rhyme  the  prose  of  the  Indians  of  the  Missouri. => 

Great  Chief,  Master  of  Life,  Spirit  Grand, 
We  have  come  to  behold  thee  in  the  bosom  of  thy  land! 
And,  given  heart  to  cross  the  seas  and  their  distress, 
'     We  arrive,  without  regret,  from  our  dark  wilderness. 
From  thy  soul  there  flashes  upon  our  grosser  soal 
A  light  we  would  gladly  take  for  our  control, 
Thy  subjects,  soldieirs,  court,  with  astonishment  we  own. 
Thy  lordly  power,  the  glory  of  thy  person  and  thy  throne, 
Thy  cities,  and  thy  gardens,  thy  mansions  and  thy  sports. 

Our  nations  brave  all  offer  thee  with  willing  hearts 
Their  services  in  battle  with  their  strong  arms  and  darts. 
Send  to  our  hunting  grounds,  under  thy  sway, 
Thy  Frenchmen,  thy  goods,  thy  white  collars  to  play. 


18.  La  Bretonnie, 

19.  Always  economizing,  the  Council  of  Louisiana  had  allowed  the 
Indians,  during  their  voyage  only  Sailors'  rations,  without  wine  or  fresh 
meat,  food  to  which  the  savages  were  not  accustomed.  Happily  for 
them  Bourmont  bought  food  for  them  with  his  own  money. 

20.  A  father  of  the  Mission  Etrangeres.  (Foreign  Missions.) 

21.  Library  of  the  Arsenal.       Manuscript  No.  3724,  pages  77-81. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  11 

"Missouri  Princess". 

As  for  the  "Missouri  Princess" — she  was  baptiled  at 
(the  church)  of  Notre  Dame  of  Paris,  then  married  to  Ser- 
geant Dubois,  one  of  the  companions  of  Bourmont  during  his 
journey  of  1724  to  the  Padowkas.  Dubois  scarcely  reaped 
the  reward  of  his  promotion  to  be  commissioned  officer  and 
his  appointment  as  King's  inteipreter  for  the  nation  of  the 
Ilhnois — which  he  received  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage, 
for  he  perished  at  the  massacre  of  the  garrison,  of  the  fort 
of  Orleans  of  the  Missouri,  If  one  may  believe  Dumont 
Madame  Dubois  caused  the  assassination  of  her  husband,  but 
that  statement  seems  to  us  hardly  probable.  In  any  event 
she  married  again  a  little  later  a  captain  of  militia  of  Illinois 
named  Marin.  Bossu  saw  at  Paris  in  1751  two  children  of 
the  "Princess. "~~ 
Ancient  Home  of  Otoe  Tribe. 

At  the  time  which  concerns  us  the  Oto  lived  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  river  Platte,  most  of  the  time,  it  seems,  near  the 
point  where  the  course  of  that  river  turns  shaiply  in  the 
southern  direction.  It  is  difficult  to  locate  the  point  with 
greater  certainty,  first,  because  the  Indians  lived  in  a  number 
of  villages^'  and  during  the  18th  century  drew,  little  by  little, 
closer  to  the  Missouri  river,  and  second,  because  the  explor- 
ers who  give  the  number  of  leagues  (figures  varying)  which 
separate  the  Oto  from  the  Missouri,  have  failed  for  the  most 
part  to  inform  us  whether  they  reckoned  the  distances  by  the 
direct  trail  across  country  or  by  following  the  great  bend  of 
the  river.=* 

The  Pani— Maha. 

The  exact  location  of  the  Pani-Maha  seems  a  little  more 
difficult.  These  Indians,  who  certainly  played  a  very  import- 
ant role  in  the  massacre  of  the  Spaniards,  lived  in  1720  north 
of  the  river  Platte,  along  the  different  branches  of  the  river 
which  was  generally  given  the  name  "River  of  the  Pani- 
Maha,"  but  later  received  the  name  of  Loup  which  it  still 
bears.'-'- 

22.  New  Voyages  in  North  America,  1777,  p.  227. 

23.  "The  Ottoes"  says  the  Spanish  manuscript  aiready  cited,  "Do 
not  claim  the  exclusive  possession  of  any  territory,  and  do  not  fix  any 
boundaries  to  their  own  lands.  They  are  hospitable,  cultivate  the  soil 
in  the  same  way  as  the  Kansa  and  Osage.  They  hunt  on  the  salt 
marshes  of  the  lake  of  Nimnehaw." 

24.  In  1794  Truteau  reckoned  twelve  leagues,  by  water,  and  Clark, 
ten  years  later,  only  eight.  But  neither  one  had  ever  gone  up  the  river 
Platte,  rarely  navigable. 

25.  Bienville  expressly  asserted  it.  The  Missouri  also  declared 
they  took  part  in  the  Massacre.       (Margry,  v.  VI,  p.  450). 

*  See  notos  by  Addison  E.  Sheldon  on  pages  29-31. 


12 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY 


Pes-ke-le-cha-oo 

Was  a  noted  Pawnee  chief  in  the  early  period  of  the  19th  century. 
He  was  one  of  the  chiefs  chosen  to  visit  Washing-ton  some  time  prior  to 
1825  and  confer  with  the  president.  His  portrait  was  painted  at  that 
time.  On  his  return  he  became  one  of  the  strong  advocates  of  friendly 
relations  with  the  white  men  in  the  councils  of  the  Pawnee  nation.  He 
had  seen  the  great  cities  filled  with  white  people,  their  g'reat  guns, 
ships  and  factories  and  he  never  tired  of  relating  the  sights  of  this  \'isit. 
In  1826  a  war  party  of  Osage  raided  the  Pawnee  villages.  Pes-ke-le- 
cha-co  killed  an  Osage.  He  rushed  forward  to  lay  his  hand  on  the  dead 
warrior — one  of  the  highest  honors  in  wai-.  In  the  struggle  to  prevent 
this  Pes-ke-le-cha-co  was  slain.  His  deeds  were  long  related  around 
the  camp  fires  of  the  Pawnee  nation. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  13 

The  Pani-Maha  were  evidently  part  of  the  great  nation 
of  Pani  (Pawnee)  but  seem  to  have  formed  a  branch  some- 
what distinct  from  the  other  tribes,  of  whom  the  nearest  was 
the  Grand  Pani  sometimes  called  simply  Pani — and  the  Pani- 
Piqiie,  often  formerly  called  White  Pani.  These  latter  were 
more  fi-iendly  to  the  Spaniards  than  to  the  French.  Nothing 
forbids  conceding  (with  the  Handbook  of  American  Indians) 
that  the  Pani-Maha  were  the  direct  ancestors  of  the  Pani- 
Loup,  Loup  or  Skidi='^  who  lived  in  thje  same  region  sixty  years 
later.  The  independence  of  the  Pani-Maha,  in  opposition  to 
the  other  Pani,  and  the  complex  formation  of  their  name 
might  well  arise  from  a  fusion,  common  enough  with  Indians, 
— between  one  tribe  of  Pani  and  a  group  of  Maha^ — which 
nation  for  so  long  a  time  wandered  along  the  Missouri  and 
one  tribe  of  which  was  located  at  the  beginning  of  the  18th 
century  near  the  Oto. 

The  Loup",  in  any  event,  had  without  doubt  forgotten 
their  double  (surmised)  parentage,  for  they  were  later  often 
at  war  with  the  white  Pani  and  the  Maha. 

Spanish  Officer's  Note  Book. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  history  of  the  Spanish  Expedi- 
tion. And  here,  at  the  start,  are  the  last  leaves  of  the  note 
book  of  the  journey  by  a  Spanish  officer.  These  are  the  only 
records,  unfortunately,  which  the  Indians  brought  to  M.  de 
Boisbriant,  commandant  of  the  province  of  Illinois: 

Translation  of  a  leaf  from  a  journal  in  Spanish,  found  at  the 
defeat  of  a  detachment  of  that  nation  by  the  Otoptata.^^ 

(On  the  margin — "Also  written  Ouatotchata"). 

"The  trails  which  we  find  lead  us  to  a  place  where  we  be- 
lieve we  shall  get  information  of  a  band  which,  by  all  appear- 
ances, is  not  very  far  distant  from  some  village.  We  resolve 
to  camp  in  order  to  see  what  there  is  for  us  to  do. 

26.  Many  derivations  have  been  proposed  for  this  name,  but  all 
come  from  a  root  which  means  "wolf." 

27.  These  Mahas,  now  called  Omaha,  belonged  to  the  Siouan  group 
as  did  the  Kanza  and  the  Osage,  but  in  spite  of  the  relation,  they  hardly 
understand  the  speech  of  nations  living  north  of  the  river  Platte.' 

28.  At  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century  their  number  was  upward  of 
1,000  of  whom  260  were  warriors. 

29.  War  Department.  MSS.  No.  2592,  folio  100.  Also  Colonies 
Cahier  Book  C13,  Chapter  IV,  folios  235-235.  The  translations  are  dif- 
ferent. 


14  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

The  lieutenant  general  having  assembled  all  the  officers 
on  duty  and  on  leave,  and  the  natives,  told  them  that  a  sav- 
age had  reported  to  him  that  he  had  found  some  branches 
and  leaves  of  fresh  sand  cherries  which  seemed  to  be  the 
fragments  of  a  meal  of  some  band  which  had  passed  very  re- 
cently. He  then  gav-e  an  estimate  of  the  distance  we  had 
traveled,  which  in  our  reckoning  was  about  300  leagues.  He 
then  took  counsel  whether  we  should  wait  for  orders  from 
the  Viceroy  of  New  Spain,  who  had  sent  the  detachment  to 
discover  from  the  savage  nations  if  any  French  had  establish- 
ed themselves  in  the  region,  or  whether,  since  we  had  thus 
far  found  no  proof  of  such  establishment,  we  should  con- 
tinue our  search  with  the  Panane^"  nation  (the  only  one  which 
could  give  light  on  the  question)  and  how  we  should  commun- 
icate with  them. 

Names  of  Spanish  Officers. 

The  military  council  was  composed  of  Captain  Thomas 
Aulguin,  Aide-de-camp  Joseph  Domingue,  Ensign  Bernard 
Cazille;  Captains  Manuel  Theverio  de  Albas,  Alonzo  Reald, 
Pierre  Lucan;  Corporals  Joseph  Gregoire,  Manuel  Thenonorio 
de  Alba,  Laurent  Rodrigue;  Captain  Christophe  de  la  Serne- 
and  Captain  Jean  Arhive;  these  two  last  named  are  natives. 

All  were  of  opinion  that  we  ought  to  find  the  Panane  in 
order  to  leam  from  them  the  truth  or  to  know  whether  the 
Apaches  had  deceived  us — that  for  this  purpose  the  detach- 
ment should  cross  the  river  and  thereafter  proceed  in  thelBest 
^^'ay  to  carry  out  the  plan  proposed. 

Crossing  Gr^eat  River  Full  of  Islands. 

Upon  this  resolve  the  lieutenant  general  ordered  certain 
savages  to  locate  the  ford  of  the  river  so  that  the  detachment 
might  cross  to  the  other  shore.  In  the  afternoon  we  began 
to  carry  over  the  baggage  on  travois  upon  the  backs  of  the 
savages.  It  was  not  possible  to  get  it  across  otherwise.  The 
great  number  of  islands  in  the  river  makes  navigation  by 
boats  absolutely  impracticable.  Since  one  day  did  not  suffice 
to  transport  everything  our  camp  was  divided  that  night  by 
the  river.  Besides  we  did  not  wish  to  expose  our  natives  by 
crossing  at  night,  because  it  was  so  cold. 

30.  It  is  the  name  which  the  Spanish  gave  the  Pani. 

31.  These  proper  names  are  spelled  in  different  ways.       Sometimes 
one  finds  Cerise. 

*  See  notes  by  Addison  E.  Sheldon  on  pages  29-31. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  15 

Wednesday  7  of  August. 

At  the  break  of  day  we  crossed  over  the  remainder  of 
our  baggage  and  people  to  the  other  side  of  the  river  of 
Jesus-Maria.  This  was  not  without  much  trouble,  but  af  last 
we  found  ourselves  together  at  noon. 

Thursdaj^  8, 

We  leave  the  river  Jesus-Maria  following  the  trail  of  the 
Panane.  The  native  Captain  Serne  boasted  that  he  kno\vs  the 
trail  well.  He  lost"  his  way,  however,  and  came  back  to  camp. 
He  was  sent  out  again  and  with  him  Captain  Joseph  Nar- 
vanno,  four  corporals  and  two  soldiers.  A  servant  of  Captain 
Serne,  Panane  by  nation,  said  that  he  remembered,  although 
he  had  left  it  when  very  young,  that  the  village  of  his  tribe 
was  located  on  the  bank  of  a  river  far  to  the  north.  Our  sol- 
diers were  ordered  to  find  out  the  truth  of  his  statement. 
They  were  ordered  at  the  same  time  when  they  were  near 
the  village  to  let  the  savage  talk  alone  with  his  people,  to  tell 
them  they  had  nothing  to  fear,  that  we  were  Spaniards,  their 
friends.  And  in  case  they  found  no  one  in  the  village  to  go 
such  distance  as  would  enable  them  to  return  to  camp  the 
same  day  or  ensuing  night. 

Another  Large  Stream  Crossed. 

Since  we  left  the  river  Jesus-Maria  we  have  taken  care 
to  follow  th'8  trail  which  we  found  before  us  and  which  we 
believe  was  made  by  the  Panane.  We  found,  at  a  league  from 
the  river  a  large  creek  which  it  was  necessary  to  cross  and 
we  thought  from  the  water  which  was  very  warm  that  it  was 
a  branch  of  the  river  whose  course  was  from  west  to  east. 
We  then  marched  over  a  plain,  following  always  the  trail  of 
those  who  had  gone  before  us.  W^e  saw  a  number  of  trees  a 
league  away  and  we  met  one  of  our  savages  who  was  of  Cap- 
tain Narrans  detachment  and  w^ho  had  orders  to  wait  for  us 
to  tell  us  to  follow  the  creek  and  that  he  would  follow  the  trail 
of  those  gone  ahead  since  they  found  no  one  in  the  villages. 
The  camp  arrived  at  the  bank  of  the  creek  and,  as  it  was  im- 
possible to  cross  with  our  arms,  we  were  obliged  to  keep  along 
its  bank  and  follow  the  same  route  as  that  taken  by  Captain 
Narrans.  We  had  already  travelled  three  leagues  to  reach 
the  creek;  we  marched  thiee  more  to  arrive  at  a  plain.  Fin- 
ally we  halted  in  order  that  those  following  might  not  lose 
the  way.  At  the  same  time  two  savages  arrived  from  Cap- 
tain Narrans  to  tell  the  lieutenant  general  that  he  should  not 
worry  if  the  captain  did  not  return  to  camp  that  ensuing 
night,  that  he  was  following  the  trail  of  the  Panane  who,  ac- 


16 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  17 

cording  to  all  indications,  were  not  far  off,  and  that  the  main 
command  might  march  since  he  counted  on  rejoining  them 
v-ery  soon. 

Friday  9. 

The  camp  being  ready  to  march  we  saw,  at  more  than  a 
league's  distance,  some  one  approaching  at  a  gallop.  We  were 
in  advance  and  we  found  that  it  was  one  of  our  people  who 
had  been  at  the  discovery.  They  told  us  that,  eight  leagues 
distant,  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek  we  were  following, 
thy  found  the  Panane  in  a  bottom,  singing  and  dancing  ac- 
cording to  custom  of  the  savages.  They  seemed  to  be  in  great 
numbers.  They  had  not  judged  it  wise  to  approach  nearer 
to  them  for  fear  of  frightening  them  away  during  the  night. 

Upon  this  news  order  was  at  once  given  to  cross  to  the 
other  side  of  the  creek.  It  was  carried  out  with  so  much  good 
fortune  that  everything  went  over  without  getting  wet,  al- 
though the  mules  were  up  to  their  girths  in  the  w^ater.  We 
marched  three  leagues  along  the  creek  and  found  it  conven- 
ient to  halt  at  five  leagues  distant  from  the  tribe,  according 
to  the  report  of  those  who  brought  in  the  news. 

Council  with  Panane  or  Pawnee  Nation. 

As  soon  as  we  were  in  camp  the  lieutenant  general  sent 
the  savage  of  Captain  Serne  to  visit  and  talk  with  those  of 
his  nation,  assuring  them  of  our  friendship  and  good  will,  and 
that  we  were  taking  this  means  of  letting  them  know  our 
good  faith.  Although  the  lieutenant  general  wished  to  send 
two  soldiers  with  the  savage  to  see  that  he  was  not  insulted 
by  those  of  his  nation,  the  native  told  him  that  he  had  nothing 
to  fear  and  that  it  was  better  to  go  alone,  that  if  the'  soldiers 
accompanied  him  they  might  believe  that  there  was  deception 
and  bad  faith  in  what  he  proposed  to  them.  This  was  agreed 
to  and  the  savage  started  at  11  a.  m.  to  see  his  nation.  May 
God  and  the  Holy  Virgin,  his  mother,  give  him  success.  The 
general  named  the  creek  Saint  Lawrence.  The  river  Jesus- 
Maria  makes  a  junction  with  this  creek  at  the  place  where  we 
are,  in  such  manner  that  if  we  had  not  already  crossed  it 
would  be  impossible  to  do  so. 

At  6  p.  m.  we  saw  Francois  Sistaca,  which  is  the  name 
of  the  savage  of  Don  Christophe  de  la  Serne,  coming  on  the 
gallop.  He  related  to  the  lieutenant  general  and  all  the  others 
that  he  had  been  to  see  the  band  seen  dancing  the  night  be- 
fore and,  not  finding  it,  he  had  followed  the  creek  and  had 
seen  them  crossing  to  the  other  side  where  they  had  a  village 
and  many  people.    He  stopped  atj:he  bank  of  the  creek,  dis- 

*  See  notes  by  Addison  E.  Sheldon  on  pages  29-31. 


18 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY  19 

mounted,  and  called  to  the  people  crossing  the  river,  making 
the  signs  of  friendship  and  peace  used  by  savages.  As  soon 
as  he  was  seen  many  savages  came  to  him  and,  among  others, 
four  at  the  head  of  them  with  tomahawks  in  hand,  without 
bows  or  arrows,  making  cries,  and  seeing  them  approach 
within  a  stone's  throw,  he  was  afraid,  made  a  sign  with  his 
cap  as  though  he  were  calling  people  back  of  him  and  mount- 
ing his  horse  he  galloped  eight  leagues  to  camp  without  stop- 
ping. 

Saturday  10th  of  the  month. 

Feast  day  of  the  glorious  Martyr,  Saint  Lawrence  (died 
Aug.  10,  A.  D.  258).  The  camp  marched  along  the  river,  fol- 
lowing the  band  (of  savages)  and  having  discovered  on  the 
other  side  of  the  creek  a  village  with  a  number  of  -houses  and 
people  passing  from  one  side  to  the  other  by  a  ford,  making 
calls  easily  heard  because  only  the  creek  was  between  us,  we 
made  the  signs  of  peace  and  friendship  spoken  of  before. 
Twenty-five  or  thirty  savages  came  to  the  edge  of  the  creek 
to  talk  with  us.  We  heard  easily  what  they  said.  The  sav- 
age of  Don  Christophe  la  Serne,  who  recognized  the  language 
of  his  nation,  told  the  lieutenant  general  that  they  asked  for 
peace  and  that  he  should  come  into  their  village. 

They  made  signs  looking  at  the  sun^*-  which  meant  that 
the  Spaniards  need  wait  only  one  day  for  their  visit.  At  once 
the  savage  of  Don  Christophe  La  Seme  resolved  to  cross  over 
to  the  other  side  in  spite  of  the  fear  he  had  the  day  before. 
The  camp  halted  opposite  the  village  and  the  savage  took  olf 
his  clothing  in  order  to  swim  across,  with  consent  of  his  mas- 
ter. The  lieutenant  general  told  him  to  tell  his  nation  that 
he  would  come  and  visit  them  with  no  design  of  doing  them 
the  least  injury,  as  they  could  easily  see  since  he  had  just  dis- 
covered them  without  any  strategems,  as  he  might  have  done 
when  he  learned  they  were  singing  and  dancing  not  more  than 
two  leagues  distant.  Thus  they  might  confer  with  us  in  en- 
tire safety  for  peace  and  the  friendly  union  which  should  ex- 
ist between  brothers  and  subjects  of  the  same  king.  The 
lieutenant  general  gave  tobacco  for  the  savage  to  carry  to 
them,  which  is  the  usual  custom  at  these  meetings. 

32.  A  party  of  Pani-Maha  on  a  hunting  expedition  had  evidently 
retreated  before  the  Spaniards  in  oi*der  to  draw  them  to  the  country 
of  the  Otoptata.  But  the  Pani-Maha  had  a  species  of  religion  based 
on  the  worship  of  a  certain  number  of  stars  and  their  cliief  villager 
were  always  arranged  in  a  certain  relation  to  each  other.  On  thi.*^  ac- 
count, no  doubt,  these  signs  which  the  Spaniards  interpreted  in  their 
own  way. 


20 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY 


Shar-i-tav-ish  was  a  principal  chief  of  tlie  Grand  Pawnee  tribe. 
He  was  son  of  another  chief  of  the  same  name  mentioned  as  Char-ac- 
tar-ish  by  Lieutenant  Pike  who  met  him  at  the  Grand  Pawnee  village 
on  the  Republican  river  in  1806.  The  subject  of  this  portrait  succeeded 
his  elder  brother,  Ta-re-ca-wa-ho  as  head  chief.  The  latter  was  invited 
to  visit  the  president  at  Washington,  but  refused  because  he  thought 
the  Pawnee  the  greatest  people  on  earth  and  would  not  condescend  to 
go  in  person.  He  sent  Shar-i-tar-ish  in  his  stead.  Shar-i-tar-ish  was 
then  a  young  man,  six  feet  tall,  well  proportioned  and  of  fine  appear- 
ance. His  portrait  was  made  at  Washington.  Soon  after  his  return 
he  became  head  chief  and  died  a  little  later,  aged  thirty.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Ish-ca-te-pi  sometimes  spelled  Is-ka-tap-pi  and  called  "The 
Wicked  Chief." 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY  21 

End  of  Military  Note  Book. 

The  last  leaves  of  the  record  of  this  journal  \vere  evident- 
ly lost  like  those  of  the  beginning.  However,  as  we  Know 
that  the  massacre  of  the  Spaniards  took  place  the  day  after 
their  meeting  with  the  Optoptata  and  their  allies,  there  is 
every  ground  for  supposing  that  the  manuscript  ended  at  the 
date  of  August  10,  1720  and  that  its  author  was  killed  the 
next  day. 

News  of  the  Massacre  Carried  to  the  Trench. 

At  any  rate  the  news  of  the  disaster  to  the  expedition 
was  known  in  all  its  details  at  Kaskaskia  about  tlje  beginning 
of  November.  The  first  rumors  of  it  probably  arrived  a 
month  earlier,  for  it  seems  the  same  event  referred  to  in  the 
following  letter.  However,  since  the  Spaniards  were  not  al- 
ways in  a  body,  the  letter  may  refer  to  an  isolated  detach- 
ment. 

Slavery  and  Human  Sacrifice  in  Nebraska  Region. 

"All  the  nations  of  the  Missouri"  wrote  Boisbriant  on 
October  5,  1720'-',  "have  made  peace  with  the  Pani-Maha,  but 
they  utterly  refuse  to  consider  with  the  Padoka.  The  Otop- 
tata  and  the  Canzes  have  been  at  war  with  the  latter  (Pad- 
oka).  They  have  taken  250  slaves.  As  in  the  village  where 
they  have  taken  these  there  were  many  Spaniards,  twenty  of 
these  are  among  the  slain.  This  news  has  been  brought  to 
Sieur  Boisbriant  by  four  Frenchman  whom  he  had  given 
permission  to  go  and  buy  horses  from  the  Panyouessa^^ 
(Wichita).  Before  the  arrival  of  these  Frencl\  that  nation 
had  also  defeated  a  village  of  Padoka.  It  had  led  away  100 
slaves  whom  it  had  burned  without  mercy  from  day  to  day. 
Our  French  ransomed  four  or  five  from  the  flames,  but  their 
generosity  was  ill  rewarded.  The  wretches  ran  away  a  little 
later  and  carried  with  them,  the  clothing  of  their  liberators." 
and  further  on  "A  Spaniard  escaped  from  the  defeat  re- 
corded above.  He  is  with  the  Canzes  (Kansas).  We  have 
written  a  Frenchman  who  is  on  the  Missouri,  to  ransom  the 
Spaniard  and  bring  him  this  fall  to  Sieur  Boisbriant.  He 
hopes  to  draw  from  the  Spaniard  information  of  the  com- 
merce which  the  Spanish  carry  on  with  the  savages  and  to 
learn  from  him  if  there  are  mines  in  that  tuegion." 

33.  Letter  dated  at  Kaskakias. 

34.  According  to  the  Handbook  of  American  Indians  the  Paniouessa 
were  the  Wichita.  It  is  necessary  to  concede  that  these  Indians  lived 
at  that  time  not  far  from  the  river  of  the  Kanza. 

*  See  notes  by  Addison  E.  Sheldon  on  pages  29-31. 


22 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY 


Chon-ca-pe,  sometimes  written  Shunk-co-pe,  was  also  called  "Big 
Kanzas."  He  lived  in  the  first  half  of  the  19th  century.  He  was  a 
signer  of  the  treaty  of  1825  made  at  Council  Bluffs,  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Otoe  tribe.  Soon  after  he  was  called  to  Washington  to 
meet  the  president.  At  this  visit  this  portrait  was  made.  The  grizzly 
bear  necklace  is  a  trophy  of  a  victory  over  one  of  those  fierce  animals. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  23 

On  November  22,  1720,  Boisbriant  gave  more  precise  in- 
formation. 

"The  Spaniards  to  the  number  of  250,  accompanied  by 
the  Padoka"  nation,  came  to  make  an  establishment  on  the 
Missouri.  On  the  way  they  defeated  five"=  nations.  The  com- 
mandant beheved,  after  one  splendid  victory,  he  M-as  strong- 
enough  to  withstand  anything.  He  sent  part  of  his  force  to 
conduct  the  slaves  taken  in  the  villages  he  had  destroyed  and 
advanced  within  15  leagues  of  the  Otoptata.  His  plan,  was 
to  extirpate  that  nation.  He  had  with  him  then  60  Spaniards 
and  150  Padokas. 


Oto  Deceive  the  Spaniards. 

The  Otoptata,  warned  by  the  Pani-Maha  of  the  Spanish 
approach,  marched  to  meet  him.  They  called  themselves 
Pani-Maha,  which  was  rendered  easier  since  they  spoke  the 
language  of  the  Pani-Maha  as  though  their  native  language. 
The  Spanish  commander,  deceived,  asked  if  there  were  any 
French  on  the  Missouri  river  and  assured  them  that  he  would 
give  them  a  great  quantity  of  goods  if  they  would  deliver 
French  into  his  hands.  They  replied  that  there  were  French 
with  the  Otoptata  and  that  they  would  make  it  easy  for  him 
to  capture  them.  They  passed  the  night  together,  but  in 
very  different  ways.  The  Otoptata  danced,  the  Padoka  fled 
from  fear,  while  the  Spaniards,  abandoned  by  their  allies 
kept  on  their  guard.  The  Spaniards  feared  nothing,  since 
they  trusted  in  such  a  great  number  of  the  pretended  Pani- 
Maha. 


35.  The  Padouka  (Comanche)  are  allies  to  the  great  Shoshonea.i 
family  whose  diverse  branches,  located  at  first  in  the  north,  successively 
occupied  a  wide  territory  which  stretched  from  Va.icouver  Island  as 
far  as  Texas.  In  1720  the  Padouka  dwelt  near  the  headwaters  of  the 
Kansas.  It  was  there  that  Bourgmont  in  1724  came  to  visit  them  in 
order  to  break  their  alliance  with  the  Spaniards.  But  these  Indians, 
essentially  nomads,  living  in  tents,  always  at  war  with  their  neighbors, 
later  emigrated  south  and  crossed  the  Red  river.  By  virtue  of  infor- 
mation we  may  point  out  that  this  author  of  the  Spanish  manuscript 
already  cited,  who  very  well  knew  the  Indians  of  Texas,  was  astonished 
because,  in  spite  of  his  extensive  researches  he 'was  not  able  to  under- 
stand what  had  become  of  the  great  nation  of  the  Padouka  which 
numbered  2,000  warriors — and,  in  consequence,  supposed  that  these  In- 
dians dispersed  and  formed  the  following  nations:  Wetepahatoe  (one 
of  the  tribes  of  the  Kiowa),  Kiawa,  Kanenawish,  Kalteka,  Dotame,  etc. 

36.  Two  of  these  tiibes,  according  to  Father  Charlevoix  made  part 
of  the  Otoptata  nation,  but  this  statement  seems  doubtful. 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY  aS 

Oto  Destroy  the  Spanish  Army. 

On  the  next  day  the  savages  proposed  an  Iroquois  dance. 
The  Spaniards  agreed  and  unloaded  their  mules  m  order  to 
rest.  About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  Otoptata  asked 
lor  the  lances  of  the  Spaniards  for  their  dancers  to  use  in  the 
dance  and  they  were  granted  them."  The  chief  of  the  sav- 
ages during  the  dance  formed  his  warriors  in  groups  about 
the  Spaniards  who  were  always  under  arms.  When  he  saw 
everything  arranged  as  he  wished  he  fired  a  pistol  upon  the 
Spanish.  At  the  signal  all  his  men  attacked  with  such  im- 
petuosity that  all  the  Spaniards  were  killed  in  less  than  an 
instant.  Only  four  of  them  were  quick  enough  to  mount  their 
horses  and  drive  their  mules  ahead  of  them.  But  some  young 
warriors  seized  their  quivers,  shot  and  killed  two  of  them. 
The  two  sole  survivors  of  the  sixty  Spaniards  pushed  on  to- 
ward Mexico,  which  they  could  reach  with  difficulty  depriv- 
eu  as  they  were  of  all  provisions. 

The  chaplain  of  the  detachment  was  made  prisoner.  The 
Otoptata  chief  was  bringing  him  to  Sieur  Boisbriant,  but  the 
chief  was  compelled  to  turn  back  on  receiving  news  that  the 
Renards  (Fox)  had  come  to  attack  his  village.  A  man  nained 
Chevallier  was  ordered  to  go  in  search  of  the  chaplain.  ' 
Spaniards  Plan  to  Colonize  Nebraska  Country. 

This  undertaking  of  the  Spanish  shows  the  necessity  of 
establishing  a  post  on  the  Missouri.    They  brought  with  them 
a  large  number  of  oxen,  cows  and  sheep  which  proves  their 
purpose  to  make  a  permanent  settlement. 
Booty  from  the  Battlefield. 

According  to  Charlevoix  there  were  two  chaplains.  "All 
that  was  told  me"  said  he  "related  to  the  chaplain  who  was 
slain  and  from  whom  was  taken  a  book  of  prayers  which  I 
have  not  seen.  It  was  apparently  his  breviary.  I  purchased 
his  pistol,  his  shoes  were  worthless,  and  the  savage  would  not 
part  with  the  ointment  because  when  taken  it  was  a  sovereign 
remedy  for  all  kinds  of  ills.  I  was  curious  to  know  how  he 
used  it  and  he  replied  that  it  was  enough  to  swallow  a  little 
at  a  time  and  whatever  illness  one  had  he  was  instantly  cur- 
ed. He  assured  m>e  that  he  had  not  yet  tried  it  and  I  coun- 
selled him  not  to  do  so.  We  find  the  savages  here  very  coarse. 
There  is  much  need  of  spirituality  or  at  least  that  their  minds 
should  be  as  open  as  those  who  have  had  more  intercourse 

withjas/* 

37.  According-  to  Dumont  the  Spaniards,  after  having  made  a  treaty 
with  the  Indians,  had  given  them  arms  to  attack  the  French.  He  adds 
what  seems  correct  (after  correcting  the  names)  that  the  Oto  and  their 
allies,  taken  for  Pani  by  the  Spaniards,  learned  from  the  mouth  of  the 
latter  (the  Spaniards)  that  they  had  come  to  destroy  them  (the  Oto). 
*  See  notis  by  Addison  E.   Sheldon  on  pages  29-31. 


26  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

The  spoils  of. the  Spaniards  were  spattered  everywhere. 
The  letter  of  Charlevoix  is  dated  at  Michillimakinac.  The 
following  one  was  written  to  the  Illinois  by  the  engineer 
Lallemand  who  explored  the  mines  of  the  Maramek  river  re- 
gion, 

'  'The  Spaniards  of  New  Mexico"^'*  Says  he  "came  three  or 
four  months  ago  with  the  design  to  establish  themselves  on 
the  Missouri.  They  had  with  them  a  number  of  mules  loaded 
with  all  kinds  of  tools  to  work  the  mines.  They  drove  with 
mem  a  number  of  cows  and  sheep.  In  this  array  they  arriv- 
ed at  a  nation  called  Octotata,  two  hundred  leagues  from 
here." 

"They  took  only  40  days  to  reach  the  Octotata.    It  is  pre- 
sumed that  they  did  not  move  rapidly  on  account  of  the  bag- 
gage and  the  animals  which  they  brought  with  them,"^» 
Distance  from  Santa  Fe  to  Nebraska  Country. 

"It  is  believed  that  it  is  not  more  than  120  leagues^"  from 
New  Mexico  to  the  Octotata.  These  savages  say  there  is  a 
fort  built  of  stone  four  days  journey  from  where  they  are." 

"On  their    way  they  killed   and  destroyed  many   savage 
nations.     They  flattered    themselves  they    Would  finish    the 
others.     The  affair  turned  our  differently." 
Account  of  Charlevoix. 

"The  Octotata  who  were  on  the  hunt  learned  all  the 
cruelties  which  the  Spanish  had  inflicted  on  their  neighbors. 
They  dissimulated  and  came  to  the  number  of  60  to  smoke 
the  pipe  of  peace  with  their  new  hosts,  the  Spaniards,  who 
suspected  nothing.  The  savages  all  of  a  sudden  gave  a  great 
cry  which  was  the  signal  to  strike  them  down,  they  did  this 
so  well  only  one  remained.  The  mules  took  fright  and  fled  on 
the  run  with  their  loads.  The  prisoner  whom  the  savages  had 
c^3tured  was  a  monk  of  San  Juan  de  Dios.  He  escaped  a  little 
later.  The  savages  were  foolish  enough  to  let  him  have  a 
horse  in  order  to  show  them  how  to  ride  one."  His  shrewd- 
ness had  been  too  smart  for  them  and  he  fled  with  all  speed. 
Since  then  it  is  learned  that  other  Spaniards  had  returned  to 
the  attack  and  that  they  had  met  the  same  fate  as  the  first, 
excepting  one  whom  thei  savages  would  send  here  at  once.    M. 

38.  This  letter  is  dated  April  5,  1721. 

39.  This  note  is  found  on  the  margin  of  the  document. 

40.  This  figure  is,  manifestly,  incorrect.  The  figure  of  300  leagues, 
as  given  by  the  Spaniards,  approaches  very  much  nearer  to  the  tinith, 

41.  Charlevoix  says  that  the  Chaplain  who  escaped  from  the 
"Missouristes"  was  a  remarkable  horseman  and  the  Indians  who,  ac- 
cording to  Dumont,  did  not  know  how  to  manage  a  horse,  greatly  ad- 
mired his  skill.  Before  fleeing  the  "Jacobin"  had  nad  the  foresight 
to  prepare  a  package  of  food. 

'  Sees  notes  by   Addison   E.   Slieldon   on  pages  29-31. 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY  27 

de  Boisbriant  has  shown  me  several  documenfs  written  in 
Spanish,  among  others  one  which  is  marked  Esquadras  with 
the  names  of  those  who  apparently  were  on  guard  for  that 
day.  The  other  papers  are  songs  or  hymns  and  prayers  to 
the  Virgin.  There  are  some  leaves  of  the  breviary  oi^  the 
Spanish  monk  and  some  rosaries  with  their  crosses,  evident 
proof  that  the  savages  have  not  made  up  a  tale.  From  this 
it  must  appear  that  there  are  rich  mines  on  the  Missouri 
since  the  Spaniards  wish  to  penetrate  there  whether  desired 
or  not." 
Hope  of  Mines  in  Missouri  River  Region. 

Poor  Lallement  who,  in  spite  of  his  efforts,  never  suc- 
ceeded in  discovering  in  the  region  of  the  river  Maramek  any- 
thing but  very  poor  mines  difficult  to  work,  had  not  yet  lost 
his  illusions.  It  was  for  him  a  deadly  irony,  the  news  of  the 
death  of  the  Spanish  prospectors,  duped  like  himself  by  the 
chimerical  prospectus  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies,  coming 
just  at  this  time  to  beguile  him. 

In  Le  Page  du  Pratz  there  is  a  long  account,  very  pictur- 
esque but  fantastic,  of  the  arrival  at  Kaskaskia  of  Indians 
bearing  the  spoils  of  the  Spaniards.  His  account  would  make 
one  think  a  whole  convent  had  been  massacred,  so  much  one 
glimpses  of  defiling  of  chasubLas,  of  stoles,  of  surplices,  of 
crosses  and  candlesticks. 

Rut  what  is  for  us  more  interesting  Du  Pratz  adds: 
Spanish  Maps  of  Nebraska  Region. 

"The  Indians  brought  with  them  the  map  which  .had  so 
ill-guided  the  Spaniards.  After  having  examined  it,  it  seems 
to  me  better,  for  the  west  of  our  colony  which  is  toward  them, 
than  for  the  region  which  concerns  us.  According  to  this 
map  it  appears  that  the  Red  River  and  the  Arkansas  must 
bend  more  than  I  have  said  and  that  the  source  of  the  Mis- 
souri is  more  to  the  west  than  shown  by  our  geographers — 
since  the  Spaniards  sh^juld  know  that  region  better  than  the 
French  who  have  given  notes  upon  it." 
Where  Did  Massacre  Take  Place? 

Let  us  now  see  whether  the  documents  which  precede,  in 
spite  of  theii-  apparent  lack  of  certainty,  may  not,  in  reality, 
be  sufficiently  exact  to  determine  with  satisfactory  approx- 
imation, the  place  where  the  massacre  of  the  Spaniards  oc- 
curred. 
Not  in  Osage  Country. 

Let  us  observe,  at  the  start,  that  the  expedition  did  not 
go  to  the  Osage,'-  as  Le  Page  du  Pratz  believed,  but  to  the 
Pani,  most  of  whose  tribes  then  dwelt  to  the  north  of  or  along 

•  See  notes  by  Addison  B.  Sheldon  on  pages  29-31. 


28  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

the  middle  course  of  the  river  Platte.  The  Spanish  officers 
seemed  much  better  informed  than  that  author  thinks  and 
would  therefore  seek  to  avoid  contact  with  the  Osage  who 
had  always  shown  themselves  faithful  allies  of  the  French. 
On  the  other  hand  the  Spanish,  who  held  only  distant  friend- 
ly relations  (except  with  the  Apache  and  Padoka)  could 
hardly  yet  have  knowledge  of  the  peace,  quite  recent,  between 
the  Pani-Maha  and  our  allies  the  Missouri,  the  Oto  and  the 
Kanza. 
The  Platte  or  Kansas  River? 

The  geographic  hints  contained  in  the  last  leaves  of  the 
note  book  of  the  route  furnish  only  rather  vague  information 
and  the  author  seems  a  little  lost  among  the  divers  branches 
which  join  the  river  "Jesus-Maria."  However,  since  it  must 
relate  to  some  affluent  of  the  Kanzas — or  of  the  river  Platte 
— the  description  seems  precise  enough  to  show  that  the 
river,  not  navigable  and  full  of  islands,  which  the  Spaniards 
in  search  of  the  Parv,  crossed  on  the  7th  and  8th  of  August, 
1720,  (after  having  traveled  300  leagues)  could  be  none  other 
than  the  river  Platte,  whose  name  indicates'^  that  it  is  as 
broad  as  it  is  shallow. 

So  far  as  the  Creek  of  "Saint  Lawrence",  a  veritable 
river,  since  the  mules  could  hardly  cross  it  in  the  month  of 
August,  in  studying  the  map  of  this  region,  and  in  compar- 
ing the  place  then  inhabited  by  the  Oto,  with  the  various  dis- 
tances indicated  which  otherwise  show  remarkable  agree- 
ment, one  may,  we  believe,  identify  it  most  surely  with  the 
Loup  Fork  and  the  name  of  this  river  comes  from  the  sur- 
name of  the  tribe  of  Loup  Indians,  which  our  trappers  gave 
at  another  time  to  the  later  Pani-Maha  along  its  banks. 
Paris  Editor  Believes  it  was  at  Junction  of  Loup  and  Platte. 

The  Spanish  expedition  was,  then,  exterminated  on  Au- 
gust 11,  1720,  by  the  Oto  and  Pani-Maha  at  a  point  below, 
but  very  near,  the  junction  of  the  Loup  Fork  and  the  river 
Platte.  This  place  is  in  fact,  located  in  a  straight  line  about 
25  leagues  from  the  Missouri.  And  the  disaster  according 
to  Boisbriant,  occurred  about  15  leagues  west  of  the  Otoptata 
who  dwelt  about  8  hours  in  an  air  line,  from  Missouri. 

When  once  the  gold  mines  had  vanished  it  does  not  seem 
that  the  Spaniards  renewed  their  efforts,  although  this  dis- 
patch from  Bienville  on  April  25,  1722,  reports: 

"I  learned  a  little  while  ago,  from  the  savages  of  the 
Missouri,  that  the  Spaniards  of  New  Mexico  calculated  to  re- 
turn and  demand  satisfaction  from  those  who  defeated  them, 
and  to  make  at  the  same  time,  a  settlement  upon  the  river  of 
the  Kanzes  (Kansas)  which  flows  into  Missouri." 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  29 

Revenge  on  the  French. 

And  one  might  also  ask  whether  it  was  not  at  the  insti- 
gation of  the  Spaniards  that  the  Indians  massacred,  about 
1725-26,  under  mysterious  circumstances  the  garrison  of  Fort 
d'Orleans,"  then  reduced  on  account  of  economy,  to  8  men. 
It  was  then,  we  have  ah-eady  stated,  commanded  by  Dubois, 
the  first  husband  of  the  "Princess  of  the  Missouri." 


42.  A  tribe  of  this  nation  lived  at  this  period  a  little  below  the 
junction  of  the  Missouri  and  the  Kanzas  but  most  of  the  Osage  lived 
in  the  valley  of  the  river  which  still  bears  their  name. 

43.  "It  is  only  navigable  for  very  small  hunting  canoes,"  Journal 
of  Truteau  (American  Historical  Review,  January  1914.)  Perrin  du 
Lac  says'  that  one  can  navigate  it  only  in  the  springtime. 

44.  This  fort  whose  site  is  not  exactly  known  was  located  on  the 
Missouri  a  few  leagues  above  its  junction  with  Grand  river. 


NOTES  BY  ADDISON  E.  SHELDON 

Page  3 

1.  Under  the  title,  "The  Spanish  Caravan",  Sheldon's  "History  and 
Stories  of  Nebraska",  first  edition  published  in  1913,  gave  a  summa)-y 
of  what  was  then  known  upon  this  subject  anrl  a  critical  review  of  con- 
jectures upon  it.  The  new  information  contained  in  this  article  clears 
up  many  of  the  conjectures  and  gives  us  an  historical  basis  for  the  real 
story.  1 

2.  The  discovery  of  new  documents  upon  Louisiana  and  the  Missouri 
river  region  in  the  last  20  years  has  been  full  of  interesting  encourage- 
ment. These  documents  were  generally  sent  from  New  Orleans  to 
France  or  to  Spain  during  the  18th  century.  They  were  filed  away  in 
pigeon  holes  from  which  they  are  now  being  rescued  by  the  diligent 
scholarship  of  Europe  and  America. 

3.  The  books  mentioned  by  the  French  editor  in  his  notes  1,  2,  3,  are 
the  chief  bases  of  our  knowledge  of  the  French  Province  of  Louisiana 
as  it  was  150  years  ago.  The  Missouri  country  (including  Nebraska) 
was  even  then  known  in  its  general  features  from  reports  of  French 
far-traders. 

4.  Pierre  Francois  Xavier  de  Charlevoix,  born  29  October,  1682,  died 
1  February,  1761.  Twice  visited  Canada.  Wrote  "History  of  New 
France"  and  "Journal  and  Letters"  of  his  travels. 

'  Page  6 

5.  Pierre  Margry,  born  8  December,  1818,  at  Paris.  Died  27  March, 
1894,  at  Paris.  He  was  author  of  many  important  books  on  early  his- 
tory of  America — most  valuable  of  them  six  volumes  on  French  and 
Spanish  explorations  entitled  "Memoires  et  Documents  pour  servir  a 
I'histoire  des  oi-igines  francaises  des  pays  d'outremer."  Volume  six  of 
this  series  contains  the  most  important  documents  relating  to  the  Mis- 
souri river  region  including  the  present  Nebraska.  (See  a  fine  article 
on  Margry's  life  work  in  the  Louisiana  Histoi'ical  Quarterly  for  April, 
1922.) 


80  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

6.  John  Law,  born  in  1671,  died  1729,  was  a  shrewd  Scotch  economist 
and  proiroter.  His  most  famous  financial  promotion  was  the  Company 
of  the  Indies.  This  company  sold  shares  to  the  French  public  based 
upon  the  expectation  of  great  profit  from  the  region  known  as  the  Pro- 
vince of  Louisiana,  including  the  present  Nebraska.  The  company  had 
the  support  of  the  French  government  and  a  practical  monopoly  of  the 
French  foreign  trade.  The  immediate  expectation  of  profit  was  from 
the  development  of  mines  in  the  Missouri  river  region.  These  mines 
were  reported  as  having  vast  quantities  of  all  kinds  of  metals.  The 
shares  in  the  Indies  Company  rose  to  a  premium  of  4,000%.  A  perfect 
craze  to  make  fortunes  out  of  the  undeveloped  resources  in  the  Mississ- 
ippi Valley  seized  the  French  public.  It  was  impossible  for  these  ex- 
pectations to  be  realized  at  once,  and,  after  a  period  of  three  years  of 
the  wildest  speculation,  the  company  went  up  in  smoke  and  its  share- 
holders were  ruined.  This  is  called  "The  Mississippi  Bubble."  It  was 
accompanied  with  a  large  issue  of  paper  money  through  the  Royal  Bank 
controlled  by  John  Law. 

7.  The  Rue  Quinquempoix  was  the  location  of  the  stock-exchange  at 
Paris  in  1720.  It  corresponded  in  the  popular  language  with  the 
Am.erJcan  phrase  "Wall  Street." 

8.  The  oi'iginal  French  is  more  musical  and  sarcastic  than  the  best 
translation: 

Les  Mines,  Ton  y  fouillera 
Car,  sans  doute  on  en  trouvera 
Si  la  Nature  en  a  mis! 

9.  The  Otoe  occupied  in  general,  southeastern  Nebraska  a  century 
ago.  The  salt  basin  at  Lincoln  was  near  the  dividing  line  between 
territory  claimed  by  the  Pawnee  and  claimed  by  the  Otoe.  Both  tribes 
gathered  salt  at  the  basin.  In,  1868-70  bands  of  Otoe  and  bands  of 
Pawnee  camped  frequently  on  the  liomestead  in  Seward  county,  where 
the  editor  of  this  magazine  lived  as  a  boy. 

Page  7 

10.  Morse's  Geography  of  the  World  (copy  dated  1805  in  the  Histori- 
cal Society  library)  has  the  legend  "R.  Plate  or  Shallow  R.",  upon  the 
chief  stream,  on  the  map  in  the  Nebraska  region.  The  French  editor 
(or  his  printer)  has  simply  misspelled  the  word  in  suggesting  that  the 
river  is  ever  called  "Swallow."  In  the  Otoe  language  Ne-brath-ka 
means  Water  Shallow. 

Page  9 

11.  This  chief  of  the  Metchigamias  is  the  original  from  which  the 
name  of  the  m.odern  city  of  Chicago  is  derived. 

Page  11  ; 

12.  "Salt  Marshes  of  the  Lake  of  Nimnehaw"  is  the  earliest  reference 
I  have  found  in  literature  to  the  Nemaha  river.  It  suggests  that  the 
early  explorers  had  the  idea  that  the  salt  basin  at  Lincoln  was  connected 
with  the  streams  we  now  call  Nemaha. 

13.  (By  section  lines  the  site  of  the  great  Otoe  village  near  Yutan  is 
25  miles  west  and  about  eleven  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Platte.  This 
village  was  the  capital  city  of  the  Otoe  tribe  for  100  years  or  more. 
Its  remains  today  cover  640  acres  of  land.  *       i 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  31 


Page  14 


14.  "Fresh  Sanil  Cherries."  In  the  original  French  "des  feuilles 
d'Oloues  (  ? )  fraiches."  The  Paris  editor  inserts  the  question  mark 
into  the  Spanish  text,  evide'iitly  not  understanding  what  kind  of  wild 
fruit  is  meant.  Any  one  familiar  with  the  Platte  Valley  in  the  month 
of  August  knows  that  sand  cherries  are  the  most  abundant  fniit  to  be 
found  and  most  likely  to  be  the  one  eaten  by  this  bana  of  Indians. 

15.  "The  great  number  of  islands  in  the  river"  certainly  fits  the  Platte 
better  than  any  other  stream  between  Santa  Fe  and  the  Missouri  river. 

Page   17 

16.  The  junction  of  the  river  Jesus-Maria  with  the  creek  named  St. 
Lawrence  by  the  Spanish  comma;hder  "in  such  a  manner  that  if  we  had 
not  already  crossed  it  w^ould  be  impossible  to  do  so,"  suggests  one  of 
three  difficulties,  great  depth  of  water,  very  swift  current  or  difficult 
banks.  Either  of  the  first  two  would  fit  the  junction  of  the  Loup  and 
the  Platte  today. 

Page  21 

17.  Early  records  of  the  plains  Indians  clearly  show  a  system  of 
slavery  or  servitude  for  captives.  Human  sacrifice  is  known  to  have 
existed  among  the  Pawnee  in  Nebraska,  with  many  citations  on  that 
point. 

Page  25 

18.  "An  Iroquois  dance."  IThe  Iroquois  tribe  set  the  style  in  dancing 
for  all  other  Indian  tribes  in  North  America.  More  than  thirty  differ- 
ent Iroquois  dances  are  described  by  competent  writers  on  the  subject. 
Each  dance  had  a  distinct  style  and  signification. 

Page  26 

•19.  The  distance  from  Santa  Fe"  to  the  junction  of  the  Loup  ajid  the 
Platte,  as  measured  in  air  line  across  the  map  today  is  619  miles.  The 
distance  by  railroad,  via  Denver  from  Columbus,  Nebraska  to  Santa  Fe 
is  965  miles.  The  league  unit  of  measurement  is  about  3  miles.  The 
French  kilometre  is  about  3-5th  of  a  mile. 

Page  27 

20.  Mines  in  the  Missouri  region.  All  the  early  explorers  got  the 
idea  of  very  rich  mines  in  the  region  now  occupied  by  the  states  of  Mis- 
souri, Kansas,  Nebraska  and  Iowa.  There  ai-e  in  fact  rich  mines  in 
that  region,  but  not  the  kind  either  the  Spanish  or  French  could  utilize 
at  that  time.  A  number  of  early  references  to  "Spanish  Mines,"  on 
the  Weeping  Water  refer  beyond  doubt  to  the  excavations  on  the  Pol- 
lard farm  at  Nehawka,  studied  twenty  years  ago  by  Curator  Blackman 
and  others  of  the  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society.  About  forty 
acres  of  limestone  hill  is  tunnelled  and  dug  in  a  most  extraordinary 
manner,  probably  by  Indians  searching  for  flint.  Early  fur-traders 
saw  this  hill  and  carried  report  down  the  Missouri  of  Spanish  mines  on 
the  Weeping  Water.  There  w-ei'e  expert  advertising  geniuses  in  1720 
as  well  as  in  1923. 


52  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

LETTER  FROM  REV.  M.  A.  SHINE  ON 

THE  MASSACRE  OF  THE  SPANISH  EXPEDITION 

Plattsmoutb,  Nebr.,  July  5,   1923. 
Dear  Mr.  Sheldon: 

Being  somewhat  pressed  for  time,  it  has  been  impossible  for  me  to 
give  as  much  attention  to  Baron  de  Villiers  Article,  as  I  wouUl  wish. 

However,  having  read  the  original  French  article,  and  your  excel- 
lent and  substantial  translation  of  the  same,  I  most  certainly  agree  with 
you,  that  this  article  on  the  Villasur  Expedition  of  1720,  is  of  great 
historical  importance  to  Nebraska.  i 

The  thi-ee  new  documents,  namely,  the  Leaf  from  the  Spanish  jour- 
nal of  the  expedition;  the  letter  of  Governor  Boisbriant,  dated  Novem- 
ber 22,  1720;  and  the  Mining  Engineer  Lallemand's  letter  of  April  5, 
]721,  give  us  some  new  and  contemporaneous  evidence  of  the  expedition. 

Hitherto,  the  reports  have  been  very  conflicting  and  confusing,  and 
the  scene  of  the  massacre  has  been  variously  located. 

While  I  was  inclined  to  follow  the  opinions  of  Prof.  John  B.  Dunbar, 
and  William  Dunn,  m  favor  of  the  North  Platte  location,  after  reading 
that  Spanish  Leaf,  I  am  now  convinced  that  the  Bar^n  de  Villier's  lo- 
cation conforms  more  closely  to  the  Leaf's  description,  than  does  the 
North  Platte,  and  consequently  the  scene  of  the  massacre  would  be 
somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  Linwood,  Nebr. 

Various  dates  are  given  for  the  occurrence,  and  we  know  that 
Felipe  de  Tamaris,  one  of  the  soldiers  that  escaped  the  massacre, 
brouglit  the  news  of  the  Spanish  defeat  to  Santa  Fe,  on  September  6, 
1720.       There  were  a  few  other  survivors. 

The  Chaplain,  who  was  slain,  was  Father  Juan  Minguez,  a  Fran- 
ciscan, who  was  stationed  in  Santa  Fe  in  1705;  at  Zuni,  in  1706  and 
later  at  Nambe,  Santa  Cruz,  and  Santa  Clara  Missions  in  New  Mexico. 

The  route  of  the  expedition,  was  generally  northeast,  from  Santa 
Fe  to  Jicarilla,  (now  in  Conejos  County,  Colorado,)  then  to  Cuai'telejo, 
in  Scott  County,  Kansas,  and  from  there  to  the  Jesus-Maria,  or  Platte 
ri\'er,  a  little  southwest  of  the  mouth  of  Prairie  Creek. 

It  now  appears  that  it  was  the  Loup  river  that  was  named  St. 
liawrence  in  honor  of  that  famous  martyr,  whose  feast  day  falls  on 
August  tenth.  Undoubtedly  some  Spanish  documents  will  be  found, 
that  will  ihrow  more  light  on  the  event. 

MICHAEL  A.  SHINE. 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY  33 

FIRST  VISIT 

of 

NEBRASKA   INDIANS   TO   PARIS 

IN  1725 


.  The  following  account  of  the  first  visit  of  Indians  from 
the  Nebraska  region  to  the  King  of  France,  and  Royal  court 
at  Paris  is  furnished  by  Rev.  M.  A.  Shine,  of  Platfsmouth. 
The  original  article  appeared  in  the  London  Postman,  Jan- 
uary 27,  1726.  It  was  copied  into  the  United  States  Catholic 
Historical  Magazine  for  April,  1890,  where  it  was  found  by 
Father  Shine.  It  confirms  the  account  translated  from  the 
Journal  des  Americanistes  in  many  respects  and  adds  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  relation  of  the  Indians  of  the  Missouri  val- 
ley to  France  two  centuries  ago: 

ILLINOIS,  OSAGE  AND  OTOPTATA  CHIEFS 
IN  PARIS,  IN  1725. 

Since  our  last,  came  in  the  mail  due  from  Holland  with  a 
farther  Account  from  Paris  of  the  four  Savages  of  Missis- 
sippi : 

■  On  the  28th  of  November,  the  four  Chiefs,  and  the  Sav- 
age Maid  were  again  presented  to  the  Company,  (of  the 
Indies)  when  the  Chief  of  the  Illinois,  as  a  Christian,  and  an 
ancient  Ally  of  the  French,  presented  his  Speech  to  the  Comp- 
troller General,  and  the  three  other  Chiefs  also  presented 
theirs  in  the  name  of  their  Three  Nations,  which  were  read 
by  the  Company's  Secretary. 

The  speech  of  the  Illinois  to  the  India  Company,  was  as 
follows : 

"The  Black  Gown'-=  tells  me  that  you  are  some  of  the 
most  eminent  Men  of  the  French  Nation,  whom  the  King  has 
made  Chiefs  of  Mississippi.  I  am  ashamed  to  be  so  little  in 
comparison  with  you.  Tho'  I  am  Chief  of  my  Village,  and 
esteemed  in  my  own  Country,  I  am  nothing ;  but  I  love  Prayer 
and  the  French.  Therefore,  you  ought  to  love  me  and  and  to 
love  my  Nation,  which  has  always  been  allied  to  the  French. 

"The  French  are  with  us.  We  have  yielded  them  the 
country  which  we  possess  in  Cassakias.  We  are  very  well 
pleased  with  them,  but  we  don't  like  to  see  them  come  and 
mingle  themselves  with  us,  and  to  take  up  their  Habitations 
in  the  midst  of  our  Village  and  our  Deserts.  'Tis  my  Opinion 
that  you  who  are  great  Chiefs,  should  leave  us  Masters  of  the 
country  where  we  have  placed  our  Fire. 

^Indians  commonly  called  a  priest  a  "black  gown." 


34  NEBRASKA  HISTORY 

"I  am  come  hither  to  see  the  Kin^  in  the  Name  of  my 
Nation  and  my  young  People.  When  shall  I  see  him?  All 
the  fine  Things  I  see  are  nothing  if  I  do  not  see  the  King,  our 
true  Father  and  yours,  and  if  I  do  not  hear  His  Word  to  re- 
port them  to  my  young  people. 

"1  was  dead  some  Days  ago,  but  now  I  am  reviv'd,  be- 
cause great  Care  has  been  taken  of  me.  I  thank  you  for  it, 
and  hoRe  that  you  will  continue  it.  In  short,  because  you  are 
our  Chiefs,  speak  kindly  to  me  that  my  young  People  may  be 
pleas'd  when  I  see  them  again,  and  that  they  may  perceive 
that  you  are  well  disposed  towards  us.  This  is  what  I  had  to 
say  to  you,  who  am  vour  Son,  and  a  Friend  of  the  French." 

CHICAGOU. 


The  following  Speech  was  made  to.  the  India  Company  by 
the  Chiefs  of  the  Indian  Nations  call'd  Missoury,  Osages,  and 
Otoptata. 

"  'Tis  now  Twelve  entire  Moons  since  we  set  out  from 
our  lands  to  this  Country.  One  of  our  Chiefs  dy'd  by  the  way, 
the  others  were  left  on  the  Sea  Shore. 

"We  were  given  to  understand  that  the  King  and  Com- 
pany demanded  some  of  each  of  our  Nations.  We  are  here 
now  before  you,  but  still  ignorant  of  what  you  want  with  us. 

"We  aie  ashamed  to  sec  that  we  have  nothing  worth 
your  acceptance.  We  brought  with  us  some  Skins  and  the 
Workmanship  of  our  Wives,  which  you  that  have  abundance 
of  fine  things  of  more  importance  M'ould  not  have  valued,  but 
all  was  lost  in  the  first  Ship  that  was  to  have  carry'd  us. 

"We  can't  sufficiently  admire  the  fine  things  which  we 
see  every  day,  Things  which  we  shall  never  forget,  and  which 
will  re  Joyce  all  to  whom  we  relate  them. 

"We  are  very  well  pleas'd  with  the  Treatment  we  have 
met  with  since  we  came  to  this  Country,  but  were  uneasy  till 
we  arrived. 

"Our  Seniors  each  for  his  Nation,  have  enjoyn'd  and 
charged  us  to  lay  their  Demands  before  you. 

1.  "They  desire  you  not  to  abandon  them,  and  hope  the 
French  will  not  only  furnish  their  necessities,  but  maintain 
their  union. 

2.  "They  complain  that  they  never  had  any  Body  among 
them  to  instruct  them  to  pray,  but  one  White  Band**  lately 
come  thither,  with  whom  they  are  well  pleased. 

3.  "They  desire  you  to  send  us  back  furnish'd  with  your 
Promise.     They  are  all  looking  this  way  to  see  us  again. 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY  35 

4.  "The  French  have  told  us  that  you  consider  well  in  all 
this  Country,  and  that  the  Magazines  there  are  yours.  We 
are  in  your  power.     Consider  how  to  dispose  of  your  Bodies. 

After  the  reading  these  Speeches,  the  Comptroller  Gen- 
eral ordered  his  Answer  to  be  read  to  all  of  them,  which  was 
composed  with  that  Spirit  proper  for  conversing  with  that 
People,  and  the  better  to  be  understood  by  means  of  their  In- 
terpreters.    He  gave  a  Copy  of  it  to  each  of  their  Chiefs. 

Then  he  caused  the  presents  of  the  Company  to  be  de- 
livered to  them,  consisting  of  a  Habit  compleatly  French,  be^ 
ing  a  blue  Coat  with  Silver  Buttons  and  Buttonholes,  scarlet 
Waste  coats,  embvoider'd  with  Silver,  red  Breeches  and  Hose, 
Silver  Lac'd  Hats,  some  with  red  and  others  with  blue 
Feathers,  six  ruffled  Shirts,  six  Necks,  etc.  A  Savage  Habit, 
consisting  of  a  Cloth  Wrapper,  five  Quarters  wide,  with  Silver 
Lace  two  Inches  above  the  List,  which  is  left  there,  because 
the  Savages  reckon  it  an  Ornament,  a  Braguet,  which  is  a 
quarter  of  an  Ell  of  scarlet  Cloth  adorned  with  silver  Lace 
above  the  Selvage.  This  they  make  use  of  to  cover  their  Nu- 
dities. And  a  pair  of  Mitase,  which  are  Cloth  Stockings  half 
blue  and  half  red,  which  comes  up  to  the  Thigh,  and  are  ty'd 
with  Ribbonds  to  their  Sashes. 

The  Dress  presented  to  the  Savage  Girl,  was  a  Damask 
Gown  of  Flame  Colour,  with  Gold  Flowers,  an  under  Petticoat 
of  the/same,  a  Panier,  two  pair  of  Boddice,  six  Lac'd  Shifts, 
and  Ribbonds  of  Gold  and  Silver,  and  a  pair  of  Silk  Stockings. 


THE  ANSWER  OF  THE  COMPTROLLER   GENERAL  OF 
THE  FRENCH  INDIA  COMPANY,  TO  THE  SPEECH  OF 
THE  FOUR  SAVAGES 
INSERTED  IN  OUR  LAST,  WHICH  ANSWER  WAS 
PRONOUNCED  BY  THE  COMPANY'S  SECRETARY. 

Hear  Illinois,  Missoury,  Osages  and  Otoptata: 

"I  am  very  glad  that  you  have  heard  the  Speech  of  the 
Company,  I  see  you  here  with  Pleasure.  The  Company  will 
always  think  of  you,  and  can  never  forget  your  saying. 

"They  know,  Illinois,  that  you  are  a  Man  of  Prayer. 
They  conjecture  that  you  Missoury,  you  Osages,  you  Optata 
will  hear  the  Words  of  the  Missionaries  that  shall  be  sent 
unto  you. 

You  have  seen  how  many  People  the  great  Onontio 
(King)  commands.  You  cannot  but  know  how  his  Riches  and 
Magnificence  by  his  Palaces  and  Gardens  where  you  have 
been. 


36  NEBRASKA   HISTORY 

"This  great  Onontio  is  he  whom  we  all  obey.  He  is  our 
Father  and  the  Governor  of  Louisiana  is  his  Interpreter.  He 
has  kindled  the  Fire  of  his  Council  at  New  Orleans.  'Tis 
from  thence  all  our  Thoughts  ought  to  proceed.  Hearken  not 
to  any  other  Words  but  such  as  shall  be  deliver'd  to  you  from 
the  place.  They  will  be  the  Words  of  the  Great  Onontio.  If 
you  hear  them,  the  Roads  will  be  free,  and  you  will  have  very 
good  Hunting. 

"The  Company,  who  loves  you,  and  takes  you  into  their 
very  Bosom,  gives  you  Tobacco  to  make  your  hearts  merry, 
to  disperse  any  clouds  that  might  overcast  your  Minds,  and 
to  keep  you  in  good  Humor  till  you  depart.  They  also  give 
you  Cloaths  for  you  to  wear  here,  and  others,  after  the  Fash- 
ion of  your  own  Nation,  They  made  the  like  provision  for 
the  good  Woman  that  is  come  with  you." 

On  the  22d  of  November  these  Savages  set  out  for  Foun- 
tainbleau.  On  the  24th,  they  were  carried  about  to  all  the 
Princes  and  Princesses  and  other  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the 
Court,  who  were  fond  to  see  Savages  whom  to  their  Surprise 
they  found  to  have  as  much  Spirit  and  ,good  Sense  as  other 
Men.  At  night,  the  Comptroller  General  carried  them  to  the 
Duke  of  Bourbon,  to  whom  the  Illinois  made  the  following 
Speech : 

GREAT  CHIEF,  MY  FATHER, 

"I  know  that  your  Ancestors  were  mighty  Men  and  great 
Warriours,  who  often  dy'd  their  Helmets  with  the  Blood  of  the 
Enemies  of  the  French,  At  this  Day  you  are  without  your 
Helmets  because  there  are  no  Enemies;  but  you  have  given 
to  the  French  their  true  Mother,  who  is  above  all  the  great 
women  in  the  World,  This  is  more  than  beating  an  enemy. 
I  know  also  that  the  Father  of  the  French  loves  you,  and  that 
he  commits  his  Children  to  your  care,  and  that  he  hears  your 
Words.  Learn  therefore  of  him  to  be  always  truly  the  Father 
of  the  French  and  ours ;  cause  him  to  think  of  us,  and  to  love 
me  and  my  Nation,  May  you  also  love  us  as  much  as  I  ad- 
mire you,  and  may  you  be  of  Opinion  that  you  can  never  love 
us  too  much." 

The  Duke  of  Bourbon  answer'd  the  Illinois,  That  he  was 
much  obliged  for  the  advantageous  Idea  he  had  of  him,  and 
that  he  could  not  return  a  better  Answer  to  his  Compliment 
that  by  assuring  him  that  he  looked  upon  as  a  Chief  and  a 
great  Warriour,  and  by  promising  to  take  Care  that  he  re- 
turns away  contented,  and  more  attached  than  ever  to  the 
French  nation. 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY  37 

His  Serene  Highness  afterwards  received  the  compl- 
ments  of  Missoury,  Osages  and  Otoptata,  and  when  he  had 
return'd  a  civil  answer  to  each,  promised  to  present  them  next 
Day  to  the  King  as  he  came  from  hunting,  which  he  accord- 
ingly did,  and  introduced  them  all  dress'd  in  their  Savage 
Habits  into  the  King's  Cabinet,  when  Father  Beaubois  pre- 
sented his  Majesty  the  Illinois  and  a  letter  from  the  Grand 
Chief,  and  made  the  following  speech: 

SIRE, 

"This  Savage,  who  has  the  honor  to  appear  before  your 
Majesty,  is  no  ordinary  Man.  Yet  tho'  the  Chief  of  his  vil- 
lage, and  one  of  the  most  considerable  of  his  Nation,  he  has 
nothing  of  that  Pomp  and  Grandeur  which  surround  Princes, 
and  which  render  them  so  venerable  to  the  people  who  are 
under  'em,  these  being  things  unknowji  in  America.  But 
what  your  Majesty  will  no  doubt  value  him  for  is,  that  this 
Indian,  born  as  one  may  say  in  another  World,  and  brought 
up  in  the  middle  of  Forests,  could  conceive  so  high  an  Idea 
of  your  Grandeur,  as  so  earnestly  to  desire  to  see  it  nearer, 
and  to  come  and  pay  you  Homage.  An  unhappy  Shipwreck, 
which  chang'd  the  minds  of  those  who  accompanied  him,  did 
not  intimidate  him,  and  since  he  has  been  in  France,  the  sight 
of  what  has  been  the  Astonishment  of  all  Foreigners,  has 
still  made  him  the  more  eager  of  seeing  the  Monarch  of  so 
potent  an  Empire.  The  most  considerable  Chief  of  all  the  Ill- 
inois nation  has  a  thousand  times  enjoy'd  the  happiness  of 
this,  as  himself  ingenuously  owns  to  your  Majesty,  and  has, 
as  one  may  say,  a  thousand  times  regretted  that  he  is  so 
necessary  to  the  French  nation  in  his  own  country.  Vouch- 
safe, Sire,  kindly  to  receive  the  Letter  which  he  presumes  to 
send  to  your  Majesty,  and  be  pleased  to  return  a  favorable 
Answer. 

"For  my  Part,  Sire,  I  think  myself  very  happy,  that  I 
have  this  Day  the  Honour  of  approaching  your  Throne,  there 
to  be  Witness  of  the  Wonders  which  France  admires  in  your 
Sacred  Person.  Permit  me.  Sire,  to  beg  your  Majesty's  Roy- 
al Protection  for  the  Missions  of  Louisiana,  that  vast  Pro- 
"ince^  where  there  cannot  be  too  many  for  the  welfare  of  your 
Colony,  and  to  procure  to  the  many  Savage  nations  that  in- 
habit it,  the  Knowledge  of  the  True  God.  Lewis  le  Grand  of 
Glorious  Memory,  always  made  it  his  delight  to  protect  those 
whom  Providence  honours  with  so  holy  a  Ministry,  and  there- 
by to  demonstrate  that  Zeal  he  had  fo)-  the  Propagation  of 
the  Faith.  Being  Heir,  Sire,  of  his  Heroick  Virtues,  as  you 
are  of  his   rich  Diadem,  do  you  show   the  same  Zeal,    which 


38  np:braska  history 

cannot  but  be  infinitely  glorious  to  you.  We  have  a  Rigtit  it 
seems  to  expect  it  from  your  Piety,  which  appeared  so  emi- 
nently in  the  Choice  you  have  made  of  the  most  virtuous 
Princess  of  the  world,  to  place  her  by  you  on  the  most  August 
Throne  in  the  Universe. 


Extracts  from  Charlevoix  Letters. 

(From  a  letter  dated  at  Michillimackinac,  April  5,  1721) 

Volume  II,  Pages  63-65 

Next  day,  the  chiefs  of  the  two  nations  paid  me  a  visit; 
and  one  of  the  Otchagras  showed  me  a  Catalonian  pistol,  a 
pair  of  Spanish  shoes,  and  1  do  not  know  what  drug,  which 
appeared  to  me  to  be  a  sort  of  ointment.  All  this  they  had 
received  from  one  of  the  Aiouez,  and  the  following  is  the  oc- 
casion, by  means  of  which  these  things  fell  into  the  hands 
of  this  person. 

About  two  years  ago,  some  Spaniards,  who  had  come  as 
they  say,  from  New  Mexico,  with  design  to  penetrate  as  far 
as  the  country  of  the  Illinois,  and  to  drive  the  French  out  of 
it,  whom  they  saw  with  extreme  regret  approach  so  near  the 
Missouri,  descended  this  river  and  attacked  two  villages  of 
the  Octotatas,  a  people  in  alliance  with  the  Aiouez,  from 
whom  it  is  pretended  they  draw  their  origin.  As  these  In- 
dians had  no  fire-arms,  and  being  besides  surprised,  the  Span- 
iards easily  succeeded  in  their  enterprize,  and  made  a  great 
slaughter  of  them.  A  third  village  of  the  same  nation,  and 
at  no  great  distance  from  the  two  others,  making  no  doubt 
that  the  conquerors  would  pay  them  a  visit,  laid  an  ambush- 
cade  for  them,  into  which  the  Spaniards  blindly  stumbled. 
Others  say,  that  the  Indians  having  learned  that  the  Span- 
iards had  almost  all  of  them  got  drunk,  and  were  sleeping  in 
great  security,  fell  upon  them  in  the  night;  and  it  is  certain 
they  cut  the  throats  of  almost  every  one  of  them. 

There  were  two  chaplains  in  this  party,  one  of  whom 
was  killed  in  the  beginning  of  the  afi:"air,  and  the  other  saved 
himself  amongst  the  Missourites  who  kept  him  prisoner,  and 
from  whom  he  made  his  escape  in  a  very  dexterous  manner. 
He  happened  to  have  a  very  fine  horse,  and  the  Missourites 
delighting  in  beholding  him  perform  feats  of  horsemanship, 
he  took  the  advantage  of  their  curiosity,  in  order  to  get  out 
of  their  hands.  One  day  as  he  was  scampering  about  in  their 
presence,  he  withdrew  insensibly  to  a  distance,  when  clapping 
spurs  to  his  horse,  he  instantly  disappeared.  As  they  made 
no  other  prisoner  but  him,  it  is  not  yet  exactly  known  neither 
from  what  pai't  of    New  Mexico  these    Spaniards  came,  nor 


NEBRASKA   HISTORY  39 

with  what  desig-n ;  for  what  I  first  told  you  of  the  affair,  was 
founded  upon  the  reports  of  the  Indians  only,  who  perhaps 
had  a  mind  to  make  their  court  to  us  by  giving-  it  to  be  under- 
stood, that  they  had  done  us  a  very  material  piece  of  service 
))y  this  defeat. 

All  they  brought  me  was  the  spoils  of  the  chaplain  who 
had  been  killed,  and  they  found  likewise  a  prayer-book,  which 
I  have  not  seen:  this  was  probably  his  breviary,  I  bought 
the  pistol;  the  shoes  were  good  for  nothing;  and  the  Indian 
would  by  no  means  part  with  the  ointment,  having  taken  it 
into  his  head,  that  it  was  a  sovereign  remedy  against  all  sorts 
of  evils.  I  was  curious  to  know  how  he  intended  to  make 
use  of  it ;  he  answered  that  it  was  sufficient  to  swallow  a  little 
Oi  it,  and  let  the  disease  be  what  it  would  the  cure  was  im- 
mediate; he  did  not  say  however  that  he  had  as  yet  made 
trial  of  it,  and  I  advised  him  against  it.  The  Indians  begin 
here  to  be  very  ignorant,  and  are  very  far  from  being  so  sen- 
sible or  at  least  so  communicative,  as  those  who  have  more 
commerce  with  us. 

Volume  II  Page  218 

On  the  tenth  about  nine  in  the  morning,  after  sailing  five 
leagues  on  the  Mississippi,  we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri,  which  lies  north-west  and  south-south-east,  H-ere 
is  the  finest  confluence  of  two  rivers  that,  I  believe,  is  to  be 
met  with  in  the  whole  world,  each  of  them  being:  about  half 
a  league  in  breadtii ;  but  the  Missouri  is  by  far  the' most  rapid 
of  the  two,  and  seems  to  enter  the  Mississippi  like  a  conquer- 
or, carrying  its  white  waters  unmixed  across  its  channel  quite 
to  the  opposite  side;  this  colour  it  afterwards  communicates 
to  the  Mississippi,  which  henceforth  it  never  loses,  but  hurls 
with  precipitation  to  the  sea  itself. 


40 


NEBRASKA  HISTORY 


Shau-han-napo-tinia  was  a  noted  chief  of  the  loway  tribe.  His 
name  means  "Man  who  Killed  Three  Sioux".  He  was  also  called 
Moano-honga  or  Great  Walker.  His  boy  chum  was  killed  at  the  age 
of  19  by  the  Sioux.  Shau-hau-napo-tinia  rushed  into  a  Sioux  village  of 
400  lodges  killed  one  warrior  and  two  squaws.  He  returned  with  their 
scalps.       He  went  to  Washington  in  1837  when  this  portrait  was  made. 


STATEMENT  OF  THE    OAVNERSHIP,    MANAGEMENT,    CIRCULA- 
TION, ETC.,  REQUIRED  BY  THE  ACT  OF  CONGRESS 
OF  AUGUST  24,  1912, 

Of  Nebraska  Hist.  &  Record  of  Pioneer  Days  publiLhed  Quarterly  at 
Lincoln,  Nebraska  for  April  1,  1923. 

State  of  Nebraska ) 

County  of  Lancaster \  ^^' 

Before  me,  a  Notary  Public  in  and  for  the  State  and  county  afore- 
said, personally  appearedA.  E.  Sheldon,  who,  having  been  duly  sworn 
according  to  law,  deposes  and  says  that  he  is  the  Editor  and  Business 
Manager  of  the  Nebr.  Hist.  &  Record  of  Pioneer  Days  and  that  the  fol- 
lowing is,  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief,  a  true  statement  of 
the  ownership,  management  (and  if  a  daily  paper,  the  circulation),  etc., 
of  the  aforesaid  publication  for  the  date  shown  in  the  above  caption,  re- 
quired by  the  Act  of  August  24,  1912,  embodied  in  section  443,  Postal 
Laws  and  Regulations,  printed  on  the  reverse  of  this  form,  to  wit: 

1.  That  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  publisher,  editor,  managing 
editor,  and  business  managers  are: 

Name  of —  Post  office  address — 

Publisher  Nebraska   State  Historical  Society                  Lincoln,  Nebraska 

Editor  A.  E.  Sheldon  Lincoln,  Nebraska 

Managing  Editor  A.  E.  Sheldon  Lincoln,  Nebraska 

Business  Managers  A.  E.  Sheldon  Lincoln,  Nebraska 

2.  That  the  owner  is:  (If  the  publication  is  owned  bj  an  individual  his 
name  and  address,  or  if  ovraed  by  more  than  one  individual  the  name  and 
address  of  each,  should  be  given  below;  if  the  publication  is  owned  by  a 
corporation  the  name  of  the  corporation  and  the  namef>  and  addresses  of 
the  stockholders  owning  or  holding  one  per  cent  or  more  of  the  total 
amount  of  stock  should  be  given.) 

Nebraska  State  Historical  Society 

3.  That  tho  known  bondholders,  mortgagees,  and  other  security  holders 
owning  or  holding  1  per  cent  or  more  of  total  amount  of  bonds,  mort- 
gages, or  other  securities  are:    (If  there  are  none,  so  state.) 

None. 

4.  That  the  two  paragraphs  next  above,  giving  the  names  of  the  own- 
ers, stockholders,  and  security  holders,  if  any,  contain  not  only  the  list 
of  stockholders  and  security  holders  as  they  appear  upon  the  books  of 
the  company  but  also,  in  cases  where  the  stockholder  or  security  holder 
appears  upon  the  books  of  the  company  as  trustee  or  in  any  other  fidu- 
ciary relation,  the  name  of  the  person  or  corporation  for  whom  such 
trustee  is  acting,  is  given;  also  that  the  said  two  paragraphs  contain 
statements  embracing  affiants's  fidl  knowledge  and  belief  as  to  the  cir- 
cumstances and  conditions  under  which  stockholders  and  security  holders 
who  do  not  appear  upon  the  books  of  the  company  as  trustees  hold  stock 
and  securities  in  a  capacity  other  than  that  of  a  bona  fide  owner;  and 
this  affiant  has  no  reason  to  believe  that  any  other  person,  association, 
or  corporation  has  any  interest  direct  or  indirect  in  the  said  stock,  bonds, 
or  other  securities  than  as  so  stated  by  him. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  2rd  day  of  August,  1923. 

A.  E.  SHELDON. 
Max  Westennann,  Notary  Public. 
(My  commission  expires  August  4,  1927.) 
(Seal) 


HECKMAN 

BINDERY  INC. 

DEC  94 


■P\^^J   N.  MANCHESTER, 
INDIANA  46962