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GENEALOGY COLL-ECTiON

3 1833 02595 0541

Gc 978.2 N27p v. 10, Ber. 2, v. 5
Nebraska State Histdrical.

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PU&U3:CATXC3NB CDF THE. NeE-RABKA

State Historical Society

ERRATUM:

age 821, line 9, — read "James Sweet!' for "James Stewart."

JUDGE E. vS. DUNDY

PROCEEDINGS AND COLLECTIONS

OF THK

NEBRASKA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

_ Territorial Journalism, J. Sterling Morton 11-30

^ Newspapers and Newspaper Men of the Territorial Period, George

L. Miller 31- 47

Pioneer Journalism, D. W. Carpenter 48- 50

^ Communication of Hadley D. Johnson 51- 58

Joseph L. Sharp, item about, by J. Sterling Morton 58

A. J. Hanscom, item about, by R. W. Furnas 59

Reminiscences of Territorial Days, by Dr. P. Renner 60- 68

My First Trip to Omaha, W. W. Cox 69- 82

Judge Elmer S. Dundy, by Edwin S. Towl 83-95

The Nebraska Constitution, by Charles Sumner Lobingier 96-104

History of the Incarceration of the Lincoln City Council, by A. J.

Sawyer 105-137

* A Nebraska Episode of the Wyoming Cattle War, A. E. Sheldon. . .138-149

Recollections of Omaha, 1855-1861, by C. Irvine 150-160

Death of Logan Fontanelle, by. T. H. Tibbies 161-16^

Reminiscences of the Crusade in Nebraska, Harriet W. Leighton . . 165-171

Along the Overland Trail in Nebraska, Gilbert L. Cole. 172-181

Thomas Weston Tipton, Robert W. Furnas 182-185

- Algernon Sidney Paddock, by W. E. Annin 186-198

Farmers' Alliance in Nebraska, J. M. Thompson 199-206

Reminiscences, by H. W. Hardy 207-211

History of the First State Capitol, Thomas Malloy: 212-216

> Early History of Jefferson County Overland Route, W. W. Watson. .217-222

^ - Indian Massacre in 1866, Lee A. DJllon 223-225

p Bullwhacking Days, George P. Marvin 226-230

JJ Pawnee War of 1859, John M. Thayer 231-246

J Early Days in the Indian Country, Major C. Anderson 247-265

Freighting to Denver, T. K. Tyson 256-260

Freighting and Staging in Early Days, William Fulton 261-264

Freighting in the '60's,, Herman Robert Lyon.. 265-272

The Plains War in 1865, C. B. Hadley 273-278

Overland Freighting from Nebraska City, D. P. Rolfe . .279-293

From Meridian to Ft. Kearney, A. J. Croft 294-295

— Freighting Reminiscences, Porter Maddox 296-297

Mary Elizabeth Furnas 298

^ Freighting — Denver and the Black Hills, H. T. Clarke 299-312

^ Early Freighting and Claims Club Days in Nebraska, Eugene

Munn 313-317

Building of the First Capitol and Insane Hospital at Lincoln,

Franklin Ball 318-322

Underground Railroad in Nebraska, John E. Rastall 323

Minutes Annual Meetings, 1898-1900 327-336

I Minutes Executive Board Meetings 336-338

I List of Members 339-346

Lincoln, Nebraska, July 1, 1902.
To the Eon. E. P. Savage^ Governor of Nebraska:

Sir — In accordance with the provisions of law, we here-
with submit our report of the proceedings of the State
Historical Society for the past year.

Very respectfully,

E. W. Furnas,

First Vice-President.

Howard W. Caldwell,
Secretary,

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETlT

OFFICERS: CONSTITUTING BOARD OF MANAGERS.

President — *J. Sterling Morton, Nebraska City.
First Vice-President — ^Robert W. Furnas, Brownville.
Second Vice-President — Charles Sumner Lobingier, Omaha.
Treasurer — C. H. Gere, Lincoln.
Secretary — H. W. Caldwell, Lincoln.
♦ Died April 27, 1902.

OFFICE STAFF.

Jay Amos Barrett, Librarian and Assistant Secretary.
A. E. Sheldon, Director of Field Work.
E. E. Blackman, Archeologist.
Clarence S. Paine, Collector of Curios.
Daisy M. Palin, Newspaper Clerk.

COMMITTEES FOR 1902-1903.

Publication — H. W. Caldwell, S. L. Geisthardt, Charles S. Dundey.
Obituaries — R. W. Furnas, Geo. L. Miller, A. L. Bixby.
Program — H. W. Caldwell, A. E. Sheldon, A. T. Richardson.
Library — Jay Amos Barrett, Miss Edith Tobitt, Albert Watkins.
Museum and Collections — Jay Amos Barrett, C. S. Paine, H. T. Clarke.

STATED MEETINGS.

Annual meeting of the Society, second Tuesday in January.
Meetings of Executive Board, first Tuesday after second Monday in Janu-
ary, April, July, October.

I.— DISTORICAL PAPERS.

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TERRITOKIAL JOURNALISM.

Address of the President, Hon. J. Sterling Morton, Tuesday Evening,
January 11, 1898.

Ladies and Gentlemen — There is no material work of our
race anywhere in any age that did not first have a mental
concept. It existed primarily in some human intellect. The
artist who attempts on canvas the reproduction of some
beautiful scene in nature asks a great deal from his own
personality and trusts largely upon his skill, his experience,
and imagination. The sculptor who sees in the formless
mass of marble some beautiful piece of statuary, which must
be brought out by his chisel, asks of himself and of Provi-
dence a great deal for the fruition of his mental image. But
it occurs to me that the pioneers of a new country ask more
of life than either the painter or the sculptor. They who
saw in these vast plains stretching from ^he Missouri river
to the Rocky mountains the great commonwealth which is
now left on this canvas asked a great deal to live to see the
fruition of their thought and the completion in part of this
great painting of the prairies.

It has been assigned to me to tell you something of the
early forecasters of the future of Nebraska.

The eyes and ears of the United States first gave attention
to the existence of journalism in Nebraska during the latter
part of July, 1854. On the 28th day of that month a paper
named the Arrow (published in Omaha every Friday by J.
E. Johnson and J. W. Pattison, editors and proprietors)
first hurled itself upon a waiting public. But it was really
printed and issued at Council Bluffs in the office of the
Council Bluffs Bugle, which was owned and edited by J. E.

(11)

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Johnson. It was not at all out of keeping with his domestic
relations for Mr. Johnson to have two newspapers, as he
was a polygamic Mormon and at that time enjoyed the do-
mestic felicity of three Mrs. Johnsons in the same domicile.
He was a man with the courage of his convictions. From a
leading editorial in this first number of the ArroWy entitled
"A Night in our Sanctum/' we copy:

"To dreamland we went. The busy hum of business from
factories and the varied branches of mechanism from Omaha
City reached our ears. The incessant rattle of innumerable
drays over the paved streets, the steady tramp of ten thou-
sand of an animated, enterprising population; the hoarse
orders fast issued from the crowd of steamers upon the levee
loading with the rich products of the state of Nebraska and
unloading the fruits and products of other climes and soils
greeted our ears. Far away from toward the setting sun
came telegraphic dispatches of improvements, progress, and
moral advancement upon the Pacific Coast. Cars, full
freighted with teas, silks, etc., were arriving thence and
passing across the stationary channel of the Missouri
river with lightning speed, hurrying on to the Atlantic sea-
board. The third express train on the Council Bluffs
& Galveston Railroad came thundering close by us
with a shrill whistle that brought us to our feet,
knife in hand. We rubbed our eyes, looked into the
darkness beyond to see the flying train. It had vanished,
and the shrill second neigh of our lariated horses gave in-
dication of danger near. The hum of business in and
around the city had also vanished, and the same rude
camp fires were before us. We slept again, and daylight
stole upon us refreshed and ready for another day's labor."

In another paragraph of the same issue of the Omaha
Arrow is "A Word to the Editorial Fraternity," in which
Messrs. Johnson and Pattison declare:

"We now look to you all for fraternal assistance in this. ^
our honest attempt to establish a good, substantial paper. ^

TERRITORIAL JOURNALISM.

upon this land, of general interest, whose object is and will
be to transfer everything pertaining to the country through
the Arrow to the wide, wide world. You can, if consistent
with honest impulses, assist us to quite an extent. The
present settlement here will by no means yet justify the
expenses we incur, and from those interested abroad in the
country we look for at least a partial support — not for a
fortune — nor do we solicit patronage through you from
abroad because we can't afford to do otherwise."

The advertising in this issue of the Arrow is not volumin-
ous. Mr. J. E. Johnson, the principal owner and editor of
the journal, issues what he designates "The Last Call'' to
those who have "unsettled accounts with the late Emporium
Store."

E. Hawke & Co. notify all persons indebted to them that
they will save cost by liquidating immediately.

Snow & Turley advertise real estate for sale in the towns
3f Sigourney and Keokuk, Iowa.

E. Lowe offers Omaha City lots, and closes his advertise-
ment by stating : "Lots will be given to persons who wish to
t)uild this season."

Maria Mynster advertises real estate for sale.

But most prominent and most intimately connected with
:he development of the territory is the following advertise-
nent :

"Attention! Settlers in Nebraska — The Gen. Marion
*uns regularly between Council Bluffs and Omaha City,
rhere need be no fear of detention, as the boat is in constant
'eadiness for stock, teams, or foot passengers, with steam up
md. ready crew. Come on, emigrants, this is the great cen-
;ral ferry! Hurrah for Nebraska! (signed) Ferry Co.^ June
J3, 1854."

William Clancy, who subsequently distinguished himself
IS a member of the legislature from Washington county,-
idvertises a "new arrival of an extensive stock of groceries.

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

liquors, and provisions, and outfits at the sign of the Big
Six, Middle Broadway, Council Bluffs City, Iowa."

The executrix of the estate of 0. O. Mynster, deceased,
"warns all persons not to purchase any town lots lying in
the hollow below the powder magazine, claimed by Wm. G.
Brown, A. J. Hanscom, or Hepner, Baldwin, Test, or Lari-
mer, as the same are the property of the estate of the de-
cedent, 0. O. Mynster."

J. D. Baylis advertises a bakery and eating house, while
his brother, S. S. Baylis calls attention "to the new, elegant,
and commodious Pacific House of Council Bluffs as a haven
of rest for travelers."

John Keller advertises that a large pi^te lumber yard has
been opened in Council Bluffs.

John McMechan & Co. (who subsequently moved to Ne-
braska City) advertise an extensive assortment of groceries
and provisions.

Tootle & Jackson likewise offer a general assortment of
goods, together with a prime article of osage orange seed
for hedges.

One of the most unique, and, at this day, antique articles
advertised for sale by J. E. Johnson, agent, is "Child's Cali-
fornia Guides, giving a distinct and proper description of
the road to California, made by and from the author's per-
sonal observation, and also copies from the Mormon Guide,
with full directions for an outfit, and various other neces-
sary instruction and advice. This is a good, correct, and
neat article, and may be sent by mail free of postage to the
purchaser for 50 cents."

But it is not possible in a paper as brief as this to make
detailed mention of all commercial advertisements in the
first number of the first paper published as from Omaha,
Neb. In it, however, atl^rneys who advertise for clients are :
A. W. Babbitt, Franklin Street, Marshall Turley, John W.
Kelly, Joseph L. Sharp, Jas. D. Test, Johnson & Cassidy,
0. E. Stone, A. 0. Ford, Wm. Corfield, A. V. Larimer, W. C.

TERRITORIAL JOURNALISM.

James, and L. M. Cline. No physiciau advertises in that
issue of the Arroio — which is an implied compliment to the
purity of the Nebraska atmosphere and the healthfulness of
the climate at that day. And while no ^^big medicine men^'
were offering their services through the Arroio for the restor-
ation or perpetuation of health among the frontiersmen, a
prospectus for the Nebraska Palladium, which was to give
sanitation to the settlement and improvement to the trans-
Missouri country, was printed in this number. The Palla-
dium was really the first newspaper printed and published
in the Territory of Nebraska, and was edited by H. E. Keed
and set up and printed by Thomas Morton, Dan Carpenter,
and A. D. Long. The prospectus declares that the Palladium
will be published at Bellevue, and then states :

"This paper will be strenuously devoted to the support of
the great interests involved in the early settlement of this
rich, beautiful, and desirable country. It will be an earnest
advocate of the immediate establishment of those industrial,
social, political, and religious institutions which can avail
a permanence to society.

"The finest portion of this magnificent territory has al-
ready been purchased of its aboriginal owners, who will soon
be transferred to more distant wilds and leave beautiful Ne-
braska free to receive the ever-enduring impress of the white
man's energy, genius, and taste.

"The Palladium will be zealously devoted to the social, po-
litical, and moral interests of the vast multitudes who will
soon transfer their interests to this country and begin the
foundation of future prosperity, freedom, and happiness.
The higher interests of education and Christianity will find
a vigilant and an impartial advocate in the Palladium.

"Our political faith and character will correspond with
that of the great Democratic party of the United States and
be a true exponent of republican principles. We shall be
independent and honorable in our course with friends and
foes and follow no party when it departs from the standard

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

of righteousness and truth. We shall avoid a state of
neutrality upon all subjects, especially upon questions that
relate to the great moral interests of mankind."

All of the foregoing is promised by the PaUadiiini for $2
per annum, invariably in advance, and is signed "Reed,
Latham & Co., editors and proprietors."

Mr. Keed came originally to the territory as a teacher at
the Presbyterian Mission School for the Omaha Indians.
He was a man between thirty-five and forty years of age, of
fairly good ability, excellent moral character, and not much
energy. Neither was he qualified by habits of study or writ-
ing for the position of an editor. His partner, Mr. Latlmm,
was a downright, old-style, first-family-of-Virginia man, who
prided liimself particularly upon his powers as an (jrator
and his gifts as a writer. He was a lawyer of considerable
repute and (aside from a habit of at times drinking more fire-
water ilian was good for liim) a man of fine reputation. He
was a member of the First Territorial Legislative Assembly
from the county of Cass — in which he never lived. My
memory gives me no suggestion of what became of Mr. Reed
or ^Ir. Latham after the spring of 1855; but I liave an im-
])ression that they both left the Territory and that Latham
died sometime before 18G0 either in Council HliilTs or r;ieii-
wood, Iowa.

The Palladium was first issued in November, 1854, at
Rellevue^ from a hewed-log etlifice known as the McKinney
House, which stood between the old Presbyterian Mission
at its southeast and the trading post of the American Fur
Company at its northeast, near the bank of the Missouri
river. The pioneer number printed in that town is l(j, of
volume I, and beiU's date Wednesday, November 15, 1854.
In its editorial column we find :

"The first printers in our oflice, and who have set up the
present number, are natives of three dilTerent st^itod — Ohio,
Virginia, and Massachusetts, namely: Thiuuas Morton, fore-
man, Columbus, O. (but Mr. Morton was born in England);

TERRITORIAL JOURNALISM.

A. D. Long, compositor, Virginia; Henry M. Reed, apprentice,
Massachusetts. At the moment our foreman had the press
ready for operation, the following persons were — not by invi-
tation, but providentially — present to witness its first opera-
tion, viz.. His Excellency, T. B. Cuming, Governor of Ne-
braska, and Mrs. T. B. Cuming; Hon. Fenner Ferguson,
Chief Justice of Nebraska, and Mrs. Fenner Ferguson; Rev.
William Hamilton, of the Otoe and Omaha Mission, and Mrs.
William Hamilton; Major Jas. M. Gatewood, of Missouri;
W. A. Griffin, of Bellevue; Arthur Ferguson, of Bellevue; A.
Vandergrift, Esq., of Missouri; Bird B. Chapman, candidate
for Congress from Nebraska Territory; Geo. W. Hollister,
Esq., of Bellevue; Theodore S. Gilmore, Chicago, 111.; Miss
Mary Hamilton and Miss Amanda Hamilton of Bellevue.

^^The first proof-sheet was taken by His Excellency Gov-
ernor Cuming, which was taken from the press and read by
His Honor Chief Justice Ferguson. Thus, quietly and un- *
ceremoniously, was the birth time of printing in Bellevue,
Nebraska — thus was the Nebraska PaUadiuiii inaugurated
into the public service. This event, altliough to some it may
seem unimportant now, will form an epoch in history which
will be remembered ages after those present on this interest-
ing occasion are no more.''

Prior to the issue of this number the Palladium was printed
at 8t. Mary, in :Mills county, Iowa, just across the Missouri
river, opposite B(^lievue. This copy contains also the follow-
ing:

"Removal of Oi:u Office. — We liope our readers will ex-
cuse tlie lale ai)])earance of tliis number. We have been re-
moving our officer from St. Mary, on whicli account we have
fallen short of the regular time for the issue of our paper
about tliree days — and for the same reason we shall issue
no i)aper until a week from Tuesday next."

Among other editorial notices in this issue of the 16th of
November, 1854, the following appears:

"A. R. Gilmore, Esq., of Chicago, J. Sterling Morton, as-
2

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

sistant editor of the Detroit Free Press^ and lady, Dr. E. N.
Upjohn, of Michigan, arrived at Bellevue on the 13th instant."

It has been a rule of the writer of this paper never to
correct jonrnalistic misrepresentations concerning himself.
But now, after the lapse and silence of forty-three years, the
rule is waived and suspended long enough to state that he
was not the assistant editor of the Detroit Free Press at the
time of his arrival in Nebraska on November 13, 1854, al-
though he had, even while in his teens, been a contributor to
that journal, which was then owned and edited by Wilber F.
Storey, who subsequently made the Chicago Times the great-
est, strongest, and most influential newspaper in the North-
west.

This number of the Palladium contains the proceedings of
the regular meeting of the Bellevue Claim Club, wherein the
boundaries of the dominion of that association are laid down
with great precision, and wherein also claimants are required
to register within thirty days, and in case of failure their
claims are to be declared vacant and liable to be taken by any
person entitled to hold a claim.

It is perhaps well enough in this generation to explain that
a claim in the North Platte country at that time consisted of
320 acres of government, unsurveyed land. Any American
citizen had the right, under the Claim Club laws and regula-
tions of that section of the territory, to measure and stake
out 320 acres and place a cabin or a foundation for a log
cabin upon it and haA^e it recorded in the Claim Club books,
and then sell it, or hold it for preemption, as to one-half of
it. The preemption law at that time in vogue permitted the
proving-up upon only 160 acres by each preemptor. The orig-
inal design was that each of the first settlers should take and
hold two quarters, and then if possible sell one of them for
enough to pay the United States $200 for preempting the
other. And if more than enough for that purpose could be
secured by the selling of a "squatter's right,'' all the better
for the first claimant.

TERRITORIAL JOURNALISM.

Horace Everett, who afterwards became a prominent citi-
zen of Council Bluffs and a real estate owner in all of western
Iowa, has a communication in this first number of the Palla-
dium' in which he says :

"What all your readers want is territorial news — any-
thing that relates to the country west of the Missouri. Please
send your paper to Horace Everett, Gainesville, Alabama."

One of the most interesting features of this pioneer journal
is found on its fourth page. At the head of the fii^st column,
under the word "Agricultural,'' these two lines appear:

"He that by the plow would thrive,
Himself must either hold or drive."

And immediately under that, set in italics, is the following,
which I believe to be historically true to the letter:

"This is the first column of reading matter set in the Terri-
tory of Nebraska. This was put in type on the 14th of No-
vember, 1854, by Thomas Morton."

It is apparent that Thomas Morton fully realized the print-
ing and publishing possibilities of the future, and that fur-
thermore he had faith in that "column of reading matter"
as the first part of a sure foundation upon which a great
social and civil superstructure was to be erected and per-
petuated.

In the same column is a recommendation to "eat beets
baked, because potatoes are scarce and high."

Further along is an article on harvesting corn and another
on cheap carpeting.

P. A. Sarpy advertises the Bluff City & St. Louis Packet
Line on the Missouri river. The steamers El Paso, Polar
Star, and James H. Lucas compose the line, and are de-
clared to be boats "not excelled for safety, speed, and com-
fort, and shippers and the traveling community may rely
upon the permanency of this line. Through freights and
passengers will meet with but a few hours' detention at St.
Joseph, Mo."

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The business directory of the Palladmm is not extensive,
but very suggestive of enterprise. I. H. Bennett advertises
a boarding-house at Bellevue; W. R. English offers his ser-
vices as a negotiator, collector, general land agent and coun-
selor at law, and states in his card that he has had an experi-
ence (he does not say of what kind) of seventeen years, in
the Territory. 0. E. Watson advertises as land agent, sur-
ve^^or, and engineer; George Hepner offers his services as a
counselor at law; G. W. Wallace tenders his abilities as a
physician and surgeon; Bruno Tzschuck offers his profes-
sional services to the citizens of St. Mary and vicinity as a
surveyor and engineer, he having an office in Peter A. Sarpy's
store, corner of Gregory street. Mr. Tzschuck has since been
made acquainted with Nebraska as one of its ablest secre-
taries of state, and is, I believe still living at or near Bellevue
on his farm. Watson, Kinney & Green offer land for sale and
likewise town lots. The Astor House, by William Ingall, St.
Mary, Iowa, solicits a share of public favor.

On November 29, 1854, the Palladium issued a number con-
taining an editorial, from Avhich we quote the following :

^'Thanksgiving. — His Excellency, the Chief Magistrate of
this Territory, has, in accordance with the custom of our
Puritan ancestors, issued a proclamation to the people of
Nebraska, recommending them to set apart Thursday next
(November 30) to be observed as a day of thanksgiving and
praise to the Great Being to whom we are indebted for the
mercies we have and dependent for those we are striving to
gain.

"Although we have, as in all new countries, comparatively
little to be thankful for, we have sufficient to inspire our
gratitude and praise.

"AVe have reason to be thankful that the Governor has
thus publicly acknowledged the Supreme Kuler and recom-
mended a day of Thanksgiving to be observed by the people
of this Territory on the very threshold of their territorial

TERRITORIAL JOURNALISM.

existence. We hope this ordinance will be respected and
perpetuated from year to year to the latest posterity.

"A public meeting will be held at the Mission on Thanks-
giving Day, at 11:00 o'clock a.m. Preaching by the Rev.
William Hamilton. The public are invited to attend."

In the issue of the Palladium for December 6, 1854, we find
a communication from Frederick V. Hayden, who subse-,
quently became distinguished as a scientist and prominent
as the head of the geological survey for the government of
the United States. Professor Hayden, with whom I became
very friendly and intimate, passed that winter at Bellevue.
In this communication Hayden says:

"The geological formation around Bellevue is carbonifer-
ous, which extends as far as the Big. Sioux river, where the
cretaceous formation commences. Fine beds of coal may be
exhibited when a thorough survey is made. About a mile
north of Bellevue the bluffs strike the river, and a valuable
bed of limestone is exposed. This will have an important
bearing on the settlement of Bellevue. A geological section
of it would be as follows : first, an argillaceous schistose lime-
stone of a yellowish color, very compact, not suitable for
lime, but well adapted for building purposes. This bed is
very near the water's edge. Second, a coarse-grained, grey-
ish-white limestone, containing no clay and therefore suitable
for lime. This is an important bed and second only to a coal
mine in its value to this portion of the territory."

This same 6th of December number of the Palladium con-
tains the following :

^''counties or DISTRICTS.

"1. Eichardson county contains two precincts or places of
voting: one on the north and the other on the south side of
the great Nemaha. The first will be held at the house of
William Level, the second at the house of John Bellew.

"2. Forney [now Nemaha] county. There shall be one

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

precinct or place of voting in this county, viz., at the house
of Richard Brown.

"3. Pierce [now Otoe] county. There shall be one precinct
or place of voting in this county, viz., Nebraska City, at the
house of H. P. Downs.

*'4. Cass county. There shall be two precincts or places
of voting in this county ; one at the house of Col. Thompson,
Kanoshe precinct; the second at Martin's precinct at the
house of S. Martin.

"Douglas and Omaha counties blank.

"7. Washington county. There shall be one precinct or
place of voting in Washington county, viz., at the post-of&ce.

"8. Burt county. There shall be two precincts or places
of voting in this county, viz., Tekamah and Blackbird; the
first shall be held at the house of Gen. John B. Robinson, the
second in Blackbird precinct at the Blackbird House.

"9. Dodge county. There shall be one precinct or place
of voting in this county, viz., at the house of Dr. M. H. Clark,
Fontanelle precinct."

The Palladium of January 3, 1855, gives a rather vigorous
writing-up of a territorial convention which had been held
December 30, 1854, at Nebraska City,

"For the purpose of taking into consideration the present
unfortunate political condition of the Territory and of ex-
pressing the views of the people in relation to the motives
by which Acting Governor Cuming has been guided in the
management of the affairs of the said Territory."

Among the delegates present at that convention were:
Stephen Decatur, Geo. W. Hollister, B. B. Thompson, Philip
E. Shannon, Jas. O'Neil, Jas. H. Decker, Simpson Hargus, H.
P. Bennett, A. M. Rose, C. H. Cowles, John Clements, Louis
Cornutt, Nelson Hopkins, R. W. Frame, Jesse Cole, E. Wyatt,
J. P. Handley, and J. Sterling Morton. The last was chair-
man of a committee on resolutions which made a very
peppery report. It submitted resolutions for the considera-
tion of the body of the convention, which, after a long and

TERRITORIAL JOURNALISM.

Spirited debate, were unanimously adopted. The last reso-
lution recommended to President Pierce Gen. Bula M.
Hughes, of Missouri, for Governor; and Dr. P. J. Mc^Nlahon,
Of Iowa, for Secretary of the Territory of Nebraska.

The last number of the PaUadiuin bears date April 11,
1855, and its leading article is relative to the murder of Geo.
W. Hollister, a graduate of Yale College, who had been shot
to death by Chas. A. Henry. The funeral services of Mr.
Hollister were held on Sunday, the 8th day of April, 1855,
under the direction and ministration of I\ev. G. G. Kice. On
the third page the editor formally announces the suspension
of the Palladium, and with solemnity consigns it to death
and posterity.

The Nebraska City 'Ncics was first issued November 14,
1854, as being published at Nebraska City (Henry Bradford,
editor), while really it was printed and issued at Sidney,
Fremont county, Iowa. But in the spring of 1855 the scribe
now making this historical record entered into a contract
with the Town Site Company of Nebraska City by which
he became, at the remunerative compensation of |50 per
month, the editor in charge of and sole director and gen-
eral manager of the enormous plant which was to con-
tinue the utterance of the weekly Nebraska City News.
Therefore, from the second story of the U. S. Military
Block House, which had been constructed in the year
1846 under the direction of Capt. Stewart Van Vliet
(who, as a retired brigadier-general, is now living in Wash-
ington, D. C. ) , the first number of the Nebraska City ^News
was, on April 12, 1855, duly sent to press and launched upon
a waiting and astonished world. Under the terms of my
contract with the Town Site Company, I had the right to
employ and discharge printers and all the other employees
at pleasure. Therefore, having known Thomas Morton, an
Englishman (no kin of the writer), at Beilevue, as a most
competent, steady, and industrious printer, I immediately
secured Mm as foreman of the News ofdce. Then began a

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

social and business relation and a personal friendship which
lasted without break or interruption until the grave closed
between him and the writer hereof.

In those days the rivals of Nebraska City were constantly
publishing the statement that its site was a military reserva-
tion and that consequently no good titles could be given to
lots. This rumor was so persistently repeated and so gen-
erally circulated by other town site companies on the Mis-
souri river that it really worked great injury to the holders
of property in and about the county-seat of what was then
Pierce, and is now Otoe county. However, by continued cor-
respondence, we at last drew a letter from Jefferson Davis,
then Secretary of War in the Cabinet of Franklin Pierce,
stating very distinctly and conclusively that this town site
was not a military reservation, and that it never had been
one, except for very temporary purposes. Each newspaper
in the Territory was at that time merely the advance agent
of a town company which was to act either successfully or
otherwise in the drama of building a cit}^ — of establishing
and maintaining a municipality. Out of this fact was evolved
a selfish style of journalism and a markedly personal sort of
paragraphing. Sectionalism between the North and South
Platte was evolved from this sort of newspaper writing, and
it grew to a bitterness and heat which led in later years to a
serious convention, the delegates to which were pledged to
do all in their power to annex South Platte Nebraska to
Kansas. In fact, a convention was held in the latter state
and delegates attended from every county south of the Platte
river. Fortunately^, however, Nebraska did not become a
scion on the trunk of Kansas, though sometimes it seems to
have been infected by microbes of its isms and vagaries.

Among the early newspapers came the NehraskiaUy pub-
lished at Omaha in the interest of Bird B. Chapman, of
Elyria, Ohio, who was running for Congress in this Territory
at that time. Its editor was Mr. John Sherman, likewise
from Ohio, but not identical with the present Secretary of

TERRITORIAL JOURNALISM.

State, tliongh, if living, he would be about the same age.
Editor Sherman was a man of about thirty-five years of age,
of good physique, and more than average intellect, and great
facility and perspicacity as a writer of sharp, pungent para-
graphs.

But I shall not trench on Omaha newspaperdom any
farther, because I have hoped that Dr. Geo. L. Miller would
take up the early days of journalism in tliat propinquity and
with his facile pen and felicity of expression give us a com-
plete record of its infancy.

Nevertheless, in justice, one can not leave the subject of
journalism at Omaha and its effects upon that commercial
center and the state of Nebraska without telling some little
of the truth about the influence of the Omaha Daily Herald,
edited by Dr. Miller, in laying the foundations and ably aid-
ing in the upbuilding of a metropolis on the west bank of
the Missouri river. Dr. Miller issued the first number of the
Daily Herald in the year 18G5. He continued to issue '^Daily
Heralds" for more than twenty years. There was no day in
any month in any one of the twenty years in which he was
not an enthusiastic believer in the possibilities — commercial
and agricultural — of the whole state. At no time did his
faith waver or his persistent industry flag. Every morning
there w^as something new in the way of hope, suggestion, or
fact for the benefit and development of Omaha and its re-
sources. Each morning the columns of the Daily Herald
boiled over with buoyant enthusiasm and exuberant faith
w^hich animated every nerve, fiber, and brain tissue of the
robust and able editor who dictated its policy and evolved
its thoughts. It is my candid opinion that there is no in-
stance in all the history of the Northwest where the thought
and pen of a single individual has done so much to build up
any community or city as did the pen and thought of Dr.
Miller for Omaha and Douglas county. If the present in-
habitants of Omaha, numbering something more than 100,000,
should each of them write an article setting forth the ad-

NEBRASKA STATE HtSTOllICAL SOCIETY'.

vantages — agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing — iri
the state of Nebraska on each day of the week for six months
to come, thej would not have achieved as much manuscript
and as much effectively good work in behalf of their homes'
as Dr. jMiller performed in the twenty years during Avhich he'
so diligently labored for the upbuilding of that community.
No other man, either by the power of money, or by the power
of braAvn, or by the strength of brain, did as much to make
' Omaha a city as this one man accomplished.

Among early newspapers in the smaller towns or settle-
ments in the Territory, the Nebraska Enquirer, by A. W.
Merrick, published at DeSoto, in Washington county, played
an important part. Mr. Merrick was succeeded as editor by
Hugh McNeely. The Enqiiirer's best work was between the
years 1858 and 1861. During the campaign of 1860 it was
an ardent and active supporter of the Kepublican ticket,
national and territorial.

The Nemaha Herald issued its first number of vol. I at
Nemaha City on the morning of November 24, 1859. It con-
tinued its existence under the management of Fairbrother &
Hacker until sometime in the early '60's when its publica-
tion ceased.

The Nebraska Advertiser was established at Brownville by
Dr. John McPherson in 1856, and I have found copies of it
running from October 27, 1859, to November 22, 186 D, when
it was published by Furnas & Lyanna.

The Advertiser was pronouncedly an advocate of the ma-
terial development of Brownville and Nemaha county. It
was a strong believer in the horticultural and a,2^ricultural
possibilities of Nebraska soil. Its editor from 1856 to 1861
was Robert W. Furnas, since Governor of the State, who has
been one of the most self-sacrificing and persistently indus-
trious men in behalf of the upbuilding in this state of all
that makes prosperity and happiness for its citizens. There
iis no Nebraskan in public or in private life who has, during
La period of forty years, performed a greater, better, and at

TERRITORIAL JOURNALISM.

the same time less remunerative labor than has Robert W.
Furnas in his thoughtful and diligent efforts for the develop-
ment of the true methods of home-building in this state. His-
tory will give him a peerless position among the pioneers who
laid the social and aesthetic foundations of this common-
wealth.

The PeopWs Press was established at Nebraska City by
Irish & Matthias in the spring of 1859, and No. 47 of vol. 1
was issued on November 11 of that year. It has continued
and worked, like its competitor in that town, to the present
day^ although it has met with more changes of ownership and
editorial control than has the Nebraska City Neios. As a
rule, the Press has been fairly, decently, and ably conducted
in a political way; and has always, according to its light,
been a faithful supporter of the interests of Otoe county and
Nebraska City.

The Nebraska RepiihUcan was established at Omaha in
the year 1858 but passed out of existence about 1889, as I
now recall it.

The Omaha Times was established with Geo. W. Hepburn
as editor and proprietor, in the autumn of 1857, at Omaha.
It subsequently came into the possession of W. W. Wyman,
the postmaster at Omaha, during the Buchanan administra-
tion, and expired sometime during the year 1870.

The Wyoming Telescope, of Wyoming, Otoe county, was
established in 1857 by Jacob Dawson, editor and proprietor.
It was edited during the year 1859 by S. N. Jackson, who pub-
lishes his valedictory on July 30 of that year.

The Omaha NehrasMan began its sixth year in January,
18G0, and on the 28th of that month the issue (being edited
by T. H. Robertson and M. H. Clark) contains very interest-
ing correspondence from Washington, dated January 16, it
taking at that time twelve days to convey a letter by United
States mail from the Federal capital to the west bank of the
Missouri river. Peculiar zest is given to this correspondence
from the fact that it is written by Dr. Geo. L. Miller, then

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

sojourning at the capital. The Doctor mentions the fact that
William A. Eichardson, of Illinois, who had been the Gov-
ernor of this Territory, was in Washington attracting much
attention and in close communion with Senator Douglas, of
Illinois. The Doctor seems, judging from his epistles, to be
ver^^ much interested in securing a land-grant for the purpose
of building a trans-continental line of railroad which should
make Omaha the initial point on the Missouri river. Even
at that early day Dr. Miller cherished Pacific railroad build-
ing as a chronic ambition.

On July 6, 1860, Dr. Miller corresponds with the Nehras-
Jdan from St. Joseph, Mo., and informs its readers of the
falling in at St. Joseph of a large grocery-store building
owned by Nave & McOord. The edifice was supposed to be
one of the strongest in the city, but without premonition it
fell, burying in its ruins twelve persons, seven of whom were
taken out dead when the Doctor communicated with the
Nehraskian,

The year 1859 was probably the most prolific of newspapers
of any in the entire history of the Territory. It was in the
early part of that year that we first began to receive news
from the Rocky mountains confirming the legends of gold
in paying quantities about Auraria on Cherry creek, where
the city of Denver is now flourishing. Hon. A. A. Brookfield,
a former mayor of Nebraska City, is noticed in the News of
July 23, 1859, as having just returned from the gold diggings,
and the editor declares that he has ^'brought some beautiful
specimens which we have felt, seen, and handled, one to the
value of 13.05 of solid gold, Avhich looks as if it had been
melted and hammered out. He has other specimens, some of
quartz-bearing."

And the Nebraska City Neics of July 23, 1859, also contains
a reprint from a letter of Horace Greeley. During that sum-
mer Greeley, Schuyler Colfax, and Deacon William Bross
made the overland stage trip to the Pacific Coast and tarried

TERRITORIAL JOURNALISM.

for some time at Denver. Greeley, writing to the New York
Tribune on July 15 of that year, says:

"1 never visited a region where physical life could be more
surely prolonged or more fully enjoyed. Thousands who rush
here for gold will rush away again, disappointed and dis-
gusted, as thousands have already done; and yet the gold is
in these mountains and the right men will gradually unearth
it. I shall be mistaken if two millions or three millions are
not taken out this year, and some ten millions in 18G0, though
all the time there will be, as now, a stream of rash adventur-
ers heading away from the diggings, declaring that there is
no gold there, or next to none. So it was in California and in
Australia. So it must be here where the obstacles to be over-
come are greater and the facilities for getting home decidedly
better. All men are not fitted bv nature for gold-diggers; yet
thousands will not realize this until they have been convinced
of it by sore experience. . . .

"Mining is a pursuit akin to fishing and hunting and, like
them, enriches the few at the cost of the many. This region
is doubtless preordained to many changes of fortunes — to-day
giddy with the intoxication of success, to-morrow in the valley
of humiliation. One day report will be made on the Missouri
by a party of disappointed gold seekers that the Rocky moun-
tain humbug has exploded and everybody is fleeing for the
States who can possibly get away. The next report will rep-
resent these diggings as yellow with gold. Neither will be
true; yet each in its turn will have a certain substratum of
fact for its justification."

I have ventured to quote the above from Horace Greeley's
Denver correspondence, relative to mining, because it is
apropos at this time of Klondike excitements which are carry-
ing so many people to the gold fields of Alaska.

But this paper is already too far extended. It is my duty
to end it. In doing so I suggest that the Nebraska State His-
torical Society seek biographical sketches of the early
editors of the Territory and State whenever and wherever

30 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

legitimate opportunity offers the probability of securing the
stories of their lives during the time of their activity in the
newspaper profession. Personally, I might extend my remin-
iscences to volumes. But I am already constrained to im-
portune forgiveness for the length and drouth of this desul-
tory medley of the legends and characteristics of the early
journalism of Nebraska. They are to me as attractive as
paintings by the old masters are to artists who would emu-
late their taste, deftness of touch, and beauty of colorings.
To frame and preserve an individuality which, as an adver-
tising agent in advance of the coming of hundreds of
thousands of home builders, was useful and ef&cient in the
first settlements of Nebraska is an agreeable and pleasant
duty which only living pioneers can perform.

NEWSPAPERS OF THE TERRITORIAL PERIOD.

NEWSPAPERS AND NEWSPAPER MEN OF THE
TERRITORIAL PERIOD.

By Dr. George L. Miller.

Ladies and Gentlemen :

I ask your indulgence for a moment to state in advance of
the paper whicli I shall read to you, the fact that it has been
made necessary, by circumstances which I need not explain,
for me to cover something of the same ground already occu-
pied by the paper of your distinguished president.

Perhaps, in what might be called a careless effort to pro-
duce in performance a suitable acceptance of the invitation
with which I w^as honored by the Historical Society, to record
in its archives some account of a few of the newspapers and
newspaper men of the Territorial period, I have been more
surprised than I probably should have been if I had been
more industrious at the difficulty of securing accurate data
in respect to the names, characters, and lives of those whose
office it was, in the formative periods of this state, to give
intelligent direction to the remarkable work of the first set-
tlement. It was not easy, and in some cases it was found
impracticable, to trace the fortunes of these men in the later
^ears, but it may be safely said that a great majority of those
^vho printed and published, and who frequently contributed
courage, strength, and sometimes an elegant and powerful
jtyle to the columns of the early newspaper, have long been
slumbering in half-forgotten graves. Sad and suggestive is
:he thought that they were not permitted to live long enough
;o see the rich and abounding fruits of their ardent hopes and
abors. Achievement has so far outrun the wildest dreams of
ihe most sanguine men of those days, who assisted to lay the

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

foundations of the State, as ,to simply bewilder and amaze
those who survive to tell the story of their work, to take note
of the value of their services, and to do fitting honor to their
memories.

The first appearance of the territorial newspaper was prac-
tically coincident Avith the white occupation. This occupa-
tion was, of course, almost entirely confined to the boundary
marked by the great river which, now as then, is suggestive
of the barbarism of which it will remain typical as long as
the remote reservoirs of the Kocky mountains continue to
furnish the supply of its turbid waters. It is the only sur-
vival of savagery which resists and defies subjugation at the
hands of civilized man in our great state and section, and
here it will remain until the fountains from which it flows
in tributary streamlet, rivulet, and river shall have evapor-
ated into wandering vapor, mist, and cloud. Only about
six centers w^orthy of the name seemed to attract the few^
score of white people who came into the new^ land in quest of
home and opportunity in 1854. These primitive foci of hu-
man hopes and endeavor began to take crude form in the
middle and later months of that year, at Brownville, in
Nemaha county, at Nebraska City, in Otoe county, at Platts-
mouth, in Oass county, and at Bellevue, Omaha, and Flor-
ence in what was then Douglas county. In what is now the
chief city of the State, as it was seen in October of that
year by men still living, there were, in my own belief, not
more than nine heads of families and one little girl who had
decided to make homes on the site of the town which now
contains more than 100,000 inhabitants. Richard Brown,
its founder, and a few others camped in small cabins in
Brownville. S. F. Nuckolls and J. Sterling Morton counted
as many as a whole dozen of ordinary men in their own
strong and strenuous personalities in Otoe's now comely
capital. Col. Joseph F. Sharp, soon to be the lynx-eyed,
one-eyed, but very able and dignified president of the
higher branch of the territorial legislative assembly, rep-

NEWSPAPERS OP THE TERRITORIAL PERIOD.

resented a few adventurous spirits of Cass county in
that body, altliougli his real residence was in Glenwood,
Iowa. Peter A. Sarpy, the gallant Indian trader, Judge
Fenner Ferguson, Mr. Thomas. Morton, who was merely
gypsying in Bellevue, with that miraculous printing art
of his, preparatory to the life-work into which it led him
at Nebraska City a few months later, L. L. Bowen, and
Silas A. Strickland did most of the large talking for Bellevue.
Gov. Thomas B. Cuming, Acting Governor A. J. Popple-
ton, A. J. Hanscom, and a few more stood for the coming
supremacy of Omaha, and James M. Mitchell, in the hot
rivalry for Florence, fought out the contest which located
the territorial capital, the supreme object of desire, at
Omaha. The fight was a fierce one while it lasted, and was
to a finish, Mr. Fitzsimmons residing in Omaha. But the
picture would fail to be properly painted without a moment's
notice of the original owners of the soil who were on the
ground in person to receive the first wave of invasion of
the new land by the white man, the Omaha Indians, whose
gallant chief, Logan Fontanelle, was slain by the Sioux in
1855. Their familiar forms and features are recalled for
mere mention. The presence of white men sobered them
into a serious, silent, and sometimes sullen, demeanor, as,
with stolid resignation and sad hearts, they realized that
the bell was already tolling for the death of all that was so
dear to them in their memories and traditions. Their mourn-
ful faces told the story of broken hearts, now that the hour
had come for their final farewell to their ancient homes
and hunting grounds, at the peaceful, but none the less
forceful, bidding and power of that other savage, that money-
getting, land-grabbing pirate, the all-conquering Anglo-
Saxon, a bad brother of yours and mine, to whom the inven-
tion of gunpowder and the death-dealing machinery employed
in human butchery, on land and sea, hr.ve vouchsafed to
a civilization which boasts and believes in the Christian name,
universal domination of the children of men. It was the

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

first close contact of white men with barbarism on the soil
of the coming commonwealth. The shiftin<? scenes and char-
acters that appeared on the Nebraska stage before the cur-
tain rose upon a community of order regulated by law were
singularly strange to all who gave them life and color. Men
from nearly every state in the Union, attracted by the work
of Franklin Pierce and Stephen A. Douglas, came dropping
in, one by one, with their various manners and speech. The
refined and scholarly sons of Ohio, Michigan, and other states
made up a full quota for the little army which met and min-
gled here with the rough-hewn denizens of the Wabash and the
Ouachita on the level plane of common necessities and com-
mon purposes. There was, in truth, a general Dolly Varden
assortment of the younger American manhood, led by such
brilliant and controlling men as Cuming, Morton, Wool-
worth, Poppleton, Nuckolls, Mason, and a few more, whose
business it was to make speedy conquest of the new land
to civilized rule.

If apology were needed for this hurried presentment of
the conditions which the newspapers and newspaper men
encountered in the primitive periods of the Nebraska life,
it is, I think, to be readily found in the fact that, to know
what men do in planting new communities and states, we
must first know what was set them to do, what they were
thinking about, and what they had at heart to plan and con-
struct out of the wild waste and chaos, moral, religious, and
material, which constituted the environment on this then
remote borderland forty-three years ago.

Disraeli, the elder, tells us that we are indebted to the
Italians for the idea of the newspaper, and also that the
first one that was ever printed appeared in Venice under
the name of gazetta, our Anglicized gazette, derived from
gazzena, which means a magpie, or chatterer, a name which
we have much reason to pronounce befitting from our experi-
ence with the newspapers of our own time and country.
But the din of this magpie has filled the civilized world

NEWSPAPERS OF THE TERRITORIAL PERIOD. 35

from the day of the discovery by the Venetians of what
Carlyle calls '^those poor bits of rag-paper with black ink on
them." For, indeed, whatever be the outward form of the
thing, bits of paper, as we may say, and black ink, it is the
thought of man. "This London City," continued the great
Scotchman, "with all its houses, palaces, steam-engines,
cathedrals, and huge immeasurable traffic and tumult, what
is it but a Thought, but millions of Thoughts made into
one — a huge, immeasurable Spirit of a Thought embodied
in brick, in iron, smoke, dust, palaces, parliaments, hackney
coaches, Katherine docks, and the rest of it! Not a brick
was made but some man had to think of the making of that
brick." The thing we call "bits of paper with traces of black
ink" is the present embodiment a Thought of man can have.
And it was one of these printed gazettas which winged its
way into Nebraska, a newspaper magpie, piping cheerful
notes of enlightenment and progress, on the 28th day of July,
1854, in the form of a small, folio sheet bearing the name
in bold, black type, of "The Omaha Arrow," the first born
of Nebraska's newspaper family, singing sonorously that
song of the types of w^hich we have all heard here a full,
though sometimes dismal and discordant, chorus, for more
than forty years.

Not in the stately rhyme and rythm of Rudyard Kipling
in that moving and majestic "Song of the English" did John
W. Pattison sing in the Omaha Arrow of either past or
present days. Happily for you, and for me, the distinguished
President of this society has relieved me, in another paper,
of the duty of producing notes from the overture to show
the high key from w^hich the young and prophetic warbler
produced that marching melody in humble prose, to whose
resistless spirit, at this day, more than one million white
men, women, and children keep steady step. Mr. Morton
has given an account of the Arrow and its editors much
better than it could have been done by me, and it only
remains for me to say that the Omaha Arrow, a small sheet,

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

published by J. E. Johnson, a Mormon overmuch married,
who was also the proprietor of the Council Bluffs Bugle, and
edited by John W. Pattison, a bright-minded young man
who was born and died in the neighboring state of Missouri,
embodied the central thought of the Carlyle philosophy into
a priceless record in the newspaper history of the State.
Not so very small was this neat publication, was this vigor-
ous and lively chatterer, was this Nebraska magpie. The
first copy of it, which contains twenty-four columns of closely
printed matter of all sorts, including the complete text of
the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, is a study full of interest and
instruction. I could easily consume the time alloted to the
reading of this paper in interpreting the business and per-
sonal life which is reflected in its advertising columns alone.
But I must desist. It is in this phase of the first-born of
Nebraska newspapers that we are again indebted to the Hon-
orable J. Sterling Morton for a record of it, and for much
more of this and other newspaper history of early days. The
last copy of the Omaha Arroio which has been preserved, and
probably the last that was ever printed, registered its own
untimely end on Friday, November 12, 1854, after an active
and useful life of only about ninety days. But let us not
fail to be reminded that it lives, and will continue to live
for many generations of men, in the embodied thought of
to-day which gives us the great trans-continental railway,
the trade with China and the Pacific, the miraculous develop-
ment of agricultural and other industries, which the young
editor outlined in the columns of the Omaha Arroio as with
the accurate forecast of an inspired prophet.

As with the Omaha Arroio and other early newspapers, Mr.
Morton has so covered the field, that I decide to confine
myself mainly to an account of two papers in Omaha which
belonged to the territorial times, the Omaha Republican, and
the Omaha Herald, the first a radical organ of the Repub-
lican party, which was then in active embryo, and the other
a moderate and mild, if not very modest, representative of

NEWSPAPERS OF THE TERRITORIAL PERIOD.

the Democratic party. I shall deal with them in the order of
the time of their establishment, and with respect which
is always due to age. But, before dealin^c? with the Repuh-
lican, I ask indulgence while I recur to an intimation which
was intended to be conveyed in the opening of this discussion.
I referred to the men who contributed the inspiration of cour-
age, strength, and sometimes an elegant style to the columns
of the early newspapers. I wish to make a few further ob-
servations upon this particular point. It is not the editor
of a newspaper to whom the community in which he is com-
missioned to preach and teach is solely indebted for the
conceded influence which he exercises upon it. That editor
who fails to absorb and reflect the better thought of the
superior intelligence which surrounds him is hardly worthy
of the name. No man can teach wisely without being taught.
No man can wisely lead who has not first learned to follow.
The Omaha Arroiv and NehrasJcian caught much of their
thought, the NehrasJcian almost wholly, from the masterful
Thomas B. Cuming, the first governor of the Territory, who
graduated from a telegraph of&ce as an operator in Keokuk,
Iowa, when he was a mere boy, into national prominence, at
first as an unknown contributor to the Dispatch of that
place. It was an open secret that his brilliant pen frequently
illumined the somestimes dreary columns of the NehrasJcian.
I do not need to name the man, once the editor of the
Nebraska City News, who has for more than forty years,
edited, in a broad way, pretty much all the newspapers in
the State which had any sense. If he did not write their
editorial opinions, he furnished with aggressive thought and
speech, inspiration, which involved vigorous support and
equally vigorous opposition, but which lifted the subjects
of ardent debate upon the high plane of discussion out of
which so much has been wrought here from the untamed
elements of savagery and chaos in the lives of living men.
I can say for one, and even for both, of the founders of the
Omaha Herald that, for more than ten of the twenty-three

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

years of its life and work, its editor OAved to the thought,
the moral and intellectual support, inspiration, and approv-
ing words of J. Sterling Morton, more than to any other
single agency, whatever success was achieved by his labors
in the upbuilding of this state. It was that then young and
untrained editor's chief ambition in the world to be able to
achieve the style and power of Morton on his editorial page,
which, at long intervals, be it acknowledged, was decorated
and dignified and strengthened by it. It was, perhaps, the
most self-assuring of all that doubting and self-distrusting
period of the Omaha editor's newspaper life, and it gave him
the greatest joy, when rival newspapers would insist that
this, that, and the other article, which he had surely written
himself, were vociferously attributed to "Morton." In the
newspaper, in public speech, and pamphlet, in essays, in his-
torical labors which find enduring record in the archives of
this society, he has been editing this state and section during
a long and conspicuous life, on lines of enlightened progress
and development. Called to the cabinet of one of the most
illustrious of American presidents, he has crowned a life of
respect and honor with an educational service in which he
has been editing statesmen for years in administrative
wisdom and economy, by both precept and example, and
millions of farmers to new methods of soil-culture which are
already bearing fruit in the state and section which he loves
so well. Nor are these mere idle compliments, coined for a
passing occasion, or for transient effect. I desire to improve
the only opportunity that may ever be afforded me to plsLce
my own candid personal estimate of Mr. Morton's work and
worth over my own humble name, which is among the least
of his contemporaries and coadjutors.

The Nebraska Republican was established by E. F, Schnei-
der and H. J. Brown. Its first issue appeared under the
auspices of these men, May 5, 1858. I have no record or
remembrance of them personally. My impression is that
they were practical printers. It took the name of its party

NK\N'Si»Al'J-]I{8 or TJIIO TIOKJIITOKI AL PKKIOI).

whicli was just rising upon the ruins of its pnrc^nt, Um old
Whig party of lionorable name. Tlie paper was soon sold to
Dr. G. 0. Monell Avho OAvned and gave it vigorous life until
1859. Dr. Mo^ell Avas a man of strong character, intelli-
gence, and cultivated mind. He hailed from Newburgh, New
York. As a writer, he added polish to vigor, and clear state-
ment to a compreliensivo grasp in discussion. A natural
acerbit}^ of temper and a cynical tendency gave a keen edge
to his pen, and I think he may be fairly classed with the
ablest of the sixteen editors Avho graced the columns of the
Rejmhlican during the thirty-tAvo years of its existence.

The Repuhlican Avas bought, and OAvned, and edited by E.
D. Webster, August 15, 1859, Avho parted with it tAvo years
later, viz., September 26, 1861, to E. B. Tajdor and his
brother-in-law, E. A. McClure.

Mr. Webster is one of the best remembered of the early
editors of the Republican. I have no means of writing with
accuracy of his life and work. I shall speak of him as I
remember him, a small, black-haired, brown-skinned man,
of that nervous-bilious temperament which made him bright,
alert, aggressive, and interesting. To political enemies he
Avas as gall and wormwood in his paper, and to those he
liked as genial as a girl, in private life. He came to Omaha
from Albany, New York, on the recommendation of ThurloAV
Weed who, as Ave all know, was the political author and
finislier of William H. ScAvard as a public man, and a great
and pow^erful leader of the old W^hig and the then Eepubli-
can parties. He was Mr. Weed's protege, personal and polit-
ical. As a writer be was sharp, short, and decisive. He
had a crisp style, and was not at all times polite in dealing
Avith adversaries. He was neither a prohibitionist nor a
teetotaller in his habits, which Avere, in the better sense, con-
vivial. His political methods were those of Mr. Weed, con-
tracted by a great lack of Mr. Weed's remarkable power as
the editor of the Albany Journal, and as the autocrat of the
old Whig party of Ncav York and the nation for thirty years.

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Mr. Webster's ability as a writer was not marked by any
considerable strength. In party management he was aided
by a certain shrewdness and cunning. Perhaps his con-
science was as keen as anybody's, in the then existing order
in Omaha and the Territory, but it did not arrest attention
by any violent exercise in the politics of the time. I speak
of Mr. Webster's political conscience, of course, exclusively.
He succeeded in keeping men of his own iDarty by the ears,
and bred faction in the new party with marked success. He
was a good hater, and had more pluck than prudence in
fighting his Republican enemies which included such men
as our own Thayer and his predecessor. Dr. Monell. Mr.
Webster, as we have seen, continued with the Republican
only about two years when, at the outbreak of the Civil War,
he was called to Washington at the instance of his old friend
and master, Mr. Weed, to occupy the honorable and delicate
and responsible place of confidential secretary to William H.
Seward. I saw him during those stormy periods in the dis-
charge of his duties, and when one would hardly have known
him as the same Republican Webster, so studiously dressed
and dignified had he become. In the midst of many tempta-
tions, he acquitted himself in his place with credit and abil-
ity. It was E. D. Webster who was entrusted with the
delivery of the order for the release of Mason and Slidell,
who had been seized by Gapt. AVilkes-and the San Jacinto
from a British ship while on their way as ambassadors to
England and France from the government of the Confeder-
ate States. Had he been a less trustworthy man, such was
the strain pending the action of the President of expected
war with England in that case, he might have put millions
of Wall Street money in his poor purse in a single day by the
betrayal of one of the greatest state secrets that was ever
confided to a private citizen. Mr. Webster returned to the
state of his earliest love after the war, and engaged in stock-
raising at North Platte, and afterwards in the Eepublican
valley, where, in the meridian of his manhood, he died a few

NEWSPAPERS OF THE TERRITORIAL PERIOD.

years ago, regretted by all who knew what a really kind and
generous spirit he was in fact.

E. B. Ta3dor, the next of the honorable sixteen editors of
the paper, was a native of Ohio. He Avas, perhaps, the ablest
of all when estimated in the double character of editor of the
paper and leader of his party. I would not willingly under-
estimate his ability as a writer. I had abundant reason to
know that he was never w^eak, that he was sometimes strong,
and that in the daily bouts with contemporaries, he was
entirely able to take care of. himself. I do not remember that
he was given to* the discussion of principles very much.
Trained in the Ohio school of Whig politics, he was purely
a party editor. Perhaps this was largely due to the exciting
questions that brought on impending War. E. B. Taylor
did not read books very much, but he read men with keen
judgment, and was alive to every phase of current events and
affairs. He was a kindly man, socially. He arose from the
printer's "case," as did Greeley and Weed, and many more
of the newspaper immortals, to the editorial chair, and he
had the rare faculty of walking up to a printing case and
setting up his editorials without the mediation of "copy."
Mr. Taylor was the recognized leader of his party in Omaha
and the Territory in many ways even after he sold his inter-
est in the RepiMican to Mr. St. A. D. Balcombe, and was
rewarded by a]3pointment as Superintendent of the Omaha
tribe of Indians which was then the best office in the Terri-
tory. During his editorial career he was supported by Mr.
E. A. McOlure as the practical manager of the Republican's
business, who I am glad to say, is still with us. Mr. Taylor
died in Omaha in 1872, at the age of fifty-two years, deeply
regretted by all who knew him in his personal life to be a
kind husband and father, a strong character and citizen, and
a loyal friend.

In 1865, Maj, H. H. Heath, a volunteer officer of the
Union army stationed at, and commanding the post of Ft.
Kearney, purchased an interest in the Republican and be-

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

came a writer on it, if not its editor. I knew Major Heath
very well. He was not strong in any sense, bnt he was a
man of education, a generous friend, and had the charm of
polished manners. Major Heath was afterwards sent to a
consulate in Peru, where he died, and where his remains
repose.

April of the year 18G6 brought another man and char-
acter in the person of St. A. D. Balcombe, who purchased
a half interest in the RepiMican and became its business
manager. If I did not expect him to be present in person at
this gathering, I should certainly say of him that in prac-
tical judgment, sound intelligence, and force of character he
Avas the strongest man in those years who was ever connected
Avith the Omaha Republican. He was the man, I have for-
gotten to mention before, who changed the name of the paper
from Nebraska Republican to Omaha Republican, indicating
the spirit which afterwards, and during a long and influential
life, made him a loyal and courageous advocate of the mate-
rial interests of Omaha. I think Mr. Balcombe is a native
of New York, but he came to us from Minnesota where, in
the town of Winona, he developed into a prominent citizen,
became a member of the legislature of the state, and was
honored with the appointment of Superintendent of the Win-
nebago and Omaha tribes of Indians. When Mr. Taylor suc-
ceeded him in that office, he became the sole proprietor of the
Republican y and likewise, for much of the five subsequent
years, its leading editor. For a man without training in
editorial work, and with no pretensions to superior fitness
for his new calling, it shall be said that St. A. D. Balcombe
was strong enough to raise, instead of being weak enough
to lower, the standard of its editorial columns in the dis-
cussion of the stirring questions of the times. He differed
from some of his predecessors and successors in the chair ^
by knowing what he wanted to say, and by commanding a
plain and vigorous vocabulary in which to say it. In the t
remarkable growth of Omaha from a ragged, unpaved, and k

NEWSPAPERS OP THE TERRITORIAL PERIOD.

unkempt country village into a semi -metropolitan city, Mr.
Balcombe was entrusted by his fellow-citizens with the re-
sponsibility of directincj its public improvements as Chair-
man of the Board of Public Works. There will be no dissent
in his home city from the statement that, in the discharj^e of
the trying duties of that office, his administration was
marked by firmness, integrity, inteliigence, and remarkable
efficiency. During this part of the life of the Republican,
Hon. John Taffe, afterwards serving the people two terms
in Congress, was among the editors of the paper. Mr. Taffe
was a lawyer by profession, I think. He was a strong writer,
venomous in tone and temper towards political opponents,
a strong partisan, and was much esteemed by his friends.
He died many years ago in the maturity of his manhood.
On January 21, 1871, Waldo M. Potter, of New York, an
excellent man, a thoroughly trained and able writer and jour-
nalist, purchased a half interest in the paper, but did not
remain with it long. The Tribune had been started in 1870
by discontented Republicans, with Mr. C. B. Thomas as its
editor, a New England gentleman of scholarly acquirements
and rare ability as a writer of polished and forceful Eng-
lish. His apprenticeship had been served on the Worcester
Spy of Massachusetts, and he came to our newspaper life
with the endorsement of Mr. Bowles of the Springfield Re-
publican. The Tribune was started in January, 1870, and
was absorbed by the Republican on June 11, 1871, by con-
solidation, Mr. Thomas disappearing from the Omaha life
at about that time. I never knew what became of him.

Mr. C. B. Thomas was actually brought here by Mr. Ed-
ward Rosewater during the peculiar gestation which gave
birth to the Omaha Bee, who had already projected and
named the coming new daily paper. He hailed from Dux-
bury, Massachusetts. Mr. Thomas was engaged to write for
the new Tribune, and a prospectus was published giving a
full statement of the greatness of the great coming editor
from New England. But, for some reason not known to

44 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

this deponent, Mr. Thomas failed to arrive until the Bee
appeared on the scene and Mr. Kosewater had been installec
as its editor. The New Englander, when he did arrive, car
ried the scheme for the Tribune into another control. It lec
a brilliant but short life. Mr. Thomas was probably whal
lovers of the ornate in style Avould call the best editoria]
writer vrhc was ever among us. My own opinion was, and is
that his plain fault was the sacrifice of strength, which lie^
in clearness, to manifest efforts at what is called fine writing
This, I take leave to say, and as the New York Sim demon-
strates, is not the best style for editorial writing.

In April, 1877, 0. E. Yost secured a controlling interesi
in the EepuhUcan, and afterwards Mr. Fred Nye, of Fremoni
origin and memory, was associated with Mr. Yost in the
ownership of the entire plant. Mr. Nye was the editor, and
Mr. Yost the business manager, who brought to the papei
one of the most capable and worthy of men. Mr. Nye is in
Chicago. He is a versatile and able writer. Mr. Yost is now
at the head of the telephone company of Omaha, where he
has long resided as a citizen of the highest personal character.

In 1886, Yost and Nye sold the paper to S. P. Kounds,
formerly of Chicago, and Cadet Taylor. The death of Mr.
Rounds soon after actually destroyed the property, but it
brought to Omaha Mr. O. H. Rothaker, whose reputation had
preceded him through his great talents as a writer as dis-
played on the Denver press. In the style of slashing and
murderous invective I never knew the equal of O. H. Roth-
aker. But I have inadvertently omitted mention in their
proper order of such editors of the Republican as George
W. Frost, who was a clergyman by education and profession
B. H. Barrows, the delightful ex-consul to Dublin, who is
still with us, Chauncey Wiltse, and D. C. Brooks. Mr. Frosi
died in- Omaha many years ago. Mr. Wiltse is no more, bui
Mr. Brooks is still among us, I trust, in his usual vigor o]
health and mind. He was, perhaps, as an all-round anc
every day writer, scholarly, clear, and strong, as able a mai

NEWSPAPERS OF THE TERRITORIAL PERIOD.

as was ever on the Omaha Republican, He was highly edu-
cated, he was logical, liberal, and tolerant, and always a
respectable and high-minded gentleman. The Republican
went into the hands of a receiver in 1888. Receiver Yost
managed the plant until December, 1889, when it was sold
by him to Fred Nye and F. B. Johnson. Nye & Johnson sold
the paper to J. C. Wilcox, in 1890, upon whose hands, after
a long and useful, but checkered life, it died the death that
knoAvs no wakening.

The death of the tuberculous Omaha NcbrasJcian in Octo-
ber, 1865, marked the birth of the The Omaha Daily Herald.
As chief accoucher, I am able and willing to say that it
was a very weak and puling infant. I may be allowed to add
that it was born of a poor but reasonably respectable par-
entage, Daniel W. Carpenter and George L. Miller being
solely responsible for its existence. Mr. Carpenter was an
old expert in the practice of the art preservative of all arts,
and had for years been honorably connected with the Council
Bluffs Bugle. To the best of my knowledge and remem-
brance, Mr. Carpenter conceived the idea of the new paper.
It began its twenty-three years of life under the most primi-
tive conditions. Facilities for publishing consisted of a small
hand press and a few cases of type, and the "circulation" at
the start, I think, was represented by about fifty-three actual
subscribers. George L. Miller was the editor, ^Ir. Carpenter
the business manager, and both did something to get up what
was then new to Omaha, a large spread of local news of
' that day. For the first few days Mr. Carpenter kept the
'books on slips of paper in a side pocket of his coat, which
) sometimes did duty as a cash-draw^er with very little cash
Ho cause him anxiety. Mr. John S. Briggs become part pro-
tprietor, buying out Mr. Carpenter; and within a short time
thereafter Mr. Lyman Richardson, buying the Briggs inter-
'^est, in turn, the firm became that of Miller & Richardson, Mr.
3 Richardson continuing as its business manager, Mr. Miller do-
uling duty as the principal editorial writer for all those years.

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Mr. Richardson, a citizen of Omaha now, of the highest char-
acter and standing, who has resided there for forty-three
years, did his whole part in bringing to the Herald whatever
success attended its labors. The paper was sold to Hon.
John A. McShane in 1888, and was subsequently sold by him
to Mr. G. M. Hitchcock. The last of the editors of the old
Herald was Frank Morrissey who, previous to the sale to
Mr. McShane, had been associate editor of the paper. Mr.
Morrissey was an educated man and an able writer. At his
best, few in these parts equaled, and still fewer surpassed
him in newspaper argument or controversy. He was espe-
cially strong upon economic questions. With as kind a heart
as ever beat in human bosom, true to the Irish descent, he
was impulsive and impetuous, and not always safe in adher-
ing to a wise conduct of the paper. Mr. Morrissey was a
native of Iowa and died in Omaha a few years ago. The
Herald was merged into the Evening World by Mr. Hitch-
cock under the process of hyphenation, which leaves it with
the name of the World-Herald. It did not die, exactly, which,
for several reasons, is to be deeply regretted, but was, and is,
somewhat painfully suffocated in more ways than I care to
enumerate.

I am fully conscious of how inadequate this paper is in
respect to the large subject which it has undertaken to dis-
cuss. Its narrow scope has made it impracticable to deal
with all of those veterans of the press of the territorial times
who did so much to mould into form and lead into a marvel-
ous development this great community, which occupies so
proud a place in the sisterhood of the Union. Furnas, the
father of Nebraska horticulture, and the life-long promoter
of our agricultural advancement, with his own Advertiser ,
and otherwise, has won for himself enduring honor, and a
name which will never be erased from the written annals of (
the State ; Charles H. Gere, the gentleman, the scholar, the J
able and finished writer, who has given the strength of per-
manence and wide influence to the ^tate Journal; J. P, Gal-

NEWSPAPERS OF THE TERRITORIAL PERIOD.

houn, the large-minded and generous-hearted Alabamian, of
the Brownville Democrat, and, later, of the Lincoln Herald,
now at his old work in Florida ; Theodore n. Robertson, for
long the editorial backbone of the Omaha Nehrasklan, in
which he fought the battles of his party with a ready and
resolute pen ; Smails, the vigorous and strenuous preacher of
Nebraska's faith in herself, of the Fremont Herald, — these,
and other stalwarts of the territorial newspaper, can only be
named here — named with praise and honor wherever men-
tioned— because of the prescribed limits of this review. But
they belong none the less to a high place on that roll of honor
which shall in future times be duly cherished by a grateful
people in recognition of their inestimable services in the uj)-
buiiding of this imperial commonwealth.

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

PIONEER JOURNALISM.

Presented to the Historical Society in session January 11, 1898.
Written by Mr. D. W. Carpenter.

Realism in pioneer journalism can only be contemplated
by those who have not been engaged in the publication of a
newspaper in a new and sparsely settled country, and then
only in a very crude way. There are a great many difficulties
to be encountered and surmounted in a newspaper enterprise
that are only known to those who have been through the try-
ing ordeal, who have been acting and working participants
in the establishment of a newspaper in a country where the
inhabitants w^ere "few and far between," to patronize your
efforts.

The idea to start a newspaper on every crossroads or sec-
tion of land is truly a brilliant thought by those who have no
conception of the great amount of labor to be performed, the
miscellaneous worry and tribulation. There are a thousand
details that never enter the head of the amateur proprietor,
unless he is a thorough and practical man from top to bottom.
If there is any business enterprise that requires close and
devoted attention and mathematical precision, that business
is the establishment of a newspaper in a sparsely settled
country.

The establishment of a great metropolitan paper, in a large
and progressive city, with a large and unlimited capital be-
hind it, with all facilities for gathering and disseminating
news, is not a hazardous undertaking — you have sharp com-
petition, it is true, but the best paper will always win out.
Not so in launching a still-born, so to speak, at the cross-
roads. There you have nothing to get and all to lose.

But to draw this realism down to your understanding I

PIONEER JOURNALISM.

will undertake to demonstrate by a figurative illustration of
what has transpired a number of times over, under the obser-
vation of the writer in Nebraska since he has been a squatter
sovereign, now since October, 1854.

A few enterprising pioneers get together, and arrive at
the conclusion that right here (naming some point) is to
rise a Mighty City, visionary or otherwise, and the more they
think of it the more enthusiastic they become, until their
minds become infatuated that there are Millions in it. But
the next question that perplexes the town-owners is how to
"boom the town." Why, of course we must have a newspaper.
But here comes the rub. How^ are we to get one? There is
not money enough among the stockholders, singly or collect-
ively, to purchase a printing outfit, but that question is
soon solved, for soon you will see a very beautifully executed
lithograph of a new town in Nebraska — it looks grand and
magnificent on paper — it is to be the great commercial and
railroad center of the State. Fine, very fine. It catches
the eye of the eastern investor in western lots. A few suckers
invest in western "gold bricks,'^ and at last a sufficient
amount of money is raised to purchase the necessary equip-
ment for a small printing office. A college-bred tenderfoot
drops in just in time to secure the editorship. What he don't
know about running a printing office is not worth knowing;
he is young and ambitious, he desires to distinguish himself
— but all the time keeping in sight the bull's eye of an office;
wishes to become a great party leader- — that is his golden
ideal dream.

Finally, after a time, the new born paper is launched
upon an admiring public of a few dozen citizens, with a flam-
ing introductory, giving a graphic description of the future
of the great metropolis, its enterprising and liberal minded
citizens, great chances to invest in city lots (on paper) that
will increase to untold wealth, and all that sort of tommy-rot.
But the paper is a irreat success — everybody is overjoyed and
are singing the praises of the new Editor. He is the high
4

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

muck-a-miick, and is already slated for congressional honors ;
born in the bloom of morning. In fact, nothing is too good
for him.

For a few weeks all goes on well, high hopes and jcreat
ambition — but, mark you, by and by a great tidal wave
comes sweeping along and disturbs this great engine of in-
telligence— the pay rolls are due and unpaid, the exchequer
is gone, credit gone, and, to use a western phrase, ''the thing
is busted." The next week the editor sums up his case in a
valedictory, and says the paper don't pay, it is not supported,
and for the present is discontinued. That ends the first
chapter.

Now any damphool, who has got a thimbleful of brains
ought to have known that would be the inevitable result of
that enterprise, in a town that was only mythical at best.
But the ambition of the young man who desired to become a
distinguished editor, party leader, and a statesman were
soon satisfied, and his crown of glory dismantled; and, as
soon as he could pull himself together, he quietly packed his
grip and took the first cow path for other fields of glory and
renown. He is satisfied with the newspaper business.

But the end is not yet. Along comes another ambitious
fellow who thinks he knows a little more about the printing
business than the other "feller,'' and so he purchases a "gold
brick." They say lightning never strikes twice in the same
place, but it does all the same. The same routine is gone
through with, and in a very short time another aspiration is
bankrupted. And so it goes, and will go, as long as mis-
guided ambition can be found ready to pick up a live wire.

I have not intended in these few scattering thoughts to dis-
courage any one who has the nerve and the ambition from
embarking in journalism, but, on the contrary, I like to see
pluck, ability, and practical knowledge succeed. But I tell
you, my friends, you have got to have good staying qualities
and lots of practical experience, with a little money thrown
in, to make journalism a success in a new country.

COMMUNICATION OF HADLEY I). JOHNSON.

COMMUNICATION OF HADLEY D. JOHNSON.

Salt Lake City Utah,
To the President and Members of the Nebraska Historical
Society:

Gentlemen — I have lately received two letters from Mr.
J. A. Barrett, your librarian, in each of which I am asked
to attend the annual meeting of the Society on the 11th day of
January and to relate some reminiscences of the early days
in Nebraska, or, if I should not be able to attend in person,
I am requested to write and forward some recollections of
those times to be read at such meeting.

Having found it to be impracticable for me. to attend in
person, I so notified Mr. Barrett and suggested that I would
probably comply with the alternative request.

I assure you that it was with much regret that T was com-
pelled to make the announcement that I could not attend in
person, for the reason that I would be exceedingly glad to
meet such of your members as may be present, and especially
those whom I have known in the past, and not less pleased
to form the acquaintance of those whom I do not know.

Inasmuch as I have already furnished the Society an ac-
count of events preceding the organization of the Territory
(see vol. 2 of Eeports of the Society), and from the fact that
the histories of Omaha and Nebraska have heretofore been
published, it is not likely that I shall be able to relate many
incidents which will be either new or interesting to ^-ou.

Hadley D. Johnson.

December 31, 1897.

rUBLIC PRINTER.

At the second session of the legislature of Nebraska, in
1855-56, I was elected territorial printer, and, not being in
possession of a plant with which to do the incidental printing
during the session, I purchased from Col. Peter A. Sarpy, the

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Indian trader at Bellevue, the press and other material upon
which tlie PaUadiuin and the Gazette'' had heen printed. So
soon as this phiut was hauled to Omaha I commenced to do
the print! n«» of bills, resolutions, and other work, and also
comriienced the publication of the "Nebraska Democrat/' but
discontinued its publication temporarily during the time I
was absent in the East (at Indianapolis) Avhere I superin-
tended the printing of the laws and journals of the house
and council.

The publication of the Democrat^ however, was afterward
resumed and its columns devoted to the advocacy of the
claims of Buchanan to the presidency. When the election
was over the publication of that paper was discontinued and
the press and materials afterwards sold to Mr. S. M. Owens,
taken to Florence^ w^here the Courier was printed for a short
time (1 have forgotten the name of its editor). The plant, I
think, was removed elsewhere and some other newspaper
born, to bloom for a day and then to die, — "unwept, un-
honored, and unsung."

Might it not be well for the Nebraska Historical Society
to hunt up that old pioneer press and retain it as a memento
of the first days of the then territory but present magnificent
state, Nebraska?

JOSEPH E. JOHNSON.

Inasmuch as Mr. Joseph Ellis Johnson, late editor and
publisher of the Council Bluffs Bugle, and various other pub-
lications (a list of which he himself has furnished), took
a somewhat prominent part in the initiatory movements to
buy out the Indians and open for white settlement a portion
of the wilds of Nebraska, and subsequently took an active
part in the development of the same, I think it proper that he
should receive deserved recognition as a pioneer of the state
in the future history of Nebraska. It is true that he has
been noticed by my old friend, Hon. Harrison Johnson, in
his history of Nebraska. Mr. Alfred Sore^son, in his history

COMMUNICATION OF HADLEY D. JOHNSON.

of Omaha, has also given Mr. Johnson considerable promi-
nence, and I believe that I gave him credit for good work
for Nebraska in a former communication to the Society. I
take occasion to state, however, that Mr. Sorenson in his
notice of the Omaha Arrow gave less credit than was deserved
to Mr. Johnson.

Joseph E. Johnson was the owner, editor, and publisher of
the Arrow, and J. M. Pattison the reporter and assistant
editor. Mr. Johnson was a pioneer, a rustler, and a man
of business. Pattison was a popular young man and a
tender-foot who retired to older parts after a short stay in
new Nebraska. Johnson wrote the "dream" (spoken of by
Sorenson as Pattison's effort). He foresaw, as we all did
in those days, a brilliant future for Nebraska, as well as
other realities which are not dreams, but facts, such as rail-
roads without number, etc.

THE BATTLE AT FORT CALHOUN.

One of the most unfortunate events attending the settle-
ment of the territory occurred at Fort Calhoun in 1855. I
do not believe, although the matter has been canvassed and
talked about for more than forty years, that the true cause
of the trouble has ever been understood. Let me claim in-
dulgence for a brief statement of the facts which I, as a
spectator, know them to be.

In 1855, Sherman Goss, a farmer living in low^a opposite
the site of old Fort Calhoun, and his son John, took posses-
sion of the site, intending to lay off a town, and invited me to
join them, which I did, and employed a kind hearted and
competent surveyor, Col. Lorin Miller (father of my old
friend. Dr. G. L. Miller), to survey and plat the town, which
he' accomplished, and did it well.

In order to hold possession, I caused to be built on the
site a log cabin, and permitted Dr. William Moore to occupy
it with his family until he could erect a house on his own
claim on Moore's creek. After his removal, and before I

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAt. SOCIETY.

could put another party in possession, one Charles Davis
moved his family into the house and made known his inten-
tion to jump the town site, and, when asked to do so, refused
to leave the place, and proceeded to fortify the same, and,
expecting to be ousted, collected a number of men to come
to his defense, and a number of persons collected at the
place hoping by a compromise to induce him to leave, while
I, being outside of the building, talking with P. 0. Sullivan
(late speaker of the house of representatives), with a view,
as he Avas a friend and advisor of Davis, of coming to some
agreement. While we were in conversation at one corner of
the building, out of reach of balls from the door, some parties
on the inside opened fire on our party (which had formed in
a semi-circle in front of the house), instantly killing Sherman
Goss and breaking an arm of H. 0. Purple. Other members
of the party, being thus exposed, retreated, leaving Goss dead
on the ground and Sullivan and myself still outside, but out
of reach of the guns of the inside party.

My party having dispersed, I said to Sullivan, "Now I
will go to my team, and as I go don't let those men shoot
me." However, so soon as I had started and had walked
some twenty feet, firing on me commenced and continued as I
walked until I think all guns were unloaded. At the time I
did not believe that they intended to kill, but merely to
frighten and cause me to run, but it was afterwards given
out that it was intended to kill the Gosses and myself, thus
giving the jumper a clear field. I will say that, but for my
objection, the citizens of the surrounding country would cer-
tainly have made war on the jumpers, but I would not eon-
sent. It was thus that I "speculated" in Fort Calhoun city
lots. I lost all money invested, and quit-claimed one-half my
interest to the widow of Goss and the other half to Mr.
Purple.

In 1864, while at Boise City, Idaho, Charles Davis and an-
other man with their families camped on the townsite at that
new town, and it soon became suspected that their designs

COMMUNrCATlON OF HADtEt t). JOHNSO^T. 55

were to jump some lots. Learning these facts I said to Davis,
^*'The people here think you are on the jump again. If you
and your friend desire to stop here and build houses, I will
give each of you a lot, as I own some lots and am agent for
others, but there must be no attempts to jump lots here —
these people will not stand it." They did not accept any
lots, but left very soon. I never saw him afterwards. Pat
Sullivan died in Washington Territory while making a
speech in court.

AT OLD FORT KEARNEY.

When it was decided by our friends that I must go to
Washington and make the attempt to get the government to
buy out the Indians, open the Nebraska prairies to settle-
ment, and to organize a territorial government, it was
thought that, as I then resided in Iowa, it would be better
for me to claim at least a temporary residence west of the
Missouri river, and, as the whites were not permitted to live
in Indian territory, except at military posts, I decided that
old Fort Kearney should be nominally, at least, my residence.

To carry out this plan I mounted my horse and made my
way to Sidney, Fremont county, where I met Hon. A. A.
Bradford and Mr. Charles AY. Pierce, who accompanied me
to Fort Kearney by way of a point at which the town of Ham-
burg was afterwards located. At this place we located (in
our minds) the town and I believe the junction of two
railroads.

Leaving this point, we wended our way across the wide
expanse of rich bottom land to a place some distance south
of the Fort, where a flat boat was OAvned and managed by a
gentleman well known then, but whose name I have forgotten.
Crossing the river on this boat we took the emigrant road
which brought us to near the Fort, which place, if I remem-
ber, we reached during the night — weary, wet, and hungry.

While at the Fort, under advice, 1 laid claim to 160 acres
of land lying south and adjoining the old government lime

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

kiln. It was not staked out, but it was understood to be my
claim, and it was my intention to make my house there if we
succeeded in opening the country to settlement. However,
in this matter I was doomed to disappointment. Some per-
son during my absence at Washington jumped my claim,
which, I have no doubt, was one reason why I failed to be-
come a citizen of Nebraska City and a near neighbor to my
old friend, J. Sterling Morton, who was then a young man.

On my return from Washington, finding my claim taken
by another, I looked over the ground at Omaha where I
found that everything thought to be valuable had been
"gobbled up," and I was again relegated to the outer Avorld,
and only secured a foothold by the purchase of a claim three
miles from the town. I will mention here a fact which may
serve to shoAv how appreciative some people are of the disin-
terested acts of some other fellow.

I had neglected my business, spent all the money I had
and could borrow (and had been assisted by my neighbors in
the sum of $46), had obtained the consent of the Indian
department for the Omaha Town Company to take posses-
sion of the site, and that company, though giving away lots
of great value to non-residents, never offered to give or sell
any property to me, and when I wanted a lot I was obliged to
pay the price fixed on it by the company; hence, if I did all
that I accomplished merely for personal profit, I failed most
signally.

THE FIRST STAGE LINE.

Mr. John B. Bennett, who lived at Nebraska City, obtained
a contract to transport the U. S. mail in coaches from that
place to Niobrara via Omaha, etc. He turned over to me so
much of the line as was north of the Platte river, and de-
livered the mail to me on the north side of the river at or
near where the town of La Platte has since been built. The
mail was transported across the river in a Skiff or canoe
where my stage driver would receive it. I had several sta-

COMMUNICATION OF HADLEY D. JOHNSON.

tions on the route. I do not remember whether any post-
olllce had been established any further north than Sioux
City, though possibly there was one a few miles beyond.
^^'hiIe running this line 1 was obliged to obtain my grain to
feed my stock at Omaha, paying usually three cents per
pound for oats and carry sufficient each trip to feed the stock
on the line. During a part of the time there was a good deal
of travel from which I derived some profit.

During the time I was thus engaged, I had the honor as
well as pleasure of having as a passenger from Omaha to
Nebraska City the distinguished civilian and politician, Gov-
ernor Orr, of the state of South Carolina. On this occasion
I became a stage driver, and, as his "Jehu," drove him down
to the Platte river, occupying my private carriage drawn by
my matched horses.

Well! Well! How times do change! The Governor is no
more, his southern confederacy has become an institution of
the past; my horses are dead; my carriage went up in the
smoke of a burning hay stack, but I, who ought long since
to have been gathered to my fathers, remain to record these
simple tales.

Here let me pause and inquire, Why am I allowed to re-
main "a cumberer of the ground?'' Looking over the past
and seeing a list of names of men who, with me, were engaged
in the laudable business of "state building," and observing
how much so many of them have accomplished, and are now
alive only in the hearts of the people, while I, wiio am alive
and in the flesh, have accomplished so little, often wonder
why it is so.

And now, gentlemen, having thus consumed your time in
rehearsing these, perhaps uninteresting, stories of the past,
I bid you adieu. Should life and a degree of health permit,
I may possibly meet with you on some future occasion, per-
haps at your great exposition, but the infirmities of a life
protracted far beyond the allotted three score and ten, even

58 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

unto the fourth decade, it is hardly probable that I shall live
another year.

Good night, and God bless you all and our beautiful
Nebraska.

Hadley D. Johnson.

JOSEPH L. SHARP.

The President of the Society, Mr. Morton, s^ave the follow-
ing item during the evening of January 11, 1898 :

It occurs to me to state that the men who took an active
part in the early journalism of Nebraska were not, as a rule,
men of college education. Nevertheless, they were men of
keen satire and humor. I wish to call to your minds an
anecdote relative to Mr. Joseph L. Sharp and Mr. Thomas
Mitchell. Mr. Sharp was the editor of a newspaper. Before
coming to Nebraska he had been a member of the legislatures
of Illinois and Iowa, and finally had been chosen a member
of the Nebraska legislature. There was great rivalry be-
tween Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Sharp as to which should be
president of the first territorial legislature.

Mr. Sharp was a very peculiar looking man; was tall and
gaunt, and had been afflicted with the smallpox, which had
left strange looking marks on his face. His face looked as
though it had been scalded. As to his facial expression, it
was always askew. However, he won in the contest between
himself and Mr. Mitchell. Sometime after, two strangers
were standing near Mr. Mitchell's seat listening to Mr.
Sharp's decisions, which were always to the point. One of
the strangers said, ^What an awfully homely man! But he
decides pretty well. His knowledge of parliamentary law is
good." "Yes," said the other, "But he looks like the devil
himself." Mr. Mitchell, who had overheard the conversation,
said, "Yes, he looks pretty bad now; but you ought to have
seen him before he had the smallpox."

A. J. HANSCOM.

R. W. Furnas gave the following concerning A. J. Hanscora.

Being called upon to take part in this discussion t()-ni,<»lit
reminds me of an anecdote about A. J. Hanscom. In the
early territorial days he was a candidate for some office, I
think for a member of the legislature. He was around hunt-
ing friends, and engaged a man who was to support him, as
he supposed, upon simply a promise that "he guessed he
would support him." After the election was over, Mr. Han-
scom found that he had not supported him, and when Mr.
Hanscom asked him to explain replied, '^Hanscom, I told you
that I guessed I would support you, and I was always a very
poor guesser." Your secretary solicited me some time ago
to take part in this program, and I replied that "I guessed I
would," and the facts prove that I, too, was a very poor
guesser. I have not had time to prepare anything for this
occasion. The papers by Mr. Morton and Dr. Miller have
brought to me recollections of the early struggles of the
pioneer journalists of Nebraska. I remember that on the
sixth day of April, 1856, I stepped from the steamboat
J. H. Lucas, which has already been mentioned here to-night.
I had but 18| cents in my pocket. There were but three or
four log houses in Brownville at that time. I undertook the
publication of a newspaper there, and, notwithstanding all
the annoyances and discouragements I had to contend with,
those were the happiest days I think I have ever enjoyed in
Nebraska. Not that the remuneration was much. One in-
stance I remember very well. One man had subscribed for
twenty-flve copies of the paper. When I asked him to pay up
he said, "Why, you didn't expect me to pay for twenty-five
copies, did you? I simply subscribed to encourage the
paper

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

REMINISCENCES OF TERRITORIAL DAYS.

Written by Dr F. Renner for the session of the Historical Society on January

11, l&tS.

Id the winter of 18G0-61, some twenty prominent German-
Amer'can citizens of Nebraska City held a series of meetings
for the purpose of ushering into existence a weekly paper
to be published in the German language, which finally took
shape by the adoption of a constitution and by-laws, the sub-
scription of one hundred shares at |5 each to the Nebraska
Zeitungs Gesellschaft (Journal or Gazette Company), and
the election of officers.

It can not be truthfully asserted that the motives of the
shareholders were either personal, clannish, local, or politi-
cal, for none of them was a real estate agent, or owned more
tov/n lots than he needed for his business, his residence, and
perhaps a garden spot. None of them was a candidate for
office or had a friend that was, but they considered it the
proper moment to circulate everywhere the glad tidings of a
new, extensive territory where the best land under the sun
could be had for the government price of |1.25 an acre, and
where the great need was farmers, laborers, mechanics, cap-
italists, and railroads, or other means of rapid transporta-
tion, in order to make it a desirable home for any white man.

As the majority of stockholders was made up of democrats,
the constitution of the Zeitungs company provided that the
embryo paper should be ''neutral in politics," that it should
"have nothing to do with questions of slavery, state policy,
and sectarian creeds which agitate and convulse the Union,
separate men from each other, and array them in antagonistic
forces and factions."

However, the old proverb proved true: "Man proposes,
but God disposes." Little did we think in March, 1861, that

REMINISCENCES OF TEKUITOItlAL DAYS.

in a few weeks we would be afflicted with the miseries of the
greatest civil war the world ever saw, that the old party line
would be wiped out, and that we all would stand bound to-
gether in common and unceasing effort for the salvation of
our common country.

By March 1, 1861, all shares were taken and paid up; hence
the stockholders proceeded to the election of officers. As
president, was chosen that pioneer merchant of South Ne-
braska, B. H. Kalkman, as largest stockholder (+1864), as
treasurer Frederick Beyschlag (+1896), whose memories will
forever be revered by all who have known their amiable
characters and many virtues. As secretary, editor, business
manager, in fact, as factotem, your humble servant and
relator. No doubt I was selected for this position because
several articles from my pen about Nebraska and its re-
sources had been extensively copied by eastern newspapers
of large circulation.

In accepting the position without salary and without any
mental or expressed reservation, I made the grossest mistake
of my life, financially speaking, for by attending exclusively
to my profession I could have made considerable money ; but
I was completely heedless and ignorant of the endless hard
work of a publisher and editor, which would absorb nearly
all the time and attention of an inexperienced man.

Without much loss of time we ordered the necessary types
and other material (with the exception of a press from Cin-
cinnati), and by the courtesy of Dr. Praetorius of the
Westliche Post in St. Louis we succeeded in securing the
services of two very good printers at the rate of $15 per week
and traveling expenses, who arrived just a day or two after
our outfit.

By faithful and extra work, we were enabled on Thursday,
April 4, 1861, to lock the forms of number 1, volume 1, of the
Nebraska Deutsche Zeitung^ and transport the same by
wheelbarrow to the office of the Nebraska City News, where
that veteran printer, Thomas Morton, had agreed to do our

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

press work. Thus made the first paper in Nebraska, printed
in a foreign language, its appearance. It was a seven column
folio, and with its new type clear through, a marvelously
neat paper — our first born, you know — and nobody under-
stood the art of printing better than Thomas Morton, al-
though at that time, if I remember correctly, he used a hand
press so old that I never saw one like it in any museum.

The "head" of the Nebraska Deutsche Zeitung had been or-
dered electrotyped in three sections, with a fourth extra sec-
tion entitled "Staats,'' so that I could simply slip the "State"
in the place of "Deutsche" as soon as Nebraska should be
admitted to statehood, for we did not imagine that it would
require six years of bitter political contest before Nebraska
could turn the sharp corner from territorial dependency to
state sovereignty, and enter the proud galaxy of fixed stars
in the firmament of the American Union.

The first and most of the subsequent numbers of the
Zeitung presumably met public expectation, as its several
issues gave what little local intelligence there was; but the
general news, including the latest dispatches, translated prin-
cipally from the St. Joe and St. Louis papers, were gaining
more interest from day to day. On the twelfth day of April,
the Confederates commenced the bombardment of Ft. Sump-
ter; the tocsin of civil war and insurrection was sounded in
every state and territory, when American hands, guided by
lawlessness of treason, were reached forth here and there and
everywhere to pull down the tall pillars which supported
our once glorious Union. At the same time, we never lost
sight of our main object, which was to induce immigration
to Nebraska.

The circulation of the Zeitu7ig was from the beginning, com-
paratively speaking, a very large one, about half a bundle,
for the reason that many, especially the stockholders, sub-
scribed for five to twenty-five copies. About 150 were regu-
larly mailed to Europe, to-wit : Germany, Australia, Switzer-
land, and the German-speaking provinces Alsace and Lor-

REMINISCENCES OF TERRITORIAL DAYS.

raine, then belonging to France, the postage being two cents
a copy. A goodly number of subscribers resided in the east-
ern states, and on our mail list was represented almost every
postoflfice in the settled counties. As business in Nebraska
was commencing to boom, the advertising patronage was very
encouraging as a general thing; but in the case of the share-
holders of the Zeitungs company it w^as quite the reverse.
They insisted on paying for their ads with shares instead of
cash, which — as everybody ought to know — is a very neces-
sary commodity at the start of any enterprise.

As may be expected, the private exchequer of the secretary
and editor of the Zeitungs company was drained quite low
at times by this unexpected quandary ; yet, on the other hand,
it gave him the satisfaction that in less than six months he
had the sole and exclusive control of the whole concern, was
his own boss, so to speak, and he was no longer subject to
dictation in relation to "politics, religion, or previous condi-
tion of servitude."

The office of the Zeitung was opposite the old Fort Kear-
ney over the old store building of Chas, Vogt, on the corner
of 5th and Main Sts., who had generously offered us the ca-
pacious, but unplastered rooms free of rent. When, in pur-
suance of the Governor's proclamation, a company of sol-
diers was raised in Nebraska City, intended chiefly for the
protection of Nebraska against the incursions of the seces-
sionists, and also to impose a salutary restraint upon the Otoe
Indians, who occupied a reservation hard by and might take
advantage of the unsettled state of affairs to commit depre-
dations, the place of enlistment was in the old fort. The fife
' and drum alternated with stirring war discourses from early
morn till dusky eve for over a week. In apparent stillness
land modest humility my two compositors, the devil, and
myself listened composedly to the martial sound, re-bellowed
by the hills around, and kept at work — still waters run deep
—and what was my surprise on the morning of June 10 when
both Mr. Bott and Naegele informed me that, on the previous

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

night, the patriotism had broken out on them, and, after lay-
ing away their composing sticks, by which they made |15 a
week, they had shouldered instead the shooting sticks with
bayonets affixed, presented to them by Captain Allan Blacker,
who had received orders to rendezvous with his company at
Omaha on the 15th of June, in order to get mustered into
the service of Uncle Sam — at the rate of $13 a month.

This dose of patriotism was not exactly to my taste, but I
had to grin and bear it. I said to myself with Milton, "Still
bear up, and steer right onward!" I persuaded the new re-
cruits to stay and help me get out the next issue, which they
did. I telegraphed at once to St. Louis for two other comps,
but Avith the proviso that they should be lame or otherwise
disabled from military service. Bj next mail I received a let-
ter from my friend, informing me that my men were on the
road, one with a wooden leg and the other rather near-sighted,
but that my proviso had been absolutely unnecessary, inas-
much as no able-bodied German printers, out of work, were
to be found in St. Louis. All Germans there were recogniz-
ing the extent of the conflict thus forced by the slave-holders
upon the nation; all were enlisted, or arming and drilling for
the defence of the star-spangled banner, and none so lost to
all sense of honor and integrity as to take voluntarily the
part of traitors.

I had several cases afterwards, when my workmen left me
in the lurch and other help could not be obtained so readily
by the aid of friends and the telegraph. Some took sick
suddenly, another went on irregular sprees, Avhich was the
more embarrassing, as the patent insides and stereotype
plates were not invented as ^^t. Many times I came to the
conclusion that running a newspaper was harder work than
rowing a boat up-stream. A man may pull his boat slowly
against the current, if he works steadily, but the publisher
dare not rest, and he can not anchor. Every time a news-
paper goes to press the editor has the feeling that his sheet
might have contained more news; and in his business more

REMINISCENCES OF TERRITORIAL DAYS.

than in any other there is a constant danger of interniptionr-}
or obstructions, eddies and sandbars, which call for more
work, for harder pulling at the oars.

More than once I was obliged to call upon the ISleiDs or
the Press to help me out of a difficulty by sparing me their
foreman to make up my forms or a typo to set up an item or
two for me that absolutely had to go into a certain issue.
On such occasions I had to stand right by, as my kind volun-
teers understood not a word of German, in order to give the
necessary directions or to dictate separately each letter,
space, interpunctuation, etc. Such work required much pa-
tience from both of us, but you know that "patience is the
virtue of an ass, that treads beneath his burden and is quiet."
It is a fact that even during the trying war times the utmost
harmony, or at least courtesy, prevailed among the news-
paper fraternity in Nebraska City at least, and I take this
occasion to express my thanks to the survivors and my tribute
to the dead for past favors. The agreeable intercourse which
existed between ourselves will form a pleasant recollection to
the end of my days.

The first day of January, 18^3, marked one of the most
important periods in the history and development of our
territory, for on that day the Homestead Law went into
effect, and under its most liberal provisions not only a citizen
of the United States, but also every person, the head of a
family or over the age of twenty-one years, who had merely
declared his intention to become such, had the right to take
up a homestead of IGO acres on any public lands. It goes
without saying that the Zeitung did its level best to spread as
quickly as possible the glorious news to the farmer boys of
the eastern states as well as in Europe, that millions of fer-
tile acres of the public domain in Nebraska were lying open
for selection; and, for anyone who acknowledged his inten-
tion to settle and cultivate the same permanently, there was
a farm of 160 acres for the paltry sum of $14, as fees for
recording and registration.
5

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The Zeitung invited everybody to Nebraska, to the '^and of
the free, where the mighty Missouri rolls down to the sea ;
where a man is a man if he's willing to toil, and the humblest
may gather the fruits of the soil." We eonside^'ed it one of
our most important duties as pioneers of a new country to
advance our settlements and secure a fringe of pioneer de-
velopments along our Avestern border. We did what we
could to bring forward to Nebraska the approncliing lines of
immigration and press forward the advancing thousands Va it
heretofore had stopped east of the Mississippi. From week
to week the Zeitung brought one or more leading articles and
a number of smaller but spicy items, all calculated to make
an everworking, noiseless, but effective propaganda in favor
of immigration to Nebraska and more especially to the South
Platte land districts, in which the editor of the Zeitung was
more or less acquainted; for in the summer months of 1857
and 1858 he had, with General Calhoun, Col. Manners, and
their surveying parties, traversed the entire southern boun-
dary line of the ncAvly established territory, beginning at a
point on the Missouri river, where the 40th parallel of north
latitude crosses the same; thence west on the said parallel
to the east boundary of the territory of Utah, on the summit
of the Rocky mountains. On these two extended trips, and
years before Colorado was created out of a part of Nebraska
and Utah, I had ample opportunity to observe the rich valleys
of the Republican and the Platte with their tributaries and
to make a reconnaissance of the country adjacent, keeping
field notes of the topography, soils, climate, health fulness, as
well as of all the resources and conditions of Nebraska.

This experience, together with the cooperation of a number
of highly educated gentlemen in several counties, enabled
us to carry on an active and intelligent discussion of the
best locations, by describing and illustrating the different
counties and settlements and their special resources in regard
to various industrial and agricultural pursuits.

As the war did not terminate within twenty days, as ex-

REMINISCENCES OF TERUITOKIAL DAYS. G7

pected after Lincoln's proclamation, but kept rij^ht on till
April, 18G5, we made this point quite prominent that, while
other states and territories (meaning principally our neigh-
bors of Missouri and Kansas) had been torn by internal dis-
sensions, their soil overrun and desecrated by border ruffians,
their people murdered and pillaged by roving bands of law-
less marauders, guerrillas, and jayhawkers — that the people
of Nebraska, guided by the counsels of wisdom and modera-
tion, had succeeded in resisting the earliest encroachments
of domestic difficulty, and that, during all this time of excite-
ment and civil war around us, peace and good order, practical
vigor, and manly observance of the laws and constitutional
obligations had characterized the conduct of our Nebraska
population.

In 1866 Colonel Orsemus H. Irish, who had established the
People's Press in 1858, but sold out in 1860 to Alfred Mathias
and Joseph E. Lamaster, again took charge of the Press as
editor.and publisher. In October of the same year the Colonel
proposed to me a union with the Press and a limited part-
nership under the name and style of O. H. Irish & Dr. F.
Renner, which relieved me from all the mechanical and office
work connected with the Deutsche Zeitung, and I could de-
vote all my spare time to the editorial department. At first
it was the idea of Col. Irish that one-half of the paper should
be published in the English and the other half in the German
language, and the German portion of the paper should be
increased from time to time "as the patronage received from
our German fellow citizens would warrant.'' I had no faith
in this polyglot or hermaphrodite scheme, and after half a
dozen issues the Colonel had to give it up, as a majority of
the Germans, as well as of Americans, wanted to pay only
one-half of the subscription price, because they could not
read the other half.

In politics, as well as in all other questions that did arise
under the new partnership, there was a harmonious agree-
rneut We both believed that we must trust to the patriotisnj

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

and statesmanship of that party which carried us tri-
umphantly through the perils of the recent past; yet the
Zcitniig continued as heretofore to cultivate and promote at
all times the spirit of reconciliation even against former lead-
ing rebels, the great advantages whereof were so clearly ex-
emplified since the foundation and by the rapid growth of
our publication.

We patiently waited for our financial success and hoped
courageously that the time for the fruit of our labors to
ripen would come with the admission of Nebraska to our
glorious Union.

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never is, but always to be blest;
The soul, uneasy and confined from home,
Kests and expatiates on a life to come."

On the first day of March, 1867, Nebraska was finally made
a state by proclamation of President Andrew Johnson, and
on the same date the name of Nebraska Deutsche Zeitung^
as contemplated at its foundation in 1861, was transformed
to Nebraska Staats Zeitung.

After the election of General Grant as president our part-
ner, Col. Irish, was appointed consul to Dresden in Germany,
and of course withdrew from the Press as well as from the
Staats Zeitung,

I took again control of the paper until 1879, when Brown
& Sons of the Daily Press took hold of it, but disposed of the
same two years later to Jacob Beutler, Esq., a practical
printer, who has added a well appointed job office and is
doing a prosperous business at the old stand.

Success to the Staats Zcitung!

MY FIRST TUIP TO OMAHA.

MY FIRST TRIP TO OMAHA.

Presented to the Society by W. W. Cox at the Session of the Historical Society

January 11, 1899.

Indian nomenclature lias given us many euphonious names,
but tlie people have had some desperate struggles in deter-
mining the proper pronunciation of many of them.

The world had just taken a short rest after settling down
upon the best way to pronounce the name of the queen city
of the Lakes.

It is somewhat amusing to the younger people to know
just what a time we older people had with these jaw-breaking
names. We had Chdkago, Checa-go Chicago, Chi-cago, and
most every possible pronunciation except the right one. The
time of our adventure, school boys and many old boys were
wrestling with the beautiful name of our metropolis. The
contention v^as for d 7na.hd, Omdhd, Omahd, O inahd, Omaha. ,
and we have heard the name pronounced 0-my-hog.

This was before the great character of the nineteenth cen-
tury had yet secured a place high over all for his name in the
scroll bearing the world's most illustrious names. It was
long years before this great and busy city bearing his im-
mortal name had even been dreamed of. It was long before
an iron rail had been laid in all the trans-Missouri country'
even to the shores of the great Pacific. It was long before
a shovel of dirt had been moved in preparation of the great
artery of the world's commerce, the U. P. Ry. It was when
millions upon millions of buffalo were roaming at will over
all the region noAV covered with farms, towns, and citiec west-
ward of Blue river, and when there were not to exceed a
half dozen cabins between Salt creek valley and Grand
Island settlement. It was when but two trails crossed the
land now covered by the city of Lincoln.

The principal trail led from the Great Basin (Burlington
Beach) eastward to the Salt creek ford, just by the mouth of

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Oak creek, thence southward and eastward till it crossed
where the goyernment court house stands; thence eastward
along the line of O st. till it crossed the Antelope creek, and
eastward to Weeping Water and Plattsmouth. The other
trail led up and down the valley and connected the scattering
settlements. All the improvements on the site of the future
city were a pile of cabin logs belonging to Jacob Dawson near
the corner of 9th and O, a pile of logs that were to be used
by Luke Lavender in erecting his log cabin of seven gables,
near the corner of 14th and O sts., and a small pile of lumber
near the corner of 18tli and O, in readiness for a house for
Rev. J. M. Young, the founder of Lancaster colony. Just
north of Oak creek and near where the U. P. track crosses
the Billings branch of the B. & M., Milton Langdon and
family lived.

At the Great Basin there was one log cabin that had been
built by adventurers of an earlier date and abandoned. W. T.
Donevan claimed to own it by right of discovery, and the
writer of this paper wanted it for immediate use. Mr. Don-
evan wanted our fine cloth coat, so a compromise Avas effected.
We took the cabin and Donevan took the coat. After receiv-
ing some repairs and a new coat of whitewash, it became
our home.

According to our memory, there were resident of Lancaster
county, as then bounded, twenty-one families. Wm. T. Don-
evan lived on Salt creek soutlnvard from the Basin; was on
land adjoining the Asylum a little west of the Prison,
and farther up lived Joel Mason, Richard Wallingford, A.
J. Wallingford, Joseph Forest, Mr. Queen, Mr. Simmons,
Festus Reed, and Dr. Maxwell. Down the creek lived James
Morand, Michael Shea, John and Lewis Loder. On Stevens
creek, east of the city, lived Wm. Shirly, and up the stream
lived Judge J. D. Maine, Charles Retzloff", John Wedencamp,
and Aaron Wood. On the head of the Nemaha lived a Mr.
Meecham. In the territory taken from old Clay county we
remember Hon. John Cadman, Mr. Etherton, J. L. Davidson,

MY FIKST TRIP TO OMAHA.

tlie Peg families, and Elmer Keyes.. A little knot of reijub-
lieans held at the great Salt Basin a very small county con-
vention.. The only thing we remember of their doing was
to elect your humble servant delegate to the congressional
convention to be held at Omaha. "Distinguished honor, you
know.'' We remember a few only of our distinguished fellow
citizens that helped to make up that convention. Richard
Wallingford, Andrew J. Wallingford, Joel Mason, Joseph
Forest, and Milton Langdon were the only persons that we
are certain were members. Rev. J. M. Young was present
as a visitor. There was but little of the usual pull-hauling
of latter day conventions there. There were but few aspi-
rants for the honors that were to wreathe the brow of the
fortunate man. We had to make no rash promises to our
constituency, only that we would do all possible to help Bill
Taylor down a certain prominent candidate for congressional
honors.

We had the distinguished honor to represent Lancaster,
Seward, York, Hamilton, and all the unexplored regions of
Adams, Kearney, and westward to the sundown. It was a
bright morning, August 20, 1862, while the green grass of the
valley was glistening with frost, that we started via the
"ramshorn route." That prince of noble men, Elder J. M.
Young, was to be our escort as far as Nebraska City, where
the South Platte delegates were to meet, and there take a
steamer and take our chances stemming the tortuous current
of "Old Muddy" to Omaha. It took near two days of old
time plodding to make the distance from the Basin to Ne-
braska City. There were none of the beautiful villages of
to-day along the weary, winding way across the hills and
through the many beautiful valleys. There were but few
signs of civilization except the trail we followed. Near the
head of the West Nemahg. there lived an old apostate Mor-
mon who deserted his company at the time of their exodus
to Salt Lake, and some miles to the eastward one of the
McKee boys had built a cabin on the banks of the classic

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Nemaha, not far from the site of Unadiila. Near the site
of Syracuse, Mrs. McKee, a widow lady, and two of her
sons had what was, at the time, considered an elegant home.
They were the proud possessors of the only frame house
west of the Majors farm, in all the Avilderness roundabout.
The ancient, eccentric, and only James Her lived in the
same immediate vicinity. A Mr. Wilson lived eight
miles west of the city, on a little creek of his own
naming. These comprised the only improvements on
the way till we reached the far-famed farm of Alex-
ander Majors, four miles out of the city. To the thoughtful
there were many things of interest, many things to admire
and to instruct. There was to me something inspiring about
thi^' "wild and woolly west.'^ In its native grandeur these
rolling hills, clothed with their Avaving mantle of green, very
much resembled the rolling waves of old ocean. Away on
yonder hill could be seen the gay antelope, sporting its white
tail and cantering in a Avide circle around us, trying to dis-
C(>ver what we were after. This little animal is most be-
witch ingly beautiful, with head erect and white plume in the
rear. So fleet of foot, so full of pranks, it was admired
above all animals of the plains. Now we discover on the
distant elevation, a herd of those grandly majestic elk, as
they snuff danger from the breezes, and are led by a great
stag whose horns make him conspicuous. The earth fairly
trembles beneath their tread as they seek safety in rapid
flight. Once in a while a city of prairie dogs would be seen,
where much sport could be indulged in, listening to their
shrill little barking. This little creature, just a size larger
than the common rat, would sit by its hole, on a little mound
of its own creation, and bark lustily (thousands of them
v/ould be at it all at once). When Mr. Dog concluded that
you were getting too near for his safety, he would shake his
tail about as quick as lightning and dart into his hole. If
the dog gets crippled or killed by a shot (which is very rare),
others come to the rescue and take it into the hole so quickly

INIY FIRST TRIP TO OMAHA.

that it is next to impossible to capture one dead or alive.
If you can imagine Iioav a common dog barking through a
telephone would sound, then you have about the bark of the
front prairie dog. An occasional jack-rabbit would jump
up in front of us and try to make believe he was badly
crippled, but he a\ is playing on us "you know.'' Flocks
of prairie chickens would frequently awaken us from our
reverie. Away yonder to the right could be seen a lonely
coyote, sitting on his haunches, waiting and watching. We
reached the city, weary and covered with dust, but it was
cheering to meet such a cordial welcome. Nebraska City
had a quite prominent aspirant for congressional honors.
Of course he wanted votes, and it did not take him long to
learn that the "gentlemen from Lancaster" had arrived. The
fat of the land was at our disposal "without money and
without price," and, were we not strictly temperate, we might
add that the drinks of the land were within easy reach. It
is well here to note, that both party conventions were set for
the same day at Omaha, so that when we "black republicans"
(as our democratic friends were pleased to call us in those
good old days) boarded the little steamer, w^e found a mixed
company made up of prominent democrats and leading re-
publicans of the South Platte country. Among the company
were three aspirants for congressional honors. Wm. Taylor,
of Nebraska City, was ready and anxious to be sacrificed
as a republican candidate, and Judge Kinney, also of Ne-
braska City, desired to lead the democratic host to victory
or death; and Samuel G. Dorr, of Nemaha county.

We may here note that our man Taylor got knocked out
at Omaha, where the distinguished judge had an easy victory,
only to get badly left at the ballot box. Some men known
to fame in later days were with us that memorable night.
Among the number was Hon. O. P. Mason, later a chief
justice; the Sage vf Arbor Lodge, our honorable President;
Gov. Kobert W. Furnas, editor Brownville Advertiser; J.
H. Croxton; Hon. Samuel G. Daily, and William, his

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

brother; Wallace Pearman, our late and most distinguished
squatter governor; Wm. E. Hill; Wm. L. Boydston; Wm.
MeClennan; Milton W. Eeynolds, editor Nebraska City
News; Aug. F. Harney (Ajax) ; Elmer S. Dundy, late judge
of this Federal district; David Butler, first governor of the
State; Dr. J. F. Kenner, our eccentric German friend. Fre-
quently there is a deeper, yes, deadlier, feeling of antagonism
between aspiring members of the same party than can be
found between members of opposing parties, and here was a
case in point. There was a Peruvian of mu-.h renown and
great political acumen, as my distinguished friend Morton
will readily bear me witness. His name was Samuel G. Daily,
and we opine that he was about the brightest edition of a
daily that Nebraska has yet produced. Mr. Daily was the
man that broke the democratic ice in Nebraska. It will be
remembered by all old timers that the Territory was organ-
ized under democratic rule, and all officers, from governor to
road supervisors, were democratic prior to 1860, when Mr.
Daily contested with our honored President, Hon. J. Sterling
Morton, for congressional honors. This spirited contest was
carried from Nebraska to the halls of Congress, where Mr.
Daily succeeded, to the discomfiture of the democratic host,
who were never again able to secure a representative in Con-
gress for thirty years from this territory or state. Mr. Daily
had made a record for himself, but in doing this he had inad-
vertently trodden on the corns of some other good republi-
cans, like Oliver P. Mason, T. M. Marquette, and others too
numerous to mention, and they were after the Peruvian's
scalp. It may be surprising to many, but it is verily true,
that there were quite a goodly number of patriots in each
party willing to go to Congress, although the pay was only
half what it now is. Mason wanted to go. Marquette had
aspirations. Phineas W. Hitchcock could have been induced
to make the trip, but would not crowd his claims in defer-
ence to Dr. Monell, his father-in-law, who really wanted the

MY FIRST TRIP TO OMAHA.

job. Win. Taylor liad the lead, however, of all in opposition
to Mr. Daily.

The little river steamer on that eventful night was the
scene of great political animation. Democrats Avere plotting
against democrats, and republicans. Avere scheming to down
their political brethren. When our party boarded the steamer,
Ave found the southern clan from Nemaha, Richardson, and
other extreme southern counties, already quite at home,
with plans fairly AA^ell perfected, and prepared to face the
"Otoe chief Taylor Avith a solid front of Peruvians, ready
for battle. Here were such notables as R. W. Furnas, David
Butler, and the two Dailys in the one group jDlanning for the
scalp of our Otoe chief.

Taylor's men soon found a corner where such braves as
Mason, Pearman, Seymour, Dr. Renner, and others, led by
Taylor, Avere counting noses and giving each other words
of encouragement to dare and do valiant service in downing
the hateful Peruvian. Over in another corner might be seen
the democratic Avorthies, Morton, Kinney, Harney, Reynolds,
McLennan, Hawke, Nuckolls, and others, figuring over the
A^exed problem as to hoAV they could scalp Dr. Geo. L. Miller
and Editor Robertson of the ancient NehrasJdan.

Being weary from the long march across the hills, and
noAV weary of this pettifogging, Ave Avere induced by sheer
exhaustion to retire at about midnight, little thinking that
from this harmless din and clatter such horrors should meet
us with the morning light.

In the small hours of the night the steamer hove-to at the
Plattsmouth levee, and quite a large delegation for each
convention came on board. Some were overfloAving Avith
democratic zeal, many Avere full of old-time republican en-
thusiasm, and many Avere Avell filled up with "tangle-foot.'^

T. M. Marquett, Dan Wheeler, Samuel Chapman, and
others came on board, and among the number Avas a brave
young army officer Avho was spending a little time at home
on a furlough. He was warmly greeted by every acquaint-

NEBRASEIA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

ance, and the meeting partook of the nature of a love-feast,
but suddenly the Colonel disappeared from sight. As soon
as he was missed a search began, and you may, if possible,
imagine the consternation when it became certain that the
Colonel had fallen overboard. No pen can write it; no
tongue can tell it. Just when or just how it occurred will
never be known till the judgment day. The night was dark
and the mournful wind was howling a sad requiem over our
lost brother. To have attempted a search would have been
folly. The frenzy of the hour was appalling, and we were
helpless as new-born babes while one of our number Avas swal-
lowed up by the great, mad river. For the time, of course,
politics was lost sight of. It was sorrow and trembling, and
when at early dawn our steamer reached the levee at Omaha
our party looked as though a scourge of sickness had over-
taken all on board.

Several of the Plattsmouth gentlemen secured the fleetest
team available and hurried home with the sorrowful news.
The body was found with little effort.

William D. McGord, of Plattsmouth, was commissioned
major in Nebraska, 1st Reg., June 15, 1861, and promoted
into the lieutenant-colonelcy, January 1, 1862. Was with
the regiment at Shiloh, Gen. Thayer having command of a
brigade at the time. Gen. Thayer says Col. McCord was a
brave young ofiicer. His sad taking-off created a profound
impression among the people.

When our convention was called to order and a temporary
organization effected, a young man, small of stature, of dark,
dishevelled hair, with keen black eyes, arose and addressed
the chair with a voide tremulous with deep emotions, and
offered a resolution, expressing in simple yet eloquent lan-
guage the deep sorrow that burthened all our hearts. This
was our introduction to Hon. T. M. Marquett, and our
admiration for the young man was born just then, and
through the long years of our acquaintance it never grew
less, but increased with the years.

MY FIRST TRIP TO OMAHA.

Omaha was not the great city that it is to-day, and the gatli-
ering of a full complement of delegates to two territorial
conventions at the same date was a matter of such import-
ance to the little city that other business was laid aside for
the time, except such as pertained to the entertainment of
the hundreds of strangers.

All old timers well remember the antagonistic feeling that
existed between the sections of Nebraska known as North
Plate and South Platte. The good people of the south side
were quite sure that every man, woman, and child on the
other side of the ugly river was a sworn enemy, and many
were also quite positive that all North Platte folks had
horns. We are not well posted in regard to just how bad
the northern friends considered us folks, only we know that
jealousy was most intense on both sides, and it cropped out
on every possible occasion, and especially every political
convention. Sometimes it would cause a small riot. One
time this same foolish jealousy caused a split in the legis-
lature, and part of it adjourned to Florence where there
was opportunity to cool off. It seemed that our great states-
men of those days took supreme delight in pulling each oth-
er's hair. The South Platters greatly outnumbered their
northern enemies, but what the north men lacked in num-
bers they made up in shrewdness and perfect organization,
with just such a dare-devil spirit as knows no such word
as fail. They were usually able to take pretty good care
of their interests. The two principal towns of the territory
were Omaha and Nebraska City, and these were the centers
of the spirit of rivalry and jealousy. The hatred between
Greece and old Troy could not be more intense, only that
the savagery of the ancients was entirely lacking with the
modern rivals. The watchword and battle-cry of each was
like that of old, "Or Greece or Troy must fall."
. Mr. Daily was in some degree a statesman, and while rep-
resenting Nebraska in Congress he recognized the fact that
it lay on both sides of the Platte river, and that the people

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

of all sections had interests that must be looked after that
all should have a fair show in the race of life and business.
Our Nebraska City friends thought this was treason, and
they learned to hate Daily as their worst enemy. They hated
him worse than they hated Omaha, and that was pretty bad,
we assure you. While this weakened Mr. Daily in many
parts of South Nebraska, it gave him friends (not a few)
in Omaha and in other parts of the "enemy's country.''

It soon became evident that it was Daily against the field,
with Taylor a fairly close second, while Monell, Hitchcock,
and Marquett, and others had their following. At one stage
of the game Marquett was thought to be the "dark horse."

At an opportune moment, a delegate moved that candi-
dates be requested to state their position on certain matters
before the people, and also tell the convention what claims
they had for preferment. Some one called lustily for Tay-
lor. Taylor came forward and excused himself, and rather
impertinently suggested that Mr. Daily should give an ac-
count of his stewardship. He little dreamed what a gap he
had opened for his rival. Mr. Daily did not wait for a
second invitation, but fairly bounded to the front, and
said, "Gentlemen of the convention, I am to-day proud of
an opportunity to tell you of my stewardship," and he
went right on telling what he had accomplished for the
territory, and how he had downed Morton. It was a master-
stroke, on a small scale like unto that Chicago speech with
a "crown of thorns and a cross of gold." Mr. Taylor heard
something drop just then, but the fight was on, and a most
stubborn fight it was. Balloting, adjourning, buttonholing,
and log-rolling. Three days we wrestled with the great prob-
lem before us. Many speeches were made; many appeals
were made to the patriotism of the members. Most terrible
would be the results of a rupture. Some of these efforts
were eloquent, and especially so when reference was made
to the dark clouds of war and the mighty struggle going on

MY FIRST TUir TO OMAHA.

to save us a home and a country. The stentorian voice of
Mason just made the "wild woods ring" all around Omaha.

There was an eccentric German, a learned doctor withal,
Dr, J. F. Renner, who would rise in dignity and sing out,
"Mine cod, mine cod, ish the gentlemen going to sell us like
the slaves!'' Many episodes of the convention were truly
sublime, particularly so when the great work the Kepublican
party had in hand was so eloquently portrayed by some of
the speakers.

The hearer will oear in mind that at this time the great
fratricidal war was raging "Fierce as ten furies, terrible
as hell.''

Our democratic friends had but a short job. Judge Kinney
was nominated with but slight opposition.

When foot-loose many of the leading democrats came over
to see the sights at our convention. Among the more notable
was the learned judge bearing triumphantly the banner of
his victor}^. Dr. Geo. L. Miller, J. Sterling Morton, J. M.
Wool worth, and A. J. Poppleton, and others whose names are
lost to us. Our democratic visitors were interested. \Ve
well remember Mr. Morton approaching the writer of this
paper at one stage of the game and made to him this terse
remark, which we learned to appreciate later, "Daily has q-ot
you fellows where the wool is tight." We were once again
apprised that an on-looker could see just as far into a mill-
stone as the one wielding the mallet and chisel. The long
struggle ended after about 136 ballots, with the nomination
of the distinguished Peruvian, amidst acclam tions of joy on
the part of his friends and supporters, but it was a hard pill
for many to swallow. Some were sour and mcde all sorts of
faces at the dish of crow served up for them, but the nunc
considerate swallowed it as if they were hankering after
crow. Taylor openly bolted the nomination, and Mason fol-
lowed. Here we again had occasion to admire the manly cour-
age of Marquett. He said in words fairly burning,, "Gen tie-
men, I am a loyal republican, and I am here to tell you that

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

the choice of this convention is my choice, and from this
hour I go into the field to do all I can for the nominee." A
wild storm of applause greeted the young hero. Judge Kin-
ney was personally very popular. Taylor helped him all he
possibly could. Mason lent his great ability and bull dog
courage to help him; but for all that, Sam Daily was tri-
umphantly elected. He made Nebraska a good and faithful
representative.

There were many gentlemen at those two conventions that
have had a very honorable part in laying broad and deep
foundations for this great commonwealth, men who have
made their marks in Nebraska history.

Two territorial governors, Morton and Saunders, one that
became state governor, David Butler, and four who became
representatives, Daily, Hon. John Taffe, T. M. Marquett, and
Hon. P. W. Hitchcock, three future U. S. senators, Alvin
Saunders, P. W. Hitchcock, and A. S. Paddock; one Federal
judge, Elmer S. Dundy; one judge of Supreme Court of Ne-
braska, O. P. Mason ; and many distinguished business men.
We remember especially our friends Henry T. Clark and Dr.
J. P. Renner. Although his name has several times appeared
in this paper, it is well to record that one farmer, who bears
the honors highest in the gift of our historical society, and
who honored a seat in President Cleveland's cabinet, was a
member of the democratic convention and a visitor at ours.

If we remember correctly, Omaha had but two hotels at
that time. The old Douglas house on Harney St., and the
Herndon, near the foot of Farnam. It was about half of what
is now the U. P. headquarters. We understand it was built
by the distinguished citizen, Geo. Francis Train, and was
at that time and for several years the largest and best hotel
in the upper Missouri river valley. It was our good fortune
to enjoy of its bounteous fare while in the city.

Our convention was held in the old Douglas county court-
house ( a little red brick), which stood on Farnam some-
where from 12th to 14th Sts,

MY FIRST TEIP TO OMAHA.

As memory serves, it was mostly an open field hetwccMi
14tli and Capitol hill, where a rather shabby little state house
occupied the ground that is now adorned by the beautiful
high school building.

To us Omaha looked to be rather dull, and we were not
impressed with a foresight of the great future in store for it.
There was scarcely any improvement in progress. Citizens
gave as a reason for the dulness that the Platte river had
been out of its banks frequently during the season and was
unfordabl'e, and nearly all the overland travel took the South
Platte routes, and left Omaha to hold an empty sack. The
only means of communication with the world at large, other
than by telegraph, was by stage across Iowa, connecting with
cars at Ottumwa, and by an occasional river steamer. We
have no means of determining the number of Omaha's popu-
lation, but we guess it had less than two thousand. In con-
trasting what is now before us at Omaha, at Nebraska City,
at Lincoln, and all along the way, it seems that we have been
transplanted to another world. It seems a dream.

Our return home was by stage to Nebraska City and was
without incident worthy of note, except we were forcibly
reminded of the August frost, as all the corn was as dead as
a smoked herring.

We crossed the Platte at Oreapolis on a little rickety horse-
power ferry boat. It looked to us as if we might have rolled
up our pants, waded, and saved the ferryman's fee, but we
didn't.

We have made many visits to Omaha through the years,
but never again have we had the variety of experiences that
that trip afforded. We hardly think any later party conven-
tion has been its equal. How it would rejoice our heart to
meet the living members or visitors of that memorable gath-
^ering. Is there one here to-night? O then give us your hand
in consideration of the many ties that bind us to this sacred
soil.

Many, yes, nearly all, who gathered there are gone beyond
6

82 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

the dark river, but they have left their "footprints" all along
the trail of life, in all sands of time. "We may see them and
take heart again." Blessed be their memory.

JUDGE ELMER S. DUNDT.

JUDGE ELMER S. DUNDY.

[Edwin S. Towl. Falls City.]

The subject of this memorial sketch, short and imperfect
as it must necessarily be, was born on the fifth day of March,
1830, in the then wilds of Trumball county, Ohio. Trumball
county is a rough, broken, and almost mountainous section
of country, a fit birth-place for the rugged, virile, yet kindly
nature of the man whose name heads this article.

His ancestry was of German descent on both sides, the
protestant German that had first settled in eastern Pennsyl-
vania and Maryland nearly two hundred years before. Here
during his boyhood years he followed the ordinary occupa-
tions of a farm lad, varied with much rambling, hunting,
and fiishing in his country neighborhood. This was his life
up to his eighteenth year, and it laid the foundations of a
strong physique that was a helpful factor in his race of life.

This was the day of apprentices, and he was bound out to
a local tanner with whom he remained until he fully mas-
tered the trade, though he never engaged thereafter in that
occupation. He had no great liking for manual labor at
this period of life. His inclinations were of a studious
nature, and all kinds of books were sought and eagerly read
by him.

About the year 1850, the Dundy family, consisting of
father, mother, and two brothers, moved to Clearfield county,
Pennsylvania, at that time a sparsely settled lumber region
on the upper waters of the Susquehanna river. Here he fol-
lowed such vocations as were incident to his life and con-
ditions,— farming, lumbering, and such odd jobs of manual
labor as came to his hand. But he was, through all, a

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

thoiiglitfiil, studious boy, earnestly bent upon improving his
mind and rising from the ranks.

Frugal and temperate in all things, with but few oppor-
tunities to acquire academic learnins:, mastering such works
of elementary education as were in his reach, and a general
reader of miscellaneous works, his receptive and capac?ous
mind easily enabled him to become, at the age of twenty-one,
self-educated and well informed.

After a few terms of teaching in the rough lumbering anl
farming districts of the country, and then a residence in the
town of Clearfield, Pa., he soon became principal of the city
schools of this place. While engaged in teaching, he took
up the study of law in the office of Hon. William A.Wallace,
a leading democratic politician of that state, who afterwards
became a national figure. Governor Bigler was also a resi-
dent of Clearfield at that time, and became a warm friend of
the young Dundy. He afterwards was able to be of material
service to Mr. Dundy, when he became an applicant for ap-
pointment at the hands of President Andrew Johnson to
the office of United States District Judge of Nebraska.
Judge Barrett, a leading lawyer and holder of judicial posi-
tions in the state of Pennsylvania, was also a resident of
the little county seat town of Clearfield. Mr. Dundy's asso-
ciation with these men was intimate and based upon mutual
regard, and must have greatly helped to fix in young Dundy's
mind the high ideal he pursued ever after to the very tuid
of his earthly struggles.

In 1853, after a severe examination in open court, he was
admitted to the Clearfield county bar and licensed to prac-
tice law in the courts of the state. Soon afterwards he
was elected justice of the peace, a position of trust he filled
with firmness and ability.

In those days the star of empire was ever leading to the
westward and drawing with it in its train the young, vig-
orous, and ambitious men of all ranks and conditions. There
was an empire of new lands lying in the belt of the temperate

JUDGE ELMER S. DUNDY.

zone, a soil of m«arvelous richness, aboundinj^ with streams
and g-ushing sprinj^s, a land of beauty and natural wealth,
and destined to become soon the home of millions. Nowhere
else on earth could its equal be found, in beauty, extent,
fertility, or climatic conditions. In addition to this, at this
time a great moral struggle was raging between freedom and
slavery, for the control and possession of the fairest portion
of this beautiful land — that between the Indian Territory
and the British possessions, then known as the Territory
of Nebraska, a year later as the territories of Kansas and
Nebraska. The eyes of the nation were all looking this way,
and the struggle was begun which, a few years later, washed
slavery out in a sea of blood. So in the year 1857 he left
Clearfield and was irresistibly drawn into the seething cal-
dron of conflicting ideas, passions, interests, and habits, and
became a ready participant in this grand drama. His lot
was cast upon the side of "free soil," and his efforts in that
direction never ceased until the territorial legislature of his
adopted home excluded slavery from Nebraska and the
amendment to the national constitution wiped the "twin
relic" from the escutcheon of the Kepublic.

The territory of Nebraska had been purchased by treaties
from the various Indian tribes occupying its area only three
years previously, and Congress had organized the territorial
' government in May, 1854. In January, 1855, the first legis-
latilre met at Omaha and adopted almost bodily, and in a
mass, the statutes of Iowa, as a code of laws for temporary
use.

Judge Dundy touched the soil of Nebraska at Nebraska
City, making the long, tedious trip by steamboat from St.
Louis, arriving there in midsummer. He remained but a
few weeks at that place, and came with Judge Black, the
presiding judge of this district, to the little hamlet of Archer,
which was then the county seat of Kichardson county. The
rude temple of justice was the bar room of the little board
tavern of Judge Miller, who was the leading citizen of the

8G NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

village, landlord, probate judge, and general adviser in all
things.

The courts, so far as the fees were concerned, were of but
little benefit to the young practitioner, but it was a means
of his becoming acquainted with the rude but kindly pio-
neers, who were beginning to take up claims along the mar-
gins of the streams of the county — leaving all the best land
to be appropriated later, by more fortunate ones.

In the fall of 1857 a re-survey of the western line of the
Half-I3reed Reserve put Archer off the government land and
within the limits of the reserve. This was an extinguisher
of the hopes of the Archer people, and at once a new town,
some two miles southwest, was laid out and named Falls
City. To this place the young lawyer at once moved, and
became identified with its fortunes. Here he began the prac-
tice of law, and soon became a successful advocate, his great
common sense and conscientious application gaining the con-
fidence and. respect of all. His cotemporary and opposing
lawyer on almost every suit at law was the Hon. Isham
Reavis, who was, in later years, an associate justice of the
supreme court of Arizona, and at all times and now a pro-
found and successful lawyer.

In the fall of 1858 Dundy was elected a member of the
council (or senate) of the territorial legislature, and in 1860
was re-elected. In those days the upper house was composed
of only thirteen members, but it has long been a tradition
in Nebraska that the council during those four years was as
able a body of men and legislators as have ever come together
at any time in any state. During those four years the whole
ground-AVork of the future state was laid out, and most of
the legislation then enacted remains on the statute book to-
day. Judge Dundy was the author of many bills and the
leading spirit of the upper house during all those four years.

From 1858 to 1863 he was active and diligent in the prac-
tice of his profession, and it was during these years that the
bitter, bloody, and long-drawn-out contest over the county

JUDGE ELMEK S. DUNDY.

seat of Richardson county was begun and ended. He was a
man of strong personal and local attachments; he had now
fully identified himself with the fortunes of his adopted town,
and the little city had a county seat fight on hand almost
from the first day of its existence. He was no trimmer at
any time or in any emergency, and his admiring fellow citi-
zens put upon his willing shoulders the burden of the con-
test. Before the people, at the polls, in the halls of the legis-
lature, he always led his partisans, and to his acuteness,
resources, perseverance, and indomitable courage, the future
of the town w^as assured. Without him there would have
been no Falls City, and the ground now covered with sub-
stantial brick and stone business houses and beautiful homes
of contented and prosperous people would be till this hour
a cornfield under the plough of the husbandman.

In a material sense he profited but little, if any, from the
upbuilding of the town, while many others have reaped rich
rewards, directly and indirectly, from his labor. He cared
but little to accumulate wealth, and counted life but ill-spent
to waste it in piling up what men call riches, though his great
and loyal nature freshened and bloomed with the reflection
of divinity itself in the honest approbation of his fellow men.

In the spring of 1863 he was appointed, by President Lin-
coln, an associate justice of the supreme court of the Terri-
tory of Nebraska. Under the organic law of the Territory,
the justices of the supreme court were assigned to the three
several judicial districts of the Territory, as presiding jus-
tices, with full original jurisdiction in all civil and criminal
causes. His district was the southern one, and embraced
his home county of Richardson, and extended from the Kan-
sas line to the Platte river, and covered fully one-half of the
organized counties of the Territory. He held court in each
county twice a year, and then, during the winter months, the
three justices sitting together, in bank, at Omaha, composed
the supreme court, to sit in judgment upon such cases as

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

were appealed or brought on writ of error from the several
district courts.

The country was rapidly settling up and developing. A
countless stream of immigrants and home-seekers were con-
stantly crossing the Missouri river at many points, in covered
wagons, with flocks and herds, and selecting homes upon the
rich rolling prairie lands, as yet untouched by hand of man.
The lavish hand of prolific Nature in its work of countless
ages on land and sea bears evidence irrefutable that its ulti-
mate object was to smooth and mould a material world as a
fitting home for God's own children. For a landscape of
sweet, simple, pastoral beauty, can the broad plains of Ne-
braska be excelled?

With new duties and enlarged responsibilities, the young
judge was rising and broadening in intellect and power so
that he never failed to meet the demands of his position or the
expectations of his friends. A new land in its formative state,
swelling and filling up with restless pioneer adventurers
and home-seekers, is always prolific in litigation and inces-
sant breaches of the criminal code. The dockets were
crowded, his labors arduous, but he vigorously and unfail-
ingly held aloft the scales of justice, stripping the technical
armour of defense from the guilty criminal, and never allow-
ing his court to become the instrument of injustice to the
honest litigant. There were many able lawyers in his dis-
trict constantly practicing at the bar of his court, such men
as Marquett, Mason, Shambaugh, McLennan, Thomas, Keavis,
Schoenheit, and others.

For four years he presided as judge of the territorial courts
until 1867, when Nebraska became a state. Then came one
year again as a practicing lawyer, Avhen in May, 1868, he was
appointed, after a most bitter and protracted struggle, by
President Johnson, as United States District Judge for the
District of Nebraska, an office held by him until his death on
October 28, 1896.

In J une, 1866, the question of the adoption of the new con-

JUDGE ELMER S. DUNDY.

stitiition for Nebraska, and the admission of the proposed
state into the Union was submitted to the popular vote. The
election Avas close and exciting, but the constitution was
adopted, and Compress was asked to admit Nebraska as a
state. At the same election, state officers and a judicial and
legislative ticket were also elected as necessary machinery
for the new state. The first session of the new state legis-
lature convened at Omaha on July 4, 1866, for the purpose
of electing two United States senators. Judge Dundy was
a candidate at this session for the position of United States
senator, and had a large following; but the war had just
ended, the military men were in the saddle just then, and,
as a sequence, Gen. John M. Thayer and Chaplain Tipton
were elected.

His career as Federal judge is well preserved in the mem-
ories of the people and the reports of the national courts.
While sitting as a circuit judge in the Federal courts, with
a jurisdiction as broad as the national constitution, the most
intricate questions of law s^nd equity, together with criminal
law, involving the life and liberty of individuals and count-
less millions of monej^, were decided and disposed of by him.

He was now indeed the ideal judge, in the zenith of his
fame, learning, and power, "of that learning which was the
fruit of long and patient study, ripened and matured by the
mellowing touch of age and experience." Though justice
was his only trade, insensibly tempered by his kindly nature,
his time, his talents, and his heart were his country's and his
country's alone.

With a fixed salary and secure in office, during life or
good behavior, the greed or passions of men had no more
effect on him than the mists of morning upon the mountain
peaks. While his court, in decorum and dignity, differed
from the ordinary state courts of similar jurisdiction, as
the church from the bar-room, he strained not the quality
of mercy and tempered the quality of Federal statutes, which

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

would otherwise have borne heavily upon poor and deserving
men.

Perhaps the most celebrated cause that came before Judge
Dundy for hearing and decision was what is generally known
as the Ponca Indian habeas corpus case. From time imme-
morial the Ponca tribe of Indians had been inhabitants of
and domiciled in the great northwest country, west of the
Missouri river, and north of the Niobrara river. Ever since
the acquisition of this territory from Napoleon, under the
treaty of 1803, this tribe had been on friendly terms with
the pioneer settlers of the northwestern border and the Fed-
eral government. For hundreds of years they had been
accustomed to a cold and temperate climate, following the
great herds of buffalo in their annual hunts, yet at the same
time paying considerable attention to the pursuit of agri-
culture in a rude way. They had many corn fields, and
were self-supporting. In the '50's, under treaties, they were
given a fair-sized reservation north of the Niobrara, and
with schools, churches, missionaries, and teachers, were mak-
ing good advances towards civilization, and had become very
much attached to their homes.

By some great blunder or oversight of the Interior De-
partment, in a subsequent treaty with the Sioux tribes, their
reservation was ceded away from the Poncas and given to
the Sioux, without their knowledge or consent. Their pro-
tests were unheeded, and under orders from the general gov-
ernment, they were gathered together and bundled off to
the Indian Territory, several hundred miles farther south,
a wholesale and forcible deportation on almost an exact
parallel with that of the Acadians in the eighteenth century.

Their new home was hot and miasmatic, their spirits were
broken, their hearts sickened, and death soon began to reap
an abundant harvest among them. Out of a membership of
518 souls, 158 passed away in twelve months. Such a situa-
tion was past even Indian human endurance — nearly all the
survivors were sick and disabled. At this juncture the prin-

JUDGE ELMER S. DUNDY.

cipal chief of the Poncas, Standing Bear, taking the rem-
nant of his own family, his dead cliildren, and some twenty-
five or thirty of his followers, made the resolve to sever all
connection with his tribe, and strike out to the north again,
somewhere near their old home. They eventually reached
their old neighbors and kinsmen, the Omaha tribe, and went
to work as farmers and laborers on the Omaha reservation.

Again the strong hand of the general government inter-
fered, and General Crook, commanding the Department of
the Platte, was ordered to arrest ail the fugitives and return
them once more to the Indian Territory. The arrest was
made, the Indians were in custody of the military power, when
proceedings were commenced in the U. S. Circuit Court of
Nebraska, before Judge Dundy, asking for their release upon
habeas corpus. The best legal talent of the state was enlisted
in behalf of the homeless, hunted, and heart-broken wander-
ers. A new question had arisen, a new principle must be enun-
ciated, a precedent must be established. Here were Indians,
now without a tribe or tribal connection. The habeas corpus
laws of the Federal government gave any "person" the right
to sue for its privileges.

The great questions to be passed upon and decided were
whether an Indian was a "person-' and whether he had the
right of expatriation? Could fie sever his connection with
his band or tribe? And had he the inalienable right to life,
liberty, and pursuit of happiness under the national consti-
tution?

But few judges have been called upon to pass upon ques-
tions of greater magnitude. All the poAver and influence
of the national government on one side, while it was doubt-
ful whether even a "person" was on the other. But the great
learning and the great sympathies of this broad-minded and
just man were turned and focused upon this momentous
cause, and in a lengthy opinion, showing deep research,
thorough investigation, a luminous knowledge of constitu-
tional law, and a tender respect for the rights of the lowly,

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

the Indian was clearly shown to be a "person'' and a human
being. As has been aptly said, he formulated the Magna
Charta of the Indian race.

The law officers of the Government were strongly inclined
towards appealing the case to the Supreme Court, but event-
ually concluded not to do so. The decision stands to-day
as the law of the land, an everlasting and ever-flowing foun-
tain of justice and mercy. Of this decision. Judge Lambert-
son has most truly said: "It gave them (the Indian races)
a standing in the government, in the courts, and before the
law, which will ultimately admit them to the enjoyment of
the rights and privileges guaranteed to our most favored
citizens."

Amongst the scores of other celebrated and important
cases, we will only mention those of Captain Gordon, arrested
for violation of General Sheridan's orders, in invading the
Black Hills for gold, the Union Pacific bridge receivership
and wages cases.

Early in 1861, Judge Dundy and Miss Mary H. Kobertson
were united in matrimony, at Omaha, soon afterwards mak-
ing their home at Falls City, Keb. His wife was a true
helpnieet in every sense of the word, and their home was
attractive and refined; and altogether they were blessed
with a family and a family life such as is vouchsafed to
but few of the temporary sojourners of earth. Four children
were born of this union. E. S. Dundy, Jr., now a leading
business man of Omaha, Miss May Dundy, Luna (now Mrs.
Newman of New York City), and a daughter who died in
early childhood in 1870, at Falls City.

With strong local attachments, both for vicinage and for
friends midst which he had lived so long, it was with a sad-
dened heart that he changed his residence to the principal
city of the state in 1884.

A man with no creed, he so exemplified the golden rule
in all his relations with his fellow men that his life embraced
the creeds of all denominations.

JUDGE ELMER S. DUNDY.

No man ever had a truer friend than he, yet to those that
slandered and maligned him he could be as hard and cold
as the frozen poles; to those that loved him he was soft as
summer's wind.

A clear-headed, honest, and conservative man, intuitively
he rose to the level of all the public stations he was called
upon to occupy. He was amply fitted by nature and acquire-
ments to fill with credit any position in the gift of a free
people.

In person. Judge Dundy was of athletic and rugged form,
and of strong constitution, probably from heredity and labor
during youth. He was not a bookworm or student recluse,
ever delving amid the musty and forgotten lore of the dead
past; rather a lover of sunshine and the free air of wind-
swept plains, hunting with horse and gun through woods
and by rivers ; a lover of horses and a capital judge thereof ;
a follower of the chase, after the large game of the Kockies —
each year engaging in an extended hunt, with a party organ-
ized by him for that purpose.

All men have their predominant characteristics. Some are
one-sided and easily gaged. Judge Dundy was not consti-
tuted that way. He had as many sides as a diamond has faces.
Cool headed, wary, astute, and determined amid the conten-
tions of men, he was an ideal counselor of partisans, where
the conflicting interests of closely balanced parties were des-
perately struggling in the arenas of the legislative forum
or upon the floors of political conventions which made or
marred the fortunes of factions. With unbounded oppor-
tunities to acquire great wealth, he was more than satisfied
with a moderate competence. Placed in a position in life
where he had no call to ask help of any, yet he was always
hearing the call of others. He was not troubled with deaf-
ness in that respect, — always helpful, tender, and sympa-
thetic, from the depths of a nature overflowing with kindness
and love of friends. With him it w^as "once a friend, alw^ays
a friend." Though he made new friends to the day of his

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

death, yet no old friend was ever forgotten. It appeared
that he made friends not to use them, but to be of benefit
to them. His word, once pledged, was never violated. He
was rather a reserved and modest man, but no one ever re-
gretted taking the trouble to break through the outer crust,
after knowing what was within.

All lives have their object lesson and point their moral.
What story does the life of this grand man teach us? Does
it not say to the poorest of the struggling masses that the
gates of preferment are open to all? That the prizes of
human life are the reAvards of those who deserve and labor
for them?

"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of Time ;

"Footprints, that perhaps another.
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again."

For the writer of this short, fragmentar}?-, and discon-
nected sketch, the death of this great and good man breaks
an intimate friendship of more than thirty-four years, inlaid
and encrusted with the innumerable jewels of kindness, cau-
tion, admonition, and heliD, more than freely given from the
stores accumulated by him in an active life, midst the whirl-
pools and counter currents of human struggles for precedence
and gain.

Shall this man live again? Shall the j)hilosophy of the
pagan consign him to total extinction and eternal darkness,
or the sublime and inspired faith of the Christian rehabili-
tate him with eternal life upon a fairer shore? And without
speculating upon diverse, abstruse theories, can we not safely
and surely say that the example of his life and works are
not and can not be lost ; that Avhat he so laboriously garnered

JUDGE ELMER S. DUNDY.

of truth and faith and nobleness are bequeathed as a com-
mon heritage to the children of men, as an inspiration, land-
mark, and beacon-light to help illuminate and guide the com-
ing and untold millions on their onward and upward march
to their ultimate destiny.

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

THE NEBRASKA CONSTITUTION.

SOME OF ITS ORIGINAL AND PECULIAR FEATURES.

By Charles Sumner Lobingier of the Omaha Bar. Read before the State His-
torical Society, January 10, 1899.

Mr. President^ and Fellow Members of the State Historical
Society:

It might seem, at first thought, that a young commonwealth
like Nebraska would have no original or peculiar features in
its fundamental law. Constitution-making had been in
progress, even in America, for almost a century before the
first convention assembled for that purpose within the pres-
ent boundaries of Nebraska. Moreover, the political ideas
which form the subject-matter of most constitutions had been
wrought out through a long period of European civic develop-
ment before the New World history had even begun. One
might expect to find, therefore, that the Nebraska constitu-
tion is but a copy of similar instruments which ]Dreceded it.
In reality, however, the fundamental law of this state con-
tains a number of important provisions which appear to be
original, and which afford an interesting field for investiga-
tion, not alone for the jurist and the student of our legal sys-
tem, but also for the local historian.

PECULIAR FEATURES IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS.

The Bill of Eights is the oldest part of existing constitu-
tions. Many of its clauses are exact reproductions of the
instrument of the same name Avhich marked the successful

THE NEBRASKA CONSTITUTION.

issue of the English revolution. Still other provisions find
their origin as far back as Magna Charta. In this part of our
constitution Ave might least expect to find originality. And
3^et our Bill of Rights provides its OAvn rule of construction
by means of a clause which makes our constitution different
from those of most other states.

It is commonly said that the canons of construction for
Federal and state constitutions are directly opposite, that
the Federal instrument is a grant and confers no powers
not expressly mentioned, Avhile a state constitution is a limi-
tation and passes all poAver not expressly retained.^ To
this doctrine, so Avell established elscAvhere, our Bill of Rights
affords an exception. For the last clause of this part of our
fundamental law is as folloAvs : ^'This enumeration of rights
shall not be construed to impair or deny others, retained by
the people, and all power not herein delegated remains tc-ith
the people ,

HISTORY OF THE CLAUSE.

While this clause is not original in our present constitu-
tion, it is peculiar to a fcAV states, and its history deserves
brief attention. It seems to have appeared for the first time
in the original Ohio constitution of 1802, but in somcAvhat dif-
ferent phraseology.^ It Avas inserted in the constitution of
1851 of the same state,^ in language identical with that by
AA^hicli it is noAV expressed in our OAvn. In 1855^ and again
in 1858^ the clause appeared in the Kansas constitutions of
those years, and in 1866 it Avas made a part of the first con-
stitution of this state,'^ Avhence it was carried forward to the
present instrument of 1875. MeauAA^hile, in 1868 the states
of North^ and South Carolina^ each adopted a constitution
Avhich contained the same provision as a part of its bill of
rights.

THE CLAUSE IN PRACTICE.

In North Carolina^ ^ and also in Ohio^^ the clause has sev-
eral times been judicially construed, but in Nebx'aska its

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

full significance appears generally to have been overlooked.
Literally applied, it would require the same rule of strict
construction for both our federal and state constitutions; it
would give the legislature, as well as the other branches of
the state government no implied powers, while every legisla-
tive act would need support in some express clause of the
constitution. I have not observed, however, that any such
rule has been followed in practice. The construction given
to our fundamental law by the courts appears not to differ
from that awarded to state constitutions generally,^ ^ and I
have known of arguments at the bar wherein it was either
assumed or asserted that our constitution is a limitation and
not a grant. Still it seems unlikely that so plain a provision
will always escape notice, and it may yet work surprising
changes in constitutional interpretation.

RIGHT OF APPEAL GUARANTEED.

Another peculiar provision of our Bill of Rights is that
which guarantees the right of appeal. It is as follows : ^'The
right to be heard in all civil cases in the court of last resort,
by appeal or otherwise, shall not be denied.'^^^ The guar-
anty of the right to be heard in courts of original jurisdic-
tion is found in almost, if not quite, every American consti-
tution, and is as old as Magna Charta. But the right to be
heard in an appellate court is a different matter, and I find no
constitution except ours which guarantees it. This provi-
sion, like the one last noticed, would be exceedingly impor-
tant were it literally applied, for its logical effect is to in-
validate all legislation which prevents a hearing in the
court of last resort. It might even be true that a literal con-
struction of this clause would invalidate certain statutes
which cut off an appeal where a litigant fails to take certain
formal steps within a prescribed period. But this clause,
like the others, is not literally applied. We have, c. g., a
statute^ ^ Avhich entirely forbids an appeal from an inferior

THE NEBRASKA CONSTITUTION.

court ill cases tried to a jury where the amount claimed does
uot exceed twenty dollars, and this statute has been several
times upheld by the courts.^ ^ In practice, therefore, this con-
stitutional provision seems not to have materially alTected
the legislation of this state. It has, however, influenced the
course of judicial legislation, at least one decision having
been overruled on the strength of the constitutional guar-
anty.^^

POPULAR VOTE FOR UNITED STATES SENATOR.

A provision submitted separately, from the constitution it-
self, but nevertheless forming a part of that instrument, is
that which authorizes the legislature to enable the voters to
express their choice of candidates for the office of United
States Senator. At the time of its adoption it was a unique
plan and was welcomed as a step towards the popular election
of senators, but in practice it has amounted to little. Twice in
our political history a popular candidate has received a large
vote for the senatorial office — once in 1886, when the late
General Van Wyck sought re-election, and again in 1894,
when Messrs. Bryan and Thurston were rival candidates.
But at no time has the legislature actually provided for a
popular ballot upon senatorial candidates, and as the con-
stitutional clause is permissive only and not mandatory or
self -executing, the votes which are cast for this purpose are
not officially canvassed, and are treated as a mere voluntary
expression of the electors. Moreover, in no instance has a
senatorial contest in this state been determined or even ma-
terially affected by the popular vote cast for a particular
candidate. Nevertheless, this provision has been incorpo-
rated into the new constitution of South Carolina, and was
probably borrowed from oui-^, as no other instrument of the
kind embodied such a plan. Under more favorable condi-
tions, too, it may yet prove to be the transitional step to-
wards the direct popular choice of United States senators.

100 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

FEW OFFICES AND SMALL SALARIES.

Law has been characterized by an eminent Italian jurist
as the product of economic conditions.^ ^ Our state consti-
tution, as the highest expression of local law, illustrates this
in several features. Indeed, it may not be inaptly termed
a "grasshopper" constitution, for in 1875, when it was
framed, the State was just emerging from the gloom and
destitution caused by the insect scourge of the preceding
summer. The scrui)ulous care with which offices were lim-
ited and salaries curtailed shows the influences of these con-
ditions on the work of the convention. The highest salary
allowed by the constitution is |2,500, and yet, even that sum
must have seemed a fortune to the impoverished Nebraskan
of a quarter of a century ago.^^ The story of how these checks
and limitations regarding offices have been evaded through
such means as the creation of boards and the appointment
of secretaries is a familiar one and illustrates the inefficacy
as well as inexpediency of permanent measures to meet
merely temporary conditions.

Our fundamental law was framed at a transitional period
in the history of constitution-making in America. The con-
stitutions which preceded it were of the old type, containing
merely the Bill of Rights, the framework of government,
and a few other necessary provisions. Those framed in re-
cent years are of increasingly widening scope extending far
into the field of general legislation.^^ The Nebraska con-
stitution occupies a position midway between these two types.
It has a less extensive scope than those fraoied during the
last decade, but it covers many subjects which would have
seemed out of place in the constitutions of the early part of
the century. Such are the articles (XI, XII, XIII) relating
to railroad and other corporations, portions of which have
been of frequent consideration by the supreme court in recent
years.

THE NEBRASKA CONSTITUTION.

101

UNCHANGEABILITY OP THE CONSTITUTION.

Perhaps the most effective and at the same time most
serious of these peculiar features of our constitution is its
unchangeableness. For its own amendment, it requires "a
majority of the electors voting at the election,"^^ and this
has been construed by the supreme court to mean a major-
ity of the highest aggregate number of votes cast for any
candidate or proposition,-^ and not merely a majority of
those cast on the amendment. One of the judges in the opin-
ion wherein this construction is announced frankly recog-
nizes that "taking the past as a criterion by which to foretell
the future, it would seem that, under the construction
adopted, it would be almost, if not quite, impossible to change
the present constitution, however meritorious may be the
amendment proposed." And this conviction is not confined
to the judicial but is also shared by the executive branch.
Governor Poynter, in his inaugural message, calls attention
to the fact that, although proposed amendments are sub-
mitted at almost every session of the legislature, yet, "in
the press of other matters and in the excitement of political
campaigns, they are lost sight of and fail to receive popular
ratification." The justification of this remark will appear
when we recall that, while our constitution has been in force
for almost a quarter of a century, and while at one time
(in 1896) as many as twelve propositions of amendment
were pending, there is but one instance where a change has
been actually effected — and that only through a legislative
recount after the proposition had been declared lost by the
official canvassers.22

DISADVANTAGES OF THE UNCHANGEABLE FEATURE.

It seems to be conceded then, that our constitution is prac-
tically unchangeable by amendment, and, if so, we find here
not only a most peculiar feature, but one of gravest con-
cern to the commonwealth. Doubtless it is important that

102

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

our fundamental law should be stable and secure, not changed
with every wave of popular caprice, and not easily manipu-
lated by designing politicians.^'^ But, on the other hand, it
is not an edifying spectacle to behold a great commonwealth
where needed legal reforms are rendered impossible because
the hands of the state were fettered in its infancy.

NEED OF A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION,

A remedy for this plight into which our laws have fallen
seems to lie in the calling of a constitutional convention, and
a general belief that this is the only possible solution is indi-
cated by the fact that both our incoming and retiring govern-
ors have recommended that plan to the present legislature. It
is gratifying to know that such a course meets the approval of
some of the most careful students of political science. Mr.E.L.
Godkin, editor of the 'Nation, always conservative and never
an optimist, thus characterizes the constitutional convention
as a factor in American political development:^* "Through
the hundred years of national existence it has received little
but favorable criticism from any quarter. It is still an honor
to have a seat in it. The best men in the community are still
eager or willing to serve in it, no matter at what cost to
wealth or private affairs. I can not recall one convention
which has incurred either odium or contempt. Time and
social changes have often frustrated its expectations or have
shown its provisions for the public welfare to be inadequate
or mistaken, but it is very rare indeed to hear its wisdom and
integrity questioned. In looking over the list of those who
have figured in conventions of the state of New York since
the Revolution, one finds the name of nearly every man of
weight and prominence; and few lay it doAvn without think-
ing how happy we should be if we could secure such service
for our ordinary legislative bodies.''

Who shall say that the creation of such a body at this time
would not summon to the service of the state many gifted

THE NEBRASKA CONSTITUTIOX.

103

citi-ons cf wliose assistance the state is now deprived be-
cause present political conditions fail to attract tlieiii? If
so, the result would tend to quicken and regenerate the not
too Avholesome civic life of our beloved commonwealth, be-
sides facilitating, by the removal of obsolete constitutional
barriers, that steady improvement in laws and institutions
which is the normal tendency of every free and intelligent
people.

^ See the writer's article "Constitutional Law," 6 Am. and Eng. Ency-
clopedia of Law (2nd ed.) pp. 933, 931. But cf. McGill vs. State, 31 O. St.,
260.

2 Art. 1, sec. 23. The italicized phrase is the peculiar portion. The rest
of the section is contained in many constitutions.

^ There the larguage was: "To guard against the transgression of the
high powers which we have delegated, we declare that all powers not
hereby delegated remain with the people," Ohio Const. (1802), Bill of
Rights (art. 8), sec. 28.

* Art. 1, sec. 20.
» A.rt. 1, sec. 22.

• Sec. 21.

7 > eb. Const. (18G6), art. 1, sec. 20.

8 North Carolina C(mst. (1868), art. 1, sec. 37. Tn People vs. McKee, 68
N. C, 435, the court observes, *'This last clause will not be found in the
former constitutions of the state."

» South Carolina Const. (1868), art. 1, sec. 41.

" University R. Co. vs. Holden, 63 N. C, 426; People vs. McKse, 68
N. C, 429.

" Ohio vs. Covington, 29 0. St., 112; State vs. Smith, 44 O. St., 348, 372.
^ See Magneau vs. Fremont, 30 Neb., 843, 852, and cases there cited.
" Art. 1, sec. 24.

14 Co*de Civil Proc, sec. 985.

15 C, B. & Q. R. R. vs. Headrick, 49 Neb., 286; Moise vs. Powell, 40
Neb., 671.

" Shawang vs. Love, 15 Neb., 143; overruled in Hurlburt vs. Palmer,
39 Neb.', 158.

" Loria, "Economic Basis of the Social Constitution," reviewed in
Political Science Quarterly for December, 1893.

^ The original draft of the constitution fixed the salaries of governors
and judges at $3,000.

18 See Thorpe, "Recent Constitution-Making in the United States,"
Annals of American Academy, vol. 2, p. 145; Thorpe, Constitutional History
of the American People (1898), vol. 1, p. 59; Eaton, "Recent State Consti-
tutions," 6 Harvard Law. Rev., pp. 53, 109.

^ Sec. 1 of art. 17 (or 14 as it appears in the Compiled Statutes).

104

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

" Tecumseli Nat Bank vs. Saunders, 51 Neb., 801; 71 N. W. Rep., 779.

22 This was in 1886 when the provision which now forms sec. 4 of art. 3
was declared adopted in pursuance of Sessions Laws of 1887, ch. 2.

This idea v/as emphasized by Governor Dawes in his retiring mes-
Fage of 1887, as a reason for disapproving the plan of calling a constitu-
tional convention.

^* Godkin. "The Decline of Legislatures." Atlantic Monthly (1897),
vol. 80, pp. 35, 52.

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

105

IIISTOKY OF THE INCARCERATION OP THE LIN-
COLN CITY COUNCIL.

By Hon. A. J. Sawyer. Read before the Nebraska State Historical Society a<-
its session evening, January , 189 — .

The first election under the new city charter creating cities
of the first class, having a population of less than sixty
thousand and more than twenty-five thousand inhabitants,
and which was approved March 25, 1887, occurred on the first
Tuesday of April of that year.

Lincoln had within the last few years rapidly increased in
population, wealth, and territory.

The time had arrived when Lincoln was rapidly becoming
one of the principal cities of the West, but she was without
paved streets, sanitary or surface sewerage, and without an
adequate suppl}^ of water. She was about to enter upon an
era of public improvements commensurate with her growth
and population. The good name which the city had formerly
possessed for law and order had materially suffered within
the last year or two, and license and misrule were in the
ascendant to such an extent that the leading citizens organ-
ized a Law and Order League for the purpose of aiding the
authorities in restoring good government and a decent re-
spect for the ordinances already enacted. Law and order
and municipal reform became the watchwords of the good
citizens of Lincoln, while the others were in favor of the then
established order of things.

Among the elective officers to be chosen under the new
charter were the mayor and six councilmen.

These considerations all contributed to make the election
one of the most spirited ever witnessed in Lincoln.

There were three candidates for the mayoralty: Edward
P. Koggen, ex-Secretary of State, by the regular Eepublican
convention; Andrew J. Cropsey, by the prohibitionists, and
AndrcAv J. Sawyer by the citizens' reform movement, which
was largely made up of Republicans.

106

KEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The result was the election of the citizens' candidate by
a majority of 537.

The city council after the election consisted of Lorenzo
W. Billingsley, Lewis 0. Pace, Granville Ensign, William J.
Cooper, Joseph Z. Briscoe, James Dailey, John Fraas, Eob-
ert B. Graham, Henry H. Dean, Fred A. Hovey, John M.
Burks, and Nelson C. Brock.

The newly elected officers were in due time inducted into
office, took the prescribed oaths, pledged themselves to duly
and faithfully administer the affairs of the city, see that
the laws thereof were carefully executed, and settled down
to the performance of their duties as best they knew. Hav-
ing adjusted themselves to the conditions imposed by the
new charter, they selected an entirely new police force, under
civil service rules and regulations, and instructed them to
see that all of the existing ordinances were strictly and rig-
idly enforced. They then turned their attention to the work
of public improvements, the paving of the streets, construc-
tion of sewers, water works, and the like, and the general
routine of municipal affairs ; and so spring passed into sum-
mer and summer into fall with little occurring to disturb
the serenity of the council to jar the machinery of the new
city government; but the sear and yellow leaf brought sore
trials and tribulations to the reform administration.

So far as we can judge, the new administration would have
had comparatively easy sailing had it not been for the police
judge. He had been elected the spring before for a term of
two years, and consequently was a hold-over official with yet
a year to serve.

There had been rumors afloat for some time that "even
handed justice" was not always dispensed from his bench;
that the eyes of the presiding goddess were not infrequently
unveiled, and that the scales of justice were scarcely, if ever,
accurately adjusted, and that the ermine had even been
known to cover the wool-sack at places remote from where
the seat of the city court had been permanently established.

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

107

Whenever the fountains of justice are corrupted, whether
in inferior, limited, <»eneral, or superior jurisdictions, the
people within those jurisdictions experience a most unfortu-
nate condition of things, and one of the most intolerable
and cr^^n*;- evils of our times is the inefficient and often abso-
lutely corrupt and dissolute personages selected to admin-
ister justice in the lower courts and particularly in the police
courts of our larger cities.

The citizens can not be too circumspect in the selection of
these officials, for no permanent and effectual municipal re-
forms can be had until these primary courts are thor-
oughly purged from the corrupt ward strikers and political
heelers who, having secured these places for part}^ services
by ^^vays that are dark and tricks that are vain/' in the
name of justice perpetrate injustice, fraud, and oppression.

What had been rumor at length took definite form. Three
citizens and tax payers, who had cognizance of the delin-
quencies of the judge, filed with the city clerk a petition or
complaint in which they set forth that the police judge of
the city of Lincoln had collected large sums of money, in
his capacity of police judge, as fines from certain parties
who were conducting certain out-lawed occupations, and
that he had failed to make any report of the same on his
dockets or to account to the city therefor. That he had also
collected fines for the violation of the statutes of Nebraska
to the amount of $329, as shown by his dockets, w^hich amount
he had neglected and refused to turn over to the county
treasurer as required by law, and, assuring the council that
they had ample evidence to substantiate the charges, re-
quested that a thorough investigation be made. Under the
city ordinance it became the duty of the city council, when
charges were preferred against any of the elective officers
of the city, to institute an inquiry, and, if the party accused
should be found guilty, to declare his office vacant. Accord-
ingly a committee, consisting of Councilmen Billingsley,
Briscoe, and Pace was appointed to investigate the complaint.

lOS

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

A time and place were fixed for the taking of testimony, and
due notice was served upon tlie defendant. The defendant
filed his answer, in which he first made a general denial and
then admitted that he had failed to turn over to the county
treasurer certain funds he had collected, but claimed that his
failure was due to his ignorance or misunderstanding of the
law. At the time appointed for the taking of testimony de-
fendant appeared with his counsel, Messrs. L. C. Burr, O.
P. Mason, and C. E. Magoon, the complainants with their
counsel, D. G. Courtnay, J. B. Strode, and J. E. Philpot.
The taking of testimony occupied some five or six weeks.
When the committee came to make their report to the coun-
cil they stated that in their opinion they had no authority,
as a committee, to make findings of fact, or in any sense to
try said police judge upon the charges. That as the ordinance
stood he should be tried by the council sitting as a body and
not by a committee. The council in the meantime had dis-
covered the defect in the ordinance and amended the same
so as to authorize a committee to act in lieu of the whole
number. The same committee was then reappointed to pro-
ceed under the amended ordinance to take testimony and
make their report. As much time had already been con-
sumed, it was stipulated that the testimony already taken
might be used with the right of either party to offer such
additional evidence as he might desire. When the testimony
was all in, the second committee, after a most stormy siege
and constant bombardments of lawyers on either side, made
their report. Among other things, the report showed that
in the spring of 1886 the police judge had made arrange-
ments with Gus Saunders, the proprietor of some gambling
rooms, that he should pay a monthly fine of |10 and costs for
himself, and |5 for each of his employees engaged in gam-
bling. That the police judge collected monthly such fines,
in some instances going to the gambling rooms to make col-
lections. That in consideration of the payment of the fines
Saunders and his employees had immunity from arrests and

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

109

trials. The committee also found that no complaints had
been filed or warrants issued or arrests made or trials had
in such cases. That the same mode of procedure was liad
concerning the fines for prostitution. That he had collected
a large amount of money for fines under the statutes of Ne-
braska, and appropriated the same to his own use, when he
should have turned it over to the treasurer of the county.
The committee accordingly recommended that the city coun-
cil declare the office of police judge of the city of Lincoln
vacant, and the mayor be requested to fill the office with
some suitable person by appointment.

The committee made their report to the council on the 12th
of September. Complainants and respondent were present
with their attorneys. Both the respondent and his attorneys
importuned the council in speeches both eloquent and lengthy
not to rely upon the report of the committee but to listen as
a body to the reading of the testimony and the further argu-
ment of the case. They declared that the committee was
without authority to hear the evidence and that both the com-
mittee and city council were without jurisdistion to try the
respondent on the charges preferred, because, as they said,
the ordinance of August 15, 1887, was an ex post facto law ;
yet if the whole council would listen to the evidence and argu-
ment of the attorneys they would be satisfied with the de-
cision reached. The council concluded to accede to the wish
of the accused and, at his request, the case w^as adjourned to
a day certain, when the council, as a body, was to sit in judg-
ment in the case. This arrangement seemed to be perfectly
satisfactory to the accused. The real purpose, however, in
securing the adjournment was not that the council might
be afforded an opportunity to further hear the case, but rather
that they might be relieved from having anything further to
do with the proceedings; for, in the meantime, attorney for
resivondent went to St. Louis and exhibited to the Hon. David
J. Brewer, then circuit judge of this circuit, a bill in equity in
which he claimed that his client was being tried by the city
council of Lincoln, in violation of the constitution of the

110

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

United States, and was being deprived of his liberty without
due process of law, and prayed that a writ of injunction
might issue to restrain the mayor and city council from
further proceedings in the case. Upon hearing the bill, the
circuit judge, on the 24th of September, 1887, made an order
that the defendants show cause on Monday, the 24th day of
October next, at the court house in Omaha, why a prelim-
inary injunction should not issue as prayed for, and in the
meantime restrained the council from any further proceed-
ings.

The feelings that possessed them when they were served
by a deputy marshal with notice that they had been enjoined
from proceeding further in the investigation may be better
imagined than described. The evidence had disclosed beyond
all possible doubt that the police judge was guilty of the
charges preferred against him. That he had entered into a
compact with gamblers and other lawless members of society
to receive at stated times certain fines agreed upon for the
conducting of certain occupations which had no right to exist,
without the formality of law or proceedings in court. This
wanton disregard of duty, this shameless violation of law,
this private barter and sale of justice to the gamblers, pimps,
and prostitutes of Lincoln were enough to arouse the right-
eous indignation of every citizen possessing the slightest re-
gard for law, order, or decency.

At the time set for the further hearing of the case the
council convened. They were certainly in an unhappy frame
of mind. They were confronted by a condition and a theory.
The condition was the unseemly spectacle of a police magis-
trate on the bench in the capital of the State who had shame-
lessly trailed the ermine of the judge in the filth and mire of
the brothels and gambling dens of the city which had hon-
ored him with his election.

The theory was the chimerical conception of the police
judge and his attorneys that local self-government, which
had become an established fact, and endeared to the hearts

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

Ill

of the American people ever since the landing of the Pilgrim
Fathers, and which in fact constituted the very corner stone
of the Republic, was, after all, a myth, a delusion, and a snare;
that a city, county, or state was powerless to purge itself,
in the manner pointed out by law, of the corrupt and reck-
less officials that might fasten themselves upon the bodies
politic.

On the night in question the council chamber was thronged
with citizens anxiously awaiting the action of the council.

The condition and the theory stood like grim specters in
the presence of the city fathers, unwelcome, as they were
forbidding, to the presence of all assembled.

To adopt the theory and await the final decision of the
Federal court as to whether they might be permitted to do a
little house-cleaning on their own account in their own baili-
wick, would necessitate the continuance of the condition.
And very likely defendant would complete his term of office
long before a final decision could be reached, and the end
sought to be accomplished by the investigation completely
defeated.

On the other hand, not to accept the theory was to go
counter to the mandate of the court and incur the risk of
fine and possibly imprisonment for contempt of court.

While the mayor and council had the greatest respect for
the learning and ability of the eminent jurist (since one of
the justices of the supreme court) tliey could not but feel
that the injunction had been allowed under false misrepre-
sentations, and that, when the true state of affairs was made
known to him, he would not be disposed to look with such
contemptuous disfavor upon their acts as upon those who
procured the writ to issue. Besides, after a careful investi-
gation, they became satisfied that a Federal court of equity
was without any jurisdiction to restrain the action of the
council in performance of an act enjoined upon them by the
law of the State. Therefore, after a careful, candid, and
earnest consideration of the subject, it was unanimouly de-

112

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

cided to proceed with the investigation, notwithstanding tlw
restraining order of the court.

The council, on the 29th of September, 1887, confirmed the
findings of the committee, declared the office of police judge
vacant, and instructed the clerk to notify him of their action.

Upon the receipt of the notice the judge declared his in-
tention to continue to hold possession and dispense justice ( ?)
until removed by force.

The following proceedings were then had and done :

"Lincoln^ Neb.-, September 30, 1887.
Marshal P. H. Cooper:

"You are hereby notified that H. J. Whitmore has duly
qualified and given his bond, and has been duly commissioned
police judge to fill the vacancy occasioned by the. action of
the city council last evening, and you will please see that he
is duly installed in his office.

"A. J. Sawyer,

^^Mayor/'

The order was promptly carried out. The police judge was
bodily removed, and thenceforth it was Judge H. J. Whit-
more, police judge of the city of Lincoln. It is needless to
say that justice was enthroned, the office honored, and the
ermine kept unspotted so long as Judge Whitmore presided.

We had crossed the Rubicon, and were waiting for de-
velopments. The ex-police judge, no longer permitted to mete
out justice, and deprived of the emoluments of office, was in
anything but an amiable frame of mind, and his attorneys,
thAvarted in their plans, were most belligerent.

Dire vengeance was threatened upon every one who had
participated in the investigation or who had aided and
abetted therein. The consequence was that the developments
were not tardy in maturing.

On the 8th day of October following, the ex-judge filed his
affidavit in the circuit court of the United States, setting
forth all that was said and done at the September 29th

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

meeting of the council, from which I make the following ex-
cerpts :

^'Notwithstanding all this the said mayor and all of said
council, except N. C. Brock, proceeded knowing]}^, wittingly,
wilfully, boastingly, and contemptuously to disregard the
order of this honorable court in the matter of this injunction.

"Affiant further alleges that on the 30th day of September,
1887, a certain notice was served upon him of the action of
said council in declaring his office vacant. A copy of which
notice is hereto attached, marked exhibit A.

"Said notice was served upon said afftant by P. H. Cooper,
city marshal of said city, and affiant told said city marshal
that he would not recognize the action of the said city coun-
cil, and would not surrender said office until lawfully re-
moved or forcibly ejected. The said city marshal then pro-
duced the order from said A. J. Sawyer, Mayor, directing
him to see that the said H. J. Whitmore is duly installed in
said office.

"In pursuance of said order said marshal seized this affiant
by the shoulders and forcibly ejected him from said office,
and wrongfully and unlawfully installed said Whitmore
therein. .

Upon the filing of the foregoing the following notice was
served upon the mayor and each of the councilmen :

"Whereas^ It is suggested of record to us that -you and
each of you have knowingly violated the injunction hereto-
fore issued in this action,

"Wherefore it is ordered that you and each of you show
cause on Tuesday, November 15, 1887, at the hour of ten
o'clock in the forenoon at the United States Court room in
the city of Omaha, Neb., or as soon thereafter as counsel
can be heard, why you shall not be attached for contempt, if
said suggestions are true.

"Elmer S. Dundy,

''Judge/'

To the rule to show cause, respondents made return set-
8

114 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

ting forth all the facts in connection with the investigation,
the want of jurisdiction of the court to entertain the case,
first, because the amount in controversy did not exceed the
sum of |2,000, exclusive of interest and cost ; second, because
a court of equity had no jurisdiction of the subject matter
of the action, and gave the reasons which impelled them to
violate the injunctional order, and asked that they might be
heard by counsel, and that upon a full hearing they might
be discharged from further proceedings.

On the 17th of November, 1887, as appears from Journal M
of the United States Circuit Court, the cause came on to be
heard upon the order to show cause, and upon the return
thereto of the defendants, upon consideration whereof it is
ordered by the court that an attachment be and hereby is
granted for the arrest of the defendants Andrew J. Sawyer,
mayor of the city of Lincoln, Neb., and Joseph Z. Briscoe,
John M. Burks, William J. Cooper, L. C. Pace, H. H. Dean,
Lorenzo W. Billingsley, Kobert B. Graham, Fred A. Hovey,
Granville Ensign, John Fraas, and J. H. Dailey, councilmen
of said city of Lincoln, returnable at ten o'clock, a.m.^ on
Tuesday, November 22, 1887.

Warrants were forthwith issued for the arrest of the of-
fenders and placed in the hands of Deputy Marshal Hast-
ings, Avho lost no time in making the arrests. The ex- judge
was now having his innings, and he and his attorneys were
in ecstacies over the rapid progress they were making to-
wards the time when condign punishment would be visited
upon the culprits who had despoiled him of office and robbed
him of the emoluments thereof. They could see no reason
why the kind hearted deputy marshal should allow the pris-
oners sufficient liberty to return to their homes and bid fare-
well to their wives and families or close up important matters
then pending before the council; but the deputy mar-
shal, who was a resident of Lincoln, and who had had long
personal acquaintance with his prisoners, felt no fear but
what they would be forthcoming, and allowed them their lib-

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

115

erty on promise that they would report in court on the day
named.

The journal in the city clerk's office of November 21, 1887,
records the regular meeting of the council in the evening of
that date, the transaction of a large amount of business, and
resolution that "when the council adjourned it was to meet
at the B. & M. depot next morning at eight o'clock a.m.
sharp."

It was about the hour of sunset on Monday, the day before
the time appointed for the hearing, when "Pap" Hastings,
the deputy marshal, hurled himself into the presence of the
contemptuous councilmen, with those ominous writs which
he parceled out to each defendant by name.

After a careful inspection of the documents. Councilman
Billingsley, who, Avith great fortitude, had moved that the
office of police judge be declared vacant, was observed to
raise his optics from the parchment and gaze with a faraway
look to where the sun was descending behind the western
hill tops, but Councilman Dean, whose optimistic nature
would not permit him to contemplate any ill omens, and
whose unclouded nature was ever as serene as a summer's
sky, essayed to dispel the gloom that was settling down upon
the disturbed defendants by imitating the action of Rich-
mond when he summoned his trusty generals about him on
the eve before the meeting with Eichard on the field of Bos-
worth.

Addressing the disconsolate around him, and pointing
toward the departing orb, he said,

"Look ye, the weary sun hath made a golden set,
And by the bright light of his fiery car
Gives token of a goodly day to-morrow."

He paused ; for the moment solemn stillness reigned. For
the time bleak melancholy seemed to mark each pensive pris-
oner for her own. Meanwhile Dean's eyes swept the heavens
as with telescopic vision. Again he broke the silence, "See
yonder constellations in the darkening skies, Ursa Minor,

116

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Ursa Major, Orion, and the far away Pleiades. I tell tliee for
a truth they are, at this very moment, each and all in com-
plete juxtaposition. From boyhood up I have read the starry
heavens as an open book. I have learned to cast the horo-
scope with the same unerring certainty that the whaler
casts the harpoon, and I declare to thee, the heavenly signs
are all propitious.''

Just at this moment, when he was beginning to wax elo-
quent over objects too remote for the contemplation or com-
prehension of ordinary mortals, he was interrupted by Coun-
cilman Fraas, who, thinking it unbecoming one culprit to
occupy so much jDrecious time, gave vent to his Teutonic feel-
ings in the laconic words which have since become historic :
"Es macht mir miide."

J. M. Burks said that it was "the winter of his discontent."
Pace was heard to mutter that "The paths of glory lead but
to the grave," while all the rest joined in the chorus,

"Our honor and our freedom's at the stake
Which to defend we must away and answer to the summons
of the court."

Scarcely had the refrain died away when the demoniac
voice of the ex-judge, who had been a silent, unobserved spec-
tator, rang out,

"And my fame on brighter pages

Penned by poets and by sages

Shall go thundering down the ages."

The morroAV came ; but not the good one predicted by Dean.
The sky was o'ercast with clouds. The earth was covered
with a mantle of white. The snow was still falling, and the
wind was chill and piercing.

At eight o'clock the city fathers answered roll call at the
depot and were soon speeding as fast as steam could carry
them into the presence of the court whose majesty they had
offended. Many of Lincoln's prominent citizens were on
board, anxious to learn the fate of their city council. It was
here the writer first met the inimitable Walt Mason, dis-

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

117

patclied by the Journal to chronicle all that iuij;ht befall the
I'O for in a d ni i n i s t r a t i on .

No one in the State could wield a more ready, graceful,
or graphic pen than he, and the daily pen pictures of the
trials, tribulations, temptations, and vicissitudes of the city
fathers furnished by Walt to the press will keep his memory
ever green in the recollection of all who had the pleasure of
reading them. Nor did he, when the bolts of the prison doors
grated harshly upon the ears of the condemned, for once de-
sert them, but boldly entered in, snuffed the same tainted at-
mosphere, drank from the same canteen, sat at the same festal
board, slept in the same bunks, and gave the world a true
and faithful history of prison life as experienced in the
Omaha bastile.

But we digress. An hour and a half's ride and the voice
of the conductor cried out, "Omaha!" Alighting from the
coach and accompanied by the deputy marshal they were
soon on their way to the court house, the observed of all ob-
Kservers.

Eeaching the door of the court room, they found the
spacious hall of justice packed with legal luminaries and
eager spectators. A bailiff in commanding tones said,
"Make way for the prisoners!" The way was cleared, and
they were ushered across the room and furnished seats in
the jury box, at the right of the Honorable Judges, Brewer
and Dundy, who had already taken their seats and were
awaiting the arrival.

When all were seated, such a deathlike stillness pervaded
the room that the thumping of the hearts in the breasts of
the prisoners could be heard, "like muffled drums beating
funeral marches to the grave."

At length the silence was broken by Judge Brewer, who
inquired if the attorneys were ready to proceed in the matter
of the contempt of the Lincoln city council? Mr. G. M. Lam-
bertson, their attorney, arose and informed the court that
they were ready to proceed, and asked that Councilman Bill-

118 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

ingsley might be permitted to show cause why the defend-
ants should not be punished for contempt. Mr. Billingsley
had prepared an elaborate review of the investigation from
beginning to end, which, to the minds of the councilmen, pre-
sented excellent reasons why they should not be punished for
their action. He assured the court that not one ill word or
harsh term had escaped the lips of any of the councilmen at
the time they took the action that had called forth the writ
of attachment, but, on the contrary, they had expressed the
deepest regret that a judge of so high character, unquestioned
integrity, and great legal attainments should feel it his duty
to bar their action in an investigation which to them seemed
necessary to secure better municipal government; that the
mayor and city council had endeavored to act with decorum
and propriety becoming their official position; that they re-
lied upon justice at the hands of the court by presenting the
justness of their cause. He called the attention of the court
to the accession of the city council to the request of the ex-
police judge and his attorney — that the case might be heard
by the council as a body, and the postponement of the hear-
ing for their accommodation; now he had taken advantage of
the postponement to thwart their action; now his attorney
had, by misrepresentations in the bill, imposed upon the
court; and that without such misrepresentations he felt
sure that the court would not have allowed the injunction;
that, while there was a bare possibility that the court might
look upon their action in declaring vacant the office of police
judge with disfavor, on the other hand a sense of shame, dis-
grace, and humiliation would follow from a failure to carry
out what they considered to be their sworn duty in the prem-
ises, a disregard of which would bring upon them the criti-
cism, gibes, and contempt of all good citizens, and would
continue in office as police judge for two or three months, or
probably until the. end of his term of office, one whom they
deemed utterly unfit for the position and who had brought
disgrace and shame not only upon the office he held, but upon

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

119

the city of Lincoln; that the council had endeavored to in-
form themselves upon the legal aspect of the case and were
thoroughly satisfied that the court was without jurisdiction
to entertain the case, and that the ex-police judge, if he had
any cause of action, had adequate remedy at law. That the
bill of complaint did not show a sum amounting to |2,000
in controversy, exclusive of interest and costs; that these
reasons were offered to show the court that the violation of
the order was not done insolently or recklessly or without
respect to the honor and dignity of the court, and prayed
that their Honors might consider these reasons in mitigation
of the offending.

At the close of Mr. Billingsley's statement Mr. Lambertson
asked permission to introduce some oral testimony, which
was granted. The mayor was then sworn and examined by
Mr. Lambertson as to the character and standing of several
members of the city council. Allegations contained in the
bill upon which the injunction was secured reflected seriously
upon the character and standing of the councilmen, and
would naturally lead the judge who granted the order to think
that the Lincoln city council was made up of gamblers, or
those in sympathy with the gambling fraternity, and the pur-
pose of the examination was to disabuse the mind of the court
of any preconceived erroneous impressions he might have
formed. The testimony developed that all of the councilmen
were gentlemen engaged in lawful occupations. That they
were men of excellent business standing, honest, honorable,
and of high character, and that they had no sympathy or af-
filiation with the lawless elements of the city.

The ex- judge was then called to the stand by his attorney,
Mr. Burr, and detailed minutely the circumstances and trans-
actions of the council at the meeting immediately preceding
that at which the final vote was taken and the one at which
the question of adopting the report of the committee without
reading the testimony was discussed and voted upon.

These were the only two witnesses examined. The exam-

120

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

ination took up the forenoon. Court convened in the after-
noon and listened to the argument of counsel. Judge Brewer
then stated that he Avould decide the matter in question at
ten o'clock a.m. the next day, and the council filed out, as one
of the newspapers stated, "with considerable time left in
which to contemplate the uncertainties of this life and yicissi-
tudes of aldermanic existence.*'

Promptly at ten o'clock the next morning the judges were
on the bench and the lorisoners in the box. It is needless to
remark that they were also on the tiptoe of expectation. Dur-
ing the adjournment they had canvassed the probabilities of
a favorable or unfavorable decision of the court and had heard
the subject very generally discussed. Most of the members of
the bar and public sentiment generally believed that the deci-
sion would be favorable, and the buoyant expression of hope
beamed from the countenance of the members as they sat
awaiting judgTaent. Councilman Ensign was so sure of a
favorable outcome that he was heard to whisper to the mem-
bers of the council that they needn't be worried; that he
would pay all fines that might be assessed against them.

Judge Brewer then began to deliver his opinion, the court-
room being again thronged with spectators. The judge re-
viewed the case at length and proceeded in an elaborate opin-
ion to show that the court had jurisdiction of the subject mat-
ter, and that, while the bill was defective in not stating any
amount in controversy, yet that was a matter which could be
amended. A court of equity had the right to enjoin the
proceedings of a state tribunal in a case of the nature pre-
sented by the bill. After sweeping away the various objec-
tions urged by attorneys for the council as to jurisdiction, he
then came to the reasons urged in mitigation of the offense
and said that another matter should be taken into considera-
tion: that is, what circumstances of expiation, wrong, or
trickery, fancied or real, provoked the action which was done.

"It is," said he, "human nature to resent an act, a wrong
accomplished by a trick, and we must always recognize that

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

121

as a part of our common human nature. If parties, mistaken
or otherwise, fancy they have been tricked into a position
wliere their proceedings are likely to be baffled, it is not to be
wondered at that they feel keenly, and the court can not blind
its eyes to such a matter as that.''

Then he reviewed what the defendants had said in regard
to the postponement of the hearing of the investigation and
the acceding to the wish of the ex- judge and the alleged de-
ception practised upon him by the council.

"These things," said he, "all come in mitigation. These
things all have induced me to feel that I would not be justi-
fied in imposing [here every countenance brightened up in
anticipation that he was about to say "fine"] imprisonment."
A bolt from a clear sky could not have produced a greater
surprise than w^hen the judge said "imprisonment." They
were counting on complete exoneration. "On the other
hand," said he, "they are gentlemen of character and posi-
tion. They represent the second city in the State, as I am ad-
vised, in wealth, in population, and in business. [Here a
gleam of hope seemed to animate the tired council.] They
are the council of the capital city of the State. If the court
should say that men occupying so high a position can disre-
gard the process of the courts [here all hope departed] what
may we expect from men having no such backing of position,
respectability, and influence? Can w^e ask the poor, friend-
less man to obey the process of the court if men occupying
positions, such as these gentlemen do, do not? Am I not com-
pelled by the very fact of the respectability of the gentlemen,
of the position that they hold, to impose such a fine as shall
be a lesson, not merely a punishment to them, but a lesson to
all? [At this point the stalwart councilmen showed signs of
great depression.] I have tried to look at this case in all its
pliases, and, while I am very glad that I was able to come
to the conclusion that no imprisonment w^as proper, and it
will be unnecessary and therefore an improper exercise of
power to send any one of them to jail, I have, on the other

122

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

hand, felt that I could not pass it by lightly, and that I ought
to impose a heavy fine. I believe that in so doing I shall
benefit these defendants and every good citizen of this State
if the size of the fine be such that every citizen, high or low,
shall understand that this is a government of the law, and
that the processes of the courts are to be obeyed, and that
every wrong may be righted in the orderly administration of
affairs, and that no such proceedings of taking the law into
one's own hands as was initiated in Chicago can be tolerated
anywhere. Three of these gentlemen voted against taking up
these matters : Mr. Briscoe, Mr. Burks, and Mr. Cooper. The
fine imposed upon them will be |50 each. The mayor had no
vote, but was enjoined from appointing an officer; he had
nothing to do with the removing of the petitioner. After
that removal was accomplished, although the mandate for-
bade him to make an appointment, I can well see how one
might say ^here is a vacancy of office, not by my action ; I can
not leave the city of Lincoln without a police judge,' and so
acted. The same fine will be imposed upon him. Upon the
other eight the fine will be f 600 upon each one. The order will
be that they pay this fine and the costs of the proceedings
and stand committed to the custody of the marshal until it
is paid."

Judge Dundy followed, and in a terse and decisive way
concurred in the opinion of Judge Brewer.

The generous councilman who had promised to take care of
the fines was immediately seen by his fellows, but his pocket-
book was as emaciated as himself, for it contained only |10.13.
It was suggested by some that even that amount might have
served to liquidate the fines, had not the witness on their
behalf attributed to them such intelligence and characters as
to remove them from the category of ordinary councilmen. As
it was, the fat was in the fire, and the only thing left was to be
committed until the fine was paid, or their release secured
from a higher tribunal.

A hasty consultation was had. In anticipation of the worst

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

123

that might befall them, a complete record liacl been made uj),
as far as it had gone, preparatory for making an application
to the supreme court for a writ of habeas corpus. The record
was completed, and Mr. Lambertson took the first train for
Washington, D. C, and Marshal Bierbower took the prisoners
to the jail at Omaha, Neb. On the way to the jail Councilman
Dean grew weary. As they were passing a drug store he told
the marshal that he was subject to fits and faintings, and, as
he felt his malady coming on, it was necessary for him to get
some fit medicine. At the command of the marshal the proces-
sion halted. Dean left the ranks, satchel in hand, and entered
the pharmacy. In a few moments he returned, apparently
rejuvenated, but it was observed that his satchel possessed a
much greater specific gravity than when he left. When asked
if he expected to have fits enough to consume all that medi-
cine he replied he did not, but thought his companions might
before they got through.

They straightway awarded him a vote of thanks, and gave
him the appellation of Dr. Dean, a name by which he was ever
afterwards recognized.

Dr. Dean now found no difficulty in keeping step, and they
all marched with military precision, led by the marshal, up
the rugged way to the castle on the hill.

The presence of so many fine looking gentlemen carrying
knapsacks, marching in perfect order and martial array in
that direction, excited no little curiosity. They were stared
at by crowds of men and women, and great numbers of small
boys followed the procession, while the dogs did bark as they
passed by.

At the command to halt, the weary pilgrims stood in the
shadow of the bastile, over whose portal was the inscription :
'"''all hope abandon ye who enter here."

Each glanced at the writing and then at the other. The
sentiment was not reassuring, but it was too late to recant,
even had they entertained such a thought. The ponderous
iron bolts were heard to turn ; the heavy doors swung open,

124 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

the darksome dungeon yawned to receive tliem^ and they en-
tered in, the door closed, and Lincoln's reform administra-
tion was literally barred from the world without.

"It was a time for memory and for tears.''

Marshal Bierbower delivered the mittimus and prisoners
to Sheriff Ooburn, who in return gave him a receipt for each
and graciously received the new addition to his already large
and variegated family.

After the marshal had taken his departure, Sheriff Coburn
said, "I understand you are from Lincoln." All nodded as-
sent. A moment's pause and Dean added, "via Federal
court." The sheriff then conducted his new arrivals to a
desk, upon which lay the register of the Hotel De Bastile.
Shortly it was illuminated with the autographs of a dozen
men, who but yesterday governed a great city, but "now none
so poor to do them reverence."

After remarking upon the exceptional page of signatures,
he turned to the aldermen and said, "Gentlemen, make your-
selves at home. You see I am somewhat crowded. Winter is
our busy time. However, you must be content, and I will do
the best I can for you." He then departed, leaving his guests
in the large corridor.

"Take a chair," said Councilman Dailey, as he sat himself
down upon the cold stone floor of the apartment. Some
obeyed, others stood up, leaning against the walls for support.
In this attitude they took in the situation. A combination
and mixture of unearthly odors and stenches so rank as to
smell to heaven assaulted their olfactories. "Why," said
Councilman Pace, "all the perfumes of Arabia could not
sweeten these apartments." Nor was the prospect to the eye
more pleasing. Some thirty or forty wretched prisoners, rag-
ged and dirty, some with bloodshot and leering eyes, were
loose in the corridor, some standing, some walking, and oth-
ers lying on the floor sleeping off their last night's debauch.
A still larger number of the more dangerous and desperate

LDfCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

' lass were huddled into the several tiers of iron cells thai
partly surrounded the open court.

The faithful chronicler of whom we have spoken, writing at
the time says, "Their hearts were somewhat troubled when
they gazed about the corridors into which they had been
ushered and where they were obliged to wait nearly an hour
Ijefore the apartments intended for them were made ready.
It afforded a view of several tiers of cells, packed with the
vilest looking crowd of hoodlums ever assembled behind iron
bars. And the corridor was also occupied by about thirty or
forty of the same brand. A shining light in this apartment
was the one-armed light of society, named Pasco CI think),
who was recently arrested at Lincoln for swindling in land."

Thirty minutes in this revolting scene and breathing the
fetid atmosphere caused a number of the city fathers to ex-
perience a feeling of nausea. This was observed by the quick
eye of Dr. Dean. He rushed to his satchel, opened it, and took
therefrom two huge quart bottles of "fit medicine." Holding
them in either hand, he first took a dose himself and then
X->assed the me<iicine bottles to his companions, assuring them
that he had used the medicine for thirty years, and that it
never failed to produce good results. The doctors medicine
came like a ray of sunshine into the midst of his companions.
Allien the medicine bottle came to Burks he hesitated- He
looked at the bottle, then at the surroundings, and then, ad-
dressing his fellow conncilmen, said: "Boys, there is no nse
in talking ; all the fit medicine in Christendom would not suf-
fice to relieve me. I have been indisposed, for more than a
month. I see the i)or-tals of the grave opening to receive me
if I am not speedily admitted to the sunlight and fresh atmos-
phere. Here [taking from his pocket a certificate from his
physician, which he had taken the precaution to procure be-
fore leaving home] is what my physician says. While I
would willingly stay by yon, yet I am admonished by this
certificate and my failing pulse that self preservation is the
first law of nature. I have just $50 in my purse. If they

126

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

will take it I shall willingly give it for my liberty.'' Dr. Dean
made a diagnosis of the sufferer, and decided that his medi-
cine was not powerful enough to effect a cure, and that Burks
should pay his fine and be discharged. This was accordingly
done, and Councilman Burks boarded the first train for
Lincoln.

An hour passed on. A number had seated themselves upon
the cold floor, and were beginning to adjust themselves to
their hard conditions, when Sheriff Coburn appeared in their
presence. He commanded them to arise and follow him.
Again we quote from the same faithful chronicler :

"About five o'clock the prisoners were shown to their apart-
ments, which comprise two large rooms and a small room in
the southeast corner of the second fioor. They are scarcely
dungeons in a literal sense of the word. The absence of
chairs, racks, and thumbscrews is apparent to the most casual
observer. A highly polished coal stove keeps out the cold air
of November in the highest style of the art, while the floors
are handsomely carpeted, and lounges and easy chairs are
scattered around in a way that would have made John Bun-
yan write ten more chapters of his Pilgrim's Progress had he
been confined here. Fragrant flowers are in the windows,
while the walls are adorned with valuable pictures, among
which is a chromo, presumably by Kaphael, representing
Judas Iscariot hanging himself. The distinguished prisoners,
contend, however, that the moral value of the picture is im-
paired, as the only member of the body who could derive a
valuable lesson from it is absent. Lace curtains adorn the
windows, and handsome chandeliers furnish all the illumina-
tion desired. In short, the apartments now occupied by the
city fathers of Lincoln are as comfortable as the homes of
many aristocrats. It is not at all likely that groans, shrieks,
or appeals for mercy will be heard by those without, unless it
be as a result of some of Dean's jokes, which are constantly on
draught and gurgle around like flowing streams in deserts
weary. Their confinement will lack many of the elements of

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

127

martyrdom. The lack of that esteemed booii known to ora-
tors as liberty will be the chief affliction. A lynx-eyed Etlii-
opian, who has been so well trained that he already refers to
Fred Hovey as "colonel" and Jim Daily as ''judge/' has been
detailed to wait upon them and obey their slightest man-
dates. A special cook has also been delegated to the task of
preparing savory viands for them, which they will eat in a
comfortable and spacious dining hall on the first floor, where
no other prisoners will be allow^ed. Parties who have served
a term in the Siberian mines freely admit that the punishment
inflicted upon the heroes of whom this essay treats is much
preferable and not nearly so galling to the spirit.

"The councilmen themselves, while not being superlatively
happy, are removed from absolute misery by several degrees.
The air of calm resignation that lies upon the face of J. Z.
Briscoe is refreshing to the intellectual observer, while hi«
companions are also overflowing with a spirit of 'peace on
earth and good will toward men.' At 7 o'clock the gentle-
men are thus occupied (the details may be trivial, but they
will be interesting to their anguished relatives) :

"L. W. Billingsley, W. J. Cooper, Gran Ensign, and H. H.
Dean are sitting by the blazing hearth lost in the fascinating
excitement attending a game know^n to science as poker.
They seem to control their grief quite manfully, and no sobs
have yet been heard.

"A. J. Sawyer is diligently reading a law book, while a
look of ineffable calm makes his face a study.

"J. Z. Briscoe is walking the floor like a caged lion, or like
a man who has a large concentrated toothache concealed
about his person. He disclaims all remorse or anxiety, how-
ever, and will endeavor to hold her nozzle agin the bank till
the last galoot's ashore.

"Fred Hovey acts like one who is convinced that w^hatever
is, is right. His appetite is unimpaired, and his friends in
Lincoln have thus far no necessity to pine or wither aw^ay
through anxiety about him.

128

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

*^L. C. Pace is contemplating the game of poker alluded to
above with the air of one who has been in the neighborkood
himself.

"The balance of them are scattered around on lounges and
cushioned chairs, looking as though their agony had not
reached an insupportable point, and most of them Avill doubt-
less survive the ordeal. The apartments they occupy were
formerly used as the sheriff's residence, and command an ex-
cellent view of the city. They are clean and pleasant and
are furnished with everything necessary for a pious and cir-
cumspect life, from a large Polyglot Bible to a copy of Lam-
bertson's petition to a higher court, with the previous trans-
lations diligently compared and revised.

"The martyrs will sleep on new cots specially provided for
them, with comfortable clothing. These will be brought in
during the evening when the curfew tolls the knell of parting
day, and removed during the daytime, to make more room
for the doomed men when they want exercise. Since they an-
ticipated hard bunks, it is a matter of great encouragement
to them that they can Vrap the drapery of their couch about
them and lie down to pleasant dreams' as though they were
at home.

"In such a manner has the first day of their imprisonment
passed. The ruddy glow of health is still on each cheek, and
melancholy has so far marked none of them for her own.
Had they been required to enter the dismal cells occupied by
the lower criminals, they would have done so without flinch-
ing. That they are as comfortable as they are should be a
matter of congratulation to Lincoln, for whose sweet sake
they are looking out at streets they may not tread.

"Keligious literature, sponge cakes, chewing tobacco, and
other physical and spiritual refreshments should be sent to
Mr. Billingsley, who has been appointed as chairman of the
committee on supplies. Communications for the mayor or
members of the council should be addressed ^in care of Sheriff
Coburn.'"

LINCOLN CITY COI XCIL.

The apartments were those occupied by Deputy Sliorift'
Major Houck, who kindly turned them over to tlie councilmeii,
to whose kind attention and many acts of courtesy tliey will
ever feel themselves deeply indebted.

The good citizens of Omaha contributed much to soften
the asperities of prison life. Chief among these was Hon. H.
T. Clarke. To facilitate communication with the outside
world the Western Union Telegraph Company, through its
gentlemanly superintendent, J. J. Dickey, supplied the coun-
cilmen and their wives with telegraphic franks, as did also
the express companies.

Their apartments became daily veritable reception rooms.
Many of the notables of the State paid their respects by their
calls and hearty expressions of symiaathy and good cheer,
among whom was Governor Thayer, who showed a deep inter-
est and assured the council that if the decision was adverse
he would go himself to the President and make an appeal in
their behalf ; Hon. J. Sterling Morton, who brought with him
for their consolation and edification a copy of the Connecticut
Blue Laws; Hon. Geo. L. Miller, Hon. Edward Kosewater,
Hon. James E. Boyd, who furnished them carte blanche to
his Opera House; Mayor Broatch and- the councilmen of
Omaha, who tendered them a banquet, and the ministers of
the city who extended a cordial invitation to the pews of their
churches.

Many resolutions of sympathy, numerously signed from
different parts of the State and from city councils, were re-
ceived.

Flowers, fruits, cigars, and many other good things came
pouring in by express till it became necessary to organize a
commissary department with James Daily at the head.

The council availed themselves of the entree to Boyd's
Opera House and witnessed among other plays, "Alone in
London," "A Great Wrong," and "All is Well that Ends
Well."

In the meantime Mr. Lambertson was putting forth his best
9

132

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

business men generally, which petition he would take pleas-
ure in presenting to the President in the event the supreme
court denied the writ on final hearing. He further said that
he desired every member present to distinctly understand that
he cordially endorsed the action of the council in the police
judge case from the beginning of the investigation to the
present time, and that he was particularly gratified that the
councilmen Avere willing to go to prison in order to test the
question of Federal judicial interference with municipal gov-
ernment. He believed they were right, and that they would
be sustained by the supreme court. A question of such vital
importance should be speedily settled. Judicial tyranny,
said he, was the worst form of tyranny, and he hoped it would
never obtain in this country. Mayor Sawyer, on behalf of the
councilmen, thanked the Governor for his visit and the kindly
expressions he had just uttered.

''Firm in the belief that the Federal court had no juris-
diction to restrain them from proceeding in an orderly way
to investigate charges of corruption against a city official,
they listened to the evidence and declared the office vacant,
and it was for this that they are in jail. 'Every great princi-
ple of government,' said he, 'has triumphed, if at all, at the
cost of individual sacrifices, and if the good old democratic
principle of home rule for which we stand shall, by this
imprisonment, become triumphant then shall our incarcera-
tion not have been in vain.'

"Councilman Billingsley thanked the Governor for his
stand in this matter, and for the many expressions of ap-
proval given by the state officers, judges of the supreme and
district court, and many other citizens of the State. 'We
believe,' said he, 'we are right, and, standing for a great
principle of home rule, the endorsement of our action by
all good citizens of the State gives us great cheer and is a
source of great satisfaction. We shall confidently await the
decision of the supreme court of the United States to say
that we are right.'

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

133

"No sooner had word that they were coining reached Lin-
coln than steps were talvcn to give them a fitting reception.
The time was short, but the success of the event and large
number who turned out demonstrated most clearly the posi-
tion taken by the people of this city in this contest against
the Federal usurpation of local authority. The city officers,
the police and fire departments were out in force, together
with a crowd of citizens, the whole headed by the K. P.
band, and about half past nine o'clock they proceeded in a
body to the B. & M. depot.

"When the train rolled in cheer after cheer rang out upon
the night air. As many as could immediately mounted the
car, and the meeting of old friends after years of separation
could not have been more enthusiastic. The mayor and coun-
cil were in charge of Deputy United States Marshal Allen,
who, in pursuance of the order previously mentioned, imme-
diately turned them over to the care of his deputy. Major
Hastings. When the councilmen were finally permitted to
make their way out of the car they were hardly allowed to
touch the ground before they were grasped by as many en-
thusiastic citizens as could get hold of them. As Mayor
Sawyer appeared he was grasped by several strong arms,
lifted above the heads of the crowd, and carried to the head
of the procession. When the vigor of the first greeting had
slightly subsided the company moved toward the council
chamber, led by the band playing Boulanger's march. Ar-
rived at this place the police and fire departments formed
in lines on each side of the entrance way, and as each coun-
cilman passed their ranks he was greeted with hearty cheers.''

Many of Lincoln's prominent citizens delivered enthusi-
astic addresses of welcome and encouraged the council in the
belief that the day of their final liberty was near at hand.

Gen. Webster, being then called upon, made a few remarks
welcoming the council to their accustomed places. The occa-
sion, he said, was one of the best of evidences that the Ameri-
can people are capable of self government. It is one of the

134

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

fundamental principles of the government under which we
live that every municipality shall have the sole and uninter-
rupted administration of its own internal affairs, while to
the general government shall be relegated authority in affairs
in which the whole country is involved, and between our
own and other nations. The Federal court, he believed, had
no more power to interfere in the local affairs of this city
than had a justice of the peace in the state of Iowa. The
fine, whether large or small, was a matter of comparative
insignificance; but the principle of self government could
not be overlooked. The speaker referred briefly to the man-
ner in which the whole proceeding of the last few weeks in
respect to the council of the city had been conducted. No
force had been used and everything had been done in the
most quiet and deliberate manner. It was not necessary, as
has before been done in the history of the world, to tear down
the Bastile, for in this land we depend on constitutional
rights. It might have been possible to secure the desired
writ from the supreme court of this State, but for fear of a
clash between state and Federal authority it was thought
best to appeal to the highest judicial body in the land. He
had, he said, no doubt whatever that the council would be
discharged, and when they were the loyal citizens of this
city would be out to celebrate the event with their biggest
gun. At present the councilmen are still nominally pris-
oners. If the supreme court should determine that Judge
Brewer had acted within his jurisdiction, it must be seen
to that the representatives of this State in congress promul-
gate an amendment to the laws. Such a condition of affairs
must not be allowed to exist in a free country. In closing
he extended to the members of the council each and every
one the heartiest welcome, and assured them that if their
fines were not remitted it would be seen to that not a cent
thereof should come out of their pockets, and that in this
matter of vindicating their rights they have the sympathy
of every good citizen.

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

135

Responses were made by the mayor and different members
of the council, and they repaired to their homes happy in
the thought that they were for the time released from im-
prisonment.

The case had created great interest not only in Nebraska
but throughout the United States. It had been widely com-
mented upon by the press throughout the country, and, with
the exception of the Omaha Republican , all the newspapers,
so far as we know, were a unit in defense of the position
taken by the council.

On the 12th of December, 1887, the case was most ably
argued before the supreme court by attorneys G. M. Lam-
bertson and L. C. Burr, who had filed elaborate briefs
therein.

It was expected that on the second Monday thereafter the
court would hand down its opinion, and it was thought ad-
visable that the defendants should have a representative
present, that, in the event the opinion should af&rm the
decision of the lower court, an appeal might at once be had
to the President.

The mayor was accordingly chosen for this purpose, and,
armed with a petition for the pardon of the mayor and
council, headed by His Excellency Governor Thayer, and
signed by the state supreme judges, many district judges and
state officers, and other prominent citizens, he proceeded
to Washington, and was present on the coming in of the
court on the day the decision was looked for. Case after case
was handed down, but not the one in which he was particu-
larly concerned.

As opinions are not given out by that tribunal, except on
Mondays, and as there was no certainty that the case would
be reached in a week from that time, he felt that he must
return home with nothing accomplished. Before returning,
however, it was his good fortune to meet Senators Mander-
son and Paddock, of Nebraska, who manifested great inter-
est in the cause and suggested that they go with him to the

136

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

President, that he might become acquainted with all the
facts and circumstances.

The invitation was gladly accepted. He was introduced
to President Cleveland by Senator Manderson, as the mayor
of Lincoln, who was supposed to be in jail. At the same
time both senators spoke a good word both for the mayor and
his cause.

The President accorded them a hearty w^elcome, then turn-
ing to the mayor he said, ''My attention has already been
called to the case through the press, and I would be pleased
to learn more of its nature and the particulars.'^ The Mayor
then gave a brief history of the case in which the President
seemed much interested, and inquired of the Mayor when he
expected a decision. He told him that it was expected that
a decision ^vould be handed down to-day, but that he had
just come from the court room and none had been reached.
He then ventured to tell the President his purpose in being
in the city, that in case of an emergency he might make an
appeal for executive clemency.

The Executive smiled and inquired as to the political com-
plexion of the council. The mayor replied, nominally they
are all republicans but two; practically they are all demo-
crats, particularly upon the main question — the right of
local self government.

"Well, for a fact," said he, "they do seem to be standing
for a sound democratic principle — the doctrine of home rule.
It is a principle that ought to be triumphant, and I have no
doubt that it will." This he said with a degree of earnestness
that gave assurance that in an emergency an appeal might
not be in vain.

The Mayor returned home. All waited impatiently and
most anxiously for four successive Mondays to learn their
fate. At length on the 10th of January, 1888, the wires from
Washington flashed the news that the council had won. The
lower court had acted without jurisdiction, and all its acts
were void.

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL.

137

Those desirinj^' further knowledge of the subject are re-
ferred to the ease entitled In re Sawyer et al., 124 U. S. K.,
402, which has become one of the causes celehres.

138

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

A NEBRASKA EPISODE OF THE WYOMING CATTLE

WAR.

[Presented by A. E. Sheldon to the State Historical Society at its Session Jan-
nary 10, 1899.]

April 10, 1892, a special train left the city of Cheyenne,
Wyo., headed north on the Union Pacific railroad. It made
a rapid run over the one hundred and forty miles of moun-
tain and sage brush range that lie between Cheyenne and
Orin Junction, where the Union Pacific system taps the
Wyoming extension of the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Val-
ley railroad stretching from Chadron to Casper. Here a
peculiar piece of railroading was done. Without any train
orders, and without the knowledge of the Elkhorn train dis-
patcher at Chadron, who controlled this line, the Union Pa-
cific special ran out on the Elkhorn track and steamed boldly
west fourteen miles to Douglas, where it stopped at the cat-
tle yards and unloaded its cargo.

It was a curious cargo — sixty-five men with horses and
equipments, armed with Winchester rifles; several baggage
wagons loaded with provisions, blankets, camping outfits,
cartridges, and dynamite. In an incredibly brief time this
force was unloaded, saddled, mounted, and disappeared on
the trail leading north from Douglas to the Powder river
cattle country. It 4ef t neither rear guard nor messenger.
The Union Pacific special steamed back to Orin Junction,
switched to the Union Pacific track, and returned to Chey-
enne. The wildest rumors began to throb over the wires from
Douglas to Chadron. Elkhorn railroad men knew that some-
thing extraordinary had happened, but could only guess what
it might signify. Passengers arriving in Chadron declared
that an army of Texas rangers with cannon and dynamite

A NEBRASKA EPISODE.

139

had invaded the State, and news of a bloody battle in the
cattle country was expected every hour.

For five years conditions in the Wyoming cattle region
had been tending toward conflict. Originally a few great
cattle companies, representing millions of dollars of capital,
had controlled the range. Then the frontier farmer and
small stock man began to creep in and settle along the
streams. They turned their few head of stock loose on the
range along with those of the great cattle corporations. The
latter claimed that these few head multiplied with unheard
of fecundity — that many of these small stock men, beginning
with a yoke of steers and a branding iron, would in three
or four years have one or two hundred head of increase —
thereby more than fulfilling the scriptural promise to the
careful husbandman. The small stock men were denom-
inated ^^rustlers,'' which is plains dialect for cattle thief. The
rustlers promptly retorted with the counter-charge that the
big companies, with their scores of riders, rounded up and
branded the stock of the small owners without regard to own-
ership, and pursued a policy of persecution intended to drive
the small men from the homes they w^ere trying to establish
in the region claimed by the great cattle barons. The feeling
between the two parties grew constantly more bitter. Nu-
merous personal encounters took place. The small stock
men continued to pour into the region. The contest was
carried into politics. The rustler element had more votes,
and, after heated campaigns, had elected officers who sym-
pathized with their cause in most of the cattle counties. The
large cattle companies controlled the state legislature and
had enacted two laws for their own protection. One was the
cattle commission law which authorized a commission (com-
posed of friends of the large companies) to keep agents at
the great stockyards in Omaha, Kansas City, and elsewhere,
with power to seize and confiscate cattle when shipped there
if they were not satisfied of their ownership. The other law
fixed dates for the annual roundup in different districts.

140

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The small stock men in the Powder river region had expressed
a purpose to hold their own roundup at a date that suited
themselves, regardless of the law.

So matters stood when the armed body of mounted rangers
disappeared over the Wyoming hills in the direction of the
Powder river region.

It was two days later — the morning of April 12th — when
the occupants of the ^'K. 0." ranch on Little Powder river,
about sixty miles north of Douglas, began to bestir them-
selves for breakfast. There were two occupants ordinarily
— Mck Kay and Nate Champion — small stock men belong-
ing to the rustler faction. The night before two trappers,
one an old man named Benjamin Jones, the other a young
man named William Walker, had pitched their camp on the
river near the ranch. The K. 0. ranchmen had invited them
into the cabin for the sake of company, always prized in those
remote regions. After supper they had beguiled the night
until a late hour with stories of frontier life and adventure.
At daylight the next morning the old trapper Jones was first
up. He took a pail and started down to the spring a few
rods distant for water. lie was astonished to find the ravine
filled with armed men. A dozen rifles covered him, and he
was ordered to come forward and surrender. He did so, and
was placed under guard. After quite an interval, smoke was
seen coming from the cabin stove-pipe. Then the younger
trapper came down the hill, looking for his comrade. He
was promptly taken under guard. Another interval followed.
One of the ranchmen came out. ^^Don't shoot, wait for the
other," said a man in command. Presently the other man
came out. He apparently caught sight of something wrong,
for he instantly started back into the cabin, just as the com-
mand "Fire" was given, and his companion fell, pierced by
twenty bullets, in the doorway. His body was dragged in
by the survivor, who immediately opened a vigorous fire upon
his assailants. For four or five hours the battle of sixty
against one continued. Finally the attacking party set fire

A NEBUASKA EPISODE.

141

to a load of haj and backed it up against the cabin. It was
soon in llanies and its defender, forced from its shelter, was
riddled with bullets a few yards from its door.

The remainder of the story of the Wyoming raid must be
very briefly told. The firing at the K. C. ranch had been
heard, and within a few hours the story of its dead bodies
and charred ruins w^as flying over the cattle range. A body
of two hundred armed rustlers gathered under command of
Red Angus, sheriff of the county. The invaders attempted
to force their way across the country to Ft. McKinney and
gain the protection of the military, but the uprising of the
small stock men was too quick for them, and they were driven
to bay at the T. A. ranch, a few miles north of the scene of
the killing of Champion and Eay. Here they were cut off
from communication and provisions, and a siege and battle
followed. The sheriff's forces were rapidly advancing a line
of rifle pits upon the ranch, and the destruction of the entire
force was a matter of only a few hours, when they were res-
cued by Col. VanHorn and three companies of U. S. regu-
lars, which had marched, from Ft. McKinney to their relief
in obedience to orders from the war department at Wash-
ington.

Not until the surrender of the invaders to the army was it
known positively by the public who they were. Then it was
found that about one-third the force were the most prominent
men in Wyoming business and politics — senators, county
officials, wealthy cattle men, and even eastern stockholders
in the great cattle corporations. Among them were Major
Wolcott, W. J. Clark, Fred Hesse, Col. L. H. Parke, D. E.
Clark, Ben Morrison, W. G. Divine, and Charles Carter, of
Wyoming, Tom Miller of Chicago, and Dr. Penrose of Phila-
delphia— all of them men of w^ealth and influence^ — some of
them millionaires. The other two-thirds of the command
was composed of Texas cowboys, the best shots and hardest
riders that could be found in the West. The entire force was
marched under military guard to Buffalo and quartered at

142

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

the hotel. The sheriff came with warrants for their arrest,
but was refused access, and three days later Major Pechet,
sin(*e of the Nebraska National Guard, with three troops of
the 6th Cavalry, escorted them to Douglas, where they were
placed on a train and taken to Ft. Russell, at Cheyenne.
After being kept in the Fort a few days, they were admitted
to bail in the courts at Cheyenne, and the great Wyoming
cattle raid was ended.

The two trappers, Jones and Walker, were captured along
with the ^'regulators.'' They were demanded and secured by
local authorities, and placed in the Douglas jail against the
time of trial of the cattle barons. They were the only wit-
nesses of the murder of Champion and Eay. Their lips were
the only ones that could ever be compelled to tell in a court
of justice the story of the tragedy at the solitary ranch on
Powder river. The murderers were millionaires. The un-
willing witnesses were poor, unsophisticated trappers. It
was imperative that they be got out of the country.

A livery stable keeper in Douglas was entrusted with the
job. He gained access to the witness-prisoners, told them
they would surely be killed if they staid in Wyoming to
testify, and that if they would go with him they should be
given plenty of money and ^ot out of the country safely. On
the night of May 3, 1892, the jail was opened in some mys-
terious way, the two prisoners and the livery man mounted
three swift horses, and by riding all night reached the Ne-
!)raska line the next day. They took the Elkhorn train for
C]'awford, where they expected to board the B. & M. night
train and get out of the country. They were stopped at
Crawford, however, by Constable Morrison, who had a tele-
gram from the Wyoming authorities asking him to hold them
until officers from there could arrive. Something had to be
done quickly or the whole plan of abduction would fail. Tele-
grams were sent from attorney H. Donzelman of Cheyenne,
counsel for the big cattle men, retaining D. B. Jenckes and
W. H. Westover, two of the most prominent attorneys in

A NEBRASKA EPISODE.

143

northwest Nebraska, and instructions sent them to prevent
the leturn of the witnesses to Wyoming in any possible way.

Following these instructions the Nebraska lawyers secured
a writ of habeas corpus from S. M. Ballard, county judge of
Dawes county, paid seventy-five dollars for a special train
from Chadron to Crawford, brought the two witnesses to
Chadron, and lodged them in the county jail, where the writer
of this article first met them and learned from their own lips
the story of the murders at K. O. ranch and the subsequent
vicissitudes they had undergone. Both of them were singu-
larly simple-minded, child-like persons, with very little edu-
cation. All their lives had been spent on secluded frontier
farms or in trapping. They seemed dazed with the swift
succession of events that had befallen them, from the burn-
ing of the K. C. ranch, through the siege at T. A. ranch, the
capture by the soldiers, the Douglas jail, the flight and ar-
rest. They sincerely believed their lives were in great peril,
and only wished to get away from all the contending parties
and return to the quiet pursuit of the beaver and musk-rat.
The old man was past sixty, and remarked to me that it
"Wasn't a fur while he had to live nohow," but he would like
to save the boy — who was about twenty — any more trouble.

It was Friday when the prisoners were brought to Chad-
ron. The county judge continued the hearing of their case over
to Monday. Some of the Wyoming authorities had arrived,
and, both parties struggling for the possession of the pris-
oners, placed a guard to watch the jail and see that they
were not spirited away.

Saturday night Deputy U. S. Marshal Hepfinger arrived
in Chadron. He stayed around the hotel Sunday and had
conferences with the Douglas livery man and the attorneys
interested in getting the prisoners away — who w^ere now re-
enforced by the arrival of a couple of Wyoming lawyers.
Monday morning Marshal Hepfinger went before U. S. Cir-
cuit Court Commissioner L. A. Dorrington and swore out a
warrant for the two trappers, charging them with selling

144

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

liquors to Indians. No one but those in charge of that side of
the case knew of this. The hearing of the habeas corpus case
was set for ten o'clock. Before that time the court room was
crowded. Rumor had gone out that the U. S. marshal would
attempt to seize the witnesses and carry them off, and many
of the small stock men living around Chadron had come in —
some of them armed — to witness the proceedings.

The trappers were brought into court and seated together.
Marshal Hepfinger immediately took a chair next to them
on the right and the Douglas liver^^man the one on the left.
After counsel on both sides had made their argument on
the legal question involved — which was whether the pris-
oners were lawfully held by Constable Morrison and should
be returned to the Wyoming authorities — the honorable
county court relieved himself of a very large section of plug
tobacco and began slowly to deliver his opinion. After re-
viewing the case the court said, "I therefore find that these
men are held without legal authority and" — here the court
looked significantly at Marshal Hepfinger and uttered the
words quickly — ''Discharge the prisoners."

Instantly the deputy marshal sprang to his feet, placed a
hand on each of the trappers and exclaimed, ''You are my
prisoners." At the same time Sheriff James 0. Dahlman,
now one of the state board of transportation, placed his
hands upon them and produced a warrant, saying, "These
men belong to me." Dahlman represented the Wyoming
authorities, and his papers were designed to return the wit-
nesses to Douglas. There was intense excitement in the
room. A hundred men sprang upon chairs and tables and
formed a circle in whose center were the two trappers, the
deputy U. S. marshal, and the Nebraska sheriff. Every one
looked for a fight, and there Avas not much doubt on which
side the great majority present stood. The deputy marshal
had produced a bundle of glittering steel as he spoke, and,
with the aid of the livery man and another assistant, pro-
ceeded to hand-cuff and leg-shackle the two innocent objects

A NEBRASKA EPISODE.

145

of all this contention. I shall never forget the appeal in*^,
terror-stricken look in the eyes of old trapper »Tones as tlie
hand-cuffs and leg-irons were fastened on his limbs and he
looked around him at that circle of intense faces.

Meanwliile the opposing attorneys came forward — with
the praiseworthy ambition of their class to prevent all con-
flicts except those which involve a payment of fees. After a
prolonged conference, it was announced that Sheriff Dahl-
man relinquished his claim to the men. The reason given at
the time was that the Wyoming local authorities could not
put up a sufficient financial guarantee to protect the sheriff
from possible loss if he endeavored to hold the prisoners and
became thereby involved in litigation. There was no lack of
"financial guarantee" on the cattle barons' side of- the case.
I have it from the lips of those w^ho know that a cash deposit
of one hundred and twenty dollars was made by that side of
the case with the county judge to "meet all possible costs/'
as it was phrased. None of this money was ever paid back or
accounted for, and the present county judge of Dawes county
writes me, under date of December 28, 1898, that he has dili-
gently searched all the records in his office and nowhere in
them is there a trace of this important habeas corpus case
for which a fee deposit of one hundred and twenty dollars
was made. Nor is there any record in the papers of the U. S.
circuit court commissioner at Chadron of the complaint
sworn to or warrant issued in this case.

The moment it was announced by the lawyers that Sheriff
Dahlman's claim for the prisoners was withdrawn, the U. S.
deputy marshal pushed the two trappers through the crowd
and hustled them at as rapid a gait as they could Avalk down
the middle of the street toward the depot. That May day
morning picture in mountain Nebraska — the two innocent,
unoffending trappers with glittering steel shackles on their
wrists and ankles, the U. S. marshal with his assistants hur-
rying them along, the successful attorneys for the millionaire
murderers accompanying, and the indignant, irresolute local
10

146

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

croAvd that followed after — will never be effaced from my
mind. It lasted scarcely longer tlian it might be photo-
graphed. As they hurried toward the depot the purpose of
their haste flashed into our minds. A turn of the street cor-
ner confirmed the flash. There stood a special train headed
east, Avith hot hissing steam blowing off from the engine. The
U. S. marshals, the lawyers, the trappers, and the circuit
court commissioner hurried on board. Two short shrieks
from the locomotive, and the train was moving. Before half
the following crowd had reached the platform it had disap-
peared beyond the hills of the Bordeaux valley.

Two hundred and eighty dollars was the price paid for
the service of the special train. It ran a hundred miles east
to Cody, a little station in the very center of the Cherry
county sand-hills. There it halted, and, after telegraj)hic
communication with Cheyenne and Omaha, the party got off.
In a few hours they were joined from the east by deputy U.
S. marshals Z. E. Jackson and S. M. Melick, both of Avhom
are now residents of Lincoln. They had left Fremont that
morning with instructions from the U. S. marshal's office at
Omaha to go to Chadron and secure the trappers. 0-n their
way up the Elkhorn valley they had been apprised by tele-
graph that Deputy Hepfinger had succeeded in the task, and
were ordered to go to Cody to meet and assist him if needed.

The prisoners, worn out with excitement and anxiety, were
permitted to lie down on the depot floor and sleep, while the
rest of the x^arty passed the time Avith cards until the arrival
of the east-bound express, which they boarded for Omaha.

The entire party arrived in Omaha at 5 :20 p.m. the next
day. They were met at the depot by Attorney Frank Ran-
som, since then president of the Nebraska senate, w^ho had
been retained by the Cheyenne cattle barons. They were
driven at once to the Federal building, to the office of E. S.
Dundy, jr., son of U. S. District Judge Dundy, and himself
circuit court commissioner. Here they were arraigned on the
charge of selling liquor to the Indians. They waived exam-

A NEBRASKA EPISODE.

147

ination, or somebody waived it for tliein. Tlieir own personal
recognizance iii two hundred dollars, and two hundred dollars
cash bail was required for their appearance to answer the
charge. W. A. Paxton, Jr., son of the well known Omaha
cattle magnate, deposited the two hundred dollars cash, and
the prisoners signed the personal recognizance. They were
then taken down town, treated to supper, shave, and hair-cut,
their rough frontier tra]Dper costumes replaced with new
suits of clothes and then driven to the Missouri Pacific night
train, in charge of a man directed to take them to St. Louis.

This is as far as I have been able authentically to trace
their story. I am informed by those in a position to know
that they were to be given }3,000 each, and from St, Louis
were to be sent to Mexico, but my informant was unable to
say positively that this was done. At any rate the two trap-
per witnesses disappeared from the plains of Wyoming and
the prairies of Nebraska — never, I presume, to return, and
the most diligent search on my part gives no clue of their
ultimate fate or present whereabouts.

The record in the Omaha Federal building shows the fol-
lowing upon U. S. Commissioner E. S. Dundy, Jr.'s, docket,
docket A, p. 251 :

^'The United States vs. Benj. Jones and William Walker,
selling liquor to Indians, warrant issued by Dorrington at
Chadron. 5-10-92. Warrant returned served on Benjamin
Jones and William Walker at Ohadron, 5-9-92. Marshal's
fees, 1263.64. Defendants present in court and waived ex-
amination. Bail fixed at }200 for appearance May 20, 1892;
same given and defendants released. United States attorney
directs the taking of a personal recognizance with $200 cash."

/'May 27, 1892. Keceived of E. S. Dundy, Jr., U. S. com-
missioner, f200 cash, bail deposited for appearance of Ben-
jamin Jones and William Walker, the above named defend-
ants. (Signed) W. A. Paxton, Jr. |8.65. 7-1-92."

Commissioner Dundy explains that the bail was returned

148

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

because the grand jury found no indictment against the trap-
pers.

The final chapter in this history is given in the following
associated press dispatch from Cheyenne, Wyoming, dated
January 21, 1893 :

^'The case against the twenty-three stockmen who invaded
Johnson county, Wyoming, last spring and killed the ranch-
men. Champion and Ray, was dismissed last evening, it be-
ing impossible to secure a jury; 1,069 talesmen have been ex-
amined and no jurors secured. The sheriff made return last
evening that he was unable to secure any more talesmen.
Prosecuting Attorney Bennett then asked the court to enter
a nolle prosse in the case, which was done. There is great re-
joicing among the stockmen and their families over the
result.''

The honored President of this historical society, in a recent
number of his erudite and caustic family journal, inquired
with fine irony what kind of animal the Money Power was —
whether quadruped, snake, or saurian — and declared that,
in a residence of some sixty years on this planet, he had never
seen the creature or even its tracks on the sandstone. I do
not know but our honored President may hold the same
opinion respecting the slave power — another animal which
(whether myth or not) holds some place in the history and
literature of our native land. There is a difference of eye-
sight, I ^freely grant. Some of us can only see the behemoth
when he eats the grass on the family lawn, while to some,
like John on the Island of Patmos, or that other John in Bed-
ford jail, England, it is given to see the passions, the loves,
the hates, the jealousies, the ambitions, and the evils that
throng about our lives from the birth-bed to the pillow of
prairie sod that marks the end — in the form of beasts and
living creatures.

i do not think that I belong to the class of inspired vision-
i-sts such as these, but if ever my mind doubted the existence
of a real, living, organized money power in America, the

A NEBRASKA EPISODE.

149

memory of the scenes here recorded — the interview witli the
trappers in the Chadron jail, their simple, significant story,
the burning ranch and the murdered ranchmen on IN)\vder
river, the march of the military to the murderers' rescue, the
hreaking of the Douglas jail, the special trains, the array of
legal talent and U. S. marshals, and finally the photograph,
indelibly printed on my brain, of two innocent men (known
by every one to be such) marched in chains through the
streets of my own town and borne away to defeat the ends
of justice by the highest power of that government, framed
by our fathers to secure liberty and equality among men —
these would silence the doubt.

When great wealth can command not only all the triumphs
of modern learning and invention, the railway, the telegraph,
and the legal fraternity, but beyond that — when it can move
the army of the United States and the very machinery of the
United States courts — not to punish crime, but to steal wit-
nesses that murder may go unpunished — when it does these
things openly in the face of the American people — it will re-
quire more even than the singularly gifted pen of our Presi-
dent to convince some of us that the Money Power is nothing
more than a political Mrs. Harris, the goblin of some garru-
lous Sairy Gamp.

In Herndon's Life of Lincoln (vol. 1, p. 67) is told the
story of the Flatboatman's visit to New Orleans in 1831. For
the first time in his life he saw men and women chained to-
gether and sold from the auction block. Bringing together
his fists he said to John Hanks, ^'If ever I get a chance I'll hit
that thing (the slave power) and I'll hit it hard." There
were some Nebraskans who expressed the same sentiment to
each other as they witnessed the chained procession hurried
down the street of the metropolis of Northwestern Nebraska
that May morning of 1892.

150

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

EECOLLECTIONS OF OMAHA, 1855-61.

By C. Irvine, Oregon, Mo. Read at the Meeting of the Society January 11,

18^9.

I arrived at Omaha on the second trip there by the steamer
so named, in the spring of 1855, forty-three years ago, and ifc
seems like yesterday. V. Berkley, A. M. Snyder, and Theo.
Dodge were among the passengers with whom I became very
intimate. Parker, the United States land register, was also
along. It had been raining very hard for a few days, but
cleared off warm the morning we arrived, a lovely May morn-
ing. I remember seeing Captain Moore and Wm. Clancey
standing conspicuously on the town site not far from the Apex
saloon, kept by Kimball, and pointing out city lots to new ar-
rivals. One of our passengers, a German, had bought a lot in
Omaha from some speculator on board for about |100. It was
not far from the Douglas House towards the river. It was part
of a ravine, "a hole in the ground," and he made an awful
fuss. We all sided with him, saying it was a perfect swindle.
"The price was awful for a mere hole in the ground," was
the general opinion, so green were we newcomers on western
lot speculations. My recollection is that the man or some
other one, got $800 for the hole soon after. Mills was run-
ning the Douglas House and taking in more money than every-
body else, as prices for rooms were very high. August
Kountze, who was a passenger, and myself occupied adjoin-
ing "rooms," as we called our beds, and many laid on the
floor. Snyder had his wife and a colored nurse girl, a slave,
along, and the cost of living scared him. He proposed that
Dodd, himself, and I should make an expedition towards De
Soto, the most ambitious city after Omaha then in the Ter-

RECOLLECTIONS OF OMAHA.

151

ritory. It was right on the river and "had a permanent land-
ing." It was exactly "opposite the great north bend of the
Platte/l — therefore sure to be a railroad terminus. We
Avandered along on foot for some distance, accompanied by a
lot of Indians. These were escorting a white girl, who rode
a pony and seemed to belong to them. Footsore and weary,
we by sundown found a man named Judge McDonald "hold-
ing a claim-' in the high grass, who pointed us to Fort Cal-
lioun, where we could be lodged. By dusk w^e got there. There
were but two or three cabins on the whole town site. A large
double cabin with an upstairs was the hotel, kept by George
Stevens. Well, we had a good supper and rested, and Avere
refreshed. Old Mr. Mather, the father of Mrs. Stevens, his
wife, and son Ed, a young man, were members of the house-
hold. Mrs. Stevens, a kind lady and splendid housekeeper,
made it like home. In pleasant converse the evening was
passed. In the morning we admired the exceeding beauty of
the situation. In truth there are no lovelier landscapes than
all along the Missouri river, and right there was one of the
most glorious scenes eye ever beheld — as nature left it. We
went up to De Soto, greatly disappointing the friends we had
made, who hoped to retain us as citizens of Fort Calhoun. We
were greatly disappointed at De Soto — a cluster of cabins in a
hollow by the river. W e found nobody, and nothing there to

invite us. One kept the hotel and Bill Clancey ran

the town, though he lived mostly at Omaha. There Avas a
place, called Cuming City after Secretary of State Cum-
ing, a feAV miles above on a fine site, but far from the river.
Jim Stewart, a prominent citizen there, I soon after made ac-
quaintance with. Both the places have departed the earth,
i and their very sites have been forgotten. The river is now
miles aAvay from where De Soto was, as it once Avas Avhere
P^ort Calhoun noAV is.

Returning, we stopped again at Fort Calhoun, and Avhen I
left the next morning I promised to come back and live there,
as I was perfectly sick of the WTctched accommodations, the

152

XEBEASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

crowds, and dissipations of Omalia. I had no idea that
Omaha Tvonld ever become of much account. In fact there
Trere fifty town-sites equally ambitious. So I returned to
Fort Calhoun and took up mj residence with the Stevens
family. Amid their primitive times and ways^ I never
enjoyed my life more. We were all contented, hopeful, and
equal. About a dozen more houses were put up there that
season and a good saw mill by one B. F. Littell with Alonzo
Perkins and old man Allen. Lumber was in such demand
that many teams from even near Omaha would be seen wait-
ing for their turn to be laden. At one time cotton wood
brought ?ioO per thousand. These men got their logs right
around them at no cost whatever for one stick — mill right in
the vast woods of the bottoms — and vet ran in debt, rarely
paid their hands, and just hobbled along. Bad management.

At that time E. H. Warner, a young man, general laborer,
was laying the foundations of a large business and fortune
by his industry and good sense. He worked at the mill, had
a land claim, and sold out when the crash came. He went
to St. Louis in 1S59, or about then, and with his experience
in timber acquired as a y\'ork hand, he soon became so neces-
sary to the lumber house there for vdiich he worked that, to
keep him, a partnership wa#»3roposed. Mr. Warner is now
one of the wealthiest citizens of St. Louis. His residence,
ox)posite the waterworks, is a fortune in itself.

The chief business of everybody was claim taking, under
a rascally act of the legislature permitting us to mark out
half -sections as claims, instead of quarter sections as pro-
vided by Congress; and to purchase as many claims as we
could. Strangers entering our country later with lawful de-
signs were surprised often to find old raggamuffins waving
their arms over thousands [of acres] of the desirable lands
as their own, and [were] often obliged to pay enormous prices
for a spot to settle on. But under this system of yielding all
to speculation we have literally wasted the heritage of future
generations. Xot a thing is left for those who come after

RECOLLECTIONS OF OMAHA.

153

us. People traded in claims [320 acres] and city lots as
elsewhere they did in horses, niggers, etc. And indeed town
shares and claims duly recorded in Nebraska were largely
traded over the river in Iowa for cattle, flour, etc., whisky, too.
As lands Avere not in market, money was abundant, and labor
was the dearest thing and most desirable. A Mr. Kuony and
wife, two Swiss people, he acted as hostler, she as chamber-
maid, at Stevens's house, and he, by simply sticking to what-
ever came to him, amassed a large fortune, whereas all the
high-flyers went under for good. I remember when standing
in the road before the ^^hotel" and stopping tramps as they
went by with wallets on back, soliciting them to stop at Fort
Calhoun, being laughed at by A. S. Paddock, a writer and
boarder.

"What good will such men be?''

"Of more use, one of them, than you and I, and a hundred
more like us," I said. "Labor is what we need."

Often these tramps would say, "At De Soto they give a man
a lot if he settles there." "We give you two," I said, and
often got a settler thus, who built a house, and that was more
than a regiment of us tender-fingered gentry ever did. The
great mill put up at Fort Calhoun was gotten there in just
that kind of a way. A young Van Lear of Montreal, Canada,
w^as induced to stop and bunk with some fellow in the bot-
tom all winter. This led to his selecting Fort Calhoun as
the place for the mill, afterwards owned by Elam Clarke. I
remember one day meeting a fellow on a pony far down in the
bottom miles away from the town-site. It was early spring.
He called out:

"I say, stranger, is there a place called Fort Calhoun any-
w^here about?"

"Yes," and I pointed the direction.

"Do you know any such person as Van Lear?"

"Yes. He lives about here. I think you w ill find Mm at
or near the saw mill."

"W^hat does he do?"

154 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETlt.

"Nothing but hunt. He is waiting for a flour mill to ar-
rive here."

"Well J I swear — I never believed it. I told the captain
that there must be some mistake about the direction. You
see, it's on our boat, which has just landed over there. No
. road, no landing, no sign of human being, so I got on our
pony and rode this way, and was just about to give it all up.''

The result was he went and found Van Lear, who had no
money to pay the freight charges, |1,500. It was the
greatest flour mill ever brought up the Missouri river then,
and I think it was Van Lear's share out of an estate. Nobody
but Elam Clark had money enough to pay the freight, and
Van mortgaged it, borrowing at about 30 per cent and losing
the whole thing after years of struggling. O! When will we
have a government that will protect its wretched, struggling
people, its most necessary citizens against loss of homesteads,
and by abundant supplies of money at a half per cent inter-
est? But government must not compete against individuals.
About four centuries ago the Swiss of Appenzell all started a
government under which every family should have an inalien-
able homestead, non- taxable, and money enougli was provided
to keep interest nominal. Under these simple preventatives
not one homeless family or destitute person has ever been
known. Some are very rich; none are poor, and a writer in
the Atlantic Monthly of August, 1869, says every family
lives in what we would call palaces. Who of us that helped
settle Nebraska and saw our first equal society so happy
under real hardships because we were equal and hopeful, and
saw so' soon enormous wealth develop on one side with enor-
mous poverty on the other, is not able to see the causes of idle-
ness and poverty, those parents of all crime? Our little
society soon witnessed deeds of violence and murder, begotten
of that greed for claims created by scandalous acts of terri-
torial legislatures — acts made contrary, also, to the supreme
law of the land. The town-site of Fort Calhoun was ''jumped"
by a De Soto man — the jealousy against Fort Calhoun grow-

RECOLLECTIONS OF OMAHA.

155

ing out of its being the county seat. Davis, the jumper, took
his place in an old cabin by the river bluffs, a remnant of tlie
old fort itself — the place being the original Council Bluff.
The river, with its surrounding bluffs, enclosing a vast
amphitheater some twenty or more miles in diameter, and
tlie Indian name, we were told, signifies "the Council Bluffs.'^
By the way, the Indians told me that Omaha means "Against
Current," A tribe of lower Missouri dividing — one x>art go-
ing "Omaha," against current, the other "Nemaha," with
current. Well, Davis was surrounded by the Fort Calhoun
town speculators. Some firing began — he shot one dead and
badly wounded another, and then the surrounders dispersed
— carrying their dead and wounded with them to Council
Bluffs, where they belonged. Davis got away somehow and
matters were settled. There were several murders on ac-
count of claim jumping — the jumpers often proceeding under
the United States preemption act, giving 160 acres, while
claims were 320 acres under club law and as much as one
could buy. The first building called a court house ever put
up in Nebraska was erected at Fort Calhoun about July,
1856. Elsewhere buildings were used for courts, but this was
the first building designed and built for that sole, distinct pur-
pose, and I helped raise it. When done, we had a few remarks
on the occasion, after our American custom, to the effect
that "We here, a few pioneers, were laying the foundations
of empire, and humble as were our beginnings, some of us
might live to see these lovely landscapes now resting under
the adornments of nature, crowded with industrious popu-
lations and dotted everywhere with cities, towns, splendid
villages, and with temples towering toward the heavens of the
everlasting God." These remarks were made by the vener-
able Mr. Mather, a splendid old man of antique type, in whose
company I ever took great delight — the father of Mrs. Ste-
vens and grandfather of Mrs. Mary Kunyon of Council Bluffs.
Snyder and Dodge, or Dodds, went into banking and real
estate. When the war broke out Theodore Dodds enlisted

164 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCtETlf.

"Nothing but hunt. He is waiting for a flour mill to ar-
rive here."

"Well, I swear — I never believed it. I told the captain
that there must be some mistake about the direction. You
see, it's on our boat, which has just landed over there. No
. road, no landing, no sign of human being, so I got on our
pony and rode this way, and was just about to give it all up.''

The result was he went and found Van Lear, who had no
money to pay the freight charges, |1,500. It was the
greatest flour mill ever brought up the Missouri river then,
and I think it was Van Lear's share out of an estate. Nobody
but Elam Clark had money enough to pay the freight, and
Van mortgaged it, borrowing at about 30 per cent and losing
the whole thing after years of struggling. O! When Avill we
have a government that will protect its Avretched, struggling
IJeople, its most necessary citizens against loss of homesteads,
and by abundant supplies of money at a half per cent inter-
est? But government must not compete against individuals.
About four centuries ago the Swiss of Appenzell all started a
government under which every family should have an inalien-
able homestead, non-taxable, and money enougli was provided
to keep interest nominal. Under these simple preventatives
not one homeless family or destitute person has ever been
known. Some are very rich; none are poor, and a writer in
the Atlantic Monthly of August, 1869, says every family
lives in what we would call palaces. Who of us that helped
settle Nebraska and saw our first equal society so happy
under real hardships because we were equal and hopeful, and
saw so' soon enormous wealth develop on one side with enor-
mous poverty on the other, is not able to see the causes of idle-
ness and poverty, those parents of all crime? Our little
society soon witnessed deeds of violence and murder, begotten
of that greed for claims created by scandalous acts of terri-
torial legislatures — acts made contrary, also, to the supreme
law of the land. The town-site of Fort Calhoun was "jumped"
by a De Soto man — the jealousy against Fort Calhoun grow-

RECOLLECTIONS OF OMAHA.

155

ing out of its being the county seat. Davis, the jumper, took
his place in an old cabin by the river bluffs, a remnant of tlie
old fort itself — the place being the original Council Blult*.
The river, with its surrounding bluffs, enclosing a vast
amphitheater some twenty or more miles in diameter, and
the Indian name, we were told, signifies "the Council Bluffs."
By the way, the Indians told me that Omaha means "Against
Current," A tribe of lower Missouri dividing — one part go-
ing "Omaha," against current, the other "Nemaha," with
current. Well, Davis was surrounded by the Fort Calhoun
town speculators. Some firing began — he shot one dead and
badly wounded another, and then the surrounders dispersed
— carrying their dead and wounded with them to Council
Bluffs, where they belonged. Davis got away somehow and
matters were settled. There were several murders on ac-
count of claim jumping — the jumpers often proceeding under
the United States preemption act, giving 160 acres, while
claims were 320 acres under club law and as much as one
could buy. The first building called a court house ever put
up in Nebraska was erected at Fort Calhoun about July,
1856. Elsewhere buildings were used for courts, but this was
the first building designed and built for that sole, distinct pur-
pose, and I helped raise it. When done, we had a few remarks
on the occasion, after our American custom, to the effect
that "We here, a few pioneers, were laying the foundations
of empire, and humble as were our beginnings, some of us
might live to see these lovely landscapes now resting under
the adornments of nature, crowded with industrious popu-
lations and dotted everywhere with cities, towns, splendid
villages, and with temples towering toward the heavens of the
everlasting God." These remarks were made by the vener-
able Mr. IMather, a splendid old man of antique type, in whose
company I ever took great delight — the father of Mrs. Ste-
vens and grandfather of Mrs. Mary Kunyon of Council Bluffs.
Snyder and Dodge, or Dodds, went into banking and real
estate. When the war broke out Theodore Dodds enlisted

156

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

and was captain of a Colorado company, and was very soon
killed in a figlit in which he displayed maryelous courage.
Snyder went to Oregon.

The way men drank then and there, who drank at all, was
a caution. I observe every soul of them died in a little time.
F,or two or three years they looked well and were very gay —
then bloating, they rapidly broke down. A couple of high
governmental officials invited me to ride with them over to
Council Bluffs from Omaha. We must take a "nip" at the
hotel bar before starting. At the crowded bar the rule was
"fire and fall back'* for room for others. Once in our carriage
the bar assistant was ordered to bring out three drinks. Going

a block, General ordered a halt and more drinks. "Isn't

this loading rather fast. General?'' I asked. "Silence in
ranks. Obey orders," was the reply. And so on at every op-
portunity, and they were numerous, and then at the "Half
Way House," and then at a house w^here a sign said, "The
Last Chance," at the ferry, and when across, "The First
Chance" met our eyes — then another "Half Way House" on
the way to Council Bluffs, and then a drug store at the en-
trance, near old Pacific House kept by Bayliss, whose
brother, old Major Bayliss, was a character — an old Vir-
ginia gentleman and bachelor. "How are you. Major?"

"Tip top, sah, tip top! How do you like my style, sah?"

These sayings of his were by-w^ords. Long before reaching
the drug store I was obliged to evade, throw away, hide, etc.,
and my friends were too much occupied to notice. But I left
on plea of business, and seeking for them next morning, I
tracked them from "groceree to groceri," far up town, where
I found the general on a high table, playing at a violin, amus-
ing a half-drunken crowd, and was assured that he had made
his way from place to place all night long. When I pro-
posed to return home, he cried out, "Not yet, my lad! We
are going to make a night of it." So then I left and got back
by the best means I could. It seemed to me that for two
years life among these Omaha fellows was a constant spree,

RECOLLECTIONS OP OMAHA.

157

and more because of that, foreseeing the consequences, did
I retire to Fort Calhoun. All the money on earth can not
compensate for a broken constitution — and unless I could
have found some church, joined it, and lived under the sanc-
tuary, I knew the society of Omaha would ruin me. We had
men ^^from all parts of earth and some of the South Sea Isl-
ands, too,'^ even at Fort Calhoun, before six months. And
we had as bright and splendid examples of manhood as ever
were to be found at Omaha and vicinity — men who had been
everywhere, seen everything, able to do everything, and had
legislation been for the human race instead of for private
greed, there had been the grandest chance for its display.
But, then, there was "that sum of all villainies, slavery," to
be wiped out first, and why talk of it? We have inherited
from mother England some sore diseases, and much of the rot
of orientalism— a leprous defilement whose subjects may re-
quire our entire continent for their isolation.

We had six banks for our little population of less than six
thousand — banks of issue — and money was plentiful until the
crash of 1857. I have never believed that panic came to us
from our speculation. We of the United States, after a long
spell of bad times from 1837 up to 1850^ had barely begun a
career of prosperity that promised to last. Eailroad build-
ing had just been projected, and the whole [country] west of
the Mississippi River was just opening up to immigration.
Nothing done, everything just ready for doing, when a sud-
den call on the Ohio Life and Trust [Company] for a paltry
fifteen millions of gold closed as by magic every business
house in the United States for a few months. Cotton, sell-
ing at 15 cents, fell to just anything the planter could get
in gold, — no silver — all paper on specie basis, yet California
pouring out fifty millions per year. It is now known that
the panic here was made by our British customers to put
doivn cotton at the very time it was coming to market. It
did so, and as soon as they had loaded up they left us to get
out. But the evil on Nebraska was lasting and terrible. All

158

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

our bright prospects vanished in one hour, and we lost half
of our most energetic citizens.

The winter of 1856-57, ushered in by a deep snow about
December 1 of nearly four feet, ending with a blizzard, was
long and severe. Many of us had never seen a blizzard, and
nearly lost our lives by exposure. At one time the mercury
at Fort Calhoun stood forty degrees below zero, and the
south wind coming on to blow a furious gale Avith the mer-
cury at 25 degrees below zero all day, we had such a time as
is rarely felt. Snow blew several inches deep into most
houses, yet we were all jolly and in high spirits, looking for
a big immigration, and yet your vile immigration laws keep-
ing it out. The Indians wandered up and down in large num-
bers and had plenty of meat from the dead cattle lying
around. Wolves, too, were abundant, and deer would not
get out of our path to walk on the crusted snow that broke
and cut their legs. Hundreds were thus killed by a blow
from a club, and for a time venison was about our whole
living. Gangs of large gray, black, and brown wolves would
cross right over the town site, and several times I have al-
most met them right on the ridge just back of the old tavern
stand. The last time I ever saw the buffalo we were about
fifty miles west of the river and there seemed to be mil-
lions, as far as the eye could reach extended the moving
crowd, and it took days in moving south.

I left Nebraska on account of the panic and came to Mis-
souri here at Oregon, Holt county. What a wonderful dif-
ference in climate that hundred miles makes! I married
Miss Ann K. Johnson, eldest child of Hadley D. Johnson.
Our second child, Louis, was born at the old farm house now
in Omaha, where we lived in 1861-62, having returned. One
anecdote and I am through. It is to show on what trifles
our whole destiny may depend. One day in the summer of
1857, a lot of us Fort Calhounites had started homeward
from Omaha, where we had been visiting. As we drove along
some one proposed we should stop to go into a saloon under

RECOLLECTIONS OF OMAHA.

159

the old exchange bank. Others opposed it, but finally we
stopped. In the saloon was a man by the name of Grant,
electioneering for Col. Thayer for Congress. I told him
Thayer was my man, as he was the only anti-Nebraska bill
democrat running.

"Let me introduce you and we will fix things." An intro-
duction follow^ed. I agreed to work for Thayer. I arranged
how we should carry Washington county unanimously for
him. I was to pretend to oppose him bitterly and that would
fix about two-thirds — my enemies — for him. And I had only
to whisper to my friends. This indirect way puzzled Thayer,
but I assured him it would work. Then I went to work doing
all I could for him south of Platte, going up and down on
steamboats and other ways. Thayer was beaten, but our
county w^ent almost to a man for him. In electioneering I
made many acquaintances and friends, so when I left Ne-
braska, being ill, I concluded to stop here (Oregon) for a day
or two before going down into Arkansas. I never dreamed
of staying here. I was in low spirits, glad no one knew me, in
my reversed fortunes. But I- saw there was some money
here, gold, and considerable traffic. As I walked out, the
first person I met was a gentleman I had learned to know
while electioneering for Thayer. He recognized me forth-
with and introduced me to all people we met on the
street, and nothing would do but I must stop here and open
out a law office. He assured me plenty of business. All the
people I met were equally urgent. I finally did so, and soon
had a thriving business. But' for having met Thayer I never
had made the man's acquaintance.

Early in 1861, as I was going up to Nebraska on a boat,
Lincoln's new governor was aboard. We became well ac-
quainted. Learning I was an old settler, he very earnestly
asked me who was a fit man for him to make the Colonel of
the First regiment, then forming. I assured him that there
was but one man who had the least pretensions to military
skill or love of military life, and that was John M. Thayer,

160

NEBitASKA STATE aiSTORlCAL SOCIETlT.

and gave him several reasons why. The governor said that
there were about fifty applicants. I saw a white haired, pim-
ple-faced youth standing near, with long hair, who did not
like the talk. He was the private secretary, and some one
had soothed that itching palm. When we arrived, the first
man I met was Thayer, who asked me if I knew the coming
governor, and to say a word for him. I told him to keep
away from me, not be seen talking with me, as I had fijsed it,
I believed. In fact, the governor had said he would appoint
that man I had spoken about. And he did so. So you see
how our fates hin^e on mere trifles.

DEATH OIP LOGAN FONTANELLE.

IGl

DEATH OF LOGAN FONTANELLE.

Prepared by T. H. Tibbies from Story by Iron Eye.

I don't know about your years exactly, but I think it was
in J uly and the year 1856. We went out toward the Pawnee
reserve to hunt. We camped near the creek called by the
Omahas, Beaver creek. That was the first year we went
buffalo hunting along the Elkhorn (after we came to this
reserve). We advanced, crossed the Elkhorn, and came to an-
other stream that flows into the Platte. In going forward we
came across buffalo twice. As we went forward, toward sun-
down, Louis Sansouci went up on the hills to keep an out-
look and saw a Sioux. I saw his signal and ordered him to
come back. I took the swift horses and the young men and
gave chase, and all the camp followed on after us. We were
about three miles ahead of the main body, and it was about
sundown when we caught sight of the Sioux by the flash of
the sun on a gun barrel, as they lay hid in the grass. As it
was getting dark, I ordered the Omahas to stop, for I felt
sure that the Sioux would attack us during the night. I sent
out ten young men with the swiftest horses to keep watch.
They got between some of the Sioux and their main body,
and an Omaha, the oldest one among them, got so near a
Sioux that he tried to strike him while he (the Sioux) was
alive, instead of killing him as he ought to have done, and the
Sioux escaped. The Sioux ran back and got behind some
woods and then suddenly dashed out and killed this Omaha.
Our young men fell back, but they left one wounded Omaha
on the field. I held a council. Logan said, "We will go back
in the night, bury our dead, and get the wounded," but I said

162 NEBRASKA SO'ATE litSTORiCAL SOCIETY.

"No ; we will prepare the camp to figlit, and if they attack us
in the night we will fight." In the morning we went back and
found Sansouci still alive; the other was dead. Near this
place the Sioux attacked us again. I took ten young men, all
of whom had swift horses and guns, and started with them.
An old man detained me by talking to one of the young men.
While I stopped, one of the young men, without orders, rode
to the top of a hill. I called to him to come back, but he did
not hear and rode on. He got a few rods over the hill when
the Sioux made a dash and killed him. After that the young
men followed me instead of going ahead. I pushed on very
hard after the Sioux, but could not find them. There were
only three of these Sioux, and Spotted Tail was one of them.
It was Spotted Tail who killed the man. Spotted Tail had
his wife with him, and she was in the Sioux camp at that time.
The present Spotted Tail was in the camp also. He was tied
on a board. Spotted Tail was a foolish young man at that
time. He had a fast horse, and when all the Sioux were in
plain sight he rode alone almost into the Omaha camp.
Twice he did it, with our young men shooting at him. I was
on the other side of the camp, too far away to get a shot. All
of the Sioux were swinging their blankets and calling for
him to come back. When he was older he would not have
done so foolish a thing.

After that the Sioux moved away, apparently going back
to their reservation. I sent men who followed their trail a
long way. We camped where we were and buried our dead.
We could not give up the hunt, for it was our only means of
living. We moved slowly along Beaver creek, going toward
the Pawnee agency, and camped at a fork of the creek. I
killed a good many elk. Logan had a splendid bay mare that
I had given him. She was the fastest horse in the Omaha
camp. He also had a double barreled rifle, which I had made
a present to him. It was a good gun, and would shoot twice
without reloading. We were very great friends.

Logan, like Spotted Tail, was foolishly brave. Early in

DEATH OF LOGAN FONTANELLE.

103

the morning we broke camp, and I Avent on ahead. I started
while camp was breaking up. Logan followed about a mile
behind. I came upon some elk and Avounded one and followed
on after it. Logan went straight ahead and did not know
that I had turned to one side to follow the elk. On a high
bank of the creek, covered with thick underbrush, I killed the
elk and tied it on my horse. I used my lariat to tie the meat on.
That morning an old man had borrow^ed my hunting knife
and did not give it back. I turned the horse loose and sat
down to have a rest and a smoke. Just then I looked back and
saw the Sioux coming up on both sides of the Omalias, who
were on the march. The Sioux were yelling with all their
might, and that frightened my horse, and it Avas with great
difficulty that I craAvled up to him and caught him. I had
tied the elk on Avith such hard knots that I could not quickly
untie them, and I had no knife to cut the lariat. So I jumped
on the horse, heavy loaded as he Avas, and made a dash for our
lines. I just got inside, but Logan AA^as cut off and sur-
rounded. Logan could have made a dash like I did, but he
laid down in the grass and attempted to fight the Sioux alone.
His first shot missed, but with the second he killed a Sioux.
The Sioux thought that there w^ere two men there, and those
in front halted. Another party of about a dozen made a
charge on him from behind. Logan had reloaded his gun,
and as they came up he turned and killed two of them. The
party that Avere in front dashed in before he could reload and
killed and scalped him. Then tliey retired to the brush where
I had killed the elk, Avhich was a foolish thing for them to do,
for while they Avere there I got the camp together and the
men, women, and children, with their hoes and their knives,
dug pits from which w^e could fight all around the camp.
After aw^hile the Sioux came out with a great rush, yelling
at the top of tlieir voices, but I was prepared for them. One
of them rode Logan's horse and SAVung Logan's scalp in the
air.

The fight lasted about three hours, but I fought them off

164

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

from our pits. We killed two or three of their horses,
wounded two or three, and I think killed one. We had sev-
eral horses killed and one man wounded.

After the Sioux retreated, I sent out a party, led by Two
CrowS; to look for Logan's body. They found the body and
brought it in. I strengthened the camp and stayed there that
night. In the morning I broke camp and started for Belle-
vue with Logan's body. Logan was a very brave man. I sup-
pose he thought that he could lay in the grass and fight off the
Sioux until the camp came up, and he supposed that I was
still on ahead of him and if he fought there it would be a
help to me, I being, as he thought, still farther ahead. Some-
times I have thought that if he had not had that double-
barrelled rifle he would not have stayed there.

(Note — This account of the battle in which Logan Fontanelle lost his life
is from notes taken down by me in 1882. I asked Iron Eye to tell me the
story, as he was in command at the time the fight took place. The words in
parenthesis in the fifth line were not very legible and I am not sure that they
are correct.)

REMINISCENCES OF THE CRUSADE IN NEBRASKA.

165

REMINISCENCES OF THE CRUSADE IN NEBRASKA.

Mrs. Harriet W. Leighton.

This midwinter meeting of the old settlers' reunion has been
looked forward to with happy anticipations by each member,
I am sure. In my poverty of expression I have been requested
to wr^te, for this occasion, a few reminiscences of ''Nebraska
Woman's Crusade," that wonderful uprising of women which
occurred December, 1873 anji 1874. In behalf of the noble
women who participated in that movement, many of whom
are yet doing yeoman's work in their struggle with one of the
greatest problems ^of the age, I take pleasure in acceding to
the request.

There have been crusades and crusades, but only one
"Woman's Crusade." Many times has the question been
asked, "What necessitated the crusade?" What its mission?
The spiritual vision necessary to a correct understanding of
Scriptural truth is the only medium through which the cru-
sade can be intelligently discerned and its mission inter-
preted. The esprit de corps of the inspired army of Christian
women will always be an enigma to those who never came
within the radius of its divine influence. The movement had
no precedent. It owed its origin to no church, organization,
or individual. Neither was it the result or outgrowth of pre-
vious effort. It was independent of all human agencies, ex-
cept as individuals were used as God's instruments. "It is
of the Lord" was the universal sentiment.

The crusade, we believe, was a call from God to the women
of the nineteenth century, bidding them to arouse and startle
the world, making known the enormity and strength to which

166

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

the gigantic liquor traffic had grown. The hour was crucial.
Four years of civil war had left its blight upon the morals of
the people. Temperance laws, when any existed, were dead
letters on statute books. Reform sentiment had ebbed down
to the low, dead levels of despair and apathy. Old methods
failed to arouse the people. The saloon long had been com-
ing into the home, blighting its loveliness, destroying fondest
hopes, w^recking the brightest intellects, and making an army
of suffering women and children, widows and orphans.

What could woman do? For years multiplied by years she
had been the greatest sufferer from this devastating scourge.
A great cry went up to God from stricken homes. It was the
Egyptian cry. The dead were there, slain through strong
drink. Father, son, husband, brother, and the whole land
moaned. Hundreds and thousands of the flower of American
manhood were bound in chains to the monster Alcohol. Thou-
sands annually scourged to death by this haughty Nero. Tens
of thousands of mothers were weeping, begging piteously for
life of sons, heart-broken wives pleading for idolized hus-
bands ; and while their prayer was yet on their white lips, the
poor, degraded, dishonored victims were launched into a
drunkard's eternity, unprepared. Thousands of new devotees
were constantly pressing forward into the ranks of drunk-
ards; for the sacrifice of human life was unceasing, and, with
rites as monstrous as those of the Druids, taking ofttimes
the fairest and best out of homes to propitiate this idol —
the great Moloch of intemperance.

But what could woman do, we ask again, to keep the demon
from her hearthstone, who was plotting the destruction of
her home, sitting even upon the edge of the cradle, waiting
for its victim? She had no help from man, no expectation
from the legislature, nor faith to believe that the vile, reeking
traffic would be bound hand and foot by the strong arm of the
law. She could only go with her sorrow to Jesus, and tell it
to Him. The cry that went up to heaven from wretched

UEMINISCENCES OF THE CHUSADE IN NECUASKA. 107

wives and agonized mothers was heard. God said to the
womanhood of the land, "Arise! go forward!"

It has always been a precious thought to me that whenever
the Lord has a work to be done He has somebody ready to do
it. In this work it was to be that of woman. It was through
the discipline of great sorrow^ and suffering that the women
of this land were prepared for the work God had for them
to do.

God's command was heeded, and women went out from pal-
ace and cottage to help redeem our native land from its great-
est foe. The banner of the cross was spread over them, and
"God wills it" became their watchword.

The crusade fire first began in southern Ohio, at Hills-
boro, where the liquor traffic for weeks was shaken to its
center. Phenomenal was the success attending the work
everywhere as it spread from town to city, city to state. The
whole country was startled at the uprising. It was like the
firing of the first gun at Fort Sumter. At once it became the
topic of the religious and secular press. It was discussed in
centers of trade, on street corners, everywhere all over the
land.

The idea of saloon visitation, at first, was appalling to
cultured. Christian women. Many a one said, "Surely God
does not require this of me!" Yet, after going to their
Bibles and closets for light and guidance, God revealed to
them His will. Many responded, saying "Here, Lord, am I !
Send me!" Hundreds went out who had never before heard
the sound of their own voices in public. The joy that came to
each woman that participated in the crusade will only be ex-
ceeded in the Great Beyond.

The work continued to spread. Women prayed in billiard
rooms and before bars. Their voices were heard in beer gar-
dens, in warehouses, and along the docks. Songs and prayers
were heard above the confusion that reigned. Never were
such prayers offered, and such earnest appeals, as during the
crusade. In some of the larger cities the women were mobbed

168 NEBRASKA STA'fJ) HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

and imprisoned three months for praying and laboring for
the overthrow of the liquor traffic. We, of this state, listened
and wondered. Shortly the crusade fire was kindled in our
capital city, the light of which may never grow dim.

Memory lingers very tenderly, as I look back through the
mists of the years that have gone so swiftly, and I seem to
see again that band of noble, cultured women — classical edu-
cation many of them possessed ; not illiterate women made up
that band, as so many have formed the idea in their mind —
come together to counsel and plan for the crusade work here.
A feeling of tender compassion for the suffering multitude
under the power of the liquor traffic took control of hearts,
and with one accord we gathered to our altars of prayer.

I see again that band of women — small at first, after-
wards numbering hundreds — marching up and down our
street, and I feel the magnetism of the impulse that sent them
forth. The minutest details of the crusade days are photo-
graphed in every crusader's heart and hanging in the "halls
of memory" — pictures that time can never efface. Who can
forget those meetings where the pledge and cross came to-
gether? I see through the haze of time that crusade brigade
sweep along over our city. The "Devil's Den" is flanked, and
foothold obtained that some day will bring the promised re-
lief to those waiting through the silent hours of the night,
"watching for the morning" of that promised day.

I seem to hear again the singing of the "Kock of Ages"
hymn and "Give to the winds thy fears" and prayer ascending
to heaven's altar from saloon centers. It tells that "the battle
is on." An inspiration from the God of Battles fired the
hearts of these women led by brave leaders, many of whom
are now silent in death. The first saloon visited in Lincoln
was that of Andrew's. For men to enter a saloon was no un-
usual sight, but for women to enter such doors to sing and
pray was a sight upon which God and His angels had never
looked down before.

The Lincoln crusade band entered this stronghold of Satan

REMINISCENCES OF THE CRUSADE IN NEBRASKA. 169

with fear and trembling, yet firm in their belief of duty, join-
ing hands with each other, lest their courage should fail them
while in this den of death. Our sainted Mrs. Hardy said to
the writer that the saloon was as near like unto the descrip-
tion of the infernal regions as it would be able to liken a
place unto. Here was heard the clinking of glasses; the most
fearful oaths ever uttered over gambling scenes. Here was
seen the passing in and out of young men with life and hope
before them, old men with life and hope behind them; gray
hair in the saloon, and clustering brown curls, dignified,
manhood, those who like to be called business men, men in re-
spectable places, men wielding the pen that educates the
world — this was the class of men they found inside of those
walls. What a revelation! What a train of unthought and
unseen things startled the vision of these women ! How their
hearts went out in motherly sympathy to the sweet, boyish
faces of many a beautiful boy away from home, and the
mother whose hands had lovingly caressed him. Stirring ad-
dresses were made and appeals given asking each to reform
and lead a new life. Pledges were given by some present, who
resolved to live a life of sobriety henceforth.

In Kleutsch's saloon the band gathered for service one
night. There was present also a large gathering of men.
The prayer and song service had closed and the women had
just crossed the threshold of the saloon, going to their homes,
when suddenly the floor gave way, but God shielded the
women from harm and danger. One other evening they were
holding a meeting in the same saloon, when suddenly the
lights were extinguished. The proprietor made his exit and
locked the praying women inside. They went on with their
songs and prayers in the darkness. At a late hour the back
door was taken off its hinges, and the women, like unto
Daniel in the lions' den, escaped unharmed. By whom God
sent His delivering angel it is not known to this day.

Day and night were these meetings held in different saloons
and elsewhere. Liquor dealers blanched white as they saw

170 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

the women, numbering hundreds, entering their strongholds
of sin. The effect on proprietor and customers was over-
whelming. Where bacchanalian revel and riots had hereto-
fore been held, now ascended a volume of prayers.

No liquor dealer did a flourishing business while the cru-
sade continued. In some instances the women took with
them pencil and book, recording the names of men they found
in these dark places of sin. In a short time not many men
assembled in such places, except a large number who gathered
to hear the services of the women, who were working in de-
fense of homes.

Many touching instances occurred which time does not
permit my mentioning. For two months the crusading was
kept up in our city. The saloon keepers asked for protection
from the women of the city council. The city council then
passed an ordinance in behalf of the men to protect men — not
the women. The ordinance read that not more than one
woman at a time should enter any saloon, nor more than two
congregate on the street. The active form of the crusade
shortly ceased.

The first work the women did after disbanding was to or-
ganize a reading-room for the benefit of young men, making
a home for many who were strangers here in a strange city.
From that small beginning has grown our present city
library, of which all are justly proud. It was our crusade
women largely who laid the foundations and paved the way
for the charitable institutions in our midst.

Largely is it due also to these women, their influence and
efforts that we are to-day called a city of churches and
schools, with religious and educational privileges unexcelled.
For the fact that we are also a city of saloons, we are willing
that the manhood of the city should have the credit.

That strange and wonderful movement, ''the crusade," has
passed into history, but it lives to-day in a more wonderful
power, in the organization of ''The Woman's Christian Tem-
perance Union.'' The phase of singing and praying on the

HEMINISCENCES OF THE CRUSADE IN NEBRASKA. 171

street has been done away; but all over the land thousands of
women are daily praying to God, asking His blessing on
this movement.

Many criticised and jeered at the work at first, and said,
"Those women will accomplish nothing!'' But God did not
intend that woman, in a few weeks or months, should anni-
hilate a traffic as old as the w^orld itself and wipe out an evil
that men had been battling for a century without. It was
only the beginning of the end.

The traffic touched by woman's finger and God's voice is
doomed. Its death knell was sounded when the crusade bells
rang forth in 1873. The work of the "White Ribbon Army"
is organized to-day in every English-speaking nation. Its
banners float in every land, even in portions of darkest
Africa. Had the crusade movement accomplished nothing
more than the agitation it has brought about, it would have
done a noble work. It has brought an arrest of thought on
this question that has come to stay.

"The world is awake and its ear is set,
Its lips are apart, and its eyelids wet."

No intelligent person now believes that the liquor traffic
will be much longer legalized by Christian nations. The
watchword of the hour is, "Outlaw the saloon — protect the
home."

The age of sobriety is marching on. It will be brought
about by education, agitation, and legislation — the three com-
bined. The sun will rise and set some day on a world re-
deemed from the liquor curse. It is God's own purpose, sure
of fulfilment.

172

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

ALONG THE OVERLAND TRAIL IN NEBRASKA

IN 1852.

Prepared by Gilbert L. Cole, Beatrice, Neb., for the Annual Meeting of
the Nebraska State Historical Society, January 10, 1900.

On the 16tli of March, 1852, I started with several others
from Monroe, Mich., on the overland trail to California.
Nothing of interest occurred during our travel through the
States, except the general very bad roads, causing us to make
poor progress. Crossing the Mississippi at WarsaAV, 111., we
we kept along the northern tier of counties in Missouri, which
was heavily timbered and sparsely settled. Bearing south-
west we arrived at St. Joseph, Mo., on the first day of May.
The town was a collection of one-story, cheap, wooden build-
ings, located along the river and up Rattlesnake Hollow.
The inhabitants appeared to be chiefly French and half-breed
Indians. The principal business was in selling outfits to the
immigrants, trading in horses, mules, and cattle. The level
part below the town was the camp of the immigration. There
was one steam ferryboat, which had several days crossing
ahead of us registered. So the next day we started and
drove up to Savannah. After laying in some more supplies we
drove to the Missouri river at what was called Savannah
Landing. There we crossed over on a hand ferry, and for the
first time we pressed the soil of the then unsettled plains of
the Great West. Working our way through the heavily
timbered bottom, we camped under the bluffs, wet and
weary. "

Here we rested over Sunday, when we completed our com-
pany organization. The weather cleared up, and Monday

THE OVERLAND TRAIL IN NEBRASKA.

173

morning at sunrise we started on a trail that led up the
hollow and on to the "great plains" of Kansas and Nebraska.
The day was warm and the sun shone bright and clear.
To me, as well as the others, it was the most beautiful sight
I had ever seen. Not a tree or any obstacle could be seen be-
fore us; only this great rolling sea of the brightest green.
This, then, was the land that we were told, in later years,
was the "Great American Desert.'^ We have often heard it
expressed from the rostrum and pulpit, inviting us to look
about and see what was a half century ago a "barren, sandy
desert," and they said it was so represented by the early im-
migrants to California. True, one spoke of the deserts in
Nebraska, but they are now in Nevada, for we stepped out
of Nebraska into California, on the summit of the Sierra
Nevada mountains. Having lived here twenty-one years, I
know the grass was then as good as it has been any year
since. The first Indians we saw were at Wolf creek, where
they had made a bridge of logs and brush, and charged us
fifty cents a wagon to pass over it. We paid it and drove on,
coming now to the vicinity of the Big Blue river at a point
about where Barneston, Gage county, is now located.

Our company, as organized, consisted of twenty-four men
and one woman, the wife of W. W. Wadsworth, our captain.
We had eight wagons and forty-seven head of horses and
mules. Four men were detailed each night to stand guard —
two till one o'clock, when they were relieved by two others,
who came in at daylight. As a couple of horsemen were rid-
ing in advance we came suddenly to the Big Blue river,
where, on the opposite bank, stood a party of thirty or forty
Indians. We fell back, and when the train came up a detail
was made of eight men to drive the teams, and the other
sixteen were to wade the river, rifle in hand, to see what the
Indians were going to do. Being one of the skirmish line, I
remember how clear and blue the water was, and as to depth,
it came into our vest pockets. We walked up to the Indians
and said "How?" and had some presents of copper cents

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

and tobacco to offer tliem. We soon saw that tliej^ were
merely looking to see us ford the stream. They were Paw-
nees, were gaily dressed, and armed with bows and arrows.
We passed several pipes among them, and the train was
signaled and all came through the ford without any trouble,
the water coming up four to six inches in the wagon beds.
A€ter the train was out in the open prairie again, we bade
the Indians good-bye, and were all glad we got off so easily.
At noon we moved off the trail, turned out the animals, and
all hands proceeded to dismount the wagons and spread
their contents out on the grass to dry, as everything next to
the bottom of the wagon beds Avas soaked Avith water. I for-
got to say that in making preparations to ford the river, as
a precaution of safety, the captain had placed his wife down
in the bottom of their wagon bed and piled sacks of flour
around her as protection in case of a fight, and of course in
passing the ford she was necessarily draw^n through the
water in a very alarming and uncomfortable manner. But
she was one of the bravest of women, and in this instance, as
in many others of danger and fatigue before Ave reached our
journey's end, she ahvays displaj^ed such courage and good
temper as to aa^u the admiration of all the company.

We noAV moA'-ed on, I think, in the direction of Diller and
Endicott, where Ave joined the main line of immigration com-
ing through from St. Joe, and crossing the Big Blue where
Marysville, Kan., is located. We were soon coming up the
Little Blue, passing up on the east side and about one mile
this side of Fairbury. Our trail lay along the uplands
through the day, where we could see the long line of coAwed
wagons, sometimes two or three abreast, draAving itself in its
Avindings like a great white snake across this great sea of
rolling green. This line could be seen many miles to the
front and rear, so far that the major portion of it seemed
to the observer to be motionless.

We now came to a stream called the Big Sandy (I believe
it is in the vicinity of Fillmore county) about 9:00 a.m.,

THE OVERLAND TRAIL IN NEDUASKA.

175

when we were alarmed by the uneartlily whoops and yells of
a hundred or more Indians (Pawnees), all mounted and rid-
ing and down across the trail on the open upland opposite
us at about a good rifle-shot distance. Our company were the
only people there, and a courier Avas immediately sent back
for reinforcements. We hastily put our camp in iM)sition of
defense (as we had been drilled) by placing our Avagons in a
circle Avith our stock and ourselves on the inside. The In-
dians constantly kept up their yells and rode up and down,
brandishing their arms at us, and we thought that every
minute they would make a break for us. We soon had re-
cruits mounted and Avell-armed coming up, Avhen our cap-
tain assumed command and all were assigned to their posi-
tions. This was kept up until about one o'clock, Avhen we
decided that our numbers would warrant us in making a for-
ward movement. As a preliminary, skirmishers Avere or-
dered forward doAvn toAvards the creek through some timber
and thick underbrush, I being ordered with them. My part-
ner and myself, on coming to the creek, first discovered an
empty whisky barrel, and going a little further in the brush
we saw tAvo tents. Coming carefully up to them, we heard
groans as of some one in great pain. Peeping through a hole
in the tent, we saAv two white men who, Ave learned on enter-
ing the tent, w^ere badly Avounded by knife and bullet. From
them Ave learned the folloAving facts, which were the cause
of all our fear and tr.ouble that morning. They said the night
before two large trains had camped there, and as these men
AAxre keeping the "post'' they of course had AA-hisky to sell.
These campers got on a drunk, quarreled, and had a general
fight. As a result these men were badly wounded. On the
trail, over where the Indians AA'^ere, some immigrants were
camped, and a guard was placed at the roadside. When the
shooting and row w^ere going on doAvn at the "post," an In-
dian, hearing the noise, had come along the trail, when he
was halted by the guard, and, not ansAvering, the guard fired
and killed him on the spot. These people immediately

176

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

hitched up and moved on. The Indians who confronted us
coming there found the dead Indian lying in the road, which
roused their anger and kept us on the ragged edge for sev-
eral hours. The Indians ail rode off as we began to approach
them, and as the trail was now clear, our train moved out
ahead of the rest, traveling all night and keeping out all the
mounted men as front and rear guards.

We now came to the "last leaving of the Little Blue" and
passed over the open unland, without wood or w^ater, thirty-
three miles to Fort Kearney, in the Platte valley. 'Twas
nearly night and in a drizzling rain when w^e came to the
line of the reservation, where a trooper sitting on his horse
informed us that we would have to keep off or go on through
the reservation, a distance of three or four miles. It was
dark and raining, and we camped right there without any
supper or fire to cook anything. We hitched up early in the
morning and drove into the fort, where we were very kindly
treated by the commanding officer, whose name, I think, was
McArthur. He tendered us a large room and tables, with
pen, ink, paper, and envelopes, where we wrote the first let-
ters back from Nebraska, which I believe were all received at
home with much joy. The greater part of the troops were
absent on a scout. After buying a few things that we had
forgotten to bring with us, and getting rested, we moved on
our journey again, going up on the south side of the Platte
river. One of our comrades, Eobert Nelson, belonging to the
captain's wagon, was now very sick with something like
cholera, and on May 27, about sixty miles above Fort Kear-
ney, he died. We sewed his remains up in his blanket and
buried him within a few rods of the river at sunrise the next
day. Nearly all the company knew him well, and his death
and burial were to all of us very sad indeed.

We now came to the "south fork of the Platte river," im-
mediately where it flows into the main river. We had long
dreaded this crossing, owing to the treacherous quicksands
of its bottom. Here the guard succeeded in killing our first

THE OVERLAND TRAIL IN NEBRASKA.

177

buffalo. About nine o'clock in tlie morning, all things being
in readiness, two men were sent in to Avade across the river
with long willows to stick in the sand to mark ou«: the route
through. Two or three wagons could be seen where they had
settled down in the quicksand, because of stopping in the
stream, and were never able to get out. With these evidences
before us of the risks we were to run, we started in. Every
man but the drivers walked, or rather waded, alongside the
horses to render assistance if it should be required. FoIIoav-
ing the route marked by the willoAvs, with scarcely a word
spoken, we drove clear through and out on dry land without
a halt or break. To say that we all felt happy to know that
the crossing was behind us did not half express our feelings.
One man dug out a demijohn of brandy from his traps, and
treated all hands, remarking that the "success of that under-
taking really merited something extraordinary."

A few days after this an incident occurred in camp that
bordered on the tragic, but finally ended in good feeling.
My guardmate, named Charley Stewart, and myself were the
tw^o youngest in the company, and being guards together we
were great friends. He was a native of Cincinnati, well edu-
cated, and had a fund of recitations and stories that he used
to get off when we were on guard together. This night we
were camped on the side of some little hills near some
ravines. The moon w^as shining, but there were dark clouds
passing over, so at times it would be quite dark. It was near
midnight, and we would be relieved in an hour. We had been
the "grand rounds'' among the stock and came to the nearest
wagon, which was facing the animals, which were picketed
out on the slope. Stewart was armed with a "Colt's navy,"
and I had a double-barrelled shotgun loaded with buckshot.
I was sitting on the doubletree on the right side of the
tongue, w^hich was propped up with the neckyoke. Stewart
sat on the tongue about an arm's length in front of me, I
holding my gun between my knees with the butt on the
ground. Stewart was getting off one of his stories and was
12

178 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

about to come to the climax when I saw something running
low to the ground in among the stock. Thinking it was an
Indian on all fours to stampede the animals, I instantly
leveled my gun, and as I was following it to an opening in
the herd, my gun came in contact with Stewart's face at the
moment of its discharge. Stewart fell backward over the
wagon tongue, his legs and feet hanging over. My first
thought was that I had killed him. He recovered in a mo-
ment and commenced cursing and calling me vile names, ac-
cusing me of attempting to murder him, etc. During these
moments, in his frenzy, he was trying to get his revolver out
from under him, swearing he would kill me in a minute. Tak-
ing in the situation,! dropped my gun, jumped over the wagon
tongue, as he was now getting on his feet, and seized him
in what proved to be a desperate fight for that revolver. We
were both sometimes struggling on the ground; then again
on our knees, he striking me repeatedly in the face and else-
where, still accusing me of trying to murder him, and I, hav-
ing no chance to explain things, the struggle went on. Finally
I threw him down and held him until he was too much ex-
hausted to continue the fight any longer, and having got the
revolver from him, I helped him to his feet. In trying to
pacify him I led him out to where the object ran that I had
fired at, where near by lay the dead body of a large wolf,
with several buchshot through his hide. Stewart was speech-
less. Looking at the wolf and then at me, he quickly realized
his mistake and repeatedly begged my pardon. We agreed
never to mention the affair to any of the company. Taking
the wolf by the ears, we dragged it back to the wagon, where
I picked up my gun and gave Stewart his revolver. I have
often thought what would have been the consequence of that
shot had I not killed the wolf?

Along in this vicinity the bluff comes down to the edge of
the river, and consequently we had to take to the hills, which
were mostly deep sand, making heavy hauling. This trail
brought us into Ash Hollow, a few miles up from its mouth.

1?HB OVERLAND TtlAIL IN NEBRASKA. 1?9

Coming down to where it opened out on the Platte bottom,
about noon, we turned out for lunch. Here was a party of
Sioux Indians, camped in tents of buffalo skins. They were
friendly, as all that tribe was that summer. This is the place
where General Kearney, several years after, had a terrific
fight with the same tribe, who were then on the warpath all
along this section.

Some weeks before the forewheel of my wagon had been
badly damaged, and I had been on the lookout for another
wheel for the spokes in order to make the necessary repairs.
Taking my rifle after lunch, I started out and crossed the
bottom, when, within a few rods of the river and about a half a
mile off the road, which turned close along the bluff, I came
upon an old broken down wagon almost hidden in the grass.
Taking the measure of the spokes, I found, to my great joy,
they were just the right size and length. Looking around T
saw the train moving on at a good pace almost three-quarters
of a mile away. I was delayed some time in trying to get the
wheel off the axeltree. Succeeding at last, I fired my gun
toward the train, but no one looked around, all evidently sup-
posing that I was on ahead. It was an awfully hot afternoon,
and I was getting warmed up myself. I reloaded my rifle,
looked at the receding train, and I made up my mind to have
that wheel if it took the balance of the day to get it into camp.
I started by rolling it by hand, then by dragging it behind me ;
then I ran my rifle through the hub and got it up on my
shoulder, when I moved on at a good pace. The sun shining
hot soon began to melt the tar in the hub, which began run-
ning down my back, both on the inside and outside of my
clothes, as well as down along my rifle. I got out to the road
very tired, and stopped to rest, hoping that a w^agon would
come along to help me out, but not one came in sight that
afternoon. In short, I rolled, dragged, and carried that
wheel, my neck, shoulders, and back daubed over with tar,
until the train turned out to camp, when I, being missed, was
discovered way back in the road. When relief came to me I

180 NEBRASKA STATE SlSTORiCAL SOCIETY.

was nearly tired out with my exertions and want of water to
drink. Some of the men set to work taking tlie broken wheel
apart and fitting the spokes, getting the wheel ready to set the
tire. Others had collected a couple of gunnysacks full of the
only fuel of the Platte valley, viz., "buffalo chips,'' and they
soon had the job completed. The boys nearly wore themselves
out, laughing and jeering at me, saying they were sorry they
had no feathers to go with the tar, etc., calling me a variety
of choice pet names.

We had now passed those peculiar formations known as
Scott's Bluff, Courthouse Rock, and Chimney Rock. The
latter, a few miles to the left of the road, had the outline of
an inverted funnel, the base being quite steep to climb. From
its center arose a column resembling a chimney, about 50
feet square to perhaps 100 or more high. Its top sloped off
like the roof of a shanty, having a crack or split down from
the top about one-quarter of its length. These formations
w^ere not really rock, but of a hard marl substance, the differ-
ent colored strata showing alike in them all, and could be
easily cut with a knife. They had the appearance of having
been left in the washing away of the adjoining land in the
course of time.

As we are now approaching the west line of the State, it is
now proper that this sketch should be brought to a close. But
before doing so I wish to again impress the fact of the beauty
of this great "rolling sea of green." No place on earth had
Nature ever presented a more beautiful landscape, so pleas-
ing to the eye, so clear its streams and skies, as this land yet
untouched by the white man's civilization. This scene was
only equaled by a panoramic view from a high point or bluff
of the great Platte valley. Seeing for miles up and down the
broad valley, the beautiful river with its low banks dotted
with its numerous islands of all sizes, each covered with its
green willows, made a pleasing contrast with the light grayish
color of its waters. Added to this was the long line of cov-
ered wagons of the emigrants, together with many groups of

THE OVERLAND TRAIL IN NEBRASKA.

181

campers. From our view on the bluff to our rear could be
seen herds of buffalo that were grazing on the level phi in,
with now and then a bunch of antelope galloping about. The
wolf, coyote, and prairie dog were to be seen at almost any
time.

Having thus seen Nebraska as Nature presented it to our
charmed vision, when I now look over our State, seeing
its improvements, its high class of civilization, I can scarcely
believe that such a change has been made.

182 NEfiltASKA gtATB ttlSTORiOAL SOClETt.

THOMAS WESTON TIPTON.

Kead by Gov. R. W. Furnas before the annual meeting of the Nebraska State
Historical Society, January 8, 1901.

Thomas Weston Tipton was born August 5, 1817, near
Cadiz, Harrison county, Ohio. His parents emigrated from
Huntington county, Pennsylvania, to Ohio at an early day.
His father's family were originally from Maryland. His
mother's maiden name was Weston. His father, William Tip-
ton, was a Methodist Episcopal preacher for fifty j^ears, and a
member of the Pittsburg Conference.

The youth of the Senator was spent at home on his father's
farm, for eighteen years, with such meager educational ad-
vantages as resulted from a few weeks' attendance upon
school during the winters. His father being almost con-
stantly from home, his early training was received from an
honest, devoted, Christian mother.

For over two years subsequent to 1836 he was a student at
Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa., and graduated at Madison
College, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1840, delivering the vale-
dictory address with great credit and evidences of future suc-
cess. During the last years of his college course he became
an enthusiastic advocate of the temperance reformation and
never abated his efforts or broke his pledge. His first vote
was cast while a student at Madison College, for Hon. An-
drew Stewart, of Pennsylvania, a candidate for Congress.
Eeturning to Ohio in the fall of 1840, he occupied his time in
teaching and reading law until he was admitted to the bar in
1844. In 1845 he was elected to the house of representatives
in the Ohio legislature from the county of Guernsey, as a

THOMAS WESTON TIPTON.

1S3

Whig. In 1849 lie went to Washington City, and spent throe
years in the general land office, at the head of a division.

Returning to Ohio he opened an office in McConnelsvilie,
where in 1855 he made an effort to give up politics and legal
pursuits and devote himself to the ministry.

Of an enthusiastic temperament and advocating no princi-
ple in politics that he did not believe to be an outgrowtli of
Christian civilization, or springing directly from the impera-
tive necessity of the times, he gave of his time and energies
and means, unreservedly and recklessly, to the great political
campaigns of 1844, '48, and '52.

Entering the Cincinnati Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church during the year of the Fremont campaign
for the presidency, while Kansas called aloud for help, he
found at once how utterly impossible it would be for him to
put off totally his political armor, and was found proclaiming
from the pulpit, "While I occupy this desk you will have a
free preacher, and all my words shall be free speech, and
when you can not endure this you must install a slave in my
stead, and substitute for the Bible the books of Mormon or
Koran of Mohammed," and declaring further that he would
not agree to silence on moral political questions, even if de-
manded by a "father in his shroud." He further found that
so many years given in the freest, boldest utterances and un-
restrained action would prevent him from adopting in prac-
tice the episcopacy of the church, which he exchanged for the
democracy of Congregationalism.

He came to Nebraska on invitation, in 1858, to take charge
of an educational organization at Brownyille, thinking only
of quiet, civilized life. For a portion of his first time in Ne-
braska he filled the pulpit in Brownville of a Union Church
organization. Afterward he went east, solicited financial
aid, and erected a Methodist Church in Brownville, and filled
its pulpit for some years.

The effort of the Buchanan pro-slavery democracy to pre-
vent the organization of the Republican party called him

184

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

upon the stump in behalf of the right of the people to ex-
clude slavery from the territory. He was elected to a consti-
tutional convention on the basis of radical republicanism,
and in 1860 to a seat in the territorial senate for two years.
He became an acknowledged leader of a young and advancing
party. He entered the service as a chaplain of the First Ne-
braska Regiment; went through the war, often in charge of
refugees and freedmen, retaining the confidence of all the of-
ficers with whom he came in contact, and the entire and de-
voted affection of the men of his regiment. Being mustered
out in July, 1865, and on the same day being commissioned
by Andrew Johnson, assessor of internal revenue for Ne-
braska, he had an opportunity to signalize his devotion to his
party by refusing to adopt "my policy.'' During the same
year Mr. Tipton canvassed the territory in behalf of state or-
ganization, and when the constitution was adopted was
elected a United States senator. Entering the Fortieth Con-
gress his support was cordially given to the reconstruction
policy of his party, but in all outside questions he indulged in
the freest latitude. On the 20th of January, 1869, he re-
ceived a reelection for a full term of six years, and acted upon
the same comuiittees as those upon which he served in the
Fortieth Congress, viz., public lands, pensions, and agricul-
ture. In the presidential campaign of 1868 he traversed
every populous county in his state,' delivering forty-nine
speeches.

He spoke but seldom in the Senate, but such was his sense
of propriety that he was never found upon the floor in debate
except when the necessity seemed to be absolute, and then only
in legitimate discussion, always direct and to the point. As
a speaker, it is difficult to give him a definite place among the
orators of the age. He was not eloquent, and yet he claimed
the attention of his hearers by the importance of the subject
under discussion.

Mr. Tipton was faithful to the best interests of Nebraska,
and the Congressional Globe will fully sustain this declara-

THOMAS WESTON TIPTON.

185

tion. He deserved the goodwill of the citizens of this state
as a faithful servant, true to us by being true to his own
manhood.

Phrenologists would place Mr. Tipton among the inde-
pendent radical men of the day. His head was very liigh from
the base of the brain, broad and nearly round. His eyes were
well set, high cheek bones, with a well-molded mouth and
compressed lips, indicating firmness. He had a square, prom-
inent forehead, and a preponderance of intellectuality. The
moral group was largely developed, giving tone to his general
character. In all matters of state, as Avell as individual inter-
ests, he thought for himself and acted promptly after the
counsel of his own better judgment, independent of all per-
sonal considerations. Eight, truth, justice, and manhood
were the chief attributes of his character. When he once
formed an opinion he was as firm as the Rock of Gibraltar.
His enemies, of whom his peculiar organism secured him a
full share, did not understand him ; if they had they would
ever have a good word instead of enmity unworthily borne.
He was, in appearance, reserved, with a tinge of moroseness
resting upon his brow ; but touch his heart, and a well-spring
of social greeting flow^ed forth as from a Protean fountain.
He was a great lover of the sublime in nature, was moved with
sympathy for poverty and distress; was generous with his
means, so much so that with an income of millions he would
die a poor man. Intellectually and morally he did not show
for more than a farthing of his true value. He kept his own
counsel, and worked by the model of an upright life. If the
people of Nebraska knew him better they would have loved
him more, for he was as true to their best interests as the
magnet to the pole. For this loyalty the coming generations
will call him blessed.

186 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

ALGEENON SIDNEY PADDOCK.

Read by W. E. Annin before the annual meeting of the Nebraska State
Historical Society, January 8, 1901.

I have been asked on this occasion, pending the subsequent
presentation of a paper upon the life and public services of
the subject of this sketch, to briefly give to the Nebraska
Historical Society a few personal reminiscences of the late
Algernon Sidney Paddock, secretary and often acting gov-
ernor of the Territory of Nebraska from 1861 to 1867, and
twice a senator from this state in the upper house of Con-
gress. In the few minutes allotted me to-night I desire that
what I shall have to say shall be neither in the nature of a
eulogy or an elegy. I should have preferred to have been
able to present a carefully prepared, if condensed, recital of
the prominent events in a long and honored and an honorable
career, together with a synopsis of his protracted and faith-
ful work for the state of his adoption. Circumstances which
I can not control have compelled me, in lieu of that pleasant
duty, deferred for the time, to give a hasty and a somewhat un-
digested character sketch of the man whom I loved and the
public official whom I respected and with whom I was thrown
in contact for years on terms of close intimacy and personal
and political association.

I was an inmate of his home for a portion of the time, with
him in prosperity and adversity, when the skies were glowing
with hope and glowering with gloom. I had at times access to
all his political and to all his private papers. I do not think
any one was given a better opportunity to know the man and
the public official than myself. Feeling this, I have less hesi-
tancy than others might have in speaking freely of him to-

I ALGERNON SIDNEY PADDOCK. 187

night, in the state where his entire manhood was passed, and
among not a few, although too few, of that rapidly disappear-
ing group who with him helped to lay the foundations of this
commonwealth and assisted in erecting tlie superstructure.

Senator Paddock came of old Puritan, Massachusetts
stock. His forbears, early in the seventeenth century, located
in the vicinity of Cape Cod. From that point, the descend-
ants of Zachariah Paddock spread westward with the tide of
New England immigration to the Connecticut valley, settled
at Woodstock, Conn., and followed up the river northwards
to Woodstock, Vt., where crumbling tombstones still faintly
outline, to the curiosity of infrequently passing visitors, the
virtues of an honest, an industrious, and a God-fearing race
of men and women. There his grandfather and grandmother
lived, died, and were buried, and from thence his father and
four uncles migrated across the boundary into New York
state early in the last century. His father, Ira A. Paddock,
settled at Glens Falls, New York, where he was for many
years and until his death a prominent, useful, and most re-
spected citizen. Two of his uncles, William and Joseph,
were members of the New l^ork legislature at a time when
legislative prominence was an index of home regard and
local confidence.

Senator Paddock was born at Glens Falls on November 9,
1830, received a high school education in his native town, and
was prepared to enter the junior class in Union College, when
family reverses made it necessary for him to earn his own liv-
ing. He taught school, studied law, and in the early spring
of 1857 went to Nebraska, where his cousin, Major J. W. Pad-
dock, had preceded him. He took a prominent part in the
general development of the Territory, was a candidate for the
legislature in 1858, a delegate to the first territorial repub-
lican convention in 1859, a delegate to the national repub-
lican convention in 1860, which nominated Abraham
Lincoln, and was subsequently secretary of the Territory from
1861 to 1867, at which latter date the Territory became a state.

188

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

William H. Seward had been his friend and his father's friend
when he was a youth, and Mr. Seward was his political
sponsor when the administration of Abraham Lincoln suc-
ceeded in 1861 that of ex-President Buchanan. Mr. Paddock
was made secretary of the Territory, with Alvin Saunders as
governor. He became United States Senator in 1875, served
until March, 1881, when he was succeeded by Senator Charles
H. Van Wyck, was a member of the Utah Commission from
1882 to 1886, was again elected a United States Senator in
January, 1887, and served until March, 1893, when he was
succeeded by Senator W. V. Allen. He died four years later,
in October, 1897, at his home in Beatrice, Neb., leaving a
widow, a son, Frank A. Paddock, and two daughters, Mrs.
O. J. Collman and Miss Frances A. Paddock.

Mr. Paddock was continuously identified with the interests
of Nebraska from May, 1857, until his death, more than forty
years later. Preempting a farm at Ft. Calhoun, he made it
his country home until 1872, when he removed to Beatrice,
Gage county, where he died. He spent a large portion of his
time when secretary of the Territory in Omaha, where he
was prominently identified with the progress of the city. He
was one of the original stockholders in the Omaha street rail-
way, one of the original investors in the Grand Central Hotel
building, and one of the projectors of the Omaha and South
Western Kailroad. He had an abiding faith in Nebraska real
estate and in Nebraska's future, and never hesitated to stake
his bank account and his credit on his judgment of the
State's resources. He served Nebraska in public office
eighteen years. He served it in private and public life for a
little short of half a century.

So much, in rapid transition, for the salient points in the
political life of one of the best and one of the most distin-
guished of the citizens of this state. My duty to-night is not
to recount in detail or to analyze his political career. That
is left for another opportunity. I am asked, briefly, or in the
words of Librarian Barrett, "within twenty minutes' time,"

ALGERNON SIDNEY PADDOCK.

189

to give some personal reminiscences of the man who was a
prominent factor in Nebraska's upbuilding, territorially, and
after statehood had come.

I first met Senator Paddock in 1880 during his first term
in the Senate. I was at once attracted to him by the genuine-
ness of his personality, by an unaffected simplicity of man-
ner, by his intense faith in the State, and by his exuberant
confidence in its future progress. My surroundings at the
time were such that any intimacy, if it had been sought on
either side, would have been impossible, and it was some years
later before I was able to cultivate more than the pleasant
acquaintance of a reporter with a prominent public man.
During his distinguished service on the Utah Commission,
how valuable and how distinguished his surviving colleagues
alone know, I came into closer intimacy with Mr. Paddock,
largely due to family connections, as the result of my mar-
riage to his niece. After his second election to the Senate in
1887, when I had left newspaper work for several months,
Mr. Paddock tendered me the position of private secretary,
which I accepted in August of that year, spending three
months with him in his home in Beatrice before leaving for
Washington.

For four years while engaged in the work of a Washington
correspondent I was private secretary for Mr. Paddock and
clerk of the two committees of which during that time he
was chairman. I opened his mail and acted in the most
confidential of capacities which a public man can afford to an
associate or to a subordinate. I left him voluntarily two
years before the expiration of his term as United States Sen-
ator, but our affectionate intercourse was continued until his
death. No one better than myself was afforded opportunity
to know of his aims, his ambitions, his hopes, his disappoint-
ments, his labors, and his weariness. No one better to learn
of his generosity, his secret benevolence, his love for friends,
his indefatigable industry, his pureness of mind, his abso-
lute correctness of habits, his passionate devotion to his fam-

190 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

ilj, his unswerving faith in his state. To me, first of all, he
broke the news of the fatal disease which had attacked him
and the knowledge of which with Spartan courage he kept
from his family until its progress and its pain rendered con-
cealment no longer possible, and the agonizing heart throbs
seared furrows in his kindly face and sapped the vitality of a
splendid constitution. What is the courage of a leader of a
forlorn hope with the excitement of battle spurring one on
to action compared to that of the man or woman in the grasp
of disease the outcome of which is not doubtful, and who
carries the burden cheerfully, even smilingly, that others may
not anticipate a grief which will come to them only too soon.
Death came to him as he wished, with scarcely a pang, with
immediate transfer from consciousness to sleep, with tender
words of affection on his lips, with nothing between poor
mortality and glorious immortality but a parting hand grasp,
a loving glance.

Mr. Paddock was raised in an old-fashioned school, where
duty was spelt with a capital initial. The old Calvinistic
faith which he was taught in home life as a boy controlled,
perhaps sometimes unconsciously, but always controlled con-
sciously, the motives of the citizen and public servant. I
never knew him to suggest a dishonest action. I have heard
him say often, "That wouldn't be right or square," when sug-
gestions for action of which he did not approve came to him
in his correspondence. With no pretense as an ultra relig-
ious man, he not infrequently talked with me about the funda-
mentals of right doing, based upon revelation, with gentle
reverence for the teachings of his boyhood and with the
broadest charity for others to whom arguments which ap-
pealed to him would have no weight. He never posed as
what might be called "a religious politician." He had a
thorough disgust for that character of politics which dragged
into the canvass for the advantage of candidates the church,
the prayer-meeting, and contributions, duly published, for for-
eign and domestic missions. But his conscience was well

ALGERNON SIDNEY PADDOCIC.

191

trained, always acute, and was a determining force in shap-
ing liis character, lie had a keen sense of legishitive and
representative duty Avhich, however it conflicted, as it some-
times did, with personal interests, generally controlled. 1
never knew him to do a mean or a dishonest thing in the years
of my association with him.

He was kindly, generous, and most lovable, "slow to anger
and plenteous in mercy.'' Every inclination was to help
rather than to hinder. His temperament approached that of
a woman in its sweetness and in its tenderness. Friendships
to him were precious until they were found to be pinchbeck.
And even then there were self apologies for the mistakes
which he had made in his estimation of values. In his posi-
tion as a senator he was not infrequently able to lift men
from comparative obscurity to prominence and to perqui-
sites of official position. Sometimes they were found grate-
ful, less often responsive. But there were no heart-burnings
in consequence on the part of Senator Paddock, no intimation
of political revenge, no threats of a coming retribution.

Senator Paddock was essentially an honest man. After
twelve years of public service in Washington, no smell of the
fire hung around his garments. He told me once that every
dollar he had made had come from Nebraska soil and the ad-
vance in real estate. I verified the statement afterward from
an examination of his private books. With many oppor-
tunities to benefit himself by speculation in connection with
various public positions, he died a comparatively poor man,
largely because of a superabundant faith in Nebraska town
lots, interest in which he refused to relinquish at a time when
liquidation would have placed him in comfortable circum-
stances. When he went to Washington in 1887, at the begin-
ning of his second term as a senator, he should have been a
rich man ; when he left it six years later he had lost, through
the depreciation of real estate in Nebraska retained in abso-
lute confidence of his estimate of its value, nearly a quarter of
a million d'ollars.

192

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

His loyalty to, and his faith in the State were prominent
characteristics. There he had spent his early manhood, re-
ceived all his political honors, mingled with its pioneers,
made lasting friendships, invested his first earnings, married,
and brought up a family. It had been his only fixed home
since childhood, and it was his home always and acknowl-
edged so to be until death.

He was an optimist, and his optimism centered around Ne-
braska and its interests. He exploited them at home and he
heralded them abroad. Nothing aroused him to resentment
more quickly than attacks upon his state or called for
prompter and more vigorous reply, either on the floor of the
Senate or in private conversation. He was proud of its past:,
he was satisfied with its present, and ever confident of its
future. His very optimism was his chief weakness. It was
his nature to always look upon the bright side of things
politically as well as socially. He was naturally aggressive.
He never courted antagonism. He invariably preferred
friendships to enmities, and never knew the delight of being
a good and persistent hater. And yet he was an excellent
fighter in a political conflict, not with bludgeon and halbert,
but with simitar and finesse. Disliking a field of carnage,
he was not averse, if pressed by circumstances, to entering
the fray and giving an excellent account of himself as a par-
ticipant in the tourney. But the battle over, victorious or
defeated, he cherished no enmities toward vanquished or
victors. His kindliness of disposition and cheeriness of tem-
perament prevented personal exultation or personal
depression.

Senator Paddock was in the best sense of the term a do-
mestic man. The glare and glitter of official life in Wash-
ington had no attractions for him. He was most miserable
when attending some function where he was a distinguished
guest, and never so happy as when able to give an honest
excuse for an honest absence. Midnight life had no charms
for him. He was most contented when in his modest library

ALG1311N0N SIDNEY PADDOCK.

193

working over reports or delving into files of dreary docu-
ments bearing upon cases before his various committees. He
was not a diner-out, a hon vivant, or an after-dinner speaker.
He did not pose as an epigrammatic subject of perpetual in-
terviews in the daily press, attracting notoriety by grotesque-
ness of manner or speech or calling attention to himself by
idiosyncrasies of behavior in official or social circles. Sen-
ator Paddock was simply a well born and a well bred gentle-
man with a modesty of deportment which bespoke his birth
and training and a courtesy and polish of demeanor which
he wore easily because natural to himself.

Mr. Paddock was not an orator. He made no pretenses to
forensic ability. He shunned rather than courted the stump.
From a sense of duty he bore his share of campaigning, but
never enjo^^ed the platform, and neither sought nor expected
glory from the hustings. But he thought clearly and he
wrote well upon subjects which interested him. He was
facile with his pen and felicitous in his use of language. He
rarely spoke extemporaneously in the Senate, but his care-
fully prepared speeches on topics economic and political
were above the average of his colleagues. At least, he never
wearied the Senate. When he spoke it was because he had
something to say, because he felt that he was called upon to
say it in his representative capacity, and because he honestly
felt that it would be better said than left unsaid.

His unwearying industry was the predominant character-
istic of Mr. Paddock as a public man. No senator ever worked
more untiringly for a constituency. There was no detail of
correspondence too small, no appeal for investigation and
help too insignificant, no cause for a Nebraskan too petty to
attract his immediate attention and his personal and un-
swerving interest. What other senators left for clerks and
messengers to investigate and report upon. Senator Paddock
attended to in person. He made himself an always willing
messenger for the humblest as well as the most influential of
his constituents with an energy that was as tireless as it was
31

194 nebhaska state historical society.

persistent. As a western senator (whose people were con-
cerned with the pressing questions of the disposal of the pub-
lic lands, of irrigation, of Indian affairs, of pensions, of the
problems of agriculture and of cattle raising, with the thou-
sand and one suggestions which came from a new and a west-
ern state believed to have an application to national legisla-
tion, or to be in touch with national legislation) Senator
Paddock was sympathetic, considerate, and unselfish. He
never lacked in confidence in his own ability to do the best
that could be done, but he never permitted ability to wait for
convenient opportunity. He worked as regularly and as
carefully, day by day, in the departments as he did with his
correspondence at his desk in his committee room, and was
as careful to conscientiously attend to both as he was to oc-
cupy during the session his seat on the fioor of the Senate.

As a citizen of Nebraska and at home, Mr. Paddock was
always hopeful, public spirited, and energetic. He was
closely identified with the interests of Omaha and Beatrice
during his successive residences in these cities, and attained
a well earned prominence due to his readiness to stake his
means upon the progress and development of the commu-
nities of which he was a member. He believed in Nebraska
and he thought that Nebraska ought to believe in him. He
felt that the State had reason to trust him as he always
trusted the commonwealth which had honored him and which
he had faithfully served. Others might decry it, — not he. In
times of sternest stress his faith never faltered. Even then
he had a kindly word for political adversaries and a half
apology in the presence of a third party for what he believed
to be their really injurious and unjustifiable attitude on pub-
lic questions affecting the State.

Mr. Paddock was keenly sensitive to criticism and suffered
greatly and patiently at times from the abuse of a school of
journalism which it is to be hoped is dying out in the State,
and in which dislike was considered sufScient justification
for atrocious attack, and envy ample warrant for ministering

ALGERNON SIDNEY PADDOCK.

195

malevolence. Both his successful senatorial campaigns were
won after bitter contests over able rivals and with a divided
press, as was not unnatural. Political conditions were never
such that his election was handed to him on a silver platter
while the dogs of partisan war were held in the leash. He
fought for what he attained and he earned what he got. Amid
abuse, misrepresentation, threats^ he quietly plotted his way
towards the goal. He won two victories in senatorial cam-
paigns; he suffered tAvo defeats. He was no more elated by*
the former than he was depressed by the latter. Hurt not in-
frequently by the defection of alleged friends, his generous
soul could not harbor resentments. If he did not pray for
those who despitefully used him, he often declined to permit
them to be despitefully used and preyed upon by others. And
he received little credit for an attitude which some claimed
savored of compromise or weakness, but which those who
knew him best knew was the outcome of a kindly and a forgiv-
ing nature more considerate of the feelings of rivals often
than they were of his own.

The public services of Senator Paddock to territory and
state can not be considered in this hasty sketch of his career
and character. When analyzed they will be found to be at
least the equal in amount and in value of those of any of his
predecessors or, up to date, of any of his successors. His
efforts were always along practical lines. Where possible, he
sought the lines of least resistance, but he did not shrink
from opposition. He assisted in placing upon the statute
books a large number of the laws which have proved of great-
est permanent benefit to the West. The development of the
agricultural department from a government bureau to a cab-
inet office was due in large degree to his efforts. The cattle
inspection laws were of his initiative. The agitation for laws
against food adulteration will always be indissolubly con-
nected with his name. He was an important and a most in-
fluential factor in securing the opening of the Indian reserva-
tions of the northwest to settlement; he reported the timber

196

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

culture bill to the Senate, and, ten years before the beet sugar
industry became established in this country, advocated an
appropriation for experimental stations to test its feasibil-
ity. In obtaining useful special legislation for his state he
had no peer.

Mr. Paddock in the ordinary sense was a partisan. On two
notable occasions, once during the reconstruction period and
the second time during the formulation of the tariff bill in
the Fifty-first Congress, he resented what he thought to be un-
wise party leadership. He believed that the reconstruction
policy which President Johnson was tactlessly trying to force
throi*gh, was — however blundering the method of its em-
phasis— the policy which Abraham Lincoln had outlined and
would have adopted. He had the courage of his convictions
in this respect and put them to the test. History will ap-
prove his judgment. In the Fifty-first Congress he struggled
ha/d to secure additional concessions on the line of reduc-
tions in tariff imports which peculiarly affected the West,
and was one of fourteen western senators to pledge himself
to defeat the conference report and throw the bill back into
another conference through which the required concessions
could be secured, if their demands should not be com-
plied with. Under party pressure, all but three yielded and
voted for the conference report as it came before the Senate.
Two of the three would, without question, have fallen into
line on the vote had not the name of A. S. Paddock come first
on the roll. He voted as he had pledged himself to vote, not
against a republican tariff bill but against a bill as formu-
lated, which he felt was not entirely just to his state and
section, and which he desired further improved before it was
brought to a final vote. The defeat of the conference report
would have compelled, of course, a further conference and an*
ultimate yielding on the part of the House conferees to at
least a portion of the Senate demands. It was for this that
Senator Paddock courageously fought even when deserted by
the mass of his western associates in the Senate who mutually

ALGERNON SIDNEY PADDOCK.

197

pledged themselves to maintain to the end the position from
which he himself refused to be diverted. It was the act of a
brave and an honest man, an act which Mr. Paddock neve":"
regretted or wished to recall.

As a rule, however. Senator Paddock was a strong party
man and a strong partisan. He believed that public men
could best subserve the public interests through party or-
ganizations, and that the expression of party opinion througli
regularly constituted party channels was binding upon those
who professed to follow its banner. He loved the party with
which he affiliated. He was proud of its traditions and of
his connection with it from its birth, of his acquaintance with
its founders, of his association with its great minds distin-
guished in its highest councils. His loyalty was to party
ideals as he perceived them, and he always regretted differ-
ences between himself and friends upon questions of party
policy and party conduct, whether state or national. But he
had the courage of his political convictions and yielded due
deference to those of others who differed from himself. He
recognized the necessity of rivalries and ambitions and the
struggle to enforce divergent views upon the electorate. He
knew the bitter as well as the sweets of prominence, the self-
ishness of place hunting, the ingratitude of satisfied endeavor,
the disappointment of the laurel gained, the shallowness of
political professions, the secession of friends, the success of
opponents.

All these — yes — for he played no insignificant part in the
political drama of territory and state and nation during the
closing half of the last century when history was made and
unmade, and the great empire of the West sprang into being
largely as the result of political rivalries.

But there can be no rivalry with the dead. Perhaps they
have at length solved all the problems with which we are
struggling and look down upon us with compassionate in-
terest because the final opportunity for complete knowledge
is as yet denied us. To us all it will come in time. How small

198

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

will then appear the petty ambitions and contests and
jealousies and frictions which made up so large a portion of
our lives here, but which seem doubtless to them such an in
significant and infinitesimal portion of the preliminaries to
the higher life there. What will it count in the aeons of years
to come, these struggles for passing prominence, for news-
paper notriety, for the retention of fickle friendships, for ap-
preciation of agonizing endeavor?

^'To be rich to be famous?" wrote Thackeray in that exqui-
site scene of the reunion of Esmond and Lady Castlewood.

''What do these profit a year hence when other names sound
louder than yours, when you lie hidden away under the
ground along with idle titles engraven on your coffin? But
only true love lives after you — follows your memory with
secret blessing or precedes and intercedes for you. JSlon
omnis moriar, if dying, I yet live in a tender heart or two;
nor am I lost and hopeless, living, if a sainted departed soul
still loves and prays for me.''

THE I^ARMERS^ ALLIANCE IN NEBRASKA.

199

THE FAKMERS' ALLIANCE IN NEBRASKA.

SOMETHING OP ITS ORIGIN^ GROWTH^ AND INFLUENCE.

Read by J. M. Thompson, Secretary Nebraska Farmers' Alliance 1889-93,
before the Nebraska State Historical Society, January 8, 1901.

The Farmers' Alliance in the United States was first or-
ganized during the year 1879. Milton George, of Chicago,
organized the first Alliance in Illinois, near the city of Chi-
cago in that year, and through the instrumentality of his
paper, the Western Rural, the principles of the society spread
throughout the Northwest, and many Alliances were organ-
ized after his plan. About the same time a similar organiza-
tion appeared in Texas, which afterwards became the basis
for the Southern Alliance.

The first aim of the society throughout the Northwest was
to unite the farmers for the purpose of discussing and advo-
cating certain principles of industrial and political reform.
With this was combined in many instances attempts at
cooperation in business.

Its growth was quite rapid, and societies were soon organ-
ized in the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska.
In Illinois, the Patrons of Husbandry covered a similar field,
and fewer local organizations of the Alliance were made
in that state.

The first alliance organized in Nebraska was formed near
Filley, in Gage county, in the year 1880, and about the same
time a subordinate Alliance was formed at Alda, in Hall
county.

The first state Alliance of Nebraska was organized at Lin-
coln, in the year 1881. Hon. E. P. Ingersoll, of Johnson

200 NEBRASKA STATE UlST^OHlCAL SOCIETY.

'oounty, was the first president of the society, and Hon. J.
Burrows, of Gage county, its first secretary.

As at first organized the society had no regular constitu-
tion, but merely a declaration of principles, which were to be
the object of its effort. It consisted first of subordinate Al-
liances, which were neighborhood societies, and which held
frequent meetings for the discussion and study of subjects
and principles of interest to the farmers. These local Al-
liances were each entitled to a delegate to the annual state
meeting, which was held once a year.

In the year 1887 the State Alliance of Nebraska met at
Lincoln and organized as a secret society, adopted a con-
stitution and by-laws, ritual and secret work, and formu-
lated the following declaration of principles:

DECLARATION OF PURPOSES.

Profoundly impressed that we, the Farmers' Alliance,
united by the strong and faithful ties of financial and home
interests, should set forth our declaration of intentions, we
therefore resolve :

To strive to secure the establishment of right and justice
to ourselves and our posterity.

To labor for the education of the agricultural classes in
the science of economical government in a strictly non-parti-
san spirit.

To secure purity of the elective franchise, and to induce all
voters to intelligently exercise it for the enactment and exe-
cution of laws which will express the most, advanced public
sentiment upon all questions involving the interests of
laborers and farmers.

To indorse the motto, "In things essential, unity; in all
things, charity.''

To develop a better state, mentally, morally, socially, and
financially.

To constantly strive to secure harmony and good will
among all mankind, and brotherly love among ourselves.

To suppress personal, local, sectional, and national preju-
dices, all unhealthful rivalry, and all selfish ambition.

To assuage the sufferings of brother and sister, bury the

I -

THE farmers' alliance IN NEBRASKA.

201

dead, care for the widows, and educate the ori)hans; to exer-
cise charity to all oll'enders; to construe words and purposes
in their most favorable riiJ;lit, granting honesty of purpose
and good intentions to others, and to protect the principles
of the Alliance unto death.

During the year 1888 considerable activity was sliown
among all industrial organizations throughout the country,
yet at the annual meeting of the Nebraska Farmers' Alliance
held in January, 1889, only fourteen counties were repre-
sented by about one hundred delegates.

At this meeting plans for more thorough work were made,
and the state officers were authorized to take the field if
necessary, and personally organize in counties where no Al-
liance already existed.

In accordance with these plans, Hon. J. H. Powers, the
newly elected state president, ably assisted by Mr. Burrows,
then chairman of the state executive committee, and J. M.
Thompson, state secretary-treasurer, began to push the work
of organization throughout the State.

During this year over five hundred local Alliances were
chartered. State headquarters were established at Lincoln
in May, 1889.

The first issue of the Farmers^ Alliance^ a paper devoted to
the society's interests and advocating its cause, appeared
June 12, 1889, which was in September put under the control
of the chairman of the executive committee and state secre-
tary, and issued from the head office.

The annual meeting at Grand Island, in January of 1890,
was the largest and most enthusiastic meeting of an indus-
trial organization Nebraska had ever seen, and its influence
was felt throughout the State.

In the year 1890, over twelve hundred local Alliances were
formed, and by July 1 of that year at least fifteen hundred
local alliances Avere in existence, reaching into every im-
portant county in the State, with a membership of over fifty
thousand.

202' NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

These Alliances held frequent meetings at school houses
and in the homes of the members. Kegular courses of study
were adopted by many of them, taking up the questions that
were agitating the minds of the people and discussing them
in an earnest manner, looking to their careful solution. In
order to ^'secure purity of the elective franchise'' the Aus-
tralian Ballot Law was studied with a view to recommend-
ing its adoption by the State; reforms in existing laws, espe-
cially those relating to insurance, public schools, and other
subjects of interest to the members of the State generally
were considered, and each organization became to some ex-
tent a school where the members were forming new ideas of
their duties as citizens and new conceptions of their privi-
leges as sovereign voters.

The great drouth throughout western Nebraska in the
summer of 1890 was particularly severe on the farmers, and
before any measures for relief were taken by the State, the
Farmers' Alliance was soliciting aid through the society in
other states, supplemented by all the available cash in its
treasury at home. Three thousand dollars out of the treas-
ury was divided among the western counties, while the
Alliance in eastern counties contributed nearly as much more
in cash, besides large quantities of grain and provisions
through the fund started by the state paper and officers of the
State Alliance.

When the State legislature in the winter of 1891 made an
appropriation to enable the farmers to sow their fields and
exist until a crop could be secured, the Alliance Relief Com-
mittee was in many counties recognized as the best means of
distributing this aid.

Much has been said during the past ten years concerning
the Alliance in Nebraska politics, yet a descriptive paper on
the society would not be complete without something on this
subject.

At the annual meeting held at Grand Island, in January,
1890, the subject of political action occupied a good deal of

(rtlB t^ARMEUS^ ALLIANCE IN NEBRASKA. 20S

time in the three days' session. Various and conflicting views
were presented and discussed, but as the members afliliated
with the different political parties in the State, independent
political action was not deemed advisable. A spirit of po-
litical unrest, however, was felt throughout the State, and in
May a meeting of the state officers and representatives from
each county Avas called at Lincoln to further consider this
matter. About one hundred earnest men attended this meet-
ing, and every phase of the existing political situation was
taken up and thoroughly discussed.

The officers of the State Alliance believed that more ef-
fective work could be done by continuing the educational
features of the Organization, w^hich would in a great measure
be stopped by the formation of a new political party. The
demand for independent political action, especially from the
western counties, was not to be overcome, and it w^as finally
agreed that petitions calling for a Peoples' Independent Con-
vention should be circulated throughout the State, and,
should the response warrant it, the call for a convention
would be issued.

The State Grange and Knights of Labor were also invited
to cooperate in the movement, and many of their members
gave it their hearty support.

The following call was prepared and sent to local Alliances
throughout the State :

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES

AND POPULAR CALL FOR A PEOPLES^ INDEPENDENT STATE
CONVENTION,

We, the undersigned, citizens of the State of Nebraska,
hereby declare our adhesion to the following fundamental
principles, and demand that they be enacted into law, viz. :

Our financial system should be reformed by the restoration
of silver to its old time place in our currency and its free
and unlimited coinage on an equality with gold, and by the
increase of our money circulation until it reaches the sum of

204 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

|50 per capita; and all paper issues necessary to secure that
amount should be made by the government alone, and be full
legal tender for all debts, public and private.

The land monopoly should be abolished either by limitation
of ownership or graduated taxation of excessive holdings, so
that all the competent should have an opportunity to labor,
secure homes, and become good citizens ; and alien ownership
should be prohibited.

That the railroad system as at present managed is a system
of spoliation and robbery, and that its enormous bonded debt
at fictitious valuation is absorbing the substance of the peo-
ple in the interest of millionaires; that the general govern-
ment should own and operate the railroads and telegraph,
and furnish transportation at cost, the same as mail facili-
ties are now furnished; and that our legislature should enact
a freight law which shall fix rates no higher than those now
in force in Iowa.

We demand that our state and national system of taxation
shall be so adjusted that our laboring interests will be
fostered and wealth bear its just burdens, instead of our farm-
ers, laborers, merchants, and mechanics being compelled to
pay, as at present, by far the largest portion of public
expense.

We further declare that the political machinery in this
state has been controlled by the corporate power for the
plunder of the people and the enrichment of itself, and we
have entirely lost confidence in the efficiency of that machin-
ery for the enactment of just and the repeal of unjust laws.

We therefore hereby give our voice for the call of the
Peoples' Independent State Convention, to nominate pure
and honorable men for the different state offices on the princi-
ples named above; and we hereby pledge ourselves, if pure
and honorable men are so selected, to vote and work for their
election.

And we hereby invite all men, without regard to past or
present political affiliations, to join us in this, our effort for
pure government, for the relief from the shackles of party
politics and the domination of corporate power in our public
affairs.

And we hereby request the secretary of the State Farmers'
Alliance, and the secretary of the State Assembly of the
Knights of Labor to select two men who shall fix a just ratio

THE farmers' alliance IN NEBRASKA.

205

of representation and a proper date, issue a call, obtain a hall,
and make all needed arrangements for holding said
convention."

In less than thirty days over fifteen thousand voters had
signed the petition, and on June 28 the call for a Peoples' In-
dependent State Convention Avas issued to meet on July 29,
at Lincoln, for the nomination of a state ticket. In this con-
vention seventy-nine counties were represented by 873 dele-,
gates, and a full state ticket was nominated upon a platform
pledging certain reforms in state government, and in con-
formity with the text of the petition already quoted.

The results of this campaign are familiar to every citizen
in the State and form an important epoch in its history. The
Farmers' Alliance, in the election of the majority of the state
legislators, assisted in shaping the course of legislation in the
sessions of 1891 and 1893.

Some of its organizers and officers became trusted servants
of the people of the state as legislators, and later as state of-
ficers, and with few exceptions proved worthy of the trust
reposed in them.

The growth of the Farmers' Alliance in 1891 was checked
somewhat by the political situation of that year, but its in-
fiuence was felt in many ways.

Mutual insurance societies had been organized in a num-
ber of counties under amended laws, nearly all of which con-
tinue to do a successful business. Other cooperative enter-
prises were formed, many of which have been made the
nucleus for establishing profitable creameries, elevators,
etc. Many of its younger members under the stimulus of its
educational work felt the need of a higher education, and
numbers of them turned toward the State University and
other colleges.

Since 1893 the organization has been active only in a few
localities, and although holding its annual meeting each
year very few of its members expect it to recover its former
greatness.

206 NEBRASKA STATtl HISTORICAL SOCIETl^.

Mistakes were doubtless made by its officers and members
alike, yet its influence has been for good upon the State and
Nation. And we can not but recognize in the Farmers' Alli-
ance another evidence of the continuous struggle for ad-
vancement, mentally, morally, socially, and financially being
made by the "man with the hoe.''

REMINISCENCES.

207

REMINISCENCES.

Read by ex -Mayor H. W. Hardy before the Annual Meeting of State Historical
Society, January 8, 1901.

The territory from which Nebraska was carved was first
brought to our mind by the study of Olney's geography, early
in the thirties. We remember the Great American Desert,
which extended from the Lakes to the Rocky mountains and
from the North Pole to the Gulf. We remember the scenes
pictured there. One represented Indians driving buffaloes
over a hip:h bank into a corral made of poles. We remember
another picture, that of a prairie fire, where Indians, buffalo,
and wolves were running for their lives before the fiames.

The next we remember of seeing several bales of buffalo
skins lying upon the sidewalk in the city of Buffalo, just
brought from the Missouri river near Council Bluffs. This
was early in the forties.

The next we remember was a letter from an older brother,
written after his arrival in California in 1849. He went the
overland route, and described the country west of Rock Isl-
and. He found no signs of white men except on the Des
Moines river, two priests and two ferrymen at Council Bluffs,
a company of soldiers at Kearney, and Mormons at Salt Lake.
West of the Missouri he found buffalo paths running to the
Platte river, and Mormon paths running west.

We were much surprised at his statement that the desert
was not a desert, and that there was good territory for three
more states between the Mississippi and the Rocky moun-
tains. Another statement surprised us : that Fremont's pass
was a broad, level prairie, with mountains on either side just

208 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

in sight. We had supposed it was a narrow defile just wide
enough to let a mule or a man through.

The next was Greeley's description of his stage ride to the
coast in 1858. His mention of the tall grass, the gently
sloping hills, the countless herds of fat buffaloes. It was not
stretching the imagination to conclude if the buffalo could
live without the help of man the ox could with a little of his
help.

The flag of Nebraska first represented a grazing country.
We were told there would be no use for plows ten miles west
of the Missouri.

In 1854 the hot history of Nebraska and Kansas com-
menced. The Missouri Compromise law, which prohibited
slavery north of Mason and Dixon's line, which was the
south line of the state of Missouri, extending westward, was
repealed. Nebraska and Kansas were lined up as territories
and opened to slavery. At once slaveholders commenced set-
tlement, hundreds in Kansas and a few in Nebraska. But
the free states outstripped the slave states, two to one, in
sending settlers to the new territories. The New England
Emigrant Aid Society furnished their emigrants with Bibles,
Sharp's rifles, and transportation money. Between 1854 and
1860 the two territories witnessed scenes of strife and
bloodshed.

May 30, 1854, the Territory of Nebraska was organized
and included the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and
Colorado. Colorado and all north of 43° was first taken off in
1861, and in 1863 Nebraska Avas reduced to her present limits.

In March, 1860, the people refused to be admitted as a
state, by a vote of 1987 to 1877. The chief reason given was
that the expense of running a state would be too great. In
1864 Congres^ passed another enabling act, but the people
this time ignored the proposition without taking a vote. In
1866 the territorial legislature framed a constitution and the
people adopted it on June 21 following. On the 28th of the
same month Congress passed a bill admitting the State, but

REMINISCENCES.

209

President Johnson vetoed it. In January, 18GT, Congress
passed another bill, then rej^assed it over the l*resident's sec-
ond veto. In 1871 a state constitutional convention was
called and a new constitution framed, which was rejected by
the people. The chief objection raised was against the tax-
ing of meeting-houses. It was argued that grave-yards and
school-houses should be taxed just as much as meeting-houses,
so that the community that got along without these luxuries
should be relieved of that much tax.

In 1875 another convention was called, and the present
constitution was adopted by a vote of 30,202 against 5,474.
Several amendments to the present constitution have been
submitted to a vote of the people, but the method of voting
and counting of the votes prescribed by the constitution are
such that all of them failed to get the necessary vote. The
one increasing the pay of the legislature was, however,
counted in. The three most noted amendments that have
been submitted were those extending the right of suffrage to
women, the prohibition of the liquor traffic, and the increase
in the number of supreme judges.

We first landed in Lincoln in October, 1870, and one of the
first things that attracted our attention was a political meet-
ing held in the new state house, then nearly completed. Gov-
ernor David Butler was the speaker. He was a candidate
for reelection. He openly acknowledged that he had loaned
state money to himself, that he had also loaned to Mr. Tich-
enor without warrant of law, but said that he did it because
he thought to have a governor's house and a decent hotel
completed would increase the value of lots, at the coming Oc-
tober sale, more than the amount of money loaned, even
though the money w^as never paid back. He was elected by
an increased majority; but the legislature that was elected
at the same time impeached him the following spring for
the same things he openly confessed before election. The
legislature a few years ago impeached the impeachers by
expunging the impeachment record and reinstating Mr. But-
U

210 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

ler to full citizenship. The money he loaned has all been
paid back with interest.

At the time of our first landing in Lincoln we found but
one small school house; it was built of brown stone, and stood
on the east side of Eleventh street, between Q and K. It was
afterAvards used as a city jail. The city jail before that con-
sisted of a dugout standing near the center of the block west
of the post-offlce.

The University was not opened till the fall of 1871. We
must confess that the first line of professors did not at the
start favorably impress us. But it was the University that
attracted us here, and we have always stood up for it. It is
now one of our greatest and most hearty joys to visit the
University shops and farm. The ball games have no charm
for us. Practical education is what our boys and girls need
more than style and show.

Cars had commenced to run from Plattsmouth to Lincoln,
and the only depot Avas an old freight car.

The buffaloes had all been driven west of the Blue river,
but deep worn paths leading to the creek were found every
half mile. Wolves, deer, and antelope were often seen.

The penitentiary then consisted of a small brown stone
building, Avith a board fence around it. A few years later a
rebellion of the prisoners caused quite an excitement, but a
company of soldiers from Fort Omaha quelled the rebellion
without bloodshed or loss of prisoners.

The burning of the insane asylum, which was about to
tumble down, was another scene of public interest. There is
no doubt that the insurance money was the cause of the
burning. The fire occurred early in the spring of 1871.

During the summer of 1877 the foundation walls of the
first University building, built of rotten brown stone, began
to crumble, and the building was condemned as unsafe. Your
humble servant put his hand into the city treasury without
law and transferred to the University foundation fund
|4,000., and the building was made safe. The money has

Reminiscences.

211

never been returned to the city by tlie State. Impeachment
medicine was not administered.

Next to our University and public schools stand our public
libraries. One of the things in which we have been most
deeply interested is the establishment of the Lincoln city
library. Twenty-four years ago next spring, we, as mayor,
signed our first warrant, giving |300 as a starter. Since then
the success and future prospects of the institution are well
known. The burning of our entire library a little more than
a year ago has been healed by a gift of Andrew Carnegie of
175,000 for the erection of a fireproof building. It is a great
satisfaction to visit our library to-day and count the men,
women, boys, and girls quietly reading books, magazines,
newspapers, and we expect to be able to count double the
number when our new building is completed. Any village
or city without a library and reading-room is behind the
light-house.

212

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

HISTOEY OF THE FIRST STATE CAPITOL.

Prepared for the Society by Thomas Malloy, 1899.

In the month of November, 1867, I Avas hired in Chicago
by contractor Joseph Ward, who had the contract of build-
ing the first state capitol. There were also twelve other
stone-cutters who came west to Lincoln, Neb., along with me.
We were to receive |4.50 fjer day as soon as we began work.
He paid our way as far as Omaha, and then transferred us
back to Council Bluffs, from which place Ave arrived in Ne-
braska City. Here we rested for a day and night. There
were two teams hired to bring our tool-chests and trunks from
the depot on the Iowa side across by ferry to Nebraska City.
We had guns and revolvers to protect ourselves from the
Indians. Before we left Nebraska City we were advised to
get blankets and moccasins, as it looked as if there Avas a
storm coming. Sure enough the storm did come, after we left
Nebraska City for Lincoln. We had to Avalk and run all the
way behind the Avagons to keep ourselves from freezing the
first day. I belieA^e the moccasins we bought saved our lives
on the road. The first day Ave came as far as a place where
there was one shanty on each side of a creek. One w^as occu-
pied by a man by the name of Wallen and the other by a
man by the name of Luff, old pioneers on the Nemaha near
Unadilla. The OAvners of the houses Avere scared at us until
Ave told them where we were going to; that we were going
to Lincoln to build the state capitol. Then they divided us
betAveen the tAVO houses. One house kept seven men and the
other five. Lucky enough they had some bread, coffee, and
bacon. They did the very best they possibly could for us.
But such sleeping apartments! A loft in the peak of each
shanty, with loose boards for a floor, on Avhich we slept. And
such a night! We lay on the floor with our lucky blankets
rolled around us and kept ourselves as warm as we could.

THE FIRST STATE CAPITOL.

2J3

Next morning we got a breakfast of tlic same kind of fooil,
paid our bill, and thanked the pioneer gentlemen for their
kind treatment. Then we started for Lincoln and arrived at
the Pioneer Hotel at 9:00 p.m. that night. This hotel was
owned by Mr. Scroggins, and was north of where the State
Journal building is at present, on Ninth street. The number
at the hotel that night after we signed our names on the
register was sixty-five. The hotel was well filled with lodg-
ers, consisting of laborers, mechanics, doctors, and a few law-
yers. The next morning we went to see where our job was
to be. A few men went with us and showed us the place. To
our great surprise there was nothing for us to see but the
trenches dug for the foundation. There was no material in
the way of stone for us to go to work at. So w^e were badly
discouraged. What could we do, out in the wilderness of
Nebraska, and our families in Chicago? At this time the
contractor was on his way from Chicago to Lincoln, three
days behind us. We patiently waited for him to come, and
when he did come w^e met him determined to do something
desperate. In fact we w^ere going to hang him. When he
saw the material was not on hand for us to go to work at, he
there and then told us not to be uneasy; that he would see
that we would get our wages, ^^ork or play, according to
agreement, as the State was good for it. So that pacified us.
We were idle two weeks before the rock came in. He paid us
full time. We then built a sod boarding house on the capitol
grounds and boarded all the men w^orldng on the building. A
man and team were hired to haul all the things required for
the table from Nebraska City. That was good board at |5,
so we were all well satisfied up to the 1st of April, 1868. At
that time a man by the name of Felix Carr came from Omaha
with a letter from Governor Butler to the contractor, Mr.
Ward. This man made a deal with Mr. Ward, who rente!
the boarding house to Mr. Carr. Then Mr. Carr went back
to Omaha and brought out his wife and family to run the
boarding house. He also brought out two big barrels of

214 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

whisky. Then we saw what was up. We held a meeting and
resolved to boycott the whisky, as the boys were all saving
their money at this time. A few days after he invited some
of the men to have a drink, but they refused, and he was
greatly surprised to see such a large number of men in a big
building like a state capitol all sober. But one wet day came,
and some of the masons broke the boycott about a month after
the whisky came. This continued for a week. I watched an
opportunity at night when they were all asleep, and crept to
where the barrel was and turned the faucet in the barrel. I
then crept back to bed again. The whisky kept running all
night on the floor and down the cracks, until the barrel was
empty. In the morning the smell of whisky was all over the
boarding house. The man Carr became tearing mad. He car-
ried a brace of revolvers at the breakfast table and threatened
the man or men who committed the crime of emptying the
barrel of its contents. But he did not shoot. A few days after
all the stone-cutters left the boarding-house and went to Mr.
Lane's new boarding house on O street. He was foreman
carpenter.

Mr. Felix Carr left in a few weeks and never paid Mr.
Ward, the contractor, a cent of rent, and took his blankets,
dishes, even the stove, spoons, and knives, and never was
seen in Lincoln since.

In the spring of 1868 the prairie was covered with camp
wagons, consisting of bull teams, mule teams, and horse
teams, all seeking out section stones and taking up home-
steads and preemptions in Lancaster county. The land of-
fice was in Nebraska City at this time. All available teams
were employed hauling lumber from Nebraska City and stone
from Beatrice for the state capitol. Frame houses were
springing up in all directions. Carpenters, masons, and
plasterers were in demand. Auction sales were conducted by
Thomas Hyde, auctioneer, selling city lots at that time to
pay the expenses of building the capitol. The kind of money
in circulation at that time was called greenbacks, and it was
easy carried in a man's pocket, not being so heavy as gold.

THE FIRST STATE CAPITOL.

215

In the fall of the same year, 18G8, politics were getting
lively. There were two liberty poles planted on top of a hill
called market square at that time, north of where the post-
office is now built, between O and P streets. One was a Demo-
crat pole and the other was a Republican pole, both with the
stars and stripes flying from the top. The Eepublican pole was
taller than the other, being spliced. But some wicked villain
came around one night, threw a rope across the top of it, and
kept pulling at it until it fell across the top of the hill and
cracked in two pieces. In the morning when the men were
going to work, they only saw one pole with the stars and
stripes flying, and that was the Democrat pole. When the
report went around the town the people gathered in swarms
to see the broken liberty pole. There was nothing but weep-
ing and wailing and gnashing of teeth among the old veterans
of the late war. Finally there was a colored barber of the
name of Johnston who lived west of the hill on Ninth street
where Humphrey's hardware store is now. He reported
that he heard the crack of the pole when it fell, and that he
saw a man running toward the livery barn of Dunbar and
Jones, on west O street. Suspicion fell on young Jones be-
cause he was a southern Democrat, and he was taken and a
guard placed over him. The Moore brothers and other vet-
erans of the recent war went to George Ballentine's lumber
yard and got lumber and built a scaffold on top of the hill
where the pole lay. The scaffold was built to hang Jones on,
and his trial was to be held that evening before Judge Cad-
man. The Democrats got very uneasy, and sent word out
toward Salt creek and other places around Lincoln to be iu
at the hanging. There did a lot of them come in and waited
until the trial commenced. Judge Oadman called the case,
and the witness appeared. He said he heard a loud noise of
something cracking, and he looked out and saw a man run-
ning toward the barn after the crack.

"Did you know the man?''

Answer — "No, sir/'

216

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

"Any more witnesses?"
There were none.

"I discharge the j)risoner for want of further prosecution."

So there was no hanging on that scaffold in 1868.

In 1868 Mr. Robert Silvers got the contract of building the
State University. The first thing he did was to start a brick
yard. He 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. He hauled the foundation stone from
Yankee Hill, which was sand rock. This was of little ac-
count. As there was no other stone around Lincoln at that
time to build any kind of foundation with^ even the first bank
at the corner of Tenth and O was built out of it. At that time
Mr. Silvers did not know how he could find stone for the steps
at the three principal entrances, south, east, and west, to the
University. He asked me if there was any show to get them
at any price. He told me to search the country to see if I
could find any, as he hated to put wooden steps in a State
University. I started out on a pony, and the first day I could
find no stone that would suit. The second I went east and
found stone located south of Bennet in a ravine. I was over-
joyed to find a lot of fine sound stone that had been exposed
to the sun for years. I knew that on that account they were
sound. I then returned and told Mr. Silvers that I had
found the stones that Avould make the steps. He asked me
would they split with the frost. I said to him that if even
one of them split with the frost never to pay me one cent for
my material or labor. "Well," he said, "name your price."
"Oh," I said, "about |1.50 a superficial foot." He then said
to me, "The job is yours." The contract was then made out.

I got all the stones that had been long exposed to the frost
and sun, dressed them, and they are there to-day, after all the
wear and tear they have received since they were laid in 1868.
The steps and landings at the three entrances cost |1,000,
and Mr. Silvers made me a present of $50 and thanks.

Jefferson county overland route.

EAKLY HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY
OVERLAND ROUTE.

Prepared by W. W. Watson for the State Historical Society, January 8, 1900.

The earliest record of overland travel through Jefferson
county is that made by Fremont in 1842, and it is evident
from his written report that he followed almost exactly the
route afterward traveled by the Ben Holladay stage line and
the overland freighters. He writes of finding camping places
where the early emigrants to Oregon had stopped, and ap-
pears to have followed along the line they had traveled. His
camp at Rock creek was evidently where the stage station was
afterward located, and from his description of the locality
he must have crossed Big Sandy creek at or near where D. C.
Jenkins built his ranch in 1858.

The wagon road afterward traveled by the Californians of
'49, and the freighting outfits later from Ft. Leavenworth,
entered the county near the southeast corner, a few miles
north of the Hollenberg ranch, in Kansas, and about four
miles northeast of the present location of Steele City. It
intersected the Holladay stage route which followed up the
Big Blue valley from Marysville to Oketo, and then turned
west along the divide south of Indian creek and very near the
present line of the B. & M. R. R., intersecting the OA^erland
trail at Cadwell's ranch.

A few miles west was the Rock creek stage station, and on
the west bank of the creek was located the McCandless ranch,
and afterward, in 1865, D. O. Jenkins built at this point his
second ranch and a toll bridge, for which he secured a char-
ter from the territorial legislature of 1864-65. The tradi-
tion is that Mr. Jenkins had less trouble in securing the

218

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

charter for his bridge across Eock "river'' than he had in
preventing the freighters from shoveling a roadway down
the bank and going around the bridge, thus avoiding the pay-
ment of toll. The stage station was at one time in charge of
George Hulburt, afterward of Kearney, Neb., and in 1862
was kept by H. Wells. William Hiscock, better known as
"Wild Bill," was in charge of the stock at that date, when
McCandless, w^ho had built a ranch on the west bank of the
creek, undertook to take possession of the station he had
formerly owned and claimed he had not been paid for by the
stage company. In the melee w^hich followed his attempt
"Wild Bill" shot and killed McCandless and two of his men.
From this point the road traversed Rock Creek precinct in a
northwesterly direction, and at one time the stage company
kept a station in charge of Ray Grayson at the west line of
the precinct, about three miles northeast of where Fairbury
is noAv located. This station was called "Whisky Run" sta-
tion, but the name was afterward bestowed on a small ranch
near the head of "Whisky Run" creek. The name is said
to have been derived from the seizure by a party of soldiers
and the pouring out upon the prairie of several barrels of
whisky, found in the possession of some freighters, which
they were vending along their route. Virginia Station or
Lone Tree was located on section 26, in Richland precinct,
on the land now owned by Robinson Bros. It was first kept
by S. Gra^^son, an employee of the stage company, and after-
ward by W. P. Hess. A short distance west a man named
Minto Jones had a small trading post in 1860, but the In-
dians were such unpleasant neighbors that he abandoned the
post.

In May, 1859, Joel Helvey came from Nebraska City and
located at the crossing on Little Sandy creek, section 19,
town 3, range 2 east, where he built a ranch and toll bridge
across the creek. Mr. Helvey died in 1864, but his sons,
Thomas, Jasper, Frank, and George, who came with him,
still reside in that neighborhood.

JEFFERSON COUNTY OVERLAND ROUTE.

219

From the Helvey ranch the trail traversed the divide north
of the vilkige of Powell, and descended into the valley near
Big Sandy crossing. Big Sandy ranch was built in 1858 by
D. 0. Jenkins, who, in 18G5, disposed of the same to David
Wolff and John S. Crump. 11. M. Boss bought Mr. Crump's
interest in 1866. The Slaughter ranch was located at a ford
about half a mile north of the Big Sandy ranch, and the
rivalry betw^een the ranch keepers to secure the travel at
their respective crossings was such that at times armed
guards were needed to prevent the digging of ditches across
the road so that travel might be diverted from one road to
the other. A short distance west George Weisel, now of Al-
exandria, Neb., kept a ranch, and about a mile above Big
Sandy crossing Ed Farrell kept the stage station for the Hol-
liday line.

The overland trail crossed the w^est line of the county a
short distance north of where the town of Meridian was lo-
cated in 1869. A number of freighters, whose homes were
in Gage and Jefferson counties, outfitted at Nebraska City
or Brownville, and the route they traveled via Tecumseh and
Beatrice passed through the north part of Jefferson county
and intersected with the main road at Big Sandy. There
were no ranches on this route between Kilpatrick, in Gage
count}^, and Tom Helvey's on the Little Sandy.

Many of the first ranchers and settlers were engaged in
freighting from the Missouri river points, Nebraska City,
Brownville, and Atchison to Denver, in the early '60s, and
until the building of the Union Pacific from Omaha westward
inaugurated a new" era of development of the section of coun-
try that had been marked on the maps fifty years ago as the
"Great American Desert," and the crack of the "bull-whack-
er's" whip was drowned in the noise of the locomotive
whistle.

Among the old freighters who drove teams over the over-
land, and who still reside in the county are A. F. Curtis, C. C.
Boyle, and J. C. Kesterson. Mr, Curtis, in 1861, outfitted at

220

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Nebraska City and drove his teams to Denver each year until
1866. He had for company in his first 3^ear William and Na-
than Blakel}^, J. H. Lemon, and Charles Bailey, of Gage
county. For the next few years he outfitted at Atchison or
BroAvnville or St. Joseph, and ^'followed the trail" until
1866, his last trip being made with Beckwith, of Liberty
Farm ranch, in 1866.

J. C. Kesterson, of Fairbury, was engaged in freighting
from Nebraska City in 1865 to Cottonwood Springs and
Julesburg, and in 1866 to Ft. Laramie. He was with a train
owned by his father, J. B. Kesterson, the first year, and in
1866 was assistant wagonmaster for Kesterson and Catter-
son, who were engaged in hauling government freight. The
Helvey Bros., who settled in Jefferson county in d859, were
engaged in freighting from Nebraska City and other river
points for several years, and C. C. Boyle, at present county
judge in this county, in 1863 went to Denver with a freight
outfit from Omaha.

The freighting experience of the writer was confined to two
trips from Plattsmouth to Denver with a train of James
Clizbe's in 1863, and in 1865 to a trip from Omaha to Denver
with the outfit of H. T. Clarke & Bro. Clizbe settled at
Weeping Water, Cass county, where he died about two years
ago.

I attach hereto two letters from Babcock and Crump, both
old settlers, and have the promise of statements from others
who participated in the Indian troubles of 1864-67 and '69,
which made an interesting chapter of Jefferson county
annals.

Columbus, Ind.^ December 16, 1899.
W. W. Watson^ Fairljiiry, Neh. :

Dear Sir — Your letter of December 4 at hand and con-
tents carefully noted. In answer to your inquiries will say
that in February, 1865, David Wolff and I left Marysville,
Kan., to take possession of the Big Sandy ranch, which we
purchased of Mr. Jenkins. The Big Sandy ranch was situ-

JEFFERSON COUNTY OVERLAND ROUTE. 221

ated on the bank of Big Sandy about one mile from where it
emi)ties into Little Blue. ^Ir. Slaughter owned a ranch about
one-half mile north of ours, and Mr. Weisel a ranch about
two miles west of us. There were also Kiowa, Little Blue,
and many other ranches still further west. These ranches
were all on the Ben Holladay overland stage route from the
Missouri river west to the Bockies. Mr. Wolff and I kei)t
the stage station, and the mail was delivered at our ranch to
the few settlers in the country, although there was a little
settlement over on Eose creek. Many nights have Mr. Wolff
and I sat up under the large elk horns with rifle in hand,
through fear of hostile Indians, who were killing many ranch-
men and emigrants. At that time there was not a railroad
in the state of Kansas or Nebraska. I have often seen as
many as one thousand wagons camped at our ranch. We
built a truss bridge across Big Sandy that did not cost us
over one hundred and fifty dollars, and charged a fee of
twent^^-five cents for each team to cross. Out of this of course
we made quite a little sum. Mr. Ross bought my interest
in 1866.

From your map it seems to me that the Powell ranch
marked is the exact location of our old ranch. I have been
greatly mistaken as to the location of the town of Fairbury.
Here I mention some of the old settlers : David Wolff, Hugh
Ross, Mr. Slaughter, Mr. Weisel, Mr. Alexander, and Mr.
Bigtoe. There was also a preacher by the name of Rose. Mr.
Rose settled on Rose creek, and it was after him that the
creek was named. I married my wife, Emma Webber, at
Marysville, Kan., on April 9, 1865. David Wolff, I believe,
. is in Oklahoma.

I hope to visit your country before long, and when I do
you will see a full-blooded Hoosier.

Thanking you for the interest taken in this matter, I
remain,

Yours very truly,

John S. Crump.

222

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Note — Mr. Crump is in error about a "preacher named Rose," He evi-
dently means Rev. Ives Mark, who built a small grist mill on Rose creek, and
kept a trading post there. The place was known as Mark's Mill, or Rose
Creek City, as Mr. Marks named it. W. W. W.

Jansen^ Neb.^ December 16, 1899.
W. W. Watson^ Fairhury, Neh. :

Dear Sir — I will try to answer your questions in regard
to the stage drivers and freighters to the best of my memory.
Beginning at the west, the first ranch in the county was Fer-
ret's ranch, situated west of the crossing of the Big Sandy.
It was kept by Ed Ferrell. The next station to the east was
Virginia station, situated at the Lone Tree, on the Ed liob-
inson place. It was kept at first by S. Grayson. Then came
Kock creek, or McCandless' ranch. I don't remember who
kept it first ; afterward George Hulbert kept it.

Some of the old stage drivers were Kay Grayson, Frank
Baker, John Gilbert, Pete Hanna, George Hulbert, and Carl
and Charles Emery. Frank Baker lives at De Witt; John
Gilbert at Red Cloud; Carl Emery was killed at Beatrice;
and I don't know what became of the others. Frank Baker
was presented a suit of clothes by the manager, Ben Holla-
day, for giving him the fastest ride over the route.

Some of the stock tenders were ''Wild Bill" or Wm. His-
cock, Keene Craven, and John Gilbert. "Wild Bill" after-
ward became notorious, first as the slayer of McCandless
and afterward as a scout and desperado.

The "Pony Express" riders of my recollection were Jim
Beetle, who was killed in a quarrel, and Bob Martin, who
afterward was hung for complicity in a stage robbery in the
Black Hills.

Among the freighters were Fargo & Co., Majors & Russdl,
Wells, James Ferrell, and Furbush, Wardle & Co., the Hel-
vey Bros., and many others whom I can not recall at this
time.

Trusting that your inquiries are sufficiently answered, I
remain, Respectfully,

William Babcock.

^i?riBj INDIAN MASSACRE OF 18G(5.

223

THE INDIAN MASSACRE OF 18GG.

IMPORTANT FROM THE PLAINS,

THE INDIAN MASSACRE — LIST OF PERSONS MURDERED ON THf]
POWDER RIVER — THOMAS DILLON^ OF THIS CITY^ AMONG THE
NUMBER — THE PLATTE RIVER ROUTE THE ONLY
ONE WELL GUARDED BY TROOPS.

Intelligence has been received that the Indians in north-
ern Nebraska are again hostile, and attacking the whites at
every vulnerable point. The trouble is confined to the new
Montana route, or, as it is called, the Sawyer wagon road,
leading w^est from Sioux City. The escort accompanying
Sawyer's party was attacked near Crazy Woman's Fork, and
five soldiers were killed and a large number wounded. All
the wounded that fell into the hands of the savages w^ere
scalped and tortured in the most barbarous manner. An
emigrant train encamped with the Cheyenne Indians was at-
tacked by a large party of Sioux and all the white men of the
party killed and the women and children carried off.

Colonel Sawyer and his wagon road party were harassed
by Indians for over a hundred miles, and were obliged to
camp every night in the hills away from water. The whole
party is now encamped at old Fort Reno, and at Piney Fort,
on Powder river, closely besieged by the hostile Sioux.
Nearly all the stock on the road has been run off, and great
suffering is inevitable.

This, route is now utterly impassable, and if those on the
way escape with their lives they will be extremely fortunate.

From Fort Laramie we have received the following list of
persons killed on the above named route;

224 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETIT.

On Eeno creek, a branch of Tonque river, George Livels-
berger, Company F, Second battalion, Eighteenth infantry;
Joseph Donaldson, Pierre Gassont, Wm. Donare, Henry Ar-
rison Moss, and one unknown.

On Cedar Fork, Wagonwaster Dillon.

On Crazy Woman's Fork, Lieut. Napoleon H. Daniels and
Corporal Gallery, Eighteenth infantry.

Dry Fork of Cheyenne, George H. Moore, S. C. Can, Car-
linsville, 111. ; Wm. H. Dearborne, Stoughton, Wis. ; Hiram
K. Campbell, Champion, N. Y. ; Charles H. Barton, Council
Bluffs, Iowa; Zach Husted, Muscatine, Iowa; John Little,
Arkansas; Stephen Carson, Howard county. Mo.; Nelson
Floyd, Leavenworth; Wm. Pochwell, Montreal, Canada;
John Sloss, residence unknown.

Two bodies found and tv/o graves unknown.

One deserter was killed on Keno Creek — name unknown.

This massacre occurred between the 17th and 20th of July.
Mr. Dillon, whose name occurs in the list, was from this
city and had charge of a train of twenty-five wagons belong-
ing to Thomas E. Tootle & Co., of this place.

All the military posts on the Platte have been transferred
from the Department of Missouri to the Department of the
Plains. This order includes Forts Kearney, McPherson,
Sedgwick, Laramie, and Gosper. These posts are well gar-
risoned, and are strongly reinforced, to guard against the
possibility of any interruption to travel on the Platte route.
This is the only route that the government has promised to
protect by military force.

General Sherman gave notice to the public last spring
that this route would be thoroughly protected, while upon
NO OTHER route would be a sufficient number of troops
kept to insure the safety of travelers against the attacks of
hostile Indians. Notwithstanding this warning many have
been so foolhardy as to attempt to cross by the wild and un-
known ^'Sawyer Route,'' and more than a few of them have
already paid for their rashness with their lives. A regiment

l^fiB INDIAN MASSACRE OF 1866.

225

of negro troops are now en route for Fort Kearney, and will
be distributed from there to the various posts on the Platte.
No danger is apprehended on the Platte route, with the pres-
ent force, but the government is determined to secure its
safety beyond a peradventure.
State of Nebraska, ]

Jefferson County, j

Lee Dillon, of lawful age, being first duly sworn, on oath
says that the above and foregoing is a true and correct copy of
a certain newspaper clipping now in his possession; that the
said clipping was taken from a St. Joseph, Mo., newspaper,
the name of which he is not now certain, but to the best of
his remembrance it is the St. Joseph Herald; that the paper
from which said clipping was taken was dated between the
dates of July 20 and September 1, A.D. 1866; that the
Thomas Dillon referred to in said clipping was the father of
this affiant; and that the above and foregoing copy of said
clipping is made for the purpose of placing the same among
the records and papers belonging to the Nebraska State His-
torical Society.

Subscribed in my presence, and sworn to before me, this
24th day of April, A. D. 1896.

Lee a. Dillon.

[Seal.]

Charles Q. De France,

'Notary Public.

NEBRASKA STATE HlSTOUiCAL SOCIETlf.

BULL-WHACKING DAYS.

The following article was prepared by Mr. George P. Marvin, editor of the
Beatrice Democi-at, and published in that journal for use at the Old
Freighters' Meeting of the Nebraska State Historical fcociety, January
10, 1900.

The editor of the Bemocrai is in receipt of a notice from
Jay Amos Barrett, assistant secretary and librarian of the
Nebraska State Historical Society, saying that one day of
the annual meeting of that society in January will be devoted
to the freighting days of the early '60s, and requesting me to
write a sketch of my observation and experiences in bull-
whacking.

Possibly my experience in this line does not materially
differ from that of other men Avho piloted six yoke of cattle
hitched to eighty hundred of freight across the desert. Yet
there were many incidents connected with life upon the
plains that have never been written.

There was scarcely a day passed but something occurred
that would furnish material upon which the writer of
romance could build an interesting book of adventures.

In the freighting days of the early '60s, the overland trail
up the Platte river was a broad road two hundred or more feet
in width. This was reached from various Missouri river
points, as a great trunk line of railroad is now supplied by
feeders. From Leavenworth, Atchison, and St. Joe, thos^
freighters who went the northern route crossed the Blue
river at Marysville, Kan., Oketo, and other points, and trav
eled up the Little Blue, crossing over the divide and striking
the big road at Dogtown, ten miles east of Fort Kearney.
From Nebraska City, which was the principal freighting
point upon the river from '64 until the construction of the
Union Pacific railroad, what was known as the steam wagon

BULL-WHACKING DAYS.

22?

road was the great trail. This feeder struck the Phxtte at a
point about forty miles east of Kearney. It derived its name
from an attempt to draw freight wagons over it by the use of
steam, after the manner of the traction engine of to-day.

My first trip across the plains was over this route, which
crossed the Big Blue a few miles above the present town of
Crete. At the Blue crossing we were "organized,'^ a detach-
ment of soldiers being there for that purpose, and no party
of less than thirty men was permitted to pass. Under this
organization, which was military in its character, we were
required to remain together, to obey the orders of our ^'cap-
tain," and to use all possible precaution against the loss of
our scalps and the freight and cattle in our care.

The daily routine of the freighter's life was to get up at
the first peep of dawn, yoke up, and if possible get ''strung
out" ahead of other trains, for there was a continuous stretch
of white covered wagons as far as the eye could reach.

With the first approach of day, the night herder would
come to camp and call the wagon boss. He would get up,
pound upon each wagon, and call the men to ''turn out," and
would then mount his saddle mule and go out and assist in
driving in the cattle.

The corral was made by arranging the wagons in circular
form, the front wheel of one wagon interlocking with the
hind wheel of the one in front of it. Thus two half circles
were formed, with a gap at either end. Into this corral the
cattle were driven and the night herder watched one gap and
the wagon boss the other, while the men yoked up.

The first step in the direction of yoking up was to take
your lead yoke upon your shoulder and hunt up your off
leader. Having found your steer you put the bow around his
neck, and with the yoke fastened to him led him to your
wap;on, where he was fastened to the wheel by a chain. You
tlien took tlie other bow and led your near leader with it to
■ s pl'ice under the yoke. Your lead chain was then hooked
to the yoke and laid over the back of the near leader, and the

228

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

other cattle were hunted up and yoked in the same manner
until the wheelers were reached. Having the cattle all ^^oked^
you drove them all out, chained together, and hitched them
to the wagon.

The first drive in the morning would probably be until ten
o'clock, or later, owing to the weather and distance between
favorable camping grounds. Cattle were then unyoked and
the men got their first meal of the day. The cattle were
driven in and yoked for the second drive any time from two
to four o'clock, the time of starting being governed by the
heat, two drives of about five to seven hours being made each
day. The rate of travel was about two miles an hour, or from
twenty to twenty-five miles a day, the condition of the roads
and the heat governing.

This, then, was the regular daily routine, though the yok-
ing up of cattle was often attended with difficulty. Many
freighting trains started from the Missouri river with not
more than two yoke of cattle, in the six that comprised each
team, that had ever worn a yoke before. Many had to be
"roped," and not a few of the wildest, as the Texas and Chero-
kee varieties, were permitted to wear their yokes continually,
for weeks.

While the bull- whacker's life was full of that adventure
and romance that possessed its fascination, there were some
very rough sides to it, though, taking it all in all, it afforded
an experience that few indeed would part with, and in after
years there is nothing that I recall with more genuine pleas-
ure than life in the camps upon the plains during the freight-
ing days.

Speaking of "good times," there has never been a time in
the history of Nebraska that approached the good old freight-
ing days. In those days there was a demand for men that has
not since been known, and at wages unheard of before or
since.

In 1865 the wages paid the ordinary bull-whacker Avas |65
a month for the round trip, or |75 if discharged at the other

BULL-WHACKING DAYS.

229

end of the road. Mule-skinners got |75 for the round trip,
and |85 if discharged at the other end.

It took about a month to drive from the Missouri river to
Denver in those days, and as the wagons returned empty, a
premium Avas paid for the man that would accept his dis-
charge at the other end of the road.

But money didn't go far. The outfit of a teamster consisted
of blankets and revolvers, and such clothing as he chose to
take. The blankets were necessary, and no man would be
permitted to leave the river without abundant arms and am-
munition. Every man wore a belt to which was attached one
or two revolvers of the large Colt type, and a sheath knife.
The metallic cartridge had not yet come into general use, so
that a powder flask, a cap box, and box of bullets were a nec-
essary equipment, the men moulding their own bullets. Such
an outfit cost from |30 to |50, and the outfitting stores at
Nebraska City and other points did a land office business.

But the "good times'' upon the plains during the freighting
days were not confined to the mere matter of money-making.
In fact, while the men w^ho endured the hardships incident to
this rough life and took chances with the hostile bands of
Indians that roamed the plains wanted good pay for their
services, they only wanted the money for the pleasure that it
would buy. These men spent their money as freely as the air
that they breathed, and upon the arrival of a big train at the
Old Elephant corral in Denver, it was no unusual thing to
see the men buy a large portion of the town for the time being
and turn themselves loose.

Dance halls had their fascinations, while gambling houses
with the finest orchestras to be had attracted men and women
of all shades and conditions, to their gilded enclosures, where
men staked their all upon the turn of a card or the fall of
a die.

While the trip across the desert was a laborious undertak-
ing, the men made the most of their opportunities to lighten
the burden as the days wore on. Many a pleasant hour was

230

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

spent about the "buffalo cliip'^ camp fire, watching the dying
embers, smoking, singing, and telling yarns, many of which
would not be fit for the columns of a religious family news-
paper. Then there was the "stag dance," in which the boys
were proficient, and occasionally an immigrant train would
camp near by, and the women would contribute to the fes-
tivities of the occasion.

One of these dances occurred at Pat Mallaly's race on the
Platte, in 1865, that for grace and elegance was unique. An
immigrant train bound for Washington camped near us, and
as there happened to be one of those old-time fiddlers of the
"Arkansaw" type in the party, a dance was given in the Pil-
grim house at the ranch.

The Pilgrim house was a rude sod affair, with dirt floor,
dirt roof, and walls. It was supplied with an old cook stove,
where immigrants were permitted to camp and cook in
winter.

There were present upon this occasion besides the team-
sters in McLelan's outfit, of which the writer was a member,
a stage driver named Smith, who was away up in calling, and
two Avomen from the station, besides five from the immigrant
train. This made it necessary for one man to take a lady's
part in order to fill up the sets. The fiddler was perched upon
an inverted box upon the top of the old cook stove, and if
any of the participants in that festive occasion are still on
earth, they will recall the incident with no small degree of
pleasure.

In this connection I might say that at least one of the men
is still on earth. I refer to Thomas Crummel, ex-mayor of
Auburn. He was my "partner" on that trip, slept with me
under the same blankets, and a truer or more loyal fellow
never cracked a whip or stole a chicken from a ranchman.

Thus it will be seen that in those rude days there were
diversions that lightened the burden and made life bearable.
These were the bright spots in the desert, the oases that retain
their verdure, as we glance back over a life upon the plains,
during the days of the bull-whacker.

THE PAWNEE WAR OF 1859.

231

THE PAWNEE WAR OF 1859.

At the annual meeting of the Nebraska State Historical Society, January 10,
1900, General John M. Thayer was introduced by President J. Sterling*
Morton, and spoke without notes upon the Pawnee campaign of 1859. His
address was taken down in shorthand and prepared for publication. The
introductory remarks of President Morton and General Thayer's address
are given in full in the following pages.

President Morton — One of the important duties of this
organization is to arrest fancy Avherever it masquerades as
fact; and likewise to arrest and execute fiction where it
disguises itself so as to pass for truth. Now last evening a
paper was submitted here which contained this passage,
speaking of the Pawnee Indians and their raids upon the
settlements: "Up the Elkhorn they robbed the settlers to
such an extent that in 1859 the Governor of Nebraska called
for volunteers and pursued the frightened fugitives up to the
point now known, in memory of the closing scenes of the cam-
paign, as Battle Creek, Madison county. It was, however, a
bloodless battle. The little army of 300 were confronted by
about 2,000 reds. . . The savage braves demanded battle,
claiming that though many of them might fall in the en-
counter, still in the end not a pale face would escape.''

There were further remarks which follow in this way :

"The event has been dignified in common parlance and
newspaper history as the Pawnee war. . . . General
Thayer's upward career may have commenced here, for he
gained some distinction in this campaign which paved the
way for him in the United States Senate and later in the
executive chair of Wyoming and Nebraska."

I discover present here this evening General Thayer, and I
take great pleasure in calling him to this rostrum in order

23^ NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

that he may address you, giving you the facts relative to tlie
Pawnee War, rather than fiction written by a gentleman who
was then not a resident of Nebraska [great applause].

General Thayer — Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen
[applause]- —

Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen — I am in this posi-
tion to-night as the result of the suggestions, or rather re-
quests, made to me this afternoon, that I come here and
present the facts in regard to the Pawnee War. It was my
lot on becoming a citizen of this state, then a territory, to be.
chosen by the legislature to command the militia and volun-
teers whenever they should be called out ; or, in other words,
to have the charge of the frontier of Nebraska and defend
the settlers against the hostile Indians, and these duties I
was performing from '55 to '61, and I consented to appear
here and make a statement in regard to the Pawnee War.

I agree most fully with the remarks of the honored Presi-
dent in regard to our duty to eliminate fiction from fact, or
rather to remove fiction wherever it has crept into the real
history of this state. In the last days of July, '59, couriers
came in from along the Elkhorn river over at where the
crossing of the Elkhorn was, thirty or forty years ago, on the
then military road leading back to the mountains, and also
from Fontanelle — I think I am right, do you remember, Mr.
Morton? [Mr. Morton: Where the woman was killed;
where one woman w^as killed. General Thayer continues] —
informing us that the Pawnees, the whole tribe, was moving
along the Elkhorn river and committing depredations, de-
stroying property, going into the cabins of the settlers, and
breaking up and destrojdng their little furnishings. And I
remember also this fact, reporting that they had found some
feather beds that the settlers had brought with them from
their eastern homes, and had caused a reign of terror from the
lower Elkhorn up by way of Fontanelle. It was the princi-
pal town out northwest from Omaha beyond there, including
West Point, and reaching around then to Tekamah. The

THE PAWNEE WAR OF 1859.

233

couriers came demanding protection of the government. The
governor was then at Nebraska City — Governor Samuel
Black, who lived there; it was his home. The information
and demand was so pressing that the most prompt action was
necessary. At that time your honored President, Mr. Mor-
ton, was secretary of the Territory, and he was occupying
his office in the then state house, which was in Omaha. The
organic law provided that in the absence of the governor from
the Territory the secretary should then exercise and perform
the duties of governor, but only in the governor's absence
from the Territory. Well, the question arose for a moment
whether the secretary, Mr. Morton, could assume the duties
of executive. There was a brief consultation between him
and myself in one of the stores on Farnam street in Omaha.
We took but a;- few minutes to consider that question. I de-
sired that he should assume the responsibility of governor,
and issue the orders to me to march to the defense of Our be-
leaguered settlers on the border. Well, without hesitation
he decided to do so, and issued the order to me to move to the
defense of the settlers, knowing that perhaps the question
might be raised afterwards as to the authority of his act, and
also as to the authority of my act. I executed his order. But
he had no hesitation in taking the responsibility, and I had
none in executing the order. I raised about forty men in
Omaha, and we left that city at midnight, and by four
o'clock the next afternoon we entered Fontanelle, where all
the people had gathered from afar above the Elkhorn and
below it. All the cabins and homes of the settlers were
abandoned ; all were gathered in there ; and I remember well
the appearance of the people there when we reached Fonta-
nelle and marched into the tow^n. They w^ere overjoyed at
seeing us, at witnessing our arrival, for they knew then that
something was to be done for their protection. I remained
there two days in gathering up a force for the purpose of pur-
suing the Pawnees. The men were anxious to unite with us,
for they had suffered from the Pawnees before, and they de-

234

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

sired to have some satisfaction from them, and I was of the
same mind. They had given me a great deal of trouble;
three times I had been to the Pawnee village and held a coun-
cil with the chief, and they would always make all kinds of
promises to me, only to break them afterwards. The chief
would lay the trouble upon their young men, the braves, say-
ing that they could not control them. I told them that they
must control them or that the government would send a force
upon them and wipe them out if they didn't control their
men. Of course I had to talk large to make an impression.
Well, we organized there and raised a force, including those
who accompanied me from Omaha, of 194 men. I had taken
with us one piece of artillery from Omaha, the only one the
Territory had, and thus organized, and laying in a supply of
provisions for the expedition, for I could not tell how long
we would be out, we took the trail of the Pawnees and followed
them. There were in that tribe then about 5,000 Indians,
males, females, and children. They had cut quite a wide
swath along the west bank of the Elkhorn, they having 500
and odd of ponies. They had turned them into all the wheet
fields and corn fields where the crops were then growing prc^-
fusely and cut down everything. Their destruction was corr.
plete, and it was enough to inspire the frontiersmen with ji
determination to secure some satisfaction. I should have ex-
plained this: that it was impossible to communicate AvitL
Governor Black at Nebraska City within from two to three
days. There were then no telegraph lines, and letters anJ
messengers had to cross the Missouri at Omaha on a flat^
boat over to Council Bluffs, and then on down on the loAva
side to Plattsmouth, and cross the Missouri there back again
on the flat-boat to the Nebraska side. You can see that thus
the communication between Nebraska City and Omaha could
not be carried on except at a very slow pace. We could not
wait for communications with Governor Black, and hence the
governor [Morton] at once took the responsibility to <*ct,
though we had reasons for believing that Governor Ei);^k

*inE PAWNEE WAR OP 1859. 235

was tlien in the Territory, and, if tliorouglily scrutinized,
j[our action] in assuming the duties might be called in ques-
Jtion. But I say it now in his presence, that I was grateful
to him that he did take the action and gave me the orders
as the executive of the Territory, for I felt and I knew it was
our duty to stop the outrages which were then being carried
on, and secure protection from the Pawnees.

Then General Samuel R. Curtis, a distinguished citizen of
Keokuk, Iowa, who was a graduate of West Point and for
some years served in the regular army and had been engineer
for the government, was there at that time, a member of Con-
gress from that district in which Keokuk is located. He was
of a military turn of mind, and, hearing of the action we had
taken, and that a force had started from Omaha, of his own
volition, and prompted by a patriotic and military spirit, he
followed us, and overtook us, I think, perhaps two days out
from Omaha. I was very glad to receive him, because I knew
he had had a military education, was really a military man,
and the only experience I had had was in contact with the
Indians. The Pawnees and then the Sioux would make me
a great deal of trouble, making me sometimes wish that I had
never accepted a commission, given me by the first legislature,
of brigadier-general, and the second session enlarging my
sphere of duty and making me a major general. I appointed
General Curtis inspector general on my staff. I desired to
give him recognition, for I had a great respect for the man,
knew him well. He had visited Omaha frequently when he
was on his political campaigns, and he was a very valuable
man. I had also invited a Lieutenant Robinson, of the regu-
lar army, who was in command of the Eighteenth Dragoons
of C8>valry, then being designated "Dragoons," to join me in
the expedition, and he did so.

then organized the expedition more fully, and I de-
sired to give him the compliment of an appointment — Lieu-
tenant Robinson — and the command, at my suggestion,
elected him as colonel under me, and he was a valuable ac-

236

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

quisition. We moved along, I think, one day after General
Curtis joined me, when Governor Black, hearing that we had
moved from Omaha, came into that city as rapidly as he could
get there, and then followed us, taking our trail, and followed
alone until he came up with us, I think the fourth night.
Now, Governor Black was as perfect a gentleman, I think, as
I ever met, with one exception. When he was himself he was
a gentleman. He was an able man ; he was a good lawyer ; he
had been a judge of the southern district of Nebraska before
Buchanan appointed him governor of the Territory. He was
an orator, a polished gentleman, with this exception, and It
was the most unfortunate one — he would sometimes get
tight. I suppose you all know what that means [laughter].
Sometimes, well perhaps four or live months, he would get
on a regular tear, — beastly drunk, I am sorry to say. I want
to inject this remark right here that I have never related this
incident which I am about to give you, except to a few friends.
I have never given it to the public and declined to Avrite any-
thing about it. I may state right here that when he left Ne-
braska he went back to Pennsylvania, the state from which
he came, and was commissioned as colonel of a Pennsylvania
regiment, at the head of which he was shot in the head while
leading his regiment into battle at Chancellorsville — one of
those battles in West Virginia. He thus died honorably for
his country. I have thought perhaps his widow might be liv-
ing, or some child of his still living, and I didn't desire to
state fully this statement.

And this afternoon several gentlemen said to me, "This
subject of the Pawnee War and the paper presented last night
were discussed there." I regretted very much that circum-
stances prevented my being here last evening to hear the
paper to which your honorable President made allusion, or
from which he read an extract, — and they said give the whole
history of it. And as there has been some misrepresentation,
and especially in this paper, which it was unworthy of them,
because it gives impressions which were not true, which had

a?HE PAWNEE WAR OF 1859.

237

no foundation. Not being a resident of the Territory, and
writing whatever he did write, I suppose, from hearsay, he
did great injustice to those who composed that force, and
also to Governor Morton and myself. It was, — I might say
right here, for fear it may not occur to me again, — a very im-
portant expedition, and it was, I deemed, — though I did not
at the time — that it was a most hazardous one. We were
pursuing a force where the Indians numbered 1,400 warriors,
and my force was only 194 men and a single piece of artillery.
I can see now that it was a dangerous one, and yet I endeav-
ored to take in the full force of the situation. I was de-
termined to inflict some punishment upon the Pawnees for
the demands made upon me by the Governor every time, that
I must go to the Pawnees and induce them to compel those
who committed the depredations to cease. It had become, as
I said, somewhat monotonous, and this was in particular.

We had gotten beyond the pale of civilization, there was
nothing before us, nor upon either side of us, east or west. We
had gotten into the wilderness of prairie, and we were a kind
of free lance. I have said Governor Morton [General
Thayer meant Governor Black (ripple) ] overtook us, I think
the fourth night after we had left Fontanelle. I found at
once, as soon as he came into camp, that he had been partak-
ing too freely [laughter and applause] of stimulants, and I
began to think that I might have trouble with him. Well, at
night, before we retired, I discovered that he was pretty
drunk. He was the governor and my commander-in-chief.
As you all know, the civil power is supreme over the military ;
he was ahead of me. I began to inquire with myself what
course I should take with him, for, knowing his propensity,
and knowing when he was under the influence of liquor he was
an exceedingly disagreeable acquaintance. He was, — oh, I
can't hardly describe it, — because I knew after he com-
menced partaking of liquor he would become beastly drunk.
That night while he was asleep I got hold of his demijohn
under the hind seat of the ambulance and took it out, and

238

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

took out the stopple. I held it upside down, and you know
what happened, and poured out the whisky. But the next day
I found he had a small bottle which I had not seen or discov-
ered, from which he was still drinking. He beat me there. In
the middle of the day we went into camp. We had been
marching since an early hour of the morning, for the weather
w^as very hot, and I endeavored to make as much distance as
possible in the earlier part of the forenoon, when there would
be less heat. So we went into camp at noon; to give the
men and animals about two or three hours' rest was my
plan. He was so unfit to be about that I had two soldiers
help him into a small tent, vdiich I had pitched on purpose
for him, to keep him from the rest of the command. I tried
to save him as much as possible from the sight of the soldiers,
but too many of them knew w^liat his propensity was. Well,
during that time of rest the men were lying under the bag-
gage wagons to get in the shade as much as possible, and I
was under one on the outside of the camp, when Colonel Rob-
inson came to me and said : ^^General, I'm in trouble." I said,
^'What is the matter, colonel?" "Why," he said, "Governor
Black sent for me to come to his tent and I w^ent there." He
being the commander-in-chief and Colonel Robinson a regular
officer, knows no duty but to obey the orders of a superior
officer. He went to the tent, and, pulling the flaps aside, there
Governor Black lay on the ground, and, raising himself up on
his elbow, he said, "Colonel Robinson," in that maudlin way,
"I order you to take seventy-five men and go over to Colum-
bus"— that was aw^ay to the south of us — "and procure
twenty barrels of whisky and four sacks of flour." [Laugh-
ter.] '

Now that is the literal order which Colonel Robinson as-
sured me Governor Black gave him, and some soldiers were
near the tent on the outside, and they overheard it. There
was no mistake about it ; there was the exact orders. The ire
and indignation of those soldiers was aroused at once. They
began to say, — and there was some cursing and swearing like

THE PAWNEE WAR OF 1859.

239

this : "I'll be damned if I ever came out on the prairie to exe-
cute such an order." There was a spirit of mutiny. As Uob-
inson heard them and spoke to me, 1 sprang up as soon a»
possible and mounted my horse and rode in front of the whole
command, and, in as loud a voice as I could command — and I
think I could then be heard over a good section of prairie
when I was in earnest — I called to the men: "attention!
battalion! fall into ranks! PiiEPAiiE TO march!'' I made
it as impressive as possible to have its effect on the men. It
was instantaneous. Every man rose to his position and w^as
ready to obey my orders. There was no sign of mutiny after
that. I settled that question. I ought to have said in the
first place that it is very unpleasant for me to relate incidents
where I am obliged to refer to myself, but I could not make
this statement without doing so, although it is not to my
taste. I have generally avoided relating any reminiscences
in w^hich I have taken a part for that reason, and I beg that
you will not think that I am doing it now, — and so I say I
only do it because I was obliged to do it. The men all took
their places in rank, companies were told off ready for the
march. I then detailed two soldiers and ordered them to
take Governor Black from the tent, put him into the ambu-
lance and take seats with him. If he objected, I said, ''Put
him into the ambulance at all hazards/^ Well, sometimes in
the life of a man the time comes when he must act upon the
instant — promptly. It is an emergency which requires
prompt action, and I knew if I had not given the order to
the men to fall in and prepare to march, that expedition
would have broken up there in disgrace. I could not hold
the men there under any law because they were not enlisted
men ; they were real volunteers, having taken no oath of office
and having joined in the expedition without being mustered
in, there being no officer authorized to muster in. So I could
not have held the men there except by letting them see, at
once, that authority was still there, that I was their com-
mander, and took the responsibility of arresting the governor

240

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

and keeping him as a prisoner until the drunkenness had
passed off. They put him in the ambulance and took seats
with him. He behaved reasonably well with them, and w^hen
we arrived in camp I had the tent pitched for him only, and
the two soldiers in charge of him took him in there. Whether
he had formed a realizing sense of his condition then or not I
was not certain ; but I was not going to take any chances. I
held him a prisoner until the second morning after that, giv-
ing them orders not to allow him to leave the ambulance
under any circumstances, nor anybody else to have any com-
munication with him but myself, but giving them the order
that if he desired to see me, or desired to leave the ambulance,
to report to me at once, and I would attend to it. Well, the
next morning the expedition resumed its march, and he was
gradually sobering off; he exhausted his supply of whisky
which he had in his small bottle, and he found he could get
none from the demijohn. We moved along that day, stop-
ping for nooning near the Elkhorn river. We were all the
time on the south side of the Elkhorn. When we passed
where the tow^n of West Point now is there were only five or
six abandoned cabins. They had all gathered into Fonta-
nelle. That was the last sign of human habitation until we
reached the Pawnees, — I may be permitted to remark here
that it gave me an excellent opportunity to see what Ne-
braska was then in the wilderness, away from civilization. It
was a beautiful landscape as my eyes ever rested upon. I
wondered almost why the Almighty did not locate the Garden
of Eden in this Territory that was so lovely beyond descrip-
tion; the tall grass of the prairie, rich verdure of green, the
birds flitting around to some extent from little twigs, — there
were no trees there except over on the Elkhorn, which we
were in sight of all the time, I believe. We passed where the
towns on the Elkhorn road have since been located, orig-
inally, within a range of two or three miles of those
cities. Where Norfolk now is there was not a sign of
habitation,

THE PAWNEE WAR OF 1859.

241

One afternoon we were on the watch for the Pawnees,
realizing that we wei'e drawing near to them; it was of the
utmost importance that no information sliould reach tliem
that soldiers were pursuing them. It was, I remarked, a
hazardous expedition, and I was blamed a great deal after-
wards, I found, for taking that command where I did, 194
men against 1,400 Indian warriors. It was a rather remark-
able position. Having had some experience afterwards in
the late Civil War, I can say that I can remember of no occa-
sion when such a small body of men Avere to be pitted against
such an immense number of men. But my men I knew to be
trustworthy. They were frontiersmen, indeed. They were
fighting men. They were those who had gone into their fields
to cultivate the soil with a rifle by their side and laid it down
when they were performing their work on their claims, and
having it ready to go to their homes if any Indians appeared.
In that way they were living — constantly on the qui vive —
watching for Indians; and thus they were prepared. They
were schooled for such service as they were then engaged in
with me, and I felt the utmost confidence in them ; thoroughly
armed with rifles, shotguns, and muskets, which they knew
so well how to use, while the Indians, 1,400 of them, — and I
learned that number from an interpreter who had been with
me on my visit to the Pawnee village to hold a council — Mr.
A , a most excellent man, who had been employed as in-
terpreter by the government — it is not the Indians who gave
me that statement--that they numbered about 1,400 fighting
men, but they were poorly armed ; some of them with the old
fiint-lock musket. Well, having thus the utmost confidence
in my men I should not have hesitated to have met them in
the open field. I had one instrument along which I knew
carried fear to the Indians, and that was the cannon ; but I
was on the watch to see that no person passed us, any other
Indian passing on in the direction of the Pawnees to inform
them that soldiers were pursuing them. In the afternoon
about four o'clock we met an Omaha Indian who was com-

242 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

ing from the direction to which we were marching. I stopped
him and questioned him about the Pawnees. He could speak
a little English so that I could understand him; and he in-
formed me as near as he could that they were in camp about
nine miles further on. Being four o'clock in the afternoon
and very warm — we could make the march between one
o'clock in the morning and dawn to the Pawnee camp — ^we
went into camp right there, as we were near a stream of
water, and the men and animals rested until one o'clock in
the morning, when camp was broken; the train of baggage
wagons hitched up and everything in readiness and we moved
forward rapidly. I could gage the movement, speed, or
rather the time, by the rapidity with which the marching
went on. I could calculate by the hour at what time we
would strike their camp. I had formed that plan from the
beginning, so as to come upon them at break of day. As we
passed over a rising ground, not exactly a steep hill, we came
in sight of their camp. The day was just breaking; we could
see the smoke curling from their teepees and the squaws
running hither and thither gathering up brush and wood and
building their fires in order to cook their breakfasts. Well,
I gave the order for the command to charge, and the charge
went, belter, skelter. The cavalry of 194 were all mounted
with fleet horses, and they did charge; they went with the
speed of the wind almost, and that old cannon lumbered along
over the hillocks, and little chug holes, but it kept pretty near
up with us, and the baggage wagons followed; and the cav-
alry, and the tramp of horses, nearly 200, the baggage wagons
all going upon the jump, made a tremendous noise on the
prairies, which attracted the attention of the squaws. They
saw us coming. We could see them running into their camp
to get the male Indians out. You know the squaws perform
all the drudgery ; they get the underbrush and the Avood and
the water, and do the cooking, while the lazy, lousy, measly
Indians lay in their tents for their women to do all the
drudgery. And that is the reason why I have never had much
respect for the Indians.

1?HE PAWNEE WAR OF 1859.

243

Once while I was holding council with the chiefs in their
village, some miserable vagabonds of Indians went way
around after I had gotten into the great council tent of the
Indians, got into our wagons, there were four of them, which
we left on the eastern side of the river, and stole every bit of
provisions we had, while the chief was promising everything
to prevent the Indians from committing further depredations.
I just mention this. My wife, when I knew that I had to go, —
she knew about what kind of food suited us — she worked all
one night frying doughnuts, over a peck of them, nearly half
a bushel ; boiled a ham, baked nine loaves of bread and some
other things; and when I left Massachusetts a friend gave
me a bottle of very choice brandy. I thought I would take
that along for snake bites, and those rascally Indians stole it,
while the chiefs were promising that they should commit no
more depredations ; — went to my wagon and took everything
we had in it. We had crossed back from their village, and I
was anticipating a good meal ; we hadn't a thing to eat. You
need not be surprised if I had lost confidence in the Indians.
This is only one instance of their treachery of which I have
known — but to resume :

We charged upon the village, and as we approached we
could see the male Indians just coming out of their teepees,
and as my men came up right in front of them into line the
cavalry formed in line, the artillerymen had their piece
loaded, and the guns were loaded of the cavalrymen, and
while the chiefs were rushing out towards us, some of them
held up a white wolf skin in token of surrender, and, slap-
ping their breasts, some of them could utter these words, "Me
good Indian.''

"Old Peter," the chief of the Pawnees, whom I had met in
those interviews, recognized me and I recognized him. He
made a rush right to my horse's head, wrapping the starry
banner around him which Buchanan had given him-, exclaim-
ing, "Me good Indian, — good Indian, — can not shoot under
this flag." He had that idea about the value of the flag.

244 NEBRASKA STATUE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

While these demonstrations of surrender were going on, while
. our troops came into line, I had the order upon my lips to
fire. It was my chance at the Indians; I wanted a little sat-
isfaction for the way they had treated me. When I had been
in their village they had robbed me of everything I had to eat.
I had that word upon my lips to my men, who were watching
me closely and constantly with their rifles poised, and the
artillerymen ready to touch off their gun, when some invisible
agency seemed to hold me back. I had time to realize this,
that if I fired upon them I should be charged with having
been guilty of inhuman massacre, for my men with that piece
of artillery would have mowed doAvn hundreds of them. The
women were mixed with the male Indians and could not be
separated. I say some invisible, indescribable agency held me
back. I did not give the order. Now, I have rejoiced since
and do now rejoice that I did not; for the result afterward
was accomplished without shedding blood. I say they sur-
rendered completely. There was never a more perfect sur-
render than there was there, and that was the reason, under
the influence of something, perhaps higher than I, held me
back. The result was that they turned over to me six or eight
of the men who they claimed had been guilty of the depre-
dation upon the whites. They entered into written stipula-
tions, I think, that the expenses of claims resulting from the
destruction of the property of the settlers should be taken
out of their annuities — nothing more could be required of
them — and we remained there a part of the day and started
on our homeward march towards Columbus to get on the mil-
itary road. Two or three Indians were brought into Omaha
and put in jail there and kept there for some time, — the sup-
posed guilty ones. But I went off to the war in the South
and did not keep run of them. There was never a depredation
committed upon any settler afterward. They were completely
cowed easily by the display of my force there to whom they
had surrendered. Thus the object was accomplished, for they
became friends of the whites. But this fact was accomplished,

THE PAWNEE WAR OF 1859.

245

also; the government took immediate steps to put tlie Paw-
nees on tlieir reservation in Nance county, wliere the town of
Genoa is situated, and put an agent out on their reservation,
who remained Avith them. Thus tliere was accomplislied that
which we were seeliing, perfect peace with the Pawnees from
that time forward ; thus it was accomplished without the
shedding of blood, because it would have been a fearful mas-
sacre if we had fired upon them. That expedition was an im-
portant one; not only for the people, but for the Indians.
They made peace and they submitted to the authority of the
governor, and maintained peace, and they furnished four
companies of Pawnee Indians, who were organized as Paw-
nee scouts, who served with the government troops in their
wars against the Indians on the plains. They Avere with
General Crook and other Indian fighters, and performed most
useful services.

Now, sometimes an attempt has been made to belittle that
expedition. I say, having been in it, and commanded it, it was
a most important expedition, and as hazardous and daring as
any that ever came under my observation during the Civil
War. It is a piece in our history of which I am proud for
the effects which it produced — the results which they ac-
complished; and when anybody seeks to belittle it, or any
member of that expedition, he knows not what he is talking
about. Those men who composed that force of 194 men were
brave, as heroic, as any soldiers that I ever saw in the Civil
war. They were soldiers in reality. And they were inspired
by the noblest of motives, which were to protect their fami-
lies, their children. If you make it safe for other settlers to
come into Nebraska and settle under a government where
they knew the flag would be respected and they should be re-
spected in the enjoyment of their rights — that expedition did
accomplish that result.

Before that some settlers were getting scared and unwill-
ing to remain in Nebraska. I have gone from place to place
and imparted courage to the people to remain in this Terri-

246

jSTEBRASKA ^TATE fllSTORtCAL SOCtETl^.

tory, assuring them that they should be protected in the en-
joyment of their property; and I saw the result was accom-
plished. They were induced to remain and give up all
thoughts of leaving Nebraska, because of the facts which I
have designated. I have perhaps taken up too much of your
time — I know I have; but I almost hesitated to make this state-
ment for fear I should take up too much time. But as I never
spoke of it before, — I have never given anything to the press,
althouglit I have been often and often urged to do so. But I
did now, being urged this afternoon, — did desire to make a
clear statement of what did occur, because I have spoken from
positive knowledge. Knowing everything, responsible for
everything connected with it, I have now presented to you
this statement of facts in regard to that expedition.

I thank you, my friends, for the courtesy you have extended
to me, and trust I have not wearied you too much. [Great
applause.]

EARLY DAYS IN THE INDIAN COUNTUY.

247

EARLY DAYS IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY.

The following address was delivered at the annual meeting of the Nebraska
State Historical Society, January 10, IJOJ, by Major C. Anderson, of
York, Neb. Major Anderson cit the time was seventy -six years old, tall
and athletic in figure, and with touches of frontier dialect in his story that
made the audience at times burst into peals of lau^^hter. His address was
delivered without notes and taken down in shorthand.

Major Anderson — I wish to say that I am no public
spealver. I am here simply by request to tell you something
about my earliest experiences in this western country, or,
rather, Indian Territory. It would be well first to describe
what was known at that time as the Indian Territory. It was
from the western line of Missouri eight hundred miles west
to the Rocky mountains, with the exception that New Mex-
ico, as now it is, was claimed by Old Mexico, and Texas
then, as you know, was in dispute. Mr. Houston and Santa
Xnna were not altogether quite satisfied with the results.
The western border of Missouri and the Arkansas river — I
believe that the State of Arkansas claimed all the territory
south of the Arkansas river — the balance of it went clear
to the British possessions, and it was then in dispute, as
it is now, as to the geographical line. All oi that vast
country was inhabited by savages, and some of the very
worst type; and some of them were cannibals. I left my
home in Knightstown, in 1840, a boy sixteen years of age.
Previous to that time there was an old Revolutionary soldier,
relative of mine, and I used to accompany him on his trap-
pings. He was a great trapper, and I accompanied him on
his trapping expeditions. We trapped all over northern
Indiana and eastern Ohio and Illinois, and he also taught
me hoAV to prepare the pelts for the market. Well, when I
left home in 1840, I went up into what was known then in

248 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Indiana as the Western Reserve, among the Wyandot
Indians ; in fact, I stayed with them and trapped all through,
along the various streams, along the Wabash river, and the
White river, and those other streams; and finally I came
down to the Illinois river and I loaded my pelts on a boat,
and took them to St. Louis and sold them. While I was
at St. Louis General Houston, of Confederate fame, came
up from Louisiana, came up from Baton Rouge, with some
troops to reinforce the fortifications, or, rather, to protect
the western portion of Iowa, and I got permission to
come along, and I fitted myself out with traps to go with
them. I went with them across the state, and I found at
Des Moines river, where the North Coon empties into the
river, right along the bank next to the river — to North
Coon — was the barracks. It had been occupied by some
troops, and I think they had moved farther up the river,
up towards Fort Dodge, I think it Avas. Well, now, I stayed
that winter at the barracks there; I helped build those bar-
racks, and I trapped up the Des Moines river and up the
North Coon, and I got quite a good stock of pelts — now mind
you what the value of these pelts were at that time. We got
|8 a pound for beaver, and one beaver skin would weigh
from one and one-half to two pounds, so you can see what
profit there was in it. Well, while I was at Des Moines
I got acquainted with ^'Old Green." Any person here that
is from Iowa will remember ^'Old Green," who was the chief
of the Sac and Fox Indians. I was pretty familiar with
these Indians, and I got on good terms with them ; and they
had a lodge in what we called then the ^'Three-river Coun-
try," and I am told that they started a town — there's a town
there since by [the name of] Winterset, I believe it is on the
map. I stayed that winter with old Chief Green. Then I got
an opportunity to go with the government wagons to the
river; took my pelts along with me, and I disposed of them
at St. Louis; and I fitted myself out then again, thinking I
would go back into Iowa, with some trinkets — beads and

EARLY DAYS IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY.

249

such tilings — that the Iiidhiiis wanted; but wlieu I got to
St. Louis I saw a boat there loaded wiLh wagons, ox yokes,
chains, and things that were needed out here on the plains;
and instead of going to Leavenworth I got off at Inde-
pendence, Mo. And now I will read you the letter that I
wrote to the secretary here ; we — and then I w^ant to tell you,
if I have the time, of two battles that I was in here out in
the West. I Avas in several skirmishes, and some pretty
serious ones, and also I Avant to tell you that this battle
that I am going to tell you about, and one that I w^as not
in — there w^as tw^o battles you might say, the one that I was
in and the one that I w^as not in [applause] ; the one that I
was in — I w-ant to tell you about that after I read my letter.
And then one that I was not in I will tell you about [ripple
in the audience] ; and I will tell you all the parties that took
part in it; they are familiar. I see there are some soldiers
here; Colonel Kussell and others here that I know that w^ere
familiar with these men. [Here reads letter. After reading
a portion he says:] I wish to say that I can write a little
better than I can talk [laughter]. [Eemarks continued:]
Now I want to tell you a little incident here. There was a
gentleman ''Major Drummer," — you know^ w^hat that is, —
that is a man that has charge of the teams, of the w^agons.
He died a few years ago; he lived in Missouri at Freeport,
now Kansas City; but he moved. The last account I had
of him he went to the town of Knox, that is in Kansas
somewhere. He sized me up w^hen I w^ent up to him and
asked him if I could get a job of driving the teams.
Now, then, they didn't drive teams then like you w^ould drive
a team. ( There was the first Mexican I ever saw. ) But they
had five or six teams, or span of mules, to one wagon, and
slashing around from right to left like you would oxen in
our country. And this man Brown, he looked at me a little
while, and I had a gun, — I'll tell you I got a gun made, a
rifle just after my own notion, at St. Louis, but it was the
old style. We didn't have caps; we could not alw^ays get

250 I^^EBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

caps. So he looked at me a minute, and lie says, "Can you
shoot that gun pretty well that you have got in your hands?''
I told him I had killed a few ducks and geese coming up
on the boat; I didn't know as I was perfect. And he pointed
to a Mexican, who took a play card and stepped off fifty
steps and stuck the play card up on the side of a post, and
I drawed up my gun, offhand, and I just ticked the edge of
that card. Of course I could not talk Mexican then, but I
motioned to the man to push it off another fifty steps; so
he did so, and I drawed up Avith my gun, and I came very
near "catchin' him center," as the Frenchman told me once
when I was struck here [indicating] when a child with a
ball. He told me then he guessed he would give me a job,
and that is the Vay that I came to go through with him.
They agreed to pay me f50 a month; that was pretty
good wages, but a man had to run some chances of losing
his scalp by the way. [Here continues to read from letter]
"it was exactly suited to the disposition of a Hoosier boy
of seventeen summers, etc." [After reading awhile remarks
resumed as follows :]

You must remember, those who are acquainted with this
trail, it followed up on this side of the Arkansas river, by
the Cottonwood, clear up to Fort Bent. Charles Bent, the
first governor of Missouri, had established a trading post
there. [Continues to read letter.] "This was right in the
heart of the Comanche country; there must have been three
hundred of them, etc., — [When he comes to the word
"fusee," stops and explains] I suppose most of you know
what that is — "fusee." [Continues to read again from the
letter] "Most of them had bows and arrows and spears, etc."
[After the word "bullets," in giving an account of what
was sold to the Indians, he explains] that was a bad thing
to give them, but they got good pay for it. [Continues now
in direct discussion.]

Now, gentlemen and ladies, I am going to tell you [rip-
ple in the audience] I went all through the late war; I got

EARLY DAYS IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY.

251

home just in time to vote for Abraham Lincoln, the first
vote I ever east in my life. Then, to back that up I enlisted
in an Indiana regiment, Wallace's regiment, and I was in
several hard battles. [The speaker continues parentheti-
cally] I never like to tell that, — but I have always made
it a rule to present the bright side of the picture; the dark
is bad enough at best, but that has been all my life a rule
that I have made. One object I have in making this state-
ment is simply this: My friends and some of my children
have requested me to give the public my experience in this
western country; and I have this last summer made up my
mind that I would do it.

I have just returned from my old stamping ground down
at Santa Fe and those places, for the purpose of refreshing
my mind of some incidents that I had partially forgotten;
but it was one of the most saddest things to me to go up
to old Santa Fe, the old burying grounds, and look over the
old tombs that were there. I found one man that I was
familiar, — acquainted with; that was Kit Carson; all heard
of him; his friends had taken up his bones and taken them
back east. Now I will tell you first of the battle that I was
not in [laughter]. And I got a card, — well, in fact, Charles
Bent and Fremont, and quite a number of prominent men
made this remark about it afterwards, "That it was one of the
characteristics of the boy.*' That was the w^ay they framed
it. I w^as trapping up on the Glorietta mountains; there
Tvere seven of us. The Glorietta mountains is the divide
betAveen the Rio Grande and the Red river. You know we
always had to have a guard. A number of us would sleep
while the others remained on watch. Because these Indians
— you could not trust them scarcely at all; they would slip
up onto you, ambush you and every way, if they could do
it, get to you. So I was out in the morning right early. I
had slept pretty well all the night, and I thought I would
strike out and look after my traps. It had snowed a little;
it snows a little there all the year around on those moun-

252 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

tains, and it had been a little skift of snow. I had not went
more than fifteen or twenty steps from our camp until I
seen a big track right in the snow. Well now, you know
we had other animals to contend with out there besides the
Indians. We had the cinnamon bear, the black bear, and
the big chief, the grizzly bear, — but the grizzly bear was not
such a terrible man-eater as most people think for. But in all
probability they have violated some of the laws, — no doubt
about it [laughter]. But I knew it was a grizzly bear the
minute I saw the track. I went up on the side of the cliff,
up on top of the cliff, and there was a clear piece of ground,
about an acre. I pushed some underbrush away from it and
looked through, and I found the bear in a cave with six
others,— no, five others. Well, I knew it was suicidal to
make the attack, and if there was anything on God's heavens
that a bear dislikes it is a cowardly enemy. So, what else
could I do? I just stood and looked at it and never moved
hand or foot; I knew it was no use. And one of those came
right up at me pretty near, probably half as far as across
the room, and then go back, and started out again and
dared me. I took it as a dare — I didn't expect to be enter-
tained in a convention of bears [great laughter]. I felt that
I was an intruder, the fact of the business ; so I stood pretty
still. They made several sachezs backwards and forwards,
and finally one of them took a jump and away they went
and all the rest followed suit ; and they were so panic-stricken
that they ran through the camp and over one or two of my
comrades there lying asleep, and knocked the camp kettle
over and put out the fire.

Now I will tell you about the battle that I was not in
[laughter]. I don't want to tell you all of what I intend
to put in my book, or none of you will buy my book [ripple
in the audience]. General Kit Carson had come to Fort
Leavenworth v/ith a squad of cavalry; I don't remember
how many, but quite a number, sufficient to enable him to
get through safely, and he took possession of New Mexico,

EARLY DAYS IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY.

253

and he had his headquarters at Santa Fe, as that was the
cajjital of New Mexico. lie had his headquarters there, and
after he was there awhile Gen. Sterling Price — I call him
General because we knew him as general and also as a
colonel, — also came there; he was another general of Con-
federate fame. He took command at Santa Fe, and General
Kearney took his command and went on across the moun-
tains to California; and he left Col. Sterling Price in com-
mand. Taos was my old home; and I still have some inter-
ests there. My children are there now. So, at Taos they
had formed a conspiracy to kill every white or foreigner
that was in that country. Ferdinand at Taos pueblo estab-
lished a large church that was built of adobe, that Avas about
two miles, — they had selected that place to start. So they
commenced in the morning, and they just killed and butch-
ered every man, woman, and child that they came to with
the exception of those who had gray eyes and light hair,
the children. That was a mark, — they drew the line
you know, — those men that had went out there had married
Mexican women, and their children had light hair, — but a
good many of them that did not save, so the report came
to us. I was up on the Rio Grande at the time, seventeen
of us, and there was other trappers at Pueblo and this other
town, I forget the name of it, where the Eough Riders met
this summer, — there was another squad there. And one of
these men had got knowledge of the fact that they were
being murdered, or just wholesale slaughter of the people
that was there, so we gathered up and w^ent to Santa Fe,
and Colonel Price only had but a few men. Kearney had
taken most of his "men, but we went anyhow; we got what
men we had, and other men, all volunteers; we went with
them, and we found them in this old church; they had
done their work, and was fortified, as they supposed, in-
side of this church. Well, now, we had to storm that
church. There were sixty men of us, and I think there was
225 that bit the dust, and we lost six. Now that battle

254

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

started in the morning, and it lasted all day, the whole
livelong day. I was going to tell you I never see anything
equal it in the Eebellion, and I was all through it. It lasted
all day, and when we got through at night it was kill or be
killed — that Avas all there was in it; that was the sum of
the whole business, and, of course, a man is going to strive
desperately hard to save his own life, and Ave kneAV that. But
they got half of our number, and Ave took tAvelve prisoners,
and those were court martialed and hung. That Avas the
final result of those men; I believe one of them got away, I
am told that one got away; that Avas one of the men that
was instigators of the revolt. Now, ladies and gentlemen,
I have taken up, I expect, a good deal more time, — I could
talk an hour and not tell you half AA^hat there is to be told.
But there is one thing I might say, if tliey will indulge me
AA^ith the time. I have had, I presume, as much experience
Avith the Indian as most any man now, — I presume as much
as any man living; and I found that the Pueblo Indians were
the only Indians, — that is the Aztec Indians — there is three
classes, the Navajo, the Aztecs, and Comanches are all of
the same family, but they are subdivided and they have the
same language just the same as the Pueblo, as w^e call them,
— just the same as the Sioux, Sacs, and Foxes. Those Aztecs
Avere the Montezumas, and I think it was the greatest pity
that ever happened that those picture writings that these
monks kept Avhen they took the City of Mexico were shut off
from there, that AA^ould connect these people with the Mexi-
cans or with the Pueblos, just the same time as they had
picture Avriting in Egypt. I think it was a grand mistake
in destroying that picture writing, because it was very inter-
esting to knoAv that they had a pretty good state of civiliza-
tion, and they had the knoAvledge and — the worst of all is
that Avith all of our educational interests, the gwernment
sustains them there in their reservation and keeps them up,
and they commit some of the most outrageous, dastardly
work that could ever be conceived by the mind of man, in

EARLY DAYS IN TSE INDIAN COUNTRY. 255

their religious ceremonies, their worship. Now another
thing, my opinion — I've got mj own opinion about it, you
may liave another opinion, and others may have other opin-
ions— but I believe, notwithstanding all the money that has
been paid to educate those Indians — it is just simply like
this; you take an Indian and civilize him, and you polish
him and you put all this expense, — and he is Indian just
the same all the time; and there is just about the difference
between an Indian at large and an Indian civilized as there
is between a tiger at large and a tiger in the cage. That's
about all. I thank you. [Great applause.]

256 Nebraska state historical society.

FEEIGHTING TO DENVER.

Address delivered by T. K. Tyson at the meeting of the Nebraska State His-
torical Society, January 10, 1900. Taken down in shorthand for pub-
lication.

Mr. Tyson — My acquaintance with Nebraska only began
four years before it had a name. We called it "Over the
Eiver.'^ But it is not so much a time to tell about the things
that happened so long ago, though my father's family had
somewhat to do with the early days of Nebraska, even before
it had a name. But my first trip across the plains was in
'64. I left the farm of Moses Stocking, whom all old settlers
know, on the 16th of May, 1864. For my team I had a good
stout yoke of stags, and they were on the tongue, a sprightly
young yoke of steers in the lead, a yoke of wild steers that
we caught up that very morning and yoked for the first
time ; a yoke of cows, — and I want to say this much for the
cow on the road : I never saw a lazy cow in the yoke, but I
have seen horrible lazy steers. We started to learn very
soon the truth of that song that all the old frontiersmen
known, to the tune of "Root Hog, or Die." [Song inserted
here.] Another beautiful poem that we learned when we
were alone, "How to Turn a Flap-jack." I don't think I was
ever a very accomplished frontiersman because they could
turn a fiap-jack to a nicety, cooking his flap-jack on his
fry-pan over the coals, with the fuel of the plains ; when
it is just about done so that a woman would take a cake
turner and turn it, he would just take it and throw it up
and down it would come. I could never do that; it would
come down on its edge and go to smash, and the smoke from
the bacon and the fire would cover your face and nearly
suffocate you. There was a beautiful poem that used to go
something like this (the refrain is "Ouch-Ouchy, Wouchy-

FUEIGHTING TO DENVER.

257

Skouchy''). And I have heard that told a thousand times,
many times wlien a man was about suffocated with smoke.
We made our journe}^ from Plattsmouth, arriving on the
21st day of June, as the poet had it, for the last verse of
that song was :

*' We arrived at Denver City on the 21st of June,
' The people were surprised to see us there so soon,

But we are good bully whackers,
We go it on the principle of ' root hog, or die'."

And the people were surprised indeed, to see us there at
all, because two nights before we had arrived there had been
a most fearful panic imaginable caused by the murder of
the Hungate family of Running Water, and reports com-
ing into Denver that the city was to be taken by the Indians ;
that all the Indians of the plains were moving on Denver,
and there was a panic. Only strong, able-bodied men, men
who were ready to whip Jeff Davis when they might see
him, they would wilt and hide themselves. And they were
surprised to see us coming in because they supposed every-
body on the plains was killed. There was great danger. I
made five trips across the plains. After having enlisted in
1864, at the outbreak of the Indian war, — Cheyenne War,
in which Colonel S. distinguished or extinguished him-
self,— ^just the same here to-night ; — it was necessary to open
up communication again with the States, and I enlisted in
a regiment. We were then all under martial law, and when
we had dealt with them at Sandy Creek, the way was clear '
and the fort was taken. And in September I started with a
sick minister, a pastor of the first Baptist church ever organ-
ized in that country, took him to Atchison, Kan., because
that was the nearest railroad station; he was dying of con-
sumption. He went home to his native city of Providence,
R. I. Coming back I loaded with onions, because I had ob-
served that onions were worth thirty cents a pound in Den-
ver, and anybody could see, at least any greenhorn could,
that that was just the thing to load with. When I got down
17

258

ISTEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCtETif.

to the river— I didn't think of the number of onions that
might go in; — I loaded with onions at Atchison, Kan., pay-
ing a dollar and a half a bushel. I sold them in the spring
in Denver and got fifteen cents a bushel. I came out so far
behind that I never tried to figure it out; I just tried to pay
my debts the best I could. In all this experience across the
plains there came a time — in fact it was true after the war
of 1864, — when we wanted to pass Kearney going west, or
Cut-Off Junction, going east, it was necessary to organize
into military companies, having a regular military organi-
zation under the command and the direction of a military
commander at these posts. At every military post we were
halted and counted, and we had to have one hundred men
and sixty wagons before we were allowed to pass, and these
were organized by the election of officers, a regular guard
was kept just as regular as in any 'military organization. 1
think one reason that I am not any taller is that I got a few
inches of my height frightened out of me during those
days. I had just been elected lieutenant of our company
going down, and they all were as brave men as I ever saw.
We walked on ahead, the captain and I, of our company, —
and we were the officers of it, — and nothing on but our big
navies, and when we got about three miles east of Cotton-
wood Springs, came to a short canyon going down. We had
to go down the bank and then turn down and find a way
out. We just followed the road in the middle of the canyon.
We met — horrors! Three big Indians. Armed? I guess
they were armed, too. There we were, and no wonder I never
grew any more. I was only nineteen then. Well, we lived
through it. We found that they were scouts that belonged
to the post [laughter]. I says, "My, if I was ever scared
in my life, that was the time,'' and he said he was. I thought
he was calm. There was times that it was enough to scare
men, as I wrote to the secretary. We came to Elm Creek.
I think it is just opposite of where Lexington is now. We
found the remains — in the fall of 'G5 going back, — smoking

FREIGHTING TO DENVER.

259

piles of shelled corn lying with a trainload of corn that
had been burned, and the men, all of them, being killed. And
some other freighters had been there just before us and they
buried these, and the ground was yet stained with the blood
of the men that had been buried there. The blood was there
— hadn't yet dried on the ground, and there were times
indeed that tried men's souls, and a braver seems to me
never banded together than those men organized in that way
to brave the dangers of the plains. When the Boers whip
the English, and God speed the day [applause], we Avill
call them great. But I believe the men who conquered Ne-
braska, the virgin soil of Nebraska, and the men who braved
the plains in these early days will stand just one notch
higher than the Boers for bravery and courage.

Looking at this building to-night I was reminded of the
way we used to make a corral. We traveled sometimes, and
it would have been better if we had always done so, double
file; two teams abreast, because the road was wide enough,
wider than any city street all the way from the Missouri
to Denver on any of these roads. The wagon master would
simply ride out and take his place, or captain if it was under
our organization, take his place; one-half of the men would
start out at a proper place and make a semi-circle, going
around just opposite of the captain; and the other half
going around in the opposite direction, and make pretty
near a circle. The front wheel of the second wagon, the inner
front wlieel of the second w^agon, would come up to about
eight inches or a foot of the off hind wheel of the first
wagon, and so on.

After we had become a little civilized in the matter we
learned to make a very beautiful corral, and it was quite
a defense, and in time of attack, as many brave men found
it, most helpful as a defense. In time of danger when we
were threatened, as often we were, with an attack from the
Indians, why we had everything inside of the corral, all of
the stock inside, every man inside, and of course we had

260

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

quite an improvised fort there every night. Of course I need
not talk at any length. I have said that these freighters
were very brave men, and they were honest men, too, but
they would steal [laughter] . I never saw one that wouldn't
steal a Avarm bed from a steer, in October. You see a steer
near by and you would stand around there; if a steer would
lay still and let you lie down by his side, you would let him
stay, but if not you would drive him out and cuddle up in
his place. I believe there was no better natural road on
earth than the road from the Missouri river to Denver,
although it had its bad places. It was the best natural road
for the length of it, it seems to me.

I thought when Mr. Anderson was speaking about the
dangers through which these freighters had passed, ^'true
enough, it is surprising that we are any of us freighters
here to-night, and have any hair left at all to-night" [laugh-
ter].

FREIGHTING AND STAGING IN EARLY DAYS.

2G1

FREIGHTINCx AND STAGING IN EARLY DAYS.

Jay A. Barrett J Esq.^ Librarian^ Lincoln^ Neb.:

Dear Sir : — I have your favor of July 17, 1899, in regard
to early times in Nebraska and will try to give you an idea
of some of the experiences of an early settler.

I left St. Louis, Mo., in February, 1859, and came to
Nebraska City by stage coach from St. Joseph, Mo. The ice
being too soft to bear the weight of the coach, the passen-
gers walked across the river from the Iowa side. The first
person I met after crossing the river was a Mr. John Irwin,
better known as ^'Uncle Johnny.'' Going on up to the town,
I found my friend, S. P. Nuckolls, the founder of the city,
and at the same time met the Hon. J. Sterling Morton and
Gov. S. W. Black. At that date the governor, judge, and
nearly all the other territorial officers lived in Nebraska
City. The office of the surveyor-general, as well as that of
the United States quartermaster, Captain Dickerson, were
also located there, and all the government freight for the
posts on the plains started from that point under contract
with Alexander Majors, successor to the freighting firm of
Russell, Majors & Waddell.

In 1857 the original firm had the contract to transport
the supplies for General Johnston's expedition to Utah.
The contract price for transportation of supplies from the
Missouri river to Camp Fillmore, Utah, was nineteen and
three-fourths cents per pound. In 1858-59 the government
contract for transportation to the western posts. Fort Lara-
mie being the distributing point, was fl.06 per hundred-
weight, or about |6.36 per 100 pounds from the river to the
fort. The rate to mountain points was still higher, but the
supplies were usually carried to these posts by government
trains, from Fort Laramie or Fort Union, N. M.

The rush to Pike's Peak in 1859 and 1860 lined the south

262

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

side of the Platte river valley with long trains of emigrants,
and ranches were soon established along the trail by parties
who kept supplies for the pilgrims. If I remember correctly,
the first persons who returned from the Pike's Peak, or
Cherry Creek, mines were Dr. Mathews and Martin Ron-
ton, who brought back some very small samples of gold
dust. That country was then known as Jefferson county,
Kansas, of which I think Golden City was the county seat.
What is now known as Denver was originally called
Auraria, and was situated on the west bank of Cherry creek.
In 1862 we transported private freight, principally flour
and bacon, to Denver, at prices reaching as low as five cents
per pound. The greater part of the supplies for the mines,
however, went to Black Hawk and Central City, Colo., as
nearly all the mines were situated in Gilpin county.

Times were very hard in the winter of 1861-62 in Nebraska.
St. Louis, the only market for farm produce, could not be
reached by boat, the river having frozen, and in consequence
corn went begging on the streets at eight and ten, and wheat
at twent^^-five cents per bushel. Cattle and hogs sold as low
as one and a half cents per pound. But all kinds of goods,
sugar, coffee, dry goods, boots, shoes, and general supplies,
steadily increased in price until in 1863 coffee, green Rio
of a quality quoted now at seven and a half cents, was sold
at forty cents a pound, and domestic, now sold for five or
six cents, brought fifty cents per yard. We paid freight
on supplies from St. Louis to St. Joseph either by boat or
railroad, and from thence to Nebraska City, at a rate aver-
aging |1 per 100 pounds; but during low water and late
in the fall I have known freights to reach as high as |4 for
a hundred pounds, delivered either at Nebraska City or
Omaha.

The Indian war of 1863 and 1861, known as the Red Cloud
war, started business to booming again, for the government
was sending troops and supplies to all parts of the plains,
and freighters had plenty of contracts at high figures, the

FREIGHTING AND SOLACING IN EARLY DAYS.

203

rate beisag ten cents per pound to Denver, Camp Collins,
and Fort Laramie, and from twelve to fourteen cents per
pound to Fort Halleck and Fort Sanders.

Tliese prices continued until the building of the Union
Pacific railroad, which reached Kearney in the fall of 18G6.
The next year the government freight and all other freight
was shipped by rail to the town of North Platte, Neb., and
from tliere forwarded by wagons, which tended to reduce
the rate. As the railroad lengthened the wagon routes
were correspondingly shortened. In the fall the road had
reached Julesburg, and a little later Cheyenne was the ter-
minus, so that by the winter of 1867-68 the freighting busi-
ness had practically ended. The Union Pacific, however,
still kept up a pretty stiff rate for railroad freight.

In the summer of 1866 I transported three hundred thou-
sand pounds of freight from Nebraska City to Salt Lake
City at eighteen cents per pound. We had a contract at Fort
Laramie in 1865 for corn at |7.50 per bushel. Corn, which
was brought in part from St. Louis, cost that year at Ne-
braska City |1.50 per bushel, that leaving us about eleven
cents per pound for transportation. Corn sold in Denver at
fifteen cents a pound and flour at |20 for a bag weighing
ninety-eight pounds.

The rates for transportation of passengers Were at as high
a figure as those for freight. The Overland Stage Company
in 1863 charged |75 fare to Denver and fl50 to Salt Lake
City, while in 1866 they got the price up to |150 to Denver
and $350 to Salt Lake City. The baggage of each passenger
was limited to twenty-five pounds and there was a charge
of f 3 for every extra pound. At |1 each, meals, consisting
of bacon, bread, and coffee, with sometimes game, such as
venison, antelope, or occasionally a sage hen, could be
obtained. Butter and eggs were unknown luxuries at stage
stations, the former selling in Denver at |1.50 per pound
and the latter at the same price per dozen.

We rode night and day in the stuffy, uncomfortable coach,

264 ^'EBRASliA STATE mSTORlCAL SOCIETY.

journeying six days to reach Denver and eleven or twelve
days to Salt Lake City, in marked contrast to the comfort,
time, and cost of travel at present. At a cost of $14 the
traveler is now carried in a Pullman car to Denver in
twenty hours, and twice the time and |36 will take him to
Salt Lake City. Should he prefer, he may make the round
trip for one fare and a fifth, but in the old days a seat in the
coach cost the same both going and returning, and its pos-
sessor reached his destination weary and travel-worn. At
that time a trip by stage was considered very grand, yet
I have no desire to repeat the experience.

William Fulton.

Kansas City, Mo., August 18, 1899.

FREIGHTING IN THE 'COs.

265

FREIGHTING IN THE 'GOs.

Written for the January, 1900, meeting of the Nebraska State Historical
Society, by Herman Robert Lyon, of Glenwood, Iowa.

When I see the through freights steaming past on their
way to Denver, the ^'lijer'' and fast mail speeding at a ter-
rific rate over the solid "Q" road, I am forced to admit that
they beat the ox teams and big ^A'agons and the ''mule-backs"
that had a corner on the business in the '60s.

My first trip across the plains was made in 1862. We
started October 8 (my birthday), with ten loads of shelled
corn for the government, and were bound for Fort Laramie,
Wyo. We crossed the Missouri river at Plattsmouth and
loaded at Nebraska City.

Moses Stocking of Ashland, Neb., was wagon boss. The
teamsters were John and Andrew Tutt, John Daugh^rty,
"Billie" Donnelly, Johnse and Fete Tysen, Marion Bomar,
a fellow from Missouri (have forgotten his name), Joshua
•Bodenheimer, and I. We were paid $25 and board per
month.

The roads were pretty good most of the way. Crossing the
South Platte, at Julesburg, Col., and going through the
sand-hills we had to put seven or eight yoke of oxen to a
wagon, which made progress pretty slow for a few miles
occasionally. On this trip we went about twelve miles a
day.

At Julesburg we got sight of the Eockies, and although
one hundred miles off, the exposure gave several of us a
severe attack of "mountain fever."

Our route was mostly along the South Platte to Jules-
burg, then Ave struck northwest, going through the old vil-
lage of Lodge Pole, to the North Platte.

266

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

By going this way we had plenty of water for the oxen
and avoided the alkali districts, although on the stretch
between Julesburg and the North Platte, near Court House
rock, we had to go nearly forty miles without water.

We forded Salt creek at Ashland, the old trail leading
to about where the dam for the electric light plant now is.

The first storm struck us when we were about twenty
miles east of Fort Kearney. It was a fearful blizzard and
furnished an experience that none of us cared to have
repeated. A terrific northwester, with blinding snow, made
fires and warm meals impossible, especially when the fuel
consisted of dried buffalo and cattle droppings gathered
along the way and thrown into sacks provided on the sides
of the wagons. I tell you we felt glad to see old Kearney
looming up when we got to jogging westward again.

Cactus had been troublesome along the way, but beyond
Fort Kearney our camping grounds were not a bed of roses
— or, if they were, sure enough, your honor, the roses had
been plucked and nothing left but the stickers. The oxen,
too, suffered much discomfort, for often they had ^'pan-
cakes'' sticking to their sides when they got up.

I never see cactus plants of the spined variety but what

I think if owners of the sticky things had crossed the

plains by ox team in the '60s there wouldn't be much love
left in their hearts fox the cactus tribe.

My wife had the cactus craze (she did not cross the
plains), and when her collection, for which I could not get
up the slightest enthusiasm, froze last winter, I fear my
regret was neither deep nor sincere.

Stocking, the wagon boss, rode an old mule and always
went ahead to find a camping place, then rode back to the
trail to conduct us to it. At night we made a corral for the
cattle, took all possible precaution against a stampede, and
kept a picket out to watch for Indians. The Indians wece
very friendly along the way, on this trip, but their approach
was liable to stampede the cattle.

J^REtGHTlNG IN THE ^60s.

2G7

The two days out from Fort Kearney were hard ones and
we were tired enough when we went into camp the second
night. I always slept leaning against one of the oxen; the
creature was warm, a condition not to be overlooked during
cold weather on the bleak plains. Then, in case of a stam-
pede I would awaken when the ox got up. On this night,
however, I was dead asleep and slipped to the ground with-
out awakening when the ox got up. What did waken me
I never knew, but have always believed it was the hand of
Providence, for Avhen I opened my eyes a large gray wolf
was standing not more than a dozen feet from me. There
w^as no mistaking the creature's identity, for I had met His
Majesty on previous occasions in Michigan and Illinois. I
could feel my hair raise, and it went up quicker than a silk
umbrella, too. I had no gun, not even a pocket-knife. I
grabbed my hat, flourished it wildly about, and yelled at
the top of my voice. Frightened at the sudden action and
the noise, the creature fled. I was not slow in getting out
of that and looking up my oxen.

There was sufficient game along the Platte that the wolf
could not have been very hungry; if he had been I doubt if
a hat would have stood in the Avay of a coveted meal.

I am certain that our crowd never forgot their introduc-
tion to Julesburg, Col. We stayed there one night and put
in the next day crossing the South Platte. We put seven or
eight yoke of cattle on each wagon, and four of us had to
wade across with each load.

The mush-ice was thick, and the chunks of floating ice
often struck us with such force that it nearly knocked us
down. We were wet to the armpits, and after wading the
river nine times I must admit that I was dead tired, ready
for supper and a seat close to the fire.

We got on very peaceably until we got to Pole creek, be-
tw^een Julesburg and the North Platte; then two of the
drivers got into a dispute and finally indulged in a little
physical exercise. I was not on the grounds at the time.

268 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

and there were several stories about the affair, which arose
over the question of herding the cattle. In speaking of the
affair afterward we always referred to it as the "Battle of
Pole Creek."

One of the high bluffs along the North Platte, just before
we reached the Wyoming line, was covered about ten feet
deep and about eighteen or twenty feet around with buffalo
bones and heads. The scores of heads with the large black
horns was a sight I shall never forget, and I imagine there
was a "rattling of dry bones" when the top of that bluff was
unloaded.

We were told that a famous chief had been buried there,
and I have often thought of the amount of labor that monu-
ment of bones represented. I imagine I could almost see
the poor old squaws trudging along many weary miles,
through snow or rain or the blazing sun and toiling up the
steep bluff, dragging a head to add to the pile.

After unloading at Fort Laramie we all went to Denver.
Those who wanted to stay got their discharge and pay and the
others returned with the teams. The fellow from Missouri,
John Tysen, J oshua Bodenheimer, and I remained.

Bodenheimer was a printer and struck a job on the Rocky
Mountain Neics. The last I heard of him he was running
the Carthage (Mo.) Press. John Tutt is in the mercantile
business in Plattsmouth, Neb. Marion Bomar is living in
Missouri; do not remember his address. These are all of the
"original ten" that 1 know to be living. Billie Donnelly died
in Glenwood, la., about ten years ago, from the effects of an
amputation of a foot.

There was a bridge in process of construction across the
Platte at Denver, and I got a job there at |3 per day, and
worked about one month.

As my occupation, previous to freighting, had been soldier-
ing and lying sick from tj^phoid fever in Mississippi and
Tennessee, it seemed to me that the winter of 1862-63 was
the coldest winter on record.

FREIGHTING IN THE ^GOS.

269

In January, 18G3, 1 went to Central City where I remained
till 1804. I ran an engine in P. D. Casey's quartz mill, and
tended plates in Armour's mill.

On January 15, 18G4, I started for Pana, 111., to claim "the
girl I left behind."

I went as far as Omaha by mule team. We saw a good
many dead cattle along the way — in fact, almost whole trains
of cattle froze that winter.

When we reached Rawhide creek an Indian came up to our
wagon; he was friendly, shook hands, told us his name was
George and that he belonged to the Pawnee tribe. He said
he was hungry and wanted some tobacco. I gave him some
bread, meat, smoking tobacco, and a little coffee.

The incident that furnished a name for this creek also
added a page to state history. A party of '49ers (though it
happened to be in 1850), were near the little stream. One of
the party who had a gun but had failed to find any game
declared he would shoot the first live thing he saAV. As they
reached the stream he saw a squaw sitting on a stump or log
on the bank, and, carrying his threat into execution, he shot
her. A party of Indians soon found the dead squaw and made
hot pursuit of the whites, whom they overtook at a short dis-
tance and demanded the man who had done the shooting.
They at first refused to give him up, but as the Indians
threatened to kill the whole party if he was not surrendered,
and they did not approve the action anyway, the guilty one
was delivered to the enraged red men, who took him back to
where the squaw was shot and skinned him alive.

I started on my second trip in May, 1866, I made this trip
alone with my own outfit. While on my first trip I had taken
note of w^hat was most wanted and would be must appreciated
along the route. I had a large, strong horse team and piled
on all the load I thought they would pull, to start with.

My load consisted of butter, sugar, coffee, tea, eggs, cab-
bage, cookies, tomato catsup, and pickles. I went as far as
Fort Cottonwood and averaged about |6 a day net profit on
the round trip.

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOClETt.

The catsup I sold at fifty cents a small bottle, cucumber
pickles I sold at seventy-five cents a dozen, or |10 a twenty-
five-pound powder keg full. A few bushels of good sized cook-
ies went at two cents each. The butter had to go first, as the
increasing warm weather did not improve the flavor. I could
have realized a better profit if I had been able to get it to
Fort Cottonwood in good condition.

About thirty miles east of Fort Kearney I stopped at a
ranch, and as my team was used to standing, I did not tie
them. I stepped into a back room where several were seated
at a table eating, when my team started. There was a child
about three years old standing between me and the door. I
jumped over the child, down and out of the door, and suc-
ceeded in stopping my team by the time it had gotten about
thirty rods from the ranch house. I believe this was the fast-
est sprinting I ever did.

When I got the team back I found two Indians there, and
it did not take me long to guess what had stampeded the
horses. One of the Indians was the Pawnee I had met at
Rawhide creek ; he knew me and spoke of the previous meet-
ing in very good English.

About six 3^ears after I met "Pawnee George" a third time.
One Sunday afternoon I was sitting by a front parlor win-
dow reading a book, when my eldest daughter climbed on
the back of my chair and whispered in my ear that an Indian
was standing at the gate. I looked out and saw a red man,
his arms folded, leaning against the gate and gazing intently
at me. I put down the book and walked out to where he
stood. He was most cordial in his greeting, shook hands,
and wanted to see my "squaw'' and "pappooses.'' I invited
him in, and my wife gave him some lunch. All Indians look
alike to me and I did not recognize the Pawnee until he
referred to our previous meetings.

I lightened my wagon considerably at Fort Kearney, where
I was detained several days on account of Indian troubles.
The Sioux were on the war-path and the officers at the fort

FREIGHTING IN THE 'GOs.

271

would not let a small train leave, so I had to stay until forty
wagons were going my Avay. We kept sentries out every
night and took all possible precaution against stampede.

At Fort Cottonwood some drunken, boisterous soldiers
were having a regular ''shindy" and some of them were
already in trouble. They were too badly intoxicated to know
who came or went, and realizing that they would offer no
protection should the fort be attacked, and fearing the foe
less, than the friends, I left Fort Cottonwood without escort
and drove twelve miles that night. I will not deny that they
were anxious miles. I reached Fort Kearney in due time
without seeing any Indians.

At Fort Kearney I got in with seventeen teams coming
homeward; one had come through from California. We met
the Californian with his wife and three or four children, on
the 3d of July. The next day, to ' celebrate, he treated his
family and myself to California wine.

My route on this trip was along the South Platte most of
the way. I crossed the Missouri river on the Plattsmouth
ferry and Salt creek at the old Ashland ford. The roads were
pretty good most of the way.

I rested my team a few days, got my "cargo" together, and
started on a third trip "on my own hook," in July, 1S66. My
load consisted of tinware, groceries, and a good lot of eggs.

The roads were fairly good on this trip, but as I did not
clear more than |2.50 to $3 per day I turned my attention
to other occupations nearer home.

The Indian troubles had reached their height about this
time and freighters were liable to be detained at ranches or
forts — if they escaped being scalped.

Between Fort Kearney and Fort Cottonwood we went out
from the river three or four miles. The road was a little bet-
ter, and we found it was greatly to our advantage that we
did so, for looking to the south of us we could see cattle
stampeding about three miles off. We knew it to be a signal
that Indians were near and hustled to get our stock into
corral.

272

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

When I reached Plattsmouth on my return trip I found
the river higher than it had been for years. The ferry took
us away above Plattsmouth, unloaded us on a high point of
ground, and we had to go through water for five miles. Part
of the way it was up in the wagon box.

I have a gentle reminder of old freighting times, occasion-
ally. I sometimes" think the railroad companies put it up on
me a little on freight rates. When I speak of it before my
wife she is sure to remark: "My dear, you would not haul
them any cheaper."

THE PLAINS WAR IN 1865.

273

THE PLAINS WAR IN 18G5.

Written for January, 1900, meeting of Nebraska State Historical Society by
C. B. Hadley, Nehawka, Neb.

It was on the 15th of October, 1862, that a small party of
us left Andrews county, Missouri, for Denver, our wagons
loaded with apples and drawn by oxen. I was a young man at
that time and had but |65 to begin business, so went as part-
ner with one Dick Rixler. We bought us a cheap team and
wagon, everything being very cheap, and engaged to haul
apples by the hundred. We crossed the Missouri river by
ferry at St. Joe. Everything went smoothly for two or three
days, when we woke up one morning to find our cattle had
all been driven off in the night by the Indians, but we were
so fortunate as to recover them without trouble. . We arrived
at Marysville, Kan., on the evening of the 24th, and camped
on a hill west of town. The weather had been warm and de-
lightful, but a cold wave came down in the night and con-
tinued two days, freezing our apples slightly. The rest of
our trip was uneventful, the weather as a rule being fine, but
occasionally a northerner would come swooping down and
rain sand in our faces to a fearful extent. It was my first
trip across the plains, and to say it was a grand success
would be putting it mild. We arrived in Denver the 23d of
November, to find the market glutted with apples, selling for
about |4 per bushel, and everything else selling in propor-
tion. We made two trips from St. Joe to Denver, making
but little more than expenses. We then dissolved partner-
ship.

In regard to the roads would say they were generally good,
except in the spring and early summer ; then the alkali lands ■
were bad. Of bridges we had none after we left the Nemaha
in Nebraska, having to ford all the streams, the worst roads
being the sandhills between old Julesburg and Upper Junc-
18

274 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

tion. But in '63 McCoy got a charter to build bridges over
the sand with litter from the ranches and stage stations. They
then hauled sod and spread over the litter. I was employed
on the works about three months. I did first rate on the toll
road — cleared enough money to buy a first-class team. Then
I went to freighting from Missouri to Council Bluffs and
Omaha, clearing about |150 per month, and continued until
the winter of '64. When the news came to Savannah the last
of December, telling of the Indians burning the ranches and
killing the ranchmen, killing the freighters, destroying their
goods, driving off their teams, and burning their freight wag-
ons, I knew then if a man could get to Denver with a load
of apples he would make a big thing, and lots of excitement
besides. So I bought a light three-inch wagon. I had a span of
young, fast mules. I loaded apples after lining the box with
paper, packed the apples in bran, and started the 7 th day of
January, 1865, crossed the Missouri river on the ice at Ne-
braska City on the 12th, got to Fort Kearney the 17 th. Hav-
ing gone that far alone, I stopped there four days waiting for
a train to collect, for the Indians were doing depredations
all along the road. During my stay there a small train of
empty wagons came in. They had had a running fight with
the Indians; one of the men came in with a broken arm, but
he still clung to the lines. During the four days fifty wagons
or more had gathered, so I was ready to start on my most
exciting trip. The train pulled out of Fort Kearney the
morning of the 22d of January, 1865. We found the freight
road almost swept of forage. I was traveling with a horse
and mule train. We had to have hay or grass. The Indians
Avere so dangerous we could not depend on the range for
grass, most of the hay was burned, and the ranches destroyed.
But the government finally established small military posts
about every fifty miles, and at the stations we always found
plenty of hay at five and six cents a pound. Sometimes it
was fresh hay. When I say ^'fresh" I mean it was cut in the
winter after the grass was all dead. But we were glad to get
it, and as for grain, most every train hauled enough for them-

THE PLAINS WAR IN 1865.

275

selves. We readied old Jiilesburg, February 2. The military
post was one mile west. Tlie commander at tlie fort gave us
orders to stop. We corralled our wagons about one hundred
yards northeast of the post. Tlie Indians had burned Ack-
ley's ranch and Foster's train of seventeen wagons nine miles
above Julesburg three days before we arrived, and were still
having a good time over the luxuries they had captured, for
the train was loaded Avith groceries. Tlie Ackley ranchmen
and Foster and his men, after a hard fight with the Indians,
had made their escape to the military post, and let the red-
skins have their train. Next morning our horses and mules
needed hay. There was plenty of hay at Conly & Bulen's
ranch, one mile east of Julesburg, which made it two miles
from our corral. Conly at that time was in Nebraska City,
but Bulen was at the military post. Bulen hitched up two
teams to haul the hay to our corral. There were only twenty
men who had the sand to go with him after the hay, and I
was one of them. I rode one of my fast mules, and she would
have to show her wind and strength before we returned. We
took ropes with us to bind the hay in bundles; we paid six
cents per pound. I bought fifty pounds. I then got on one of
the wagons to load the hay. My bundle was the first on the
wagon, but before the hay was loaded Bulen got on his horse
and made for the post. The men dropped out of the hay
corral one by one until there were none left but myself and
one other man, who was helping me load. My mule was tied
to the corral fence and Avas charging to go, for she smelled
danger. I said to him, ^'Let's get out of this. Don't you hear
guns firing and the red devils. yelling on the other side of the
military post?'' "Do you think we can ever reach the corral
in time to save our scalps?" "Well, hardly, so here goes for a
two-mile stretch." My mule, Kate was her name, she fairly
flew over the ground, landed me in the corral in time for
me to get my gun and help fight the Indians to keep them off
of Bill and a few more who had fallen behind.

I will now introduce James Demmick. I first fell in with
him between Nebraska City and Fort Kearney. He had five

276

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETlt.

heavy wagons, heavily loaded with groceries, and an extra
wagon to haul their grub outfit. He was one of the hay party,
a man who was always alive to any kind of business or emer-
gency, and after every man had got into the corral and got
his gun, Demmick said, "We are going to fight Indians to the
death and to save our teams and wagons. If there are any
here who can't stand fire, let them go crawl in their wagons."
None crawled in. There were a lot of cedar logs close to the
corral. We soon had them piled all around the corral. We
soon had it bullet- and arrow-proof. The soldiers num-
bered about the same as our men, which was about sixty-
five. The Indians were Arapahoes, Sioux, and Cheyennes.
There were between four and five hundred. The siege com-
menced about ten o'clock in the morning and lasted till four.
Julesburg was completely burned. Conly & Bulen's ranch
was burned at the same time. Everything was destroyed ex-
cept the load of hay that I loaded on one of Bulen's wagons.
I got my bunch of hay the next morning. The balance of the
load was James Demmick's. The oxen Bulen left hitched
to the hay wagon of course the Indians got, so Demmick
hauled the hay to our corral.

I will not say any more about the raid because I think
there will be men at the meeting who know as much about
it as I do, for all I know is what I saw and perhaps I could
not see as far as others. The scene was grand and sublime
to say the least. The day was clear and bright, no wind to
interfere with the view of the whole proceeding. It beat any-
thing I have ever seen.

The next morning myself and a few more men were em-
ployed to help put out the fire that was burning a big pile of
corn that belonged to the Overland Stage Co. Water was
handy and we soon had it under control. We were paid in
corn, but it was smoked pretty bad. We were not more than
thirty minutes extinguishing the fire, and we were not more
than two hours from the corral until we were back and the
corn with us. My share brought me nearly flOO besides

THE PLAINS WAR IN 18G5.

277

enough to feed my team to Denver. I sold about f 25 worth as
soon as I got it into the corral ; sold the balance on the road
to Denver. On the 5th we pulled out for Denver. We found
Ackley's ranch still smoking and the remains of Foster's
wagons, and great piles of fish that had fallen to the ground
as the wagons had burned from around them.

We had a good trip from there on to Denver. The Indians
had all gone because they had their windup at Julesburg,
crossed the river, and went north. Apples were a pretty good
price, about |20 per bushel or |1.50 per dozen. I did pretty
well on them. Everybody made money except the corn-haul-
ers. It was too heavy to haul so far, for the price paid for
it. I started back to the States in due time, gathering up six
passengers for Nebraska City. Got |210 for the trip, so I
could not help make some money, besides lots of fun. I reached
Nebraska City the 12th of March. We had a terrible snow-
storm on the trip, back in Colorado, about eighty miles this
side of Denver. About two feet of snow^ fell during the night.
Men sleeping on the ground were in a fix. One man said he
lost |100 in a snowbank and could not find it. In regard to
the freighters' ups and downs, their stock in trade, etc.,
parties who bought their teams and wagons, at say $58 to
f 63, then sold out when wagons were from |200 to $250 and
mules from |400 to |600 per span, oxen from |150 to |200
per span. Now suppose these parties made a trip in the
winter of 1864-65 and got |25 per hundred to haul freight to
Denver, then sold their outfit at the top prices — they were
the ones who made money. But the party who bought the
high priced outfits were completely swamped, because the
fall in the price of teams and wagons began in '65, and down
went freighting from twentj^-five cents to twelve and one-half
cents per pound, and dragged wagons and stock down about
40 per cent., and a great many parties were completely
ruined. I know of three young men who blew in at least
|15,000 in about two years.

The few ranchmen who were not burned out made money,
for in the winter of '64-65 the government established mill-

278 nebrask:a state historical society.

tary posts about every fifty miles between Fort Kearney and
the upper junction, so the ranchmen at these points were in
luck. A ranch well stocked and a business-like man to run
it could make thousands of dollars. The ranchman at the
upper junction told me in November, 1865, that he had made
about ?25,000 that year. The soldiers blew in most of their
pay at the bar. Whisky sold for fifty cents per glass during
the Indian war, canned fruit |1.50 per can, and everything
in proportion. I went through with two loads of apples
amounting to 100 bushels in the fall of '65. I got about |15
per bushel for them, and it was the last trip I made to Den-
ver. It had been one of the most disagreeable trips I ever
made. The Indians had broken out again on a small scale,
and they would harass the freighters after night, drive off the
stock, and now and then kill a herder.

My teams were one heavy wagon with three yoke of oxen
and a German driver, my faithful mules with a light wagon
and mj^self to drive them, but I finally got tired traveling
so slow, so I left my ox team in care of a man who had a
large ox train. I left them between Fort Kearney and Cot-
tonwood. I then traveled with a mule train after I had
traveled fifteen or twenty miles to overtake the train, and
after I had got to Denver and unloaded a telegram came
to the parties Avho OAvned the ox train that I had left my
team with that the Indians had run off about half of his cat-
tle, so of course I expected that my oxen were gone also. I
started back to see about my outfit. I came about one hun-
dred and twenty-five miles and met my driver with the team
all right. I then divided the load and went back to Denver.
As soon as I could I disposed of the ox outfit and swore I
would never own another ox as long as I lived, and I have
kept my word.

I have given but a brief sketch of my life on the plains, but
as it is near the date of your meeting and I haven't time to
write more and get it to you in time, I will close.

OVERLAND FREIGHTING FROM NEBRASKA CITY.

270

OVERLAND FREIGHTING FROM NEBRASKA CITY.

Written for the annual meeting of the Nebraska State Historical Society,
January 10, 1900, by Hon. D. P. Eolfe, Nebraska City.

In September, 1860, the writer sold his profitable interest
in business located on Fourth street in the city of St. Louis,
having decided to make a second flight from New York to-
wards the setting sun, Nebraska City having been the place
selected for his resting place.

He purchased a good stock of groceries and outfitting
goods, suitable for the wants of the plains trade, and shipped
them, by steamboat, for Nebraska City, 714 miles up the Mis-
souri river from St. Louis, paying freight at the rate of }2.25
per hundred pounds.

He landed here on the 15th of October, 1860. Having a
store room already prepared, located in Kearney (now a part
of Nebraska City ) , he Vv^as soon in shape to supply the wants
of the overland business with such supplies as were needed
for making the long trip to Denver, Salt Lake, and military
posts.

Nebraska City at that time was considered the most favor-
able point on the Missouri river for the transportation of
freight to the far western points. It was the headquarters
for the great company of Russell, Majors & Waddell, who
freighted nearly all the government supplies destined to mili-
tary posts from the Missouri river to Salt Lake.

Nearly all other than government freight was carried by
freighting firms and individual parties.

THE GREAT FIRE.

On the 12th of May, 1860, previous to my arrival, there
occurred a disastrous fire in Nebraska City, destroying nearly

280

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

all the business part of the town north from Table creek, the
only business firms left being Hawke & Nuckolls, between
3d and 4th on Main street, and Eobert Heffley, on the corner
of 9th and Main. During the years of 1860 and '61 the greater
part of the business of the city was done in Kearney, between
North Table creek and the levee, but after that time, as the
city rebuilt its burned district, the business gradually moved
back to its old quarters, and then extended farther west.

The business of the "wild and v/oolly'' little town (called
city) on the extreme borders of civilization depended for
its support almost entirely upon the transportation of freight
westward.

It was then considered the only business that would build
up our town and add value to its near vicinity, as it was the
general opinion that the country a few miles west from the
Missouri river border was valueless for agricultural pur-
poses. With that idea nearly ever^^ business man was ready
to do all in his power to advance the interests of Nebraska
City as a freighting point.

THE OLD CALIFORNIA TRAIL.

Previous to the year of 1861 all western freight fol-
lowed the old California trail, running northwest from Ne-
braska City, striking the Platte river thirty miles from its
mouth, then following up the Platte, ruuning north, making
a big bend around what is now the counties of Saunders, But-
ler, and Polk. A few of the business men of Nebraska City
decided it would advance the business of our city if the old
route could be shortened between Nebraska City and Fort
Kearney. With that object in view, they met and agreed
that, if possible, the route should be shortened. William E.
Hill was chosen as the one who should go over the country
and locate the route on as nearly a direct east and west line
as possible from Nebraska City to Fort Kearney. An outfit
was made ready, and Mr. Hill started on his exploring expe-
dition. Upon his return he reported that a good route had

OVERLAND FREIGHTING FROM NEBRASKA CITY. 281

been found running nearly due west to the Blue, crossing
Salt creek near Saltillo, a point about eight miles south of
Lincoln; from there running a little north of west to the
Blue river, crossing that stream near the mouth of the West
Blue, and running on the high grounds on the north side
through the southern part of what is now Seward, York, |
Hamilton, and Hall counties, striking the Platte river forty
miles east from Fort Kearney, making a saving in distance
of forty miles over the old trail, and a shortening of time for
ox trains of over tAvo days. After giving the report due con-
sideration it was decided the road should be opened, each
one present pledging himself to stand a just proportion of the
cost.

THE ROAD OPENED.

The new route was opened by building a strong, substantial
bridge over Salt creek and Blue river, and ploughing a fur-
row the whole distance from Salt creek to the Platte river,
that the first ones over the route might follow, a route free
from sand, over which a team could haul its load the whole
distance without help.

The route soon became the favorite, the old trail being
abandoned by all starting from Nebraska City.

WAGONS USED.

The freight wagons used were the Murphy and Espenshied,
made in St. Louis, and the Studebaker, made at South Bend,
Ind. These wagons were constructed especially for the plains
transportation business; made of the best timber, wide-
tracked, strong and tight, high double box, and heavy tired,
and covered with heavy canvas over the bows. More of the
Murphy make were used than either the Studebaker or
Espenshied, though many claimed the Studebaker the easiest
running.

Seven thousand pounds was the load drawn by five yoke of
good cattle; six yoke if cattle were light, A good team con-

282 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

sisted of one yoke of heavy, well-broken cattle for wheelers,
a good second best came next; two pair in the swing could
be made up from partly broken cattle, with a good pair of
leaders. The Texas steer made, when broken, the best lead-
ers, holding his head high, with his long horns and soft,
wild eyes, like those of a deer, quick on his feet, quarters
light and tapering, limbs clean cut, could run like a horse
and quite as fast Avhen alarmed.

THE TRAIN.

A full train consisted of twenty-six wagons; twenty-five
freight and one mess, in charge of a wagonmaster and assist-
ant, who generally used mules for their riding; then there
were with every train three or four plains ponies for herd-
ing and extra riding. Sixteen to eighteen miles a day was
made in two drives, one from early morning to about 11 :00
o'clock A.M., and the second from about 1:00 o'clock to 6
o'clock P.M. Sometimes the drives would vary in maldng
water and grass.

In making camp at the order of the wagonmaster, the lead
team would circle to the right, the team following to the left,
advancing until they met; then the next two in the same
order, bringing the fore wheel close up to the hind wheel of
the wagon ahead, the balance of the train in the same order,
making a semi-circular corral with thirteen wagons on each
wing, nearly closed at front, with an opening at rear of about
twenty feet. The cattle were then turned loose, with the
yokes on the ground where they stood. A mounted herder
takes charge of the cattle, watering first and then to grass.
The drivers, each one with a heavy pistol at his hip and gun,
in charge of wagonmaster, divided in mess of six to eight;
two with sacks start out for chips, another for water, another
digs the fire trench, all do their part until the meal of bread,
bacon, and coffee is ready to be served out, and each one pro-
vided with a tin plate, quart cup, knife, fork, and spoon. If
camp is for the night, after supper preparations are made

OVERLAND FREIGHTING FROM NEBRASKA CITY. 283

for an early breakfast; then would come the time for a ^ood
smoke, song, and story; then rolling up in their blankets to
rest under the wagons until 'MIoll out! KoU out!" is called
out at daybreak by the night herder. After an early break-
fast the cattle are driven in the corral and at the command
"Yoke up!" every driver starts in among the cattle with yoke
on his left shoulder, ox bow in his right hand, and key in his
mouth, looking for his off-wheeler. When found, the yoke is
fastened to him with one end resting on the ground until the
near one, his mate, is found. When yoked together they are
taken to the wagon and hitched in their place ; then come the
others in their order, only a short time being required until
ready for the order from the wagonmaster — "Pull out!"
Then the bull-whacker is in his glory, with his whip, the lash
of which is twenty feet in length, large and heavy, tapering to
a small point and tipped with a buckskin popper, hung to a
handle eighteen inches in length, filling both hands in its
grasp but small at the end; four or five swings over and
around the head the lash is shot straight out with the report
of a gun. With twenty-six of these whips swinging at the
same time, the reports sound like the fire of a picket line of
soldiers. A steer was seldom struck with these whips, unless
a deadhead. When hit with full force blood would surely
follow.

NIGHT CAMP.

At the camp for the night the cattle were allowed to graze
at will until well filled and inclined to lie down. Then the
herder rides gently around them, driving them to a center
and bunching them close as possible without crowding, rid-
ing slowly and quietly around them during the night, gently
whistling and singing if the herd seemed restless, always
guarding against a stampede which sometimes happened. In
every herd there are leaders, and when a stampede from any
cause occurs, the Avhole herd spring to their feet at the same
instant, the leaders dashing off with the whole herd follow-

2Si NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

ing. Then comes the times for the herder to show his nerve
and courage, when he knows that a gopher hole, a broken
saddle girth, or a fall meant sudden death in his effort to
reach the front at one side of the leaders, and with yells and
pistol shots turn the front and get them running in a circle
until their fright subsided. The herder generally succeeded,
but not always. . The writer remembers of one herd that
stampeded during a bad storm, one-half being lost and a few
found, days after, forty miles from the camp from which they
started.

INCIDENTS OF THE ROUTE.

In the early spring of 1862 I purchased an outfit — any
number of teams and wagons less than a full train was called
an outfit — loaded the wagons with my own merchandise for
the Denver market. I was one of the first to pull out from
Nebraska City that season.

On the route, a few miles west from Fort Kearney, we
struck a vast herd of buffalo that was making for the Platte
for water. They were in such numbers that we made camp,
thinking it not best to drive through them. • These wild cat-
tle were a part of the yearly drift from North to South down
the Platte, crossing the country from that point to the Ee-
publican river, it being the nearest point between the two
rivers.

The next day, while in camp, a small war party of Sioux
Indians, in their war paint, stopped with us for dinner. They
were on their way to join a large force for a fight with the
Pawnees. The Sioux, from their earliest history, were ene-
mies of the Pawnees on the south and to the Utes on the west.
On our return trip we met a few of this same party on foot,
on their return from their confiict, having lost several of
their warriors and a number of ponies, but they proudly
showed two Pawnee scalps they had taken.

We made Denver in twenty-eight days, from Nebraska
City, which was quick time for cattle. At that time Denver

OVERLAND FREIGHTING FROM NEBRASKA CITY. 285

was a little city of tents and cheaply built wood buildings
on the business street. I think there was but one brick build-
ing, that a warehouse belonging to the freighting firm of
Russell, Majors & Waddell. I closed out my goods, realizing
a good profit. The third day after my arrival, having received
something over |10,000 in Cherry Creek gold dust, soldered
up in two-pound oyster cans, rolled up in my blankets and
strapped securely at the back of my saddle, I mounted my
mule and started to overtake my teams. The second day out,
when about fifty miles east from Denver, about two o'clock
on a warm afternoon, I was jogging along on my mule, half
asleep, when I was suddenly aroused by "Hi-yi-a-Hi-yi-a-
He-ye-a-a Hi-yi-Ho.'' Looking up I saw a short distance away,
coming over a swell on the trail, a war party of Indians
mounted on fine plains ponies, armed with lance, bows, and
arrows. They came on a charge, with lance at rest and with
ti quivering feather at the head of every lance. I was quickly
surrounded by one hundred and fifty greased and painted
wild beings, with not a thing on or about them that was not
of native manufacture, adorned with many ornaments made
from hammered silver. On seeing that wild charge approach-
ing I was startled, but the Indians at that time w^ere friendly,
and I thought they meant me no harm. They were a war
party of Ogallala Sioux on a raid against their old-time
enemy, the Utes. During the interview the chief explained
in sign language how they intended surprising the Utes by
creeping on them like snakes, and getting many scalps.
Hanging to the horn of my saddle was a fine Colt's navy re-
volver. The chief wished to see it. I drew it from the case
and passed it to him. After giving it a close examination
he passed it to one near him, and from him it went the circle
of all on the inside. Many guttural sounds and motions were
made w^hile looking it over. Then it came back from hand
to hand to the chief who gave it to me with signs of thanks.
That same revolver was afterward captured by the Indians,
and the man who carried it was killed.

286

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

After entertaining me for half an hour I liberally treated
those near with tobacco, who received it with many ^'How
Hows." Then the chief gave a command by a flash from a
small round mirror, set in a frame with handle and hung to
the wrist. In an instant they wheeled into line, starting off
on a lope, striking into their Avild war-song: "Ho-a-Hi-yi-a-
He-ye-a-Hi-yi-Ho." I sat on my mule and gazed after them
until they passed from my sight. The history of this same
war party is, the Utes learned of their approach, ambushed
them, fought and defeated them with great loss. It is said
this was the last war party sent against the Utes by the
Sioux, after having been long-time enemies.

TRANSPORTATION RATES.

The freighting business increased largely in volume every
year from 1862 to 1866. According to a census taken for the
year 1865, there were employed in the movement of goods,
grain, and other stores, westward from Nebraska City : 7,365
wagons, 7,231 mules, 50,712 oxen, 8,385 men. Transporting
31,445,428 pounds of freight.

The customary rate of cattle freight to any point where
two trips could be made during the season was |1 per hun-
dred pounds for each 100 miles; sometimes a little more or
less, owing to circumstances. Winter rates to Denver were
from ten to twelve cents per pound. Salt Lake freight was
hauled almost entirely with cattle, as cattle, wagons, and
the whole paraphernalia of the train had to be sold to the
Mormons and California cattle dealers on arrival at desti-
nation.

The established rate to Salt Lake was twenty-five cents per
pound, although Russell, Majors & Waddell hauled the gov-
ernment freight in large quantities at about twenty cents
per pound. Rates to other points were based upon the prices
paid to Denver and Salt Lake.

OVERLAND FREIGHTING FROM NEBRASKA CITY.

287

nATIONS.

The rations for men employed were based upon the gov-
ernment rations, but a little more liberal.

GOV. RATIONS PER MAN PER DAY. PLAINS RATIONS.

1-]- lb. flour. 2 lb. flour.

f to 1 lb. bacon. l-J lb. bacon.

li oz. coffee. 1^ oz. coffee.

2^ oz. sugar. 2^ oz. sugar.

To give a better idea of the rations furnished for train
men, and the cost of the same, I copy a list of supplies
furnished in June, 1865, by our firm — Eolfe & Terry — to Gill
& Co. for a trip to Denver, with twenty-si:S: wagons and
twenty-eight men, for sixty days :

RATIONS FOR 28 MEN FOR 60 DAYS.

DESCRIPTION.

AMOUNT.

$5 00

$150 00

450 00

1 sa. 50c coffee, 125 lbs

48 00

2 sa. $1 sugar, 250 lbs

46 00

1 sa. 75c beans, 2 bu

3 50

7 75

15 45

10 lbs. soda

2 00

i2y3

1 00 V.

12 00

1 50

1 25

2 00

2 50

3 50

3 00

8 82

2 50

7 50

4 50

.$768 62

At the opening of the freighting season of 1865 the monthly

28S

NfiBRASKA STATE HlST?ORiCAL SOClE^t.

wages paid drivers were $70 to f75. The wagonmaster re-
ceived |150 and his assistant |85 per month. At that time
the price of labor and commodities was based, to a certain
extent, upon the premium on gold coin. The gold quotations
for the month of May of the above year were as follows:
May 3, 1.41; May 15, 1.30; May 23, 1.32; May 24, 1.35; May
26, 1.36.

For the better understanding of prices, and the general
class of goods that was at that time considered necessary for
the preservation of the health, spirits, and vigor of the body,
for the men who were the pioneers of our present civiliza-
tion, and to give some idea of the volume of trade at Ne-
braska City at that time, I copy an invoice sold by our firm,
Rolfe & Terry, to the sutler at Fort Russell, May 21, 1865,
as follows:

PRICES OF STAPLE ARTICLES IN PIONEER DAYS.

DESCRIPTION.

AMOUNT.

% 127

2 one-half barrels whisky, Cabinet brand, 23-23, 46 gal. .

.. 3

161

. . 9

475

. . 11

. . 12

00 ,

. . 9

. . 22

. . 20

150

, . 47

237

. . 70

210

. . 85

136

1 half chest Impl. tea, No. 212, 76-14, 62 lbs

. . 2

. . 9

285

, 9

270

, . 11

115

. . 17

OVERLA^^D I^REIGHTING FtlOM NEBRASKA CITY. 289

DESCRIPTION. @ AMOUNT

8 cases 2-lb. strawberries $11 50 $ 92 00

20 cases 2-lb. tomatoes 7 25 145 00

10 cases 2-lb. corn 10 00 100 00

10 cases 2-lb. peas 10 00 100 00

2 cases 2-lb. salmon, 8 doz 6 00 48 00

2 cases 2-lb. lobsters, 4 doz 3 50 14 00

5 cases 2-lb. blackberries 10 00 50 00

2 cases 2-lb. cherries 11 50 23 00

1 case 2-lb. saner kraut 10 00

1 case 2-lb. chow chow 10 50

2 cases 2-lb. peach marmalade, 4 doz 9 00 36 00

8 cases 2-lb. brandy peaches 9 50 76 00

5 cases 3d peaches 11 00 55 00

1 keg 40c Indian brand chewing tobacco, 33 lbs 1 35 44 95

1 doz. Gold Thread, 1-lb. cans chewing tobacco 18 00

1 doz. Gold Thread, i/o-lb. cans chewing tobacco 10 00

2 sacks 60c. filberts, 163 lbs 25 41 95

3 sacks 60c. almonds, 175 lbs 45 80 55

2 sacks 60c. Brazil nuts, 180 lbs 25 46 20

2 sacks 60c. peanuts, 117 lbs 20 24 60

2 boxes axes 18 50 37 00

5 cases Mj gallon pickles 9 25 46 25

2 cases condensed milk, 8 doz 4 30 34 40

1 case condensed coffee, 4 doz 9 25 37 00

1 case Game Cock fine tobacco, 100 lbs 75 75 00

2 cases powder, 1 lb 27 00 54 00

2 cases powder, i/. lbs 16 50 33 00

6 M G D gun caps 50 3 00

10 M Ely E B caps 1 50 15 00

2 bundles lead, 50 lbs 13 6 50

1 gross Steamboat playing cards. No. 1 32 50

1 gross Steamboat playing cards. No. 2 30 00

1 case Club sauce, i/L> pts 4 37^^ 8 75

1 case Cumberland sauce, 1 pt 7 00 14 00

2 cases pepper sauce 2 75 5 50

2 cases tomato catsup 2 75 5 50

2 boxes tacks, 6, 8, 10 lb., 100 papers 8 8 00

6 glass decanters 1 50 9 00

1 doz. bar jiggers , 2 25

1 doz. bar glasses 2 00

1 doz. ale glasses ' 2 00

1 doz. sweet oil 2 75

1 box castor oil, 2 doz 2 00 4 00

2 boxes ground mustard, 4 doz 1 10 4 40

1 box extract of lemon » 3 00

1 box ground pepper, 2 doz 1 40 2 80

290 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

DESCRIPTION. @ AMOUNT

1 box Cox's ink 3 doz $ 1 00 $ 3 00

2 boxes assorted fancy candy, 40-40, 80 lbs 35 28 00

4 boxes stick candy 5 00 20 00

2 gunnies dairy salt 6 00 12 00

2 coils % inch rope, 170 lbs 28 46 70

1 coil 34 -inch rope, 28 lbs 28 7 84

6 boxes herring 1 10 6 60

1 bl. 50c. dried blackberries, 145-19, 126 lbs. 48 60 94

1 sack 60c. dried whortle berries, 95 lbs 40 38 60

2 sacks 60c. dried peaches, 190 lbs 40 77 20

2 sacks 50c. dried apples, 460 lbs 18 83 80

1 sack 60c. Yante currants, 128 lbs 28 36 44

4 boxes 30c. Palm soap, 240 lbs 12 30 00

4 boxes 30c. German soap, 240 lbs 13 32 40

2 boxes 30c. Star candles, 80 lbs 26 21 40

1 barrel Sugar House syrup, 44 gallons 1 25 55 00

1 barrel Golden syrup, 41 gallons 1 70 69 70

1 case sardines, 1/2 's, 100 lbs 48 48 00

6 boxes layer raisins 6 50 39 00

7 cheese, select, net 176 lbs 30 52 80

1 butt Gold Leaf tobacco, 63 lbs 1 I2V2 70 88

2 butts Brady's tobacco, 68-71, 139 lbs 90 118 15

3 butts Diadem tobacco, 43-43-45, 131 lbs 1 12% 147 38

•2 boxes Natural Leaf tobacco, 26-25, 51 lbs 1 60 81 60

2 caddies Peerless tobacco, 19-19, 38 lbs 85 32 30

2 caddies Grape Juice tobacco, 19-20, 39 lbs 85 33 15

2 cans gallon axle grease 7 25 14 50

1 can 1 gallon axle grease 7 25

4 boxes soda, 60 lbs. each, 240 lbs 14 35 60

1 case preserves 12 00

1 bundle large wrapping paper 2 50

2 bundles medium wrapping paper 2 00 4 00

1 bundle small wrapping paper 1 50

1 bale cotton twine, 11% lbs 85 9 99

4 10-lb. cans cream tartar, 40 lbs 35 14 00

6 cases sugar lemon 6 75 40 50

3 drums figs, 23 lbs 30 6 90

1 doz. demijohns 10 20

6 gallons Calhoun whisky 5 00 30 00

3 boxes maple sugar, 24-24-25, 73 lbs 26i^ 19 34

1 sack canvassed dried beef, 100 lbs 26 26 50

2 doz. brooms 3 50 7 00

1 gross P. & M. yeast pov/ders 45 00

2 cases assorted jellies, 4 doz 4 00 16 00

1 gallon — nchor whisky 3 00

1 gallon rum 3 50

1 gallon brandy ^ 3 50

OVERLAND FREIGHTING FROM NEBRASKA CITY. 291

DESCRIPTION. (g) AMOUNT

I gallon sherry wine ^ 3 50

1 gallon port wine 3 75

1 gallon gin 3 50

2 cases lemon syrup $ 5 00 10 00

2 doz. straight stem pipes 1 50 3 oO

3 doz. rosewood pipes 2 25 6 75

1 doz. rosewood pipes 4 00

1 doz. briar pipes 5 00

1 doz. earthen pipes 5 50

% doz. Anti-nicotianin pipes 13 00 6 50

2 doz. cherry stems 2 00 4 00

1 doz. cherry stems 2 50

1 box No. 1 8x10 glass 7 00

5 boxes 35c. crackers, 241-59, 182 lbs 9 18 13

5 boxes 35c. crackers, 239-58, 181 lbs 9 18 04

4 sacks Rio coffee, 162, 163, 163, 164, 656 lbs 31 203 36

2 sacks 60c. A sugar, 304 lbs 17l^ 54 40

3 cases brandy peaches 9 50 28 50

15 sacks 3X flour 6 50 97 50

1,600 lbs. side meat 20 320 00

5 C. S. scythes... 85 4 25

5 C. S. scythe sneaths 80 4 00

17 gunnies 30 5 10

63 lbs. cable chain 14 8 82

4 gallons Sugar H molasses 1 25 5 00

Sundries for camp 53 70

Total .$6,808 36

The freighting period gave good opportunities to the few
fanners at that time on the Iowa and Nebraska side of the
Missouri River, and to many small traders with a single team
of mules and wagon, to load with corn, oats, poultry, butter,
eggs, and even dogs and cats for the western trade, generally
realizing good profits on the venture.

The writer in 1860 owned a white thoroughbred bulldog,
one of the Dewey kind of fighters, that, after passing from
his possession, got across the plains and exchanged owners
at one time in Denver for five ounces of gold dust.

UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD.

In 1867 the Union Pacific Railroad was running to Grand
Island. Then nearly all western freight went to that point

292

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

for the saving in wagon transportation, cutting our city off
from the business that had given it prosperity for a number
of years. The importance of railroads was then realized.
Otoe County voted bonds to secure an eastern connection,
but some of our business men considered a western connec-
tion of more importance, and after a number of meetings of
the most prominent business men it was decided that for the
future prosperity of our city and county, a railroad west-
ward, to connect with the Union Pacific Railroad at or near
Grand Island, running on a line near the one taken for the
freighting route, was of vital importance. With that object
in view, on the 12th of December, 1867, the Midland Pacific
Railway Company was organized, composed of business men
of our city as follows: James Sweet, F. A. White, E. S.
Hawley, William Fulton, H. S. Calhoun, John B. Bennett,
Tolbert Ashton, Nathan Simpson, and R. M. Rolfe. Frank
A. White was chosen president and R. M. Rolfe secretary.
Otoe county, at a special election held with only sixty-seven
against, voted |150,000 in bonds to be delivered to the com-
pany upon a personal bond for $200,000 being given by the
company for the faithful expenditure of the proceeds of the
bonds in constructing and equipping the road. A corps of
engineers was engaged and the surveying commenced in
March, 1868. A line was surveyed via Lincoln to Grand
Island, right of way procured through Otoe County, and con-
tracts let for the grading of the first ten miles. From the
commencement to its completion to Lincoln the work never
stopped.

The building of the Midland Pacific Railway doubled the
value of lands in Otoe County, built up prosperous towns
along its route, bringing to its connection, at our city, the
Burlington from Red Oak, and the iron and steel railroad
and wagon bridge across the Missouri River.

At the present time all our heavy manufacturing com-
panies' plants are located on its line, shipping eastward every
year more pounds of greater value in goods and merchan-

OVERLAND FREIGHTING FROM NEBRASKA CITY. 293

dise, manufactured from the products of our formerly un-
appreciated soil, than were ever freighted westward in one
year during our most prosperous freighting times.

294

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

FROM MERIDIAN TO FORT KEARNEY.

Written by A. J. Croft, Davenport, Neb., for the annual meeting of the
Nebraska State Historical Society, January 10, 1900.

In 1870 the old overland road known as the Salt Lake
trail was still in use by the early settlers as a wagon road,
but, owing to the advent of railroads at about this time, it
was no longer in use by freighters. I speak of that section
of the trail lying between Meridian, which is situated in the
extreme eastern border of Thayer County, or perhaps, more
strictly speaking, on the line between Thayer and Jefferson
counties, and Fort Kearney. This section was a part of the
trail from St. Joseph, Mo., and Nebraska City, Neb., to Fort
Kearney, and thence west to Salt Lake City, Utah. The
Leavenworth and St. Joseph branch united Avith the Ne-
braska City branch a few miles from Meridian, and from
this junction there was but one trail until Fort Kearney
was reached.

Meridian was a general stopping place for freighters, and
was situated on the Little Blue about two miles from the
present village of Alexandria. Many of the old log build-
ings still stand on the site, and its neglected little cemetery
on the hill just above is the resting place of many unfortu-
nate victims of gaming table misunderstandings.

From here the trail consists of several parallel tracks,
making a road from four to ten rods wide and could be seen
for miles as it wound its way along the Little Blue River.
The next stop was at Kiowa, where there was a stockade, etc.
This was the last stop in Thayer County. The next station
was Spring Ranch, in Clay County, then King's Ranch, or
known later as Kingston, in Adams County, nearly south of
the city of Hastings. From King's Ranch th2 tra,U con-

FROM MERIDIAN TO FORT KEARNEY.

295

tinued westward for but a short distance and then turned
to nearly a northwesterly direction across the divide to the
fort (Kearney).

King's Kanch was the last stopping place on the Blue, and
no ranches intervened between it and Fort Kearney.

In 1870-71 this overland route showed signs of recent ser-
vice, and pieces of broken wagons, ox bows, etc., were found
at frequent intervals. Mr. James Lemon, who freighted for
many years along this route, tells many thrilling experiences
with hostile Indians.

Very little remains at present of the great Salt Lake trail
but a memory. It has been broken up by the farmer's plow,
and instead of bearing the freighter's heavy laden wagon it
bears the heavy laden stalks of grain.

296

NEBRASKA STAI^i] HISTORICAL SOClE^-^.

FREIGHTING REMINISCENCES.

Written for the annual meetingof the Nebraska State Historical Society,
January 10, 1900, by Porter Maddox, Box Elder, Neb.

As one of the few '^old teamsters" in the overland
freighting business, when the ^^Wo Haw" was the principal
engine for moving supplies from the Missouri River to the
Rockies and over them, and the hair of the white man was in
great demand among the Sioux and several other tribes of
Red Men, I of course feel quite an interest in that part of the
history of our fair state. If it were possible, I should much
enjoy being with the Old Boys at your next meeting. It
seems but a short time since I made my first trip from Ne-
braska City, in 1865, for Denver, which was but a hamlet
compared with her present grandeur. Yet even then every-
thing was rush and bustle. Methinks I can see the rusty,
lousy, dirt-begrimed bull-whacker with from ten to fourteen
feet of whiplash attached to eighteen or twenty inches of
polished hickory, and hear them as we passed the eastbound
empties, when asked where we loaded, answer, "Omaha-ha-
ha," and if asked where we were headed for, answer, "Idaho-
ho-ho." The wages we got for our work were $60 per month
for driving six to eight yoke of cattle, while the night herder
got from |65 to |70 and board. This consisted chiefly of sow-
belly, beans, sugar, coffee, and tough bread or flap-jacks.
Yet w^e wx^re a jolly set of fellows, especially when we had
the right kind of boss, but it w^as not always sunshine and
pleasure. We were often called upon to witness suffering and
death. While I was on the trail, I visited Denver, Laramie,
the Powder River via the old North Platte Bridge trail, Salt
Lake, Ogden, Ft. Union, and Santa Fe, all of which trails

FREIGHTING REMINISCENCES.

297

will no doubt be fully described, even the old steam-wagon
road from Nebraska City via Salt Creek, Kead^s Ranch, Gum
Springs, Doha Town, Cottonwood Springs, Jack Morrow's,
Fremont's Springs, O'Fallon's Bluffs, and all the rest, better
than I am able to describe them. But if any of the old boys
who were with me should be at the meeting, let them remem-
ber that I still think of them kindly and hope at some time
to meet them one and all, and then we will try some of our
old songs. Can any of the boys furnish me the words of
"lioot Hog, or Die," as sung by the bull- whackers?

298 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

MARY ELIZABETH FURNAS.

Mary Elizabeth Furnas was born in Bellbrook, Green
County, Ohio, December 18, 1826. Her maiden name was
McComas. Her father, Daniel McComas, and mother, whose
maiden name was Mitchell, were born and married in Balti-
more, Md. They came west to Green County, Ohio, and from
thence to Cincinnati, Ohio, where the daughter, Mary, be-
came a teacher in the public schools of that city until her
marriage. Robt. W. Furnas and Mary E. McComas were
married at Cincinnati, October 29, 1845. Eight children
were born to the parents; six sons and two daughters, the
three youngest in Nebraska. Came to Brownville, Neb.,
April 6, 1856. The couple celebrated their fiftieth marriage
anniversary at Brownville, Neb., October 29, 1895. Mrs.
Furnas died at BroAvnville, Neb., April 1, 1897. Her history
since in Nebraska was substantially that of her husband, to
whom she was ever a constant helpmate in his efforts to de-
velop the new West. She early conceived the thought to
introduce and develop the silk industry in Nebraska, in
which she was successful. Specimens of her work can be
seen at the State Historical Rooms, Lincoln, Neb.

Of the ancestry of Mrs. Furnas little is of obtainable
record further than to Baltimore, Md., where the families
of McComas were among the earlier and prominent residents.
They were originally from England.

In religion Mrs. Furnas was a Methodist until she came
to Nebraska. Since in Nebraska, a Presbyterian, and to her
death.

FREIGHTING — DENVER AND BLACK HILLS. 299

FREIGHTING— DENVER AND BLACK HILLS.

The following paper was read by Mr. H. T. Clarke, of Omaha, before the an-
nual meeting of the Nebraska State Historical Society, January 9, l^Ol.

It is with pleasure that I respond to the request for some
word as to the ''Early Freighting/' as I realize that few are
left to tell the stor^^ of those times.

But little freighting was done north of the Platte River
until the opening of the Pike's Peak gold excitement, about
1859. The route from Bellevue, where we outfitted and
freighted from, and from Omaha, was westerly, crossing the
Elkhorn River by ferry, or ford, near Elkhorn City, nearly
west from Omaha, entering the Elkhorn and Platte valleys
at that point, and thence up the Platte valley. Some crossed
the Platte to the south side at Shinn^s Ferry, owned by Elder
Shinn, a few miles southwest of the present town of Schuyler,
Colfax County ; others continuing up the Platte on the north
side to a point near old Fort Kearney and Dobytown, cross-
ing by fording the river to the south side of the Platte there,
and continuing on the south side of the Platte and of the
South Platte to Pike's Peak, or Cherry Creek, now the beauti-
ful city of Denver.

Many of the Californians and Mormons going to Salt Lake
City and California kept on the north side of the Platte and
up the north fork by old land marks. Court House and Chim-
ney rocks (the former eight miles southeast and the latter
seven miles west of Camp Clark), and on west.

The roads were usually very fine and the grass good ; were
it not so, it would have been hard to supply the mining
population.

A train usually consisted of from twenty-two to twenty-

300

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

six teams, five yoke of cattle to a team, and two wagons
loaded with 4^000 pounds on the front and 3,000 pounds on
the trailer, or rear wagon, which was attached to the leading
wagon with a short pole. There were also two-horse cook
wagons. Usually a wagon boss, or manager, and assistant,
had charge, and whose pay varied from |75 to $150 a month,
and teamsters, at from |35 to |60 per month. Men usually
slept under wagons ; sometimes trains carried and used tents,
and at times the men crawled under wagon covers.

In going into camp the teams would form a corral, swing-
ing to the right and left until they came together, and follow-
ing in this way, the first wheels of the rear wagon coming ck)se
to the rear wheels of the first wagon, and when all were in
forming a complete corral, oval in shape, leaving only room
'for the cattle to pass out. The opening was closed by chains
when the cattle were in, and the wheels of the wagons were
all chained together, so that in yoking wild cattle the corral
would be able to hold them, and in case of attack by Indians,
we would be able to protect ourselves behind the wagons.
The cattle were then unyoked and driven out to water and
feed, we keeping two or more men with them so that they
would not stray or stampede. When ready to bring in the
cattle to yoke, they were all driven within the corral, each
man getting his own teams.

The usual drive was fifteen to eighteen miles a day, one
team trailing on after the others. Many of the wagon bosses
and men could take the time of night by the position of the
big dipper to the north star, when the sky was clear. Usu-
ally we would start the teams in the spring as soon as grass
was up, so as to make good feed, and, with active work,
make two trips to Denver (600 miles) and return in a sea-
son. If spring and grass were backward, at times we had to
drive back late in the fall to reach the Missouri Eiver, or
would "grass" cattle in the sandhills of western Nebraska,
where the buffalo grass was plenty, until spring.

FREIGHTING — DENVER AND BLACK HILLS.

301

FROM THE MUDDY TO DENVER.

The prices paid for ox team freight were usually from four
to seven cents per pound from the Missouri Uiver to Denver.
Oxen would have no feed but grass, and men were in camp
from spring until the season was through. The cooking was
usually done on sheet iron or cast iron stoves, or pots and
bakeovens in absence of stoves. The bill of fare usually was
of dry salt side pork, bacon, corn meal, flour, beans, dried
apples, coffee, tea, and sugar, using "buffalo chips" for fuel.

When in camp in dry weather the men would be looking to
the setting of tires of the wagons, and if any were loose, not
having machinery to reset or upset, or shorten the tire, the
wagon felloe would be increased with one or two thicknesses
of heavy cotton duck tacked on. Then this would be wet and
the wagon tire placed on the ground surrounded by "buffalo
chips" and set on fire. When red-hot and fully expanded it
would be lifted on to the wheel, and as soon as in place,
water poured on so as not to burn the duck or felloe, and
it would shrink into place. It was seldom that a tire had
to be set a second time.

On the dry and sandy roads the oxen often became foot-
sore and lame and had to be shod, and before starting we
would provide ox shoes to be used if needed. They were
made in pairs for each foot and required but a little cold
hammering to fit the foot.

In the summer of 1863, the Platte River having so nearly
dried up as to make it dijBacult to secure water for the cattle,
and having a large train of some twenty-two teams, loaded
with valuable merchandise of all kinds, and being anxious
about the train, I took the stage and overhauled it at Fort
Kearney and went with it to Denver. With plenty of In-
dians, and men scarce and hard to secure, I soon became an
expert at cooking, setting wagon tires, and shoeing oxen,
and, when necessary, driving a team, or doing any other
work.

302 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

We sank headless barrels in the Platte, by digging out the
quicksand, to secure water from an underflow, and usually
drove much of the night, when cattle will walk much faster
than in the day time, and got our train through to Denver
in good time, where we sold our goods at satisfactory prices.

The quick freighting by horses and mules was done the
year around, and usually on goods that were in want, such
as coffee, sugar, candles, and flour, and other goods where
the supply was short. It was usually done in four and six
mule, or horse, teams, the freighter carrying his own supply
along for the trip, storing corn as he went Avest, at ranches
or stations where he could secure hay and stabling, to use on
his return. Some made money out of this, receiving eight to
twelve and fifteen cents per pound, as also did many farmers
and small freighters, with a single team loaded with butter,
eggs, poultrj^, dressed hogs, sausages, lard, etc.

We used to drive six days in a week, and remain in camiJ
all day Sunday. I think that most of the freighters except
Alex Majors, Waddell, and Kussell drove seven days, but I
think we made as good time as those who did not lay up for
Sundays.

PREPARE FOR THE REDS.

The fall of 1865 the Indians were very bad along the west
Platte Valley, and the government had stationed troops along
the valley to protect the people, stages, mail, and freighters
passing, the officers insisting that they should keep together
as much as possible. The following is the order issued to
W. W. Watson, in charge of our outfit at Fort Kearney, by
Captain E. B. Murphy, formerly of Plattsmouth, and of
later years one of the active, enterprising citizens of Arapa-
hoe, Furnas county, Nebraska, who died about a year ago :

^'Headquarters Post^ Fort Kearney^ N. T.,

October 16, 1865.
"Special Order No. 256 — In compliance with special order
No. 41, C. S., headquarters department of the Missouri, the

FREIGHTING — DENVER AND liLACK HILLS.

303

trains now at tliis jiost ready to start west are organized
into a company for mutual protection and the safety of the
train. Mr. W. W. Watson is hereby appointed conductor
and will be held responsible for the holding of the organiza-
tion and train together. In no case Avill he permit the
train nor men under his charge to straggle along the road.
He will camp as near military posts as possible, and will
report any insubordination among the men belonging to the
train to the commanding officer at the post nearest the place
where such insubordination shall have arisen. By order.

'^E. B. MuuPHY^
'^Captain Seventh loiva Cavalry ^ Commanding Post.

''R. P. Leland,
Lieutenant and Post Adjutant/^

On the morning of November 3, 1865, the commander of
Alkali Station ordered the outfit to drive double file, as In-
dians were bad. This made it very slow work, and we could
not make the progress as when driving single file. On the
night of the same date, near Sand Hill Station, on the south
side of the Platte, shortly after our teams had gone into
camp, and the cattle had been turned out, the Indians, and I
think probably some bad white men, attacked our men in
charge of the cattle and ran off eighty-seven oxen and some
ponies. One of our men, Eichard Evans, was shot. The
cattle were driven across the river to the east and north of
our camp, but our goods were not disturbed. The following
is a memorandum of same :

"Omaha, Neb., February 25, 1891.
^-'United States Government. — To Clarke & Brothers, Dr. :
For property stolen from said Clarke & Brothers. h\ f-"
Sioux Indians, November 3, 1865, at Sand Hill station, Ne-
braska Territory, namely :

Eighty-five oxen $9,350 00

One mule 150 00

One saddle 20 00

304

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

One revolver

One spur

Total value of property stolen

19,547 00

I 25 00
2 00

"Add interest from November 3, 1865, to date of payment."

Mr. A. M. Clarke was with the outfit, and being unable
to find and recover the stock, went the next day and bought
of Bauvoa; at Bauvoa station, cattle to move all but three
wagons, and I presume some parties may have, some few days
or weeks later, been able to buy some of our stock of the same
or other ranchmen, they having been traded them for a small
price, or received in payment of old accounts of whisky.

The following year, at an Indian council, at Port Laramie,
the Sioux chiefs acknowledged robbing us and were willing
to pay for the same. The United States Superintendent of
Indians, Judge Cooley, said the claim was good, but he had
no money belonging to the Indians with which to pay it.
This is a copy of the treaty :

"In the matter of the claim of Clarke & Co. against the gov-
ernment of the United States of America for the loss of stock
taken by the Sioux Indians at Sand Hill Station in the Terri-
tory of Nebraska.

"We, the undersigned chiefs and head men of the Sioux
nations, acting for and in behalf of said tribe, and in open
council, acknowledge and admit that on or about the 3d day
of November, 1865, at Sand Hill Station, in the Territory of
Nebraska, a band of the said Sioux took and drove away
eighty-five head of oxen and killed one mule, the property
of Clarke & Co., and the said stock or any part thereof has
never been returned to the said Clarke & Co., or paid for by
the Indians.

"Done at Fort Laramie, D. T., this day of

A. D. 1866. In the presence of Valet Jaut, United States
Indian agent."

To this document the following Indians affixed their sig-
nature by making their mark: Spotted Tail, Swift Bear.

FREIGHTING — DENVER AND RLACK IIILr.S. 305

Boy Hawk, Hawk Thunder, Tall Thunder, Sharp Nose, White
Tail, Big Mouth, The Man that Walks Under the Ground,
The Black War Bonnet, Standing Cloud, Blue Horse, Big
Head.

These signatures were secured in the presence of Charles
E. Bowes and Frank Lehmer, who signed as witnesses, and
both of whom are old Omahans.

The United States court of claims officers allowed our bill
some years ago, but we did not get our money until July,
1898.

W^e were quite successful in the selection of goods, in
freighting and selling the same, seldom having anything but
what paid a good margin. Merchants in the mountains
would pay well when they wanted goods, but woe to the man
who had to sell when goods were not in demand.

HIGH PRICES IN THOSE DAYS.

Eggs, at times, would sell at f 1.50 a dozen. One year we
had a large quantity of butter and sold it at |1 a pound,
wholesale, in packages of 100 and 120 pounds. Octagon
steel and rope were articles that brought good prices when
wanted, fifty cents a pound readily, but one-half of that
(when a good supply was in. Sometimes flour would get
scarce and sell at |20 to |30 a sack, and so with coffee, sugar,
and candles. Cove oysters, peaches, canned corn, and wax
candles were like gold dollars — always staple.

In 1866, in closing out our stock at Denver, we traded to
Bartle & Metz, formerly merchants from Bellevue, canned
turkey and chicken, spices, etc., valued at }1,300, for 320
acres of land in Sarpy County, and later sold the same for
116,000.

It took a four-horse stage six days and nights to make the
trip from Denver to Omaha, and the fare one way was |125.
Our food was hot bread, bacon, or side pork, corn bread, dried
apples, unpeeled dried peaches, beans, coffee, and sugar.

The stage driver would commence to whoop a mile or
20

306

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

more from town; and by the time we arrived at a station,
breakfast, dinner, or supper would be under way, and a
team ready to hitch on.

With the competition of the Union Pacific, the freighting
on the overland route from points on the Missouri River to
Denver and Salt Lake ceased, and the base of supplies was
from points on the railroad to army stations and other points
north and south of the road. Among those east of the moun-
tains was Sidney, in Nebraska, 416 miles west of Omaha,
where Pratt and Farris and other freighters in 1876 were
hauling with large cattle, mule, and horse outfits, from Sid-
ney and Fort Sidney to Cam^is Robinson, Sheridan, and the
Black Hills mining centers, such as Ouster Oity, Deadwood,
Lead Oity, and Rapid Oity, and other points, fording the
North Platte some forty miles north of Sidney, near where
Oamp Olarke is at this time.

HOW CLARKE BUILT HIS BRIDGE.

In the winter of 1875 and '76, Stephens & Wilcox of
Omaha and other merchants requested that I should look over
the North Platte line to Oamp Robinson and Sheridan. They
and other Omaha jobbers wanted to make a short line be-
tween Sidney and the military stations and the Black Hills
gold country, which was then going as far west as Ohej^enne,
and crossing the Platte at old Fort Laramie, ninety miles
west of Oamp Olarke, and see if it was practicable to bridge
the Platte at that point. I did so, and reported favorably.
The bridge would be some 2,000 feet or more long. They then
undertook to form a bridge company and put in a bridge, but
found Omaha people were not willing to put money in so
large an undertaking in the Sioux and Oheyenne Indian
country, and had to give it up. Then they came to me and
wanted to know if I would put in a toll bridge and accei)t a
bonus. I answered, "Yes," and the amount named was sat-
isfactory. They soon made up the amount, and I placed
one of my bridge foremen in the lumber yard of Katers k

FREIGHTING — DENVER AND BLACK HILLS. 307

Son, Moline, 111., and Scliruker & Miller, Davenport, la., to
construct the bridge.

The Chicago & Kock Island and the Union Pacific railroads
saw the importance of the move and freighted all material
free of cost from those points to Sidney — consisting of three
large wagon train loads and teamed it from Sidney to the
river.

: The iron was manufactured at Milwaukee and piles se-
cured in the hills southwest from the bridge site. This
bridge was completed in June, 1876, and was one of the
strongest and best of the Platte River bridges, the seventh
one I built, and is still standing. It was strong enough to
carry mining machinery over, on short coupled wagons,
drawn by seven to ten yoke of cattle, being, in fact, strong
enough to carry a railway train.

This bridge is some nine miles east of Chimney Rock and
is seven miles north and west of Court House Rock — old land-
marks on the California, Oregon, and Salt Lake trails, which
are still to be seen, some on river bottoms and some on bench
lands, Avhere the great overland trains went to those west-
ern countries in the '50s and '60s.

There were thousands of carts pushed by men, women,
and children, and I have often thought as I have crossed the
trails from time to time of the suffering of the many un-
fortunates, and of the many buried on the road.

As soon as this bridge was completed there were many
waiting to cross, going north and south.

MADE SIDNEY A GREAT TOWN.

Then came a stampede from the Black Hills, of some 150
people, claiming the mines had played out. Captain Jack
McColl of Lexington, Neb. (late candidate for governor),
with others came to inquire if they could cross the bridge, or
would they have to go east on the north side to the town of
North Platte, about 130 miles away, and cross the combined
Union Pacific and highway bridge, as they all wished to keep

308 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

together, and many of them were broke and had no money.
I replied that they could cross, and those that had money
could pay and those that had none could pass free.

This looked discouraging, and I thought of the old saying,
"a fool and his money soon parted." Fortunately for the
writer, there was much gold in the Black Hills and much
travel from Sidney to points north over the bridge. With the
opening of the bridge and short route between the rail-
road and Sidney, Deadwood, Custer City, Lead City,
Rapid City, and other mining camps, the travel changed
from Cheyenne and other points to Sidney, and in a short
time Sidney was the great starting point for all eastern and
western people, the Indian supplies and travel changing
from Cheyenne to Sidney, and Sidney was the most lively of
any railroad town on the Union Pacific, and the road be-
tween Sidney and the hills was soon black with the people
coming and going.

The postal department of the general government would
not furnish mail to the Hills, claiming it was Indian coun-
try, and they had no interest there, although the revenue de-
partment of the government collected on whisky, tobacco,
etc.

To make a success of my undertaking, I though it desir-
able that there should be mail facilities in the Black Hills,
and put on Clarke's Centennial Express, and opened up post-
offices in all the leading mining camps in the Black Hills.

I placed Centennial envelopes on sale in all the camps,
Omaha, and Chicago, and some of the railroad ticket offices.
I had these made small so as to inclose in ordinary envelopes,
so that parties could send them when writing to friends and
insure quick replies. We made the trips each way once a
week.

The riders had no stopping stations between Sidney and
the bridge, and but one between the bridge and Red Cloud
(Camp Robinson), and none between Camp Robinson (Red
Cloud) and Custer City, some seventy miles. Our riders

FREIGHTING — DENVER AND BLACK HILLS.

309

were men of nerve, and killed many horses in the long rides.
AVhat rest the riders got on the plains would be to stop with
lariat in hand while the ponies fed on the grass.

We paid |100 to |125 per ton for hay, and twelve to fif-
teen cents per pound for corn in the Hills.

I arranged with the postal department to turn over all
mails to me at Sidney, for points in the Hills, and for it to
accept all of my mail at Sidney.

With the Avar department, through Omaha headquarters,
I contracted to carry the army mail between Fort Sidney,
Camp Clarke, and Camp Robinson, and for the government
to give me protection for the bridge, and they built a two-
story block house on the island on which the ends of the
bridge rested. The lower story of the block-house was twenty-
tAvo feet square, and the upper story was thirty-tAvo feet
square ; the upper lying across the corners of the lower story,
making it octagon in shape, AAith port holes on all sides. It
was made of saAA^ed timber, lying one above the other and
spiked doAvn. The roof was also made of saAved timber. They
were anxious to protect the bridge, and placed a squad of
infantry in the block house and a company of cavalry on
the south end of the bridge, at Camp Clarke store and post-
office. They were large patrons of the bridge in passing sup-
plies, quartermasters' commissary stores, artillery, soldiers,
etc., and with the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian war on, as it
was late in 1876 and 1877, it would have been hard for them
to have got along without it. They paid me large sums of
money for the use of the bridge. The nearest bridge west
was ninety miles, at Fort Laramie, and 130 miles to North
Platte City on the east.

The rates for crossing were |2 for two horses, mules, or
oxen, wagon and driver, and was fifty cents for each ad-
ditional horse, mule, ox, or man. I had more fears that
some bad white men Avould burn the bridge than the Indians ;
the latter had ahvays been friendly to me at Bellevue, in
1855, when w^e had 1,000 Omahas and the Sioux and Chey-
ennes, from '76 to '77 and later.

310 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Later on I contracted with March & Stephenson to put
four-horse coaches on to carry my mail, paying them |4,000
per year, and thus get stage services betAveen Sidney, Camp
Clarke, Camp Eobinson, Eapid City, Deadwood, and other
towns and camps in the Hills, and later the government con-
tracted to transport the mails, taking the place of Clarke's
Centennial Express.

The bridge was a great success, but the Centennial Ex-
press was unprofitable, owing to the large expense for men,
horses, and feed.

There were but few buffalo in the valley after 1876. The
last one I saw was an old stray bull, in 1877. In passing
north on the stage I saw him some distance off coming over
the hills. On our return we passed within a few rods of
him, on Greenwood creek, with a score or more of steers, all
frothing at the mouth, trying to drive him away, taking him
for an interloper. They were unsuccessful, as he took his
own time to go. This was near where the Indians had killed
young Schaffer's family, from Plattsmouth, a short time
before.

In the matter of early transportation east and south, there
has been a wonderful change, as formerly we were dependent
on the Missouri River during the season of navigation, when
free from ice. We had the large boats from Omaha to St,
Louis that plied between New Orleans and St. Louis in the
winter season and often 1,000 miles up the river from Omaha
in summer. Many of them were very fine boats, and counted
on ten to fourteen days for a trip from St. Louis to Belle-
vue or Omaha. The fare for passengers was about $20,
which included stateroom with board.

Freight was from thirty-five to forty cents per 100 pounds
on merchandise, and twenty-five to thirty-five cents per 100
on corn, and thirty cents to f 1 per 100 on wheat.

In 1865 I have loaded steamers with wheat at |1 per 100,
or sixty cents a bushel. At that time gold was worth |2.40,
or 140 premium, and wheat |2.40 a bushel. All corn was

FREICaiTING — DENVER AND BLACK HILLS.

311

shipped in gunny bags, a coarse square bag holding about
140 pounds, imported from Calcutta, India. Wheat was
shipped in cotton bags, now selling at fifteen cents apiece.
We paid as high as $1.15 each for them.

I had the pleasure of shipping the first wheat on the
Union Pacific Eailroad, from Fremont and North Bend to
Omaha, purchased by Hon. E. U. Rogers, of Fremont, and
Mr. Cottrell, father of L. R. Oottrell, grain dealer at North
Bend, now of Omaha. I think the freight was twenty- two
cents from Fremont and twenty-five cents from North Bend,
per 100 pounds, about the same price as from Omaha to
Chicago, and more by five cents per 100 pounds than to St.
Louis, at that time by railroad, and that with three great
railroads to St. Louis and five to Chicago, and the Missouri
River a failure for transportation.

WONDROUS TRANSFORMATION.

As we now look back over the past twentj^-five years from
1876, with the loss of Custer and the many faithful follow-
ers, the Cheyenne Indian war — then forty years to the great
Pike's Peak gold discovery, and pushing forward to the
same — then again back to the many thousands of Cali-
fornians and Mormons passing, who w^ent w^est on foot and
by wagon over the great overland route, fifty years ago, we
stand amazed.

Then only a few thousand people lived in Iowa and Ne-
braska along the Missouri River Valley, not knowing w^hat
they had before them — dependent on the Missouri River for
transporting all supplies, save the staples we raised. I have
often thought how fortunate Nebraska people were in hav-
ing Council Bluffs, Glenwood, Rockport, etc., along the east
side of the Missouri River, the same to supply us with flour,
meal, meat, butter, and eggs, and the great river, for a half
of the year, bringing in supplies. Little did we then think
that this great river would be abandoned for commercial
purposes, and which is better to navigate to-day than thirty

312

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

or forty years ago, being free from snags. And then to tliink
of the three great roads to St. Louis and five great roads to
Chicago — a night's ride to St. Louis or Chicago, with
princely Pullman and dining cars attached, instead of a ten
to fourteen days' trip to and from St. Louis.

And then to look to the west — four great roads reaching
to Denver and California and Oregon, and out to the Orient —
a night to Denver and four days to the Pacific Ocean. And
then at the cities of Omaha, Lincoln, and the many fine, ac-
tive cities all over this great state — one of the most healthy,
with more sunlight and the highest degree of education of
any state in the Union, best and most intelligent and pros-
perous people, best soil and markets for the great staple prod-
ucts of life, wheat, corn, oats, cattle, hogs, and sheep; with
the third largest packing industry in the world, and that
only fifteen years old.

May we not stop and think of the wonderful progress we
have made, and what of another fifty years? If it has been
our fortune to see all this, making part of the great link from
London, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, to
Hawaiian Islands, Japan, China, and Australia over our
prairies, what may we or our children see in this, the twen-
tieth century? And why, as we start with it, may it not be
with the feeling that "we have built better than we knew,"
and push forward, resolved, if possible, to make Nebraska
and her people more honored and more happy than in the
past two score and seven years?

For these many years I have been happy with the thought
that my lot has been with this people, and that I, and others,
made no mistake in making this state our home. And as I
look over this gathering, with the few familiar faces, and
the faces of children whose fathers and mothers came here
early and worked for the development of this, their adopted
home, and have passed on to the better land, I feel that
they have left a rich heritage to the younger generation,
little thinking how well they were building.

EARLY FREIGHTING AND CLAIMS CLUB DAYS.

313

EAKLY FKEIGIITING AND CLAIMS CLUB DAYS
IN NEBKASKA.

Written by Eugene Munn, University Place, for the annual meeting of the
Nebraska State Historical Society, January 10, 1900.

At the solicitation of the Historical Society of Nebraska,
1 herewith submit a brief sketch of some of the early times
in Nebraska, and I can best tell it by giving some of my own
experiences.

Being of a venturesome turn of mind, I left a comfortable
home in Ohio for the West in 1855. The fall of 1856 found
me in Nebraska with a resolve to cast my anchor here and
take my chances with the upgrowth of a new country, and
nothing in stock save health and ambition. After drifting
around at this and that until the summer of 1858, I went
into the employ of Russell, Majors & Waddell, who had a
large contract to transport supplies for the army commanded
by Albert Sidney Johnston, which had marched into Utah
to quell the rebellious spirit of the Mormons. To supply this
army required eighty trains of twenty-six wagons each, each
wagon being loaded with 6,000 to 6,500 pounds and drawn
by six yoke of oxen — there being 312 oxen to a train and a
total of 12,500,000 pounds. The total number employed was
2,400 men and 24,960 oxen. For this work, the company re-
ceived |22 to |27 per hundred pounds.

Here I wish to state that at that time there were no settlers
between the Missouri River and Utah, except a limited num-
ber located at the government forts and occasionally a
French squaw-man.

This wild, venturesome life seemed to suit my fancy, and I,
with thousands of others, did not settle down to quiet life
until after the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad when

314

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

tlie opportunity for leading this kind of a roving life was
taken from us. We so-called "overland freighters'' received
for our compensation, as my memory serves me, about |0.75
to |2.25 per hundred pounds for - each one hundred miles,
graded by distance, risk, and competition.

During this period of nine years there were millions of
pounds of supplies hauled by oxen and mules to the interior
forts and mining camps in the mountains of Colorado, Wy-
oming, Utah, and Montana. The supplies for the troops con-
sisted of flour, bacon by the thousands of tons, sugar, coffee,
canned fruits, liquors, and large quantities of corn for the
cavalry horses; for the mining camps they consisted of a
general stock of provisions, groceries of all kinds, and dry
goods and clothing ; while the Utah trade comprised prin-
cipally general merchandise and farm implements.

At this point, I might cite one instance in 1865. I com-
manded a large train bound for Utah, and among the
articles hauled were two "Pitts" separators (thrashers) for
which we received $0.25 per pound freight, gross weight.
These machines were not on trucks, there were no extra straw
carriers, and cost, laid down in Utah, |3,000 to |3,500 each.
We also had twelve combined "Buckeye" harvesters and
mowers, which cost, laid down in Salt Lake City, $1,000
each.

Another instance of a long haul : we delivered in 1864 at
Virginia City, Montana, a distance by wagon road in those
days of 1,400 miles, a complete stock of drugs and store fix-
tures with a quantity of liquor, for which we were paid
$0.28 per pound in gold dust.

These nine years spent in overland freighting were brim-
ful of adventures, crossing swollen streams, in snow storms,
encounters with the Indians, etc.

At one time in 1860 I attempted to swim the Platte Eiver
near the mountains when it was very high, and it came near
being my last swim. I had given up all hopes of life, had
ceased further efforts, and let myself down to drown when,

EARLY FREIGHTING AND CLAIMS CLUB DAYS. 315

to mj great joy, I toiwhcd bottom! I fmally reached the
shore as near droAviied as a man could be and yet not be.

Again in 18G7 in swimming the Missouri Kiver in ^lon-
tana, Avhen the slush ice was running thick, I barely escax>ed
with my life and that of my faithful saddle mule.

These were hairbreadth escapes and yet never so thrilling
and startling as the Indian war-whoop, which would startle
the coolest and most brave and cause his hair to bristle suf-
ficiently to lift his hat in polite response to "Brother Lo."
I have been held up several times at close range, but was for-
tunate enough to get the drop on my antagonist and cause
him to retreat in haste. I never shot an Indian nor had one
shoot me.

While traveling up and down the Platte River Valley, I
had the pleasure of giving the old veteran chief, Red Cloud,
of the Sioux tribe, many a meal of bread, cofee, and bacon.
He was a grand old Indian. On one occasion he came into
Nate Oldham's, a neighboring camp to mine, and asked for
the captain (as the wagonmasters were called). When the
captain was pointed out to him, the old chief approached
and asked for something to eat (they always seemed to be

hungry). The captain answered, "Oh, go away, you!''

when th^ old chief retorted that he had been to Washington
and shaken hand with the "Great Captain" and "you, you

go away, you." It is useless to state that the old chief

got his cup of coffee.

Many of you have heard of and perhaps some of you know
something about the Claim Clubs in the early days of Ne-
braska— in 1856-57. These were committees organized by
the early settlers to protect each other in holding more land
than the United States laws allowed them. The law granted
each bona fide settler 160 acres, while these clubs w^ould claim
everything in sight, and when an outsider came in and
"squatted" on any of this land, which to all appearances, and
of record, was vacant, he was visited by this club, and I am
sorry to say, many were never seen after being taken in
charge by said club.

316 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The undersigned "squatted" on a quarter section in Cass
County in May, 1857, built a claim house, not very expensive
but sufficient to fill the requirements of the law, and lived
in the same long enough to make the claim good. He was
then visited by one of these clubs, known as the Kock Bluffs
Club, consisting of about fifty persons, all armed with vari-
ous kinds of weapons, and all to arrest one lone individual
with nothing more than a pocket-knife about him. For-
tunately, I was acquainted with one of the men, L. R. Box-
ley, an old Virginian. They organized a court and I was
called upon to state my case to the judge and jury, I did so
after this manner, as I was not in a very good humor : first,
I said that a trial was useless and worse than a farce, for I
could read the verdict already in the countenances of the
members of the so-called jury; second, that I was in their
hands and that they could, and would, do with me as they
pleased. At this juncture my old friend Boxley, who came
along with the club as a sort of mediator, stated that he had
known the prisoner favorably, and suggested that the claim-
ant and myself should each choose a man to arbitrate our
claims on said land, to which suggestion I readily assented,
as it was the only and best way out of it. The result was, I
was paid |5 per day for the five days that I had put in on the
claim, with the privilege of moving my house off.

The census of 1855 gave Otoe County a population of
1,188; Douglas County, 1,028; and next, Cass County, 712.
The census complete gave the Territory 4,491 inhabitants.
In 1856, when the writer landed in Otoe County, Nebraska
City was considered the largest town in the Territory, having
a population of about 2,000.

The early settlers located near the river, none venturing
back far, for all had to depend on the steamboat traffic on
the Missouri River for supplies. Almost everything that was
needed was brought up the river by steamboat. Pine lum-
ber sold at from |60 to |100 per thousand feet, and every
other article was proportionately as high.

EARLY FREIGHTING AND CLAIMS CLUB DAYS.

317

Among my early acquaintances in Nebraska were Hon. J.
Sterling Morton, N. S. Harding, J. J. Hostetler, the Hawks
brothers — Robert, Jacob, and George, the two former having
long since passed away — William Bischof, Hon. Antone
Zimmer, and T. M. Marquett, general attorney for the B. &
M. R. R., formerly of Plattsmouth. He died here some years
ago, and, no doubt, is well remembered hj many Lincoln
citizens.

318.

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

THE BUILDING OP THE PIEST CAPITOL AND IN-
SANE HOSPITAL AT LINCOLN— KEMOVAL
OP ARCHIVES.

^Written for the Nebraska State Historical Society by Franklin Ball,
Palmyra, Neb.

The most important event in the history of the State at
this period (1867) is the removal of the capital from Omaha
to Lincoln, the founding of the capital in the midst of an
almost unbroken prairie, and the location of the capitol by
Governor Butler, Auditor Gillespie, and Secretary Kennard
as commission for selecting a site. The afternoon of July
29, 1867, having examined all the favorable sites there, the
selection was made, Lancaster having received two votes on
the first ballot and Ashland one. On the second ballot it
was made unanimous in favor of Lancaster. The ground
was broken for the foundation (the honor of which was given
to Master Pred Martin Donovan, the first child born to the
oldest settler of Lancaster County) January 11, 1868. The
contract for furnishing the material and labor and erecting
the building was awarded to James Ward, of Chicago, for
the sum of }65,000.

There was a sod building with a board roof east of the
capitol which was built for a boarding house and was used
as such until there was a boarding house built down town,
so that the men could get places to board. The south end of
the sod house was used for a dining room. On the sides
were bunks for the men to sleep in. They cooked in the north
end. In the northwest corner was a small room which Mr.
Ward had his office in, until about the 1st of October, 1868.
After it was abandoned for a boarding house it was used
for a carpenter shop.

FIRST CAPITOL AND INSANE HOSPITAL.

319

The foundation was built from stone south of Lincoln.
The stone came from Beatrice quarries in Gage county, and
most of it was drawn by oxen. The sandstone came from
Yankee Hill quarries. The lime was burned up Salt Creek.
Some of the sand was taken out east of the capitol until the
hole caved in and killed the young man who was drilling for
the sand. After that it came from the west. The lumber
came by the way of Nebraska City. One lot of lumber was
brought on the river. It took so many wagon loads that it
would be impossible to get the capitol done by the 1st of De-
cember, for we were fifty miles from the Missouri River, and
it was almost impossible to get any material in season.

The money to build the capitol was from the proceeds of
the sale of lots, which was to be deposited with the State
Treasurer. This was not complied with because of the rumor
that the enemies of the enterprise would enjoin the Treasurer
against payment of money upon warrants on the building
fund, which most likely would have defeated the commis-
sioners, for it would have delayed operations till too late to
secure the erection of the state house, even if the courts had
not sustained the injunction. The money was kept where nO
man knew about it but the commissioners. One man said
that lots of money was paid out and no record kept of it.
Everything was kept so that the enemies of building the
capitol could not get hold of anything, so as to stop the
building. They claimed that the location of the capital was
not constitutional, for it should be by the votes of the people.
The building of the capitol went on slowly until about the
1st of December, 18G9. About that time Governor Butler
issued a proclamation announcing the removal of the seat
of government to Lincoln and ordered the transfer of the
archives of the State to the new capitol from Omaha. The
teams were got and all books and fixtures were boxed and
loaded up for Lincoln. The roads were bad and the weather
was bad, and some of the teams were on the road from six
to ten days. As they arrived at Lincoln they were unloaded

320 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

in the corridors of the capitol. Then the book boxes were
assorted out and rolled into the library. The boxes for the
Governor's rooms were put in his department, and those for
the other departments in their place, and the work of un-
packing the boxes and putting them in order was done. Then
came the teams with the furniture for the capitol. Some of
the teams were so long on the road that they used up all the
money the drivers had with them, so they went to the Gov-
ernor for some money to get back to Omaha with. Governor
Butler said that he did not have any money that belonged to
the State ; but they could not get home Avithout money, so he
gave each one |5 of his own money. He said he would
soon run out of money himself. Governor Butler with some
help put his offices in order. Secretary Kennard put his of-
fice in order, and finally Auditor John Gillespie put his
office in order with some help. It was said by some, ^'Now
let the enemies of the capitol swear out an injunction if they
want to.''

The men came from Omaha to put up the furniture. They
were about two weeks at the work. As they wanted help, Mr.
Ward let Mr. Ball help them. John Monteith with his sew-
ing machine sewed the window curtains. He worked in one
of the Auditor's rooms. The desks were most of them green
walnut, and poor at that. The carpets were poor. On New
Year's Day the Governor and Secretary were in the room
under Kepfresentative Hall when some of the hands said to
the Governor that he ought to set up the treats. The Gov-
ernor soon came back and said, "Come down to my room
when you get through work." We all went to the rooms, and
in a few minutes Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Kennard said, "Come
into the dining-room." We all sat down to one of the finest
suppers that any men ever sat down to. On the Tth day of
January, 1869, the capitol was not all finished, but the legis-
lature met there. All of the archives had arrived from
Omaha and from the prairie and they were thawed out, and
the new seat of government was in full start, and all the men

FIRST CAPITOL AND INSANE HOSPITAL.

321

paid off. One man said, Where did this money come from?"
"You got your pay, and none of your business where it came
from/^

With Governor Butler in his office, Secretary Kennard in
his office. Auditor Gillespie in his office, the Senate with E.
B. Taylor, of Douglas County, president, S. M. Chapman,
secretary. The House officers were lion. William McLen-
nan, of Otoe County, as speaker, John Brown as chief clerk,
James Stewart, treasurer, N. Brock, deputy.

Governor Butler and Secretary Kennard lived in the
room under Representative Hall.

The bill locating and appropriating funds for the first
insane hospital building in Nebraska was introduced in the
legislature and passed in 1868. The commissioners, David
Butler, T. P. Kennard, and John Gillespie, located the hos-
pital on Yankee Hill, three miles southwest of Lincoln.
Joseph Ward, of Lincoln, received the contract September
15, 1869. The building was completed at a cost of |13T,000
and accepted by the commissioners November 29, 1870. The
basement was put in in the fall of 1869; the work com-
menced on the superstructure in March, 1870. Elick, from
Chicago, was foreman of the stone-work, and Franklin Ball
foreman of the wood-work. Ballantine & Bro. furnished
most of the lumber for the building. The sandstone was got
out south of the building on Yankee Hill. The sandstone
for the ashler came from near Crete. The limestone for
the window caps and other trimming came from near
Ashland.

Mr. Binwell had the contract for furnishing the sand and
water. The men employed on the building were homestead-
ers. Mr. Ward and Mr. Ball gave the work to these men
because they were residents of the State. Men who came
to Lincoln and wanted to work for a short time did not like
it much. The first asylum was set on fire in the attic of the
wing by putting a candle on one of the joists and putting
shavings and sticks, so when the candle burned down it set
21

1
1
1

322 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. '

the shayings on fire. The fire was put out by hard work.
The rain had filled the tank and cistern with water so the
men had plenty of water to put out the fire with. It Avas set
by some one when the painters went to dinner. We opened
the windows and doors so the smoke blew out of the main
building. The water was carried up the stairs in pails and
paint buckets, and we cut holes in the roof and threw water
in the holes till the fire was put out.

The institution was opened December 22, 1870. Dr. Lash
was superintendent, with twenty-six inmates. The asylum
was burned April 17, 1871, and three inmates are supposed
to have perished, as that number were missing. The build-
ing w^as rebuilt at the cost of |70,000. The commissioners
for the new building were W. E. Shill, D. W. Scott, and
Samuel Maxwell.

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NEBRASKA.

323

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NEBRASKA.

The article on "The UndergToimd Railroad in Nebraska,"
by Alice A. Minick, in the published proceedings of the Ne-
braska State Historical Society, Vol. 2 (second series), p.
70, has attracted my attention.

I was with the emigrants to Kansas from Milwaukee, Wis.,
who preceded the Lane party in 1856. We crossed the river
at Nebraska City in a scow and made the first road from that
point direct to Topeka, Kan. Over that road the same fall,
in September, 1856, I assisted in running north a fugitive
black slave. We took him over the river at Nebraska City,
and turned him over to an agent of the underground rail-
road (a Congregational minister) at Oskaloosa, Iowa. As
that was the first road built in this direction from the south
I am inclined, to think this Avas the first passenger on the
U. G. R. R. through Nebraska from Kansas via Topeka, Kan.

John E. Rastall^
334 Dearborn St.,
Chicago, 111.

U.— PROCEEDINGS.

PEOCEEDINGS.

TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING.

University Chapel^ January 11, 1898.

The Society was called to order by the President, Hon. J.
Sterling Morton, at 8 :00 p.m.

The next order of business was calling of the roll by the
Secretary. A quorum answered to their names. There being
no other business, the program of the evening was entered
upon.

The first paper was presented by the President, Hon. J.
Sterling Morton, "Territorial Newspapers of Nebraska.'-
Dr. George L. Miller, of Omaha, next read a paper entitled
"Newspapers and Newspaper Men of the Territorial Days."

As the hour Avas late, the Secretary presented two papers
by title: one by Hon. D. W. Carpenter, "Pioneer Journal-
ism,'' and the other by Hadley D. Johnson concerning his
recollections of early days. After remarks by the President,
the Society adjourned till Wednesday evening, January 12.

J. Sterling Morton^
H. W. Caldwell^ President,
Secretary.

University Chapel^ January 12, 1898.

The Society met according to announcement and was
called to order by the President, J. Sterling Morton. The re-
port of the meeting of January 12 and 13, 1897, was read by
the Secretary, and after one or two minor corrections was
adopted. The Treasurer's report was then read, and on mo-
tion was received and adopted. The total amount of money
reported on hand was $3,121.70.

Mr. Barrett then presented a report as librarian, which,
on motion, was received and placed on file.

328 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The following names were then presented for membership,
and by consent the rules were suspended and the same unani-
mously elected members: Thomas W. Bell, Palmyra; W. W.
Woodward, Palmyra; Nelson C. Brock, Lincoln; John G.
Maher, Chadron; William F. Martin, Bellevue; William E.
Connelley, Beatrice; Mrs. Nelia Hammond, Indianola.

Under the order of new business Governor Robert W. Fur-
nas called attention to the fact that Mr. William E. Connel-
ley was present with many documents relating to the early
history of Nebraska Territory and the Wyandot Indians. At
his request, the Secretary was asked to explain the whole
matter to the Society. The Secretary then outlined the
subject and suggested that Mr. Connelley was the man to
give the most important information. After a discussion of
the subject by Mr. Connelley, Mr. Gillespie, and others, Mr.
Barrett made a motion that a committee of five be appointed
by the chair with power to consult with Mr. Connelley in
regard to the purchase or publication by the Society of the
documents in Mr. Connelley's possession. The chair named
as such committee, Ex-Gov. R. W. Furnas, J. A. Barrett,
Hon. C. H. Gere, Hon. A. J. Sawyer, and Prof. H. W. Cald-
well. The committee was given full power to complete all
arrangements with Mr. Connelley to secure the manuscripts
for publication and to provide for necessary expenses.

The next order of business was the election of officers for
the next year, which resulted as follows :

President, J. Sterling Morton.

First Vice-President, R. W. Furnas.

Second Vice-President, G. M. Lambertson.

Treasurer, C. H. Gere.

Secretary, H. W. Caldwell.

A very interesting paper was then read by Hon. A. J.
Sawyer on "The Habeas Corpus Case of the Lincoln City
Council." Mr. T. H. Tibbies then discussed "The Ponca
Habeas Corpus Case." The Society after this adjourned to

PROCEEDINGS.

329

join with the Horticultural Society in eatin<; apples and in a
social time.

J. Sterling Morton,

H. W. Caldwell, President.

Secretary/,

Resolution of the committee appointed January 12, 1898,
to act on the matter of the Connelley manuscripts.
Resolved, That the Secretary be authorized to publish

I, 500 copies of the first volume, the volume not to exceed 400
pages, from the historical documents submitted by ^Villiam
E. Connelley, the same to be edited, copy furnished, and
proof read by Mr. Connelley. That the President and Sec-
retary be authorized to draw a warrant for the purchase of
a typewriter with a desk for Mr. William E. Connelley, in
compensation for his services in preparing the copy and
reading proof for the above mentioned volume.

That when the volume is published, 500 copies of the same
shall be delivered by the Secretary free of cost to the said
William E. Connelley in compensation for his labor in
getting the material for the volume.

H. W. Caldwell.

TREASUEER'S REPORT.

Lincoln, Neb., January 12, 1898.
Ho7i. J. Sterling Morton, President of the Nebraska State
Historical Society:
I have the honor to make the following report of the re-
ceipts and expenditures of the State Historical Society for
the year ending with this date :

receipts.

Bank Account,
On hand in First National Bank, Lincoln, January

12, 1897 1450 20

Received, membership fees 36 00

330

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

From sale of badges | 2 80

Cash contribution, H. W. Caldwell 25 00

Interest on deposits 13 40

Total |527 40

State Treasury Account.
Amount on hand January 12, 1897 $695 94

EXPENDITURES.

Warrants drawn for salaries and expenses

to April 1, 1897 $374 66

Covered back into the treasury April 1 . . . 321 28

Total to April 1 695 94

Appropriation received April 1, 1897 |3,500 00

Warrants drawn to January 12, 1898 895 66

Balance in treasury |2,604 34

Check on First National Bank for sundries 10 00
Balance in bank 517 40

Total balance on hand |3,121 74

Very ' respectfully,

^ C. H. Gere^

Treasurer,

TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL MEETING, 1899.

University Chapel_, January 10, 1899.

The President of the Society, Hon. J. Sterling Morton,
called the Society to order at 8:15 p.m. The roll call- was
dispensed with by a vote moved by Mr. H. T. Clarke, of
Omaha, and the reading of papers was taken up as the next
order of business. The papers were in the following order
and without discussion except the third one :

President's address, "My Last Buffalo Hunt,'' Hon. J.
Sterling Morton. "A Nebraska Episode of the Wyoming
Cattle War," Hon. A. E. Sheldon. "Some Peculiar Features
of the Nebraska Constitution," C. S. Lobingier.

PROCEEDINGS.

331

On the last paper, Mr. Victor Kosewater, of Omaha, sug-
gested corrections concerning the nominations in 1804 and
the calling of the constitutional convention, which called
forth remarks by Mr. Lobingier, Mr. Sheldon, and Mr. Ilose-
water again.

It was moved by Mr. Barrett that the biography of Mr.
Dundy, prepared by Mr. Towle, of Palls City, be read by title,
Mr. Towle not being present. It was seconded and carried.

Further business w^a§ postponed by motion until after the
program of January 11, and the Society adjourned to Wed-
nesday evening.

University Chapel, January 11, 1899.

The President called the Society to order, announcing
that the manuscripts of ex-Senator Thomas W. Tipton, en-
titled ^'Forty Years of Nebraska, at Home and in Congress/'
had been placed in the hands of the Society and would be
published in due time.

The papers for the evening were, first, "The Mormon Set-
tlements in the Missouri Valley," by Clyde B. Aitchison, of
Council Bluffs; second, ''My First Trip from Salt Basin to
Omaha," by W. W. Cox; third, ''Early Keminiscences," by
Mrs. C. Irvine (Oregon, Mo.) ; "The Gilmore Reminiscences,"
(read by title), and the "Chilcott Diary" (read by title).

Mr. Aitchison's paper dealt with the emigration of the
Latter Day Saints from Illinois to Utah, and the settle-
ments made by them along their routes of travel. The paper
of Mr. Cox concerned a Kepublican convention of 1862, of
which the writer w^as a member, and a Democratic conven-
tion which met at the same time, both at Omaha. The Chil-
cott diary was kept by a Mrs. Chilcott in Burt County, dur-
ing 1856, and parts of several other years. The Gilmore
Reminiscences were obtained from Benjamin Gilmore, of
Stewartsville, Mo., who, by courtesy of the Missouri Pacific
Railroad and Burlington Railroad, visited the Historical So-
ciety in December, 1898. Mr. Gilmore came to Bellevue, in

332

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

the "Indian Country," in 1832, at the age of seventeen, as
government blacksmith to the Otoes. At the same time his
father occupied the same position in respect to the Missouris.
Benjamin Gilmore acted in that capacity seven or eight
years, and for about the same length of time thereafter was
interpreter for traders and travelers, and was, in fact, the
interpreter through whom Moses Merrill preached his ser-
mons to the Otoes, 1833-1840. Mr. Gilmore left the Ne-
braska country in 1849.

Mr. H. T. Clarke mentioned coming to Lincoln with oth-
ers, to help select a site for the capitol, and camping at a
two-story stone house near Eighth and Q streets.

Following the literary program the Society held a business
meeting. The Treasurer's report was read and approved,
following the approval of the Secretary's minutes of the pre-
vious meeting. The officers elected for the ensuing year
were:

President, Hon. J. Sterling Morton.
First Vice-President, Hon. Robert W. Furnas.
Second Vice-President, Hon. G. M. Lambertson.
Secretary, Prof. Howard W. Caldwell.
Treasurer, Hon. Charles H. Gere.

A resolution was adopted calling for biographies of mem-
bers of the Society who had died during the year. After
election of the following members, the Society adjourned :

Active Members. — E. E. Blackman, Roca; J. W. Searson,
Grand Island; Charles Kuhlmann, Grand Island; John C.
Barnard, Omaha; Clement C. Chase, Omaha; E. Franklin,
Lincoln; F. S. Philbrick, Lincoln; Bertha Pinkerton, Lin-
coln; F. G. Franklin, Lincoln; Mrs. T. H. Tibbies, Lincoln;
Mr. T. H. Tibbies, Lincoln; Edwin S. Towle, Falls City; W.
F. Parker, Florence; Hugh O'Neill, O'Neill; J. F. S. Smith,
Elgin; J. S. Fretz, Geranium; Miss Edith Tobitt, Omaha;
Peter Jansen, Jansen; F. F. Loomis, Butler County; Mrs.
Harriet S. MacAIurphy, Omaha; Ed Whitcomb, Friend;
Everett Swain, Springfield; S. A. Gardiner, Lincoln; John

PROCEEDINGS.

333

Turner, Indianola; W. II. Davis, Seward; Dr. O. L. Cox,
Cortland.

Honorary. — Ex-Senator T. W. Tipton, Wasliington, D. C;
Benjamin Gilmore, SteAvartsville, Missouri ; Mr. and ^Irs.
Charles Irvine, Oregon, Missouri; Mr. S. E. Upton, Lincoln.

J. Sterling Morton^
Jay Amos Barrett^ President.

Asst. Secretary and Librarian.

TREASUKER'S REPORT, 1899.

Hon. J. Sterling Morton ^ President:

The following is the report of receipts and expenses of the
State Historical Society for the year ending January 11,
1899:

RECEIPTS.

Balance on hand January 12, 1898, in First Na-

tional Bank, Lincoln f 517 40

Received, membership fees 8 00

Interest on deposit to January 11, 1899 15 00

Balance in State Treasury January 12, 1898 2,604 34

Total to be accounted for |3,144 74

By warrants drawn on the Treasurer for

salaries, supplies, printing, etc |2,032 77

Leaving balance in bank I 540 40

Balance in Treasury 571 57

Total balance on hand 11,111 97

Respectfully,

C. H. Gere,

Treasurer.

334

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

TWENTY-THIKD ANNUAL MEETING/ 1900.

Lincoln^ Neb.^ January 9, 1900.

Society called to order by President J. Sterling Morton.
After roll-call, the program of the evening occupied the en-
tire evening until after ten o'clock.

The first address was by President J. Sterling Morton on
the early industrial life of Nebraska, emphasizing the diffi-
culties of the early settlers before the advent of railroads
and improved means of transportation.

Dr. L. J. Abbott next presented a paper on the state Ee-
publican convention of 1870 and the incidents of the cam-
paign; a character sketch of Governor Butler. The next
paper was a very appreciative sketch of the life of Hon.
Champion S. Chase by his son, Clement C. Chase. The Sec-
retary read a paper prepared by Mr. David Anderson, of
South Omaha, concerning the first settlement of Nebraska.
^'Pioneer Days in Boone County,'' prepared by Mr. John
Turner, of Indianola, was read by title and accepted for
printing.

Hon. E. W. Furnas asked further time to prepare a paper
on Ex-Senator T. W. Tipton, which, on motion, was granted.
The Society then adjourned to meet on Wednesday evening
at 7 :30.

J. Sterling Morton^
H. W. Caldwell^ President.
Secretary.

Lincoln, January 10, 1900.
Meeting called to order by President, J. Sterling Morton,
at 8:10 P.M.

The first paper was presented by Mrs. T. J. Wilburn, of
Greenwood, on the "Life and Services of William F. Chapin."

The subject of freighting in the early days was discussed
by Major C. Anderson and Eev. T. K. Tyson in a very inter-
esting manner. Ex-Governor Thayer made an elaborate
statement in regard to the "Pawnee War." The discussion

PROCEEDINGS.

335

was precipitated by some statements in Mr. David Ander-
son's paper which had been read the preceding evening. Ow-
ing to the* lateness of the liour, further discussion was dis-
pensed Avith, and the Society proceeded to the election of
officers, hearing reports, and transacting such other business
as came before it for action.

The minutes of the preceding meeting were read and ap-
proved. The Secretary presented his annual report, and the
Librarian made some interesting statements in regard to the
growth and development of the Society.

The election of officers resulted in the following selections :

President, J. Sterling Morton, Nebraska City.

First Vice-President, K. W. Furnas, Brownville.

Second Vice-President, 0. S. Lobingier, Omaha.

Secretary, H. W. Caldwell, Lincoln.

Treasurer, C. H. Gere, Lincoln.

On motion of Hon. R. W. Furnas a committee of five was
appointed to confer with a like committee from the Terri-
torial Pioneers' Society, to consider the desirability of merg-
ing the two societies, and also the question of having an an-
nual banquet. The committee consisted of Hon. C. H. Gere,
A. J. Sawyer, James North, H. T. Clarke, and Isaac Pollard.

The following committees were then appointed by the
President :

1. On Publication. — The President, S. L. Geisthardt, C. S.
Lobingier.

2. On Obituaries.— R. W. Furnas, G. L. Miller, Dr. L. J.
Abbott.

3. On Program. — The Secretary, H. W. Hardy, A. E.
Sheldon.

4. On Library.— J. A. Barrett, Mrs. S. B. Pound, F. M.
Fling.

5. On Museums and Collections. — The Librarian, C. S.
Paine, C. C. Chase.

The Committee on Museum and Collections is a new com-
mittee, provided for by an amendment of the By-laws, on
motion of the Secretary.

336

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The following names were presented for membership, and
on motion unanimously elected :

Active.— Chas. Q. De France, S. J. Alexander, Clyde Bar-
nard, Mrs. J. A. Barrett, Dr. H. J. Winnett, N. 0. Abbott,
Gen. John M. Thayer, W. W. Watson, Major C. Anderson,
Mrs. C. S. Paine, W. S. Heitzman, Rev. T. K. Tyson, James
North, M. M. Warner, Miss Sarah Harris, Eugene Munn,
Mrs. R. W. Furnas, A. K. Goudy, E. O. Miller, Frank Miller,
Mrs. T. J. Wilburn, Mrs. S. Kirkpatrick Harmon, F. G.
Hawksby, A. T. Richardson.

Honorary. — As an honorary member the name of Mr.
D. E. Longsdorf, of Pennsylvania, was presented, and on mo-
tion elected.

Adjourned.

J. Sterling Morton^
H. W. Caldv^ell^ President,
Secretary,

MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE

SOCIETY.

LINCOLN;, January 25, 1900.

Present: President J. Sterling Morton, Treasurer C. H.
Gere, and Secretary H. W. Caldwell. Absent: the first and
second vice-presidents, R. W. Furnas, C. S. Lobingier.

A suggestion was received from Chancellor C. E. Bessey
that the Board request the Regents to set aside a location on
the campus for a building to be used by the Historical So-
ciety, this request to be presented to the Regents at their
February meeting. The Secretary was instructed to draw
up and present such a request.

The Board also passed a resolution affirming the policy
adopted by the Secretary and the Librarian in regard to the
disposal and management of the books published by the So-
ciety. The general spirit of the Board was that these vol-
umes should go only to active members of the Society, or to

PROCEEDINGS.

337

those who have given an equivalent in some form. The gen-
eral policy of conserving the publications as carefully as
possible to be followed. The books to be used as exchange
material in the main.

The Board also requested the Secretary to enter into im-
mediate correspondence with the following persons for the
purpose of securing an account of the life and work of dis-
tinguished Nebraskans who had died during the last year :

1. That Governor Furnas be requested to prepare a care-
ful life of ex-Senator T. W. Tipton, to be furnished the So-
ciety for preservation and ultimate publication.

2. That Mr. W. E. Annin, Phoenix, Ariz., be asked, in the
name of the Society and of Mr. Morton and Mr. Gere espe-
cially, to prepare immediately a life of Senator A. S.
Paddock, to be furnished the Society for publication.

3. That Mrs. Alvin Saunders be corresponded with in
regard to the preparation of a life of Governor and Senator
Saunders, either by herself or by some one chosen by herself.

4. That Miss Sara Burrows be consulted in regard to a life
of her father.

5. That Miss Sarah Harris be asked to prepare a life of
N. S. Harwood for the Society.

6. That Col. W. F. Cody be urged to prepare immediately
a life of Col. Alexander Majors.

All these biographies to be seen to at once. The Secretary
was also urged to correspond with the various members of
the standing committees to see if they can not be gotten to
do more efficient work.

It was also resolved "That the salary of Jay A. Barrett be
raised to (flOO) one hundred dollars per month, to begin
with the next fiscal year, April 1, 1900."

The Secretary and Mr. J. A. Barrett were also authorized
to employ such assistance as was needed and the funds would
justify, for office work, and to assist in arranging newspapers
for binding, etc. They were authorized to employ help by the
month or by the hour as the necessities demanded.

338

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Satisfaction was expressed in regard to the growth of the
Society, but to facilitate its work still more Mr. 0. S. Paine
was made the Society's "agent'' for collecting curios, Indian
relics, noAvspapers, etc., without salary, under the title of
the State Historical Society's "Collector."

Adjourned.

H. W. Caldwell^
Secretary.

TREASURER'S REPORT, 1900.

Lincoln^ Neb.^ January 8, 1900.
Hon. J. Sterling Morton^ President:

Sir — I have the honor to report the following account of
receipts and expenses of the Nebraska State Historical So-
ciety for the year ending January 8, 1900 :

state auditor's ACCOUNT.

Balance on hand January 9, 1899, appropriation

of 1897 1 648 22

Appropriation of 1899 5,000 W

Total receipts |5,648 22

Warrants drawn in vouchers for salaries of officers,
printing, stationery, postage, express, and sun-
dries $2,079 70

Balance on hand in state treasury |3,568 52

BANK ACCOUNT.

Balance in First National Bank of Lincoln, Janu-
ary 9, 1899 1 540 40

Interest on deposits 15 00

Checks drawn on salary vouchers 50 00

Balance on deposit , . . . . 505 40

Total balance on hand 1^,073 92

G. H. Gere,

Treasurer,

LIST OP MEMBERS.

339

LIST OF ELECTED MEMBERS.

In the following list the aim has been to include the names
of all who have been elected to membership, from 1879 to
1901, and the charter members of 1878. Some have not com-
pleted their membership by paying the required initiation
fee, and such names are omitted in the mailing lists. Those
knoAvn to be dead are marked with a star. Members so rarely
communicate with the office of the Historical Society that
errors can not be eliminated in the addresses, and corrections
of the list should be sent to the Society office whenever
possible.

* Abbott, Dr. L. J. (1896).

Abbott, N. C, Philippine Isl. (1900).

Adair, William (1878). '

Aitchison, Clyde B., Council Bluffs (1894).

Alexander, S. J., Lincoln (1900).

♦Allen, J. T. (1878).

Ames, J. H., Lincoln (1878).

Anderson, Major C, South Omaha (1900).

♦Andrews, Dr.- Israel W. cor. (1886).

Annin, W. E., Denver (1901).

Aughey, Prof. Samuel (1878).

Austin, L. L. H. (1894).

Baer, J. N., Lincoln (1894).

Ball, Franklin, Palmyra (1895).

Barbour, Prof. E. H.," Lincoln (1897).

Barnard, Clyde, Table Rock (1900).

Barnard, John C, Omaha (1899).

Barrett, Mrs. J. A., Lincoln (1900).

Barrett, Jay Amos, Lincoln ( 1891 ) .

Bassett, S. C, Gibbon (1894).

Bell, Thomas W., Palmyra (1898).

Bennett, Prof. Charles E., Ithaca, N. Y. (1890).

Bessey, Prof. Charles E., Lincoln (1885).

Bixby, A. L., Lincoln (1901).

Blackman, E. E., Roca (1899).

♦Blakeley, William (1893) ; died l-2-'98.

Blakeley, Maggie ( 1893 ? ) .

Blakely, Nathan, Beatrice (1893?).

♦Bowen, John S. (1880?).

340

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Bowen, William E., Omaha (1880?).

Bowers, W. D., Seward (1888).

Bowman, O. K., Waverly (1901).

Broady, Judge J. H., Lincoln (1892).

Brock, Nelson C, Lincoln (1898).

Brockman, Hon. J. M., Stella (1893).

Brodfehrer, J. C, Dakota City (1879).

Brown, H. W., Lincoln (1891).

Brown, J. H. (1878).

Bruner, Prof. Lawrence, Lincoln (1894).

Bruner, Uriali, West Point (1894).

♦Budd, J. J. (1878).

♦Burnham, Leavitt (1891).

Burress, J. Monroe, Auburn (1896).

*Butler, Hon. David (1880).

*Cadman, John (1878).

Caldwell, Prof. H. W., Lincoln (1885).

Campbell, D. A., Lincoln (1893).

Canfield, Dr. James H., New York City (1892).

Chadsey, C. E., San Jose, Cal. (1891).

Charde, Mrs. A. B., Omaha (1901).

Chase, Clement C, Omaha (1899).

Chapin, Kev. E. H. (1890).

Chapman, Judge S. M., Plattsmouth (1886).

♦Childs, E. P. (1887).

Church, Prof. G. E., San Francisco, Cal. (1880).

Clarke, H. T., Omaha (1878).

♦Clarkson, Bishop R. H. (1878).

Clements, E. G., Lincoln (1901).

Colby, Mrs. Clara B., Beatrice (1883).

Colby, Gen. L. W., Beatrice (1895).

Connelley, William E., Topeka, Kan. (1898).

Cooke, H. F., Beatrice (1895).

Cornell, C. H., Valentine (1901).

*Correll, E. M. (1895).

Cox, Dr. O. L., Cortland (1899).

Cox, S. D., Minatare (1886).

Cox, W. W., Cortland (1888).

Craig, Hiram, Blair (1878).

Crounse, Hon. Lorenzo, Fort Calhoun (1878).

Croxton, J. H. (1878).

Culver, J. H., Milford (1895),

LIST OF MEMBERS.

341

Darling, Charles W., Utica, N. Y., cor, (1886).

Davidson, S. P., Tecumseh (1886).

Davies, J. A., Butte, Neb. (1894).

Davis, W. R., Seward (1899).

Dawes, H. E., Lincoln (1894).

Dawes, Hon. J. W., New York City (1886).

De France, Charles Q., Lincoln (1900).

Dickey, Mrs. Laura N., Palmyra (1897).

Dinsmore, J. B., Sutton (1883).

Doane, George W., Omaha (1878).

Dobbs, Hugh J., Beatrice (1895).

Daugherty, M. A., Sidney (1880).

Dudley, Lieut. Edgar S., West Point Mil. Acad. (1888).

Dundey, Charles, Omaha (1901).

♦Dundy, Judge Elmer S. (1878).

Dunlap, J. P., Dwight (1891).

Dunphy, L. A., Aurora (1894).

Eller, W. H., Greensboro, N. C. (1883).

Famham, Geo. L. ( 1888 ) .

Fechet, Major E. G., U. S. A. (1896).

Fifield, L. B., Minneapolis, Minn. (1878).

Fitzgerald, Rev. D. G., Grafton (1884).

Fletcher, Miss Alice, Washington D. C, hon. (1885).

Fling, Prof. F. M., Lincoln (1894).

*Fontanelle, Henry (1895).

Fort, L A., North Platte (1895).

Franklin, E., Lincoln (1899).

Franklin, F. G. (1899).

Fretz, J. S., Geranium, Valley Co. (1899).

*Fulton, S. A. (1878).

Furnas, Hon. R. W., Brownville (1878).

Furnas, Mrs. R. W., Brownville (1900).

Gallagher, John, Fairbury (1890).

Garber, Hon Silas, Red Cloud (1878).

Gardiner, S. A., Lincoln (1899).

Geisthardt, S. L., Lincoln (1887).

Gere, Hon. C. H., Lincoln (1886).

Gere, Mrs. C. H., Lincoln (1893).

Gilmore, Benjamin, Stewartsville, Mo., hon. (1899).

Gilmore, William, Plattsmouth (1878).

Goss, J. Q., Bellevue (1878).

Godfrey, Mrs. A. S., Lincoln (1896).

342

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Goudy, A. K, Lincoln (1900).

Gould, Charles H., Lincoln (1901).

Green, Lucy Garrison, Lincoln (1895).

Green, Dr. William, Lincoln (1895).

Gregory, Lewis, Lincoln (1890).

Grenell, E. N., Lincoln (1878).

Griggs, N, K., Lincoln (1887).

Hall, P. J. (1892).

Hall, Dr. P. L., Lincoln (1897).

*Hamilton, Rev. William, hon. (1880).

Hammond, Mrs. Nelia, Indianola (1898).

Hanna, Charles H., New York City (1895).

Harding, N. S., Nebraska City (1895).

Hardy, H. W., Lincoln (1879).

Harmon, Mrs. S. Kirkpatrick (1900).

Harris, Miss Sarah, Lincoln (1900).

Harsha, W. J. (1887).

Hartley, E. T., Lincoln (1884).

*Hartman, Chris (1878).

*Hastings, Major A. G. (1878).

Hastings, George H., Crete (1894).

Hawkes, Mrs. Nellie, Friend (1901).

Hawksby, F. G., Auburn (1900).

Heitzman, W. S., Beatrice (1900).

Hendershot, F. J., Hebron (1887).

Hiatt, C. W., Lincoln (1883).

Hoover, W. H., Lincoln (1895).

Howard, Prof. George E., Boston (1885).

*Humphrey, Austin (1878).

*Ingersoll, Prof. C. L. (1894).

Irvine, Charles, Oregon, Mo., hon. (1899).

Irvine Mrs. Charles, Oregon, Mo., hon. (1899).

Jansen, Peter, Jansen (1899).

* Johnson, Hadley D., hon. (1887).

Jones, D. J., Chicago (1891).

Jones, W. W. W., Denver (1879).

*Kaley, H. S. (1878).

Keim, A. R., Falls City (1886).

Kelly, Judge W. B., Omaha (1901).

Kendall, F. L. (1894).

Kennard, Hon. T. P., Lincoln (1878).

Kenyon, F. B., TufPt's College, Mass,

UST OF MEMBERS.

343

Kulilmann, Charles, Grand Island (1899).
La Master, Hugh, Tecumseh (ISOeS).
La Master, Joseph E., Tecumseh (1888).
Lambert, W. B., Neli^h (1894).
Lambertson, Hon. G. M., Lincoln (1895).
Leavitt, T. H., Lincoln (1889).
Leach, A. J., Neligh (1901).
*Lemon, T. B. (1888).
Lewis, Henry E., Lincoln (1892).
Lewis, F. W. (1887).

Little, Prof. 0. N., Moscow, Idaho (1891).
Little, Mrs. 0. N., Moscow, Idaho (1891).
Lobingier, C. S., Omaha (1894).
Lobingier, Mrs. C. S., Omaha (1901).
Longsdorf, D. E., Pennsylvania, hon. (1900).
Longsdorf, H. A. (1893).
Loomis, F, F., Edholm, Butler Co. (1899).
Loomis, Miss L. B., Lincoln (1894).
*Lowe, S. E. (1895).

MacCuaig, Donald, Nebraska City (1893).

MacMurphy, Mrs. Harriet S., Omaha (1899).

*MacMurphy, J. A. (1878).

MacLean, G. E., Iowa City (1896).

McConnell, J. L., Lincoln (1883).

McCormick, E. P., Phoenix, Ariz. (1901).

McFarland, J. D., Los Angeles, Cal. (1885).

McGrew, B. H., Butte, Mont. (1892).

Mclntyre, E. M., Seward (1888).

McReynolds, Robert, Lincoln (1886).

Macy, Prof. Jesse, Grinnell, Iowa, cor. (1886).

Maher, John G., O'Neill (1898).

Manatt, Dr. I. J., Providence, R. 1. (1885).

Manderson, Gen. C. F., Omaha (1878).

Manley, Miss Rachel, Seattle, Wash. (1895).

Marshall, J. L. (1894).

Martin, William F., Bellevue (1898).

*Mathew^son, Dr. H. B. (1880).

*Maxwell, Judge Samuel (1886).

Miller, E. O., Lincoln (1900).

Miller, Mrs. E. O., Lincoln (1901).

Miller, Frank, Lincoln (1900).

Miller, Dr. George L., Omaha (1878).

Miller, Prof. J. H., Cheney, Wash.

344 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Miller, Oscar A. (1883).

Minick, Mrs. Alice A., Beatrice (1895).

*Monell, G. S. (1878).

Monroe, Prof. A. A., New York City (1895).
Moore, Miss Sarah Wool (1888).
Morgan, Thomas P., Palmyra (1897).
Morin, Edward, North Platte (1896).
Morton, Hon. J. Sterling, Arbor Lodge, Nebraska City
(1885).

Mercer, A. J., Lincoln (1901).

*Mullon, Oscar A. (1885).

Munn, Eugene, University Place (1900).

Munro, Kev. G. A., Columbus (1901).

Murphy, Eev. William, Seward (1894).

Neal, C. F., Auburn (1894).

Newton, Mrs. M. B., Omaha (1896).

North, James, Columbus (1900).

Norval, Judge T. L., Seward (1888).

*Nye, Theron (1878).

O'Brien, Miss Margaret, Omaha (1901).

O'Linn, Mrs. Fannie, Cliadron (1895).

O'Neill, Hugli, O'Neill (1899).

Orr, J. C, Alexandria (1892).

Osborne, George (1883).

*Owen, S. G. (1880).

*Paddock, J. W. (1887).

Paine, Mrs. C. S., Omaha (1901).

*Parker, H. W. (1893).

*Parker, W. F. (1899).

Perry, Prof. D. B., Crete (1879).

Pershing, Lieut. J. J. (1895).

Phebus, J. S., Beaver City (1889).

Philbrick, F. S., Cambridge, Mass. (1899).

Pierce, Capt. C. W., Waverly (1901).

Pinkerton, Miss Bertha, Elmwood (1899).

Piatt, Mrs. E. G., Tabor, Iowa, hon. (1888).

Pope, A. E., Omaha (1897).

Pound, Judge S. B., Lincoln (1888).

Pound, Mrs. S. B., Lincoln (1888).

Quaintance, H. W., Washington, D. C. (1893).

*Reed, Byron (1888).

Reed, Lewis S., Omaha (1901).

LIST OF MEMBERS.

34P

Reese, Judge M. B., Lincoln (1896).
Rich, Edson P., Omaha (1885).
Richards, L. C, Lincoln (1893).
Richards, Mrs. L. 0., Lincoln (1893).
Richardson, A. T., Nebraska City (1900).
Rolfe, Hon. D. P., Nebraska City (1895).
Rosewater, Dr. Victor, Omaha (1894).
*Savage, J. W.

Sawyer, Hon. A. J., Lincoln (1890).
Sayer, J. J., Chicago (1894).
Sayre, E. L., Omaha (1901).
Searson, J. W., Wahoo (1899).
Shaw, James C, Tekamah (1895).
Shedd, H. H., Ashland (1880).
Sheldon, A. E., Lincoln (1895).
Sheldon, George L., Nehawka (1894).
Show, A. B., Palo Alto, Cal. (1888).
*Shryock, L. B. W. (1878).
Shugart, E., Beatrice (1878).
*Skinner, W. H. (1891).

Slabaugh, Dr. Warren H., South Omaha (1895).

Smith, J. F. S., Elgin (1899).

Smith, William Henry, Denver, Col. (1890).

Sorensen, Alfred, Omaha (1878).

Spearman, Frank H., Nebraska City (1893).

Sprick, Henry, Fontanelle (1893).

Stephens, E. F., Crete (1897).

Steward, Dr. C. F., Auburn (1897).

Stewart, W. E., Lincoln (1897).

* Stocking, Moses ( 1879 ) .

Stout, Prof. O. V. P., Lincoln (1894),

Strong, Frank (1894).

Summers, W. S., Omaha (1895).

Swain, Everett M., Lincoln (1899).

Sydenham, Moses H., Kearney (1895).

*Taggart, J. M. (1878).

Taylor, F. W., St. Louis (1897).

Thayer, Gen. John M., Lincoln (1900).

^Thompson, S. R. (1878).

Tibbies, T. H., Lincoln (1899).

Tibbies, Mrs. T. H., Lincoln (1899).

Timblin, A. L., Weeping Water (1894).

346

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

*Tipton, Ex-Senator T. W., hon. (1899).
Tobitt, Miss Edith, Omaha (1899).
Towle, Edwin S., Falls City (1899).
Treman, L. B., Lincoln (1887).
Tremain, Miss Mary A., Lincoln (1891).
True, M. B. C, Tecumseh (1886).
Turner, John, Lincoln ( 1899 ) .
Tyson, Rev. T. K., Kansas (1900).
Upton, S. E., Lincoln, hon. (1899).
Vifquain, Victor, Lincoln (1880).
Wakeley, Judge E., Omaha (1895).
Walker, C. H., Lincoln (1878).
Ward, Prof. H. B., Lincoln (1897).

* Warner, Prof. Amos G. (1887).

* Warner, Mrs. E. L. (1891).
Warner, M. M., Lyons (1900).
Watkins, Albert, Lincoln (1887).
Watson, W. W., Fairbury (1900).
Webster, J. L., Omaha (1878) .
Whedon, 0. O., Lincoln (1879).
Wheeler, D. H., Omaha (1878).
Wheeler, H. H., Lincoln (1895).
Whitcomb, Ed., Friend (1899).
White, Frank E., Plattsmouth (1897).
Whitney, Edson L., Lamar, Mo. (1892).
Whitmore, H. J., Lincoln (1893).

* Wilbur, 0. D. (1878).
Wilburn, Mrs. T. J. (1900).
Wilkinson, Dr. G. W,, Lincoln (1897).
Williams, O. T. B., Magdalen, Fla. (1878).
Williams, T. F. A., Lincoln (1894).

* Wilson, W. W. (1878).
Winnett, Dr. H. J., Lincoln (1900).
Woodward, W. W., Palmyra (1898).
Woolworth, J. M., Omaha (1880).
Wright, S. L., Bethany (1880).
Yates, H. W., Omaha (1894).

INDEX.

INDEX

Abbott, Dr. L. J., Paper on Gov.
Butler in early politics, 334;
member Committee on Obitu-
aries, 1900, 335.

Abbott, N. C, elected member, 336.

Ackley's ranch burned by Indians,
275.

Act admitting Nebraska vetoed by
President Johnson, 208-9.

Adams county, 71.

Admission of Nebraska as a state,
68.

Advertiser established at Brown-
ville, 26.

Advertising in first Nebraska news-
paper, 13-15.

Agricultural department in first
Palladium, 19.

Aitchison, Clyde B., Paper on Mor-
mon settlements, 331.

Albany Journal, 39.

Alexander, Mr., old settler in Jef-
ferson county, 221.

Alexander, S. J., elected member,
336.

Alexandria, Neb., 219; station over-
land trail, 294.

Alkali station, Indians threaten,
303.

Allen at Ft. Calhoun, 1855, 152.
Allen, Deputy U. S. Marshal, 131,
133.

Allen, W. v., succeeds Paddock, 188.
Alliance Relief Committee, 1890,
202.

Amendment of Nebraska constitu-
tion, 101.

American Fur Co., trading house
at Bellevue, 16.

Anderson, David, Paper on first set-
tlement of Nebraska, 334; dis-
cussion of paper, 335.

Anderson, Major C, Story of early
days in Indian country, 247-
55; discussion on early freight-
ing, 334; elected member, 336.

Andrews, saloon keeper in Lincoln,
168.

Andrews county, Missouri, apples
taken for Denver trade, 273.

Annin, W. B., sketch of A. S. Pad-
dock, 186; private secretary of
Senator Paddock, 189; request
for life of Senator Paddock,
337.

Antelope, on plains, 181; near Lin-
coln, 210.

Antelope creek, Lancaster county,
70.

Anti-slavery struggle for Nebraska,
85.

Apex saloon, Omaha, 1855, 150.

Appeal guaranteed by Nebraska
bill of rights, 98.

Appenzell (Swiss) laws, 154.

Apples for Denver trade, 273, 277.

Arapahoe, Furnas county, resi-
dence of Capt. Murphy, 302.

Arapahoe Indians in Julesburg
fight, 1865, 276.

Archer, county seat of Richardson,
85; moved to Falls City, 86.

Armour's mill (Central City, Colo.),
269.

350

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Arrow, first paper published in
Omaha, 11, 35; first editorial,
"A Night in Our Sanctum," 12.

Ash Hollow, camp of Sioux Indi-
ajis, 179.

Ashland, ford of Salt Creek, 266,
271.

Ashland limestone for first insane

hospital, 321.
Ashton, Tolbert. incorporator Mid.

Pac. railway, 292.
Astor House, St. Mary, Iowa, 21.
Asylum, burning of, 1871, 210.
Atchison to Denver route, 219.
AtlantiG Monthly, article in, 154.
Attorneys, adv. in Omaha Arrow,

1854, 14.

Auraria (Denver) gold discovered,
28.

Australian ballot law studied by
Farmers' Alliance, 202.

Aztec Indians, 254.

Babcock, William, Letter relating
to early freighting, 222.

Babbitt, A. W., attorney, adv. in
Omaha Arrow, 1854, 14.

Bailey, Charles, freighter to Den-
ver, 220.

Baker, Frank, stage driver, 222.

Balcombe, St. A. D., buys Omaha
Republican, 41; Supt. Winne-
bago and Omaha Indians, 42;
chairman Omaha board of pub-
lic works, 43.

Baldwin, claimed Omaha town lots,
14.

Ballard, S. M., county judge Dawes
county, 143.

Ballantine & Bro. furnish lumber
first insane hospital, 321.

Ballentine, George, lumber yard at
Lincoln, 1868, 215.

Ball, Franklin, article on capitol
and insane hospital, 318-22;
foreman wood work first in-
sane hospital, 321.

Barnard, Clyde, elected member,
336.

Barnard, John C, elected member,
332.

Barneston, Gage county, 173.

Barrett, J. A., librarian state his-
torical society, 51, 188, 226, 261;
report as librarian, 327; mo-
tion for Committee on Connel-
ley Mss., 328; member Connel-
ley Mss. Committee, 328; mo-
tion regarding Dundy biogra-
phy, 331; member Committee
on Library, 1900, 335; member
Committee on Collections, 1900,
335; authorized to employ help,
337; salary raised to $100 per
month, 337.

Barrett, Judge, 84.

Barrett, Mrs. J. A., elected mem-
ber, 336.

Barrows, B. H., editor Omaha Re-
publican, 44.

Bartle & Metz, merchants at Belle-
vue and Denver, 305.

Barton, Charles H., killed by In-
dians, 224.

Battle Creek, Madison county. Paw-
nee war, 231.

"Battle of Pole Creek," 267.

Bauvoa, ranchman at Bauvoa sta-
tion, 304.

Baylis, J. D., adv. bakery and eat-
ing house, 1854, 14.

Baylis, S. S., adv. Pacific House,
Council Bluffs, 1854, 14; pro-
prietor Pacific House, 1855,
156; at Council Bluffs, 156.

Beatrice, home of Senator Paddock,
188; stone hauled from for
state capital, 214, 319.

Beatrice Democrat, editor of, 226.

Beaver creek (near Elkhorn), 161.

Beckwith, freighter to Denver, :i20.

Bedford jail, England, 148.

Beetle Jim, pony express rider, 222.

Bellevue Gazette, sold to Johnson,
52.

Bellevue Palladium, sold to John-
son, 52.

Bellevue, location of Nebraska Pal-
ladium, 15; McKinney House,
16; claim club, 18; business di-
rectory in Palladium, 20;
Thanksgiving Day, 1854, 21;
geological formation around,
21; early settlement, 32; Om-
ahas start with Pontanelle's
body for, 164; freight outfitting
point, 299.

Bellew, John, voting place at house
of, 1854, 21.

Bell, Thomas W., elected member,
328.

Bennett, attorney for state, dis-
misses case against Wyoming
raiders, 148.

Bennett, finding of stone quarry at,
216.

Bennett, H. P., delegate to terri-
torial convention, 1854, 22.

Bennett, I. H., adv. boarding house
at Bellevue, 20.

Bennett, John B., incorporator Mid.
Pac. railway, 292; mail con-
tract, 56.

Bent, Charles, first governor of Mis-
souri, 250.

Berkley, V., passenger for Omaha,
1855, 150.

Bessey, C. E., acting chancellor,
suggestion regarding site for
historical society building, 336.

Beutler, Jacob, pub. Nebraska City
Staats Zeitung, 68.

Beyschlag, Frederick, treasurer
Zeitung company, 61.

Big Blue River, crossing 1852, 173;
crossing above Crete, 227; over-
land route, 217.

Big Head, Sioux Indian, signature,
305.

ix. 351

Bigler, Gov., friend of Judge

Dundy, 84.
Big Mouth, Sioux Indian, signature,

305.

Big Sandy, 174; crossing, 217;
ranch, 2ij; ranch, sold to
Crump and Wolff, 220.

Big Sioux river, line between car-
boniferous and cretaceous, 21.

Bigtoe, Mr., early settler Jefferson
county, 221.

Bischof, William, early settler Ne-
braska City, 317.

Bierbower, U. S. Marshal, takes
city council to jail, 123, 131;
delivers prisoners to sheriff,
124, 130.

Billingsley, L. W., councilman, 106,
107, 115, 127, 128; order of ar-
rest, 114 ; reply to Gov. Thayer,
132; argument before federal
circuit court, 118.

Bill of Rights of Nebraska constitu-
tion, 96-97.

Binwell, contractor for sand and
water, first insane hospital,
321.

Blackbird House, Burt county, 1854,
22.

Blackbird precinct, Burt county,
1854, 22. •

Black, Gov. S. W., at Nebraska
City, 1859, 233, 261; communi-
cation with, 234; overtakes
Pawnee expedition, 236; put un-
der arrest by Gen. Thayer, 239.

Blacker, Capt. Allan, command at
Nebraska City, 64.

Black Hawk Miners' supply station,
262.

Black Hills, orders concerning, 92;

freighting to, 306; stampede

from 307.
Black, Judge, in Nebraska, 85.
Blackman, E. E., elected member,

332.

352 NEBRASKA STATE

Blakely, William and Nathan,
freighters to Denver, 220.

Blizzard of 1857, 158.

Blue Horse, Sioux Indian, signa-
ture, 305.

Blufe City & St. Louis Packet Line,
19.

Bodenheimer, John, printer on
Rocky Mountain News, 268.

Bodenheimer, Joshua, teamster, 265.

Bomar, Marion, teamster, 265, 268.

Boise City, Idaho, jumping lots at,
54.

Bordeaux valley, Dawes county,
146.

Bott, printer on Nebraska Zeitung,
63.

Bouton, Martin, brings gold from

Pike's Peak, 262.
Bowen, L. L., settler at Bellevue,

33.

Bowes, Chas. B., witness to Indian
signatures, 305.

Bowles, editor Springfield Repuh-
lican, 43.

Boxley, L. R., with claim club, 316.

Boyd, James E., tenders Lincoln
city council opera seats, 129.

Boyd's Opera House, plays Decem-
ber, 1887, 129.

Boydston, Wm. L., delegate terri-
torial convention, 74.

Boy Hawk, Sioux Indian, signature,
305.

Boyle, C. C, freighter to Denver,
219-20.

Bradford, A. A., at old Ft. Kear-
ney, 55.

Bradford, Henry, editor Nebraska

City News, 23.
Brewer, Judge David J., hearing in

Lincoln police judge case, 109,

117, 120, 121, 131.
Bridge across Platte at Denver, 268.
Briggs, John S., buys interest in

Omaha Herald, 45.

tSTORICAL SOCIETY.

C>.

Briscoe, J. Z., councilman, 106, 114,
122, 127.

Broatch, Mayor of Omaha, tenders
Lincoln city council banquet,
129.

Brock, Nelson C, councilman, 106;

elected member, 328.
Brock, N. C, 113.

Brock, N., deputy state treasurer,
321.

Brookfield, A. A., mayor Nebraska
City, returns with gold, 28.

Brooks, D. C, editor Omaha Repub-
lican, 44.

Bross, Deacon William, trip to Pa-
cific coast, 28.

Brown, H. J., publisher Omaha Re-
publican, 38.

Brown, John, chief clerk of house,
321.

Brown, Richard, voting place at
house, 1854, 22; at Brownville,
32.

Brown, Wm. G., claimed town lots
at Omaha, 14.

Brown & Sons, pub. Nebraska City
Press, 68.

Brownville, early settlement, 32;
newspaper experience of R. W.
Furnas, 59; Union church, 183;
Methodist church, 183; freight-
ing route via Gage county, 219;
home of Mrs. Furnas, 298.

Brownville Advertiser, established,
26.

Brownville Democrat, 47.

Bryan, W. J., popular vote for U. S.

senator, 99.
Buchanan administration, Wyman

postmaster at Omaha, 27.
Buchanan pro-slavery democracy,

183.

Buchanan, James, succeeded by
Abraham Lincoln, 188.

INDEX.

358

Buffalo, on Nebraska plains, 69;
fifty miles from Missouri,
158; on the Elkhorn, 1856, 161;
on North Platte plains, 181; in
old geographies, 207; paths
west of Missouri river, 207;
paths near Lincoln, 1870, 210;
fat on plains, 208; skins
shipped from Council Bluffs,
207; bones, huge pile of, near
North Platte, 268; last wild
one seen by Clarke, 310.

"BulTalo chips" fuel on the over-
land route, 180, 230; used to
set tires on overland trail, 301.

Buffalo (N. Y) bales of skins from
Nebraska, 207.

Buffalo (Wyo.), cattle raiders
marched to, 141.

Bugle, Council Bluffs, 11, 36, 45, 52.

Bull dog, price of at Denver, 291.

Bull-whacking days. Article by
George P. Marvin, 226-30.

Bull-whackers in 1865, 296; on the
overland trail, 283.

Burks, John M., councilman, 106,
114, 116, 122; pays fine in fed-
eral court, 126.

Burr, L. C, 108, 119; argument be-
fore supreme court, 135.

Burlington railway built to Red
Oak, 292; courtesy to Benj.
Gilmore, 331.

Burrows, J., first secretary of Ne-
braska Farmers' Alliance, 200;
chairman Executive Committee
Farmers' Alliance, 201; Miss
Sara Burrows requested to pre-
pare life, 337.

Burrows, Sara, request to prepare
life of Jay Burrows, 337.

Burt county, voting precincts, 1854,
22.

Butler, Gov. David, delegate terri-
torial convention, 74, 75, 80;
speech as candidate for re-elec-

tion, 209; impeachment, 209;
loans of state money 209; letter
to Contractor Ward, 213; mem-
ber capitol commission, 318;
proclamation for removal of
state archives, 319; in state
capitol, 321; commissioner to
locate insane hospital, 321.

Butler, Mrs. David, dinner for cap-
itol workmen, 320.

Cactus on the plains, 1862, 266.

Cadman, John, 70.

Cadman, Judge, trial of Jones be-
fore, 215.

Cadwell's ranch, 217.

Calcutta, India, gunny-sack im-
ported from, 311.

Caldwell, H. W., elected secretary,
328, 332, 335; member Connel-
ley Mss. Committee, 328; cash
contribution to Society, 330;
member Committee on Pro-
gram 1900, 335; authorized to
employ help, 337.

Calhoun, Ft., in 1855, 151.

Calhoun, General, on Nebraska sur-
vey, 66.

Calhoun, H. S., incorporator Mid.
Pac. railway, 292.

Calhoun, J D., editor Brownville
Democrat, Lincoln Herald, 47.

California Guide, adv. in Omaha
Arrow, 14.

California emigrant at Ft. Kear-
ney, 271.

California dealers, 286.

California trail north of Platte,
299.

Gallery, Corporal, 18th Inf., killed
by Indians, 224.

Campbell, Hiram K., killed by In-
dians, 224.

Camp Clark on Platte river, 299;
ford on North Platte river,
306; bridge, 306-7

354

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Camp Collins, freight rates, 1863,
263.

Camp Fillmore, Utah, transporta-
tion to 1859, 261.

Camp Robinson, freighting, 306.

Camp Sheridan, freighting, 306.

Can, S. C, killed by Indians, 224.

Capitol commission to select site,
318; removal Omaha to Lin-
coln, 318.

Carlyle, 35.

Carpenter, Dan W., printer Ne-
braska Palladium, 15; busi-
ness manager Omaha Herald,
45; article on pioneer journal-
ism, 48-50; paper on pioneer
journalism presented, 327.

Carr, Felix, runs boarding house
for workers on capitol, 213.

Carson, Kit, body removed from
Santa Fe cemetery, 251; with
squad of cavalry at Santa Fe,
252.

Carter, Charles, in Wyoming cattle

raid, 141.
Carthage (Mo.) Press, editor John

Boaenheimer, 268.
Casey's (P. D.) quartz mill, 269.
Casper (Wyo.) terminus railroad,

138.

Cass county, Latham member
from, 16; voting precincts,
1854, 22; represented by Col.
Sharp, , 33; claim clubs, 316.

Cassidy (& Johnson) attorneys,
adv. in Omaha Arrow, 1854, 14.

Catterson, freighter on plains, 222.

Cattle commission law, 139.

Cattle war (Wyoming) episode of,
138-149.

Cavalry (6th) in Wyoming cattle

war, 142.
Census (Neb.) of 1855, 316.
Central City (Colo.) miners' supply

station, 262, 269.
Chadron, Neb., railroad division,

138; arrival and trial of Wy-
oming witnesses, 143; jail, 149.

Champion, Nate, Wyoming stock-
man, 140.

Chapman, Bird B., present at print-
ing Palladium, 17; candidate
for Congress, 24.

Chapman, S. M., 75; secretary of
senate, 321.

Chase, Champion, sketch by son,
334.

Chase, Clement C, sketch of father,
334; elected member, 332;
member Committee on Collec-
tions, 1900, 335.

Cherokee cattle on wagon trains,
228.

Cherry Creek gold dust, 1862, 285.

Cheyenne (Wyo.), special train
from, 138; cattle raiders at,
142; associated press dispatch
from, 148; freighting terminus,
263.

Cheyenne Indians, 223; in Jules-
burg fight, 1865, ■ 276; War,
1864, 257.

Chicago & Rock Island railroad,
freight free to Camp Clarke
bridge, 307.

Chilcott diary, read by title, 331.

Chilcott, Mrs., early settler Burt
county, 331.

Chimney Rock, on overland route,
180, 299, 307.

Civil War, effect in Nebraska, 67.

Claim club, at Bellevue, 18.

Claim club law, 155.

Claim clubs in Nebraska, 1856, 315.

Claim jumping, at Nebraska City,
56; at Ft. Calhoun, 54.

Claim taking at Ft. Calhoun, 1855,
152.

Claims traded in Iowa, 153.

Clancy, Wm., adv. in Omaha Arrow,
1854, 13, 14; member legisla-
ture from Washington county,

INDEX.

355

13; at Omaha, 1855, 150; ran
the town De Soto, 151.
Clark, D. E., in Wyoming cattle
raid. 141.

Clark, Dr. M. H., election at house,
1854, 22; editor Omaha Nebras-
kian, 27.

Clarke, A. M., buys cattle to replace
stolen, 304.

Clarke Bros., lose cattle at Sand
Hill station, 303; receive pay
for stolen cattle, 305.

Clarke, Elam, owner of flour mill
at Ft. Calhoun, 153, 154.

Clarke, H. T. & Bro., freighters to
Denver, 220.

Clarke, H. T., 80; services to Lin-
coln city council in jail, 129;
paper on freighting to Denver
and Black Hills, 299-312;
freighters rested Sundays, 302;
builds bridge at Camp Clarke,
306-7; Centennial Express, 308-
9; makes mail contracts with
government, 309; makes mail
contract with March & Stephen-
son, 310; moves dispense with
roll call, 330; remarks on early
visit to Lincoln, 332; member
committee confer territorial
pioneers, 335.

Clark, W. J., in Wyoming cattle
raid, 141.

Clay county (old), 70.

Clements, John, delegate to terri-
torial convention, 1854, 22.

Cleveland, President, petition for
pardon city council, 131-2; in-
terview with Mayor Sawyer, 136.

Cline, L. M., attorney, adv. in Om-
aha Arrow, 1854, 15.

Clizbe, James, freighter to Denver,
220.

Coburn, Sheriff, receives prisoners
Lincoln city council, 124, 126,
128.

Cody (Neb.), Wyoming witnesses
stop at, 146.

Cody, Col. W. F., request to prepare
life of Alexander Majors, o37.

Cole, Gilbert L., paper on overland
trail, 172-81.

Cole, Jesse, delegate to territorial
convention, 1854, 22.

Colfax, Schuyler, trip to Pacific
coast, 28.

Collman, Mrs. O. J., daughter of
Senator Paddock, 188.

Columbus, Neb., Pawnee expedition
marches home by, 244.

Comanche Indians, 254.

Commissioners for second insane
hospital, 322.

Congregational church, Senato*
Tipton member of, 183.

Congress passes bills admitting Ne
braska, 208-9.

Conly & Bulen's ranch, near Jules-
burg, 275.

Connecticut Blue Laws presented
Lincoln city council, 129.

Connelley, William E., presents
Wyandot Mss. for considera-
tion, 328; elected member, 328;
contract with committee relat-
ing to Mss., 329; Mss. Commit-
tee, 328.

Constitution (Nebraska), . adop-
tion, 89; article on its pecu-
liar features, 96-104; pro-
vides for popular vote on U.
S. senator, 99; "grasshopper"
so-called, 100; transitional pe-
riod of making, 100; amend-
ment, 101, 209; framed by Ne-
braska territorial legislature,
208; of 1871 rejected at the
polls, 209; of 1875, adopted,
209.

Constitutional convention in Ne-
braska, 1860, 184; need of, 102.

356

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

Convention, territorial, at Nebras-
ka City, 1854, 22.

Cooley, Judge, Superintendent of
Indians, 304.

Cooper, P. H., city marshal of Lin-
coln, 112.

Cooper, Wm. J., councilman, 106,
114, 122, 127.

Co-operative enterprises, result of
Farmers' Alliance, 205.

Corfield, Vvm., attorney, adv. in
Omaha Arrow, 1854, 14.

Corn, killed by August frost, 1862,
81.

Cornutt, Louis, delegate to terri-
torial convention, 1854, 22.

Cotton, price affected by panic, 157.

Cottonwood lumber, price at Ft.
Calhoun, 1855, 152.

Cottonwood Springs, on overland
road, 297.

Cottrell, L. R., grain buyer at
North Bend, 311.

Council Bluffs, ferry to Omaha, 1854,
13; Pacific House, 14; John
Keller, lumber yard, 14; sa-
loons at, 1855, 156; buffaio
skins shipped from, 207; and
Omaha freighting to Missouri,
274; reference, 311.

Council Bluffs Bugle, 11, 36, 45, 52.

Council Bluff (bt. Calhoun), origin
of. name, 155,

Counties of Nebraska, 1854, 21.

County seat contest in Richardson,
87.

Court house (first in Nebraska) at
Ft. Calhoun, 155.

Courthouse Rock, on overland
route, 180, 266, 299, 307.

Courtnay, D. G., counsel in Lincoln
police judge case, 108.

Court, territorial district and su-
preme, 87.

Cowles, C. H., delegate to territor-
ial convention, 1854, 22.

Cox, Dr. O. L., elected member, 33Sf.
Cox, W. W., paper on first trip to

Omaha, 69-82, 331.
Coyotes on Nebraska plains, 181,
Craven, Keene stock tender, 222.
Crawford, Neb., Wyoming witnesses

detained at, 142.
Crazy Woman's Fork, 223.
Crete, Neb., old crossing above, 227;

sandstone for insane hospital,

321.

Croft, A. J., article on overland
route, 294-95.

Crook, General, arrests Ponca In-
dians, 91; uses Pawnee scouts,
245.

Cropsey, A. J., candidate for mayor,
105.

Croxton, J. H., delegate to terri-
torial convention, 73.

Crummell, Thomas, mayor of Au-
burn, 230.

Crump, John S., owner Big Sandy
ranch, 219; letter regarding
freighting experiences, 220-21.

Crusade in Nebraska, reminiscences
of, 165-71.

Cuming City, 1855, 151.

Cuming, Gov. T. B., present at print-
ing Palladium, 17; convention
and resolutions regarding, 22-
23; partisan of Omaha, 33, 34;
newspaper contributor, 37;
secretary of state, 151.

Cuming, Mrs. T. B., present at
printing Palladium, 17.

Curtis, A. F., freighter to Denver,
219-20.

Curtis, Gen. Samuel R., accompa-
nies Pawnee expedition, 235.

Custer City, freighting to, 306.

Cut-off Junction, 258.

Dahlman, Sheriff J. C, arrests
trappers at Chadron, 144.

Dai ley, James H., councilman, 106,
114, 124, 127, 129.

INDEX.

357

Dally, Samuel G., contest with
Morton for congress, 74; dele-
gate to territorial convention,
73; elected to congress, 80;
speech, Omaha, 1862, 78.

Daily, William, delegate to terri-
torial convention, 73.

Daniels, Lieut. Napoleon H., 18th
Inf., killed by Indians, 224.

Daugherty, John, teamster, 265.

Davidson, J. L., 70.

Davis, Jefferson, Secretary War,
letter from regarding Nebraska
City, 24.

Davis, town-site jumper at Ft. Cal-
houn, 54, 155; kills man at Ft.
Calhoun, 155.

Davis, W. R., elected member, 333.

Dawson, Jacob, editor Wyoming
Telescope, 27, 70.

Deadwood, freighting to, 306.

Dean, H. H., councilman, 106, 114,
115, 123, 124, 125, 127.

Dearborne, Wm. H., killed by In-
dians, 224.

Decatur, Stephen, delegate to terri-
torial convention, 1854, 22.

Decker, Jas. H., delegate to terri-
torial convention, 1854, 22.

Deer at Ft. Calhoun, 1857, 158;
near Lincoln, 210.

OeFrance, Charles Q., notary pub-
lic, 225; elected member, 336.

Demmick, James, , in Indian fight
at Julesburg, 1865, 275-6.

Democratic convention, 1862, 79.

Democratic party, Nebraska, 15, 37.

Democrat and republican pole inci-
dent, 1868, 215.

Democracy, Buchanan pro-slavery,
183.

Denver (Colo.), gold discovery
near, 28; (Auraria) in 1859,
262; bridge built across Platte,
1862, 268; in 1862, 285; price of
bull dog at, 291; to Nebraska

City, 1865, 296; prices for
freighting, 301; to Omaha,
stage time, 305.

Des Moines, white men in 1849, 207.

De Soto, Washington county, En-
quirer published at, 26; in
1855, 150-1; gives a lot to
settlers, 153.

Detroit Free Press, 17, 18.

De Witt, Neb., home of Frank
Baker, 222.

Dickerson, Captain, U. S. quarter-
master at Nebraska City, 261.

Dickey, J. J., franks to Lincoln city
council, 129.

Diller, Neb., 174.

Dillon, Thomas, killed by Indians,

223, 224, 225.
Dillon, Lee, affidavit regarding

newspaper clipping, 225.
Disraeli, 34.

Divine, W. G., in Wyoming cattle

raid, 141.
Dobytown, on Pike's Peak trail, 299.
Dodd, at Omaha, 1855, 150.
Dodds (& Snyder) at Ft. Calhoun,

155; killed in Civil War, 156.
Dodge county, voting precinct, 1854,

22.

Dodge, Theo., passenger for Omana,
1855, 150.

Dogtown, ten miles east of Ft.
Kearney, 226.

Donaldson, Joseph, killed by Indi-
ans, 224.

Donare, Wm., killed by Indians,
224.

Donevan, W. T., 70.

Donovan, Fred Martin, first child
of oldest settler, 318.

Donnelly, "Billie," teamster, 265;
died at Glenwood, la., 268.

Donzelmen, H., attorney for cattle
raiders, 142.

Dorrington, L. A., U. S. court com-
missioner at Chadron, 143.

358

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Dorr, Samuel G., candidate for con-
gress, 73.

Douglas county, 1854, 22.

Douglas House, Omaha, 1855, 80,
150.

Douglas county court house, 1862,
80.

Douglas, Stephen A., 34.

Douglas (Wyo.) jail delivery, 142,

149 ; from "K. C." ranch, 140.
Downs, H. P., voting place at house,

1854, 22.

Drinking customs of early days at

Ft. Calhoun, 156.
Drouth in western Nebraska, 1890,

202.

Dunbar (& Jones), livery stable in
Lincoln, 1868, 215.

Dundy, Judge E. S., appointed ter-
ritorial justice, 87; appointed
U. S. district judge, 88; candi-
date for U. S. senator, 89; de-
cision in Ponca Indian case, 91,
92; delegate territorial conven-
tion, 74; elected territorial leg-
islature, 86; lands at Nebraska
City, 85; referred to, 80, 84;
sketch of, 83-95; tribute to his
character, 93-95; marriage and
children, 92; religious creed,
92; hunting in the Rockies, 93;
action as judge, 117; order for
Lincoln city council, 113; con-
currence in opinion of Judge
Brewer, 122; power to admit to
bail, 130; biography read by
title, 331.

Dundy, E. S., Jr., 92; action in Wy-
oming cattle case, 146-47.

Dundy, Luna (Mrs. Newman), 92.

Dundy, May, 92.

Editorial fraternity, a word to, in
Arrow, 1854, 12.

Education, result of Farmers' Alli-
ance, 205.

Election, 1866, 89.

Election, Lincoln, 1887, 105-6.
Elick, foreman of stone work in-
sane hospital, 321.
Elkhorn City, 299.
Elkhorn river, buffalo hunting on,

161; Indian outrages on, 231;

crossing, 1859, 232; ferry, 299.
Elk, on Beaver creek, 1856, 162.
Elm Creek, opposite Lexington, 258.
Emery, Carl and Charles, stage

drivers, 222.
Emporium Store, adv. in Omaha

Arrow, 13.
Enabling act passed for Nebraska

in 1864, 208.
Endicott, Neb., 174.
English, W. R., adv. land agent,

etc., 20.

Enquirer, published at De Soto, 26.

Ensign, Granville, councilman, 106,
114, 120, 127.

Espensheid freight wagons, 281.

Etherton, Mr., 70.

Evans, Richard, shot by Indians at
Sand Hill station, 303.

Everett, Horace, communication in
Palladium, 19.

Fairbrother & Hacker, publishers
Nemaha Herald, 26.

Fairbury, Neb., 174, 221.

Falls City, fight for county seat, 87 ;
laid out, 86; removal of Judge
Dundy, 92.

Farmers' Alliance in Nebraska, pa-
per by J. M. Thompson, 199-
206; first organization in Ne-
braska, 199; southern branch,
199; declaration of purposes,
200; Nebraska state alliance,
200; meeting state alli-
ance, 1889, plans for work,
201; annual meeting state al-
liance, 1890, 201; membership
in Nebraska, 201; school for
the masses, 202; relief agency
in 1890, 202; political action by.

INDEX.

859

202--205; decline of member-
ship, 205; co-operative enter-
prises by, 205; part of move-
ment for man's advancement,
206.

Farrell, Ed., keeper stage station,
219.

Farris, freighter from Sidney, 306.

Fechet, Major, command military
escort, 142.

Ferguson, Arthur, present at print-
ing Palladium, 17.

Ferguson, Fenner, chief justice,
present at printing Palladium,
17; settler at Bellevue, 33.

Ferguson, Mrs. Fenner, present at
printing Palladium, 17.

Ferrell, James, freighter, 222.

Ferry, Council Bluffs & Omaha,
1854, 13; at Oreapolis, 81; at
Plattsmouth, 1866, 271; at St.
Joe, Mo., 273.

Fillmore county. Neb., 174.

First National Bank, Lincoln, de-
posit Society's funds, 329, 30,
33, 38.

First Nebraska regiment, 184.
Flap-jacks, 296.

Fling, F. M., member Committee on
Library, 1900, 335.

Florence Courier, 52.

Florence, early settlement, 32; leg-
islature adjourns to, 77.

Flour mill at Ft. Calhoun, 154.

Floyd Nelson, killed by Indians, 224.

Fontanelle, Gen. Thayer marches
~ into, 1859, 233.

Fontanelle, Logan, killed by Sioux,
33, 163; story of death, 161-d4.

Fontanelle precinct. Dodge county,
1854, 22.

Ford, A. C, attorney, adv. in Omaha

Arrow, 1854, 14.
Forest, Joseph, 70.
Fort Bent, on Santa Fe trail, 250.
Fort Calhoun, battle at, 53; town

site laid off, 53; flour mill, ho^/
located, .153- 54; price of lumLc;-
1855, 152; town site jumpcu,
154; conflict at, 155; first courc
house in Nebraska, 155; during
winter of 1857, 158; Sena;:or
Paddock preempts near, 188.

Fort Cottonwood, 269; cattle stam-
peded near, 271; drunken sol-
diers at, 1866, 271.

Fort Gosper, 224.

Fort Halleck freight rates, 1863,
263.

Fort Kearney, 224, 226; blizzard
near, 1862, 266; cattle stam-
peded near, 271; sale of sup-
plies at, 1866, 270; Indians on
road, 274; trail to Nebraska
City, 281; overland route to,
294; on overland trail, 295; on
Pike's Peak trail, 299; freight
train overhauled at, 301; or-
ders regarding freighting
trains, 1865, 302.

Fort Laramie, 224; freight figures
to, 1859, 261; freight rates,
1863, 263; corn hauled to, 1862,
265; Sioux Indian council at,
304; old crossing to Black
Hills, 306.

Fort McPherson, 224.

Fort Omaha, soldiers quell rebel-
lion at penitentiary, 210.

Fort Reno, 223.

Ft. Russell, bill sold to sutler, 288-
91.

Fort Sanders freight rates, 1863,
263.

Fort Sedgwick, 224.
Fort Sidney, 306.

Fort Union, N. M., freight rates to,

1859, 261; trail, 296.
Forney county, voting place in,

1854, 21, 22.
Foster's train burned by Indians,

1865, 275.

360

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Fraas, John, councilman, 106, 114,
116.

Frame, R. W., delegate to territor-
ial convention, 1854, 22.

Franklin, E., elected member, 332.

Franklin, F. G., elected member,
332.

Freeport (Kansas City), 1842, 249.

Freighting, profits in, 277; rates to
the mountains, 1860-66, 263;
Denver and Black Hills, 299-
312; camps and drives on
overland trail, 300; quick with
horse teams, 302.

Fremont Herald, 47.

Fremont, John C, campaign in
1856, 183; remark quoted, 251;
pass, 1849, 207; route through
Jefferson county, 1842, 217.

Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Val-
ley railroad, 138.

Fremont, Neb., U. S. deputy mar-
shals leave, 146.

Fremont's Springs, 297.

Fremont to Omaha wheat rates, 311.

French inhabitants at St. Joseph,
172.

Fretz, J. S., elected member, 332.
Frost, George W., editor Omaha Be-

puJ)Ucan, 44.
Frost in August, 1862, 81.
Fulton, William, incorporator Mid.

Pac. railway, 292; letter on

early freighting, 261-64.
Furbush, Wardle & Co., freighters,

222.

i?urnas, Robert W., editor Adver-
tiser, governor, 26; (& Lyan-
na), publishers Advertiser,
Brownville, 26; tribute from
Dr. Miller, 46; anecdote by, 59;
beginnings at Brownville, 59;
delegate to territorial conven-
tion, 73; referred to, 75; sketch
of life of Tipton, 182-85; mar-
ried to Mary E. McComas, 298;

calls attention to Connelley
Mss., 328; member Connelley
Mss. Committee, 328; elected
first vice-president, 328, 332,
335; granted further time to
prepare paper on Senator Tip-
ton, 334; motion for co-opera-
tion with Territorial pioneers,
335; member Committee on
Obituaries, 1900, 335; requested
to prepare life of Senator Tip-
ton, 337.

Furnas, Mary Elizabeth, sketch of,
298.

Furnas, Mrs. R. W., elected mem-
ber, 336,

Gamp, Sairy, referred to, 149.

Gardiner, S. A., elected member,
332.

Garland, A. H., attorney general,
orders city council free, 131.

Gassont, Pierre, killed by Indians,
224.

Gatewood, Major Jas. M., present
at printing Palladium, 17.

Geisthardt, S. L., member Commit-
tee on Publication, 1900, 335.

Genoa, Pawnees placed on reserva-
tion near, 245.

Geology around Bellevue, 21.

Gere, Charles H., editor State Jour-
nal, 46; elected treasurer, 328,
332, 335; report as treasurer,
1898, 329-30; report as treas-
urer, 1899, 333; report as treas-
urer, 1900, 338; member Con-
nelley Mss. Committee, 328;
member committee to confer
territorial pioneers, 335.

German-American newspaper (Ne-
braska Zeitung), 60.

Germans, part in civil war, 64.

Gilbert, John, stage driver, 222.

Gillespie, E. E., discusses Connel-
ley Mss., 328.

INDEX.

361

Gillespie, John, member capitol
commission, 318; auditor, in
first capitol, 321; commissioner
to locate insane hospital, 321.

Gilmore, Benjamin, Stewartsville,
Mo., blacksmith among Otoes,
332; elected honorary member,
333; reminiscences, read by-
title, 331.

Gilmore, Theodore S., present at
printing Palladium, 17.

Glens Falls, N. Y., home of the Pad-
dock family, 187.

Glenwood, la., home Colonel Sharp,
33; mentioned, 311.

Glorietta mountains, 251.

Godkin, E. L., editor Nation, 102.

Gold, discovered near Denver, 28;
demand for in 1857, 157.

Golden City, 262.

Goudy, A. K., elected member, 336.

Gordon, Captain, arrested for in-
vading Black Hills, 92.

Goss, John, assists laying off town
site Ft. Calhoun, 53.

Goss, Sherman, killed at Ft. Cal-
houn battle, 54.

Governor of Nebraska territory,
Gen. Hughes recommended, 23.

Graham, Robert B., councilman,
106, 114.

Grand Island, Union Pacific rail-
road at, 291.

Grange, state, invited to join with
Farmers' Alliance, 203.

Grant, electioneering for Thayer
for Congress, 159.

"Grasshopper" constitution, 100.

Grayson, S., 218; kept stage sta-
tion, 222.

Grayson, Ray, keeper of "Whisky
Run" stage station, 218; stage
driver, 222.

"Great American Desert," 219; in
old geographies, 207.

Greeley, Horace, letter regarding
gold discoveries, 28, 29; descrip'
tion of stage ride to coast, 1858,
208.

Green (Watson & Kinney), adv.

town lots at Bellevue, 20.
Griffin, W. A., present at printing

Palladium, 17.
Gum Springs, on steam wagon road,

297.

Habeas corpus case Ponca Indians,
90-92.

Hadley, C. B., (Nehawka) article
on plains war of 1865, 273-78.

Half-breed inhabitants St. Josepn,
172.

Half-breed reserve in Richardson

county, 86.
Hamburg, la., 55.
Hamilton county, 71; on new trail,

1860, 281.
Hamilton, Miss Amanda, present at

printing Palladium, 17.
Hamilton, Miss Mary, present at

printing Palladium, 17.
Hamilton, Rev. William, present at

printing Palladium, 17;

preaches Thanksgiving Day,

1854, 21.

Hamilton, Mrs. Wm., present at
printing Palladium, 17.

Hammond, Mrs. Nelia, elected
member, 328.

Handley, J. P., delegate to terri-
torial convention, 1854, 22.

Hanks, John, Lincoln's remark to,
149.

Hanna, Pete, stage driver, 222.

Hanscom, A. J., claimed Omaha
town lots, 14 ; settler at Omaha,
33; anecdote of, 59.

Harding, N. S., early settler Ne-
braska City, 317.

Hardy, Mrs., leader of Woman's
crusade, 169.

362

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Hardy, H. W., member Committee
on Program, 1900, 385; remi-
niscences of early Nebraska,
207-11.

Hargus, Simpson, delegate to ter-
ritorial convention, 1854, 22.

Harmon, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, elected
member, 336.

Harney, Aug. F., delegate terri-
torial convention, 74.

Harris, Miss Sarah, elected mem-
ber, 336; requested to prepare
life of N. S. Harwood, 337.

Harris, Mrs., referred to, 149.

Harwood, N. S., Miss Sarah Harris
requested to prepare life, 337.

Hastings, Deputy U. S. marsnal,
114, 115, 133.

Hastings, Neb., north of overland
trail, 294.

Hawke, Mr., delegate territorial
convention, 75.

Hawke, R. & Co., adv. in Omaha
Arrow, 13.

Hawke & Nuckolls, Nebraska City
firm, 280.

Hawks Bros., early settlers Nebras-
ka City, 317.

Hawksby, Fred G., elected member,
336.

Hawk, Thunder, Sioux Indian, sig-
nature, 305.

Hawley, B. S., incorporator Mid.
Pac. railway, 292.

Hayden, Frederick V., at Bellevue,
1854, 21; communication in
Palladium, 21.

Heath, Major H. H., command post
at Ft. Kearney, 41; interest in
Omaha Republican, 42; died in
Peru, 42.

Heffley, Robert, in business Nebras-
ka City, 280.

Heitzman, W. S., elected member,
336.

Helvey Bros., freighters, 220, 222.

Helvey, Joel, ranch and toll bridge,

1859, 218, 219.
Henry, Chas. A., shoots Hollister,

23.

Hepburn, Geo. W., editor Omaha

Times, 27.
Hepfinger, Deputy U. S. marshal,

arrives Chadron, 143.
Hepner, George, claimed Omaha

town lots, 14 ; adv. counselor at

law at Bellevue, 20.
Herald, Nemaha, first issued, 26.
Herald, Omaha Daily, first issued,

25.

Herndon House, Omaha, 80.

Herndon's Life of Lincoln, 149.

Hesse, Fred, in Wyoming cattle
raid, 141.

Hess, W. P., keeper of stage sta-
tion, 218.

Hillsboro, Ohio, starting point of
crusade, 167.

Hill, Wm. E., delegate territorial
convention, 74; explores new
route from Nebraska City, 281.

Hiscock, Wm. ("Wild Bill") kills
McCandless, 1862, 218; stock
tender, 222.

Historical Society committees for
1900, 335.

Historical Society building, request
for site on campus, 336.

History of Nebraska (Johnson), 52.

Hitchcock, G. M., buys Omaha
Herald, 46.

Hitchcock, P. W., at territorial con-
vention, 74; referred to, 80.

Hollenberg ranch, 217.

Holliday, Ben, stage line route,
217, 220, 222.

Hollister, Geo. W., present at print-
ing Palladium, 17; delegate to
territorial convention, 1854,
22; shot by Chas. A. Henry,
23.

INDEX.

363

Holt county, Mo., 158.
homestead law, in effect January 1,
1863, 65.

Hopkins, delegate to territorial con-
vention, 1854, 22.

Hostetler, early settler Nebraska
City, 317.

Hotels, Douglas House, Omaha,
1855, 80, 150; Herndon House,
Omaha, 80; t'acific House, 156;
"Half Way House," 156; "Last
Chance," 156; Grand Central,
Omaha, 188; Pioneer Hotel,
Lincoln, 1867, 213.

Houck, Deputy sheriff, 129.

Houston, General Samuel, 247, 248.

Hovey, Fred A., councilman, 106,
114, 127.

Hughes, Gen. Bula M„ recommend-
ed for governor, 23.

Hulbert, George, at stage station on
Rock creek, Neb., 218; keeper
McCandless ranch, 222.

Humphrey's hardware store site,
1868, 215.

Hungate family, murdered, 1864,
257.

Husted, Zach., killed by Indians,
224.

Hyde, Thomas, auctioneer of Lin-
coln lots, 1868, 214.
"Idaho-ho-ho" trail word, 296.
Her, James, 72.

Immigration into Nebraska, 88.
Immigration, main line in 1852,
174.

Indian department, consent to set-
tlement Omaha town site, 56.

Indians, Omaha, mission school
for, 16, 33; Omaha, Supt. Tay-
lor, 41; Omaha, Balcombe,
Supt., 42; Winnebago, Bal-
combe, Supt., 42; Ponca case,
90-92; Sioux ceded Ponca
lands, 90; at De Soto, 1855,
151; ate dead cattle in

1857, 158; at Wolf creek, toll
br/Jge, 173; Pawnees at cross-
ing of Big Blue river, 173-74;
Pawnees on overland trail, 175;
in old geographies, 207; guns
and revolvers for protection
against, 212; massacre of 1866,
223-25; country in 1840, 247;
scare on plains, 1864, 257; out-
break on Denver trail, 1864,
274; besiege Julesburg, 1865,
275-76; on plains, 1863, 301;
on overland trail, 1865, 302;
run off Clarke cattle at Sand
Hill station, 303; council at Ft.
Laramie, 304.

Indian Territory, 85; Poncas trans-
ported to, 90, 91.

Ingersoll, E. P., first president Ne-
braska Farmers' Alliance, 199.

Injunction threatened against re-
moval state capitol, 320.

Insane hospital, commissioners lo-
cate, 321; burned April 17,
1871, 322; rebuilt, 322.

Iowa seventh cavalry at Ft. Kear-
ney, 303.

Iowa statutes adopted in Nebraska,
85.

Iowa, trapping in 1840, 248.
Irish and Matthias, publishers Ne-
braska City Press, 27.
Irish, Col., consul to Dresden, 68;

(& Renner) partnership in

newspaper, 67.
Iron Eye, Omaha Indian, story of

Logan Fontanelle, 161-64.
Irvine, C, recollections of Omaha

in 1855, 150-60.
Irvine, Louis, born at Omaha, 158.
Irvine, Mrs. C, paper on early

reminiscences, 331.
Irvine, Charles (Mr. and Mrs.),

elected honorary members, 333.
Irwin, John, at Nebraska City, 261.

364

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Jackson, S. N., editor Wyoming
Telescope, 27. -

Jackson (& Tootle), general mdse.
at Omaha, 1854, 14.

Jackson, Z. B., Deputy U. S. mar-
shal, 146.

James, W. C, attorney, adv. in Om-
aha Arrow, 1854, 15.

Jansen, Jreter, elected member, 332.

Jaut, Valet, Indian agent at Ft.
Laramie, 304. ,

Jefferson county overland route,
217-22, 294.

Jenckes, D. B., attorney for cattle
raiders, 142.

Jenkins, D. C, owner Big Sandy
ranch, 217, 218, 219, 220.

Johnson county (Wyo.) case
against raiders, 148.

Johnson, Ann K. (Mrs. C. Irvine),
158.

Johnson, Hadley D., communication
on early days, 51-58; publishes
Nebraska Democrat, 52; terri-
torial printer, 51; father Mrs.
Irvine, 158; paper on early
recollections presented, 327.

Johnson, Harrison, history of Ne-
braska, 52.

Johnson, J. E., editor and propri-
etor Omaha Arrow, 11, 36; adv.
California and Mormon guide,
14; editor, sketch of career, 52,
53.

Johnson & Cassidy, attorneys, adv.

in Omaha Arrow, 1854, 14.
Johnson (& Nye) purchase Omaha

Repul)lican, 45.
Johnson, President, appoints Judge

Dundy, 88; proclamation, 68;

referred to, 84; vetoes bill ad-
mitting Nebraska, 209.
Johnston, Albert Sidney, army

movement by, 313; expedition

to Utah, 261.

Johnston, colored barber in Lin-
coln, 1868, 215.

John, the apostle on island of Pat-
mos, 148.

Jones (and Walker), witnesses in
Douglas jail, 142.

Jones, Benjamin, record on Dundy's
docket, 147; Wyoming trapper,
140.

Jones, Minto, trading post in Jef-
ferson county, 1860, 218.

Jones, trial of, for destroying re-
publican pole, Lincoln, 1868,
215-16.

Judicial districts (territorial) in
Nebraska, 87.

Julesburg, freighting terminus,
1867, 263; crossing of South
Platte, 265-67; worst roads
near, 273; Indians besiege,
1865, 275-76.

Jumping town site at Ft. Calhoun,
154.

Kalkman, B. H., pioneer merchant,
61.

Kanoshe precinct, Cass county,

1854, 22.
Kansas bill of rights, 97.
Kansas City, agents at stock yards,

139; (Freeport) 1842, 249.
Kansas-Nebraska bill, 36.
Kansas, plan to annex South Platte

region, 24.
Katers & Son, Moline, 111., furnish

material for Camp Clarke

bridge, 306.
"K. C." ranch (Wyo.), battle at,

140, 141.
Kearney county, 71.
Kearney, General, fight with Sioux

at Ash Hollow, 179; at Santa

Fe, 253.
Kearney, Neb., 218.
Kearney, Ft. (Old Nebraska City),

55, 63, 279,

INDEX.

365

Keller, John, adv. pine lumber
yard at Council Bluffs, 1854,
14.

Kelly, John W., attorney, adv. in
Omaha Arrow, 1854, 14.

Kennard, Thomas P., member cap-
itol commission, 318; commis-
sioner to locate insane hospital,
321; secretary of state in the
first capitol, 321.

Kennard, Mrs. Thos., dinner for
capitol workmen, 320.

Kesterson, J. B., freighter to Jules-
burg, Ft. Laramie, 220.

Kesterson, J. C, freighter to Den-
ver. 219-20.

Keyes, Elmer, 71.

King's Ranch (Kingston), on over-
land trail, 294.

Kinney, Judge, candidate for con-
gress, 73; nominated for con-
gress, 79.

Kinney (Watson & Green), adv.
town lots at Bellevue, 20.

Kilpatrick, Gage county, 219.

Kiowa, ranch on overland trail,
220, 294.

Kipling, Rudyard, 35.

Kleutsch, saloon keeper in Lincoln,
169.

Klondike mining excitement com-
pared with Denver discoveries,
29.

Knights of Labor, invited to join
with Farmers' Alliance, 203.

Kuhlman, Charles, elected member,
332.

Kountze, August, passenger Om-
aha, 1855, 150.

Kuony, Mr. and Mrs., helpers at
Stevens House, Ft. Calhoun,
153.

Lamaster, Joseph B. (& Mathias),
publishers Nebraska City Press,
67.

Lambertson, G. M., remarks on

Ponca Indian case, 92; coun-
sel for Lincoln city council,
117, 119; goes to Washington,
city council case, 123; before
supreme court at Washington,
129, 130; telegram to Mayor
Sawyer, 130; argument before
supreme court, 135; elected
second vice-president, 328, 332.

Lancaster county, first families, 70;
rush of land seekers, 1868, 214.

Lane, Mr., proprietor boarding
house, Lincoln, 1867, 214.

Langdon, Milton, 70.

La Platte, station on mail route, 56.

Larimer, A. V., attorney, adv. in
Omaha Arrow, 1854, 14.

Lash, Dr., Supt. first insane hos-
pital, 322.

Latham, lawyer, member first ter-
ritorial legislature, 16.

Lavender, Luke, 70.

Law and order league, 105.

Lead City, freighting to, 306.

Legislature adjourns to Florence,
77.

Legislature, first state, 89.
Legislature, territorial, claim act,
152.

Lehmer, Frank, witness to Indian

signatures, 305.
Leighton, Mrs. Harriet W., story of

Nebraska crusade, 165-71.
Leland, H. P., post adjutant. Ft.

Kearney, 1865, 303.
Lemon, J. H., freighter to Denver,

220, 295.

Level, William, voting place at
house, 1854, 21.

Liberty Farm ranch, 220.

Library Historical Society, resolu-
tion regarding use, 336, 337.

Littell,^ B. F., at Ft. Calhoun, 1855,
152.

Little Blue ranch, 220.

366

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Little Blue river, 174; near Big
Sandy ranch, 220; overland
route along, 294.

Little, John, killed by Indians, 224.

Little Powder river (Wyo.), 140.

Little Sandy toll bridge, 218.

Lincoln, Abraham, President, 87;
first Nebraska governor ap-
pointed by, 159; first vote cast
for, 251; remark on the slave
power, 149; succeeded Bu-
chanan, 188.

Lincoln city council, story of in-
carceration, 105-137; declares
police judge removed, 112; re-
ception to, 133; political com-
plexion, 186.

Lincoln city election 1887, 105-6.

Lincoln city funds used in repair-
ing university, 210.

Lincoln city library, beginnings of,
170, 211.

Lincoln city ordinance forbidding
women to enter saloons, 170.

Lincoln, trails across site, 69, 81;
early visit of H. T. Clarke
to, 332; first railroad depot,
210; first school house, 210; in
October, 1870, 209; law and or-
der league, 105; liberty pole
incident, 1868, 215; means of
reaching in 1867, 212; Midland
Pacific railway built to, 292;
Pioneer Hotel, 1867, 213; police
judge, 106, 119; woman's cru-
sade in, 168-71.

Lincoln Herald, 47.

Livelsberger, George, 18th Inf.,
killed by Indians, 224.

Lobingier, C. S., elected second vice-
president, 335; member Com-
mittee on Publication, 1900,
335; paper on Nebraska consti-
tution, 96-104, 330; reinarks
by, 331.

Loder, John and Lewis, 70.

Lodge Pole, on Laramie trail, 265.

Lone Tree stage station (Jefferson
county. Neb.), 218.

Long, A. D., printer Nebraska Pal-
ladium, 15, 17.

Longsdorf, D. E., elected honorary
member, 336.

Loomis, P. F., elected member, 332.

Loper, John and Lewis, 70.

Lowe, B., real estate dealer in
Omaha, 1854, 13.

Luff, early settler near Unadiila,
212.

Lumber, price at Ft. Calhoun, 1855,
152.

Lyanna (& Furnas) publishers Ad-
vertiser, Brownville, 26.

Lyon, Herman Robert, paper on
freighting in the 60 s, 265-273.

McArthur, commander at Ft. Kear-
ney, 176.

McCandless ranch, 217, 222.

McCandless, killed by Wild Bill,
218.

McClennan, Wm., delegate territo-
rial convention, 74.

McClure, E. A., proprietor Omaha
Republican, 39; died in Om-
aha, 41.

McColl, Jack, leader of stampede

from Black Hills, 307.
McComas, maiden name of Mary

E. Furnas, 298.
McCord, Col. Wm. D., drowned in

Missouri, 76.
McCoy, gets charter to bridge sand

roads with litter, 274.
McDonald, Judge, holding claim

1855, 151.
McKee, settler on Nemaha, 71.
McKinney House, Bellevue, 16.
McLelan's outfit at dance, 1865, 230.
McLennan, attorney, 88.
McLennan, William, speaker of

house, 321.

INDEX.

367

McMahon, Dr. P. J., recommended
for secretary of territory, 23.

McMechan, John & Co., adv. grocer-
ies in Omaha Arrow, 1854, 14.

McNeeley, Hugh, editor of En-
quirer, 26.

McPherson, Dr. John, established
Advertiser at Brownville, 26.

McShane, John A., buys Omaha
Herald, 46; visits atty. general
behalf city council, 131.

MacMurphy, Mrs. Harriett, elected
member, 332.

Maddox, Peter, article on freight-
ing reminiscences, 296, 297.

Magoon, C. E., counsel in Lincoln
police judge case, 108.

Maher, John G., elected member,
328.

Mail, from Washington to Omaha,
1860, 27.

Mail routes, 56.

Maine, Judge J. D., 70.

Majors, Alexander, farm near Ne-
braska City, 72; successor to
Russell, Majors & Waddell,
261; freighters rested Sun-
days, 302; Col. Cody requested
to prepare life, 337; & Russell,
222.

Mallaly, Pat, dance, 230.

Malloy, Thomas, history of first

capitol building, 212-16.
Manderson, Chas. F., introduces

Sawyer to President Cleveland,

136.

Manners, Col., on Nebraska survey,
66.

March & Stephenson, make con-
tract with Clarke, 310.

Marion, Gen., steamboat between
Omaha and Council Bluffs, 13.

Mark, Rev. Ives, built mill on Rose
creek, 222.

Marquett, T. M., attorney, 75, 80,
88; opposed to Daily, 74; reso-

lutions on McCord's death, 76;
speech at Omana convention,
1862, 80; early settler, 317.
Martin, Bob, pony express rider,
222.

Martin's precinct, Cass county,
1854, 22.

Martin, William P., elected member,
328.

Marvin, George P., article on bull-
whacking days, 226-30.
Marysville, Kan., 174, 226, 273.
Mason, Joel, 70.

Mason, O. P., 34, 73, 75, 80, 88; bolts
nomination of Daily, 79; op-
posed to Daily, 74; speech at
Omaha, 79; counsel in Lincoln
police judge case, 108.

Mason, Walt, report of Lincoln city
council, 117.

Mason & Slidell, 40.

Mather, Mr., at Ft. Calhoun, 1855,
151; remarks at dedication of
court house, Ft. Calhoun, 155.

Mathews, Dr., first to bring gold
from Pike's Peak, 262.

Mathias, Alfred (& Lamaster), pub-
lishers Nebraska City Press,
67.

Matthias (& Irish), publishers Ne-
braska City Press, 27.
Maxwell, Dr., 70.

Maxwell, Samuel, commissioner
second insane hospital, 322.

Meecham, Mr., 70.

Melick, S. M., deputy U. S. mar-
shal, 146.

Members §tate Historical Society,
1902, 339-46.

Meridian, Neb., on overland route,
294.

Merrick, A. W., editor Enquirer,
De Soto, .26.

Meridian, Neb., located in 1869, 219.

Merrill, Moses, interpreter for ser-
mons to Otoes, 332.

36S NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Methodist Episcopal church during

Fremont campaign, 183.
Mexico, Wyoming trappers to be

taken there, 147.
Midland Pacific railway company

organized, 292.
Military block house at Nebraska

City, 23.

Miller, Col. Lorin, surveys Ft. Cal-
houn, 53.

Miller, Dr. Geo. L., 53, 75, 79; is-
sued first number Omaha Her-
ald, 25, 45; services to Omaha,
25; correspondence for Omaha
Nedraskian, 27, 28; trying to get
land grant for Pacific railroad,
28; address on territorial news-
papers, 31-47; visits Lincoln
city council in jail, 129; paper
on newspapers and newspaper
men presented, 327; member
Committees on Obituaries, 335.

Miller, E. O., elected member, 336.

Miller, Frank, elected member, 336.

Miller, Judge, in Richardson, 85.

Miller, Judge, U. S. supreme court,
130.

Miller, Tom, (Chicago), in Wyom-
ing cattle raid, 141.

Mills, proprietor Douglas House,
1855, 150.

Minick, Alice A., article referred
to, 323.

Minutes State Historical Society,
327-38.

Mission, at Bellevue, Thanksgiving,
1854, 21.

Missouri Compromise, repealed,
208.

Missouri, Oregon, 158.

Missouri Pacific railroad, trappers
placed on board for St. Louis,
147; courtesy to Benj. Gil-
more, 331.

Missouri river navigation. 310, 311.

Missouris, interpreter and black-
smith to, 332.

Mitchell, James M., for Florence,
33.

Mitchell, maiden name of Mrs.
Furnas' mother, 298.

Mitchell, Thomas, anecdote of, 58.

Monell, Dr. G. C, owner Omaha
Repul)Ucan, 39; opposed by
Omaha Republican, 40; candi-
date for congress, 74.

Money power, remarks upon, 148.

Monroe, Mich., Cole starts from on
trail, 172.

Montana route to the mountains,
223.

Monteith, John, work on first cap-

itol, 320.
Montezumas, 254.

Moore brothers, union veterans at

Lincoln, 1868, 215.
Moore, Captain, at Omaha, 1855,

150.

Moore, Dr. William, on Ft. Calhoun
town site, 53.

Moore, George H., killed by In-
dians, 224.

Morand, James, 70.

Mormon cattle dealers, 286.

Morman Guide, adv. in Omaha
Arrow, 14.

Mormon on West Nemaha creek,
71.

Mormon paths to Salt Lake, 207.

Mormon trail north of Platte, 299.

Morrissey, Frank, associate editor
Omaha Herald, 46.

Morrison, Ben, in Wyoming cattle
raid, 141.

Morrison, Constable, holds Wyom-
ing witnesses, 142.

Morrow's, Jack, ranch , on overland
road, 297.

Morton, J. Sterling, and wife, ar-
rive at Bellevue, 18; delegate
to territorial convention, 1854,
22; chairman committee on
resolutions, 1854, 22; editor

INDEX.

3G9

Nebraska City Neivs, 23; at
Nebraska City, 32, 34; tribute
from Dr. Miller, 38; anecdote
told by, 58; at republican terri-
torial convention, 80; claim at
Nebraska City, 56; contest
with Daily, 74; remark to W.
W. Cox, 79; (Sage of Arbor
Lodge), 73; visits Lincoln
city council in jail. 129;
introduces Gen. Thayer, 231;
orders Gen. Thayer to march
against Pawnees, 233; referred
to as Gov. Black, 237; at Ne-
braska City, 1859, 261; early
acquaintance of Munn, 317;
paper on territorial newspa-
pers, presented, 327; calls an-
nual meeting State Historical
Society to order, 327, 330, 334;
elected president, 328, 332, 335;
address on last buffalo hunt,
330; announces Tipton Mss. in
hands of society, 331; annual
address on transportation in
early days, 334; member Com-
mittee on Publication, 1900,
335.

Morton, Thomas, printer Nebraska
Palladium, 15; foreman Palla-
dium, 16; first column of type
set in Nebraska, 19; foreman
Nebraska City News, 23;
settler at Bellevue, 33; printer,
61.

Moss, Henry Arrison, killed by In-
dians, 224.

"Mule-back" trains, 265.

Munn, Eugene, paper on early
freighting and claim clubs,
313-17; elected member, 336.

Murphy, Capt. B. B., orders from
Ft. Kearney, 1865, 302.

Murphy freight wagons, 281.

Museum and collections, committee
established, 335.

Mutual Insurance companies, result
of Farmers' Alliance, 205.

Mynster, C. O., estate of, claims
town lots, 14.

Mynster, Maria, adv. real estate in
Omaha Arrow, 1854, 13.

Naegele, printer on Nebraska
Zeitung, 63.

Navajo Indians, 254.

Nave & McCord, St. Joseph, falling
grocery building, 1860, 28.

Nebraska Advertiser, established at
Brownville, 26.

Nebraska City and Omaha, com-
munication between, 1859, 234;
Brookfield, mayor, 28; branch
overland route, 294; candidate
for congress, 73; census gf
freighting business, 1865, 286;
claim jumping at, 56; consid-
ered most favorable point for
freighting, 279; early settle-
ment, 32; election at, 1854, 22;
ferry in 1867, 212; freighting
route through Gage and Jeffer-
son counties, 219; in 1859, 261;
John McMechan & Co. moved
to, 14; landing of Judge Dundy,
85; land office, 1867, 214; load-
ing point, 1862, 265; lumber
hauled from for state capitol,
319; makes new trail to Ft.
Kearney, 2§1; newspapers dur-
ing civil war, 65; opposed to
Daily, 78; outfitting prices,
229; overland freighting from,
279-93; population, 1856, 316;
principal freighting town, 226;
rivals circulating reports, 24;
rivalry with Omaha, 77; route
from Lincoln to Omaha, 71;
steam wagon road, 297; terri-
torial convention at, 1854, 22;
to Denver, 1865, 296; town site
company, contract with Mor-
ton, 23.

370

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Nebraska City I^ews, 23, 37, 74;
prints Nebraska Zeitung, 61.

Nebraska City People's Press, es-
tablished, 27.

Nebraska City Press, 67, 68.

Nebraska City Zeitung, 60.

Nebraska counties, 1854, 21.

Nebraska Enquirer, published at De
Soto, 26.

Nebraska, finest part of, purchased
from Indians, 15.

Ne'braskian, newspaper published at
Omaha, 24 ; correspondence
from Dr. Geo. L. Miller, 27, 28.

Nebraska-Kansas slave contro-
versy, 208.

Nebraska Palladium, prospectus,
1854, 15.

Nebraska, plan to annex South

Platte region to Kansas, 24.
Nebraska preserved order during

civil war, 67.
Nebraska territory organized, 208.
Nebraska votes down proposition

of statehood, 208.
Nelson, Robert, dies on overland

trail, 176.
Nemaha bridge, 273.
Nemaha City, Herald issued at, 26.
Nemaha county, called Forney

county, 21; mentioned, 75.
Nemaha, meaning of, 155.
Nemaha (West), early settler on,

71.

New England Emigrant Aid Soci-
ety, 208.

New Orleans, Lincoln's visit to, 149.

Newman, Mrs. (Luna Dundy), 92.

News, Nebraska City, first issued,
23; account of gold discover-
ies, 1859, 28; compared with
Press, 27; letter of Horace
Greeley, 28, 29.

Newspaper, first Nebraska, 1854,
15.

Newspapers, Farmers' Alliance, es-

tablished 1889, 201; Western

Rural, with Farmers' Alliance

movement, 199.
New York, conventions, 102.
New York 8un, 43.
Niobrara, mail route to, 56.
Niobrara river, home of Poncas, 90.
Norfolk, no sign of habitation in

1859, 240.
North Bend to Omaha, wheat rates,

311.

North Carolina bill of rights, 97.

North, James, elected member, 336;
member committee confer ter-
ritorial pioneers, 335.

North Platte bridges, 296, 309;
freighting terminus, 1867, 263;
home of E. D. Webster, 40.

Nuckolls, S. F., delegate territorial
convention, 75; founder Ne-
braska City, 32, 34, 261.

Nye, Fred, editor Omaha Repub-
lican, 44.

Nye, Fred, (& Johnson) purchase

Omaha Republican, 45.
Oak creek, Lancaster county, 70.
O'Fallon's Bluffs, 297.
Ohio bill of rights, 97.
Ohio Life and Trust Co., 157.
Oketo, Kan., 226.

Old Elephant corral, at Denver, 229.

"Old Green," chief of Sac and Fox
Indians, 248.

Oldham, Nate, incident with Red
Cloud, 315.

"Old Peter," Pawnee chief, sur-
renders, 243.

Old settlers' reunion, 165.

Olney's geography, representation
of Nebraska, 207.

Omaha, agents at stock yards, 139.

Omaha and Council Bluffs to Mis-
souri, 274.

Omaha and Nebraska City, means
of communication in 1859, 234.

Omaha, arrival of Lincoln city
council^ 117^

INDEX.

371

Omaha and Southwestern railway,
188.

Omaha Arrow, first published, 11;
references to, 35, 37, 53.

Omaha county, 1854, 22.
. Omaha, city lots given away, 1854,
13; contest for territorial cap-
ital, 33; court house in 1862,
80; first trip to, 69; early set-
tlement, 32; electioneering in
1857, 158, 159; freighting out-
fitting point, 299; furnishes
piece of artillery against Paw-
nees, 234; history of, 53; hotels,
1862, 80; in Pawnee war, 1859,
233; jail for Lincoln city
council, 123; meaning of, 155;
meeting of first territorial leg-
islature, 85; merchants seek
short line to Black Hills, 306;
point for transcontinental rail-
road, 28; place for hearing in
Lincoln police judge case, 110;
population, 1862, 81; prices of
grain, 57; pronunciation, 69;
prophecy of in 1854, 12; recol-
lections of, 1855-61, 150-160;
rivalry with Nebraska City, 77;
society, 1855, 157; street rail-
way, 188; tenders Lincoln city
council banquet, 129; territo-
rial convention, 71; territorial
supreme court, 87; Town Site
Co., 56.

Omaha Daily Herald, first issued,
25, 36, 37; birth of, 45.

Omaha Democrat, published by
Hadley Johnson, 52.

Omaha Evening World, 46.

Omaha Grand Central Hotel, 188.

Omaha Indians, Presbyterian mis-
sion school for, 16; and Otoe
mission, 17; mention, 33; Supt.
Taylor, 41; Balcombe, Supt.,
42; battle with Sioux, 1856,
161; buffalo hunt in 1856, 161.

Omaha Nebraskian, newspaper, 24,
37, 47; correspondence from Dr.
Geo. L. Miller, 27, 28; death of,
45.

Omaha Republican, established, 27;
first issued, 36, 39; name
changed from Nebraska Repub-
lican, 42; position regard to
Lincoln city council, 134;
sketch of career, 39-45.

Omaha reservation, return of
Standing Bear, 91.

Omaha Times, established, 27.

Omaha to Council Bluffs, trip in
1855, 156.

Omaha to Denver, stage time, 305.

Omaha Tribune, sketch of career,
43, 44.

"Omaha-ha-ha," trail word, 296.
Omaha World-Herald, formed by

merging, 46.
Omaha and Council Bluffs ferry,

13.

O'Neill, Jas., delegate to territorial

convention, 1854, 22.
O'Neill, Hugh, elected member, 332.
Oreapolis, ferry, 81.
Oregon (Holt Co.), Mo., 158.
Orin Junction (Wyo.), 138.
Orr, Governor, passenger on stage

coach, 57.
Otoe county, called Pierce in 1854,

22, 24; Wyoming Telescope,

established, 27; votes bonds

for railroads, 292.
Otoe Indians, Gilmore blacksmith

to, 332; and Omaha mission,

17.

Ottumwa, la., 1862, 81.

Overland freighting from Nebras-
ka City, 279-93.

Overland Route, Jefferson county
history, 217-22; rations upon,
287; 1865, prices and wages,
288-91.

Overland Trail in 1852, 172-81; in
1849, white men on, 207; in

372

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

1860, 226; camping methods,
282; 1865, census of transpor-
tation, 286
Overland Stage Co., property de-
stroyed near Julesburg, 1865,
277.

Overland stage drivers, list of, 222.
Owens, S. M., purchases Nebraska

Democrat, 52.
Pace, Lewis C, councilman, 106,

107, 114, 124, 128.
Pacific House, Council Bluffs, 1855,

14, 156.

Pacific railroad land grant sought,
28.

Paddock, Algernon S., 80; sketch of
life, 186-198; Annin requested
to prepare life, 337; attitude
on reconstruction, 196; birth
and education, 187 ; delegate to
national republican convention,
1860, 187; faith in Nebraska,
194; food adulteration bill,
195; losses in real estate dur-
ing panic, 191; personal char-
acter and motives, 190, 191;
relation to republican party,
191-97; speechmaking, 193;
stockholder in Nebraska enter-
prises, 188; story of at Ft. Cal-
houn, 153; tariff record, 196;
visits atty. general behalf city
council, 131; with Sawyer to
President Cleveland, 136.

Paddock, Frances A., daughter of
Senator Paddock, 188.

Paddock, Frank A., son of Senator
Paddock, 188.

Paddock, Ira A., father of Senator
Paddock, 187.

Paddock, Major J. W., 187.

Paddock, William and Joseph,
uncles of Senator Paddock, 187.

Paddock,- Zachariah, ancestor Sen-
ator Paddock, 187.

Paine, C. S., member Committee on
Collections, 1900, 335; ap-

pointed collector without sal-
ary, 338.

Paine, Mrs. C. S., elected member,
336.

Palladium, first newspaper printed
in Nebraska territory, 1854,
15-21; account of territorial
convention at Nebraska City,
22; adv. of steam packet line,
19; business directory, 20;
communication from Frederick
V. Hayden, 21; communication
from Horace Everett, 12, 19;
contains meeting of Bellevue
Claim Club, 18; list of - Ne-
braska counties, 1854, 21; per-
sons present at printing of first
copy, 17; printed at St. Mary,
Iowa, 17 ; Thanksgiving edito-
rial, 21; last number April 11,
1855, 23.

Pana, 111., Lyon married at, 269.
Panic of 1857 in Nebraska, 157.
Parke, Col. L. H., in Wyoming cat-
tle raid, 141.
Parker, register U. S. land ofiice,
"150.

Parker, W. F., elected member, 332.
Pasco, prisoner in Omaha jail, 125.
Patrons of Husbandry, in Illinois,
199.

Pattison, J. M., reporter for Arrow,
53.

Pattison, J. W., editor and propri-
etor Arrow, 11, 35, 36.

Pawnee agency, 1856, 162.

Pawnee Indian ("George") at Raw-
hide creek, 269.

Pawnee Indians at war with Sioux,
284; at crossing of Big Blue
river, 174; killed on Big Sandy,
175; make trouble on overland
trail, 175; placed on reserva-
tion in Nance county, 245; rob
Gen. Thayer of his grub, 243;
serve as U. S. scouts, 245; sur-
prised by Gen. Thayer at Bat-

INDEX.

373

tie Creek, 242; war of 1859,
231-246.

Pawnee reserve, 1856, 161.

Paxton, W. A., Jr., bail deposit in
Wyoming cattle case, 147.

Pearman, Wallace, delegate to ter-
ritorial convention, 74.

Peg families, 71.

Penitentiary of Nebraska in 1870,
210.

Penrose, Dr. (Philadelphia), in
Wyoming cattle raid, 141.

People's independent state conven-
tion, call for, 1890, 203, 204;
declaration of principles, 205;
in Lincoln, 1890, 205; petitions
for, 203, 204.

Perkins, Alonzo, at Ft. Calhoun,
1855, 52.

Peruvians (Nebraska), 74, 75.

Philbrick, F. S., elected member,
332.

Philpot, J. E., counsel in Lincoln
police judge case, 108.

Pierce (now Otoe) county, 24; vot-
ing place in, 1854, 22.

Pierce, President, recommendation
for territorial governor, 22, 34.

Pike's Peak gold excitement, 299;
rush, 1859, 261, 262.

Pilgrim house dance, 230.

Piney Fort, 223.

Pinkerton Bertha, elected member,
332.

Plains War of 1865, 273-78.

Platte river bridge at Denver, 268;
crossing of buffalo, 1862, 284;
headless barrels sunk to obtain
drinking water, 302; (North
and South) rivalry, 24, 77;
route only one protected from
Indians, 224,

Plattsmouth, early settlement, 32;
ferry, 1866, 271; flood at, 1866,
272; levee, 75; trail to, 70.

Plows, no use for, ten miles west
of Missouri, 208.

Pochwell, Wm., killed by Indians,
224,

Pole Creek, fight between team-
sters, 1862, 267.

Police judge (Lincoln), 106, 107.

Pollard, Isaac, member committee
confer territorial pioneers, 335.

Ponca Indians, arrested by General
Crook, 91; transported to In-
dian Territory, 90.

Pony Express riders, 222.

Poppleton, A. J., acting governor,
33, 34; at republican terri-
torial convention, 1862, 79.

Potter, Waldo M., eaitor Omaha
Republican, 43.

Pound, Mrs. S. B., member Com-
mittee on Library, 1900, 335.

Powder river cattle country, 138,
140; freighting, 296.

Powers, J. H., President state
Farmers' Alliance, 201.

Powell ranch, 221.

Powell village, Jefferson county,
219.

Poynter, Governor, message regard-
ing state constitution, 101.

Praetorius, Dr., of St. Louis West-
liche Post, 61.

Pratt, freighter from Sidney, 306.

Precincts in Nebraska, 1854, 21, 22.

Presbyterian mission school, 16.

Prices and profits of freighting,
1865, 277; and wages on over-
land trail, 300; for agricultural
implements, 314; for freighting
per 100 miles, 286; for freight-
ing to Denver, 301; for trans-
portation on Missouri river,
310, 311; in Nebraska, 1861-62,
262; of provisions, etc., in
freighting days, 305; of trans^
portation across plains, 263; on
Denver trail, 1866, 270; on
overland route, 1865, 288.

374

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Price, Gen. Sterling, at Santa Fe,
253.

Printing, public territorial, 52.

Prohibition of liquor traffic sub-
mitted, 209.

Pueblo Indians, 254.

Purple, H. C, shot at Ft. Calhoun
battle, 54.

"Q" railroad trains, 265.

Queen, Mr., 70.

Railroad, Council Bluffs & Galves-
ton in 1854, 12.

Railroad freight rates compared
with wagon, 272.

Railroad, Pacific, land grant
sought, 28.

Railroads, proposed terminus at
De Soto, 1855, 151.

Railroad service on the plains, 312.

Railroad, Union Pacific, 138.

Ransom, Frank, attorney for cat-
tle raiders, 146.

Ranching, profits of, 278.

Rapid City, freighting to, 306.

Rastall, John E., letter regarding
underground railroad in Ne-
braska, 323.

Rawhide creek (Neb.), Pawnee In-
dian at, 269; story regard-
ing, 269.

Ray, Nick, Wyoming stockman, 140.
Read's Ranch, on steam wagon

road, 297.
Reavis, Isham, 86, 88.
Reconstruction policy, supported by

Senator Tipton, 184.
Red Oak (la.), Burlington road

built to, 292.
Red Cloud, home of John Gilbert,

222.

Red Cloud Indian Agency (Camp

Robinson), 308.
Red Cloud War, 1863-64, 262.
Red Cloud, Sioux Indian chief, 315.
Reed, Festus, 70.

Reed, H. E., editor Nebraska Pal-

Indium, 15; teacher Presbyte-
rian mission, 16.

Reed, Henry M., apprentice Pal-
ladium, 17.

Regents state university requested
to set aside ground for histori-
cal building, 33.

Renner, Dr. J. F., delegate terri-
torial convention, 74, 75, 80;
paper by, 6u-68; speech at
Omaha convention, 79; sur-
veyor in Nebraska, 66; (&
Irish), newspaper partnership,
67.

Republican and democratic pole in-
cident, 1868, 215.

Republican convention in Lancaster
county, 71.

Republican party, 36; ticket, 1860,
26; and Senator Paddock,
191-97.

Revuhlican, newspaper, established
at Omaha, 27.

Republican territorial convention,
1862, 78-80.

Retzloff, Charles, 70.

Reynolds, Milton W., editor Ne-
braska City News, 74.

Rice, Rev. G. G., at funeral of Hol-
lister, 23.

Richardson, A. T., elected member,
336.

Richardson county, delegation, 75;
county seat, 1857, 85; county
seat contest, 86, 87; half-breed
reserve, 86.

Richardson county, voting pre-
cincts, 1854, 21.

Richardson, Lyman, business man-
ager Omaha Herald, 45.

Richardson, William A., at Wash-
ington with Senator Dougias,
28.

Richland precinct, Jefferson county,
218.

Rixler, Dick, freighter to Denver,
273.

INDEX.

375

Roads from Missouri river to Den-
ver, 273, 274.

Robertson, Theoaore H., editor
Omaha Nehraskian, 27, 47, 75.

Robinson, Gen. John B., voting
place at house, 1854, 22.

Robinson Bros., Jefferson county,
218.

Robinson, Lieut., 18th dragoons, on
Pawnee expedition, 235.

Rock Bluffs claim club, 316.

Rock creek, Jefferson county, 217.

Rockport, Neb., 311.

Rocky mountains, hunting in, 93.

Rogers, E. H., grain buyer at Fre-
mont, 311.

Roggen, E. P., candidate for mayor,
105.

Rolfe, D. P., article on overland
freighting from Nebraska City,
279-93.

Rolfe, R. M., incorporator Mid. Pac.

railway, 292.
Rolfe & Terry, supplies furnished,

287.

"Root Hog or Die," song of the
trail, 297.

Rose, A. M., delegate to territorial
convention, 1854, 22.

Rose Creek, Neb., 220.

Rose Creek City, 222.

Rosewater, Edward, projector
Omaha Bee, 43; visits Lincoln
city council in jail, 129.

Rosewater, Victor, suggests correc-
tions to paper, 331.

Ross, H. M., ciwner Big Sandy
ranch, 219; buys toll bridge on
Big Sandy, 221.

Rothaker, O. H., editor Omaha Re-
publican, 44,

Rounds, S. P., purchaser Omaha
Reputlican, 44.

Rough Riders, 253.

Runyon, Mrs. Mary, daughter of
Mather, 155.

"* Russell, Majors & Waddell, great
freighting firm, hdqrs., 279,
285; force employed by, 313.

Russell, Colonel, 249.

"Rustlers," Wyoming cattle term,
139.

Sac and Fox Indians, 248.
Salaries fixed by constitution of

1875, 100.
Saloons, petition for protection

from women crusaders, 170.
Salt basin, at Lincoln, 70.
Salt creek, 297; ford at Ashland,

266, 271; new trail crosses

south of Lincoln, 281; lime

burned on, 319.
Saltillo, point on new trail, 281.
Salt Lake freight cattle, 286.
Salt Lake, Mormons at, 1849, 207.
Salt Lake trail through Nebraska,

294, 295.

Siand hills of western Nebraska,
300.

Sand Hill station, Indians run off
cattle of Clarke Bros., 303.

Sandy Creek fight with Indians,
257.

Sansouci, Louis, with Omahas on

buffalo hunt, 161.
Santa Anna, 247.

Santa Fe, old burying grounds, 251.

Santa Pe trail, 296.

Sarpy, Peter A., adv. in Palladium
of steam packet line, 19; In-
dian trader, 33; store at Belle-
vue, 20; sells printing ma-
terial to Johnson, 51.

Sarpy county, rise of land values
in, 305.

Saunders, Alvin S., delegate to re-
publican convention, 1862, 80;
governor of Nebraska, 159.

Saunders, Mrs. Alvin, request to
prepare life of Gov. Saunders,
337.

376

NEBRASKA. STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Saunders, Gus, proprietor Lincoln
gambling resort, 108.

Savanna, Mo., crossing river, 172.

Sawyer, A. J., candidate for mayor,
105; appoints Whitmore police
judge, 112; order of arrest, 114,
127; member Connelley Mss.
committee, 328; presents paper
on habeas corpus case, 328; re-
ception at Lincoln, 133; speech
in reply to Gov. Thayer, 132;
story of Lincoln city council,
105-137; telegram from Lam-
bertson, 130; testimony In case
Lincoln city council, 119; visits
President Cleveland at Wash-
ington, 135, 136.

Sawyer wagon road, 223.

SchafCer family killed by Indians,
310.

Schneider, E. P., publisher Omaha

Repultlican, 38.
Schoenheit, attorney, 88.
School, Presbyterian mission, 16.
Schruker & Miller, Davenport, la.,

furnish material for Clarke

bridge, 37.
Schuyler, Neb., near old Shinn's

ferry, 299.
Scott, D, W., commissioner second

Insane hospital, 322.
Scotts Bluffs, on overland route,

180.

Scroggins, Mr., propr. Pioneer Ho-
tel, Lincoln, 1867, 213.

Searson, J. W., elected member, 332.

Seward county, 71; on new trail,
1860, 281.

Seward, W. H., friend of A. S. Pad-
dock, 39, 188.

Seymour, Mr., delegate territorial
convention, 75.

Shambaugh, attorney, 88.

Shannon, Philip E., delegate to ter-
ritorial convention, 1854, 22.

Sharp, Col. Joseph P., residence

Glenwood, la., 33; represented
Cass county, 33.

Sharp, Joseph L., anecdote of, 58;
attorney, adv. in Omaha Arrow,
1854, 14.

Sharp Nose, Sioux Indian, 305.

Shea, Michael, 70.

Sheldon, A. E., member Committee
on Program, 1900, 335; re-
marks by, 331; paper on Wy-
oming cattle war, 330; story of
Wyoming cattle war, 138-49.

Sheridan, General, orders regarding
Black Hills, 92.

Sherman, General, notice regarding
overland routes, 224.

Sherman, John, editor Nebraskian^
24.

Shill, W. B., commissioner second

insane hospital, 322.
Shinn, Elder, 299.
Shinn's ferry on Platte river, 299.
Shirley, Wm., 70.
Sidney, la., 55.

Sidney, Iowa, Nebraska City News

printed at, 23.
Sidney, Neb., freighting point in

1876, 306; becomes great

freighting point, 307, 308.
Sierra Nevada mountains, 173.
Simmons, Mr., 70.
Simpson, Nathan, incorporator

Mid. Pac. railway, 292.
Silk industry in Nebraska, 298.
Silvers, Robert, contractor for state

university, 216.
Sioux and Cheyenne Indian war,

1876, 309.
Sioux City, post-office, 57.
Sioux City route to the mountains,

223.

Sioux Indians, ceded Ponca lands,
90.

Sioux Indians, attack wagon trains,
223; battle with Omahas, 1856,
161; camp at Ash Hollow, 179;

INDEX.

377

council at Ft. Laramie, 304;
demand for white man's hair,
296; in Julesburg fight, 1865,
276; made trouble, 1859, 235;
(Ogalalla) on the overland
trail, 1862, 285; on war path
against Pawnees, 284; on war
path, 1866, 270.

Slaughter ranch, 220.

Slave, fugitive through Nebraska,
323.

Smails, editor Fremont Herald, 47.
Smith, stage driver, 1865, 230.
Smith, J. F. S., elected member,
332.

Snow & Turley, real estate dealers
in Omaha, 1854, 13.

Snyder, A. M., passenger for Om-
aha, 1855, 150.

Snyder (& Dodds), banking and
real estate, at Ft. Calhoun, 155.

Sorenson, Alfred, history of Om-
aha, 52, 58.

South Carolina bill of rights, 97;
popular vote for senator, 99.

South Platte, plan to annex to Kan-
sas, 24; region advertised, 66;
delegates territorial conven-
tion, 1862, 71; crossing, 1852,
177; crossing at Julesburg,
265-67.

Sowbelly, 296.

Springfield RepuJ)Ucan, 43.

Spring Ranch, on overland trail,
294.

Spotted Tail, Sioux chief, in battle
with Omahas, 162; signature,
304.

Standing Bear, return to Nebraska,
91.

State house at Omaha, 1862, 81.

St. Joseph, Mo., (and Leavenworth)
branch overland route, 294;
falling of grocery store build-
ing at, 1860, 28; ferry, 273; in
1852, 172; steamers detained
on way to St. Louis, 19.

St. Louis, Mo., to Bellevue by
steamboat. 310; to Nebraska
City, 1860, 279.

St. Mary, Mills county, Iowa, oppo-
site Bellevue, 17; Astor House,
21; Bruno Tzschuck, surveyor
at, 20.

"Stag dance," 230.

Standing Cloud, Sioux Indian, sig-
nature, 305.

State capitol, first, history of, 212-
216.

State Historical Society Executive
Board, meetings, 336-38.

State Historical Society library,
resolution regarding use, 336,
337.

State Historical Society, list of
members, 1902, 339-46.

Statehood, Nebraska refuses to ask,
208.

State Horticultural Society, social
meeting with State Historical,
328.

State Journal building site in 1867,
213.

State University, contractor Robert
Silvers, 216; story of the stone
steps for first building, 216;
turning of young people to-
ward, 205.

Statutes of Iowa adopted in Ne-
braska, 85.

Steamboats, El Paso, Polar Star,
Jas. H. Lucas, 19.

Steamboat J. H. Lucas, 59.

Steam wagon road, 226, 227, 297.

Steele City, Neb., near overland
route, 217.

Stephens & Wilcox, merchants of
Omaha, 306.

Stevens creek settlement, 70.

Stevens, George, at Ft. Calhoun,
1855, 151, 152.

Stevens, Mrs., daughter of Mather,
155.

378

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Stewart, Andrew, candidate for
Congress, Pennsylvania, 182.

Stewart, Charley, quarrel on over-
land trail, 177, 178.

Stewart, James, at Cuming City,
J 855, 15.

Stocking, Moses, farm starting
point for Denver, 256; wagon
boss, 1862, 265.

Stone, C. E., attorney, adv. in
Omaha Arrow, 1854, 14.

Storey, Wilbur F., publisher Chi-
cago Times, 18.

Street, Franklin, attorney, adv. in
Omaha Arrow, 1854.

Strickland, Silas A., settler at
Bellevue, 33.

Strode, J. B., counsel in Lincoln
police judge case, 108.

Studebaker freight wagons, 281.

Sullivan, P. C, at Ft. Calhoun bat-
tle, 54; dies in Washington
territory, 55.

Sunday driving by freighters, 302.

Supreme judges, amendment sub-
mitted, 209.

Stirveys, of half-breed reserve in
Richardson, 86; of Nebraska
in 1857, 66.

Swain, Everett, elected member,
332.

Sweet, James, incorporator Mid.
Pac. Railway Co., 292; state
treasurer, in first capitol, 321.

Swift Bear, Sioux Indian, signa-
ture, 305.

Swiss laws regarding homestead^,
154.

Syracuse, settlers near, 72.

"T. A." ranch (Wyo.), capture of
raiders at, 141.

Tall Thunder, Sioux Indian, signa-
ture, 305.

Taffe, John, delegate to republican
convention, 1862, 80; editor
Omaha RepuMioan, 43.

Taos, New Mexico, conspiracy, 253.

Taxation of meeting houses in con-
stitution of 1871, 209.

Taylor, E. B., president of senate,
321; proprietor Omaha Re-
puhlicav,, 39; supt. Omaha In-
dians, 41.

Taylor, Cadet, purchaser Omaha
Republican, 44.

Taylor, Wm., candidate for con-
gress, 71, 73, 75; bolts nomina-
tion of Daily, 79.

Tekamah, 1859, 232; Burt county,
1854, 22.

Territorial government organized
in Nebraska, 85; legislature,
86.

Territorial journalism, address by
President Morton, 11-30.

Territorial Pioneers' Society, com-
mittee to confer with, 335.

Test, Jas. D., attorney, adv. in
Omaha Arrow, 1854, 14;
claimed Omaha town lots, 14.

Texas cattle on wagon trains, 228.

Texas cowboys in Wyoming cattle
raid, 141, 142.

Texas steers used on overland trail,
282.

Thackeray, scene from Henry Es-
mond, 198.

Thayer county, overland route, 294.

Thayer, John M., address on Paw-
nee war, 334; anti-Nebraska
bill democrat, 159; elected
member, 336; elected U. S.
Senator, 89; first military
commission, 159; fought by
Omaha Republican, 40; heads
petition for city council, 135;
opinion of Col. McCord, 76;
puts Gov. Black under arrest,
239; story of Pawnee war of
1859, 231-46; surprises Paw-
nees at Battle Creek, 242; visit
to Lincoln city council, 129,
131.

INDEX.

Thanksgiving day at Bellevue, 1854,
21.

The Black War Bonnet, Sioux In-
dian, 305.

The Man that Walks Under the
Ground, Sioux Indian, 805.

Thomas, attorney, 88.

Thomas, C. B., editor Omaha
Tribune, 43, 44.

Thompson, B. B., delegate to terri-
torial convention, 1854, 22.

Thompson, Col., voting place at
house, 1854, 22.

Thompson, J. M., secretary-treas-
urer Farmers' Alliance, 201;
story of Farmers' Alliance,
199-206.

Thurston, John M., popular vote
for senator, 99.

Tibbies, T. H., story of Fontanelle's
death, 161-64; discusses Ponca
case, 328; elected member, 332.

Tibbies, Mrs. T. H., elected mem-
ber, 332.

Tichenor, loaned state money, 209.

Times, established at Omaha, 27.

Tipton, Thomas W., announcement
of Mss. for publication, 331;
elected honorary member, 333;
chaplain, 89; elected to con-
stitutional convention and Ne-
braska senate, 184; elected to
Ohio legislature, 182; in U. S.
land office, Washington, 183;
life of by Furnas, 182, 337;
student at Allegheny college
and Madison college, 182.

Tipton, William, father of Senator
Tipton, 182.

Tobitt, Edith, elected member, 332.

Toll road, over sand-hills near
Julesburg, 274.

Tootle, Thomas & Co. wagon train
attacked by Indians, 224.

Tootle & Jackson, adv. general
merchandise, 1854, 14.

Towl, Edwin S., article upon Judge
Dundy, 83-95.

Town Site Co. at Nebraska City, 23.

Town site companies, rivalry, 24.

Town shares in Nebraska traded in
Iowa, 153.

Towle, E. S., paper read by title,
331; elected member, 332.

Trails across Great Salt Basin
(Lincoln), 70.

Train, George Francis, built Hem-
don House, 80,

Tramps at Ft. Calhoun, 1855, 153.

Tribune (New York), letter from
Greeley, 29.

Turner, John, Indianola, elected
member, 333; paper on Boone
county, 334.

Turley, Marshall, attorney, adv. in
Omaha Arrow, 1854, 14.

Tutt, John and Andrew, teamsters,
265; John, in mercantile busi-
ness at Plattsmouth, 268.

Two Crows, Omaha Indian, finds
Fontanelle's body, 164.

Tysen, Johnse and Fete, teamsters,
265.

Tyson, T. K., address on freighting
to Denver, 256-260; disctission
on early freighting, 334; elect-
ed member, 336.

Tzschuck, Bruno, adv. as surveyor
at Bellevue, 20.

Underground railroad in Nebra.s-
ka, 323.

Unadilla, settler near, 72.

Unadilla, early settlers near, 212.

Union Pacific railroad, 69; change
in freighting base, 306; early
freight rates, 311; free freight
to Camp Clarke bridge, 307;
headquarters, Omaha, 80; junc-
tion with F., E. & M. v.,
138; receivership cases, 92;
reached Kearney, 1866, 263;
running to Grand Island, 1867,
291.

380

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

United States pays Clarke Bros.'

claim for stolen cattle, 305.
University (Nebraska) in 1870,

210; foundations repaired by

Lincoln funds, 210.
Upjohn, Dr. E. N., arrived at Belle-

vue, 18.

Upton, S. E., elected honorary mem-
ber, 333.

U. S. Postal department, refuses
mail to Black Hills, 308.

U. S. senator, popular choice, 99,
188; first election 1866, 89.

U. S. Supreme Court, decision Lin-
coln city council case, 136, 137.

U. S. war department protects
Clarke bridge, 309.

Utah commission, 188, 189.

Ute Indians at war with Sioux, 284.

Vandergrift, present at printing
Palladium, 17.

Van Horn, Col., commanding mili-
tary, 141.

Van Lear, starts flour mill at Ft.
Calhoun, 153.

Van Vliet, Capt. Stewart, built
block house at Nebraska City,
23.

Van Wyck, C. H., Senator, popular
vote, 99; succeeds Paddock,
188.

Virginia City, Nev., freight rates
to, 314.

Virginia stage station, 218.

Vogt, Chas., old store building at
Nebraska City, 63.

Waddell & Russell, freighters rest-
ed on Sunday, 302.

Wadsworth, W. W. (Mrs.), 173.

Wages paid on overland trail, 228,
288, 313.

Wagons used on overland trail, 282.
Walker (and Jones), witnesses in

Douglas jail, 142.
Walker, William, Wyoming trapper,

140; record on Dundy's docket,

147.

Wallace, G. W., adv. as physician

at Bellevue, 20.
Wallace, William A. Judge Dundy

studies law with, 84.
Wallen, early settler near Unadilla,

212.

Wallingford, A. J., 70.

Wallingford, R., 70.

Ward, Joseph, contractor for first
state capitol, 212, 318; contrac-
tor for first insane hospital,
321; rents boarding house to
Felix Carr, 213.

Warner, E. H., worked at saw mill,
Ft. Calhoun, 1855, 152.

Warner, M. M., elected member,
336.

Warsaw, 111., crossing of Missis-
sippi, 172.

Washington county, Clancy mem-
ber legislature, 13; for Thayer
in 1857, 159; voting precincts,
1854, 22.

Washington, D. C, orders from to
Ft. McKinney, 141.

Watson, C. E., adv. land agent, etc.,
at Bellevue, 20.

Watson, Kinney & Green, adv. town
lots at Bellevue, 20.

Watson, W. W., early history of
Jefferson county overland
route, 217-22; elected member,
336; freighter to Denver, 220;
orders as commander of freight-
ing train, 302, 303.

Webber, Emma (Crump), married
John Crump, 221.

Webster, E. D., editor Omaha Re-
publican, 39; secretary to Sew-
ard, 40.

Webster, J. R., address of welcome,

city council, 133, 134.
Wedencamp, John, 70.
Weed, Thurlow, 39.
Weeping Water, Cass county, 220.
Weeping Water, trail to, 70.
Weisel George, ranchman, 219.

INDEX.

381

Wells, H., keeper of Rock creek
ranch, 1862, 218.

West Blue river on new route to
Ft. Kearney, 281.

Western Reserve (Indiana), 248.

Western Union Telegraph company,
franks to city council, 129.

Westliche Post (St. Louis), 61.

Weston, name of Senator Tipton's
mother, 182.

Westover, W. H., attorney for cat-
tle raiders, 142.

West Point, five or six deserted
cabins, 1859, 232, 240.

Wheat, first shipped on Union Pa-
cific, 311.

Wheeler, Dan, 75.

Whig party, 39.

Whisky at state capitol boarding

house, 1867, 214.
Whisky Run stage station, origin

of name, 218.
Whitcomb, Ed., elected member,

332.

White, F. A., incorporator Mid. Pac.
railway, 292.

Whitmore, H. J., appointed police
judge, Lincoln, 112.

White Tail, Sioux Indian, 305.

Wilburn, Mrs. T. J., elected mem-
ber, 336; paper on Wm. F.
Chapin, 334.

Wilcox, J. C, purchases Omaha Re-
publican, 45.

Wilkes, Capt, 40.

Wilson, Mr., near Nebraska City,
72.

Wiltse, Chauncey, editor Omaha
Republican, 44.

Winnebago Indians, Balcombe,
supt, 142.

Winnett, Dr. H. J., elected mem-
ber, 336.

Winter of 1857, 158.

Wolcott, Major, in Wyoming cattle
raid, 141.

Wolf creek toll bridge, 173.

Wollf, David, owner Big Sandy
ranch, 219, 220.

Wolves at Ft. Calhoun, 1857, 158;
near Lincoln, 210; near North
Platte, 267; represented in old
geographies, 207.

Woman's Christian Temperance
Union, 170.

Woman's crusade, 1873-74, 165-71.

Woman suffrage amendment sub-
mitted in Nebraska, 209.

Wood, Aaron, 70.

Woodstock (Conn, and Vt), home
of Paddock family, 187.

Woodward, W. W., elected member
328.

Woolworth, J. M., 34, 79.

Worcester Spy, 43.

Wyandot Indians, documents relat-
ing to, 328; in Indiana, 248.

Wyatt, E., delegate to territorial
convention, 1854, 22.

Wyman, proprietor Omaha Times,
postmaster at Omaha, 27.

Wyoming cattle war, episode of,
138-49.

Wyoming (Otoe county) Telescope,

established, 27.
Wyoming stock laws, 139, 140.
Yale college, Hollister, graduate

shot, 23.

Yankee Hill, foundation stone for
state university, 216; for in-
sane hospital, 321; for state
capitol, 319.

York county, 71; on new trail, 1860,
281.

Young, Rev. J. M., founder Lancas-
ter colony, 70.

Yost, C. E., purchases Omaha Re-
publican, 44; receiver Omaha
Republican, 45.

1897

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