YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Illustrated History of Nebraska TERRITORIAL SEAL WITH MAPS, TABLES, VIEWS PORTRAITS, BIOGRAPHIES, AND SPECIAL ARTICLES Volume I 190^ tng byHenryTtLylor-Tr p^^tX^^v)AA^^^^^^_ Illustrated History of Nebraska A HISTORY OF NEBRASKA FROM THE EARLIEST EXPLORATIONS OF THE TRANS-MrSSISSlPPI REGION .WITH STEEL ENGRAVINGS, PHOTOGRAVURES, COPPER PLATES, MAPS, AND TABLES BY J. STERLING MORTON SUCCEEDED BY ALBERT WATKINS, Ph.B., LL.B., as editor-in-Chief DR. GEORGE L. MILLER, associate editor Volume I LINCOLN JACOB NORTH & COMPANY 1905 COPYRIGHT, 1905 BY THE WESTERN PUBLISHING AND ENGRAVING COMPANY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE STRONG MEN AND NOBLE WOMEN WHO DARED THE DANGERS AND ENDURED THE HARDSHIPS OF PIONEER LIFE IN THE "GREAT AMERICAN DESERT"; WHO FIRST PLOWED AND PLANTED UPON THESE PLAINS, AND WHO HERE FIRST BUILT AND CONSECRATED HUMAN HOMES LINCOLN, 1905 EDITORIAL STAFF J. STERLING MORTON SUCCEEDED BY ALBERT WATKINS, Ph.B., LL.B., as Editor-in-Chief DR. GEORGE L. MILLER Associate Editor CLARENCE SUMNER PAINE, Managing Editor CONTRIBUTORS GEOLOGY Erwin Hinckley Barbour, Ph.D., .... Lincoln, Nebraska Professor of Geology, University of Nebraska PLANT LIFE Charles Edwin Bessey, LL.D., .... Lincoln, Nebraska Professor of Botany, University of Nebraska PLACE OF NEBRASKA IN AMERICAN HISTORY Howard Walter Caldwell, Ph.B., A.M., . . . Lincoln, Nebraska Professor of American History and Politics, University of Nebraska the sociological peculiarities of the PLAINS POPULATION George Elliott Howard, Ph.D., .... Lincoln, Nebraska Professor of Institutional History, University of Nebraska THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN NEBRASKA Roscoe Pound, Ph.D., ...... Lincoln, Nebraska Dean of the College of Law, University of Nebraska METEOROLOGY Professor George A. Loveland, .... Lincoln, Nebraska Director of the U. S. Weather Bureau, University of Nebraska ANIMAL LIFE Lawrence Bruner, B.Sc, .... . Lincoln, Nebraska Professor of Entomology and Ornithology, University of Nebraska FORESTRY Robert W. Furnas, Former Governor of Nebraska. CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY Jay Amos Barrett, ...... Lincoln, Nebraska Curator and Librarian, Nebraska State Historical Society viii CONTRIBUTORS MUNICIPAL HISTORY Addison E. Sheldon, A.M., ..... Lincoln, Nebraska Director of Field Work, Nebraska State Historical Society archeology Elmer Ellsworth Blackman, ..... Lincoln, Nebraska Archeologist Nebraska State Historical Society BANKING AND FINANCE Henry W. Yates, ....... Omaha, Nebraska President Nebraska National Bank METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH Rev. David Marquette, D.D., .... University Place, Nebraska Corresponding Secretary State Methodist Historical Society episcopal church Hon. James M. Woolworth, ..... Omaha, Nebraska Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska CATHOLIC CHURCH — OMAHA DIOCESE Rev. Patrick F; McCarthy, ..... Omaha, Nebraska CATHOLIC CHURCtI — LINCOLN DIOCESE Rev. Michael A. Shine, ..... Lincoln, Nebraska Rector St. Theresa's Pro-Cathedral christian church Willis A. Baldwin, ...... Lincoln, Nebraska Corresponding Secretary, Nebraska Christian Missionary Society CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Rev. Harmon Bross, D.D., ... . Lincoln, Nebraska Superintendent of Congregational Home Missions for Nebraska, and Department Commander of Grand Army of the Republic BAPTIST CHURCH Rev. Austin W. Clark, ...... Omaha, Nebraska Baptist Church Historian for Nebraska, and Corresponding Secretary National Conference of Charities and Corrections LUTHERAN CPIURCH Luther M. Kuhns, D.D., Omaha, Nebraska Secretary Luther League of America masonry Francis E. White, Omaha, Nebraska Grand Secretary A. F. and A. M. odd fellowship Hon. George L. Loomis, LL.B., .... Fremont, Nebraska CONTRIBUTORS ix reminiscences Hon. Jefferson H. Broady, ..... Lincoln, Nebraska across the plains in 1862 Captain Henry E. Palmer, ..... Omaha, Nebraska GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC Bradford P. Cook, ...... Lincoln, Nebraska Department Patriotic Instructor G. A. R. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE IN NEBRASKA William Holman Jennings, ..... Lincoln, Nebraska Christian Science Publication Committee for the State of Nebraska PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Rev. James D. Kerr, ..... Omaha, Nebraska UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, ..... New York city THE STORY OF FALKI, WAR CHIEF OF THE PAWNEES Hon. Hiram P. Bennet, ..... Denver, Colorado INDIAN NOTES Melvin Randolph Gilmore, A.B., .... Bethany, Nebraska Assistant in Science and Curator of Museum, Cotner University NEBRASKA STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE Edmund McIntyre, . . . . ... Seward, Nebraska Member of the Board since 1874 and Treasurer since 1890 EDITOR'S PREFACE The Illustrated History of Nebraska was projected in 1897, with J. Sterling Morton as editor-in-chief and Dr. George L. Miller associate editor. The plan of the work was arranged and the preparation of the contributions, such as histories of counties, articles on special topics, including histories of the various churches and other societies and bio graphical sketches, was begun under Mr. Morton's supervision and with the effective and enthusiastic aid and counsel of Dr. Miller. A few months before Mr. Morton's lamented death, at his urgent solicitation, I consented to carry on his work as editor and in particular to prepare the history proper. His plan at that time was to confine this part of the work to a brief outline of the formal history of the territory and state, regarding the other parts as its principal feature. He intended that this work should be accomplished in a few months and that the history should be ready for publication early in the year 1902. From the first I held firmly the opinion that a comprehensive and systematic history was more desirable and would be more useful and of more permanent value than the proposed spe cial features. The publishers, Jacob North & Co., and Mr. C. S. Paine, managing editor, also shared my views. Everything, therefore, that Mr. Morton had planned for the history as editor-in-chief, and with a much larger scope, will be executed just as if he had lived, but in the regular or systematic history of the territory, which has constantly grown on our hands and is presented in this and the following volume, early subscribers to the work get as a reward for their possibly tedious waiting vastly more than Mr. Morton instructed me to give. In a prospectus of the History, written when it was projected, Mr. Morton, in enthu siastically setting forth important features of a worthy work of that kind and its great importance, expressed a vivid appreciation of the great labor and expense involved in the undertaking, by reason of its magnitude and the fact that its field was as yet unexplored, and also of the illustrative value of a comprehensive system of biographical sketches : "But as yet the story of those stirring times and the narrative of the first struggles between barbarism and civilization on these plains is unwritten. More than thirty years have elapsed since Nebraska ascended from territorial to state government and was trans formed from a federal dependency to a sovereign member of the American Union. In all those years no faithful history of the commonwealth from its inception has been essayed and only a few meager sketches of its morning time and its pioneers have ever been pub lished. The time and the opportunity for a history of Nebraska has arrived. It is our duty to gather together in good and enduring form all the stories and heroisms of the frontier territory and to truthfully portray the moral and mental strength of the cour ageous men and women who made it so strong and vigorous that it evolved the state. "And then, uniting the forerunners of the frontier with the pioneers of the new state, this history shall demonstrate the self-reliance, the self-denial, and the self-respect which characterized and glorified those men and women who relinquished friends, relatives, and all the charms and associations of their dear homes in the East to become the fore runners of a new civilization on these plains. There is a universal demand for a credible history which shall give the youth of Nebraska a correct understanding of its founders, and the outcoming volumes will be alive with the individualities which have given power and force to the mental and material growth of the state. In almost every county there are men and women whose influence and labors have made them italicized forces in industrial and social progress. Many of these are of relatively recent citizenship, but xii EDITOR'S PREFACE by their superior abilities and tireless energies they have impressed themselves inefface- ably upon the welfare and growth of their respective localities, and in fact upon the entire state. The biographies of such men and women not only make the history of a state — they construct and fashion the state itself. "But besides truthfully portraying past achievements and present developments, we shall honestly endeavor to set forth the economic advantages of each county and town in the state of Nebraska. Soil, climate, water supply, clays for pottery and tiles and stone quarries wherever found will be accurately described, while the agricultural and horticul tural advantages and possibilities of all will be equitably and plainly depicted. The pres ent output of manufactured articles will be accredited to each community. The advantages of giving to the world in this substantial and permanent form a standard thesaurus of reference for Nebraska are too obvious to require elaboration. "The editors and publishers realize that this historical work requires vast labor and research and the outlay of a very large sum of money. But they have faith in the pride of ancestry, pride of home, and pride of state which permeates Nebraska citizenship, and therefore enter upon the work with an exultant assurance of making it a marked and triumphant success." I shall perhaps be charged with too frequent use of newspaper statement and com ment. But I have followed that course deliberately, because the contemporary press fur nishes a large part of our source material and because the press comment, discriminat ingly judged by the reader, is the best illustrator and interpreter of the related facts and incidents. Mr. McMasters, it seems to me, has been at fault in so commonly basing his facts upon newspaper statements with mere foot-note reference to his authority. In avoid ing this fault I have perhaps committed another in frequently giving the newspaper statement itself in the text. It is a great misfortune that, in addition to the loss of public records and other historical material, the territorial government neglected to preserve files of the newspapers, so that they are not completely connected, and only a few num bers of many of them are in existence at all. Mr. Alonzo D. Luce, territorial librarian, 1859-60, showed keen foresight and solicitude in relation to the preservation of news papers, and prophesied the loss, which we now deplore, in the following lamentation : "Many of the files of newspapers heretofore published in this Territory, which I have received from my predecessor, John H. Kellom, Esq., are in a mutilated condition, and I deem it prudent to recommend an appropriation to defray the expenses of binding them, and those which may accumulate during the coming year."1 This appeal of 1859 was, it seems, in vain, and so it was repeated in the next report with additional emphasis: "I have experienced considerable difficulty in procuring the few broken files of news papers which are now in my office, owing to the great irregularity and uncertainty of the mails in the Territory. I deem it advisable, therefore, to urge the passage of a law requir ing each newspaper publisher in the Territory to furnish at the end of each volume of their publication, one complete copy or file of whatever journal they may publish, to the Librarian, who shall audit and approve any bill agreeing with their advertised rates, and draw upon the Auditor of the Territory for the issue of warrants to the full extent of said bill. When said copy oi any journal is received, it can only be preserved by bind ing in a good and substantial manner. Hence, I again request you to urge upon the Leg islative Assembly an appropriation to defray the expenses of binding all the files of news papers now in my possession. By carefully preserving these diaries of the ever-fleeting present, can we alone hand down to our posterity the progressive history of our fair young Territory. Without these files of newspapers, biographers and historians may look in vain for data of past events, and the world will, however willing, be unable to look JHouse Journal, 6th Ter. Sess., p. 28. EDITOR'S PREFACE xiii with an admiring eye upon the individual achievements of our philosophers and states men. Even the publications of the first Legislative Assembly are now nearly extinct, and soon, without some fostering hand to preserve them, we will have no record of the action of that honorable body. When I received the Library there was to be found not a single copy of either the Laws or Journals of the House of Representatives of the first session of the Legislative Assembly."1 Obviously, in a state history, it is proper to record facts much more minutely than in a national, or more general work; and it is to be regretted that facts of our early history have been so meagerly preserved, and indeed so carelessly lost. The discovery and assim ilation of additional detail material will be the work of students for many years. Fully con scious of the necessary imperfections of the history, I yet rejoice that I have at least been able to collect, preserve, and arrange in systematic, connected, and intelligible fonn the important facts, and to recite in regular sequence the story, of the beginning and early life of this great commonwealth, so that its citizens will no longer be compelled to regret, or be able to justify, ignorance of the history of their state because there is no means of acquiring any knowledge of it. Much of the material for this history was rapidly per ishing; and I am conscious of having performed at least a timely and important public service in embalming in these pages such part of the precious and fugitive data as I have been able to gather. Thanks are due to those eminent specialists, Professors Charles E. Bessey, Erwin H. Barbour, Lawrence Bruner, and George A. Loveland, of the Univer sity of Nebraska, for their generous and very valuable contributions on the botany, geology, entomology, and meteorology of the state, to the gentlemen in charge of the State His torical Society for their generous aid, to librarians and others in charge of documentary matter, and to the pioneers of the territory for their willing and valuable contributions of facts. A history of Nebraska naturally involves some account of the Louisiana Purchase and the Kansas- Nebraska bill; but if my treatment of these topics seems of disproportionate length and particularity, it is, I think, justified by the fact that many of the Nebraska pur chasers of the history live out of reach of libraries, and my object has been to furnish them, including country schools, with a tolerably complete, progressive account of the origin and political development of the vast and rich portion of the great Purchase out of which the state was deliminated. For the comfort of the historian it is too soon to write history during the lifetime of the doers of many of the deeds recounted. A history involves at least incidental or par tial biographies of its principal human actors, and Mr. Edmund Gosse has well observed that, "The biographer's anxiety should be, not how to avoid indiscretion, but how to be as indiscreet as possible within the boundaries of good taste and kind feeling."2 In this sense, in the interest of the whole work, it is possible that I have been occasionally in discreet in the treatment of the personages of the history, but always, I hope and think, within the boundaries outlined by the competent critic I have cited. Another historical critic3 has lately expressed my own deductions from experience : "If he can only make his reader also aware of what happened, and from what rea sonable causes and after what fashion of occurrence, he will do well. Any such insight and hindsight and foresight as they attempt who would fain discover 'the meaning of history' would be nothing less than a complete mastery of life. It would carry along with it all science and all theology, . . . It is the things that are told us in the sim- 1 House Journal, 7th Ter. Sess., p. 29. !The Ethics of Biography, Cosmopolitan Magazine, July, 1903. * Wm. Garrett Brown, Atlantic Monthly, November, 1903. xiv EDITOR'S PREFACE plest honesty, with whatever confessions of interest may be necessary, that help us most to understand the life about us ; and I know not why the same thing should not be true of past life." Again, excusing what to the severe critic may seem undue indulgence in detail and personalities, the same writer says : "However considerable may be the practical uses of the knowledge of the past, I am persuaded that men do not, as a rule, give themselves to a study of it for any merely prac tical purpose whatever. It is rather from a grave curiosity that the historian sticks to his endless task." Furthermore, as William Roscoe Thayer has lately observed, "personality is coming again into the foreground of history. This involves a radical change in treatment, for persons must be described as alive and concrete, with individual flavor and surprises, and not as abstract and mechanical." And yet, in fact if not in purpose, the historian caters to curiosity to a better end. For, "We have reached the synthetic stage. History is going to be more and more a civilizing agent, for it will keep ever present the col lective experience of mankind. Many false steps are now taken, many crazes distract the people, many wicked policies are ventured on by rulers, through ignorance or for getfulness of the results of similar action in the past. History will serve not less as a corrective than as a discipline and as an inspiration." This History is in the main a story of great accomplishment through great effort, in spired in some sort by great courage and high character, yet always hampered and often defeated by weakness and wickedness in private relations, but more particularly in public place. This story of the past should be a warning, a guide, and a stimulus in the present first general and apparently genuine struggle in this commonwealth for civic righteousness and economic equity. While the principal object of the historian is to expose facts to the view and judg ment of the readers themselves, yet it is necessary to comment and pass judgment upon given data in order to ascertain the real facts. Again Mr. Thayer : "The historian's business is to trace the sequence of cause and effect so that every event, every deed shall appear inevitable," but beyond this he can not go; for "until history can demonstrate the possible as clearly as the actual, it will never be a valid science. . . . Before his tory can be a science, men must possess the gift of prophecy. Chemistry is a science because water will be composed of two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen until the earth drops into the sun; but the historian has to do with a chain of causation in which the chief elements — the human will and chance — are absolutely incomputable. . . . Suppose Mirabeau had not died in 1791, — suppose Robespierre had been assassin ated in 1792, — suppose a stray bullet had killed young Bonaparte at Toulon, — how would the course of events have been changed!" Further comment of Mr. Brown more than justifies and excuses the amount of time given to the preparation of the present work: "The fame of a historian is not to be won but by the longest of wooings. It is scarcely too much to say that no really great work in history was ever less than a life work. ... It is not alone in the erudition of his work, but in the entire quality of it that the sacrifice of his years will be found to have availed. Even for the uninstructed reader, careless of foot-notes, it will not have been made in vain." The copious references in the foot-notes will be of great value to those who may seek additional knowledge on any of the topics of the text which are of more than passing EDITOR'S PREFACE xv importance and interest, and in facilitating verification. The brief biographical sketches of the persons of note mentioned in the text, which also occur in the convenient form and position of foot-notes, will be found of great convenience and interest to both reader and student, and the portraits of the most important of these personages, and all well exe cuted, are not only a very attractive feature of the work, but their procurement and pres ervation in the history is a rare achievement and one of inestimable value. This mag nificent picture gallery comprises portraits of all of the territorial governors, five in num ber; all of the secretaries, three in number; all of the twelve judges of the territorial courts; all of the five delegates to Congress; nearly all of the members of the first legislature, every one obtainable, and many of the members of the second legislature; and a large number of the early settlers. It is doubtful that any other state has as nearly complete a set of the portraits of its pioneer public men as is contained in this Nebraska collection, for the reason that the special business of procuring them, for this history, was begun here much earlier than in other states. It has required indefatigable and persistent effort to obtain this class of portraits and biographical data, and if the search for them had been postponed but a year or two, in many cases it would have been fruitless. Some day the people of Nebraska must become indebted to this History for the originals from which they will cause enlarged copies to be taken and hung in the public offices of the state and grouped in an appropriate public gallery which will no doubt be provided for them. It is due to Messrs. Morton and Miller for me to say that the work of the text, or history proper, its faults and its foibles, which I fear may be many, and its fictions, which I trust are few, is my own, in conception and execution, and it has been done en tirely free from outside dictation or suggestion, except where the latter has been invited. The second volume treats fully of territorial banking, including the notorious wild cat banking, slavery in Nebraska, building the Union Pacific railroad, Mormons in Ne braska, territorial military history, the territorial industrial products and newspapers, and the early history of church denominations and fraternal organizations. This volume will also contain a comprehensive account or story of the Indian occupation of the Nebraska country, including the relations of the various tribes with one another and with the white settlers. This important topic will in the main cover new ground ; for while much has been written about the characteristics and location of the tribes in question, no general related and connected account of them has yet been published. This account is based very largely upon the voluminous and minute reports of the local Indian agents and their superior officers in the Indian department, and is therefore characterized by originality and authenticity. This part of the work is separated from the more fundamental treat ment of the Indian occupancy in the beginning of the first volume in accordance with the general expansion of the original plan of the History, under which there was not time or space for the more detailed treatment. It was long ago said that the historian should be "blessed with leisure and easie for tune," and the undertaking to put out an adequate and creditable history of a new state where these prime requisites are wanting was premature. The fact that few of our old est *and richest states' have histories as complete or as creditable as this history of Ne braska is therefore largely due to the unusual enterprise of Messrs. North and Paine, and has involved the serious self-sacrifice of all who have been immediately concerned in its production. Too much credit can not be given to the publishers, especially the late Jacob North, whose faith in the success of the enterprise and in the willingness of the people to sustain it never wavered. After his death, and the immediately subsequent destruction of the xvi EDITOR'S PREFACE plant of Jacob North & Co. by fire, the project might easily have been abandoned. But the reorganized firm at once resumed operations and, with the active cooperation of Mr. C. S. Paine, prepared to broaden the scope of the work and push it forward to publica tion. During the subsequent years, in the face of much unjust criticism, and at times confronted by almost insurmountable obstacles, they have never faltered in their efforts to carry out the purpose of the elder North to publish a creditable history of Nebraska. Lincoln, 1905. ALBERT WATKINS. PUBLISHERS' NOTE The Publishers desire to offer their sincere acknowledgments to the loyal and pub lic-spirited citizens of Nebraska who, by their cooperation, have made possible the com pletion of this work according to the original plans of its projectors. An effort has been made to eliminate the objectionable features of similar publications, with what success we leave the reader to judge. The biographies and portraits of those men and women who are entitled to such recognition have been included where it has been possible to secure data and photographs, without pecuniary consideration, except that those who were deemed worthy of repre sentation and were able to pay for a better engraving than the publishers could afford have been permitted to arrange for such engravings, paying only the expense thereof. Individual opinions may differ as to who should be represented in a work of this char acter, and while we have doubtless made mistakes, we have not been influenced by finan cial considerations in any case. In the preparation of the history, wherever we have found one who has seemed to stand out among his fellows in a conspicuous manner, we have made every possible effort to secure such personal data regarding his career as would serve to give the reader an insight to his character, and also to present a faithful portrait of the subject. Our thanks are due to the following associations and individuals for their coopera tion in the labors and research involved in this work, covering as it does a wide field of investigation : Nebraska State Historical Society. — Henry T. Clarke, president ; Howard W. Cald well, secretary; Jay Amos Barrett, curator and librarian; Addison E. Sheldon, director of field work; Elmer E. Blackman, archeologist. Historical Department of Iowa, Charles Aldrich, curator, Des Moines, Iowa ; Missouri Historical Society, Miss Mary Louise Dal ton, librarian, St. Louis, Missouri ; Kansas Historical Society, George W. Martin, sec retary, Topeka, Kansas ; Omaha Public Library, Miss Edith Tobitt, librarian ; State Uni versity Library, James I. Wyer, librarian, Lincoln, Nebraska ; A. D. McConihe, New York; Elyria (Ohio) Democrat, F. S. Reefy, editor; Basil S. Ramsey, Plattsmouth, Ne braska ; Moses H. Sydenham, Kearney, Nebraska ; Charles B. Horton, district superin tendent Western Union Telegraph Company, Omaha, Nebraska; Mark M. Coad, Fremont, Nebraska ; Capt. Silas T. Learning, Decatur, Nebraska ; Capt. Henry E. Palmer, Omaha, Nebraska; James R. Porter, Haigler, Nebraska: Henry C. McMaken, Plattsmouth, Nebraska; Gen. G. M. Dodge, New York city; Hiram P. Bennet, Denver, Colorado ; James Sweet, Kansas City, Missouri ; Robert C. Clowry, president Western Union Tele graph Company, New York city ; Col. R. T. Durritt, Louisville, Kentucky ; Judge Eleazer Wakeley, Omaha, Nebraska ; Nathan P. Dodge, Council Bluffs, Iowa ; C. G. Coutant, editor History of Wyoming, Sheridan, Wyoming ; Judge David McCullouch, Peoria, Illinois ; Nebraska City News — Otoe C. Morton and Charles M. Hubner; John Nordhouse, New York city; Pierre Chouteau, Jr., St. Louis, Missouri; Judge J. H. Broady, Lincoln, Nebraska; Robert Harvey, Lincoln, Nebraska; Major H. M. Chittenden, Sioux City, Iowa; Professor Melvin R. Gilmore, Cotner University, Bethany, Nebraska; Olin D. Wheeler, editor Trail of Lewis and Clark, St. Paul, Minnesota; Peter Koch, Baseman, Montana; C. E. Johnson, Salt Lake, Utah. xvm PUBLISHERS' NOTE The cooperation of all those named has been so cordial and so helpful that it seems a poor return barely to mention them by name, but all so mentioned will understand that only want of space prevents a more definite and personal acknowledgment. Our indebtedness to others is acknowledged in connection with their contributions, particularly in the case of special contributors, who are also named on the editorial staff. Many proffers of assistance have been made by others of which we have not yet been able to avail ourselves. In this connection should also be noted the cooperation of the railroad managers of Nebraska, who have made it possible to cover fully, in the search for historical data, not only Nebraska, but all contiguous territory. Among the more important of these roads are the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad in Nebraska, the Union Pacific, Chicago and North-Western, Missouri Pacific, Illinois Central, and the Wabash. So many valuable historical papers have been received from so many sources, treat ing of such a variety of subjects, that it has been decided to group such of these as can be used under an appropriate head in a later volume. An especial effort has been made from the beginning to correct errors heretofore ap pearing in proper names, and to give names in full wherever possible to do so. To this extent we have taken the liberty of correcting quoted articles, adding Christian names and correcting spelling of proper names wherever they were known to have been mis spelled. In this critical work it is too much to hope that no errors have been made, but we are at least conscious of having exercised the most painstaking care. In the arrangement and classification of biographies, we have, wherever possible to do so, included these sketches as foot-notes in that part of the history where they most appropriately belong. Where this could not be done, on account of their length or for any other reason, we have arranged them in alphabetical order in a separate chapter at the close of each volume, and by volumes in the order of date of settlement in Nebraska. A minute and exhaustive index of subjects, persons, and events will find place in the final volume. Until its completion the detailed table of contents will be found very serviceable in lieu of the index. The appendix matter, which should properly have been included in the first volume, has been assigned to the second, where more space was available. PUBLISHERS. CONTENTS OF VOLUME I Chapter I Natural conditions, traditional, fanciful, and authentic, 1-3 ; Geology, 3-7 ; Archeology, 8-12; Climatic conditions, 12-17; Plant life, 17-28; Animal life, 28-30. Chapter II Aboriginal occupants, 31-44; Coronado's expedition, 45-48; Explorations of Mallet brothers, 48; Lewis and Clark expedition, 49-55; Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike's explorations, 55-56; Crooks and McLellan, 56; Astorian expedition, 57-58; Yel lowstone expedition, 59; Long's first expedition, 65; Fremont's expedition, 61-64; Manuel de Lisa, 64-66; Logan Fontenelle, 66-67; Peter A. Sarpy, 70-72. Chapter III Early travel and transportation, 73-74 ; Oregon Trail, 75-92 ; Overland Mail, 93-95 ; Pony Express, 96-99; River navigation, 99-104; Freighting, 1 05-11; Territorial roads, 11 2- 16. Chapter IV Louisiana Purchase — Extent and cost, 1 17-18; Negotiations, 118-22; Attitude of statesmen, sections, and Congress, 123-25; Specific boundaries, 125-26; First gov ernment, 127; Transfer, 128; Territory of Louisiana, 128-30. Chapter V Status of slavery question, 131-32; Missouri Compromise, second Compromise, 133-35; Stephen Arnold Douglas, 135-36; Richardson bill, 137-40; The Dodge bill, 140-41; Kansas-Nebraska bill, 141-45 ; Provisional government, division of Nebraska, 141-53 ; Estimate of Douglas, 153-56; Proposed boundaries compared, 157-58; Organic acts compared, 158-59. Chapter VI The first governor, 160-64; Initial population, rival towns, 164-68; Organization proc lamations, 168-76; Election precincts, 176-77; First capital controversy, 177-87; First congressional election, 187-90; Quincy colony, 190-91; Governor Burt's ap pearance and reception, 191-92; Tribute to pioneer founders, 192-93. Chapter VII Organization and characteristics of the ist legislature, 194-21 1; Gov. Mark W. Izard, 211-13; Locating the capital, 213-22; Presbyterian mission, Bellevue 222-23; Laws of the first session, 223-28 and 236-44; First United States surveys, 229-31; Claim clubs, 231-36; Nebraska's peculiarity, 245; Misnamed places, 246-48; First Independence day, 248-49; First Thanksgiving day, 249-50; Judicial organization, first terms of court, 251-55. xx CONTENTS Chapter VIII Second census of Nebraska territory, 256 ; Second election, 256-57 ; 2d legislature, 257-87; Second congressional campaign, 288-90; Political conditions, 291-92. Chapter IX The 3d legislature, 293-307 ; Repeal of the criminal code, 302-5 ; Third congressional campaign, 308-9; General election, 309-10; Resignation and estimate of Governor Izard, 311-13; Gov. William A. Richardson, 313; 4th legislature, 313-35; Flor" ence secession, 322-35 ; Death and estimate of Governor Cuming, 337-40. Chapter X First political conventions, 341-47 ; Postponement of land sales, 347-49 5 5tn legislature, 350-70; First territorial board of agriculture, 359; Resignation of Governor Rich ardson, 371-76. Chapter XI Land sales, 377-78 ; Half-breed tract, 378-82 ; Survey of base line and erection of mon ument, 381-86; Appointment of Governor Black, 383-86; General surveys, 386-89; First territorial fair, 387-93; Chapman- Ferguson contest, 395-96; Annexation to Kansas, 396-406. Chapter XII The territory under party organization, 407; Nomination of first territorial democratic ticket, 407-10; First territorial Republican convention, 410-11; First party cam paigns, 411-12; Daily-Estabrook contest, 412-15; 6th legislature, 415-22; death and estimate of Fenner Ferguson, 422. Chapter XIII Statehood election, 423; Republican territorial convention of i860, 425-30; Democratic convention of i860, 430-34; Congressional campaign of i860, 434-40; 7th legisla ture, 440-45; Census of i860, 445; Morton-Daily contest, 445-56; Departure of Governor Black, an estimate of his character, 456-58; Appointment of Governor Saunders, 459; Military affairs, 460-62; Election of 1861, 462; 8th legislature, 463-68; Congressional conventions of 1862, 468-72; Congressional campaign of [862, 472-73; No legislative session in 1863, 473-74; Territorial election, 1863, 474. Chapter XIV Ninth legislature, 476-82; Constitutional convention of 1864, 482-84; Democratic territo rial convention of 1864, 483-84; Union party movement, 485-88; Union congres sional convention 1864, 489-91; Democratic congressional convention 1864, 492; Congressional election of 1864, 493; ioth legislature, 493-98; Reappointment of Governor Saunders and appointment of Chief Justice William Pitt Kellogg, 498 ; Re publican territorial convention, 1865, 498-99; Democratic territorial convention of 1865, 499-503; Election of 1865, 503; Politics in 1865, 501-5; nth legislature, 505-n; First state constitution, 511-16; Union territorial convention, 1866, 517-19. CONTENTS xxi Chapter XV Democratic convention of 1866, 520-21; First state election, 521-27; Rock Bluffs con test, 527-36 ; President Johnson and the office holders, 537-39 ; Union territorial convention of 1866, 539-42; Democratic convention of 1866, 543-44; Congressional campaign of 1866, 545-47; Provisional state legislature, 547-50; 12th and last ter ritorial legislature, 550-59; The negro suffrage condition, 559-70; 2d state legis lature, special ses: on, 570-73 ; Admission of Nebraska, 573. Chapter XVI Biographical sketches of pioneers, in alphabetical order, 575-781. For detailed index of places, persons, and subjects see last volume. ERRATA Page 65, column 2, foot-note 2, "p. 62" should be "p. 71." Page 66, column 1, foot-note 1, "p. 62" should be "p. 71." Page 66, column 1, foot-note 2, "p. 63" should be "p. 72." Page 67, column 2, foot-note 2, "p. 63" should be "p. 72." Page 67, column 2, foot-note 4, "p. 63" should be "p. 72." Page 141, column 1, between lines 4 and 5, supply: "of the Louisiana Purchase lying north of latitude 36° 30', except the states of Iowa and Missouri and". Page 214, table, column n, line 1, "187" should be "137"; same column, first total "591" should be "491"; same column, last line, "608" should be "508." HISTORY OF NEBRASKA CHAPTER I natural conditions, traditional, fanciful, and authentic — GEOLOGY— ARCHEOLOGY — CLIMATIC CONDITIONS VEGETATION — FAUNA TN the long run physical environment, such -*- as soil, climate, and topography, shape the man and the society ; but human character and social propensities, formed in older states and in other and older countries, have been ' transplanted into this new state, and, while, according to a marked American instinct or characteristic, the people have been quick to adapt themselves to a somewhat important change of conditions, yet the time during which they have been subject to them has been too short appreciably to change their character or social aspect. If they had only the richest and most easily tillable soil in the world to conjure with, this might tend to breed mental and esthetic dulness ; but they have been saved from this influence by the rarefied and bracing atmosphere, by the sunshine in which they are almost perennially bathed, as well as by certain adverse climatic conditions which challenge their vigilance and ingenuity. While the people of the plains have missed the com forting companionship of brooks and hills and groves, whose friendly presence sustained the courage and inspired the esthetic sense of the settlers of the Mississippi valley, yet these plains have a beauteous aspect of their own which often inspired the limning pen of Irving and engaged Cooper's romantic eye. The illimitable expanse of landscape, the un rivaled beauty of morning and evening lights and shades, the marvelous clearness of the air, however monotonous, do not fail to excite the esthetic sensibility and widen the spiritual vision of the people. But when Irving undertook to estimate the material value, and to picture the future use fulness and development of this vast prairie empire, he looked with blindfold eyes and painted a dismal black: "It is a land where no man permanently abides. . . . Such is the nature of this immense wilderness of the far West, which apparently defies cultivation and the habita tion of civilized life. Some portions of it along the rivers may partially be subdued by agriculture ; others may form vast pastoral tracts like those of the east; but it is to be feared that a great part of it will form a lawless interval between the abodes of civilized man, like the waters of the ocean and the deserts of Arabia; and like them be subject to the depredations of the marauders."1 And then, as this polished poet-historian continues to contemplate the lugubrious pros pect, his style, in general the refinement of grace, dignity, and self-control, breaks into an almost grotesque delineation of the fate of a land which was destined within the space of a man's life to become "the home, the por tion fair" of nearly ten million prosperous and happy people. And Cooper, the leading romanticist of that day, observes in The Prai rie that the plains are "in fact a vast country incapable of sustaining a dense population in the absence of the two great necessities" — wood and water. This great story-teller 1 Astoria, pp. 258-59. HISTORY OF NEBRASKA affected a knowledge of geology, but it was not profound enough to penetrate to the inexhaustible sheet of subterranean water which, fed by the eternal snows of the Rocky mountains, is coextensive with the great slope between these mountains and the Missouri river and within easy reach of the modern and post-I r v i n g- Cooper windmills which now dot these plains in such pro fusion that they would set a whole legion of Don Qui xotes in simultaneous frenzy. Nor could the lively imagina tion of these great romancers foresee the practicability of the substitution for the lacking wood of the great deposits of coal in the adjacent mountains and un derlying a large part of these vast plains, because railroad transportation was beyond Irving's ken or fancy and Coop er's practicable view. As to this, Cooper skeptically remarks : "It is a singular comment on the times that plans for railroads across these vast plains are in active discussion, and that men have ceased to regard these projects as chimerical." And Long, in the story of his expedition of 1819, gives the following hopeless charac terization to the Nebraska plains, which, in their easterly portion at least, for prolific pro duction of live stock and of the forage which sustains them, including the staple cereals, and for ease of cultivation and lasting fertility, excel any other region of so large an area in the world : "The rapidity of the current [of the Platte river] and the great width of the bed of the river pre clude the possibility of any extensive in undation of the sur rounding country. The bottom lands of the river rise by an imperceptible as cent, on each side, extending laterally to a distance of from two to ten miles, where they are ter minated by low ranges of gravelly hills, running par allel to the general direction of the river. Beyond these the surface is an un dulating plain, hav ing an elevation of from fifty to one hundred feet, and presenting the as pect of hopeless and irreclaimablesterility." Logically Long's conclusion as to the hopeless sterility of the plains of the Platte should be an inference from the misstatement of fact by Marbois, made as late as 1830, in his history of Louisiana (p. 350): "On the two sides of the river 'Plate' are vast plains of sand from an hun dred to an hundred and fifty leagues in extent where no indication of living creatures is to be found." The ignorance of Marbois is not as inexcusable or remarkable as the lame logic ARIKAREE FALLS Ten miles east of Valentine,- Neb., fed by Sand Hill springs and leaping over a wall of Arikaree sand rock. First plunge, 85 feet; second, 15 feet. These are the lofti est falls in the state. — -Morrill Geological Expedition , 1900. NATURAL CONDITIONS of Irving and Long, for the abundance of wild animals with which they perceived the plains were stocked should have suggested to them that the region would be peculiarly adapted, under cultivation, for the sustenance of domestic animal life. When some phenomenon which may have been an eternal fact or is a manifestation of an eternal law of nature, but which has been '.hidden from our imperfect understanding, is, from the changing point of view or in the they consigned the whole region to the doom of eternal desolation. God indeed moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. This "wilderness which apparently defies cul tivation and the habitation of civilized life" is the granary as well as the shambles of the world. Of two typical states — Iowa and Ne braska — which cut through the heart of the plains, the first is the imperial agricultural commonwealth of the richest farming country of the world, and in the production of the PINE RIDGE North face of Pine Ridge at Warbonnet canyon looking north across the Hat creek basin toward the Black Hills outlined in the distance. The Dine covered cliffs are Arikaree formation. The white patch in the distance is the Brule clay of the Little Bad Lands, Sioux county, Nebraska. Beyond the Brule clay the Pierre formation begins.— Photograph, Morrill Geological Expedition, 1895. natural course of events, suddenly revealed, we call it Providence. And so this vast hid- -den reservoir of water and the man-wrought miracle of the steam railroad, which opened the way for the waiting millions, were the Providence of these plains. Because Irving and Cooper and their compeers failed men tally or physically to penetrate to the one and to divine the coming kingdom of the other, great food staples the other lags but little behind. During incalculable numbers of centuries there was a like providential preparation on the surface of these plains of the richest soil in the world to cover so wide an area. GEOLOGY1 From a geological standpoint Nebraska doubtless stands as the most distinctly agricul- 2For this description of the geology of Nebraska professor of geology in the University of Nebraska; ¦we are indebted to Erwin Hinckley Barbour, Ph.D., state geologist and curator of the state museum. —(Ed.) HISTORY OF NEBRASKA tural state in the Union, yet it is not without other resources of economic importance. Its rocks are undisturbed sediment, and its geol ogy is apt to be regarded as simple in the ex treme and its topography as that of an undi- versified plain ; but investigation shows the state to be diversified and interesting and even startling in the boldness of certain physio graphic regions. The altitude varies from a general level of about a thousand feet along the Missouri river to that of over five thousand feet some four hundred miles further west in inches with an evaporation of six feet. The geology of Nebraska is seemingly complex, chiefly because the strata are so deeply buried that they are not exposed for study. First, the strata sag or dip to the west, not appear ing again until the flanks of the Rocky moun tains are reached, thus forming a deeply buried trough. Second, the beds are covered by loose surface materials which are very distinct and generally recognized as bluff deposit or loess, glacial drift, and sand-hills. All of the southeastern half of the state is BAD LANDS Bad Lands of Brule formation (Oligocene) two and a half miles west of the Burlington & Missouri railway station at Adelia, Sioux county, Nebraska, looking northwest. — Photograph, Morrill Geological Expedition, 1895. the state. At this distance the prairie lands of the eastern portion, which are sometimes level but often rolling, begin to merge into the tables and lofty buttes of the western edge of the state. The climatic conditions vary somewhat with the distance westward, and are compar able with those of Ohio and Indiana. In general the atmosphere is dry and considered quite as favorable to health and longevity as the more famous air of Colorado. The rainfall of the eastern portion is about twenty-three inches and the evaporation four feet, while the precipitation of the western portion may fall as low as twelve to fifteen covered more or less deeply by loess, which is a sandy loam of glacial origin of a light yellow color and of inexhaustible fertility. The northwestern half is covered largely by sand-hills resulting from the action of wind in transporting and piling up the disintegrated sand of Tertiary rock. The loess being as thick in many places as one hundred feet, and the sand-hills as thick as three hundred, it is plain that Nebraska rocks are concealed, and that they are not to be found except where streams have trenched the superficial beds. Along the streams of southeastern Ne braska the limestones are found, which are GEOLOGY well known because they are extensively quarried. These belong to the Coal Measure or the Carboniferous age, the oldest rock in the state. Though rich in beds of limestone and productive beds of valuable clays and shales, our Carboniferous rock is poor in coal, the best seam being scarcely more than eigh teen inches thick and encased in tenacious shale. Exposures of Carboniferous rock are common along the streams in Richardson, Pawnee, Nemaha, Johnson, Otoe, Cass, Sarpy, Douglas, and Washington counties, and in scattered patches as far west as Lancaster and Gage counties. From an economic standpoint Though enormously thick and broad in extent, our Cretaceous rock is known by small and very local patches. The oldest Creta ceous layer, the Dakota, being the water bearing bed, is the best known as well as the most important. It consists largely of rusty sands and beds of clay which may be traced from Jefferson county northeast to Dakota county and beyond. Economically, this for mation of sparsely exposed rock is of the greatest importance to the plains, yielding excellent water, including artesian water, building stone (which, though ocherous and soft, is often put to use), and beds of superior SCHLEGEL RAPIDS AND FALLS Southwest of Valentine, Cherry county, Nebraska, in the Arikaree formation. Plunge, about 12 feet; width, about 50 feet. — Morrill Geological Expedition, 1900. this is the most important geologic forma tion in the state, since it yields the limestone for lime, rubble, riprap, building, smelting, and sugar refining, flint for ballast, as well as enormous amounts of excellent clay for brick, tile, and terra cotta. The Carboniferous is lost west of Lincoln by dipping under beds of the Cretaceous age, and by sinking several thousand feet before again coming to the surface in the moun tains. If the state could be divested of its great mantle of soil and sand, Cretaceous clays and shales would predominate. As it is, they occur in widely scattered patches along the courses of streams. clay, which furnish brick of all desired colors and kinds. It also furnishes a large amount of sand for building purposes, and, from a layer near its base, the best gravel in the state. Overlying the Dakota is the Benton Creta ceous, consisting essentially of a white layer of chalk rock overlying a layer of black shale. It may be traced along the Republican river from Harlan county to Hebron, Endicott, Mil- ford, Niobrara, and westward along the Nio brara river to Boyd county. Economically this layer may become important. The chalk rock is quarried for lime and building pur poses. Being very soft when "green," it is commonly cut into proper shape with ordinary HISTORY OF NEBRASKA hand-saws, and, after drying and hardening, is laid up with mortar in the usual way. In this layer is found also an undeveloped resource of great promise, inasmuch as the chalk rock, when properly tempered with the shale, gives a hydraulic cement of excellent quality. Next above the Benton comes the Pierre formation, ordinarily spoken of as Pierre shale because it consists essentially of shale throughout its extent. In western Ne braska it attains a thickness of several thousand feet. Though broad in extent, it is seldom seen save where exposed by the cut- sands (Arikaree, Miocene). Like the Pierre, the Bad Lands are without natural resources of the least economic value, save the valuable fossils, in digging and collecting which a considerable number of men are employed. It is necessary constantly to remind the general public that Bad Lands is a mis nomer. They are not bad in the sense of sterility; but to drive over they are bad beyond question, being cut and washed into deep gullies and lofty pinnacles. There is a magnificence and grandeur about the Bad Lands which must attract tourists when suit- TOADSTOOL PARK, SIOUX COUNTY BAD LANDS Two miles west of Adelia on the Burlington & Missouri River railroad.— Morrill Geological xpedition, 1895. Ex ting of some river ; and, though four thousand to five thousand feet thick, it presents nothing of commercial importance, being destitute of water, gas, oil, coal, building stone, or any thing else of economic value. At least two- thirds of the state consists of Pierre shale, though covered from general view. Next above the Pierre come the Tertiary beds, which may be divided into a lower clayey layer eight hundred to one thousand feet thick known as the Bad Lands (Oligo- cene), and an upper layer five hundred to six hundred feet thick known as the butte able accommodations and comforts shall be provided. These beds, consisting essentially of marly clays of fresh-water origin, are peculiarly rich in vertebrate fossils and are the classic collecting grounds of America. Where the wash is not excessive the Bad Lands come readily under cultivation, being fertile and productive; but seen as they are by the average tourist, destitute of water and living things, trenched, bare, and baked, they seem to typify desolation and waste. Con tinuous with, and rising high above the Bad Lands are the butte sands of Arikaree formation. GEOLOGY All of western Nebraska has a general alti tude approaching five thousand feet, and here the magnificent buttes and tables add diver sity and beauty to the landscape. Here also thousands of pine trees flourish and are the chief natural resource of this formation. Being sandy, it is productive of pure water, and its grazing lands are of the best. It lends itself to profitable and easy cultivation, espe cially where irrigated. In many places in southwestern Nebraska a still younger forma tion rests upon what is known as the "mag nesia" or mortar beds (Ogalalla). All of the remaining beds are still more recent in time and consist of unconsolidated materials. The sand-hill region, which covers the northwestern half of the state, is de rived from the dis integration of Ter tiary sands and their subsequent transportation by the wind. In the early history of the state, when herds roved un restricted over the plains, and when prairie fires were unchecked, the bare sands became shifting sand dunes, and grass, underbrush, and trees were destroyed, and the region pre sented the appearance of a desert, as it was then supposed to be. Now some of the best ranches, hay lands, and grazing lands are to be found in the heart of the sand-hill coun try. The southeastern half of the state is covered, from a few feet to one hundred feet or more in depth, with a fine, light yellow loam of great fertility, known as the loess, or bluff deposit, from its habit of standing in vertical walls. Economically this constitutes the basis of the agricultural greatness of Nebraska. The eastern fifth of the state has a thin layer of glacial drift under the loess. West of Seward county evidence of glacial drift ceases. The material composing our drift is clay, FALLS OF THE NORTH LOUP RIVER Plunge about 12 feet, wi.lth 40 to 50 feet. gravel, sand, boulders of granite, green stone, and the like from distant northern points, but more especially pink boulders of Sioux quartzite from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This formation is of little economic value, although its boulders, some of which are as much as twenty feet in diameter, are utilized to some extent for foundations and other building purposes. The youngest deposit in the state is the alluvium of our streams, useful chiefly because of its great fertility, and because it furnishes material for making a fair grade of brick where good clays are wanting. The known minerals of the state are of interest mineralogically rather than eco nomically. Gold, native copper, me teoric iron, terres trial iron, iron pyrite, marcasite, 1 monite, magnetic iron sand, pyrolu- site, s e 1 e n i t e , barite, celestite, calcite, agate, chalcedony and t u r q u o i se are among the miner als recorded for the state. Among the mineral re sources already developed or of probable util ity are ocher, peat, bituminous coal of the Carboniferous, lignite coal of the Cretaceous, diatomaceous earth, natural pumice or vol canic ash in extensive beds, enormous amounts of clay, limestone, sand, gravel, flint, and material for manufacture of hydraulic cement. The preparation of the geological history of a state requires the closest inspection and study of past and present conditions in every quarter of it ; and already it may be predicted with certainty that many of the natural resources of Nebraska, when they become bet ter known, will be developed to such an extent that its present boasted agricultural products will not be its only source of wealth. HISTORY OF NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY1 The geographical position of Nebraska, sit uated as it is between the Missouri river on the east and the great Rockies on the west, is conducive to a complicated and interesting- archeology, as well as geology, fauna, and flora. We find the Stone Age implements distributed along the waterways so abun dantly that we may readily conclude that primitive man gradually worked his way over the entire state by following the streams. The archeology of the state can be determined only by the implements. The quantity of Stone Age material found naturally divides itself into three classes. While these three classes overlap each other in many cases, yet every implement may be readily placed in one of them. These classes may be subdivided, it is true, but in that subdivision some one implement will be found which is doubtful, and at this stage of the study, lines of demar cation point out but three distinct classes. The first, or most primitive class, is found, without pottery intermixed, along the Blue river and in the southeastern portions of the state. The second, or intermediate class, con sists of chipped implements of massive size, found along the Elkhorn and Missouri rivers ; they are abundant in the northeastern part of Kansas as well. A few have been found along the Platte river. The third class (which may be subdivided most easily) con sists of chipped flints showing fine workman ship; and abundant potsherds, some beaten copper ornaments, and a few "ceremonials" are intermixed. The houseform, or lodge cir cles, may be studied with this class, and are most abundant along the Platte and its tribu taries. It should be borne in mind that these three classes of Stone Age implements may belong to one people — that they may only represent a single tribe in its evolution from barbarism to semi-civilization ; or they may belong to twenty or more tribes having no ties in com mon. Only years of careful study and comparison can settle that question, if, indeed it can ever be definitely settled. It should be borne in mind also that prim itive man used stone implements entirely. The aborigine wandered over this state before the Bronze Age; in fact, there are no known indications that there ever was a Bronze Age in Nebraska. One of the three following propositions is true, either wholly or in part: first, the aborigine was extinct before civilization came to this continent; second, the Amerind,2 with implements obtained from the whites, drove out the aborigine; or, third, he was, himself, supplied with implements of civilization and is now counted an Amerind. Archeology has to deal with prehistoric roan, the man who used the implements of the Stone Age, and when this aborigine has developed into an Amerind, ethnology takes up the study where archeology leaves off. If the aborigine fre quented a spot there was certainly a reason for so doing. Let us examine the conditions that would entice the primitive Stone Age man. The white man cultivates the soil and produces his subsistence, but the aborigine followed the chase and supplied his wants direct from nature; to do this he must have flint or some kind of stone from which to make his implements. Flint is the most avail able material for this purpose, as it possesses the property of conchoidal fracture, as well as great toughness, very desirable in stone- cutting implements. The southeastern part of the state contains flint nodules imbedded in the limestone ledges ; the watershed of the Republican river con tains a brown flint or jasper in strata; the northeastern part, along tbe Niobrara river, has a green quartzite which chips easily. Most of the chipped implements of the state are made from one of these kinds of stone; we may therefore conclude that this natural deposit of implement-making material largely influenced the aborigine in his choice of loca tion. The numerous running: streams and !For this description of the archeology of Ne braska we are indebted to Mr. E. E. Blackman, arche- ologist of the Nebraska State Historical Society .-(Ed. ) 2 The term Amerind is coming into general use among archeologists and scientific men as a short and appropriate designation of the American Indian. -(Ed.) FLINT SPEARHEAD FOUND NEAJ BLAIR, NEBRASKA FLINT IMPLEMENTS OF NEBRASKA HEMATITE BUST FOUND NEAR LINCOLN, NEBRASKA FLINT TOMAHAWK FOUND NEAR WYMORE, NEBRASKA, BY JAMES CRAWFORD IO HISTORY OF NEBRASKA the proximity of the buffalo plains, together with an abundance of small game, doubtless helped to make eastern Nebraska a favored place for the aborigine. The Blue river valley is strewn most abun dantly with the earliest type of Stone Age im plements. They are found on the high points of land which overlook the Blue river, and are usually not far from a water supply. The material used for these rude implements was found near at hand. As far as the Blue valley has been explored (from Beatrice to the state line on the south) there are imbedded in the limestone which rests near the water line many nodules of blue chert or flint. The quality of this material is much better than that of the chert ledges farther south in Kan sas, but the nodules are not so abundant and are much harder to procure. In making the implements it is evident that the work was done by beating the edge with another piece of rock until the desired shape was obtained. The edges are blunt and the implements very rude. Many fragments of flint are found with very sharp edges left by the fracture, showing that cutting tools, having sharp nat ural fractures instead of having been artifi cially chipped to a cutting edge, were used. From the Blue river eastward to the state line many high points of land have a few of the chips of blue chert mixed with the soil, showing that aboriginal man once had his camp there. But the most pronounced evi dence of this first or lowest stage of the Stone Age is found near the mouth of the Weeping Water; at that point one may draw a circle five miles in diameter with the town of Nehawka well to the southeast side of this circle, and he will enclose a vast area of quarry pits made by prehistoric man.1 The exact surface area of these pits has not been measured, but they cover many acres. Mr. Isaac Pollard, who owns some of the land upon which the pits are found, made an excavation through one of them. The trench is eighty feet long, six feet wide, and from ten to twelve feet deep. This trench has its floor on a solid ledge of limestone, which is 1 See report of Archeologist in Annual Rept. State Board of Agri.. 1902. the fourth ledge from the top. The trench, as dug from the hillside surface back to the edge of the pit on the brow of the hill, termi nates at a solid, perpendicular wall. Here appear marks of discoloration caused by fire. Quantities of charcoal and ashes were found at the base of the wall and scattered through out the debris which the trench passes through for half its length. At the beginning of the trench, some forty feet above the water level and a hundred feet from the bed of the Weeping Water, broken rocks and quarry debris were found for a few feet, then the trench passed through a bank of earth and stratified rocks that had not been moved. This bank is sixteen feet thick on the floor of the trench. After this comes a mixture of spalls, broken rocks, and soil intermingled. This debris appeared to have been thrown out in layers resting at an angle of about forty-five degrees with the level of the floor. It is loosely packed in places, while here and there is a very closely packed stratum of brown clay filled with flint spalls and bits of limestone; it has every appearance of being well tamped, and is hard to dig through. The most abundant material in the debris is broken lime rocks having large fractures on them as if struck by some heavy body. Many of these rocks show the rounded matrix of a flint nodule which has been removed. The surface near the pit is strewn with flint spalls. The first stratum, as shown in a quarry near by, is a rotten lime rock; the second is a fairly good building stone without flint nodules, and at the perpendicular wall where the trench ends it is from twenty-six to thirty- eight inches thick. The third stratum, which is very compact and from thirty to forty-two inches thick, contains the flint nodules, about two-thirds of the way down. These nodules are from the size of an egg to the size of a man's head, and are about twelve inches apart each way. They cleave out very readily, and leave a rounded matrix when the ledge is broken up. ARCHEOLOGY ir No tools and no perfectly chipped imple ments have thus far been found; in fact, no flint upon which artificial chipping can be detected for a certainty has been found in the trench, and no pottery. A few of the first class of Stone Age implements were found in the vicinity; and a few sherds of pottery, as well as some of the third class of implements, were found in lodge circles and graves near these pits. They doubtless belonged to other people who came along the Missouri at a later date. In this limited sketch can be given but a faint conception of the skill shown in quarry ing, of the years spent in systematic labor, and of the vast numbers that must have been engaged. In one of the pits stands a bur-oak tree six feet two inches in circumference. The second class of Stone Age implements comprises those of massive, chipped stone found along the Elkhorn and Missouri rivers. Quantities of these are also found along the Sioux river in Iowa, as well as in the north eastern part of Kansas. They are shaped like the smaller implements of class three ; they are undoubtedly chipped by the pressure process, and at times show much skill in their manufacture. With them are often found the finer and smaller implements of class three. The characteristic of these implements is their size; they are too large for use in the chase or in war, and may be classed as dig ging tools. On the Wright site, near Genoa, these massive implements are abundant in a field near the lodge circles now to be seen there, but not at the same place. It seems that the newer village site is a few rods from the old one, where the lodge circles are not plainly defined but where these massive im plements are abundant. This may lead to a better understanding of this second class in time. Near the Elkhorn, where no lodge circles can be noticed, these massive imple ments are abundantly scattered with imple ments of the third class, and pottery is found there, too. The third class of Stone Age implements is abundant in most parts of the state and consists of the finely chipped arrows, scrapers, and spears in use by the Indians when early hunters and trappers first came among them. This class may be subdivided. Every tribe which the early trappers and mission aries visited manifested a certain individuality in their chipped flints. This difference is not easily studied from the meager data left by the early writers, and there are many stum bling blocks encountered in trying to classify them from their individuality of chipping alone. This class is most abundant along the Platte river, where the lodge circles are most plainly defined. These lodge circles antedate the traditionary knowledge of the Amerind, but are so similar to the ruins left by the recent tribes that we can but connect the two as the product of the same people. In many cases we know that these ancient ruins were abandoned before contact, even indirectly, with whites, as the red man prized so highly the arts of the whites that he adopted them on sight. There is not the slightest trace of such contact, and we may safely conclude that there was none, and therefore this latest class is properly a study in archeology. A lengthy description of these implements may not find room here, but the Nebraska State Historical Society museum illustrates the three classes in question. It is true in a limited degree only that we may judge the people by their pottery. The potsherds found in Nebraska are mainly of three kinds : those having fabric impressions, those ornamented with designs drawn on the plastic clay, and a poorer quality of more recent manufacture. The first two are black, feebly burned, and tempered with quartz, peb bles, mica, and pieces of pottery crushed. The last is often very red, having been burned more severely; it is tempered with sand and at times small pebbles are found in it as well as powdered shells. Buche1 describes a Scandinavian pottery which corresponds in every way to this Ne braska pottery. The Scandinavian pottery was made two thousand years B. C. 1 London, 1842. 12 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA It is evident that the first class of the Stone Age, as described above, had no pottery. It is equally certain that the third class had pottery in abundance ; the second, or inter mediate stage is so closely associated with both that it is difficult to say definitely what it contained. The third class had pottery of the first two kinds mentioned, and the third kind was probably brought here by some later tribe. The stud}- of Nebraska archeology has been in progress, in a systematic way, but little over a year, and it is perhaps venturesome to supply even these brief data. No other state in the Union offers a more fertile field. It is complicated, as the aborigine was a nomadic creature, and so many tribes of recent Indians have made these vast buffalo plains their hunting grounds that it is very difficult to follow the line of demarcation between the ruins of the aborigine and those of the Amerind. Many relics have been gathered into the Nebraska State Historical Society museum, which form the basis of this study. Many more are scattered over the state, not only in the fields and along the streams, but in the keeping of people who enjoy their possession, but who clo not realize their im portance in completing this branch of our history. Twenty-four village sites have been ex plored and charted ; while the remains of others, from walled cities whose metes and bounds are still plainly defined down to tem porary hunting camps of a few tepees, are thickly scattered over the state. Of the recent village sites, or those occupied during historic days, five have been explored : the Bryant site, near Yutan ; an Otoe site, where Elsworth vis ited the Otoes in 1832 i1 the Esty site, a recent Pawnee village, seven miles south of Fre mont; the McClain site, a Pawnee site, imme diately across the Platte from Fremont ; the Otoe site at Barneston, and the very recent Pawnee site at Genoa. A history of these sites may be obtained from published works, so one need not resort to relics. 1 Irving's Indian Sketches. 2 This account of the meteorology of Nebraska should be credited to Prof. George A. Loveland, di- The most ancient, or the lowest class of the Stone Age implements, are obtained from the following sites along the Blue river: The Hollingworth site, on the west side of the Blue, two miles south of Holmesville ; the Rice site, southeast of Blue Springs, on the east side of the river; the Huddart and the Henrick sites near Barneston. While a few specimens of the second or third class are • occasionally found at these sites, by far the largest quantity is of the first, or lowest class. Of the third class of the Stone Age we have a number of examples along the Platte river : The Burkett site, four miles west of Genoa; the Wright site, one mile west of Genoa; the Coffin and Larson sites, both east of Genoa ; and the Fullerton site, at that town. There are ten other sites which contain implements of two or more of the three classes named in such quantities that they can not be distinctively classified as belonging to either, but have the characteristics of both ; the Roca site, twelve miles south of Lincoln ; the Lowe . site, five miles south of Nebraska City; the Pollard site, near the flint quarries at Ne- hawka; the Griffith site, just south of these quarries ; the Horse Creek site, twelve miles northwest of Fullerton ; the Miller site, in Antelope county near Clearwater ; the Gibson site near Swedeburg; the Ithaca site, at the town of that name ; the Nelson site, near Fort Calhoun ; and the Wonder site, a mile north of Blue Springs. Most of the above sites have been charted, and all have been explored. There are many more Indian village sites yet to be explored. Relics of domestic economy and of art are being gathered, which will reveal the people who used them as truly as we mav read the lives of our associates in their everyday walks. Archeology may, in time, construct a true his tory of the race which lived, loved, and worshiped on the soil of Nebraska. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS2 It is probable that all pioneers notice more or less carefully the conditions of temperature rector of the TJ. S. Weather Bureau in the University of Nebraska. — ( Ed. ) QUIVERA TOMAHAWKS FOUND BY WALTER RICE NEAR BLUE SPRINGS, NEBRASKA THE ONLY COMPLETE PIECE OF INDIAN POTTERY EVER DISCOVERED IN NEBRASKA, SO FAR AS KNOWN. FOUND BY R. DEVVITT STEARNS NEAR FULLERTON H HISTORY OF NEBRASKA and rainfall in the new region in which they are making a home. Particularly is this true if the region is popularly supposed by former neighbors and friends to have a rather in hospitable climate. Probably reasons of this nature account, in part at least, for the unusual and intelligent interest which was manifested in climatic conditions by the early settlers of Nebraska. Preceding the settlers, at least in the matter of accurate, preserved weather observations, comes the United States army. The soldiers, in accordance with the usual practice, kept weather records at the frontier army posts. The earliest of these records commenced in 1849 at F°rt Kearney, and for twenty years the records at the various army posts form an important part of our knowledge of the Nebraska weather. The earliest preserved records kept by settlers com menced at Omaha in 1857, Brownville and Bellevue in 1858, Nebraska City and Fontenelle in 1859. The number of observers increased but slowly for the next twenty years, and many records are broken, or perhaps have been but partially preserved ; for there was no organized attempt to encourage or to collect and preserve the results of the work of those who were carefully noting events. A leader to stimulate interest was wanting. In January, 1878, Gilbert E. Bailey, profes sor of chemistry and physics in the University of Nebraska, organized the Nebraska Volun tary weather service, similar to a service organized three years earlier in Iowa, "for the purpose of collecting facts and securing an accurate and complete history of the weather of Nebraska." The organization thus formed has existed essentially the same to the present time, more than twenty-five years, and during this period there was issued, without a single omission, a monthly state ment of the weather which prevailed in Ne braska. Much credit should be given to the intelligent citizens who have composed this band of workers, and especially to the "director" of the service who, particularly in the early days, contributed largely in en thusiasm, time, and sometimes money to secure the object sought. The directors were Gilbert E. Bailey, 1878; S. R. Thompson, 1878 to 1884; and G. D. Swezey, in 1884, until the work was turned over to the officials of the U. S. Weather Bureau in 1896. The continued activity of the service seems the more unusual when it is noted that but once — in January, 1884 — have the workers met in convention. The first attempt to collect the scattered records and determine the climate of Nebraska was made in 1878 by G. E. Bailey, at the time he organized the voluntary service. He charted the rainfall for the two ten-year periods ending 1867 and 1877. The results seemed to prove that the rainfall in Nebraska was increasing. Thus was advanced the theory of increasing rainfall (perhaps already in the minds of the people) with seemingly good reasons, which in the next ten years became firmly fixed as a belief in the mind of the average Nebraskan. The second attempt to present the climatic conditions of Nebraska was a more complete and pretentious "Cli matology of Nebraska" printed by Samuel Aughey, professor of natural sciences in the University of Nebraska. This was a chapter in a book entitled "Sketches of Physical Geography and Geology of Nebraska." It contained many statements of supposed facts which were determined from insufficient data and which are now known to be incorrect. It included an elaborate exposition of the mistaken theory of increase in rainfall. In 1890 a comprehensive statement of the Ne braska climate was prepared by the U. S. Signal Service and printed as senate docu ment No. 115 of the 51st Congress. The unusual weather conditions of 1894 aroused considerable interest in the climate, especially as regards rainfall. A complete summary of the rainfall records was prepared by the Nebraska Voluntary service, and was printed as bulletin No. 45 of the Agricultural Experi ment Station of Nebraska. In 1895 Professor G. D. Swezey prepared an excellent survey of the climate of Nebraska for the July number of the Northwestern Journal of Education. The intelligent interest of the citizen, start ing with the early history of Nebraska and CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 15 continuing for half a century, has resulted in the collection of sufficient data to establish the characteristics of the climate with considerable accuracy, also to point out some of the errors of early students. There is every evidence that no permanent change has occurred in the climate of Nebraska since its occupation by man. The variations of climate observed in the half century would have occurred if the country had been uninhabited, and they are similar to those occurring in all parts of the globe. The climate of Nebraska is controlled for forty miles in the eastern and southern portion of the state, while in the northwest the decrease in temperature is somewhat less rapid. Along the northern boundary the average is slightly above 46 °. January is the coldest month, with a mean temperature approximately 27° below the yearly average, or with a range of from 25° in the southeast to 20° or slightly below in the north. In the very coldest days of winter the temperature falls to between iou and 20° below zero, and on rare occasions to 300 below TABLE SHOWING TEMPERATURE FOR PAST TWENTY-SIX YEARS YEAR JAN. FEB. MAR. APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC AN NUAL 1876 24.6 18.7 25.520.931.910.821.111.217.3 12.6 9.9 15.210.922.4 16.3 27.5 18.8 23.0 19.419.0 28.421.827.023.0 30.2 26.724.8 29.7 34.234.0 22.628.318.2 32.5 17.2 17.518.0 27.2 18.2 28.4 23.425.2 17.6 28.1 21.419.120.2 32.7 27.2 30.612.1 20.821.423.6 26.632.844.1 40.132.8 30.339.233.6 33.6 35.630.537.8 27.640.434.026.933.3 31.6 38.235.9 30.5 34.235.0 26.8 36.235.739.2 49.846.251.451.6 48.7 45.648.7 49.7 42.649.147.651.1 52.0 51.4 51.051.2 45.745.452,0 54.8 51.947.8 48.0 49.0 51.5 48.9 49.2 61.157.8 54.8 63.063.364.7 54.655.458.658.1 64.363.6 54.6 58.358.459.451.756.662.760.963.661.357.2 59.663.8 60.563.3 70.1 66.3 66.3 70.069.072.969.068.471.8 68.669.472.070.168.772.466.068.4 71.771.4 67.6 70.769.570.470.072.570.7 66.4 75.975.275.575.273.475.8 70.8 74.0 74.775.175.275.677.7 73.4 78.8 70.175.075.776.472.774.375.9 74.0 73.474.482.0 72.4 73.572.874.472.9 73.2 78.8 73.4 '71.3 70.369.875.470.970.272.9 71.770.6 73.2 70.375.873.073.370.874.273.877.2 75.2 71.9 60.865.660.161.0 61.462.465.859.266.063.6 64.363.263.459.362.566.865.7 64.764.668.059.870.663.664.464.5 62.4 59.6 48.2 46.4 48.354.246.751.154.7 46.0 54.8 48.654.5 45.2 47.7 51.550.150.753.0 50.052.448.147.953.546.953.0 56.7 54.053.6 31.732.839.4 35.423.233.5 35.5 37.136.738.8 32.335.7 35.1 32.938.934.236.6 34.538.034.8 26.134.9 ¦31.4 43.4 35.539.538.7 19.632.819.2 15.7 16.932.5 22.8 25.6 14.431.120.7 21.9 30.8 36.132.531.3 23.327.629.928.1 34.0 22.9 23.525.531.925.0 21.2 47.6 1877 48.5 1878 49.4 1879 48.6 1880 47.4 1881 48.0 1882 49.2 1883 45.7 1884 46.5 1885 47.4 1886 47.6 1887 47.5 1888 47.3 1889 49.3 1890 1891 49.3 47.7 1892 47.7 1893 4*7.6 1894 50.0 1895 48.6 1896 49.4 1897 49.1 1898 48.5 1899 47.8 1900 51.3 1901 50.1 1902 48.6 by its location on the globe ; that is, its latitude, elevation above sea level, distance from large bodies of water, and the extensive mountain ranges to the westward, with absence of such barriers to moisture-laden winds to the south and east. The average temperature for the year varies with the latitude and elevation. It is high est — 52 ° — in the extreme southeastern portion of the state, at an elevation of about nine hundred feet, and 2° less in the southwestern portion, at an elevation of about three thou sand feet. The mean annual temperature de creases northward at an average rate of 1° zero. In the northwestern portion of the state 400 or more below zero has been recorded twice in the past twenty-eight years, the coldest recorded being 47 " below zero on February 12, 1899, at Camp Clarke. July is the warmest month with a mean approximately 260 above the yearly mean, or with a range of from 780 in the southeast to 72 " in the northwest. In the hottest days of summer the temperature exceeds ioo°. 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S? cn SS s! bOtf2g8Stf2cObO^"^0?COCOCOOOOOOMOOCOloboCOCObOOO-JCO-^ OOOOCOl-'OOOOCOOOOI-'l-'OOOOOl-'OOI-'MOOOtOOOOOOOOI-'OOOOOMOtOOObSOI-'O 'Bg'siggs'gsses'sssB^ssk&sspgsiBss^ 00c 00 h-» O O O O M O O O O O I-1 O O O O O O O M M O O O O M p p o o o p O H-1 to p O M O M O O M p p O M i-' ^¦m;n ~ "M Vq lo Li tf* d d m m co 'tf* '-a d d d d d ct d cn tf* 00 lo -j d d tf* -^ cn d d d d ct d d 'to d ct to to co co tf* ^ q -j ^5 bo ^ g§P^bo"co5coS™WCO^CTMi^^Otf*M-ibOOOtf*CTtf*Ml-^b^ OOOcOCDO bOtSbOMtOlOtOMh-'WtOCOI-'bOtOtOlsOtObOCOlOCObOlOtOtObOCOCDtOtfiEoWroOOw5**p-aLOtOtOCOCTtf*OCOp*-'tf*CTCT_LOp]r- r-, "_.-i u*. en -j cn \~* -j 'co 'oo '— d i-1 d "co d -q d d '-q ct d to co d Co cn ct ^ (-5 M 50 -^ to co ct co b'-jfrtn^oiM-3wco--caHOCocD*JOQ-JWcowwqwqiai 535P3o53oOt5IOCDH*0)!Dl-OOO.H*HHW!0-]*.4*C3 te > s •2, a H OO O-QCT00l-i00-qCT-q 0 M o c!> CO0 to ti p- te) te) 0--t 0' 3 in iCo r-t-' fo te) te ro CO|-t te rtcn O c^ r-t- a 3 O n. te p rn t/) 30 te Co 3" rt rt 00 aq l-tCO cn r-t- rort ¦< 3O CO crq 31-! CJ- CO 5' 5' U4 Co N 3* o' 3 aq •^ rt rt .' CO 1 . M t) r^ 3fo rtCo rti-t Cocnr+ 0 O. 3 m t^ O rt 5' rt r , H ^1 rt 0 ^ 3" rt UO w ro Ln 3 0 3 M 3 : J- 5 2 w « 0M hrt 3i t^ro rtrt Ol-H. rt Co P. 3> t/Q OO H O H> ^T w0 rt< cn aq rt -1 5-d 3 'X - rt LU a* I_l _ O orq 3 C i-t rt r-H 2 ( ') z tel 0 teV, O rt th 6 H 3 2 th< rt r* JO* r-H,d « 03 IT, rtCO <1 O aq rt rt > > >V) > --!O 3 CO cn h-hd3 rt - ao rt s 3S- •-! r-t- O (0 3a. CO w rtCO rt 3" cn ^-1O r^rt Xr,rt 1-JCO E.-L. 0 00 n i£-te) = ^ a. S- 5' (T> p CO CO ^ ( ) cte- ^ ^. ""i <" *+. cn rt l-H < (i ,M 0 '< rt cr cr. rt 5' 0 3 tJ-O rt 3 CO 3 3 spring 165 in 5* 3' aq co3P p. Ml1-1 O3 te O5' 3 in0r-r VEGETATION >7 the southeastern part of the state, 145 to J50 in the northeastern, central, and southwestern , parts, and 130 to 135 in the northwestern por tion. The ground usually thaws out, and some plowing and seeding is done in March, but the real growing season does not begin until the higher temperatures of April are felt. The table on page 13 gives the mean temperature for the state, by month and year, for the past twenty-six years. The temper ature records available are not sufficiently numerous in the earlier years to allow the computation of state means. The precipitation of Nebraska is almost en tirely rain ; the snowfall for a year averages about twenty inches, equal to about two inches of water, or less than one-tenth the annual precipitation. The moisture precipitated over Nebraska comes almost entirely from the Gulf of Mexico, brought by the prevailing southerly winds of summer. The annual precipitation slightly exceeds thirty inches in the south eastern part of the state, and decreases to the north and west somewhat irregularly, but at an average rate of one inch for thirty miles across the state from the southeast corner to the middle of the western border, where it is only fifteen inches. The decrease northward along the eastern border of the state is about one inch for forty miles, or to twenty-seven inches in the northeast corner. The decrease is one inch for fifty miles westward along the northern border, or to eighteen inches in the northwest corner. Very little rain or snow falls in the winter months, averaging less than an inch of water a month from November to February inclusive. A slight increase is manifest in March, but the spring rains begin in April, when from two to three inches is the normal fall for most parts of the state. In May the rainfall is about one inch more, while June and July follow with nearly the same amount. June is the month of heaviest rainfall, with an amount ranging from more than five inches in the southeast to slightly less than three in the extreme west. August brings a decided decrease, being only about the same as April, while September and October have still less. The rainy season in Nebraska coincides with the crop season or the warm growing months. Nearly 70 per cent of Nebraska's precipitation occurs in the five months, April to August, inclusive. The table on page 14 gives the average pre cipitation for the state as a whole as complete as the preserved records will allow, and gives a view of precipitation in Nebraska for more than half of a century. The percentage of cloudiness is highest in March, April, May, and June, when there are slightly more clouds than clear sky. July, August, and September are the months with the least clouds. The velocity of the wind is high except in the A'lissouri valley, and averages from nine to eleven miles per hour. VEGETATION1 The natural vegetation of Nebraska is em phatically that of the Great Plains, and thus differs much from that of the forests to the eastward and the mountains lying westward. To say that the eastern botanist notes the absence of many familiar plants signifies nothing, since this must always be the case in comparing the flora of one region with that of another. The flora of the Plains differs in many respects from that of New York and New England, but the eastern botanist must not unduly magnify the importance to be at tached to the fact that he does not find here many of the plants he knew in childhood days. The Plains have their own plants, which will eventually be as dear to the men and women who gathered them in childhood as are the old favorites to the New Englander trans planted to the West. A study of the vegetation of Nebraska shows it to possess some remarkably inter esting features. The wild plants of the state are very largely immigrants from sur rounding regions. By far the greater number have come from the prairies and forests lying adjacent on the east and southeast by creep- 1Tlais description of the vegetation of Nebraska is by Charles Edwin Bessey, Ph.D., LL.D., dean of the Industrial College and professor of botany in the Uni versity of Nebraska. — (Ed.) 18 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA ing up the rivers and streams, or in case of herbaceous plants, blowing overland without regard for the watercourses. Thus, of the one hundred and forty-one trees and shrubs which grow naturally within the state all but about twenty-five have migrated from the East, in nearly all cases following the streams. Of these twenty-five, four or five may be con sidered strictly endemic, the remainder having come down from the mountains. A careful study of the plants of the eastern part of the state shows that many species are confined to limited areas in Richardson and the adjoining counties, and that the number of species decreases with marked regularity as we ascend the Missouri river. The same gen eral law is seen as we ascend the three great rivers, the Republican, Platte, and Niobrara, which cross the state from west to east. On the other hand, as we ascend the streams we meet, here and there, a mountain plant which is wandering eastward down the slope from an elevation of a mile above sea level in the western counties to less than a thousand feet along the Missouri river. Thus the buffalo berry, the golden currant, low sumach, the dwarf wild cherry, and yellow pine have trav eled half-way or two-thirds across the plains ; while the creeping barberry, black cottonwood, Rydberg's cottonwood, mountain maple, moun tain mahogany, and sage brush barely enter the western counties, not extending eastward of the Wyoming line more than a few miles. A few species of wild roses, the sand cherry, and perhaps the sand plum seem to belong strictly to the Plains. Wherever we go we find upon the Plains a similar commingling of eastern and western species. Every mile which one advances west ward brings to view plants not hitherto seen, while at the same time there is left behind some familiar species. Nebraska affords one of the finest illustra tions of the commingling of contiguous floras to be found anywhere in America. Not a few of the species in the southern half of the state have come up from the plains of the Southwest, some even coming from Texas and New Mex ico. Others, again, appear to have migrated from the great northern plains of the Dakotas, while here again there are endemic species, as the buffalo grass, Redfield's grass, false buffalo grass, and many more. Through the untiring efforts of the members of the Botanical Seminar of the University of Nebraska there are now known fully three thousand three hundred species, representing every branch and nearly every class of the vegetable kingdom. There are sixty-four species of native trees in the state. There is, however, no place in the state where all these species grow together. No county contains sixty-four kinds of native trees. Thus there are nineteen spe cies of trees in the northwestern quarter of the state, twenty-seven in the northeastern, fifteen in the southwestern, and fifty in the southeastern. A close study of the distribution of our trees shows that nearly all have probably migrated to the Plains from the East. They have in some cases done no more than get a little foothold in the extreme southeastern counties, to which they have come from the heavy forests of Missouri. A few have doubt less crossed the Missouri river from western Iowa, although this number is evidently very small. Nearly all have come up from the Missouri bottoms and spread from the south eastern corner of the state west and northwest. Possibly a few may have come up the Blue river from Kansas, but these must eventually be traced to the Missouri river bottoms at the mouth of the Kansas river. The trees and shrubs which are found only in the western part of the state unquestionably came from the Rocky mountains and have spread eastward to their present limits. Only one of these, the buffalo berry, has spread itself over the whole state. There is a prob ability that a further examination of the bluffs of the Niobrara, Platte, and Republican rivers will show several more of these Rocky moun tain plants, which have come down with the river currents. It is singular that so few of the western trees and shrubs have come down the streams, especially as prevailing winds are also from the westerly parts toward the VEGETATION 19 east. It would naturally be supposed that it would be much easier for the western trees to come down stream, and with the wind, than for the -elms, ashes, plums, etc., to have gone up the streams against the prevailing winds. Following is a description of the more important native trees of the state, with the distribution of each : Yellow Pine or Bull Pine (Pinus scopulorum). — A medium sized tree with red dish bark, and a yellow, rather resinous wood. The leaves are from 3 to 5 inches long, and are in twos or threes. The cones are 2 to 3 inches long and ripen early in the fall of the second year. This interesting tree, which occurs so abundantly in the Rocky mountains, is the only pine native to Nebraska. It forms quite dense forests in the northwestern and northern por tions of the state, extending from the Wyom ing line along Pine Ridge and the Niobrara river to the eastern boundary of Rock and Keya Paha counties. It occurs also on the North Platte river as far eastward as Deuel county. In the Loup valley it originally grew in many canyons, and remnants still occur in Valley, Greeley, and Custer counties. It appears to be wanting in the Republican valley. The seeds germinate rapidly if planted as soon as they are gathered (in September). The ripe cones may be obtained at this time, and if put in a dry place soon open and permit the seeds to escape. This is one of the hardiest of the pines. Fine trees occur abundantly upon the sides and summits of the rocky hills of the north and northwest portions of the state. Good trees may be seen in Dawes county, growing in the tough prairie sod, with nothing to protect the trunk or roots from the heat. A study of the tree in its native habitat shows that it requires very little moisture either in the soil or the air. It appears to be one well suited for planting in the central and western por tions of the state. Red Cedar (Juniper us virginiana). — A small or medium sized tree, widely distributed throughout- the state, particularly in the cen tral, northern, and western portions. Black Cottonwood (Populus angustifo- lia). — A fine tree with narrow, willow-like leaves. Found in Sioux and Scotts Bluff counties. Rydberg's Cottonwood (Populus acumin ata). — A rare tree allied to the foregoing, but with broader, acuminate leaves. Found in Scotts Bluff county. Cottonwood (Populus deltoides). — A large tree when well grown exceeding every other native tree in the diameter of its stem. Com mon throughout the state. Basswood (Tilia americana). — -A medium or large sized tree, with gray bark and white, soft wood. Flowers producing much honey. Native of the eastern and northern counties from Jefferson to Gage, Richardson, Cass, Saunders, Douglas, Knox, Rock, Brown, and Cherry. White Elm (Ulmus americana) . — A large tree, growing along streams throughout the state, often attaining a great size in the eastern counties. A tree of the latter in Tecumseh has a spreading dome-shaped top nearly one hun dred feet in diameter. Along the margins of Salt creek, above Lincoln, there are many fine specimens of about the same dimensions. In the collection made for the World's Fair one of the specimens has a diameter of nearly five feet. This is the common elm of the state. It is also known as "water elm" and "swamp elm." Well-grown trees are often called rock elm, a name which properly belongs to another species (U. racemosa). In the central and northern parts of the state it is occasionally found with pubescent twigs. The white elm is deservedly popular as a shade tree, especially in towns and cities. It is also extensively grown in young forestry plantations. It can be grown over nearly the entire state. Like the ash, it wall adapt itself to almost any soil and condition. While it thrives best on deep, moist soil, it will also live and make a good growth on the poorest clay banks and in the alkali basins, where most other sorts fail. With good cultivation the tree is a rapid grower and is soon able to take care of itself. While the timber is not of the best quality, yet it is valuable for certain mechanical pur poses, and the tree should be freely planted. 20 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Red Elm (Ulmus fulva). — A medium sized tree with a mucilaginous bark, from whence one of the popular names — slippery elm — is derived. Common in the eastern part of the state to Franklin, Adams, Buffalo, and Brown counties. Reported from the valley of the Medicine creek in Frontier county by Mr. Rydberg. Hackberry (Celtis occidcntalis). — A me dium sized symmetrical tree, with a rough "hacked" bark. One of the best of our native trees for ornamental uses. Common through out the eastern, central, and northern counties to the extreme northwest, and also in Banner and Cheyenne counties. Plane Tree (Platanus occidcntalis). — A well-known tree with thin white bark. It is commonly but erroneously called "sycamore," and also bears the name of "buttonwood." It grows along the Missouri river from Rich ardson county to Douglas. Mountain Maple (Acer glabrum). — A small tree confined to the head-waters of Hat creek in Sioux county. Worthy of cultivation for ornamental purposes. Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum). — This is the common "soft maple" of the eastern part of the state. Leaves silvery-white and smooth on the under side. Found in the counties east of the 98th meridian. Many people in the eastern part of the state suppose our tree to be the red maple (A. rubrum), but that very distinct species does not grow naturally within our borders. Box Elder or Ash-leaved Maple (Acer negundo). — A medium-sized tree of rapid growth, producing a good wood for fuel, hav ing one-half of the heating value of shellbark hickory. Grows wild throughout the state. This hardy tree is one of the best for plant ing upon the Plains. It is easily propagated and grows rapidly. It has been extensively planted upon "tree claims" throughout the western counties. Butternut (Juglans cincrca). — A large tree with a very valuable wood. Found spar ingly in the southeastern part of the state (Gage to Johnson, Nemaha, Otoe, and Cass counties). Black Walnut (Juglans nigra). — A tree of large dimensions with very valuable wood and nuts. Found quite abundantly in the southern, eastern, and northern portions of the state, extending to Harlan, Saline, Lancaster, and northeastward to Burt, Dixon, Knox, Rock, and Cherry counties. It is deservedly popular with tree planters,. and as a consequence young trees are com mon in plantations almost throughout the state. In Cherry, Brown, Rock, and Keya Paha counties the unusual association of black walnut and yellow pine (Pinus scopitlorum) occurs. I know of no other place on the continent where these two species grow side by side. Shellbark Hickory (Hicoria ovata). — A large tree of great value, not only for its white, tough wood, but also for its edible nuts. Common in the southeastern counties, from Gage to Cass. Big Hickory Nut (Hicoria sulcata). — A large tree, sparingly found in Richardson county. It is also reported from Sarpy county. Its nuts, which are edible, are much larger and thicker-shelled than the preceding. Bitter Hickory (Hicoria minima). — A medium sized tree with valuable wood but inedible nuts. This is the most widely dis tributed of our hickories, occurring in the southeastern counties to Sarpy, Cass, Lancas ter, Johnson, Pawnee, and Nemaha. White Oak (Quercus alba). — A large tree, with strong, tough, and durable wood. Confined to the southeastern part of the state (Cass and Nemaha counties). Bur-oak (Quercus macrocarpa). — A valu able tree, often attaining a great size. It may be known by the bur-like cup of its acorn. The wood is heavy, strong, and hard. It occurs throughout the eastern half of the state, west to Harlan, Custer, and Cherry counties, in the latter extending to the mouth of Snake creek. This is the most widely distributed oak within the state. In favorable situations it attains a great size, even along its western border. In Long Pine canyon there are trees from two to three feet in diameter, with large and well-formed tops. Elsewhere along the western line of its distribution it attains a large size in canyons and river bottoms. In many cases, however, it becomes low and shrubby, especially upon the dry hillsides. In the southern part of the state the bur-oak appears not to ascend to a height of more than about 2,000 feet above the sea level ; in the central part it reaches 2,200 to 2,300 feet, and in the north 2,500 to nearly 3,000 feet. In the Black Hills of South Dakota, at 6,000 feet, it is a small tree ten to fifteen feet in height. VEGETATION 21 Red Oak (Quercus rubra). — A large tree, with coarse-grained wood. Acorn-cup, saucer- shaped. Confined to the eastern part of the state (Richardson, Pawnee, Nemaha, Cass, and Lancaster counties to Sarpy and Dixon). Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana). — A small tree with rough, brownish bark, and close- grained, hard, and tough wood. In the eastern and northern parts of the state from Nemaha and Sarpy to Dixon, Cedar, Knox, Holt, Keya Paha, Rock, Brown, Cherry, and Sioux counties. Canoe Birch (Betula papyrifera). — A large tree whose bark easily splits into thin papery layers. On the north slopes of the high bluffs and in ravines bordering the Nio brara river in Keya Paha, Brown, and Cherry counties. Choke Cherry (Primus virginiana). — A shrub or small tree, with thin, sharply serrate leaves and small, very astringent, inedible, dark crimson fruits. In the southeastern counties, Richardson, Nemaha, Pawnee, John son, Cass, Saline, and Franklin. What appears to be this species, or possibly a variety of another, is found in Brown and Rock counties in Long Pine canyon. Wild Black Cherry (Primus serotina). — A large tree, with thickish, blunt-serrate leaves and small, black-purple edible fruits. Franklin, Pawnee, Richardson, Nemaha, and Cass counties. Wild Plum (Primus americana). — A small, thorny tree, producing yellow or red fruits from Y\ to i inch in diameter. Common throughout the state, even to the extreme western portion (Sioux county). This is the only plum certainly known to grow wild in the state. It may be that we have confused two or more species in what we now regard as a very variable single species. In the opinion of some of our horticulturists there are several distinguishable species, while others are equally positive that all the varieties grade into one another so fully as to render their separation impossible. There is much variability in the fruits and pits, the former differing not only in color, but also in size and taste, while the pits vary much in size, shape, and structure. The leaves appear to be pretty uniform in size, shape, and structure, the margins always being sharply and rather coarsely serrate. Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gymnocladus dioicus). — A tall tree (or in Nebraska usually small), with rough, scaly bark, and large, thick pods (6 to 8 inches long), containing a few very hard seeds, y2 inch in diameter. From Richardson county to Pawnee, Lan caster, Sarpy, Cuming, Dixon, and Rock. PIoney Locust (Gleditsia iriacanthos). — A large, thorny tree, bearing long, thin, twisted pods. In the southeastern counties, from Franklin county to Pawnee, Johnson, Nemaha, Saline, Lancaster, Cass, Douglas, Dixon, and Holt. White Ash (Fraxinus americana). — A large tree, with smooth leaves and twigs, and with oar-shaped fruit ("seed") bearing a thickened, oblong, blunt, grain-like seed-pod. Occurs in eastern Nebraska, from Sarpy county southward. Red Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) . — A small-sized tree, with velvety-downy leaves and twigs and nearly entire leaflets. The fruits ("seeds") are oar-shaped and bear a narrow, slender, pointed seed-pod. Found with the following variety throughout the state, but nowhere so abundant ; doubtless the two are often confounded. Green Ash (Fraxinus lanceolata). — Very closely resembling the preceding, but with smooth leaves and twigs. The fruits ("seeds") appear to be quite like those of the red ash. Common along streams throughout the state. Grasses Many plants are commonly called grasses which are not grasses at all. Many people speak of clover and alfalfa as grasses, because they are made into hay for stock, just as many of the real grasses are. So, too, many of our weeds are called grasses, as rib-grass, knot grass, etc., when they are not at all related to the proper grasses. On the other hand, many true grasses are commonly kept separate from them, under the impression that they are very different plants. Thus many people do not think of common field corn as a grass, and yet it is in every way a true grass, although a very large one. So, too, wheat, oats, rye, barley, etc., are real grasses, although we rarely hear them spoken of as such. A grass is a plant with narrow, elongated leaves which are in two ranks upon the jointed, usually hollow stem. The leaves end below in open sheaths, which wrap around the stem for a greater or less distance. The flowers 22 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA are chaffy and are never colored or con spicuous ; they are often in loose heads (pan icles, as in blue grass and oats), or in spikes (as in timothy and wheat). Some live for but a single season (annuals), while others live for many years (perennials). In the whole world there are about 3,500 species of grasses, and of this vast number 154 have been recorded as growing wild or under common cultivation in Nebraska. Probably there is no place in the state in which there are not from fifty to seventy-five kinds of grasses, and in some places doubtless there are more than one hundred. It is unnecessary to take up all the grasses which grow in the state, but the following wild and cultivated species should be known : Maize or Indian Corn (Zea mays). — Stems annual, stout, tall, 5 to 15 or even more feet, with many long, broad leaves. Through long cultivation many varieties have been pro duced. These may be grouped under five types as follows : 1. The Dent type, with the top of the kernel indented, and showing the glossy starch on the sides, and the white extending to the top when the kernel is split. This includes nearly all the field varieties grown in Nebraska. 2. The Flint type, with the top of the kernel rounded, and showing the glossy starch on the sides and top with the white in the middle. This includes the smaller hard varieties grown far north and in New England. 3. The Pop-corn type, with the small ker nels composed almost entirely of glossy starch. 4. Tlie Soft-corn type, with the kernels com posed entirely of white starch. The kernels are easily crushed and made into white meal. 5. The Sweet-corn type, in which the starch of the wrinkled kernel is horny and translu cent. This includes nearly all of our table varieties. Big Blue Stem (Andropogon provincial-is) . — Stems from 4 to 6 feet high, bluish-green, usually branched above and bearing several clustered blue-purple spikes which are more or less hairy. Throughout the state. Valuable for hay when cut before ripening. Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum). — Stems stout, erect, unbranched, 3 to 5 feet high ; leaves 1 to 1^ feet long, *4 to 1/3 inch wide, flat and smooth ; spikelets 3 to 4 mm. long, smooth on the rough branches of the large compound panicle, which is usually red dish. A valuable perennial grass which is found throughout the state. When cut before ripening its seeds it produces a very valuable hay. Barn-yard Grass (Panicum crus-galli). — Stems coarse, usually decumbent and branch ing, 2 to 4 feet high; leaves long and rough, spikelets 3 to 4 mm. long, rough, crowded in three or four rows on the side of spikes which are usually alternate upon the axis of the panicle. A well-known annual, weedy grass throughout the state. It is a native of the old world, and is now so thoroughly dispersed throughout the state as to sometimes seem to be indigenous. It yields a nutritious hay if cut and cured as soon as it blossoms. Green Foxtail (Chaetochloa viridis). — Stems erect, unbranched, ij4 to 2^ feet high, bearing a soft spike of green spikelets, the latter narrowly elliptical. A common weed of fields and waste places. It is strictly an an nual, and has come to us from the old world. Millet or Hungarian Grass (Chaetoch loa italica). — Stems erect, unbranched, i>4 to 3 or 4 feet high, bearing a soft spike 2 to 4 inches long, of purplish or yellowish spikelets, or in highly cultivated forms the spike is large, thick, and compound (6 to 10 inches long and 1 inch in diameter) . This most useful grass is a native of the Old World, and is now exten sively cultivated in this country. There are many varieties, from the simple Hungarian grass to the largest headed millets. Yellow Foxtail (Chaetochloa glauca). — Stems erect, unbranched, 1% to 2 feet high, bearing a rather stiff spike of tawny-yellow spikelets, the latter broadly elliptical. An annual weed, and, like the preceding, a native of the Old World. Indian Rice (Zizania aquatica). — Stems large, 5 to 10 feet high, with broad leaves; panicle loose and spreading. An annual grass, growing in ponds in many parts of the state. The nutritious grain is eaten by water fowl. Wild Ribbon Grass (Phalaris arundina- cea). — Stems stout, 2 to 4 feet high; leaves flat, y2 inch wide ; panicle 3 to 5 inches long, narrow, branches short and appressed ; spike lets 4 mm. long, glumes not winged on the back. A stout-growing perennial grass of wet grounds, widely distributed in the state. The "ribbon grass" of the gardens is a variety (var. picta) produced by cultivation. Muhlenberg's Grass (Muhlenbergia race mosa). — Stems 2 to 3 feet high, rather stiff, very leafy, simple or branched ; leaves many, narrow, 3 to 4 inches long ; panicle 2 to 3 inches long, oblong-linear, contracted into an interrupted false spike with sessile branches; VEGETATION 23 spikelets 2 to 3 mm. long, empty glumes 4 mm. long, much larger than the awned flowering glume, which is acute. A common grass throughout the state, very promising as a hay plant. Timothy (Phleum pratense). — Stems erect, unbranched, iy to 3 or 4 feet high, growing in tufts; empty glumes ciliate on the back, bristle-pointed, 3 to 4 mm. long. A well- known grass, native of Europe, and possibly of America also, which has been cultivated extensively for nearly 150 years. The com mon name is from Timothy Hansen, an American who, in the middle of the last cen tury, first brought it into notice. It is grown extensively in eastern Nebraska and its suc cessful cultivation is rapidly extending west ward in the state. Red Top (Agrostis alba). — Stems erect, 1 to 2.y2 feet high; leaves flat, 2 to 6 inches long, ligule, mostly long and acute; panicle 3 to 8 inches long, open, the rays numerous; spike lets 2 mm. long; flowering glume thin, mostly awnless, rarely short awned ; palet about half as long as the flowering glume. A valuable wild grass on moist lands in central and wes tern Nebraska. A variety (var. vulgaris) with truncate ligules and more spreading red-purple panicles is cultivated from Europe in the eastern half of the state. Oats (Avena sativa). — Stems stout, but not hard, iy> to 3 or even 4 feet high; leaves long, broad, flat, and numerous ; panicle large, loose, and widely spreading; spikelets 15 to 20 mm. long. A native annual of the Old World, which has run into many varieties by long cultivation. Cord Grass (Spartina cynosuroides). — Stems stout, hard, and tough, 3 to 7 feet high ; leaves long (2 to 3 feet), involute, very tough ; spikes 5 to 20, about 2 inches long, somewhat spreading at maturity; spikelets 10 to 12 mm. long. Common in moist places through out the state. Of but little or no value for forage, on account of its hardness and toughness. Blue Grama (Bouteloua oligostachya). — Stems slender, erect, tufted, 8 to 15 inches high; leaves very narrow, most abundant below, 1 to 3 inches long; spikes mostly 1 or 2, rarely 3, 4, or 5, from 1 to 2 inches long; spikelets 5 to 6 mm. long, densely flowered; empty glumes dark purple, whitish hairy on the back; pedicel of rudimentary flower co piously hairy. Very common throughout the state, and in many places called "buffalo grass," a name which properly belongs to another of our grasses. It is one of the most nutritious of our wild pasture grasses. Black Grama (Bouteloua hirsuta). — Stems slender, erect, tufted, 8 to 15 inches high; leaves very narrow, most abundant below, 1 to 3 inches long; spikes 1 to 2, rarely 3 or 4, from 1 to 1 y, inches long; spikelets 4 to 5 mm. long, densely flowered; empty glumes dark purple, hairy on the back, each hair arising from a black wart ; pedicel of rudimentary flower glabrous. Much like the preceding, from which it is difficult to distin guish it. Throughout the state, but most abundant westward. Tall Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula). — Stems stouter, tufted, 1 to 3 feet high ; leaves narrow, most abundant below ; spikes numer ous (20 to 60), mostly purplish, about y2 inch long, few flowered, drooping to one side of the general axis ; spikelets about 5 mm. long. Common throughout the state ; one of our most valuable wild grasses for hay or pasture. Buffalo Grass (Bulbilis dactyloides) . — Stems running and trailing, rooting at the joints, forming close mats, often several yards in diameter ; leaves 2 to 4 inches long, hairy ; staminate spikes whitish, about y2 inch long on erect stems 4 to 6 inches high, pistillate heads greenish, on shorter stems. Once com mon throughout the state, now rare, except in the western counties. Reed Grass (Phragmites phragmites). — Stems tall and stout, 6 to 10 or more feet high, with broad leaves, 1 to 2 inches wide, and bearing a large, loose, and nodding panicle ; spikelets 10 mm. long, narrow, and usually reddish. This is the tallest of our native grasses. It grows in ponds and sloughs throughout the state. On the sandy islands of the Platte river near Kearney and Grand Island the stems often run along the ground for forty or fifty feet, striking root and send ing up leafy shoots at each joint. Salt Grass (Distichlis stricta). — Stems tufted, erect, branching, 6 to 15 inches high, growing from tough, scaly root-stocks ; leaves 3 to 6 inches long, narrow, involute, and sharp- pointed; panicle loose, consisting of a few erect straw-colored spikelets, which are 10 to 20 flowered, 12 to 18 or 20 mm. long, and 3 or 4 mm. broad. Common on alkaline soils throughout the state. Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata). — Stems tufted, erect, simple, 2 to 3 feet high, leafy below, naked above, the rough leaves broad and long, 1 to ilf2 feet; panicle 3 to 8 inches long, composed of compact clusters; spikelets green, 7 to 8 mm. long. A valuable grass of the Old World, now much grown for hay in this country, and occasionally escaped from cultivation in eastern Nebraska. 24 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Kentucky Blue Grass (Poa pratensis). — Stems erect, i to 3 feet high, from running root-stocks ; leaves long, narrow, channeled, the sheaths smooth; ligules short and blunt; panicle short-pyramidal, 2 to 4 or 5 inches long; spikelets 3 to 5 flowered, 3 to 6 mm. long, ovate, almost sessile; flowering glume, five-nerved. A well-known perennial grass, native of parts of North America and Europe, now much grown as a pasture grass. Com mon throughout Nebraska, but probably not indigenous. Wheat Grass (Agropyrum occidentale). — Stems stout, 1 to 3 feet high, erect and smooth, glaucous-green all over ; leaves thick- ish, rolled, not numerous, 4 to 6 inches long, spike 2 to 5 inches long, inclined to be com pound, i. e., with more than one spikelet at each joint; spikelets 5 to 10 flowered, smooth, glaucous, flowering glumes five-nerved, short- awned. A perennial grass of a bluish-green color, much like the couch grass, but with much smaller underground stems. It is one of the most valuable of our wild grasses, especially in the western half of the state. Rye (Secale cereale).- — Stems stout, tall, 3 to 6 or 7 feet ; leaves flat, not numerous ; spike slender, elongated, 3 to 6 inches long; grain dark-colored, hard, long, and narrow. An annual which has been cultivated from time immemorial. Nearly all of the rye grown in Nebraska is sown in the fall, and is hence called "winter rye," but some varieties are sown in the spring, and are consequently known as "spring rye." They are only varieties of the species given above. Wheat (Triticum sativum). — Spikelets usually large and broad, several flowered; glumes short, not much exceeding the grain, awned or toothed ; grain usually short, and turgid. This species includes all of our ordi nary wheat, whether awned ("bearded") or awnless ("smooth"), hardy ("winter wheats") or tender ("spring wheats"), white grained or dark ("red") grained. [Within the last five years winter wheat has become established as one of the surest and most important crops of Nebraska; and this fortu nate fact is largely due to the exhortation of Dr. George L. Miller and the enterprising, practical missionary work of George W. Hol- drege, general manager of the Burlington and Missouri River railway company. — Ed.] Barley (Hordeum sativum). — Stems stout, 1 to 2 feet high, leafy ; the leaves broad and flat, spike erect, 2 to 3 inches long, not includ ing the long, stout, erect, very rough awns ; spikelets usually 2 at each joint of the spike. Many varieties of this Old World annual are now known. Thus we have two-rowed bar ley, four-rowed barley, six-rowed barley, each of which is divisible into a number of varie ties. Wild Rye (Elynius canadensis) . — Stems in tufts, erect, smooth, 2 to 4 feet high; leaves long, flat, smooth, or sometimes roughened; spike large, 5 to 9 inches long, nodding; spikelets mostly 2, sometimes more, minutely rough-hairy; glumes narrow, all long-awned (1 to iy2 inches long). A notable perennial grass, common throughout the state. Other Forage Plants The plants used in Nebraska for hay and pasture, in addition to those already men tioned under the grasses, are the clovers and their near relatives. Red Clover (Trifolium pratense). — Is a native of the Old World, but it has been grown for a long time in America. For ten or twelve years it has been grown in Nebraska with increasing success. It appears to be one of the best of the introduced forage plants. White Clover (Trifolium repens). — Is a native of Europe and America, but not of Nebraska or the plains. However, it thrives here, and soon takes possession of the soil. It affords good pasturage, and yields nectar to the bees from which they make the finest honey. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa). — Is another of the Old World plants which has found a congenial soil and climate upon the Nebraska plains. It yields large crops of hay, espe cially where the ground is irrigated. The native Sedges (Car ex of several spe cies) and some of the Rushes (Juncus of several species), together with a few other grass-like plants of the lowlands, yield forage in the form of pasturage and hay in consid erable amounts. Wild Flozvcrs Contrary to the popular notion Nebraska has a rich flora, and its wild flowers include many species whose beauty has commended them to the florist and gardener. It is safe to say that there are at least three hundred species which are notable for their attractive ness. This large number is, however, dis tributed over so great an area that no locality possesses many of them. The more important of the wild flowers are the following: VEGETATION 25 Lilies. — Eight of these are attractive flow ers. The most striking are the two species of "Mariposa lilies" whose lavender flowers may be found abundantly in the northwestern part of the state. Much more common, but very pretty, are the two species of "spring lilies" (Erythronium), the one a lavender white, the other rarer one a light yellow. The Canada lily and the little white trillium are so pretty as to merit the high place given them among beautiful flowers. The sand lily (Leucocrinum) of the western half of the state sends up in early spring its delicate white, fragrant flowers, while in the same region in early summer the stately dagger weed (Yucca) rears its tall stem, crowned with its creamy tulip-like flowers. Orchids. — Nine or ten pretty orchids grow in different parts of the state, but these shy plants are nowhere abundant. Buttercups. — About a dozen species of buttercups are known within the state, and there are as many more near relatives, the columbines, larkspurs, anemones, and pretty climbing clematises. Water Lilies. — The prettiest of these is the white water lily so much prized by flower- lovers, and the giant water lily (Nelumbo) with its light yellow flowers and gigantic leaves. Poppies. — Throughout the western half of the state the native prickly poppy is very common, its large, white flowers being con spicuous everywhere upon the high plains. In common with many of the preceding species, it is very generally cultivated in gardens in the older parts of the United States. Capers. — This odd name is applied to a family represented in Nebraska by several very pretty plants : one of the prettiest is the Rocky mountain bee plant, whose pink flowers yield much nectar to the bees. Violets. — Every spring the hills are dotted over with beautiful prairie violets of several species. Some of these have heart-shaped leaves, while in others they are shaped like the leaves of the larkspur. All are worthy of cultivation in gardens. Mallows. — The eastern resident will see few more interesting plants upon the plains than the native mallows, from the tall grow ing lavender or blue flowered species to those with bright red flowers. Some of the former have very deep growing, enlarged roots. Cactuses. — In eastern Nebraska, on the rocky hilltops, a species of prickly pear grows plentifully, as also in many counties westward to Wyoming. Another species much like it occurs in the western counties only, while a couple of species of melon cactus with spher ical stems are common from the central counties westward. Mentzelias. — Several species of Ment- zelia with thin, straw-colored, star-shaped flowers, and adhesive leaves, are very abun dant in the western counties. They are some times known as "star flowers," and have been cultivated in the garden under the name of Bartonia. Evening Primroses. — These occur in great abundance throughout the state, and six of the species are very ornamental, having bright yellow flowers an inch or two in diam eter. Some of these are common in eastern gardens. The Roses. — No part of Nebraska is with out one or more species of wild roses, and in some places these are so abundant that the landscape is made pink by the color of the beautiful flowers which are produced in great numbers. Nearly related to the roses are the cinque-foils of many species, and the well-known wild strawberries, of which we have two species. Lupines. — In the western counties several kinds of wild lupines are found, which are very attractive both in flowers and foliage. Related to these are the milk-vetches of many species, some of which are ornamental. Prairie Clovers. — Two species of these plants, the white flowered and the pink flow ered, are common everywhere, while three or four more occur in the center of the state and westward. Some of these have long been cultivated in gardens in the east and in the Old World. Morning Glories. — While some of these are troublesome weeds they are at the same time very pretty ornamental plants. One which does not climb and which is known as the bush morning glory produces fine, large, purple flowers in great profusion. It is worthy of cultivation. It is curious on account of the very large root which it produces, this some times reaching the enormous size of five feet in length and a foot in diameter and weigh ing from fifty to one hundred pounds. Gilias. — A few of the many species of Gilia are peculiarly beautiful and have long been grown in gardens under the name Collomia. They occur mainly in the western part of the state. Pentstemons. — Six to eight species of these beautiful flowers grow in the state, some of them being common everywhere. The fin est one is the large flowered species (Pcntste- mon granditiorus) whose blue-purple flowers are two inches long. 26 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Verbenas. — Some of our species are coarse and lacking- in beauty, but others are low with pretty leaves and flowers, suggesting that they may well be brought into gardens. Sunflowers. — We too commonly regard all the sunflowers as weeds only, but even the coarsest are not devoid of beauty. The most common species (Helianthus annuus) is the parent from which have been derived all the cultivated varieties so common in gardens the world over. The so-called Russian sunflowei which is often cultivated for its oily seeds is nothing but a highly improved form of our common species. Other species of sunflowers are somewhat cultivated and are prized for their stateliness, but none are as well known as the common kind mentioned above. Asters. — Of this genus of plants we have many species in the state, several of consid erable beauty. They always attract attention, and are deservedly popular with children and other lovers of flowers. Golden Rods. — Few genera of plants have received the attention bestowed upon that which includes our native golden rods. Their tall wand-like stems, topped with their golden heads, make them striking objects upon the landscape of the plains. We have many spe cies, ranging from the stout and stocky "rigid golden-rod" to the slender "Canadian" species. One of the most graceful of the species, the "tall golden-rod" (Solidago serotina), has recently been designated by law as the floral emblem of Nebraska. This really handsome species is a native of all quarters of the state. It attains a height of from three to four or five feet, and has smooth, lance-shaped, taper- pointed leaves. It bears a large, more or less pyramidal cluster of flowers, which lean over somewhat to one side. Nebraska could not have a better floral representative than this sturdy, yet graceful, golden-rod. Weeds Upon the open country of the plains, where the winds are almost constantly blowing briskly, seeds of all kinds are much more readily distributed than they are in the wooded regions. This will account for the rapid spread of weeds when once they reach the open country beyond the Missouri river. Then again the whole of the Plains for ages was roamed over by immense droves of buffaloes and antelopes, and later by domestic animals whose range was almost as far as that of their wild relatives. These herds in their rapid and headlong stampedes over the country car ried with them the seeds of many plants, thus aiding in their general distribution. The general fertility and the great uni formity of the soil has had also much to do with the readiness with which weedy plants obtained a foothold in new stations, and from them increased and spread to others. Naturally, in a region having the area and hypsometrical features of Nebraska, the num ber of native plants which may become weedy is quite large. A region nearly ten times as large as Massachusetts, and ranging in alti tude above the sea from about 900 to more than 5,000 feet, can not fail to have many native weedy plants. By actual count no less than 125 native plants are worthy of being ranked as weeds, but while many of these are among the worst pests of the farm, others simply take possession of the open pasture lands or waste and uncultivated places. The more important kinds are the following: Souirrel-Tail Grass (Hordeum jubatum). — This appears to have originally inhabited the sandy margins and islands of the streams of the state. It was common also upon the alkaline and salt flats, and from these it spread to the cultivated lands and roadsides almost everywhere. It is one of the most trouble some weeds of the state. Couch Grass (Agropyrum repens). — This pest of the eastern farmer is widely distrib uted upon the plains, but it has not as yet attracted much attention. It is cut for hay, of which it supplies a fair amount of good quality. Porcupine Grass (Stipa spartea). — In the eastern part of the state this is a common weed upon the high prairies, where its sharp, needle-like fruits are very hurtful to sheep. In the western counties it is replaced by the similar needle grass (S. coinata), which in every way is equally troublesome. Sand Bur (Cenchrus tribuloides) . — This grass loves the sandy soil of the large streams, from which it has doubtless spread to the higher lands. It is abundant in the eastern half of the state, and is probably our worst native weed. Smart Weeds (Polygonum acre and P. hydropiper). — Common in the eastern coun ties. Heartsease (Polygonum emersum. P- terrestre, P. incarnatum. P. pcnnsylvanicum) ¦ — All are troublesome weeds in lowlands. VEGETATION 27 Tumble Weeds. — Two native plants bear this name, viz., Corispermum hyssopi- folium and Cycloloma platyphylluvi. They take possession of the recently plowed land in the central portions of the state, and often completely cover the ground. In the autumn they begin their uneasy career of rolling and tumbling over the plains, dropping their seeds everywhere. Low Pigweed (Amaranthus blitoides). — As common throughout Nebraska as purslane (which it much resembles in manner of growth) is in the eastern states. Loco Weeds (Astragalus mollissmus) and Crazy Weeds (Oxytropis lamberti). — These widely distributed plants are generally sup posed to cause the disorder known as "loco" which attacks horses and cattle upon the plains. While it is possible that they are innocent of this charge, they are worthless weeds of the uplands, and rich dry bottoms adjacent and should be eradicated. Shoestring (Amorpha canescens). — For the farmer who undertakes to break up the upland prairie where it abounds, this is one of the most troublesome plants, its long, deep, tough roots offering a serious obstacle to the work. It abounds throughout the state. Milkweeds (Asclepias syriaca, A. speciosa, A. incarnata, and A. verticillata) . — The first and second are pests in cultivated land, where their deep-lying roots enable them to success fully resist all efforts to dislodge them. Both are widely distributed. The third species occurs along streams and in moist places in the eastern half of the state as a tall weed. The fourth species is a low weed in pastures and meadows throughout the state. Wild Morning Glory (Convolvulus se ptum). — In the eastern half of the state it is too common in cultivated fields. It appears to be spreading. Horse Nettle (Solanum carolinense) . — A prickly weed of the eastern counties. Buffalo Bur (Solanum rostratum). — This most vile weed is apparently an immigrant from the southwest. It occurs now abun dantly in all parts of Nebraska and is rapidly extending eastward. Nightshade (Solanum triflorum). — A low- growing weed spreading eastward from the central portions of the state. Wild Verbena (Verbena stricta, V. has- tata, V. urticaefolia, V. bracteosa, V . pinnati- Hda). — All are weedy plants. The first occurs in the eastern half of the state on prairies of all kinds ; the second and third are confined to the moist lands of the eastern counties ; the fourth is a low weed throughout the state, while the last is like it, but confined to the western half of the state. Prairie Pink (Lygodesmia juncea). — Throughout the state this is a persistent weed, about which farmers frequently make com plaint. Thistles (Cnicus altissimus, C. -undulatus, C. ochrocentrus). — These native thistles occur as weeds in pastures, and especially upon the rich, unbroken prairies. The first is in the eastern counties, while the second and third are in the central and western portions of the state. Spanish Needles (Bidens frondosa). — Becoming common in cornfields and by road sides in eastern Nebraska. Sunflowers (Helianthus animus and Id. grosseserratus). — The first is very common throughout the state, being the most con spicuous weed of all vacant places and poorly cultivated fields. The second is a common perennial species in waste places and road sides in eastern Nebraska. Several other species are occasionally more or less weedy in tlieir habits. Cocklebur (Xanthium canadense). — Very common by roadsides and in cornfields in eastern Nebraska. I doubt whether this is a native plant of the state. Ragweeds (Ambrosia triiida, A. artcmisiae- folia and A. psilostachya) . — These pests of the eastern half of the state appear like immi grants from the East. They abound by road sides in the rich moist soils along the water courses, often attaining a height of from ten to sixteen feet. Two species of Iva (/. ciliata and /. xanthiifolia), which look so much like ragweeds that they are not easily distinguished by the farmer, are common weeds growing with the preceding in low lands in eastern Nebraska. Horseweed (Erigcron canadensis). — -A common weed of the prairies and fields in the eastern half of the state. Its little relative, E. divaricatus, occurs in similar stations and has about the same range. Iron Weeds (Vernonia fasciculata). — A troublesome weed in low pastures in the eastern half of the state. The introduced weeds include some of our most troublesome pests upon the farm, and yet the eastern student will remark upon the entire absence of some of the worst weeds with which he is familiar. Shepherds Purse (Bursa bursa-pastoris) . — Found everywhere in the eastern half of the state. 28 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus). — Ap parently now to be found throughout the state. The mature plant is more or less spherical in shape and consists of many elongated branch ing twigs which grow outward and upward from the root. When not quite matured the whole plant has a reddish color, but as its seeds ripen it bleaches out and eventually is almost white. Well-grown specimens are from two to three feet in diameter, but where crowded together they may be much less. Each twig and branch is covered on all sides by hard, stout prickles, which are very sharp and very irritating to the touch. These prickles are in threes, that is, there are three together in a place and pointing in different directions. At the upper side of the base of each three prickles there is a seed, and as there are about ten of these to each inch it is easily seen that the seeds produced by every well- grown plant must reach a great many thou sands. A calculation made with some care shows that a medium-sized plant contains be tween 10,000 and 15,000 seeds. Late in the fall, and in the early part of winter, the root breaks off, and the plant is free to roll away with its freight of seeds. Lambs Quarters (Chenopodium album and C. hybridum). — The first is found all over the state, while the second has not advanced beyond the eastern counties. Pig Weed (Amaranthus retroflexus) . — Common in field and waste places in the east ern half of the state. Tumble Weed (Amaranthus albus). — One of the most common weeds of the recently broken prairie land, almost everywhere in the state. Purslane (Portulaca oleracea). — Now to be found everywhere in the state. It is not only a wayside weed, but a great pest in fields, pastures, and lawns. Plantain (Plantago major). — Now very widely distributed. The narrow leaved plan tain (P. lanceolata) is appearing in the eastern counties. Dandelion (Taraxacum taraxacum). — In eastern counties and rapidly extending westward. Creeping Thistle (Cnicus arvensis). — This so-called "Canada thistle" has appeared in a few places in the eastern counties. Burdock (Arctium lappa). — Not common and mostly confined to the eastern counties. Ox-eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthe- mum). — Appearing in the eastern counties, where it seems to thrive. 1 This description of the animal life of Nebraska is by Lawrence Bruner, B.Sc, professor of entomology and ornithology in the University of Nebraska. — (Ed.) FAUNA1 The little work that has thus far been done in Nebraska towards gaining a knowledge of its animal life indicates that our fauna is comparatively rich in species and in many instances in individuals also. In fact, in this respect it seems to be ahead of most of the neighboring states. Several causes for this richness in forms of life may be cited. When we take into consideration the variation in altitude above sea level, the differences in sur face configuration, climate, etc., that pertain to the state, its location, and the relation which it bears to the country at large, perhaps the wonderment concerning this great richness will be less. Our southeastern corner is only about eight hundred feet, our western border almost six thousand feet above tide water. The state is divided into timbered, prairie, and plains regions. It lies nearly in the middle of the United States, with a high mountain chain to the west and a giant waterway along its eastern boundary. In fact, in Nebraska meet eastern, western, southern, and northern faunas, while we also have a fauna of our own, so to speak. We find forms belonging to low and high altitudes, to wet and dry climates, to timbered and prairie countries, as well as to semidesert and alkali regions. The sandy interior also offers special features for a dis tinct fauna. A casual comparison of past and present conditions shows that the native animals have materially changed since Nebraska was first settled. Many of the earlier forms have dis appeared or become much restricted in their distribution. On the other hand, several forms have greatly increased in numbers and have extended their range as well. Less than fifty years ago our plains were covered by immense herds of the bison, or American buffalo, and elk in large bands roamed at liberty throughout the middle and western portions. Both species of deer, the white- tailed or Virginia, and the black-tailed or mule, in considerable numbers, were to be seen in FAUNA 29 our woodlands, among the fringes of brush and trees that marked the smaller water courses, or else lurked in the tall grasses of the sand-hills and other rough portions of the country where they were able to hide during daytime from their lesser enemies. The ante lope ranged the prairies at will, even to within a comparatively short distance of our eastern borders. Some mountain sheep, too, were at home in the rougher country in the north west, while at times small bands of wild horses also galloped over the plains. Coinci dent and in a measure dependent upon these for their food supply were foxes, wolves, pan thers, lynxes, and even a few bears. But all this is now changed. Where the bison, elk, deer, and antelope once browsed our grasses we now have instead herds of cattle and sheep. The larger and fiercer carnivora, along with the forms upon which they were dependent, have been killed or driven away. The numbers of our smaller mammals, too, have been greatly changed. The beaver, otter, wolverene, badger, and several others of the fur-bearing kinds are now very scarce where they were once common or even abundant. A few of the rodents, such as are favored by the cultivation of the soil and growing of grain, instead of diminishing, have increased. These are forms like the prairie dog, pocket gopher, and ground squirrels, together with some of the mice. Several forms have even come into the state from beyond our borders and are now much at home in towns and cities as well as about our buildings on the farms. Bird life, too, has greatly changed in Ne braska since the advent of civilized man. Many of our larger and most showy species have nearly or altogether disappeared; while a number of the smaller ones, which were for merly present in flocks of thousands, are now few and scattered. Of the larger species are the wild turkey, cranes, Canada goose, and swans, both the whistling and trumpeter ; and of the smaller, birds like the Eskimo curlew, Bartram's sandpiper and golden plover. Then, too, the Lesser prairie hen, which was occa sionally taken in the middle and upper por tions of the Elkhorn valley, seems to have almost or quite disappeared from the state. Notwithstanding the ravages that have been wrought by the thoughtless upon the bird lift- as formerly found within our borders, we still lead our sister states in the number of distinct species which are regular or incidental to our fauna. The partial, but rather careful study which has already been made has brought to light fully 415 or perhaps 420 recognized forms. Many of these are exceedingly valu able, and most of the others notably beneficial as insect destroyers or eaters of the seeds of noxious weeds, and only a few — less than half a dozen species — definitely harmful. Owing to the persistent efforts of our teachers, backed by the various members of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, a majority of our lead ing citizens, and the state press generally, a very strong sentiment in favor of bird pro tection is being established here. It is to be hoped that this sentiment will be a guaranty of the future protection and increase of our feathered friends. Our fishes, while not numerous in indi viduals in every case, are neverthless quite plentiful in distinct kinds. Some new and valuable forms have been added in the past and are annually being added to suitable waters. Just how many distinct forms occur in the waters of Nebraska is not even a mat ter of conjecture, since little or no effort has as yet been made towards a systematic col lection of the forms found in any one stream, to say nothing of the numerous watercourses of the state. The batrachians, reptiles, and ophidians are also quite well represented when we take into consideration the conditions under which these various animals must exist. Only the latter, however, have received anything like a moder ately careful study. In 1901 W. Edgar Taylor, at that time professor of natural his tory in the State Normal school at Peru, prepared a paper on this group which was published in connection with the report of the State Board of Agriculture for that year. In this treatise twenty-five varieties are described. Although incomplete, it answers fairly well as a good beginning towards a knowledge of our snakes. 3Q HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Such other animal forms as the mollusks, crustaceans, vermes, etc., along with the myr- iapods, arachnids, and insects, which form by far the larger percentage of the animal life of any region, are still much less known. Notwithstanding this comparative lack of knowledge on the part of the students of nat ural history concerning the life indigenous to the state, enough is known to warrant the statement that all of these are also well repre sented in every section of Nebraska. Of course the necessary investigations regarding the presence and ravages of harmful insects, which have been carried on from time to time in various regions during different years, have supplied the data for some working knowledge of these creatures. Aside from this cursory work, however, no systematic attempt has been made towards learning just what forms are to be found here, or what part the different kinds take in the economy of nature. In the very few isolated groups that have been at all carefully studied the results show much larger lists than were expected. For example, the butterflies number about one hundred and forty distinct kinds ; the grasshoppers one hun dred and eighty ; the tiger beetles approxi mately forty, the bees several hundred, etc. Taken together, perhaps, our complete list of insects when made out will be in the neighbor hood of from twelve thousand to fifteen thousand species. Then to these must be added something like five or six hundred spiders and other arachnids, seventy-five myr- iapods, and an indeterminate number of para sitic worms, Crustacea, and other minute forms which live in the soil and water. Among the insects that are of especial interest, for one reason or another, such pests as the destructive grasshoppers, or locusts, the chinch bug, the army worm, codling moth, tent caterpillar, cut-worms, June beetles, Colo rado potato beetle, squash bug, and, in fact, most of the other recognized pests of this class, figure conspicuously. Some of these are native to the state, while others have been introduced from regions beyond our borders. Com mendable interest is taken by both our horticulturists and agriculturists towards their suppression, and a continual warfare is being waged against them. Aside from the large number of destructive species that are indig enous to the state we are also favored with equally large numbers of predaceous and parasitic forms which are doing their share toward keeping in check the harmful ones referred to above. Thus it is that the natural balance is, in a measure, maintained among these numerous kinds of animals which are at home in our state. The arachnids of interest are such forms as at least one species of tarantula, one or two scorpions, two or three solpugids, these latter related to both the spiders and scorpions, and several of the really poisonous spiders. Besides these, wood-ticks, false scorpions, jiggers, and a number of parasitic mites that infest various animals, causing a disease com monly termed mange or itch, abound. Myriapods like the centipede are found in some sections, while the "thousand-legged worms" are not uncommon in many others. One group of these myriapods is represented by forms which possess but a single pair of legs to each segment of the body, and it is among these that the poisonous forms occur. All of these are carnivorous and feed upon various insects and other small animals. The second group has its members provided with two pairs of legs to each segment, and are all vegetable feeders to a great extent at least. These latter are not considered poisonous although they look repulsive. One species at least possesses illuminating powers, being pro- . vided with light-producing organs in the form of small circular spots near the side of each segment above. When crawling about after dark these lights appear as two rows of mov ing, small, fiery beads. Since a fairly thorough knowledge of the zoology of any region is of much economic importance to the tillers of the soil, such information is especialy valuable to a state where almost the sole calling of the citizens is agriculture. It is to be hoped, therefore, that in time some provision other than that dependent upon the mere love of a few individuals for such investigations will be provided. ABORIGINAL OCCUPANTS 3' CHAPTER II ABORIGINAL OCCUPANTS1 SPANISH AND FRENCH EXPLORERS — AMERICAN EXPEDITIONS- FUR TRADE— FIRST SETTLEMENTS ' I SHE natural tendency of migration since his- ¦*- tory began has been westward; and the movements of the Amerind are not an excep tion to this general rule. As the streams which drain North America have a general trend from north to south, and as the rule for human activity is to proceed along the lines of least resistance, it might be supposed that the Amerind would follow up these streams and change the general order by mov ing forward from south to north or from north to south. There was a stronger influ ence than the mere contour of the land which drew the tide of emigration, although this had its effect to such an extent that the route of travel had a west-by-northwest trend. The food supply became the main factor in deter mining the direction of migration. The buf falo, which though indigenous to the whole central region of North America were partial to the open country, enticed the Indian to the Nebraska plains which they possessed in vast herds. This useful animal was the source of supply for every want : food from his flesh, rai ment and shelter from his hide, implements from his bones, vessels for holding liquids from his intestines, and fuel from his dung. The buffalo made it possible for great numbers of Indians to subsist in comparative ease on the treeless plains of Nebraska. How much of the food supply of the aborigines, before the advent of the buffalo, may have been derived from agricultural pursuits is unknown ; but it is certain that as the tribes spread westward and the buffalo became more numerous agri culture decreased, until, when white settlers first came in contact with the tribes of Ne braska, little attention was given to it. By far the greater number of Indian tribes, which have inhabited the territory that now comprises Nebraska, followed this general rule of migration from east to west. These tribes belonged to two linguistic families, the Algonkian2 and Siouan. Both of these great families sprang from the region east of the Appalachian mountains and in turn occupied nearly the whole of the Mississippi valley. The first occupants of Nebraska did not follow this rule. The Caddoan linguistic family had its home in the south near the banks of. the Red river, and migrated north ward, occupying the valleys of the Kansas river, and reaching northward to the valley of the Platte river and westward to the foot hills of the mountains. Two other linguistic families, the Shoshonean and Kiowan, encroached on our territory from the west. They hunted along the headwaters of the Re publican and Platte rivers, and claimed part of the territory of this state, but few, if any, ruins of their permanent homes are found within its present limits. Only these five linguistic families were found in Nebraska, and but two of them, the Caddoan and Siouan, are of importance to our history. Tribes of these two families had their permanent habi tat within the state, and fought with one an other and among themselves for supremacy on our eastern border and along the Platte valley. The original home of the Caddoan linguis tic family was on the Red river of the south. 1This classification of Indian tribes and bands should be credited to Mr. E. E. Blackman, archeolo- gist of the Nebraska State Historical Society; and the particulars as to the numbers and location of certain tribes, before the organization of Nebraska territory, to a paper by Clyde B. Aitchison. 2 In the spelling of the names of Indian tribes it has been found more practicable to follow the Standard dictionary than the diverse and contradictory usage of scientific writers in the reports of the Bureau of Ethnology.— ( Ed. "» TYPES OF NEBRASKA INDIANS Engravings from original photographs copyrighted by F. A. Rinehart, Omaha ABORIGINAL OCCUPANTS 33 Prior to the year 1400 one band, known as the Skidi, branched off from the main stock and drifted to the Platte valley. The exact line of migration is difficult to determine, but a tradition says this tribe lived as allies of the Omahas near the mouth of the Ohio river. It is not impossible that they may have followed up the Missouri river in coming to the Platte valley, where, according to Dun bar,1 they were located in 1400. Prior to 1500 another band branched off from the main stock and drifted northward to a point near the present Kan sas-Nebraska line. Here the Wichitas turned back and went south, while the Paw nees moved northward and occupied the Platte valley and intervening country. In 1541 Coronado found the Wichitas near the Kansas river and sent a summons to the "Lord of Harahey" (the Pawnee) to visit him, which he did with two hundred naked warriors.2 This is the earliest authen tic record of Indian oc cupancy of Nebraska. This is the first time civilized man (if we can call Coronado's followers civilized) ever saw an Indian from what is now Nebraska. All history before this is legendary, and legendary history is so MARPIYA I.UTA (RED CLOUD)4 - CHIEF OF THE OGALLALA SIOUX, AT THE AGE OF SEVENTY YEARS From a ph jtograph owned by Mr. A. K. Sheldon. conflicting that we may only say that it is possibly true. How far Onate penetrated in his trip north eastward from New Mexico, in 1599, is dif ficult to determine. He says he visited the city of Quivera, which was on the north bank of a wide and shallow river (very like the Platte). He says he fought with the "Escanzaques" and killed "a thousand." This battle may have been in Nebraska. Penalosa also claims to have visited the same locality in 1662, to have met the "Escanzaques," and to have beaten them in a like encoun ter.3 When these brief glimpses into Spanish history are substanti ated by further re search we may be able to add some early data bearing on In dian occupancy of Ne braska. The Pawnees (proper), consisting of three main tribes, the Choui (or Grand), the Pita-how-e-rat (or Tapage), and the Kit- ke-hak-i (or Republi can), emigrated to the Platte valley prior to 1500. They held the country fifty miles west of the Missouri river, and eventu ally conquered the Skidi band, which had come here a hundred years before, and adopted it into their own tribe. Before the Pawnees iMaz. of Am. Hist., vol. 5, p. 321. t-ltfih Ann. Rept. Bureau of Ethnology; Harahey, vol. 2, p. 68. 3 See J. W. Savage, Rept. Hi t. Soc, vol. II, p. 114. 4Mirpiya Luta (Red Cloud), chief of the Oeallala Sioux, was born in May, 1821, on the banks of Blue creek in what is now Deuel county, Nebraskn. At sixteen he first went out with a war party and received his present name. During the next twenty years a suc cessful leader in the Sioux wars against the Pawnees, Crows, and Shoshones. Killed Bull Bear, a prominent Sioux chief, in a trib il feud about 1845. One of the Sioux field generals in wars with the United States 3 1864-68. Planned the fight at Ft. Phil Kearney, De cember, 1866, in which ninety-six soldiers were slain. Abnudoned the war path in 1869 and has been at peace with the whites since. Prominent in all the treaties and councils of his tribe since then. For many years leader of opposition to U. S. Indian agents. Has been to Washington sixteen times. His home for the past twenty-five years has been a small frame house near Pine Rid,ye agency. Serious and earnest in speech; shrewd and wary in the field and council. At present (1904) totally blind and Hearing his end. The above picture shows him as he was in the autumn of 1890 — just before the last Sioux war. — (A. E. Sheldon. ) 34 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA came, however, a band called Arikara had drifted away from the Skidi band and estab lished itself on the Missouri river, but out of the bounds of Nebraska. The Arikaras came into Nebraska and lived with the Skidi tribe for three years, from 1832 to 1835, when they returned home. In the Huntsman's Echo of February 21, 1861, the editor thus perspicuously describes the condition of the Pawnees on their reserve at Genoa, as he had ascertained it by a visit there a few days before : "The Pawnees number at present about four thousand souls and a fraction over, and when 'at home' live in a cluster of huts built with crotches -and poles, covered, top and sides, with willows, then with grass and dirt, giving the appearance at a little distance of an immense collection of 'potato hills,' all of a circular shape and oval. The entrance is through a passage walled with earth, the hole in the center at top serving both for window and chimney, the fire being built in the cen ter. Along the sides little apartments are divided off from the main room by partitions of willow, rush or flag, some of them being neatly and tidily constructed, and altogether these lodges are quite roomy and comfortable, and each is frequently the abode of two or more families. In these villages there is no regularity of streets, walks, or alleys, but each builds in a rather promiscuous manner, having no other care than to taste and convenience. The tribe is divided into five bands, each being under a special chief or leader, and the whole confederation being under one principal chief. Each band has its habitation separate and dis tinct from the other, three bands living in villages adjoining and all composing one vil lage, the other two villages, some little dis tance. There is frequently some considerable rivalry between the several bands in fighting, hunting, and other sports, and not infre quently one band commits thefts upon the effects of another." At this time, we are told, the Pawnees had several thousand horses, but owing to the hard winter hundreds had died from sore- tongue and other diseases. The animals lived -out all the winter upon the dry grass ; but if the snow was too deep for them to reach it, cottonwood trees were cut down and the horses would subsist upon the bark. These horses were above the luxuries of civilized life, and refused to eat corn when it was placed before them. They were valued at from thirty to sixty dollars each. The Pawnees at this time usually took two general hunts each year in which all the peo ple, old, young, great, and small participated, abandoning their villages to go to the buffalo range. From the spoils of the summer hunt they made jerked meat and lodge skins; and from those of the fall hunt, in October and November, they made robes, furs, tanned skins, and dried meat. These Indians had a field of considerable extent near each village where the land was allotted to the various families, and goodly quantities of corn and beans were grown. With these and a little flour and sugar they managed to eke out a miserable existence, sometimes full-fed and sometimes starved. "The females are the working bees of the hive; they dig up the soil, raise and gather the crops, cut timber and build the lodges, pack wood and water, cook, nurse the babies, carry all the burdens, tan the skins and make the robes and moccasins. The lords of the other sex recline by the fire or in the shade, kill the game and their enemies, do the steal ing and most of the eating, wear the most ornaments, and play the dandy in their way to a scratch. They are of a tall, graceful, and athletic figure, as straight as an arrow and as proud as a lord, whilst the squaws are short, thick, stooping, poorly clad, filthy, and squalid. Parentless children and the very aged are sometimes left behind, or by the wayside, to perish as useless." Pike visited the Republican Pawnees in 1806; they dwelt near the south line of the state until about 1812, when they joined the rest of the band north of the Platte river. Dunbar1 gives the location of the various tribes in 1834: the Choui band resided on the south bank of the Platte, twenty miles above the mouth of the Loup ; the Kit-ke-hak-i lived eighteen miles northwest, on the north side of the Loup ; the Pita-how-e-rat, eleven miles farther up the Loup, and the Skidi, five miles above these; and he says they changed their 1Mag. Am. Hist., vols. 4 and 5. 1. Pawnee earth lodge circular in form, supported by a circle upright pillars, the wall formed of upright, slightly inclined poles covered with earth, the roof, dome-shaped, with an opening at the apex for ventilation and light. At the left of the engraving is a sum mer or temporary lodge, in the foreground is seen the framework ot a sweat lodge. 2 West side of interior of Pawnee earth lodge Fireplace in center, the smoke from which is directed by a skin or blanket, sup ported on the windward side of the roof bv three sticks. In the back ground is seen the family altar made of sod, near which stands the sacred drum; above the altar generally hung the sacred bundle. The beds are arranged about the wall. 3. Omaha earth lodge. This par ticular lodge existed some years ago twelve miles north of Omaha 4. Santee Sioux tepee. 5. Rear view of Winnebago bark lodge.— Photos 1, 2, by Melvin R. Gilmore, Bethany, Nebraska; 4, by U. G. Cor nell, Lincoln, Nebraska; 5, A. E. Sheldon, Lincoln, Nebraska. ILLUSTRATIONS OFTlNDIAN HOUSE ARCHITECTURE AMONG THE PLAINS TRIBES HISTORY OF NEBRASKA villages every eight or ten years. In 1833 the Pawnees ceded the territory south of the Platte to the United States. In 1857 tney ceded the territory north of the Platte, except their reservation in Nance county. The terri tory ceded, according to Chas. C. Royce,1 embraced the central third of the entire state. The reservation above mentioned was ceded in 1876, and the Pawnees were taken to Indian Territory, where they now have a reservation. The various branches of the Siouan lin guistic stock have come to this state at five different times. The first were the Mandans, whose coming is shrouded in antiquity. Cat- lin claims to have traced their earthworks and habitat down the Ohio river and up the Mis souri.2 McGee says the Siouan family began to cross the Appalachian mountains one thou sand years ago. The Mandans were among the first to break off from the parent stock, and the only excuse we have for including them in our history is the probability that they crossed our borders on their way up the Mis souri river some time prior to the coming of the Skidi band in 1400. McGee says the Omaha tribe was near the mouth of the Ohio river in 1500, so its coming to Nebraska must have been after that date. It is traced quite accurately up the Missouri and Des Moines rivers to its present home in the northeast part of Nebraska. The Osage tribe branched off and remained at the Osage river. The Kansas tribe came on to the Kan sas river, and there established its permanent habitat. The date of the arrival of the Kan sas tribe is sufficiently early to allow the "Escanzaques" of Onate to be regarded as Kansas Indians. The Omahas and Poncas remained together until about 1650, when the latter moved northward and occupied the country from the mouth of the Niobrara west to the Black Hills. By the treaty of March 16, 1854, the Omahas ceded the northeast third of the present state to the United States, excepting that part north of a line drawn due west from the mouth of the Aoway river. That tongue of land which was added to Ne braska in 1890, by authority of the act of 1 /8th R,pt. Bureau of Ethnology, pt. 2. 2Catlin, North American Indians. Congress of March 28, 1882, and. which lies between the Niobrara, Keya Paha, and Mis souri rivers, was ceded by the Poncas in 1858, except a small reservation. In 1877 the Poncas were moved to Indian Territory. The Dakota City Herald? in noting that the Omahas had just received their annuity on their reservation from Captain Moore, Indian agent, makes the following observa tion as to their condition : "They are being gathered to their fathers fast, very fast, as they now number only 964 savage souls. The amount of their payment was $23,000 and averaged about $24 a head. Since Uncle Sam supplied them with a few 'scads' they have paid frequent visits to our town, and laid something out for the purpose of laying some thing in." From the observant editor's remarks it appears that the Indians did not confine their inebriety to alcoholic drinks. He relates that "five of these red sons of the forest, two red squaws in red blankets, and one pale red papoose put up at the Bates house on Sunday night for supper." They had a table by themselves, by courtesy of the landlord, and, "in the language of the Arkan sas bride, 'they sot and sot' until they stowed away everything eatable within reach or sight. Seventy-seven cups of coffee were drank at the sitting, and but one, a young squaw, gave out. After getting down seven cups she failed on coffee; the others kept on until the kettle gave out. When the meal was -over they paid the landlord two bits apiece and departed." The third detachment of the Siouan family to occupy Nebraska consisted of three tribes, the Otoe, Missouri, and the Iowa. The Otoes and Iowas have always been closely related. They were first seen at the mouth of the Des Moines river by Marquette in 1673. They are said, by tradition, to have sprung from the Winnebago stock. It is stated that in 1699 they went to live near the Omahas. The Missouris have had a very checkered career. They were first seen in 1670 at the mouth of the Missouri river. Soon after 1700 they were overcome by the Sac and Fox and other 3 November 19, 1859. ABORIGINAL OCCUPANTS 37 tribes. Most of them joined the Otoe tribe, but a few went with the Osage and some joined the Kansas tribe. They have never ceded land to the United States except in company with the Otoes, but they have been a party to every Otoe transaction. To all intents and purposes the Otoes and Missouris have been as one tribe during their occupancy of this state. The Otoes and Missouris ceded the south east portion of the state to the United States in 1833; this cession embraced the land south and west of the Ne maha. The remaining portion of land which they claimed lay be tween the Nemaha, Mis souri, and Platte rivers, reaching as far west as Seward county. This last tract was ceded in 1854, when they re turned to their reserva tion south of Beatrice. This they relinquished in 18S1, and they now live in Indian Territory. Most of the Iowas re mained east of our bor der until 1836, when they were given a tract of land along the south bank of the Nemaha. This they retained : in part in individual allot ment, but they, remain under the Great N?maha agency. This tribe was always closely associ ated with the- Otoe, but- was never under the same tribal organization as was the Missouri 1 Seiitegaleska (Spottel Tail), a Brule Sioux chief of northwestern Nebraska, came up from the ranks and attained the greatest distinction recorded in the annals of the red man. When eighteen years of age he engaged a subchief in deadly comb it, which first brought him into prominence. He rapidly gained prestige until he was chosen hereditary head chief of the entire Sioux nation. In 1872 he was taken to Wash ington as a delegate, and in 1876 he was crowned "King of the Sioux," by General Crook, an office which he filled with dignity. Spotted Tail was often called upon by the govern ment to negotiate peace with the hostile tribes of the Northwest, in which h; was very successful, many SENTEGALESKA (SPOTTED TAIL)1 HEREDITARY CHIEF OF THE SIOUX Photograph owned by the Nebraska State Historical Society tribe. All three tribes belonged to the same branch of the Siouan family as the Winnebago. These cessions gave the United States title to the east two-thirds of the state. The ear liest treaty by which they acquired title to land in this state was made with the Kansas in 1825; by this treaty the Kansas ceded a semicircular tract along the south line, reach ing from Falls City to Red Willow county and nearly as far north as Lincoln. So it seems that the Kansas at least laid claim to part of our territory. The next detachment of the great Siouan family to invade Ne braska was from the northern branch of .this tribe which dwelt along the Great Lakes. The Assiniboins had sepa rated from this branch as early as 1650, and, ac cording to McGee, were near the Lake of the Woods in 1766, so they had not long wandered over our soil when writ ten history began. The Pawnees and Omahas joined in repel ling the advance of these northern tribes and held them well back from the waterways for many years, but they hunted on the head-waters of the Platte and Republican and even as far south as the head-waters of the . Smoky Hill and Solomon rivers. The Crows were doubt less the first to encroach on the Platte lives and much property being saved by his concili atory offices. He was alwiys friendly to the whites, advised his tribe wisely, and was one of the very few Indians who could be trusted all the time. On the 5th of August, 1881, Spotted Tail was mur dered by Crow Dog, one of his subchiefs. A feud had long existed between them, and when the chief refus d to permit Crow Dog to go on the hunt with the rest of the trib^, the latter drove to the chief's tep>e, and calling him out, shot him. This occurred at the Rose Bud ajen:y,'as Spotted Tail was prepar ing to again visit Washington. — (E. E. Blackman, archsologist, Nebraska Stale Historical Society.) i*»OU. wfc l A GROUP OF WINNEBAGO INDIAN CHIEFS, WITH THEIR AGENT, ROBERT W. FURNAS, TRADER MAJOR F. J. DEWITT, AND INTERPRETERS Engraving from a photograph taken in New York City in 1866, and owned by the Nebraska State Historical Society. ABORIGINAL OCCUPANTS 39 valley; they drifted to the Black Hills in an early day and hunted on the Platte from the northwest. The Blackfeet, a branch of the Saskatchewan tribe, came later. The Yank ton, Santee, Brule, Sisseton, Ogallala, Te ton, Minnetaree, and parts of other tribes from time to time hunted or fought on the head-waters of the Platte. They joined in ceding the northwest part of the state to the United States in 1868, reserving for them selves a common hunting right, which they relinquished in 1875. They are now on the vari ous reservations in Dakota and Indian Territory. The Winnebagos were the last of the great Siouan family to come ; they were moved from Minnesota to a part of the Omaha res ervation in 1862, where they still reside. Schoolcraft says this tribe once lived on a branch of the Crow Wing river in Minnesota. Some of the Santee Sioux were moved to Nebraska at the same time, but many of both tribes came across the country before. To the Algonkian family belong the Chey enne, Arapaho, and Atsina, who wandered over the western part of Nebraska, as did the Sac and Fox tribe, which had a reservation in the extreme southeast part of the state from 1836 to 1885. The Algonkian family once occupied the greater part of the Missis sippi valley. At a very early date the Chey- ennes drifted westward through the Dakotas and gave their name to one of the impor tant streams. Later they drifted southward. Lewis and Clark mentioned this tribe as occu pying a position on the Cheyenne river in 1804, while Long in his expedition of 1819 found a small band which had seceded from the main stock on the Cheyenne river, and had roamed with the Arapaho along the Platte river. There is a record, by Fremont, of this tribe being on the Platte above Grand Island in 1843. They ceded the southwestern portion of Nebraska in 1861. The Arapahos, like the. Cheyennes, occu pied Nebraska as a roaming tribe. The impression left by the very limited number of writers who have spoken of them seems to be that they came from the north. They were pressed by the Sioux from the east and by the Shoshoneans from the west. The date of their coming to Nebraska is obscure. The time of their separation from the eastern parent stock is shrouded in antiquity, and as early travelers found them a wild race, and not easy to study, little of their early history is recorded. They joined the Cheyenne and Arkansas Indians in ceding to the United States government the extreme southwest portion of Nebraska. So far as can be learned the Arkansas never occupied any part of Nebraska. The Atsinas were closely allied to the Blackfeet (Siouan) and, since whites have known them, have affiliated with that tribe. They are distinctly Algonkian, how ever, and have a legend telling how they came to separate from the Arapahos. As stated above, the Algonkian stock occu pied most of the Mississippi valley at one time. The United States purchased all of Missouri north of the river, most of Iowa, and a. part of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minne sota from the Sacs and Foxes. They seem to have been the original owners of the Missis sippi and Missouri front, and the Siouan tribes as they drifted westward doubtless had them to deal with. This may account for the movement westward of the Otoe and the Kan sas tribes across the river. The Sacs and Foxes relinquished their possessions and retired to a southern reservation, excepting a band who took a reserve on the Great Nemaha river, partly in Nebraska and partly in Kansas, and which remains in the Great Nemaha agency. Powell1 does not believe that the Shosho- nean family occupied a part of Nebraska, and it is doubtful whether any part of this family had more than a transient home within the state. It is certain that the Comanches roamed over our territory, and doubtless the "Padoucas" once had a more or less per manent home here; at least the north fork of the Platte river was known in the early days as the Padouca fork. Mooney2 says: "In 1 7 19 the Comanche were mentioned under their Siouan name of Padouca as living in what is now western Kansas. It must be remembered that five hundred to eight hun dred miles was an ordinary range for a plains 1 7th Ann. Rept. Bureau of Ethnology, p. 109. *i4th Ann . Rept. Bureau of Ethnology, pt. 2, p. 1044. 4o HISTORY OF NEBRASKA tribe, and the Comanches were equally at home on the Platte or in Chihuahua (Mex ico)." The great Shoshonean family occupied the mountain country from the south line of Oregon to the north line of Arizona, and extended from the Pacific coast at the south west corner of California nearly to the west line of what is now Nebraska. They were a powerful and numerous people. Later the Siouan bands drove the Comanches south and the other branches of the Shoshonean family west and north. Lewis and Clark in 1805 mention the Padoucas as extinct except in name. Bourgmont visited the Padoucas on the head-waters of the Kansas in 1724. The Comanches and the Kansas were closely associated for one hundred and fifty years, says Mooney.1 There is no record that the Comanches ever ceded any part of this state to the United States. About 1700 a tribe of the Kiowan family migrated from the far northwest and took up a residence in the vicinity of the Black Hills. From there they were driven by the Siouan tribes, and Lewis and Clark mention them as residing on the north fork of the Platte in 1805, and numbering seventy tepees. They slowly drifted southward until they occupied the country south of the Arkansas li4th Ann. Rept. Bureau of Ethnology. 1i8th Ann. Kept. Bureau of Ethnology. 3 The following is a summary of the foregoing classi fication of the Indian tribes of Nebraska: caddoan family Kansas Skidi Tciwere Arikara Iowa Pawnee Otoe Choui Missouri Pita-how-e-rat Winnebago Kit-ke-hak-i Mandan siouan family Hidatsa ( Minnetaree or Dakota Gros Ventres) Santee Crow Sisseton algonkian family Yankton Cheyenne r<*ot\, Arapiho *!" !f , Atsina Blackfeet Sac and Fox Ogallala Thegiha shoshonean family Omaha Comanche Ponca kiowan family 4 The Nebraska Advertiser (December 20, 1856) gives the following historical sketch of the half-breed reservation: " In the year 1830 the United States en tered into a treaty at Prairie Du Chien with several tribes of Indians in which the Indians made two re serves, one at Lake Pippin, the other between the two Nemaha rivers, for the benefit of the half-breed Iowas river. As this tribe never lived far from the mountains, their occupancy of Nebraska was but transient. Powell2 shows this linguistic family as occupying the extreme southwest part of Nebraska, but there is no record that they ever ceded any part of the state.3 There was a "half-breed" tract situated between the Nemaha and Missouri rivers set apart in 1830, intended for the home of civ ilized Indians belonging to the Omaha, Iowa, Otoe, Yankton, and Santee Sioux half-breeds.4 The Pine Ridge and Rosebud agencies are located just north of the north line of Ne braska, in South Dakota, and the Indian title to a narrow strip adjoining in this state is not yet extinguished. There are titles in the old Sac and Fox and Iowa reservation, in Richardson county, still vested in Indians, and a few live there. The Santee agency, near Niobrara, still maintains an agent who reports to the commissioner of Indian affairs for this tribe and also for the Ponca subagency, situ ated twenty miles west between the Niobrara and Missouri rivers. The Indians at these agencies, together with the Omahas and Win nebagos, in Thurston county, are the only Indian wards of the government in Nebraska at the present time. According to the census of 1900 there were 3,322 Indians in the state Otoes, Omahas Yanctons and Santee bands of Sioux, the Indians themselves selecting the reserves as named above, to be owned, occupied or held by them as other Indian lands, during the pleasure of the president of the United States, and by him held in trust to be di vided equally among them when he saw proper. An act of congress in 1854 required him to have the land surveyed and consummate the treaty. The survey has been made and the ' Nemaha reservation ' found to contain 162 sections. The census is now being taken of the different half-breeds entitled to a portion, that it may be equally divided; when completed the land will be equally apportioned to each half-breed and he be at once placed in possession of a deed in fee simple. The number of half-breeds will be found much larger than anticipated, and consequently the amount of land to each less— probably not over a hun dred acres to each. There is now quite a large num ber of half-breeds on this reserve, many of them men of considerable means, and they are driving ahead quite briskly in the way of improvement, such as opening farms, and erecting machinery of various kinds. They have one thriving little town, we learn, at the mouth of the Big Nemaha. This is considered, and really is, one of the most desirable tracts of land in Nebraska. Many depredations have been and are yet being made upon these lands by white settlers. We caution such persons against committing trespass by removing stone, coal, timber or other valuables, as the ' Intercourse law' is severe, and is required to he put in force rigidly by agents, or other officers." ¦*-* rt S. ^ w w « 0 < C/Jz o r , ^* „_. ; — ; Ti a o | S"3 ^ u *-> cj jD 5? -*-¦ 3-B B-B g *-* T3 O d) h t! ™ 2 t! oj g^6.2S^ 3 io cot c2 ^Sjj I g S H S *£ o "^ .2 u £; s e'i § « IU V0-, k u OJ i? , £ o i1-1 J3 42 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA against 2,685 in I89°- Three Indian schools are maintained by the federal government in this state, on the Santee, Winnebago, and Omaha reservations respectively, while a boarding school for Indians is situated at Genoa, in Nance county. All tribal lands, except a small part of the Omaha reservation, have been allotted in sev eralty, and all Indians are taxed as citizens of the state. The Omahas now number twelve hundred and the Winnebagos eleven hundred. The Omahas are of a higher grade of development and civil ization and are slowly increasing in numbers. In their married relations they observe the princi ple of monogamy with creditable faithfulness, and they are inclined to hold on to and to cultivate their lands. The Winne bagos, on the other hand, live much more loosely in this respect; compara tively few of them are lawfully married, and they have but little re gard for the marriage bond. They are much less persistent than the Omahas in holding on to their lands, and less regu lar and industrious in their habits. All the lands of the reservation, ex cept a few hundred acres of a very poor quality, have now been allotted. Under the law lands which have been allotted can not be alienated by the original grantees nor by their inheritors as long as there are minor heirs. Thus far this class of lands amounts to about ten per cent of the total 'U. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 7, p. 431. 2 Ibid., vol. 9, p. 853. 8 Henry Fontenelle, deceased, son of Lucien Fon- tenelle, who married an Indian woman of the Omaha tribe, was born at Bellevue, Sarpy county, in 1832. He was a brother of Logan Fontenelle, a chief of the Omahas. Henry Fontenelle moved to the Omaha reservation with his tribe in 1855, but on account of trouble between the Omahas and Sioux, he returned to Sarpy county. The following spring he again HENRY FONTENELLE'1 UNITED STATES INTERPRETER TO THE OMAHA INDIANS From a photograph owned by Mrs. Harriet S. MacMurphy, Omaha. allotment, or about fifteen hundred acres. As late as 1846 there were only a very few white settlers, scattered here and there, in that part of southwestern Iowa bordering on the Missouri river. By the treaty of Septem ber 26, 1833,1 five million acres of land in southwestern Iowa, extending north to the mouth of Boyer river, south to the mouth of the Nodaway river, and east to the west line of the Sac and Fox lands, were granted to the Pottawattomie tribe of Indians, number ing about twenty- two hun dred and fifty. Some Ot- tawas and "Chippeways living with the Pottawat- tomies were participants in this grant. All of these Indians had been removed from the vicinity of Chi cago. A subagency and trading post was estab lished at Traders Point (or at St. Francis), Iowa. By a treaty with the United States, made "at the agency near Council Bluffs," June 5, 1846,3 the Pottawattomies re linquished these Iowa lands. The agency at Bellevue, on the oppo site side of the Missouri river, had jurisdicti n over the Omahas, Otoes, Poncas, and Pawnees. The Council Bluffs sub- agency on the Iowa side of the river was subject to the agency at Bellevue. As has already been indicated, Council Bluffs was as shifting as the great river whose shores its various sites adorned. It was first applied to the Lewis and Clark encampment, eighteen miles north went to the reservation where he resided until his death, April 26, 1899. He was a reliable, intelligent, and educated man and well informed upon all matters relating to his people. He was commissioned United States interpreter about 1870, and retained the position for many years. He was also government farmer at the reservation and was appointed chief of the Omaha tribe by the Indian agent, but resigned that position to live a quiet life surrounded by his family at his old home upon the edge of the reservation near the Mis souri river. COUNCIL BLUFFS 43 of Omaha ; then, by reflection and by a sort of evolutionary southward movement to Bellevue; still later to the subagency on the Iowa border op posite Bellevue. In 1S53 — January 19 — Council Bluffs was substituted for Kanesville, which was the original name (derived from a brother of Kane, the arctic ex plorer) of the ham let on the site of the present city of Council Bluffs. Thereafter the place was known by its present name by designation of the post- office department; and it was formally incor porated by act of the Iowa assembly, Febru ary 24, 1853. Accord ing to the Frontier Guardian of Septem ber 18, 1850, a census taken at that time yielded a population of 1,103 f°r Kanesville and 125 for Trading Point or Council Bluffs; so that as late as this date the migra tory name of Council Bluffs had not reached the northern settlement of Kanesville, but by local usage was con fined to Traders, or Trading Point. The domain of the Omahas lay to the north of the Platte river, and that of the Otoes about its mouth — both along PIT-A-LE-SHAR-U (MAN CHIEF)1 HEAD CHIEF OF THE PAWNEES From a photograph in the Coffin collection, in the Museum of the Nebraska State Historical Society. the Missouri river. A strip of land intervening was a source of chronic dispute between these tribes. At the time of the Louisiana Pur chase the Otoes numbered about two hun dred warriors, including- twenty-five or thirty Missouris. A band of this tribe had been liv ing with the Otoes for about twenty-five years. In 1799 the Omahas numbered five hundred warriors; but as the Mormons found them in 1846 1 his tribe, and the Otoes as well, had been reduced by the scourge of small pox to a mere remnant of their former num bers. These Indians are described by their white neighbors of that time as being almost destitute of martial spirit and not viciously inclined, but naturally ready to rob and steal when prompted by hunger, which, unfor tunately for their white neighbors, was their nearly chronic condi tion. Orson Hyde, edi tor of the Frontier Guardian, in its issue of March 21, 1849, in spired by the wisdom of Solomon, advised the use of the rod, and a real hickory at that, on the thieving Omahas and others. 1 Pit-a-le-shar-u (Man Chief), head chief of the Pawnees, was a Choui. He was born about 1823 (ac cording to John B. Dunbar), and attained to the head chieftainship in 1852. His home was immediately south of Fremont until the Pawnees were removed to a point near Genoa. In person he was well developed, standing over six feet. He was not compactly built, but had a commanding presence, and possessed great powers of physical endurance. His features were large and very expressive; his face was deeply pitted by smallpox from which he suffered in 1838. He was extremely vain of his personal appearance, and delighted in extravagant dress. The accompany ing engraving represents him in his most elaborate costume. The heat'-dress of eagle's feathers was a tribal mark, in which he took especial pride. As an orator he excelled, and his character was worthy of his high office. He ruled by suggestion and persua sion rather than by arbitrary methods. In personal intercourse he was dignified and affable: " The white people I love," was one of his frequent sayings. He was a delegate to Washington when the treaty of 1 8"8 was ratified, and he always remained a firm friend of the whites. In the summer of 1874, while going from 44 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA It is said that the Omahas were exceptionally miserable. "Unprotected from their old foes, the Sioux, yet forbidden to enter into a defen sive alliance with them, thev were reduced to a pitiable handful of scarcely more than a hundred families, the .prey of disease, pov erty-stricken, too cowardly to venture from the shadow of their tepees to gather their scanty crops, unlucky in the hunt, slow to the chase, and too dispirited to be daring or suc cessful thieves."1 In the region between the Niobrara and Missouri rivers were the Poncas, some five hundred or six hundred in number, and but lit tle better than the Omahas and Otoes in con dition and circumstances. According to Lewis and Clark, the Grand Pawnee and Republican Pawnee, numbering respectively five hundred and two hundred and fifty men, dwelt, in the agency to the village, he received a pistol shot in the thigh. Common report at the time called it an ac cident, but there is little doubt that the shot was from the hand of some one who feared the chief's influence in the matter of removing the Pawnees to Indian Ter ritory. The wound did not seem serious at first, but in time proved fatal, and the Pawnee Indians lost their best counselor and the whites a staunch friend. — (B. E. Blackm .n, archeologist Nebraska State Historical Society.) JMr. Clyde B. Aitchison, archives Nebraska State Historical Society. 2 By a convention made at the Otoe village on the river Platte, September 21, 1833, between Henry L. Ellsworth, representing the United States, and the Otoe and Missouri tribes, the latter ceded lands to the United States as follows: "Beginning on the Little Nermhaw river, at the northwest corner of the land reserved by treaty at Prairie du Chien, on the 15th July, 1830, in favor of certain half-breeds, of the Omahas, Ioways, Otoes, Yancton and Santie bands of Sioux, and running westerly with said Little Nemohaw, to the head branches of the same; and thence running in a due west line as far west as said Otoes and Missourias have, or pretend to have any claim." — (U. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 7, p. 429.) In this convention the two tribes " dec'are their en tire willingness to abando l the chase for the agricul tural life." By a convention made between Henry L. Ellsworth, commissioner for the United States, and the Grand Pawnee, Pawnee Loup, Pawnee Republican, and Paw nee Tappa, "residing ou the Platte and the Loup Fork" made at the Grand Pawnee village on the Platte river, October 9, 1833, these confederated bands of Pawnee ce led to the United States "all their right, interest, and title in and to all the land lying south of the Platte river."— (Ibid., p. 448.) By a convention "concluded at Bellevue, Upper Missouri, the fifteenth day of October 1836, by and between John Dougherty, U. S. agent for Indian af fairs and Joshua Pilcher TJ. S. Indian special agent, 1804, on the south side of the Platte opposite the mouth of the Loup ; the Pawnee Loup or Wolf Pawnee, comprising two hundred and eighty men, on the Loup Fork of the Platte about ninety miles above the principal Paw nee; and a fourth band of four hundred men on the Red river. Clayton's Emigrant's Guide, in 1848, finds the old Pawnee Mission station at Plum creek, latitude 41° 24' 29", nine and a quarter miles east of the Loup Fork ford (latitude 41" 22' 37"; longitude 980 11'); and the old Pawnee village, formerly occupied by the Grand Pawnee and Tappa, half a mile west of the Loup Fork. This village was burned by the Sioux in the fall of 1846. Iu the spring of 1847 tne Pawnee were found on ,the Loup Fork, about thirty miles east of the old village, according to the same authority.2 and the Otoes, Missouries, Omahaws and Yancton and Santee bands of Sioux," these triues ceded to the United States " the lands lying between the state of Missouri and the Missouri river and south of a line running due west from the northwest corner of the state to the Missouri river." By the same convention it is agreed that the United States will furnish to the Otoes and Missouries five hundred bushels of corn, ' ¦ in consequence of their removal from their former situation on the River Platte to the place selected for th.m, andof their having to build new habitations 1 st spring at the time which should have been occu pied in attending to their crops." — (Ibid., p. 524.) By a treaty made August 6, 1848, at Ft. Childs near the head of Grand Island, on the south side of the Nebraska or Great Platte river, between Lieuten ant-Colonel Ludwell E. Powell, commanding battalion Missouri mounted volunteers, en route to Oregon, in behalf of the United States, and the four confederated bands of Pawnee, the latter ceded to the United States all that tract of land described as follows: "Com mencing on the south side of the Platte river, five miles west of this post, ' Fort Childs;' thence due north to the crest of the bluffs north of said Platte river; thence east and along the crest of said bluffs to the termination of Grand Island, supposed to be about 6.) miles distant; thence south to the southern shore of said Platte river; and thence west and along the southern shore of said Platte river to the place of beginning."— (U. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 9, p. 949.) On the 15'.h of March, 1854, by a treaty made at the city of Washington, between George W. Manypenny, commissioner of Indian affairs, on behalf of the United States, and the confederate tribes of the Otoe and Missouri Indians, the latter ceded to the United States "all their country west of the Missouri river excepting a strip of land on the waters of the Big Blue river, ten miles in width and bounded as foilows: Commencing at a point in the middle of the main branch of the Big Blue river, in a west or southwest direction from old Fort Kearney, at a place called by the Indians the ' Islands'; thence west to the western boundary of the country hereby ceded thence in a northerly course with said western boundary, ten CORONADO'S EXPEDITION 45 opain was preeminently the seat of chivalry at the time of the discovery of America and during the following centuries, while the country now comprising the United States was being discovered and colonized in detail — until it was laughed out of her by Cervantes and knocked out of her by the practical and prosy peoples of the more northern countries and of the Teutonic race. But the spirit of chivalry was prolific of adventurous discov erers through whose valorous enterprise Spain had come to possess, at the time the little strip along the Atlantic comprising the Ameri can colonies was ready for political separation from Great Britain, the whole territory west of the Mississippi river now comprised :n Mexico and the United States, except that portion within the limits of the states of Washington and Oregon. That part of these Spanish domains north of the pres ent boundary line of Mexico comprised more than two-thirds of the present area of the United States. At this time Spain also dominated Central and South America. Though Spain was the first discoverer of America, and established the first permanent colony within the territory of the United States, she no longer owns a foot of the con tinent; and she became so weak that she lost all her holdings by force. It was of the spirit of Spanish chivalry to seek success by the royal road. Her explorers and discoverers were either animated by the search for gold — like De Soto and Coronado — or for more illu sive treasure, such as Ponce de Leon's ehxir of life. But the ultimate race was not for the swift nor the final battle for the strong. The continent came to the men who knew how to wait. While it is still an unsettled and perhaps not very important question whether the Span ish Coronado was the first white man to set foot in Nebraska, there is no doubt that he was the first white discoverer of whom there is any account of the great plains tributary to the Missouri river, and that he came very near to the southern border of the state. In 1539 a Franciscan friar, Marcos de Niza, whom Don Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of Mexico, had sent to investigate reports of populous settlements in the region now com prised in Arizona and New Mexico, brought stories of vast wealth in the Seven Cities of Cibola. An army of about three hundred Spanish soldiers and one thousand Indians and servants was raised and equipped for the conquest of the new country, and Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, governor of New Gali- cia, a western border province of Mexico, was placed in command of the expedition. Coro nado appears to have been a bold and venture some cavalier — a fit lieutenant of the ambitious viceroy. The expedition started from Com- postela — the capital of Coronado's province, about three hundred and seventy-five miles northwest from the city of Mexico — Febru- miles; Ihence east to a point due norlh of the starting point and ten miles therefrom; thence to the place of beginning."— (Ibid., vol. 10, p. 1038.) By treaty made at the city of Washington, March 16, 1854, by George W. Manypenny, commissioner for the United States, and the Omaha tribe of Indians, the latter ceded to the United States "all their lands west of the Missouri river and south of a line drawn due west from a point in the center cf the main chan nel of the Missouri river due east of where the Ayo- way river disembogues cut of the bluffs to the western boundary of the Omaha couniry." — (Ibid., p. 1043.) A treaty was made at Table Creek, in the territory of Nebraska, September 24, 1857, between the United States, by James W. Denver, commissioner, and the four confederate bands of Pawnee Indians, by which the latter ceded "all their right, title and interest lo all the lands now owned or claimed by them bounded as follows: On the east by the lands lately purchased by the United States from the Omahas; on the south by the lands heretofore ceded by the Pawnees to the United States; on the west by a line running due north from the junction of the North, with the South fork of the Platte river, to the Keha-Paha River; and on the north bv the Keha-Paha river to its junc tion with the Niobrara, L'eauquicourt or Running Water river, and thence, by that river to the western boundary of the late Omaha cession." The Pawnees reserved a tract out of this cession "thirty miles long from east to west, by fifteen miles wide from north to south, including both banks of the Loup Fork of the Platte river; the east line of which shall be at a point not further east than the mouth of Beaver Creek." It was also agreed that whenever the Pawnees should be able to find a more suitable locality for their future homes within said cession they should have the privi lege of selecting an equal quantity of land there in the place of this reservation. — (Ibid., vol. 11, p. 729.) On the 10th of April, 1876, an act of Congress author ized the sale of this reservation with the consent of the Pawnee tribes. A part of the proceeds of the sale of the reservation was applied to the purchase of an other reservation for the tribe in the Indian Territory, whither the Indians were removed.— (Ib d , vol. 19, p. 28.) 46 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA al7 23> T54°- On the 7th of July Coronado, with an advanced detachment of the main army, captured one of the seven small Zuni villages, which, situated near the present west ern border of New Mexico, in about the latitude of 35 °, and within a radius of five leagues, constituted the Seven Cities of Cibola.1 These villages were composed of small storehouses, three or four stories high, but the disappointed Spaniards found in them poverty instead of the fabled riches. On an expedition from this point Coronado was partly compensated for h i s disappointment, though doubtless in a way which he did not fully appreciate, by dis covering the grand can yon of the Colorado. Now it was found that the riches lay far beyond in the land of Quivera; and, probably through a stratagem to get rid of their oppressive and cruel visitors, the story of the New Eldorado was told by a native of Quivera who was met with as a captive of the natives of Cicuye, a fort- tified village east of Cibola on the Pecos river. The "Turk," as the Spaniards called the slave, on account of his appearance, told more stories of large towns with hoards of gold and silver and vast herds of buffalo in his country to the east.2 The greedy credulity of the Spaniards again lis tened to these fabulous tales, and in April or QUIVERA MONUMENT6 NEAR JUNCTION CITY, KANSAS From photograph owned by E. E. Blackman, Vice-President Quivera Historical Society. May, 1 541, the army took up its eastward march with the Turk for its guide.3 The slave intentionally led them by a wandering course far to the south, and, provisions becom ing scarce in the neighborhood of the head waters of the Colorado river of Texas, Coronado sent back all of the army excepting from twenty-six to thirty-six soldiers, with whom he pushed northward on his journey of forty-two days to Quivera, now under the guidance of a good In dian, Ysopete, also a native of the plains, the perfidious Turk having been taken into custody.4 The party crossed the Arkansas in the neigh borhood of its southern bend, not far from the present site of Dodge City. Thus the first white man's crossing of the Arkansas was at a place which two hun dred and sixty years later was to become an angle in the division between the Louisiana Purchase ceded to the United States and the residue of territory still held by Spain. At this point the boundary line changed from its north ward course to the west along the Arkansas river. About eighty miles to the northwest, at the site of the present town of Great Bend, Coronado found the first Quivera village. He first met Indians of that name beyond the crossing not far from Kinsley and Larned. Here imminence iT?. W. Hodge, Coronado's March to Quivera, Harahey, vol. 2, p. 43. 2 J. H. Simpson, Coronado's March, Smithsonian Rept., 1869, p. 319. 3 Harahey, vol. 2, p. 59. 4 Harahey, vol. 2, p. 6(1 ^The Quivera monument was erected at " Logan Grove," the home of Captain Robert Henderson, near Junction City, Kansas, in 1902. It was unveiled and presented to the Quivera Historical Society August 12. It commemorates the discovery of Quivera by Coro nado 111 1541, as well as the rediscovery of Quivera by f&Jn V' ^rower in 1896. and was erected at a cost ol foooU. The base and subbase are of native limestone surmounted by a granite shaft and die, and stand seventeen aud a half feet over all CORONADO'S EXPEDITION 47 of his exposure seems to have moved the Turk drawn by Mr. Hodge of the ethnological to confession that his people were strangers bureau, of the accounts of their journey by to the precious metals as well as to other the Spanish travelers themselves, with the riches, and he was straightway strangled by actual field work of Mr. J. V. Brower, leaves the enraged Spaniards. There was now little room for doubt that these adventurers nothing left for them to fall back upon but reached the neighborhood of Junction City, appreciation of the richness of the soil; for or perhaps Manhattan, Kansas. Mr. Hodge, Jaramillo, one of their chroniclers, says : "Some satisfaction was experienced on seeing the good appearance of the earth ;" and Coro nado himself writes that the soil of Quivera was "fat and black," and "the best I have ever seen for producing all the products of Spain."1 The buffalo is described by these travelers in a very naive and realistic man ner. Like the reindeer to the Laplander, this beast was food and rai ment for the Indian na tives, and it is curious to note that buffalo "chips" were used for fuel then, as they were until recent days by our own pio neers. "One evening there came up a terrible storm of wind and hail, which left in the camp hailstones as large as porringers, and even larger. They fell thick as rain drops, and in some spots the ground was covered with them to the depth of eight or ten inches. The storm caused many tears, weakness, and vows." Making a moderate allowance for the quick ened imagination of the belated Spaniards, these stories of what they saw indicate that they journeyed not far from Nebraska. The substantial agreement of the conclusions JACOB v. brower" ARCHEOLOGIST AND EXPLORER— REDISCOVERER OE OUIVERA AND HARAHEY writing as late as 1899, observes that the common error in determining latitude in the sixteenth century was about two degrees; therefore when Coronado said that Quivera, ' ' where I have reached it, is in the 40th degree, ' ' that means that it was in fact in the 38th degree; and Mr. Hodge adds: ' 'Nothing is found in the narratives to show posi tively that either Coro nado or any member of his force went beyond the present boundaries of Kansas during their stay of twenty-five days in the province of Quivera."2 Mr. E. E. Blackman, of the Nebraska State Historical Society, thinks that the statements ac credited to the Indians by Jaramillo, that there was nothing beyond the point reached by the Spaniards but Harahey— the Pawnee country— coupled with his own demonstrations that the Quivera village ex tended into Nebraska, show that the Span iards crossed our border ; and Simpson's studies led him to the conclusion that it is "exceedingly probable that he (Coronado) reached the 40th degree of latitude (now the boundary between the states of Kansas and Nebraska) well on towards the Missouri 1Simpson, Coronado's March, p. 321; Harahey, vol. 2, p. 67. 2 Harahey, vol. 2, p 72. 3Jacob V. Brower was born in Michigan, January 21, 1844. He is the archeologist for the Minnesota State Historical Society, and president of the Quivera Historical Society. Mr. Brower has been active in archeological exploration throughout the entire Mis sissippi valley, and has materially assisted in the work of exploration in Nebraska. He rediscovered the province of Quivera, which Coronado discovered in 1541, and the Quivera monument was erected in honor of this rediscovery. Mr. Brower is the author of many valuable archeological and historical works. 4s HISTORY OF NEBRASKA river." Bandelier, George Winship Parker, Hodge and Brower all substantially agree with H. H. Bancroft's earlier statement (1899) that, "there is nothing in the Span iards' descriptions of the region or of the journey to shake Simpson's conclusion that Quivera was in modern Kansas." The writings of the Spaniards referred to are, in the main, Coronado's letters and for mal accounts of the journey by Jaramillo, a captain in the expedition, and of Castaneda who went back with the main body of the army, but industriously collected his material from hearsay. The latest and perhaps the most thorough manuscript work has been done by Parker in The Coronado Expedi tion, and Hodge in Coronado's March, and the results of their researches substantially accord with the field work of Brower and Blackman, which is still under prosecution, and may yet show that Coronado was the discoverer of Nebraska proper. While this expedition appears to have been barren as to practical results, yet it has been said of it that "for extent in distance trav eled, duration in time, extending from the spring of 1540 to the summer of 1542, and the multiplicity of its cooperating branch explorations, it equaled, if it did not exceed, any land expedition that has been undertaken in modern times."1 Another writer observes that "a bare subsistence and threatened star vation were the only rewards in store for the volunteers upon this most famous of all the Spanish explorations, excepting those of Cortez. They discovered a land rich in min eral resources, but others were to reap the benefits of the wealth of the mountain. They discovered a land rich in material for the archeologist, but nothing to satisfy their thirst for glory or wealth."2 But this erudite J Simpson, Coronado's March, Smithsonian Rept., 1869, p. 324. 2 Spanish Institutions of the Southwest, p. 220. 8 Mr. A. E. Sheldon makes the following translation of the story of the Nebraska part of the journey (Con- servaiive, May 22, 1902): Voyage of the Mallet brothers with six other Frenchmen from the river of the Panimahas in the Missouri country, to Santa Fe\ 1739-40. Extract from the journal of the journey presented to M. M. de Bienville, governor, and Salmon, intendant, at New Orleans: author, like his Spaniards, has missed the main point. For they discovered the future granary of the world; and the fact that they were oblivious or disdainful of their main discovery pointed the moral of future Spanish history. The Spaniards took nothing and they gave little— two friars left as mission aries at Cibola and who soon wore the crown of martyrdom. To Spain, from the first, nothing in her new-world conquests was gold that did not glitter ; and for this she disdained to dig — it was easier and more chivalrous to rob. She of course made pretense of having substituted for this mere material good the priceless but easy gift, religion. A shrewder if not a juster race came after who were able to discern the true and inexhaustible body of gold hidden in the dull-hued soil; and they tilled and patiently waited nature's reward. And lo, to them is the kingdom. And Spain has her due reward. Driven from all her vast outlying domains by the relentless force of the modern industrial spirit, which she could neither assimilate nor entertain, into a little corner of Europe, there she lies, oblivious to progress, surviving chiefly as an echo, and consequential merely as a reminiscence of the dead past. The earliest authenticated exploration by white men on Nebraska soil was that of two brothers, Pierre and Paul Mallet, and six other Frenchmen in June, 1739. The Mallet brothers had probably come up from New Orleans the year before and had wintered near the mouth of the Niobrara river. An account of their journey from that neighborhood to Santa Fe forms a part of the Margry papers, which consist of reports of early French explorers of the trans-Missis sippi country to the French authorities at New Orleans, and which have been printed by Margry in Paris.3 " For a knowledge of the road which these Cana dians have traveled to discover New Mexico, it is well to know that it is 250 miles from the Illinois to the villages of the Missouri Indians on the river of that name, 240 miles from there to the Kanzes, 300 from the Kanzes to the Octoctatas (Otoe) and 180 from there to the mouth of the river of the Panimahas in the Missouri. This nation is settled upon the river of their name, and from there the discoverers took tlieir departure May 29, 1739. "All of those who have attempted up to the present time to reach New Mexico have thought they would LEWIS AND CLARK 49 In 1804, following the purchase of Louisi ana, the Lewis-Clark expedition was sent out by President Jefferson for the purpose of gain ing knowledge of the new and almost unknown territory. Following is a description of the company and outfit taken from the journal of Lewis and Clark : "The party consisted of nine young men from Kentucky, fourteen soldiers of the United States army, who volunteered their services, two French watermen, an interpreter and hunter, and a black servant belonging to Capt. Clark — all of these, except the last, were en listed to serve as privates during the expedi tion, and . three sergeants appointed from amongst them by the captains. In addition to these were engaged a corporal and six sol diers, and nine watermen to accompany the expedition as far as the Mandan nation, in order to assist in carrying the stores, or re pelling an attack, which was most to be appre hended between Wood River and that tribe. The necessary stores were subdivided into seven bales, and one box, containing a small portion of each article in case of accident. They consisted of a great variety of clothing, work ing utensils, locks, flints, powder, ball, and ar ticles of the greatest use. To these were added fourteen bales and one box of Indian presents, distributed in the same manner, and composed of richly laced coats and other articles of dress, medals, flags, knives, and tomahawks for the chiefs — ornaments of different kinds, particularly beads, looking glasses, handkerchiefs, paints, and generally such articles as were deemed best calculated for the taste of the Indians. "The party was to embark on board of three boats; the first was a keel boat fifty-five feet long, drawing three feet water, one large square sail and twenty-two oars, a deck of ten feet in the bow and stern formed a forecastle and cabin, while the middle was covered by lockers, which might be raised so as to form a breast work in case of attack. This was ac- find it on the head-waters of the Missouri, and to that end have gone up stream as far as the Ricaras, who dwell more than 375 miles from the Panis. The dis coverers took, unon information from some Indians, an altogether different route, and leaving the Panis they crossed the country and returned upon a way al most parallel to the Missouri. "June 2nd they reached a river which they named the river Plate, and seeing that it took a direction not far from the route they had in mind, they followed it, going up its right bank for a distance of 70 miles, and at that place theyfound that the river made a fork with the riverof the Padoucas which justthere flows in. "Three days afterwards, thatis June 13. they crossed to the left bank of the said river, and traveling over a 4 companied by two perioques or open boats, one of six and the other of seven oars. Two horses were at the same time to be led along the banks of the river for the purpose of bringing home game, or hunting in case of scarcity. . . All the preparations being completed, we left our encampment on Mon day, May 14, 1804. This spot is at the mouth of Wood river, a small stream which empties itself into the Mississippi, opposite to the entrance to the Missouri." The expedition, following up the Missouri river, came in sight of the present Nebraska on the afternoon of July 11, 1804.1 It camped on the Missouri side, immediately op posite the mouth of the Big Nemaha, and the next day some members of the company ex plored the lower valley of that river. This expedition is of particular importance as it gives the first historical glimpse of the eastern border of Nebraska. From the point where it first touched the present state at the southeast corner to the point at the northeast corner, where, the Missouri river reaches its borders, the distance is 277 miles as the bird flies. According to the government survey, the distance between these two points is 441 miles, following the meanderings of the river. The Lewis-Clark expedition recorded 556 miles of river front for the state in 1804. On the 8th of September the explorers left the present limits of Nebraska and continued their voyage up the Missouri, then crossed the dividing mountain chains, and launched their boats on the swift Columbia, following it to its mouth. Two years later they returned over the same route and gave a graphic description of the vast country they had traversed. The explorers first camped on Nebraska soil July 15, near the mouth of the Little tongue of land, they camped on the 14th on the other bank of the River des Costes [Hill river] which here falls also into the river Plate. " The 15th and 16th they continued to cross over the country, and on the 17th they reached another river, which they named des Costes Blanches [White Hills river]. These three days they were traveling over plains, where they found absolutely no wood not even for fire, and it seems from their journal that these plains extended as far as the mountains near Santa Fi." 1 These specifications of the camp sites of the Lewis-Clark party in Nebraska are by Mr. E. E. B'ackman of the Nebraska State Historical Society. 5° HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Nemaha. The camp of July 18 was not far from the present site of Nebraska City. Ac cording to Floyd's Journal the camp of July 20 was on the Nebraska side, and under a high bluff, three miles north of Weeping Water creek. On the 21st of July the party passed the mouth of the Platte river and encamped on the Nebraska side (probably not far from the southeast corner of section 31, township 13, range 14 E.). They passed on up the river for a distance of ten miles the next morning and then camped on the eastern and sent for the surrounding Indians to meet them in a council at a point farther up the river. While they were here dispatches and maps were prepared to be sent to the president. Tuly 27, they swam their horses to the Ne braska side and continued the journey northward. The camp of July 30 was at Council Bluff. This is the most important camp ground of the Lewis-Clark expedition within the state. Subsequently (1819) it became the site of the first military post established in Nebraska. shore. Here they remained for five days. They explored the country in all directions ^ylt£^-^yyv-e/^nZf^ os^^-i^^s There is no doubt that the recommendation of this site by the captains, Lewis and •(William Clark, son of John Clark, a Virginian, was born August 1, 1770, not far from the birthplace of Meriwether Lewis, with whom he was later to be asso ciated in one of the most remarkable explorations of modern times. When William was fourteen years of age the family removed to what is now Louisville, Kentucky, and here amidst the most humble surround ings the boy grew to young manhood. He chose a military career, and at the age of eighteen was ap pointed ensign in the regular army, and two years later, a captain of militia. In 1791 he received a commission as lieutenant of infantry under General Wayne, and afterwards served as adjutant and quarter master. In 1796 he resigned from the army on account of ill health. About this time he made the acquaint ance of Meriwether Lewis who was serving in his com mand. In 1803 Lieutenant Clark, who had retired to his Kentucky farm, consented to join Lewis in the ex pedition, to the command of which the latter had been appointed. On the 12th of March, 1807, Lieutenant Clark was commissioned by President Jefferson as brigadier- general and Indian agent of Louisiana territory. In this office he became widely known and greatly trusted by both whites and Indians. In 1812 the name of the territory was changed to Missouri, and in 1813 General Clark was appointed by President Madisou as governor of this territory, which then embraced all of the present state of Nebraska. He was reappointed by Madison in 1816 and 1817, and by Monroe in 1820, holding the office continuously until the admission to the Union of the present state of Missouri. In 182k he was named by President Monroe as superintendent of Indian affairs and served for sixteen years, or until his death, which occurred in St. Louis, September 1, 1838. 2 Meriwether Lewis was born August 18, 1774, near Charlottesville, Virginia. His family was distin guished in civil and military life during Revolutionary times. His early life was spent ou a farm, but at the age of twenty he engaged as a volunteer at the call of General Washington for troops to put down the "Whisky rebellion." He afterwards entered the regular service as a lieutenant and at the age of twenty- three was promoted to a captaincy, and later appointed paymaster of his regiment. He had served for two years as private secretary to President Jefferson before In upper right-hand corner appears the monument erected by order of the legislature of Tennessee, over the grave of Captain Lewis, Lewis county, Tennes see. Reproduced from "The Trail of Lewis and Clark," by courtesy of Olin D. Wheeler, editor. In theceuter and upper left-hand corner are three views of the monument of Captain Clark in Belle Fontaine cemetery, St. Louis. The two lower cuts represent the boulder at Ft. Calhoun, Nebraska, commemorat. ing the first council with the Indians on Nebraska soil. — Engravings from Photographs by A. K. Sheldon. LEWIS AND CLARK MONUMENTS 52 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Clark, determined the location of what was afterward known as Camp Missouri, Ft. At kinson, and finally Ft. Calhoun. The impor tance of this camp warrants a quotation from that part of the journal describing Council Bluff : ". . . The land here consists of a plain, above the high water level, the soil of which is fertile, and covered with a grass from five to eight feet high, interspersed with copses of large plums and a currant like those of the United States. . Back of this plain, is a woody ridge, about seventy feet above it, at the end of which we formed our camp. This ridge separates the lower from a higher prairie, of a good quality, with grass, of ten or twelve inches in height and extending back about a mile to another elevation of eighty or ninety feet, beyond which is one continued plain. Near our camp, we enjoy from the bluffs a most beautiful view of the river, and the ad joining country. At a distance, varying from four to ten miles, and of a height between seventy and three hundred feet, two parallel ranges of high land afford a passage to the Missouri which enriches the low grounds be tween them. In its winding course, it nour ishes the willow islands, the scattered cotton wood, elm, sycamore, lynn, and ash, and the groves are interspersed with hickory, walnut, coffeenut, and oak. The meridian altitude of this day (July 31) made the latitude of our camp 41 ° 18' 1.4" . . We waited with much anxiety the return of our messenger to the Ottoes. . . . Our apprehensions were at length relieved by the arrival of a party of about fourteen Ottoe and Missouri Indians, who came at sunset, on the 2nd of August, ac companied by a Frenchman, who resided among them, and interpreted for us. Captain Lewis and Clark went out to meet them, and told them that we would hold a council in the morning. . . . [Here follows an account of the council in detail] The incidents just related, induced us to give to this place the name of the Council-bluff; the situation of it is exceedingly favourable for a fort and trad ing factory. . . ." There were fourteen Indians present at this council, six of whom were chiefs. They were all Otoes and Missouris who formed one- tribal organization at a later date, and pre sumably at that time. After concluding the council they moved up the river five miles and encamped August 3d. On the 4th of August they continued the voyage and came to "a trading house, on the south, [Nebraska side] where one of our party passed two years trading with the Mahas." This too brief paragraph is impor tant in disclosing that there were white traders- in Nebraska prior to 1804. The camp of Au gust 4 was also on Nebraska soil, but the exact point is not determined. The next sojourn in Nebraska was on the nth of August, when they paused to examine "Blackbird's grave." The description given is worthy of repetition here : ". . . We halted on the south side, for the purpose of examining a spot where one of the great chiefs of the Mahas, named Black bird,1 who died about four years ago of the small-pox, was buried. A hill of yellow soft sand-stone rises from the river in bluffs of his appointment to command the expedition which was destined to make his name famous. At the sug gestion of Captain Lewis, Lieutenant William Clark was appointed as his associate in the command of this exploring party, a detailed account of which may be had from the various editions of the Lewis and Clark journals. Congress, (March 3, 1807) passed a bill for a grant of land to Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clark, 1,600 acres to each, and 320 acres to each of the 31 members of their party, including the heirs of Sergeant Floyd, together with an allowance of double pay for the time of service.— (Annals of 9th Cong., 2d Sess., p. 1278.^ On March 3, 1807, Captain Lewis was appointed governor of Louisiana territory, with headquarters at St. Louis. This office he held until his death by sui cide, October 11, 1809, while en route to Washington. This occurred near Gordon, Lewis county, Tennessee, where the legislature of that state erected a monument to his memory. 1Wagigasabey (Blackbird), chief of the Omahas, was the first chief of that tribe of whom we have any knowledge, and with Ta-ha-zouka (Elk's Horn), for whom the Elkhorn river was named, was the first Omaha chief to enter into treaty relations with the government of Spain. The first treaty between Black bird and the Spanish governor general of Louisiana was signed at New Orleans, May 12, 1796. This docu ment is now in the possession of the Nebraska State Historical Society. According to Lewis and Clark, who visited Blackbird's grave 111 1801, he died in 1800, and was buried upon the summit of a high hill, at a spot of his own selection. According to the same au thority he died from smallpox, which had attacked the Omahas in the latter part of the eighteenth century, resulting in the death of about four hundred of them in a short time. His burial place is now known as "Blackbird Hill," which overlooks the Missouri river in the southeastern part of Thurston county. Catlin mentions a visit which he made to Blackbird's grave, and gives an account of various legends concerning him. The most current of these charges him with gaining his celebrity and authority by a series of the most diabolical murders of his tribesmen, sparing LEWIS AND CLARK 53 various heights, till it ends in a knoll about three hundred feet above the water; on the top of this a mound of twelve feet diameter at the base, and six feet high, is raised over the body of the deceased king ; a pole of about •eight feet high is fixed in the centre; on which we placed a white flag, ' bordered with red, blue and white." August 13, they reached a spot on the Ne braska side where "a Mr.' Mackay" had a trad ing house in 1795 and 1796 which he called Ft. Charles. This same day men were sent out to the old ' Maha village "With a fiag and a present, in order to induce them to come and hold a council with us. They returned ' at twelve o'clock next day, August 14. 'After crossing a prairie cov ered with .high grass, they reached the Maha creek, along which they proceeded to its three forks, which join near the village : they crossed the north branch and went along the south; the walk was very fatiguing, as they were forced to break their way through grass, sunflowers, and thistles, all above ten feet high, .and interspersed with wild pea. Five miles from our camp they reached the position of the ancient Maha village; it had once con sisted of three hundred cabins, but was burnt .about four years ago, soon after the smallpox had destroyed four hundred men, and a pro portion of women and children. On a hill, in the rear of the village, are the graves of the nation; to the south of which runs the fork of the Maha creek: this they crossed where it was about ten yards wide, and fol lowed its course to the Missouri, passing neither friend nor foe. It is said that he had secured a quantity of arsenic from the traders, from whom he "had learned its use, and this he administered to such of his enemies as he wished to be rid of, and even to his friends, just to show his power. It is also said that his own death resulted from accidentally taking "the same poison. Whether authentic or not, these stories are certainly in keeping with the traditions of the tribe concerning his character. The successor of Blackbird was Mush-shinga (Big Rabbit), who lived only a few years. The next in the line of succession was Ta-so-ne (White Cow), who was •controlled by a wife wholly lacking in ambition, and led a life of inactivity. Ong-pa-ton-ga (Big Elk) , son of Elk's Horn, was the next chief of the Omahas. He was as greatly beloved as Blackbird had been cordially hated, and was noted for his kind heart and good deeds. He was well known to the Spanish and French traders, and by them highly regarded. He died about 1 846, and was buried on the spot where Bellevue college now stands. When the main college building was erected his remains were taken up and reinterred immediately in front of it. He was followed by his son, Big Elk the Second, who, although the hereditary chief, was a weakling, :and was displaced by E-sta-mah-za (Iron Eye), the along a ridge of hill for one and a half mile, and a long pond between that and the Mis souri : they then recrossed the Maha creek, and arrived at the camp, having seen no tracks of Indians or any sign of recent culti vation." Probably the first large Nebraska "fish story" originated on August 16, when a seine was improvised with which over four hundred fish were taken from the Omaha creek. Au gust 13, they made a camp near the old Omaha village and remained until August 20. At this point another council was held with the Otoes and Missouris, who were then at war with the Omahas and very .much afraid of a war with the Pawnees. After concluding this council, they continued their journey, and the next day ' ( August . 20) Sergeant Floyd died and was buried on the Iowa side near the Floyd river. On August 2T the camp was made on the Nebraska side; also on the 23d. On the 24th of August they came to the Nebraska volcano, a bluff of blue clay where they say the soil was so warm they could not keep their hands in it. These volcanic phenomena were prob ably due to the action of water, at times of inundation, on iron pyrite, setting free sul furic acid, which in turn attacked limestone, producing heat and steam. Similar phenom ena have been observed in the same locality in very recent years. This night camp was made in Nebraska, and mosquitoes were nu- adopted son of Big Elk the First, who especially se lected him for a successor. Big Elk the Second, noted chiefly for his dissipation, died in a drunken de bauch in 1852, and was buried near the grave of Black bird. Iron Eye, better known to the whites as Joseph La Flesche, was the son of a Frenchman and a woman of the Ponca tribe. While he was universally trusted and respected, his reign over the tribe was troublous, owing to strifes and divisions occasioned by his ad vanced policy in favor of civilization and education. He was a devout Christian, but had no education, and could neither read, write, nor speak English. He married a daughter of Ni-co-mi (a woman of the Iowas, and later the wife of Peter A. Sarpy), by her first husband, who was Dr. John Gale, surgeon of the 6th regiment United States Infantry. Several children were born of this union, one of whom was the famous Bright Eyes. Joseph La Flesche died on his farm near Bancroft, September 28, 1888, and was buried in the cemetery just south of that place. Mrs. La Flesche is still living (1904) at the age of about eighty years. Logan Fontenelle was not an hereditary chief, but was very popular and was chosen principal chief be cause of his ability to serve the tribe in the execution of the treaty of 1854, and his name appears as the first signer of that instrument. THIS ShAI- 1 MARKS THE BURIAL PLACE 01 SERGEANT CHARLES FLOYD • A MEMBER OF THE o LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION ; HE DIED IN HIS (OUNTRYS SERVICE 1 AND WAS BURIED/NEAR THIS SPOT ; AUGUST. 20 1804' . ¦ : CRAVES OF SUCH MEN ARE TILCRIH SHRINES \ SHRINES TO NO CLASS OR CREED CONFINED I ERECTED AD 1900 BY THE • FLOYD MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION AIDED BY- THE UNITED STATES. AND THE STATE OF IOWA OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE MADE DURING THE ADMINISTRATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON THIRD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 30 1803 OF ITS SUCCESSFUL EXPLORATION BY IHE HEROIC MEMBERS OF THE 1 LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION OF THE VALOR OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIER AND OF THE ENTERPRISE COURAGE AND FORTITUDE OF THE AMERICAN PIONEER TO WHOM THESE GREAT STATES ! WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RJVEB OWE THEIR SECURE FOUNDATION FLOYD MONUMENT NEAR SIOUX CITY, IOWA, SHOWING BRONZE TABLETS ATTACHED TO THE EAST AND WEST FACES OF THE SHAFT From photographs copyrighted by P. C. Waltermire, Sioux City Sergeant Charles Floyd, the first soldier of the United States to die west of the Mississippi river, was a son of Chas. Floyd, Sr., a grandson of Wm. Floyd, and was born in Jefferson county, Kentucky, between 1780 and 1785. He was one of the ''nine young men from Kentucky" who joined Lewis and Clark at Louisville in the fall of 1803, was formally enlisted April 1, 1804, and appointed one of the three sergeants of the expedition. Sergeant Floyd was taken ill August 19, 1804, died the following day, and was buried on "Floyd's Bluff," on the Iowa side of the Missouri river near the place of his death. His grave was marked by a cedar post properly inscribed. In 1857, when Floyd's grave was endangered by the river, his remains were removed 600 feet farther east. In 1895 the Floyd Memorial association was organized, and a monument was erected at a cost of about $15,000, which was dedicated May 30, 1901. The shaft occupies a commanding position, three miles southeast of Sioux City, on the top of Floyd's Bluff— the highest of the range of hills — about 600 feet from the Missouri river, and 115 feet above low-water mark. The monument is of the style of an Egyptian obelisk; the underground foundation is a monolith of concrete 33 feet square at the base, 13 feet 6 inches at the top, and 11 feet deep. This is surmounted by a base course of solid stone 2 feet high, and 10.93 feet square. The shaft is 100 feet 2% inches in height, 9.43 feet square at the bottom, and 6.28 feet square at the top. It is a masonrv shell of Kettle river sandstone, the core of solid concrete. PIKE'S EXPLORATIONS 55 merous. On August 25 camp was made very near the Cedar-Dixon county line; August 28 a camp was made in Nebraska, a little way below where Yankton now stands. The Yank ton-Sioux had been called here for a council, and on August 31 the council was concluded. A number of Sioux chiefs arranged to accom pany Mr. Durion to Washington while the expedition was in camp here. On the ist of September they again set sail ; on the 2d they stopped to examine an ancient fortification which must have been on section 3, 10, or 11 in the bend of the river and quite near the bank. September 3 they camped again on Nebraska soil, and the next day they reached a point just north of the Niobrara river. September 7 the last camp in Nebraska was pitched six miles south of the north line. On the return trip down the Missouri river, the expedition reached the northeastern cor ner of the present Nebraska on Sunday, Au gust 31, 1806, and left the southeast corner on the nth of September, having made the uneventful journey in twelve days. The up stream passage of this part of the route had required fifty-seven days. On the 15th of July, 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike's1 party, consisting of two lieutenants, one surgeon, one sergeant, two corporals, sixteen privates, and an interpreter, sailed from Belle Fontaine, four miles above the mouth of the Missouri river, on the famous expedition which resulted in the discovery of 1 Brigadier-General Zebulon Montgomery Pike, sol dier and explorer, was born at Lambertville, New Jersey, January 5, 1779, and was a son of Major Zebulon Pike, an officer in the Revolutionary army. General Pike early chose the life of a soldier, and at the age of twenty was appointed an ensign in his father's com pany. At the age of twenty-six he was a lieutenant under General Wilkinson, in Indian service in the West. In 1805 Lieutenant Pike was sent to explore the upper Mississippi, and in August of that year started from St. Louis in a keel boat with a crew of twenty men. In January, 1806, he reached the utmost source of the great river and returned to St. Louis the last of April. On July 15 of the same year, Lieutenant Pike, who had been promoted to a captaincy, was commis sioned by General Wilkinson to restore a number of captives to the Kaw nation, which lived on the Osage river. His party consisted of one lieutenant, one sur geon, two sergeants, one corporal, sixteen privates and an interpreter, besides about fifty-two Indian captives. After delivering the Indians to their people, as had been agreed upon, he continued with his party north- Pike's Peak. The object of the expedition, which was sent out by General James Wilkin son, then commander-in-chief of the army of the United States, and also governor of the territory of Louisiana, was ostensibly, and in fact partially, to establish friendly relations with the Indians of the interior, but it is sup posed also to gain information about the Spaniards, who, since our acquisition of Louis iana, out of which they felt they had been cheated by Napoleon, had been in a menacing attitude towards the Americans. The route of Pike's expedition was up the Missouri river to the mouth of the Osage river, then up this stream to the Osage villages at a point near its source. Here the party abandoned their bateau and took a north westerly course across the country, reaching the Republican river at a point which has not been determined even approximately, and that interesting question is now the subject of in vestigation by specialists. The party camped on an eminence on the north side of the river, opposite the Pawnee village, and circum stances favor the conclusion that they were within the present bounds of Nebraska, not withstanding that in 1901 a monument to mark the northern limit of Pike's route was erected within the Kansas line about four miles south of Hardy, Nebraska. Pike's visit to the Republican Pawnees had been preceded a short time before by the expedition of the Spanish Lieutenant Maygares, who had trav eled from Santa Fe with about six hundred westward, and about the last of November reached the Colorado range of mountains. He intended to ascend the peak which now bears his name, but the cold was too severe, especially as his men were without proper clothing; so he established a camp near where Canon City, Colorado, is now situated. Pike's Peak, how- ever,was measured, approximately, by Lieutenant Pike, but its height was somewhat exaggerated. Leaving his company in camp he set out with one or two com panions in search of a river by which he could return by boat to the Mississippi and soon reached the Rio Grande del Norte, which he believed to be the Red river. He established a camp and sent back for the rest of his party; but within a few days he was arrested by some Mexican soldiers, and he was held captive over a year in New Mexico. In 1807 he was allowed to return home. In 1812 he was made colonel of the 15th regiment and saw active service in the war that followed. In February, 1813, he was commis sioned brigadier general, but was killed on the 27th of April, at York (Toronto), Upper Canada. He was married in 1801 to Clarissa Brown, of Kentucky. 56 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA soldiers and over two thousand horses and mules; but Pike says that about two hundred and forty men and the horses unfit for service were left at the crossing of the Arkansas river. The beaten down grass plainly dis closed to Pike their line of march in the Pawnee neighborhood. This Spanish expedi tion was sent to intercept Pike and also to establish friendly relations with the Indians, and the American party found a Spanish flag flying over the council lodge of the Pawnees. These incidents, together with the fact that Pike was detained in New Mexico, virtually a prisoner, illustrate the indefiniteness of the boundary of the Louisiana purchase at that time and the insolence of Spain, not yet con scious of her decaying condition, toward the young republic. The contrast between Pike's little party and the considerable Spanish army which had just passed inspired insolent be havior on the part of the Pawnees, which led the intrepid American explorer to give vent to his feelings in nis journal: "All the evil I wished the Pawnees was that I might be the instrument in the hands of our government to open their eyes and ears, and with a strong hand convince them of our power." It would no doubt have given the indomitable but per secuted Pike much satisfaction to know that within a very few years the insolent Spaniard, then invading American territory, would be pushed off the continent finally by American aggression. Pike himself was killed in battle in our war of 1812, but his services had been recognized and rewarded by promotion in 1795. In 1807 Ramsey Crooks1 and Robert Mc- Lellan,2 two of the most famous and intrepid explorers of the Northwest, formed a partner ship, and in the fall of the year started up the Missouri river with an expedition com prising eighty men fitted out on shares by Sylvester and Auguste Chouteau. On the re turn of Lewis and Clark in 1806, they brought with them to St. Louis, Shahaka, the chief of the Mandans, on the way to Washington for consultation with President Jefferson and under promise of safe escort back to his home. The next summer, Ensign Nathaniel Pryor, who had been a sergeant in the Lewis and Clark party, undertook to escort the chief up the river. The command consisted of four teen soldiers in all, but it was united with a party of thirty-two men led by Pierre Chouteau. When they attempted to pass the lower Arikara village the Indians attacked them and drove them back, and on their re turn they met Crooks and McLellan, who then turned back and established a camp prob ably near Bellevue, where they remained until the spring of 1810. Lisa had safely passed the Arikaras before these parties arrived, and, whether true or not, the charge that he in- 1 Ramsey Crooks, one of the prominent fur traders of the West, was born in Greenock, Scotland, January 2, 1787. He came to America in 1803 and was em ployed by the fur traders of the North around Mon treal. Three years later he went to St. Louis to en gage in the trade on the Missouri river. In 1807 he formed a partnership with Robert McLellan and Robert Stuart, the latter of Scotch extraction, and a man of great ability and strength of purpose, who was later a member of the American Fur Company, and with a well-equipped party they started up the Mis souri. They established a trading post near " Council Bluff, ' ' according to one writer, but this was probably close to the present site of Bellevue. In 1810 they abandoned this post and dissolved partnership to be come identified with the Pacific Fur Company. In 1817 Mr. Crooks became an agent for the American Fur Company in whose interest he displayed great energy, making annual trips for many years between Mackinaw and St. Louis. He managed this com pany's business for twelve years, and upon Mr. Astor's retirement in 1834, he purchased the northern de partment, which became a part of the American Fur Company, and shortly after Mr. Crooks was made president. He was married March 1 , 1825, to Emilie Pratte, daughter of General Bernard Pratte, Sr., who was associated with the Chouteaus and J. B. Sarpy. His death occurred in New York, June 6, 1859. 2 Robert McLellan, pioneer Indian trader and dar ing traveler and hunter, was prominent in the early Indian wars under General Wayne, in Ohio, and was comparatively an old man when he crossed the Missis sippi to explore the Northwest. He entered the fur trade about the year 1804, and in 1805 he was engaged in trading with the Omaha Indians. In 1807 he formed a partnership with Ramsey Crooks and Robert Stuart, and an expedition of eighty men was equipped by the Chouteaus and sent up the Missouri river under their direction. Unable to proceed far on account of hostile Indians, they established a post at or near Bellevue, Nebraska, which they conducted until 1810, when the partnership was dissolved. The following year McLel lan became identified with the Pacific Fur Company, of which Crooks and Stuart also became members. Ex isting records show that they returned to St. Louis on May 8, 1813, from a trip to the mouth of the Columbia river. Later McLellan was a member of the Ameri can Fur Company. The date and place of his death is uncertain, but it probably occurred in St. Louis a short time previous to March 15, 1816, as St. Louis papers of that date contain an item regarding the ad ministration of his estate. ASTORIAN EXPEDITION 57 spired the Arikara attack is a concession to his ability and influence as well as an illustra tion of his reputation for intrigue. Commerce led to the first exploration and civilized occupation in the Northwest, includ ing Nebraska. The French had led in explor ation and the fur trade until the British wrested Canada from them in 1762, and Frenchmen continued to carry on active com mercial traffic in this region, with St. Louis, then a French town, as their principal base. But about the beginning of the nineteenth cen tury there was a state ¦of actual hostility be tween English and American traders. The •discovery of the mouth of the Columbia river in 1792 by Captain Gray of the American trading ship Columbia was an important fac tor in the long dispute over the Oregon boundary. In 18 10 John Jacob Astor, of New York, organized the Pacific Fur Com pany, a partnership in cluding himself, Alex ander McKay, Duncan McDougal, Donald McKenzie, David Stu art, Robert Stuart, and Wilson Price Hunt, for the purpose of coloni zation and trade at the mouth of the Columbia river. Astor was en couraged in his enterprise by the federal gov ernment. The partners named, with the ex ception of Hunt, sailed "in the ship Tonquin PIERRE CHOUTEaO, JR.1 A MASTER MIND IN THE EARLY FUR TRADE in September, 1810, and founded Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia river in the spring of the following year. In October of 1810 Mr. Hunt started up the Missouri river with a party in three boats to reach Astoria by the overland route. The expedition came to the mouth of the Nodaway river in November, and went into winter quarters, though Hunt re turned to St. Louis, where he spent the winter. He reached the winter camp again on the 17th of the following April, and a few days later the party set sail. It consisted of about sixty men, five of them part ners in the enterprise, and they embarked in four boats. On the 28 th of April they breakfasted on an is land at the mouth of the Platte river, and they halted for two days on the bank of the Mis souri, a little above the mouth of Papillion creek, and therefore on or near the site of Bellevue. In Irving' s account of this journey no mention is made of any settlement at this point; but heset the ex ample of writing enthu siastically of the beauty of the landscape, which has been as siduously practiced by travelers and settlers ever since. On the ioth of May the party arrived at the Omaha Indian village, situated, by their measurement, about two hundred and thirty miles above their Bellevue encampment. 1 Pierre Chouteau, Jr., second son of Major John Pierre Chouteau, Sr., and nephew of Col. Auguste Chouteau, Sr., both of whom were among the found ers of St. Louis and descendants of an illustrious French family, was born January 19, 1789, in St. Louis, and died October 6, 1865. His father, born October 10, 1758, died July 10, 1849, and uncle, Col. Auguste, bom September 26, 1750, died February 2L 1829, were prominent in the early fur trade along the Mis sissippi and Missouri rivers. Pierre Chouteau, Jr., ¦early showed an aptitude for the same business, and before sixteen years of age became a clerk for his father. In 1806 he accompanied Julieu Dubuque to the lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, visiting the town of Dubuque to trade with the Sac and Fox In dians. Three years later he went with his father up the Missouri river in the service of the Missouri Fur Company. Soon after reaching his majority he en gaged in the fur trade on his own account, and in 1813 formed a partnership in the business with B. Berthold, which continued until 1831. He was a member of the firm of Bernard Pratte & Company, which se cured the agency of the western department of the American Fur Company; in short, in his day he was 58 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA On the 1 2th of June they arrived at the vil lage of the Arikara Indians, about ten miles above the mouth of Grand river, now in northern South Dakota. From this point they proceeded by land to the Columbia river which they reached some distance below the junction of the Lewis and Clark river. They followed down the Columbia in canoes, and reached Astoria on the 15th of February. Lisa, who represented the Missouri Fur Company, jealously watched the operations of the new Pacific Fur Company, and his suc cessful attempt to overtake Hunt resulted in a famous keel boat race. Lisa explains that this desperate exertion was caused by a desire to pass through the dangerous Sioux country in Hunt's company for greater safety; but it seems likely that his primary object was to prevent Hunt from establishing advantageous trade relations with any of the Indians on the upper river. Lisa traveled with great rapidity, at an average rate of eighteen miles a day, and overtook Hunt's party. There were twenty-six men on Lisa's boat and it was armed with a swivel mounted at the bow. Twenty men were at the oars. Brackenridge, who, according to Irving, was "a young, enterprising man, tempted by mo tives of curiosity to accompany Mr. Lisa," gives an account of the starting of the party: "We sat off from the village of St. Charles on Tuesday, the 28th of April, 181 1. Our barge was the best that ever ascended this river, and manned with stout oarsmen. Mr. Lisa, who had been a sea captain, took much pains in rigging his boat with a good mast and main and top sail, these being great helps in the navigation of this river. . . . We are in all twenty-five men, and completely pre pared for defense. There is besides, a swivel on the bow of the boat, which in case of attack would make a formidable appearance; we have also two brass blunderbusses. . . . These precautions are absolutely necessary from the hostility of the Sioux bands. . . . It is exceedingly difficult to make a start on these voyages, from the reluctance of the men to terminate the frolic with their friends which usually precedes their departure. . . The river Platte is regarded by the navigators of the Missouri as a point of as much impor tance as the equinoctial line amongst mari ners. All those who had not passed it before were required to be shaved unless they would compromise the matter by a treat."1 On the 28th of June, 18 12, Robert Stuart started from Astoria with five of Hunt's orig inal party on a return overland trip. At Ft. Henry, on the north fork of Snake fiver, now in southeastern Idaho, he was joined by four of the five men who had been detached by Hunt on the ioth of the previous October. After a journey of terrible hardships they es tablished winter quarters on the North Platte river not far east of the place where it issues from the mountains. At the end of six weeks they were driven out by the Indians and pro ceeded three hundred and thirty miles down the Platte ; and then, despairing of being able to pass safely over the desert plain covered with deep snow, which confronted them, they went back over seventy-seven miles of their course until they found a suitable winter camp in what is now Scotts Bluff county, where they went into winter quarters on the 30th of December, 181 2. On the 8th of March they at the head of most of the fur companies of the North west. In 1834, with Cabann6 and Pratte, he purchased the interest of J. J. Astor in the American Fur Com pany, and in 1839 established the firm of Pierre Chou teau, Jr., & Company, which almost monopolized the fur trade, retaining its name for over twenty years. His trading posts were located all along the Missis sippi river as far north as St. Paul; also along the Osage river; and his most important posts along the Missouri river were St. Joseph, Kansas City, Bellevue, Council Bluff, Ft. Pierre, Ft. Berthold, Ft. Union, and Ft. Benton. He was a man of extraordinary ability, keeping in close touch with his trading posts, and causing every detail of his great business, which ex tended over a million square miles, to be carried out with exactness. For several years he resided in New York where he was interested in railroads and other industrial enterprises. He was * promoter of scien tific expeditions, taking great interest in such re searches, and personally gathered an extensive collec tion of Indian curios. Pierre Chouteau, Jr., was married June 15, 1813, to Emilie Gratiot, who died in 1863. Five children were born to them; Emilie, born February 13, 1814, mar ried John F. A. Sanford; Julia, born February 28, 1816, married William Maffit; Pierre Charles, died in in fancy; Charles Pierre, born December 2, 1819; and Benjamin Wilson, died in infancy. Charles Pierre Chouteau, who died in January, 1901, married Julia A. Gratiot, and five children were born to them. His oldest son, Pierre Chouteau, born July 30, 1849, now resides in St. Louis and devotes his time to his large property interests there. 1 H. M. Brackenridge, Journal of a Voyage up the Missouri River, p. 7. YELLOWSTONE EXPEDITION 59 tried to navigate the stream in canoes, but found it impracticable, and proceeded on foot to a point about forty-five miles from the mouth of the Platte, where they embarked, April 16, in a large canoe made for their purpose by the Indians. Such importance in Nebraska annals as may be attributed to what is known as Longs expedition in 1819 is due to the fact that it was the occasion of the passage of the first steamboat up the Missouri river, and the es tablishment of the first military post within the limits of the territory. This post, at first called Camp Missouri, was developed into a fort of the regular quadrangular form and named Ft. Atkinson after its founder, General Atkinson, the commander of the Yellowstone expedition. It was occupied until 1827 in the main by the 6th regiment of infantry, and was abandoned, June 27, 1827, when Ft. Leavenworth was es tablished and to which the furnishings of Ft. Atkinson were transferred. A reason assigned for the abandonment of Ft. Atkinson, namely, that the site was unhealthy, does not seem plausible. A better, and probably the real reason is that, owing to the insignificance or failure of the up-river fur trading enterprise, this fort was nowhere and protected nothing, while the new site chosen by Colonel Leaven worth was virtually at the beginning of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails, where traffic was of considerable and growing importance. The failure of Astor's attempt to effect stable American lodgment on the Columbia, and of the Missouri Fur Company and other private enterprises to overcome or success fully compete with British influence and trade aggression in this new northwest, stimulated the federal government to send out what was intended to be a formidable military and scien tific expedition for the purpose of establishing a strong post at the mouth of the Yellow stone river, to ascertain the natural features and resources of the country, and, if practi cable, the important line between the United States and the British possessions. There were dreams, if not practical intentions, of establishing a trade with the Orient by way 1 History of American Fur Trade, vol. 2, p. 569. of the Columbia river, across the mountains to the Missouri, and down that stream to the Mississippi, but which were to be realized through the steam railroad across Nebraska instead of the steamboat up the Missouri. Five steamboats were provided for the transportation of the military arm of the expedition, comprising about a thousand men tinder the command of Col. Henry Atkinson. Mismanagement and miscalculation chiefly dis tinguished this pretentious enterprise from first to last. The waste of time and money — except as the latter provided a substantial lin ing for the pocket of the contractor — in at tempting to navigate the Missouri with vessels not specially adapted to its very peculiar de mands, the lack of proper provisions for the troops at their winter quarters at Council Bluff, resulting in appalling sickness and death, the entire abandonment of the original and important design of the enterprise — to obtain a sure footing or control in the upper Missouri — and the failure of Major Long to reach the Red river at all seem to justify the criticism which the expedition has received. Two of the five boats were not able to enter the Missouri at all ; and "the Jefferson gave out and abandoned the trip thirty miles below Franklin. The Expedition and the Johnson wintered at Cow Island, a little above the mouth of the Kansas, and returned to St. Louis in the following spring."1 The troops did not reach Council Bluff, where they estab lished Camp Missouri, till the 26th of Sep tember, 1819. Their condition in the spring, March 8, is shown in the journal of Long's expedition : "Camp Missouri has been sickly, from the commencement of the winter; but its situation is at this time truly deplorable. More than three hundred are, or have been sick, and nearly one hundred have died. This fatality is occasioned by the scurvy (scorbutus). Individuals who are seized rarely recover, as they can not be furnished with the proper aliments ; they have no vegetables, fresh meat, nor antiscorbutics, so that the patients grow daily worse, and entering the hospital is con sidered by them a certain passport to the grave."2 2 Long's First Expedition, vol. 1, p. 195. 6o HISTORY OF NEBRASKA The scientific and exploring division of the party, under Major Long, left St. Louis on the -9th of June, 1819, on the steamboat Western Engineer, which is said to have been the first stern-wheel steamboat ever built. This vessel appears to have been well adapted to its pur pose and, proceeding by easy stages, reached the mouth of the Platte river on the 15th of September, Ft. Lisa on the 17th, and on the 19th anchored at the winter camp, half a mile above Ft. Lisa and five miles below Council Bluff, and which they called Engineer Can tonment. According to one writer the vessels which attempted to trans fer Atkinson's soldiers in the early winter of 181 8 "were the first steamboats to enter the Missouri liver; but the statement that two of them went as far as Cow Island, above the mouth of the Kansas, is contrary to an account •of the arrival of the Inde pendence at Franklin, •contained in the Franklin Intellige?icer of May 28, 1819: "With no ordin ary sensation of pride and pleasure we an nounce the arrival this morning of the ele gant steamboat, Independence, Capt. Nelson, in seven sailing days (but thirteen from the time of her departure) from St. Louis, with passengers and a cargo of flour, whiskey, iron castings, etc., being the first steamboat that ever attempted ascending the Missouri. The BENJAMIN LOUIS EULALIA BONNEVTI.l'e1 grand desideratum, the important fact is now acknowledged that steamboats can successfully navigate the Missouri." Major Long started to Washington after a sojourn of two weeks at Engineer Cantonment and returned in the spring by land from St. Louis. On account of mismanagement of the expedition and the scandals arising from it the necessary appropriations were stopped and Major Long was authorized to lead an explor ing party "to the source of the river Platte and thence by way of the Arkansas and Red rivers to the Mississippi." The party consisted of S. H. Long, major U. S. topographical engineers, six regular soldiers, and eleven other men, most of them such specialists as were needed in a scientific exploration. They started from Engineer Cantonment on the 6th of June, following the Pawnee path southwest erly to the Platte valley, then, proceeding along the north side of the river, crossed the forks a short distance above their junction, and fol lowed the south bank of the South Platte. By the end of June they came in sight of the mountains and discovered the great peak which they named after Major Long. In May, 1832, Captain Nathaniel J. Wyeth, with a party of eighteen, intent on Astor's original plan of establishing trade on the 1 Benjamin Louis Eulalia Bonneville, explorer, was born in France, April 14, 1796, and when a small boy was brought with his mother to the United States by -a friend of the family, his father being forcibly de tained in France by Napoleon on account of having issued offensive political pamphlets from the Bonne ville printing establishment. Mrs. Bonneville started a school for young ladies in New York and later her husband was allowed to join her. An appointment was secured for Benjamin Bonneville at the West Point military academy, from which he graduated in 1819. In 1824 he was appointed an aide on the staff of Gen eral Lafayette, with whom he toured the United States, and he afterwards went to France as his guest. Upon his return to America, Bonneville was appointed a lieutenant and saw active service on the frontier; later he was promoted to a captaincy. Desiring to en gage in the fur trade, he obtained leave of absence from the army by representing that his object was ex ploration and scientific investigation, and May 1, 1832, started from Fort Osage on the Missouri river with 110 men and twenty four-horse wagons. On the 21st of June, 1832, he camped near Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, then proceeded to the Green river in Wyoming, where the party wintered. Captain Bonneville was absent on this trip three years and four months, and, upon his return to Washington to file a report of the expedi tion, was informed that he had overstayed his leave and had been dropped from the pay rolls of the army. He appealed to President Jackson, and was reinstated, FREMONT'S EXPEDITION 61 Columbia river, passed through Nebraska on the Oregon trail. Pie traveled in company with William L. Sublette's1 expedition to the mountains. On his return by way of the Missouri river he passed Council Bluff on the 21st of September, 1833. In 1834, Wyeth, with a party of seventy men, traveled over the same route again — from Independence to the Columbia. Captain Bonneville was a diligent wanderer rather than an explorer, and he owes his fame largely to the fact that the fascinating Irving' was his historian. He took a party of about one hundred men over the Oregon trail in the spring of 1832, and traveled over the whole northwest mountain region, including the Columbia river country, until the spring of 1835. In the year last named Col. Henry Dodge, who afterwards became the first gov ernor of Wisconsin, led an expedition from Ft. Leavenworth up the Platte and along its south and given command of Ft. Gibson. Later he was transferred to the barracks at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Kere he married Annie Lewis, daughter of Judge Lewis of that place. One daughter, who died at the age of eighteen, was born of this union. His wife died soon after her daughter, but he was not remarried until very late in life. During the Seminole war Cap tain Bonneville played a conspicuous part and was ap pointed major of the 6th infantry! . He went with his command to Mexico and was made lieutenant- colonel of the 4th infantry, and in 1852 was ordered to the Pacific Coast. In 1855 he became colonel of the 3d infantry and retired from active service September 9, 1861. At the beginning of the Civil war he volunteered his services, and was made mustering officer at Jefferson barracks where he remained until the close of the war. March 13, 1865, he was breveted brigadier-general and retired to his farm near Ft. Smith, Arkansas, where he died June 12, 1878. His expedition, made famous by Washington Irving, was not of commercial or scientific importance, but was without expense to the government. 1 William L. Sublette, one of four brothers distin guished as fur traders and mountaineers, was born in 1799 and descended from a Kentucky family. He went to St. Charles in 1818, and soon after joined one of Ashley's early mountain expeditions. He was with Ashley at the time of the trouble with the Arikara Indians in June, 1823, and was commissioned sergeant major under Leavenworth in the attack upon the vil lages. He was also in the celebrated battle with the Blackfeet, July 18, 1832, receiving a severe wound. In 1826, in partnership with two men by the name of Smith and Jackson, he bought the business of Mr. Ashley, and the firm was known as Smith, Jackson and Sublette. This partnership was dissolved upon the death of Smith in 1831, and Sublette con tinued the business alone until the fall of 1852, when he formed a partnership with Robert Campbell. This _ firm continued for ten years, being dissolved by mutual agreement January 12, 1842. In 1841 he was appointed aide-de-camp to Governor Thomas Reynolds, and in fork to the mountains, thence south to the Santa Fe trail, returning by that route. The federal government had indirectly en couraged the expeditions set on foot by Astor and others and had directly sent the Long ex pedition, but the most important explorations- of the Northwest, under the auspices of the government, were those of Fremont. The first party passed through Nebraska by the Oregon trail in the summer of 1842. This expedition, composed of twenty-seven men, mostly Creole Canadian frontiersmen, included the famous Kit Carson2 as its guide and a son of Thomas H. Benton, a boy of twelve years, whose sister Lieutenant Fremont, the leader of the expedition, had recently married. This expedition started from Cyprian Chouteau's3 trading post, on the Missouri river, a little over twelve miles above the mouth of the Kansas, on the ioth of June, 1842. Fremont's- orders were, "to explore and report upon the 1845 made an application for the superintendency of Indian Affairs at St. Louis. While en route to Wash ington, he died at Pittsburg, July 23, 1845. He was buried on his farm near St. Louis, but later his re mains were transferred to Belief ontaine cemetery. He was married March 21, 1844, to Frances Hereford of Tuscumbia, Alabama, who afterwards married his brother, Solomon P. Sublette. 2 Christopher, better known as "Kit," Carson, was born in Kentucky, December 24, 1809. In 1826 he went to Santa Fe\ New Mexico, from there to Old Mexico, and later to California. From the latter state he went to Wyoming and spent some time hunting and trapping on the Green river. He early acquired a reputation for bravery and was an expert marksman. His home was in Taos, New Mexico, for many years, and he was married there in 1843. In 1842 he accom panied Fremont on his first tour of exploration to the Rocky mountains, from which time the two were warm friends, and in nearly all of Fremont's explor ations Carson was his guide. He fought Indians in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and other terri tories. In 1864 Carson commanded Ft. Union, New Mexico, and in 1865-66 was in command of Ft. Gar land, Colorado. He removed from Taos, New Mexico, to Bent county, Colorado, in 1867. At one time he was a scout for Majors, Russell & Waddell. Frank Hall, author of the history of Colorado, and personally acquainted with Carson, says of him: "This man was a rare combination of dauntless courage, keen pene tration, true nobility of mind and generous impulse, tempered with discretion and sound sense." Of his personal appearance he says: " In physical mould and stature he was not unlike Napoleon, but in voice and ordinary life the personification of amiability and re tiring modesty." Carson City, Nevada, was named for this great scout, who died May 24, 1868, and was buried at Santa Fe, New Mexico. 3 Cyprian Chouteau, sixth son of Major John Pierre Chouteau, Sr., and nephew of Col. Auguste Chouteau, Sr., was born October 1, 1802, married, and died Feb ruary 1, 1879, aged seventy-nine years. 02 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA country between the frontiers of Missouri and the south pass in the Rocky mountains and on the line of the Kansas and Great Platte rivers." This was accomplished by the middle of August, and the party returned by the same route, reaching the junction of the north and south forks on the 12th of September. Here Fremont also was tempted to undertake the navigation of the river. His own account of the remainder of the journey through Ne braska is a pertinent and interesting story: "At this place I had determined to make an other attempt to descend the Platte by water, and accordingly spent two days in the construction of a bull boat. Men were sent out on the evening of our arrival, the necessary number of bulls killed, and their skins brought to camp. Four of the best of them were strongly sewed together with buf falo sinew, and stretched over a basket frame of willow. The seams were then covered with ashes and tallow, and the boat left exposed to the sun the greater part of one day, which was sufficient to dry and contract the skin and make the whole work solid and strong. It had a rounded bow, was eight feet long and five broad, and drew with four men about four inches of water 15th we embarked in our Preuss and myself with On the morning of the hide two boat, men. Mr.We dragged her over the sands for three or four miles, and then left her on the bar, and aban doned entirely all further attempts to navigate this river. The names given by the Indians are always remarkably appropriate; and cer tainly none was ever more so than that which they have given to this stream — 'the Ne braska, or Shallow River.' Walking steadily the. remainder of the day, a little before dark we overtook our people at their evening camp, about twentv-one miles below the junction. The next morning we crossed the Platte, and continued our way down the river bottom on the left bank, where we found a n excellent plainly beaten road. "On the 1 8 th we reached Grand island, which is fifty-two miles long, with an average breadth of one mile and three quarters. It has on it some small eminences, and is sufficiently elevated to be secure from the an nual floods of the river. As has already been re marked, it is well tim bered, with an excellent soil, and recommends itself to notice as the best point for a military posi tion on the Lower Platte. "On the 22d we arrived at the village of the Grand Pawnees, on the right bank of the river, about thirty miles above the mouth of the Loup fork. They were gathering in their corn, andweobtained from them a very welcome supply of vegetables. "The morning of the 24th we reached the Loup fork of the Platte. At the place where we forded it, this stream was four hundred 1John Charles Fremont, statesman, soldier, and ex plorer, was born January 21, 1813, in Savannah, Geor gia, and died July 13, 1890. He was the son of M. Fremont, a French emigrant, and Ann Beverley, a de scendant of one of the most prominent families of Vir ginia. John C. Fremont was educated at Charleston College, Charleston, South Carolina, where his mother had settled after the death of her husband in 1818. After leaving college he taught mathematics for a time and later became a civil engineer in the southern states. Soon after the winter of 1837 he began his ex plorations which have made his name a household word throughout the West. He was intimately associ ated with Col. Thomas H. Benton, whose daughter, Jessie, he secretly married October 19, 1841. Iu 1842, having gained the support of the government for a further exploration of the Rocky mountain country, he spent many mouths iu that region, and the report of this expedition before Congress gained him such renown that he was encouraged to extend his explor ations beyond the mountains to the Pacific Coast, which was made the object of his second journey. He started in May, 1843, and after many hardships reached Missouri on his return in July, 1844, where he was rewarded for his heroism with a brevet captaincy. Upon his third expedition he explored more thor oughly the country he had before traversed, crossing' the Sierra Nevada mountains into California, where he FREMONT'S EXPEDITION f'3 and thirty yards broad, with a swift current of clear water ; in this respect differing from the Platte, which has a muddy yellow color, derived from the lime-stone and marl forma tion of which we have previously spoken. The ford was difficult, as the water was so deep that it came into the body of the carts, and we reached the opposite bank after repeated attempts, ascending and descending the bed of the river in order to avail ourselves of the bars. We encamped on the left bank of the fork, in the point of land at its junction with the Platte. During the two days that we remained here for astronomical observations, the bad weather permitted us to obtain but one good observation for the latitude — a me ridian altitude of the sun, which gave for the latitude of the mouth of the Loup fork 41° 22' 11". "Five or six days previously, I had sent forward C. Lambert, with two men, to Belle vue, with directions to ask from Mr. P. Sarpy, the gentleman in charge of the American Com pany's establishment at that place, the aid of his carpenters in constructing a boat, in which I proposed to descend the Missouri. On the afternoon of the 27th we met one of the men who had been despatched by Mr. Sarpy with a welcome supply of provisions and a very kind note which gave us the very gratifying intelligence that our boat was in rapid prog ress. On the evening of the 30th we encamped in an almost impenetrable undergrowth on the left bank of the Platte, in the point of land at its confluence with the Missouri — three hundred and fifteen miles, according to our reckoning, from the junction of the forks, and five hundred and twenty miles from Fort Laramie. "From the junction we had found the bed of the Platte occupied with numerous islands, many of them very large, and all well tim- protected the settlers from the Mexicans. Fremont was then commissioned lieutenant colonel and was ap pointed governor of California, July 4, 1846. A year later he returned to the East, and in 1848 or ganized an expedition to find a practicable southern route to California. This was the most disastrous of all his explorations; yet he finally reached Sacra mento in the spring of 1849. He was elected United States senator from California, and took his seat when the state was admitted, September 11, 1850. His term expired in 1851, and after a year spent in Europe he organized a fifth party to cross the continent into California by a southern route. In 1855 he settled in New York where he engaged in literary and commer cial pursuits. In 1856 he was nominated as the first republican candidate for president of the United States, but was defeated by James Buchanan, the democratic nominee. Fremont afterwards went to California, and in 1860 again visited Europe. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war he was appointed a major-general in the bered ; possessing, as well as the bottom lands of the river, a very excellent soil. With the exception of some scattered groves on the banks, the bottoms are generally without tim ber. A portion of these consist of low grounds, covered with a profusion of fine grasses, and are probably inundated in the spring; the remaining part is high river prairie, entirely beyond the influence of the floods. The breadth of the river is usually three quarters of a mile, except where it is enlarged by islands. That portion of its course which is occupied by Grand island has an average breadth from shore to shore of two and a half miles. The breadth of the valley, with the various accidents of ground — springs, timber, and whatever I have thought interesting to travelers and settlers — you will find indicated on the larger map which accompanies this report. "October 1. — I rose this morning long before daylight, and heard with a feeling of pleasure the tinkling of cow bells at the settle ments on the opposite side of the Missouri. Early in the day we reached Mr. Sarpy's resi dence, and in the security and comfort of his hospitable mansion felt the pleasure of again being within the pale of civilization. We found our boat on the stocks ; a few days sufficed to complete her ; and in the afternoon of the 4th we embarked on the Missouri. All our equipage — horses, carts, and the materiel of the camp — had been sold at public auction at Bellevue. The strength of my party enabled me to man the boat with ten oars, relieved every hour ; and we descended rapidly."1 On his second expedition, the following year, Fremont passed up the Kansas river to the mouth of the Republican. He then proceeded northwestwardly, leaving the Republican val ley on his right or to the north. Soon after crossing and naming the Prairie Dog river federal army and later was made commander of the mountain district of Virginia and Kentuckj'. Soon after, Major-General Pope was assigned to the com mand of the army of Virginia, and Fremont resigned, declining to serve under a general whom he outranked. After the war he was made president of the Memphis, El Paso & Pacific railroad, which was intended to traverse the country he had latterly explored, but, owing to the exposure of the transactions of the Credit Mobilier in connection with the Union Pacific railroad, General Fremont's plans failed to receive the neces sary support. In fact, he was arrested on a charge of fraudulent representation concerning the land grants by the government. He denied all responsibility, but the failure of his projects reduced him to poverty. In 1878 he was appointed governor of Arizona territory and served four years. He afterwards retired, leading a quiet life up to the time of his death in 1890. 1 Fremont's First and Second Expeditions, pp.78-79. 64 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA he again entered the Republican valley. He crossed the present Nebraska line not far from the western boundary of Hitchcock county, and, crossing Dundy county diagonally to the northwest, entered the valley of the South Platte, which he followed to the mountains. Fremont complains on this trip of the difficulty of traveling on account of heavy rains, which is another indication of the fallacy of the popular notion that rain fall has increased in this portion of the plains since its occupation and cultivation by white men. It is probable that there was a trading post called Ft. Charles, about six miles below Omadi, kept by one McKay as early as 1795. In 1802 Cruzatte's post, also a trading establish ment, was situated two miles above old Coun cil Bluff. In 1807 Crooks and McLellan established a post not far above the mouth of the Papillion ; but they abandoned it in 18 10 when they formed the Pacific Fur Company. This was probably the first settlement on the site, or in the immedi ate neighborhood of Bellevue. The tradition that Manuel Lisa made a settlement at Bellevue in 1805 is prob- 1 Chittenden, History of American Fur Trade, p. 113. 2 Manuel de Lisa, Spanish fur trader of Nebraska, was born in Cuba, September 8, 1772, and was a son of Christopher Lisa, who came to this country about the time that Spain took possession of Louisi ana. Very little is known of his father's career ex cept that he was in the service of the Spanish govern ment during most of his lifetime. Manuel Lisa went to St. Louis about the year 1790, and at once became interested in the fur business. The records show that in 1800 he secured from the government of Spain the exclusive right to trade with the Osage Indians along the Osage river. This indicates that he was already an important factor in the fur traffic, for the Chouteaus had controlled the trade of that territory for twenty iSftt-X- ¦ -"' *; >%& '« »£ " «•*• - A '687 Wagons used 5r5 Mules used 72 Men employed 602 At that time Hawke & Nuckolls were, next to Majors, the heaviest freighters. The News of December 22, i860, gives the following itinerary of the freight route from Ne braska City: To Little Nemaha, 9 miles, good bridge across the Ne maha; Nemaha to Brown- ell creek, ro miles, good ford; to north branch of Nemaha, 6 miles, good crossing, plenty of good water; to Buck's Bend, 5 miles, a rock ford c n the Nemaha; to Salt creek, 20 miles — bridge begun — - large steam saw and grist mill; to junction of the old road, 3 miles; to the Blue, 25 miles, bridge absolutely neces sary, impossible for heavy teams to cross ; Blue to Dry Run, 20 miles, never failing STEPHEN F. NUCKOT.T.S spring of water; Dry Run to a spring, 20 miles; to the junction of Leavenworth road, 60 miles; total, 178 miles. The same paper1 contains a map of the route from Nebraska City to Ft. Kearney, giving distances from point to point, making a total of 169^ miles, as follows: from Ne braska City to North fork of Little Nemaha, 6y2 miles; up Little Nemaha to Brownell creek, 7 miles ; to Little Nemaha, 4 miles ; to the head of Little Nemaha, 21 miles; to Salt creek, 11 miles; to east fork Big Blue, 17 miles; to a grove of tim ber, 17 miles; to head of Big Blue river, 50 miles; to Platte river, 17 miles; to Ft. Kearney, 19 miles. The Nebraska City News2 gives the following account of a contract just made between the author ities of the United States army and Russell, Majors & Waddell: ' 'The contract amounts to$i,700,ooo. Five thou sand tons of government supplies and stores are now preparing for ship ment to this place to be conveyed hence in ox wagons, up the valley of the Platte and across the mountains to Utah. To move this immense mass will require two thou sand heavy wagons, twenty hundred ox drivers and train masters, and from eighteen to twenty thousand oxen, 1 April 28, 1860. 2 March 27, 1858. sStephen F. Nuckolls, pioneer and founder of Ne braska City, was born in Grayson county, Virginia, August 6, 1825. He received a good academioal edu cation, and in November, 1847, entered the mercantile business at Linden, Atchison county, Missouri. He remained there six years, but established branch stores at several other points in Missouri and Iowa. In April, 1854, he crossed the river to old Ft. Kearney and began laying out the town site of Nebraska City. He was president of the Nebraska City Town Company and one of the leading promoters of that place. The first brick house, built on the corner of Fifth and Main streets, was erected by Mr. Nuckolls in 1854, and during the same year he also erected the first saw mill. He established the Platte Valley Bank, the first bank organized in the territory, and was elected its president. This was the only one of all the so-called wildcat banks of Nebraska that survived the panic of 1857 and paid its obligations in full. In 1859 he was a member of the school board; and he was chairman of the board of managers of the first territorial fair held at Nebraska City in September, 1859. The same year he was elected from Otoe county as a member of the lower house of the territorial legislature. His brother, Lafaj'ette Nuckolls, had served as a member from Cass county in the first session. In 1859, in company with Robert Hawke, he established the prin cipal outfitting point west of the Missouri river, and the following vear they located a branch house at Central City, Colorfdo, under the direction of Mr. #%$***, Pioneer freighter. For biography see p. 680. M^H tMkwmi »?i\if ". ^m^^im:^^^^^ | FREIGHTING SCENES FROM PHOTOGRAPHS The lower view represents the freighting train known as " Bull of the Woods," owned by Alexander and James Carlisle. From a photograph taken on Main street, Nebraska City, looking east from 6th St., and loaned by Mr. O. C. Morton. This train consisted of twenty-five wagons with six mules to each wagorii and was considered one of the finest outfits known to freighters. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 107 and in one continuous column will present a length of forty miles. Mr. Majors, one of the government contractors for transporting this freight, has taken up his residence in this city, and of course will prove an inestimable addi tion to its society, both socially, morally, and in a business point of view. The capacious wharf, built specially to receive this freight, is nearly completed, and when finished will be one of the very best on the river." In view of this great commercial boon and boom a public meeting of citizens of Nebraska City was held on the 25th of February at which resolutions were adopted pledging it by the written obligation of "the mayors of the three cities" — presumably Nebraska City proper, South Nebraska City, and Kearney City — in the sum of $100,000, that the levee should be finished by the opening of navigation, and that a committee of thirteen should be appointed to carry out the resolution that "the business of dram selling is demoralizing, illegal, and a public nuisance, and we heartily approve of the condition imposed of their suppression."1 The committee of thirteen were pledged "to take immediate and efficient measures to abate the nuisances, wherever they arise in this locality, and to maintain the law in our community by moral suasion if possible and that failing by every other lawful and honorable means." In glorification over this contract, the same paper, of February 27, 1858, announces that in the coming months of April, May, June, and July two thousand wagons, hauled by six teen thousand cattle,2 hitched up with two acres of ox yokes and driven by two thousand ox drivers would start across the plains. The item promises to the citizens a season of grand Nuckolls. He was one of the first to erect a quartz mill at this point and became largely interested in mining. From 1864 to 1867 he resided in New York, where he engaged in mining speculations, accumulat ing a large fortune. After the completion of the Un ion Pacific railroad, in 1867, he engaged extensively in the sale of merchandise at Cheyenne; and when Wyoming was organized, in 1869, Mr. Nuckolls was elected on the democratic ticket as delegate from the territory to the 41st Congress. He was an ardent democrat, though a business man rather than a politician. He was the first to bring slaves into the territory of Nebraska, and his sympathies were with the slave-holding states during the Civil war. In 1871 he was elected a member of the 2d legislative council of Wyoming and was chosen to preside over that body. In 1872, and again in 1876, he was elected delegate to the national Democratic convention. In opera, when "Bellows Falls, or the Glory of a Bovine Jehu" would be presented nightly. The Nebraska City News'* leaves in unex plained ambiguity the question whether the advantage of the Nebraska City over the Leavenworth route lay in distance or in the superiority of oxen over mules : "The ox trains leaving Nebraska City in May reached Fort Kearney, unloaded and made four days travel back toward Nebraska City when they met mule trains from Leavenworth that left there in April." A curious illustration of the dependence of the people upon even impracticable water transportation as late as 1858 is afforded by a statement in the Advertiser* that a small steamboat had ascended the Big Nemaha as far as Falls City — twenty-five miles — coupled with the remark that, "this can not fail to prove gratifying to the enterprising citizens of this flourishing and prosperous young city." The mode of taking pleasure trips, as well as that of commercial transportation, in those ante-railroad days is illustrated in an article puffing the steamer Wautossa which appeared in the Omaha Times, June 17, 1858: "The Wautossa arrived here 'up to time' on Sunday morning last. Captain Morrison finding, at our levee and at other landings near here, a large quantity of freight, awaiting shipment for points above, consented to extend this trip to Sioux City. The Wautossa departed for Sioux City on Tuesday morning, -having on board pleasure parties from Nebraska City, Council Bluffs, and Omaha. A band of music accompanied the party. The trip can not fail of being a pleasant one to all on board." July, 1872, he removed from Cheyenne to Salt Lake City, where he died, February 14, 1879. Few men have done more than S. F. Nuckolls toward the de velopment of the West, and in every community in which he lived he was a leading and enterprising citizen. He was a member of the Masonic order. 1 These reforms were evidently required by Mr. Majors as* a consideration for establishing headquar ters for the business at Nebraska City. They were in consonance with the temperance rules he made for the employees of the firm. 3 In the California aud Oregon travel across the plains ox teams were usually preferred to any other. — (Bryant, p. 14.) 3 June 12, 1858. 4 June 24. 108 HISTORY OF NEBRASK Travelers at this time report a great deal of gold on the road from the mines to Ne braska City. The Nebraskian1 notes that two hundred miles of the route to the mines is over a military road, constructed by the fed eral government, and gives much space to glorifying that route and the importance of the gold fields. A panoramic view of the North Platte route ten thousand feet long was exhibited in Omaha as an advertisement. Cottonwood Springs in those days was counted "ten days from Omaha." May 23, i860, the Omaha Republican reports that crossing Loup Fork at Columbus can be accomplished "in very few minutes." About four-fifths o f the emigrants through Omaha cross the Platte at Shinn's ferry. The corre spondent says that since leav ing Ft Kearney there had not been less than fifty to one hun dred teams in sight at any time. Residents estimated that two thousand five hundred to three thousand teams had already passed along this route that season, and, allowing about five persons to a team, he estimated that from ten thousand to fifteen thousand people had gone over that road to the mines during the spring in question. There were plenty of antelope and other kinds of game, but no buffalo were to be seen. The Republican of August 15, i860, notes that many adventurous individuals are build ing boats at Denver for the purpose of navi gating the Platte, and thereupon gives this sage counsel : "We would advise all that such an enterprise is attended with great difficulties, :,'M- \ '' % ' t Ip \ ; If ~fe - ' I - . 1 \ 1 / | iS^jn ?s *** -'/ ^T *Sr sa "- <%#$&>!, _..„ ~-- - '¦-..¦ ¦ :.:::¦ "¦ -.¦¦ . ' .- -' ¦ * -^ i **'¦_ <. ¦¦ ,tJ, FERRY ACROSS THE EI.KHORN RIVER Twenty-three miles northwest of Omaha, 1854. Drawing by George Simons, whose uncle, Norton Simons, owned the Bellevue ferry. — (Courtesy Nathan P. Dodge, Council Bluffs, Iowa.) and often results in the total abandonment of the boat after many weeks of fruitless endeavor to reach the Missouri." The Ne braskian2 says that not less than twenty Pike's Peak wagons pass its office daily, and thirty were counted one afternoon; and the same paper of April 28 says that teams are passing Ft. Kearney at the rate of two hundred a day. In the same issue there is a statement that the rate for freight from Omaha to Denver is $9 per hundred pounds, and that there is much of it lying at Omaha awaiting transportation. In this paper James E. Boyd & Co. advertise that they keep a general merchandise store and a stable capable of accommodating forty horses on the north side of the Platte river di rectly opposite Ft. Kearney, and the Genoa ferry is adver tised to carry teams across the Loup Fork "at the town of Genoa, 18 miles west of Colum bus, where there is a good cross ing from bank to bank." O. P. Hurford also advertises a ferry over the same stream at Columbus. In this interesting issue of the Nebraskian we find also a notice of the organ ization of the Missouri & Western Telegraph company at St. Louis, of which Edward Creighton of Omaha was treasurer and Robt. C. Clowry of St. Louis secretary and super intendent.3 It is announced that the company intends to construct a telegraph line to Omaha and Council Bluffs immediately, and to extend it westward to the Pike's Peak region. The News* notes that the Messrs. Byram will send out two or three heavy trains a week to Pike's Peak guarded by thirty armed men. 1 February 25, 1860. '' April 14, 1860. s Charles M. Stebbins, of St. Louis, was president. * May 25, 1861. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 109 On the 9th of August, 1862, the News avows that the round trip to Denver from Nebraska City is two hundred miles shorter than from St. Joe or Leavenworth and fifty miles shorter than via Omaha. The following is a good illustration of the importance which the north ern route from Omaha had assumed by the summer of 1859 : "The secretary of the Columbus Ferry Company at Loup Fork informs the Omaha Nebraskian that the emigration across the plains, up to June 25, was as follows: 1,807 wagons, 20 hand carts, 5,401 men, 424 women, 480 children, 1,610 horses, 406 mules, 6,010 oxen, and 6,000 sheep had crossed this ferry at that point. This statement includes no por tion of the Mormon emigration but embraces merely California, Oregon and Pike's Peak emigrants and their stock, all going westward. The returning emigration cross at Shinn's Ferry, some fifteen miles below the confluence of the Loup Fork with the Platte. Many of the outward bound emigrants also crossed at the same point so that it is probable that not less than 4,000 wagons have passed over the military road westward from this city since the 20th of March."1 The Advertiser,2 which at this time was fer vently loyal, insisted that traffic should be di verted from Nebraska City as a punishment for disloyalty to the cause of the Union. The Nebraskian3 avows that a traveler met seven hundred teams in one day between Loup Fork (Columbus) and the Elkhorn river. About five hundred of these would keep the north route and cross the Loup at Columbus; the other two hundred would cross the Platte by Shinn's ferry, "and take the tortuous route on the other side of the river." Another traveler reported that the whole region about Buffalo and Elm creeks is a valley of death, strewn white with buffalo bones over the whole width of the Platte bottom and fifty miles in length. The same paper, June 2, i860, says that up to that time an average of thirty-five teams and three men to a team had crossed the Missouri river at Omaha on the way to the mines. The Press4, of Nebraska City says : ^-Dakota City Herald, August 13, 1859. 2 October 19, 1865. 8 May 19, 1860. 4 February 3, 1860. "There are four principal routes to the gold mines : the Omaha route crosses the Papillion, the Elkhorn, and Loup Fork, three large and bad streams, and a great number of smaller ones, and the Platte, the worst river to ford in the West, and is six hundred miles long. The St. Joe and Leavenworth route crosses the Soldier, Grasshopper, Nemaha, Walnut, Big Blue, Sandy, Little Blue, and many other tributaries of the Kansas, at points where there are no bridges and are difficult to ford- distance, six hundred and fifty to seven hun dred miles. The Kansas City route, up the Kansas and Arkansas rivers is a bad and dif ficult road. From Kansas City to the mouth of Cherry creek it is nine hundred miles. The Nebraska City route runs along the divide between the southern tributaries of the Platte and the northern tributaries of the Kansas and crosses but one stream of more than a few inches of water on the whole route. There are good timber, water, and grazing along the whole line. It is about five hundred miles — the road has not (nor have any) been measured, but we judge from the time of travel ; ox teams have come from \uraria to Nebraska City in twenty-five days." The Huntsman's Echo? published at Wood River Center, Buffalo county, shows that our own heyday of monopoly of transportation is no new thing: "The people of the Pike's Peak mining dis trict, together with all concerned, and the rest of mankind, will be pleased to learn that after being swindled, gouged, imposed upon, and literally robbed in the matter of mail facilities and service by that arch-monopoly, Jones, Russell & Co., for near two years they are now provided by the department, at Ameri can rates, a mail from Omaha, by this place and Fort Kearney, once a week and back. The Western Stage Company, the most ac commodating, punctual, and reliable in the mail service, has the contract and have already sent out one mail." Query : Did this editor have a pass ? The Nebraska City Newss notes that a daily mail line overland to California, via St. Joe, has recently been established. The Press,7 of Nebraska City, quotes an item from the last Nebraskian stating that the telegraph line he 's September 13, 1860. 6 May 4, 1861. ' November 1, 1860. no HISTORY OF NEBRASKA tween Omaha and Ft. Kearney has just been finished and that news by pony express will doubtless come from Kearney by wire in future. The Nebraska City News1 reports that grading is going on across the river for the Council Bluffs and St. Joe railway; and the same paper,2 describing the Salt Lake traffic from Omaha, says that in two days over a month six hundred and thirty-two large gov ernment wagons, each carrying on an average five thousand pounds of freight to Colorado merchants at the mines, passed through Nebraska City. The Nebraskian3 says that "five trains of sixty wagons each, loaded with freight and Mormon poor, have left for Salt Lake, and five more are to go, making six hundred wagons in all — the last to go this week. There are already two thousand emi grants on the plains and two thousand yet to leave." Freight on a cotton mill for Salt Lake had already cost $1,500 as far as Omaha. In the spring of 1865 there was bitter com plaint by the partisans of the Omaha route because travelers were not protected from the Indians. It was charged that anywhere be tween the mouth of the Elkhorn and the forks of the Platte the North Platte route was ignored by the military and was in a state of outlawry. After passing Ft. Kearney trav elers north of the south fork were at the mercy of the Indians for a distance of two hundred miles. It was charged also that Brig.- Gen. P. E. Connor telegraphed on the 24th of May, 1865, to Capt. S. H. Morer at Omaha as follows: "Please notify all trains coming west that they must cross the Platte at Platts mouth. They can not cross the Platte east of Laramie, and I have not the troops to escort them on the north side." The Repub lican at this time charges Morer, Colonel Liv ingston, and General Connor with favoritism for the Plattsmouth route. On the 27th of May, 1865, a meeting was held at Omaha for the purpose of raising a subscription of $50,- 000 for building a bridge across the Platte in the interest of the North Platte route, and among those on the subscription committee were Edward Creighton, Ezra Millard, and Dr. George L. Miller. Representatives of the Burlington & Mis souri River railroad company took a lively part in the protest against the change of the route of the Union Pacific railway to the southern, or ox-bow line; and on the 21st of December, 1866, Dr. Miller, in the Omaha Herald, assists J. Sterling Morton in his attack in the Nebraska City Nczvs on Secretary Har lan's decision that the Burlington company might go outside the twenty mile limit to lo cate its land grant. The Herald complains bit terly that to do so "withholds from occupation and sale three million acres of the best lands in Nebraska." The Burlington company objected to the Union Pacific's change of line because it lapped over its own land grant. On the 25th of October, 1867, the Nezvs says that there is a tri-weekly stage from Ne braska City to Lincoln doing a large busi ness — "the only regular line of stages from the Missouri river to Lincoln." The Repub lican4' says : "The Burlington & Missouri River railroad has been located as far west as a point oppo site Plattsmouth, and surveys have been made from that place west with a view to a con nection with the Union Pacific at, or not greatly beyond Columbus. The proposed ex tension of that line west of the Missouri river is to be in the valley of the Platte and Lincoln City has never been thought of as a point. Besides we venture the assertion that no intel ligent man in Nebraska believes that the Bur lington road will ever be built west of the Missouri river in any direction. It will seek a connection with the Union Pacific at Omaha, where it can compete on equal terms with the other roads running through Omaha, and will not be guilty of the folly of inviting the oppo sition of the Union Pacific by seeking to tap it at some point west of this city." The only excuse for the Republican's prophetic blindness is consideration of the fact that its mistakes had a great deal of company of the same sort at that time. The Republican observes that the Chicago & Northwestern 1 March 1, 1862. ! June 28, 1862. s August 14, 1863. 4 August 28, 1867. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES railway company at one time contemplated a connection with the Union Pacific at Columbus or Kearney, crossing the river at Decatur sixty miles north ; but, seeing that the Missis sippi & Missouri (Rock Island) would form a connection with the Union Pacific at Omaha, the Northwestern changed its route to that city where it could compete on equal terms with its rival. The Republican laughed un restrainedly at the statement that. the North western would go to Lincoln. On the 4th of December, 1867, the Repub lican speaks of a famous early transportation company as follows : "The old Northwestern Stage Company is known by every man, woman and child in Iowa and Nebraska. . . Its coaches rolled over every road. For years it was the only means of intercommunication — even as late as two years ago." The Brownville Advertiser1 gives an inter esting sketch of the effect of these freight routes upon the almost sole industry — agri culture — in the course of a complaint of the sloth of Nemaha county in competition for the trade of the lines : "The truth is farmers, more than anybody else, would be benefited by a good road to Fort Kearney. The market for farm produce is now west of us in Colorado and the forts. The thousands of gold hunters in the moun tains are fed from the Missouri valley. There is no county in Nebraska that produces more than Nemaha. The surplus is gathered up by freighters, but they do not pay as much here by 20 per cent as in Nebraska City sim ply because the road from here needs a little mending. Freighters pay 25 cents a bushel for corn at Nebraska City and only 1 5 and 20 cents here. A bridge, or a good ford, across the Blue, at or near Beatrice, would be worth thousands annually to Nemaha, Richardson, Pawnee, Johnson, Clay and Gage counties." The Advertiser further complains that : . "Ten times as much of the travel across the plains leaves the river from Omaha and Ne braska City as from Brownville. Ten times as many freighters start for Denver, Jules burg and the forts from Omaha and Ne braska City as from this county. The route from here to Ft. Kearney is ' naturally better than any other; in distance it is shorter than 1August22, 1863. most other routes; the road is comparatively level; no large streams except the Nemaha to cross; plenty of good water and pasture, and between here and the Leavenworth road at Sandy you are never out of sight of timber. Had about two good bridges been built five years ago a large portion of the vast emigra tion to the mines would have passed over this route. We vainly hoped that government would see the importance of this route and would aid us in making a good road. Mean while the tide of travel influenced by inter ested parties became fixed to other roads." In August, 1862, the Scientific American copied from the Nebraska City News an ac count of the trip of a steam wagon — the Prai rie Motor — which had started for Denver, "drawing three, road wagons, .containing five tons of freight, two cords of wood, and all the wagons were crowded with excited citizens." The article goes on to relate that there were five regular stage routes between the Missouri river and the West, all of which concentrated at Ft. Kearney, and that the stage fare for a single passenger from Nebraska City to Den ver was $75, and the time taken for the trip one week, traveling day and night. "The citizens of Nebraska in view of these facts have re garded the introduction of the steam wagon with enthusiasm as a great improvement upon the common slow and expensive system of ani mal teaming on the prairie road. On the 28th of July last they met in mass convention at Nebraska City and requested the authorities of the county to construct a road to its west ern limits suitable for the steam wagon so as to make Nebraska City the focus of the steam wagon line." The Nebraska City News2 re lates that, "General Brown's steam wagon which left here last week, has, we regret to learn, met with an accident. About twelve miles from the city one of the cranks of the wagon shaft broke and stopped further prog ress for the present. . . The wagon had got over the last rise of ground and was about to start on the long divide which runs clear through to Kearney when it broke. The acci dent will cause a delay of about three weeks. General Brown left immediately for New York with the broken parts to have them replaced. 2 August 2, 1862. 112 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Messrs. Sloate and Osborne, the engineers, remain here and will push immediately for ward when the new shaft arrives." But the experiment was abandoned at this stage. Since Nebraska was, in law and in fact, exclusively "Indian country" prior to the time of its organization as a territory — 18541 — it had no roads except such as had been laid out iPost routes were established by acts of Congress as follows: August 3, 1854, Nebraska City, Bellevue, and Omaha City to Ft. Calhoun. August 18, 1856: " From Nebraska City to Marys ville, Kansas Territory; from Omadi to Fort Lookout; from Omadi to Elkhorn river; from Omaha City by Fort Kearney and Fort Laramie, to Great Salt Lake City; from Omaha City, by Elkhorn, Fontenelle, and Running Water, via Fort Randall to Fort Pierre; from Omaha City by Florence, Fort Calhoun, De Soto, Cuming City, Tekama, Black Bird, and Omadi to Dakota City; from Omaha City to Kearney City; from Omaha City by Nebraska City, Kearney City, Brown ville, and Nemaha City, to Whitehead; from Dakota City to Sergeant's Bluff, Iowa; from Dakota City by Ayoway Creek and Running Water river, to Fort Laramie; from Dakota City to Fort Pierre; from Omadi to Sergeant's Bluff, Iowa; from Plattsmouth by Kenosha and Wyoming, to Kearney City; from Wyoming to Sidney, Iowa; from Wyoming to Salt Creek; from Nebraska City to Salt Creek; from Kear ney City to New Fort Kearney; from Brownville to New Fort Kearney; from Brownville to Linden, Mis souri; from Missouri river, between Great and Little Nemaha rivers, by Archer and Salem, and to Big Blue River."— (U. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 11, p. 133.) March 3, 1855, from Oregon, in Holt County, Mis souri, to New Fort Kearney, on the Platte river, via Stephen W. Story's, on the Missouri river, between the two Nemahas, Mr. Purket'^ on Muddy creek, John A. Singleton's on the Great Nemaha, Mr. Bobet's on the Great Nemaha, and Marysville on Blue river; from Nemaha agency in Kansas territory, to the mouth of the Niobrara river in the territory of Ne braska, via Stephen W. Story's at Story's ferry, Brownville, Nebraska City, Weeping Water, Thomp son's at Thompson's ferry, Plattsmouth, Bellevue, Omaha City, Winter Quarters, Florence, Black Bird Hills and Black Bird City; from Bellevue City to Fort Laramie, via Omaha City, Fontenelle, Pawnees, on Loup Fork; from Nebraska City to Ft. Laramie, via New Ft. Kearney and Ash Hollow; from Linden, in Atchison County, Missouri, to Nebraska City, via John Worland's and Bennet's ferry on the Missouri river; from Glenwood, in Mills County, Iowa, to Belle vue City, via St. Mary's, Iowa; from Bluff City, Iowa, to Omaha City; from Oregon, in Holt County, Mis souri, to Brownville; from Sidney, Iowa, to Nebraska City; from St. Mary's, Iowa, to Plattsmouth; from Tonora, Missouri, to Brownville; from Tonora, Mis souri, to Nebraska City; from Bluff City, Iowa, to Winter Quarters; from Florence to Fontenelle, by way of Dodge City; from Glenwood, Iowa, to Platts mouth; from Sidney, Iowa, to J. D. N. Thompson's at Thompson's ferry; from Magnolia, Iowa, to Florence; from Magnolia, Iowa, to Black Bird City; from Ser geant's Bluff, Iowa, to Black Bird City; from Leaven worth City, by Stanley's, Mooney, Grasshopper Falls, Rock Point, Vermillion, to Dj'er's on Big Blue; from Sergeant's Bluff to Florence; from Atchison to Marys ville.— (TJ. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 10, p. 713. ) in the natural course of travel, and no bridges except, such as might have been voluntarily built by travelers over the smaller streams. The first appropriation for a highway within the present Nebraska was made by act of Con gress, February 17, 1855, which authorized the construction of "a territorial road from a point on the Missouri river (opposite the city of The following routes were established by act of June 14, 1858: "From Brownville, via Nemaha City, Archer, Falls City, Monterey, Salem, Pleasantville, and Paw nee City, to Table Rock; Nemaha City via Salem, Plymouth, and Powhatan, to Topeka, in Kansas; Omaha City to Iowa City (Iowa); Omaha City, via Cedar Island, Eight Mile Grove, Mount Pleasant, and Waterville, to Nebraska City; Plattsmouth to Pacific City (Iowa); Fontenelle, via Lewisburg, to De Witt, in Cuming County; Nebraska City via Helena, Kings ton, Beatrice, and Blue Springs, to Marysville, in Kan sas; Blue Springs, to Atchison (Kansas); Nebraska City, via Hamburg, Clarinda, and Bedford, to Chari ton (Iowa); Nebraska City, via Quincy, Red Oak, Junction, to Winterset (Iowa); Covington to Sioux City (Iowa); Monroe, Monroe County, via Cleve land, Columbus, Buchanan, Emerson, North Bend, Fontenelle, Cuming City, Medail, mouth of Soldier River, to Magnolia, Iowa; Bellevue, via Fairview, to Plattford; Bellevue, via Junction City, to Coun cil Bluffs (Iowa); Bellevue via St. Mary's to Pa cific City (Iowa); Bellevue, via Hazelton, Elk Horn, Fremont, Springville, Franklin, Emerson, Bu chanan, Columbus, Monroe, Grand Island City, to New Fort Kearney; Bellevue to Laramie City; Omaha City, via Missouri River, to St. Joseph, Missouri; Da kota City, via Galena, to Pacific City, on the Nio brara River; Brownville, via Nemaha City, Peru, Winnebago, St. Stephens, Yankton, and Rulo, to St. Joseph, Missouri; Fontenelle, via De Soto, Calhoun and Cincinnati, to Magnolia (Iowa); Omaha City via Bellevue, Plattsmouth, Rock Bluffs, Kenosha, Wyom ing, Nebraska City, Otoe City, to Brownville; Archer to Geneva and Shasta; Plattsmouth via Rock Bluffs and Kenosha, to Sidney (Iowa); Nebraska City to Linden (Missouri); Florence, via Golden Gate to Fontenelle; Florence, via Elk Horn City, Fremont, North Bend, Emerson, Buchanan, Columbus, and Ne braska Centre, to New Fort Kearney; Florence, via Crescent City, Pymosa, Lura, Hamlin's Grove, Bear Grove, Morrisburg, Wiscota, Adei, and Boone, to Fort Des Moines (Iowa); De Soto to Pymosa (Iowa); Plattsmouth, via Cedar Creek, South Bend, and Par allel City to Long Island; Niobrara to Sioux City, Iowa; Decatur, via Ashton, Belvidere, to Dennison, ' Crawford County, Iowa; St. Stephens to Archer; Da kota City, via Sargeaut's Bluff, to Fort Des Moines (Iowa); Bellevue to Fort Des Moines (Iowa); Omadi, via Logan, St. John, Addison, Ponca, Concord, and St. James to Niobrara; Niobrara to Fort Randall; Fort Randall, via the mouth of the Blue Earth River, to the mouth of the Little Medicine Knoll River; Nio brara, via Ponca Reserve, to Chimney Rock." — (TJ. S. Statutes at Large, vol. li, p. 356.) By act of June 30, 1864, * route was established: From Omaha City, via valley of the Elkhorn to the Niobrara river; from Julesburg, Nebr., via Ft. Lara mie and Deer Creek, to Virginia City in Idaho. — (TJ. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 15, p. 321.) Eao VH'snryTaybi- Jc Cfiiv-.a.jo TERRITORIAL ROADS H3 Council Bluffs), in the territory of Ne braska, to New Ft. Kearney in said territory."1 On the 3d of March, 1857, Congress appro- By act of March 14, 1866, the following were estab lished: "From West Point, Cuming County, to Rock Creek, in said county, ten miles; Pawnee City via Frieces Mills, Nebraska, to Seneca, Kansas; Dakota City, via West Point, to Columbus; Brownville, Ne braska, to Rockport, Missouri; Big Sandy, Jones County, to Rose Creek, Nuckolls county; Plattsmouth, via Glendale, South Bend, Ashland, Salt Creek, Rock Creek, Lancaster, Saline City, Saltillo, Centreville, Olive Branch, Clatonia to Beatrice; Plattsmouth, via 8 Mile Grove, to Weeping Water; Decatur, via Logan Valley, West Point, St. Charles, and Jalappa to Fre mont; Desoto, via Arizona, to Decatur." — (TJ. S. Stat utes at Large, vol. 14, p. 7.) By act July 26, 1866, the following were established: "Dakota City to Yankton, in Dakota Territory; Plattsmouth to Columbus; Ponca to Fremont, Saint John's, Iowa, via De Soto and Fontenelle, to Buchanan; Brownville to Table Rock; Brownville to Grant; Fre mont, via Jalappa, Saint Charles, Greenwood, West Point, and Rock Creek, to South Fork of Elk Horn." — (TJ. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 14, p. 287.) By act March 2, 1867, the following were estab lished: ''From Plattsmouth, via Weeping Water, Stoor Creek, Shirley Station, Lancaster, Saline City, and Middle Creek to Blue River; Beatrice via Snow City to Big Sandy." — (TJ. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 14, p. 553.) 1TJ. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 10, p. 608. 2 George L. Sites, the superintendent of the con struction of this road, appears to have been living at Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and on the 19th of May, 1857, he was instructed by the interior department to make a rapid reconnaissance of the whole route; and July 10, 1857, Mr. Sites reported the results of his examination. His instructions, he said, stated that, " It is presumed that Congress did not contemplate the construction of a road designed to be thoroughly graded and bridged, to be commenced with a view to future appropriations, but that a road to meet the immediate wants of the settlers in that region should at once be made from point to point, such a road as can be made throughout the entire distance for the sum appropriated for that purpose." Mr. Sites observed that "The counties of Sarpy, Douglas, Washington, and Dacota have the great body of the timber and at present contain about seven-eighths of the entire population north of the Platte. ' ' The Elk horn valley, north of Fontenelle, the county town of Dodge county, was destitute of timber. He reported that "the ' Poncas trail ' winds with the ridges, very meandering, and along which wagons pass in time of flood, from Omaha City to Iowa [Aoway] Creek, pass ing about fifteen miles from this place [Dakota City] . ' ' This dry weather route, however, increased the dis tance between thirty-five and forty miles. He pro cured field notes of a survey of a territorial road from Cedar island, about seven miles from the mouth of the Platte, to Omaha, and surveyed a route with compass and chain from a point on the Platte, three miles above its mouth, via Bellevue, to a point where it intersected a survey of a territorial road from Bellevue to Omaha. He measured the distance ' ' upon the present traveled route " between Omaha and Dakota City with an odometer. It was thirteen and one-half miles by this route from the Platte river to Omaha — eight miles along the valleys of the Platte, Papillion, and Mud creek, nearly level, the rest over a high, rolling prairie. priated $30,000 "for the construction of a road2 from the Platte river via the Omaha reseiwe and Dakota City to the Running Water From Omaha to Florence the line ran on the level bench lands of the Missouri valley; from Florence to Ft. Calhoun, nine miles, four and one-half miles of which was over bluffs, the remainder over high prairie, nearly level. "Ft. Calhoun to De Soto, a distance of five miles, it is level, passing through about three miles of timber directly at the foot of the bluff, and two miles of prairie. De Soto to Cuming City, seven miles, one of which is upon high, rolling prairie, and six upon bench land. Cuming City, via Tekamah, to Decatur, about thirty-two miles, the route is level, upon bench lands. We here pass into the reserve, eighteen miles in width, the entire distance of which is high, rolling prairie, known as the B'ackbird hills, skirting upon the timber in the gorges putting into the Missouri. By winding with the ravines and ridges a very fair road can be obtained. This brings us to the foot of the bluffs, where we have the bench lands of the Missouri to Dacota City, a distance of nine miles. We start immediately upon the reconnaissance from this place to the Running Water, and, owing to the mail facili ties, will not be able to forward a report of this por tion of the route until after our return to Dacota City." Bridges, he thought, were "not absolutely neces sary across Moore's creek and the two Blackbird creeks, as fords can be obtained by cutting down the banks, which, however, are very high and steep." His plan for the construction of bridges which he thought cheapest and simplest was as follows: ' ' The abutments to be formed by driving piles to a solid foundation, in a row, and sawing them off to a proper level, and connecting them at the top by a cap- sill; and they may be further secured by diagonal braces halved to the uprights or pinned to them. For the longer bridges there should be several bents placed parallel to each other, and firmly connected together by cross pieces. Where piles cannot be driven, a gril lage may be formed by laying square timbers hori zontally across each other and securing the uprights to them, and the grillage retained by an enrockment; or the abutments may be made of cribs composed of" large square timbers, halved into each other and other wise firmly connected with iron bolts or wooden braces, the enclosed area being filled with stone or earth. For a bridge not exceeding 12 feet sleepers are to be laid parallel to the direction of the road-way, resting on the supports to which they are notched or pinned with iron bolts and the flooring nailed down on them." — (Ex. Docs., 2d Sess. 35th Cong., vol. 9, pp. 101-6. ) On the 10th of August, 1857, the superintendent re ported from Bellevue giving an account of the recon naissance between Dakota City and the western termi nus. He found Dakota City situated about eight miles from the bluffs bordering the Missouri valley on the southwest, five and a half miles south of Sioux City and ninety-six miles north, and twenty-seven miles west from the mouth of the Platte river. Fifteen miles from the crossing at Smyth's creek the party "found a beautiful grove, which we afterwards learned was called ' Secret Grove, ' entirely surrounded by high hills, except the opening toward the north made by the ravine in which the grove is situated. . At a point two miles above the mouth of the Neobrara, and the point to which we propose to locate the road, we found the bed of the channel to be 320 paces wide, 140 of which was covered with running water, with an average depth of 16 inches. . . . Between the ii4 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA river," under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior. Appropriations were made for roads within the original territory, but not Running Water (l'Eau qui Court) and Dakota City there are fifteen bridges to construct with lengths varying from 10 feet to 100 feet, and estimated at from $75 to $1200. He was of the opinion that the route within the present state, as follows: Febru ary 6, 1855, $30,000, "for a military road from the Great Vails of the Missouri river in the f^Z it* mouth . ¦ This route [from the Platte c Omahf] Te -ads across the Platte valley and the Pa- pillion Creek valley for about five miles; crossing over ^divide for 1% miles, we come upon Mud Creek val- CHMILL.KM R. S\0""> .ciTr ffl SflRGEflNTC SLUFF4. " from Omaha city to Dakota City is upon or near the route of the territorial survey. . . . Since my re turn I have been enabled to make further and satisfac tory examinations of the Platte river, and find a point for a good ferry at the distance of about three miles ley, upon which we travel for about 4 miles; thence over a divide, by an easy grade, of 1% miles to Omaha City. The route is nearly direct, and, with the excep tion of the two divides spoken of, is level." — (Ibid., pp. 107-14. ) TERRITORIAL ROADS H5 territory of Nebraska to intersect the military road now established leading from Walla Walla to Puget Sound." July 22, 1856, $50,- On the 4th of March, 1858, the superintendent re ported progress in the construction of the road as follows: "On the 4th day of June I reached Omaha City, Nebraska Territory, and, under my instructions of the 15th of May, repaired to the vicinity of the mouth of the Platte river to await the arrival of my engineer. Mr. Smyth arrived on the 25th, and on the 26th of June we started upon our reconnaissance, for the full particulars of which I beg leave to refer to my reports to the department, dated, respectively,the 10th July and the 10th of August, 1857. We commenced the loca tion of the road on the 25th day of August, and com pleted it on the 12th day of October, 1857. ' ' In the location of the wagon road from the Platte river, via Omaha Reserve and Dacota City, to the Run ning Water river, we started upon the north bank of the Platte river, about three miles from its mouth, at a post marked ' Commencement of wagon road from Platte to Running Water, ' and running a little to the east of north we passed over the valleys of the Platte river and Pappillion, via Bellcone, to a high rolling prairie, thence on to Mud Creek valley, and over a di vide, reaching Omaha City at the distance of 13 miles from the Platte, about 9 miles of which is over the rich bottom lands of the above named valleys, and the remainder over a delightful rolling prairie of a gentle grade, making the route to Omaha City highly eligi ble for a wagon road, with but a small expenditure, exclusive of tie bridge across Pappillion creek. ' ' Passing to the north through Omaha City, and ¦crossing over a small creek upon the bridge erected upon the military road from Omaha City to Fort Kear ney, we run along Twenty-fourth street, in the city of Saratoga, to its terminus, thence north 23%° west, to the foot of and through Main street, in Florence, over the second bottom lands of the Missouri, perfectly level, crossing Spring and Mill creeks, and reached the bluffs of the Missouri at a distance of five miles from the military bridge. Here we crossed a high ridge and passed down on to the valley of Poncas creek; crossing Poncas and following the valley for one mile we again •crossed a divide, somewhat rolling, over on to the valley of Deer creek; thence along the valley and over Deer creek, where we again came upon the second bottom lands of the Missouri; crossing Turkey creek we reached the town of Fort Calhoun, at the distance of 14 miles from Omaha City and 38 miles from the Platte river. "Passing through Thirteenth street, in Fort Cal houn, and changing our course to west of north, still continuing upon the second bottom or bench lands, we crossed Moore's creek, Mill creek, and Glover's creek, and reached the city of De Soto, distant from Omaha 19 miles and from the Platte 33 miles. ' ' We again came upon the highlands immediately adjacent to the river, passing over Ohio street in through the town of De Soto, and after continuing upon the highlands for one mile we descended again upon the second bottom or bench lands; crossing South creek we reached the town of Cuming City, distant 40 miles from the Platte. Thence north, on Clay street, through Cuming City; thence bearing to the W. of N., we crossed North- creek, Stewart's creek, New York •creek, Pike creek, Spring run, Dry creek, and Tekama creek, to the town of Tekama, distant from the Platte 55 miles, thence north, on Thirteenth street, through Tekama; bearing again to the W. of N., we crossed Silver and Elm creeks and reached Decatur City, lying 000, "for the construction of a road from Ft. Ridgley, in the territory of Minnesota, to the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, in the to the south of and adjoining the Omaha Reserve, dis tant from the Platte 72 miles. Running up Broad way, through Decatur City and over Wood creek, we passed into the Omaha Reserve, up Wood creek val ley for about four miles; thence over a divide of an easy grade on to the valley of the South Blackbird; thence along this valley to the crossing of the creek at the 'Omaha Village'; here the valleys of the South and North Blackbird creeks come together; crossing the North Blackbird we reached, by a gentle grade, a divide nearly level upon its surface, but somewhat winding, upon which we continued for about 16 miles, where we passed down from the bluffs to the Missouri bottom, and crossing Omaha creek we reached the town of Omadi, distant from the Platte 101 miles; thence, on Eighth street, through Omadi to the south end of Twentieth street, in Dacota City, distant from the Platte 105 miles. "The route from one mile north of DeSoto to the Omaha Reserve, a distance of about 37 miles, was over the bench lands of the Missouri; a rich loam and sandy soil, unsurpassed for farming or grazing, and forms a direct and beautiful road. Through the re serve we wind along the divide which separates the waters which flow into the North Blackbird and Omaha creeks from those which flow directly into the Missouri. ' ' Upon either side of this divide the country is rough and broken, and to the east, skirting upon the river, timber is found in considerable quantities; de scending the ridge we pass over the first bottom lands, of great richness and fertility, but rather too low for a good road during the wet season; this brings us to Dacota City. From Dacota City, continuing over the first bottom lands, we reach St. John's City, at the distance of eight miles from Dacota City; crossing over a divide, we passed down upon and along the valley of Elk creek; thence over a rolling prairie and a divide to the valley of Aoway creek; thence up this valley for about 16 miles, and over another divide, crossing Lime creek, to a high level prairie; thence, crossing East Bow creek and Main Bow creek, we pass over a beautiful, dry, level prairie to West Bow creek; thence along the valiey thereof to a ridge dividing the waters of the West Bow and East Bazille creeks; thence along Bazille valley for about six miles, where we pass upon a high rolling prairie somewhat broken, and along a divide or ridge down on to the valley of Bazille creek; thence, crossing the Bazille, we again come upon the Missouri bottom, upon which we con tinue to the terminus of the road upon the Running Water river, (l'Eau qui Court,) at about one mile from its mouth, at the distance of 100 miles from Dacota City, and 205 miles from the point of commencement upon the Platte river. ' ' The entire route from Dacota City to the Running Water river, with the exception of about 15 miles, is over a rich district of country, well adapted to farming and grazing, and forms an almost natural route for a good road. " The bridges upon the road, as located, have been constructed from the Platte river to Dacota City, with the exception of a few of small import. ' 'They are of the most approved plan for durability and for cheapness of construction. The frames are all of hewn or sawed timber, and the flooring is of plank two inches thick. By giving personal attention to their construction, under the direction of the department, an economy was pursued which will enable the super- n6 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA territory of Nebraska." On the 3d day of March, 1865, an appropriation of $50,000 was made for the construction of a wagon road from the mouth of Turtle Hill river to Omaha, and from the same point to Virginia City, Montana. The main motive for the con struction of these highways in the Northwest intendent to construct the remainder of the bridges required, and perform the grading necessary to make a good wagon road over the entire route for the sum appropriated by the 34th Congress. ' ' If the contract system had been pursued I have no hesitation in saying that from double the expenditure an equal amount of benefit would not have been re ceived. " It is, therefore, entirely owing to the wise policy of the department that the small expenditure, so far, has been productive of so much good to the Territory. ' ' —(Ibid., pp. 115-16.) "During the year 1857 we constructed the follow ing bridges: FT. in FT. IN ACROSS LENGTH ACROSS LENGTH Pappillion creek 68 Slough 10 Slough 16 Spring run 27 Slough 15 Dry creek 19 Spring creek 45 Spring branch 12 Poncas creek 34 Tekama creek 59 Turkey creek 39 Spring branch 17 Mill creek 54 Slough 10 Glover's creek 20 Slough 7 Branch creek 14 Silver creek 54 South creek 29 Elm creek 27 North creek 34 Wood creek 56 Stewart's creek 29 So. Blackbird creek. .50 New York creek 48 No. Blackbird creek. .50 Pike creek 39 Omaha creek 68" —(Ibid., pp. 121-22.) "During the past summer we have constructed upon this road the following bridges: FT. IN FT. IN ACROSS LENGTH ACROSS LENGTH Slough 15 Ayoway creek 30 Ditch 10 Ravine 15 Ravine 18 Ravine creek 25 Run and ravine 28 Northwest Ayoway. . . 30 Run 30 Slough 10 Ravine and gulch 55 Ravine and gulch 35 Ravine and gulch 20 Spring creek 20 Badger creek 20 Dry ravine 15 Ayoway creek 56 East Bow creek 50 Ayoway creek 20 Middle Bow creek ... 78 Ayoway creek 20 West Bow creek 50" Ayoway creek 20 "The road, as located through the Omaha Reserve, passes along a high divide, and as it approaches Da cota City, which is situated upon tbe Missouri bottom, we have to descend a bluff bank of about 350 feet in height. This bluff was graded, under the immediate supervision of the engineer, by winding the hill with a side cut, in length one-half mile, with a grade some what heavy, but over which a loaded wagon may pass without much difficulty." — (Ibid., p. 122.) January 20, 1859, the superintendent reported, from Lancaster, O . , that he took up the work of construction on the 1st of April, 1858. ' 'The first grading done was a side cut along a bluff bank, three miles north of the Platte river and near Pappillion creek bridge, of about one-half a mile in length at a cost of a little less than §250, besides the use of our own teams." He erected was national, that is, to provide for transpor tation of troops and supplies into the country where British influence at the earlier dates and the Indians all the time were most to be feared. Encouragement and accommodation of local settlements was no doubt an impor tant but secondary consideration. three small bridges across a slough, a ditch, and ravine between the Platte river and Papillion creek and two others between Omaha and Florence. He reported that "incessant and unprecedented rains" in the spring swelled the north and south Blackbird creeks so that the bridges were carried away, and the bridge across Omaha creek in Dakota county. New York creek, Pike creek, and Spring creek met the same fate.— (Ibid., p. 119.) Incidentally the superintendent drops into an en thusiastic description of the lands through which his road passed : ' ' The well-matted prairie sod forms an excellent bed to carry off the water, directly after its fall, to the streams. The opening of these lands to cultivation, while they will richly repay the husbandman, it will also materially and beneficially affect these high floods, and be highly advantageous to the bottom lands. "Springs of beautiful, clear, cold water universally form the sources of these creeks; in fact, I know of but one exception in the whole country, that of Fish creek, which lies to the east of the road, and which takes its rise from a slough formed by the discharge of several creeks without any visible inlet. Quite a number of small creeks are lost entirely in the first bottom of the Missouri before they reach that stream. "The lands lying between the reserve and the Platte river, and in the vicinity of this road, are either held by preemption or by what is familiarly known as- claims, a large portion of which are in cultivation; it is unsurpassed in beautiful scenery, or in the richness. and productiveness of the soil; it is destined to be a great producing country, and will command the atten tion both of the agriculturist and stock grower. "This road and the facilities offered by the bridges. are of immense benefit to the settler and the emigrant. ' ' —(Ibid., p. 121.) 5 A report of a committee of the territorial legislature states that the entire length of the road was 2U8 miles, that it was "of incalculable benefit and importance to- the territory," and that the road was opened and located "by Henry B. Smyth, an engineer appointed by the Government under the direction of the superin tendent." The committee asked for an appropriation for the construction of a large number of bridges over the smaller streams, for a bridge across the Niobrara river, and for the extension of the road "to the military post of Fort Randall."— (Council Journal, 5th Ter. Sess., pp. 130-32.) The superintendent urged that "the pecuniary con dition of the people of the territory, brought on by the exorbitant prices they were compelled to pay for the necessaries of life, will not warrant an undertaking on their part to construct the bridges required for the accommodation of themselves and indispensable to- the emigrant."— (Ex. Doc, 2d Sess., 35th Cong., vol. 9, p. 124.) ° Keen-eyed settlers of that time still living and with fresh memories tell the usual story of extravagant and inefficient use of the appropriation for this road, and that it ought to have been put it in much better order. LOUISIANA PURCHASE 117 CHAPTER IV THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE QUEST for the germ of political Nebraska leads us back just through the brief period of the nation's miraculous making, when — April 2, 1743 — at Shad well, Albemarle county, Virginia, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge mountains, we find Martha, the mother, clasping to her bosom the new-born Thomas Jefferson, under whose sandy hair are the brains that are to give to mankind the Declara tion of Independence; to give distinction to American diplomacy at the court of France, between the years 1785 and 1789, as the first secretary of state under the federal constitu tion; to initiate and develop the foreign and domestic policy of the young republic; to be come president in 1801 ; to negotiate and com plete the Louisiana purchase from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803 at a cost of about 23/5 cents an acre. The aggregate amount paid for this new empire, of which the present Nebraska forms but about a twelfth part, was $15,000- 000. Of this purchase price France received in United States bonds $11,250,000, and by agreement the remaining $3,750,000 was paid to American citizens in liquidation of claims against the French government. When the United States took formal possession of these lands on December 20, 1803, the Union con sisted of but seventeen states, Connecticut, Del aware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massa chusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vir ginia, and Vermont, with a total area of 444,- 393 square miles,1 or 284,411,520 acres. But JU. S. census 1900, vol. 1, part 1, p. xxxii. s These figures appear in the Statistical Atlas of the twelfth census. They include the area of the narrow strip between the 31st parallel on the north, the Gulf of Mexico on the south, the Perdido river on the east, and the Mississippi river on the west, the ownership of which was in dispute with Spain from 1803 to 1819. In Hermann's Louisiana Purchase, p. 37, the total Mr. Jefferson's purchase of contiguous terri tory covered 890,921 square miles, including both land and water surface, or 878,641 square miles — 562,330,24c2 acres — of land alone; and it lacked but little of being twice as large — as it certainly was twice as valuable for agricul ture and mining — as the seventeen states named. To-day, with all the more expensively and less peacefully acquired islands of Hawaii, Porto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines in the ' reckoning, the Louisiana Purchase of Presi- ; dent Jefferson comprises nearly one-fourth of the Republic. From this vast purchase of territory adjacent to the previous holdings of the Republic have been created twelve great states, namely: Louisiana in 1812, Missouri in 1821, Arkansas in 1836, Iowa in 1846, Minnesota in 1858, Kansas in 1861, Nebraska in 1867, Colorado in 1876, Montana in 1889, South Dakota in 1889, North Dakota in 1889, and Wyoming in 1890. Although only about one-third of Colorado, two-thirds of Minnesota, and a little more than three-fourths of Wyoming are parts of the Jefferson purchase, yet we have left of it in the Indian territory and Oklahoma enough to make several more states.3 The estimated population of the land ceded by Na poleon in 1803 was fifty thousand whites, forty thousand slaves, and two thousand free blacks. More than four-fifths of the whites and all the blacks except about one thousand three hundred were in and adjacent to New Orleans. The rest were scattered through the country now included in Arkansas and area, as found by the commissioner of the land office under the administration of President McKinley and Mr. Bliss, Secretary of the Interior, is given as 883,072 square miles. Previous to these later measurements the area of the Purchase had been overestimated. 3 The strip of Montana lying west of the main chain of the Rockv mountains and the extreme southwest ern corner of Kansas are outside the Purchase. n8 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Missouri.1 The population of the Louisiana Purchase is now about i4,ooo,ooo,2 and if it were as densely populated as Belgium, which contains 536 human beings to the square mile, it would contain and maintain 473,326,592. The importance of the Louisiana Pur chase does not spring alone from its extent and value as a vast territorial addition to the country, but very largely from its momentous political significance and effect. In the first place it was a pawn played by the great Napoleon in his universal game of war and diplomacy, in which the ancient empires of Europe were the stakes. Acquired by France under Louis XIV., through exploration and settlement here and there, it was ceded to Spain as a salve for sacrifices on her part in the treaty of 1763, which secured the suprem acy of the English speaking race on this continent and in general as a colonizing power, and was the territorial preparation for the great republic. Before Napoleon had forced himself into actual power as first consul, November 9, 1799, Talleyrand, who ruled under the directory, had conceived the idea of at once spreading out France in a great colonial empire, and curbing, through near neighborship, the pretentious young American republic, by securing the retrocession of Louisiana. Spain's fortunes were going from bad to worse, and after Napoleon's startling victory over the Austrians at Marengo in June, 1800, Talleyrand's messenger had but to de mand the retrocession on the terms he proposed and it was accomplished — October 1, 1800. The Spanish king, complaining that France had not carried out her part of the bargain, delayed the delivery of Louisiana, but finally yielded, October 15, 1801, on the as surance of Talleyrand that, "You can declare in the name of the First Consul that France will never alienate it." Meanwhile Napoleon had won peace from Austria by force, and from Great Britain through diplomacy, so that now he prepared to take possession of Louisiana; but first he had to deal with the revolution of the negroes of the important 1 Adams, History of the United States, vol. 2, p. 121. Rufus King on the Missouri Bill, American Oralions, vol. 2, p. 42. outpost of Santo Domingo, under the lead of Toussaint L'Ouverture. The disaster which finally befell Napoleon's army in Santo Do mingo, and the impending renewal of his irre pressible conflict with England, led the marvel ously practical First Consul to abandon whatever thought he may have indulged of a colonial empire in America. It is doubtful that he ever fully entertained or regarded as feasi ble this original dream of Talleyrand's. But at any rate, and in spite of Talleyrand, his un- equaled executive mind saw straight and clear to his purpose and acted with characteristic decisiveness. In the early days of April, 1803, he disclosed to Talleyrand, and then to others- of his ministers, his purpose of ceding Louis iana to the United States. At the break of day, April 11, the day before Monroe, Jeffer son's special envoy for the purchase of New Orleans and possibly the Floridas also, arrived in Paris, Napoleon announced to Marbois,. his minister of finance: "Irresolution and de liberation are no longer in season ; I renounce Louisiana. To attempt obstinately to retain. it would be folly. . . Have an interview this very day with Mr. Livingston." He had said the day before that he feared England would seize Louisiana as the beginning of war; and already, April 8, he had counter manded the order for General Victor to sail with his army to take possession of Louisiana. When in an interview later in the day Livingston was " Still harping on my daughter," begging only for New Orleans and West Florida, he was disconcerted at the sudden de mand of Talleyrand, "What will you give for the whole?" The next day Livingston con ferred with Monroe, but in the afternoon he met Marbois, who invited him to his house, and during the night a preliminary understanding was reached. After much haggling about the price the papers were signed during the early days of May, but were dated back to April 30. Napoleon sought to preclude danger of the subsequent cession of the territory to England, or any other rival power, and to pro- 2 Including all cf Colorado, Minnesota, and Wyom ing, 14,706,563. U. S. Census, 1900, vol. 1, pt. 1, p. 2. LOUISIANA PURCHASE 119 tect the inhabitants, who were mainly French and Spanish, in the enjoyment of their religion and racial propensities, by inserting the fol lowing guarantee in the treaty: ''The inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporated in the union of the United States and admitted as soon as possible, ac cording to the principles of the federal con stitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, ad vantages and immunities of citizenship of the United States ; and in the meantime they shall be maintained and protected in the free en joyment of their liberty, property and the religion which they profess." Though this vast territory had actually been pressed upon the American ambassadors, its acquisition was indeed a triumph for the young republic. "Livingston had achieved the greatest dip lomatic success recorded in American history. . . No other American diplomatist was so fortunate as Livingston for the immensity of his results compared with the paucity of his means. . . The annexation of Louis iana was an event so portentous as to defy measurement. It gave a new face to politics, and ranked in historical importance next to the declaration of independence and the adop tion of the constitution — events of which it was the logical outcome ; but as a matter of diplomacy it was unparalleled, because it cost almost nothing."1 But Livingston's cup of glory turned to ashes on his lips. He was charged with cor ruption in the distribution of the part of the purchase price which was to be paid to Amer ican claimants, and the credit the public gave Monroe elevated him to the presidency, where he was so fortunate as to make his name known of all men by the timely enunciation of the "Monroe Doctrine," which was adopted as an expedient for the safety of the still young and not yet firmly founded republic and its institutions, and which is still maintained as a principle of American polity, but more per haps through the influence of tradition than of the original need or expediency, this motive having been superseded by one of wider scope and farther reach though not definitely defined 1 Adams, History of the United States, vol. 2, pp. 48-49. or conceived. The direct bearing of an account of the Louisiana Purchase upon a history of Nebraska will now begin to appear, and is fore cast in the following estimate of its political effect or sequel : "Of the transcendent importance of that event, aside from the expansion of territory, we get some idea when we reflect that the Missouri compromise, the annexation of Texas, the compromise of 1850, the Kansas- Nebraska bill, the Dred Scott case, and at length the Civil war, were events in regular sequence directly traceable to it, not one of which would have occurred without it."2 The sweeping conclusions of the eminent jurist are doubtless technically correct, but there is a hint in them of the almost dogmatic implication in many historical accounts of the famous purchase that it was a work of chance — a result of the accidental extremity of the fortunes of Napoleon and of the Spanish nation at that particular time, and of the acu men of several American politicians. Mr. Adams partially corrects this misapprehension when he declares that the acquisition of Louis iana was "the logical outcome of the Declar ation of Independence and the adoption of the Constitution." But the historian would have been equally correct and more fundamental if he had said that the acquisition was the logical outcome of the ascendency of the English race and English institutions in North America, as against the Latin race, which was formally determined by the result of the French and Indian war and the treaty of 1763. The ex pulsion of France and Spain would have been completed by the same English race without the incident of the secession of the colonies and the division of English territory which the Declaration of Independence proclaimed. While the great Napoleon's necessity of try ing conclusions with England at home in 1803, just as his predecessor had tried conclusions with England in America in 1763, and his necessity of diverting the troops with which he intended to take possession of and defend Louisiana to put down the Santo Domingo re bellion, probably at once precipitated this final 2Thomas M. Cooley, The Acquisition of Louisiana, Indiana Hist. Soc. Pamphlets, no. 3, p. 5. 120 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA surrender of French pretension to America which might have been held in solution yet for some time, still the precipitation would have been only a question of time; and it is not unlikely that there would have been the same evolutionary working out of the question ot slavery and of union, the same tragedy and the same glory. The first view, in short, has the fault of empiricism, of explaining an im portant social phenomenon as an accident instead of a natural evolutionary process. News of the retrocession of Louisiana to France, which reached America about eight months after it had been agreed upon, dis closed the inherent or inevitable opposition to the reinstatement of France. And so Jefferson was moved by fear of such an event to write in July, 1801 :1 "We consider her (Spain's) possession of the adjacent country as most favorable to our interests, and should see with an extreme pain any other country substituted for them." Spain, unlike her then monstrously mili tant neighbor of the same race, was already too inert to be seriously inimical. Madison, Jefferson's secretary of state, wrote, Septem ber 28, 1801, to Livingston, who had just reached France, that the proposed change of neighbors was a matter of "momentous con cern." If allowed, "inquietudes would be excited in the southern states where numerous slaves had been taught to regard the French as patrons of their cause."2 Livingston, who perceived the perplexities of the situation, wrote to Madison several months before the cession that he was persuaded that the whole business would result in the relinquishment of Louisiana to the United States. It was plain, moreover, to astute American statesmen that the reoccupation of Louisiana by the French undid the work of the Seven Years' war and nullified the treaty of 1763. Jefferson's feel ing seemed to grow stronger, and he wrote to Livingston, April 18, 1802, that New Orleans xAt the time (November, 1801) that Jefferson re ceived Talleyrand's explicit denial of retrocession, he received also from Rufus King, American minister at London, the text of the treaty of retrocession dated eight months before. was so important to the United States that whoever held it was for that very reason naturally and forever an enemy, and that the day France took possession of the city the ancient friendship between her and the United States ended and alliance with Great Britain became necessary. Nor were English states men slow to foresee the natural sequence of events. Before the cession had been mooted Lord Whitworth, the British ambassador at Paris, had predicted that America would reap the "first fruits" of the coming French war with England; and Addington, anticipat ing Napoleon's own later reason for the ces sion, told Rufus King that the first step of England on the outbreak of war would be to seize Louisiana. The interesting question as to Napoleon's real reasons for alienating Louisiana from France will perhaps never be settled. Of our late standard historians of the United States Adams gives the question the most thorough consideration ; and while he seriously dam ages, if he does not completely demolish the reasons usually given, he fails to establish others in their place. "Bonaparte had reasons for not returning the colony to Spain; he had reasons, too, for giving it to the United States, — but why did he alienate the territory from France? Fear of England was not the true cause. He had not to learn how to reconquer Louisiana on the Danube and the Po. . . Any attempt (on the part of England) to regain ascend ency by conquering Louisiana would have thrown the United States into the hands of France; and had Bonaparte anticipated such an act he should have helped it. . . Every diplomatic object would have been gained by accepting Jefferson's project of a treaty (for New Orleans alone) and signing it, without the change of a word. . . The real reasons which induced Bonaparte to alienate the ter ritory from France remained hidden in the mysterious processes of his mind. Anger with Spain and Godoy had a share in it, disgust for the sacrifices he had made, and impatience to begin his new campaigns on 2 It is curious to note that while the French republic in 1794, still in its mad career of enfranchisement, had freed the slaves of Santo Domingo, it was now part of Napoleon's purpose in sending troops to that island, instead of employing them to take possession of Louisiana, to again reduce the blacks to slavery. LOUISIANA PURCHASE 121 the Rhine, — possibly a wish to show Talley rand that his policy could never be revived, and that he had no choice but to follow into Germany, — had still more to do with the act.1 McMaster, on the other hand, puts the orthodox, or generally accepted reasons into a nutshell, thus : "New combinations were forming against him (Napoleon) in Europe; all England was loudly demanding that Louisiana should be attacked; and, lest it should be taken from him, he determined to sell it to the United States."2 Somewhat more at length, and willing to credit Jefferson with shrewd foresight, Schouler adopts the same reasons : "The accident for which Jefferson had here allowed was, in truth, the speedy renewal of hostilities between France and England. The treaty of Amiens had been too hastily drawn up, and its adjustment of disputes was too incomplete to be more than a truce between them. . . And thus it came to pass ere Monroe could reach Paris. . . Napoleon after his abrupt fashion bad relinquished, and most reluctantly, his designs upon the Amer ican continent, under the pressure of a speedy war with England, and the necessity of pre venting the United States from making the threatened alliance with his enemy. Forced to surrender the Mississippi, in any event he resolved to put it out of the reach of his im mediate foe, and gain the gratitude of a new and rising power. He needed money, furth- ¦ermore, in aid of his warlike operations."3 Rhodes essays little on this topic beyond •crediting Jefferson with long-headedness : "The possession of the mouth of the Mississippi was a commercial necessity, and Jefferson showed wisdom in promptly seizing the opportunity presented by a fortunate com bination of circumstances to secure the pur chase of this magnificent domain."4 But it is easier and perhaps safer to give over attempting to interpret the motive and design of the arbiter of the Nebraska country, who is likened to deity, and acknowledge that "his ways are past finding out." For a noted Englishman, even, avows that he was "a super natural force" ; that "his genius was su preme" ; that "he raised himself by super human faculties," and "carried human faculty to the farthest point of which we have ac curate knowledge."5 And we find the head of the English army characterizing him as "the greatest soldier and ruler, the greatest human being whom God has ever allowed to govern here below. . . His greatness in peace, his success in war, his wisdom as a ruler, his genius as a commander, all com bine to make him the most remarkable man whom God ever created."6 But while Napoleon's part in this great transaction remains equivocal, or not posi tively to his credit, Jefferson's reputation for great capacity and consummate sagacity in his part has been established by a century's severest scrutiny. From the time of the retro cession of Louisiana by Spain to France in 1800 the position of the United States was diplomatically very delicate if it was not des perate. France had been insolently preying upon our commerce, and Livingston was ob liged to complicate demands for damages on this account with his negotiations for the pur chase of New Orleans. No friendship could be expected from England except as it might be played off against France. In its constant peril of one or the other of these greatest powers, Spain took frequent opportunity to visit the young republic with both insult and injury; and though Napoleon's extremity fur nished our opportunity for the Louisiana acquisition, its original stimulus and initiative came from an imperious demand for free com merce, through the channel of the Mississippi river, by the settlers of the western parts of Kentucky and Tennessee. Before the close of the war of the Revolu tion John Jay, minister to Spain, had in vain negotiated for an acknowledgment of this 1 Adams, History of the United States, vol. 2, pp. -63-65. 2 McMaster, History of the People of the United States, vol. 2, p. 626. 3 Schouler, History of the United States, vol. 2, pp. -50-51. * Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1, pp. 27-28. 5Rosebery, Napoleon, Tbe Last Phase. 6 Field Marshal Viscount Wolsely, in Cosmopolitan for March and April, 1903. 122 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA privilege, which was claimed on good grounds as a natural right by virtue of our claim of ownership of the entire east bank of the river as far as New Orleans, and of succession to the right of free navigation guaranteed to our grantor, Great Britain, by the treaty of 1763. But then, as now, international treaties and international law were made to be violated with impunity as against the weaker party, and the United States was the weaker party. When Jay, for diplomatic reasons, agreed that the disagreeable matter should not be pressed against Spain for twenty-five years, the rest lessness of the Kentucky and Tennessee pio neers broke into riotousness, and preparations were made to set up a separate government, and to send an armed expedition to force the free passage of the river beyond New Orleans. But, crushed in the adversity of the Napo leonic wars, Spain relented in 1795, and guar anteed free passage of the river and a place of deposit for American cargoes at New Orleans for the period of three years. The bold wes terners regarded this agreement as a tempo rary makeshift, and egged President Adams on for a permanent settlement. Even Hamil ton, with many followers, urged the necessity of taking advantage of Spain's helplessness and seizing and holding New Orleans by force ; but Adams held them off. Jefferson's adminis tration inherited this persistent demand for a permanently free Mississippi, and he silenced its insistent clamor by setting on foot the nego tiations for the purchase. Godoy, who in everything save the ultimate power to enforce his policy and rights was a match for Talley rand and Napoleon, had been recalled to power as foreign minister of Spain after she had been persuaded into the retrocession, and he skilfully played every device for delay of the final delivery. Godoy's bold strategy and Touissant's revolution in St. Domingo put off French occupation of Louisiana until, by the spring of 1802, Jefferson's eyes had opened wide on the situation. For "the whole power of the United States could not at that day, even if backed by the navy of England, have driven ten thousand French troops out of Louisiana."1 Morales, the Spanish intendant at New Orleans, had goaded the temper of the free trade westerners to the acute stage by refusing to extend the right of passage and deposit at the end of the three years, as the treaty of 1795 had stipulated; and when resti tution was ordered by Godoy's influence, March 1, 1803, it was too late. The Spanish tariff on trade through the Mississippi, which drove the pioneer western colonists to revolution, and but for the peace ful diplomacy of Jefferson must have involved the forcible conquest of New Orleans, was from 50 to 75 per cent. For the last forty years a tariff tax on western agriculture, equally as high, has been imposed by the forms of law at the port of New Orleans and every other port of the Union, and its most strenuous and ablest opponents have hailed from the same old Kentucky commonwealth. It is interesting to reflect that perhaps the ag gressive courage, brilliancy, and legal acumen of our present day Kentucky free-traders — the Wattersons and Carlisles — are an inheri tance from those pioneer revolutionists against the Spanish tax on trade which was so ap propriately named after Tarifa, a Spanish free booter at the passage of Gibraltar of a still earlier day. And thus the recalcitrant Godoy, playing for time, hoping against hope to free Spain from the shackles of Napoleon, five hundred thousand Santo Domingo negroes frenzied with the passion for personal freedom, and the necessity of the Kentucky and Ten nessee settlers for a free market for their tobacco, flour, bacon, and hams were the Providence of the great Louisiana purchase. While Hamilton's policy for getting New Orleans was to seize first and negotiate after ward, and early in March, 1803, Congress authorized Jefferson to call out eighty thou sand troops, he resolutely kept the key to the situation and continued "to palliate and endure." "They who sought thus to lessen confidence in the president, and to take the Mississippi entanglement out of his discretionary control by cutting the knot, underrated at this crisis iAdatns, History of the United States, vol. 1, p. 421. LOUISIANA PURCHASE 123 the ability of a most consummate and experi enced negotiator ; one with whom, in a matter of foreign diplomacy, Hamilton himself bore no comparison."1 While Adams, in his rigid impartiality, ap parently sees that Jefferson might have been open to the charge of having dallied too long in his passion for peace, in face of the immi nent danger of Napoleon's occupation with an impregnable force, if the outcome had been disastrous or less glorious, yet he is con strained to unqualified recognition of his great diplomatic skill. "With infinite pertinacity Jefferson clung to his own course. . . The essence and genius of his statesmanship lay in peace. . . The consistency of the career became more remark able on account of the seeming inconsistencies of the moment. He was pliant and yielding in manner, but steady as the magnet itself in aim. His maneuvers between the angry west and the arbitrary first consul of France offered an example of his political method. He meant that there should be no war."2 The consciences of republicans evidently suffered a severe gnawing because necessity impelled them to violate their construction of the Constitution to get Louisiana. Jefferson urged an amendment which would grant "an enlargement of power from the nation," rather than by mere construction to "make our powers (including treaty powers) boundless," and the Constitution "blank paper." But Jefferson was no less consistent and certainly more logical than his fellow republicans in the House and the Senate. Although it may be "hard to see how any president could have been more federalist than Jefferson himself," confronted by this imperious necessity of acting outside the acknowledged narrow limits of the written Constitution which theoretically restrained him, yet he frankly confessed that he was tech nically wrong, but as frankly avowed that he should "acquiesce with satisfaction, confiding that the good sense of our country will correct the evil of construction when it shall produce ill effects." Breckinridge and Nicholas, on the other hand, the one author of the Kentucky, and the other ardent supporter of the Virginia resolutions, now began to see implied powers in the Constitution which would amply sup port the present purpose. John Quincy Adams, representing the younger and more moderate federalists, like Jefferson, desired the acquisition, but like him also thought a constitutional amendment necessary and, co operating with the administration, like Jeffer son, offered an amendment for the purpose. Contrary to somewhat authoritative assertion, the ground of Jefferson's constitutional objec tion included that of the acquirement of territory as well as the right, which was involved in the treaty, of adding this territory, acquired since the formation of the Constitu tion, as states to the Union.3 The extreme federalists, such as Pickering of Massachusetts and Griswold of Connecticut, in a fit of capricious, obstructionist partisan temper, insisted that the treaty was absolutely unconstitutional and void, their chief conten tion being that it involved the admission of this new territory as a state in the Union which could not be done without the consent of all the other states, since the Constitution applied in this sense only to the territory comprised within the United States when it was adopted. "Nothing so fully illustrates the low state to which the once prosperous Federalists were fallen as the turbulent and factious opposition they now made to the acquisition of Louis iana." But "the mass of the people pro nounced the purchase a bargain,"4 and Jeffer son knew that he was safe in their hands. "He would accept the treaty, summon Congress, urge the House and Senate to perfect the purchase, and trust to the Constitution being mended so as to make the purchase legal."5 He called Congress in special session in October; the Senate almost unanimously rati- 1 Schouler, History of the United States, vol. 2, p. 47.2 Adams, History of the United States, vol. 1, pp. 434, 445. SA leading newspaper of the metropolitan class dis puted the statement in ex-President Cleveland's ad dress at the opening of the Louisiana Purchase Ex position at St. Louis in 1903, that Jefferson _ believed the acquirement of the territory was unconstitutional. 4 McMaster, History of the People of the United States, vol. 2, p. 630. 6 Ibid., p. 628. 124 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA fied the treaty, and a bill to carry it into effect was passed with only five votes against it in the Senate, and twenty-five federalists voted against it in the House, seventeen of whom were from New England. Nothing more was heard of "mending the Constitution." Neither Jefferson or Breckinridge, republicans, nor Adams or Pickering, federalists, could then discern that out of the same revolution which had produced only our rigid written Consti tution, hobbled by Hamiltonian "checks and balances," the seeds of a British polity were already growing whose full fruitage was soon to be a constitution made to the order of public opinion directly by the supreme popular house of parliament. In the new-born spirit of devo tion to an impracticable literal construction of a word-bound constitution, Jefferson was bit terly assailed for violating it; and he has not wholly escaped the assaults of our contem porary publicists : "Mr. Jefferson struck a dangerous blow at the foundation principles of the government, and offered to demagogues who should come after him a corrupting and dangerous precedent, when he proposed to violate the Constitution in order to accom plish an object of immediate desire."1 The singular error of this eminent exposi tor of constitutions in saying that, "the pur chase, according to the federal view of the Constitution was perfectly legitimate,"2 is sufficiently illustrated by the foregoing brief showing of the attitude of contemporary federal leaders. In brief, this process of immediate constitution-making at the right eous dictate of the public welfare and opinion — though sometimes most unrighteous, and against the one and in spite of the other — which Jefferson, the strict constructionist, began, and which all shades of construction ists have continued to the present day, serves chiefly to illustrate the misconception and the vanity of the painful hair-splitting of "the fathers" as to the constitutionality of the great Purchase. While of necessity we make oui constitution as we go, as the work is done in England, according to the order of public opinion, we are hampered, morally and other wise, by being cut off from that easy and natural test of appeal to the public which, un der the responsible cabinet system, our British brethren enjoy. Under a like system of gov ernment by discussion we are forced as well as we may to make British bricks without the British straw. All the constitutional questions and speculations raised in the transaction of this momentous business were left to be con troverted from time to time during the various phases of the coming struggle over African slavery, and to be revamped and become fa miliar to our own ears a century later under the Philippine question, and the present ques tion of the constitutional treaty-making power to enact "reciprocity" without the consent of the House of Representatives — all old yet ever new. But it was decided beyond controversy and without dissent that the government might constitutionally acquire territory, though ' its constitutional status after acquisition is even yet unsettled. The acquisition was popular on the whole from various motives, chiefly of self-interest. The omnipresent slavery question, though only in a negative and defensive form, affected, if it did not determine, the attitude of the South. Slave-holders would gladly be rid of this French next neighbor whose inculcation of a bias for freedom in the West Indies had broken out in the fearful negro revolution of Santo Domingo. The extreme West, as we have seen, would dispossess the French to insure free travel and trade along the natural and only commercial highway. New England, as usual, at least in those provincial days, was both bigoted and selfish. Pier strong religious scruple against having "infidel France" per petually at our doors was overbalanced in some degree by jealousy of the expansion of the West, as she feared at her own loss in power and population.3 In this spirit a Massachu setts politician said: "I consider Louisiana the grave of the Union." Elbridge Gerry animadverted on the danger to the country — that is to the East — to be apprehended from 1 Cooley, The Acquisition of Indiana, Indiana Hist. Pamphlets, no. 3, p. 17. 2 Ibid. 8 The Nation, December 12, 1889, vol. 49, p. 482. LOUISIANA PURCHASE 125 the creation of new states in the West. Even so great a political figure as Gouverneur Mor ris could contract his vision to this : "Among other objections they (new west ern states) would not be able to furnish men equally enlightened to share in the adminis tration of our common interests. The busy haunts of men, not the remote wilderness, is the proper school of political talents. If the western people get the power in their hands they will ruin the Atlantic interests."1 And we wonder if these far-seeing New England statesmen are not at this moment turning in their graves at the spectacle of the commanding personages in the federal Con gress and two members of the federal cabinet, all from a single state2 of this "remote wilder ness" of the Louisiana Purchase. New England's opposition to the Louisiana Purchase and other manifestations of her ear lier temper show how lightly the value of the federal union was held, and were precursors and stimulants of the Civil war. The speech of Josiah Quincy, Jr., of Massachusetts, in the House of Representatives, in 181 1, oppos ing the admission of Louisiana as a state on these familiar New England grounds, might well have furnished the very text for the nullification convention of 1832 or of tHe secession resolutions of 1860-61. As Louisiana, in the inevitable order of Providence, was annexed, so it has developed into a family of imperial food-producing states. "A vast, unexplored, almost illimitable em pire was ours; perpetual immunity from dangerous neighbors; sole possession of this river of rivers, with all its tributaries; a sure dominating influence in the affairs of the North American continent; national oppor tunities for the future almost depressing in their sublimity."3 What wonder that even Jefferson almost feared that it might not stop — not east of the Pacific or north of the isthmus; and that, not foreseeing the cleavage of the slavery question between the North and South, he feared division along the Mississippi. 2See speech of Daniel E. Dickinson, vol. 15, Cong. Globe, p. 416. 2 Iowa. The limits of Louisiana were defined in this momentous transfer with less care than we now give to the conveyance of an ordinary town lot or a forty acre tract within the Pur chase. Both Napoleon and Talleyrand had either some malign subjective design or some undisclosed objective purpose in keeping the boundaries ill-defined; and the southeast and southwest bounds were not settled until the treaty with Spain and Great Britain in 1819, when the claim of the United States to Oregon, which included the present state of that name and Washington and part of Idaho, was also recognized. When at the time of the nego tiations the American representatives urged the need of a more definite boundary, Napoleon treated the suggestion lightly if not scorn fully, remarking that the very indefiniteness was so much the better for us, implying, Napoleon-like, that, being the stronger party, it would leave us a good opportunity to get the better of Spain in the final settlement. Decres, the French minister of marine, had undertaken to fix the boundary for the retro cession from Spain. He said that it was well determined on the south by the Gulf of Mexico; "but, bounded on the west by the river called Rio Bravo (Rio Grande) from its mouth to about the 30th parallel, the line of demarkation stops after reaching this point, and there seems never to have been any agree ment in regard to this part of the frontier. The farther we go northward the more unde cided is the boundary period. This part of America contains little more than uninhabited forests or Indian tribes, and the necessity of fixing the boundary has never yet been felt there. There also exists none between Louis iana and Canada." The eastern boundary was more definite, and Decres fixed it by the terms of the treaty of 1763 : "It is agreed that in future the boundaries between the States of His Most Christian Majesty and those of His Britannic Majesty shall be irrevocably fixed by a line drawn down the Mississippi river from its source to the river Iberville, and from there by a line down the middle of that river 3 Schouler, History of the United States, vol. 2, p. 53. 126 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA and of the lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the sea. New Orleans and the Island shall belong to France." The western boundary was described in the treaty of 1819 with Spain as follows : "The boundary line between the two countries, west of the Mississippi, shall begin on the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the river Sabine, in the sea, continuing north along the western bank of that river to the 32d degree of latitude; thence by a line due north to the degree of latitude where it strikes the Rio Roxo, of Natchitoches, or Red river ; then following the course of the Rio Roxo westward to the degree of longtitude 100 west from London and 23 from Washington ; then crossing the said Red River and running thence by a line due north to the river Arkan sas ; thence following the course of the south ern bank of the Arkansas to its source in lati tude 42 north ; and thence by that parallel of latitude to the South Sea" (Pacific Ocean). In the year 1899 a conference of experts was appointed at the request of the census office to make a special study of disputed questions in relation to the boundaries of the western ter ritory acquired by the United States. This conference made its report April 5, 1900, and its conclusions in regard to the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase follow : "1. The region between the Mississippi river and lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the west, and the Perdido river to the east, should not be assigned either to the Louisiana Pur chase or to the Florida Purchase, but marked with a legend indicating that title to it between 1803 and 1819 was in dispute. "2. The line between the Mississippi river and the Lake of the Woods, separating the territory of the United States prior to 1803 from the Louisiana Purchase, should be drawn from the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods to the nearest point on the Mississippi river in Lake Bemidji. "3. The western boundary of the Louisiana Purchase between 49 ° and 42 ° north followed the watershed of the Rocky mountains ; thence it ran east along the parallel of 42° north to a point due north of the source of the Arkansas river, and thence south to that source." The conference found further, "That the territory of Louisiana, as de scribed by France and granted to Crozat by 1 Census Bulletin, no. 74, July 23, 1901. Louis XIV., extended on the east to the river Mobile, which, with the port, was ceded specifically by France to England by the treaty of Paris in 1763, Spain at the same time ceding the Floridas to Great Britain, with St. Augus tine and the bay of Pensacola — thus, inferen- tially at least, determining the respective boundaries of Louisiana and West Florida; that the first occupation of the interior of the territory between the rivers Mississippi and Perdido by the Spaniards, was during the War of the American Revelution, when it belonged to Great Britain ; that Great Britain retroceded the Floridas to Spain in 1783, at which time the Louisiana territory belonged to Spain by the French cession in the preliminaries of peace of 1762 (confirmed 1763), whereby 'all the country known under the name of Louisiana' was transferred; that Spain in 1800 retro- ceded Louisiana to France as it was received from France in 1763 ; that France in 1803 ceded the territory of Louisiana to the United States, as discovered and held by France, ceded to Spain, and retroceded to France; and, finally, that in 1819 Spain ceded to the United States all the territory held or claimed by His Catholic Majesty under the names of East and West Florida. In addition to the grounds of dispute between France and Spain, and the United States and Spain, here shown, there was a conflicting claim concerning the extent of West Florida, born of the contention be tween French and Spanish discoverers and settlers in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen turies; and there was also the claim of the French, by right of La Salle's descent of the Mississippi in 1682, to 'all the country drained by that river.' "With reference to the Louisiana boundary, there remained but one point of difference between the maps under consideration. Ar ticle II of the definitive treaty of peace in 1783, between the United States and Great Britain, after defining the northern boundary to the Lake of the Woods, continues as follows: '. . . Thence through the said lake to the most northwestern point thereof, and from thence on a due west course to the river Mis sissippi.' Such a line as that described being obviously impossible, the Mississippi river being south not west of the Lake of the Woods, the line drawn by the conference was a line from the most northwestern point of that lake to the nearest point on the Mississippi. This line the conference regarded as justified by rules of international law and practice re specting vaguely described boundaries in such topographical circumstances."1 LOUISIANA PURCHASE 127 The temporary act of October 31, 1803, for taking formal political possession of the new territory continued the form of the Spanish government, merely substituting Jefferson for the king, and subordinate officers of his ap pointment for the king's officers. The act of March 26, 1804, divided the territory on the 33d parallel — the present line between Louis iana and Arkansas — and provided for a gov ernment for the lower division, or "territory of Orleans," by a governor and secretary, judi cial officers and a so-called legislative council of thirteen, all appointed by the president. There was much clamor against the arbitrary character of this government in which the people had no voice at all, but this form was modeled upon that of the ordinance of 1787, under which the whole northwest territory and then the individual territories, such as Indiana and Michigan, as they were successively carved out of it, were governed. It was known as government by "the governor and judges," and under it all executive and legislative power was vested in a governor and three judges appointed by the president. These officers might adopt such laws of other states as were applicable to the territory. "The whole gov ernment thus originated in Washington and centered there, and was neither derived from the people governed nor responsible to them."1 While this government, in form at least, was obviously arbitrary and unrepublican, yet its temporary necessity, until there should be people enough to form a popular government or render it practicable, was alike obvious ; and the republican principle was saved by pro viding for a legislative assembly as soon as there should be five thousand free male per sons of full age in the territory to elect its members. This assembly would submit names of ten persons to the governor from whom he should select five for a legislative council or upper house; though the governor had abso lute veto power over legislation — "the source of unseen harm still inhering in the institutions of Ohio."2 The upper division, called the "district of Louisiana," was attached to the territory of 1 Cooley, History of Michigan, p. 146. Indiana for governmental purposes. Thus, with the exception that the legislative authority in the territory of Orleans was broadened into the council of thirteen appointed exclusively by the president, the whole territory started under the same government as that under which the territory of Ohio had started. If the people of Ohio were fewer in number and so scattered that their participation in govern ing was impracticable, while those of Orleans were more compactly settled, yet the former were largely Americans, "to the manner born,'' while as to the latter it was frankly insisted that "the principles of civil liberty can not suddenly be engrafted on a people accustomed to a regimen of a directly opposite line," and who by prejudices of race were largely hostile to the new government. In both instances ¦ wise expediency amounting to temporary ne cessity prevailed. True, the principles of the government of the northwest territory which, as we have seen, were applied to Louisiana, were adopted under the cooperative leadership of Washington and Adams, and Jefferson and Madison, before they and their followers had divided on Federalist and Republican party lines. And the defense of the principle by some of the republicans on the ground that Congress had absolute power over the ter ritories — that "the limitations of power found in the Constitution are applicable to states and not to territories" — was inconsistent with the spirit, at least, of the strict constructionist principles which in its youthful ardor the new Republican party was just then promulgating with such enthusiasm. This incongruity was illustrated when Marshall, the great federalist chief justice, validated this principle of the extra-constitutional power of Congress as ap plied to Florida. It was left to Chief Justice Taney, thirty years after, somewhat under the spur of the later developed slave interests, to bring the belated Marshallized constitution back again into consistency with Jeffersonian principles. But though some of Jefferson's followers, like Breckinridge and Rodney, lost their heads and professed a false faith, and though Jeffer- 2 King, Historv of Ohio (Commonwealth Series), p. 183. 128 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA son himself, in the temporary government as in the purchase, found it necessary to techni cally burst some impracticable bonds of a written constitution, yet both Jefferson and his party were in the long run absolutely true to their republican faith in their policy of giving republican government to all territories and of admitting them as states in the Union under republican constitutions of their own making at the earliest practicable moment. In his general republican aim touching the new territory Jefferson was, as the sequel shows, "steady as the magnet itself." On the 30th of November the Spanish au thorities formally and, we may well believe, most reluctantly, turned over Louisiana to Laussat, the French prefect at New Orleans, and on December 20 following possession was in turn given to General James Wilkinson and Governor Claiborne of Mississippi, who were authorized to receive it on the part of the United States. When the French flag, which was floating in the square, was hauled down and the American flag hoisted to its place, it is related that the few Americans present at the momentous ceremony cheered, but that not a few of the Frenchmen shed tears. On the 9th of March, 1804, a detach ment of American troops crossed the river from Cahokia to the village of St. Louis, and Don Carlos Dehault Delassus delivered upper Louisiana to Captain Amos Stoddard, of the United States army, who was authorized to receive it on behalf of France. The next day he turned it over to himself representing the United States, thus ending thirty-eight years of Spanish rule. On the 26th of the same month President Jefferson approved the act of Congress dividing the territory and placing the upper division, the "district of Louisiana," under the government of Indiana territory. That government was embodied in Governor William Henry Harrison, afterward president of the United States, and three judges — Wil liam Clark, Henry Vanderburgh, and John Griffin. The secretary was John Gibson. These men had organized the first government of Indiana, July 4, 1800. In a very 'broad sense, therefore, both territorially and politi cally speaking, William Henry Harrison— "Old Tippecanoe" — was the first governor of Nebraska, and the first capital was Vincennes. Governor Harrison relieved Captain Stoddard, who had been "king for a day" with the powers and prerogatives of a Spanish lieutenant- governor.1 By act of Congress the laws of the district of Louisiana were to remain in force until they were altered, modified, or replaced by the governor and judges of Indiana territory. On the ist of October the governor and judges promulgated six laws for Louisiana territory;2 but these did not affect Indiana,. and no law of Indiana extended over Louis iana. The most important of these six laws applied to slavery, and many of its provisions remained in force as long as slavery existed in Missouri. The French settlers had carried slavery with them to St. Louis, and slaves were actually held at this time in Indiana under the quasi-protection of the law; and Harrison, the first governor over "the Ne braska country," was himself a slave-holder. The people of the new territory stoutly rebelled against the arbitrary absentee gov ernment, and they again gave cry to the "no taxation without representation" shibboleth whose revolutionary echoes had scarcely died away. We have already seen that the slavery ques tion faintly shadowed the Louisiana Purchase from the first. Now one of the chief objec tions to the absentee government was based on the fear that the extension of the abolition ordinance of 1787 over Louisiana might be a preliminary to the abolition of slavery there. It was insisted that re-union of the whole ter ritory under a single government would be more convenient than the Indiana annexation, and that the separation from the territory of Orleans might afford the pretext to "prolong our state of political tutelage." At the same time that these people of upper Louisiana were insisting on being detached from Indiana the 1Carr, History of Missouri (Commonwealth Se ries), pp. 81, 82. 2 See Revised Laws of Louisiana Territory, 1808. LOUISIANA PURCHASE 129 people of western Indiana were petitioning Congress to have that territory attached to Louisiana, as they believed their slave property would be safer under such an arrangement.1 These grievances were formulated in a pe tition prepared and adopted by a convention held at St. Louis, September 4, 1804, and which was received by the Senate December 31. Congress gave prompt ear to the remon strance, and March 3, 1805, a law was passed to take effect July 4, erecting the territory of Louisiana under a separate government, but the same in form as that of Indiana, legislative power being vested in a governor and three judges appointed by the president, "who shall have power to establish inferior courts in the said territory and prescribe their jurisdiction and duties and to make all laws which they may deem conducive to the good government of the inhabitants thereof."2 The act contained a provision in the nature of a bill of rights guaranteeing to the people of the territory right of jury trial in civil and criminal cases and immunity from religious disability, and prohibiting the passage of laws inconsistent with the Constitution. The first governor of the new territory was General James Wilkinson who had been a leader in the agitation for forcibly clearing the Mississippi of Spanish obstruction. He went to Kentucky as a merchant in 1784, and appeared in New Orleans as a trader in 1787. In 1807 Aaron Burr was tried for treasonable conspiracy to break up the federal union, and a few years later Wilkinson was also tried as an accessory. Though both escaped convic tion, yet the bad character of both was es tablished. J. B. C. Lucas, a French Penn- sylvanian, was appointed chief justice, and Dr. Joseph Browne, of New York, a brother-in-. law of Burr's, was appointed secretary. Captain Lewis, who had returned from the Lewis and Clark expedition in September, 1Ch. 8, Dunn's History of Indiana. 2 Annals of 8th Cong., 2d Ses., p. 1684. 'General Benjamin Howard, who was a member of Congress from the Lexington , Kentucky, district, was nominated by President Madison, April 17, 1810, for governor of Upper Louisiana to succeed Meriwether Lewis, deceased. He arrived in St. Louis and as sumed the duties of the office September 17, 1810. _ In 1812 he resigned to accept an appointment as briga- 1806, was appointed governor in place of Wil kinson in the spring of 1807. He encountered great disorder on account of disputes over land titles and the hostility of Creoles to American rule. Spain had continued in possession of Louisiana after the treaty of retrocession to France in 1800 till the time of American oc cupancy, and the act of March 26, 1804, pro vided that all grants of land made by Spain during this time were void. In 1808, Pierre Chouteau, under the instructions of Governor Lewis, concluded a treaty with the Osage Indians for the cession of forty-eight million acres of land extending from Ft. Clark, thirty- five miles below the mouth of Kansas river, due south to the Arkansas and along that river to the Mississippi. The Sacs and Foxes sold three million acres in 1804. In 1803 this tribe and the Iowas, their allies, claimed all the state of Missouri, as well as the northwest quarter of Illinois and part of southern Wis consin. The treaty of Portage des Sioux, a village on the west side of the Mississippi, a few miles above the mouth of the Missouri, put an end to the Indian wars in the territory, but on the part of the Indians there was the familiar bitter complaint of dark ways and vain tricks pursued by the white negotiators. Howard3 succeeded Lewis as governor in 1810. By the census of 1810 the population of the territory was twenty thousand, and settlements had been pushed along a strip from fifteen to twenty miles wide from the Arkansas river to a point not far above the mouth of the Missouri,4 and had already necessitated the treaties with the Indians. By the act of June 4, 1812, which was to take effect December 12, the territory of Louisiana became the territory of Missouri, and its gov ernment was advanced to the second grade, after the fashion of the second grade terri tories of the northwest territory. The act provided for a governor appointed by the dier-general in the United States army, for the war of 1812. Governor Howard was married February 14, 1811, to Miss Mary T. Mason, who died at Lexington, Kentucky, March 21, 1813, leaving no children. Gen eral Howard died in St. Louis, September 18, 1814, and there he was buried. ^ McMaster, History of the People of the United States, vol. 4, pp. 570-71. 130 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA president, a house of representatives elected by the people, and a legislative council of nine members appointed by the president from a list of eighteen persons furnished by the house of representatives — a somewhat more than half-way republican form of government. Governor Howard divided its settled portion into five counties by proclamation, and then for some months the secretary of the territory, Frederick Bates,1 acted as governor until Wil liam Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedi tion, was appointed in 1813. He held the office until Missouri became a state in 1821, and after this he was superintendent of Indian affairs until his death. He seems to have been even more skilful and a better selection than his famous companion for the main function of these officers, which was to get hold of the lands of the Indians; and through his nego tiations, by 1825, the Sacs and Foxes, the Osages and the Kickapoos had relinquished all their domains within the state of Missouri. All the part of the original territory between latitude 33° and 36° 30', that is, between the south line of Missouri and the north line of Louisiana, and extending west to the Mexican line, about five hundred and fifty miles, was included in Arkansas territory by the act of March 2, 1819. From the time of the admis sion of Missouri as a state in 1821 until 1834 all the remaining part of the territory was left without any government whatever. By the 1 Frederick Bates was born in Belmont, Virginia June 23, 1777, of Quaker parents, but his father was excommunicated from the church for bearing arms in the Revolutionary war. In 1797 Frederick Bates went to Detroit, Michigan, where he was for a time engaged in business and later was postmaster and then receiver of public moneys until 1805. In 1806 he removed to St. Louis and became the first recorder of the board of land commissioners. He was appointed secretary of the territory, May 7, 1807, to succeed Joseph Browne, and held the office for thirteen years under successive governors, until the formation of the state government act of Congress of June 30, 1834, "All that part of the United States west of the Missis sippi river and not within the states of Mis souri and Louisiana or the territory of Arkansas, and also that part of the United States east of the Mississippi river, and not within any state to which the Indian title has not been extinguished, for the purposes oi this act, shall be taken and deemed to be Indian country." The object of this act was to define and regulate the relations of the United States with the Indians of the territory in question, and jurisdiction of questions aris ing under it in all the territory south of the north line of the Osage Indian lands was vested in the courts of Arkansas, and of all the territory north of this line and west of the Mississippi in the courts of Missouri.2 The act provided for a superintendent of Indian affairs for all the Indian country who resided at St. Louis, and his salary was $1,500 a year. He was provided with two agents.5 By the act of June 28, 1834, that part of the territory east of the Missouri and White Earth rivers and north of the state of Missouri was "for purposes of temporary government attached to and made a part of Michigan."4 That part of the territory west of the Missouri river, which included present Nebraska, was left without government or political organization until the passage of the famous Kansas- Nebraska bill in 1854. in 1821. During much of this time he was acting governor and also recorder of land titles. He com piled the territorial laws published in 1808, the first book printed west of the Mississippi river. In 1824 he was elected the second governor of the state, but died August 2, 1825, on his farm near St. Louis, at the age of forty-eight years. He was married March 4, 1819, to Miss Nancy Ball of St. Louis county. 2 United States Statutes at Large, vol. 4, p. 729. 8 Ibid., p. 735. 4Ibid., p. 701. MISSOURI COMPROMISE 131 CHAPTER V the Missouri compromise — the second compromise — Stephen a. douglas — the Rich ardson BILL — THE DODGE BILL THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL — PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT — DIVISION OF NEBRASKA — IOWA DOMINANCE — ESTIMATE OF DOUGLAS PROPOSED BOUNDARIES ^T^HE first direct contest over the slavery -*- question took place when John Taylor of New York, February 17, 1819, moved to amend the bill for the territorial organization of Arkansas by the same anti-slavery provi sion which Tallmadge sought to incorporate into the enabling act for the admission of Mis souri as a state. It provided that no more slaves should be introduced into the territory, and that all children born after admission should be free, though they might be held to service until the age of twenty-five years. But the status of slavery was fixed on the east in Mississippi and on the south in Louisiana at the time of the purchase, and the argument that Arkansas was naturally and by original right slave territory easily prevailed. But the proposal at the same time to admit Missouri as a state started the fierce controversy over the slavery question, which to leading states men even then seemed destined to end in dis ruption of the Union, and war, and which were postponed merely by the three great com promises — the last being the Nebraska bill. Missouri became the storm center, partially because it was further north, and therefore less logically or naturally slave territory than Arkansas, and partially because the proposed dedication of the state to slavery by consti tutional provision would be final. The lower house of the ist Congress re solved, after thorough debate, that Congress had no power to interfere with slavery in the states, and the North faithfully adhered to this decision.1 The prompt and almost unani mous passage of the act prohibiting the impor tation of slaves after January 1, 1808, the time 'Annals of Congress, vol. 2, p. 1473. 2 Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1, p. 29. when the constitutional limitation would expire, seemed to end the slavery question, and "the abolition societies which existed in all of the states as far south as Virginia died out; it seemed as if their occupation was gone."2 There was a growing conviction that slav ery was in a decline,3 and Jefferson and Madi son proposed and hoped to colonize the slaves of Virginia in Sierra Leone. But when the Missouri question came up, the cotton gin and the fugitive slave law — brought forth in the same year — had been at work, gradually changing commercial conditions and moral attitudes, for twenty-five years. From the time of the invention of the cot ton gin till slavery agitation culminated in secession in i860 the production of cotton increased a thousand fold. In i860 its total product was twelve times that of sugar and thirty-five times that of rice ; and to the rais ing of cotton it was believed that slave labor was indispensable. "Cotton fostered slavery; slavery was the cause of the war between the states. That slavery is a blessing and cotton is king were associated ideas with which the southern mind was imbued before the war. On the floor of the Senate it was declared that cotton had vanquished all powers, and that its supremacy could no longer be doubted."4 Thus the slavery issue was as selfishly sec tional and commercial as the tariff issue, which precipitated nullification in 1832 and has kept the country in a state of sectional embroilment ever since. Previous to the war political pol icies were controlled by the Northeast and the South. The Northeast was adapted to manu- sSchouler, History of the United States, vol. 2, p. 66. * Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1, p. 27. 132 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA facturing, for which slave labor was unfit, and so the Northeast eschewed slavery and chose a tariff subsidy instead. The South believed that it could only raise the raw material for which slave labor was essential, and so refused to pay New England's tariff subsidy, and clung to slavery. The same immoral principle in kind was involved in both policies, but it differed in degree, and to the disadvantage of the South ; and on this point the Northwest, holding the balance of power, sided with the Northeast, and the South was loser. It was insisted also that the growth of slavery was inherently essential to its life and, in turn, demanded its territorial expansion. To fur ther this end, in the Missouri controversy Clay contended that this spreading policy was philanthropic and would mitigate the evils of crowded confinement within the old states, and Jefferson, in his anxiety to ameliorate the condition of the slaves, since he now despaired of the practicability of abolishing slavery, lent his approval to this theory of dilution.1 In 1820 Missouri had a free population of fifty-six thousand and ten thousand slaves. In those days at least no odium of being dedi cated to commercialism attached to New York, for she furnished the leaders in this first great anti-slavery battle — Tallmadge and Taylor in the House and Rufus King in the Senate. To illustrate so momentous an event possibly Schouler's partial rhetoric is not too highly colored. Referring to Tallmadge's advocacy of the restriction amendment to the Missouri enabling act, which he had offered, the histo rian says : "His torch kindled this great conflagration. A young man of seemingly frail health, but of burning eloquence and seemingly deep con viction, his national service was limited to a single term . . . for he declined a reelec tion. His crowded hour here was one of glorious life ; he blew one loud, shivering blast and then passed out to be heard no more."2 But this panegyric is faulty in its implica tion that the North was the aggressor in the Missouri struggle ; and the contrary contention has been urged by the highest authority : "In that section (the North) the status of slavery had long been regarded as settled. No one supposed for a moment that another slave state would ever be added to the Union."3 "The Missouri compromise was a southern measure. Its passage was considered at the time as in the interests of the South, for it gained imme diately a slave state in Missouri, and by impli cation another in Arkansas, while the settle ment of the northern portion of the territory was looked upon as remote."4 On the other hand, as late as 1836, John Quincy Adams, a stout and consistent oppo nent of the expansion of slavery, in advocating the admission of Arkansas as a slave state, quoted the Louisiana treaty, which provided that the inhabitants were to be "incorporated in the Union and admitted as soon as possible to enjoy all the rights, advantages, and immu nities of the United States." And he held that, "As congress have not the power to abolish slavery in the original statei of the Union, they are equally destitute of power in those parts of the territories ceded by France to the United States by the name of Louisiana, where slavery existed at the time of the acqui sition." And Mr. Adams also said that he had favored the admission of Missouri on this ground, though he also favored the restriction of the compromise as to the rest of the territory. But there is no doubt that the conflict which began over the Missouri question was irre pressible, and a few statesmen at least so interpreted and feared it. From Jefferson in his retirement at Monticello came the cry that it was "the knell of the Union"; and Clay lamented that "the words civil war and dis union are uttered almost without emotion." It was in the very nature of things that the North should stand against the aggressive expansion spirit of the South; and now that the northern obstructionists had outgrown the determined propagators of slavery, outnum- 103 'Writings of Jefferson, vol. 10, p. 158. "Schouler, History of the United States, vol. 3, p. 3 McMaster, History of the People of the United States, vol. 4, p. 576. 4Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1, p. 37. SECOND COMPROMISE 133 bering them in the House of Representatives by twenty-nine members, the obstruction was the more exasperating. Tallmadge's amend ment passed the House by eighty-seven to seventy-six, notwithstanding the great ad verse influence of Clay who was then speaker ; but it was lost in the Senate, and the bill for the time was dead. The bill for admitting Missouri as a slave state was passed March 6, 1820. The three points of the compro mise were as follows: (1) The Senate should consent to the division of the bill for the admission of both Maine and Missouri; (2) the House should yield on the restriction of slavery in Missouri; (3) both houses should consent to the admission of Missouri with slavery, but forever restrict it from all the Louisiana territory north of the parallel 36° 30' — the extension of the southern boundary of Missouri. John Randolph dubbed the fif teen northern members who voted against the restriction of slavery in Missouri "dough faces," and the epithet stuck to them and their kind till the death of the slavery question. Every member of Monroe's cabinet answered yes to his question whether Congress had the constitutional power to prohibit slavery in the territories. John Quincy Adams thought that this power extended to statehood as well, while Crawford, Calhoun, and Wirt thought it was limited to the territorial status alone. This difference was portentous of trouble to come. The constitution offered by Missouri for bade the state legislature to interfere with slavery, and required it to pass laws prohibit ing free colored people from settling in the state. The anti-slavery element in the House was of course opposed to these provisions, and it seemed as if the whole question would be reopened. But in 1821 Clay succeeded in smoothing over the difficulty by a stipulation that the Missouri legislature assent to a con dition that the exclusion clause of the consti tution should never be construed to authorize the passage of any law, and that no law should ever be passed, by which a citizen of any state should be deprived of any privileges and immunities to which he was entitled under the Constitution of the United States. The legislature coupled to its assent to this funda mental condition the ungracious declaration that it was an invalid requirement and not binding upon the state. But the restive terri tory at last came into the Union by the proclamation of the president, August 10, 1821. The second great slavery compromise took place in 1850, and the controversy which it temporarily settled arose directly out of the question of territorial organization for New Mexico and Utah. This portion of the coun try had been acquired by the Mexican war and therefore was outside of the Louisiana Purchase, and so appertains to our subject only as it leads up directly to the Nebraska bill. The first contest over the expansion of our territory arose out of the determination of the pro-slavery element to annex Texas. Webster and Clay, the great Whig leaders, and the Van Buren element of the Democracy were opposed to annexation. Van Buren lost renomination for the presidency through his opposition, and Clay, alarmed at the power and determination of the South, lost the election to Polk by retreating from his positive ground and attempting to get on both sides. The annexation of Texas was chiefly due to Calhoun, Tyler's secretary of state, and he boldly advocated it on the ground that it was necessary to the preservation of sla very.1 Under Polk the Democratic party, for the first time, was in the hands of the south ern element and committed to the now aggres sive policy of slavery extension, and under this policy war with Mexico was deliberately provoked, and the annexation of the vast territory between the Louisiana purchase and the Pacific ocean brought about. The great northern leaders opposed this acquisition — or "robbery of a realm," as Channing put it. Webster based his opposition ostensibly on the general principle of non-expansion. In a speech before the Whig state convention at Boston, September 29, 1847, he denounced the war as unnecessary and therefore unjus tifiable.2 1 Cox, Three Decades of Federal Legislation, p. 46. 2Niles's Register, vol. 73, p. 104. 134 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA "I should deprecate any great extension of our domains. ... I think that thus far we have a sort of identity and similarity of character that holds us together pretty well. . . . I do not know how we can preserve that feeling of common country if we extend it to California. ... I say at once that unless the president of the United States shall make out a case that the war is not prosecuted for the purpose of acquisition of dominion, for no purpose not connected directly with the safety of the union, then they (the whig house of representatives) ought not to grant any further supplies."1 To what a truly "little American" must such sentiments reduce the "god-like Web ster" in the eyes of the present-day expan sionist! But slavery extension was firmly in the saddle, and only to be unhorsed by the shock of war. Calhoun boldly brushed aside his assent in Monroe's cabinet to the consti tutionality and binding force of the restric tion of slavery in the territories by the Missouri compromise, which the tell-tale diary of John Quincy Adams has disclosed, and insisted that as soon as the treaty with Mexico was ratified the sovereignty of Mexico became extinct and that of the United States was substituted, "carrying with it the Consti tution with its overriding control over all the laws and institutions of Mexico inconsistent with it."2 The continuation of slavery in Arkansas and Missouri had been defended on constitutional ground because it existed there under Spanish and French law at the time of the cession. By parity of reasoning, there fore, slavery should not be extended into the newly acquired Mexican territory because it had been formally abolished throughout the Mexican domains by the Mexican govern ment. But with Calhoun necessity was a prolific mother of invention. Webster in his speech on the admission of Oregon as a free state, August 12, 1848, reminded the South that already five slave states had been admitted from territory not contemplated when the Constitution was formed, and since slave labor and free labor could not exist together the inequality would be on the side of the North in northern terri tory. He pointed out, in opposition to Cal houn's sweeping doctrine, that slavery rested on purely local law and was against natural law. Under the Roman law and the law of all mankind a person was presumed to be free till it was proven that he was a slave. But his most important proposition was this: "Congress has full power over the subject. It may establish any such government, and any such laws in the territories as in its dis cretion it may see fit. It is subject of course to the rules of justice and propriety; but it is under no constitutional restraints."3 Calhoun, who, when the question of the territorial organization of New Mexico and Utah arose, had come to be representative of the South, demanded equal rights for slavery in the newly acquired territory, actual return of fugitive slaves, and that agitation of the slave question should cease. The New Mexico and Utah bill was a compromise with the first demand in providing that when these terri tories came to be admitted as states they should come in with or without slavery as their constitutions might prescribe; it yielded to the second demand by greatly strengthen ing the fugitive slave law ; and as to the third demand — that was beyond the power or reach of any human agency. The compromise of 1850, then, led the way directly to the third and last compromise of the slavery extension question — the Kansas-Nebraska bill. It was a natural, if not an easy step, for "squatter sovereignty" from this outside territory where it had been enthroned over into the jurisdic tion of the Missouri compromise. The align ment of parties, or rather of sections, on the slavery extension question at this time is shown by the vote for the admission of Cali fornia as a free state. The ayes were composed of fifteen northern democrats, eleven northern whigs, four southern whigs, and Salmon P. Chase, John P. Hale, Thomas H. Benton, and Houston of Texas. The nays were all from slave states, and all democrats but three. The questions of the compromise were, the organization of the territories of New Mexico and Utah without the Wilmot ^Niles's Register, vol. 73, p. 106. 2Ibid. ,vol. 74, p. 61. 'Webster's "works, vol. 5, p. 311. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS 135 proviso, that is, without any restriction as to slavery, the admission of California as a free state, the abolition ©f the slave trade in the District of Columbia, adjustment of the Texas boundary dispute, and strengthening of the fugitive slave law. There has never been an array of giants in debate in Congress equal to those who discussed the compromise of 1850. Among its supporters were Webster, Clay, Cass, and Douglas ; and among its oppo nents, Calhoun, Seward, Chase, Hale, Benton, and Jefferson Davis. Calhoun's speech in opposition was his last in the Senate, and he died before the bill finally passed. It was the last struggle also of Clay and Webster. Clay died in 1852, two weeks after the Whig convention had set him aside for General Scott as the candidate for president, and Web ster died four months later "the victim of personal disappointment."1 The slavery question, which had been twice compromised with such futility, in 1820 and 1850, was more acute than ever in the contest over the Nebraska bill, and was now fitly characterized by Seward as the "irre pressible conflict." The death of Webster, Clay, and Calhoun left Douglas easily in the ascendency as leader and effective debater. "His blue eyes and dark, abundant hair heightened the physical charm of boyishness; his virile movements, his face, heavy-browed, round, and strong, and his well-formed, extra ordinarily large head gave him the aspect of intellectual power. He had a truly Napoleon trick of attaching men to his fortunes. He was a born leader beyond question."2 This commanding physical, equipment was completed by his firm, rich, and powerful voice. Douglas certainly strongly resembled Napoleon in his boldness and brilliancy in giv ing battle and his wonderful successes ; and in his tragical personal defeat, which was the concomitant of his brilliant victory in the Kansas-Nebraska campaign, there is a strong reminder of Waterloo. Douglas was the pio neer projector of a territorial organization for Nebraska. As early as 1844 he intro duced a bill in the House of Representatives "to establish the territory of Nebraska," which was read twice and referred to the committee on territories from which it was not reported.3 In March, 1848, he introduced a bill of the same purport which was recom mitted on his own motion in the following December, and, like its predecessor in the House, was pigeonholed by the committee.4 The boundaries of the proposed territory in the bill of 1844 were as follows : "Commencing at the junction of the Kan sas with the Missouri river; thence following the channel of the Missouri river to its con fluence with the Qui Court, or Running Water river; thence following up the latter river to the 43d degree of north latitude; thence due west to the summit of the grand chain of the Rocky mountains; thence due south to the 42d degree of latitude; thence pursuing the line agreed upon between Spain and the United States, February 22, 1819, as the boundary between the territories of the two countries, to the 100th degree of longitude west from Greenwich; thence following the -course of the Arkansas river until it inter sects the 38th parallel of latitude at a point east of the 98th degree of longitude ; thence due east on the 38th parallel to the boundary line of the state of Missouri; thence north on the said boundary line of the state of Missouri to the place of beginning."5 Following are the boundaries of the bill of 1848: "Commencing at a point in the Missouri river where the 40th parallel of north latitude crosses said river; thence following up the main channel of said river to the 43d parallel of north latitude; thence west on said parallel to the summit of the Rocky mountains ; thence due south to the 40th parallel of north lati tude; thence east on said parallel to the place of beginning."6 Why Douglas should have projected these measures so much before their time, or, to put it another way, why so forceful a mem ber as Douglas should have done so little Schouler, History of the United States, vol. 5, p. 246. 2Stephen A. Douglas (Brown), Riverside Biograph ical Series, p. 21. 3 Cong. Globe, 2d Sess., 28th Cong., p. 41. *Cong. Globe, 2d Sess., 30th Cong., pp. 1, 68. 5-6 1 hese boundaries are from the original bills on file at Washington, and never before published. 136 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA with them has been superficially regarded as inexplicable except by the assumption that from the first his motive was to further the scheme of the South for the extension of slaver}'. But inspiring the origin and running through the entire long campaign for the organization of Nebraska we find the strong and steady purpose of commercial enterprise. Chicago, where Douglas lived, was already the potential base of northwestern commer cial conquest and development. In 1844 the state of Illinois was already well settled, and the territory of Iowa had become important in population as well as promise. The quick eye of business interest already saw that the Missouri river would soon be the terminus of railway lines leading from Ch'cago. Whit ney had come home from Europe in 1844 enthusiastic in the con viction of the need and practicability of a rail way to the Pacific, and as early as January, 1845, he memorialized both houses of Con gress in favor of such a project, and from that time on the national legislature was bom barded with influences in its favor. The representatives in Congress from Illinois and Iowa could now see the importance of making the most of this border territory. Douglas, as chairman of the com mittee on territories, was the natural agent and spokesman for these interests. ITe after ward explained his seemingly premature action in introducing the organization bill of 1844 by saying that he served it on the secre tary of war as notice that he must not locate STEPHEN A. DOUGI.AS4 notice he prevented action for ten years.1 He said also that the Atlantic states opposed opening Nebraska to settlement out of jeal ousy, and that both political parties had the power to defeat the Kansas-Nebraska bill by making new Indian treaties, and "I was afraid of letting that slip." In December, 1851, Willard P. Hall, mem ber of the House from Missouri, gave notice of a bill for the same purpose,2 and although Missouri statesmen favored the organization of the territory on their western border at the earliest time, and Mr. Hall actively sup ported the successful measure in 1854, his own bill seems to have perished by neglect. Mr. Hall also intro duced a bill for the or ganization of the Terri tory of the Platte on the 1 3th of December, 1 852/ but it was never reported from the committee. The introduction of a bill by this leading mem ber of the lower house from Missouri so shortly before the completion of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and which made no reference to slavery or the repeal of the compromise, illustrates the indifference to that question then existing in that state, and also the complete dominance in the public mind of the name Nebraska, or its French substitute, for the country in question. From the time the region of the Platte valley became known to white men till it was politically divided by the Kansas-Nebraska act, the name of its principal river was ap plied, roughly speaking, to the country be tween the water-shed of the Platte and any more Indians there, and by repeating this Arkansas rivers on the south and the 43d 1 Constitutional and Party Questions, J. M. Cutts, pp. 90-92, inclusive. 2 Cong. Globe, vol. 24, pt. 1, p. 80. 3 Cong. Globe, vol. 26, p. 47. * For biography see foot-note 1, p. 159. RICHARDSON BILL 137 parallel on the north, the Missouri river on the east, and the Rocky mountains on the west. It was "the Nebraska country." On February 2, 1853, William A. Richard son, member of the House from Illinois, and who, after the death of Douglas in 1861, was elected to fill a portion .of his unexpired sena torial term, introduced house bill No. 353, "to organize the territory of Nebraska."1 This bill, which made no reference to slavery, passed the house February 10, 1853, by a vote of 98 to 43. The northern boundary of the territory described in this bill was the 43d parallel, the present boundary of Ne braska on that side, its eastern limit was the west line of Missouri and Iowa, its southern, the territory of New Mexico and the parallel of 36° 30', and its western, the summit of the Rocky mountains.2 The bill underwent an extended and spirited debate which throws an interesting light on the condition of the territory and of politics at that time. It ap pears from the debate that the Indian affairs of the territory were under the jurisdiction of the superintendent at St. Louis, and that all Indians located immediately along the Mis souri frontier had been removed there from their eastern habitat.3 Mr. Brooks of New York objected strongly to the bill on the ground that the government had no right to take possession of the territory because the Indian title to it had not been extinguished.4 In reply to this objection, Mr. Hall of Mis souri, who was an ardent lieutenant of Doug las and Richardson in their enterprise, said that a tract forty miles wide and three hundred miles long, running along the border of Mis souri, had been set aside for the Indians by treaty and was occupied by twelve thousand to fourteen thousand of them; a strip of about the same extent, called neutral, was not occupied ; as to the rest of the territory it was in the same situation as that of Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa when they were organized. Mr. Hall said that by the act of 1834 all the territory west of the Mis sissippi river, except the states of Missouri and Louisiana and the territory of Arkansas, was erected into what was called Indian ter ritory. Under the operation of that law our people were not permitted to enter that terri tory at all without a license from the executive of the government or his agent. As a result the occupants were limited to about five hun dred licensed persons, and yet as many as fifty or sixty thousand people passed through this country annually on the way to Oregon, California, Utah, and New Mexico, under the protection of no law, and murders and other crimes were perpetrated. If we desired to protect this travel we must organize the ter ritory and extinguish the Indian title. When Mr. Brooks insisted that this was the first time that a territorial bill had ever been intro duced to establish government over territory to which the Indian title had not been extin guished in any part and over a people who do not exist there, Phelps, Richardson, and Hall held out that the Indian title had not been extinguished in any of the territories when they were organized. Brooks persisted in his demand to know the population of the proposed territory, and Richardson replied that it was not over one thousand two hun dred. Mr. Howe (Pennsylvania) taunted Joshua Giddings on neglecting to insert the anti- slavery provision of the Ordinance of 1787 in the bill, and wanted to know if it was on account of the national party platforms of 1852, which had dodged the slavery question. Giddings retorted by reading the restriction of the Missouri compromise and said : "This law stands perpetually, and I did not think that this act would receive any increased validity by a reenactment. . . . It is very clear that the territory included in that treaty must be forever free unless the law be repealed." When asked by Mr. Howe if he did not remember a compromise since that time (1850), Giddings replied that it did not affect this question; and, illustrating the then tem perate spirit of anti-slavery statesmen, Mr. 1Cong. Globe, vol. 26, p. 474. 2 House Roll, 353. s Cong. Globe, vol. 26, pp. 442-43. 'Ibid., p. 543. 138 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Giddings added, "I am not in the habit of agitating these questions of slavery unless drawn into it."1 When Sweetzer (Ohio) moved to strike out the part of the bill which provided for the making of treaties with Indians to extinguish their title, because it was time "to let the country know that it is our policy to plunder these people; not make a mockery anew by the pretense of a treaty," Hall protested that while Sweetzer might be correct in holding that the Indians should be incorporated as citizens, yet a territory large enough for two or three large states should not be given up to ten or twelve thousand Indians. He thought a portion of the territory had been secured by treaty with the Kansas Indians, but that so far there was no controversy between the Indians and the government. Mr. Howard said that the treaty of 1825 had given the Ohio' and Missouri Shawnees fifty miles square, and the Kansas Indians had also selected a tract of the same area on the Missouri river under treaty.2 Howard (Texas) said the territory had 340,000 square miles and not over six hun dred white people, that the bill violated treaties with eighteen tribes3 who had been moved west of the Mississippi river, to whom the government had guaranteed that they should never be included in any state or terri tory. Monroe had begun this policy in 1825, and Jackson had matured and carried it out under the act of 1830. The Indians, he said, would be surrounded by the white men's gov ernment, which would force them to come under the jurisdiction of white men's laws or suffer their tribal organization to be destroyed. There would be no country left for other tribes east of the Rocky mountains and west of the Mississippi river. It was Great Britain's policy to concede to Indians the right to occupancy but not to the fee, while Spain conceded neither.4 Hall then charged Howard with the design of settling the Comanches and other wild tribes of Texas in Nebraska territory, which would drive the overland routes from Missouri and Iowa to Texas; and he urged that, "If in course of time a great railroad should be found necessary from this part of the con tinent to the shore of the Pacific, and the doctrine prevails that all the territory west of the Missouri river is to be a wilderness from this day, henceforth and forever, Texas being settled, this country will have no alter native but to make the Pacific road terminate at Galveston or some other point in Texas." Mr. Hall insisted that Howard's argument meant that "we should never settle Nebraska at all," and that white settlement must be extended to the mountains to keep in touch with California and Oregon for the protec tion of the Union and of travel across the plains. Pie quoted from Medill, the late com missioner of Indian affairs, who urged that the Omahas, "Ottoes," and "Missourias" be moved so as to be with the Osages and "Kan- zas," because they were circumscribed in hunting by the Pawnees and Sioux and often attacked and murdered by the tribe last named. "The Pawnees all should be removed north of the Platte, and the Sioux of the Missouri restrained from coming south of that river, so that there would be a wide and safe passage for our Oregon emigrants and for such of those to California as may prefer to take that route, which, I am informed, will probably be the case with many." Howard argued that we should negotiate with the Indians before violating our treaties with them by organizing a territorial govern ment over lands which they occupied. To the objections of Clingman (North Carolina) that there were only from six hundred to nine hundred inhabitants in the proposed territory, Hall replied that it was because the law pre vented a white man from settling there, "and if he does a company of dragoons will run him out." There would be thirty thousand or forty thousand people there within three or four months after there was a territorial organization to protect them. The southern lCong. Globe, vol. 26, p. 543. 2 Ibid., p. 544. '¦Cong. Globe, vol. 26, p. 556, for names of tribes. 4 Ibid., p. 558. RICHARDSON BILL 139 line went down to 36° 30', he explained, be cause the route from Missouri to New Mexico crossed that line, and that travel must be protected. Sutherland (New York), imbued with the characteristic spirit of the Northeast, and espe cially of New England, in relation to western expansion, argued that it was bad policy to take in more lands and encourage emigration from the states which were still so largely unoccupied. The eleven landed states, as he called them, of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, and Wisconsin had 137,000,000 acres of unimproved lands in the hands of private owners and 200,000,000 acres of public lands. Richardson retorted that this was the argument of Fisher Ames over again, and charged the eastern members with fear of opening the better lands of the West in competition with their own. He thought the best way was to give the people a chance to make their own choice. The Senate committee on territories was composed of Douglas, Johnson of Arkansas, Jones of Iowa, Houston1 of Texas, democrats, and Bell and Everett, whigs. Douglas domi nated the committee. The three members last named were opposed to the Nebraska bill. On the 17th of February Douglas reported the bill as it came from the House without amend ment, and March 2 he tried to get it up for consideration, and complained that for two years the Senate had refused to hear a terri torial bill. Rusk of Texas bitterly opposed the bill, and said that its passage would "drive the Indians back on us," and it failed of con sideration by a vote of twenty to twenty-five, all but five of those opposed — including two from Delaware — being of the South. Of the southern senators only the two from Missouri favored the bill.2 Senator Atchison's remarks on the 3d of March are notable as a remarkable contribu tion to the theory of the inviolability of the Missouri compromise, and also as being the only serious reference in the whole debate to the slavery question. In the early part of the session he had seen two objections to the bill, namely, the fact that the title of the Indians had not been extinguished and the Missouri compromise. It was very clear to him that the law of Congress passed when Missouri was admitted into the Union, excluding slav ery from the territory of Louisiana north of 36° 30', would be enforced in that territory unless it was specially rescinded, and, whether constitutional or not, would do its work, and that work would preclude slaveholders from going into that territory. But when he came to look into the question he saw no prospect of the repeal of the Missouri compromise. But for this he would oppose organization of the territory unless his constituency and all people of the South could go into it carrying their slaves with them. But he had no hope that the restriction would ever be repealed. The first great error in the political history of the country was the Ordinance of 1787, making the Northwest territory free; the sec ond was the Missouri compromise. He did not like the competition in agriculture with his own state which would follow the organ ization of the territory, but population would go into every habitable part of the territory in a very few years in defiance of the govern ment, so it might as well be let in now.3 Houston made a flamboyant speech against the bill, entirely devoted to the wrongs of the Indians which its passage would involve, and Bell (Tennessee) spoke along the same line, and urged that there was no neces sity for territorial organization.4 Douglas closed the debate showing that the provisions of the bill did not include the land of any Indian tribe without their consent (it had been so amended in the House), and he said, "It is an act very dear to my heart." He had presented a bill eight years before in the House and had been pressing it ever since. But on the 3d of March the motion to take up the bill was laid on the table by a vote of twenty-three to seventeen, and it was never revived in that form. 1Gen. Sam Houston, the hero of San Jacinto. s Cong. Globe, vol. 26, p. 1020. 8 Cong. Globe, vol. 26, p. 1113. * Ibid., p. 1115. 140 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA The debate, especially that of the House, discloses that the border states north and south were fighting for advantage in the traffic to the Pacific coast and in the location of the then somewhat dimly prospective Pacific rail way. This real objection to the measure on the part of the southern states seems to have been largely veiled by an ostensibly very phil anthropic regard for the fate of the Indian; but it seems scarcely possible that finesse could have been so adroitly spun and spread so far as to have concealed the consideration of the admission of more free territory as the real objection on the part of the South. On the other hand, the prompt report which Douglas made from his committee early in the next session of Congress, recommending the squat ter sovereignty compromise, indicates that he had discovered not only that the South, in part at least, had decided to press the slavery objection, but the way to meet it — unless indeed this compromise was a gratuitous sop thrown to the South as a bid for its favor to his political fortunes. In a speech at Atchison during the vacation, September 24, 1854, Senator Atchison, in a bibulous burst of confidence, said that he had forced Douglas to change his tactics and adopt the compro mise.1 While this claim shames the wily sena tor's frank disclaimer at the last session, alluded to above, it is entirely consistent with his leadership in the subsequent attempt to make the most of the compromise by forcing Kansas into the Union as a slave state. At a meeting, in Platte county, Missouri, Atchison spoke in the same vein. The senti ment and determination of the western border Missourians whom he represented were ex pressed in the following declaration : "Re solved, that if the territory shall be opened to settlement we pledge ourselves to each other to extend the institutions of Missouri over the territory, at whatever cost of blood or trea sure." There was a very large slave popula tion in these border counties, amounting, it is said, to as many as seventeen thousand, and the fears freely expressed by Atchison and others that this property, and so the system under which it was held, would be seriously menaced if the immediately adjoining territory of Kansas should be made free, were no doubt well founded. And yet solicitude about this matter seems to have been confined to a few, and there is evidence that indifference was the rule rather than the exception. This is illus trated by the fact that the members of the House of Representatives from Missouri left to the members of Congress of Iowa to insist on the division of the territory. The sweeping dictum that, "Douglas was \ a man of too much independence to suffer the dictation of Atchison, Toombs, or Stephens,"2 is rather beside the question, and seems to be virtually contradicted by its author when he shows how readily Douglas yielded to the radical and momentous amendment of Dixon, a lesser man than either of the three above named, for the total repeal of the Missouri restriction, when Douglas spoke "in an earnest and touching manner," so that "it was a pretty comedy. The words of Douglas were those of a self-denying patriot, and not those of a man who was sacrificing the peace of his country, and, as it turned out, the success of his party, to his own personal ambition." Early in the session of the next Congress, December 14, 1853, Senator Dodge of Iowa, apparently acting in concert with the commit tee on territories of which Douglas was chair man, introduced a bill to organize the terri tory of Nebraska which should comprise "all that part of the territory of the United States included between the summit of the Rocky mountains on the west, the states of Missouri and Iowa on the east, the 43 ° 30' of north latitude on the north, and the territory of New Mexico and the parallel of 36 ° 30' north lati tude on the south."3 This bill contained no reference to slavery. "The simple bill which Dodge introduced has undergone very impor tant changes," said Chase, in asking for more time to consider the committee's substitute.4 1 Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1. p. 431. 2 Ibid., p. 432. s Senate Bill No. 22, 1853. *-Cong. Globe, vol. 28, pt. 1, p. 239. DODGE BILL 141 On the 4th of January following, the com mittee on territories, through Douglas, reported the bill of Dodge in the form of a substitute, in which the proposed territory embraced all that part of the territory of Minnesota which lay between the Mississippi river on the east and the northern boundary of Iowa and the Missouri and White Earth rivers on the south and west; and Ft. Leavenworth, then a mili tary station, was designated as the capital. 1 A leading historian commits the error of including within this proposed territory of Nebraska the area now comprised in the states of Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Montana, and part of Colorado and Wyoming, which "contained 485,000 square miles, a territory larger by thirty-three thousand square miles than all the free states in the Union east of the Rocky mountains."2 That larger part of the Dakotas lying east of the Missouri, how ever, belonged to Minnesota, and a corner of Wyoming was not included in "the purchase." But the area in square miles as given is approx imately correct. The committee's bill contained the compro mise provision of the Utah and" New Mexico bills, that the territory of Nebraska or any portion of the same when admitted as a state or states "shall be received into the Union with or without slavery as their constitution may prescribe at the time of their admission." Accompanying the bill was a formal report in which Douglas explained why the provisions relating to slavery were inserted. He points out that "eminent statesmen hold that Con gress is invested with no rightful authority to legislate upon the subject of slavery in the territories, and that therefore the eighth sec tion of the Missouri compromise is null and void;" while "the prevailing sentiment in large sections of the Union sustains the doc trine that the Constitution of the United States secures to every citizen an inalienable right to move into any of the territories with his property of whatever kind and description and to hold and enjoy the same under the sanction of law. . . Under this section, as in the case of the Mexican law in New Mex ico and Utah, it is a disputed point whether slavery is prohibited in the new country by valid enactment. As congress deemed it wise and prudent to refrain from deciding the mat ters in controversy then, (1850), either by affirming or repealing the Mexican laws or by an act declaratory of the true intent of the con stitution and the extent of the protection afforded by it to slave property in the terri tories, your committee are not prepared now to recommend a departure from the course pursued on that memorable occasion either by affirming or repealing the eighth section of the Missouri act, or by any act declaratory of the meaning of the constitution in respect to the legal points in dispute."3 After the bill was reported it was amended by the addition of the concluding part of the committee's report, which was declaratory of the meaning of the compromise of 1850, as follows : "First — That all questions pertaining to slavery in the territories and the new states to be formed therefrom, are to be left to the decision of the people residing therein, by their appropriate representatives, to be chosen by them for that purpose. "Second — That 'all cases involving title to slaves' and 'questions of personal freedom' are to be referred to the jurisdiction of the local tribunals, with the right of appeal to the supreme court of the United States. "Third — That the provision of the constitu tion of the United States in respect to fugi tives from service is to be carried into faithful execution in all 'the organized territories' the same as in the states." On the 16th day of January Dixon of Ken tucky fortified the indirect setting aside of the Missouri compromise by the popular sover eignty provision of the bill by moving an 1 Cong. Globe, vol 28, pt. 1, p. 222. 2 Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1, p. 426. There are also two material errors in the descrip tion of the boundaries of the territories of Nebraska and Kansas in p. 222, pt. 1, vol. 28, Cong. Globe. The boundaries given in tbe bills here referred to have been obtained by examination of the bills on file in the capitol at Washington, as none of them, excepting the last one, which passed, were officially published. s Senate reports, 1st Sess., 33d Cong., no. 15. 142 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA amendment explicitly repealing the anti-slav ery clause of the compromise. If it is true that "the Senate was astonished and Douglas was startled"1 their emotions must have been due to being brought face to face with the spectacular plainness of the meaning of the indirect repeal already incorporated in the bill. The popular sovereignty clause of the Ne braska bill was absolutely inconsistent with the Missouri restriction and applied to all the territory affected by it except the part of the Dakotas lying east of the Missouri river, and which would be hopelessly anti-slavery under the popular choice. Moreover, this very area had been embraced in the territory of Wis consin by the act of 1836, in which was incor porated the slavery interdiction of the Ordinance of 1787; and this interdiction seems to have been passed on when the territory fell to Minnesota in 1849, where it remained when the Missouri compromise was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska act. It seems still less accu rate, or still more misleading, in the attempt to exaggerate the importance of the formal repeal of the Missouri compromise, to say, touching Douglas's 4th of January bill, that, "The South was insulted by the pretense of legalizing slavery in territory already by the Missouri compromise preempted for free dom ;"2 for the report of Douglas "closed with a proposition which certainly set it (the com promise) aside;"3 and this very proposition was appended to the 4th of January bill. Nor is the ground for the statement that, "So long as the Missouri compromise remained the law of the land slavery could have no legal recognition in Nebraska while it was yet a territory" discoverable; for the 4th of January bill provided, as we have seen, "That all questions pertaining to slavery in the territories . . . are to be left to the decision of the people residing therein." Eastern writers seem to have conceived it to be an a priori virtue to be offended at the virile strenuosity of this remarkable western leader, and they seem to write under the compulsion of arriving at the conclusion that "in the view of Douglas moral ideas had no place in poli tics."4 For the great part which Clay played in the compromise of 1850 there is palliation where there is not praise, and we are told that it is probable that "the matured historical view will be that Webster's position as to the application of the Wilmot proviso was states manship of the highest order." Though Clay, like Webster, was a constant candidate for the presidency, and bore a potent part in the two great compromises with slavery aggression, which were bitterly assailed by anti-slavery sentiment, he is awarded the meed of patriotic motive and achievement, while the similar action of Douglas is written down as a mere "bid for southern support in the next demo cratic convention."5 By a sort of pneumatic method he is summarily rejected from the company of respectable statesmen, or politi cians even, with the brand of "Stephen Arnold Douglas — with accent on that second name."6 This last is a good example of the over working of a b*ias, a predilection, or a tortured emotion which one almost expects of the author. Another historian is fairer in describ ing the great 3d of March speech : "The appearance of Douglas was striking. Though very short in stature, he had an enor mous head, and when he rose to take arms against a sea of troubles which opposed him, he was the very picture of intellectual force. Always a splendid fighter, he seemed this night like a gladiator who contended against great odds ; for while he was backed by thirty- seven senators, among his opponents were the ablest men of the senate, and their arguments must be answered if he expected to ride out the storm which had been raised against him. Never in the United States, in the arena of debates had a bad cause been more splendidly advocated; never more effectively was the worse made to appear the better reason."7 1 Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1, p. 4 Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. l,p.431. 433. 6 Ibid., p. 430. Political Parties in the United States (Macy), 6 Schouler, History of the United States vol 5. - 189. p. 285. 428 'Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1, p. 'Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1, p 471. KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL These estimates of the author of Ne braska's political beginning by standard his torians of to-day seem pertinent here as affording the latest and thus far the best view of his character and of his motives in the prologue to the great national tragedy which followed the Nebraska contest. But they also indicate that a remove of a single generation from the culminating scenes of the struggle over slavery does not serve entirely to separate the north ern writer from northern prejudice and partisanship. The serious charge against Douglas is that he initiated the Nebraska bill, which grew into the Kan sas-Nebraska act, including the repeal of the Missouri com promise, of his own volition, and, by so doing, to ingratiate himself with the South for the selfish furtherance of his presidentialambition, he de liberately d;sturbed the repose which had been estab lished by the com promise of 1850, and which President Pierce had promised in his late message should "suffer no shock during my official WILLIAM WALKER AT THE AGE OF 33 * PROVISIONAL GOVERNOR OF THE PROPOSED TERRITORY OF NEBRASKA, 1853 Engraving from a photograph owned by the Nebraska State Historical Society 143 term, if I have power to prevent it." There is much reason for believing that Douglas was aware that southern politicians would press for adherence to the principles of the latest compromise, and that, instead of accepting it in the way of a compromise, as Clay or Web ster would have done, at an earlier time, by his imperious method he took the lead and pressed what he saw was a necessary conces sion as a positive measure of his own. Moreover, the de bate shows that the question whether Douglas acted in bad faith in refer ence to the Missouri compromise at least remained an open one, and with the technical or formal advantage with Douglas. In his speech in the Sen ate, February 29, i860, he said: ' ' It was the de feat in the House of Representatives of the enactment of the bill to extend the Missouri compro mise to the Pacific ocean, after it had passed the sen ate on my own motion, that opened the controversy of 1850, which was terminated by the adoption of the measures of that year. . . . Both William Walker, first provisional governor of the proposed territory of Nebraska, was the son of William and Catherine (Rankin) Walker, and was born in what is now Wayne county, Michigan, March 5, 1800. Wil liam Walker, Sr., a Virginian by birth, was captured by a war party of Delaware Indians when a small boy, and later was adopted by Adam Brown, chief of the Wyandots, a white man who had, when a boy, been abducted by that tribe. His wife, Catherine Rankin, was a member of the Wyandot nation, of the Big Turtle clan. William Walker had two Indian names. The first was Hah-shah'-rehs, meaning "the stream overfull;" the second was Seh'-tah-roh, meaning "bright," and is taken from the brightness of the turtle's eye when seen in clear water. He was given a good education at a Methodist school at Worthing ton, Ohio. Besides the English, he read and spoke Greek, Latin, and French; he also spoke the Wyan dot, Delaware, Shawnee, Miami, and Pottawattomie Indian languages. He was head chief of the Wyan- 144 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA parties in 1852 pledged themselves to abide by that principle, and thus stood pledged not to prohibit slavery in the territories. The whig party affirmed that pledge and so did the democracy. In 1854 we only carried out, in the Kansas-Nebraska act, the same princi ple that had been affirmed in the compromise measures of 1850. I repeat that their resist ance to carrying out in good faith the settle ment of 1820, their defeat of the bill for extending it to the Pacific ocean, was the sole cause of the agitation of 1850, and gave rise to the necessity of establishing the princip of non-intervention by congress with slavery in the territories."1 And in his famous speech of March 3, 1854, he silenced Chase and Seward on this point by showing that, after the Missouri compact of 1820 was made, the northern vote in Con gress still kept that state out of the Union and forced Mr. Clay's new conditions of 1821 ; that a like northern vote was recorded against admitting Arkansas with slavery in 1836, and that the legislature of Mr. Seward's state (New York), after the Missouri act of 1820, had instructed her members of Congress to vote against the admission of any territory as a state with slavery. Mr. Douglas at least went far toward estab lishing the consistency of his action in 1854 by quoting from his speech in Chicago in 1850: "These measures (of 1850) are predi cated on the great fundamental principle that every people ought to possess the right of regulating their own internal concerns and domestic institutions in their own way."2 It was conceded on both sides that the states had the absolute power to adopt or reject slavery by provisions in their constitutions, and, as Douglas points out, it was inconsistent to deny this principle to the territories: dot tribe while it was still in Ohio and was post master of the town of Upper Sandusky. He was one of the most influential men of the Wyandot nation; was an eloquent speaker, and as a writer on intellec tual and political subjects was surpassed by few men of his time. He was elected first provisional governor of the proposed Nebraska territory in 1853. Governor Walker was first married at Upper San dusky, Ohio, to Hannah Barrett, April 8, 1824. Mrs. Walker died December 7, 1863, having borne her hus band five children. April 6, 1865, he was married at Dudley, Ohio, to Mrs. Evelina J. Barrett, the widow of his first wife's brother. She died August 28, 1868. The last years of the life of Governor Walker were sor rowful ones. He had lost both wives and all his chil- "These things are all confided by the consti tution to each state to decide for itself, and I know of no reason why the same principle should not be confided to the territories."3 A severe critic of Douglas's selfish subser viency in the Nebraska affair admits that, "Probably he had at first no more intention of actually enlarging the arena of slavery than had Daniel Webster in laboring to remove the legal restriction from the territory of Utah. Northern free labor was moving westward, as he knew, by leaps and bounds. It was not likely that slavery would ever gain any foot hold in the region between the Rocky moun tains and the states of Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri. Douglas no doubt sought to fur ther his presidential prospects without making any actual change in the practical situation respecting slavery extension."4 But what more or what less could be said of Clay, Webster, or Lincoln, each of whom, while as ardently seeking to further his presi dential prospects, temporized upon the slavery question ? And in view of the probability, confirmed by the result, that slavery could not be forced upon Kansas or Nebraska, what ever might be done with the Missouri restric tion, did not the course of Douglas result, in a distinct gain in that, "the southerners abandoned the claim to their inherent right to take their slaves into the new territories and united — both whigs and democrats — in sup port of Douglas's bill?"5 Furthermore, Douglas emphasized the fact that there was a grave question as to the con stitutionality of the Missouri restriction; and may he not be credited with sagacity and patriotism in fortifying against the event of the Dred Scott decision in 1857, which con firmed his fears, by interposing his Kansas- dren by death, and was heartbroken by his bereave ment. He speaks of himself as "stricken with grief," and says, "now I stand like a blasted oak in a desert, its top shivered by a bolt hurled from the armory of Jove." He died February 13, 1874, in Kan sas City, Missouri, and no monument of any kind marks his resting place. He was a Mason in high standing and was buried under the auspices of that organization. He was a member of the M. E. church. 1 Cong. Globe, 1859-60, pt. 1, p. .915. 2Sheahan, Life of Douglas, p. 225. Hbid.4Macy, Political Parties in the United States, p. 188. "Hopkins, Political Parties in the United States, p. 86. KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL 145 Nebraska popular sovereignty device as a new bar to the door against slavery in the terri tories which that memorable decision had otherwise opened wide? For "Kansas was the only territory in which slaveholders tried to assert their rights" — that is, the constitu tional right to carry slaves into the territories against attempted prohibition by Congress or its creatures, the territorial legislatures. And as it turned out, they had the best of the argu ment, and nothing could have hindered their design but the popular sovereignty provision of the Nebraska bill. Bui this spontaneous harshness toward Doug las reaches the climax of its unreasonableness when it discovers in south ern pro-slavery motives a rare nicety of moral dis crimination and self-re nunciation, and exalts it to contrasting heights above the groveling mo tives of Douglas. Thus we are told that the bill that passed the House in 1853, "being naturally objectionable to the pro- slavery politicians who still respected the Mis souri compromise, was defeated by them in the Senate." But in this bill there was no allusion to slavery, and the compro mise was not attacked. Moreover, on the final passage of the Kansas- Nebraska bill, which repealed the compromise only nine votes from the South — two demo crats and seven whigs — could be mustered against it in the House, while forty-two demo crats and forty-five whigs from the North voted against it.1 But in one instance Doug las has been grouped with the patriots — though perhaps inadvertently. For "the ardent advocates of the compromise of 1850 were all devoted to the Union ;"2 and Douglas advocated every part of the compromise. The impartial judge of contemporary cir cumstances will conclude that Douglas thought and had good ground for thinking that in this first organization of new ter ritory since the new com promise or temporizing arrangementbetweentheslavery and the anti-slav ery element in 1850, an other controversy was inevitable, and that the statement that the ' ' new policy thus sprung so un expectedly upon the country was the secret contrivance of a few aspiring democrats, obsequious to slavery's propaganda,"3 is an inadequate and incon sistent explanation of the new compromise. Dixon' s reason for pressing the repeal of the Missouri restric tion, which it is gener ally admitted took Douglas by surprise, illus trates the fact that the pro-slavery leaders of ABELARD GUTHRIE4 DELEGATE TO CONGRESS REPRESENTING THE PROPOSED TERRITORY OF NEBRASKA, 1853 Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1, p. 489. 2 Macy, Political Parties in the United States, p. 129. 8 Schouler, History of the United States, vol. 5, p. 281.4Abelard Guthrie, first provisional delegate to Con gress from the proposed territory of Nebraska, was born near Dayton, Ohio, March 9, 1814, and was a son of James and Elizabeth (Ainsworth) Guthrie. The Guthrie family were of Scotch-Irish descent, coming from the north of Ireland to Pennsylvania in an early day. James Guthrie moved to Ohio in 1809, where Abelard Guthrie attended school, but his journals re- 10 veal little of his early life. For several years he was chief clerk for the Indian agent at Piqua, Ohio, and in 1842 he was appointed, by President Tyler, register of the United States land office at Upper Sandusky. About 1843 the Wyandot Indians left the region of Upper Sandusky for "the West, and "the next year Mr. Guthrie followed them to their new home, arriv ing at the mouth of the Kansas river in January, 1844. Soon after reaching the West he was married in what is now Kansas City, Kansas, to Quindaro Nancy Brown, a Wvandot-Shawnee girl, who was a daughter of Adam Brown and granddaughter of Chief Adam Brown, a white man, and the same who had adopted William Walker, Sr. She died in Indian Territory in 146 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA the South intended to fight for a new arrange ment, and the solid support which the members from the South gave to the bill makes the contention that the scheme was originated by a few politicians, and that the people of the South "had not dreamed of taking it"1 little less than ridiculous. Mr. Dixon stated that he never did believe in the propriety of passing the Missouri compro mise. "I never thought the great senator from Kentucky, Mr. Clay, when he advocated that measure did so because his judgment approved it. . . . And I have never thought that that measure received the sanction of his heart or of his head." He said that he proposed the amendment under the firm con viction that he was carrying out the principles settled in the compromise of 1850, and which left the whole question of slavery with the people and without any congressional inter ference. He had always believed that Con gress had no authority over the subject of slavery in states or territories, and, therefore, that the Missouri compromise was unconsti tutional.2 In a colloquy with Dixon, Douglas explained that he "and some others with whom he consulted" thought that Dixon's amend ment not only wiped out the legislation ex cluding slavery but affirmatively legislated sla very into the territory; he therefore inserted the repealing clause in his own words to avoid the affirmative force of Dixon's amendment.3 1886. When Mr. Guthrie was married he was adopted by the Wyandots and given the name Tah-keh'-yoh- shrah'-tseh, which means the twin brain, given in ac knowledgment of his recognized ability. In 1849 he went with many of the Wyandot tribe to California in search of gold. He returned some time in the sum mer of 1852. That year he devoted his energies toward securing a territorial organization for the territory of Nebraska with boundaries practically those of the present states of Kansas and Nebraska. In 1853 a convention was held at Wyandotte and a delegate to Congress nominated. The two candidates were Mr. Guthrie, who was put forward by the friends of Sena tor Thomas H. Benton, and Rev. Thomas Johnson, who was supported by the friends of Senator D. R. Atchison. Guthrie received the largest number of votes and went to Washington, but as the territory was not legally organized he was not received as a regular delegate, though he was admitted to the floor of the House. Later in the fall of the same year an other election was held and the Rev. Thomas Johnson was elected. During the troublesome times in Kansas territory, succeeding the passage of the Kansas-Ne braska bill, Mr. Guthrie was imbued with the free state sentiment. Mr. Abelard Guthrie, who had been elected a delegate to Congress from Nebraska, at Wyandotte, in October, 1852, writing while on his way to Washington in December, 1852, to William Walker, provisional governor, throws light on the attitude of the pro-slavery element toward territorial organization, as follows : "I traveled in company with senators Geyer and Atchison of Missouri and representatives Richardson and Bissil of Illinois. I am sorry to say our Missouri senators are by no means favorable to our territorial projects. The slavery question is the cause of this opposition. I regret that it should interfere — it ought not. Mr. Atchison thinks the slaves in Nebraska are already free by the operation of the Mis souri compromise act, and asks a repeal of that act before anything shall be done for Nebraska."4 In a letter to the New York Tribune, writ ten August 9, 1856, Mr. Guthrie relates that he was a candidate for reelection as a delegate to Congress in 1853 ; but because "the repeal of the Missouri compromise was now first agitated, and it was thought important to suc cess that the territory should be represented by one favorable to that measure," Mr. Guth rie complains, the influence of the adminis tration was thrown against him, and he was defeated by a large Indian vote.6 The tradition and belief of the Douglas family are worthy of consideration. A son He was greatly interested in the affairs of the Wyan dot nation and was in Washington at the time of his death urging the justice of certain claims of that tribe. Pie died suddenly January 13, 1873. He describes his personal appearance in his journal, giving his height as five feet, nine and three-fourths inches, and weight one hundred and fifty-seven pounds. His eyes were blue; his hair and complexion fair; his face was rugged and strong; mouth, large and firm. Until the very last years of his life he wore his hair as the In dians formerly wore theirs— long and falling over his shoulders. Mr. Guthrie was a man of strong religious nature, and a member of the M. E. church. iSchouler, History of the United States, vol. 5, p. 281. 2 Cong._ Globe, vol. 28, pt. 1, p. 240. 3 The gist of Dixon's amendment leaves no doubt on this point: "... The citizens of the several states or territories shall be at liberty to take and hold their slaves within any of the territories of the United States or of the states so formed therefrom, as if the said act (the Missouri compromise) had never been passed."— Cong. Globe, 1st Sess;, 33d Cong., p. 175. iProc of the Neb. State Hist. Soc, vol. 3, 2d se ries, p. 76. 6 Ibid., p. 81. PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT 147 of Senator Douglas thinks that his father had become convinced that the South could and would repeal the Missouri compromise, and he therefore set about to get the best terms he could against the further spread of slavery, and believed he had accomplished this in the formal recognition of the doctrine of popular sovereignty in lieu of the open door which the South was bent on securing.1 On the 23d day of January, 1854, Douglas presented the Kansas-Nebraska bill which was passed as a substitute for the Nebraska bill of January 4. It com prised two important ad ditions to the old bill, which were to divide the territory into two — Kan sas and Nebraska — and specifically repeal the Missouri compromise. His own reasons for di viding the territory are as follows: ' ' There are two dele gates here who have been elected by the people of that territory. They are not legal delegates, of course, but they have been sent here as agents. They have petitioned us to make two territories instead of one, dividing them by the 40th parallel of north latitude — the Kansas and Nebraska ter ritories. Upon consult ing with the delegates from Iowa I found that they think that their local interests as well as the interests of the territory, require that the pro posed territory of Nebraska should be divided HADLEY D. JOHNSON " FIRST "DELEGATE TO CONGRESS" FROM THE UNORGANIZED TERRITORY, NOW KNOWN AS THE STATE OF NEBRASKA. ELECTED OC TOBER 11, 1853 Engraving from a photograph owned by the Nebraska , State Histor.cal Society into two territories, and the people ought to have two delegates. So far as I have been able to consult with the Missouri delegates they are of the same opinion. The committee therefore have concluded to recommend the division of the territory into two territories, and also to change the boundary in the man ner I have described."2 The change consisted in making the south ern line 37° instead of 36° 30', thus avoiding division of the Cherokee country and running between that and the Osages. The simple reasons Douglas himself gave for finally and somewhat suddenly dividing the Nebraska territory as at first proposed, into two territories, are not only consistent with the cir cumstances but are fairly confirmed by them, and they leave no necessity for the search that has been made for hidden, mysterious, and unworthy motives. The two dele gates to whom Douglas referred, as he is quoted above, were Mr. Hadley D. Johnson, who was chosen at an election held at Bellevue, Oc tober n, 1853, and the Rev. Thomas Johnson, who was elected at Wyandotte on the same day. Mr. Hadley D. Johnson states that after consultation with citizens it was decided to advocate the organ ization of two territories instead of one, and 1 Recent conversation with Stephen A. Douglas, Jr.; of Chicago.£Co«o-. Globe, vol. 28, pt. 1, p. 221. _ 3 Hadley D. Johnson, Nebraska pioneer, was a na tive of Indiana. In October, 1850, he came west and the following year settled at Kanesville (Council Bluffs), Iowa. In 1852 he was elected a member of the first state senate of Iowa from Pottawattomie county. In 1853 a_ bill was reported to Congress providing for the organization of the territory of Nebraska. Learning that an informal election was projected for the pur pose of choosing a representative to look after the pas sage of the bill in Congress, several citizens of Council Bluffs and vicinity determined to compete for the dele- gateship . Accordingly arrangements were made for an election at Sarpy's trading post. A number of Iowa citizens, including Mr. Johnson, crossed the river to the Nebraska side, established an election precinct, and proceeded to ballot. Mr. Johnson received the largest number of votes, and December 14, 1853, started to Washington, arriving there early in January, 1854. The organization bill had already been brought before the Senate when he arrived, and he also found a dignified and elderly gentleman, Reverend Thomas 148 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA that on his presentation of the case to Douglas he adopted Johnson's plan and changed the bill so as to divide Nebraska into Kansas and Nebraska.1 It was quite natural that the peo ple of the northern part of the territory and of Iowa lying directly opposite should desire the division so as to have complete control, in view of the contemplated Pacific railway, and for other commercial reasons, and Mr. Johnson states that Senator Dodge of Iowa warmly approved his plan for two territories, and took pains to introduce him to Douglas. Just as naturally, too, the people and politi cians of Missouri would prefer to have the territory opposite their state, and over whose affairs they would naturally exercise much control, separated from the northern territory. The general commercial interests, as well as considerations of the slavery question, would lead them to this desire. Contemporaries of Hadley D. Johnson now living,2 as well as the important part he played in the -affairs of Iowa and Nebraska, testify to his high standing and the credibility his statements deserve. He was elected a member of the ' Iowa senate for the Council Bluffs district in 1852, was a "provisional" delegate to Congress from Nebraska in 1853, was a prominent candidate for delegate to Congress at the election of 1854, was elected territorial printer by the legislature of Ne braska in 1856, and in general was recognized as a man of affairs in those earlier years. We have an account of a meeting of citizens of Mills county, Iowa, at Glenwood, in Octo ber, 1853. Glenwood was then the county Johnson, who had come as a delegate on the same errand as himself. Both had been elected without legal sanction, and amicable relations were eventually established between them, and while "the two John sons" were unceremoniously "bounced" from their seats and relegated to the galleries, they aided the pas sage of the celebrated Kansas-Nebraska bill, and Mr. Johnson was active in the successful effort of the Iowa interests to secure the organization of Nebraska as a separate territory. Hadley Johnson came to Ne braska in 1854, and at the second session of the terri torial assembly was elected territorial printer. In 1858 lie established the Omaha Democrat which was pub lished a short time. Mr. Johnson continued to prac tice law in Omaha for a number of years, when he re moved to Salt Lake City to join the Mormons, having embraced that faith in Indiana. He died at Salt Lake City July 2, 1898. He was a member of the Inde pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and was one of the seat of Mills county, which adjoins Potta wattomie, of which Council Bluffs is the county seat, on the south, and borders on the Missouri river on the west, opposite Sarpy county, Nebraska, in which Bellevue is situ ated. Among those who addressed this "great and enthusiastic meeting were Hadley D. Johnson, delegate elect from Nebraska," J. L. Sharp, who was chairman of the committee on resolutions, M. H. Clark who had been chosen provisional secretary of Nebraska at the same Bellevue election which chose John son for delegate, and Hiram P. Bennet. Mr. Sharp3 became president of the first legislative council of Nebraska, and Bennet and Clark were also members of that body. The resolutions adopted by the meeting- declared that the best interests of western. Iowa as well as of the bordering Indian tribes would be secured by the early organization, of the territory of Nebraska, and that "the boundaries indicated by Judge Douglas's bilL. subserve the interests of the whole country; but if they can not be obtained we would next prefer the parallel of 39^-2 degrees south and 44 degrees north as the boundaries of Ne braska." This reference to the bill of Doug las "introduced some years ago," which must have meant his bill of 1848, discloses that the boundary which in the opinion of these enter prising border promoters would "best subserve the interests of the whole country" extended half a degree further south than the line that would satisfy them — to the fortieth parallel, — and fell one degree short of the boundary they proposed on the north. There is no organizers of the first lodge of this order in Omaha,. Nebraska. 1 Hadley D. Johnson's statement, Proc. of the Neb, State Hist. Soc. , second series, vol. 3, p. 83. 2 Such as James M. Woolworth and Geo. W. Doane. 3 The Joseph L. Sharp who took part in this Glen wood meeting was a man of ability and of considerable political prominence in Iowa, and he was president of the council in the first legislative assembly of Nebraska territory. He had previously served two terms in the Illinois, and one term in the Iowa legislature. In his. autobiography he makes the following statement: ' ' Went to Washington and submitted the plan of mak ing two territories out of the proposed Kansas (Ne braska) territory. Judge Douglas reported an amend ment to his Kansas (Nebraska) bill, making the 40th parallel the line between the two territories, which be came a law." DIVISION OF NEBRASKA 149 material difference in the two boundaries in question, and perhaps the Glenwood resolu tions made a mistake in their reference to Douglas's bill; but in any event they show that the men of Iowa wanted a territory, as nearly and exclusively as they could get it, opposite their own state. The proprietary regard of these Iowans for the prospective territory, the key to it, and their resolute intent to bring about territorial organization in the form suited to their ambitious purposes are disclosed in the other resolutions of the meeting. While they "approve of an election by the citizens of Nebraska of provisional ter ritorial officers as well as a delegate to repre sent their interests in the approaching Congress," they "would not approve any measure which would retard or interfere with the early extinction of the Indian titles to all of said territory." They request their senators and representatives in Congress to use their best efforts to carry out the policy set forth in the resolutions, direct a copy to be sent to each of them and to Senator Douglas, recommend the appointment of a committee to confer with citizens of other counties touch ing the interests of western Iowa, and ask the St. Mary's Gazette, Western Bugle, Chicago Democratic Press, Peoria Press, and New York Herald to publish the proceedings of the meeting. Nor did they neglect the one sub ject on which all wide-awake border people in this latitude were now always harping, and they resolved, "That the valley of the Ne braska or Platte river and the South Pass is the route most clearly pointed out by the hand of nature for a world's thoroughfare, and a natural roadway for the United States, con necting the Atlantic with the Pacific." Mr. Hadley D. Johnson states1 that in the month of November meetings were held at Council Bluffs which were addressed by Sena tor A. C. Dodge and Col. S. R. Curtis, one of the first United States Commissioners of the Union Pacific railway, "who warmly advo cated the construction of our contemplated railways, and the organization of Nebraska territory." He further says : 1 Trans. Neb. State Hist. Soc , vol. 2, p. 87, et seq. "Before starting (for Washington) a num ber of our citizens who took a deep interest in the organization of a territory west of Iowa had on due thought and consultation agreed upon a plan which I had formed, which was the organization of two territories instead of one as had heretofore been contemplated." After arriving at Washington, Mr. Johnson says : "Hon. A. C. Dodge,2 senator from Iowa, who had from the first been an ardent friend of my plan, introduced me to Judge Douglas, to whom I unfolded my plan, and asked him to adopt it, which, after mature consideration, he decided to do, and he agreed that he would report a substitute for the pending bill, which he afterwards did do. . . . The Honor able Bernhart Henn, member of the house from Iowa, who was also my friend, warmly advocated our territorial scheme." The important part which Senator Dodge played in the great national drama — or per haps the prologue which was to be followed by the tragedy of the Civil war — aids greatly in the interpretation of its motive and mean ing. Many of us of Nebraska remember him as the suave, kindly, and gracious gentleman of the old school. By virtue of his ability and experience as statesman and politician, as well as his official position, Senator Dodge represented the interests and wishes of the anti-slavery state of Iowa, which demanded the early organization of the great empire on its western border. Indeed, until the last, when the question of the adjustment of the interests or demands of slavery became paramount, Senator Dodge might well have been regarded as the leader in the project of territorial organization rather than Douglas himself. In the terrific but short struggle at the last, when slavery was pressing its overreaching and self-destructive demand, he preserved his independence. His democratic, anti-slaveholding spirit breaks out in his rebuke of Senator Brown of Missis sippi in the course of the Kansas-Nebraska debate. Brown had defended negro slavery on the ground that it was necessary to the performance of menial labor which he 2Augustus C. Dodge, born January 2, 1812; died November 20, 1883. J5o HISTORY OF NEBRASKA referred to contemptuously as beneath white people : "There are certain menial employments which belong exclusively to the negro. Why, sir, it would take you longer to find a white man in my state who would hire himself out as a boot-black or a white woman who would go to service as a chamber-maid than it took Captain Cook to sail around the world. Would any man take his boot-black, would any lady take her chamber-maid into companionship?" This spirited retort of Senator Dodge's is not that of a doughface : "Sir, I tell the senator from Mississippi, — I speak it upon the floor of the American sen ate, in presence of my father [Henry Dodge of Wisconsin] who will attest its truth — that I have performed and do perform when at home, all of those menial services to which that senator referred in terrhs so grating to my feelings. As a general thing I saw my own wood, do all my own marketing. I never had a servant of any color to wait upon me a day in my life. I have driven teams, horses, mules and oxen, and considered myself as respectable then as I do now, or as any senator upon this floor is."1 This incident serves also to illustrate the great change in customs and manners which has taken place in the short time since the birth of our commonwealth. This Cincinnatus — foreman of the. founders of Nebraska — was yet of courtly manners, a senator of the United States, and minister to the court of Spain. When, at the last, the Kansas-Nebraska bill involved a question of vital importance to the Democratic party, Douglas, as the conceded and imperious leader of the party, overshad owed all others. But from first to last Dodge cooperated with Douglas for the organization of Nebraska. He showed that he consistently supported the popular sovereignty principle of the Nebraska measure by showing that he had advocated that principle as a solution of the still vexed slavery question in his support of the compromise measures of 1850.2 Senator Dodge discloses clearly his reasons for desiring the division of the territory : 1 Appendix Cong. Globe, vol. 29, p. 376. 2 Ibid., p. 3£0. 8 Ibid., p. 382. "Originally I favored the organization of one territory; but representations from our constituents, and a more critical examination of the subject — having an eye to the systems of internal improvement which must be applied by the people of Nebraska and Kan sas to develop their resources — satisfied my colleague who was a member of the committee that reported this bill, and myself, that the great interests of the whole country, and espe cially of my state demanded that we should support the proposition for the establishment of two territories. Otherwise the seat of gov ernment and leading thoroughfares must have fallen south of Iowa."3 Though Bernhart Henn,4 member of the lower house of Congress, lived at Fairfield, as early as June 11, 1853, he had established a land and warrant broker's office under the firm name of Henn, Williams & Co., at Coun cil Bluffs, the residence or rendezvous of the potent promoters of territorial organization and of Omaha City. In a speech in the House, urging the pas sage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, he discloses the objects and motives of the promoters even more clearly than Senator Dodge had done : "The bill is of more practical importance to the state of Iowa, and the people of the dis trict I represent than to any other state or constituency in the union."5 In answer to "the unjust charge made on this floor by several that it was the scheme of southern men, whereby one of the states to be formed out of these territories was to be a slave state" he demands : "Do they not know that the delegates sent here by the peo ple interested in the organization of that coun try proposed this division?"6 Continuing in the same strain he urges that the 40th parallel, the proposed line of divi sion, is nearly on a line dividing the waters of the Platte and the Kansas rivers : "A line which nature has run for the boun dary of states; a line that will insure to each territory a common interest, each having a rich and fertile valley for its commercial cen ter ; a line that will be of immense importance to the prosperity and commerce of Iowa; a 4 Bernhart Henn, elected to Congress in 1849, serv ing four years. 5 Appendix Cong. Globe, vol. 29, p. 885. 6 Ibid., p. 886. DIVISION OF NEBRASKA 151 line that will make the commercial and politi cal center of Nebraska on a parallel with the great commercial emporiums of the Atlantic and the harbor of San Francisco. . . . The organization of two territories instead of one has advantages for the north, and for Iowa in particular, which should not be over looked. It secures in the Platte valley one of the lines of Pacific railways by making it the center of commerce, wealth and trade. It brings to the country bordering on Iowa the seat of government for Nebraska. It at once opens up a home market for our produce. It places west of us a dense and thriving settle ment. It gives to western Iowa a prominence far ahead of that which ten years ago was maintained by the towns in the eastern por tion of our state. It brings Iowa nearer to the center of power and commerce."1 While these members of Congress from anti-slavery Iowa thus strongly urged divi sion of the territory, those from pro-slavery Missouri merely acquiesced in the plan. In the Senate Benton opposed the passage of the bill on account of the repeal of the compro mise. Atchison took little part in the debate on the bill, but while he said that he thought slavery would go into Kansas if the compro mise should be repealed,2 it does not appear that he ever urged division. In the House Lindley, Miller, and Oliver discussed the measure but said nothing about division. Lindley urged that organization must precede settlement, which must precede "that great enterprise of the age, the great Pacific railroad." Miller and Oliver discussed the question of Indian cessions. Facts thus rudely obtrude themselves as a substitute for the guessing of the historians as to the primary motive of Douglas for the division scheme, namely, subserviency to the hope and intent of the slave power to make Kansas a slave state, and they seem positively to preclude that theory. On this point there is a strong and significant concensus of north ern opinion. Douglas himself expressed his belief that it would be impracticable to fix slavery upon either of the territories. In his noted speech on the 30th of January, 1854, he urged that slaves had actually been kept in the Northwest territory in spite of the pro hibition of the ordinance, and that they were then kept in Nebraska in spite of the prohi bition of the Missouri compromise; but the people of all the northern territories had abol ished slavery as soon as they had the local authority to do so. And so he said of Ne braska: "When settlers rush in, when labor becomes plenty and therefore cheap, in that climate, with its productions, it is worse than folly to think of its being a slaveholding coun try. I do not believe there is a man in Con gress who thinks it could be permanently a slaveholding country. I have no idea that it could. . . . When you give them a legis lature you thereby confess that they are com petent to exercise the powers of legislation. If they wish slavery they have a right to it. If they do not want it they will not have it, and you should not force it upon them."3 Benton in his speech in bitter opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska bill said : "The ques tion of slavery in these territories, if thrown open to territorial action, will be a question of numbers, a question of the majority for or against slavery; and what chance would the slaveholders have in such a contest? No chance at all. The slave owners will be over whelmed and compelled to play at a most unequal game, not only in point of numbers but in point of stakes. The slaveholder stakes his property and has to run it off or lose it if outvoted at the polls."4 Benton dreaded and deprecated opening anew the slavery contest by the proposed repeal of the compromise. For the sake of peace he had promoted the clause in the con stitution of Missouri prohibiting the legisla ture from emancipating slaves without the consent of their owners. Senator Dodge insisted that, as touching slavery, the bill would have the effect of free ing several hundred slaves who would be taken into Kansas and Nebraska as domestic ser vants on the promise of freedom at some fixed time. The owners of slaves, he said, would be too timid and conservative to take them 1 Appendix Cong. Globe, vol. 29, p. 886. 8 Ibid., pp. 939-40. s Cong. Globe, vol. 28, pt. 1, p. 279. 4 Appendix Cong. Globe, vol. 29, p. 560. 15^ HISTORY OF NEBRASKA into new and unfavorable communities in larger numbers.1 This theory was peculiarly confirmed in Nebraska, and doubtless would have been in Kansas after conditions had become settled there, but for the Civil war which swept slavery away entirely. In his speech in the House, in which he urges the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill with all his powers, Mr. Henn argues that, "These territories will, nay must become non-slaveholding states. . . . My experi ence in the settlement of new countries so teaches." Emigration moves on a line south of west for the betterment of physical as well as financial conditions. "Hence," he con tinues, "all of Nebraska, if not all of Kansas, will be settled by emigrants from non-slave- holding states. Three thousand of these, from free states, are now on the line of Nebraska and fifteen hundred on that of Kansas ready to step over as soon as the bill passes." A network of railways in this latitude already embraced the Mississippi and would soon reach the Missouri.2 Without a word of tes timony, unprejudiced eyes should see why commercial and political considerations, en tirely independent of the slavery question, should have discovered the advantages of divi sion to Iowa and Illinois also, and stimulated to the utmost their demand for it. Douglas was the natural mouthpiece of this sentiment by virtue of his residence in Chicago, which was vitally interested in securing the location of the Pacific railway as a direct extension of her great trunk lines to the West, and of his position as chairman of the senate committee on territories. So far from being surprising it is quite natural that these advantages of division should have appeared and been pre sented now, when the long-mooted question of territorial organization was at last plainly to be settled, and which quickened, and for the first time made the question of a Pacific railway practicable and imminent. This now certain prospect of the opening of the way for giving value to the bordering territory and for the most gigantic project for a com- 1 Appendix Cong. Globe, vol. 29, p. 382. 2Ibid., p. 885. 8 Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. 1, p. 439. mercial highway that had yet been imagined suddenly increased the importance of every local consideration or possible advantage, and resulted in the project of division for north ern commercial interests and by northern commercial initiative. Douglas had from the first striven for a northern territory. His prompt acquiescence in the proposal of division is quite explicable and consistent when coupled with the fact that his bill of 1844 provided for a territory, whose northern boundary line was identical with that of present Nebraska and whose southern line was only two degrees farther south than the dividing line between the two territories, and with the further fact that the proposed northern boundary in his bill of 1848 was that of the present state, and the southern boundary was the same as the division line between the two territories and states, namely, the 40th parallel. But this cogent consistency of circum stance and specific human testimony must, it seems, give way to the exigencies of contrary historical authority. For we are told in no inconclusive tone and terms that, "We cannot clearly trace the ways leading up to the division of Nebraska which appar ently formed no part of the original plan. Nor is the explanation of Senator Douglas sufficient. It is almost certain that if there had been no question of slavery this change would not have been made."3 And again : "For the division of the Ne braska country had no meaning if it were not made in order to secure a part of it to slav ery."4 This author brings to the discussion of the question great ability, but a zeal that leaps the bounds of fairness and reason. It certainly seems as if he has retained his pow ers to discredit and smirch Douglas to the utmost. This palpable predetermination nat urally leads to disingenuous if not false state ments. Thus, to sustain his preconception that the primary object of the organization of the Nebraska country, and especially its division into two territories, was to further 4Von Hoist, Constitutional History of the United States, vol. 4, p. 323. DIVISION OF NEBRASKA 153 the interests of the slavocracy, he insists that there were no white men in the territory, keep ing back the fact that theoretically or legally there could be none since they had been inter dicted by the law of Congress of 1834; and he neglects to mention the very relevant fact that the advocates of organization in Con gress rightfully urged that the population would be forthcoming, and, more scrupulous than the Israelites of old, in general waited legal permission to "go up and possess the land." Organization therefore must needs precede population, or else be indefinitely post poned. Douglas himself completely answered these objections in his great 3d of March speech by correctly stating that, in spite of the formal legal prohibition, there was a goodly number of white settlers within the proposed territory; that there was an immense traffic through it to the Pacific coast, now entirely unprotected, and organization was necessary on that account ; and that people would inev itably invade the territory in spite of legal barriers which therefore had better be removed in response to the popular demand. The first census of Kansas taken within six months after the passage of the organic act indicates that there was already a population not far from five thousand. Douglas very plausibly if not conclusively established his contention that he at least was breaking no new ground and springing no surprise in what he re garded as the incidental repeal of the Mis souri compromise. In his noted speech in Chicago, October 23, 1850, he had very explicitly and broadly generalized the principle which he substituted for the compromise: "These measures are predicated on the great fundamental principle that every people ought to possess the right of forming and regulat ing their own internal concerns and domestic institutions in their own way. . . . These things are all confided by the constitution for each state to decide, and I know of no reason why the same principle should not be confined to territories." He cited the forcible fact that the two great political parties — -Whig and Democrat — in their national conventions in 1852 "adopted and affirmed the principles embodied in the compromise measures of 1850 as the rules of action by which they would be governed in all future cases in the organization of terri torial governments and the admission of new states."1 Seward, Chase, and Sumner were the prin cipal leaders of the opposition to the Kansas- Nebraska bill. Perhaps they had a finer ethi cal and philanthropic instinct and purpose than Douglas. This is doubtless true at least of Chase and Sumner. It is true also of Lincoln, whom the new opportunity presented by the passage of the bill lured out of the hiding into which he had gone discouraged after his unfortunate participation with the Whig party in its opposition to the Mexican JThe pertinent declaration of the Democratic con vention was as follows : " Congress has no power un der the constitution to interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several states. . . . All efforts of the abolitionists or others to induce Con gress to interfere with questions of slavery or to take incipient steps in relation thereto are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous conse quences. . . . Therefore the Democratic party of the Union, standing on this national platform, will abide by and adhere to a faithful execution of the acts known as the compromise measures settled by the last Congress." The whigs bore even more heavily upon the idea of the general principle: "The series of acts of the thirty-second Congress, the act known as the fu gitive slave law included, are received and acquiesced in by the Whig_ party of the United States as a settle ment, in principle and substance, of the dangerous and exciting questions which they embrace, and so faras they are concerned we will maintain them and insist upon their strict enforcement until time and ex perience shall demonstrate the necessity for further legislation." The Free-soil Democratic convention denounced the compromise measures of 1850 for ' ' their omission to guarantee freedom in the free ter ritories, and their attempt to impose unconstitutional limitations on the powers of Congress and the people who admit new states." The Free-soilers, however, plainly opened the wav for the repeal of the Missouri compromise, if it were found inexpedient, by declaring, "That the doctrine that any human law is a finality and not subject to modification or repeal, is not in ac cordance with the creed of the founders of our govern ment, and is dangerous to the liberty of the people." True, both the regular Democratic, and the Whig convention resolved in the strongest terms against the further agitation of the slavery question in Con gress or out; but Douglas could easily answer to the implication that he broke or was inclined to break these solemn party vows, that the organization of the Nebraska country was an enterprise that had been "dear to my heart" for ten years, and that he had no thought of mixing it up with the slavery question until it was forced upon him at the eleventh hour by greedy and shortsighted representatives of the slavocracy. '54 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA war, and discouraged also by the easy ascend ency of Douglas in Illinois. But the position of Douglas was far different from that of either of the statesmen named. He had the tremendous responsibility of leadership of a party which was virtually without opposition and whose dominating element was fatuously bent, as it continued to be to its self-destruc tion, on the expansion of slavery. To Douglas fell the colossal task of holding the dominat ing pro-slavery element of his party at bay without destroying the party — and the Union. It would be rash to say that Seward, Chase, or Lincoln, who were all ambitious, practical politicians, would have done differently in Douglas's place. Seward and Lincoln repre sented politically the echo of dying Whiggism, and Chase had cut loose from the Democratic party. It was therefore easy for them to join the now swelling chorus of the North and of the civilized world against slavery. But Doug las had the misfortune at this critical juncture of being the responsible leader of the dominant party and personally ambitious as well. Though Seward and Lincoln, and perhaps Chase, were already shaping the new anti- slavery Republican party of which they were to become the ambitious leaders and the prime beneficiaries, yet as their aim was more remote than that of Douglas, its element of selfish ness was not as apparent. Certain it is that in their early leadership of the Republican party Seward and Lincoln compromised on the slavery question more than Douglas evaded — more than it was possible for him with his impetuous, Napoleonic, dictatorial spirit to trim. The dramatic halo of the Civil war, from whose embrace death snatched Douglas all too soon — for he had promptly and un equivocally thrown his weighty influence on the side of the Union — hides all but martyr dom and saintship in the character and career of Lincoln, and illuminates, if it does not exaggerate the moral heroism of Seward and Chase. It is not likely that an impartial esti mate of these early Republican leaders will ever be written. For an opposite reason no impartial or just estimate of Douglas has yet appeared. After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill there was a memorable struggle in Kan sas for six years between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces, both augmented by organ ized colonization from other states, until the unhappy territory was admitted as a state without slavery in January, 1861, just as the southern states were busy going out of the Union. Actual experience in Kansas with the popular sovereignty plan of adjustment was sorry and sorrowful indeed. But this was a sorrowful and vexatious question, and under any plan there would have been an irrepres sible conflict. It should suffice that though under Douglas's plan freedom was born in sore travail, yet it seems not improbable but for that plan it had not been born at all ; and it is to the eternal credit of the cour age and capacity of Douglas that there is no doubt that freedom won the day under his leadership against the now blind and mad greed and aggressiveness of the South and the truckling policy of Buchanan's adminis tration. In the trial of a masterful states man's character and career it should be esteemed a weighty matter that throughout his course and after he had compassed "the Kansas-Nebraska iniquity" this "subservient demagogue" remained the idol of his party in the North ; that the confidence of the exacting, destructive slave-power of the South was, on the other hand, always withheld from him, until it finally accomplished his undoing as well as that of his party and the Union. While calm and ripened public opinion will not hold that Douglas ought to have consid ered uncompromisingly and exclusively the welfare of the slave or the immoral quality of slavery, where the life of the Union, as well as that of his party, was already at stake,. yet, obviously, he lacked that sentimental regard and sympathy for the negroes in bond age which the civilized world now applauds in Garrison, Phillips, Sumner, and Chase, but which in effect cooperated with the fire-eating sentiment of the South in precipitating the war which otherwise might have been avoided. Perhaps Douglas played a hard-hearted as well as a desperate game, not guiltless of ESTIMATE OF DOUGLAS 155 finesse, with his overbearing, cunning, and outnumbering southern party associates ; and perhaps he was over-selfish in yielding to the preposterous demand of a part of them for the repeal of the compromise. But it would be rash as well as unjust to draw the sweep ing conclusion that his ultimate motive was not patriotic or that he did not sincerely be lieve that his substitute for the compromise offered the most practicable solution of the momentous and vexatious question with which he was confronted. It was apparently not until some years after its passage that Nebraska was relegated to the rear in the name of the Kansas-Ne braska bill and was thus deprived by its Jay- hawker neighbor of its immemorial prece dence and of the full fame or notoriety of its relation to this famous or infamous act. Douglas constantly referred to it as the Ne braska bill as late, at least, as the time of his debates with Lincoln in 1858; but in his noted article in Harper's Magazine, of September, 1859, ne commits the error of stating that the act "is now known on the statute book as the Kansas-Nebraska act." The act is in 'Judge J. H. Broady, who, in the following remi niscences, gives an important and interesting contem porary estimate of Douglas by Alexander H. Stephens, spent his life in Quincy, Illinois, — the home of Gover nor W. A. Richardson — until he removed to Nebraska in 1867, where he has been a prominent citizen ever since. He became steeped in the political knowledge and traditions of Illinois politics and politicians of the times and was familiarly acquainted with Governor Richardson: "A talk with Mr. Albert Watkins, who is writing on the subject of the Nebraska bill for the Illustrated History of Nebraska, has awakened recollections of the traditions of the great Douglas campaigns in Illinois which should not be without interest here. In those campaigns the Nebraska bill, as it was called, was the battle cry. The name Nebraska was familiar to the women and children, read in every paper, and heard resounding from every platform. "The Douglas doctrine of popular sovereignty was formulated in 1854 by the Nebraska bill. At the Democratic convention of 1856 Douglas was the ac knowledged leader of the democracy and made the platform, but because of his aggressive character he had antagonized so many that he was unable to get the necessary two-thirds of the convention, and James Buchanan was the compromise candidate. "The radical fire-eaters of the South promptly took charge of the Buchanan administration. By 1858 they had concluded that the only way to save slavery was to dissolve the union of the states, and that before that could be done the influence of Douglas in the South must be destroyed. They used Buchanan to further their scheme. Douglas at once saw that he must fight fact entitled in the statute as "an act to organ ize the territories of Nebraska and Kansas"; but the Illinois Democratic convention of i860 called the measure by its present name. The misnomer, and the usurpation by Kansas of first place in the name, may probably be cred ited to the fact that it is more easily spoken in that form, and that the spectacular and tragical political procedure in "bleeding Kan sas" during the years immediately following the passage of the bill gave the territory the full place in the public eye to the exclusion of Nebraska with the comparatively tame events of its organization. Thus Louisiana territory was conceived by the exigencies and on the threshold of a mighty international struggle which resulted in the annihilation of the greatest and most imperious of potentates ; and Nebraska, child of Louisiana, was conceived by the exigencies and in the beginning of a great national strug gle, in which the no less imperious power of human slavery was also to meet its doom.1 The organic acts for Nebraska and Kansas which were finally adopted contained a guar antee, not found in the bills offered by Doug- for his life, and accordingly boldly attacked the ad ministration. This brought on the bitter factional fight in the Democratic party which was in full fury when the memorable campaign for the United States Senate took place between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. "The opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Dred Scott case had been delivered, and it went as a knife into Douglas. No one except Douglas knew that better than Lincoln; yet in their joint debates Lincoln argued that the Dred Scott opin ion was part of a conspiracy to make slavery universal in the States, and that Douglas was one of the con spirators. That vexed Douglas because the circum stances were such that Lincoln could make many believe that charge, yet at the same time he knew enough to know that Douglas was not in that conspir acy. He knew enough to know that Douglas was not purposely committing political suicide. He knew that it was the general belief that they had Douglas down at last, because the Dred Scott case so undermined his doctrine of popular sovereignty that it must surely fall. "At the opening of the campaign Lincoln had not yet become the leader of his party, and was not yet a candidate for the presidency. He had a free hand, with everything to gain and nothing to lose. On the contrary, Douglas was already the leader of his party and a candidate for the nomination for president in 1860. He must look, not only to the effect of his speeches in Illinois, but also to the whole country, to the South as well as the North. The great young Re publican party of the North, backed by a quickened public conscience and a massive moving trend in its '56 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA las in 1844 and i&4&, that the boundaries should not "include any territory which by treaty with any Indian tribe is not, without the consent of said tribe, to be included within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any favor, was after him from the one side, and the radi cals of the South, backed by the patronage of the Bu chanan administration and the opinion of the Dred Scott case, were after him on the other. Illinois had gone against the Democracy, and Lyman Trumbull, one of the foremost republican statesman of the day, was Douglas's colleague in the Senate. The Dred Scott opinion had left Douglas as a gladiator standing in quicksand. But he had left his well-earned pres tige, and a captivating personality, which among all the statesmen of Illinois remained still altogether matchless. He had at stake his party leadership as well as his presidential aspirations, all of which de pended on the strength of the southern combination against him and whether the same would grow greater or less. He doubtless believed, what subsequent events have amply proven, that that combination aimed at a dissolution of the Union, and, as a necessary preliminary, his political overthrow. But for that combination he surely would have been the next pres ident, which would have meant the political downfall of the southern radicals, the burial of the doctrine of secession, the preservation of the Union without war, and the ultimate extinction of slavery as a necessary concomitant of our rise to a higher civilization. "I speak with greater assurance on this subject be cause of a long talk in 1881 with Alexander H. Steph ens, who was Douglas's ablest and most trusted friend in the South. Mr. Stephens briefly spoke of the states men of this country previous to the time he entered Congress which, as I recollect, was in 1843. He then had some more to say of Calhoun, Clay, Webster, and others whom he found there, until he came to Stephen A. Douglas, when he threw off reserve, and with an enthusiasm which he had not displayed before, grew exceedingly eloquent. Here he spoke in a manner which I took to mean that he considered me as a. friend to the fame of Douglas, and he would trust me to make such use of what he was saying as I saw fit. When he closed what I consider the best eulogy on Douglas I ever heard or read I looked at my watch, and he had been talking about two hours and a half, and it was bed time. ' ' He said of all the men he ever knew Douglas was the gamiest and most captivating fighter in a legisla tive body; that he was Napoleonic in promptness, com pactness, and power; that the grasp, breadth, reach, and readiness of his mind was marvelous; that in an off-hand, running debate he was without an equal; that he stood by and believed in the living Douglas, and that as time advanced he had grown firmer in his opinion that Douglas was right; that if the extremists of the South had not prevented, Douglas would have prevailed; the Civil war would never have occurred, and the Union would have been preserved; that Doug las's true place in history, but which would doubt less never be awarded to him, was that of the foremost American patriot and statesman of his time. He did not say what he thought would have become of slavery. He was silent also as to the Dred Scott case, and the ad ministration of James Buchanan. But what he seemed careful to avoid left room to read between the lines, which I have undertaken to do. "Coming now from this Stephens diversion back to the campaign, we find Douglas under the restraint of being a candidate both for the Senate and the White state or territory; but all such territory shall be excepted out of the boundaries and consti tute no part of the territory of Nebraska until such tribe shall signify their assent to the president of the United States to be included House, and between the fires of two allied forces. On the one side the extremists of the South, backed by Buchanan who had removed all the friends of Douglas from federal offices and placed in their stead bitter foes, and had put in the field a Buchanan Democratic ticket of bolters; on the other side the Republican party, under the leadership of its greatest men. These allied forces took the license, for campaign purposes, to appear to be hostile to each other without the lead ers of either taking the leaders of the other seriously. They would, for the delusion of the ignorant, use brilliant but harmless fireworks in their sham battle with each other, but when they used the cold steel, to hurt, both alike aimed under Douglas's fifth rib. "The greatest bitterness was between the Douglas democracy and the Buchanan federal brigade. The former called the latter Danites. This name came from a reputed secret organization, for hire by the Mormon prophet at Nauvoo, to destroy by assassination or fire persons and things distasteful to the prophet. This organization of the prophet was called by the Mormons "destroying angels," but by the other peo ple Danites . The term Danites in this campaign meant Buchanan's villains for hire. "Wm. A. Richardson, called 'Old Dick,' as Lin coln was called ' Old Abe,' resigned the governorship of the territory of Nebraska, assigning as his reason that he would not hold an appointment under an apostate president. He returned to resume his old place at the right hand of Douglas in the coming fray. "Lincoln, Trumbull, Browning, and other noted republican orators, and Dougherty, Reynolds, and other noted Danite orators, were already in the field and on the stump. "While Douglas engaged the republican array, he assigned 'Old Dick' to take care of the Danites. Napoleon never made a better choice of a marshal. ' Old Dick ' was as bold, combative, and aggressive as his chief. Yet in sunshine or in storm his great good heart was always in evidence, and even republi cans would say that he had a heart as big as an ox, and if he would work some for himself and not all for Douglas they would not mind to give him a lift. He never had any money, because he would always divide with people in distress. Once at a great meeting at his home city of Quincy he opened one of his great and telling speeches with this sentence : ' ' With a large portion of humanity, to get something to eat and something to wear is a hard struggle from the cradle to the grave." He was a big man with large features, full head of black hair, swarthy complexion, highly colored, a strong Roman nose, and glowing eyes un der great shaggy brows. He was at his best in a rough and tumble catch-as-you-can campaign mix-up. ' ' The heavy artillery of the campaign, of course, was where Douglas was engaged with such as Lincoln, Trumbull, and Browning. But even there, in the in tervals of lull, could be heard in the distance, the roar of ' Old Dick ' among the Danites. He was skinning them and hanging their hides on the fence . He blessed them like Jacob of old blessed his son Dan. ' Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder iu the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that bis rider shall fall back ward.' (Gen. 49:17.) The Bible was his thunder and lightning. It was a cold day when ' Old Dick ' could not send a solar plexus passage of Scripture. PROPOSED BOUNDARIES 157 within the said territory of Nebraska." This clause was inserted in the Indian provisions of the Richardson bill, doubtless as a result of the strenuous opposition to the organiza tion of the territory on the part of the East and Southwest, and it was retained in the Dodge bill. The bill of 1844 provided that "the existing laws of the territory of Iowa shall be extended over the said territory," but "the governor, secretary, and territorial judge, or a majority of them, shall have power and authority to repeal such of the laws of the territory of Iowa as they may consider inapplicable and to adopt in their stead such of the laws of any of the states or other territories as they may consider necessary," subject to the ap proval of Congress ; thus following the principle of the original provisions of the Ordinance of 1787 for territories of the first grade. This bill of 1844 followed the Ordi nance of 1787 in providing for a second grade or representative government ; but while under the ordinance five thousand free male inhab itants were required as a condition precedent to legislative government, under the Douglas bill the requirement was five thousand inhab itants merely, only excepting Indians. The ordinance provided that an elector should own fifty acres of land in his representative dis trict, and that to be eligible to membership in the legislature one should own two hundred acres of land within his, district ; the Douglas bill required no property qualification in either case, but that members of the legislature should have the same qualification as voters. While the ordinance did not, specifically at least, exclude negroes from the elective fran chise, the Douglas bill limited that right to free white male citizens for the first election and empowered the legislature to define the suffrage qualifications thereafter. On the 7th day of January, 1845, A. V. Brown of Tennessee, member -of the House committee on territories, reported a bill amendatory to the Douglas bill which required that there should be five thousand white inhabitants before the territory should be entitled to a legislature. This bill also changed the provisions of the original bill relating to the judiciary system. The boundary described in the bill of 1848 differed from that of the bill of 1844 in start ing where the 40th parallel of latitude crosses the Missouri river instead of at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers — a little above 39 u ; in running to the 43d parallel instead of the mouth of the Niobrara river a little to the south, and then following the river to that parallel; and on the south in running along the 40th parallel instead of the devious course, ending at the east on the 38th parallel, as already outlined. The bill of 1848 followed Brown's amendment in requiring five thousand white inhabitants before change to legislative government and also in the pro visions for the judiciary, and the bill of 1844 in requiring the approval of the enactments of the legislature by Congress before they should become valid. In other respects the bills in question are all essentially alike. The boundary described in the Richardson bill of February 2, 1853, differed from its predecessor of 1848 in following the summit of the Rocky mountains on the west instead of a right line south from the point of inter section of the northern line with the moun tains — which did not appreciably alter the western boundary of the part of the territory included in the bill of 1848 — and in adopting the northern line of New Mexico and the parallel of 360 30' instead of the 40th parallel as the boundary on the south. In the Richardson bill the feature of legis lation by the governor, secretary, and terri torial judge is left out, and legislation by a general assembly from the first is provided for; but all enactments of the legislature must "They all came out of tbe fight 'somewhat dis figured but still in the ring.' At the election, tbe popular plurality was slightly republican, but Douglas had the legislature and was reelected to the Senate. The battle still raged between Douglas and the allied forces against him, to the close of tbe presidential campaign of 1860, in which the Douglas democracy was completely overwhelmed. The struggle from 1858 to 1860 was Douglas's Waterloo, and ' Old Dick ' was his Marshall Ney. " Richardson declared to me that he had heard the popular oratory of Webster, Clay, and Corwin, and con ceded their great powers, but that on the stump Douglas excelled all of them, and indeed he had no equal there." 158 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA be approved by Congress to become effective. Only free white male citizens could vote or hold office. Since the territory was to pass its own laws, the provision of the bill of 1848, extending the laws of Iowa over the territory except as they might be repealed by the gov ernor, secretary, and judge was dropped. With these exceptions the bills were essen tially alike. The boundaries in the Dodge bill of De cember 14, 1853, were identical with those of the Richardson bill, and the bills were other wise alike in all important provisions. The boundary of the final organic act differed from that of the Richardson and Dodge bills in taking in all of the remainder of the Louisiana purchase on the north, except that part of Minnesota lying west of the Mississippi river, instead of running only up to the 43d parallel ; and on the south in running down to the 37th parallel instead of 360 30'. There are two other important points of difference between the final organic act and the bills which pre ceded it, namely, that of the famous provision with regard to slavery and the dropping of the provision that legislation by the territorial assembly must be approved by Congress to become operative. This proviso was retained even in the substitute of January 23, 1854. The other bills also provided that the governor should act as superintendent of Indian affairs in place of those officers stationed at St. Louis, but this feature was dropped from the final bill. The similarity of the main provisions of all these bills is explained by the fact that they, like the organic acts of all the territories which have been organized since 1787, except that of Florida, which was patterned after the Louisiana act, were constructed upon the framework of the immortal Ordinance of the northwest territory. Nebraska was distin guished in being the first territory with an elective legislature whose laws were not re quired to be submitted to Congress for approval before becoming effective. This submission was not required by the Ordi nance of 1787, presumably because the gov ernor, whose assent to legislative acts was required, and the upper house of the legis lature were appointed by the president of the United States. There was a departure from this principle in the case of the territorial government of Orleans — the first government established by the United States within the Louisiana purchase. Though the governor and the legislative body, consisting of a coun cil of thirteen members, were appointed by the president, yet, as they were residents of the territory so lately alien in fact, and still so in spirit, it was doubtless deemed discreet that Congress should have the power of veto ing their enactments. The organic acts of the earlier territories, such as Indiana, Mis sissippi, Michigan, Illinois, and Kentucky and Tennessee of the southwest territory followed closely the Ordinance of 1787. Missouri, the first territory organized after the original divi sion of the Louisiana purchase into the terri tory of Orleans and the district of Louisiana, was at once allowed a legislative assembly, though the members of the upper house were appointed by the president. In the organic act of Indiana, however, (1800) the first division of the northwest ter ritory, a provision that the territory might have a legislature, "so soon as the governor thereof shall be satisfied that it is the desire of a majority of the freeholders thereof," was substituted for the rigid condition of the Ordi nance of 1787 requiring five thousand free male inhabitants. No provision was made for a legislature in the organic act of the district of Louisiana (1805), and that of Michigan passed the same year merely adopted the Ordi nance of 1787. The right of freeholders to decide when a legislature should be estab lished was left to Illinois (1809) and Arkan sas (1819). The organic act of Missouri (1812), and all the territories established after 1809 provided for immediate legislative as semblies. Wisconsin (1836), the next terri tory organized — excepting Florida — was the first to come in with the right to elect both houses of the legislature, but the act con tained the offset that "all the laws of the governor and legislative assembly shall be submitted to, and, if disapproved by the Con- ORGANIC ACTS COMPARED 159 gress of the United States, the same shall be null and of no effect." This provision for submission of enactments to Congress was incorporated in the organic acts of all the territories organized from that time until Ne braska and Kansas were reached, including Iowa (1838), Oregon (1848), Minnesota (1849), New Mexico and Utah (1850), and Washington (1853). Such undemocratic sur veillance would have been galling to the spirit of popular sovereignty which pervaded the Kansas-Nebraska act, and the two principles were quite incompatible. Under the Ordinance of 1787 members of the legislative council were required to be freeholders to the extent of five hundred acres, members of the house of representa tives two hundred acres, and electors fifty acres. Members of the council of thirteen of the territory of Orleans were required to be owners of real estate. In the Missouri terri torial act members of the council were re quired to own two hundred acres of land, and members of the lower house were required to be freeholders, and only free white males, who were also taxpayers, could vote. This provi sion of the Missouri act was applied to the territory of Arkansas. When Wisconsin was reached in 1836 all property qualifications for electors and members of the legislature were dropped, and were not resumed by any of the subsequent territorial organic acts, and like qualifications were required for both electors and representatives. While the Ordinance of 1787 did not spe- 1 Stephen Arnold Douglas, author and promoter of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, was born at Brandon, Rut land county, Vermont, April 23, 1813. Educated at Brandon and at Canandaigua, New York. Remained at the latter place until 1833, pursuing the study of law. Located at Jacksonville, Illinois, where he taught school, was admitted to the bar and opened an office in 1834. In 1835 he was elected attorney general of Illinois, and zealously espoused the democratic side on all public questions. In 1835 he resigned as attor ney general and was elected to the state legislature. In 1841 he was chosen one of the judges of the supreme court of Illinois, resigning in 1843 to take a seat in the house of representatives in the national Congress. In 1847 he was elected to the United States Senate and reelected, in 1852. "Under his lead the Kansas-Ne braska bill was triumphantly carried in the senate, on the grounds that the principle of a division of the pub lic domain between the sections by the Missouri or any other line had been totally abandoned by the adjust ment of 185J, and the principle of non-intervention by cifically restrict the suffrage to whites, it did provide that apportionment should be based upon the number of free males. The act of Congress (1808) "extending the right of suffrage" in Mississippi restricted it to free white males, but who should also hold fifty acres of land in accordance with the terms of the Ordinance of 1787. This restriction of the suffrage to "free white males" is found in every subsequent territorial act to and including that of Montana passed in 1864, excepting those of Oregon and Washington in which the term "white male" is used. But, beginning with Wisconsin and until Wyom ing was reached, the legislative assemblies of the territories were left free by the organic acts to prescribe the qualifications of voters. In the Ordinance of 1787 apportionment is based upon the number of free males, but in the acts of Mississippi (1808) and Missouri the term free white males is used; when Wis consin is reached it is based upon the popula tion, except Indians, and this basis is followed to the end. In all the territories of the Louisiana Pur chase, of Mexican acquisition, and of the northwest territory, beginning with Wiscon sin, the suffrage restriction term always used was "free white males," while in the acts of Washington and Oregon the word free is left out. Was this curious fact due to another, namely, that in all the former territory slavery actually existed to a degree, and southern jealousy was bent on preventing any mulatto slave from voting? congress, anywhere in the territories, substituted in its stead." In 1858 Mr. Douglas was reelected to the Senate after one of the fiercest contests ever waged in the United States for a similar position ._ In 1852 he was prominently mentioned as a candidate for the presidency, and in 1856 his name was presented to the Cincinnati convention, but withdrawn. In 1860 he was the most prominent candidate of the democracy for the presidential nomination and very probably would have received it but for the withdrawal of the southern dele gates. He was, however, nominated by the northern democracy and with four tickets in the field polled a popular vote of 1,365,976, being second only to that of Buchanan. In the electoral college, however, Douglas received only twelve votes. "The great events of 1861 followed in rapid succession. Mr. Douglas was spared their full development, but threw his great in fluence on the side of the administration, and gave President Lincoln his cordial support. He died after a short illness at his residence in Chicago, June 3, 1861." i6o HISTORY OF NEBRASKA CHAPTER VI THE FIRST GOVERNOR- -RIVAL TOWNS— ORGANIZATION ELECTION PRECINCTS — FIRST CAPITAL CONTROVERSY — FII ST ELECTION. FRANCIS BURT was already a man of mark in the nation when, at the age of forty-seven years, he was appointed, by Presi dent Franklin Pierce, the first governor of Nebraska.1 His previous training and expe rience in political public service excelled that of any governor of the state. He was a law yer by profession, but at an early age began to take an active part in politics. He was a member of the famous nullification convention of South Carolina — his native state — in 1832, and then at the age of twenty-five began a career of nearly continuous membership of the state legislature until in 1844 he was elected state treasurer. From 1847 to 185 1 he was editor of the Pendleton Messenger. In 1852 he sat as a member of the constitutional con vention of his state, and was then again elected a member of the legislature. In 1853, soon after the inauguration of President Pierce, he was appointed third auditor of the treasury of the United States, and it is said that his exec utive services in that department were unusu ally efficient, until he was relieved by the appointment as governor. Governor Burt was born on his father's plantation, in what was called Edgefield district, South Carolina, Jan uary 13, 1807, the fifth of ten children. His grandfather, Matthew Burt, was born in 1732 at Mecklenburg, Virginia, and removed to Edgefield, South Carolina, after the Revolu tionary war. His son Francis, the sixth of fourteen children and father of Governor Francis Burt, married Katharine Miles, whose mother was the daughter of a French Hugue not. Governor Burt in 1831 married George Ann Hall, eldest daughter .of Dr.--George Ab bott Hall, who belonged to a Charleston fam ily of Revolutionary note. They had eight children: Frank (died in 1850); Armistead, a practicing physician at Highrolls, New 1 William O. Butler of Kentucky bad been pre viously appointed governor of Nebraska territory, but Mexico, who lost an arm while serving in the Confederate army; George Ann, married William H. Dawson of Charleston; Harriett Giraud, wife of D. M. Young; Joanna Lois, married George Roberts ; Mary Eliza, married to William A. Johnstone; Katharine; and George Abbott, or Frank, as he was called after the death of his older brother, who is engaged in farming. All the living children are married except Katharine, who is at the head of an orphans' home at Macon, Georgia, which is under the auspices of the Episcopal church. The institution was originally a home for daughters of Confederate soldiers. Miss Burt, known as Sister Katharine, has devoted her life to this work. A glance at the famous nullification con vention and the conditions out of which it grew reveals in an interesting way the politi cal character of the first governor of Nebraska and political conditions in the country when the territory started on its organized career. Roughly speaking, the northern states in the first quarter of the nineteenth century were looking mainly to manufactures, while the southern states were looking to agriculture. As a growing sentiment against slavery be came manifest in the North about this time, alarm for its safety had begun in the South. While the sentiment of the people of the South was, for economic reasons, naturally against a protective tariff which, while it taxed their importations, could not benefit them, since they had no expectations of developing manufactures, yet the doctrine of rigid con struction of the powers of the Constitution, which they began to advocate about this time, was intended primarily as a defense against congressional interference with slavery. But these economic conditions were the im mediate occasion, if they were not the prime declined the office.— (Vol. 9, Harper's Monthly, p. 398. ) FIRST GOVERNOR 161 cause of the attempt to nullify the protective tariff acts of 1828 and 1832. South Carolina had cast her industrial fortunes upon agricul ture alone and upon a single branch of agri culture, namely, cotton growing. Cotton was therefore the only important domestic product which the people of South Carolina had to exchange for the manufactured necessaries and luxuries then im ported from Eu ropean countries, and they felt and resented the high tariff of 1828 and 1832 as a direct and heavy bur den upon their means of subsist ence. And so they then and there began the rebellion which ripened in i860 and ended in 1865. In his message to the special ses sion of the legis lature which had been called to provide for the convention, Gov- ernor James Hamilton, Jr. , in sisted that the Union was "a confederacy com posed of coequal and coordinate sovereigns." The resolutions which the con vention adopted declared that the objection able tariff laws "are unauthorized by the Con stitution of the United States, and violate the true meaning and intent thereof, and are null, void and no law, not binding upon the state, its officers or citizens;" that it was the duty of FRANCIS BURT FIRST GOVERNOR OF NEBRASKA TERRITORY From a photograph owned by the Nebraska State Historical Society the legislature to adopt measures to enforce the ordinance and prevent the enforcement and arrest the operation of the acts annulled; that no suits brought in the state courts involving the validity of the ordinance or leg islative enactments to enforce it should be appealed to the United States Supreme Court, and that any at tempt by federal authority to en force the tariff laws would ab solve the state from the Union.1 Twenty-six mem bers of the con vention had the courage to vote against the adop tion of the ordi nance, butGover- nor Burt was not of them. He was one of the 136 voting aye.2 And yet when we consider times and condi tions this drastic and revolution ary act should not excite our won der. We may not affirm that Mass achusetts would not then have acted similarly under similar se rioustion.as yet no strong or distinct comprehension of the importance or sacredness or inviolability of the union; and an adequate sentiment of this sort could only be awakened by a shock. The first awaken ing shock came with the clash of Jackson's imperious championship of a real union against this very South Carolina doctrine of provoca- There was 1 Niles' 's Register, vol. 43, p. 219. 11 2 Niles' s Register, vol. 13, p. 277. 102 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA the rope of sand — -of nullification. The final shock did not come till the day of Appomat tox. In 1854, as in 1832, the South domi nated the Union, South Carolina dominated the South, and the Burt family were to the South Carolina manner born, and were of influential standing in that turbulent, intract able, and irrepressible commonwealth. Armistead Burt was even more prominent in public affairs than his younger brother, our Nebraska governor. He was a member of the House of Representatives for five con secutive terms, from 1843 to J853, and was temporary speaker of the 30th Congress for a short time during the illness of the speaker. He survived the Civil war, politically as well as physically, and was a member of the South Carolina legislature of 1865 which enacted the "black code," and in 1876 assisted Gen. Wade Hampton in the revolutionary political movement which rid the state of the carpet bag regime. Episodes in his career in Con gress, at the time when Douglas was first undertaking the political organization of the vast northwest territory known as Nebraska, indicate the short-sighted, imperious pre sumption and narrow provincialism of the pro-slavery sentiment, which was to overreach itself in the repeal of the Missouri compro mise by the Nebraska bill — the first step toward its self-destruction, secession being the second, and war the third and last. On the 2 ist of February, 1844, there was a sharp debate in the House over an attempt on the part of anti-slavery members to ignore or set aside the rule made by the 25th Con gress excluding petitions for the abolition of slavery, and Mr. Burt, answering Beardsley of New York, uttered the following fiery speech : "Language is impotent to express the in tensity of scorn and contempt with which South Carolina regards the miserable, upstart morality of the North which attempts to hold up her domestic institutions to the odium of the world. . . . The gentleman from Maine (Severance) has told the House that that class of petitions will never cease until Congress does its duty by abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia; but I beg per mission to say that whenever that discussion is raised in this hall it will be the last subject that an American Congress will ever discuss here. The South would regard it as a dec laration of war, and she would act accord ingly. She would not allow that government to which she had surrendered certain attri butes of her sovereignty for the protection of this property to be permitted in any form to invade it."1 It must have been obvious at the time that the settlers of Nebraska would be strongly anti-slavery in sentiment, and it is indicative of the subservient spirit of Mr. Pierce's ad ministration that a man so widely distant in both sentiment and location should be sent to rule over them. Our wonder is increased by the reflection that the great hardships incident to traversing the vast physical distance cost the first governor his life. With the exception of the short beginning of the Milwaukee & Mississippi railroad — from Milwaukee, the Chicago & Rock Island to the Mississippi, and a few spurs or beginnings in Illinois, no railways had been built west of a line drawn north and south through Chicago. Most of the railways of the country were confined to southern Michi gan, Ohio, and the northeastern and south eastern states.2 Governor Burt was commissioned August 2, 1854, and on the nth of September follow ing he left his home — Pendleton, South Caro lina — for Nebraska, accompanied by his young son, Armistead, and several neighbors who intended to settle in the new territory. The party traveled by frequent alternations of private conveyance, "stage," railway, and lConir. Globe, vol. 13, pp. 303-4. 2 According to a report made by the treasury de partment to the United States Senate in 1853 (Senate Document 112, 1st Sess., 32d Cong., vol. 11, p. 391) railway mileage was then distributed as follows: Maine, 365; New Hampshire, 500; "Vermont, 439; Massachu setts, 1,128; Connecticut, 630; New York, 2,148; New Jersey, 254; Pennsylvania, 1,215; Ohio, 1,154; Indi ana, 755; Illinois, 296; Michigan, 427 (Michigan Cen tral, 228; Michigan Southern, 133); Alabama, 161; Georgia, 857; Maryland, 433; Virginia, 624; North Carolina, 249; South Carolina, 599. Now Nebraska has a greater mileage than any southern state, except ing Texas and Georgia, and about the same as the lat ter. — (Statistics of Railways, Interstate Commerce Commission, 1901, p. 11.) FIRST GOVERNOR 163 steamboat. The extreme isolation of Ne braska and the progress of railways toward the West at that time are illustrated in an interesting manner by the account of this journey given in a recent letter to the editor from Dr. Armistead Burt at his home in New Mexico.1 From Chicago they might have gone by the Chicago and Rock Island railroad, which had been completed to the Mississippi river earlier in the year 1854/ but since they could go part of the way to St. Louis by railroad and the rest of the journey by steamboat they pre ferred that route rather than to cross the unsettled plains of Iowa by wagon. This very complicated and difficult guber natorial journey was suggestive of the con temporary condition of politics and of the hard road over which Douglas, with his new whip of popular sovereignty, as embodied in the Nebraska bill, was attempting to drive the Democratic party. And yet, though the course of the governor and that of the intrepid leader of the democracy alike led to tragic 1 " Highroias, New Mexico, September 22, 1902. "Dear Sir— Your letter of the 5th inst., in which you ask a number of questions in regard to my father, reached me a few days ago. It gives me pleasure to answer them as fully as memory and the lapse of time will permit. "First, in regard to the modes of travel. From Pendleton to Athens, Georgia, in his own conveyance; thence to Nashville, Tennessee, by rail; from Nash ville to Louisville, Kentucky, by stage coach; by rail to Chicago, Illinois, and on to Alton; thence to St. Louis by boat; then up the river by boat to St. Joseph, the river being so low that the boat could not go higher, and the governor, being very anxious to reach the end of the journey, hired a hack and traveled in it to Ne braska City, which then contained one lo.tse, where he lodged one night. Next morning he hired a two- horse wagon from the only citizen of the city, and traveled in it to Bellevue, reaching there, I think the same evening. "Being thoroughly worn out by the three days travel from St. Joseph he went to bed and was never again able to be up. We had physicians from Council Bluffs — I think a Dr. Malcolm and his partner. I am not positive as to the name and don't remember the diagnosis, but Governor Burt had been for years a dyspeptic and subject to bowel trouble. On the way out, the journey from Nashville to Louisville, during excessively hot, dry weather, drinking strong limestone water and traveling day and night in a rough coach, so exhausted him that be had to stop two or three days in St. Louis in care of a physician. The rest of the journey was as trying, if not more so, resulting in his reaching the end with his stomach and bowels de ranged and without sufficient strength left to rally. At Bellevue were two or three houses, the principal one being a Presbyterian mission in charge of a very kind disaster, it is doubtful that either could have chosen a better or wiser one. Comparison of the material and political condition of the country at that time, as illustrated by these aims and struggles of Burt and of Douglas, with present conditions reveals the miracle that has been wrought within the memory of living men. Governor Burt was very ill when he reached St. Louis and was obliged to stop over there several days, confined to his bed. By the time he reached Bellevue, on the 7th of Octo ber, he had grown still worse, and he con tinued to sink until his death, which occurred October 18. He took the oath of office on the 1 6th, before Chief Justice Ferguson, and so was governor two days. Correspondence between Mrs. Burt and her husband shows that she repined over his ab sence at his post in Washington, and when he submitted to her the question of his acceptance of the governorship of Nebraska she replied eagerly that she would go anywhere if they could only be together. These letters show clergyman whose name was, I think, Hamilton. He had Governor Burt moved to the mission and did what he could for him. ' ' There was an old man who lived across the river at a little village, St. Mary, who was also very kind. His name was Sarpy. Then there was Mr. Decatur, who kept store on the Nebraska side, and a few others whose names I have forgotten. "The governor's intention was to convene the first legislature at Bellevue; I think the Rev. Mr. Hamilton had offered the mission house for the purpose. As to locating the capital I remember hearing him say he intended to choose a place that would, he hoped, be permanently the capital of the state. He intended to make Nebraska his home. ' ' Hoping the above is as full as you wish and as suring you that it will give me pleasure to serve you further if I can, I am, "Yours truly, "A. Burt." 2 There is a singular discrepancy in what should be considered authoritative statements as to the time of the opening of this first railway to the Mississippi river. The Rock Island Republican of March 1, 1854, says that the first train of cars over this road reached Rock Island, February 22, 1854, and this ought to be reliable. On the other hand there is an item in the Annals of Iowa, of October, 1902 (vol. 5, No. 7), which states that Millard Fillmore, former president of the United States, came to Iowa in June, 1855, on the oc casion of the opening of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railway to Rock Island; and that State Senator P. W. Crawford, who was present, gives an account of the incident in the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald of September 17, 1902. Poor's Manual gives the time of the completion of the road as July 10, 1854. 164 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA that it was the governor's intention to live permanently in Nebraska, and his wife urged tenderly that he deserved a wider field for his abilities than was afforded by the little isolated town of Pendleton. It appears also that before the Nebraska appointment came they bitterly resented the failure of President Pierce to appoint Mr. Burt governor of Kan sas according to a promise which they under stood he had made. The story of the governor's funeral journey back to Pendleton and to the wife is in pathetic contrast to the eager hope and solicitude she had expressed for a permanent family home, though in an unknown and immeasurably distant country. On the 19th of October Act- i n g Governor Cuming ap pointed Barton Green, Col. Ward B. How ard, James Doyle, and W. R. Jones1 as an escort for the body of Gover nor Burt to his South Carolina home. They were allowed from the contin gent fund $2 a day and actual traveling expenses, and the boy, Armistead Burt, was allowed traveling expenses to Pendleton.2 It has already been pointed out that west ern border Iowans were the self-constituted but logical "next friends" of prospective Ne braska, and the following picture of condi tions and prospects of the coming territory drawn by Mr. Henn,3 representative from western Iowa, in a speech in the House of Representatives, March 3, 1854, already quoted from, should be regarded as fairly true to nature: "Ten years ago we looked for a further west, and for the time when Iowa was to be a frontier state no longer. Step by step that emigrating spirit, which first breathed Ameri can air on Plymouth Rock, was looking for ward to the beautiful valleys of the Platte and the Kansas. Nebraska, a name familiar only to Indian ears, was in a few short months becoming a watchword for the frontier set tlers. The year 1846 found not a few on the banks of the Missouri await- inglegal author ity to cross and occupy 'those green meadows prepared by na ture' s hand.' In the summer of 1853 not less than3, 000 souls had assembled on the frontiers of Iowa ready to make their fu ture home on that soil."* FIRST CLAIM CABIN IN NEBRASKA BUILT BY DANIEL NORTON, BETWEEN OMAHA AND BELLEVUE, IN 1853 From drawing by Geo. Simons, in the frontier sketch book of N. P. Dodge 1 Barton Green was a resident of Ohio and Col. Ward B. Howard was from Peekskill, New York, while James Doyle and W. R. Jones were South Caro linians who had come to the territory with Governor Burt. Neither ever returned to Nebraska so far as is known. 2 Original order of Governor Cuming, Collections Neb. State Hist. Soc. 3 Omaha was called ' ' Henntown ' ' derisively by its rivals, and the Palladium of January 17, 1855, indulges in this sarcasm: ' ' We would respectfully suggest that inasmuch as the Hon. Mr. Henn is one of the principal proprietors He then goes on to say that he had voted against the measure for territorial organiza tion a year ago to save the rights of the Indians, but in favor of appropriations for securing treaties since made. According to reliable estimates, he said, there were now in Nebraska 9,000,000 acres of land obtained from the Indians by purchase and treaty, and of Omaha City, and assisted in procuring the appoint ment of T. B. Cuming, secretary of Nebraska, and in asmuch as the said Hon. Mr. Henn is now laboring in the congress of the United States for the ' relief ' of the said Omaha, that as an act of justice to him the city of Omaha should be named after him; we Uierefore suggest that hereafter the name of Omaha City be changed to Henntown. " 'Tis distance lends enchantment to tbe view, And gives to Omaha its lovely hue; But when you see this far-famed city, west, What is it but a Henn's or cackler's nest? " 4 Appendix Cong. Globe, vol. 29, p. 885. RIVAL TOWNS 165 12,133,120 acres heretofore owned by the United States — in all, 21,133,120 acres open for settlement. Replying to the objection raised by oppo nents of the bill that "there are no people in the country proposed to be organized except Indians, half-breeds, traders, soldiers, and those in the employ of the Indian bureau," Mr. Henn said that a few months ago this was no doubt the case, because the people of the frontier were law-abiding and unwilling to interfere with the regulations of the gov ernment which forbade their occupancy of the country. Yet an intelligent citizen had informed him that two months since there were between five hundred and six hundred whites within that territory by permission o f officers o f the government — three hun dred at Ft. Laramie, two hundred at Ft. Kearney, and seventy- five scattered at other points. Within three days after the passage of the bill, he asserted, BELLEVUE, NEBRASKA, 1856 No.l (near center), old home of Peter A.Sarpy; No. 2 (in foreground), Sarpy's new home; No. 3, Indian mission; hill on extreme right, present site of Bellevue College Drawing by Simons, from N. P. Dodge sketch book three thousand people in Nebraska; and the same conditions existed in Kansas. But in numbers, aspirations, and hopes the carpetbag politicians and other promoters of the infant territory were as great as its actual population was small, and the town-sites did not fall below them in any of the qualities named. The first number of the Arrozv makes a round-up of those worthy of notice.1 These pioneers attached great importance to the esthetic quality of the sites of the future cities, and it was exploited to the ut most in the acrimonious controversies over the respective merits of Omaha and Belle vue. To the Palladium's observation that "Belleview is admitted by every important observer to be the most com manding and beautiful loca tion" the Ar row replies that Omaha "is nevertheless a handsome place;" and in detail: "It oc cupies a beau tiful plateau, sloping well to the river. . . . The there would be not less than view is extensive and picturesque, taking in a 1 "Omaha city may be considered among the first in importance. It is situated directly opposite Bluff city upon a delightful and sightly eminence overlooking the country on all sides for miles around, bringing in new the city of Council Bluffs, town of St. Mary, Trader's Point, and Council Point in Iowa, and Win ter Quarters in this territory. It extends directly to the river landing and back upwards of a mile and some mile and a half up and down the river. There is some 1,500 lots surveyed, together with a large square on the summit of the elevation for the capitol. The streets are 100 feet wide and alleys divide each block. There are a number of cool, clear streams and springs of water in various parts of the town site. A heavy body of timber, including many square miles, lies im mediately below and adjoining the city, and wide open prairies stretch back from the river that will make most delightful farms. An extensive brick yard is in successful operation and a large amount of prime lum ber and shingles is looked for daily. A number of houses are already reared, and hundreds are anticipat ing building this summer and fall. Preparations are in progress for rearing a large and commodious build ing immediately, to be used at present as a State House and for offices for the various departments pro vided it should be required by the executive. A good and commodious ferry boat runs every day regularly between this city and Council Bluffs. . . . The next in importance is Belleview, some ten miles below this city. It is situated about three miles from the river upon a high and beautiful eminence, command ing a view for many miles around, including Bluff City, St. Mary, and Chouteau. There is timber in the bottoms below the site and a continuous body all the way to this city. There are good springs of water at hand, a plenty of rock near at hand, with good farming lands around. The old Mission House, the government agency buildings, and Trading House of the American Fur Company, are near the site. Mr. Sarpy has a new steam ferry boat which continues to run across through the business part of the year, but is now laid up until spring. Ferrying is, however, 1 66 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA iong reach of the river both up and down, the broad, rich bottom lands dotted over with fields, houses and cattle, and a strange, roman tic, and bewildering background of indented and variously formed bluffs."1 Nor was the industrious promulgation of this early "Iowa idea"2 confined to the local field. In the same issue of the Arrow is copied correspondence of the Ohio State Jour nal which tells the old, old story : "But the site which seems to me to contain the most advantages is that of the city of Omaha. . . . The plat is most beautiful and attractive. . . . Several gentlemen of capital and great influence are interested in this new city and a regular survey and plat ting of premises is now going on. Being so near Council Bluffs, the only town of any size in western Iowa, it has many advantages as the seat of government, and a vigorous effort is being made by those having influence in the right quarter to secure that object. A public square and a state house will be do nated by the company for this purpose. If it succeeds Omaha will at once take rank as the first city in Nebraska, and if the roads come to Council Bluffs it will, whether it becomes the capital or not, assume an impor tant position." We may well believe that these esthetic conceits would be much less obtruded in a contest for the choice of a site of a capital in the face of the more dominant commercial spirit of the present. But our beauty-struck done with few boats for the present. Ft. Kearney is situated some 18 miles below the mouth of the Platte and is also on the river, and is also a beautiful and charming location with all necessary advantages for being rapidly built into a thriving city. We can not speak from much observation of Ibis point. ' ' Winter Quarters is also located upon the river some ten miles above this city; is pleasantly situated upon a high bench and inclined plane, giving a fair and pretty view of the country for a great distance around, and is the old site of the "Winter Quarters " of the first Mormon pioneers. The town is now being surveyed and improvements and public buildings are being erected. There is good water, plenty of rock, considerable timber and excellent farming lands adja cent. A flat boat ferry is kept in operation for the benefit of settlers, etc. Ft. Calhoun is some 15 miles still up the river and is expected to be laid out upon the site of the old fort, which is upon a bench or plateau some 50 or 100 feet above the river. . . . There are, without doubt, other equally eligible sites further up the river; none, however, have yet come to our notice. Upon the Elk Horn and Loup Fork there will also doubtless be large towns built. The climate is-, pleasant and congenial in this region and the soil pioneers did not, after all, miss the main chance; for in the same article the Arrow significantly observes that, "in full view, and due east, is Council Bluffs City, the great and well known local point of the Iowa rail roads." While this mouth-piece of Council Bluffs spoke wide of the fact — for that place had not been fixed upon then as the 'objective of any railroad — yet he did not speak without his reckoning. He could with some safety discount the influences around him which, about two years later, diverted the Rock Island down the Mosquito to Council Bluffs from its intended route down Pigeon creek to a terminus at the rock-bottom crossing op posite Florence.3 And while this reason was not free from the hit-or-miss element and the influence of the wish over the thought, yet it foreshadowed a great economic fact. Here the railway was to precede occupancy and growth, and so, during an exceptionally long period of commercial and political dominance was to receive, if not to exact, from its crea tures recognition and obeisance as the creator of the commonwealth. At the beginning Nebraska was a state without people, and it remained so, virtually, until their forerunners, the railroads, opened the way for and brought them. This phe nomenon distinguishes the settlement of the trans-Missouri plains from that of the country unsurpassed for fertility in the world, producing any thing that is natural to Ohio or Illinois. ' ' July 28, 1858. 2The Omaha Arrow, August 6, 1854. 2 This phrase became famous in tbe political cam paign of 1902 as the characterization of the demand for tariff revision by a faction of the Republican party of Iowa. 3 General G. M. Dodge, who in 1853-54, surveyed the route for the Mississippi & Missouri (afterward the Rock Island) railroad, in a letter to the editor dated December 11, 1902, states that while the pro moters of the railway strongly favored tbe Pigeon creek route his surveys demonstrated that the Mos quito route was more feasible, and on this account it was adopted. The Council Bluffs Buele of April 14, 1857 — Johnson, Carpenter, and Babbitt editors and proprietors — stoutly defends General Dodge from ac cusations of having acted from improper motives in changing the route from Pigeon creek to the Mosquito valley. The date on which the change was approved is determined by a telegram copied in tbe article in question, as follows: "New York, March 31, 1357. To J. Smith Hooton, mayor of Council Bluffs: To-day the directors adopted the Mosquito route. Enos Lowe." RIVAL TOWNS 167 eastward of them. There the railways fol lowed the people. Here they preceded the people, and hither, as self-created immigra tion bureaus, they both persuaded and carried them. It was when the railways, having crossed Illinois and having been projected across Iowa, pointed the way to the occupancy of the plains that the people collected on the eastern bank of the Missouri river barrier and cast a wistful eye to the Nebraska Canaan. On these plains, in their isolated state, the industrial arts were impracticable ; there was only the soil capable of produc ing staple foods. Until the railways came to carry the staple products of the soil to the far eastern market, and to bring back in exchange all the '¦ other necessities of life, in cluding, besides the indispen sable fuel, the very tools and material for cultivating the soil, the erection of shelter for man and beast and for all other improvements, life could be endurable only along the Missouri river, and comfort able nowhere. So great was the extremity in this beginning of civilized utilization of these plains that even statesmen, usu ally the most ubiquitous of all our animals, were wanting, necessitating the CHARLES H. DOWNS1 PIONEER OE OMAHA, NEBRASKA this importation of members of Congress and even of the local legislature. The pleasantries and sarcasms of the mouth pieces of the two principal and rival towns lay bare like search-lights the extreme slen- derness of the foundations on which the po litical beginning was to rest. The Arrow of October 13, 1854, referring to a reception at Bellevue prepared for Governor Burt on his arrival, says it was reported that there were fifteen persons present — "all the citizens and some neighbors." The Palladium of the week before had a sarcastic ac count of the editor's visit to Omaha. He tells us that after landing from the steam ferry boat: ' 'We expected the beauty of the location would manifest -self at first glance, and then re commanding features we ad often read of in the Ar- 1 ow, would at once claim our attention. But, instead of this we looked around wondering which way to go to find the city. We were at a loss at first to satisfy ourselves that it was actually spread out before us, and much more to identify the locality of its commanding point — the focus of business." And then the out raged Arrow lets fly in spirited fashion, and though we are 1 Charles H. Downs, pioneer of Omaha, Nebraska, son of Henry and Sallie (Botsford) Downs, natives of Connecticut, was born February 14, 1819, in New Haven county, Connecticut. His father was squire of his township many years and died at the age of fifty- five, C. H. Downs attended the district schools of his home town where he lived until grown to man hood. In the fall of 1843, with four other young men, he went to Ohio, making the trip from Albany to Buffalo by canal, then by steamboat to Ft. Huron, and overland the remainder of the distance by stage and pri vate conveyance. In 1850 he went to California where he remained two years prospecting in the gold mines of that state. April 12, 1854, Mr. Downs came to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Here he accepted a position with a ferry line company and became captain of a boat which was called the General Marion. He managed the transfer business of this ferry line between Council Bluffs and Omaha for eight years. In the spring of 1855, the General Marion having sunk on account of damage during the winter by ice, the company purchased a new boat in St. Louis known as the Mary Cole, which was also wrecked and sunk before Plattsmouth was reached. They next bought a craft of Peter A. Sarpy, known as the Nebraska No. 1. This boat was more fortunate than its predecessors, and was put in ser vice upon the river. On April 26, 1854, just fourteen days after landing in Council Bluffs, Captain Downs moved a little 12 by 14 house which had been brought up the river on the boat to the Nebraska side and placed it near the " Lone Tree," at the foot of what is now Davenport street. July 17, 1854, the town site of Omaha was laid out, and while Captain Downs con tinued to manage the ferry business he also became active in the interests of the new town. In 1862 he went to the Pacific coast, remaining two years, then returned to Omaha, where he has since resided. He was largely interested in the Omaha smelter and helped to build it, serving for five years as the presi dent of the company. In 1871 the Omaha & North western railroad was started, track laid as far as Tekamah, when the hard times and grasshoppers came and the company failed temporarily, though the road was afterwards built. Captain Downs was a stockholder in this company and sustained a loss of $75,000. He was a member of the ferry company that i68 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA thankful for the information about Omaha which is disclosed by the retort, we can not but feel that it is relatively blunt : "Focus of business indeed ! Four months ago there was not a family upon this spot nor a house reared. Now there are two stores and some twenty houses, with a score more in progress. Query : Where is the 'focus of business' at Belleview? When there has been one house reared upon the command ing site we shall not farther intrude so imper tinent an inquiry. The city of Belleview is easily found, not a building nor a pile of material obstructs the vision."1 The same number of the Arrow announced that arrangements had been made at Omaha for a reception to Governor Burt "in a style which would have done credit to many an older place." The committee of reception were Charles B. Smith, Alfred D. Jones, Wil liam R. Rogers,2 Robert B. Whitted, Michael Murphy, William Clancy, Samuel A. Lewis, Charles H. Downs, William N. Byers, and William Wright. The committee of arrange ments were T. Allen, Charles B. Smith, David Lindley, Alexander Davis, and Charles H. Downs. "Both committees will continue in their respective stations until such time as the governor's health will justify their action." But the committees continued in their respect ive stations till, one by one, so far as is known, with the single exception of Charles H. Downs, they have been summoned to follow the ruler the}' were to honor to the other shore where mayhap the long prepared reception has at last been held. Though Secretary Cuming, who, by the death of Governor Burt and the provision of the organic act, became acting governor, was to be architect of the organic beginning of Nebraska, yet in a deeper and broader sense the beginning had taken place in the summer and fall of 1854, on the advent of the settlers who came filled with the anticipations and hopes, accustomed to the asperities, inured to the hardships, and conscious of the construct ive responsibilities and duties of pioneer life. For fifty-one years after its acquisition the land these pioneers had come to possess had been an unorganized prairie wilderness. Dur ing all that time the geographers had de scribed it as a part of the Great American Desert, unfit for agriculture — of too arid a climate and too lean a soil to attract or sus tain any considerable permanent civilized population. There were neither laws nor political organ ization. The bare and ill-defined territorial boundary was the only finger-mark of civ ilization or sign of civilized control. Writer and reader are able to remember that the nearest railway was yet three hundred miles from our borders. Reliable estimates that property values, real and personal, approxi mate two thousand million dollars In 1903 show the miracle wrought by these beginners whose creed has been faith and good works. And this enormous and almost incomprehen sible sum vested in the farms, homes, manu factories, railroads, and other belongings of Nebraska has been accumulated almost wholly by the tillage of its fecund soil. The homely art of plowing and the faithful labor of plant ing, fused with domestic economy and good management by individual citizens, have pop ulated, organized, and developed the resources of the ninety counties, caused all the beautiful homes, the fruitful orchards, the bountiful crops, the thriving plants of manufacture, and the prosperous towns and cities to arise like exhalations upon the prairies. Then the most built the first capitol of Nebraska in Omaha. He long since retired from active business life and is spending his declining years in peace and quiet. He was married in 1860 to Cornelia C. Smith of Vermont, and two children were born to them: Annie and Charlotta, now Mrs. Chrismond. Mrs. Chris- mond has one son, Roswold Hering Chrismond. 1 To answer the very strong argument made by the Palladium that Bellevue had been first chosen as a site for a trading post and town by the unbiased, shrewd judgment of Indian traders and missionaries, the Arrow was obliged to resort to abusive epithet, characterizing these original founders, as "sagacious Indian agents, sanctimonious Indian missionaries, and teachers of elastic conscience." The Palladium put the matter in a nutshell thus: " Bluff City located that place (Omaha) and not its merits." It might be said in extenuation of this interference with the natural order that Bluff City, like Bellevue, had been naturally or instinctively chosen, so that Omaha was at least a natural site by reflection or extension. 2 William R. Rogers, father of Samuel E. Rogers. came to the territory in August, 1854, and died Oc tober 14, 1854, at the age of fifty-four years. ORGANIZATION 169 hopeful and prophetic hardly expected to see any acre of Nebraska land sold for agricul tural purposes during his life for more than twenty-five dollars, or thought that im provement was practicable more than forty to sixty miles beyond our eastern border. Land in and of itself has no more exchange able value than air and water; it depends for its value on human effort put forth upon it, or in relation to it. As lately as 1866 one could get agricul tural college scrip for fifty to seventy cents an acre. The value of lands then expressed in cents must be expressed in like numbers of dollars now. "I offered to sell to some parties in New York City twenty thousand acres of Otoe county land for twenty thousand dollars. The proposition was based upon an op tion of twenty thou sand acres of college scrip, belonging to the state of Mary land, which a friend had secured for me. Elated at the pros pect of making forty cents an acre I went in great haste to the city of New York, and there for two weeks labored t o impress upon the minds of possible purchasers my faith that Personal recollections of J. Sterling Morton. 2Fenner Ferguson was born in Nassau, Rennsellaer county, New York, in 1814. He was the son of Stephen Ferguson, whose birth antedated the Revo lutionary war. He was reared on his father's farm and acquired a common school and academic educa tion, subsequently reading law in the office of Coon & Branhall, at Albany, New York. He was admitted to the bar in New York by Chief Justice Nelson, in 1840. After his admission to the bar the firm became Coon, Branhall, and Ferguson. He enjoyed a con siderable practice in Albany and surrounding coun ties, as well as in New York City, and represented the Patroon Colonial Land Grant under one of the Georges. EENNER FERGUSON2 FIRST CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE TERRITORY OF NEBRASKA the land would be worth five or ten dollars an acre in ten or fifteen years. But, while they listened to my descriptions of the soil, its possibilities in productiveness, and my forecasts of future values, not a man of the wealthy financiers with whom I labored, and all of them had idle money, would buy an acre. The scheme fell through because, in the judgment of the New Yorkers, we were too remote from means of transportation."1 No railroad touched the east bank of the Missouri opposite Nebraska until 1867. Then the Northwestern reached Council Bluffs, and offered the farmers of this state their first rail connection with Chicago and the markets of the East. Those rails were laid in relation to Nebraska lands. The Rock Island and the Burlington soon followed, and together with the Union Pacific and other railroad lines on the west bank of the Missouri con tributed to establish _ land values from the river to the foot-hills of the mountains. The acting gov- ernor of Ne braska, Thomas B. Cuming, ostensibly lived on the town-site In 1846, on account of ill health, he removed to Al bion, Michigan. There were no railroads in existence then, and the trip was made partly by the Erie canal and the remainder overland. He met with marked success in his practice in Michigan, and during the eight years of his residence in that state he served successively as master in chancery, district attorney, and a member of the state legislature. October 12, 1854, he was appointed by President Pierce first chief justice of the supreme court of the territory of Nebraska, under the provision of the act of Congress approved May 30 of that year. He at once removed with his family to Bellevue, Nebraska, where he resided until his death, November 16, 1859. He 170 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA of Omaha, but he really abode at Council United States district attorney; Fenner Fer- Bluffs. The city of Omaha had a population guson of Michigan, chief justice; E. R. Har- not exceeding one hundred and fifty. It had den of Georgia and James Bradley of Indi- no hotel, only a half dozen finished cabins, a ana, associate justices of the -supreme court ; few shanties, and a tavern in process of erec- and Mark W. Izard of Arkansas, United tion to be called the Douglas House; and States marshal. Each of the judges of the neither man nor beast could yet find comfort supreme court was judge also of one of the there in the way of board and lodging. Of three judicial districts. tawny autumnal color, the unbroken plains It will be seen that the carpetbag system stretched from that ham let to the Rocky moun tains like a gigantic can vas awaiting only the touch of intelligent indus try to make it glow with all the vivid shades and colorings of modern civ ilization. But precedent to all enterprise and de velopment was required the establishment of or der, civil organization, and law. The organic act provided for that The United States had authorized the president to appoint for the terri tory a governor, a , secre tary, three district judges, a district attorney, and a marshal. President Franklin Pierce had ¦ named, and the Senatehad confirmed Francis Burt of South Carolina, gov- JAMES BRADLEY ' ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE FIRST SUPREME COURT OF THE TERRITORY OF NEBRASKA had full sway in that early day; and under it the un fortunate territories have ever since continued tc be the eleemosynary asylum for superannuated or superfluous politicians. In considering the ques tion as to who should succeed Governor Burt the Omaha Arrow1 fur nishes us at once a strong and discriminating char acterization of the pio neers — the more forceful and interesting because "written on the spot," and by one of them — and an attack on the carpet bag system. "It is with heartfelt gratification that we witness the degree of patriotism and self-sacri fice manifested of late by persons through- ernor; Thomas B. Cuming of Iowa, ..secre-.. out the territory desirous of serving the 'dear tary; Experience Estabrook of Wisconsin, people' in the capacity of your humble ser- organized the first district and supreme courts of Ne braska, and assisted the first territorial legislature in drafting the first code of laws enacted for the govern ment of the territory. After three years of service as chief justice he resigned, having been elected, August 3, 1857, delegate to Congress from the territory. He was sworn in December 7, 1857, and served until March 3, 1859. It was upon his return from Wash ington in the fall of the latter year that he was stricken by illness, which resulted in his death Oc tober 11, 1859. He was buried at Bellevue, Nebraska. In 1841 he was married at Troy, New York, to Helena E. Upjohn, who survived him nearly thirty years, dj'ing in 1888. Her remains lie beside those of her husband at Bellevue. She was a daughter of Wil liam Upjohn, who in early life was a civil engineer in London, England, but who emigrated to New York when she was a mere child. Mrs. Ferguson bore her husband four children: Arthur N., Alfred G., Stephen W., and Charles F.; the last three are dead. 1 November 10, 1854. 2 James Bradley was born August 19, 1810, at East Bradford on the Brandywine, Chester county, Penn sylvania. He was a son of Ernor and Deborah (Han- num Bradley, the latter a daughter of Col. John Han- num, a Revolutionary patriot. His earlv life was spent upon a farm and he was educated in the schools of his native county. He began life as a teacher, but having been trained as a civil engineer he soon took up that work, for which he had marked talent. His work as an engineer was in canal construction, and he soon received the appointmentof chief engineer ot the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In 1840 he removed to Laporte, Indiana, where he continued to pursue his profession, and assisted in surveying and building the Lake Shore railroad. However, the law attracted ORGANIZATION 171 vant, in the small number of offices within the gift of an honest pioneer constituency. Cosily seated as we are in our prairie sanctum, we can watch the whole field with a degree of pleasure, an interest unappreciated by the aspiring patriots or, genteelly termed, Ne braska office seekers. . . . "We see around us and all over our terri tory needy aspirants for the forty represen tative offices within the gift of a constituency who have led the van in opening one of the loveliest countries the sun ever shone upon. We see persons anxious, eager, striving for the votes of a people upon whom the old fogy sobriquet of squatters has often been applied, yet a people as honest, as noble, as generous, as hospitable, as practically and theoretically democratic as any in this broad land of ours. They are our friends and we are emphati cally theirs. They have come here, not as aspirants for political favors, or under out side pressure for patronage, but have come like us, to rear a home on the frontier, and freed from the anti-progressive customs of old states, act and feel as God in His infinite wisdom intended man to act and feel. "In selecting those, therefore, who are to represent and make laws, to govern and pro tect us, we want practical, honest men ; we want men who are even above the suspicion of being influenced by motives of pecuniary interest; men who know the country and peo ple whom they represent, who have been identified with their interests, who have worked and will continue to work for those interests. . . . We are half inclined to believe that every battle-riddled politician, every boaster of bold political deeds of days gone by, every ranting politician should' be left to pursue any other avocation than to serve the 'dear people,' and plain, practical, progressive men be allowed to act for us in the legislative halls. Of all the creatures that roam this fair land of ours, whom we really most pity, and whom we hold in supreme contempt that species of greedy aspirants that always hurry to a new country to court pub lic favor, without basing their claims upon the shadow of a right, stand in the superla- him, and having studied that profession, he was ad mitted to the bar in 1841. Being possessed of keen perception, a retentive memory, a logical and analyt ical mind, he was well equipped for his chosen profes sion, and soon became one of the most prominent lawyers of that vicinity. Judge Bradley was a democrat, but never sought political honors. In 1850 he was elected to the legis lature of Indiana for one term, and in 1868 was elected to the state senate, serving four years. In June, 1854, he was appointed associate justice of the supreme court of Nebraska territory. He entered upon the duties of that office with the expectation of making the tive degree. We have no faith in their prom ises, no faith in their actions. They cannot pass the ordeal among Nebraska voters." But our editor, like all of them who perch upon the tripod of the "organ," is no fool to make a stumbling block of his consistency, and does not hesitate to mock that bauble jewel. On the same page with his settler of carpetbagism he declares that the appoint ment of Izard from the alien Arkansas coun try "would meet with the hearty concurrence of the people," and he reen forces a puff of Secretary Cuming of the foreign state of Iowa for the same office, which he has clipped from an Iowa paper, with the assurance that "his many friends here would heartily rejoice at such a deserved promotion." And then in the next column our editor, giving full vent to his innate sentiment and fancy, answers the question at the head of his article, "Who will be appointed governor of Nebraska?" in this strain: "This is a question of no little importance and one that we often hear asked. "Although we were born and reared in the East and all our early associations are bound up in the hills, valleys, hemlock slopes and clay soils of the East, still we do not the less appreciate the energy, spirit, talent, useful ness, and real perceptiveness of the pioneers of the West. We love them because we know there is the real stuff in them that constitutes all that is excellent, noble, brave, exalted, and statesmanlike. We speak not of the mass, but of many of the choice spirits that com pose that industrious and excellent class of society. "They leave the quiet firesides of home, often strewed with the luxuries to which their lives will in future" be strangers, to the occu pation and use of those who are less able to make a name and fortune for themselves, or who are less ambitious to do a work that shall signalize them among those who are benefactors of their fellow creatures. territory his home, but the roughness of the country at that time, the lack of educational facilities, and his wife's delicate health rendered it inadvisable, and in 1857 he resigned the office and returned to Indiana. Here he pursued the practice of his profession until advancing age compelled him to relinquish it. He died April 30, 1877, in Laporte. He was married March 24, 1842, to Anna Maria Reid, daughter of John C. Reid, and seven children were born to them, four of whom are now living. Mrs. Es ther B. Thomas, Santa Fe, N. M.; Mrs. Julius C. Eliel, Minneapolis, Minn.; Mrs. James T. Dicks, Nashville, Tenn., and Mr. George Bradley, Salt Lake City, Utah 172 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA "They are those who retreat from the pleasant haunts of youth, often sundering ties dearer than life to become an humble citizen of the great, the unbounded, the glorious West. Such heed not labor, toil, or priva tion, they are ever ready to meet the disap pointment or success, and in this great school every day they receive a new lesson, and early become the true judges of human na ture, the real philosophers of human phe nomena. Such a class of men can never be oppressed or borne down with servility or tyranny in any form, and of such are and will be the most intelligent and exalted statesmen of this continent. "For 20 years have we been on the trail of the frontiers-men ; and for that time have we ever noticed that among the early settlers may be found the men who will dare anything and who are capable of everything. Such men, tho' as tame as a summer flower, and as submissive to right as is the ox to his owner; still no men are better judges of right than themselves. They know the country, the locality, the wants and necessities of the people in their rude manners and customs, and there are no other class of men more capable of making laws or governing a country. "We have noticed with some degree of interest the seldom failing practice by the chief executives of our Nation, of appointing for the new territories men from countries far removed, that know little or nothing of the people over which they are to exercise a brief authority. Men whose tastes, habits, peculiarities, predilections, and views have been directed in a channel far different, and altho' they may be numbered among the best of men, they may be quite unfit for the posi tion assigned them and unable to bear up physically under the great changes they are forced to undergo. "No, we assert it boldly and with a firm conviction of the correctness of our position. The Pioneers should for their Governor have a good, plain, practical, frontier man, one who is not afraid of the heat of summer or the frosts of winter, that can sup from a prairie dog and still be a statesman. One whose talent and good sense is as discernible in the rude cabin as the princely mansion. One who knows the people over which he is placed, as well as their wants and necessities. "Give us such a man for Governor, and to such a one the people, the hardy pioneer, the energetic squatter, will subscribe with all their heart and soul. We look not at the outside; JLaws of Nebraska, 1855-57, p. 41. the roughest covering often hides the most brilliant gem, or the mine of wealth. Give us the men schooled in storms, or opposed by hurricanes of adversity. Such men are firm and unwavering in purpose and are worth a thousand band-box or silk stocking gentry." On the 1 8th of October the death of Gov ernor Burt, at the mission house in Bellevue, was officially announced by Acting Governor Ctuning. The proclamation of that death was the first executive act.1 Thus the beginning of the life of a state which is indestructible was the official announcement of the death of its principal citizen, who saw only possibil ities where others of his time and generation are permitted to experience great realities. Acting Governor Cuming was thirty years of age, a swarthy, compactly built man, with a head and features that plainly bespoke power of will, sagacity, and courage. He was about five feet eight inches in height, and weighed perhaps one hundred and thirty pounds. His hair was dark and as straight as that of an Indian. His black eyes, flashing energy and determination, possessed also that charm which sturdy and intellectual training so largely contribute. He was a thoroughly edu cated man, a graduate of the university of Michigan, for entering which he had been carefully and rigorously prepared in Latin, Greek, and mathematics by his father, the Rev. Dr. Cuming, a distinguished clergyman of the Episcopal church in the Peninsular state. With a fine aptitude and versatility, Governor Cuming had entered journalism zealously for his life calling, and was, when appointed secretary, editing the Dispatch at Keokuk, Iowa.2 No executive of the terri tory or state perhaps has equaled him in abil ity; and no documents from the executive office have been couched in better English than those he put forth. Mr. Cuming's appointment as secretary of the territory was doubtless due to the potent influence of Iowa politicians added to that of Lewis Cass of his native state. His oath of office as secretary was administered August 3. l854. by Peter V. Daniel, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 2 Personal recollections of J. Sterling Morton. ORGANIZATION i73 and he arrived in the territory on the 8th of the same month. To the task of evoking political order from the chaos he found he was quite equal — his enemies said more than equal. In few of our commonwealths has the framing of the state fallen to men of such large ability as were the framers of political Nebraska; and in point of ability Thomas B. Cuming should doubtless be named with the half dozen or less of the first class. In execu tive capacity and aggressive force, in the judg ment of some of his ablest contemporaries, he excelled them all. Two of those contem poraries have expressed the opinion, independ ently of each other, that if Cuming had gone to the Civil war he would have become a distinguished general.1 In audacity, and in his methods in general, he was Napoleonic. The difficult knot in which he found the question of temporarily locating the capital of the ter ritory, which an ordi nary man would have striven in perplexity to untie, he cut with an Alexandrian stroke, and his generalship in the campaign for form ally and legally fixing the seat of government at Omaha was of the same order. By like methods he went about the task of organizing orderly government out of the chaotic material he found. Bribery and other forms of corruption in the settlement of the capital question were freely and vociferously charged, and are cred ited as a matter of course by the survivors of those strenuous times. The partisans of Bellevue pushed as her superior claims seni ority and the intent of Governor Burt, the real executive. At the third session of the legislature a well-distributed committee of the council, composed of Jacob Safford2 of Cass, Dodge, and Otoe counties, Samuel M. Kirk patrick of Cass, and William Clancy of Wash ington, in their unanimous report in favor of relocating the capital, said : "When the first governor arrived in this territory he found but one place entitled to the name of village, even, anywhere north of the Platte river. The town of Bellevue, the first town-site north of the Platte, was the place where it was known it was his intention to lo cate the capital. His death, however, left the matter in other hands, and the capital was located at its present site. Your committee are loth to say what in fluences are universally believed to have been brought to bear in in ducing the present loca tion. It is sufficient for them to say that the peo ple of the territory are by no means satisfied with the location or with the means by which it was located, and still less by the means by which it has been kept there."3 THOMAS B. CUMING FIRST SECRETARY AND TWICE ACTING GOVERNOR OF NEBRASKA TERRITORY Omaha was exactly midway between the r.orih and south limits of population at that time, and nearer the center of the north and south limits of the prospective and now actual state than Bellevue. Distances east and west were of little consequence, because it was thought that for an indefinite time to come the country would not be settled more than forty miles westward from the river. Regard for the sentiment of the people and for supe rior eligibility as a site for a city and as a point for a railroad crossing certainly would 1 Personal recollections of James M. Wool worth and Dr. George L. Miller. £ Safford was a resident of Otoe county. 3 Council Journal, 1855-57, p. 25. 1 74 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA have made Bellevue the capital. But the pop ulation was so small and so shifting that this consideration was of little consequence. The new order of man-made cities was soon to be illustrated in Omaha herself, so that the pri ority argument for Bellevue had little weight. It is a truth or abstraction of small practi cal consequence to say that Acting Governor Cuming should have convened the first legis lature at Bellevue in accordance with the deci sion of Governor Burt, though there was at most none other than a moral obligation to do so. It would be more to the purpose to say that Acting Governor Cuming should have fairly apportioned the members of the first legislature, so that the South Platte, or anti- Omaha settlers would have had the majority to which they were entitled. In that case the legislature would perhaps have located the capital at Bellevue where it would have re mained, not unlikely, to the present time, and where the Union Pacific bridge and terminals would have followed it. In other words, Bellevue would have taken the place of Omaha as the commercial capital of Nebraska, but more than that, for an indefinite time would have been the political capital also. But we say "perhaps," because the same potent Iowa influence, focused at Council Bluffs, which after years of effort had compassed territorial organization and made Nebraska a separate territory, might have prevailed in spite of any adverse initiative of the governor. To con template this might-have-been, to conjure in the mind the splendid dual capital which might have adorned the beautiful site — the most beautiful as well as the most eligible of the available sites — of the now deserted village 'Though Governor Dodge designated Belmont as the meeting place of the first legislalure of the terri tory of Wisconsin, that body chose Madison for the permanent capital. -See boundaries of these districts in Appendix. 8 Alfred D. Jones was the first postmaster of Omaha. He was appointed May 5, 1854 — before the organic act svas passed. David Lindley, the successor of Jones, was appointed January 12, 1855; his successor, Law rence H. Frank, was appointed January 30, 1855; and his successor, William W. Wyman, was appointed June 25, 1855. A letter to the editor from the fourth assistant postmaster general, dated October 28, 1903, gives the following specific information: "I have to state that the former statement sent you from this is perhaps idle speculation, or at most a fascinating fancy.1 But to relate the facts and interpret the motives which contributed to this important incident in the beginning of a commonwealth is legitimate history. On Saturday, October 21, the governor issued the second proclamation which an nounced that an enumeration of the inhab itants of the territory would begin October 24, the purpose of the notice being to enable persons who were temporarily absent from the territory to return in time for the census. The third proclamation, dated October 26, gave instructions as to the duties of the six deputy marshals who were to take the census in the six districts into which the territory had been divided for that purpose — the first three lying north and the last three south of the Platte river.2 According to the instruc tions the work was to be completed by the 20th of the following November and returns to be made to Mr. Lindley, postmaster, Omaha City,3 or to the governor, at the mis sion house, Bellevue. The governor ap pointed as enumerators Joseph L. Sharp, first district ; Charles B. Smith, second district ; Michael Murphy, third district; Eli R. Doyle and F. W. Symmes,4 fourth district; Munson H. Clark, fifth district; Charles W. Pierce, sixth district. The fourth proclamation, made November 18, 1854, appointed Thursday, November 30, as a day of thanksgiving. The fifth, dated November 23, 1854, promulgated rules for the elections. The sixth executive document, pertaining to territorial organization, issued November 23, 1854, proclaimed that elections should be held December 12, 1854, to choose office has been verified and found to be correct. The records show that Alfred D. Jones was the first ap pointed postmaster of Omaha, Nebraska (May 5, 1854) , and that his commission as postmaster was sent him from this office August 15, 1854. The first postmaster of Bellevue, Nebraska, was Daniel E. Reed, appointed January 15, 1855. ' Bellevue ' did not succeed another office at same place under a different name. ' Belle vue,' according to our records, was the original name of the office." 4F. W. Symmes was a native of South Carolina, and came with Governor Burt in October, 1854, to Ne braska territory. He left for his home in South Caro lina about December 6, 1854, and there is uo record of his having again visited Nebraska. ORGANIZATION 175 a delegate to Congress and members of a legislature which was to meet January 8, 1855. The seventh proclamation, issued De cember 15, 1854, authorized a special election at Nebraska City on the 21st of that month to fill the vacancy in the council left by a tie vote cast at the regular election. On the 20th day of December the last two proclamations pertaining to territorial organization were issued, one convening the legislature at Omaha, and on the 16th instead of the 8th of January, 1855, the other announcing the or ganization of the judiciary system, and designating judges of probate, justices of the peace, sheriffs, constables and clerks for the several counties, and in the same proclamation the three judges were placed. Chief Justice Ferguson was assigned to the first district, com prising Douglas and Dodge counties; Justice Harden to the second, embracing all of the coun ties south of the Platte river; and Justice Brad ley to the third district, comprising the counties of Burt and Wash ington. Judge Fergu son arrived in the ter ritory October 11, 1854, and the next day took the oath of office before Secretary Cum- that the executive ing "at the town of Bellevue." Judge Brad ley arrived October 14, and took the oath before Judge Ferguson at Omaha City, Octo ber 28; Judge Harden arrived December 1, and took the oath before Judge Ferguson at Bellevue, December 4. Attorney General Estabrook arrived at Omaha City, January 22, 1855, and took the oath before Secretary Cuming. Marshal Izard arrived October 20, and took the oath before Judge Ferguson, at Bellevue, October 24. * The Palladium of De cember 6 gives this ac count of Judge Harden: "Hon. Edward R. Harden, one of the asso ciate judges of Nebraska, accompanied by the clerk of his court, M. W. Riden,2and J. D. White, Esq., of Georgia, arrived at Belleview, December 4. The judge is a mid dle-aged man, spare in person and to appearance quite feeble in constitu tion — his manners, dress and equipage all bear the stamp of democratic sim plicity and economy. He is courteous in manner, agreeable and affable in conversation. ' ' On the 23d of Decem ber the governor called for two volunteer regi ments for defense against the Indians.3 The date marks of these state papers show office was wherever the JUDGE EDWARD R. HARDEN4 IN A COSTUME PRESENTED TO HIM BY AN OMAHA CHIEF From a daguerreotype taken in 1855 'Records Nebraska Territory, pp. 2, 3. 2Mastin W. Riden, member of the lower house in the second session of the territorial assembly, was one of the earliest settlers of Nebraska City. There is no record of his early life and it is not known where he lived previous to coming to Nebraska, but it is be lieved that he came from Georgia with Judge Ed ward R. Harden. He was clerk of the United States court for the southern district of Nebraska, the first term of which was held at Nebraska City by Judge Harden, in March, 1855, and continued in that office under Judge Samuel W. Black. In May, 1855, he was elected recorder of Nebraska City, and was reelected the following year. He was a candidate for chief clerk of the house at the first session of the ter ritorial assembly, receiving seven votes, but was de feated by Joseph W. Paddock. Mr. Riden was elected from Otoe county to the lower house of the second session of the territorial assembly. No further record of his career is obtainable. -These ten proclamations appear in Appendix. 1 Edward Randolph Harden, associate justice of the first territorial supreme court of Nebraska, was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1815. He was a son of Gen eral Edward Harden, an able lawyer, who served in the war of 1812, and Mary Ann E. Randolph, of Charles county, Georgia, and a grandson of General Edward Harden, a soldier of the American Revolution. Judge Harden was educated in his native state, gradu ating at Athens in 1833. In July, 1854, he was ap pointed by President Pierce associate justice of the territory of Nebraska, and in May, 1860, accepted a 176 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA governor happened to be when he desired to perform an executive act; and they faintly suggest that the aspirations and hopes of each hamlet to become the capital were delicately nurtured, or at least not inconsiderately or prematurely blighted. Giving a strict construction to the provision of the organic act that nothing therein con tained "shall be construed to impair the rights of person or property now pertaining to the Indians in said territory so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished by treaty between the United States and such Indians, or to include any territory, which by treaty with any Indian tribe, is not without the consent of said tribe, to be included within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any state or territory," he had aimed to include in these districts only such territory as had been actually re linquished by the Indians. But doubt as to the scope of this restriction having arisen, on the ist of November Gov ernor Cuming addressed a letter to the commissioner of Indian affairs asking whether he had done right to le- strict election privileges to those actually within the Otoe and Omaha cessions and to exclude "the traders and others north ward of the Blackbird Hills, who by the inter- EDWARD RANDOLPH HARDEN From a daguerreotype taken in 1858 course act of 1834 have been given special privileges, or those in any other part of the territory who are living on Indian lands not yet ceded, but to restrict all election control within the Omaha and Otoe cessions, reach ing north to the Aoway river, south to the little Nemaha river, and west to the lands of the Pawnees." "Some of the territorial officers and many of the citizens," he said, "contend that elec tion precincts should be established over all the territory wherever white men (traders and others) reside — comprising the Sioux, Blackfeet, Crows, and other tribes. Others are of the opinion that such election privileges should only be enjoyed by the settlers within the Omaha and Otoe cessions where it is now un derstood that the whites have the authority of the govern ment to make a permanent residence." The commis sioner was asked to "state also whether there is any neu tral or United States ground south of the Platte river, south and west of the Otoe and Missouri cession, where an election precinct may be made."1 The commissioner, Mr. George W. Many- penny, answered that, "Where there has been no cession made by an Indian tribe, as has similar appointment from President Buchanan for the territory of Utah. Judge Harden's eldest son, Wil liam H. Harden, of Quitman, Georgia, says in a recent letter: "My father served in Nebraska, I think, about four years, and on account of my mother's objections to going to (as she termed it) a wild country, he re signed, and was soon afterwards commissioned as judge of Utah, but the war broke out, and he and myself both joined the army and served four years. . . . While in Nebraska my father boarded at a mission bouse located at Omaha (Bellevue) with a family by the name of Morton." Judge Harden was a member of the famous secession convention at Charleston, South Carolina, and took an active part in its proceedings. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted iu tbe Confederate army, raising a company known as the Dalton Guards which he com manded until he was made adjutant of Smith's Legion. Later he served as an aid on General Walker's staff. At the close of the -war he resumed the practice of law in Cuthbert, Georgia, where he remained until 1867, then removing to Quitman, Brooks county. In 1872 he was commissioned county judge and held that position continuously until his death. He was a mem ber of the Georgia state legislature two terms, repre senting Walker county. Judge Harden was first mar ried in 1837 to Sarah Eugenia Brown, of Athens, and seven children were born to them, William H., Frank R., Edward, Lumpkin, Anna, Mary Greenhill, and Lewis. Of these three are still living — William H., Anna, and Lewis, while Mrs. Harden died in 1867. Several years later Judge Harden was married to Miss Mary C. Tyler, of Columbus, to whom were born two chi dren, Henry and Reginald, who now (1904) reside in Quitman. William H. Harden is tax receiver of Brooks county. The second Mrs. Harden died July 25, 1900. Judge Harden was an active member of the Baptist church during his life; he was president of An drew Female college of Cuthbert, and in every way was a broad-minded man, active in the interests of his state. He died at Quitman , June 12, 1884. ¦'Records Nebraska Territory, p. 32. ELECTION PRECINCTS 177 not been done by the Sioux, the Blackfeet, the Crows, the Poncas, and some others, any exercise of authority for territorial purposes by the government would be in my opinion in contravention of the proviso of the act organizing the territory."1 To Governor Cuming's second question the commissioner replied : "The country west of the half-breeds and south of the Platte river west of the Otoe and Missouri cession and bounded on the north by the Platte river as far back as 101 degrees west longitude, and from that point in a southwesterly direction to the line divid ing Kansas and Nebraska near the 103d de gree is of such character."2 In accordance with the commissioner's opinion the governor sent Deputy Marshal Jesse Lowe to spy out this "United States ground" to the southwest. The only record we have of the object and result of this inves tigation is contained in Marshal Lowe's report of December 10, 1854: "To Acting Governor T. B. Cuming: "Sir: Having been sent by you to estab lish what is called Jones county, bounded as follows, commencing 60 miles west from the Missouri river at the north corner of Rich ardson county; thence west along the south bank of the Platte river to the 101st degree of west longitude; thence southwesterly to the boundary between Kansas and Nebraska at the 103d degree of west longitude; thence along said boundary to the southwest corner of Richardson county; and thence to the place of beginning, and instructed to apportion to said county one representative or more as the number of inhabitants should require, (I) respectfully report that by ascertaining from satisfactory information that there are no vot ers in said county unless a few living in the neighborhood of Belews precinct in Richard son county, and who would naturally vote at said precinct, and believing furthermore from satisfactory information, that Richardson county has been given more than her just representation, I am of opinion that no ap portionment should be made for Jones county. "Very respectfully, "Mark W. Izard, marshal, "By Jesse Lowe, deputy." 'Records Nebraska Territory, p. 31. 2 Ibid. Like most attempted descriptions of Ne braska territory at that time, this one by the commis sioner was inaccurate, for tbe Kansas in 1825 and tbe 12 Governor Cuming sent the following curious announcement : "Omaha City, Nov. 30, 1854. "To Editors Newspapers: "Dear Sir : The deputy territorial marshal has been sent below the 'Platte' in the neigh borhood of 'the Blues' to establish a new county. "The notices of election in the census dis trict above the Platte, (Belleview and Ornaha) will not be circulated until he can be heard from as it will be impossible till then to cor rectly fix the apportionment, which is limited by law to a certain number for the whole territory. "It will be well to make this announcement public. The other counties have received their apportionment and this is the only dis trict in the territory where this course will be pursued, it being the most compact and least subject to injury by delay. "Respectfully yours, "T. B. Cuming, "Acting Governor of Nebraska." The inference from this communication is that the governor intended to cut the Douglas county representation cloth to suit the whole garment after it should be completed by the attachment of that part on "the Blues," just as he evidently entirely disregarded Mr. Sharp's comprehensive count of Richardson county, quite in accordance with the sugges tion or warning of Deputy Marshal Lowe. It was at once freely and forcibly charged by the enemies of Governor Cuming, who appear to have been nearly identical with those who opposed the location of the capital at Omaha, that this first census was doctored, with fraudulent intent, in the interest of Omaha. Though at the beginning of the ses sion the governor, in compliance with a reso lution of the house, moved by Mr. Decker of Nebraska City, had furnished copies of the census returns to that body, they are not now in existence. That there were gross falsifi cations and other irregularities in this census there is no doubt. These legislative districts were gerrymandered by Governor Cuming in the interest of Omaha, and there is only one Pawnees in 1833 had ceded to the LTnited States all the territory west of tbe Missouri and Otoe cessions south of the Platte river, and westward approximately to the 101st meridian. — [Ed.] SYLVANUS DODGE M. I ¦¦¦ I A Site of the claims of Sylvanus Dodge and his sons, Grenville M. and Nathan P., on the east bank of the Elkhorn river, 25 miles northwest of Omaha, 1855 From'a drawing by Simon in the Frontier Sketch Book FIRST CAPITAL CONTROVERSY 179 motive that may be assigned therefor. The interests of a coterie of enterprising Iowa speculators who had gathered in Council Bluffs, and some of whom were camping in expectation on the site of Omaha, required that the capital should be located there, and they set about to reach their end by much the same means and methods as always have been employed for like purposes. They won, as was inevitable, on account of the great supe riority of their resources. If Governor Burt, who, being a southern gentleman of the old school, would have been proof against these means and averse to these methods, had lived, his initiative might have drawn this Iowa influence to Bellevue. As governors of new territories go, Burt was the exception and Cuming the rule ; more of them act as Cuming acted than as Burt would have acted — though few would act in like circumstances with a vigor so naturally effective and so little im paired by nicety of moral scruple or conven tional restraints. The story of the proceedings in the capital contest rests mainly upon personal recollec- 1 Daniel E. Reed was the first postmaster of Belle vue, receiving the appointment January 15, 1855. Mr. and Mrs. Reed had come to Bellevue in the fall of 1847 as teachers in the Presbyterian mission school. Together with Thomas Morton he published the Palla dium, which was the first newspaper not only of Bellevue but of Nebraska territory. It was first issued in Bellevue about the middle of November, 1854, the first fifteen numbers having been printed at St. Mary on the Iowa side of the river. The full name of the paper was the Nebraska Palladium and Platte Valley Advocate. It was discontinued on April 11, 1855. zThe following account, by the Rev. William Hamilton, who was in charge of the Indian mission at Bellevue, of his negotiations with Acting Governor Cuming, is entitled to credibility both for accuracy and truthfulness. It is tbe sole direct testimony ex tant bearing upon the points in question: .In the early settlement of Nebraska there was much excitement and some bloodshed, but the greatest excitement was about the location of the capital, as on that depended the future wealth of many, as they supposed. Had Governor Burt lived, it was his intention to examine the country, and then place the capital where it would be the most beneficial to the territory, not to the individual or himself, though he was a poor man and in debt. I suppose I was better acquainted with him than any others, ex cept those who came with him to the territory. He was remarkable for his kindness of heart and his ster ling integrity, as those who came with him testified, and as I could bear witness, too, as far as I knew him. His kindness led him to listen to the proffered advice of those who came to consult about their own interest, when he should have enjoyed perfect quietness. His state of health required this, and I was anxious to se- tion and tradition. It is doubtless true that Governor Cuming demanded of "Father" Hamilton one hundred acres of the section of mission land at Bellevue as the price for desig nating that place as the capital. It would doubtless have been difficult to alienate this land at all, since the board of missions did not receive a patent for it until 1858. "Father" Hamilton seemed to be filled more with the fear of the Lord than of losing the capital, and the reader of the Palladium gains an im pression that its editor, Mr. Reed,1 was too much possessed by a sense of the righteous ness of Bellevue's cause to be willing or able to meet her opponents on their own morally less defensible but practically far stronger grounds. The moral suasion of these good people of Bellevue was not backed up with material arguments sufficient to meet those of the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry com pany, which not only represented but consti tuted Omaha's interests.2 Under authority of the organic law Gov ernor Cuming had divided the inhabited por tion of the territorv into eight counties, and cure it for him, but the people would not let him rest. I might almost say he was worried to death. I feared the consequences from the first, but caution was of no avail to those who hoped to get rich by his deciding according to their wishes. The end came, and it does not seem a harsh judgment to say that by some it did not seem to be regretted. After his death, and before his remains had left the mission, plans wera made, and arrangements made to carry out those plans, to place the capital at Bellevue. These plans were talked over in the room where the corpse was lying, while I was opening the zinc coffin to fill it with alcohol and sold ering it up again. The talk was intended to be blind, but I understood it well enough. It was between the Acting Governor Cuming and a man called Judge Green, who had before asked me the price of the mis sion reserve, four quarter-sections. The plan was to purchase it of the Board of Foreign Missions and then locate the capital there. Three, or perhaps four, were interested in this plan, the acting governor, the afore said judge, and a Mr. Gilmore. Judge Green was to ostensibly accompany the corpse to South Carolina, but to go to New York when the diverging point was reached and make the purchase. Judge Green had told me that he would give $25,000 in gold for it, say ing he did not wish me to think he was rich, but he could command the money in gold. I had asked $50,000 for the reserve. He went to New York and agreed with the Hon. Walter Lowrie to give the &50,000, but asked sixty days to consider. He was to telegraph at the end of that time. He did not tele graph as agreed, and Mr. Gilmore who was then living in Omaha told me it was at his advice that he did not telegraph, saying it was the pressure, the pressure meaning they could not borrow the money. The next move was to get bids, not from Bellevue alone, but i8o HISTORY OF NEBRASKA after the census had been taken he appor tioned the several counties into legislative districts. LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT Friends of Bellevue read in this apportion ment the doom of their hopes for the capital, and it was the first overt act of the bitter war between the North Platte and South Platte sections which lasted until the chief cause of the quarrel was removed by the removal of the capital to Lincoln in 1867. It is seen that twenty-one members were awarded to the counties north of the Platte and eighteen to those south of that river. It was strongly contended by the people south of the Platte that their section was the most populous, and the governor's own census gave it 1,818 in habitants as against 914 in the northern sec tion. The census showed 516 voters — that is, males over twenty-one years of age — south, and 413 north of the Platte. But during the final debate in the house on the 25th of January, in which, for some reason, Governor Cuming was allowed to speak, he said that there had been some misrepresenta tion regarding his acts which he wished to correct; that he had found, after careful ex amination of all the census returns, that the greatest population was north of the Platte, and he had given that section representation from the different towns that wanted the capital. The Bellevue Land Claim Association promised liberally, but none had as yet titles to what they promised, only claims. Judge Ferguson then came to me and said everything was now arranged to secure the capital at Bellevue except one thing. The L. C. A. had promised liberally, but Acting Governor Cuming asked one hun dred acres of the mission reserve, and he assured me that if it was given, the capital would be placed at Bellevue. I replied without hesitation, not one foot to the man, but was willing to recommend the giving of it to the county or territory. This, I suppose, de- accordingly. He said the poll books and cen sus returns were free for investigation by members. But the abstract which he certifies flatly contradicts him. In the same debate Mr. Poppleton also alleged that the census returns gave the North Platte the greater population.1 Deductions from the figures of the first census and the abstract of votes of the first election are contradictory, and according to the vote the governor's apportionment as affecting the two sections was not grossly inequitable, as will be seen from the following tables : ABSTRACT OF CENSUS OF NEBRASKA TERRI TORY, NOVEMBER 20, 1854 IM «5 1_ 0*0 rt V.B fJi ri !S s t# ti, ti, CO ti, ti, l Richardson .... 236 26 181 190 214 4 851 2 Pierce & Forney 185 24 138 127 131 9 614 3 95 250 74 1629 1 101 120 8 44 131 13 97 115 10 35: ( 4 Douglas Dodge Washington and 645 5 106 6 Burt Totals 89 929 7 103 12 560 28 533 27 594 163 13 27 2 The following table gives the actual appor tionment of representation to the several counties as made by Governor Cuming — the apportionment as it should have been, based upon population, and as it should have been, based upon the votes actually cast. The counties which are grouped together corre spond approximately to the census districts in which they were situated. The vote taken is that cast for candidates for delegate to Congress : cided the matter. Some years after when conversing with Judge Briggs about the amount Omaha was taxed for the capital and R. R., I said all of Bellevue could have been purchased for a trifle of what they had paid out to secure these things for Omaha, and then they would have been independent. He admitted the fact, and added, 'We are not done yet.' I have never re gretted my refusal, though some of the citizens blamed me, but our board never blamed me. . . . " — (Repts. Neb. Slate Hist. Soc, vol. 1, p. 67.) Nebraska Palladium, February 7, 1855. FIRST CAPITAL CONTROVERSY 181 ANALYSIS OF APPORTIONMENT COUNTV Richardson Pierce "1 F jrney J Cass Douglas Dodge Washington \ Burt J Totals North Platte Totals South Platte 851 6:4 35164: 106163 911 18 !8 C3 o Ratio of actu al apportion ment to vote. 17 lto lto 63 1 to 42 1 to 130 lto 74 lto 14 1 to 34 lto 57 lto 57 lto lto 19 lto 37 lto 21 lto 65 lto 37 lto 7 ltol7 lto 28 lto 28 lto 36 By the census of 1855, taken about ten months after the first one, the population was found to be 4,494, with 1,549 north and 2,945 south of the Platte river. It is probable that in the meantime the relative increase of the North Platte section had been greater than that of the South Platte, on account of the drawing influence of the newly made capital ; so that the contention of Governor Cuming that the North Platte section had a greater population than the South Platte not only involved the utter repudiation of his own cen sus, but seems to be inconsistent with the weight of evidence upon that point. There is no doubt that the vote of Burt county was largely "colonized," since it is known that there was no bona fide population there. And the same machinery that so successfully im ported voters into Burt was, not unlikely, quite as effective in the case of Washington and Douglas counties. Governor Cuming dis regarded the palpable overcount in Richard son county, and apparently the basis of his apportionment there was not far from cor rect, since the county showed a population of 299 by the regular census of 1855. If he had eliminated the population of Richardson by the first census — 851 — the South Platte would still have been in the lead, according to his census, by about 100. One wonders on looking at the map of those first counties why the line of Washing ton was run so close as to graze Omaha, the 1 Palladium, December 27, 1854. capital of Douglas county. A scalp-lifting critic of the governor's course explains his action in the following specifications : "... You established Burt county with not half a dozen actual residents in it giving it a representation of one to the upper and two to the lower house. The vote we acknowledge was swelled to perhaps 50; how deserted Bluff City on the day of election, can't [can] tell. Then comes Dodge with the same representation and only 14 votes. — You feared the independent citizens of Florence and to overpower them, you brought the southern line of Washington to within a mile of Omaha, that importation might be easy. In Cass, that you could not hope to control, you gave only one councilman and three rep resentatives, yet the vote in that district was 128. — In Pierce, with a vote of 188, you gave three couneilmen and five representatives. (You thought some of your plants would grow there, Governor.) Two little pets of yours, Forney and Richardson, are finely en dowed. The first with 42 votes sends one to the upper house and two to the lower house — the latter with 24 votes is equally favored."1 The Bugle2 of Council Bluffs, mouth-piece of the Iowa exploiters of Omaha, in an article scolding the Palladium for its chronic squeal ing, offers the following justification of Cum ing's course : "We have been a quiet looker-on whilst the struggle for the capital has been going on between four land companies, each sure that their special point was designed by nature for the great western mart, and the capital of a new and important state. Foremost upon this list was Belleview, the proprietors of which loudly claimed the right by precedence, being the earliest settled place, etc. Nebraska City claimed it from being handsomely located, and Winter Quarters by its most central posi tion, whilst Omaha claimed the capital by right of her early industry in making by far the greatest amount of improvements, from being the most populous and convenient place, and as offering the most conveniences for the coming session of the legislature. Although as yet there has been no improvements or buildings going on at Belleview the town owners have constantly claimed all the advan tages, merit and consideration, leaving nothing for Omaha or any other place. Before Mr. 2 Western Bugle, December 26, 1854. 182 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Cuming arrived here we knew that he was prepossessed with a conviction that Omaha must be the place for the present seat of government, and at the death of the lamented Governor Burt he had not changed his mind. Consequently he could not have been in fluenced by unworthy motives in selecting Omaha as the present capital. Finding con genial and equally disappointed parties south of the Platte they have leagued to slander, villify and misrepresent Mr. Cuming abroad, and are making strenuous exertions for his removal from office, by petitions and private letters. But the Palladium1 had pointed out that : "The doors of the Mission are open to receive the legislature, if it is called here, and we hazard our reputation upon the assertion that equal accommodations can not be offered elsewhere in Nebraska before the 8th day of January, 1855. This house was built under difficulties such as had disappeared long be fore Omaha was thought of; most of the lumber having been sawed by no other aid than hand labor.2 Now according to the prin ciples upon which our anxious neighbor thinks ought to control the location of the capitol, it would be located here." Governor Cuming did not issue his procla mation convening the legislature at Omaha until December 20, but the Bellevue contin gent had anticipated his recreancy to their cause some time before, and a gathering of citizens there on the 9th of that month to further the interests of Bellevue in the capital contest, which Cuming attended, was turned into an indignation meeting. At this meeting Governor Cuming is quoted as saying that he had made up his mind two weeks previously to locate the capital at Omaha, but owing to attempts improperly to influence him in favor of that place he had changed his mind and was then in doubt. But if Bellevue would nominate a candidate for the council and two for the house, pledged to sustain his adminis tration and not to attempt to remove the capi tal from the place of his selection, he would give Bellevue a district by itself, otherwise that nervous aspirant would be included in the Omaha district and be swallowed up by it. The Omaha Arrozv, published at Council Bluffs by residents of that place, and which was also the actual residence of Governor Cuming, announces, November 3, that, "the work on the State House here goes briskly on. It will be ready for the accommodation of the body for which it was intended before the middle of next month;" and on the ioth of November that, "the contractor of the State House assures us the building will be ready by the first of December." Even if Governor Cuming himself, at Bellevue, had lost faith in his intention to locate the capital at Omaha, his Council Bluffs neighbors had not, and they kept pushing their preparation for it to perfection. These Bellevue people either considered that they had no chance, and could afford to play the role of indignant virtue, or they were very poor generals ; for by responding to the governor's finesse they might have had three militant members directly representing them in the contest in the legislature. But they threw dissimulation to the winds, and Mr. A. W. Hollister^ insisted that he had seen the original of a compromising letter, apparently written by Cuming, and which in some unex plained way had come into possession of his enemies, and he was certain of its authen ticity.4 At this juncture Governor Cuming, in a fierce passion, left the meeting and thereby placed upon Bellevue the perpetual seal of "the deserted village." Mr. Hollister then proceeded to aver that Major Hepner,5 Indian agent, would swear to the genuineness of the signature to the letter, and to spurn with con- 1 December 6, 1854. 2 See biographical sketch of Henry T. Clarke. 3Abner W. Hollister was a candidate for delegate to Congress in 1854, but withdrew from the contest. He was voted for as a member of the first territorial assembly of Nebraska from Bellevue precinct, but was not seated. In 1854 he was a member of the Bellevue Town Site Company. 4 This letter was published in the Palladium of De cember 13, 1854. 5 Major George Hepner, Indian agent, Bellevue, Ne braska, was appointed agent for the Omahas in 1854, and made the first payment of annuities to that nation. He was an attorney at St. Mary, Iowa, previous to his appointment as Indian agent and also had a nurserv at that place. He was a member of the Bellevue Town Company in 1854. 1 84 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA tempt the propitiatory offering of the gov ernor. Stephen Decatur1 and Silas A. Strick land followed in a like intense and grandilo quent strain of indignant patriotism and offended virtue, in which rather more than due rhetorical justice was done to "the tyrant Charles the First" and to "the great charter of our own liberties." Soon followed mass meetings at many places in the South Platte district for the purpose of denouncing Governor Cuming. The meeting for Pierce county was held De cember 15, at Nebraska City, and it passed resolutions charging Cuming with "seeking only his own aggrandizement, with neglecting to reside within the limits of the territory but keeping the actual seat of government in a foreign city," and that he "is no longer worthy or capable of discharging the duties that have accidentally devolved upon him, and his longer continuance in office would be an in sult to the people of the territory." The res olutions invited the citizens of the territory to meet in delegate convention at Nebraska City, December 30, "to select some suitable person to recommend to the president of the United States for appointment to the gov ernorship of this territory." The climax of the proceedings of the convention was a res olution commending the people of Bellevue "for their Christian forbearance toward Gov ernor Cuming in not offering him personal violence for as gross an insult by him as could be offered by a tyrant to a free people, in refusing to give them a separate district and allowing them to elect members of the legis lature, unless they would pledge themselves to elect such men as he should dictate." A meeting for a like purpose was held at Brownville in Forney county, December 12, and another at Bellevue, December 28.2 In this meeting the two Mortons,3 destined to long careers in the territory and state, took important parts. Thomas Morton was chosen chairman, and J. Sterling Morton, one of the three delegates to the territorial convention. Here the latter performed his first public act in the commonwealth which was to be distinguished as the scene of his public activ ity for near half a century, and where his personality was to be impressed on the insti tutions and the life of the people. Mr. Mor ton was as prompt in taking this active part in public affairs as he was afterwards cease- 1 Stephen Decatur, pioneer of Nebraska in the early '50's, was born in Sussex county, New Jersey. His full name was Stephen Decatur Bross. and he was a brother of the well-known Lieutenant Governor Bross of Illinois, proprietor of the old Chicago Tribune, but for some reason he dropped bis surname upon arrival in the West, where he was always known as ' ' Com modore Decatur." His early life was spent in his na tive state where he taught school, but in the '40's he left home, presumably on a trip to New York, and never re turned. Another brother, at one time came to Nebraska and had a conference with Stephen near the town of Decatur, where he proved him to be his brother, and was acknowledged as such by the Commodore, who absolutely refused to explain anything. While on the frontier he enlisted in General Doniphan's regi ment and served in the Mexican war. Later he set tled on the banks of the Missouri, and in 1852, to gether with Major Barrows, conceived the idea of locating a town on the present site of Bellevue, and February 9, 1854, a company was organized composed of Peter A. Sarpy, Stephen Decatur, and others, known as the Old Town Compay. In July of that year the Indian title expired by treaty, and the town and surrounding country was opened to settlers. After the site of Omaha was established he operated a ferry for several years between Council Bluffs and Omaha. In 1854 he was voted for as a member of the first territorial asssembly of Nebraska from Belle vue precinct but was not seated. In 1855 Colonel Sarpy had a trading post at what is now known as Decatur, and " Commodore " Decatur was a clerk in charge. The town of Decatur was laid out in the fall of 1855 by the Decatur Town and Ferry Company, composed of Stephen Decatur, Peter A. Sarpy, Benja min R. Folsom and others, but it was not until May, 1862, that letters patent were granted by the United States. In 1859, with other pioneers, he went from Nebraska to the gold fields of Colorado. During the Civil war he enlisted in the 3d Colorado regiment and served under Colonel Chivington and took part in the fight at Sand creek. After the war he resided for some time in Georgetown, Colorado, and published the Georgetown Miner. Later he prospected in and around Clear Creek county and in Summit county, Colorado, which district he represented in 1866-68 in the territorial legislature. He was commissioner from Colorado to the Centennial Exposition . Subsequently he returned to Colorado and died June 3, 1888, at Rosita, a small camp in the Sangree de Cristo moun tains, at about eighty years of age. Mr. Decatur had a wife and two daughters in New Jersey, but was again married to a Mrs. Thompson of Council Bluffs, Iowa, who is still living (1904) at Los Angeles, California. A daughter of Mrs. Decatur by her former husband became the wife of Capt. S. T. Learning of Decatur. One son, J. G. Decatur, is with the Western Union Telegraph Company at San Francisco. 2 These meetings are reported in the Palladium, December 27 and January 3. 3 The popular notion that these men were brothers is erroneous; there was no blood relation between them. FIRST CAPITAL CONTROVERSY 1 35 less in pursuing it. Only three weeks before this meeting the Palladium contained the fol lowing modest but, in the. light of subsequent events, important notice : "j. S. MORTON. "This gentleman, formerly associate editor of the Detroit Free Press, and lady arrived at Belleview on the 30th ult., where they intend to settle. Mr. Morton is a man of ability and an able writer, and having had the good sense to select one of the most beautiful locations for his residence as well as one of the most strongly forti fied points — in a political view — he will no doubt be an important acquisi tion to the territory and to this community." Nevertheless, within only two months, this most strongly fortified political point yielded to the siege of the Omaha forces, and was so com pletely razed that Mr. Morton was prompt to evacuate it and take a new pos'.tion at Nebraska City, which he occupied with distinguished cour age, enterprise, and honor for forty-seven years. By a previous notice in the Palladium it appears that Mr. Morton himself had visited Bellevue on the 13th of November. The old settler is only able now to point out the ap proximate site of the log cabin which was the home of the young couple, married somewhat less than a year, when they left with the ebb tide of Bellevue's fortunes for the more prom ising location. 1 George W. Hollister was a young man of about twenty-five years of age when he came to Nebraska territory, and was probably a native of Illinois, having graduated from Gale college in that state, and studied law at Ottawa. Though a quiet, studious, and in offensive young man, be in some way became involved in a dispute over the boundaries of a claim which he J. STERLING MORTON AT 22 YEARS OF AGE From an unpublished copy of a daguerreotype taken in 1854 and now in the possession of Miss Emma Mor ton This was taken on Mr. Morton's wedding day and just before he started for Nebraska to settle. In the delegate convention at Nebraska City, held December 30, five counties — Cass, Douglas, Forney, Pierce, and Richardson — were represented by nineteen delegates ; and of course the Douglas county delegates, Ste phen Decatur, J. Sterling Morton, and Geo. W. Hollister,1 were all from Bellevue. J\ H. Decker of Pierce county (speaker of the house in the legislature which retreated from Omaha to Florence in a subsequent capital controversy), was chair man, and Geo. W. Hol lister of Bellevue and A. M. Rose of Pierce county were secretaries. Mr. Morton was chairman of the committee on resolu tions, and this first official function in territorial af fairs in Nebraska we may be sure he performed without dissimulation or self-repression. The reso lutions went straight to the mark — his mark — which, in the nature of the men, Cuming had already become: "Whereas, we believe that, in order to attain the ends of just govern ment, the executive power should be vested in up right and honorable men; and, whereas, we believe that that power, when confided to unprincipled knaves, who seek rather to control than consult the people (whom we recognize as the only true American sovereigns) is always used to the advantage of the few and the oppression of the many, therefore, "Resolved, ist, That Acting Governor Cuming is neither an upright, honest nor hon- orable man. had near Bellevue, and was killed by a shot fired by Dr Charles A. Henry, April 3, 1855. The funeral services were conducted at Council Bluffs by Rev. G. G. Rice, who still resides there, and the remains were taken east for burial. For biography of C. A. Henry, see foot-note 3, p. 191. 1 86 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA "Resolved, 2d, That he, the aforesaid Act ing Governor Cuming, is an unprincipled knave, and that he seeks rather to control than consult the people. "Resolved, 3d, That he the said acting gov ernor has, by his own acts, secret ones now exposed, as well as those which he has openly avowed, convinced us of the truth of, and invited us to pass the above resolutions. "Resolved, 4th, That, recognizing- the right of petition as the prerogative of all free citi zens of the United States, we do hereb)"- peti tion His Excellency, Franklin Pierce, Presi dent of the United States, to immediately remove the said Cuming from the acting gov ernorship. "Resolved, That we, also, because of the reasons hereinbefore stated, petition for his removal from the secretaryship of this terri tory. "Resolved, That the secretaries of this con vention forward a copy of these proceedings to every newspaper in Nebraska for publica tion, and every paper containing them, with a written copy, to the president of the United States. "On motion, "Resolved, That we recommend Gen'l Bela M. Hughes of Missouri, for the office of gov ernor, and Dr. P. J. McMahon of Iowa, for the office of secretary." "After a long and spirited discussion," we are told, the resolutions were unanimously adopted.1 The following letter2 from Acting Governor Cuming to President Pierce, dated December 13, 1854, illustrates the turmoil in which these territorial organizers were plunged : "Dear Sir:— "I understand that petitions are in circula tion asking my removal from the office of governor. These petitions have been prepared and are being distributed by speculators whose fortunes have been marred by the location of the capitol. My only request is that if any charges shall be made I may not be dealt with without the opportunity of answering them. "You are aware that I have never sought my present position ; but being called to it by the interposition of Providence I have not felt at liberty to neglect or postpone the organ ization of the territory. The protracted ill ness and unexpected decease of the late la mented governor left but a short interval for the decision of the vexed questions connected with that organization. Hence some errors may have been committed; but I especially solicit that my conduct may be subjected to the test of the most rigid scrutiny. "Great fortunes have been invested in rival points for the capitol, and the exasperation expressed and desperate peisecution resorted to by the disappointed are not unnatural, and were not unexpected. I am prepared, how ever, to prove by letters and certificates that I have refused bribes and relinquished gratu ities, and have located the capitol where my pecuniary interests were least considered, at a point which I believed would give satisfac tion to the people and stability to the terri torial organization. "My enemies expect to have a governor appointed whom they can influence to veto an act establishing the capitol at that point. I am writing to you, General, with frankness and confidence, and I desire to say that ever since the death of Gov. Burt I have hoped that someone might be appointed who would relieve me of the responsibility and risk con fronting so many opposite and threatening interests. This has not been the case, and I have no alternative but to meet the storm and abide its results. Should another indi vidual be chosen after those embarrassments have been surmounted their unpopularity in curred I trust that his appointment will not be permitted to be construed into a condem nation of my course, and shall be glad (if so requested) to present to you facts and cer tificates to overthrow the allegations of my enemies. "Trusting that your administration may continue to be crowned (as I believe it will) with success and the approval of the people, and that the strength which it has added to the republic may be fortified by the upright ness and efficiency of your officers, I remain, "Very truly and sincerely, "T. B. Cuming." On the 9th of January, 1855, another anti- Cuming convention was held at Bellevue which contained at least three delegates from the North Platte country, E. R. Doyle3 of 1 Palladium, January 3, 1855. 2 Collections Nebraska Historical Society. Though the original or office draft of this letter is very much interlined and corrected it is yet not creditable to Gov. Cuming's reputation for good English composition. 3 Colonel Eli R. Doyle, second United States mar shal of Nebraska territory, came from South Carolina and was a surveyor by profession. He was doubtless one of the party who accompanied Governor Burt, and was one of the men delegated to escort the remains of FIRST ELECTION 187 Fontenelle, Dr. B. Y. Shelley1 of Blackbird Hills, and J. C. Mitchell of Florence. The resolutions of the convention charged, among other things, that the acting governor was a non-resident of the territory, that his appor tionment of representation was unjust, and demanded that the census be taken again and that the territory be redistricted. Mr. Mitchell, who was afterwards mollified by appointment as sole commissioner to locate the capitol in 'Omaha, made "a very interest ing speech." He said that there was not pop ulation sufficient in Florence or in Burt or Dodge counties to entitle them to designation as an election precinct, and so the governor made it up by causing certificates to be made up and signed by loafers in Council Bluffs. "The officer who took the census in Dodge county enrolled numbers in the grog shops of Council Bluffs. Omaha was supplied in the same way." On the other hand, he said, cen sus officers on the south side of the Platte were required to cut down their returns so that, notwithstanding that this section had the greater population, the majority of the representatives should be from the north side.2 But this precaution or basis for consistency with which Mr. Mitchell credits Cuming seems inconsistent with the facts as well as with our estimate of Cuming's characteristics and our knowledge of his methods. According to the Nebraska City Press of December 1, 1859, tne following somewhat hackneyed story was still going the rounds of the eastern press. It is likely that it is a substantial statement of fact, and in any event it is typically true: "Mr. Purple, formerly conductor on the Western railroad and a member of the first Nebraska legislature, tells his experience in western politics as follows : 'Secretary T. B. Cuming said to me one morn ing: "Purple, we want a member from Burt county." So I harnessed up and took nine fellows with me from Iowa, and we started for the woods, and when we thought we had got far enough for Burt county we unpacked our ballot box, and held an election (in Washington county), canvassed the vote, and it was astonishing to observe how great was the unanimity at the first election held in Burt county.' " Purple had every vote and was declared duly elected. There were four candidates for the office of delegate to Congress : Hadley D. John son of Council Bluffs — but by proxy of Omaha City — who, we have seen, had gone across the river to Bellevue in 1853, to be elected provisional delegate to Congress ; Bird B. Chapman, just arrived from Elyria, Ohio, in search of a political career; Napoleon B. Giddings of Savannah, Missouri, who, it is alleged by contemporaries, never even pre tended to citizenship in Nebraska; and Jo seph Dyson,3 who strove to create a wave of public sentiment which should carry him into the coveted office by exploiting more advan- the Governor back to his late home. He returned to Nebraska and was elected a member, from Dodge county, of the lower house in the territorial assembly. He was appointed United States marshal April 7, 1855, to succeed Mark W. Izard, who had been appointed governor. Mr. Doyle died December 27, 1855, his death resulting from a fall down the stairs of the old Western Exchange building in Omaha. 1 Dr. B. Y. Shelley, Nebraska pioneer and first set tler of Knox county, was a resident of Council Bluffs previous to his coming to Nebraska. He settled in Omaha in 1855 and was one of the incorporators of the Nebraska Medical Society, March 25, 1855, but did not become a permanent resident. He went from Omaha to what was then Black Bird county in 1854 and founded the Black Bird Hills colony near the fouthern boundary of Burt county, becoming one of the first settlers of Black Bird City. In May, 1856, with R. R. Cowan, he started to explore the territory with a view to founding a town on the Niobrara river. He located the present site of Niobrara in the summer of 1856, built a cabin, and passed the winter there. By August of the following year more xhan sixty men had settled there, and through Dr. Shelley the Niobrara Town Companv was organized. He was appointed postmaster in 1857. Nothing is known of his later life, and no record can be found of his career before com ing to Nebraska. 2 Palladium, January 10, 1855. 3Joseph Dyson, candidate for the nomination as delegate to Congress for Nebraska territory in 1854, is described as being a man of little learning, who based his claims chiefly on the fact that he was one of the great common people and as such would be a fitting representative of their interests. His motto was, "America, the constitution, the union, liberty, squat ter sovereignty, and preemption rights extended in definitely." In a lengthy address published in the Palladium of December 6, 1854, he describes himself as follows: " In politics I am a democrat; by trade a house-carpenter, thirty-five years old, six feet high, weigh one hundred and seventy pounds, have a wife and three children." IQO HISTORY OF NEBRASKA tageous land laws. The abstract of the vote1 time of his election a citizen of Elyria, Ohio. illustrates the early sectional alignment of He never resided here at all. As far as citi- voters, and also the fact that it did no harm zenship here was concerned he had none ; he to a candidate in our border counties to hail from Missouri. To refute the charge that Judge Kinney was ineligible to the office of delegate to Con gress because he was not a resident of the territory, the Nebraska City News2 calls at tention to the fact that the organic act required only that a delegate should be a citizen of the United States. The News then makes the following statement as to the resi dence of Chapman and Giddings when they were candidates for the office in question: "The 'old est inhabitants' of the ter ritory will doubtless rec ollect that two delegates from this territory had no other qualification. N. B. Giddings, the first delegate, was a citizen of Missouri, and came into the territory only about two weeks before the election, and then brought no other prop erty with him except a carpet-bag. Bird B. Chapman, the second representative of the territory, was at the :The following table is taken from Records Ne braska Territory, pp. 25-27: NAPOLEON B. GIDDINGS1 FIRST DELEGATE TO CONGRESS FROM THE ORGANIZED TERRITORY OF NEBRASKA COUNTIES ead 6 rt oUi P CObo 3 rtoCO rt J3 o t— , Burt 1213 45 3 m 14 3 7 1449 14 5 20 7228 132 2416 198 7 13 114 23 383 14 266 represented us entirely on the strength of being a citizen of the United States." A contemporaneous account of the "Quincy colony" — the first name of the settlement at Fontenelle — incidentally explains the curiously solid vote of Dodge county for Abner W. Hollister; and at the same time illustrates the isola tion of the various early settlements: "To the credit of the interesting colony their election was carried on without the aid of intoxi cating drinks and hence the unanimity that pre vailed. The good peo ple of Fontenelle, not having heard of the with drawal of Mr. Hollister from the canvas, voted for him as a representa tive of the interest which they are laboring to secure."3 Our Puritan editor characterized these colon ists as "enlightened and influential men, and above all, men of high moral en dowment. " Governor Cuming gave this solid fourteen a representation in the legislature o f one councilman and two members of the 2 September 20, 1862. 3 Palladium, December 20, 1854. 4 Napoleon Bonaparte Giddings, first delegate to Congress from the territory of Nebraska, was born in Clark county, Kentucky, in 1816, and died in Savan nah, Missouri, August 3, 1897. At the age of twelve years he moved with his parents to Payette, Howard county, Missouri, where he was educated. In 1836, when Texas declared her independence of Mexico, he enlisted as a private in the army of patriots and in a short time was made sergeant-major of his regiment. At the close of this war, as a result of which Texas gained her independence, Mr. Giddings was appointed chief clerk in the auditor's office and later became acting auditor of the republic. In 1838 he resigned this office and returned home where he studied law and was admitted to the bar three years later. In 1846 he enlisted in the United States army for service in the Mexican war, and received a captain's commission under Sterling Price. Returning to Missouri at tbe BURT'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE 191 house. It may be doubted that our censor of the Palladium would have made his certifi cate of character quite so sweeping after two of the three members from Fontenelle had voted to locate the capital at Omaha. Pie was justified, however, to the extent that J. W. Richardson,1 the secretary of the colony, and who, we may assume, was representative of its peculiar virtue, voted against Omaha and so against his section. The editor of the first newspaper printed in Nebraska was temper amentally fitted for feeling that he carried the full weight of responsibility for the task of properly laying the foundations of the new state. This is shown in his account of the coming and the pa thetic leaving of the first chief magistrate. The governor and his party arrived at Bellevue on the <.ir> ¦ < October. DR. CHARLES A. HENRY "His arrival was un heralded and unosten tatious — his dress, equipage, manner, and appearance indicated a disposition to respect those fundamental princi ples of republican simplic ity which constitute the groundwork, strength and beauty of our political and social system. The governor is apparently nearly fifty years of age — a little above the me- close of the war he conducted the Union Flag, which was the first paper published in Franklin county. Upon the discovery of gold in California Colonel Gid dings went to the Pacific Coast where he remained two years, and then returned to Missouri and settled in Savannah. In 1854 he was elected delegate to Con gress for the territory of Nebraska. When in Nebraska he made his home at Nebraska City and was a member of the town site company of that place. During the Civil war he enlisted in the 51st regiment of Missouri volunteers, and was elected lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. He was married November 15, 1842, to Armide Boone, and four children were born to them. Colonel Giddings was a Mason and was identified with the order over fifty-six years. 1 J. W. Richardson, who as corresponding secretary, was really the moving spirit and manager of the Fon tenelle colony, was a native of New York, born in 1S05. CoU< dium height, well proportioned, simple and easy in his manners and expression. His coun tenance indicates the possession of those pecu liar traits of character needed to secure the confidence and respect of the people who come to build up the institutions of liberty, harmony and Christianity upon this virgin soil, for so many ages past held in undisputed possession by its aboriginal owners — the children of the forest. "The governor was hospitably entertained by I. H. Bennet, Esq.,* of this place. The governor took lodgings at the office of the Indian Agency.'"2 The fact that the enter tainer of the governor of the commonwealth was the blacksmith of the Omaha agency must have satisfied the editor's ex acting democracy. A meeting of citizens, of which George W. Hol lister was chairman and Stephen Decatur secre tary, was convened, and Lieut. Hiram P. Downs, Isaiah H. Bennet, and Stephen Decatur were appointed a committee to tender the governor a hearty welcome. The committee soon re ported that the governor would be pleased to meet his friends on the fol lowing Monday. At the second meeting, on Hollister reported that ill to attend, whereupon Monday, Abner W. the governor was too Judge Richardson was a lawyer by profession, and was elected a member of the house in the 1st territorial as sembly of Nebraska. With his wife he was sent out from Quincy, Illinois, in the fall of 1854 to hold the site which had been selected for the colony, and to prepare for others who were to follow the next spring. Mr. Richardson died at Fontenelle in 1858, and was buried there. He left a widow who became the wife of E. R. Cline, and who lived until 1893. ''Nebraska Palladium, October 11, 1854. 3 Dr. Charles A. Henry was a son of Anan and Lucy (Snow) Henry, the former born in New Hampshire and a classmate of Franklin Pierce; the latter a native of Massachusetts. Charles A. Henry was born in Hamilton, New York, August 2, 1831. He studied medicine in New York city, and later with Dr. Ran som, a celebrated physician of Earlville, New York. At the age of twenty-one he removed to Fostoria, Ohio, IQ2 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Col. Joseph L. Sharp, "of Iowa," Hiram P. Bennet, also "of Iowa," Rev. William Ham ilton, and Maj. George Hepner made appro priate speeches. The same issue of the Palladium gives this information : "The governor reached Belleview in an en feebled condition, . . . his complaint be ing a derangement of the bilious system. After his arrival his complaint continued to increase in malignancy, until it was thought advisable to call for medical aid. Accord ingly a messenger was dispatched to Messrs. McMahon & Williams, of Bluff City, who immediately sent Dr. A. B. Malcolm, an ac complished physician, connected with them in his profession. . . The governor is now convalescent and it is hoped will soon recover from his prostration." On the i Sth of October the Palladium an nounces that "the governor was slowly recov ering from his prostration until the 12th instant when from improper annoyance from visitors, and perhaps unnecessary exposure of himself while in his enfeebled condition, his fever returned with an aspect sufficiently threatening to make it necessary to send for his physician." The public is assured that where he practiced medicine, and, coming to Nebraska territory in 1854, settled on a claim near Bellevue. On April 20, 1855, he was charged with killing George W. Hollister. The shooting was the outcome of a quarrel between Hollister and a Dr. Butterfield over a land claim. Dr. Henry gave himself up and was taken to Omaha for trial, where, at the preliminary hearing before Chief Justice Ferguson, he was defended by Andrew J. Poppleton and Oliver P. Mason, and was bound over to await the action of the grand jury. This was the first notable appearance of Mr Mason in Ne braska, and he addressed the court in condemnation of its order that "the prisoner be shackled, handcuffed, and chained to the floor." In scathing terms he charged the court with inhumanity and injustice, until friends expected an order imprisoning Mason for contempt, but instead Judge Ferguson modified his order so that the prisoner might be kept at the house of Sheriff P. G. Peterson under such restraint as that officer might think necessary. The grand jury failed to indict Dr. Henry, but Judge Ferguson insisted on holding him until his case could be brought before an other grand jury. At this period Dr. George D Miller, the only physician in Omaha, was called to attend government troops en route to Ft. Pierre, among whom the cholera had broken out. During his ab sence, Dr. Henry made professional visits under the escort of Sheriff Peterson. He made many friends, and the next grand jury failing to find an indictment against him, he was released. His plea was that the shooting was done in self-defense, and his subsequent career would seem to indicate that he was not a man to take human life without provocation. In 1855 he "the governor is comfortably situated at the Otoe and Omaha mission." On the 25th of October the Palladium gives an account of the governor's funeral. After the singing of an appropriate hymn Secretary Cuming, "evi dently under the deepest emotions of grief," made some appropriate remarks, and he was followed by Chief Justice Ferguson and Rev. William Hamilton, who conducted the ser vices. On the 20th an escort started with the body "for burial at the family residence in South Carolina." Thus were completed the preliminaries for lodging local civil government in a vast and unexplored region, upon a soil that had been untested by tillage, and in a climate untried as to healthfulness through permanent occu pancy by civilized man. And now in the crucible of these conditions the courage and constructive capacity of the pioneers are to be put to test, and though never so severe it is not to find them wanting. Many, or most of them, had surrendered good homes and the associations and endearments of kindred and friends in other communities. The privations of frontier life were voluntarily sought only by men and women who had the courage, became an active and enterprising citizen of Omaha, and in 1856 built the first portion of the Pioneer block, then called the Henry block. He was also proprietor of the first drug store in Omaha. In 1858 he settled on a ranch on Wood river, opened a. store at Ft. Kear ney and also one at Cottonwood Springs. He was one of the town site proprietors of Central City and later of Kearney City, and in 1860 was appointed clerk of Kearney county. He was widely known throughout the territory as a promoter of new towns. An inter esting story is told of an instance that occurred while Dr. Henry was under arrest at Bellevue the day after the killing of Hollister. Dr. Benjamin P. Rankin called on him, at his request, in the Indian blacksmith shop where he was imprisoned. After the interview Rankin came out laughing. "In answer to an inquiry Rankin replied that he was laughing at the force of habit as displayed in Henry's case. He had found him studying a map of Iowa and he had asked Rankin if he didn't think such and such a spot was a good place to lay out a town . " Dr. Henry was a pro-slavery democrat, but during the war of the Rebellion ren dered valuable service to the Union. At the sugges tion of Col. E. D. Webster of the state department, who, while editor of the Republican, had known Dr. Henry in Omaha, he was equipped as an army surgeon and sent as a spy through the southern lines. His work was exceedingly perilous, but from his acquaint ances in the South, and because of bis known anti- abolition sentiments, he obtained passes through the Confederate lines and after a month returned north with valuable information to the government. As a reward for this service he was commissioned captain, UNAPPRECIATED HEROISM i93 spirit, and ambition to give up agreeable en vironments in an old home for the purpose of founding a new one. From the days of the colonies in Virginia, New England, and New York, the best types of mankind, physic ally and mentally, and the strongest indi viduals of those types — those gifted with self-reliance and inspired by the spirit of self- denial — have penetrated new countries and opened them to the institutions of civilization. The dependent, the habitually gregarious. never strike out from parents, kindred, and the comfortable circumstances of settled social life to challenge the hardships of the wilder ness. Only that civilization and those breeds of men capable of developing strong individ uality and self-reliance can establish and maintain settlements remote from popula- tional centers. Self-reliance, self-control, and stability among savages are merely spo radic ; consequently we find no traces of vol untary migrations for establishing permanent sovereignty and settlements by the Indians who preceded us upon these plains. The strong characteristic of the pioneer is his am bition and zealous, enthusiastic work for to-morrow, his willingness cheerfully to en dure hardships in the present that others may enjoy consummate satisfactions in future — satisfactions which he himself may never ex perience. There were genuine heroes among the openers and testers of the vast crust of soil which stretched from the river to the mountains. They worked tirelessly, with in telligence and directness, to demonstrate the value of its constant productivity. Already the great majority of that peaceful and heroic and later was assigned as chief quartermaster of the 7th army corps with General Steele in Arkansas. At the close of the war he was mustered out with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1870 he moved to California, where he formed a company, returned to Evanston, Wyoming, and opened the coal mines near that place. He has two sisters living, a Mrs. Young of Merced, California, and Ann H. Henry, who was married in 1858, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, to James E. Boyd, well known as a prominent pioneer of Nebraska and once band who first planted these prairies have folded their tired arms and lain down to ever lasting rest. The story of their humble lives, their useful labors, their sacrifices, and their achievements has perished with their genera tion, and will not be told. As their cabins have been replaced by the mansions of follow ers, and the smoke of their chimneys has faded away into unknown skies, so have they gone from sight and remembrance. But their successes, achieved in that primitive and fru gal Past, are the foundations of all the indus trial and commercial superstructures which our Present proudly enjoys. As we walk the streets of a thronged metropolis we look in wonder and with admiration upon the splen did triumphs of modern architecture. Mag nificent palaces of industry, reaching into the clouds and embellished with all the symmetry and grace which skill and taste can evolve, attract and entrance the eye. But we seldom give a moment's thought to the broad and strong foundations laid and hidden deep in the earth, which, with unquaking and stu pendous strength, uplift and sustain all. The citizen of this prosperous commonwealth to- dav beholds the superstructure of a state, but very infrequently are the founders and the foundations upon which it is erected ever brought to mind. Desire and ambition for achievements, instead of vital gratitude and reverential memory, occupy the mind and absorb the energy of the present generation. The pioneers in their graves are recalled only now and then by some contemporary who, perchance lingering beyond his time, tells stories of their courage and of their character.1 governor of the state. Another sister, Ona B., married Charles McDonald, North Platte, Nebraska, and died December 28, 1898. Dr. Henry died at the residence of Governor Boyd in Omaha, June 8, 1880, while en route from Oregon to Pennsylvania. Dr. Henry was twice married. Two daughters by his first wife reside in Los Angeles, and one in San Francisco, and two sons by his second wife live in the latter city. 1 These philosophical reflections should be credited to the late J. Sterling Morton. n 194 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA CHAPTER VII FIRST LEGISLATURE — ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR IZARD — LOCATION OF THE CAPITAL — LAWS OF THE FIRST SESSION — UNITED STATES SURVEYS — CLAIM CLUBS NEBRASKA'S PECULIARITY — FIRST INDEPENDENCE DAY — JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION TN accordance with the proclamation of Act- -*- ing Governor Cuming, the first legisla ture of Nebraska territory convened at Omaha, Tuesday, January 16, 1855, at ten o'clock in the morning, in the building which had been erected for the purpose by the Coun cil Bluffs & Ne braska Ferry company. This company was in corporated under the laws of Iowa, and Enos Lowe was its president. This Iowa corpo ration embodied o r represented the Omaha that was to be; for the future metropolis then e x i s ted only in the imagi n a t ion, the hope, and the ambition of its Iowa promoters FIRST TERRITORIAL CAPITOL BUILDING OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA, 33x75 FEET, AND COST ABOUT S3.000.00 Iowa men had procured the incorporation of the territory and shaped it to their wishes ; and an Iowa man had organized it into political form and arbi trarily located its temporary seat of govern ment contrary to the wishes of its real resi dents. It was fitting that Iowa capital and enterprise, which were to fix the seat of the government, should also temporarily house it. "This whole arrangement," we are told by the Arrozv, printed in Council Bluffs, "is made without a cost of one single dollar to the government." This first tenement of organized Nebraska government was located on lot 7, in block 124, as platted by A. D. Jones, fronting east on 9th street between Farnam and Douglas. The structure was known as "the brick build ing at Omaha City," indicating that it was the first building of brick in the town. It was occupied by the legislature for the first two sessions, and was after wards used as the first general of fices of the Union Pacific Railway Company, until, in the fall of 1869, they were trans ferred to their present quarters.1 The first meet- ing house of the legislature is thus described by the disappointed but no doubt faithful contemporary chronicler of the Palladium:2 "The building in which the session is to be held is a plain, substantial, two-story brick edifice, which we should judge was about 30 by 45 feet. The entrance to the building is on the east side, into a hall, from which the various state apartments above and below are reached. "As you enter the hall below, the repre sentatives room will be found on the left, and the governor's apartment on the right. A winding staircase leads to the hall above, at 1 Memorabilia, Andrew J. Poppleton, p. 262. 2Nebraska Palladium, January 17, 1855. FIRST CAriTOL BUILDING i95 the head of which, upon the left, you enter the council chamber and the committee rooms on the right. The. building is a neat and sub stantial one, but altogether too small for the purpose intended. "The speaker's desk is elevated two or three steps above the level of the floor, and likewise that of the president of the council. The desks are well proportioned and tastefully finished. "The desks for the representatives and couneilmen are designed to accommodate two members, each having a small drawer to him self, and a plain Wind sor chair for a seat. The furniture, includ ing the secretaries' and speaker's desks and chairs, is of the plainest character, and yet well suited to the purpose for which they were designed. ' The size of the legis lative rooms are so small that but very few spec tators can gain admit tance at one time. ' ' We were struck with the singularity of taste displayed in the curtain furniture of the different rooms, which consisted of two folds of plain calico, the one green and the other red, which we took to be symbolic of jealousy and war — which monsters, we fear, will make their appearance before right is enthroned and peace established." Joseph l PRESIDENT OF THE 1ST On the 13th day of October the Arrozv tells us that, "But a few short months ago 1This statement should be modified as to Kempton and Purple, who both gained some claim to residence. 2 Joseph L. Sharp, president of the council of the 1st territorial assembly, was a son of James and Polly ( Bald win) Sharp, who resided upon a farm twenty miles west of Nashville, Tennessee. The Sharp family were de scendants of Lord Baltimore and were early settlers of Baltimore, Maryland. One branch of tbe family set tled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and of these, John Sharp, grandfather of Joseph L. Sharp, subsequently settled upon a farm near Uniontown, Pennsylvania. James Sharp, the father of Joseph L. Sharp, died in 1817, in Florida, having been engaged in trading in mules and horses from the close of the War of 1812. and not a sign of a habitation was visible upon the site where now are constantly in progress and will be completed, within an other month, a town numbering some 175 or 200 inhabitants." The legislature was composed of a council of thirteen and a house of twenty-six mem bers. It can not be said that a single member of this first legislature had a permanent foot ing in the territory, and many of them had not. even "declared their intentions." But the men from Iowa were there in full force. Mr. J. L. Sharp, the president of the council, nominally from Richardson county, lived at Glenwood, Iowa, and never became a res ident of Nebraska. Out of the total membership of thirty-nine at least five, namely, Sharp, Nuckolls, Kempton,1 Latham, and Purple never were actual resi dents of the territory, and many of the rest were mere sojourners — drift wood, temporarily stranded on this farther shore of the westward stream of population, but destined soon to be caught by its constant onward flow and carried off to the boundless country beyond. The members of the first territorial council were Benjamin R. Folsom of Burt county, His property in Tennessee was somewhat encumbered, and Joseph L. Sharp, a younger brother, and a sis ter were left with their mother to make their own way through life. Little is known of the early life of Mr. Sharp, but he was born November 26, 1804, and Feb ruary 26, 1826, was married to Matilda Singleton, of Virginia, a daughter of an officer in the Revolutionary war, who was born December 17, 1803. Soon after his marriage Mr. Sharp moved to Fulton county, Illi nois, and settled at Bernadotte, a place laid out on land owned by him. In 1850, with his wife and old est son, he moved to Coonville, Iowa, now known as Glenwood. In connection with J. W. Coolidge, Jo seph Rawls, and Oliver N. Tyson, he laid out the town SHARP ' TERRITORIAL COUNCIL 196 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Lafayette Nuckolls of Cass county, Munson H. Clark of Dodge county, Taylor G. Good will, Alfred D. Jones, Origen D. Richardson, Samuel E. Rogers of Douglas county, Rich ard Brown of Forney county, Hiram P. Ben net, Henry Bradford,1 Charles H. Cowles of Pierce county, Joseph L. Sharp of Richard son county, James C. Mitchell of Washington county. of Glenwood. His first public office there was that of prosecuting attorney, and be was for a. time acting judge of Mills county. He was the first member to represent Mills county in the Iowa legis'ature, and it is said that his legislative district covered about thirty counties, or about one-third of the area of the state of Iowa. In 1852 he received a license to run a ferry be tween Bethlehem, Iowa, and Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Colonel Sharp went to Washington and submitted the plan of making two territories out of the proposed Nebraska territory, and upon the organization of the territory of Nebraska he was elected to represent Richardson county in the first territorial council, and was president of that body, though he was at the time a resident of Iowa. Subsequently he was appointed special Indian agent for several tribes west of the Missouri river. Mr. Sharp was an active and enter prising citizen and was always prominent in political affairs. Before he became a member of the Nebraska assembly, he hi d served two terms in the Illinois legislature, 1812 to 1816, and one term in the legisla ture of Iowa, 1853-54. He served in the Blackhawk Indian war, in 1832-33, and in the 4th Mir ois volun teers in the war wilh Mexico ; and was also in General Houston's command j« the war for Texas independ ence. His first wife died at Glenwood, Iowa, Feb ruary 22, 1863, and November 1, 1865, he was again married, to Dorothy J. Arthur, of Hillsboro, Arkan sas. Mr. Sharp was the father of six children: Illis- anna, who married Wheatley Micklewait, and now resides in Jonesborough, Arkansas; Emma Palmer, de ceased; Melissa Jane married Thomas J. Palmer, Alli ance, Nebraska ; Neal J. Sharp, Haley, Idaho ; Joseph G. Sharp, deceased ; Fwing Smith Sharp, deceased. J< seph L. Sharp died at Memphis. Tennessee, in 1869, of yellow fever. According to Dr. George L Miller, " The territorial council was the more dignified s.nd orderly of the two bodies, for two reasons: it was composed of only thirteen members, and they were mostly of middle age. A third reason was, perhaps, that the president of the upper body [Joseph L. Sharp] was a gray-haired man of perhaps sixty ye;:rs of age, who had served in the legislatures of other states, and he always preserved that dignity and decorum which is becoming in a presiding officer of a deliberative bod v . It is true that he was a model president, and his rulings on knotty points of parliamentary law and order were invar. ably sound and impartial. . . During the sessions of the council he seldom left the chair to en gage in debate. It was only when he was personally assailed that he did this. He was a man of clear head. spoke well, and with earnestness and force. Colonel Sharp was accused of p'aying high and sometimes low, with a cunning that was peculiarly his own, for personal benefits, by men who kr.ew him well. No charge against him was ever made on the floor of the council, beyond intimations. It was understood, however, that in the capital removal matter he 1-ft the legislature as empty-handed as when he entered it. He directed legislation with a clear understanding, The first territorial house of representa tives was comprised as follows : Burt county, Hascall C. Purple,2 John B. Robertson; Cass county, William Kempton, John McNeal Latham, Joseph D. N. Thompson; Dodge county, Eli R. Doyle, J. W. Richardson; Douglas county, William N. Byers, William Clancy, Fleming Davidson, Thomas Davis, Alfred D. Goyer, Andrew J. Hanscom, An- and was effective in securing the passage of pood bills which were of general interest. When it came to spe cial legislation, he may not have been so vigilant. Colonel Sharp never appeared in Nebraska affairs after he had served his term of two years, but his son, Johnson [Neal J.], who had an actual residence in Cass county (the lather claimed to represent Richard son in the council ), gained a seat in the house at the second session. When he rose in that body and made a motion for the house to vote upon a pending matter, not viva voce, but vice versa, his disgusted father, who was visiting the bouse at the moment, nearly fell out of his chair from chagrin." In personal appearance, Colonel Sharp was tall and strongly built, of commanding presence and statelv demeanor. He suffered from smallpox in 1852, which caused the loss of one eye, and otherwise disfigured his face. He possessed a kindly disposition, and was noted for bis loyalty to friends. He is spoken of by his associates as a natural leader among men, and deserving of the prominent place accorded to him in public affairs. We are fortunate in being able to pre sent the only portrait of him extant, and which is now published for tbe first time. 1 Dr. Henry Bradford, member of the council of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was a son of Cornelius and Hannah (Gay) Bradford, and a lineal descendant of William Bradford, second governor of Plymouth Colony. He was born in Friendship, Maine, in 1813. He was a sailor in his boyhood and became captain of his ship when only twenty-two years of age. He studied medicine, was admitted to practice, and in 1853 moved to Iowa. He was a brother of Judge Allen A. Bradford, a sketch of whose life is given in this volume, and tht-y came to Nebraska about the same time, arriving in Nebraska City early in the year 1855. In May, 1855, he was elected mayor of that city, receiving 36 votes against 24 for M. W. Brown. He was reelected in 1856, and as mayor he entered the town site and obtained the land officer's receipt for the entrance fee, March 31, 1857. He was the proprietor of the first drug store in Nebraska City under the firm name of Henry Bradford & Co. He was editor of the Nebraska City News from Novem ber 14, 1854, to April 12, 1855, when J. Sterling Mor ton succeeded him. Later he was a contributor to the Nebraska State Journal for several years. Iu 1855 he was elected a member of the fiist territorial council representing Pierce, now Otoe county. Dr. Bradford practiced medicine until 1870— in his later years in Omaha — when he retired on account of failing health. He died in Omaha in December, 1887. 2 Hascall C. Purple, member of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was a resident of Council Bluffs as early as 1850. He was born about 1827, in Massa chusetts. Little is known of his early life, but it is sup posed that he came to Council Bluffs, Iowa, from the state of Michigan. Upon the organization of the terr.- tory of Nebraska be crossed the river and, with a party of friends, helped to lay out the town of Tekamah, and FIRST LEGISLATURE ¦97 drew J. Poppleton, Robert B. Whitted;1 For ney county, William A. Finney, Joel M. Wood; Pierce county, Gideon Bennet, James H. Cowles, James H. Decker, William B. Hail, Wilson M. Maddox; Richardson county, David M. N. Johnston, John A. Sin gleton ;2 Washington county, Anselum Arnold, Andrew J. Smith. It does not require the full spelling of these Christian names in the record to safely con clude that there were three "Andrew Jack- sons" in the house. The circumstance that this representation of strenuous name from the North Platte outnumbered that of the South Platte, two to one, might have had much to do with the success of the first- named section in achieving its heart's desire. Hiram P. Bennet of Pierce county was chosen temporary president of the council, and it is his recollection that J. C. Mitchell of Florence nominated him for that office and put the question to the council. After tem porary organization the council proceeded to the chamber of the house where the governor was elected to represent Burt county in the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly. In 1855, about the time the town of Ft. Calhoun was laid out, Mr. Purple was wounded in the arm in a shooting affray growing out of an attempt to jump a claim of Hadley D. Johnson. In the fight Sherman Goss was killed and Mr. Purple had his arm broken, both met bring in sympathy with Mr. Johnson's interests. Mr. John son quit-cl limed one-half his interest to the widow of Mr. Goss and the other half to Mr. Purple. February 7, 1855, Mr. Purple wis appointed by Acting Gover nor Cuming as Major of the 1st regiment Nebraska volunteers. He resided for a time in Nebraska, but no record can be found of his subsequent career. According to the statement of Mr. Royal D. Amy, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, he died in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ^Robert Bates Whitted, member of the first terri torial assembly of Nebraska, was born in Murray county, Tennessee, April 26, 1822. He was of Welsh descent, his ancestors, who were of Quaker faith, hav ing settled in North Carolina about 1685. His grand fathers fought under General Green in the Revolu tionary war, and his father served under Jackson in the War of 1812. In 1830, Robert Whitted moved with his parents to Vigo county, western Indiana, from there to Park county, and later to Vermilion county, where his father died, leaving the family in very straightened circumstances. He attended school in winter and worked in summer, aiding his mother in the support of the family until he was twenty years of age, when he learned the trade of tanner and cur rier. In 1843 he moved to Keokuk, Iowa, and estab lished a tanyard. In 1850 he started to California, but stopped at Kanesville (Council Bluffs), where he bought property and built a hotel. When the treaty was made with the Indians opening Nebraska for set- delivered the first message to the joint assem bly. With characteristic imperiousness he first undertook to administer the oath of office to the members. Mr. Bennet thinks that he required as a condition for taking the oath that members should have received certifi cates of election from him. At any rate three of the South Platte members, Bennet, Brad ford, and Nuckolls, refused to take the sol emn vow by the governor's sanction, and after the reading of the message both council and house acknowledged the irregularity of the proceeding by going through the cere mony before Judge Ferguson and Judge Har den respectively. This is the Palladium's un fortunately meager account of the first actual skirmish of the irrepressible and endless con flict^ between the North Platte and South Platte factions : "The acting governor made an attempt to get control of the council, but was peremp torily denied the privilege by the president (Mr. Bennet), by whom he was told that he had no business to do what he was attempt- tlement, he crossed the river and took a claim on what is now the site of Omaha. He was demo cratic in his political views, and was elected to rep resent Douglas county in the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly. He was also elected sheriff of the Omaha Claim Club, July 25, 1854. Together with his brother, P. I. Whitted, now residing in Exira, low i, he helped to survey the town site of Omaha, under A. D. Jones, chief surveyor. Another brother, J. M. Whitted, resides in Papillion, Nebraska. His health being very poor, Mr. Whitted sold his land in Om iha in 1857 and moved south, settling in Sherman, Texas, where he bought a ranch. During the Civil war his property wis destroyed because of his loy alty to the Union. The shock was too much for his frail health, and he died in 1863. In 1847 he was mar ried to Lucindy Hurley, who died in 1857. Four children were born to them, two of whom died in in fancy. Simeon and Pickney are supposed to be still living in the state of Texas. 2 John A. Singleton, member of the lower house of the 1st and 3d territorial assemblies of Nebraska, repre sented Richardson county. He was a native of Penn sylvania, and was born about 1825. His occupation is given as that of a farmer. He had come from Mis souri, where he had left a family, in the spring of 1854, and made a settlement near the present site of Salem, Richardson county. It is believed that Mr. Singleton was a relatve of the first wife of Joseph L. Sharp, whose maiden name was Singleton, while both men gave Archer, Richardson county, as their residence. Mr. Singleton's most important act in the legislature was his exposure of an alleged attempt to bribe himwith an offer of a gift of $4,000 in Omaha city scrip to vote for the location of the capital at that place. Nothing can ne ascertained about his subsequent career or his early life. i g8 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA ing to do, and that he was not needed, and not wanted there, that he was not set in authority over that body, and that his pre tensions could not be recognized by it."1 At the afternoon session Mr. Bennet, hav ing become convinced that Mr. Sharp had been playing both sides, and had agreed to transfer his support to the North Platte, re fused to act as temporary president, and Ben jamin R. Folsom of Burt county was elected in his place. Messrs. J. L. Sharp and Hiram P. Bennet of the council were ad vertised as lawyers of Glenwood in the Palla dium, during and after the legislative session, and that faithful chronicler of the doubtful deeds of all whom it classed among the wicked says that im mediately after final ad-~ journment the president of the council ' ' led off for Glenwood, Iowa, at about 2:40 on the first quar ter."2 The ordinary re straints to the game of grab for the capital, which was organized at Council Bluffs soon after if not before the pas sage of the organic act, were lacking. These re straints are a settled interest in the community or state which the non-resident does not have, HIRAM p, PRESIDENT PRO TEM. TORIAL tNebraska. Palladium, January 17, 1855. 2Nebraska Palladium, March 28, 1855. 3 Nebraska Palladium, January 3, 1855. 4 Hiram P. Bennet, member of the council of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born September 2, 1826, in Carthage, Maine. In 1831 his parents moved to Gabon, Ohio, and settled upon a farm. H. P. Bennet worked upon the farm in summer and attended school in winter, until 1839, when the family moved to Missouri. They settled about four miles north of the pres ent town of Savannah, and until 1846 Mr. Ben net worked continuously upon the farm. In 1846 he sold a number of horses and oxen to the war de partment, for the command of Colonel A. W. Don iphan, in the Mexican war, and, having rented his farm, with the proceeds of the sale he returned to Ohio, where be attended school in the vicinity of his old home. Later, he was a student at Marion, Ohio, and the pride and fear of reputation which are invoked in public representatives only by the knowledge and fear that the eye of a real and responsible citizenship, with moral stand ards by which it will reach moral judgments, is upon them. It was to be expected, there fore, that the preparation for, and the first step in law-making should do violence to moral law. Omaha promoters intended to make that place the capital, and with well-founded con fidence they relied upon the Napoleonic Cum- . ing to carry out their in tention. The citizens of Bellevue had insisted that their settlement should constitute a separate legis lative district. It far ex ceeded in numbers any other settlement except ing Omaha and Nebraska City. ' ' There were two points in the county though lying side by side were actually heaven- wide apart in interest and feeling. No union ex isted between them any more than if an ocean rolled between. If there were any points in the territory needing a dis trict representation these were the ones."3 Mr. Decatur, in arguing his case as con testant for the seat of Mr. Poppleton in the and at Central College, near Columbus ; but in 1848, his money running low, he returned to Missouri. Dur ing the summer he visited his brother, Isaiah H. Ben net, who was blacksmith for the Omaha Indians, at Believue, Nebraska, and by his aid earned money to continue his education. He returned to Ohio and took a special course of study in Delaware college, but in March, 1849, was taken very ill, and upon recovery had insufficient money to continue at tbe college. He returned home, where he started a subscription scbooi, teaching two years, and in the meantime reading law. He was soon admitted to the bar of the circuit court at Savannah, and in the fall of 1851 opened an office in Coonville (afterwards Glenwood), Mills county, Iowa, where he was elected county judge. He mar ried and remained at Glenwood until 1854, when he resigned bis office of county judge and moved to Nebraska City, Nebraska. After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill he preempted land southwest of Bellevue, which was one of the first legal claims made BENNET 4 OF THE 1ST TERRI COUNCIL FIRST LEGISLATURE 199 house, January 31, is quoted as saying that "In the original organization of Omaha county, now recognized as Douglas county, there were two separate and distinct districts." The inference from this is that during the negotiations, or cross-bidding between Belle vue and Omaha, conducted by Governor Cum ing, he had at first intimated or agreed that in the first organization Omaha City and Bellevue should be kept apart in distinct dis tricts, and the county was to be named Omaha instead of Douglas. And so Mr. Decatur charges that, while the Nebraska bill makes it obligatory upon the acting governor to so district the county that each neighborhood should be represented, Bellevue is unrepre sented. By the governor's tactics, however, Belle vue was thrown into the Omaha district where her hostile vote was safely swallowed. But Bellevue voted for a distinct set of legis lative candidates, and the tabulated vote is an interesting page of history.1 Bellevue, determined to emphasize to the utmost her distance from her northern rival, threw most of her vote for delegate to Con- in Nebraska on public lands subject to occupation under the preemption law. He resigned his claim to his brother shortly after. Immediately after his ar rival in Nebraska City he was elected a member, from Otoe county, of the council of the 1st territorial as sembly. As soon as that body adjourned he returned to Nebraska City and built a house, since known as "The Elms." In 1855 he was a law partner of J. Sterling Morton, and became a candidate for delegate to Congress in opposition to Bird B. Chapman. He re ceived a majority of the votes cast, but the canvassing committee gave the certificate to Mr. Chapman. Mr. Bennet went to Washington in December, 1855, and contested for the seat. The committee on elections reported in bis favor, but later a minority report was presented, and upon a hearing of the case, July 25, 1855, the house refused to admit him, by a majority of three votes. He was allowed $2,500 to pay the ex penses of the contest, and this, with his eight months' rich experience in Washington, fairly compensated him for the time and money he had expended. He returned to Nebraska City, with his wife and chil dren. In 1859 he attended the republican territorial convention at Bellevue, hoping to receive the nom ination as delegate to Congress, but was defeated by Samuel G. Daily. The following August be sold his property in Nebraska City and moved to Denver, Colorado. In 1861 he was elected delegate to Con gress from Colorado ; was reelected, serving during tbe four eventful years of Mr. Lincoln's administra tion. At tbe expiration of his term in Congress, he spent one year in New York in company with Stephen F. Nuckolls, trading in Colorado mines and West Virginia oil lands. He returned to Colorado, and in gress to a resident of the far South, Savannah, Missouri — Napoleon B. Giddings — while Om aha voted for Hadley D. Johnson, actually of Council Bluffs but constructively of Omaha. The Bellevue candidates contested, or rather attempted to contest the seats of the Omaha candidates — who had of course received cer tificates of election from Governor Cuming. In the council they made a test of A. W. Hollister's claims. On the second day of the session, by the close vote of 7 to 6, Dr. Geo. L. Miller of Omaha was chosen chief clerk over Mr. Isaac R. Alden, the temporary clerk, who, being from Washington county and Flor ence, presumably was not sound on the capi tal question ; O. F. Lake was chosen assistant clerk, S. A. Lewis, sergeant-at-arms, and N. R. Folsom, doorkeeper.2 Then Mr. Mitchell offered a resolution "that a committee of three be appointed to investigate the claims of A. W. Hollister of Douglas county to a seat in this body," which on motion of Richardson of Douglas was tabled.3 A similar resolution on behalf of B. Y. Shelley of Burt county who, according to the returns, had received 25 votes against 32 for Folsom, the sitting 1869 was appointed postmaster of Denver by President Grant and held the office five years. In early life he was a whig in politics ; from 1856 to 1896 he voted the republican ticket ; from 1896 to 1902 he was affiliated with the democratic party ; but bas determined to up hold in the future the principles of the socialist party. Dr. Miller says : " Mr. Bennet was a light-haired, light-whiskered, light-complexioned, blue-eyed, slen der man of medium height and the most capable mem ber of the council from the South Platte, except Pres ident Sharp. He was shrewd, energetic and fearless, and an unconditional opponent of Omaha and of Gov ernor Cuming. In debate he was quick and ready and always had something to say that attracted attention. ' ' 1 Records of Nebraska Territory, p. 25. Omaha City Precinct councilmen Samuel E. Rogers 200 Origen D. Richardson.199 Alfred D. Jones 191 Taylor G. Goodwill .. .197 REPRESENTATIVES Andrew J. Hanscom. .201 William N. Byers 202 Andrew J. Poppleton . 202 Robert B. Whitted.. . .202 Fleming Davidson 200 William Clancy 1 84 Thomas Davis 200 Alfred D. Goyer 198 2 Council Journal, p. 13. 3Ibid., p. 14. Belleview Precinct councilmen Abner W. Hollister. ... 89 William Gilmour 85 Philander Cook 87 James De Little 80 REPRESENTATIVES Stephen Decatur 82 J. Sterling Morton 91 Jonas Mitchell 78 Silas A. Strickland 78 Isaiah H. Bennet 87 Charles T. Holloway. . .88 William R. Watson .... 89 Charles E. Smith 88 JOO HISTORY OF NEBRASKA member, met with similar treatment. An at tempt of the anti-Omaha forces to take up these resolutions on the following day was unsuccessful. On the 24th a resolution by Mr. Folsom to inquire into the right of Mr. Mitchell to a seat on the ground "that he is not now and never has been a citizen of Ne braska, but that he is a citizen of Iowa,"1 was met by another from the other side mak ing similar charges of non-residence against Folsom, Richardson, and Sharp, the presi dent; and then came a resolution by Mitchell that Goodwill of Doug las was ineligible because he was a resident of New York, and another by Goodwill charging that Nuckolls of Cass was a minor. These resolutions were all referred to the committee on elections from which they were never reported, prob ably on the ground that it was not worth while, since the reasons for the investigation were ad mitted on all hands and could not be denied.2 Resolutions calling on the governor to furnish the council with the or g- inal census returns and his instructions to cen sus takers were referred with safety to the same committee, since two BENJAMIN R. FOLSOM7 MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY of its three members were from Douglas county.3 On the 6th of February this committee reported that it was "inexpedient" to further investigate the subject of contested seats,4 a word fitly chosen, considering the peculiar character of the objections raised to the claimants of seats and the impartiality of their application. As Mr. Shelley had at least a plausible case against Mr. Folsom, based upon the number of votes he received and not upon the delicate one of non- residence, he was allowed the pay of a member up to February 6.5 In the house, on Mr. Poppleton's motion, Mr. Latham 6 of Cass was chosen temporary pre siding officer, and Joseph W. Paddock was ap pointed temporary chief clerk, George S. Eayre, assistant clerk, Samuel A. Lewis, sergeant-at- arms, and Benjamin B. Thompson, doorkeeper. As in the council, those members were recog- n i z e d who held cer tificates of election from the governor. In the joint session, Doyle of Dodge and Decker and Maddox of Pierce refused to receive the official oath from Governor Cuming. 1 Council Journal, p. 23. 2Ibid., p. 24. » Ibid., p. 26. * Ibid., p. 42. 6 Ibid., p. 105. eJohn McNeal Latham, member of the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly, was, at the time of his election to represent Cass county, a lawyer ft St. Mary, Iowa. He was also associated witn Daniel E. Reed in the publication of the Palladium, when that paper first started, and in the publication of the Ga zette, which preceded the Palladium. He was speaker pro tem. of the first sesson of the territorial hou^e of representatives, and a member of some of the most important committees. He was removed from the chairmanship of the judiciary committee, Andrew J. Poppleton being substituted. Hj was one of the at torneys in the first law suit tried at Ft. Calhoun. He became district attorney of the 1st district, November 6, 1855, succeeding Silas A. Strickland. It is believed that he was a single man and died at St. Joseph, Mis souri, as a result of dis-ipation. He was freely charged with having sold out his constituents, in the capital controversy, while a member of the territorial assem bly. He was a native of Virginia, and was born about 1829. No photograph can be found. 7 Benjamin R. Folsom, member of the council of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born Feb ruary 23, 1809, in Tunbridge, Vermont, and died No vember 20, 1882, in Tekamah, Nebraska. His youth was spent in Wyoming county, New York, where he became one of the most prominent citizens of that section. He was a successful farmer, merchant, and miller of Wyoming county and occup ed many posi tions of trust, r. presenting the town of Bennington 5^H /%- :H-?^rn. Alii, .Z^ng Ct, , £hf 4/if»« S-£rtr NX FIRST LEGISLATURE 20 1 On the second day Andrew J. Hanscom of Douglas was elected speaker by a vote of 18 against 7 cast for John B. Robertson,1 of Burt ; Joseph W. Paddock of Douglas was elected chief clerk over Mastin W. Riden by a like vote; George S. Eayre, assistant clerk, over Mastin W. Riden by a vote of 19 to 7, and Isaac L. Gibbs2 doorkeeper without opposi tion. Rev. Joel M. Wood, member from Forney county, seems to have acted as chaplain of the in the board of supervisors a number of successive terms. In September, 1854, he moved to Omaha, and the following month settled in Hurt county, being one of the first permanent settlers in Tekamah, and one of the original town site proprietors. He was also a member of the Town and Ferry company at Decatur. He engaged in farming an I stock raising, and with his brother erected a steam saw mill at Arizonia, Burt county, which was the first mill built north of Oma ha. Mr. Folsom was elected a member, from Burt county, of the council in the 1st and 2d territo rial assemblies, and was chosen president of that body at the second session. He was appointed the first probate judge of Burt county, and in 1861 was again a member of the legislative assembly. He was married November 14, 1831, to Miss Mary Rath- bone, of Onondaga county, New York, and seven children were born to them. Three died in Wyoming county, New York. A daughter, fifteen years old, died at Tekamah, in 1856; Helen married C. E. Ferris, and rjsides in Los Angeles, California; Niles Rathbone was door-keeper of the first legislativ3 council, and now (1904) resides in Santa Monica, California; and Benjamin, former consul at Sheffield, England, now resides at Pasadena, California. Mrs. Folsom died in Los Angeles, California, January 6, 1901, at the age of eighty-sev ;n years and four months. " Mr. Folsom was a short, sturdy, compact man with a square head on his shoulders that was sup ported by a neck that was too short to lift it up so as to increase the height much. He was of light com plexion, with blue eyes that had a light touch of gray. His face was round, the jaws indicating pluck and a combative tendency, which, in fact, he frequently dis played when controversy or serious opposition affected or antagonized either his nerve, or his interests in the council. But he was generally kind and seldom in dispute. No man in tbe body was quicker 10 see a point of vantage, and he always knew exactly what he wanted. He always stood by Omaha in the struggles and combats on the main question of the relocation of the capital, and Mr. Folsom was always in evidence when necessary. As a debaier, his speech and ges tures were hesitating and awkward. . . . But he knew what he wanted to say and said it. Like at least a few more, the ' gentleman from Burt ' was never annoyed by visits from what he fa cetiously called ' my constituents ' when he addressed the ' honorable body ' of which he was a member. The reason was that when he took his seat in the council the present popu'ous, prosperous and rich count}' of Burt did not contain a single inhabitant. . . Mr. Folsom belonged to the family whose name became familiar to the peop'e of the country by the marriage of the daughter of his brother's son to President Grover Cleveland. John B. Folsom was that brother, and his home was in Attica, New York. The death of his son when his child, Frances, the wife of Mr. Cleveland, was a little girl, caused her to house for the first week of the session, although Rev. W. D. Gage3 of Nebraska City had been formally elected to this office. The council took no action for the selection of a chaplain until the fifth day of the session when, by reso lution, the president was authorized to invite Rev. William Hamilton, of the Otoe and Omaha mission, to act in that office. It does not appear, however, that " Father" Hamilton ever served as chaplain, but the record shows spend her girlhood with her grandfather in Attica. B. R. Folsom's son, who bears his father's nam;, is the man who has been widely known as ' Cous.n Ben.' He was born in Bennington, Wyoming County, New York, in 1847."— (George L. Miller.) 1 General John B. Robertson, member of the house of representatives of the 1st territorial assembly, from Washington county, was born about 1798, being the oldest manber of the lower house, as was O. D. Rich ardson of the council. Previous to his election he ,s believed to have been government farmer to the Omi- ha Indians. He was one of the incorporators of the town of De Soto. As a member of the asse-nbly he was chairman of the house committee on military af fairs, and was quite active. He was a candidate for speaker, in opposition to Andrew J. Hanscom, re ceiving seven votes. General Robertson was appoint ed by Acting Governor Cuming as quartermaster of the 1st regiment territorial militia, in 1855, but no further account of his career can be obtained. 2Isaac L. Gibbs, sergeant-at-arms in the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly, was a native of Ohio and was born in 1824. Little is known of his early life, but he came to Nebraska when a young man and was one of the first settlers of Nebraska City. He was appointed sergeant-at-arms in the 1st territorial as sembly and was elected by the second session of the ter ritorial assembly as chief clerk of the lower house. He was elected a m;mber of the house in the third session, and chosen speaker by acclamation. He was a member of the city council of Nebraska City, in 1857. Nothing further can be found regarding his life in Nebraska. He moved to Idaho and in 1867 was appointed governor of that territory during a temporary suspension of Governor Ballard, but his commission was revoked before he had performed any of the duties of the office. He suffered financial re verses and died soon after. 3 William D, Gage, chaplain of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born in Pennsylvania, December 5, 1803. He was an orphan at the age of six years . He learned the shoe-making trade, at which he worked until he was twenty-one years of age, and then became a Methodist minister, remaining in active service until 1856. He settled at Nebraska City in 1853 and became the first Methodist pastor in Ne braska; was chaplain of lower house of the 1st terri torial assembly, and served the council in like capac ity for a time. He was treasurer of Otoe county, 1855- 56, and county commissioner of Cass county in 1857. During his ministerial service he was a member of the New York, Illinois, Arkansas, Kansas, and Nebraska conferences. He married Miss Sarah Schoonmaker at Flatbush. New York, on New Year's day, 1832, and seven children were born to them. He died at the res idence of his daughter, Mrs. Bailey, at Weeping Water, Nebraska. November 20, 1885. Another daughter, Mrs. J. W. Barnes, resides in Tecumseh, Nebraska. 202 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA that Mr. Gage actually served a part of the time in the council and also in the house. A determined fight was at once begun by the anti-Omaha members in favor of contest ants against those who had received certifi cates of election from the governor. Archie Handley of Forney county contested the seat of Wood, Benjamin Winchester1 of Washing ton contested against Arnold, and J. Sterling Morton and Stephen Decatur of Bellevue against A. J. Poppleton and William Clancy of Omaha. On the 17th, Decker of Pierce offered a resolu tion for the appointment of a committee of three ' ' to examine the certifi cates of members of the house, and to investigate the claims of those con testing seats, ' ' which was rejected. On the 24th Mr. Poppleton moved to amend rule 53, which was similar to Decker's reso lution, so as to restrict the duty of the committee on privileges and elec tions ' ' to examine and report upon the certifi cates of election of the members returned to serve in this house." The opposition ex hausted all their par liamentary resources against the passage of the rule, but it was finally adopted by a vote of 13 to 12. This was an approximate division of the Omaha and anti-Omaha forces on the capital question. It is interesting to note that this violent measure was supported by the same members, who, with the addition of Robertson of Burt, two days later, passed niles rathbone folsom . santa monica, california, doorkeeper 1st territorial council the bill locating the capital at Omaha.2 The Palladium3 sounds this note of disgust and despair : "Governor Cuming's appointees having the majority and being reluctant to have their claims investigated, yesterday they made it a rule of the House that Cuming's certificates were the only evidence which had a right to come before the House in the matter ! ! ! And this in Nebraska, and enacted by the very men who are so loud in their praises of popu lar sovereignty! Oh! Shame! where is thy blush?" Poppleton and Rich ardson of Douglas and Latham and Thompson of Cass argued that under the organic law the pos session of the governor's certificate was conclusive, and that there could be no appeal or contest but to him . Decker of Pierce, Wood of Forney, and Doyle of Dodge in sisted that the well-settled principle that legislative bodies have the right to pass upon the qualifica tions of their members applied to this case. The Palladium admits that ' ' Poppleton, the mover, debate able closed the in a tolerably vindication of the amendment." Even then Popple ton must have been a tolerably good jurist; and he must have laughed in his sleeve as his defense of his novel doctrine rolled out in plausible phrase and with unctuous smooth ness. Nebraska, we believe, is unique in the dis covery and application of this principle of 1 Benjamin Winchester was a brickmaker who ar rived at Kanesville (Council Bluffs), May 17, 1854. He entered into a contract with the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry company to furnish the brick for the first capitol building, and established the first brick -yard in Omaha, near what is now the corner of 14th and Jones streets. While Mr. Winchester made the first brick in Omaha, he failed to carry out his contract with the Ferry company, which bought his plant, but later had to obtain most of their brick for the capitol building from Kanesville, whence they were hauled by Harrison Johnson. 2 House Journal, pp. 20, 26. 8 January 31, 1855. 204 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA parliamentary procedure. The provision of the organic act bearing upon this question is as follows : "The person having the highest number of legal votes in each of said council districts for members of the council" — or the house, as the case may be — "shall be declared by the governor to be duly elected ;'' and this wording is found substantially in the organic acts of all the northwestern territories. We find a like lack of restraint in the organiza tion of the first legislatures of other territories, though under the usual parliamentary rule. The first legislature of Kansas, at the first, arbitrarily unseated nine free-soil members who held certificates, and because they were free-soilers, the other two having resigned partly through disgust and partly through the "moral suasion" of the pro slavery members. ' ' 1 In Wisconsin the first house unseated a certificated mem ber2 and seated the contest ant, according to the general, but against the Nebraska par liamentary principle; and the first house of Indiana, whose first act was to consider the qualifications of its members, arbitrarily unseated the regu lar member from St. Clair county.8 The blindness of the presid ing genius of the Palladium to the palpable inevitability of the sacrifice of Bellevue by a majority deviously 1 Spring, Kansas, p. 55. 'Strong, History of Wisconsin Territory, p. 223. 8 Dunn, Indiana, p. 325. 4Nebraska Palladium, January 17, 185"). 'Nebraska Palladium, January 17, 1855. 6 Benjamin Baker Thompson, doorkeeper of the lower house in the 1st territorial assembly of Nebras ka, was born in Calloway county, Missouri, February 5, 1834, and was the oldest son of Joseph D. N. Thomp son, member of the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly, and Martha (Baker) Thompson. He came to Nebraska with his parents, in 1854, and settled in Kanosha, now Rock Bluff, Cass county. The fol lowing year he enlisted under General Thayer to defend the settlers against the Indians, and while do ing picket duty was accidentally shot, receiving an ugly wound in his shoulder, which ultimately caused his death. After receiving the wound he was taken to Brownville, where his father had removed, and upon his recovery he was appointed deputy sheriff. He was BENJAMIN B. THOMPSON" DOORKEEPER, 1ST TERRITORIAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES procured, and his simple optimistic hope that some way ideal justice might hold sway in such an atmosphere of lawless might is half pathetic and half tragical : "The people of this district have been dis franchised by an act of arbitrary power, and they intend to be heard upon the question whether this right is to be restored, whether they are to take the place of freemen or sink into a state of vassalage and slavery. We are satisfied that a great deal of fraud and injustice has been committed in the organ ization that has taken place, and that if 'Righteousness was laid to the line and judg ment to the plummet' there would be but little left of the foundation which has been estab lished."4 On the first day of the ses sion it appears that two of the contestants from Bellevue, J. Sterling Morton and Stephen. Decatur, were admitted into the house and participated in the discussion about Cuming's credentials or certificates f and from what we of the present know of Morton we may be sure that the discussion was not lacking in aggressive vigor. The sardonic answer of the report of the committee on privileges and elections to the editor's hope and prayer for righteousness was that ' ' Mr. Decatur advanced his claim on the ground that Douglas county is separate and distinct from Omaha, and that he is the married in February, 1858, to Elizabeth Thompson, who had recently come from England. On November 20, 1861, he enlisted in the service of the United States, and was mustered in as a private in company G, 2d Kansas cavalry. On January 7, 1862, he was pro moted to the office of sergeant, and in March he was assigned by the president to the office of first lieut enant of company G, 11th TJ. S. colored troops. He served until the 111th, 112th, and 113tb U. S. infantry were consolidated, whereupon he became a supernu merary, and as such was honorably discharged, April 1st, 1865. At the close of the war he moved to Argen- ta, Arkansas, where he remained two years, then re turned to Brownville, where be lived until his death, December 1, 1887. He was a prominent member of the G. A. R. of Nebraska, the Ben Thompson Post being named in his honor. He was survived by a wife and three children. Mrs. Thompson still resides in Brownville, and one son, John C. Thompson, now (1904) resides in Omaha. FIRST LEGISLATURE 205 representative from Douglas county, having received a greater number of votes in that county than Mr. Poppleton ;" but "Mr. Pop pleton in defense produced a certificate from the governor of Nebraska declaring him duly elected a representative from Douglas county." It did not matter that the conclusion of the committee violated immemorial parliamentary usage and renounced all spirit of fairness ; it was backed by a majority as _ resolute as it was oblivious of any such nice considerations. The finding was brief and to the point, as it could afford to be: ' 'After considering the evidence of each party your committee are of the opinion that A. J. Poppleton is entitled to a seat in this House accord ing to the organic law and rules adopted by this House."1 Of the five members of the committee four had voted for the obnoxious rule, and afterward con sistently voted to locate the capital at Omaha.2 It is a barren formality to add that every member to whom Governor Cum ing had given his certifi cate held his seat. This was the beginning of the end of the most important act of the 1st legislature. The council or upper house, the equivalent of a state senate, contained some men of re- ORIGEN D. RICHARDSON'5 OLDEST MEMBER OF THE 1 ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY markably good intellect, and several of pre vious experience in legislative bodies. Colo nel Joseph L. Sharp, nominally of Richard son county, who was elected president of the council over his bitter political and personal rival, James C. Mitchell of Florence, had for merly been a member of the legislature of Illinois and also of the legislature of Iowa. He was a disciplined and ready parliamen tarian. He knew, and could apply with quick decision, the rules governing deliberative bod ies. Down to this day no one has presided over the senate, or any other de liberative body of the state, with more skill or dignity. He was a man of italic individuality. His person was angular, and his height six feet three. His hair was abundant and iron gray, and it covered a leonine head. His eye was a bright steel-blue, his chin square, his mouth tight- shut and firm. In the little council chamber where these primitive law makers were laying the footings for the walls of the civic edifice since built there was but small space for spectators; but they drifted in from the curi ous East, now and then, and, standing against the railing which fenced them out from the mem bers, took notes and made whispered obser- 1 House Journal, 1855, p. 144. 2 House Journal, pp. 20, 26. s Origen D. Richardson, member of the Council in the first territorial assembly, was lorn in Wood stock, Vermont, in 1796, and was the oldest member of the assembly. He served as a private in the Ver mont volunteers in ihe War of 1812, and took part in the battle of Plattsburg, New York. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1824, and five years later settled in Michigan where he took an active part in politics and became one of the leading lawyers in the state. He was prominent in Oakland county and in Pontiac, contributing largely toward the first church building of that town. Mr. Richardson served in both branches of the legislature of Michigan when it was a territory and also after it became a state, and from 1814 to 1848 he was lieutenant governor. In 1854 he moved to Omaha and took a leading part in the territorial affairs of Nebraska. He reprt sented Doug las county in the first territorial Council and was chairman of the judiciary committee. He was ar point ed one of the commissioners to prepare a code of laws, which are the basis of the present laws of Nebraska. The revised statutes of 1867 were prepared by Gov ernor Richardson, Joseph Sharp, and Andrew J. Pop pleton, most of the work being done by Mr. Richard son. He died in 1876, and his wife, whose maiden name was Sarah P. Hill, and to whom he had been married fifty years, died about tbe same time, leaving one son, Lyman Richardson, now (1904) a resident of Baltimore, Maryland; and two daughters, Sarah, who married Z. B. Knight, and now resides in Kirk wood, 2o6 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA vations among themselves upon the proceed ings of the council and the demeanor of its president. It was the misfortune of Colonel Sharp to have been fearfully scarred, in dented, and pitted with smallpox. That dreadful disease had bleared, glazed over, and destroyed the sight of his left eye, and at the same time had twisted and deeply indented his prominent nose, which looked somewhat awry; so that altogether the victim's facial expression was rather repellant. Right against the lobby rail was the desk and seat of his spiteful and malig- n a n t competitor, J i m Mitchell, as he was called. Mitchell was a lithe, slen der, small man, about sixty years of age, not more than five feet six inches tall and weighing not more than one hundred and twenty pounds. He was quick of mind, had a hair-trigger temper, and his courage was unquestioned. He had justifiably killed his man at Jackson, Iowa, had been tried and honorably acquitted. Therefore no bully presumed to insult him, though his features were mild, gentle, and pallid as those of a studi ous orthodox clergyman, and his manners were refined and quiet. His hatred of Sharp was deep and relentless. One day a couple of visitors from "down east" were leaning- against ANDREW J. SMITH1 MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY labor. the railing by Mitchell's desk, watching President Sharp and listening to his rapid decisions and rulings, and finally one said to the other, in an undertone which reached the alert ear of Mitchell : "That president knows his business. He is able and impartial, quick and correct, but certainly the homeliest man I ever looked at"; and Mitchell, with a cyni cal smile and tranquil irony, remarked: "Hell! You should have seen him before he was improved by the small-pox." Possibly state senators of this day keep sarcasm in stock sharper and more spontaneous than that, but they seldom exercise it. The other lawmaker of experience in the council was Origin D. Richard son of Douglas county. He had served in the Michigan senate and had also been governor of that state. He was a native of Vermont, level headed, honest, and of sound judgment. More than any other individual, Richardson determined the character and quality of the legislation of that first assembly. As chairman of the permanent commit tee on the judiciary, in the council, he did an enor mous amount of thought ful, diligent, and efficient He no doubt planned, formed, and Missouri, and Cornelia, the widow of George I. Gil bert, now living in Omaha. Dr. Miller, in his pen sketches of early legislators, says : " Tbe council was not a strong body. The av- «age ability of its thirteen members was not far from being low. At tbe head of them in character, intelli gence and ability was Origen D. Richardson, a lawyer who for many years was a prominent citizen of Mich igan and a friend of General Lewis Cass. Mr. Rich ardson was a large and portly figure, with a fine in tellectual head and face. He had long experience in the legislature of Michigan, and was quite at home as a representative of Douglas county in the council. . . . . Governor Richardson was a kindly and reli gious man, and his life was pure and upright. He shaped more statutes than any other member had a keen sense of humor, which he gave frequent play. He was a strong and impressive speaker, forci ble and animated when aroused in debate. . . . He lived a long, honorable, and useful life, and his worthy wife passed away nearly at the same time, at a ripe age, and their funerals were held on the same day." 1 Andrew Jackson Smith, member of the house of representatives, in the 1st territorial assembly of Ne braska, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, about 1831, and was of German descent. He went west in 1850 and settled in Keokuk, Iowa, where be remained a short time, and then removed to Kanes ville (Council Bluffs). In 1854 he crossed the river with James C. Mitchell and a number of others, and FIRST LEGISLATURE 207 of either house, not excepting Andrew J. Pop pleton, who was the most capable, industrious, and painstaking member of the house com mittee on judiciary, the superior of any law yer then in Nebraska, and the peer, perhaps, of any who have since practiced in -the courts of this state. In those earlier days Mr. Pop pleton was almost passionately fond of public speaking, for which he was well equipped with an unusual share of personal magnetism, reasoning power, and a plausible and per suasive address. He manifested a keen inter est in political affairs up to the time of the settled at "Winter Quarters." They changed the name of tbe settlement to Florence and endeavored to boom that place, making strenuous efforts to secure the location of the capital there. In 1855 he was elected to represent Washington county in the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska. He had a controlling interest in the Steam Ferry-boat company at Florence and was captain of the boat, and was also engaged in the mercantile business at that place. Mr. Smith remained in Florence until 1858, when he went farther west and was among the first to mine gold in Cherry Creek, Colorado. He was in strumental in locating the city of Denver in 1858. A mass meeting was held to organize Arapahoe county, and Mr. Smith was chosen to represent its interests before the Kansas legislature. He was not admitted to the legislative body, but was successful in his mission, Governor Denver appointing county commis sioners for the county, without waiting for the action of the legislature. This was done in order that the army of miners in that vicinity might have the pro tection of the law. Mr. Smith returned to Council Bluffs in 1862, but the same, year started for the Salmon river mines by way of Denver, going to Bannock City, the first capital of Montana territory, and engaging in the mining business. Laterhe wasappointed agent for the Bannock Indians. Montana territory profited by the legislative experience of Mr. Smith in Nebras ka, for he became a member of the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly of. Montana, May 26, 1864, and served through the second and third sessions, serving as speaker pro tem. in the latter session, until 1867. In 1869 he was again elected from Beaverhead county to the lower house of the territorial assembly. He was commissioned as surveyor-general of Mon tana, December 23, 1873. He spent the winter of 1865 in Washington with his family, but returned to Ban nock City the following year. Mr. Smith had a drug store in that city and resided there until his death, which occurred about 1876. He was married in 1854, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Miss Ellen R., sister of R. D. Amy, still a resident of that city. Two sons are now living, Albert Smith, a dentist in Los Angeles, Cali fornia, and George L. Smith, of Albuquerque, N. M. 1 Dr. Munson Henry Clark, member of the Council of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, is sup posed to have been a native of New York, but had been a resident of Ohio, whence he emigrated to An drew, Jackson county, Iowa, in 1842. He was born in 1811, but of his early life little is known except that medicine was his profession and he established a successful practice in Andrew. He was of a restless disposition, however, inclined to be both a speculator and a politician. In 1842 he found ed the Jackson county (Iowa) Democrat, the first segregation of his services in the office of the Union Pacific railway company, which was a distinct loss to the commonwealth. Among the most far-sighted lawmakers of that first council was Dr. M. H. Clark,1 mem ber from Fontenelle, Dodge county. He was a type of the vigorous frontiersman in form and mind. He was an enthusiast as to the commercial future of Nebraska. As chairman of the committee on corporations he made a report to the council on the 16th of February, 1855,2 which was a prophecy of remarkable ac curacy, and which has been completely verified.3 paper published in that county, and which he con tinued to edit until 1848. About 1849 he went to Missouri, and, in 1850, forming a partnership with a Mr. Wheeler, he obtained a license to run a, ferry at Traders Point, the North Platte crossing for tbe Mormon and California emigration. They owned this ferry until 1853 and also maintained a ferry on the Elkhorn. At the informal election held at Bellevue, in 1853, by citizens of Council Bluffs and vicinity, Dr. Clark received 295 votes for provisional secretary of the proposed territory of Nebraska. He was one of the founders of the town of Fontenelle and was elected to represent Dodge county in the 1st terri torial assembly. The voting precinct was established in Dr. Clark's house, and be received all of the eight votes cast. The family of Dr. Clark remained in Jackson comity, Iowa, until 1854, when they removed to St. Mary, Iowa. They never lived in the territory of Nebraska, and their stay in St. Mary was of short duration. Two months after the adjournment of the first session of the council Dr. Clark died of pneu monia, April 16, 1855, after an illness of a week. Dr. George L. Miller says of him : ' ' Dr. Clark was an educated, polished, and mild mannered man, whose frontier garb did not conceal the evidences of good breeding and a cultivated mind. He was a man of marked reserve. He seldom took any part in the de bates of the council, but when he did so his speech was conversational in tone and manner, without the least indication of temper or resentment. He was rather stout and robust in appearance. His face was full and broad, and bis head inclined to baldness. He was a gentleman and a well-read physician, but he lacked aggressive force of character. He was a care ful and painstaking legislator, and of a kindly dis position. He had a good face and a fine hand, the latter as soft and delicate as a woman's. He did not make a deep impression on Nebraska's early life." Up'on the announcement of the death of Dr. Clark, the council adopted the following resolution : ' ' Re solved, That as a testimony of respect to the memory of M. H. Clark, deceased, late a member of this body from Dodge county, the members of the Council will go into mourning by wearing crape on the left arm during the present session"; and on motion, "the Council adjourned until Wednesday morning in testi mony of respect to the memory of the deceased." (Council Journal, p. 29.) Dr. Clark's family returned to Ohio after his death, and little is known of their later life. One son, Lee, was killed by a kick from a horse when a small boy, and Albert V. Halla Clark, another son, enlisted in the Union army. 2 Council Journal, 1st Sess., p. 65. 8 These personal sketches are reminiscences of tbe late J. Sterling Morton. 14 2IO HISTORY OF NEBRASKA The report in its advocacy of the charter ing of a transcontinental railroad forecasts the future of such a road, and in concluding declares that if it could be built, "The millions of Europe would be brought in contact with the hundreds of millions of Asia, and their line for quick transit would be, to a great extent, across our continent. Their mails, their ministers, their most costly and interesting travel and trade, would take this route, and augment our business and mul tiply our resources. In view of the compara tive cost, to the wonderful changes that will result, your committee can not believe the period remote when this work will be accom plished ; and with liberal encouragement to capital, which your committee are disposed to grant, it is their belief that before fifteen years have transpired the route to India will be opened, and the way across this continent will be the common way of the world. Enter taining these views, your committee report the bill for the Platte Valley and Pacific Rail road, feeling assured that it will become not only a basis for branches within Nebraska, but for surrounding states and territories."1 The report begins with this sentence : "It is generally conceded that the portion of the territory of Nebraska which will first seek organization as a state is that which lies be tween the parallels of 40 degrees and 43 degrees, extending west to the Rocky moun tains." That this discerning pioneer should thus have foretold the future northern and south ern boundaries of the state is more significant than remarkable for prescience when we con sider that it is simply a reflection of the original Iowa idea. This was the original and persistently proposed northern boundary for the territory until, at the last moment, all that remained of the unorganized part of the purchase was included. It was the boundary in the bills introduced by Douglas in 1844 and 1848, and of the bill of the Iowa senator (Dodge) in 1853 — the bill which, as amended, was finally passed — and the 40th parallel was the southern .boundary in the bill of 1848. This boundary had been fixed by the united desire or judgment of the bordering promot ers of organization, and in accordance with the reasons given by the Iowa statesman al ready freely quoted. This forecast indicates that Mr. Clark was, to some extent, familiar with what had gone before; and his judgment as to the desirable and probable location of the coming state was confirmed by its pro jectors. That report, written and published before civil government in Nebraska was six months old, and when most of the people of the United States who had thought about the subject at all believed that the construction of a railroad from the Missouri river across the plains and through the Rocky mountains to the Pacific coast was an impossibility, is a notable piece ot economic and industrial faith, if not of foresight. Acting Governor Cuming delivered the first executive message to a joint meeting of the two houses in the chamber of the house of representatives at three o'clock in the after noon of the first day's session.2 As might be expected of a man so able and of such posi tive parts, the message was comprehensive and well composed, and for the greater part direct, concise, and incisive ; and as might be expected in one so young — he was only twenty-six — it not only had the unnecessary and at least now quite unusual appendage of a peroration, but this peroration was gran diloquent indeed. When it is considered that no other executive message since delivered in this commonwealth, except that of the ripe statesman, Governor Richardson, equals this first one — the composition of an inexperi enced boy — in point of saying what should be said and saying it well, we readily over look the final efflorescence. 1 The following recent statement by the New York Tribune is one of many illustrations of the fact that Benton's famous prophecy was really stale when it was uttered: ' ' The Commercial Club of Kansas City has asked the Missouri legislature to appropriate §20,000 for a statue of Thomas H. Benton, to be erected in Kansas City, as near as possible to the spot where Benton made his famous prophecy, in 1856, that this continent would be bound together by bands of iron, and that our prod ucts would be carried to feed the innumerable mil lions of the Orient. Pointing with outstretched hand toward the setting sun, he said: ' There is the East; there is the road to India.' " But Benton is credited with uttering a similar prophecy as early as 1844. 2 Records Nebraska Territory, p. 40. FIRST LEGISLATURE 211 The temporary governor bespeaks for the expected permanent executive, Governor Izard, the blending of "a dignified disinter estedness with an appreciated efficiency . . . well befitting the chief magistrate of the largest commonwealth of freemen within the limits of the Union or the world." Our appreciation of the unerring western apothe osis of mere size is heightened by the reflec tion that this physically greatest of all the territories, past or present, was the least of all in population. It is significant that the first recommendation of this first Nebraska mes sage was in favor of a me morial to Congress in be half of the construction of the Pacific railway up the valley of the Platte. The governor suggested that the legislature in its me morial should ' ' urgently if not principally ask" for a preliminary provision for telegraphic and letter mail communication with the Pacific, and that for its protection parties of twenty dragoons should be stationed at stockades twenty or thirty miles apart. Councilman Clark's committee report in favor of a Pacific railway and by the Platte route was an elaboration of the governor's recommendation. The legislature was re- ANSELUM ARNOLD1 MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY minded that in the enactment of a code of laws and the establishment of public institu tions it had the benefit of an ample fund of experience treasured by neighboring states. The recommendation of the enactment of general incorporation laws was wise but un heeded. The governor also recommended that volunteer military companies be organ ized for protection against the Sioux, Ponca, and other Indians. Mr. Izard, United States marshal, who had been in Washington, we may believe with an eye to promotion to the gov ernorship, returned to Omaha on the 20th of February, and his arrival was formally announced to the two houses of the legislature by Secretary Cuming on that day, and on the same day the sec retary presented him to a joint meeting of the houses, when he delivered a passable speech, as gov ernor' s speeches go, and which might be excused for its lack of much else by its plethora of reference to "sovereigns," "the prin ciples of popular sover eignty," and "the sover eignty of the people." The new governor had taken the oath of office December 23, 1854, in the city of Wash ington, before Judge John A. Campbell, asso- 1 Anselum Arnold, member of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born in Rutland county, Vermont, in 1809. He was a son of Rice and Julia Arnold, who were natives of Vermont. The Arnold family emigrated from Wales in an early day and be came active in colonial affairs. Anselum Arnold was a cousin of Benedict Arnold, and a second cousin of Stephen Arnold Douglas, the father of Nebraska ter ritory, with whom he was very intimate. His educa tion was confined to the common schools of his native county, and in his youth be moved with his parents to Chautauqua county, New York. Later he became a resident of Branch county, Michigan, and was sheriff of that county for a number of years. He came to Council Bluffs in December, 1853, and remained there until the following spring, when he crossed the river and became a resident of Nebraska territory, March 12, 1854. He preempted land at Ft. Calhoun, built a cabin there, and in 1855 was elected a member of the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly to repre sent Washington county. Mr. Arnold was an active politician and did much toward the organization of the new territory. He was in Washington during the debates on the Kansas-Nebraska bill and worked vig orously for its passage. In 1856 he was appointed Lndian agent for the Shawnees and Wyandots and moved to Westport, Missouri, where he remained un til his death, in August, 1858. Mr. Arnold was twice married. His first wife was Julia N. Huite by whom he had three children, Alonzo and Mary, deceased; and Rice, now a resident of Blair, Nebraska. Mrs. Arnold died in 1838, and a few years later he was 212 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA ciate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He resided at Mt. Vernon, St. Francis county, Arkansas, and his ap pointment was due to the influence of Senator Sebastian of that state. The Helena (Arkan sas) Star in noticing his appointment ad mitted that he was "not endowed with shin ing talents," and the governor's Nebraska contemporaries still living are not heard to dissent from the admis sion. He was doubtless a fair sample of the over plus of the mass of aspirants for place with which south ern dispensers of patronage must have been infested, and for whom, in the emergency, such long-distance provision must be made. Since Sec retary Cuming, a quasi-resident, was himself an aspirant for the office in question, we may presume that his sympathetic refer ence — in introduc ing his successful rival to the legis lature — to the carpetbagger' s ' 'long and toil- s o m e journey" in reaching Nebraska was not innocent of malicious i/ony. Izard was scarcely competent to properly perform the duties of his office. His short career gave FIRST U. S. MARSHAL evidence of this, no less than the implied admission of his friends when they said he "meant well." Governor Izard was not inclined to miss a chance to distinguish himself as a maker of state papers, so he gave himself the bene fit of the doubt whether a second message was called for, and delivered one to the two houses February 27. He had dis covered his lack of discretion and sense of propriety in his address of the 20th by saying that "in the dis charge of my of ficial duties as your chief executive I shall endeavor to carry out the wishes of the na tional administra tion." In his message to the all butsovereignlegis- lature he betrayed his ignorance of the limitations of the province of the executive by ex pressing regret that he was not "sufficiently famil- i a r with the progress already made to indicate a course of policy for the govern ment of your future action." He r e c o m - mended in the message the adoption of the code of Iowa for temporary purposes, "as a large portion of our citizens at present are MARK W. IZARD1 AND SECOND GOVERNOR OF NEBRASKA TERRITORY married to Jennette Foster, who died in Blair, Ne braska, in 1875. Three children were born of the sec ond marriage, all of whom now reside in Oregon; Elizabeth, wife of J. P. Clark, La Grande, Oregon; Emma, wife of John Pease, Portland; and William, who resides near Portlard. 1 Mark W. Izard, second governor of Nebraska ter ritory, February 20, 1855, to October 25, 1857, was born in Lexington, Kentucky, December 25, 1799, and died in August, 1866, at his home in St. Francis county, Arkansas. When quite a boy his father re moved from Lexington to Huntsville, Alabama, where ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR IZARD 213 from that state, and are more or less familiar with its system" 51 that provision be made for all local officers to be elected by the people; that the interest of settlers on lands they had occupied, not yet surveyed under the act of Congiess of July 22, 1854, be treated as tax able property; and he followed Acting Gov ernor Cuming in wisely urging general instead of special legislation as far as possible. These first legislators were true to their type in that practical politics was their first care, and house file No. 1, offered January 18, by Robertson of Burt county, was a joint resolution as follows : "Resolved, That we herewith endorse the principles enunciated in the bill organizing the territories of Kansas and Nebraska; that we rejoice that the geographical line between the northern and southern states has been erased, leaving the people of every state and territory free to control their domestic insti tutions ; and that we commend the firm and patriotic course of the men, without distinc tion of party, who have aided in establishing the sound constitutional principles of the com promise of 1850, and "Resolved, furthermore, that we pledge ourselves to oppose any unfair discrimina tions, such as those of the late Missouri com promise, but to protect and defend the rights of the states and the union of states, and to Mark W. was reared to manhood and given a common school education. When twenty-three vears of age he was married to Miss Shacklef ord, a daughter of George Shackleford, whose family was then one of the most prominent in Charleston, South Carolina. Soon after his marriage, in the year 1824, he moved to the un settled portion of eastern Arkansas, the country then being mostly inhabited by Indians. White settlers soon began to move in, and Mr. Izard became one of the most prominent men of that section. He was elected a member of the first state senate of Arkansas, representing St. Francis and Green counties; was president of the second and third sessions of the sen ate ; was speaker of the house during the 7th legisla ture ; and was reelected to the senate for the eighth and ninth sessions, his term of office closing January 12, 1853. October 28, 1854, he was appointed United States marshal of Nebraska territory, and February 20, 1855, received the appointment of governor for the territory, serving until his resignation, October 25, 1857. He returned to his home in Arkansas, where he remained until his death, in August, 1866. Mr. T. B. Caldwell, a long-time neighbor of Governor Izard, now a resident of Fredrick, Oklahoma, in a recent let ter says : ' ' Mark W. Izard had a good property, and lived an honorable and respected life. He was a slave owner, but was always kind to, and thoughtful of his slaves." One son, James S., was h's father's private secretary and also territorial librarian. Another son, Van B., who, as a boy, was with bis father during his advance and perpetuate the doctrine of popu lar sovereignty."2 On the 23d of January Mr. Rogers of Douglas county offered in the council a more concise resolution of a like purport, but espe cially thanking Douglas and Richardson for maintaining the principles of popular sover eignty ; but this gave way to the house reso lution.3 On the 30th Mr. Bradford of Pierce county, from the select committee to which the house resolutions had been referred, made a minority report condemning in strong lan guage the repeal of the Missouri compromise and the acts of the principals in procuring it, and opposing the passage of the resolutions.4 On the 24th of January they had passed the house on motion of Mr. Poppleton, by a vote of 21 to 4, the four nays being Davis of Doug las, Kempton and Thompson of Cass, and Purple of Burt.5 On the ist of February, on motion of Mr. Rogers, they passed the coun cil by a vote of 9 to 4, the nays being Bennet, Bradford, and Cowles of Pierce, and Mitchell of Washington.0 The momentous contest of the session was opened by the introduction of bills for the location of the seat of government — one in the council, January 24, by Richardson of stay in Nebraska, now resides in Forrest City, Arkan sas, as does also one daughter, Mrs. R. G. Dye. These constitute the only surviving members of Governor Izard's large family. Following are Dr. George L. Mil'er's personal recollections of Governor Izard: " Mark W. Izard is recalled by me as a prominentciti- zen of Arkansas, of what might be called the middle class in the days of slavery. I think he was a Baptist preacher at one time, but I am not sure of this. Gov ernor Izurd was a man of large and imposing stature. He must have been not less than six feet tall, sym metrical in form, of full flesh, erect carriage, and dig nified bearing. His manners were very courteous and affable . and he had a gentle disposition and kind heart. He was a man of strong religious convictions and ex emplary habits of life. Governor Izard was much re spected by our people. His head was large, his hair, eyes, and complexion dark, and his face full and broad. He was a man of good judgment and experience in affairs, but not as remarkable for intellectual strength as he was for stability of character and ambition to discharge his executive duties in such away as to best serve the people of the new land." JSee table, foot-note 2, p. 214. 2 House Journal, p. 9. 3 Council Journal, p. 17. 4 Ibid., p. 32. 6 House Journal, p. 18. 6 Council Journal, p. 38. 2I4 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Douglas county; and one in the house on the 25th of the same month by Latham of Cass county. A motion by Nuckolls of Cass to insert the words "Plattsmouth, Cass county" in the council bill was carried by a vote of 7 to 6, Bennet, Bradford, and Cowles of Pierce, Brown of Forney, Nuckolls of Cass, Mitchell of Washington, and Sharp of Richardson vot ing aye — all of the South Platte except Mitchell. All the nays were from the North Platte section.1 On the 25th a motion by Clark of Dodge county to insert the name of 1 Council Journal, p. 26. 2 The following table illustrates with approximate accuracy the relative amount of immigration from each state of the Union and from foreign countries, as well as the nativity of immigrants. It was made by Mr. Jay Amos Barrett, curator and librarian of the Nebraska State Historical Society, from the biographies of 608 indi viduals who came to Nebraska in the first ten years of the territory, 1854 to 1863, inclusive, and is a part of the research work of that society. DIRECT SOURCE 1- tat: VTT Y '54 '55 '56 '57 '58 '59 '60 '61 '62 '63 '54 •55 '56 '57 '58 '59j'60 '61 '62 '63 9 11 9 6 10 8362 4 331219 121912 10 3 5 32222 1 31 4 23 7 15 994 2 3 52 91 14 7 4 44 3 2 6 2 "2 7 12 1 6 3249 12 10 10 6 11 "i 4 "3 8 1 23 142 2 1 53 "2 "2 1 97 1 512 "2 22 187 67 C460 58 39 3632 18 13 9S6 5544 43 3 2 211 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 21 90 2392 49 64 3 7 1 "3 3 51 1 "2 13 7 9 3 6 2 4 22 4 27 11 19 | 211 "5 24 2 i "3 1 9 2 4 26 3 1711 20 1 28 1 11 5 3 "2 il 3 5' 9 3 1 9 6 7 2 5 5 l1 1 1 2 2 Ohio 3 10 6 2 34 1 1 4 1 6 16 2 2 2 4 "fj 2 1 1 1 12 1 2 ¦1 1 1 9 4 1 1 1 1 3 "2 1 ... 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 22 10 52 53 "2 4 "'i 2 2 2 2 0 3 1 3 Utah 21 1 Minnesota 1 2 1 7 51 11 1 "i 12 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 881 14 "1 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 3142 463 69 13 24 3 1 18 1 1733 606 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 32 1 ' '2 1 59 425 1 1 40 74 1 £8 68 1 145 1 121 1 56 2 49 3 39 27 2 14 "i 34 2 591 9 i 2 104 16 3 C2 103 10 1t 39 13 "i 31 61 21 6 1 1 8 i1 26 6 1 1 "i i 1 1 1 1 3 61 1 1 3 3 1 1 "2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 56 1 51 1 38 38 70 147 123 58 52 39 30 15 36 608 37 73 135 129 39 30 15 LOCATION OF THE CAPITAL 215 In the meantime Bellevue was lost, 4 to 9. Richardson, the general of the Omaha forces, then began dilatory tactics and procured a reference of the bill to the committee on public buildings by a vote of 8 to 5.1 On the 29th, on motion of Richardson, the house bill, which had passed that body on the 26th, was taken up, and, after Mitchell had moved to insert Platts mouth, Richardson procured its reference to the committee of the whole as a substitute by a vote of 7 to 6, and then secured post ponement for two days.2 Mitchell had seen a sign. The next day Rich ardson moved to recon sider the postponement for two days, and Mitchell voting with him for the first time, the motion was carried by 7 to 6. Mitchell withdrew his amendment to insert Plattsmouth in place of Omaha City, and then moved to amend so as to locate the capital about two and one-half miles north of Omaha; then Richardson gave notice that on some future day he would introduce a resolu tion making Mitchell "sole commissioner to locate the capitol buildings"3 and Mitchell withdrew his last amendment. Rich ardson's task was now easy, and, in spite of FLEMING DAVIDSON6 MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY Bennet's dilatory motions, the bill was passed by 7 to 6, the same vote which on the 25th had opposed Nuckoll's motion for Platts mouth, with Mitchell added. On the 25th of January Mr. Latham of Cass county introduced house bill No. 8, to locate the seat of government, which passed its second reading.4 This bill left blanks for the insertion of the town and county, and Kempton's motion to insert Plattsmouth, Cass county, was lost — 12 to 13. Wood's motion to insert Brownville also failed, by a vote of 8 to 17. Mr. Pop pleton, general of the Omaha forces in the house, was not ready for battle, but his motion to refer the bill to a select committee of three was laid on the table. Forced to fight, he moved the insertion of Omaha; and, after various motions to postpone, the house ad journed until the after noon. A vote on Pop pleton' s motion resulted 12 to 13 against Omaha. All the ayes were from the North Platte and all but One — Smith of Wash ington — voting nay were of the South Platte.5 Washington county be ing a contestant for the capital was naturally against Omaha ; but it will be remembered 1 Council Journal, p. 28. 2 Ibid., pp. 31, 32. 3 Ibid., p. 34. 4 House Journal, p. 22. 5 Ibid., p. 23. 6 Fleming Davidson, member of the house of repre sentatives of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born near Wheeling, West Virginia, July 27, 1827, and died in Wichita, Kansas, July 6th, 1891. When three years old, bis parents removed to Vermilion county, Indiana, where he was educated. His early life was spent upon a farm. He was married June 1, 1854, to Mary A. Brown, of Havana, Illinois, and in September of the same year they started overland to Omaha, where they arrived October 28. In 1855 be represented Douglas county in the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, in which he served with ability and credit to himself. He was the first to engage in the ice business in Omaha, and was a silent partner in the wholesale and retail firm of Hileman, Blair & Co. In the spring of 1861 he re moved with his family to California, where he engaged in farming on a large scale. He remained there until the fall of 187?, when, on account of the climate, which did not agree with him, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, with his family, where he resided until his death. Mr. Davidson led a strictly temperate life and at the time of his death was remarkably well preserved. He pos sessed a high sense of honor, and had the southern trait of cordial hospitality, which drew about him many loyal friends. He is described by Samuel E. Rogers, of Omaha, as being "a man six feet tall, portly, with a fine, well-developed physique, remarkably social in disposition and quick to make friends." The wives of Mr. Rogers and Mr. Davidson were sisters. Mrs. Dav idson, with her youngest daughter, Miss Grace David son, resides in Wichita, Kansas. There were born to Mr. 216 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA that the committee on privileges and elections had taken care of Arnold in his contest with Benjamin Winchester. Latham now made another trial for Platts mouth, losing by a tie vote. The same mem- Omaha was made by their votes, forces upon us its only consistent answer. The only contemporary comment on this important transaction put in print which, so far as is known, has been preserved, is nat- bers who had just voted against Omaha now urally of sufficient interest to be introduced here. The Palladium of January 31 said: "The question had been brought up in the council, a bill locating the capital at Platts mouth had been introduced and passed the second reading, and there was every prospect that it wou'd pass the council and become a law. The same question came up in the House, and upon the motion to insert Plattsmouth 12 were for and 13 against it. The second vote resulted in a tie, and according to the rules of the House, lost. At this stage of the pro ceedings the Cass county delegates wheeled into the Omaha ranks, and voted to insert Omaha in place of Plattsmouth. " . . . On the motion to insert Platts mouth Mr. Latham, the bell-wether of that shame less delegation, led off in a flimsy, pointless ha rangue in favor of that place, asserting that it was the most central, the most widely known, and more likely to have the great Pacific railway run through it than any other place. There was the center voted for Plattsmouth, and those who had voted for Omaha, with the speaker added, voted against Plattsmouth. This was Platts- mouth's last chance. It was a distressing case of "so near and yet so far" in both houses. Mr. Poppleton now renewed his motion for Omaha, which was carried by 14 to n;1 and on the 26th the bill passed by the same vote.2 Latham and Kempton of Cass had voted to place the capital beyond the river of which J. Sterling Morton, as late as i860, in his contest for the an nexation of the South Platte section to Kansas, truly said, "It is almost impossible (and thus far has been perfectly so) to either ford, ferry, or bridge this stream."8 The question, why did these gentlem :n from Cass not only vote against their own town and section, and so readily, but also to isolate them from the seat of govern- LAFAYETTE NUCKOLLS4 YOUNGEST MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY ment and the business metropolis which of population, the focus of intelligence. . andMrs. Davidson eight children: MarthaPauline.born 4 Lafayette Nuckolls, member of the council in the at Omaha, March 2, 1856, and died in California, March l«t territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born in 1, 1864; Clementine Elizabeth, born at Omaha, Janu- Grayson county, Virginia, May 18, 1835, and died at uary 12, 1860, married to W. G. Barbour and resides C ilboun, Texas, March 26, 1860. He was a son of in Santa Barbara, California ; she was the first gradu- Ezra and Lucinda Nuckolls, and was educated in his native county. In 1850 he went west to Missouri, and later to Glenwood, Iowa, where he engaged in the mercantile and real estate business. As soon as Ne- braski territory was opened for settlement, he crossed the river and established himself in business in Platts mouth, of which he was a qu isi-resident when he was elected a member of the council of the 1st territorial assembly, to represent Cass county. He was a mem ber of the Plattsmouth Town company, organized Oc tober 26, 1854. Mr. Nuckolls was nineteen years old at the time of his election to the assembly, and was the youngest member of that body. His seat was ate of the Wichita (Kansas) high school; Clara Augusta, deceased, married Leander Melvin ; Rogers Fleming, deceased ; Minnie E. married Harry N. Helm and resides in Wichita ; Arthur I. , married Mayme Counsil and resides in San Francisco ; Grace lives at the old home in Wichita ; Herbert resides in San Francisco. 'House Journal, p. 23. 2 Ibid., p. 26. 3 Morton's Annexation Memorial, House Journal, 2d Sess., p. 120. LOCATION OF THE CAPITAL 217 . . The question to insert Omaha being up all the great reasons why the capital should be located at Plattsmouth vanished into thin air, and Omaha was the place for the capital par excellence. 'Like priest, like people.' If the people are like — or anywhere near it — the representatives which they have sent to the legislature, they don't deserve the capital. "We respect the people of Omaha for vot ing for their own pet place. . . But what interest have the people of Cass county in locating the capital at Omaha City ? What We say that good can it do them? the representatives of Cass county are either traitors to their constit uents, or the people of that place are too besotted in ignorance to compre hend their own interests. We say the representa tives did not do all they might do to carry ihe vote for their 'first choice place,' but abandoned it without a struggle No resistance was offered which would do credit to a school boy fifteen years old." When Latham deserted his own county for Omaha Mr. Decker of Nebraska City charged him with having sold himself, and Smith of Washington said that the most dis graceful bribery and cor ruption had been prac ticed. Poppleton said that the census returns showed that a majority of the people were north of the Platte, while Decker said, "Everyone RICHARD BROWN1 MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY AND FOUNDER OF BROWNVILLE, NEBRASKA knows that the south has the largest number of votes, and will admit, if they are honest men, that the capital ought to be given to them." In the council Nuckolls and Bennet had charged Sharp with the dereliction which had thrown the victory to Omaha, and even Mit chell had the hardihood to join in their assault. There is little risk in saying that Sharp had at the outset sold himself to the Omaha interests, but his honesty was of too unstable a character to stay bought, and before he received his price the Omaha managers became suspicious and repudiated their bargain with him. Sharp therefore lost his own soul nor gained the smallest part of the world. Our sole chronicler of these untoward events had taken on no western elasticity, and his exotic, puritanic temperament precluded him from the consolation of reflecting that, after all, every thing is fair in a western capital war, and what had been done was pre destined by circum stances. In the next issue after the tragedy, February 7, the Pal ladium reads more like special selections from the imprecations of the Hebrew prophets than a western frontier newspaper. It gives more contested on the groundof hi-; minority. He resigned at tbe close of the first session, and did not appear again in the public life of the territory. He was mar ried in 1855, at Savannah, Missouri, to Lizzie Moody and two daughters were born to them. Mr. Nuckolls went to Texas in the winter of 1859, for the benefit of his health, and died the following spring. Lafayette Nuckolls is described by Dr. Gsorge L. Miller as "a beardless boy of twenty, bright enough, but untamed, so to say, who owed his prominence to S. F. Nuckolls, his big brother, one of the strongest and ablest men of business the South Platte country has ever known. J The gentleman from Cass ' was more amusing than influential, and had no real weight in the body of which he was a member. Mr. Nuckolls was of full height, with a fine head, and a face which was as smooth as a baby's. Jolly and good-natured, he was no small feature of the council in a social sense." ] Richard Brown, number of the council in the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born in Nash ville, Tennessee, August 4, 1822. He was of Scotch and English descent, and was a son of Richard Brown, a stanch southerner and an owner of a large planta tion with Kentucky-bred stock and negro slaves. He was educated in his native state, but owing to a con test over his father's estate, through a later marriage, he went west. He came to Nebraska from Oregon, Holt county, Missouri, August 29, 1854. He was the first settler in what is now Nemaha county and built 218 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA than a column editorial denunciation of Cum ing as arch-corruptionist and arch-traitor to his "plain duty." Furthermore, "All the political renegades from every state are by brotherly affection collected around the gov ernor. O. D. Richardson of Michigan, Good will of New York, Folsom, ditto, et al., are by his aid foisted upon the people as Nebraska men, and are constituted lawmakers in Ne braska, while small brained knaves of large pretensions are put into the house of repre sentatives for the same reasons and in the same way." Turning on the renegades from Cass he says, "They are looked upon as hav ing sold the interests of their constituents and having put the price into their own pockets. . . . The vote of these unprincipled tools turned the scale against the interest of Platts mouth — against the interest of the whole re gion of country on both sides of the Platte river, and effectually crushed the hopes cher ished that that place might be favored with the location of the capital." And then becom ing specific: "We repeat: Mr. Singleton (of Richard son county) was offered a donation of Omaha City scrip, imaginatively and nominally valued at $4,000, and we repeat that the intention of his claim cabin on the present site of Brownville, which derived its name from this fact. He was a member of the town site company and helped to lay out the town. Mr. Brown was active in all enterprises for the advancement of the county, and established the first steam sawmill in that section; started the first ferry across tbe Missouri river at Brownville in 1854, and was president of the bridge company organized in 1856. In 1855 he was appointed the first postmaster of the town. The first voting precinct was established at his home in 1854, and he was elected a member of the 1st territorial assembly from Forney, now Nemaha county. He was a director of. the Brownville Hotel company, organized June 24, 1857, and was one of the incorporators of the Brownville Lyceum and Literary Association organized February 9, of the same year. He owned the first and only banking bouse in Brownville. He was also treasurer of Brown ville college in 1858. While a slaveholder, he was a man of peace, and a hard worker. He was sent as a special delegate to Congress to use his influence for the passage of a bill extending the time in which settlers might enter their land claims. The bill was passed, and upon his return the citizens of Brownville conferred upon him the title of "Colonel," which clung to him through life. Upon the breaking out of the Civil war his life was threatened by border ruffians for his known sj'tnpathy for the southern cause, al though he never took up arms. His property was swept away, and he removed to Omaha where he re mained two years. He then went to Kansas City and the donors was to corrupt Mr. Singleton and secure his vote against the wishes of his con stituents and the dictates of his own con science. We add, after Mr. Singleton had shown this scrip and refused to vote for Omaha City he was called from his seat in the House of Representatives to the room of the acting governor, by Mr. Smith, the pri vate secretary, and that he then and there by request gave up to the donors the intended bribe. All that we have written we stand ready to prove, now, tomorrow, or at any time." From a superficial view, at least, the Pal ladium was right, and Plattsmouth, or some other South Platte town, lost the capital through the sheer recreancy of her own rep resentatives. For it is fair to presume that with a persistent vote in the house for Belle vue or Plattsmouth, Mitchell, in the council, could have been held away from Omaha by the same means at least by which he was gained. But perhaps deeper insight would conclude that, considering the susceptibility of members to the persuasive means which Omaha possessed far in excess of any other aspirant for the capital, and had no scruples in using, it was inevitable from the first that she would gain a majority. For example, if later to New Mexico where he was on the verge of re covering some of his former wealth. Fate was against him, however, and his roving spirit led him to Texas. Then to California, where he retired from active business and devoted himself to religious work, making no further effort to recover his lost fortune. Mr. Brown was a member of the Christian church, and named his son for the author of the restor ation movement. He died in Healdsburg, California, August 30, 1900, from the effects of a kick byaborse. He was married to Miss Levina Alderman, and is sur vived by seven daughters: Frances, wife of Rev. N. C. McClure, Healdsburg, California; Cordelia, widow of W. A. Botkin, San Francisco, California; Ada, wife of W. H. Roberts, Ferndale, California; Dora and Sadie, unmarried, reside in Healdsburg, California; Margaret, married S. C. Fancher, Kansas City, Mis souri; and Ella, wife of C. E. Locke, New York City. One son, Alexander Campbell Brown, died at the age of twenty-one. Mrs. Brown still (1904) re sides in Healdsburg, tenderly cared for by her daughter, Miss Dora Brown. Richard Brown is de scribed by Dr. George L. Miller as follows: "He was short and spare of build, but what he lacked in size was made up in energy. His complexion and eyes were dark, the latter a deep blue, bis hair was also dark, and he had an abundance, which he wore pompadour. He was vigilant, diligent, and a good man, who always voted independently, and, although he was not a public speaker, he had a way of express ing himself which was easily understood." LOCATION OF THE CAPITAL 219 ¦**». *9tf Mitchell had stood firm against Omaha, our friend of the Palladium has charged Sharp with sufficient perfidy in securing the presi dency of the council to have yielded to Omaha's resulting necessity.1 For the reason given above we quote again from the Palladium: "We are called upon by duty and by con science, to announce in our columns, that the plans of the acting governor, T. B. Cuming, have succeeded, and that they have succeeded by the aid of that same corruption which con ceived them, brought them forth, and had the impudence to advocate them. Men have been bought — four thousand dollars was offered to John M. Singleton, of Richard son county, if he would vote for the capital being located at Omaha City; and it was offered him by the private secretary of Acting Governor Cum ing. And thank God we have one honest man in the legislature — he re fused the bribe, but not until he had exposed the scrip of the Omaha City company for $4,000. — But the capital has been located; located against the wish of the great majority of the people — located for the pecuni ary and personal bene fit of Tom Cuming and his brother bribers — located at a place without any natural advan tages, and one totally barren of anything, save whisky shops and drunken politicians. 1Nebraska Palladium, January 31, 1855. 2 Wilson Meeks Maddox, member of the lower house in the 1st territorial assembly, son of Michael and Francis (Williams) Maddox, was born August 5, 1825, in Hillsborough, Highland county, Ohio, and died in Falls City, Nebraska, January 24, 1903. His parents were natives of Virginia, but the family emigrated from England in an early day and be came prominent in colonial affairs. Wilson Mad dox, great uncle of tbe subject of this sketch, was killed by Indians during the Revolutionary war, and Matthew Maddox, of the same family, served in that war and in the War of 1812. Michael Mad dox moved from Virginia to Ohio in 1800, where be followed farming, and in 1837 he settled in the northeastern part of Indiana, which remained his borne until bis death in 1845. W. M. Maddox went to school in bis native county until he was about WILSON MEEKS MADDOX' MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY against the location "Mr. Cuming says he expects to be removed from the office of secretary — winks wisely, as all such birds do, when they have feathered their individual nests — intimates that Ite doesn't care a d — n for the president and all the removals he may, can or will; might, could, would, or should make." Unfortunately there seems to be no other contemporary account of the closing scenes of the capital struggle or squabble than that of the not impartial Palladium: "Action was had upon the bill from the House. Mr. Mitchell moved to insert after Douglas county, 'two and one-half miles north of Omaha.' This extra ordinary movement was received with great sur prise, except by the knowing ones. But they were relieved by Mr. Mitchell's statement, that he had met the Omaha people in a spirit of com promise, and in consider ation of his going for the capitol at this point, he was to be appointed sole commissioner to locate the capitol. "Mr. Richardson, of Michigan, offered a reso lution to appoint Mitchell said commissioner. Whereupon a fierce dis cussion arose upon the question. "Mr. Sharp, of Iowa, made a long speech of the capitol at that point — giving a lengthy description of ih* geography of the territory, from whence he twelve years old, after which he received no regular instruction. He was raised upon a farm and was a farmer during the greater part of his life. In the fall of 1853, Mr. Maddox sold his farm in Indiana and started west, going as far as Pella, Iowa. March 25, 1854, he crossed the river into Nebraska. He first set tled on land near the present site of Nebraska City. In 1856 he disposed of tbis land and moved to Richardson county, where he resided until bis death. He was engaged in the mercantile business in Falls City for some time, but in 1871 was admitted to tbe bar. He led a very active life until 1893, when he retired, devoting his time to caring for his property. He was active in early territorial affairs and was a member from Otoe county of the 1st territorial assembly. In 1863 he was elected sheriff of Richardson county, and in 1871 was again chosen a member of the legislature. During the Civil war he enlisted in the 4th Mis- 220 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA inferred that that point was not central, or convenient. "Mr. Mitchell replied to Sharp; said he, Mitchell, had been for any place except Omaha ; that the recreants from Cass, in the lower House, and the demagogue Sharp in the upper, had by their own corruption and baseness, lost to themselves the capitol ; that they might have had it, had they not been such superlative rascals. "Judge Bennet, followed Mitchell, endorsed all he said, revised, improved and intensified upon the eminent and unapproachable course of scoundrelism, which had been pursued by Sharp, clearly exposed how olten he had lied, and how fluently he had expressed himself and with what effect. "The bill has passed. Mitchell has the promise of the commissionership from Cuming & Co. , which very much reminds us of an offer of the whole world, once made by a sulphurous gentleman from below, who didn't own it. ' 'We rejoice in the downfall of traitors and are happy in the reflec tion that Sharp, Latham, Thompson and other vipers have gnawed a file."1 CHARLES MEMBER OF THE 1ST The Palladium did not fail after the work had been done to credit Mr. Poppleton with effi ciently following up Cuming's primary work. souri cavalry, and rose to the rank of lieutenant. He was wounded in the service and resigned, but after ward reenlisted as a scout. He was first married in Indiana to Miss Mary Blunt, who died soon after coming to Nebraska. In 1855 be was married to Margaret A. Miller, of Richardson county, and she, together with seven children, Oscar, May, Grace, Mrs. John W. Powell, and Mrs. George Dietsch of Falls City, Mrs. George Crum of Montpelier, Indi ma, and Mrs. Lavina Thieret of Kansas City, survive him. Mr. Maddox was for many years a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was also a member of the Masonic order in high standing. 'Nebraska Palladium, January 31, 1855. The in effectual Editor Reed had evidently installed J. Ster ling Morton as assitant editor in this emergency. 2 Charles H. Cowles, memb r of the 1st territorial legislature, was born May 20, 1818, in Genesee county. "No evidence of political corruption can be more unmistakable in a legislator, than was displayed in the successful effort of Andrew Jackson Poppleton to obtain the passage of a rule by which all evidence of a right to a seat in the House, should be excluded — except the governor's certificate. "There were those present prepared to prove that the governor had given certifi cates of election to those who had less votes than others from whom they were withheld — prepared to prove that he had been partial towards h'S friends in the bestowment of cer tificates — t hat another rule had been adopted beside the organic law — but alas! they could not be heard." It would be difficult to withhold expression of re gret that the faithful op timism of the Palladium, however short-sighted, should have received so rude a shock. After Governor Cuming had designated Omaha as the meeting place of the legislature it insisted that the location of the capital was yet to be made, and expected and awaited vin dication for Bellevue: "The people are to h cowles2 control its location, and territorial assembly they are going to locate it where it suits them best, as they have an undoubted right to do. As we have repeatedly said the capital is not New York, and died April 14, 1888, in Wyoming pre cinct, Otoe county, Nebraska. He was of Scotch- Irish descent, his ancestors being among the perse cuted people who fled from Scotland into tbe north of Ireland on account of religious belief. They emi grated to America during the early colonial days, and became prominent in the history of the country. Harry Cowles, father of the subject of this sketch, was a patriot and soldier who rendered valiant service during the War of 1812. C. H. Cowles was left an orphan at an early age, but, being of industrious hab its and persevering disposition, he rapidly made his way in the world. Until eighteen years of age, he re sided in Trumbull county, Ohio, where his father had moved shortly before his death. In 1841 he went to Jefferson county, Indiana, where he remained until 1848, in which year he crossed the Mississippi river and settled on Piatt's Purchase, in Missouri. Soon after, he moved to Atchison county, and built the first LOCATION OF THE CAPITAL 22 I located and cannot be located by the gov ernor any more than by a private citizen."1 Nevertheless the governor had located the capital virtually and was to be a very great factor in locating it actually. And thus it befell that Thomas B. Cuming was the founder of Omaha. And even after the decisive victory had been won by Omaha the faith of the Palladium remains uncon- quered. On the 28th of March, but two weeks before its own final breath is to be drawn, it utters this confident, defiant prophecy : "The vile speculators that undertook to locate the capital of Nebraska tried to buy this site for the purpose of locat ing it here. They were un willing to pay the price set upon it, and the capitol was taken to a place having no his toric interest, and compara tively no natural charms or advantages — simply because they could make a better bar gain with the speculators in that - place than they could here. '! ' Bellevue, although de feated now, will win the prize in the end. Her natural ad vantages can not belied down or legislated away. The God of nature has placed it near the Great Platte and Mis souri rivers — guaranteed her the convenience they afford, and set the great signet of beauty and grandeur upon her brow." house in Linden, then tbe county seat. In the fall of 1853 Mr. Cowles first came to Nebraska, and the fol lowing year moved to the territory with his family, and established a small trading post. In 1856 he sold this post to a Mr. Gregg, and moved to Wyoming precinct, Otoe county, which remained his home for thirty-two years, or until his death in 1888. He built the first bouse in Nebraska City, and was the first merchant there. During his lifetime Mr. Cowles was one of the most prominent men of the county, and was an active member and an elder of the Presbyte rian church. In 1854 he was elected to represent Otoe county in the 1st territorial legislature. He was affiliated with the republican party from its organiza tion. Dr. Miller says of Mr. Cowles that " he was a tall man, with features that I do not readily re call. He was a farmer and a prominent citizen of Otoe county. . . He was not slow to take part in the angry controversies about the removal of the cap ital from Omaha, had a temper of his own, anu also a good smile lor everybody when the fight was over." WILLIAM KEMPTON'1 MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY Quite true, excepting the prophecy. The Bellevue of to-day, in size and condition, suf fices only to illustrate the truth that mere righteousness and beauty are not in the reck oning against western hustle with all that it implies. The original missionary's residence and the building which was occupied by the Indian agency are still standing, the first on the edge of the plateau immediately overlooking the river. The walls are a concrete of mortar and small stones, and the house is rectangular in shape, two stories in height with a veranda extending between the two stories along the entire east ern, or river front, thus com manding a magnificent view of the river valley and of the distant bluffs and groves on the Iowa side. A hall ex tends from east to west across the middle of the house The mission house itself was long since removed. The first church (Presbyterian) and the residences of Chief Justices Fenner Ferguson and Au gustus Hall are still standing and in use. The natural town site of Bellevue comprises a level plateau of about three thousand acres in the angle be tween the Missouri river and Papillion creek. It rises on the north to a high hill which seems to have been especially Dectmber 9, 1841, Mr. Cowles was married to Mary Martin, daughter of Solomon and Jane (Thompson) M rtin. Three of their children are now (190!) liv ing: Emma, wife of W. H. Moore, Lincoln, Nebraska; Charles Clayton, Braman, Oklahoma; and Lauriston M., married to Mary Campbell, and residing near Pender, Nebraska. 1 Nebraska Palladium, January 3, 1855. 2 William Kempton, member of the 1st territori. 1 assembly of Nebraska, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 10, 1820, and died in Glen wood, Iowa, February 20, 1899. He was a son of Samuel Merritt Kempton, an East India trader, who was a relative of General Merritt, famous in the Revo lutionary war, and Sarah Ann Reed, of English de scent, whose parents were intimate friends of Gener;>l Washington. His father, a tea merchant and banker in Philadelphia, made many trips to China, bringing home silks, teas, and curios. William Kempton re ceived a common school and collegiate educa- HISTORY OF NEBRASKA designed by nature for the capitol of the com monwealth; but though selfish and short sighted man has disposed where God so magnificently proposed, still the eminence is fittingly crowned by the main building of Bellevue college. The journal of the council1 tells us that "Mr. Richardson (of Douglas county) nominated Mr. Sharp of Richardson county for president of the council, whereupon, on motion of Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Sharp was de clared duly elected." This is suggestive that point either. Surviving contemporaries of these men and times insist that Sharp agreed for a valuable consideration to support Omaha in the capital struggle, and that, mistrusting him, the consideration was recovered through strategy by an emissary of Omaha (A. J. Hanscom). Though Sharp appears to have favored Omaha interests in the appointment of committees of the council, he for some reason lost interest in the cause of Omaha, and afterward voted against locating the cap ital in that place. THE PRESBYTERIAN MISSION AT BELLEVUE, COMPLETED IN 1848 2 Engraving from a pen and ink sketch by Stanislas W. Y. Schymonsky, owned by Mrs James T. Allan, Omaha, Nebraska. This, and its companion pieces, are the only pictures extant of the Mission building as it appeared iu 1854 both sides in the capital contest depended upon Sharp, and that he was ready to disap- tion at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and at Burlington, New Jersey. At the age of sixteen he left school and began work in a cotton mill in Manayunk, Pennsyl vania, of which he later became superintendent. In 1844 he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and erected a cot ton mill, which he operated until about 1850. He then studied law, and in 1854 moved to Glenwood, Iowa, where he built a steam saw and grist mill, bringing the necessary machinery from Philadelphia. In 1854 he was elected a member, from Cass county, of the lower house of the territorial assembly of Ne braska, and was afterwards admitted to the bar of the territory. Mr. Kempton also served in the Iowa legis lature as a representative from Mills county, and was the second mayor of Glenwood, of which he was a resident for many years, and was land agent for the C, B. & Q. railroad. He was an early settler of On the 5th of February, after the capital campaign had ended in triumph for Omaha, Plattsmouth, also of Grand Island, Nebraska. He was twice married, first to Nancy Singer, of Cincin nati, Ohio; and June 15, 1862, to Mrs. Maria Green, of Glenwood, who now (1904) survives him and re sides in Omaha. Three children are also living: Jerome, of Kansas City;' Shelby M., and Mrs. Bertha Baldwin, of Omaha. 'Page 13. 2 In 1823 the Council Bluffs Indian agency was re moved to Bellevue and included in its jurisdiction the Omaha, Otoe, Pawnee, and Pottawattomie tribes. In the fall of 1834, Samuel Aliis and Rev. John Dunbar, representing the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Mis sions, arrived at the agency at Bellevue, in company with Major John Dougherty, Indian agent. Messrs. Dunbar and Aliis opened a school among the Pawnees LAWS OF THE FIRST SESSION 223 friends and beneficiaries in the council moved resolutions vouching for the uprightness and purity of motive, and commending the effi ciency of the Napoleonic leader in so rapidly organizing the territory — the first doubtless because it was felt that he needed it, and the second because he really deserved it.1 A res olution declaring the right of the council to inquire into the acts of public officers, and another declaring explicitly that the several acts of Acting Governor Cuming in the or ganization of the territory were proper sub jects of investigation by a committee had been rejected January 2/t.2 Mr. Bennet now in sisted that the vote of confidence could not be properly awarded in the face of the denial of the investigation; but after a fierce fight the resolution was carried by a vote of 8 to 5. Those voting nay were Bennet, Bradford, and Cowles of Pierce, Mitchell of Washington, and Nuckolls of Cass.3 We find Mitchell's enmity or conviction unabated by his capital commissionership, and the Palladium's per fidious Sharp, in this instance, in the enemy's camp. Council file No. 1 was a joint resolution by Richardson providing that the style of the laws should be as follows : "Be it enacted by the council and house of representatives of the at Council Point, a short distance up the Platte river. When the hostilities of the Sioux compelled tbe aban donment of this location, they returned to the agency at Bellevue and there taught the children of the Paw nees. In the fall of 1846, Rev. Edward McKinney, representing the Presbyterian board, selected the site, on the southeast part of the plateau at Bellevue for a permanent mission house. The following spring Walter Lowrie, secretary of the board, visited Bellevue and arranged for the immediate erection of the build ing, which was completed in 1848. Daniel E. Reed and wife arrived the same fall, and with the missionary and his family constituted the teaching force. Rev. William Hamilton arrived with his family June 6, 1853, and took charge of this mission, remaining until the removal of the Omahas to their reservation in Thurs ton county in June, 1855. The same year (1855) the first Presbyterian church was organized at Bellevue by Mr. Hamilton, in the Mission building, which was used for this purpose until tbe next year, when a church was erected and the Mission bouse was sold to James T. Allan , and converted into a hotel, known as the Bellevue House, and formally opened with a dance, July 4, 1856. It was in this building that Governor Burt took the oath of office, October 16, 1854, and here he died two days later. It was here, too, that Gover nor Burt had intended to assemble the 1st territorial legislature, and which was afterward tendered to Gov ernor Cuming as a capitol, if the legislature should be convened at Bellevue. Here also the first term of dis- territory of Nebraska." Mr. Rogers would have amended it into this more democratic fashion : "Be it enacted by the people of the territory of Nebraska in general assembly convened," but his amendment failed'' and both houses passed Richardson's resolution. The enactments of the ist legislature were classified in eight parts. The first part was intended as a complete civil code, and was appropriated from the code of Iowa. The second comprised laws of a general nature prepared by the legislature itself. The third was the criminal code, also appropriated from the Iowa code. The fourth located and estab lished territorial roads. The fifth defined the boundaries and located, or provided for the location of county seats. The sixth incorpo rated industrial companies and towns, or cities rather. The seventh incorporated bridge and ferry companies, and authorized the keeping of ferries and the erection of bridges. The eighth consisted of joint resolutions adopted at the session. The first enactment, in part second, as ar ranged in the statute, provided for taking another census to be completed by October 11, 1855, for a new apportionment of mem bers of the house of representatives, and the time when annual elections should be held trict court in Nebraska was held by Chief Justice Fen- ner Ferguson, March 12, 1855. The building and its manner of construction are described by Henry T. Clarke as follows: "Midway between the agency building and the trading post, on a plateau, eighty feet above the river bottom and commanding a beauti ful view of the river and tbe Iowa bluffs for many miles, stood the Presbyterian Indian Mission School, under the care of Rev. William Hamilton. This building, facing the east, was 26x80 feet in ground dimensions, two stories high, with two L's of the same height, 20x40 feet in size. There were six rooms in the main building and four in each L. A well was within the enclosure, which was made with the opening to the west. The building was constructed of large hewn cottonwood logs, faced on the inner and outer sides. Joists on the second floor were made by hewing or squaring the timber and afterwards using a whipsaw, one man below and one above to operate it. The lower and upper joists were made by facing only one side of the timber." The above is one of three pen and ink drawings executed in 1855 by Stanislas W. Y. Schymonsky, on the order of James T. Allan, who paid 120 for the three. Schymonsky was said to be a Polish nobleman. He, with his wife, became a part of the teaching force of the Omaha public school in 1858-59. He was a surveyor and expert draughtsman, and was surveyor of Sarpy county in 1861-62, and in 1880-81. 1 Council Journal, p. 41. 2Ibid.,p. 25. 3Ibid.,p. 48. 4Ibid., p. 15. 224 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA and the legislature should convene. The sec- license for its commission. They are unwil- ond prohibited the manufacture or sale of ling to elevate to respectability by legal sanc- . • .. ,. • ., u- rj tion any trade or traffic that tends to de lineating liquors m the territory. H. P. mQT^ h communityj retard the progress Downs'1 of Nebraska City took the first step of ecjucation, impoverish the people, and im- in a prohibition movement in Nebraska when pose on the sober and industrious part of [the] he obtained eighty signatures, besides his community, without their consent, a tax which own, of people of the town named, to a peti tion for a "prohibitory liquor law," and lodged it in the council. The petition was presented by Air. Bradford on the 6th of February, and was referred to the judiciary com mittee.2 On the 9th of February Mr. Rogers of that committee made the following unique report: ' 'Your committee, to whom was referred the petition of H. P. Downs and eighty others, pray ing for a prohibitory law against traffic in in toxicating drinks, and against licensing dram shops and other drink ing houses, report: ' 'That in their opin ion, where the people are prepared and public sentiment sufficiently in favor of a prohibitory law to fully sustain and enforce it, such a law would be productive of the best results to the community. "That in the opinion of this committee, the traffic in intoxicating dr.'nks is a crime, and they would be unwilling to legalize this crime by the solemn sanction of a law granting WII.I.TAM NEWTON BYERS' MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY must necessarily be incurred to take care of paupers and criminals manufactured by the traffic. "They are unwilling to make a traffic cred itable the evil effects of which do not stop by besotting and bankrupting the heads of fam ilies, but which cause hunger, shame, distress and poverty to be im posed with tenfold se verity upon the innocent wife and children of their families. As much, however, as we may be in favor of a prohibitory law until [the] commun ity by petition or other wise may fully manifest their determination to sustain such a law — 3 "S. E. Rogers." The legislator or -the politician of to-day would scarcely be found to advocate the legal izing of a crime. He would call the traffic by a more convenient if not a truer name. It moreover excites the special wonder of the Nebraskan of to-day that prohibition should have been born in Nebraska City, and after ward legitimized by the vote in the legislature 1 Hiram P. Downs was a native of Maine, and so was logically the father of the prohibitory law pissed at the first session of the legislature. In 1800 he suc ceeded Colon 1 John Boulware as custodian of old Ft. Kearney (whose site is now within Nebraska City), and continued in chrrge until the War Depart ment relinquished claim to the property. He was cne of the original owners of the Nebraska City town site, and claimed four quarter-sections, which were sur veyed for him by Charles W. Pierce. He was the owner of the log cabin in which the first ftw terms of the district court were held, and which was the first voti' g place of Nebraska City. He bui t the first hotel (City Hotel), which he conducted for one year ; was postmaster from 1853 to 1854, and a member of the territorid house of repres' ntatives in 1857, and again in 1861. January 30, 1855, he was appointed in spector g.-neral of th- 1st brigade, Nebraska volun teers ; January 24, 1856, was elected bv the territorial legislature, brigad er-generai of the 2d brigade, Ne braska volunteers; in 1861 assisted in r.ising the 1st reg ment Nebraska volunteer infantry, of which he was appointed lieutenant-colonel by Governor Alvin Saunders ; and was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in August of the same year, with headquarters at Pilot Knob, Missouri, having in his command the 1st Nebraska, a-id the 4th and 6th Icwa regiments. He moved to Utah, where he failed in business, and died . 2 Council Journal, p. 42. sHere the report, Council Journal, p. 52, breaks off short. 4 William Newton By ers, member of the lower house in the 1st territorial assembly, was born in Madison LAWS OF THE FIRST SESSION 225 of all but one of the members from that place and of all the members from Omaha. The original bill was introduced into the council by Goodwill1 of Douglas county,2 and it passed that body with only two members, Mitchell and Nuckolls, voting against it.3 In the house it passed by a vote of 18 to 2 — Hail of Pierce county and Smith of Washington being the opposing members.* This law stood until the fifth session in 1858, when it was repealed by the enactment of a license law by a vote of 15 to 6 in the house5 and 6 to 3 in the council.0 Men still living, who were familiarly ac quainted with the publiG affairs of the terri tory at that time, are unable to explain why a law, almost grotesquely out of place on the western frontier, should then have been passed ; and so it seems necessary to attribute the adoption of this incongruous measure to the new and ardent prohibition .sentiment which was then prevalent in the far eastern county, Ohio, February 22, 1831. His father, Moses W., was of Scotch- English descent, although the family were among the early settlers in America and had numerous representatives in the Revolutionary army. His mother, Mary Ann Branderburg, belonged to the celebrated family of that name. He was edu cated in the public schools of his native county and attended an academy at West Jefferson, Ohio, for one term. In 1850 he accompanied his parents to Iowa, and a year later joined a government surveying party working in western Iowa, and remained with it until 1852, when he went west to Oregon and there joined another government surveying party and worked in Oregon and Washington for about two years. After spending a short time in California he returned to Iowa by the Isthmian route. In 1854 he came to Ne braska, locating in Omaha, and was the first deputy surveyor appointed in the territory. He issued the first official plat of Omaha, and shortly afterwards formed a partnership with Andrew J. Poppleton under the firm name of Poppleton & Byers, surveyors and attorneys. Mr. Byers made the first map of the city of Omaha and was a member of the first city council. In 1859 he removed to Denver where he established and became editor-in-chief of the Rocky Mountain News. He was a member of the first constitutional conven tion of Colorado in 1864. In 1882 he was elected vice- president and chairman of the finance committee of the Denver Tramway Company. Later he became vice-president of the Union National bank. Through out his life Mr. Byers was a republican in politics. He took his first degree in Masonry in Omaha in the old Capi'ol Dodge, and was a Knight Templar at the time of his death. November 24, 1854, he was married at Muscatine, Iowa, to Miss Elizabeth M. Sumner, a member of tbe Sumner family of Massachusetts. Two children were born to them: Frank S. Byers, a prominent stock dealer in Colorado, and Mary Eva, the wife of William F. Robinson, of Denver. Mr. Byers led an eventful life, and contributed largely to the development of the West. He died March 25, 1903. 15 states, and whose influence had touched the fancy or emotion of some of the Nebraska immigrants from that section. It hardly need be said that none of these old inhabitants has any recollection of attempted enforcement of the law. The revenue law required the auditor to distribute the territorial expense authorized to be paid out of the territorial treasury according to the assessment rolls which were to be transmitted to him by the judges of pro bate of the several counties. This territorial tax was to be paid in specie or territorial war rants.7 The probate judges levied the county taxes,8 and the sheriffs were at once assessors and tax collectors in their respective counties. In addition to the ordinary duties of such officers the sheriff also acted as coroner of his county.9 A register of deeds was pro vided for, with the ordinary duties of such officers. 1 Taylor G. Goodwill, member of the council of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1809, and died in Oma ha, Nebraska, in May, 1857. He was a farmer and re sided in Attica, New York, for some years. He came to Nebraska in 1854 and in 1855-56 was a member of the territorial council from Douglas county. He was the first treasurer of that county, in 1855, and in 1857 was elected one of the first aldermen of Omaha. He was also adjutant-general of the territorial militia and was commonly known as Colonel Goodwill. In 1856 he erected a hotel known as the Goodwill house, near Davenport and 15th streets. Dr. George L. Miller describes Mr. Goodwill as be knew him as "past mid dle age when he reached Omaha in 1854 ; a tall, dark- haired man, with black eyes and dark skin, a fair ed ucation, and good business training; a typical New Yorker, shrewd and a good manager. He was well- esteemed as a man of respectable character and abil ities, but was not a leader in affairs. In the Council he was prompt and ready, as the record attests, and did his part well in guarding the interests of Omaha." He was married to Lucy A. Backus, who died in 1875. Mr. Goodwill was a liberal patron of all religious enterprises and at one time gave a very large sum to ward the building of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Omaha. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Goodwill : T. Le Grand, Sarah Octa, Julia A., who became the wife of Allen Root, Lucy A., and Carrie E. , all of whom are now dead. Mrs. Allen Root, whose biography appears in this volume, was the first school teacher of Omaha. 2 Council Journal, p. 109. 3Ibid., p. 122. 4 House Journal, p. 113. 6 Ibid., 5th Sess., p. 241. 6 Council Journal, 5th Sess., p. 266. 7 Act to provide for territorial revenue, Laws of Ne braska, Territorial Sess. 1-3, p. 160. 8 Act to provide for county revenue, Ibid., p. 181. 9 Act defining duties of sheriffs, Ibid., p. 167. 226 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA The organic act provided that the judicial power should be vested in a supreme court, district courts, probate courts, and justices of the peace. The supreme court consisted of a chief justice and two associate ;ustices, who were to hold a term annually at the seat of government. In accordance with the organic act the legislature divided the territory into three districts, and fixed the times and places for holding the courts therein. A judge of the supreme court presided over each of these district courts. The judges were appointed by the president, and the salary of each, $2,000 a year, was paid from the federal treasury. The district judges acted in a federal capacity also, hav ing "the same jurisdic tion in all cases arising under the constitution and laws of the United States as is vested in the circuit and district courts of the United States. ' ' A marshal for the territory was also appointed by the president. He exe cuted the processes of the district courts when ex ercising their jurisdiction as circuit and district courts of the United States; in addition his duties were the same as those of the district court of the United States for Utah, and he received the same fees as that officer and an REV. JOEL M. wood '' FIRST CHRISTIAN PREACHER IN NEBRASKA- MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY 1 See organic act. 2 Joel Martin Wood, pioneer Christian minister and member of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was a son of Shelton and Anna (Smith) Wood. He was born April 5, 1821, in Pulaski county, Kentucky, and died in 1886. The Wood family were obliged to flee from England, upon the restoration of the mon archy under Charles II. , for having served in Crom well's army, and they settled in Virginia. J. M. Wood had but little school education. He was a minister of the Christian church for over forty years. He came to Nebraska in October, 1854, settling in Brownville, and was one of the original town site pro prietors and the first treasurer of the village. He organized a congregation of disciples at Brownville in annual salary of $200. Each of the courts appointed its own clerk, who was paid by fees.1 The legislature prescribed the jurisdiction of the supreme and district courts and of justices of the peace, and the times and places for holding court, and divided the territory into districts. The first district comprised the counties of Douglas and Washington. The chief justice of the supreme court, Ferguson, was assigned to this district, and he was to hold two terms of court annually at Omaha City in Douglas county, and two at some place not designated in Washing ton county. The 2d district comprised the counties of Clay, Cass, Gage, Greene, Johnson, Lancaster, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Richard son, Saline, and York. The act provided for two terms of court annually in Cass, Otoe, Nemaha, and Richardson, and for terms in the other coun ties at such times and places as the judge should appoint. Associate Jus tice Harden was assigned to this district. The 3d district comprised the counties of Black bird, Buffalo, Burt, Cum ing, Dakotah, Dodge, Izard, Jackson, Loup, and McNeale. Two terms of court annually were to be held at January, 1855, which is said to have been the first regularly established church in the territory. He also erected the first hotel building in Brownville during the same year. Mr. Wood represented Forney, now Nemaha county, in the lower house of the 1st terri torial assembly, but never took an active part in poli tics in later years. He was a member of the Masonic order and of the I. O. O. F. He was married in 1844 to Amelia A. Sloane, who survived him, dying in 1900. Eleven children were born to them, six of whom are now (1904) living: John S., Elmo, Missouri; James W., Mountain Grove, Missouri; Susannah F. Collinge, Sturgis, South Dakota; William W., Baxter Springs, Kansas; Benjamin F., Stanberry, Missouri; and Sallie Wallace, Norwich, Iowa. LAWS OF THE FIRST SESSION 227 "Fontenelle in Dodge county and at Teka mah." Associate Justice Bradley was as signed to this district. The unpreparedness of those times is illustrated by the provision that the court should be held at the court house in each of the counties "where there shall be a court house," and "where there shall be none" the sheriff shall provide a suit able place. The act defining the duties of the judge of probate made that officer of formidable impor tance. He had the ordinary jurisdiction of a probate judge and of justices of the peace. Besides this he was ac counting officer or audi- tor and general fiscal agent of the county. He had "authority to pro vide for the erection and reparation of court houses, jails, and other necessary buildings for the use of the county," and to determine the amount of tax to be levied for county purposes, and cause the same to be col lected. This dignitary and the sheriff appear to have been the lord high rulers of the county. The act regulating elections provided for the election on the first Tuesday in Novem ber, 1855, and on the same day of every sec ond year thereafter, of a delegate to Congress, WILLIAM B. HAIL1 MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY register, sheriff, treasurer, and surveyor; also a territorial treasurer, auditor, and librarian, a district attorney for each judicial district, and two justices of the peace and two con stables for each precinct. Members of the house of representatives were to be elected on the day named every year. Members of the council were to be elected in 1856 and each second year thereafter. Another act provided for the admission to practice in all the courts of the territory of "any person twenty-one years of age who can produce satisfactory evidence of good moral character and pass _ examination before either of the judges of the dis trict court or the judges of the supreme court." Beyond administering upon the moral estate of the applicant, which alone was specifically pre scribed, the examining board was free to inquire and impose conditions touching his race, color, sex, previous condition, and legal qualifications — all, one, or none of them — as it saw fit. At this first session a liberal law was passed exempting the property of married women from liability on account of the debts of hus bands, but no general exemption of home steads or other property was made. An county officers, consisting of a probate judge, interest rate of 10 per cent was fixed where 1 William B. Hail, member of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born August 4, 1811, in Grayson county, Virginia, and was killed in a rail road accident at Nebraska City, October 1, 1888. He was a son of Stephen and Francis (Bourne) Hail, who were natives of Virginia. W-. B. Hail was reared in Grayson county, and there engaged in farming. In 1838 he was elected county surveyor and served for many years. He was also justice of the peace for four years. In the fall of 1854 he moved to Nebraska, where he claimed a tract of land now included in Nebraska City, and known as Hail & Co.'s addi tion. A few days after his arrival he bought a saw mill in Iowa, and hauled it to Nebraska City, where, with his nephew, he operated it under the firm n me of W. B. Hail & Co. He was a member of the first board of aldermen of Nebraska City, in 1855, and again in 1860. He was also a member of the Nebraska City Town company. He was elected a member of the house of the 1st territorial assembly from Pierce, now Otoe county, and was reelected to that body for five successive terms. In 1857 he was probate judge of Otoe countv, and was justice of the peace for many years. In 1873 he was president of the Old Settlers' organization. In politics he was always a democrat. He was mirried January 31, 1833, to Matilda Jones, born in Grayson county, Virginia, August 13, 1811. Nine children were born to them : C. Currin, now (1904) living in Brownville, Nebraska; Silas Friel; Laura J., married L. F. Cornutt; Celia, married James S. Miller; Alverda, Scott, Taylor, and Stephen A., the last born in Nebraska City, June 2, 1855. 22t HISTORY OF NEBRASKA no other rate was provided by contract, and the contract rate was left without limitation. A bill to exempt a homestead from forced sale was passed by the house by a vote of 14 to 5,1 but it was defeated by postponement in the council by a vote of 7 to 6.2 Later in the session another bill for the exemption of the homestead and other property of unmar ried persons, after passing the house by a vote of 13 to 4,3 was also defeated in the council by postponement.4 But a law was passed exempting from forced sale on execution of real or personal property of married persons or heads of families to the value of $500, and of un married persons to the value of $200. The usual exemption of specific property was included in the code borrowed from Iowa. A law with the usual provisions regulating marriage was passed. The law "to establish the common school sys tem" conferred upon the territorial librarian the duties of territorial super intendent of public in struction, at a salary of $200 a year, and provided for the organization and support of common or district schools. The county superintendent reported to the terri torial superintendent all essential facts re- 1 House Journal, 1st Sess., p. 61. 2 Council Journal, 1st Sess., p. 70. 3House Journal, 1st Sess., p. 119. 4Council Journal, 1st Sess., p. 139. 'Joseph D. N. Thompson, member of the 1st ter ritorial assembly of Nebraska, was born in White county, Tennessee, December 22, 1810, and died June 2, 1871, in Brownville, Nebraska. He learned the har ness-maker's trade when a young man, but later studied law and was admitted to the bar. He married Miss Martha Baker in the early '30s and soon after moved to Missouri. At the close of the Mexican war he moved with his family to Iowa, and afterward to Nebraska, settling in the old town of Kanosha (Ken osha), situated on the Missouri river, ten miles south of Plattsmouth. He was elected a representative from I JOSEPH D. N. THOMPSON5 MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY ported to him from the several districts in his county, had general superintendence of the schools, was required to visit them at least twice each term, was authorized to examine and grant certificates to the teachers, and apportioned the county school tax and paid it over to the districts. The district board of directors managed the affairs of the districts, and before employing teachers were required to examine them in the branches of reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, geography, his tory of the United States, and English grammar. An act entitled ' 'Claims on public lands," passed by the ist legislature, undertook to legalize neighborhood regulations as to claims and improve ments on public lands, and provided for their registry in the office of the register of deeds of the county as the law of each neighborhood. A valid claim was limited in extent to 320 acres, and each claim was to con form "as near as may be to the lines of subdivision of the United States sur veys," and the bound aries were required to be ' 'marked, staked, or blazed." The act pro vided that the resi dent claim holders of each neighborhood should define its boundaries and record them in the office of the register oi Cass county to the 1st territorial assembly, but, as soon as his term of office expired, he moved to Glenwood Iowa. He returned to Nebraska the following year and settled in Brownville, where he practiced law February 9, 1857, he was elected a member of the first board of aldermen. In 1858 he was again elected to the territorial assembly, and was sergeant-at-arms oi the fifth session of the house. He was also a mem ber of the Brownville school board in 1859, and in 1861 was postmaster of Brownville, but resigned to tak ¦ part in the Civil war. He served in the Black Hawk war under Colonel Gentry and participated in the battle of December 25, 1837, in which that officer was killed He also served in the Seminole war, and , under Colonel A. W. Doniphan in the Mexican war. In January 1855 he was appointed adjutant of the 1st regiment terri torial militia, organized for the protection of s'ettkrs UNITED STATES SURVEYS 229 deeds. It is an interesting fact, which must be borne in mind for a proper understanding of the claims bill, that at the time it was passed no part of Nebraska had been sur veyed, and therefore no lands had been offered for sale or formally opened to settlement. We find Mr. Joseph Dyson urging, in support of his candidacy as a delegate to Congress in 1854, that he is in favor of a law which will "secure to actual settlers a temporary right to the lands they have improved until such time as they can dig out of the soil the amount of money necessary to enter them;" and that "it is a conceded point that the pre-emption law of 1841, in a great majority of cases, has been destructive to the interests of the pre-emptor," because ' 'as soon as a person who has no capital files on a piece of land some individual who has more money than good principles will lay his money on the same land" in the hope that the preemptor will not be able to pay for it at the time specified by law. In order to protect himself from this menace he must borrow money "at forty or fifty per cent per annum, which are the usual rates of interest in such cases."1 By the law of Congress approved July 22, 1854, the President of the United States was authorized to appoint a surveyor-general for against the Indians. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the service and was elected captain of company C, 1st Nebraska volunteer infantry, organized in Brownville, June 8, 1861. This regiment afterwards became the 1st regiment Nebraska veteran volunteer cavalry. Captain Thompson resigned January 5, 1862, and later served as a private in company K of the 48th Missouri volunteer infantry. His four sons also en listed in the Union army, and in which his wife and daughters served as nurses. At the close of the war he returned to Nebraska, living in Nemaha and Rich ardson counties, alternately, until his death in 1871. He was buried in Walnut Grove cemetery in Brown ville. 1 Nebraska Palladium, December 6, 1854. 'l United States Statutes at large, vol. 10, p. 308. 3 Gideon Bennett, member of the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born about 1825, in Virginia. He left his home when eight years of age and lived for some time in Indiana. Little is MRS. JANE ELIZABETH BENNETT WIDOW OF GIDEON BENNETT3 the territories of Nebraska and Kansas, and his office was to be located as the President should from time to time direct. This law provided that "all public lands to which the Indian title has or shall be extinguished" should be subject to the preemption act of 1841, also that Nebraska should constitute the "Omaha district," and Kansas the "Pawnee district."2 The first surveyor-general ap pointed under this act was John Calhoun, and his office was first located at Leavenworth, Kansas. It was removed from Kansas to Nebraska City about June 1, 1858. The second party to the first surveying contract for Nebraska undertook to estab lish the principal base line in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, which was to begin at ' 'the point where the 40th degree of latitude [the bound ary line between Nebraska and Kansas] intersects the right bank of the Missouri river," and to run west 108 miles to the sixth principal meridian, which was the west ern border of the Omaha ces sion, and is now the western boundary of Jefferson, Saline, Seward, and Butler coun ties. The parties to this contract were the sur veyor-general and J. P. Johnson of Bond county ? Illinois; it was dated November 2, 1854, and the work was to be completed by January 20, known of his early life except that he came west to Missouri when a young man . About 1848 he was a resi dent of Atchison county, Missouri, where he owned a farm. About 1854 he moved to Otoe City, now Minersville, Nebraska, where he operated the first flat- boat ferry. Here he was interpreter and agent to the Otoe Indians for some time. At one time he carried the mail between Marysville, Kansas, and Nebraska City, but on account of troublesome Indians he soon relinquished the route. Mr. Bennett was one of the first settlers of Nebraska City and took an active part in the development of that place. In 1855 he was elected a member from Forney, now Otoe county, of the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly. His death, which occurred in 1864, was the result of an accidental gunshot wound received in 1860 during an election quarrel of which he was a spectator. He was married about 1847-48 to Jane Elizabeth Baum, who was born in 1826. Mrs. Bennett was a native of Pennsylvania, but came west with a. party of 230 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA 1855. The next contract was made April 26, I85S» with Chas. A. Manners of Christian county, Illinois, for establishing the guide meridian between ranges 8 and 9 — the west line of Pawnee, Johnson, Otoe, and Cass counties — and the Missouri river, and also to establish the ist, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th parallel lines. The third contract, dated September 26, 1855, with Bennet Burnam, was for subdividing townships 1, 2, 3, 4, north, range 12 east — the east tier of townships of Pawnee county, and the southeast corner of Johnson, and the southwest corner of Nemaha county. This contract was to be completed by December 1, 1855. Contracts for the first subdivision in Douglas county — including Omaha City and Florence — and in Otoe county were made October 31, 1855, to be completed by June, 1856. 1 Mormon converts and settled at Nauvoo, Illinois. She was with the Mormon train, en route to Salt Lake, and while encamped on the river near Council Bluffs, Iowa, met Mr. Bennett, who had driven from Atchison county, Missouri, for the purpose of trading. A short time after she left the Mormon delegation, went to Missouri, and was married to Mr. Bennett. Seven children were born to them : George, Salt Lake City, engaged in ranching ; John, Nebraska City ; Mary, wife of Charles Warfield, Butte City, Montana ; Colum bus and William, who died in youth ; Lafayette, who operates a dray line in Nebraska City ; and Emma, wife of Jefferson Dietrich, Council Bluffs, Iowa. Mrs. Bennett still (1904) resides in Nebraska City. 1 Original contracts on file in the office of the com missioner of public lands and buildings of Nebraska. 2 March 5, 1856. 8The Nebraska Advertiser (R. W. Furnas, ed itor), of June 14, 1856, in the course of a description of Richardson county, lets us know that surveying is in progress there. He says the county embraces "a large portion of the ' Half-breed Tract,' an Indian reservation, about ten miles wide and thirty long, on the Missouri river, . . . This Reserve has materially re tarded the growth of Richardson county and Archer,the countyseat, which isnearthe line, and, . . . many thought it was on the 'wrong side. ' This difficulty will speedily be removed, as the United States surveyor is now engaged in subdividing the lands and determining the exact locality of the 'Half-breed line.' . . . " Tbe Advertiser (July 15, 1858 1 calls attention to a later settlement of this question: . . . "We learn by Judge Ferguson that by an act of Congress, what is known as the ' McCoy line, ' has been established as the half-breed line. This leaves Archer off the half-breed land, and also relieves many settlers who bad spent their all in improving claims, and had the ' new line ' been established would have lost all. Too much credit cannot be given to E. S. Dundy, Esq., who went on to Washington in person, and together with our dele gate succeeded in accomplishing what has been done for tbe settler." Following is the act referred to : "And be it further enacted, That the line surveyed by John McCoy in 1838, as the western boundary of The Council Bluffs Chronotype2 quotes the Nebraska City News of January 19, 1856, which reports rapid progress of the survey, saying that "early in the spring all of Nebraska between the guide meridian and the Missouri river will be surveyed and in the market." Maj. J. D. White had just returned to the city from the field, having completed a contract in the first division, and several companies were at work on the first, second, third, and fourth divisions.3 From this account of the first surveys it will be seen that all claimants of lands before the organization of the territory and for about two years after4 were merely squatters, with out titles or surveyed boundaries of their landed possessions. But necessity had become the mother of invention of a practicable and efficient substitute for statutory rule or mea- the half-breed tract, specified in the tenth article of the treaty made between commissioners and a part of the United States, and certain Indian tribes at Prairie du Chien, on the 15th of July, 1838, be, and the same is hereby, established as the true western boundary of said tract." — (United States Statutes at Large, vol. 11, p. 327.) Mr. Woolworth shows the status in 1857 as follows: ' ' Surveys have been completed in Nebraska from the river to the guide meridian; that is, in Richardson, Pawnee, Johnson, Nemaha, Otoe, Cass, Sarpy, Doug las, Washington, Burt, and Dakota counties; so that the mere settlement of the squatter within them, gives him the right to pre-empt. Contracts have been let for the survey of the counties back to the sixth standard meridian. The approval of the land office at Washing ton has been received of only the southern tier of coun ties. The office at Omaha City opened for the entry of pre-emptors on the 1st of February. The approval of the remainder of the surveys, together with the tract books, will be received about tbe 1st of April, when the office will be opened for pre-emptors for the entire district surveyed." — (Nebraska In 1857, p. 49.) The Nebraska City News of May 22, 1858, states that official notice has been given "that the Surveyor General's office for Kansas and Nebraska will be opened at this place on the first of June." Tbe Nebraska City News (October 29, 1859) notes that the line between Kansas and Nebraska has been surveyed through to the Rocky mountains — the west ern border of both territories — a distance of 557 miles from the Missouri river. This line passed 16 miles north of Denver and reached the summit of the moun tains a mile and a half north of Boulder City. Messrs. Todd & Withrow, contractors, had surveyed the west 355 miles of this line, "which," says the News, "es tablishes the locality of the several diggings and towns; beyond all question a majority of tbe former are in Nebraska." 4 The Advertiser (February 26, 1857) says that " The first farm entered in Nebraska under the Pre emption Laws, was that of Mr. William Ferguson, adjoining this city. The first Town Site entered under the same law was Brownville." CLAIM CLUBS 231 sure. The primary government of the terri tory was a pure democracy. The first formal territorial laws were those passed by the claim clubs. Though the earliest of these laws antedated the legislature, and had no constitutional origin or sanction, they were none the less actual or effective. This system was doubtless borrowed directly from Iowa, where it had been in vogue in a similar form.1 There is contemporary evidence that the rules of these clubs were enforced with equity and firmness — sometimes with the utmost severity — and that the settler who came into this voluntary court of equity was protected in his substantial rigdits from the time he 111 The pioneer political institutions of which I wish to speak in this paper are more especially those of Iowa. For it was upon the Iowa frontier that land clubs or claim clubs reached their most perfect organ ization and attained their greatest influence. But 1he institution of the frontier land club or claim associa tion was in no sense a local, sectional or temporary phenomenon. There are documentary evidences of its existence in Wisconsin and Illinois. And the annals of the west in general point to similar organizations from the early days of the self-governing communities of Wautauga, Cumberland and Transylvania down to the recent rush for land in Oklahoma. . . . Itisa distinctly western institution." — (Benjamin F. Sham- baugh, Ann. Rept. Am. Hist. Assn., 1900, vol. 1, p. 69. ) 'M. C. Gaylord, a carpenter, built of pine flooring the second house in Omaha City, at what is now 22d and Burt streets, in July, 1854. Here, in November, 1854, occurred the first birth and death among the white settlers. Mr. Gaylord died soon after the birth of his son, and was buried on the present site of Creigh ton college, his remains being taken up and reburied when the college building was erected in 1877. 3 ' ' NEBRASKA CLAIM MEETING " Pursuant to notice given, a large and respectable number of the claimants upon the public lands in the vicinity of Omaha City met at that place on the 22d day of July, 1854. S. Lewis [Samuel A. Lewis] was called to the chair, and M. C. Gaylord appointed secre tary . The following claim laws were then enacted , viz. : "CLAIM LAWS "Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Omaha Township Claim Association, that we unite ourselves under the above title for mutual protection in holding claims upon the public lands in the territory of Nebraska and be governed by these claim laws. "Sec. 2. That all persons who have families to support or who are acting for themselves will have protection from this association providing they become a member of it and act in conjunction with the major ity of its members. " Sec. 3. No person can become a member unless be resides in Nebraska territory or disclaims a resi dence elsewhere. "Sec. 4. All claims must be marked, staked and blazed so the lines can be traced and the quantity known by persons accustomed to tracing lines. "Sec. 5. No person will be protected in holding more than three hundred and twenty acres of land, but that may be in two separate parcels to suit the con venience of the holder. squatted on his claim until he made good his title when the lands were put on sale by au thority of the federal law. The constitution and rules of the several clubs did not greatly differ in substance. The first claim associa tion of Nebraska of which we have any rec ord was organized at a meeting held under the "lone tree" — the western terminus of the Council Bluffs and Nebraska Ferry — on the 22d of July, 1854. Samuel A. Lewis was chairman and M. C. Gaylord,2 secretary. In the preamble of a set of resolutions passed at the meeting is an interesting account of the relation of the ferry company to the projected town of Omaha as early as 1853. 3 The sec- " Sec. 6. Marking the claim and building a claim pen four rounds high in a conspicuous place shall hold the claim for thirty days. ' ' Sec. 7. At the expiration of thirty days as in sec tion six the claimants shall erect a house thereon. ' ' Sec. 8. All differences respecting claims if they cannot be settled amicably between the proper claim ants, shall be settled by arbitrators, each claimant shall select one arbitrator and those selected shall choose a third. "Sec. 9. The arbitrators shall investigate all the claim difficulties between said claimants by hearing testimony and argument, and decide as the right and justice of the case to them may appear, and give to the party in whose favor the decision has been made a written certificate of the settlement of the differences between them and file a copy with the recorder of the association for the future reference if required. "Sec. 10. When claims are sold or exchanged, Quit Claim Deeds shall be given as evidence of the contract in which the boundaries of the claim shall be amply set forth. ' ' Sec. 11 . The jurisdiction of the association shall ex tend north and south of the grade section line in Omaha City 3 miles and west from the Missouri river 6 miles. "Sec. 12. No person shall hold more than eighty acres of timber but that may be in two separate parcels. ' ' Sec. 13. When claimants of different claim town ships come in conflict a committee of conference shall be appointed by the Judge to hold a council with a similar committee selected by the proper authorities of the claim township of which the other interested person is a member, which committees when acting together shall determine which claimant is entitled to the matter in dispute. " Sec. 14. After the adoption of the foregoing res olutions the following preamble and resolutions were submitted to the meeting and unanimously adopted: " Whereas, the Council Bluffs and Nebraska Ferry Company obtained the consent and approbation of the Indian Agent in July last, now one year ago, to estab lish and put in operation a steam ferry at and between Council Bluffs and the point where we are now as sembled, now known as Omaha City, "And whereas said company has expended large sums of money in the purchase of a steam ferry boat, and in keeping it in regular operation, in making roads, and in starting the first brick yard in the ter ritory for making pressed and other superior bricks. "And whereas said company is about erectins a substantial and commodious brick edifice, suitable for 232 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA ond of these clubs of which we have any account is one whose preliminary organization took place at a meeting held at Traders Point, September n, 1854. Samuel Aliis presided and William Gilmour-1 was sec retary, and a committee was appointed to draft rules and regulations and report at a meeting to be held September 23. 2 There appears to have been some discord — probably founded on jealousy — about this meeting, for legislative, judicial and other public purposes; as well as other buildings and improvements on their ferry claim, now Omaha City. "Therefore, resolved, that we recognize and confirm the claim of said company as staked out, surveyed and platted recently into lots, blocks, streets, alleys and out lots, and bounded on the East by the Missouri river, on the north by [Thomas] Jeffrey's claim, on the West by [M. C] Gaylord and [Hadley D.] Johnson's claim, and on the South by [Alfred D.] Jones' claim; and that we will countenance and encourage the build ing of a city on said claim. ' ' Sec. 15. The officers of the association shall con sist of a judge, clerk, recorder, and sheriff, who shall hold their offices for six months, and until their suc cessors are elected. "Sec. 16. The judge shall preside at all meetings of the association and with the other officers call its meetings whenever he may deem it necessary and perform such other duties as may be assigned him by the association. "Sec. 17. The clerk shall keep a journal of the proceedings of the association when in session assem bled. ' ' Sec. 18. The recorder shall record all quit claim deeds, boundaries of claims, decisions of arbitrators, &c. , which may be presented to him for that purpose, for which he shall receive fifty cents each from the person desiring the service rendered. "Sec. 19. The sheriff shall execute and put in force all judgments of arbitrators and shall have power to call to his aid therefor the entire association and should any member refuse without good cause shown before the judge, he shall forfeit all his right to pro tection from the association. "Sec. 20. These laws shall not be altered or amended except by a public meeting of which due notice shall be given by order of the officers of the association. "After the passage of the above laws the association proceeded to the election of its officers, which re sulted, viz.: A. D. Jones, Judge; S. Lewis, Clerk; M. C. Gaylord, Recorder; R. B. Whitted, Sheriff. " On motion the assembly adjourned. " 3. Lewis, Chairman. "M. C. Gaylord, Sec." —(From the Omaha Airow, July 28, 1854.) 1 William Gilmour, Sr., was a resident of Rock Bluffs precinct, Cass county. He came to the territory in 1854, and became president of this claim club upon its final organization. 2 The Omaha Arrow, September 15, 1854. 3 Ibid. * "PAPAO CLAIM CLUB MEETING. " On motion, J. M. Arnett was called to the chair and William N. Byers was chosen secretary. " On motion, a committee of five, N. Hallock, R. McCarty, D. C. Wood, J. M. Allen and Isaac the Palladium refused to publish its proceed ings,3 and the Arrozv of September 29 con tains an account of a meeting held at Bellevue during the previous week, at which a new committee, appointed then and there, reported rules and regulations which were adopted. The Arrozv of October 6 publishes the pro ceedings of a meeting, September 23, in "Big Grove," one mile west of the Omaha village, where the Papao Claim Association5 was Franck, were chosen to draft a preamble and resolu tions indicative of the sense of this meeting. "The following being presented, were severally considered and adopted: " Whereas, we the undersigned, citizens of the ter ritory of Nebraska, deeming it necessary for our wel fare to form a club or association for the mutual pro tection of our lives, our property, and our claims, therefore. " Resolved, That we form ourselves into a league to be known as the Papao Claim Association , comprising claimants claiming lands situated within the limits of the following described boundaries, to-wit: Beginning at a point two miles North-East of the Omaha village, situated at the junction of the Papao creeks, thence running West fifteen miles, thence south to Platte river, thence with Platte river to a point due south of the beginning point, thence north to said beginning point. "2. No individual shall be allowed to claim more than eighty acres of timbered land, or more than one hundred and sixty acres of prairie. "3. Where impracticable to take a claim in one un divided tract it may be taken in two, three, or four parcels. "4. On making claim to a tract of land, the claim ant shall proceed to blaze 'his exterior lines through timber, sufficiently plain to be easily followed by one accustomed to tracing lines, and staked through prai rie and the corner stakes regularly established and plainly marked with the claimant's name, the number of acres claimed and the date on which the claim is made. ' ' 5. To hold a claim the claimant shall, within ten days after the date of his claim, lay the foundation of a house and within thirty days shall erect a tenable house. "6. A hotise being erected, there shall, as fre quently as practicable, be some work performed, show ing occupancy, which shall be considered as holding good until the 17th day of March, 1855, on and after which a residence only shall be considered a valid claim. "7. Resolved that one of our number be chosen who shall act as recorder, whose duty it shall be to preserve and record the description and boundaries of each man's claim, for which he shall receive a fee of fifty cents each. "8 To secure the protection of the Association, it shall be considered the duty of each member on mark ing or staking off his claim to present or forward to the recorder a full description of his claim boundaries and the location of the same, together with a certifi cate of the number of acres claimed. "9. Resolved, That a committee of three be ap pointed who shall act as arbitrators in case there shall be difficulty regarding claim rights or confliction of claim lines. Should they fail to effect a settlement of the matter in dispute, they are empowered at anytime to call a meeting of the Association, and the case in point shall be decided by a vote of the members present. CLAIM CLUBS 233 formed. The Union Association1 was formed at a meeting at the residence' of Mil. Card- well, near Plattsmouth, March 20, 1855.2 The Omaha Claims Association was organized February 5, 1856, and the Elkhorn Claim Club,3 October 11, 1856. John M. Thayer was president of the Oma ha Claims Association, and Lyman Richard son was secretary. The fundamental resolu tions, after reciting that "it has been found necessary in all new countries to league to gether to prevent lands being taken by specu lators abroad or at home," and that "during the coming season lands will be greatly sought for by newcomers and land sharks," commit the club to the meting out of justice in this admirably direct, determined, and unmistakable manner: "We whose names are hereto subscribed, claimants upon the public lands, do hereby "On motion, Messrs. George W. Lewis, James Hickey and Jefferson Saling were chosen committee of arbitrators. " On motion, William N. Rogers was chosen re corder of claims. ' ' 10. Resolved, That we extend an invitation to settlers coming among us to attach themselves to our association. "11. Resolved, That we present a copy of the proceedings of this meeting to the Omaha Arrow for publication. " On motion, the meeting adjourned to meet at the same place on the 14th day of October next. "Wm. N. Byers, J. M. Arnett, ' ' Secretary. Chairman . ' ' JBraud Cole was elected president and Gardner Powers secretary of this association. The constitution was signed by twenty-eight members. 2Nebraska Palladium, March 28, 1855. "ELKHORN CLAIM CLUB. " The Omaha Nebraskian (October 29, 1856) gives an account of a meeting of the Elkhorn Claim Club ' in the town house in Elkhorn City' on the 11th of October, 1856. At this meeting Mr. Wheeler [first name not given] was elected president, and [John A.] Steinberger [first name not given] was secretary; and the by-laws were amended so as to read as follows: Sec. 2. The officers of this Association shall con sist of a President, Vice-president, Secretary and Re corder, to be elected by ballot. " 'Sec. 3. The duties of the officers shall be, for the President to preside at all meetings, call a meet ing at the instance of any member or members, or when he may deem it necessary. The Vice-president shall act in the absence of the President. The Secre tary shall keep a record of the proceedings of all meetings. The Recorder shall record all claims pre sented him for record, and his fees for recording shall be fifty cents. " ' Sec. 4. Each member of this Association shall be protected in tbe holding of 320 acres, 30 acres of which may be timber; and this may be in two or more separ ate tracts, and likewise hold shares or lots in town sites. agree with each other, and bind ourselves upon our honors that we will protect every lawful claimant in the peaceable possession of his claim, and that in case of his claim being jumped we will, when called upon by the Captain of the Regulators, turn out and proceed to the claim jumped, and there en deavor to have the matter settled amicably by an arbitration on the spot, each party to choose one arbitrator, and if they can not agree they shall choose a third ; but if it can not be so settled then we will obey the captain in care fully and quietly putting the jumper out of possession and the claimant in. "We further agree with each other that when the surveys have been made and the land offered for sale by the United States we will attend said sales and protect each other in entering our respective claims, each claim ant furnishing the money for his said entry. "After the sales we are to deed and re-deed to each other so as to secure to each claimant " 'Sec. 5. Each claim shall be plainly designated, such designation shall hold said claim for thirty days, at the expiration of which time said claim shall be considered valid by making not less than fifty dollars worth of improvements upon it every three months, or two hundred worth per year, which must be done dur ing the first three months, provided said claimant is not living upon it either in person or by tenant. " ' Sec. 6. We will protect all claims held by bona fide purchase, provided said purchaser, after the pur chase, shall not have more than 320 acres in the terri tory. " ' Sec. 7. In case of any dispute between parties, relative to a claim, a meeting may be called and arbi trators appointed to settle the dispute, each party chosing one and the two to choose a third. " 'Sec. 8. In case of any person or persons jump ing the claims of any of the members of this Associa tion, a meeting may be called and proceed to the claim jumped immediately, the President acting as captain, and there, upon the claim, investigate the case, after which quietly and peaceably if possible, if not, by force, dispossess the jumper, and put the rightful claimant in possession. " ' Sec. 9. When the surveys shall have been made, and the land offered for sale by tbe United States, we will attend the sale and protect each other in entering our respective claims, each claimant furnishing the money for his said entry after the sales, and we are to deed and redeed to each other, so as to secure to each his original lines, and in case of pre-empting parties shall likewise deed and redeed to each other, so they shall have their original lines, and a bond for a deed shall likewise be given prior to the land sales. " ' Sec. 10. Any claimant within the boundaries of this Association can become a member by signing the by-laws. " 'Sec. 11. Persons holding claims appearing on record in other districts which are now within the bounds of this Association, shall be notified and have thirty days to have his claim recorded. " 'Sec. 12. After a person having become a bona fide resident, and made the necessary improvements, his claim shall be protected provided be may leave it for any reasonable length of time.' " 234 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA the land each has claimed, according to the lines now existing."1 The burden was on the jumper of any part of a claim in different tracts to show the excess over 320 acres in the total claim by the. regular survey. Alfred D. Goyer,2 who had been a member from Douglas county of the first house of representatives, was unanimously awarded the formidable, if not dangerous title of captain of the regulators. The several associations in Douglas countv were invited to meet the Omaha association in joint convention to establish more accurately the division lines, and for other purposes. Andrew J. Popple ton was an active member of this meeting, and Harrison Johnson,3 O. D. Richardson, Samuel E. Rogers, I. Shoemaker, and A. D. Goyer were the committee on resolutions. The Nebraskian of March 26, 1856, copies laws and boundaries of the club formed by the residents of the south part of Washing ton county. These laws provided that any person above sixteen years of age might hold a claim. The same journal of May 21, 1856, states that at a meeting of the Omaha Claims Association a resolution was passed requiring claimants to make improvements worth $50, and "begin to-morrow," in order to hold their claims. At Secretary Cuming's instance a resolution was passed directing that a copy of the resolutions of February 5 be left with the register of the county, and every claim- holder be required to sign them in order _o come under their protection. This paper also contains an account of a summary eviction by the Omaha club. Four men had erected a cabin and prepared the foundations for xThe Omaha Nebraskian, February 6, 1856. 2 Alfred D. Goyer, member of the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, representing Douglas county, was not a man of particular prom inence in that body, so far as the records disclose. He was born in Michigan, about 1822, lived in Omaha at the time of his election, and gave his occupation as that of a farmer. He was chairman of the committee on agriculture, and submitted a lengthy report, which abounded in good suggestions for the development of the agricultural interests of the territory. — (See House Journal, 1st General Assembly, p. 139.) 3 Harrison Johnson was born near Dayton, Ohio, November 18, 1822. Married Miss Minerva Ham- bright, in Montgomery county, Illinois, in 1843. three more on the "upper end of the town site," on the previous Saturday night. The "captain" had the work demolished promptly. It is stated that- the jumpers intended to claim one hundred and sixty acres each, "worth in all at least $15,000." From the Nebraskian of July 2, 1856, we learn that at a meeting of the claim club of Omaha, of which J. W. Paddock was now president and Dr. Geo. L. Miller, secretary, Mr. Poppleton, for the committee, reported resolutions, the preamble of which recited that it had come to the knowledge of the club "that divers evil-disposed persons will attempt by a secret preemption to steal from their neighbors lands assured and pledged to them by the laws of this association." They there fore resolved that : "Whereas, if any person shall file a decla ration of intention to pre-empt, or take any other step to secure a pre-emption upon lands not his own according to the laws and regu lations of this association, this association, at the call of the Captain of the Regulators, will proceed to the premises on which such a state ment has been filed or such steps shall have been taken, investigate the matter, and if such shall appear to be the fact, compel the party filing such statement to enter into bonds to deed by warranty deed to the respective own ers all lands not his own included within the limits of such pre-emption or leave the coun try." The federal principle of these claim clubs is illustrated by the proceedings of a county convention held in Omaha which was com posed of delegates from Bellevue, 'Florence, and Omaha. Andrew J. Hanscom was chair man and Silas A. Strickland, secretary, of the convention, which resolved that, From there he went to Columbia, Missouri, and from there to Pike county, Illinois. In 1854 he came to Omaha, Nebraska, where he resided until the spring of 1880, when he removed to Brown county, Nebraska, near Johnstown, where he died October 6, 1885. The family consisted of ten children — seven sons and three daughters. Mr. Johnson, being one of the first settlers in the territory, an active participant in all that was going on, became well-acquainted with its history. He published the first "History of Nebraska," in 1880, also a number of other volumes. He was a deep thinker, good scholar, and writer. He was widely and favorably known all over the state, in the advance ment and development of which be always took a lively interest. CLAIM CLUBS 235 "When the lands are offered for sale each association shall elect its own bidder for bid ding in lands comprised within its limits for the respective owners ; and at such sale we hereby agree to attend cn masse, and there remain from the opening of the same until the close thereof, and protect said bidder, to any extremity if necessary, in securing said lands at $1.25 per acre." The convention further declared "that we will not hereafter recognize suits at law rela tive to claim matters."1 The preemption act of 1841, which was in force at this time, limited its application to citizens, and those who had declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, and in particular to heads of families, widows, and single men over the age of twenty-one years. Any one of these classes might settle on a tract of land, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres, the Indian title to which had been extinguished, and which had been surveyed, and afterward by a proper showing he would be entitled to enter the land. Some of the claim clubs referred to were in operation from one to two years be fore the lands their members claimed had been surveyed, and doubtless the Indian title had not been extinguished in all cases. The act of the legislature validating the acts of the claim clubs contravened the federal statute, and no doubt its attempt to invest the clubs with legislative powers was without consti tutional warrant. In turn the Douglas county convention of clubs, by the resolution just quoted, sought to override or annul that part of the legislative act which provided that, "Any claimant may protect and defend his possession by the proper civil action." Iowa had gone before Nebraska in this bold and original adoption of means to immediate ends and local wants : "This occupation of land which had been recorded by the association was declared to be legal by the territorial legislature. But this decision was clearly contrary to the intent of the act of 1807. It was sanctioned, however, by a decision of the supreme court of the ter ritory in a test case during the year 1840. Iowa, by this virtual annulment of the United States statute showed that independence char acteristic of the commonwealth by which it became a state."2 It is interesting to note that these claim clubs were in operation at Burlington, Iowa, before there was any government, except by voluntary local organization, as well as before the lands had been surveyed ; and, besides, oc cupation of these lands was in violation of the federal acts of 1807 and 1833. "On their way to the western prairies settlers did not pause to read the United States statutes at large. They outran the public surveyors. Soon after the close of the Revolutionary war they began to violate the ordinance of 1785 by settling on the public lands without obtain ing titles. Later they ignored the act of 1807; and it is doubtful that the early settlers of Iowa ever heard of the act of March 2, 1833. Some were bold enough to cross the Missis sippi and put in crops before the Indian title had expired. . . . Hundreds of thousands of settlers from every part of the Union thus squatted on the national commons, all without the least vestige of legal right or title."3 In both Nebraska and Iowa the squatters on lands were fully protected by the unau thorized, if not positively illegal rules and promises of the claim clubs. Mr. James M. Woolworth was able to write in 1857 : "These regulations afford pretty safe possession to the actual settler; although it can hardly be doubted, that the law of the territory con ferring legislative authority on the clubs is unconstitutional."" The testimony from Iowa is more em phatic: "When the land was placed on the market by congressional authority the decrees of the associations were completely enforced. No difficulty was experienced on the part of the original claimants in securing, through 1See the Omaha Nebraskian, July 16, 1856. 2 Constitution and Admission of Iowa. Studies in Historical and Political Science, vol. 18, p. 11, Johns Hopkins University, 1900. 3 Benj. F. Shambaugb, Frontier Land Clubs or Claim Associations. Ann. Rept. Am. Hist. Assn., (1900), vol. 1, pp. 70, 71. 4 Nebraska In 1857, p. 51. 236 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA their special delegates, at a nominal rate, the lands which they had taken."1 In speaking of the efficacy of these invalid laws Mr. James M. Woolworth said: "Still public opinion is more than law."2 That was a sage observation of a man only twenty-eight years old, and it was more than a hint of the distinguished jurist of riper years. He might have cited in contrast the prohibitory liquor law of the first session, which had been a statute for two years only to vividly illustrate the converse proposition that a valid law with out public opinion behind it is a dead letter. Part fourth of the laws of the first session contained ten enactments for locating and establishing as many territorial roads as fol lows : From Omaha City to Cedar Island in the Platte river; from Plattsmouth to Archer and the Kansas line ; from some suitable point on the north bank of the Platte river to Da- kotah; from Pawnee to Nebraska Center; from Brownville to Marshalls Trading Point on the Big Blue river ; from Tekamah to Paw nee; from Florence to Fontenelle; from Ne braska City to Grand Island; from Bellevue to Catharine, in Cuming county ; and from De Soto to Pawnee. Some of these laws sim ply named the termini of the proposed road, the three commissioners, and the time and place of their meeting to begin the work. Others specified the compensation of the com missioners and of the surveyor they were au thorized to employ, and provided that these expenses should be paid pro rata by the coun ties through which the road passed, and that the survey of the line should be recorded in each of the counties. The enactment for the Plattsmouth-Archer road was exceptional in providing that, "It shall be the duty of the probate court of each county through which said road may pass to open and keep the same in good traveling order to the width of thirty feet."3 As probate judges were by statute charged with "the management of all county business" it is presumable that the power to open these roads lay in them. As the territory had not been surveyed at this time the general law passed at this session of the legislature for establishing township, county, territorial, and state roads provided that they should be surveyed by the commis sioners appointed to establish them, who should carefully note the course, distance, and general topography of the country adjacent to such line. "To perpetuate such survey the surveyor shall cause to be planted or driven in the ground marking such line good and perma nent stakes of durable wood, and such stakes shall have a height when so planted of not less than three feet and a face of not less than three inches, and they shall be planted at inter vals of not more than three hundred yards, and at every angle in such line, and at the end of every mile (which last named shall be num bered from the starting point) there shall be planted a post at least four inches square and four feet in height. All mile stakes shall be lettered and numbered with durable paint or with an approved instrument."4 The act provided that all public roads should be sixty-six feet wide, and this width has been adhered to down to the present time. The enactments of part five define the boun daries and establish the seats of justice of the eight original, and sixteen additional counties, none of the first eight, however, retaining its original form ; and the name of Pierce was changed to Ottoe and Forney to Nemaha. The county seat of Burt was fixed at Teka mah; of Cass, at Plattsmouth; of Dodge, at Fontenelle; of Douglas, at Omaha City; of Nemaha, at Brownville; of Ottoe, at Ne braska City; of Richardson, at Archer; and of Washington, at Fort Calhoun. All of these counties exist at the present time under the same name, and in the same general location, but not one of them with the same boundaries. Four — Dodge, Nemaha, Richardson, and Washington — have changed their county seats. Fontenelle is a mere hamlet in Washington county. It has no railroad connection; it lost the county seat in i860, and gave up its long 1 Constitution and Admission of Iowa. Studies in Historical and Political Science, vol. 18, p. 11, Johns Hopkins University, 1900. "Nebraska In 1857, p. 51. 3 Laws of Nebraska, 1st Sess., p. 330. live, — a disposition to build upon a foundation more lasting than time, and broad enough to embrace every principle needed in the development of social, intellectual and responsible beings. If this continues "rough" pioneers still harping on esthetic features. And so this mission, we are told, "is built upon the brow of an eminence that overlooks the majestic Missouri and surround ing country, and upon which nature has lav ished her charms with unsparing profusion." And then, moved to overstrain his eye of faith, the editor sees that "Belleview is des tined by nature to become the metropolis of learning as well as of legislation and com merce in Nebraska." In eight months after these visions of glory had thus strained his aching sight, the confident prophet was to to be the ruling spirit here, the people will be as much distinguished for moral greatness and beauty, as the country is great and beautiful. Below we give the minutes prepared by the Secretary, together with the sentiments delivered upon the occasion : " ' The meeting was organized by choosing D. E. Reed, Esq., President, and M. P. Bull, Secretary. A committee was appointed, consisting of L. B. Kinney, Steven Decatur, and C. T. Holloway, to draft resolutions expressive of the sentiments of the meeting, who reported the following preamble and resolutions: " ' " Whereas, we, the citizens of a free and inde pendent republic, having met for the first time in this place, where the ' council fire ' has often lent its cheer to the rude assemblages of our red brethren and pre decessors ; and where we intend to erect tbe sacred standards of civil and religious liberty for ourselves and our children; Therefore, " ' "Resolved, That as American citizens, we glory in the liberty achieved by our revolutionary fathers, and that we consider it not onlv a duty, but a privi lege to meet on this beautiful spot, to commemorate the valorous deeds by which our fathers secured the present libert}' and glorious prospects of those whom this interesting occasion has brought hither. " ' " Resolved, That Nebraska is now open for settle ment, and that we will do all in our power to promote the interests, develop the resources, and secure the earlv settlement of our exceedingly fertile country. " ' " Resolved, That in the formation of our institu tions and laws, we will cherish the memories or. those philanthropists to whom we are indebted for the lib erty, prosperity and happiness, we as a nation enjoy. " ' " Resolved, That Belleview, being the most cen tral and commanding location on the Missouri river, has the strongest inducements for the location of the Territorial capital, and that 110 other place can present so many inducements for its location as BELLEVIEW." " 'The committee then reported the following toasts, which were received with enthusiastic applause: " ' " The day we celebrate— The political Sabbath of Freedom— may its annual return be greeted by joyous and glad hearts, until the sun shall shine on a world- bound Republic." "'"George Washington— First in war, first in peace, and first iu the hearts of his countrymen." . " ' " The Army and Navy of the U. S— Freedom's safe-guard." " ' "The President and acting vice-president of the U. S.— May they preserve pure and unimpaired, the glorious principles of the Constitution." " ' " The signers of the Declaration of Independence —we will cherish their memories and emulate their bright and glorious examples." FIRST INDEPENDENCE DAY 249 abandon the fruitless and hopeless field. Mr. Reed's judgment was at fault in that it had failed to apprehend that the period of nature- made capitals had been superseded by man- made capitals. Henceforth railways and not God-chosen sites were to locate the important towns, and the destiny of railways is dictated by men. In brief, man was not only to pro pose but also almost absolutely to dispose of town sites. When in 1856 two or three rail way magnates diverted the Rock Island line from the proposed Pigeon Creek route to the Mosquito Creek route Omaha's permanency became possible and probable. When, in 1867, the Union Pacific bridge was located at Omaha after a fearful struggle between men, Omaha was made and Bellevue' s last hope was de stroyed. Again the editor's vision of the com- ""'The Spartan mothers of the American Revo lution . ' ' " ' " The Union — It must and shall be preserved." " ' " Nebraska — The future Keystone of the Federal Arch." " ' " Come out to the West ; no longer remain In the land where old Mammon doth reign. Oh, come to Nebraska, the haven of rest, Where the poor and the needy shall ne'er be op pressed. Our soil it is rich and our prairies are wide ; The latch-strings of our cabins hang always out side. A right hearty welcome a stranger will find, For the sons of Nebraska are social and kind." "' " Knowledge, the principle that sustains Re publics." " ' "Our friends crossing the Plains — May they en joy this day as happily as we have. Yet we regret their absence, esteem their friendship, and wish them prosperity thro' life." " ' "The Press — Tbe great lever that prompts hu man action — may they who conduct it always be in favor of Union." " ' "Belleview — The Belle of the West — the beauty of Eden, and the center of our Union." " ' "The Ladies, We greet them with their happy smiles, upon the virgin soil of 'Nebraska, and thrice welcome them to the pure, free and glorious land of the West." " 'VOLUNTEER TOASTS. '"By S. Decatur— " ' "The Friends of Nebraska in Congress — Men of keen political foresight — posterity will honor them, and their names will not be lost in the history of po litical events." " ' By I. H. Bennett— " ' "Our Government — May honest men, pure prin ciples, and progressive action, govern her Councils." ' ' ' Same — "'"Nebraska first, Nebraska last, NEBRASKA ALWAYS!" " ' By S. ALLIS— " ' "I have spent thirty years of my best days on her beautiful soil, among our native American brethren ; ing educational and political capital was quite right in general and wrong only in particu larizing. When a dozen years later men, vio lating all the old rules of town-making, and turning their backs on every site of nature's choice, commanded, "Let there be a capital to be called Lincoln at nowhere" — and there was a capital — the orthodox editor could not have comprehended that his prophecy of a capital though not of his capital was true. The Palladium of November 29 calls atten tion to the fact that, "in accordance with the custom of our Puritan ancestors" the act ing governor had designated the 30th of that month as the first Thanksgiving day. The editor is a moral exotic, somewhat misplaced in this western desert, and fitter for the soci ety of eastern roundhead than of western I hope to live to spend twenty years more on this same soil, to see her great improvement." " ' By L. B. Kinney — " ' "The Star of Nebraska — The glorious emblem of greatness — the mighty sword of our Union — may it break the bonds of oppression, and open the fountain of knowledge." " ' By Maj. GaTEWood— "'"The Spirit of Nebraska — May it continue to flow and expand until the great temple of Liberty, sba'l, from one entrance to the other, feel the effect of its exhilarating influence." " ' By D. E. Reed— " ' "The Ladies — The purest and richest of God's blessings — May their smiles enliven, their hearts ap preciate, and their hands extend, to receive a worthy friend, when he shall be found — wanting." " ' Bv C. E. Watson — " ' ' Education — The basis of all sound institutions — May the time come when it shall be placed within the reach of every man." " 'By M. P. Bull— " ' "Fourth of July — May happiness prevail in Ne braska in the future as it has this day." " 'Same— ¦' ' "Mrs. C. D. Robinson & Mrs. I. H. Bennett— May they be rewarded for that generosity by which they were prompted to the toilsome sacrifice required in providing so rich and elegant a repast as that which we have now enjoyed." " ' Same — " " 'Map. Gatewood— the efficient Indian Agent — he who has obtained in the minds of the people, a strong hold — may he prove as effective in the settlem nt of Nebraska as he has in purchasing it." " 'The latter toast was responded toby Major Gate- wood in a brief, but happy, manner. And all were re ceived with prolonged applause and firing of guns. " ' On motion, it was Resolved, That the mee'ing adjourn, to meet at this place on Tuesday, July 18th, at 9 o'clock A. M. "'Good speakers are expected, and refreshments will be prepared. '"M. P. BULL, D-E. REED, '"Secretary. Pres't.' " 25° HISTORY OF NEBRASKA cavalier. And so he moralizes : "Although we have, as in all new countries, compara tively little to be thankful for, we have suffi cient to inspire our gratitude and praise." It is difficult for this severe purist to acknowl edge anything good in a free lance like Gov ernor Cuming, but he comes to it grudgingly and characteristically : "We have reason to be thankful, that the Governor has thus publicly acknowledged the Supreme Ruler, and recommended a day of thanksgiving to be observed by the people of this Territory, on the very threshold of their territorial existence. We hope this ordinance will be respected and perpetuated from year to year, to the latest posterity." In the next number the editor tells us that "We were greatly pleased to witness the gen eral interest, which this festive occasion seemed to awaken among our citizens, and the. zeal which they seemed to manifest in the exercises that belong to this time-hallowed institution. . . . The day was calm and lovely, and the earth, though robed in the dark hues of autumn, never appeared more beautiful than on this consecrated day." And he goes on to say that, "considering the place, a large and respectable audience attended pub lic worship held at the mission, at n o'clock, a.m. An excellent lecture was delivered on the occasion, by the Rev. Wm. Hamilton, founded on the following text: ist Thes salonians, 5th Chapter, 18th Verse : 'For in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you.' " A remarkably large portion of his available space is given up by this devotional editor to an exposition of the traditional first, secondly, and thirdly of the sermon. Alas, for the editor! Even the paucity of things temporal for which to be thankful, and for which he had murmured, is soon to be further reduced by the designation of Omaha as the capital of the territory, thus sweeping away his first and last hope of something worth living for at Bellevue. And while these faithful souls were holding their devotional services on Thanksgiving day, with an ill- timed trust in the justice and righteousness of their capital cause, their Omaha — or rather Council Bluffs — rivals, true modern hustlers, were trustful, too, but in their own intention to command and use whatever means should be necessary to appropriate the prize, discard ing moralizing, and, it is to be feared, morals as well. They were so trustful in their own resources that while their opponents on that first Thanksgiving day prayed, and laid down the rules of righteousness and justice, they hustled and laid up the walls of the capitol, while yet they had no assurance, but self- assurance, of its use. Notice that the school attached to the Otoe and Omaha mission is about to be transferred to the Iowa and Sac mission, near the north ern line of Kansas, appears in this issue. The same paper, of December 20, notes that there are in the Quincy Colony — Fon tenelle — "about thirty persons who came on and commenced the settlement late in the fall," and several houses had been erected. The Palladium of January 10, 1855, ex plains that "gos-noo-gah" is equivalent of Omaha, and means "sliding," "which is a fa vorite amusement with the Omaha youth by whom we are surrounded." The sled was a cake of ice about ten inches wide and fifteen inches long rounded off at the ends. Some times in its rapid descent the brittle vehicle would go to pieces, when a catastrophe would happen to the Indian boy passenger as pre cipitate, though not as fatal, as the result of the bucking automobile of our day. The issue of January 17 describes the great beauties of the site of St. Mary, "on the east ern shore of the Missouri river, four miles above the mouth of the Platte, and nearly opposite the Council Bluffs agency, Belleview, Nebraska territory. . . . The town is surrounded with scenery of unsurpassed beauty. On the east the green bluffs, rising nearly two hundred and fifty feet above the level of the river two miles back, stretch along to the north and south until they disappear in the distant horizon. On the north the Mos quito creek, skirted with beautiful trees and farms, appears at a distance of half a mile. The south presents an open view. The bluffs back of the town are covered with beautiful groves of elm, oak, hickory, and black wal nut." The auxiliary embellishments of this JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION 25* picture in unimpaired beauty are still visible from Bellevue, but the ambitious town site itself long since "moved on" and now, no doubt, forms an important part of the delta of the Mississippi. St. Mary was the eastern terminus of the considerable ferry traffic across the river. On the 7th of March there is notice that a post-office has been established at Bellevue with the editor as postmaster. Mails are to arrive and depart twice a week; but the post master gives warning that "As we are not authorized to expend anything beyond the avails of the office for carrying the mails, we hope our citizens will come for ward and make up the de ficiency, and thus secure promptness and regularity in the mail service. " In this number there is notice of a meeting of the democracy of Nebraska to be held at Omaha on the 8th of March "for the purpose of effect ing the organization of the democratic party. ' ' The meeting appears to have been held to further the as pirations of B. B. Chapman to become delegate to Con gress and to discredit the sitting member, Mr. Gid dings zation of the party was prac ticable until 1858, when the Republican party began to take form, thus influencing the demo crats to united action. SILAS A. STRICKLAND1 No actual organi- first district attorney of the 1st judicial 3d DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA TERRITORY mg In the issue of March 21 the following announcement appears under the heading "Bellevue" : "The friends of this place being desirous of changing the orthography of its name, so as to correspond with the French, from which it is derived, we have concluded to adopt that method of spelling." Henceforward, the old spelling, "Belle view," is dropped. It was the duty of the governor, under the organic act, to organize the territorial courts, pro visionally, this organiza tion to continue until super seded by the act of the territorial legislature. Ac cordingly, by Governor Cuming's proclamation, Fenner Ferguson, chief justice of the supreme court, was assigned as judge of the first judicial district, which comprised the counties of Douglas and Dodge; Edward R. Harden, associate justice, was assigned to the second judicial district, embracing all that part of the territory lying south of the Platte river; and James Bradley, the other associate jus tice, was assigned to the district, compris- the counties of Burt and Washington. A term of the supreme court was to be held at the seat of government beginning on the third Monday of February, 1 Silas Allen Strickland, was born in Rochester, New York, about 1831, son of Samuel Millard Strickland, whose mother was an aunt of President Millard Fill more, and whose father was a cousin of Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame. When Silas was only one year old his father died, leaving him, with five other chil dren, to the care of his mother. When he was seven years old he lived with a brother-in-law in the city of Rochester, where he attended school until he was twelve years old, and then went to live with an uncle, a Metho dist minister, who lived in Gaines, thirty-six miles from Rochester. Having no money to hire a conveyance, he traveled on foot, sleeping by the wayside, thus early showing bis determination to conquer obsta cles. For three years he worked on a farm in the summer season, for six dollars a month, attending the district scbooi in winter. About this time his mother married a wealthy farmer, and he returned home to live, and entered the Rochester Collegiate Institute. After a year's study he became a student in the acad emy at Scipio, New York, and later attended the Yates academy, in Orleans county. He next began teaching school, in Pendleton, taking up the study of law during leisure moments. In two years he had saved sufficient money to enable him to enter the law- office of Fillmore, Hall & Haren, a leading law firm in Buffalo. He was admitted to the bar of New York in 1850, but, to gain immediate employment, he be came assistant-paymaster of the employees on the re construction of tbe Erie canal. A short time later, he 252 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA 1855. The first terms of court in the several districts were to be held as follows : First district, at Bellevue, on the second Monday in March, 1855; second district, at Nebraska City, on the third Monday in March; third district, at Florence, on the first Monday in April. Thereafter the times and places of holding the courts were to be regulated by the general assembly. "Accordingly, on Monday, March 12, 1855, the first court of record ever held in the terri tory, the district court of the first judicial district, with jurisdiction practically like our present district court, was opened at the mis sion house, Bellevue, by Fenner Ferguson, entered the employ of the Lake Simco, Huron and Ontario Railroad company ; next he was connected with the building of the Ohio & Mississippi, the Louisville & Nashville, and th> Tennessee & Ala bama railroads, and was one of four men who assumed tbe building of the Sewanee rrilroad, but sold his in terest in order to move to Nebraska territory. He ar rived at Bellevue, October 18, 1851. He was admitted to thebarof Nebraska, in March, 1855, the firm of Bowen & Strickland being the first law Srm in Bellevue; aud Mr. Strickland was at once appointed district attorney of the 1st ju licial district. He was a member from Douglas county of the lower house of the 3d terri orial assembly; was elected to represent Sarpy county in the 4th assembly; was reelected to the 6th assembly, and was speaker of the house ; and was elected member of the council of the 7th assembly. He led the debate for the division ,'of Douglas county, from which Sarpy county was carved. He labored to secure the location of the capital at Bellevue, where he resided until 1860, then removed to Omaha. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Strickland resigned his membership in tbe legislature, and enlisted as a private in the 1st Ne braska regiment, but was almost immediately elected second lieutenant, and was afterward promoted to the rank of adjutant. After the battles of Fort Donelson and Shiloh, he resigned his commission, and went to Cincinnati. Within two months he again enlisted and was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the 50th Ohio volunteer infantry. He was mustered in as colonel of the same regiment, May 28, 1863, to date from Octo ber 27, 1862, and honorably discharged June 26, 1865. The records also show that from April 10, 1862, to May, 1861, he commanded the 3d brigade, 4th divi sion, 23d army corps; that from May 26 to June 5, 1861, he commanded the provisional brigade, 23d army corps; that from June 6 to September 25, 1864, he commanded the 3d brigade, 2d division, 23d army corps; that he resumed command of the last- named brigade about October 20, 1864, having .been absent from September 26, and remained in command of it until December, 1864, and that he was in com mand of the same brigade from January to June 12, 1865. He was breveted brigadier-general United States volunteers, to date from May 27, 1865, " for gallant and meritorious service." At tbe close of the war he returned to Nebraska and resumed the prac tice of law. In 1867, when Nebraska was admitted as a state, he was appointed United States district attor ney, and held the office four years. He was a mem ber, and president of the state constitutional conven- chief justice; Eli R. Doyle, marshal."1 The Palladium (March 21, 1855) informs us- that, "The Court was organized by the choice of Silas A. Strickland of Bellevue, Clerk. Sev eral foreign born residents made their decla ration of intention to become citizens. No other business of importance coming up, the Court adjourned to April 12." But this was not the first session of a court of record in Nebraska. The first session of the supreme court, according to the governor's proclama tion, met in Omaha on the 19th of February; and the Palladium (February 21) tells us that, "The first session of the supreme court of Nebraska,2 is now being held at the capitol. tion of 1871. General Strickland was a successful lawyer and a leader in politics. He was one of the founders of the Grand Army of the Republic, in Ne braska, and was provisional commander of the depart ment. He died in Omaha, March 31, 1878. His widow, Mary T. Strick and, aud a daughter, Katie B., wife of J. B. Haynes, reside in Omaha. 'Memorabilia Andrew J. Poppleton, p. 267. 2 FIRST SESSION OF THE SUPREME COURT The Palladium of March 21, 1855, copies from the Omaha Nebraskian the following account of the pro ceedings of the last day of the first session of the ter ritorial supreme court, being also the first session of a court of record in Nebraska: "The first term of the Supreme Court of Nebraska, adjourned on the 6th inst., on which day the only business before the Court being the admission of At torneys to practice Law in the Courts of this Territory, Attorney General E. Estabrook, addressed the Court as follows : " ' May It Please the Court: '"I have a motion to make,- but before submitting it, I will offer a few remarks. I esteem it a privilege, if not a duty, to express to the court the sincere grati fication I have felt and still feel in common, I have no doubt, with those who are about to become members of this bar, in witnessing the determination of the court to elevate and to maintain erect the standard of qualification of membership of the bar of this territory. ' ' ' An idea is pretty extensively prevalent in the older states, that persons with but a limited and super ficial knowledge of the law, or, indeed, with no knowl edge of it at all, can escape to the newly organized states and territories, and there attain to a position in the profession which the rules of their own states have denied them at home — and it is, perhaps, a matter of regret, that such views and expectations have been too frequently realized. " 'I deem it, then, a subject of mutual congratula tion, that this court have determined to adopt, and, as I believe, the bar are equally determined to sustain a code of rules that shall assist, if not rebuke, a system of practice so humiliating to the individual who seeks advantage under it, and so unworthy the honorable profession to which he aspires. ' ' ' By a sort of comity among some of the states, per sons admitted to membership in one state, are ad mitted to the same grade of membership in each of tbe others, upon exhibiting their credentials, and without examination. Whatever question there may be as to FIRST TERMS OF COURT 253 Hon. Fenner Ferguson, Chief Justice, presid ing. The Court convened on Monday, the 19th inst. J. Sterling Morton, of Belleview, the propriety of this rule in its largest latitude, I un derstand the court to have adopted it — not perma nently, perhaps, but to subserve the present necessity. In view of this fact, it gives me the greatest pleasure to be able to convey to the court the confident assur ance, that, in this instance, a relaxaticn of the rule will bring into fellowship with this bar none who are not eminently worthy the noble and honorable pro fession to which they belong. " ' I will be permitted to make this additional remark —that this court, in taking the elevated position it has upon this subject, as upon every other subject which has engaged its judicial functions, have furnished an additional guarantee that the high hopes and expecta tions which have been cherished by the people of this territory, during several mouths of free and unre strained intercourse with the members of this court, are to be most fully and abundantly realized; and that the virgin goddess, whose form, by direction of his honor, the chief justice, is to be inscribed upon the seal of this court, and whose impress marks and sanc tifies its process, will suffer no pollution within the pale of this her sanctuary." " On motion of Attorney General Estabrook, the fol lowing named gentlemen were then admitted in open Court, to practice, as Attorneys and Counsellors at Law in the Supreme Court and other Courts of this Territory : William Corfield, Andrew J. Hanscom, Joseph D. N. Thompson, Joseph L. Sharp, Andrew J. Poppleton, John H. Sherman, William Kempton, Isaac L. Gibbs, Samuel E. Rogers, A. C. Ford, Adam V. Larimer. John McNeal Latham, Alfred D. Jones, Silas A. Strickland, Hiram P. Bennet, Benjamin P. Rankin. Origen D. Richardson. [Full names supplied where not given. — Ed.] ' ' His Honor, Chief Justice Ferguson addressed the members of the bar in substance as follows: " 'Gentlemen, we welcome you as officers of the court. It will be our desire to cultivate the most friendly understanding with the members of the bar. We shall expect to derive much assistance in the dis charge of our duties from your industry and applica tion in your professional labor. We shall hope that in any case in which you may appear, you will be pre pared to furnish the court with elaborate and well di gested briefs. This will be due to your clients and the court, not more than to yourselves. We wish to discourage a loose and -hap-ha'zard sort of practice. " ' A lawyer who properly regards bis standing and character, will be careful how he descends to low petti fogging tricks, or resort to scurrilous language. Both are derogatory to the character of a gentleman, and every lawyer ought to be, (if he is not) a gentleman. We hope to see the members of our territorial bar take a high stand for their learning, their courtesy, and their sense of honor.' " His Honor, Associate Justice Harden, then deliv ered to the members of the bar the following address: ' ' ' Gentlemen : We welcome you to the bar of the Territory of Nebraska. We trust that in the discharge of your professional duties you will on all occasions, exhibit a commendable devotion to the principles of justice, truth, and high-toned honor. " ' Justice is represented as a blind goddess, holding in her hand a pair of scales of delicate equipoise. Those who worship at her shrine should have clean hands and hearts as pure as the unsullied snowdrift. has been appointed clerk of the court. Hon. E. R. Harden is prevented by indisposition from attendance, since the first day of the ses- ' You are, gentlemen, members of a noble profes sion, — a profession that we hope each one of you will endeavor to adorn — a profession that admires and ex alts the Lawyer who seeks by his deportment to elevate the standard of moral honesty, while it depresses in the scale of being, and entertains a sovereign contempt for the Pettifogger who is content to grovel in the dust of his own professional imbecility, and to accomplish by trick and stratagem, the noble ends of even-handed justice. " 'You have a valiant, and a promising theatre for your operations. You have a career of usefulness, and of distinction before you. Lay, then, a permanent and durable foundation. Build up for yourselves a reputation of which your country may be proud, and which future generations may contemplate with a laudable spirit of emulation. ' ' ' The lawyer ' ' must trim the midnight taper. ' ' He must be diligent and persevering in his exertions, if be aspires to distinction in a profession, to acquire a tolerable proficiency in which, a learned commentator has remarked, requires the " lucubraliones vigenti annorum." " ' It is " the conflict of mind with mind that devel ops truth. ' ' There is no field of mental action upon which the gladiation of intellect is more beautifully displayed than at the bar. The combatants in this contest must depend upon their own resources. The eyes of the world are tipon you. A judge is presiding, whose province it is to detect error. Adversaries are watching with vigilant eye to assail weak points, and anxious clients are upon the tip-toe of excitement. " ' " Aspiring man, O! whither will you fly, No friend, no shelter .now is nigh; And onward rolls the storm." " 'Gentlemen, this court will be prepared at [all] times, during their official intercourse with you, to exercise towards you a generous courtesy, and will contribute all in their power to maintain the honor and dignity of the profession. ' ' ' The laws of this territory will be rigidly enforced — and if the good people will aid the court in the ad ministration of the criminal law — this court, while it will always feel disposed to "temper justice with mercy," must and will be a "terror to evil doers." ' ' ' Neither wealth , nor position , will shield an offend er — and much will depend upon the people, in tracing up crime, and bringing the criminal to the bar of jus tice. The sacred and inestimable rights of " personal liberty, personal security, and private property," can only be preserved, by a strictly honest and incorrupt ible judiciary. " 'Gentlemen, we occupy a beautiful and an inter esting country — while it is susceptible of being made the garden spot of the West; let us endeavor to mould its future destiny, by cultivating virtue, patriotism and intelligence. Here the Indian warrior pursues the panting deer, and the ingenious castor plies undis turbed his wonderful mechanism — ' " ' " But ah! ere a few short years shall roll between, How altered, and how changed the scene." " 'Magnificent cities will spring up, as it were, by tbe wand of the necromancer, and this fertile and ex tensive domain, once under the dominion of the un tutored child of nature, will be transformed into the bowers of taste and embellished by the arts of civil ized life. The rude hut, fabricated by the poor savage, will crumble into dust, and bis wild and terrific yell r i ^ins^y' i i FIRST TERMS OF COURT 255 sion. He is at his lodgings at Belleview, where every attention to his health and com fort is bestowed." The efflorescent rhetoric and perfunctory bombast, which preclude apt ideas, and per haps disguise or illustrate the inherent dul ness of many of the addresses at these formal will be borne on the bosom of the breeze, until lost forever, in the far distant west — his foot-prints will soon be obliterated from the soil of Nebraska, and the flowers of civilization will spring up in the desert, and diffuse their fragrance o'er the wildness of nature. " 'Gentlemen, once more we welcome you to the bar of the territory of Nebraska.' " Hon. Joseph L. Sharp, in behalf of the members of the bar, replied as follows: ' ' ' May it please the Court, On the part of the mem bers of the bar who have just been admitted to prac tice in this court; — we return you our sincere thanks for the cordial welcome received from you. We are pleased to see the solicitude manifested on this occa sion, for the power and glory of the profession. It has been justly said, that our profession is truly a respon sible one; we shall leave our impress upon the institu tions now just starting into life around us. It shall be our highest aim, so far as our abilities will permit, in our future intercourse with the Court, the community and ourselves, to be guided always by tbe principles of justice and virtue, thus elevating the profession to which we belong. ' ' ' We heartily concur in the sentiments of the Court, relative to the duties of attorneys, and hope that all our acts may tend to the honor of the fraternity. In view of the past, the present and the future, we trust to say by our acts — ' ' Let justice be done though the heavens fall! " — Again we tender our thanks for the in terest manifested in our welfare and profession.' "The remarks which we have quoted above are highly appropriate and worthy of the talented and dis tinguished gentlemen by whom they were delivered. ' ' The interest and solicitude manifested by the court, not only for the dignity and honor of the legal profession , but for the welfare of the people of the Terri tory, are duly appreciated by all. We need pronounce no enconiums, for their Honors may rest assured that the bar and the people at large, have unbounded con fidence in their integrity, ability and experience. While their deportment exhibits alike the gentleman and scholar, all concur in the opinion, that we have a Court in all respects equal to the highly responsible position which it occupies. Nebraska may well be proud of those able jurists, Chief Justice Ferguson and Associate Justice Harden, who would adorn the Supreme bench of any State in the Union. " Attorney General Hon. Experience Estabrook is a gentleman of affable manners, and in bis official ca pacity always at home. The friends of law and order will be his friends; and his civic as well as legal lore, enables him to maintain tbe elevated position in which be is placed, with honor and credit to himself, and to the entire approbation of all." 1 Every effort has been made to secure all obtainable information of tbe personality of the men comprising the first territorial government of Nebraska, and to present portraits of them. Sketches and engravings judicial openings, almost excite the risibility of present day matter-of-fact readers ; and they show that the judges of these courts — exported surplus political material of the • older states — were, as we should expect, not infrequently men of commonplace parts.1 of most of them have been presented in this or pre ceding chapters. Others will appear in the chapters to follow. However, in some instances, it has been quite impossible to discover the antecedents of these men, or to trace tlieir later movements. James Harvey Cowles, member of the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born in Ohio, October 21, 1821, and was the youngest son of Harry Cowles. He was a pioneer of Nebraska , with his brothers, Charles H., and Henry C, and wasoneof tbe first settlers of Otoe county, pre-empting 160 acres of land just north of the present site of Nebraska City. Mr. Cowles came to Nebraska from Sidney, Fremont county, Iowa, of which town he was a pioneer, erect ing the first dwelling house there, in August, 1852. His daughter was the first child born in that town, and was named Sidney. In 1855 he was elected to represent Otoe county in the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly. He went to Hamburg, Iowa, in 1863. He was ambitious and energetic, and for a sea son was successful, but, owing to domestic troubles, he lost heart, and the last years of his life were un eventful. He died in Omaha, Nebraska, July 30, 1867, and was buried in Hamburg, Iowa. He had a family of three children : Sidney, who died three years before her father; Frank, was killed by a rail road train in Pueblo, Colorado ; and Bradford, now (1904) supposed to be in Colorado, engaged in min ing. David M. N. Johnston, member of the lower house in the first session of the territorial assembly of Ne braska, was born in Ohio about 1823, but nothing can be learned of his early life. He was a lawyer by profession, and was one of the early settlers of Richard son county, being a resident of Archer, where he prac ticed law. In 1 855 he was elected to represent Rich ardson county in the lower house of tbe 1st territorial assembly. He was appointed by Acting Governor Cuming as colonel of the 2d regiment, Nebraska territorial militia. Dr. George L. Miller remembers Mr. Johnston as a man of some ability. It would seem at least that be was ambitious politically, for it is said, upon good authority, that while a member of the Ne braska territorial assembly, he secured leave of absence, crossed the line into Kansas, and became a candidate for membership in the territorial legislature of that territory, being defeated by only a few votes. Samuel A. Lewis, sergeant-at-arms of the first, third and ninth sessions of the territorial house of rep resentatives of Nebraska resided iu Omaha, was a printer by trade, a native of Pennsylvania, and born about 1820. He was a member of the first Omaha Claim club, and was second lieutenant of company D, 1st battalion Nebraska veteran volunteer cavalry, commissioned June 3, 1864. G. L. Eayre, assistant clerk of the first house of representatives, was a native of New Jersey, and a res ident of Glenwood, Iowa. 256 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA CHAPTER VIII SECOND LEGISLATURE — SECOND CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN — POLITICAL CONDITIONS nr^ HERE was little diversion in the territory J- during the year 1855, from the time of adjournment of the ist legislature, except the small politics of the aspirants for the offices to be filled at the fall elections. The dreams of Mr. Henn and others of the organizers about a rapid increase of population had not come true.1 The first, or Cuming census, furnishes no data for comparison — except to illustrate its unreliability. By that census the first district, which comprised substantially the counties of Pawnee and Richardson, was credited with a population of 851. After the lapse of a year, during which there was some immigration, these two counties yielded only 441 people to the census of 1855. On the other hand, while the counties of Forney and Pierce in 1854 had but 614 people, in 1855 their successors, Nemaha and Otoe, had respectively 604 and 1 The following table (Records Nebraska Territory, p. 81) is constructed from the abstract of the census certified by Secretary Cuming, October 15, 1855. counties OJ V S a •*- cd a, OJ ¦=•5 -n -z. v re re ^ S B fi 1- '£ § is 5 -J3 1Urt u go ti, 5 •d 3w OJ ra £ '-° ta to i ft '" in u 0 Lj.r.o5 ra0 Burt 30 178 4357 450 150 378 499481 9 29 4 5 294143 3 12 7 17 191 16 20 163143278 28 5441 14 145 11 32 ¦211 126 245 296737 19 166 12 25 171 144 237 33 7241 89 712 86 139 Nemaha 1 1028 604 Otoe 6 1 1188 142 Richardson 289 Washington 207 Total 1510 50 182 7 954 29 917 33 923 33 6 5 1 1 4494 Half-breed tract. 2 Charles B. Smith, a New Yorker, settled in Omaha in 1854. He became private secretary to Governor Thomas B. Cuming and was one of the judges of election at the Omaha city precinct at the first election in the territory. He was one of the 1,188. Otoe no doubt felt plenary satisfac tion in so decisively outstripping Douglas, her rival of the North Platte. But the active colonizing on the part of both slavery and anti-slavery interests diverted most of the im migration to Kansas, which as early as Feb ruary, 1855, boasted a population, such as it was, of 8,601. Under the act of the ist legislature the gov ernor appointed Charles B. Smith2 as terri torial auditor, B. P. Rankin,3 territorial treasurer, and James S. Izard,4 librarian. Minor officers for the several counties were also appointed by the governor, and the terms of all these officers continued until their suc cessors were elected in November, 1855. On the 15th of October, 1855, Governor Izard is sued a proclamation announcing that an elec tion would be held on the first Tuesday in November of the year named to choose a dele- incorporators of Simpson University in 1855, and was the first territorial auditor beginning with March 16, 1855. In 1S56, with Charles W. Hamil ton and others, he built the Hamilton House. He was receiver of the land office at Brownville in 1857. In 1S58 he was engaged with Thomas Davis in run ning a sawmill at Omaha. This mill, the first in Omaha, was built by Alexander Davis and Samuel S. Bayliss in 1S54, and was destroyed by an explo sion November 25, 1860, killing the engineer, a Mr. Sperry. 3Dr. Benjamin P. Rankin was a candidate for the democratic nomination as delegate to Congress in 1859, but after the eighth ballot withdrew, and the nomination went to Experience Estabrook. He was the first territorial treasurer, beginning with March 16, 1855, and was the third United States marshal of the territory, appointed March 29, 1856. With Dr. Charles A. Henry and Lorin Miller he laid out the town of Central City, Kearney county, in 1858, and later founded Kearney City. He was one of the commissioners to locate tbe county seat of Sarpy county in 1857, when Bellevue was selected, which remained the county seat until 1876. Pie was chair man of the democratic territorial central committee in 1859. He went west, and died in Wyoming. 4 James S. Izard was private secretary to his father, Mark W. Izard, during the latter's term as governor. He acquired considerable property in Omaha, but left the territory about the time that his father did. He died, some years ago, in Forest City, Arkansas. SECOND LEGISLATURE 257 gate to Congress, a territorial auditor, treas urer, and librarian, twenty-six members of the lower house of the general assembly, and in the several counties a probate judge, sheriff, county register, county treasurer, and county surveyor; and each precinct should elect two justices of the peace and two constables. A district attorney for each judicial district of the territory was to be elected also. The first district embraced all the counties south of the Platte river ; the second the counties of Douglas and Washington; the third the coun ties of Burt, .Dakota, and Dodge. The legislature had left the task of making the apportionment of the members to the gov ernor, and he established the representative districts as follows : Burt and Washington, jointly, 1 ; Cass, 3 ; Cass and Otoe, 1 ; Dodge, 1 ; Douglas, 8 ; Nemaha, 2 ; Nemaha and Rich ardson, 1 ; Otoe, 6 ; Pawnee and Richardson, 1 ; Richardson, 1 ; Washington, 1. The act of 1855 provided that the number of members of the house should not exceed twenty-nine ; but the governor did not see fit to change it from the original twenty-six. Pawnee was the only one of the sixteen new counties, whose organization had been authorized by the ist legislature, to take advantage of the act and 'Leavitt L. Bowen, member of the lower house in the 2d territorial assembly, representing Douglas county, president of the council of the third session, a member of the council of the fourth session, and representing Sarpy county in the council of the fifth session, of which he was president, resigned before the sixth session convened. He was admitted to practice law in the territory at the first term of the territorial supreme court. He formed a law partner ship with Silas A. Strickland at Bellevue in 1857, and was United States district attorney for Nebraska territory in 1859. He was one of the charter mem bers of the first lodge of Free Masons in Nebraska, organized at Bellevue in February, 1855. 2 Alexander Davis, member of the lower house in the 2d territorial assembly of Nebraska representing Douglas county, settled at Omaha in 1854, and with his brother-in-law, Samuel S. Bayliss, built the first sawmill on Otoe creek just north of the present site of the Union depot. He afterward traded this mill to Thomas Davis for a claim of four hundred acres of land. He was a member of the first grand jury to be convened in Douglas county, October 22, 1855. It has been generally supposed that he was a brother of Thomas Davis, but this is an error. 'John C. Campbell, M. D., member of the house in the 2d and 4th territorial assemblies, from Otoe county, was born near the city of Lexington, Fay ette county, Kentucky, December 22, 1812. He was a son of Dr. John P Campbell and Isabella (Mc- 17 become entitled to representation. The proc lamation also called for the election of three members of the council to fill vacancies ; and Samuel M. Kirkpatrick was chosen in place of Nuckolls of Cass county, who had resigned ; John Evans in place of Dr. Munson H. Clark of Dodge county, deceased; and Allen A. Bradford in place of Hiram P. Bennet, who resigned for the purpose of becoming a candi date for delegate to Congress. The hold-over members were Dr. Henry Bradford of Otoe, formerly Pierce ; Richard Brown of Nemaha, formerly Forney ; Charles PL Cowles of Otoe ; Benjamin R. Folsom of Burt; Taylor G. Goodwill, Alfred D. Jones, Origen D. Rich ardson, and Samuel E. Rogers of Douglas ; Joseph L. Sharp of Richardson ; and James C. Mitchell of Washington. The members of the house were John F. Buck, John McF. Hagood, and William Laird of Cass county; Thomas Gibson of Dodge; Leavitt L. Bowen,1 William Clancy, Alexan der Davis,2 Levi Harsh, William Larimer, Jr., William E. Moore, George L. Miller, and Alonzo F. Salisbury of Douglas ; William A. Finney and Samuel A. Chambers of Nemaha ; John Boulware, Dr. John C. Campbell,3 James H. Decker, William B. Hail, J. Sterling Mor- Dowell) Campbell, both of Rockbridge county, Vir ginia. After a successful career as a physician, John P. Campbell became a minister of the Presbyterian church. He was a slaveholder by inheritance, but he moved from Kentucky to Ohio for the purpose of freeing his slaves, and in his later years deprived himself of many luxuries to serve in the pioneer Christian ministry. Shortly before his death, at the age of forty-seven, he had removed to Chillicothe, Ohio, where his son, John C. Campbell, acquired his early education in the district and private schools. When he was seventeen years old he en tered the State University of Ohio, from which he graduated. Having a brother in the mercantile busi ness in Burlington, Iowa, Mr. Campbell joined him immediately after leaving the university, and pre empted a quarter-section of land in the vicinity of Burlington. Under the instruction of Drs. Lowe and Hickock he prepared to enter the medical de partment of Kemper College of St. Louis, now the medical department of the State University of Mis souri, from which he graduated after a two-years course, and, returning to Iowa, located at Mt. Pleas ant, where he remained four years and established a practice. During his residence at Mt. Pleasant Dr. Campbell was married to Elizabeth Henderson and one child was born to them, but both mother and child died within a few years. Dr. Campbell then established an office in New Purchase (now Agency City), about six miles from Ottumwa. In the spring of 1845 he was married to Martha Rog- 253 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA ton, and Mastin W. Riden of Otoe; Amazial M. Rose of Otoe and Cass jointly; Abel D. Kirk of Richardson; Dr. Jerome Hoover1 of Richardson and Nemaha jointly; Charles Mc Donald of Richardson and Pawnee jointly; Potter C. Sullivan of Washington; and Wil liam B. Beck of Washington and Burt jointly. Comparing this second apportionment with the first we find that the audacious stuffing of the North Platte counties of Burt, Dodge, and Washington by the deft hands of Gov ernor Cuming is acknowledged by his suc cessor; for in place of her two full repre sentatives allowed by Cuming, Burt is now tacked to Washington to divide one with that county, which in turn is reduced from two members to one and a half. Dodge is cut down from two to one. Cass county retains its three members and divides another with Otoe, which has six of its own — a gain of one. Douglas holds to its original eight. But since Governor Izard's census awards a pop ulation of 712 to Cass, 1,028 to Douglas, 1,188 to Otoe, and 604 to Nemaha, the principle of Governor Izard's apportionment is still past finding out. The rights of Cass, Otoe, and Nemaha are shamefully abused to the profit of Douglas. Councilman Sharp's very keen appreciation of the responsibilities of a pioneer census taker in 1854, in the case of Richard son county in 1855, t° De at all presentable, had to be discounted at about 40 per cent of its face value ; though with a population of only 299 that county still held on to one rep resentative and shared two others with Ne- ers. Three sons were born to them : John James, Edward Hugh, and William H. Mrs. Campbell died in 1861. From Agency City, Dr. Campbell removed to Sidney, Fremont county, Iowa, where he was instrumental in the establishment and maintenance of public schools and was elected superintendent of public instruction for two terms. In 1854 he moved (to Nebraska and settled in Nebraska City. He was .elected a member of the territorial council in 1861. He was also a member of the constitutional conven tion of 1871. He was particularly active in educa tional work and was for six years a member of the board of education of Nebraska City. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and assisted -in the organization of churches at Burlington, Mt. Pleasant, and Sidney, Iowa, and Nebraska City. In 1862 he was married to Sarah P. Childs who was iborn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1829. Her ffather, Captain William Childs, was closely related to the Rothschilds of London. Three children were maha and Pawnee respectively. It has been pointed out that in an addendum to his census returns Mr. Sharp admitted that the number of voters in Richardson county, excluding the half-breed tract, should be reduced from 236— his census figures — to about 100. Beck, the joint member for Burt and Wash ington, lived at Tekamah, Burt county; Rose, the member for Cass and Otoe, lived at Ne braska City, Otoe county; Hoover, member for Richardson and Nemaha, lived at Nemaha City, Nemaha county; and McDonald, mem ber for Richardson and Pawnee, lived in Pawnee county. So that in the popular adjust ment of the apportionment Burt and Wash ington in fact shared alike with one member each; Cass retained her original three; and Otoe gained two, making seven in all ; Nemaha gained one, making three in all; and Rich ardson retained her original number — two. With 34.4 per cent of the population the North Platte is awarded 42.3 per cent of the representatives. The hold-over council, with 54 per cent of its members from the North Platte, presents even a worse travesty of de cency and justice. In view of such a piece of his handiwork as this the impartial judge must demur to the modest disclaimer of Gov ernor Izard's home paper (the Helena, Ar kansas, Star) that he was "not endowed with shining talents," and must also question its ascription to the governor of the compen satory virtue of probity. The 2d legislature convened at Omaha, Tuesday, December 18, 1855, at 10 o'clock in born to them : Henrietta E., who married Rev. G. Sumner Baskerville, Dr. Ezra T., and Paul M. 'Dr. Jerome Hoover, member of the lower house of the 2d territorial assembly, from Nemaha county, was a native of Virginia, though little is known of his early life and education. He came from Ohio to Nebraska in October, 1854, and purchased the claim of Dr. Wyatt, which the latter had staked out in the early summer, near the mouth of the Little Nemaha river. As soon as the land office was opened he secured, under the preemption law, three hundred and twenty acres, embracing the pres ent site of Nemaha City. In 1855 he brought his family west and resided upon this claim, thus be coming one of the first settlers of Nemaha county. July 1, 1856, he was appointed the first postmaster at Nemaha City, and February 2, 1857, was elected mayor of the town. In company with Henry Hoover he built the first grist mill in Nemaha county in the spring of 1856. Details regarding his later life SECOND LEGISLATURE 259 the morning. The temporary officers of the council were Origen D. Richardson, president ; John W. Pattison, chief clerk; Lyman Rich ardson,1 assistant clerk; Samuel A. Lewis, ser- geant-at-arms ; and Niles R. Folsom, door keeper. The regular organization consisted of Benjamin R. Folsom, president; Erastus G. McNeely,2 chief clerk; M. B. Case,3 assist ant clerk; Charles W. Pierce, sergeant-at- arms; Henry Springer, doorkeeper; Le Grand Goodwill, page. are meager. Mrs. Jerome Hoover died at the home of her son, F. E. Hoover, near Nemaha, Feb. 7, 1904. 'Lyman Richardson, son of Origen D. and Sarah P. Richardson, was born in Pontiac, Michigan, June 6, 1834. He was a graduate of the University of Michigan in 1854, and in the fall of the same year accompanied an engineering party employed in sur veying the lower Des Moines river for slack water navigation. In 1855 he joined his father in Omaha and there studied law in the office of George B. Lake, being admitted to the bar in 1858, though he never practiced. When the Civil war broke out he was elected second lieutenant of company F, 1st Nebraska volunteer infantry. He also served on the staff of Gen. John M. Thayer, and later on the staff of Gen. Fred Steele, in charge of river and railroad transportation at Little Rock, Arkansas ; and after his resignation from the captaincy to which he had been promoted, he became engaged in .cotton planting and lumbering in the same state. After about three years he returned to Omaha, and in 1868 became associated with Dr. George L. Miller in the publication of the Herald. In 1887 he left the Herald and devoted his time to the care of his real estate interests. He never held public office and never sought political preferment. He married Virginia Harrison Clark, at Omaha, in September, 1860. Two of their four children are still living: Mary, who married William R. Morris, and Ralph. Mr. Richardson now (1904) resides at Baltimore, Maryland. 2 Erastus G. McNeely was secretary of the council of the 2d, and chief clerk of the house in the 5th territorial assembly. He was first lieutenant of the "Omaha Gun Squad," which served under General John M. Thayer in the expedition against the In dians in June, 1859, known as the Pawnee war. He was second lieutenant of company B, Nebraska cavalry regiment, in the Civil war. He was wounded and taken prisoner in the battle of "Cumberland Iron Works," August 27, 1862, and for gallant con duct in this action was promoted to the position of first lieutenant, vice Lieutenant Summers, who was killed, the promotion to date from September 1, 1862. He was appointed captain of company B, Curtis horse cavalry regiment — W. W. Lowe, colo nel, M. T. Patrick, lieutenant-colonel, afterwards merged into the 5th Iowa cavalry— vice John B. Croft, resigned, to date from March 6, 1863. He resided at Omaha, was a native of Ohio, enlisted September 10, 1861, and was then twenty-eight years of age. 3M. B. Case resigned as assistant clerk the sev enth day of the session and Lyman Richardson was elected December 28 to fill the vacancy. M. B. Case was a resident of Cass county and was also candi- The house was organized by the election of the following temporary officers : Speaker, William Larimer, Jr., of Douglas county; chief clerk, Joseph W. Paddock; assistant clerk, H. C. Anderson;* sergeant-at-arms, A. S. Bishop ; doorkeeper, Ewing S. Sharp ;5 fire man, Patrick Donahue. In the permanent or ganization Potter C. Sullivan of Washington county was elected speaker, his principal op ponent being Abel D. Kirk of Richardson county. Isaac L. Gibbs was electee chief date for assistant clerk for the house, receiving 11 votes to 13 for H. C. Anderson. 'Hiram C. Anderson was elected the first re corder of the city of Omaha in March, 1857. He was also the second territorial librarian, serving from November 6, 1855, to August 3, 1857. He was one of the organizers and secretary of Capital Lodge No. 3 of Omaha, A. F. and A. M., chartered June 3, 1857. 5 Ewing Smith Sharp was born in Bernadotte, Illinois, November 22, 1836, and came with his father, Joseph L. Sharp, and family to Glenwood, Mills county, Iowa, in 1850. He was married to Harriet Abbie Coats, of Cassopolis, Michigan, in Glenwood, Iowa, November 22, 1856; Miss Coats had come from Michigan, by way of St. Louis and the Missouri river, to Kanesville, for the purpose of teaching school. From Kanesville she removed to Glenwood, where she met Mr. E. S. Sharp. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Sharp removed to Richard son county, Nebraska, and shortly afterwards to Sharpsburg (also known as Bethlehem), Iowa, just opposite Plattsmouth. At this time — 1857 — Sharps burg was a lively village and an important forward ing point for goods destined for the interior, this traffic coming up the river by means of steamboats which at that time were in their heyday. Later Mr. Sharp bought the Mary McGee ferryboat, operating between Plattsmouth and Sharpsburg (or Bethle hem), under the charter granted to his father. This ferryboat went down with the ice in the spring of 1871 and thus ended the operation of a steam ferry at this point, Mr. Sharp substituting a wire cable system. Thousands of prairie schooners and emi grants were transferred at this ferry. The ferry business occupied the principal part of Mr. Sharp's time until his death, which occurred August 10, 1880. He was a self-educated man. Like his distinguished father he took great interest in the administration of government, and especially in the development of the West, in which he had unbounded faith. He took an important part in securing railroads for Plattsmouth and the location of the Burlington shops there. Mr. Sharp moved from Bethlehem to Plattsmouth in 1868, where, on the old family homestead, Mrs. Sharp still resides. Mrs. Sharp distinctly remembers the building of the first house in Omaha. Mr. Sharp was a member of the city council of Plattsmouth at the time of his death. His family consisted of three boys, two of whom are still living — Willis A., an Alaska pioneer, now trainmaster of the Tacoma and Seattle Interurban railway; Lee C, a successful inventor and business man of Omaha, a member of the Omaha Commer cial Club, and a pioneer machinery manufacturer of the West, having built the first successful electric 26o HISTORY OF NEBRASKA clerk; H. C. Anderson assistant clerk; A. S. Bishop, sergeant-at-arms ; E. B. Chinn, door keeper; and Rev. Henry M. Giltner, chaplain. From the council we miss Hiram P. Ben net, a prominent leader, Dr. Clark, cut off by death from a career whose beginning gave promise of future activity and influence, and Nuckolls, whose name was and is well known. From the house we miss a principal figure — Poppleton — but in his place we have Dr. George L. Miller, and from Otoe county, J. Sterling Morton — two names destined to be linked together in the po litical activity and the gen eral progress of the com monwealth for some forty years, and until they should become familiar to the popular ear through all its borders. Richardson and Ne maha counties each at tempted to appropriate the joint representative to its individual use. Henry Abrams was the candidate of Richard son county, and he re ceived 76 votes, while his opponent, Dr. Je rome Hoover of Nemaha county received only 13. But Nemaha out stripped her rival in lo cal patriotism by giving Hoover 117 votes and Abrams a blank. The law required that motor and gasoline engine west of Chicago and developed a large line of automatic can-making ma chinery which has had extensive use all over the world. Lafayette R., deceased, was a successful and ingenious machinist employed by the Union Pacific railway at Omaha, and also was considered a skill ful amateur photographer. 1 Samuel M. Kirkpatrick, member of three terri torial assemblies of Nebraska, was born in Adams county, Ohio, August 31, 1815, and died February 16, 1892. He lived upon his father's farm until he was fourteen years of age, then went to Montgom ery county, Indiana. He remained there until 1838, engaged in farming and stock raising, then moved to Louisa county, Iowa, and followed the mercantile business for some years. In 1845 he made a trip to the Pacific coast, remaining there two years, engaged in mining and mercantile business, when he returned SAMUEL M. KIRKPATRICK1 the register of the senior county should give a certificate of election to the candidate re ceiving the highest number of votes in the entire district. But in those strenuous times local interest was seldom backed by the majesty or mandate of the law, and the regis ter of Richardson county gave Abrams, the minority candidate, a certificate on which he could base a contest. But the committee on privileges and elections, and subsequently the house itself, decided against Abrams, and Nemaha gained the seat. Richardson county sent Thomas R. Hare to contest for a seat in the house on the ground that a part of the territory conceded to the half- breed tract belonged to her, and entitled her to another representative. But the committee on privileges and elections reported against Hare on the law and the facts —that the house could not properly go behind the governor's appor tionment for twenty-six members and increase the number, and, further, that no proof of the contention of Hare as to the right to include any part of the half-breed tract had been made, and that, if all that was contended for in this respect were conce'ded, to his home in Iowa, where he resided until 1855. That year he moved to Nebraska and settled upon a farm in Liberty precinct, Cass county. He built a sawmill and operated it until May, 1856, then devoted his attention strictly to farming and stock raising. In 1855 he was elected a member from Cass county of the 1st territorial council and was reelected in 1856. In 1861 he was again elected to represent Otoe, Cass, and Dodge counties in the council. In 1864 he represented Cass county in the house of representatives, and was speaker of that body. He was a member of the constitutional con ventions of 1871 and 1875. In 1836 he was mar ried, at Crawfordsville, Indiana, to Elizabeth Mc Millan, .a native of Virginia. Mrs. Kirkpatrick died in 1839, and in 1841 Mr. Kirkpatrick was married in Thornton, Iowa, to Elizabeth Craig, who died November 21, 1896. Eight children were born to- SECOND LEGISLATURE 261 the county would still fall short of voters entitling her to another representative.1 This report was laid on the table, and the matter was referred to a special committee. Four of the five members of the special committee — Campbell, Bowen, Hagood, and Morton — three of them from the South Platte and the other, Bowen of Bellevue, constructively so — stated Hare's case as follows : "Your committee to whom was referred the memorial of Thos. R. Hare, asking for a seat in this body on equal footing with other mem bers, beg leave to report that after mature deliber ation they have come to the conclusion that said memorialist has a right to a seat in this body. ' 'Your committee would further report that they come to the above conclusion from the fol lowing reasons. "1st. That Pawnee county was not organized at the time of apportion ment, and consequently should have been con sidered in Richardson county, as the law speci fies, for election purposes. "2d. That Richardson and Pawnee together contained, according to the census returns, one hundred and ninety- three voters, but fifty of those were returned as living on the half- breed tract, but since the census has been taken the half-breed tract has been run out, and the true boundary on the west fixed, which shows POTTER CHARLES SULLIVAN5 SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF THE 2d TERRI TORIAL ASSEMBLY OF NEBRASKA conclusively that there are only 23 voters on the half-breed tract which, taken from 193, leaves 170 legal voters in Richardson county. Taking then 56 as the basis of representation, Richardson county is entitled to three repre sentatives. "Your committee would further report that the law providing for taking the census and apportioning the representatives, in section four, provides that the whole number of mem bers of the house of representatives shall not exceed twenty-nine for the next session, and that it would be doing no injustice to the balance of this territory to give to Richardson county her full represen tation on this floor, since it conies within the bounds prescribed by law. "All of which your committee would respect fully submit and recom mend."2 A resolution that Mr. Hare3 be admitted to a seat as joint representa tive from Richardson and Pawnee counties was car ried on the 26th of De cember by a vote of 13 to 11. Four North Platte members, Gib son of Dodge, Larimer of Douglas, Bowen of Bellevue, and Sulli van of Washington, voted aye, and four South Platte members voted no.4 On the 10th of January the council sent a communication to the house which contended that by the them, Edwin A., Lee C, Robert C, and Mrs. M. G. Kime, all residents of Nehawka, Nebraska ; John M., Waterloo, Iowa; William W., Weeping Water, Nebraska; Mrs. G. O. Harmon, Avoca, Nebraska; and Elizzie H., married Orlando Tefft, and died at Avoca, November 36, 1899. 1 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 32. s Ibid., p. 42. 3 Thomas R. Hare, with others, filed with the county commissioners a plat of the town of Salem, Richardson county, January 30, 1855. 4 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 45. "Potter Charles Sullivan, speaker of the house of the 2d territorial assembly, from Washington county, was born near Syracuse, New York, July 4, 1823, and removed to Eaton county, Michigan, in 1840, where he was admitted to the bar. He settled in Nebraska territory in 1855. He was one of the founders of the town of De Soto and was engaged in the practice of law during his residence there. He was the first postmaster of that place, and was mayor of the town in 1857. In 1858 he established and edited the Washington County Sun. Mr. Sulli van left Nebraska in 1858 for the Sweetwater coun try — now in Wyoming, then Nebraska — where, with his brother Ephraim, he started South Pass City on the Sweetwater river about three-quarters of a mile below the South Pass canyon. Here he was joined by his family in 1861, but left the following July 2G: HISTORY OF NEBRASKA organic law the number of members of the legislature could be increased only by the act of both houses, and that therefore Hare was not a legal member ot the house. The house replied with a short and snappy resolution reciting that it was the judge of the qualifi cations of its own members, and suggesting that the upper body had better be about its own business. But Hare evidently was not made of staying stuff, for on the same day- he resigned "to effectually put down this disorganizing spirit and not from any convic tion of my not being en titled to my seat. ' ' On the morning of December 19 the gover nor delivered his message to the two houses in joint session in the hall of the house. We may over look the painful prolixity of this document, and even with propriety give place to its slow length on account of its pains taking review of the gen eral social conditions of the territory after a year's experience under the harness of formal or ganization. The mes sage is such a paper as might be expected of a man of such antece dents and qualities as are attributed to him in the following "send-off" by the Helena (Arkansas) Star: after having lived there about a year. He crossed the plains with his family in the year 1863, reaching the Willamette valley some time in the month of October. He farmed until 1864 in Yamhill county, Oregon. In 1865 he moved to Dallas, Oregon, and engaged in the practice of law. In the year 1866 he was elected prosecuting attorney of that district, comprising three or four counties, and served two years. He left Dallas and went to Salem, Oregon, in the fall of 1874. From there he moved to Colfax, in the Palouse country, in the spring of 1878. There he remained practicing law until his death, which occurred from heart failure, in the court room on the Sth day of June, 1883, while defending a man named Frank Hammond for murder committed at Ainsworth, Washington. While a resident of Oregon he was candidate for MRS. POTTER C SULLIVAN "We were honored on Monday last with a visit at our office from Hon. Mark W. Izard, governor of Nebraska, and his private secre tary, James S. Izard, Esq. They were here waiting . . for a boat, to take pass age for their new field of labor. The appoint ment of Col. Izard to the governorship of Nebraska territory is one among the very best appointments that have been made during the administration of President Pierce. He was for almost a quarter of a century a member of one or the other branches of the Arkansas legislature, and during the period of his long and valuable services in that body he served at different times as speaker of the House of Repre sentatives and President of the Senate; and in all the many honorable and responsible stations to which he has been called, he has discharge d his duty usefully and success fully, and although a minister oE the gospel, active in every cause of religion and benevo'ence, remarkable for h:s ex emplary life and fervent piety, yet he has been all the time an active partisan, and has done more, and sacrificed more for the democratic party — the party to wh'ch he has been warmly attached — than perhaps any man in Arkansas. Not en dowed with shining tal ents, though of excel lent sense, his career furnishes a remarkable instance of the deserved success of probity, fidelity, industry, gentlemanly bearing and in- Congress, being defeated by only one vote. He was married *in Michigan to Rhoda Ann Wilson, who died in Salem, Oregon, March S, 1875. They had four sons and three daughters, all of whom are still (1904) living. William J., born in 1848, resides in Inyo county, California, and is engaged in mining; Ephraim Henry was born in Eaton county, Michi gan, July 31, 1850, and removed with his parents to Nebraska in 1855, and to Washington Territory in 1878, He was admitted to the bar at Colfax, Wash ington, in 1880, where he became a member of the firm of Sullivan, Walford & Sullivan. He served several terms on the bench in Colfax county, re signing to go to the Klondike, where he spent one year, returning to Spokane, where he still resides. Prescott Cato was born in Nebraska in 1856, mi grated westward with his parents, and finally en- SECOND LEGISLATURE 263 flexible honor; and our sincere wish is that he may yet live to see Nebraska a state, and highest honors his." While the message clearly confirms the Star's estimate that the governor was "not endowed with shining talents" and possibly leaves open the question of "excellent sense," yet, regarded as a contemporaneous view of gaged with his brother, E. H. Sullivan, in the practice of law at Colfax, Washington, but removed to Tacoma in 1888 and thence, to San Bernardino, California. Potter Charles resides and practices law at Seattle, Washington. He was a delegate to the National Republican convention at St. Louis in 1896 and was afterward nominated as the republi can candidate for governor of Washington, but was defeated by the fusionists. Of the daughters, Electa was born in 1852, married a Mr. McCain and lives at McMinville, Oregon; Rhoda May, now Mrs. Platte Mead, was born in 1862 and lives at Oto, Iowa; and Belle, born in 1865, married a Mr. Morse and lives at Tacoma, Washington. Amanda M. Sullivan, a younger sister of Potter C. Sullivan, married Thomas M. Carter at De Soto, September 21, 1856, this being the first marriage at that place. 'MESSAGE OF GOVERNOR IZARD TO THE 2D TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE "Fellow Citizens of the Council and House of Representatives : "By the favor of Divine Providence, we are again permitted to meet, as coordinate branches of the ter ritorial government of Nebraska. It gives me no ordinary pleasure to welcome you to the capitol, and to congratulate you upon the present prosperous condition of our infant territory, which I conceive to be justly attributable to the bold and energetic measures which resulted in an early organization; and whatever may be the opinion of individuals, as to the propriety or impropriety of the policy pur sued, we have abundant reason to-day to thank God, who said 'let there be light, and there was light,' that he has overruled all for good, and that our unparalleled progress and present prosperity are the result. "On the 16th day of January last, the first legis lative assembly for the territory of Nebraska, in obedience to the proclamation of Acting Governor Cuming, convened in this hall, to lay the corner stone of a new commonwealth, and to enact laws for the government and welfare of its citizens; and be it ever remembered to their credit, that, in spite of the factious opposition of malcontents, and the fears and forebodings of the timid, they suc ceeded in organizing a government, which at once inspired confidence among our citizens, gave new life and vigor to Nebraska enterprise, and ratified with a voice of encouragement from the far west, the great principles of popular sovereignty. . . . "Your capitol building, for the construction of which a liberal appropriation of fifty thousand dol lars was made at the last session of congress, to be applied under my direction, I am happy to say, has progressed as fast as circumstances would permit. The foundations are now complete, and about five feet of the basement story. The work, so far, has been executed in the most substantial, and work manlike manner. Contracts have been closed with responsible men for the entire mason work and ex ternal^ finish of the building, a large amount of materials have been collected, and are now on the conditions and an authoritative statement of facts, it is interesting and valuable history. Its preaching proclivities may perchance be suggestive of the more pretentious national executive messages just now in vogue, and it seems charitable to point out this mutual sanction of which both stand so much in need.1 ground, and the most energetic measures are being taken to prosecute the work, without delay, as soon as practicable, in the ensuing spring. "The dimensions of this structure, from outside of porches, is one hundred and thirty-seven and a half feet in length, by ninety-three and a half in width ; one hundred and nine and a half feet by sixty-five and a half feet in the clear; and sixty- seven in height. Its internal arrangement is .cal culated for the accommodation of the legislative assembly, the supreme court and territorial library, and all the federal and territorial officers and pub lic stores. The estimated cost of the edifice, cover ing all necessary expense, to its final completion, according to the most reliable data, is seventy-nine thousand seven hundred and five dollars and sev enty-nine cents, exceeding the appropriation already granted for the purpose, by nearly thirty thousand dollars. All the facts bearing upon the case have been communicated to congress, and I feel confi dent that this additional appropriation will be granted among the provisions of this winter for territorial purposes. This superstructure, when com pleted, will stand second to no building of the kind in the United States for beauty of proportion and complete adaptation to the uses and objects for which it is designed. "I have no hesitation in predicting that it will be regarded with satisfaction and pride both by resi dents and strangers, as a commodious and perma nent structure, and an imposing ornament to the beautiful eminence selected by the wisdom of your legislative assembly, as a permanent location for the capitol of Nebraska. It is no small source of grati fication to me to say, further, in this connection, that the plans which I projected, and which were drawn out in detail by William Rumbold, Esq., of St. Louis, the skillful and accomplished architect employed for that purpose, have not only been ap proved by all master builders who have visited our territory, but that our sister territory — Kansas — has adopted them, in whole, without alteration; and I flatter myself that the day is not far distant when the visitor to the twin territories, west of the Mis souri will see their seats of government decorated by capitals perfected after the same model. . . . "Your territorial library, for the purchase of which an appropriation of five thousand dollars was made at the last session of congress, to be applied under my direction, has been contracted for on the most advantageous terms, and will be delivered in this city early in the spring. It will be composed of the choicest legal, literary and miscellaneous works, and will place within the reach of our citi zens an almost inexhaustible fund of useful infor mation. "The great territorial road from this point to Fort Kearney, for the opening and construction of which, an appropriation of fifty thousand dollars has been made by the congress of the United States, will, in all human probability, be surveyed during the present winter or early in the spring, and I 264 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA The governor's picture of the industrial de- time progress was chiefly speculative — hoping velopment of the territory was mainly fanci- instead of doing. Until 1861 the inhabitants ful and gratuitous. For many years after this were virtually non-producers. And indus- confidently expect that it will be put under con tract during the coming summer. This road when completed is destined to be not only the great thor oughfare for western travel, but also the forerunner of the projected railroad to the Pacific, which must and will at some future day, traverse our borders. "The public surveys within the limits of our ter ritory, under the wise direction of our accomplished Surveyor-General, Hon. John Calhoun, are progress ing rapidly, and we may reasonably calculate that our whole belt of country bordering on the Mis souri river, from north to south, will be ready for market in the early part of the summer. This event, to which our citizens are looking with in tense interest, cannot fail to have a salutary effect upon our permanent prosperity. The term 'squat ters', will then be superseded, and we shall become the rightful sovereigns of the soil. . "The laws enacted by the last session of the leg islative assembly — principally adopted from the sev eral codes of the adjoining states — have been found by experience to be incongruous and conflicting in many important respects, and the doubts and diffi culties arising in their application have led to many errors and omissions in the administration of our territorial affairs. The legislature, in anticipation of this result, with wise forethought appointed a board of commissioners to arrange a systematic code of civil and criminal law, for the protection of the rights and property of our citizens. This board have been sedulously engaged in executing the diffi cult and responsible task assigned them ; and, as I am informed, will be ready to report the result of their labors at an early day of tbe present ses sion. "For information upon the present financial con dition of our territory, I respectfully refer you to the accompanying reports of the auditor and treas urer, by which it will be seen that the revenue arising under the operation of the present law is wholly inadequate to meet the demands upon our territorial treasury. . . . "Your legislature at the last session adopted a system of common schools and incorporated three literary institutions of a higher order, to-wit: The 'Simpson University,' located at Omaha City, the 'Nebraska University,' located at Fontenelle, and the 'Nebraska City Collegiate and Preparatory In stitute,' located at Nebraska City. Since the ad journment of the legislature, the several boards of trustees have been actively engaged in devising means for their endowment. I am happy to inform you that their efforts have been successful to some extent, and I feel confident that the proper repre sentations from your honorable body will persuade the federal congress to strengthen the arms of the friends of education in our infant territory by lib eral donations, either in money or land, to each of the above institutions. . "Our laws already provide that fines and for feitures should be used for the benefit of the school fund. This, however, is entirely inadequate. In addition to this, a general fund should be created by direct taxation upon all the taxable property in the territory. As soon as our land comes into market, it is probable that much of it will pass into the hands of resident and non-resident speculators. Such lands could thus be made to contribute a just proportion to the maintenance of a system of com mon schools. . "The permanent protection of our frontier settle ments from Indian depredations, considered in con nection with the future growth and settlement of our territory, is a matter of vital importance. The present military arrangement for that purpose is evidently imperfect, and should be adapted to the local necessities of the country, without further de lay. In this opinion I am sustained by all the mili tary men with whom I have conversed — having had the opportunity to confer with many who are fa miliar with the geography of the country. If the government could be induced to remove the garri son from Fort Pierre to some suitable point on the Missouri river, at or near the boundary line of the ceded territory, and open a communication along that line in the direction of Fort Laramie, by the establishment of posts at proper distances from each other, an impassable barrier would be formed against the hostile incursions of the countless hordes of savages who inhabit the country north and west of us, and the protection thus given to our settle ments would be complete without the effusion of blood, and would greatly reduce the enormous ex penditures now being made to but little purpose. "At the opening of the spring, as was anticipated, the Indians commenced depredations upon the property of the settlers — robbing their houses and driving off their stock with impunity, and, in some instances, breaking up entire settlements. From the commencement of these depredations, complaints were almost daily made to me, accompanied by the strongest appeals from our injured citizens for that protection which their exposed condition required. Their petitions I was reluctantly compelled to waive for the time being, in the hope that the necessary aid would be received from the government. This state of tilings continued up to the 30th of July last, at which time I received an express from Fontenelle, communicating the painful intelligence that a party of our citizens had been attacked by a hostile band of Sioux Indians about two miles from that town — robbed of their property — men murdered and scalped, and a woman wounded, mar velously escaping with her life; and that numerous parties of hostile Indians were lurking in the vicin ity, committing continual depredations upon the property of citizens. Upon the receipt of this intel ligence, I immediately issued an order, directed to Brigadier General Thayer, requiring him to raise a volunteer force and proceed without delay to the frontier and take such measures for the protection of the settlements, as the circumstances seemed to require. On the receipt of the above order, the general at once issued a call for volunteers, which was responded to by our citizens with the utmost enthusiasm. Arms and munitions of war were ob tained by extraordinary exertion from every quar ter and forty men— mounted, armed, and equipped, tinder the command of Captain W. E. Moore— were despatched to Fontenelle in less than fifteen hours from the receipt of the intelligence. Upon their arrival at that point, it was found necessary to estab lish a post in the vicinity of that place, and also to station a small company at Elk Horn City and SECOND LEGISLATURE 265 trial development was very limited until the coming of the railways encouraged it — or in fact made it practicable. The report of the territorial auditor to the legislature showed a bad financial beginning. The levy of a tax of two mills on the total assessed valuation of $617,882 would have one at Tekama, which stations were kept up until the 9th of October last, when it was ascertained that the Indians had retired into the interior, and no further danger being apprehended, the troops were disbanded. The estimated cost of this expe dition, as shown by the report of General Thayer, including compensation of officers and soldiers, and cost of supplies, is $9,100., of which, for the pay ment of about two thousand dollars covering the cost of supplies, private individuals were compelled to make themselves personally responsible. The facts are now all before congress, and I trust that an appropriation will be promptly made to meet this unavoidable expenditure. In aid of this, I rec ommend that a resolution be immediately passed instructing our delegate in congress to press the matter at an early day. . . With a view to the future security and permanent protection of our frontier settlements, to increase the facilities for the transportation of the United States mails and military stores, I would respectfully suggest that adequate appropriations should be made by con gress for the opening and constructing of military roads, from Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Pierre ; from Nebraska City to New Ft. Kearney, and also from a point on the Missouri river opposite the mouth of the Big Sioux, following a westwardly direction along the line of the ceded territory, to Ft. Laramie. The cost of the above roads would be compara tively small ; the face of the country through which they would pass is peculiarly adapted to the con struction of roads, nothing being required but to bridge the streams and cast up mounds at proper distances from each other to mark the lines. . . "Perhaps in no territory organized since the ex istence of our federal union, has the inadequacy of the salaries of the government officers been so severely felt as in the territory of Nebraska. The great scarcity of timber — our position, inaccessible during a large portion of the year, to the populous parts of the adjoining states, for the purposes of transportation of merchandise, the exceedingly high and exorbitant prices of provisions, labor and build ing materials, all combine to render it essential to the proper and competent discharge of their official duties that the salaries of the officers should be increased, and I deem it but an act of justice to them that your honorable body should call the at tention of congress to this subject, there being no just reason why the officers of Nebraska should not be placed on an equal footing, at least with those of the most favored territories. "In connection with the above, permit me to call your attention to the subject of making donations of land in quantities of one hundred and sixty acres to actual residents, and those who may settle in our territory within a specified time — say two years from the first of January, 1856. By refer ence to the act of congress of 27th of September, 1S50, it will be seen that provision was made for granting lands to actual settlers in the territory of Oregon, and subsequently that similar provisions yielded an insufficient territorial revenue at best; but the auditor was obliged to report that, as not a single county treasurer had set tled his accounts with the territory, he had no means of knowing how much had been col lected, and he had been obliged to draw war rants to meet expenses to the amount of were extended to other territories. No one can doubt the justice or propriety of this measure. "An additional land office should be established, and for the general convenience of residents and others, dealing in the public lands, one of these offices should be located north, and the other south of the Platte river. When we consider the vast amount of unsurveyed lands within our territorial limits, it would seem right and just that a surveyor general's office should be established for Nebraska. "The Omaha, Pawnee and Ottoe tribes of In dians, now roaming over the country, without any fixed habitation, committing occasional depredations upon the property of our citizens, should be at once permanently settled upon the lands assigned them, and confined within their limits. If indeed it be the desire of the government to rescue and reclaim these remnants of once powerful tribes, the policy of individualizing them by sending among them philanthropic men, of unexceptionable morals and undoubted integrity, competent to teach them the cultivation of the soil and the arts of civilized life, should at once be adopted. . . "The central position of our territory, between the Atlantic and Pacific seaboard, and on the direct commercial highway between them, naturally forces upon our attention a subject of the gravest import, viz. : the establishment of a continuous line of mili tary posts from the Missouri river, along the Platte Valley, to the states and territories of the Pacific. "The greatest danger which has as yet threatened to sap the foundation of our free institutions springs from that odious spirit of localism and sectionalism which has prevailed in many parts of our country over those higher qualities which dignify our race, and which have hitherto confined our political con flicts to the salutary issue of distinct and opposing principles. As an ally of this reckless and traitor ous restlessness, the spirit of know nothingism, abolitionism, and other isms of the day, have been appealed to ; and for a time this unnatural combi nation of discordant elements seemed to meet with partial success ; but we have reason to thank God that the returning sober second thought and sound sense of the American people, inspired by the spirit of true patriotism and love of union, have come to the rescue, and branded this last and most repulsive innovation with that moral condemnation which we trust will always rest upon the men, and the designs, whose success would rend asunder the dearest ties that bind us together as a people. I may be per mitted to say, in this connection, that it is our duty, as true patriots and friends of the best interests of mankind, to cultivate that unity of purpose in sup port of the great principles of state rights and popular sovereignty, which will enable us, ere long, to act with efficiency as a powerful member of the American union. In order to do this we should commence the work at home and endeavor, in all 265 HISTORY OF $1,971.20, with about $1,000 of the last year's appropriations still to meet. The warrants covered incidental legislative expenses, which the federal treasury did not recognize, amounting to $1,454.70, and the salaries of the auditor, treasurer, and librarian in the munificent sum of $516.50. The valuation of the counties was as follows : Burt $ 13,006 Cass 7I>524 .Dodge 14.455 Douglas 311,116 Nemaha 74.98° Otoe 85,701 Richardson 26,643 Washington 20,397 $617,822 Hadley D. Johnson was elected public printer by the two houses, and an attempt was made to choose a joint chaplain also, but the houses could not agree, and Rev. Henry M. Giltner was chosen by the house and Rev. William Bates by the council.1 On the 26th of December, O. D. Richard son, J. L. Sharp, and J. D. N. Thompson, of the committee appointed at the previous ses sion to prepare a code, reported that Mr. Pop pleton had resigned from the committee, and that since they "could avail themselves of but a very limited number of the revised codes of the different states on account of their scar city in this region, and as the territorial library has not yet arrived" but few books were within their reach. Still, though their work had been laborious, it was nearly completed. It would consist of four parts, two of which were now reported and the other two, relating NEBRASKA to courts and to crimes, would be ready within a week.2 The two houses appointed a committee to examine the work of the code commission, consisting of A. A. Bradford, A. D. Jones, and S. M. Kirkpatrick of the council,3 and Bowen, Riden, Finney, Miller, and Moore of the house,4 with Bradford for chairman. This committee reported the work of the commis sion, with such amendments as they saw fit to make, to the council, and most of the first two parts was finally adopted by both houses, the remainder going over, without consideration, to the next legislature. Those parts of the code adopted by the ist legislature, relating to courts and their jurisdiction and to crimes and their punishment, crude as they were, remained in force until the 3d legislature provided a substitute for the first and repealed the second, leaving the territory for a time entirely without criminal law. The new law provided that the general as sembly should thereafter meet on the first Monday in January of each year, instead of the first Tuesday of December as fixed by the law of 1855. The census act of March 16, 1855, provided also that annual elections should be held on the first Monday in August, except the first election, which should be held the first Tuesday of November, 1855 ;5 and the election law of the same year also pro vided that elections should take place the first Tuesday in November,0 so that for that year there was no conflict. The census act of Jan uary 26, 1856, provided that the election of that year should be held on the first Tuesday in November.7 But the elections law pro vided that general elections should be held on our acts, by patient and mutual conciliation to allay that unfortunate tendency to bitterness of feeling which exists between the two sections of the territory divided by the Platte river. No good can possibly arise from the encouragement or con tinuance of such a contest. Already seven different railroads are steadily approaching us, west of the Mississippi river, and their lines are con verging to a point on the Missouri, where they will unite in a common trunk and make their final pas sage over the Rocky mountains. All the arguments that have been adduced upon this subject show that the Platte Valley must be the selected route for the ultimate location of this great national thorough fare. The moral and social consequences of that event and the benefits it will bring in its train, to the whole of Nebraska, are incalculable, and will exceed our most sanguine hopes. . . ." — (House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., pp. 8-31.) 'Rev. Reddick Horn of Nemaha county was first elected as chaplain on the third day of the session, but after the holiday recess Rev. William Bates was elected and Rev. Horn was given compensation for eight days' service. 2 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 45. 8 Council Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 30. 4 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 45. 5 Laws of Neb., 1st Ter. Sess., p. 157. 6 Ibid., p. 175. 1 Laws of Neb., 2d Ter. Sess., p. 181. SECOND LEGISLATURE 2C7 the first Monday in August; that a delegate to Congress and members of the council should be chosen in 1856 and every second year thereafter; and that all territorial and county officers, including district attorneys, justices of the peace and constables, and one county commissioner for each county, should be chosen in 1857, and every second year thereafter.1 This conflict was settled by an other act of the second session2 which pro vided that the election of 1856 should be held ceive returns and issue certificates of election to candidates for members of the legislature and of "forming precincts" in the several counties, which was conferred by the census act of 1856 as well as that of 1855. The au thority first named had also been conferred upon county clerks by the election law, and the second upon county commissioners by the law creating the commissioner system. This reconciliation act was introduced on the even ing of the last day of the session by Dr. Henry SECOND TERRITORIAL CAPITOL BUILDING OF NEBRASKA3 Erected in 1857-58 at a cost of about 1130,000, and located on Capitol Hill, Omaha, the present site of the Omaha high school building. This shows the building in its uncompleted condition with only a few of the columns in place, and these were later pronounced unsafe and removed. The above engraving is from a photograph made in 18..9 by P. Golay, and now owned by Mrs. S. D Beals of Omaha. in November instead of August. This act also took from the governor the power to re- 1 Laws of Neb., 2d Ter. Sess., p. 49. 2 Ibid., p. 197. 3 "Description of the capitol building of the Ter ritory of Nebraska, taken from the Nebraskian pub lished at Omaha City, Nebraska Territory, October 3, 1855 :" 'THE CAPITOL BUILDING OF NEBRASKA " 'We have seen at the executive office the draw ings of the plan of the capitol building of this ter ritory; and through the politeness of Wm. Rumbold, the gentlemanly and accomplished architect by whom Bradford and immediately passed by both houses. The incident illustrates again the the plan was designed and who is now in this city superintending the work, we are enabled to give our readers a more perfect description of the build ing than has yet been published. " 'The building will be of brick, with a tin roof surmounted with a beautiful observatory and the whole is calculated to be done in the most thor ough, substantial manner. The extreme length is 137 feet, extreme width 93 feet. The body of the building is 109% feet long by 65% feet wide, and 62% feet in height to the apex, presenting 4 fronts ^/tfJfi/ato (7 /Jaafa SECOND LEGISLATURE 269 carelessness and lack of oversight of the early legislatures. The act creating the county commissioner system provided that all three commissioners should be chosen the first year — 1856 — and one of the three every year after. Continued contradictions and crudities indi cated more than the ordinary degree of ineffi ciency common in legislative bodies. Chapter 2 prescribed the duties of county assessors, while their election or appointment was not provided for, and the section of the old law imposing the duties of assessment on sheriffs remained unrepealed. The laws had been con sidered by the standing code committee for nearly a year, and again by the joint special committee during the session, and had been copied largely in blocks from the statutes of other states, so that a reasonable degree of accuracy might have been expected. A general incorporation law was passed, but it was not exclusive, the power of the legislature to pass special acts of incorporation being specifically recognized. A general act for the incorporation of towns was passed, and the term "city," so greatly overworked at the first session, had apparently dropped from notice through exhaustion. Under the laws of the ist legislature the business of counties was distributed in a complicated mess among various county officers, the judge of probate falling heir to all that was not specifically parceled out to others. The 2d legislature established the county commissioner system, and placed the general business of the county in the hands of three commissioners elected from as many districts with a colonnade portico on each 14 feet wide and 65 feet long. All the ornamental portions on the out side are of iron and the capitals of the columns are of the Corinthian order with modillion cornice. The basement is 5 feet above the ground and 8 feet in the cellar and will be occupied for the offices of the district attorney, marshal, etc. On the first floor above the basement are the supreme court room, library, offices of the auditor, treasurer, librarian, clerk of the supreme court and three committee rooms for the legislature. On the second floor are the senate chamber, hall of representatives and offices of the governor and secretary. The senate chamber is 35 by 45 feet and is to be finished in the Grecian style of architecture. The hall of repre sentatives is 45 by 60 feet with a gallery and is to be of the Roman order, and the ark cornice over the speaker's seat is to be surmounted with three eagles, the coat of arms of the territory and the therein. This commissioner system reached Nebraska on its westward course from Penn sylvania through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, our legislature having copied it from the Iowa statute. It originated in Pennsyl vania in 1725,1 but its germ in the North west territory first appeared in 1792 in the first county organized there, and which comprised about half the present state of Ohio. It was adopted in a more developed form in 1795, and in 1804 three commissioners, pos sessing general fiscal and administrative au thority, were elected in the several counties of the state of Ohio.2 The commissioner sys tem then, in its present scope, essentially, came to us from Ohio. By a special act the commissioners were empowered to divide the counties into "con venient precincts," each entitled to two jus tices of the peace and two constables. This decentralizing act took this power away from the governors, with whom it had been lodged up to that time. Under the new school law the territorial librarian continued to act as superintendent of schools with a salary of two hundred dol lars a year, in addition to his salary of one hundred dollars as librarian. The confusing and demoralizing provision of the act of 1855, giving authority to examine teachers and to issue them certificates to teach to both county superintendents and district boards of di rectors, was retained in the act of 1856, ex cept that the clause "or cause to be examined" of the act of 1855 was stricken out and the duty of making examinations thus peremptor- territorial motto, 'Popular Sovereignty,' inscribed beneath them. The supreme court room is to be finished in the Doric style. The whole plan reflects great credit on the skill of the designer, Mr. Rum- bold ; and the energy with which our worthy Ex ecutive, Governor Izard, is pressing the work for ward is worthy of all praise. In addition to its admirable adaptation to the uses for which it is designed, as the 'State House of Nebraska,' occupy ing its commanding position on Capitol Hill, the building will be a conspicuous ornament to Omaha City, and a monument of refined taste, foretokening the glorious future of Nebraska which the people of our whole territory may regard with emotions of patriotic pride.'" — (Records of Nebraska Territory, p. 61.) 1 Howard, Local Constitutional History of the United States, p. 382. '¦¦ Ibid., pp. 424-25. 270' HISTORY OF NEBRASKA ily imposed on the incompetent directors and virtually annulling the like authority of the county superintendents.1 These officers were allowed two dollars for each day of actual service and two dollars and fifty cents for each quarter-section of school lands they might sell — when they should come into mar ket. The salary of the territorial auditor was fixed at two hundred dollars, and of the ter ritorial treasurer at one hundred and fifty dollars.2 The salaries of all the officers named remained the same as they were the first year, and in comparison with the comfortable com pensation of the gov ernor, secretary, and judges, which was paid out of the federal treasury, furnishes a fair illustration of the poverty of the territory at that time. The laws for estrays and for the registry of marks and brands, both favor- ing the running at large of live stock, in dicated the feeling of the time that even in the eastern part of the state the raising of cat tle was of more impor tance than the culti vation of the soil. A provision was added to the law governing the common school system directing county su perintendents of schools to appraise sections JOHN EVANS4 MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL COUNCIL 16 and 36 — the lands set apart for school purposes by the organic act — at a value of not less than one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre, and offer them at public sale, the proceeds to be invested in real estate mortgage bonds drawing 10 per cent annual interest, and the interest alone to be used for maintaining schools.3 The legislature memo rialized Congress in a joint resolution to con vey these school sections to the territory as they were surveyed, that they "might be en abled to apply a por tion of the same in rais ing a fund for school purposes while we have no other resources by which to raise said fund. ' ' The legislature undertook to break up the official carpet bag system by provid ing that a delegate to Congress must have resided in the territory at least one year before his election, and that members of the legis lature must have re sided in their districts six months before the time of their election. A requisite of residence for a married man was that his family should reside in the territory. This act was a sign of a growing belief in the permanency and stability of the settle ment of the territory. In the same act those 1 Laws of Neb., 2d Ter. Sess, p. 68. 2 Ibid., p. 167. 8 Ibid., p. 60. 4John Evans, prominent Nebraska pioneer, was born March 31, 1823, in Baltimore, Maryland, and died October 7, 1901, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the son of Joseph Evans, whose wife, before her marriage, was a Miss Barrett. They were both residents of Baltimore, where they kept a book store. While John Evans was yet an infant his parents moved to Philadelphia, where he obtained such education as his limited opportunities per mitted. At the age of ten, animated by a desire to assist the family, he left home to work as errand boy in a wholesale shoe house. He spent his nights in study, with such books as he could procure, even taking up the study of medicine, knowledge of which became valuable to him in after years. He rapidly rose in the shoe trade until he had a business of his own. About 1847 Mr. Evans came west with his young wife, remaining some time in Quincy, Illinois, whence he came to Nebraska, in 1855, with" what was known as the "Quincy Colony," comprising a lawyer, two ministers, two physicians, and several business men. He settled in Fontenelle, where he resided for six years. Here his versatility came into full play, for he acted as notary public, lawyer, surveyor, and physician. The farmers came for miles around to press him into the performance of SECOND LEGISLATURE 271 eligible to any office of trust or profit were confined to free white males1 — the same class which by the organic act composed the electorate. The marriage act of the first session de clared all marriages between whites and ne groes or mulattoes void. The act of 1856 changed this so as to limit the prohibition to those possessed of one-fourth or more of negro blood. The act of the first session was re ported by Mr. Richardson from the judiciary committee of the council,2 and was copied from the Iowa statute of marriages of Janu ary 6, 1840.3 The act of the second session was reported "with amendments'' by Mr. Bradford, chairman of the joint committee for examining the work of the code commis sion,4 and was further amended in the com mittee of the whole in the council,5 and also by the house.6 The modified provision in relation to the intermarriage of whites and negroes remains in the statutes of the present day. The prohibition was dropped in Iowa in the revision of i86o.T A bill8 repealing the section in question, introduced by Mr. Ricketts, a colored member of the house," was passed by the legislature of 1895, but was vetoed by Governor Holcomb.9 The veto message discloses the objections taken by the governor : various functions, some even wanting him to act as minister, although he was not a communicant in any church. From Fontenelle he went to Omaha, where for many years he was engaged in the gro cery and seed business. In politics he was a repub lican and was elected to many public offices. He was a member of the council in the 2d territorial assembly, representing Dodge county. He was a member of the Omaha city council and treasurer of the school board for several years. He was also the second president of the Omaha board of trade and was one of the committee of fifteen which drafted the metropolitan charter of the city of Omaha. While not a member, he was a regular attendant with his family at the first Presbyterian church in Omaha, and was president of the board of trustees for several years. But it was as an Odd Fellow that Mr. Evans was best known. He joined the order in Philadelphia, in 1845, and became a member of the grand lodge of Pennsylvania in 1847. He joined the Omaha lodge in 1864, and be came a member of the grand lodge of Nebraska in 1860 when he was elected to the office of grand secretary, which office he held for eleven years. In 1890 he was grand master, being the thirty-third grand master of Nebraska. He was at one time a member of the Masonic Order, but gave that up in order that he might better attend to Odd Fellow- shit)._ Mr. Evans led a remarkably active life up to within a short time of his death. He was married "After careful consideration I am led to the belief that this measure does not represent a demand of the people, and return it without my approval. The effect of the bill is to legalize marriages between the white and black races. It is a question of gravest impor tance, and should demand the careful delib eration of the legislative body before a change is made in the law. From the statements of various members of the legislature it is ap parent that this measure was hurriedly passed during the closing hours of the legislative session without consideration, many members afterwards openly declaring that they did not know they had voted for the bill on its final passage. The alteration of existing laws, con templating pronounced changes in moral and social questions, should emanate from the de clared wishes of the people. There is in my opinion no pressing demand for the proposed amendment. If the people desire that this change be made the question can be agitated, and at the next session of the legislature the will of the people may be expressed after a careful consideration of the proposed amend ment. Without entering into a discussion of the merits of the proposal to allow the inter marriage of whites and blacks I am con strained to disapprove of this hastily enacted bill."10 An act of this session provided for the first military organization, and territorial and military terms are confused in the enactment on the 31st day of March, 1S42, to Miss Anna Maria Snell, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 8, 1823. Charles Edward Evans, tbe only issue of this marriage, was born July 2, 1843, in Philadelphia, and lived in that city until he was eight years of age, when he removed with his father to Quincy, Illinois, and from Quincy to Nebraska, August 1, 1855. He now resides in St. Joseph, Mis souri. The first Mrs. Evans died July 2, 1843. Mr. Evans married Miss Eliza P. Davis, November 8, 1847. who now (1904) resides with her son, Edward D. Evans. The children of this marriage were: John B.. an officer of the Oregon short-line railroad, Salt Lake City; Perla, wife of Samuel Houston; May Evans; and Edward D., cashier of the Cady lumber company, Omaha. 'Laws of Neb., 2d Ter. Sess., p. 79. 2 Council Journal, 1st Ter. Sess., p. 60. 3Statutes of Iowa, 1843, p. 436; Revised Statutes of Iowa, 1860, p. 427. 4 Council Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 46. 5 Ibid., p. 47. b House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 147. 7 Laws of Iowa, Revision of 1860, p. 427. 8H. R. 339, House Journal, 1895, p. 335. "Ibid., p. 1388. "Acts vetoed by the governor of Nebraska 1869-99, office of secretary of state. 2j2 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA with characteristic frontier freedom: "The territory of Nebraska shall constitute one di vision : said division shall consist of two bri gades. All that portion of the territory lying north of the Platte river shall constitute the first brigade. And all that portion of the ter ritory lying south of the Platte river shall constitute the second brigade." The official list was as formidable as the rank and file turned out to be insignificant. It is the pres ent-day recollection of General Thayer that little more than nominal organization was ac complished under this act at that time. The governor was to be commander-in-chief of all the forces; and a major-general of the division, and a brigadier-general of each bri gade were to be chosen by the two houses of the legislature, which held a joint session for that purpose, January 24, 1856. John M. Thayer was elected major-general, and L. L. Bowen, of Douglas county, brigadier-general of the northern district without opposition. John Boulware1 of Otoe county, and H. P. Downs, H. P. Thurber, and Thomas Patter son2 of Cass county were candidates for the office of brigadier-general for the southern district. On the first ballot Boulware re ceived 15 votes, Downs 9, Thurber 4, Patter- 'Col. John Boulware was a pioneer of Nebraska as early as 1826, having come up the Missouri river that year and established himself at old Ft. Atkinson. After some years spent on the frontier he moved to Platte county, Missouri, where he remained until about 1846; and this year he established a ferry for the federal government at old Ft. Kearney. In 1849 he was placed in charge of the property of Ft. Kear ney, and in 1852 became postmaster of the newly established town of Table Creek, which two years later was changed to Nebraska City. He was one of the original incorporators and officers of the old town of Kearney, which also became a part of Ne braska City. In 1855 Colonel Boulware was elected a member, from Otoe county, of the house of represen tatives of the 2d territorial assembly. It was through his influence and assistance that the Platte Valley bank did not close its doors during the panic of 1857, though he was not on very friendly terms with S. F. Nuckolls, the president of the bank. Colonel Boul ware died January 3, 1864. One son, John B., re moved to Utah in the early days. Another son, George W., born in Platte county, Missouri, was raised in Nebraska City and died there October 20, 1881. He took charge of the ferry after his father's death and carried the mails between Nebraska City and Sidney, Iowa. 2 Col. Thomas Patterson was a native of Wash ington county, Pennsylvania, and a pioneer settler of Rock Bluffs precinct, Cass county. In the very early days he owned a large and beautiful farm on the Missouri river bottom, but owing to the change son 7. On the second ballot Boulware and Downs had 18 votes each ; on the third ballot Boulware had 14 votes and Downs 21, and so Mr. Downs became brigadier-general of the 2d brigade. There was a general grist of special acts of incorporation, but much fewer in number than at the first session. Simpson university .of Omaha (reincorporated), Nemaha univer sity3 at Archer, Washington college4 at Cum ing City, the Plattsmouth Preparatory and Collegiate Institute," and Western University6 "to be located near, or in Cassville, Cass county," made up the modest list of incor porations for higher institutions of learning. The first was organized under the auspices of the Nebraska district and the Council Bluffs district of the Iowa annual conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. The other four were to be stock corporations with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars each. None was ever successfully organized. There was a strong movement in the house, stimulated of course by the still living capital feud, to create the county of Sarpy out of the southern half of Douglas.7 A compromise was effected in the shape of a substitute8 which formed a separate election district out of the in the current of the river the farm was all washed away. Colonel Patterson was a surveyor by pro fession and surveyed and platted Rock Bluffs, and his original and peculiar manner of numbering lots and blocks is still carried on the tax lists of Cass county. He was an uncle of James M. Patterson, for many years prominent in the history of Cass county. One son. resides in Cass county. 3 The list of incorporators of Nemaha University to be located at Archer in Richardson county were as follows : Thomas B. Froman, Andrew Trebble, Rev. Pleasant M. Rogers. John C. Miller, Christian Bobst, Justus C. Lincoln, Abel D. Kirk, Joseph L. Sharp, Charles MacDonald, Bethel Allen, Charles Downing, and Lewis Misplais. 'The incorporators of Washington college to be located at Cuming City, Nebraska territory, were : Benjamin, R. Folsom, James C. Mitchell, Thomas B. Cuming, Mark W. Izard, Paris G. Cooper, William B.. Hail, John C. Campbell, and J. B. Radford. "The incorporators of Plattsmouth Preparatory and Collegiate Institute were : L. H. Stringfield, William Garrison, Samuel Hahn, Timothy L. Gas- kill, William R. Davis, Joseph L. Sharp, Abraham Towner, Moses F. Shinn, Edward Arnold, Moses Stocking, and Levi G. Todd. "The incorporators of Western University were Samuel M. Kirkpatrick, Henry C. Wolph, M. B. Case, William T. Laird, John McF. Hagood, G. W. Moore, and Matthew Hughes. r House Journal, 2d Ten Sess., pp. 57, 61. 8 Ibid., p. 123. SECOND LEGISLATURE 273 territory now comprising Sarpy county, with the exception of a strip two miles wide on the present southern border of Douglas county. The 2d legislature formed the judicial districts as follows : ist district, Burt, Dakota, Dodge, Douglas, and Wash ington counties, "and the territory north and west" ; 2d district, Cass, Clay, Lancaster, and Otoe counties, "and the territory west thereof" ; 3d district, Johnson, Nemaha, Pawnee, and Richardson counties, "and the territory west of said counties." Chief Jus tice Ferguson was as signed to the ist dis trict, Associate Justice Harden to the 2d, and Associate Justice Bradley to the 3d. A general law was passed empowering the people of the several coun ties to select or change the location of the county seats. The "Salt Spring Company"1 was incorpo rated "for the purpose of erecting suitable build ings, furnaces, and reser voirs to carry on the busi ness at the Salt Springs discovered by Thomas Thompson and others, ly ing west of Cass county. ' ' The six applications for divorce were referred to the judge of the ist judicial district for action at his discretion. The first legislation for the Order of Odd AMAZIAL 'The act to incorporate a saline company to be known as the "Salt Spring Company" named as in corporators : John Griffith, Thomas Thompson, John Clemons, John McF. Hagood, William Wil liams, Benjamin Williams, John J. Gilmore, Bela White, William T. Laird, and Joseph B. McKay. • 2 The following were the incorporators of the Masonic and Odd Fellows' Hall company : Miles W. Brown, John B. Boulware, Charles F. Holly, Louis Hass, George W. Boulware, David Lindley, J. W. Stull, John C. Campbell, William P. Birch- field, William Anderson, A. J. Armstrong, Edward R. Harden, Mastin W. Riden, and Isaac L. Gibbs. "The incorporators of the Omaha Odd Fellows' Hall association as named in the act were : Taylor 18 Fellows in Nebraska was the incorporation of "the Masonic and Odd Fellows Hall Com pany"2 of Otoe county "for the purpose of erecting in Nebraska City, South Nebraska City, or Kearney City a suitable building or buildings to be used in part as a hall for Masonic and Odd Fellowship purposes"; and also the Odd Fellows' Hall Association3 of Omaha, No. 2, of Nebraska territory. A penitentiary for the territory was located at Tekamah, and the proprietors of the town were required to donate ten acres of land for a site. But though Con gress was regularly im portuned by the territorial legislatures, no appropri ation for constructing the proposed penitentiary was obtained until just before the time of admission to statehood. The first act providing for the organi zation of religious so cieties was passed at this second session. The boundaries of Cass, Dakotah, Nemaha, Ottoe, and Richardson counties were changed, and in this act one "t" is dropped in the spelling of Otoe. Up to this time the spell ing of this name with two t's by the legisla tures and the press had been general. The organization of eighteen new counties was also authorized. Seven of these, namely, G. Goodwill, Hadley D. Johnson, George Armstrong, and A. S. Bishop. 'Amazial M. Rose, member of the 2d legislative assembly of Nebraska territory, was born in the township of Bristol, Trumbull county, Ohio, Janu ary 1, 1824. His father, Ira Rose, was a shoemaker by trade, but a farmer as well. He was a native of Connecticut and came of a well-known New Eng land family of English extraction. Ira Rose was thrice married, the subject of this sketch being the oldest son of his second wife, who was Mrs. Betsy (Morely) Barnes, a native of Massachusetts. She died in 1844, leaving five children. A. M. Rose was educated in. his native county and learned the cooper's trade, though he never followed it after he came to the West. He was one of the earhest set- 274 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Clay, Greene, Gage, Izard, Lancaster, Saline, and York, had been authorized by the pre vious legislature. Two of the new names in this act, Calhoun and Monroe, and two of the old, Greene and Izard, have disappeared from the map, no organization having taken place under them, and Clay and Jones were organ ized, but the first was afterward merged with Gage and Lancaster, and the second with Jefferson county. Monroe county voted at the general elections of 1859, and its returns became notorious in the contest between Esta brook and Daily, candidates for delegate to Congress; it was added to Platte county by the legislature of 1859-60. The rising tide of Civil war passion in the legislature of 1861-62 swept the names of Calhoun, Greene, and Izard off the map, and substituted for them respectively Saunders, Seward, and Stanton. There is a tradition among old set tlers that Greene county was named after a "Missouri rebel." James S. Green,1 the United States senator from Missouri, would answer the requirement, except that his name is spelled without the final "e." Colonel Colton Greene would have answered completely, but he was a young man at that time, and only became known as an efficient officer in the Confederate service after the outbreak of the war. But whatever the origin or significance of this particular appellation, the obtrusively loyal legislature got rid, summarily, of three offensive southern names. The bills changing the names all passed with a rush and without division, and apparently without comment by the press.2 The continued impoverished condition of the territorial finances is illustrated by the act authorizing the treasurer to borrow four thousand dollars on the bonds of the terri tory, at a rate not exceeding 15 per cent annual interest, for the purposes of paying officers and employees of the ist and 2d legislatures and for taking the census of 1855. A large number of territorial roads were spe cifically established, and a general law gave county commissioners power to open and keep in repair all county roads. Room was found for four more ferry franchises on the Mis souri river. The most important legislation of the session was the granting of charters to five so-called wildcat banks : The Bank of Florence, the Nemaha Valley bank at Brown ville, the Platte Valley bank at Nebraska City, the Fontenelle bank at Bellevue, and the Bank of Nebraska at Omaha. tiers of Nebraska territory, having crossed the river at Nebraska City, then known as Ft. Kearney, when only two or three buildings and the abandoned fed eral fort could be seen. He settled there before the town was laid out, and carried the chain for Charles Pierce and Dr. William Dewey, who surveyed the site of Nebraska City. Mr. Rose took a prominent part in the management of public affairs in the early days, and in 1855 was elected a member from Cass and Otoe counties of the 2d territorial legislature. In the spring of 1859 he returned to his old home in Trumbull county, Ohio, where he remained six years; then he again came west and settled on land in Cass county. During his first residence in Ne braska City he entered land which is now the site of a packing house. He again sold out and pur chased a farm in Liberty precinct, near the mouth of the Weeping Water, where he lived until he retired from active work, and moved to Union, Nebraska. He was married in Bristol township, Ohio, on October 8, 1845, to Sobrina Webster, who was born March 28, 1824, in Chautauqua county, New York. Mrs. Rose was an active member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Seven chil dren were born to them, four of whom died in in fancy. Those living are G. Albert, Lalla K., wife of Charles Barrow, and Virgil E.; all residing at McLean, Nebraska. Mr. Rose moved to the present Pierce county, Nebraska, in the spring of 1902, and now (1904), at the age of eighty-one years, to gether with his aged wife, makes his home with his youngest son, Virgil E., in McLean. Mr. Rose has always been a republican and active in local politics. 1 Senator James S. Green of Missouri had been a member of Congress, but was not widely known until his election to the United States Senate, Janu ary 12, 1857, while the act organizing Greene county was approved March 6, 1855. There is, therefore, much more reason for believing that Greene county was named for Manly W. Greene, one of the first and most prominent settlers of Cass county, and one of the members of the original Plattsmouth Town company and also one of the three commissioners appointed about the same time to define the boun daries and locate the county seat of York county. There is additional reason for believing that Greene county was named for the Cass county Greene in the fact that the three commissioners appointed to define the boundaries and locate the countv s»at -^f Greene county, Lafayette Nuckolls, Joseph D. N. Thompson, and Joseph L. Sharp, were residents of Cass county and at least two of them were inti mately associated with Manly W. Greene. 2 The course of the organization of the remain ing twelve of the counties in question, namely, But ler, Dixon, Fillmore, Gage, Jefferson, Lancaster, Madison, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Saline, and York, may be traced with interest in the historical sum mary in the addenda of this volume. SECOND LEGISLATURE '¦75 Joint resolutions were adopted asking Con gress to grant ten sections of land and five thousand dollars for the benefit of Nebraska University at Fontenelle; for the removal of the Omaha Indians, according to their wish, from their new reserv.ition in the Blackbird hills to some place in the interior, and for indemnity to settlers who were driven from their homes by the removal of the Omahas to Blackbird county; for a change in the or ganic act of the territory so ab to base appor tionment of representa tion upon the entire population instead of voters only; for an appro priation to pay the ex pense of defense againit Indian depredations dur ing the past year, and the donation of one hundred and sixty acres of land to each man regularly mus tered into the service for such defense. Mr. Gib son, for the committee on federal relations, made a report in the form of a memorial to Congress praying for a free grant of one hundred and sixty acres of the public domain to actual settlers of Nebraska, which illustrated the spirit and anticipated the argu ments that a few years later stimulated the passage of a general homestead law.1 WILLIAM BURNIE BECK4 On the nth of January, Mr. Decker intro duced a bill to relocate the capital at Chester, in what is now Lancaster county, and on the 16th, William A. Finney,2 J. Sterling Morton, and James H. Decker, of the committee to whom it had been referred, recommended its passage.3 Dr. George L. Miller made a mi nority report as follows : "In the examination of the subject which this bill brings to the notice of your commit tee, the importance of the change contem plated by its provisions calls for a few reasons to justify the difference of views and opinions be tween the majority and minority of your com mittee. ' 'A brief review of the organization of the terri tory brings to our con sideration the fact that, in accordance with the requirements of the or ganic law, the seat of gov ernment of Nebraska was, by the acting governor of the territory, located at Omaha City. The wisdom of that selection was con firmed by a subsequent legislature against the most strenuous efforts made to frustrate and de- leat that organization, and an unprejudiced view of the existing condition of our affairs would seem to impose upon all who desire the permanent progress of our territory the duty of uphold ing that policy under which we are enjoying 1 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 94. 2 William A. Finney, member of the lower house of the 1st, 2d, and 3d territorial assemblies of Ne braska, from Nemaha county, was a native of Ohio and was born about 1827. Nothing can be learned regarding his early life, and there is but little record of his career in Nebraska. He came to Brownville immediately after Richard Brown founded the town. He was one of the commissioners to locate the first territorial road in Nemaha county, commencing at Brownville and ending at Marshall's trading post, on the Big Blue river. In 1857 he operated the first steam ferry at Brownville, but during his residence there he was principally engaged in trading with the Indians. He went to the Black Hills, and in the spring of 1859 removed to California, but returned to Brownville in August, 1861. "House Journal, 2d Ter. Se'ss., p. 111. 'William Burnie Beck, member of the 2d terri torial legislature, was born January 3, 1834, in Dum- frieshire, Scotland, son of Ebenezer Patterson and Sophia Dixon (Burnie) Beck, who came to the United States in 1836 and settled on a farm in Erie county, New York, where for some years they en gaged in stock raising. In 1849 W. B. Beck went to California and engaged in mining until 1851, when he returned to New York. He came to Ne braska in 1855, residing first in Tekamah, but later settled in Arizona precinct, Burt county, and en gaged in farming and stock raising. August 6, 1855, he enlisted in a company formed for the protection of settlers against the Indians, and was commis sioned first lieutenant by Governor Izard. He was elected to represent Burt county in the 2d terri torial assembly; in 1879 was a member of the state senate; and again served in 1890-91. In 1882 he SECOND LEGISLATURE 277 the benefits of a just and impartial adminis tration of the territorial government. It can not be denied that the capital is now located as near the geographical center of the terri tory as may be, and that its present situation is the best that can be named for the accom modation of its resident population. A com prehensive view of the interests to be con sulted upon this subject would show that its removal to a sparsely populated district could possibly be of no practical advantage to the territory at large. Large amounts of money have already been expended toward the erec tion of a suitable state house at the seat of government as now established, and under the liberal patronage of the parent government and the energetic direction of his excellency, the governor, we have every reason to con gratulate ourselves upon the prospect of its speedy completion. To reverse the policy under which we are so prosperously advanc ing in our career would be, in the opinion of the undersigned, eminently disastrous and sui cidal. For these, among other reasons, I beg to report adversely to the bill under consid eration, and to recommend the indefinite post ponement of the same." Mr. Thomas Gibson1 also made a minority report which is of interest as a reflection of the opinion at that time as to the probable coming center of population. Mr. Gibson ad- removed to Tekamah, and three years later was appointed postmaster by President Cleveland. In 1892 he moved to Wyoming and settled on a stock ranch in Big Horn county, where he remained until his death, which occurred in Pender, August 18, 1900. October 14, 1861, he was married to Hannah Blackstone, who now resides with her sons, Wil liam E. and George T., in Big Horn county, Wyom ing. One daughter, Mrs. R. A. Smith, resides in Tekamah, Nebraska. The late James B. Beck, who represented Kentucky in the United States Senate, was an elder brother. Another brother, John B. Beck, now (1904) resides near Attica, New York. 1 Thomas Gibson was born in Derby, England, in 1819; learned the printing business, and pub lished the Mechanics' Organ. He emigrated to America in 1849, settling at Quincy, Illinois, where he published the first republican newspaper in that state. He was a member of the "Quincy Colony" which settled at Fontenelle, in 1854, where he estab lished the first sawmill in 1856, and where he resided until 1859, when, with his family, he went to Colo rado, remaining there until 1864. Mr. Gibson started the Rocky Mountain Gold Reporter in July, 1859, which was discontinued five months later. He was associated with William N. Byers and Dr. Gilbert C. Monell in founding the Rocky Mountain News, the first newspaper in Colorado. He was one of the clerks of the convention to draft a constitution for the proposed territory of Jefferson, which met in Denver May 7, 1860. Mr. Gibson returned to Ne braska, and m 1869 went to Omaha where he was associated with C. R. Schaller in the real estate busi- mitted that the proposed location on Salt creek might benefit a large majority of "our present population," but his objection was based on the following considerations: "In submitting this report it becomes my duty to offer, as an individual opinion, the proper course to pursue in the relocation of the seat of government. From information which may be had it is supposed that 80 to 100 miles will be the extent of our settlements westward, and about 100 miles northward. It is seen, then, that the relocation must be north of the Platte river, and about 40 miles west from the Missouri to be centrally situ ated ; and in selecting a site for so important a purpose it is requisite that reference should be had to eligibility for the purpose of a town site, where water, timber, and position of land are found supplied, and where a location for health will be a desideratum. Such a position can be found on the Elkhorn river, and not one more desirable than the city of Fonte nelle." With his report Mr. Gibson offered a bill to locate the capital at Fontenelle.2 The re moval bill was killed by postponement on the 22d of January by a vote of 13 to n. Of the South Platte members, Hagood3 and Buck4 of Cass and Hoover of Richardson and ness. In 1879 he became secretary of the Omaha Board of Trade and while still holding this position, he established, in 1880, the first plant in Omaha for the manufacture of barbed wire fencing, and several other industries. It was largely through his efforts that the Board of Trade building at the corner of 10th and Farnam streets was erected in 1884. He resigned as secretary of the Board of Trade in 1885 and removed to Los Gatos, California. He was a 33d degree Mason. He was married in 1839 to Sarah Wehldale, who bore him eight children: Henry, Thomas R., Arthur, Frank W., Jennie, George E., William, and Sally. 2 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 113. 3 John McF. Hagood, a native of Kentucky, was born about 1812 and settled in Rock Bluffs precinct, Cass county, in October, 1854. He was married November 8, 1856, to Miss Mary C. Brown: was elected to represent Cass county in the lower house at the second session of the territorial assembly, No vember 6, 1855, and again elected to the tenth ses sion in 1865. Also represented Cass county in the house of representatives in the fifth session of the state legislature. June 11, 1861, he enlisted as a private in company A, 1st regiment of Nebraska veteran volunteer infantry and was commissioned second lieutenant January 1, 1862, promoted to first lieutenant, May 30, 1862, and mustered out August 27, 1864. For additional information see vol. II 'John Foster Buck, Nebraska pioneer, was born in Bucksville about seven miles from Auburn, New York, May 31, 1815, and died near Union, in Cass 278 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Nemaha voted against removal, while all those voting for removal were of the Soutn Platte.1 Two members — J. Sterling Morton and Dr. George L. Miller — whose flight, in state pol itics, was to be long and high and to extend into the national empyrean, tried their fledg ling wings in this 2d legislature, and in spite of their adolescence they at once became con spicuous. J. Sterling Morton, not yet twenty- four years old, was chairman of the com mittee on public buildings and grounds, and second on the committees on common schools and printing. We readily infer that the chair manship of the public buildings committee was not unsought by Morton nor grudgingly bestowed by Speaker Sullivan. Hostility to the Omaha element and, in particular, to Sec retary Cuming as its rough-shod general, had already naturally focused in Morton's intense temperament. It was the intention of the anti-Omaha, or, roughly rounded up, the South Platte representatives to undo the capi tal location business of the first session and to uncover the methods of its doing. Speaker Sullivan of Washington county, which had lost the capital prize, was the natural ally of the South Platte. Morton at once began an inquisition for a showing by Secretary Cuming to the house as to his expenditures for public printing,2 and by the governor and county, Nebraska, September 1, 1901. His father, Aholiab Buck, was born near Wyoming, Pennsyl vania, in 1776, a descendant of an English family that settled in America early in its history. The mother of John Foster Buck was Annis (Drake) Buck, who was a grandchild of one of the first set tlers of Manhattan Island, then known as New Am sterdam. The Buck family resided in Pennsylvania until after the celebrated Wyoming massacre, after which they took up their residence in Troy county, New York. In the neighborhood of his New York home John Foster Buck attended the district school, then of a subscription order, and there gained the rudiments of an education which he augmented in later life by extensive reading and observation. He was reared as is the son of the average farmer, and made self-reliant by being taught the art of farm ing. His first money was earned by selling apples to the passengers on the Erie canal. In 1831, when he was sixteen years of age, he became a resident of Peoria county, Illinois, and there he resided until May, 1855, when he came to Nebraska, and settled upon the quarter-section of land upon which he re sided until his death. As a farmer he was success ful, and became the owner of considerable land, and at one time, in addition to his original homestead, had an eighty-acre tract for each one of his nine children then living. In stock raising and general secretary of all documents in regard to pub lic buildings, including estimates and con tracts;3 and later in the session his resolution '"requiring" the secretary "to lay before the house of representatives a copy of his instruc tions which he alleges to have received from the comptroller of the United States treasury in regard to the pay of clerks, firemen, and chaplains for this territory."4 Since the ex penditures under the first two subjects of inquiry were from federal appropriations and for which the secretary and executive were accountable to the federal treasury depart ment, technically, perhaps, they could not be required to account also to the local legisla ture. The secretary promptly responded to the first request,5 but it does not appear that the governor or secretary complied with the request for a showing as to public buildings. The more diplomatic Gibson, of Dodge county, moved to cure the innuendo of the intentionally undiplomatic Morton by substi tuting the word "has" for the words "alleges to have," but Miller, who was the alert de fender on the floor of Omaha men and mea sures, moved to table the resolution. The motion was lost by a vote of 11 to 13, and, after the more judicious word "request" had been substituted for Morton's intentionally peremptory "required," on motion of a more farming he was one of the pioneers in his section. Some years prior to his death he retired from active business, and resided upon his farm. Pie was a man who exercised a wide local influence for good, and was honored and respected by his fellow citizens. For more than forty years he served continuously as a justice of the peace in Cass county. For all his adult life he adhered to the principles of republicanism. He was first a whig and a supporter of William Harrison for president, and after that, until his death, voted for every whig and republican nominee for the presidency, and his last vote was cast in 1900 for William McKinley. Mr. Buck was married November 5, 1839, to Mary M. Schryder. To Mr. and Mrs. Buck ten children were born (five of whom are still living), namelv, Abigail Jane, wife of Andrew Klepser; Sarah Annis, wife of Capt. W. B. Gates; Maria Adeline, wife of J. D. Cross of Akron, Colorado; John Spaulding, married to Miss Huldah Wolph, who resides at Gleneden, Washing ton ; and Theodore Drake Buck, married to Frances Barber, who resides in Cass county. 1 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 143. 2 Ibid., p. 30. 3 Ibid., p. 33. 4 Ibid., p. 135. 5 Ibid., p. 32. SECOND LEGISLATURE 279 peaceable, if less virile South Platte member, the resolution passed without division.1 All who have watched with clear vision Morton's long and impressive career till its late la mented end will read in this boyhood reso lution the forecast and the epitome of the man; the same undisguised and relentless at tack on opponents, the abandon in giving bat tle which burns the bridges of retreat, and the uncompromising and implacable spirit 1 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 135. ' James C. Mitchell, member of the council from Washington county, in the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska, was born at Bristol, Pennsylvania, in 1811. His youth was spent in his native state and in New York, whence he emigrated to Jackson county, Iowa. Previous to coming west he had followed the sea and was captain of the ship "Splen did." The exact date of his settlement at Bellevue, Jackson county, Iowa, is in doubt, but his name ap pears as president of the board of trustees of that village as early as 1841, and, according to documents ou file in the archives of the Historical Department of Iowa at Des Moines, James Thompson was killed by Mitchell at Bellevue in 1840. There appear to have been two factions prominent in Bellevue, Iowa, at the time, one under the leadership of W. W. Brown, a notorious character, who was proprietor of a tavern at that place, which was the rendezvous of a band of law-breakers under the lead of James Thompson. The other party was headed by a Col. Thomas Cox, known as "The Old War Horse." Brown and Cox were both candidates before a cau cus called to name one delegate to the Iowa Demo cratic territorial convention. Cox being defeated, de nounced Brown as a horse thief, counterfeiter, etc. This election was the first cause of the "Bellevue War." The breach between the two factions was further widened by the killing of James Thompson by James C. Mitchell, the facts of which are really all that Nebraskans are interested in : "The anti- Brown faction got up a grand ball to celebrate the anniversary of the battle of New Orleans, on Janu ary 8, which is known as Jackson's day, and a com mittee on invitation was appointed. One of the members of that committee was James C. Mitchell, who declared that none of the Brown faction should be invited, and Mitchell had his way in the matter. Previous to this, James Mitchell and his brother had been having trouble : the brother's household goods were in Jim's house, and Jim would not allow him to have them. On the night of the ball, the brother concluded, would be a good time to secure the prop erty, while the family were away from home. Get ting a team and some help he went to Mitchell's house, and finding no one at home except a Miss Hadley, loaded up the goods and hauled them away. James Thompson was sent up stairs to guard Miss Hadley, who had retired, but she made her escape from the house and went to the ballroom in her night clothes. Mitchell immediately borrowed a gun and started to hunt for Thompson, who anticipated just such action, and had set out to find Mitchell, Absalom Montgomery going with him. All accounts agree that Thompson was very drunk. It was a clear moonlight night, and the two men recognized each other at quite a distance, but they approached within striking distance before they attempted to which, while they were perhaps the chief source of his strength, yet almost uniformly defeated his political aspirations. The fol lowing resolutions, also characteristic of their mover, were offered by Mr. Morton: "Whereas, At the last session of the legis lative assembly of the territory of Nebraska, James C. Mitchell2 was appointed, by joint resolution of the Council and House of Rep resentatives, sole commissioner to select the shoot. Thompson's gun missed fire, but the bullet from Mitchell's gun passed through Thompson's heart, killing him immediately. There was terrible excitement in the little town that night, and war was imminent, but was finally averted by the influence of Hon. William Morden and others. Mitchell was protected by the sheriff and kept under guard at home until the next term of court, when he was indicted by the grand jury — April 17, 1840— and was tried at a special term held in June of the same year; the verdict of the jury was "not guilty." James C. Mitchell was at Kanesville (Council Bluffs) when the Mormon exodus began. With the opening of Nebraska territory Mitchell, Andrew J. Smith, B. Rush Pegram, and others moved across the river to Winter Quarters, the name of which they changed to Florence, in honor of Florence Kilbourn, an adopted daughter of Mr. Mitchell. Another adopted daughter, Miss J. Anna Floyd, died at Council Bluffs, December 26, 1854, at the age of twenty-one years. She was formerly of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and her people lived in Utah. Mr. Mitchell was one of the incorporators of the bank of Florence and published the Florence Courier in 1857. He later became a merchant in Florence, and died there August 6, 1860, where, also, he and his wife and an adopted daughter were buried. It is not known when Mrs. Mitchell died, but she was still living in 1880. As a member of the council Mr. Mitchell was aggressive in his efforts to boom Florence and was "ready to trade, buy, sell, or swap, if he could thereby get advantageous legislation for his town site." The 1st legislature appointed him sole commissioner to locate the capitol building. The following remin iscences of Mr. Mitchell are by Dr. George L Miller : "He was a small man in stature and not a large one in any sense, but what he lacked in size he made up in activity and pluck. Mr. Mitchell was an avowed and deadly enemy of Omaha. He was a fighter, and his temper was not remarkable for amiability. His age was about forty years, and he was always hust ling about as lively as a cricket. His hair was slightly tinged with gray, and his eyes were of the same cold color. Mr. Mitchell was out for all the money there was in anything that came within the range of his sharp vision, as was shown when, after fighting for several years for the removal of the capitol from Omaha, he openly accepted a large number of lots as a consideration, and voted to fix the capitol at a certain place on Capitol Hill in Omaha. As a member of the council he was a man to be dealt with. Quick to see advantages, he was always in evidence when he had interests to serve. As a speaker and parliamentarian he was snappy, petulant, simply smart, and always pugna cious. But he was personally congenial to many and socially very agreeable to those who touched his bet ter nature. That he was a man of indomitable will, 28o HISTORY OF NEBRASKA place whereon the capital buildings should be located or erected; and "Whereas, The said James C. Mitchell, as a condition precedent to his appointment as said commissioner, pledged himself to select the site for the capital buildings on the line between the Clancy and Jeffrey claims ; and "Whereas, There has been a different loca tion of the capital buildings, and an evident departure from the pledge of said James C. Mitchell, as made by him in open Council: Therefore, "Resolved, That James C. Mitchell, be and hereby is respectfully re quested to present to both Houses of the legis lative assembly a report stating fully and explicitly all that he has done rela tive to the performance of the duties enjoined in said commission, stating fully and explicitly the reasons that induced him, the said Mitchell, to de part from his pledged honor to locate the said buildings on the line be tween the said Clancy and Jeffrey claims, and whether there was any reward or promise offered him to influence the loca tion or selection of the site for said buildings. ' 'Resolved, That in ' he event of any person or per sons having offered any in ducements, pecuniarily or otherwise, or having used any arguments to influ ence his action as said com ABEL DOWNING KIRK3 After a hot controversy the resolutions passed by a vote of 14 to 10; and here again Miller and Morton led the fight on opposite sides.2 J. Sterling Morton's father was a close friend of Lewis Cass, and the bright and sus ceptible boy had no doubt been much im pressed by that statesman's character and career. Cass's distinguished political life had budded in his military and political experience in the Northwest, which had extended even as far as Minnesota. It is a fair inference that young Morton was in spired by the knowledge of the older man's west ern beginnings, and not unlikely by his direct suggestion, to attempt a like career by following a like course. It might have been expected that Morton, with his political aspirations, after defeat as a partisan of Bellevue, would take counsel of expediency and follow victory to Omaha, now the politician's Mecca. But his aggressive and im placable spirit preferred to fight Cuming and his capital as well rather than to follow them; and in Nebraska City, the most missioner, that the name or names of said considerable town, and in the leading county person or persons be given, with all the in- of the territory, he chose the best vantage ducements offered."1 ground. At a time when nothing was re- energy, force, and great courage, nobody who knew Joseph, Missouri, and the following year went to him well ever doubted." A granddaughter of James Nebraska, where he became one of the first settlers C. Mitchell, Anna E. Farrell, resides in Minneapolis, ¦•'.-.- Minnesota. 1 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 60. * Ibid., p. 72. *Abel Downing Kirk, member of the 2d territorial assembly of Nebraska, now a resident of Long Beach, California, was born March 23, 1826, in Breken county, Kentucky. He is a son of Thomas Kirk, a native of Maryland, who removed to Ken tucky when sixteen years of age, and Rebecca (Downing) Kirk. He was raised upon a farm and acquired his education in the district schools of Mason county, Kentucky. In 1854 he moved to St. of Richardson county. He was elected a member of the lower house of the 2d territorial assembly of Nebraska and was candidate for speaker receiv ing 12 votes on the first ballot, but was defeated on the second ballot by Potter C. Sullivan. Though from an extreme southern county, Mr. Kirk was the candidate of the North Platte faction. He strongly opposed the bank charters granted at that session In 1858-59 he was the editor and pub lisher of the Rulo Western Guide, published in the town of Rulo. His paper advocated a free state T,;V?r,a a a,nd suPP°rted the Democratic party. In 1860 he_ took the census of Richardson county, the population being then only 2,834. After the be- SECOND LEGISLATURE 281 garded as finally settled and with as good a chance as her rival for railroad favors, there was firm ground for hope that Nebraska City might keep the lead and deprive Omaha of the capital, too. The last hope, only, came true. S. F. Nuckolls, of strong, resolute charac ter, a successful man of business, and a prin cipal factor of the considerable prestige and prospect of Nebraska City, discerned Mor ton's promising qualities, and no doubt in fluenced him in his choice. In the work of develop ing the aspiring metropo lis of the South Platte section, in which Nuck olls had the chief inter est, and in the fight al ready on against Omaha and the North Platte for political and commercial supremacy, these men of differing temperament and tendency would be mutually supplemental. "We were proud of his acquisition," says Hiram P. Bennet, himself one of the promising young men, and afterward a prominent political figure in the South Plat e strug gles, of whom Nuckolls had already become in some degree an adviser and patron. For this bitter and protracted warfare the base was wisely chosen, in proof ginning of the Civil war, Mr. Kirk returned to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he continued to live until the fall of 1901, when he removed to Long Beach, California. He successfully practiced law in St. Joseph from 1862 until 1899. Mr. Kirk has always affiliated with the Democratic party. He has been twice married. His first wife, Elizabeth A. Kirk, died in 1898, and he was afterwards married to Mary E. Woodbury. One son, William B., resides in Lincoln, Nebraska, and a daughter, Augeline R., wife of George E. Mclninch, lives in St. Joseph, Missouri. Uonathan Harvey Smith was born at Putney, Windham county, Vermont, April 11, 1807, and died near Salem, Illinois, in 1866. He received a common school education, and taught in the public schools of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He studied law, was ad mitted to the bar, and made a fortune in the practice JONATHAN H. SMITH ' FONTENELLE COLONY whereof results eventually reinforced reason. For, as we shall see, the prestige and hostility of Otoe county, reflected and largely kept alive by the strong personality of Morton, turned the scale against Omaha in the last weighing of aspirants for the capital. Morton carried on his fight against Omaha and the North Platte section along two lines : he would take away the entire South Platte from Nebraska, and annex it to Kansas; or, short of that, he would take away the capital from Omaha and the North Platte and place it in the South Platte section. Fa'lure of his more sweeping scheme of secession was apparent as early as i860, but he, or the force of his early impetus, fol lowed the other line to final success in 1867. They who have known the riper Morton need not be told that he did not spend his political noviti ate in this session in la boriously compiling and introducing long lists of bills to be counted off to his credit by an astonished and admiring constitu ency or a wondering pos terity. In fact he present ed only three bills and as many resolutions, while similar achievements of colleagues, otherwise unknown to fame, must be counted by the of law, but failed during the panic of 1837. In 1843 he started west with a stock of dry goods, his ob jective point being Jacksonville, Illinois. He trav eled by boat to St. Louis, and then up the Illinois river, where he traded his goods for a tract of land in Brown county, Illinois. He resided here for six years, increasing his land holdings to 1,100 acres, which he sold for $15,000, and then removed to Quincy, Illinois, to engage in the banking business. In 1854, in company with Rev. William Wirt Keep, he organized a company for the purpose of planting a colony in Nebraska territory. In the fall of that year representatives were sent out to select a site and make improvements. The following April Mr. Smith and his son, Harvey R. Smith, to whom we are indebted for these facts, set out for Nebraska in a covered wagon, and arrived in the territory about the first of May, going direct to the town site which 1854-55 /Ojuuiy^ibtjuM' SECOND LEGISLATURE 283 score. His activities came from original or unusual sources, and he struck in unexpected quarters. While his colleagues, with the weak yielding and impulse of "the crowd," were rushing through wildcat bank charters he in terposed a minority report against the prin ciple involved as well as against the acts themselves.1 While ordinary men were cry ing, Peace! Peace! as to the North and South Platte divisions, where there could be no peace until the then only dimly foreseen railway system should establish practicable communi cation between the sections, he cut to the quick of the question by advocating secession of the South Platte and presenting a memorial to Congress for the annexation of that part of the territory to Kansas, giving cogent reasons therefor.2 The originality of Morton's meth ods is illustrated in his intervening motion, when it was proposed that the house forth with choose an additional enrolling and en grossing clerk, that a committee be appointed to examine candidates.3 The committee reported as follows : "The special committee on the matter of engrossing and enrolling clerks respectfully submit that they have received applications for the post from the following gentlemen : Messrs. Alden,4 Gorton, Dendy, Warner, and others, and beg leave to commend the ability of the gentlemen named above as they believe them equally qualified to fill the responsible had been named Fontenelle. The colony was com posed of about fifty members, a majority of whom were members of the Baptist church. Mr. Smith's claim was on what is now known as Bell creek, and adjoining the town site. He had one hundred acres broken at once, a part of which was planted to corn. After erecting a temporary house on the town site, he returned to Illinois to get his family, intending to make his home at Fontenelle. About this time, two of the settlers, George Demaree and a Mr. Por ter, were on a hunt, when they were attacked and killed by the Indians. This incident caused Mr. Smith to change his mind about taking his family to Fontenelle, and the following summer he re turned, sold his claim to good advantage, and went back to his home in Quincy. Mr. Smith was mar ried in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to Jane Robinson, December, 1838. They had six children, five of whom are still living: Harvey R. Smith, Chatfield, Minnesota; Mrs. Julia M. Torrance and Mrs. R. Meredith Jones, San Diego, California; Mrs. Helen M. Steele, Los Angeles, California; Jonathan H. Smith was a democrat in politics, and President Pierce was urged to appoint him as governor of Nebraska territory after the death of Governor Burt, and he was finally appointed, June 9, 1855, position which they seek. Your committee therefore submit the matter to your consid eration.5 "J. Sterling Morton. "Levi Harsh. "Geo. L. Miller." The house selected the candidate at the head of the list after six ballots. Where is there a record of a formal civil service proceeding in this country that precedes this one conceived by our tyro statesman of twenty-three years? Morton, opposed the civil service reform move ment in his later career until he came face to face with the conditions which had stimu lated it when he was at Washington as secre tary of agriculture. From that time it re ceived his approval and advocacy. Dr. Geo. L. Miller, who afterward became very prominent as a political journalist and leader, did not introduce a single bill at this session, but he was very active on the floor of the house. He led the opposition to the measure to remove the capital when it was finally defeated for this session, as also in the attempt to divide Douglas county, and he stood unswervingly against the incorporation of the illegitimate financial schemes which were a blight on this legislature. Dr. Miller was a member of three standing committees, and he and Mr. Morton represented the house on the committee to prepare joint rules for the two houses.6 as one of the three district attorneys, but there is no record of his ever having performed any of the duties of this office. He worked hard to secure the location of the capital at Fontenelle, and it was due to his efforts that a charter was secured for Ne braska university, a Baptist college, which was actu ally started at that place. Among the first members- of the "Nebraska Colonization Company" to settle at Fontenelle were: Jonathan H. Smith, Pres., Rev. Wm. W. Keep, Secy., J. C. Barnard, Treas., J. W. Richardson, Cor. Secy., Jared Blanset, James A. Bell, Wm. Flack, O. C. Barnard, H. Metz, John Evansr Jacob Armor, H. G. Manzey, E. M. Davis, Wm. H. Davis, J. J. Mcintosh, G. Williamson, and Rufus Brown. 1 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 139. 2 Ibid., p. 120. 3 Ibid., p. 38. 'Isaac R. Alden was temporary chief clerk of the council of the 1st general assembly of the territory of Nebraska and a resident of Florence, then in Washington county. He was defeated for chief clerk by Dr. George L. Miller by a vote of 7 to 6. 6 House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 47. s Ibid., p. 37. 284 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA The prominent members of the first council held their positions relatively in the second, but the three new members, A. A. Bradford, Evans, and Kirkpatrick, took an active and important part in the proceedings. Mr. Rog ers,1 the only member who has continued to live, and to maintain himself as a prominent business man in the commonwealth to the present time (1904), uniformly pursued a conservative course, and especially in oppo sition to unsound financial schemes — like Mor ton and Miller of the house. Among the rather motley membership of the 2d legislature not one was more grotesque and peculiar than Judge Allen A. Bradford, a lawyer by profession, who lived at Nebraska City. He was a native of Maine, whence he came to Missouri and settled in Atchison county; but remaining there only a short time he moved across the state line and became a 1 Samuel E. Rogers, prominent in banking and real estate business since the political organization of Nebraska, was born February 11, 1822, in Flem ing county, Kentucky, and came to Omaha in August, 1854, from Havanna, Illinois, and his family fol lowed in October of the same year. He erected his first home on the southeast corner of 11th and Dodge streets, where the police station now stands. He graduated from Wabash college, Indiana, in July, 1848. His father, William R. Rogers, accompanied him to Omaha, and took up a claim of three hundred and twenty acres, just south of the city, in 1854. Upon the death of William R. Rogers, in October of that year, his property rights descended to his son, who since that time has been a heavy holder of Omaha real estate. In 1857, as banker and real estate broker, he had an office at the corner of 11th and Douglas streets, and as late as 1891 he was prominent in the organization of a local retail own er's association. He was one of the original pro prietors of tbe town of Brownville, owning a one- fourth interest in the town site. With the early history of Omaha and Nebraska Mr. Rogers was prominently identified. In 1855 he became a mem ber of the upper house of the 1st territorial assem bly, and he was the mover of the second question submitted to that body. He was a member of four of the legislative assemblies of the territory. At the first session he voted for the location of the capital at Omaha, the vote in the council being 7 for Omaha and 6 against, while in the house it stood 14 to 11 in favor of Omaha. In the 4th legislature — 1858 — a bill was read proposing the relocation of the capital, and thereupon a majority of the members adjourned to Florence upon the pretext that they were unsafe in Omaha. Mr. Rogers was appointed a member of a joint investigating committee, which condemned the adjournment to Florence, and held the majority, or removalists responsible for the trouble. Dr. Geo. L. Miller says that, "Samuel E. Rogers was always a quiet representative of Omaha interests, but none the less alert in their defense. Mr. Rogers is still living (1904) with Omaha as a base and Florida as citizen of Fremont county, Iowa. Very soon he became judge of the court of the district in which that county was situated. There are many amusing anecdotes of Judge Brad ford's eccentricities and peculiarities as a jurist. In 1854 he left Iowa and settled in Pierce (now Otoe) county, and there he was elected a member of the second council. He was about fifty years of age. In stature he was short and broad, and he was fat and roly-poly. His face expressed a mixture of cynicism, shrewdness, and good nature. His cheeks were round and unctuous; when he laughed they undulated and trembled like the little hillocks of jelly that shake in old-fash ioned saucers when handed from one to an other at the table. His mouth was small and puckered, his eyes little and cunning, his voice squeaking and out of all proportion to the adipose chest whence it came; and when he a retreat. He is now very tall and slender, with long arms, legs, and neck. His head is large and his face is shaven. He never took any active part in the debates in the council, seldom taking the floor for any purpose, but he was a good listener, and was quick to see anything that appeared to threaten Omaha." In 1866 he served for a time as county commissioner, to fill a vacancy caused by the resig nation of James G. Megeath. He was one of the first group of eight candidates admitted to practice before the supreme court of Nebraska, at the second session of that body in June, 1855. He was one of the original stockholders and organizers of the State bank of Nebraska, which was subsequently merged into the present Merchants' National bank, of which he was the vice-president from 1875 to 1898. In addition to his holdings of Omaha realty, he has been interested largely in Florida lands, and, with other prominent Omaha capitalists, in oil lands in Wyoming. He was one of the incorporators of the company which in 1888 erected the Coliseum in which many notable meetings have been held, al though it has not been successful as a financial in vestment. Among the great meetings held in this building were the first national convention of the People's party, by which the notable Omaha plat form was adopted, in 1892, and the international missionary convention of the Christian churches, October 16-23, 1902. Mr. Rogers was also a member of the syndicate that exploited South Omaha real estate in connection with the stock yards, and he was_ one of the men from whom George Francis Train made his early purchases of Omaha realty that formed the basis of his Credit Foncier scheme, the amount of Mr. Rogers' holding that became en tangled in that transaction and the subsequent liti gation being five hundred acres. Mr. Rogers was married in Michigantown, Indiana, in 1841, to Miss Martha Brown. Their only son, G. S. Rogers, holds a responsible position in the Merchants' National bank. Mr. Rogers was prominent in early Nebraska Masonry, and was one of the earliest members ot Capitol Lodge No. 3, the first instituted in Omaha. by HsnryTrivIa-r> Ch": cgrj SECOND LEGISLATURE 285 laughed it was in that jerky sort of way in promises-to-pay dollars. He argued firmly, w icn liquor bubbles out of a jug, with an thoroughly, and intelligently against all the intermittent gurgle, that hesitates and then financial fallacies which Judge Bradford advo- goes on again. He had a general knowledge cated. And finally Mr. Jones made a closing of law, a great contempt for most of man- argument against all the bank charters. His , an no regard for the feelings of any peroration was eloquent, with citations from one who dared differ with him upon any the history of banking in Michigan and the important question. He was sometimes poli- crash and calamity that came to that state tic and always keen and grasping. Therefore through a redundant issue of bank notes. when, during the second session of the coun- Sturdy facts were arrayed in every stalwart cii m 1856, the question of chartering wild- sentence. Prophecies of the panic that would cat banks came up, Brad ford was found fiercely advocating them, for the purpose ot making money cheaper to the plain people and to increase the per capita circulation among the poor. He was bitter and vindictive in denunci ation of all who opposed any of the bank charters, and particularly severe upon those who antago nized the creation of the Platte Valley bank at Ne braska City. Among the latter was A. D. Jones, then and until his recent death a useful cdizen of Omaha, whose town site was originally surveyed and platted by him. Mr. Jones vehemently and with good logic denounced all the pro posed banks as unsafe He ALLEN A. BRADFORD1 MEMBER OF THE 1ST TERRITORIAL COUNCIL come to Nebraska when the proposed issue of bank notes had driven out gold silver, and currency re deemable in gold, under the operation of the Gresham law, were deliv ered with fire and force; and then, winding up his speech, Mr. Jones said: "As an honest man who cares for his good name I can not vote for such banking. Neither expedi ency nor principle de mands such a sacrifice of common sense. Let the gentlemen threaten, they can not frighten. The years that are coming, the monetary experiences that this attempt at creating val ues will bring to the people will vindicate my judgment. When I am gathered to declared that by mere enactment or fiat the my fathers I shall be remembered, I hope, as territory could not create value in paper having acted wisely and well in this matter, 1 Allen A. Bradford, member of the council in the 2d territorial assembly, was born in Friendship, Maine, July 23, 1815. He was a son of Cornelius Bradford, a lineal descendant of William Bradford, second governor of Plymouth colony, and Hannah Gay, the daughter of Eleazer Gay, at one time gov ernor of Maine. Allen A. Bradford spent his early life upon his father's farm. He attended the com mon school of his native town, was a student in the high school of Camden, Maine, and attended several academies. He taught school for some time, and at the age of eighteen began the study of law at Thom- aston, Maine. Soon after reaching his majority he moved to Missouri and continued teaching school, and in the meantime pursued the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1843, and in 1845 Lecame clerk of the circuit court of Atchison county, hold ing the office six years. In 1850 he went to Cali fornia to visit the gold fields, where he remained about a year, then returned to Missouri, and in 1851 moved to Sidney, Iowa, and engaged in the practice of law. In 1852, when Judge Sloan, the first district judge of southwestern Iowa, and a Mormon, was compelled by public sentiment to resign his office, the bar of that section with many prominent citizens petitioned Governor Stephen Hempstead to appoint Mr. Bradford as his successor. Judge Bradford was accordingly appointed, and his official acts met with so much approval that he was elected for the next term, but before its expiration he crossed the river to Nebraska and took a claim near Nebraska City in 1855. He was a member of the Nebraska City 286 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA and I aspire to no higher eulogium or epitaph upon my tombstone than, 'Here rest the remains of an honest man.' " At that time Mr. Jones1 was a squatter sov ereign upon the land just southeast of the Omaha town site, upon the north side of which the Union Pacific and Burlington depots and their bewildering maze of railroad tracks and sidings now handle the travel and freight of this continent and of Europe and Asia. The Jones claim, upon which he lived, consisted of three hundred and twenty acres. It re joiced in a pretty piece of woods and a brook Town company the same year, and was a member, from Otoe county, of the second, third, and fourth sessions of the Nebraska territorial council. Dr. Miller describes Judge Bradford as "a stout man, heavy-faced as well as heavy-bodied, a bushy head of dark brown hair and whiskers, and a clumsy sort of walk. He was on his feet a great deal during the session, and won the odious distinction of bring ing about the repeal of the criminal code of the ter ritory, by a combination that was said to involve the personal liberty of more than one citizen who was in danger from it. It was his invariable habit, when he arose to speak, to half close his eyes and pucker his face, and then keep time on his words by tapping a small book or pamphlet which he held in one hand, with a lead pencil or pen held in the other. His voice was a squeaky half-falsetto, and his manner of speaking was anything but attractive; but he would always bear watching ; and he was a man of considerable ability." In 1860 he moved to Central City, Colorado, where he practiced law very ¦successfully. In 1862 President Lincoln appointed him one of the judges of the territorial supreme court of Colorado. Immediately after, he moved to Pueblo and was assigned to the 3d judicial dis trict. He held the office until March, 1865, when he resigned, having been elected delegate to Congress from the territory of Colorado. In 1866 he was urged to accept a renomination, but refused on ac count of ill health. In 1868 he again went to Con gress where he ably represented the interests of southern Colorado. He was a member of the order of Odd Fellows. Originally Judge Bradford was a democrat, but subsequently he became a republican ; but not being in sympathy with President Hayes's administration, he quit that party and remained an independent till his death, which occurred in Pueblo, Colorado, March 12, 1888. November 1, 1849, he was married to Emeline Cowles, daughter of Harry Cowles, of St. Joseph, Missouri. Mr. Cowles after wards moved to Nebraska City, and became a prom inent citizen of that place. Two children were born to Judge and Mrs. Bradford : Mary Hannah, who died in infancy, and Thomas Allen, born November 1, 1852, and who is now a prominent lawyer of Pueblo, Colorado. Mrs. Bradford survives her hus band and now (1904) lives with her son. "Alfred D. Jones, prominent pioneer of the city of Omaha and_ surveyor of the first town site of that city, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 30, 1814, and died August 27, 1902, in Omaha, Ne braska. He was a descendant of an old family who were for some generations residents of the eastern of pure water, and Mr. Jones had named it Park Wild. Thus when Bradford closed the debate in favor of chartering the Platte Valley bank at Nebrasxa City, the Nemaha Valley bank at Brownville, the Bank of Fontenelle at Bellevue, the Bank of Nebraska at Omaha, and the Bank of Tekamah, he said, with ail the vigor which his thin and squeaking voice would permit : "Mr. President, the honorable gentleman from Park Wild has declared him self an honest man. Perhaps he is. I don't suppose a man would tell a lie about a mat ter which is of so little consequence in this states. He moved to Ohio with his parents, William, and Martha (Mathews) Jones, when he was four years old, and was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati and Marietta. In boyhood he learned the plasterer's and bricklayer's trade, and by working at this trade paid for his subsequent schooling, particu larly surveying, which was his profession for a num ber of years. Drifting west in this work, he assisted in laying out the town sites of Des Moines, Winter- set, Adei, and Council Bluffs, Iowa; and in 1854 he laid out the town site of Omaha and became one of its owners. Mr. Jones was a member of the first municipal council of Omaha, served as a member of the first territorial council in 1854, and was speaker of the territorial house of representatives in 1862. Dr. Miller says of him: "He was a small, nervous, excitable man, who made an humble home at what is now Forest Hill and called it 'Park Wild.' It was surely wild enough in the later months of 1854. He was a slender, spare man of medium height, but his education, like his ability, was limited. He was honest and earnest, and when he addressed the coun cil, as he frequently did, what he had to say did not lack for energy of expression or strength of voice. As a member of the council Mr. Jones was always attentive to his duties and loyal to his constituents." He was one of the founders of the Merchants' Na tional bank in 1882. He was the first postmaster of Omaha, its first mail carrier, and the builder of the first post-office. His appointment as postmaster was made May 5, 1S54, and his commission was signed by President Franklin Pierce. Prior to the appoint ment of Mr. Jones as postmaster, he served as a carrier of the mails from Council Bluffs to the Om aha side of the river, carrying letters in his hat and pockets. For a time while he was postmaster, the office was located in the old Douglas House, on the corner of Harney and 13th streets, and it had four boxes, constructed by dividing an axe-box into com partments. Soon after he erected for the office a small building on Park and Pacific streets near For est Hill, on what is now the private grounds ot Herman Kountze. Over the door of the building he had inscribed on a shingle "Post-office by A. D. Jones, P. M." There was no mail route to the post- office and there was no appropriation for carrier ser vice. For some time Mr. Jones made trips to and from Council Bluffs, carrying the mail himself. He was "judge" of the first "claim club," a position that required more than ordinary judgment and discre tion. He was also among the first to be admitted to the bar of Nebraska, though he never practiced. From the time of his first settlement in Nebraska, SECOND LEGISLATURE 28" distinguished body. But, Mr. President, the gentleman from Park Wild talks of his death, of his grave and his tombstone and an epitaph thereupon. But if he is as good and as honest as he pretends he is, he need fear neither death nor the grave. He never'll die. He'll be translated like Elijah and go up in a chariot, be wheeled right into the golden streets of the New Jerusalem, -and made a member of the everlasting choir to sing glory hallelujah forever and ever among the saints and angels ; and, Mr. President, he is so good, so pious, and so honest that I wish he were there NOW." This satirical and grotesque apotheosis of -Jones finished the opposition to the bank charters and ended the debate. Mr. Jones lived to be ninety years old in the en joyment of his well-earned good name, and the banks are all dead, having expired in the panic of 1857. The Omaha Nebraskian of February 20, 1856, copies a study of the Nebraska legis lature, then in session, by a correspondent of the New York Times, — who, it alleges, was the clever young journalist, J. W. Pattison1 — which possesses sufficient inherent evidence of being tolerably true to life to be worth reproducing : "It is a decidedly rich treat to visit the gen eral assembly of Nebraska. You see a motley group inside of a railing in a small room, crowded to overflowing, some behind their little school-boy desks, some seated on the top of desks, some with their feet perched on the top of their neighbor's chair or desk, some whittling — half a dozen walking about in what Mr. Jones was a continuous resident of Omaha. He was a charter member of the first Odd Fellows lodge established in Omaha, and filled every place of honor in the order up to grand master and sov ereign representative. He was also a Mason of high standing and prominent as a member of the Knights of Pythias, and was at one time grand chancellor and supreme representative of this order. Mr. Jones was married September 15, 1847, to Sophronia Reeves, daughter of George and Elizabeth Reeves, pioneer settlers of Jackson county, Missouri, and a connection of the noted Reeves families of Virginia and Kentucky. Mrs. Jones was born in Virginia, November 3, 1826, and died November 29, 1903, at the age of seventy-seven years and twenty-six days. "John W. Pattison was a native of Missouri. Jo seph E. Johnson and Mr. Pattison were editors and proprietors of the Omaha Arrow, the first Nebraska newspaper, which was published from the office of little space there is left. The fireman, door keeper, sergeant-at-arms, last year's members and almost anyone else, become principal characters inside the bar, selecting good seats, and making themselves generally at home, no matter how much they may discommode the members. The clerk, if he chooses, jumps up to explain the whys and hows of his jour nal. A lobby member stalks inside the bar, and from one to the other he goes talking of the advantages of his bill. A row starts up in the secretary's room, or somewhere about the building, and away goes the honorable body to see the fun. Hon. Mr. A. gives Mr. B. a severe lecturing because he didn't vote as he agreed to. Mr. B. says Mr. A. lies, is no better than he should be and reckons he ain't much afraid of him. Mr. C. comes to the rescue and speaks in concert pitch half an hour, and says nothing ; then a thirsty mem ber moves an adjournment, and in a few min utes the drinking saloons are well patronized. Although both bodies have about seven day3 more to sit only four bills have been passed. It is one continued personal and local fight — a constant attempt at bargain, sale and argu ment. A bill to remove the capital was con sidered in the House last night until the small hours. It was an amusing time. The history of official corruption was renewed: how through bribery and fraud the capital was located here; how that little arch-intriguer, T. B. Cuming, did many naughty and rascally things, how the people were opposed to the location at Omaha. Morton, member from Nebraska City, Decker from the same place, a man by name of Moore and Dr. Miller took the lead in the discussion. It was nearly all, however, for buncombe." The two-year-old commonwealth now — 1856 — begins to show rudimentary features of the Bugle in Council Bluffs. The Arrow was com menced July 28, 1854, and was discontinued the fol lowing 10th of November, after the publication of twelve numbers. In July, 1855, Pattison was elected second lieutenant of a company of troops raised at Fontenelle during the Sioux Indian scare of that period. The campaign of this company was chris tened the "Cat Fish" war from the fact that the company camped along the Elkhorn river and its members spent the time in fishing. In 1858 Mr. Pattison was, for a few months, associated with W. W. Wyman in the publication of the Omaha Times. During the war he was editor and proprietor of a paper at Sidney, Fremont county, Iowa. After the war he was employed for several years by the St. Louis Republican as court reporter, and died in that cit}'. Mr. Pattison is credited with being an ex ceedingly bright young man and his writings at tracted much attention. He married Henrietta Red- ner in the fall of 1856. 288 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA normal political organization and life. There is a semblance of public discussion, the basis — in theory — of present political government. There begins to be a public, and there is a good beginning of a press. The census, taken in the fall of this year, will indicate a popula tion of 10,716, and there are two very ag gressive political journals, the Nebraska City News and the Omaha Nebraskian, and one — the Advertiser of Brownville, that is indus triously newsy. The homing instinct and spirit begin to modify or withstand the predatory carpetbagger and the land pirate. But the dominant issues and the absorbing controversies are sec tional, and they are kept alive in the main by and for the rival politicians. The perennial politics of this period was kept in full life, during the natur ally dull season between elections and the sessions of the legislature, by the regular contest over the election of delegate to Congress. The North Platte, or Omaha candi date at the second congres sional election was Bird B. Chapman, a young man who had recently come to the territory from Elyria, Ohio, in the d rect pur suit of a political career, and with the prestige of being the beneficiary of a popular impres- BIRD B. CHAPMAN1 SECOND DELEGATE TO CONGRESS FROM NEBRASKA TERRITORY sion that he was a sort of political legate or next friend of President Pierce. In the char acter sketches by the over-apt South Platte politicians he comes to us as a mere cunning, tricky, small-bore political adventurer. In fact he was a smooth, suave, and alert poli tician, of just that smallish caliber which then, as- now, is the most useful and likely make-up for achieving a term or two of congressional notoriety, and then to drop into the dead sea of normal mediocrity. While candor can not yield to this first delegate from the North Platte more than the virtue and capacity of the average present day member 1 rom Nebraska, it can yet com pliment him as the pos sessor of much less vice and incapacity than he was credited with by his South Piatte opponents. J. Sterling Morton — still the boy of twenty-four— was, apparently, by tacit consent, and at any rate by irresistible lorce and irrepressible impulse, al ready the speaker-in-chief for South Platte hostility. He was at all times charged with South Platte wrath, and which, let off never so copiously, yet, like the widow's cruse, was only thereby aug mented. Sample vials of the Morton anti- Chapman hate, let loose by way of rejoicing 2Bird B. Chapman, second delegate to Congress from Nebraska territory, was born about 1821. Little is known of his early life, but he was admitted to the bar in Elyria, Ohio, in 1843 and practiced law there until 1852, when he purchased the Lorain Argus and was its editor until April, 1854, when its publi cation was discontinued and the outfit moved to Omaha, Nebraska territory, where Mr. Chapman es tablished the Nebraskian, beginning its publication in a frame building on Farnam street, near 14th. When Chapman was elected delegate to Congress from the territory, John Sherman was left in charge of the paper, and in 1857 Theodore H. Robertson acquired Mr. Chapman's interest. Chapman was a candidate for reelection to Congress, but was defeated bv Judge Fenner Ferguson, whose seat he unsuccessfully con tested. In 1859 Chapman returned to Elyria, Ohio, where he resided until 1862, and then removed to Put-in-Bay Island, where he died, September 12, 1871, aged fifty years. The following from the Pitts burg Post indicates that Chapman was a seasoned politician before coming to Nebraska: "Away back in the forties, we believe about 1844, so runs the story, the Democratic organ in Indiana was con ducted by Bird B. Chapman, a politician of some repute. It was a season of political activity, and the Democrats were rather despondent, as the tide seemed against them. At some local election, pre liminary to the general election in the state, the Democrats unexpectedly scooped the Whigs, and a letter from an active Democrat communicating the news to the editor began with the injunction: SECOND CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN 289 at the news that the house committee on priv ileges and elections had decided in favor of Bennet, serve to illustrate in some sort the bitterness of the sectional spirit of the time and the characteristic way in which this most unique figure in Nebraska history manifested it: "We expected that the voice of the people would be heard there instead of the feeble and imbecile voice of our respected grandmother, the governor of Nebraska. . . . We are rejoiced at the fact, in short we are specially and exquisitely rejoiced because the great bug- a-boo of administration influence . . . failed to frighten away the facts in the case which with a thousand tongues related the baseness, the corruption and the injustice of the miserable beings who filched from Bennet the certificate [of election]. He [Chapman] was an imposter. He never voted the demo cratic ticket in his life until the fall before the last presidential campaign."1 And then follows the epitaph: "Embalmed with soft soap, chiseled in brass, sepulchered in the cottonwood coffin of public charity, rest now his rotten remains, and ever and anon popular ridicule shall gig gle his requiem while common sense shall point to the spot as inhabited by One whom she knew not." Now, referring to the friends of the pre maturely interred statesman who "lament for receiverships, registerships, and land-offices that are not," who have been "indefatigable in lying, surpassless in lickspittlery, without a parallel in rascality. Poor miserable devils, we pity, we lament your ignominious defeat, and the death of your golden calf. Trust ing, however, that your affliction may be the means of your purification, we drop you down among the maggots and worms, where you will be at rest and at home, poor devils." Hiram P. Bennet, Chapman's opponent, was the candidate of the Nebraska City coterie, just as Chapman was of the Omaha coterie. 'Crow, Chapman, crow.' Sure enough, Chapman did crow, and, using these words as a head-line in his next day's edition, first introduced the Democratic rooster as the harbinger of victory. The idea was a taking one, and the symbol was quickly accepted and came into general use, at least when the Demo crats gained something to crow over." The fore going information was furnished, in the main, by F. S. Reefy, proprietor of the Democrat, Elyria, Ohio. 19 The territorial board of canvassers consisted by law of the secretary and two territorial officers ; and the auditor, Chas. B. Smith, and the treasurer, B. P. Rankin, were called in to act with Secretary Cuming in this case. Mr. Bennet complains in his speech in the contest in the house of representatives that all the members of the board were his political and personal enemies. Judged by the prevailing standard of duty it is not surprising that this board undertook to disregard the vote of four counties in toto with this very vague expla nation : "The board would also respectfully submit the following return of votes from Dakota, Washington, Richardson and Otoe counties upon which under the specific act which pre scribed their powers and duties, viz., the act regulating elections approved March 6, 1855, they feel themselves incompetent to act."2 According to the board's finding the five counties whose returns had been accepted gave Chapman 380, and Bennet 292 votes. The returns of the four rejected counties swelled Bennet's vote to 588 and Chapman's to 575 — a majority of 13 for Bennet.3 There are no adequate recorded reasons why the board thus boldly undertook to annul nearly half the vote of the territory ; and when living con temporaries of those pioneer state-builders are asked for explanations they only say, with knowing shoulder shrug, "It must have been because Tom Cuming wanted it that way."4 In May, 1856, the house committee on elec tions, ignoring the certificate Chapman had received from the territorial canvassers, re ported that Bennet was entitled to the seat, and the committee of course counted the votes of the counties which the canvassing board had thrown out. The old question of the half-breed tract vote again arose, but the com mittee found that the reservation was part of Nebraska and that the white settlers therein had the right to vote, notwithstanding that 1 Nebraska City News, May 17, 1856. 2 Records of Nebraska Territory, p. 67. 3 Ibid, pp. 70-71. 'There is a paper on file in the office of the sec retary of state which purports to be the minutes of the proceedings of the territorial canvassing board of 1855, whose members were Thomas B. Cuming, secretary of the territory; Charles B. Smith, aud itor; and Benjamin P. Rankin, treasurer. Mr. Ran- 2 go HISTORY OF NEBRASKA they had been technically excluded from the governor's census. But Alexander H. Ste phens made an adverse minority report in favor of excluding the half-breed vote, which would leave Chapman 6 votes in the lead. This was a plausible excuse for the house to ignore the majority report, and to seat Chap man by a vote of 69 to 63 ; and the Nebraskian avers that in the final vote Congress recog nized the rejection of the half-breed vote by the territorial canvassers. But Mr. Bennet's indiscretion was doubt less the real cause of his undoing. He had always been a whig with an anti-slavery lean ing, and he made no pretense of democratic regeneration during his canvass. He was a promising and reliable young man who suited Nuckolls, the proprietary genius of Nebraska City, and so, influentially, of the South Platte, and who was also an old line whig, but a slaveholder. Bennet also suited Morton as a likely man to beat the detested "Brass" B. Chapman, as he called him. What suited Nuckolls and his two promising proteges, Morton and Bennet, for practical purposes suited Otoe county, which led the South Platte. The Brownville Advertiser, however, had from the first, for reasons of its own, been inclined to cast its political fortunes with the North Platte element, and Nemaha county had actually given Chapman a majority of one. We even find the Advertiser contend ing that the minority report of the house committee shows that Chapman is entitled to his seat.1 Furnas was sharply criticised by kin seemed to act in the double capacity of judge of the returns and attorney for Mr. Chapman. As sociate Justice Bradley of the territorial court was present and gave his opinion that the session of the board should be private; but Mr. Cuming said that inasmuch as some one or more of the candidates imagined that there might be unfairness in the pro ceedings, he desired the congressional candidates and his honor, Judge Bradley, to be present. Sec retary Cuming, anticipating the great mooted ques tion of the presidential contest of 1876, of which the whole proceeding is a reminder, insisted that the sole duty of the board was to foot up the votes as they appeared in the returns from the several counties and report them to the governor ; ' but Judge Bradley expressed the opinion, "as a citizen not as a judge," that the board had power to con sider only those returns which were certified to by the clerks of the respective counties and in full compliance with the law. The question was dis cussed by Bradley, Estabrook, Andrew J. Popple- the South Platte press for this misalliance, which was charged to his land-office aspira tion. Bennet's clash with J. L. Sharp in the first legislature, which was wholly to his credit, had not been forgotten by that cunning poli tician who had diligently collected such evi dence as he could of irregular voting in Rich ardson county, and in person laid it before the proper committee of Congress. But after the majority of the committee had reported in his favor Bennet attended the Republican na tional convention at Philadelphia, and sat as a vice-president from the territory of Ne braska. This was too much for the more strongly pro-slavery southern members to overlook, and it was welcome ammunition for his enemies at home. The Nebraskian, which Morton had lately alluded to as suffering from pecuniary debility and the property of "B. B. Chapman and his toadies," pounces with avidity on the rich morsel Bennet had thrown to his enemies. In its issue of July 9 it charges that Bennet "figured extensively in the late Black Republican convention at Phil adelphia," and that, "the Nebraska City Nezvs, edited by Morton, claimed that he was a democrat and urged squatters to vote for him, and not having learned, as they since have, that Morton's highest ambition was to tell a slick lie, many good democrats voted for him." At this period the smaller frontier demo cratic newspapers were very subservient to the dominant southern element of their party, ton, and John McNeal Latham, who acted as coun sel for Mr. Bennet. Mr. Latham petitioned for leave to have the defective papers returned to the proper counties for correction, but was overruled by the board. The returns from Washington county were then thrown out, apparently because the poll books did not accompany the record of- the vote from the precincts of De Soto and Cuming City; those from Dakota county were thrown out with no reason assigned; those of Richardson countv were rejected because "Henri P. Bennet" instead of Hiram P. Bennet, had received seventy-six votes, and because votes of residents on the half-hreed tract, estimated at twenty, had not been counted, and the returns had not been certified by the county clerk; those of Otoe county were rejected because they had been sent to the secretary of the territory instead of the probate judge .of the county, and be cause they lacked the certificate of. the county, .clerk. 1 Brownville Advertiser, June 21,. 1856. POLITICAL CONDITIONS 291 and were noisome in their abuse of negroes and negro sympathizers. And so we find the Nebraskian speaking of the "sooty deity" be fore which Bennet had bowed, and remark ing in rather mixed metaphor that "this last step smells strongly of wool." The Omaha faction — for as yet there was no organized political party in the territory — encouraged by the seating of Chapman, pressed the suggestion it had previously made for organization, and charged that sympa thizers of Bennet opposed it.1 For Chapman to have triumphed at last was a hard blow to Mor ton, and instead of feign ing acquiescence, as the mere politician does, and as the successful politician usually must do, while he waits for his own turn, he cut loose from restraint and attacked the demo cratic administration, lo cal and general. His bit terness was increased by the fact that Chapman, in the course of his pa tronage purveyorship, went to Morton's home and selected for the office of United States mar shal Dr. B. P. Rankin, just the pretentious, windy, verbose, and not over-abstemious politician, between whom and Morton mutual dislike and hostility were in evitable. We learn something of political 1 Omaha Nebraskian, July 9, 1856. 2Levi G. Todd, pioneer of Cass county^ was born March 22, 1829, in Chautauqua county, New York, son of Bela and Lucy (Hemenway) Todd of Con necticut. His education was limited to the common schools of his native county which he attended dur ing the winter months, until he was about eighteen years old. He worked upon his father's farm in summer, upon which he lived until grown to man hood. Mr. Todd crossed the Missouri river, going ¦into Nebraska in the fall of 1853, and resided for a short time with Samuel Martin, an Indian trader. He taught school in Mills county, Iowa, during the winters of 1853 and 1854. During this time there were no settlements in Nebraska except those made by Indian traders and others who came in by per mission of the government. Mr. Todd was back and forth- during the fall and winter, settling in conditions and methods of those times as well as something about an interesting pioneer journalist in this item from the Nebraska City News of February 9, 1856: "B. P. Rankin and J. W. Pattison, are, we learn, candidates for the marshalship of Ne braska. We do hope that Pierce will let the Rankin cup pass by us. There are several half-breed Indians whose appointment would meet with far more approbation from the peo ple. Pattison is a young man of fine ability and prepossessing appearance, and would make an excellent officer. He was almost unanimously endorsed by the members of the last legislature, and also by the governor and secre tary; the latter endorse ment is rather against him. However, it was not love that made Granny and Tommy [Izard and Cuming] sign the letters." The News of the same date gives Governor Izard's message the fol lowing greeting under the title ' ' De Guberner ' Proaches ' ' : LEVI GOODSELL TODD' PIONEER OF CASS COUNTY "This document is characterized by that superabundance of sa gacity, superfluity of pa triotism and superlative degree of candor which has ever distinguished from the vulgar herd the chivalric and classic sons of Arkan- Nebraska permanently in the spring of 1854, imme diately after the treaty was made with the Indians and the lands opened for settlement. He entered and improved a claim of about two hundred acres in Cass county, near the site of the present fair grounds at Plattsmouth. In the winter of 1857 he disposed of this land to James R. Porter and the following spring preempted one hundred and sixty acres in Liberty precinct near the present town of Union, upon which he has since continued to reside. He owns about twelve hundred acres of land in Cass county and for years has been a prominent farmer and stock raiser qf that vicinity. Mr. .Todd took an active part in politics in the pioneer days of Nebraska and held many positions of trust. He was the first justice of the peace elected in Cass county, performing the second marriage ceremony; and he served as county commissioner in 1860. He 292 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA sas. Through its sentences one can hear the tread of a mighty intellect as it strides ma jestically through the labyrinthine ramifica tions of politics, and marches along the cor ridors of thought; and as he hears his soul's tongue whisper in awe, 'De Guberner 'Proaches.' " In the same plethoric issue is a satire on political conditions, quite likely by Morton, but well disguised, in the form of a message by Governor "M. W. Lizard." It laments that most and the best of the large immigra tion has gone into the South Platte "to swell the numbers of the factious malcontents in that section." "I intend to know no north, no south in this territory, and to use all means in my power to allay sectional jealousy. I am for the whole of Nebraska, but you know, fellow citizens, that I consider North Platte the whole of Nebraska, and Omaha the whole of North Platte; thus qualified I can truly say that I am for the whole of Nebraska." The governor says that he is afraid of ex pending much money in the capital (though he must make some show), fearing the legal ity of the location should be questioned and the ingenious management of Acting Gov ernor Cuming brought to light. He does not fear President Pierce, as he is probably aware of the necessity of keeping the disorganizes down south in the shade by any means that can be used. . . . "We can not hope for another president with whom the end will justify any means to benefit Omaha and speak in favor of the Nebraska bill." The governor admits that his laborers on the capitol were non-residents, but they voted for Chapman for delegate. He fears' that he didn't manage well last winter with those dreadful Indian stories, got up so that Omaha and Council Bluffs could handle the spare gold of the troops to be sent on ; worked badly, for it scared immigrants away from the North Platte; and the soldiers didn't find any In dians — as was expected. The message urges the legislature to send appeals and memorials to Congress for donations so that the money was a member of the territorial legislature in 1863, ?.nd in 1878 was a candidate for governor on the Greenback ticket, polling 9,475 votes. His present political affiliations are with the fusionists. He was may be spent for the benefit of Omaha, and the governor wants his salary increased though the fifteen hundred dollar contingent fund is already spent on his two sons. We do not wonder that on his return, after an absence of two months, Morton is con strained — in the News of May 3 — to make the following confession : "We are now about to recommence our abusive proceedings in the old mild and placid style. We call our position a responsible one, one which renders us sole proprietor of more threatened lickings than we can enumerate, establishes us as sole target for the remarks of the mellifluent revolver, and secures us daily gratuitous invitations to proceed to a place of perpetual caloric." The next item is headed "Calamity" : "During our absence, as might have been expected, the country has met with a serious calamity — in the melancholy attempt of Frank lin Pierce to appoint a marshal of Nebraska. Had Rankin been deputed to carry carrion to a bear we should have pitied the bear for having fallen into very bad society and com miserated him upon the fact that the carrion would never all reach him." Another item reads as follows : "We are convinced at the present writing that Ne braska City must be the western terminus of the Burlington railroad." Though this pre vision did not come true literally, yet, from the writer's point of view, it was consistently prophetic. He foresaw that the Union Pacific would begin at or near Omaha, and in the then condition of traffic and railroad building it was rational to believe that this southern trunk line would connect itself with the main commercial point in the territory of the Mis souri river south of the territory to be occu pied by the Union Pacific road. Light is thrown on economic conditions at the begin ning of 1856 by a statement in the News of February 9 that claims of one hundred and sixty acres within two and a half miles from Nebraska City were selling at from five hundred to eight hundred dollars. married Feb. 20, 1855, to Lydia B. Jones, West Point, la. Seven children were born to them, five of whom are living: Louis C, Nemaha; Harry G.. Murray; John ; Levi G., Jr. ; and Jessie, Pasadena, California. THIRD LEGISLATURE 293 CHAPTER IX THE THIRD LEGISLATURE — THE THIRD CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN RESIGNATION OF GOV ERNOR IZARD THE FOURTH LEGISLATURE FLORENCE SECESSION — DEATH OF GOVERNOR CUMING >HpHE 3d territorial assembly convened -*- January 5, 1857.1 Among the members of the council Samuel E. Rogers of Douglas is serving his third term; A. A. Bradford of Otoe and S. M. Kirkpatrick of Cass were members of tbe sec ond council; William Clancy2 and John A. Singleton were members of the first house ; and Charles McDonald and A. F. Salisbury had served in the second house. Of the mem bers of the house W. A. Finney of Nemaha had served in the second house and A. J. Hanscom3 of Douglas had been speaker of the 'The several councilmanic districts were repre sented as follows : Burt, Cuming, the southern dis trict of Douglas, and Washington county, James S. Allan; Cass county, Samuel M. Kirkpatrick; Cass, Dodge, and Otoe counties, Jacob Safford; Dakota county, Alfred W. Ptiett; Douglas county, north ern district, Dr. George L. Miller, Samuel E. Rog ers, Alonzo F. Salisbury; Douglas county, southern district, Leavitt L. Bowen; Nemaha county, Robert W. Furnas; Otoe county, Allen A. Bradford, Mills S. Reeves; Pawnee and Richardson counties, Charles McDonald; Washington county, William Clancy. The following were the members of the house from the several representative districts : Burt and Cuming counties, George M. Chilcott; Cass county, Brand Cole, William M. Slaughter, Henry C. Wolph; Cass, Clay, and Lancaster counties, James A. Cardwell; Dodge and Platte counties, Silas E. Seely; Dakota count}'. Samuel F. Watts, Edward C. Jones; Douglas county, northern district, George Armstrong, Andrew J. Hanscom, Harrison Johnson, Richard Kimball, William E. Moore, Michael Mur phy, Jonas G. Seely, John A. Steinberger; Douglas county, southern district, Joseph Dyson, John Fin ney, Charles T. PTolloway, Silas A. Strickland; Ne maha county, Samuel A. Chambers, William A. Fin ley, Isaac C. Lawrence; Otoe county, Henry Clay Cowles, Hiram P. Downs, Joseph C. Ellis, Isaac L. Gibbs, William B. Hail, James D. White ; Pawnee and Richardson counties, John A. Singleton; Rich ardson county, Dr. A. F. Cromwell, Neal J. Sharp; Washington county, William Conner, James S. Stewart, Elisha. P. Stout. 2 William Clancy, member of the lower house of the 1st and 2d territorial assemblies of Nebraska, from Douglas county, was a native of Michigan and was born about 1830. He was among the earliest settlers of Omaha, and was an active promoter of its interests. In the spring of 1854 he was proprie- first house. R. W. Furnas, a familiar name in Nebraska, is on the list of couneilmen. L. L. Bowen, of the southern or Bellevue district of Douglas county, was chosen presi dent of the council, and I. L. Gibbs of Otoe county was chosen speaker of the house with out opposition. The South Platte was in the saddle, which meant that Douglas county was to be loser in the struggle against her dis memberment to form Sarpy county, and that Omaha was to lose the capital by a clear majority vote of the representatives, and would hold it only by the purely arbitrary tor of the "Big Six," a general provision and gro cery store, located on the north side of Chicago street between 13th and 14th streets. This house, which was the third on the town site, was erected early in July, 1854. It was constructed of cotton wood boards banked on the outside with sod. Ad vertisements of the "Big Six," in the Omaha Arrow of 1854 call especial attention to the "pure sulphur water" that might always be obtained there, as well as a variety of other liquids. Mr. Clancy's estab lishment was a rendezvous for the discussion of po litical affairs ; mail was also obtainable at that place from Alfred D. Jones, postmaster, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings, after the arrival of the stage. Clancy had many business interests in De Soto, Washington county, but resided for the most part in Omaha. He must have claimed De Soto as his home in 1857-58, however, for he was elected to represent Washington county in the coun cil during the third and fourth sessions of the assem bly. In 1858 he went to "Cherry Creek," near the present site of Denver, Colorado, where he was one of the first men to build a frame house. He was one of the town site proprietors and one of the streets (now Tremont) was named after him. In 1863 he went to Montana, after which there can be found no further record of his career. He was of Irish descent, and, like others of his race, showed a re markable aptitude for politics, being the only mem ber of the first house of representatives who was afterward elected to the council. He is also said to have been a great wit. 3 Andrew J. Hanscom, speaker of the house in the 1st territorial assembly of Nebraska and a pioneer of Omaha, is a native of Detroit, Michigan, where he was born February 3, 1828. In 1830 his parents removed to Macomb county, Michigan, and their son Andrew grew up to the age of fourteen years on a farm, when he left home to become a clerk in a general merchandise store. He followed this work ^/e^fite^r i i Ah ^7/ gu-cJvLt^. 296 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA veto of the executive. Morton's lampooning of Governor Izard's message had been with out practical effect, for this year's fulmina- tion excelled the other in grandiose verbosity. The message contrasts the disturbed condi tion of Kansas, "torn by internal dissension, her virgin soil overrun and desecrated by armed and hostile factions, her people mur dered and pillaged by roving bands of law less marauders, betrayed by mercenary dema gogues and unprincipled politicians," etc., with the peaceable aspect of Nebraska, where "the people led by the councils of wisdom and moderation have succeeded in frowning down all foreign interference and in resisting the earliest encroachments of domestic diffi culty, and have added, in their example, an other bright testimonial of man's capacity for self-government to the many which already adorn the annals of the republic." These rhetorical bouquets, with which the governor was showering his administration, were in fact as artificial as they seem. Kansas was, by virtue of her contiguity to a slave state, the for four years, attending school in the winters, and then entered the office of D. C. Walker, Romeo, Michigan, and began the study of law. He next entered the law office of Hunt & McCabe in Pon- tiac, Michigan, to continue his study. When the Mexican war began he became first lieutenant of company C, 1st Michigan infantry. Thomas B. Cuming, afterwards first secretary of Nebraska ter ritory, was also a member of this company. On his return from the war he resumed his law studies in the office of Levi Bishop, and was admitted to practice at the spring term of the circuit court of Wayne county in 1849. In the fall of the same year he reached Council Bluffs on his way to the new gold fields of California, but he resolved to stay in that town, where he built a mill, established himself in the mercantile business, and also prac ticed law. In 1854 Mr. Hanscom moved across the river to Omaha City, and in the fall of that year he was elected a member of the house of the territorial assembly, of which he was speaker. He was also a member of the lower house of the 3d and 6th as- semblies_ of 1857 and 1859. He took a leading and very active part in opposition to the removal of the capital from Omaha. In 1854 and 1855 he was a member of what was known as the Omaha Claim Club, organized for the protection of the property rights of the early settlers in the absence or inade quacy of laws, and was for a time president of the club. The land office was first opened in Omaha in 3857, and until that time claimants of land could not secure title. The second transfer of real estate re corded in Douglas county was from Enos Lowe to Mr. Hanscom, in the year 1855, conveying six lots. The fourth transfer recorded was one in which the Omaha town site company conveyed to Mr. Hans com two lots on the northwest corner of 14th and Douglas, and two on the southwest corner of 14th natural and the chosen battle-ground of the pro-slavery and the anti-slavery colonizers. There was bleeding enough going on in Kansas to satisfy all the requirements of both factions of the squatter sovereignty dogma, and so Nebraska was left in a condition of necessary peace. There was here no serious political question to fight over, and no force of any consequence to fight. In fact, no political question ever arose on the Nebraska horizon more heroic than the economic sec tional question of the location of the capital, primarily raised and kept alive by the incon venient barrier of the Platte river. In his chronically optimistic survey of eco nomic conditions, which there was little to justify, the governor notes that there are more than fifteen thousand people in the territory. He finds it necessary to urge again the need of a better system of laws in place of the crude and unsatisfactory productions of the first two legislatures. He asks the legislature to urge Congress to place at once the school lands reserved by the organic act at the dis- and Farnam streets, in consideration of his building a house in the town. This house was on the two lots last named. It was used as the first printing office in Omaha, and was located on the present site of the Paxton hotel. In 1867 this property was sold by Mr. Hanscom for $15,000. PYom that early date down to the present time Mr. Hanscom has always been a holder of Omaha real estate, and for more than twenty years devoted himself exclusively to dealing in real estate, bonds, mortgages, and other securities. In 1872 he and James G. McGeath gave to the city the magnificent tract, comprising fifty- seven and one-half acres, now known as Hanscom park. In 1859 Mr. Hanscom was a member of the city council. He was also a member of the school board when the first school house in Omaha was built, which was located on the present Jefferson Square. In November, 1863, he was one of a num ber of citizens who appeared before the city council and successfully urged the granting of certain privi leges on the river front to the Union Pacific railroad company. He was one of the incorporators of Omaha's first street railway line in 1867, and in 1873 he acquired a majority of the stock and oper ated the line for six months, when he sold it. Mr. Hanscom is a member of the Episcopal church, and when Trinity church, which subsequently became Trinity cathedral, was organized in 1856, he was chosen a vestryman. On the 23d of December, 1854, Acting Governor Cuming recommended the organization of two regiments of militia, and Feb ruary 7, 1855, Mr. Hanscom was appointed colonel of the 1st regiment to succeed 'William C. James, the first colonel of that regiment. He was one of seven attorneys admitted to practice in the supreme court of the territory at the second term of that court, in June, 1855. When Mr. Hanscom came to Omaha in 1854 he brought with him a wife THIRD LEGISLATURE 297 posal of the legislature, an appeal which the Congress was for many years wisely to dis regard. He again urges that Congress should be memorialized to grant lands to the "liter ary institutions" chartered by the 1st assem bly, namely: Simpson University,1 Nebraska City Collegiate and Preparatory Institute,2 and Nebraska University. "The Simpson University," he says, "has been permanently located, and donations to a considerable amount have been received to aid in its erec tion. I am informed that some degree of progress has been made by the corporators of each of the others." Even at this com paratively recent date Nebraska pioneers were looking to the private or semi-private schools for the means of secondary education. They had no thought then that the state university and its coadjutors, the high schools in every county, wholly supported by public tax and administered by public authority, were so soon to supersede those early objects of their deep solicitude and fond hope. The message goes contrary to the prepon derance of public opinion at that time in urg ing that a part at least of the public land and three children— two daughters, Georgia and Vir ginia, the former married to George E. Pritchett, Omaha, and one son, James Duane, residing in San Jose, California. While his memory is perpetuated by the handsome park that bears his name, the mem ory of his children will also survive, because their names have been given to three of the streets of the city. Mrs. Hanscom's maiden name was Cath erine A. Young, and she was married to Mr. Hans com at Detroit, Michigan, in 1848. She was a mem ber of the Episcopal church, and up to the time of her last illness was an active worker in Trinity cathedral. At the present time (1904) Mr. Hanscom lives in New York city, and has retired from the active affairs of life. Dr. Miller, referring to the capital contest, says: "Speaker Hanscom was a great power in that struggle, upon which the existence of Omaha actually depended. Poppleton on the floor was more than a match for all comers : this was certainly so in debate and parliamentary fence and skill. He was eloquent of speech and masterful in both attack and defense. But as a pre siding officer in a legislature Hanscom was simply a genius. He could murder Jefferson's manual and then mutilate the corpse when any exigency de manded it with an audacity that appalled the oppo sition. Speaker Hanscom would rule in support of Poppleton on occasion with a banging of gavels that must have startled the gophers of the surround ing prairies from their subterranean abodes. But the speaker was always insistent upon parliamen tary order." JThe incorporators named in the act incorporat ing Simpson University were: William H. Goode, Isaac F. Collins, William B. Gage, Hiram Birch, should be put on the market without delay. In the Advertiser of December 6, 1856, Mr. Furnas contends that the settlers are not ready to buy their lands yet, and that the sales should be put off for two years, at least; and again in the issue of January 29, 1857, he urges that they should be put off ten years, though in the meantime those settlers who have the money should be allowed to make their en tries. "But if the president listens to the pleadings of land sharks, and hastens the sales we believe it will be productive of untold injury to the pioneer settler and to the future growth of Nebraska territory." The message gives the information that the Omaha and Otoe Indians had been removed to their re spective reservations during the past year. The Omahas still remain on their reservation, but the Otoes were recently removed and their reservation sold and it now forms part of Gage county. The message was a psean to prosperity. "No citizen of Nebraska," it avers, "can look around him and contemplate the unexampled degree of prosperity which has crowned the efforts of our infancy without feelings of the John W. Taylor, Moses F. Shinn, George Jennings, Benjamin R. Folsom, Thomas H. Benton, Jr., Wil liam N. Byers, Nelson Amsbury, W. S. Daily, Wil liam Larimer, Jr., Jesse Lowe, and J. E. Rogers. From the following announcement in the Omaha Times (July 29. 1858), it would seem that the trus tees of Simpson University made or contemplated an actual beginning of that institution : "The Trustees of Simpson University, Omaha city, propose opening a school of a high grade, provided they receive sufficient patronage to justify it. The first session is to commence on the first Tuesday in November next, and continue till the last Wednes day in April, 1859. . . . The rooms to be occu pied are conveniently situated on Farnham street, and will be comfortably fitted and furnished for the purpose ... at reasonable rates. The course of studies pursued will be such as look to the conferring of degrees in the University proper. For the first session of six months the following are the TERMS : Common English per Term $11 00 Half College per Term 14 00 Full College per Term 16 00 Incidental expenses per scholar 1 50 Music, Drawing, &c. — Extra. "Persons abroad wishing further information, can address Col. John Ritchie, Omaha, N. T. "Samuel E. Rogers, ) "John Ritchie, > Executive Com.'' "William M. Smith, ) 2 The following were the incorporators of the Ne braska City Collegiate and Preparatory Institute: Isaac Lewis Gibbs, William F. Lockwood, and Ed ward F. Munson. 298 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA profoundest gratitude and satisfaction." The governor — in an oblique sense — emulated the part of the elysium in Richter's comforting conceit, "Heaven lies about us in our infancy." Under this dazzling halo the matter-of-fact territorial treasurer, W. W. Wyman, in his annual report, dated December 18, 1856, sets up a dark and dismal financial figure. He had been able to negotiate the bonds to the amount of four thousand dollars, whose issue the last legislature had authorized, only by agreeing to pay interest semi-annually at the rate of 15 per cent per annum. Of the de mands the proceeds of these bonds were cal culated to meet, $350.45 remained unpaid with only $92 of the $4,000 on hand. The treas urer had bound himself personally to pay the first installment of interest — $300 — on the coming ist of January, so that the necessity of advancing $208 of his own money was impending. Only three counties of the terri tory — Cass, Dodge, and Nemaha — "had paid into the treasury any portion" of the terri torial levy of two mills on the dollar for the year 1856, "the two wealthiest and most thickly populated counties (Douglas and Otoe) having made no payment at all during the present year." Dodge count}' had loyally paid her quota of the territorial tax — $20.20 — but this loyalty does not appear so con spicuous when Mr. Wyman shows, as an illustration of his official woes, that after the county treasurer had also faithfully deducted his legal commission — $1 — and his mileage for transferring his county's largess to the capital — $13.50 — the net balance for the ter ritorial treasury was $5.70. We do not won der that the treasurer lugubriously remarks that this was the only instance in which mile age was charged by a county treasurer, and suggests that in future such small sums be sent by mail. The report of the auditor, Chas. B. Smith, 'Council Journal, 3d Ter. Sess., p. 73. 2 Neal Johnson Sharp, son of Joseph L. Sharp, was born in Illinois in 1835. He became the first county clerk of Richardson county in 1854-55 and in 1856 was register and ex-officio clerk of the county. In May, 1855, he married, at St. Stephen, Richardson county, a daughter of William Tram mel, who was county judge in 1857. This was the first marriage in the county. N. J. Sharp repre sented Richardson and Pawnee counties in the lower is of course in no better spirits. It shows the indebtedness of the territory to be $10,- 457.51, and of this $8,062.01 is represented by warrants from the beginning, July 1, 1855, to January 2, 1857. That the territorial gov ernment had failed thus far to provide for the meager public expense in excess of that paid from the federal treasury was evidently due in part to its own inefficiency, but in the main^to the unsettled, uncertain social condi tions "which, it has been heretofore pointed out, were unusual or exaggerated as com pared with any former beginning and early growth of our commonwealths. The work of the third session of the legis lature was to be no better, but probably worse than that of its predecessors. The session centered on four principal objects — the re moval of the capital, the division of Douglas county, the hatching of a new brood of wild cat banks, and the rascally repeal of the crim inal code. The first two were purely and spitefully sectional; after the expenditure of the first fifty thousand dollars appropriation in building the state house at Omaha there was no level-headed reason for removing the capi tal until the need should arise of placing it at some more convenient point in the interior. No excuse arose on that score before the re moval was accomplished — if it did then. The division of Douglas county was based on a neighborhood feud, Bellevue — plus the sympa thetic South Platte — against Omaha. And yet contemporaneous authority informs us that "this and the capital question are the great features of the present session." The division bill passed the council by a vote of 7 to 6, Furnas and McDonald being the only South Platte members who voted on the Omaha side;1 it passed the house by a vote of 19 to 17, only two members from the South Platte, Finney of Nemaha and Sharp2 of Paw nee, voting- no.3 house of the 3d territorial assembly, and afterward became a resident of Plattsmouth, Cass county, where he enlisted, June 11, 1861, in company A, 1st regiment of Nebraska veteran volunteer infantry. He was elected second lieutenant, and, January 1, 1862, was promoted to first lieutenant, and re signed May 30, 1862. Pie now resides at Hailey, Idaho, where he holds a position in the government land office. 3 House Journal, 3d Ter. Sess., p. 141. THIRD, LEGISLATURE 2<;9 In the original bill — introduced by Coun cilman Allen — the name of the proposed county was Omaha, but Sarpy was substi tuted in committee of the wjiole. In the bill introduced into the ist legislature for, the organization of Douglas county it was named Omaha, but on motion of Dr. M. H. Clark, and after sharp opposition by leading mem bers of Douglas county, the change was made. Secondarily to the local . and natural name- Omaha — both Douglas and Sarpy were appro priate. The mistake was recognized and cor rected by allowing the metropolitan city of the territory and state to retain the Indian name. Restitution of the natural claim or right of the name of Douglas to have been perpetuated in that of the capital of the state was only partially made in its retention as the name of the county of which Omaha is the seat of government. In the struggle against the bill for the re moval of the capital to Douglas, Lancaster county, which passed the council 9 to 4, the three members from Omaha could muster but a single ally — Puett of Dakota county.1 On the dilatory motions, after the interposition of the governor's veto, Furnas coquetted with Omaha, the votes being 8 to 5.2 The bill passed the house, 23 to 12, Finney of Nemaha being the only South Platte member to stand for Omaha.3 Omaha had saved the one vote heeded in the house for a two-thirds majority, with a symptom of being able to get it in the council also, just as she had found the necessary vote to win the capital in the first instance. And so, on the 5th of Febru ary, Kirkpatrick of Cass, evidently recogniz ing this fact, moved in the council the in definite postponement of the bill, which was carried without division.4 The Nebraska City 'Council Journal, 3d Ter. Sess., p. 34. 2 Ibid., pp. 48, 74. "House Journal, 3d Ter. Sess., p. 63. 4 Council Journal, 3d Ter. Sess., p. 99. 5 The Nebraska Advertiser, February 26, 1857. "James H. Decker, member of the 1st, 2d, and 4th territorial assemblies of Nebraska, was born in Kentucky about 1827. He was among the first set tlers of Nebraska City, and in 1855 represented Pierce (now Otoe) county in the lower house of the 1st territorial assembly and was reelected to the 2d assembly. He was a member and speaker News and other newspapers bitterly charged Finney and Furnas with recreancy and cor ruption. Mr. Furnas defended himself and his colleague with great vehemence. He said that he had always favored removal of the capital, but "upon an honest and fair plan," and averred that the large mass meeting held at Brownville on the 23d of January, in the interests of removal instructed the members from that county to act in the matter as they deemed best for the interests of Nemaha county and the territory.5 At the preceding session, just a year before, Mr. Finney, as chairman of a select committee, made a re port — in which he was joined by J. Sterling Morton and J. H. Decker6 — unequivocally fa voring removal of the capital to the same locality to which the bill he voted against in 1857 proposed to remove it. While both of the proposed capitals had a name it is doubt ful that the local habitation of either was discoverable ; but both either were or were to be at about the same point on Salt creek. Owing to the spreading of population west ward there was of course more reason for the change in 1857 than in 1856. But this departure of the Nemaha members of 1857 from South Platte traditions, as already indi cated, was not confined to the capital ques tion, but seems to have been in accordance with a general alliance, offensive and defen sive, with the North Platte. There is a sentimental significance in the result of this defection of the Nemaha dele gation more striking and more touching than its practical significance. Through the inex orable and inevitable course of events Lincoln succeeded his great rival, Douglas, in national political leadership. But if there had been untrammeled expression of the wish of the of the lower house of the 4th assembly. During the session -the famous adjournment of the major ity of the legislature from Omaha to Florence oc curred, and Mr. Decker was the leader of the removal faction. He was a brickmason by trade, and the first brick used in Nebraska City, in build ing the house of Stephen F. Nuckolls, was fur nished from the brickyard of James H. Decker and Keil Cook in 1854. Mr. Decker built for himself the fourth brick house in Nebraska City at the corner of 14th and Main streets, with brick from his own yard. Mr. Decker was treasurer of Nebraska City in 1856. 3Co HISTORY OF NEBRASKA majority through its representatives in the leg islature of 1857, the name of the great demo cratic and Union leader would have been rightfully and most appropriately perpetuated in that of the capital of the commonwealth of which he was the founder, and whose politi cal birth was the precursor if not the cause of his own political death. In editorial correspondence with the Ne braska Advertiser, January 16, 1857, R. W. Furnas, member of the council and public printer, complains of attempts of the Omaha members of the house to interfere with ex pression of opinion in that body in favor of the removal of the capital; and he predicts that the governor will veto the removal bill, as "he could do nothing else under the cir cumstances." The governor's veto was sent to the council January 19, and, whatever the '"To the Council. "Gentlemen: "The bill entitled, 'An act re-locating and estab lishing the seat of government proposing to remove it from its present location to the town of Douglas, in Lancaster county, has been presented to me for my approval, and I have given to it that calm and deliberate consideration which its importance would seem to demand. "From the time I entered upon the discharge of the responsible duties devolving upon the executive of this Territory it has been my determined purpose and sincere desire to cooperate with the legislative assembly, as a coordinate branch of the territorial government in all matters calculated to promote the welfare and prosperity of the whole territory. And it is with regret that now, for the first time, I feel myself compelled to differ from it and to interpose the power confided to me by the organic law, the exercise of which, entrusted as it is to the sound discretion of the executive, should be the result of mature and candid deliberation and supported by good and sufficient reasons. If I entertained doubts as to the expediency of the proposed removal of the seat of government, I would most cheerfully yield them to the implied wishes of the people as ex pressed through their representatives ; but with me it is not a question of doubt, neither can I believe that the people desire this change. As far as I have been able to learn, the removal of the seat of gov ernment was not made an issue before the people in any county in the territory at tbe time [the] present legislative assembly was elected ; and I am there fore constrained [to believe] that this movement has been gotten up and pressed hurriedly and incon siderately through both branches of that body by a dominant majority not only in the absence of any positive instructions from the people, but contrary to their wishes, and most certainly to the injury of their best interests. "It is, I believe, universally conceded by all who are familiar with the geography of the territory that our principal settlements for many year[s] to come will be confined to a tract of country not extending more than thirty miles from the Missouri river. mysterious "circumstances" which Mr. Fur nas hints were to influence his act in deroga tion of the will and wish of a clear popular majority, he justifies it with cogent if not unanswerable reasoning. We are led, by the absence from the veto message of much of that tedious verbosity and buncombe which abound in his regular messages, to suspect that the greater delicacy and importance of this task may have brought to its execution a clearer head and more skilful hands than Governor Izard's. The message is a plausible defense of an act bearing on its face suspicion of sectional and perhaps other improper bias, and is a realistic picture of the conditions and methods of that day.1 Governor Izard was charged with mendac ity and deception in that he had stated on the last night of the session of the legis- "The present seat of government as located and established by law occupies a central position in what, for some time, must constitute the body of our population, being about equi-distant from our extreme northern and southern settlement[s]. It is immediately opposite the great gateway into the territory and is more accessible not only to those within "the territory but to the various portions of the country east of us, than any point which could be selected. The facilities for reaching it and [passing] through the territory are large and annu ally increasing and we may reasonably expect in a -few years that it will in point of time be within four days of the great commercial marts of the east. — These certainly are advantages which in the loca tion of the seat of government, should not be over looked. In addition to these a costly and substantial building sufficient to meet and accommodate the growing demands of the territory for many years, is now in course of erection at the present location and will be completed during the present year if not retarded by ill-advised and hasty legislation without the cost of a single dollar to the people of the territory. "In consideration of these facts, I am unable to discover any sufficient reasons why a change should be made or even desired, more especially to a point, which if it has an existence at all, except upon paper, is entirely removed from the center of pop ulation and equally remote from the geographical center of the territory. It is not pretended that a single house or even a sod shanty has been erected on the site of the proposed capital or in the vicinity. It appears to be a floating town, not only without a location, but without inhabitants. Its existence, if it has any, seems to be confined at present to the brain of some desperate fortune hunter and its identity reposes in an indefinable number of certifi cates of stock for $500 each, neatly gotten up and handsomely executed with all the requisites of president, secretary, etc.: where the precise location of this town is intended to be I am unable to deter mine. By some it is said to be somewhere on Salt Creek and by others a point farther removed from the settlements and in the vicinity of the southern THIRD LEGISLATURE 301 lature that he had either signed or vetoed every bill, while, on the contrary, he had pocketed the following memorial without comment or communication with regard to it -,1 "To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assem bled: "Your memorialists, the legislative assem bly of the territory of Nebraska, would re spectfully represent : That owing to the un settled condition of the question of the permanent location of the seat of government of this territory, it would be unwise and inexpedient to make any further appropria tion for the construction of the capitol build- boundary of the territory. All agree, however, that there are two towns in Lancaster county, by the name of Douglas, already made upon paper. To which of these it is the intention of the legislature to remove the seat of government I am left wholly to conjecture. Tt might so happen and from my knowledge of the speculative genius of a certain class of our citizens, I think it highly probable that should the bill under consideration become a law, each of these rival towns would set up a claim to the capital, which it might require long and tedious litigation to settle; leaving the people of the terri tory in the meantime without a seat of government. "This much I have felt it my duty to say as to the policy of the contemplated removal, and while I am deeply sensible of the fact that the executive veto has been rarely if ever interposed where a measure has passed both branches of the legisla ture by a majority so decided as that received by the present bill ; the foregoing facts alone would justify me in a conscientious discharge of my duty in withholding my sanction from a measure so suicidal to every substantial interest of the terri tory, although it had received the vote of every member of the legislative assembly. "But there are other and still more weighty reasons which influence me in refusing to sanction this bill. "The 13th section of the organic act, conferring the power upon the governor and legislative assem bly to locate the seat of government, provides, that the legislative assembly shall hold its first session at such time and place as the governor shall ap point and direct, and at said first session or as soon thereafter as they shall deem expedient the governor and legislative assembly shall proceed to locate and establish the seat of government for said territory at such place as they may deem eligi ble, which place, however, shall thereafter be sub ject to be changed by said governor and legislative assembly. And the act of congress making appro priation to be applied under the direction of the governor to the erection of suitable public build ings for the territory, provides that no part of said appropriation shall be expended until the legisla ture of said territory shall have fixed the seat of government permanently by law. "Taking the provision in the organic act alone, I arrive at the conclusion that the evident intent and meaning of congress was that the seat of gov ernment after having been once located might be ing at Omaha City. We would further represent that the location of the seat of gov ernment at Omaha City was effected by fraud and corruption and contrary to the wishes of a majority of the people, and that the execu tive of this territory was respectfully and urgently petitioned not to expend the appro priation of fifty thousand dollars, granted to this territory by Congress for the erection of a capitol building, until this question was definitely settled. "Our petitions were disregarded and the whole of the appropriation was speedily ex pended in the construction of a magnificent cellar, surmounted by portions of brick walls and surrounded by numerous isolated, unfin ished, dreary looking columns ; the whole removed not by the governor alone nor by the legislative assembly alone but by the joint action and assent of both. If this view of the law be cor rect the legislative assembly has no power, even by a unanimous vote, to remove the seat of govern ment without the concurrence of the governor, who evidently stands in the relation of one of two par ties, clothed with equal powers, whose joint action is necessary for the performance of a given act. But considering the clause in the organic law in connection with the provision already alluded to in the act of congress making the appropriation for the erection of public building[s], I am forced to conclude that the removal of the seat of govern ment contemplated and provided for in the former was intended to be made, if made at all, prior to the expenditure of any portion of the money appro priated for the erection of public buildings and not subsequent thereto. The act itself making the ap propriation, evidently regarded the seat of govern ment as permanently located by law during the territorial existence of the territory, and in no other contingency are we at liberty to suppose that the expenditure of any portion of the appropriation would have been authorized. "My conviction then is, from this plain and natural construction of the law, that the removal of the seat of government was intended to take place, if at all in the interim, between its first loca tion by the governor and legislative assembly and the time when any portion of the money appro priated for the erection of public buildings should be expended, and that such removal -could only be effected by the joint and concurrent action of the governor and legislative assembly. "Thoroughly convinced in my own mind of the correctness of the position I have assumed, I should feel it a solemn duty I owe to the government to resist by all constitutional means the removal of the public archives unless otherwise especially in structed by the president of the United States; therefore, solemnly appealing to the unbiased judg ment of all good men, both within and without the territory, for the justification of my course, I re spectfully return the bill to the Council, the house in which it originated, for its reconsideration. "Mark W. Izard. "Executive Office, Omaha City, "N. T., January 19th, 1857." 'Nebraska City News, February 21, 1857. 3°2 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA being a fit illustration of the 'man who begun to build and was not able to finish.' "Your memorialists are well assured that if the appropriation had been judiciously ex pended, it would have been amply sufficient to build a capitol adequate to the wants of the territory for the next twenty years ; but we have reason to believe, and do believe, that tlie appropriation was expended in the manner aforesaid for the purpose of creating an argu ment in favor of, and a necessity for the seat of government to be continued at this place. "Passing over the attempts to relocate the seat of government by the last session of the legislature, and the means by which the will of the people was defeated, we come now to the history of recent transactions connected with the subject. "During the present session of the legisla ture an act was passed removing the seat of government from Omaha City to Douglas, in Lancaster county, about forty-five miles in the interior. This act was vetoed by the governor ; and thus the will of the people was again trampled upon and set at defiance, notwith standing the fact that the act was passed by the large majority of nine (9) to four (4) in the Council and twenty-three (23) to twelve (12) in the House of Representatives. These facts go to show to a demonstrative certainty that the seat of government will be removed from this place just so soon as we shall be blessed with the administration of a governor who has due respect for the will of the people ; and in connection with the fact that it will require at least seventy-five thousand dollars to finish the capitol commenced at Omaha City, in the present style, convinces us that it •would be unwise, impolitic, and a needless waste of the public funds to make any further appropriations for the capitol building at this place. "We therefore respectfully ask your honor able body to make an appropriation of fifty thousand dollars to this territory (which sum we deem amply sufficient) for the purpose of erecting a capitol for the use of the territory whenever the seat of government shall be lo cated in accordance with the will of the people, and your memorialists will ever pray, etc. 'Cbuncil Journal, 3d Ter. Sess., p.. 24; House Journal, p. 38. 2Jonas G. Seely came' to' Nebraska in 1856. Pie was an attorney, and engaged in the practice of law in Omaha. Was elected a member of the house of the 3d territorial assembly, and was a -"member of the city council of Omaha in 1857. Mr. Seely was a vestryman of Trinity cathedral upon its organiza tion, July," 1856. Pie was a brothe'r^indaw of Anj drew J. Hanscom. "Be it resolved by the Council and House of Representatives of the territory of Ne braska, that the secretary of the territory be requested to forward the foregoing memorial to our delegate in Congress, requesting him to use his influence to procure the passage of an act in conformity with the foregoing memorial during the present session of Con- Sress- "I. L. Gibbs, "Speaker of House of Rep. "L. L. Bowen, "President of Council. "Omaha City, Feb. 13, 1857." Bills chartering additional banks were passed by this legislature, but were all vetoed by the governor. Two of them — for the Bank of Tekamah, and the Bank of DeSoto — were passed over the veto. Miller and Bradford of the council,1 and Seely,2 Hanscom, and Holloway3 of the house constituted a select committee to pass on parts three and four of the code which had been reported by the commissioners to the last or 2d assembly, near its commencement,4 but which, owing to lack of time, or of industry and care, had not been considered. Part three, relating to courts and their jurisdic tion, was adopted, while part four, relating to crimes and their punishment, was again passed over without the assignment of any reason therefor. The explanation of this delinquency must be looked for in the closely related re peal of the criminal code and that part of the civil code adopted from Iowa, which measure was introduced in the council by Bradford as early as the 22d of January.5 The serious consideration, and perhaps ¦ even the original passage of this bill in both houses might have been excused or explained on the ground that members expected that these bungled laws would be substituted by better ones during the session. But the following veto message sent by the governor on the last day of the 3 Charles T. Holloway was a member of the house of the 3d ' territorial assembly, representing Doug las cfmnty. He was closely ¦ associated with1 Peter A. Sarpy; was elected to represent Sarpy county in the fourth session; was one of the committee to locate the county seat of Sarpy county in 1857; and was a member of the first board of aldermen of Bellevue. ' > "Report of auditor, Council Journal, 5th Ter. Sess., :p. 35. ;- 1 : J - ¦ "Council Journal, 3d Ter. Sess., p. 62. THIRD LEGISLATURE 303 session and the subsequent action of both houses sweep away or preclude excuse or palliation for the shameless act: "Executive Office, Omaha City, "February 13, 1857. "To the Council: "An act entitled 'An act to repeal certain acts of the legislative assembly of Nebraska,' passed at the first session of the said legis lative assembly has been presented to me for my approval. "The bill proposes to repeal all of our crim inal laws passed at the first session of the leg islative assembly, and all that portion of our civil code adopted from the code of Iowa. This might be well enough if the bill itself " proposed a substitute or if there was even a probability that a substitute would be passed at the present session of the legislative assem bly; but in the absence of both I must be allowed to doubt the policy of sweeping away a very large majority of the laws now on the statute book, thus leaving us without any means to enforce the simplest civil rights with out a resort to the common law. I therefore respectfully return the bill to the Council, the house in which it originated, for its reconsid eration."1 Moreover, the repealing measure was brief, sweeping, and explicit, so that it must have been difficult for a reader or hearer of intel ligence to miss its purport. The council promptly passed the repealing bill over the veto by a vote of 12 to 1, Dr. Miller voting the solitary no,2 and the house followed with a vote of 24 to 2.3 Mr. Furnas of the council gives an interesting but scarcely, adequate ac count of this legislative rape. He first quotes the following explanation of the Nebraskian: "Early in the session of our legislative as sembly, which has just closed, a bill was introduced in the Council by Mr. Bradford, .the title of which, as we remember it, was 'a bill for an act repealing certain acts of the legislative assembly of Nebraska, passed at the first session thereof.' At that time legis lation was 'dragging its slow and weary length along,' the capitol question was not then dis posed of, and this bill was several days reach ing even a second reading. Our impression "is' that the bill was, read by, its title only the first, second, and ithird time, in the Council; we are confident that no member of that body except its originator knew anything of the merits of the bill. It was, however, at length passed in the Council and transmitted to the House, from whence it was returned near the close of the session, and was in due time enrolled and presented to the governor for his signature. "In the governor's hands the bill was scru tinized, and its character fully determined, which was nothing less than the repeal of all the criminal code of Nebraska and most of the civil code. Governor Izard of course could not sanction such an act as that, and on Friday last the bill was returned to the Coun cil with his objections. Bradford winked and blinked 'like a toad under a harrow' and with an appearance of candor well calculated to deceive, assured the Council that the governor was unnecessariljr alarmed about the objects of the bill, that the repeal of our criminal code would only oblige us to have recourse to the common law, which was much better than the criminal code we had adopted. With these assurances from the dignified and truth- telling (?) judge, what did the Council do? Why they passed that bill over the governor's veto by a vote of twelve to one. Dr. Miller was the only man in that Council chamber who seemed to reflect what the consequence of his act might be. "The bill had the same fate in the House, and passed by a decided majority, and to-day there are no laws in Nebraska except ferry and bank charters. We have good reason to believe that the true import of the bill was no better understood' in the House than it was in the Council, hence the ease with which it was smuggled through that body. We hold the originator of such frauds responsible; and though we were at one time disposed to regard Mr. Bradford as an honest, conscientious man, we are now forced to the conclusion that he is the most dangerous and corrupt man there was in that body of reckless knaves. ' He knew the effect of the bill he was introducing, and we now know the objects he seeks to attain; the principal of which, we are informed, is to enable the murderer Hargus to escape the pen alty of his crime. A man who can thus reck lessly and wilfully break down, every barrier that has been raised for the protection of so ciety, for so criminal an object as that, should never be invested with the power of a legis lator; he is almost as much to be feared as the murderer himself. 'Council Journal, 3d Ter. Sess1., p. 158. 'Ibid., 2d Ter. Sess., p. 162. 3 Harrison Johnson and William E. Moore, House Journal, 2d Ter. Sess., p. 192. 3°4 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA "We have heard Mr. Bradford, the presi dent of the Council, and one or two other distinguished (perhaps notorious would be better) gentlemen chuckling over the passage of this infamous measure over the governor's veto, as the best thing done. We doubt not that the large majority by which it passed both Houses will be cited as a certain indica tion of the unpopularity of Governor Izard, and the light estimation in which he is held by the people. But if there is one act of his administration which will redound to his credit more than all others, if there is one act which will receive the approval of all virtuous men, it is the vetoing of that bill, which, by repeal ing all protective enactments, leaves the citi zens of Nebraska a prey to lawless violence, without the hope of legal redress." Then follows the comment of Mr. Furnas : "The above from the Nebraskian we pub lish in place of an article we intended to write upon the same subject. We think Mr. Rob ertson, however, rather sweeping in his ex pression, terming the whole Council a 'body of knaves.' He well knows — as he was one of the clerks, and present when the bill was returned for reconsideration — that its pass age was only secured by a betrayal of trust reposed in Judge Bradford as a legal man — 'as an honest and conscientious man' — on the part of the balance of the Council. Even Dr. Miller himself stated in his place that he would vote for the bill 'over the governor's veto' if the 'honorable chairman of the judiciary com mittee' would assure him that it only repealed, as Mr. Bradford said, 'conflicting portions of the criminal code.' This assurance was given, with all apparent candor and honesty, and the bill passed by a vote as stated of 12 to I, Dr. Miller fortunately voting as he did. Had Mr. Bradford secured the passage of this re pealing bill by shrewdness, legal or parlia mentary management, there might have been a shadow of allowance for him; but securing its passage as he did by downright falsehood, and abuse of confidence and respect reposed in him, he deserves to be held up to the pub lic contempt of all well wishers of this terri tory."1 'The Nebraska Advertiser, March 5, 1857. 3 The killing of James E. Lacey by Simpson Har- gus, April 23, 1856, was the first murder case in Nebraska City. The crime was the result of a quar rel over a land claim and seems to have been un provoked. Hargus was indicted, had two trials, and was found guilty, but could not be punished on ac count of the repeal of the criminal law. Mr. Har gus was one of the judges at the first election held Such, unfortunately, are the character and the reputation of legislative bodies of the present time that trying those of a generation ago by any high standard of morality or in telligence would be incongruous. And yet the act in question seems a mixture of inex plicable and unprecedented ignorance and immorality. It is true that the members of the legislature, most of whom were young and without training or experience, would natur ally rely upon the representation of the long time chairman of the committee for the final preparation of the code that the common law would take the place of the statutory criminal code on the repeal of the latter; but even be fore the governor's explicit warning they must have suspiciously questioned themselves touching the criminal code : "If so soon 'twas to be clone for, what was it begun for?" And there were capable lawyers at hand who easily might have exposed Brad ford's charlatanry to their doubting minds. Contemporaneous explanation of Bradford's motive for bringing about the repeal of the criminal laws is obviously insufficient, though it may be correct in part. James E. Lacy had "jumped" the west eighty of a quarter-sec tion claimed by Simpson Hargus2 lying just west of the present county court house at Nebraska City, and in an altercation over the matter Hargus killed Lacy with a shot gun on the 23d of April, 1856. Then, accord ing to contemporaneous explanation and -belief, A. A. Bradford conceived and success fully carried out the no less , audacious than novel scheme to save his client Hargus, whose trial was pending, by repealing the criminal code.3 But there is some ground for a sus picion that the principal motive of Bradford and his co-conspirators was to provide immu nity for the culprits of wildcat banking schemes, then in the heydey of their reckless career, and perhaps more reason for thinking in Pierce (now Otoe) county, and a delegate to the territorial convention held at Nebraska City De cember "30, 1854. He was elected one of the trus tees of Prairie City in August, 1858. He built a four-story brick hotel in Nebraska City, which he named the Morton House, but which was later changed to the Seymour House, and is now again known as the Morton House. "Personal recollections of H. P. Bennet and others. ^M II: /S^tfWv^ :~'"jtf' tf-lrxfaw /-'¦Hi.'. born May 7, 1765, and died December 16, .1843." His wife's mother was Augusta Emily Russell. George W. Doane attended the public schools at Circleville, Ohio, and in 1843 entered college at Marietta, Ohio, graduating in 1845. He then returned to Circleville and studied law in the office of his father. He was admitted to the bar in January, 1848, and practiced in partnership with his father, until he came west. In the spring of 1857 he went to Kansas with a view of settling there, but came to Omaha, April 18, 1857. Soon afterward he joined a party of young men who were going to Burt county to lay out a town site, and established himself upon a tract of beauti ful land at Decatur, which he preempted and at once began to improve, but, not being inclined to agri culture, within four months he became a candidate for the office of district attorney for the 3d judicial district, to which he was elected. Before the result of the election was known he returned to his for mer Ohio home to settle up his business, and three months after the election he learned that he had been chosen district attorney. He at once returned to Nebraska and assumed his office. The 3d judi cial district, of which Eleazer Wakeley was judge, then extended from the northern line of Douglas county to the British possessions and from the Mis souri river to the Rocky mountains. There was no court house in the district at that time, and the sessions of the court were held in private residences, stores, barrooms, or other convenient places. Judge Doane was reelected in 1859 and retained the office until the district system was superseded by the county attorney system. In August, 1858, he was elected a member of the territorial council to rep resent Burt, Washington, and Sarpy counties. In 1860 he removed to Ft. Calhoun, which was then the nearest town, in the 3d district, to Omaha. In 1862 he returned to Ohio and remained there until field— B. B. Chapman and J. M. Thayer of Omaha, Judge Fenner Ferguson and B. P. Rankin of Sarpy county. Though all of the candidates resided north of the Platte, Fer guson represented more particularly the South Platte, and Chapman the North Platte fac tion. Chapman, Ferguson, and Rankin were certainly democrats, but J. Sterling Morton's quick eye professed seeing the virus of repub- the terminus of the Union Pacific railway was fixed by President Lincoln at Council Bluffs, when he again came west and began the practice of law at Omaha. In 1865 he was elected county attorney for Douglas county, and during his service he prose cuted successfully the case of the state against Ott- way G. Baker, who was hanged in 1868 for the murder of Woolsey D. Higgins. In 1866 he was elected a member of the territorial council and par ticipated in the last session of that body before Ne braska became a state. From that time until 1880 he gave his attention wholly to the practice of his profession, except that in 1868 he was elected to the city council and served one term. In 1880 he was elected a state senator. In 1887 he was elected on a non-partisan judicial ticket to the office of judge of the 4th judicial district, comprising the counties of Douglas, Washington, Burt, and Sarpy, and on the expiration of his first term, in 1891, he was re elected as a democratic candidate and served until the following year, when he resigned to accept the democratic nomination for Congress. In the elec tion which followed he was defeated by David H. Mercer, the district being largely republican. Upon his retirement from the bench to accept the con gressional nomination Judge Doane was entertained at a formal leave-taking tendered by his associates on the bench and members of the bar, on which occasion there was warm expression of the high esteem in which he was held as a judge and a man. Judge Doane enjoyed public confidence in the many important cases that came before him, involving adverse interests of the people and powerful cor porations. It was in his court that bonds to the amount of $150,000, voted by the city to the Union Pacific railroad for the erection of the Tenth street viaduct, were enjoined before delivery on the ground that the conditions upon which they had been voted had not been fulfilled ; and suits were begun before him to secure to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad companies the right to run trains into Omaha over the Union Pacific bridge. Though uiese suits were removed to the federal court, the two companies gained the right to use the bridge, to the great ad vantage of Omaha and the entire state. Judge Doane has always been a democrat since he came to Nebraska, although in early life he was a whig. He was appointed by Governor Silas A. Holcomb as one of the board of trustees of the deaf and dumb institute at Omaha and the asylum for the blind at Nebraska City, which office he resigned at the end of one year. Though Judge Doane was never a member of any church organization, his sympathies and support have been given to the Episcopal church, and in 1868 he became one of the incor porators and a member of the board of trustees of Browned Hall, which is an educational institution under the auspices of the Episcopal church. In THIRD CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN 309 licanism working a little in General Thayer at this early period. The Bellevue Gazette of July 9, 1857, notes that "J. M. Thayer announces himself an independent candidate for Congress ; platform : 'The best interests of the whole territory of Nebraska' " ; but in 1859, the year of the actual organization of the Republican party in Nebraska, and when the metamorphosis of democratic politicians into republican politicians first gathered cour age to openly manifest itself, the Nebraska City News remarks that "the general was ex ceedingly wrathy because in his run for Con gress two years ago we alluded to him as a republican."1 The Advertiser nominated Mr. Rankin on the 18th of June, pressing his merits as "the poor man's friend," and as "a conciliator in those strifes which have rent and distracted the territory." Judge Fergu son was nominated by a delegate convention at Bellevue, July 14. Chapman was bitterly assailed by the News and the Advertiser, per- 1859 he was married to Miss Emily R. Greenhow, of Keokuk, Iowa, who was born at Vincennes, Indi ana, in 1839. She was the daughter of James W. Greenhow, a railroad contractor who aided in the Construction of the Ohio & Mississippi railroad and the Wabash & Erie canal. Her uncle, Judge Ellis, was the first president of the Ohio & Mississippi railroad. Her grandfather, Dr. Greenhow, was a prominent citizen of Richmond, Virginia. Five chil dren were the issue of this union : . Cora A., born in 1860; Guy Russell, born in 1862; William Green how, born in 1865 ; Daisy C, born in 1872 ; and George W., born in 1878. 'Nebraska City News, July 16, 1859. 2 Records of Nebraska Territory, p. 140. "William Wells Wyman came from sturdy Eng lish Puritan stock. In the early years of the century commencing with 1601 the home of Francis Wyman, the head of this branch of the family, was at West Mill, county of Herts, England, where descendants of the family still reside. Some time previous to 1640 his sons, Francis and John, left England, and in December, 1640, settled in Woburn, near Boston, Massachusetts. The subject of this sketch was the son of Levi Wyman, who served with General Stark's brigade in the battle of Bennington and subsequently removed to Compton, Canada. Here William W. was born and received a common school education, but in a greater degree he ob tained from his early experience in a printing office, and from observation and contact with men, the education that enabled him to become a successful editor and publisher. He was not content to be a mere type-setter, but became proficient in all that then pertained to the printer's art. He was married to Miss Emeline Tupper at Canton, New York, on December 7, 1825, and there were born to him four sons and six daughters. Mrs. Wyman died March 20, 1848, at Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Wyman's first business venture was in the publication of the sonally and politically, and they charged that he had never voted in the territory and was not a bona fide resident. Not many months before the Advertiser had been the profuse eulogist of Chapman, and now that it was recreant that smart politician did not scruple to publish a letter to himself from Mr. Fur nas, editor of the Advertiser, stating that one of the official positions in the newly created land office at Brownville would not be unac ceptable to him. In the meantime Chapman had filled the offices with other men. At the election Ferguson received 1,654 votes, Chap man 1,597, Rankin 1,304, and Thayer i,288.2 The large vote for Ferguson in Otoe and Sarpy counties saved him; and while Chap man had a heavy vote in Nemaha, Thayer ran nearly even with him in Douglas and thus caused his defeat. He of course con tested the election at Washington, but without success, and his political career was ended. William W. Wyman3 was again elected St. Lawrence Republican, at Potsdam, New York, in 1S27. In 1828 he moved to Canton, the county seat, and continued the publication under the same name until 1830. Later, removing across the St. Lawrence into Canada, he published the Cornwall Observer from 1833 to 1837. In 1838 he settled at Madison, Wisconsin, where he published the Madi son Express and later the Wisconsin Statesman, both of which ranked among the leading papers of the territory and state. As an editorial writer his style was plain and to the point. He impressed his readers with the conviction that he earnestly be lieved in the principles he advocated, and that his aim was the good of the people among whom he lived and of their country. While residing in Madi son he was married to Miss Milla Parmeter, by whom he had two children, a son and a daughter. The latter, Ianthe C. Wyman, became the wife of George A. Hoagland and still resides in Omaha. Still with his face to the West, in 1854, Mr. Wyman turned his attention to the then newly organized territory of Nebraska, and visited Omaha with the view of making it his future home, and in 1855 he settled with his family in Omaha. In June, 1855, he was appointed by President Pierce post master at Omaha. In 1857 he was elected by the people as territorial treasurer of the territory of Nebraska, and was reelected, serving two terms. The following letter written by W. W. Wyman to his son, William PL, and referring to Albert U. Wyman, who was later to become a prominent pio neer of Nebraska, is of interest here: "Omaha City, N. T., Feb. 10, 1856. "Dear William, — "The territory of Nebraska has authorized me by an act of its late session to borrow four thousand dollars to pay up its indebtedness, to run ten years, if required, by paying the interest annually, at any rate that may be agreed upon, not exceeding fifteen per cent. Now will you make some inquiry of your 3io HISTORY OF NEBRASKA treasurer; Samuel L. Campbell1 was elected auditor; John PI. Kellom,2 librarian; and Charles Grant,3 attorney general. O. D. Rich ardson was ill-requited for his faithful service in the first council by defeat as a candidate for attorney general. Another prominent and worthy figure in Nebraska history, George W. moneyed men and see if it can be got in Madison, and on what terms ? The surety is perfectly good, for the territory is holden for the amount and in terest. I sent you a paper containing the Law the other day. "Please write me a line as soon as convenient after receiving this, and let me know if it can be had there, for if I am under the necessity of going abroad for it I should rather get it in Madison, as I expect to be there in the month of April next. "All well at present. Tell Albert that I am try ing to get him to be cashier of the new bank in this place. "Your affectionate father, "W. W. Wyman.'' In Omaha, as in all places of his residence, Mr. Wyman took an active part in advocating all that was for the common good. He served as a member of the city council, and held other positions of honor and trust. While he was postmaster he erected a brick building, the first story of which he used for a post-office, perfect in its appointments and a credit to its builder and to the city. In 1857 he estab lished the Omaha Times, in which he advocated a return to the principles taught by Jefferson and ex emplified by Jackson. In his costume, as in his manners, Mr. Wyman clung tenaciously to the old habits, and in respect to both was always a gentle man of the old school. He died on February 20, 1864, and as the Omaha Nebraskian said of him at the time of his death': "Omaha will never cease to give evidence of his taste, industry, and enterprise." 'Samuel L. Campbell was a native of Indiana, born in 1840. He was a resident oi Red Oak Junc tion, Iowa, in 1861, when he enlisted, June 15, in company F, 1st regiment of Nebraska veteran vol unteer cavalry. He was discharged for disability June 20, 1862. 2John H. Kellom was born in Washington county, New York, in 1818. He taught school at Auburn, New York, and took a course at Williams college. In 1842 he went to Georgia, where he taught school and read law. He was married in July, 1S50, to a Miss Newell of Springfield, Massachusetts. He set tled in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1856. October 28, 1856, he was elected superintendent of public instruction. He started a bank there in 1857 under the name of Gridley & Company, but only continued it six months on account of the panic; was appointed territorial librarian, August 3, 1857. In 1858, in company with Henry Zoller, he went into the grocery business, and the same year he was elected to fill a vacancy in the first board of aldermen of Omaha. He was the first city treasurer of Omaha in 1858 ; was appointed clerk of the United States district court in 1859 and also clerk of the territorial district court, holding the position three years. In 1862 he was appointed United States deputy collector and held that office for three years ; was a member of the first Omaha board of education in 1859 ; in 1865 he was com missioned as postmaster of Omaha, and held the office nine months ; in 1866 was engaged by the Doane, makes his first public appearance through election to the office of district attor ney of the 3d district; and two other well- known men, James G. Chapman* of Douglas county and William McLennan5 of Otoe county, were elected attorneys of the 1st and 2d judicial districts respectively. Omaha school board to open a high school, and was employed as principal for three years, and Mrs. Kellom was, also, one of the corps of teachers ; was elected president of the first board of directors of tbe Omaha public library in 1S77 and resigned in June, 1880; went to California in 1880 and engaged in orcharding; he died at Tustin, California, March 17, 1891. One of the modern school buildings of Omaha has been named in his honor. "Charles Grant was the first solicitor or city attorney of Omaha, elected by the city council, March 12, 1857, and resigned June 23, 1857, James M. Woolworth being elected to fill the vacancy. 'James G. Chapman came to Nebraska in 1856 and in 1857 formed a law partnership with John I. Redick under the firm name of Redick & Chapman. He was local superintendent in Omaha of the Credit Foncier of America. In 1868, upon the organization of the Central National bank, Mr. Chapman was elected vice-president. "William McLennan, pioneer lawyer and for many years prominent in the territorial and state affairs of Nebraska, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, December 19, 1819. He was of Scottish an cestry, and a son of Kenneth and Janet (McLaugh lin) McLennan, both of whom were born in Inver ness, Scotland, where their paternal ancestors lived for some generations. Kenneth McLennan and a brother, Donald, were the only members of the family to emigrate to America, the former settling in Columbiana county, Ohio, and the latter, who had lost a leg in the battle of Waterloo, in Halifax. To Kenneth McLennan and wife were born eight children, namely, Donald, Eliza, Margaret, Janet, Ann, William, Kenneth, and Eleanor. Ihe three youngest were born after their parents came to America; the three eldest are dead; Ann resides in Oberlin, Kansas ; and the others, excepting Wil liam, reside in Ohio. The latter went to the public schools of Steubenville, and later spent three terms at Grove academy in the same town. At the age of twenty he commenced the study of law tinder the preceptorship of O. C. Gray, a Steubenville law yer. After a year he entered the office of Edwin M. Stanton, famous later as secretary of war, and a year later was admitted to the bar. In 1846 he re moved to Illinois, and for four years was in suc cessful practice in Carthage, Hancock county. Then he went to Keokuk, Iowa, where he spent four more years. In 1854 he built a steam ferry boat in Col umbiana county, Ohio, and took it down the Ohio river and up the Missouri river to Council Bluffs, and during the summer of 1854 he ran the boat be tween the Iowa and Nebraska sides. On his trip up the Missouri he had inspected the country along its banks, and Nebraska City and the country sur rounding had impressed him favorably, and in May of 1854 he located upon the tract of land near the town of Nebraska City, which he resided upon for nearly half a century. In 1855 he built a sawmill, which was one of the first steam mills west of the Missouri, and also built a boarding house on his RESIGNATION OF GOVERNOR IZARD 3n Governor Izard left Nebraska for his home in Arkansas on the 28th of October, 1857, having previously resigned his office.1 A lo cal newspaper, taking exceptions to a fulsome eulogy of the governor by another journal on the occasion of his departure, mildly hits off his character : "We consider him a good man — an amiable and worthy citizen — but not ex clusively designed for a practical executive." In 1857 James C. Mitchell, the whilom cap ital commissioner, was publisher, and L. H. Lathrop, editor of the Florence Courier. The issue of March 12 of that year contains a scurrilous attack on Governor Izard. Mitchell no doubt knew the vulnerable spots of the governor's official character and record, and so, while the reckless severity of the accusa tions suggests a suspicion that the governor had thwarted some of the crafty commis sioner's political schemes, yet it is likely that they contained at least the tincture of truth. A part of the Courier's arraignment fol lows : "We want a man who will be governor of the whole territory, not one who (like the present incumbent) will so far pervert his mission as to set himself up as the governor of a particular city, holding the balance of the territory as mere outside dependencies, sub servient and tributary to that particular local- land. Some years ago the fickle waters of the Mis souri washed away the site of the old mill. At that time Colonel Downs and his family were the sole inhabitants of old Ft. Kearney, and in the entire country around there were not a score of bona fide settlers. In 1855 Mr. McLennan was elected dis trict attorney for the big district comprising the territory south of the Platte river, and was reelected in 1857. In 1863 he was a member of the territorial legislature, and a member of the constitutional convention in 1864. In 1868 he was again elected to the legislature, and was speaker of the house in the sessions of 1869-71. In 1870 he was nominated by President Grant for the position of assistant United States attorney, but the nomination was not confirmed by the Senate. After retiring from office he abandoned the practice of law and turned his attention to farming, which he pursued for many years with marked success. His public life was beyond all but the most favorable criticism. His life of nearly half a century in Nebraska was in all things exemplary. P'or many years prior to his death he refrained from taking an active part in politics. In his early manhood he was a whig, later a democrat, and after the close of the Civil war he became a republican. Mr. McLennan was four times married. His first wife was, in maiden hood, Sarah B. Hall, born in Indiana, and they were married in 1857; she died in August of the follow- ity. We want a governor with some snap to him, one who will occasionally visit the dif ferent sections of our territory, and endeavor to make himself acquainted with its position, its resources and its wants ; not one like Mark W. Izard who will stick himself down in Omaha and confine himself to its limits month after month and year after year, idling away his time in the mere animal enjoyment of eat ing, drinking and sleeping, to the manifest neglect of the interests of those over whom he has been sent to preside; looked upon and pointed at by them as the very quintessence of ignorance, indolence and imbecility." Surely this was more than enough, but the article goes on to charge the governor with the downright sale of his approval or disap proval of bills, joint resolutions, and memo rials, including bank and ferry charters. Governor Izard interposed three notable vetoes of legislative action. His obstruction of the will of a decided majority of the legis lature to remove the capital in 1857, tried by the general principle involved, seems unwar ranted. Yet on the whole it may have been prudent and for the best interests of the pub lic; and at any rate, considering his environ ment and his temperament, this action was a matter of course. The veto of the bank bills and of the act repealing the criminal law was in point of duty and effect, at least, wholly to ing year. In October, 1859, he was married to Miss Martha J. Hall of Bureau county, Illinois, who died in December, 1868, leaving two children, William E. and Mary J. On September 15, 1870, he was married to Ella Ewing, born in Utica, New York, and she died November 28, 1871, leaving one child, Ella M. In December, 1876, he was married to Margaret Frances, daughter of Jesse and Hannah (Streeter) Brown, of Mason county, Illinois, who survives him, and has borne him one child, Stella. Mrs. McLennan's father was a graduate of West Point military academy, and was one of the pioneers in Richardson county, Nebraska, settling there in 1860, and residing there until his death. Mrs. Mc Lennan at the time of her marriage was a widow, having previously been married to John Sittler (de ceased) and was the mother of three children, Ida, Gussie, and Ernest. Both of Mr. McLennan's ma ternal grandparents lived beyond the century mark, his mother's father, William McLaughlin, dying in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1833 at the age of one hundred and one years, and his wife surviving him some years and reaching the great age of one hundred and two years. Mr. McLennan died, May 17, 1903, at his home in Nebraska City, death re sulting from injuries sustained by a fall a few days previously. 'Records of Nebraska Territory, p. 143. rWii Jl 9 » FOURTH LEGISLATURE 3i3 his credit. The accusation which found its way into the press, that his opposition to the bank bills was purchased by the existing banks to shut out more competition, should be re garded with consideration of the reckless charges against the public men of the terri tory which characterized that period. The Omaha Herald of October 19, 1866, in notic ing a statement in the Helena (Arkansas) Clarion that Governor Izard died at his resi dence in St. Francis county on the 4th of October, 1866,1 remarks that, "when in Ar kansas we heard of Governor Izard as having lost everything during the war." William A. Richardson2 of Illinois suc ceeded to the governorship, January 12, 1858, 'According to Van B. Izard of Forest City, Ar kansas, a son of Governor Izard, the latter died in August, 1866, instead of October. 2 William A. Richardson, governor of the terri tory of Nebraska from January 12, 1858, to Decem ber 5, 1858, son of James L. and Mary (Edmon son) Richardson, was born January 16, 1811, in Fayette county, Kentucky, and died December 27, 1875, in Quincy, Illinois. In early youth he at tended school in the little log school house of his native county and there secured the rudiments of an English education. Later he spent three years at Walnut Hill preparing for college. From there he became a student in Center college, Danville, Kentucky, and then entered Transylvania univer sity at Lexington. At the end of his junior year he left college to teach school, and a year later entered the office of Allen & Simpson, where he studied law, being admitted to the bar in March, 1831. After a short residence in Shelbyville, Illi nois, he volunteered in the Black Hawk war, 1832, serving four months. In the fall of the same year he went to Rushville, Illinois, where he resided until 1849, when he moved to Quincy. In 1834-35 he was state's attorney for his district and resigned in 1836 upon his election to the Illinois legislature. In 1838 he was elected to the state senate for a term of four years. In 1844 he was unanimously nominated and elected, by a large majority, to the legislature, and was chosen speaker of the house. At the beginning of the War with Mexico in 1846, Mr. Richardson raised a company of which he was cho sen captain and served in the 1st Illinois regiment under command of Col. J. J. Harding. He was in active service until July, 1847, when his term ex pired. In August of that year he was elected to Con gress and reelected the following year by a large ma jority. Two years later he was again elected, and in 1854 defeated Judge Archibald Williams by over 900 majority. In 1856 he resigned his seat in Congress to accept the nomination on the Democratic ticket for the office of governor of Illinois. He was de feated by only a small plurality. The next year President Buchanan tendered him the appointment as governor of the territory of Nebraska, which he declined, but in December of that year (1857) the office was again offered to him, and he immediately went to Omaha, where he was inaugurated Janu ary 12, 1858. Pie resigned the governorship in Secretary Cuming acting as governor in the interim. The 4th general assembly convened on Tuesday, December 8, 1857 — the time fixed by act of the preceding legislature.3 The members of the council held over with out change — a cheering indication of increas ing stability of the population and public sentiment of the territory. The fact that Dr. Geo. L. Miller was elected president of the council by a vote of 9 to 3 indicated also a change in sentiment or intention as to the capital question. The president followed up his opportunity by appointing two Douglas county members, Rogers and Salisbury, and another heretofore safe North Platte man, September, 1858, but was not relieved until De cember 5, when he returned to his home in Illinois. In 1860 he was again elected to Congress from the Quincy district, and in 1863 he resigned his seat in the House to enter upon the duties of United States senator, to fill out the unexpired term of Stephen A. Douglas. His term expired in 1865, after which he held no public office until 1874, when he was cho sen a member of the board of supervisors for Adams county, Illinois, in order to keep the court house in Quincy. Governor Richardson was mar ried January 18, 1838, to Cornelia H. Sullivan of Quincy. Mrs. Richardson was a woman of great personal beauty, and although considerably younger than her husband exerted an influence for good until her death, which occurred April 22, 1864. Seven children were born to them, three dying in infancy and four living to manhood and woman hood : Helen V., who married Captain T. T. Dwight, and died in Chicago, April 29, 1902; George J., who married Miss Susie A. Long of St. Louis, and died in Quincy, Illinois, April 20, 1876; Wil liam A., who married Miss Anna D. McFadon of Quincy, Illinois, and resides in that city; and John S., a resident of New York city. "The representation in the Plouse was as follows: Burt and Cuming counties, William B. Beck; Cass, Clay, Lancaster, and Gage, Dr. Edmund A. Don- elan, Turner M. Marquett, Lawson Sheldon, Jo seph Van Horn; Cedar, Dakota, and L'eau-qui- court, William G. Crawford, Edward C. Jones; Dodge and Platte, John M. Taggart; Douglas, George Armstrong, George Clayes, Michael Mur phy, Joseph W. Paddock, Andrew J. Poppleton, John A. Steinberger, James A. Stewart, Dr. William R. Thrall; Nemaha and Johnson, Albert J. Bene dict, Samuel A. Chambers, John S. Minick; Otoe, Joshua G. Abbe, Dr. John C. Campbell, James H. Decker, William B. Hail, J. Sterling Morton, Dan iel B. Robb; Richardson and Pawnee, Dr. A. F. Cromwell, Wingate King, Rev. Pleasant M. Rogers ; Sarpy, James Davidson, Amos Gates, Charles T. Holloway, Silas A. Strickland; Washington, Paris G. Cooper, Alonzo Perkins, James S. Stewart, Potter C. Sullivan. On the 21st of December it was de cided by a vote of 26 to 7 that Perkins was entitled to Mr. Sullivan's seat, and he was thereupon sworn in. — (House Journal, 4th Ter. Sess., p. 77.) .,%;. ¦ :¦¦¦-¦-... /vK^yfc^^— -A^r^h-iyi^. / 9 * FOURTH LEGISLATURE 3i5 Puett1 of Dakota, as the committee on public buildings. J. Sterling Morton and Andrew J. Popple ton were again returned to the house, and among other members who afterward became prominent in the state were J. W. Paddock2 and T. M. Marquett. The contest for the office of speaker was between J. H. Decker and J. Sterling Morton — both of Otoe county — the former receiving 20, and the latter .12 votes. Mr. Morton's attitude toward the cap ital question had been completely reversed, and at a public meeting held at Nebraska City, after the adjournment of the legislature, where the members from Otoe county were called upon to explain their action in the Florence affair, Morton boldly stated that two years before in the capital contest he had struggled to the end for removal ; a year later when he became a candidate for reelection lie was de feated on this record (by 20 votes), and he came to the conclusion that his constituents cared but little about the removal, and he him self believed that it was impolitic and inex pedient to raise the question at the late ses sion.3 It is quite likely that Mr. Morton had other reasons also for this change of attitude — and not unlikely some scores to settle — but this one was sufficient, and justified itself. 'Alfred W. Puett, with others, crossed the Mis souri river from Iowa where a temporary settlement had been made, on a 4th of July excursion in 1855, and the party was so well pleased that many of them, Puett among the first, returned and formed a settlement, and laid out the old town of Omadi, in Dakota county. Mr. Puett was elected the first councilman from Dakota county, and served in the third and fourth sessions of the territorial assem blies. He was a charter member of the Masonic lodge instituted at Omadi, June 2, 1858. 2Joseph Williamson Paddock, pioneer of Omaha, was born in Massena, New York, April 27, 1825. He was educated in his native state and before leaving there he was engaged in the mercantile and manufacturing business. He settled in Omaha Sep tember 24, 1854. He was chief clerk of the house of the first session of the territorial assembly, and was the first clerk of the territorial court in the 1st dis trict court under Judge Fenner Ferguson, serving in that office from April, 1855, to July, 1858. Mr. Pad dock was energetic and enterprising in promoting the development of Omaha and Nebraska, and was three times elected from Douglas county to the ter ritorial and state legislatures. He was a member of the lower house of the 4th and 11th territorial assem blies, and of the house of representatives of the 1st state legislature. In 1869 he was a member of The message of Acting Governor Cuming, delivered at the opening of the fourth session of the general assembly, was his last impor tant official communication. Few public men of Nebraska have written so forcibly as Cum ing wrote; but the youthful glow and the rhetorical flavor of this message are in de cided contrast with the mature, matter-of-fact of Governor Richardson's communications. These opening paragraphs of Governor Cum ing's message illustrate the rhetorical quality of his writing : "We are assembled to-day under the most favorable auspices. The territory of Ne braska has, thus far, achieved all that her friends could ask. Her early organization and rapid progress have signally illustrated the safety and expansive force of the princi ples of the federal compact, from which naturally sprang her organic act. "The imprint of her 'Great Seal' has been genuine. 'Popular Sovereignty' has been vin dicated; 'Progress' verified. Peace and good order, practical vigor and manly observance of constitutional obligation have character ized the conduct of our people. No dan gerous agitation or political heresies have been permitted to take root; but the seeds of industry, education and law, planted at the commencement by enterprising and practical men, have yielded the legitimate fruit of a safe and efficient self-government. the city council of Omaha. Upon the organization of the 1st Nebraska infantry, he was appointed cap tain of company K and served four months, when he was detailed to staff duty in the fall of 1861. In 1862 he was appointed to the adjutant general's corps under General Steele. At the close of the war Major Paddock returned to Omaha, where he was connected with a great many business enterprises and organizations. 'In 1867 he was a member of the Omaha Horse Car company, was one of the in corporators of the Thompson-Houston Electric Light company, September 26, 1885 ; was secretary and treasurer of the Western Transportation company, and for a number of years was the stock and gen eral claim agent for the Union Pacific railroad. In January, 1891, he was appointed by President Har rison government director of the Union Pacific rail way company. The later years of his life he devoted to personal interests. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Loyal Le gion. He was married at Canton, New York, Sep tember 2, 1858, to Susie A. Mack, who resides with her son, Benjamin S. Paddock, in Denver, Colo rado ; a daughter, the widow of William E. Annin, lives in Washington, D. C. The late J. Sterling Morton said of Major Paddock that "he seldom made an enemy, never betrayed a friend, and never maliciously told an untruth." "The Nebraska City Nezvs, January 23, 1858. 3i6 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA "Under such circumstances, and inhabiting a country of such vast extent, natural beauty, and productive wealth — although lamentable dissensions have given to our sister territory a wider notoriety — we may well congratulate each other, upon our verification of the politi cal truth, 'Happy is that people whose annals are tranquil' "We have, assuredly, no ordinary cause of gratitude to Him who rules over all things for the opportunities vouchsafed us — the ad vantages of geographical position on the great natural line of commerce, a foremost place in the race of territories, and the facilities of mod ern improvements and great enterprises to pro mote our advancement in every department of industry and art. By continued adherence to wise and moderate coun cils, by earnest and real public spirit and internal harmony, immigration will be rapidly increased, our new counties speedily populated, the great cities of the seaboard will iden tify with ours their com mercial interests, and capital, once more liber ated from financial paraly sis, will find its safe and more profitable invest ment in the fee-simple of our fertile woodlands, prairies, and valleys." The legislature is ad vised that the capitol, a "spacious and impos ing edifice, now nearly completed under the appropriation by the gen eral government and through the public spirit of the city of Omaha," has cost fifty thousand CHARLES W. PIERCE1 dollars more than Congress had provided, and the governor recommended an appeal to that body for the amount of the deficit. He ad vises another memorial to Congress for the proper distribution of troops along the emi grant line in connection with an application for grants of land for building a Pacific rail road along the valley of the Platte; he states that arrangements for the completion of the Atlantic and Pacific telegraph from the Mis souri river to the Pacific have been perfected; advises a memorial to Congress for an appropri ation to build a military bridge across the Platte river; avers that the code of practice ' 'is universally regarded by the bar as meager and defective" and that ' 'the statutes are limited, confused, and contradictory. ' ' He complains that the school law, though ade quate, has been almost unheeded. "Many county super intendents have failed to qualify as prescribed in sections 19 and 20, chap ter 18, 2d statutes; and the county clerks have provided no substi tutes; nor has the for feit been collected by the prosecuting attorney as provided in section 23. Others have neglected to report to the superintendent of public instruction on the 1st of November, as ordered in section 32. Thus the law has 'Charles Wilder Pierce, pioneer of Otoe county, son of Wilder and Catharine (Rider) Pierce, was born July 21, 1828, in New York City. His father, Wilder Pierce, was a descendant of the Puritans, and his mother, Catharine Rider, of the Holland- Dutch. Charles Wilder Pierce received his early ed ucation in the public schools of New York and Yates Academy in Orleans county, New York, and went to Dubuque, Iowa, in 1849. From Dubuque he went with a government surveying party to survey the northern boundary of Iowa and retained this posi tion for six months, then went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and worked for the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry company for eighteen months. From there he went to Sidney, Iowa, where he made his home until May 3, 1854, when he removed to Nebraska City, Nebraska, where he still (1904) resides. He has been a surveyor and bridge builder since his residence in Nebraska City, and held the office of engineer and county surveyor much of the time. He helped lay out the town of Nebraska City, and spent ten years in running township lines in Ne braska and Kansas. Mr. Pierce is a democrat and was appointed the first postmaster of Nebraska City. Pie was sergeant-at-arms of the council of the 2d territorial assembly of Nebraska. He was married at Sidney, Iowa, in May, 1854, to Miss Mary Talley. Mrs. Pierce died May 13, 1855. FOURTH LEGISLATURE 3'7 been rendered virtually a dead letter. In many, if not all the counties, no districts have been formed; no taxes levied; no teachers employed and no steps taken in respect to school laws. The act of Congress of 1857, providing for the selection of other sections in lieu of the 16th and 22d, when occupied and improved prior to the surveys, has tem porarily abridged the land fund, but it is the duty of the county superintendent (Chap. 18, sec. 9) to examine, allot in parcels, and value the sections not thus occupied, as well as others after they shall have been selected." It appears that the law of 1856 providing for a general military organization had not been carried out; for, the message informs us, while "companies exist in nearly every county their organization is very imperfect or suffered to decline." The governor favors the then undemocratic expedient of "a small appropriation" to each county from the terri torial revenue "to encourage the development of our agricultural and productive resources." Governor Cuming's limited and faulty un derstanding of the principles of banking, as also his clear foresight and positive opinion as to the vexed subject of the territorial banks, were expressed as follows : "It may be urged that specie is again re turning to its former channels, and that public trust will soon revive. Yet what amount of coin will repair the injury already wrought, or afford a basis of security against human avarice, stimulated to extravagant specula tions and unscrupulous excesses by the facil ities afforded by an insecure banking system? The history of 'profitable' banking is inev itably the history of alternate depression, over- action, and ruinous expansion. May we not hope that the events of the year will lead to a general reform, and to the restriction of paper to the uses of commercial men? Be lieving as I do, that the whole system of banking is insecure, even when based on state stocks and securities, where one promise to pay is made the basis of another, both perhaps equally fallacious, and being especially con vinced that the institution of banks in this territory was impolitic, and that there are imperfections in the charters, I respectfully urge that some adequate means be taken to remedy the evil and protect our citizens in future. Many persons who have realized from such systems advantage to themselves may have heretofore seen no danger to others. But the experiment has now, at least, been fully tried, and none can be so far deluded by the transient stimulus and temporary vigor imparted to business transactions by traffic in expanded credit as to fail to see the necessity of additional protection of labor and of the great agricultural and other producing inter ests, upon which our true prosperity depends. The action of the first few years is apt to fix the character of the future state; and in the important respect of the financial policy to be -pursued, no timidity, or indifference, or inter ested motives should be permitted to prevent or postpone a determined effort to avert, in future, calamities such as those from which the country is just emerging. The banks now in existence in the territory are perhaps as safe as most of such institutions. Pru dently managed in their infancy, but few of the community have suffered loss. Yet it is equally true that their profits are to be made hereafter. In the meantime gold and silver, withdrawn from eastern adventures and de positaries, may be expected in sufficient quan tities for the ordinary purposes of trade. Although, therefore, paper money is now so identified with the business habits of the com munity that the prospect of its abolishment, perhaps for a long time to come, seems im practicable and to many absurd, yet, within our own jurisdiction, by proper safeguards and restrictions, we may approximate such a result; and may now provide that the full specie equivalent of all circulated bank paper shall be at all times within the reach of every citizen." The message shows from the records of the land office at Omaha that during the ten months, from February to November, 462,349 acres of land had been entered by preemption. The governor felicitates the territory on its isolation from the embroilments growing out of the imminent questions of national politics : "Safe thus far from the interference of reckless agitators and the mad efforts of in tolerant fanatics, we can furnish to the world an enviable proof of the legitimate effect of the genius and spirit of our republican insti tutions. No retribution can be too severe if through casuistry or local strifes or political infidelity, we prove recreant to that beautiful federative system to which we owe our exist ence, and under which alone we can achieve true and permanent greatness." The foreboding thus expressed by this bright man was no doubt representative of 3i8 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA the sentiment of northern democrats of that time as to the source of the impending dan ger. The report of the superintendent of public instruction,1 Mr. J. H. Kellom, sets out that the public school lands are not yet available for the purpose intended, and that "The title to them net having passed from the general government, a special act of Congress is thought by some to be necessary in order to make them ours." What follows is prophetic, as well as wholesome admonition : "If the school lands are held intact; not sold too early, nor exchanged for others of less value, the time is not far future when this territory will possess a school fund equal in value to that of New York or Connecticut, and which will give to every son and daughter within her borders a good, practical, common school education. As the school lands are the basis of this prospective fund, every citizen in the territory should be deeply interested in their preservation ; and you, in the capacity of legislators, will not hesitate to throw around them that protection which shall preserve them for all time to come." The territorial treasurer again makes a dis mal report showing that "only two counties, Douglas and Otoe, have paid any territorial revenue into the treasury for the year 1857."2 The Napoleonic scheme of doing things af fecting the public at large is pretty sure to be equally as short-lived as it is at first effi cient and irresistible. The capital question had logically run its course, and it was puerile politics to revive it at this ' time. The present location was as available as any that could be found, a large sum of money for those times had been spent 'House Journal, 4th Ter. Sess., p. 31. 2 Ibid., p. 34. "Council Journal, 4th Ter. Sess., p. 21. 1 Ibid., p. 40. "Joshua G. Abbe represented Otoe county in the territorial house of representatives in the fourth session and was appointed county commissioner of Otoe county in 1858 and elected to the same office the following year. "January 28, 1859. 'After reciting that Governor Izard had spent the entire congressional appropriation of $50,000 and $8,000 in excess of the appropriation in con structing only one story of the building, Mr. Fur nas goes on as follows : upon the building, Congress, would be in no mood, especially in the prevailing financial distress, to provide for a new building, and the territory itself was so desperately poor that it could not or would not meet its trifling incidental expenses. The legislature pro ceeded in about the usual way, the usual bills had been introduced, and Bradford, inex plicable though it seems, was placed at the head of a committee of the council to report a criminal code, and also continued as chair man of the judiciary committee. Now that Hargus was out of limbo through his effect ive mediatorship, and the wildcat banking field had been worked to sterility, he doubt less felt free and had the face to promulgate a bill for restoring the criminal law. At the outset the capital trouble began in the council with the introduction by Bowen of Sarpy county of a resolution providing for the appointment of a committee of two to investigate the condition of the capital build ing, its cost, in whom the title rested, and what legislative action was necessary.3 The resolution passed with only one adverse vote, that of Dr. Miller; and Bowen and Rogers of Douglas were appointed on the committee. On the 17th of December a resolution de claratory of Judge Ferguson's right to a seat as delegate in Congress, and incidentally re flecting severely on Chapman's action in con testing it, and which passed by a vote of 8 to 5," further inflamed factional hatred. On the 6th of January Mr. Abbe5 of Otoe county introduced the inevitable bill to relo cate the capital. Councilman Furnas made a statement in the Advertiser" in palliation of this annual South Platte sin.7 "Congress failed to make further appropriations for the completion of this building; feeling that she had already dealt liberally with us. The city of Omaha, through her corporate authorities, without authority from the general government, or the leg islature of the territory, assumed the labor and ex pense of completing the building. To perform which, and in addition, assist in erecting a jail, court house and hotel in their city, they issued $60,000 corporation scrip, in small sums, to become a circulating medium, and advertised upon the face of this scrip that it was secured by a pledge or mortgage of city property. This large amount of currency, being as it was, afloat,, it is not strange that great anxiety was soon manifested, and in quiries made by bill holders, to know what city FOURTH LEGISLATURE 319 While Governor Cuming stated as a legal proposition that the city of Omaha had a lien on the capitol for the amount the city had expended in its construction, yet Mr. Rogers, the Omaha member of the committee, and the city council as early as January 4 were property and what amount was pledged for its redemption. The city authorities of Omaha, to sat isfy the numerous inquiries made by individuals, and through the press in various portions of the territory, made and published in the papers of their city an exhibit of pledged property, naming blocks, lots, etc. ; and in this list, to the utter astonishment of nearly every one out of Omaha, appeared 'capitol SQUARE AND THE BUILDING THEREON !' a S pledged for the redemption of scrip issued by the city of Omaha. "Under these circumstances, well known through out the territory, members of the last legislative assembly would have proven recreant to the inter ests of a constituency at large had they not, upon assembling, instituted strict investigation into the true state of affairs concerning territorial property. One among the first acts of the assembly therefore was to appoint a 'select committee of the Council in relation to the capitol building and grounds, in Omaha City.' Upon this committee was placed Hon. S. E. Rogers, member from Douglas county and a resident of the city of Omaha, who after making a report to the Council — which will be found in full on the first page of to-day's paper — is found acting as a member of the pseudo committee of the minority, in taking evidence, — the great majority of which is from citizens of Omaha, or those inter ested therein — and sending to the people in pam phlet form to prove that the majority 'deliberately and premeditatedly broke up the sitting of the leg islature !' "The committee ascertained that the mayor, Hon. Jesse Lowe, near nine months since, entered in trust, in accordance with the provisions of our ter ritorial law, the grounds upon which the city is located, and had made to all parties holding quit claim deeds, except the territory, of Nebraska, war ranty deeds to their respective interests. "By reference to the report of this committee it will be seen, that although it exhibits a series of wrongs inflicted upon the people, there was not the hardihood to deny but that the territory equitably owned the property at issue, and a seeming willing ness to give a deed manifested. Yet there was in all the answers of the city authorities a 'but' 'if' or 'except' in the way, and the committee appointed for that purpose by the legislature were unable to- procure for the territory of Nebraska u, deed for capitol square. "Had a deed for capitol square been made by the city authorities, promptly when called upon by the committee for that purpose; we undertake to say and promise to support our assertion — if denied — by affidavits in abundance, that a capital bill would not have been introduced — not even notice given — at the last session of the legislature. The committee fail ing to procure a deed, consultation was held, and it was thought that notice of a capital bill might produce it. It was accordingly given by Mr. Abbe of Otoe. For the benefit of those not familiar with the rules or customs of transacting business in a legislative body, and to prove our assertion that this notice was given for effect, we here state that it has been customary in the Nebraska legislature to give notice of a bill to-day and introduce it to morrow; and that three days intervened between the notice and bill in this case. The notice failing to secure the object designed, a bill was drawn and introduced. Now we come to the point. On the introduction of tne bill, members of tne House from Douglas county ; ex-members ; fanatical fire-eating leaders, who heretofore, and do yet govern and con trol all things of a public nature in and about Omaha, swore on the streets, in the bar-rooms, in the lobby, and in the bar of the House, that 'unless that bill be withdrawn, not another act of any kind should pass during the session!' They would 'show the balance of the territory that the wheels of leg islation could and would be blocked up, if they dared further to interfere with this capitol ques tion!' — that 'the capital belonged to Omaha, and she would retain it, even though it cost the heart's blood of Douglas county!' — that the Legislative halls ivould be drenched with blood! together with many other such expressions and threats. Such conduct towards the representatives of the people while en gaged in their legitimate duties could not fail to excite in the bosom of any one possessed of the least spark of patriotism feelings of the most indig nant scorn, and drove conservative men, who hith erto had cared but little about the simple capital question, to take decided and unflinching positions. The bill for re-locating the capital was read the first time, a point upon which there usually is no debate and never a vote. The minority to keep good their threat that 'no bill of any kind should now pass,' obtained the floor in considering the next subject matter — the election of a territorial printer — and boldly announced their determination to occupy it for the next nine days, unless the majority would withdraw the capitol bill. The affair was now fast approaching the culminating point, and the two parties occupying the positions of 'you must' and 'we wjll not/ it is not strange nor unexpected that a general 'pitch in,' 'knock down, and drag out' should occur among the members. But when out siders, prominent and wealthy citizens of Omaha, who had been goading continually the Douglas county delegation to acts of violence, rush within the bar, seize the speaker of the House, hurl him from the stand, and crush him to the floor ; then we say, law, order, and common decency are disre garded, the rights of the people trampled under foot, and insult added to injury." . . . While the summing up by Councilman Furnas throws an interesting light on the controversy, his contention is by no means fully borne out by the findings of the committee which follow : "The select committee appointed to investigate the condition of the territorial capitol building, re spectfully beg leave to report : "That they have made as thorough an investi gation of the subject as their opportunities would permit; that they have examined the Honorable Secretary of the territon', (the present acting gov ernor,) "and also the Hon. Jesse Lowe, mayor of the city of Omaha, which examinations were re duced to writing, and are herewith submitted, with the accompanying papers, and made a part of this report. "By reference to the testimony of Secretary Cum ing it will be seen that the late Gov. Izard has left in the governor's office no papers or vouchers show ing how or in what manner he expended the appro priation of fifty thousand dollars made by the gen- Ane.<£tm) FOURTH LEGISLATURE 321 ready to eat humble pie by giving the terri tory full title to the property, making no claim on account of the city's large expenditure. On the 7th of January Governor Cuming sent the following message to each house : eral government for the erection of a capitol building for the territory; consequently the com mittee, in the absence of Gov. Izard, have no means of ascertaining how that appropriation was ex pended, whether economically or otherwise; Gov. Izard seeming to act without reference to the wants and wishes of the people of the territory, and en tirely independent of and above them, although he was simply the trustee or agent to disburse this appropriation for their benefit. This conduct on the part of the late governor the committee deem extremely reprehensible and worthy of the severest censure. "It will be seen from the testimony submitted that the capitol building is yet far from a state of completion. The appropriation of fifty thousand dollars by the United States has been expended; fifty-two thousand dollars has been expended upon it by the city of Omaha, under the direction of the mayor; an indebtedness of eight thousand was cre ated in favor of the building, by Gov. Izard, beyond the amount of the appropriation, which indebted ness has to some extent been assumed and paid by the city of Omaha, making in the aggregate the amount of one hundred and ten thousand dollars, sixty thousand of which is beyond the appropria tion; — and the lowest estimate to complete the same without the ornamental work outside, including the columns, etc., is twenty thousand dollars, making the cost of the building beyond the appropriation, eighty thousand dollars, and with the appropriation one hundred and thirty thousand dollars when com pleted in this manner. If the original plan is car ried out (even in the cheapest manner) with the columns, etc., the lowest estimate is seventy-five thousand dollars, which added to the present cost, makes the whole cost when completed, one hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars. "The committee are of opinion that when Gov. Izard undertook to erect so magnificent a structure for the capitol building of this infant territory, re quiring so large an outlay of money, he exhibited a lack of prudence foresight and common man agement^ greatly compromising him as a capable and efficient public officer, acting as a trustee for the territory. "The committee are of opinion that in no event should any of the expense attending the erection of this imposing capitol edifice be borne by the peo ple of this territory. The original appropriation of fifty thousand dollars was a munificent donation by congress, and amply sufficient, if it had been properly applied, to erect a building which would have been an ornament to the territory, and abun dantly answered all its purposes as a capitol for a generation. Yet this appropriation has been swal lowed up, and the territory as a whole has re ceived, as yet, no benefit from it. If any party has derived any benefit it is the city of Omaha, in which the capitol building is situated, and in which the money has been expended. It is but just, therefore, that the city of Omaha should undertake and agree to save the territory harmless from taxation, in the amount that has already been, and which must yet be expended to complete the same. The committee 21 "I have to inform your honorable body that I have received from Jesse Lowe,1 mayor of Omaha, a deed of trust to all that portion of land known and designated on the old plat of Omaha City as 'Capitol Square' for the use and purposes of the capitol of the terri- take pleasure in reporting that the city of Omaha has recognized the justness of this position, as will appear by the following resolution, which was unan imously passed by the common council of the city of Omaha, on Monday, January 4th, 1858, and is made a part of this report : "Resolved, That the mayor be instructed to as sure the select committee, Messrs. Bowen and Rog ers, appointed on the part of the Council, to inves tigate the subject of territorial capitol square and the completion of the territorial building erected thereon that the city of Omaha will in no event make the expense incurred by said city of Omaha in completion of said building a charge to the ter ritory except in case an appropriation be made by the general government for the completion of said building. "Resolved, That the mayor be instructed to urge the legislative assembly to memorialize congress for a sufficient appropriation to reimburse the money expended by the city of Omaha and complete said building." . . . A part of Acting Governor Cuming's statement to the committee is as follows : "Q. How far from completion is the capitot building? "A. It is believed that it will take about twelve thousand dollars to finish it without the columns. "Q. How long would it take to finish the build ing on present plan? "A. In one season. "Q. How much has been already expended on the capitol building? "A. There is nothing in the governor's office bearing on that subject than stated before, nor has anything been communicated to the secretary's of fice at any time, nor has anything been communi cated to me in person by the governor. "Q. In whom is the title to capitol square vested? "A. In the city of Omaha by pre-emption. "Q. Who now has control of the capitol build ing? "A. I consider that the territory of Nebraska has, and the city of Omaha is bound in good faith to deed the capitol square to the United States or the territory; but the city of Omaha has a lien on the building for the amount of some fifty thousand dollars, expended on the same." — (Nebraska Adver tiser, January 28, 1858.) 'Jesse Lowe; a pioneer of Nebraska, was born March 11, 1814, in Rowan county, North Carolina, the youngest son of William and Jane (Blair) Lowe. The family removed later to Indiana, where he re ceived his education. He was a brother of Dr. Enos Lowe, also prominent in the early settlement of Nebraska, and associated with him in the mak ing and building up of Omaha city. He was ad mitted to practice as an attorney at law in the United States court for the district of Nebraska territory, October 21, 1856. Plaving been elected one of the first county commissioners of Douglas county, he took the oath of office and assumed the duties December 20, 1856. Mr. Lowe was elected mayor at the first city election of Omaha, held on the first Monday in March, 1857. Among his official acts as 322 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA tory, and the state of Nebraska when it may become such. "T. B. Cuming, "Acting Governor of Nebraska." But the day after this question of title to the capitol had been set at rest by the liberal action of Omaha, a majority of both houses voted to withdraw from the seat of govern ment and go on with the legislative session at Florence, where a relocation bill was passed. This revolutionary break-up was the outcome of years of greed, violence, and sectional folly. A committee of nine members of the mi nority rump which remained in Omaha — four from the council and five from ,the house — took a large amount of ex parte testimony, as laborious as it was inconsequential, on which they based a report. Their proceed ings are printed in the journals of the session in question. The majority members made counter-statements in the newspapers. Though the anti-Omaha faction was guilty of the first overt act of violence, this priority was acci dental, for the Omaha minority had undoubt edly determined at the outset to obstruct, by force if necessary, the clear moral and legal right of the majority to pass a removal bill. The unbridled spirit of violence which pos sessed the minority is shown by a sample of the affidavits of the majority faction, which also shows that old age secured neither respect nor immunity from assault by young and vigorous men : "S. A. Chambers,1 being duly sworn, testi fied as follows : " 'My name is Samuel A. Chambers ; am fifty-nine years of age; was a member of the House of Representatives at the last session; was in the House on the 7th while the House was in committee of the whole on the subject of the election of public printer; I heard Mr. Poppleton and Mr. Steinberger,2 members from Douglas county, and Mr. Minick, from Nemaha, say that unless the capital bill was withdrawn no further business should be transacted during the session ; was out .of the hall when the difficulty between the speaker and others commenced ; heard that there was a call for members ; started to go in ; found the crowd at the door so intense that it was with difficulty I made my way within the door, and was utterly unable to get to my seat within the bar; when I got within the door I saw a number of persons having hold of Mr. Speaker Decker, among whom I recognized Mr. Murphy,3 member of the House from mayor were the entry of certain subdivisions of gov ernment land comprising the town site of Omaha in accordance with an act of Congress and under resolution of the city council, and his conveyance by mayor's deed to the proper owners of all lots within said tracts of land. And also during his incumbency provision was made for the erection of a county court house, and the territorial capitol building, built on the site of the present high school. He was active in the organization of the public school system, being one of the district school board. He encouraged all religious denominations, aiding many with personal help in building their houses of worship, notably the Episcopal and Lutheran. Mr. Lowe was married July 3, 1856, at Burlington, New Jersey, to Sophia Hoppin, daughter of George W. and Mary (Kennedy) Hoppin of Providence, Rhode Island, who survives him. Mr. Lowe's death oc curred on April 3, 1868, at the age of fifty-four, as the result of his exposed life. His remains rest in Forest Lawn cemetery. The children of Jesse and Sophia Lowe were: Frederick Brown, a resi dent of Omaha ; Charlotte Augusta, deceased ; Jesse of Chicago, Illinois ; and Tilghman Howard of Cali fornia. 'Samuel A. Chambers, member of the 2d, 3d, and 4th territorial assemblies of Nebraska, was born about 1799, but the place of his birth is not known. Mr. Chambers was one of the first settlers of Brown ville, but soon after removed to Peru, where he was one of the proprietors of the town site in 1857. He was chairman of the first claim club organized in Peru, July 26, 1856, and was one of the incor porators of the Nemaha county agricultural society, February 9, 1857. He was a member of the lower house in the 2d, 3d, and 4th territorial assemblies, representing Nemaha county. Mr. Chambers lived to be over eighty-five years of age, and resided at Peru until his death. 2 John A. Steinberger was an Elkhorn town site speculator of Douglas county, and was president of the Elkhorn Claim Club. He was the father of Albert Steinberger, who went west to Auraria, and, November 6, 1858, was elected one of the delegates to proceed to Washington with a petition for a separate government under the name of the terri tory of Jefferson. He, however, dropped out of the delegation at Omaha. He was afterward king of a group of islands in the Pacific ocean, but was de posed by a British man-of-war. "Michael Murphy, son of John C. and Maria (Tiernan) Murphy, was born in West Virginia, Jan uary 6, 1835, and moved to Omaha, Nebraska, in July, 1854. He represented Douglas county in the 3d and 4th territorial assemblies, was an active Omaha partisan during the capital removal contest, and the first to lay hold of Speaker Decker and pull him from the chair. In 1859 he went to Pike's Peak, afterwards living in Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming. In 1883 he moved to Lander, Wyoming, and later secured all the oil interests in that section. In 1901 he sold out to an English syndicate, and set tled upon a ranch twelve miles south of Lander, where he now resides. In politics he is a democrat. He is a member of the Catholic church. MICHAEL T. MURPHY Died Saturday, April 8, 1905, at Casper, Wyoming, while en route to his home at Lander, Wyoming. For biography see opposite page. GENERAL WILLIAM ORLANDO BUTLER The first man to be appointed to official position in the government of Nebraska territory. For biography see page 608. FLORENCE SECESSION 323 Douglas county, and a Mr. Kimball,1 resident of Omaha, and who was not a member of the legislature. During the scuffle I saw Mr. Hanscom, a prominent citizen of Omaha and not a member of the legislature, rush toward the parties and seize the Speaker who was then torn from the stand to the floor where I could no longer see because of the crowd. " 'Was in the House on the morning of the Sth when a motion was made to adjourn to Florence; did not vote on the motion; after the motion carried the majority retired, and the minority immediately reorganized by elect ing Mr. Poppleton of Douglas, speaker, and also electing other subordinate officers. I still remained in my seat directing some documents to my friends, after completing which I called the page to take charge of them and take them to the post-office; Mr. Morton of Otoe spoke to me from his seat, saying, "You have not the franking privilege — you have no rights here." I replied I had rights and would assert them. The speaker then ordered the sergeant- at-arms to "clear the House from all refrac tory members — take him out." Some one other of the minority added "and see that he does not take more than belongs to him." The sergeant-at-arms approached me when I re plied, "I can go without being put out;" he took hold of me and walked with me to the door. From the time Mr. Morton spoke to me until I left the hall there was continued cheering and stamping by the minority and lobby. As I went out I looked back and dis covered Mr. Poppleton, the newly elected speaker, near my back with his gavel drawn over me. He afterward told me he had fol lowed me to the door, expecting I would prove refractory; but that he was ashamed of his conduct.' "2 The following statement is credited to Wil liam B. Beck, "an old and highly respected citizen of Washington county." "Ed. Pioneer: Dear Sir : I see in the Ne braskian a charge against you to the effect that you had stated in a certain 'extra' that 'Richard Kimball, member of the 3d territorial assembly, settled in Omaha in 1855, and was a mem ber of the Omaha city council in 1870, and chief of police in 1872. He was for many years engaged in the ice business in Omaha, first in partnership with Martin Dunham and later with J. H. Hungate, who succeeded to the business after the death of Mr. Kimball in 1889. 2The Nebraska Advertiser, January 28, 1858. 8 Ibid., February 18, 1858, quoting the Cuming City (Washington county) Pioneer. 4 Bellevue Gazette, January 21' IS58. "Colonel George Armstrong was born at Balti more, Maryland, August 1, 1819; removed to Ohio knives were drawn at the time of the fracas in the last legislature. "I take the liberty to state that such was the case to my own personal observation and knowledge; and I considered at that time, as I do now, that further opposition to Omaha men and measures would have been attended with serious consequences, and put in jeopardy the lives of at least a portion of that body."3 The legislative correspondent of the Belle vue Gazette, in the issue of January 21, 1858, stated the case thus: "I cannot but believe that the people will feel proud of this legislature for the course it has taken. When an effort was made by an unscrupulous minority, aided by a mob, to clog the wheels of legislation, and cleave down the declared rights of the people and the majority to make their own laws, they stood up in the defense of those rights and the cause of the people. "An excited mob, and an indignant and self- important accidental executive, together with the free offer of gold, could not swerve them from the path of duty and integrity. They knew that to yield would be to act the traitor to their friends, and they would prove faith less to themselves, faithless to their constitu ents, faithless to the country of their adoption, and faithless to the eternal principles of dem ocracy as embodied in the Declaration of our independence, and with these sentiments of right and honor in their hearts, they took their stand. An effort was made to buy some of them but failed. They stood firm to the last hour and minute, in the defense of the people and right; and if their labor is lost, and the territory remains without laws for another year, they are not responsible for the conse quences."* Five members of the council — Miller, Rog ers, and Salisbury of Douglas; McDonald of Richardson and Puett of Dakota — and thir teen members of the house — Armstrong,5 in 1827 and learned the printer's trade. In 1843 he founded the True Democrat, of Chillicothe, Ohio, of which he was editor and proprietor until 1845, when its name was changed to Ancient Metropolis, a family paper, independent in politics, which Mr. Armstrong continued to publish until 1854. In 1855 he settled in Omaha and formed a partnership with George C. Bovey under the firm name of Bovey & Armstrong. This firm built the second territorial capitol, the Pioneer block, and other buildings. Mr, Armstrong was elected a member of the lower house of the 3d territorial assembly and was reelected to the fourth session. He assisted in organizing the first Odd Fellows lodge at Omaha and also the Masonic lodge, over which he presided for many 324 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA Clayes,1 Murphy, Poppleton,2 Paddock, Stein berger, Stewart,3 and Thrall of Douglas ; years ; and at the organization of the Masonic grand lodge, in 1857, he was elected grand secretary, and in 1861 was chosen grand master, serving two years. He served as a volunteer in the Pawnee war of 1859 ; was elected mayor of the city of Omaha in 1861 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Andrew J. Poppleton; he was reelected in 1862, and during a portion of his term he also served as probate judge of the county. Resigning both offices in 1862, he assisted in raising the 2d Nebraska cav alry, and was commissioned major of the first bat talion which was mustered into the United States service in November of that year. After the nine months of service for which the regiment was raised, he was commissioned to recruit an independent bat talion of cavalry to serve during the war. The fol lowing year the 1st battalion Nebraska veteran cav alry was mustered in, and Mr. Armstrong, captain of company A, was commissioned major command ing, and senior major after the consolidation of this battalion with .the "Old Nebraska First," thereafter known as the 1st regiment of Nebraska veteran cav alry. After the close of the war, Major Armstrong was commissioned brevet lieutenant-colonel and later brevet colonel by President Johnson. In 1866 Col onel Armstrong was appointed clerk of the district court of Douglas county, and served nine years. In 1866 he was also appointed clerk of the supreme court of Nebraska, but resigned after the court was removed to Lincoln. In 1877 he was employed in the law department of the Union Pacific railroad company for one year. From 1878-83 he was chief deputy collector and cashier in the United States revenue office. In 1886 Mr. Armstrong erected a large warehouse and engaged in the agricultural implement trade with his son, under the firm name of Armstrong & Company. He continued in the business until 1891 when he retired from active work. Colonel Armstrong was married August 21, 1844, to Julia A. Ewing, daughter of Alexander Ewing of Chillicothe, Ohio, and four children were born to them: Ewing Latham, George Robert, Omaha, Rose and John, deceased, and Ella Rebecca, wife of George S. Gould, Mexico City, Mex. Mr. Armstrong was a member of the Unitarian church, 'George Clayes, member of the house from Douglas county in the 4th and 5th territorial as semblies, was engaged in the real estate business in Omaha under the firm name of Clayes, Lee & Co. It was Mr. Clayes who occupied the floor at the time of the hand-to-hand conflict in the 4th session between the Omaha and anti-Omaha mem bers. He continued to speak during the entire dis turbance. When called to order for not speaking to the question, Mr. Clayes is said to have retorted that it didn't make any difference, as he had to talk nine days, anyway. He erected a frame building on the west side of 11th street between Dodge and Douglas in 1856. 'Andrew Jackson Poppleton was born in Troy township, Oakland county, Michigan, July 24, 1830. He died at Omaha, Nebraska, September 24, 1896. He was a younger son of William Poppleton, a farmer and land owner of Oakland county, Michi gan, and Zada Crooks Poppleton. His grandfather, Samuel Poppleton, was an ensign in the Revolu tionary army, who was present at Ticonderoga and Saratoga and took part in Arnold's expedition to Quebec. Mr. Poppleton's education was obtained in the district schools in his native county, at Romeo Cromwell4 of Richardson and Pawnee; Jones" of Dakota and Cedar; Morton of Otoe; Min- academy, Michigan university, and Union college, from which he graduated in 1851. He was ad mitted to the bar at Detroit, Michigan, October 2, 1852. Mr. Poppleton came to Omaha, October 13, 1854. He took an important part in the organiza tion of the territorial government, and was a mem ber of the 1st and 3d territorial assemblies and was chosen speaker of the latter. In 1858 he was elected mayor of Omaha. Mr. Poppleton was one of the leaders of the Democratic party in Nebraska, and on the admission of the state he and J. Sterling Morton received the unanimous support of the democrats in the legislature for the two United States senatorships. In 1858 he suffered a serious illness which incapacitated him for several years. During the last sixteen years of his life he was afflicted, at first with partial and later with com plete blindness. Notwithstanding these serious handicaps his success in his profession was very marked. From 1863 to 1888, when partial blindness compelled him to retire, he was the general attor ney of the Union Pacific railway company, having charge of all the company's business west of the Mississippi river. He argued many important cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, and was recognized throughout the country as one of the foremost lawyers of the West. Mr. Poppleton invested much of his surplus earnings in the pur chase and improvement of Omaha and Douglas county real estate, and acquired a large fortune. In 1878 he received the honorary degree of doctor of laws from Nebraska university. In 1890 he was elected a trustee of Union college. In 1895 he re ceived the honorary degree of master of arts from Michigan university. Mr. Poppleton was married December 2, 1855, to Miss Caroline L. Sears, by whom he had four children, of whom three, Mrs. W. C. Shannon, Mrs. Myron L. Learned, and Mr. William S. Poppleton are now living. "James S. Stewart, representing Douglas county in the house of the 4th and 5th territorial assem blies, was an Omaha lawyer and a partner of John H. Sahler. 4 Dr. A. F. Cromwell was the first physician in Pawnee county, settling at Pleasant Valley with his family in 1855. He represented Richardson and Pawnee counties in the 3d and 4th territorial as semblies. "Edward C. Jones, member of the house in the fourth session of the territorial assembly of Ne braska territory, representing Cedar, Dakota, and L'eau-qui-court counties, second son of James and Ellen Jones, was born in county West Meatii, Ire land, October 9, 1832, and emigrated with his par ents to America in 1836. He was educated in Ellicottsville, Cattaraugus county, New York, and removed to Iowa in 1853. In 1855, in company with Rev. Jeremiah Tracy, John J. Tracy, Herman, and others, he made his first trip to Nebraska. The party took claims for themselves and relatives in Dakota county and returned to Garry Owen, Iowa. In the spring of 1856 a party started from Garry Owen under the guidance of Father Tracy and Mr. Jones, to cross the then trackless wilderness of central and western Iowa, and, after a toilsome journey of seven weeks, reached the Missouri river near the present site of Sioux City. The weather was bad and there were no bridges, but substitutes were provided by the ready skill of the guides. The entire party of forty families and their outfits 326 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA ick1 of Nemaha and Johnson ; and Van Horn2 of Cass county — remained in Omaha, unable to do business, being no quorum, until Janu ary 16, the end of the regular forty days. Presumably all the rest of the members went to Florence; but since the validity of the acts of the Florence session was denied at the time, and was not afterward recognized, no official record of them was preserved. But the Florence seceders, having a quorum, kept busy until the expiration of the forty days, and among the acts they passed were a crim inal code, a homestead exemption law, a law setting off the north part of Douglas county — that is, Florence — into a separate election dis trict, and a law for the relocation of the capi tal. The capital act named S. F. Nuckolls of Otoe, W. D. McCord3 of Cass, John Finney of Sarpy, and Elisha N. Hamilton of Wash ington as commissioners to choose the new location, which was to be within a district six miles wide on either the north or the south side of the Platte river, and between the guide meridian— the present west boundary of Cass, Johnson, Otoe, and Pawnee counties— on the east, and the sixth meridian— the present west boundary of Jefferson, Saline, Seward, and Butler counties— on the west. The bill pro vided that the entire town site should belong to the territory and for the sale of one-third of it the first year, by the commissioners, from the proceeds of which the necessary buildings were to be constructed. There is no explana tion as to how the commissioners were to obtain title to the site which belonged to the public domain.4 We should be very thankful that the im practicability of the whole scheme saved the territory, with its distinctively and exclu sively local and western associations and tra ditions, from the infliction of the far-fetched foreign name — specified in the act — Neapo lis;5 and we should also feel a half-hearted thankfulness that the political bias of those who finally named the capital of the state drew them half way toward their high privi- were ferried across the Des Moines river, without loss to any one, by means of a wagon box made water tight. Edward Jones settled at once on his claim in Dakota county, and in 1857 was elected to the legislature at the first election held in Da kota county. He also served two years in the Union army. Mr. Jones was one of quite a promi nent and numerous family. His eldest brother, Patrick Jones, a lawyer in New York city, was a lieutenant in the 17th New York regiment in the Civil war, and was made a brigadier-general. He served as county clerk in New York, was post master for two terms under President Grant, and died there in May, 1900. Those of the Jones fam ily now surviving who settled in Dakota county with the original colony under Father Tracy are Thomas Jones, who lives on the old Jones home stead; Catherine, widow of the late Patrick Two- hig, Goodwin, Nebraska; Mary Jones, married James McHenry and resides at Plainview, Ne braska; Ellen Jones, married John Boler of Jack son, Dakota county : and Richard Jones, removed to Texas. On account of failing health, Mr. Jones was obliged to spend his later years in the South, and died at Neblette Landing, Bolivar county, Mis sissippi, April 13, 1880, of pneumonia. 'John S. Minick was one of the incorporators of the Nemaha county agricultural society, incorpor ated by act of the territorial legislature, February 9, 1857, and was elected president of the board Sep tember 12, 1857. He was for a number of years a merchant at Nemaha City and at Aspinwall and was in business at the former place as late as 1885. He was an active worker in the Good Templar or ganization. According to the Brownville Adver tiser, Mr. Minick has his entire claim of 160 acres fenced and under cultivation in June, 1857, four teen months after he had located upon it. 2 Joseph Van Horn, representing Cass county in the' lower house of the 4th territorial assembly, came to Nebraska from Green county, Ohio. 3 William D. McCord was the third sheriff of Cass county, serving from 1857 to 1861. He was general manager of the Cass County Agricultural Society, organized in 1857. He was commissioned by Governor Alvin Saunders as major, and later promoted to the position of lieutenant-colonel of the 1st regiment of Nebraska veteran volunteer in fantry, and resigned April 22, 1862. 4 See Bellevue Gazette, January 21, 1858, and the Nebraska Advertiser. February 4, 1858. 5 A correspondent of the Pacific City (Iowa) Enterprise of July 23, 1857, gives a glowing ac count of the prospects of Neapolis. He states that a railway company has just been organized to build a line up the Platte valley from Plattsmouth to Cedar Bluffs, and that a great inducement to settle ment in the new Neapolis is the fact that the late session of the legislature passed a bill for the relo cation of the capital, so that it might be placed on a natural site near the terminus of the road. He describes the site as follows : "On the other side [south side of the Platte river] about sixty miles from the Missouri river, the high plains reach to the Platte with an almost imperceptible slope, the most elevated land being not more than sixty feet. In the above named vicinity, within half a mile of the river, is a beautiful elevation that appears more like an artificial mound than a work of nature. This elevation rises gently from all sides to a height of about forty feet above the level of the valley, and on the top is a flat surface embracing five or six acres, which really seems as if nature had fixed that mound for the capital buildings of the terri tory." The correspondent notes that extensive im provements had already been made in the vicinity. FLORENCE SECESSION 527 lege and plain duty in this respect. But poet ical and political justice would have named the capital Douglas. The house broke up on the 7th of January in1 a typical frontier row, in which trespass on the prohibitory law cut an important figure. The Omaha minority were talking against time on a minor question, in committee of the whole, and Poppleton had the floor, when Decker, the speaker, who had been out about the town, returned, and finding that there was no quorum, interfered, and insisted on resum ing the chair. Morton, the chairman of the com mittee of the whole, ruled that the point of no quorum could not be raised while a member held the floor. After ward Mr. Thrall of Omaha took the chair, and a mes sage from the council was announced. Poppleton made the point that under the rules this message could not be received, as the council was not in ses sion atthe time; butDeck- erinsistedthatthemessage should be received then and there, and attempted forcibly to take the chair, when Murphy and Pad dock, Omaha members, dragged him away, and then A. J. Hans com, a very strenuous lobby member, rolled ROBERT W. FURNAS From an unpublished daguerreotype taken in 1S55 Decker under a table. Finally the speaker left the hall, Morton was elected temporary speaker, and the house adjourned.1 The next morning Decker took the chair as usual, but on motion of Donelan of Cass county the house adjourned to meet in Florence the next day. In the council on the same morning — January 8 — Reeves of Otoe moved an adjournment to meet at Florence on the 9th. The president, Dr. Miller, refused to entertain the motion, whereupon Reeves himself stated it, and it was carried by a vote of 8 to 2, Furnas and McDonald voting in the negative. In this minia ture secession Mr. Furnas took about the same posi tion as many southern leaders were soon to take, when, after opposing dis memberment, they at last went out with their states. Furnas opposed seces sion, but went with the majority. Though the Omaha rump had the execu tive, or federal part of the government on its side, and by virtue of this advantage con trolled the official rec ords and gained its ob ject in practical results, the majority, or seced- ers, had the best of it before the people, because, outside of Omaha, the press was on "Houses are being erected, prairie broken, prepara tory to opening farms, and settlers are flocking in rapidly. A steam sawmill is in successful opera tion, having already cut out and sawed some 70,000 feet of oak and walnut lumber, and the appearance of things _ generally would lead one to suppose that the day is- not far distant when Neapolis will be called the 'Queen City' of Nebraska." Mr. J. J. Hawthorne, of Fremont, Nebraska, remembers that about this time a party of men from Plattsmouth established a sawmill on the south side of the Platte, three or four miles southwest of Fre mont, where they "sawed much of the best of the walnut and oak" into lumber, which they unsuc cessfully, attempted to float down the river in the form of a raft. Mr. Hawthorne believes that these men were the projectors of Neapolis, and his ac count seems to agree substantially with that of the correspondent here quoted. "747 Mt. Hope Road, Cincinnati, O. "May 19, 1904. "Mr. C. S. Paine, Lincoln, Neb.: "Dear Sir — I am in receipt of your letter of the 13th inst. and thank you for the courtesy of desiring a photograph of myself and such data as would make a creditable sketch of my career while a resi dent of the territory of Nebraska. "I arrived m Omaha in the month of October, 1856, crossing the Missouri river from Council Bluffs in the first fall of snow of that winter, and took up my quarters in the Hamilton House, the only brick hotel in the young city, kept by mine host, H. M. Judson. On demanding a room from the landlord I was notified that I should be accom modated, and, as I had been four or five days in a stage coach coming from Iowa City, I requested that the porter be ordered to carry my trunk to my room at once, that I might make a change of ^28 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA their side — with the exception of the Nebraska City News, now edited, nominally at least, by Milton Reynolds. The Nezvs took both sides. Through the evident influence of Morton it condemned the secession; but it also promptly took advantage of the opportunity to again clothing. The genial landlord nodded his head and said certainly, and to my surprise stepped out upon the sidewalk, shouldered my trunk, and asked me to follow him up the stairs. We landed in a room fifty feet long by thirty feet wide with twenty cots numbered from one upward. At the foot of cot No. 12 he laid my trunk and asked me if I would have breakfast. Let me say this introduction to the realities of the frontierwas a lesson that prepared me for the actualities I subsequently experienced. "The following day I noticed a portly gentleman in the barroom of the hotel, who in looking over the register discovered my name, and introducing himself as Mr. A. J. Hanscom, welcomed me to the territory. He then politely invited me to walk a little distance to the polls, saying that he desired to have me vote as the election for the members of the legislature and county offices was then being held. I expressed my surprise that he should wish a stranger of only one night's residence to exercise the rights of citizenship. He replied, 'One day's residence is as good as a year here, for everybody votes.' "After a week's prospecting I decided to hang out my shingle as a physician and surgeon, and make my bid for a share of the practice of my pro fession. "The year 1857 was made memorable by a finan cial panic that can never be forgotten during the memory of any matured man of that year. The depression of values was so great that town lots that sold for $100 a front foot a year before could be bought for $10. Business became stagnant and money so scarce that an exodus from the territory followed which retarded the growth of the city for many years. "In the winter of 1857 I had the honor to be one of seven representatives of Douglas county in the legislature. Andrew J. Poppleton, George Arm strong, and 'Mike' Murphy were among my col leagues in the house as well as J. Sterling Morton of Otoe county, while in the council I remember my old friend, Dr. George L. Miller. During that forty days' session the conspiracy to remove the capital from Omaha to some South Platte locality became the exciting topic. The representatives from Douglas county were expected by the citizens of Omaha to prevent such a calamity, and negotiations were set on foot to compromise and prevent such removal by conceding to North and South Platte members any and every measure that was wanted by our votes if the scheme could be dropped. Our negotiations resulted in a con tract with a majority of the members of the house, and we, faithful to our agreement, voted for every franchise, bank charter, or other privilege until they had secured all that they required. Nine days before the end of the forty-day session, to our utter amaze ment, notice was given of the introduction of a bill for the removal of the capital. Of course this cre ated consternation among the citizens of Omaha and indignation among the members from Douglas county, and the few allies from other parts of the territory who had _ stood by us, among whom was our friend, J. Sterling Morton. urge Morton's original scheme for annexa tion of the South Platte to Kansas. Perhaps a more definite illustration of the general anti- Omaha sentiment is contained in the state ment of the News1 that "eleven out of the thirteen papers in the territory (the two re- "We held a caucus that night and discussed the situation. The first business in order the next day was the consideration in committee of the whole of two reports from the standing committee on print ing. The problem with us was, 'Who would be called to the chair in committee of the whole?' If one of our number, it was then agreed that we would hold the floor in discussion the balance of the session, namely, eight days. It so happened that Speaker Decker called me to the chair, and immediately A. J. Poppleton was recognized and commenced a speech, which, by agreement, was to continue until he was exhausted, when, by a signal, No. 2 was to rise to his feet and ask to interrupt him, whereupon Poppleton would sit down and No. 2 continue to the point of exhaustion, and so on. By 1 :00 o'clock that day our opponents discovered our purpose and one by one quietly withdrew, leav ing our little minority of fourteen in full possession of the house, and themselves went into caucus, and resolved to return to the house at 3:00 p.m. and have the sergeant-at-arms of the council present at the bar of the house a 'message from the council,' and that then Speaker Decker would resume the speaker's chair, receive the message, and then refuse to vacate it. "We had a spy in their caucus, and thirty minutes before the return of our opponents to their seats we were made aware of their program. In the mean time the lobby was crowded to overflowing, intense excitement prevailed, and riotous proceedings were expected. When the sergeant-at-arms announced his message, the speaker arose, advanced up the aisle, and commenced to ascend the steps of the speaker's stand, and finally grasped the gavel in my hand, whereupon citizen Hanscom, who was sitting upon the stairs at my right, grasped the speaker and, lift ing him off his feet, hurled him into the body of the house. The lobby leaped over the railings, and one by one the conspirators were conducted out of the capitol, leaving the fourteen minority in possession, with none to molest or make afraid. That night our opponents caucused and resolved to adjourn to b orence and organize the legislature in that town. this they did, taking with them the officers, clerks, and sergeant-at-arms, and proceeded to pass laws, among which was one removing the capital from Omaha. "The supreme court subsequently declared all of their acts illegal, as they had not been enacted at the capital. "*n,the1 month of 0ctober> 1858, I removed to Keokuk, Iowa, where I resumed my professional labors. I am, very truly yours, "W. R. Thrall " [The statement by Dr. Thrall that 'the question oi the validity of the enactments of the Florence legislature was tested in the territorial supreme court is incorrect; but, as hereinafter stated, Expe rience Estabrook, United States attorney of the ter ritory, at the request of Secretary J. Sterling Mor ton, gave a written opinion which denied the validity of the legislation in question.— Ed.l January 16, 1858. FLORENCE SECESSION 329 maining being owned by Chapman) have, week after week, since the election, expressed their preference for Ferguson" — in the con test over the congressional election.1 On the 15th of January, in response to a request by J. Sterling Morton, Attorney Gen eral Estabrook gave a written opinion as to the validity of acts passed by the Florence 'The following correspondence took place be tween the Florence legislature and the executive office. It is charitable, and probably just to the honorable authors of these fulmations, to suggest that their bungled composition may be quite largely due to the bungling printers of that time: "After a majority of the members of both Houses had agreed to adjourn to Florence, an ap plication was made to Acting Governor T. B. Cum ing for the journals and papers belonging to the respective Houses, as follows : "Be it resolved by the Council and House of Representatives of the territory of Nebraska, that a joint committee, to be composed of one member of the Council and two members of the House of Representatives, be appointed to wait upon his ex cellency, the governor, and inform him that the journals, bills and papers belonging to the legis lature have been placed by persons, without its sanction, beyond the control of their respective bod ies, and that amongst them are several bills of great importance to the welfare of the territory, now nearly perfected, among which is an act providing the criminal code, a homestead bill, a revenue bill, a fee bill, and various other bills, which may be come laws if legitimate legislation be not farther interrupted by the illegal acts of irresponsible per sons who are in possession of such bills, journals and other papers, and that, therefore, he be respect fully requested to issue an order, and to enforce the same for the immediate delivery of such papers to said committee for the legislature. "J. H. Decker, "Speaker of the House of Representatives, "Leavitt L. Bowen, "President of the Council." To which the governor replied : "Executive Office, N. T. "Omaha, Jan. 9, 1858. "Messrs. Reeves, Hail and Taggart: "Gentlemen : — I have received from you a com munication purporting to be a resolution of the Council and House of Representatives of the terri tory of Nebraska. "The general assembly of the territory is now in session, according to law, at Omaha City, the seat of government, where the executive office is required to be kept, and where the public documents and records must be preserved. The communication fur nished by you is not from that body, but was sent from the town of Florence, to which place a por tion of the members of each House have adjourned. "My conviction under the law and facts are [is] clear — that no act of such recusant members can be legal. Under such circumstances any communica tion from them, as a legislative body, will not re quire official attention from this department. "Respectfully, "T. B. Cuming, "Acting Governor of Nebraska." On the 11th day of January, 1858, Messrs. Bowen, Campbell, and Donelan were appointed a committee to wait upon Governor Richardson, who had ar rived at Omaha, and present the following com munication : "Be it resolved by the Council and House of Rep resentatives of the territory of Nebraska that "Whereas, it is understood that His Excellency, the governor of the territory, the Hon. William A. Richardson, has arrived at Omaha City, then be it "Resolved, that a joint committee, consisting of one member of the Council and two of the House, be appointed to wait upon his Excellency, and in form him that the Council and House of Repre sentatives of the territory of Nebraska are now in session at Florence, having been forced to adjourn to that, the nearest place of safety, by the disor ganizing and turbulent acts of a minority of their own body, aided by the violence of an unrestrained mob at Omaha, causing a well-grounded appre hension as to the personal safety of the majority, and requesting his Excellency to communicate with the legislature at this place, at his earliest con venience." Governor Richardson's reply, after acknowledg ing the receipt of the above communication (House Journal, 4th Sess., pp. 171-74), continued: . . . "I deem it my duty, under existing cir cumstances, as an act of courtesy from me to you as members of the legislative assembly of Nebraska, to state frankly that looking at the question as a mere legal one, I cannot recognize that portion of the members of the legislature now assembled at Florence as the Council and House of Represen tatives of this territory. "By reference to the organic act, sec. 13, it will be seen that the power to locate and establish the seat of government is conferred upon the 'governor and legislative assembly.' Under that authority Omaha City, . . . must, then, continue to be the only legal place of holding the sessions of the legis lature, unless some other place is fixed upon by the joint action of the 'governor and legislative assem bly.' "I have been unable to find any enactment upon the statute books of the territory making such change, and in its absence the legislature can only transact its business legally at Omaha City, Doug las county. But, should it be insisted that this change is but temporary, and not designed as a removal of the seat of government, even then, if 1 have been properly informed, the proceeding is not authorized by law. I understand the following to be the facts : "The House of Representatives, without refer ence to the action of the Council, or the approval of the governor, upon a mere motion, adjourned to meet at the same place. If, now, I should recog nize the meeting at Florence as the legislative as sembly of the territory, what is the doctrine which I endorse? Is it not that either branch of the leg islature, without the concurrent action of the other, has power to adjourn to meet at any place it may select, a doctrine the establishment of which might, at some future day, present the strange spectacle of a Council at one place, the House at another, and the executive at still another. "I cannot endorse a doctrine from the operation of which such consequences might result. "Without inquiring into, or expressing an opin ion upon transactions said to have taken place prior to my arrival in the territory, I deem it sufficient for me to say that at the capitol is the place _ of your right and your duty as legislators, and having 33Q HISTORY OF NEBRASKA legislature, in which he correctly held that the seat of government clearly had not been re moved from Omaha, and that therefore the only question was as to the power of the leg islature to conduct business at any other place than the seat of government. His contention for the negative was lame, and perhaps, from the nature of the case, necessarily inconclu- entered upon the discharge of the functions of the executive office, I am prepared to guarantee that no act of violence by any man or set of men will be perpetrated upon the rights or persons of members of the legislature while in the discharge of their duties as such. The fullest and most ample pro tection is warranted to freedom in discussion and independence in action. "The public necessity requires that the legisla ture should proceed to business and perform its appropriate duties. It would be exceedingly grati fying, therefore, to me, if you would return to the capitol, accept the protection which it is my duty and pleasure to tender to the Representatives of the people, and, by just and needful legislation relieve the citizens of the territory from the apprehension of being left for another year without sufficient laws for that absolute protection which is guaran teed by the constitution of the United States. "I scarcely need add, gentlemen, that no one regrets as sincerely as I do the necessity which compels me, upon the first assumption of the duties of my office, to differ with a majority of the mem bers of the legislative assembly; nothing but a conviction so clear as to leave no doubt upon my mind, would induce me to take upon myself so great a responsibility; but when the line of duty is so plainly marked, I should be faithless to the trust confided to me if I should for a moment fal ter or hesitate. "I have the honor to be, gentlemen, "your obedient servant, "W. A. Richardson.'' The legislative committee in question made the following reply to Governor Richardson's commu nication, which, however, was excluded from the official record : "Legislative Hall, "January 14, 1858. ''To His Excellency, William A. Richardson. I "Sir: — We have the honor of being in receipt of your communication of the 12th inst. "Respect for the high office which you hold, as well as justice to ourselves, demand[s] a reply. "The candor and frankness of your communi cation we anticipated frotn one whose name is part of the history of our great west. The same candor and frankness in our reply will, we feel assured, not prove offensive. "Acquainted as you are with the genius of our government; experienced as you are in matters of legislation; devoted as has been so large a portion of your life to making laws for your country; we deem [it] necessary to urge upon your excellency how vitally important it is to the happiness and well- being of any people that those whom they may choose to make the laws under which they are to live, should be uninfluenced by any intruding out side pressure — free to act and vote according to the dictates of their owii judgment and the known wants and wishes of their constituents. sive. Considering the almost unlimited in herent powers of legislative bodies such as this — not being restrained by a constitution — and the weighty practical reasons for the adjournment to Florence and the urgent need of legislation, the Florence majority had the stronger argument, unless it could be met by contrary adjudication by the courts. This the "Among the many safeguards erected in our country to secure the happiness of the people, we know of none more important to possess ; none in the overthrow of which more mischief would result. Without it the people have no assurance of laws such as they desire, and our government virtually becomes an oligarchy, the mob few controlling the moderate many. "We submit a case in point. "The legislature meet and organize at the place appointed by law. They proceed to legislate upon some subject, in itself a legitimate matter of legis lative action. — The bill is obnoxious to the few immediately surrounding their locality but de manded by the wishes of the great majority of the people, as made known by a majority of their rep resentatives. A few become violent and threaten ing. Legislative action is no longer free. Votes are cast, not in accordance with the dictates of reason or the known wishes of constituents, but with reference to the views of an excited lobby and threatening intruders within their bar, winked at by a sympathizing executive. "What course is to be taken? "Three suggest themselves. "1st, To withdraw the bill producing the excite ment. To do this is to allow the will of the few to triumph over the will of the many; the minority to triumph over the rights of the majority— a course, we suggest to your excellency, seldom adopted by American freemen. "2nd, For the majority to remain and maintain their rights by opposing force with force, a course which every true lover of his country hesitates long before adopting, as it would give to our Territory [history], as it has given to the history of our sister territory, a story of blood. "3rd, To temporarily remove to some other place where their action would be free and untrammeled; where a majority of the legislature might carry out the wishes of the people. Under similar circum stances, this was the course which a majority of the Nebraska legislature deemed best to take, and upon their power to do so, we wish in all frankness and candor to express our views. "The legislature once having met and organized at the seat of government, we know of no law, either organic or special, prohibiting them either directly or by inference, from temporarily adjourn ing to some other place, should their safety demand it. There being no law to the contrary, their power to so adjourn follows in due order of sequence, from first and fundamental principles. The necessity that legislative action should be free, and the right of the peoole so to demand .it. and we hesitate not in saying that any lav/ depriving them of such power would be unwise in the extreme and fraught with infinite mischief. "Having the power to so adjourn, we submit that they are the sole and exclusive judges of the necessity demanding it, we hold that it is not] com- \ FLORENCE > attorney general attempted to do with a result negatively damaging to his side of the case; for the only authority he cited was that of the obscure territorial court of Oregon, and the decision evidently turned upon a different point from that held to be the issue in the Nebraska case, though he quoted two of the judges as deciding, incidentally at least, that the legislature could pass valid laws only at the regular seat of government. Governor Richardson having refused to sign the acts of the Florence assembly, a con troversy arose as to whether he had returned them to the legislature, with his objections, according to the provisions of the organic act, so as to require their passage again by a two- thirds majority. The following statement of Mr. Reeves, member of the council from Otoe county, apparently settles the question in the negative : SECESSION 331 petent for either the executive or judicial depart ment to pass upon and decide the amount of vio lence either threatened or actually necessary to intimidate this or that member, and thus render an adjournment to some other place imperative. "The connection of the executive with the leg islative department is for specific purposes, and for those who are acquainted with the past history of our territory it is not difficult to understand that to make the power of the legislature to adjourn dependent on the approval of the executive might be to place the dearest rights of the people at the mercy of a single man, sympathizing with the few trampling these rights under foot. "With these views we did not deem it necessary to consult the then executive in regard to our ad journment on the 8th inst. "To that portion of your excellency's communi cation in which yon speak of the capital having been located at Omaha City, in the county of Doug las, and of the concurrent action of the governor and of the legislative assembly being required to remove it, we need not reply at length, as the legis lative assembly now in session at Florence has never assumed that the seat of government of our terri tory had been removed to that place, but have only claimed the right of the legislature convened at the seat of government to adjourn for good causes to some other place, and there proceed to discharge its legitimate function. "In regard to our mode of adjournment, which you question, we would say that we have been un able to find any provision in our organic act or elsewhere requiring that it should be by joint reso lution; and we look upon the absence of any such provision in the organic act as proof of the wisdom and the foresight of its framers and supporters, among whom we take great pleasure in remember ing that your excellency was not the least promi nent. _ "The same circumstances which made our ad journment imperative might, as in our case, render an adjournment by joint resolution impossible. "Editor News: "In your paper of the 13th is an article which needs a passing notice, for the purpose of 'vindicating the truth of history.' "In the article alluded to I find the follow ing language : "' 'But the governor says he distinctly re fused to recognize them (the bills passed at Florence, I presume) and upon the back of each document wrote as follows : "This paper was left in my room on yesterday, Jan. 13, 1858, after I had refused to receive it. I neither veto nor approve it ; but respect fully return it. "Y'Jan. 14, 1858. W. A. Richardson.'" "Now as I was a member of the enrolling committee of the Council I wish to state the facts in relation to the presentation of those Florence bills to the governor, and let the people judge how they were 'received,' and who is at fault that we are now suffering the want of just and equitable laws for the pro tection of life and property and the adminis tration of justice. Such a mode of adjournment, being in effect to thwart the mob in their opposition, would in every conceivable case meet with the same resistance as the matter which originally incited it. "The action of the Council and House of Repre sentatives, in the adjournment to this place, was, in all but a technical sense, concurrent. The House being called together at 9 o'clock A. M., adjourned to meet at Florence at 10 o'clock A. M. next day. The Council meeting at 10 o'clock A. M. — when the fact of the adjournment of the House to the time and place was notorious both in and out of the Council — had its journal read and proceeded regularly in the order of business and upon motion adjourned to the same time and place. "It only remains to say, in further proof of the concurrent action of the two Houses, that they both met at the time and place fixed upon in the ad journment, and at once entered reciprocally upon their legitimate duties in the enacting of useful and necessary laws for the welfare of the people of the territory. "Your excellency suggests the strange spectacle of a Council in one place, the House in another, and the Executive in still another, as being a pos sible operation of the power which we claim ; with all due deference to the opinion of your excellency, we do not think that recognizing the majority of both Houses adjourned to a place other than the seat of government, as the legislative assembly, would, as of course, compel you to recognize them as such if scattered at different places over the territory. "We are free to admit that such a state of facts would in all probability leave the territory without any legislative assembly capable of making laws. "Being a separate and distinct branch of our government — having the power to adjourn to an other place, and being sole and exclusive judges of the necessity demanding it — we protest against any assumption of power over us, such as is claimed by the executive branch of our government; and it being our exclusive province to make the law, we • • REV. JOHN MILLER TAGGART * 9 FLORENCE SECESSION 333 . "The committee on enrolled bills in the Council was composed of Mr. Allen and my self. In the House it was composed of Messrs. Taggart,1 Hail and Abbe. "On the 13th of January, Mr. Taggart, Mr. Hail, and myself waited on the governor, at his room in the Hamilton House, and pre sented him all the bills passed previous to that date at Florence, except one which was presented to him by Mr. Abbe on the same day, but at a later hour. I made a memoran dum of what transpired at our interview with the governor, from which the following is an extract, and will be certified to as truth by every member of the committee ; " 'The governor was notified by Mr. Allen, immediately after our introduction to him, that we were the enrolling committees of both branches of the legislature. The bills which originated in the Council were in one bundle, and were presented to him by Mr. Allen; and the bills which originated in the House, were in a separate bundle and were presented by Mr. Taggart. The governor took the bills from out of our hands and observed that he should take no action on them. When re minded by me that the legislature would con sider them laws if not returned within three days, and being asked whether in that case he would file them in the secretary's office, he answered that it was a matter which re quired consideration.' demand from those who decide and execute the law, the recognition of our acts as emanating from the law-making power of the land — the legislative assembly of the territory of Nebraska. "We regret with you the unhappy state of affairs in which you find our territory, but we regret it as men who have had an unwelcome course of action forced upon them. "In conclusion, permit us to say that however much we may differ from your excellency as to who and where is the legislative assembly of our territory, we all agree as to the executive, and cor dially unite in assuring him of our distinguished consideration. Leavitt L. Bowen, "John C. Campbell, "E. A. Donelan, "Joint Committee of the Council and House of Representatives." — (Bellevue Gazette, January 21, 1858.) 'John Miller Taggart, pioneer Baptist preacher of Nebraska, was born near Philadelphia, Pennsyl vania, November 17, 1817, and died at Colorado Springs, Colorado, May 17, 1887. He was of Scotch- Irish descent, and in his nature combined the rugged pertinacity of the Scotch and the keen and unfailing sense of humor of the Irish. He received his early education in the common schools of Philadelphia, where he spent the first twenty years of his life. He learned the trade of a stone cutter, also became an architect. He was licensed to preach by the Baptist church at Bloomfield, Kentucky, in 1843, and ordained December 27, 1845. He was married "After mature 'consideration' the governor concluded that the papers were 'left at his room after he had refused to receive them, and that he would respectfully return them.' But how did he return them? and to whom? Certainly not to the House in which they originated nor to either House separately; nor to both Houses jointly. They were never returned to the legislature at all, and were never before that body or either branch of it, after their presentation to the governor. "The 'respectful return' was made as fol lows : "On the night of the 14th of January, about 9 o'clock, while some half dozen mem bers of the legislature and others were sitting around a table in the parlor of the Willett House, some reading, and others writing, Mr. Howard, the governor's private secretary, stepped into the room and threw down a large package, remarking: 'Gentlemen, the gov ernor has sent your bills back.' "Now with these facts before him, who can believe that the governor 'refused to receive them and respectfully returned them.?' "As stated before, I wish the facts to go before the people and let them form their own conclusions. Had the governor recognized the acts of the legislature, we would now have in force all the laws, except one men tioned in your paper of the 6th, as being necessary for the prosperity of the country; at Sunbury, Ohio, November 14, 1843, to Miss Aimee Myers, and they removed to Jacksonville, Illinois, where Mr. Taggart had accepted the posi tion of architect and superintendent of the deaf mute asylum buildings at that place, and while there he preached for many weak churches near the city. He first visited Nebraska in 1855, and the following year brought his family from Jack sonville, Illinois, to the new territory, the trip being made in a carriage. He lived at Fontenelle for several years, doing missionary work both north and south of the Platte. As pastor of several churches at different times, he did much for the development of the educational and religious inter ests of the territory and state. His principal points of labor in Nebraska were Fontenelle, Nebraska City, Blair, Palmyra, and Gibbon. Throughout all the trials and privations of pioneer life with its financial panics and crop failures, Mr. Taggart never lost faith in the future of Nebraska. Janu ary 1, 1860, he delivered a lecture at Fontenelle which was remarkable for its prophetic utterances, the fulfilment of which mostly came during his own lifetime. This address is a part of the collections of the Nebraska State Historical Society. He was a member of the lower house of the 4th legislative assembly representing Douglas county, and took a prominent part in the stirring events of that ses sion. Mr. Taggart was president of the Baptist state convention for many years and from the first occupied a prominent place in the work of that denomination. He was, at one time, asked to con sent to stand as a candidate for United States sena- 334 HISTORY OF NEBRASKA for such acts were among those presented to the governor. It is believed by many eminent jurists that these acts are laws; but if they are not it is no fault of the legislative branch of the government. "But if it is necessary to cure all doubt that an extra session be called is it necessary that the majority will stultify themselves by making 'promises' and 'pledges' to the gov ernor in advance? Is it expected that they will surrender the rights of the people for the inestimable privilege of returning to Omaha to be insulted and cheated out of their rights? I can hardly think that the governor would require such promises, but if he should, I for one will never make them. I am ready to pledge myself to the people and obey their behests; but I owe allegiance to no other power. "I am willing to return to the capitol and labor faithfully, earnestly and peaceably for the enactment of all laws which are calcu lated to promote the prosperity of Nebraska and the happiness of her people; but I must be free and untrammelled, save by the voice of my constituents. "Thus, Mr. Editor, I have answered for myself your question, 'Shall we have an extra session?' "x The net product of the Omaha rump of the legislature is in itself a very concise illus tration of how Cuming's skill in making things go and come his way had over reached itself. Only two very brief gen eral laws were passed — one abolishing the tor, being assured of election, but he declined, and with the same spirit of humility, he refused the degree of D. D. several times tendered him. Pal myra, Otoe county, was the scene of his labors for many years before his death, and there he was buried, leaving an honored name and a record for good deeds. His widow survives him, as does one son, Robert M. Taggart of Lincoln, Nebraska, and four daughters: Miss Mary Taggart, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Mrs. F. W. Kenney, Blair, Ne braska; Mrs. W. S. White, South Omaha; and Mrs. A. W. Clark, Omaha. 1 Nebraska City News, February 20, 1858. "The reasons set forth for the creation of the new district form an interesting statement of cer tain conditions in the territory: "The great extent of the present district and the rapidity with which it is being settled renders it impossible for one office, with the force employed, to extend the surveys as rapidly as the settlements require and demand. "The want of centrality of location of the present office, it being at Lecompton, in Kansas territory, in about the latitude 39 degrees north, whilst the surveying district extends nominally from latitude 37 degrees to latitude 49 degrees north, and really embraces within the present field of survey, from use of private seals, the other providing that hereafter the legislature should meet on the first Monday in January. Even the list of incorporations and territorial roads acts was relatively meager, and besides this, the sole accomplishment of the session was four incon sequential private acts and two joint memo rials to Congress — one praying for the estab lishment of a daily mail service from Iowa City, Iowa, to Omaha, and the other for the "division of the present surveying district of Kansas and Nebraska and the erection of a new district for this territory."2 Our novelists are now the makers or the expounders of our social philosophy; and it is a pity that the philosophy of George Eliot and Thomas Hardy, which teaches us not merely that it is better to attempt and fail than not to attempt at all, but that the virtue lies in the resolute purpose, so that often fail ure may even be better than accomplishment, was not then available for the consolation of the Omaha rump. The then budding "Sage of Arbor Lodge," perhaps unconsciously, gives point to this philosophy in the following inventory of residuary conditions, which is perhaps no less truthful than picturesque. Though Morton was not then the editor of the News, the piquant paragraph bears plainly his image and superscription: "The last legisla ture adjourned in a row, left, departed this latitude 38 degrees to latitude 43 degrees north, extending only about seventy miles south, and nearly two hundred and eighty miles north of the present office, add to this the fact of the rapidly extending northern settlements in Nebraska, and you may well suppose that in less than one year from this date the field of survey will extend full four hundred miles north from the said office. "To reach his work now from the surveyor gen eral's office the northern deputy is compelled to make a tedious river voyage of from six hundred to eight hundred miles, subject to vexatious delays and an enormous expense, or he must perform a land journey of from four hundred to five hundred miles, occupying from twelve to twenty days' time, which, with a full field corps of men and animals, foots up a heavy bill of expense. Then, when the deputy has finished his work, he must perform the same journey to make his report, thus inevitably consuming in traveling expenses from one-sixth to one-third of all the proceeds — almost invariably more than the profits of his contract. . "We particularly desire that your honorable body will duly consider the great advantage that will inure to the country by the proper extension of the government surveys completely in advance of the settlements." FLORENCE SECESSION 335 life, miscellaneously and in a mixed manner, and left us no laws. The governor is absent, the secretary deceased. . . We occa sionally see the squatters in little squads, whispering among themselves in a wickedly malicious and mischievous manner that we are 'just as well off now as we ever were."1 While men of more of that wisdom which comes only of experience than was possessed by those who comprised this 4th legisla ture would have avoided the foolhardy and, so far as its direct object was concerned, in evitably futile Florence revolution, yet, as may be said of most revolutions, its results were not all evil. For it precipitated unset tled public sentiment, and revealed to the pro-Omaha minority that the deter mined majority must be reckoned with in some other way than by bribery and coercion. It made both sides sufficiently tired of the disastrous contro versy to permit an experi enced, tactful, and master ful political leader to restore orderly conditions and sup ply necessary laws through a special session of the legis lature. Governor Richard son arrived at the capital on the 10th of January, and he not only arrived just at the right time, but he was just the right man to arrive. He brought with him the two things needful, prestige and the impartiality of the outsider, strengthened by the insight of the astute politician. He assumed the office on the 12th of January, and the contrast of his fair and fatherly attitude with that of the youthful ardor of the aggressively sectional Cuming, whom he succeeded, was both sharp and reassuring. Furthermore, Richardson was the next friend of the great Douglas, the natural idol of the northwestern democracy who were beginning to love him the more on account of the ultra pro-slavery enemies he was making, and whom the politicians would pro pitiate because it was likely that he would be the next president. And so the tone of the press soon be came quieter, its insistence upon the validity of the Florence laws was dropped, submission of the capital removal question to a pop ular vote — a squint at least toward compromise — was advocated, and finally ihere was general acquiescence in the proposal of a special session. 'Ihe Advertiser2 seems to have expressed the gen eral sentiment in the terri tory on the subject as follows : DR. WILLIAM R. THRALL3 "Since the election, we see that our terri torial papers are talking of an extra session of the legislature. We were informed before 'Nebraska City News, April 3, 185S. 2 August 19, 1858. 'William Rockwell Thrall, son of William B. and Maria (Rockwell) Thrall, was born in Circle ville, Ohio, November 22, 1829. His father, Judge Thrall, was for forty years an editor and publisher in Pickaway county, Ohio, and later the editor of the Ohio State Journal at Columbus, Ohio. He was the first comptroller of the treasury of the state of Ohio and died in 1873. Dr. Thrall was educated in the district schools until the age of fourteen, when he entered his father's office and spent five years as an apprentice to the printing business. He then spent two years in a high school, after which he commenced the study of medicine, graduating at the end of three years from the College of Physi cians and Surgeons of New York. In the mean time his parents had removed to Columbus, Ohio, where Dr. Thrall began the practice of medicine. After one year in private practice he was appointed assistant physician of the Columbus insane asylum, resigning at the end of one year to enter service on the medical staff of the Russian army in the Crimean war, remaining two years and until peace was declared. Returning to his home in Ohio, he started west to find a permanent location, arriving in Omaha in 1856. He commenced the practice of medicine and was elected to the lower house of the 4th legislative assembly of Nebraska territory, taking a prominent part in the capital removal imbroglio of that session. In the winter of 1858 he removed to Keokuk, Iowa, and continued the prac- <&w^?^ /^ j&&/