:- "-^^0^ : 4 o v^^ • %.^* o«»^ -^O o *r^* vv >^ ..^',.. ^^^^^ y ^ ^3 vP^ .^^-"^ ^0 ^^ -^ 0^ .LVL'* ^> 4 o v\^ ^^9" >■■ ^. 9»J .t EARLY HISTORY OF FRONTIER COUNTY NEBRASKA BY W. H. MILES and JOHN BRATT WITH PDEMS BY BOYD PERKIN ^! EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCE OF FRONTIER COUNTY NEBRASKA By W. H. MILES and JOHN BRATT, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF FRONTIER COUNTY BY A SUBSCRIBER Published by BOYD PERKIN Majnvood, Nebr. Previous Publications by N. H. BOGUE, Editor of THE EAGLE Maywood. Nebraska, A. D. 1894 and W. H. BARTON in THE EAGLE-REPORTER, in 1911 PRICE ?1 (Six Copies for $5) EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCE ^'Ins^ \q\0 HOMJ: IN THJf Wi;ST Give me a home out in the West, Where the softest breezes blow; Among the fields of golden grain — It is there that I would go. Cmi the wide prairie let me live, In the saddle there to roam; Tour walls leave little space indeed For a man lo call his home. Lst me live beneath the heaveas' blue; Yes, give me tlie rain-filled clouds. Crimson glory of sunset skies — Away from the city's crowds. — Boyd Perkin. FRONTIER COUNTY, NEBRASKA PREFACE "Early History and Reniiniscence of Ftontier County, Neb." was publislied in the Eagle by N. H. Bogue in 1894 and again in the Eagtle-Reporter in 1911 by W. H. Barton.. As only a few of the original copies were printed in booklet form and it is now, almost impossible to obtain one, I thought it would be a service, and might, as it has to me, a source of in- spiration to old settlers and others interested in the tales of the pioneers, so with the permission of the Editor of the Eagle-Reporter I decided to have copies published. BOYD PERKIN. FOREWORD With appreciation oif courtesy from , the editor of Studio News Magazine, iu which "Mammoth" and other poems included in this book were first published. The author of "Mammoth and Other Poems," Boyd Perkin, pre- sents his first work in book form. We find his poems and writings of excellent type, that will be beneficial to readers. He has written Stories, Poetry and Songs. His latest songs: "On Irish Linen" whosie words were written with the help of the Editor of Studio News and melody by Jimmy Crane has been published and with "When Autumn Turns The Leaves to Gold and Crimson" which was written in collaboration with Annie Peltokaagas, who also com- posed the music has been broadcast over K.O.D.Y. "Mammoth And Other Poems" are wiitten thoughtfully aoid sin- cerely. We highly recommend this book in the literary field. May It help you along life's pathway. LETA S. BENDER, Editor Studio News, Friend, Nebr, EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCE stis^)^;67. Geographically considered, the territory comprising the scene of our following Historj' and Reminiscence, of local interest, is two hundred and twenty-five miles Wcst of the Missouri river, seventy, two miles from Colorado and in the second tier of counties north from Kansas. It is in latitude 40 degrees 30 miinutes, and in longi- tude 23 degrees west from Washington, the area of which is about the size of the state of Rihode Island. EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCE OF FRONTIER COUNTY BY W. H. MILES Ho' Brothers, come hitJier and listen to my story, Merry and brief will the narrative be; Here, like a mon.irch, I rei^n in my glory; Master am I, boys, of all that I see. Where once frowned a forest .i garden is smiling, The meadow and moorland are marshes no more; And there curls the smoke of my cottage beguiling The children who cluster like grapes at the door. Then enter, boys; cheerily, boys, enter and rest; The land of the heart is the la.id of the West. Well, boys, I am going to follow my trail back to 1870, when I came into the Medicine Valley — and the true ifacts are in store tor you. It is rather a lonely trip, as I am left lalone: a part of my companions then have long since gone to that far away hiinting ground, while the others, like the Arab, have folded their tents and silently stolen away. The finst settlers in the Medicine Valley found no exception to the numerous hardships endured by pioneers of other portions of 1he Great West. To settle down in this wild country, tht near8.st habitation being Forit McPheirsou, fifty mile.^ away, not a road, bridge or church to guide the weary traveler, who was exposed to heat and cold, rain and drouth, lawless 'bands of white men, Indi- ans and grasshoppers; to tranp down tfhe prickly pears and kill the FRONTIER COUNTY. NEBRASKA rattlesnakes, hunt the elk aiid buffalo, haul the meat to the fort and trade it for supplies— was not as romantic as some may think. Yet pleasures were strewn along the weird scenes that would ap- pear upon our horizon and pass away like the morning dew. We were free from the banker, lawyei*, doctor and mortgages; we had no church quarrels, no grades in society or wealth; no parties or politics; all worked together a-nd shared ailike. The first settlers here had passed over this territory on a trip through the west but found no place as good or inviting as the Aledicine Vailley. Here the Indian ponies were fat and could run all day with no feed but the buffalo grass. I did not know then that this would become an agricultural land, but t'lought it the best stock country in the world. Daily hundreds of fat buffalos, deer, elks, antelopes and wild horses came down to the Medicine creek to drink. Wild tuirkeys were numerous; the trees would be black with them when they went to roost, but they were soon killed or diiven away. BUFFALO CREED For me these canyons nnd these tow'ring hills And rushing streams have romance and a charm I deem them riches that the brave man wills should be^; More precious far than any golden vein Of storied lore where men h.ive fougiil in vain. Their fleeting earthly treasure and brief fame, K.is perished long ago, but here the name Of valiant scout an/d rugged pioneer, Are fresh in memory and it will remain, Verdant as growing fieldsi. The golden grain Is but a symbol of the trust and faith That tried beyond the years can still behold The Westeir. vision glimpsed by prophets old. — Boyd Perkin. 10 EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCKNTCF. FIRST CHRISTMAS The Indians that canjped on the Medicine in 1870 were Whistlers Band, tiiat had been cut off from the tritbe of Spotted Tail, t!ie biy Sioux chief. HanJc and Montie Clifford and John Nelson were with the^n and had Indian families; W. H. Miles found them, built a ismoke-house, dried buffalo meat ^and trapped during the winter. Also, the writer took a homestead, the first in the terrifory now- comprising Frontier County. We killed the buffalos, and he squaws tanned the robes, un- til we had ten thousand pounds o: meat and a thousand tongues dried, that we expected to ship East. But, alas! a shadow came o^er the spirit of o.jr dreams of wealth, in the shape of sixty Indians that came down to spend the winter with us, which they did. The meat and tongues went 1o entertain our guests. We preipared for a "big timo" on Christmas; so ClilTard went into town and brought out some "fixin's" ^such as currants, sugar, etc.; last but not least, a keg of whiskey, of which Indians and all indulged freely. The Indians had a war dance which came very near to a "killing off,"' but we had a good time all the same. The Indians said they would celebrate Christmas too, by killing and eating all the dogs in the village. I hiad a fine dog and told them to spare him; but the first thing I saiw Christmas morning was poor Dodge roasting on the fire. There were ten dogs eaten at the first Christmas celeoration in Frontier County. Mr. John Bratt, the iiattle king of Nebraska, came over from the Platte and proposed to organize a county. We favoie'd the pro- position, but our population was so numerically small we hadn't enough bo fill the offices. There being four of us, I was the only one but what belonged to the Sio'JX Indians in the territory of .he proposed county. Mr. Bratt, being a man of indomitable will, did not intend that the want of a few men should hinder the organiza- tion at that time. It scarcely seems twenty-two years ago when a few of us got together and determined to organi'.e the county of Frontier, at that time the home and paradise of the buffalo and the Indian. I had already consulted with Montie and Hank Clifford, who were at thai time living in teepees with their squaws, papooses and Indian re- lations, near Coon Creek; also with that nature's nobleman, the whole-souled, generous hearted Sam Watts, W. H. Miles and a FRONTIER COUNTY. NEJ2RA3ivA 11 tew others, as to the boundary ol the county, location and namo of the county seat, Stockville, and who the county officials should be. These matters decided, we went to woak with a will, and con- siderable expense; succeeded in getting an act passed by the le'.?- islature, which was approved Jar.uary 17, 1872, by Wm. H. James, then acting governor and Secre ary of State, bounding the county of Frontier, whose organization was entrusted and commissions is- sued to Levi Carter, my partne S as county treasurer; John Kirby. clerk; Hank Clifford, sheriff; E v>. Nesbitt, saiperintendont of pub- lic instruction; Samuel F. Watts, judge; A. S. Shelly, coroner; .Sanies Kerr, assessor; John Y. Nelson, surveyor; W. H. Miles, Monte Clifford and your humble scribe,, commissioners. Well do I remember startiug out from Ft. McFiierson at b'e- tween eleven and twelve o'clock on a bitter cold night in January, 1872, the day prior to our organization set by law, in company with John Kirby, whom I had to take before a justice of the l^eace, E. E. Erickson, to have swJrn into the office of clerk, before starting. We were both m.ounted on two slippery shod horses; the ground being partially covered with ice and snow made the trip from Ft. McPhenson to our ranch, at the head of Fox Creek, anything but pleasant, especially to a man of Mr. Kirhy's size, an inexperienced lider as he was. His horse, though I had given him the best on(!, persisted in falling down on the ice, and it was only by coaxing that I got him to finish tiie journey to Fox Creeik Ranch, where we arrived shortly ibefore daybreak and where I had is«nt, the day previ- ous, a team with the county books, blanks, commissions, etc., in care of Jones and Kerr, two of our men, who were appointed to fill twc of the offices. After partaking of a hasty breakfast consisting of biscuits, buf- falo meat and coffee, Kirby and I started in a light rig with the box of books, etc., followed by Kerr and Jones on horseback, en route for Hank Clifford's tepee on Coon Oreek. At this time there was not much of a road between Pox Creek and the Medi- cine, east of Curtis Creek, and it usuallly required the skill of a careful driver, even with a gentle team, to go through the breaks of Fox and Curtis creeks without upsetting. Before leaving Fox Creek Ranch, I had put in the team a green Texas horse that had scarcely ever seen a rig, say nothing about pulling one. It took four of us to hitch him up; but once started, after kicking, rearing and plunging for about a mile, he 22 EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCE sobered down to his share of the work, but w^as far from being bridlewise. We had got safely out of the second canyon oast of Fox Creek, and had stopped preparatariy to d,>eiscending a steep hill leading into another canyon, when I insisted that Kirby should gee out, to which he strenuously objected, remarking that he dared ro ride where I node. The hill was long and very steep, some parts of it covered with ice, especially at and near the top; other parts cf the buffa/lo trail we were following were covered with snow. The morning was bright but stinging cold with a sharp wind blowing. I hesitated some time, surveying my intended route down the hill before starting, having a lack of faith in the Texas side of our teajn when and Avhere careful driving was needed to got us over bad places without accident, since our Texas horse, in the short distance we had come, had indicated a very strong desire to go one way while I woald endeavor to persuade him to go anothe-'. This caused me to insist and then beg of Kirby, who was an old Missourian and knew no fear, to get out, telling him at the same time we were liable to upset. But it was no use; might as well talk to a stone. After taking a big drink out of a suspicious-looking canteen, he gave orders la ''let her go," and I obeyed, using all the precaution I possibly could. We had proceeded but a little way down the hill when our horses lost their footing, and the wagon likewise. The dashboarJ -,vais on my )i©ck, and both horses; especially my Texas friend was making a target of my head with his hind feet. Fortunately I held onto the reins and, after being dragged under the buggy about two hundred yards, I was finally extricated by Kerr and Jones. Alas! poor Kirby lay groaning where he had fallen, the box of books having rolled down the hill some distance from him. We v/ere sorry to find Mr. Klrby's arm broken in two places, and collar bone fractured. The only words we succeeded in getting from him were: "Let me die right here." As soon as we could fix up the breakages en the wagon and tongue, we lifred poor Kirby into it, much against his protests, and I led the team back to Fox Creek Ranch. Here we laid him carefully on the bed, at which I knelt while he swore me into office of county commissioner, and I If ft him in care of three of our mou with orders to take him to Ft. McPherson as quick as they couU and as easy as possible. FRONTIER COUNTY, NEBRASKA 13 This done, I again started wiih that team and that box, with which I arrived at Hank Clifford's Indian lodge, near Coon Creek, at nearly six o'clock that night. Here our would-be co^unty dads bad assembled and were impatiently awaiting my arrival. It was tut a few moments before our box was opened, the officers sworn in, the commissions distributed. But lo! when we came to sign our names we had neither ink, p n nor pencil. Necessity, the mother of invention, came to our rescue. A istick was sharpened, some soot scraped from the teepee poles, out names signed — the organization of Frontier County was complete. Returning to Fox Creek Ranch the following day, I was almost paraliyized to find my friend Kirby yet on the bed where I had laij him, his arm and shoulder swollen to an enormous size. He had a six-shooter by his side and threatened to ehoot the first man that disturbed him. I took the revolver away from him unnoticed. Meantime I had our men prepare a wagon with hay and quilts, into which it took six of us to handle and lay him. We got him into the hospital at Ft. McPherson about three o'clock the r.ext morning, whore Dr. Elbery, one of the most efficient of army sur- geons, attended him and I am pleased to say saved his liie, which for some years afterward was devoted to the interests of your county. Kirby finally went back to Missouri, where he died. Finis. CONTINUED BY W. H. MILES We went on each other s bonds; and as the whole population of the new county was in bond to protect its interests, the new organization was a success under the watchful elyies of Judge Watts and Commissioner Bratt. FIRST FARMING The first farming in the county was a failure. We planted some squaw corn and pumpkin seed, which soon gave promise cf good returns for time and labor bestowed. But one nDominj; we heard bellowing in the field. We gathered our cartridge belts' anl guns, then went to see Avhat the intruder was. Abou* one thousand buffalos had taken possession of our field. We protested with a vengeance and brought down fifteen of those lordly ibrutes of the plains, but the entire crop of Frontier Cowity was tramped out of sight or that year. The squaws came out, butchered our game, and a feast followed the loss of our crop. 14 EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCE I FIRST HERD OF CATTLE John Bratt built a ranch neir where Curtis is now, one at Medicine Lake and one on Fox Creek, and brought in tlie first herd of cattle, which numbered many tJiousand head. Cattle were sold, beef-fat off the nutritious buffalo grass, with no care oi expense but rounding uip and branding. Every ranch stood open to all that came, s^o hospitable and frfee-hearted were those pioneers. The coo'k would "rustle" up a good meal, and when it was ready he would sing out, "Grub pile!" And when the meal was over, all would «it around the fire, tell stories, sing songs until tjred out, then sleep, perchance dream o;' the loved ones and thedr homes far away, that they had not seen for many long, weary years. INDIAN OUTBREAK In 1871 there came very; near being an Indian outbreak on the Medicine. Chief Whistler and two of his braves started for Ft. McPherson. While in camip, preparing some food they were discovered by three white men who were passing through and shot them in the back. Then the bodies were taken and thrown in a canyon. It was several days before they were found. During this time the cowardly murderers had fled from the country, "he ui- Limian act so enraged the Indians that they would ha\'^ killed all of VLB for revenge on the white people, had it not been for the great influence Hank Clifford held over thorn. BUILD COURT-HOUSE After the organization of the county, Ave concluded to give uo hunting and go to farming. We were in doubt yet whether it woull i:ay or not, but determinea to tiy; and in taking this initiatoiy step toward civilization we selected tiie present site of Stock ville (that being near the center of the county) in 1872. Then we set a day on which all turned out and began the erection of a court-house six- teen feet square, built of logs, which was soon completed and was furnished with the coimty records. It was also the first hous? erected in the county of Frontier. We worked early and late, building bridges, houses and putting out a crop. Clifford and I sent back East and had •'^ dozen chickens shipped out, which cost us sevonty-five cents each. They were a wonder to the natives, who came from far and near to see them. FIRST WHITE WOMEN We had made such a wonderful stride toward civilization that I wrote back to Florida for my father, mother and sister to come FRONtlLR COUNTY, NEBRASKA " IT. here. They arrived on March 12, 1872, my mother and sister being the fir&t white women in the county. After a long ride across the wild, roadless country, over level divides and through Ions: can- yons, from Fort McPherson, we came to the Medicine and went into camp. Mother said: "The last link is broken in the chain of civilization." A flock of antelopes stood on a hill near by and watched us while we busied ourselvef? picketing out our horses and gathering up wood for our camp-fire. Welk Snell got supper in true frontier style in the fiar West. Snow-drifts, remnants of the past hard winter, yet lay at the head of canyons, white and cold; the buffalo and wolves serenaded us with their various notes of weird cadenc- es; a flock of geese passed over us, winging their waiy noirth, added to the unbounded solitude. Ihus the introductory scenes of life in the Wild West were thrown upon the minds of those pioneer ladies to institute a comparison and contrast with their old home in the far-away "Land of Flowers." FIRST SHEEP During the summeir of 1872 a few "prairie schooners" came in, laden with men and their familios in search of a place to take up their abode and make a home. A Mr. Lewis was the first to bring in a flock of sheep, which was a picnic for the wolves. James Kibben and Judge S. P. Baker each broUf?ht in a herd of fine cattle in the summer of 1872. Also, John Lockwood, Andrew Webb, R. A. Mc- Knight, George Carol hers, Ed Bovey, Herman Doing, J. R. Britting- ham, A. S. Shelly, Orville Works, Jerome Dauchey, J. A. Lynch, Henry Miller; James, John and Sam'l GkimmiM; W. H. Allen, Wm. Black and W. L. McClary — all settled on the Medicine and success- fully played their parts in the «;arly historical drama of the county. FIRST WHITE CHILD John Sanders was among the front rank that came in to earn a fortune in a new country, and built the first flour mill in the county, on the Medicine near Stockville. To Mr. and Mrs. John Sanders was born the first white child, a daughter, tkfit Is re- corded in Fronjtier. Wm. Nolan, J. M. Noyes, E. S. Childs and John Waits took claims in the southeastern pait of the county and had borne their part of the burden in ti^arhpiug out the cactus, turning over the buffalo sod and making our county bloom like the rose. 16 EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCE FIRST PREACHER Reverend Shirvirsgton, the first preacher to take up his abode here, staked out a claim on Fox Creek; John Miller outlined a ranon on Brush Creek and was a "Robinson Crusoe" for some time; VV. G. Warner, who brought in a he'd of fine cattle from Iowa, settled permanently on the Brushy; did and Abe Barry purchased and located on a ranch that John Bratt built, on Curtis Cr<_-ek All aided in opening the way for the great flood of emigration which soon followed and took up the government land. A DAY liN JUNE I thimk, of all the year, a d.iy in June Is sweetest: honeysuckle fills the air, With the wild roses blushing everywhere; Listenirg to the golden chimii.g tune Of wedding bells; a moon is s)ending down Its mellcw rays upon the prairie; soon Strumming guitars a.nd men's voices resound To spread rhcir joyful romance all around As care-free, happy cowbows softly croon A welcome tc the one in wedding gown. — Boyd Perkin. THE FIRST WEDDING The first wedding in the county was at the ranch of W. H Miles on June 4> 1873. The happy pairties were Andy Barrer. and Mrs. Nancy Wheatly. both half India«js. It was a girand social af. fair attended by ranchers, cow*boys and Indians. Andy Barret had been captured, when a child, by Mormon emi- grants and taken west, where he became one of the best ropers and horse trainers of th'^ Rocky Mountains. After twenty years he came back to the Sioux here in search of his mother, but slie had long since go«e to the happy hunting grounds. We did all possible to make his nuptlad feast a socd'al success. After con^atulations Juidige Watts wished them "that their livos would be one sea of happiness, t lat the white wings of lo-ve and peace would fa^n away every ti'oubled thought, th:it their path through life be ever strewn mth fairest flowers." The wish never came to pass. An Indian had a dream that li3 must kill the first person he met; if not, he would never get to the happy hunting grounds in the hereafter. By chance he met Andy FRONTIER COUNTY, NEBRASKA 17 Barret and shot him dead. Mrs. Barret was lost on the plains aad died. Thus ended the eajthly pilgrimage of the contracting parties to the first marriage in the county of Frontier. FIRST LAWYER The first lawyer that vtmtured out in the misty dim on a sea of doulbt as to what the future would bring forth on the frontier to a disicipQe of Blaicfesitone was E. T . Jay, who took a claim in the eastern part of the county, on the Muddy. His professional Berv- Ices were seldom needfed, as most men in those days here settled disputes before the cases were worn out, by the ravages of time, jn the courts. Mr. Jay was a counselor in the firsit case at law in this county, which was brought about by the hard winter of 1S78 and '79. T!ie weather was unusually severe; hard storms and blizzardsi raged at intervals. During tl:e season a deep snow fell and covered the grasa^ so the stock suffered greatly. A big percentage of stock was lost by most of the cattlemen. Large herds drifted in on the Medicine frcm eastern Colorado, Cheyenne, the northern and west- em part of this State, so that a big "round-^up" in Frontier Coun., ty waa the result in which one hand red men were looking after their interests/' Two men by name Lowe and Joe .Ansley got into a dispute. Both drew their revolve>is and fired. Ansley, being the quickest, killed Lowe, and the next shot killed his horse. Ansley stood' the men off, then skipped out. Lowe was buried at Mirtchell's Fork. I was depaitized by Sheriff McKnight to capture, -^Ansley. After several days' hard riding up on the Platte River, I captured and brought him back for trial. Ansley employed E. T. Jay to de- fend him. They went before the court, a justice of the peace presiding on a charge of murder. The justice put the usual ques- tion : "Are you guilty or not guilty of the cliarge against you?" Ansley answered, "Guilty." Lawyer Jay called the prisoner out behind the house and said: "You did not understand the reading of the wairrant. You muse not say 'guilty'; you must say 'nbt gaiMty.' If you don't you will be bound over." Ansley said, "I don't like to Me, but if I must I will." Then he went before the court and the question of guilty or not guilty was again asked. 18 EA.RLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCt: "Not guilty, YoiT Honor," caane the response. The judge said: "I discharge the prisoner." I returned to him his pistol. He then left for Sidney, oil the Platte, minus a horse, saddle and ten dollars that his lawyei kept lor his services. This decision of the justice may seem to the reader who h'ls been educated to believe and obey the high command, "Thou s!ialt not kill,'' to usurp, with a heavy hand, the majesty of the law and aJlow rapine and murder to go untried and unpunished; but in this case the prisoner could prove, by half a hundred witnesses, that he shot in self defense, there not being an instant of time between the reports of the guns, while it saved a big expense to the county. MITCHELL'S FORK Stop, stranger; pause and shed a tear At this lone mound on Mitclieli's Fork. These cottonwoods are sentinels brave, And in those willows close by them A turtle dove sings requiem; WJiile partridges beat their Dooming dirg£ Above the old scout's lonely grave On Mitchell's Fork. Stop, stranger, stop; aow dry your tears At this lona mound on Mitchell's Fork. There's) more than dust of a scout so brave, List to the tale that's buried here. Though shrouded by the mist of years. How plainly the scene comes back to me As we stand bv this lonely grave On Mitchell's Fork. He came to woo, he loved and lost: Ansley was quicker on the draw; So Lowe, the scout, lies buried here On Mitchell's Fork. — Boyd Perkin. FRONTIER COUNTY, NEBRASKA 19 Alter the organization of the county, we held an election which resulted in the adoption of tree range, thus making this a strictly stock county; and it proved a success in tliat line until settlers ?ame in so fast to cultiivate land that, when the question of hei-d law and free-a^nge was again agitated, after a hotly contested election in the summer of 1885 the free-range Jaw was repealed. This was the death knell of the stock business on the free-range plan in this county. The stockmen had to go the same trail the buffalos went, with their vast iierds' of cattle and horses. The county since then has been rapidly develiopiing in agricultui'e, and stands today without peer in southwest Nebraska. WOLF'S REST The first house I built was upon a high hill, being far from wa- ter, and the winds blew so hard that we concluded to camp near the timber. Our choice place for a home was under the protect- ing branches of a large spreading elm tree. When we made this selection from nature's grove, for our abode, near by was a large white wolf, dead with a big steel trap on his foot, which he had dragged over many a mile of prairie grass until he had) become hungry and outworn with life's pilgrimage, had quietly lain down like one that is weary and sweetly reposed for- ever. We named our home under the elm "Wolf's Rest." After some inquiry we found that our only neighbor in Red Willow Coun- ty, Storm King, had set a trap at a dead buffalo, caught the wolf, which broke the chain and took the trap to Wolf'si Rest. Of all happy days, those spent at Wolf's Rest were the best. Here we planted our little fields of corn that grew far beyond cur expectations. The large old-fashioned coffee mill was nailed to a tree (the growth of the tree has almost covered the old mill, but it stands as a relic of its former usefulness); with it we ground corn into meal and hominy to cook on the old-time fireplace. Here we trained the grape-vine to climb the rustic arbor, rested far away from the aches of my Southern home and breathed the pure air in the darkling wood, in the shadow of the aged elm; here we watched stmnge birds build their nests and rear their downy brood unmolested, while we drank, of the pure waters- of the Medicine, where was not a trace of man's pomp or pride; no brass jewels ?hone; no envious eyes to encounter; no hypocrites to make one loathe the very name of mankind; but here in the shady nooks, along the 2n EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCEN-JE banks of the Medicine, the wild rose, the modest little violet, seemed to look up with perfumed breath, whispenng: "Rest with us." SEEKING We sink our shining shovel in the soil Of far-off, beckoning, glamorous foreign lands, Or go to distant beaches, there to toil And dig for fan';i':d treasure in the sands. Forgetting, or in ignorance, we roam Far from the golden treasure of our heme. But Providence is kind. Onr fruitless round Oft teaches us to till familiar ground. Thus findmg gold thoi'ghl !:>r.ried f.ir away, We prize our home after wandering many a day. --Boyd Perkin FIRST DANCE Our log cabin at Wolf's Rest was a home for all that camo. The first dance in ihe county was here; it took all the ladies in Frontier to make up the set. We helped all the newcomers we could, to get good creek claims, thinking tlien that the divides were not good for anyting but grazing purposes. DOCTOR CARVER The renowned Doctor W. T. Carver, of glass-ball-shooting fame, came to Wolf'is Rest in 1872 and took a ctaim near by. Here it was that Dr. Carver learned and practiced the art that made him the wonder of the world. Later on his mother came, bringing the first fine poultry consisting of pea-fowls, ducks, etc., also a col- lection of choice floAversi, and the first piano. These were a great curiosity to Indians and frontiersmen. In briniring the piano out from the railroad, with some wild bron- cho poniies, we got stuck in a sv/iamp and could not get enough of them hitched onto the ivagon tio pull it out. So it stood there several weeks, covered up with buffalo robes, until the ground b.> oame dry; then we brought it down and put it in the lag cabin in Msdicine Valley. To be a good shot was considered the higaesc accomplishment and Dr. W. T. Carver's ambition ran that way; so he did nothing but hunt and shoot until he became the greatest siiot in the world.. FRONTIKR COUNTY, NEBRASKA In writing to me from Vienna, Austria, he said: "I have made Medicine Creek famous all over the world — where I am proud to have hailed from." I helped to plow the first furrow in Red Willow County, " in March, 1872. A man by the na!ne of John King hart taken a claim below Indianola; he was the only settler in that county then. I went over to get a mule I had bought of him. He had a plow in the wagon, and we hitched on to plow a few furrows to see how it looked. We called this man Orazy King, as he would take his team and go alone for hundreds of miles, build bridges over streams, pull through deep snows and fetch up at our camp evei*y big snow- s^torm. Once while King was out on one of hia trips. Indians sur- rounded him in camp. He fougfht them several hours, but they were too many for him. He was badly wounded, being shot three times; yet he got away, though the redskins< took his horses. WILD MAN In June, 1870. we found a wild man in Frontier County. On several occasions we had seen very large barefoot tracks of a hu- man being, ranging between the Platte River and the Medi'cine. We thought it strange, as we know there was no one in the county but those ol our own little neighborhood. As Clifford, Nelson and myself were crossing the divide on the way to FoTt McPherson, one very warm day after the water had dried up in the lagoons and the grass was parched with the intense heat, we saw a man c(>ming toward us. We felt like running when he came near enough for us to inspect his visage. He was fully six and one-half feet tall, withiout shoes and hatless, his U«ad covered with grizzly gray hair, and long beard of the same color all over his face so matted with dirt that we could scarcely see his eyes. Nelson cocked his needle-gun ready to shoot liim if he offered violence. He was not hostile, but seemed to be crazy from thirst; he took our water jug and draime 1 it, then got on the wagon and we took him to Fort McPherson with us , The soldiers oame out to see him, though none coulj tell by his language to what nationality he belonged, nor where he came from or stayed. The fellow ate all we gave him. After eating some canned fiuit, he departed in the direction ol Frontier; he earned a heavy club with which to defend himself and kill his meat. Nothing more 1!2 E\KLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCl-} was seen of liim for several years. A large skeleton was found in a canyon near Moorefield, which we supposed to be the remains of the Wild Man, who must have died unwept and alone. SWI I THtARI WHO LIVES ON THE PLALNS I've a sweetheart that lives 'w.iy out on the plains, On the wide-spreading prairie that I love so. Oh, how my lonely, yearning heart pains; Westward to her my dreams always go. Light ever shining in my dark vale, Love is singing the sweetest strains; Gladly I'll follow on life's long trail My sweetheart who lives 'way out on the plains. — Doyd Perkin. BUFFALO HUNT The abundance of buffalo and other game that raajeetically loamed over this teiritoiT, 2'id drank of the waters of the Medi- cine, attracted men of note from abroad, en a round of pleasure in pursoiing the game of the plains. Buffalo Bill, Wm. Cody, my old partner, would often bring par- ties in, and we had many interesting hunting exploits, which made Mr. Cody the most noted buffalo hunter in the world. The Russian Duke Alexis, General Sheridan and other noted men came in for a share of the hilarious sport of buffalo hunting . The duke could not ride over the rough couintrj' fast enough to kill a buffalo; he did not want to return to Russia before killing one. So Bill Reed ran down a buffalo calf and held it until the grand duke came ap and shot it. The Indians gave a war-dance for the duke's entertainment, for which l^e showed his appreciation by giving them many presents. He also gave Buffalo Bill a diaanond pin. A tall flagstaff was raised; the American flag was run up to wave in the westein breeze. The Indians looked on the flag with great respect and as long as it remained there they felt boimd to keeip the peace. The Indians got into a fight among themselves and one we called Little Billy w-as killed; we buried him near the flagpole. Duke Alexis was very dignified, and none but those high in office could approach or speak to him. I thought while in Frontier Coun- ty I could and had a 'ight to speak genteelly to any person, and FRONTIER COUNTY, NEfiRASKA that no man stood above mo: 3o I went up to Duke Alexis and 6 aid : "How do you do. Duke?" He s'aid, "I have not been introduced to you.'' I said, "It don't make any difference to me. How do you do, Duke?" He said to General Siieridan: "General, you are veiy familiar with your men." General Sheridan said: "By G — . sir, we are Americans." In the summer of 1871 a party of us went out on the Mitchell to catch some buffalo calves. When we arrived on their ran^e there were buffalos as far as the eye could span in every direc- tion. We caught three the first dash; and vvhile.^ we were off our horses, tying the calves, an immense herd of buffalos came rushing along pell-mell. The very earth seemed in a tremor beneath their elephantine tread, almost running over me and sendmg a thall of fright coursing through our anatomy, which almost paralyzed us anl scared our horses so that Dick S'^ymore, Hank ClilTord and Snail's horses broke away and went wit'i the rushing:, surging herd toward thfi Sunny South, bridled and saddled but riderless. John Nelson and myself followed to try and overtake the fugi- tives, but they were soon lost to o-n view in the herd of thousands of buffalo, though we followed on in hopes of coming up with the horses . Near the mouth of the Mitchell we found where the buffalos had run over a bluff, at one place nearly a hundred leet down to the bottom, where stood a large elm tree in which the gentle zephyrs had mioancd the evening requiems of solitude, among its leafy branches, for many long yejars in the flight of ages, undis- turbed. But in the wild rush of the bison of the plains, a huge buf- falo was crowded off the perpendicular cliff and lodged in the old elm. This was the only time I ever saw a buffalo up a tree. We followed the Medicine down to the Republican Rivei , thence down that stream fifteen miles, where we came to a little log house and stakes stuck up all ove'- the prairie. This we found occupied, by two men, a woman and child, ilso a dog. We soon learned the parties were Bill Cohin. Geo. Love and family; that was the first habitation we had seen, in all the county, outside of our own on the Medicine. As our horses were tired out, we told them we would camp 24 EARLY HIST07^Y AND REMINISCHNCE with them that ni4;ht. We unsaddled, picketed out our ponies and began looking around for some meat for supper. As luck was to our hand in that line, a herd of buffalos came along near by. I took up my needleugun and s'arted after them, when one of the men oaJled to me, saying: "We wish you would not kill any of those animals inside t!i« town site, as it miglit be hard for us to remove the carcass." I a,pologized. .saying, "I did not know that I was in town, but grant your request, and would not intentionally violate any city ordinance." Love said that Captain Murphy had come out fixsm Plattsmouth with a colony, staked out a town and named it Arapa'.ice. The stakes I thought to be picket pins were the landmarks of the lots and street of the new town. This was in the siummer of 187L and the county was not organized until 1873, and named Furnas. Capti^in Murphy was an ofFxoer in the army «nd experienced many hard fights with the Indians over this country. In the sixties he had a ranch on the Platte Rivar, at Alcalii^ before the U. P. rail- road was built. In 1878 I was married to his daughter, Laura Mur- phy, the firsft marriage of white people in the county. To return to the chase after the horses: There were so many buffalos that they tramped out every track, and trailing them was impossible. After days of hard riding we returned without the hors- es, which was quite a loss to us. LORD DUNRAVEN Lord Dunraven and Dr. Kingjley of Ensfland came here on a hunting tour and took back, as a souvenir of Ihe trip a buffalo head, also tAvo wildcats that I caught for them. I had a collection of wild animals that were interesting to many of the "tenderfeet" who came along. The native cow would raise the buffalo ciaJf, but they did not like it. We could not domesticate the! wildcat or turkey; as soon as they got loose. They went away. One night while out trapping, I ca/miped alone. About midnight I heard the step of some wild animal circling; around me. I got ray trusty needle-gun ready and waited for him until daylight. A Mght snow had fallen and I saw the tracks of a large mountain Mon. I do not know why he did not tackle me; perhaps he was not hunsry. I haistily bieakfasted on coffee and warmed-over FRONTIER COUNTY, NEBRASKA 2r. beaver meat that I bad cooked tixe evening before, then started on the trail of my lordly visitor. I knew he was a bad customer; the fresher the i.rail, the more shaky and cautious I became. On creeping up a high bluff o\'ei'. looking the stream. I saw him breakfasting on a beaver he had caught as I had done. I got a broadside view and fired. He dropped the beaver and started to climb the bluff after me, when I gave him another shot which settled him. He measured nine feet fiom tip to lip. l^rufessor Ward of Chicago came here to get specimf^ns for his museum. I killed ten buffalos, which he took — only the robes and bones for mousnting. The Indians called him tlie "bone man." Tlicy ihoueht he had a queer taste to take the bones and leave the meat. ROPING BUFFALOS An English officer came oat iar the purspcse of catching luU- growu buffalos to put in a large strong cornal near Niagara Falls, and had advertised a wild buffalo hunt. He offered us seven do'. 'ars a day to catch the buifalos, and good pay to go with him in rope at the falls. He brought out heavy freiglit wagons ia whfc'i to cart the animals to the U. P. railroad. It had never been kncwn that full-grown buffalos could be roped and tied down, but we 1 bought we would try it. We made up a party consisting of Andy Barret, the roper; Texas Jack; Dashing Charley; Bloody Dick, a Texas cowboy;* Chamberlain and myself. We went out on the Beaver before we came to the main herd of buffalos; we then got cur lariais in readiness and got as near rhem as- possible, to gave our ho;se&, for we knew there was »i hard ran before us. The game w,is in a draw one hundred yards away when they scented us and started on the run at breakne(;ic speed. We had paired off, Andy and I together. When the herd reached the divide it was three hundred yards in advance of us. We urged our horses and gradually gained on them, while the ground almost trembled beneath the pile-driver tramp. The horns of the bisons rattled together, and all went in one solid black wave t*^a': swept on and on across broad divides, through canjoms and ovor hills, stopping for nothing, at a wild and awful rush. We at last got a chance and cut out a fine large bulTalo to cne side. An instant afterward Andy's lariat went through the air like a serpent and curled itself around its victim's neck; the other 1^6 KARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCE end was fastened to the saddle horn. I made a lucky throw and got my rope on the anina'al. loo. We could not stop suddenly, but had to keep on the run in order to choke him down gradually, our horses holding back all they could. When we got him stopped, .\nd,y went on one side and I on the other, to prevent him froiTii getting at us until help came, as he did not give up his freedom peaiea.bly. Then a rope was thrown around his feet; he was brought to the ground, then tied down and left until our return after hiiu . In this way we caught and tied five, TexaiS Jack and his party caught three; eight in all. We decided to load them in the freight wagons and take them to the U. P. railroad; but when we got around to them, they were about all dead, owing to the hot weather and their disposition not to give up their struggle fcvr lib- erty. So -we succeeded in getting only one alive to Wolfs Rest, and he like his companions did not give up but dded while trying; to free himself. Thu? ended the scheme of capturing wild buffalos for the show at Niagara Falls. Two of our horses died from heat and overwork, while some of our men got terrible falls. Texas Jack said, "They swapped ends." There has been a great deal said about shooting buffalos, but the world's history does not record the fact that any party ever roped and tied down full-grown wild buffalos, as we did in the f-umaner of 1872. Medicme Valley was the dividing line, north and south, in the hunting grounds of the two great Indian tribes, the Pawnees on tho east and Sioux on the west. Thj buffalos having aill gone west of this lire, the Pawnees would occa^sionally steal aorosis on a hunt. The death knelj.of rjisaster swept over the Pawnejis in the summer of 1873; they made a raid in Sioux territory and killed a number of buffalo?. The squaws, in high gilee and happy, were busy cutting the meat in thin slices to dry, ready to take back with them, when iheir hated enemiy, the Sioux, came doAvn on them, in a canyon where they were at work, with a savage wiar-whoop. The- Pawnees were sunounled and after a hard fight the Sioux won the victory. They showed no quarter to their victims, who left many squaws and braves to moulder away with the buffalos they had slain. This "was the last fight between the contending tribes in this part of the country; the Pawnee were so completely whipped that theiy feared the Sioux. The bones of the "■poor Indians" wero FRONTIER COUNTY, NEBRASKA. 27 picked up with animal bones anl shipped East to be ground into lertilizer to enrich tlie worn soil. HUNT NEAR MAYWOOD An interesting hunt took place on the Medicine near where the town of Maywood now is. My sifter, Mrs. D. C. Ballentine, hon- ored us with her company. She said: "I will try the difficult feat of shooting elk and buffalo from horseback while at full Sipeed." There are but few men able to ride a horse on the run over rough country, and shoot with any Oiccuracy. It took a speedy horse to oatch a buffalo. I had one that was. trained in the cha^e ui>on which Mrs. Ballentine was mounted. We sent out a scout to locate the buffalo. After a long ride in the direction he had tal:. en, we saw him about a mile away, riding in a circle, t!ie Indian jign he had found them. We approached him cautiously and a large herd was seen coming up from the creek, whoie they had been to A\Hter. The saddle girths were tightened, iruns got in readiness; but not ^nv too ?oon for they had scented usi Then away thay went, with heads and tails in the air, for the hills. Soon half a dozen of us \%erc> strung cut, the fleetest horses in the lead. As we neared the lumbeiing, awkward-looking monsters, they b^ffan to gain in speed until it was like a whirlwind, increajsing all the while. Mrs. Ballentine's horse took her aJlong side the herd, on a level run, when she began to shoot, not ten feet away from them. Three of the party were left far behind. The buffalos finally went over a bluff, rolling like balls, v/ith the exception of seven dead and wounded along the trail, Mrs. Ballentine having killed two an,i wounded several others. Ihis is the first and only case v/here a woman was ever known to have killed buffalos from horseback while on the run. •^s EARLY HISTORY AND REAflNlSCENCE ■ R H H H X M M N M M M f* M M M M X M M M M M M M M N M M M M H M M M M M H M M M M M N H M M H N M N H H N X X M X X X X X X X X X X X i| TTtTTYTT TTTTTTt«TTTg»TX»TTTTTXXrXXTXXJX TTTTTTT, X "JLST LIKl- niF Mf.N" To day I'll tell you of a hunt That happened back in seventy-three. Now over seventy years ago. Said Mrs. D. C. Ballentine: "I'll go and try the hardy feat Of riding at full speed, And rihooting buffaloes and antelopes Just like the men." The modern girl would smile to hear You mention ridmg a horse that fast, lor that's che way ill girls go now: Quite recklessly, full speed ahead. 1.1, t still, I think Lhe modern girl NX'ould get a thrill if she could ride And shoot some antelopes and buffaloes Just like the men. — Bovd Perkin. FRONTIER COUNTY, NlCBRASJvA 29 FIRST PREACHER The first preachor in tae county came in 1870. Miles and Clil'- lord were trapping and poisoninjj wolves. One day when we went to our wolf baits we found a man alniost dead near where he had roasted some of the poisoned meat. We isiaw at omce that some- thing must be done for him quick. We put him o.n a horse an.l took him into camp on tne Muddy. We forced grease, whiskey an-i everything we could get dov/n him After a great deal of work with him, he was relieved from the effect of the poison; land when oo:i- scious, ho looked around with astonishment on the Indians and long, haired men mth buckskin suits on. He thought he wais a subject for a war-dance or a sealping-bee . AVe told him he was with frienils and that he would not be hurt, lie said that he had come out with a hunting party from away down East, got lost. "I was almost starved when I found the poisoned meat. I am a preacher and will piay for you as long as I live, in return for the favors and kindness you have shown me." One of our men took him back to liis camp, and the party returned hojne, saying: "We do not like buffalo hunting very well." THE LAST WILD BUFFALO HUNT IN FRONTIER COUNTY O the long and dreary Winter! O the cold and cruel Winter! Ever thicker, thicker, thicker Froze the ice on lake and river. Ever deeper, deeper, deeper Fell the snow o'er all the landscape, Fell the covering snow and drifted Through the forest, round the village. Hardly from his buried wigwam Could the hunter force a passage. — Longfellow. The \\ inter of 1871 ."^ind '72 i? long to be remembered. The "chuck pile" had run low in oul- little village and th.; papoosesi began to have a far.oiT look in their eyes for siomethin.^ to eat. So it was time for the nimrods to start out and win. Hank Clifford, John Nelson and myself, whites. Crooked Nose, Bobtail Horse, Big Elk and Long Man, 'ndians, decided to follow the buffalo :iO EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCE and eJk tc their secret haunts. Guns, cartridge belts, bows ani airows, knives, etc., were put in readiness; and at sunrise the ne.xt morning, we started o'er the dessrt Avaste ot patlilei-:s snow-field.s, not a bird or beast to )ure us on, or incite our drooping spiritrf. The sun's last rays were fading on the far-away western hills before he had shov,^n how near the day was dene. We then saw a lone leafless ti'ee, to which we went, broke off Ihe tending boughs and built a re. Around this the braves of Frontier County sat, cold, ti'ed, discouraged. The earth seemed tarn- ished while the stars of heaven glared like the eyes of hungry wolves on us, as we slept in the snow by the dying embers of tb-B last camp-fire shared by red men of the plains, in this county, -jn a buffalo hunt. As soon as the long cold ai.;ht had worn away we started on to get breakfast. The Indians "put out on a trot,'- and I followed as I warned to be at the fiist table. After a )un of about ten miles, most of the party had di'OP[?ed out. and Crooked Nosp was in the lead. Suddenly he stopped and crouched down. I did the same but saw nothing. He pointed off to the south. There stood a lone buffalo, the last one of thB numerous thousands t)f thes»; poble animals that had roamed o''"er our county, drunk of the rift- pling waters ot the Medicine an^ lain beneath the leafy branclies of the foresjt trees, to rest at noontide unmolested After crawling in the snow f Jr an hour, Mr. Indian got within fifty yards of the buffalo and shot him through the heart. The lonely bison made a leaip in the air and fell dead. It was getting late and we had had nothing to e&t since the day before. We cut Ihe meat off the bones "inti. broke them over his horns to get the marroav, then cut out the \i\eT and ate it with the marrow v'or butter. This buffalo was the rear juard of the main herd that was leaving the counti-y and their old haunts in Frontier, for the South. 'J'hey left a beaten trail where thousainds had gone before. The In- dians soon left for Spotted Tail reservation, on the White Eart^i River to the nortit. Here the Indian and buffalo, which had existed together for ages, separated. They fled toward the setting sua, before the invincible march of the paleface, whose great works will crumble beneath the weight and mst of time and they too, will leave but the mounds of their existence, as other builders of cen. luries past, without a ripple in the stream of time. FKONTlEPv ("(.UNTV NEERASKA 31 Wc^ -^•K^- ^ci«i:^ >rt[»2 LAST BUFFALO HUNT We sat from all tjhe world apart. Above, fron-i heaven, oright stars glared; Like eyes of hungry wolves they siared. Our camp-fires embers cast their glow Of lurid red upon the snow. A redskin pointed toward the south. There stood one lonely buffalo Beyond the winding canyon's mouth; And Crooked Nose shot through the heart The last of lordly brutes to go. -Boyd Perkin. :i2 EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCE ) ii 1) ii il il ii i^ ii ^i ii ii il sS sS ^ ^ sS WARRIOR Wnere is that Indian bravo Who used to stand on that high knoll ? Where are the mighty herds ot rusihing bison Galloping over the land Like restless, bounding billows of the sea, Swept onward by the raging prairie fire? No more on purple wings 4^^^ Ihe siignal fire flashes its message across these lands. The enemy has come, With bow unstrung, the warrior, a crumbling statue. Stands beside a mound adorned with bison rkulls — Alone, unwept, unhonored and unsung. -Boyd Perkin. FllOiNTTIER COTTNTY NEbRASKA THE LAST INDIAN RAID IN THE COUNTY 111 1878 the Sioux Indians ran away from the reservatiou ,n Indian Territory and started baclc to northern Nebraska, theii- former hunting grounds. Theiy whipped the soldiers, then killed and pillaged everything in their path. The commanding officer at Fort MePherson sent me notice, by a soldier, for everybody to rua for tHeir lives, as the soldiers could not protect the settlers. I'ho settlers, genemlly, went to Cambridge, Furnas County, and built a lort. I did not like to leave our little home and lose all we had; so 1 went over end saw D. C. Bailentine, and we decided ti.' go in a cave on my ranch. This cave isi ten by fifteen feet, under a bluff fifty feet high. The Medicine Creek runs within a few feet of the mouth. Tins we fortified, took in a cnmp outfit and provisions for a siege. Dave Bailentine took in his wife and child. Miss Mamie Timimons and I assisted my mother, and all went in the cave, from which we stood the bloodthirsty savages off, and they failed to get us out of the cave Frontier County stands unrivaled in her noted pioneers, her brave, honest, intelligent men and women that oame and built themselves pleasant homes within her borders, who ran the financial affairs in an economical and efRcient manner so that no man grew opulent while holding office. In 1879 one Enos Furgeson was the only candidate for sheriff. He was elected o sow, when is the proper time to sow, and what kind of cultivation is best suited to the soil and climate. Until these have been decid. ed, a county must be comisideired In an experimental slate. The history of agriculture in this county dates much later than the organization. In 1883 the writer, in answer to a letter of Inquiry concerning this county, received from Westgate, then county clerk, the following: "Leon't come to this county with a view to farming — a farmer would starve here. This is a good county in which to raise cattle." Tra,velmg over a large portion of the county in the fall of that year, I found that the settlers here were of the same opinion. No land was broken, no crops vvere planted, more than garden. patcties. All the talk was sheep, horses and cattle. All seemed to think ihat in this county this was the only means by which a living could be made. In proof of which, through the kiudnesis of our county olhcers I have been able to submit to you these factsi taken from the assessors' books of tiiut year: Number of taxpayers in the year 1883 was 331. Valuation of personal property ?275,714 . 50 Valuation of real estate 24,773 . 50 Total $300,488.00 FRONTIER COUNTY, NEBRASKA 37 This assessment was made on a 25 per cent of cash value and shows that on an avei\age each taxpayer would be rated at 13,450.00 on personal property, and about $c.20.00 each on real estate. At this period the ranj^e had all the stock it could support. for it was depended on for both summer and winter. In IS84 there Avere three hundred forty- five children of f-ichool age, fourteen schools, seven teachers and four schoolhouses. In the autumn of 1883 the happj days of the stockmen began to wane. A new era began to dawn in Frontier County, and with the balmy springtime of 18.S'} came, grangers of all raoes and previous conditions. They came in all conceivable conveyances, by ones and twos and in large flocks. They brought with them cows, pigs, farming imple- .ments, and their merry, joyous children, to help subdue the soil, to fill our schools and become useful citizens to our county ani State. The granger had corue to stay— God had made this land for him. Uncle Sam said he could have it, in 160-iaicre lots; and in the sumimer of 1885. when free range and herd law were voted for, by his vote he placed his seal on this county, making it henceforth an agricultural county. Ho who has purhto. out on ihe frontier, and has reclaimed tho wilderness or the desert, has added to his county, his State, and his nation's wealth. Ho has also helped fill the world's storehouse with provisions, from the abundance of which its stai'ving millions could be fed. The hope of the agricultural element of this cou'itv has been more than realized during the last decade. True, there have been two paitial fiiiiures in crops; but in the remiaining eight yeans we have raise 1 such crops that, tciking The '.en years on an average, we would be able to compete with any county in the State, on .in acreage yield. The soil of Frontier County is deep and exceedingly rich. Wheat, corn, oats, barley, flax and potatoes, in fact all the principal crops, grow here and make a large yield. Receiving such large crops has caused our farmers to becomd recKless about the preparation of the land and the care of the crop. I will make out a bill of expense showing the amount of labor required by the average faruier for seeding eighteen acres to spring wlieat: sowing, one-half day, man and team; cultivating, three days; dragging, one day. We have seen land that received about this amount of work yield from twenty to thirty bushels of whe.xt per acre 'J'he following is about a fair sample of planting and cultivat- ing seven acres oY corn: one day's listing, two days' cultivating; giving two and one-third acres of corn ready for shucking, for one 38 EARLY HISTORY AND Rc'.MINISCENCE clay's work for a man and a team. We have seen a field that had received just this, and no more, yield sixty.three bushels of corn per acre. This was an exceptional crop, and probably twenty bushels albove the average of that year. The above were given to show how large a crop can be grown in good seasons with a very small outlay of labor. ^ We believe that Nebraska is destined to outstrip its neii^hbor- ing States, owing to its diversity o\ resources in agricultuie. The sugar-beet industry, with or without legislative aid, will sooner or later become a leading industry oi the State. The soil seems espe- cially rich in those elements necessary for the growth of the su- gar beet; and beets grown in this State Hav ; been tesied, both in thi;^ country and in '.Jennany, ;ind have shown th.it Nebraska can produce beets as rich in saccharine matr.ei- as any country on the globe. In 1891 the State Aj'iicultural Society offered a pre- mium of $90.00 for the greatest number of tons of beets, showin.; I he largest per cent of sugar, grown on one-fourth of an acre. Mrs. J. W. Gates of this oounfcy received the award. Alfalfa is another crop th^it is rapidly gaining in favor in llii? ct.unty. It seems to be the forage plant we have so long need- ed — capable to stand drourh. The number of crops cut from it yearly, the largest 3ield per acre, and the excellent quality of the hay, bespeak for it a place on eveiy farm in the county. East of us cattlemen fat their cattle on corn, west of us cattle are fatted on alfalfa hay. The feeders of this county will soon be able to fat their cattle on corn and alfalfa hay, both grown in the county. Shall we not then be able to compete with any locality en cheaply fed stock? BUILDING RAILROAD In the years of 1886 and 'S7. the Holdrege BrHUch of the B. & M. built a railroad through this county. This was a great stimu- lus to the agiricultural development of the county, ^ery faa-mer near the line of the road could seU corn, hay and surplus provi- sions at good prices Corn sold readily at forty cents per bushel, end everything else in proportion. W^e, who had been going forty miles to trade and taking three days to make a trip, thought thep and still think that the railroaJ was one of the greatest blessings that ever came to the county. It brought to the farmer merchandise, and laid it almost at his door as cheaply as he before could purchase it forty miles away. It placed farm implements in eastal 11.407,571.00 Taxes raised ... $ 64,656.35 By comparison we find the valuation of property in 1893 was four and one-half times the valuatii>n of 1883 and that the number of polls was more than Siix times as great. We now have 108 schocl districts, 115 schocls, 3328 children of school age, sevety-two fi-ame schoolhousos. three log and twenty^seven sod buildings Oirr teachers now number 120. The valuation of -our district property is $42,616.68, which is ten times as much as in 1884. Seeing wh:it progress we have made in the past, and knowin:^ the enterprising spirit of our citizens, what could we predict for Frontier County but a glorious future? The forty-niner, as he slowl/ wended his way across these plains, never dreamed they would become great centers of civiliz.x- 40 EARLY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCK lion. But the pioneers came in from the crowded East, subdued the soU; the railroads attacked the wilderness; towns and cities which Ihe mirage had prefigured have become an accomplished fact. The mihions ol buffaloes that sometimes impeded the movement of trains have been replaced by tens of thousands of graded cattle, while the unexampled yield of the products of the soil of the Wild West is fast becoming the granai^y of the United States. The great achievements of Frontier Countij- have not, like Alad. din's palace, been accomplished at a wish or by magic wave of the mystic wand, but by sturdy, earnest and laborious toil. We therefore cherish a deeip and growing pride in the history and prog, ress, socially and financially, of our county. Finis SUNSET When sunset sheds its molten mellow rays Of hquid gold spillinfr upon the plain, Flowing from crimson fountains in the sky. The heart is filled with laptu.'-e; if we sigh At man's failure to me.isure Heaven's days In recompense, more earnestly we gaze, Then with tiue vi'>ion paradise regain. And strength to grasp anew the higher ways (^f God's creation, and the me.ining of: "The word was spoken and His will was done. Though man vainly searches for i source And ending, looks for heaven high above, Yet Truth and Life and Love are alwaysi one. As timeless as the £;reat Creative Force. — Boyd PerkiRi. FRONTIER COUNTY, NEBRASKA 37 This assessment was made on a 25 per cent of cas'i value and shows that on an average each taxpayer would he rated at 13,450.00 on personal property, and about ??20.00 each on real estate. At this period the ranj^e had all the stock it could support, for it was depended on for both summer and winter. In 1S84 there Avere three hundred forty -five children of school age, fourteen schools, seven teachers and four schoolhouses. In the autumn of 1883 the happy days of the stockmen began to wane. A new era began to dawn in Frontier County, and with the balmy springtime of 18.S'1 came grangers of all rases and previous conditions. They came in all conceivable conveyances, by ones and twos an^ )n large flocks. They brought with ihem cows, pigs, farming impU;- ments, and their merry, joyous children, to help subdue the soil, to fill our schools and become useful citizens to our county an^l State. The granger had come to staj^ — God had made this laud for him. Uncle Sam said he could have it, in 160-taicre lots; and in the sUimmer of 1885. when free range and herd law were voted for, by his vote he placed his seal on this county, making it henceforth an agricultural county. He who has pushed out on Lhe frontier, and has reclaimed the wilderness or the desert, has added to his county, his State, and his nation's wealth. Jio has also helped fill the world's storehouse with provisions, from the abundance of which its stai'ving millions could be fed. The hope of the agricultural element of this county- has been more than realized during the last decade. True, there have been two partial fiiihires in crops; but in the remaining eight years we have raise 1 such ciops that, taking rhe '.en years on an average, we would be able to compete with any county in the State, on an acreage yield. The soil of Frontier County is deep and exceedingly rich. Wheat, corn, oats, barley, flax and potatoes, in fact all the principal crops, grow here and make a large yield. Receiving such large crops has caused our farmers to becomd recidess about the preparation of the land and the care ov the crop. I will make out a bill of expense showing the amount of labor required by the average fanner for seeding eighteen acres to spring wheat: sowing, one-half day, man and team; cultivating, three days; dragging, one day. We have seen laud that received about this amount of work yield from twenty to thirty bushels of wheal per acre 'J"he following is about a fair sample of planting and cultivat- ing seven acres or corn: one day's listings two days' cultivating; giving two and one-third acres of corn ready for shucking, for one EARLY HISrOUY AND R5. J. W. Gates of this county received the award. Alfalfa is another crop that is rapidly gaining in favor in tlii? C(.unty. It seems to be the forage plant we have so long need- ed — capable to stand drouih. The number of crops cut from it yearly, the largest yield per acre, and the 'excellent quality of the hay, bespeak for it a place on every farm in the county. East of us cattlemen fat their cattle on corn. West of us cattle are fatted on alfalfa hay. The feeders of this county will soon be able to fat their cattle on corn and alfalfa hay, both grovm in the county. Shall we not then be able to compete with any locality en cheaply fed stock? BUILDING RAILROAD In the years of 1886 and 'S7. the Holdrege Branch of the B. & M. built a raili-ioad through this county. This was a great stimu- lus to the agulcultural dev-jlopment of the county. Every farmer near the line of the road could sell corn, hay and surplus provi- sions at good prices Corn f-old readily at forty cents per bushel, end everything else in proportion. We, who had been going forty miles to trade and taking three days to make a trip, thought then and still think that the railroaJ was one of the greatest blessings that ever came to the county. It brought to the farmer merchandise, and laid it almost at his door as cheaply as he before could purchase it forty miles away. It placed farm implements in eas-y reach; it enhanced the A-alue of FRONTIER COUNTY. NEBRASK^V 39 all the land several dollars per acre; it built up four flourishinT^ towns, viz., Eustis, Moorefield, Curtis and Maywood; and best of ail to the farmer, it inade an outlet for his fat stock in Omaha, in a few hours after it left his pens From G W. Crosby, general freight agent at Omaha, f\ve leai-:i that in 1892 there were shipped from Frontier County 1469 cars of grain and 258 cars of live stocii; in 1893 841 ca.rs of grain ai/d oS8 cars of live stock. In considering these numbers, we must remem- ber that our county is new, that much of the land is unused either for grazing or agricultural purposes. All over this county you may see ten-acre lots of young timber; these are not only an ornament to our already beautiful landscape, but will soon furnish a supply of timber and help increase the rainfall of our county. Far-seeing was the legislature that passed the Timber Culture Act, foi m.en planted to secure the patent to their lands, who v,-aukl not have planted tor ornament or usefulness. During the short period that has elapsed since our county has become an agricultural one, it has made about as much advance- ment as could bo expected undei all the condtiions and dinioulties with which it has had to contend. Below vnll be given the record of 1893: Personal property valuation $ 310,275 .00 Real estate 921,386 . 00 Town property 53.808.00 Railroad property 122.094.00 Total ?1,407,571.00 Taxes raised ... $ 64,656.35 By comparison v.e find the valuation of property in 1893 was four and one-half times the valuati^m of 1883 and that the number of polls was more than six times as great. We now have 108 school districts, 115 schools, 3328 children of school age. sevety-two frame schoolhouses. three log and twenty-seven sod buildings Our teachers now number 120. The valuation of our district property is $42,616.68, which is ten times as much as in 1884. Seeing wh.it progress we have made in the past, and knowing; the enrerprlt:ing spirit of our citizens, what could we predict for Frontier County but a glorious future? The forty-riner, as he slowl/ wended his way across these plains, never dreamed they would become great centers of civiliz.i- 40 EARLY HIST CRY AND REMINISCENCE lion. But the pioneers came in from the crowded East, subdued the aofl; the railroads attacked the wilderness; towns and cities which the mirage had prefigured have become an accomplished fact. The milJions otf buffaloes that sometimes impeded the movement of trains have been replaced by tens of thousands of graded cattle, while tho unexamipled yield of the products ol the soil of the Wild West is fast becoming the granary of the United States. The great achievements of I'^'rontier County have not, like Alad. din's palace, been accomplished at a wish or by magic wave of the mystic wand, but by sturdy, earnest and laborious toil. We therefore cherish a deeip and growing pride in the history and piog. ress, socially and financially, of our county. Finis SUNSET When sunset sheds its molten mellow rays Of hcjuid gold spilling upon the plain, Flowing from crimson fountains in the sky. The heart is filled with lapture; if we sigh At man's failure to measure Heaven's days In recompense, more earnestly we gaze. Then with tiue vi-)ion paradise regain, And strength to grasp anew the higher ways (>f God's creation, and the meaning of: "The word was spoken and His will was dene.' Though man vainly searches for i source And ending, iooks for heaven high above, Yet Truth and Life and Love are alwaysi one. 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