Yale University Library 39002029451409 m JWraska PRESENTED BY THE National Society of Colonial Dame; of America .Resident in the Stafe of" Nebraska fei3 • Y^]LE«¥M¥HIESinrY« • iLiiiaiK^isy • Map of the Territory of Nebraska, "Mother of States' fiy: . MM w>~ m COMPILED FOR THE COLONIAL DAMES BY Mrs. Alexander C. Troup Descendant of Captain John Everett Massachusetts Illustrations Contributed by THOMAS R. KIMBALL, F. A. I. A. second edition Omaha: March, 1916 Qeinicateif to THOSE NOBLE WOMEN WHO ARE STRUGGLING IN THE FLOOD OF NEW CONDITIONS AND FOREIGN INFLUENCES WHICH ARE POURING INTO OUR LAND, TO PRESERVE ANCIENT LANDMARKS, PERPETU ATE THE HISTORY OF OUR STATE AND COUNTRY, EDUCATE THE YOUNG TO BECOME USEFUL AMERI CAN CITIZENS AND HONOR THE MEMORY OF THOSE NOBLE MEN AND WOMEN CALLED PIONEERS. Copyrighted March, 1916 FOREWORD. Nebraska, while yet young, has reached that age and state of development when we can look back upon its remarkable growth with wonder that in so short a time so much has been accom plished. It is the object of this book to bring before the people of this commonwealth a concise and complete history of its growth. It is the aim of the Colonial Dames to present this history in an attractive form and by thus reviewing the work of the builders of this great state inspire in the hearts of those now entering upon active life a desire to continue that work already begun. This historical work has been a labor of love to the author who has lived in Nebraska since its early beginning and who has seen it grow from a barren wind-swept prairie country, over which the blizzards raged in winter and the prairie fires swept in autumn, through grasshopper raids, scorching winds, tornadoes, floods and drouths until the efforts of its noble men and women have placed it in the first rank among the wealthy, beautiful and prosperous common wealths of the Union. It is her earnest wish that the coming genera tions may fully appreciate and emulate the work of those who toiled that others might reap so rich an harvest. Elsie DeCou Tboup, Historian. THE NATIONAL SOCIETY of the COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA. "SALUTE TO TEE FLAG." "To the Glory of God; And in grateful remembrance of those, our ancestors, who through evil report and loss of fortune, through suffering and death, main tained stout hearts and laid the foundations of our country, we, the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, pledge our loyal and affectionate allegiance to these our flags." PREAMBLE. "Whereas, History shows that the remem brance of a nation's glory in the past stimulates to national greatness in the future, and that suc cessive generations are awakened to truer patriot ism and aroused to noble endeavor by the contemplation of the heroic deeds of their fore fathers ; therefore, the Society of Colonial Dames of America has been formed, that the descend ants of those men who in the Colonial period by their rectitude, courage, and self-denial prepared the way for success in that struggle which gained for the country its liberty and constitution, may associate themselves together to do honor to the virtues of their forefathers, and to encourage in all who come under their influence, true patriot ism, built on a knowledge of the self-sacrifice and heroism of those men of the colonies who laid the foundation of this great nation." TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1-How Once Upon A Time Coronado Came To Quivira 15 2-How Once Upon A Time Father Marquette Heard of Nebraska 23 3-How Once Upon A Time The United States Bought Louisiana 29 4-How Once Upon A Time the Fur Traders Came . 37 5-How Once Upon A Time the Indians Roamed the Prairies 43 6-How Once Upon A Time The Indian Trails Be came Roadways 53 7-How Once Upon A Time Humble Homes Were Built 61 8-How Once Upon A Time Transportation Was Limited 71 9-How Once Upon A Time Arbor Day Was Established 79 10-Nebraska Triumphant 85 How Once Upon a Time Coronado Came to Quivira "Ye who love the haunts of Nature, Love the sunshine of the meadows, Love the shadow of the forest, Love the wind among the branches, And the rain-shower and the snow-storm, And the rushing of great rivers Through their palisades of pine trees, And the thunder in the mountains, Whose innumerable echoes Flap like eagles in their eyries, Listen to these Avild traditions." 1 I \7> I^NCE upon a time this vast country which 1 we call the United States was a great wilderness, inhabited only by tribes of In dians. Whence they came no one knows. It is a subject upon which many historians have written and disagreed, and until the buried truths of the past are discovered the origin of the Indian must remain unexplained, — however much the mystery may lure to speculation, and however much the 16 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME myths, legends and traditions may seem to afford ground for conjecture. All we know for a cer tainty is that the redmen were here when the early explorers and the Pilgrims came, and that there are evidences in some parts of the conti nent of a very ancient civilization to which long deserted ruins and tenantless temples testify. The love of adventure has ever tempted men to hazard their lives in the perils of the wilder ness, and the history of the fifteenth and six teenth centuries is filled with the accounts of their failures and achievements; — yet, whether failures or achievements they nevertheless, alike contributed to that Divine law which is Progress. The discovery of the Nebraska country, ac cording to reliable historians, occurred "eighty years before the eastern shore was visited by the Pilgrims, sixty-six years before John Smith came to Virginia, and when Queen Elizabeth was a little girl." Modern research among old Spanish letters, journals and reports preserved in Spain opens to our vision a wonderful and astonishing chap ter in Spanish exploration, which reads like romance, but is based on authentic records and the accounts of the brilliant Coronado and his march from the city of Mexico to the land of Quivira, and is a thrilling tale of adventure. Long years ago, in the early part of the sixteenth century, came an explorer, De Nar- vaez, and his followers, to the coast of Florida to perish miserably at the hands of hostile CORONADO CAME TO QUIVIRA 17 Indians and from sickness caused by hardships, until only four men survived, who for six years remained with the tribes of Florida ; then, led by one named De Vaca, they decided to brave the perils of an unknown land and for two years wandered among savage tribes, being the first white men to cross the North American continent from Florida to Mexico. The story of their wanderings seems a fairy tale, yet, probably, they led to the discovery of the Nebraska country by white people. Roaming about on the trackless prairies, they met a company of Spanish slave-hunters and in this strange group of men, ragged and with long tangled hair, these Spaniards were astonished to find natives of their own country. De Vaca, overcome with joy at meeting friends after his long wanderings, related his experiences. Among other interesting events, he said he. had been told by Indians that to the north lay rich and populous cities where gold and silver were plentiful. An Indian slave said that he knew of those cities to the north, and a Franciscan monk, Friar Marcos, sent out by Mendoza, viceroy of Mexico, reported that he had visited Cibola, the seven cities of the Zuni Indians. The Mexican government, influenced by these tales, sent out a gallant young cavalier named Coronado, with a following of three hundred Spaniards and eight hundred Indians to explore this land and capture the rich and populous 18 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME cities, the viceroy having been instructed by Charles V. of Spain to outfit the expedition. This army of Spaniards and Indians, when re viewed by those in command of the expedition, presented a wonderful and gorgeous appearance. "On February 23, 1540, the expedition started from Compostela, the capital of New Galicia (a western border province of Mexico of which Coronado was governor, now within the territory of Tepic, Mexico), situated about 375 miles northwest of the city of Mexico. Culiacan, the next place of importance it came to, was also in New Galicia (near the center of the present state of Sinaola). From Culiacan it went on northwesterly, crossing many rivers and follow ing some along a part of their course, until it came to the Sonora river (now in the state of Sonora) which was followed, nearly to its source, to a pass in the mountains, not far beyond which it arrived at the headwaters of the river now called San Pedro (in the extreme north part of Sonora) which was followed some distance into the country now called Arizona; then, continuing northeasterly, the expedition passed near the place where Fort Apache, Arizona, was after ward built; thence, continuing in the same di rection, it reached the Zuni village called Hawi- kuh, the ruins of which are fifteen miles south west of the present town of Zuni, in McKinley county, New Mexico. Hawikuh was one of the so-called seven cities of Cibola." Instead of rich and populous cities, of which CORONADO CAME TO QUIVIRA 19 they had been told, they found Indian villages composed of huts made of stone and mud, and the Spaniards, seeking plunder, attacked these vil lages; the Indians soon fled at the sight of the strange rushing figures on horseback, and as their only weapons were arrows and stones, they soon surrendered. Coronado was twice wounded during the fight. There was no gold or silver of much value, but considerable food supplies were obtained. After some time spent in New Mexico, Cono- rado, not wishing to return to Mexico empty handed, decided to lead his army north to a land called Quivira, where he was told there were rich cities, and where gold and silver were plenti ful. An Indian named, "The Turk," told Cono- rado that he knew of this land and offered to guide the expedition. The credulous Spaniards travelled northeasterly, but very indirectly, about 1,200 miles to Quivira. But as many of his men wandered off and were lost on the prairies, when he had gone more than half the way, he be gan to fear he could not obtain food for so large a company, notwithstanding many buffaloes were killed, so he sent the army back to New Mexico pushing on with thirty chosen men. Distrusting the Turk, who was put in chains, an Indian, named Ysopete, was chosen guide. When Quivira was reached, and found to be only an Indian country, without rich cities, the Spaniards put the Turk to death, who confessed that he had decieved them, hoping to lead them out of the right road through the wilderness to 20 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME prevent them from destroying his own people who lived in the direction they were going, and thus proved himself a brave and patriotic man. After spending some time in Quivira, ruled over by an Indian chief, Coronado returned to New Mexico, October 20, 1541, arriving at Tiguex, whence he started for Quivira, April 23, and where his army was encamped. Tiguex was an important Indian village or pueblo, situated on the Rio Grande river, at a point not far south west of Santa Fe and now in Sandoval county, New Mexico. The following spring Coronado started with the army to the city of Mexico, where he made his report to Mendoza, the viceroy, who was greatly disappointed at the failure and Coronado retired from active life, spending his last years in obscurity. It is impossible to find out to a certainty or definitely the situation of Quivira; but according to the most reliable students of the question it was nearly circular in shape ; about one hundred miles in diameter, and was bounded on the north west by the Republican river; its eastern bound ary extended nearly to a point where this river enters the Kansas, and its southwest boundary nearly to the Arkansas at the great bend. The best authority upon this question, probably, says that: "there is no reason to suppose Coronado 's party went beyond the limits of the present state of Kansas," which, however, lies in what is known as the Nebraska country consisting of the CORONADO CAME TO QUIVIRA 21 land drained by the Platte river and tributaries until the waters began to flow into the Arkansas river. How Once Upon a Time Father Marquette Heard of Nebraska "Came the Black Robe-Chief, the Prophet, He the Priest of Prayer, the Pale face, With his guides and his companions, And the noble Hiawatha, With his hands aloft extended, Held aloft in sign of welcome, Waited, full of exultation, Till the birch canoe with paddles Grated on the shining pebbles, Stranded on the sandy margin, Till the Black Robe of the Pale Face, With the cross upon his bosom, Landed on the sandy margin.' jnc K^Bfeckrobc chUf =fc] THE next record we have of Nebraska came from the frozen north. Far across the water, in sunny France, a boy of seven teen, named Marquette, resolved to become a priest, and hearing tales of the savage Indians in the new land of Canada, who knew nothing of the Christian religion, decided his life should be devoted to them. The Jesuit order, to which he belonged, did not deem him ready for this great work until he was twenty-nine. Soon after this Marquette reached Canada and made his plans to carry the gospel to the western Indians. In company with Louis Joliet, he started from Mackinac 26 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME Island, May 17, 1673, with two bark canoes and five oarsmen. They passed along the south shore of the north peninsula of Michigan, ascended Green Bay and Fox River, passed over the short portage to the Wisconsin and down that river to the Mississippi. Floating far down the stream, they suddenly were drawn into whirls of yellow water filled with floating trees which threatened to wreck their frail barks. These were the waters of the Mis souri emptying into the Mississippi. Marquette learned from the Indians that by traveling up the stream he would come to a fertile country where lay the Platte River, and that in the moun tains there was another river, the Colorado, flow ing west. So he concluded there was one long river flowing to the Pacific and his map of the Nebraska country, giving the names of the Pawnee, Oto and Omaha Indians, bears a close resemblance to more modern and scientific maps. They descended as far as the mouth of the Arkansas, about 700 miles above the mouth of the Mississippi. They reached this point on the June 17, when, inferring that the great river fell into the Gulf of Mexico and not into the Pacific Ocean, they decided to return, starting July 17. They followed the Illinois River, and probably Chicago River to Lake Michigan, arriv ing at St. Xaiver's Mission at the end of Septem ber, 1673. Marquette started again for the Illi nois country on October 25, 1674, arriving in the spring of 1675. Attempting to return to St. Ignace, he died on the shore of Lake FATHER MARQUETTE HEARD OF NEBRASKA 27 Michigan, at a point now occupied by the city of Ludington, on the 18th day of May of that year. He lived in this country eight years and eight months and was deeply mourned by the Indians, who loved him for his gentle christian character. How Once Upon a Time the United States Bought Louisiana Iagoo, in Hiawatha, thus describes the com ing of the white men to the Indian territory: " 0 'er it, said he, o 'er this water Came a great canoe with pinions, A canoe with wings came flying, Bigger than a grove of pine-trees, Taller than the tallest tree-tops! In it, said he, came a people, In the great canoe with pinions Came, he said, a hundred warriors; Painted white were all their faces, And with hair their chins were covered 1 And the warriors and the women Laughed and shouted in derision, Only Hiawatha laughed not, But he gravely spake and answered To their jeering and their jesting; "True is all Iagoo tells us; I have seen it in a vision, Seen the great canoe with pinions, Seen the people with white faces, Seen the coming of this bearded People of the wooden vessel From the regions of the morning, From the shining land of Wabun." r\der fftrce fltgs Jm THIS vast western country was claimed by the French in 1682, when La Salle sailed down the Mississippi, and, hoisting the Lilies of France, took possession in the name of Louis XIV. This land was called Louisiana, and for one hun dred years belonged to France, being frequently visited by French priests and trappers. In 1763 it was ceded to Spain, but in 1800 passed again into French ownership. Napoleon, driven by the fear that England would take this vast west ern possession from him, as it had taken Canada, concluded to sell it rather than lose it. 32 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, decided to buy this vast tract of land, which extended from British America on the north to the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and from the Mississippi River on the east to the summit of the Rocky Mountains, and contained 562,330,240 acres of land, for which the United States paid $15,000,000, or 2 3-5 cents an acre. Out of the Louisiana purchase thirteen states have been wholly or partially made, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Oklahoma; Colo rado, Minnesota, Wyoming, Kansas, Montana and Oklahoma include some territory, however, which was not in the Louisiana purchase. The shrewd and far-seeing Jefferson con cluded to send out an expedition to explore the land he had purchased. Lewis and Clark were chosen and directed to explore the Missouri, the Columbia and perhaps other rivers of the north west. Their expedition was one of the most im portant ever sent out by the United States. We have only to deal with their trip through the present state of Nebraska. There was per haps no gayer or more care-free company of men than the early voyageurs on the river boats who lived only for the "present moment," and a com pany of these men, with laughter and song, started from St. Louis in two red and white pirogues, freshly painted, and with another big boat fifty-five feet long, carrying a sail, all well stocked with that which was needed for the trip. THE UNITED STATES BOUGHT LOUISIANA 33 It was a long, toilsome trip up the river, row ing against the current, the waters of the stream often lashed by the wind and rain. The heat, being intense at times, those on board were al most overcome, but they finally arrived July 11, at a point opposite the mouth of the Big Nemaha River. July 15, they camped on the Little Nemaha and on the 18th rested just above the place where Nebraska City now stands. Going farther up the river they reached a point about fourteen miles above the present site of Omaha and here held the first Indian Council, August 3, 1804, with fourteen Otoes and Missourians, who had a French interpreter. The change of Government from that of the French to that of the United States was explained to them, and they promised to obey the "Great Father," as they called the President, and asked that peace be made between them and the Maha tribe, with whom they were at war. When asked why they were at war they said, "We have no horses and when we borrow horses from the Mahas they scalp us." From this event the spot was called Council Bluffs, and Fort Calhoun now stands where the Council was held as nearly as can be determined. The Daughters of the American Revolution and the State Historical Society placed a boulder here, August 3, 1904. The party went up the river coming to Black Bird Hill, in the northeast corner of the state, so named for Black Bird, Chief of the Omaha tribe — 34 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME a man greatly feared by his own as well as other tribes because any one who displeased him might meet death in a mysterious manner. It is said that a trader once gave him a quantity of arsenic and this he gave to his enemies with fatal re sults. Black Bird, the Omaha King, died of smallpox, four years before the visit of Lewis and Clark, and was buried on the top of a high bluff that he might see the traders coming up the river. We are told his weapons and the scalps he had taken in war were tied to a pole above his grave, and that his favorite horse was here put to death. August 19, about three miles above the Omaha village another Indian council was held, and August 20, Sergeant Floyd, one of the party, died and was buried on the Iowa side of the river, a short distance from Sioux City, where a monument now marks his resting place. Having spent eight weeks and three days from the time of entering, July 11, to that of leaving the state, on September 8, the party passed the Niobrara River and proceeded on its way west toward the Columbia River. After leaving Nebraska, they were guided on their trip from Fort Mandan, by Charbonneau and his wife, Sacagawea, a woman of the Sho- shoni tribe, to whom we owe a tribute to praise and grateful homage for her part in opening up the western half of our continent to civilization. Taken captive at fourteen years of age, wife and mother at sixteen, guide and interpreter for THE UNITED STATES BOUGHT LOUISIANA 35 the Lewis and Clark expedition before she was seventeen, she unconsciously was a valuable aid in opening to civilization the great northwest. With her papoose on her back, she won the good will of the Indians along the route for her party, especially the Shoshoni tribe, guided it over mountain and stream, reached the Colum bia River, saw the great water, the Pacific, then patiently returned to the place on the Missouri River where the expedition embarked for St. Louis. The faithfulness and daring spirit of this re markable woman were a great aid to the expedi tion. There has been erected to her memory a monument at Portland, Oregon, and thus her fame is preserved to posterity. The journal of Lewis and Clark has been condensed and arranged for young people in a form most interesting and attractive. Moreover it gives a most authentic record of the life, cus toms, and conditions of the northwestern Indians and a vivid description of that vast and wonder ful portion of our country which was their home. How Once Upon a Time the Fur Traders Came "From the bottom rose the beavers, Silently above the surface Rose one head and then another, Till the pond seemed full of beavers Full of black and shining faces." OON after Lewis and Clark made known to the world the natural wealth of the country through which they had passed — telling of herds of buffaloes on the plains, beaver, otter and countless other fur bearing animals in forest and stream — many trapping, parties wtere formed eager to reap the rich harvest. Manuel Lisa, an ambitious trader of Spanish parentage, made a trip up the Missouri River in 1807. He returned again and again to St. Louis with his boat laden with furs till he became known as the Fur King. In 1808, Lisa, with the Choteau brothers and others, with a capital of $40,000 organized the Missouri Fur Company, 40 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME which at once established friendly relations with the Indians, trading guns, whiskey, cloth, beads and various articles for valuable furs. In 1812, a trading post was established at Point Lisa, near old Council Bluffs and about the same time the Missouri Fur Co., was or ganized. John Jacob Astor of New York, a man of Dutch parentage, endowed with broad foresight and great daring, formed the American Fur company, which meant to control the fur trade of the northwest. In 1810, he fitted out two expeditions, one to go by sea and one by land to far away Oregon. The wily Manuel Lisa, jealous of any invasion into his country, no sooner heard of the Astorian expedition starting up the Missouri in 1811 than he gave pursuit, travelling day and night until he overtook it about fifty miles from the present Ft. Pierre. Averting an open conflict, Lisa actually helped the men of the expedition to dis embark in Dakota and to start on their long westward journey. After months of cold, hunger, hardships and narroAV escapes from the attacks of Indians, the Astorian party reached Oregon to find that the supply ship which had been sent round Cape Horn had been wrecked. Many thousands of valuable furs were collected, but sold to the Northwest Fur company for a fraction of their worth, and in 1813, some of the party might have been seen in the valley of the Platte river in Nebraska, wending their way back to St. Louis to tell the story of their failure. THE FUR TRADERS CAME 41 John Jacob Astor's conception of such a scheme and his daring in undertaking it, dis tinguishes him as one of the great commercial pioneers of the country. One hundred years after the organization in 1810 of the Pacific Fur company, the Historical Society of Nebraska erected a monument on College Hill at Bellevue, to commemorate the Astorian expedition, it being unveiled June 23, 1910, by the State Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The fur trade was, in time, centralized at Bellevue, which it is said, received its name when Manuel Lisa, standing on what is now College Hill, exclaimed "La belle vue" meaning beautiful view, and here the first permanent settlement was made in territorial Nebraska. Old Bellevue teemed with activity, for here came the Indians to dispose of their furs — trappers and traders carried on their great business without protec tion of license until the first one was granted by the United States Government in 1825. The traders needed protection from the hostile Indians, and the Government established the first military post at Fort Atkinson, near the present site of Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. Today the spade and plow reveal bullets, buttons and other trophies, the only reminders of the old fort, the equipment of which was removed to Fort Leavenworth, while the Indian mission was removed to Bellevue. Between 1830 and 1840 the American Fur com- 42 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME pany purchased the interests of the Missouri Fur company, and Peter Sarpy came up from St. Louis several years later to take charge of it. He and his Indian wife, Nakoma, had great in fluence over the Indians, and were helpful through the interval separating the territorial government and the early statehood. How Once Upon a Time The Indians Roamed the Prairies "Should you ask me, whence these stories! Whence these legends and traditions, With the odors of the forest, With the dew and damp of meadows, With the curling smoke of wigwams, With the rushing of great rivers, With their frequent repetitions, And their wild reverberations, As of thunder in the mountains'? I should answer, I should tell you, "From the forests and the prairies." -rp,^ THE Indian life is such an important part of Nebraska history that we must give a brief sketch of the main tribes. The Omaha, Oto and Missouri, Pawnee, various tribes of the Dakota or Sioux ; with the Cheyenne and Arapaho, of a roving disposition, in the extreme southwest, were the original or domestic Indians of Ne braska. The Santee Sioux and the Winnebago were brought here not long ago. The Dakota or Sioux, were the most numerous of all the tribes and groups mentioned, but they did not all live within Nebraska. The Pawnee were the largest 46 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME strictly Nebraska tribe. The Oto and Missouri occupied the southeast; the Omaha, the northeast; the Pawnee the central part; and the Sioux the northwest. So far as we know the Pawnee were the first of our Indians to see white men. It is probable that a company of them, from the south eastern part of what is now known as Nebraska, visited Coronado while he was in Quivira. The Pawnee house was an earthen lodge and was dedicated with great religious ceremonies. They believed in a great power called Father and the winds, thunder, lightning and rain were his messengers. They cultivated the ground and raised corn, beans and other veg etables, but hunting was one of their sources of food, a Chief governing the hunt, who saw that each family had its share of the animals killed. Their home was in the Platte Valley and they never made war on the United States, but the great trails crossed their country and contact with the immigrants changed their customs and life, as they suffered much from the depredations of the white man, who destroyed their crops and stole their horses. They were divided into tribes based on village communities, each village having its name, it altars, its sacred objects and priests. A council of leading men of char acter and ability governed them and each chief had a crier who called out orders and other matters of interest. They were reduced by sick ness and hostile tribes from ten thousand in 1836 to six hundred and forty-nine in 1906. In 1876 they gave up their reservation, which was all the THE INDIANS ROAMED THE PRAIRIES 47 land they had left in Nebraska, and received a new reservation in the Indian territory, now Oklahoma. The Dakotas or Sioux were a very warlike tribe and caused great trouble with emigrants. There were many battles with the Indians not able among them the Grattan massacre, Ash Hollow where General Harney defeated a large body of Indians, and the Custer massacre, in 1876, which practically ended Indian warfare. Forts Kearney, McPherson and Sedgwick, were established for the protection of the fron tier. In 1865 Julesburg, near Fort Sedgwick, was burned by a large body of Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians. The Sioux were always at war with the Omahas, who occupied the north east part of the state and finally the Omahas reduced by smallpox and war left their homes and gathered around Bellevue where they had the protection of the white men. Here they be came connceted with a French family by the name of Fontanelle through the marriage of one of their maidens to Lucien Fontanelle, who bore him four sons and a daughter. One of the sons, Logan, afterwards became a chief of the Omaha tribe. Lucien Fontenelle was descended from the old nobility of France, and lived in New Orleans with an aunt, Madam Mercier, and because of a severe reprimand ran away from home when he was seventeen, going to St. Louis and afterwards to Bellevue, Nebraska, where he became active 48 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME in the fur trade. After several years Lucien visited his family in New Orleans, but was so changed in appearance, looking like the Indians with whom he lived that they refused to accept him until an old negro mammy recognized him by a mark on his body. He endeavored to induce his family to take his children but they indignant ly refused to have anything to do with them and on his way back to Nebraska from this visit, he sickened and died, leaving his children in the care of Father De Smet, who saw they were edu cated in Catholic institutions. In 1854 the Omaha tribe ceded to the United States all their land, except what has since been called the Omaha Reservation, the same spot where Lewis and Clark found them in 1804, and to which they were ordered to remove from Belle vue. Logan Fontenelle, their chief, protested it would be suicidal to attempt to take his people away from the protection of the white man and throw them among the hostile Sioux around their reservation. The government insisted, however, and soon after Logan Fontenelle while on a hunt ing expedition, with a number of his followers, was killed on Beaver Creek by the arrows of a party of Sioux who were in ambush. His fol lowers carried his body to the bluffs above Belle vue and buried it near the graves of his father and mother. The Omaha tribe lives on its reservation, and a daughter of Logan Fontenelle, Mrs. Tyndall was recently a guest at the beautiful hotel Fon tenelle, built by the citizens of Omaha in 1915, THE INDIANS ROAMED THE PRAIRIES 49 and named in honor of the Chief who did so much for his people. Over forty of his tribe came to a banquet given at the hotel and showed evidence of civili zation and prosperity, many coming down in their automobiles, — a far cry from the old Indian travois or poles tied to the sides of the ponies, and the wigwam where they sat in a circle on the floor at meal time. Hotel Fontenelle 'gygjgjijgi^s^^^ijgBsiiS^^g^^ MHtt-JOLtf*4-1"-' Map of Oregon, Mormon and California Trails How Once Upon a Time Indian Trails Became Roadways PROMISE OF THE WHITE MAN TO THE INDIANS. "I will send a Prophet to you, A Deliverer of the nations, Who shall guide you and shall teach you, Who shall toil and suffer with you. If you listen to his counsels, You will multiply and prosper; If his warnings pass unheeded, You will fade away and perish ! "Bathe now in the stream before you, Wash the war-paint from your faces, Wash the blood-stains from your fingers, Bury your war-clubs and your weapons, Break the red stone from this quarry, Mould and make it into Peace-Pipes, £==1 a HE government sent several exploring ex peditions to this unknown country, one of which, under Stephen H. Long, returned with discouraging reports. The great trail of earlier days, known as the Oregon Trail, was be gun by the trappers and fur traders who travelled over the Indian trails to make known the way for those who came after. The first wagons to pass over the trail as far as the Rocky Mountains, were taken out by Captain Sublett in 1832, who left Saint Louis with a train of ten loaded wagons and two dearborns, entering what is now Nebraska, at a point where Gage and Jefferson counties meet. He probably followed the Blue river and reached the Platte river about twenty miles east of Kearny, followed along the south bank of the 56 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME Platte river, crossed the South Platte near the present site of Megeath, west of Ogalalla, and upon reaching the south bank of the North Platte followed it to Fort Laramie beyond the state line. Frontiersmen were always ready to push for ward to discover the mysteries of a new country, finding passage through the mountains into the country beyond, now known as Oregon, until this route came to be known as the Oregon Trail. All emigrants going to Oregon reached the Platte river, where they were sure of water for six hundred miles, and thus established a permanent route. The Indians having heard of the white man's religion counseled together, and sent, in 1832, four young Flat-Head Chiefs to the trading post at St. Louis to learn of this religion which was better than theirs. The account of this visit, reaching the Missionary Board at Boston caused it to send Dr. Marcus Whitman and the Rev. Samuel Spalding with their wives to occupy the field as missionaries and their long journey to the far west was begun in March, 1836. They reached the Ohio River by way of the Pennsyl vania Canal, then down the Ohio and up the Mis sissippi and Missouri to Bellevue, then known as Council Bluffs. Here they joined a party of the American Fur company, who were starting for Oregon, following the north bank of the Platte River. When well on their journey, this little band selected a spot, carefully spread their blankets INDIAN TRAILS BECAME ROADWAYS 57 and as the sun illuminated the western sky, they lifted the American flag and with the bible in the center, they knelt and with prayer and praise, took possession of the western side of the Amer ican continent in His name who proclaimed "Peace on earth, good will to men." These, being the first white women to cross the plains, were a great curiosity to the Pawnee In dians, who called them White Squaws from over the trail. John C. Fremont was sent in 1843 to explore the Nelraska country, and in this year about one thousand emigrants, led by Marcus Whitman, who had gone to Washington on a mission relat ing to the possession of the Oregon territory by the United States, crossed the plains and moun tains to Oregon. In 1844 and 1845 about four thousand, in 1846 over three thousand, and in 1847 five thousand, made this same journey to establish homes in this far away land. Each spring found hundreds of canvass cov ered wagons waiting t© follow the trails along the Platte, and the Missouri was crossed in many places, but all emigrants finally reached the Platte valley. A day's journey was only from ten to twenty miles. The roads were cut from three to fifteen feet deep, by the heavy wagons and the washing of the rains, and can now, after more than half a century, be traced along both sides of the Platte River. These companies of brave pioneers who 58 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME sought their fortunes in the great wilderness had many thrilling experiences with Indians, wild animals and bandits, who were lurking to destroy life and steal their cattle. After crossing the Missouri River they were outside the pale of civil law, and the instinct for fair play caused them to organize a high court, which made murder punishable with death, and stealing was attended by whipping with a long ox lash, which brought the blood with every stroke. Fatigue, hunger, sickness and death from cholera left great numbers in unknown and un marked graves. Too much cannot be said of the sacrifices and fortitude of the women, their help and good cheer. There was one, Mrs. Rebecca Winters, who was so loved her friends sunk a wagon wheel to mark her lonely grave, and all coming- after, went around this hallowed spot, and now a fitting monument, only a few miles from Scotts Bluffs marks the last resting place of this pioneer woman. In the same locality is an historic land mark known to the early travellers as Chimney Rock, one hundred and forty-two feet above the base, which looks like a factory chimney. In 1846, fifteen thousand Mormons were ex pelled from Nauvoo, Illinois, on account of their religious belief. Starting west about thirty-five hundred spent the winter on the west bank of the Missouri in Winter Quarters now known as Florence. In the spring of 1847, Brigham Young INDIAN TRAILS BECAME ROADWAYS 59 led them westward, following the north bank of the Platte River, making the Mormon trail paral lel with the Oregon trail on the south. Markers are being placed along the trails. In 1849 word came of the discovery of gold in California, which caused another rush of peo ple, who mostly followed the Mormon trail, but is now known as the California or Overland trail. In 1852 Ezra Meeker, with his wife and month-old baby, started with an ox team and canvas covered wagon from Eddyville, Iowa, crossed the Missouri River at Kanesville, now Council Bluffs, and joined the wagon trains crossing the plains over the Oregon trail into the new country of Oregon. His book, "Ventures and Adventures of Ezra Meeker," gives a detailed account of this long and toilsome journey and describes his home on the Columbia, where he lived until the territory of Washington was formed. Near Seattle, he started the growing of hops and, becoming a mil lionaire, was a familiar figure on the Stock Exchange of London. He was known as the "Hop King" until an insect destroyed the hop fields of the whole northwest country. He travelled back over the Oregon trail fifty years afterward, and through his influence many markers have been placed. Contributed by Mrs. Edgar Allen. How Once Upon a Time Humble Homes Were Built ' ' Thus it is our daughters leave us ! Just when they have learned to help us, When we are old and lean upon them, Comes a youth with flaunting feathers, With his. flute of reeds, a stranger Wanders piping through the village, Beckons to the fairest maiden, And she follows where he leads her, Leaving all things for the stranger. ' ' tr* ' OLLOWING the California gold excitement 1 1 the possibilities of Nebraska began to be noticed and a few years later towns sprang up along the Missouri River. So many emi grants, following the old Mormon trail, crossed the Missouri at Kanesville that in 1857 James C. Mitchell, under the advice of Peter A. Sarpy of Bellevue, established a townsite at the old "Win ter Quarters," or the present town of Florence, near Omaha. Several places of business and a bank were opened, and as tourists of the present time spin along the beautiful boulevard to the great pumping station of the water works for the city of Omaha, they pass the old bank of 64 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME Florence and are told the original vaults remain, although the building has been improved and enlarged. In the town park stands a grand old elm said to have been planted by Brigham Young. In 1853, William Brown, seeing the oppor tunity for a town site where Omaha now stands, secured one hundred and sixty acres on the west bank of the river, which he sold to others who platted the town of Omaha, which was reached from Kanesville, or Council Bluffs, by a ferry known to travellers as the "Lone Tree" Ferry, so named because of a lone tree on the Nebraska bank of the river. In 1853 the first settlers crossed to the present townsite of Omaha — the name being taken from the Omaha Indians and meaning "First upon the waters." Huts and dugouts were the first homes, but soon a house was built by Mr. Snow- den at 12th and Jackson and used as a hotel. Indians, deer, wolves and buffalo roamed over the prairies. The people, needing protection and the power to keep new settlers from jumping their claims formed claim clubs. First claims of one hun dred and sixty acres, the title to which rested in the Government, were taken, but under claim club protection settlers tried to hold three hun dred and twenty acres. The first claim cabin in Nebraska was built by Daniel Norton in 1853 between Omaha and Bellevue. HUMBLE HOMES WERE BUILT 65 Settlers began coming in so fast, it was evi dent that this vast country was of great value to the nation, and the people began to look to the question of legislation. After several attempts and failures to secure recognition, Stephen A. Douglas, in 1854, introduced into Congress the Kansas-Nebraska bill, which, from its slavery clause, tore the nation asunder, but finally passed both Houses, the slave question being left to the citizens, but before they were called on to adopt the Constitution, the slavery question was set tled by the Civil War. Hadley D. Johnson, a provisional delegate to Congress from Nebraska, took an active part in changing the Nebraska bill so as to form two territories instead of one, — Kansas and Ne braska. A treaty was made with the Omaha In dians by which they ceded to the United States all the lands belonging to them, which were then opened to the white man for settlement. Great numbers of settlers came to the new country until the census of 1855 made returns of almost 5,000. Francis Burt of South Carolina was appointed the first Governor of the territory of Nebraska. Being a frail man, he died from the hardships of the trip soon after reaching Bellevue, the provisional capitol of the new territory. The secretary of the territory, Thomas B. Cuming, became acting Governor on the death of Governor Burt, and set the political ball roll ing at a vigorous pace. It was supposed that Bellevue would be the capital of the territory, 66 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME but the Presbyterian Mission demanded $50,- 000.00 for the land the Governor wished for capital purposes. Great rivalry existed among the towns as to the location of the capital, and great indignation was felt when the first legis lature convened in Omaha on January 16, 1855, in a brick building built for the purpose on Ninth between Farnam and Douglas streets, the loca tion of which was recently marked with a bronze tablet by the Nebraska Society of Colonial Dames. A mob, gathered in the town threatening to pre vent the assembly of the legislature — but order was restored, and the first session convened. Mark W. Izard was appointed Governor, and in his honor the first inaugural ball was given. There were nine ladies present, the Mesdames Thomas B. Cuming, Fenner Ferguson, J. Ster ling Morton, Fleming Davidson, A. J. Hanscom, A. D. Jones, S. E. Rogers, George L. Miller and C. B. Smith. The colored servant of the Governor, having a high notion of the importance of his master, when he saw him coming, called out to the guests, "The Gubbernor approaches." There was one fiddler and the agile powers of those who took part in the dance were taxed to the utmost, for some one in his zeal scoured the puncheon floor, and the intense cold caused a covering of ice to form, which presented a peri lous surface more fitted for skating than danc ing. Supper was served at midnight, and as HUMBLE HOMES WERE BUILT 67 tables were scarce in those days, it was passed around, after which the Governor, with chatter ing teeth, made a speech and the first inaugural ball became history. Settlements were soon springing up here and there over the new teeritory. In 1854, J. Sterling Morton and his wife made Bellevue the end of their wedding journey, after wards settling at Nebraska City, and from this time on were closely allied with the growth of the South Platte country. Soon the representation outgrew the first State House, and a new one was built in 1857 and 1858 on Capitol Hill, the site of the present Omaha High School. "In 1862 the Free Homestead Bill was passed by Congress and signed by Abraham Lincoln, which enabled thousands of men to secure free homes. The first homestead in the United States was taken in Nebraska a few miles from Beatrice. Territorial Nebraska lay between the Mis souri River and the Rocky Mountains and be tween latitudes 40 and 49 degrees. The word, Nebraska, means flat or spread out. Nebraska has been called the mother of states, as 351,558 square miles of Nebraska territory pro duced the great states of Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota, about three-fourths of the greater state of Wyoming, nearly all of the immense state of Montana and a considerable part of Colorado. The North and South 68 HOW ONCE UPON A TIME Platte sections in Nebraska were hostile to each other and bitter strife resulted. The South Platte country attempted to secede and become a part of Kansas, but by the Wyandotte conven tion this was averted, as the citizens of Kansas were having troubles of their own and did not care to annex a country largely democratic, so the southern boundary line of Nebraska remained and became fixed at 40 degrees of latitude. The location of the capital was a long fought question, and at one time the majority of the legislature went to Florence, attempting to settle the matter there, but the Governor refused to sanction their proceedings. At this time A. J. Hanscom was a powerful factor in the legislative body. He was noted for often adjourning leg islatures by methods more characterized by their promptness than parliamentary proceedings. In 1860 conditions became such that a move ment was started to secure statehood, and in 1864 a bill passed Congress giving the people of Nebraska the right to vote on a constitution, but owing to the Civil War, it did not seem wise to proceed in the matter, and not until 1866 was a constitution submitted to the people. The fight for its adoption was bitter, as the Democrats opposed it, and it was finally adopted by only one hundred majority. The bill was passed by Congress to admit Nebraska to statehood. It was vetoed by President Johnson — was passed over his veto, and on March 1, 1867, Nebraska became a state. HUMBLE HOMES WERE BUILT 69 The first State Legislature named a commis sion consisting of Governor Butler, Secretary of State, and the Auditor, to select not less than six hundred and forty acres of land on which should be located the state capitol, university and state penitentiary, the town to be called Lin coln. They selected a site in Lancaster County, and proceeded in 1868 to erect the state buildings of the new State of Nebraska, having secured nine hundred and sixty acres of land for state use. How Once Upon a Time Transportation was Limited "I beheld, too, in that vision, All the secrets of the future, Of the distant days that shall be, I beheld the westward marches, Of the unknown, crowded nations, All the land was full of people, Restless, struggling, toiling, striving, Speaking many tongues, yet feeling But one heart-beat in their bosoms. Smoked their towns in all the valleys, Over all the lakes and rivers, Rushed their great canoes of thunder. I beheld our nations scattered, Saw the remnants of our people Sweeping westward, wild and woful, Like the cloud rack of a tempest, Like the withered leaves of autumn ! ' ' rV***l&in