Custer County, Nebraska - Chapter 5: The Coming of the Settlers, 1919 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 5: The Coming of the Settlers

No Settlement in the County - The Buffalo Bill Tree - The First Home - Who WAS the First Homesteader? - Lewis R. Dowse First Settler - Frank Ohme was First j\L-\n to File - The First Comers - More for Douglas Grove - New Helena Homesteaders - Discover Cedar Canyon - -Establishes First Postoffice - The Beginning of Lee's Park - A Fine Stock Breeder - A Signal Service Man - Spencer's Park - Mauk was a Gay Bachelor - Now They Come to Lillian - Settling in ^Ierna Valley - A Bunch of Iowans Arrive - An Impromptu Reception - Settling IX Custer Center - Down in Ash Creek A'ali.ev - How Custer County Got Bob Hunter - They Fill up the Table - First of the Deep Wells - Settlers Come to Dale - LoHR Runs Some Store - IMore About Lillian - Down on the Redfern Table - Plenty of Room in a Small H(3use - An Accommodating Englishman - Too AIany Roosters for Ream and Jeffords - Settlement of Georgetown - Help Yourself - "Getting IN Bad" - Custer County Pioneer Honored - Pelham Stretches the Quilt - A Flock of Bachelors - Gibbonites on the Loup - Find an Old Dugout - Twin Fawns at the Centennial - Would not Stand for the Name - The Haumonts - Where Broken Now Stands - Early Days: Hard Times - One of the Old Settlers

The transition period between the white man and the Indian is always a very interesting period in the development of a new country, but it is one that affords little comfort to the historian who covets accuracy. Records are scarce if. in fact, there be any at all; treacherous memories and conflicting statements are about the sum total of obtainable material. The best that can be done is to give tlie general narrative and let the old settlers supply the details.

"There was not a settler in Custer county tl'iat we observed, and the only evidence noticed of an intention to settle was in section 26, township 18 north, range 17 west, in the south end of the Oak Grove, close to Rock creek, where we found four logs cut and laid up for the foundation of a cabin, and on a blazed oak tree nearby was the notice in pencil of 'Buflfalo Bill's' claim of intention to file. It was dated in June and my recollection is that it was on the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill."

In 1873 and 1874 the first settlements were made. During that period several parties came up from the Grand Island country, or perhaps a little farther east, and settled in the Middle Loup valley, - Lee's Park and the present New Helena. Other families came up from the south, filtering through Kearney, Lexington, then called Plum Creek, and made settlement in the South Loup valley. It was in these localities that Custer county settlements began. Some of the settlers were married men who brought their families with them and were therefore ready as soon as possible to establish some kind of a home. Whether a dugout, a log house, or sod house, it didn't matter. If four walls could be erected or dug out. and a roof constructed over them, it was home and in it home life began.

The Buffalo Bill Tree

A tree in the vicinity of Douglas Grove bore for years the name, "William Cody, 1869," cut deep into its shaggy bark, showing that "Bufifalo Bill" had camped here on some of his hunting or scouting trips. Opposite the grove were three large pine trees, standing four miles back from the river. Two of them were cut in the winter of 1873, taken to Loup City and sawed into boards, which were taken to Omaha and Lincoln as an advertisement for Kounlz county pioneers. In 1880 the last of the three pine trees disappeared. They had stood for years, faithful sentinels in the dreary sand hills - a guide for the weary hunter to his camp. All the early settlers miss that last lone pine, which could be seen for miles on either side of the river. None but a tenderfoot could have destroyed the last remaining relic of early times. Owing to the fact that Cody"s name was found carved on this tree, the story became current that Cody had located a claim within the boundaries of the county. There is nothing to substantiate the claim.

The First Home

Who had the first home in Custer county? That is one of the many interrogations no historian can answer. During the early '60s trappers and hunters often visited the country but it is not known that any of them had permanent stopping places. Perhaps some of them ]5ut up rude shelters. Init they were nothing more than shelters. Out south and west of Callaway, on the old Finch-Hatton ranch, was located what is probably the first white man's abode of any kind ever established in the county. Old settlers tell us that in 1872 the remains of a demolished dugout were discovered in this locality and at that time it gave evidence of having been abandoned at least ten years. The excavation and side wall were clearly demarked and no mistake could be made concerning the fact that it was made for a human occupant. Beyond doubt, then, this was the first home in Custer county. As the proprietor was never at home to any of his neighbors, or rather did not wait until his neighbors movtd into the country, his name will never be recorded in these pages.

There has always been more or less dispute concerning the first homesteader who filed on land within the boundaries of Custer county. I'.oth the South and Middle Loup countries have, with more or less insistence, laid claim to the distinction. Both Douglas Grove and the Xew Helena district make claims to this distinction, and it has been rather hard to harmonize all these claims and assertions. 15utcher's history gives the honor to Edward Douglas, of Douglas Grove, to whom this volume gives third place. Great pains have been taken to ascertain the facts in the case. The dift'erent claims have always been maintained, no one took the trouble to search records and ascertain when these different parties filed.

Middle Loup valley in August, 1873. He brought with him his breaking plow, reaper, and mower. He put up hay, did some breaking, and settled on the homestead where he now resides. He did not file on his land at the time he located, but held it by squatter's right until such time as he had the money to make homestead entry. Accordingly Dowse is the first settler but was not the first to file on Custer county land. Before he could make entry of his land several others had filed homestead claims.

Frank Ohme, who settled over on the east county line and whose address is Arcadia, in \'alley county, is beyond doubt the man who filed on the first claim in Custer county and the second place goes to Edward Douglas, who is championed by the Douglas Grove people, and for whom Douglas Grove was named. As a matter of fact, there is only three weeks' difference between the times of their filing. Frank Ohme filed January 26, 1874, and his filing number at the land otifice was serial 4728.

Edward Douglas filed February 16, 1874, and his serial number was 4972. This puts twenty-one days between the entry of Frank Ohme and that of Edward Douglas, and we believe it definitely settles the question of priority.

The next entry found in the land office records is that made by Joseph A. Woods, March 21, 1874. Ten days later he was followed by Daniel Wagner, who filed May 1, 1874. The next name on the land office record is Patrick Kelly, May 5th of the same year, and this is as far down the column of entries as it is profitable to go.

The First Comers

The third claim taken in what is now Custer county was in what is known as Oak Grove, and was entered February 16, 1874, by Edward Douglas, who died the following summer, at Loup City. For him the town was named. W. H. Comstock settled here in the spring of 1874, with D. J. Caswell, Sam Wagoner, B. D. Allen, James Oxford, E. D. Eubank, C. A. Hale, A. E. Denis, and Thomas Darnell. A. A. Higgins came in the spring of 1875 and brought with him a family of twelve, which greatly added to the population of the little settlement. Mr. Higgins was a patriarch of the gospel, a staunch upholder of the teachings of Wesley, and it was under his roof that Elder Lemin, the pioneer of Methodism in Nebraska, preached the first Methodist sermon and held the first quarterly conference in the county.

Frank Ingram bought from the heirs of Edward Douglas the Oak Grove claim in 1875. Oak Grove is a beautiful place. The country around is rough and rugged in the extreme, and is well known to all the old settlers on the Loup.

More For Douglas Grove

Douglas Grove received its full share of the pioneer inflow until 1884, when practically all government land was occupied. The first settler in Dry valley was James Wagoner, who settled on what is now the Len Town place, in 1878. Frank Muthic took the next claim, followed by N. W. Alberts, Dewitt Konklin, W. Bener, J. W. Scott, John Campbell, the Amos family, Brumbaugh family, Joe Armour, J Roth, John Jems, the Twombly family, Worley brothers, Mr. Mattox, S'wanson brothers, C. Collier, A. Kohn, W. Newcomb, L. L. Wood, James Boggs, Mr. Bowers, and others who have made Dry valley a neighborhood of permanence and thrift.

M. E. Vandenberg located at the mouth of Sand Creek in 1878; the Payne ranch was located in Dry valley in 1880 and has been since 1884 the property of S. L. Glover and sons : Charley Hill located in 1880 on Wagoner creek.

To do justice to those who helped to make the history of Douglas Grove in its first decade, we mention the three Mickle brothers and their families, the Glazier family, I. C. Buck, John Stewart, the Stevens family, the Cleveland familv, W. Hudson, Dewitt Com-

Captain Comstock, B. D. Allen, and Sherman Wagoner hoinesteaded in the Douglas Grove country in the spring of 1874. Captain Comstock remained in the country till the time of his death, a few years since, and became one of the noted characters of the community, - one whose life history is interwoven with the story of Custer county and its development.

New Helena

In the spring of 1874 C. R. jNIathews, who still lives upon his homestead in the New Helena district, organized a party of \"irginians for the invasion of Custer county. The party consisted of himself, C. R. Mathews, Amos Broughan. Watts Sifford, Harv Andrews, George Snyder and wife, William King. W. P. Tolley, J. H. Withers, and a man bv the name of Circle, whose first name is not recorded. They came by way of Omaha, Kearney, and Loup City into the Middle Loup country, fording the ^Middle Loup river where the old town of Wescott now stands. There were no roads, no lines of any kind, :io bridges, so they pushed their way over the ])rairie. At Lillian creek they encountered a snow storm, wliich before the night was over became a blizzard. They had difficulty in crossing the stream, which was almost bankfull at the time, but they managed to reach the western bank, took oflf the wagon box and braced it up for protection from the storm.

Harv Andrews "shinned" up a cottonwood tree, broke off dead limbs, and soon had a roaring camp-fire. The next morning, after the blizzard had subsided, they moved up to the mouth of \'ictoria creek, where they met trappers who described to them the Victoria valley. They followed the creek until they came to the present site of New Helena. Here too they found many evidences of trappers and Indians.

Discover Ced.Vr C.Xnvgn

trappers. to make bridge enough to get the wagon across \'ictoria c r e e k. after w h i c h the }' headed for the breaks and the hills in a northwesterly direction. In about three miles and a half t h e \^ struck what is known in Custer county at the Big Cedar canyon. The canyon was a dense forest of cedar and other trees. This timber was very valuable, and has furnished cedar logs for most of the early homes within a radius of twenty-five miles. Judge Matthews' present dwelling is made of cedar logs from this canyon, and consists of two log cabins place side by side with the doors facing each other in old Virginia style. At the present time the logs in Judge Mathews' house, if sawed into lumber and sold for market value, would bring money enough to build as fine a home as could be found in Custer county, but the Judge prefers the old home and the old logs with which all the memories of early days are associated. The undergrowth in the can- \-on was so thick that it could hardly be pene- trated, but pushing their way through they came to a clearing in the center of which stood an Indian wigwam. They experienced cold chills in the region of the spine, but their fears were groundless for the wigwam proved to be empty and in it they spent a very comfortable night. After a few days spent in exploring the country they returned to Loup City and proceeded to equip themselves for starting life on the Nebraska claim.

Their return was the starting of the settlement. These settlers consisted of H. B. Andrews. Edward Nelson, Judge C. R. Mathews, George E. Carr, and O. A. Smith. The next winter Ezra A. Caswell and Thomas Loughran took claims further down the creek, near the Middle Loup. About this time Jacob Ross, with a large family of grown-up daughters, made a welcome addition to the community. In the next spring, 1875, N. H. Dryden and family, J. R. Forsythe, and J. P. Bell settled in the neighborhood.

Est.Vblishes First Postoffice

During the winter of 1874-5 C. R. Mathews, circulated a petition asking the authorities at Washington to establish a postoffice at New Helena, to be served by a post route from Kearney, via Loup City, Arcadia, and Douglas Grove. New Helena received the first mail by this arrangement on the 15th day of April, 1875. Aaron Crouch brought the first mail and subsequently served as mail carrier for several years. The mail came but once a week, arriving and leaving on Saturdays. Mathews" commission as postmaster bears the date of February 9, 1875, during President Grant's administration. It locates New Helena in Kountz county, Nebraska.

The Begixxing Of Lee'S Park

In September, 1874, James Lee, discovering a fertile valley in the eastern part of the county located on a central quarter-section, and made it his home. The following summer he entered the c|uarter on which he lived as a pre-emption, and also the adjoining quarter as a tree claim, under the old law which required forty acres of trees planted.

This gave the name of Lee's Park to the valley. Although parties often passed through the park, no one seemed inclined to locate. Mr. Lee kept bachelor's hall in a sod house, and began to subdue the native soil. He evidently succeeded, as his first wheat crop of one acre testified. He obtained from it forty bushels of wheat, which is supposed to be the largest yield ever raised in the park.

The following spring he continued his operations on the farm, and planted some trees on his timber claim, but the grasshoppers again him, and ate up his corn crop, as well as his little trees. During these years, as hunters and adventurers passed through, they occasionally stopped at the bachelor's mansion, and the fact of his being the onlv settler, and working with his trees on his timber claim, caused the travelers to name the valley "Lee's Park." Here then this settler dwelt, year after year, in solitude - farming, planting trees, and doing his sewing, cooking, and washing. He tried to get others to locate, but no one volunteered. Nearly four years had passed by, and his courage, which had remained firm for years, began to wane, with the result that he at last decided to leave his beautiful half-section of land.

About this time, however, Frank Wright offered to locate in the park, providing Mr. Lee surrendered to him his pre-emption, on which was his house and well. This Mr. Lee agreed to do, and soon afterward !Mr. Wright started to claim his new possessions. On his way he fell in with some land-seekers who seemed to be headed for Lee's Park, so they went together, and on arriving at -Mr. Lee's, Wright asked for the papers, which were immediately surrendered. Soon afterward, however, this Mr. Wright sold the place for twenty-five dollars to F. E. Morrison. These land-seekers were William and Joseph Murray, who, i'n February. 1878, took claims in the park, and their families arrived in May the same year. Soon after this, in March, Benjamin Knight located in the park. He then returned to his Wisconsin home to claim the hand of his "best girl," and together they journeyed to their frontier home. From this time on, settlers flocked in rapidly, and James Lee, no longer solitary, decided not to leave. His pre-emption right, however, being gone, he proceeded to tlie extreme end of the park and filed a 160-acre piece as a homestead, on the bank of a little stream afterward known as "Lee's creek."

In July Messrs. Overton, Chandler True, Jay Hamlin, George Hamlin, Jr., E. Stephens, and William Van Alstine settled. In August T. J. Johnson and Amos Smith ; then followed Parish Freeman and his son Charles, William Hall, Joseph Peacock, and James Thompson. In 1879 Edward Knight, Philip Lynch, James Wisely, N. Mehrhofif, Nelson Potter, Sam Minchell, and Mr. Abel located here. In 1880 Thomas, David, and Archie Tod, F. E. ^lorrison, and James Bradford, also Thomas, John, and Sam Berridge, who afterward commenced the importation of English shire horses, under the firm name of Berridge Brothers. They made three importations, among which were some very choice specimens of the breed.

In 1881 J. L. H. Knight settled permanently here with his father, Edward Knight, and as this youngster was a lover of fine stock, he early sought an opportunity to obtain some thoroughbred hogs. His first purchase was in 1885, and was a Poland-China pig. which cost him thirty dollars. Two years after this he purchased three head of Shorthorn cattle, and from that time he continued to show his belief in good blood by frequent purchases. He purchased 520 acres of his father and brother in the southern end of the park and named it "Pleasant Hill Stock Farm." Here he had choice specimens of Shorthorn cattle, Poland- China hogs, and the Plymouth Rock fowls. Although not confining himself exclusively to hogs, he made the raising of fine pigs a specialty and was often spoken of as the "hog man."

In 1883 the fine section of school land in Lee's Park was put upon the market, and two brothers, C. A. and W. A. Forbes, energetic voung men, were fortunate enough to obtain

160 acres. At the same time, J. L. H. Knight purchased the remaining 320 acres for W. S. Delano, who was then in the signal service and who was one of Mr. Knight's classmates in the Michigan Agricultural College. In 1886 his term of enlistment expired, and very willing was he to leave the service of L'ncle Sam to engage in farming. He at once commenced raising seeds for D. M. Ferry & Company, of Detroit, Michigan. His two brothers, F. E. Delano and Milton Delano, shortly afterward entered iftto partnership with him, under the firm name of Delano Brothers.

Spencer's Park, located in township 16, range 19 west, is comprised of about 3,600 acres of level land surrounded with hills, and opening in the Muddy valley by a narrow neck one and one-half miles northeast of the town of Berwyn, in Berwyn precinct. Its greatest length is three miles and its greatest width two miles, and it comprises some of the finest land in Custer county. The soil is of a black loam from three to six feet deep, underlaid with a fine light-colored clay from thirty to fifty feet in depth, and is particularly adapted to hold moisture in extreme drought, besides taking moisture readily.

Probably the first home-seekers that looked over the park with a view of locating were George Early and Clark Wellman, who came from near Lincoln, in the fall of 1879. The former entered the southwest quarter of section 10 and the latter the east half of the northeast quarter of section 9, and west half of northwest quarter of section 10, but they did not make permanent settlement on the above land.

The first permanent settler was Ira D. Spencer, with his family, in whose honor the park was named. They came from Jefiferson county in the usual way, with prairie schooner, driving their cattle with them and having some thirty head. The family consisted of wife and three sons. On reaching Seneca, which is now called Westerville, on Clear creek, Mr. Spencer made his first stop and began looking around for a location. \\'hen he viewed S'pen- cer's Park he said. "This is good enough for me." and in the summer of 1880 he staked out a claim which was nearly in the center of the park, on the southeast quarter of section 10. He began to break the same and put up hay for the winter. The family lived on Clear creek during the winter, until the necessary preparations were made for their new home, which was a large sod house, the latch string of which was always on the outside for wearstravelers who chanced to come that way.

I. E. Spencer, son of the above, entered the west half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter of section 10. in May. 1881. Later he built a sod house, furnished it with a stove, bed. table, and a couple of soap-boxes for chairs, and began a bachelor's life in his sod shanty on his claim.

In the fall of 1880 an old rnan by the name of Gaskell entered the northwest quarter of section 14 as a timber claim, and his son-inlaw. H. Dorncn, entered the northeast quarter of section 13 as a homestead. They moved their families on their claims. But being unprepared for the hard winter that followed, after losing all their stock, they abandoned their claims and sold their relinquishments, for twentv-fivc dollars aj^icce. to W. H. Mauk.

Mauk Was A Gay Bachelor

Mauk entered the northeast quarter of section 1.^ as a homestead, the other as a timber claim, in May. 1881. In the following fall he made a dugout about eight by ten feet, covered with ])oIes. brush, and sod. and began housekeeping in earnest, as a bachelor. His furniture consisted of a stove, bed and bedding. one dishpan. one skillet, one breadpan. one coffeepot, two plates, two knives and forks, and one spoon. The sheet was spread over the bed in a slanting position to run the water and mud off when it rained. His time was about evenly divided between farming, going to the canyons for wood, and thinking which neighbor he would call on next to get a square meal. But the ]jlace to-day does not look like it did then. It has increased in value at least one lumdrcil fold and a frame house has taken the ])lace of the old sod. This was

In the summer of 1881 H. J. Dupes settled on the northwest quarter. On December 15, with his wife and six children, he came from Jefferson county, Nebraska, and began improving his farm, which is a very good one. He also entered the southeast quarter of section 9, as a timber claim, which he sold in 1887, to Charles Kemp.

Miss Julietta Wellman moved from Lincoln in 1881 and located on the east half of northeast quarter of section 9 and the west half of northwest quarter of section 10. as a homestead. Later she built a sod house on it. made other improvements, and lived on it until she perfected her title. She went through all the hardships of frontier life, a great deal of the time living alone, which shows the grit and determination of the ladies who were among the first settlers of the park. She also filed on the southwest quarter of section 2 as a timber claim and improved both claims.

Clark Wellman bought of George Early the relin(|uishment on the southwest quarter of section 10 and entered the same as a timber claim, in 1883, and later sold it to C>. B. Greenwood.

In the summer of 1882 Nathan Davidson came here from Tama county. Iowa, with his wife, three sons, and two daughters, and located on the southwest quarter of section 14. His oldest son, James, who also had a family, entered the southeast quarter of section 15 which is to-day well improved and valuable land. His second son, Henry, homesteaded the northeast quarter of section 14. in the summer of 1883 and began "batching" on his claim, which added another settler.

In the summer of 1883 R. W. Barton settled on the northwest quarter of section 4. He brought his family from Hamilton county. Nebraska, and settled on the northwest extremity of the park, which is mostlv table land. Overlooking the park, it commanded a lieautiful view of the surrounding country. ISarton was a veteran of the Grand .\rmy of the Re- ]iublic and later was elected justice of the peace. He was among the foremost in or-

In the spring of 1884 Peter Rapp moved with his family from near Lincoln, Nebraska, and settled on the southeast quarter of section 4. as a timber claim. He came with horses, machinery, and a herd of cattle and has made very rapid improvements. His first residence was a dugout. The stables were built of sod.

In the spring of 1884 C. Coswell located on the northwest quarter of section 3 and led a bachelor's life, made some improvements and then sold out, in 1889. The place has changed hands a good many times.

Now Thev Come To Lilei.An

Probably the first men who ever looked ufwn this valley with a serious idea of possession were J. M. and H. A. Goheen and William H. Gwinn. They located their claims, made a "dugout," cut some hay, and prepared for winter. Some time during that fall John W. Goheen, a brother of the first arrivals, came with their parents, quite old people, who had been pioneers in the settlement of western Pennsylvania. The aged couple, full of the fire of youth, were delighted with the newfound earthly paradise and soon filed on a homestead, which they occupied until the death of the aged James Goheen. which occurred in August, 1887.

The greatest obstacle to the settlement of these table-lands as yet, was the great depth to good water. Many of the first settlers along the streams had seen and admired this valley, but they did not dare venture too far from the running water. The Goheen boys were' fortunate enough to secure the services of two settlers north of the Middle Loup river, Charles Bishop and Burton Gates, who owned a rig for putting down tubular wells. They were successful in obtaining a bountiful supply of good water at a depth of eighty to one hundred feet, piercing a soft manganese rock and finding water in gravel just beneath. During the summer of 1881 the Goheen boys built comfortable sod houses, preparatory to moving their families to their new homes.

was J. E. Gwinn. William Gwinn had returned to Nemaha county to remove his cattle to the rich grazing grounds of the west, and, uniting their little herds these two, accompanied by D. H. Gwinn, on his tenderfoot exploring expedition, started April 17, 1882, with forty head of cattle, an emigrant wagon and a herd of ponies. They were twenty-two days making the journey.

Some idea of the seclusion of this valley at this time may be gained from the fact that while J. E. Gwinn was engaged in breaking fifty acres on his claim in the summer of 1882 he saw only two travelers, and one of these had lost his way.

In October, 1882, came J. O. Bates with his son, J. M., and daughter, Susie, all prospecting for land that they found to their liking adjoining the new settlement. The next spring J. M. Bates removed from Omaha with all his effects, to his future home. A. G. Page and wife, from Vermont, also the parents of Mrs. J. M. Bates, arrived with the Bates family, and settled in section 19. Mr. Bates provided himself with a large tent, sufficient to shelter the whole party. On their arrival it was pitched on the claim of Susie Bates and became the temporary home of the party, while more permanent buildings were being erected on their respective claims. All went merrily enough in their Arab-like mode of existence until the latter part of May, when one day there came the most furious rain and wind storm ever yet seen in this locality, and when the storm was at its height the tent was lifted from over their heads and left them to the mercy of the raging elements. Bedding, pans of milk, wearing apparel, and sundry other unmentionables suddenly sought wonderful affinity for each other, and uniting, attempted to form a new compound. Bedrenched, bedraggled, and almost drowned, the occupants thus suddenly rendered homeless, dodged and cowered, and grasped at straws in the way of shelter until the brief deluge was over. Then, with more haste than grace, they sought shelter, bag and baggage, in the bachelor quarters of William Gwinn. a single room, about ten bv twelve feet. One end of the room was devoted to a range of trunks, boxes, and bedding from the ceiling to the floor, a stove in one corner, a table and some chairs, - and where could the eleven animated beings find a resting place for their wet feet ? Picture the inter-faniily dinner according to your imagination. As for sleeping arrangements, they consisted of the airy apartments on wheels, ii: which the men folks sought niglitly repose.

Two young Englishmen, E. E. Bird and Arthur Clark, built their sod houses in the autumn of 1882. Clark soon tired of homesteading and returned to England. Bird also sold his claim and removed to another part of the neighborhood, a few miles distant. The purchaser of the claim was T. A. Leisure, who resided there for years, and if Clark should return he would hardly recognize the farm which has taken the place of the raw prairie he bartered away.

Clark had, also, a tree claim which was purchased from Jabez Bowman, from Cass county, Nebraska, and Bird had one which was bought by A. G. Bowman. Jabez's father. Clark received a horse from this quarter, which is now valued at eight thousand dollars. Charles Bowman purchased E. E. Bird's homestead and converted it into a fine farm.

Some of the settlers who did not prove to be permanent ones were Charles and Amos Meeker, David Daniels, and E. B. Bartlett. During 1884 came also Joseph Pickner.

Thomas ^laupin, a worthy old gentleman from Iowa, came with his family the same spring and filed on a part of sections 27 and 34. On the western extremity of the little settlement had happened a great event which must not be overlooked.

In the spring of 1883 F. M. DuPray and wife made their appearance with a large family of grown-up daughters. It seemed like the advent of full civilization to the wilds of Lillian Park. Lonely bachelors hung up their flapjack pans, scraped the dough from their pantaloons, and hastened to see if Mr. Du- Pray was, as reputed, a blacksmith, and to consult him about breaking plows, other farming implements, etc. The result was that several of the bachelors were made happy and several new homes were founded instead of the mere staying places, as formerly. Among these were H. A. Goheen, on section 31, and Fred Frances, on section 30, where he began the task of redeeming 160 acres of land from the power of the "Great American Desert."

Joseph Chrisman, the patriarch of another large family of sons and daugliters, and .Abraham-like, a keeper of a large herd of cattle, with complete gypsy outfit, began in the spring of 1883 a gradual progress toward the "Loup country" from Nemaha county. He found a large, fine stock location about the headwaters of Lillian creek, section 3 - 18 - 20. It is not likely that he or his family will ever forget the trials of their first winter here, a severe one, and, being inexperienced in the usages of Custer county blizzards, the shelter and feed provided for their stock were insufficient and many head perished, though since then prosperity has smeared itself all over the old pioneer in great dabs, and a large increase has blessed his eflforts.

I\Iary E. Howard, a widow lady, with her daughter, settled in section 32, and bravely went to work to make a home. She succeeded in bringing thirty acres under cultivation, mostly her own labor.

Some time in the year of 1882 a prairie schooner camped for the night on the site where afterward the town of Merna was built. The travelers attached to the one-wagon cara- \-A\\ were a young lady by the name of Villa Ong and her cousin, a young man from somewhere in the east. The next morning they hitched up the team and drove about six miles u]i the valley, where one of their horses lay down and died. This compelled the two travelers to proceed on foot to where Mr. Ira Ong. the young lady's father, had a cattle rancli. in what is now the Keota district.

W. G. Brotherton, who was destined to be one of the pioneer spirits of Custer county, had settled in Merna valley early in 1882, and in his sod house on the night referred to in the paragraph above, Gilbert Hogue and Joseph A. Kellenbarger were all-night guests. Kellenbarger and Brotherton had been acquaintances in Iowa previously to the exodus to Nebraska. Kellenbarger and Hogue were in quest of land, and the next morning Brotherton and his team were at their disposal. Both were .young, with ambitious dreams of life, and the job of tackling raw prairie and transforming it into an improved farm and comfortable home meant little to them. They made their land selections and back to Iowa their families other friends.

On the ninth day of April, 1883, late in the afternoon, a small train of prairie schooners pulled up at the old town of Merna, where W. G. Brotherton wasboth postmaster and merchant. D.

O. Luce, who was a proprietor of a wood yard, was the rest of the town. The schooners were loaded with Iowa people who had come to stay. They were after land, and in that day there was land for everybody. The party consisted of O. G. Gordon, Warren Gordon and his three small children, - Lelia, who is now Mrs. W. G. Brotherton, of Fora, Arthur county, where they are still pioneering and conducting a postoffice, and Lee and Arthur, who are now prominent citizens of the new town of Merna. - John Cosner, wife and one small child, a Mr. Graham, wife and three small children, Gilbert and Edward Hogue, Ben Kellenbarger and family, Joseph Kellenbarger and his family of four small children. They did not all hail from the same place, but they had arranged to come together, and when they reached Merna, which was to be their stopping place, they had been nine days on the trail. During that time they formed acquaintanceships that bind them together still and will never be forgotten.

As soon as the wagons were sighted by the few settlers of the vicinity of the little village they began to come in from all directions upon some pretext or other. The principal object, of course, was a pardonable curiosity to find out who the newcomers were, and in openhearted western fashion extend them a reception, which for simplicity and elegance of stage-setting could hardly be surpassed. Dick Strong and Mr. Morrison wanted to borrow flour to put them through until a fresh supply could be secured from Kearney. John Pollard came to invite the Graham family and the Ben Kellenbarger family to be his guests for the night in his new "soddy." Pollard was a little homesick at the time and he needed the company to cheer him up and replenish his "pep." The Thomas boys wished to see if any of their relatives were in the crowd. W. H. Reader, having no other excuse, catne after a barrel of water. "Paddy" Kilfoil, seeing the wagons lined up by the postoffice thought possibly someone might have a plug of tobacco to spare, so he walked down from where the Dale church now stands. "Paddy's" habitation in those days was a dugout. It was early in the spring but "Paddy" rushed the season enough to appear in a straw hat and linen duster. His salutation to the new-

Settlixc Ix Custer Center

On the 28th day of November two young men, Omer M. Kem and Martin F. Blankenship, boarded the train at East Lynn, \'ermilion county, Illinois, and came to the grand state of Nebraska for the purpose of homesteading land. On their arrival in Kearney they met with C. D. Pelham and John De- ^lerritt, two freighters from Custer county, who spoke highly of this country. The young men came with them to Pelham's store, then located northeast of the present site of Broken Bow, about one mile from the public square. There was no Broken Bow at that time as far as the town is concerned, but Mr. Pelham was postmaster of a very small postoffice called Broken Bow. After a few days' prospecting they selected claims near the present Custer Center and went back to Illinois. They returned to Custer county early in March of 1882 and located on their claims, - Mr. Kem three and one-half miles northwest of Broken Bow and Mr. Blankenship about five miles northwest. There were no churches or schools and their neighbors were few, but what they had were very friendly. H. C. Reyner, Charles S. Raymond, James D. Ream, and James Courtney with themselves constituted the number. During the following fall and winter others located near them and by the spring of 1883 they had a lot of new neighbors, and good ones.

In 1886 C. \V. Prettyman pre-empted land in the Ash creek valley down near where the Ash creek empties into the Loup. He tells that he was preceded in that neighborhood by several other pioneers, among whom was his father, G. F. .-\lmendinger. C. H. Landrcth, and James King. The Prettyman claim was only one-half mile from the King place, which made the King family his nearest neighbors. .Ash creek is to-day one of the best localities in the county and gives no indication of the dugouts, sod houses, and log shacks of the early day.

How Custer Couxtv Got Bop. Huxter

History of a country is made ofttimes by seemingly insignificant actions and experiences in the daily routine life of its inhabitants, which experiences are many an<l varied in the lives of its pioneers. Betimes a very trivial event leads to the location of a home. Sometimes the very name of a city impresses those looking for a new location, as does the name Broken Bow, county seat of Custer county, wjiich at once implies romance and commands interest ; at least such was the case of the Hunter family - which consisted of father, mother, and two small daughters - who had moved from a rich agricultural country in Illinois to Buffalo county, Nebraska, in 1885. As the summer of 1887-8 wore on, long wagon trains of freighters on their way from Broken Bow and vicinity, in Custer county, to Kearney, in Buffalo county, passed and repassed the modest prairie home of Robert A. Hunter and family.

Many stormy wintry nights the plain home, typical of western homes in hospitality, was filled to overflowing with the freighters, who alwavs before leaving their own homes, provided themselves with sufficient food for themselves and provender for their horses for the journey and return. Kearney, about seventyfive miles from Broken Bow, being the nearest railroad town, was the shipping point for all Custer county, and furnished an enormous supply of all building materials and provisions for the inhabitants of the north country, as it was called by the residents of Buffalo county. These materials and provisions all had to be delivered to Custer county by freighters, who formed long wagon trails, sometimes as many as fifty wagons being in ime trail, each wagon being mostly empty on the way to Kearnev, as the settlers then had little to take to

To these wagons were hitched from three to five horses, mules, or bronchos, sometimes abreast and ofttimes tandem. In pleasant weather the freighter camped by the roadside wlrerever the night found him, but in case of storms or sudden blizzards he sought the refuge of shelter in the sparsely settled homes along his route. These homes almost without exception were always hospitably open to them at any time, day or night.

Thus it was that the Hunter home was often the shelter of many freighters, and many and interesting tales were told by them of, the north country, and of the many different drawbacks and advantages, which often sounded to their willing and interested listeners like tales of romance and adventure. Whether just or otherwise, all countries are to a certain degree judged by strangers according to the people representing them.

So impressed was Mr. Hunter by these descriptions of Custer county advantages that he became convinced that it must be a splendid stock country, and the summer (August 9, 1889) found the family headed for Broken Bow^ where they at least hoped to be able to live six months in order to pay out and prove up on a homestead of 160 acres, for the right for which he had traded a broncho and sulky and harness.

They Fill Up The T.Able

One of the first settlers on the west tableland was J. B. Klump, who took a homestead and timber claim in section 12, township 17, range 23, in March. 1883. D. W. Wediman and B. F. Cole were the first settlers on the northeast part of this table. Samuel High also located aliout the same time that Klump did, and dug a well 350 feet deep, but it was not a success. Within the same year there arrived three brothers by the name of Lang, with their father and mother, and John and -Moses Truesdale. In the spring of 1885 came Peter F. Forney, Charles Blakeman, Charles

Zachary, Daniel Sweeney, and John Wehling. These settlers dug cisterns near the lagoons and cemented them, which held water from the melted snow and rains for some months. When the cisterns became dry the only recourse was to haul water in barrels from the valley two or three miles distant, and anyone who is acquainted with the steepness of the ascent up to the table-land can imagine what a task it was. In addition they often had to pay five cents per barrel for the water. As they not only had to haul water for their household use, but also for whatever stock they had, ^Ir. Forney started in to haul water in two barrels, but he soon found that process too slow. He had four horses, four head of cattle and some hogs, and as it took over half of his time hauling water, he almost begrudged the poor beasts what they wanted to drink.

First Of The Deep Wei.Ls

Peter Forney was the first man to put down a gravel well on the table. It was an ironcasing well, 444 feet deep and cost him six hundred dollars. For two years this well supplied the families of Wediman, Cox, Maupin, Hill, Blakeman, Taylor, Cooney, and Pike. Mr. Forney had to mortgage his farm in order to put down this well, and by the time it was paid for the interest, added to the principal, amounted to $1050.

At this writing this table-land is thickly settled. It has won the reputation of being the best wheat-producing portion of Custer county, and contains some splendid farms. Most of the sod buildings have given way to fine residences of wood, and the commodious barns and outbuildings impart a most prosperous appearance to the table. \\'indniills are seen by the score and the water problem no longer troubles the people of the community. The table is fifteen miles long and has an average width of four miles. From its edges, which rise almost abruptly from the valleys below, a magnificent view of the surrounding country can be had. The soil is exceedingly rich and fertile, and in favorable seasons very large crops are raised.

Settlers Come To Dale

"About the 10th day of June, 1889. in company with R. D. McCarthy and family and two of his teamsters, we started for our future home in Custer county. We arrived at Seneca, where we found the beginning of a rising young town, it being one and a half miles up Clear creek from the present town of Westerville. We stayed over night at the house of George Copsey, one of the old pioneers of the place. We were now within one day's travel of our destination. We crossed over to the Muddy the ne.xt forenoon. We camped for dinner near the present site of Broken Bow. The only settlers we found close by were Wilson Hewitt and Dan Lewis. Mr. Hewitt was the proprietor of a blacksmith s h o p, which we afterward patronized. That evening we obtained our first view of the Muddy Flats, as it was calleil at that time. We paused on the brow of the table and the male portion of the company descended and threw up their hats with a "hurrah." for lo, and behold ! there it lay in full view - the promised land. Descending from the table we arrived at the first settler's cabin, which, by the way, was not of sod. but cedar logs, the only one of its kind on the flats as far as I know. There we got some water and a kindly greeting from the proprietor. Sam Dmuiing. On our way from Dunning's place to our present location we passed the dugout of A. Thomas, a genial young bachelor. There were several other young men staying with him who had not yet erected their future mansions. It was now about sundown and four miles to the end of our journev. At about dusk we arrived at our claims ard found there, on land adjoining. \Mlliam Couhig, who had preceded us by ten days. He had made considerable progress with his work, having put down a well, which proved to be a great convenience. The well was dug by C. R. Krenz, an expert in that line of business, who still resides in Dale valley, and was the father of the first child born in Dale.

"Among the settlers that came in that summer were the following: \\'illiam Corcoran; Patrick Kilfoil. after whom Kilfoil precinct was named ; William Walsh and family ; Joseph Sitler, another young bachelor ; George

W. Hartley, who was the first settler in Ortello valley ; Andy S o m m e r, Charles Foote, L e n n T h o m a s, Charles Johnson, and John Jacquot, all of whom built residences out of prairie sod, with some of U n c 1 e Sam's cedar for rafters, which at that time was comparatively plentiful in the can\-ons from ten to thirty miles west of here. There was no corn raised close by. except a small amount down on Mctoria creek, in 1880, and that was held at fifty and sixty cents per bushel, and could be had for no price in the spring. Crops were good in 1881. and those who had ground broken out and raised corn were all right, having plenty for feed and a good home market for the balance, at a price ranging from fifty to seventy-five cents per bushel.

Lohr Runs Some Store

"Several other settlers came during the year 1880 and took up claims, but did not permanently locate here until 1882. J. J. Joyner was the only settler that moved in during 1881, and he located in Ortello valley. In 1882 the following came : Conrad Fleischman, Christo- pher Nichols, James Daley, James Wood, G. N. Thompson, Charles Fodge, S. H. Reed, James Stanford, G. W. Land, Samuel Trout - all with their families. About this time the Dale postoffice was established, with James Daley as postmaster. Mr. Daley afterward resigfned in favor of D. S. Lohr, who went into the general merchandise business at Dale, getting cjuite a trade from fifty to seventy-five miles west and- north of here. In fact it was a tj-pical frontier store. The town of Dale was laid out the previous summer. Dale tried hard for the railroad, but the company could not see it in that way. Dale, however, is admirably located in regard to railroad towns, ]Merna being five or six miles southeast and Anselmo eight or nine miles northwest.

"The next two or three years the following named settlers moved here : William i\Ioore, Charles Michele, Frank Michele, C. H. Cass, G. D. Grove, C. C. Grove, Henry Sweeney, Dan Foley, A. Glidewell, P. B. Riley, Jason Lucas, A. C. Towle. Henry Barratt. William Brookman, I. A. Coleman, Dr. L. L. Crawford, James Phillips, Thomas Kelley. Joseph ^'essels, and R. J. Kelley, the last named being a pioneer merchant - a member of the later firm of Kelley & Duncan, who in 1886 moved to Merna, where he has been in business ever since. Nick Jaquot came about the same time, or perhaps a little before. He is a man of great enterprise, being largely interested in farming, stock-raising, and feeding, also proprietor of one of the ]\Ierna elevators, and a hog buyer. C. D. Pelham, the pioneer merchant of Broken Bow, afterward moved to Dale, where he did business for several years, finally moving to Anselmo."

In 1875 James L. Oxford made the first settlement in what is now Lillian township. He built log buildings and established a ranch on the east bank of Lillian creek, near where his frame buildings now stand. His father-inlaw. John Henderson, and familv. came from

Missouri and settled near him in 1878, until the spring of 1879, when the level and fertile plains ' became so attractive to those seeking homes that they began to wend their way up the south side of the Middle Loup river. Diu"- ing this season Perry Lyle, J. E. Ash, J. C. Hunter, J. M. Ash, S. Gates, with their families, and David McGuigan, A. C. Ash, and Ervin Ash, old bachelors, settled on the river bottom and J. O. Taylor, Ole Johnson, N. K. Lee. S. K. Lee, John Lee, and Nelson T. Lee, with their families, settled in Round valley. As if by magic the sod houses arose one by one, and dotted the valley and plain in every direction. In the spring of 1880 Jesse Gandy started a ranch at the place afterward known as the Hartley ranch, and the following named settlers, with their families, if they had any, and with good digestive organs, if they were bachelors, made their appearance on the scene of action and became permanent residents, or homesteaders as they were then called to distinguish them from ranchmen : Thomas Lampman, Frank Luse, E. N. Bishop, Frank Doty. Hugh M. Goheen. John Goheen, J. jNI. Goheen, Austin Goheen, James McGraw, D. O. Luse, Jarvis Kimes, A. W. Squires, O. S. Woodward, Charles Griffiths, J. E. Gwinn, J. N. Peale, A. N. Peale, and Samuel Oxford. The winter of 1880-81 was what has been since known as the "hard winter." To convey some idea of the difficulty of traveling where a track was not broken out, I will endeavor to give a short description of a trip I made one day of but two miles and back, which took me from early morning until after dark. The layers of sleet cut the horses' legs so that instead of wading through the snow they would jump upon it as if climbing on top of ice, which kept breaking and letting them through. In a few minutes they were so exhausted that I had to stop and let them rest. Their legs were cut and bleeding so badly that they left a crimson trail behind them in the snow. To make matters worse, the grass was very short and entirely covered by snow, so that one could not tell .what was under the drift ahead. The first thing I knew the horses dropped down into a draw about five feet deep, where they floundered about, unable to get out. I went to work with a scoop shovel I had brought along with me. and by nooif had the team out on the level ground. Although it was dinner time and I was somewhat hungry, yet I had no dinner to eat, as I was on my way with a sack each of wheat and corn to be ground in a feed grinder that was owned by one of our neighbors, T. J. Butcher, where I arrived about four o'clock, having had to dig my horses out of draws four times on the way. It took but a few minutes to grind my feed and as I had broken the road on my way over pretty thoroughly, the return trip was made with comparative ease and without incident.

During the winter of 1880-81 S". Gates and the writer circulated a petition tor the formation of Lillian precinct, this territory at that time being a part of Victoria precinct, with the voting place at New Helena. As some of the citizens had to go twenty-four miles to vote, the county commissioners readily granted our request and established Lillian precinct, with nearly the same territory as the present township of Lillian embraces. From this time forth, public improvements were made as fast as the financial condition of the countv would permit. Among these were three bridges arross the Middle Loup river on the northern boundary of Lillian precinct.

On February 16, 1880, Eri postofifice was established at the residence of J. E. Ash, with his wife, Alice Ash, as postmistress. It was named Eri, after Mr. Ash's brother, and was located on section 14. township 19, range 20. It was on the route to New Helena, and connected with the Kearney and New Helena mail at the latter point. The mail was carried twice a week, by way of WestenMlle and Round Valley, the latter office being established some time in 1880. Mrs. Ash resigned in favor of Frank Doty and recommended the removal of the office to his residence, three miles distant, which appeared to meet the approval of the authorities at Washington. The office was removed and remained there until it was discontinued, when the Walworth postoffice was removed to the bridge, by W. H. Predmore,

1885. Mr. Gates sent in a petition for the establishment of Gates postoffice, with himself as postmaster, which was granted, and the first mail was delivered there July 4, 1884. Soon after this Mr. Gates put in a small stock of groceries, added hardware and dry goods, and in 1886 he built a good frame store building. For several years, during the prosperous seasons, he kept a good store and did quite an extensive business. But in 1893 it had all evaporated except the postoffice. But like everything else in this western country, it could not be stopped entirely. Another small store was started by Joseph Beckwith, the new postmaster, who in about two years sold out to S. M. Hinkle. Mr. Hinkle kept the store and postoffice about a year and then sold out to Peter Fackley. When the railroad was built to Ord, the mail route was changed, and came from there to New Helena instead of from Loup City, and ran tri-weekly until the B. & M. Railroad was built through Anselmo, when the route was changed and ran from Anselmo to Sargent, daily, via New Helena. Lillian, Gates. Walworth, and West L'nion, giving to all this section, as at jiresent, a mail service that it may well be proud of. especially since the railroad was completed to Sargent.

L'p to 1880 cattle men had undisputed possession of thousands of acres of land that in the three years following its occupancy yielded an average of twenty bushels of wheat per acre. But the settler came, and he came to stay. Many were veterans of the Civil war, in the prime of vigorous manhood, and held life as cheap and could shoot as straight as the dare-devil cowboy, and not unfrequently "got the drop" on those who had heretofore boasted of having things pretty much their own way. Thus, in part, the problem of settlement had become adjusted and the way made easy for those who in 1883 and 1884 were pioneers in the settlement of the southwestern part of Custer countv.

The way of approach in those days was froir. Kearney along the Wood river valley to its confluence with the South Loup, at a point near the present site of Callaway. Further west were Plum creek and Cozad. points on the line of the Union Pacific, - the former about thirty miles from the south line of Custer, the latter fifteen miles nearer. At this point there was a gently undulating tract of country then known far and near as "Buffalo Table," located in townships 13 and 14, ranges 22 and 23, being within the twenty-mile limit. Every odd-numbered section of this entire table land was included in the grant of the Union Pacific. Inviting as it was, with its deep, rich soil, none of its lands were appropriated until the latter part of 1883. The first entry made in this locality was by no less a personage than Patrick Egan, of Lincoln. It was on section 34, township 14, range 23. No breaking being done the first year, by contest it passed into the hands of Ernest Schneider. The first homestead entries were made bv Harvey Stockham and Otto Jaster, November 14, 1883, and by Charles B. Drum, December 13th, which comprised all entries made during that year. February 11, 1884, James Whitehead made homestead entry for lands adjoining Charles Drum, and with the opening of spring, Ernest Schneider, John Helmuth, Charles W. Redfern and his son Frank, with Henry, Chris, and John Miller, appeared upon the scene, selected and settled upon their lands and immediately begun improvements.

Plenty Of Room Ix A Small Housk

It was the purpose of the writer to secure by purchase a half-section of railroad land adjoining or as near as possible to his homestead ; this he supposed he had done, but on reaching his home in Wisconsin he was ap- . prised by Hon. J. H. ^lacColl, of Plum Creek, r agent for the railroad company, that the lands selected by him had passed into other hands. This necessitated his immediate return to ' Nebraska. Accompanied by J. A. Mahafify and George Healy. we reached Plum Creek about the 10th of March. The morning following our arrival we started for the tablelands accompanied by Mr. Huey, surveyor of Dawson count)'. It was after night when we reached the divide. The weather, which had been warm, had turned cold and snow began to fall. It had been our intention to pass the night upon the prairie and we had come prepared, bringing robes and blankets and a supply of provisions to last us several days. The increasing cold and falling snow, which ^Ir. Huey, who was an "old timer," assured us might develop into a regular blizzard, made the outlook anything but encouraging. After traveling some distance in the darkness we saw a glimmering light and heard the barking of a dog; this led us to the claim of Ernest Schneider. Though he had arrived but a day or two before, he had a frame dwelling partly erected, which, with his own and other families, and belated travelers like ourselves, seemed full to overflowing; notwithstanding this we received a hearty welcome. The building was but partly roofed and through the night the snow descended upon those who stretched themselves upon the floor and sought rest and forgetfulness of discomforts in sleep. Beneath a pile of blankets, in one corner of the room that was better protected from the storm, lay the sick wife of our host. She never recovered, but died shortly afterward and was buried nearby, - the first death and burial that marked the early settlement of that vicinity. In addition to those I have named, William Greenfield. Joe Malson, Ezra Wright, R. E. Williams, J. W. Bissell, John Matz, William Gibson, Chris Helmuth, the Wysharts. were pioneer settlers of the table or its environments, followed in time by John McGuigan and the Armours, also Joe Gilmore. A. P. Cox, Oliver Whitehead, Willis Hines. the Langes, David and William Bain, John Runcie, and John Berwick. The all-absorbing question that presented itself to every settler was water, and how it might be obtained. Away to the east in Wood river valley, Van Antwerp and Thumian had well.s, but they were from six to ten miles distant; there were none nearer and the combined means of all was not sufficient to put one down. To meet this exigency cisterns were dug on the edge of draws or bordering lagoons, the supply dependins: upon the rainfall and their ability to secure and conserve it. All that was met, endured, and overcome, the difficulties and obstacles to success in the way of those early settlers will never be known or written. \\'ater there was in abundance, - the best, purest, and most wholesome that could slake the thirst and gladden the heart of man or beast, but it was from four to five hundred feet below the surface and the means of securing it an unsolved problem.

Among those who had come into this locality were two men, Mr. Edward Crewdson, a wealthy Englishman who had purchased three section of railroad land and was engaged in stock-raising, and Mr. Gregory J. Campau, of Detroit, who had purchased a large tract of land and was also a man of considerable means. These men i)ut down hydraulic wells and secured a never-failing and abundant supply of water to which the settlers had free access. The last-named even put down a large cistern into which a stream of water was pumped continuouslv for the use and accommodation of those who had no other means of securing the life-o-iving beverage. On several occasions ]\Ir. Crewdson deprived his cattle of the water they craved, in order that the wants of his neighbors might be satisfied. These men have passed away ; but monuments have been raised to perpetuate the deeds and memory of many whose claims to remembrance were not so well founded. But their names are cherished and their unselfish generosity remembered liy those whose gratitude could alone compensate for their kindness.

The first settlers in the vicinity northwest uf Broken Bow were J. D. Ream and C. H. Jeffords. J. D. Ream settled in the neighborhood now known as Custer Center, in the spring of 1880. To show the innocence of those two unisophisticated bachelors, who had only just enough farm education to be able to drive a yoke of o.xen hitched to a farm wagon, which contained all of their possessions, the old settlers tell this story at their expen.se:

As they began to leave the settlements on their journey west into the wilderness, they thought it would be a fine thing to have fresh eggs during the summer, in their new home, and in order to be able to enjoy this luxury they struck a bargain with a thrifty housewife for a dozen fine young chickens, the flock being shortly afterward increased by the addition of six hens which they got at an astonishing bargain from another housewife along the way. When they arrived near the present site of the city of Broken Bow they camped with Wilson Hewitt, and as that kind and accommodating pioneer invited the wayfarers to make their headquarters there until they got their claims located, they turned their chickens loose, inviting Mrs. Hewitt out to inspect the flock. :Slrs. Hewitt looked them over with the eye of an experienced housewife and then fell into such a fit of laughter that the boys thought she had gone crazy. When she recovered her composure she informed the young poultry fanciers that their flock consisted of eleven young roosters, one pullet, and six old hens that had probably come over in Noah's ark and that had long since passed the period of their usefulness as layers of eggs. The boys were of course very much crestfallen at their visions of fresh eggs were thus suddenly dashed to the ground, and also very indignant at the unfair advantage that had been taken of their ignorance by the women who had sold them the chickens. They promptly made Mrs. I lewitt a present of the whole flock and did not again attempt to embark in the poultry business until after they were married.

The next settler to locate in the vicinity was H. C. Reyner, with his wife and one child. He also imiMrtcd two mules and one cow, and from the latter Mrs. Reyner supphed the whole settlement with butter during the following .summer, churning it in a half-gallon crock. The baby. I'aul, grew to manhood and served as a soldier in the First Nebraska Regiment in the Philippine Islands. These settlers cele- ]>rated the Fourth of July. 1880. in a canyon south of the table-land which lies east of Merna, together with a number of others from the vicinitv of Broken Bow, among whom

I\Ir. Jeffords located just east of what is known in Broken Bow as the West Table, in a section of countr\- known at that time as South Muddy Flat. Among- the next settlers in the vicinity were R. M. Longfellow and Sebastian Neth, the latter widely known for his energy and business capacity, having served the people ably several times as a member of the county board of supervisors. The neighborhood was also favored in the acquisition of a couple of school teachers from Ohio, named Mary E. and Agnes A. Price, but they soon ended their career as school teachers and formed partnerships with two bachelors, Jeffords and Brown, and the result of these partnerships is a number of young bug-eaters who will probably figfure in Custer county history long after their parents are forgotten.

Setti,Emext Of Georgetown

In June, 1872, W. A. George, then a boy of eleven summers, with his father, mother, brother, and four sisters, bade adieu to his New England home and friends near the old witch town of S'alem. Massachusetts, and started westward by rail. Their destination was Nebraska. The boys, of course, had to shrink considerably in size and age whenever the conductor came around, in order that they might get through on half-fare tickets, but it may be remarked right here that they took full rations whenever the grub basket was passed around. At Omaha they saw their first Indians, robed in their red blankets, as they sold their trinkets alongside the train and through the car windows. They arrived at Gibbon, their destination, tired and hungry, and being turned loose on a box of sweet crackers, W. A. George ate so many of them that he has never had an appetite for that form of bread since. Gibbon was at that time an ideal western town, being the county seat of Buffalo county and surrounded by as fine land for homesteaders as the most exacting could wish. The sound of the hammer was heard from early morning until late at night. Many

W. A. George made his first trip to Custer county in 1875. They had some horses stolen and his father thought he had a clue to their whereabouts. He and his son started to hunt them up. They traveled about fifteen miles to the north the fir.st day and stayed all night with a settler whom the father hired to go with them the next day as a guide. They struck the South Loup river about where Pleasanton now stands. From there they worked up the river for several miles, seeing but a cowboy with a fine deer strung across his saddle, and a little further along they met another cowboy, who was carrying a saddle over his shoulder. He said that his horse had broken its leg and that he had to kill it and walk into camp.

Help Yourself

In a short time they came to a lone dugout, but no one was at home. On the door was a card which read "help yourself but for God's .sake shut the door." The "shut the door" part was in a good deal bigger letters than the rest of the sentence. They had not yet been educated to the point of walking into a man's house and helping themselves to whatever they might find, so they passed the invitation up. They did, however, dig some potatoes, which came in very handy at the camp-fire that night.

The next trip W. A. George made into Custer county was in 1878, when he came to visit a sister living near where Berwyn now stands. He made the trip on horseback and was so pleased with the conditions in the county that he made a resolve to locate permanently. Accordingly, he became a Custer county citizen some years later. In 1901 he wrote an account of his early experiences, mentioning some of his neighbors who were among the early-day landmarks, and from his writings of that day we gather the following:

In 1887 W. A. George returned to Custer county and located f>ermanently. He leased land of his uncle, H. W. George, and launched into the stock and farming business very extensively. Later he was able to buv the land and also additional territory, until at one time he owned 1550 acres of good deeded land and held a lease on 640 acres more of school land, all on the South Loup river.

The ne.xt year he bought out the small store at Georgetown, then operated by a firm named Sterk & Means, and for the next five years George ran the store as a side proposition while still improving and developing his ranch. The ranch kept growing, quarter-section after quarter-section was added until when Mr. George sold the place he had in all nearly 5,000 acres, on which were more than forty miles of fence with all kinds of barns, sheds, and outbuildings which go to make up good farm equipment.

John M. Morrison and J. D. Strong left the main road leading from Kearney to this upper country at a point in Buflfalo county, in Pleasant valle)', and went north through the hills,, following a very dim trail which persisted in growing dimmer, and which, as darkness came on, disappeared altogether. Their hope was to reach McEndeflfer's, on the ^luddy, that night, so they pressed on, over high hills and down long, winding canyons, one of them walking in front of the team to figure out the trail, and the other driving as directed by the guide,

A more gloomy and desolate prospect could hardly be imagined than that presented to them as the shades of night began to come down over the brown prairie, tumbled and piled about in the most haphazard manner, - high hills, long and terraced ridges, each line seeming higher than the other, - two "tenderfeet" alone amidst all this waste, was enough to make them wish they were back in civilization again.

After some hours - or ages, they could hardly tell which - - they began to see cattle and horses on the range, which gave them hope. They soon struck a broader trail, made by the stock, leading to the ranch, and had less difficulty in keeping the way. After a time they saw, just ahead of them in the darkness, something that they took for a post, and, believing they had come to a fence, Strong walked up to it and felt on both sides for the wires, but finding none, he put his hand on top of the supposed post and discovered to his consternation that it was a stovepipe, and still warm.

By the time his investigations had resulted in this warm discovery, Morrison had driven the team up quite close to him and demanded a reason for his stop. He explained the nature of his find, and suggested a careful backing up of the team for fear of a tumble through the roof, which would be likely to disturb the sleepers below. He had seen enough of '"dugouts" to know that they had discovered one, but just how to get inside they did not yet know. After getting the team out of all possible danger. Strong started on a voyage of discovery. The problem of the lay of the dugout was soon solved to the satisfaction of all concerned. Of course it was dug out of a bank, but just where the bank ended and the house united with it he could not make out in the darkness ; but he soon discovered that there was a space of about four feet between the end of the dugout - ^ which had a wall of logs at the end - and the bank which sloped towards the house. The way he discovered this opening was by the happy one of falling into it ; the way he gained admittance into the house was b)' rolling down the sloping bank and in at the window, and the way he aroused the household was by alighting on a promiscuous collection of tinware, which made noise enough to stampede a bunch of plow horses.

From the time he had started across the hills with the intention of asking the hospitality of Mr. McEndeffer's roof and board for the night, it had been with misgivings, if not with fear, as it will be remembered that he had been in some measure connected with the Olives in their fight with Mitchell and Kctchuni. He was a cattleman, and his interests were not enhanced by the settlers. What were Strong's feelings to find himself ])recipitated in that fashion into the house and finding himself clawing and kicking around among the dish pans and milk pails, while a gruff voice was demanding: "Who's there?" "Get out!" "Stat!" "Get a light!" "Get the gun!" and like exclamatory remarks, interspersed with more or less profanity and a chorus chiming in from other members of the family?

Had a team fallen through the roof it would have raised no greater row than did Strong's plunge through the window. But he finally extricated himself from the tinware, kettles, and frying pans, and beat a hasty retreat under cover of the darkness and the excitement of the enemy out through the window and around to the door, where he gave a loud rap, more in accord with civilized ways. When a light was procured and explanations made, and an inventory taken of the kitchen utensils to find what actual damage was done, they were made welcome, and as the ceremony of "breaking the ice" was not necessary after breaking his head and a milk crock, McEndeffer's cob pipe, and several other articles of less importance, they were soon comfortable and quite at home.

Custer Couxtv Pioxicer Honored

The next morning Strong and ^Morrison started for Merna, and at noon of that day they stood upon a hill that overlooked the beautiful valley that was to be their future home. ]\Ierna at that time consisted of one small sod house, with an annex of one room. The sod house was filled with sundry articles of merchandise, such as tobacco, soap, codfish, buttons, and thread. A cubby-hole in the wall served as the postoffice. which was kept by W. G. Brotherton. The annex was occupied by ]\Ir. Brotherton and his wife as a living room, and was presided over by Lizzie, whose chief business seemed to be looking after the wants of new arrivals and making them comfortable and happy.

One-half mile north of Brotherton's store, and the site of the future lively little railroad town of jMerna, they struck their tent on claims previously bought of Samuel N. Dunning and Floyd Field. Mr. EKmning had located farther north, on the Dismal river, going into the cattle business. When the B. & M. Railroad was extended through the Black Hills, a town was located near his home and given the name of Dunning, which perpetuates the name of one of Custer county's pioneers. Floyd Field also located on the Dismal river, or on the Loup, and from a modest beginning in the cattle industry, he and his brother, Fred, have grown into two of the wealthiest ranch owners in this part of the state. The postoffice of ]\Ierna was first kept by Mr. Dunning and the name of Merna was that of his youngest daughter. After the railroad had been built, and the town finally and for all time located by the Lincoln Townsite Company, it was quite natural that the infantile city, struggling for life and metropolitan honors, should be given the name of the original postoffice, so that Merna became a fixed geographical landmark.

Pelham Stretches The Quilt

The next day the journey of Mr. Strong and ^Ir. Morrison was uneventful, and they put up for the night with C. D. Pelham, at or near where the present city of Broken Bow stands. Pelham kept the postoffice and a small stock of groceries, and the first hotel in Broken Bow. They had often seen the puzzle of the innkeeper who could put thirteen men in twelve rooms, but Pelham could discount any such Cheap-John mathematical problem as that. He could easily stow away thirteen men in one small room. It is related of him on good authority that he had a most ingenious way of making six blankets suffice for a dozen or more guests. When late arrivals were ready to retire they were tucked snugly away under a blanket that was deftly removed from some guest who had gone to bed earlier, and who, being fast asleep, would never know the difference. Of course if the weather was very cold the uncovered sleepers were liable to wake up after a time and make a roar, but before this stage was reached the other fellow was sound asleep and the covering was restored to the original sleeper. By shifting the covering judiciously and systematically during the night, Pelham always succeeded in keeping all of his guests as warm as a pie in the coldest winter weather, although in cases of a rush of business everv one of them would be un-

A Flock Of Bachelors

Standing- at Brotherton's store in ^lay, 1882, and looking out over the valley spreading to the west and north, one could see a few marks that indicated the beginning of a small settlement. A group of "old bachelors" off to the northwest were holding various claims in various parts of the valley, but were mostly "batching" together in Al Thomas' dugout, where they discussed the future greatness of the country, and stu(hed the faces of the four queens they usually held in their hands, while they mentally cogitated upon an improbable consignment of femininity to be shipped out to supply wives for this miscellaneous assortment of masculinity.

It is only justice to these men who cut such a sorry figure at stag housekeeping, to say that they were all men of liberal education and refined tastes, and to leave behind them the influence of eastern homes and the society of women were the worst hardships they had to endure in the wild west. Most of them in time found good wives, who have helped them to make comfortable and happy homes. In this bachelor dive were Al Thomas, Joe Sitler, A. Sommers. John Jacquot, Len Thomas, Charles Thomas, Scott, Hanna, McWorthy, and others whose names are not now recalled.

At this time had one looked inside all of the houses within a radius of five miles from Brotherton's store, he would have found but three women within the entire circle - Mrs. C. P. Foote, Mrs. Brotherton, and Mrs. Dunning. \\'hat they lacked in quantity, however, they made up in quality, for no new settlement was ever blest with better women to mother the community than this trinity of maternal excellence. They have all gone on before to another country, but the blessings of all early settlers in this vicinity will follow them.

In the spring of 1875 many settlers left their homes at Gibbon, Nebraska, on account of the grasshoppers. Among the first to leave was Nc George and family. They took a little band of cattle and a lumber-wagon load of household goods and started for the Lou]). \\ill Trew and Nc's sister Cora (the late Mrs. A. L. Morgan) helped to drive the cattle. They were three days on the road, making the journey without any unusual event except a little trouble with one old cow. The men left Mrs. George in the wagon with her baby, seven months old, and went ahead to help Cora drive the cow. They were gone so long that Mrs. George became greatly worried, thinking that they had been made way with by desperate characters, perhaps. She made up her mind what she would do if they did not return soon. She climbed down from the wagon and went to the top of the hill to see if she could see anybody, and when she looked back to her team they had turned around and were headed towards Gibbon. Not daring to set her baby down she held him in her arms and ran as fast as she could to the team ; managing to reach one of the traces, she finally got to the bridle and stopped them. In a little while the men returned and the journey was resumed without further mishap. They reached their destination on Deer creek May 21, 1875. There was not another settler in that vast expense of prairie. Only a few transit cattlemen, with their small camps here and there, were their companions.

An old hunter's dugout was found in the bank along Deer creek and this became the home of the new settlers until another dugout, with more room in it. could be made. The cattle were allowed to roam at will, grazing on the prairie but staying near the water.

The country abounded in deer, elk. and other wild game. The men spent a great deal of their time in hunting and trapping. Often trappers spent much lime in this locality

One day when Mr. George was out hunting he found two Httle fawns hidden in the catsteps, while their mother was away feeding. He took them home and made pets of them. They were about a week old, he thought. They were red in color, like a calf, with white spots on their sides but were not as large as a calf. They lay in the brush until called to their lunch, when they would come bounding towards the house like two rabbits. They drank milk from a pail, sticking- their noses clear to the bottora of the pail, even if the milk covered their eyes. Mr. George kept them until they were a year old, when he sold them to the Fairmont Park Association, Philadelphia, receiving fifty dollars for the two. They were one of the unique attractions at the Centennial exposition at Philadelphia, in 1876.

In the spring of 1877 a fierce storm came up which developed into a cloud-burst. The rain fell only twenty minutes but in that time, the level prairie was covered with water. A hole as big as a stove pipe was washed in the roof of the dugout where Mr. George lived, and the water swept in in torrents. Luckily the door was directly opposite the opening and the water had a straight course through the house. After this the dugout was abandoned and a small log-house built. Later Mr. George moved this house two miles further down the river to the place where he now resides. An election was held in 1878 in which this log cabin was used as a polling place. Josh

Would Not Stand For The Name

A mail route from Plum Creek to Loup City passed near the George homestead. Nc George applied for the appointment of postmaster but the officials demanded his full name and could not understand his explanation of a name consisting of two consonants so Nc failed to be appointed. Mr. Kilgore received the appointment and the postoffice was called Georgetown.

the Loup. Most of them lived in hunters' dugouts. Those arriving during the years 1875 and 1876 were John E. Myers, John Mahon, and Christopher Hazelbaker.

The Haumonts

Belgium gave Custer county a contribution in th(' early '70s when Ed. and Jules Haumoi't settled in the county and located claims northeast of Broken Bow. During the first winter they endured many hardships, but managed to look after a small flock of sheep.

One of the unique achievements was the building of a two-story sod house with shingle roof, sod kitchen annex, and round-tower corners. This was the most aristocratic building ever constructed of prairie marble in the county. Edward Haumont is now deceased. His widow still lives on the place and is very resourceful in reminiscences of early days.

Where Broken Bow Now Stands

The first settlers on the Muddy in the vicinity of where Broken Bow now stands were Wilson Hewitt, who liail moved up from the South Loup countrv, and Dan Lewis, who came with a wife and two children. Mrs. Lewis' step-father, Henry Graham, came at the same time with Lewis. Lewis found a bachelor named Jesse Garringer holding by squatter's right a claim on which he had a dugout. Lewis bought the right and settled in the dugout. This place is now the Willis farm, just west of town. Graham filed on the Cornelius Tierney place, east of the present town. Later C. D. Pelham, !Moses Lewis, Ed and Alark King moved in. Mrs. Dan Lewis, who is now Mrs. Tuttle, had her experience in the dugout. It was a common experience for her to go out at night and wave a sheet to scare the cattle away. Her second daughter, Ida Lewis, born June 14, 1881, was the first child born in Broken Bow or vicinity.

county, which have not found their way in the published history of this county. Also what I have written is from direct dictations from some of these old settlers. Therefore they will vouch for its veracity.

Thirty years ago, in the summer of 1873, my parents, Lewis and Sarah Dowse, with two little babies - Willis and Eliza - came to Loup City. There they made their acquaintance with Mr. and Mrs. B. D. Allen. My mother stopped there while my father and Grandpa Wagner came on up into the Middle Loup valley in August. 1873. My father picked out his land and went back after his tools. He came back anil put up hay d u r i n g September and October. He left his tools and things and returned for his family, but lad to make two trips to (>and Island for provisions before he brought h i s family up. To his one claim taken that was what

Hard Times

[The following paper, read by Mrs. Alice Dowse Sims at the old settlers' picnic in Broken Bow, 1903, contains enough of historical value to entitle it to a place in this chapter. While some statements are duplicated on other pages, the article, nevertheless, presents the viewpoint of the first white person born in Custer county and one who was reared to womanhood amid the scenes and in the Times she describes.]

knowledge there was only in all Custer county, and is known as Douglas Grove, taken by Ed Douglas, an old soldier. Next Mr. Ohmes picked out his land and sent men up to begin building. In January, 1874, my parents moved from Loup City to Douglas Grove. Father came first with a load. In those days the ^liddle Loup had no bridges above the one they had just erected at Loup City. By the tiine he reached the banks of the river on the opposite side of the Grove it was very dark. He was uncertain as to the safety of the ice for crossing his team, so he unhitched and left it there. He then crawled across to Douglas Grove on his hands and knees. Mr. Doug- las had not moved up on his claim yet, but a man by the name of Henry Snell had arranged a kind of a dugout, a little above the Grove, the way of entrance being a small hole at the top to slide down through. It was nicely arranged, so as not to be easily discovered by Indians - my father thought by white people as well, before he was able to find it. He beat up and down the river, yelling and hallooing to awaken Mr. S'nell, but the resounding of his echo was the only response. Finally he gave it up. came back to the Grove, built a rousing fire to keep away any wild animals that might be lurking about, and rested as best he could till morning.

He returned immediately for mother and the children. From oft re])eated stories I have formed a little picture. I see my mother. then only twenty years old. glance over that lonely valley and note the wild herds of deer and elk grazing on the hillside or roving u]> and down the valley. I see her survey that insignificant little dugout, and imagine her heart beats wildly as she clasps those little ones close to her bosom, praying that God would protect them in that wild and lonely place. She has often told me of the lonely hours and days she spent in that solitarv hut. during the greater part of the next four months. Day after day she was alone with the babies and her little sister. Clara.

In the month of February my father had gone to Louj) City after a load, leaving his family in the care of Henry Snell. The evening they expected him home, supper was prepared and waiting. It was a very dark night and little Willie was fretful and began crying. Clara tried to think of something to say to keep him still. Jokingly, she said,

"There's some Indians at the door: let's go antl see them." At this the little fellow hushed and started with Clara to see the Indians. A small door to this little dugout had been made since the arrival of the family. As Clara and the baby slipped outside, there stood four large Indians right in front of them. Poor, frightened Clara darted back into the dugout, leaving the baby to entertain the Indians as best he could. They pushed their way into the room. The scent of the cooking supper had guided them to the dugout. Mr. Snell was sitting reading. They demanded supper, by grunts and motions. Mother seated them at the little table and placed before them all the victuals she had prepared. While they were filling themselves niv father arrived. Mother had on the stove a very large tea-kettle, full of b o i 1 i n g water. When they had <lrunk all the coffee in a large coft'ee pot, they grunted for more. Father kept filling the coffee pot, from the kettle of boiling water and pouring it in the large coffee cups, until the water in the teakettle was exhausted, then they seemed satisfied. They were not hostile Indians, however, but were some poor Pawnees whose ponies had been stolen by the S'iou.x Indians up on the North Loup river, .\fter they had eaten all they could get they wanted to pile down on the floor and go to sleeji. but father would not let them.

Mr. Council was then living in the Grove in Ed Douglas' house. Henry Snell took the Indians down and left them with ^Ir. Connell. Before they would leave him the ne^t morning, they grunted and motioned f(ir him to take them through the settlement down by Loup City. So he wrote a pass and gave them. The papers stated that they obtained fourteen square meals by presenting that pass, which read as follows : "These are four good Pawnees. Grease them and let them slide."

The following March. 1874, Grandpa W'agner came up again, accompanied by 'Sir. \\"i\\ Comstock. Air. Caswell, and Mr. Allen. They selected their land and returned for their families. ( Air. Comstock filed on his claim April 15, 1874.) A few days later Denio, Eubank, and Darnell come up, looked at land, and then they returned east for their families. About the latter part of April Grandpa Wagner, with Air. and Airs. Allen and their little baby, Jennie, came up and father boated them across the river. Then father hitched his team to the wagon and they all went just a short distance above the present site of Wescott, and began making garden. Grandpa Wagner said while they were making garden he would go and find something for dinner. He took his gun and strolled off across the hills. Shortly he returned with a piece of antelope, built a fire and soon had a roast prepared for dinner. Mr. and Airs. Allen went back and soon returned in time to tend to their garden, stopping with my parents at the time. In a few days Grandpa Wagner brought his family up. Father's little slab house couldn't hold them all, so Air. and Airs. Allen moved in with Ed Douglas for a few weeks.

Soon following came other men with their families - Air. Ed Eubank, Darnell, and Oxfords. About the last of Alay, Air. Allen and his family moved from the Grove into their new house, which was just one-quarter of a mile north of Captain Comstock's present dwelling place. Immediately Air. Comstock and wife came, and they stopped with Air. Allen till their little dugout was completed. Later other families came, but moved east again on account of the Indian scares.