Richardson County, Nebraska - N'ii, 1917

The Inundation Of 1858

Myself, wife, and son, William E. Dorrington, then known as Ebenezer, were the oldest permanent residents of Falls City, having resided here continuously since September 7, 1857. There were other settlers here at the time of our arrival, but they have either died, left, or removed transiently to return again. Falls City was not at that time a place of much importance. Archer then being the only settlement of any consequence in this section of the country. The old pioneers labored under discouragements, and had to endure hardships and privations, in comparison with which the late grasshopper depredations were but a trifle. Among the most noted occurrences of this kind was the inundation, freshet or flood, of 1858, being the longest continued and heaviest fall of rain, the most rapid and extended swelling of tlie streams and rivers, that this county has experienced in the last twenty years.

On the 1 2th day of July, 1858, the rain commenced falling, and there was a continued fall of rain for ten or twelve days, until the Nemaha and its tributaries burst over their banks, and inundated all of the bottomland of the county. The bridges on all of the streams were swept away, and Falls City left isolated and cut off from connection with the rest of the county. The Nemaha and its branches swelled to such an extent that the l)ottom farms were covered w'ith water, the fences carried away, and the farmers and tlieir families compelled to leaxe tehir inundated homes in .^^kift's or 1)\- swimming.

The country was full of distress ; half naked and starving families crowded into tlie little settlement of Falls City, until our provisions were exliausted, and want stared us in the face. Our little stock of flour, corn, meal, groceries, etc.. had become so small that there was necessity for immediate action, and citizens held a meeting, appointing James Buchanan and myself a committee to obtain supplies from the East. Mr. Buchanan and myself started ott upon our mission, but when we arrived at the Muddy, tliis side of Archer, we found the liridge swept away, and the creek impassable. Upon the other side of the creek, just above the dam - as there was an old mill there at tliat time - I first saw the lion. Elmer S. Dundy, then residing at Arciier. with wlmni ever since I have had a continued acquaintance and friendship. We hailed liim, and wished him to take our money and obtain our su[)plies from the river towns; he constructed a raft and undertook to cross the Muddy, just below the site of the old bridge, near where Henry Warneka was afterwards drowned, but the freshet increased to such an extent, that his raft was swept over the dam, and the judge had to swim over the creek to join us on the other side.

The judge procured the supplies for us and forwarded them immediately. Our county was then very sparsely settled, but a A'^ery great amount of property was destroyed, and it is still vi\idly remembered by all of the old settlers of the county, 'i'he liottom between Falls City and the Xeniaha. was so deeply overflowed that for months Sewell R. Jamison and others ran a canoe between 1^'alls City and Sauktown, which they called the "Sauktown express," and which was run for the purpose of borrowing flour and provisions from tlie Indian settlement, south of the Xemaha. There are other interesting facts in regard to this fre.shet, which I do not now recollect, but presume I have said enough for the purpose of the present introductory sketch ; hoping that my fellow pioneers will follow with their recollections hereafter.

Kulo Twenty Years Ago

In the summer of 1855. ^^'illiam Kenceleur, Charles Rouleau, and Eli Bedard, Kli Plant and m\self, left Sioux City for the southeastern portion of Nebraska then known as the "Half-Breed Tract," lying along the Missouri ri\er, to the width of alxiut ten miles, between the Great and Little Nemaha rivers, for the purpose of locating some claims, under the treaty made at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 183 1, allotting three hundred and twenty acres of land each, to certain half-breeds or mixed Indians, on this reserve. To allotments ujjon the tract, the wives of Rouleau and IVxlard and Kenceleur were entitled liy virtue of the treaty.

This section of the country, was then in its primitive State, inhabited by Indians ;md a few who were married to squaws or half-breeds, there being no improvements, except occasionally here and there, an Indian corn field.

There were but two white men in this vicinity, both Frenchmen; Charles Martin, a Canadian, an old mountaineer and a man of great historical knowledge, who hat! just come in from Salt Lake City, with a herd of cattle and mustang ponies, and who was then living near where Rulo now stands in an Indian lodge or teepee, with a Piute squaw for a wife, and one for a servant. The other was F. X. DuPuis, a Frenchman, living in a lodge with a squaw, the widow of the great Iowa chief, White Cloud, then deceased.

Charles ilartin was a most remarkable man, both as to appearance and character; he was tall and straight, with a spare face, long Roman nose, small grey eyes, and dark curly hair that fell upon his shoulders in ringlets ; he was an excellent horseman and an experienced hunter; his disposition was warm and generous to a fault, afifectionate, and trusting everything to his friends.

Future Wife Rescued From Death

Upon one of his hunting expeditions in the wild Indian country among the mountains, where no white men except the French fur trader, pioneer and trapper had ever ventured, ^lartin came across a wild tribe of Indians, who had lately lost one of the chiefs in battle with a neighboring tribe, in which they had taken captives from the enemy. By the Indian customs, when the chief was killed in battle, if any of the enemy had been taken captive, one of their number was to be immolated to appease the spirit of the dead warrior. \\'hen Martin came into the camp, he found that the Indian tribe was about to perform the funeral ceremonies of their deceaserl chieftain, and had erected a funeral pyre over his remains, upon the top of which, bound and expecting to be burned as a victim, sat a beautiful Indian maiden, between twelve and fourteen years of age. The heart of the honest trapper was touched, and calling the chiefs of the nation together, he offered them a couple of tents or teepees and a couple of horses, in all valued at about two luuidred dollars, to ransom the girl. The ransom was accepted, and the trembling maid, clasped in the arms of the hardy pioneer, became after the Indian fashion, his bride. She made him an excellent wife, being a neat housekeeper, good cook, and well skilled in all the arts taught to Indian girls: of tiiis there was proof in the gay buckskin suit she made for IMartin, decorating it tastefully with beads and other Indian ornaments ; a part of this suit afterwards came into the possession of Wilson H. Maddox. a pioneer of I'alls

One of the first stores started in Nebraska was put in at Rulo by Martin and his partner. F. L. Goldsl)erry, under the tirm name of Martin & Goldsberry.

In the summer of 1855 we located the present townsite of Rulo and of the Rulo mill site now occupied by Thacker S: Davis, on the Muddy near its mouth.

From the time we left the north line of Richardson county, until we struck the Kansas line, a distance of about twenty miles, we saw^ but one cabin, and that was the house of Stephen Story, where his present residence is, west of St. Stephens. There teing no roads or bridges, we were obliged to follow Indian trails, as near as possible, to ensure us a means of crossing the creeks on our route.

In the year 1856. Kenceleur. Bedard, Plant and myself, moved down and brought with us. Joshua Murray, James Kenough and two other men, and built a cabin near the north end of the now Muddy bridge, and commenced work on the Muddy mill at Thacker & Davis's present site. After the sawmill was in running order and prior to the grist-mill being attached, it was destroyed by fire, the work of an incendiar}-. We w-ere obliged to get all of our provisions from. the east side of the Missouri river, eight or nine miles from our v.'ork, and pack it on horses.

Upon the townsite of W'innebago there was then a Winnebago Indian village. Iowa Indians were camped in large numbers, all along the river, and near the northwest corner of the townsite of Rulo, was a very important burying ground in which rests the great warrior and head chief of the lowas. White Cloud, in all the glory of his station.

In the fall of 1856 we commenced the survey of Rulo: and in the spring of 1857, Major Stark, United States army, came on the reserve at a point .low known as Aspinwall, to issue certificates of allotment to those entitled tn the lands.

In the }ear 1N57 we cast our first votes, numbering twenty-three, for county otficers. ;it the nld town of Archer, voting for our old and esteemed friend, \\'. H. .Mann, for countv clerk.

The Riilo JJ'cstcni Guide, the first paper printed in Richardson county. was estabhshed by the Rulo Town and Ferry Company, under the management of a man by the name of Barret, who was succeeded by A. D. Kirk and Charles Hergesheimer as editors.

In the year 1859. the Indian agent having completed his mission on the reserve, withdrew his presence, and left us to the mercies of the white man. by whom we were received with friendship, attached to the balance of the county and introduced to and allowed the privilege of paying taxes like other men. which blessing we have not as yet been deprived of.

Pioneer Hardships

I moved in March, 1854, from. the place now called Mariette, in Holt county, Missouri, opposite St. Stephens (in this county), to a claim I had taken during the preceding February, up on what is called "Rattlesnake." in this county.

About the loth of March, 1854, I arrived at my claim with my family, we liaving been two or three days on our route and having to make a crossing over the south fork of the Nemaha in order to reach our destination. That spring I broke ten acres of land, and put in corn for myself, with four yoke of three-year-old steers, which I took from Henry Abrahms to break for their work; I also broke ten acres for Doctor Macey, about four miles down the stream, on a farm afterwards occupied by George Kelley, who was killed by David Rogers.

My claim was located on Rattlesnake creek, so called from a large den of rattlesnakes l:)eing killed upon it by a company of (iennans and Swiss, among whom were the \\'ittwers and Jacob Spring; Spring, a Swiss, was my nearest neighbor.

About the first of November. 1854. Spring and myself went to Savannah, Missouri, for provisions. Before our return a severe storm came up; we undertook to recross the Missouri river at Amazonia (near St. Joseph), but were prevented b}' the high wind, ice and snow ; we expected to get over the river at St. Stephens but could not on account of the storm, and were compelled to leave our cattle and wagons in ^Missouri and cross in a canoe to the coal banks above ^'ankton fa mile and a quarter above Rulo in Richardson coiint\i. where a man named Level was then living, passing the floating ice

.\t Level's home we obtained refreshments, and up(«i leaving, Mr. Spring got a full grown cat - cats then being scarce and valuable in this new country - and put it in a sack and placed the .sack in his bosom to shelter it from the storm in crossing the bleak prairies through the deep snow.

After wc had toiled ahjng against the cold wind, so strong that we had to turn our backs to it to hear each other, to a point upon the high prairie abo\e where Joseph Forney now resides, I heard a muttering from Mr. Spring, who was exhausted, and declared he would not face the storm any longer, and we were bound to die, and he showed me the cat he had carried in his bosom frosen stiff and hard. I encouraged him to proceed and we went on. At one of the points near the old Joe Burb.nnk place, where Benianu'n liowers" farm now is, we disco\-ered a light in the Crook settlement, and arrived at Isaac I'rooks'. hungry and half frozen. Here we refreshed ourselves and passed the night. The next day we continued our journey through the dee]) snow until we reached our homes at night. It was six weeks before we could cross over our cattle and provisions, and Spring was fortunate enough to bring home two cats, which, with their progeny, succeeded in ridding the country of mice. In that six weeks we had pretty hard diet, boiled corn, a little pork, soiue dried squashes, potatoes, and turnips we ha<l raised the season before, but no flour or groceries of any description.

In the spring of 1855 I sold my claim upon Rattlesnake and moved up .and locatetl a claim on I'.asley creek, near the claim of Jacob Fre^-. in what was later Speiser precinct.

The winter of 1H55-6 was terribly severe. .\ little before Christmas a iicax y sleet fell u])on a deep snow, and crusted it over, and it was almost im- |)ossil)lc to traxcl with teams and we were unable to get to the mills to have any grain ground, l-'or three weeks we had to subsist princi])ally upon boiled honn"n\- and \cnison. deer I)eing very plentiful and not able to escaj^e from the groves or run from the dogs on account of the ice and crust.

Tile troubles of m\ German friends in making hominy aft'ordetl me considerable aiuu>-enK-nt, as thev did not understand the process, and could neither get tlie hull oli' the corn nor the lye out of it. and as a result they manufactured a ma>^s of \ello\v ^tnff. which the\- could not eat, and l.niked like most anytliing- Imt Iioniiny. ]My wife and Mrs. Morrison, an elderly lady from Missouri, before the three months had expired, taught them the mystery of hulling the corn and sjetting- out the lye.

Died From Exposure

M the commencement of this storm we sent Samuel Bright, a German frdui Savannah, Missouri, to Salem for groceries for our families, and he w.is overtaken and lost in the storm, remaining in the wilderness on Honey creek all night, getting into the creek several times, and filling his boots with water; when he arrived at home, both of his legs were frozen to such an extent that tiefore he died they came off at the top of his lx>ots : his death took ])lace upon the night before Xew ^'ear. We were notified of his death 1)\ Jacob Spring, antl I, living four miles off, being the nearest neighbor, gathered as many of my neighbors as I could find, amounting in all to seven, to assist in burying him. As I was accustomed to the use of a needle, I was assigned to the dut\- of making his shroud, while the rest, the weather being extremelv cold, took their turns at digging his grave, and making the coffin. Tilt frost was .so deep that they could only make his grave four feet deep, .md then did not succeed in piercing the frost. The coffin was made of puncheons and old boards, as there was in those old pioneer times no better material to l>e provided; but I have no doubt that the spirit of my departed friend is as well and as happy as if he had been buried under the domes of a cathe<lral, with the richest casque to hold his remains. On our return from the funeral three of those engaged in the burial were badly frozen; Uncle James Morrison had his nose badly frozen and Jacob Frey and James -\loran barely escaped the loss of their ears. Aside from this exceedingly cold weather during six weeks, we had not much to regret on account of our \enison and homin\- diet, for in the spring all were fat and enjoying the best of health.

In the summer of j8Ao I sold the farm I had made on Easley creek to (ieorge (iird. and removed to Rulo, and while there, sickness was prevalent all along the Nemaha, and deaths were occurring every day from the bloody flux, which seemed almost to be incurable. In the neighborhood of Salem alone, there were sixteen deaths in one week from the epidemic. I carried several c<irpses from Rulo to Salem for interment within a short time, and the whole countr\- seemed to be in a shroud of mourning.

In aiiutlicr story appearinj^ in this series of articles by pioneers, niv friend, Uncle Thomas F. Brown, speaks of the killing of David Hudgins. 1 was acquainted with all the facts connected with that murder, and carried tile l)ody of Hudgins home to his family. Mr. Brown unintentionally makes a mistake in saying that David Moran killed Hudgins. Stephen Moran, a twin brother of David Moran, was the person who comiuitted the act, and was arrested, tried and acquitted. David Moran, a gentleman in everv respect, lived upon Hackberry Ridge in Andrew county. Missouri, while Stephen was a neighbor of mine.

Pioneer Trip In 1854

On the Jt)th da} of August. A. D. 1854, \\'illiam Goolsby, Faragus I'ollard, William Koberts, John .A. Singleton, John Crook, James Goolsby, Simmerly and Short, whose first names I do not now recollect, and myself started from Fillmore, Andrew county, Missouri, to make a tour through this then uninhabited region. We crossed the Missouri river, into Indian territory, then lielonging to the Iowa Indians, near what is now called Iowa Point, and took our dinner upon Indian lands. A\'e then cut out a road for our teams, up the branch to the site of the present town of Iowa Point, and struck through the prairie by the old Iowa mission. That night we camped near the waters of what is now known as \\o\i river. The next day we pursued our iounie\- o\er the iirairie, seeing wolves and deer in abundance and fre(|uently coming across elk horns and occasionally finding buffalo heads. The grass was tall and the vegetation rank and the soil as rich as was ever seen. The same da\ we crossed a beautiful stream, apparently adapted to mill ])urposes, and a large walnut grove and named this stream Walnut creek, wiiich name it now bears. We uncoupled the team and packed the wagon over the creek. We then traveled in a northwesterly direction about ten miles, until we came to another small stream upon whose banks a drove of Indian ponies were grazing: to this stream we gave the i^resent name of Pony creek.

This l)eing soon after the ratification of tlie treat\- with the Indians, there was no white settler or inhabitant in the country. There were no bridges, no roads or jjatlis. excei)t a very few Indian trails. About five miles northwest of i'on\- creek we came to the headwaters of ;i branch which had a large l)0(ly of tinil)ei- on it. We went down this creek a couple of miles, near to its mouth, and found a little spring seeping out of the bank where we camped for the purpose of getting good water that night and the next day.

Contrary Creek

1 told the boys that I would take a little walk and look at the timber. I followed the stream about half a mile down to its mouth and it was \'ery hard to follow, for which reason we, called it by its present designation, Contrary creek, I having stated to the boys upon my return to camp, that it was the most contrary creek I had ever seen. Contrary creek empties into a larger creek, upon whose banks, immediately before it emptied into the south fork of the Nemaha, were steep bluffs of rock. We named the stream Rock creek, which name it still bears. In my travels on foot I went over the south fork of the Nemaha and to a high bluff, upon the top of which was a monument, twelve or Hfteen feet high, laid up by the Indians, of loose stones. I climbed up to the top of it and looked around. From there I saw another river in a northeasterly direction running from the northwest and flowing into the Nemaha.

Upon m\- return to camp we took our horses and, crossing die Nemaha,' we came to the river I had seen from the monument, and followed it to its junction with the main river, which the Indians had already named the Nemaha: we called it the north fork of the Nemaha. Two of our company, John A. Singleton and \\'illiam Roberts, took claims for farming purposes on the south fork of the Nemaha; Singleton's claim was the farm now owned by Eugene Boyle, on whicli there was then standing over one hundred acres of fine timber. Another of our party. Short, took a claim for a mill-site at the junction of the two Nemahas ; and Singleton and Roberts staked a claim adjoining Short's for a townsite, upon a piece of land covered with a redoak grove, filletl with hop vines and innumeraijle weeds, where the town of Salem now stands. .Vt this place we left Singleton, Roberts and Short, upon their claims, w ith the team, and crossed tlie north fork of the Nemaha on horseback. We traveled up the ncjrth fork on the east side. William Goolsby, Faragus Pollard, James Goolsby, John Crook and myself took claims at intervals, on the east side of the north fork of the Nemaha river.

After staking our claims we turned pur course, started for home and came to a branch where there was a small grove with deer in it ; this we named Deer creek, by which name it is still known, and took our dinner there where John ("rook now resides. \A'e held a council to decide upon which ri/ute to piirsuc upon our return (supposing that we were over fifty miles west of the Missouri ri\er, when we really were within Init fifteen miles of it.) We then left the Nemaha valley, and struck for the Missouri, aiming to keep the river in sight, so as not to be beyond the reach of water and camped for the night in a hickory grove upon a small stream, where our slumljers were disturljed at intervals until day, by the screams of the wild cat. This branch we named Wild Cat, near the mouth of whicli is the farm of J. 1'". Harkendorff. The next morning we went about half a mile north, to a large creek where 1 fell <M my horse in crossing and got wet. and we called the stream Soak creek, but it is now known as the Muddy.

From the Muddy we pursued our journey, in a northerly direction, over the prairie and dividing ridge, often becoming bewildered and half lost, for al)0Ut five miles, when, to our astonishment, we discovered the river bluffs of the Missouri at no great distance. Here we struck an Indian trail and followed it through ravines and over the hills, to an Indian trading post, in a little log house on the banks of the Missouri, kept by a Frenchman or halfbreed of the name of Deroin, where St. Deroin now stands. By firing our revolvers we succeeded in arousing a man and a woman on the Missouri side. who came over in a small boat and took us over, taking one horse at a trip.

On April 17. 1855, I removed my family to a claim on Muddy creek, about a mile north of the present site of Falls City, and abandoned my claim on the Xemaha. Here I started the first prairie farm in the vicinity. The country was full of wolves, deer and wild turkeys, and fish was so abundant in the small streams, that we could kill them with clubs. The first male child Itorn in the settlement was Frank Leechman (still residing on the same farm north of Falls City in 1917.) The first election held in what is now Richardcounty was at a log house in a grove lielonging to a man named Level, in the fall of 1834, when there were about ten votes polled. The candidates, some of them, resided in other states. C"ol. J. F. Sharp was elected to the Senate (or council), as it was then called, from what is now Richardson, Pawnee and parts of both Nemaha and Johnson counties, resided then at Glenwood, Towa, and John A. Singleton, elected to the House of the Territorial Legislature, had a family in Missouri.

Up The Nemaha In 1854

On August 18, 1875, Mr. T. F. Brown contributed the following: Coming from Caloway county, Missouri, in June, 1854, I met with John liudgins, Phelan Belan and Darius B. Ferguson, residing in Andrew county, .Missouri, who intended to make a trip west into the Indian territory. We crossed the Missouri river at a point near where Amazonia now stands, into the Indian territory, and into what is now Doniphan county, Kansas. We tra\'eled up the lx)ttom through weeds, seven or eight feet high, and timber, making our journey hot and uncomfortable, until we came across a springgushing out of the bank or verge of the rolling prairie. Near this spring there has since been a townsite laid out called Smithtown. At this spring wo refreshed our weary frames and camped a little north of the present site lit Troy Junction. As we were dismounting we ran into a flock of wild turkeys, and shot one of them, whose bones we had the pleasure of anatomizing for our e\ening repast. We brought our bread with us, and had our tin cups swung to our belts, and when we wished for a cup of coffee, we put our cups filled with water, over the blaze of the fire, and dropped in a pinch or t\vo of ground coffee. The next day we came to the California trail from St. Joseph, Missouri, and followed it until we came to the Iowa farm, or mission. Mr. Irwin, the preacher at the mission, advised us to explore the Wolf river country, but stated that there was an Indian reservation in tliat region l)elonging to the Mississippi Sacs.

Upon examining the W'oU River countrx", we were delighted with it, but afraid to select any claims on account of the uncertainty of the location of the reserve. We then followed the California trail until we came to the Xemaha, just south of the Nebraska 'line, where we camped for the third night. Here we found a small log cabin belonging to a man by the name of lieals, from Pennsylvania, who had a wife and one child. Out on the divide about twenty-five miles southeast of the Nemaha, we met a covered wagon belonging to an old gentleman by the name of Davenport. In the wagon was his family, his daughter - the widow Hershberger. afterwards Mrs. Leachman. to whom came the honor of being the mother of the first

]\Ir. Davenport made a claim about two miles below this point, and died there that fall. His widow married a man by the name of Clifford, who in the winter of 1858-59 killed a young man who was working; for him, in a fight, upon his claim near the Hay's bridge, in Muddy precinct, where C. Van Deventer later resided. His wife frightened by the aft'ray, ran out upon the prairie and perished in the snow in a vacant cabin near the stream called Whiske\ run. not far from the David Ouinlan farm. In the fall of 1859. tlie grand iur\- at the session of the district court held at Salem in September, found an indictment against Clifford for murder. Daniel Hudgins and myself were members of the grand jury. Upon his return home towards liasley Creek, Hudgins got into a personal affray with David Moran, and IMoran cutting his throat, he died in a few minutes.

At the camping place near the Beals' cabin, we were annoyed and deprived of our rest bj' innumerable mosquitos, which troubled us so much that though we held our heads over the smoke, we could not get rid of them. Here Belan and Hudgins left us for the high prairies, expecting to escape the mosquitos. but returned in about an hour saying that they were worse on the prairies tiian in the l)ottom. They wished us to move our camp, but w'hen we refused, the\ left I'^rguson and myself, and we saw nothing more of them during the trip. The next da\ we proceeded up the Xemaha to explore the country, and came across a man In- the name of Newton, who, with his family, li\ed in a cabin al)Out five miles this side of the present site of Seneca, Kansas, and at a point where a townsite was afterwards surveyed, called Central city.

Newton went with us up the Nemaha, and we passed the crossing from J't. Leavenworth to Kearney, and looked over the country beyond where Seneca now stands, Iwt did not select claims, as the soil was too sandy and sterile to suit us, though the timber was excellent. Upon the high prairie at this point an Indian boy, about fourteen or fifcteen years of age. came to us on foot, walking very fast, with his blanket around him. and his bow and arrow to shoot game for his subsistence. He was on the trail of a band of Pottawatomies who had passed about four or five days before, on their route t(j Minnesota. AA'ith no food but what he could procure with his bow and arrow, he pursued and overtook the band Iiefore they reached their destination.

We tlieii retraced our steps and pursued our course down the Nemalia, l)elo\v where we had first struck it, and found settlers near where Cincinnati (in Pawnee county, near Du Bois), or Fries' mill now is located, to-wit ; loseph P'ries, Christian Eobst and Robert Turner, who were living in cabins with their families, where they had been for a month or two.

We came down about three miles (in the present confines of Richard.son count\ ). where we found a man by the name of Henry Alirams, in camp with his family, with a cabin partly erected.

A1)out a mile from there I took a claim, blazed the trees and laid a foimdation for a cabin on the first clay of July, 1854, on the farm where I now reside and during the summer I erected a cabin, near where I had laid the fnunda.tion. being the settler farthest east upon the Nemaha.

Late in the fall, we struck for the Missouri river to see it we could find any settlers. We discoveretl no signs of a settlement until we reached the claims of Singleton, Roberts and .Short, where Salem now stands.

In a grove, north of the after-site of Archer, and upon the farm where \V. -M. Maddox now resides, we came to a log cabin of a man named Levels, who liveil there with his two wives and a large family of children.

Game was very plentiful, especially turkeys and deer: fisli in the streams were so tame that you could kill them with clubs as they ran_ between your legs in the water, some of them two or three feet long.

In the spring of 1855. I enclosed one hundred acres upon my farm, and broke twenty acres, .\bout July. 1855. the settlement having extended towards the east part of the county. T liroke land in the neighborhood of .\rcher. wliere now are the farms of ^^'illiam Maddox. Isaac Crook. Jesse Cniok and \Mlliam Goolsbv.

Early Political Items

On August 26. 1875. -^t''- Tsaac Crook wrote the following: In 1856 I resided in .\ndrew county, Missouri. .-\.t that time there was great excitement among the poe])le, in regard to Kansas and Nebraska, and frequent meetings were held, in which it was firmly resolved by the large Jandholders and slaveholders, that K;insas should belong to the South, wliile thev were willing to give u]^ Xeliraslca to tlie North, :is Iieing a colder and more sterile country. Tor this reason, apprehending trouble in Kansas, I relinquished my idea of settling there, and about the tenth day of April, 1859, moved over to Nebraska. The next day I paid fifty dollars towards the erection of a bridge at .Vrcher.

\Mien I arrived here the follcjwing- were the county officers, being the first elected in Richardson county, to-wit : John C. ?\liller, probate judge ; 1'". L. Goldsberry, county clerk; Lewis Misplais, county treasurer, and

The first court held in Kichardson county was convened at Archer, then county seat, at Judge ^filler's large log cabin, whicli served as court house, jail and tavern, all in one.

Archer was at that time quite a lively little place. Kirk and Goldsbern,- and John P. W'elty kept stores, and there were two hotels and a blacksmith shop here, besides a number of dwellings. 1 resided near Archer, and through court time had to keep a public house, and entertained a large number of suitors, witnesses and jurors; and for this purpose butchered and brought ()\ er from Missouri, in bacon, sixty fat hogs^ which I had to keep out under the sheds on acc^^amt of my house being filled with boarders. My wife, one night, cut upon a large ham, which was covered with bran, and the next morning the ham was missing. My wife and Jesse Crook's wife followed the trail, by the bran, through the brush, until it struck an Indian trail on the prairie. I followed the trail until I came to a neighbor's house, where I discovered two of my hams hanging up. I said to the man of the house: "Jim, have you got a shot gun? I want to borrow one; the Indians have been stealing my meat, and I mean to kill them when they come again.'' He turned pale and said he had no gun. I told him I would lx)rrow one from \\ illiam Gool.sby. I returned home and had no further trouble from stolen hams.

Our county ofiicers exercised jurisiliction over what are now Richardson, i'awnee and Johnson counties, there being at that time no settlements of consequence west.

In the f.-all of 1856, James H. Lane and his men. on their route to central Kansas, where the troubles were commencing between the Free State and Southern men, passed and stopped several times with their arms, ammunition and artillery. They buried some of their military supplies on Pony creek. south of the later site of I'alls City. They purchased from me, at good prices. one thousand pounds of bacon, twenty sacks of flour and a wagon load of apples which I bad brought from Missouri. .\ week or two before their lirst arrival, spies came to my liouse frnm both sides, reconnoitering, and as thev knew I was from Missouri, lioth Xorthern and Southern men wanted to know what I was doino- (,ver here, hut I gave them evasive answers to their (|uestions.

Price Of A Life

.\s James H. Lane was frequently at my house, and in my company traveling through the country, and boarded at Rickard's house, about a quarter of a mile from mine, I was ofifered ii\-e thousand dollars by a company of men in Missouri, when 1 was over there purchasing sujjplies if I would cause Iiis death. I told them I would not kill a man for anything, and the\ replied that his death would save the lives of thousands of others.

In the fall of 1857. I ran for county treasurer against jNIisplais and McDaniel, and was elected, three hundred and forty votes being polled. W. H. Mann was selected county clerk: Samuel Keefer, sherifif, and Joseph Yount. .\rnett Roberts and George Coffman. county commissioners. There were then three election precincts - Archer, .Salem and Speiser.

Tn that year the sheriff collected the taxes, but the next Legislature changed the law and made it the duty of the treasurer to go into every precinct two days every year, giving ten days' notice by posters in each precinct, of the time of the collection therein.

In the fall of 1858 the taxes were as follows: County tax, three mills on the dollar: territorial tax, two mills; county school tax, one mill; making a total tax of six mills on the dollar. My tax that \ear was thi-ee dollars, upon the same amount of property, excejit real estate, now taxed at from fifty dollars to sixty dollars.

The half-I)reed line was run in the winter of 1857 and the coimty seat removed from .Archer to Salem, u])on this account. Judge Miller resigned his office and l->(|uire Trammel was appointed probate judge, and he and .Mann, the countv clerk, removed their offices to Salem, where the county seat remained until iSfio, when it was removed to Falls City, where it now is, there being ;i spirited contest and several hotly-fought elections upon the subject.

lifc'ii rapidly settletl up and the pcipulatiiin increased largeh'. S(i tliat there were nver eight iuindred votes polled. Vi\ opponent was Samuel K. Roberts. of Srdem. and Israel Ma\ . of Rulo, but I received as many votes as both of iheni. W. H. .Mann and Samuel Keefer were re-elected countv clerk and sheritif. The taxes remained the same, with the exception of a small road tax.

just before my second election, in the collection of taxes. I went into ditterent neighborhoods, where there were several widow women who had grown sons and sons-in-law. I gave each of them a tax receipt free and upon the ensuing election, their influence was strong in my favor, I getting everv vote in their resjiective \icinities. After tliat. not lieing a candidate. I was not so liberal and forgot niv fair friends.

At this time we had two weekly newspapers lately started in the county, the i\ii\o ll'csfc-ni Guide, at ivulo. and the Hroad J.iv, at Kails City.

In the early \ears of the county, the clerk's otifice was held at the county se.it. but the treasurer and probate judge had their offices in their hats, pockets and some crann\- in their dwelling houses, .\bout twelve years ago. \\'illiam (ioolsby and myself and some townspeople, used to go out about six miles north of this place to hunt wolves, on a trip of alx)Ut six miles square or more, and thought that when my grazing land gave out that I would herd my horses and cattle here, as there seemed no prospect of it ever being settled. About a week ago I ^vent over the same tract, and t(T m\- surprise, found it one succession of lanes running through rich farms, upon which were substantial barns and fine old-fashioned Dutch houses.

Pioxeer Hunters Life

Mr. William G. Goolsby contributed the following on September q. iHy^ : T accomp.anied Jesse ("rook upon bis first tri]) thr(^ugh this coimtv. in

August, 1854. when the country was uninhabited and I do not think it necessary to give a narrative of that journey, as the incidents related in that sketch are correct in all material particulars. As stated by Mr. Crook, I then took a claim upon the north fork of the Nemaha, but I became sick while up near Salem and was in poor health until my return to Missouri, and left in such [)oor conceit with Nebraska that I firmly resolved to abandon my claim and never visit it more; but upon the return of health I became once more anxious for the adventures and perils of pioneer life.

Accordingly, in February, 1855. I raised a band of seven men, among whom was Jesse Crook, and we equipped ourselves thoroughly for the purpose of revisiting the range of our expedition of the summer l^efore. We crossed the Missouri river on the ice, and spent eight days in Nebraska. In the spring of 1855, I returned with Jesse Crook and helped him break his farm.

In October, 1855, I bought from Jesse Crook, the claim upon which I made a farm and now reside. On the 23rd day of March, 1856, I removed my family to my claim. That spring and summer game of everv kind was so ])Ientiful, that I sent word to an old hunter friend of mine. Doctor Impey, in Andrew count)-, Missouri, to come over and bring his greyhounds. He was so Inisy that he could not come, but sent word for me to come over and get the dogs. I went over, and the Doctor calling in his dogs, six in numljer, hade me choose. I refused to take the privilege, and he selected out two of the finest I have ever seen and gave them to me. With the assistance of these (l<igs on my return to Nebraska, I supplied the neighlx)ring settlement with \enison, and made such inroads upon the wolves, wild cats and coons, that I ric<|uired through southern Nebraska the name of the "old wolf hunter." In one half day my hounds brought in seven deer, and there were many more in sight, but I would not let them run any longer,

For two winters I employed myself solel\- in furnishing wood and feed, and in hunting. In the \\ inter of 1856. Broadus Thompson and another gentleman from St. Joseph, Missouri, visited my residence. I had two large log cabins, the sides of which were lined clear around with hides of e\'ery description. The next morning they took a look at the deer, wolf, wild cat, coon and other skins which comprised my principal assortment, for that winter I took a sled full of hides of wild animals to St. Stephens, our principal market place, besides selling three times as many to Burbanks and other fur traders at mv own house.

Mr. TlKimpscii. un liis return to St. Joseph, published an account of his trip in the St. Joseph Gazette, occupying over two cokimns. In this article lie described the amount of venison I had on hand, the array of skins I displajed and the se\en dogs which accompanied . me on my expeditions, and stated that on their visit here he and his comrade had got lost upon the prairie surrounded by wolves and would have l>een destroyed by them, if it had not been for my opportune appearance \\'ith ni}' dogs. There was some romance in Thompson's story, but it was a fact that there were multitudes of wolves thronging" the prairies in every direction. Harkendorff, Misplais and myself, were the only settlers in the region, and from my house to Nemaha city on the Missouri river, was one unbroken iuuiting ground, haunted only by wohes. I used to call it my hunting ground, never expecting to see it settled, and calculated upon it as my stock range in the future, as mentioned by Isaac Crook in his sketch. Xow it is a succession of rich, well-cultivated farms.

At Salem, when I came there followed by my dogs, I was often asked 1j\- Mr. Hare, as to how in the world I found it possible to feed so many dogs ; I used to reply with a laugh, that "I would not have a dog which could not ii1)tain feed for himself."

I had a log cabin twehe by fourteen, which I fre(iuently had full for uKjnths from floor to roof with venison, and was never without it for years. To my neighbors I gave away venison - a ham at a time and never thought of charging them for it. The Crooks would frequently come over to my cabin on horseback and carry away a sackful at a time. In the winter of 1856 deer were more plentiful than ever, and I frequently saw droves of fifteen or twenty feeding together on the l:)0ttonis. One day another man and myself standing together, counted at one time, five gangs of deer on the prairie in sight; wild turkeys, prairie chickens and all other kinds of game were abundant. For the lirst two years Muddy creek was filled with fish ; since that time they have been more scarce. I often heard the women tell of catcliing tish in the creek where thev were washinp.

Kari.V Iiistoky Of Sai.Em

On September 22, J 875, Mr. J. C. Lincoln wrote die following: Salem being one of the first of the early settlements made in Richardson county, Nebraska, one word from tb.is locrdity may not be out of place. The precinct of Salcni. now consisting of town one, range fifteen, east of the sixth principal meridian, upon the Jirst organization of the county, comprised about two-thirds of the present county - of Richardson, there then being only two election precincts in the territory at present constituting our county and a portion of Pawnee and Johnson counties to-wit : Archer and Salem. There are now fifteen precincts in Richardson county alone. The first settlement made in this precinct was by Thomas R. Hare, J. W. Roberts, John A. Singleton, in the summer and fall of 1854, they taking claims upon lands that year opened by the general government to actual settlers. Mr. Hare purchased his claim, one hundred and sixty acres, with the mill privilege at Salem, on the north fork of the Xemaha, for fifty dollars, from a man by the name of Short, mentioned in another story in this series by Jesse Crook, as a man accompanying him on his tour through this region in 1854. In 1855 Thomas R. Hare erected his grist- and saw-mill at this place, upon the claim purchased from Short, which he subsequently entered; the water power proved excellent, and the property has been improved from time to time and enhanced in value, and the mill property with two acres of land, sold last spring (in 1875) for fifteen thousand dollars.

Sirveved Townsite Of Salem

In March, 1855, I located here and, associated with J. \V. Roberts and Thomas R. Hare, laid out and surveyed the town of Salem on the site where it now stands. It had much the appearance of a wilderness at that time, and we were compelled to burn ofif the grass and weeds, which were from two to three feet high, before we could complete our survey.

In May, 1855. I erected a store house and commenced selling goods at this place, it Ijeing the first general assortment of goods brought into this county.

Tlie first load was hauled for me from FiHmore, Missouri, in Andrew county, l)y Jesse Crook, and I gave him a pony for his services, which he afterwards sold to the Indians for sixty dollars in gold. At first, white customers were scarce, but the Indian trade sustained me until the immigration of 1856, which gave new life and impetus to trade, and business revived, and has continued good ever since, giving evidence that the selection Was a gooil nna as a business point. The old store building still stands and has been occupied u]) to this time as a place of business - a monument to our early settlement.

In the spring of 1855, there were some claims made, but few actual settlers, in the western part of the county. To the best of my recollection there were not over three or four resident farmers within fifteen miles west of Salem. The early settlements were usually made along the streams, the object of the pioneers ljein<,' to secure hottdin lands and tiinl)er as a specialty, thev believing Uiat uur upland prairie was non-productive, fit alone frir grazing;, and would furnish for all future time, one boundless and extensive field of pasture that never could be cultivated. A few years of practical farming has shown what errors men are liable to make in regard to the resources and worth of a new country. The soils of our uplands stand unequaled in fertility, and the most desirable and valuable locations are to be found upon the very land that our earliest settlers refused to occupy. While prairie lands have increased in \alue. from year to year, timber lands have decreased in this respect, selling lowi-r at the present time than they did ten years ago.

Salem Created A City

Salem was organized as a city, with Samuel H. Roberts as mayor, in i<S56. The same season the first sale of lots was made and the price ranged from fifteen to forty dollars. The lots sold at that sale are now all improved and man} of them have either good substantial business houses or valuable residences thereon.

The first house over the north fork of tiie Nemaha at Salem, was built in '857 by Thomas R. Hare. In the spring of i860, a bridge was undertaken to l)e made over the south fork of the Nemaha, under the supervision of a man In- the name of McPherson, to be paid for by public subscription ; the bridge gave way when nearly completed, and one of the carpenters employed in its erection, James Sperry, fell with the falling arch and broke his arm. Later, a new iron bridge has been erected by the county near the same place.

The town of Salem is an old one in the history of our county : its progress has l)een slow, yet it has increased, and continues to increase, in improvements, population and wealth, though far behind the improvement of surrounding countr\-. which is a true indication of its healthy condition as a place of business, and a site for substantial investments.

Our early settlement suffered many inctjn\eniences and hardshi))s as an incident of pioneer life, which I have not opportunity at present to relate. We obtained our supplies, particularly provisions, from Missouri, and frei|uently with great ditficulty. Some of the details of our trials from high waters, overflows and inundations, have been truthfully stated by other articles in this .series, therefore I shall not endeavor to give thein in detail, but simply Iiear witness, so far as my memory serves me, to the truth of the sketches already transmitted to you l)y early pioneers.

Early Indian History

Although the migrations and proceedings of the Indian tribes of this \iciiiity may not be considered a part of the history of Richardson county, tiiey certainly have intimate connection with it. At your request I will give y.in a brief sketch of incidents in my early career, and my knowledge of the early history of Indian tribes occupying territory in this county and the country adjoining. I have pas.sed all my life among the lowas, except two years in the IvHstern states.

! was born in March. !<S_'c), nn the north fork of the Platte river in XAbraska, north of Vt. Kearney, at a temporary trading post kept by my father, Martin Dorian, a b>ench fur trader. At that time, tlie pioneer traders .imong the wild tribes of Indians, then hunting and roaming through this then .ilniost unknown country. Iniilt their temporary shanties or trading posts for the w inter, at different points, to furnish the Indians goods in exchange for fin-s and hides, obtaining their supphes from time to time from their main ]iosts on the Missouri river, Cabany's and Sarpy's, who in their turn were supplied from St. Louis. Caliany's post was near the Yellow Bank, a few miles iiortli of the si)ot where the city of Nemaha, in Nemaha county, adjoining Kichardson on the north, now stands. Peter Sarpy, an old French pioneer ;uk1 fur trader had a post on the site of the present town of P.ellevue, Sarpy coiintv. Nebra.'ika, and there was also an Indian mission at tiie same place.

In 1836 I was seven vears okl, luy father sent me to the mission school at St. Toseph, Missouri, one hundred and fifty miles south of my home. For si.\ \e;irs I remained at school, a jiart of tlie time in Pennsylvania

Tile lowas. Sacs and 1'oxes crossed over the Missouri river, from P.uchan.in county, Missouri, in 1837. and kxated upon Wolf river, near the present town of Highland. Doniphan county. Kansas, where they remained until the fail of '854. Frank Whitecloud was our head chief, and under his command, fascinated bv strange adventures and constant warfare, attended by buffaki hmits and war dances, of this kind of life, I entered the warpath against the ( )mahas. in 1843, under Whitecloud. and remained upon the plains and prairie wilderness until 1847: experiencing all the vicissitudes, thrills and adventures of ,1 wild Indian life. P.efore entering the warjjath T served as interpreter

In 1854 the lowa.'^. Sacs and Foxes remmed from Wolf river to their present reservation in Xebra.ska and Kansas, and that year the two Indian villages of Nohart and Sauktown were built in Richardson county. Xohart. where there is now a postoffice and a small Indian village, is the Iowa agency, and was named for their head chief, Nohart.

On the 6th day of May, 1847, I started on a visit to the Eastern states, stopping in the principal cities, especially New York. Philadelphia and Washington and returned to Kansas upon the 15th day of August A. D. 1848.

In July. 1S59, I was appointed Indian interpreter for the lowas by Alajor Daniel \ anclerslice, the agent, which post I have filled ever since, being reapjiointed l)y ^lajor John A. Burljank, of Falls City, Nebraska. July i, 1861.

The account of the iinmdation of 1858. given by .Squire Dorrington in another article of this series was correct, though it did not effect our reservation to any great extent. The highest water uix)n our territory was in 1843, when the whole ctnnitry in southern Nebraska and northern Kansas was flooded to a greater degree than ever known before, or since.

Since my earliest knowledge, Moless has been the liereditary head chief of the .Sacs and Foxes of Missouri, which he still remains. Petoken. died in T867 311(1 Mas-sau-quit. in 1859; they were both chiefs of marked ability and perhaps possessed of brighter intellects than !Moless. but they were not hereditar\- head chiefs.

There arc two classes of chiefs in our tribes, hereditary and appointetl. Our first head chief within my memory was Whitecloud who died in 185 1. and was buried near Rulo, in our most noted burying ground, as mentioned bv iv H. John.son in his sketch. He was head chief by hereditary right and possessed the affection and confidence of his trilje to a very high degree.

Xohart, ;dso hereditary chief, was his successor until his death in 1863, when La-gar-ashe was appointed head chief by Major P>urbank, Indian agent, and is still in that office. To-hee is second chief of the lowas .and ^fo-hee. third ciiief.

\-'nr sunic c.-inse. or combination of causes, which is difficult correctly to define, nur tril)es ha\e diminished and dwindled away, instead of increasingfur the la>t twenty \ears.

tlieir agency in this county: now they number only two hundred and twenty. Tlie Sacs and Foxes of Missouri mustered over three hundred; todav there are onlv about ninety left.

Pioneer Exploits

Gentlemen : I see that )'OU are soliciting sketches of early times, from the old pioneers and settlers of Richardson county, and although I am not one (if the earliest actual settlers, as a pioneer, I probably explored the wild and uninhabited territory as early as any white man living.

1 was born in 1807, at Carodelet, south of St. Louis, Missouri, where I was reared. My parents were of French descent, and coming from Louisiana, were called Creoles. Though raised in the suburbs of what is now a large cit}', and receiving every advantage of education, and enjo}ang every luxury of civilized life, the adventures, sports, perils and hardships endured by a |)i(ineer, presented strange attractions and fascinations for me.

In 1816, when only nine years old, I entered the employment of the Northw estern Fur Company at St. Louis, Missouri, and traveled in a northwesterly direction to the mountains. That winter, in company with some Indians, I camped within the limits of our present county upon our journey westward. ( )ne day we went out upon a hunt and found a drove of seven hundred elk, which we drove down upon the ice of the Missouri river at the mouth of the Xtmaha, near where Rulo now stands, anfl slaughtered them. From the venison and elk meat procured in this manner we made our winter's provisions.

i'^or man\- \ears [ traveled back and forward through the wild country, to ni\ home near St. I-(iuis, enjoying the excitement of a pioneer hunter's life, sometimes being in tlie compan\- of accomplislied gentlemen as well as of our wild Indian guide.

I have all iny life been very fond of hunting, and the sports of the chase and the wilderness were my chiet pleasure, and have been accounted for man\- >ears as an excellent marksman and most successful hunter.

In 1830 in company with a b'rench physician, who l)elonged to our party, r started out upon a hunting expedition, and as we arrived at a spot just alx)ve where Nebraska cit}- now stands in Otoe county, we came across a buffalo, and after a vigorous and exciting chase fur miles we succeeded in killing him. when ,a strife ensued 1>etween the Doctor and nivself as to who should have the

The oldest pioneer e\'i)lorer of tliis countr\ is /epli\Te Rencontre, wlio al a very advanced age is now living in Dakota Territory, and I came next.

In 1856 I settled u]>on my present farm upon the precinct named after myself - Barada precinct in Richardson county. Nebraska, lying between St. Stephens and Muddy precincts, and north of Ohio precinct, comprises township 7,. north of range 16, east of the sixth principal meridian.

I'irmin Douville was the flr.st settler in the precinct and I was next. \\'hen 1 look around me and see the smiling farms, expensive dwelling houses and comfortable homes that deck the prairies of Richardson county, I can hardly realize that it is the same territory I explored in 1816. At that time the whole region was designated upon the maps as the Great .\merican Desert, in the then -Missouri Territory, and it was supposed that it was entirely unfit for cultivation, while it now rivals, and even surpasses, in the amount and quality of its productions, the most fertile of the Eastern states.

I have before spt)ken of Zephyre Rencontre as being the oldest living pioneer through this tract of countr\-. He passed through here and accompanied Lewis and Clark on their tour of discovery to the Pacific ocean. His children drew land from the government as half-breeds in this county, where he resided for several vears.