Concord Township (part 1 of 2)

Concord Township

Concord township has two villages, Concord and Dixon, the first located on the Hartington branch of the C, St. P., M. & 0. R. R., and the latter village on the Short Line road.

The township is generally level or slightly undulating. There are plenty of springs and streams and the Logan passes through the south half of the township. There is little native timber but nearly every farm has a good grove.

One of the leading residents of Concord township is Willis Jenkins, who was horn in New York; went to Illinois when 21 years old and the next year to Iowa, and from Iowa in 78 came here. He was married in Iowa and has a son and da ughter. He has half a section and first-rate improvements. He was the supervisor of Concord in 'SI), heing the first member from that town after township organization vvas adopted. When Mr. Jenkins came to the township there were not over half a dozen settlers there before him.

Henry Thompson, (the father of the supervisor of '95) was in the township when Mr. Jenkins came. Mr. Thompson has a farm of 200 acres and is well fixed in every way.

P. A.. C. J. and C. H. Nelson, from Iowa, and Mike Carroll and John Gillan. from Wisconsin, came nine years ago and have good farms, from one-fourth to one-half a section apiece.

J. W. Thompson was supervisor for Concord in '93, '94 and '95. His portrait appears elsewhere. He is an intelligent and successful farmer and stock raiser, and was an excellent supervisor. In mentioning Mr. Thompson in the list of supervisors on page 136 we have written his name as William Thompson. It should have been J. W. Thompson, as appears by his signature below his portrait.

II. I). Hooker came from New York nine years ago and bought an improved half section. He died a few years ago. His family still reside on the farm.

John B. Lysle, John Eckert, Wm. Haberman, Mr. Bosse and Wm. Shilling, came from Iowa nine years ago and have good farms and are successful farmers.

C. W. Gurney, the proprietor of the Hesperian Nurseries of Concord, came from Iowa about 14 years ago. He bought 200 acres on which he has since had a large nursery business. He recently removed to Yankton.

Concord village contains about 150 inhabitants and has not been incorporated. The two villages. Concord and Dixon, are only two miles apart. Both are good business points.

Ceo. 0. Acres, a leading citizen of Concord village, built the first house in that vicinity and ferried all the lumber across the river at Sioux City with which to build it. Mr. Acres was born in '55 at Manchester, Iowa, and came to Nebraska in '78 and settled on a homestead in what is now Concord township, where he lived until the fall of '89, when he bought out the lumber and coal business of Shumway & Everett at Concord village. He sold lumber, bought live stock and grain until 1893. and was interested in all improvements in Concord. In '90. when the Concord State Bank was instituted, he was elected a director and was an active worker, helping to make it one of the best banks in northeastern Nebraska, In '93 he became cashier, which position he now holds.

The village of Concord has now two good stores of which Messrs. Clark and Kemp are proprietors and Mr. Clark is the postmaster of the place. H. Shilling deals in hardware; Dr. McColm has a drug store; R. N. Smith, harness shop; John Brannaman. billiard hall; G. 0. Acres, lumber yard, and Mrs. Foote has a hotel. There is also a grain buyer there in the interest of the Peaveys. The Concord State Bank does a good business under the cashiership of Mr. Acres.

Dixon village was incorporated May 1(>. 1893, and now has a population of 250. A good steam grist mill is in operation here, owned by Keil Bros., and does a successful business. An energetic creamery company has built and operates a large creamery. It is an establishment of much benetit to the town and surrounding country. Among the business men and houses, we notice C. Stimson, banker; O'Flaherty Bros., merchants, stock dealers and grain buyers (and really a large share of the life of the town); A. E. Sparks, general merchant; ,1. C. Ecker. druggist; D. Carroll, hotel, grain buyer, etc.; G. P. Wright, hardware; E. W. Clawson. agent of the Edwards & Bradford Lumber Co.; Isaac Brannaman, furniture; W. H. Gibson, postmaster and grocer; J. Nichols and David Avers, restaurants; G. \V. Holder, market; C. Brannaman. livery; F. Wiedenfeldt and G. W. Hayn, blacksmiths, and one interesting and well supported newspaper, the Tribune. Dixon has a hrst-class school and teachers. The school liouse.a line, new bailding, was burned a few months ago, and another will soon be completed to take its place. There are two churches, the Catholic and Christian, each of which has a good building. Dixon has also lodges of Modern Woodmen, Good Templars and Knights of Pythias, all in a flourishing condition. Dixon is a pleasantly located young business place, it has good buildings and its citizens have the right kind of push and energy to make their town grow.

Portraits of Dixon County Teachers. One of the principal engravings near the title page of this hook presents a group of ninety or more of the teachers who attended the Teachers' Institute at Ponca in August, '95. The engraving is from a photograph taken at the time by Mr. Hamilton, and a list of the names of those whose portraits appear there has been kindly furnished by Miss Mary Schroer, the popular school superintendent of the county. The following is the list:

There were a few on the picture when it was first taken which do not appear there now. In order to tit the engraving to the size of the book, a small part had to be taken from the sides of the picture, and by so doing the following teachers were unavoidably left off:

Part Second Note

Legends, stories, adventures, every day incidents, etc., etc. All relate to Dixon county in the past or present. Some of them are true in every word and others are, in a greater or less degree, founded on facts. But whether fact or fiction, we trust they will be found interesting, and with that hope we dedicate them to friendly perusal.

Among The Indians

In the spring of 1810, more than three-quarters of a century ago, two young and energetic men who were ascending the Missouri in a canoe, landed at the mouth of the stream known at present as Aoway Creek, about four miles east of where Ponca now stands. Thus commences a story related to us twenty-five years ago by a venerable hunter and trapper who had passed nearly his whole life among the Indian tribes of the northwest.

The two men above mentioned were Scotchmen, lately from their native country and who. instigated by love of adventure had wandered off into this region, then so remote from civilization and society, a country whose reputation was most dreary and repulsive.

The names of these hardy adventurers were Alexander Mackenzie and Donald Campbell. The first was many years later in the employment of the Northwestern Fur Company, while the latter, Campbell, became afterward celebrated among the tribes along the upper Missouri and Yellowstone under the name of I-och-e-gah, or White Chief, as one of their most distinguished and successful warriors.

Our adventurers, as they coasted along the muddy, turbulent river, saw the little stream debouching through an opening in the hills, and were glad to rest from the wearing labor of urging their canoe against the rapid current, by landing and camping under the shade of the trees upon the bank. At a short distance to the right and left they beheld rough, high hills, and were struck by the v ildness and rugged grandeur of the scene.

Here they camped, and determined to rest a few days, and perhaps explore and hunt game in the grim regions indicated by the forbidding hills surrounding them. In the little clump of timber where they pitched their tent they saw no sign of life, and as the gloom of the approaching night fell upon them, made ten-fold worse by the deep shadows of the bluffs and the sighing of the wind through the ravines, it seemed to them that they had entered the kingdom of solitude. Here they built their fire, ate, drank, and in their blankets slept undisturbed.

In the morning they arose invigorated, and after a hearty breakfast started westerly along the south bank of the creek, determined to explore the interior of the country. A wearisome tramp through brush and marsh and further west along a wide and level tract, brought them where several valleys converged; a spot which by its beauty and the splendor of its scenery, fully compensated them for all their toil. Here, no longer within the dominions of solitude, they beheld life and animation at every turn. The grass gaily decorated by a wilderness of brilliant flowers formed a rich acd enticing carpet for their feet. As they advanced, the joyful music of countless songsters of the wood and prairie greeted them. Along the neighboring hillsides they saw herds of buffalo, while in the distance they beheld a large and populous Indian village.

Startled by finding themselves in the neighborhood of an Indian town, and not knowing whether their reception would be friendly or hostile, they nevertheless hesitated not to go forward as coolly and apparently as unconcerned as though among their native Scottish hills. As they approached the village, its inhabitants, most of whom had never before seen a white man, came out to meet them, and received them with kindness and honor, so greatly did they admire the undaunted yet evidently peaceful bearing of their two visitors.

So kind a reception determined Mackenzie and Campbell to remain several days and learn the ways of Indian life. The pipe of peace was often smoked around the council tire. The best lodge, the softest bed of furs and the choicest game was dedicated to them. They on their part showed their new-found Indian friends the mysterious workings of their guns, which, speaking with voices of thunder, could kill a buffalo at a great distance. Such weapons had never before been seen by the tribe, and were a source of great astonishment and awe to them.

After a few weeks of this luxury, most fascinating to the frontiersman, the Scotchmen proposed to depart and resume their journey up the river. But the Indians, who it seems, had made up their minds that their guests should stay with them always, objected, and with various excuses refused to let them go. Once they stole away at night, and had nearly reached their canoe, when through the brushwood rushed a horde of Indians in hot pursuit, who seized them and triumphantly bore them back again

Thus time passed on, the greatest kindness was lavished upon them, so great indeed that feeling their bonds as a chain concealed beneath garlands of flowers, their captivity was in a measure bearable.

Soon they became acquainted with the language of their entertainers, who took much pains to teach it to them. They went with them on their visits to other villages of the same tribe, of which there were several within a day's journey, and they twice assisted in beating off the raids of a band of desperate warriors, Arapahoes, under the redoutable Mishtenewah, who had a town in the valley now known as the Daily. Mishtenewah's tribe seemed to be at enmity with all the others along the river. He was a most cunning, indomitable old scoundrel in whose vocabulary any word signifying "peace" had been utterly blotted out.

Finally, in one of his forays, he was so far successful as to take several prisoners, and among them was Campbell. Mishtenewah did not stand long on ceremony after getting back home, but burned the Indian prisoners at the stake without unnecessary delay. The white man, however, was a curiosity he had never seen before, and he reserved him for further investigation. Campbell, on his part, took the scrape he was in philosophically, and explained to the grim Indian king who he was and where he hailed from. He also caused Mishtenewah to expand his massive jaws into a grin of delight, as he showed him the skill with which he slaughtered game with his wonderful gun. the like of which the chief had never heard of before.

So Campbell's life was spared, and he was formally installed as one of the tribe. He was taken to the lodge of an ancient squaw and informed that she had adopted him for her son, her own son having been recently killed in battle.

Mishtenewah, besides being great in war, had other ambitions of a rnore peaceful character. He had a large number of wives already, but his harem was like an omnibus, in that it could always hold one more inmate, especially if she was youthful and good looking. In the village was a young and very handsome squaw named La-sha-na, upon whom the chief cast a longing eye, and was determined to take her to wife. The girl was, however, averse to the royal honor offered her. She had seen and admired the good looks and brave demeanor of Campbell, and they had found such a mutual attraction in each other that they often wandered away together, and looked and talked love as they sat beneath the council tree of the village. (This is said to be the great tree long noted as the Lone tree of the Daily valley. It is some three feet in diameter and its trunk is indented with the numerous cuts and carvings of the tribe which flourished around it. »

It certainly is not to be wondered at that Campbell should prefer the society of this young Indian lass, to being cooped up in a not very sweetly smelling tepee with the mumbling old crone who by the verdict of the tribe called herself his mother. It was at this time that Mishtenewah saw the girl and licked his bloody chops with joy, for he thought he saw another sheep for his fold. She on her part avoided him as much as possible, and hence the loving walks and tete-a-tetes with which Campbell and the young stjuaw whiled away many pleasant hours, were in the evening, the better to avoid the sight and anger of the chief.

One evening as the pair sat beneath the waving branches of the great tree, contemplating a speedy flight from that irksome captivity, old Mishtenewah came nosing mistrustfully along, and seeing them, he drew his knife in jealous fury, and swiftly sprang forward to prod Campbell with it, then and there. And he would doubtless have done it, had not Campbell, equally as quick, knocked him down with the butt end of his gun. He would have shot him. but the noise would have aroused the village. Concluding that his enemy was knocked senseless but for a short time, and knowing that such an insult to the chief would not be overlooked, Campbell and the girl, without delay, fled. They made as quick time as possible down the valley, cautiously avoiding other Indian settlements, intending to seek the protection of the tribe where Campbell's friend, Mackenzie was. They had come to within a few miles of their destination when they heard an uproar behind them, and the rays of the moon brightly shining-, revealed Mishtenewah and his whole pack in full pursuit. So certain was he of their capture that he even disdained to adopt the usual Indian tactics of stealth and silence in the pursuit.

It would appear that the old chiefs skull was of a very tough and durable nature, so that the pounding it received did not prevent him from collecting his senses and wits together within a very short period of time after the fugitive lovers had left. He roused the town in a trice and he and his band of marauders followed the fleeing pair, who now, just as they were approaching a haven of rest and safety saw their pursuers bursting upon them like infuriate thunderbolts. Close pressed, the fugitives made for the hills along the west side of the valley, hoping to throw their enemies off their trail. But well trained bloodhounds could not follow their path with greater exactness. Campbell and the girl flew like the wind, yet closer came the whooping and howling band of savages behind them. Thus mile after mile was measured off. over hills and through ravines and valleys, yet their untiring and implacable foes followed on, evidently lessening the distance between them every moment.

In that fearful flight. Campbell and the girl must have crossed the hills and struck the Aoway valley some two or three miles west of where Ponca is. Leaving the valley they again sought refuge among the hills and ravines toward the river. It appeared to be of little use however. The yells, tearing through the night air like the blood-curdling voices of infuriate demons, resounded nearer and nearer. After crossing Aoway valley the fugitives turned their course somewhat to the northeast, hoping they would be able to reach the banks of the river in the treacherous waters of which they deemed they would find far greater safety than in the hands of the miscreants behind them. Thus onward they sped, while gleaming knives and tomahawks flashed forward a warning of the bloody harvest soon to come. They struck the bluff overlooking the river, a few hundred yards cast of what is now known as the Bigley ravine. Half a mile to their left was a small Indian hamlet, but by its insignificance it could afford thorn no protection, even if they were enabled to roach it. Without pause they rushed down a narrow gully or water course at that point, in which a path now leads to the low land along the river. As.they emerged from the ravine into the heavy timber below they heard the rush of their pursuers down the defile.

Let us go back a little. A quarter of an hour before, a large party of keen-eyed Indian hunters accompanied by Mackenzie, returning from a trip along the river bank had ascended the same ravine. On reaching the top of the bluffs they saw in the distance the swiftly approaching fugitives, and heard the deadly yells of their pursuers. Resounding above all others was heard the terrible voice which they recognized as that of the much hated Mishtenewah. They saw the fugitives turning their steps toward the head of the ravine. Mackenzie and his Indian friends quickly formed their plans for vengeance on Mishtenewah and his band. They knew7 that down that ravine both pursued and pursuers would pass. With a grunt of satisfaction the hunters slipped noiselessly back into the thick brush overhanging the sides of the narrow gorge. The fugitives passed down, not dreaming of friends and almost worn out by their desperate exertions and expecting death in a few moments more.

Suddenly, above the yells of the furious Mishtenewah and his band, were heard other shouts, the twanging of bow-strings, the whizzing of arrows and tomahawks, and all the crash and din of a deadly conflict. The roar of Mackenzie's gun as it reverberated through the forest was to Campbell the sweetest music. Mackenzie and the hunters had quickly prepared an ambush for their enemies. They arrayed themselves along the sides of the ravine, and when Mishtenewah and his warriors entered, and down which they could only go in single tile, they fell upon them with fearful rage and slaughter. In ten minutes the battle was over. Not one escaped. All were dead and dying except some lifteen or twenty who were taken prisoners, their lives being spared solely for another and more dreadful tragedy. Among these was Mishtenewah. The next day, with the

In the joy of once more meeting his brother Scot, Campbell did not forget the beautiful young squaw. He was duly married to her according to the Indian rites and customs, and it is to be hoped their lives passed smoothly and happily. About a year after this occurrence, Mackenzie went with a party of hunters far to the north, and his friend never saw him again. As for Campbell, he now remained willingly, and conforming to Indian customs and dress, soon became chief of the tribe. Here, under his wise administration his tribe prospered and remained until the year 1814, when the tide of Indian wars drifted them far away to the northwest beyond the Yellowstone valley.

This story is referred to in one of the early chapters of this book, where, as will be recollected, the mound is described in which the bones of Mishtenewah and those burned with him are supposed to have been buried.

The Sacred Rock Of The Arapahoes

More than a hundred years before the exploring expedition of Lewis and Clark (whose visit to the so-called Ionia volcano is referred to in Chapter IX), the country up and down the south bank of the Missouri for many days journey , was the dwelling place of a vindictive and powerful tribe known and dreaded as the most blood-thirsty nation of Indians between the Mississippi river and the Rocky Mountains.

This warlike people, the progenitors of the present cruel and untamable Arapahoes of Wyoming, was ruled by hereditary chiefs, assisted by counsellors selected from their most successful warriors, and were described as having been tall, active, of prodigious strength, undaunted bravery and remarkable cruelty.

Like the Aztecs of Mexico, from whom, doubtless, they had received in ages long before many of their customs and beliefs, they were lire worshipers, and sacrificed to the god of lire the sick, the aged and the infirm of their own nation, and all prisoners taken during the wars which they were continually waging against their neighbors, and especially against the numerous tribes across the river, who. under the general name of Acoutahs (afterwards called Dakotahs), occupied the vast regions lying between the Missouri and the Red River of the North.

About two miles south of the place where in later years has been seen the volcanic phenomenon referred to, was the capital town of the nation, vestiges of which were still visible at the time of the visit of Lewis and Clark in 1805, the many excavations and mounds where the town had stood indicating that it had been of great size, covering indeed, several hundred acres. Here had dwelt the hereditary chief

Whatever the "Ionia Volcano" may have been, the Indian tribes at that early time, and especially the superstitious Arapahoes, regarded its tires with awe and the region near it as sacred ground, over which, within certain limits, no one had the right to pass except the ruling chiefs and their medicine men. He whose boldness or folly led him to violate this decree, paid for his temerity with his life. This taboo, however, was removed every full moon, at which time all the tribes might assemble around the volcano to witness the horrible sacrificial ceremonies there enacted.

On these occasions the old and feeble were dragged forward, the prisoners taken in battle and the squaws and children from conquered towns, and all were immolated with prolonged and merciless torture, to the deity whose immediate presence was supposed to be revealed in the lurid flames and stifling vapors around them.

A short distance to the west of the volcano and within the limits of the tabooed precinct, stood an immense rock, which, from its description, must have towered several hundred feet toward the sky, a vast square fortress in appearance and visible at a great distance. The rock was honey-combed by numerous passages, caused by the action of water ages before when an ocean covered all this country. One of the passages led to a large and lofty cavern which nature had in like manner hollowed out in the interior of the rock.

Here, say the old legends, on a stone platform or altar rudely built by the Indians, the preliminary ceremonies and torturings of the unhappy victims took place before they were consigned to the embraces of the more merciful tires of the volcano.

At the time of the visit of Lewis and Clark this great mountain of stone had disappeared and the place where it was said to have stood was occupied by a marshy pond- When inquiry was made as to what had become of it, the bravest warriors would tremble with awe as they related the gloomy legend, that, a thousand years before, the Great

Manitou had been angry; that his voice had been heard like the roll of many thunders, and that in his wrath he had crushed the rock into the earth.

Such a phenomenon would at this day he regarded as merely one of the results of a tremendous earthquake - most interesting, but nothing supernatural, yet, among the ignorant and superstitious savages it would naturally be considered as a special sign of vengeance of an outraged deity. To this cause, the destruction of their sacrificial temple, is attributed the flight of the greater portion of the tribe immediately after the catastrophe to the far west, leaving forever a home which they deemed as accursed by the Great Spirit.

Among the present Arapahoes (the descendants of those who thus migrated), the "Legend of the Great Rock" is remembered, recounting the disaster which drove their ancestors from their former fertile plains to the sterile mountains of Wyoming. According to this Arapahan legend, many hundred years ago. their nation, as yet not driven from its home near the Missouri, was in the height of its glory and strength. Their warriors were as numerous as the blades of grass, and disgraced, indeed, was he who could not count his years by the number of scalps upon his shield.

Then ruled Kah-da-che-gha, whose name (signifying "The Bloody Hand,") carried terror to his enemies. For many seasons his braves had been waging a war of conquest and extermination against the Wapahas, a once strong tribe and one of the numerous families of the Acoutahs, whose towns were across the river and one or two days' journey to the north.

Among the Wapahas were many warriors of distinguished valor whose backs were never seen by their foes, and who acting on the defensive, had held their enemies at bay during a long and fearful series of conflicts. At length, conquered and over-run after desperate resistance and nearly annihlated. the captives taken were driven southward by the triumphant Kah-da-che-gha toward the capital town of his nation.

Among the prisoners was a young warrior named Wache-pah, (or "Long Knife,") who had become renowned for his bravery and the numerous Arapahan scalps which deco-

After a weary march across the prairies, he was brought with his fellow captives to the Missouri, across which, swift and gaily decorated canoes speedilv conveyed them. They arrived at the town of the warlike Kah-da-che-gha most opportunely, for it wanted but two days of the great full moon festivities, at which time, these prisoners, with many others, - the fruits of various raids during the past month -would be sacrificed and burned according to their ancient customs.

The young captive, Wa-che-pah, well knew the fate which was in store for him and his fellow unfortunates, yet, with the stoicism of his nature, he looked forward to the approaching disgraceful tortures and death with indifference, nor would he have deigned to have asked for his life, even could he have obtained it by so doing. On the contrary he sought to improve the little time remaining to him, by recounting to his enemies his many exploits against them, and bringing to their memories the long array of scalps which their nation had hitherto furnished to his knife.

On the day before the sacrifices were to take place, as Wa-che-pah gazed upon the group of despondent captives he saw to his horror among them, two, whose lives he would have purchased by submitting to all the indignities which the ingenuity of Ka-da-che-gha and his tribe could invent. These two were his young brother and sister upon whom he had centered all his affection, and who. until this moment he had supposed to be in a place of safety, and now discovered them in the clutches of those whose mercy was only shown when they permitted death to seize the tortured victims.

When the young warrior saw the helpless children thus in the deadly toils of his enemies, he sought out the chief and asked that which he would have scorned to have done for himself, namely, that their lives might be spared. Such a request was an act of folly, which, on cooler reflection, he would never have humbled himself to commit, for sooner might he have expected mercy from the hungry wolf of the prairies.

Iii answer to the petition, the chief consented in part to grant it. on conditions, however, in which were displayed a refinement of cruelty, most diabolical. He would spare one of the children, if Wa-che-pah, previous to his own death would act as the executioner of the other. As the price of his brother's life, Wa-che-pah, must inflict on his sister all the tortures to which he, himself, would afterwards be subjected. The young chief well understood the meaning of the terrible sentence thus pronounced. His hand would bestow the agonies of a thousand deaths. Eyes wrested from their sockets; the limbs slowly burned off by means of red-hot flint-stone knives; the skin torn in strips from the body, which, after being immersed in boiling pitch, was to be hurled into the ever-burning fires of the volcano.

Wa-che-pah heard the horrible and revolting proposition -cast his eyes around unavailingly for a friendly knife or tomahawk with which to visit vengeance on the dastard chief before him - and then, hoping to discover in the future some chance of escape for the sister he loved so well, consented. Leaving the presence of his vindictive enemy, Wache-pah again found himself wandering amid the groups of doomed captives. The sight of his brother and sister filled his heart with despair. As to them, they were yet so young as to imperfectly realize the horror of their position, and as they saw their brother approaching, all dangers and privations were forgotten. With shouts of joy they fiung their arms about him, and with many caresses, implored him to take them back to their distant home. As he stood, listening to the innocent and childish prattle which pierced him like the stroke of a dagger, he moodily revolved in his mind their chances of escaping the doom which the next morning's sun would reveal.

Were there no means of escape? In all directions triple lines of pickets closely guarded them, and attempts to break through were vain indeed. At the north the battlements of the sacred mountain reminded him of the gloomy cavern, its dreadful altar, and the fate aw liting one at least of the innocent children who clung confidingly to him. Night came on. The savage guards closed about their victims. For the last time they saw the moon rise, smiling in her fullness, pass over, and sink in the west. Dawn again appeared. Then, to the deafening sound of drums, and in the center of the death dance, in which thousands of warriors participated, the captives were swept slowly forward, as by a resistless tornado, toward the grim rock and the fearful destiny which there aw7aited them.

( Hinging to Wa-che-pah, his young brotherand sister went joyfully, thinking they were starting for their home again. About half way from the village to the place of sacrifice, Kah-da-che-gha appeared, arrayed in his barbaric war costume, and carrying upon his hoop the numerous blood stained scalps which his hand had taken. At his command the revolving dance was stopped, and addressing Wa-che-pah, he renewed the fearful proposition of the day before, and asked him if on those terms he was prepared to save his brother. The agony of the young warrior at that moment before his enemy no tongue can portray. Yet, with a countenance apparently unmoved, he replied in the affirmative. Then the little brother, wondering, was torn hastily from his sister, and the savage dance recommencing, the captives were again urged towrard their doom, now near at hand. "Darling of my soul," said Wa-che-pah to his sister, "listen to my words. Our brother we will see no more until we meet him in the hunting grounds of our fathers. He will remain here a little while, but we shall go forward before him." The sadness of his voice, more than his words, revealed to her the presence of some dread danger. "Let us then," continued he, "go joyfully the Great Spirit and our fathers call us."

Understanding for the first time his meaning, his sister realized that the revolving circle of dancing demons about them were conducting them to their death. With a shudder she pressed closer to her brother's side, thus mutely expressing her willingness to make the dread journey with him. The captives, slowly approaching the rock, were now within the shadows of the lofty pinnacles which towered above them, and in front of which, the chief and his medicine men had assembled. To the right, the dense smoke of the volcano revealed the god of fire in waiting to receive his victims.

Thus approaching the goal the orgies of the demoniac horde grew wilder, and as they swiftly rotated in their infuriate dance, the captives, deafened by the terrible yells. which resounded on all sides, saw the air darkened with a rain of innumerable knives and stone axes which were hurled over their heads. This pastime of their enemies was, however, harmless, as such weapons were skillfully thrown, not to injure, hut merely to extort signs of fear, and were hut the prelude to the tragedy yet to follow.

At a sign from the chief the chaos and uproar ceased, and the medicine men stepped forward to receive the prisoners. These unhappy wretches, some of whom were squaws with frightened children clinging to them, were now arranged in a <dose column and driven forward into the main entrance to the interior of the rock.

At the head of the procession and leading his sister by the hand walked Wa-che-pah, to outward appearance fearless and undaunted, as became a warrior. Thus passing on they were soon assembled in the cavern, whose gloom was but partially dispelled by the torches and the tire upon the altar. Here were the knives with which the cruel work was to be done sharpened stakes for impalement, and upon the tire a stone caldron of seething pitch. Wa-che-pah, lifting his eyes from the appalling preparations before him. met the gaze of Kah-ta-che-gha. who, pointing to the trembling child at his side, ordered him to commence the torture. Thus brought face to face with the awful deed with which he was compelled to purchase life for his brother, the soul of the young warrior revolted. He grasped the knife, but instead of turning its glittering blade toward his sister, he hurled himself upon the chief with the fury of a thunderbolt. The rage and strength of a lifetime was concentrated in that moment, as he stabbed his fiendish enemy again and again, and hurled him, a scalpless corpse, among his followers.

Animated by the desperate valor of the young warrior his fellow prisoners rushed upon their guards, from whom, wresting knives and tomahawks, they drove them from the cavern with the slaughtering fury of madmen. Dripping with the blood of his foes and uttering the war-whoop of his tribe, Wa-che-pah led forward the captive braves and after

From the outside thousands, as they saw their temple thus desecrated by the slaughter of their friends, arose the yells of a fury which knew no bounds. But now, as though to stay the bloody carnival, a terrible manifestation held both sides aghast and powerless. The ground beneath them and the rocks above reeled and trembled as if the Great Spirit had smitten them with an angry hand. Far below was heard a roar like the concentrated thunders of a thousand years, and with a crash the earth was torn open and the great rock sank into the abyss and disappeared, consigning living and dead to one common grave.

J88 Histokv Of Dixon County, Nebraska Indian Cruelty

Though Dixon county has never since its settlement by white people been made the scene of Indian war and cruelty, vet near by in the adjoining county of Cedar the barbarous and cold-blooded murder of the Wiseman children by the Indians took place in the summer of 1863.

Henson Wiseman and his family had in '60 or '61 taken a. claim near the Missouri river on what is called "Brookey's Bottom" in Cedar county and about two miles from the Dixon county line. His family consisted of his wife and five children, viz.: Three sons aged respectively 17. S and 5 years, and two daughters, 15 and 13. Mr. Wisemans nearest neighbor was Mr. Brookey, who lived two miles away in Dixon county, and another neighbor, Mr. Ames, lived about three miles in an opposite direction, in Cedar county. Aside from these, Wiseman and family had no neighbors nearer than the village of St. James, some four or live miles distant.

In 1862 Wiseman enlisted in Company I, of the Second Nebraska Cavalry, and in the spring of '63 went up the river with his regiment to join Gen. Sully near old Fort Berthold, in the campaign against the Indians. Wiseman's absence left his wife and children entirely alone. They remained on the claim, and with the occasional assistance of their neighbors, Brookey and Ames, cultivated their land and, aside from the loneliness of their location, were content, having no thought of danger.

Across the river, however, and not many miles away, the Indians were brooding over imaginary troubles and dreaming of war. They had heard of the massacre in Minnesota by the Santee Sioux, and their ambition had thereby been aroused to also sharpen their knives and gain a name and a rich collection of scalps. Wiseman's family did not realize the exposed and dangerous situation they were in.

Near the river and far away from neighbors. Indians might, if they saw fit, come at any time and perpetrate barbarity or murder. Unconscious of this danger the Wiseman family had no thought of leaving their claim, and indeed they were not molested for sometime after Wiseman went away. This security, unfortunately, was not lasting.

One day in the summer of "03. Mrs. Wiseman went to the village of St. James to buy groceries, leaving the children at home. She started on horseback in the middle of the afternoon and expected to return before dark. But when at St. James a rain came up and she wTas delayed on account of it, and did not reach home until nearly nine o'clock in the evening. Supposing everything as safe as usual, she placed her horse in the stable and started toward the house. A few feet from the door she stumbled over the body of one of her sons. Frightened but not yet realizing that a terrible tragedy had taken place, and thinking that her son had met with an accident, she rushed to the door to call for help. As she opened it she heard groaning within and other sounds which she thought were from Indians, whom she then imagined were in the room concealed by the darkness, and waiting after killing the children, for her to enter and meet the same fate. Terror-stricken and hardly knowing what she did she turned and ran to the road and thence toward St. James. The few miles were quickly passed, yet the time seemed an age. There she reported what she had seen and heard and implored immediate help. The people in St. James were frightened and slow in responding. In the excitement which ensued they believed the timber along the river contained a horde of savages who. in number, equalled the trees which concealed them. The news that Mrs. Wiseman had found her children murdered, traveled quickly, as evil tidings always do.

Mr. Ames, the neighbor who lived three miles from Wiseman, was then at St. James and heard the story, and rushed home and taking his family into his wagon drove all night towards Ponca. reaching there before sunrise the next morning. There he reported the massacre, and immediately, N.S. Porter and three others returned with Ames to the scene of it. When they arrived at Wiseman's they found the

It took place only a few minutes before Mrs. Wiseman arrived home that fatal evening, but when she opened the door, she heard no Indians in the house. They were gone, and what she heard were the struggles and groans of* her dying children. Had it not been for the rain she would have been at home when the Indians came. Possibly that would have saved them, but probably she would have added one to the number of the slain. As was learned by the tracks in the mud. there were four Indians who participated in the massacre. When they entered the house, the oldest girl was churning, and they asked her for a drink of buttermilk. She handed them a dipper of it, when they struck her over the head, knocking her down, and it is to be mercifully hoped, senseless. At about this time the oldest son. who had been hunting, returned and opened the door. Instantly he realized the situation and made a gallant defense of his sisters and younger brothers. He died righting and his bent by the blows he had given his assailants. The eldest girl lived five days but never spoke after she was found by her friends. Her person had been brutally outraged and mutilated, the back of her head crushed, a cartridge had been exploded in her mouth and an arrow pierced the lower part of her body, passing out above the hips. Though she lived five days she was unconscious. The youngest child, a boy of live years, lived three days. The other three were dead when found.

The four Indians who committed this terrible crime were supposed to be Yankton or Santee Sioux. They came across from Dakota in a canoe, and after the murder they robbed the house and took a horse on which they loaded the plunder and swam it over the river. News of the murder was immediately sent to Sioux City and a company which had recently been recruited there started out to capture the murderers if possible. They took their trail at the crossing at Wiseman's and followed it north until near Sioux Falls and there they lost it. The wretches who committed the deed were never caught. For anything known to the contrary they may be at this moment posing as "good Indians" on some reservation.

In a few weeks after the murder the news of it reached Wiseman at Fort Berthold. As soon as he heard it he went to Gen. Sully and told him what had occurred and asked for a furlough, and was humanely granted an indefinite leave of absence. He immediately started on horsehack for home where in about ten days he arrived. It is said that on fully learning the fate of his children, he swore that he would kill every Indian who crossed his path. No one can blame him for the oath or for his justifiable vengeance during the thirty-three years that have passed since then. He has killed many and his name is a terror to them. But the four he has most wished to find he has never knowingly met. He and his wife still live where the tragedy occurred.

Gauge Railroad

A Twenty Year Old Parable Concerning Dixon County's Narrow Gauge Railroad at that Time-- Its Examination by Senor Algamonez and his Conclusions Thereupon.

| Those who read this old parable should, in order to fully understand and appreciate it, first read the chapter in this book entitled "'Story of a Rascally Little Railroad." This parable, though now somewhat out of date, will, perhaps, be enjoyed by old settlers who remember the time and road referred to. |

In the summer of '77 Dixon county was visited by Senor R. de Algamonez, an illustrious savant, scholar and traveler from the ancient city of Penumblebuz, Brazil. Taking shipping at Rio Janeiro, on the twenty-fifth day of July, he journeyed in the Brazilian war brig Physsle, to New Orleans, where he arrived August lsth. From thence, in the staunch steamer Waterwitch, he ascended the Mississippi to St. Louis, from whence in a Missouri river boat, the "Riproarer." he came up the Big Muddy and disembarking at the landing, walked from there into Ponca.

The object of the visit of this distinguished Brazilian gentleman may be explained in a very few words. It appears that divers disputes and differences of opinion having arisen between the people of the counties of Dakota and Dixon on the one part, and the Covington, Columbus & Black Hills Railroad Company on the other, concerning the said road, its gauge, its management, etc.. and desiring to settle all these matters harmoniously, it had in the early part of the summer been determined by a committee of citizens duly selected from said counties, that some good and unbiased person be appointed to examine with a vigilant and impartial eye into all the disputed questions, and upon such arbitration make due decision as to which of the contending parties was in the right, which decision it was determined should be binding (all courts to the contrary notwithstanding), in order that law suits might be avoided and that peace and good will might prevail.

In looking around for such arbitrator it was found to be impossible to obtain him in Nebraska, as every man had formed an opinion, and hence could not act with the impartiality which the importance and gravity of the case demanded. The committee then scoured other states for their arbitrator; they even went as far as California to hunt him, but there were none, not even the Chinese and Indians, but had heard about this railroad, and had made up their minds. In desperation the committee finally applied to the emperor of Brazil who at that time was traveling in the United States, and he after mediation, referred them to Senor Algamonez, and issued an order that said senor should immediately come and adjudicate in the matter. The order was forthwith transmitted to Brazil by steam balloon, and in obedience to such command, the senor started for this place at the time above stated.

Hence it came about that at three o'clock one afternoon, this well known scholar walked into town, and as he had no time to spare, he declined all receptions and other tokens of respect from the citizens, and immediately proceeded to the business on hand, viz: To interview the road, its officers, etc., and we desire to say here that Senor A. was peculiarly well fitted to act in this matter impartially, as, although he had often read of railroads, he had never in his life before seen one. Thus at about 4:30 p. m. he crossed the bridge near Bigley's and soon was seen pacing down the valley east of town. As he moved forward he beheld before and around him a landscape unsurpassed in the gardens of the gods, and he felt assurance that this was the choicest region under the sun. Everything seemed different from his native country, and the many improvements unfamiliar to him struck him with wonder and admiration, and he examined critically and carefully many things which a resident would have passed unoticed. As he walked along delighted with the pastoral beauty of the scene, he suddenly saw before him t wo tiny parallel strips of iron stretched along the valley, the sight of which filled him with amazement, as he could not comprehend for what purpose they had been placed there. "What these little rods were designed for," said the Senor. "I am at a loss to understand. Doubtless, however, some inexpensive yet pretty plaything, which perchance the inhabitants of this country have considerately and kindly provided for their children."

As he thus meditated, he suddenly heard from the east a feeble squeak, and saw a small cloud of white vapor which seemed to be rolling slowly toward him. On closer inspection he saw through the smoke, what appeared to his unsophisticated gaze, to be a gaily decorated, four wheeled boiler or wash pot, from whence came the smoke, and to which were attached several small covered carts. Such a singularscene, so different from anything he had ever heard of, induced him to postpone all further search for the railroad until he had investigated this gay and gallant little string of vehicles. He was touched also at the sight, and was almost moved to tears, for it reminded him of his home in distant Penumblebuz, and of his children who in their play made wagons out of strings and spools.

Pausing in his walk, he waited until the phenomena approached, then turning and walking leisurely along by the side of the gay train of wagons a.s they advanced at full steam up the valley, he found much pleasure in critically examining them, walking around them and stepping over them, to determine their magnitude, kneeling down and looking under them to see the wheels revolve, leaning over them in order to see both sides at once, and feeling of them tenderly with his hands lest something be dissarranged.

It was in fact with great curiosity and satisfaction that he viewed the cavalcade rolling along, and in his ecstacy he exclaimed in his native Brazilian Spanish, as was his custom

"These carriages," said he to himself, "must indeed afford infinite amusement to those who see them. And so inexpensive, too," and he laid his hand caressingly upon them.

"Sir. you mistake: this is not an inexpensive child's toy, but one which has cost Dixon county $87,000. It is the lightning express train on the C, C. & B. H. Narrow Gauge Railroad and I am the general manager thereof, and I will thank you to take your hand off the engine so that we can get along."

"Ho le Mozees!" ejaculated the senor in astonishment. "And so it cost $87,000! Well, well! But even that is inexpensive if the dollars are as lilliputian as the railroad."

"No," replied the gruff voice, "the dollars are of the standard gauge and are secured by bonds, which operate as a mortgage on all this fair county. Then we get $95,000 more out of Dakota county. Then we have mortgaged the road tor $90,000 more, the whole amounting to $272,000 for building the road twenty-seven miles. Could von do better than that in Brazil? And it is a great thing for Dakota and Dixon counties. We carry their freight nearly as cheap as they used to haul it in common wagons, and passengers are conveyed at but a trifle in advance of the old fashioned price. People also have the fun of seeing this train run every day up and down the valley, and for the sight, in consideration of the $272,000, we don't at present make extra charge. Nor have we made so much as you might think in this enterprise. We have not saved to exceed $70,000 out of the $272,000 after building and equipping the road,"

"Verily," quoth the senor. "all this is wonderful to me. A I) igg rabb!" which, being interpreted, means that it "shows remarkable financiering."

"Yes." replied the voice, "we have the iron for eighty miles more: we also have the ties, and we are having our work done cheap, very cheap indeed."

"They will be found in the affidavit lately made before Judge Dillon in the case of Hubbell vs. The Company. Hut I must hurry along; good bye/'

As Senor Algamonez was returning toward Ponca after thus interviewing the railroad train and the general manager, he was so stricken with amazement at what he had seen and heard that he could not hut reflect that it might he most expedient for him to throw up the commission which brought him here, and retire bv the shortest route from the country.

"And especially," said he. "do I desire once more to see mv native land, for I have caught an idea that will make me rival the imperial Dom Pedro in riches. As soon as I get there I will set forth with my children and we will dig a furrow across the plain which lies between the cities of Penumblebuz and Baradocia, and along the apex of the welt then made, we will stretch two slim spindles of iron, and thus we too will have a railroad. Allured by the wonderful invention which I will bring from Dixon and Dakota counties, Penumblebuz and Baradocia will hasten to vote me bonds for $182,000, and 1 will mortgage the road for $90,000 more. Thus with my money and my road I will be rich. My brother Azbigasell shall be master mechanic, and he shall build and guide the little wagons whose wheels, like revolving fly specks, shall bowl along. My cronies, Toda and Lickmishoe. and also my progeny, shall stand around and see that the peons build the track and bridges, and shall also see that they do the work for nothing, for I cannot afford to pay out the money I shall earn with such hard thought. As for me. I will be the General Manager." Thus meditating, he noticed a heavily laden freight car standing on the switch at Ponca depot and stopped to examine it.

'This tiny and fragile shell," said the senor, "is nevertheless as neat and commodious as the hollow of my hand. My brother Azbigasell shall build me several of these. The temptation comes strong upon me, born doubtless of my new views of life since my interview with the General Manager, to appropriate and carry off this little box. Yet greatly as I desire to pocket it, I will resist the thought. I might have to throw out its load of grain, and God forbid that I should waste even a kernel of corn, much less these several quarts of good wheat, and thereby deprive some poor fellow of a meal."

As he turned regretfully away from the temptation, he again heard in the distance the shrieks of the little train, whose quivering squeals pathetically reminded him of the little pigs that played about the streets of Penumblebuz.

On his return to Brazil a few weeks after, Senor Algamonez went into the business of railroad building, taking as a pattern the road he had seen.

Penumblebuz and Baradocia are. as is well known, situated in a remote part of Brazil, wherein, hitherto, no railroad had been built. Hence, when the senor after his return home, suggested such an enterprise, the citizens of that country were greatly delighted, and especially were they pleased to think that the road would be continued to the rich mining and lumber region of Terra Del Fuego, thereby opening an avenue of trade and commerce, establishing markets for produce, etc.

Baradocia immediately voted $87,000 in bonds and Penumblebuz voted $90,000, to be paid when the road was completed between those places. As the distance across the plains between the two towns was not great, (about twenty miles.) this large amount in bonds was encouraging, as it was more than sufficient to complete the work. Yet to make the road surely successful in a financial point of view, the senor before commencing work, mortgaged it for $4,500 per mile. Thus he had an abundance of means wherewith to triumphantly carry out this great project of internal improvement, and hence set to work with a cheerful heart. He employed all the men and teams within a two day's journey to come and work, and they shoveled and dug. and with so much industry and diligence that in a short time a ridge of dirt was developed across the plain. Then a vast number of little sticks were hauled in and laid upon the apex of the ridge. Then many pounds of iron in long strips were nailed upon the sticks in two parallel lines some three feet apart, thus forming the track. Then a whole wagon load of engines and cars were brought and planted on the track. Then the whistles of the engines tooted, the bells rang and the people shouted for joy, and they said: "Behold the Narrow Gauge! Lo, the Penumblebnz, Baradocia & Terra Del Fuego Railroad is a success."

In his business excitement the senor omitted (unintentionally) to pay those who had dug up the ground for him, who had hauled dirt in wagons, who had brought in and laid down the little sticks and who had furnished the iron, the engines and cars. But he was reminded of these slight omissions when the bills were presented. From the bills it appeared that the entire charges for all these matters amounted to about $75,000. The senor could, of course, have paid that amount readily, for the bonds from the towns and the mortgage on the road, had realized $274,500. Hence after paying the $75,000, he would have nearly $200,000 left, and he would also have the road, which he very properly estimated to be worth something. At least the track had some market value, even if he considered it as no more than old iron.

But the senor wisely concluded that even if he were making a good thing out of the enterprise, it was no sign that those who furnished the iron, ties and labor should charge the exorbitant sum of $75,000 therefor, consequently he very properly refused to pay a cent of it.

When the ungrateful people who had been blessed with a railroad, tried to force him to pay, he put all his property into the hands of his brother Asbigasell, rather than submit to extortion. Thus we perceive that virtue triumphs in Brazil as well as in this country!

Then those who held the mortgage foreclosed the same, a receiver was appointed to take the road, and the senor went into bankruptcy, broke down and with the money safely buttoned in his pockets, retired like a persecuted martyr from a remorseless country! Such is the brief history of the 1'., B. & T. I). F. R. R.

After these vicissitudes the senor again came to this country where thereafter he proposed to reside and engage in the construction of railroads. He contemplated locating at some center of vast enterprises of that kind and join in the work with other capitalists of like ambition.

"We will," said the senor, "combine oar intelligence and capital, and will build (or at least we will promise to build) railroads for those localities which will vote bonds to us. We will, perchance, form a society, which for its great usefulness and beneficence, will be handed down to posterity under the distinguished name of 'Inh ung swind lers,' (which being interpreted from the Brazilian signifies. 'A confederation of narrow gauge magnates.' ) Thus honored and prosperous in this world, we shall in the next be entitled to fill comfortable stations in that radiant clime where cold weather never penetrates."

The story of Dixon County's alleged great caves and the marvellous discoveries there about twenty years ago by Prolessor Jeremiah Perrigoue, will to most readers be found more interesting than an unromantic journey through a dry and unembellished routine of facts and figures.

Jeremiah Perrigoue came to Ponca in 75, and for several years dug wells and ditches, and when he had leisure hunted in the rocks and bluffs along the river for minerals and fossils, desiring to find gold, silver or coal; or if he could not strike a deposit of such valuable minerals he hoped at least to unearth a plesiosaurus as Mr. Brewer had done some years before. By the aid of an old book on geological formations and the ancient gigantic vegetation and animals that once were on the earth, he accumulated a long list of jawbreaking names like Thascolotherium, Ichthyosaurus, Pterodactyl. Lepidodendron, Dinotherium, Giganteum and others, and though he could not talk very learnedly about those ancient vegetable and animal productions he certainly could discourse glibly concerning them, (and probably with as much knowledge of what he was talking about as the majority of mankind) and about the cretaceous and carboniferous ages and the old red sandstone and Potsdam periods, as familiarly as though he had been well acquainted with them all his life.

near Ponca Landing for the purpose of finding coal. The shaft was four feet in diameter and was sunk to a depth of eighty-five feet, when becoming discouraged and out of money to continue the work, the parties abandoned the enterprise. Mr. Perrigoue, whose geological researches along the bluffs had given him the name of "professor," was one of the workmen, and when the shaft was abandoned he assumed possession of it and proposed to make further investigations on his own hook.

A few days after, he appeared in town and announced that he had made some marvellous discoveries, and had passed through experiences so incredible and astonishing that he hesitated about telling them. He said that during the greater part of two days, he had been at least a thousand feet under ground and had traveled miles and miles through a great net work of lofty caverns. If his story were true, one would be led to believe that Dixon County was above an immense, petrified, primeval forest of the carboniferous age, in which were trees fifteen to forty feet in diameter, and the fossil remains of many of the ancient organic beings of that period. Animals which, in everything excepting life, appeared as natural as when they were on earth a million or more years ago.

The story of his subterranean travels and discoveries as he related it. was indeed wonderful. If he did not actually see what he claimed, he might have dreamed it, or if he did not di:eam he may have been overcome by an unharnessed imagination run wild. But here it is, substantially:

While the shaft above referred to was being dug, Prof. Perrigoue said he noticed that the workmen were greatly troubled in their digging by water, yet when they had penetrated to a depth of about 60 feet the water suddenly disappeared. This phenomenon was precisely what happened in that vicinity a few years before when Mr. Wernimont was boring for coal. Reflecting on this. Prof. Perrigoue came to the conclusion that the leakage was caused by a fissure in the rock communicating with some opening beneath and possibly with a cavern of greater or less dimensions.

Animated by this hope, he set to work after the shaft had been abandoned by the others, and determined to make a thorough examination of it. As he descended to the bottom of the shaft, 85 feet, he carefully examined its sides, (the last forty feet of which were in a rock formation) and he discovered a long, narrow seam extending from the bottom upward a distance of twenty-five feet or more, through which had escaped the water referred to. Near the bottom of the shaft he was enabled by a miner's pick to easily enlarge the crevice to the distance of a few feet, the rock being soft and porous, and to his joy he saw the seam had widened to such an extent that no further labor was required to pass through it. The direction of the crevice was northeasterly and descended at an angle of about 50 degrees.

Carefully groping his way along in the dim light of a miner's lamp, he had entered the passage not to exceed two hundred yards when his route turned sharply to the left and a most startling scene met his gaze. He saw a vast cavern beneath, through the roof of which opened the crevice he had followed. This subterranean world was pervaded by a weird and ghostly light coming from whence he knew not but the cause of which he afterwards ascertained.

The roof of the cavern was supported by an innumerable number of what appeared to be immense stone columns of great diameter at the base. He noticed that these columns were not stalactites, which, as one may say, start from the roof and grow downward; but were larger at the floor and became smaller as they ascended. In this as well as in other respects, they resembled trees; thus, frequently a column at the height of a few hundred feet became divided into many smaller branches, and would finally be lost in what a slight stretch of imagination would picture as an ocean of foliage, now, however, by the process of petrifaction, turned to stone, and forming the roof of the cavern.

On descending to the floor of the cavern, which he easily did by means of the petrified foliage, he found that the massive columns were, indeed, fossil trees, probably the lepidodrendra and the sigillaria, which are often found in coal formations, and were gigantic in size, from 500 to 800 feet high, and most prolific in foliage. Hence he concluded that he was in an ancient petrified forest, and he naturally inquired how it was possible that this vast primeval growth of enormous trees and magnificent foliage could have been thus buried so far below the visible world, and by what freak,

From these reflections, coupled with the knowledge of the assertions of geologists as to the different formations of this country, he came to a conclusion, which, although in some respects at variance with geological theories, is probably the only one by which the phenomena can be accounted for. His opinion was that ages ago when this immense forest grew and nourished, the floor of the cavern was the surface of the earth. That the great inundation spoken of by geologists as having occurred during or shortly after the carboniferous period, covered the forest to the topmost branches, and that this beautiful and fertile country was overwhelmed by a great inland sea, sweeping down from the north with vast force, and bearing upon the surface of its rapid current, great masses of ice, earth and even rocks, which, finding a small lodgment at first upon the top of the forest, was added to year by year during the countless ages of the flood's continuance, until where once was a wide waste of water, the fair hills and valleys of Dixon County, rose in all their beauty like Venus from the foam of the ocean. But the foundation beneath was sound and secure, the same power that planted 600 feet of rocks and earth upon its top, transformed the forest and its foliage into the hardest flint, upon which a much greater weight could rest with safety. Then when the flood passed away, it left the ancient forest as Professor Perrigone now found it.

From this theory he deduced other conclusions, viz: If this w^ere once a forest, he would find within it the petrifications of the ancient gigantic animals which made it their home. Should he not find them, too, as perfect in their preservation as were the trees and plants about him? Animated by these thoughts, he resolved to explore the cavern to the utmost. To determine his exact direction he examined his pocket compass, hut to his annoyance he found that the needle would no longer work with precision, and he was led to believe that large beds of iron ore were in that vicinity. The compass being no longer a safe guide it was necessary to move with caution, lest he lose himself in the vast solitudes and never be able to make his way out to the upper world. Therefore, critically observing bis whereabouts as he proceeded, he moved slowly forward. As he advanced, the light, which he had noticed at first, became more and more brilliant and he had accomplished 4,000 paces (about two miles), when the scene was lit up as by a noon-day sun.

In the meanwhile he noticed many other proofs that this was an ancient forest. Clumps of smaller trees, bushes, vines, etc.. were seen in all directions, and he could hardly realize that they were petrifications, so natural and perfect did they appear. The ground (or rather rock), upon which he walked, was nearly level, yet he was greatly annoyed by the broad leaved petrified grass, which ran up like so many sword blades, and rendered his journey not only difficult, but extremely dangerous. The grass upon which the Mammoths, Mastodons, Dinothera and other monsters of old had pastured, would not naturally be of a rank growth in a dense forest like this, yet he noticed many of the stalks were fifteen to twenty feet high.

As he struggled slowly forward through the stony network of vines and tangled grasses, he fortunately came to what seemed to have been a broad and well defined path, on which he found he could travel with comfort and safety, and which in the prehistoric ages had doubtless been the tramping ground of the denizens of the forest. In this path he noticed several footprints, unlike anything he had ever seen before, some of them of a very great size. One of them, especially, was so exceedingly large that he measured it, and found its diameter to be a little over four feet, The steps of this old prehistoric king were about thirty-seven feet apart.

A little further on a very interesting sight met his gaze. Over a clump of small trees or bushes, which did not exceed 125 feet in height, a mass of vines had grown. Upon these he saw vast numbers of berries of a beautiful red color, which, mingled with the dark green of the leaves, presented a very attractive appearance. These berries were from ten inches to two feet in diameter, and the leaves from six to eight feet long, and about half that in width. Very tiny specimens indeed, of the age of gigantic vegetation. So perfect did this charming bower of vines appear, that at first he was almost constrained to believe that here was something which had escaped the general curse of fossilization. Upon one of bhe berries which had fallen to the ground, he noticed a petrified worm about twenty inches long, whose depredations on this particular berry had, a million years ago, caused it to fall before its time.

More closely viewing this natural arbor of fruits and vines In' saw upon one of the branches, a bird, which in man) respects, resembled a gigantic pigeon; round smooth head, short but broad wings, and in color a dark blue, and which in its day was doubtless deemed a beautiful and peaceable songster. Its height was at tout five feet.

A little way below this bird, was another winged denizen of the forest. Its body was small, not to exceed six feet in length, but it had a head nearly as long and as large as its body. Its powerful jaws, tilled with long sharp teeth, gave it a most forbidding aspect. It had four feet and broad membranous wings, from which the professor concluded that this was the terrible and ferocious winged reptile of the Tertiary period, known as the Pterodactyl, the fossil remains of one of which he had seen in Chicago, and this therefore he readily recognized. This cruel reptile had evidently been laying in wait for the bird over his head with intent to devour it, when the flood sweeping down had destroyed both, and turned them and all their surroundings to imperishable stone.

Having sufficiently viewed these relics of a buried age, the professor passed onward, following the old beaten path as before. He was now about two miles from the place of entrance. As he advanced, he noticed directly before him what he at first supposed to be a lofty mound. He approached it. feeling assured that here was some new wonder, nor was he mistaken. Before him was the monarch of the forest, the same old Mastodon or Dinotherium, whose tracks had hitherto excited his attention. In shape, the monster somewhat resembled an elephant; it was built heavily and clumsily, but instead of two tusks it had four, and its mouth was armed with formidable teeth, from two to three feet long. In length it measured about 90 feet, its breadth :>4 feet, and its height when standing must have been not less than 60 feet. Its trunk, 35 feet in length, measured 12 feet in diameter at its base, and tapered gradually to its end.

The tusks were from 18 to 20 feet long. The eyes of this monster, three feet across, seemed to scan their visitor with such an appalling glare, that all his fortitude and philosophy were required to restrain him from turning and fleeing from the fearful presence.

Moving forward, the professor soon found himself upon the bank of a narrow, subterranean river. In the distance, and at a point inaccessible to him. a broad sheet of water fell with a deafening roar from the roof into the river below.

He was here enabled to ascertain the cause of the brilliant illumination of the cavern. High up in the roof and apparently not far from the source of the stream, was a fracture, through which rays of sunlight, reflected from the rocks above, were thrown with great brilliancy upon the waterfall, which thus blazed like a great curtain of fire. How the light could be thrown down such a distance and produce a result of such remarkable brilliancy, he was at a loss to comprehend. Yet of such being the fact, he had optical evidence.

As he was meditating on this and on the other wonders he hud that day seen, he noticed that the waterfall was becoming more and more dim, and in a short time the light totally disappeared, leaving him with but his lamp to illuminate the solitude. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was sundown, and being very tired, he camped upon the bank of the river for the night.

At six o'clock the next morning, he noticed a faint light upon the waterfall, indicating the first blush of dawn in the world above. In a short time the light increased, until at 8 o'clock the waterfall gleamed as brightly as the day before. Then he arose, ate breakfast and drank from the river, and pursued his investigations.

Wandering along the bank, he noticed a little thicket a few paces back, through the matted foliage of which he discovered another remarkable petrifaction. It was a huge animal, resembling a sloth, only vastly larger. Its length was 24 feet and was about 14 feet high. It had a large body and strong legs; its head was round or nearly so, and in its solid jaws were planted a double row of massive teeth. It had four legs, and on its feet were three immensely long and powerful claws or fingers. A broadtail, resembling in shape an oar blade, bui of amazing length, swept the ground for i:> or 20 paces. The appearance of thishuge beast indicated that it was not carnivorous, but was designed to make its home among the branches of the trees, the hark and leaves of which furnished it food. The professor concluded, and doubtless correctly, that this was the ancient Megatherium, whose gigantic fossil remains are often found in the Tertiary period of the Mamallion age.

A little further, he came to what resembled a turtle. It had an oblong flattish body, was about ten feet long and stood some live or six feet high. It was covered with scales and was equally at home on land or in water. It had eyes of most malignant expression, and teeth which when it lived would have made it a very unpleasant acquaintance.

Pursuing his investigations down the river, the professor next came to where several enormous reptiles had been caught by the Hood and all destroyed while in the very act of a desperate battle. He counted three of these formidable carnivorous animals, two of which were plesiosaura and seemed to have been united in giving battle to the third, an ichthyosaurus of an amazing size. All of them were lizard like in shape, the ichthyosaurus was, however, three or four times as large as the plesiosaurus. The ichthyosaurus was in length about 60 paces, or about ISO feet, and in all its proportions was the most enormous of anything he had yet seen. The jaws of this monster, 60 feet in length, and armed with a fearful array of powerful fangs, would, when expanded, have compassed and crushed within them at one gulp half the buildings of Ponca. In this battle with his more feeble adversaries, he was evidently on the offensive. The necks of the plesiosaurans he held crushed in his jaws, and there, mangled and dying, these reptiles had in their agonies, torn up the earth as by the shock of an earthquake.

From the scene of this fearful conflict, the professor now found another path leading back into the forest. As he reresumed his walk he could not forbear reflecting on the littleness and insignificance, not only of mankind hut of all things now living, animal and vegetable, when compared with the tremendous creations surrounding him. The tiny flowering plants of the upper earth, were magnified a thousand fold. The insignificant tadpole species, here became salaniandroids, with round bodies six feet in diameter, while in place of the harmless lizard he beheld what he recognized as the magalosaurus and iguanodon, 60 to 90 feet long, and whose powerful tails would at one sweep overthrow the largest trees and rocks of our day.

In an open glade he saw collected a number of enormous beasts and reptiles, the names of which he found no difficulty in determining. Among the in, he recognized the clinotherium, an animal whose height was thirty feet, while its body was three times that in length, with a girth of least eighty feet. The ferocious aspect of this monstrosity of nature, the malignant and baleful glare of its eyes, its tusks, sharp as swords and of such an amazing length that sixty feet could be measured between their points, and more than all, the vast strength displayed in its trunk, fifty feet long and thirty feet around it at the base - made a spectacle which would have struck terror to a heart less stout than that of Prof. Perrigoue.

The lifelike appearance of the different petrifactions was startling, and could hardly be accounted for by any known laws of nature. The color, the hair, even the expressions of countenance, were so perfect, that one could with difficulty believe that these animals only existed a long series of ages ago.

Near by, the professor also saw the paleotherium, another immensely large and strong beast, the progenitor in remote ages of the hippopotamus and rhinoceros, and even, as is claimed by some, of the tapir and hog, but unlike them in its extraordinary size, being eighteen feet high when standing erect, with a body proportionately large and of a length not less than forty feet. Here, also, were several species of the saurian tribe, and to the left, were a group of horned serpents and winged frogs. One of the latter, measured by the professor, was found to be thirteen and one-half feet high. Pursuing his way, the professor next entered a portion of the forest which seemed to combine the brilliant splendors of the tropics with a grandeur aud magnificence, rarely to be seen on the upper earth. On either hand, the towering trees were almost hidden by their luxuriant foliage and the innumerable vines and plants which, creeping upward by a myriad of convolutions, had woven themselves together, and overhead had formed a perfect arbor. Through this dense growth of vegetation, by some curious freak of nature, opened a wide avenue. As the professor walked along it, he gazed with admiration upon the choice and many colored fruits and flowers on either h ind. Amid the variety of fruit he recognized none as belonging to this age, except the grapes, which hung in great abundance and in clusters of such size that a single one would have weighed him dow7n. Slowly he traversed this romantic pathway, drinking in the beauty of the scene, and it was with great difficulty he could realize that all these regal splendors were but the petrifactions of existence in the earth's infancy.

After a walk of several miles through these scenes, the professor returned toward the river and at night found himself again on the bank, where he slept on the camping ground of the night before. The next morning he deemed it proper to leave the cavern, his provisions being nearly exhausted, proposing, however, to revisit it again, and bring away, if possible, some of the fossils which there abounded. He therefore retraced his steps, regaining with some difficulty, the crevice in the rocks by which he had descended. From here, after resting himself a short time and making a final survey of the great cavern he was leaving, he started for the outer world. In the passage leading up to the shaft he noticed that the air was becoming very impure. In the lower cavern he had not been troubled by fire damp, but in this upper passage, it seemed exceedingly and dangerously prevalent. Ashe passed on, he saw that the air inside of the gauze covering to his lamp had taken fire. The safety lamps of coal mines, wrhen properly constructed, can be easily regulated, and if the air takes lire within the lamp, it can be readily extinguished; but in this home-made lamp. Professor P. found it impossible to extinguish the flame. He knew that in a fewT minutes at least, the protecting wires would become red hot, then melt, and an explosion would occur which would inevitably bring the roof dowm upon him and bury him alive. With horror, he hurled the lamp from him, and fled as fast as possible. So rapid wrere his motions that in Ave minutes at most, he passed from the crevice into the shaft and from thence to the upper world again. As he emerged from the shaft the roar of the explosion greeted his ears. He immediately examined to ascertain what damage, if any, had been done by the explosion, and he found that though what dirt had been thrown into the shaft could easily be taken out again, the worst calamity resulting had been the settling of the rocks and the closing of the fissure through which he had entered, and possibly throughout its entire length. Greatly disappointed at this disastrous conclusion of his adventures, he came up to town as stated at the commencement of this narration and made report of his discoveries.

Volcanic Phenomena

The story of Prof. Perrigoue's discoveries a few pages back, and this one about the Ionia volcano, are samples of what old settlers sometimes amused themselves with. They have all been forgotten in late years. As to the volcano, that as well as the pretty village of Ionia, were long ago washed out by the Missouri, and the memory of them alone remains.

In 1876 and 1877 there was much talk and many theories in relation to the phenomena that were seen near Ionia, known as the "volcano." A great many people went there to see it, and returned home no wiser than before. They saw a burning hill which threw off intense heat and suffocating fumes and in the darkness of night glowed like a great bed of fire, but the cause of it was a mystery, and aside from the explanation given by Prof. Aughey, is as much of a mystery now as it was then. It is not likely there was anything about it resembling a volcano, yet some insisted that it was one, and in corroboration, claimed that occasionally sounds could be heard beneath the surface, and that at such times, steam would escape from the crevices, and dirt and even stones be thrown up.

Among those whose curiosity gave them a desire to visit and see the alleged volcano, were three gentlemen from Iowa, Messrs. Vance, Andrews and Brown. They came up to Ponca from Sioux City one afternoon late in the fall of '77, and the next morning employed Mr. Green of the livery firm of Green & Palen to take fchem to the scene of mystery. As tin1 gentlemen had with them a number of scientific instruments, such as a compass and chain, several long, diamond-pointed drilling rods, a thermometer, etc., curiosity was considerably aroused as to who they were and the cause of their visit. It was said by some that they were railroad engineers: others maintained they were a party of land hunters, while others on seeing the drilling apparatus, affirmed that the strangers were prospecting for coal. A facetious surmise was, that one of them, a tall, fine looking gentleman with a slightly foreign cast of countenance, was the Brazilian Traveler; that another, a short. energetic man. was Gen. Manager Davenport, of the C. C. & B. H. R. R., and that the intellectual appearance of the third, denoted Prof. Jones of New York. All joking aside, however, the gentlemen really bore the commonplace names above mentioned and were not known to fame by anything remarkable. A natural diffidence about exposing to the public the object of their visit, led them to be reserved and reticent. After a trip which lasted three days the party returned from Ionia and the next morning took the train for Sioux City.

Out of this little expedition to see the Ionia volcano, grew various stories, and the numerous yarns, aided and added to by the imagination of the tellers, made out that the gentlemen in question had made some very important discoveries and in doing so, had passed through many exciting adventures. In due time a few of these stories were collected together and boiled down and their differences harmonized as much as possible and the result was a narrative probablv no more improbable than the account which Prof. Perrigoue gave of his discoveries of caves and the petrifactions of prehistoric animals.

According to the story, Messrs. Vance, Andrews and Brown, accompanied by Mr. Green had visited the volcano and explored it thoroughly, and in doing so had. indeed, passed through some dangerous adventures. The account of their trip thus given was that at noon of the day they started out from Ponca, they arrived at Ionia. Leaving the town to their right, they in a short time reached the rough district in the neigborhood of the volcano, the close proximity of which was indicated by dense sulphurous fumes prevailing the atmosphere. The horses were now securely tied, and the party proceeded forward on foot. Approaching by means of difficult paths through a wild region, they soon stood on the summit of a lofty bluff, overlooking the river, and from which a wide extent of country was visible. In front rolled the tumultuous Missouri, across whose dirty bosom nature had commenced throwing a bridge of ice. Beyond and about a mile away, were the low lands and dense forests of Dakota. At their right they looked down into the pleasant little valley in which nestled cosily among its shrubbery and trees, the little town of Ionia. On their left and up the river, they beheld a long range of bluffs and broken land as far as the eye could reach.

The wild grandeur of the scene, was, however, disregarded, as they beheld the real object of their search revealing itself by its spires of smoke, just below and immediately in front of them. Hastily scrambling down the almost perpendicular sides of the bluff, the party stood on the spot so well known as the Ionia volcano. Imagine an oblong tract containing perhaps ten acres, whose myriads of funnel shaped mouths continually emitted a murky cloud. As they went forward over the plateau, the heat was intense. Beneath their feet sparkled beds of coals, and the air laden with noxious vapors, was almost overpowering. The phenomena seemed more wonderful as night came on. What in the daylight appeared as jets of vapor, resembling smoke, were now of a bright bluish color, and as their columns ascended were variegated with brilliant flashes. It was noticed that this luminous vapor did not discharge itself uniformly, but would continue only from four to six minutes, then cease for a short interval and then commence again. It was also noticed that the discharges of vapor from the numerous orifices all occurred at the same time, thus indicating by their concert of action that their streams were all from one common reservoir. Just previous to an irruption, a low rumbling sound would be heard, accompanied by a slight trembling of the earth. All these various phenomena would in the light and noise of day hardly be noticed, but now were clearly apparent.

ica and especially in Europe he had visited several volcanoes and had studied them considerably, and he was compelled to acknowlege that this, though on a small scale, bore a strikresemblance to them. The discharges at regular intervals, the jailing of the earth and the dull sound which anticipated the eruptions, were a counterpart of the phenomena he had witnessed at Vesuvius and iKtna.

For the purpose of more fully testing the question whether these eruptions were occasioned by volcanic action, the party now proposed to drill down through the earth anil rock, which was an easy matter as the rock, owing to the extreme heat, seemed to be softened to the consistency of dry clay.

Taking their hollow diamond pointed iron rods, they selected a spot near to one of the largest jets of vapor, and were enabled to drill downward very rapidly. In the course of three hours they penetrated to a depth of about sixty feet. The drawing of the rods occupied some time as they were white hot, and it was near midnight when the last joint was taken out. Then a heavy explosion took place, accompanied by a tremendous discharge, not of luminous vapor alone, but of what appeared to be a stream of liquid fire, which thrown to a height of at least 75 feet, fell like a cataract of flame. The display lasted a little less than five minutes, then ceased, and after this first grand exhibition of earth's tireworks, the eruptions were merely of luminous vapor, the same as was emitted by the thousand little volcanic mouths around them.

This wonderful discharge of fire was accompanied by a number of red hot stones; some of them, indeed, were melted by the violent heat. It was afterwards ascertained that this brilliant display was witnessed by several persons about ten miles distant in Dakota, who supposed that an enormous meteor was rising above the horizon. Mr. Vance, by this experiment, was more than ever convinced that this was a veritable volcano, and he assured his companions that the great source or fountain of tire was but a little way beneath them.

It now being early morning, the party went back to their carriage and rested until daylight, when they again returned to the volcanic field. The displays of the night had passed with the darkness, and only a few spindles of vapor were visible, and a stranger might pass over without discerning anything unusual. He would find his mistake, however, if he attempted to walk with bare feet. The most sedate personage in such predicament, would undoubtedly perform a hornpipe in a very undignified manner. The morning light revealed several other interesting facts which had hitherto escaped attention. Though the weather was cold, and as a general thing vegetation had been dead for two months past, it was noticed that in several ravines adjacent to the volcanic field, the grass was green and luxuriant. Some of it was six inches high, and evidently growing in a good, healthy condition. Mr. Andrews clipped some to take east to show his friends what Nebraska could do in the winter time. Mr. Green also took occasion to cut off a quantity of it for his steeds, to whom it was a luxurious repast.

The earthquake, which a few weeks before, had been severely felt in Dixon county, was referred to in the conversation respecting the volcano, and inquiry was made of Mr. Vance, who seemed to have a very complete knowledge of such matters, as to whether in his opinion such earthquake was in any manner connected with the phenomena they were witnessing. The reply of Mr. Vance gave a new and startling theory. "Here," said he, "is an undoubted volcano. Below the surface, (nor is it far below, as we saw last night), is a reservoir of fire, doubtless communicating with the internal fire of the earth. Near by flows the Missouri. My opinion is that the earthquake was occasioned by the river breaking through into the fiery caldron beneath us. If, for example, you were to turn a stream of water into a crucible of melted iron or any other mineral substance, a violent commotion would immediately occur, and if the stream was large an explosion would take place. The first will illustrate an earthquake, the second a volcano."

To illustrate the truth of his theory, Mr. Vance poured some water into the hole that had been drilled the night before. Intantly they were saluted by an explosion and a shower of stones. "Had this," said he "instead of a quart of water, been one-tenth part of what flows by this point in an hour, we would have had an earthquake like the one occasioned a few weeks ago. Finally, as the river continues fco encroach, a great breach will be made in the dividing walls and an immense flood will rush in upon the molten mass below. Then the spot where we stand, and perhaps some space around will be tossed toward the clouds, stones and lava hurled out, and a full-blown volcano inaugurated. When the overflow of lava into the river blocks up the underground channel and thus shuts off the irritating cause of the commotion, the volcano will die away to a mere smoke pot as it is called, until other changes cause the river to break through again. If it were possible to discover this underground channel, one might regulate the earthquake and volcanic display at pleasure. Such was Mr. Vance's theory.

The party deemed it now proper to further investigate the bluffs in the neighborhood. As they wandered alongthey noticed in the ledges of the rocks many curious formations and petrifications. The whole day was thus occupied in viewing these interesting subjects of study. Evening came as they were resting at the foot of a rocky eminence, preparatory to returning to the volcano which was about a mile away.