Lincoln City (part 11 of 19)

"Anxious to secure at an early day as possible the development of our saline interests, I entered into a contract with Messrs. Cahn and Evans in August last, whereby they obligated themselves to commence at once the sinking of a well on land leased to them for that purpose, and to continue the sinking of the same to the depth of 800 feet unless brine of 50° in strength should be sooner obtained, and to keep a perfect geological record of formations passed through in the ])rosecution of the work.

"Since that time they have steadily prosecuted the work, meeting, however, with very many obstacles. They have already expended $12,000.00 and it will cost them several thousands more to complete the work. The geological record provided for in this contract will prove invaluable in the sinking of future wells. I trust you will see the justice of this measure and cheerfully confirm my action in the matter.

Without giving the matter mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs of the governor's message any consideration, the legislature finally adjourned on the 4th day of March, 1870, and was by executive proclamation reconvened in a second extra session on the same day. Again the governor, by message urged upon that body the importance of the subject under consideration, saying:

"The ratification and confirmation of a certain contract made by the governor for the conveyance of certain lands to Isaac Cahn and John M. Evans, to aid in the development of the saline interests of the state, or such other aid as the legislature may see fit to extend. I again urge this subject upon you for your earnest consideration. I cannot but think that the best interests of the state need and demand it. The time has come when the people of this state ought to know whether the salt springs owned by her are to be a source of wealth, rivaling Saginaw and Syracuse, or not. It is hardly to be supposed for a moment that individual enterprise can afi^ord to take upon itself the risk of ruin consequent upon sinking a well at a vast expense and failing to obtain brine. It may be true that these lessees are able to sell out and make themselves whole. But whether true or not, true it is beyond doubt that individual speculation in our salt springs is not what the state wants. Indeed, I think it hurtful to the reputation of our saline resources. We want them developed. We want the problem solved once and forever. I would much prefer that it be made a condition of the grant or other aid that the present lessees shall not assign their term or any part of it, until they have sunk the well to the depth required. This would certainly be for the best interests of the state. It would insure hearty and vigorous effort on the part of the lessees. I hope, gentlemen, you will consider the subject well, because 1 know of my own knowledge that these lessees, after a great expenditure made in good faith and at my own earnest solicitation, will be compelled to abandon, for want of means, further prosecution of their enterprise. This very abandonment will by no means tend to increase the zeal of enterprising adventur- ers in making furiiier experiments. I therefore ask at vour hands such leei<- lation as will tend to push forward this work to a rapid completion."

This appeal, like the former, fell upon deaf ears, and, without adverting to the subject, the 1-egislature on the same date on which they had been for a second time reconvened, adjourned without delay. At the ensuing regular session of the Legislature in 187 1, Governor Butler was impeached and removed from office, and the lease to Cahn and Evans was never ratified or validated. They proceeded, however, to sink a well to the required depth, before reaching which they struck a stream of flowing water too slightly saline for the profitable manufacture of salt. Their works were then abandoned, but the stream continues to flow in inidiminished quantity.

It was said at the time that the flowing vein was of sweet, fresh water, and that its salt and alkaline qualities, when it reached the surface, were due to its mixture with other veins encountered on its way upward. And it was said, also, that its velocity was such that it would rise in a tube to the height of thirtv feet above the ground. I have not attempted to verify or disprove either of these statements. If they are true, the stream may perhaps some time be of practical value for the generation of electric power. Much the same story was told of a well afterwards sunk by the city, on Government, then Market, Square, for the purpose of fire protection.

Not long after the execution of the lease to Tichenor and Green, the former disposed of his interest to Horace Smith of Springfield, Massachussetts, a member of the celebrated firm of Smith & Wesson of revolver fame, who by personal inspection and with the aid of experts had satisfied himself of the great value of the salt controlled by the lessees. But not deeming the business of manufacture at Lincoln so far developed as to recjuire his personal attention, he placed his matters there temporarily in charge of his nephew, Mr. James P. Hebbard of Nebraska City.

There is no reason to doubt that Morton and his associates acqtiired their supposed title in good faith and felt assured of its validity during all this time, but when or how he became convinced that the land was of any considerable value is not known. He may possibly have read Mr. Harvey's pamphlet or my own. Quite likely he had read the report of an expert inspector on file in the land department and hereafter mentioned, and he was doubtless familiar with the governor's message and with the legislative act of February 15, 1869 and with the covenants of the lease made pursuant to it, and with the purchase by Smith, a rej)orted wealthy and capable business man, after a careful personal examination with the aid of an expert, and with the expenditures of Cahn and Evans and the reassuring indications reported to be obtained by the sinking of their well. There was certainly evidence enough to convince any reasonable man and Morton was never accused of lacking the faculty of reasoning. But by the fall of 1870 it had become evident that the title to the tract could never be put beyond dispute otherwise than by a judgment of the courts, and, in a litigation concerning it, certain technical advantages of considerable value, it was supposed, would abide with the party in possession who would enjoy the position of defendant, and be better able to parry an attack than to make one. With a view to securing these advantages, Morton organized an expedition in December of that year. There was then no direct communication between Lincoln and Nebraska City by rail and he traveled overland with a wagonload of provisions and supplies and one or more assistants. Arriving in Lincoln at evening on the 24th day of the month, he looked about him for some trusty local personage to help him out with his enterprise, and finally hit upon Ed P. Roggen, then just arriving at manhood, afterwards secretary of this state, and with his party thus completed repaired to the salt springs jtist at nightfall.

Among the structures erected by the lessees pursuant to their covenants with the state was a small building intended for use as a sort of headquarters and barrack room for the proprietors and their employees. The weather had been cloudy and threatening for the past week, and the manufacture of salt by solar evaporation had been temporarily suspended, and the "works" were deserted. The building was unlocked and unguarded and the party went into occupancy without opposition. News of the invasion soon came to the ears of Green and Hebbard and caused them no little uneasiness. It was feared that unless the intruders could be at once expelled, their possession would ripen into such a character that it could only be terminated, if at all, at the end of a long and tedious litigation, during which the tenants of the state would incur a forfeiture of their lease, besides losing the profits of manufacture in the meantime. In view of these possibilities they immediately repaired for counsel to Col. James E. Philpott. one of the leading legal practitioners in the city, and laid their case before him. Cord wood, with the exception of corn, was then almost the sole fuel used or obtainable in Lincoln, and was worth from ten to fourteen dollars per cord, reference being had to quality. The lessees had a large quantity of it piled near the building and the colonel suggested that if the trespassers should consume any of it, which on account of the state of the weather they would doubtless be compelled to do, they would commit the offense of larceny, for which they would become liable to arrest and criminal prosecution. Acting upon this suggestion, two persons were dispatched to the salt springs with instructions to observe and report events. They were not long in discovering both Morton and Roggen helping themselves to the wood and carrying armsful of it into the building, and in reporting the fact to their employers. Immediately a complaint charging Morton and Roggen with larceny, according to a statutory form then in use, was prepared by Philpott, and subscribed and sworn to by Plebbard before myself as justice of the peace, which office I then held, and a warrant was thereon duly issued and delivered to a constable named Richardson, who was then also town marshal. I do not recall his given name, but because of the quality of his hair he was commonly called and known as "Curl" Richardson. At about half past 10 o'clock on the same night, the constable appeared at my office with both the defendants in charge as prisoners and attended by their counsel, Mr. Jacob R. Hardenbergh, now deceased. Mr. Hebbard and Colonel Philpott, and perhaps others, were also present. There was a good deal of halfconcealed anger and excitement, but there was no outbreak and no scene. The next day was both Christmas and Sunday. Morton entered into his personal recognizance and became surety upon the recognizance of Roggen for the appearance of both of them at a specified hour on the following Monday, to which the adjournment was taken. When these proceedings had been concluded all persons in attendance left the room. There was a conference that night between Morton and his counsel on one side, and Seth Robinson, then attorney-general of the state, on the other, at the private offiee of the latter. Who else was there or what was done or agreed upon, 1 know only from hearsay. 1 was not present and did not know of the meeting at the time. This much, however, seems certain, namely, that Morton agreed to desist from his attempt to take forcible possession of the projierty in consideration that the criminal prosecution should be dropped. It was said at the time that he also agreed to waive any claim for damages on account of his arrest, but this he afterwards disputed. At any rate, at the hour to which the case had been adjourned, on Monday, the prosecution appeared and withdrew the complaint and the proceeding was dismissed.

Two weeks later, on the jth of January, 1871, Morton began an action against Hebbard and Green, in the District Court of Lancaster County, to recover the sum of $20,000 damages for malicious prosecution and false imprisonment. His counsel was Jacob R. ILardenbergh, with whom was afterwards associated Daniel Gantt of Nebraska City, later a judge of the Supreme Court of the state. Hebbard and Green filed separate answers, the former being represented by E. E. Brown and Seth Robinson as his attorneys, and the latter by James E. Philpott. A jiu'y was waived and the cause came on for trial at a special term of the court befor"e the Hon. George B. Lake, district and supreme judge. On the 8th day of June, 1871, there were subpoenaed as witnesses a man named Kennedy, E. P. Roggen, Maj. A. G. Hastings, and myself. There were findings and a judgment for the plaintilT in the sum of $100 damages and costs of suit. On the same day the amount was paid into court by Robert E. Knight, a partner of Colonel Philpott, and on the same day also, Morton signed with his own hand upon the records of the court a receipt for it from Capt. Robert A. Bain, clerk of the court. The trial was merely formal, and it was understood at the time that what Morton wished to gain from the suit was not large damages but vindication from the accusation of larceny. Thus ended an episode about which there was much angry discussion for a time, and which was the occasion, temporarily, of some "bad blood," but which left matters precisely where they were at the beginning, and which had caused no appreciable harm to the jiroperty and none at all to the reputation of any one concerned.

But litigation was by no means at an end. On the same 7th day of January, on which the last mentioned suit was begun, Morton, Plopkins and Manners began an action in ejectment in the same court to try the title to the lands in dispute. Counsel engaged in the case were J. R. Hardenbergh and Daniel Gantt, for the plaintiffs, and Seth Robinson, E. E. Brown and James E. Philpott for the defense. Subsequently the state was admitted to defend by George H. Roberts, who had succeeded Mr. Robinson in the office of attorney-general. A trial before Judge George B. Lake and a jury resulted in a verdict and judgment for the defendants, to reverse which a petition in error was prosecuted in the Supreme Court. The serial or general number of the case in that court was eighty-one. In that court Judge E. Wakely, of Chuaha, also appeared for the jjlaintiffs.

The patents although executed, as before stated, and transmitted *o the local land office were never delivered to Prey, but were arrested by the commissioner of the general land office, Mr. J. M. Edmunds, as soon as he became informed of the character of the land, and were by his order returned to the department at Washington and cancelled. The sole ground of the decision was that, by reason of these circumstances, the legal title had never passed out of the United States to Prey, and that although he might have acquired complete equitable OAvnership and conveyed it to the plaintiffs, the court was without jurisdiction to adjudge the matter in the common law action of ejectment. The chief justice conibatted this decision in an elaborate and characteristically vigorous opinion, in which he maintained that saline lands in Nebraska were not reserved from private sale prior to the passage of the enabling act, and that the lands in suit having been sold before that time, section eleven of that act, above quoted, not only did not assume to grant them to the state, but by implication ratified and confirmed their previous sale to the plaintiffs or Prey. He further contended that the action of the Department of the Interior in arresting and cancelling the patents was in excess of authority and void, and that the plaintiffs, having all except the bare legal title, which was a mere shadow, were entitled to maintain their suit, and upon reversal of the judgment of the District Court, to have final judgment in their favor rendered in the Supreme Court. He treated the defendants, the state, and its lessees as in the light of mere trespassers without semblance of right.

Dissatisfied with this decision, the plaintiff's sued out a writ of error from the Supreme Court of the United States, where counsel for the plaintiffs was Montgomery Blair, and for the defendants were Judge William Lawrence, of Ohio ; Judge E. Rockwood Hoar, of Massachusetts ; and the Hon. R. H. Bradford. The case was reached and disposed of by an opinion by Justice David Davis, speaking for the whole court, at the October term, 1874. 21 Wallace, 88, U. S. 660. That court wholly ignored the opinion of the state Supreme Court, both majority and minority, and disposed of the case upon its merits, a somewhat unusual proceeding, because a majority of the state court expressly declined to consider the merits and rested their decision solely on a question of practice, having reference to their own jurisdiction and that of the trial court in this form of action, and held that neither had any. The state court was certainly competent to determine its own powers and jurisdiction, and it is difficult to understand how the Supreme Court of the United States derived from it a jurisdiction which it did not itself possess. But the latter-named court so determined, holding, after a view of all the congressional legislation relative to the subject, that the springs were reserved from private entry by an act of Congress of July 22, 1854, establishing the office of surveyor-general for the territories of New Mexico, Kansas and Nebraska, and for that reason affirmed the judgment complained of. The lands were thus finally released from the custody of the law. No further attempt to make use of them for the manufacture of salt has ever been made, but there have been some partly successful efforts to convert the big spring into a pleasure resort.

There was produced on the trial in the District Court and included in the bill -of exception a certified copy of a report of an expert who, by direction of the land department, had been detailed by the United States surveyor-general for Kansas and Nebraska to ascertain the true character of the land in question. It was shown by this document that by careful observation over a long period in the summer of 1862, of the quantity of brine issuing from the large spring, then called the "Chester Basin." and from a personally conducted quantitative and qualitative analysis of it, that there was annually producilile l>y solar evaporation from the surface waters of that spring alone no less than fifty-five hundred tons of, for practical [lurposes, chemically pure salt, i,ooo tons of which could be collected from spontaneous crystallization aroimd the edges of the basin. This quantity would have been equal to 220,000 statutory bushels, but at the royalty reserved in the Tichenor and tjrecn lease, should have yielded the state an annual re\enue of $4,400. Hut it was further shown by this report that the quantity of salt obtainable couUl without difficulty be largely increased by the use of dams and dykes preventing loss by dilution and seepage.

The statement of facts prepared by Justice Davis for official publication in connection with the decision of the Supreme Court of the LInited States contained the following statement, substantially repeated in the body of the opinion: "The land in c[uestion was palpably saline, so incrusted with salt as to resemble snow covered lakes." It should not be forgotten that there are eleven smaller springs situated in the Great Basin and selected by the governor.

Subsequent Workings

Charles G. Bullock maintained the plant for ten years, beginning in 1874, with very slight success. /\n overflow from .Salt Creek damaged his works to the amount of $1,000 and dissolved his marketable salt. In 1885 Jesse T. Green attempted to revive the works, but again the elements of nature stopped the eflort. A heavy fall of rain worked the havoc in this latter case. The State Legislature of 1885 passed an act "to provide for the sale and leasing of the saline lands and the development of the saline interests of the State of Nebraska'' and in December of the same year a contract was made with M. C. Bullock, of Chicago, for the sinking of a well 2,000 feet in depth, for which work he was to receive the sum of $10,125. This well was started in May, 1886, and the work ended in August of the next year. The result of the boring was very disappointing, as no brine of sufficient quality to be worked was found. The salt water tested only 35° at the highest and in other parts of the country where salt springs were locaied and salt manufactured 95° was considered the minimum for successful manufacture. The coming of the railroad brought cheaper salt, also, so that the manufacture of the commodity in Lancaster County, so long dreamed of by the people and advertised to the advantage of the new state, was given up as hopeless and has never been renewed. As stated before, the basin and principal wells were taken over in connection with an amusement resort. Oak Creek's waters were diverted into the old Chester Basin and a large lake now covers the ground where the faithful enthusiasts worked and where their hopes died.

Upon the banks of this beautiful lake, once barren and forbidding, has been planted a great variety of deciduous and evergreen trees, flowering and ornamental shrubs, all of which are growing luxuriantly ; large sums of money ha\e been expended in the erection of buildings suitable for a pleasure resort.

Chapter Vi The Town Of Lancaster

The Government survey of the the land upon which Lincoln is now located was made in the year 1S56 and, of course, the feature of the survey was the report made upon the salt springs. The stories of fabulous wealth spread to all parts of the Middle West, and for that matter, into the East. Many an adventurer and pioneer trekked to Nebraska Territory, fully expecting to return to his eastern home with pockets bulging. In 1856 the Crescent Company was organized at Plattsmouth, Neb., and Capt. W. T. Donovan, then commander of the steamer Emma, running from Pittsburgh to Plattsmouth, was appointed to represent the company at the newly discovered salt basin. Donovan, accompanied by his family, came and settled on section 23, on the west bank of Salt Creek, just south of the mouth of Oak Creek. During the same summer William Norman and Alexander Robinson, representing another company, came and located on section 21, near the salt basin, but in the next spring they left, dissatisfied with the outlook. As stated before, the attitude of the Pawnee Indians became very threatening during 1858 and Captain Donovan himself left the new settlement and retired to the Stevens Creek colony for safety. In 1861 he returned and settled in the vicinity of the salt basin once more, at a point near the present state hospital, then called Yankee Hill.

In the autumn of 1859 a meeting had been held to consider county organization and a committee, composed of A. J. Wallingford, Joseph J. Forest and W. T. Donovan, were appointed to select a site for a county seat and there lay out a town. In accordance with their instructions the men selected the site of Lincoln, and called it Lancaster. It is said that Donovan gave the name. He had previously, in 1857, named his first settlement at the basin Lancaster.

On July 2, 1861, Captain Donovan introduced Mr. W. W. Cox to the basin and the latter, in company with Darwin Peckham, began to boil salt on August 20th in section 21. During the winter, when the business of trading salt was at a standstill, Cox quartered with Donovan at Yankee Hill.

During the year 1862 John S. Gregory arrived at the basin and also opened up a salt business on section 21. In the latter part of the month of May Milton Langdon and his family arrived and settled on the north side of Oak Creek, near its junction with Salt Creek.

The passage of the Homestead Act in February, 1862, brought many new settlers into this county, where they took up their claims, some of them staying and others moving on after a few months.

In the fall of 1861 the first frame building in Lancaster County was begun and finished during the following spring. W. W. Cox, by trade a carpenter, did

During the winter of 1S62-63 the family of Joseph Chambers was presented with a son, which child was probably the first born within the limits of the present City of Lincoln. The child lived only a short time.

In the spring of 1863 John S. Gregory constructed a small frame house, in the vicinity of the present West Lincoln, and about the same time was made postmaster at the basin ; the office was called Gregory's Basin. Mr. Gregory engaged in the making of salt, along with William Imlay and Milton Langdon. Mr. Gregory was elected to the Territorial Legislature for Lancaster County on October 13, 1863.

On July 4, 1863, the little settlement at the salt Ijasin was augmented by several newcomers. Tradition has it that Mr. W. W. Cox, while picking gooseberries along Salt Creek for the Fourth of July dinner, heard men shouting to him. Upon closer inspection he found that the new arrivals, namely, J. M. Young, Peter Schamp, Dr. J. McKesson, E. W. Warnes, Luke Lavender and Jacob Dawson, were seeking a place to locate and plant a colony. The party accepted Mr. Cox's invitation to join in patriotic exercises and during the day Elder Young and his associates became impressed with the possibilities of the salt basin site. Young returned to the basin on July 10, 1863, and located on section 23, a part of which he designated as a town and named it Lancaster. No effort was made to encourage settlement in the town until the next year, 1864, and this date may properly be said to have been the starting point of the \'illage of Lancaster, later to blossom into the state capital of Nebraska.

Upon the occasion of Elder Young's death on Saturday, February 23, 1884, or shortly afterward, the Nebraska State Journal had the following to say of him :

"It is seldom that the Journal is called upon to chronicle the death of a man \vho. living, had so many claims to the love and respect of his fellow men, and who, dead, leaves so great a lesson of faith and works behind him, or is so sincerely mourned, as Elder J. M. Young, who has at last, after seventy-eight years of labor in his Master's vineyard, gone to receive the reward of his faithful toil.

"Up to within a year Elder Young had been quite vigorous and active, notwithstanding his burden of years. For the last year he had been suffering from Ijronchial aft'ections, and for about two months was confined to his bed.

"Elder T- -^E Young was born in Genesee Coimty, N. Y., near Batavia. on the old Holland purcha^-e, November 25, 1806. In 1829 hs married Alice Watson. at that time eighteen years of age, who now survives him at the age of seventyfour. The following year he moved to Ohio, and from Ohio he went to Page County. Iowa, in 1859. In i860 he came to Nebraska and settled at Nebraska City. In 1863, near the end of the year, he came to Salt Creek, and selected as a site for a town and what he predicted would lie the capital of Nebraska, the present site of Lincoln. The following named persons located her at the same time: Thomas Hudson, Edwin Warnes, Doctor McKesson, T. S. Schamp, Uncle Jonathan Ball, Luke Lavender, Jacob Dawson and John Giles. It was the original intention to make the .settlement a church colony, but the idea was never utilized as projected.

which was made the county seat. He gave the lots in the city away, half to the county and school district, and half to the Lancaster Seminary, a school which he hoped to see established here for the promulgation of his faith. He built from the proceeds of the sale of some of the lots a building, which was called the seminary, and which was occupied by the district school and church. It was burned in 1867 and was never rebuilt.

"A church was organized here and Mr. Schamp was the first pastor. Elder Young was then president of the Iowa and Nebraska Conference. The next year after the capital was located the stone church was built. Elder Young's dream was to build up a strong church in the capitafcity. He worked assiduously for the object, and put into the work some eight or ten thousand dollars of his private means. When the church went down and he saw that his dream, in so far, had been in vain - that his dream could never be realized - he was almost broken-hearted; and this was the chief cause of his departure from Lincoln, which took place in 1882, when he went to London, Nemaha County, the scene of his closing days.

"Elder Young began his labors as minister soon after he moved to Ohio, in 1829. He was president of the Ohio Annual Conference for several years and was president of the Iowa and Nebraska Conference for about twenty years. He was a man of rare vigor and fine attainments.

"Elder Young left four sons: John M., of Lincoln; James O., of London; Levi, Lancaster County; and George \\'., of Taos City, New Mexico. He was buried in Wyuka Cemetery on February 26, 18S4. Elder Hudson conducted the funeral services, by request of the deceased, assisted by Rev. D. Kinney and W. T. Horn."

The southeast quarter and the east half of the southwest quarter of section 23 were platted by Jacob Dawson, dated August 6, 1864. The streets were named North, Nebraska, Saline, Washington, Main, Lincoln, College, High and Locust from north to south. From west to east they were numbered from one to twelve. The original plat contained sixty-four blocks, of eight lots each. The streets were to be sixty-six feet wide; the alleys were to run east and west and be twenty feet wide. Upon the plat was a courthouse square and a seminary square.

In 1864 the Lancaster colony was increased by the location on or in close proximity to the site of a dozen more settlers. Up to that time Dr. J. McKesson, Elder Young, Luke Lavender, E. W. Warnes, J. M. Riddle, J. and D. Bennett, Philip Humerick, E. T. Hudson, C. Aiken, Roljcrt Monteith and his two sons, John and William, William and John Grey, O. F. JJridges, Cyrus Carter, P. Billows, W. Porter, Milton Langdon and three or four others were the settlers here. In 1864 Silas I'nitt, the Crawfords, Mrs. White and daughter, C. C. White and John Moore located on Oak Creek, about twelve miles northeast of this Lancaster settlement.

The Indian scare of 1864 caused many of the Lancaster citizens to hastily pack their belongings and start for the Missouri River, but some of them stayed, among the latter being Captain Donovan, who had once before fled for a like cause, John S. Gregory and E. W. Warnes. The Indians committed no depredations in this vicinity.

The second hotel was opened by John Cadman on the site of the old seminary and schoolhouse which stood on the rear of the lot occupied by the present State Journal Huilding. The hostelry was opened to the public late in 1867. Prior to this there had been a hotel known as the Pioneer House on the southeast corner of Ninth and Q streets. It was managed by L. A. Scoggin. The Pioneer was constructed in 1867 and burned down a few years later.

The afternoon of July 29, 1867, is a notable date in the history of Lancaster County. L'i)on this day the little hamlet of Lancaster was selected by the commissioners, Butler, Gillespie and Kennard, as the site of the capital of Nebraska. Lancaster then did not contain more than ten small houses, some of logs and some of stone. The commissioners met in the home of Captain Donovan, which stood near the southwest corner of Ninth and O streets. This was a small stone and Cottonwood house. Jacob Dawson's home was on the south side of O Street, between Seventh and Eighth, and in the front part of this house S..P>. Pound had opened a small grocery store. Dawson was the postmaster at this time also. Milton Langdon resided in a small log house near the southwest comer of Eighth and Q streets. Dr. John McKesson had his home on the north side, near what is now W and Twelfth streets. S. B. Galey, who had come to the town in April, 1866, had a small stone building on P Street, near Tenth. Linderman & Hardenbergh, who were among the earliest merchants, sold a small stock of merchandise at a point now on Ninth Street, near P. They sold their shop to Martin and Jacob P'flug early in 1867 and it then was operated under the firm name of Pflug Brothers. Robert Monteith and his son, John, had a small shoe shop at what is now 922 P Street. Elder Young lived on what is now O Street near Seventeenth. The stone house erected by the elder is still standing, although it is now covered with a cement veneer and a porch added. Luke Lavender's log house was located in the vicinity of Fourteenth and O, about on the site of the present public library. Lavender's small log home was the first to be erected on the plat of Lincoln. Dawson's house was, however, constructed about the same time and the first term of court was held by Judge Dundy in his house in November, 1864. William Guy, Philip Humerick, E. T. Hudson, E. W. \\'arnes and John Giles had homesteads near the plat of Lancaster, all of which are now a part of the City of Lincoln. There were about thirty inhabitants of the \'illage of Lancaster when the commissioners decided to locate the state capital upon this site.

This ends the history of the little Village of Lancaster, for, when the plat of Lincoln was made and the site surveyed, the former plat was disregarded and the struggling little community was absorbed by the greater Town of Lincoln. Land owners of Lancaster were given equivalent estates in Lincoln, as shown by the table upon another page.

Chapter Vii Report Of The Commissioners To Locate The Seat Of

"In pursuance of the requirements of the act of the Legislature entitled, 'An act to provide for the location of the seat of government of the State of Nebraska, and for the creation of public buildings thereat,' approved Jtnie 14, 1867, the commissioners - thereby appointed assembled at Nebraska City upon Thursday, June 18, 1867, and prepared for a personal examination of the district, viz.: 'The County of Seward, the south half of the counties of Saunders and Butler, and that portion of the County of Lancaster lying north of the south line of township nine,' within which a selection was to be made for the contemplated seat of the state government.

"Having provided an outfit, and employing Mr. Aug. F. Harvey as surveyor, to ascertain the lines of the proposed sites, we left Nebraska City on the afternoon of the 18th of July, and arrixed at Lancaster, in Lancaster County, on the evening of the 19th. The 20th and 22d were occupied in a full examination of the town site of Saline City, or 'Yankee Hill,' as it is more familiarly known, and Lancaster, the adjacent lands on both sides of Salt Creek, and the stone quarries from two to eight miles south of the village.

"The 23d was spent in reviewing* the townsite proposed on the highland west of and adjacent to the Village of Ashland, in the southeast corner of Saunders County. The surface of this site declined gently to the north and east, sufficiently for thorough drainage, and is of such evenness that but little expense will ever be inxolved for grading. From any part of it a widely extended panorama is spread, embracing as it rises, many square miles in the valley of the Platte and Salt Creek. Timber is abundant, and inexhaustible quarries of fine rock outcrop along the bluffs near the mouth of Salt Creek and along the Platte, within one to four and fi\e miles from the town. Salt Creek affords excellent water power for manufacturing jnirposes in Ashland. The distance of the site is about thirtylive miles from Plattsmouth, near the influx of Salt Creek to the Platte.

"On the 23th we went northwesterly along the old California Trail through Saunders County, covering the Wahoo River near its head, and arrived at nightfall at the residence of J. D. Brown, in Butler County. Upon this route we observed no situation of commanding advantages.

"Leaving Mr. Brown's on the 26th. we looked over the flat prairie between the heads of Oak Creek and the eastern tributaries of the Blue, in towns 13 and 14 north, ranges 3 and 4 east, in Butler County. Here is a wide tract of un- broken ])iain, upon which we drove for six hours without seeing a depression in the surfuL-e at either hand. We struck the Blue in town 14 north, range 2 east, passing down that stream. After a drive that day (inckiding some diversions from the direct rout to examine points which looked well at a distance), of over seventy-five miles, we arrived at Seward Center, in the fork of Plum Creek and the nine, and opposite the mouth of Lincoln Creek. All of the proposed si'te here could be seen at a glance. It lies on a high table between the streams named, is level, is surrounded by fertile valleys, adjacent to timber, stone, and first-class water power, and is remarkable for healthiness of situation.

"The advantages, indeed, are possessed in an equal degree by Milford, six to eight miles below Seward, and by Camden, in the fork of the Blue and West Blue, except that the last-named site was in a lower elevation. We remained in Milford over night, and on the 27th turned eastward, and arrived at Saline City in the evening.

the 2()th we made a more thorough examination of 'Yankee Hill' and Lancaster and their surroundings. At the last named point the favorable impressions received at first sight, on the 19th. were confirmed. We found it gently undulating, its principal elevation being near the center of the proposed new site, the village already established being in the midst of a thrifty and considerable agricultural population, rich timber and water power available within short distances, the center of the great saline region within tw-o miles ; and, in addition to all other claims, the especial advantage was that the location was at the center of a circle of about one hundred and ten miles in diameter, along or near the circumference of which are the Kansas state line, directly south, and the important towns of Pawnee City, Nebraska City, Plattsmouth, Omaha, Fremont, and Columbus.

"The state lands which we observed in our tour were mainly away from considerable bodies of timber or important water courses, and did not possess, to all appearances, any particular advantages, nor was the title of them so far vested in the state at that time (the report of the selection of lands by the governor under the acts of Congress admitting the state to the Union, not having then been certified or approved at Washington) as to warrant us in making a selection where there was a possibility that the title might fail, or in waiting until, by confirmation at Washington, the title had been secured.

"Under these circumstances we entertained the proposition of the people residing in the vicinity of Lancaster, offering to convey to the state in fee simple the west half of the west half of section 25, the east half and the southwest quarter of section 26, which, with the northwest quarter of section 26 (the lastnamed quarter being saline land), all in town 10, range 6 east, the whole embracing 800 acres, and upon which it was proposed to erect the new town. In addition, the trustees of the Lancaster Seminary Association proposed to convey to the state, for an addition to the site named in the foregoing proposition, the townsite of Lancaster, reserving certain lots therein, which had been disposed of in whole or in part, to the purchasers thereof, and the owners of said lots reserved agreeing to a resurvey of the townsite as an addition to Lincoln, and the acceptance of lots according to the new survey in lieu of those acquired from the seminary company and surrendered by them.

after his report upon the sufficiency of the titles proposed to be made to the state, and a careful consideration of all the circumstances of the condition of the state lands, the advantages of the situation, its central position, and the value of its surroundings over a district of over twelve thousand square miles of rich agricultural country, it was determined to accept the proposition made by the owners of the land, if upon a ballot the commissioners should decide upon a location at this point. - *-

"In the afternoon of the 29th of July we assembled in the house of W. T. Donovan, of Lancaster, and after a comparison of notes and the discussion of advantages of the many points examined, proceeded to ballot for a choice.

"On the first ballot Lancaster received two votes and .Vshland one. On the second vote Lancaster received the unanimous vote of the commissioners.

"Having performed the business of the location of the seat of government, the commissioners returned to Omaha, leaving Mr. Harvey at Lancaster to do the surveying necessary to locate the depressions and elevations on the townsite, preliminary to his furnishing a design for laying off the blocks, streets and reservations, and making a plat thereof. He completed that labor on the 12th of August, when he notified the commissioners, and they again assembled at Lancaster, on the 13th day of August. On the 14th the commissioners formally announced the founding of the Town of Lincoln as the seat of government of Nebraska, in the following proclamation :

" 'To Whom It May Concern: Know ye. that on this the 14th day of August, A. D. 1867, by virtue of authority in us vested, and in accordance with an act to provide for the location of the seat of government of the State of Nebraska, and for the erection of public buildings thereat, approved June 14. 1867, we, the undersigned commissioners, on this, the 14th day of August. A. D. 1867, have by actual view selected the following described lands belonging to the state, viz. :

" -S. E. 'A of section 23; the W. 'S of the N. W. '4, N. \V. '4 of the W. yi of the S. W. ':+, of section 25. the W. '4 of section 2^^. of township No. 10 north, of range No. 6 east of the sixth ]irinci])al meridian, and have located the seat of government of the State of Nebraska upon said described lands as a town to be known as Lincoln.

" "Further, that we have, upon the day above mentioned, designated within said location the reservation for the capitol building, state university and agricultural college, parks, and other reservations contemplated in the aforesaid act, which w'ill be properly designated upon a plat and filed in the office of the secretary of state.

"On the following day Messrs. A. F. Harvey and A. B. Smith, engineers, with a corps of assistants, who were sworn to perform faithful service, commenced the survey of the town. The design is calculated for the making of a beautiful town. The streets are loo and 125 feet wide, and calculated to be improved on all except O and Ninth streets, and the other business streets around the Market Square and the Courthouse Square, with a street park outside of the eurb line; as, for instance, on the 100-foot streets, pavements of 12 feet wide and park or double row of trees, with grass plots between, 12 feet wide outside the pavements; and on the 125-foot streets the pavement and park to be each 13 feet wide. This will leave a roadway of 52 feet on the streets 100 feet wide, and 60 feet wide on the wide streets, while on the business streets a 90-foot roadway will be ample room for all demands of trade.

"Reservations of nearly twelve acres each were made for the state house, state university and city park, these being at about equal distances from each other.

"Reservations of one block each for a courthouse for Lancaster County, for a city hall and market space, for a state historical library association, and several other squares, in proper location, for public schools.

"The commissioners have also marked upon the book of record of lots, reservations of three lots each for the following religious denominations, viz. :

"These reservations were made with the understanding with the parties making the selection on behalf of the several denominations, that the Legislature would require of them a condition that the property should only be used for religious purposes, and that some time would be fixed within which suitable houses of worship, costing some reasonable minimum amount, should be erected.

"The commissioners have also reserved lot 13, in block loi, for the use of the Independent Order of Good Templars; lot 14, in block loi, for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and lot 15, in block loi, for the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. We respectfully ask the Legislature to confirm our action in respect to all the reservations.

"The surveying of the town was done in a most careful manner, and with the utmost patience, and we believe that the lines are so well established that future litigation about 'lapping' of lots will be practically impossible. In every third street running north and south and every fourth or fifth street running east and west, there were set, at the center of intersection with every other street, a stone monument, even with the surface, in the top of which a mark was fixed at the exact point of crossing the lines. The work occupied Messrs. Ilarvcy and Smith, and a double party of assistants, constantly, until the loth day of September, when having staked off every lot in town, except in a few blocks in the northwest part of the northwest quarter ujjon the 'Saline land," the work was completed.

chasing the lots in time to build upon them for winter, and an early provision of the means of commencing work upon the state house, the commissioners, upon the 17th day of August, issued their advertisement for the first sale of lots, to be held on the 17th day of September.

"This advertisement was authorized to be printed in such newspaper as could give it the widest circulation. Upon the day of sale the weather, which had been excessively disagreeable for nearly a week, culminated in a cold, drizzly rain, in consequence of which not more than one hundred persons were present, .and but few of these the bidders we had expected. The aspect of affairs was disheartening. Persons who had loudly boasted of their great expectations in buying lots and building houses ; others who had been lavish in prophecies of the unparalleled success of the enterprise ; others who had been free with advice to us in regard to appraisements and sales - these, and still others, who were certainly expected to be on the ground and foremost in purchasing, had given us the cold shoulder, and were not present nor within hearing. Indeed, your commissioners almost felt diat failure was after all to be the result.

"However, the first lot was put up, and after some delay in getting a bidder, it was sold to L G. Miller, Esq., for an advance of 25 cents on the appraisement of $40.

"This small beginning was an index to the proceedings for the day, and when the evening closed, the sales footing up to about one-tenth of our expectations, our spirits or our hopes were in nowise improved.

"The second and third days gave a better result, and on the fourth and fifth, sunshine having come again, bringing more persons to the sales, and getting everyone to feeling well, the bidding became encouraging, and the stmiming up of the five days' offering was nearly, if not quite, satisfactory.

"The offering of lots was continued at Nebraska City from the 23d to the 27th of September, inclusive, and in Omaha on the 30th of September to the 4th of October.

"The sales at Nebraska City and Omaha amounted to about nineteen thousand dollars, and aggregated, with the amount at Lincoln, about fifty-three thousand dollars, a sum sufficiently large to dispel all despondency and warrant renewed exertions.

"Under the 'Capitol liill' your commissioners were required to pay over the amount received from the sales of lots to the state treasurer, and pay all expenditures by warrants upon the state treasurer building fund held by that officer. We have, in this regard, to plead guilty to a technical violation of law. Except the sum of $148, none of the money received by us has ever been paid over.

"As soon as the town was stirveyed, there began rumors that the enemies of the enterprise were determined to defeat it if possible, and that nothing which could accomplish that end would be left undone.

"We were assured in the most reliable quarters that one of these defeating means would be the enjoining of the treasurer against the payment of money u])on warrants upon the building fund, an eff'ort which, even if the injunction had not in the end been sustained, in the ordinary course of the courts, would

"In consequence of this rumor, well founded as it seemed to be, hundreds of persons who would otherwise have invested largely in Lincoln lots, declined so doing; others who had purchased or bid off lots, hesitated about paying the money and taking their certificates; while others became so fearful of a bad result, that they even applied to the commissioners for a restoration of the amounts paid and a cancellation of their certificates.

"At this juncture some friends of the enterprise, who were sureties upon our official bond, called upon the others, and prepared and furnished us with the following protest :

" 'Nebraska City, November 23, 1867. " 'To the Honorable David Butler, Thomas P. Kennard, and John Gillespie, commissioners : " 'Gentlemen: The undersigned having become sureties on your official bonds for the faithful performance of your duties as commissioners, respectfully beg leave to formally protest against the deposit of any of the funds received by you from the sale of state property with the state treasurer, for the following reasons :

" 'ist. Because it has been repeatedly intimated by the enemies of the present capital location, that all moneys so deposited will be attached and held, so as to defeat the wishes of a majority of the people of the state by preventing the erection of the capitol buildings till after the sitting of the next Legislature.

" '2d. Because we, having in good faith become sureties, not as a personal favor to the commissioners, but to secure the success of the proposed location and early completion of the capitol buildings, are iniwilling that the enterprise should either be defeated or delayed by useless litigation. We therefore, respectfully but earnestly, request the commissioners to withhold the funds which may now be in their hands, as well as those which may yet be received, and deposit them with those bankers who have made themselves sureties, and who may furnish the commissioners satisfactory security for the prompt payment of the money deposited with them.

" 'Robert Hawk, " 'James Sweet.' "Under the circumstances which surrounded us. and being unwilling to jeopardize the money held by us as the representatives of the state in trust for the persons who had advanced it upon the risk of the success of the Town of

Lincoln, we felt that we could not do otherwise than accede to the demand and protest of our sureties, and ha\ing made satisfactory arrangements for the deposit and withdrawal of the funds with private bankers, we did so, and have assumed all the responsibility of the financial affairs of the enterprise.

"At the sale in September, 1867, and June, 1S68, we had otTered lots only in the alternate or even numbered blocks, with those in four odd numbered blocks to make up for half of the reserved blocks, all of which, except the courthouse square, fell upon odd numbers. At the last sale, in September, 1868, we oft'ered the lots in the odd numbered blocks on the old townsite of Lancaster. The presumption of the authority to make this sale was upon the consideration of our occupancy of the ground. We accepted it from the proprietors as so much over the Town of Lincoln proper, and excess beyond the section and a quarter which we had located as the capital, as an addition to the town, for the purpose of having no rival in the business of selling town lots upon ground adjacent to the capitol, and where having a village already established, the proprietors could easily have derived large profits, which otherwise would have been invested with the state. Besides, the building of the town had so far been accomplished in the direction of and upon that quarter that the appreciated value of property in second hands made it so probable that we could realize more money from a few lots there than from many upon the south side of the townsite proper; and standing in need of much more money than we had reason to believe these last-named lots would bring, we deemed it advisable to offer all that were then unsold.

"The lots were appraised prior to the first sale, according to the law, due consideration being had to their relative situation regarding the public reservation, and the probable business center, and their particular condition.

"Accompanying this report, appendix marked 'IS' will contain a detailed statement of the purchasers of lots, of the lots purchased, and their prices. (Note: This complicated list of names and figures will not be given in this work, but is available in Volume L Nebraska Miscellaneous Documents, at the state house. The names of the purchasers and the prices ])aid is given upon a following page, omitting the technical descri])tion of the lots. )

"On the loth of September the commissioners issued their notice to architects, inviting for a period of thirty days plans and specifications for a state house. In response Messrs. Taggart & W. R. Craig, of Nebraska City, and John Morris, of Chicago, submitted the drawings and specifications of designs. Upon the loth of October, after a careful consideration of their merits severally we decided to accept that presented by ]\lr. Morris, as being best adapted to the circumstances of construction and the wants of the state. On the same day Mr. Morris, having been a])i)ointed superintendent of construction, issued a notice to builders, inviting proposals for a term of three months, for the erection of the work. At the same time Mr. Morris was directed to commence such preliminary work, as excavation for foundations, delivery of material for foundation walls, and other arrangements as would facilitate the progress of the work after the contract was let.

"On the loth of November the superintendent caused the ground to be broken, in the presence of a number of the citizens of Lancaster. The removal of the first earth was awarded, in the absence of any state officer, to Master Frele Morton Donovan, the first child born in and the youngest child of the oldest settler of Lancaster County.

"On the iith of January the bid of Mr. Joseph Ward, proposing to furnish the material and labor and erect the building, for the sum of $49,000, was accepted, and from that time forward the work steadily progressed, with a few uncontrollable delays, to the completion of the work contemplated in the contract."

"David Butler, Hon. Thomas P. Kennard and John Ciillespie, commissioners for the location of the seat of government of the State of Nebraska, tmder and by virtue of an act of the Legislature of said state, entitled, 'An act to provide for the location of the seat of government of the State of Nebraska, and for the erection of ])ublic buildings thereat.' Approved June 14, 1867.

"Gentlemen : In pursuance of your instructions, appointing me the examiner of the titles and conveyancer of the lands selected by your commission as the capital and seat of government of the State of Nebraska, I have the honor to submit the following report of my operations in the capacity of conveyancer on behalf of the state, as defined by your appointment.

"That on the 30th day of July, 1867, I commenced the investigation of the titles to all those certain tracts of land situated in the County of Lancaster and State of Nebraska known and described as the west half of the northwest, and the west half of the southwest, quarters of section No. 25, the east half and southwest quarter of section No. 26 in township No. 10 north of range No. 6 east of the sixth principal meridian, according to the Government sur\-ey of said state, containing 640 acres, and proposed to be conveyed by the respective owners of the state in fee simple, as a gratuity, in consideration that such lands should be selected as the townsite of 'Lincoln,' the 'seat of government of the State of Nebraska,' and found that the several owners could make a perfect title in fee simple to the state, in the lands above described, whereupon, on the 2d day of August, 1867, Jacob Dawson and Editha J., his wife, by deed, containing covenant (,r warrantv. conveved to the State of Nebraska all those certain pieces or parcels of land situated in the County of Lancaster, and State of Nebraska, known and described as the west half of the southwest quarter of section No. 25 and east half of section No. 26. in township No. 10 north of range No. 6 east of the sixth principal meridian according to the Government survey, containing 400 acres,' which tracts of land now comprise part of the townsite of Lincoln ; and which deed was duly acknowledged and certified and recorded in the ofilce of the clerk of the County of Lancaster, in book 'A' of deeds at page 121. On the same day Luke Lavender and Mary, his wife, executed a deed with covenant of warranty, conveying in fee simple, to the State of Nebraska, all that certain tract of land situated in the County of Lancaster, and State of Nebraska, known and described as the west half of the northwest quarter of section No. 25 in township No. 10 north of range No. 6 east of the sixth principal meridian, according to the Government survey of said state, containing eighty acres, which tract of land now comprises part of the townsite of Lincoln, and which deed was duly acknowledged and certified and recorded in the office of the clerk of Lancaster County, in book "A' of deeds at page 122; and on the same day Joseph Giles, by deed, containing covenant of warranty, conveyed to the State of Nebraska all that certain tract of land situated in the County of Lancaster and State of Nebraska, known and described as the southwest quarter of section No. 26. in township No. 10 north of range No. 6, east of the sixth principal meridian, according to the Government survey of said state, containing 160 acres, which deed was duly acknowledged and certified and recorded in the ofike of the clerk of Lancaster County, in book 'A' of deeds at page 1 19. and which tract of land is now comprised in the said townsite of Lincoln.

"In compliance with your instructions, on the 7th day of August, 1S67, I proceeded to the investigation of the title to that certain tract of land situated in the County of Lancaster and State of Nebraska, known as the southeast quarter of section No. in township No. 10 north of range No. 6 east of the sixth principal meridian, according to the Government survey of said state, containing 160 acres, and more particularly known as the 'old townsite of Lancaster," having in contemplation, in such investigation, as you suggested to me, the acceptance thereof as part of the townsite of Lincoln, the seat of government of the State of Nebraska, should my researches into the title prove satisfactory to the state in regard to the result of such investigation, I beg leave to refer you to my communication addressed you on the subject, which was as follows:

" 'Gentlemen : Having examined into the titles covering the townsite of "Lancaster," I find that the land was entered at the United States Land Office by Julian Metcalf, Esq., of Nebraska City, to whom it has been patented by the general Government. Mr. Metcalf afterwards conveyed to Rev. John M. Young, of this place, by whom the townsite of Lancaster was surveyed and platted as a townsite. A portion of the lots in the townsite have been conveyed, by Mr. Young, to the County of Lancaster, a portion to the Lancaster Seminary Association and other portions to Prof. Jason G. Miller, and other individuals, while these grantees of the original townsite proprietor have parceled out the lots to various parties, by conveyances that are more or less defective, and in some instances so informal and defective as to be absolutely inoperative as conveyances of real property. The owners are so scattered throut^hout many states, and their places of residence unknown to residents here, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, in the short period to intervene before the location must be selected, as directed by the statute, to secure such title to the land as the act contemplates shall be \esteil in the state.

" T would therefore respectfully recommend that, in as much as the state now holds title to "not less than six hundred and forty acres," the amount of land required by the act, that Lancaster be accepted only as an addition, as it were, to the townsite of Lincoln, under an arrangement to be made with the several owners thereof, that at least seven-eighths of the whole townsite should be released by them to the state, and that it shall be surveyed to conform with the survey to be made of "Lincoln," this, with the townsite proper of Lincoln to be platted as "Lincoln," and the legal and equitable owners of lots in Lancaster, who cannot afford to, or will not release to the state, to be assigned lots, in the new survey of old Lancaster, as such part of Lincoln, as near as possible the original lots they respectively owned in Lancaster, and of the same specified area, upon their signing an agreement to submit to a resurvey and releasing their interest in I^ancaster townsite on receiving a deed from the state for the lots so assigned to them.

" 'In view of the distrust felt among the people, as to the success of this "capitol move," I believe this would enable the commissioners to realize a much larger sum on the sale of lots, as the whole number of lots on old Lancaster belonging to the state could be sold, without violating in letter or spirit the law under which you are acting; and is necessary in order to realize the requisite funds to successfully carry forward the object of your commission.

" 'As to making the northwest quarter of section 26, township 10, north of No. 6, east of the sixth principal meridian, known as part of the Saline lands of Nebraska, a part of Lincoln, I would respectfully recommend that it be surveyed and platted as a part of the townsite, but, it would not be advisable to offer any of the lots at the sale unless at the time of the sale the title shall have been confirmed by the General Government to the state, for until that shall be done, these lands cannot be regarded under the law, as "the property of the state," and until such confirmation, the state cannot convey title to the purchaser.

" T find that Mr. Giles, Mr. Dawson, and Mr. Lavender's titles to the 640 acres, proposed to be conveyed to the state by them, for the capital is perfect, and have therefore taken the necessary deeds to the state and had them recorded.

" 'If you should conclude to adopt my suggestions in regard to "old Lancaster" townsite, I will proceed to gather in the conveyances and title thereto, to the state.

"That upon receiving a reply to such communication, requesting that the title to 'old Lancaster' should be investigated and secured to the state, as far as possible, I proceeded with the search and found on record, title deeds to E. H. Hardenbergh, Charles Crawford, Jacob R. Hardenbergh, Martin Pflug, William T. Donovan, Minnie E. Jennings, George B. Hardenbergh, S. B. Galey, Lancaster

County, Lancaster Seminary Association, M. A. Bridges, Jason G. Miller, James Sweet, George H. Hilton, Charles Bloyd, G. W. Merrill, and Nancy AIcKesson, under which deeds of conveyances, the whole of the lands, covered by the townsite of Lancaster, were held, and also, there were several outstanding certificates of purchase for lots in the townsite, execu*:ed by various parties, grantees in the deeds above referred to, whose names will fully appear in the schedule hereto annexed, marked 'G,' to whom it was agreed lots in the new survey of Lancaster as part of Lincoln, should be conveyed as equi\alent for their respective interest in Lancaster townsite.

"I immediately entered, on behalf of the Commissioners, into an agreement with the majority of the owners, legal and equitable, of the lots in Lancaster townsite, to submit to a resurvey of that townsite as a part, or addition to the town of 'Lincoln,' and upon conveying to the state their respective interests in Lancaster, to receive deeds from the state, to them respectively, for lots in that part of the town of Lincoln covering the townsite of Lancaster, at, or as near as practicable, the site of their original lots, which agreement is hereto annexed, marked schedule 'F'.

"I then entered upon the duty of obtaining title deeds from the respective lOwners of the lots in Lancaster, for the lots by them owned, to the state, and under such arrangement, the following named persons executed deeds to the state :

"Jason G. Miller and Mary P., his wife ; Lancaster County ; Lancaster Seminary; John M. Young and Alice, his wife; William A. Bridges and Mary A., his wife; Nancy A. McKesson and John M., her husband; Milton Langdon and Ann M., his wife; James Sweet and Clementine E., his wife; Charles Crawford; and William W. Dunham and Mary E., his wife ; which deeds cover the whole title to said townsite of Lancaster, except to lots 3. 4, 5 and 6, in block No. 36, and lots No. i and 2, in block 48, owned by G. W. Merrill, whose place of residence I have not been able to ascertain, and for whom I hold a deed, executed by the state, to said Merrill for lots Nos. i and 2 in block No. 15 and lots Nos. 9, 10, II and 12 in block No. 27, in the townsite of Lincoln, to deliver to him as an equivalent for his said lots in Lancaster ; and except to lots No. 3 and 4 in block No. 8 in the townsite of Lancaster, owned by Charles Bloyd, from whom I have not been able to obtain a deed to the state, but am informed he is ready to execute such deed, whenever ] shall be ready to meet him, for whose interest in such lots 1 hold a deed, executed by the state, to said Bloyd, for lots Nos. 11, 12, 13 and 14 in block No. 45, in the townsite of Lincoln, as an equivalent for his interest, as aforesaid, in old Lancaster; and except to lots No. i and 2 in block No. 23, in said Lancaster, to which lots the legal title rests in Mrs. Minnie E. Jennings of Lincoln, subject to the lien of a mortgage in process of foreclosure, held and owned by Wiiliam A. Brown, of Nebraska City, and on account of the conflicting title to and lien on such lots, I have not been able to secure the execution of a deed from all the parties interested therein to the state ; therefore, I have procured a deed to be executed by the state, to Mrs. Minnie E. Jennings, to lots No. i and 2 in block No. 33, in I_.incoln. as an equivahnt for said lots i and 2 in block 23, in Lancaster, to be deli\-ered whenever she shall convey or cause to be conveyed to the state, a good title to the lots last above described.

Mrs. Julian Metcalf, as the wife of Julian Metcalf, possessed an inchoate right of dower in all the lands comprising the said townsite of Lancaster, and therefore jirocured to be executed and delivered to the State of Nebraska, by Julian .Metcalf and lulia B., his wife, a release of all their right, title and interest in and to the lands, covered by such townsite, which deed of release was duly acknowledged, certitied and is on record in the office of the clerk of Lancaster County.

'T have caused all the conveyances so executed to the state, together with the patents for the land, and certificates of entry, to be recorded in the office of the clerk of Lancaster County, and have de]Msited the same with the other muniments of title, in the office of the secretary of state.

On a December morning in the year 1868 six four-horse teams left Lincoln for Omaha to procure the state archives and bring them to the new capitol here. After a hard day's drive they arrived at Ashland, then a woe-begone hamlet with a tenement. After resting here the caravan crossed the Platte River at Forest, several miles north of Ashland. The ice proved very troublesome at this crossing, also the ferryman, but eventually they reached the eastern side and bivouacked for the night around a straw stack in the brush. The next morning the jjarty proceeded upon the journey and in the afternoon arrived at the old Douglas House in Omaha.

Omaha at this time was enduring a boom, due in great part to the coming of the transcontinental railway. From the river to capital hill the streets were filled with men carrying packs, dressed in frontier style; stalking Indians, new business men, women of the demi-monde, and in fact all the ditTerent characters one might associate with a frontier town such as Omaha. Dancehouses, saloons and gambling dens were thick. All Union Pacific trains starting for the West were guarded by Pawnee scouts against the Sioux in Western Nebraska.

The Lincoln party found Auditor Gillespie and then started preparations for moving the archives. There were stoves, furniture, records, blanks, books, boxes of paper and the state library to pack and most of it was encased in convenient shoe boxes. The wagons filled, the procession moved down Farnum Street, where U. S. Marshal Yost met them and added a barrel of cider to the load, labeled T. P. Kennard. The overland train soon left the city of Omaha behind and. after encountering a warm rain and muddy roads, arrived at P.ellevue just at nightfall. The next night was spent at Kimball's Ferry, three miles above La Platte. The Kimball brothers were grafters of the worst kind and. in order to hold the party up for fees, purposely broke the pulley wheel on the ferry. .\t this point the Lincoln men were joined by Tom Keeler, a desperado, afterward killed by Dan Parmalee at Elkhorn. Keeler volunteered to see that the party was taken across the river in the morning. The Kimballs were afraid to bring down the wrath of the noted Keeler and loaded the teams and wagons upon the ferry, after hxinc the pulley wheel. In midstream a cake of ice struck the boat and they were drivcii upon a sand bar, and i)revented from reaching the south bank by 100 feet.

The teams were driven off the ferry into two feet of water and forced to the shore. Shortly afterwards the train met a blinding storm and was delayed. After a night spent in a log house on the present site of Greenwood, and breakfast there, the six wagons proceeded to Lincoln, where the archives of the state were installed in the state capitol.

Chapter Viii John Morris' Report On State House Construction

"Gentlemen : The plan submitted by me in competition for the new state house having received the favor of your approval and adoption, and having also received your instructions to make preliminary arrangements for an early and energetic progress of the necessary works in the erection of the building according to the plan submitted, I immediately put forth advertisements for bids for the construction, in accordance with the statute wherein it is required that three months should be allowed to contractors for making their estimates and submitting offers. As the time for building so as to be ready for the next general assembly would be limited, I, with your approval and directions, committed to Mr. Joseph Ward, of Chicago, the charge of taking such measures in anticipation of a contract as would facilitate the progress of the building, during the three months intervening before a contract could be legally entered into, and about the middle of the month of November, 1867, excavation for the foundation and the sinking for a well was begun and was continued. Such material was delivered about the beginning of December, a small quantity of blocks of limestone was delivered, which was got from the quarry, donated by Mr. Mills, to the use of the state, to supply stone for the state house, and the stone cutters brought from Chicago were set at work on the loth of the month. The excavations were mostly done, the basement walls were built to the height of four feet eight inches, and the foundations of a part of the north end were done during the month of December. From the 7th of January, 1868, till the 20th of February, stone cutting and quarrying and delivery of rubble stone was all that was in progress. In the meantime the period for receiving bids for the exectition of the works haxing expired on the nth of January, I then received an offer from Mr. Ward to do the work according to the plans and specifications for $49,000.00 and there being no other bid the contract was awarded to him. Very shortly after the contract was made the supply of limestone for cut work began to fail and the quality of the stone to deteriorate to such an extent that the expenses upon the cost of the stone for cut work were more than doubled, nor could the supply be furnished sufficiently fast to admit of the building being erected within the required time. I should state here that the cause of this increase in cost and delay arose from the fact that two upper strata of stone which had been calculated on for use. were found to be worthless for cut work, and yet had to be removed before good stone could be got. There was about ten feet of earth stripping, then two strata of bad stone, then fourteen inches of shale, and below this was only one stratum of good stone about nine inches thick. A part of this stratum was also unlit for use as cut stone. It had been hoped and expected that as the cjuarry was more developed, that the stone would improve, and an underlying bed of greater thickness be found, but this also turned out to be worthless. About the end of February about three thousand cubic feet of stone for cutting had been quarried, about two thousand only being fit for use, and this was used in the building. To get this quantitv more than two thousand cubic yards of earth, bed rock and shale had to be removed. I have estimated the loss to the contractor upon this item to be at least four thousand dollars, whilst, in order to adapt one thickness of nine inches only to all purposes in the building entailed a further loss by additional cutting to the value of at least five hundred dollars more. On the 28th of February I received a letter from the contractor of which the following is a copy :

"'Dear Sir: I have now spent four days in seeking for stone suitable for carrying on our works at the state house, and find none suitable for the purpose. Mr. Alalcom opened the quarry near to Mr. Paley's lot yesterday. The stone is sound, but is so broken up in its bed that large stone cannot be obtained suitable for our [Hirpose. I received forty-two feet of stone last evening from the old quarry (Mr. Mill's) and this amount has cost me seven men's work of six days impossible to procure stone at Mill's quarry to build the state house, and any further quantity we get from this source will be at a cost much above the price as stated. I think it absolutely necessary that you should see to making such arrangements from some other source so that the work may be carried on. I expect I will go with you to Beatrice to see the lot of stone quarried, and which I am told is for sale, or for such other stone as you may consider suitable for the purpose.

"Upon receipt of this letter I came to the conclusion that to continue the use of the blue limestone would only end in ruin to the contractor and consequently an abandonment of the contract, and would ultimately entail far greater cost in the erection of the building than would arise by any additional sum that may have to be allowed for a change of material, and also, render it impossible to complete it in the required time. I therefore, immediately, with the contractor, proceded to Beatrice to examine the nature and supply of the rock exposures there, of which I had previously heard. Upon my inspection of the Beatrice rock, I was exceedingly pleased to find an unlimited supply of an excellent material, which was in every way adapted to the nature of the works proposed to be done in the state house.

"I did not hesitate to direct that this material should be used instead of the blue limestone. I was more readily drawn to adopt this course by my knowledge that stone of this character was far better than the blue limestone, as being less liable to wear or damage from frost or fire or any other action of the elements.

"I could not but know my course in this matter would justly cause the contractor to make a claim for some compensation beyond his contract consideration, l)iit I was then, and am now convinced this course would be found to be Ijy far the most economical in the end, and would insure the erection by the time the general assembly would need the building. In my estimate of extras annexed iiereunto, I ha\e allowed some six thousand dollars for the increased cost by the a<Io[)tion of this excellent building stone, but that amount does not cover the loss already llu-n sustained l)y the contractor by using the limestone up to the period when the change was necessary. It is my duty therefore to respectfully submit for your consideration whether any and what compensation can be allowed to the contractor to cover his loss for work done under and included in tlie provisions of the contract. After some trouble in arriving at a just value of the e.xtra cost of the haulage of stone from Beatrice, the works proceeded in the spring with \igor for a t^hort time; aljout April, however, several of the stone cutters, brought here at considerable expense, left and returned to Chicago, and their l)laces could not then be filled by others, and from those that then remained a demand for increased wages was made, and after some negotiation, was perforce complied with, or a complete suspension of the work would have resulted. The rate of wages demanded was greater than any previously paid in Nebraska, so far as 1 could ascertain, and greater than the contractor supposed he would have to pay when he made his estimate and contract. It was also found that about that time it would be im].)Ossible to procure (sufficiently early) bricks for the internal walls, as contemplateil in the design and coritract for the building. I was therefore compelled, by the circvmistances, to use- sandstone and in some parts to increase the thickness of the walls, as a necessary precaution to insure the stability of the fabric. The increased cost 1 have allovved in my annexed account. As it was not known how the accommodation provided for the executive officers would be appropriated, no safes were provided and located in the original design ; two safes and some additional doors with other minor imj)rovements, which, when the several rooms were specifically appropriated, suggested themselves during the progress of the erection, have been added, mainly according to your directions, and the costs thereof set forth in the annexed account.

"As time was necessarily made an important item in the contract, it has become my duty, also, to take into consideration that as the new state house and capitol were located at a somewhat remote point from the most settled portion of the state and where the facilities for building on a large scale were comparatively few, and moreover, the additional time necessary to execute the added works before mentioned required an extension of time for the completion, I am obliged to recognize a principle (already established in equity, in all places in my knowledge) that of extending the time proportionally for the completion of the contract works, .and I therefore recommend the extension until the first day of January, 1869. I believe it proper also to bring to your notice the effect that weather had upon the progress of the work, for a period of about five weeks in the spring and six weeks in the fall : the rain was so excessive as to prevent the employes making more time than an average of four and a half days each week. During the great heat of the summer, also, for a time extending over about seven weeks there was a great deal of sickness among the workmen ; an average of seven men were absent daily. It was impossible in this new place to supply labor enough to compensate for the loss of time occasioned thereby; a combined eiTect of these several causes was to drive the completion of the work into short days and inclement weather, so much so that for fifty days about thirty men could not work more than nine hours each day and the wages could not be proportionately decreased, but in some cases had to be increased. I believe from the causes the contractor lost about six hundred dollars, the principal causes of loss therefore to the contractor arose, first, from use of limestone before the change to Beatrice stone, $4,500.00; from excessive wages, $3,300.00; and by short days, S600.00. There were some other minor causes which it is diiTicult to estimate, but I cannot base the estimate of losses that could not be foreseen at less than $9,000. I desire earnestly to submit for your consideration, whether you can, without damage to the interests of the state, the integrity of the contract and the provisions of the constitution, ameliorate his loss. With the exception of the delays noticed, the work was pushed with vigor, the utmost progress was made in good weather by availing every hour that could be turned to account, and by employing all the labor that could be commanded. By the first of June, 1868, the first story was up and in August following, a portion of the walls was up to the roof, and in Septemljer a part of the roof was on and all finishings in an advanced state.

"In conclusion I think it is incumbent on me to remark that on a comparison of the bulk and stability of the building with several court houses, school houses and churches you will have (after all proper allowances and reliefs to the contractor are made) the cheapest and most substantial edifice west of the Mississippi River, and also, to remark that the contractor by thoroughly identifying himself with the work, by the exercise of great energy, and by practicing a strictly watchful care over the expenditure is entitled to praise, that the works included in his contract were brought to completion.

"In view of the amount of work done and the time occupied and under such signal disadvantages, I believe there has been reached a financial result which is comparatively favorable to the state.

The First St.Vte Capitol

In the month of November, 1867, I was hired in Chicago by contractor Joseph Ward, who had the contract of building the first state capitol. There were also twelve other stone-cutters who came West to Lincoln, Nebraska, with me. We were to receive S4.50 per day as soon as we began work. He paid our way as far as Omaha, and then transferred us back to Council Bluff's, from which place we went to Nebraska City. Here we rested for a day and a night. There were two teams hired to bring our tool chests and trunks from the depot on the Iowa side across by ferry to Nebraska City. We had guns and revolvers to protect ourselves from the Indians. Before we left Nebraska City we were advised to get blankets and moccasins, as it looked as if there was a storm coming. Sure enough the storm did come after we left for Lincoln. We had to walk and run all of the wav behind the wagons to keep ourselves from freezing the first day. 1 believe the moccasins- we bought saved our lives on the road. The first day we came as far as a place where there was one shanty on each side of a creek. One was occupied by a man by the name of Wallen and the other by a man named Luff". old pioneers on the Nemaha near Unadilla. The owners of the houses were scared of us until we told them where we were going. Then they divided us between the two houses. One house kept seven men and the other five. Lucky enough they had some bread, coff"ee and bacon. They did the best they possibly could for us, but such sleeping apartments ! A loft in the peak of each shanty, with loose boards for a floor, on which we slept. And such a night ! W^e lay on the floor with our lucky blankets rolled around us and kept ourselves as warm as we could. Next morning we had breakfast of the same variety of food as the night before, paid our bill, and thanked the pioneer gentlemen for their kind treatment. Then we started for Lincoln and arrived at the Pioneer Hotel at 9 o'clock that night.

This hotel was owned by Mr. Scroggins and was north of where the State Journal building is at present on Ninth Street. The number at the hotel that night after we signed our names on the register was sixty-five. The hotel was well filled with lodgers, consisting of laborers, mechanics doctors and a few lawyers. The next morning we went to see where our job was to be. A few men went with us and pointed out the place. To our great surprise there was nothing for us to see but the trenches dug for the foundation. There was no material in the way of stone. So we were badly discouraged. What could we do, out in the wilderness of Nebraska and our families in Chicago ? At this time rhe contractor was on his way from Chicago to Lincoln, three days behind us. We patiently waited for him to come and when he did come we met him determined to do something desperate. In fact we were going to hang him. When he saw the material was not on hand for us to go to work, he there and then told us not to be uneasy, that he would see that we got our wages, work or play, according to the agreement as the state was good for it. So that pacified us. We were idle two weeks before the rock came in. He paid us full time. We then built a sod boarding house on the capitol grounds and boarded all the men working on the building. A man and team were hired to haul all the things required for the table from Nebraska City. That was good board at $5.00, so we were all well satisfied up until the first of April, 1868. At that time a man by the name of Felix Carr came from Omaha with a letter from Governor Butler to the contractor, Mr. Ward. This man made a deal with Mr. Ward, who rented the boarding house to Mr. Carr. Then Mr. Carr went back to Omaha and brought out his wife and family to run the boarding house. He also brought out two big barrels of whiskey. Then we saw what was up. We held a meeting and resolved to boycott the whiskey, .as the boys were all saving their money at this time. A few days after he invited some of the men to have a drink, but they refused, and he was greatly surprised to see such a large number of men in a big building like a state capitol all sober. But one wet day came, and some of the masons broke the boycott about a month after the whiskey came. This continued for a week. I watched an opportunity at night when they were all asleep and crept to the barrel and turned the faucet. I then went back to bed. The whiskey kept running all night on the floor and down the cracks, imtil the barrel was empty. In the morning the smell of whiskey was all over the boarding house. The man Carr became tearing mad. He carried a brace of revolvers at the breakfast table and threatened the man or men who committed the crime of emptying the barrel of its contents. But he did not shoot. A. few days after all the stone-cutters left the boarding house and went to Mr. Lane's new boarding house on O Street. He was foreman carpenter.

Mr. Felix Carr left in a few weeks and never paid Mr. Ward a cent of rent; took his blankets, dishes, even the stove, spoons, and knives. He was never seen in Lincoln again.

In the spring of 1868 the prairie was covered with camp wagons, consisting of bull teams, mule teams and horse teams, all seeking out section stones and taking up homesteads and preemptions in Lancaster County. The land office was in Nebraska City atjhis time. All available teams were employed hauling lumber from Nebraska City and stone from Beatrice for the state capitol. Frame houses were springing up in all directions. Carpenters, masons and plasterers were in demand. Auction sales were conducted by Thomas Hyde, auctioneer, selling city lots at that time to pay the expenses of building the capitoi. The money in circulation at that time was known as greenbacks, and was easily carried in one's pocket, not being so heavy as gold.

In the fall of the same year, 1868, politics were getting lively. There were two liberty poles planted on top of a hill called Market Square at that time, north of where the postoffice is now built, between O and P streets. One was a democratic pole and the other a rei)ublican, both with the Stars and Stripes flying from the top. The republican pole was taller than the other, being spliced. But some wicked villain came around one night, threw a rope around the top of it and kept pulling at it until it cracked, and broke in two pieces across the top of the hill. In the morning when the men were going to work, they only saw one pole with the Stars and Stripes flying and that was the democratic pole. When the report went around town the people gathered in swarms to see the broken liberty pole. There was nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth among the old veterans of the late war. Finally there was a colored barber by the name of Johnston who lived west of the hill on Ninth Street reported that he heard the crack of the pole when it fell and that he saw a man running toward the livery barn of Dunbar and Jones on west O Street. Suspicion fell upon young Jones because he was a southern democrat, and he was taken and a guard placed over him. The Moore brothers and other veterans of the war went to George Ballentine's lumber yard, got lumber and built a scaffold on top of the hill where the pole lay. The scafifold was built on which to hang Jones and his trial was to be held that evening before Judge Cadman. The democrats got very uneasy and sent word out toward Salt Creek and other places around Lincoln to be in at the hanging. Many of them came in and waited until the trial commenced. Judge Cadman called the case and the witness appeared. He said he heard a loud noise of something cracking, and he looked out and saw a man running toward the barn. "Did you know the man?" "No, sir." "Any more witnesses?" There were none. "I discharge the prisoner for want of further prosecution." So there was no hanging on the scaffold in 1868.