llborton'e History of Iftebraefta
Butbentic 1400 to 1 906 Complete
(Copyrighted 1990. All right reserved,) By courtesy of Editors and Publishers of Morton's Ilisiory, the l'ubllsliera Newspaper Union of Lincoln, Nebraska, li permitted Its reproduction in papers of thtlr 1
CHAPTER II CONTINUED.
These cessions gavo tho United
States title to tho east two-thirds of
the state. Tho earliest treaty by
which thoy acquired title to land In
this state was made with, tho Kansas
In 1825; by this treaty tho Kansas
ceded a semicircular tract along tho
south lino, reaching from Falls City
to Rod Willow county and nearly as
far north as Lincoln. So It seems that
tho Kansas at least laid claim to part
of our territory.
Tho next detachment of tho great
Slouan family to Invade Nebraska was
from tho northorn branch of this trlbo
which dwelt along tho Great Lakes.
Tho ABslnlboIns had separated from
this branch as early as 1050, and, ac
cording to McGco, wero near (ho Lako
of tho Woods In 17CG, so thoy had not
long wandqred over our soil when
written history began.
Tho Pawnees and Omahas Joined In
repelling the advanco of these north
ern tribes and hold thorn well back
from tho waterways for many years,
but thoy hunted on tho head-waters
of tho Platte nnd Republican and oven
aB far bouUi as tho head-waters of tho
Smoky Hill and Solomon rivers. Tho
Crows woro doubtless tho first to en
croach on tho Platte valley; thoy
drifted to tho Ulack Hills in an early
day and hunted on tho Platto from tho
northwest. The Blackfoot, a branch
of tho Saskatchewan tribe, camo later.
The Yankton, Santoo, Brulo, Slssoton,
Ogallala, Toton, Mlnnetareo, and partB
of other tribes from tlmo to time
jhuntod or fought on tho head-waters
of tho Platto. They joined In coding
the northwest part of tho Btate to tho
United States in 18C8, reserving for
themselves a common hunting right,
which they relinquished In 1875. Thoy
are now on the various reservations
In Dakota and Indian Territory.
Tho WInnobagoB woro tho last of
the groat Slouan family to come; thoy
were moved from Minnesota to a part
of the Omaha reservation In 18G2,
whoro thoy still reside. Schoolcraft
says this trlho once lived on a branch
of the Crow Wing river In Mlrfnesota.
Some of the Santee Sioux wore moved
to Nebraska at the same tlmo, but
many of both tribes came across tho
coilntry bofore. f
To the Algonkian family belong the
Ghoyenno, Arapaho, and Atslna, who
wandered over the western part of
.Nebraska, as .did the Sac and Fox
tribe, which had a reservation In tho
extreme southeast part of the state
from 183G to 1885. The Algonkian
family once occupied the greator part
of the Mississippi valley, At a very
early date the ChoyehneB drifted west
ward through the Dakotas and gavo
their name to one of the important
streams. Later they drifted south
ward. Lewis and Clark mentioned
this tribe as occupying a position on'
the Choyenne rivor in 1804, whllo
Long in his expedition of 1819 found
a small band which had seceded from
tho main stock on the Cheyenne rlvor,
and had roamed with the Arapaho
along the Platto river. There is a
record, by Fremont, of this tribe be
ing on the Platte above Grand Island
In 1843. They ceded tho southwestern
portion of Nebraska in 1861.
The Arapanos, line tuo uneyonnes,
occupied Nebraska as a roaming trlbo.
The impression left by the very lim
ited number of writers who have spo
ken of them seems to be that they
came from the' north. Thoy wore
pressed by the Sioux from the east
and by the Shoshoneans from the
west The date of their coming to
Nebraska la obscure. The time of
their separation from the eastern par
ent stock is shrouded in antiquity,
and as early travelers found them a
wild race, and not easy to study, little
f their early history Is rocorded.
They joined the Cheyenne and Arkan
sas Indians In ceding to the United
States government the extreme south
west portion of Nebfaska. So far as
can be learned the Arkansas nevor
occupied any part of Nebraska. The
Atslnas woro closely allied to tho
Blackfeet (Slouan) and, Bince whites
have known them, have affiliated, with
that tribe. They are distinctly Algon
klan, however, and have a legend toll-
the Arapahos.
As Btated above, the Algonkian
stock occupied most of tho Mississippi
valley at one time. Tho United States
purchased all of Missouri north of the
river, most of Iowa, and a part of
Illinois. Wisconsin, and Minnesota
from tho Sacs and Foxes. Thoy seom
to have been the original owners of
the Mississippi and Missouri front, and'
tho Slouan tribes as thoy drifted west
ward doubtless had them to doal with.
This may account for the movement
westward of the Otoe and tho Kansas
tribes across the river. Tho Sacs and
Foxes relinquished their possessions
and retired to a southern reservation,
excepting a band who took a resorvo
on the Great Nomaha river, partly In
Nebraska and partly In Kansas, and
which reraalnB In the Great Nemaha
agenoy. ' X
Powell does not believe that tho
Shoshonean family, occupied apart of
Nebraska, and it Is doubtful whether
any part of this family had more than
a transient home within the state. It
is certain that the Comanches roamed
over our territory, and doubtless the
"Padoucas" onco had a more or less
permanent home here; at least the
north fork of tho Platte river was
known In the early days aa the Pa
douca fork. Mooney says: "In 1719
the Comanche were mentioned under
their Slouan name of Padouca as liv
big la what Is now western Kansas.
It must bo remembered that fivo hun
dred to oight hundred miles was an
ordinary rango for a plalnB trlbo, and
the Comanchos woro equally at homo
on tho Platto or In Chihuahua (Mex
ico)." Tho great Shoshonean family
occupied tho mountain country from
tho south lino of Oregon to tho north
line of Arizona, and oxtendod from
tho Pacific coast at the southwest cor
nor of California nearly to tho west
lino of what Is now Nebraska. They
woro a powerful and numerous peo
ple. Lntor tho Slouan bands drove
tlio Comanches south nnd tho other
branches of tho Shoshonean family
west and north. Lewis and Clark in
1805 mention tho Padoucas as extinct
oxcopt In name. Bourgmont visited
tho Padoucas on tho head-waters of
tho Kansas in 1724. Tho Comnnchos
and tho Kansas woro closely asso
ciated for one hundred and fifty years,
nays Mooney. Thoro Is no record that
tho Comanches over, ceded any part
of this state to tho United Stntcs.
About 1700 a tribe of tho Klowan
family migrated from the far north
west nnd took up a residence In the
vicinity of tho Black Hills. From
thoro thoy woro driven by tho Slouan
trlbOB, and Lewis and Clark montlon
them as residing on the north fork
of tho Platto In 1805, and numbering
sevonty tepees. They slowly drifted
southward until thoy occupied tho
country south of tho Arkansas river.
As this trlbo nevor lived far from tho
mountains, their occupancy of Ne
braska was but transient. Powell
shows this linguistic family as occu
pying tho extreme southwest part of
Nebraska, but thoro is no record that
thoy over coded any part of tho state.
Thoro was a "half-breed" tract sit
uated between tho Nemaha and Mis
souri rivers sot apart In 1830, Intended
for tho homo of civilized Indians be
longing to tho Omaha, Iowa, Otoe,
Yankton, and Santee Sioux half
breeds. Tho Pino RIdgo and Rosebud
agencies aro located Just north of the
north lino of Nebraska, In South Da
kota, and the Indian title to a narrow
strip adjoining in this state la not yet
extinguished. There are titles In tho
old Sac and Fox and Iowa reservation,
in Richardson county, still vested In
Indians, and a few live there. Tho
Santoo agency, near Niobrara, still
maintains an agent who reports to tho
commissioner of Indian affairs for
this trlbo and also for the Ponca sub
agency, situated twenty miles west be
tween the Niobrara and Missouri riv
ers. The Indians at these agencies,
together with the Omahas and Win-
nobagos, In Thurston county, aro tho
only Indian wards of tho government
In Nebraska at the present time. Ac
cording to the census of 1900 there
wero 3,322 Indians in the state against
2,685 in 1890. Three Indian schools
aro maintained by tho federal govern
ment in thiB state, on tho Santee,
Winnebago, and Omaha reservations
respectively, while a boarding school
for Indians Is situated at Genoa, in
Nance county.
All tribal lands, except a small part
of the Omaha reservation, have been
allotted In soveralty, and all Indians
are taxed as citizens of the state. Tho
Omahas now number t.welvo hundred
and tho Wlnnobagos eleven hundred.
The Omahas aro of a higher grado of
development and civilization and are
slowly increasing In numbers. In
their married relations they observe
the principle of monogamy with cred
itable faithfulness, and they aro in
clined to hold on to and to cultivate
their lands. The Wlnnobagos, on the
other hand, live much more loosely In
this Tespect; comparatively few of
them are lawfully married, and they
have but little regard for tho mar
riage bond. They aro much less per
sistont' than 'tho Omahas In holding
on to their lands, nnd less regular
and industrious In their habits. All
tho lands of tho reservation, except
a few hundred acres of a very poor
quality, have now been allotted. Un
der tho Inw lands, which have been
allotted can not be nllenated by tho
original grantees nor by their Inher
itors as long as there aro minor heirs.
TIiub far this class of lands amounts
to about ten per cent of tho total
allotment, or about fifteen hundred
acres. As late as 1846 there wero
only a very fow whlto settlors, scat
tered hero and there, In that part of
southwestern Iowa bordering on tho
Missouri river. By the treaty of Sep
tember 26, 1833, fivo million acros of
land In southwestern Iowa, extending
north to the mouth of Boyor rlvor,
south to tho mouth of the Nodaway
rlvor. and east to tho west lino of the
Sac and Fox lands, woro granted to
tho Pottawattomlo trlbo of Indians,
numbering about twenty-two hundred
and fifty. Somo Ottawas and Chtppo
ways living with the Pottawattomles
wore participants In this grant. All
of those Indians had been removed
from the vicinity of Chicago. A sub
agency and trading post waa estab
lished at Traders Point (or at St.
Francis), Iowa. By a treaty with tho
United States, made "at the agency
near Council Bluffs," June 6, 1846, tho
Pottawattomles relinquished theso
Iowa lauds. The agency at Bellevuo,
on tho opposite side of tho Missouri
river, had jurisdiction over the Oma
has, Otoes, Poncas, and Pawnees.
The Council Bluffs subagency on the
Iowa side of the river was subject to
the agency at Bellevuo. As has al
ready been Indicated, Council Bluffs
was vas shifting as tho great rlvor
whose, shores its various sites adorned.
It was first applied to the Lewis and
Clark encampment, eighteen miles
north of Omaha; then, ay reflection
and by a sort of evolutionary south
ward movement to Bellevuo; still later
to tho subagency on tho Iowa border
opposite Bellevuo. In 1853 January
19 Council Bluffs was substituted for
Kanosvillo, which was tho original
name (derived from a brother of
Kane, the arctic explorer) of tho ham
let on tho slto of tho present city of
Council Bluffs. Thereafter tho placo
was known by its present name by
designation' of the postofflco depart
ment; and It was formally incorpor
ated by act of tho Iowa assembly, Feb
ruary 24, 1853. According to tho Fron
tier Guardian of September 18, 1850,
a census taken at that time yielded
a population, of 1,103 for Kanesvlllo
and 125 for Trading Point or Council
Bluffs; so that as lato as this date
tho migratory name of Council Bluffs
had not reached tho northern settle
ment of Knnosvlllo, but by local usago
was confined to Traders, or Trading
Point.
Tho domain of tho Omahas lay to
tho north of the Platte river, and that
of tho Otoes about its mouth both
along the Missouri river. A strip of
land Intervening was a source of
chronic dispute between theso tribes.
At tho tlmo of the Louisiana Pur-
jchnso tho Otoes numbered about two
nunureu warriors, including twenty
five or thirty Mlssourls. A band of
this trlbo had been living with the
Otoes for about twenty-five years. In
1799 the Omahas numbered flfvo hun
dred warriors; but as tho Mormons
found them in 1846 this trlbo, and tho
Otoes as well, had been reduced by
tho scourge of small-pox to a mere
remnant of their former numbers.
Theso Indians aro described by their
white neighbors of that time as being
almost destitute of martial spirit and
not viciously Inclined, but naturally
ready to rob and steal when prompted
by hunger, which, fortunately for their
white neighbors, was their nearly
chronic condition. Orson Hyde, editor
of tho Frontier Guardian, in Us Issue
of March 21, 1849, inspired by the
wisdom of Solomon, advised tho uso
of tho rod, and a real hickory at that,
on the thieving Omahas and others.
It Is said that tho Omahas were ex
ceptionally miserable. "Unprotected
from their old foes, the Sioux, yet for
bidden to enter into a defensive al
llanco .with them, thoy wore reduced
to a pitiable handful of scarcoly more
than a hundred families, the prey of
disease, poverty-stricken, too coward
ly to venture from the shadow of their
tepeea to gather their acanty crops,
unlucky in the hunt, slow to the chase,
and too dispirited to be daring or suc
cessful thieves."
In the region between the Niobrara
and Missouri rivers were tho Poncas,
some fivo hundred o'r six hundred in
number, and but little better than
the Omahas and Otoes In condition
and circumstances. According to
Lewis and Clark, the Grand Pawnee
and Republican Pawnee, numbering
respectively five hundred and two
hundred and fifty men, dwelt, In 1804,
on tho south side of tho Platte oppo
site tho mouth of the Loup; the Paw
nee Loup or Wolf ' Pawnee, compris
ing two hundred and eighty men, on
the Loup Fork of the Platte about
ninety miles above tho principal Paw
nee; and a fourth band of four hun
dred men on tho Red river. Clayton's
Emigrant's Guide, in 1848, finds the
old Pawnee Mission station at Plum
creek, latitude 41 24' 29", nine and
a quarter miles east of the Loup Fork
ford (latitude 41 22' 37"; longitude
98 11'); and the old Pawnee village,
formerly occupied by tho Grand Paw
nee and Tappa, half a mile west of
tho Loup Fork. This village was
burned by the Sioux in the fall of
1846. In tho spring of 1847 .the Paw
nee were found on the Loup Fork,
about thirty miles east of the old vil
lage, according to the same authority.
Spain was preeminently the seat or
chivalry at the time of the discovery
of America and during tho-followlng
centuries, whllo tho country now com
prising the United States waB being
discovered and colonized in detail
until it was laughed out of her by
Cervantes and knocked out of her by
tho practical and prosy peoples of the
more northorn countries and of the
Teutonic race. But tho spirit of chiv
alry was prolific of adventurous dis
coverers through whose valorous en
terprise Spain had como to possess,
at the time tho little strip along the
Atlantic comprising the American col
onies was ready for political separa
tion from Great Britain, tho whoe ter
ritory west of tho Mississippi rlvor
now comprised In Mexico and the
United Statos, except that portion
within the limits of tho states of
Washington nnd Oregon. That part
of theso Spanish domains north of
tho present boundary lino of Mexico
comprised more than two-thirds of
tho present area of the United States.
At this time Spain also dominated
Contral and South America. Though
Spain was the first discoverer of
America, and established the first per
manent colony within tho torrltory of
the United States, she no longer owns
a foot of tho continent; and she be
came so weak that she lost all her
holdings by force. It was of the spirit
of Spanish chivalry to seek success
by the royal road. Her explorers and
discoverers were either animated by
the search for gold like De Soto and
for the swift nor the final battle for
Coronado or for more Illusive treas
ure, such as Ponce de Leon's elixir
of life. But the ultimate race was not
the strong. The continent came to
the men who knew how to wait.
Whllo it is still an unsettled and
perhaps not very Important question
whether tho Spanish Coronado was
tho first white man to set foot In Ne
braska, there is no doubt that he. was
the- first white discoverer of whom
there is any account of the great
plains tributary to the Missouri river,
and that he came very near to tho
southern border of the Btate.
In 153? a Franciscan friar, Marcos
de NIza, whom Don Antonio de Men
doza, viceroy of Mexico, had sent to
Investigate reports of . populous set
tlements In the region now comprised
in Arizona and New Mexico, brought
stories of vast wealth In the Seven
Cities of Cibola. An army of about
three hundred Spanish soldiers and
one thousand Indians and servants
was raised and equipped for the con
quest of tho new country, and Fran
cisco Vasquez do Coronado, governor
of New Gallcla, a western border
province of Mexico, was placed In
command of tho expedition. Coronado
appears to have been a bold and ven
turesome cavalier a fit lieutenant of
tho ambitious viceroy. The expedi
tion Btarted from Compoatela the
capital of Coronado'a province, about
three hundred and seventy-five miles
northwest from tho city of Mexico
February 23, 1540. On tho 7th of July
Coronado, with an advanced detach
ment of tho main army, captured one
of tho seven small Zunl villages,
which, situated near the present west
ern border of New Mexico, In about
tho latitude of 35, and within a ra
dius iof five leagues, constituted tho
Seven Cities of Cibola. These vil
lages were composed of small store
houses, three or four stories high, but
tho disappointed Spaniards found In
them poverty Instead of the fabled
riches. On an expedition from this
point Coronado was partly compen
sated for his disappointment, though
doubtless in a way which ho did not
fully appreciate, by discovering the
grand canyon of tho Colorado.
Now it was found that the richeB
lay far beyond In the land of Quivera;
and, probably through a stratagem
to get rid of their oppressive and cruel
visitors, the. atory of tho New Eldo
rado was told by a native of Quivera
who was met with as a captive of
tho natives of Clcuye, a fortified vil
lage east of Cibola on the Pecos river.
The "Turk," aa the Spanlarda called
the slave, on account of his appear-
fjice, told more stories of large towns
with hoards of gold .and silver and
vast herds of buffalo In his country
to the east. The greedy credulity of
the Spaniards again listened to these
fabulous tales, and in April or May,
1541, the army took up Its eastward
march with the Turk for its guide.
The slave intentionally led them by
a wandering course far to the south,
and, provisions becoming s'carco in
the neighborhood of the head-waters
of the Colorado river of Texas, Coro
nado sent back all of the army ex
cepting from twenty-six to thlrty-slx
soldiers, with whom he pushed north
ward on his journey of forty-two days
to Quivera, now under the guidance
of a good Indian, Ysopete, also a na
tive of tho plains, the perfidious Turk
having been taken Into custody. Tho
party crossed tho Arkansas in tho
neighborhood of Its southern bend,
not far from tho present site of Dodge
City. Thus the first white man's
crossing of the Arkansas was at a
placp which two hundred and sixty
years later was to become an angle
In the division between the Louisiana
Purchase ceded to the United States
and the residue of territory still held
by Spain. At this point the boundary
lino changed from Its northward
course to the west along the Arkansas
river. About eighty miles, to the
northwest, at tho site of the present
town of Great Bond, Coronado found
the first Quivera village. Ho first met
Indians of that name beyond the cross
ing not far from Kinsley and Lamed.
Here Imminence of his exposuro
seems to have moved the Turk to
confession that his people woro stran
gers to the precious metals as well
as to other riches, and he was
straightway strangled by the enraged
Spaniards. There was now nothing
loft for them to fall back upon but
appreciation of the richness of tho
soil; for Jaramlllo, one of their chron
Iclors, says: "Some satisfaction was
experienced on seeing tho good ap
pearance of the earth;" and Coronado
himself writes that the soil of Quivera
was "fat and black," and "tho best I
have ever soon for producing all tho
products of Spain." Tho buffalo Is
described by these travelers ,ln a very
nalvo and realistic manner. Like tho
reindeer to tho Laplander, this beast
was food and raiment for tho Indian
natives, and it is curious to noto that
buffalo "chips" wero used for fuel
then, as thoy wore until recent days
by our own pioneers. "One evening
more came up a terrible storm of
wind and hall, which left in tho camp
hallstonoa as large as porrlngors, and
even larger. They fell thick as rain
drops, a8d in somo spots the ground
was covered with them to tho depth
of eight or ton inches. The storm
caused many tears, weakness, and
vows." Making a moderate allow
ance for the quickened imagination
of the belated Spaniards, these stories
of what they saw Indicate that thoy
Journeyed not far from Nebraska, Tho
substantial agreement of the conclu
sions drawn by Mr. Hodge of the eth
nological bureau, of the accounts of
their Journey by the Spanish travel
era themselves, with the actual field
work of Mr. J. V. Brower, leaves lit
tle room for doubt that these adven
turers reached the neighborhood of
Junction City, or perhaps Manhattan,
Kansas. Mr. Hodge, writing as lata
as 1899, observes that tho -common
error in determining latitude in the
sixteenth century was about two de
groes; therefore when Coronado said
that Quivera, "where I have reached
it, is in the 40th degree," that means
that It was in fact in the 88th degree;
and Mr. Hodge adds: "Nothing Is
found in the narratives to Show posi
tively that either Coronado or any
member of his force went beyond the
present boundaries of Kansas during
their stay of twenty-five days in the
provlnco of Quivera." Mr. E. B.
Blackman, of the Nebraska State His
torical Society, thinks that the state
ments accredited to the Indians by
Jaramlllo, that there was nothing be
yond the point reached by the Span
lards but Harahey tho Pawnee coun
try "coupled with his own demonstra
tions that tho Quivera village ex
tended Into Nebraska, show that the
Suaniards crossed our border; iwjd
Simpson's studies led him to the con
clusion tha""lt Is "exceedingly prob
able that he (Coronado) reached the
10th degreo of latitude (now the boun
dary between the states of Kansas
and Nebraska) well on towards the
Missouri river." Bandolier. George
Winshlp Parker, Hodgo and Brower
all substantially agree with H. H.
Bancroft's earlier statement (1899)
that, "there Is nothing In the Span
iards' descriptions of tho region or of
tho journey to shake Simpson's con
clusion that Quivera was In modern
Kansas."
Tho writings of the Spaniards re
ferred to are, In tho main, Coronado's
letters and formal accounts of the
Journey by Jaramlllo, a captain in
the expedition, and of Castaneda who
went back with the main body of the
army, but industriously collected his
material from hearsay. Tho latest
and perhaps the most thorough man
uscript work has been done by Parker
in The Coronado Expedition, and
Hodge in Coronado's March, and the
results of their researches substan
tially accord with the field work of
Brower and Blackman, which is still
under prosecution, and may yet show
that Coronado was the discoverer of
Nebraska proper.
While this expedition appears to
have been barren as to practical re
sults, yet it has been said of it that
for extent In distance traveled, aura-
tlon In time, extendlng.from the spring
of 1540 to the summer of a54Z, ana
tho multiplicity of its cooperating
branch explorations, it equaled, if It
did not exceed, any land expedition
that has been undertaken In modern
times." Another writer observes that
a bare subsistence and threatened -
starvation wero tho only rewards in
store for the volunteers upon this
most famous of all the Spanish ex
plorations, excepting those of Cortes.
They discovered a land rich In min
eral resources, but others were to reap.
the benefits of the wealth of the
mountain. -They discovered a land
rich In material for the archeologlst,
but nothing 'to satisfy their thirst for
elorv or wealth." But this erudite
author, like his Spaniards, has missed
the main point. For they discovered
the future granary of the world; and
the fact that thoy were oblivious or
dlsdainfu 1 of their main discovery
nolnted the moral of future Spanish
history. The Spaniards took, nothing
and thoy gavo little two friars left
as missionaries at Cibola and who
soon woro tho crown of martyrdom.
To Spain, from the first, nothing in
her now-world conquests was gold
that did not glitter; and for this she
disdained to dig It was easier and
moro chivalrous to rob. She of course
made pretense of having substituted
for this mero material good the price
less but easy gift, religion. A shrewd
er If not a juster race came after who
were able to discern the true and In
exhaustible body of gold hidden In
tho dull-hued soil; and they tilled and
natlently waited nature's reward.
And lo, to them la tho kingdom. And
Spain has her duo reward. Driven
from all her vast outlying domains
by the relentless forco of tho modern
Industrial spirit, which she could nei
ther assimilate nor entertain, Into a
little cornor of Europe, there she lies,
oblivious to progross, surviving chiefly
as an echo, and consequential merely
as a reminiscence of the dead past.
Tho earliest authenticated explora
tion bx whlto men on Nebraska aoll.
was that of two brothers, Pierre and
Paul Mallet, and six other Frenchmen
In Juno, 1739. The Mallet brothers
had probably como up from Now Or
leans the year before and had win
tered near the mouth of tho Niobrara
river. An account of tiiotr journey
from that neighborhood to Santa Fe
forms a part of the Margry papers,
which consist of reports of early
French explorers of the trans-Missis-slppl
country to the French author
ities at New Orleans, and which have
been printed by Margry lu Paris!
In 1804, following the purchase of
Louisiana, tho Lewis-Clark expedition
was sent out by President Jefferaon
for the purpose of gaining knowledge
of the new and almost unknown ter
ritory. N
Following Ib a description of the
company and outfit taken from the
Journal of Lewis and Clark:
