The Frontier
,
VOL UX O'NEIL! ., NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2,1939. No. 38.
INTERESTING CHAPTER OF HOLT
COUNTY’S EARLY HISTORY
Third Installment
(Contiued from last week)
The last and most conspicuous
and spectacular of all the many
lurid scenes which had been en
acted on Holt County’s soil, was
the kidnaping and hanging of Bar
ett Scott, County Treasurer of
Holt County and the throwing of
his corpse into the Niobrara River
where it was later found.
Scott was accused, tried and
found guilty of embezzlement of
county funds to the amount of
$90,000 to $100,000. In the trial
of the case Scott was granted a
change of venue from the courts
in Holt County to the courts of
Antelope county and found guilty
as charged by a jury of that coun
ty. He was sentenced to five years
in the penitentiary but took an |
appeal from judgement and sen
tence of the court to the supreme
court at Lincoln being admitted to ^
bail pending the disposition of his |
v case in that court. Previous to his
* arrest and trail he had fled to Mex- j
ico but was pursued and appre
hended in that country and placed
in jail by the authorities. A re
quisition by the government at
Washington upon the government
of Mexico for the delivery of his
body was duly honored and he was
returned to Holt County. His trial
followed. At the time he was kid
napped he was out on bail. Scott
resided in O’Neill but still owned
his old homestead, the postoffice, of
Sottville being situated thereon.
He was on a visit to that place
and neighborhood and when return- j
ing therefrom with his family to
O’Neill on the afternoon of Decem
ber 31, 1894, he was held up by
masked men, some of whom were in
hiding and who shot down the
I horses of his conveyance. The
Scott party consisted of himselt,
his wife and daughter, a young
lady friends of the family and his
hired man. In the shooting which
occurred all of the party escaped
injury except the young lady
friend, who received a slight
wound.
Scott was surrounded by the
Vigilantes and carried off to a
secret hiding place. That was the
last seen of him alive. Some days
after, his body was fished from
under the ice by a searching party,
near Whiting Bridge in the Nio
brara River. The body when
found had on it a piece of % inch
rope attached to the neck and
about four feet long. It was found
close to the Boyd County shore of
the river having drifted into a
little cove of still water out of the
current.
Half a dozen or more suspects
4 were arrested and tried for the per
petration of this awful crime in
the courts of Boyd County, the
dead body having been found with-!
in that jurisdiction, but were all
acquitted and set at liberty. At
this writing the culprits are still
at large and unpunished.
It can be truthfully said that
whilst- many excuses which could
not receive the approval of any
God-fearing person, were laid at
the door of the old Vigilance Com
mittee all of which are to be de
plored by every good citizen of
Holt County who loves law and
order; never-the-less the know
ledge that the “Gulch Boys” were
ever in the saddle and ready for
business at all times, acted as a
wholesale deterent on the vicious
ly inclined element of the com
^ munity and finally, in a large mea
x sure, succeeded in stamping out of
existence the Hydra-headed demon
of disorder and crime that had so
long and successfully reigned with
in her confines.
Mr. Prouty in describing the
Black Hills rush relates that in the
fall of 1873, eleven men and one
woman went to thd Black Hills in
South Dakota taking with them
supplies for one year. The Black
Hills country belonged to the In
dians, so the U. S. government sent
troops the following spring taking
the intruders out. The woman af
terward returned and became Su
perintendent of Schools. This
stimulated the gold fever to a
higher pitch and in 1874, Gordon at
Sioux City, Iowa, started with
a team of 36 wagons, well loaded,
drawn by valuable mules, nicluding
four light vehicles drawn by horses.
They got to Snake River, when
Uncle Sam’s soldiers ordered them
to return, which they refused to do,
taking the burrs off the wagon
axles. This so perplexed the
soldiers that they burned up nearly
all the wagons, which were new,
most of the supplies and part of
the guns. Taking them to Fort
Randall, they were tried and re
leased. Two of the train, Collins
Bros., escaped; one of them in the
sand hills, the other while water
ing his horses in the river. After
riding 65 miles without any lay
off, they arrived at Prouty’s ranch
about midnight, got supper and
after a few hours sleep, went on to
Sioux City to procure legal coun
cil for damages and release of
their train men.
Gold seekers rapidly rushed into
the hills from all directions, some
living mostly on parched corn and
sugar, caring little about anything
except gold. Fever ran high and
a common sight was to see a wagon
with the wording on the side “Dead
wood or bust,” and later as they
made the return trip as many did
the wording “Deadwood and bust
ed.”
Different companies at various
times arranged to settle at Long
Pine, particularly on account of the
timber. However, only one party
went as agreed and not finding
others there returned.
Partly owing to quick temper a
woman’s trunk was set out of a
wagon on the bank of the river,
where she stayed with it all night
long, being rescued by a party of
seven men who were going up the
Niobrara Kiver. this party on
their return camped at the mouth
of the Eagle Creek and had a fight
with the Indians, one of their num
ber being killed and one injured.
In the fall of 1873, Hon. Judge
E. H. Crawford and others went up ;
the Elkhorn River on a hunt. They
called on some of the Wisconsin
settlers, (of which the writer is
one) who were fartherest west at
the time near Rockford. After a
days journey up the river, they,
stopped for a short hunt, one of
their number staying with the team
and wagon to give an alarm on the
approach of Indians. Soon a band
of Sioux Indians came dashing for
ward, their ponies dripping wet
with sweat. The hunters quickly
returned, arranging themselves
around the wagon ready for de
fense. With some difficulty the
red-skins were held back from sur
rounding the wagons. Only one
Indian was permitted to come up.
They gave him sugar and tobacco,
after which they all left. The In
dians were bound for the Loup
River on a buffalo hunt for winter
supplies. Never-the-less the hunt
ers were frightened when they saw
signals or rockets or fire brands
thrown into the air in different di
rections and lost no time returning
to the settlement of Rockford near
midnight. This proved to be the
same body of Indians who after
chasing the U. S. surveyors, who
had been surveying the state line,
to Fort Randall had tried to steal
ponies from the Ponca Indians, who
with the help of soldiers, had kill
ed one of them, after which they
fled to the Loup River.
Mr. Prouty relates that two
white girls of marriagable age sold
themselves to two buck Indians to
become their wives for thirty'
ponies each. The Indians secured J
the ponies, delivered them on an j
island ready for crossing the river, i
Then they went in search of the
girls to complete the bargain. The
girls found out that the bucks
meant business just in time to
escape and keep out of sight until !
they left. He says the first notary
public and first postmaster and as
sistant had to go forty miles to the
nearest magistrate to have the
oath of office administered, and
that it cost fifty cents to send a
letter from Ohio to California re
quiring one year in transit.
He also gives a glimpse of some
of the rigors of pioneer life itself
when he says that ague and chill
fever were common on the trip out,
and dogs shook to death if not
doctored. Later on we passed j
through a locality where migrating
swarms of locusts had visited des
troying the timber. The school
houses were crude affairs, fur
nished with plank or slab seats and
a shelf against the side wall on
which to write. Instead of per
suasive methods of government the
whip or ruler was commonly used.
Necessity si the mother of inven
tions and many of our present day
conveniences are the outcome of
the early settlers. He says there
are two systems of education, the
damaging radical graded hold
back system, to restore the feeble,
dead and lost talents to useful
activity and the other the progres
sive system, to educate the live
and living talents for future use.
In his “Frontier Life,” as he ex
perienced it in the Buckeye, Bad
ger and Goldenrod states he says,
“Looking back about seventy years
I find myself in the Buckeye state
in a dense forest thickly settled;
each family having a few acres
from which to support it. Beech
trees were felled in winter to sup
ply the shortage of feed. The
stock would eat the ends of the
limbs and buds as a substitute for
hay. Many of the hogs ran wild,
living on beech nuts and roots,
thus the saying, ‘Root hog or die!’
They became as w'ild and fierce as
a pack of wolves. Wild fruit was
plentiful as well as nuts and a wel
come food. Money, more than
enough to pay the taxes, was an
unknown quantity. Prices were
low as well as wages. School
teachers were not expected to pay;
first class carpenters could be had
for fifty cents a day and board, and
the board was poor. When a new
house or barn was to be built a crew
of about twenty men with teams
some oxen and some horses were
invited in order to complete the
erection in one day. Some would
fell trees or plow the sod as the
case might be, some draw the logs
or sods and the others put up the
building. The women too were in
vited and boys and girls to be there
in time for supper. A generous en
tertainment and social time would
follow after supper. The houses
were, if log, covered with long
shingles or shakes shaved by hand.
The cracks between the logs were
chinked with wood fitted to fill the
various sized openings, then
plastered with mud, lime or mortar.
The fireplace was usually of stone
and the chimney of lath and mor
tar. A crane on which to hang
the stew kettle, a dutch oven to
hake in and a skillet or spider for
frying meat and pancakes, were
the essentials necessary. The
grain was cut by hand and thresh
ed with a club or flail and separated
from the straw and chaff with a
wooden fork. The chaff was
blown away by two men using a
sheet for a fan. After dead timber
was felled, the tops were burned
and log rolling bees were made and
logs were hauled and piled ready for
burning, then dinner for all. An
additional number, particularly
boys and girls were invited for sup
per. Supper over they played and
sang songs, the amusement varing
to suit the crowd, thus with hap
piness, love and sunshine, life was
prolonged and easier. If salaratus
or soda was short they would go to a
burned logheap, rake the ashes and
get a crust or cake equal to the best
of spda. Ashes when sold brought
one cent a bushel. Shoes and boots
were made from home tanned leath
er and had had to last a year or go
without. The fashions changed,
men’s pointed vests and swallowtail
coats, women’s quilted petticoats
and bustles, lace or stay jackets.
Little boys and large girls whittled
hickory stays to rib or support the
jackets. The middle stay was so
annoying that they called it the
“cussed board.”
Fashions prevailed no matter how
beautiful or ridiculous. One day
we heard a roaring noise like the
distant roll of thunder. It was a
great cloud of wild pigeons that lit
and devoured everything eatable.
They bent the limbs of the trees
so low that by using torches to
blind them many were caught and
killed with clubs and eaten. By
the time we reached the Golden
Rod state the country was rapidly
building and railroads taking the
place of freight teams. Cook
stoves, matches, steel pans, brass
clocks, instead of wooden ones,
grain cradles and many other im
(Continued next week)
S. J. Weekes Reelected
Director in One of
States Leading Ass’n.
The fiftieth annual meeting of
stockholders of the OecidentalBuild
ing & Loan Association convened at
the association’s offices in Omaha
last Thursday. Fred E. Hovey,
president, told the stockholders
that 1938 was one of the best years
in more than a decade for the As
sociation, which was founded here
June 12, 1889. Plans are under
way to celebrate the golden anni
versary throughout the year.
“We have continued to partici
pate in the excellent showing made
by all state-supervised building and
loan associations in Nebraska and
Wyoming,” Mr. Hovey said. “These
associations have taken long
strides in the direction of sound
assets, liquidity, modern and up-to
date loan prograniB, and attractive
dividends.”
He cited a substantial increase
in new savings accounts opened
with the Association in 1938, and
said that the reserves and undivid
ed profits of the organization—
more than twice the amount re
quired by law—are adequate “in
surnace” for every investor.
“Wage earners are appreciative
of the fact that a dividend return
of three per cent per annum with
an incident demonstrated safety of
investment is extremely attractive
under present conditions.”
Reductions in real estate hold
ings, real estate sold on conttract,
and foreclosures, as shown by the
January 1st statement, all tend to
the strengthening of the Associa
tion, he said.
S. J. Weekes, president of the
O’Neill National Bank, of O’Neill,
Nebr., was unanimously re-elected
to the board of directors of the As
sociation, at the nomination of E. S.
Waterbury, Armour & Co. general
manager. He was the only director
up for re-election.
__3> -
Holt County Rainfall
For Past Ten Years
Following is the rainfall in this
county for the past ten years, as
compiled by Harry Bowen, official
weather observer for this city, as
prepared by his son, Elmer:
Year Total
1929 - 31.80
1930 _18.00
1931 _16.05
1932 _ 22.58
1933 _ 16.67
1934 _15.40
1935 . 21.43
1936 _14.42
1937 ___20.93
1938 _ _19.54
Births
Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Sterns, of
Phoenix, announce the birth of a
son on Wednesday, February 1.
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth McIntosh,
of Page, announce the birth of a
son on Monday, January 30.
Taxes Are Going Up
Higher And Higher
How hard taxes, national, state
and local, hitting the average in
dividual in the United States is in
dicated in a recent report made
by the National Tax Research
Committtee, which has gone into
the subject at great length. One
of the most discouraging features
is that the burden is growing com
paratively greater, rather than
less. The committee asserts that,
according to best reports, the
ratio of total taxes to national in
come for 1938 approximated 24
per cent. This is just twice the
ration for the year 1929. The esti
mated ratio of public expenditure
to national income is believed to
have approximated 32 per cent.
Back in 1929 the ratio was only
14.2 per cent.
Some of our political demago
gues declare that higher expendi
tures don’t matter because the
rich will be taxed to take care of
the outlay. But the figures prove
this is not the case. During the
fiscal year 1936, for example, our
direct taxes, which are principally
income taxes, constituted less than
half of the total federal revenue,
48.1 per cent, to be exact. This
means that indirect taxes and cus
toms receipts made up the balance.
Now it is through the indirect
taxes that the little fellow is hard
est hit. It means taxes paid in
higher rent, in more expensive
food, clohing, automobiles, gaso
line and the other things he buys.
Continuing, the National Tax Re
search Committee says:
“A farmer, earning $600 a year,
must pay approximately $60, or
12 per cent of his yearly income to1
federal, state and local tax col
lectors.
Idle
! on
the average to the support of gov
| ernment.
‘A salaried worker, earning $20,
000 a year, pays out in taxes ap
proximately 37 per cent of his in
come, or $7,459.
“The price of bread is estimated
to include 68 different taxes which
| aggregate .64 per cent of the price.
Milk contains 1% cents of taxes
per quart; beef, 8.14 per cent;
sugar 18.3%, including 45 different
taxes; hosiery, hats, shirts, 20%;
men’s suits, 10 to 20%; including
63 different taxes on $35 suits;
shoes, 8% to 20%; drugs and medi
cines, 33 1-3%; automobiles, 345
different taxes; cigarettes, 6 cents
per package.’’
Here is something worth think
ing about. We are being told now
that additional billions will have to
be raised for national defense, for
spending and relief. All of this
must come out of taxes. Of course,
borrowing some of the money post
pones the evil day, but even then,
in this generation we cannot avoid
paying higher interest on govern
ment loans, as well as greater
taxes to meet, in part, the running
expenses of the government. This
is in addition to saddling an un
bearable burden on our children
and our children’s children.
But until the nation becomes
really tax conscious, until the little
fellow realizes be is paying his
share in taxes as well as the rich
man—even more than his share in
proportion to his goods and earn
ings—then it is going to be diffi
cult to do anything about it. But
steadily more people are beginn
ing to see the dangers of greatly
inerrasing our tax burdens.
St. Mary’s Lose
Strenous Game Here
St. Mary’s lost a closely con
tested basket ball game to the At
kinson High team in the local
gym on Monday night by a score
of 19-20. The game was very ex
citing, Atkinson forging ahead in
the closing seconds of the gam i on
a goal by Bob Jungman, forward.
Both the second team and the
eight grade teams of St. Mary’s
defeated the Atkinson second team
and the eighth grade team. St.,
Mary’s will meet O’Neill High on
the High floor on Friday night in
wi’bt is expected to be another
close game.
O’Neill Dress Shop
Is Sold This Week
Mrs. Cleota Carney, who has
been an employee of the Bordson
McCartney dress shop in O’Neill
for the past year, has purchased
the dress shop of Mrs. Helen Simar
and took possession on Monday.
Mrs. Simar retains possession of
the millinary department and they
will operate the two in conjunction
Mrs. Carney has had considerable
experience in buying and selling
ready-to-wear, and plans to oper
ate an up-to-the-minute dress shop
—carrying a complete line of
dresses. The Frontier welcomes
her to the ranks of O’Neill busi
ness people and wish her success.
The Weather
The weather has been fairly
mild the past week until the last
day of the month when we had a
little snow and at times on Wednes
day it looked as if we might have
a real blizzard. But it did not
amount to much as it cleared up
before night and it is clear today
with a slowly rising temperature.
The snow fall, which amounted to
about three inches gave us .13 of
an inch of moisture. The coldest
of the week was this morning
when it was 5 above zero. Follow
ing is the weather for the week:
. H. L. M.
Jan. 26_41 25
Jan. 27_63 21
Jan. 28_45 22
Jan. 29 _ 35 17
Jan. 30 37 16
Jan. 31 . 37 24
Feb. 1 84 7 .13
Holt County Pioneers
Observe Golden Wedding
On Sunday, January 29, about
100 friends and relatives gathered
at the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. j
Grenier, northeast of O’Neill, to
help them celebrate their Golden
wedding anniversary.
Mr. and Mrs. Grenier have lived
in Holt county for twenty-seven
years. Before moving to this |
county their home was at Lyons,
Nebraska.
Mr. and Mrs. Grenier are the
parents of twelve children, seven
sons and five daughters, nine of
whom are living. They are: Frank,
of O’Neill; Mrs. Mary Crippen, of
Farmer, S. D.; Mrs. Hattie Kind
lund, of Geddes, S. D.; Max, of
Star; Mrs. Edith Cline, of Bassett;
Vern, of Bassett; Mrs. Lucille
Donohoe, of O’Neill; Cecil and By
ron at home. There are nine
grandchildren and one great grand
child. They are: Charles, Eve
lyn, Loris and Doris Crippen; Ardis,
and Carol Grenier; Joan Donohoe,
Mrs. Deloris Sawyer and La Vern
Grenier and Arlene Sawyer. All the '
children and their families were
there to help them celebrate.
The house was nicely decorated,
the color scheme was carried out
in gold and white. A three-tier
golden wedding cake was baked by
M rs. Kindlund and decorated with j
a bride and groom. Each guest
received a piece of the cake during
lunch, which was served at 6 o’clock.
A smaller four-layer white cocoa
nut cake was baked by Mrs. Hallie
Crippen for Mr. and Mrs. Frank
Grenier, this being their twenty
second anniversary.
Many nice gifts and cards were
presented by those in attendance.
Among the gifts were a set of
six chairs and a set of silverware,
service for eight. These were
given by the children.
After a day of celebrating it was
decided to have a dance which lasted
until the small hours of the morn
ing. A delicious lunch was served
at midnight, music being furnished
by Elmer Juracek, Cecil Grenier
and Harvey Sawyer.
Out of town guests present for
the occasion were: Joe Grenier
and Mary Grenier, of Lyons; Mi-b.
Lily Thiboult and son, Harvey, and
Mrs. Drayton Thiboult and son,
Dale, of Naper; Mr. and Mrs. I. J.
Donohoe and daughter, Katherine,
and Son, Francis, and Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Richter and daughter, Lou
ella, of O’Neill.
Guess It Was Dry
And Arid Here in 1873
The sage of the southwest, now
of the southeast, Romaine Saunders
takes exception to a statement in
the old time history of Holt county,
written by the former county clerk
of Holt county, M. D. Long, in 1901,
in which in the early days this was
classed as an “arid desert region.”
In a letter written by John T.
Prouty, one of the real pioneers of
the county and published in the
Nebraska Farmer in 1923, we take
the following:
“In 1873 most of us considered
the land between the rivers worth
less for agricultural purposes.
Along the rivers and streams one
might live by trapping and hunt
ing. Land was then worthless be
cause of lack of rain and the prev
alence of grasshoppers and prairie
fires. However, since 1873 the
climate has changed. We get more
rain and winters are harder and
longer.”
O’Neill Archery Team
Meet Defeat at Norfolk
The O’Neill Archery team jour
neyed to Norfolk on Monday where
they went down to defeat at the
hands of the Norfolk recreation
club by a score of 1410 to 1134. The
members of the O’Neill team are:
Jack Davidson, Fritz Gunn, Orville
Green, A1 Gaskell, Vic Breidenhoft,
and Clarence Selah.
Mrs. F. J. Kubitschek returned
Thursday night from Omaha where
she had been visiting at the home
of her mother, Mrs. L. B. Van Sant,
for the past week.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Waite, of
Loup City, Nebr., spent Tuesday as
the guests of Mr. and Mrs. D. H.'
Cronin. Miss Van Waite, who had
been visiting at the Cronin home
since last Friday returned home
with them.
Holt County Farmer
Kills Himself Saturday
While in a state of mental aber
ation Charles Arthur Shobe shot
and killed himself last Saturday
evening at his home about twelve
miles east of this city, using a 12
guage shot gun, the muzzle of
which he held under his chin and
pulled the trigger. The funeral
was held Monday afternoon at 2
o’clock from the Methodist church
in Page, Rev. Leo D. Carpenter
officiating and burial in the Page
cemetery.
Deceased was bom at Ewing on
July 16, 1899, and was 49 years,
6 months and 12 days old at the time
of his death. Except for the time
he was in the army during the
World War he had been a resident
of the county all his life. He was
unites! in marriage on April 5, 1930,
to Mabel Duncan, who with a son
and daughter, Charles A., of Ewing,
and Marjorie, are left to mourn his
passing. He is also survived by
six sisters and three brothers.
His death is another that can be
charged up to the World War. He
suffered severely from shell shock
during the war and he never was
able to shake off the effects of that
horrible experience and since the
close of the war was never strong
mentally as a result of the shocks
received. He had many friends in
the eastern part of the county,
where he was well known, who
learned with regret of his tragic
death.
Judge Dickson Presides
In Condemnation Court
Judge R. R. DickBon and Court
Reporter Ted MeElhaney, aecom
pained by Mrs. Dickson and Mrs.
D. H. Cronin drove to Loup City
last Friday morning where the
ladieB visited friends while the
others were looking after legal
matters. They returned that af
ternoon.
Judge Dickson and Judges Lewis
II. Blackledge, of Hastings, and
Adolph E. Wenke, of Stanton, were
appointed by the State Supreme
court a few weeks ago for the pur
pose of appraising the power
plant at Loup City, which the city
has taken steps to take over as a
municipal plant. The three Judges
met at the Court house at Loup
City last Friday as a Court of Con
demnation and organized. Judge
Dickson was selected to act as pre
siding Judge and Ted MeElhaney
as the reporter. April 10, 1939,
was fixed as the time for hearing
the evidence in the matter.
Strengthens His Faith
In His Fellow Man
About two years ago a young
man approached John Kersenbrock,
then mayor, and said that he was
busted and hungry. John says he
was a clean-cut looking young fel
low and that he felt sorry for him
and staked him to a meal, gave him
a dollar and sent him on his way.
John said the young fellow was
profuse in his thanks and said that
he would remember it and pay it
back. John forgot all about it un
til Wednesday morning when he
got a letter from the young fellow
enclosing a money order for the
amount he had expended on him.
The letter was from Kansas City
and he again expressed his appre
ciation for the favor extended
him. John is naturally elated, not
so much for receiving the money
as in the fact that again his judg
ment of human nature was not mis
placed and that not all the boys on
the road are bums.
BRIEFLY STATED
Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Dunkerley
drove to Bloomfield on Tuesday and
visited relatives and friends.
II. B. Hubbard, of Lincoln, ar
rived here Tuesday night to look
after some business matters.
Miss Mildred Miller spent Sunday
at Ewing visiting at the home of
her parents.
Mrs. Loran Nelson entertained
two tables at bridge at her home
on Tuesday night. Miss Grace
Connolly won the high score.
Mr. and Mrs. A1 Broderson an
nounce the birth of a son on Mon
day, January 29, at Neligh, where
Mrs. Broderson is at the home of
her parents.
