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A Story of an Exciting Time in the
Early History of V?e Chief V A
Sketch of the Life of M. L. Thomas
The following incidents are from a sketch of the life of
"M. L. Thomas, who was one of the first editors of The
Chief, and are taken from the "Western Publisher," of
Chicago. We regret that we are unable to reproduce the
illustrations which accompany the article. Ed.
Once upon a tlmo in a frontier town
of the Territory of Nebraska, a promi
nent citizen and friend, who later was
twice elected to the governorship,
called upon M. L. Thomas, now pub
lisher of the Daily &nd Weekly
Vidett Pond Creek, Okla , and
warned him that a gang was organiz
ing with the avowed intention of tear
ing down his shack and throwing the
printing outfit into the street. The
information came shortly after night
fall, and preparations were at once
made to repel the invaders. It had
always been the policy of the editor,
upon learning that trouble or an
individual was hunting for him, to
immediately go in quest of the hunten
;ind on this occasion .standing guard
over a priut shop, especially as the
enemy beemed to be slow in coming,
soon got monotonous and ho resolved
to bring the matter to a speedy con
elusion. A gang of about a dozen
men was In a neighboring saloon im
bibing whiskey and otherwise prepar
ing for the proposed raid, when he
suddeuly appeared among them with a
revolver in each hand and the quiet
announcement that he was ready for
the shooting to begin. Everything
instantly became quiet, bo still tho
dropping of the proverbial pin could
have been heard, and for tho space of
a minute life and death hung by a
slender thread. The gamblers and
cutthroats who made up the majority
of that crowd were not cowards, and
they were armed, but they knew that
iJiooting would instantly follow tho
hostile move. They knew that the
man behind the brace of ll's had the
reputation of being a dead shot, and
that, while there could be no question
that ho would be wiped out if a cou
llict ensued, they did not dare to sac
rillce any of their valuable lives. A
parley took place and the matter was
adjusted for the time bein?, and tho
"editor" went home to his wife and
babies, knowing that those rough men
uould keop their word and that tho
print bhop would not be molested. He
never told the wifo of what had taken
place, and to this day she does not
know how widowhood for her trembled
in tho balauco that night.
Ic these days if a sheriff or other
oilicer has occasiou to go after a bad
man he never thinks of goiug to a
printing office to procure help, but in
the frontier days it was tho invariable
custom of the sheriff in that border
towu of Nebraska Territory to get tho
litor to accompany him on all dau
gerous errands, and the "editor" was
foolish enough to leave his business
Kuch as it was, and go off on long and
dangerous rides, by day and by night,
and that, too, without pay and hope
of reward The lovo of adventure
seemed to overshadow all other con.
eiderations.
Please
Your Hair
Don't have a falling out with
your hair. It might leave you!
Then what? Better please it
by giving it a good hair-food
Ayer's Hair Vigor. The hair
stops coming out, becomes
soft and smooth, and all the
deep, rich color of youth
comes back to gray hair.
I was troubled greatly with dandruff until
T iitrd Ayrr'a l.'ulr Vlicor. It completely cured
the danilruQ aiM alio Mopped my hair from
faltiuc. iut. Ititrve ine verr nicely al.o In
arranging my lia!r In any tye I wlh."
Mlrs Maggie Cook, Divide, w. Va.
I A MadobyJ.O. AyerCo.. Lowell, Man.
Mm alio manuiaoiurera u
'B'
luers
'1. 1 It MM M
SARSAPARILU.
PILLS.
CIIEKRV PECTORAL.
Born in Monroe countw Ohio, in
1S19, Mr. Thomas moved to the Ne
braska frontier when he whs but a lad
and began life on a ranch. Up to
that time he had attended district
school an aggregate of twenty-two
mouths, and, like the man who wrote
soap testimonials, he has never gone to
school since.
It is not the intention here to tell
the life of "Mel' Thomas, as he was
called on the plains. He lalks but
little of those early days, but he once
facetiously remarked that aside from
the half dozen years on the plains and
a year and a half on the city council of
Pond Creok ho had always tried to live
the life of a law abiding citizen. A
true and faithful history of this man's
life during those years on the frontier
would make a book that would be very
interesting reading. In closing a
magazine article on his life tho editor
in 1S99 paid him the following compli
ment: 'Mr. Thomas belongs to a class of
western men who can never be repro
duced. The west they know and
which was their creator is gone for
over. Strong, self reliant and invinci
ble, these men built states from the
wilds of bavagery and conquered cir
cumstances in behalf of civilization.
Their reward has never been propor
tioned to their merits, but while life
romains they have the faculty and the
courage to compel recognition for
their deserts."
Why the fates should doer Mint
man almost wholly without education
and whose border life as a freighter.
buffalo hunter, mail carrier. Indian
lighter, man hunter and cow nunchor
was not exactly calculated to lit him
for the duties of an editor or to shine
in polito society is one of the myster
ies th'ii, is past finding out. . However,
in 187(5, Mr. Thomas became the editor
and proprietor of a weekly newspaper,
tho only one in a frontier country of
the west Latter he drifted into Colo
rado and took up his abode in -a little
town, which afterwards became a
county seat, and engaged to do tho
editorial work on tho local paper
Those who claimed to be his friends,
but who failed to consult his wishes
in the matter, had him annointnrl a
justice of the peace, and while serving
in mat capacity the first lawsuit ever
tried in Yuma county, Colorado, was
tried before him. It was a suit in
which there wa not much involved
except spite work, every one in the
case being related in one way or
another to every one else in the suit
About three dozen witnesses wore
subpoenaed, a lawyer was employed on
each side and tho caao promised to bo
an interesting one. Tho lawyer for
tho prosecution was an old settler, he
having lived in tho town ncnrlr thron
months, but the attorney on the other
side was a newcomer, having drifted iu
from Missouri only two days previous.
He came to tho town in a mild state of
intoxication, and when tho suit came
up for trial ho was in the same condi
tion except probably a littlo more so
Tho "court" being new to tho busi
noss, supposed that tho lawyers always
got drunk when trying a case, aud,
laboring under this impression, did
not hesitate to take a recess every
timo tho lawyors wanted to go out for
a drink. In fict, he joined them In
their libations fremiontlv. ami when
tho defendant iu the case, tinder tho
soueuing influonco of tanglefoot,
offered to "sot 'em up," tho court saw
no impropriety in it. Tho court nvnn
set 'em up to all hands, tolling the
ueaier in liquids to "nut it on thn
slate." The complainant in tho case,
not to bo outdone, also had a long
black bottlo fillod and placed on tho
court's desk, close to his rliriir. i.r.ti
Things ran smoothly after this for as
miiL-a as an nour, until, following ouo
of tho recesses, tho attorney for tho
dofenso staggered into court win, ..
quart bottlo iu his coat tail pockot, a
ciKm iu uis mouui anj without remov
ing his hat began to haraueue the
court, stating that the trial had gone
far enough that the evideuce was all in
except a reserve detachment of d d
lies which the prosecution tra going
to spring at the last momeut. and that
he would now sum up the mat er
The court had a sort of hazy aud
indistinct idea that he ws the proper
person to do the summiug up. aud for
a few brief moments there was "a
.'ouud of revelry" iu the court room
When order had beeu partially
restored the court took another pull
at the bottle and proceeded to "hand
down his decision in the case.
After the lapse of so many years the
"court' does not remember what his
findings were or or to whom the deci
sion was given, and it is somewhat
doubtful if he knew at the lime: but
he not only decided the case but also
served notice on all concerned that
any efforts lookiug to a new trial or
any attempt to appeal from his deci
sion would be takeu as a peoual
affront aud a settlement would be
demanded at the first opportunity.
Two days after the trial all hands
met in towu, the litigants went to
gether and paid the bills a' the saloons
the witnesses made no charge for their
services, the loser of the case assured
the court that his findings were just
and impartial and his decision right,
all the contending families became
good friends aud thus happily ended
the first lawsuit tried iu what is now
Yuma county, Colorado, and which
was probably the most hilarious liti
gation ever known, even on the
frontier.
The lack of education must neces
sarily be a serious drawback iu any
business, and especially iu the news
paper business, hence Mr. Thomas
undoubtedly possessed more than the
average amount of natural abi ity in
the newspaper line, for he has invari
ably made a success of his ventures.
He has tilled every position in a news
paper office, and at one time was the
successful manager of a daily paper in
a city of six thousand people. He has
accumulated enough of this world's
goods to enable him to live the bal
ance of his days without work if he
desired to do so. He has been for
nearly eight years postmaster of tho
city iu which he lives, and is the editor
aud owner of one of the best equipped
and best paying country newspapers
in the territory, the Grant County
Vidette, published in Pond Ureek, the
county seat of Grant county, Okla
homa.
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I have the agency for the to
Harlan Shoe, the Peters l
Shoe Co.'s line, the Watson- -JJ
1JI w,.- i:n fc?,,oC-e .i.
to C. M. Henderson), the
manufacturers of the fam
ous "Red School House"
Shoes.
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FOR MEN
AND BOYS
w mmmMBBmmmmmuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
m Xo line in my store has received more attention
tfi than my SHOE STOCK. It is kept full of "up-to-(
the-minute" styles and is composed ot the very best
(ft goods bought of the manufacturers at cash prices.
"Slaughter of the Innocents."
Rojestveusky's defeat by Togo was
trifling when compared to the wallop,
ing received by the Red Oloud base
ball team which went to Blue Hill last
Sunday. Tho first two tunings of the
game wore played without either side
scoring. Red Cloud failed to score in
its half of the third, but when Blue
Hill came to bat the fireworks began.
The way the Blue Hill "Yellowjackets"
swatted the ball was something fierce,
and they chased each other around
tho bases like Al Aultz's hounds after
a jackrabbit. When Red Cloud's
"whirlwind of the slab" finally sue
ceeded in ret ring the side Blue Hill
had soven runs to her credit. They
added two more in the fourth, six iu
the fifth, two iu the sixth, and enough
more in the remaining innings to
bring the total up to 2.j. On the other
hand, the Red Cloud boys seemed
utterly uuablo to connect with the
ball, hits boiug few and far botweeu.
But two men succeeded in makiutr the
circuit of tho bases for Red Clo.id
and when the game ended the score
was 25 to 2 in favor of Blu; Hill.
However, we are willing to beta week's
salary that Blue Hill cannot repeat
the doso ou the Red Cloud grounds,
nnd wo hope to ee a game arranged
for somo date in the near future.
Fred Hopka umpired the game and, if
anything, gave Red Cloud tho best of
it, but tho boys were "off" from first
to last, and got a drubbing which they
will long remember.
I believe I can save you money on Shoes and
jfi give you more GOOD SHOES to select from than
f any other store in Red Cloud.
m
Jf
PAIL STOREY
J5he
CLOTHIER
40iaiUiU(UtiUiUU(aiiiUiafctlitiUiiU(U(titiUl(aiiUiUitbUUU(UiUil(U(Ui4itl(taiUiUiU(tlt
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9
M. A. Albright,
T5he Grocer
-SELLS-
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First duality Goods
AT
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Reasonable 3
r
Prices I
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Red Cloud, - Nebraska
9 f-
The New Superintendent.
(At the meeting of the school board
Tuesday evouiug, Prof. G. W. Dudley,
of DeWitt, Nob , was elected superin
tendeut of the Red Cloud schools to
succeed Mrs. Eva J. Case.lwho goes to
tho Kearuey Normal asr preceptress
Prof. Dudley is about .12 years of age,
married, and a graduate of tho Ne
braska University, class of 1002. He
worked his way through college,
standing high In his studios, and since
gradutting has beon principal of tho
DoWitt schools, having been elected
to tho position four times. Thero
wore about ton candidates for the
position, and it took over a hundred
ballots by tho board to make a selec
tion. The Chikf welcomes Prof. Dud
ley and his wifo to Rod Cloud.
Consign Your Live Stock To
CLAY, ROBINSON & CO.
STOGK YARDS, KANSAS CITY, MO.
W alto hav our own houtM at
CHICAGO SOUTH OMAHA SIOUX CITY
SOUTH ST. JOSEPH DENVER
"id our market Uttir In this iair. Writ ui fir any apaclal Infarmatltn tfaslrttf.
i(&r&&XKmlGlGm&m&&fci6,timmm12iGto,'
Deaths and Funerals.
wuiiJwmxt!JiyMWM!w
Mrs. Martha A. Hurd.
Afrs. Martha Hurd, widow of the late
William Hurd, of Cowlos, died last
Friday, June 2nd, at tho homo of her
daughter, Mrs. A. A. Boron, in this city,
at the age of T.T years 5 months and 24
days. Funeral services wore conduct
ed at the Boron homo Sunday morning,
Rev Hutchms, pastor of theCowles M.
E. church, officiating, and hor remans
were laid to rest besido thoso of hor
husband in the Cowles cemetery.
Martha A. Andrus was born at Tor
onto, Canada, Dec. 8th, 1831. She was
married in Toronto March litli, 1837, to
William Hurd, who'dled a year ago last
January. The family moved to Iowa in
18GT), where they resided for twonty
pears, oc ming to Webster county and
settling near Cowlos in 188T. Mrs.
Hurd was the mother of six children,
five of whom survive her, as follows:
Mrs. L h. Boron and Mrs A. A. Boren
of Red Cloud, William, Fred, and Ituol
Hurd, all of the Cowlos neighborhood
Mrs. Hurd was a lifelong Ciiristaln,
having uuited with tho M E. church
wheu.she was seventeen years of ago.
t.
Mrs. H, C. Andrus.
.ira. aiary ononis, wire or II. U. An
drus of Garfield township, died Wed
nesday morning and was buried Thurs
day. Funeral sorvicos woro hold at
tho homo yesterday morning at 11
o'clock, conducted by Row G. W.lluin-
moll Mrs. Andrus was about 73 years
-
IMIKUMATISM OUHKl) IN A DAY.
MvHtlp euro for Itlieuuintlhiu mid Neuralgia
radically euros In 1 to .1 day. Its action upon
llio sytdem Is remarkable aud mysterious U
removes at once the caiiHo and the disease Im
mediately disappears. Tho first doFO greatly
bonelllH. 7ft cents aud li.oo. bcldibyU.K
(Jrtco DruvKlit. Ked Cloud
FARM LOANS
1N-
KaLiisas & Nebraska
I don't ask you to see all
other town agents first and
then drop them cold.
If you choose, see me
FIRST or LAST, and I
think we can deal.
J. H. BAILEY,
ItED ULOUD, . . NEBRASKA
'
of age, and was one of tho pioneer
women of tho county, coming here in
1873. Further particulars will be givon
next week.
Mrs. Haley's Funeral.
Tho funeral of Mrs. A. H. Kaley was
hold last Sunday afternoon from tho
family residonce. Tho attendance
was probably tho largest over seen at
a funeral in this city. Tho floral
tributes woro profuse. Row G. II. u
Rico of tho Congregitioual church "
conducted tho services.
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P"fltr ti3iM ti!Viiamvait,
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