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About The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 1911)
XTrmjut irnKrsm.-jBJaranruJ rS!!?5?rS7?f- r r , i " i . " r nin.i '' ' ' M Mil..tiili I II ry; iv.t).viirtnit.ii Wii ' .11 Hi famrmyr&'ti!y!tt,w( w jw ,'; '"v. y "irje'irrrg ' f i - xwjM3iiiiKMft ,v. r , ? &. ; A r mcffventi BCVKCl ftlMMn 5ymtoxruwM'B-ci3iwNrajKt ? CHIEF Red Cloud -.- Nebrnake. PUBLISHED EVERY TliyitSDAY ntafl In the foitodlce stilled Cloud, Neb., m Becoml CUkh Matter. HALE I'UIII.ISIIKU TUE'ONI.V DKMOUKATIO I'APKIl IN . , WKUHTKIt COUNTY The city fathers tire to be commend oil for their cfllclciit work on the ntroets uml alleys. 'Mie romlH they nre making uro ronlly excellent mid aro n credit to ntiy people. The cement culvert thirty nix Inches wide which will divert till witter which falls in the northwestern purt of the city direct to tho creek is a good plan and the money Is well spent Let the yood work go "' There seems to be a little tuideiput ronlovor the county expressing dis satisfaction at lied Cloud because so jiiany rnndldiitus for oillco Hied from this city, The Impression seems to prevail that lied Cloud as a city Is re sponsible for this statu of alfalis, but this is far from tine. In the Hrst Ilace( uny eltl.on of tho county lb free to run for ollioo under tin primary law and till lie has to do Is to pay hit filing fee. No ono is barred, In the second place, if lied Cloud really wish ed to enpture all the olilccs slit would sec to it that only ono candidate filed for each ofllce. When two or more from one plaoo Qlo for the same otlicc it gives the fellow in the other part of the county n better show and usually means his nomination. We plead not guilty. i We havo received so many assur nnces that our idea of a county com mercial club In n move in the right direction that wc feel encouraged to go ti little further and .see if Unit or ganisation cannot bo established. Tli ore are so many things which all'cct the county as a whole that there ought to bo Homo one who would have the authority to go ahead and attend to the business. Wo have hiuWmr Fourth nnd our chautaun.ua and now the coun ty fair will soon be held in Hidden. This fair is a county matter and the entire county should take an interest and make it the best ever given in this part of the stale. We know our Bladen brethren well enough to know that they would welcome any assistance from the rest of the county, nnd so it is with Blue Hill, Oowles ami Guide Rock. With an organization of the county anything attempted by any of tho towns would be a success and that is what wc arc all after. In order tb set the ball rolling wc are going to take the liberty to name the following men to act as Hcommittee to formulate a comity commercial club: Fred Good, Cowlcs; L. Pelslgcr, Blue Hill; V. 8. Hall, Hladen; H. C. Wright, Itosemont; Win. Irons, Iuavale, aud F. W. Cowdcn, Red Cloud. Wc trust that these men will serve in this capac ity, organise clubs in their localities, then meet' and eject permanent officers. TollePiMIc RkdCloup, Nkbr., Aug. 12th, 1011. The board of trustees of the--Red Cloud Ccmqtry Association for sever al yean have been trying to evolve some system that would result in the creation of a cemetery that the clti eens of Red Cloud, and especially the lot owners, would be proud of. ; The board have generously given their time and efforts gratuitously to promote this and it Is no small tax on their time. The present plan has met the ap proval and commendation of the pro gressive and public spirited citizens of the community and was inaugurated soiciy on me conuuence tue board en tertained In the good will and co-oper atlou of the public The transformation from a jungle of old grass and noxious weds to u nice ly kept lawn, as it shows today, is the work of only ono year and will con tinue to improve each succeeding year us the work progresses. The last rains caused the sinking of thirty-eight graves from one to two feet, leaving ghastly holes exposed to view. What would have been your verdict if they had boen allowed to remain so, or tho cemetery been permitted to grow up into an unsightly waste V Your pride and public spirit would revolt ut tho Idea, nnd do violence to every sense of Christian civilization. Some few have been and are cariuu for their own lots tcf (he satisfaction of the superintendent, which is all right, buttho large mnjmity will not aud in fact can not do il. It is ini practicable aud no one can do it ns well and cheaply as the association can, and preserve tho necessary uni formity of tho whole cemotery.g Any neglect or refusal to comply " with this humane request must bo interpreted as a protest against tho Improved conditions so apparent in the last year and a discriminating public will place a proper estimate on their actions. Rcspeotfully submitted, Rko Cloud Ckmkteky Ai-sn. History of the Earliest Farming in Nebraska (AiIiIIkoii i:. Mil Mon In I'lirin .MtiKiulnr.) The llrst report wc have on farming in tho Ncbraskn country is found in the letter of Frntiolsco Vasipu-z C'oro undo to the king of Spain, dated Octo ber 20, 1511. In July of that year Coronado found the people of the pro viuco of Quivura raising corn, beaus and melons. How long tlicso crops had been grown in tho plains region of Kansas and Nebraska can only be conjectured. From the (loors and fire places and'froin the concealed cellars or caches beneath thu Doors of prehis toric homes in eastern Nobi nilta, ex plored by It. F. Glider and other Ne braska ethnologists, have been taken parched kernels of worn, Five to tun feet of soil blown by tho winds or car ried upward by earthworms now cover the Moors and fireplaces of these earl iest Nebraska homo-. A thousand years ago is not too distant a date to give to these early corn raisers in tho feitilc alleys of our .state. Thciols ii No little doubt Unit all tho ci ops cultivated by t ho Indian in habitants of JNebiaskii had been de veloped from their wild foiuis In a tcgiou fur to die .south and their cccd brought to these plains by migrating bauds The common edible wild vege tables of this region, such as thu ttep siiiorRwect wild turnip, tin: Indian tribes were content to dig fiom the native soil without attempt at domes tication, in fact, of the litiinorous edible fruits and vegetables of the No briwka region, including the astra galus or bufTalf pen, the wild bean, the buffalo berry, the wild currant, the sand cherry aud otlieis, none of them have been developed to any con siderable extent by cultivation even at the present timo. From the date of tho Coronado ex pedition in irll, for tho following 150 yciiiB there is no fuitlier report in his torical litoratuic upon farming in the Nebraska region. A dispatch from the French governor at Now Orleans to 1'uils, dated April 11, 1700, states that two Canadians had arrived there who for two years liad been going front village to vlllago along tho Missouri river and that they said it was the most beautiful country in all the world and that the savages there kepthorses. Tliis is the llrst record wo have of horse raising among the western Ind ians, indicating that in thu 150 years which had elapsed since the first Span lards under Coronado had reached the plains, the descendants of horses brought by the Spaniards from Europe had reached the Missoutl river and were bred by thu Indian tribes there. Thu documents of the French colonial oillco for the next fifty years contain a number of brief references to the Ne braska country, secured from the early adventurous fur traders who penetrated tliis region and even inter married with the women of the native tribe, but evidently had little eye for agriculture. The wealth of mines along the Missouri is tho burden of the tales of these early travelers' The first authentio description we have of Nebraska is that made by tbe Mallet brothers, who wintered with tbe Pawnees on tbe Loup or Elkborn river in 1780, and in the spring of 1740 named tbe Platte river and followed its valley as far west aa the forks, tnence crossing soutbwestwardly to Santa Fe. They accurately described the topography, but say nothing of tbe primitive agrioulture which we know was carried on by the Pawnees in that day. ,rir' Lewis and Clark found the cultivat ed fields of tbe Otoes and Pawnees along tbe Platte in tbe vicinity of Ash land and in Dakota county, in the neighborhood of Homer. The father of Improved agrioulture in Nebraska was Manuel Lisa, a Span ish fur trader, who llrst reached Ne braska from St. Louis in the summer of 1807, and who was for the noxt thirteen years the leading spliit in Nebraska entcrptiscfl and the real ruler of this region. Lisa established a large trading post called Fort Lisa eight miles above Omaha on tho Mis souri river and numerous otliorjbraticli trading posts ut other places. His passlou was to make money in the fur trade, and incident thereto to promote the welfare of the Indian tribes in every possible way in order to secure more furs and more profits. So we fiud bim promoting peace between tbe tribes, since dead Indians brought no furs to his trading posts. The report of his services lu behalf of tin Improved agriculture In Nebraska may best be given in hi3 own words us found in a letter from him to Governor Clark at St. Louis, dated July 1. 1817. from which these extracts are taken: 1 Ib'fore 1 ascended the Missouri as sub-agent, your excellency remembers what was iicuiistnmod to taku placo. Tho Indians of that rlverkllled, robbed and pillaged tho trndeit-; these prac tices tiro no more. Nut to mention tho others, my own establishments furnish the example of destruction then, of safety now. I havo one at the Mahas, more than OoO miles up the Missouri, another at the Sioux, oOO miles further still, I have from 100 to 200 men in my employment, large quantities of horses and horned cattle, of hgs, of domestic fo .1-; not ono Is touched by an Indian. "I Impose upon myself great priva tions; ten months in a year l am bur ied in the forest, at a vast distance from my own house. I appear as the benefactor, and not as the pillager, of the, Indians. I carried limong them the seed of tho pomploii (pumpkin,) from which I have seen in their pos session tho fruit weighing 100 pounds. Also the largo beau, the potato, the turnip; and these vegetables new mako a comfortablo partof their subsistence, and this year 1 have promised to carry tho plough. Ilesldcs my blacksmiths work incessantly for them, charging nothing. I lend them traps, only de manding preference in their trade. .My establishments are the refuge of tin: weak and of tho old men no longer able to follow their lodges nnd by these means I have acquired tho con. Ildciicc and friendship of these nations, and the consequent choice of their trade." f Agriculture in NobrnMm wtib llrst cat rlcd on by Americans in that beau tiful breadth of rich second bottom ly ing about two miles southeast of the present town of Ft. Calhoun, in Wash ington county. On the blulV above tho river wlicio Lowis and Clark hold their first council with Nebraska In dians on August .'J. IS0I, thu United States government established a fort In 1810. For the next eight years tills fort was tho metropolis of thu trans Missouri region Its gnrrlson included several hundred men of the Rilles and Sixth infiintiy regiments Besides those there were teamsters, fur traders aud the other usual linngers-on of u frontier fort. All the 'plains tribes came here to trade. A Spanish em bassy came here from Santa Fe to make u treaty with the Pawneo na tion. The population of this llrst city in Nebraska was from GU0 to 1,000 peo ple. Food for this population was pro duced on tile rich tint land adjacent to the fort and lying about a little 'lake on a bench slightly elevated above the llrst Missouri bottom. Several hundred ueies of Kind weie in cultivation. The olllcial reports aud regimental records show that in one year several thousand bushels of coi u and heat were laised, with potatoes and vegetables in abund ance to supply the garrison. Several hundred head of beef cuttle also were kept. The reports of the farming opera tions can led on here uniformly speak in the highest praise of thu agricul tural possibilities of this region in that distant day nearly one hundred years ago The first war known in Nebraska annals, the Arikara wur of 1823, came on. It was brought ou by the Arikara tribe, then living ou the Missouri river a little above the pres ent site of Pierre, S. I)., attacking a party of fur traders. Large reinforce ments of men, horses, caution, steam boats aud keel boats were rushed up the river from St. Louis. Ft. Atkin son, on tue old Council bluffs, adjoin ing the present town of Fort Calhoun, was the rendezvous and base of sup plies. The rich black land of Wash ington county furnished the food. The expedition besieged dnd cannonaded the Arjkara village, killed Gray Eyes, chief of tbe Arlkaras, compelled the tribe to sue for peace, and then re turned down the river in the fall.'" "f Four years later, in 1827, Ft. Atkin son was abandoned upon orders from the, war department, its garrison transferred to Ft. Leavenworth, its bulldiugfi dismantled and the fertile Nebraska fields which had been ,the granary, vegetable garden and meadow for the first city in our state the fields which had been the scene of the first agricultural experiment station in the entire Transmlssouri region were abaudoned, and so quickly and thor oughly does kindly nature restore primitive conditions, that tbiity years later these same fields were taken by tbe llrst settlers in Washington county without comtneut or apparent notice of tho fact that they had been farmed a generation before. The reports and records of these 'lirs't 'farming opera tions in Nebraska lay forgotten in the files ut Washington, but it must never be forgotten by the agricultural histor ian that the first successful farming in Nebraska on a large scale was carried on by the milltuiy near the old fort on the Council bluffs in Washington county as far back as 1820. Prince Maxmilian vou Wicd, tbe great German traveler, came up the Missouri river In the steamer Yellow stone in 1833. From his book, pub lished at Coblcutz, Germany, in 1838, I translate the following glimpses of Nebraska dairy farming, hog raising and farming us they existed at Belle vue and Cuban no's post, six miles above Omaha, iu that year: "About 2 o'clock lu the afternoon (May II, 1833) wo reached Mr. Louis Foutauollo's residence (at Itullevue), which btpod out from a group of build ings, iu front of fields of Indian corn, In frontof pleusautgiceu wooded hills. "The laud here Is extraordinarily fruitful and a poorly cultivated aero yields 100 bushels of mai.e Cattlo also succeed hero splendidly, give much mlk, but require salt from time to time. Mr. Fontanelle thought he would have 5000 bead of swine In a few years If the Indians did not steal too mauy from him. "" "On May 4, our ship, like a smoke VA.JV', gmumm .. ii a , -, m m m w & tm pv-s-aM w - , -'-""-M C ii . '- Stop in and try our New Fall Styles of Queen Quality Shoes MIT THEY have just arrived and are each and every JJ one an example of Master Workmanship. All are made with the Wonder Worker Soles and solid leather heels, which give a new shoe all the comfort of an old one. We wish to demonstrate tKis feature to you and would be pleased to have you inspect them at your convenience. New, snappy lasts from the greatest shoe markets : : : HE New Wurvderhose for Fall The Mi iner Droi H. A. LETSON, Manager Broth ers Co. a A MIGHTY SAFE PLACE TO TRADE19 VsV'VvN WE CARRY A COMPLETE LINE OF Quick Mea Gasoline and Oil Stoves and Ranges De Laval Cream Separators White lily Electric Washers Hardware and Implements All kinds of Plumbing Goods. Work promptly attended to Windmills, Wagons and Buggies s s s s s s s s -am- -SV & A vomiting monster, continued up the river, frightening all living creatures; geese and dueks flew in all directions. At Mr. Cabanne's trading post we sa luted with a cannon shot, and at once made landing. A small brook, with steep banks, comes forth from a little side valley iu u-hiuh are located the corn plantations for the support of the Inhabitants Mr. Cubanne hud planted here llf toon acies of maize, which produce ncmly2,')0o bushels of this grain, for the richness of tho soil is vory grout." Such Is tho story of the earliest agri culture nnd stooU raising in Nebraska, forgotten beginnings iu tho days of prehistoric savages, thu early Iiidiuus, the Spauish discoverers, the first fur traders and military garrisons. This story relates itself solely to the uarrew belt of black valley along the Missouri river. The story of the first farming ventures in the region west ward, on the open prairie, in tbe sand hills and the high plains, is a more re cent, but fascinating, chapter in the agricultural history of our fair and fruitful state. Free Library iMks- The Nebraska Public Library Com mission will have an exhibit at tho State Fair September 1th to 8th in tho educational building, to which tho at tention of every ono interested iu books is directed Hooks .are loaned by tho commission to people iu the rural districts and small towns of tho state free of charge, lu this exhibit will be shown a regular traveling library, a library for country schools, and a library for olub work or special study of any kind. There will be at tendants in charge to explain how these books may bo obtained and to answer all questions concerning the work. Tbe Nebraska Library Commission was established by the state legisla ture in 1001. In tbe ten years of its organization, it has sent 70,000 books out over the state and the demand for these books is steadily increasing. This year an additional appropriation was giveu the commission to supply books to the unfortunates who are con lined within the thirteen state lnstltu tlons. After you havo seen the aero plane flights, hoard Llberati'n band and grand opera singers, the speed contt'sts, etc., do not forget to look up tho method of seaming a traveling library for your town or community. Apples for Sale, 400 bu., of sprayed summer apples. Ou tho D. G Norrls farm G miles west and 1 south of lied Cloud. lu considering roads, remember that there are few towns that look so goe to a farmer that he will kill a horse' to get there. kAJflM' , 4uk p