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About The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923 | View Entire Issue (June 22, 1922)
w RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF Had Your Iron Today? IM, I ft jT ff 4ti&'J iACVJ&r' l " ji . y7 y iWR i i v :1 Iowa Incited fm GKZAMH iS 4 OU Rood Americans theie Is no moro Interesting period In United States history than that which covers tho settling and early development of the Upper Mississippi valley states which covers the third quarter of tho past century. The Immigration Into Iowa Is typical of that Into other states at about the same period, and a paitigraph from "Vandomnrk's Folly," by Herbert Quick, adequately describes the scenes of Hint tlnu Mm says of that tremendous trek : Here wo went, oen, cows, mules, tior&ca, coaches, carriages; blue Jeans, corduroys; rags, tatters, silks, eatlns, caps, tall hats, poverty, riches; criminals es caping from Justice; couples fleeing from the law: Kold-scekera hearing southwest to the Overland Trail; politicians looking for places In which to win famo und fortune; adventurers en their way to everywhere; Abolitionists golni; to tho Bonier War; Innocent-looking outllts carrying fugitive Biaves; nnd, most numer ous of all, hnmeseckers "hunting country" a nation on wheels, an empire In tho commotion and pangs of birth There were many, very many, Interesting In cidents that went to make up the history of these pioneer days In Iowa that nro covered by Air. Quick In "Vandomnrk's Folly," but one of the most Interesting' Is that dealing with the treat ment of "claim-Jumpers." The local newspaper, In an effort to secure an advantage for Its polit ical clique bad In those early days leferred to "Cow" Vandeniark as a man with u ''criminal record," and In Inter days In refuting the state ment he tells the story of tho "claim-Jumpers" as follows, In part: The story grew out of my Joining the Settlers' club in 1S50. The rage for laud speculation was sweeping over Iowa like a prairie lire, getting things ready for Hie great panic of 1S57 that 1 have read of since, but of which 1 never beard until long after It was, over. All I knew was that there was u great fever for buying and bell ing land and laying out and booming town-sites the sites, not the towns and thut afterward times were very . hard. Thu speculators had bought up a good part of Monterey county by tho end of 18.", and had run the price up as high us three dollars and a half an acre. This made It hard for men who came In ex pecting to get It for a dollar and a quarter, nnd a number of settlers in the township, as they did till over the state, went on their land relying on the right to buy It when they could get the money what was called the pre-emption right. I could bee the houses of Wllllum Trlckey, Ebenezer Jun kins and Abbulom Frost from my house; nnd I knew that rotor nnd Amos Bomlsdurfer and Flnvius Holm, Dunkards from Pennsylvania, bad located farther south. All these settlers were located boutb of Hell Slew, which was coming to be known now, and was afterward put down on the map, as "Vandemark's Folly Marsh." And now there camo Into the county and stnte n class of men called "claim-Jumpers," who pushed In on the claims of the first comers, and stood ready to buy their new homes right out from tinder them. It was pretty hard on us who had piibhed on ahead of the railways, nnd snaked In the rain and frozen In the blizzards, and lived ou moldy bncon and hulled corn, to lose our clianco to get title to the lands we had broken up and built on. My land was paid for. such as It was ; but when the peoplo who, like me, bad trailed out across the prairies with the last year's rush, came and nuked mu to Join the Settlers' club to run these Intruders off, It appeared to mo that It was only a man's part In mo to stand to It and take hold vnd do. . . I did not look forward to all tho doings of tho Settlers' club, but I Joined It, nnd I bnve never been nshamed of It, even when Dick McGIll wus elnngwhanglng me about what we did. I nover knew, and I don't know now, Just what tho luw was, but 1 thought then, and I think now, that the Settlers' club bnd the right of it. I thought so tho night wo went over to run tho claim-Jumper off ,Absulom Frost's laud, within a week of mj Join ing. It was over on Section Twenty-soven, thnt tho claim-Jumper had built a hut .nbout.jwbere tho Echoolliouue now Is, with a stublo In jne end of It, and a den lu which to live tmWother. He was n young man, with nosdepeudents, und wo felt no compunctions of conscience, that dark night, when two wagon-loads of us, ono of which cume from tho direction of Monterey Center, drove quietly up and knocked at the door. ' "Who's thcro?" he, said, with a quiver In his olee. "Open up, and Hud out!" said n man In the Monterey Center crowd,-who seemed to take com mand as a matter of course. "Kick the door open, Dutcliyl" As he said this he stepped aside, and pushed mo up to tho door. I guve it a push with my knee, und the lender Jerked mo aside, just In time to let a charge of shot pass my head. "It's only a slugle-batrel gun," snld he. "Grab him 1" 1 was scared by the report of the gun. scared nnd mad, too, as I clinched with the fellow, and threw him; then I pitched him but of thu door, when tha rest of them threw him down nnd be gan stripping htm. At the Fame time, some ono kindled u lire tinder n kettle lilted with tar, nnd In n few minutes, they were smearing htm with It This looked like going too far, to me, and I stepped back I couldn't Mnnd It to see the tnr smeared over his face, oven if it did look like a map of the devil's wild laud, ns ho kicked and scratched and tried to bite, swenrlng nil the time, like a pirate It seemed a degrading kind of tiling to defile n human being In that way. The leader camo up to me and said, "Thnt was good work, Dutchy. Lucky I was right about Its be ing a single-barrel, ain't It? Help get his team hitched up. We want to see him well started." "All right, Mr. McGill," I said; for that was Ids name, now first told In all the history of tho county. "Shut up!" he said. "My name's Smith, you lunkhead 1" Tho next nnd tho last stop, was nwny down on Section Thirty-five two miles farther. 1 was feel ing rather wamble-cropped, because of tho memory of that poor fellow with the tar In his eyes but I went nil tho same. McGIll pounded ou the door. "Come out," he shouted. "You've got company 1" There was a scrambling nnd hustling around In tho shanty, nnd low talking, and some ono nsked who was there; to which McGIll replied for them to come out and see. I'retty soon, a little doddering figure of u man enme to the door, pull ing on his brceqhes with trembling bands ns be stepped, barefooted, on the bare ground which came right up to the door-sill, "What's wanted, gentlemen?" ho quavered. "I cnln't ask you to como In Jlst jit. What's wanted?" Uo hnd not said two words when I know hlra for Old Man Fcwkcs, whom I had last seen back on ,tho rond west of Dyersvllle, on his wny to "Negoshn." Where was Ma Fcwkcs, nnd whore wore Celebrate Fourth nnd Surnjuh Dowlah? And where, most emphatically, whero was Ilowenu? I stepped forward at McGUI's Bide. Surely. I thought, they were not going to tnr nnd fenther these harmless, good-for-nothing waifs of tho fron tier; and even as I thought It, I saw tho glimmer ing of the fire they were kindling under thu tar kettle. "Wo wnnt you, you Infernal claim-Jumper I" snld McQMI. "We'll show you thnt you cun't steal tho land from us hard-working settlers, you set of sneaks! Tako off your clothes, and we'll glvu you n coat that will make you look moro like buzzards than you do now." "There's some of 'em runnln' away I" yelled ono of tho. crowd. "Cntch 'cm I" Therq was a flight through tho grass from the back of the shanty, n rush of pursuit, some feeble yells Jerked Into bits, by lough handling, and pre sently, Celebrate and Surajah were dragged Into tho circle of light, Just ns poor Ma Fcwkcs, with her hhoulder-blades drawn almost together came forward and tried to tear from her poor old hus band's arm the hand of an old neighbor of mine' whose name I won't mention even at this late day. . . "Say," said a man who bnd all the time sat In one of the wagons, holding the-horses. "You'd better Jeavo out the stripping, boys!" They began dragging the boys und the old man toward tho tar-kettle, and McGIll, with his hat drawn down over his eyes, went to tho slimy mass and dipped Into it n wooden paddle with which they had been stirring It. Taking as much on It as It would carry, he made as If to smear It over the old man's head nnd benrd. 1 could not Mnnd this the poor harmless old coot! and 1 ran up and struck McGUI's arm. "What In hell," he yelled, for some of tho tar went on him, "do you mean!" "Don't tar and feather em," I begged. "I know thesu folks. They are a poor wandering family, wltiout money enough to buy land away from nny one." 'We Jist thought we'd kind o' settle down," said Old Man Fcwkcs whimperingly; "and I've got the money promised me to buy this land. So It's all right nnd straight 1" The silly old leathcrhead didn't know he wns doing anything ngalnst public sentiment ; and told the very thing that madu a case against him. I nave found out since who the man was tjiat promised him the money nnd was going to take the land, but that was Just one circumstance lu the land craze, and the man himself was wounded at Fort Douelson, and died In hospital so I won't tell his name. The point Is, that the old man had turned the Jury against me Just ns I had finished my pi en. "You have got the money promised you, have you?" 'repeated McGIll. "Grab him, boysl" I clinched with our man, and getting n rolling 'htplock on htm, I whirled him over my head, ns I had done with so many wrestling opponents, and letting him go In mld-alr, he went head over heels, ,and struck ten feet away on tho ground. Then I turned on McGIll, und with the flat of my hand, I slapped him over against thu shanty, with his cars ringing, They were coining at me in an undecided way; for my onset had been both sud den and unexpected; when I saw Itehcccn run ning from the rear with u shotgun in her hnud, which she had picked up as It leaned against' a wagon wheel where one of our crowd hud left It. "Stand back I" sho screamed. "Stand back, or I'll blow somebody's head offl" ' I braid n chuckling laugh from a man sitting In ono of tho wagons, nnd a word or two from him that sounded like, "Good girl!" Our little mob fell bnck, the man I had thrown limping, nnd Dick McGIll rubbing tho side of his head. 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