MBM——————II— III Mil mini — n~ - mir-- "
Reminiscences of a. Wayfarer
rJW—" • * >1* .WIMWWI
Some of the Important Events of the Pioneer Days
of Richardson County and Southeast Nebraska, as
remembered by the writer who has spent fifty
one years here.
HAI.F UHl'l I* IIOI Mi V \(.\IN
In a former paper ol .these
series. | e.ivi wh.it I was ad
vised were the facts concerning
the depopulation and conse
quent ruin of the town ol .Nr
cher, the first county seat "I
Richardson <'minty The elli
ident cause of that disaster was
the relocation of the western
boundary of the Halt I treed
tract, which occupied the whole
of the east end <>l the county,
it was in fact an Indian reser
vation provid'd by treaty in
1830, and was defined as a tract
of land lyinit west of the Mis
sotiri river and between the
(treat and Little Nemahas. the
western boundary of which was
to be ascertained by measuring
ten miles west from the mouths
of those two rivers to initial
points cm each, and by a straight
line drawn between them. The
first survey of the tract, made,
it is said, in 183m, and known as
the McC'oy survey, located the
initial point west I rom the mouth
of the (Ireat Nemaha, some
where about the mouth of the
Muddy in point of fact it was
less than one half mile west of
that point if the history ol Ne
braska is correct in fixing the
point at the quarter section coi
ner between sections 10 and IT.
township I. ranee IT.
1 further stated in substance
in that paper, that in 1*5(5, and
about the time the government
■vas preparing to < \ecute the
treaty and parcel out the land
to the beneficiaries named in it.
by some means and at the in
stance of somebody land grab
bers probably the government
was induced to abrogate 'the
•
McCoy survey, and order an
other to be made, which, when
performed, located the west
boundary about four miles fur
ther west than t he .McCoy sur
vey put it, thus adding a large
quantity of land to tli I- reser
vation.
1 further stated that this last
survey, which was made in l"5i>,
was brought about by objec
tions made to the lirst survey,
which was represented to have
been made by measuring ten
miles bp the Croat Nemaha n
ver by its sinuosities, which les
sened the distance west very
materially.
Judge Dundy, who partici
pated in getting the line on the
west boundary, put back where
McCoy located it in l*;l*. is my
authority for my statement in
that connection. The objection
was to the mode of the survey,
which was claimed to have been
erroneous, and not to the time
when made nor tin point from
which the surveyor started.
Hon. Albert Watkins of Lin
coln, for whom I entertain -en
timents of the highest respect,
in an article which 1 here sub
join, gives it as his opinion that
I fell into an error in my ver
sion of this Half-1 treed contro
versy, and rather intimates that
1 blame the people of Salem for
springing the question of erron
eous survey to enable that town
to get the county seat from
Archer.
I submit there is nothing ol
the kind suggested, or even re
motely hinted in that paper.
All I said on the subject was,
that a Mr. Charles McDonald, a
citizen of Salem and a member
of the legislature at the time
,the Half Breed survey question
came up and was disposed of
by locating Archer on the east
side of the line, introduced two
bills looking to the removal of
the county seat from Archer to
Salem, giving his reason for do
ing so, that the new survey had
put Archer on the Half Breed
tract, and was, therefore, no
longer tenable as a proper seat
ill tin* local coviTnim ut <>t t'li*
county.
The people of Salem had no
more to do with raising tin* <pn >
tion of erroneous survey of the
Half Hreed reservation than the
eminent Nebraska h i s t o r i a n
himself. His letter to the Tri
' burn* here follows:
“To Tin* Tribune: The ac
icomplished writer of the series
of historical articles winch have*
| been published in the Tribune
j lately, fell into some errors
j about the survey of the half
| breed tract. I worked out the
j facts from olllcial records pretty
I thoroughly for the History -of
Nebraska, and they are set
forth at some length on pat:- I i
and -Jilt), of volume 1.
••The writer of the articles in
question assumes that the first
surveyors of fs;;s naturally
and properly followed the wind
ing! course of the Nemahas in
running tiie lines to points ten
miles tram the mouth ol those
streams. The treaty of Prairie
du t'liien which established the
half breed tract or reservation,
specifically directed that the ten
miles in question should be run
direct from the points of begin
ning, and it does not seem likely
that the surveyors disregarded
that plain provision of the trea
ty, and there was, therefore,
some other reason, for assuming
that the original tract was not
extended far enough west.
"When Judge Fenner Fergu
son, delegate to congress from
the territory of Nebraska, advo
call'd the passage of the bill
providing for the re adoption of
the original western boundary,
he explained that tin Missouri
river had cut into the eastern
boundary a considerable dis
tance since the lirst survey of
hSlM; and the presumption that
the lirst boundary was not ex
tended far enough west was
based upon measurements made
in IKT,, when the agitation for
a new survey begun. < )f course,
as the bed of the river was far
ther west in K>0 than it was in
I SUM, the next boundary line ten
miles beyond it would lie west
ward of the original Mit'ov line.
‘•There remains, however, the
interesting question suggested
by your correspondent's very
entertaining story, wind her the
agitation about the western line
was started by the people of
Salem as a step toward getting
the county seat away from Ar
cher, which was, by the new sur
vey, enclosed in the reservation,
and therefore could not remain
the capital of the county. It is
rather odd to tind the federal
government taking the initiative
toward adding to an Indian re
servation from tin- public do
main without some s<‘llisb white
mail's impulse. The almost uni
versal rule in such cases has
been subtraction rather than
addition. Elmer N. Dundy went
to Washington to lobby for tin
passage of Ferguson’s bill,
probably on a retainer by the
settlers, real or prospective, on
the disputed strip.
ALBERT WATKINS "
That .Judge Dundy was cor
revt in his statement to me
touching the claim made that
the McCoy survey was errone
ous, is made tolerably certain
by tin- memorial to Congress
passed by the territorial legis
lature shortly after the abroga
tion of the McCoy survey, and
the making of another, asking
the congress to relieve the sett
lers, who had been surveyed in
to the Half-Breed tract, if with
in its constitutional power to
do so. 1 here set forth that
memorial in cxtrnso.
I •‘PREAMBLE AND JOINT
RESl )LUTlON
1 For the relief of certain citizens
of Richardson County.
I Whereas, A portion of the
| inhabitants of Richardson coun
: ty in this Territory, have in
I good faith, settled upon; and
i made all improvements, (many
j of which are highly valuable)
I that were required by neighbor
I hood, Territorial and the United
I States laws, to enable tin m to
acquire title to the same, by
strict conformity with law. and,
Whereas, Such settlement
and improvement was made af
ter the surveys made by author
ity of the United States, had de
termined that their settlement
and improvement did not en
crouch upon, or include any
portion of the public lands r>
served from sale, or-settlement,
by reason of any treaty then
kiiiiu ii In t‘ visit; and.
Win;i:i:ah, II has. since such
>cttlenient was made, b «*n as
certained that llit* authoris'd
mu* ev<»is wer« #rn eons, and
that the correction of such <*r
ri it*, will include within the
boundaries of the “Half Breed
Reservation,” a portion of the
lands so settled upon, therefor
placlny an inseperable barrier
to their acquiring title thereto,
by preemption or any other
known law, and summarily de
priviny them of their home
steads, takiny front them the
fruits of their toil and labor
without redress, except the
same can be yiven them by a
special actoi t onyress, ioi men
relief; and believiny it to be a
duty incumbent upon us. as the
representative-, of the people,
to aid them in obtaining redress
I'or grievances, u hicli in no wise
resiilted from any d isivyard of
law on their part, so far as it
may lie legitimately within our
power, and believiny as we do,
that tlie hardships and losses
that must inevitably result to
the inhabitants aforesaid, makes
it an imperative duly for our
most earnest effort: therefore,
be it
IvESOEVED, IIY T HE I OEM'IE
AND llOESE OF I! El 'H ESENTA
TIVITS OF T HE TEBUITORY OF
Nebraska, That our delegate
in Congress is hereby respect
fully requested to present to
that honorable body a bill, set
ting forth the hardships which
must result to a portion of our
inhabitants, and to urge the
immediate passage of such bill,
for their relief, so far as they
may have power to do, and
strict justice to the parties ag
grieved. demand
And be it Fehtiieu Ke
soeved, That the secretary of
the Territory be requt sted to
transmit a copy of the forego
ing’ preamble and resolution,
forthwith to o..r delegate in
Congo ss.
Approved February 0, 1 "AT."
ilrd Session, page
It will appear that the legis
lature was impressed by the
same notion of error in the Mc
Coy survey that was put for
ward at Washington as sufficient
reason for abrogating the Mc
Coy survey and ordering an
other to be made as the memo
rial recites:
“Whereas, It ha>, since such
settlement was made, been as
certained that the authorized
surveyors were erroneous, and
that the correction of such er
ror, will include within the
boundaries of the “Half Breed
Reservation’- a portion of the
lands so settled upon" etc.
And this upon the assumption
of error in the first survey,
which they --aid would, when
corrected, put those settlers
(the people of Archer among
them) on the Half Breed tract.
Now what was that e r r o rf
Judge Dundy said the claim was
as 1 have stated- by the sur
veyor following the meander
ings of the river instead of run
ning a straight line up the val
ley of the river without refer
ence to its winding course there
in. And it is in that particular
Mr. Watkins thinks I have fallen
into an error.
When 1 wroti tin article i'fi
question 1 had never looked into
the matter of the McCoy survey
at all and merely mentioned the
fact, as given to me by Judge
Dundy that the claim was put
up that the McCoy survey was
\<rong because of the mode in
which he had made it. But since
my distinguished friend at Lin
coln has questioned the correct
ness of that statement, I pro
pose to examine the survey it
self, without any reference to
the mode in which it was made,
jl will assume that the Nebraska
! History referred toby Mr. Wat
kins is correct in saying that
the McCoy survey located the
initial point on the Great Ne
maha River, west from its mouth
at a point between Sections lb
and 17, Township 1, Range 17.
Now, if you measure back
from that point ten miles on a
straight line, it will fix the start
jing point for that survey and it
will be found in the southeast
part of Sec. *J">, Town. 1, Range
18, and that is exactly where
the month of the Great Nemaha
was in Isjh, and in every year
since till nine or ten years ago,
when the Missouri, in its gyra
tions about the valley, broke
into and took possession ol the
>, -i i the Nemaha .it a point
l from its old mouth about
’ i miles, and* mar where the
; Burlington I* 11. bride cross
The low survey on tin* N<
maha. that'was ordered in 1 "Ta
was made over the same ground,
; from tlu* same point on the Mis
souri, hut by some process not
explained, extended the initial
p lint for the west boundary of
tin' Half I freed tract, two mih-s
further west than the McCoy
survey put it, and two and a
half miles south of that point,
i that is to say: it placed the
ten mile limit in Sec. Town.
1, Range Id, which involved a
jili vsica 1 im possibility..
It would not do for tin- land
I grabbers to represent to tile
' •. \ ernnn nt th.tt the point of
confluence of the Nemaha with
'the Missouri had been changed
j by fluctuations in the channel
oi the latter river, for that
would have been the act of God
and would have furnished no ex
cuse for a resurvey, but by put
ting it on the ground of error in
the survey itself, gave a very
plausible reason for the de
mand, and it was on that ground
and that alone, that the General
Land office at Washington, made
the order that the lim-s on the
Nemaha* be run again.
it tlie line had been eomvtlv
surveyed in the first instance,
ini change of tlie point where
the two rivers mingle their wa
ter-. would have been a suffi*
c ni reason for abrogating the
old survey, and the making <d
another, and Judge Dundy's re
port of the facts concerning the
reason given for asking it to be
done, was correct.
We know with absolute cer
tainty where McCoy established
tlie initial point on the Great
Nemaha west from the Missouri.
About that fact there can be no
dispute. Now, with that point
c vtainly fixed we easily locate
the starting point, for it must
be just ten miles east. There
could be no mistake about that,
nor any error. When that -car
vey was made the mouth of the
Nemaha was in the southeast
quarter of Section i'.‘, Town. 1,
Range l1'. If by any means that
point had been changed between
138* and 1 "jii, it could not have
made error in the original sur
vey. but the fact is. that no
change took place, nor was it
pretended that any change had
taken place. They simply in
sisted on an. erron'ous running
of the line and when the new
survey was made in 1*30, to lo
cate the west end of tin* line ill
the south part of Section 1*3,
Township 1, Range 10, it re
quired tlie starting point to be
two miles west from where Mc
Coy started his line, which was
not only not true, but if it had
been true, it was neither an ex
cuse for a new survey, nor did
it show error in the first survey,
The whole tiling was a scheme
of some smart Americans to get
more land into the Indian Re
servation at the expense of the
United Stites and then to sep
arate those feeble people from
it by sharp practices best
known to themselves. They
failed to get the land, but by
persistent effort they got a bill
passed a year or two afterwards
giving the proceeds of the land
between the two lines, to
llalf-Rreeds who had not re
ceived allotments which 1 think
was at the rate of $-100 a head
or $1.'J'> an acre, the government
price for a half section, as long
as the fund lasted. How the
physical facts to which I have
called attention with reference
to the two surveys could have
escaped the attention of intelli
gent men, or how they were hid
den from the knowledge of the
otlicers of the General Land of
fice at Washington, are matters
of profound mystery to me. A
single glance at the facts and at
a map of the country would
have shown to any man of ofdi
nary information exactly how
the whole thing stood, and the
utter impossibility ol mistake.!
or error in the Mei’oy survey.
In writing of past incidents in ;
the unwritten history ol the
country, f had no intention of j
provoking a controversy of any :
kind; but simply to call alien i
( ion to matters that would other-1
wise be lost in the darkness ol j
the past, and which, when r<
lated, might be of interest to
the present generation, and pos
sibly to some others in the fu
' lure.
The Indian policy of the gov
eminent lias always hewn a re
proach to the . country, but as
any other would have been open
to some possible objection, per-1
haps the one adopted was as |
good as anvother, for the result
under any would have bees, in
all probability, the same. The
Indians, like the llelotes, the
Spartan slaves in old Laconia, '
and all others of the inferior
races in the long tragic history
of the nations, must be absorbed
by the superior race, or other
wise disappear from the earth.
In the case of the red man his
doom is utter extinction.
Epilepsy,
Fits
Convulsions, or Spasms
and SI'. Yilus’ Dance are
Nervous Diseases. Most
cases <*nu be cured by
strengthening and build
ing up the nervous system.
To do this a nerve medi
cine is needed. Dr. Miles’
Nervine will be found
efficacious and satisfac
tory. It has cured many
cases of these diseases
and we believe it Avill
cure von. AYc can give
you names of many Avho
have been cured through
its use. AYritc for advice.
“My rnn John had epilepsy for years,
and after having him treated by
ppeclnlii for over 2 years he still
ci [ had al
most given up in despair, but know
ing the villa.' of Dr. Mil.-s' Anti-Pain
Dills for sick headache, l concluded to
try the Nervine. During June. 1906, I
gave him a p spoonful three times a.
day, then in July I gave It as directed,
and 1 could see that lie was Improving,
and lie has not had a spell since
August 28, 1906, and lias taken no
medicine since Jan.-07. I am writing
the case j i. t ns It is hoping it will
Induce others to try it."
AV. 11. AI.I.ISON, Muorosvlllc, N. C.
Your druggist sells Dr. Miles’ Nerv
ine, and we authorize him to return
price of first bottle (only) if it fails
to benefit you.
Miles Medical Co., Elkhart, Ind
You Can Make No Mistake in Buying a
“SURE HATCH” INCUBATOR
AND BROODER
Come in and let us show you how they work. Idle way
the are heated is their strongest point—it is perfect.
j. C. TANN“R
Falls City Nebraska
Plumbing str.:Hardware
Two Days Sale!
30 Registered Percheron Mares
and Stallions
56 Head Registered Shorthorn
Cattle
MARCH (2=13, 1909
T his I iorse offering will include a high class of mares and |
stallions. Stallions are of the best breeding and mares
are of regular breeders and workers.
The Shorthorns will be as good as any and include ,
our very best cows, several cost us $ 1,000.00.
There will be 18 head of Calves go with their dams.
Catalogues are out for these sales. Write for one.
MORRILL, KANSAS
\1 r$» *%• *?<• *?<• *J» *9* of,» *?/• *»* *f • st* f|* «v?» set-* ►?« *T* (nT»
I* A VALUE I) POSSESSION *1
it, «&
Mark Twain says truth Ip one if our most valued possessions S
' * and we ought therefore to us' it with the utmost economy. This *
< * rule as suggested by M irk wou'd hardly work in the banning bttsi
i * ties-, for however prudent mid economical the banker may be about
, „ other things, li • must have very extravagant habits in his use of the ^X
( ^ truth If he expei ts to secure and keep th< coni deni 1 of htB patrons. ^
Economy in this particular wou'd spell ruin. Tin? cornerstone Of ?
' * the banking business is conti lence, and very fooli-h is that man •
• # who bv a single act impairs in the slightest degree this most valua
i s ble a>se'. We are cinstantly striving for the fullest confidence of «t*
, the people if thi community, and as we are convinced that know- 4X
ledge begets confidence wc never permit a transaction in this bank w
that would cause us embarrassment if expo-ed to the gaze of the
aali'ic. We conduct the business of this bank in such a manner as
en ibles no to tt?li the truth at ut it at all times without fear or favor. 4'*:
Tell the truth to directors, stockholders and public, then there is
X, nothing to worry about.
|: The Farmers’ State If
f PRESTON, NEBRASKA
^4».$«4*4‘4*4*4*4*4*4‘*$*4*4**l*4*4**l*4*4*4»4*4*4*4*^
